THE TOWER OF LONDON, ENGLAND. In all the world there is no more famous fortress than this ancient citadel of London. Situate in the oldest portion of the city, on the north bank of the Thames, it at once arrests the attention of every stranger in the English metropolis. Tradition ascribes its erection to Julius Cæsar, but tradition is unsupported by historical evidence, and at the most it is only conjectured that the Romans had a fortress on this site. It may be stated authoritatively, however, that the Keep or White Tower (so named because it was formerly whitewashed), which is now the oldest extant portion of the citadel, was built by William the Conqueror. As the council chamber of the ancient kings of England, and subsequently as a prison of state for political offenders, its glory and its shame are part and parcel of the glory and the shame of all England. Some of the most momentous events in the history of the country were enacted within its walls. From an early period it has been the depository of the ornaments and jewels of the crown.
WESTMINSTER ABBEY, LONDON. This is the supremely interesting spot in all London. Its exquisite architecture would alone ennoble it. But as the sepulchre of sovereigns, heroes, statesmen, authors and poets, as the scene of some of the most hallowed events in English history, it makes an even more serious appeal to the imagination. Its very history is involved in becoming mystery. Tradition asserts that on this site Sebert, King of the Saxons, built a church and dedicated it to St. Peter. More authentic history ascribes its inception to Edward the Confessor, who designed it for his own burial place. Hence, other royal interments followed. William the Conqueror was crowned here within a few yards of the Confessor’s tomb, and every succeeding sovereign of England has followed his example. It also has continued to be the favorite spot for royal weddings and funerals. As it now stands the Abbey was for the most part rebuilt by Henry III. Henry VII added the famous chapel which bears his name, and the two towers on the front were placed there by Christopher Wren. The Poet’s Corner in the south transept contains tombs or monuments in honor of many of the most famous of English literary worthies.
ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL, LONDON. This, the metropolitan church of London, is one of the largest and, without exception, the most conspicuous of its edifices. Built on a slight eminence, which is said to have been anciently occupied by a temple to Diana, it is the last of a series of Christian churches that succeeded to the Pagan temple. The first, founded about 610, was destroyed by fire in 1087. The second succumbed to the Great Fire of 1666. The present church was begun June 21st, 1675, and was finished in thirty-five years, under one architect, Sir Christopher Wren. The whole cost, £747,954 2s. 9d., was paid by a tax on every chaldron of coal brought into London. The structure is five hundred and fifty feet from east to west by one hundred and twenty-five feet in width; the front is one hundred and eighty feet wide, and the top of the cross is four hundred feet from the crypt floor. Carlyle said of it that it was the only edifice that struck him with a proper sense of grandeur.
HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, LONDON, ENGLAND. This is the largest, and in some respects the most imposing, of all the public edifices in England. Gothic in style, in size, at least, it surpasses any other Gothic building in the world. And in respect to its equipments and the excellent adaptation of every part to the purposes for which it was erected and for the transaction of the business to which it is consecrated it is absolutely unrivaled. Both Houses, Lords and Commons, meet within its walls. Yet it is a comparatively modern structure. Occupying the site of the Royal Palace, dwelt in by every English monarch from the time of Edward the Confessor to Queen Elizabeth, the corner-stone of the present building was not laid until April 27th, 1840. It covers about eight acres of ground, and has four fronts, the longest and most effective of which, facing the river Thames, is nine hundred and forty feet long. The Victoria Tower at the south-west angle, which is about three hundred and forty feet high and admirably proportioned, is one of its most effective features.
BANK OF ENGLAND, LONDON. This, the most celebrated moneyed institution in the world, is situated on Threadneedle Street. Hence, it is sometimes facetiously alluded to as “The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.” It has a branch in the West End of London and nine branches in the provinces. It was founded July 27th, 1694, as a joint stock association, with a capital of £1,200,000, which was lent at eight per cent. interest to the government of William and Mary. And as it began as a servant of the government so it has continued. At the present moment it has the management of the public debt and the paying of interest thereon, it holds the deposits belonging to government and aids in the collection of the public revenue. It is the bank of all the other banks in England. Its notes are legal tender, and are convertible into coin. Its credit and reputation have been absolutely unequaled by any other establishment of the sort. Hence, the recent discovery of a deficit of £5,000,000 shook the financial world to its centre. But the bank has been able to meet the emergency.
