MANSION HOUSE, LONDON, ENGLAND. The Lord-Mayor of London has his official residence at the Mansion House. It is situated nearly opposite the Royal Exchange, on the site of the ancient Stock’s Market; was begun in 1739 and finished in 1741. In its great banqueting hall, known as the Egyptian Hall, are given the state banquets. Formerly it was the ambition of every great London merchant and banker to become Lord-Mayor, but since the district actually under his jurisdiction has come to be a very small part of what is known as London, the importance of this functionary has greatly diminished in the eyes of all save foreigners. As the dispenser of civic hospitality he receives £8000 a year, with the use of the Mansion House, furniture, carriages, &c.
LONDON BRIDGE, LONDON, ENGLAND. This is not the London bridge of Shakespeare’s time, for that was a wooden structure, lined with houses on either side. The present London bridge is substantially built of granite on the site of the older one. It cost £2,566,268, and was opened to the public on August 1st, 1831, by King William IV. There are five arches, the central one having a span of one hundred and fifty-two feet. The entire length is nine hundred and twenty-eight feet and the width fifty-four. A curious interest attaches to the lamp posts along the side, which are cast from the metal of French cannon captured in the Peninsular War. The constant stream of traffic that pours across this bridge is prodigious. It is estimated that every twenty-four hours no less than twenty thousand vehicles and one hundred and seven thousand pedestrians are borne along in the opposing currents.
TRAFALGAR SQUARE, LONDON. The battle of Trafalgar (22d October, 1805) was won over the combined French and Spanish fleet by the English, under Lord Nelson, who lost his life at the very moment of victory. One of the finest open places in London is named after the conflict. In the centre a massive granite column, one hundred and forty-five feet in height, rises to the memory of the great admiral, whose statue surmounts it. The pedestal is adorned with reliefs in bronze, cast with the metal of French captured cannon, and representing scenes in the career of Nelson. Four colossal bronze lions, modeled by Sir Edwin Landseer, in 1867, crouch upon pedestals running out from the column in the form of a cross. The square is paved with asphalt. Statues of Sir Henry Havelock, of Sir Charles James Napier and of George IV are distributed around it. Towards the north side are two fountains, and on the terrace to the north rises the National Gallery, with the interesting old church of St. Martin in the Fields by its side.
THAMES EMBANKMENT, LONDON, ENGLAND. At an early period the banks of the Thames River had many wide stretches of marsh land, covered by shallow lagoons. From time to time embankments have been erected, some of them dating from the time of the Romans. The greatest of all these works is the new Victoria Embankment, leading from Blackfriars Bridge towards the west, along the north bank of the Thames as far as Westminster. Built in 1864–70, under the direction of Sir Joseph W. Bazalgette, it cost nearly $10,000,000. It consists of a macadamized carriageway about two thousand three hundred yards in length and sixty-four feet wide. The foot pavement on the land side is sixteen feet broad and on the river side twenty feet. This entire area was formerly covered by the tide twice a day. A granite wall eight feet thick protects it on the side next the Thames. Rows of trees have been planted along the sides of the Embankment, which will eventually make it a shady and delightful promenade. At intervals are large openings, with stairs leading to the floating steamboat piers. It is illuminated at night by electricity.
KENILWORTH CASTLE, ENGLAND. One of the stateliest of feudal remains in all England is this ruined castle, situated on rising ground to the west of the village of Kenilworth. Picturesque in itself, famous as it is in history, it yet derives its chief charm from the glamour thrown over it by Walter Scott in the novel which he has named after it. Kenilworth Castle first takes a prominent position in history as one of the strongholds of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, in his rebellion against Henry III. Subsequently it passed into the possession of John of Gaunt, who enlarged and beautified it. But its highest fame results from the fact that Queen Elizabeth bestowed it upon her favorite, Robert Leicester, Earl of Dudley, and it was here that Amy Robsart ended her unhappy life. Cromwell dismantled the castle. Since his day it has suffered much from the ravages of time, but even in ruins it retains a potency to delight and to impress.
