mother's side.

Edward III. here received King John of France, brought captive by the
Black Prince. In 1535 Sir Thomas More was tried here; later there were
many trials, the greatest of which was that of King Charles I., followed
by that of the regicides, brought to justice and the fruit of their
crimes in a way they had not expected when they took prominent parts in
the first great drama. Cromwell's head was stuck upon the southern gable
of the hall, where it remained for twenty years. The trial of the Seven
Bishops caused great excitement, that of Lords Kenmure and Derwentwater
hardly less. Lord Byron was tried in Westminster Hall, and every child
has heard of the arraignment of Warren Hastings. Surely, if ever a
building had memories of historic dramas, played upon its floor as on a
stage, it is Rufus's great hall at Westminster.

Parliament was first called to Westminster in Edward I.'s reign. The
Commons sat for 300 years in the Abbey Chapter-house, then for 300
years more in St. Stephen's Chapel. In 1790 a report on the buildings
declared them to be defective and in great danger of fire, a prophecy
fulfilled in 1834. On the evening of October 16 in that year the wife of
a doorkeeper saw a light under one of the doors, and gave an alarm. The
place was made for a bonfire; a strong wind blowing from the south, and
afterwards south-west, drove the flames along the dried woodwork and
through the draughty passages. As the flames got a stronger and stronger
hold, the scene from the further bank of the river was magnificent.
Until three o'clock the next day the fire raged, and Westminster Hall
and the crypt of St. Stephen's Chapel alone survived the wreck. The
cause of the fire is said to have been the heating of the flues by some
workmen burning a quantity of tallies or ancient notched sticks.

The present Houses of Parliament, built after the fire from Sir Charles
Barry's designs, have been the cause of much of that criticism which is
applied to the work of some people by others who certainly could not do
so well themselves. The material used is magnesian limestone, which,
unfortunately, has not worn well; and the erection took seventeen years
(1840-57). On Saturday afternoons the door under the Victoria Tower,
south end, is open, and anyone may walk through the principal rooms.
This is well worth doing, though what is to be seen is mostly modern.
What will chiefly astonish strangers is the smallness of the House of
C