as that of the most advanced curate, keen eyes and a
broad, intellectual forehead--he speaks clearly and emphatically. He
sets out his arguments with great brilliancy and force." Little did
the young M. P. think that in the years to come he would be supplanting
this man as Prime Minister of the country.

Right from the start Lloyd George set himself to acquire the methods
and fashions of the House of Commons, with all the involved procedure.
He wanted to avoid the obvious pitfalls. Presently he essayed a
speech, and though he confessed himself as nervous, he did well, and
members spoke highly of his first effort. It is as well to say here
that the House of Commons quickly cuts short the ambitions and hopes of
many young men who on the strength of platform popularity look for
triumph at Westminster. The House of Commons, whatever may be its
drawbacks, has some human qualities, is kindly to beginners, has a
respect for sincerity, an undisguised yawn for bores, and a cold
contempt for swollen-headed young members who try to impress it with
their capacity. When once a member has passed the stage of initial
forbearance due to a new-comer, there grows upon him the fact that the
House of Commons is indeed the most critical assembly in the world.
There are always within it many who have secured their places by money
or influence, but they are in the minority, and the House, as a whole,
including even these rich men, has never any respect for moneyed men as
such, pays no special deference to the person of lordly birth within
its walls. A member is judged absolutely on what he is himself. The
two most popular and respected members in the strangely mixed House of
Commons I watched for years were Mr. Thomas Burt, the father of the
House, who had been a working miner, and that ardent and lovable Irish
Nationalist, Mr. Willie Redmond--both men having secured in
extraordinary measure the personal affection of the whole House. In
some respects, therefore, the House is like a big public school, and
Conservatives and Liberals, notwithstanding their political
differences, are welded together by a common instinct so far as the
domestic character of the Chamber is concerned.

The peculiar atmosphere was not lost upon Lloyd George, and he
diligently attuned himself to the new medium. This would have been
unavailing if there had been nothing in his speeches, but it was soon
realized that here was an interesting new member, a man in