In Lime Street, on the south side of Leadenhall Street, stood the mansion and chapel of the accomplished Sir Simon de Burley, previously in the possession of Lord Neville. Lime Street is said to take its name from lime having been made or sold here. In this street the first Penny Post Office was established in the reign of Charles the Second.

CORNHILL, ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH,
ROYAL EXCHANGE, &c.

CORNHILL FREQUENTED BY OLD CLOTHES SELLERS. "POPE'S HEAD." -FIRST LONDON COFFEE-HOUSE.-TEA-DRINKING.-ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH.-THE STANDARD IN CORNHILL.-THE ROYAL EXCHANGE. -THE PAWN.-ROYAL EXCHANGE BAZAAR. CHANGE ALLEY.THREADNEEDLE STREET. GORDON RIOTS.- — MERCHANT TAYLORS' COMPANY.-SOUTH SEA HOUSE.-DRAPERS' COMPANY.-PLAGUE IN

LOTHBURY.

LEADENHALL STREET leads us into Cornhill, which derives its name from the principal corn-market in London, which from time immemorial was held upon this spot. In the reign of Elizabeth, Cornhill appears to have been principally frequented by the venders of worn-out apparel, who, according to Stow, were not among the most honest classes of the community. "I have read of a countryman," he says, "that, having lost his hood in Westminster Hall, found the same in Cornhill, hanged out to be sold, which he challenged, but was forced to buy or go without it."

In Cornhill stood a large building called the Pope's Head, said to be one of the most ancient taverns in London, and which unquestionably existed in the early part of the reign of Edward the Fourth. Here, in the reign of Henry the Sixth, wine was

sold for one penny the pint; no charge being made for bread. According to Stow, the Pope's Head had not improbably been a royal palace. In his time, the ancient arms of England, consisting of three leopards, supported between two angels, were still to be seen engraved in stone on the walls. In this tavern, on the 14th of April, 1718, Bowen, a hot-headed Irish comedian, was killed in a duel of his own seeking, by his fellow-actor, Quin. The site of the Pope's Head, which was in existence as late as 1756, is pointed out by Pope's Head Alley, running from Cornhill into Lombard Street.

The house numbered 41, in Cornhill, stands on the site of the one in which, on the 26th December 1716, Gray, the poet, first saw the light.

On the south side of Cornhill is St. Michael's Alley, so called from St. Michael's Church, the tower of which is so conspicuous an ornament of this part of London. In this alley, opposite the church, stood, during the Commonwealth, the first coffee-house established in London. According to Aubrey, it was opened, about the year 1652, by one Bowman, coachman to Mr. Hodges, a Turkey merchant, by whom Bowman was induced to undertake the speculation. The late Mr. D'Israeli, discovered the original hand-bill, which set forth,"The vertue of the coffee-drink, first publiquely made and sold in England, by Pasqua Rosee, in St. Michael's Alley, Cornhill, at the sign of his own

head." This Pasque Rosee, it would seem, was a Greek servant whom the merchant had brought to England with him. In a curious broadside entitled "A Cup of Coffee, or Coffee in its Colours," 1663, the writer ridicules the new fashion as both a very effeminate innovation, and a very indifferent substitute for that "sublime Canary," which warmed the souls of Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher:

For men and Christians to turn Turks, and think
To excuse the crime, because 'tis in their drink!
Pure English apes! ye may, for aught I know,
Were it the mode,-learn to eat spiders too.
Should any of your grandsires' ghosts appear,
In your wax-candle circles, and but hear
The name of Coffee so much called upon,
Then see it drank like scalding Phlegethon;
Would they not startle, think ye? all agreed
'Twas conjuration both in word and deed! &c.

Among other numerous broadsides which were thundered forth against the new drink, may be mentioned, "The Womens' Petition against Coffee," 1674, where a complaint is preferred that "it made men as unfruitful as the deserts whence that unhappy berry is said to be brought; that the offspring of our mighty ancestors would dwindle into a succession of apes and pigmies; and, on a domestic message, a husband would stop by the way to drink a couple of cups of coffee." *

Close by, in Exchange Alley, on the south side of Cornhill, Tea also was first sold and retailed Ed. 1839.

* See "Curiosities of Literature,” p. 288.

for the cure of all disorders, by one Thomas Garway, tobacconist and coffee-man, whose name is still preserved in the well-known Garraway's Coffee-house. The following hand-bill, as Mr. D'Israeli very justly observes, is more curious than any historical account which we possess of its introduction.

"Tea in England hath been sold in the leaf for six pounds, and sometimes for ten pounds the pound weight, and in respect of its former scarceness and dearness it hath been only used as a regalia in high treatments and entertainments, and presents made thereof to princes and grandees, till the year 1657. The said Garway did purchase a quantity thereof, and first publicly sold the said tea in leaf, or drink, made according to the directions of the most knowing merchants into those Eastern countries. On the knowledge of the said Garway's continued care and industry in obtaining the best tea, and making drink thereof, very many noblemen, physicians, merchants, &c., have ever since sent to him for the said leaf, and daily resort to his house to drink the drink thereof. He sells tea from 16s. to 50s. a pound."

In St. Michael's Alley, as we have already mentioned, stands the church of St. Michael, Cornhill, dedicated to the Archangel Michael. A place of worship appears to have existed on the spot previous to the Norman Conquest, but we have no distinct notice of it till the commencement of

the twelfth century. At this period (1133), we