I originally intended to postpone the description of the locale and functions of Parliament and its chambers until the publication of my travel notes in full, but because of curious debates in the English Parliament going on at present due to the king's death, I decided to present my readers with a brief survey of the two most famous legislative estates in Europe. On this occasion, I beg pardon beforehand for some repetitions in my notes: I am writing on the road, almost without any books, without corrections or erasures, writing, so to speak, off the cuff, and do not leave any copies for myself: is it surprising, then, that some thought, some remark, might appear two or three times? Of course, I could have polished these notes considerably at leisure in my study, but then they would lose their distinguishing character—freshness of observation and greater vivacity of narration resulting from it. I wanted to write them in such a way as if I were telling my friends conversationally about what I happened to see. — One more remark: I am not an Anglophile; I read English books and newspapers but do not know English as well as I would like to; I felt quite bored in London and was not sorry to leave it; on the contrary, I know French thoroughly and speak it quite fluently and clearly so that sometimes I am taken for a Frenchman here; I am having a much better time in Paris than in London, and yet I lean towards the Englishmen with my soul and heart, with my logical mind and all fervor of imagination. This nation is worthy of, if not unconditional imitation in the rest of Europe, then the genuine respect of all honest and sensible people.

Both Houses of the English Parliament, the Upper and the Lower (House of Lords and House of Commons), are located in an ancient building on the bank of the Thames, not far from Westminster Bridge, which is separated from Westminster Abbey by a small courtyard.