Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-04-22

THE PEPTOL COMPANY, Dept. A Is, BAT
tie Creek, Mich
together on q wooden bench in a corner
talking about home rule in stage whis-
pers. The house Of parliament that had
| looked so airy and light TO me from the
! outside suddenly became a darksome place
full Of whisperings and mystery. 1 sat in
silence, waiting. There was a promising
looking little elevator out in the narrow
| passage and 1 kept my eye on that for
! company. 1 knew that II would carry me
UP stars presently and that 1 should sit in
my comfortable seat in the big, airy gal
lery.
The Ladies' CAEe.
Presently" came around in due time and
| the bobby sauntered to the door and indi-
Gated that we might now go up. There
was something about the place that made
me want to tiptoe about and felt as II
we're in duty bound to look solemn. In the
upper corridor we had TO do another little
walt so amused myself by making the
most of a splendid view Of the great tower,
than which there is no more beautiful piece
! OF architecture in the whole world. This
Is a bread statement, but it is my belief.
1 think the British house of parliament
! the most beautiful and the most satisfac-
| tory building that have seen in the world
and never grow tired of gazing at It from
Westminster bridge, where it looks, at
high tide, like a palace of dreams, lace
like, light and perfectly Symmetrical. an
chored upon the blue-gray, caressing
| stream IT'S details blend themselves into
a perfect whole from a distance, but from
| where I stood at corridor window at the
| very top of the building, all the delicate
tracery Of the sculptor's chisel was re-
vealed to me and was thoroughly enjoy
ing IT, when heard a door open noisily and
a voice say This way, ladies'" I gave my
hosts name and received the number of
my seat from an intensely uniformed usher
and then tiptoed up a narrow stairway and
into the ladies' gallery. Dear me, what
shock I felt as II had suddely stepped
into a Turkish seragio and my inclina-
ton to keep quiet Immediately left me-
although the only visible ornament was a
big white card bearing the notice in big
black letters, "silence is requested"
Uninviting Surroundings.
: The ladies' gallery is only little room,
large enough, perhaps to hold twenty-five
or thirty women, at the very tip-top of the
house, and 1t has four walls Verify, four
, walls, although the one next the house is
. composed If a series of heavy iron grilles,
through which one may look upon the as
sembly below; that Is, II one is fortunate
enough to have secured front seat. other
! wise fail TO see how visit to the House
/ Of Commons can be in the least entertain
, ing Luckily was assigned 70 a seat In
! the front row Of stiff wooden chairs, and
} could by leaning against the grille, see and
} hear something OF what was going on. OF
course the first question which presents
itself to ones mind is How came the ladies'
gallery SOP What are English women that
! they should be shut up here like a danger
Gus elementN The fact OF the matter is
the grille represents a great concession on
the part of the men Of England. They have
been opposing the efforts of women to get
into their midst ever since government by
, the people was instituted, and before that
, indeed. In the old House Of Commons there
; was no ladies' gallery. There was only the
strangers gallery, into which all manner
OF people might gain Ambulance II they
! could bring the right sort OF influence e
, bear upon the right sort OF person. Women
were traditionally barred, Il seems. but
they began to come into the strangers gal
! lery Just the same, and TO make them
selves altogether conspicuous during the
seventeenth century.
One day, the FIRST day Of June, 1875, there
was very important debate coming before
the house, and IT was necessary that each
. member should be wholly concerned witt
his business They all hled into their places
in the usual way, and the speaker took hi'
1 seat, remarking significantly as he did so
! I'm sure I saw petticoatsl' And SURF
enough he did. There were a number Of
women half concealed on the upper benches
In the gallery, and they were politely bu
: firmly requested to leave But they refused
I a IL,
I TO 60 home because they were not wanted
at this particular debate, but they sat tigh
and Uttered. It must have been exasperat
, ing to those worthy old lawmakers WHIT
. thought they knew so well what a womani
place was, but it was no use; the womeI
stayed for two solid hours After this 4
was decided that they must not be al
lowed IN the strangers gallery at all, anS
proposition was set forth to partition OF
wee bit OF q corner away around at tn
side and screen h on with iron Lattice
work. through which the ladies might SCI
without being seen. That was in the oil,
house, and the gallery in the new hous
Is the direct result of this old ruling Tn
grille" stands today an eloquent bit o
a testimony to the fact that man has no
yet rounded Cape Turk" as George Mere
!. dith says.
Dress OF the COmmOners.
The house was just filling up as I tool
my seat. and I had an opportunity TO &c
\ a fairly good idea as TO the sort OF maj
: who 'predominates in this most libeu,
Z parliament To begin with. it is not a wei
!, dressed parliament. and that Ia something
a very new in parliaments. The British
= House OF Commons has been called IN
n best dressed body OF men in tha world
e and a number OF the old members. 50 con
II spicuous in their scarcity, gave ample evl
a dence that this might have once been true
q In England a man must put on a frocl
4, coat and a silk hat after luncheon. Indeed
s time has been when this was as necessar
h as Il is 10 pat on full dress at dinner time
o But times are changing. The man VIII
; cannot afford frock coats and silk hats 1
e coming forward i9 England and demanding
q that times shall change II Is a fact con
a eeded by everybody that the Englishma