tfian-df-war. Befldes a liall and other commodious apart¬ 
ments for tranfatfling bufinefs in the main building, the 
wings are formed into fix fpacious houfes, and are adapt¬ 
ed for the refidence of the lords commiffioners of the ad¬ 
miralty. This office was originally held in the large houfe 
at the fouth end of Duke-ftreet, Weftminfter, which over- 
looks'St. James’s Park ; but in the reign of king William 
it was removed to Wallingtord-houfe, on the fame fpot at 
the prefent building, which was erefled in the late reign. 
Next to the Admiralty, on the fame fide of the ftreet, we 
find the Horfe-Guards, lo called on account of the circum- 
flance of the king’s guard of horfe being (lationed there.— 
It is a very folid, not to fay heavy, lort of building, an¬ 
swering to no particular order of architeflure. It confift* 
of a centre and two wings. In the middle is an arched 
paffage into St. James’s Park, with a polfern on each fide 
for foot-paifengers ; above is a pediment, having the royal 
arms in bas relief in the tympanum ; and over all is a cu¬ 
pola, ferving as a clock-tower. At each extremity of 
the centre is a pavilion. The wings are plainer than the 
centre ; they confilt of a front projecting a little, with or¬ 
namented windows in the principal face, and a plain one 
in the fides. Each has its pediment, with a circular win¬ 
dow in the centre. At the front to the ftreet is a noble 
iron railing, on each fide of which Hands a fort of (tone 
watch-houle or fentry-box, where a horfe-centinel is do¬ 
ing duty day and night. This has a noble appearance. 
The view from the ltreet through the archway towards 
the Canal and Buckingham-houfe in St. James’s Park, 
reminds us of a fimilar afpeft through the main archway 
of the Thuilleries towards the garden and the equel- 
trian ftatue of Louis the Fifteenth, the grandfather of 
the prefent king.—This leads us to the recollection of an 
epigram placed at the foot of that ftatue when the king 
was forgetting his duties in the arms of a courtezan, 
which the kings of France, from time immemorial, have 
been very apt to do. The king was on horfeback, and 
the four cardinal virtues Handing one at each corner of 
the pedeftal. The farcaftic epigram was as follows: 
Autour et fur ce piedeftal, 
Les Vertus font a pied, ct le Vice a cheval. 
« Around and upon this pedeftal, the Virtues are on foot 
and Vice on horfeback.”—The author was never difeover- 
ed ; and the craving gates of the Baitille, Fort l’Eveque, and 
Salpetriere, gaped in vain to receive him in their unrelent¬ 
ing jaws— -fauces Acherontis avari. All the cunning of the 
tncuchards, or police-officers, (the Townfends, the Ad¬ 
kins’s, the Vickeries, of that country and time ;) all the 
conjurations of Sartine himfelf, then at the head of the 
police-department, were defeated—for the author had de¬ 
clared upon his paper, J'etois Jeul quand je le jn ; “I was 
alone when I did it.” And, fince no accomplice, in that 
cafe, could turn king’s evidence} fince the author did 
not think proper to get the reputation of a wag at the 
expenfe of his life; the fecret was never revealed, and the 
myftery buried in eternal oblivion.—We are obliged to 
confefs, that the epigram met with as many applauders as 
admirers. 
This digreffion, in which we have indulged for the very 
purpofe of relieving our readers from the monotony of a 
Purvey, leads us to the Treasury. —The whole front of 
this edifice, which follows the Horfe-guards in a line to¬ 
wards the fouth, is rultic; it confifts of three (lories, of 
which the lowed is of the bafement kind, with fmall win¬ 
dows, though they are contained in large arches. Thisltory 
hastheTufcan proportion ; and thefecond the Doric, with 
jirched windows of a larger fize; the upper part of this 
ftory is, with great inconfiftency, adorned with the triglyphs 
and metopes of the Doric frieze, though the range of or¬ 
nament is fupported by neither columns nor pilafters. 
Over this ftory is a range of Ionic columns in the centre, 
fupporting a pediment. A variety of offices are under 
the roof of this building, among which is the council- 
shamber, commonly called the cockpit, where, until witliist 
VOL.XIII, No, 
a few years, his majefty’s intended fpeech was read to cer¬ 
tain members of both houfes on the evening previous to 
opening the parliament. There are vaulted paffages through 
this building into Downing-ftreet and Parliament-ftreet. 
The front towards the ftreet is very old, but the entrances 
have beenreftored to their clafiical and elegant gothic ltyle, 
with heads at the drops of the water-tablets, and with 
pure ogee-branches in the vaulting of the tops. 
On the fouth of this large and elegant opening, is a con¬ 
tinuation of it more particularly called Parliament-ftreet, 
which leads to one of the fineft fpots that any metropolis 
in the world can boaft of. At the end of Parliament- 
ftreet the eye is (truck at once by fo many grand and in- 
terelting objects, that the traveller is at a lofs which to exa¬ 
mine firft. On his left hand he fees the avenue to Weft- 
minfter-bridge, and part of that noble fabric—on the righe 
his view extends to the Birdcage, (or Bocage, as it ought 
to be called,) a ffiady and folitary walk in St. James’s Park 
—before him burlts at once a wonderful clufter of grand 
edifices: Weftminfter-hall, the Houfe of Lords, Well- 
minder-abbey and Henry the Seventh’s chapel, St. Mar¬ 
garet’s, and the Seflions-honfe, all nearly on the fame 
point of view.—Several of thefe great objects will be found 
in Plate I. but it is erroneoufiy Hated, in fome copies of 
that engraving, that the view is taken from Weftminfter- 
bridge; the point of fight is near the bridge, and in a fitua- 
tion where the objects might be grouped with the greateffc 
advantage.—The furvey of each of'thefe magnificent ob¬ 
jects will be fuceeffively offered to our readers : but firft wc 
(hall introduce a few remarks upon the antiquity and pre¬ 
fent government of the city of Weftminfter. 
Weftminfter received its name from the abbey, or min¬ 
der, fituated weltward of the city of London; and, ac¬ 
cording to leveral hiltorians, was thus denominated to 
diftinguilh it from the Abbey of Grace, on Tower-hill, 
called Eaflminjler ; but Maitland proves this to be a miftake, 
by (howing that the former is called Weftminfter in an un¬ 
dated Charter of Sanctuary granted by Edward the Con- 
feffor, who died in 1066; and that the latter was not 
founded till 1359; he therefore fuppofes, that the appel¬ 
lation of Weftminfter was given to diftinguilh it from St- 
Paul’s church, in the city of London, which lay fo far to 
the eall of it. 
In ancient times, this was a mean unhealthy place, re¬ 
markable for nothing but the abbey, which was fituated 
on a marffiy idand, furrounded on one fide by the Thames, 
and on the other by what was called Long Ditch. This 
ditch was a branch of the river, which began nearly where 
Manchefter-buildings now Hand ; and, crofting King-ftreet, 
ran weltward to Delahay-ltreet, where it turned to the 
fouth, and continued its courfe along Princes-fireet, until 
it crofted Tothill-ltreet, from whence it paffed along the 
fouth wall of the abbey-garden, to the Thames again. It 
has, however, been arched over for many years, and is at 
prelent a common (ewer. This iftand was, exclulive of 
the miniter, an entire wade, and lo overgrown with thorns 
and briers, that it obtained the appellation of Thomey IJland, 
In procefs of time, however, a few houfes were erected 
round the monaftery, which, at length, grew into a (mall 
town, called in ancient books “ The town of Weftmin- 
ller.” But the principal caule of the increafe of Weft¬ 
minfter, was the continual jealouiy of the government 
againft the privileges and immunities claimed by the citi¬ 
zens of London. To this caufe mult be attributed the 
eltabliftiment of the wool-ltaple at Weftminfter, in prefer¬ 
ence to London, which occafioned a great refort of mer¬ 
chants thither. Another caufe of its growth, was, the 
royal refidence being general here; for which reafon, moll 
of the chief nobility alio eredled inns, or town-houfes, in 
its vicinity, the fites of many of which ltili retain the 
names of their former owners. 
Weftminfter continued for many ages a diftindl town 
from London; and the road between them, on the fides 
of which the llrect called the Strand was afterwards built, 
palled along the river fide, and through the village of 
. 6 1 ? Chari 
