eeting Mr. Parnell had done his best to impress upon ministers
the mischievous effect that would be produced on Irish members and in
Ireland, by any promise to withdraw the bill after the second reading. On
the previous evening, I received from him a letter of unusual length. "You
of course," he said, "are the best judges of what the result may be in
England, but if it be permitted me to express an opinion, I should say
that withdrawal could scarcely fail to give great encouragement to those
whom it cannot conciliate, to depress and discourage those who are now the
strongest fighters for the measure, to produce doubt and wonder in the
country and to cool enthusiasm; and finally, when the same bill is again
produced in the autumn, to disappoint and cause reaction among those who
may have been temporarily disarmed by withdrawal, and to make them at once
more hostile and less easy to appease." This letter I carried to Mr.
Gladstone the next morning, and read aloud to him a few minutes before he
was to cross over to the foreign office. For a single instant--the only
occasion that I can recall during all these severe weeks--his patience
broke. The recovery was as rapid as the flash, for he knew the duty of the
lieutenant of the watch to report the signs of rock or shoal. He was quite
as conscious of all that was urged in Mr. Parnell's letter as was its
writer, but perception of risks on one side did not overcome risks on the
other. The same evening they met for a second time:--

_May 27._--... Mr. Gladstone and Parnell had a conversation in my
room. Parnell courteous enough, but depressed and gloomy. Mr.
Gladstone worn and fagged.... When he was gone, Parnell repeated
moodily that he might not be able to vote for the second reading,
if it were understood that after the second reading the bill was
to be withdrawn. "Very well," said I, "that will of course destroy
the government and the policy; but be that as it may, the cabinet,
I am positive, won't change their line."

The proceedings at the foreign office brought to the supporters of
government a lively sense of relief. In the course of the evening a score
of the waverers were found to have been satisfied, and were struck off the
dissentient lists. But the relief did not last for many hours. The
opposition instantly challenged ministers (May 28) to say plainly which of
the two courses they intended to adopt. Though short, this was the most