FROM COUNCILS OF EMPIRE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1222, 2 September 1911, Page 10

FROM COUNCILS OF EMPIRE.

[By Jenny' Wren.]

ALSO A- MATTER OVERLOOKED.

It was a wry lovely sluing morning, and Mrs. Moriarty, feeling,somewhat the worse for' a night—tlio greater part of which had been spent trying to soothe a' teething baby-sat herself in a sunny corner of the verandah, and prepared to give jieiv-elf up to an. idle half hour or so, no matter what it ywr five minutes of it, or fho wliolo lialfhour itself, should not tell, but, just as she was on the point of sailing olf 011 a white-winged yacht over a 6ca of Iho deepest sapphire to a land of sunshine" anil beauty and wealth, slip felt something cold touch her forehead, and woko with a great shock to find Mrs. O'Rafferty's dog poking his nose into her face, and Mrs. O'Kaft'erty herself siaudiug in front 1 of her. Bosom friend though she was, Mrs. Moriarty rather 'wished that Mrs. O'Rafforty had como some other tinio but, being Irish, and, therefore, naturally courteous, she showed nothing 'of her feelings, and prepared herself to talk. "Have yo been to tlio House yet, Bridget?" inquired Mrs. O'Kafferty. "Xo. 1 tried to get in tk' oilier nvenin'. but faith, yc might as well have Ulrica to get into' Heaven as there," was Mrs. Moriarty's answer. " "lis mighty nsloiiisliiii' the interest peoplo arc displavin' in polyticks now." "\"c'ro right, but whether it's polyticks, or whether it's for tli' chance of a fight or two, yo liiver can tell. Ask (hem afterwards what was goin' 011 an' they're mighty hasy about it all, 601110 of them. Anywiiy, I was thero tliu other day—tlio day ov the l'riineer's first appearance at'ther coniin' back to New Zealand." "Were yo now? An' how was he lookin' ?" eagerly inquired 'Mrs. Moriarty. "Och, he was lookin foine an' handsome, but, somehow, I did not fancy 110 was feel in', in a good timper exactly." "Can ye wondher at. it?" energetically responded Mrs. Moriarty. "Think ov it! Afther attondin' the weighty and fitcful deliberations ov the greatest Timmre til' worrulrt has ivir seen, aftliir sitlin' an' discussin' with great statesmen the destinies ov gran' an' glorious rounthiics, suck as New Zealand, an' lww ti.ov can bo all jined together into one nappy family, can ye womlher ihat :io feels it mighty uninspirin' to conic back to tlio same old Parliamentary Building, Iho eaino old benches, tlio same old faces, the I samu old squabbles, nil' tlio snmo o!u talk of roads an' bridges, an' raihvijs, nil' short-dated loans, an' all the rest ov the same old tals. It's safe, an' familiar, an' all that, but it's all small a" dull, an' no glory about it." "Yes! But thin, ye forget! lies got reminiscences that will last him for a lifetime. Already Sir Joliu Gcorgo has beon telling an electrified, enlkusnnstio, panting audience all about the g-r-reat men lie lias mot at Home, an so c over an' si intuitive is ho Ihat, although 110 was there onlv for a short time, ho was able to know what all (lie great heart of Bncland thought of Lloyd George, of Mr. •Wltiitk ov Iho tendlier liealrt or John, jjnius, an' all th' rest ov 'em. He knew their characters down to the parting nv the las' hair ov their heads. Faith, he's a clever man, that same Sir John iGoorgo, an' a. bravo one, too." "Sliuro, ye'ro right about that same. I've been liearir.' other people say thut wann thing, too," agreed Mrs. Moriarty. "But what happened in l'arlymiut Iho dav vo was there?" "Oil, well! The Primeer, for 0110 thing, talked av. all the worruk ho did wlioilo he was away, an' all the worruk that his sect'ries did, too, an' ye eojild see it was not all roses an' liolidny-makin', cvin if they were. banqueting an' goin' to parties, an suchlike" "Yes, but thin he had the sect'ri'ea, don't yo forgit that. Fliwat av the Ladcr nv tlio Opposition who lias to do all Ilia worruk himself with 110 wann t' help him. Why shouldn't he, too, have a seel-cry. lie's doin' the worruk ov the counthry just as much as the Primecr. Pliwat is thin but by discussin' and criticising all tlio tings av the House that they get looked at all round, from every point ov view, an' (onless it's made a party mattlier), the counthry benefits. An' doesn't all this mean big worruk for (ho Opposition Leader, an' doesn't lie need a secl'cry for all this to be at his elbow, just aa much as the other. An' isn't it right that. 110 should have it? Sliure, it. doesn t seem to me to be anything like fair play, an' how people with a sinso ov fair play can allow it I don't know. The Government should pay for a wet'ery lor tlio Lader for the Opposition just as much as It does for the Primeer, or the Ameer if wanst it comes to that. That's my opinion, aniivw'iy," concluded Mrs. 0 Ralferty, with'heat. , <r •V click of the gate next door made Mrs. Moriartv look over tlio fence in a great iiurry. ' It was the unfortunate Denis, home for the midday meal. With agasp Mrs. Moriartv iled, moaning as she went. I ",.\n' 1 haven't even got the pitatk'S on!' ' Hounds of pots and pans being moved with haste' reached the cars of Mrs. O'HaO.'erlv, and, later, the odour of hurried cooVing, while ail iiijured-lcoliing man sat upon Iho end of the verandah heavilv inveighing about the never-ending tongues ot women in general, uud 0110 in particular. I'oor Dcnisi