Lord Rosebery began his speech with the very effective question,
" Well, what do you think of it all ? " and went on to tell with mercilessness, coolness, and exactitude the astonishing story of how Mr. Chamberlain sent his fire-ship among the stately vessels that make up our Empire of the ocean. Very effective was his description of how the public watched outside the door of the September Cabinet. " We waited anxiously outside, and at last, as we expected, the door opened and out came the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary for India ; but there was a third with them, though they knew it not. Invisible to them, as in some old ballad I have read, there went the pale shadow of the Colonial Secretary. Then there was a pause, and the door opened again
and out came the Secretary for Scotland Then there was another pause. A meeting at Sheffield had the benefit of —what shall I say ?—something in the nature of a wet squib. Then the door opened again, and there came out with slow, reluctant, but dignified steps, followed by a piercing shriek of anguish from within, the majestic form of the Duke of Devonshire."
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