London

London has always been beloved above all the other cities of England. The centre of government, the great centre of the Empire’s trade and wealth, the centre of England’s intellectual and cultural life, great and poor alike converged upon her, irresistibly drawn by her world-famous markets and her entertainments.

The Thames, dividing her north and south, was, for centuries, her main thoroughfare, carrying her citizens, merchants and sailors to the crowded shops of London Bridge and the City, and on to the docks and the estuary. Up and down the river the state barges passed from Westminster to Hampton Court. Watermen waited with their boats at every water gate and landing stage to row passengers from bridge to bridge or to private houses in between.