aul's Cathedral he lies in effigy, and engraven upon the
cenotaph can be seen the most splendid epitaph in the world.

His true greatness has been recorded by Sir William Butler in
resounding and glorious English; and his last great act of stainless
nobility has received a deathless tribute.

Your loving old,
G.P.

32

MY DEAR ANTONY,

I have now come down, at last, to a great writer of English prose who is
still with us.

Lord Morley at the present day is, I think, universally recognised as the
greatest living man of letters in the British Empire; he has crowned a
long record of distinguished literary achievement with his _Life of
Gladstone_, which has taken its place among the noblest biographies of
the world, where it is destined to remain into the far future acclaimed
as a masterpiece. In his description of the veteran statesman launching
in the House of Commons his great project of Home Rule for Ireland, he
has surprised himself out of his own reserve, and painted the scene for
succeeding generations in colours that can never die:--

"No such scene has ever been beheld in the House of Commons.
Members came down at break of day to secure their places; before
noon every seat was marked, and crowded benches were even arrayed
on the floor of the House from the Mace to the Bar. Princes,
ambassadors, great peers, high prelates, thronged the lobbies. The
fame of the orator, the boldness of his exploit, curiosity as to
the plan, poignant anxiety as to the party result, wonder whether
a wizard had at last actually arisen with a spell for casting out
the baleful spirits that had for so many ages made Ireland our
torment and our dishonour--all these things brought together such
an assemblage as no minister before had ever addressed within
those world-renowned walls.

"The Parliament was new. Many of its members had fought a hard
battle for their seats, and trusted they were safe in the haven
for half a dozen good years to come. Those who were moved by
professional ambition, those whose object was social advancement,
those who thought only of upright public service, the keen party
of men, the men who aspire to office, the men with a past and the
men who looked for a future, all alike found themselves adrift on
dark and troubled waters. The secrets of the Bill had been well
kept. To-day the disquieted host were first to learn wh