The Sun.
London, England, 1866-02-07 00:00:00

► a smile as they thought, perhaps, of what would
I happen if a real Guido Fawkes were met, match in
I hand, ready to fire the train. Arrived at the back
of Mr. Sreaker's chair, now—like the benches on
either side, and the galleries at either end--vacant
' and silent, a small trap door about 21t. square was
opened, and down this the cavalcade was to pass.
The Hg beef-eaters looked wonderingly, to see how
they could screw their long ho-lies and their scarlet
and gold trimmings clown this little and (lark open-
ing. They drew their swords, not, however, for the
purpose of offence, but as a precautionary measure
to prevent their being tripped up as they descended
into the cellars; and by dint of good management
this first stage in the descent was made, and the pro-
cession reformed beneath the floor of the House of
Commons. Its appearance resembled the maindeck
of a man-of-war cleared for action. There was a
bulkhead at either end with small doorway openings
—there were hatchways carefully covered, and
steam pipes, and iron columns supporting the floor
above. At the further end a door was opened, and
again the searchers came to a hatchway, downwhich
they passed to a lower deck. Here is the place where
the air is manufactured and purified, and warmed
and cooled and moistened for consumption by the
legislators above. Along each side of the hall or
deck long sails of gauze are stretched to catch the
breezes that are wafted into this cave of )Eolus.
Lowerdown, and resting on the floor upon each side
of the hall, is a row of " batteries." Raise the
holland wrappers that keep them all so scrupu-
lously dean, and it will be seen that each of these
batteries is made up of a series of plates of metal
arranged as in the cells of an electric battery.
Through the centre of these plates there passes an
iron pipe charged with steam, the heat from which
is radiated from the plates of the batteries, and
warms the air that comes down and is filtered
through the area of gauze like sails. Thence the air
ascends by shafts up to the air chamber, and passes
through the pierced iron work of the benches to
warm and comfort the hon. members who early
and late sit in debate on the welfare of the nation.
From this hall we were conducted to a large and
lofty vaulted area immediately under the octagon
hall, between the House of Lords and Commons.
Here a hundred or more of large iron pipes rise I
from the ground to the roof—here clustered, like
the columns of some gothic cathedral ; there single,
as though a large meter or gas main had started up
on end ; in other places arranged in groups of a
score or more. Some sprang out of horizontal pipes ;
some climbed up and rested against the walls ; others
stood solitary and alone. The great hall resembled
the interior of a gigantic organ—some immense
instrument which Vulcan might have forged for a
Titan organist—and it would hardly have excited
surprise among the cavalcade if they had heard
thunder pealing from this gathering of great pipes.
Through these, however, there come no sounds of
music, save when the hot air of the cold blast rushes
through the hollow pipes, and then they gave forth
a moaning noise which mingles strangely with the
roar that may be heard from the furnaces below;
and to these our steps were next directed. At one
corner of the great hall there is yet another descent
to make, and this conducts to what may be termed
the realm of Pluto. Here furnaces glow, and huge
fires roar, and the winds howl, and keep up a con-
stant tornado as they rush towards the glowing
fires. We are at the bottom of the great shaft which
runs up the centre of the Victoria Tower to a height
of nearly 300 feet, and on the hearth or bottom of
this huge shaft there is a fire which would roast or
grill a score of oxen, and cook more beef and mut-
ton than all the beef-eaters of her Majesty's Body
Guard would eat in 12 months—be they as voraci-
ous as popular notion supposes them to be. This
immense fire causes a constant draught of air in the
shaft, into which the foul air from the various parts
of the building is conducted, and discharged high in
the upper strata of the London atmosphere. The
furnaces in which the air is heated are in another
part of the gallery. Walking along the galleries
which form the entrance to this laboratory of puri-
fied oxygen, the yeomen shivered with the cold,
noble lords buttoned close their overcoats, and hats
were firmly held.: to prevent their being blown—
where, it is impossible to say. The roar of the rush-
ing air, the lights that burned dimly along the gal-
leries, the winds that howled, shaking temporary
doors and brattices, the crimson glow of light from
the furnace fires reflected on the whitened walls,
gave considerable interest to this portion of the
search. Glad to escape from this part of the lower
Parliamentary regions, the cavalcade next wound
its way through another long gallery. Here they
saw overhead a huge pair of paddle-wheels, only the
paddles were formed of canvas. This was a novelty
introduced by that wondrous Dr. Reid. Fans like
these were to be turned round rapidly by powerful
steam-engines, and bring in the fresh and cast out
the foul air. Somehow or other the plan did not
answer ; like many other great inventions, it would
have succeeded but for some little "if," or some
unforeseen " hitch" which baffled all the calcula-
tions of the sanguine mechanist. The paddle-
wheels are permitted to swing on their axles ; and
Goldsworthy Gurney, who now reigns in the stead
of his great predecessor, may look upon them with
something of the feelingsof gratification with which
the soldier surveys the tattered flags of the enemy
that he has won in hard fight. The scarlet
and gold of the halberdiers, and the uniform of the
marshals, and the gleam of the lanterns, and the
remainder of the procession in irregular order,
wound their way through this long gallery, until a
small ladder leading to a trap door was scaled. This
ascent made, another spacious hall, charged with
batteries and hung with gauze sail, and with care-
fully covered hatches, was entered. This was two
stages below the floor of the House of Lords. The
temperature here was mild, and an agreeable con-
trast with the cold and chill of the
lastthe
Another ascent was made, and the diligent searchers
were conducted by Mr. Fincham to the floor imme-
diately. below the House of Lords, similar in its
deck-like arrangements of bulkheads to the floor
beneath the Commons. From this a small door was
gallery below. ,
opened, and the procession merged intoodaylight
notice end
f tthhaet
near
Thteh
re e
aChamberlain'sderwil
lno t h
aovf fie
procession
eak e r,
of the series of open courts. .
No Guy Faux was dis-
coveredsearch was a fruitless one.
e vulgar was, was
r h ofin d Mer.
in the vaults, but on
heard to say as the last
disappeared down the trapdoorsd
e down Not I a
chair, that all the Guys had on y
gncealed in. the cellars,
was there no conspirator co
are no cellars in which he
office,
failed the
too
but, strange to say,. thereA
All the lower regions could conceal himself:
halls, formed into
tra-
versed are broad spacious
carrying the arches which galle-
ries by rows
ofpiers or floors. Everything below
s.upport the basements_clean
whitened ; and the explo-
ration,perfect order,
interesting in a scientific point of
however
gratifying to the curious, answered
no practical purpose. view, or however e
It is a ceremony Which casts
upon whatshould
ridicule and raises a smile . be
iony befitting the dignity of a
every respect a ceren
great
nation, and an occasion worthy of an en-
lightened
• n —Morrung Post.
natio .

RAILWAY COLLISION.—In accident occurred on
Friday night, on the Great Western Railway, near Charl-
bury station. The accident arose from a collision between
two luggage trains. The line was blocked up for a consi-
derable time, and the carriages forming the express train,
which should have reached Kidderminster at 10 on Friday
night, only passed through that station at a few minutes
before 10 on Saturday morning. Two special trains had,
however, been put on during the night to lessen as far :is
possible the inconvenience of the passengers.
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