You are to suppose him to possess a very
gay and animated countenance, and you are to see in him all the
restlessness of a will-o'-wisp ... He enters a room with a countenance
so satisfied, and a step so light and almost fantastic, that all your
previous impressions of the dignity and severity of the 'Edinburgh
Review' are immediately put to flight ... It is not possible, however,
to be long in his presence without understanding something of his real
character, for the same promptness and assurance which mark his
entrance into a room carry him at once into conversation. The moment a
topic is suggested--no matter what or by whom--he comes forth, and the
first thing you observe is his singular fluency," etc., etc.
By the side of this description may be set that given of Jeffrey by
Francis Horner ('Life of Jeffrey', 2nd edition, vol. i. p. 212):
"His manner is not at first pleasing; what is worse, it is of that
cast which almost irresistibly impresses upon strangers the idea of
levity and superficial talents. Yet there is not any man whose real
character is so much the reverse."
The secret of his success, both as editor and critic, is that he made
the 'Review' the expression of the Whig character, both in its
excellences and its limitations. A man of clear, discriminating mind, of
cool and placid judgment, he refused to accept the existing state of
things, was persuaded that it might be safely improved, saw the
practical steps required, and had the courage of his convictions.
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