LONDON: PRINTED BY VIRTUE AND CO., LIMITED, CITY ROAD LANDSCAPE Add to Lib. Farrand Gift PREFACE. L ONG ago, when I was a boy at a private tutor's near Edmonton, the only book in which I could find any interest or amusement in the scanty library of the house was Charles Knight's "London," and the pleasure derived from it led to my spending every sixpence I could save, and every holiday on which I could get leave, in seeing some of the places it described. London is much changed since that time; but the solitary expeditions I then made through its historic sights, so inexpressibly delightful at the time, laid a foundation for the work of the last two years, of which these volumes are the result. They aim at nothing original, indeed any one who attempts a work of the kind must, to borrow the language of the author of "Eöthen," be "subjected to the immutable law which compels a man with a pen in his hand to be uttering now and then some sentiment not his own, as though, like the French peasant under the old régime, he were bound to perform a certain amount of work on the public highways." But, when I was wishing to know something about London myself, in spite of the multiplicity of works upon the subject, I felt the want of having things brought together in the order in which they occur, of one recollection being interlaced with another in a way which might help me to remember it, and this is what I have tried to do for others. In these two volumes I believe that all the objects of interest in London are described consecutively, as they may be visited in excursions, taking Charing Cross as a centre. The first volume is chiefly devoted to the City, the second to the West End and Westminster. I have followed the plan adopted in my books on Italy, of introducing quotations from other and better authors, where they apply to my subject; and, while endeavouring to make "Walks in London" something more interesting than a Guide-book, I have tried, especially in Westminster Abbey and the Picture Galleries, to give such details as may suggest new lines of inquiry to those who care to linger and investigate. The Histories of London, and the Histories of especial points connected with London, are too numerous to mention. They are all to be found in the admirable Library at the Guildhall, which is the greatest advantage to a local antiquarian, and leaves little to be desired except a better Catalogue. Of the various works by which I have benefited in my own rambles through London, I should mention with marked gratitude the many volumes of Mr. John Timbs, especially his "Curiosities of London," enriched by "Sixty Years' Personal Recollections," and the admirable articles |