NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE event of the week has been Lord Beaconsfield's serious illness from "bronchitic asthma,"—a complication of asthma with bronchitis. It has produced a profound sensation. 'On Friday, there was slight, but clear, improvement, though the doctors speak uneasily of the indications of general weak- mess. If it be true that Lord Beaconsfield on Thursday cor- rected for " Hansard" the proof of his last speech in the House 'of Lords, he could not on that day have been so weak as to inspire any very profound alarm. Still, at his age,—seventy- five, at least,—every illness of this serious nature must neces- sarily be alarming, and Dr. Quain and Dr. Kidd are quite right in not allowing their bulletins to be too sanguine. The public interest is the more profound, because a life like Lord Beacons- -field's is unique in our history,—one without precedent, and without prospect of successor deserving of the name.
