Palace and Hovel; Or, Phases of London LifeKirwan, Daniel Joseph
History
Palace and Hovel; Or, Phases of London Life
Kirwan, Daniel Joseph
London (England) -- Description and travel; London (England) -- Social life and customs
We are told by the policeman who attends at one of the inner doorways
to seat ourselves on a stone bench in an alcove, and wait our turn as
is the custom here. The Stranger's Gallery will not hold more than a
hundred persons when crowded; and when a heavy debate is in progress,
on a great public measure, the gallery is sure to be full. Five persons
are admitted to the gallery at a time as soon as a gap is made in the
benches by the departure of an equal number of spectators. Should a man
leave his seat in the alcove for an instant he is certain to lose his
turn, and he will be compelled to go to the bottom place and begin over
again. As soon as there is room, the policeman makes a sign to those
in waiting, and he marshals the five persons who have tickets, and
they follow him through several passages and halls to the Lobby of the
Commons--a large, square hall, beautifully decorated, and, turning to
the left, they all ascend a winding stair to the ante-room, where the
tickets are examined by an old, white-haired gentleman who sits in a
chair in evening dress, and, if correct, the batch are admitted to the
Stranger's Gallery, which is on the same floor, at the end of another
dark passage.
[Sidenote: BILL OF FARE.]
Before I leave the Lobby of the Commons, let me describe it briefly
together with the Lunch Counter of the house, which even the greatest
public men find it necessary to visit occasionally. It is a large
square hall of lofty proportions, almost every inch of the walls and
ceiling being ornamented in relief with the insignia of the Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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