" The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod."

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1917, 18 October 1884, Page 2 (Supplement)

" The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod."

There is one functionary without the presence oi whome all the sittings of the Canadian Senate would be in vain as a perfect spectacular performance. This is the gentleman usher of the black rod. He is a small, slight man, and he sits within the bar at a desk in the Senate chamber. He is clothed in flowing robes of black silk that wholly envelop him. He wears a flat- crowned hat, and his ensign of office is a black rod the size of a flute. When a clerk of the House brings a communication to the Senate the gentleman usher of the black rod escorts him to the table of the Seuate Clerk with many profound bows and obeisances, and when the papers are delivered he escorts the envoy to the door, dismisses him with a bow, and, returning to his seat, salutes it with several honors, and then sits down. He came to the House on Wednesday to invite the members of the House to the Senate chamber to witness the final signing of the Canada Pacific Loan bill by the Deputy Governor It was said Lord Lansdown feared to go to the Senate that day, being in dread of a dynamite explosion. The black rod entered by the door opposite the Speaker's chair. He advanced three steps into the room and peiformed a deep bow, three steps more were followed by a lower obeisance, and on accomplishing his thiid mpve the waving sleeves of his drapery swept the carpet in a grand salam. Then, with his body at rightangles to his legs, he backed out, pages, sergeants and door-keepers carefully clearing the way for his retreat. No doubt he jumped up and cracked his heels together and turned an ecstatic somersault when he reached the privacy of a corridor. The country breathed freer when his errand was over ; yet it must be a satisfaction to a government thus hedged in by oriental ceremonies to see them performed with consummate tact and grace. — Ottawa Correspondence Chicago News.