News of the death of Sir William Harcourt came with painful suddenness, He had already practically passed out political life. He had announced his resignation xt the end of this, Parliament; jand of late his attendances had not been very regular. Eloquent tributes to his memory were paid by both Mr. Balfour and Mr. Chamberlain in their recent speeches, Mr. chamberlain, who was on terms of great intimacy with Sir William when they were colleagues, speaking with much emotion. The Liberals, of course, are profoundly moved, even those who for the moans by which the great _parl from attaining the summit of his legitimate ambition—the premiership. However, they can consul themselves with the reflection that if Sir William Harcourt had stepped into Mr. Gladstone's shoos—to which his services to the Liberal party certainly entitled him—he would probably have missed the crowning achievement of his career, the death duties, for which succeeding Conservative Chancellors of the Exchequer owe him a deep debt of gratitude. Sir William gratified a life-long wish in spending his last day at Nuncham Courtenay, the home of hi ancestors for seven hundred yours. His son Lewis, better known by his pot name of "Lulu," who succeeds to the family estates recently inherited by his father, entered Parliament quite lately, it may be remembered, as Member for Rossendale. He has, however, long been known asa successful Liberal organiser, and it is not improbable that ho may have a prominent place among the Government whips in the next Parliament.
Palmistry.
Sir Alfred Harmsworth and the "Daily Mail" have—chieved a success in their prosecution of the West End palmists. Sir Alfred clared in the witness-box that only object in promoting the prosections was to test whether the law under which poor gypsies suffer should not also apply to " fashionable" fortunetellers who, under the guise of palmists or clairvoyants or what-not, extract guineas and half-guineas from the wollto-do. On the other hand it was contended that the prosecution was undertaken simply in the interests of sensational journalism; and one fact was elicited that not only do advertisements from charlatans of the description of the accused palmists appear in Sir Alfred' papers, but actually some of these pape employ people to read character from the hands or the handwriting of their readers. Sir Alfred could, however, fairly draw a distinction between character-reading and fortune-telling. Both may be equally void of truth, but they are not equally unlawful nor even equally reprehensible.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.