They had heard of the liquor he had drunk, of the woman he had kissed at the cross-roads, of the man he had fought, of his discipline and sentence.

His clean, shapely figure, and the soft austerity of the neat grey suit he wore, his broad-brimmed hat pushed a little back, showing well a square white forehead--all conspired to send a wave of feeling through the audience, which presently broke into cheering.
Beginning with the usual formality, he said: "I am obliged to differ from nearly every sentiment expressed by the Earl of Eglington, the member for Levizes, who has just taken his seat." There was an instant's pause, the audience cheered, and cries of delight came from all parts of the house.

"All good counsel has its sting," he continued, "but the good counsel of him who has just spoken is a sting in a wound deeper than the skin.

The noble Earl has bidden us to be consistent and reasonable.

I have risen here to speak for that to which mere consistency and reason may do cruel violence.