he purlieus of Stepney. On the north, Hampstead
and Highgate were favoured with a visit from large bodies of the
respectable inhabitants of St. Giles's; and Primrose Hill, also, was
selected as a famous spot for viewing the demolition of the leviathan
city. The darkness of the day, and the thickness of the atmosphere,
however, prevented it being seen."

Brighton, too, felt the advantage of the "earthquake," as numbers of
families of the middle and upper classes went there to avoid its
consequences. It was noted that on the night of the 15th nearly 20
carriages arrived there, a circumstance that had not occurred since the
opening of the London and Brighton Railway.

* * * * *

To "talk scandal about Queen Elizabeth" is a matter serious enough, but
to say that Queen Victoria drank grog on board one of her own ships is
rank treason, and must be explained, as it was by the _John Bull_. "The
true version of Her Majesty's tasting the grog on board of _The Queen_,
during her late visit to Portsmouth, is as follows: Strict orders had
been given to the men, that when Her Majesty came down to the lower deck,
to see them at mess, they should not speak a word, but preserve as
profound a silence as possible. Jack, of course, was too much taken up
with watching the Royal visitor, to think of talking, save, perhaps, the
desire of whispering to his messmate a comment or so on the meteor
passing before him. All was still. Her Majesty tasted the cocoa, and
approved of it--yet all was still. Her Majesty then inquired whether
there was no stronger beverage allowed the men, and forthwith a tumbler
of 'three-water grog' was handed her. She raised it to her lips--when
Jack forgot his orders, and three distinct cheers ran round the deck,
with such 'a will,' that the ship's sides seemed to start with the sudden
explosion; the honour done was more than a sailor could bear without
clearing his heart with an huzzah."

It was on 8 Feb., 1841, that Fox Talbot provisionally registered his
patent "for improvements in obtaining pictures, or representations of
objects," which is now in vogue, his improvement being the printing of
the photo on paper. He, himself, made no public practical use of his
invention, and one of the first, if not the first photographer who
adopted it was Mr. Beard, of Parliament and King William Streets. It was
quite a new thing when Prince Albert went to his studi