The sun., 1881-01-23

Lord Palmerston, It is true, seemed now and
then TO continue the tradition Of jocose and
pointed observations. Lord WGstbury, too. had
q remarkable gift Of razor-iko irony. Lord
Beaconsfleld makes frequent use OF tcrso and
FURNISHED sentences. which are thought. how
ever. to have somewhat pinchbeck glitter
and Lord Shcrbrooke unquestonably Is on
adept In the coinage OF cnusto epithets and
winged words. Mr.. Gladstone. on the other
hand. whose power over an audience Is not
cqualled by any OF his contemporaries. and
whose ,dexterity In debate is undoniabe. is.
nevertheless not phrasemonger. aud his con-
tribution TO the stock OF current quotations ia
relatively small. On tho whole II may be said
that the epigram has ceased TO flourish In
the House OF Commons We may note. never
theless. some flashes OF the ancient fre. Tell
ing, for example. was the retort mado by Lord
John Russell. when Burdett. after turning from
Radical to Tory. thought proper to sneer at the
cant OF patriotism. I" quite agree" said Lord
John, with the Honorable Baronet that the
cant Of patriotism Is a bad thing. But can tell
him worse-the e-cant OF patriotism-which
will gladly go along with him In reprobat-
ing whenever he shows me an ex-
ample OF It." Worth citing, too, Is the
illustration by which Palmorston enforced his
argument that city sewage should bo utilized
for fertilization. Now. gentlemen" said he.
Il have heard q definition OF dirt. have
heard 1t said that dirt was nothing but good
thing in wrong place. The dirt Of our towns
precisely corresponds with that definition. It
ought to be upon our fields. Thus the country
would purify the towns. and tho towns fertilizs
the country" Often quoted Is the phrase used
by Sir e. d. Lytton. when opposing the Reform
bill introduced in 1860. and pointing out the ir-
revocable nature OF the step proposed. De-
mocracy" he said. lis like the grave-it never
gives back what It receives" Perhaps tho apt
est illustration ever employed by Disraoli was
his criticism on the tactics OF Sir Robert Peol:
The right honorable gentleman caught the
Wings bathing and walked away with their
Clothes" We need not say that the metaphor
precisely describes Disraeli's own strategy in
passing the second Reform bill; a measure
which his own colleague. Lord Derby. termed
" q leap In the dark" but to which he was rec
onciled by the reflection that re have dished
the Wings"
tart simie OF Oobdsn's. and some happy
thoughts OF Bright's. may be noted before we
take leave OF Mr. Jennings's voluminous- and
admirable compilation. Golden was referring
we are told. to former associate. who had ex-
perienced q sudden change OF political conyic-
tons and entered the Cabinet. Tho speaker
illustrated the abrupt and grotesdue conversion
OF his friend by story OF an Irishman who
went over to the West Indies. and before land
ing hoard some OF the blacks speaking toleraby
bad English. whereupon. mistakng them for
his own countrymen. he exclaimed. What
black and curly alreadyW Il have often
noticed" continued Cobden. how colors
change and features become de'ormod under
the influence Of the Treasury atmosphere. but
never have / seen a change In which there has
been q deem n black and IN atin curl Not
loss happy was the illustration by which John
Bright characterized the situation OF the great
middle class In 1866. 1t reminded him. he said.
OF the language addressed to ono OF his sons
by the Hebrew patriarch: " Issachar is a strong
ass crouchin9 down between two burdens"
Great merriment, too. was excited by BriRhts
comparison OF the Derby Disraeli Ministry that
passed the second Reform bill. to the Christy
Minstrels. These minstres." said Bright
are. am told. when they are clean washed.
whito men, but they come before the audience
as black the ace OF spades, by which trans
formation 1t is expected their Jokes will seem
more amusing. Now. conversely. the Derby
minstres pretend to be liberal and white: but
tho fact Is. II you come nearer and examine
them closely. you will find them Just as black
and curly as the Tories have been. do not
know" Bright added with twinkle In his eye.
which OF them 1t is that plays the banjo. and
which the bones." Referring. on another occa-
sion. to tho inadeauacy OF Disraeli's measures
purporting to deal with Irish questions. he said
they reminded him OF a mountebank mentioned
by Addison. who set up a stall In rural dis
trict and offered to sell the country people pills
that were proof againstthe earthquake. Bright's
scriptural illustrations are often marked by n
singular beauty as we'll as pertnence. Refer
ring to his own reluctance to accept office. he
said that he had always been charmed by the
story OF the Shunammite woman contained In
single verse OF the Old Testament. In return
for her hospitality. the prophet wished to make
her some amends. and said Shall speak for
thee to the King or to the Captain OF tho host 2"
Bright went on to say that it had always ap-
peared to him great answer that tho Shunam-
mite woman returned. She said: II dwell
among mine own people," NJ W.H.