He at once seized the opportunity of saying he was not finally committed to the ninth clause in its present shape, and so we once more breathed freely.
[Sidenote: Joe comes back from dinner.] This was the end of the important part of the debate before the dinner hour.

It is one of the peculiarities of Mr.Chamberlain that no stress of a Parliamentary situation induces him to seriously interfere with his habits.

When the clock points to ten minutes to eight any evening of the week, he may be seen to rise from his place with the inevitableness of fate, and to disappear for a couple of hours.

I have seen him do this even when the fortune of a most important amendment seemed to lie trembling in the balance--the one occasion on which I have known him to break through that rigid rule was when his son was about to make that maiden speech which started that promising young fellow on his Parliamentary career.

Coming back like a giant refreshed about ten o'clock, Mr.Chamberlain contrived to once more set aflame the embers of dying passion; and he threw himself into the fight over Lord Wolmer's amendment at the moment when all life seemed to have gone out of it.