'
'In fact,' said Lord Granville, 'much of what is called improvisation is
mere recollection. A man who has to speak night after night, gets on most
subjects a set of thoughts, and even of expressions, which naturally pour
in on him as soon as his argument touches the train which leads to them.
'One of our eminent speakers,' he continued, 'Lord Grey, is perhaps best
when he has not had time to prepare himself. He is so full of knowledge
and of inferences, that he has always enough ready to make an excellent
speech. When he prepares himself, there is _too_ much; he gives the House
more facts and more deductions than it can digest.'
'Do you agree with me,' I asked, 'in thinking that Lord Melbourne was
best when he improvised?'
'I agree with you,' answered Lord Granville, 'that his set speeches were
cold and affected. He was natural only when he was quite careless, or
when he was much excited, and then he was admirable.'
'Did not Thiers improvise?' I asked.
'Never,' answered Tocqueville. 'He prepared himself most carefully. So
did Guizot. We see from the "Revue retrospective" that he even prepared
his replies. His long experience enabled him to foresee what he should
have to answer.
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