There is, of course, an enitraiice on the ground floor for members duly. 'This leads into the medieval cloister of St, Stephen, constructed daring the Tudor time' in' the florid Gothic style; the roofs being quite exquisite' in stonework. These. form the. four sides of a quadrangle. As an annex. on one side, and slightly jutting-out into. the quadrangle is " small chamber in- the: same elaborate style. In this beautiful apartment according to.a consistent tradition the death warrant of Charles' I: was. signed. These cloisters are used as a cloak room for the members—whers they hang their overcoats only, as their ats are carried with them always by the etiquette: of the House, Each ong of the 760 members has a peg' with hiis name attached, the names being arranged alphabetically...
Nar the end of this lovely, and classic quadrangle, a short flight of steps descends toa lower level, below the surface of the ground. This leads toa semi-subterranean chapel, commonly called the "crypt,"—though it is not really " crypt; but is probably the first chapel of St. Stephen that was built before the larger chapel was undertaken, as will be mentioned presently. This crypt chapel in its inception must be of wreat ave. It was most elaborately com-uted and decorated in the Tudor tine. (hose grand old decorations have been fully and faithfully restored down to the minutest detail of colouring and gilding... So the interior is now at least as good as
magnificence." In boldness yet gracefulness it was in the days, of ite' most gorgeous of outline, in richness and yet refinement of decoration, it is not in its particular way surpassed by anything in this kingdom, iwrdly perhaps in any other country. ' The: old stone flooring has been replaced by-very fine Mouton tiling. This,.howev good in itself being obviously modera, is ut of Keeping with the old' chapel and: the introduction of it was artistically a mistake.
From' these cloisters the member may-ascend by a spiral staircase of excellent though movlern style, to the Lobby of the House, and ordinarily he will do so.
WESTMINSTER HALL, But if minded to look about' him; ho may turn into Westminster Hall—that wonderful Hall, the history of which would be an epitome' of the annals of England for nearly n thousand years. He will feel a melancholy interest in the spot marked by a brass plate: where Charles I stood at the bar of the-Tribunal to. receive the death sentence; and he will-reflect on the several State trials that have taken place here, full of romance, pathos and tragic consequence.' He' will -ascend a flight of steps and enter St'Stephen's Hall. He will doubtless inform himself regarding the history of this beautiful place, which is one of the. most interesting: places in this kingdom or-in any other, which is daily traversed by hundreds of the-public on their way teand from the Houses of Parliament, but. which is often passed by without heed of: the astrango. vicissitudes that have befallen it. Ho will tind that it was originally that Chapel Royal of the Palace of: Westminster, ° which. was made over by the English kings to the: two Houses of their Parliainent—that the sacred uses: of. the vhapel- ceased ' after the Reformation when under a Protestant sovereign. it..was: appropriated for the Commons—that here the Commons sat regularly from the' fifteenth' century, through the' Rebellion and the Common: wealth, through' the dynasties of' Stuart and Guelph, till the conflagration, of 1834 that on the building of the new. Houses, which are still in use, the chapel chamber was, reconstructed, nobly well. as; a" Hall, {vith splendid "windows and roof, and with
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.