A Story of Parnell.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 15, 10 April 1902, Page 15

A Story of Parnell.

Mr Hbnnikee HeatoN, in 'The Leisure Hour,' tells the following characteristic story of Parnell, showing the latter's power of detachment: He came into the House one afternoon, when the fiercest excitement prevailed regarding the publication by ' The Times of the forged letters. He, in a short speech, denied the authorship of the letters, and then walked into the lobby and engaged me in earnest conversation. Everybody thought he was telling me of the awful political event then stirring men's minds This is what he said to me: 'I have just read in the afternoon paper that a mountain of gold has been discovered in Western Australia, and that some tons of the specimens have been sent home to you. I replied that it was true, and that I had in my locker in the House some of the crushed specimens. We proceeded to get them and I gave him about a wineglassful of the < crushing.' He took it away with him, and, to the bewilderment of his party, no one saw him for a week, and very few indeed knew his address. 'On that day week, Mr Heaton proceeds, ' almost at the same hour, he again appeared m the lobby. Walking up to me he said, smilingly, « l have analysed the specimens, and they go 320z of gold to the ton." I said he was wrong. He then took from his pocket a scrap of paper and read : « 270z of gold and soz of silver." I replied that this was indeed remarkable, for it exactly coincided with the analysis of Messrs Johnston, Matthey and Co., the famous metallurgists Par nell then showed me the small pin's point of gold he had obtained " I expressed surprise at his work. He said : " The fact is, I take an interest in the matter. I have a small workshop to test the minerals in the mountains of Wicklow, some portion of which I own " The astonishing thing is that while his hundreds of thousands of adherents were fulminating against ' The Times,' he was quietly working away testing minerals in hia laboratory.'