Scott had desired "such grinning honour as Sir Walter
hath"; the title went well with the old name, and pleased his love of
old times. Tennyson had been blamed "by literary men" for thrice
evading a baronetcy, and he did not think that a peerage would make
smooth the lives of his descendants. But he concluded, "Why should I
be selfish and not suffer an honour (as Gladstone says) to be done to
literature in my name?" Politically, he thought that the Upper
House, while it lasts, partly supplied the place of the American
"referendum." He voted in July 1884 for the extension of the
franchise, and in November stated his views to Mr Gladstone in verse.
In prose he wrote to Mr Gladstone, "I have a strong conviction that
the more simple the dealings of men with men, as well as of man with
man, are--the better," a sentiment which, perhaps, did not always
prevail with his friend. The poet's reflections on the horror of
Gordon's death are not recorded. He introduced the idea of the
Gordon Home for Boys, and later supported it by a letter, "Have we
forgotten Gordon?" to the Daily Telegraph. They who cannot forget
Gordon must always be grateful to Tennyson for providing this
opportunity of honouring the greatest of an illustrious clan, and of
helping, in their degree, a scheme which was dear to the heroic
leader.
The poet, very naturally, was most averse to personal appearance in
public matters.
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