The Van Buren press., 1895-09-07
HIS MAIDEN SPEECH.
DY =. WHELAN.BOYLe.


uYE WHELAN.BOYL1.
Everybody agreed that II was rather
hard ON cheeseman. He was no gen
In, nobody knew that better than he,
but he was good-natured fellow for
whom all men had kind word; hence
their sympsthy. This was the position
Of Affairs, and stnts 1t In The blAnd
with which Cheeseman de-
scribed his troubles to all his friends,
Tor he was . man much given TO conf
He was engaged to Lady
Helen Oldacres; was, indeed, her slave,
and she gave him ample opportunity
Of appreciating the fact The engage
ment was one Of those which society,
in general, applauds, and the British
matron. in particularly regards with 9
admiration. In other words,
Lady Helen brought to the bargain an
ancient name, and the reputation
which. surrounds the belle OF two sea-
sons, while Cheeseman contributed
thirty thousand pounds year. scraped
together by his father, a successful
money-lender, who had recently gone
to his reward, and pedigree which
wise people did not inquire into.
Lady Helen, there Is no denying it,
was very beautiful. II she had not heav-
on in her eye, she at any rate had grace
In her steps and dignity of the most
ducal description in every gesture. 1t
va these qualities which had subdued
Cheeaeman, who himself did not pos
ssss them in any profusion. She had
bsen going 70 marry msrqnis, at the
vsry least, IN her first season, there
uDt, very awkwardly, being At the
time single duke wanting ? wife
hat the inarquises were shy. and the
rest Of the peerage-matrimonially In
clIned--was unanimous in neglecting
Lady Holen.s II was the same the next
SEASON, positively not q single member
of the house Of lords-except one old
gentleman Of seventy, who lived ON .
pension and who was generally &C
counted mad made an offer, and the
dowarers heard, not without certain
malicious delight, that she had conde-
soended TO accept Chcesemani after q
tjfief courtship at . country house in
the autumn. Perhaps the old earl OF
T6wness could have given very good
reason for this projected union, penuri-
oos peers and rich plebeian sons-inslaw
b5ing occasionally met with outside
the realms of fiction. -
But. this, Of course, was not the
rSason why men said it was hard on
Oheeseman. Most declared, when
they heard Of the engagement, that he
was . '.doosid lucky .fellow"-in
which sentiment Cheeseman cordially
concurred, and the rest, who had their
own opinions as to the advantages Of
being Lady Helen's husband, con-
cratulated him in that kind OF way
which makes congratulation trifie
inpre CALLING than . curse. It was
only when the conditions Of the
marriage leaked out that commiaera.
tion become common. Lady Helen had
told him, and he made no secret OF the
fact, that she could never we'd an un'
distinguished man, and that before hi
led her to the altar he must do some
thing. One would have imagined that
thirty Thousand pounds sterling year
was distinction enough Tor anybody,
but then Lady Helen was peculiar. Al
ho was not member of the upper
house, though she was determined, he
should be some day, he must enter the
lower as a ste p towards It. She would
rnarry him the day after he made his
mark in the house of commons.
To man who had never made u
speech in his life, and knew rather less
sbout politics than lady csnvasser,
the task Of getting himself returned 70
the legislature Of this great country
'by the people, to say nothing Of max.
ing figure when he got there. might
well appear hopeless. A philosopher
has remarked somewhere that there
are few things money will not buy. A
seat in parliament. even in these
democratic days, is not one of them,
and Cheeseman was shrewd enough to
perceive that money must be his open
sesame to Westminster.
BY one of those happy chances with
which fortune favors the brave, there
was at that time a certain member OF
pariiament of the particular party ia
which Lady Helen and Lady Helen's
ancestors belonged, who wished to re.
tire from the political game. He would
have retired before, as he was particu.
lSrly anxious TO take holiday in
some part Of the world where the
climate does not agree with gentle
mans creditors, II he had but
possessed the means Of getting there
A friend who was aware of Cheese
mans ambition and the honorable
reptleman's difficulties made the two
acquainted. 1t is unnecessary for the
purpose of this story to tell what
passed between them; suffice it to say
that one morning it was announced
that Mr. x, the member for the
Claverly division of Wyshire, had ac
cepted the office Of the stewardship o.
the Chiltern Hundreds; and if anyone
had aad the curiosity to examine ths
passenger list Of the R. M. S. Botanic
which sailed from Queenstown thai
very day, he would have found thai
Mr,sx-, with an inter disregard fol
the duties of his important Office, hae
booked a passage by her.
The seat was particularly safe one