INTEODUCTION. ix 



tion and the removal of the old houses through which they were 



driven. Abroad, every little capital possessing enough interest 



to occupy one for two hours, is furbishing-up its attractions, 



while we in London are neglecting advantages the like of which 



are not possessed by any other city in Europe. The river, the 



bridges, the suburbs, the surroundings, are infinitely superior to 



Paris, but owing to stupid absence of plan many of the good 



points are lost, many of the best suburbs being unknown ground 



even to thousands of Londoners, owing to the impossibility of 



reaching them without struggling through narrow and mean streets 



and roads. The finest city avenue in Europe is the Champs 



Elysees in Paris, and probably few would think it possible that 



a site with equal capacities lies wholly unused in the heart of 



London. Yet there it is in the Eegent's Park, barred up by the 



railing of Park Crescent, and frittered away recently by narrow 



strips of geometrical gardening. I have said as good a site as 



the Champs Elysees, but it is really much better, the wide expanse 



of beautiful ground which may be seen from the top of the Broad 



Walk being entirely in the hands of the State. It has thus the 



advantage of being freely open to noble improvement without the 



enormous cost for removing massive, lofty, densely-packed houses 



which had so often to be incurred in Paris. In many other cases 



in like manner great opportunities are frequently unnoticed from 



dead walls or narrow streets or miserable railings stopping the 



view. 



All this is not only sad, from its depriving us of so much beauty 

 that London might possess, but also from its far more serious 

 evil in the depreciation of property. I think it is very clear that 

 many quarters of London, beautiful in themselves, are greatly 

 lowered in value owing to bad approaches. A good and simple 

 system of broad tree-planted roads, radiating from the centre to 

 the suburbs, and connected by outer circular roads, would tend to 

 make all parts of the town of more equal value, and would go far 

 to prevent that terrible isolation of the poor in various parts of 

 the city the misery of which is at present a by- word throughout 

 the world. The real want is a want of plan, and this it is 

 to be hoped Parliament will some day give us power to obtain. 

 At present this want is glaringly apparent, not only in the 

 central and more crowded parts, but all round London, where 



