Constantly under so much pressure, it was often difficult to appreciate any real progress and achievement. After all, Gladstone wrote, ‘Swimming for his life, a man does not see much of the country through which the river winds, and I probably know little of these years through which I busily work and live.’ Yet under the guise of noting an interesting serendipity, Gladstone was able proudly to list a number of his greatest achievements. ‘This month of December has been notable in my life,’ he wrote: 1809. Born. 1827. Left Eton. 1831. [First] Classes at Oxford. 1832. Elected to Parliament.
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