He married in May 1870, in the middle of the
session at a very critical political period. He most unselfishly
consented to forego his honeymoon, or to postpone it, and there
were rumours that on the very evening of his wedding-day, his
sense of duty had been so strong that he had appeared in the House
of Commons to "tell" in an important Division. When Disraeli was
asked if this were true, he shook his head, and said, "I hardly
think so. Hart-Dyke was married that day. Hart-Dyke is a
gentleman; he would never kiss AND 'tell.'" As a pendant to this,
there was another Sir William, a baronet whose name I will
suppress. With execrable taste, he was fond of boasting by name of
his amatory successes. He was always known as "William Tell."
In 1886 the long hours in the House of Commons hung very heavily
on our hands, once the always voluminous daily correspondence of
an M.P. had been disposed of. My youngest brother and I, both then
well under thirty, used to hire tricycles from the dining-room
attendants, and have races up and down the long river terrace,
much to the interest of passers-by on Westminster Bridge.
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