It was done in the
case of Mr. Balfour when he was leader of the House, with the result
that that very limp and leisurely gentleman never came down to his place
until the House had been one or two hours at work. There was, of course,
much stronger reason for that little bit of consideration in the case
of Mr. Gladstone, than in that of a young man like Mr. Balfour.
[Sidenote: The epoch of brutality.]
But the Tories, in the new and brutal mood to which they have worked
themselves up, have taken means for depriving Mr. Gladstone of what
small benefit he got from this postponement of the questions to him till
the end of question time. The puniest whipster of the Tory or the
Unionist party now is satisfied with nothing less, if you please, than
to have his questions addressed to and answered by Mr. Gladstone
himself. One of this impudent tribe is a Scotch Unionist named Cochrane.
The Scotch Unionist is one of the most bitter of the venomous tribe to
which he belongs. Mr. Gladstone is a man of peace and unfailing
courtesy, but the old lion has potentialities of Olympian wrath, and
when he is stirred up a little too much his patience gives way, and he
has a manner of shaking his mane and sweeping round with his tail which
is dangerous to his enemies and a delight and fascination to his
friends.
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