unfrequently are to be witnessed scenes like that depicted in the engraving.

If we choose King William Street, and take one of the conveyances running southwards from the Bank, we soon reach the great waterway of London, the River Thames. It is here crossed by London Bridge, a name most famous in the City annals, the site of many an exciting and tragic event in London's history, and during twelve hours in the day probably the most crowded spot on earth. There is evidence for the belief that a bridge stood here in Roman times, and it is certain that our Saxon ancestors possessed one. The Sagas commemorate the great battle fought here in 1008, in which Olaf the Saint,

King of Norway, and converter of that land to Christianity, took part. He has left traces of his influence not only in the fact that three City churches were dedicated to him, but also because the Tooley Street on the south bank of the Thames is really St. Olave's Street. The first stone bridge over the Thames was built in 1176 by a noted architect, Peter, the curate of St. Mary Colechurch in Cheap. And so well did he do his work that, with patchings and restorations and alterations, it actually stood until the nineteenth century. It took Peter thirty-three years to complete his work, and a very remarkable piece of building it was. There were no less than nineteen arches, the piers occupying at low water, it has been calculated, about 700 out of the 900 feet of waterway. Hence there was considerable obstruction to navigation, many an exciting adventure, and much loss of life and property. Royal personages and State prisoners on their way to or from the Tower by water, had to consult the tide before venturing to shoot the bridge. One reason for these numerous and substantial piers was that Peter built a little town as well as a bridge. Upon the central pier he placed a chapel dedicated to Thomas à Becket, 65 feet long, 20 wide, and 40 high. It could be entered from the bridge level, and also by steps from the river. In the crypt of this chapel he himself was buried in 1205. Upon the outer piers there stood for centuries houses of different kinds. A roadway

ran through the centre of the bridge, closed at either end by a massive gateway, and there were three 'vacancies' or gratings through which the boats passing up or down could be seen. Near the Southwark end was a drawbridge, and the gate at that end was known as the Traitors' Gate, from the fact that here the heads of many of those who had been executed for high treason were exposed. It was here that the head of Wallace, the Scotch

hero, was exposed in 1305, and here, two centuries later, crowds came to gaze upon the disfigured features of Bishop Fisher and Sir Thomas More.

Across the bridge in 1381 Wat Tyler and his undisciplined crowd of Kent and Surrey men streamed to the sack of the Tower; here, in 1390, Sir David Lindsay met and defeated, in deadly conflict, Lord Wells; over these

old arches, in 1415, Henry V., then only twenty-seven years of age, amid the most extravagant civic rejoicings, passed in triumphant state, leading in his train the prisoners taken at the battle of Agincourt, little dreaming that, seven years later, his body would be borne along the same pathway, amid a nation's lamentations, to its final resting-place in Westminster Abbey. In the reign of Elizabeth, the bridge was restored, Nonsuch House, a four-story wooden edifice, was built just to the north of the drawbridge, and a new gate at the Southwark end was put up by the City. Fires in 1632 and 1666 destroyed many of the old houses, but they were not finally swept away until about 1760. Pennant thus describes the old bridge: This great work was founded on enormous piles, driven as closely as possible together; on their tops were laid long planks, ten inches thick, strongly bolted, and on them was placed the base of the pier, the lowermost stones of which were bedded in pitch, to prevent the water from damaging the work. Round all were the piles called the starlings, designed for the preservation of the foundation piles. These contracted the space between the piers so greatly as to occasion at the retreat of every tide a fall of five feet, or a number of temporary cataracts, which since the foundation of the bridge have occasioned the loss of many thousand lives. The water at spring-tide rises to about the height of eighteen feet. The length of this vast work is nine hundred and fifteen feet, the exact breadth of the river. The number of arches was nineteen, of unequal dimensions, and greatly deformed by the starlings and the houses on each side, which overhung and leaned in a most terrific manner. In most places they hid the arches, and nothing appeared but the rude piers. I well remember the street on London Bridge, narrow, darksome, and dangerous to dangerous to passengers from the multitude of carriages ; frequent arches of strong timber crossed the street, from the tops of the houses, to keep them together, and from falling into the river. Nothing but use could preserve the rest of the inmates, who soon grew deaf to the noise of the falling waters, the clamour of watermen, or the frequent shrieks of drowning wretches.'

Such being the character of the old bridge, it is no wonder that men used to say: 'If London Bridge had fewer eyes it would see better,' and 'London Bridge was made for wise men to go over, and fools to go under.' Even in Fuller's days he could write: 'The middle thereof is probably in none, the two ends in two counties, Middlesex and Surrey. Such who only see it beneath, where it is a bridge, cannot suspect it should be a street; and such who behold it above, where it is a street, cannot believe it is a bridge.'

It was not until 1823 that the Corporation decided to build a new bridge. But if tardy in taking the matter up, they did it thoroughly when it was once resolved upon. The work began in 1824, and the present structure was opened in 1831. It is a very fine piece of architecture and

1 Some Account of London, Fourth edition, 1805, p. 282.

cost, together with the approaches, £1,500,000. It spans the river in five fine arches, which offer little, if any, resistance to the tide or the stream. Notwithstanding the opening in recent years of others, such as Southwark, Blackfriars, and Waterloo, it is still the main crossing to the south bank of the Thames. The engraving gives a good impression of the normal condition of its traffic. From 20,000 to 25,000 vehicles cross it every day, the stream of foot-passengers, especially morning and evening, is crowded and almost continuous, swelled by the great railway terminus which adjoins the southern side. It has been estimated that over 150,000 human beings cross London Bridge every week-day.

The region around the southern approach to London Bridge is full of interest to the lover of the past. Here stands the Church of St. Mary Overy, one of the finest in London; here formerly stood Winchester House, the ancient episcopal residence of the bishops of that see; hard by, along the river bank, stood the theatre in which both Shakespeare and Ben Jonson played their parts; within a five minutes' walk were situated the old Tabard Inn, to which Chaucer's pilgrims resorted-now, alas! a commonplace London ginpalace and other famous hostelries, of which only the White Hart allows the visitor to see any traces of the ancient glory, the Marshalsea Prison, and Bermondsey Priory. Over the old bridge and along the Old Kent Road went for centuries the greater part of the traffic from London to Canterbury, Dover, and the Continent. Immediately below the bridge is the part of the Thames known as the Pool, and here the visitor interested in shipping may at almost any hour of the day or night obtain ample evidence of the importance and activity of London as a great shipping centre.

Returning to the Exchange, and turning our faces westwards, we have two routes before us, each abounding in associations of very great value, and illustrating the perennial interest of this great London. Choosing one of the newest streets, we cross at its very threshold a trace of the most ancient London. The street called Walbrook, running along the western side of the Mansion House, enshrines in its name quite a volume of ancient history