The Houses of Parliament.

This is one of the largest buildings ever erected continuously in Europe—­perhaps the largest Gothic edifice in the world.  It stands upon the bank of the Thames, occupying the site of the old Royal Palace of Westminster, burnt down in 1834, and covers nearly eight acres.  This building has 100 staircases, more than two miles of corridors, and 1,100 apartments!  The cost of erection was some $14,000,000, or a little more than that of the Capitol of the United States.

Having procured tickets we entered by the Royal Entrance under the Victoria Tower, one of the most stupendous structures of the kind in the world.  It is 340 feet high and seventy-five feet square.  The entrance archway is sixty-five feet high, and the vault is a rich and beautiful grained roof of elaborate workmanship, while the interior is decorated with statues of her present Majesty, supported by Justice and Mercy, and the statues of the patron saints of England, Scotland and Ireland.

The first apartment that we entered, was the Robing Room.  From this room, after the ceremony of robing, her Majesty on her way to the Throne passes through a magnificent hall 110 feet long, forty-five feet wide and forty-five feet high, called the Victoria Gallery.  It contains two magnificent frescoes of events in the history of England, covering large sections of the two side-walls.  One represents the death of Nelson, and the other the meeting of Wellington and Bluecher after the Battle of Waterloo.

The House of Peers, ninety-seven feet long, forty-five feet wide, and forty-five high, is one of the richest and most magnificent chambers in the world.  To the left of the entrance is the Throne on which her Majesty sits when she attends the House, and beside it, the chair of the Prince of Wales.  Rich in carvings and lavishly gilt, this noble chamber presents a view of great grandeur.

The subdued light, admitted by the stained glass of its windows, does not dazzle the eye as would a perfect illumination of such giltings, but what is lost in splendor, is perhaps gained in modest grandeur.

“The arrival of her Majesty is announced within the House by the booming of the cannon.  Her entrance is preceeded by the Heralds in their rich dress, and by some of the chief officers of state in their robes.  All the peers are in their robes.  The Speech is presented to her Majesty by the Lord Chancellor, kneeling, and is read by her Majesty or by him; the Royal Princes and Princesses with the Mistress of the Robes and one of the ladies of the bed-chamber standing by her side on the dais.  The return to Buckingham Palace is by three at the latest.”

The old custom of examining the cellars underneath the House of Lords, some hours before her Majesty’s arrival, is still observed.  This custom had its origin in the infamous Gunpowder plot of 1605.

The House of Commons is sixty-two feet long by forty-five feet broad and forty-five feet high; to which England and Wales return 500 members, Ireland 105, and Scotland 53, making in all 658 members.