LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2194, 31 July 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL.

Scarcely above the middle height, of slight build, and apparently delicate constitution, Lord Randolph Churchill has smooth, dark brown hair, parted down the middle, and thin at the crown. The head is small, the eye large, the nose short, and thp cheek-bones somewhat high. His loidship's moustache is, however, the most conspicuous object of his peisonnl appearance. It is tho large blonde moustache of a Zouave of politics. Once, by mistake, Mr Jacob Bright alluded to the noble lord as " the member for Woodcock," and the House laughed consumedly And once a newspaper scribe hit upon a happier title : The Bantam of Debate. From four o'clock in tho afternoon, all through dreary question time, he sits impatiently in his place, gently agitating his left knee, nursed above his right, and affectionately carressiug the moustache. Dexter and sinister hands go up alternately to the silky darling of his lips. Fresh with rest, or haggard and pale with late hours, Lord Randolph never ceases to fondle the moustache. It lends an added joy to the unfrequent hour of victory, or while Lord Hartington, sixteen years his senior, attempts, but fails, to wither him, with an assumption of patriarchal superiority. Undoubtedly this old, young man prefers politics to wlnt is called pleasure, yet does not ignore the claims of society in the world ot words. He is one of the very few members of Parliament who dress for dinner. So the flowers and songsters of the virgin forest, unseen, unheard of man, are made pleasant to look on ; and what nature docs for bud and blossom, the barber and. the tailor do tor the lively leader of the Fourth Party. Lord Randolph's clothes are, however, but the husk of him, the outside part first seen. The kernel within seems sound, and, if carefully preserved, may hereafter become illustrious. His industry is marvellous, his readiness of resource worthy of all pi aise ; and though he speak 3 frequently, he is on the whole worth listening to. He is not eloquent with the eloquence of Mr Gladstone or Mr Bright. Hd has, indeed, a slight lisp, an imperfection of vocal delivery which spoils his pronunciation of some of the consonants, particularly of the letter S. If, however, he never rises to lofty heights of declamation, he seldom sinks below the safe level of cotnrnouplace. His occasional observation are neatly turned, and his set speeches cleverly constructed. He is scarcely ever at a loss for an idea, never for a word. Reverence — what is called veneration — cannot, however, be described as his strong poiut. Supposed to be subordinate to Sir Stafford Northcote, when it suits him to do so, he defies his chief; and the approved leaders of the Liberal Party Jfret under his stinging and unsparing invective. Though not always brilliant, his sallies are often cutting. His daring knows no bounds. Mr Gladstone once called across the floor that he had utterly smashed, pulverised, and demolished him. That was a mistake. The Prjme Minister might as well have attempted to annihilate a Jack-in- the- Box by shutting the lid, — From " Scenes in the Commons," by David Anderson.