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CHAPTER III.
THE OLD HALL.
Near Westminster Abbey was an old Norman palace which was burnt in the
time of Henry VIII. Its wings were spared. In one of them Edward VI.
placed the House of Lords, in the other the House of Commons. Neither
the two wings nor the two chambers are now in existence. The whole has
been rebuilt.
We have already said, and we must repeat, that there is no resemblance
between the House of Lords of the present day and that of the past. In
demolishing the ancient palace they somewhat demolished its ancient
usages. The strokes of the pickaxe on the monument produce their
counter-strokes on customs and charters. An old stone cannot fall
without dragging down with it an old law. Place in a round room a
parliament which has been hitherto held in a square room, and it will no
longer be the same thing. A change in the shape of the shell changes the
shape of the fish inside.
If you wish to preserve an old thing, human or divine, a code or a
dogma, a nobility or a priesthood, never repair anything about it
thoroughly, even its outside cover. Patch it up, nothing more. For
instance, Jesuitism is a piece added to Catholicism. Treat edifices as
you would treat institutions. Shadows should dwell in ruins. Worn-out
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