Part 8 (1/2)
Letter 22.
LONDON.
DEAR CHARLEY:--
No one comes to London without being told by every one to go and see the parks; so we have been to see these fine breathing places. Hyde Park is about four hundred acres, and has as many as half a dozen great entrances. Its position is high, and it is the great drive of the people of fas.h.i.+on. If you want to see London, you must come here on a fine summer day in June, at about four o'clock, and you will gaze on the finest and gayest equipages of England. A very pretty piece of water is in this park, which is called ”the Serpentine River.” The best skating of London is to be seen here, we are told, in hard winters. The entrance from Piccadilly is by a fine threefold arch. Here is the great Achilles of bronze, in honor of Wellington, made out of the cannon which the duke captured in Spain. St. James's and the Green Park: this is the oldest in London, and was made by Henry VIII. A fine arch affords entrance from Piccadilly, having a bronze colossal equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington. You get grand views of the Abbey towers, Buckingham Palace, the York Column, and other objects of interest. The two parks are about one hundred and fifty acres. Regent's Park is one of the most attractive spots in this great city. Here are villas of the finest kind.
Some of the prettiest terraces and rows of houses about London are here to be seen. This park contains nearly five hundred acres, and, among other attractions, the Botanical and Zoological Gardens, and the Coliseum. Victoria Park, near Bethnal Green, is a new one, of about three hundred acres; but we did not visit it.
Besides these, there are more than thirty squares, some of which are very beautiful, and are finely planted and adorned. Belgrave Square is exceedingly rich in its appearance; the houses are built in the Corinthian order.
Northumberland House, at Charing Cross, is the city residence of the Duke of Northumberland. This, externally, has no great beauty, but is surmounted by the lion of the Percy family. It was built in 1605. This n.o.ble mansion has been politely opened by its proprietor to the visits of the foreigners who are here at the exhibition. It is a princely mansion; and, although we had recently been to Windsor, and seen the royal residence, yet we thought this palace home almost regal in its splendor. The staircase is splendid, and the apartments are very magnificent. The hall and drawing-rooms are quite equal, in decorations and paintings, to the rooms at Windsor. We were much pleased with two large pictures--a fox and deer hunt, by Snyders; but there were so many, that it is difficult to single out those we admired. There are some beautiful paintings of Napoleon, and exquisite carvings in ivory.
In one of the saloons we were all struck with a large Sevres china vase, presented to the Duke of Northumberland by Charles X., at his coronation, at which occasion the duke was present as amba.s.sador extraordinary, and made a most astonis.h.i.+ng display of English wealth and liberality.
Sion House, near Brentford, is another palace belonging to the duke.
This n.o.ble mansion is on the banks of the Thames, and is composed of freestone. It is very gorgeously furnished, and the hothouses and conservatories are not much, if any, inferior to Chatsworth. This mansion has also, been opened to visitors from abroad, and we received orders from the minister.
One of the sweetest features about the metropolis, to my taste, is the vast number of charming villages that surround it. Go where you may, you fall in with cottages, villas, and mansions, that convey to the mind the ideas of comfort, elegance, and wealth.
I find from Weld that he forgot to tell you that we went to St.
Margaret's Church, which stands only a few yards off from Westminster Abbey. This is a very old building, and said to be of the days of Edward I. In this very building the celebrated fast-day sermons of the Long Parliament were preached, and I felt much interest in thinking how often Cromwell, Pym, Peters, and Harrison had wors.h.i.+pped G.o.d in that house. In this church, too, the a.s.sembly of Divines wors.h.i.+pped, and also the Scotch commissioners, and took the covenant. This church boasts a painted window of exquisite beauty, which came as a present, from Holland, to Henry VII.; and the historical a.s.sociations of this window are very curious, and well worth your reading about. The monuments of this sanctuary are far from being devoid of interest. I may name, among others, those to Caxton, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir James Harrington, author of the great book, ”Oceana,” the wife of Milton, the mother of Cromwell, all of whom are here interred.
While I am speaking of churches, let me tell you that, close by our hotel, is a very fine one, that pleases me exceedingly. It is called St.
Martin's-in-the-Fields, but is at present quite central as it regards the metropolis. I think the portico is to my eye equal to any piece of architecture in London. It was built in 1726. A church stood here for many centuries; and in 1680, Baxter said that forty thousand people of the parish could not get into the church; and he adds that they ”lived like Americans, without hearing a sermon for many years.” This church has an exquisite chime of bells, and they very much amused me every morning.
Yours affectionately,
JAMES.
Letter 23.
LONDON.
DEAR CHARLEY:--
I have not written you for some time. But today I have seen a number of things which I am sure you would be pleased with, and so I will tell you about them. Early in the morning we went to see the Mansion House. This is the dwelling-house of the lord mayor of London. It is a fine-looking building, but has a queer upper story, with small windows, which look badly, over the n.o.ble pillars and portico. The great room used for public occasions is the Egyptian Hall, for what reason does not appear from any thing about it. Here the lord mayor has his great feasts. I should like to be in London on the 9th of November, which is his day of inauguration; and this is the great day for Londoners. He rides in a large carved gilt carriage. I believe he goes to Westminster by water, in a splendid barge, and comes back in his coach. The salary is eight thousand pounds; but the expenses are beyond this amount, and some persons refuse to serve, and pay a fine of five hundred pounds; but this is a rare case, and enough are ready to pay for the honor. In the city the mayor ranks before the royal family. The t.i.tle of ”your lords.h.i.+p” ceases at the expiration of his office.
Our next visit was to the Royal Exchange, a very n.o.ble quadrangle, which was finished in 1844. It stands finely between the Bank of England and the Mansion House, and in front there is a sort of open s.p.a.ce, or widening of the streets. This is the third building which has occupied the same spot--the two earlier ones were both burnt down. The original Exchange was built by Sir Thomas Gresham, and opened by Queen Elizabeth in 1570. It was copied from the famous Burse at Antwerp, which still stands. It is singular that, in the great fires of 1666 and 1838, the statue of Sir Thomas Gresham escaped uninjured. The Exchange is built of Portland stone, and already has acquired, from the smoke of London, a venerable tinge. The portico, I am told, is the largest in the kingdom; but the one at St. Martin's Church I like better. Crossing over the road, we were at the Bank of England. This is a truly immense affair.
The walls measure fourteen hundred and sixty feet. It wad built in 1734, but has had many alterations and additions, and now covers four acres.
We did not go into it.
The docks of London are among the attractions of the place. They are called St. Catharine's, London, East India, West India, Commercial, &c.
These are tar too great an affair for me to describe; and to look at them, and then think of writing an account, is very much like a small boy opening a book of mathematics and trying to understand it. What do you think of the tobacco warehouse, at the docks covering five acres?