The behaviour of the Commons, when summoned to hear the
Speech, appears to have been even more indecorous than usual. It is the custom when the rush has begun to leave the Speaker and the leader of the House some little law, but this year the mem- bers first trod on the Speaker's robe, bringing him up with the sharp jerk which women are accustomed to avoid by throwing themselves back, but which Mr. Denison did not know how to meet, and then pitched him-forward on his stomach on the bar of the Lords. Mr. Gladstone was obliged to retreat out of the melee, and members with broad shoulders used them as if they had been pushing through a street crowd to see Punch and Judy. As we cannot easily Station the Lifeguards in the corridors of the House of Commons, or give the Speaker a guard of honour, it might be expedient to, swear in all big members as special con- stables, or if that is too feeble a remedy, to make it an etiquette for the Speaker to nominate his followers. Members will violate every rule of decorum, but they will not break through an etiquette.
