London, Past and Present.
London, the capital of the British Empire, and by far the most splendid city on the globe, is about two thousand years old. It has long been the principal city in England, but its increase has been much greater of late years than formerly.
Notwithstanding the antiquity of its origin, almost everything now existing in London is of recent construction. The Tower, Westminster Abbey, and a few other edifices, are of some antiquity, but by far the larger portion of this vast metropolis is less than a century old. We give a view of a portion of London, as it was almost two hundred years ago. Not a single edifice which appears in that picture, is now standing; and the hills which are visible in the distance, are now entirely spread over with a dense mass of buildings.
The increase of London, within the last twenty years, is amazing. Hundreds of acres are now covered with buildings, which twenty years since were open fields; multitudes of streets and squares, displaying the utmost magnificence, are now seen, which a dozen years ago were not thought of. London now contains nearly two millions of people; they pay two millions of dollars a week for labor; use forty millions of gallons of water a day; devour two millions of sheep, ten millions of gallons of milk, four millions of herrings, four millions of mackerel, and two millions of lobsters, every year! What will London get to be, if it goes on a century more, increasing as it has done for the last few years?
LondonLondon two hundred years ago.
London two hundred years ago.