He worked up the agony, so to speak. First he recalled to the
Liberals--whose hatred to him he feels and returns with interest--the
fact that they had cheered Mr. Dillon's allusion to the effect
Mitchelstown had had on him in provoking the violence of his speech. And
then when he had created his situation, he pounced down on the House
with the climax--the speech had been delivered in 1886, the Mitchelstown
tragedy had taken place in the following year. It would be idle to deny
that Mr. Chamberlain had then one of the most triumphant moments of his
life. It was a small point, after all, and, as everybody soon knew, it
was all the result of a natural and a perfectly honest mistake. But the
House of Commons is not particular in weighing things in judicial scales
at moments of intense political passion. There rose from the Tory and
the Unionist Benches one of the longest, fiercest, most triumphant
shouts that was ever heard in the House of Commons. But then, as I again
must say, and as will soon be seen, the passion was overdone, and a
swift retribution came by-and-bye. For the moment, however, it was
giddily, dazzlingly triumphant, and Joe had one of the few moments of
his life which were unrelieved by disaster.
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