He rolled out the case of Austria, which had been preserved from ruin by Home Rule; and when there was a sniff from the Tory benches, Mr.Gladstone, in tones of thunder, referred to the speech of Lord Salisbury in 1885, when he was angling for the Irish vote, and when he pointed to Austria as perhaps supplying some indication of the method of settling the Irish question.

This was good old party warfare; the Liberals cheered in delight, and the old warrior glowed with all his old fire.

There was a softer and more subdued tone when the Prime Minister referred to Foreign Affairs, speaking of these things with the slowness and the gravity which such ticklish subjects demand.

But again Mr.Gladstone was in all the full blast of oratorical vehemence when he took up the attack that had been made on the Irish policy of Mr.Morley.Now and then prompted by that gentleman, and with an occasional word from Mr.Asquith, the Old Man gave figure after figure to show that Ireland has vastly improved since coercion had been dropped as a policy.

Altogether it was a splendid fighting speech, and dissipated in a few moments all prophecies of gloom and forebodings of dark disaster which have been prevalent for so many weeks with regard to the health of the old leader.