brilliancy of their intellectual accomplishments. One of them was the beautiful Lady Seymour, afterwards Duchess of Somerset, who presided as Queen of Beauty at the famous tournament held at the Earl of Eglinton's seat in Scotland, in the month of August, 1839. Another daughter, the Hon. Mrs. Caroline Norton, won distinction by her poetical effusions, and by several novels, one of which, "Stuart of Dunleath," is a work exhibiting a high degree of mental power. This lady, whose domestic misfortunes formed at one time an absorbing topic of discussion in England, survived until 1877, having some months before her death been married to the late Sir W. Stirling Maxwell. The remaining daughter, Harriet Selina, was the eldest of the three. She, as we have seen, married Captain Price Blackwood, and subsequently became Lady Dufferin upon her husband's accession to the title in 1839. She also won a name in literature by numerous popular songs and ballads, the best known of which is "The Irish Emigrant's Lament." She was left a widow in 1841, and twenty-one years later, by a second marriage, became Countess of Gifford. She died in 1867. Her only son, Frederick Temple, the subject of this sketch, was born at Florence, in Italy, on the 21st of June, 1826.

He received his early education at Eton College, and subsequently at Christ Church, Oxford. He passed through the curriculum with credit, but left the University without taking a degree. In the month of July, 1841, when he had only just completed his fifteenth year, his father's death took place, and he thus succeeded to the family titles six years before attaining his majority. During the first Administration of Lord John Russell he officiated as one of the Lords-in-Waiting to Her Majesty; and again filled a similar position for a short time a few years later.

One of the most memorable passages in his early career was a visit paid by him to Ireland during the terrible famine which broke out there in 1846. Deriving his titles from Ireland, where the greater part of his property is situated, and being desirous of doing his duty by his tenantry, he had almost from boyhood paid a good deal of attention to the question of land-tenure in that country. With a view to extending his knowledge by personal observation, he set out from Oxford, accompanied by his friend, the Hon. Mr. Boyle, and went over, literally, to spy out the nakedness of the famine-stricken land. They for the first time in their lives found themselves face-to-face with misery in one of its most appalling shapes. They were young, kind-hearted and generous, and the scenes wherewith they were daily brought into contact made an impression upon their minds that has never been effaced. They published an account of their travels under the title of "A Narrative of a Journey from Oxford to Skibbereen, during the year of the Irish Famine," and devoted the proceeds of the sale of the narrative to the relief of the starving sufferers of Skibbereen. The realms of fiction may be ransacked in vain for anything more truly pathetic and heart-rending in its terrible, vigorous realism, than is this truthful picture of human privation and suffering. Upon one occasion, having bought a huge basket of bread for distribution among the most needy, they were completely besieged as soon as their intention became known. "Something like an orderly distribution was attempted," says the narrative, "but the dreadful hunger and impatience of the poor people by whom the donors were surrounded rendered this absolutely impossible, and the bread was thrown out, loaf by loaf, from a window, the struggles of the famished women over the insufficient supply being dreadful to witness." Of course, all they could do to alleviate the sufferings in the district was of little avail, but they gave to the extent of their ability, and the poor, famishing creatures were warmly touched by their unfeigned and tearful sympathy. When the two gentlemen left the town, their carriage was followed beyond the outskirts by crowds of suffering poor who implored the Divine blessing upon their heads. The publication of the "Narrative," moreover, aroused a general feeling of philanthropy throughout the whole of England and Scotland, and liberal contributions were sent over for the benefit of those who stood most in need of assistance.

The practical knowledge of the condition of the Irish people acquired by Lord Dufferin during this visit was such as the most diligent study of blue-books could not have imparted. From this time forward he gave more attention than ever to the Irish question. It was a question in which he might well take a deep interest, for he was dependent upon the rent of his estates in county Down for the bulk of his income. His unselfishness, however, was signally proved by the stand he took, which was on the side of tenant-right. He has written and spoken much on the subject, and has contributed more than his share towards enabling the world to arrive at a just conclusion respecting it. His public utterances displayed a genuine philanthropy and breadth of view, mingled, at times, with a quaint and touching humour, which attracted the attention of every statesman in the kingdom. Twenty years before Mr. Gladstone's Irish Land Act was passed, its provisions had been anticipated by Lord Dufferin, and urged upon the attention of the House of Lords. In an eloquent and elaborate speech delivered before that Body in 1854 he suggested and outlined nearly every important legislative reform with reference to Irish Land Tenure which has since been brought about. A work on "Irish Emigration, and the Tenure of Land in Ireland," gave still wider currency to his views on the subject, and it began to be perceived that the brilliant young Irish peer had ideas well worthy of the consideration of Parliament. He was created an English baron in 1850, by the title of Baron Clandeboye.

In politics he was a moderate Whig. The leading members of his party recognized his high abilities, and thought it desirable to enlist them in the public service. An opportunity soon presented itself. In the month of February, 1855, Lord John Russell was appointed as British Plenipotentiary to the conference to be held at Vienna for the purpose of settling the terms of peace between Russia and Turkey. Lord John invited Lord Dufferin to accompany him on the mission as a special attaché. The invitation was accepted, and Lord Dufferin repaired to the Austrian capital, where he remained until the close of the ineffectual conference. Soon after his return to England he determined upon a long yachting tour in the far northern seas, and in the early summer of 1856 he started on his adventurous voyage. The chronicle of this expedition, written with graphic force and humour by the pen of Lord Dufferin himself, has long been before the world under the title of "Letters from High Latitudes." The voyage, which lasted several months, was made in the schooner-yacht Foam, and included Iceland, Jan Meyen and Spitzbergen in its scope. There is no necessity for extended comment upon a book that has been read by pretty nearly everybody in Canada. Who is there among us who has not laughed over the account of that marvellous bird that, as the nights became shorter and shorter, never slept for more than five minutes at a stretch, without waking up in a state of nervous agitation lest it might be cock-crow; that was troubled by low spirits, owing to the mysterious manner in which a fresh member of his harem used to disappear daily; and that finally, overburdened by contemplation, went melancholy mad and committed suicide? Or over that extraordinary dog-Latin after-dinner speech by Lord Dufferin during his stay in the Icelandic capital, as voraciously recorded in Letter VI.? And who among us has failed to recognize the graphic power of description displayed in the account of the Geysers? Or the weird poetic force of "The Black Death of Bergen"? In all these various kinds of composition the