1.   A giant portrait of Confederacy President Jefferson Davis is perched at the right hand of the lieutenant governor as he wields his gavel in the Texas Senate.

2.   Michael, who smoothly wields the gavel at an art auction house, has asked Gina to marry him.

3.   Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer will wield gavels in Los Angeles next month as the first two women co-chairs of a national political convention.

4.   This usurpation is being kept out of sight because a judge is not prepared to wield a gavel in open court.

5.   With Gingrich wielding the gavel in the House, his colleagues can claim little credibility when setting out to hammer President Clinton on issues of ethics and public trust.

6.   But they wielded their gavels with gusto.

7.   He called his committee to order for a morning hearing wielding a gavel that his son had made for him when he was in high school.

8.   He called his committee to order for a morning hearing Wednesday wielding a gavel that his son had made for him when he was in high school.

9.   The formalities over, Gingrich began wielding the gavel with purpose as he worked through a lengthy series of measures designed to overhaul House proceedings.