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Metropolitan
Police Office, 4,
Whitehall-place, S.W. —Commissioner’s office hours, 11
till 5; office of Receiver for the Metropolitan Police District hours, 10
till 4 (See
POLICE) —NEAREST Railway Stations, Charing-cross
(SE. and Dist.); Omnibus Routes, Whitehall
and Strand; Cab Rank,
Horse Guards.
Mexico.—CONSULATE, 4, Adam’s-court, Old Broad-street. —NEAREST Railway Station, Bishopsgate; Omnibus Routes, Old Broad-street and Bishopsgate. street; Cab
Rank, New Broad-st.
Middlesex Sessions House, Clerkenwell-green, near Farringdon-road. NEAREST Railway
Station, Farringdon-street; Omnibus
Routes, Exmouth-street and Goswell-road; Cab
Rank, Opposite,
Military Home District (Head Quarters, Horse
Guards, London) comprising Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, City of London,
Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Tower Hamlets
INFANTRY SUB-DISTRICTS AND BRIGADES
SUB-DISTRICT NO.41 (County of Berks.)
Brigade No.41 (Berkshire)
1st Line Bn. 49
Foot
2nd Line Bn. 66 Foot
Militia Bn. Royal Berks. Reading
Brig. Dep. (No.41) Reading
Volunteers 1st Berks Reading
SUB-DISTRICT
NO.42 (Counties of Oxford and Bucks.)
Brigade No.42 (Oxford and Bucks)
1st Line Bn. 52
Foot
2nd Line Bn. 85 Foot
1st Militia Bn. Royal Bucks. High Wycombe
2nd Militia Bn. Oxford Oxford
Brig. Dep. (No.42) Oxford
Volunteers 1st Oxford Oxford
Volunteers 2nd Oxford Oxford
Volunteers 1st Bucks. Great Marlow
SUB-DISTRICT
NO.47 (County of Surrey)
Brigade No.47 (Surrey)
1st Line Bn. 31 Foot
2nd Line Bn. 70 Foot
1st Militia Bn. 1st Roy. Sur. Kingston
2nd Militia Bn. 3rd Roy. Sur. Kingston
Brig. Dep. (No.47) Kingston
Volunteers 1 A.B. Surrey Clapham
Volunteers 2 A.B. Surrey Kingston
Volunteers 1st Surrey Camberwell
Volunteers 7th Surrey Southwark
SUB-DISTRICT NO.48 (County of Surrey)
Bridge No. 48 (Surrey)
1st Line Bn. 1 Bn. 2 Foot
2nd Line Bn. 2 Bn. 2 Foot
Militia Bn. 2nd Roy. Sur. Guildford
Brig. Dep. (No. 48) Guildford
Volunteers 3 A.B. Surrey Dorking
Volunteers 4 A.B. Surrey Rotherhithe
Volunteers 2nd Surrey Croydon
Volunteers 19th Surrey Kennington
SUB-DISTRICTS NOS. 49 & 50 (County of Middlesex and Metropolitan)
Brigade No. 49
(Middlesex and Metropolitan)
1st Line Bn. 1 Bn.7 Foot
2nd Line Bn. 2 Bn. 7 Foot
1st Militia Bn. 3rd Middlesex Turnham Grn.
2nd Militia Bn. 4th Middlesex Hounslow
Brig. Dep. (No.49) Hounslow
Volunteers 9th Middlesex Lord’s Cricket Ground
Volunteers 18th
(att.) Harrow
Volunteers 40th
Midsx. Gray’s-inn-pl.
Volunteers 46th
Midsx. Westminster
Brigade No. 50
(Middlesex and Metropolitan)
1st Line Bn. 57 Foot
2nd Line Bn. 77 Foot
1st Militia Bn. R.East Midx. Hampstead
2nd Militia Bn. 5th Middlesex Uxbridge
Brig. Dep. (No.50) Hounslow
Volunteers 2 A.B.Midsx. Hornsey
Volunteers 7 A.B. Midsx. Hounslow
Volunteers 29th Midsx. Pratt-street
BRIGADE NOS. 51 & 52 (60th Rifles)
1st Line Bn. 1 Bn. 60 Foot
2nd Line Bn. 2 Bn. 60 Foot
3rd Line Bn. 43 Bn. 60 Foot
4th Line Bn. 4 Bn. 60 Foot
1st Militia Bn.
Roy. London Artillery-pl, Finsbury
2nd Militia Bn. 2nd Middlsx. Barnet
Brig. Dep. (NOS.51 & 52) Winchester
Volunteers 1st
London Finsbury-pl. south
Volunteers 2nd
London Holborn-circus
Volunteers 3rd
London Farringdon-st.
Volunteers 2nd Middlesex Walham-grn
Volunteers 4th
Middlesex Regent-st.
Volunteers 11th
Middlesex Mill-st., W.
Volunteers 1st
(attached) S.John’s Wood
Volunteers 19th
Middlesex Fitzroy-sq. W.
Volunteers 20th Middlesex Euston-sq.
Volunteers 21st Midsx. Somerset House
Volunteers 50th (att.) Somerset House
Volunteers 22nd Middlesex. Westminster
BRIGADE NOS. 53 & 54 (Rifle Brigade)
1st Line Bn. 1 Bn. Rif. Brig.
2nd Line Bn. 2 Bn. Rif. Brig.
3rd Line Bn. 3 Bn. Rif. Brig.
4th Line Bn. 4 Bn. Rif. Brig.
1st Militia Bn. Queen’s Own Victoria Park Square
1st Militia Bn. R.Twr.Ham Victoria Park Square
2nd Militia Bn. King’s Own Dalston
2nd Militia Bn. R.Twr.Ham Dalston
Brig. Dep. (NOS.53 & 54) Winchester
Volunteers 15th Mdlsx. Adam-st. Adelphi
Volunteers 23rd Middlesex Lincoln’s Inn
Volunteers 26th Middlesex Custom House
Volunteers 28th Middlesex King Will-st. W.C.
Volunteers 36th Middlesex Paddington
Volunteers 37th Middlesex Foundling Hospital
Volunteers 38th Middlesex Hanover-sq.
Volunteers 39th Middlesex Pentonville
Volunteers 49th Middlesex Charing-cr.
Volunteers 1 A.B. Twr.Ham. Quaker-st., E.
Volunteers 1st Twr.Haml. Shaftesbury-st., Hoxton
WOOLWICH DISTRICT.
DISTRICT STAFF.
REGULAR TROOPS—Artillery — 2nd Batt. 8th
Brig., 8th Batt. 9th Brig., and 18th Batt. 11th Brig Engineers
— 34th Company.
MILITIA.—Artillery—
Northumberland, Argyle and Bute, and Antrim Regiments.
VoLUNTEERS.— Infantry—Detachments from the
County of Middlesex. Artillery—Detachments from the Counties of
Middlesex and 1st Kent Corps. Engineers —
Detachments from the County of Middlesex.
PENSIONERS.—Infantry—Of the London District.
1st East Division, 2nd do.; 1st West Divislon, 2nd do.; 1st North Division, 2nd
do.; South Division; Woolwich and Greenwich.
Milk. — London milk-sellers are supplied partly
from cowsheds in London itself, partly from numerous farms in
all parts of the country, brought within easy reach by the railway system.
Milk is, unfortunately, as recent experience has proved, often the source of, or
rather, perhaps, the means of spreading, serious epidemics of typhoid,
diphtheria, and scarlatina. The Adulteration Act made it a penal offence to sell
milk and water as “milk” and an Order in Council has recently been issued
(4th February, 1879) for the registration, regulating, and cleansing of dairies
milk shops, &c. It is almost impossible for small proprietors of milk
businesses to properly carry out the sanitary arrangements necessary to secure
freedom from contamination of milk. A medical inspector to frequently inspect
and report upon the farms from whence the supplies are obtained; an engineer to
supervise the water supply and drainage; care
taken of the employes in London, by giving them suitable dwellings for
themselves and families, so as to avoid the probability of their living in
wretched and crowded tenements; and staff of inspectors to guard against
malpractices on the part of the milk-carriers, are precautions that can rarely
be adopted by private milk-sellers. It is only to companies with large capital
at command that the necessary precautions and supervision can be thoroughly
carried out. A system comprising such arrangements given above may be seen in
operation in the establishments of the London and Provincial Dairy Company, and
the Aylesbury Dairy Company. Much confusion was caused by an ingenious person
who discovered an ambiguity in the Adulteration Act, and who unfortunately
succeeded in inducing several magistrates to adopt his views. According to the
judgments delivered in accordance with the reading of the Act, no public
inspector buying goods for the purpose of analysis could be prejudiced if they
were adulterated and consequently no penalties could be en forced. This for a
time frustrated the undoubted object of the legislature. Fortunately in March
last the superior court, on appeal, adopted the common-sense view, and the
provisions of the Act are now again in useful operation.
Millbank Prison stands on the river bank, near
Vauxhall-bridge. It is built on Benthams “Panopticon” plan, six different
buildings radiating from a common centre. The building is intended to hold 1,000
prisoners, and cost half-a-million, which, with ground rent, &c., represents
an outlay per head for rent, &c, of about £50 per annum, or, as the prison
is rarely more than half full, practically not far short of £100. Prisoners
pass through here from Newgate and elsewhere as the first stage of
“penal servitude,” and the discipline is somewhat severe. Orders to
view from Home Secretary, or Directors of Convict Prisons, 44 Parliament-street,
S.W. NEAREST Railway Station, Vauxhall;
Omnibus Routes, Vauxhall-bridge-road
and Palace-road ; Cab Rank, Vauxhall-bridge.
Mines, Royal School of, Jermyn-street. — The
School of Mines, which was established in 1851, was really a product of the
geological survey of the United Kingdom, begun by Sir Henry de la Beche in 1834.
The principal object of the institution has always been, and is, to discipline
the students thoroughly in the principles of those sciences upon which the
operations of the miner and metallurgist depend. The professors attached to the
school lecture on the following subjects: Mining, mineralogy, chemistry, general
natural history, physics, applied mechanics, metallurgy, geology, and mechanical
drawing. The fee for a course of 40 or more lectures is £4; for 30, and under
40, £3. Students passing the examination of the third year in the first-class
receive an official certificate as Associates of the Royal School of Mines.
There are various exhibitions, scholarships, and free admissions attached to the
school, as to which information can be obtained of the registrar. At suitable
periods during the year lectures are given in the evening to working men. These
courses are systematic, and are so arranged as to illustrate, within two years,
the principal subjects taught at the institution.—(See GEOLOGICAL
MUSEUM.)
Mint, Royal, Little Tower.-hill. Hours 10 till
4.—Contains some of the most beautiful and delicate automatic machinery the
world. The process of converting bar gold into coins of exactly the same size,
and the same weight to half a grain, can be see here in perfection. Until
recently the Royal Mint was the only place whence gold coinage was issued having
currency in the United Kingdom and its colonies, but of late years mints have
been established in Sydney and in Melbourne whence by every mail arrives a large
influx of colonial gold coin. Applications to view the Mint should be made in
writing to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The orders are, however, rather
charily given—NEAREST Railway Stations Cannon-street
(SE.) and Fenchurch-street; Omnibus Route; Fenchurch-street and Aldersgate, Cab
Rank, Royal Mint-street.
Miscellaneous Societies, —The following are the
principal miscellaneous societies, with the objects and terms of subscription
according to official returns furnished, at the Editor’s request, by their
respective secretaries. The societies omitted are those from which his request
for information has failed to elicit any reply:
AMATEUR MECHANICAL SOCIETY, 5, Robert-street, Adelphi —Subscription:
£1 1s.; entrance fee, £1 1s. Object:
To serve as means of communication between amateurs. There is a workshop at
the rooms in Robert- street, and periodical meetings are held there
AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHIC ASSOCIATION, 12, York-place,
Portman-square. —Subscription: Annual,
£1 1s. Object: The advancement of
amateur photography
ANTI-ADULTERATION ASSOCIATION, 6, Spur-street,
Leicester-square—Object: For enforcing and amending the laws against
adulteration.
BRITISH NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SPIRITUALIST5, 38, Great
Russell-street.— Subscription: From
5s. per annum and upwards, according to privileges granted. Object:
Investigation of phenomena known as spiritual or psychic.
BRITISH SCANDINAVIAN SOCIETY LIMITED, 158,
Leadenhall-street. — Subscription: £1
1s. Proposed by any other member and seconded. Object:
To afford to ladies and gentlemen interested in Scandinavia, opportunities
of mutual intercourse by means of occasional meetings, at which papers may be
read and discussed on Scandinavian literature, language, history, topography,
geology, &c. To establish, under regulations to be framed by the committee,
a lending library of books likely to interest the members- To
assist such members as may desire it, to make arrangements for
instruction in the Scandinavian languages. To interchange information as to
routes, &c in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland, and to improve the
steamer communication with the west coast of Norway.
CITY CHURCH AND CHURCHYARD PR0TECTION SOCIETY, 22,
Charterhouse-sq. —Subscription No
pecuniary liability attaches to any person becoming a member; but, if necessary,
the members will be asked for small donations for working expenses. Object:
Expressed in title.
COMMONS PRESERVATION SOCIETY, 1, Great College-street,
Westminster. Supported by donations and subscriptions of different amounts. Object:
Expressed in title.
FOOD REFORM SOCIETY, Franklin Hall, 30, Castle-street
east, Oxford-street. — Subscription 2s.
6d. per annum, donations, and sale of pamphlets. Object:
Advocating the adoption of a diet from which all flesh meat is excluded.
HARLEIAN SOCIETY, 24, Wardour-street. —Subscription: Entrance fee, 10s. 6d.; annual subscription £1
1s., and to register section £1 1s. Object:
The publication of heraldic visitations of counties, and manuscripts
relating to heraldry, genealogy, and family history; also the publication of
parish registers.
HOME REUNION SOCIETY, 7,
Whitehall. — Subscription (minimum):
2s. 6d. per annum. Object: To promote
a better understanding with Nonconformists.
LONDON CONGREGATIONAL UNION, Memorial Hall,
Farringdon-street. Object: To promote
the spiritual intercommunion of the congregational churches of the metropolis,
to advance their common interests and to facilitate the expression of their
opinions upon religious and social questions.
METROPOLITAN MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION, 21, Regent-street.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF SOCIAL SCIENCE,
WITH WHICH IS UNITED THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING THE AMENDMENT OF THE LAW. 1,
Adam-street, Adelphi, London. —Annual
subscription Full member, £2 2s. ordinary member, £1 1s. ; associate, 10s.
6d. Object: To spread a knowledge of
the principles of jurisprudence, to consider the best practical means of
promoting the amendment of the law, the advancement of education, the prevention
and repression of crime, the reformation of criminals, the organisation and
administration of the sanitary laws, the adoption of health regulations, the
diffusion of sound principles on questions of economy and trade, the best
methods of cultivating a taste for art, and to aid in the development of social
science generally.
NATIONAL SUNDAY LEAGUE, 25, Bloomsbury-street, Oxford-street—Subscription : From £1 per
annum upwards. Object: To obtain the
opening of the national museums, art galleries, and libraries, on Sundays.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 7, East India-avenue.—
The whole finance of the Church, embracing 269 congregations, together with the
mission and other machinery, is managed from this office. The church represents
the Presbyterians of the Commonwealth, ejected in 1662 from the Church of
England, together with Presbyterian immigrants from Scotland and Ireland. Income
for 1877, £228,726 13s. For 1878 not yet made up.
ROYAL COLONIAL INSTITUTE, 15, Strand—Subscription. Resident fellows’ entrance fee, £3, annual, £2;
non-resident fellows, £1 1s., and no entrance fee. Resident fellows can
become life members on payment of £20, and
non-resident fellows on payment of £10. Objects:
To provide a place of meeting for all gentlemen connected with the Colonies
and British India, and others taking an interest in colonial and Indian affairs;
to establish a reading-room and library, in which recent and authentic
intelligence upon Colonial and Indian subjects may be constantly available, and
a museum for the collection and exhibition of Colonial and Indian productions;
to facilitate inter-change of experiences amongst persons representing all the
dependencies of Great Britain ; to afford opportunities for the reading of
papers, and for holding discussions upon Colonial and Indian subjects generally;
and to undertake scientific, literary, and statistical investigations in
connection with the British Empire. But no paper shall be read, or any
discussion be permitted to take place, tending to give the institute a party
character.
ROYAL SOCIETY FOR PROTECTION OF LIFE FROM FIRE, 66,
Ludgate-hill.—Subscription: Governors contributing £10 10s. and
upwards at one time, or subscribing £1
1s. and upwards annually. Donors of £5 5s. at one time, or subscribing 10s.
annually. Subscribers paying 5s. annually. Object:
By bestowing rewards, at the discretion of the society, either by the gift
of medals, testimonials, or sums of money to persons who have specially
distinguished themselves, or received injury while engaged in the rescue of life
from lire, and by making grants to the parents, widows, or children of such
persons whose deaths may have resulted from their endeavours to rescue such
lives. By diffusing information relative to the best methods of securing the
safety of persons in danger. By examining into, and ascertaining the merits of
such inventions as from time to time may be presented to the society’s notice,
and capable of being externally applied in the most ready and efficacious
manner; and recommending for individuals such escapes as shall appear the best
to be kept in dwelling-houses, for use in the absence of external aid. By
supplying (the funds of the society permitting) suitable fire-escapes with men
duly qualified to attend to and with the same, and to instruct others in the use
thereof, upon such terms as the committee shall from time to time approve.
SHORTHORN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN
AND IRELAND 12, Hanover-square. — Subscription:
Life members, in addition to an entrance fee of £1 1s., pay on entrance a
subscription of £10 10s.; annual members, in addition to an entrance fee of £1
1s., pay a subscription of £1 1s. Object:
To maintain unimpaired the purity of the breed of cattle known as
shorthorns, and to promote impartially the breeding of all the various tribes,
families, and strains of such cattle.
SOCIETY FOR PROTECTION OF ANIMALS FROM VIVISECTION, 1,
Victoria-street, Westminster. —Object: Total
abolition of the practice of vivisection.
SUNDAY SOCIETY, 19, Charing. cross. — Object: To obtain the opening of museums, art galleries libraries,
and gardens on Sundays.
TONTINE (THE MUTUAL) WESTMINSTER CHAMBERS ASSOCIATION
LIMITED, 4, Westminster-chambers, Victoria-street.
TRAFFIC ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF PASSENGERS AND
OWNERS OF GOODS, 70, Queen-street, Cannon-street. —Subscription: 5s. per annum ordinary members ; £1 1s. special
members —i.e. those interested in
goods traffic. Object: To promote the
interests of passengers, &c.
Missionary Museum, Blomfield-street,
Finsbury.—An exhibition of interesting objects collected by the missionaries
of the London Society. Open free, daily. NEAREST Railway
Station, Bishopsgate Omnibus Routes, Old
Broad-street and Bishopsgate-street; Cab
Rank, New Broad-street.
Model Lodging-Houses. —So many of the poorer
among the working classes of London are absolutely compelled to live within easy
distance of their work, that a serious problem is added to the many difficulties
which arise when great metropolitan improvements are in contemplation. The
destruction of whole quarters of the town, which house, however inadequately,
many families, is not an enterprise to be undertaken without due regard being
had to the requirements of those whose little homes are taken from them, and
who, if matters are left to take their own course, have no choice but to seek
refuge in the already over-crowded streets and alleys which remain untouched.
Fortunately this is a question that early attracted the attention of practical
philanthropists, and several associations now exist which have its solution for
their object. Of these it will be sufficient to mention three of the best known,
and some extracts from their respective reports will be read with interest. THE
METROFOLITAN ASSOCIATION FOR IMPROVING THE DWELLINGS OF THE INDUSTRIOUS CLASSES
had, at the date of it last report, 13 buildings, accommodating 1,120 families,
in such diverse regions of the town as Mile End, Penge, Mayfair, Pimlico
Bermondsey, Old Pancras-road &c, and it is stated that in every instance the
operations of the association have produced general improvement in the
neighbourhood. Wisely recognising the undesirability of any stigma of charitable
relief applying to their houses, the association goes on the principle of
dividing among its shareholders a fair interest on the capital invested. This
may be roughly stated at about 5 per cent. The balance of profit over 5 per
cent, is carried to a guarantee fund. The tenants of the association are of a
most miscellaneous kind, and there is no doubt that, to a very large extent, its
benefits are really available for the classes whom it is intended to serve. The
average rate of mortality in the buildings of the association has been 3 per
1,000 less than that of the whole of the metropolis — a sufficient testimony
of itself to the character of the buildings. THE TRUSTEES OF THE PEABODY
DONATION FUND started with sums given and bequeathed by Mr. Peabody, amounting
in all to half a million of money. The added money received for rent and
interest has brought this capital to the magnificent sum of (in round numbers)
£700,000. The principle of this fund is to devote the profits gradually to the
purchase of land and the erection of buildings. At the end of 1875 nearly £150,000
was in hand and available for these purposes. Up to the present time the
trustees have provided for the artisan and labouring poor of London 5,170 rooms,
exclusive of bath-rooms, laundries, and washhouses. These rooms comprise 2,348
separate dwellings, occupied by nearly 10,000 persons. It was for some time
feared that the class of accommodation provided was somewhat too good, and
consequently too expensive for the actual artisan and labouring classes. But the
table showing the employ of the tenants, which is appended to the report for
1878 is reassuring on this head. Bricklayers, cabmen, charwomen,
letter-carriers, messengers, needlewomen, police-constables, porters, &c.,
comprise large numbers of persons who can afford to pay but very moderate
rentals. The average weekly earnings of the head of each family were £1 3s. 8d.
The average rent of each dwelling was 4s. 4d. per week, and if it be considered
that these rents are somewhat too high, it must be remembered that many of the
dwellings comprise as many as three rooms, and that the free use of water,
laundries, sculleries, and bath-rooms, is included. The cheapest lodgings are
naturally in Shadwell, where the rents are, for one room, 2s. to 2s. 3d. ; two rooms, 3s. to 3s. 6d.; and
three rooms, 4s. to 4s. 6d. In Southwark-street the charges for the same
accommodation are respectively 3s., 4s. 3d. to 4s. 9d., and 5s. 3d. to 5s. 9d.
The same average prevails in Pimlico, where there are also sets of four rooms at
7s. 6d. The death-rate of the Peabody Buildings is about 180 per 1,000 below the
average of all London. THE ARTIZANS, LABOURERS, AND GENERAL DWELLINGS
COMPANY—In the words of its prospectus, “this company was established for
the erection of improved dwellings near to the great centres of industry, but
free from the annoyances arising from the proximity of manufactures.” Large
estates have been secured near Clapham Junction and the Harrow-road the former,
called Shaftesbury-park, is now covered with about 1,150 houses whilst the
partially developed Queen’s-park Estate, Harrow-road, contains nearly 800
houses. The estates have been laid out with every regard to the latest sanitary
improvements. The Shaftesbury-park Estate is readily accessible from Kensington,
Victoria, Waterloo, Ludgate-hill, and London-bridge, at low fares; while the
Westbourne-park Station on the Metropolitan District and Great Western Railways,
and the Kensal-green Station on the Hampstead Junction and North London Railway,
and the new station on the London and North-Western main line, with a good
service of omnibuses, make the Queen’s-park Estate at Harrow-road almost
equally accessible. The sale of intoxicating liquor is altogether excluded. The
company reserves the right to prohibit sub-letting, or to limit the number of
lodgers. There is a co-operative store
on the Shaftesbury-park Estate as well as a handsome hall for public gatherings
and society meetings; and on both estates the School Board for London has
provided ample school accommodation. The houses are divided into four classes,
according to accommodation and position. The smallest – the fourth-class —
contains five rooms on two floors. A third-class house has an additional
bed-room. In the second-class house there is an extra parlour, making in all
seven rooms; while a house of the first-class has eight rooms — a bath-room
being the additional accommodation. The present weekly rental, which includes
rates and taxes, except in the case of the first-class houses, is as follows: an
ordinary fourth-class house, 7s. 6d.; third-class, 8s. 6d.; second-class, 10s. ;
first-class, 10s. and 11s. The shops, corner houses, those with larger gardens
than ordinary, and some other exceptional houses, are subject to special
arrangements both as to rental and purchase. The company is also prepared to
sell the houses on lease for 99 years, and on easy terms, subject to a moderate
ground-rent; the object being to encourage the personal acquisition of the house
by payment of a slightly increased rental. All applications to rent or purchase
houses must be made in the first instance to the sub-managers on the estates,
and all letters must contain a stamped envelope for reply.
Models, Artists’.—Amateurs requiring living
models, and not having acquaintances in art circles, will do well to apply to
any respectable artists’ colourman. At most of the art and life schools
information on this head can also be obtained.
Monument, Fish-street-hill- was erected by Wren to
commemorate the Great Fire. It is of Portland stone, and 202 ft. high. On the
pedestal there was at one time an inscription attributing the fire of 1666 to
“the treachery and malice of the Popish faction, in order to carry out their
horrid plot for extirpating the Protestant religion and old English liberty, and
the introducing Popery and slavery,” but this absurdity has been very properly
cancelled. The top is reached by 345 stairs. The charge of admission is 3d. It
will be remembered that, according “Martin Chuzzlewit,” the man in charge
considered it quite worth twice the money not to make the ascent.
NEAREST Railway Station Cannon-street;
Omnibus Routes Cannon-street, King
William st, Gracechurch-st, and Fenchurch-st; Cab Rank,
Opposite.
Monte Video.—(See URUGUAY)
Moving.—It was “Poor Richard’s” maxim that
three removes were as bad as a fire, but we order this matter better nowadays.
The inconveniences which are, under the best of circumstances, inseparable from
the process of moving are now reduced a minimum. It is easier, not say cheaper,
to transfer the household gods from London to Penzance now than it was a few
yeatd back to cart them from Brixton to Islington. There are several respectable
and extensively-advertised firms who take all trouble and responsibility at
inclusive rates. No attempt can be made here to give a list of charges, as these
necessarily vary according to the circumstances of each particular case.
Museum, British, Great Russell-street, Bloomsbury.
Free. With the year 1879 this institution commenced a new era. For a century it
was scarcely anything else than a storehouse of the treasures of the ancient
world, an the curiosities of science, literature, and art; but today its
invaluable accumulations are being brought out and adapted to the uses of age,
and the public are invited to profit by the many beautiful lessons they can
silently but surely teach. The British Museum is now open every day (except
during the first week in February, May, and October, when the rooms are
cleaned), and the baby in arms no longer excluded. On Monday and Saturday all
the galleries are thrown open; on Tuesday and Thursday all except the natural
history collections (then reserved for students); on Wednesday and Friday all
except the antiquities on the upper floor and the rest of the department of
Greek and Roman antiquities (set apart on those days for fine-art students). The
hours of admission are from 10 (Saturday 12) all the year round, in January,
February, November, December, till 4; March, April, September, October, till 5;
and May to August till 6. On Monday and Saturday from May
8 till the middle of July till 8, and onwards till the end of August till
7. This variety in the hours of opening is occasioned by the duration of
daylight, as the Museum is not artificially lighted: experiments have, however,
been tried in the reading-room with the electric light, which will be continued.
Admission to the reading-room (for study and copying), to the department of
prints and drawings (for the same), to the sculpture galleries (to draw from
statues and busts), to the coin and medal room (for study), and to the
zoological, fossil, mineral, and botanical collections (for examination of
specimens), is granted on application to the principal librarian, supported by
the recommendation of a householder or someone of known position. To save
trouble, the recommendation of a person whose name can be found in the ordinary
directories should be sent. The British Museum was first opened on the 15th
January, 1759. Its principal components were then the Museum of Sir Hans Sloane,
of Chelsea (bought for £20,000), the Cottonian library (presented by Sir J.
Cotton, 1700), and the Harleian manuscripts (acquired for £10,000). By Act of
Parliament, passed in 1753, the institution was vested in trustees for the
nation, the £30,000 required for the Sloane and Harley collections, with a
further sum to fund for salaries and expenses, was raised by a lottery
sanctioned by the same Act. These tributaries to the stream of knowledge were
deposited in Montagu House, a mansion standing in its own grounds, which are now
occupied by the present building. The Museum may be roughly described as a
square formed of four wings, the central space covered by a separate structure
—the Reading-room. It is an imposing fabric of the Grecian Ionic order,
designed by Sir Robert Smirke. Passing into the hall from the stately portico,
you have on the right hand books and manuscripts: The GRENVILLE LIBRARY (rarest
editions and finest examples of typography, with block books, valued at £54,000,
bequeathed); the MANUSCRIPT DEPARTMENT (50,00 volumes, 45,000 charters and
rolls, 7,000 seals, and 100 ancient papyri, including the Cotton, Harley,
Lansdowne, Egerton, and additional collections); the MANUSCRIPT SALOON
(autograph letters of eminent persons, illuminated manuscripts, rich bindings,
and great seals); the KING’S LIBRARY (65,000 volumes, presented by George IV.,
remarkable productions of the printing-presses of Europe and Asia. In the same
library an EXHIBITION OF DRAWINGS by Turner, Cox, Girtin, Cozens, Muller, and
Canaletto, Henderson bequest, 1878 of engraved Portraits, historical Prints, and
Playing-cards; and of the choicest Medals in the national cabinet, with
electrotypes of the finest ancient Coins. On the left you have the ROMAN GALLERY
(Busts of Emperors, Roman antiquities found in England); three GRAECO-ROMAN
GALLERY (sculptures of the Greek school, found chiefly in Italy, including the
Townley, £20,000, Payne-Knight, valued with other antiquities at £60,000,
bequeathed, Farnese, Cyrene, and Priene marbles, including the Venus from Ostia,
the Discobolos, Giustiniani Apollo, Clytie, Muses, Mercury, Satyrs; and in the
basement, mosaics, tessellated pavements); the ARCHAIC GREEK ROOM (Harpy Tomb
from Xanthus, seated figures from Branchidae, Etruscan sepulchral monument); the
MAUSOLEUM ROOM (one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, the colossal
chariot-tomb erected to Mausolos by his sister-wife Artemisia, discovered by C.
T. Newton); the ELGIN ROOM (grandest remains of Greek sculpture, the Parthenon
marbles and procession-frieze, works of Pheidias, greatest of Greek sculptors;
purchased in 1816 of Lord Elgin for £35,000, now priceless; also colossal Lion
from Cnidus; figured columns of the Temple of Diana of Ephesus, recovered by J.
Turtle Wood, 1863-75); the HELLENIC ROOM (frieze, &c., of Temple of Apollo,
erected at Phigalia by Iktinos excavated by C. R. Cockerell purchased for £19,000;
the Diadumenos, athlete). ASSYRIAN GALLERIES: Sculptured slabs from Nineveh,
now Kouyunjik, and Babylon, acquired during the Layard, Loftus, Geo. Smith Daily Telegraph, and Rassam explorations; illustrating most
completely the daily life, religion warfare, art, literature, and customs of the
Assyrians and Babylonians, and bearing strong testimony to the accuracy of
portions of Biblical history. The clusters of Assyrian ivories, bronzes, seals,
and glass are unrivalled, and the cuneiform tablets are a library in themselves;
the Creation, Fall of Man, and Deluge tablets, Seals of Ilgi, B.C. 2050,
Sennacherib, Darius, Assyrian accounts of Sennacherib’s expedition against
Hezekiah, the Siege of Lachish. In Basement: Lion hunts by Assurbanipal III.,
Sardanapalus, very finely wrought, also processions, dogs, &c. EGYPTIAN
GALLERIES: Colossal statues of divinities and Pharaohs, “the Vocal Memnon”
sarcophagi, graveyard tablets, obelisks, fresco paintings, hieroglyphics, the
Rosetta stone, key to Egyptian language; from Memphis, Abydos, Thebes, Karnak,
Luxor; dating from the time of Abraham to the Ptolemies, in beautiful state of
preservation. On Staircase : Papyri, the pictured Ritual of the Dead. Most of
the larger sculptures were surrendered to the English on the capitulation of
Alexandria in 1801. Antiquities from Cyprus: small statues, busts, and
miscellaneous ornaments. Before you in the hall is the new LYCIAN ROOM:
Sculptures from Lycia, obtained by Sir C. Fellows, lofty tombs, friezes, Statues
of Nereids, graceful and expressive of motion. On the floor above are the
galleries containing the smaller objects of antiquity: Egyptian mummies,
embalmed animals, coffins, sepulchral ornaments, representations of divinities
in gold, silver, and porcelain; furniture, ivories, bronzes, vases, dresses,
weapons, and tools. The GLASS COLLECTIONS: Slade and Temple cabinets; Egyptian,
Phoenician, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Venetian, French, German, Dutch, and Spanish
examples; “Christian glass.” WITT COLLECTION: illustrating the bath of
the ancients; Roman ware; Cyprus pottery VASE ROOMS : Painted fictile vases,
Hamilton, Canino, Payne, Knight, and other collections, from tombs, principally
Etruscan and Greek; illustrating by paintings the divine and heroic legends of
the Greeks ; mural paintings, terra-cotta statuettes, drinking. cups, toys,
&c. BRONZE ROOM: Greek, Etruscan and Roman bronzes, deities, heroes,
mirrors, candelabra, lamps, vases; head of Artemis (finest period of Greek art),
Venus, Bacchus, Apollo, Hercules, seated philosopher, Meleager, Mercury. BRITISH
AND MEDIEVAL ROOM: British antiquities anterior to the Roman-invasion, Roman
antiquities found in Britain; Anglo-Saxon objects, flint implements, pottery,
cave. remains, weapons; early Christian lamps, crosses, medieval carvings in
ivory, bells, clockwork, enamels, pottery, and majolica. The Franks’
Collection, descriptive of the Keramic art of the far East, presented to the
nation by Mr. A. W. Franks, and valued at £6,000, will be removed from the
Bethnal Green Museum to this department when the natural history collections
shall have been transferred to South Kensington. ETHNOGRAPHICAL ROOM: Idols,
fetishes, dresses, ornaments, implements, and weapons of the savage races of the
world, including the articles gathered by Captain Cook in the South Sea Islands.
PREHISTORIC ROOM: The Christy Collection, bequeathed in 1866 will be shortly
brought from 103, Victoria-street; the room is now occupied by the Meyrick
armour, carvings in ivory and wood, enamels, &c., presented in 1878; and the
Henderson Collection, bequeathed in the same year, comprising oriental arms,
metal work, Persian, Rhodian and Damascus pottery, majolica and glass. ORNAMENT
AND GEM ROOM: Payne-Knight Strozzi (Blacas) (purchased in 1866 with other
antiquities for £40,000), Castellani, and other collections; the Portland Vase
ancient gold, silver, and amber ornaments; fine illustrations of the
goldsmith’s art among the Etruscans, Greeks, and Romans, intaglios and cameos
unsurpassed for delicacy and beauty; Byzantine, Teutonic; Anglo-Saxon and later
Ornaments; Keltic gold breast-plate and rings. Beyond the new Lycian room is the
READING ROOM: Tickets to view are given by the messenger in the hall; circular
structure; original suggestion of Thomas Watts, improved by A. (Sir A.) Panizzi, carried out by Mr. Sidney Smirke; dome 140 feet in diameter, height 106
feet; 60,000 books in the three tiers inside; space for 1,500,000 inside and
out; here in the basement are also the Map and Chart Departments, newspaper and
music libraries. There are 1,300,000 volumes in the department of printed books
at the present date. The Reading-room is open daily from nine November to
February till four, March, September, and October till five, rest of year till
six. Beyond, in the north wing, is the old library, in a part of which, once the
Reading-room, T. Carlyle and Lord Macaulay worked; it is now the cataloguing
department of the assistants and copyists. It may be noted here that, under the
new regulations, tickets for the reading-room are not renewed; once on the
register always a reader and there is no need to show the ticket if the reader
is known to the doorkeeper. Persons under twenty-one are not admitted, except in
very special cases indeed. The Department of PRINTS AND DRAWINGS: Entrance on
staircase at the top of the Egyptian gallery the richest assemblage of etchings
and engravings in Europe ; open to students every day in the week at ten ;
closes at four all the year round except from the beginning of April to the end
of July, when it is shut at five. Contains the collections of Sloane (including
the Albrecht Dürer drawings), Payne-Knight, Cracherode, Cunningham, early
Italian and German prints; Lawrence drawings; Hamilton, Townley, Moll,
Sheepshanks, Rembrandt etchings, Harding, Morghen, Gell, Craven, Ed. Hawkins
(caricatures), Slade, and Henderson. The Department of COINS AND MEDALS has the
choicest and most extensive numismatic cabinets in the world, scientifically
arranged; and includes the Roberts, Payne-Knight, Marsden, Temple, De Salis,
Wigan, Blacas, Woodhouse, and Bank of England cabinets. Lastly are the Natural
History collections, which will be shortly placed in the elegant terra-cotta
building in the Cromwell-road, near the South Kensington Museum, designed by Mr.
Alfred Waterhouse. It will be sufficient to say that they occupy the remainder
of the upper floor of the British Museum; that the ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS
comprise, in large part, the specimens brought together by Sir Hans Sloane,
mammals, &c.; Colonel Montagu, ornithology; Hardwicke, Indian animals;
Hodgson, mammals and birds; Yarrell, fishes; Ross and Be1cher, antarctic
specimens; Stephens, entomology, 88,000 specimens; Bowring, entomology; Reeves,
vertebrate animals from China; Clark, coleoptera; Hugh Cuming, shells, the
largest collection ever formed, acquired in 1866; A. R. Wallace, birds; Dr.
Bowerbank, sponges; and the specimens collected during the Transit of Venus
Expedition (1875), and the recent Arctic exploration. The GEOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT
comprises fossil plants, fishes, reptiles (South African, &c.), saurians,
wingless birds, gigantic eggs, sponges, corals, shells, insects, the mammoth,
megatherium, pigmy elephant, human remains, principally formed from the
collections of Dr. Solander, Hawkins, Mantell, Dr. Croizet, Bain, &c., and
extensive purchases. The MINERAL DEPARTMENT includes a splendid collection of
meteorites, aerolites, siderolites, portions of other planets, and aerial
formations; the Melbourne meteorite, three and a half tons ; the collections of
Greville, Greg, Kokscharoff, &c. a well-arranged series of minerals,
including diamonds, gold nuggets, crystals, and gems of every variety and degree
of purity and splendour. In the BOTANICAL DEPARTMENT are flowerless plants,
fungi, sea-weeds, lichens, mosses, ferns, flowering plants, grasses and sedges,
palms, cycads, conifers, parasitical plants, fruits and stems, fossil plants,
polished sections of woods, cones, &c., from the herbaria of Sir Hans
Sloane, 1753, Sir Joseph Banks, 1827, Robert Brown, Rev. R. Blight, and others.
Admission to study the herbarium and mounted specimens, daily ten till four, is
granted on application to the principal librarian. The PORTRAITS, until lately
hung in the Zoological Gallery, have been for the most part handed over to the
National Portrait Gallery. NEAREST Railway
Stations, Gower-st (Metrop.) and Temple (Dist.); Omnibus
Routes, Oxford-st, Tottenham-court-road, and Euston-road. Cab
Ranks, Bury-st and Southampton-row.
Music.—(See
CONCERTS).
Music Halls—The music-hall, as it is at present
understood, was started many years ago at the Canterbury Hall over the water.
The entertainments proving popular, the example was speedily followed in every
quarter of the town. The performance in no way differs, except in magnitude,
from those which are to be seen in every town of any importance throughout the
country. Ballet, gymnastics, and so-called comic singing, form the staple of the
bill of fare, but nothing comes foreign to the music-hall proprietor. Performing
animals, winners of walking. matches, successful scullers, shipwrecked sailors,
swimmers of the Channel, conjurers, ventriloquists, tight-rope dancers,
campanologists, clog-dancers, sword-swallowers, velocipedists, champion skaters,
imitators, marionettes, decanter equilibrists, champion shots, “living models
of marble gems,” “statue marvels,” fire princes, “mysterious youths,”
“spiral bicycle ascensionists,” flying children, empresses of the air, kings
of the wire, “vital sparks,” Mexican boneless wonders,” white-eyed musical
Kaffirs,’ strong-jawed ladies, cannon-ball performers, illuminated fountains,
and that remarkable musical eccentricity the orchestre militaire, all have had
their turn on the music-hall stage. Strangers to the business may be warned that
the word “turn,’ as understood in the profession, means the performance for
which the artist is engaged, and frequently comprises four or more songs,
however much or little of pleasure the first effort may have given the audience.
Furthermore, as many of the popular performers take several “turns” nightly,
it is undesirable to visit many of these establishments on the same evening, as
it is quite possible to go to four or five halls in different parts of the town,
and to find widely diverse stages occupied by the same sets of performers. Among
the principal halls may be mentioned the Bedford, in Camden Town; the
Canterbury, Westminster-bridge-road; the Foresters, Cambridge-rd, E.; Gatti’s,
Westminster-bridge-road; the London Pavilion, at the top of the Haymarket;
Evans’s, Covent-garden; the Metropolitan, Edgware-road; the Oxford,
Oxford-street; the Cambridge, 136, Commercial-street; Lusby’s Palace, Mile
End-road; the Royal, High Holborn; the South London, London-road, SE. ; and
Wilton’s in Wellclose-square, in the far east. Of these the Canterbury, the
Metropolitan, and the South London have a specialty for ballet on a large scale.
The Canterbury has an arrangement for ventilation peculiar to itself. A large
portion of the roof is so arranged as to admit of its easy and rapid removal and
replacement. The entertainments at the other halls vary only in degree. The
operatic selections which were at one time the distinguishing feature of the
Oxford have of late years been discontinued. A curiosity in the way of
music-halls may be found by the explorer at the “Bell,” in St.
George-street, Ratcliff-highway, where, contrary to precedent, the negro element
preponderates among the audience instead of on the stage. The hours of
performance at most music-halls are from about 8 till 11.30, and the prices of
admission vary from 6d. to 3s. Private boxes, at varying prices, may be had at
nearly all the music-halls.
Music, National Training School for. Established
by The Society of Arts. — The school building was presented by Mr. C. J.
Freake to the nation on a site adjoining the Albert Hall. A large number of
scholarships have been founded by royal personages, public institutions, and
generous amateurs. The scheme, although doubtless well-intentioned, has not yet
resulted in any striking success. Whether it be founded on a firm basis or no
must be left for time to deride. Detailed information can be. obtained at
Kensington-gore. NEAREST Railway Station, High-street,
Kensington; Omnibus Route, Kensington-road;
Cab Rank, Queen’s-gate.
Music, Royal Academy of, Tenterden-street,
Hanover-square.—All branches of music are taught at the academy, and students
may choose any one for their principal study. In addition to this there are
other obligatory classes. Candidates for admission must be recommended, and on
presenting themselves for admission must take music they can perform. The
principal scholarships are the Westmorland for vocalists, open to ladies between
the ages of 18 and 24 ; the Potter, open to ladies and gentlemen ; the Sterndale
Bennett; the Sir John Goss; the Thalberg; the Novello; the Lady Goldsmid, for
pianist; and the Balfe, for composition. There is also a scholarship, founded by
Mr. Carl Rosa, in memory of the late Madame Parepa Rosa, for ladies who have not
been students at the academy. The successful candidate to be entitled to two
years’ free musical education at the academy. There is in addition a long list
of prizes and medals for proficiency in every branch of the musical art, and
under the most varied conditions. Application for admission should be made to
the secretary, at the academy, who will also furnish all particulars that may be
desired. NEAREST Railway Station, Portland-road
Omnibus Routes, Oxford-street
and Regent-street ; Cab Ranks, Oxford-market
and Conduit-street.