Note 38 — Chapter I · DISRAELI’S PERSONALITY

He said (1846): “... It was no wonder they (the Protectionists) regarded themselves as betrayed, and unfortunately it had been the fate of Sir R. Peel to perform the same operation twice.” From the party standpoint there was abundant justification. Gladstone in old age declared that “Disraeli’s brilliant philippics surpassed even their reputation, and that, under their lash, Peel sat powerless.” Cf. Morley’s “Gladstone,” i. 296, iii. 465. “Dealt with them with a kind of righteous dulness”—“The Protectionist secession due to three men. Derby contributed prestige; Bentinck backbone; and Dizzy parliamentary brains.” The real fault found with Disraeli by his enemies (but afterwards) was that he “did not care a straw” for Protection. The reader must judge after my two next chapters.