Page:The house of Cecil.djvu/352

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308 THE CECILS

to have such a counsellor at hand ; but they do not appear to have been drawn to him by the bonds of that intense personal devotion which has united so many great statesmen with their political supporters."

But if he did not evoke the enthusiasm or the love of the public and he made no effort to do so he inspired complete confidence. The nation felt that in his hands the honour and interests of the Empire were safe. And among his colleagues he aroused unwavering loyalty and esteem. ' My relations with Salisbury are delightful," wrote Lord Lytton, 1 when he was Viceroy of India. " He is so generous, so loyal, so considerate and sympathising, that it is a real privilege to work with him." His own loyalty and patriotism were so intense, his aims so pure, his disinterestedness so unassailable, that he set a noble example to all his followers, and we may truly say of him, as he said of Pitt : ' ' the lapse of years only brings out in brighter lustre the grandeur of his intellect and the loftiness of his character."

Lord Salisbury was succeeded by his eldest son, James, Viscount Cranborne. The fourth Marquess was born in 1861, and was educated at Eton and University College, Oxford. He sat in Parliament, first for the Darwen division (1885 1892), and afterwards for Rochester (1893 1903). In the South African War he

1 Letters of Robert, Earl of Lytton, II. 32.

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