The morning call., 1893-06-04
SHOWS HIS AGE.
Mr.. Gladstone Is an Old
Man Now.
HIS FOES STILL FEAR HIM.
And They Shrink and Cover in the
Stormiest Moments When He
Rises to Speak.
lis FOES STILL FEAR HIM.
Special to The MORNING CALL.

NEW YORK. June 3-Harold Frederic
cables to the Times from London: The
Resembling this week after the holidays
of the Commons leaves an extremely grim
impression of Gladstone. For the first
time he seems to acknowledge his age and
TO bow before the impending shears.
An old man, always courtesy itself. he
seems to have taken on the TRANSPORTATION
garment He is as subtle and dexterous as
OF yore, but he is etherealiZed and depre-
catory. rising with warning finger like an
ancient Sibyl to rebuke his unruly oppc-
nents. who shrink before his apparition as
from ghost and grow silent when he
rises in the stormest moments of the
House, and with his weird aspect cows the
bitterest of his enemies. But it is purely
personal feeling, and stays no movement
of the general obstruction.
Conversely to the saying spread OF old
that the beloved apostle will not die rumor
whispers amO ng the Gladstonian disciples
that. the old man is going, and an awe
struck hush falls upon the turbulent as
sembly whenever ne arises.
His enemies treat him as ii eachi speech
might be his last, and deferentially listen
10 the voice that fails now and then, but
is eked out with gracious gesture.
Nobody dreams of complainiD that he
cannot hear while tile strangers in the
gallery look on, appalled, at the dumb show.
and reporters compare notes TO collate
each syllable.
There is murmuring that Gladstone's
speeches get harder and harder to take.
With extraordinary tenacity he refuses TO
allow Morley. Harcourt or any one else
to steer the bill and remains till night,
fighting. fencing and rapiering as If In his
prime.
Thursday he remained after all his COL
leagues to put through some trivial statute
law and revision bill, blocked by the
Tories, just to enable cheap revised vol
ume of the statutes to be published.
his Irish sympsthies daily find more
marked expression, and he turns con-
tinuously toward the appiauding Irish
quarter as if mutual PREPARATIONS were
being exchanged.
The story goes that he fears be will not
last to witness the third reading. and re-
CARDS as a sacred charge the duty OF
plotting the bill as far as he can during
his lifetime.
Meanwhile every effort of his genius is
smothered by the stupidity of Chairman
Mellor, who is now spoken of openly as
curse. Mellor tolerates bogus speeches
and amendments amid Gladstone's visible
with ings.
The Irish are openly revolving against
the Speakers incapacty, but he refuses
closure and allows twaddle ad infinitum.
Gladstone's antique courtliness is averse
TO adopting guillotine methods. knowing,
moreover, that it would afford a pretext
to the peers for rejecting the bill, perhaps
after his own personal momentum is stilled
forever In Westminster.
He talks and thinks of nothing except
carrying the bill. wishing chiefly to be
remembered in connection with it. Re-
turning home in the small hours Wednes-
day morning after a specially wearying
night. he remarked, 81 can never go
through hot night in july"
His sayings are now beng treasured up
by his followers as if his hour were come.
One of them quoted to me is touching
enough in remonstrance against faction
ism: 81 hope the Irish will unite after my
DEATH"
These prsmonitions, however, contrast
strangely at times with the supernatural
energy and vim of the old man who blazes
like furnace whenever the Oraugemen
offer an insult to their copntrymen, and
springs at them 1.-the as panther.
The Liberals. however. are balanced and
perplexed. Between considerations affect
ing their leaders age, the chairman's
bungling and the Unonist ferocity, they
stand msditstive and anxious at the close
of the week. hoping soon for some issue
out Of the parliamentary morass.