Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. It is difficult for any one who has not tried to write a work of this kind to anticipate the difficulties through which it is carried out, inasmuch as its proportions are being constantly changed according to the materials the writer receives.
My first idea was to sketch Lord Palmerston as I have sketched Mr. Canning in ''Historical Characters.'' But when the large collection of Mr. Temple''s letters from which I have quoted was placed in my hands, these letters were so characteristic of the writer, and so good as letters, that I thought they ought to find a place in his biography.