The entrance to the House of Commons is through Westminster Hall. What
wealth of historical recollections is suggested by this name! As,
however, we are dealing with the present, we dare not even touch upon so
fruitful a theme, but must hasten through the grand old hall, remarking
only in passing that it is supposed to have been originally built
in 1097, and was rebuilt by Richard II. in 1398. With a single
exception,--the Hall of Justice in Padua,--it is the largest apartment
unsupported by pillars in the world. Reluctantly leaving this historical
ground, we enter St. Stephen's Hall. This room, rich in architectural
ornaments and most graceful in its proportions, is still further adorned
with statues of "men who rose to eminence by the eloquence and abilities
they displayed in the House of Commons." Who will dispute their claims
to this distinction? The names selected for such honorable immortality
are Selden, Hampden, Falkland, Lord Clarendon, Lord Somers, Sir Robert
Walpole, Lord Chatham, Lord Mansfield, Burke, Fox, Pitt, and Grattan.
We have now reached the Great Central Hall, out of which open two
corridors, one of which leads to the lobby of the House of Lords.
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