Saturday, February 13, 2010

Crying with a cause

It has not always been considered admirable that a politician is capable of crying, especially not when he holds one of the highest offices of state.

It did not do Spencer Horatio Walpole much good.

Malicious gossip had it that he lost his job as Home Secretary in 1867 because he cried during negotiations with the Radical Reform League over the right to demonstrate in Hyde Park in favour of giving the working man the vote.

Fortunately he had put in enough service to qualify for a pension of £2000 p.a.