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 1834, 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 ex

ploits 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 of 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, and numberless persons of greater or less celebrity, whose names will be interesting, in exact proportion to the visitor's knowledge of English art and literature. Whilst here,

the most interesting monuments within the edifice. Amongst them may be named the tombs of Edward the Confessor, Henry III., Edward I. and Queen Eleanor, Edward III. and Queen Philippa, Richard II. 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 daughter, 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.

The list of other eminent persons connected with or buried at Westminster, is altogether too long for insertion here. 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, Westma-cott, and other celebrated artists. The chair upon which the sovereigns of England have been crowned for many centuries, and which serves as a frame for the stone of Scone, upon which the kings of Scotland had been, from time immemorial, crowned, up to the period when Edward I. invaded that country, and brought it away in token of the absolute subjection of the Scots, is shown here. There is a more modern throne, which was made very much after the fashion of the older one, for the coronation of Queen Mary with her husband, William of Orange. Two plainer pieces of furniture cannot well be imagined.

The column with allegorical figures upon it, a few paces beyond the Abbey enclosure, at the westend, is a monument to such of the officers who fell in the Crimea as had been educated at Westminster school.

Next in antiquarian interest to Westminster Abbey amongst the Churches, stands undoubtedly that of the TEMPLE. It is the best remaining monument of the semireligious, semi-military order by which it was founded. It was restored by the wealthy societies, to which it now belongs, in all its former magnificence, and with the most scrupulous regard to the architectural proprieties, between 1839-42, at a cost of about £70,000.

In the burial ground, north-east of the choir, will be found a stone with the simple, but all-sufficient inscription, "Here lies Oliver Goldsmith.' The effigies of crosslegged Knights Templar, in black marble, in the church, are very interesting. The learned Selden is buried here, and in the Triforium will now be found many of the monuments of the sixteenth century and later times, with which the body of the church was formerly disfigured. The keys of the church are kept by the porter, at the top of Inner Temple Lane, but a person is usually in attendance within the church.

While in the precincts of the Temple, a visit may be paid to the Middle and Inner Temple Halls, with their fine oaken ceilings, old paintings, and blazonries; and to the Middle Temple Library, a modern erection, nearer the river. The Temple Gardens are a pleasant promenade.

ST. PAUL'S is, without exception, the grandest building of its kind in the kingdom. The Fire of London afforded scope for the erection of this creation of Sir Christopher Wren's genius. It occupied 35 years in building, yet was completed under the superintendence of one architect, one builder, and during the presidency over the see of one bishop. It is the Walhalla of England, as the inscriptions upon the monuments will explain. Nelson and Wellington are buried here. Finished in 1710, all the monuments which are erected in it are to persons whose exploits and works are the subjects of comparatively recent records. The length from east to west is 510 ft.; the width of the transept 250 ft. The height of the dome to the top of the cross is 404 ft. The sarcophagus, which contains Nel

Edward Dyer, the friend of Sydney; Fletcher (with whom Beaumont was associated); and Massinger, the dramatic poet.

St. Helen's, Bishopsgate-street, contains some altar tombs with effigies of Sir John Crosby (founder of the hall in the same street, which bears his name, and has been restored within a few years); Sir Thomas Gresham, founder of the first Royal Exchange in London, and other persons of note in their day.

St. Giles, Cripplegate, is an ancient church, principally visited as the burial-place of Milton, who composed "Paradise Lost" in this parish (house destroyed in 1864). Fox the martyrologist, and Speed the historian, are also buried, and Oliver Cromwell was married, here. The Register records the burial of Defoe.

At St. Pancras, Euston-road, are buried Godwin the novelist; Mary Wolstonecraft his first wife, authoress of the "Vindication of the Rights of Woman," and mother of Mrs. Shelley; Dr. Walker, author of the "English Pronouncing Dictionary," Jeremy Collier, and Ned Ward, author of the "London Spy."

St. Mary-le-Savoy, or, as it is best known, the Savoy Chapel, lies between the Strand and the Thames. It was burnt in 1864 and perfectly restored by the Queen in 1865. Here were buried Gawain Douglas, Bishop of Dunkeld, the translator of Virgil; and George Wither the poet. The "Savoy Conference" for the revision of the Liturgy, on the restoration of Charles II., took place here.

As more than fifty of the city churches were designed by Wren, it will be understood that most of them are modern and comparatively uninteresting, except for their associations, which we shall

briefly point out. At St. Paul's (Covent-garden), built by Inigo Jones, are buried Butler, the author of "Hudibras;" Wycherley, the dramatist; Grinling Gibbons, the sculptor and carver in wood; Mrs. Centlivre, dramatic writer; Dr. Arne, the musical composer; Girtin, founder of the modern school of water-colour painting; and John Wolcot (Peter Pindar) the satirist.

At St. Bride's, Fleet-street, were buried, in the old church: Wynkin de Worde, the printer; Sir Richard Baker, author of the "Chronicle;" and Lovelace, the poet; in the new: Ogilby, translator of Homer; Sandford, author of "Genealogical History;" and Richardson the novelist. There is a copy from Rubens' "Descent from the Cross," in stained glass.

In St. Stephen's, Walbrook, behind the Mansion-house, one of Wren's best efforts, lies Sir John Vanbrugh, the architect and wit; the last-named quality has been exercised at his expense in the well-known epitaph suggested for him:

"Lie heavy on him, Earth! for he Laid many a heavy load on thee."

In St. Magnus, London-bridge, lies Miles Coverdale, one of its rectors, Bishop of Exeter, and the first translator of the Bible into English.

In St. James's, Piccadilly, is a beautiful font in marble, and some foliage over the altar, by Grinling Gibbons. Buried here are the Vanderveldes, the marine painters; Tom D'Urfey, the dramatist; Dr. Arbuthnot, the friend of Pope, Swift, and Gay; Akenside, the poet; Sir William Jones, the Oriental scholar; Yarrell, the naturalist; and Gillray, the caricaturist.

St. George's, Hanover-square, is the most fashionable church in