St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-04-09

Gladstone to hide herself behind a screen.
The venerable lady was the most interested
of all the spectators there. She met the
Prince of Wales. whose royal blood could
not secure for her the privilege of sitting
beside her husband in the house any
more than the prime minister's wife's
claim could gain for her the boon
of witnessing well the noblest effort of her
great husbands career. With the Princess
OF Wales were Prince Henry of Battenburg,
Princess Beatrice, Duchess of st. Adams,
the Countess of ROSberry and Spencer and
host of other ladies of noble blood. 1t
was 4:35 O'Clock when the speaker called
upon Gladstone to take the floor. Gladstone
rose and was met with the most prolonged
outburst OF cheering ever heard
IN the house of commons.
He was evidently deeply impressed
by the reception. When he finally was
permitted TO speak his first words were in
audible to the reporters. His voice. it was
feared. was not equal 10 the great task be-
fore the orator, but it was that Gladstone
was in state of amaZement. caused no
doubt by the unexpected character of his
welcome. This, however quickly disap-
peared, and when he had spoken few SEN
tences. he 'found his voice" Until then
the serious and settled melancholy charac-
teristic of the mans appearance, his age,
and his undOubted physical weakness
tended to give very much exaggerated
idea of the
HoARsENEss OF HIS VOICE,
and the hearers sympathies being with the
venerable orator, his voice grated on their
ears, but as soon as Gladstone Steadied
himself to his task his voice grew even,
clear, strong and eventually penetrating,
ringing, sonorous and captivating. Listen
ing to him without seeing or knowing him
in the middle of his speech a stranger
would easily suppose his voice was the
voice of sound, impasSioned man
in the full vigor of the prime
of life. Even the natural stiffness of old
age-Gladstone is 76-gradually gave way
to tieXiblene SIS in movement, animation in
manner, energy and fire of utterance that
ale amazing in themselves, but which do not
strike the auditor as anything but mat
tiers OF course. so gradually and i'm
perceptibly do the fires of the grand old
mans elequence light him up. During the
progress of his statement of the features of
his bill there was little or no demonstration
of friendship or hostility from either part
of the house. This part of his Grafton was
admirably cold, precise, methodical and in
structive. Occasionally, however, the Par
nelliteS gave vigorous cheer when a senti-
ment was expressed which they could re-
echo now and then. Likewise half-audible
SIGNS OF DISSENT
came from the Conservative benches. But
for the most part his arguments were heard
in silence. BY persons who heard Gladstone
on former great occasions, comparing his
speech tonight with his other great
speeches, it is generally admitted that in
lucidity Of statement and argumentative
power, his speech tonight was quite the
equal of any of his finest previous orations.
The partial failure of his voice, however.
renders comparison of to-nghts effort with
previous speeches satisfactory from pure
ly rhetorical point of view. After Glad
stones speech the house rapidly thinned
out, and for the next two hours the con-
trast was striking. During Trevellyan's
speech the house gradually filled
up again. Trevellyan's speech was received
by all sides in silence, broken only
by an occasional outburst of derisive cheers
by the Parnellites. Parnell, on the other
hand, was listened TO with rapt attention,
and his speech left upon the auditors the
impression that he was ready to accept the
leading proposals of Gladstone's bill. The
Parnellites warmly applauded him when
he referred to Gladstone as the one English
statesman living who was lending his voice
in favor of poor, helpless Ireland.