City Scenes; or, a peep into London

Transcribed from the 1828 Harvey and Darton edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org
LONDON Published by Harvey & Darton
Gracechurch Street. 1828 .
Come, peep at London’s famous town, Nor need you travel there; But view the things of most renown, Whilst sitting in your chair. At home, an hundred miles away, ’Tis easy now to look At City Scenes, and London gay, In this my little book. Yes, there in quiet you may sit, Beside the winter’s fire, And see and hear as much of it, As ever you desire. Or underneath the oak so grey, That stands upon the green, May pass the summer’s eve away, And view each City Scene. There’s great St. Paul’s, so wondrous wide, The Monument so tall, And many curious things beside The Giants in Guildhall. The post-boy galloping away, With letter-bag you’ll find: The wharf, the ship, the lady gay, The beggar lame and blind. The boatman plying at his oar, The gard’ner and his greens, The knife-grinder, with many more Of London’s City Scenes.
Here is Farmer Clodpole, who lives a hundred miles from London, coming to see it at last. They have just reached the top of a hill, and catch a fine view of the city.
“What! is that Lunnun , coachey? Well, I’m glad to see it at last; for I, that’s only used to jog along a few miles in our cart, don’t much fancy this jumbling and jolting. But what a smoke they are in, master coachman: I shall be glad enough to get back again, if I am always to be in such a puther . Pray, what’s that there great round thing in the midst of the housen? Oh! St. Paul’s: why that beats our parish church all to pieces. Well, drive away, coachey, that I may see all the fine things; and nobody shall laugh at me any more, because I have not seen Lunnun .”
There is the Monument: it is situated on the east side of Fish Street Hill, and is the highest column in the world. It was erected in remembrance of the great fire of London, which broke out in Pudding Lane , very near Fish-Street Hill, destroying all the buildings from Tower Wharf in the east, to Temple church in the west; and from the north end of Mincing Lane, to the west end of Leadenhall Street; passing to Threadneedle Street, thence in a direct line to Holborn Bridge, and extending northward to Smithfield, when, after having burnt down thirteen thousand and two hundred houses, it terminated.