to be tired to the heart and soul of me, I never hesitated to go a little out of the way, purely that I might pass through Gerard-street, and so give myself the shadow of a pleasant thought."

Of mighty minds doth hallow, in the core
Of human hearts, the ruin of a wall

Where dwelt the wise and wondrous."

A few preliminary remarks touching the statistics of the city, and we commence our ad libitum perambulations in quest of these choice memorials of the gifted and the great: and in soliciting the reader to accompany us, we may be allowed to premise that in our pleasant pursuit, we may have to pass through many sinuous streets and dark ignoble alleys, now almost impervious to the light of heaven.

Next to old Rome, London boasts a greater antiquity than any of the existing Capitals of the world. It is commonly supposed that the Roman occupation of Britain formed but a brief episode in the history of the latter; yet it is asserted by no less an authority than Camden, that it was a Roman tributary during four hundred and seventysix years. Other historians insist that it existed nearly six centuries. Leaving such inquiries, however, to be determined by more competent pens, we shall content ourself with merely picking up

by the way-side, whatever we may, of the shreds and patches of her history, as they still exist in shattered stones, mouldering monuments, or dilapidated dwelling-places. The most ancient relic of its Roman history is doubtless London Stone, concerning which we shall speak hereafter more particularly. Some vestiges of the Roman wall have been at different times discovered within various sections of the ancient city limits. The four principal gates were the following:-Aldgate, on the east; Bridgegate, on the south; Newgate, on the west; Aldersgate, on the north. There were others also, from which the names have descended, Ludgate, Botolph-gate, Cripplegate, Temple-bar, Tower postern, Dowgate, and Billingsgate, or Belins-gate from its founder of that name, who flourished, according to redoubtable authorities, about the fourth century prior to the Christian era. In early Roman records, the Thames is referred to as a very narrow tributary stream. The original site of the city was bounded on the south by the Thames, and on the north by the marshes, as is clearly indicated by the name still retained, Finsbury, from fens, marshy ground. The distance from the Tower to Blackfriars is about a mile, so that Roman London was not of great extent. Fleet-street, so named from the

stream that formerly ran through it, was crossed by a bridge at the junction of Ludgate, which latter was a royal residence in the time of King John. On its site Bridewell was afterwards erected, and it was there Henry VIII. entertained Charles V., in 1522. From being a royal residence it at length fell into disrepute, and was used as a prison for debtors and petty offenders. London, as to its name, according to the best authorities, is derived from Llyn-Din, "the town on the lake." Cæsar, who effected a landing on the island after a severe struggle in the year 53 B.C., is the first writer from whom any authentic accounts of the ancient Britons have descended to us. Druidism obtained in all its horrors in ancient Britain, if it did not indeed originate there. 'Stone-henge,' near Salisbury, is a proof of this. At the eastern extremity of the city, on the banks of the Thames, stands the ancient Tower of London, built by Julius Cæsar-the sanguinary memorial of the terrible despotisms and cruelties of the barbaric age. On the west, the venerable Abbey of Westminster rears itself in lofty and imposing grandeur, within whose mouldering arches repose the ashes of the mighty dead: while central to the city proper, rises the majestic cathedral of St. Paul, with one solitary exception the most sym

metrical and splendid temple in Christendom, whose colossal dome, peering through the dusky atmosphere, seems to keep saintly vigils over the vast metropolis. In juxtaposition with Westminster Abbey, may be seen that sumptuous gothic pile, the new Houses of Parliament, in which the collective wisdom of a nation is convened, to arbitrate the destinies and enact the laws that govern the realm. This close proximity of Westminster Abbey with the two Houses of Parliament seems to present a curious type of the union of Church and State.

It is singular to reflect, that a little more than two centuries ago, it was deemed necessary by Queen Elizabeth, to issue a proclamation against the erection of any new buildings-the extent of the city, as it then existed, being considered by her ladyship as positively alarming. Queen Victoria, however, seems to entertain a very different opinion, for she not only permits the removal of dark and narrow alleys, which excluded the light of heaven, to make way for the erection of broad streets adorned with splendid edifices in their stead, but she has even added to the mammoth city during the last ten years, no less than two hundred miles of new streets! It is estimated by Cunningham that if the streets of the Metropolis were put to

gether they would extend to 3000 miles in length. The main thoroughfares are traversed by 3000 omnibuses, and 3500 cabs (besides private carriages and carts,) employing 40,000 horses.

In addition to these noisy and thronged thoroughfares, we have what has been called "the silent highway" of the Thames, running through the heart of the Metropolis, and traversed continually by hundreds of steamboats, which take up and set down passengers at the different places between Chelsea and Gravesend.

So much for the internal communications of the Metropolis. Its connection with the provinces is kept up by the various railways which diverge from it in every direction. By means of these different lines, along which the telegraph is laid down, the Metropolis is put in instant connection with upwards of a hundred of the chief cities and towns of the United Kingdom. The telegraph is also laid down beneath the streets between the City and the West End, a branch office being situated at the Strand, (sending a wire to the Government offices at Whitehall). From the London Bridge wharf and from the Tower-stairs, start the various Continental steamers.

"By the latest returns," (we cite the testimony of a recent London journalist,) "the metropolis cover