Lord Shelburne seems to have been of a reserved
and somewhat astute disposition: deep and adroit, he was
however brave and firm. His knowledge was extensive and even
profound. He was a great linguist; he pursued both literary
and scientific investigations; his house was frequented by men
of letters, especially those distinguished by their political
abilities or economical attainments. He maintained the most
extensive private correspondence of any public man of his
time. The earliest and most authentic information reached him
from all courts and quarters of Europe: and it was a common
phrase, that the minister of the day sent to him often for the
important information which the cabinet could not itself
command. Lord Shelburne was the first great minister who
comprehended the rising importance of the middle class; and
foresaw in its future power a bulwark for the throne against
"the Great Revolution families." Of his qualities in council
we have no record; there is reason to believe that his
administrative ability was conspicuous: his speeches prove
that, if not supreme, he was eminent, in the art of
parliamentary disputation, while they show on all the
questions discussed a richness and variety of information with
which the speeches of no statesman of that age except Mr Burke
can compare.
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