The Van Buren press., 1895-09-07

that she would far rather hAarAt frssh
from the ladies' gallery.
The great debate came on. The sec
ond reading 81 the bill was moved in .
speech Of unexamplsd power and
pathcs by the leader Of the honse, at
least SO said the government organs,
while the opposition papers rather
thought that II gave evidence Of fall
ing powers, long suspected. The de-
bate languished on the second day, as
debates have habit of doing, was
deadly dull on the third, and rose again
on the fourth. Cheeseman came down
to the house early SO as 70 secure seat
we'll within the range Of the speakers
eye, and thus unconsciously made an
enemy for life in the person Of prom
inent member, who looked upon that
seat as his natural right, and who as
an exile at the bar Indignantly re-
garded his dispossessor. 1t must be set
on record, for this is true story, that
Cheeseman, during that memorable
evening. had more than one brandy and
soda at the lobby bar, which the re-
forming hand had not then swept into
outer darkness. He burned to get that
speech off his tongue. it was SO deadly
oppressive. Once, when the house WAS
almost empty and the speaker, as is his
custom, looked at the ministerial
benches for somebody to follow MEM
ber who had just spoken on the other
side, cheeseman had the greatest diff
ficulty in keeping his seat But he re-
fiected in time that Lady Helen's bright
eyes would not look down upon him
from the grille until ten o'clock, SO he
stlhed his feelings and glued himself
to his seat.
At half-past nine the second string
Of the opposition-according to the
programme arranged by the whips,
got on his legs to riddle the bill.
He spoke for an hour and
quarter amid the cheers. OF his
supporters who had dined; while
the ministerialists, who had also
dined went to sleep until their time
should come to cheer. Cheeseman,
who it mpst be remembered was re-
markably green, and had not communi-
Gated his desperate resolve to single
man of his party. was on the point of
rising then; he had taken some notes
of the speech just delivered, with some
answers that suggested themselves
even to him, when a roar from the
newly-awakened legislators around
him, who felt that their time for vocal
exercise had come and who meant to
make the most of it, announced that
the second string on his own side in-
tended to answer the speech himself
Cheeseman went sick at heart. There
was an hour and quarter left; would
his right honorable friend, as he might
call him if he got an opportunity, fill
that space and shut him out? If he did
well, at all events, he would have
decent excuse to give Lady Helen for
not speaking. If he did not-Cheese-
man went out and had another brandy
and soda and came back and listened
with feverish interest to the speech.
Probably no man followed it 30 closely
/ as he, or understood less of it. This
minister had weakness for perora-
tions, one did not satisfy him. The
first was fred off soon after eleven,
and Cheeseman clutched his notes and
prepared himself for the dreadful or
deal Of catching the speakers eye.
After the fourth peroration he ceased
to regard them with any interest, and
when the right honorable gentleman
sat down quite suddenly, having ex-
hausted his notes, without any final
peroration at all, Cheeseman came
within an ace of missing his opportun-
ity, for the speaker had already risen
to put the question before he struggled
to his feet ss
The mechanical cheering that fol-
lowed the conclusion of the minister's
speech from one side of the house
changed to angry cries of divide
from both, Here Cheeseman's mother
pluck, and perhaps the brandies and
sodas, came to his aid, and he stood
his ground. Lady Helen was looking
down from the grille. I daresay she
felt little pity, perhaps little ad'
miration for him then, il she never had
before. 1t was, of course, utterly pre-
posterous. Here was the whole weary
debate finished, according to all rule
and reason, and there was chance oi
taking the division comfortably before
midnight, when man whom nobody
knew and nobody wanted to hear &C
tually proposed to make speech. The
cries OF ''Divide' redoubled, and still
Cheeseman stood, offering up prayer
that they might 60 on till midnight
Then, quite suddenly, a whisper went
round that this was new member
who wanted to make a maiden speech
) and there was a sudden, almost ludi
crous, hush. Nearly every member
you see, has made maiden speech II
his time, and the memory of it never
fades from him. This breeds sympathy
The silence came SO suddenly thai
Cheeseman, who had been trying his
voice at intervals by murmuring ''Mr
Speaker" and had come by nice grada
tions near to shouting 1t, without be
ing in the least heard, found his last
attempt returning in an echo from tht
roof when the noise ceased. He viii
never speak of that time now, not ever
to his most intimate friends, though he
always expresses strong xcpinior
upon the impossibilitys Of halt being
turned white suddenly through a men
tai shock-his own locks are perfectly
black yet The Times had In its re-
port next day: Mr. Cheeseman, in 9
maiden speech, said that, speaking in
the name Of the vast majority Of hi
constituents, he could tell the house
that the bill which the government
were seeking to carry into law would
fulfill their, dearest aspirations" Z
i don't know whether he said that
Cheeseman doesn't know. On the