Page:My Life in Two Hemispheres, volume 2.djvu/397

 Colony. Sir George Bowen is worried past endurance here just now by the "wealthy lower orders" who hate him for being friendly to the masses; or their leaders, the existing Government. When you change, change if you can to Ceylon. You talk of the H——s coming here to you, when you reach Australia. Do you know that the Governor cannot appoint a policeman; has, in fact, no patronage but his own staff, consisting of a military aide-de-camp and a private secretary, and sometimes both offices are combined. You could not give H—— any employment by which he could live. Had you come here for a political career, you would have had a brilliant one, I have no doubt, but to reign and not to govern is a triste métier. Return to London and Parliament as soon as you can C'est mon avis).

When I am relieved from office by the dissolution of this Parliament, I will go back to the old world. Not to return to the House of Commons—I will never go there—but to live among great thinkers, and great transactions.

My friend replied:—

In reply to his request for literary aid I said:—

Among my many correspondents none was so welcome as my lifelong friend Lord O'Hagan:—