At one time he was an appreciative student of the American humorists, and he was very fond of spicing his remarks with apt and amusing quotations from Hosea Biglow, Mark Twain, Artemus Ward, and other comic classics.  Indeed, at one time, no speech of his would have been complete without some little sallies of this kind.  Now, however, he rarely indulges in such pleasantries.  Mr. Chamberlain’s speeches in the House of Commons though never dull are never funny.  He soon learned his lesson.  He very quickly discovered that members of the House may not object to be amused, and are often, it must be admitted, easily moved to mirth.  At the same time the members of that assembly do not place a high value upon the words of funny or would-be funny speakers.

Unless he has changed very much, Mr. Chamberlain has a very keen sense and appreciation of humour.  Probably he would like sometimes to indulge himself and amuse the House by firing off some humorous hits and quotations, but he knows the importance of suppressing such instincts and tendencies if he is to be taken seriously and regarded as a statesman.  Blue books and Biglow, Bills and Sam Slick, do not make the sort of political punch that an influential leader can afford to ladle out at St. Stephen’s.  At the same time, if he cared to indulge his own ready wit, or to make use of the amusing extracts he has stored away in his memory, he could doubtless make some lively and diverting speeches.

I remember when Mr. Chamberlain was Mayor of Birmingham, the late Mr. George Dawson at a little dinner proposed his health, and in doing so indulged in some characteristic banter and chaff.  Mr. Chamberlain, then as now, was not a man of Aldermanic girth, and Mr. Dawson in the course of his humorous remarks took occasion to allude to his slight and slender proportions, and said he wished there was more of the Mayor to look at, and that he should like to see him “go to scale better.”

When he rose to reply Mr. Chamberlain, in a quiet, dry manner, and without a smile on his face, remarked, “Mr. Dawson has been good enough to refer to me as a Mayor without a Corporation.”  This was so neat and smart that I need hardly say the company laughed most amusedly.  Probably, if I had kept a notebook, or were now to search well my memory, I might give other instances of Mr. Chamberlain’s smart, ready wit.

Now, however, as most people know, his speeches are remarkable for their point, force, logical reasoning, incisive language, and straight, hard hitting, but, as I have observed, he rarely if ever essays to be funny.  By his sharp remarks and his adept turns of speech he often, however, creates much laughter—­as, for instance, when he once spoke of an ex-Premier’s opportunism and readiness to make promises which, when they ought to be fulfilled, “snap went the Gladstone bag”—­but he never degenerates into anything approaching buffoonery.