als, though nothing could be more abhorrent to the
Tory imagination than the proposal by Sir Charles Dilke of an early
evacuation of Egypt. Perhaps their indignation was a little mitigated by
the fact which Sir Charles Dilke brought out with such clearness, that
Lord Salisbury was just as deeply committed to the eventual evacuation
of Egypt as any other public man.

[Sidenote: An awkward situation.]

It was curious to watch the House of Commons during this debate. There
is no doubt that a very awkward situation was before that assembly. On
the one hand, there were the interests of the country--as they are
understood by the Tory party; on the other, there was a very difficult
party situation--a situation difficult enough to tempt even the most
patriotic, self-denying, and impartial Tory to gaze on the Liberal
leaders opposite with a certain amount of mischievous curiosity. How was
Mr. Gladstone going to make a speech which would fulfil those extremely
diverse purposes? First, leave the door open for a continued stay for
some time longer, and at the same moment for final evacuation; secondly,
please Sir Wm. Harcourt on the one side, and Lord Rosebery on the other;
thirdly, keep together a party which ranges from the strong foreign
policy of moderate men to the ultra-nonintervention of Mr. Labouchere.
Mr. Gladstone had, however, to do a good deal more than this. For it was
easy to see from the condition of the Tory seats, and especially from
the attitude of the front Opposition Bench, that party instinct had
suggested that this was just one of the occasions on which the
Government might be put in a very tight place. Let Mr. Gladstone say
something which would satisfy Mr. Labouchere, and immediately Mr.
Goschen would be down upon him--the late Chancellor of the Exchequer had
the air of a man who was thoroughly primed for damaging criticism and
ardent attack--with a philippic charging him with abandoning the most
sacred interests of the country. Indeed, it was quite evident that Mr.
Gladstone had to face a very ugly little question, and that his
political foes had come down in full force to enjoy the spectacle of a
Christian flung to the lions.

[Sidenote: A historic triumph.]

I cannot tell you how it was done--I have read the speech in the
_Times_ report--and I know that some people brought away from the speech
no other impression than that it was delivered in a low tone of voice,
and was not easily grasped; but the fa