Dr. O. W. Holmes on Mr. Gladstone.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume IX, Issue 1656, 22 June 1887, Page 3

Dr. O. W. Holmes on Mr. Gladstone.

♦ la the April number of the Atlantic Monthly, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes gives Borne further extracts from the diary of his visit to London last year. Among the more interesting are two or three referring to Mr. Gladstone. Dr. Holmes met him one night at a reception of Lady Kosehery'Bt — "Hete Mr. Gladstone was of course the centre of a group, to which , I was glad to add myself. His features are almost as familiar to me as my own, for a photograph of him in my library has long stood on my revolving bookcase, with a large lens before it. He is one of the email circle in whom I have had and still have a special personal interest. The year 1809, which introduced me to atmospheric existence, was the birth year of Gladstone, Tennyson, Lord Hough ton, and Darwin. It seems like an honor to have come into the world in such company, but it is more likely to promote humility than vanity in a common mortal to find himself coeval with such illustrious personages. Persons of the same year watch each other, especially|as the sands of life begin to run low. aB we can imagine so many damaged hour-glasses to keep an eye on each other. Familiar to me as were the features of Mr. Gladstone, I looked upon him with astonishment, for he stood before me with epanlettes on his shoulders and a rapier at his side, as military in aspect as if be had been Lord Wolseiey, to whom I was introduced a short time afterwards." Later on in the season Dr. Holmes heard Mr. Gladstone in the House. It was on the 7th of June, the night of the Home Rule division. Dr. Holmes describes the occasion as follows : — "Presently Mr. Gladstone rose to bis feet. A great burst of applause welcomed him, lasting more than a minute. His clean-cut features, his furrowed cheeks, his scanty and whitened hair, his well-shaped but not extraordinary bead, all familiarised by innumerable portraits, and emphasised in hundreds of caricatures, revealed him al once to every spectator. His great speech has been universally read, and I need only speak of the way in which it was delivered. His manner was forcible rather than impassioaed or eloquent ; his voice was clear enough, but must have troubled him somewhat, for he had a small bottie, from which he poured something into a glass from time to time and swallowed a little, yet I heard him very well for the most part. In the last portion of bis speech he became animated and inspiriting, and his closing words were uttered with an impressive solemnity : • Think, I beseech you, think well, think wisely, think not for a moment, but for the years that are to come, before you reject this Bill.' . . I forgot to mention that I had a very advantageous seat among the diplomatic gentlemen, and was felicitating myself on occupying one of the best positions in the House, when an usher politely informed me that the Russian Ambassador, in whose place I was sitting, bad arrived, and that I must submit to the fate ot eviction. Fortunately there were some steps close by, on one ol which I found a seat almost as good a& the one I had just left." In its notice « of, the Exhibition the Wanganni .Chronicle reports that " Mr, C. Johnson, of Hawera, shows a violin and' viblincello made by himself, showing much skill in workmanship. The body oi the * yiolmcello is of, kauri, the back ol rimu, the sides of tawa, and the neck oi rate. The violin is also, made of New Zealand woods. i