The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-11-24
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.
It's Impressive Air OF Good breeding and
Strict Etiquette.

It's Impressive Air OF Good breeding and
Strict Etiquette. HH
The first impression one gets of the cham
Der OF the house OF commons Is that It Is GO
very small. 1t does not surprise you to
find the house Of peers hall of somewhat
limited proportion. That seems to be In
keeping with the exclusiveness of It's men,
bers. But the house of commons sounds so
momentous, and such great things have
been carried out there, that one rather
looks for something grand and imposing
and impressive. And when you take your
place In the gallery and lean over the rail-
ing to look down upon the high hats Of the
members you feel that you are rather In a
private chapel than In a legislative hall,
and that by reaching out your hand you
could almost touch the speaker In his high
chair, which always wickedly suggested .
Punch and Judy show to me, and the top
of which. | was grieved 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
W. AN'S AStSAy uuu WIN WuOu 3
Essence of Parliament" and the illus.
trated papers have made us familiar. Il
was interesting to think you were hearing
before any one else the speeches or the ar
guments that were to be read the next
morning In America and India. Going to
the house day after day was like process
sion OF first nights given with star cast.
l caught myself commenting with some
surprise on how like the men were to their
pictures, and that there really was a lat
ticed grating, and that the shadowy, NOV
ing figures behind 1t, like the ghostly jury
In THE Bells, were real women and young
girls, guarded from view like slaves in a
harem, and that there were a mace and a
gangway and master of arms with a
sword, just as Harry Furniss draws him,
and reporters gallery, where Warrington
and Charles Dickens once sat; and that Mr..
Balfour did wear CATERS, and Mr.. Glad
stone high peaked collars; and that the
Irish members were as obnoxious as had
been led to believe they would be, and that
the lord chancellor of the upper house
looked just as be did In "Iolanthe."
1t was like seeing one of Shakespeare's
plays on the stage for the first time after
one had studied 1t only from the book.
What impressed me most about the house
was the air OF good breeding which pre-
vailed there and the strictness Of the ETH
quette-the fact that the members might
not read newspaper within its limits, and
the courtesy with which they bowed aud
gave to each other the full title. 1t seemed
so coy and comfortable-legislatio made
easy, as 1t were-the colors were SO har-
monious, and the coats of arms SO numer-
GUS, and the ubiquitous policemen in the
lobbies and halls outside SO obsequious,
that members life. one thought, must be
happy one
And they have such amusing privileges
outside the house. Their hansoms may,
for instance, go through any block at Wa
terloo bridge, no matter how heavy the
traffic may be, and If they are cabinet min
listers they can 20 through block any
where. If were n cabinet minister, would
take hanson by the hour and spend my
time riding around to find blocks that |
might be let through, and 30 make other
people envious. And inside the house they
are allowed to ask their friends to dinner,
and to wear their hats all the time and ev-
erywhere, even or specialization some of
the Liberals are silly enough to make
point of it-when the Prince Of Wales takes
his seat over the clock. Richard Harding
Davis in Harper's Magazine.