Not far from the Mansion House stands the Bank of England. This building fills a space enclosed by the four streets, Bartholomew Lane, Lothbury, Prince’s Street, and Bank Buildings. It is truly interesting to behold the busy scene that daily passes in the rotunda, amongst the buyers and sellers of stock, or those who are engaged in transferring it, all so eagerly occupied with their affairs, and showing their anxiety by their countenances. Where money is, there the crowd will be; and persons who go to the Bank should be careful lest their pockets be picked of such money as they may have received.
34. St. Paul’s Cathedral.
This is a wonderfully fine building! and the countryman’s amazement on first seeing it, is very naturally expressed in the following lines:
Of all the brave churches I ever did see,
Sure this seems the greatest and grandest to me!
What a wonderful place! I am full of surprise,
And hardly know how to believe my own eyes.
Why sure that gold cross at the top is so high,
That it must, now and then, prick a hole in the sky;
And, for my part, I should not be much in amaze,
If the moon should run foul of it, one of these days.
It is not only the outside of this fine building that commands attention, but the inside also. The whispering gallery, the great bell, the library, and so many other curiosities are to be seen, that even to name the whole would require more space than we can afford in our little work.
A young country gentleman, who was never before on any thing higher than a haystack, has now reached the top of St. Paul’s, and is admiring the prospect from the iron gallery.
Well, certainly, this is a wonderful sight;
And pays one for climbing up here such a height.
Dear, what a large city! and full, in all parts,
Of churches and houses, of horses and carts.
What hundreds of coaches, and thousands of folk!
And then, above all, what a very thick smoke!
I could stand here all day to behold this fine town;
Tho’, as night’s coming on, I had better go down.
I think so too, young gentleman: and mind how you go along the dark staircase, for it would be a sad thing to fall down among that frightful scaffolding. Walk gently, and lay hold of the rail as you go along, and you will be safe enough.