The Tories had kept very quiet; had conducted themselves on the whole very well.

Once or twice came a high sniff of disgust, and now and then a younger member could not restrain himself from an exclamation.

But, altogether, the Opposition was under the same spell as the rest of the House, and listened patiently to the end.
[Sidenote: Mr.Sexton.] I may pass over all that occurred on that Monday evening, with the single exception of the very remarkable speech of Mr.Sexton.It was well known that Mr.Sexton had taken a prominent part in laying before Mr.Gladstone and his colleagues the views of the Irish party as to what would constitute a satisfactory Bill to the Irish people; and Mr.Sexton was authorised by his colleagues to state their views to the House.

This he did slowly, deliberately, without the least attempt at oratory, but in language extraordinarily lucid, delicately shaded, touching on points with exquisite art.

And what he said came to this; that the Bill was a good Bill; that in his opinion it could be accepted by the Irish people as a satisfactory settlement of their demands; but that in two points it needed careful watching, and perhaps considerable amendment: the financial settlement and the future of the Land Question.
[Sidenote: Mr.Balfour.] The Leader of the Opposition had not, so far, shone in his new position, and people were not slow in coming to the conclusion that he required the stimulus and the strength of a solid majority behind him to bring out his peculiar talents.