numbered is extended beyond its original limit, the result is
inextricable confusion. But the Londoners seem not to have caught the
idea of numbering by lots at all, but to have numbered only the houses
that actually existed when the numbering was undertaken; so that, if a
street happened to be numbered when only half built up, every house
erected afterward serves to render confusion worse confounded. On this
account I spent an hour and a half a few evenings since in fruitless
endeavors to find William and Mary Howitt, though I knew they lived at
No. 28 Upper Avenue Road, which is less than half a mile long. I found
Nos. 27, 29, 30, and 31, and finally found 28 also, but in another part
of the street, with a No. 5 near it on one side and No. 16 ditto on the
other--and this in a street quite recently opened. I think New-York has
nothing equal to this in perplexing absurdity.

The _Police_ here is more omnipresent and seems more efficient than
ours. I think the use of a common and conspicuous uniform has a good
effect. No one can here pretend that he defied or resisted a policeman
in ignorance of his official character. The London police appears to be
quite numerous, is admirably organized, and seems to be perfectly docile
to its superiors. Always to obey and never to ask the reason of a
command, is the rule here; it certainly has its advantages, but is not
well suited to the genius of our people.

The _Hotels_ of London are decidedly inferior to those of New-York. I do
not mean by this that every comfort and reasonable luxury may not be
obtained in the London inns for money enough, but simply that the same
style of living costs more in this city than in ours. I think $5 per day
would be a fair estimate for the cost of living (servants' fees
included) as well in a London hotel as you may live in a first-class
New-York hotel for half that sum. One main cause of this disparity is
the smallness of the inns here. A majority of them cannot accommodate
more than twenty to forty guests comfortably; I think there are not four
in the entire Metropolis that could find room for one hundred each. Of
course, the expense of management, supervision, attendance, &c., in
small establishments is proportionably much greater than in large ones,
and the English habit of eating fitfully _solus_ instead of at a common
hour and table increases the inevitable cost. Considering the National
habits, it might be hazardous to erect and open such a