ance; Colonia Augusta being another of its Roman
designations. One of the principal evidences, however,
of a much earlier existence of the town is found in the
etymology of the name, which comes from the Celtic
Llyn-Din. Three important events have especial pro-
minence in the pre-Norman history of London; namely,
the foundation of the bishopric, supposed to have taken
place in A.D. 179; the rebuilding and fortifying of the
town by the Romans in 306; and the founding of St
Paul’s by Ethelbert about the year 597. Coming upon
the firmer ground of authentic history, it is seen that
in 1079 the Tower was built by William I., who, in the
same year, granted the city its first charter, a docu-
ment which is still extant. A charter granted by King
John in 1189 authorised the annual election of a mayor
and corporation. Conspicuous landmarks in the sub-
sequent course of the city’s history are—Wat Tyler’s
Rebellion, 1381; Jack Cade’s Rebellion, 1450; the
foundation of Christ’s Hospital, 1533; numerous pesti-
lences, culminating in the Great Plague of 1665; and
the Great Fire of 1666. The latter, although in itself a
disaster of terrible magnitude, had one good effect, in
so far that it swept away the old haunts of disease,
and left room for the erection of the present city, the
history of which, in a large measure, is the history of
the progress of the British nation. Modern London has
no clearly defined limits, and the determination of its
unofficial boundaries is yearly becoming more difficult
through its rapid and wide suburban extension. Roughly
speaking, the whole metropolis may be estimated to cover,
E. to W., 14 m., and N. to S. 10 m. As the seat of the
government of the Empire, the commercial emporium
of Britain, the home of British literature, art, and
science, and the place of residence, at special seasons,
of the wealthier classes from all parts of the country,
it is natural that London should abound with interest-
ing, stately, and imposing buildings of all descriptions.
Among the greatest of these are the Houses of Parlia-
ment, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St
James’ Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral, Lambeth Palace,
the Tower of London, the Guildhall, the Mansion
House, the Royal Exchange, the Bank of England,
the General Post-Office, the British Museum, and the
National Gallery. The Government departments, such
as the Home and Foreign Offices, the Education Office,
Somerset House (Inland Revenue), &c., are also im-
portant. There are over 1400 churches and chapels,
45 theatres, and 400 music halls, concert rooms, &c.
Thirteen bridges, besides 5 railway bridges, span the
Thames; London Bridge being the most easterly, and
Hammersmith Bridge the most westerly. The metro-
polis is singularly fortunate in the possession of
public parks, which for extent and beauty are unsur-
passed by any open spaces belonging to other large
cities. The chief are :—In the W., St James’ Park
(80 ac.), the Green Park (70 ac.), Hyde Park (390 ac.),
and Kensington Gardens (360 ac.); in the N., the
Regent’s Park (470 ac.), containing the gardens of the
Zoological Society and the Botanical Society ; in the
SW., Battersea Park (180 ac.); and in the E., Victoria
Park (300 ac.). In the suburbs, at no great distance,
are several extensive commons, such as Hampstead
Heath, Blackheath, Clapham Common, Streatham
Common, Wandsworth Common, AV ormwood Scrubs, and
Tooting Common. The chief cemeteries are Kensal
Green, Brompton, Hampstead, Highgate, Nnnhead,
Norwood, and Abney Park. London is the supreme
seat of the judicature of the country. The principal
courts are concentrated in the magnificent range of
buildings known as the New Law Courts. The Inns of
Court are to some extent colleges for law students, and
include the Inner Temple, Middle Temple, Lincoln’s
Inn, and Gray’s Inn. Altogether the different courts
give employment to over 3000 barristers and 5000 soli-
citors. Exclusive of the Mansion House and Guildhall,
in the City, there are 13 police courts in various
parts of the metropolis, and the whole police force is
about 14,000. All the military affairs of the country
are managed from the War Office and Horse Guards;
the actual garrison of the metropolis mostly consisting
of the Household Cavalry and the various regiments of
Foot Guards. Knightsbridge barracks are set aside
for cavalry, and Chelsea and AVellington barracks for
infantry. The chief offices of the Admiralty, the
Customs, and the mercantile marine service, are like-
wise situated in London. Education is represented by
many well-known institutions. London University is
purely an examining body for conferring degrees, the
tests being open to all comers, and certificates are
obtainable by women. Of the colleges, University
College and King’s College are the principal, but there
are also a number of others; notably the denominational
institutions for the training of school teachers. Medi-
cal education, at the head of which stand the Royal
College of Physicians and the Royal College of Sur-
geons, is actively carried on in the hospitals, especially
at Bartholomew’s, St Thomas’, Gny’s, St George’s, and
the Middlesex Hospital. In all there are about 35
general hospitals and infirmaries in the metropolis,
besides a very large number of kindred institutions for
the treatment of special diseases. The chief public
schools are AVestminster, St Paul’s, Christ Church (Blue-
coat), Merchant Taylors’ (Charterhouse), City of London
Schools, and University College Schools. The School
Board has in operation 368 schools, accommodating
334,309 children. The water-supply of the town is
drawn, and after filtration distributed, from the Thames
and the New River. The gas-supply is in the hands
of joint-stock companies. Markets exist for almost
every commodity that has a sufficient mercantile im-
portance ; those for food supplies being chiefly the
London Central Market (meat and poultry), Smithfield,
Leadenhall Market (poultry and game), Billingsgate
Market (fish), Covent Garden Market (fruit and vege-
tables), Borough Market (fruit and vegetables), Columbia
Market (fish and general). A distinguished feature in
metropolitan enterprise is the number and variety
of means adopted for the conveyance of passengers
and goods. It is impossible to describe the labyrinth
of the railway system ; but some conception of its intri-
cacy and extent may be formed from the fact that the
greater railway lines have 11 termini. The Metropo-
litan and the Metropolitan District Railways, popularly
known as the “Underground,” are the most convenient,
and convey about 136 millions of passengers every
year. The ‘ ‘ Inner Circle, ” which completed the circuit,
was opened in 1884. A gigantic traffic is also sustained
by an immense number of omnibuses, tramway cars,
and cabs. Of the latter it is estimated that there are
about 10,000, while the cab-drivers number about