The Irish standard., 1895-06-29
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4 ], LllBou c I! ri Il
Hill Believes Ii Pei sonaI .Jonr asldl
Pays Tribute q Amer sss
really could tell you nothing part leu
liar shout myself, 6 vas The brief message
the busy member from nottingham ed ,fes
Tor of London Truth fl and iitteratetlt
Henry abouchere, sent Ii ansyer 10 my
inquiry, says an American ia 9 letter to
Ithe Cl nc..nnati Inquirer. Onsmy appoints
Iment, for ID busy London rything
must be done by appointment. The old
lpalace yard is within the precincts Of
t'vestninste lei, y might SAY. inside the par.
nament Buildings, with but step Tor
Eng Hands enfant terrible to cross over. y
am told he Is first to arrive and the last to
leave the house. N st. Stephens ancient
Quarter every house. bears the stamp Of
| age, and Mr.. Labouchere's palace y q typ
ical example Of that class. ,f4 u Il & ss.
| The "knocker'' admits into larger oc-
tagon foyer, under q cupola Of vari-cOl-
ored glass The most conspicuous orna-
! ment IN this large, bleak, chilly, stone
| fioored hall Is a wooden chest. old enough
to have been King Lear's steamers trunk,
and an iron box as black as the gates OF
| the tower. In another minute "a was
ushered at ouce into the presence of the
famous parliamentarian, wit and lobbyist.
whose keen-edged words have frequently
caused heated discussion and many a
heart ache in the sacred circles Of May
/ fair. Il NJ. s. 38S
/ II It is 9 truly old-fashioned parlor In
(which we are sitting, with asliigh ceiling,
low windows and glass doors An uncom-
monty large fireplace, more fit to be on 4
I Texan ranch, emits a volun.e Of heat into
this spacious room, which, on account Of
Hrepairk going on In other parts Of the
house, serves the thtee-iold purpose, pro
tenn, oil parler, reception room and library.
The moaeEn. Juvenal rec]ines negligently
in g big arm chair, and rests his feet on
| the iron fender.
I Mr. Iaboucfere Is perfectly self-pos-
sessed-some gall it blase, but / prefer the
! former expression. His large head Sits
well on the stocky frame and from under
| thick eyebrows the rather small but pierre
| ing luminaries look positively, always
steadfastly and in moments of animation
snap sayagely If the face is a study
| there is nothing attractive in the cheap
smoking Jacket over a pair Of bilious col
! cred trousers and shiny boots OF no partic-
| ular cut or style.
| Mr. I1abouchere loves to display his
| forehead. 1t Is board and full and parti-
cnlarly copious over the eyes. Nor is
there much poetry In his expression. He
| is no idealist. a.
| Neither melancholy nor. yacillation has
| found Rdm!ttance into those hard lines
about the mouth. The eyelids are baggy
! from late hours, and possibly from much
| anxiety, but indomitable courage is trac-
| cable in the distended ,nostrils. Those
| hard cheeks and the grimiy compr essed
Hips are not given to frivolous merriment.
His IS a cold laugh--t!nged with satire,
which rever berates his speech. Mr.. La
bouchere, as have said, Is perfectly self
possessed He prefers to employ every
moment Of life's tickle stay to some practi-
cal purpose, and his occupations are many.
1 Notwithstanding our animated converse
ton. he went on cutting the pages Of q
new book sent him for review; how soon
he'll cut the author the next number OF
| Truth may tell.
| Occasionally he looks up with an am,
| biguous smile, seldom with confidence.
| ttDo. believe in interviews? Certainly
not and he Emphasizes the negative
| with an unmistakable Cockney accent.
i why did you come to see me? You
Imight have written anything and saved
yourself the bother. A good journalist
has no need Of the principal; it's wasted
time. Write anything pertinent to the
| subject; shape 1t so AS to suit your read
ers; who cares? And If the interviewed
party were to say a lot Of things the Jour-
nalist would only repeat that which suits
| his purpose. Therefore. think it ad-
lvisable to write the interview in the edit
orial-rooms.'
But, Mr.. Labourchere," interrupted,
surely this cannot be your serious opin-
| ion; neither would you practice 1t your
| SELF
.ss..We,l, no, but then we edit Truth
that, and nothing but the TRUTH and MIR.
I Labouchere permitted one of those alb
breviated smiles to illumine his cynical
face. @ss
| s'The fact is,'' he continued, Eve must
not always practice what we preach" he
went on. Consistency is too stale, In a
sense. The modern world requires acid.
spice, and all the piquant sauces of scan
daland fiction.
my opinion on the house Of lords? It
| 49, usiess 10 repeat, and ne pulled him.
|}self up In the rocker. II am irrevocably
epposed to 1t, We do not want an un-
necessary evil, and the days of legisla-
|tors by divine right are past
You have a tolerably good system of
government, but deficient in practice. I
| dare say your improvements have kept
apace,. else your eagle would hardly
scream so loud. f@ n
Z, ""But /. will let you invent the rest OF
this interview" and he lit another cheap
cigarette, OF which he appears particular
/ ly!fond.
4 Asstine went on, however, Mr.. Labou-
chere became trife more loQuacfous.
! ooh, yes! recollect that interview at
Lake Como two years ago. was rusti-
1 eating in, Tuscany; SO was .Hurlbert. /
did the smoking and Hurtbert wrote the
interview. DO reco1lect the contents?
| Certainly not, nor do the publishers
with pull at his pointed beard)
"1Iurlbert Is a good fellow, but that
interview will hardly survive his fame. . )
! To my question how he managed to
Iedit such an interesting paper and par
iticipate in almost every question In par
Iliament, he replied: Mental discipline
land physical training Is the secret OF my
| success. eliminate all useless questions
and grasp the opportunity by. the fore-
I VL ~ .