This city, the metropolis of the British empire, is situated on both banks of the Thames, if the name be taken collectively, and in that sense, though chiefly within the county of Middlesex, includes a part of Surrey, and, for purposes of criminal judicature (by the act of William IV, called the Central Criminal Court Act), a portion of the counties of Essex and Kent.

Like most cities, the early history of this is lost in the obscurity of remote ages. The first notice of its existence to which implicit credit can be given is that in the Annals of Tacitus (lib. iv), who says, "Londonum cognomento quidem coloniae non insigne, sed copia negotiatorum et commercium maxime celebre." The derivation of the name of this city has been variously traced, and though it must remain a matter of doubt, we state that which seems the most probable.

Llin in the Celtic or ancient British language signified a lake, and din a town or a harbour for ships. As until recent dates the Surrey side of the river was often a lake in some parts, and a swamp in others, the name might be easily changed from Llindin to London, and be descriptive of its local position. It could not, however, be a place of very great importance at the time of the invasion of England by Julius Caesar, for though that commander must have passed near it, he has not noticed it in his Commentaries.

The Romans, who appear to have taken possession of this city under the Emperor Claudius, about 100 years after the invasion of Caesar, gave to it the name of Augustus in honour of that prince. Under the Roman government it was erected into a prefecture, and the inhabitants, though the name of citizens of Rome was conferred upon them, were not allowed to be governed by their own laws, but by military magistrates sent annually from Rome. It must then have acquired some degree of importance, because, in several of the itineraria of Antoninus, the roads are described by him as beginning or ending at this place. The doubts respecting the author of the itineraria, and the time when they were drawn up, make this inference of less authority.

It seems certain that, under the Romans, London was not fortified at an early period of their occupation; for when the Britons revolted against the Romans, and were led by their Queen Boadicea, she captured the city and burned it, after a general massacre of the inhabitants. It continued still without fortifications, till, according to Woodward, the reign of Constantine, or, according to Maitland, till the governorship of Theodosius, in the year 369. The great number of coins of Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, which have been found under the walls, give the greatest degree of probability to the opinion of the former of these authors. It was certainly erected into an episcopal city by that emperor after he had been converted to the Christian religion; and that increases the probability of the opinion that he constructed the walls, for all the sees of bishops were originally within fortified places.

Whatever may have been the date of the erection of the walls, the limits to which they then extended may now be ascertained by the concurrent testimony of all the antiquarians, and by the ruins of the foundations and of parts of the wall which have been traced out within very recent periods.

A fort on the site now occupied by the Tower of London, formed the commencement of the defences. A wall was extended from it through the Minories to Aldgate, whence it proceeded between Bevis Marks, Camomile Street, and Houndsditch, across the churchyard of Bishopsgate to Cripplegate. It then took a southerly course to London, Aldersgate, from which it ran south-west by the back of Christ's Hospital and Old Newgate, and passing behind the present prison of Newgate and Stationers' Court, reached Ludgate. From that gate it proceeded westerly by Cock Court to the river Fleet, now New Bridge Street, and terminated at a fort called afterwards Barnard's Castle. It was also then covered by another wall along the bank of the Thames, which, however, was destroyed at a very remote period. The extent of the wall, exclusive of that by the side of the river, was two miles and one furlong; that on the bank one mile and a tenth. The height of the walls was twenty-two feet, and they were defended by fifteen lofty towers. Through some of these were the great roads leading to the different parts of the kingdom. The praetorian way, or the Watling Street, passed under Newgate, and then turned towards the river, where was a ferry connected with the road to Dover. The Hermin Street road passed under Cripplegate. Another passed through Aldgate and proceeded by Bethnal Green to the old ford over the river Lea, and on towards Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk. In process of time other roads were laid out, when the gates corresponding to them were erected and received the names of Bridgegate, Ludgate, Aldersgate, Moorgate, Bishopsgate, and the Postern on Tower-hill.

It is probable that, after the Romans had been induced to withdraw their forces from England, and left it exposed to the ravages of the northern tribes of Picts and Scotch, London was not much improved or extended. When the Saxons had fixed themselves in the country, and assumed something approaching to a regular government, the city, which had suffered severely during the contests between the Britons and the invaders, soon recovered its former rank, and acquired new importance; so that at that period the Venerable Bede writes of it as a princely town of trade under the rule of a chief magistrate, whose title of portgrave or portreeve conveys the idea that its commerce by water must have been for the time so great as to require magisterial superintendence.

During those civil wars which the new Saxon masters of England carried on against each other till the several kingdoms were united under one head in the person of Egbert, in 819, the city of London, if it did not maintain a neutrality, seems to have sufficiently increased in importance to induce that prince to make it the capital of his whole kingdom; which it has continued to be ever since that reign.

Soon after this the Danes began their nautical predatory excursions, and at length, after attacking the northern ports of the kingdom, in 849 entered the Thames with 250 vessels, seized upon London, plundered and then burned it, and exercised their savage cruelties on the inhabitants. A second attempt by some piratical people was made, and with greater force, about two years after; but on this occasion, King Ethelwolf and his son Athelbald collected a sufficient force to disappoint and finally to overcome the invaders, though the returning prosperity of London received a severe check by the attempt.

In the reign of Alfred the Great, London soon began to recover from the ruinous condition in which the attempts of the Danish invaders had left it. He restored the ruined defences, expelled those of the Danes who had been settled there, affirmed the privileges which had been conferred, added to them others, and contributed much to ornament the whole city. Having made it a place of security by its walls, and capable of a powerful defence, it was placed under the government of his son-in-law, Ethelred duke of Mer- London. In this condition it was, when, in 893, an accidental fire bursting forth spread with unextinguishable fury, and the houses being wholly constructed of wood, became at length a prey to the flames. As the walls were uninjured by the conflagration, the security they afforded encouraged the government and the inhabitants to restore their losses with great expedition. The city was first divided into wards, and magistrates were appointed to each, who then bore the name of sheriffs, a title which had been first created for those who exercised the authority of the monarch in the several districts into which he had divided the whole kingdom. In the portreeve and those sheriffs are to be found the first traces of that system which, with some variations, has continued to regulate the affairs of the city to the present time. As soon as Alfred had settled the general state of his dominions into moderate tranquillity, his attention was drawn to the capital, and the spirit he inspired was speedily exhibited in London. The new houses were constructed with more solidity, and with greater skill and ornament. The chief material used in the buildings was still wood, but some of the nobility were induced by the king to erect houses within the walls of the capital in which stone or bricks were used, and a few of the more wealthy citizens followed the example thus shewn to them; but still the number of such buildings was small in proportion to the whole. At that time thatch was the universal covering.

England had rested from the ravages of the Danes more than a century, when, in 1013, the king of Denmark, Swead, called by English writers Sweyne, or Sweno, aided by Olaf Tryggvason, King of Norway, undertook the subjugation of the whole kingdom. The Danish monarch landed in the Humber with a powerful and splendid armament; and leaving his fleet there under the command of his son Kund or Canute, marched his forces into Wessex, which he laid waste and subdued. Ethelred then abandoned his palace and capital, and sought refuge in the Isle of Wight. The burgesses of London opened their gates to the invader, who was acknowledged as their king by the Anglo-Saxons; and Ethelred, who had married Emma, daughter of the Duke of Normandy, repaired for safety to that country.

Although war was still carried on in the kingdom by the Danes under Canute, who had succeeded to the power of his father, and by the Anglo-Saxons under the Prince Edmund Ironside, the result was so doubtful, that a compromise was entered into by the two commanders, by which Canute secured his power over the city of London, and was acknowledged and received there as the lawful sovereign. Canute, then, as master of the whole kingdom, imposed upon his subjects a tax to pay his army, amounting to L. 72,000, of which L. 10,500 was to be paid by London. As far as the combined wealth and the population can be measured by the amount of taxation, London might then be considered as constituting one-seventh part of the whole kingdom, and this is nearly the proportion which it has borne from that time to the present day.

On settling the succession to the crown, after the death of Canute in 1046, the English supported the son of King Ethelfred, or, on default of him, Hardicanute, a son of Canute, by Queen Emma; whilst the citizens of London espoused the claims of Harold Harfroet, a son of Canute by the Queen. Edward's party speedily declined, and the two half brothers remained the sole competitors. Hardicanute repaired early to England; and an assembly, or wittenagemote, was convened at Oxford, consisting of all the nobles to the north of the Thames, at which Harold was raised to the throne. At this assembly, where nobles only were admitted, the pilots of London, comprehending probably those who were the chief merchants, also held a meeting, and no important affairs were resolved upon without their consent. Some have represented this as the first instance of London having sent members to a legislature; whereas it seems to have been more like an aristocratic assembly, to which chartered citizens, forming a kind of commercial nobility, were admitted.

After the defeat of the Saxons, at the battle of Hastings, the city of London tendered a ready submission to William the Norman, who confirmed to them the privileges which former monarchs had bestowed, and granted additional power by two new charters. The city was tranquil and prosperous; but it received a severe check by a fire, which consumed a great part of the houses in 1077; and by another, nine years afterwards, when the new buildings, as well as the old, were consumed together. The fire of 1086, which began near Ludgate, burned the cathedral of St Paul's, which, however, was soon rebuilt, with more than its former magnificence.

During the reign of the second William, the prosperity of the city was in some measure checked by the exactions he enforced, but in a greater degree by several fires, some violent hurricanes, and extensive inundations. Henry, who succeeded, granted several immunities to the city, which tended to increase its commerce; and he especially restrained the rapacity of the Norman barons, and prohibited within the walls the insolent conduct which they had practised to an enormous excess. The city continued to flourish under Stephen, and his turbulent reign; though, for his own warlike purposes, he exacted large sums of money. The prosperity of the city seems to have begotten internal disorders. Many confederacies were formed, in which some of the rich citizens engaged, to commit robberies, and even murders, in the night time. For these the inhabitants were made to pay a fine of five thousand pounds, and one of the conspirators, a rich man of the name of Senex, was hanged, though an offer of five hundred pounds weight of silver was made to save him from the gallows.

Henry II. changed the title of portreeve for that of bailiff; and that officer claimed, as a matter of right, the performance of the duty of butler at the subsequent coronation of Richard I. In 1191, the bailiff assumed, or was granted, the title of mayor; and the following year Henry Fitz-Alwene, who then filled the office, issued orders in his own name, jointly with that of the aldermen, for the prevention of fires. By this document it was commanded that "all houses to be erected in London hereafter, whether in the city or in the liberties thereof, should be built of stone, with party walls of the same; and should be covered either with slates or tiles, to prevent those dreadful calamities which were frequently and chiefly occasioned by houses built with wood, and thatched with straw or reeds." For this purpose it was also provided by the more discreet men of the city, that "twelve aldermen of the city should be chosen in full hustings, and there sworn to assist the mayor in appeasing contentions that might arise among neighbours in the city, upon inclosure betwixt land and land, and to regulate the dimensions of party walls, which were to be of stone sixteen feet high and three feet thick; and to give directions about girders, windows, gutters, and walls." In 1198, Richard, who placed confidence in the wisdom and fidelity of the city of London, when resolved to fix a standard of weights and measures for the whole kingdom, committed to the sheriffs of London and Middlesex the execution of his plan; and they were charged to provide measures, gallows, iron rods and weights for standards, which were to be sent to every part of the kingdom.

King John, who succeeded Richard, conferred additional favours on the city of London, by several charters which were granted in his reign. He first confirmed former grants, and conferred on the citizens the privilege of entering his foreign dominions free from all tolls and taxes; a matter of considerable advantage in the commerce with Normandy, whence wine was imported, and to which English wool was exported. This was, however, an affair of bargain, as the king was paid for the privilege one thousand pounds weight of silver. By another charter the citizens of London had conferred on them the jurisdiction and conservation of the river Thames, and an additional grant of the same right over the river Medway. A third charter conveyed to the citizens the power of choosing their sheriffs, who had before been nominated by the crown, and also invested them with the right of sherwalty over the county of Middlesex, and valuable fee-farm rents, of which they had been deprived under a former reign.

Henry III. made several attempts to encroach upon those privileges which his predecessors had conferred upon London; and this conduct was productive of many serious disturbances both in London and in Westminster. They were suppressed by violent and arbitrary measures, and at length the whole nation was in a state of alarm, when the parliament interposed, and induced the king to redress, or promise to redress, the most severe of the grievances that were the subject of complaint; but, with respect to the city, the charters were renewed, and the rights and privileges of the citizens confirmed. At this time the right of using a common seal was granted. The king, however, during his whole reign, continued to exact money from the city.

During that long reign of fifty-six years, though the city was sorely afflicted with two years of famine, first in 1258, when, according to Fleetwood, many people were starved, and again, in 1270, when, according to the same authority, "provisions were so scarce, that parents did eat their own children," and wheat was sold at a price, equivalent in our money to thirty-six shillings the bushel; London on the whole continued to increase, but was disgraced, if not retarded, in the progress of its foreign commerce, by the cruelties and plunderings which were exercised towards the Jews who had settled there.

In the reign of Edward I., the city was first divided into twenty-four wards, each of which was then allowed to choose common councilmen and an alderman. Under Edward III., the city received some additions to its authority, the most eminent of which was the perpetual right of magisterial supremacy over the borough of Southwark. An epidemic disease, or kind of plague, proved a calamitous visitation to London. It first became apparent in 1348, and was said to have been imported from the East. Its ravages were so extensive, that it is related in the chronicles of the time that more than 50,000 persons became its victims; and it did not altogether disappear till it had been nine years the source of grief and anxiety.

In the year 1380 the insurrection of Wat Tyler alarmed the city, but was soon suppressed without much difficulty. It is stated to have been put down by the zeal of Sir William Walworth, the lord-mayor, who stabbed the leader of the Jacquerie in Smithfield. In commemoration of this event the dagger was added to the arms of the city.

The first illuminations in the city took place at the coronation of Henry IV., and, after the victories of Henry V. in France, they were again repeated; from which time London began to be lighted at night by lanthorns.

The latter part of the reign of Henry VI. was disturbed by insurrections in several parts of the kingdom; the chief of which, as affected London, was that in Kent under the guidance of John or Jack Cade. He collected a body of 20,000 men, and having obtained some slight success over the Sheriff near Sevenoaks, he advanced to London, which opened its gates to admit him, whilst the king fled to Kenilworth. At first some order was preserved by Cade; but he found himself unable to repress the riotous disposition of his followers. All became confusion among them; and the leader being killed, and several of his followers executed, the suppression of the revolt was the speedy consequence. This event occurred in 1450, and it was soon followed by the wars between the houses of York and Lancaster. In this contest, the city of London chiefly favoured the interests of the latter family; and, after the battle of Barnet, Edward IV. bestowed the honour of knighthood on the mayor, the recorder, and twelve of the aldermen. In this reign occurs the first notice to be found of bricks being used for building London. They were burned in Moorfields. It was also the era in which the first printing-press was constructed and worked by Caxton; and about the same time, the cisterns and conduits for supplying water, in several parts of the city and suburbs, were erected.

In the reign of Henry VII. a nondescript disease, called the sweating sickness, generally prevailed in England, but especially in London, where it appears that two mayors and six aldermen, with numerous other citizens, fell victims to this disease. Notwithstanding the very extensive spoliations committed on the city by the king and his favourites, Empson and Dudley, some considerable improvements were made. The chapel at Westminster, bearing that monarch's name, was commenced; the river Fleet was rendered navigable to Holborn Bridge; and an artillery-ground for the practice of archery was established.

In the reign of Henry VIII., the city successfully resisted the attempts of that monarch to extort money without the authority of Parliament. Many improvements were made, to which the suppression of several of the religious houses contributed; nor were these much impeded by the religious persecutions sometimes directed against Catholics, and at others against Protestants.

In the short reign of his son Edward, London was permanently benefited by the establishment of the great hospitals of Christ's, of Bridewell, and of St Thomas's.

Owing to the wise conduct of Elizabeth and her ministers, the prosperity of London advanced during the whole of her reign. The great number of intelligent and wealthy persons who took refuge there from the cruel wars carried on in the Netherlands, and who were protected by the government, generated a spirit of industry and order amongst all classes; and they introduced numerous manufactures before unknown in England, which conferred benefits upon the whole kingdom, and especially upon London, which was the chief point from which the trade was carried on. She, as well as her successor James, was averse to the great increase that was going on in houses and inhabitants in London, and both issued unavailing proclamations to prevent its growth. As abundant materials of that period are now extant, it may not be uninteresting to sketch from them a short description of the extent of metropolis which created serious uneasiness to the government of that time, and to enable the reader to contrast the state of the city at that period, with the appearance which it now exhibits.

By some apparently correct maps of the reign of James I., it may be seen that the chief part of London was along the city. Newgate Street, Cheapside, the Poultry and Cornhill, and the various streets and alleys leading from them to the banks of the Thames. Except in Coleman Street and a few scattered houses in Lothbury and Bishopsgate, all the way lower down was garden-ground or fields. There was an irregular street from Bishopsgate to Shoreditch Church, with open fields behind the houses; and Houndsditch was a single row of houses, looking on the city walls, with open fields behind them. What is now Goswell Street was then called the St Alban's Road, with a few houses. Clerkenwell consisted chiefly of the monastery, the gardens, and buildings which had belonged to the church; and thence to Gray's-inn-lane was open field, with a few gardens. From Holborn Bridge to Red Lion Street there were houses on both sides; but they ceased there; and the road to the small village of St Giles's had hedges on both sides, and still... London has the addition, "in-the-fields," to its name. To the northward and westward of this spot, all was open field, excepting on the road to Oxford, on both sides of which were hedges and a few trees. Tyburn was then a hamlet two miles from London. A road proceeded from the road to Oxford, and joined that leading to Reading, opposite to what had been the hospital, but subsequently the palace, of St James's. There were a few houses near St Martin's Church, in the way to the garden of the convent; but Leicester Square, Long Acre, Seven Dials, and Drury Lane were open fields.

Along the Strand were houses on both sides, but those to the south were chiefly palaces of the nobility, with gardens behind them extending to the river. These were in the occupation of the peers, whose names have been given to the streets which have been built on their stately mansions, viz. Northumberland, Salisbury, Arundel, Cecil, Norfolk, Surrey, Villiers, Buckingham, and Essex. Each of the noble owners kept barges, with watermen in splendid liveries, to convey them either to the city or to the court at Whitehall, or to visit at Lambeth or Chelsea.

Spring-gardens were a series of walks extending to the palace of Whitehall, whence to the Abbey there was a regular street, and a few beyond, facing the water, near the spot on which Abingdon Street has since been built.

On the Surrey side, there were not ten houses between Lambeth and where now is the west foot of Blackfriars' Bridge; but from that point a row of houses was continued to the borough. Where Christchurch now stands, was a theatre of some kind, called Paris Gardens. It is said that Ben Jonson was an actor on these boards. It seems to have been most frequented on Sunday, and to this profanation its fate has been attributed. Being filled with spectators in 1582, the scaffolding fell, when a number of persons were killed and many much injured. Below this was a large circular building for bear and bull baiting, which attracted great crowds, and where it has been said Queen Elizabeth frequently attended the spectacle. Southwark then extended but a short distance along the High Street, and there were small scattered houses from Tooley Street to Horsely-down.

During the reign of James, the streets were first paved with stones. The city was, however, visited by the plague in 1604, by which many of its inhabitants were carried off.

In the commencement of the reign of Charles I., the metropolis was once more visited by the plague; and though it was not of long duration, the deaths occasioned by it were estimated to amount to near 40,000 persons. In the civil wars of that unfortunate period, a majority of the corporation of London, and most of the lower class of citizens, took the side of the House of Commons; and the treasury of the city was found of great service to the party they espoused. As long as the king maintained an army, it was remarked by the writers of the day that no building in the city was carried on; but, after the battle of Leicestershire, the progress of erecting new houses proceeded as before.

After the restoration of the monarchy, London began greatly to revive; but a serious check was given to its advancement, first by that dreadful visitation the plague, which first appeared in December 1664, and continued till January 1666. The greatest number of deaths were between May and October 1665, when the victims of this disease increased from 500 to 8000 in a week. The effect of this visitation, during its continuance, was to suspend all trade, to close the exchange and the courts of law, and to leave the houses, which had been rendered vacant by the demise of the occupiers, a prey to bands of thoughtless and desperate plunderers. The total number of deaths occasioned by this calamity has been estimated at 100,000, or nearly one-third of the whole population.

A short period only intervened between this calamitous visitation and another, which seemed to be a dispensation of Providence, to cure one evil by another. On the 2d of September 1666, a fire broke out in a lane near London Bridge, then as now called Pudding Lane. It was on a Sunday, when the people were repairing to the churches. It spread with wonderful rapidity, being increased by a very high wind; and it is remarked by Vincent, that during the progress of the fire, the wind frequently changed its direction, so as to convey the inflammatory matter to parts in which, a few minutes before, no apprehension of danger had been entertained. The houses were mostly of wood, and much crowded together; water was scarce, and the atmosphere dry. In every direction the fire spread; and Evelyn, one of the most observant spectators, compares the whole spectacle to a sea of fire. It raged four days and nights, and in that time five-sixths of the whole city within the walls were reduced to ashes. In the destruction, the halls of the companies, the churches, and other public buildings, though of less inflammable substances than the dwellings, fell alike a sacrifice to the devouring element. At length the blowing up of some houses by gunpowder, depriving the fire of materials to feed upon, the progress was stopped near to St Bartholomew's Hospital, at a place called Pye Corner. The ruins covered a space upwards of a mile in length, and half a mile in breadth. It would have been difficult at that day, and is much more so at the present time, to estimate the pecuniary loss suffered by this visitation. It was calculated by some, but the grounds of the calculation are unknown, that the value of buildings and goods consumed amounted to ten or twelve millions sterling. A spirit of wisdom and generosity seemed to have been created by the magnitude of the suffering; and the government, as well as individuals, made wonderful exertions to administer relief. The tents in the Tower, and the sails from the shipping, were converted into temporary coverings for sheds to accommodate the inhabitants. The roads were almost choked with horses and waggons loaded with necessaries, and the boats and barges upon the river were occupied in the same employment. Measures were immediately adopted to rebuild the city, and a commission was appointed, of which Sir Christopher Wren was the most active member, for adjusting the boundaries of the property that had been covered with ashes, and for regulating the new streets that were to be built. Attention was not only directed to immediate necessities, but extended to other objects; such as rebuilding the public edifices which had been burned, of which St Paul's Cathedral was one.

By what means the number of labourers were collected, or from what funds the money to pay their wages was obtained, has been often the subject of very unsatisfactory inquiry; but it is certain that the city was rebuilt with a degree of rapidity which excited the astonishment of the age that witnessed it. The work was well conducted; for the greater part of the public and private buildings which now exist were erected at that period, and are still firm and strong after the lapse of 170 years. The city rose in about four years, more commodious than before; and, however the fact may be accounted for, since that period, it has never been visited by that tremendous disease the plague, whose recurrence before had been so frequent and so extensively fatal.

From the time of this reconstruction, few events are to be noticed that affect London peculiarly. Almost all important occurrences belong rather to the history of England than to that of its metropolis. The revocation of the edict of Nantes in France brought to London many French Protestant families, who introduced the manufactory of silk, and peopled Spitalfields, and of others, who being ornamental jewellers and goldsmiths, were first established in Long Acre, Seven Dials, and Soho. The continued growth of London in the reign of Queen Anne, induced the passing of a law in 1711 for constructing fifty new churches, for which a provision was made by a tax on all coals brought into the river Thames. The streets were first generally lighted at night. The several parishes were provided with fire-engines and buckets, and measures were instituted for watching the city. In the same reign, Clerkenwell, Old Street, the lower part of Shoreditch, Marlborough Street, Soho, Bedford Row, Red Lion Square, and a district north of Holborn, were added to the city.

In the reign of George I., some, but not great, additions were made to London, chiefly to the north of Oxford Street, about Marylebone, and Berkeley Square.

Although the increase of London proceeded, it was at a languid pace, compared with what has been more recently exhibited, throughout the whole reign of George II. New parishes were erected, viz. St George's, Bloomsbury; St Ann's, Limehouse; St Paul's, Deptford; and St Matthew's, Bethnal Green. The river Fleet was covered with an arch, and a market built upon it; Grosvenor Square was built, and also Westminster Bridge, with its appendage Great George Street. Roads were also formed in several directions, the chief of which was that from Paddington to Islington, surrounding the northern part of the city.

The accession of George III. was followed by the peace of Paris in the year 1763, and that event gave a fresh stimulus to improvement and extension. A new bridge was built at Blackfriars, with handsome streets leading to it, and a great number of new dwellings were erected on the Surrey side of the river. On the north-west side the parishes of Pancras and Marylebone were formed. It was at the same period that the excellent pavement forming the footpath for passengers was first laid down, and the kennels removed from the middle of the streets to the two sides of them. Most of the houses had large signs suspended across the street, which darkened them, and prevented the circulation of air. These were removed by law, and as they were used for distinguishing the several houses, the practice of fixing a number to each house was introduced. About the same time the names of the streets, lanes, and squares were ordered to be marked at each corner. During the early part of that reign, the complaints of the Spitalfields weavers, and the agitation created by Wilkes, with the war with America that succeeded these grumbling times, seem to have given a temporary check to extension, as only Somerset House and Manchester Square, with some parochial chapels in Marylebone, date their commencement in that series of years. The disgraceful riots of the year 1780, when, for a few days, a contemptible mob destroyed the prisons and several other buildings, may also have had a tendency to impede improvements, which continued to proceed with slow steps, even after the peace of 1783, till the accession of Mr Pitt to a firm seat at the head of the Ministry. Whether that minister was the cause of the improvements which followed, is not a question to be discussed here, but from this period the advance became more rapid, and has never slackened from that to the present day; but, on the contrary, has been constantly proceeding with accelerated force. The advance had its chief source in the power communicated by the rise of the funds in a short period from fifty to eighty-five; which supplied a spare capital for the construction of docks, by which the commerce of the city was rapidly augmented, and the ground near the water side covered with numerous and convenient structures.

The trade which enriched the eastern part of the metropolis extended its influence, and displayed its effects, in the western parts. Bedford Square, Russell Square, Brunswick Square, and the well-built streets contiguous to them, have their origin at the period we refer to, and became the habitations of persons, who, by property acquired in commerce, were enabled to spend the latter portion of each day in more elegant quarters than the city offered; though, at that time, the handsome square of Finsbury had been formed, with many good streets in its vicinity.

The accession of George IV. to the regency in 1812, followed by those glorious victories which led to peace two years afterwards, must be viewed as an era from which to date the commencement of that rapid advance in extent, in elegance of design, and in excellence of workmanship which London now displays, and which is rapidly proceeding.

In the description of this vast city the first object is the population, its numbers, and gradual augmentation. Like the rest of England, the number of inhabitants in London was a subject of controversy, till the first census of the whole kingdom taken in the year 1801, was produced to the public by the indefatigable and accurate labours of Mr Rickman, under the sanction of an act of Parliament. As the facts ascertained by him at that period have been confirmed by the three subsequent decennial census of 1811, 1821, and 1831, no doubt can be entertained of their complete accuracy.

Mr Rickman in a kind of summary of population in the limits he assumes, and very properly, as those of the metropolis, makes it in the year 1700 to have been 674,000, in the year 1801 to amount to 1,031,500, in 1811 to 1,220,200, in 1821 to 1,481,500, and in 1831 to 1,776,556. As by the successive enumerations, it is clear that the inhabitants have gone on increasing at the rate of twenty per cent. in ten years (and there is no reason to suppose it has proceeded at a slower rate in the last four years), we may add eight per cent. to the population of 1831, and assume that at the present time (April 1835), it amounts to 1,918,680.

The limits to which this enumeration refers, is to all those parishes the churches of which are situated within eight English miles in a straight line from St Paul's, adding a twenty-fifth part in each instance as a moderate allowance for the great number of British seamen belonging to the registered shipping at anchor in the Thames, for soldiers quartered in the Tower and in other barracks, or for the transitory population continually arriving and departing so irregularly as to escape all enumeration.

In giving the population of the metropolis, we shall state that of the city within the walls in a condensed form, not enumerating each parish, of which some have not 100 inhabitants; but in the city without the walls, where the parishes are more populous, in Westminster, and in the out-parishes, we shall name each, with their population at every decennial census.

The city within the walls contains 97 parishes, with a church to each; and the population amounted, in 1801, to 75,377; in 1821, 56,174; in 1831, to 55,778. The following are the parishes without the walls.

| Parish | 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | |---------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------| | St Andrew's, Holborn, with Barnard's Inn | 5,548| 5,741| 6,234| 5,570| | St Bartholomew the Great | 2,645| 2,769| 2,931| 2,923| | St Bartholomew the Less | 951 | 843 | 823 | 863 | | St Botolph without Aldersgate | 4,161| 4,135| 4,003| 3,994| | St Botolph, Aldgate | 8,686| 8,297| 9,067| 9,615| | St Botolph without Bishopsgate | 10,314| 9,184| 10,140| 10,025| | St Bride's or Bridget's | 7,078| 7,003| 7,288| 6,860| | Bridewell Hospital, with extra parochial precinct | 453 | 459 | 444 | 360 | | St Dunstan in the West | 3,021| 3,239| 3,549| 3,443| | St Giles' without Cripplegate | 11,446| 11,704| 13,038| 13,134| | St Sepulchre without Newgate | 8,092| 8,724| 8,271| 7,710| | Trinity in the Minories | 644 | 602 | 680 | 508 | | White Friars' precinct | 783 | 926 | 1,247| 1,302|

| City of Westminster, in ten parishes. | | | | | |---------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------| | St Anne, Soho | 11,637| 12,288| 15,215| 15,600| | St Clement's Danes | 8,717| 9,796| 10,753| 11,578| | St George's, Hanover Square | 38,440| 41,687| 46,384| 58,209| | St James's | 34,462| 34,093| 33,819| 37,053| | St John's | 8,375| 10,615| 16,835| 22,648| | St Margaret's | 17,508| 18,680| 22,387| 25,314| | St Martin's in the Fields | 25,752| 26,585| 28,252| 23,970| | St Mary le Strand | 1,704| 1,578| 1,784| 2,052| | Duchy Lancaster | 474 | 443 | 489 | 410 | | St Paul's, Covent-Garden | 4,922| 5,304| 5,834| 5,203| | Close of the Collegiate Church of St Peter | | 175 | 181 | 185 | | Savoy precinct St John Baptist | 320 | 287 | 222 | 431 | | Verge of the palaces of St James's and of Whitehall | 1,685| 182 | 641 | 238 |

| Parishes in Southwark, described by the bills of mortality as parts of the city without the walls. | | | | | |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------| | St George's | 22,293| 27,967| 36,368| 39,769| | St John's | 8,892| 8,370| 9,163| 9,871| | St Olave | 7,846| 7,917| 8,420| 8,694| | St Saviour's | 15,596| 15,349| 16,808| 18,006| | St Thomas's | 2,078| 1,586| 1,807| 1,456|

| Parishes described in the bills of mortality as "Out parishes in Middlesex and Surrey." | | | | | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------| | Christchurch, Surrey | 9,933| 11,050| 13,339| 13,705| | Christchurch, Spitalfields | 15,091| 16,200| 18,650| 17,949| | St Dunstan's at Stepney | 25,260| 35,199| 49,163| 67,872| | St George's in Bloomsbury, united with St Giles' in the Fields | 36,502| 48,536| 51,793| 52,907| | St George's in the East | 21,170| 26,917| 32,528| 38,505|

| Carry over | 107,956| 137,902| 165,473| 190,938| The following parishes are in contact with the metropolis, and are necessarily the portions in which its greatest extension has of late years been made, and in which the future greatest increase of houses and inhabitants must also take place.

| Parish | 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | |-------------------------|------|------|------|------| | Chelsea | 11,604 | 18,262 | 26,860 | 32,371 | | Kensington | 8,556 | 10,886 | 14,428 | 20,902 | | Marylebone | 63,982 | 75,624 | 96,040 | 122,206 | | Paddington | 1,881 | 4,609 | 6,476 | 14,540 | | Pancras | 31,779 | 46,333 | 71,838 | 103,548 | | **Total** | 117,802 | 155,714 | 215,642 | 293,567 |

Besides the portions formerly called London, the extension of its limits upon every side has caused junctions between the metropolis and many large villages, which are now scarcely to be distinguished from, and in fact form suburbs to it, and rapidly increase with it. They are now as much a part of London as Paddington or Marylebone, because the people who inhabit the houses have their chief occupations in the metropolis, and are thence supplied with most of the necessaries they consume. The calculation before noticed was made by Mr Rickman, to show the contrast between the population of London and that of Paris, and comprehended a circle of eight miles around St Paul's; but since the publication of his reports, the law of 1834 has extended the criminal circuit of London somewhat farther, and included in it not only the villages in Middlesex whose prisoners were always tried at the Sessions at the Old Bailey, but has brought within the limits of that court, towns and villages in Essex, Surrey, and Kent.

The places forming, in this view, a part of London, besides those included in the population already stated, are these: in Middlesex, Tottenham, Edmonton, Hornsey, Highgate, Hampstead, Hayes, Hendon, Wilsden, Brentford, Acton, Chesham, Isleworth and Fulham, with Hammersmith; in Surrey, Battersea, Bermondsey, Camberwell, Clapham, Streatham, Barnes, Putney, Tooting, Wandsworth, Merrow, Mortlake, Kew, Wimbledon, and Richmond; in Kent, Eltham, Charlton, Lee, Lewisham, Greenwich, Woolwich, Plumstead, and Deptford; and in the county of Essex, Barking, East Ham, West Ham, Ilford, Low Layton, Walthamstow, Wanstead, Chingford, and Woodford.

Not to occupy too much space, the growth of the population of these places must be omitted; but the number of inhabitants at the census of 1831 is extracted, and stands thus: In the places within the county of Middlesex, as above mentioned, 70,458; in the county of Surrey, 124,185; in the county of Kent, 79,971; and in Essex, 33,769; being together 308,389.

The whole population of the metropolis in May 1831 may thus be enumerated:

- City within the walls: 55,778 - City without the walls: 66,815 - City of Westminster: 202,891 - Borough of Southwark: 77,796 - Out-parishes in the bills of mortality: 641,052 - Parishes not in the bills of mortality: 293,567 - Other places within the new judicial circle: 308,389

Total: 1,646,288

As the limits here assigned to the metropolis are different from those assumed by Mr Rickman, the result of the numbers necessarily varies without any incorrectness in either representation, each of which is taken from the same ascertained facts. Mr Rickman, as has been before remarked, has very judiciously added to the number of persons, as collected from house to house in the metropolis, one twentieth part for seamen, military, and temporary residents; which, considering the great number on board the ships, seems not too much. Following the same rule, and adding that proportion to the number before stated, we conclude that the sum total of the population in 1831 was 1,704,830; and, allowing for the same rate of augmentation of two per cent. per annum, similar to what has appeared by the accounts of former periods, we arrive at a conclusion ap- London was founded in a situation peculiarly favourable for a large city. It stands on the banks of a fresh-water river, but yet is operated upon by the tides. The natural soil is composed of gravel and clay, with slight mixtures of loam and clay, a soil easy to be made productive by addition of that animal and vegetable matter which are exuviae of large towns. In every part there are abundant springs of pure water. The valley of the Thames has an immediate gradual ascent on the north side; and on the south side the range of hills is not more than two miles distant, and the intervening flat land has by embankments been well secured against inundations. The air is temperate and rather dry than moist, and the health of the inhabitants has gradually but rapidly improved from the beginning of the last century, when the deaths were annually one in twenty of the whole population, whereas at present they are about one in forty.

The existence, the growth, and the prosperity of London have all been so indebted to its situation on the river Thames, that any description of that city would be imperfect which did not dedicate a portion of it to what relates to that noble stream.

The source of the Thames is just within the borders of Gloucestershire, a little to the south-west of Cirencester; and after crossing a small angle of Wiltshire, it again enters that county, and proceeds to Lechlade. At that place it is brought into connexion with the river Severn by means of a navigable canal, which passes through a tunnel under the park of Lord Bathurst, and then proceeds by Stroud to the river which passes Shrewsbury, Worcester, Gloucester, and Bristol. This was the first communication which was formed between the two greatest of the English rivers. Bold and public spirited as this attempt was, those who have expended their money and their attention on it have reason to regret the inadequate compensation which they have received or are likely to receive.

The Thames becomes first navigable at Lechlade, and by means of locks carries long barges of about seventy tons burden; but the navigation is long and expensive. In summer, when the water is low, it is necessary to pen it up at the locks till a sufficient body is accumulated. When they are opened, the rush carries them down till they get aground, when they must wait for the next flash, as it is locally called, to carry them forward. In winter it often happens that the water is so swollen as not to admit the barges, whose cargo is piled up high, to pass under the arches of the bridges. Though the barges descend by the current, they must be drawn upwards by horses against the stream, which is very expensive, as, after heavy rains, it is not unusual to see fifteen or sixteen horses drawing a single barge, and with the greater difficulty from the towing paths being at such times covered with water. The Thames proceeds along its rich, but in places contracted, valley, till it arrives at Oxford, where it is joined by the Isis, a short but at times copious stream, rising near Iylesbury in Buckinghamshire. From additional quantity of water the barges that navigate from Oxford to London are of a greater burden than those which are used on the more western portion of the stream.

At Reading the river Kennet empties its water into the Thames. That river is navigable upwards to Newbury, whence a canal connects it with the Avon, which passes to Bath and Bristol; and thus another line of communication is formed between the two great streams the Thames and Severn. Near Stains the river Coln adds its water to that of the now great stream. A few miles lower the Wey joins it, and by a canal from that stream to Basingstoke, a water intercourse is formed with Winchester and Southampton. At Brentford a communication by a cut is made into the Grand Junction Canal; and the Thames proceeds to London with no addition to its water except from the river Wandle on the Surrey side, and some small brooks on both sides. The effect of the tide is felt as high up as Kingston, and sometimes even at Teddington. The rise of the tide just below London Bridge is eighteen feet, by which vessels of three hundred and fifty tons drawing sixteen feet water can approach to the Custom-house. At Deptford the rise is more than twenty feet; by which the largest India ship drawing twenty-three feet water may come to that place. The river continues fresh as low as Woolwich, and even there it is only brackish at high-water in spring-tides. The river above London flows generally over a gravelly or clayey bottom, which gives growth to abundance of weeds, that afford shelter to vast multitudes of fish, and protects them for the illegal fisherman more than the care of the water-balliff. The length of the course of the river, from the time it becomes navigable at Lechlade, till it reaches London, is 138 miles. As the corporation of the city are the conservators of the river, they appoint a navigation committee, who have the superintendence of the towing-paths, the bridges, the water-courses, and whatever relates to the river, as high as a stone marking the city boundaries a little above the bridge at Staines. Above that place the supervision is divided between the city and a body corporate, which is chiefly composed of the land-owners on both sides of the river.

The conservation of the river Thames below London is also in some measure under the government of the corporation of the city, and extends up the Medway to Rochester; but the corporation of the Elder Brethren of the Trinity House have a concurrent jurisdiction. The city has the protection of the fishery, but the soil of the river to the main sea is vested in the Trinity House, for the benefit of poor and decayed seamen, their wives, widows and orphans, and no ballast can be raised for any ship without its authority, under very heavy penalties. The appointment and control of pilots, the erection and repairing of marks on the land, the placing and keeping in order the buoys which indicate the channels, and the establishment of floating lights, are under the superintendence of the Trinity House. As there are numerous shoals in the river, and some of them often shift their position, a great deal of vigilance is required, as well as practical nautical knowledge, to perform these important duties; and the legislature has placed the shipping of the port of London under the direction of harbour-masters nominated by the corporation and approved by the Trinity House, who direct the mooring of all vessels excepting within 200 yards of the docks, which space is under the control of the dock-masters. In the river Thames, the time of the tides flowing, and the perpendicular height to which it reaches at the full and the change of the moon, are as follow: At London, at 11½, it rises 18 feet; at Woolwich it is high water at 11½, at Purfleet at 13½, at Gravesend at 14½, at Holy Haven at 12½, at the Nore 12½; the rise at Purfleet is 17 feet, at Holy Haven 15, and at the Nore 14½; but allowance must be made for the wind, which when high greatly affects the tide.

The tide at the mouth of the Thames is thus full more than two hours before it is high water at London Bridge, and after it flows there, it rises in height upwards for half an hour, in the middle of the river, although the water may have fallen a foot in height, having an eddy current on one or both sides the stream. In like manner, it rises one foot in height before the flood appears to run up.

Owing to the numerous, and sometimes opposite, directions which the river takes, the change of its currents according to the state of the tide, and the various shoals in many parts, the navigation is intricate and difficult, and the river- pilots are a distinct class of men from the sea-pilots; the former conducting vessels to Gravesend, and the latter taking charge of them to the Downs, or even to Portsmouth, if they are bound to that place.

Before the introduction of steam-vessels, and the application of them to the purpose of towing ships, it frequently happened to large loaded vessels ready for sea, whilst an easterly wind blew which would be favourable if they were at sea, that they could not safely descend the river to take advantage of it. It was too dangerous for such large vessels to attempt to drop down with the ebb tide, and impossible to turn to windward against the flood tide; but now steamers can take them in tow and carry them without risk to the part where they can avail themselves of the propitious breeze.

As the mouth of the Thames, like that of other great rivers, is filled with sand brought down by the constant current of the water, through which banks the water makes its way by channels of greater or less capacity, it is necessary that such channels should be clearly pointed out either by buoys or lights. At the mouth of the Thames, these indications of the channels are numerous, accurately placed, and so distinguished that each can be easily known. The buoys are chiefly to be distinguished by their colour, with due regard to their position or bearing from some object upon the land. They are securely moored, but turn with the tide. Those upon the several channels are well known to the pilots, and their enumeration here would be of no use, as no vessels attempt the passage in or out without a pilot on board. The lights are fewer, and deserve notice. At the Nore, where the Thames is about nine miles from shore to shore, one of the great channels through the sand-banks begins; a light vessel is placed in the room of a former one which was removed in 1825. The old vessel had two lights, but the present has only one, though of great brilliancy. At the sunk sand there is a floating light, which is an excellent guide for the King's Channel; this is only four miles from Harwich lighthouses, for there are two of different heights, which must be kept in a line in going through the channel to that place. There are two towers with a light in each at the same height, but one of these towers was in 1818 raised forty feet above its lightroom, in order to serve as a day-mark.

On the north passage through the sands, there is a great shoal called the Galloper, extending about four miles in length and being half a mile wide, with only six or seven feet water at low tide. Ever since the year 1804, a vessel has been moored at the south-west end of the sand, in which two lights are exhibited horizontally, from sunset to sunrise. This may be readily distinguished from the Sunk and the Goodwin lights, as the former exhibits but one and the latter three lights.

There is a lofty lighthouse on the north Foreland, which is an ancient erection of great importance to ships coming in from sea, by which a ledge of rocks which stretch two-thirds of a mile northward from that point, may be avoided. On the pier-head of Ramsgate a light is placed, the principal object of which is to serve as a guide to the harbour. As the lights from the windows of the town were liable to be taken for this, shades of red glass have been affixed, so as to produce a clear red light easily distinguishable.

The floating light of the Goodwin is intended chiefly for the benefit of vessels arriving from the northward, which, if possible, keep to the eastward of it. In order to distinguish this from the lights on the two Forelands, three distinct lights are exhibited from the vessel, which is with one mast and a yard crossing it securely moored. The middle of these three lights is considerably higher than those at the two extremes, thus forming an erect triangle not easily mistaken. In foggy or hazy weather, a bell is kept constantly ringing on board, to warn ships that they are near the north end of the sand. On board this vessel, thus kept continually in motion, the small crew is frequently for a long time completely cut off from all intercourse with the shore. On the south Foreland there are one or two lighthouses, but these scarcely belong to the mouth of the Thames, being placed chiefly with a view to prevent vessels from running on the Goodwin sands.

Complaints, as the commerce of London increased, became very frequent, of the crowded state of the river, of the delay and difficulty of procuring good berths for ships, and of the want of accommodation for discharging cargoes, owing to the scarcity or the distance of commodious warehouses. These complaints called the attention of the merchants and ship-owners, and at length that of the government, to the subject. There were many difficulties to be surmounted, arising from the vested rights of the corporation; and of private individuals who had property in the mooring chains, in the legal quays, the suffrane wharfs, the upland warehouses, and in lighters or other craft, all of which would be injured by the construction of docks. Mr Pitt, then minister, applied all the powers of his mind to the subject in the committee of the House of Commons; and at length, after seven years' agitation, and with ample compensation to the sufferers, the law was put in force by the commencement of the West India Docks, in February 1800, and by their being opened for the reception of ships in August 1802.

These, the first establishment of the kind in London, were formed in the gorge of an isthmus called the Isle of Dogs, on the Middlesex side of the river. They comprised at first an import and an export dock, each communicating with one basin of five or six acres in extent, with the main river at Blackwall, and another of two acres at the other end near Limehouse; and parallel to these was constructed the city canal, which having been rendered useless by the application of steam-vessels to tow ships, has been recently also formed into a dock, and contains nineteen acres, now used as a depot for bonded timber.

The export dock, where eastward-bound ships are loaded, is the smaller of the two, being about twenty-five acres in extent. The import dock is of the same length, but thirty feet wider, and occupies thirty acres of ground. The locks by which admission to both is gained, are forty-five feet wide, and consequently admit vessels of 1200 tons burden. At the highest spring-tides the water is twenty-four feet deep; and there is within the docks sufficient space for 600 vessels of from 250 to 600 tons burden. A great benefit has been gained, both by the revenue and the traders, by the separation of the import from the export dock. They are parallel to each other, but are divided by stacks of warehouses, the chief commodities in which are rum, brandy, and other spirituous liquors. There are sheds on the side of the export dock, which afford shelter for goods sent for exportation. The chief warehouses for import goods are on the quays which bound that inclosure. They are admirably contrived for the reception, preservation, and delivery of goods, and are capable of storing 170,000 hds. of sugar, besides coffee and other tropical productions.

The whole space occupied by these docks and warehouses extends over 295 acres. It is inclosed on every side; all the buildings are fire-proof; and the premises are well guarded by watchmen, so that the system of pilfering, formerly practised to a great extent on the river, is completely abolished. The carts or waggons which convey goods to town are loaded from the backs of the warehouses, without entering the dock-gates. The capital of the company which built and now superintend the docks is £1,380,000, raised by subscriptions at different times. The proprietors were limited to ten per cent. interest, and if the income amounted to more, the tolls and storage were to be reduced in price. This establishment had the mo- nopoly of the West India trade during the first twenty years after their construction. At that time they accumulated a sum which in 1819 induced them to lower their rates. But of late, from the competition of other companies, though their profits did not reach ten per cent., they have been induced to diminish the rates. The dividend now scarcely exceeds five per cent.

The nearest end of these docks is at Limehouse, three miles from the Royal Exchange, and the other end at Blackwall is half a mile farther. The expense of cartage, though the road is excellently paved, is therefore greater than from the docks which have been subsequently constructed, and it is doubtful if the benefit to the shipping by not proceeding so high up the river is an adequate compensation.

Some admirable contrivances have been recently adopted, by which the great body of water in the docks is kept always sweet, and by which the constant deposit of mud from the water of the river is carried away gradually.

The docks which next followed the West India in their construction are the London Docks, situated between Ratcliff Highway and the Thames. They were begun in June 1802, and opened for the admission of vessels in January 1805. They were originally planned chiefly to receive ships and their cargoes loaded with tobacco, wine, brandy, and rice. They consist of two docks of unequal extent; the western covering a space of twenty acres, and the eastern of about seven acres. The latter is entered through a small basin from Shadwell, and the former has two through their basins, the one between Wapping Old Stairs and Bell Dock, and the other at the Hermitage. The whole can commodiously receive 500 vessels of from 200 to 800 tons burden. The warehouses are very magnificent; the most extraordinary is that for bonded tobacco. The roof and pillars which support it are of iron, and the whole building covers five acres of land, and is capable of containing 24,000 hogsheads of that commodity. There is another warehouse for tobacco, but of smaller dimensions. The vaults under these and the other warehouses are in extent more than eighteen acres, and have space to store 66,000 pipes of wine or spirits. This company, like that of the West India Docks, had a monopoly for twenty-one years, which expired in 1826; by this all vessels loaded with wine, brandy, tobacco, and rice were bound to discharge their cargoes on their premises.

The company is governed by a directory, of whom the Lord Mayor and a certain number of aldermen form part. Their capital was L3,328,000; and besides that, as they had to pay for 1300 houses, which were taken down to make room for the operations, they were compelled to borrow L700,000. This great expenditure, and the rivalry of other similar associations, which have reduced the rates of tolls and storage, have of late only enabled the company to pay two and a half per cent. interest to the proprietors.

The regulations to prevent fire and pilfering are as effectual in those as in the West India Docks. The whole consists of seventy-one acres, and is walled, and the hours for admission and for working are the same as in the other docks.

The East India Docks followed those of London. The commencement of the work took place in 1803, and its completion in 1806. They are at Blackwall, and designed for the trade of the East India Company. They consist of an import basin of eighteen acres, and of an export basin of about nine acres, with an entrance basin of 2½ acres. As they were constructed to receive ships of great burden, the length of the entrance lock is 210, and the depths of the gates forty-eight feet, and there is never less than twenty-three feet of water. The extent of warehouse-room is small, as most of the commodities unloaded here are carried immediately to the Company's warehouses in the different parts of London. The tea and the more valuable goods are conveyed in covered waggons, secured by locks, along the Commercial Road, which has been constructed to communicate with these and the other docks. The capital of the Company is L500,000, paying a dividend of four per cent. The directors of the Company have the chief management, and the ships are loaded and discharged by their servants, not by the crews; and the regulations to prevent fire and plunder are of the strictest kind.

St Katharine's Docks, the last that have been constructed, are situated between the London Docks and the Tower, and are situated between the London Docks and the Tower. Though a great work, it was executed within a year and a half, and first opened in October 1828. The whole extent of the property is twenty-four acres, of which nearly one-half is included in the two docks, communicating by a basin between them. The entrance is near Irongate, where the lock from the river is 180 feet long, and 45 feet broad, and is so constructed as to admit ships of 200 tons burden to pass out three hours before high water, so as to enable them to reach Blackwall before the ebb of the tide begins. Ships of 800 tons burden can be conveniently received into these docks, as the water at the entrance is deeper than at any of the other docks, and they can enter or depart by night as well as by day; and vessels drawing eighteen feet water may be afloat at a buoy opposite the gates at low water. The two divisions are estimated to be capable of receiving annually about 1400 merchant vessels. The warehouses are very large and commodious, and, being partly erected upon pillars close to the water, goods are craned up to them direct from the hold of the discharging vessel, at a diminished expense of time and labour, whilst the space is also thereby economised. The whole work has been executed with great skill, taste, and judgment, and its situation being within a quarter of an hour's walk from the Royal Exchange and the Custom House, is a very great accommodation.

The expense of this concern has been very great for its extent, arising chiefly from the number of houses which required to be purchased and pulled down, to make way for the excavation. The capital originally raised was L1,350,000, since which L800,000 have been borrowed on the security of the tolls, for the completion of the works, and the purchase of land, possessing river frontage, from the Tower to the corner of Lower East Smithfield. This, which cost more than L100,000, has been recently made applicable to the erection of a wharf, at which steam-vessels can take in or land passengers without the inconvenience of embarking by means of wherries. The regulations of this dock and the charges are similar to those of the other.

On the right bank of the Thames, extending along the side of the river at Limehouse, reaching from Dog-and-Duck Stairs to near Cuckold's Point, and terminating near opposite to the entrance of the West India Docks, are the Commercial Docks, and parallel to it the Surrey Canal. The Docks are of great extent, inclosing within walls forty-nine acres, of which thirty-eight are water. They were designed to receive vessels loaded with timber, corn, and other commodities which are more bulky than costly. The warehouses are neither extensive nor commodious, and their establishments not so constructed as to entitle them to become bonding warehouses for many kinds of goods. They are entered by a basin near Dog-and-Duck Stairs, which is sometimes called the East-Country Docks, and the main body of the water within is divided into three unequal parts. The Surrey Canal consists of an inner and outer dock at its entrance, in which ships are received; but at present it is chiefly used for the reception of vessels offered for sale. There is a communication by it with the Croydon Canal. As the ships employed in foreign or colonial commerce generally enter these docks to discharge or take in their cargoes, there is room left in the river Thames for the coasting trade, including that with Ireland and Scot- land. Of these the greater portion are such as are loaded with coal from the northern counties, which are allowed to anchor in what is called the Pool, a part of the river extending from the Custom House to the entrance of the Regent's Canal, near Limehouse. In this part, 210 vessels may anchor at one time; but the average number of them does not exceed 180, though about 7000 ship-loads of coals are annually discharged.

As the Regent's Canal terminates near the London and the West India Docks, it may be appropriately noticed in this place. The chief object of this work was to save the expense of cartage through London of those articles brought by sea and afterwards forwarded for consumption to the distant parts of the metropolis in the north-west division, and to communicate there with the Grand Junction Canal. It therefore passes in a circular course round London from Paddington on the west to Limehouse on the east. It passes by a tunnel under Maida Hill to the Regent's Park, and from thence to Islington, under the street of which it is carried through a tunnel about three quarters of a mile in length, where there is a large basin. It then proceeds to Hoxton, Hackney, and Limehouse. It is nine miles in length, and has twelve locks so admirably contrived, and so large, that barges eighty-three feet long and fourteen wide can pass and not occupy more than three and a half minutes in passing. It has much trade in coals, and some in conveying goods from London to be sent to the northern parts of the kingdom. It has been found a very expensive work, and whatever may hereafter be its increase of trade, does not at present pay more than fifteen shillings interest on 21,400 shares of L.100 each.

It would serve to give some idea of the trade of London in general, and the utility of the docks as subservient to it, if our limits would allow of an enumeration of the names and the quantities of all the commodities under the king's locks in the several bonding warehouses of the port. We have only room to notice some of the most prominent.

**Account of some articles in bond in London the 5th January 1833.**

| Article | Quantity | |----------------------------------|----------| | Wheat | 260,384 qrs. | | Barley | 7,908 | | Oats | 42,290 | | Wheat flour | 123,346 cwt. | | Number of Canes for walking | 5,254,421 | | Gum lac | 1,989,228 lbs. | | Pimento | 1,181,855 | | Number of goose quills | 14,822,900 | | Silk, raw and thrown | 2,006,079 lbs. | | Rum | 2,682,270 gals. | | Brandy | 738,929 | | Gin | 27,489 | | Tobacco, unmanufactured | 22,694,725 lbs. | | Ditto, manufactured | 229,765 | | Wine, Cape | 322,769 gals. | | French | 380,843 | | Canary | 87,355 | | Madeira | 376,171 | | Portugal | 1,442,869 | | Rhenish | 40,452 | | Spanish, not described | 2,111,329 | | Tallow | 142,897 | | Tea | 813,821 cwt. | | Cotton wool | 49,617,300 lbs. | | Pepper | 8,411,252 | | Sheep's wool | 9,903,109 | | Indigo | 3,063,762 | | | 8,843,407 |

**An account of the Number and Tonnage of Ships that have entered the Port of London with cargoes from foreign parts, distinguishing the countries from whence they have arrived, in the years 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833, and 1834.**

| Countries | 1830 | Ships | Tonnage | 1831 | Ships | Tonnage | 1832 | Ships | Tonnage | 1833 | Ships | Tonnage | 1834 | Ships | Tonnage | |----------------------------------|------|-------|---------|------|-------|---------|------|-------|---------|------|-------|---------|------|-------|---------| | Russia | 505 | 113,919 | 692 | 147,250 | 415 | 92,859 | 405 | 186,166 | 470 | 112,183 | | Sweden | 91 | 17,921 | 106 | 24,482 | 37 | 10,177 | 63 | 18,384 | 98 | 26,397 | | Norway | 91 | 30,493 | 138 | 40,510 | 82 | 26,505 | 102 | 31,859 | 137 | 40,485 | | Denmark | 203 | 17,866 | 222 | 21,490 | 103 | 11,532 | 80 | 7,697 | 229 | 21,048 | | Prussia | 530 | 94,726 | 402 | 82,891 | 230 | 44,346 | 175 | 41,107 | 161 | 37,261 | | German States | 419 | 63,424 | 380 | 53,649 | 282 | 46,354 | 291 | 48,258 | 339 | 56,525 | | Netherlands | 725 | 77,555 | 686 | 75,470 | 502 | 52,104 | 586 | 65,006 | 706 | 88,832 | | France | 259 | 28,231 | 403 | 39,232 | 305 | 29,964 | 385 | 33,955 | 403 | 36,300 | | Portugal, Azores, and Madeira | 280 | 26,999 | 353 | 33,292 | 256 | 25,708 | 381 | 37,725 | 363 | 38,898 | | Spain and Canaries | 270 | 30,100 | 372 | 83,881 | 204 | 21,965 | 324 | 37,983 | 266 | 30,574 | | Italian States | 132 | 18,931 | 193 | 32,939 | 105 | 14,525 | 132 | 20,188 | 128 | 20,939 | | Ionian Islands | 18 | 2,535 | 31 | 4,645 | 26 | 3,575 | 33 | 4,464 | 25 | 3,637 | | Turkey and Continental Greece | 47 | 6,781 | 72 | 10,105 | 67 | 9,339 | 58 | 8,481 | 69 | 9,538 | | Morea and Greek Islands | 4 | 562 | 10 | 1,285 | 13 | 1,985 | 9 | 1,350 | 14 | 2,026 | | Egypt | 6 | 4,509 | 15 | 3,341 | 5 | 862 | | | 4 | 756 | | Tripoli, Barbary, and Morocco | 10 | 960 | 12 | 1,178 | 9 | 957 | 132 | 29,812 | 28 | 3,438 | | Foreign Asia | 12 | 4,406 | 9 | 3,261 | 7 | 2,201 | 186 | 96,375 | 9 | 3,279 | | China | 22 | 27,782 | 21 | 27,889 | 20 | 25,237 | | | 27 | 28,199 | | United States of America | 66 | 22,485 | 114 | 38,757 | 73 | 27,156 | 62 | 23,899 | 75 | 27,169 | | Foreign West Indies | 41 | 8,341 | 48 | 5,902 | 57 | 13,058 | 42 | 7,036 | 34 | 7,015 | | Foreign Continental Colonies in America | 84 | 15,815 | 106 | 20,930 | 78 | 15,416 | 76 | 14,652 | 89 | 16,930 |

In the trade with Russia, somewhat more than nine-tenths is carried on by means of British vessels. In that with Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, the case is the reverse, and five-sixths is carried on in vessels of those countries. In that with Prussia, whose ships are of a larger size upon the average than those of Great Britain that frequent the Baltic, their tonnage in London is about double of our own. The commerce with the other states of Germany, employs double as much tonnage in British as in foreign ships, and the same proportion is found in the trade with the Netherlands. In the intercourse between London and France, the number of British vessels employed is to that of foreign as seven to six; but as the average of British vessels is somewhat larger, the proportion of tonnage is as eight to five in favour of our own shipping. The vessels which bring cargoes to the metropolis from Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira, from Spain and the Canaries, and from the Italian states, are almost wholly British, as the number and tonnage of the foreign ships that arrive, do not amount to more than two and a half per cent.

The commerce with the Ionian Islands, with Turkey, and Continental Greece, with the Morea and the Greek Islands, with Egypt, with Tripoli, Barbary, and Morocco, with the foreign territories in Africa and in Asia, and with China, is wholly in British-owned vessels. In the London trade with the United States of America, the foreign vessels, mostly those of the States, are to the British vessels in the proportion of nearly four to one. The commerce with the West Indies, and with the continental colonies in America, is almost wholly conducted in British ships, as out of 500 sail of vessels that arrived in the Thames with cargoes from those parts there were only forty, and those of small size belonging to foreigners.

The whole of the commerce of Great Britain, with the colonies of North and South America, with the islands in the West Indies, with the settlements on the coast of Africa, and with the East India Company's extensive territories, is carried on by British ships alone; but it is not easy to estimate what proportion of it employs ships belonging to London. In fact, those which at one period of the year are employed in one branch of commerce, are often employed in another in a different part of the same or of a succeeding year. Many, too, of the British ships which arrive at or depart from London, are owned by persons resident in other, especially the northern, parts of the kingdom.

In the absence of any recent account, it may be as near an approximation to accuracy as can be obtained, if the number and tonnage of the vessels belonging to the port of London be assumed to bear the same proportion to the number of those that belong to the whole of the kingdom, as is exhibited by the net amount of the produce of the duty of customs. In this view the year 1833 may be taken, when the whole sum drawn to the revenue from the three kingdoms was £18,575,182 : 15 : 9, and the sum drawn from the port of London was £7,662,521. In that year the tonnage of all the ships in the United Kingdom, and of our possessions in Europe, was 2,271,301. Of this a vast part were occupied in the coasting trade, and the vessels so employed were, in most cases, owned by persons in the out-ports. The fisheries, whether for herrings, ling, or pilchards, on our own coasts, as well as those for whales in the northern ocean, or for cod on the banks of Newfoundland, are mostly conducted in vessels also owned at the out-ports; and though the southern whale-fishery is chiefly carried on from London, the tonnage it employs is insignificant when put in comparison with that of the other branches here noticed. If a deduction be made for the tonnage of the coasting vessels, including the colliers, and of the fishermen, to the amount of 650,000 tons, from the 2,271,300 tons which appear on the register, there will remain about 1,620,000; and, in conformity with the view of reckoning the tonnage by the custom's revenue, that of London being near two-fifths of the whole kingdom, so, if the shipping of London be two-fifths of that of the whole tonnage on the register, it will be about 650,000, which cannot be very far from the truth.

It is not easy, within a moderate compass, to give even a sketch of the foreign commerce of London. It would be an epitome of that of the whole world. The British capital is the emporium to which are brought the products of all soils, and all climates, whether such as are spontaneously produced, or such as have been gradually created by ages of observation and application. It has in store ready for distant commerce, or for domestic use, whatever the ingenuity and industry of man in any part of the globe can spare to exchange for what his own country, or climate, or skill, cannot yield him. We could, therefore, do little more here than point out, as we have done, the foreign countries with which the chief intercourse is maintained, and the proportions of it, as far as they can be indicated by the number and size of the vessels that convey their commodities.

An Account of the Number of Vessels, and their aggregate Tonnage, that have entered the Port of London from all foreign countries in each year from 1820 to 1834.

| Years | British | Foreign | |-------|---------|---------| | | Ships | Tonnage | Ships | Tonnage | | 1820 | 3354 | 655,239 | 856 | 122,619 | | 1821 | 3000 | 585,994 | 571 | 89,073 | | 1822 | 3230 | 603,167 | 597 | 106,099 | | 1823 | 3031 | 611,451 | 865 | 161,705 | | 1824 | 3132 | 607,106 | 1643 | 264,098 | | 1825 | 3989 | 785,565 | 1743 | 302,122 | | 1826 | 3495 | 675,026 | 1586 | 215,254 | | 1827 | 4012 | 769,102 | 1534 | 221,008 | | 1828 | 4084 | 767,112 | 1303 | 195,129 | | 1829 | 4108 | 784,070 | 1300 | 215,605 | | 1830 | 3910 | 744,229 | 1258 | 207,500 | | 1831 | 4140 | 780,988 | 1557 | 269,159 | | 1832 | 3274 | 640,057 | 886 | 154,514 | | 1833 | 3421 | 678,289 | 1061 | 175,183 | | 1834 | 3785 | 735,693 | 1280 | 216,063 |

On account of the fire at the Custom-house in 1814, which destroyed the accounts of many years before 1800, it is not easy to ascertain what was the amount of duty collected by the commissioners of the customs prior to that date; and some of the accounts of subsequent years having also been then destroyed, the series is very much broken till 1825. The following is all that can now be obtained.

Statement of the Gross and Net Receipt of the Custom-duty at the Port of London, as far as the same can be made up from existing documents.

| Year | Gross Receipt | Net Receipt | |------|--------------|-------------| | 1800 | L.5,663,704 | | | 1805 | 6,907,027 | | | 1810 | 8,472,207 | | | 1815 | 7,789,726 | L.5,536,441 | | 1820 | 7,474,387 | 5,342,731 | | 1824 | 7,679,409 | 5,731,238 | | 1826 | 10,291,877 | 8,829,789 | | 1827 | 10,402,859 | 8,790,829 | | 1828 | 10,529,115 | 8,918,310 | | 1829 | 10,211,037 | 8,524,261 | | 1830 | 10,307,208 | 8,576,163 | | 1831 | 9,455,339 | 7,916,993 | | 1832 | 9,334,299 | 7,876,660 | | 1833 | 8,692,898 | 7,662,521 | | 1834 | 10,697,263 | 9,576,972 |

The comparative commercial importance of London may be shewn by contrasting the amount of the duty of customs collected in it, with that collected at the greatest of the maritime towns within the three kingdoms.

Net Amount of Duty collected at the Customs in the year 1833, as transmitted to the Treasurer.

| Town | Amount (£) | |---------------|------------| | London | 7,662,521 | | Liverpool | 3,555,955 | | Bristol | 1,016,873 | | Hull | 592,161 | | Dublin | 546,467 | | Greenock | 383,927 | | Newcastle | 273,686 | | Leith | 246,536 | | Belfast | 194,565 | | Cork | 161,690 | | Glasgow | 159,795 | | Port Glasgow | 152,564 | | Waterford | 103,754 | | Gloucester | 102,875 | | Limerick | 97,624 | | Plymouth | 89,941 | | Whitehaven | 82,090 | | Sunderland | 75,364 | | Exeter | 58,887 | | Londonderry | 56,905 | | Aberdeen | 49,870 |

One of the chief sources of occupation for shipping is the conveyance of coals to London. They are chiefly brought from the north-eastern side of the kingdom, and sold on their arrival by the cargo at an appropriate building in Thames Street, called the Coal Exchange. The great dealers sell the coals by barge-loads to the lightermen, wharfingers, and other retailers; and when they are discharged from the vessels that bring them to the Pool, they are usually kept in coal barges at the several wharfs, ready to supply the consumers. A great benefit has lately been conferred on the public by the change in the mode of selling coals, substituting weight instead of measure, or the ton for the chaldron. As coals measure more when much broken, it was the interest of the dealers to break the large lumps; but now that they are sold by weight, they have no inducement to break them, and they are delivered more lumpy. Each waggon or cart that brings coal to the consumer, is bound to bring appropriate weights and scales, and to weigh such part, if the buyer should require it. By this some of the tricks formerly played in this trade are prevented. The ton of coals is sold, including carriage, which varies according to the distance from the water-side, and the porterage, according to the quality, from 24s. to 30s. The chaldron, which was before the law 1st and 2d Will. IV., cap. 67, the legal measure, weighs one ton five hundreds and a half.

The quantity imported in each of the ten last years has been as follows:

| Year | Tons | |------|--------| | 1825 | 1,992,104 | | 1826 | 2,040,291 | | 1827 | 1,882,321 | | 1828 | 1,960,559 | | 1829 | 2,018,975 | | 1830 | 2,079,275 | | 1831 | 2,045,292 | | 1832 | 2,139,078 | | 1833 | 2,010,409 | | 1834 | 2,078,685 | | 1835 | 2,104,602 |

The institutions of the city of London, which have grown up with and out of its commerce, are highly appropriate, by their localities, their arrangements, and their regulations, for conducting business. The first object of import-

ance to every ship, on its arrival in port, is the Custom-house. This noble building has been erected on the site, but with much enlargement, of a similar building which was destroyed by fire in 1814, as the preceding one had been by a similar calamity in 1718. A considerable extension, and many alterations in the building, had been commenced before the last fire occurred, but that accident induced the erection of an entirely new edifice, which was opened for public business in May 1817.

The custom-house stands in Lower Thames Street, but its principal front is towards the river, with a broad wharf, having noble stairs at each end, by which to descend to the water, whence wherries are constantly plying for passengers, who can embark or land at them with their baggage, but where no goods are allowed to impede the way. The length of the front is 480 feet, and it is 60 feet in depth. On the view from the river, the front exhibits itself best, with three porticos, each composed of six pillars of the Ionic order, the centre one of which projects somewhat more forward than the others, and is more elevated from the ground by standing on arches. On the top of it is a balustrade, with a clock in the centre.

The arrangements of the interior are, however, most to be admired. The long room, where most of the public business is transacted, is a noble apartment 186 feet in length, and 60 in breadth, of an appropriate height, with desks on each side for the several officers, and the centre left open for such of the public as have business there. The other parts of the edifice are distributed with great judgment into apartments adapted for the several branches of the office, in such a way that between six and seven hundred officers, and more than a thousand tidewaiters and messengers are enabled to work with regularity and dispatch, thus forming a most pleasing contrast to the confusion, difficulty, and delay which formerly prevailed.

An accident happened to this building in 1825, when a part of the long room fell in; it was found that the foundation had been insecurely constructed, upon which the centre was taken down and rebuilt as it now appears, under the direction of Mr Smirke.

The improvements on the building and its arrangements, great as they are, are trifling, when compared with the vast reform in the whole system which took place by the law of 1812 (act 51st Geo. III. cap. 7.), and by other salutary regulations. Before that time, the highest offices were held by patent, and the duties performed by deputies, and both were paid by fees. These were abolished, and all are now paid by salaries. Patronage in promotion has been relinquished, and the road opened to the advancement of the most meritorious officers; and, by an order of the Treasury, when the Duke of Wellington was at its head in February 1830, the salaries of the commissioners and other officers were prospectively reduced; whilst directions were given to revise the whole establishment, with a view to every possible reduction.

The Bank of England is one of the most prominent objects within the city, not so much from the structure, though England, that is magnificent, as from the great influence its creation and progress have had on the state of society in general, as well as on the commercial intercourse which it has facilitated between different individuals at home, and between distant countries with this kingdom, and with each other.

The company was first founded in the reign of King William III., by act of parliament, in 1694; the idea having been taken from the Bank of Amsterdam, established eighty-five years before, whose success had been great, and its influence seductive. After the incorporation, which provided that the company should be under the management of a governor, a deputy-governor, and twenty-four directors, to be annually chosen, the business was for many years carried on at the Hall of the Grocers, in the Poultry. London. It remained there some years, till the success of the undertaking had warranted the court of directors to purchase a piece of ground, covered with buildings of little value, in Threadneedle Street. Upon this a house was erected, on a comparatively small scale, to which the business was transferred in 1733; and soon afterwards, the present hall was opened, as well as the bullion-office. The façade was then extended under the direction of Sir Robert Taylor, and two wings were added, with the returns on the east and west sides, and several offices. In this work, it was found expedient to remove the church of St Christopher le Stocks, with the memorials of those who had been interred there. The whole of this enlargement gradually advanced from 1770 to 1786, when, by the death of Taylor, Sir John Soane became the bank architect, and he, in 1788, completed that part of the plan. Under the superintendence of his judgment and taste, the front and wings of the original structure were rebuilt in one harmonious manner; and various other alterations having been adopted, the whole was, in 1825, completed in conformity with the judicious designs of that most distinguished architect.

From the nature of the ground, fronting towards three public streets, on which it was practicable to intrude, the area is an irregular square, having a front of 365 feet on the south or principal side, and 410 on the north side, on the east side a front of 245 feet, and on the west of 440 feet; this is so managed, that it does not appear to be a defect, from whatever point the whole mass is surveyed.

The principal entrance is from Threadneedle Street, though there is one from Bartholomew Lane, and another from Lothbury. The interior contains eight open courts, the rotunda or circular room, numerous large and smaller offices, several committee rooms, and private apartments for the residence of officers and servants. The principal divisions and subdivisions of the structure are on the ground floor, and there are no rooms over the chief offices, whose height forbids the erection of such; but beneath there are capacious vaults, and a greater number of rooms than above ground. Within the building is an apartment for the guards, and a separate room for the officers who have the command.

It would require an elaborate work to describe all the particular beauties of this edifice, or the peculiar adaptation and arrangement of its offices for the management of the vast operations which are daily transacted; but to the adaptation of the offices to the purposes for which they are designed, the public are indebted for the order, expedition, and security with which every thing is conducted. The principal or great division, for several of them have subdivisions, are the great hall, the dividend offices, the discount-office, the bullion-office, the accountant's office, the chief cashier's office, the interior office or check upon forgery, and the parlour or apartment in which the directors assemble. All of these are neat, clean, and light, and some of them are elegant in their decorations and their furniture.

The Bank has, by successive renewals of its charter, since the first was granted in 1694, when the capital was L1,200,000, been enabled to increase it to the present amount of L14,553,000, which is lent to government at an interest of three per cent. The dividends on this capital have varied with the amount of profit gained by its various operations. At first it was 8 per cent.; in 1697, 9 per cent.; between that period and 1767, its fluctuations were frequent, but never lower than 4½ per cent. nor higher than 6 per cent.; in 1788, it was raised to 7 per cent.; in 1807, to 10 per cent.; in 1823, it was lowered to 8 per cent., and has continued at that rate to the present time. But besides the annual dividends, the directors have, at several periods, when any peculiar prosperity has attended the operations, distributed, under the name of bonus or some other, large sums to the holders of their stock, within the last thirty-six years.

The profit of the Bank is derived from various sources, which were laid before parliament, for the year ending the 29th of February 1832, were enumerated as follows:

| Description | Amount | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------| | Interest on commercial bills | L130,695 | | Interest on Exchequer bills | 204,109 | | Annuity for 45 years (dead weight) | 451,415 | | Interest on capital received from the government | 446,502 | | Allowance received for the management of the public debt | 251,896 | | Interest on loans on mortgages | 60,684 | | Interest on stock in the public funds | 15,075 | | Interest on private loans | 56,941 | | Profit on bullion, commission, rent, receipts on discounted bills unpaid, management of the business of the Banks of Ireland, of Scotland, and the Royal Bank of Scotland, and sundry items | 71,839 |

Total: L1,689,176

The expenses of the Bank for the same year are thus stated in the parliamentary reports:

| Description | Amount | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------| | Salaries and pensions | L218,003 | | House expenses | 30,187 | | Directors' allowance | 8,000 | | Rent | 40,000 | | Expenses of eleven branches arising from the banking department | 5,702 | | Expenses attending the circulation of L2,500,000 of Branch Bank of England notes, at eleven branches | 28,508 |

Total: L339,400

The amount of the notes of the Bank of England in circulation, has, since its establishment, varied from L1,200,000 to L30,000,000; of late years it has varied only between L17,000,000 and L24,000,000. The average during the last fifteen years may be taken at L20,000,000; whilst the deposits of government, on the average, have been L4,000,000, of which sum, thus amounting to L24,000,000, one-third is estimated to be invested in bullion, and two-thirds in securities. By the parliamentary investigation which produced the preceding accounts, it appears that the balance of the Bank, or surplus property, in 1832, was L2,637,760 To which is to be added the capital, L14,553,000

Thus leaving together L17,180,760 a sum quite sufficient to make its stability as firm as the British government.

The following account will shew how much diffused is the property which is vested in the public funds, the dividends of which are payable at the Bank; and how much larger is the proportion in the hands of the middle classes than that belonging the large stockholders. An Account of the Number of Persons who were entitled to Dividends upon those portions of the Public Debt which became payable on each of the usual Quarterly Periods of the Year 1831; arranged in various Classes, according to the Amount of Dividend to which they were entitled.

| Description of Stock | Not exceeding L.S. | Not exceeding L.10. | Not exceeding L.50. | Not exceeding L.100. | Not exceeding L.200. | Not exceeding L.300. | Not exceeding L.500. | Not exceeding L.1000. | Exceeding L.2000. | Totals | |----------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|----------------|--------| | | Due. | Due. | Due. | Due. | Due. | Due. | Due. | Due. | Due. | | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | | 5th April 1892 | 5th October 1892 | 5th April 1892 | 5th October 1892 | 5th April 1892 | 5th October 1892 | 5th April 1892 | 5th October 1892 | 5th April 1892 | 5th October 1892 | | On 3 p. c. Reduced Annuities, ... 3\% per cent. | 10,189 | 13,477 | 4,775 | 4,745 | 11,855 | 11,681 | 3,498 | 2,133 | 2,175 | 755 | 742 | 445 | 453 | 238 | 231 | 74 | 77 | 33 | 31 | 34 | | ... 3\% p. c. Annuities, 1818, ... 4 p. c. Annuities, 1826... Long Annuities, ... Annuities for terms of years | 6,928 | 7,019 | 4,305 | 4,302 | 10,157 | 10,173 | 2,900 | 2,909 | 1,568 | 1,561 | 411 | 411 | 255 | 251 | 113 | 112 | 35 | 36 | 5 | | Totals, Number of each class entitled to Dividends in 1831 | 29,662 | 29,762 | 15,246 | 15,261 | 34,187 | 34,290 | 8,970 | 8,972 | 5,084 | 5,078 | 1,555 | 1,545 | 931 | 932 | 449 | 442 | 135 | 133 | 59 | | Description of Stock | Not exceeding L.S. | Not exceeding L.10. | Not exceeding L.50. | Not exceeding L.100. | Not exceeding L.200. | Not exceeding L.300. | Not exceeding L.500. | Not exceeding L.1000. | Exceeding L.2000. | Totals | | | Due. | Due. | Due. | Due. | Due. | Due. | Due. | Due. | Due. | | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | No. | | 4th July 1892 | 4th January 1893 | 4th July 1892 | 4th January 1893 | 4th July 1892 | 4th January 1893 | 4th July 1892 | 4th January 1893 | 4th July 1892 | 4th January 1893 | | On 3 p. c. Consolidated Annuities, ... 3 p. c. Annuities, 1826,... New 3\% p. c. Annuities, ... New 5 per cent. Annuities,... Annuities for terms of years | 28,639 | 28,722 | 13,650 | 13,749 | 32,477 | 32,601 | 9,572 | 9,612 | 6,297 | 6,286 | 2,095 | 2,141 | 1,438 | 1,424 | 739 | 709 | 244 | 234 | 72 | | Totals, Number of each class entitled to Dividends in 1831 | 57,505 | 57,414 | 29,540 | 29,387 | 64,074 | 64,015 | 16,640 | 16,669 | 9,620 | 9,623 | 2,912 | 2,950 | 1,920 | 1,895 | 951 | 925 | 299 | 287 | 99 |

London

493 London. The East India House, situated in Leadenhall Street, was first erected in 1726, but it has been gradually enlarged, so as now to form a building of vast size, accommodated to the various departments which the extent of the company's affairs require. Its principal front and a considerable part of the interior have been built within the last thirty years.

Towards Leadenhall Street it presents a front 200 feet in length, and having in the centre a portico of six Ionic fluted pillars, supporting a frieze with allegorical figures, and on the top a statue of Britannia. The interior has some fine apartments, especially the great court-room, in which meetings of the proprietors are held. The new saleroom is one of the most complete apartments in the city. It is adorned with pilasters, and with several appropriate paintings. The saleroom is also adorned with some fine statues of Lord Clive, Sir Eyre Coote, Sir George Pococke, and General Lawrence. The room of the committee of correspondence is embellished with views of Indian scenery, and with the portraits of Warren Hastings and of Marquis Cornwallis. The library is adorned with busts of the historian Orme and of Hastings; but is of inestimable value from the books, and especially the manuscripts, illustrative of the antiquities and the ancient and modern history of India, and other parts of Asia. The museum contains specimens of Indian arts and Indian curiosities of every kind, and especially the throne of Tippoo Sultan taken at Seringapatam. The company has several vast warehouses in different parts of the city. These they still retain; and, from their adaptation to the purpose, it is now in contemplation to occupy them as bonding warehouses for Indian and China articles.

The East India Company was formed as a commercial body in 1599, and first obtained a charter from Queen Elizabeth in 1600. Although, in subsequent periods, the company acquired and extended vastly their territorial power, their commercial character remained to them until it was taken away by the law of 1835. They are now, therefore, a kind of board governing British India, under the superintendence of the Board of Control chiefly, but with some power still left in the hands of directors chosen by the proprietors of India stock, whose dividends are guaranteed to them by the faith of parliament.

The following tables will show the value of the imports from, and the exports to, India as well as China, from the year 1820 to 1832.

An account of the Imports into Great Britain from all places to the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope (China excepted), in each year from 1820 to 1832, both included, distinguishing whether imported by the Company or by private Traders.

| Year | Value imported by the Company | Value by Private Traders | Total | |------|-----------------------------|--------------------------|-------| | 1820 | L.1,737,137 | L.4,201,389 | L.5,958,526 | | 1821 | 1,743,733 | 3,031,413 | 4,775,146 | | 1822 | 1,092,329 | 2,621,334 | 3,713,663 | | 1823 | 1,587,078 | 4,344,973 | 5,932,051 | | 1824 | 1,194,753 | 4,410,347 | 5,605,100 | | 1825 | 1,462,692 | 4,716,083 | 6,178,775 | | 1826 | 1,520,050 | 5,210,866 | 6,730,926 | | 1827 | 1,612,480 | 4,068,537 | 5,681,017 | | 1828 | 1,930,107 | 5,135,073 | 7,065,180 | | 1829 | 1,593,442 | 4,624,842 | 6,218,284 | | 1830 | 1,593,566 | 4,085,505 | 5,679,071 | | 1831 | 1,434,372 | 4,205,438 | 5,720,810 | | 1832 | 1,107,787 | 5,229,311 | 6,337,098 |

An account of the Exports of Great Britain to all places eastward of the Cape of Good Hope (excepting China), in each year from 1820 to 1832, both included, distinguishing whether exported by the Company or by Private Traders.

| Year | Value by the Company | By Private Traders | Total | |------|---------------------|-------------------|-------| | 1820 | L.971,096 | L.2,066,815 | L.3,037,911 | | 1821 | 887,619 | 2,656,776 | 3,544,395 | | 1822 | 606,089 | 2,838,354 | 3,444,443 | | 1823 | 458,550 | 2,957,705 | 3,416,255 | | 1824 | 654,783 | 2,841,795 | 3,496,578 | | 1825 | 598,553 | 2,574,650 | 3,173,213 | | 1826 | 990,964 | 2,480,588 | 3,471,552 | | 1827 | 805,610 | 3,830,580 | 4,636,190 | | 1828 | 488,601 | 3,979,072 | 4,467,673 | | 1829 | 434,586 | 3,665,678 | 4,100,264 | | 1830 | 195,394 | 3,891,917 | 4,087,311 | | 1831 | 146,480 | 3,488,571 | 3,635,051 | | 1832 | 149,193 | 3,601,093 | 3,750,286 |

As the trade of the East India Company with China, up to the expiration of the trading concerns of that Company, centered wholly in London, a view of it belongs peculiarly to a description of the metropolis.

An account of the quantity of each of the articles of Chinese produce imported into London from the year 1803 to 1831.

| Year | Tea | Silk | Nanquin Cloth | Miscellaneous Articles | |------|-----|------|---------------|-----------------------| | | lb. | lb. | Pieces | Value | | 1803 | 30,843,134 | 74,538 | 233,894 | L.23,134 | | 1804 | 26,680,784 | 90,362 | 264,407 | 26,184 | | 1805 | 28,538,825 | 76,359 | 252,207 | 15,198 | | 1806 | 22,155,557 | 18,607 | 376,234 | 10,504 | | 1807 | 12,599,236 | 55,277 | 72,135 | 11,474 | | 1808 | 35,747,224 | 117,855 | 484,647 | 17,617 | | 1809 | 21,717,310 | 90,603 | 287,720 | 14,268 | | 1810 | 19,791,356 | 54,376 | 305,009 | 14,890 | | 1811 | 21,231,849 | 81,397 | 316,616 | 9,630 | | 1812 | 28,318,153 | 86,197 | 503,276 | 12,929 | | 1813 | | | | | | 1814 | 26,110,550 | 150,629 | 783,233 | 29,054 | | 1815 | 25,605,214 | 216,129 | 896,797 | 19,474 | | 1816 | 36,234,380 | 88,987 | 396,453 | 29,050 | | 1817 | 31,467,073 | 103,367 | 564,226 | 35,703 | | 1818 | 20,065,728 | 146,878 | 409,349 | 19,510 | | 1819 | 23,750,413 | 141,328 | 523,852 | 55,505 | | 1820 | 30,147,904 | 271,115 | 969,746 | 70,827 | | 1821 | 30,731,105 | 275,110 | 569,062 | 39,654 | | 1822 | 27,362,766 | 222,673 | 287,431 | 23,419 | | 1823 | 29,046,885 | 332,717 | 412,076 | 73,935 | | 1824 | 31,681,977 | 293,014 | 1010,494 | 69,618 | | 1825 | 29,840,401 | 142,676 | 392,998 | 75,963 | | 1826 | 29,345,599 | 405,185 | 431,520 | 124,569 | | 1827 | | | | | | 1828 | 32,678,546 | 208,287 | 99,698 | 97,732 | | 1829 | 30,544,382 | 606,916 | 529,602 | 95,412 | | 1830 | 31,897,546 | 456,991 | 919,255 | 94,131 | | 1831 | 31,648,922 | 476,692 | 857,171 | 89,796 |

*The records of this year were destroyed by fire.* | Years | Broad Cloth | Long Ells | Camblets and Stuffs | Lead | British Iron | Tin | British Calicoes | Cotton Twist | |-------|-------------|-----------|---------------------|------|--------------|-----|-----------------|--------------| | 1811 | L. 142,293 | L. 516,023 | L. 175,169 | L. 31,057 | L. 6,837 | L. 27,173 | L. 4,774 | | 1812 | 174,542 | 524,496 | 207,383 | 3,352 | 16,679 | 62,521 | 5,487 | | 1813 | 207,589 | 461,338 | 159,869 | 7,249 | 21,879 | 49,499 | | 1814 | 212,664 | 351,332 | 132,947 | 17,852 | 11,823 | 37,694 | | 1815 | 354,047 | 359,469 | 156,962 | 17,927 | 10,969 | 22,601 | | 1816 | 218,026 | 321,652 | 159,581 | 16,325 | 3,892 | 29,930 | | 1817 | 172,604 | 353,035 | 134,031 | 12,948 | 6,250 | | 1818 | 157,513 | 283,229 | 124,779 | 16,928 | 7,014 | | 1819 | 223,362 | 335,004 | 157,218 | 18,963 | 7,884 | | 1820 | 204,699 | 312,382 | 140,721 | 11,437 | 13,040 | | 1821 | 219,610 | 334,112 | 91,772 | 11,047 | 11,147 | | 1822 | 181,763 | 301,407 | 84,582 | 20,480 | 10,795 | | 1823 | 200,314 | 279,969 | 89,314 | 22,433 | 13,529 | | 1824 | 195,744 | 254,288 | 102,535 | 32,470 | 14,591 | | 1825 | 239,625 | 374,151 | 94,615 | 40,050 | 34,443 | | 1826 | 224,253 | 267,025 | 89,002 | 38,874 | 29,043 | | 1827 | 173,529 | 299,636 | 82,907 | 32,626 | 17,487 | | 1828 | 163,067 | 212,799 | 55,721 | 17,793 | 18,179 | | 1829 | 145,284 | 235,485 | 60,681 | 14,983 | 12,269 | | 1830 | 149,255 | 213,277 | 20,358 | 21,792 | 11,312 | | 1831 | 121,274 | 219,875 | 29,625 | 18,611 | 7,581 | | 1832 | 195,273 | 159,078 | 21,714 | 20,863 | 190 | | 1833 | 104,011 | 137,426 | 113,827 | 2,341 | 2,314 |

Besides the above articles there was an exportation of foreign cotton wool, in 1820, to the value of L. 93,402; of foreign skins, in 1823, 1824, and 1825, to the value of L. 64,663; and of 54 bales of yarn, in 1829 and 1830, valued at L. 1291; whilst the annual stores sent out to the factory during the whole period of twenty-three years, amounted to L. 79,582.

The Royal Exchange is an edifice of more importance, from the extensive mercantile affairs transacted within and around it, than either from its beauty or its extent, in both of which it is excelled by many other commercial cities. At the suggestion of Clough, who had been a clerk to Sir Thomas Gresham, and afterwards established as his representative at Antwerp, when that city was the great emporium of Europe, the knight undertook the construction of an exchange for London. It was completed in 1567, and was soon afterwards visited in state by Queen Elizabeth, upon which occasion the title of Royal was conferred upon it. All the upper parts were at that time filled with shops from the bottom to the top. That building was destroyed by the great fire of 1666, after which it was rebuilt in its present form by a corporation of the city, and the company of Mercers, at the expense of more than eighty thousand pounds. It was opened by Sir William Turner, lord mayor, on the 28th of September 1669. In the new building the statue of Sir Thomas Gresham was placed within it, but not in a conspicuous situation. There are also statues of Charles I. and Charles II., and in the centre is a statue of Sir John Bernard, long the representative in Parliament of the city, who gained and maintained his popularity by the tenacity of his opposition to all the measures, whether good, bad, or indifferent, that were proposed by Sir Robert Walpole. The Exchange is a square, surrounded with arcades, and divided into quarters assigned to the respective merchants trading to the different parts of the world, called the Scotch, French, and American walks, or named from other countries; and some parts are known as the walks of different traders, who did or might resort to them. These divisions are, however, quite undefined, and by no means in practice so used. Within the area there are no shops, but the walls are almost covered with placards, advertising sales of goods or ships, and various other notifications. The outside all around is occupied by small shops, or by offices of brokers, notaries, and persons of similar calling. On the upper floor, on the north side, is Lloyd's Coffee-house, consisting of two long and lofty rooms, where the great business of insurance against losses by sea is conducted between brokers and underwriters. The society, who regulate this, employ agents in all ports, who furnish reports of the arrival and departure of vessels, and give the needful information as to the character, condition, and equipment of the ships. The accounts are registered accurately, and each subscriber has a book, into which are written, from time to time, by the clerks of the establishment, such descriptions of every vessel, as enable the underwriters to calculate the nature of the risk, and the premium it deserves. Upon the same floor is a large auction-room, an office for a joint-stock insurance company, bearing the name of the building, and the office for the relief of sick and hurt seamen in the merchant service. An institution, called from the founder Gresham College, long occupied, or rather might have occupied, if hearers would have attended, a part of this floor. By will he left a part of his fortune to provide lecturers in divinity, astronomy, music, and geometry. Each of them had a salary of L. 100 per annum, but rarely delivered any lectures, as no auditors were in attendance. In consequence of this useless kind of expenditure, the trustees, in 1830, transferred the professors to the London institution, where, it is to be hoped, they may be found of benefit to the interests of science. The cellars under the Exchange are let out for warehouses. It has been calculated that, on an average, two hundred thousand persons daily visit the Exchange, but this can be little more than a guess. Much of the business which used to be transacted upon the Exchange has necessarily been divided, as commerce has gone on increasing; and the merchants and brokers resort much to coffee-houses in the vicinity of the building, which are distinguished by the names of the places with which the traders that frequent them have connexion, such as the East India, the New York, the Carolina, &c. Most of the larger transactions are negotiated by the means of brokers, who in general confine themselves to one branch of trade, with which their interest induces them to become thoroughly acquainted. Many of them embrace several branches; but those of the first class have large capitals or extensive credit, and are enabled to accommodate merchants with advances of money, or acceptances to a large amount upon the security of goods placed in their hands for disposal. In the West India trade some of them have large show-rooms, in which are exhibited samples of sugar, coffee, and the other tropical products. Ship-brokers are employed in buying and selling vessels, in hiring them by charter, in entering and clearing them out, in collecting the freights, and other business, which much abridges the labour, and saves the anxiety of ship-owners and ship-captains. Insurances, whether by joint stock companies, or by individual underwriters, are effected by the instrumentality of policy-brokers, who form a distinct class, and are paid by a commission of five per cent. on the premiums, and a fixed share of the profit which arises on the balance of their account with the underwriter. The rate of Exchange between London and the commercial cities in other parts of the world is fixed twice a-week between the drawers and the takers of foreign bills, and announced to the exchange-brokers at the close of each of the days.

Most of the brokers are licensed by the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen, but that does not apply to ship-brokers, nor in actual practice to most of the stock-brokers. Those so admitted must give security for the due performance of the duties entrusted to them, and not deal or make gain in goods; but it is apprehended this last condition is more generally broken than observed. There is a class of brokers which has come into existence within a few years, who are said to have made fortunes of an enormous amount. They are usually called bill-brokers, but are properly money-brokers, employed in arranging negotiations in money matters of a large amount, between bankers, merchants, and others, who, in the fluctuating nature of their trade, either have occasion to lend or to borrow money upon indisputable security. Though the commission paid to such brokers is small, yet the extent of the transactions have made it a lucrative business.

Near to the Royal Exchange is another institution called the Stock Exchange, wherein bargains are made for the real purchase and sale of property in the public funds, and where is carried on the enormous business of buying and selling stock for a future day, at a fixed price in speculation, as it is delicately called, though in fact, for the most part, it is only gambling upon a large scale. The house is near the Bank, and is conveniently arranged, and handsomely fitted up. It was erected in 1804, at the expense of the subscribers, who elect a committee to manage the affairs, and who have power to make regulations, and to admit or expel such members as they please. Near to it is the market for foreign funds; and in the rotunda of the Bank of England is a crowded assemblage, who carry on some real, but more gambling, transactions in public securities.

Having noticed those establishments in London which are chiefly subservient to the commercial intercourse between the metropolis and foreign countries, we proceed to mention others, whose main object is internal, though it extends also to external affairs.

The Post-Office is one of those institutions which in this country has arrived the nearest to perfection, and is not only worthy of the talent by which it has been advanced, but justifies the pride which its consideration inspires. It is not necessary here to trace the history of the establishment from the commencement, in the reign of Charles I., 1635, nor the advances it made up to 1784. At that period the letters were conveyed with dilatory irregularity which was the inducement of Mr Palmer of Bath to suggest and arrange a plan for the conveyance of letters by coaches. After due consideration, the experiment was first tried between London and Bath, and was found to be so safe, so quick, and so economical, that the scheme was in due time adopted, and every part of the kingdom in a few years became participators of the benefit, whilst the State drew from it a constantly progressive revenue. In 1783 the net proceeds of the Post-Office did not exceed L.145,000 per annum, and it now regularly yields about ten times that amount.

The old post-office in Lombard Street had been long complained of as inadequate, or ill adapted to the extent which the establishment had acquired; for it had grown, under the direction of Mr Palmer, first as comptroller, and of Mr, now Sir Francis Freeling, as secretary, to such a scale, that though buildings near to it had been added, the want of room prevented the most beneficial arrangement of the several branches of the institution.

The site chosen is central, sufficiently near for the purposes of commerce, and much nearer to the offices of government than the former spot. This magnificent but simple edifice was begun in St Martin's le Grand, in 1829, and the business transferred to it in 1829. It is of the Grecian Ionic order of architecture. The basement is of granite, but the superstructure is of brick, faced with Portland stone. The building is in length 400 feet, and in breadth 80 feet. The portico in the centre of the front is 70 feet broad, consisting of six columns of Portland stone, resting on pedestals of granite, and supporting a triangular pediment, beneath which is this inscription, "Georgio Quarto Rege," and the date in Roman capitals, "MDCCCXXXIX." At the extremity of each wing is a portico of four columns. In this front are forty-four windows. The east front is quite plain, and has upwards of 180 windows.

Under the centre portico is a vestibule of noble effect, on the north side of which are the receiving rooms for letters, and apartments for the sorters of inland letters. These extend the whole length. The mails are received at the east front. The foreign-office is on the south side, as well as the offices of the receiver and accountant. At the east end of the vestibule are the twopenny offices. The sorters' room is an apartment of forty-six feet by twenty-four, in which their operations are performed with a dispatch and regularity that is astonishing. A novel mode has been adopted for conveying letters, which have come into the wrong department, from one room to another; they are placed in small waggons beneath the pavement, and made to travel through a tunnel by machinery.

The whole building is fire-proof, and machinery conveys coals and water to every part of the building. The whole is lighted by gas, and is furnished with more than one thousand burners. The assistant-secretary has a residence in the building, and in the upper rooms are apartments for the clerks to sleep in, as they are necessarily up early to receive the mails.

As the business of this office must be performed in the space of two or three hours in the morning, and the same period in the evening, it demands a regular system for the sorting of so many letters. The average is about 46,000 letters, which arrive at six in the morning, and these are generally counted, examined, charged, and delivered to the letter-carriers by half-past eight or nine o'clock. In the evening the same number is received at the windows, and must be dispatched before eight o'clock. As the greatest number is received just before seven, the greatest expedition is used to complete the whole operation. The letters are first arranged as they arrive from the receiving-houses in different compartments, marked with the name of the mail by which they are to be sent, which is performed by the The senior clerks then mark on each letter the amount of postage, which is done at the rate of one second of time for each letter, and the letters are placed in boxes labelled with the names of the towns. The receiving-office is closed at seven o'clock, when the letters for each town are summed up, and the summation put in the bag with them. Letters may be sent later than seven, by paying a fee, which is allowed as a perquisite to the junior clerks. The bags of letters are tied, sealed, and delivered to the several guards at eight o'clock.

The delivering of the letters in the morning is expedited by means of accelerators or light-built carriages first used when the new building was occupied. A postman, or rather coachman, in these takes different divisions of the town, and drops the letter-carriers, with the letters, in their various walks, which saves the difference of time between walking and riding, and produces a most expeditious delivery in the most distant parts of the metropolis. The inland office employs about 200 clerks and sorters, and about the same number of persons for the delivery of letters. The foreign office has twenty clerks, and thirty-four for the delivery. The two-penny post employs about fifty persons.

An Account, shewing the Produce of the Post-Office Revenue, together with the Charges of Collection, in each year from 1820 to 1834, both inclusive.

| Year | Gross Receipt | Returned Letters and Overcharges | Net Receipt | Charges of Collection | Net Revenue | |------|--------------|---------------------------------|-------------|-----------------------|------------| | 1820 | L. 2,144,678 | L. 76,616 | L. 2,068,061| L. 588,514 | L. 1,479,547| | 1821 | L. 2,119,431 | 77,336 | 2,042,095 | 617,056 | 1,425,039 | | 1822 | L. 2,128,926 | 73,594 | 2,055,331 | 594,082 | 1,461,249 | | 1823 | L. 2,154,294 | 76,311 | 2,077,983 | 569,117 | 1,508,866 | | 1824 | L. 2,262,814 | 79,267 | 2,183,547 | 594,874 | 1,670,219 | | 1825 | L. 2,367,567 | 91,360 | 2,276,207 | 605,988 | 1,624,256 | | 1826 | L. 2,392,272 | 87,469 | 2,304,802 | 680,546 | 1,560,566 | | 1827 | L. 2,278,412 | 83,663 | 2,194,749 | 603,692 | 1,544,223 | | 1828 | L. 2,287,961 | 79,962 | 2,207,998 | 663,774 | 1,588,672 | | 1829 | L. 2,265,482 | 80,815 | 2,184,667 | 675,319 | 1,509,347 | | 1830 | L. 2,301,432 | 89,226 | 2,212,206 | 694,254 | 1,517,952 | | 1831 | L. 2,321,311 | 93,947 | 2,227,364 | 658,325 | 1,569,038 | | 1832 | L. 2,277,274 | 101,983 | 2,175,291 | 643,464 | 1,531,826 | | 1833 | L. 2,294,911 | 104,729 | 2,190,181 | 636,755 | 1,553,425 | | 1834 | L. 2,210,830 | 110,541 | 2,100,299 | 650,962 | 1,449,337 |

As the post-office is peculiarly a department of expenditure as well as of revenue, much care and attention is applied in making the contracts with those who convey the mails, and great economy in adjusting the appropriate salaries to the different officers. This is clear from the number of persons employed under the postmaster-general, being more than 3000, with from 4000 to 5000 horses, and near 200 coaches. The packet service costs L.115,000 yearly; the mileage to mail-coaches, and the payments to guards, tolls, &c. amount to about L.72,000; and the expense of conveying letters to Nova Scotia, Canada, and Jamaica, to which parts the packets do not go, costs L.12,500.

An Account of the Amount of Postage collected at the principal Cities and Towns of the United Kingdom, in the years ending the 5th January 1833, 1834, and 1835.

| Places | 1833 | 1834 | 1835 | |-----------------|------|------|------| | ENGLAND | | | | | London | L. 632,696 | L. 642,871 | L. 660,417 | | Birmingham | 28,685 | 28,812 | 29,258 | | Bristol | 33,884 | 33,242 | 33,210 | | Coventry | 4,446 | 4,357 | 4,421 | | Hull | 14,607 | 14,853 | 14,859 | | Leeds | 20,316 | 21,331 | 20,316 | | Leicester | 6,464 | 6,439 | 6,464 | | Liverpool | 70,011 | 74,080 | 70,111 | | Macclesfield | 2,064 | 1,955 | 2,054 | | Manchester | 53,510 | 56,287 | 60,621 | | Norwich | 10,004 | 9,766 | 10,004 | | Nottingham | 9,033 | 9,368 | 9,033 | | Potteries | 6,714 | 6,858 | 6,714 | | Preston | 5,200 | 5,190 | 5,146 | | Sheffield | 11,027 | 11,582 | 11,759 |

| SCOTLAND | | | | | Aberdeen | L. 8,660 | L. 8,479 | L. 8,596 | | Edinburgh | 42,759 | 41,864 | 41,680 | | Dundee | 7,367 | 7,904 | 8,162 | | Glasgow | 36,053 | 36,481 | 36,483 |

| IRELAND | | | | | Dublin | 80,611 | 69,096 | 70,344 | | Belfast | 9,747 | 9,457 | 10,312 | | Cork | 11,557 | 11,721 | 12,516 | | Limerick | 6,380 | 6,357 | 6,967 | | Drogheda | 1,932 | 1,935 | 2,040 | | Londonderry | 3,479 | 3,510 | 3,654 | | Waterford | 5,383 | 5,361 | 3,339 |

The Mint, on Towerhill, is a simple, elegant, and extensive building, erected within a few years, under the direction of that eminent architect, Smirke. It consists of three storeys, having a centre ornamented with columns, and a plinth displaying the British arms, and two wings with piers. Within the enclosure is a house for the master, and accommodation for the other officers of the establishment. The interior is appropriately arranged for the manufacture of coined money, all of which is executed by the best machinery, invented by Bolton, with some recent improvements. The whole is put in motion by a steam-engine, and lighted by gas, and is capable, in case of need, of coining a vast quantity of coin in an almost incredibly short space of time. Strangers are only admitted to see it upon some special recommendation of the superior.

The amount of gold and silver money coined here in the last seventeen years has been as follows:— In Broad Street is the Excise Office. It was originally the property of that eminent merchant Sir Thomas Gresham, and is remarkable as being the spot upon which the Royal Society was founded. It was begun here from Wilkins, afterwards Bishop of Chester, having apartments in it, at which, in 1658, meetings were held of scientific men, consisting of Dr Ward, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury, the great and good Mr Boyle, Sir William Petty, Doctors Wallis, Goddard, Willis, and Bathurst, and Sir Christopher Wren, with a few more. Such were the founders of that society which has done so much for the promotion and diffusion of scientific knowledge, and whose fame is only bounded by the limits of the civilized world. It 1711, it was removed from this place to Crane Court, Fleet Street, and thence to the present apartments in Somerset House. Gresham House was, after the great fire, converted into alms-houses, which were sold to government in 1763, and on the spot was built that extensive structure now used by the commissioners of the excise branch of the public revenue. It is a capacious edifice, consisting of two ranges of building, separated by a court-yard, and connected by a passage through it with Bishopsgate Street. It is well arranged in the interior for the dispatch of business, which greatly facilitates that regularity, expedition, and security which peculiarly distinguish that portion of the public service.

An institution, which has proved of vast benefit to the art of navigation, has its chief establishment on Tower Hill, and is called the Trinity-House. This society was founded in 1515, when the British navy first assumed a systematical form, by Sir Thomas Spert, who was comptroller of the navy, and commander of the great ship Henry Grace de Dieu. It was first established at Deptford, Strand, under the name of "the Master, Wardens, and Assistants of the Guild or Fraternity of the most glorious and undivided Trinity." In process of time it has acquired large property, and the members being chosen partly from the highest ranks, but chiefly from men of skill in the naval profession, it is a body highly respectable and useful. Its members are frequently seated with the judges on the bench to assist by their advice in maritime affairs. They examine and nominate pilots, superintend the light-houses, buoys, and land-marks, regulate in London the ballasting of ships, examine the masters of His Majesty's ships of war, and superintend the mathematical studies of the youth of Christ's Hospital. The corporation now consists of a master, four wardens, eight assistants, and eighteen elder brethren; and though they retain the old house at Deptford, where they have an hospital for decayed masters of ships and their wives, they hold their chief sittings at their new house. As they are the guardians of many charitable funds, they yearly relieve the distress of numerous poor seamen and their families. Their elegant house was built in 1793 by Wyatt. It is of Portland stone, with a rustic basement, over which is one storey adorned with Ionic columns and pilasters. In it are many portraits of eminent naval men, particularly of the celebrated Admiral Sir John Leake, who distinguished himself at the battle of La Hogue, and captured Gibraltar, Carthagena, and Minorca, in the reign of Queen Anne. There are also preserved captured flags and other naval trophies.

Hitherto attention has been directed to the commerce of the metropolis, and the institutions connected with that part of it, which is carried on by maritime means. It will now be proper to notice the distribution of the various foreign articles which foreign commerce conveys to London. It has already been observed, that the intervention of brokers is had recourse to in mercantile transactions; but between the merchants and consumers, there are other classes of traders who constitute an important part of the inhabitants of the metropolis. This may be best described by taking some prominent article of commerce, and attending to its distribution; and as sugar is one of the largest amount of any commodity brought by sea, it is best adapted to the purpose we have in view. The West India merchants import it by ship-loads, but in the ships are various qualities, according to the plantations which produce it. Upon their landing, samples are exhibited of the different qualities, classed according to their value, upon boards by the brokers. The wholesale grocers purchase the sugars by boards of ten, twenty, or forty hogsheads at a time, and then sell them to the retail grocers, whose demand is limited, by single hogsheads, or by portions of hogsheads. The profit of the intermediate wholesale grocers is generally small, but as the amount is large, and the return quick, it is generally a lucrative trade. It facilitates the great operations of the importing merchant, and accommodates the condition of the retailer, and these middlemen or wholesale grocers being generally possessed of large capitals, buy with ready money, and sell on credit, which, though short, is of great service to the retailers, who are commonly less provided with capital. If the wholesale grocer can return his capital three or four times in the year, with but a profit of two per cent. beyond the interest, he is amply repaid for the use of his capital, and the increase of his profit is scarcely felt by the consumer. It is not necessary here to entertain the question, whether it would not be better for a community that all transactions in commerce should be conducted solely by ready money; our object being rather to show the existing mode, than to indulge speculations on a supposititious arrangement under a different state of affairs.

The other great articles of commerce are distributed in the same manner as sugar. Thus tea is bought at the India House by the wholesale tea-dealers in lots of several chests, and sold by them to the retailers in single chests, or part of chests; so are currants, raisins, figs, coffee, spices, rice, and in a great degree wine, rum, brandy, and gin. There are, indeed, a few in each branch of trade who are both wholesale and retail traders; but they form the exceptions, not the rule.

In a similar way the wholesale traders of the metropolis become the channels for conveying the articles manufactured in one part of the kingdom to the retailers, and the latter to the consumers in the other parts of it. Thus wholesale houses in London collect the cloths of Yorkshire; the stuffs of Norwich; the cottons of Lancashire or Scotland; the linens of Ireland, or of the northern counties; the iron-ware of Birmingham; the cutlery of Sheffield; the pottery and porcelain of Staffordshire; the bottles of Northumberland; the ribbons of Coventry and Leake; and the hosiery of Nottingham, Leicester, and Derby; and from their warehouses, by the assistance of their travellers, they supply the chief demand of the shopkeepers in the smaller towns in the southern and western counties of England.

Thus London, from the capital possessed by its merchants, its easy accessibility from every part of the kingdom, and the facilities of direct conveyance to and from it, has become a trading place far beyond what its own production and consumption could ever have created. The system of banking pursued in London is peculiarly favourable to the interest and the convenience of the intermediate trade. There are seventy private banking houses in the city and its adjuncts; most of the traders keep accounts in them; and the surplus money of some accounts is used to discount bills for those who need it, whilst acceptances for goods sold, the practice of giving which has vastly increased, can easily be converted into money. The bankers can spare a greater portion of their balances than they could do if they were liable to general calls for it; but that is not much the case, from the establishment created among the bankers called the clearing-house. At that place, near Lombard Street, each banking house sends a clerk with the checks on other houses received in the course of the day, and there exchanges them with the checks drawn upon them. By this exchange of paper, sums of enormous magnitude are paid and received mutually, with the use of only a small sum of money, or of Bank of England notes. In fact, in London, generally speaking, there is much less money left in a state of absolute rest, than in proportion to its amount is to be found in any other of the commercial cities of Europe.

The ease and certainty with which assorted cargoes for ships bound to foreign markets can be furnished is a great advantage to London, and particularly to that intermediate class of traders called warehousemen or wholesale dealers. There is no product of any part of the United Kingdom, none of those of the most distant parts of the globe, that may not be obtained in London, without causing any detention to the departing vessels, and without any great advance in the price beyond the cost of conveyance.

Although London, when compared with some of the towns of the north of England and of Scotland, can scarcely be entitled to the name of a manufacturing place; yet the various articles fabricated in and around it, afford great occupation to numerous individuals; and they have been the nurseries in which the most important branches of national industry have received their birth and their first growth. The silk trade is that which at present gives employment to the greatest number of hands. This was originally introduced by French Protestant refugees, many of the descendants of whom still continue the trade of their ancestors. The number of persons employed in the several operations of dyeing, winding, warping, and weaving silk, a large proportion of whom consists of females and children, is estimated at 48,000. The new-fashioned goods and the fancy articles are mostly made here; and any kind of goods that happens afterwards to become much in demand, is soon made, where food, fuel, and labour are cheap, upon which it ceases in London. The change of fashion and the variation of taste is so frequent, that the silk-weavers do not decline in the metropolis, notwithstanding the numerous power-looms which make silk goods in the other parts of the kingdom. The good effects of the nurture which the metropolis affords to infant fabrics, may be illustrated by some facts relating to the silk trade. In the middle of the last century, silk gauzes were exclusively made in London. But some disturbances amongst the weavers, caused a family or two whose property was embarked in that business to remove to Scotland in the beginning of the reign of George III. They there established the silk gauze trade, employing operative weavers, who had been occupied in making gauzes of flax, commonly known by the name of Scotch lawns or clear lawns. The attempt succeeded, and soon became so extensive that the great and flourishing town of Paisley owes its present state to this circumstance.

The effect of this early nurture of the trade did not stop with itself. In a few years, the fashion of wearing silk began to decline, and the experiment was tried to turn the hands who had woven silk gauzes to the kindred manufactory of muslins like gauze, but made of cotton. Book muslins, as they were called, and afterwards other sorts of muslin, were then fabricated: a trade on the extent and value of which to the whole kingdom it is unnecessary here to expatiate.

There are numerous small articles which are either made exclusively in London, or which, having the name of "town made," are better reputed than any others. Amongst the first are silk fringes, coach lace, gold and silver lace, livery articles, Prussian blue, and some others; amongst the latter, as is well known to all ladies, are needles, pins, fine scissors, and penknives, to which may be added musical, mathematical, and surgical instruments; brushes, combs; clocks, watches, jewellery of the superior kinds, gold and silver plate; ornamental and useful furniture, coaches and other carriages, saddlery, painters' and dyers' materials; numerous medicinal and chemical preparations, particularly magnesia, aquafortis, sal-volatile, essential oils, and other articles.

The publication of books is a great trade in London. The Trades population return of trades is necessarily indistinct; but, according to it, there are 8950 males above twenty years of age, who are booksellers, printers, binders, or otherwise employed. It gives subsistence to about 50,000 individuals. The tailors and shoemakers furnish with their respective articles of dress many who do not reside in London, and many even in the colonies and in India. The numbers of the tailors are stated at 13,783. Those of the shoemakers and menders amount to 15,274; but the chief part of the shoes furnished to London are made at Stafford, Northampton, and Newcastle-under-Lyme. The bakers are stated at 5209; the butchers at 4069; the carpenters, 12,254; the cabinet-makers, 4921; the publicans, 4804; the upholsterers, 1724; the glaziers and plumbers, 2272; the bricklayers, 4874; the house-painters, 4439; the blacksmiths, 4106; the whitesmiths, 1822; plasterers, 1725; and the stone masons, 1592.

As these numbers relate solely to males above twenty years of age, they can only be used for the purpose of comparison; but as females are excluded, and all males below twenty, we may perhaps be justified in assuming that the number of individuals subsisting by means of these professions may be multiplied by four.

It is obvious to remark the great number of persons employed in the construction or reparation of buildings, and the proportion they bear to those engaged in other kinds of industry. This seems to show that the metropolis is still most rapidly advancing in improvement, as it must be in wealth, since the erection of new houses of any kind is the best evidence of a previous accumulation of capital.

The next object of attention is the quantity of provisions consumed in London annually, and the means by which of provisions supplies are procured. The annual supply of cattle, in the last ten years, has been 153,228; that of sheep, 1,265,958; that of fatted calves, 20,780. The pigs are estimated, but little faith can be placed in the calculation, as one-tenth of the number of sheep. If the weight of the cattle be taken at 300 lbs. on the average, and the offal be taken at 200lbs., the weekly amount consumed will be 1,760,092 lbs. If, in the same way, the weight of the sheep be taken on the average at 80 lbs. each, and the offal at 20 lbs., the weekly weight consumed will be 2,035,788 lbs. The calves, averaging 140 lbs., with 35 lbs. allowed for offal, would give a result of 61,191 lbs.

Thus, taking the whole into view, the weight appears to be: London.

Of beef, 1,766,092 lbs. Of mutton, 2,035,788 ... Of veal, 61,191 ... To this may be added for pork, one-twentieth the weight of mutton, 101,787 ...

There is also brought to London a large quantity of bacon hams, tongues, and other salted meat. A portion also of the offal, as tripe, liver, and other parts, is used as human food, and so are sausages. These may be estimated as equal to one-tenth, or 396,485 lbs.

We thus arrive at a weekly consumption of 4,361,342 lbs., or to a daily consumption of 623,049 lbs., being, for 1,800,000 persons, 5½ ounces per day, or 109 lbs. yearly. The statistical accounts of Paris give, as the annual consumption of each person in that city, 86 lbs.; and at Brussels the estimate is three pounds higher, or 89 lbs. In no other city of Europe, excepting perhaps Hamburg, does the consumption reach so high as in Paris.

The preceding remarks on animal food are only made for the sake of comparison, and not to obtain great confidence. The only actually ascertained facts are the numbers of the oxen and sheep, all the rest being estimate or conjecture. It is well known that cattle are purchased at Smithfield, and driven to the towns near London to be slaughtered, and that many cutting butchers in such towns buy cattle of the carcass butchers in London. From many distant towns much meat is sent to the metropolis, when cut into joints. The legs with the loins of sheep, and the best parts of the roasting pieces of beef, are sent by coaches to the butchers of London, and the inferior parts of the same animals are sold in the country markets. All this makes any calculation, whatever foresight may be applied to the subject, very uncertain and doubtful. The weekly account of sales here quoted only applies to the animals brought to Smithfield, of which an account is taken by the city authorities. The sales have not increased with the increase of the population, and chiefly because other markets recently rising, the amount of sales in them has increased. One of these is at Southall, on the Uxbridge road; another at Balls Pond, Islington; and one near Croydon. Of these no accurate account can be obtained.

The quantity of corn consumed in London is as difficult to be ascertained as that of meat. The market of Mark Lane, where, in two buildings of handsome appearance and commodiously fitted up, the principal transactions in grain and flour are conducted, is no criterion of the quantity actually consumed. There are speculations at times going on, which baffle all conjecture. Besides, much of the bread made in London is compounded of flour brought by sea from the northern parts of England, and some even from Scotland and Ireland. Most of the mills which supply the best flour are either in the vicinity of London, or at such a distance that a waggon and horses can go and return within the day. On the river Colne, from Walford to the Thames, are several powerful mills. On the river Wandle, in Surrey, are also some; and there is one enormous mill at Wandsworth, partly worked by steam. The Thames below London conveys to it much corn and flour; the best of both is brought from the shores of Kent and Essex; but much comes from the more distant parts in the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire. The supply of oats is chiefly obtained from Lincolnshire and the rich marshes of the Isle of Ely, which export at Wisbeach or Lynn. Barley is generally supplied from the turnip farms of Norfolk, and from the lands of the lighter kinds in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire; but much of it is made into malt before it is sent to London. According to the accounts of the inspector of corn returns, the quantity sold in London has been as follows.

An account of the quantities of British Wheat, Barley, and Oats, sold in the London markets in each year from 1825 to 1835, both years inclusive.

| Year | Wheat | Barley | Oats | |------|-------|--------|------| | 1825 | 317,875 | 239,676 | 572,640 | | 1826 | 240,920 | 161,124 | 391,386 | | 1827 | 232,202 | 156,629 | 279,204 | | 1828 | 287,209 | 201,533 | 1,064,000 | | 1829 | 156,770 | 183,256 | 1,077,326 | | 1830 | 214,032 | 247,015 | 772,405 | | 1831 | 222,514 | 218,460 | 867,463 | | 1832 | 362,495 | 271,107 | 1,165,737 | | 1833 | 373,730 | 325,508 | 1,067,314 | | 1834 | 409,241 | 311,962 | 1,123,393 | | 1835 | 381,188 | 258,744 | 1,247,975 |

London is well supplied with fish of all kinds, according to the season. The greater part is brought by vessels to the wholesale fish-market at Billingsgate, in Lower Thames Street. Many of these vessels are Dutch, which catch the fish, chiefly turbot, on the Dogger Bank, and convey it to market; but much is taken by our own fishermen. From Scotland, abundance of salmon, in the proper months, is brought to Billingsgate, packed in ice. In some years there have been imported from Norway as many as 1,200,000 lobsters, and some from Heligoland. There is no duty upon turbot or lobsters, but all other fish, if not caught by British fishermen, are prohibited. At some periods great quantities of fish, chiefly mackerel, are brought to London by land-carriage. Large quantities of cured fish are furnished to the metropolis, such as the salted cod brought from Newfoundland, the smoked and the salted herrings caught in Scotland, and on the shores of Norfolk and Suffolk. The fish trade still centres in the city at the old market of Billingsgate, an attempt to establish a market of competition at Hungerford having hitherto failed. The trade is carried on chiefly by means of salesmen, who contract for the cargoes as they arrive, and retail them out to the fishmongers, of whom there are 950 scattered about in every division of the metropolis and the contiguous villages. The oyster fishery depends chiefly on the demand in the metropolis, where only the best can be obtained. The feeding of them is carried on chiefly at Colchester, to which neighbourhood they are brought from the shores of Hampshire and Dorsetshire, and laid down in beds on creeks, to grow and fatten during two or three years. The trade employs about 200 vessels of from fifteen to forty-five tons burden. The quantity caught of late years has been from 14,000 to 15,000 bushels. The packing them in small barrels as presents, is a considerable trade. The quantity of fish brought to London has been estimated at 50,000 tons weight annually, but with what degree of correctness this is stated, we have not ascertained.

The land around London is much too valuable to be destined for the growth of corn. Whatever may have been lost in the original quality of the soil (and it was probably once very poor), the draining in the swampy parts, and the vast quantity of manure which a great city supplies, has made it some of the most productive in the kingdom. It is, however, chiefly devoted to feeding cows, whose milk must be brought fresh to the consumer, or in growing such delicate fruits and vegetables as are injured by long keeping or long carriage. The number of cows kept for milking is calculated at about 12,000, yielding about 10,000 gallons of milk, which is supplied at each house twice a day out of tin pails. The grass-land is hardly sufficient to feed that number, and some part of their food, besides hay, consists of grains from breweries, and often of Swedish turnips or mangel wurzel, brought from farms at a distance.

Except this feeding land, the greater part of the soil is appropriated to nurseries or horticulture. The first yields flowers in abundance, and young plants of the various kinds proper for gardens. The latter produce the best of culinary vegetables that are required for daily use in the metropolis. The more delicate kinds used for salads are eminently good. The lettuces, especially, are more approved than any grown at a distance from London. Cabbages, broccoli, cauliflowers, and other plants of the Brassica tribe, are deemed to be more appropriate products of the soil and atmosphere of the vicinity of London, than of any other parts of the kingdom.

Those fruits which are of the most perishable kind are grown nearest to London, particularly raspberries, strawberries, and cherries in their season. These are commonly gathered at a very early hour in the morning, and sent to the first-rate fruit shops, on the heads of women, mostly from Wales, and are ready quite fresh at the hour of breakfast. Gooseberries, currants, and the common wall-fruits are amply supplied. The vegetables from Chelsea, Hammersmith, Fulham, and on the banks of the river are conveyed for the most part by the river Thames, and consigned to Covent Garden and the other vegetable markets, where they are met with those products that arrive in carts. They are generally sold by salesmen or factors, and then distributed throughout the metropolis by a class of small traders denominated green-grocers.

The more common and less perishable vegetables, such as potatoes, turnips, carrots, and parsnips, are grown at a greater distance, but are brought to the same markets, and are dispensed to the consumers in a similar manner. It may here be remarked, that the vicinity of Gravesend is celebrated for the excellence of its asparagus and artichokes, the greater part of which is conveyed to London by the steam vessels. Not far from that place is a kind of farm which could be profitable nowhere but in the vicinity of a great city. A few acres are destined to grow watercresses. These are gathered early every morning, bound up in small bunches, and despatched by a light cart to London, where it arrives by the hour of breakfast, and is distributed by persons who cry them through the streets for sale. Poultry is abundantly if not cheaply provided; but if dear, it is remarkably good. Higgler travel the country round London and purchase fowls in the lean state. These are carefully fattened at some large establishment for that purpose in the eastern side of London. Pigeons are also kept for poulterers' shops, and many tame rabbits. Of late hares, pheasants, and partridges have been allowed to be sold, and are obtained at moderate prices. These articles furnish subsistence to about 350 traders, known by the name of poulterers, who sometimes unite with them the dealing in butter, eggs, and sausages.

The markets in the metropolis are numerous, but the most considerable of these can here receive no other attention than mentioning their names and localities.

Covent-Garden has been already noticed as the place for vegetables. It is the centre of a square, and has been newly built within the last six years by the Duke of Bedford, the proprietor. It is an elegant and commodious structure, with two ranges of shops running from north to south, and three from north to south. In these and in the open parts of the market the display of fruits, flowers, and vegetables, especially at an early hour of the morning, is a very gratifying spectacle. Its situation is convenient, and the access to it from every side peculiarly easy.

Newgate market is one of the largest, dealing much by wholesale both in meat and vegetables. There are many carcass butchers who sell the whole animals when slaughtered, without the skin, tallow, and entrails, to others in the same market, or in other parts of the town, who sell it by the joint, and are distinguished by the name of cutting butchers. There are also salesmen as well as retailers of fruit and vegetables. The great or wholesale markets are on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Leadenhall market rivals that of Newgate in the number and extent of the carcass and cutting butchers, and excels hall. It in the trade of skins and leather. A new market called Farringdon has been constructed to supply the want of Fleet market, which has been removed to form a good avenue. It is large, covering more than an acre of ground, and the building, which was finished in 1829, cost the corporation of the city £200,000. It is very commodious, but hitherto not filled with sellers and buyers.

Hungerford market has been built only two years, on the Hunger-site, but enlarged, of a former market. It is an elegant ford, and commodious structure, most appropriately fitted up. As it stands on the bank of the Thames, and has convenient access to the water by stairs, it was expected that the vessels with fish would come up and discharge them; but that expectation has not been fulfilled, nor are the greater part of the shops occupied. It was built by a joint stock company. The length of the interior is 140 feet, and the breadth 70. The front to the river has a fine appearance.

The great markets for hay and straw are held in White chapel, in Smithfield, in the Borough, in the Haymarket, and near the Paddington canal. The other markets are Newport for butcher-meat, Borough for meat and vegetables, and Honey Lane for the best qualities of their several kinds of food; Clare, Cumberland, Fitzroy, Grosvenor, Hoxton, James, Oxford, Red Lion, Mortimer, Tottenham Court, St Luke's, St George's, Shadwell, Sheppard's, Brooks, and Chelsea, are all of them markets upon a retail scale, but sufficiently supplied to accommodate the population in their immediate vicinity with what they require.

The class of tradesmen called cheesemongers, of which there are 1395 in the metropolis, deal chiefly but not all of them exclusively in butter and cheese. Some of them add to their proper trade that of selling hams, bacon, and tongues. The sale of butter is said to be 24,050 pounds, and that of cheese to be 26,700,000; but this must at best be a doubtful estimate.

The mode by which the poorest classes are supplied with food, according to the power of purchasing it, is by small shops scattered through every part of the outskirts of the town. In some of these, small portions of meat, or of puddings, or of vegetables may be obtained ready cooked, at very low rates. In some parts these are in cellars, which are the most homely and cheapest. Of late a practice has prevailed of carrying about potatoes ready boiled, and kept warm, which are sold to the most destitute, who can only command a penny or even a halfpenny, and with that can purchase a meal, though a very scanty one.

No city can become large unless it is built on the banks of a river which abundantly supplies it with water both for drinking and for cleanliness; and when it becomes extended far from the river, the expense and the labour to be applied to afford a supply of water to such parts is very great, especially if, as is almost always the case, the ground rises in height as it is more removed from the stream. Although London is supplied with many excellent springs of fresh water, they were early found to afford an insufficient supply, and, besides, the water was not fitted for many purposes. Various means have been adopted to secure an adequate portion of water, each of which deserves notice; but the most prominent is that which still affords nearly one-half the quantity that is consumed. In the early part of the reign of James I., Sir Hugh Middleton, a citizen of the Goldsmith Company of London, undertook at his own risk and charge to convey to the elevated hill above the city a river of fresh and good water. He began the work in 1608, but the city refusing to embark in the undertaking, the King covenanted to advance money for the purpose on condition of half the property being conveyed to him. This agreement was made in May 1612, and in September 1613 the water was let into the basin at the place now called the New River head at Islington. From thence by subsequent labour it was at length conveyed by pipes underground to the several streets and houses that required it. Since that period the company has augmented its supply first from the river Lea and then from other sources; and the concern has proved highly beneficial to the company. The principal supply is obtained at Amwell in the county of Hertford, whence preserving the level so as to have only a fall of two inches in a mile, it flows forty miles with a gentle motion, and in that distance passes under 200 bridges, until it reaches the main large or circular reservoir whence it is distributed to the inhabitants.

The next attempt to supply water was by the Chelsea Water-work Company in the year 1723; and these two, with some aid from machinery at London Bridge, continued to supply the north side of the Thames till 1810, when three new companies, the East London, the West London, and the Grand Junction, were established by authority of different acts of Parliament.

The following account from Wade on the Police will best describe the operations and practical effects of the companies. The progress of the New River has been noticed. There are at Clerkenwell two reservoirs having between them a surface of about five acres and a depth of ten feet. These reservoirs are 844 feet above low water-mark in the Thames, and by means of steam-engines and a stand-pipe an additional height of sixty feet can be given to the water; so that all the mains belonging to this company are kept full by a considerable pressure of water. The highest service given by the New River is the cistern on the top of Covent Garden theatre. The aqueduct by which the water is brought has only a fall of two inches in a mile; thus it wastes by evaporation in summer, and is impeded by frosts in the winter. At such times the company pump an additional supply from the Thames at Broken Wharf, between Blackfriars and Southwark Bridges. To this, however, they seldom have recourse, and their engine, erected since the works at London Bridge have been removed, has worked only 176 hours in the year. The New River Company supply 66,000 houses with water at an annual average of 1100 hogsheads each, or, in all, about 75,000,000 hogsheads annually.

The East London water-works are situated at Old Ford, on the river Lea, about three miles from the Thames, and a little below the point to which the tide flows. By the act of parliament this company must take its water when the tide runs up, and the mills below have ceased working. The water is pumped into reservoirs, and allowed to settle, and a supply of 6,000,000 gallons is daily distributed to about 42,000 houses. This company supplies no water at a greater elevation than thirty feet, and the usual height at which the delivery is made to the tenants is six feet above the pavement. They have 200 miles of iron-pipes, which, in some places, cost them seven guineas the yard. This and the New River are the only companies that do not draw their supply wholly from the Thames.

The West Middlesex Company derive their supply of water from the Thames at the upper end of Hamner-smith, 9½ miles above London Bridge, where the bed of the Thames is gravel. The water is forced by engines to a reservoir at Kensington, 309 feet long, 123 wide, and 20 deep, which is paved and lined with brick, and is elevated 120 feet above low water in the Thames. They have another reservoir on Little Primrose Hill, about 70 feet higher, and containing 88,000 hogsheads of water, under the pressure of which the drains are kept charged in the event of fires. They serve about 15,000 tenants, and the average daily supply is 2,250,000 gallons.

The Chelsea water-works derive their supply from the Thames about a quarter of a mile east from Chelsea Hospital, and they have two reservoirs; one in the Green Park near to Piccadilly, and another in Hyde Park near to Mount Street; the former having an elevation of 44, and the latter of 70 feet. These reservoirs till very recently had never been cleaned, nor had any preparation been made for that purpose in their construction. About one-third of the water served out by this company is allowed to settle in these reservoirs, and the remaining two-thirds are sent directly from the Thames. This company has recently constructed works by which they can filter their water by passing through successive beds of stone and sand before it is sent to the reservoirs. The Chelsea Company serves about 12,400 houses, and their daily supply amounts to 1,760,000 gallons.

The Grand Junction Company derive the whole of their supply from the Thames immediately adjoining Chelsea Hospital, whence it is pumped without any filtration or settling into three reservoirs at Paddington. These are respectively about 71, 86, and 92 feet above high water-mark in the Thames; their united contents are 19,355,840 gallons; and by means of a stand-pipe the water is forced to the height of 147 feet, or about 61 feet above the average height in the reservoir. The number of houses supplied by the Grand Junction Company is 7,700, and the average daily supply of water is 2,800,000 gallons.

The Lambeth Company take their supply from the Thames between Westminster and Waterloo Bridges. It is drawn from the bed of the river by a suction-pipe, and is delivered to the tenants without being allowed to subside, there being only a cistern of 400 barrels at the works, as a temporary supply till engines can be started. The greatest height to which the company force water is about 40 feet.

The South London or Vauxhall Company take their supply from the river Thames by a tunnel which is laid six feet below low water-mark, and as far into the river as the third arch of Vauxhall Bridge. At that particular place the bed of the river is described as being always clean, and without any of those depositions of mud and more offensive substances that are found in many other places. Besides the greater purity of the bed of the Thames there than where any of the companies on the south side take their supply, the company allow the water to settle in reservoirs. This company supplies about 10,000 houses with water at the rate of 1,000,000 gallons daily.

The Southwark water-works are the property of one individual. They are supplied from the middle of the Thames below Southwark and London Bridges; and the water thus taken is sent out to tenants without standing to settle, or without any filtration further than it receives from passing through grates of wire or small holes in metallic plates. The number of houses supplied from these works is about 7,000, and the daily supply of water about 720,000 gallons. The supply in a tabular form is thus:

| Companies | Houses | Average per day | Average per Year | Average per House | |--------------------|--------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------| | New River | 67,000 | 13,000,000 | 4,056,000,000 | 182 | | East London | 42,000 | 6,000,000 | 1,872,000,000 | 143 | | West Middlesex | 15,000 | 2,250,000 | 702,000,000 | 150 | | Chelsea | 12,400 | 1,760,000 | 549,120,000 | 142 | | Grand Junction | 7,700 | 2,800,000 | 873,600,000 | 365 | | Lambeth | 16,000 | 1,244,000 | 388,128,000 | 77 | | South London | 10,000 | 1,000,000 | 312,000,000 | 100 | | Southwark | 7,000 | 720,000 | 224,540,000 | 102 |

The three last companies, which all supply the south side of the river, will appear to have a far less average supply than the others on the north side. This arises from the difference in the size of the houses and the number of inhabitants. Thus the Grand Junction, which supplies the houses of rich districts, contributes near five times as much water per house as Lambeth, which is one of the poorest.

In consequence of the companies taking the water from the Thames within the limits to which the tide flows, it is necessarily, in the first instance, loaded with many impurities. The reports that were recently circulated relative to the deleterious quality of the water have been shewn to be very greatly exaggerated. The statement of Dr Bostock, given in the report of the commissioners, shews that by far the greater part of the impurities in the Thames water are mechanically suspended in, and not chemically combined with it; that they may be separated from it by filtration, or by merely allowing it to stand at rest. Most of the companies have recently made considerable efforts to improve their water; and though they may not have done as much as they might and ought to have done, a considerable improvement has been effected, and there is not the slightest foundation for the notion that the impurities of the water have ever been such as to affect in any degree the health of the inhabitants.

The beverage next to water in importance is the porter of London, a malt liquor much celebrated in every part of the world. Its flavour has been attributed to some peculiar properties in the water from which it is manufactured; but as some of it is made from Thames water, some from New River water, and some from natural springs within the premises of the brewers, that cannot be the cause. The breweries are generally very large establishments, with vessels of all kinds of most incredible capacity; and the malt as well as the liquor is conveyed from one part of the premises to another by machinery set in motion by steam power. The capitals invested in many of the large breweries are enormous; for not only do the cattle, drays, vessels, and premises employ much, but most of them have numerous public-houses either by purchase or on leases, and the occupants placed in them are bound to take the beer from the houses to which the premises belong. There are some persons keeping public-houses who brew their own beer, but their number does not much exceed twenty, and their operations are necessarily on a contracted scale. In 1831, the number of males above twenty years of age who are occupied in brewing appears by the parliamentary returns to have been 563; but this is a very indeterminate mode of viewing the extent of the trade.

Before the alteration of the law by which the tax on beer was taken off, the books of the excise office afforded exact accounts of the quantities of beer annually brewed, but now it is difficult to collect any facts with accuracy. In the year 1830, the quantity brewed, in barrels of thirty-six gallons, the last of those in which the tax was collected by the ten principal houses in London, was as follows:

Barrels.

| Company | Barrels | |------------------|---------| | Barclay & Co. | 243,546 | | Truman, Hanbury, & Co. | 178,318 | | Whitbread & Co. | 155,761 | | Reid & Co. | 151,566 | | Coombe & Co. | 104,349 | | Henry Meux & Co. | 83,422 | | Calvert & Co. | 74,418 | | Taylor & Co. | 63,658 | | Hoane & Co. | 59,641 | | Elliott & Co. | 42,827 |

These supply the chief consumption, the others, though numerous, not producing more than one-fifth of the great houses.

One class of public establishments of the most beneficial insurance nature to trade especially, but in a greater or less degree offices to all other persons, consists of the various Insurance offices in London. These may be divided into three sections, viz. 1st, insurances on property at sea against all risks; 2d, insurances of houses and other goods against losses by fire; and, 3d, insurances on lives.

Marine insurances are chiefly effected at Lloyd's coffee-house, which has been already noticed under the head of Royal Exchange; but there are four joint stock companies who insure against sea risks to a large extent, and who for some descriptions of business are preferred to the underwriters at Lloyd's. Two of these are of ancient establishment, viz. the London Assurance Company, and the Royal Exchange Company. Two others are of more recent foundation, one called the Alliance Marine Assurance Company, and the other the Indemnity Mutual Marine Assurance Company. All of these are of indisputable credit and high honour, and transact a vast deal of business. Besides these there are clubs or associations formed by shipowners, who agree, each entering his ships for a certain sum, to divide amongst themselves each other's losses. The more public institutions act in some measure in concert with the great mass of underwriters who carry on their operations at large, so far as to contribute to the expense of collecting information respecting the condition and equipment of all shipping in every port, and defraying the general expenses of the committee of Lloyd's.

The business of insuring against fire, and the premiums on the different descriptions of risks, are so well known, that any enumeration of them here seems unnecessary. The offices existing in London, and the amount they have paid for stamps in one year, viz. 1832, are as follow:

| Office | Premium | |----------|---------| | Albion | £15,011 | | Alliance | 20,147 | | Atlas | 21,010 | | British | 15,644 | | County | 48,507 | | Globe | 27,198 |

Carry forward, £147,517. Each of these companies maintain fire-engines and a company of firemen, who, as soon as an alarm is given, hasten to the spot where a fire has broken out, and lend their assistance to extinguish it, and to aid the inhabitants in removing or saving their property. On such occasions they are also found of great service to check the depredations of thieves, who commonly congregate wherever a fire happens.

This business of insurance against fire has led to the establishment of county offices for the purpose in most parts of England; but except that at Norwich, which has a branch in London, and one at Exeter, they do but little business. The stamps of all the others scarcely amount to £100,000.

The business of Life Insurance is one almost exclusively known in England, and chiefly carried on in London; and no other country has adopted the system which has been so successfully pursued by us. The first society of the kind in England was the Amicable, established in 1706. The Royal Exchange and the London Assurance companies began to insure on lives in the latter part of the reign of George I., after which several projects of the kind were started and failed. In the year 1763, the Equitable was first established. This subject engaged the attention of Dr Richard Price, an eminent mathematician, whose judicious suggestions caused that society to obtain a high degree of success, and encouraged others, on his principles, to start the various companies which now exist in the metropolis. The greatest business of all these companies consists in receiving a sum by annual payments, according to the age of the life insured, on condition to pay at the death a given sum. The annual sum is greater or less as the person is younger or older, and regulated by tables of the expectation of life, framed from the most accurate views that have been obtained of the average mass of human mortality. The tables used by most of the companies are those of Carlisle and Northampton, calculated on the proportion of deaths in a given number of persons. Some of these tables having been thought uncertain or erroneous, the government has employed Mr Finlayson, and the companies Mr Milne and other calculators, to render them more perfect, and much assistance has been received from the facts relating to births and deaths by the population reports of Mr Rickman.

Life insurances are effected by different companies on various principles. One class receives a fixed annual premium, and pays a fixed sum when death occurs, and the proprietors themselves receive whatever benefits may accrue. The Pelican belongs to this class. Others divide the whole of the profits equally between the assured, though they may be divided into two sections, such as the Amicable, which distributes the profits among all the assured; whilst the Equitable allows none to participate in the profits, except such as are assured for the whole term of their lives. The third class have a body of proprietors distinct from the assured, and the profit is shared between the two bodies in various proportions, and in various modes. Thus the Crown Company divides two-thirds of the profits amongst the insurers for life. The Economic divides three-fourths of the profits amongst the assured. The Atlas gives the whole, by a septennial division, to those insured above L.100 for the whole of life. The Rock allots to the assured two-thirds of the benefit, and adds one-third to the capital of the proprietors. The others, viz. the Alliance, the Imperial, the Norwich Union, the Atlas, the European, the Guardian, the Hope, the Globe, the Law Life, and the Medical and Clerical, divide the whole profits, but differ much in their various times and manners of applying such profits.

The houses of several of the insurance companies are a great ornament to the streets where they have been erected. The finest of them are the County and Provident, in Regent Street; the Equitable, in New Bridge Street; the Union, in Cornhill; the Globe, in Cornhill; the Albion, in New Bridge Street; the British, in the Strand; the London and the Pelican, in Lombard Street.

The prosperity of London has been much advanced by the Bridges built over the river Thames, and by the facilities of intercourse with the districts to the south of it being thereby facilitated. In ancient times the connexion with those districts was maintained by means of ferries, the property of which belonged to individuals or to societies. Some of these were adapted for foot-passengers, and others for horses, or for other cattle; and the access by the roads leading to the ferries was such as to forbid the general use of wheel-carriages, so that even heavy goods were brought by pack-horses. The land on both sides was of a marshy nature, and the cost of constructing roads was one amongst many obstacles to the erection of bridges. With regard to the six bridges now on the Thames, none of them has any connexion with ancient recollections except London Bridge, to which the first notice will be directed, and then attention will be given to the others, according to the dates of their construction.

At what period a bridge was built across the Thames, at the spot now occupied by one, cannot be settled. It could not have been before the year 993, when the Danish invader Unlaf sailed up the river as high as Staines; nor later than the year 1015, when Canute the Dane, in besieging London, was impeded in his operations by a fortified bridge, which compelled him to cut a canal on the south side of the river from Rotherhithe to a spot to the west of the city, and thereby complete the investment. The remains of this great work were found in 1694, at the place called Dock-head.

Howe the historian, represents that construction as the work of the monks of St Mary Overy, who not only built the bridge, but kept it in repair. But however that may be, it was built of wood, and was burned in 1136. It was then rebuilt of stone, and commenced in 1176, and it occupied thirty-three years to complete it, having been finished in 1209.

This great work was founded on enormous piles, driven as closely as possible together, and on their tops were laid planks nine inches thick, strongly bolted, on which the base of each pier was placed. Around all were the sterlings to protect the foundation, which so contracted the passage of the water as to form a fall of five feet with the ebb-tide, which caused the loss of thousands of lives between its erection and removal. The length of this vast work was 915 feet, and it had 19 arches of unequal dimensions, and greatly deformed by the sterlings, and by the houses on each side, which overhung it in a most terrific manner. In most places they hid the arches, and nothing appeared but the rude piers. It was narrow, darksome, and dangerous to passengers from the multitude of carriages; arches of strong timber frequently crossed the street, from the tops of the houses, to keep them together, and to prevent them from falling into the river. The houses had shops mostly tenanted by pin and needle makers. According to Fuller, the first needles were made by a Spanish negro in Cheapside, who died without communicating his art; but one Crouse, a German, in the reign of Elizabeth, first taught the English to make them. In one part of the building was a drawbridge, which was protected by a strong tower, that served to admit ships, and served on several occasions as a means of defence. On the top of this tower was constantly presented the horrid spectacle of the heads of persons condemned for treason.

The new bridge, which was begun in June 1824, and completed in 1831, is about 200 feet higher up the river than that which it replaced. It is a fine object, projected by the late Mr Rennie, and executed by his sons. It is built of Scotch and Derbyshire granite, and is composed of five elliptical arches, the central one being the finest ever erected. On either side of the ends of the bridge are five flights of steps reaching to the water. The foundation of the whole is laid on piers, which were driven down twenty feet into the stiff blue clay forming the bed of the river, and on their tops are horizontal sleepers, on which the first course of masonry was placed. The whole length of the bridge is 928 feet, the breadth of the water-way 692 feet, the width from the outside of one parapet to that of the other 56 feet, the span of the centre arch 152 feet, that of the arches on each side of it 140 feet, the height above low water-mark 55 feet, and the width of the carriage-way 33 feet. It is a proud monument of the present age. The money expended in building the bridge amounted to £542,000, but to this must be added the cost of the approaches, consisting partly of old buildings, and partly of ground, so that the whole cost amounted to £711,000. Much of this sum has been borrowed upon the security of the estates of the corporation.

That noble structure, as it was then denominated, called Westminster Bridge, was begun in January 1739. The first stone was laid by Henry Earl of Pembroke, of whom Walpole reports, that no nobleman had a purer taste in architecture. The design was made by M. Labelye, a native of France. The work was not completed till November 1748, having thus occupied eight years and nine months. The expense of its erection was £389,500. It is built wholly of Portland stone. The difficulties in the foundation were great, and were only surmounted by £40,000 being expended on materials for that part of the work. The length is 1223, the breadth 44, and the foot-path 7 feet. It consists of thirteen large and two small arches, the centre one of which is 76 feet wide, and the others decrease 4 feet each as they proceed towards the two end arches, which are no more than 52 feet. On each side is a stone balustrade 6 feet 9 inches in height, with arched recesses for shelter from the rain; the height of this has been a subject of censure, because it obstructs a clear view of the noble expanse of water, and of the fine objects, especially to the east, which are scattered with no sparing hand. The tide has been known to rise at this bridge 22 feet, much to the annoyance of the inhabitants of the lower parts of Westminster, for at such times their cellars are filled with water, and the floor of Westminster Hall so covered with it, that the judges and others require boats to bring them out, or wait until the ebbing of the tide lower the water.

Blackfriars' Bridge fills up the space which was once the filthy mouth of Fleet ditch, and formed a continuation of the river Fleet from Holborn Bridge, but which was a broad flat surface filled with mud, on which coal barges rested when the tide was out, but floated at the time of high-water. It was commenced in October 1760, and finished in the same month of the year 1768. The plan was furnished by Robert Mylne, a Scotch architect, and the expense of the construction was £152,840 : 3 : 10. The corporation of London advanced the money, and were to be repaid by a daily toll, which, after some years, became only a Sunday toll, and a few years later was altogether given up. The corporation, in a political fit, resolved that it should be called after the name of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, then a favourite statesman with that body; but that name has never been adopted, except on the brass-plate below the foundation. The small square, however, which adjoins the bridge, bears the name of Chatham Place. The bridge is composed of nine elliptical arches, the centre one of which is 100 feet wide. The whole length is 995, the breadth of the carriage-way is 28 feet, and that of the footway 7 feet. Over each pier is a recess, supported by elegant Ionic pillars, and at each extremity are handsome flights of steps leading to the water, where boats are at all times in attendance. It is just half-way between the two more recently-erected bridges called Waterloo and Southwark, and has a fine view of both, as well as of St Paul's cathedral, and many other interesting objects.

A bridge across the Thames between those of Westminster and Blackfriars had been long a desideratum, but no Bridge effort was made to erect one before the year 1806, when Mr Dodd, an architect, formed a party, who obtained an act of Parliament, and smoothed some of the obstacles which had impeded the progress of such an undertaking. But the committee and Dodd having disagreed, the work devolved on that eminent architect the late Mr Rennie, who lived to complete this most noble of all the structures of the British metropolis. The work commenced in 1811, when the foundation was laid, by driving into the ground at the bottom of the river, the piles upon which the several piers rest. Each of those piers have under them 320 piles of 20 feet in length, and 13 inches diameter, which are driven down, being one in every square yard. The bridge is built partly of Cornish, and partly of Aberdeen granite. The arches are elliptical, and all of the same size, and the road is consequently without any elevation or depression on passing it. The roads upon both sides leading to it have been raised so as to maintain a complete level to and over it. The style of the building is plain yet noble. It consists of nine arches equal in span, being 120 feet. The whole of the road from the Strand, where its ascent begins, to the Surrey side, which has been raised on forty brick arches, is 2890 feet. The length of the stone-work within the abutments is 1242 feet. The width of the bridge within the balustrades is 42 feet, that of the pavement or footway is 7 feet. The clear water-way under the nine equal arches is 1080 feet. At each extremity of the bridge are handsome flights of steps leading to the water.

This structure was erected in five years, and first opened on the 18th of June 1817, the anniversary of the victory of Waterloo, from which it receives its name. The ceremony was graced by the presence of the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV., the Duke of Wellington, and other distinguished personages. At the extremities of the bridge are toll-houses, of neat Doric structure, with turnstiles, which, by means of machinery below, indicate the number of persons that pass through, and thus act as a check on the collectors of the toll. The cost of this bridge, which was constructed by a joint-stock company, amounted to one million sterling; and it is to be regretted that the spirited society should be such pecuniary sufferers as they are at present. The chief hope of a better state of affairs, rests upon the expectation of a great increase of buildings on the Surrey side of the river.

Vauxhall Bridge, the next in date, connects Chelsea with Vauxhall Bridge the parish of Lambeth. It was commenced in 1813, when the first stone was laid by Charles Duke of Brunswick, and finished in 1816, at an expense of £150,000, which is to be discharged by the tolls over it, which are necessarily high. It is composed of nine arches of equal span, made of cast-iron, resting on piers formed by a wooden frame, faced with stone and Roman cement. The length is 860 feet. The arches are 78 feet in the span, and 29 feet in height. It was projected by Mr Dodd, who began it, and for a short time the conduct of the operation fell into the hands of Mr Walker, but it finally came under the direc- The latest of the bridges is that called, after the part to which it leads from Queen Street, in the city, the Southwark Bridge. It was projected by Mr Wyatt, but began to be constructed by Mr Rennie in 1814, with the aid of Mr Weston as sub-engineer. It was completed in 1819, having cost, including the expense of forming the avenues to it, L. 800,000. Messrs Jolliff and Banks contracted to perform the work, and the cast-iron was supplied from the foundry of the Walkers at Rotherham.

This stupendous bridge consists of three cast-iron arches, resting on massive stone piers and abutments. The distance between the abutments is 708 feet. The extent of each abutment inclosed, including the land and the inverted arches, is 71 feet, formed of solid masonry. There are two piers, 60 feet high from the bed of the river to the top of the parapet, 24 feet in breadth between high and low water marks, and 75 feet long between one arch and another of the salient angles. The foundations of these piers are each about twelve feet below the bed or bottom of the river, and rest upon a platform of timber 24 feet thick; these platforms repose on about 420 piles, most of which are driven 24 feet into the earth, making the depth, from the shoe of the piles to the parapet of the piers, 98 feet. The side arches are 210 feet each in span, and the centre arch 240, with 43 feet clear opening above low-water mark at medium tides. The centre arch is thus the largest in the world, exceeding the admired bridge at Sunderland by 4 feet, and that of the once highly boasted Rialto of Venice by 167 feet. Many of the iron single or solid castings weigh ten tons each, and the total weight of iron in the bridge is 5308 tons. This bridge was constructed with so much accuracy, that, when the centerings of the middle arch were removed, it only sunk at the vertex one inch and seven-eighths. At the end of the bridge are turnstiles, with machinery to show the number of passengers through, similar to those of Waterloo Bridge. The tolls are lower than those of Waterloo for all but foot-passengers. They have not yet amounted to such a sum as the shareholders expected, or as they probably will become when all the avenues leading to it receive the improvements that are in contemplation.

The attempted Tunnel under the Thames is so connected with the purpose for which bridges are constructed, that the two kinds of undertakings may be said to be in contact. Mr Brunel, the eminent mechanic and projector of public works, had formed a scheme for making a tunnel under the Thames, near Gravesend, which had failed; but the failure, instead of deterring him from other attempts, urged him on, by the conviction that it was practicable, and would be beneficial to the public. The confidence in his talents, assiduity, and integrity, was so great, that a company was speedily formed, and an act of Parliament was passed, incorporating it, for the specific purpose of the tunnel, in June 1824. The expense was estimated at L. 160,000, which was soon subscribed.

The great merit of the invention for excavating with security, entitles it to a particular description. A general idea of the means proposed by this great engineer may be obtained by supposing a hollow box, of sufficient strength for its purpose, open to the rear, but closed on the front with moveable boards, and sufficiently large to contain one man at work. The front is placed against the face of the earth to be removed, and separates the workman from it. By means of the moveable boards, he can expose any part of the earth at his discretion. When he has removed one board, he excavates the earth which was behind it, to the depth directed, and places the board against the new vertical surface exposed; the board is then in advance of the box, and is kept in its place by props, which have their support in the rear. When he has thus proceeded with all the boards, it will be evident that an excavation will have been made equal to the area of the front of the box, and of a certain depth; and that the boards will be all in advance equal to this depth, and held there, disengaged from the box. The box is then pushed forward by screws to the boards, and the operation of excavation then recommences. The brick-work is immediately executed up to the box, and the security of the work is complete. When the area of excavation is proposed to be large, as in the case of this particular tunnel, a number of similar boxes is required. Their size is not increased, but they are arranged side by side to the width intended, and tier on tier to the height proposed. Those which are over each other are attached so as to be moved together in one vertical group, and have no connexion with the others on their sides. This whole assemblage is called the shield. In large excavations the whole shield is not moved forward at once; any one of the vertical groups may be advanced independently of any other, and the mode adopted is, to push on the alternate ones equally to a certain distance in front, and then to bring up and advance those left behind through the intervals of the first, and so on alternately.

Early in the year 1825 the shaft was begun which was necessary to be sunk on the Rotherhithe shore, in order to get down to the level of the intended works at that end of the tunnel. The sinking of this shaft, though the principle was well known to those employed in sinking wells, required a great degree of skill and intrepidity on the part of the engineer, owing to the magnitude of the operation.

A tower or cylinder of brick-work, 50 feet in diameter, 40 feet in height, and the walls of which were 3 feet in thickness, and resting on a circle of cast-iron, having its lower edges chisel-shaped, was built with the utmost care on the surface of the ground, and immediately over the situation of the intended shaft. In the upper part was suspended a steam-engine, of thirty-six horse power, for the purpose of draining and lifting the excavated earth to the surface.

This tower was begun on the 2d of March 1825, and, on the 1st of April, the excavation commenced within the enclosure. As the work proceeded, this vast structure, with its engine, descended without accident, and continued to do so for twenty days, through successive strata of gravel and other earths, until, at 37 feet from the surface, it rested upon a solid bed of clay. It was there permitted to remain, but the excavation was continued, and the cylinder under built to the depth of 24 feet. At this level the diameter was reduced to 25 feet, and another cylinder inserted, sunk 20 feet more. This lower part was intended as a tank or receptacle for drainage water; and suction pipes of the engine-pump were carried into it, for the purpose of carrying it off. The total height of this extraordinary shaft is 84 feet, 64 feet of which are of 50 feet diameter, and 20 of 25 feet. It consumed 260,000 bricks, and 1200 barrels of cement, and the weight of it is about 900 tons. It is intended eventually as the staircase for persons on foot. Near it, a little to the southward, a shaft is to be built, by which carriages are to ascend and descend, which will be 160 feet in diameter.

The soundings along the proposed line across the river give 12 feet water at low tide, and 36 at the highest, in the deepest parts; the bed of the river was found to be a stratum of sand, about 3 feet 8 inches thick, lying upon one of about half that thickness, composed of clay and sand, beneath which was a bed of tenacious clay. The descending order of the strata, at the lower part of this bed, in which the tunnel is executed, is as follows: Stiff blue clay about 2 feet; silt, 7 feet; silt, mixed with shells, It was found that the whole length from shaft to shaft would be 1300 feet.

Early in December the first horizontal excavation commenced. At the bottom of the wider part of the shaft a shield of cast-iron, weighing 120 tons, 37 feet in width by 22 feet in height, and 8 feet in depth, with a complement of thirty-six men, each in his respective cell, was entered into the solid earth, and began its new and extraordinary march. It proceeded for several months, at a rate of about two feet in twenty-four hours, displacing from 90 to 100 tons of earth, which was lifted to the surface by the engine in the shaft. In each foot 5500 bricks were used. On the 2d of March 1826, it had advanced 470 feet, or about one-third of the whole length; and, though the line of the tunnel dips about 3 feet in 100, the excavation in one part, towards the middle of the river, had approached within 10 feet of the water above it. The brick-work which followed immediately, filled exactly the aperture which was made by the shield, and contained in its mass two arched passages or roadways, each 13 feet 9 inches wide, and 16 feet 10 inches high, lying by the side of each other, with a wall of 3 feet 6 inches between them. The passages at first have no connexion, but are subsequently laid together by arched perforations through the brick-work that separates them. The sides are three feet, and the arches at top and bottom 2 feet 7 inches thick at their smallest parts. About 1,000 bricks per day were used, entirely laid in cement; and the labour of one hundred men was constantly kept up by relays at stated periods. A main from a gas-work was laid along the floor, which conveyed the gas to columns placed in the connecting arches as they were formed, branches from which illuminated both the roadways, and a total freedom from water was preserved by drains beneath, which emptied themselves into the engine-tank beneath in the shaft. In the use of these, and innumerable other experiments to facilitate the progress, and anticipate or overcome the difficulties, of this extraordinary work, Mr Brunel displayed such fertility of invention, depth of resource, and professional intrepidity, as must place him in the highest rank of professional engineers. But these qualities were destined to a very severe trial. On the 18th of May 1827, at a distance of 544 feet from the shaft, the river found its way through a portion of loose earth, and entered the tunnel, through the shield, with a velocity and volume that filled the tunnel and the shaft in fifteen minutes. This happened whilst the workmen were at their duties, but no lives were lost. About 1000 tons of loose soil and rubbish descended into the tunnel.

The breach was examined by means of the diving-bell, and repaired by depositing about 1500 cubic yards of clay, in bags, in and around it. The water was then pumped out, and the permanent works were found very slightly injured; the shield was restored and adjusted, and in the latter part of September the work was recommenced. The dangerous part was passed, and 52 feet added to the length before achieved, when, on the 12th January 1828, the river broke through the shield a second time. The tunnel was filled in less than ten minutes, and the rush of water brought with it a current of air that put out the lights; and, principally owing to this circumstance, six of the workmen were unable to extricate themselves; the rest escaped. Mr Brunel reported that the aperture in the bed of the river was much less than at the former accident, and consequently that the mischief might be repaired at much less expense. The point at which this irruption occurred was at 600 feet from the shaft, within 25 feet of the middle of the channel of the river, leaving about 700 feet to be executed. The breach was, however, stopped, the water pumped out, and the rubbish removed.

The funds of the company were now nearly exhausted. Independently of the expense caused by this last accident, the expenditure up to that time had been L.157,000, of which about L.38,500 had been laid out in the purchase of premises and machinery, and L.118,500 in the works. The directors, in their report, state that the sum of L.75,000 will be required to complete the Tunnel to the north embankment. As the public appeared to take a great interest in the completion of the work, it was resolved to try the effect of contributions; but though some individuals subscribed liberally, the amount was on the whole but small, and not more than sufficient to clear the works. It was then determined to open the tunnel to the inspection of the public, on paying one shilling for admission. But this has done little more than defray the expense of keeping the works and the machinery in good order.

Of late the government has been prevailed upon to grant the company a loan of exchequer bills, and the work is again proceeding; but the prospect of its completion is still obscure, owing more to the want of pecuniary power than to any doubt of the practicability of its final accomplishment.

The Hospitals of London are numerous, and some of them very wealthy, especially those of royal foundation, St Thomas's Hospital, which will here receive the first notice. St Thomas's Hospital, in the High Street of Southwark, was founded by the prior of Bermondsey in 1213, and surrendered to Henry VIII. in the year 1538. The corporation of London having purchased the manor of Southwark in the reign of Edward VI., are ex-officio governors; but others are elected as governors who subscribe L.50 to the institution. The building having become dilapidated by time, was taken down, and rebuilt by voluntary subscriptions in 1693, and then formed three squares, to which were added, in 1752, a new portion of considerable magnificence, which comprised several wards and various offices. It now consists of four quadrangular courts. In the first are the wards for females; in the second two chapels, with houses for the treasurer and other officers; the third court contains wards for the men; and the fourth, besides wards for men, has hot and cold baths, a surgery, the theatre, capable of containing 300 persons, in which lectures to the pupils are delivered, and the apothecary's dispensary.

There are in the institution 18 wards, with 485 beds. It is destined to receive the sick poor, and those maimed by accident. The former must be recommended by a governor, but the latter are received at any hour, without recommendation. The annual expenditure is about L.10,000; and in some years 11,000 patients have received assistance either within the building, or at their own residences. This is one of the chief surgical schools of the metropolis. The medical officers being men of the greatest talents in the profession, naturally draw around them those who are solicitous to acquire skill and knowledge.

St Bartholomew's Hospital is near the church of St Bartholomew the Greater. It is in fact only the choir of an ancient conventual church, belonging to a priory of blackfriars, founded by one Rahiere, who had been a minstrel or jester to King Henry I., whom, as the tradition goes, in a horrible dream, from which he was delivered by St Bartholomew's appearance, the saint warned to quit his profitegate life, and found this religious house. To this person, however, who lived in the year 1102, have the inhabitants of London, during more than seven centuries, been indebted for one of the most beneficent of its public institutions.

The king made Rahiere a present of a waste spot of ground, on which he built an hospital for a master, brethren and sisters, for the entertainment of the diseased poor, for women with child till they should be delivered, and for the support of such children whose mothers died in the house, till they obtained the age of seven years. It was placed under the management of the priory; and its re- London. venues, by what means acquired does not appear, were found, at the dissolution of the priory, to amount to about £305 annually, a large sum at that day. By the liberality of numerous contributors, by benevolent legacies, and above all by the increased value of land, this institution has gone on increasing in wealth and utility. The present building was commenced in 1729. Although the ancient erections had escaped the great fire of 1666, yet they had become ruinous from age, when, by voluntary subscriptions, a sum to rebuild it wholly was collected. It is a noble pile, composed of four buildings, which form a large square, and are joined together by stone gateways. One of these piles contains a large hall for meetings of the governors, an accounting-house, and other offices; and the three other piles consist of apartments well arranged, in which are the patients. The principal gate is of the Doric order, consisting of a large arch placed between two pillars, supported by emblematic figures. The grand staircase, leading to the hall used by the governors, was gratuitously painted by Hogarth, and the subjects are the Good Samaritan and the Pool of Bethesda. The hall is deemed the finest apartment in London, its proportions being those of a double cube. Henry VIII. settled £500 per annum on the institution, and a full length portrait of him adorns the room, whilst the walls are covered with the names of the contributors, who, by donations of £50 and upwards, have been chosen governors. There is also a fine portrait of Dr Ratcliffe, who left £500 a-year for the improvement of the diet, and £100 a-year to purchase linen for the patients; and of Perceval Pott, the eminent surgeon, who was a great benefactor to the institution. In the window there is a portrait of Henry VIII. delivering the charter to the Lord Mayor, and Prince Arthur, with two noblemen holding white rods, standing near him. Attached to the south pile of the square is the dispensary, a stone building, in which medicines and dressings are prepared.

The physicians and surgeons of this establishment are the first for skill and talent in the kingdom; and this, with the numerous patients, makes it one of the best medical schools of the metropolis. The number of patients annually relieved generally exceed 10,000; and the expenditure of the institution, about equal to its income, is nearly £30,000 a-year.

Guy's Hospital, in St Thomas's Street, Southwark, is perhaps the most extensive beneficent institution, that in modern ages has been founded by one individual. Thomas Guy was the son of an anabaptist lighterman and coal-dealer in the borough. Upon his death his widow removed to her native town of Tamworth, with her only child, and from thence at the proper age sent him to London, to be bound apprentice to a bookseller in Cheapside. When he had served his term, he commenced business for himself, with a capital of two hundred pounds. He connected himself with some others in an illegal trade in bibles, which were printed in Holland and smuggled into this country, to the great injury of those who enjoyed the exclusive right to deal in them. This was successfully carried on for some time; but it was abandoned by some prosecutions. Guy then prevailed on the University of Oxford to contract with him for their privilege of printing bibles. By this and other operations, accompanied with great economy, he was enabled to amass an early competence, and then he established some charitable institutions in Tamworth, where he had passed his early youth. By the sale of bibles, by buying up seamen's tickets in the latter part of the reign of Queen Anne, when they were at a great discount, and operations in South Sea stock in the reign of George I., he had acquired a vast fortune, without increasing in the same degree his personal expenses.

Guy had been a most extensive contributor, at an early period of his prosperity, to the hospital of St Thomas, in which he had been at the expense of adding to the former part three additional wards. At seventy-six years of age, he took from the governors of that hospital a piece of vacant ground adjoining, on lease for 999 years, for which he paid them £18,793, 16s., and began to build his hospital in 1721. At his death, which happened in 1724, he bequeathed to the institution the vast sum of £219,499.

The building is entered from an area, inclosed by handsome iron gates, in which is a statue of the founder. It consists of a centre and two wings, and behind the former a separate part for the reception of lunatics. One of the wings contains a hall and a room for business, and the other a chapel.

The hospital was originally established for 400 sick and diseased persons, and for 20 incurable lunatics. The average number now admitted is about 2250 patients, besides upwards of 20,000 out-patients. It has an admirable establishment of medical men of the highest rank in the several branches of the healing art, and is one of the best schools for students in medicine and surgery.

The governors are a corporate body, appointed from those of St Thomas's, in number sixty; and if there are not forty, the Lord Chancellor has the power to name as many as shall complete the number to fifty. A committee of twenty-one has the management of the interior, of whom seven are changed each year. There is attendance at the surgery constantly, and all accidental patients are instantly admitted.

A splendid bequest has been added to the previous resources of the institution, by the will of Mr Thomas Hunt, who, in 1829, left £200,000; on condition that adequate accommodation should be made for the admission of 100 additional patients.

Christ-church Hospital, near St Bartholomew's, is a royal foundation. It was originally the house of the Greyfriars, or mendicants of the order of St Francis, founded in 1223, by John Ewen, a mercer. The church was considered as the most superb of the conventual class, and was erected by the contributions of various devout and distinguished persons. The choir was added in 1306 by Margaret, second Queen to Edward I. Isabella, Queen to Edward II., gave three score and ten pounds of silver, and Queen Philippa, wife of Edward III., gave three score and two pounds, towards the building. John de Bretagne, Duke of Richmond, built the body of the church at a vast expense, and Robert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, gave twenty great beams out of his forest of Tunbridge.

The reputation for sanctity which this order of friars had acquired was so great, that numbers of persons of the highest rank deemed their future state secure if they died in that order, and were interred within its walls. Multitudes, therefore, were crowded into this holy ground. Amongst others, no less than four queens are recorded, and many of the highest rank of the nobility, and members of the royal family. Many of those who suffered under the sentence of the law for atrocious or for state crimes were consigned to the holy precincts, in order to secure their eternal salvation.

At the suppression of the religious houses by Henry VIII., the fine church, after being despoiled of its ornaments for the king's use, was made a storehouse for French prizes, and the monuments were sold or destroyed; but Henry, from remorse or superstitious fear, granted the church to the city, and directed it to be opened for divine service.

The conventual building remained in a dilapidated state till the latter end of the reign of Edward VI. The story told is, that the amiable young prince was so deeply impressed by a sermon which he heard from Bishop Ridley, that he resolved to found three great hospitals in the city. These were, St Thomas's, in the borough of Southwark, for the sick or wounded poor; Bridewell, for the thriftless; and An account of the number of Patients admitted into Bethlehem Hospital in the years from 1820 to 1832, both years inclusive.

| | Males | Females | |------------------|-------|---------| | Curables admitted| 1047 | 1534 | | Incurables | 29 | 51 | | Criminals admitted| 37 | 24 | | Cured | 242 | 461 | | Died | 90 | 86 |

Of those cured, four males and sixteen females were of the class deemed incurable; and of those who died, seventeen males and twenty-four females were of that class.

Bridewell is in Bridge Street, Blackfriars, which, as well Bridewell as the church and the parish in which it stands, received the name from a holy well dedicated to St Bridget or Bride. It was formed in part out of the remains of an ancient castle, which stood near the river Fleet. Many of the materials, in the reign of William the Conqueror, and in that of Henry I., were applied to reconstruct St Paul's cathedral. It subsequently became the residence of several of our monarchs; and Henry VIII. fitted it up for the reception of the Emperor Charles V., upon occasion of his visit to England in the year 1522. The emperor, however, preferred the Abbey of Blackfriars for his own residence, but his retinue was lodged at Bridewell, and both were connected by a gallery over Fleet-ditch, and a passage cut through the city wall. Henry himself took up his abode in Bridewell in 1529, whilst the question of the validity of his marriage was under discussion in the hall of Blackfriars.

It was neglected and had fallen into a state of decay, when Bishop Ridley requested it of Edward VI. for a charitable purpose. It thus came into the hands of the city, who have used it as a house of correction for disorderly persons, idle apprentices, and vagrants; and of late years eight or nine hundred persons have been annually consigned to it for punishment or amendment. The buildings consist of a quadrangle, on one side of which is an extensive hall, representing the founder and some of the benefactors; whilst the other sides are occupied by the prisoners. Another house connected with the institution has been recently erected in St George's Fields.

The Church of St Bride's, near to this building, was erected by Sir Christopher Wren, and is distinguished by the beauty of its spire. The interior is imposing. It has a clock illuminated at night; and it has been in some measure opened to the public view, by purchasing the ruins of some houses which had been burned down in Fleet Street.

Besides those of royal foundation, the following are the most considerable hospitals that depend on donations already received, or on annual subscribers, or on presents at admission to the government.

St George's Hospital, at Hyde Park Corner, was opened in 1733 for the reception of sick and lame patients; but as the building was too confined, it was begun to be taken down in 1828, and to be gradually rebuilt on a much larger scale. Contributions for the purpose have flowed in with great liberality. The magnificent structure, which is an ornament to the entrance of London, has been completed, and now about 350 beds are set up to receive patients; whilst the poor are supplied with medicines without being received into the house when the beds are full.

The Middlesex Hospital, in Charles Street, Cavendish Square, was founded in 1745, for the relief of sick and London. Lame patients, for the reception or attendance at their own homes of lying-in married women, and for supplying the indigent sick with advice, medicine, diet, and lodging.

There was afterwards added, by the liberality of the late Mr Whitbread, a department for patients afflicted with cancer, who are admitted to remain during their lifetime. The hospital is capable of receiving 300 patients; but many are attended at their homes, and supplied with medicines, under the superintendence of three physicians, an accoucheur, and three surgeons. It is under the management of a patron, a president, fourteen vice-presidents, and a committee of the governors, who are such persons as contribute three guineas annually to the establishment.

The London Hospital is a vast pile of building in Whitechapel Road, to which spot it was removed, when it obtained a charter, in 1759. It had before existed in Prescott Street, Goodman's Fields, since 1740. The patients received here are chiefly sick and wounded seamen, watermen, coal-heavers, shipwrights, rope-makers, and labourers in the dockyards and on the quays. It is a subject of regret that this hospital, situated in a district where more relief is required for the sick and diseased than perhaps in any other division of the metropolis, should be so deficient in resources to be unable to occupy the whole of the building with patients, though zealous attempts have not been wanting to obtain the disposal of more ample funds.

St Luke's Hospital, in Old Street Road, was originally instituted at a place called Windmill Hill, near Moorfields, in 1732, and removed to the present spot in 1751, but not completed till 1786. It is destined for the reception of such lunatics as are deemed incurable, as well as for those of whom some hope is entertained. It is a solid large edifice, nearly 500 feet in length, consisting of three stories besides the basement, and with attics at the extremities; and the whole has an imposing effect. The interior contains apartments for the medical and the other officers, and accommodation for 300 patients, of whom 100 are on the incurable list.

The annual income of the hospital is about £9,000. Persons paying twenty guineas at once, or paying seven guineas, and agreeing to pay three pounds eighteen shillings in the four succeeding years, are admitted to become governors.

An account of the Patients received into St Luke's Hospital in the years from 1751 to 1834, both inclusive.

| Of those deemed incurable at the time of their admission, there have been | Males | Females | |---|---|---| | Of which there were cured | 4181 | 3938 | | Died | 718 | 469 |

| Of those deemed incurable | Cured | Died | |---|---|---| | 222 | 319 | | 3 | 13 | | 147 | 205 |

Charitable institutions. The charitable institutions of London and the adjacent villages are so numerous, that they will not admit of minute accounts being given of the whole of them. Some of the most distinguished for their magnitude, their antiquity, or their utility, have been already noticed, and the remainder can only be enumerated, with the date of their origin, their locality, and the purposes to which they are applied.

Institutions for Medical and Surgical Relief generally.

Westminster Hospital, founded in 1719, in James Street, Buckingham Gate, now rebuilding on a larger scale.

Charing Cross Hospital, in King William Street, founded in 1831, and recently opened to patients.

Hospital of Surgery, in Panton Square, St James's, founded in 1827.

Royal Metropolitan Infirmary for Sick Children, in Broad Street, Golden Square, opened in 1830.

Royal Universal Infirmary for Children, in Waterloo Bridge Road, founded in 1816.

Seamen's Hospital on board the ship Grampus, founded in 1821, having an office in Bishopsgate Street Within.

French Hospital for Protestant Refugees, in Luke Street, Old Street, founded in 1716.

Asylum for the Recovery of Health for Persons in Narrow Circumstances, who, by paying a small sum weekly, are accommodated better than they can be in hospitals or in private houses, founded in 1820, at Leisson Grove, Marylebone.

Jews' Hospital for the Support of Aged and Sick, in Mile-End Road, founded in 1797, by voluntary subscriptions.

Institutions for Particular Complaints.

Hospital for Casual Small-Pox and for Vaccination, in Pancras Road, Gray's Inn Lane, founded in 1746.

London Fever Hospital, in Pancras Road, founded in 1820.

Lock Hospital for the Cure of Venereal Complaints, at Grosvenor Place, Hyde-Park Corner, founded in 1746.

Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb Poor Children, a large building, with means of receiving 200 children, and teaching them some handicraft trades, in the Kent Road, and was founded in 1792.

London General Institution for the Gratuitous Cure of Malignant Diseases in Greville Street, founded in 1820.

Institution for the Cure and Relief of Glandular and Cancerous Complaints, founded in 1820, in Nelson Square.

Royal Infirmary for Diseases of the Eye, founded in 1804, in Cork Street, Burlington Gardens.

Institution for the Gratuitous Cure of Cataract, in Windmill Street, founded in 1819.

London Ophthalmic Infirmary, founded in Moorfields in 1805.

Kent and Surrey Eye Infirmary, in Dean Street, Southwark.

Surrey and Southwark Infirmary for Curing Diseases of the Eye and Ear, founded in 1828.

Royal Westminster Infirmary for Diseases of the Eye, founded in 1828, in Marylebone Street, Piccadilly.

Royal Infirmary for Diseases of the Ear, in Dean Street, Soho, founded in 1816.

City of London Truss Society, in Queen Street, Cheapside, founded in 1807.

Rupture Society, Golden Square, founded in 1805.

Southwark Truss Society, in High Street, Southwark, founded in 1811.

London and Westminster Infirmary for Cutaneous Diseases, Great Marlborough Street, founded in 1819.

Asylum for the Cure of Scrofula and Cancer, on the Terrace, Bayswater, founded in 1822.

Infirmary for Asthma, Consumption, and Diseases of the Lungs, Union Street, Bishopsgate.

National Vaccine Establishment, Percy Street.

Vaccine Pock Institution, Broad Street, Golden Square, founded in 1799.

London Vaccine Institution, in Union Court, Holborn, founded in 1800.

Royal Jennerian Society, in Beer Street, near the Tower.

Lying-In Hospitals, Infirmaries, and Charities.

Queen Charlotte's Lying-in Hospital, Manor-House, Leisson Grove, founded in 1752.

City of London Lying-in Hospital for Pregnant Married Women, in the City-Road, founded in 1750. British Lying-in Hospital for Married Women, in Brownlow Street, founded in 1742.

General Lying-in Hospital, in York-Road, Lambeth, founded in 1755.

Westminster Lying-in Hospital, in Queen's Square, founded in 1801.

Royal West London Infirmary and Lying-in Institution, Villars Street, Strand, founded in 1818.

Royal Maternity Charity for Delivering Poor Married Women at their own Houses, in Knight Rider Street, founded in 1757.

Ladies' Benevolent Society for the Relief of Poor Lying-in Women, in Salisbury Street, founded in 1813.

United Institution of London and Westminster for the Relief and Delivery of Indigent Women, and for the Treatment of Diseases incident to Children, in Warwick Street, Golden Square, and Philip Lane, London Wall, founded in 1822.

The City of London Lying-in Institution for Providing Medicines and Nurses to Poor Married Women in their own Houses, founded in 1811, in Swan Alley, Colman Street.

Endeavour Lying-in Charity for Delivering Poor Women, and Lending Clothes, in Norton Street, founded in 1794.

Ladies' Lying-in Charity for St Andrew's, Holborn.

New Court Benevolent Society for Relieving Married Women during their Confinement, in New Court, Carey Street, founded in 1814.

Finsbury Midwifery Institution, in St John's Street, Clerkenwell, founded in 1823.

The Ladies' Benevolent Society for Relieving and Clothing Jewish Married Lying-in Women at their own Houses, in Artillery Place, founded in 1812.

To the list of charities connected with the circumstances of disease, might be added the names and situations of twenty-seven dispensaries. These are to be found in every district of the metropolis, and in them constant attendance is given to the cases of the diseased, who are recommended by governors. Advice and medicines are afforded gratis at the houses, and the sick unable to attend are visited by the professional men at their own homes. It deserves to be noticed, to the credit of the liberality of the gentlemen of the medical profession, that in all of those charities the aid of physicians and surgeons of the greatest skill is gratuitously afforded.

Besides those charitable associations in behalf of lying-in women, which appear ostensibly, there are in every quarter small societies of from ten to twenty ladies, who furnish the necessary clothing and food, within their respective circles, to indigent females, whilst waiting for, or recovering from, their confinement. The benevolence of the inhabitants of London, proved by the numerous institutions for the relief of the diseased, has had a beneficial effect on the health of the whole of the population of the kingdom. It has produced one of the best schools of the healing art, because one in which the greatest number and variety of cases may be attentively examined, and where instructions arising from actual practice may be most advantageously acquired.

Schools of anatomy were first opened in London about the year 1720, and have been extending ever since; and now every hospital has become a school, at which not only anatomy, but every branch of medical or surgical knowledge, may be acquired. Lectures are delivered by men of the first eminence, during the winter months, and practice, especially in the hospitals, is admirably combined with theory. By a late law, greater facility has been given to the study of anatomy, by the greater facility of obtaining subjects for dissection than was formerly enjoyed.

The more public establishments for the promotion of the art of healing may be here noticed.

The College of Physicians stood originally in Knight College Rider Street, then in Amen Corner, and at length in War-of-Physick Lane, near to Newgate. It was founded by a Dr. Linacre, who first rescued the medical art from the hands of illiterate monks and empirics. He had studied in Italy, and had been successively physician to Henry VII., and VIII., and Edward VI., in whose reign he died, in 1524. He was the first president of the college, and was succeeded by Dr Cains, the founder of the college of that name in Cambridge.

As the building in Warwick Lane had become injured by time, it was resolved to build a new and more appropriate pile, in a more favourable spot. Pall-Mall East has been selected, and its eastern side forms a most imposing part of the new square, in which the image of Charles I. stands. It was designed by that eminent artist Smirke, and the valuable materials of the ancient house were removed to it in 1823. The portico, of six Ionic columns, leads to a noble hall, the roof of which is supported by fluted Doric pillars, each consisting of a single block of stone. On the left is a dining-room, in which are numerous portraits, particularly those of Henry VIII., Cardinal Wolsey, and Sir Hans Sloane. A handsome staircase leads up to the library, which is surrounded with a gallery, and contains a valuable collection of books, and some anatomical preparations, and also portraits of Drs Harvey and Ratcliffe, with a bust of King George IV., by Chantrey. The examiners' room has several portraits, as well as busts of Drs Baillie, Mead, and Sydenham. There is also a small but neat theatre, a reading-room, and other apartments.

The college is constituted in a president, elects, and fellows, who license all physicians who practise in the bills of mortality, and grant extra licenses to those who practise in the rest of the kingdom. The fellows can only be appointed by such as have graduated at Oxford or Cambridge.

The Royal College of Surgeons was assembled for many College years in the Old Bailey, near the Sessions-House, and the Surgeons' bodies of those criminals were carried to it for dissection, who by the law were subject to that operation. It has been now removed to Lincoln's Inn Fields, to a structure erected for the use of the college.

This was one of the old city guilds or companies connected with that of the barbers till the reign of Henry VIII., when they obtained a separate charter. Since that time various and important regulations have been obtained to increase its utility and respectability. The duty of examining medical officers for the navy and army, and for the East India service, has devolved on them, and without their examination no person is allowed to practise surgery in London or Westminster, or in a circuit of seven miles round the hall.

The hall is a noble building of the Ionic order, with a handsome portico, over which is inscribed, Collegium regale chirurgorum, and above that are the arms of the college, supported by the two sons of Æsculapius. The interior is grand and appropriate, containing a theatre in which lectures are delivered on anatomy and other subjects connected with the profession, which are illustrated by the collection in the rich museum, and especially the invaluable preparations of the late John Hunter, purchased by order of the government. In these is exposed to view the gradations of nature from the most simple state in which life is found to exist up to the most perfect and most complex of the animal creation, man. There is also a rare collection of objects of natural history, with specimens of vegetable and fossil productions. There is also a most valuable library, and admission to every part is to be obtained from any member of the company. The apothecaries of London were formerly incorporated with the company of grocers; but in 1617 a separate charter was granted to them, which enabled them to regulate the sale of drugs and medicines, and to sell them for gain. This is now a trading company. They have a house and large old premises in Water Lane, near Blackfriars Bridge, where they sell drugs and chemical preparations, and such is the accuracy with which the latter are prepared, that many practitioners administer none but what is obtained from their laboratory. The whole of the medicines for the navy and the army are compounded and supplied from their manufactory or stores. Prescriptions for private persons are also made up by them. The Physic Garden at Chelsea is under the direction of this company, having been bequeathed to them by Sir Hans Sloane, on condition that they should present annually to the Royal Society fifty new plants till the number should amount to 2000. This condition has been punctually fulfilled, and the specimens are preserved in the collection of that society. A general herbarizing tour is made yearly by the members of the company for the improvement of students and apprentices. By some legislative enactments several powers have been conferred on the company. No person is now allowed to practise in any part of England or Wales, without having first obtained a certificate of his qualification from the court of examiners of this company. As a trading concern it is profitable, and the directors, besides giving very sumptuous entertainments, divide a good yearly sum amongst its members.

There are a variety of independent societies established in London, which are voluntary associations, and not incorporated bodies. One of the first of these is in Bolt Court, Fleet Street, and was opened in 1773 at Crane Court, by an introductory lecture delivered by Dr Lettsom. There is a library, consisting of more than 30,000 volumes; and the object of the society is to receive medical papers, and useful facts, respecting difficult and extraordinary cases, to increase exertion by bestowing honorary rewards, and to preserve and increase their collection of medical books.

Another and similar association was established in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields in 1805. It has an extensive library, and ranks amongst its members some of the most eminent members of the faculty in the metropolis.

Lectures on anatomy, physiology, medicine, obstetrics, and chemistry, are delivered at stated times at the various hospitals, at the London University, and at King's College, by the most celebrated men in the profession. Others are delivered at theatres of anatomy in Great Windmill Street, at Mr Tanton's in Hatton Garden, at a theatre in Webb Street, Maze Pond, in the borough, and by many medical men at their own houses. These lectures are sometimes advertised in the newspapers, but more commonly made known by the medical booksellers. The terms vary from two to five guineas for the first course, but to those who attend more than one, the rate is subsequently lowered, as well as for an annual or perpetual ticket of admission. These lectures are commonly given in the autumn or the winter.

The Royal Humane Society may not improperly be noticed in connexion with medical societies. The object is to restore persons apparently drowned. It was founded in 1774, and has a permanent house in Chatham Place. It has been so far of use that more than five thousand persons have been rescued from death, after their lives appeared to have terminated; and by its example forty-five other similar associations have been formed in different parts of the kingdom. The Society offers rewards to persons who, within a certain time after the accident, rescue drowned people from the water, and convey them to places where means for their recovery can be applied, and also gives medals to those who have exerted themselves to save persons from death by water. It has eighteen receiving houses in and about London, the principal of which is in Hyde Park, near the Serpentine River. In them everything necessary for the resuscitating process is kept in a state of constant readiness, and attendance can be immediately obtained.

A Veterinary College was established at Camden Town in the year 1791, for promoting the knowledge of farriery, under a president and twenty-four directors. There is a professor, and, upon an average, about thirty pupils. The buildings are extensive, and appropriate lectures are delivered, and dissections performed, whilst an infirmary for horses has been established.

In looking at the edifices in London dedicated to religious purposes, it is impossible, from their great number, that the great majority can receive any further notice than the bare mention of their names. But the two cathedrals are national objects, to which all look with attention and a degree of veneration that requires a descriptive account, and some others are sufficiently distinguished to claim more notice than being merely named.

The cathedral church of St Paul's, the fame of which is only second to that of St Peter's at Rome, stands on an elevated spot, the best that could have been chosen for its display, above the north bank of the river Thames, on the position where similar ecclesiastical edifices, through a succession of centuries, had been placed.

The best authority we have for the origin of this church, is that of its great restorer Sir Christopher Wren. His opinion that there had been a church on the spot, built by the Christians in the time of the Romans, was confirmed. When he searched for the foundations for his own design, he met with those of the original presbyterium or the semicircular chancel of the old church. They consisted wholly of Kentish ruble-stone, artfully worked, and consolidated with exceedingly hard mortar in the Roman manner, and much excelling the superstructure. He refutes the notion which had prevailed of its having been a temple of Diana.

The first church is supposed to have been destroyed in the persecution of Diocletian, and to have been rebuilt in the reign of Constantine. This was again demolished by the Pagan Saxons, and restored in 603, by Sebert, a petty prince, ruling under Ethelbert, King of Kent, the first monarch of the Saxon race, who, at the instance of St Augustin, appointed Melitus, the first Bishop of London. Erkenwald, the son of King Ossa, the fourth in succession after Melitus, ornamented the cathedral very highly, and improved its revenues from his own patrimony. For this he was canonized, and his relics, with those of his dress and furniture, were imagined to have virtues sufficient to restore the sick to health.

When the city was destroyed by fire in 1086, the church was burned, when Bishop Mauritius began to rebuild it, and laid those foundations, which remained till its last destruction by fire in 1666. Though that prelate lived twenty years, and his successor Beauvages enjoyed the see upon equal terms; yet, from the magnitude of the plan, it was still unfinished. Henry I. granted materials, consisting of part of the Palatine tower, exempted ships bringing stone from all tolls, and contributed to the work the tithe of all the venison in his forests in Essex.

After the death of the latter of these prelates, who had applied the whole revenues of the episcopate to the work, the building was interrupted, and the choir was burned in 1135. When that was restored does not appear; but the consecration did not take place till 1240, or 225 years after the work had been commenced by Mauritius.

The dimensions of this noble temple, as taken in 1309, were as follow: The length 600 feet, the breadth 120, the height of the west part from the floor 102, and of the east part 188 feet. The height of the tower was 260 feet, and of the spire, which was made of wood, and covered with lead, 274 feet. The whole area occupied by the church was a little more than three acres and a-half, being one-third more than the ground covered by the present cathedral. It required enormous funds to defray the expense of erecting such an edifice. The several monarchs who reigned during the long time it was building, resigned their revenues arising from the customs or taxes on the materials, and furnished wood from the royal forests; the prelates also gave up much of their revenues, and, what proved a still greater resource, their payments for indulgences and for commutation of penance. The Pope gave a release from sixty days' penance, the Archbishop of Cologne a relaxation of forty days, the Archbishop of Canterbury forty days; and each prelate thus excited his flock to contribute liberally.

The church contained numerous shrines and altars, richly adorned; the high altar especially, which sparkled with gems and gold, was the gift of numerous votaries. John, King of France, when a prisoner, first paid his devotions at the shrine of St Erkenwald, and presented at it four basins of gold; and the gifts at the obsequies of princes, foreign and British, were of immense value. On the day of the conversion of the tutelar saint, the charities were prodigious, as well as other expenses. Thus, on one such occasion, by order of Henry III., fifteen hundred tapers were placed in the church, and fifteen hundred poor persons fed in the church-yard.

The sanctity of the place did not prevent thieves and profligates of all denominations from assembling within the precincts, and there committing, under favour of the night, murders and every sort of crime. Edward I. gave permission to the dean and canons to inclose the whole within a wall, and to have the gates shut every night, to exclude disorderly people. Within the walls was the bishop's palace, where several of our sovereigns were lodged, and sometimes the foreign ambassadors, with their retinue, were quartered in it. Before the cathedral, was the famous Paul's Cross, a pulpit of wood on stone steps, and covered with lead, from which eminent divines were appointed to preach every Sunday. The court, with the mayor and aldermen, and the principal citizens, resorted to the place, and sat in the open air, but the king and his train had covered galleries. It was not only used for preaching, but also for promulgating laws, issuing papal bulls, anathematizing sinners, exposing penitents under censure of the church, and denouncing those who had incurred the displeasure of the crowned heads. Before this cross Jane Shore, the concubine of Edward IV., was brought, divested of all her splendour, after which she fell a victim to the malice of crook-backed Richard. One of the best uses to which this cross was applied, was perhaps the sermon on the thanksgiving for the victory over the Spanish Armada, in the year 1588, which was preached by command of Queen Elizabeth. The last sermon delivered at the cross, was by Dr John King, Bishop of London, in the year 1620, in the presence of King James I. and his court, attended by the city dignitaries. The object of it was to collect contributions for the repair of the cathedral. The spire had been set on fire by lightning, in 1561, and it was designed by the sums thus collected to restore it. Inigo Jones was called upon to furnish plans; and, in 1633, some slight beginnings were made, not to replace the spire, but to make alterations in the style of the western portico. But in this, little progress was made, and the fire of 1666, which destroyed the whole magnificent pile, made way for the exercise of the talent and judgment of Sir Christopher Wren, who planned and completed the existing magnificent fabric.

That great artist, Sir Christopher Wren, brought to the construction the whole weight of a powerful mind, then in the full vigour of manhood, and every step was thoroughly examined before it was made. The foundation was first to be provided for; and, having found the former remains, he was induced from curiosity to dig deeper, till he came to a layer of hard and close pot earth. He found that, on the north side, it was six feet thick, that it became thinner towards the south, and on the decline of the hill was scarcely four feet. On advancing farther, he met with nothing but loose sand; at length he came to water and sand, mixed with the shells of periwinkles and other sea fish, and, by boring, came at last to the beach, and under that the natural clay, which evinced that the sea had once occupied the space upon which St Paul's now stands. This sand had been one of those sand-hills so common on the coast of Holland and Flanders, as well as on our own shores. It was the opinion of our great architect, that all the space between Camberwall Hill and the hills of Essex had been a vast bay, but at low water a sandy plain; all which appeared in some remote age to have been embanked, possibly by the Romans, who were much employed in that useful kind of work, paludibus emuniendis.

The foundation being secured, the next step was to prepare the plan of the intended temple; and in this, as in every part of the subsequent progress, nothing was done that was not preceded by the closest consideration. Sir Christopher made a model in wood of his first conception for rebuilding the church in the Roman style. In it he had an eye to the loss of the Pulpit Cross, and had supplied its place with a magnificent auditory within, for the reception of a large congregation. This was approved of by men of excellent judgment, but laid aside under the notion that it had not a sufficiently temple-like form. A second plan was then made, selected out of the various sketches which he had drawn. On this design Sir Christopher set a high value; but this also was rejected, when the third, which produced the present noble pile, was approved and executed.

The first stone was laid by Sir Christopher on the 21st of June 1675, and it was completed by him in 1710; but the whole decorations were not finished till 1723. It is remarked as a singular circumstance that the edifice was begun and finished under the same architect, by one Strange, the only master-mason, and during the episcopate of the same prelate, Dr Henry Compton, Bishop of London; whereas the church of St Peter's, at Rome, was one hundred and thirty-five years in building, during the pontificates of thirteen popes, and carried on by twelve successive architects.

Having thus compared the time occupied in building these two temples, we may also here compare their respective dimensions. The height of St Peter's, to the top of the cross, is 437 feet, that of St Paul's is 340 feet. The length of the former is 729 feet, that of the latter 500. The greatest breadth of St Peter's is 364, that of St Paul's 180 feet. Although Sir Christopher Wren was most intimately acquainted with the whole process of planning, and the progress of building St Peter's, he cannot be charged with having copied from that stately pile. The whole was the conception of the mind of our celebrated countryman, and is thus exclusively, both in the planning and the execution, whatever may be its merits or its defects, of native growth.

The church is surrounded with an iron balustrade, placed on a dwarf wall; and at the west end is an area in which is the statue of Queen Anne, and at the other extremity, within the same inclosure, are burying-grounds for some of the adjacent parishes. The whole of the church is built of stone brought from the Isle of Portland, in Dorsetshire, and is now very much discoloured by time, and the effects of coal smoke. The principal entrance is under a noble portico facing the west, consisting of twelve Corinthian columns, supporting a portico above it of eight columns, of the composite order. The history of St Paul's conversion is sculptured on the entablature. On the centre of the pe- diment is a statue of the patron saint, and at the sides are those of St James, of St Peter, and of the four evangelists. The base or floor of the church is gained by ascending twenty-four steps of black marble, where noble folding doors open into the church. The corners of this front are furnished with two turrets, with each a dome, terminating in a gilded pine-apple. The southern turret contains a powerful clock, and the northern contains a fine peal of bells.

The north and the south entrances correspond with each other in the style of their architecture, being domes supported by Corinthian columns, with steps to ascend in a semicircular form. The eastern end of the building is of a semicircular shape, richly ornamented with a great variety of fine sculpture. The floor is composed of alternate slabs of black and white marble, and is a level surface to the choir, without any rising, as is commonly the case in cathedrals. The floor of the altar is interspersed with porphyry, but neither in the choir, nor in any part of the decorations, does the interior of the church correspond to the elaborate magnificence of the exterior.

The entrances from the three doors meet where, (as the whole of the pile is in the form of a cross,) the upright part of that figure is intersected by the transverse part; or nearer the east than the west end of the buildings. Over this is the magnificent dome supported by columns of such extent as to give a kind of heavy look to the whole interior, though they are not too large to harmonise with the great weight they support. Few objects strike the beholder more forcibly than this dome, when surveyed from the floor whence it rises. Some of the trophies of victory acquired during the wars in which the country has been engaged, are placed here, as well as at the west end of the cathedral, in honour of the marine and land forces by whom they were gained.

The dulness which, fifty years ago, appeared to the spectator standing under the dome, when he looked not upwards but around him, has been relieved by the monuments, all executed since that period, to the memory of the eminent men that have disappeared from the theatre of their renown.

It was not till 1790 that the thought was entertained of filling this part of the cathedral with the memorials of the mighty dead, whether celebrated for their learning, their virtue, their talents, or their bravery. The scheme was no sooner suggested than it was acted upon, and the first monument was soon afterwards erected to John Howard, the philanthropic visitor and improver of prisons and hospitals. It was the work of the late Bacon, with an inscription from the pen of Samuel Whitbread, the second member for Bedford of that name. Since that time the events of war have much contributed to increase the number of these honourable and sacred memorials. They must be here noticed, but it would require a long dissertation to describe the characters of the individuals, to whose memory they have been erected, or the merits of the various artists to whom the execution of them was entrusted. The fine monument to Lord Nelson was the work of Flaxman. The following can be briefly noticed only:—Sir William Jones, by Bacon junior; Earl Howe, by Flaxman, and Sir Joshua Reynolds; by the same artist; Captain Hardinge, by Manning; Sir Ralph Abercromby, by Westmacott; Lord Rodney, by C. Rossi; Captain Westcott, by Banks; Sir John Moore, by Bacon; Lord Collingwood, by Westmacott; Captain Duff, by Bacon; Captains Moss and Rion, by C. Rossi; General Dundas, by Bacon junior; Generals Craufurd and Mackinnon, by Bacon junior; Dr Johnson, Marquis Cornwallis, and Lord Heathfield, by Rossi; General Picton, by Gahagan; General Ponsonby, by Baily; Captains Hutt and Burgess, by Banks; General Bowes and Colonel Cadogan, by Chantrey; Captains Falkner and Millar, by Hayman; and Generals Hay and Mackenzie, by Langworth.

Over the entrance to the choir is a marble slab, with a Latin inscription thus translated: "Beneath lies Christopher Wren, the builder of this church and of this city, who lived upwards of ninety years, more for the benefit of the public than of himself. Reader, if you seek for his monument, look around you." The crypt beneath the cathedral contains inscriptions to Wren, to Bishop Newton, to the painters Barry and Opie, and to some other individuals; but the chief object of attention is the tomb of Nelson, whose body rests there near to that of his friend Collingwood. Other illustrious persons have been interred there, to whom hitherto no memorials have been erected, nor is it known if any such designs are contemplated, viz. Alexander Wedderburne, first Earl of Roslyn; Sir John Braithwaite, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Benjamin West, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Henry Fuseli, George Dawe, and Sir John Rennie.

In the choir the cathedral service is daily performed. On Sundays there are two services; and on the first Sunday of each term it has been the custom for the Judges, and the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, to attend in the morning. This part has a fine organ, supported by marble pillars of the Corinthian order. The throne of the bishop, and the seats for the city corporation, are of curiously carved wood. The reading-desk is formed of the extended wings of an eagle of bronze, standing on a pillar, and surrounded with gilded rails. An early service is performed in a chapel near the north-west corner of the church, which begins at six in the morning in summer, and at seven in the winter. The ecclesiastical officers appertaining to this cathedral, besides the bishop, are the dean, the chancellor, the precentor, the treasurer, four canons residentiary, twenty-four prebendaries, and one layman, the chancellor of the diocese, which includes the whole of London, of the counties of Middlesex and Essex, and a part of Hertfordshire.

Within one of the pews a door leads from the floor of the church, by a winding stair-case of 280 steps, to the circular gallery, at the foot of the interior of the dome, commonly denominated the Whispering Gallery; a name to which it is entitled, by the increased intensity of sound within its limits. This increase is such, that a whisper may be communicated from a person on one side to another opposite to him in the gallery, though the distance is 100 feet, if the voice of one and the ear of the other be directed to the wall. The effect was not designed, nor was it discovered till after the building had been completed. The sound, on shutting the gallery-door, seems like loud thunder. From this spot the paintings in the interior of the dome may be seen to great advantage. They were from the pencil of Sir James Thornhill, and admirably pourtray all the most striking events in the life of St Paul, as narrated in sacred history.

From this gallery the passage is short to another, which on the outside surrounds the bottom of the dome, and is known by the name of the Stone Gallery, from which, being higher than any of the surrounding buildings, a good view, in clear weather, may be obtained of the whole city and suburbs. From this point there is a further ascent of 254 steps in a number of staircases, or rather ladders with rails, to the upper exterior or the golden-gallery. As the way from one to the other passes through a vacancy left between the interior and the exterior dome, it is dark, and to those who first enter upon it alarming, but the guards against danger are quite sufficient to protect those who ascend. From the height of the golden gallery the view is necessarily more extensive, and comprehends the adjacent country to the hills of Hampstead to the north, and those of Surrey to the south; whilst the course of the river, both up and down, may be distinctly traced. Above this gallery London.

The ball and cross. These parts had been so affected by their weight, and the length of time they had been exposed to the influence of the weather, that fear was entertained for their safety. In 1822 they were taken down, and replaced by other ornaments of the same figure and dimensions, but of more appropriate materials, which were also of less weight. The whole, therefore, is now in a safe state. The present, like the old ball, measures six feet in diameter, and is capable, with squeezing, of containing eight persons, who may go there with safety, but they scarcely see more than they would in a covered copper boiler.

Nearly on a level with the whispering gallery, over the south aisle of the nave, is the library, furnished with a collection of books by Bishop Compton; but most remarkable on account of the curious floor, consisting of more than two thousand pieces of oak, curiously laid together, and for a most beautiful geometrical flight of steps.

The mechanical works in the southern turret, over the west end of the church, are curious and interesting. The great clock has a pendulum fourteen feet in length, and the weight, whose descent gives motion to the clock, is of one hundred pounds. The length of the minute-hands of the dials is eight feet, and of that of the hour-hands five feet five inches. The diameter of the dials is eighteen feet ten inches, and the length of the figures that indicate the hours two feet two inches and a half. The loud and clear-sounding bell which strikes the hours has been heard and distinguished at two miles distance, and, when the weather is clear, can be distinguished from all others in the metropolis. It is about ten feet in diameter, and weighs four tons and a half. It is never tolled except on the death of any member of the royal family, of the Lord Mayor or Bishop of London, or of the Dean of the Cathedral.

In the cathedral two meetings are annually held, which excite great interest, and usually attract considerable crowds of spectators and auditors. The first is that of the children of the several parochial charity-schools of the metropolis. These are marched under the care of their teachers, and placed in temporary galleries, rising above one another under the dome, presenting the gratifying spectacle of from eight to ten thousand children of both sexes, neatly clothed, who are receiving gratuitous instruction. Divine service is performed, and a sermon by some eminent divine is reached, when the whole of the children join in singing the hundredth psalm to Luther's noble tune, the effect of which is uncommonly interesting and beautiful. The day finishes with a collection for the schools and the occasion.

An annual assemblage held in St Paul's, is intended to support the charitable institution for the benefit of the sons of the clergy. Handel's grand Dettingen Te Deum, with some of his most beautiful choruses and appropriate anthems are performed by a powerful orchestra, supported by the principal gentlemen, both lay and clerical, belonging to the three choirs of St Paul's, Westminster Abbey, and the Chapel Royal, who make a point of attending and of performing gratuitously. A rehearsal precedes the grand performance; and at both very large sums are obtained as contributions to the benevolent institution.

Some of the dimensions of the cathedral have been already stated, and the others are as follow. The breadth from north to south, at the transept, is 285 feet; the height, exclusive of the dome, is 110 feet; the circuit 2292 feet; and the ground it covers 2 acres 16 perches and 70 feet.

In the reign of James I. and of Charles I., the body of the cathedral was the common resort of the politicians, the newspapers, and the idlers of the day. It was called Paul's Walk, and the frequenters known by the name of Paul's Walkers, as is mentioned in old plays and other books of that time. The Microcosmographia, printed in 1625, gives a curious description applicable to the cathedral, and illustrative of the manners of London, which is worth inserting here in the quaint phraseology of the period. "It is the land's epitome, or you may call it the lesser ile of Great Britaine. It is more than this, the whole world's map, which you may discerne in its perfectest motion, justling, and turning. It is a heap of stones and men, with a vast confusion of languages, and were not the steeple sanctified, nothing liker Babel. The noise in it is like that of bees, a strange humming or buzz, mixed of walking tongues and feet. It is a kind of still roar, or loud whisper. It is the great exchange of all discourse, and no business whatsoever but is here stirring and afoot. It is the synod of all pates politicke, jointed and laid together in the most serious posture; and they are not half so busie at the parliament. It is the antick of tales to tales and backes to backes; and for vizards, you need go no further than faces. It is the market for young lecturers, whom you may cheepen here at all rates and sizes. It is the general mint of all famous lies, which are here, like the legends popery first coyn'd and stampt in the church. All inventions are empoyed here, and not few pockets. The signe of a temple in it is the thieves sanctuary, which robbe more safely in the crowd than a wildernesse, whilst every searcher is a bush to hide them. It is the other expense of the day, after plays, taverne and a baudyhouse; and men have still some oaths left to sweare here. It is the ears brothell, and satisfies their lust and ych. The visitants are all men without exceptions; but the principal inhabitants and possessors are stale knights and captains out of service; men of long rapiers and breeches, which after all turne merchants here, and traffike for newes. Some make it a preface to their dinner, and travell for a stomacke; but thriftier men make it their ordinary, and board here verie cheape. Of all such places it is least haunted with hobgoblins, for if a ghost would walk, move he could not."

The ancient history of this magnificent pile is necessarily involved in the common obscurity of remote ages. If any credit can be given to tradition, it stood originally on an island in the Thames, called Thorney Island. But if it was once an island, it must have been by the stream dividing, and one branch of it, above Millbank, running in a direction towards the spot where the Chelsea water-works now stand, from thence by Pimlico into the Park, and then rejoining the other branch somewhere about Scotland Yard. Another tradition places it on the site of an ancient heathen temple dedicated to Apollo. Having barely noticed these reports, we come to a period more within the compass of accurate history. Wedmore, who was a man of great learning, and examined all the extant records, fixes the date of the abbey and buildings between the years 730 and 740. It was in all probability injured if not destroyed by the Danes, for it was rebuilt by King Edgar, at the urgent suggestion of Dunstan, and by him appropriated to the order of the Benedictines, with sufficient endowments for the support of twelve monks.

In the turbulent times that followed the reign of Edward the Confessor, it was injured by the sacrilegious fury of contending parties, which induced that pious monarch to renovate and improve it. The Norman style of architecture was adopted, as appears from fragments of the building which were recently in existence, and from a few which still remain. Considerable revenues were established for the monks by the king, and the nobles, stimulated by him, contributed largely. During the incumbency of the Abbot Lawrence, about the year 1159, many repairs were executed on the out-buildings, and the roof, which had suffered severely, was replaced by a new one, and for the first time covered with lead.

The whole building was, however, taken down and rebuilt by the same prince. It was begun in 1425, but not finished till fourteen years later, after his decease. An accidental fire destroyed the roof, but by the contributions of London. the king, of the monks, and of other pious persons, it was repaired, and restored to the beauty and splendour which it still displays. A chapel was added at this time, on the spot where now stands the curious specimen of the Gothic architecture of its age, known by the name of Henry VII's Chapel, it having been built in the reign of that prince, who laid the first stone of it on the 24th of January 1502. His design was to preserve it as a burying-place for himself and the other members of the royal family.

During the long interval between the death of Henry VIII. and the accession of William and Mary, little care was taken to preserve this ancient edifice. It had been somewhat defaced in the civil wars, and generally neglected afterwards; but soon after the Revolution, the parliament voted a considerable sum for the reparation, and Sir Christopher Wren was appointed the architect, to superintend the expenditure. The defective parts were then duly repaired and strengthened, and two new towers were erected, which, by some critics, have been thought not to harmonize with the general structure, which is Gothic, whilst the towers are decorated with Roman ornaments.

The principal object of attention in the exterior, with the exception of the towers and of Henry VII.'s Chapel, is the magnificent Gothic portico leading into the north cross, or Solomon's gate, which has been adorned by a window of modern design, admirably executed.

In the interior, the Gothic arches separating the nave from the side-aisles are supported by forty-eight pillars of grey marble, and are so disposed that the whole body of the church may be seen on entering the western door, which has a most commanding appearance.

The choir is of less ancient date than other parts. It is in the Gothic style, and it is divided from the nave by an elegant screen of stone, erected from the designs of Mr Blore. The altar-piece is of ancient workmanship renewed; and the Mosaic pavement in front of it is also very curious, said to have been executed by Richard de Ware, formerly Abbot of Westminster.

On the northern side of the choir are some monuments which deserve notice, chiefly on account of their antiquity. These are to the memory of Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, and his countess, and of Edward Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster; and on the south are two, remarkable for the same reason, to Sebert, the original founder of the abbey, and to Anne of Cleves.

The roof of the lantern, which was destroyed by an accidental fire in 1803, has been rebuilt, but in a style better harmonizing with the rest of the building than the one which preceded it, and is now richly adorned with carving and gilding.

There are within the structure several chapels, all of which will reward the antiquary for the time occupied in their inspection. Two of them pre-eminently require some description. The chapel of Edward the Confessor is at the east end of the choir, and contains the shrine of that monarch, a piece of workmanship affording a fine specimen of the skill of the age in which it was executed, that of Henry III. In this are the tombs of Editha, the Queen of Edward, of Henry III., of his son Edward I., and several other royal personages. Here are preserved the iron sword of Edward I., and a part of his shield, and the coronation chairs. The most ancient of these chairs was brought from Scone, in Scotland, with the other regalia of that kingdom, by Edward I. in 1297, and has been used at the coronation of all our kings to the present time. The other chair was constructed for the coronation of Mary, the wife of William III. The skreen of this chapel is adorned with several statues, and with various legendary hieroglyphics respecting the Confessor, executed in basso-relievo.

The chapel of Henry VII. was commenced in 1502, and was executed, according to some, under the direction of Sir Reginald Fox, or, according to others, by Bolton, the Prior of St Bartholomew's. It is built of Yorkshire stone, and the expense of it is said to have been £14,000. It is at the eastern part of the abbey, and constructed in the florid Gothic style. The exterior is adorned with fourteen octagonal towers jutting from the building in different angles, and ornamented with exquisite sculpture. A thorough repair of it was executed between the years 1810 and 1822, for which parliament voted the sum of £42,000.

The steps by which the ascent to the chapel is gained are of black marble, under a portico which is at the entrance, with gates of brass, most curiously laboured. The lofty stone ceiling contains a variety of figures. The stalls for the Knights of the Bath are of wood, now of a deep brown colour, with Gothic canopies beautifully carved, and the seats of the esquires to the knights correspond in their workmanship, and are all ornamented with curious devices. The pavement is of black and white marble. The banners of the knights project over the stalls, and the whole has a most imposing effect. On entering, the tomb of the founder and the brass chapel present themselves, and at the end are the chapels of the Dukes of Richmond and Buckingham of past ages. The windows were formerly of painted glass, and in each pane a white rose, the badge of the royal house of Lancaster. The roof is nearly flat, and is supported on arches between the nave and the side aisles, which are turned upon twelve Gothic pillars, curiously adorned with figures, fruit, and foliage.

The chapel was destined to the sole purpose of interring the members of the royal family; and the rule has been adhered to so far, that none but those of the blood-royal have found a sepulchre within the vaults beneath it. In the north and south aisles of the chapel are many monuments to royal and noble persons; in the former, that of Edward V., of Queen Elizabeth, of Mary Queen of Scotland, and some others; and in the latter, of Monk Duke of Albermarle, of Margaret Countess of Richmond and Derby, mother of King Henry VII., and many others.

In both the naves, at the west end, and in Poet's Corner, are numerous monuments to princes, nobles, statesmen, land and sea warriors, divines, lawyers, philosophers, historians, poets, painters, sculptors, musicians, dramatists, and others, distinguished for their rank, virtue, valour, patriotism, learning, or taste; a list of which, with due notices, however short, would fill a volume.

Besides the church, many of the ancient appendages of the abbey remain, such as the cloisters, filled with monuments, in a quadrangle, with piazzas around it; the chapter-house, now filled with ancient records, amongst which is a fine copy of Doomsday-book, still in excellent preservation, whose leaves are only allowed to be turned over by silver tongs; the crypt beneath the chapter-house, the roof of which is supported by plain ribs, diverging from a short round hollow pillar, and having walls eighteen feet in thickness; and the residence of the Dean, and of the several ecclesiastics attached to the church, who assist daily in the public service in the choir.

Not far from the abbey stood the sanctuary, the place of refuge once granted to criminals of certain classes. The church belonging to it is supposed to have been the work of the Confessor. Edward V. was born within the precinct; and here his unhappy mother took refuge with her younger son Richard, to secure him from his cruel uncle. Near to it was the almonry, where charity was dispensed; but it is more remarkable as being the place in which the first printing-press was established in England, by William Caxton, in 1474, and where the first English book was printed, written, according to tradition, by Thomas Milling, then abbot, and entitled "The game and play of the Cheese."

The length of the abbey, exclusive of Henry VII.'s chapel, is 416 feet on the outside, and 383 within. The west towers are 225 feet in height. The breadth of the church at the transept is 203 feet, the height of the nave 102 feet; the length of the choir 156 feet, and the breadth of it 28 feet.

The clergymen belonging to this church are the dean, eleven prebendaries, a precentor, and a chapter clerk, and besides these there is an organist, and an establishment of choristers.

There is an establishment neither strictly to be classed as ecclesiastical, nor with one of the hospitals, for the cure of the diseased, but deserving notice, which may be given to it in this part of the article. The Charter-House is in a small square of the same name near to Smithfield. A house for Carthusian monks, founded by a Sir Walter Many, a successful officer in the wars with France under Edward III., gave to this establishment its existence, and (with a slight change) its name about the year 1349; it is situated on a piece of ground which he had purchased for the interment of those who had died of the plague, to which, according to some, fifty thousand, and according to others one hundred thousand had fallen victims. Ralph Stratford, Bishop of London, bought another piece of ground adjoining, on which he built a chapel, and inclosed a burial-ground called Pardon Church-yard, in which criminals and suicides were buried.

The Carthusians regulated these premises till the suppression of monasteries, when there were twenty-four monks of that rigid order. Though the last prior acknowledged the king's supremacy, this did not save the institution. It was seized with others, and then granted to persons who sold it to Thomas Duke of Norfolk, who again disposed of it to a charitable individual Thomas Sutton. This man, possessed of vast wealth, and devoted to beneficent purposes, converted his purchase into a magnificent hospital, consisting of a master, a preacher, a head and second master, with forty boys, and eighty decayed gentlemen, who had been soldiers or merchants, besides physician, surgeon, and registrars. Having, in the reign of James I., obtained an act of Parliament for the purpose, he endowed the institution with L.20,000 in money and landed estates of the annual value of L.4500.

Scarcely any of the ancient conventual buildings are now standing, but the present pile was chiefly erected by the Duke of Norfolk before he had sold it to Sutton. The chapel is a venerable edifice with Gothic windows, in which, in painted glass, are the arms of the founder. The house of the master is a curious suite of rooms. The old courtroom is richly decorated with carving and painting. The library, the gift of a Mr Wray, is a fine old collection.

This charity is under the government of trustees, who are usually selected from the ranks of the most eminent public men of the country. They have the appointment of the masters, physician, surgeon, chaplain, and other officers, who, besides their salaries, are provided with residences and other conveniences.

This has become one of the first classical schools in the kingdom. Besides those on the foundation there are many other scholars, who board in houses near it, in which some of the junior teachers superintend their conduct whilst out of school hours. The number of such scholars has varied much, according to the supposed aptitude of the master for the time for communicating instruction. The youths educated at the Charter-House upon the foundation have exhibitions at the university; and the hospital having the patronage of nine livings, those educated in it have the preference in the presentations.

As it is not possible in this work to notice all the numerous churches in the metropolis, and as a selection of those most remarkable must be made, it seems best to begin that election by some of the sacred edifices in Westminster, where they are generally larger than those in the city, and where the number of them is in a much less proportion to the population than in the eastern division of London.

The church of St James, in Piccadilly, was built in the latter part of the reign of Charles II., but was not consecrated till the accession of his brother James. The great extension of London made new churches desirable, and a part of the parish of St Martins-in-the-Fields was separated from it, and attached to this new erection. It was built on a piece of ground where the house of the gay Henry Jermyn, Earl of St Albans, the favoured lover, perhaps the secret husband, of Henrietta Maria, the widow of Charles I., formerly stood. It was built by Sir Christopher Wren, partly of stone, and partly of brick. It is well proportioned, being 85 feet long, 60 broad, and 45 high; and, having deep galleries on both sides and at the end, it is adapted for a large audience. The most remarkable object in the church is a fine font of white marble, the work of Grinling Gibbons. It is supported by the tree of life; the serpent is offering the forbidden fruit to our first parents who stand beneath; on one side is engraved the Baptist baptising our Saviour; on another St Philip baptising the Eunuch; and, on the third, Noah's dove bringing the olive branch, the symbol of peace to mankind. The chancel above the altar is enriched by some beautiful foliage in wood by the same great artist. The living is a rectory, and the right of presentation to it is vested in the Bishop of London at present; Lord Jermyn had one turn in three, but conveyed it to the episcopate. The pulpit of this church has been occupied by some of the most pious and learned ministers of the established church, who have been successively the rectors.

Church of St Martins-in-the-Fields. This building was erected in 1721, on the site of an ancient church, said to have been constructed 500 years before. It is remarkable for its magnificent façade, with a portico of eight Corinthian columns, which is seen to great advantage as the termination of the long street of Pall-Mall. It is 140 feet in length, 60 in breadth, and 45 in height, being furnished with deep galleries, and with seats in the aisles; it will accommodate 3500 persons. The interior is handsome, and the decorations fine, but at present they need both painting and gilding. The ceiling is elliptical, which is deemed favourable for hearing. Near to it is the vicarage-house, recently built at the sole expense of Dr Richards, the late vicar, in a superior style. The tower is lofty and handsome, and contains a peal of twelve bells. Around it, under the pavement, are some recently constructed catacombs finished in 1830, and the parish has besides a burying-ground at Camden Town.

Church of St John the Evangelist at Millbank, Westminster. This is one of the churches built in the reign of Queen Anne, by Sir John Vanbrugh, the successor of Sir Christopher Wren. It is a singular building, too much encumbered with ornaments. On the north and south sides are porticos supported by massive pillars, and at each of the four angles is a stone tower with a pinnacle. The front is an elegant portico, supported by Doric columns, which order is continued in pilasters round the building. The interior was much improved in 1825, and it is now lighted with gas. It is 140 feet in length, 90 in breadth, and 50 in height, and can accommodate 2500 hearers. Over the altar is a painted window representing our Saviour's descent from the cross, and the Apostles St John and St Paul.

Church of St Georges, Hanover Square. This edifice was erected in 1724, being one of the fifty built under the act passed in the reign of Queen Anne; but the ground on which it stands was presented to the parish by the liberality of General Steward, who bequeathed L.4000 for the purpose. Next to St Martins-in-the-Fields, it is the handsomest church in London. The fine portico consists of six Corinthian columns, with an entablature and pediment; but from being in a street, it is not seen to the greatest advantage. The steeple is very magnificent. The interior is executed with more expense than taste. The altar-piece, painted by Sir James Thornhill, represents the Last Supper. The church is 100 feet in length, 60 in breadth, and 45 in height, and can accommodate 2500 hearers. This parish has also a church at Pimlico, and a burying-ground near Tyburn turnpike.

Church of St Margaret. This building is placed in such a situation as to impede the view of Westminster Abbey, and by contrast with that edifice, to appear less worthy of notice than it would be in another situation. It is the church of the House of Commons, with a pew for the Speaker, and a gallery for members. On this account it has often been repaired at the public expense, and its decorations and ornaments are of great value. On the altar table is a basso-rilievo, representing Christ at Emmaus. There is a fine painted window, prepared at Dort in Holland in the reign of Henry VII., representing the crucifixion. The church is 130 feet in length, 65 in breadth, and 45 in height, and accommodates 2000 auditors. In one of the aisles is a tablet to the memory of Sir Walter Raleigh, who was buried there. In the enclosure by the church, a bronze statue to the memory of Mr Canning, by Westmacot, has been erected.

St George's Church, Bloomsbury, was one of the fifty ordered to be built in the reign of Anne, but it was not finished till 1731, when the statue of George I. was placed on the top of the tower. It was built by Hawksmoor, and, contrary to the general practice, extending from north to south. It has an admired portico of eight Corinthian columns. In it are some handsome monuments, especially one to the late Charles Grant, constructed at the expense of the East India Company. The church is 110 feet in length, 90 in breadth, and 50 in height, and can accommodate 2000 auditors.

The church of St Mary-le-Strand was built by Gibbs, under the act of Queen Anne, and completed in 1717. It is an elegant pile of architecture, with an entrance at the west end by a flight of steps in a circular form, which leads to a portico of Ionic columns covered with a dome, and the columns in the same order are continued in pilasters round the whole building, and in the intercolumniations are niches tastefully ornamented. It is 70 feet in length, 30 in breadth, and 48 in height, and has a modern painted glass window.

St Clement Danes Church, in the Strand, was built in 1680 by Sir Christopher Wren. It is built of stone, with two rows of windows, the lower plain, but the upper ornamented; and the termination is by an attic. On the north, as well as on the south side of the front is a portico with a dome, supported by Ionic columns. The steeple, which is lofty and beautiful, was erected by Gibbs in 1719. The church is 96 feet long, 63 broad, and 48 high. Both these churches are inconveniently placed, as the noise, from the constant succession of carriages passing close to them, prevents the distinct hearing of the preacher's voice.

The church of St Anne, Soho, in Dean Street, was built in 1685, on account of the great increase of inhabitants in the parish of St Martin's-in-the-Fields, of which this district then formed a part. It received its name from the Saint, in compliment to the then Princess Anne of Denmark, who afterwards became Queen. It is a brick building, 110 feet long, 60 broad, and 40 high, and is rendered singular by a circular tower, surmounted by a large ball, containing a clock with four dials. There is a fine organ, a present from King William III., and two paintings of Moses and Aaron around the tablets on which the decalogue is painted. At the back of the church is a tablet in remembrance of Theodoric, King of Corsica, who was interred there.

The most remarkable of the churches in the western part of the metropolis that have been opened within the last eighteen years are the following:

All Souls Church, in Langham Place, is a beautiful but singular structure, erected in 1824, from the designs of Mr Nash, and contains space for 1800 persons. The steeple consists of a circular tower, surmounted by a cone. The tower rests on a flight of steps, and the lower part is surrounded by a peristyle of twelve Ionic columns, the capitals of which are profusely ornamented. The base of the cone is also surrounded by a peristyle consisting of fourteen Corinthian columns, supporting an entablature and balustrade. The cone is fluted and carried to a point, without the usual addition of either weathercock or vane. The interior is very pleasing; three sides are occupied by galleries, and the fourth by the altar, which is adorned with a painting by Westall, of Christ crowned with thorns. Above the front of the galleries rises a colonnade of Corinthian columns, supporting the ceiling, which is enriched with sunk panels.

The new church of St Luke's, Chelsea, which was consecrated on the 28th of October 1824, is one of the most beautiful edifices, in the Gothic style, that has been produced of late years. It is built of brick but faced with stone, and is divided into a nave and aisles. At the east end is a large window and splendid altar screen; and at the west end is an organ, built by Nichols. The church is 130 feet long, 61 wide, and 60 high, and it accommodates 2000 persons conveniently. It has a handsome tower with pinnacles at each angle, the height to the top of which is 142 feet. In it is an excellent peal of bells. The architect of this work was Mr Savage.

Marylebone New Church, in the New Road, was originally designed as an additional chapel of ease to the parish; but when the interior had been fitted up and arranged, it was so much admired, that it was thought expedient to make it a parish church. A small stone cupola, which had been erected, was taken down, and the present tower, adorned with representations of the winds, substituted. The front was increased in length; and the portico of six Corinthian columns, was tastefully attached to the building. The interior is rendered remarkable by a double gallery. The organ is over the altar, and stands at the south end of the church; and a picture, by West, of the nativity, forms the altarpiece. The foundation was laid in July 1813, and the consecration was performed in February 1817. The length of the church is 125 feet, the breadth 70, and the height 53. The height of the tower is 154 feet, and the width of the portico 20 feet. The builder was Mr Hardwicke. At this church more than three thousand baptisms are annually performed.

Christ Church, in Woburn Square, is an elegant edifice, completed in 1833. It is in the style of the architecture which flourished in this country in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The principal front has a tower, which is united to a spire 150 feet in height. There are five entrance doors in the front, and the same number of windows, with mullions and rich tracery over them. The interior, calculated for 1500 persons, is a square of 70 feet each way, and has an height of 48 feet. Four massive pillars form a transept, and support arches; the arms of the transept being equal to the length of the nave, and thus a Greek cross is described. The great east window is enriched with mullions and elaborate tracery, and being 28 feet by 13 becomes an important feature in this elegant church.

The new church of St Pancras was consecrated in May 1822. It is built of brick, but faced with Portland stone, and the design of it by Mr Inwood, is in imitation of the Temple of Erectheus at Athens. The portico is a beautiful object, consisting of six Ionic pillars, beneath which are three doors, the centre of which is an exact representation of the entrance to the Greek temple. At each end of the church are two projecting wings, designed for the registry and vestry room, and formed on the model of the Pandro- seum, which was attached to the Temple of Erectheus. The steeple, which is 160 feet in height, is also from the Athenian model, being an imitation of the Temple of the Winds. The interior, which is 170 feet in length, and 60 in breadth, is particularly elegant, the windows being composed of ground-glass, with coloured borders; and the galleries supported by pillars taken from casts of the Elgin marbles.

The church of St Giles-in-the-Fields, was erected in the year 1730, on a spot where formerly stood an hospital, in the front of which Sir John Oldcastle was burned for his religious opinions in the reign of Henry V. It is a fine building, with a tower at the west end of the Doric and Ionic orders, terminated by a steeple, the clock of which is now illuminated at night. The ceiling is arched, and sup- ported by Ionic pillars. At the north-west corner of the churchyard is a handsome portico called the Resurrection Gate, having over it a fine bronze representation of that expected event executed about 1687.

St Stephen's, Holborn Hill, is one of the churches built under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren in 1670. It is 126 feet in length, exclusive of the ambulatory at the west end, is 58 feet in breadth, and 35 in height, and cal- culated for 2000 auditors. The tower is 140 feet in height, with four modern spires at the angles. The altarpiece, of the Corinthian order, and the roof, supported by twelve Tus- can pillars, produce a very fine effect.

St Peter's Church, Pimlico, is a chaste building of the Ionic order, erected in 1826 from the design of Mr Hake- well. The portico consists of six fluted columns, support- ing a pediment, behind which is a quadrangular tower, crowned with a spherical dome and cross, and has a fine effect. It accommodates 1680 persons. The altar-piece Christ crowned with thorns, painted by Hilton.

The churches in the city, though more numerous than in the other parts of the metropolis, are in general much smaller, and so are the congregations; for in some parishes so many houses have been taken down in order to erect public buildings, and so many of the more substantial trades- men and merchants prefer to live either in the country or at the west end of the town, rather than at their houses of business, that but few in comparison attend the parish churches, whilst those churches in the more fashionable or more pleasant parts are in general crowded to excess, es- pecially if the preachers are at all popular.

Christ's Church, in Newgate Street, is one of the largest of the city churches. It was built by Sir Christopher Wren on the site of a former church, which, before the reformation, had belonged to the Franciscan monks. It is a beautiful structure, but hidden by the houses that sur- round it. The tower is square and lofty. The pulpit is curiously carved with representations of the Last Supper, and of the four evangelists. The font is of white marble, adorned with alto relievo. The western window is orna- mented with the royal arms and painted glass. The num- ber of eminent persons interred in the vault is very great. Annual sermons are preached here at Easter before the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and the Governors of royal hospi- tals, known as Spital sermons.

The Church of St Mary-le-Bow, or Bow Church, in Cheapside, was built by Wren in 1673, upon the spot where a very ancient one stood built on arches, from which it derives the addition to its name. The tower is very beautiful, being 200 feet in height, and furnished with a very celebrated peal of bells; and was in 1820 improved and strengthened. The Bishop of London is consecrated here, and the lectures are preached in pursuance of the will of Mr Boyle, in defence of the Christian religion, many of which have been published and maintained the highest rank amongst theological writings.

St Dunstan's in the West, in Fleet Street, was one of the oldest churches in London, and none more attracted the attention of passengers, owing to its clock, at which ap- peared two coarsely clad athletic figures with clubs in their hands, who struck a bell to give notice of the hours and quarters of hours. These have been sold to the Marquis of Hertford, with their machinery, to ornament his villa in the Regent's Park. The sale was made when the church was rebuilt in 1834. It is now a handsome Gothic edifice, but placed thirty-feet farther back than before. The south- ern front is a tower of freestone, square as high as the bel- lery, which is lighted by four large windows. Above these windows an octagonal battlement, springing from corbelled heads, surmounts the tower, the four corners of which are ornamented by pinnacles; and thence rises an octagonal lanthorn, each angle having a buttress and fencel, and each front two windows, one above the other; the whole being terminated by a richly-ornamented crown parapet. The entrance doorway is finished with rich tracery, and flanked by two buttresses. The arms of the kingdom and of the city are placed upon each side of it, and four blank shields over it; an iron rail and gate separating the whole from the street. The interior of the church is appropriately finished in a style harmonising with the exterior, and the ornaments are extremely rich. The total height of the tower is 130 feet. The accommodation provided is for about 900 persons. The whole well deserves notice, and does great credit to the skill and taste of the architect, Mr John Shaw, who died just as the work was finished.

The church of St Saviour, in the Borough of South- wark, belongs to two parishes, St Margaret's and St Mary Magdalen. It was formerly a priory, but, from various re- pairs, little of its original architecture remains. It is, how- ever, a noble fabric, with three aisles running east and west, and a cross aisle. It measures 270 feet in length, 54 in breadth, and 47 in height; and the breadth of the cross aisle is 109 feet. The tower, which is surmounted by four pinnacles 150 feet high from the ground, is remarkable as the spot from which Hollar took his views of London, both before and after the great fire. The Lodge Chapel, at the east end of this magnificent church, and which forms its most interesting part, had undergone some insufficient repairs, and being still dilapidated, it was proposed to pull it down, to avoid the great expense which was deemed ne- cessary to preserve it. This project having been opposed by many of the admirers of our Gothic architecture, a suc- cessful appeal was made to the public in order to raise the funds necessary to save it from destruction. The neces- sary sum having been obtained, the work is now proceed- ing with great rapidity, every part being made an exact fac-simile of the original fabric. By an act of Parliament of the session 1833, an additional width was given to the opening in the main street leading from the new bridge, which is now such as to display the whole of the fine church of St Saviour to the greatest advantage.

The church of St Stephen's, Walbrook, though but little known, is considered by critics as the best specimen of the taste of Sir Christopher Wren, who built it after the fire, according to a design borrowed from the celebrated Palla- dio. The plan is original, but chaste and beautiful. The dome, supported by eight arches, springing from eight Co- rinthian columns, is light and scenic in its effect, and scarcely corresponds with the simple solemnity of our reli- gious worship. Over the altar is a fine picture represent- ing the interment of St Stephen, by West. The church is 75 feet long, 36 broad, and the central roof 34 feet high.

The great number of the churches in London forbid even an enumeration, but it may be confidently affirmed that, varying as they do in age, in style of building, in decorations, and in extent of accommodation, all of them are kept in ex- cellent order, as regards cleanliness, neatness, and warmth, London, and have the service performed with punctual adherence to the prescribed formularies.

The new churches and chapels which have been built or rebuilt under the direction of the commissioners for building churches, from sums partly raised by voluntary contributions, and partly from the aid supplied from the Parliamentary grant, are as follow:

- Trinity Church, Newington Butts, opened in 1823 - St John the Evangelist, Waterloo Road, - St Mary's Wyndham Place, Bryanston Square, 1824 - St Peter's, Rivington, - All Saints, Poplar, - Hanover Chapel, Regent Street, - Regent Chapel, Sidmouth Street, - Somer's Town Chapel, - Camden Town Chapel, - Christ's Church, Marylebone, opened in 1825 - St John's Hoxton, 1825 - Bethnal Green, - St Barnabas, near Goswell Street, 1826 - Trinity Church, Marylebone, - St Mary's, Haggerstone, - St Peter's, Pimlico, - St Paul's, Ball's Pond, 1826 - Trinity, Brompton, - St Mark's, Clerkenwell, 1828 - North Audley Street Chapel, or St Mark's, - St Philip's, Regent Street, - Trinity Church, Sloane Street, - St Andrew's, Saffron Hill, 1831

All of these are capacious buildings, capable of accommodating from 1500 to 2200 hearers each, and about two-thirds of the sittings are free to all persons. The total number of churches of the established religion in the metropolis, according to the limits here presumed, is 149, and of chapels 88. These 237 buildings may, on an average, accommodate about 1200 persons in each; for though a few of the older churches are small, yet the vastly greater capacity of some of the old, like St Martin's and others, and all the new, and those in Westminster of all ages, more than compensate for the narrow limits of the more ancient edifices. There is thus church accommodation for 255,000 persons.

Besides these structures destined for the national church, there are numerous buildings appropriated to the various sectaries who prefer other modes of worship, or adopt different professions of faith. As they are varying bodies, it is difficult either to estimate the number of their places of worship, or to classify them with much confidence of accuracy. Though the buildings occupied by dissenting congregations are for the most part neat and commodious, few of them have that imposing exterior which demands attention; and many of them are in courts, or lanes, or narrow streets, or in the outskirts of the metropolis.

There are two, however, sufficiently distinguished from the rest to merit notice. The Roman Catholic church in Moorfields, a modern structure of great capacity, is a plain building, but ornamented with paintings which produce a fine effect. The altar is adorned with marble columns, and there is a fresco painting of the Crucifixion, on which the light from behind is thrown so as to produce a fine effect. On the ceiling are representations of the Virgin Mary, of the infant Jesus, and of the four Evangelists, surrounded by paintings of the principal events in the life of our Saviour, all executed by M. Angelo, an Italian artist.

The members of the Established Church of Scotland resident in London have lately erected an edifice for the celebration of their form of worship in Regent's Square, near to Gray's Inn Lane. The building is in the Gothic style, and may vie with most of those lately built for the English church. It is 100 feet in length, and 63 in breadth, and is capable of containing 1800 persons. It is after a design of Mr Tile, and well executed.

The number of places of worship, other than those of the Established Church, is 207, of which 16 belong to foreign Protestants, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, French, Swiss, or German, and they are both of the Lutheran and of the Calvinist communion. The Roman Catholics occupy seventeen chapels, four of which belong properly to foreign ambassadors. The Jews have six synagogues. The others are used for the public worship of the various descriptions of Protestants. Twelve of these are of the Scottish nation, and presbyterians either of the Established Kirk, or of some of the secessions from it. The Wesleyan Methodists, including the different branches into which the sect is divided, have seventeen chapels. The Whitfield Methodists, or those of Lady Huntingdon's connexion, possess five chapels. The Quakers, or Friends, occupy six meeting-houses. There are eighty-eight chapels denominated Calvinist, many of which are Independent, and some few Presbyterians, but the most are occupied by congregations collected by some popular preacher, who do not make any specific opinions a centre of union, and have little connexion with each other. There are forty-four meeting-houses of Baptists, comprehending both Arminians and Calvinists, but the latter are by far the most numerous; in some of these the service is performed in the Welsh language. The Arians and Socinians, calling themselves Unitarians, have eight chapels. There are, besides, small chapels used by Swedenborgians, Sandemanians, Huntingdonians, Moravians, and Freethinking Christians, but not more than one to each sect.

As many of these chapels are very small, and only a few of them large, they do not probably upon an average provide room for more than half the number of auditors that can be accommodated in the churches and chapels of the established faith. It is doubtful, if taking one with another, they include more than 500 persons each.

The religious zeal of the metropolis is not more evinced by the regard paid to the edifices of devotion than it is by the anxiety displayed by numerous societies formed for the promotion of piety and virtue. These are of various descriptions. The distribution of Bibles and other pious writings is the express object of some of these associations. Of these two are pre-eminent by their extent. One of them, called the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, consists of members of the National Church, and disseminates the sacred Scriptures, the Book of Common Prayer, and other books of practical religion. The other, composed of Christians of all religious denominations, confines its distribution to the Bible alone. It is called the British and Foreign Bible Society, and employs persons to translate the holy books into languages in which they were never seen before, and in conveying them to the countries where they are gratuitously dispersed. Its distribution in this country is very considerable. Both these societies have various branches connected with them, some in London, and others more numerous in the different parts of the kingdom, and these branches, like the parent society, collect money and disseminate pious books. There is an old society called the Society for Promoting Religious Knowledge, chiefly consisting of Calvinistic dissenters, who distribute their writings amongst the poor. There is likewise a Naval and Military Bible Society, and a Merchant Seamen Bible Society, whose names are significant of their objects. The pious desire to spread the knowledge of Christianity amongst unbelievers in distant countries has given rise to the following missionary societies:

- Society for Propagating the Gospel in foreign parts, which was established in 1701, and receives aid from government. Society for Conversion of Negro Slaves in the British West India Islands was incorporated in 1794. Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East in 1800. Baptist Missionary Society in 1792. London Missionary Society in 1795. Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society in 1802. Moravian Missions of the United Brethren in 1732. London Association in aid of Moravian Missions in 1817. Other missionary societies are framed for the purpose of operating within the United Kingdom, one object of which is attended to by the Society for promoting Christianity amongst the Jews, founded in 1808, whose expenditure has been very liberal, and another called the Philo-Judaean, established in 1826.

Besides these, there are societies for promoting missions at home, and in the neighbouring European countries. They are the Continental Society, the Christian Union Society, the Irish Evangelical Society, the Hibernian Society, the Baptist Irish Society, the London Itinerant Society, the Village Itinerary Society, British and Foreign Seamen's Society, Port of London Society for promoting Religion among Seamen, Port of London and Bethel Union Society, and Episcopal Flooding Church Society.

According to the best accounts which can be obtained, the whole sum annually collected in London for this class of benevolent designs amounts to nearly L.350,000. Much of the money is raised, and many subscriptions procured, by public meetings, at which exciting speeches are made, describing the success of their operations, and pressing on the auditors the necessity or piety of assisting these institutions. Meetings of this description have become so numerous, that a large public building has been erected for holding them, called Exeter Hall, in the Strand. It is a fine structure, and the interior is very appropriate for the intended purpose.

London is the source from which the law of England is dispensed over the whole kingdom, and in it originate all important legal proceedings. On this subject, the Inns of Court, in which legal knowledge is imbibed, and in which the initiation of the most respectable branch of practitioners is performed, deserve the first notice. There are four of these inns, which have the power to call to the bar such students of their society as have passed the due preparatory period, which occupies five years for all who have not graduated at the universities, and three years for those who have proceeded to the degree of Master of Arts. No examination takes place at their admission. These societies are of a nondescript nature, not being corporations in the legal sense, but yet possessing considerable wealth, and exercising great power, with little or no actual control, by means of a body called the Benchers, which is chosen by rules of their own.

The Temple is situated partly within and partly without the city. It receives its name from the religious military order of the Knights Templars. They were originally crusaders, who, happening to be quartered in places adjacent to the holy temple of Jerusalem, in 1118, consecrated themselves to the service of religion by deeds of arms. Hugo de Faganis and Geoffrey of St Omers established the order, by binding themselves to chastity and obedience, and professing to protect the pilgrims to the Holy Land from all wrong and robbery on the road. By their devotion, and the fame of their gallant actions, they became very popular in every part of Europe, and were so enriched by the favour of princes and other great men, that, at the time of their dissolution, they were found to be possessed of sixteen thousand rich manors. Their riches seem to have been their chief crime, though their wealth enabled them to indulge in excessive luxury. Crimes were imputed to them, and they were condemned without proof. They founded the Temple in London in the year 1185, and continued in possession of it till their suppression in 1310. When they were condemned to penance and dispersion, Edward II, granted their house to Thomas Earl of Lancaster, and on his rebellion to Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, on whose death it reverted to the crown. It was then given to the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, for their gallant defence of the Island of Rhodes against the Turks. These knights, in the reign of Edward III, granted the Temple to the students of the common law, to whose use it has ever since been applied.

The church of the Temple is an object of great curiosity. It was erected in 1185, on the model of the church of the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem. The entrance is through a door with a Saxon arch. The form is circular; it is supported by six round arches, each resting on four round pillars, bound together by a fascia. It has undergone a thorough reparation since 1828, and has been recased with stone. It contains many monuments of eminent men connected with the establishment during its existence; amongst others, of the eminent lawyers Plowden, Selden, and Vaughan. A division of the establishment was made into the Inner and Middle Temple, which now form two distinct bodies, having their members, revenues, and regulations separate, but enjoying the church in common. Each of these bodies admits or calls students to the bar; each provides for them tables of three grades for the benchers; the barristers and the students are provided, during term time, at very moderate rates. The whole of the buildings are divided into separate suites of apartments, in which men of all degrees of expenditure find accommodation. The garden of the Temple, formed by embankment on the side of the river, is a pleasant promenade, which has been rendered celebrated by Shakespeare, who makes it the place where the badge of the white and red rose originated, under which the respective partizans of the houses of York and Lancaster were arranged. The chaplainship of the Temple is a valuable and honourable office, and has been filled by some of the greatest divines of the English church. The chaplain is denominated the Master.

Lincoln's Inn is an old building in Chancery Lane, partly in the liberty of the Rolls, and partly in Westminster. It was originally a Dominican monastery, but, on the monks removing to Blackfriars, the ground was granted to Henry Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, who built upon it an inn, or residence for himself, where he died in the year 1312. From this the present name has been derived. In the reign of Henry VIII, one of the Bishops of Chester granted leases of the buildings to certain students of the law, reserving a lodging for themselves when they came to London. It has a chapel built on massive pillars, with a dry walk under it. The hall is used as a court out of term. The power of calling to the bar, the service of the tables, and other matters, are nearly regulated in the same manner as in the two Temples. The new square and stone buildings contain many good apartments; and there have been other modern erections.

Gray's Inn, the last of the four establishments from which barristers emanate, is in Holborn. It was the residence of the Lord Grey's in 1315, and was sold by one of them to Hugh Denys, and then came to the Prior of Sheene, who disposed of it to the students of law. It has its hall adorned with a curiously carved oak-screen, with portraits of the three kings of the house of Stuart. The chapel is not remarkable; but it has a good and spacious garden, in which new buildings have recently been erected. The regulations for admitting barristers, for the service of the table, and for other matters, differ but little from those of the Temple and Lincoln's Inn; but the number of professional men, especially of barristers, is much larger in proportion to the establishment, than in the other Inns of Court.

There are other piles of building in the same vicinity, London, still called inns, which were such probably in former times, and occupied as preparatory schools of law, or by the attorneys and attendants on the courts. These are Clement's Inn, with a hall, in which there is a portrait of Judge Hale, and those of some others; and, in the square, a fine statue of a negro, holding in his hand a sun-dial. Thaves's Inn, in Holborn, has been purchased by the society of Lincoln's Inn, and is occupied by private persons. Clifford's Inn, in Fleet Street, is small and old. Staples Inn, in Holborn, is said to have been formerly the wool-market; in its hall are casts of the twelve Roman Emperors, and some portraits. Lyon's Inn, in Newcastle Street, was originally an inn with that sign; it is small. Furnival's Inn, in Holborn, belonged to a noble family of that name, now extinct; it has been lately rebuilt, in a style which makes it an ornament to the street. Barnard's Inn is also in Holborn, but has nothing to render it remarkable. Symond's Inn, in Chancery Lane, was formerly used by the Masters in Chancery, before their removal to the public office in Southampton Buildings. New Inn, in Wych Street, is small, and in some way connected with the Middle Temple. There are in all of these separate apartments, reached by common staircases, into which they open. They are let indiscriminately to any tenants, but are chiefly occupied by persons of the different branches of the legal profession. There are two others, called Sergeant's Inn, one in Chancery Lane, mostly occupied by sergeants-at-law; the other in Fleet Street, with private dwellings, except that the Amicable Insurance Company have their office in it.

The Courts of Law established in the metropolis are, in number and jurisdiction, conformable to the requisitions that are made on them by the nature and division of the law, and by the business transacted in them. The chief courts are in Westminster Hall. On entering the great or eastern door, the first on the right hand is the King's Bench; the Common-Pleas Court, the Exchequer, the Bail Court, the Vice-Chancellor's and the Chancellor's follow in succession; and above stairs is the Court of the Master of the Rolls. In a building, once a part of the Exchequer, adjoining, and which, according to tradition, was the Star Chamber, is a court for the new Judges of Bankruptcy.

During term time these courts are occupied by the respective judges. They are neatly and appropriately fitted up, and tolerably commodious. In the intervals between the terms, the Lord Chancellor, the Vice Chancellor, and the Master of the Rolls, sit at Lincoln's Inn; the Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Gray's Inn; and the Chief Justice of the King's Bench and of the Common Pleas try jury causes at the Guildhall of the city, where appropriate courts are prepared to receive them.

There are two civil-law courts in Doctors Commons. The first is the ecclesiastical court, which takes cognizance of blasphemy, heresy, divorces, adultery, fornication, simony, incest, and some other crimes; and also regulates the induction to church preferments, the rights of pews, churches, and burial-grounds, the probates of wills, and the granting administration in cases of intestacy. It is the depositary of all wills in the province of Canterbury; and they are so carefully preserved and registered, that reference can be made to any will in a few minutes, and the examiner, for the small fee of a shilling, may read any one in the place. The other court, called the Court of Admiralty, is empowered to decide on all cases of capture of ships, to judge of crimes committed on the high seas, and to determine disputes between sailors and their captains in merchant ships. The Court of Arches is also held at the same place, and is a court of appeal from the ecclesiastical court. There are two classes of practitioners in these courts, the proctors and the advocates. The former must be admitted by a fiat from the archbishop, before the judges will admit them to practise. The advocates are only such as have taken the degree of doctor of laws in one of the universities. The whole building is somewhat in the style of a college, inclosed with gates, and contains, besides the courts, apartments for the judges and officers, and chambers for the advocates.

There are some other inferior courts, such as that of the Lord Mayor, of the Sheriffs, several for the recovery of very small debts, called Courts of Request, and the Marshalsea, or Palace Court. To these may be added the Insolvent Debtors' Court, which has much more practice than any of them, being presided over by regular and well-instructed Judges, whose jurisdiction extends over the whole kingdom. Upon fairly giving up the whole of his effects, and rendering a true account of his debts, the prisoner is by this court released from confinement.

The principal criminal court is that of the Sessions-house in the Old Bailey, the jurisdiction of which was extended, by a law in 1834, to many parts of Surrey, Kent, and Essex, where it did not reach before. It is nominally presided over by the Lord Mayor and aldermen; but the prisoners are tried by the regular judges, a few by the Recorder, and some by the Common Sergeant. Inferior offences are tried before the justices of the peace for the county of Middlesex, at the Sessions-house at Clerkenwell. Misdemeanors are also tried at Horsemonger Lane, by the justices of Surrey, and at Guildhall by the city authorities. The Lord Mayor sits at the Mansion-house, and an alderman at Guildhall, to judge in smaller matters, and to inflict punishment correspondent to their guilt on offenders. There are eight offices of stipendiary magistrates beyond the limits of the city, who, like the Lord Mayor and aldermen, have the power to punish, by fine and imprisonment, for disorderly conduct, and for various other offences specified in various acts of parliament. These magistrates, like those of the city, examine into crimes of the highest nature, and, on the charge being made probable, commit them to prison, to be tried at the gaol delivery. At each of these offices three magistrates attend, and they have from eight to twelve constables attached to them, called police-officers, who, besides their pay, make profits from the services of summonses, warrants, searching for offenders, and portions of penalties.

The prisons in London are appropriated to various purposes, and under different authorities. The first to be noticed is Newgate, which is under the jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor, aldermen, and sheriffs, and is the common gaol for London and Middlesex. It was burned by the mob in the riots of 1780, but speedily rebuilt, as at that time there was little wood in it. It is divided for three classes of culprits; one part for convicts, another for those to be tried and such as have been committed for misdemeanors, and the third divided into two parts, for tried and untried females. The number of prisoners varies from 350 up to 900. There is a chapel within the walls, in which divine service is performed twice every Sunday, and once on three other days of every week. The largest of the prisons is the Middlesex house of correction in Coldbath Fields, which commonly contains about 1200 persons, who are employed in picking oakum. A tread-mill is in operation; and of late silence amongst the prisoners has been enforced, which seems to have produced a very beneficial effect.

Giltspur Street Prison is near to Newgate. It is a pile of considerable extent, of rustic stone work, but has only apartments for about 200 prisoners. These are such as are under examination previous to commitment, besides vagrants or disorderly persons taken up at night. It is sometimes used as a house of correction, and the persons sent to it are employed in various kinds of work.

Clerkenwell Prison is near the house of correction in Spa Fields, and is a common gaol for the county of Middlesex. It receives prisoners of all descriptions, and is capable of containing about 300 persons. Fleet Prison, in Farringdon Street, is chiefly used for the confinement of debtors, or for such as are committed by the Court of Chancery or of the Common Pleas for contempt. The average number of persons confined in it is about 250; but there are about 60 others within the rules or limits, which extend both up Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street.

The King's Bench Prison, in Southwark, is large, and, by the improvement of the law, has of late been but thinly occupied. It is principally a place of confinement for debtors, or of such as are sentenced to it for libels or other misdemeanors. It contains 220 rooms, and is surrounded with a lofty brick wall. Debtors are allowed to purchase what is called the liberties, that is, to have lodgings without the walls, but within the rules, which extend over the whole of St George's Fields, and into parts of Southwark.

Horsemonger Lane Prison, in Southwark, is the gaol for the county of Surrey. It is a large building, erected in 1781, and surrounded with a lofty wall, and it is occupied both by felons and debtors. On the top of it is the place of execution for criminals sentenced to death. The number confined varies from 200 to 300.

The Borough Compter, though under the jurisdiction of the Corporation of London, is restricted to some of the parishes in Southwark. The experiment is here tried of separating and classifying the prisoners, who are employed in various kinds of labour.

New Bridewell Prison is in St George's Fields, and a substitute for the City Bridewell. It is devoted to the correction and education of the idle and disorderly, who are chiefly employed on a tread-mill, by which the corn is ground for the support of the patients in Bethlehem Hospital.

The New Debtor's Prison in White Cross Street, is used only for such debtors as were formerly confined in Newgate amongst felons. It is capable of containing 400 persons.

The Penitentiary at Millbank has been a most expensive experiment on the Panopticon principle. It is intended to reform the convicts, who are kept regularly at work in various manufactures; and attention is paid to their moral and religious instruction. The females are under the management of officers of their own sex. The prisoners receive a part of their earnings, and the remainder is given to them on their being discharged. It is capable of receiving 400 male, and the same number of female prisoners.

A Statement of the Number of Persons charged with Criminal Offences who were committed to the several Gaols in London and Middlesex for Trial during the 21 years from 1813 to 1833, both inclusive.

| Years | Number of Persons | |-------|------------------| | | Males | Females | Total | | 1813 | 1229 | 478 | 1707 | | 1814 | 1216 | 430 | 1646 | | 1815 | 1514 | 491 | 2005 | | 1816 | 1729 | 497 | 2226 | | 1817 | 2157 | 529 | 2686 | | 1818 | 2108 | 557 | 2665 | | 1819 | 2193 | 498 | 2691 | | 1820 | 2274 | 499 | 2773 | | 1821 | 1998 | 482 | 2480 | | 1822 | 2003 | 536 | 2539 | | 1823 | 1955 | 548 | 2503 | | 1824 | 2042 | 579 | 2621 | | 1825 | 2228 | 674 | 2902 | | 1826 | 2734 | 723 | 3457 | | 1827 | 2719 | 662 | 3381 | | 1828 | 2767 | 749 | 3516 | | 1829 | 2763 | 804 | 3567 | | 1830 | 2560 | 830 | 3390 | | 1831 | 2753 | 761 | 3514 | | 1832 | 2873 | 866 | 3739 | | 1833 | 2829 | 863 | 3692 | | 1834 | 2699 | 848 | 3547 |

A Statement of the Number of Persons charged with Criminal Offences, who were committed for Trial, and convicted, sentenced, acquitted, &c., in London and in Middlesex, in each of the three last Seven Years.

| Committed for trial. | Males | Females | Total | |----------------------|-------|---------|-------| | | 13,146| 3,480 | 15,626|

| Convicted and sentenced to *Death, Transportation for life, for 21 years, for 14 years, for 7 years, | |-------------------------------------------------|-------|---------|-------| | | 1,254 | 466 | 1,720 | | | 1,145 | 707 | 1,852 | | | 1,043 | | |

| Imprisoned, and severally to be whipped, fined, pilloried, and kept to hard labour, | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5 years, 3 years, 2 years, and above 1 year, 1 year, and above 6 months, 6 months, and under, | | 2, 8, 146, 880, 3,027, 228, 618 |

| Whipping, Fined, | |-----------------| | 9,678, 3,395, 2,553 |

| Total convicted, acquitted, | |----------------------------| | 9,678, 3,395, 2,553 |

| No bills found, and not prosecuted, | |------------------------------------| | 15,626 |

| Total | |-------| | 15,626 |

* Of whom were executed, 138

In the seven years ending in 1819. In the seven years ending in 1826. In the seven years ending in 1833.

| Committed for trial. | Males | Females | Total | |----------------------|-------|---------|-------| | | 13,146| 3,480 | 15,626|

| Convicted and sentenced to *Death, Transportation for life, for 21 years, for 14 years, for 7 years, | |-------------------------------------------------|-------|---------|-------| | | 1,254 | 466 | 1,720 | | | 1,145 | 707 | 1,852 | | | 1,043 | | |

| Imprisoned, and severally to be whipped, fined, pilloried, and kept to hard labour, | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5 years, 3 years, 2 years, and above 1 year, 1 year, and above 6 months, 6 months, and under, | | 2, 8, 146, 880, 3,027, 228, 618 |

| Whipping, Fined, | |-----------------| | 9,678, 3,395, 2,553 |

| Total convicted, acquitted, | |----------------------------| | 9,678, 3,395, 2,553 |

| No bills found, and not prosecuted, | |------------------------------------| | 15,626 |

| Total | |-------| | 15,626 |

* Of whom were executed, 138 ### A Summary of the Crimes for which Convictions were obtained in London and Middlesex, in each of the years from 1827 to 1833.

| Crime | 1827 | 1828 | 1829 | 1830 | 1831 | 1832 | 1833 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| | Arson, and other wilful burning | | | | | | | | | Bigamy | | | | | | | | | Burglary | | | | | | | | | Breaking a house or shop, with larceny | | | | | | | | | Cattle-stealing, or feloniously killing cattle | | | | | | | | | Child-stealing | | | | | | | | | Coining | | | | | | | | | Coin, counterfeit, uttering and having | | | | | | | | | Embezzlement by servants | | | | | | | | | Forgery of, and uttering forged instruments | | | | | | | | | Forgery of, and uttering Bank of England notes | | | | | | | | | Fraudulent offences | | | | | | | | | Game laws, offences against | | | | | | | | | Horse-stealing | | | | | | | | | Larceny | | | | | | | | | Larceny in a dwelling-house | | | | | | | | | Larceny from the person | | | | | | | | | Letters containing bank-notes, &c. secreting or stealing | | | | | | | | | Letters, sending threatening | | | | | | | | | Manslaughter | | | | | | | | | Murder | | | | | | | | | Murder, shooting at, stabbing, and administering poison, with intent to | | | | | | | | | Murder, attempt to strangle an infant | | | | | | | | | Murder, concealing the birth of an infant | | | | | | | | | Perjury | | | | | | | | | Piracy | | | | | | | | | Rape | | | | | | | | | Rape, assault with intent to commit | | | | | | | | | Robbery of the person on the highway and other places | | | | | | | | | Sheep-stealing, and killing with intent to steal | | | | | | | | | Sodomy | | | | | | | | | Sodomy, assault with intent to commit, and other unnatural offences | | | | | | | | | Stolen goods, receiving | | | | | | | | | Transports being at large | | | | | | | | | Felony, assembling armed to assist smugglers, &c. | | | | | | | | | Felony, trafficking in slaves | | | | | | | | | Felony and misdemeanor not otherwise described | | | | | | | |

Total, 2300 2277 2328 2227 2372 2653 2686

### Statement of the Number of Persons sentenced to Death, with their Crimes, and the Number that were executed in London and Middlesex in the Years from 1827 to 1833.

| Crime | 1827 | 1828 | 1829 | 1830 | 1831 | 1832 | 1833 | |----------------------------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| | Arson | | | | | | | | | Burglary | | | | | | | | | Breaking into a dwelling-house | | | | | | | | | Cattle-stealing | | | | | | | | | Coining | | | | | | | | | Coin, counterfeit, uttering | | | | | | | | | Forgery of instruments, and uttering | | | | | | | | | Forgery of bank-notes, and uttering | | | | | | | | | Horse-stealing | | | | | | | | | Larceny in a dwelling-house | | | | | | | | | Letters, stealing and secreting, with bank notes | | | | | | | | | Murder | | | | | | | |

Carry forward, 163 12 130 16 101 17 108 3 143 3 90 5 85 2 | Crimes | 1827 | 1828 | 1829 | 1830 | 1831 | 1832 | 1833 | |--------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| | Brought forward | | | | | | | | | Shooting at, or stabbing, or administering poison with intent to murder | 163 | 12 | 130 | 16 | 101 | 17 | 108 | | Attempting to strangle an infant | 1 | ... | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | | Piracy | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 1 | ... | ... | | Rape | ... | ... | ... | ... | 4 | 2 | ... | | Robbing on the highway | 39 | 4 | 23 | 3 | 18 | 5 | 9 | | Sheep-stealing, and killing with intent to steal | 5 | 1 | 2 | ... | 5 | 1 | 3 | | Sodomy | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | | Transports being at large | 5 | 2 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | | Felonies, assembling to protect smugglers, trafficking in slaves, and transferring a stamp to defraud | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | | Total | 214| 17 | 175 | 21 | 131 | 25 | 133 |

The institutions of the metropolis for the purposes of the professional education of legal and medical men having been already noticed, it seems proper to advert to those establishments which are designed to promote and diffuse knowledge in general, whether scientific, historical, or classical.

The first of these is the Royal Society, founded in the reign of Charles II., now holding its meetings in apartments provided by the crown for that purpose in Somerset House. Its labours and its merits are so well known, that any description or encomium here would be superfluous. It consists of a president and a council, composed, with the vice-presidents, of twenty members, and a numerous body of fellows chosen by ballot. It has a secretary, an assistant secretary, and librarian, and holds weekly meetings on Thursday evening, and one annual meeting on the 30th of November, when the council and officers are chosen.

The Royal Society of Antiquaries was founded in 1751, and is also provided with apartments by the public in Somerset House. It is managed by a council of twenty-two members, chosen annually on the 23rd of April, and has weekly meetings on the Thursday evenings. Its researches into the antiquities of this kingdom, and of other countries, have been diligent, and have thrown great light upon many historical subjects and events.

The Royal Society of Literature is of recent origin, having been founded in 1825. It has published two volumes of its proceedings, of great curiosity, and has contributed to the inquiry respecting the Egyptian hieroglyphics, by printing several fasciculi of such of them as seem best preserved. It has a president, ten vice-presidents, and a council, annually chosen of fifteen members, including the English and foreign secretary, and the treasurer. Its weekly meetings are on the Thursday morning, at the house which it has built in St Martin's Place, Charing Cross.

The Royal Institution in Albemarle Street, was founded 1800, chiefly by the exertions of Count Rumford. It is a good chemical apparatus, which was long employed the best manner by the late Sir Humphry Davy, and after his connection with it ceased, lectures continued to be delivered, both on subjects of science and taste, which have had much influence on the promotion of knowledge. It is a tolerable library, and the current periodical literature collected for the use of members. The lectures are announced in the journals.

The London Institution, in Finsbury Circus, is an establishment of the same kind as that in Albemarle Street. It is a handsome erection, and has a most valuable library, well arranged, and lectures are delivered on scientific subjects.

The Linnean Society was founded in 1802, in Soho Square, it holds its meetings on alternate Thursdays, in the evening, and has been successful in extending the knowledge of botany, both as regards foreign and British plants.

The Horticultural Society, whose objects are pointed out by its name, was founded in 1808, and has a suite of apartments in Regent Street, where, on alternate Tuesdays, in the season, displays are made of improved specimens of fruits, flowers, and other products of the garden.

The Zoological Society was first established in 1829, and in the few years that have passed, has met with unexampled success and approbation. Its house is in Bruton Street, where a large collection of stuffed animals may be seen; but the most attractive part of this institution is its garden in the Regent's Park, to be hereafter noticed.

The Royal Asiatic Society was founded in the year 1820, in Grattan Street, and holds its weekly meetings on Saturday, and is occupied with researches into eastern literature.

These societies are here separately classed, because they are chartered bodies; but there are others without charters which are not less useful or respectable, and equally deserving of notice.

The Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, was first established in the year 1754, and has beneficially applied itself to the purpose which its name announces. It meets in John Street, Adelphi, but has annual exhibitions, in some larger buildings, of improved mechanism, and of other inventions, and of specimens in the fine arts, where prizes of an appropriate nature are distributed to successful competitors.

The Russell Institution, in Great Coram Street; the Western Literary and Scientific Institution in Leicester Square; the city of London Literary and Scientific Institution in Aldersgate Street; the Metropolitan Literary Institution in Chatham Place; the Surrey Institution, in Union Row, Camberwell; the Southwark Literary and Scientific Institution, in Trinity Place, Blackman Street; and the Belgrave Institution, in Sloane Street, have all been established within the last fifteen years. Their objects are the same as those of the Royal and the London Institution, and, as far as their several degrees of pecuniary power extend, they are of use in promoting the spread of knowledge.

The Society, properly described by its name as having for its object the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, now forms a prominent part of the means of general instruction. It was first established in 1827, in South Square, Gray's Inn, and its progress has been excessively rapid. Its attention is chiefly directed to publishing, in a form so economical, as to bring them within the reach of a vast number of persons, a great variety of works of such a nature, as must tend to improve the minds of those who are anxious to acquire knowledge. By using good but not high priced paper, by stereotyping, and by printing large editions, they are enabled to furnish their books at very low rates. Their Almanac, their Penny Magazine, their Penny Cyclopaedia, and numerous other works, are all well and faithfully executed, and every degree of scrutiny is applied to prevent in them the insertion of whatever may tend to weaken the moral or religious principles of the readers.

Some other societies have been formed on the same, or nearly the same plan; but, though equally commendable in their design and execution, they have not been attended with equal success.

The Geological Society, formed in 1826, has been favoured with a suite of apartments by government, in Somerset House, where its valuable collection of fossil and mineral specimens is rapidly increasing. It meets on the first and third Fridays in each month, when communications are made which must tend to increase the knowledge of this branch of science.

The Astronomical Society, though not of more than twelve years' existence, has acquired and maintained the highest reputation by its publications. It is composed of the most eminent astronomers of this kingdom, and holds a constant communication with those of other countries. It holds monthly meetings on the second Friday of each month, but its principal labours are performed in the observatories of the several members, of which several have been erected in different parts of the kingdom, chiefly in consequence of the impulse given by the society.

The Fine Arts have also societies established for their promotion, which may be mentioned here. The Royal Academy of Arts was established by royal charter in 1768, and has apartments at Somerset House, where they have a good collection of paintings, casts, and statuary, and where, under their direction, an annual exhibition is made of the productions of the pencil and the chisel of British artists.

The British Institution, in Pall Mall, is an association of amateurs, who obtain the best pictures from their owners, and produce them annually in an exhibition at their house. It was founded in the year 1805. There besides the Society of Painters in Water Colours, who annually exhibit the productions of its members and others. The powers of the art, in this branch, are very great, and have rapidly increased since the establishment of this society in the year 1804.

The societies for the cultivation of music are all of recent formation. Those which may be distinguished as public institutions are the Royal Academy of Music in Tenterden Street, founded in 1822; the Royal Harmonic Institution, in Regent Street; the Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Cambrian Institution. This delightful art is taught in both instrumental and vocal branches, by numerous private professors, and is displayed at the numerous private concerts annually given by eminent performers, in the theatres, and the various assemblages where dancing is combined with it.

Amongst the most prominent institutions for general instruction, the London University deserves the first notice. It was commenced by voluntary contributions, begun at a public meeting in July 1825, and commenced some slight operations in the February following, and the first stone of the building was laid on the 30th of April 1827. It was designed upon a plan so extensive, that the pecuniary means to execute it were found insufficient, and the centre only has been finished. It is a beautiful and classical edifice, and, in its present state, is sufficiently ample for the number of students. The whole is well arranged with lecture rooms, apartments for the apparatus of natural philosophy, a spacious library, and an anatomical theatre. It receives pupils in law, in the various branches of medical study, in the general sciences, in classics, and in modern languages. The professors have usually been men eminent in the respective branches they undertake to teach, but the frequent change in them must have been somewhat disadvantageous.

The number of pupils in 1835 was as follows:—In the medical school 394, of whom sixteen attended to veterinary medicine alone, and of the remainder 132 attended the practice of the hospital. The students in the Faculty of Arts were 141, of whom fifteen attended solely to law. Twenty-five of them attended law and other subjects, and seven of them attended political economy. The numbers in the junior school were 375, thus making a total of 901.

King's College was founded somewhat later than the London University. It has been built by voluntary subscriptions, on a vacant piece of ground on the east side of Somerset House, and has been erected so as, in harmony with that building, to form one of the wings of its front towards the river Thames. It was opened on the 8th of October 1831. The college is patronized by the dignitaries of the church and the more zealous of its lay members, and instruction in the Christian religion, according to the forms and faith of the establishment, forms part of the course of education. In the chapel daily religious worship is performed. In these two respects it differs from the London University. The other subjects of education for which it provides are attended to by professors of great merit, and in this respect it differs but little from the rival institution. The college has attached to it a preparatory school, where the first elements of classical literature are well impressed on the pupils, and where the modern languages are taught.

The number of pupils, in the beginning of 1835, was as follows:

| Regular students for the prescribed course | 133 | | Occasional students in various departments of science and literature | 104 | | Medical department: | | Students for the whole course | 42 | | Occasional students in various branches | 175 | | Junior branch, for the general course of instruction | 461 | | Total | 915 |

Within the metropolis are several schools for classical literature of the highest kind, besides those of the Charterhouse, and of Christ's Hospital, for a select number of pupils, which have already been noticed. The most celebrated is St Paul's School, founded by Dean Collet, in 1509. It is at the eastern end of St Paul's Churchyard, and has been rebuilt on the same site since the year 1822. It is an elegant building, with a magnificent portico supported by six columns. It was originally destined to educate 150 boys gratis, but has now more than double that number. The masters are excellent. The school consists of eight forms; in the first the rudiments are taught, and the pupils are advanced to the eighth, from which, with a competent portion of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, they are removed to one of the universities, where they have the benefit of good exhibitions. The Mercers' Company are the trustees of the institution.

Merchant Tailors' School, in Suffolk Lane, Canon Street, was founded by that company in the year 1561. The building was destroyed by the great fire of 1666, and the present house erected on the same spot. It is very spacious, and supported on the east by stone pillars, forming a cloister, within which are apartments for the ushers. Adjoin- In the school about 300 boys are educated, of whom 100 are taught gratis, 50 at 2s. 6d. per quarter, and 50 at 5s. Annual examinations are held, and public exercises performed by the scholars, of whom several are sent annually to St John's College, Oxford, which was principally founded for the use of this school, and where there are no less than forty-six fellowships for those educated in it.

Besides these classical schools of ancient foundation, many valuable institutions have been recently formed by a kind of joint-stock proprietors, which afford excellent education. They are in connexion with King's College, and have similar regulations and methods of teaching with that institution. They are built in good taste, and capable of receiving about 300 boys, and of qualifying them for admission to the universities. Already one has been opened at Pimlico, one at Kensington, one at Islington, one at Hackney; and in several other parts of London they are either built or building. Those boys sent by proprietors are taken at a little lower rate than the others, but the highest charge is moderate.

It is impossible to calculate the number of day and of boarding-schools for both sexes in and around the metropolis. They are of all degrees of utility, and of all classes, as regards the expense of them.

Attention to the education of the poor has vastly increased of late years. Half a century ago there were in every part of the city what were called ward-schools, in which a number of both sexes were taught reading and writing, and the catechism, and uniformly clothed; and in each of the out-parishes the same system was followed. These, to the number of eight or nine thousand, were accustomed to attend divine service on a fixed day at St Paul's, where temporary seats under the dome were prepared for them, and they presented a most striking and even delightful exhibition. Of late years other schools upon what is called the national plan have been framed and increased. Infant and day schools have also been established, and instruct great numbers.

By a report of a committee of the House of Commons, made in 1833, the following is the result of the inquiry instituted as regards purely charity schools of all kinds:

| Type of School | Number | |----------------|--------| | Infant schools | 109 | | Number of males in them | 3,065 | | ... females | 2,441 | | ... aged from two to seven years, but the sex not specified | 3,226 | | Daily schools | 2,152 | | Number of males | 49,991 | | ... females | 34,446 | | Sex not specified | 8,051 | | Sunday schools | 329 | | Number of males | 23,440 | | ... females | 23,225 | | Sex not specified | 5,456 |

Total: 87,372 pupils

Schools established by Dissenters:

| Type of School | Schools | Scholars | |----------------|---------|----------| | Infant schools | 7 | 577 | | Daily schools | 103 | 9,170 | | Sunday schools | 150 | 27,689 | | Total | 260 | 37,436 |

The above are returns from the county of Middlesex, including the city and Westminster; and if the inhabitants of the county beyond the limits of the metropolis be taken as equal to those in the Southwark part of the metropolis, the result will be the same.

In the amusements of the metropolis the attention is first of all attracted to the theatres. Considering the number of inhabitants and their aggregate wealth, London has fewer of such houses than most of the other capitals of Europe. The most fashionable and splendid is the Opera House, where the music and the dancing highly delight the visitors. It was burned down in 1790, and has since been rebuilt at an enormous expense, from a design of Nash. The interior is arranged with a total disregard of cost. It is nearly the largest theatre in Europe. The stage is sixty feet long, and eighty broad, and the distance between the opposite boxes is forty-six feet. Each box is inclosed with curtains, and those who occupy them sit in chairs. These boxes are either private property or hired for the season. The pit and gallery are open to those who choose to pay the price. The whole is capable of accommodating 2500 spectators, and those who frequent it are either persons of the highest rank or amateurs, or those who are desirous of being thought to belong to one or other of these classes. The prices of admission are high, but do not equal the expense of the establishment, which is involved in debt, and also frequently embroiled with proceedings in the Court of Chancery.

Drury Lane Theatre, in Bridge Street, enjoys, with the theatre in Covent Garden, a kind of monopoly, by patent, as far as regards the mere exhibition of tragedy and comedy. It has been burned down, but was replaced in 1811 by the present large edifice. It is simple, and of the Doric order, having in front a handsome portico, surmounted by a statue of Shakspeare, added in 1820. The grand entrance leads through a spacious hall, supported by five Doric columns, to an elegant rotunda, whence staircases ascend to the boxes. The interior of the house presents about three quarters of a circle from the stage, and has a splendid though not a gaudy appearance. It is illuminated by an elegant gas chandelier, which hangs over the centre of the pit. The stage at the opening of the curtain is 43 feet wide and 38 high. The diameter of the pit is 53 feet, and the height of the house from the pit floor to the ceiling is 50 feet. It is calculated that 3600 persons may be conveniently seated, one-half of which number must be in the boxes. During Lent performances of sacred music are given instead of regular dramas.

Covent Garden Theatre has its principal front in Bow Street, and much of the rest of the building is hid by houses. It was destroyed by fire in 1808, after which the present edifice was erected on an extensive scale. It is nearly of a square form, and the design was taken from the Temple of Diana in the Acropolis of Athens. The front is ornamented with statues representing comedy and tragedy, and basso-rilievi descriptive of the ancient and modern drama. The interior is elegant, having at the entrance an Ionic staircase, between the columns of which are suspended Grecian lamps. The stage is very spacious, and there are three rows of boxes, an extensive pit, and two galleries, which are calculated to seat 3000 spectators; it is throughout lighted by gas. A superb chandelier over the centre of the pit produces a fine effect. When the house is crowded the admission money received at the doors amounts to about L.900.

From the complicated nature of the property, both these great theatres, like the Opera House, have been the subject of frequent litigation, and heavy charges have on that account been incurred. The Court of Chancery has seldom been free from dramatic suits. The taste for dramatic performances in this country appears of late to have changed much, and owing to the size of the houses, which are too large for the human voice to be distinctly heard, London. the pieces represented depend more upon splendid exhibitions that strike the eye than upon the elegant language of the authors of dramatic works. The expense of these kinds of exhibitions, and the falling off of spectators, have very much embarrassed the affairs of these great concerns.

Whilst the two great theatres are closed, that in the Haymarket is allowed to be opened. It was once occupied by the celebrated Foote. The present house, on the same site, was rebuilt in 1821, from the designs of Mr Nash. The front is ornamented with a lofty portico, supported by six columns of the Corinthian order, over which are nine circular windows, richly sculptured. It is much smaller than the two regular theatres, but has two ranges of boxes, with a pit and gallery. The prices of admission are lower than at the other houses. Sometimes a company of French actors have performed in it.

Besides these, which may be called the houses of the regular drama, several theatres have been opened which require to be briefly noticed.

The English Opera House, or Lyceum, in the Strand, is newly rebuilt, after being destroyed by a fire in 1830. As its name denotes, the pieces represented are in a great measure musical. In the interior, it is 40 feet in diameter, and 37 feet in height, with a handsome saloon 63 feet by 24.

The Royal Circus, or Surrey Theatre, in Blackfriars Road, was chiefly destined for exhibitions of horsemanship, but has of late produced ballets, melo-dramas, and similar performances.

The Royal Victoria Theatre, in Waterloo Bridge Road, built in 1818, is well calculated for dramatic representations, but the performers are not of the highest class. It is sometimes called the Coburg Theatre.

Saddler's Wells, in St John's Street Road, is an old establishment, with the new river sometimes turned into it, by which it is enabled to represent aquatic scenes, such as Naumachia, Fingal's Cave, and others.

At the Royal Amphitheatre, or Astley's, near Westminster Bridge, are exhibited feats of horsemanship, rope-dancing, and other amusements; it is much frequented by children during the school vacations.

The Royal Adelphi Theatre in the Strand, sometimes distinguished as the Sans Pareil, is now open for entertainments of the comic kind, in which the powers of Matthews used to be much admired.

The Olympic Theatre in Wych Street was used for equestrian performances, but, under the management of Madame Vestris, has become a place for exhibiting vaudevilles and dancing.

The Royal Fitzroy Theatre in Tottenham Court Street exhibits performances of farces, burlettas, and pantomimes. It was formerly called the Regency Theatre.

According to some newly-contrived plans, theatres of a still lower description are kept open. These are the Royal Clarence, near Battle Bridge; the Queen's Theatre, Windmill Street, Haymarket; Dibdin's Sans Souci Theatre, London Bridge Theatre, and Ducrow's Olympic Circle in Whitechapel.

In the summer months, the gardens of Vauxhall, on the Surrey side of the new bridge of that name, are an inviting place of amusement. They have been a place of resort for more than a century, and during that whole period have been constantly improving in decoration, as well as advancing in the price paid for admission. These gardens are extensive, and, when lighted, have a beautiful appearance, from the variegated lamps in the several walks, from different portions of light distributed in the walks, and from the numerous embellishments. In the centre is an orchestra, and opposite to it an elegant pavilion for large parties; whilst in other places are boxes of various sizes, suited to large or small parties, in which refreshments are served. Many of these are adorned with paintings. In fine weather the music is performed in the orchestra, but when it is damp the band is assembled in the rotunda, which is a fine apartment, seventy feet in diameter, adorned with some fine historical paintings upon the walls. Parties are formed for dancing in many parts of the premises, and in the few weeks of very warm weather it is a delightful place of recreation. The fire-works are magnificent, and there are many transparencies exhibited. Few objects in London have so striking an effect on foreigners as the sight of these gardens, and hence almost every large city on the continent has in its environs an establishment of a similar kind, all retaining the name which it bears in the country whence the idea was conveyed to them.

In so vast an assemblage of persons as London presents, where the incomes, the tastes, the education, and the manners are so various, it is difficult to describe the several sources of amusement that occupy their spare time. Public exhibitions do not seem so congenial to our habits as to the inhabitants of more southern climates; and other sources of relaxation require to be provided. Amongst the male portion of the higher classes, the club-houses are a refuge from ennui; and they have greatly increased of late years, both in numbers and in elegance of building, decoration, and furniture. At all of them newspapers, periodical publications, and the current new works are provided; dinners, breakfasts, and refreshments are prepared; and in most of them, in moderation, but in others to a disgraceful extent, the practice of play is introduced. In these clubs congenial society is to be found, for though some of them are more open than others, yet many are restricted to particular walks of life. Thus the United Service, the Naval, the Military, the University, and others are composed of one description; but as many members of them are also members of other clubs, such as the Athenæum, the Travellers, the Alfred, the Union, and others, a sufficient variety is found to enable them to keep free from what may be denominated clanship.

As there are already more than twenty-five of these societies, varying in their regulations in the sum paid at admission, and in the annual subscriptions, it would be useless, as well as tiresome, to describe them. The number of members in each club varies very much, a few having but 400, and still fewer 1500. The subscribers to the whole amount at present to about 18,000; but as some subscribe to more than one, and a few to three or four, it may fairly be estimated, that the number of gentlemen, of some consideration and wealth, who find amusement in these elegant houses, cannot be less than 12,000. The sums annually expended in these establishments, when the cost of their erection is included, has been calculated to amount to more than L160,000 annually.

The coffeehouses, which formerly abounded, and then formed a favourite lounge for many persons, have much decreased with the growth of clubs, which have a less promiscuous society, as none who has not some tolerable pretensions can easily become a member. These meetings form a medium between domestic circles and public assemblies, and are in tolerable harmony with the character and disposition which prevail in what is usually termed good English society.

Another source of amusement has been of late introduced, but rather more appropriate to the ladies than to the gentlemen. These are the bazars, consisting of shops, or rather stalls, for the sale of elegant light fancy articles, either of dress or of domestic ornament, but comprehending a great variety of goods, and, what is of importance, mostly served by respectable females. Some of these display uncommon elegance in their fittings up. The most remarkable of the number are the Soho Bazar, in the square of that name; the Queen's Bazar, in Oxford Street; and the Pantechnicon, in Belgrave Place, which have been the longest open. These have, however, been vastly excelled by a new one in St James's Street, opened in 1832. It consists of two spacious halls on the ground and first floor, which communicate by a magnificent staircase, decorated with mirrors of a large size. But another in the building, known by the name of the Pantheon in Oxford Street, opened in 1834, is thought to excel the St James's Bazar. The form of the interior, the adjoining garden, and the decorations, give it a peculiar character, and excite great admiration.

To these amusements must be added, the indulgence of agreeable walks in St James's and the Green Parks, whose beauties have been much improved within the last few years, the promenades in Hyde Park or the Regent Park, and the delightful mixture of wood and water to be enjoyed in Kensington Gardens.

In a city of such vast extent as the metropolis, there are many objects worthy of consideration, which cannot well be grouped under any specific class; and though, to a certain extent, it has been attempted in this article, it becomes convenient to take a survey by making a kind of tour of the different parts comprising the whole. In doing this it seems desirable to begin with the city, and proceed round it from the east, to the north and the west, and end with the south or Surrey side.

The Guildhall of the city of London, being the termination of King Street, proceeding from Cheapside, is an ancient building of the beginning of the fifteenth century. Before its erection the court-hall of the city was in Aldermanbury, whence it was removed in 1411 to the present edifice. It has a Gothic front, recently put in a good state of repair. The great hall is 153 feet in length, 48 in breadth, and 55 in height, and from its capaciousness, is capable of containing seven or eight thousand persons. At the east end is a raised platform called the hustings, from which, at elections, or other public occasions, the speakers address the audience, but can, with difficulty, make themselves heard by those at the lower end. It is also used as a dining apartment on the festival usually called Lord Mayor's Day, held in November. Over one of the windows are two colossal figures, commonly named Gog and Magog, which are supposed to represent a Saxon and an ancient Briton. This apartment is ornamented by some sculpture, in honour of Lord Chatham, by Bacon; in honour of his son William Pitt, by Bubbly; and of Lord Nelson, by Smith. There is also a statue to Alderman Beckford by Moore, with speech that never was spoken, but written by Horne Tooke.

Over the entrance is the orchestra, and opposite to it the passage leading to the chamber in which the Common Council assemble, and other rooms, which are occupied by the judges of the Court of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer for the trial of city causes. The Common Council Room is ornamented with some good pictures and busts of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, and Granville Sharp. The Chamberlain's office is in one part of the building, and there is within it a library, with a good collection of books and papers belonging to the city, and adjoining to it a museum. Near to it is an apartment for the sitting alderman; and on the side is Blackwall Hall, which is now used as the Court of Bankruptcy.

The Mansion-House is the residence of the Lord Mayor of London during his year of office. It is a large stone building, erected upon the site of a market called Stocks, between the year 1739 and 1753. No public building has been the subject of more severe architectural criticism than his. It is, however, in spite of a heavy structure over the sediment, a magnificent pile, and is also seen to great advantage by its confined situation; but this evil is now remedied by the removal of some of the houses that hid the view of it, and by the opening of a more spacious way to it direct from the New London Bridge. The front has a wide and lofty portico, composed of six fluted columns of the Corinthian order, with two pilasters on each side. Beneath this portico, a flight of steps on both sides leads to the principal entrance. On the left of the entrance-hall is the justice-room, a kind of court of justice, in which the Lord Mayor sits daily in his magisterial capacity. On the principal floor is a magnificent hall, described as the Egyptian Hall, adjoining to which is an elegant and spacious drawing-room. The Egyptian Hall is used for dinner parties, of a more select kind than is usually collected upon the Lord Mayor's Day at the Guildhall. Easter Monday is the chief festival, when after the dinner a ball is given, in a suitable apartment on the next story above. There are in it good family apartments, and suitable apartments for cooking and for servants.

Merchant Tailors' Hall, belongs to one of the richest of the guilds or companies of the city of London. It stands in Threadneedle Street, on the south side. The hall is one of the largest and best proportioned rooms in the city, and it is chiefly remarkable for the great number of men, the most eminent for rank and talent, who have been members of the company, and whose portraits are here to be seen. This company was founded in the reign of Henry VII., in the year 1480, and is called in the charter the art and mystery of the fraternity of John the Baptist. There have at different times been admitted into it seven kings, one queen, seventeen princes and dukes, two duchesses, one archbishop, thirty-one earls, five countesses, one viscount, twenty-four bishops, sixty-six barons, seven abbots, seven priors, and an innumerable list of esquires. In the present day some of our most illustrious men have been admitted to the fellowship; and the annual festivals are distinguished by the rank, talent, and virtues of those who join in them. The company possesses large estates, the income of which is chiefly devoted to benevolent purposes. They support an hospital for their decayed members, and are the patrons of a school, in which the pupils have been regularly imbued with a degree of classical knowledge. The school is in Suffolk Lane, Cannon Street. It is a fine building, forming a kind of cloister, in which are apartments for the master and three ushers. There are in it about 300 boys, of whom 100 are taught gratis, and 50 at ten shillings a-year. They have valuable exhibitions, and numerous fellowships; at St John's College, Cambridge, numbers are annually elected, according to the proficiency which they discover at the general examination.

Many of the other guilds of the city, of which there are no less than ninety-one, called companies, have halls, a few of them very fine buildings, and most of them sufficiently large; but many of the smaller companies being destitute of such accommodations, hold their meetings in taverns.

The goldsmiths existed as early as the year 1180, and were long the chief bankers of the metropolis. They have now the assaying of all articles made of gold and silver. Their hall has been recently rebuilt upon the site of the former, in Foster Lane. It is an edifice of noble proportions, the centre of which is composed of six Corinthian columns, supporting an entablature surmounted by a rich cornice. The five centre windows have balconies, and over them are the sculptured arms of the company. The furniture and decorations of this new building excite the highest admiration.

The hall of the drapers, in Throgmorton Street, is a large square building, on the site of the residence of Cromwell Earl of Essex. It has handsome apartments, a good garden, and is adorned with a fine portrait of Lord Nelson, by Beechey, and some others. This company has some large estates in Ireland.

Stationers' Hall is a large but plain building, in a court out of Ludgate Hill, formerly inhabited by a succession of noblemen of the first rank, from the reign of Edward II. to that of Elizabeth, when an Earl of Abergavenny sold it to the company, which then, as now, was a rich trading body. It was destroyed by the fire of 1666, when the loss in books and other property was estimated at L200,000. It had long the monopoly of publishing almanacs, and though it has lost the exclusive privilege, continues to print large editions under the name of Francis Moore, by which and other operations, the members are enabled to divide some profit amongst themselves.

Mercers' Hall, in Cheapside, was originally the hospital of St Thomas; having been the birth-place of the venerated Saint Thomas-a-Becket. The present building was erected after the great fire. The front is adorned with figures of Faith, Hope, and Charity, and it contains some very fine apartments. It is a rich corporation, with considerable patronage; and in the list of its members more than sixty have been Lord Mayors, amongst the rest Whittington, Sir Richard Gresham, and Sir Thomas Gresham.

The Fishmongers are a rich company, having some large estates in the north of Ireland. Their hall being removed for the purpose of constructing New London Bridge, a new and elegant one has been erected at the foot of that fine pile. It is executed with much taste from the design of Mr Roberts, presenting an imposing front towards the river, and another towards the street. It has a granite basement and the superstructure is of Portland stone.

Grocers' Hall is a handsome building, but hidden, from standing in a small court. It has a spacious public apartment, in which are portraits of Lord Chatham, and of his son William Pitt, who were members of the company. Other halls deserve mention and inspection, but our limits forbid even a short description of them. The best are, Ironmongers' Hall, in Fenchurch Street; Barbers' Hall, in Monkwell Street; Salters' Hall, in a court of Cannon Street; Skinners' Hall, on Dowgate Hill; Saddlers' Hall, in Cheapside; Coachmakers' Hall, in Noble Street; Vintners' Hall, in Thames Street; and Painters' Hall, in Trinity Lane.

That elegant Doric column called the Monument, on Fish Street Hill, is a splendid specimen of the taste and genius of its architect Sir Christopher Wren. It was constructed to commemorate the great fire of London in 1666, which destroyed the chief part of the city, and broke out in Pudding Lane, near to the pillar. It is a fluted column, rising from the ground to the height of 202 feet. It stands on a square pedestal of 40 feet, and the diameter of the shaft is 15 feet. There is a winding marble staircase within it, which gives access to a gallery with an iron balcony, from which is a fine view of the city and the suburbs. The top of the column terminates in a large blazing urn of brass gilded. This work was commenced in 1671, and finished in seven years, at the expense of L14,500. It is built wholly of Portland stone, of which it is said 28,500 feet were employed. On the northern face of the pedestal is an inscription in Latin, narrating the circumstances of the fire, and stating, that the destruction occasioned by it was 89 churches, the guildhall, city-gates, many public structures, hospitals, schools, libraries, a great number of stately edifices, and 13,200 dwelling-houses, and that the surface thereby covered with ruins and ashes amounted to 436 acres. The inscription on the northern side is designed to commemorate the merits of King Charles II., in assisting to repair the evil created by the fire, and to raise the city again to more than its former splendour. It states that a tax on coals was imposed to pay the expenses, and that, in three years, that was finished which was supposed to require an age. On the eastern side the inscription merely recites the date of the commencement of the column, its progress, and the date of its completion. The western front has an emblematic carving of the tragical scenes which occurred at the fire, which was ably executed by Gibber, the father of the poet and player of that name. The whole building has been repaired of late years; and the inscription on the base, which Pope described as a lie, attributing the fire to the Roman Catholics, was very properly removed in the year 1830.

Sion College, in London Wall, was originally a nunnery attached to the church of St Aphage, Cripplegate; but its resources having failed, it was at length granted to the master of the Jewel Office, who held it till it was destroyed by the great fire; but a fund for its support having been established by Dr White, in 1623, it was again rebuilt, and a society incorporated, having the supervision of the almshouse, in which ten men and as many women are provided for. In a spacious hall, in which meetings of the London clergy are held, is a large and valuable collection of books, to which access is given with great readiness. The institution has been enriched by donations at various times. The library contains many portraits of eminent divines who have been members of the college, amongst whom are those of Archbishops Secker and Tennison, and Bishops Gibson, Compton, Terrick, and Sherlock. A benevolent society has been formed here for the relief of indigent widows and families of the clergy of London and its vicinity.

In proceeding upon a tour from the city, we shall take the course which has been pointed out by the law, in constituting the new boroughs around the metropolis, and thus arrive at the Tower Hamlets. In this part, the most prominent objects have already been noticed, being the Docks, the Mint, and the Trinity House. The dwellings in this borough are mostly occupied by the inferior classes of tradesmen, or by handicraftsmen, or by day-labourers; but there is one object, the Tower of London, whose historical relations entitle it to a fuller notice.

Tower of London. The origin of this building is lost in obscurity. It is known, by an examination of boundaries, which took place after the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, that the walls were built on an ancient foundation, but at what period no evidence could be obtained. The great square tower, called the White Tower, foolishly attributed to Julius Cesar, was certainly built in 1078, under the direction of a great military architect, Gundulph, bishop of Rochester. Fitzstephen gives it the name of Arx Palatina, or the Palatine Tower, and states, most romantically, that the mortar of the foundation was tempered with the blood of beasts. The commander had the title of Palatine bestowed upon him, as was the custom in that age. Within this tower is a very ancient chapel, said by Stowe to be coeval with the building, having a long and dark flight of steps ascending to it. It was used for the devotions of the kings and queens who were residents in the building. In the year 1092, a violent tempest caused much injury to the Tower, which was, however, repaired by William Rufus, and by his successor. The first of those monarchs added another castellated building on the south side, between it and the Thames, which was afterwards called St Thomas's Tower, beneath which was Traitors' Gate, through which state prisoners were led from the river, over which was another gate, with a portcullis, called the Bloody Gate, as few that entered ever left it alive, in the early times of our history, when the name was given to it. The Tower was first encompassed with walls by Longchamp, bishop of Ely, who was chancellor of England in the reign of Richard I. He also constructed the ditch, to which water was introduced from the Thames. Different princes afterwards added other works, and thus, in process of time, enclosed a little more than twelve acres of ground, the circuit on the outside of the ditch of which is 1052 feet.

The borough of Finsbury, which follows next to that of the Tower Hamlets, is very extensive, and filled with inhabitants of a higher class in general; though in some parts re to be found the worst population of the metropolis. Finsbury Square is a handsome quadrangular range of buildings, surrounding a spacious garden. The houses are lofty, and well built in the modern style, having been gradually erected for the most part about forty-five years. Near to it is a spacious piece of ground, belonging to a voluntary military society, called the London Artillery Company. There is a good house within the enclosure, where the arms are deposited. In ancient times it was used for archers to practise in shooting arrows against butts. From this place Lunardi sent up the first balloon which had been exhibited in London, in 1783. Near this is the chief cemetery of the Protestant dissenters, known by the name of Bunhill Fields. It was first intended for the burial, at the time of the plague in 1665, of those for whom room could not be made in the churchyards, but afterwards was taken by Dr Tindal, by whom it was converted to the present purpose. The remains of the most eminent men amongst the dissenting clergy repose in this crowded ground. Of these, the most remarkable are Neale, the historian; Watts, the poet and divine; Lardner, the author of the Credibility; Dr Guise; Dr Price; Dr Kippis; and Dr Rees. It is attended by a clergyman of the established church, who performs divine service; or the devotional forms of any of the sects may be used by their own ministers. Near to this cemetery are the two chapels of the respective sects of the Methodists, which may be considered as their mother churches. The one, belonging to the Wesleyans, is called the Foundery; the other, belonging to the followers of Whitfield, is called the Tabernacle. They have both respectable and numerous auditors, and the preachers are constantly changed, so as to gratify the taste for variety, which is said to be prevalent among both divisions of that religious sect. In the parish of Clerkenwell, within this borough, is the prison already noticed, for the county of Middlesex; and not far from it is Hicks’s Hall, the court of justice where criminals for light offences are tried. The old hall having become ruinous, was taken down, and the present building erected in 1780. It is of stone, with a rustic basement, over which are four Ionic pillars, and two pilasters, supporting an architrave, frieze, and cornice, with a pediment. The interior is divided into the court, the room for magistrates, for the grand jury, and the hall. In one of the rooms is a portrait of the builder of the old hall, Sir Benjamin Hicks. Within the borough of Finsbury are included several objects which have been already taken notice of, such as Luke’s Hospital, several churches, and most of the inns of Court, as its limits extend up Holborn, so as to inclose liberty of the rolls, within which some of them are situated.

The borough of Marylebone next comes under consideration. It consists of the three parishes of Pancras, Marylebone, and Paddington, with (in 1831) 240,294 inhabitants. The parish of Pancras, now so joined to London as to constitute a part of the metropolis, is very extensive. It is bounded by Islington and Hornsey, and, in one direction, by Finchley, in which one-third of Highgate is comprised. One of its hamlets is Kentish Town, and two modern towns called Somers Town and Camden Town, form a part of it. The whole parish contains an area of 2700 acres. The houses are in general of moderate size, and not much occupied by the fashionable part of society. Within its boundaries is the fine seat of the Earl of Mansfield, Caen and Kenwood. The great lawyer, the first Lord, lived there, having purchased it of Lord Bute. The library in this house is a very fine apartment, ornamented with paintings by Zucchi, and adorned with many valuable busts and portraits. The gardens and woods are very delightful, and have some fine cedars, said to have been planted by the celebrated chief justice. The mother church of Pancras is an ancient building, probably of the fourteenth century; but the adjoining churchyard has long been remarkable for the great number of Roman Catholics that have been interred within it. Most of the tombstones have a cross and the initials R. I. P. (Requiescat in pace) are observable on many of them. A reason has been given for this preference, which is, that, at a church in the south of France, dedicated to the same saint, masses were said for the souls of the deceased interred at St Pancras in England. As already noticed, a new and magnificent church has been recently built. A chapel of ease has been erected in Camden Town, within the last few years. At Battlebridge is the Small-Pox Hospital, opened in 1767, and recently used for vaccination, in which more than 100,000 persons have been vaccinated. Part of it is now used as a fever-ward for those who have typhus or scarlet fevers.

Within this part are some fine squares deserving of mention. Brunswick Square is built but on three sides of a quadrangle; the eastern side being occupied by the garden wall of the Foundling Hospital. It consists of about forty comfortable, not very large houses, chiefly occupied by families connected with some branch of the law. It is connected by Bernard’s Street with Russell Square, a much larger quadrangle, with an elegant garden in the centre. Many of the houses are very large, and a few of moderate size, but none small. It contains, on the whole, about sixty-eight houses, filled by most respectable families. The following squares are connected with each other by streets of modern built houses, of competent breadth, well furnished with carriage and foot ways, and kept remarkably clean at all times, viz. Mecklenberg Square, with about forty-seven houses; Bedford Square, with fifty-two; Easton Square, with seventy-two; Woburn Square, with forty-two; Tavistock Square, with fifty-five; Torrington Square, with seventy-one; and Burton Crescent, with forty-three; to which may be added Fitzroy Square, which is not far distant, and has forty houses.

This part of the metropolis, which, within the memory of many, was wholly open fields, without a house of any kind, is more remarkable for the respectability and comfort of its inhabitants, than for their splendour, taste, or magnificence. They comprise those who live on incomes already accumulated, or drawn from their professions, chiefly that of the law, or that class of traders who can afford to leave the bustle of the city, for the quiet and greater neatness of such residences. It may be estimated, that the expenditure of the families in these squares, and the streets connecting them, range, according to the size of their dwellings, and the extent of their establishments, from £800 to £2500 per annum.

There are few public buildings in the part which we are now considering, that deserve especial notice, excepting the churches, to which attention has already been directed, and two objects, which are not indeed within the boundaries of Pancras, but may be appropriately mentioned in this place.

The first is the Foundling Hospital, forming a side of Brunswick Square, opposite to the end of Lamb’s Conduit Street. This benevolent institution owes its origin to a Captain Coram, who had been master of a vessel trading to the American colonies, and whose continued exertions for many years at length obtained a charter, when he began the building in 1739. The charity is not strictly for foundlings; nor are they, as in many continental cities, admitted spontaneously. The desertion of the father, and the prudent demeanour of the mother, are the best recommendation; but all applications are carefully examined by the governors, and decided on with the greatest judgment and impartiality. There are about 150 boys and the same number of girls in the house, and some of the younger at nurse, making together about 400. They are taken in during their first year, and are provided with education and all necessaries till their dismissal from the establishment. On their de- parture they are provided with money or necessaries to the value of L10; and, in whatever walk of life they enter, they are sure, as long as they conduct themselves well, to find friends to assist them in the institution. Some of the boys are bound apprentices to the sea, and some to trades. The girls are taught needlework, laundry business, and fitted to become servants, and are generally provided with good places at fourteen years of age. There is a handsome chapel, where divine service is performed twice every Sunday, when a collection is made in aid of the funds, which produces liberally. The whole income is about L13,000.

The British Museum is one of those institutions which reflect honour on the national character. It has been established for nearly a century; the house in which it is deposited having been obtained in 1753. It had belonged to the family of the Dukes of Montague, which name it bore. Sir Robert Cotton had bequeathed to the public his valuable collections earlier, but Sir Hans Sloane, who had made large and valuable collections at the expense of more than L50,000, offered them to the public at less than half the money he had expended. The purchase having been completed, the two collections, consisting of various kinds of curiosities in animals, vegetables, fossils, minerals, sculptures, inscriptions, books, manuscripts, and many other objects, were united, and begun to be arranged in the magnificent pile of building still occupied by it, but recently much extended. The building, when first obtained, was situated at the very northern extremity of London, with its back close to fields, which were so solitary, that they were usually selected as the place for deciding what were called affairs of honour. It has now, however, by the extension beyond it of houses of elegant form and of capacious size, become almost a central and very accessible spot.

On entering the gate from Great Russell Street, a spacious quadrangle presents itself to the eye, with an Ionic colonnade on the south side, and the main building 216 feet long and 57 feet high on the north, the two wings being allotted for the residences of the officers. The architect, Peter Puget, a native of Marseilles, was sent over from Paris by Ralph, first Duke of Montague, solely for the purpose of constructing this splendid mansion. Capacious as this building was deemed at the time, it has been found incompetent to contain and exhibit, properly arranged, the numerous objects which have been added to the original collections. A new edifice has therefore been constructed in the garden, and is now nearly completed from designs by Mr Smirke; it forms a quadrangle 500 feet long and of just proportions, and which will, when completed, be the noblest pile in the metropolis.

From the limits to which this article is restricted, it is difficult to give even an abridgment of the valuable contents of this Museum, the synopsis of which alone fills near two hundred printed pages, and the descriptions of various departments, with the catalogues, occupy more than twenty quarto volumes. But the progress of the collection, even in an abridged form, is sufficiently interesting to deserve being sketched in this place. After the Cotton and the Sloane collections were obtained, the Harleian library and the noble acquisitions of Sir Simon d'Ewes were added, containing valuable Saxon manuscripts and other documents, with the possessions of Stowe the celebrated antiquarian. In 1767, the trustees were empowered to sell any duplicates of books, medals, or coins, and supplied with the amount to purchase others. In 1772, the Parliament voted L8410 for purchasing some antiquities brought from Italy, and, in 1804, L16,000 for building additional galleries and apartments for Egyptian and other articles; and a curious collection of antiquities from that country was bequeathed by Colonel Lethieulier. The widow of Maddox the historian, bequeathed the valuable collection of manuscripts which had been made by her husband. Major Edwards bequeathed many books and L7000 to purchase others, when the collections of Dr Birch were purchased; and, about the same time, Mr Da Costa presented many Hebrew manuscripts and several books, and Dr Cracherode a collection of the best Greek and Latin classics. Since that, additions have been made of the Greek coins of Mr R. Payne Knight, and presents of architectural and other casts from the Royal Academy. The valuable mineral collection of the Honourable C. Fulke Greville was purchased by the public, and also the rare classical library of Dr Burney. The Elgin marbles, collected during Lord Elgin's diplomatic residence in Constantinople, have been purchased for L35,000, and casts from them have been made and liberally presented to several public institutions in foreign countries. The Townley marbles have been a valuable addition, as well as the manuscripts of classical and other ancient authors, which belonged to that gentleman. Another addition has been made of a series of newspapers from 1603 to the present time, which form more than 7000 volumes; and also a collection of 300 or 400 volumes in quarto, forming materials for the history of the stage, and of actors and authors from the year 1600 to the present time. The most considerable accession made to the books was the library of His Majesty George III, presented to the institution by his son George IV, on his succeeding to the throne. It is highly valuable, as well for the number as for the rarity of the works, but especially of the maps. The whole is preserved in one of the magnificent rooms in the newly erected part of the building. See the article Libraries.

The trustees, who have the management of this invaluable institution, are of three descriptions. The first are official trustees, consisting of the heads of the several departments of the government, of the law, of the church, and the presidents of the Royal Society, of the College of Physicians, of the Antiquarian Society, and of the Royal Academy. The second class, called family trustees, are two representatives of the Cotton family, two of the Harley family, and one each of the family of Townley, of that of Elgin, and that of Knight. The third class are called elected trustees, being chosen by the others, and include twelve names, the most distinguished in the kingdom for rank and talents.

The Museum is open to the inspection of the public from ten o'clock till four, except on Sundays, and on a few holidays, and during the months of August and September. No other regulation is made but that the visitors shall write their names and addresses in a book prepared for that purpose. A sufficient number of servants attends to preserve the valuables from injury, and to give any necessary information, and no money is allowed to be taken by any of them. Admission to the reading room may be obtained by application, in writing, specifying the name, abode, and profession of the applicant, which the librarian lays before the board at the next meeting, and if it be a person known a temporary ticket is immediately given; others must give a reference, or their application receives no attention. The tickets secure admission for six months, and must then be renewed. In the reading-rooms are convenient tables, furnished with writing materials and catalogues of the books. Any person who wishes to consult any work has only to write its title and his own name, and it is brought to him by the servant to whom the note is given (of whom there are abundance attending), with a dispatch that is not known in any other institution of the kind in Europe. Students who wish to make drawings in the galleries are admitted upon application in the same manner, but must produce a recommendation from a trustee, or from an officer of the institution, or from one of the professors of the Royal Academy. The number of visitors to the Museum, in 1834, was 237,000; the number of those who had tickets of admission to read was 70,200. The decorations on the grand staircase and on the ceiling above it are worthy of observation, having been painted by artists of great skill and celebrity; and the new part of the king's library is finished in the most chaste and appropriate manner. The rooms filled with mineral collections, the gallery of the Elgin marbles, and the other parts, are all calculated to excite delightful feelings.

At the beginning of the last century Marybone or Maryebone was a small village nearly a mile distant from any part of the metropolis. In the year 1715 a plan was formed or building Cavendish Square, and several other streets on the north side of the Tyburn Road. In the year 1717 or 1718 the ground was laid out, and a circle on the centre then enclosed. The Duke of Chandos then took the whole northern side, intending to build a magnificent mansion, of which the two existing houses were to form the wings. Lord Harcourt and Lord Bingley took ground on the east and west sides, and the remainder was let to builders; but the calamities which were caused by the South Sea bubble ended to retard the progress of the operations till 1726. The row of houses on the north side of the road to Tyburn was completed in 1729, and the name of Oxford Street given to it, and soon afterwards most of the streets leading to Cavendish Square and Oxford market were laid out. Maintains says, that in 1739 there were 577 houses in the parish of Marylebone, and 35 families who kept their coaches; but there still remained a considerable void between the new buildings and the village, which consisted of pasture fields. Portman Square was begun about 1764, when the northern side was built, but it was nearly twenty years before the whole was finished. In 1770, the continuation of Harley Street commenced, and also Mansfield Street, the latter in a place where there was once a basin of water. Portland Place and the streets near it were built soon afterwards, and Stafford Place, in 1774, on a piece of ground belonging to the city, on which the Lord Mayor's banqueting-house had formerly stood. Cumberland Place was begun about the same time. During the war with America the rate of augmentation was very languid. But in 1786 a new start was made, and Manchester Square, which had been commenced a few years before, was completed in 1788. Since that time the advance has been much greater and recently more rapid. The first step was to build over what was formerly the manor of Lillestone, but is now called Addison Green, to the north-west of the other buildings, where several streets and some squares were filled with houses, which, though upon a small scale, were for the most ornamental and comfortable. From thence the houses were carried on farther in the same direction to what was known as St. John's Wood, but is now called Portland Town, from the title of the noble proprietor of the land. It is in part that the magnificent rail-road from London to Birmingham has begun to be formed. Lofty mounds have been erected over valleys, and deep cuttings have been made through hills. The present appearance of the work, in 1836, excites surprise in the beholder, and the completion it will become a very attractive object.

The most striking improvement which has been made in this quarter has been recently accomplished by covering with elegant rows of buildings, villas, and other edifices, a large piece of ground between the New Road and Hampstead. This land had been let on long leases by the crown, which expired in 1814, when it was planned out for building by that eminent artist, Mr Nash, and under his direction accomplished in a few years. The whole has received the name of the Regent's Park. It is nearly a circle of 10 acres, laid out with shrubberies, adorned by a fine piece of water, and intersected by roads, which are adapted for promenades, or for carriages. In the enclosures there are fine villas, and the greater part is surrounded with noble ranges of buildings. To the south of the New Road is the remarkable pile of Park Crescent, a circular range of thirty elegant houses, in the centre of which Portland Place terminates. Across the New Road the first mass of erections is a neat quadrangular assemblage of twenty-four houses, called Park Square, on the east side of which is the adult orphan institution. To the eastward of this stands the Diorama, an object which has excited great curiosity and exquisite delight. The interior resembles that of a small theatre, the part allotted to spectators being boxes elevated three or four feet above the amphitheatre or pit. Above is a circular ceiling ornamented with transparent devices, and surrounded with medallions of eminent sculptors and painters. The whole is moveable, and is made to revolve with the spectators at intervals of a quarter of an hour, so that as one picture recedes, the other comes gradually into view. The effect produced by the disposition of the building, and by the various modifications of shade and light, renders the optical deception complete, and almost persuades the spectator that he is not contemplating a work of art. This striking production of art and of machinery was first opened in September 1823.

Near to this is the Colosseum, a name applied in consequence of the vastness of the buildings. It was erected in 1828 by Decimus Burton, and is one of the noblest edifices of the metropolis. It presents a Greek Doric portico of six columns, and is surmounted by a dome 120 feet in diameter, of which 75 feet are wholly of glass. Its form is that of a polygon with 16 faces, each of 25 feet, and the circumference of the whole building is 400 feet. The height of the walls on the outside is 64 feet, and on the inside 79 feet, whilst the sky-light of the dome is 112 feet from the ground. Beyond the entrance are vestibules, one of which leads to a saloon for the exhibition of works of art, and the other to the various galleries from which the panorama is to be viewed. There is also, in the centre of the building, a curious contrivance, by means of which visitors are raised at once to a level with the panorama, and saved the trouble of ascending the staircase. The panorama of London, which is here exhibited, far surpasses, in extent and accuracy, every thing of the kind that had before been attempted. Some idea of its size may be formed from its occupying 40,000 square feet, or nearly an acre of canvass. The various objects are depicted as seen from the top of St Paul's, where the original sketches were made, at the time when the ball and cross were being replaced. The gardens surrounding the building are laid out so as to appear much more extensive than they really are. They comprise conservatories, waterfalls, a Swiss cottage, and other interesting objects.

The next group beyond these public exhibitions is the smallest in the park, named Cambridge Terrace, consisting of ten houses, though the front appears as one building, with a centre and two wings having porticos of the Roman or Pseudo-Doric order. Chester Terrace follows next, a grand and commanding range of buildings, consisting of forty houses; they are of the Corinthian order, and at each end of the terrace is an arch connecting them with the pavilion-shaped mansions. One of the finest ranges of buildings erected by Mr Nurse is considerably elevated above the road, and separated from it by a garden, round which is a sweep commanding a fine view of the park. It is named Cumberland Terrace, consisting of thirty-three houses, with a front in harmony with the whole. It has a centre and wings connected by two arches. The ground-story is rusticated, and, in the end, in the principal masses of the building, serves as a base for Doric columns, surmounted by a balustrade, on which are placed allegorical figures of the seasons, the arts and sciences, and other subjects. The central portion consists of a splendid colonnade of twelve columns, surmounted by a pediment containing sculpture, which represents Britannia crowned by London. fame, seated on a throne, at the base of which are figures representing valour and wisdom, and some similar emblematic subjects.

The next object, to the north, but still on the eastern side, is St Catherine's Hospital, founded by the queen of that name, the consort of Henry VIII. It was originally built near the Tower, but, upon the erection of the new docks, it was, in 1826, removed to the Regent's Park. The institution consists of a master, three brethren chaplains, three sisters, and ten poor women, who are maintained by funds provided by that queen, and increased since by other benefactions. The building is in the pointed style of architecture, and consists of two ranges, each forming three houses. In the centre is the collegiate church, elegantly fitted up within, and with a corresponding front, surmounted by two pinnacles. On the opposite side of the road is the house of the master, a handsome building surrounded by two acres of ornamental garden.

After passing Gloucester Gate, a neat structure, of the Doric order, consisting of four fluted columns, flanked by stone lodges, which leads to the great north road, the next object of attraction is the Zoological Garden. This establishment, consisting of the Gardens and the Menagerie, stands at the north-east corner of the Park. It was founded by a society of men of science in 1826, and this spot opened to the public two years after. The Gardens form a most agreeable promenade, and the collection preserved in appropriate dens, aviaries, and paddocks, is already large and constantly increasing. It is much frequented by visitors, 142,000 persons having been admitted in a year. It has been much enlarged in 1835 and 1836, and the arrival of four giraffes has drawn to it astonishing crowds.

The Regent's Canal crosses the park on the northern boundary, and over it is Macclesfield Bridge, a most elegant structure, consisting of three arches, supported by cast-iron pillars of the Doric order. On the next, or north-west side, are some elegant detached villas; that of the Marquis of Hertford is particularly an object of admiration. Hanover Terrace, on the west side, consists of nineteen houses, built by Mr Nash, forming an apparent continuous building. It consists of a centre and two wings of the Doric order, crowned with pediments surmounted by statues of the muses. In the central pediment is a group of figures in relief, representing medicine, chemistry, architecture, sculpture, poetry, peace, justice, agriculture, plenty, music, history, and navigation.

Opposite this pile is a small gate, opening into the enclosed part of the park by a footpath, which winds into a serpentine form to a gate opposite to Sussex Place, and terminates at another gate fronting York Terrace. Sussex Place is rather a whimsical range of buildings, composed of twenty-four houses, consisting of a centre flanked by octagonal towers and wings with four similar towers, the whole being disposed in a semicircular form, with a garden in front. The towers are finished with cupola tops and minarets, which produce a singular effect. Near to Sussex Place is Clarence Terrace, a group of twelve houses, being the smallest in the park. It consists of two wings and a centre, of the Corinthian order, connected by colonnades of the Ionic order. Cornwall Terrace was one of the earliest ranges of building in the park, consisting of twenty-one houses. The basement is rusticated, and the upper part is adorned with fluted columns and pilasters, with well-proportioned capitals. This also is after the design of Decimus Burton. York Terrace is the largest, and one of the most splendid masses of building in the park, containing sixty-one dwelling houses, on a plan designed by Nash. The ground-story presents a range of semicircular-headed windows and rusticated piers, above which is a continued pedestal, divided between the columns into balustrades, in front of the windows of the principal story, to which they form balconies. This terrace appears more like a single palace than a row of separate dwellings, from all the doors being at the back of the buildings, and from the gardens in the front having no divisions. In the centre of the pile is York Gate, forming, with the two rows of mansions which flank it, a noble entrance to the park. Ulster Terrace, comprising seven houses at the western corner of Park Square, is a plain and simple range, adorned at the basement story with a colonnade of the Ionic order.

It has appeared desirable to give a more detailed description of the buildings in this part than can be allotted to similar objects in other parts of London, because it is unique in its plan, elegant in its execution, and, as a whole, presents a spectacle unrivalled either in Great Britain or in any of the cities of the continent.

The handsomest assemblage of houses in this district is Portland Place, terminating towards the north in an elegant circus, open to the Regent's Park. The houses are lofty, elegant, and regular, but differ somewhat in size, though none of them is small. They may be calculated for families whose expenses amount to from L3,000 to L6,000 per annum. Portland Place is about a furlong or eighth of a mile in length, and 126 feet in breadth, with a proportional breadth of foot pavement. It contains seventy-four large houses. The crescent, in which it terminates, has thirty elegant houses, and in it is a fine bronze statue of the late Duke of Kent, the work of Mr Gahagan, seven feet two inches in height, and weighing two tons.

Baker Street, which runs nearly parallel to Portland Place, is a fine street, about two-fifths of a mile in length, and containing ninety houses, besides fifty in the continuation of it, called Upper Baker Street. The houses vary much in size, but from the breadth of the street, the whole has a fine appearance. The intermediate streets between Baker Street and Portland Place, consist of neat but small houses, tolerably uniform in appearance, and are let at rents varying from L80 to L150 per annum. In Gloucester Place, and Upper Gloucester Place, to the west of Baker Street, are good assemblages of uniform houses, containing together 140 mansions, occupied by respectable families.

In this district are some of those fine squares which are the peculiar ornament of London, and are not to be seen in equal extent or elegance of building in any of the cities of the continent. Cavendish Square, the oldest of them, is adorned by a statue of William Duke of Cumberland. It contains several magnificent mansions, and a few of inferior extent. The total number of houses is thirty-seven. In the centre is a garden surrounded with iron palisades. Portman Square, with numerous streets around it, is built upon the estate of the Dorsetshire gentleman whose name it bears, and the value of it will be prodigious, when the present leases of the houses shall expire. The square contains forty first-rate houses, with a neat garden, of an oval shape, in the centre. Manchester Square, though of smaller extent than the others, and with houses of not quite so expensive a rate, is well built and neat. The north side is nearly occupied with the magnificent mansion of the Spanish Embassy, and near it is a handsome Roman Catholic chapel, very fully attended. It contains, besides the Spanish house, twenty-six others. Grosvenor Square is one of the oldest and most distinguished of the metropolis, as well for the size and the architecture of the houses, as for the number of the highest ranks of the nobility who reside in it, and the taste displayed in laying out the garden and shrubbery in its centre. It was built in 1729, by Sir R. Grosvenor. It contains six acres of land, and forty-four magnificent houses. In the centre is a gilt equestrian statue of King George I., executed by Van Nost.

The village of Paddington was about one mile from Ty-Pallisburn, but by the great increase of houses of late years, it is now an undistinguishable portion of London. It, however, extends to the westward, and includes within its parochial boundaries the hamlet of Bays Water, and the part called Craven Hill. The parish was in ancient times a portion of the estate of the Abbot of Westminster, and the present church was then a chapel of ease to the church of St Margaret's, Westminster. The parish church in the centre of the green was consecrated in 1791. It is a handsome building upon a Grecian model, with a portico of the Doric order, and towards the south end a cupola on the top.

The general increase of inhabitants in this parish from 1800 to upwards of 15,000, has been in a great measure owing to the completion of the Grand Junction Canal, the company having constructed a capacious basin with wharfs and warehouses, in which a vast deal of business is transacted. The situation is very favourable to the extension of good houses, and accordingly many of those have been erected within the few last years in the different squares, streets, and places which have been constructed. Bryanstone, Dorset, and Montague squares are neat assemblages of houses, letting from L160 to L260 per annum. Cumberland Street, and others near it, present very elegant buildings, as do Connaught Terrace and Place, looking into Hyde Park. One portion is filled with villas, upon a small scale, in gardens known as Alpha Cottages, whilst beyond them, in what was called St John's Wood, and now destined to bear the name of Portland Town, new streets are laid out, which will probably, in a few years, be filled with handsome houses, and with numerous inhabitants.

The Clergy's Orphan School is now established in St John's Wood-road. It is an old institution, established in 749, but of late greatly increased, and incorporated in 809, for the clothing, maintaining, and educating the orphan children of the clergy of the Established Church. A fine building has been erected, which is an ornament to the spot, and the institution is well and economically conducted.

One of the most striking objects in this new part of the metropolis is the Roman Catholic Church, newly erected upon a spot said to have been formerly occupied by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem. It has been built and endowed with funds for its maintenance by two pious sisters of the name of Galini. It is built in the style of the pointed architecture of the thirteenth century. The front is deemed one of the best modern adaptations of the materials furnished by our ancient ecclesiastical architecture that London presents; and, whilst the style is strictly adhered to, the composition is original, though the materials are taken from existing examples. The length of the church within the nave is 110 feet, that of the aisles 99 feet; the breadth of the body of the church is 44 feet, and the height 44 feet.

The basin of the Grand Junction Canal, the new market formed near it, and the large warehouses, have brought a great degree of trade to this quarter; whilst the Regent's Canal, which communicates with it, renders the conveyance of coal and other heavy substances cheaper than formerly.

One part of Paddington approaches near to the Royal Gardens and the Palace of Kensington. Kensington Palace, so called from its vicinity to the village of that name, stands within the parish of St Margaret's, Westminster. It was originally built by Sir Heneage Finch, afterwards Earl of Nottingham, and Lord Chancellor. His son, the second Earl, sold it to King William III. soon after his accession to the throne. This palace has been successively inhabited and improved by Queen Anne, and the two first Georges of the present dynasty. King William, Queen Anne, her consort George Prince of Denmark, and George II. here expired. During the first part of the reign of George III., none of the royal family made it their residence; but of later London apartments have been assigned in it to the Duke of Sussex, who still occupies them, and since that time, another considerable part has been, and still is, occupied by the Duchess of Kent and her daughter the Princess Victoria, heiress presumptive to the throne. The palace is a large irregular edifice, built at various times of red brick. The principal entrance is on the west side, and leads to some elegant and spacious apartments, one of which, called the cube-room, is 37 feet square. There are two fine galleries, one called the King's, 94 feet by 21; and the other called the Queen's, 84 feet by 21. The palace contains some pictures by the old masters, and many portraits. The great staircase, and the several ceilings, painted by the artist Kant, are much admired. The charm of this palace consists in the gardens in which it is placed, and which form a most refreshing resource to the inhabitants of London. They are more than three miles in circuit, and have, in addition to pure air, that variety of lawn, shade, and water, which make them a most delightful promenade; in summer a band of good music plays, and it is altogether one of the most agreeable, as well as most frequented, promenades in the vicinity of the metropolis.

In the way from this to London, but a little to the south, is the large and populous village of Chelsea. Chelsea College was originally built in the reign of King James I., and was intended to be maintained as a polemical school of divinity. It was incorporated for that purpose in 1610, and consisted of a provost and twenty fellows, of whom eighteen were required to be in holy orders, and the other two, who might be either laymen or divines, were to be employed in writing annals of the times. Dr Sutcliffe was the first provost, and Camden and Haywood the first historians. Sutcliffe, who had counted upon voluntary supplies, and also on the effect of the king's letter, was to a great extent disappointed, and having proceeded far in the undertaking, was reduced to ruin. In consequence of a chancery suit the unfinished building fell to the crown, and in the civil war to ruins. After the Restoration, Charles II., in 1669, granted the site and the ruins to the Royal Society, at that time incorporated; but, having no funds to build with, it was again sold to the crown in 1682 for L1300. It was then determined to erect an hospital for the reception and maintenance of maimed and superannuated soldiers. Sir Christopher Wren was the architect, and the work was completed in the year 1690, at the cost of L150,000. Many of the nobility and clergy contributed largely, and donations have ever since been continually flowing in from various quarters. It is a fine building, with a front of 790 feet, and the gardens and ground are forty acres in extent. It is three sides of a quadrangle, in the centre of which is a bronze statue of the king who founded it. The east and west sides are occupied by the pensioners, who amount to upwards of 400 men, and are well clothed, lodged, and fed. The centre is on one side occupied by the chapel, and on the other by the halls; the former has a fine altar-piece, and the latter an historical painting by Sterrio, and also Ward's picture of the Battle of Waterloo. The governor has a spacious house with a state-room, containing portraits of Charles I. and II., of William III. and his consort, and of George II. and George III. Adjoining to it is an appropriate infirmary for the diseased.

Near to the hospital is the Royal Military Asylum, an institution for the maintenance of the orphan children of soldiers. It is an extensive and handsome building, forming three sides of a quadrangle. The principal part, which is on the west side, has a noble portico of four Doric pillars, supporting a pediment with the imperial arms. The centre consists of dining and school-rooms, and a dormitory. On the top is the telegraph, which communicates between the Admiralty and Portsmouth and Plymouth. This establish- ment at one time was a refuge for 700 boys and 300 girls, but has of late, from economical motives, been much reduced.

The new church at Chelsea, dedicated to St Luke, has already been noticed; and the old church of St Luke is now by law made a chapel of ease to the new building. In it, and the burial-ground surrounding it, there are many old and curious monuments to distinguished persons who have been interred there. This large parish, containing 35,000 inhabitants, has, by act of parliament, been divided into Upper and Lower Chelsea, as far as regards ecclesiastical matters, and a new church for the former has been erected in Sloane Street. It is a neat building, with two spires, and is capable of accommodating 1200 persons. It is dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

A small brook, now covered with an archway, divides Chelsea from the city of Westminster. A part of the parish of St George's, Hanover Square, is the first place which is entered on that side. A few years ago it was a large piece of swampy land belonging to Lord Grosvenor, since created Marquis of Westminster. It has been recently built upon, and already exhibits by far the best squares and streets of the metropolis, whilst engagements are entered into, and proceeding towards completion, which will in a few years render this a most striking mass of splendid houses.

Belgrave Square is completed, and is the most admired part of the undertaking. It is 684 feet long, and 617 wide; each of the fronts inward are uniform, and is adorned with columns of the Corinthian order. The centre houses are very magnificent; those on both sides of them are similar, but not so large, and all are finished in the most elegant manner. The latter have been sold for about L. 10,000 or L.12,000 each, when finished. Eaton Square, which is not yet completed on the south side, will form a parallelogram of 1637 feet by 371, with elegant gardens in the centre, and the beautiful portico of the new church of St Peter at the end. The streets leading from Belgrave Square, or near to it, are all new, and the houses are elegantly constructed. Wilton Crescent and Street have a tasteful appearance, and near them a new square is about to be built, to be called Lownd's Square, connected with Knightsbridge. On the south, between Eaton Square and the Thames, it is proposed to construct a new pile of buildings, to be called Chester Square. The whole of this district has been much favoured by a new access to that part of Westminster, where the two Houses of Parliament and the courts of law are situated, through the Birdcage Walk in St James's Park.

One of the most prominent objects in this district is the King's Palace in St James's Park, heretofore distinguished by the name of Buckingham House, from the noble proprietor John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, who erected a residence in what was then called the Mulberry Garden, in 1720. On the marriage of Queen Charlotte, the mother of his majesty William IV, this house was settled upon her; she continued her occupation of it many years, when it obtained the name of the Queen's Palace, and all her children were born there, with the exception of the oldest, afterwards George IV.

With a view to reparation, as was at first announced, money was voted by Parliament; but by some change of plan, instead of repairing the ancient building, a new one has been erected at the expense of nearly L. 700,000, exclusive of what may be required to finish and furnish it in a manner suitable for a royal residence. It is expected to be habitable by the end of the year 1836.

This great work was designed by the late Mr Nash, but, before his death, it was superintended by Mr Blore, who made considerable alterations in the plan of his predecessor. The grand entrance of the palace looks on the canal in the park, and the view terminates with the building of the Horse Guards. It is through an arch of white marble, in imitation of that of Constantine in Rome, and is ornamented with sculpture, by Westmacott and Bailey. A semicircular railing, ornamented with mosaic gold, extends to the two wings. The body of the palace is a parallelogram, from each end of which a wing is extended, thus forming three sides of a square. At the termination of the left wing are placed fine statues of History, Geography, and Astronomy, and on the right wing of Painting, Music, and Architecture. The pediment in the centre contains the royal arms, above which are statues of Neptune, Commerce, and Navigation. Around the whole of the building, and above the windows, is a frieze, combining in a scroll the Rose, the Thistle, and the Shamrock.

The entrance hall, though low, is very splendid. It is paved with variegated marble, bordered with a scroll of sienna, and centered with puce-coloured rosettes. The walls are of scagliola, and the ceiling is supported by forty-four white marble pillars, decorated with Corinthian capitals of mosaic gold. Behind the hall is a vestibule of considerable length, against the sides of which are thirty-two columns, similar to those in the entrance-hall. In the centre of the vestibule is the door of the library, a handsome suite of three rooms looking into the garden; to the right are the apartments of the Queen, and the private staircase leading to them; and to the left are the King's study, and apartments for secretaries and attendants. Returning to the hall, the grand staircase is on the left, the steps of which are solid blocks of white marble, whilst the rail is richly formed of mosaic gold and mahogany. This staircase ascends on either side, and leads to the state rooms, which are very splendid. The three drawing-rooms are decorated with blue and red imitation marble columns, surmounted by gilt capitals; the floor of the ante-room is richly inlaid with holly and satin wood. The throne-room is richly gilt, the ceiling embossed with magnificence, and the frieze contains bas-reliefs by Bayley, after designs by Stothard, representing the wars of York and Lancaster. The imperial throne is placed in an alcove at the end of the apartment. From this splendid room a door leads into the picture gallery, a noble saloon running the whole length of the palace, being 164 feet by 24. It is lighted by three parallel ranges of sky-lights, decorated with tracery and oriental pendants, presenting a very pleasing appearance. Over the mantle-pieces are carved heads of the celebrated artists of antiquity, and the floor is formed of panelled oak. The dining-room is richly adorned, but by some is deemed of insufficient capacity for royal banquets.

The front of this palace, which is the most pleasing, is that from the garden. It is chaste and simple. A sheet of water and a shrubbery have been formed before it, and the entrance this way is through the magnificent triumphal arch, designed by Nash. This arch is of the Corinthian order. Towards Hyde Park are four columns, two at each side of the arch supporting a portico. The arch itself is adorned with six Corinthian pilasters. The front towards the garden is exactly similar. The vaulted part in the centre is divided into compartments, richly sculptured. A small doorway on each side leads to the porter's apartment, within which are stairs leading to the top. Along the entablature are placed G. R. and the imperial crown. The gates, of bronzed iron-work, are beautiful, and adorned with the royal arms.

Hyde Park is entered by a fine triumphal gate, opposite to that which leads to the garden front of the royal palace. This gate, designed by Decimus Burton, and executed in 1826, consists of a screen of fluted Ionic pillars, with three archways for carriages, two for foot-passengers, and a lodge. The whole frontage is 107 feet. The central gateway is adorned with four columns, supporting the entablature, above which is a frieze running round the four sides of the This prize represents a naval and military triumphal procession. The side gateways present two isolated Ionic columns, flanked by antae. The gates are beautiful specimens of bronzed iron-work, and the whole effect has a most magnificent appearance. The park consists of 25 acres in extent, and is a most valuable appendage to the metropolis, by the advantageous means of recreation which it affords both to pedestrians and equestrians. At the entrance from Piccadilly is the colossal statue of Achilles, bronze, executed by Westmacott, cast from cannon taken from the Duke of Wellington, to whom it is dedicated, at Salamanca, Vittoria, Toulouse, and Waterloo. It stands on a base of granite, is eighteen feet in height, and is said to weigh thirty tons. One part of this park is used for reviewing troops, and another part is covered with the Serpentine River, which, when frozen, affords very great gratification to the practitioners and admirers of skating.

The finest entrance to London is by Hyde Park corner into Piccadilly. The street is nearly a mile in length (180 yards), but, from inequalities, can nowhere be seen from above. It terminates at the other end, in the elegant Circus, where the two parts of Regent Street meet, which street is exactly a mile long. At its lower end, in Waterloo Place, is the Duke of York's Column. A colossal bronze statue of that prince, executed by Westmacott, has been placed on a podium rising out of the summit of this column. It is a fine bold composition, with full drapery hanging down the back of the figure, and giving it breadth and importance. The figure looks towards the parade ground of the Horse Guards, and the back consequently is presented to the view from Regent Street, and the United Service, Athenæum, and other club-houses. The column is of pale red granite, 150 feet in height, and may be ascended by a spiral staircase within. At its foot is a flight of steps leading into St James's Park.

Recent alterations have much improved the adjoining spot, on which Carlton Palace stood. Besides a stately range of elegant buildings upon the site of the palace, a handsome square has been formed. The front towards St James's Park consists of sixteen houses, which are disposed in two ranges, raised on a substructure, which contains the kitchens and domestic offices, forming a terrace about fifty feet wide, adorned with Prestum Doric pillars, surmounted by a balustrade. The superstructure consists of three stories, ornamented with Corinthian columns. On descending in the steps into St James's Park, the view of that pleasant ground is fine, shewing the course of the water, the islands in it, with the shrubberies and the gravel walks, as well as the road from the royal palace to the Horse Guards, by which the King passes in state to the parliament-house.

The parade place for the Guards is a fine opening, and at each side are placed trophies of war, particularly two prodigious pieces of artillery, whilst the esplanade terminates with a strong and handsome stone building, in which the troops in immediate attendance on the King are quartered, two of whom, on horseback, act as sentinels, in two lodges in front of Whitehall. In this building is the office of the commander-in-chief of the army.

In emerging from the gate of the Horse Guards, the celebrated banqueting-house, built by Inigo Jones, presents itself. It is an elegant and magnificent structure of hewn stone, adorned with an upper and lower range of pillars, of the Ionic and composite order. The capitals, and the space between the columns of the windows, are enriched with friezes and foliage. It is surrounded with a balustrade, and the whole exterior has been put in a complete state of repair. The interior consists chiefly of one apartment, of an oblong form, about forty feet in height. The ceiling was painted by Rubens, and represents the apotheosis of James I. It is now an elegant chapel, in which divine public worship is performed every Sunday. It is adorned with the eagles and other trophies taken from the French in Spain, which were deposited here with great military ceremony in May 1811. Charles I. was led from this building, through a window in the front of it, to the scaffold, where he was executed on the 30th January 1649. In the gardens between this building and the river, there are some dwellings of persons of the highest rank; and in one part a public building has been given up by the government, to form the museum of the United Services. A valuable collection has been formed, by the zeal of the officers of the army and navy, and is receiving daily augmentations. It already contains many valuable and curious objects, not only such as are connected with those professions, but also in natural history, and in articles illustrative of the customs and manners of the distant countries explored by our adventurous countrymen.

Between the Horse Guards and Charing Cross is the Public Office of the Paymaster of the Forces, which, though conveniently arranged for its intended purpose, has no peculiar claim to attention from its architecture; but, adjoining to it, is that fine pile, the Admiralty Office, built on the site of Wallingford House, and celebrated for the councils held there by Oliver Cromwell and his officers. The front has two deep wings, and a lofty portico, supported by four large stone pillars of the Ionic order. There is a screen in front of the court, richly ornamented with naval emblems. The entrance of the main building is a spacious hall, from which are passages leading to staircases, by which the numerous offices are reached. There is a fine board-room, and within the building are numerous residences for the junior lords. On the top of it is the telegraph, which maintains the correspondence with the great ports where there are naval arsenals.

In Whitehall, next below the Horse Guards, is the entrance, by a gateway common to both, and whose Gothic architecture is much admired, to the Office of the Secretary of State for the Home Department, and the Treasury Office. The first has some of its apartments looking on the street, but that part is more remarkable for its antique than its beautiful architecture. The interior is arranged very appropriately, but it is rather too small for the increased business to be transacted. The Treasury is a fine large stone building, with its front towards the Parade. It is a portion of the old palace erected by Cardinal Wolsey, and altered at subsequent periods, but chiefly in the reign of Charles II. It displays in its front the Tuscan, Doric, and Ionic order of architecture, and the whole is surrounded by a pediment. The board-room is a fine apartment; but all the other parts are too much crowded, for the number of clerks that are necessary. From this office there is a communication with the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury.

The building next to these in Whitehall, is the elegant recently-erected Office of the Privy Council and of the Board of Trade, finished in 1826, from the design of Sir John Sloane. Upon the left hand, or western side, are the offices for the clerks of the privy council, and their subordinates, whence proclamations are issued, and patents are prepared. Upon the first floor is the beautiful court where the privy council sit as a court of law, to decide on appeals from the colonial courts, or on other business referred to them by the king. The interior is simply, yet beautifully finished, and around it are rooms for the president, and others for the advocates and agents. The right side of the building is occupied by the committee of privy council for affairs of trade. The several rooms for the president, vice-president, secretaries, and clerks, are on both sides of a gallery, which extends the whole length of the building. In the construction of this part, the architect has preserved the old board-room, erected in the reign of William III., in order to retain the beautifully carved ceiling then placed. there. A communication, by a gallery, is maintained between these offices and that of the Home Secretary and the Treasury.

In Downing Street, of which the council-office forms one corner, is, on the right hand side, the house for the residence of the First Lord of the Treasury, a noble mansion, with its best apartments looking into St James's Park; and adjoining to it, another upon a smaller scale, occupied by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when that office and that of First Lord of the Treasury are not filled by the same individual, but otherwise by one of the secretaries of the treasury.

At the bottom of the same narrow street, but with its best front towards the Park, is the office of the Secretary of State for the Colonies and for War. The building has nothing in its exterior to engage attention, but it contains some fine apartments, and others very conveniently arranged for the despatch of business, and has been of late years extended by the addition of the house which was formerly the office of the Judge Advocate.

In the same street, touching the Colonial Office, and forming a right angle with it, is the office of the Secretary of State for foreign affairs. It has been formed out of several houses in addition to the old building, and presents to view neither regularity nor architectural beauty; in its appearance it is unworthy the dignified business there transacted, where the representatives of all the states of the civilized world have constant occasion to repair, and where the cabinet councils are most commonly held. It is, however, if not imposing, very appropriately fitted up in the interior, with noble apartments for the chief and under secretaries, where they receive the foreign diplomats; and of late years the part occupied as a dwelling has been repaired, beautified, and elegantly furnished, and as such was first used as a residence by Mr Canning for a very short time before his death.

In Duke Street, Westminster, near to Downing Street, and looking on the Park, a new and noble building has just been finished as a State Paper Office. It has a handsome front, secured against any accident by fire, and well arranged for the purpose of preserving and rendering easily accessible the valuable documents which were removed to it from the old building in George Street. These papers can only be examined by a special order from the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which is generally granted on application, when asked, for any purely historical purpose, and every inquirer for such objects finds all the assistance he can desire upon the part of the officers of the establishment.

Westminster Hall has already been noticed; but the two Houses of Parliament were so much injured by the fire which accidentally broke out there in November 1834, as to render it necessary to make use of such apartments as could be most speedily converted to the purpose, for the accommodation of the two legislative bodies. A variety of suggestions have been offered for repairing or building anew the parts which were injured; but no decisive plan has been adopted, and for the present the House of Lords assembles in an apartment not very appropriate, and the House of Commons holds their sittings in what was the House of Lords, with such temporary repairs as the short time allowed for the purpose would admit. See the article Westminster.

Near to the parliament houses, in Cannon Row, is a neat and elegant building, but little seen at present, which is occupied by the Board of Controul for Indian affairs. It was built during the war for the Transport Board, which was abolished at the peace, and since that time it has been applied to its present use. It is a handsome building, with a fine portico of the Ionic order, its back front towards the Thames, and with apartments appropriately laid out.

Some of the greatest improvements made in the metropolis of late years have been projected or completed in the vicinity of Charing Cross, and along the Strand. All the old buildings at Charing Cross opposite to Northumberland House, including the western side of St Martin's Lane, have been removed. The new Golden Cross Inn has been completed, and the houses forming the east side of what is called Trafalgar Square are occupied. On the northern side of that square the new national gallery of painting, sculpture, and architecture has considerably advanced. It is being erected on the spot formerly occupied by the king's mews, but removed farther back, in order to give a better view from Pall Mall of the fine porticoes of St Martin's church. The part of the gallery towards the east has its front nearly finished, but before its completion it would be unfair to criticise the architecture. The gallery is intended to be about 500 feet in length, and will consist of a central portico of eight Corinthian columns in front and two in depth, ascended by steps at each end at an elevation of eight feet from the ground. Between the centre and the wings will be two entrances, composed of four Corinthian columns, one leading to Castle Street, and the other to the barracks. It is designed to have windows in the lower story for lighting those apartments, and in the upper story there are to be niches for statues. The portico will be surmounted by an ornamental dome, and the whole range of building by a balustrade. The part upon the right side of the portico will be devoted to the Royal Academy, and that to the left will comprise the galleries for the works of art; these being connected by the grand staircase and vestibule dividing the building into two parts.

The beautiful equestrian statue of Charles I remains on the ancient spot, and it has been suggested that between it and the gallery some object should be placed which might do credit to the taste of the age.

The widening of the Strand, by removing Exeter Change, and many other obstructions, has made the West Strand a noble street; whilst the beautiful streets, called Adelaide Street and King William Street, have together contributed with the elegant Lowther Arcade, the Ophthalmic Hospital, the Charingcross Hospital, and many private houses, to change the character of that part of the town; especially by removing some hundreds of wretched houses, (in courts and alleys), which were the haunts of the most depraved portion of the population.

The new Hungerford Market already noticed, has now a good approach from the Strand nearly completed, which forms an additional improvement to the appearance of the western part of that street.

Somerset House, or rather, Somerset Palace, is a pile of building standing on the site of a number of edifices, which have been most tyrannically destroyed by the Duke of Somerset, who was protector in the reign of Edward VI., and ultimately the victim of his ambition and treason. The palace was begun in the year 1549, and the architect was one John of Padua, who was appointed in the reign of Henry VIII., under the title of Devisor of his Majesty's buildings. The architecture was that mixture of Grecian and Gothic, which had been introduced into England in the preceding reign. It was a spacious and magnificent edifice, and as by death it devolved on the crown, it was made use of as a residence for some members of the royal family. Queen Elizabeth resided here with her kinsman Lord Hunsdon. A chapel was begun by Inigo Jones, who had built the back, front, and water gate. It was intended for the use of the Catholic Infanta of Spain, who was expected to become the wife of Charles I., when Prince of Wales; and though that match did not take place, it was used by the professors of the Catholic religion, and amongst others by the Queen Henrietta Maria. It was also the residence of the queen of Charles II., who was thereby removed from the observation of her royal consort's gallantries. It was at that time that it became The theatre of an irritating plot, probably founded on fiction, but which produced national agitation. Whether Sir Edmonbury Godfrey was murdered or destroyed himself, as, and must ever remain, a matter of doubt.

The present building is after a design of the late Sir William Chambers, and was begun in 1775. It occupies space about 800 feet wide and 300 deep, and forms a quadrangle, with a spacious court in the centre. The front towards the street consists of a rustic basement of nine arches, supporting Corinthian columns, surmounted in the centre by an attic, and, at the extremities, by a balustrade. The key-stones of the arches are adorned with colossal masks in alto relievo, emblematical of the Ocean, and the eight principal rivers of England. On the three central windows of the first floor are medallions of George III., his queen, and the Prince of Wales. The attic is divided into three parts, by four statues representing Justice, Truth, Labour, and Moderation, with the appropriate emblems of the scales, the mirror, the sword, and the bridle in one hand, and the fasces in the other. The whole is surmounted by the British arms, supported by Fame, and the genius of England. The front towards the river is a spacious terrace. His river front has now two wings, built uniformly; that on the east side is a part of King's College, at the expense of which it has been recently completed, after having been fit for nearly sixty years a vacant and disgraceful spot.

The front part of the pile is occupied by the Royal Academy, who have in it their annual exhibitions of painting, sculpture, and architecture. The other part, the Royal Society, the Antiquarian Society, and the Geological Society at present occupy. The three other sides of the quadrangle are destined to the use of the Navy Board, the treasurer of which has an official residence looking on the river; and some other houses in the same wing are occupied by Officers under the Admiralty. The Board of Taxes, with its Secretary, have the use of a large portion; and the remainder is under the Board of Stamps, where the machinery is worked in their operations.

In this part of the town are a few objects which deserve notice, and which may here, as appropriately as in any other part, receive it. Covent Garden has already been noticed as a market for fruit, vegetables, and flowers. It occupies three acres of land, covered with more elegant buildings than are usually to be seen in market-places; and it is, on the northern, and a part of the eastern side, bounded by a range of handsome buildings, planned by Inigo Jones, on arches, with a good walk or piazza under them. The greater part of these houses are used as taverns or coffee-houses. The church of St Paul, at the west end, has a fine portico, under which the elections of members of parliament for the city of Westminster are held. This place was, in former times, the garden of the convent of St Paul's, and was, on the suppression of those institutions, given to the family of Russell, whose successor, the Duke of Bedford, is the present possessor, and has rebuilt the centre, from plans by Mr Bower, in 1829 and 1830.

Lincoln's-Inn-Fields is one of the largest squares in the metropolis; but the appearance is not favourable. The eastern side has no other building but the wall of Lincoln's-Inn Garden. The north side consists of small, and mostly lonely houses; but on the south and west sides are several noble mansions of considerable age, some used as offices in public boards, and others let out in chambers, like those of the Inns of Court. These houses have been inhabited by some of the most distinguished statesmen and lawyers of the country. Within the few last years Sir John Soane has presented to the public his house on the north side of the square, with the valuable collection of curiosities, which, in the course of a long life, he has been able to draw from various sources.

Leicester Square, like Lincoln's-Inn, is more remarkable for its extent than for its beauty. The greater part of the houses are upon a small scale, and not distinguished by any architectural taste. On the north side were once some distinguished edifices, particularly one the residence of Frederick Prince of Wales, father of George III., which was afterwards used for the exhibition of Sir Ashton Lever's museum. This square was the residence of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and of Hogarth, and Woollet, celebrated artists; and of John Hunter, the celebrated anatomist and surgeon. In the centre is a fine bronze equestrian statue of King George I.

In proceeding westward from Leicester Square, that singular pile of buildings, called from its form the Quadrant, is entered. It is a break in Regent Street, extending from Piccadilly to Glasshouse Street. This circular mass is ornamented by colonnades, with a good walk under a gallery surrounding the whole, which is supported by cast-iron pillars. The outward effect is fine, but the houses are not admired as residences, and have not been very advantageously occupied.

Between the Quadrant and Bond Street is Hanover Square, which was built in honour of the present royal family, soon after their accession to the throne. It occupies about two acres, has some noble houses but not in the best style, and is chiefly remarkable for a handsome suite of apartments, fitted up in the most splendid manner, and let out for the performance of concerts, or other public purposes. On the eastern side is a bronze colossal statue of William Pitt, executed by Chantrey. It is twelve feet in height, and stands on a pedestal of granite, fifteen feet high. The resemblance is very striking.

To the westward of Bond Street, Berkeley Square presents itself. There are only houses on three sides of it, as the wall of the noble mansion of the Marquis of Lansdowne, occupies the whole of the south side. The garden in the centre of the Square contains about three acres. There are in the whole, including Lansdowne House, fifty-four dwellings, several of them of the first class, but on the east side some of them are of a much lower description.

By crossing Piccadilly, St James's Square is arrived at. It has much celebrity, as well from the magnificence of several houses, and the eminent men who have lived in them, as from its being one of the oldest of the larger squares, and that which led to the practice of forming such places upon an extensive scale. On the south side, the back of some of the houses of Pall Mall, mixed with some small dwelling-houses, intrude on the view; but the other three sides are occupied by mansions of the very first class. The whole number of these is only twenty-four. The centre is a neat garden, laid out with shrubs, and, in the middle of it, there is a sheet of water, from which there rises a pedestal surmounted by a statue of King William III. The largest of the houses, are London House, belonging to the Bishop of London; and those of the Duke of Norfolk, Marquis of Bristol, Earl de Grey, Duke of Cleveland, Earl of Hardwicke, Bishop of Winchester, Earl of Dartmouth, Earl of Litchfield, Lord Rosslyn, Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, and Mr Hudson Gurney.

The Royal Palace of St James, in Pall-Mall, has so long been treated as an object of consideration, by all the diplomats of Europe, as to deserve a particular description. This palace was originally an hospital dedicated to St James, founded by some pious citizens before the Norman conquest. It was designed to receive fourteen lepers, to whom were afterwards added eight brethren, who were to perform divine service. It was rebuilt in the time of Henry III. The custody of it was conferred on Eton College, by a grant of the twenty-eighth year of Henry VI.; but it is reported, that the living of Chattesham in Suffolk was given in exchange for it, the college, on this consideration, having resigned it to Henry VIII. At that time the revenue was estimated at L100 per annum. The present building was erected by that monarch soon after the transaction, which took place in the year 1531, and was described by the historian Stowe, as "a goodly manner." The same king also enclosed the park, which became subservient to the amusement of this and the other palace of Whitehall. Charles II, who was particularly fond of it, planted the avenues, and formed the canal, and the aviary adjacent to the Bird-cage Walk, which took its name from the cages which were hung on the trees. The king, according to Cibber, was often seen here, amidst crowds of spectators, feeding his ducks, and playing with his dogs; and passing his idle time in conversation with the meanest of his subjects, which made him be adored by the common people. There exists no proof that this palace was regularly inhabited by any of our monarchs till after the fire in 1695, by which the palace of Whitehall was destroyed. James I presented it to his promising son, Prince Henry, who resided in it until his death in 1612. Charles I was brought to it from Windsor, on the 19th of January, by the power of the army, which had determined on his death, and his apartment was hastily furnished by his own servant, Mr Kinnersley of the wardrobe. Of the eleven days which he was permitted to live, some were spent in Westminster Hall, and the nights were passed in the house of Sir Robert Cotton, near the place of his trial. On the 27th he was carried back to St James's, where he passed his three last days in the exercise of exemplary piety. On the 30th he was brought to the place of execution; and walked, unmoved by every insult, with a firm and quick pace, supported by the most lively sentiments of religion. His son, the bigoted James, sent to the Prince of Orange, when he had approached in force near to the capital, an invitation to take up his lodging in this palace. The prince accepted it; but, at the same time, hinted to the frightened king, that he must leave Whitehall. It was customary to mount guard at both the palaces. The old hero, Lord Craven, was upon duty at the time when the Dutch guards were moving through the Park, to relieve those at Whitehall, by order of their master. From a point of honour, he determined not to quit his post, and was preparing to maintain it; but, receiving the commands of his sovereign, he reluctantly withdrew his party, and marched away with sullen dignity.

During the reign of King William, this palace was fitted up for the residence of the Princess Anne, afterwards queen, and her husband Prince George of Denmark; and from that time to the present it has been regularly the court of the successive monarchs. Pennant, who described it about fifty years ago, and from whom a part of the preceding account is extracted, says, "Uncredible as the outside of St James's Palace may look, it is said to be the most commodious for regal parade of any palace in Europe. The furniture of this palace is unbecoming the place." In this last respect very great improvements have been effected since that author took his interesting walks through London. It is still an irregular brick building of no external beauty, the front of a small part of which, in the form of a gateway, alone appears from the street, but the state apartments look towards the park. These are but one story in height, and appear tolerably regular, though somewhat mean. The south-east wing, in which were the apartments of the maids of honour, was destroyed by an accidental fire in 1809, and has not since been rebuilt. Between 1821 and 1824 the whole of the state apartments have been completely repaired and newly furnished, and thus put in the state now to be described.

These apartments are entered by a passage and staircase of great simplicity. The walls are distempered, of a dead stone colour, and are lighted by Grecian bronze lights, with moon shades placed on plain granite pedestals, which have an air of quakerly neatness, quite in unison with this part of the edifice. The exterior walls are sprinkled with black, in imitation of granite. On ascending is seen a sort of gallery or guard-room, converted into an armory, the walls of which are decorated with daggers, swords, and musquets, in various devices. When a drawing-room is held, this apartment is occupied by the yeomen of the guard in full costume, with their battle-axes in their hands. The next room is a small chamber covered with tapestry, in fine preservation, from the ceiling of which an elegant chandelier depends. When a drawing-room is held, a person attends here to receive the cards containing the names of the parties to be presented, with the circumstances under which the presentation takes place. A duplicate of the card is subsequently handed to the lord in waiting, in order to prevent the introduction of improper persons. The next is the first of a succession of apartments, the last of which is the Presence Chamber. It is fitted up in a style of magnificent splendour. The walls are covered with crimson damask, and the window curtains are of the same material. The cornices and basements are formed of broad carved and gilt moulding, and extend to every part of the room. On entering, the eye of the spectator is first attracted by a looking-glass of unusual magnitude, which reaches completely from the ceiling to the floor. At the east end of the room is a painting of George II, in his parliamentary robes, and on the other walls hang two large pictures of Tournay and of Lisle. The furniture consists of sofas, ottomans, and stools, covered with crimson velvet trimmed with gold lace. From the ceiling hangs a superb or-molu lustre, containing two rows of lights of three branches each; and at each end of the apartment are two splendid candelabra elegantly gilt, calculated to receive twelve lights each.

The next room is fitted up in the same style of decoration, and contains an excellent full-length portrait of George III, in the robes of his order. On each side of these are two paintings of the celebrated sea-fights of Lord Howe on the first June, and of Lord Nelson at Trafalgar. The brilliant effect of the whole is considerably heightened by the addition of three magnificent pier-glasses, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. From the middle of the ceiling also hangs a delicately chased Grecian lustre.

The third and last room is the Presence Chamber, in which the king holds his drawing-rooms. This, in point of gorgeous decoration, far exceeds that of the preceding apartments, although the style is somewhat similar. The throne is splendid, and, in point of size and magnificence of effect, far exceeds that in the House of Lords. It is composed of rich Genoa velvet, thickly covered with gold lace, and is surmounted by a canopy of the same material, on the inside of which is a star embroidered in gold. There are three steps for his Majesty to ascend, which lead to a state chair of exquisite workmanship; close to which is a footstool to correspond. Over the fire-place is a full-length portrait of George IV, in his coronation robes, by Sir Thomas Lawrence. Upon each side of this picture are paintings of the battles of Vittoria and Waterloo. The piers of the room

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1 James, the son of James II, who so long made pretensions to the British throne, was born in the room now called the old bed-chamber, at present the antechamber to the levee room. The bed stood close to the door of a back stair which descends to an inner court. It certainly was very convenient to carry on any secret design, and might favour the silly warming-pan story, had not the bed been surrounded by twenty of the privy-council, four other men of rank, and twenty ladies, besides other attendants. James, with imprudent pride, neglected to disprove the tale, and it was adopted by a party, and perhaps believed by some credulous zealots. are entirely fitted up with plate-glass, before which are some beautiful marble slabs. The window curtains are of crimson satin, trimmed with gold-coloured fringe and lace. The cornices, mouldings, &c. are richly gilt, and the other embellishments and furniture, of corresponding elegance, present a coup d'œil in every way suited to the dignity and splendour of the British court.

Behind the Presence Chamber is his Majesty's closet, in which he gives audience and receives the members of his own family, foreign ambassadors, cabinet ministers, and officers of state. It contains a state chair and footstool; an elegant writing-table with a bulb inkstand, and other useful furniture. The king's dressing or private rooms is beyond this. The dining-room belongs to another suite of apartments, and is admirably fitted up and furnished. Many of the sleeping-rooms are in the house built by William IV., when Duke of Clarence, which has been united by a gallery with the palace. Some members of the royal family have suites of apartments within the palace, as well as the great officers of the household and the guards on duty. There is a chapel for the household and also a German chapel, where divine service is performed after the Lutheran form in the German language.

In passing by Westminster Bridge to the right bank of the Thames, we reach the newly erected borough of Lambeth, where the palace belonging to the Archepiscopal see of Canterbury is well entitled to notice.

Lambeth, in the earliest period of which there are any accounts, was a royal manor, and had a palace, in which King Hardicanute died, after a feast, in 804, and where Harold is said to have seized the crown, and placed it upon his own head. It was then a part of the estate of Goda, who became successively the wife of Walter Earl of Mantis, and of Eustace Earl of Boulogne; she presented it to the church of Rochester, but reserved to herself the ecclesiastical patronage. It became, in 1197, the property of the see of Canterbury, by exchange with Rochester; but the bishop of the latter preserved a small piece of land, on which a house was built for the residence of the bishops, when they were attending on parliament, called Rochester Place. One of the bishops, John de Shepy, in 1357, built Stangate Stairs, to accommodate himself and his retinue, when he had occasion to cross the river to Westminster.

The palace had been built by Bishop Boniface near two centuries before, but, between 1414 and 1443, was much improved by the munificent Bishop Chicheley. He founded the Lollards' Tower, which was a prison for those suspected of heresy, in which are still to be seen rings, to which it is said the followers of Wickliffe were fastened when tortured. Hillsley and Fisher occupied this palace when it fell into the hands of Henry VIII., who exchanged it with the Bishop of Carlisle for some houses in the Strand, and it was then known by the name of Carlisle House.

During the civil wars in the reign of Charles I., Lambeth, like other ecclesiastical property, suffered severely. The fine works of art, and the sacred memorials of the dead, were in most cases sacrificed to puritanical barbarism; so that when, after the restoration, Juxon was appointed to the see, he found it a heap of ruins. During his short priory, he did much to restore it to its former condition, and built a noble apartment, which was afterwards converted into a library.

The founder of the library was Archbishop Bancroft, who left to it all his books, as did his successor Abbot; and has been increased by the several eminent prelates who have since filled the see, so that at present the collection contains more than twenty-five thousand volumes, besides many valuable manuscripts. (See the Article Libraries.) When the long parliament had abolished episcopacy, and the palace was delivered to one of their party, the regicide cott, this valuable library was preserved from destruction, or at least from dispersion, by the discreet and dexterous management of the celebrated Selden. It appears by the bequest of Bancroft, that, in the event of his successors failing to give bond to deliver the books entire from one to the other, they should be given up to Chelsea Hospital. Two years after the execution of Archbishop Laud, the books still remained at Lambeth, when Selden, alarmed for their safety, suggested to the University of Cambridge their right to them. On the claim being made, it was acquiesced in, and the whole were removed to Cambridge. Juxon made application to have the books restored to the original repository, and, though not immediately surrendered, they were so soon afterwards, when Archbishop Sheldon filled the see. That prelate, as well as Tennison, Secker, and Cornwallis, made several additions of considerable value to the library; and almost every one who has held the dignity has been a contributor to the store. This noble collection of books, now exceeding 25,000 volumes, is placed in Juxon's hall, a fine apartment, forming part of the ancient palace. There is a chapel and a vestry adjoining, in which are many portraits of several prelates, and in the banqueting-hall are portraits of all the archbishops from Laud to the present dignitary. By the magnificence and taste of the present archbishop, the domestic part of the palace has been greatly enlarged; a new Gothic wing of great beauty, designed by Mr. Blore, having been erected at an expense of more than £52,000. The whole of the interior is fitted up in a style of simple beauty, oak paneling pervading the edifice, and contrasting finely with the fretted ceilings and ornaments. The study of the archbishop is a noble apartment, forty feet by twenty; the drawing-room is also of fine proportions, commanding, from the ample bay-window, a pleasing prospect of the gardens, and a peep at the abbey and the bridge through the foliage.

Not far from Lambeth is the Surrey Zoological Garden, in which there is a collection of various animals, with a den and pole for bears, a cottage for the wapiti and camel, a ruin for eagles, folds for deer, and a variety of sheds, &c. for various beasts and birds. There is a fine piece of water, and an elegant circular glass-house surrounding the cages of the animals. The whole is laid out with much taste, and excites great delight in the visitors.

Though the government of the far greater portion of the Corporametropolis is under the immediate direction of the Secretary of State for the Home Department, and is adminis-

London. pointed during life. They are chosen for a particular division of the city, called the ward, and in the election all resident freemen are entitled to a vote, whether they have been admitted into the livery of their companies or not. After the election, however, the court of aldermen has the power of rejecting the individual as a member of their body, in which case the election is declared void, and another must be made choice of. If, at the second election, the same person have a majority of votes, those votes are considered as null, and the next on the poll is invested with the dignity. From this choice an appeal may be made to the Court of King's Bench, when the reason for the rejection must be made out to the satisfaction of that tribunal, as happened in the only instance which occurred in modern times. The city is divided into twenty-six wards, each of which has its alderman, and a deputy appointed by him. One of these wards, called the Bridge Without, which was composed of the houses standing on London Bridge, has long ceased to contain any habitations, and the senior alderman is always removed from the ward which chose him, and is installed as alderman of the Bridge ward, and his former place filled by a new choice.

The whole of the common council is chosen on St Thomas's day for the succeeding year; but the former members may be, and for the most part are, rechosen. As the extent of the several wards differs very materially, so does the number, but not in exact proportion, of their representatives in the court of common council. The wards of Bassishaw and Lime Street have four each; Portsoxton has five; Aldgate, Coleman Street, Cornhill, and Queenhithe, have six each; Aldersgate, Candlewick, Cordwainers, Dowgate, and Walbrook, have eight each; Vintry has nine; Broad Street, Castle Baynard, Billingsgate, and Langbourn, have ten each; Bread Street, Cheap, and Tower, have twelve each; Bishopsgate has fourteen; Bridge Within, fifteen; Cripplegate and Farringdon Without, sixteen; and Farringdon Within, seventeen. The ward of Bridge Without can elect none, now that it has no inhabitants. Thus the whole number is two hundred and forty, with which are combined the twenty-six aldermen, making a deliberative assembly of two hundred and sixty-six members, of which the Lord Mayor is always president. They meet in a commodious apartment at Guildhall, where the aldermen have an elevated row of seats at one end; but their votes are counted with those of the common council, who are seated on the floor. The proceedings of this assembly are conducted with regularity, the business of each day being announced to the members by printed notices. Order is maintained by the power of the Lord Mayor, who, if the debate should become intemperate, can, of his own will, close the sitting, by ordering the mace to be removed. The law-officers of the corporation, the Recorder and Common Sergeant, have seats in the court, but no votes, though they mingle in the proceedings, as far as these are connected with legal subjects.

Besides these bodies, two important offices are filled by persons who may or may not be members of the corporation. They are the two sheriffs, who are the executive officers, not only of the city of London, but of the county of Middlesex. To them all writs are directed, and they have the custody of all prisoners, and the painful duty of superintending the execution of all penal laws. It is an honourable office, but an expensive one, unless (which is said to be no uncommon practice of late) the profits of the office of under sheriff are divided between that officer and the high sheriff, who appoints him. The sheriffs are chosen exclusively by the livery, from amongst the freemen. It is customary, on a fixed festival, for the Lord Mayor to drink to the health of a number of gentlemen, which is supposed to be a recommendation of them to the office of sheriff, and such persons frequently compound by a sum of money for not being called upon to serve it. It is not, however, requisite that the health of a person should be drank in this way, as any liveryman, without notice, may propose a sheriff, and he may be chosen, by having a party of his supporters collected in the Guildhall on the day of election, when very few persons attend, if no previous expectation of a contest exists. In this way improper persons have sometimes been chosen, who would not have been elected, if any opposition, followed by a poll, had been previously arranged. In such cases, the character of the other sheriff, and the ancient practice of the city, counteract any bad influence or effect which might arise from such an appointment.

The principal legal officer of the corporation is the Recorder, commonly a barrister of eminence. He is chosen by the court of aldermen alone, and for life. He had a salary of L2500, and besides, might practise as an advocate at the assizes in the counties; but recently, on account of the increase of business, by the act including parts of Kent, Surrey, and Essex within the city criminal court, the salary has been increased to L3500, and he is not now allowed to practise as an advocate. Next to him is the common serjeant, who is also a barrister. He is chosen by the common council, and has a salary of L1500 per annum. Both of these officers sit as judges in the trial of criminal offences committed either within the city of London, or the county of Middlesex, or in those parts of Surrey, Kent, and Essex, which, by the law, have been brought within the limits of the jurisdiction of the court held in the Old Bailey. The chamberlain is an officer of high dignity and ample emolument. He is chosen by the livery at large, and only for one year, but is most commonly rechosen each year, and in regard to long practice, it may be considered as an office for life. He has the care of the money of the corporation, for which he gives sufficient security. All freemen are admitted by him to their freedom upon taking the prescribed oaths; and he has the settlement of all disputes between masters and apprentices. Besides these offices are those of the city remembrancer, the city solicitor, the town-clerk, and the city comptroller, which are important and lucrative, and many interior officers, most of whom, as vacancies occur, are chosen by the court of common council by ballot.

The dignity and power of the first city officer, the Lord Mayor, is very great. He becomes, when sworn in, the king's representative in the civil government of the city; the chief commissioner of the lieutenancy; perpetual coroner and escheator within the city and liberties of the city and borough of Southwark; chief justice of oyer and terminer, and gaol delivery of Newgate; judge of the courts of Wardmote at the election of aldermen; conservator of the rivers Thames and Medway; chief commissioner in all affairs relating to the river Lea; and chief butler to the king at the coronation, for which, as a fee, he is entitled to a gold cup, with a cover and a ewer of gold.

The office is one of the most constant attendance, and such are the restraints of its duties during the year, that whoever undertakes it, usually arranges his commercial affairs so as to be able to withdraw his attention from them altogether, and devote his whole time to the public service. A salary, in some measure appropriate to the dignity of the office, is annually allowed by the corporation, amounting to L8000, besides the use of the magnificent mansion-house as a residence, and the splendid furniture and carriages which have been provided. In the case of liberal and hospitable Lord Mayors this sum has been considerably below the actual expenditure, but with some it has been found sufficient, and a few have been so parsimonious, that they have not nearly expended the amount voted for the support of the office.

One of the greatest occasions of expense consists in the annual procession by land and water, on what is called the Lord Mayor's Day, the 9th of November, when he enters into office. On that occasion the new Lord Mayor meets the aldermen, sheriffs, recorder, and other great officers, at an early hour at the Guildhall, whence, in the state carriage, attended by them in their respective carriages, he proceeds to London Bridge, where they embark in the city state barge, and, accompanied by the barges of the city companies, proceed up the river, and land at Westminster Bridge. The party walk to Westminster Hall, where his Lordship, after some ancient ceremonies, takes the prescribed oaths before the Barons of the Exchequer. He then passes with the recorder to each of the courts in the hall, and invites the several judges to dinner on that day, when he again embarks, and the procession descends the river to Blackfriars Bridge and there lands. From thence his Lordship is preceded by the artillery company, next to which march the company of which he is a member, and then the other city companies in their regular order, with their distinguishing banners and bands of music; amongst the rest, the armourers have usually persons on horseback, completely equipped in various kinds of ancient armour. To these succeed the domestics and servants of the Lord Mayor, and then the state coach, finely ornamented with abundance of gilding, and so large as to contain between the seats two stools, on one of which, facing the door, sits the sword-bearer with the sword of state, and on the other the mace-bearer carrying the city mace. The train is closed by the carriages of the retired Lord Mayor, of the alderman, the recorder, the sheriffs, the chamberlain, the common erciant, the town-clerk, and other great officers, and the procession returns to the Guildhall. This annual procession excites great interest both on land and water, and exhibits an extraordinary display of municipal splendour. The day closes at Guildhall by an entertainment of appropriate magnificence, at which it is common to see members of the royal family, the most distinguished public characters, and often the ambassadors of foreign courts. About a thousand individuals take their seats at this dinner, to which they are admitted by tickets from the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, who, in fixed proportions, bear their share of the expense, which generally amounts to about £3000.

Under the corporation of London criminal justice is extensively administered. At the sessions the Lord Mayor is supposed to preside even when the judges are trying prisoners, and the presence of at least one alderman is deemed necessary. The Lord Mayor sits daily at the Mansion-house for the examination of offenders, and the committal of prisoners for trial; and an alderman, on fixed days in each week, attends for the same purpose at Guildhall, the aldermen being all ex officio justices of the peace. There are inferior courts for the recovery of small debts, and some for the determination of civil causes, such as the Lord Mayor's Court, the Court of Hustings, the Sheriffs' courts, and some others.

The management of the great estates and other property belonging to the corporation require much attention. The care devolves on the court of common council, which, for this purpose, is divided into committees, that regulate whatever relates to the several divisions into which the property is classed, but under the ultimate direction of the general court. Each of these committees has one or more aldermen nominated as members of it, and the other members are appointed by the court in regular rotation. The committees which have the most business to transact are those of the Irish estates, of the city lands, and of the bridge estates; but there are several others, some of them permanent, and others only appointed as occasions require their formation.

This sketch of the corporation of London might have been fuller and more minute if the report of the Commissioners of Municipal Corporation inquiry had been printed. It may be proper, however, to notice the general apprehension, that all corporate bodies will, in a few years, present a different appearance from that which they have hitherto done; and that London, though the last, will certainly undergo a renovation, which may render any greater extension of this branch of our subject an unnecessary and uninteresting enlargement. London, New, a city and port of entry in the United States of North America, in New London county, Connecticut. It is situated on the western bank of the river Thames, three miles from its mouth, and thirteen miles south of Norwich. The town is irregularly laid out, but has convenient public buildings, and churches for Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Baptists, and Methodists. New London harbour is the best in the state; and packets and steam-boats ply regularly between the port and New York. It is defended by Fort Trumbull on the west side of the river, and by Fort Griswold on the east side. There is likewise a lighthouse, which has been erected on a point projecting pretty far into the sound. A considerable commerce is carried on, both in the coasting trade with the southern states, and in foreign trade with the West Indies. The population amounted in 1821 to 3330, and in 1831 to 4356. Long. 72° 9'. W. Lat. 41° 22'. N.