St. Catharine's Docks, 24
London Docks, 90
Commercial Docks, 49

If you wish to form a definite idea of the size of these docks, you must
fix your mind upon some pretty large field near where you live, if you
live in the country, and ask your father, or some other man that knows,
how many acres there are in it. Then you can compare the field with some
one or other of the docks according to the number of acres assigned to
it in the above table.

If you live in the city, you must ask the number of acres in some public
square. Boston Common contains forty-eight acres.

St. Catharine's Docks contain only twenty-four acres; and yet more than
a thousand houses were pulled down to clear away a place for them, and
about eleven thousand persons were compelled to remove.

Most of the docks are now entirely surrounded by the streets and houses
of the city; so that there is nothing to indicate your approach to them
except that you sometimes get glimpses of the masts of the ships rising
above the buildings at the end of a street. The docks themselves, and
all the platforms and warehouses that pertain to them, are surrounded by
a very thick and high wall; so that there is no way of getting in except
by passing through great gateways which are made for the purpose on the
different sides. These gateways are closed at night.

Mr. George and Rollo, when the time arrived for visiting the docks, held
a consultation together in respect to the mode of going to them from
their lodgings at the West End.

Of course the docks, being below the city, were in exactly the opposite
direction from where they lived--Northumberland Court. The distance was
three or four miles.

"We can go by water," said Mr. George, "on the river, or we can take a
cab."

"Or we can go in an omnibus," said Rollo. "Yes, uncle George," he added
eagerly, "let us go on the top of an omnibus."

Mr. George was at first a little disinclined to adopt this plan; but
Rollo seemed very earnest about it, and finally he consented.

"We can get up very easily," said he; "and when we are up there we can
see every thing."

"I am not concerned about our getting up," said Mr. George. "The
difficulty is in getting down."

However, Mr. George finally consented to Rollo's proposal; and so, going
out into the Strand, they both mounted