The Golden Wedding of Lord John and Liberty his love—
‘Twixt the Russells’ House and Liberty, ’twas ever hand and glove—
His love in those dark ages, he has lived through with his bride,
To look back on them from the sunset of his quiet eventide.
His love when he that loved her and sought her for his own
Must do more than suit and service, must do battle, trumpet blown,
Must slay the fiery dragons that guarded every gate
On the roads by which men travelled for work of Church and State.
Now time brings its revenges, and all are loud to own
How beautiful a bride she was, how fond, how faithful shown;
But she knows the man who loved her when lovers were but few,
And she hails this golden wedding—fifty years of tried and true.
Look and listen, my Lord Russell: ’tis your golden wedding-day;
We may not press your brave old hand, but you hear what we’ve to say.
A blessing on the bridal that has known its fifty years,
But never known its fallings-out, delusions, doubt, or fears.
VICTORIOUS PEACE
The end came softly. ‘I fall back on the faith of my childhood,’ were the words he uttered to Dr. Anderson. The closing scene is thus recorded in Mr. Rollo Russell’s journal: ‘May 28 [1878].—He was better this morning, though still in a very weak state. He spoke more distinctly, called me by my name, and said something which I could not understand. He did not seem to be suffering ... and has, all through his long illness, been cheerful to a degree that surprises everybody about him, not complaining of anything, but seeming to feel that he was being well cared for. About midday he became worse ... but bore it all calmly. My mother was with him continually.... Towards ten he was much worse, and in a few minutes, while my mother was holding his hand, he breathed out gently the remainder of life.’ Westminster Abbey was offered as a place of burial, but, in accordance with his own expressed wish, Lord John Russell was gathered to his fathers at Chenies. The Queen’s sympathy and her sense of loss were expressed in the following letter:—
‘Balmoral: May 30, 1878.
‘Dear Lady Russell,—It was only yesterday afternoon that I heard through the papers that your dear husband had left this world of sorrows and trials peacefully and full of years the night before, or I would have telegraphed and written sooner. You will believe that I truly regret an old friend of forty years’ standing, and whose personal kindness in trying and anxious times I shall ever remember. “Lord John,” as I knew him best, was one of my first and most distinguished Ministers, and his departure recalls many eventful times.
‘To you, dear Lady Russell, who were ever one of the most devoted of wives, this must be a terrible blow, though you must have for some time been prepared for it. But one is never prepared for the blow when it comes, and you have had such trials and sorrows of late years that I most truly sympathise with you. Your dear and devoted daughter will, I know, be the greatest possible comfort to you, and I trust that your grandsons will grow up to be all you could wish.
‘Believe me always, yours affectionately,