of truth, Joseph Hume stood the test well. No man was more laughed at, but there he stood perpetually, and literally, "at his post." He was usually beaten on a division, but the influence which he exercised was nevertheless deeply felt, and many important financial improvements were effected by him even with the vote directly against him. The amount of hard work which he contrived to get through was something extraordinary. He rose at six, wrote letters and arranged his papers for the House; then, after breakfast, he received persons on business, sometimes as many as twenty in a morning. The House rarely assembled without him, and though the debate were prolonged to two or three o'clock in the following morning, be sure you would find Mr. Hume'sname in any division that took place. In short, to perform the work which Mr. Hume did, extending over so long a period, in the face of so many administrations, week after week, year after year,—to be outvoted, beaten, laughed at, standing on many occasions almost alone,—to persevere in the face of every discouragement, preserving his temper unruffled, never relaxing in his energy or his hope, and living to see the greater number of his measures adopted with acclamation, must be regarded as one of the most marvellous things of its kind in the history of human character.

Notes for this chapter

It was characteristic of Mr. Hume, that, during these professional voyages between England and India, he should diligently apply his spare time to the study of navigation and