of its previous history, it will be unnecessary here to do more than briefly allude to it.

It was a place of commerce between the Britons and their kindred Gallic neighbours at the time of Julius Cæsar's invasion of the country, and has flourished ever since. From the number and extent of the remains found, it seems to have been an important Roman station; and, in the great insurrection under Boadicea, the Roman garrison and inhabitants were put to the sword. It subsequently, having been devastated and ruined by the Picts and Scots during the confusion which succeeded the departure of the Roman legions, became the capital of the Kingdom of Wessex; but under the Heptarchy, and until the final abandonment of Winchester by the Norman sovereigns, seems to have been a place of minor importance; it then became, as it has remained, the capital of the kingdom. The City of London, properly so called, is of moderate extent, and is probably circumscribed by the old Roman walls; the eleven parishes, now described as "without the walls," having been added at a later period. To show how rapidly the vast agglomeration of dwellings, which now constitutes the Metropolis, has taken place, we cannot do better than recall the fact, that in the reign of Elizabeth, as shown by maps of the period, to the north and westward of the Strand, and on the south bank of the river, were fields and open country. On the Strand, at that time, were principally the dwellings of the great nobility, the localities of which are still preserved in the names of streets leading towards the river, such as Arundel and Surrey. Until old Westminster Bridge was built, commenced in 1739, London Bridge

served as the only stable communication between the inhabitants of the north and south banks of the river. Modern London doubtless owes its present arrangement of streets, and the permanent character of its dwellings, to its greatest calamity, the fire of 1666, in which 13,000 houses were consumed, and of which the Monument, on Fish Street Hill, near London Bridge, marks the limit in one direction. The fact mentioned serves to show of what light and combustible materials the houses, up to that time, were constructed; and to the event, which must have been followed by a long period of suspense and confusion, may be attributed, in great measure, the extension of the suburbs. Subsequent fires have much contributed to further improvements. The burning of the Royal Exchange in 1838, and of St. Stephen's Chapel, the old House of Commons, in 1831, for example, have given occasion for the erection of two of the finest buildings of which the metropolis can now boast.

At the commencement of the present century, the squares of which the British Museum may be considered the nucleus were not in existence; Belgravia was undreamt of, and there are numberless persons in existence, by no means aged, who state that they can recollect snipes being shot in the marshes which are now the sites of the monotonous, densely populated districts of Pimlico. As we shall have to visit many such districts in detail, we forbear further mention of them here, and will proceed to call the attention of the stranger to what we consider the best modes of seeing London, as briefly, and at the same time, as thoroughly as possible.

CHURCHES.

The first place usually visited by the tourist is WESTMINSTER ABBEY, the shrine of the ashes of some of the most illustrious and greatest of England's dead, "in arms, in arts, in song," in rank of nobility, and in statesmanship. A church was first built here by Sebert, King of the East Saxons, or Essex, between 604 and 616, in which he and his queen were buried. This was destroyed by the Danes in the time of Alfred, and rebuilt by Edgar, who made it an abbey for twelve monks of the Benedictine order. It was again rebuilt in a style of greater magnificence by Edward the Confessor, who resided at Westminster, and who was buried here with his wife. This, no longer decisively traceable, was doubtless the kernel of the present building, which assumed its present outline under Henry III., and exhibits traces of additions at various times, until the erection of the superb chapel of Hen. VII., and the western towers by Sir Christopher Wren, the renowned architect of St. Paul's.

As the interior is the most impressive and interesting part, to that we shall confine ourselves. In the parts of the Abbey around which the visitor is allowed to stroll (except during the hours of service) without an attendant, are the monuments of men whose exploits are recorded at sufficient length upon their memorials, erected, for the most part, by the nation. To the mind which wanders into the past, the eastern end is the most interesting. In "Poets' Corner," and in other parts of the building, will be found the memorials of many of the men whose names will ever be associated with the English language as a vehicle for poetic thought:Chaucer, Shakespeare, Spenser, Drayton," Rare

Ben Jonson," Sir Wm. Davenant, Prior, Gray, Gay, Dryden, Rowe, Addison,Cowley, Mason, Southey, Sheridan, Campbell, and others of minor note. Many of these are simply honorary, as the reader will see from the memorials themselves. There are inscribed gravestones over David Garrick, Macpherson, the translator of Ossian, Samuel Johnson, "Old Parr,' who lived 152 years, Macaulay, Dickens, Bulwer, Dr. Livingstone, and numberless persons of greater or less celebrity. Whilst here, the Chapter House, lately restored, should be visited. It was for 300 years the House of Commons, until the reign of Edward VI., when it was made a receptacle for records, and so remained until 1860. No specimen of medieval architecture will impress the stranger more than the Chapel of Henry VII. The uniformity of its design, and the delicacy of the tracery overspreading it in every part, are nowhere equalled in any existing building. The latten screen around the tomb of Henry and his queen is an exquisite piece of metal work; and their effigies, and the designs with which their tomb was adorned, also of metal gilt, have been lately restored from their former blackened state to their original glow. In the mortuary chapels, or chantries lying round this are some of the most interesting monuments within the edifice. Amongst them inay be named the tombs of Edward the Confessor, Henry III., Edward I. and Queen Eleanor, Edward III. and Queen Philippa, Richard 11. and his queen, Henry V., Edward V., Henry VII. and his queen, Anne of Cleves (one of the queens of Henry VIII.), Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth. Other sovereigns: Edward VI., Mary I., James I. and his queen, the Queen of Bohemia his daugh

ter, Charles II., William III. and Mary his queen, Queen Anne, George II., and Queen Caroline. There are many other monuments of members of old baronial families, prelates, and others; also some brasses, interesting as examples of the costumes of various periods. Amongst the statesmen buried here may be named Chatham, Pitt, Fox, Canning, Castlereagh, Peel, and Palmerston. The wish expressed by Lord Palmerston to be buried in his own quiet village churchyard was disregarded in order to do him honour, and Lady Palmerston has since been buried by his side. The estimation in which the honour of being buried here by the nation is held admits of no finer illustration than in the speech of Nelson on the eve of one of his victories: "A peerage, or Westminster Abbey!" He was buried, nevertheless, at St. Paul's. Bulwer (Lord Lytton) was buried in St. Edmond's chapel, near "Poet's Corner," Jan. 25, 1873.

The pretentious-looking pieces of statuary ranged around that portion of the building through which the stranger is allowed to range, are of various degrees of merit, and the visitor may criticise them for himself. They are principally testimonies of a grateful nation to persons whose services are thus recognized, and whose names and deeds are duly inscribed upon them. The nave, transept, and cloisters are free, and the charge for a guide through the rest of the building is 6d. for each person. The colossal statue of James Watt is by Chantrey, and there will be found other works of the same sculptor, as well as of Roubiliac, Flaxman, Bacon, Westmacott, and other celebrated artists. The chair upon which the sovereigns of England have been crowned for many centuries, and