Wednesday, May 20, 2009

19Jun1866, The Fate of the Bill

LONDON, June 19th, 1866.
—Government beaten last night by 11 ; and I have really felt unhappy all day at the fate of the poor Bill which is like a child dying of the chickenpox after it has got through measles, scarlet-fever, and whooping-cough. The Queen unluckily at Balmoral, so nothing was done to-day but an adjournment till Monday ; and nobody knows if a resignation or a dissolution will be the upshot. The defeat is caused by horrid Adullamites.

Little George [FN: George Talbot, now Mr. Justice Talbot.] 5 to-day ; I gave him a carpenter's box. I went to Lord's to see the Oxford and Cambridge match which we lost by 14 after a good fight ; a grim day, altogether ! We dined en famille at D. House where there was afterwards a big drum. It was got up partly as a proper civility for the Secretary of War [FN: Lord Hartington had just entered the Cabinet as Secretary at War.]; and under the circumstances felt rather like inviting people to see Cinderella after 12 had struck !

No comments: