ames, and are so crowded with
foot passengers and carriages. Every boy who has read much has had his
head full of notions about London Bridge; that is, old London Bridge,
which was taken down about thirty years ago. The old bridge was
originally a wooden structure, and on the sides of the bridge were
houses, and the pathway in front had all sorts of goods exposed for
sale, and the Southwark gate of the bridge was disfigured with the heads
and quarters of the poor creatures who were executed for treason.

The new bridge was commenced in 1825, and it was opened in 1831 by
William IV. and Queen Adelaide. The bridge has five arches; the central
one is one hundred and fifty feet in the clear, the two next one hundred
and forty feet, and the extreme arches one hundred and thirty feet. The
length, including the abutments, is about one thousand feet, its width
eighty-three feet, and the road for carriages fifty-five feet.

The great roads leading to London Bridge have been most costly affairs;
and I was told that a _parish and its church_ had been destroyed to make
these approaches. The men of different generations, who, for almost one
thousand years, looked at the old bridge, would stare at the present one
and its present vicinity, if they were to come back again. Southwark
Bridge was commenced in 1814, and finished in 1819. It has three arches,
and the central arch is two hundred and forty feet, which is the
greatest span in the world. In this bridge are five thousand three
hundred and eight tons of iron. Blackfriars Bridge was commenced in
1760, and opened in 1770. It has nine elliptical arches, of which the
middle one is one hundred feet in width. Recently this bridge has been
thoroughly repaired. I think this is my favorite stand-point for the
river and city. Nowhere else have I obtained such a view up and down the
river. Here I have a full prospect of the Tower, St. Paul's Cathedral,
Somerset House, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and perhaps
twenty-five other churches! But the great bridge of all is the Waterloo
one, commenced in 1811, and opened in 1817, on the 18th of June, the
anniversary of the battle of Waterloo. Of course, the Duke of Wellington
figured upon the occasion. At this point the river is one thousand three
hundred and twenty-six feet wide; and the bridge is of nine elliptical
arches, each of one hundred and twenty feet space, and thirty-five feet
high above high water, and its entire length