It is this, that Lord
Palmerston had a nature incapable of enduring anger or any
sentiment of wrath. This freedom from wrathful sentiment was not
the result of painful effort, but the spontaneous fruit of the
mind. It was a noble gift of his original nature--a gift which
beyond all others it was delightful to observe, delightful also to
remember in connection with him who has left us, and with whom we
have no longer to do, except in endeavouring to profit by his
example wherever it can lead us in the path of duty and of right,
and of bestowing on him those tributes of admiration and affection
which he deserves at our hands."
The great leader attracts to himself men of kindred character,
drawing them towards him as the loadstone draws iron. Thus, Sir
John Moore early distinguished the three brothers Napier from the
crowd of officers by whom he was surrounded, and they, on their
part, repaid him by their passionate admiration. They were
captivated by his courtesy, his bravery, and his lofty
disinterestedness; and he became the model whom they resolved to
imitate, and, if possible, to emulate. "Moore's influence," says
the biographer of Sir William Napier, "had a signal effect in
forming and maturing their characters; and it is no small glory to
have been the hero of those three men, while his early discovery
of their mental and moral qualities is a proof of Moore's own
penetration and judgment of character.
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