jaouse, a xme oid uuiiding of tlie 17th century, and one of 

 the class of which I have been speaking. In this house the 

 Earl of Lexington is said to have lived some time last century. 

 Inigo Jones's Guildhall, with all the rest, is gone ; and if we 

 want to re-construct in our minds the Bath of that day, we 

 must look to the old manor houses. How different the 

 thoroughfares must have looked then ! The houses were not 

 then built to front the streets ; that was a habit only intro- 

 duced in the last century. Previously the gable ends were 

 presented to the street ; and an alley had to be walked down 

 to get at the front, which was at right angles with the tho- 

 roughfare. Each house stood alone, and was a castle of itself. 

 All this points back to a veiy difierent state of society to that 

 which now prevails, when there was much less security than 

 that which is now enjoyed. In like manner, if we turn to 

 the country, the old manorial houses tell us of a different 

 class of society — a class which has vanished. These were the 

 independent houses of the lesser gentry, or yeomen, who have 

 become all but extinct in this country, with whose glory 

 they, more than any other class of the community, are so 

 greatly linke(L It was that class that won the historic battles 

 of the country, and which, stiU existing in America, has carried 

 the North successfully through its great conflict with the* 

 South. 



We have thus seen how great have been the changes in the 

 architectural features of the city in the past ; but we can 

 hardly anticipate, looking at its present arrangements, any 

 such changes in the proximate future. Still we do see, 

 even now, veiy considerable buildings disappearing in a 

 comparatively short time after they have been built. Among 

 these are the old Blue Coat School, which was not older than 

 1712, and was built by a higlily respectable architect, 

 Killigrew ; and the fine mansion (known as Dr. Bave's house) 

 lately demolished for the New Wing of the Hospital ; and 



