It was, therefore, not without trepidation that I saw Mr.
Augustin Birrell--one of the very finest writers of our time--succeed in
catching the Speaker's eye. My misgivings were entirely unnecessary.
With perfect ease and self-possession--at the same time with the modesty
of real genuine ability--Mr. Birrell made one of the happiest and best
speeches of the debate. Now and then, the epigram was perhaps a little
too polished--the wit perhaps a trifle too subtle for the House of
Commons. But careful preparation always involves this; and every man
must prepare until he is able to think more clearly on his legs than
sitting down. It was just the kind of speech which was wanted at a
moment when the general air is rent with the rhodomontade and tomfoolery
of Ulster. Applying to these wild harangues the destructively quiet wit
of _obiter dicta_, Mr. Birrell made the Orangemen look very foolish and
utterly ridiculous. Mr, Gladstone was one of Mr. Birrell's most
attentive and cordial hearers. Mr. Birrell is going to do great things
in the House of Commons.
[Sidenote: In penal servitude.]
The keen, playful, and penetrating wit of Mr. Birrell did not do
anything for Mr.
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