It is a
tradition that has its weak side; but, on the whole, it is in accordance
with that great national English characteristic of subordination to
necessary authority and the maintenance of order, decency, and
self-control as the trinity of public virtues and personal demeanour. If
Mr. Peel had been in the chair he would have called those Tories to
order; and if they had persisted as they did, he would have promptly
named the highest among them. Mr. Chamberlain was not ashamed to join in
those hoarse and disorderly shouts; and it was in this temper that the
different sides walked slowly, silently, and frowningly to the division
lobbies.
The moment the division was over, the storm which had been stilled broke
forth again, and with wilder fury. Lord Randolph Churchill, as I have
several times remarked, is not the man he was. I remember the time when
in such a scene he would have been perfectly at home; self-restrained,
vigilant, and effective. But on this night it was nothing above mere
inarticulateness--hoarse and ineffective fury--an almost painful
exhibition. Sometimes his lisp became so strong that he was scarcely
able to utter the words he desired to bring out.
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