ed features of London; and whilst the design and execution of
so many public works manifest the increasing taste, or luxury of the
age, they employ and give encouragement to numerous artists, artisans,
and tradesmen.

Of _the Royal Palace_, suffice it to remark, in this place, that it
is a large pile of building,--has been carried on with great rapidity of
execution,--its whole exterior is stone, many parts of which are adorned
with sculptured statues, basso-relievo, and other ornaments,--that a
highly-decorated triumphal arch, composed of fine white, marble, is
to be raised, at a short distance from the centre of the principal
front--and that the interior is to be splendidly adorned with marble,
scagliola, and other rich materials; whilst the galleries, armoury,
chapel, state-rooms, &c. are to display the most gorgeous ornaments of
the cabinet-maker, upholsterer, decorative painter, and other artisans.

_The Park_, in front of this palace, which had continued for nearly
a century in one state of formal, tasteless insipidity, has been laid
out as a large pleasure-garden, interspersed with lawn, clusters of
shrubs and flowers, winding walks, varied surface, and a lake, whose
margin is made to wind with every inequality of surface, spreading
occasionally into a broad expanse, and then contracting to a narrow arm.
In the midst of the larger spaces are islands, covered with aquatic
trees and shrubs.

_The Gardens_, or _Pleasure Grounds_, belonging to the Palace,
partake of the same character; but are adorned with shrubs, plants, and
flowers of a more choice description. A large piece of water is likewise
formed in the midst of these Gardens.

_Belgrave Square, and Vicinity_. Immediately to the west of the
boundary-wall of the royal gardens is a tract of ground, which, in 1824,
was open fields, intersected by mud-banks, and partly occupied by a few
sheds, and inhabited by the lowest characters of society. In 1829, the
same land, consisting of about 140 acres, is nearly covered with houses
of the largest size, surrounding spacious squares, or skirting wide and
handsome streets. Of all the extraordinary works carried into effect by
London gentlemen and tradesmen, we may fairly adduce this as a
pre-eminent example. In the space of about four years, the houses
surrounding one large square, called Belgrave, have been erected, some
of them finished and occupied, and several others, of nearly equal
dimensions and value, complet