LON 
Thames was added to it by Charles IT. and was a magni¬ 
ficent ftru&ure of free-done, with a noble piazza, built 
by Inigo Jones. In this new building were the royal 
'apartments, which commanded a beautiful profpeft of the 
river and the adjacent country. The garden was orna¬ 
mented with ftatues, (hady walks, and a bowling-green ; 
but, as none of the royal family had refided there after 
queen Catharine, dowager of Charles II. feveral of the 
officers belonging to the court were permitted to lodge in 
it; and a great part of it was for fome time ufed as bar¬ 
racks for i'oldiers. In Somerlet-yard, on the welt fide of 
the palace, were coach-houfes, (tables, and a guard-room 
for the ufe of the foldiers on duty ; the gateway to which 
fronted Catharine-!!reet. 
The propriety of erecting the public offices, neceffarily 
connected with each other, on the fame fpot, had long 
been perceived by the government; when, in 1775, the 
conveniency of this old building, which already belonged 
to the crown, pointed it out as the molt eligible fituation 
for the purpofe. An aft of parliament was therefore ob¬ 
tained for embanking the river Thames before Somerfet- 
houfe, and for building on the ground thereof various 
public offices which were fpecified, together with fuch 
others as his majelty (hould think proper. See the article 
Architecture, vol. ii. p. 119, 20. To the account there 
given we have little to add.—The entrance from the Strand 
is by three arches, which open to a fpacious veltibule, 
uniting the ftreet with the back front, and ferving as the 
general accefs to the whole edifice; but more particularly 
to the Royal Academy, and to the Royal and Antiquarian 
Societies ; the entrances to all which are under cover. 
This veltibule is decorated with columns of the Doric 
order, whofe entablatures fupport the vaults, ornamented 
with well-chofen antiques ; among which the ciphers of 
their majefties and the prince of Wales are judicioully 
intermixed. Ove.rthe central doors, in this veltibule, are 
two bulls, executed in Portland-ftone, by Mr. Wilton ; 
that on the Academy-fide reprefents Michael Angelo 
Buonarotti, the firII of artifts ; that on the fide of the 
learned Societies, fir Ifaac Newton, the firft of philofo- 
phers.—The Royal Academy, by the kindnefs of his pre¬ 
lent majelty, has been accommodated with the whole of 
the right fide of the veftibule ; where a lobby, decorated 
with calls of the belt antique ftatues and bas-reliefs, opens 
on the right into the fecretary’s apartments and the Mo¬ 
del Academy. Facing the entrance, the noble llalrcafe 
prefents itfelf, moll majeftically adorned with a gigantic 
call of the famous Farnefian Hercules, fenced behind with 
brafs-wire to prevent its receiving any injury. The rooms 
above are—the Library; the Antique Academy; the 
- Council Room, containing the diploma-pidures of the 
academicians for feveral years ; and above, the Large 
Room, where the ftudents receive leitures upon the parti¬ 
cular fciences connefted with the art of painting, as ana¬ 
tomy, drawing, perfpeftive, See. and where they ltudy the 
naked figure under the direction of able profefibrs. See 
Academy, vol. i. p. 46. The exhibition of paintings, 
drawings, and fculpture, is every year in the months of 
May and June.—On the other fide, the Royal Society has 
part of the whole pavillion. An anti-chamber, which is 
common to them and the Society of Antiquaries, leads 
to the Meeting-room, where we find feveral portraits of 
the fucceflive prefidents.—The Antiquarian Society has 
its library on the ground-floor, which is open to the mem¬ 
bers every Wednefday. The day of meeting is every 
Thurfday, except vacation-times. It is the fame for the 
Royal Academy. See farther under the article Society. 
Nearly oppofite to Somerfet-houfe is Catharine-ftreet, in 
which we find the Morning Herald, the Champion, the 
Morning Advertifer; and above, in Brydges-ftreet, the 
News, the Antigallican ; whilft below, in the Strand, and 
only a few yards from them, we meet the Morning Poll 
and Morning Chronicle, as oppofite in principles as in 
fituation, the Courier, the Pilot, &c. &c. as if thefe paper- 
kites to which morning and evening the eyes of the cu- 
Vou, XIII. No. 925, 
DON. 529 
rious are powerfully drawn, bad tacitely agreed to neftle 
all together in one place.—Nothing can more plainly (how 
the reading-charadier of the prefent times, than a (late- 
ment of the number of newfpapers printed and circulated. 
In London there are publiflied feventeen newfpapers daily, 
and eighteen or nineteen every Sunday, belides eighteen 
once or twice a-week. The following particulars are 
added from the Pifture of London for 1812: “Of the 
morning-papers, there are fold about 17,000 ; of the daily 
evening-papers, about 12,000; and of thofe publiflied 
every other day, about 10,000. There are alfo about 
26,000 fold of the various Sunday papers; and about 
20,000 of the other weekly papers : in all, the enormous 
number of 232,000 copies per week; yielding to their 
proprietors from the fale 5800I. and from advertilements 
2000!. more ; of which the revenue to government is full 
4000I. and the net proceeds to the proprietors about 1000b 
per week. The remaining 2800I. affords employment and 
fubfiltence to about 50 writers and reporters, 300 printers, 
100 vendors, and 100 clerks and afliftants ; befides paper- 
makers, Ifationers, type-founders. See. full 200 more. 
If to thefe be added the weekly calculation of 250,000 
copies of provincial papers, yielding io,oooi. per week, 
and lupporting the induftry of 1500 perfons ;—what a 
wonderful idea is afforded of the agency and influence of 
the prefs in this empire; and how ealily is it accounted 
fer, that we are the molt free and molt intelligent people 
on the face of the earth !” Sec Magazine, Newspaper, 
and Review ; alfo Journal, vol. xi. p. 273. 
Catharine-ftreet afeends by a gentle Hope towards Ruf- 
fel-ftreet, changing its name at the corner of Exeter-ftreet, 
and affuming that of Brydges-ftreet; on the north-eaft; 
end of which, rofe at laft, from its nearly-forgotten allies, 
the play-houfe of Drury-lane, which now (lands in noble 
fur.plicity to greet our fight. But this building does not 
make at diftance fo fine an objeft as did the former one. 
From Blackfriars bridge we could fee that noble roof, 
crowned by the fane, upon which flood the ftatue of the 
god of mufic and poetry, who, 
-when vengeful Vulcan’s flames arofe, 
And roll’d in raging volumes through the (hades 
Of ftartled night, elate and fierce, alfail’d 
His tripod-trampling- feet, and (acred lyre- 
indignant fell amidft the inferior blaze 
Of fublunary fire!—with dreadful cralh 
He fell—and groan’d !—the parched walls around 
Shook to their bales, and return’d the found. 
The grand entrance is in Brydges-ftreet, as before ; and 
leads to a capacious hall, on one fide of which, and front¬ 
ing the entrance, is a large door leading to a rotunda, in 
which the paflages to the different parts of the theatre are 
concentrated. This is furmounted by a hemifpherical lan¬ 
tern, round the infideof which is a paffage leading to the 
faloon. The falcon is a fpacious room over the hall, and 
of the fame dimenfions as the hall beneath. A great ad¬ 
vantage in point of decorum is obtained by this arrange¬ 
ment, as the company in the faloon is completely fepa- 
rated from the boxes, the whole diameter of the rotunda 
being interpofed between them. The (fairs are broad, 
capacious, and lead in the molt convenient manner to the 
different tiers of boxes ; the pit is fmaller than that of 
Covent-garden theatre. From the fiage to the hack of 
the drefs-boxes, the fpace is fixteen feet lefs than in that 
theatre; and, between box and boxacrofs, the diftance >9 
alfo lefs by feven feet. As in old Drury, there are private 
boxes round the pit, and under the drefs circle. Thefe 
are eight on each fide, but with only four compartments 
in front, in the form of Saxon arches. There are three 
circles for boxes, each of which contains twenty-fix boxes 
in thirteen compartments, except the front of the upper 
tier, in which the two-ftiiiling gallery advances. The up¬ 
per boxes project over the lower, the whole being fup- 
ported by twelve gilt fluted columns, with Egyptian pe- 
deftals. The area of the boxes, following the form of 
6 T lit® 
