The Merry Past 



the culprit making all the speed he could, while men, 

 women, children, and even decrepitude joined in the 

 chase, hooting the poor devil till he had fairly entered 

 the passage-hoy prepared to convey him from that 

 paradise which his low cunning endeavoured to convert 

 to a pandemonium. 



It was the business of his two conductors to stop 

 their charge whenever a light expired till it was re- 

 stored again, which, happening as often as the lawyer 

 went too fast, made the procession of the '' Burning 

 Shame " of near half a day's length. 



Modern lawyers, of course, are generally scarcely 

 qualified by their misdeeds for the " Burning Shame " 

 — numbers of them are honourable men — neverthe- 

 less, as a class, they may be called the croupiers of 

 national life, for it is they who conduct the game, 

 receiving very substantial remuneration whoever wins 

 or whoever loses. 



The amount of Bills which are annually drafted 

 has become simply prodigious ; many of these happily 

 never get beyond an initial stage. 



Of late years the House of Commons, satiated it 

 would seem with ordinary legislation, has begun to 

 manifest a tendency towards the insertion of humor- 

 ous provisions in certain Bills. 



Good specimens of this were the clauses in the 

 Children's Bill (which most appropriately came into 

 force on the ist of April) prohibiting little boys from 

 smoking, and fining parents ten pounds for not pro- 

 viding a fireguard, even if destitute of the few shillings 

 necessary to buy one ! 



'9 



