Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 January 1915 — ASKED SPEAKER FOR A SONG [ARTICLE]

ASKED SPEAKER FOR A SONG

And Bibulous Gentleman Escaped Anger of Dignified Head of British Parliament Mr. Balfour is credited ’ylth knowing more good stories about the British house of commons than any other member. One of his best is the following, which he told at a public dinner some time ago: “I remember hearing of a distinguished gentleman,” he said, “who reported in the press gallery just about one hundred years ago. He had had an excellent dinner, washed down with excellent wine. He was bored with the debate. He was wearied with the superfluity of rhetoric, which prevailed just as much one hundred years ago as today. He got bored, and he got up and asked the speaker for a song. “The speaker of that day was Mr. Addington, a gentleman who was nothing, if not proper. The whole house, except the speaker, was convulsed with laughter. “The sergeant-at-arms was appealed to. He went to the gallery and he inquired. The culprit retained the presence of mind to point to a respectable Quaker sitting below him, and thia unfortunate gentleman was actually taken into custody.”