Small acts of thoughtfulness can make deep impressions. At the
close of each of the lecture courses for well-known Germans at Wilton Park the Government gives an informal but very agreeable reception at the house where Mr. Bevin used to reside in Carlton Gardens. One of these was held on Tuesday of this week, when, to the undisguised pleasure of the guests, Mr. Eden, immersed though he was in his new duties, appeared and stayed chatting with individual German visitors for some twenty minuter; neither of his predecessors had done as much, and appreciation was very warmly expressed. It is hardly fair, by the way, to blame' Mr. Churchill for ever thinking of making .Mr. Eden responsible for the leadership of the House as well as for the Foreign Office, for the Foreign Secretary has a peculiar genius for keeping even a controversial atmosphere harmonious. With a narrow majority to rely on, the handling of the House is a matter of vital importance, and no one else, not even Mr. Crookshank, could do it quite as well. But there will be general satisfaction that the Foreign Secretary is to be able after all to concentrate on the Foreign -Office.
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