February 3, 1826

Walter Bagehot (February 3, 1826 to March 24, 1877) came from a banker's family and gained fame as a writer. His essays show an intellectual curiosity and confidence which is the best side of Victorian England.

The editor of the five volume compilation, The Works of Walter Bagehot, (1889) edited by Forrest Morgan, after the subject's death, mentions that perhaps there are some corrections which could be made by an editor....

It ought not to be necessary, but to some it will be, to disclaim any overweening notion of the value of these or any corrections. Of course Bagehot's greatness is not affected by such trifles: his thought and his wit, the value of his matter and the charm of his style, did not have to wait for this before delighting the world, and so far as either the use or the pleasure of his works is concerned, they would be substantially as well without it. But then, the same thing may be said of every other great author, whom neverthelesss it is always thought a worthy service to present in as fair and clear a shape as possible. Such work is, to use a familiar comparison, only "picking vermin off a lion's skin;" but for my own part I prefer a clean lion to a dirty one, and must not be accused of forgetting that he is a lion because 1 perform the service thoroughly, — on the contrary, but for my hearty admiration for him it would not have been undertaken. Once for all, Walter Bagehot's writings have been to me for many years one of the choicest of intellectual luxuries, and a valued store of sound thought and mental stimulation, and full appreciation of these must be held as implied in any difference of opinion I express; but even an admired master and teacher is not an idol to be uncritically worshiped.

I quote only a small amount of the editor's prose, which struck me as leisurely in a manner we do not see today. Such diversions are inspired by literary lions such as Bagehot. Or is it an aspect of writing with a pen, this interrupting one's own prose. It may be an aspect of the broader intellectual ambitions that distinguished writers over a century ago.  The regard for editorial subtleties is rare today.

Bagehot edited the Economist from 1861 to 1877. In this capacity he followed political events in France. The Life of Walter Bagehot, (1914) written by his sister-in-law, Mrs. Russell Barrington discusses that era. Bagehot contended that the Germans were too harsh in their treatment of France after their victory in the Franco Prussian war. The suffering of the populace of Paris during those events is still talked about today. Here is one contemporary vignette. Barrington writes about  Madame Mohl during the war. Mohl was the author of The Life of Madame Recamier (1862) .

1871 was a year of stirring excitements in France, the year of the siege of Paris, the Commune, anarchism and Civil War, the destruction of the Column in the Place Vendome, part of the Tuilleries and other monuments and buildings in Paris; .....Through our old friend, Mme. Mohl, we heard many particulars of the actual state of things during the siege, and the Commune. She had fled to London before the horrors began, leaving M. Mohl and her precious cats, whom she loved, in charge of the old confidential servant, Julie. When she returned to 120, Rue du Bac, the cats were no more. They had fallen victims to the starving populace during the siege. Mme. Mohl was heartbroken and hated the Emperor Napoleon, to whom she attributed all the misfortunes of France, with more violent hatred than ever.