building fell a prey to the flames, and all that was great beauty in connection with the surrounding left was a melancholy and gutted ruin. The fire originated at the base of the great dome, where some workmen had been employed in "repairing the roof," and had, possibly, let some lighted tobacco fall into a crevice. During the brief period the palace was open (fourteen days only) it was visited by as many as 124,124 persons, and its success was no longer doubtful. Thus encouraged, the directors resolved at once to rebuild the palace, and in its re-construction they availed themselves of the experience so dearly purchased, particularly with reference to arrangements for protection from fire. In scenery; a number of Swiss chalets and other rustic buildings, also horticultural gardens, with extensive ranges of glass houses. At the foot of the hill on which the palace stands there is a racecourse upwards of a mile in length, and the grand stand is one of the handsomest and most substantial buildings of its kind in this country. There is also a trotting ring on the American principle, and, in connection therewith, an extensive range of stabling for several hundred horses, thus rendering the property well adapted for horse and agricultural shows; and a grand stand and paddock. The cricket-ground is ten acres in extent, with two pavilions, and every convenience for cricketers. There is also a Japanese village, comprising a temple, a residence, and a bazaar. the bazaar articles of Japanese work were offered for sale. A circus for equestrian performances was likewise erected in the grounds, together with a spacious banqueting hall, an open-air swimmingbath, and other novel features. Besides all these attractions, there is a charming and secluded nook in the grounds, called the Grove, bordering on the Highgate Road. In a house here, Thrale, the brewer, is reported to have lived, and to have had among his guests the great lexicographer of the Georgian era, as is testified to this day by a pathway shaded by trees, called Dr. Johnson's Walk. The Grove has been described by an able writer as "a wild natural garden, clothed with the utmost beauty to which the luxuriance of our northern vegetation can attain. On one side a low, thick hedge of holly, pillared by noble oaks, flanks a great terrace-walk, commanding a noble view over a slope which descends rapidly from the prickly barrier. Very few such oaks are to be found within this island: lofty, sturdy, and wellgrown trees, not marked by the hollow boles and distorted limbs of extreme old age, but in the very prime of vegetable manhood. Turning at right angles, at the end of this semi-avenue, the walk skirts a rapid descent, clothed with turf of that silky fineness which denotes long and careful garden culture, and set with a labyrinth of trees, each one of which is a study in itself. A noble cedar of Lebanon rises in a group of spires like a foreshortened Gothic cathedral. A holly, which, from its perfect and unusual symmetry, deceives the eye as to size, and looks like a sapling close at hand, has a bole of some fifteen feet girth, rising for twenty-four feet before it breaks into branches. The park is richly timbered, and of a pleasingly Farther on, the walk is bordered by laurel hedges, undulated surface, intersected by broad carriage and overlooks a wide sweep of country, undulated, drives, and there are several ornamental lakes of wooded, and studded by many a spiry steeple The new building, which was opened on the 1st of May, 1875, occupies an area of about seven acres, and is constructed in the most substantial manner. It contains the grand hall, capable of seating 12,000 visitors and an orchestra of 2,000; the Italian garden, a spacious court in which are asphalte paths, flower-beds, and a fine fountain; also the concert-room, which has been erected on the best known acoustic principles, and will seat 3,500 visitors. The conservatory is surmounted by a glass dome, and in close proximity are two spacious halls for the exhibition of works of art; also the corridor for displaying ornamental works. The reading-room is a very comfortable apartment, and near thereto are the modern Moorish house and an Egyptian villa. The theatre is of the most perfect kind, and will seat more than 3,000 persons. The exhibition department is divided into two parts, the space occupied being 204 feet by 106 feet. The bazaar department is 213 feet by 140 feet. The frontage of the stalls is upwards of 3,000 feet, and they are so arranged as to give the greatest facility of access to visitors and purchasers. The picture-galleries are on the northern side of the building, and comprise six fine, large, well-lighted rooms. The refreshment department is of the most complete and extensive character, including spacious grill and coffee rooms, two banqueting rooms, drawing, billiard, and smoke rooms, and private rooms for large or small parties, and the grand dining saloon, which will accommodate as many as 1,000 persons at table. For the efficient supply of this vast establishment, the plan of the basement is considered to be the most perfect as well as the most extensive of its kind ever yet seen. Also, within the building, are numerous private offices for manager and clerks, and a spacious board-room. Hornsey.] CROUCH END. to the north; and here we meet with an elm, standing alone on the turf, as perfect in its giant symmetry as the holly we have just admired. Then, perhaps, the monarch of all, we come upon a gigantic chestnut, which seems as if, like the trees once in the Garden of Eden, no touch of iron had ever fallen upon its limbs." Notwithstanding all these varied attractions, the Alexandra Palace has never yet answered the expectations of its promoters, and has more than once been offered for sale by auction and withdrawn, the offers falling far short of the value put upon the property by its owners. The view from the top of the hill on which the palace stands is, perhaps, unrivalled for beauty within many miles of London. At our feet, looking northwards, is Southgate, of which Leigh Hunt wrote that it was a pleasure to be born in so sweet a village, cradled, not only in the lap of Nature, which he loved, but in the midst of the truly English scenery which he loved beyond all other. "Middlesex is," he adds, 66 a scene of greenery and nestling villages, and Southgate is a prime specimen of Middlesex. It is a place lying out of the way of innovation, and therefore it has the pure sweet air of antiquity about it." And the remark is true, with a few exceptions, of all the towns and villages of this district. Look along the line of railway that branches off at Wood Green, and you will see the Enfield where Keats grew to be a poet, and where Charles Lamb died. Look a little to the left, and there is Colney Hatch Asylum, with its two thousand inmates. A little farther on lies Hadley Wood, a lovely spot for a picnic; and there rises the grey tower of Barnet Church, reminding you of the battle of Barnet, fought but a little farther on. A little on our left is Finchley Common, where they still show us Grimaldi's Cottage and Dick Turpin's Oak. If we look over Wood Green, now a town, but a short time back a wild common, we see in the far distance Tottenham and Edmonton, and what remains of Epping Forest. Hornsey, with its ivy tower, is just beneath; to our right is Highgate; and a little farther on is Hampstead Heath. Johnson's friend, Topham Beauclerc, it may be added, lived for some time on Muswell Hill; and Sir Robert Walpole, it is asserted, also resided at one time in this locality. Boswell is silent as to the connection of the former with this place, and for the residence of Sir Robert Walpole here we have only a local tradition. Among its inhabitants during the last century was Lawrence, the "mad" Earl Ferrers, who lodged here for some months previous to committing the 437 murder of his steward, for which he was executed at Tyburn.* His conduct even whilst here was most eccentric, and such as might fairly have consigned him to a lunatic asylum. He mixed with the lowest company, would drink coffee out of the spout of a kettle, mix his porter with mud, and shave one side of his face. He threatened more than once to "do for" his landlady, and on another occasion he violently broke open on a Sunday the stable where his horse was locked up, knocking down with his fist the ostler's wife when she asked him to wait a few minutes while her husband brought the key. Another resident at Hornsey in former times was the learned John Lightfoot, the commentator, who selected this spot in order that he might have access to the library at Sion College. Lightfoot, who was born at the beginning of the seventeenth century, is stated to have published his first work, entitled "Erubhim; or, Miscellanies Christian and Judaical," in 1629, the next year after settling at Hornsey. He was a strong promoter of the Polyglott Bible, and at the Restoration was appointed one of the assistants at the Savoy Conference. In 1675 he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. Crouch End, which lies to the south-west of the village, is connected with the Highgate Archway Road by the sloping lands of Hornsey Rise. Stroud Green, of which we have spoken in our account of the manor of Highbury,† is in this district; and although it is fast being encroached upon by the demon of bricks and mortar, it has still some few shady lanes and "bits" of rural scenery left. On rising ground on the south side of Crouch End stands Christ Church, one of the district churches of Hornsey. It was built in 1863, from the designs of Mr. A. W. Blomfield, and is a neat edifice, in the Gothic style of architecture. The church was enlarged about ten years later, when a tower and spire were added. St. Luke's Church, Hornsey Rise, built in 1861, from the designs of Mr. A. D. Gough, is a respectable common-place modern Gothic building; and consists of a nave with side aisles, transepts, and chancel with side chapels. At the beginning of 1877 a handsome Gothic church was consecrated here; it is dedicated to the Holy Innocents, and stands near the railway station. This church was the third which had been built during the incumbency of Canon Harvey, in which period Hornsey has grown from a mere village into a town of some 10,000 inhabitants. The Etymology and Early History of Hampstead-"Hot Gospellers "-The Hollow Tree-An Inland Watering-place-Caen Wood TowersDufferin Lodge-Origin of the Name of Caen (or Ken) Wood-Thomas Venner and the Fifth Monarchy Men-Caen Wood House and Grounds -Lord Mansfield-The House saved from a Riotous Attack by a Clever Ruse-Visit of William IV.-Highgate and Hampstead Ponds-The Fleet River-Bishop's Wood-The "Spaniards "-New Georgia-Erskine House-The Great Lord Erskine-Heath House-The FirsNorth End-Lord Chatham's Gloomy Retirement-Wildwood House-Jackson, the Highwayman-Akenside-William Blake, the Artist and Poet-Coventry Patmore-Miss Meteyard-Sir T. Fowell Buxton-The "Bull and Bush." IN commencing this chapter we may observe that there are two ways by which the pedestrian can reach Hampstead from Highgate-namely, by the road branching off at the "Gate House" and running along the brow of the hill past the "Spaniards," and so on to the Heath; and also by the pleasant footpath which skirts the grounds of Caen Wood on its southern side. This pathway branches off from Millfield Lane, nearly opposite the grounds of Lady Burdett-Coutts, and passing by the well-known Highgate Ponds, winds its course over the gently undulating meadows and uplands which extend westward to the slope of the hill leading up to Hampstead Heath; the pathway itself terminating close by the ponds of Hamp stead, of which, together with the charming spot close by, called the Vale of Health, we shall have more to say presently. For our part, we shall take the first-named route; but before setting out on our perambulation, it will be well, perhaps, to say a few words about Hampstead in general. Starting, then, with the name, we may observe that the etymology of Hampstead is evidently derived from the Saxon "ham" or home, and "stede" or place. The modern form of the word "homestead" is still in common use for the family residence, or more generally for a farmhouse, surrounded by barns and other out-buildings. "Homestead," too, according to the ingenious Mr. Lysons, is the true etymology of the name. "Hame" is the well-known Scotch form for "home;" and the king to Sir Thomas Wroth, Knt., from whose family syllable “ham" is preserved in "hamlet," and, they passed, about seventy years later, by purchase, as a termination, in innumerable names of places to Sir Baptist Hickes, afterwards Viscount Campden, in this country. West Ham, Birming-ham, Old- whose descendant Baptist, third Earl of Gainsham, and many others immediately suggest them- borough, alienated them to Sir W. Langhorne, selves; and we can easily reckon a dozen Hamp- Bart., in 1707. They passed from the Langhornes tons, in which the first syllable has a similar origin by descent through the hands of three females, to to that of Hampstead; while, under the modern the family of the present patron, Sir Spencer German form, heim, we meet with it in Blenheim, Maryon-Wilson, Bart., of Charlton House, Kent. There are two Hampsteads in Berkshire, besides At the time of the dissolution, Hampstead, it Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire. The name, appears, was a very small village, inhabited chiefly then, of the solitary Saxon farm was applied in the by washerwomen, and for the next 150 years its course of years to the village or town which history is almost a blank. In the Puritan times gradually surrounded it and at length took its the "Hot Gospellers," as they were nicknamed, place. Who the hardy Saxon was who first made often preached under the shade of an enormous a clearing in this elevated part of the thick Middle- elm, which was certainly a great curiosity, its sex forest, we know not; but we have record that trunk having been occupied by some virtuoso this wood afforded pannage or pasturage for a unrecorded in local history, who constructed a hundred head of swine, which fed on the chestnuts, winding staircase of forty-two steps within the beech-nuts, and acorns. In 986 King Ethelred hollow, and built an octagonal tower on the granted the manor of Hamstede to the Abbot of summit, thirty-four feet in circumference, and Westminster; and this grant was confirmed by capable of holding twenty persons. The height Edward the Confessor, with additional privileges. from the ground to the base of the turret was We are told by Mr. Park, in his "History of thirty-three feet, and there were sixteen side lights. Hampstead," that in early times it was a little There is a curious etching, by Hollar, of this chapelry, dependent on the mother church of "Hollow Tree at Hampstead." The exact locality Hendon, which was itself an incumbency in the of this tree is a matter of doubt. The copy of gift of the abbot and monks of the convent of St. the etching in the royal collection at Windsor Peter in Westminster. To this day the Dean and forms part of a "broadside" at the foot of which Chapter of Westminster own a considerable quan- is printed "To be given or sold on the hollow tity of land in the parish, whence they draw a tree at Hampstead." One Robert Codrington, considerable income, owing to the increased and a poetical student, and afterwards a Puritan, inincreasing value of property. Before the Reforma- spired by the tree, wrote an elaborate poem, in tion, it is clear that the Rector of Hendon was which he says, himself responsible for the cost of the keep of "a separate capellane," or chaplain to serve "the chapell of the Blessed Virgin at Hamsted;" this, however, was not a very heavy cost, for the stipend of an assistant curate at that day was only from six to eight marks a year; and in the reign of Edward VI., the curacy of Hampstead itself, as we learn casually from a Chancery roll, was valued at 10 per annum. It is not at all clear when the benefice of Hampstead was separated from that of Hendon, but the ties of the one must have been separated from those of the other before the year 1598, when the churchwardens of Hampstead were for the first time summoned to the Bishop of London's visitation, a fact which looks like the commencement of a parochial settlement. It is probable that the correct date is 1560, as the register of baptisms, marriages, and burials commences in that year. In the reign of Edward VI. the manor and advowson of Hampstead were granted by the young "In less room, I find, With all his trusty knights, King Arthur dined." Hampstead is now nearly joined to London by rows of villas and terraces; but within the memory of the present generation it was separated from town by a broad belt of pleasant fields. Eighty or a hundred years ago it was a rural village, adorned with many fine mansions, whither retired, in search of health or recreation, some of the most eminent men of the age. The beauty of its fields is celebrated by the author of "Suburban Sonnets" in Hone's "Table Book: "Hampstead, I doubly venerate thy name," for it seems it was here that the writer first became imbued with the feeling of love and with the spirit of poetry. It is the fashion to undervalue the suburbs of London; and several clever writers, proud of their mountains and their lakes, have a smile of contempt ready for us when we talk of our “upland hamlets,” |