“Name! name!” screamed the Opposition, in a torrent of mad excitement,
while the Government party, outrageous at the blundering folly of the
whole harangue, endeavored to pull the speaker back into his seat. Never
was such a scene: one party lashed to madness by suspected treachery and
open insult; the other indignant at the stupidity of a man who, in his
attempts at attack, had raked up every calumny against his own friends.
Already, more than one hand was laid on his arms to press him down
into his seat, when he, with the obstinacy of thorough dullness, shook
himself free, and called out, “I 'm ready to name.”
Again the cries of “Name!” were shouted, mingled with no less vociferous
cries of “No, no!” and the struggle now had every appearance of a
personal one, when the Speaker, calling to order, asked if it was the
sense of the House that the Serjeant should gives the names he alluded
to.
“I 'll soon cut the matter short,” called out the Serjeant, in a voice
that resounded through every corridor of the House. “I mean the Knight
of Gwynne and Bagenal Daly.”
A cry of “Order! order!” now arose from all parts of the House, the
direct mention of any member by name being a liberty unprecedented.
“I beg to correct myself,” said the Serjeant. “I should have said the
honorable members for Mayo and Old Castle. I ask again, why are they not
here?”
“Better you had never put the question,” said a deep, low voice from
beneath the gallery; and at the same instant Bagenal Daly advanced along
one of the passages, and took his place at the table directly in front
of the Serjeant. A tremendous cheer now broke from the Opposition
benches, which the Ministerial party in vain essayed to return.
“I perceive, sir,” said the Serjeant, with an effort to resume his
former ease,--“I perceive I have succeeded in conjuring up one at least
of these truant spirits, and I cannot do better than leave him to make
his explanations to the House.”
With this lame, disjointed conclusion the learned Serjeant sat down; and
although the greatest exertions were made by his friends to cover this
palpable failure, the cries of derision drowned all other sounds, and
before they were silenced, a shout of “Daly! Daly!--Bagenal Daly!”
resounded through the building.
Daly arose slowly, and saluted the Speaker with a most deferential
courtesy. It was several minutes before the tumult had sufficiently
subsided to make his words audible; but when silence prevailed, he was
heard to regret, in terms of unaffected ease, that any circumstance
might occur which should occupy the time of the House by observations
from one so rude and unlettered as himself, nor would he now venture
on the trespass, were the occasion merely a personal one. From this
he proceeded to state that great emergencies were always occurring, in
which even the humblest opinions should be made known as evidencing the
probable impressions upon others as lowly circumstanced as he who now
addressed them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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