132 LADY BEACONSFIELD CH. were very intimate friends of Lord Beaconsfield. It was to their house that Lord Beaconsfield went on the death of his wife, and Baroness de Rothschild's account of his great affliction was very touching. He constantly spoke of her, repeatedly making use of one phrase, "And she was never dull." Every one knew how valuable Lady Beaconsfield had been to her husband as a companion. I have often heard that she used to sit up for him for any length of time, till he returned from the House, which, in those days, was often very late. his tastes and comforts minutely. She looked after Lord Beaconsfield invariably treated his wife with the greatest consideration, and resented any mark of slight or disrespect shown to her. Once they had been invited to stay at the country-house of one of the greatest of Conservative magnates, who was fond of banter. The master of the house passed the first evening in what is called chaffing Mrs. Disraeli, for the amusement of his guests, but much to her distress. An eye-witness told me that Mr. Disraeli sat perfectly still, and apparently without emotion; but the next day he made use of some pretext to leave the house with his wife, and never returned, though frequently invited, and though he was working in the closest and most continuous manner with the politician in question. The family of Rothschild is unique, existing, as it does, in all the chief European centres, where it has assumed, in many respects, the position of a great power. This is owing not only to their XLVI 133 A POWERFUL FAMILY fortune and their charity, but to their extraordinary knowledge and forecast both of financial and political life. They have always been on terms of confidence and friendship with the Governments of the countries where their houses are situated, and have never made use of the information for their own private advantage. When private secretary to Sir Edward Lytton, at the beginning of 1859, I recollect walking one day with him in the lobby of the House of Commons, and meeting Baron Lionel de Rothschild. All politicians were in a state of great anxiety at the moment, and, as we passed, the Baron asked, "When is Lord Cowley going to Vienna ?" Sir Edward said he did not know. The question had only just been decided. Though Sir Edward Lytton was a member of the Cabinet he was ignorant of the position of affairs, and yet the decision had already come to the knowledge of Baron de Rothschild. The family has means of information not generally available except to Governments. Their powers of access to important intelligence seems to be on a par with that of State Chanceries, and their perspicacity is startling. It is said that the founder of the branch in this country, Baron Nathan Mayer de Rothschild, brought to England the news of the Battle of Waterloo. He died in 1836, the week that his son, Baron Lionel, was married. I know of several occasions on which the earliest news of great political events, both in the East and 134 VAST WEALTH CH. XLVI West of the world, have reached the house of Rothschild first. It is fortunate for the world that the family exercise their power benevolently. I have never heard of an instance of their doing otherwise, or of their acting in any way but in a generous and honourable manner. I believe that the brothers and sisters of Baron Lionel de Rothschild are all dead; but his descendants have achieved the same solid and exceptional position, and are important factors both in the financial and political world. Lord Rothschild's sister, as I have mentioned before, was remarkable for her great beauty. She married Baron Alphonse de Rothschild, the head of the Paris house. The second daughter married Baron Ferdinand, head of the house at Vienna, who devoted himself very much to literature and to the collection of works of art, which he stored in the splendid home he erected in Buckinghamshire, called Waddesdon. He became naturalised, and was for some time M.P. for a division of Buckinghamshire. They died without children. Lord Rosebery married the only daughter of Baron Mayer de Rothschild. The whole history of the family is that of enormous wealth, honestly and skilfully amassed, honourably and wisely administered. CHAPTER XLVII Bills in the House of Commons-Eastern Question-Suez Canal-Royal Titles Proclamation Bill-"Bulgarian Atrocities "-Meeting at Christchurch-Letter from Lord Beaconsfield-Journey to Egypt Sir George Elliot-Society at Cairo-The Mouffetish-Khedive Ismail-Mr. Goschen-Defeat of Mr. Gladstone's Resolution. ALTHOUGH to a minor degree I took an interest in many subjects, the first Bill to which I gave my attention was that called the "Public Worship Facilities Bill." This was intended to permit the building of churches without endowments, so as to enable persons of different gradations of opinion in the Church of England to obtain, without difficulty, a form of service that might be denied them in their parish church. It was also my fortune to obtain the appointment of a Committee, of which I was elected Chairman, to enquire into the case of Consular Chaplains, who had been disestablished and disendowed by Lord Derby. I was a member of a Parliamentary Commission on Copyright. The "Regimental Exchanges Bill" interested me very much. This was to enable officers to exchange from garrisons where they were stationed to other quarters more agreeable to them. Thus, an officer in India, with a large family, would be allowed to 136 MY FIRST BILL CH. pay a certain sum to an officer in some other regiment, with whom he exchanged, who perhaps had no family, and to whom the service in India might be less irksome. Attempts were made to draw some comparison between officers in the Army and those in the Navy; but this was scarcely admissible, as service in the Navy was of comparatively short duration, while that in the Army was, to a certain extent, indefinite. In 1875, I brought in my first Bill, which I was subsequently enabled to pass. It was called the "House Occupiers' Disqualification Removal Bill,” and was suggested to me by the condition of the electorate at Bournemouth. By the law, as it then stood, all householders were debarred from letting their houses furnished without disqualifying themselves as voters. This was a great grievance to persons of moderate fortune. The Bill enabled owners of houses to let their tenements furnished for four months in every year without having their names taken off the register, and thus made it possible for them to enjoy their annual holiday. believe the Bill has worked successfully. Sir William Harcourt used to call my attempt at legislation "The Bournemouth Reform Bill." I During the session of 1875 a debate was raised on reforms in Turkey, and this was the first occasion, in my time, on which the "Eastern Question" had come before the House. Years afterwards I was fortunate enough to obtain in Persia the enactment of some of the provisions of the Hatti |