1936 On the Continent

as the Speaker’s procession—of mediæval origin—still takes place in the House of Commons, when the Speaker, in his wig and robes, accompanied by the Chaplain, proceeds in solemn procession to prayers.
    English Parliamentary life has many peculiarities which can only be sensed, but not understood or explained, in the course of a brief visit. Naturally the foreign visitor can only see a portion, and that a small portion, of the Houses of Parliament. In the House of Commons he will, no doubt, be surprised to find how small the actual Chamber is as compared with the vast bulk of the building, with space for little more than one-half of the 630 Members of Parliament, so that at particularly important sittings many Members must sit in the Gallery.
Big Ben
    The finest view of the Houses of Parliament may be obtained from the opposite bank of the Thames where, after crossing Westminster Bridge, the 900 feet longfrontage may be admired in suitable perspective. From here it is also possible to see to the best advantage the 300 feet high main tower, which contains the world’s biggest and most accurate clock, known as Big Ben. Big Ben has four dials of 21 feet diameter, and its bell weighs 13 tons. Wireless broadcasting has made the chimes of Big Ben known all over the world, and it is a strange feeling to hear at close quarters these sounds, after having heard them from vast distances.
The Tower
    At one time the area between Westminster Palace and the Tower of London comprised the whole of London. To-day these two principal “sights” of London seem to be very close to each other, although a walk from one to the other along the Thames takes a good hour.
    In the past, Westminster Palace and the Tower of London played equally important parts in English history, but at present the Houses of Parliament are still a living reality, while the Tower is only an historic monument, and is only of interest as a show-place. A visit to the Tower brings us into the shadow of ten centuries. The building was begun in 1078 by William the Conqueror, and was later continued by other kings. Its vast bulk of grey stone has retained something of the magnificent aloofness of history despite the fact that it is now surrounded by the noise and bustle of the greatest commercial centre in the world.
Past and Present
    How eventful and bloody its past was, is known to all who possess even a slight knowledge of English history. There were times when the Tower served as a Royal Palace, and there were times when it served as the prison and place of execution of kings. It was here that Anne Boleyn was executed, here that the tragic young princes were kept prisoners, here that Queen Elizabeth passed through a period of suffering prior to ascending the throne. Catherine Howard, one of the victims of Henry VIII went to her death at the Tower, and also Thomas More, the recently canonised great figure of the Roman Catholic Church.To-day the Tower has become so much of a museum that it requires an effort of the imagination to recall the bloody figures of these and others who died there, such as the Earl of Essex, Sir Walter Raleigh and Lady Jane Grey.
    The Crown Jewels, the great and complete collection of weapons, and the Bloody Tower, attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Some of them probably fail to notice that even this grim relic of mediæval London has assumed a thoroughly friendly character. The families of the Beefeaters, who still wear their Tudor uniform, live in comfortable flats with idyllic gardens within the Tower, while there is a verdant park along the Thames, where, on the very spot where centuries ago the unfortunate prisoners of the Tower were dragged to the block, hundreds of workers from neighbouring factories and offices consume their sandwiches during the lunch hour.
    As you will inevitably visit the Tower of London, you must not miss the opportunity to admire the mechanism of Tower Bridge, which was built in 1868 at a cost of £500,000. This bridge, built by the Corporation of the City of London, connects the two banks of the Thames without interfering with Thames shipping, in that it can be raised to allow ships to pass beneath it. However, many visitors will be even more interested in the view of London that can be obtained in both directions from Tower Bridge, and perhaps even more so from London Bridge, farther west, which affords a comprehensive view of old and modern London.
THE MUSEUMS
The British Museum
    The