said:

"I had not decided exactly what we would do to-day, and now I think
I'll let the birthday girl plan. Where will you go, Betty?"

After due consideration, Betty announced that she would choose to
visit St. Paul's Cathedral, and afterwards, by way of contrast, to
have lunch at the Cheshire Cheese.

"What in the world's that?" inquired John.

Mrs. Pitt laughed. "You'll see, for we'll go there, as Betty suggests,
when we have seen St. Paul's. I'm not sure whether you'll care to have
lunch there, but we'll look in, at any rate. It's rather different
from the places where you are accustomed to take your lunch! No, you
must wait, John! I'm not going to tell you any more about it!"

"What a beautiful day!" Betty cried, taking her seat on the bus a
little later. "I do wish it wouldn't always be so windy, though! I
almost lost my hat then!"

"As you stay longer in London, you'll notice that a really clear day
is almost always a very windy one as well. We Londoners have to accept
the two together," Mrs. Pitt told the visitors.

Leaving Trafalgar Square, the bus carried them by Charing Cross
Station, in front of which is a copy of the old Charing Cross. Edward
I, when his queen, Eleanor of Castile, died, put up many crosses in
her memory, each one marking a spot where her body was set down during
its journey to Westminster Abbey for burial. A little farther along,
the bus passed the odd little church of St. Mary-le-Strand, which is
on an "island" in the middle of that wide street and its great busy,
hurrying traffic. It is good to remember that on that very spot, the
maypole once stood. Narrow side streets lead off the Strand, and
looking down them one may see the river, and understand why the
street was so named. It originally ran along by the bank of the
Thames, and the splendid houses of the nobles lined the way.

"These fine stone buildings on our left are the new Law Courts, and
the griffin in the center of the street marks the position of old
Temple Bar. There! We've passed it, and now we are in Fleet Street.
Temple Bar was the entrance to the 'City,' you know. To this day the
King cannot proceed into the 'City' without being first received at
Temple Bar, by the Lord Mayor. At one time, the city of London
comprised a small area (two and a quarter miles from end to end), and
was inclosed by walls and entered by gates. Originally there were but
four gates,--Aldgate, Aldersgate, Ludgate, and Bridgegate. Think wh