Lord John Russell. PREFACE THIS monograph could not have been written in the intimate sense if the Dowager Countess Russell had not extended a coilfidence which, I trust, has in no direction been abused. Lady Russell has not only granted me access to her journal and papers as well as the early note books of her husband, but in many conversations has added the advantage of her own reminiscences. I am also indebted in greater or less degree to Mrs. Warburton, Lady Georgiana Peel, Lady Agatha Russell, the Hon. Rollo Russell, Mr. G. V. E. Russell, and the Hon. George Elliot. Mr. Elliots knowledge, as brother-in-law, and for many years as private secretary, touches both the personal and official aspects of Lord Johns career, and it has been freely placed at my disposal. Outside the circle of Lord Johns relatives I have received hints from the Hon. Charles Gore and Sir Villiers Lister, both of whom, at one period or another in his public life, also served him in the capacity of secretary. I have received some details of Lord Johns official life from one who served under him in a more public capacity not, however, I hasten to add, as Chancellor of the Ex.chequer but I am scarcely at liberty in this instance to mention my authority but thanks are due, in an emphatic sense, to my friend Spencer Jalpole, who, with a generosity rare at all times, has not only allowed me to avail myself of facts contained in his authoritative biography of Lord John Russell, but has also glanced at the proof sheets of these pages, and has given me, in frank coinment, the benefit of his own singularly wide and accurate knowledge of the historical and political annals of the reign. It is only right to add that Mr. Jalpole is not in any sense responsible for the opinions expressed in a book which is only partially based on his own, is not always in agreement with his conclusions, and which follows independent lines.