closely associated was the trade of this locality with the fish-market of Billingsgate. Fish Street Hill, Fish Yard, near Eastcheap, and Fishmongers' Hall are all in this immediate neighbourhood, reminding us of the olden time, when "no number of knights or strangers could enter the city at any hour of the day or night" without being able to supply themselves with the choicest fish in season. Stow, speaking of a row of houses in Old Fish Street, observes: "These houses, now possessed by fishmongers, were at the first but movable boards, or stalls, set out on market-days, to show their fish there to be sold; but, procuring license to set up sheds, they grew to shops, and by little and little to tall houses, of three or four stories in height, and now are called Fish Street. Walter Tuck, fishmonger and mayor, 1349, had two shops in Old Fish Street, over against St. Nicholas Church, the one rented five shillings the year, the other four shillings." According to Stow, Friday Street derives its name from its having been inhabited by fishmongers, who attended Friday's market; Friday, in Roman Catholic times, having been the great day for the sale of fish.

Anciently the fishmongers were divided into two companies, -the Salt-fishmongers, incorporated in 1433, and the Stock-fishmongers, in 1509,

nor was it till 1536 that the two companies were united by Henry the Eighth. Till within

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the last few years the Hall of the Fishmongers, built by Sir Christopher Wren, was situated in Thames Street; but the company now occupy a fine modern building, erected in 1831, close to the north approach of London Bridge. The famous Lord Mayor of London, Sir William Walworth, who killed Wat Tyler at Smithfield, was a member of this company, his statue being still a conspicuous object in Fishmongers' Hall. He is represented in the act of striking the insolent rebel with a real dagger, which is affirmed to be the identical weapon used by him on the memorable occasion. On the pedestal is the following inscription:

"Brave Walworth, knight, Lord Mayor, yt slew
Rebellious Tyler in his alarmes ;

The King, therefor, did give in lieu

The dagger to the city's armes ;

In the 4th year of Richard II., Anno Domini 1381."

Unfortunately for the veracity of this inscription, the dagger formed the first quarter of the city arms long before the days of Sir William Walworth. It was, indeed, intended to represent the sword of St. Peter, the patron saint of the corporation.

Adjoining Billingsgate, on the east side, stood Smart's Quay, or wharf, which we find noticed in the reign of Queen Elizabeth as containing an ingenious seminary for the instruction of young

thieves. The following extract of a letter, addressed to Lord Burghleigh, in July, 1585, by Fleetwood, the Recorder of London, evinces that the "art and mystery" of picking pockets was brought to considerable perfection in the sixteenth century:

"Amongst our travels this one matter tumbled out by the way. One Wotton, a gentleman born, and sometime a merchant of good credit, having fallen by time into decay, kept an ale-house at Smart's Key, near Billingsgate; and after, for some misdemeanour, being put down, he reared up a new trade of life, and in the same house he procured all the cut-purses about this city to repair to his said house. There was a school-house set up to learn young boys to cut purses; there were hung up two devices: the one was a pocket, the other was a purse. The pocket had in it certain counters, and was hung about with hawk's bells, and over the top did hang a little scaring-bell; and he that could take out a counter without any noise was allowed to be a 'public hoyster;' and he that could take a piece of silver out of the purse without the noise of any of the bells, he was adjudged a 'judicial nipper.' N. B. That a 'hoyster' is a pickpocket, and a 'nipper' is termed a pickpurse, or a cut-purse."

Opposite to Billingsgate, on the north side of Thames Street, is St. Mary-at-Hill, on the west side of which is a church, dedicated to the Virgin

Mary. Of the date of its foundation nothing certain is known, except that Rose de Wyrtell founded a chauntry on the spot about the year 1336. It suffered severely from the fire of London, in consequence of which the interior and the east end were rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren between the years 1672 and 1677. Since Wren's time considerable portions of the building have been taken down and rebuilt, the old portions, namely, the tower and the west end, having been restored with brick. Little, indeed, of Wren's work now remains, nor does that little add much to his reputation as an architect. In this church, on the 27th of May, 1731, Doctor Young, the author of the "Night Thoughts," was married to Lady Elizabeth Lee, widow of Colonel Lee, and daughter of Edward, first Earl of Litchfield. The chancel contains the remains of the Rev. John Brand, the antiquary, who was for many years, rector of the parish. He died at his apartments in Somerset House in 1806.

Running parallel with St. Mary-at-Hill are Botolph Lane and Pudding Lane, the former containing the parochial church, dedicated to St. George and St. Botolph. This is another of Wren's churches, erected after the fire of London, and boasts neither historical interest nor architectural merit. In Botolph Lane stood the residence of that ancient and illustrious race, the Fitzalans, Earls of Arundel. Henry, the eighteenth and

last earl in the male line, who is known to have aspired to the hand of Queen Elizabeth, was residing here at the time of his death, in 1579.

Pudding Lane is famous as the spot where the great fire first broke out, on the 2d of September, 1666. In the middle of the last century the following inscription was to be seen on the site of the house where it commenced; but in consequence of the inconvenience caused by the number of passers-by, who stopped to read it, it was removed :

"Here, by the permission of Heaven, Hell broke loose upon this Protestant city, from the malicious hearts of barbarous Papists, by the hand of their agent, Hubert, who confessed, and on the ruins of this place declared the fact, for which he was hanged, viz. - That here began that dreadful fire which is described, and perpetuated on, by the neighbouring pillar, erected anno 1680, in the Mayoralty of Sir Patience Ward, Knight."

Hubert, the person here referred to, was hanged on his own confession that his hand had lighted the flame which laid London in ashes. His statement was that he had placed a fireball at the end of a poll, and, after having lighted it, had thrust it into the window of the house in which the fire subsequently broke out. There can be little doubt, however, that Hubert was a mere monomaniac, in whose mind the awful conflagration had raised the delusion that he was the author of the calamity; indeed, the captain of the vessel which