at length
fading.

Nothing to be gained by the inspection. If the cause of the Union
really was at stake, the springs of motive were hidden behind the
smiling countenance of the Machiavellian WOLMER. The only thing to
do, and it is quite foreign to the habits of OLD MORALITY, was to
meet guile with guile. WOLMER's question, plain enough as it appeared
in print on the prosaic Orders, was, "Will Her Majesty's Ministers
consider the advisability of appointing a Royal Commission to examine
and report how far the evil of Fog is one that may be mitigated by
legislation?"

"Sir," said OLD MORALITY, rising to the occasion, "I have to assure my
Noble Friend that Her Majesty's Government are, in common with other
inhabitants of the Metropolis, extremely sensible of the serious
injury, disturbance, and hardship inflicted by the increasing
prevalence of fog. What, it may be asked, is the cause of the London
fog? These fogs, which occur generally in the winter time, are
occasioned thus: some current of air, being suddenly cooled, descends
into the warm streets, forcing back the smoke in a mass towards the
earth. But, my Noble Friend might ask, why are there not fogs every
night? I will tell him, for this is a matter in which Her Majesty's
Government have nothing to hide, or, I may add, to conceal. Our wish
is to meet the convenience of Hon. Gentlemen in whatever part of the
House they sit. Fogs--this I have no hesitation in stating--do not
supervene without intermission on successive nights, because the air
will always hold in solution a certain quantity of vapour which varies
according to its temperature, and when the air is not saturated,
it may be cooled without parting with its vapour. Yes, I know.
My Right Hon. Friend, the Member for West Birmingham, with his
usual acumen--which I am sure we all recognise--asks me, In what
circumstances do fogs occur at night? I am much obliged to him for
reminding me of the point. Fogs happen at night, when the air has
been saturated with vapour during the day. When this is the case, it
deposits some of its superabundant moisture in the form known in rural
districts--as my Hon. Friend, the Member for the Bordesley Division,
is well aware--as dew. In the Metropolis it is more familiar as fog.
This process of deposition commences as soon as the capacity of the
air for holding vapour is lessened by the coldness of advancing night.
I think I have now answered the question of my Noble Friend ful