L 'D N 
flayin.g-tbe dragon, fpirite'dly executed in done ; aad facing 
the Hand-in-Hand office, a noble building erected for the 
flame purpofes on the oppofife fide. 
“ Arrived at the Obeliftc, ifthe number of carriages, liorfe 
and foot pafiengers, droves of cattle. &c. and the impor¬ 
tunity of the ftreet-fweepers, allow me, I will (land a few 
minutes, and contemplate the noble bridge riding ftately 
on the breadth of the river; the limple but elegant Chat- 
ham-place, with its nurfe'ry-maids and children; theCref- 
cent; the facade of Bridewell newly repaired; and the 
ftreet interfered in the middle by a long line of hackney- 
coaches ; the whole contrafted, on the other hand, by the 
longitudinal view of Fleet-market, of the campanile and 
clock in the centre, and of the fpacious wall of the prifon, 
armed with chevaux-de-frife; and terminated, a few 
months ago, by the cloud-capt fummit of the Commercial 
Hall, now in allies !” 
As it does not enter in our plan to follow the keen ob- 
ferver through all his perambulations, we mull leave him 
here. 
Situation and Extent of London. 
London is (ituated on a gentle Hope on the north fide of 
the Thames ; where this grand eftuary, by the diurnal of- 
cillations of the immenfe body of its water, facilitates 
the reciprocal going up and down of the trading vefiels 
from the wharfs to the fea, and at that precife point where 
the two banks of this noble ftreain could be firft united by 
a bridge. Confidered in the aggregate, London comprifes 
the city and its liberties, together with the city and li¬ 
berties of Weftminfter, the borough of Southwark on the 
fouthern bank of the river, and nearly thirty contiguous 
•villages in Middlefex and Surry, which are now fo con¬ 
nected with London, by an uninterrupted chain of houfes 
and Itreets, that they appear to make infeparable parts of it. 
The extent of London, from weft to eaft, or from 
Knightfbridge to Poplar, is full feven miles and a half; 
whilft its breadth, from north'to fouth, or from Newing¬ 
ton Butts to IflLngton, is nearly five miles. The circum¬ 
ference of the whole, allowing for various inequalities in 
the extenfion of ftreets, &c. at the extremities, cannot be 
lefs than thirty miles. Hence it may be fairly eflimated, 
that the buildings of this metropolis cover at leaft eigh¬ 
teen fquare miles, or 11,520 fquare acres. Out of this 
muft be deducted thefpace occupied by the river Thames, 
which extends about feven miles, or 12,320 yards, in 
length, by one quarter of a mile, or 400 yards, in width ; 
making 1120 fquare acres. 
Independently of various local and civil divifions, Lon¬ 
don may be faid to con fill of five diltinguifliing parts, or 
popular portions ; viz. the weft end of the town, the city, 
the eaft end of the town, Weftminfter, and the Borough. 
The “weft end of the town,” extending from Charing- 
Crofs to Hyde-park, and from St. James’s park to Pad¬ 
dington, is confidered the belt and molt fafliionable part; 
and is laid out in the two great thoroughfares, called 
Oxford-road and Piccadilly, with various handfome 
fquares and ftreets, which are chiefly occupied by the 
town-houfes of the nobility and gentry, and the moll 
fafliionable (hops. The “city” includes the central 
part, and molt ancient divifion of the metropolis. This 
is the emporium of commerce, trade, and bufinefs; and 
is occupied by (hops, warehoufes, public offices, and 
lioufes of tradefmen and others connected with bufinefs. 
The “ eaft end of the town,” and its inhabitants, are de¬ 
voted to commerce, to (hip-building, and to every colla¬ 
teral branch connected with merchandife. This divifion 
of London has affumed a novel character fince the com¬ 
mencement of the prefent century, by the vail commer¬ 
cial docks and warehoufes that have been formed and 
conftruCted here. The fouthern bank of the Thames, 
from Deptford to Lambeth, bears fome relemblance to 
the eaft end of the town ; being occupied by perfons en¬ 
gaged in commercial and maritime concerns; docks, 
wharfs, and warehoufes, being abundant. But this part 
Voir. XIII, No. 887. 
DON. 5S 
of London has one diftinguifliing feature from any other, 
as it abounds with numerous and various manufactories ; 
iron-founderies, glafs-houfes, foap-boilers, dye-houfes, 
boat-builders, (hot and hat manufactories, &c. and many- 
other fimilar eftablifhments. From the great number of 
fires employed in thefe houfes, and offenfive effluvia arifing 
from fome of the works, this diftriCt is rendered extremely 
unpleafant, if not unhealthful ; it is therefore moftly in¬ 
habited by workmen, labourers, and the lower clafles of 
fociety. Many improvements have lately been made, and 
feveral refpeCtable houfes erefted, in St. George’s fields. 
In Weftminfter are the houfes of lords and commons, the 
'courts of juftice, and many offices belonging to govern¬ 
ment. Another part of the metropolis, not hitherto no¬ 
ticed, but which may be confidered as the laft enlarge¬ 
ment, and the moft regular and fyftematic in its arrange¬ 
ment of fquares, ftreets, See. is the northern fide of the 
town ; comprehending a large mafs of new buildings be¬ 
tween Holborn and Somers-town, and in the parillies of 
Mary bone and Paddington. The Regent’s Park, a grand 
and moft extenfive conception, calculated to give a pleafing 
recefs from bufinefs to men of trade, or a wholefome (bel¬ 
ter to the gentry and nobility from the thicker atmofphere 
of the town, is now forming under the hands of the work¬ 
men, and will extend this part of London to the very 
foot of the well-known Primrofe-hill and Hampftead. 
Nothing (hows the increafed and increafing growth of the 
Engliih metropolis more decifively than the vaft number, 
of new fquares, ftreets, rows, and places, that have been 
recently ereCted, and are now in the progrefs of building, 
all round the metropolis. London is computed to con¬ 
tain nearly 70 fquares, and 8000 ftreets, lanes, rows, courts, 
&c. According to a cenfus obtained in the year 1811, 
the population of London, Weftminfter, and their iu- 
burbs, was 1,099,104 perfons ; being an increafe of 133,139 
within the courfe of ten years. We may however aflert 
that it is almoft impoflible to give a proper account of the 
extent of London; as every year, every month, every 
week, new edifices fpring out of the earth as if by magic ; 
and, from the good tafte and elegance of their architec¬ 
ture, feem to be exotic plants tranfported from the gar¬ 
dens of Athens and Rome, and pullulating on Britifli (oil. 
The lively fancy of ancient writers was curioufly at 
work upon the general appearance of the city of London, 
including Weftminfter and the fuburbs, when they con¬ 
ceived that it had the fltape of a large fifli: and, of courfe, 
the whale was the firft, and the only one that could yield 
any thing like a firnile, to depidt the vaft and increafing 
bulk of the metropolis. The winding of the river, from 
eaft to weft, and by a (harp elbow from north to fouth, 
prefented to their fantaftic imagination, the embowed 
form of a large cetaceous monfter laid on the ftrand. The 
head was fuppofed tobe the city ofWeftrninfter; the mouth 
in St. James’s park ; the under jaw lying at Chelfea, the 
upper on the extenfive ftreets of Marybone; the radi¬ 
ating eye was placed at the Seven Dials ; the back at 
Bloomfbury-fquare; the indented prominences of thedorfal 
fin at the advancing buildings in the duke of Bedford’s 
grounds ; and the body in the city. With a modern 
ltretch upon the fame allufion, we might, and indeed 
ought to, place the heart at the Bank, the liver at the 
Stock Exchange, and the vent at the Tower. The intef- 
tines will naturally contain the whole of Wapping, and 
the London docks, and the tail fpread itfelf towards the 
Eaft and Weft India docks as far as the Ifle of Dogs. 
Although this fort of hieroglyphical reprefentation may 
at firft appear caricatured, and perhaps (to fome grave 
critics) ridiculous, yet, as it has been given out long be¬ 
fore our era by the Londonographers, yve have thought it 
not amifs to prefent an idea of it to our readers. It may, 
moreover, aflift the memory of thofe who have vifited 
London but once, and furnifli thofe who never faw it 
with a topographic delineation of its tout-en(emble. 
Some other authors have leen in the city of London 
and Weftminfter the. Ihape of a laurel-leaf; and one of 
B them 
