Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-10-27
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.

The first impression one gets of the
chamber of the House of Commons Is
that it Is so very small. 1t does not
surprise you to find the House of Peers
hail of somewhat limited proportion.
That seems to be in keeping with Il eX-
clusiveness of its members. But the
House of Commons sounds so momeu-
tous. and such great things have been
carried out there, that one rather looks
for something grand and imposing and
impressive. Aud when you take your
place IN the gallery, and lean over the
railing to look down upon the high hats
of the members, you feel that you are
rather in private chapel than in IA
your hand you could almost touch the
speaker in his high chair, which always
wckedly suggested Punch-and-Judy
show to me. and the top of which. was
! grieyed to note. was not busted. |
found it very hard at first to grasp the
fact that the gentlemen sitting on the
benches or walking In and out. and
making little bows to the speaker
whenever they did so, whether he was
/ looking at them or not. were the real
men themselves of whom we have read,
and with whom Punch's Essence of
| Parliament" and the illustrated papers
have made us familiar. 1t was interest
! ing to think you were hearing before any
one else the speeches or the arguments
that were to be read the next morning
! in America and India. Going to the
House day after day was like pro-
cession of first nights" given with IA
/ star cast. | caught myself commenting
with some surprise on how like the men
were to their pictures, and that there
really was "A latticed grating, aud that
the shadowy, moving figures behind it,
like the ghostly jury in "rhe Bells,
were real women and young girls.
guarded from view like slaves in a
harem; and that there were a mace and a
gaugwav and a master-of-arms with Il
sword. just as Harry Furniss draws HIM
and reporters gallery. where Warning
ton and Charles Dickens once sat; and
that Mr.. Balfour did wear CATERS, and
Mr.. Gladstone high-peeked collars; anC
that the Irish members were as obnOX
ious as | had been led to believe they
would be; and that the lord-chancelol
in the Upper House looked just as he die
IN, T,,ln hn If la n
Shakespeare's plays on the stage for tn,
first time after one had studied it only
from the book. What impressed M
most about the House was the air o
good-breeding which prevailed there
AID the strictness of the etiquette-th'
fact that the members might not read 1
newspaper within Its limits, and thu
courtesy with which they bowed anC
gave to each other the full title. |
seemed so coy and comfortable-legis
lation made easy, as it were-the color
were so harmonious and the coats o
arms so numerous, and the ubiqutou
policemen in the lobbies and halls out
side so obsequious, that members life
one thought, must be happy one. Ant
they have such amusing privileges out
side the House. Their hansoms may
for instance, 90 through any block a
Waterloo Bridge, no matter how heav.
the traffic may be, and if they are cabine
ministers they can go through a blocl
anywhere. If were a cabinet minste
would take hanson by the hour, an,
spend my time riding around to fin,
blocks that might be let through, an,
so make other people envious. And in
side the House they are allowed to AS
their friends to dinner, and to wear thei
j hats all the time and everywhere, even
or especially-for some of the Liberal
are silly enough to make a point of it
when the Prince of Wales takes his sea
over the Clock From "London in tn
Season" by Richard Harding Davis il
Harper's Magazine for November.