And some one must give in,
So far the wisest thing to do
Is simply--don't begin.

C. D. B.

[Illustration: A Scene in Clissold Park.]

THE PARKS OF LONDON.--II.

In the days of Queen Bess the pretty village of Stoke Newington was a
pleasant object for a country walk of about three miles from the City
boundary of London. The village lay amid dense woods whence came its
name--Stoe being the Saxon word for wood, and Stoke Newington meaning
the new town in the wood. Its derivation shows what an old place it is,
and we may picture to ourselves how, ages ago, the dwellers within the
City walls would joyfully leave London, on holidays, by the Moor Gate,
and wend their way northward to the shady trees and grassy banks of the
roadway known as the 'Green Lanes'--names which, like Stoke Newington,
still survive. Along that road the royal chariot of Queen Elizabeth
might occasionally be met coming from the Tower; for at Stoke Newington,
in a mansion beside the church, dwelt some of the Dudley family, whom
she delighted to honour.

A story is told how, when her Majesty was the persecuted Princess
Elizabeth, living under the stern rule of her sister, Queen Mary, she
paid a stolen visit to London to see how Court matters were progressing.
The Dudleys befriended her, and went so far as to hide her in a brick
tower in the Park, communicating with their home by a secret passage. To
judge by what history tells of Queen Mary, these devoted friends ran no
slight risk, and Queen Elizabeth, in later years, did her best to repay
their kindness. We read that, on one visit after her accession, she took
a jewel of great value from her dress and presented it to the daughter
of the house, Lady Anne Dudley. One avenue off the Park is still known
as Queen Elizabeth's Walk, and tradition says she was fond of pacing up
and down there with the master of the house.

The next time we hear much of Stoke Newington Park, it was in the hands
of Mr. Jonathan Hoare, one of the founders of the great banking house of
that name; and, later still, it was rented from the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners by one of the Crawshay family, then known as 'the iron
princes' of Wales. His lease set forth that he was to pay the sum of one
hundred and nine pounds a year rent, with one good, fat turkey, the
latter probably appearing at the annual dinner of his landlords. For
this consideration he was allowed to call house and land after his own
name