Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-09-21
GNortesttr Daily Spp.

The BRITISH House OF CoMMoNs-The
liberty OF finding fault is one of the most cher
ished birthrights ofan Englishman and the ar
engagements and decorations of the House of
Commons have been the subject of much sharp
criticism; but | thought the room very fine
one. 1t is 81 feet long by As feet high and As
feet broad The ceiling is beautifully carved
the windows are filled with stained glass the
walls are lined with richly carved oak, and
gallery runs entirely round. The Speaker, in
gown, and disfgured with an absurd wig, sits
in a chair at the north end and over his head
is the gallery for reporters and also for stran-
gers. The Sergeant-at-Arms occupies a sort
of box at the southern end. He appears i'll full
dress-a Court suit of black, with sword and
cooked hat. Being a gentleman of slender
proportions, his legs looked to me like nothing
much as two pieces of black sealing wax.
l was reminded of what Talleyrand said, after
he had been examining through his glass fig.
ure in similar costume and of similar proper
tons 81 have been looking to see whether
that gentleman has three swords or three
legs" l could not help offering up mental
thanksgiving that my lot had fallen upon an
age of trowsers and that am not obliged thus
to expose to the world upon what trifles l
stand
The members sit upon a sort of settees,
cushioned with leather, extending Longitude
nally three or four deep ON either hand of the
Speaker-the Ministry and its supporters on
the right hand, and the opposition on the lett.
The members of the Cabinet sit on the front
seat, just at the Speakers right hand. About
a third part of the way down from the Speak.
er's chair, on each side, an alley-way extends
from the floor to the wall this is called the
gangway, and is often alluded to in debates
On subsequent evening, was conducted
by a member of the House over portion of
the magnificent structure of which the House
of Commons forms part. We went through
the refreshment rooms, the smoking room, the
libraries of the two houses, and the splendid
terrace extending along the Thames for some
seven hundred feet. This terrace is a most
superb and stately structure, and | can con-
ceive of few things finer in its way than walk
up and down here, watching the moving pic
lures on the "silent highway" under favorable
circumstances; butiust then old Father Thames
was making himself very disagreeable, and the
pleasures of one sense were INDUCED under
constant protest from another. The library
rooms are of ample size and noble proportions,
and fitted with every possible convenience for
reading and writing that the imagination can
conceive of. | think if l had my rooms filled
with books, should be content with my library.
The entrance to the House of Commons is
first by Westminster Hall, and then by spa
clous corridor to the lett, called ST. Stephens
hall, which leads to the Great Central hall,
from which corridors extend to the lobbies of
both houses. st. Stephens hall is lined by
twelve marble statues of men who ''rose to
eminence by the eloquence and abilities they
displayed i'll the House of Commons" They
are, Hampden, Falkland, Clarendon, Selden,
Sir Robert Walpoe, Lord Somers, Lord Mans
field, Chatham, Fox, Pitt, Burke, and Grattan.
None of them appeared to me of conspicuous
merit, and some seemed hardly above medioc-
rity. Lord Mansfield, in his wig and gown,
looked like a fat old woman. A marble wig is
an abomination to which the genius of sculp-
ture should never submit-Letter from Geo. S.
HiHard