In short, it was a day when one felt one's own poor tenement of clay a misery, a nuisance, and a burden; and the mind, morose, black, and despondent, had distracting visions of distant mirages by the seashore or under green trees.

It was natural, under such circumstances, that everybody who could should desert the House of Commons.

And this sudden desertion of the House will be always remembered as one of the many peculiarities of the Annus Mirabilis through which we are passing.

It has not been unusual for some years for members to take a turn on the Terrace now and then.

I have paced its floor at every hour of the night and the day--from the still midnight to the delightful moments before breaking day; and I still remember the beautiful summery morning when, after a hard night's fight, an Irish member rushed down to the Terrace to tell Mr.Sexton and myself that we were just being suspended--an operation not yet grown customary.