Re: To toe or not to toe the line?

[Byron Stay <stay@msmary.edu>]

Centaurs,

	I'm currently sitting in my office with an associate professor of
political science, Mike Towle, who spent last summer in London.  He wishes
to set us straight on this question: 

	In the British House of Commons the government and the opposition
sit across from each other.  There are lines on the carpet a few feet in
front of the first bench (on each side).  The lines on each side are
separated by the distance of two swords plus a foot.  In the days when
gentlemen carried swords they were required to stand behind the line while
debating to make sure things didn't get out of hand.  If they stepped over
the line, the speaker (who sits between the two sides)  would tell the
offender to "toe the line!"  Mike assures me that the tradition still
holds in the House of Commons. 

	Byron

Byron L. Stay
Associate Dean of the College
Mount St. Mary's College
Emmitsburg, MD  21727
301-447-5355
STAY@MSMARY.EDU