little volume embodies the idea thrown out by the writer of the article; but I have worked in the spirit of its suggestion, and, I hope, not unsuccessfully. For other particulars, and for a more detailed and historical account of antiquarian London, and of streets and places no longer existing, the reader is referred to the "Handbook for London, Past and Present," by the same author. VICTORIA ROAD, KENSINGTON, PETER CUNNINGHAM. INTRODUCTORY HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS. 1. Situation of the Metropolis.-2. Population.-3. Statistics of its Consumption, &c.-4. Political and Municipal Divisions.-5. Social Divisions-the West End.-6. The City.-7. Great Thoroughfares running East and West.-8. Ditto running North and South.9. Railway Stations.-10. How to see London quickly.-11. How to see London leisurely.-12. Its Six great Architectural Centres.13. The Parks.-14. The Silent Highway and its Bridges.-15. A Sail from "the Pool" to Gravesend.-16. A Sail from Hampton Court to Westminster Bridge.-17. General Hints to Strangers.18. Cabs.-19. Omnibuses.-20. Letters.-21. Where to Lodge.22. Where to Dine and Sup.-23. Theatres and Operas.24. Panoramas and Miscellaneous Exhibitions.-25. Performances of Interest to the Musician.-26. Objects of Interest to the Painter and Connoisseur.-27. To the Sculptor.-28. To the Architect and Engineer.-29. To the Antiquarian.-30. Places and Sights which a Stranger must see.-31. Remarkable Places near London which a Stranger should see.-32. Residences of Foreign Ambassadors and Consuls. LONDON, the Metropolis of Great Britain and Ireland, the Mart of the world, and, according to Sir John Herschel, the centre of the terrestrial globe, is situated upon the River Thames, about fifty miles from its mouth; the northern or richer portion lying in the counties of Middlesex and Essex, the southern in Surrey and Kent. This great capital, formed by the cities of London and Westminster, and the boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lambeth, Finsbury, and Marylebone, was not inaptly described by M. Say, the French political economist, when he said of it, "Londres n'est plus une ville: c'est une province couverte de maisons!” § 2. Its population, according to the census of 1851, has reached the enormous number of 2,363,141, (1,104,358 males; 1,258,785 females). The stranger who passes along its main thoroughfares, or traverses its river, however much he might be struck with its magnitude, is yet totally unable thereby to form a true notion of what it really is; it is only when he looks at the aggregate of the petty details, that make no striking appearance at the moment, that he finds, indeed, what a vast camp of human beings is around him. § 3. In the year 1849, the Metropolis consumed 1,600,000 quarters of wheat; whilst 240,000 bullocks, 1,700,000 sheep, 28,000 calves, and 35,000 pigs, represented the butchers' meat upon its groaning board; and one market alone (Leadenhall) supplied 4,024,400 head of game. This, together with 3,000,000 of salmon, irrespective of other fish and flesh, was washed down by 43,200,000 gallons of porter and ale, 2,000,000 gallons of spirits, and 65,000 pipes of wine. To fill its milk and cream jugs, 13,000 cattle are kept. To light it by night, 360,000 gas-lights fringe the streets, consuming, every 24 hours, 13,000,000 cubic feet of gas. Its arterial or water system supplies the enormous quantity of 44,383,328 gallons per day, while its venous or sewer system carries off 9,502,720 cubic feet of refuse. To warm its people and to supply its factories, a fleet, containing upwards of a thousand sail, is employed bringing annually 3,000,000 tons of coal, the smoke of which has been often traced as far as Reading, 32 miles' distance, where, at times, it was so dense that the elder Herschel was unable to take observations. To clothe its multitudes, we find, by the "London Directory," that there are 23,517 tailors, 28,579 bootmakers, and upwards of 40,000 milliners and dress-makers; whilst the domestic servants amount to an army of 168,701. By the colossal proportions of these detached statistical fragments, we are enabled to judge of the vast extent of this mighty city; as by the sight of the gigantic granite hand in the British Museum the imagination speedily builds up the towering statue of the ancient Egyptian god. § 4. The first and most natural action of a stranger, upon his first visit to London, is to consult its map-just as he scans narrowly the face of a new acquaintance. Let us spread out Wyld's Post-office Map, which is as good as any other, and run over with him its main divisions and characteristic features. Its political and municipal divisions are soon told. |