same time, had that slightly
deepened pallor which he always has on the first day of a Session--the
result of the long day's journey which he has gone through in coming
from his country house. Mr. Balfour was also in his place, looking as
though the open rivalry of Lord Randolph Churchill had not much affected
his spirits. Mr. Chamberlain nearly always looks the same. He has
himself informed the world that he does not take exercise in any shape
or form whatsoever, and there is never therefore, on his cheek that look
of deep-drunk sunshine which marks the cheeks of more active men. But he
was ready for the conflict, and as the night went on showed there was no
decrease in either the venom or the vehemence with which he means to
fight against the Home Rule Bill. On the Irish Benches nearly every man
was in his place, and the Tories had so far benefited by their
buffetings from the _Times_ as to make a braver show than they usually
do in the early days after vacation.

[Sidenote: Home Rule once more.]

When the House separated, the subject under debate was an audacious
proposal to postpone Clause 3. There was nothing whatever to be urged in
favour of such a proposal; it was pure, unadulterated, shameless
obstruction. But Sir Richard Temple is not gifted with a sense of
humour, and on this amendment he wandered and maundered away for the
better part of an hour. The House has yet no power to prevent a bore
from consuming its time; but it is free to save itself from the yoke of
attention. By a sort of general spontaneity, everybody left his seat;
and though hapless Mr. Balfour was forced by the hard necessities of his
official position to remain in his place, nobody else was compelled to
do so; and Sir Richard addressed the general, void, encasing air. There
was some more speech-making of the like kind--still to empty air--when
suddenly and almost unexpectedly the debate was allowed to collapse. At
first, this was unintelligible--for, senseless as was the amendment, it
was no worse than scores of others which the Tories have made the
pretext for endless debates.

[Sidenote: A tight division.]

However, the division revealed the secret. It is one of the
peculiarities of this strangely interesting Session that nearly every
division is a picturesque and portentous event. With a majority so small
as forty, the turnover of a very few votes from one side to the other
may mean the defeat of Home Rule, the downfall of Gladstone