the House
cheered and cheered yet again without any distinction of party--the
friends in admiration of the splendid eloquence of the gesture, the foes
in hearty admiration of the great and perennial spirit of the great Old
Man.

[Sidenote: Comedy.]

But on May 11th there was a new and a bolder departure. Most of my
readers have seen that remarkable little lay written by Mr. Gilbert for
Miss Anderson to display the range and variety of her powers--"Comedy
and Tragedy." Mr. Gladstone gave proof of powers of equally wide
versatility; and all at the expense of poor Joe. First for the Comedy. I
must quote the passage of the speech to explain what I mean:--

"My right hon. friend has a bundle of quotations. He says he has
fortified himself. (Laughter.) He said he had fortified himself against
me when I said there could be no supremacy without the presence of Irish
members in this House. I never asserted anything of the kind. (Cheers.)
'Oh,' he said, 'I have got the papers'--(laughter)--and the party
opposite cheered at the expected triumph. (Laughter.)"

When Mr. Gladstone came to the words. "'Oh,' he said, 'I have got the
papers,'" Mr. Gladstone began fumbling in his pockets, just as Mr.
Chamberlain had done--with that air of distraction and coming despair
which appears on everybody's face when he is anxiously seeking for an
important but mislaid paper; and the resemblance, heightened by just the
least imitation of Mr. Chamberlain's voice, was so striking, so
startling, so melodramatic, that the whole House, Tories and all, joined
in the wild delight of laughter and cheers--laughter at the comic power,
delight at the splendid courage and exuberant spirit of the prancing old
war-horse, delighted, exhilarated, and fortified by the joy of battle
and by the richness of his own powers and courage. Even yet the comic
vein was not exhausted. Mr. Chamberlain--as I have said--had made
copious quotations from past Irish speeches, and asked that they should
be retracted. "If the work of retraction were to begin, is my right hon.
friend," asked Mr. Gladstone, with scorn in every tone, "willing to
submit himself to the same process of examination? If the work of
retraction were to begin he would have a lot to do." And then came the
passage which has already passed into Parliamentary history. "If we are
to stand in white sheets, my right hon. friend would have to wear that
ornamental garment standing in a very conspicuous position."