_House of Commons, Monday, May 12._--"If a shutter be closed in the daytime," said OLD MORALITY, a little abruptly, as we walked down to House to-day, "the stream of light piercing through the crevice seems to be in constant agitation. Why is this?" Hadn't slightest idea. Suggested Right Hon. Gentleman had better give notice of question. [Illustration: "Can't a-bear verbosity."] "I can tell you why," he proceeded, with unwonted perturbation. "Because little motes and particles of dust, thrown into agitation by the convective currents of the air, are made visible by the strong beam of light thrown into the room through the crevice of the shutter. That's just the way with us, dear TOBY; _a_ is the hatred of Government by the Opposition, the strong desire to take our places; _b_ is the convective currents of air which agitate the political atmosphere; _c_ is the Compensation Bill, the strong beam of light which, thrown into House through crevice opened by JOKIM, makes the whole thing clear. Don't know whether _I_ am; but if you reflect on the situation, you'll find there is much in what I say. We were going along moderately well. Irish Land Bill, of course, a rock ahead; everyone takes that into account. Suddenly JOKIM, spoiling for a fight, goes and invents this Compensation Bill, quietly hands it over to RITCHIE to work through, and all the greasy compound is in the devouring element. Seems a pity we could not leave the tolerably satisfactory undisturbed. Now we're in for it. Meetings out-of-doors; opposition in-doors; prospect of getting on with ordinary work of Session receding into distance." Good deal of truth in what OLD MORALITY says. House crowded to-night; full of seething excitement. RITCHIE moved Second Reading of Compensation Bill; CAINE moved Amendment, eliminating principle of compensation. Capital speech; would have been better if it had been half an hour shorter. Between them, RITCHIE and CAINE occupied nearly three hours of sitting, leaving five hours for the remaining 668 Members. "This is not debate," protested SHAW-LEFEVRE, sternly! "it is preaching; why cannot a man be concise? Concision, if I may coin a word, is the soul of argument. My old friend DIZZY used to say to me, 'SHAW, what I admire about LEFEVRE is his terseness. If you want a man to say in twenty minutes everything that, from his point of view, is to be spoken on a given subject, SHAW-LEFEVRE is the man.' That was, perhaps, a too flattering view to take; but there's something in it, and it makes me, perhaps naturally, impatient of a man who wanders round his subject for an hour and a half." _Business done._--Debate on Compensation opened. _Tuesday._--"Heard something about good man struggling with adversity," said Member for Sark, looking at RATHBONE. "Nothing to goody goody man struggling with manuscript of his speech."