Lord Beaconsfield Attacks the Government--The Irish Crisis--The Coercion Bills--An All-night Sitting--The Arrest of Mr. Davitt--The Revolt of the Irish Members--The Speaker’s _Coup d’État_--Urgency--New Rules of Procedure--The Speaker’s _Clôture_--End of the Struggle against Coercion--Mr. Dillon’s Irish Campaign--Mr. Forster’s First Batch of “Suspects”--The Peers Censure the Ministry--Mr. Gladstone’s “Retort Courteous”--Abolition of the “Cat”--The Budget--Paying off the National Debt--The Irish Land Bill--The Three “F’s”--Resignation of the Duke of Argyll--The Strategic Blunder of the Tories--The Fallacy of Dual Ownership--Conflict between the Lords and Commons--Surrender of the Peers--Passing the Land Bill--Revolt of the Transvaal--The Rout of Majuba Hill--Death of Sir George Colley--The Boers Triumphant--Concession of Autonomy to the Boers--Lord Beaconsfield’s Death--His Career and Character--A “Walking Funeral” at Hughenden--The Queen and Lord Beaconsfield’s Tomb--A Sorrowing Nation--Assassination of the Czar--The Queen and the Duchess of Edinburgh--Character of the Czar Emancipator--Precautions for the Safety of the Queen--Visit of the King and Queen of Sweden to Windsor--Prince Leopold becomes Duke of Albany--Deaths of Dean Stanley and Mr. Carlyle--Review of Scottish Volunteers--Assassination of President Garfield--The Royal Family--The Highlands--Holiday Pastimes--The Parnellites and the Irish Land Act--Arrest of Mr. Parnell--No-Rent Manifesto 610
The Duke of Albany’s Marriage Announced--Mr. Bradlaugh Again--Procedure Reform--The Closure at Last--The Peers Co-operate with the Parnellites--Their Attacks on the Land Act--Mr. Forster’s Policy of “Thorough”--A Nation under Arrest--Increase in Outrages--Sir J. D. Hay and Mr. W. H. Smith bid for the Parnellite Vote--A Political Dutch Auction--The Radicals Outbid the Tories--Release of Mr. Parnell and the Suspects--The Kilmainham Treaty--Victory of Mr. Chamberlain--Resignation of Mr. Forster and Lord Cowper--The Tragedy in the Phœnix Park--Ireland Under Lord Spencer--Firm and Resolute Government--Coercion Revived--The Arrears Bill--The Budget--England in Egypt--How Ismail Pasha “Kissed the Carpet”--Spoiling the Egyptians--Mr. Goschen’s Scheme for Collecting the Debt--The Dual Control--The Ascendency of France--“Egypt for the Egyptians”--The Rule of Arabi--Riots in Alexandria--The Egyptian War--Murder of Professor Palmer--British Occupation of Egypt--The Queen’s Monument to Lord Beaconsfield--Attempt to Assassinate Her Majesty--The Queen’s Visit to Mentone--Marriage of the Duke of Albany 630