Middletown transcript., 1869-02-20
MDDEoWN NEW CASTLE


once belonging to Runjeet Singh, Chief Of
Lahore, but now the property of Queen
Victoria, { of late this latter gem has
been placed under the immediate eye Of
the Queen, at Buckingham Palace. and
other crowns or tiaras, and sceptres too
numerous to mention. The conductors,
or guides, who are called warders or beef
eaters, wear a costume of Henry the Wills
time, and show all the objects of interest,
such as the Brick To1er, where Lady
Jane Grey was confined; Beduchamp
Toacer, the scene of Anne Bolyn's impris-
onment; and Bopyer To,ocr, where it is
said the Duke of Clarance was drowned in
the butt of Walmsey.
The beef-eaters and English guides gen.
orally show their good keeping in their
bloated and blood-red faces, which bear
evidence of numerous potations of the ma
tional brown stout, port, and bitter beer.
Even the late parrot-like beadles of West
minister Abby needed this staff of life to
enable them to recount the deeds and ad-
ventures of the dead enclosed within its
walls.
For six hundred years the LIONS of the
Tower were the great sights of the place,
but in 1884, they were turned over to the
Geological Society.
One of the striking objects OF the west
end is the New Palace of Westminster,
called the House of Parliament, which is
considered the finest modern Gothic struc-
ture of the world, and is 900 feet in length,
extending along the river Thames. The
entire building covers eight acres, and
cost two millions sterling. Three towers
surmount the structure; the principle one
called Victoria 1oWer, is of beautiful
proportions, being IS feet square and $40
feet high: the Queens state entrance is
situated at the base; the Clock To,oer is
800 feet in altitude, and has the largest
clock in England there are four dials on
the four faces of the tower, each 223 feet
in diameter; the pendulum is 15 feet long
and weighs $50 pounds. The House of
Lords and the House of Commons can be
seen on Saturdays, by an order from the
Lord Chamberlain, at an Office near at
hand, which is easily procured. Admis-
sion to the sitting can only be obtained by
an order from a member, or from the
Secretary of Legation, who has the priv
ilege of recommending a certain number
of persons weekly. Generally Americans
do not experience any difficulty in gaining
admittance during the sessions, provided
they set about it in proper manner.
Mr.. Moran, our present Secretary of Le-
cation, is genial and competent repre-
sentative of our country, and willingly
10 oil kIo ,nfo
Although the Parliament House Is
nearly 200 fe0t longer than the Capitol at
Washington, it does not present such
commanding appearance as the latter, on
account of its low and fiat site; it is erec-
ted on the spot of the former House of
Parliament, burnt in 1884, which is made
memorable by the "Guy Fawkes Gun
powder-Plot." Westminster Hall, the
principal hall of the old Palace, still stands
and is now part and parcel of the main
structure it was erected in the time of
William Rufus, and measures 800 feet in
length, 68 feet wide, and ITO high, and
unsupported by pillars. 1t has been the
scene of coronation banquets for several
centuries, but George w. was the last
royal gourmand, on which occasion the
Kings Champion rode in armed cap-a-pie,
and challenged the world on the Kings
behalf.
Among the most notable events of which
this hall has been the locale, may be
named the trial and condemnation of Sir
William Wallace, Sir Thomas Moore, the
Earl of Stafford, and Charles 1. Here
also took place the famous trial of War;
rem Hastings. In fact the visitor when
viewing the sights connected with this pile
feels as though he was treading on his
torical ground.
New York, 1869. B. s. T.