This was superficial and false criticism.

It is quite true that the old resonance of the voice is not there, and it is true that now and then he shows signs of physical fatigue, and that recently after his cold there were some days when his voice was little better than a very distinct, but also a very pathetic, whisper.

But there is another side.

Age has mellowed his style, so that now he can speak on even the most contentious subject with a gentleness and a freedom from anything like venom--with an elevation of tone--that make it almost impossible for even his bitterest opponent to listen to him without delight and, for the moment at least, with a certain degree of assent.

If anybody really wishes to find out what constitutes the highest and most effective form of House of Commons' eloquence, he should spend his days in listening to Mr.Gladstone in the most recent style he has adopted in the House of Commons.