and ceiling all bearing evidence of former opulence and splendor; and when I went away, I found I was obliged to pay an extra sixpence for having sat in the cardinal's chair. When I remonstrated, the fellow very coolly asked me if I did not come in to be shaved. His im pudence was so humorous, that I could not resist it; and I paid him the extra sixpence, telling him it was the first time I was ever shaved with a chair. I am willing to be imposed upon sometimes, if it is done with real wit and genuine good nature, and so resolved to call on the barber again. I refused to sit down in the cardinal's chair, and another was provided. While my hair was being dressed, he commenced conversation. "You are from America, sir." "Did ye bring your better half over, sir?” "Yes." "Is your business good now, sir?" “Yes.” "And ye are a pretty clever man at making money, sir?” "And how do ye make it, sir?" I preserved my gravity, and he commenced a low whistle, at the same time scrubbing and scraping my head, pulling my hair, and pouring on oil until it ran down into my eyes, when all at once he commenced. again. "You are growing bald, sir-losing your hair very fast, sir." "Ah! O!" said I, rather astonished at this information. "I can sell you some oil-Cardinal Wolsey oil— which will bring it all out again, sir.” I told him that I had no occasion for his oil, and requested him to stop rubbing my head, lest his declaration should soon prove too true. I arose from the chair, supposing that I had outwitted the barber, and asked him his charge. "Two shillings, sir," (equal to fifty cents.) "How is that?" I asked. Why,” replied he coolly, "sixpence for shaving, and one and sixpence for the oil." “Oil! oil!” said I; "what oil?” 66 "Why, the oil which the lad has wrapped up in a bill, and put in your coat, sir." And, sure enough, a bottle of oil was found in my pocket; and, as I unrolled and examined it, the impudent fellow stood by, exclaiming, "I never take back what I sell; no, I never do." It was no use; and I paid the charge, used the oil, and the bottle remaineth to remind me occasionally how keenly an Irish barber outwitted the Yankee traveler, and how I was shaved four times in London --twice with a razor, once with a chair, and once with a bottle of oil. XI. PARLIAMENT TOWER - WESTMINSTER ABBEY. THE old Houses of Parliament were consumed in 1834, and the new Houses now in process of erection will doubtless be the finest specimens of Gothic architecture in the world, and will cover an area of nine acres. The House of Commons is not yet complete ; the House of Lords is finished, and in use. Through the kindness of an English friend, I obtained admittance to the House of Lords while that august body was in session. The room is ninety feet long, forty-five feet wide, and forty feet high. At the end opposite the entrance is the throne-a sort of a chair, which is occupied by the queen on state occasions. On the right is a chair for the Prince of Wales, and on the left one for Prince Albert. Immediately in front and below the throne is the woolsack, or the seat of the lord chancellor, the presiding officer. The effect, on entering the house, is wonderful. The stained glass windows; the light, airy, trellised, and carved work; the abundance of gilt and gold, — is, for a while, painfully gorgeous. On the day of my visit, the house was filled with a gay and brilliant assemblage; and I think I never entered a legislative assembly where the impression produced was more profound. A discussion was in progress on the ecclesiastical title bill, and in it Lord Beaumont, Viscount Canning, the Duke of Wellington, the Duke of Argyle, the Earl of Aberdeen, and the Marquis of Lansdowne engaged. The debate was dull enough, though the subject was one of exciting interest. The remarks were generally commonplace, and uttered by each speaker as if he cared little whether they were heard and heeded or not. I remember only what was said by the Duke of Wellington, who expressed his fear that the designs of Popery were not as clearly understood and guarded against as they should be. He feared the tyrant at Rome more than all the armies of Europe- the ingenuity and subtlety of the Jesuit more than the roar of battle. I do not pretend to give his words; but they formed a noble sentence, and were nobly uttered. I should hardly think this body would compare favorably, for intellect and grasp of thought, with that branch of our own federal government which corresponds with it- the Senate. The Commons meet in a dull, dingy hall, their house, as yet, being unfinished. This body is composed of the younger sons of the nobles, respectable tradesmen, and agricultors, and resembles our House of Representatives. I obtained admittance on two occasions. The members were noisy, boisterous, sitting with their hats on, the whole group forming as admirable a specimen of a bear garden as can be found. The debates were more exciting, and the whole scene more tumultuous, than that witnessed in the House of Lords. one occasion, the ecclesiastical bill was up; and on the other, a bill for the supply of the metropolis with water was under discussion, the most prominent speaker, on the first occasion, being one Murphy, an Irishman, and on the second, Lord John Russell. I cannot say that my opinion of the ability of English legislators was at all increased by these visits. In the House of Commons, two or three members who rose to speak were * M On fairly laughed down, one half the house setting up a mock laugh the moment they commenced, and continuing until, unable to be understood in a single sentence, they sat down in confusion. For decorum, ability, eloquence, and real power, I think our own legislative bodies would compare favorably with those two assemblies, from which goes out an influence which reaches to the ends of the world. Our statesmen are destitute of high-sounding titles and royal honors; but illustrious names are known in our halls of Congress, which, in a single session, would stand among the highest in the Parliament of England. Intimately connected with the nobility of England is the famous old Tower of London. More interest gathers around that pile of buildings than around Victoria's throne; and one would as soon go to Rome, and neglect to enter St. Peter's, as to visit London, and fail to see the Tower. It was founded by William the Conqueror; and an old legend declares, probably without truth, that the mortar was tempered with the blood of beasts. By his successors it has been enlarged and improved, and, at times, occupied now as a palace, then as a prison. As we passed through the gloomy gateway, into the place of blood, a guide met us, wearing a black hat, with a crown unusually low, and a brim unusually wide, around which ribins of several colors were tied, a coat of red, ornamented with gold lace, making the man a very forbidding and grotesque-looking personage. The buildings cover an irregular area of thirteen acres, and were formerly surrounded by a ditch, from which the water is now drawn, and in which a company of soldiers were parading. Twice I wandered through this gloomy edifice - once with my traveling companions, and once alone. With a chill |