The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. II., No. 10, September, 1836Various
General
The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. II., No. 10, September, 1836
Various
American literature -- 19th century -- Periodicals
It is not very unusual to see the House of Lords reduced to this
legislative trinity. But let us suppose some important question to be
the order of the day—no matter what. The hall will then be full—the
majority of the Peers will be in their seats.
Glancing over the numerous heads of the compact crowd below, your
attention will be attracted by many even in the centre of the Hall, as
it would be by the principal steeples of a great city, of which you
caught a birds-eye-view from some neighboring eminence.
The three round wigs of the three clerks of the House, are among the
first objects that will catch your eye, seated as they are, at their
official table, with their backs turned towards you. Opposite to
these, their faces turned to you, are the three uncovered heads of
Lord Rolle, the Marquis of Wellesley and Lord Holland; farther on, the
two long wigs of the masters in chancery; and beyond, under the golden
hangings of the throne, the official and huge wig of the speaker,
which raises itself up with all the dignity of the tower of a
cathedral, among the belfries of a city.
Let this principal wig, then, be our point of departure; starting from
it we will run over the different quarters of the chambers, as in
exploring London, we would guide ourselves by the dome of St. Paul. At
the present time, the weight of this huge presidential head-dress is
not supported by a Chancellor. The great seal is in commission. The
individual who sits with that air of noble ease on the woolsack is
Lord Denman, the temporary speaker of the chamber, since the overthrow
of the whig ministry preceding that of Sir Robert Peel. His manner
would quickly inform you that the situation is not a novel one to him.
In fact, he has been for many years Chief Justice of England. It was
at the very bar of the House of Lords that he began to play an
important political part; in 1820, he defended, with Lord Brougham,
Caroline, the queen of George IV, against the heavy charges then
brought against her by her royal husband. Could he have flattered
himself at that period with the hope that he should one day become a
Peer himself, and President of that chamber, before which he appeared
as an humble advocate? It was not every ambitious lawyer who dared at
that day to dream of the 400,000 of francs of salary that appertains
to that lordly perruque.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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