THE ABBEY-SOMERSET HOUSE 145 The greater buildings of London are so familiar to us that a detailed description would be deemed superfluous. It may, however, be of interest to give a very brief sketch of the early history of some of the more prominent. 66 Westminster Abbey was founded by Sebert, King of the East Saxons; it was afterwards destroyed by the Danes, rebuilt by King Edgar in 958, again rebuilt by Edward the Confessor in 1065; and by Pope Nicholas II. it was constituted "a place of inauguration" of the English monarchs. Henry III. rebuilt it from the ground, and Henry VII. added a magnificent chapel at the east end. The monastery was surrendered by the Abbot and monks to Henry VIII., who converted it into a college of secular canons, and afterwards into a cathedral, of which the county of Middlesex was the see. Edward VI. dissolved the see, and restored the college, which was again converted by Mary into an abbey. That institution was dissolved by Queen Elizabeth in 1560. Somerset House was in ancient days the residence of the Duke of Somerset, uncle of Edward VI. The nine arches that form the frontage of the basement have keystones adorned with colossal heads, carved in alto-relievo, representing 146 FAMILIAR LONDON the ocean, and the eight principal rivers of England -Thames, Humber, Mersey, Dee, Medway, Tweed, Severn, and Tyne. Ocean is in the middle, and is represented by the venerable head of an old man, whose flowing beard resembles waves which are filled with various kinds of fish; a crescent on his forehead denotes the influence of the moon on his waters. Thames is on the right-hand side, a majestic head crowned with swans and luxuriant garlands of fruits and flowers; his hair and beard are elegantly dressed and plaited, and his features express good sense and good humour. Humber comes next, and is a striking contrast to Thames— he has a strong and hardy countenance, the beard and hair disordered by the fury of the tempest; his cheeks and eyes are swelled with rage; his mouth is open; the features generally are expressive of the boisterous and impetuous character of the river. The masks which decorate the arches towards the left are, first of all, the Medway-a head somewhat similar to that of the Thames, but expressing less urbanity, more negligently dressed, and bearing for emblems the prow of a ship of war, and festoons of hops and such fruits as enrich the banks. Tweed is crowned with a garland of roses and thistles; Tyne and Severn with head NEWGATE PRISON 147 dresses artfully composed of salmon intermixed with sea-weeds. How often I have passed up the Strand without any knowledge of the ideas conveyed by these remarkable keystones! They were, I believe, carved by Mr Wilton and Signor Carlini. The front of the building towards the inner courtyard is nearly 200 feet in length. The masks on the keystones of the fine inner arches represent the tutelary deities of the place, and were executed by Nollekens. Near this front were "two sunken courts surrounded with elegant arcades serving to give light to the basement story of the Royal Academy." A statue of George III. by Bacon is in the courtyard; at his feet is a figure of the river Thames pouring forth plenty from a large cornucopia. There used to be a bust of Michael Angelo over the doorway of the Royal Academy, and one of the immortal Sir Isaac Newton over the door leading to the Royal and Antiquarian Societies. Newgate Prison has just been demolished. It had been rebuilt after it was destroyed by the rioters in 1780. It was then attacked by a furious mob, whose object was to rescue a few rioters apprehended the day before, the 4th of June. 148 FAMILIAR LONDON By breaking through the windows, battering the entrances to the cells with sledge-hammers and pickaxes, and climbing the walls by means of ladders, the mob eventually liberated three hundred prisoners. This success increased their fury. They divided into different sections, and many were great sufferers from the attacks—but none in whose losses the public were so much interested as Lord Mansfield, in whose house they destroyed not only a great deal of property, and a valuable collection of pictures, but also some very rare manuscripts, and his lordship's notes on the Constitution of England, and on important law cases, which, from his advanced age, could never be re-written. The city was in a state of anarchy, and the evening presented a more awful scene. Flames issued on all sides. The King's Bench and Fleet Prisons, New Bridewell, the toll-gates on Blackfriars Bridge, and private houses in all directions, were in flames. The civil magistrates had lost all control, and the military were obliged to act, to preserve the whole city from destruction. Eventually the principal points of the town were guarded by the soldiery, especially the neighbourhood of the Bank, and camps were formed in the Park and Museum Gardens for the protection of the |