in all monarchical buildings. At one
end of the long chamber of the Lords was the door; at the other,
opposite to it, the throne. A few paces from the door, the bar, a
transverse barrier, and a sort of frontier, marked the spot where the
people ended and the peerage began. To the right of the throne was a
fireplace with emblazoned pinnacles, and two bas-reliefs of marble,
representing, one, the victory of Cuthwolf over the Britons, in 572; the
other, the geometrical plan of the borough of Dunstable, which had four
streets, parallel to the four quarters of the world. The throne was
approached by three steps. It was called the royal chair. On the two
walls, opposite each other, were displayed in successive pictures, on a
huge piece of tapestry given to the Lords by Elizabeth, the adventures
of the Armada, from the time of its leaving Spain until it was wrecked
on the coasts of Great Britain. The great hulls of the ships were
embroidered with threads of gold and silver, which had become blackened
by time. Against this tapestry, cut at intervals by the candelabra
fastened in the wall, were placed, to the right of the throne, three
rows of benches for the bishops, and to the left three rows of benches
for the dukes, marquises, and earls, in tiers, and separated by
gangways. On the three benches of the first section sat the dukes; on
those of the second, the marquises; on those of the third, the earls.
The viscounts' bench was placed across, opposite the throne, and behind,
between the viscounts and the bar, were two benches for the barons.

On the highest bench to the right of the throne sat the two archbishops
of Canterbury and York; on the middle bench three bishops, London,
Durham, and Winchester, and the other bishops on the lowest bench. There
is between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other bishops this
considerable difference, that he is bishop "by divine providence,"
whilst the others are only so "by divine permission." On the right of
the throne was a chair for the Prince of Wales, and on the left, folding
chairs for the royal dukes, and behind the latter, a raised seat for
minor peers, who had not the privilege of voting. Plenty of
fleurs-de-lis everywhere, and the great escutcheon of England over the
four walls, above the peers, as well as above the king.

The sons of peers and the heirs to peerages assisted at the debates,
standing behind the throne, between the dais and the wall. A large
square space was l