Page "Benjamin Disraeli" Paragraph 39

Faced with a vacancy, Disraeli and Derby tried yet again to bring Gladstone into the government.

Disraeli wrote a personal letter to Gladstone, asking him to place the good of the party above personal animosity: " Every man performs his office, and there is a Power, greater than ourselves, that disposes of all this ..." In responding to Disraeli Gladstone denied that personal feelings played any role in his decision then and previously to accept office, while acknowledging that there were differences between him and Derby " broader than you may have supposed.

" Gladstone also hinted at the strength of his own faith, and the role it played in his public life, when he addressed Disraeli's most personal and private appeal: