‘If Miss Oliver refuses to bridle her tongue, and persists in interrupting the business of the meeting, the Chair will be obliged to remove her,’ said Geoffrey, with chilling emphasis. Polly rose again, undaunted. ‘I would respectfully ask the Chair, who put him in the chair, any way?’ ‘Question!’ roared Philip. ‘Second the motion!’ shrieked Bell, that being the only parliamentary expression she knew. ‘Order!’ cried Geoffrey in stentorian accents. ‘I will adjourn the meeting and clear the court-room unless there is order.’ ‘Do!’ remarked Polly, encouragingly. ‘I will rise again, like Phœbus, from my ashes, to say that—’ Here Jack sprang to his feet. ‘I would suggest to the Chair that the last speaker amend her motion by substituting the word “Phœnix” for “Phœbus.”’ ‘Accept the amendment,’ said Polly, serenely, amidst the general hilarity. ‘Question!’ called Bell, with another mighty projection of memory into a missionary meeting that she had once attended. ‘I am not aware that there is any motion before the house,’ said Geoffrey, cuttingly. ‘Second the motion!’ ‘Second the amendment!’ shouted the girls. ‘Ladies, there _is_ no motion. Will you oblige the Chair by remaining quiet until speech is requested?’ ‘Move that the meeting be adjourned and another one called, with a new Chair!’ remarked Margery, who felt that the honour of her sex was at stake. ‘Move that this motion be so ordered and spread upon the minutes, and a copy of it be presented to the Chairman,’ suggested Philip. ‘Move that the copy be appropriately bound in _calf_,’ said Jack, dodging an imaginary blow. ‘Move that the other committees be elected by ballot,’ concluded Scott Burton. ‘This is simply disgraceful!’ exclaimed the Chair. ‘Order! order! I appoint Miss Oliver Committee on Entertainment, with a view of keeping her still.’ This was received with particular as well as general satisfaction. ‘Miss Winship, we appoint you Committee on Music.’ ‘All right. Do you wish it to be original?’ ‘Certainly not; we wish it to be good.’ ‘But we only know one chorus, and that’s “My Witching Dinah Snow.”’ ‘Never mind; either write new words to that tune or sing tra-la-la to it. Mr. Richard Winship, the Chair appoints you Committee on Menagerie, and suggests that as we have proclaimed a legal holiday, you give your animals the freedom of the city.’ ‘Don’t know what freedom of er city means,’ said Dicky, who feared that he was being made the butt of ridicule. ‘Why, we want you to allow the captives to parade in the evening, with torch-lights and mottoes.’ ‘All right!’ cried Dicky, kindling in an instant; ‘’n’ Luby, ’n’ the doat, ’n’ my horn’ toads, all e’cept the one that just gotted away in Laura’s bed; but may be she’ll find him to-night, so they’ll be all there.’