and the eminent men who were prepared to support it, he sustained the Ministry in their effort to reconstruct the Indian Councils, and suggested that the Amendment should with all haste be put into the fire.  Whilst SCHWANN appropriated an hour of the Sitting, and SEYMOUR-KEAY exceeded that time, twenty-five minutes served Mr. G. for a speech delivered without note, apparently without preparation, and which left nothing more to be said.

“Upon my word, Sir,” I said, a little out of breath trying to keep pace with him running up the Duke of YORK’S steps going home to dinner, “you grow younger every year, and, if I may say so, mellower.”

“You certainly may say so, TOBY, if you like,” he smilingly replied, “but the calendar says otherwise.”

“What,” I asked—­

  “What has the calendar to do
    With Mr. G.?  What Time’s fruitless tooth
  With gay immortals such as you,
    Whose years but emphasise your youth?”

“Ah, I know that—­with a slight difference.  LOWELL wrote it to WENDEL HOLMES on his seventy-fifth birthday.  I knew HOLMES too; he used to crow over me because he was just four months older, and yet, as he said, whilst I pleaded age as a reason why I could not visit the United States, he crossed the Atlantic at seventy-seven.  Perhaps when I’ve got this Home-Rule question off my hands, I may find time to go to the United States.”

“Yes,” I said, “you’ll be another year younger then, and more at leisure.”

Business done.—­Indian Council Bill read Second Time.

[Illustration:  R. Cuninghame Graham.]

Tuesday.—­Some sensation created at Morning Sitting by discovery of CUNINGHAME GRAHAM addressing House from Conservative Benches.  There was a well-known Member of the Parliament of 1874 who hit upon new device for, as he reckoned, doubling his chance of catching SPEAKER’S eye.  Noted that SPEAKER called alternately upon Members from either side.  If debate were opened from Opposition Benches, SPEAKER would next turn to other side of House, and call on Ministerialist.  Happy thought occurred to our old friend.  After rising several times from his seat below Gangway on Opposition Benches, and been passed over by SPEAKER in favour of another, he, whilst Member was speaking, crossed floor of House, and, when speech concluded, jumped up from other side.  Being again ignored by the startled SPEAKER, went back to own place again to try his chances there.  Don’t remember that the manoeuvre was a success.  Certainly not been generally adopted.

GRAHAM seems now to have recurred to it; or can it be the case that he, too, has joined “the Gentlemen of England”?  House so agitated by this problem, that it quite loses thread of debate; a thrilling discussion, to which FERGUSSON contributed a luminous speech, upon the Telephone.

WILFRID LAWSON much interested in new development of affairs.