* * * * It was with some uneasiness, therefore,
that the House of Commons dispersed for its Whitsun holiday. Herr Hitler has a predilection for the feasts of the Church, and when we said good-bye to each other we added the ardent hope that our reunion next week would not be either anticipated or marred by some affirmation of the Axis. Thus uneasiness was in no sense diminished by the reports of the speech delivered by Count Grandi at the Italian Embassy. Count Grandi is liked and trusted in this country, and even the severest critics of Italian policy must pay a tribute to his admirable conduct of the Embassy during the Abyssinian crisis. That indeed was a situation demanding something more than mere diplomatic skill ; Count Grandi surmounted it with perfect dignity ; while remaining a loyal advocate of his leader he was able to convince his English friends that he was working for an amicable solution of the controversy. That such a man should indulge in an outburst as intem- perate as any article by Virginio Gayda filled our Italophils with dismay.
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