The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1894-01-06
LONDON IN THE SEASON.

Impressions Received from a First View of
the House OF Commons.
The first impression one gets of the
chamber of the house Of is
that it is so very small. 1t does not
surprise you to find the house of peers
a hall of somewhat limited proportion.
That seems to be in keeping with the
exclusiveness of it's members. But the
house of IN sounds so
tous, and such great things have been
carried out there hat one rather looks
for something grand and imposing and
impressive. And when you take your
place in the gallery, and lean over the
railing to look down upon the high
hats of h mem bers, you feel that
you are rather in n private chapel than
in a Legislative hall. and that by reach
ing u your hand you could almost
touch the speaker i'm his high chair.
which always wickedly suggested a
Punch-and-Judy show TO me, and the
top of which, i was grieved to note, was
not busted. ! found it very hard at
first to grasp the fact that the gentle
men 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 interesting to think
you were hearing before anyone else
the speeches OF the argument that
were to be read the next morn
ing in America and India. Going
to the house day after day was
like a procession of first nights"
given within star cast. caugfn nv
self commenting with some surprise on
how like the men were to their pic
lures, and that there really was n lat
ticed grating, and hat the ~shadowy.
moving figures behind it. 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
a master-of-arms with a SWORD. jnSt NJ
Harry Furniss drs%;s him, and n re
porters' galleryw where Warrington an,
Charles Dickens once sat; and that Mr.
baifour ga wear CATERS and Mr.. Gla'
h-ptthcu colldTS- anu InD'NhN
Irish gnembers were as obnoxious as
had been led to believe they would be
~ that the lord chancellor in the
Upper ho,nse looked just as he did in
lolanthe' pit was like seeing one OF
ShaSespeatEe plays eh the stage for the
first time aS~ one had studied it only
from the book. What impressed M
moss-&bout the house was the air oi
good-breeding which prevailed there
and the strictness of the etiquette-tht
fact that the members might not read
a newspaper within its limits, and tn,
courtesy with which they bowed and
gave to each other the full title. II
seemed so cozy and comforta ble-legis
lation made easy, as it were-the color,
were so harmonious and the coats O
arms SO numerous, and the ubiquitous
policemen'in the Hobbies and halls out
side 10 'obsequious, hat II mem
ber's life. one thought, must be ;
happy one. And they have sucl
amusing privileges outside the house
Their hansoms may, for instance
go through any block at Water
loo bridge, no matter how heavy
the traffic may be, and if they are cab
met ministers they n go through,
block anywhere. If l were 1917
minister ! would take n haff
the hour, and spend my moneJ
around to, find blocks that
let through, and SO make othet
envious. And inside the house the
are allowed to ask their friends to din
ner, AMI to wear their hats all the tim,
and everywhere, even, OIL especially
for some of the liberals are silly enough
to make u point of it-when the prime
of Wales takes his seat over The clock
Richard Harding Davis, in Harper
Magazine.