Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-11-30
a Sketch of the English Pariiament
The Dining Room.

'sc Das.snS AeoVnhs
The London Court Journal in its sketches OF
Parliament, describes the dining-room for mem
bers only" We quote:
Considered apart from the associations which
give il prestige and respectability, the members
dining-roo offers attractions TO men used to
| the splendid accommodation of the West-end
clubs. IL is low pitched-it is SO dark-it is so
narrow that the walters almost tumble over each
other when there is full house and rush out
at about p. ii The worst of il is that there
Is often lanentable want OF anything eatabe
al such a crisis. and all the efforts OF Kitchen
committee, contractora chefs de cuisine, and wal
tiers Tail them to meet the demand of two hun
dred and three hundred hungry men, used to
| good living, ard intOlerant OF bad cooking, bad
! provisions, and bad walters
| The fact is, that except at an extravagant
outlay arrangement can possibly secure sat
isiactOry catering under the existing system
Members prefer. rule, to dine with their
clubs, where everything Is OF the best, and din
lng is the main institution. So they hardly ever
patronze the honse fare unless obliged to do so
Hence the cook never knows how much to pro-
vide. Sometimes whom he has laid in large
stock the debate goes off and the members go off
TOO, while bis fish, flesh and fowl are LETT on
hand. At other times an important question
arises all of a sudden and the cook, as they say,
/
ply the unforeseen demand
Go down the broad flight of steps which forms
the members dining room, and you will come
out upon the ground floor. opposite what is called
the Kitchen. This, however, is a traditional
name which descends TO us from the days of Bel
lammy, when UNDERGONE steaks and first-rate
port wine nourished race OF manly legislators.
Passing through little ante room. where you
light upon George" and dirty glasses. you en-
ter long, narrow, but not uncomfortable room,
with dozen SO OF small tables where
strangers may sit, eat, and be thankful. Like
thesroOm overhead, it is ilI-lghted; but. as a
general rule. all the rooms in the Palace at
Westminster ill-lighted-a defect inseparabie
from Gothic architecture as Lord PalmerstOn
will tell us
Everything is staid aud decorous waiter
brings to you the carte. You have, however,
your choice of soups, fish joints, made dishes
and pastry. You can fall back on chops and
steaks or cold meat There is the usual club
regulations by which you may pay much Ito
the table aud get thereby franked by unlimited
bread potatoes and table beer You get gener-
ally by no means a bad dinner by no means
an extravsgant price. 4 little door to a far end
leads TO smoking room unexpected. with walls
of Dutch thing and floor laid with encau site
tlles-in summertime delightful cool retreat,
and much resorte6 to. Members have a larger
"
so that the smoke mayn't find All uneven porous
surface to linger in or cling to; and here Mr.
Bright delights to hang over his chilbonque or
sheroot, and expatiate the while: and knots Of
smoking men are formed, whose discussions on
the affairs of the nation end here, if not else
where, literally in smoke In the summer YOU
see them saunter from the smoking room on to
the terrace, and there WOO the cooling but hith-
erto not odorous, river breeze.
and l.
over yosr meerschaum in the smoking room.
YOU hear sudden " tin tin tin "a weak sort
OF compromise between bell and gong-whch
continues TesOunding overhead as though some
body was being called who didnt choose 10 an
swer the summons. IL is the division bell. If
bell that be called which bell-like tone hath
none. When division is called a three minute
glass is turned on the table before Mr. Speaker,
where il stands looking like an enormous egg
boiler " lille the sand is running out members
are allowed that time 70 enter and take part in
the division. if they EEL so disposed. but when
the sand Is exhausted the Speaker cries ORDER
IN an imperative tone. and Lord Charles Russell
or Captain GOssett, who has been waiting the
signal, Chaps the door with bang. and locks out
any u ? who may not have arrived in time.
o give warning of the division one of the
Speakers attendants pulls an electric knob, |
which sets the faint little Standardization go
'Hs All Over the mouse, ara then from dlnlng /
room, library, Hobbies, committee rooms and
smoking room how members take To their heels /
and arrive in dif rent stages Of breathlessness
The ga0 The race IL sometimes anus
ing enough where gentlsms who is fat
and scant OF breath inds himself in a remote part !
OF the house when toe bells ring, and is anxious
not To miss the division Constituencies nova
DAYS keep sharp lookout upon their Representa-
tises, and some even draw 10 a register of at
tendance AZ divisions IL is easy therefore to |
picture the agonized looks and the hurried gait |
OF the member who. not being in good training.
pants along the Hobbies. and mounts the stairs /
oaly Just in timeto see the door ineyorably shut /
in his face