On Monday in the House of Ccimmons Mr. Asquith announced
that certain communications had pasged between him and Mr. Balfour which he hoped might lead at an early date to a meeting between them. Mr. Asquith also remarked that " the newspapers know so much better than 'we do our- selves all that we are doing, saying, writing, thinking, and feeling, that it is very difficult to keep pace day by day with their illuminating revelations." We cannot help being reminded of the immortal scene in "Nicholas Nickleby." Our readers will remember how Nicholas reads out the newspaper paragraph :— " 'Philo Dramaticus, Crammles, the country manager and actor, cannot be more than forty-three, or forte-four years of age. Crummles is NOT a Prussian, having been bOrn at Chelsea.' Humph, said Nicholas, 'that's. an odd paragraph.'—"Very,' returned CrUmmles,. scratching the aide of his_ nose, and looking at Nicholai with an Assumption of great unconcern. can't think who put these thing,s iii. -I- didn't?' Still keeping his eye on Nicholas, Mr. Crummles shook his head twice or thrice with profound gravity, and remarking that he could not for the life of him imagine how the newspapers found out the things they did, folded up the extracts, and put them in his pocket again."
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