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Gaiety Theatre,
Strand, near Wellington-street. — A good-sized house, handsomely decorated,
and conducted upon unusually liberal principles. No fees are allowed in any part
of the establishment; programmes being supplied gratis. In a little recess on
the right-hand side of the box-corridor will be found the evening papers, and
some comfortable divans whereon to lounge and read them during the intervals of
the performance. Like the Criterion, this theatre was originally built in
connection with a restaurant; the intention being to allow any one who wished an
evenings amusement to get comfortably from his dinner to his stall without the
trouble of donning great coat and hat, or the risk of getting wet or muddy. The
doors of communication, however, were closed by order of the Lord Chamberlain,
and the theatre and the restaurant are now two separate establishments. As at
the Criterion, however, a sort of compromise has been effected, and a door just
inside the theatre entrance gives admission to the restaurant without actually
turning out into the rain. The specialty of the Gaiety has varied from time to
time. At present it may be said to be comedy and burlesque. The entrance is
lighted by the Lontin electric light. NEAREST Railway
Station, Temple; Omnibus Routes, St.
Martins-lane, Strand, Chancery-lane, and Waterloo-bridge.
Garrick Club —
Instituted for the general patronage of the drama; for the purpose of combining
the use of a club, on economical principles, with the advantages of a literary
society; for bringing together the supporters of the drama; and for the
formation of a theatrical library, with works on costume. The election of
members is vested in the general committee. If a less number than twelve voting
members of the committee are present, two black balls will exclude; if twelve or
more, three. No candidate to be admitted unless seven of the committee vote. In
every case when the minimum amount of black balls is found, the ballot must be
taken a second time. Four candidates in each year may be selected by the
committee in consideration of their public eminence or distinction. The entrance
money is fixed at such amount as the committee may from time to time determine.
The annual subscription is £8 8s. The committee have power to admit, pro
tem., any distinguished foreigner known to the theatrical, musical, or
literary world. Visitors are only admitted to the rooms set apart for their
reception, except on Wednesdays, when members can take their friends all over
the house to inspect the pictures.
Gas.—The
names of the London Gas Companies, with the addresses of their chief offices,
are as follows:
The Gas Light and Coke Company, Horseferry-road, S.W.
The London, 26, Southampton-street, Strand.
The South Metropolitan, 589, Old Kent-road.
The Phoenix, 70, Bankside.
The Commercial, Harford-st, Stepney.
The gas delivered by the various companies is of such an illuminating power,
that when consumed at the ordinary pressure, at the rate of 5 cubic feet per
hour in a No.1 Sugg’s Standard Argand burner, it gives a light equal to 15
sperm candles. The definition of a “candle” is the light given by a pure
sperm candle, consuming 120 grains of sperm per hour. The price charged for gas
varies from 3s. to 3s. 6d. per 1,000 cubic feet.
THE SERVICE PIPE is the pipe which conducts gas from the company’s main in the
street to the consumer’s meter. It is generally laid to just within the
precincts of the consumer’s premises, and maintained at the Company’s
expense When a new service pipe, or an alteration in the size of an existing one
is required, notice must be sent to the gas company’s office, stating the
number of gas burners for lighting, gas stoves for cooking, and gas fires for
heating it is proposed to use. On taking possession of a house the service pipe
is generally found disconnected and capped off in the area. Before making use of
it notice must be sent to the gas company, who then send their inspector with a
printed form of contract for signature; and this contract is to the effect that
the consumer will hold himself responsible for all gas consumed on the premises,
and will permit access to the meter by any one of their authorised servants at
all reasonable hours.
When an outgoing tenant quits a house leaving a quarter’s gas unpaid, the
company cannot make the incoming tenant responsible for such default, or refuse
on this account to supply him with gas.
When a stoppage occurs in the service-pipe from the deposit of napthalin, by
writing to the gas company’s office men are sent to remove it without any
charge being made to the consumer.
THE GAS METER.—In all dwelling houses it is better to employ a “dry” than
a “wet’ meter, and better to rent it from the gas company, who will be
responsible for its proper working and maintenance, than to buy one. When a
5-light meter is spoken of, it means a meter of sufficient capacity to supply
gas for 5 argand burners, each consuming, say from 6
to 8 cubic feet per hour, so that a 5-light meter will be quite sufficient
for 8 or 9 ordinary fish-tail burners. The idea that the gas company can force
the meter round, or in any way influence its registration in an improper way, is
absurd.
Under the “Sale of Gas Acts,” gas consumers have the privilege of having
their meters tested should their correctness be doubted at the offices of the
Metropolitan Board of Works. These offices are for the northern and eastern
divisions at White Lion-street, Shoreditch; for south eastern division at
Castle-street, Southwark; and for western division, St. Ann-street, Westminster.
The charge for testing meters is as follows: 1 to 5 light meter inclusive, 6d.
each; 10 to 40 light meter inclusive, 1s. each; 50 to 60 light meter inclusive,
2s. each; 80 to 100 light meter inclusive, 3s. each, and so on. Should the Gas
Company be proved to be in the wrong they have to pay the expense of testing,
which otherwise falls on the consumer.
Gas pipes laid throughout a building should in all cases be of wrought iron and
painted with two coats of oil paint. No pipe less than ½ inch internal bore
should be permitted. To burn gas as supplied in London economically, the rule is
large pipes and low pressure.
The pressure of gas to a house is best regulated by a wet governor —it is an
exceedingly simple, durable, and efficient instrument. The mercurial governor is
objectionable owing to the contracted gas ways, and the liability of the mercury
to get into and destroy the meter. There are innumerable patent regulators, but
none work better than the wet governor.
GAS BURNERS.—The argand and fishtail burners, made by Sugg, of Westminster,
and supplied by all respectable gasfitters, are on questionably the best. It is
often supposed that if a good fishtail or flat flame burner is employed, it
burns equally well whatever shape of globe be used; this is not the case, the
best form of globe is spherical, with a large opening, say 3 ¼
in. at the bottom, and 3 ½ in.
at thc top. Melon or pine shaped globes are bad, saucer shaped are still worse.
For reception and bedrooms the opal Christiania shade or globe, with a No: 4 or
5 flat flame stentite burner, gives the best and most agreeable result with the
least consumption of gas. The Bronner burner is economical, but must not he used
in places exposed to much draught. For basement offices the No. 4 flat flame
burner will answer every purpose. The constant complaint of consumers about the
“bad gas” either means that the supply of gas is deficient or that it is
improperly consumed: with deficient supply it must rest either with the gas
company, whose service pipe may be stopped, or with the consumer, whose fittings
may be choked up or too small: in the case of bad burners the remedy is an easy
one. The comparison on the same chandelier of a No. 5 flat flame burner with 7
½ .in. Christiania shade, will at once show whether the old burners and globes
are or are not of the right kind. And when a good, burner and globe are obtained
it is necessary to keep them free from dust, by using a soft duster for the
former, and by washing the latter twice a week. It should always be remembered
that what the consumer wants and pays for is so much light rather than so many
cubic feet of gas. And while the quality of the gas supplied in London does not
appreciably vary, it is only by using the best burners, fitted in the best and
most intelligent manner that satisfactory results can be obtained.
General
Baptist Place of Worship.
—
The following information has been kindly furnished by the minister, the “
terms of membership” being given in his own words:
GENERAL BAPTIST CHAPEL, Great Eastern-street, Shoreditch. Terms
of Membership: “Belief in general redemption (that is, that Christ died
for all), in opposition to particular redemption (that Christ died for a few).
Also baptism by immersion.” All seats free. Supported by weekly voluntary
offerings. While our membership is restricted
to baptised believers our communion is quite open. All who love our Lord Jesus
Christ are invited to sit down with us at His own table.
General Post
Office, St. Martin’s-le-Grand, E.C.—Hours 10 to 4. Subdivided
into Secretary’s Office; Medical Department; Solicitors’, Surveyors’,
Telegraph, and Engineering Departments; Receiver and Accountant General’s
Office; Money Order Office; Savings’ Bank Department; Circulation Department,
with further subdivisions’ and Returned Letter Office. Admission to view the
interior working of the department can be obtained only by permission of the
post-office authorities who, on account of the obstruction to public business,
are somewhat chary of according it. NEAREST Railway
Stations, Holborn Viaduct, Aldersgate, and Mansion House (Dist.); Omnibus
Routes, Aldersgate-st, Cheapside, and Moorgate-street; Cab
Rank, Opposite.
Geological
Museum, in
Jermyn-street, Piccadilly, contains a superb collection of minerals, metals, and
their products. The hall into which the visitor first enters is devoted to
stones used in building, and for architectural adornments. Here are plinths and
blocks of an immense variety of marbles, granites, porphyrys, serpentines,
elvans, and conglomerate stones. The building stones of Great Britain are very
strongly represented, and in the recess by the stairs are some cases of British
serpentines, granites, and conglomerates, which show what an immense variety of
ornamental stone our architects have ready at hand. In this hall are busts of
presidents of the museum and other eminent geologists. Upstairs in the grand
hall are specimens of every known ore of all the metals from all parts of the
world, as also the manufactured products of the ores. The number and variety of
ores of the same metals are immense, and the beauty of many of them is very
remarkable. There are some lovely specimens of rock crystals, and ladies will be
interested in the collection of gems, and in the beautiful examples of agates
and amygdalites. There are many geological models showing the stratifications of
various localities, and the direction and nature of mineral lodes. Facing the
staircase is a model on a large scale of the geological stratifications of the
Thames valley beneath and around London. Just behind this is a gold snuff-box
mounted in diamonds, and a magnificent salver in steel and gold. The first was
presented by the Emperor of Russia, the second by the Russian School of Science,
to the late Sir Roderick Murchison who bequeathed them to the museum. At e south
end of the hall is a very fine collection of glass and pottery. There are also
examples of Limoges enamels, and other vitreous ware. In the upper galleries is
a superb collection of fossils of all kinds. In the chambers at the north end of
the hail is a collection of models showing the underground and surface workings
of mines, pumps, engines, man-ladders, lifts, cages, tools, furnaces, and in
fact of all machinery, apparatus, and plant connected with mining. Large as the
museum is it is wholly insufficient to hold more than a small proportion of the
specimens of rocks and ores which have been presented to it, and the cellars are
crowded with cases of valuable specimens. The museum is open free to the public
daily, except on Fridays. NEAREST Railway
Stations, Charing-cross (Dist. and SE.); Omnibus
Routes, Piccadilly and Regent-street; Cab
Ranks, Albany, Piccadilly, and St. James’s-square.
Geological Survey of
the United Kingdom,
28, Jermyn-street, S.W.—NEAREST Railway
Stations, Charing-cross (Dist. and S. E.); Omnibus
Routes, Piccadilly, Regent-street, and Waterloo-place; Cab
Rank, Horse Guards.
German Empire.— EMBASSY,
9, Carlton House-terrace, S.W. NEAREST
Railway Stations, Charing-cross (Dist. and S. E.); Omnibus
Route, Regent-street ; Cab Rank, Waterloo-place.
CONSULATE 5, Blomfield-street, London Wall. NEAREST Railway
Station, Bishopsgate Omnibus Route, Bishopsgate-st;
Cab Rank, At Station.
German
Gymnastic Society.—(See ATHLETICS.)
German Protestant
Places of Worship.—The
following
information has been kindly furnished by the respective ministers, the “terms
of membership” being given in their own words:
GERMAN PROTESTANT REFORMED CHURCH, Hooper-square, Whitechapel. —Terms of
membership: “Attending of services and communion; with wealthy people paying
a pew rent.” Seat rents, 10s. 6d. and £1 1s., somewhat over £105 yearly
altogether. This church, founded 1697, being one of the oldest of the German
churches in London; first service held in Savoy Palace; since 1771 the church
stood at the present place of Waterloo-bridge; sin 1819 in Hooper-square, E.
GERMAN PROTESTANT EVAGELICAL CHURCH, Fowler-road, Halton-road, near
Cross-street, Essex-road, Islington. — Terms of membership:
“Members are those who attend the services, pay an annual
(voluntary) contribution to the church, apply to the committee of the church for
reception as members, and are a proved and received by that body as such.”
Seat rents, 3s. and 6s. per quarter. Services: Sundays, 11 am. and 6.30 p.m.;
Wednesdays, 7 p.m.; Sunday school 3 p.m. Communion usually on the first Sunday
of the month, either morning or evening.
Globe
Theatre,
Newcastle-street, Strand.—A compact little theatre, with a semi-circular salle
half below ground. It has passed through too many vicissitudes, and has been
under too many different managements, to have acquired any specialty, but
appears inclined at present to settle down into opera bouffe. NEAREST Railway
Station, Temple; Omnibus
Routes, St. Martin’s-lane, Strand, Chancery-lane, and Waterloo-bridge.
Gog and
Magog—or,
to give them their proper titles, Gogmagog and Corinoeus, we both born in
the year 1707; their wicker-work predecessors formerly carried in procession on
grand City occasions, having escaped the Great Fire only to succumb eventually
to the combined assaults of old age and the City rats. At what period they
agreed to drop the high sounding name of Coninceus and to divide that of
Gogmagog between them, even the “Gigantik Historie of ye two famous Giants of
ye Guildhall” does not record. But Gog and Magog they have been for more years
at all events than the memory of living cockney runneth to the contrary, and Gog
and Magog they will no doubt remain to the end of the municipal chapter. The
present monsters, who are too substantially built for travelling, were carved by
one Richard Saunders, to whom the City paid £70 for the job, and are
permanently stationed in the Guildhall.
Goldsmiths’ Company (The)
possess an immense mansion at the back of the General Post Office, and are
famous for theor hospitality and their charities. Time was when the Goldsmiths
were held to be the most pugnacious of all the guilds. They fought the
Fishmongers on a question of precedence, and they constantly met the Merchant
Taylors in the streets at night, when much cudgelling ensued. Nowadays the
Goldsmiths are as peaceable a body of men as need be.
They possess the right of assaying all articles made
of gold and silver. The staircase leading to the hall, made entirely of marble,
is well worth a visit; and Mr. Storey’s figures of Cleopatra and the Sibyl are
worthy of more than passing attention. Amidst a valuable collection of plate is
a silver-gilt cup, used at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, and presented by
her majesty to Sir Martin Bowes, who was Lord Mayor at the time. This vessel is
highly treasured, and is used as a loving -cup at the Goldsmiths’ feasts.
There is a fair collection of portraits of royal personages,
including one of Queen Victoria by Hayter.
Government Offices—(See under their respective heads.)
Grafton
Club, Grafton-street.—Proprietary;
a grill club. Entrance fee, £5 5S. ; subscription,
£3 3s.
Gravesend.—A busy river-side town, with two or three good hotels, chiefly used by friends of passengers going
long sea voyages, sea-going ships commonly bringing up here for at least one
tide on their way down the river, and most persons preferring to go on board
here rather than in the docks. The country around is pretty and rents moderate.
It is also a great head-quarters of Thames yachting men. The principal river
forts are here; at Tilbury on the opposite side of the river, and at Coalhouse
and Shorne, about three or four miles lower down, and only accessible on foot or
by boat. There is steam ferry to Tilbury in communication with the railway from
Fenchurch-street, free for railway passengers, others 2d. each. From
Charing-cross (1h. 19m.), Cannon-street (1h. 9m) 1st 3/6 4/6 2nd 2/8, 3/6; 3rd,
2/2, 3/.. Fenchurch-street (1h. 5m.), 1st, 2/6, 3/9; 2nd 1/8, 2/10; 3rd 1/1, 2/-..
STEAM-BOATS from Charing-cross-pier.
Grecian
Theatre,
City-road. —Formerly the “Eagle Tavern”, and still connected with the
garden of that house. A local theatre, to which, however, visitors from the
West-end have of late years been attracted in considerable numbers by the
extraordinary performance of the late proprietor, Mr. George Conquest, who as an
acrobatic actor is probably unequalled. His Christmas pantomimes, written b
himself, and by no means without merit, have always contained some striking
parts, dwarf, giant, monkey, or such like, in which his peculiar talents could
be shown to advantage ; one scene in particular being always given up to a
breathless series of leaps, dives, &c., from which it seemed impossible that
he could emerge with life. NEAREST Omnibus
Routes, City-road and New North road.
Greece.—MINISTRY,
64, Pall Mall. NEAREST Railway Station, St.
James’s-park; Omnibus Routes,
Regent-street, Whitehall, and Piccadilly; Cab Rank, St.
James’s-street. CONSULATE, 52, Old Broad-st. NEAREST Railway Station, Bishopsgate ; Omnibus
Route, Bishopsgate-street; Cab Rank, Lothbury.
Greenhorns,
Tricks on. —
These are too numerous mention, for they comprise all the snares that human
ingenuity can set for credulity. To avoid them there is but one maxim—be on
your guard. There is the confidence trick, wherein two con federates obtain
possession of the greenhorn’s purse, ostensibly for a few minutes, “just to
show his confidence” in one of them, who has previously entrusted him with his
purse, filled probably with fictitious notes on “The Bank of Elegance,” or
some other imaginary name, the alleged proceeds of a legacy which he is anxious
to divide with his new found friend, from charitable motives. These
confidence-trick people lurk about Westminster Abbey, the British Museum, the
Zoological Gardens, and other places visited by strangers. They sometimes spend
days in the company of a dupe before they put his credulity to a test. Then
there the ring dropping trick, by which a dupe is induced to buy a worthless
ring, but purporting to be a diamond, by a man who pretends to find it just in
front of the dupe, but alleges he has neither time nor inclination to seek a
better market. The three-card trick, and other tricks with cards, practised
often in railway trains, may cost an innocent man, who is so foolish as to play
with strangers, all he possesses. The painted bird trick, whereby a worthless
sparrow is passed off as a valuable piping bullfinch or canary, ensnares many
ladies. People who consider themselves knowing in horseflesh are often entrapped
by horse-copers, who, by a variety of artful means, make worthless horses appear
valuable. In these cases the story generally is that the sale only takes place
on account of the death of a relation. Every trial is promised; the horses will
be taken back, and the money returned within a month, if the purchaser wishes; a
veterinary warranty is to be given. Such are the falsehoods which ensure a
constant supply of victims, who are afterwards ashamed to expose their folly in
a court of law. The trial is put off on various excuses, the veterinary
certificate is written by a confederate, and the guarantee is worthless.
Green Park lies
on the south side of the western half of Piccadilly, and is nearly triangular in
shape; its south-west side being bounded by Constitution-hill, between which and
Grosvenor-place lie the private gardens of Buckingham Palace. The north-west
corner is just opposite the southeast corner of Hyde-park. On the arch at the
entrance to Constitution-hill stands the equestrian Statue of the great Duke of
Wellington, in long cloak and cocked hat, probably the most stupendous jest ever
perpetrated in the way of a public monument. Only privileged horsemen and
carriages can pass down Constitution-hill. NEAREST Railway
Station Victoria; Omnibus Route, Piccadilly
and Grosvenor-place.
Green
Room Club
is instituted to promote the association of members of the dramatic,
literary, artistic, and liberal professions. The election of members is vested
in the committee. If twelve or a less number of members of the committee are
present two black balls will exclude; if more than twelve, three. No candidate
to be admitted unless seven of the committee vote. No candidate is eligible
under the age of twenty-one years. Any foreigner or British subject, usually
resident abroad, and temporarily resident in London may, upon election by the
committee in the ordinary way, enjoy the advantages of the club as an honorary
member for a period of one month, and such permission may be renewed from month
to month for a period not exceeding three months in the course of any one year.
The annual subscription is £3 3s., payable in advance on the 1st of January.
Greenwich Hospital and
Royal Naval College, Greenwich, S.E. — Greenwich Hospital is well
worth a visit, although the old pensioners, which constituted perhaps its chief
attraction, have been removed since 1871. The Painted Hall contains some fine
pictures of sea-fights, and there are some noteworthy statues of celebrated
sailors. The most interesting of the Greenwich sights, however, are the relics
of Nelson—notably the Trafalgar coat and waistcoat. The public are admitted
free. From Cannon-street (17 mm), 1st, -/10, 1/3; 2nd, -/8, 1/.; 3rd, -/5,
-/8. Charing Cross (27 min.), 1st, 1/-, 1/6; 2nd, -/9, 1/2; 3rd, -/6, -/9;
also by steamboat from all piers.
Gresham Club is
composed of merchants, bankers, and other gentlemen of known respectability. No
candidate is eligible until he has attained the age of twenty-one years.
Election by ballot of the members, of whom 30 must actually vote. One black ball
in ten shall exclude. Entrance fee, £21; subscription, £6 6s.
Grocers’ Company (The), that is,
dealers en gros, were
originally called Pepperers, and were incorporated by a charter given by Edward
III. They are rich in church livings, and possess four free grammar schools
besides exhibitions at the universities. Their present abode, close to
Cheapside, is not remarkable for beauty, but is spacious and comfortable. The
one admirable object in the house is a stained glass window. Portraits of Pitt
and Baron Heath are noteworthy ornaments. The Grocers’ plate is remarkable,
more especially two large silver-gilt loving cups, dated respectively 1668 and
1669. The present hall was finished in 1802.
Grosvenor Bridge
is handsomer than most railway bridges, and perhaps wider than any. It forms the
connecting link between the Victoria Station and the lines on the south side of
the river; but there is no accommodation for any other kind of traffic.
Guards’ Club, 70, Pall
Mall, S.W.—For officers of the Grenadier, Coldstream, and Scots Guards only.
Entrance fee, £31 10s.; subscription, £10.
Guatemala, Republic
of. —MINISTRY,
21, Bedford-place,. W.C. NEAREST Railway
Stations, Gower-street and Charing-cross (District and S.E.R.); Omnibus
Routes, Tottenham-court-road and Oxford-street; Cab
Rank, Percy-street. CONSULATE, 22,
Gt. Winchester-street. NEAREST Railway
Station, Bishopsgate; Omnibus Routes, Old
Broad. Street and Bishopsgate-street; Cab
Rank, At Station.
Guildhall dates originally from the time of Henry IV., which, however, is not responsible for the mean and miserable jumble of a front stuck on to it by Dance in 1789. The old walls, on the other hand, are of so splendid a solidity that they stood triumphant through the Great Fire of 1666, towering amid the flames “in a bright shining coat, as if it had been a palace of gold or a great building of burnished brass.” The old crypt, too, of the same date (1411), is a beautiful piece of work, 75 ft. long by 45 ft. wide, and divided into three aisles by six clusters of circular columns in Purbeck marble, supporting a fine groined roof, partly in stone, partly in chalk and bricks; the principal intersections being covered with carved bosses of heads, shields, and flowers. The vaulting, with four-centred arches, is considered to be one of the earliest as well as one of the finest examples of its kind in England. At the eastern end is a fine arched entrance of Early English, and in the southeastern angle an octagonal recess about 13ft. in height. The length of the great hall is 150 ft., its height 55 ft., and its breadth 50 ft. The side walls, which are 5 ft. in thickness, are divided by clustered columns and mouldings into eight spaces, and at each end of the hall is a splendid Gothic window, occupying the whole width, and nearly perfect in all architectural details. Only the upper portions, however, are filled with stained glass, and that chiefly of modern date. In corners, on lofty octagonal pedestals, are the two famous giants. — (See GOG AND MAGOG.) The great State Banquets are held here; the hall being capable of containing between 6,000 and 7,000 persons. It was here that Whittington, entertaining in his capacity of Lord Mayor Henry V. and his queen, paid the king after dinner the delicate compliment of burning, on a fire of sandal-wood, his majesty’s bonds for £60,000; and it was here also that a successor of equal loyalty, but perhaps hardly equal felicity in its demonstration, seized Charles II. by the arm, as that merry monarch was endeavouring to beat at least a partially sober retreat, and peremptorily insisted upon his brother potentate remaining for “t’other bottle.” Even in these moderate times the Lord Mayor’s feast is a Gargantuan institution, involving the services of twenty cooks, the slaughter of forty turtles, and the consumption of somewhere about fourteen tons of coal. Around the Guildhall are a cluster of courts, duplicating those at Westminster, and there are also numerous other apartments, such as the Common Council Chamber, the Court of Aldermen, the Chamberlain’s Office, the Chamberlains Parlour, the Library (one of the finest in the kingdom), &c., with a court called the Lord Mayor’s Court, nominally for the recovery of small debts incurred in the City. NEAREST Railway Stations, Mansion House (Dist.) and Moorgate-street; Omnibus Routes, Moorgate-street and Cheapside; Cab Rank, Lothbury.