Fountains and trees our wearied pride do please, Even in the midst of gilded palaces; And in our towns the prospect gives delight, Which opens round the country to our sight.--Spratt.

On the demolition of Bedford House, the adjoining lands were laid out for building purposes, and Russell and Bedford Squares were erected about the year , and were named after the Russells, Earls and Dukes of Bedford. For some time previously--as we have already shown in our account of , , and other places in the locality-many of the houses in the immediate neighbourhood were very extensively inhabited by judges and successful lawyers; and on the building of the above squares the houses were so largely taken up by members of the legal profession, on account of their nearness to , that in course of time the epithet of

Judge-land

Club-land.

, which we enter at the western end of , occupies part of what in was called Southampton Fields, but what in later times became known as Long Fields. At the beginning of the present century, Long Fields lay waste and useless. There were nursery grounds northward; towards the north-west were the grounds of the Toxophilite Society; Bedford House, with its lawn and magnificent gardens planted with limetrees, occupied the south side; whilst Baltimore House, long the residence of Lord Chancellor Loughborough, stood on the east side, at the corner

A writer in the thus speaks of this locality:

Russell Square

is, under ordinary circumstances, a very nice place to walk in. If those troublesome railway vans and goods wagons would not come lumbering and clattering, by way of

Southampton Row

, through the square, and up

Guilford Street

, on their way to

King's Cross

,

La Place Roussell

would be as cosy and tranquil as

La Place Royale

in Paris. It has the vastness of

Lincoln's Inn Fields

without its dinginess.

it was either built without a plan, or else has had very whimsical owners; for the door has been shifted to different parts of the house, until at last it is lost to all outward appearance, being now (

1776

) carried into the stable-yard!

The Duke of Bolton, who was, of course, known as Lord Henry Powlett during his elder brother's life, served in early life in the navy, in which, however, if we may believe Sir N. W. Wraxall,

he had gained no laurels.

Roderick Random.

Polly Peachum

Bolton House was afterwards occupied by Lord Loughborough when Lord Chancellor, as also by Sir John Nicholl and Sir Vicary Gibbs.

On the , George III., with the Queen and several members of the Royal Family, assembled at Bolton House, when occupied by Lord Loughborough, and after partaking of a cold collation, proceeded to view the . Lord Loughborough, though an Erskine by birth, was a

paltry and servile politician,

he had not left a greater rogue behind him.

When the square was laid out for building, Bolton House was the only mansion standing, and this was incorporated into the rest of the square, though somewhat incongruously; and though it is now divided into large residences, it still retains its name of Bolton House.

Passing to the other mansions in the square, we may state that Sir Samuel Romilly lived and died (by his own hand) at No. ; Chief-Justice Abbot (Lord Tenterden) at No. ; Mr. Justice Holroyd at No. ; Mr. T. (afterwards Lord) Denman at No. ; and at No. , Mr. W. Tooke, F.R.S., the writer on currency and political economy, M.P. for Truro in -.

At No. lived for some time the lawyer, poet, philanthropist, and man of letters, [extra_illustrations.4.566.1] , a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, who died suddenly, in , in the court-house at. Stafford, while addressing the grand jury.

A person no less distinguished, though in quite another way, Sir Thomas Lawrence, the courtly painter, and President of the Royal Academy, resided at No. for a quarter of a century. He died there in , after a very short illness. Concerning the residence of Sir Thomas Lawrence, there is a note in the for , by the Rev. John Mitford, which says :

We shall never forget the Cossacks, mounted on their small white horses, with their long spears grounded, standing as sentinels at the door of this great painter, whilst he was taking the portrait of their general, Platoff.

, connecting with , was built between and on the site of Bedford House. Here, at the house of Mr. Henry Fry, died, in , Richard Cumberland, the author of . In , on the opposite side of , in , and for some years later, lived Mr. Richard Bethell, afterwards Lord Chancellor and Lord Westbury.

At No. , , between Russell and Bedford Squares, in , lived the late Sir John T. Coleridge, father of Lord Coleridge; he had previously resided in , and afterwards in , . To the north-west of are Woburn and Torrington Squares, in the latter of which was the residence of Sir Harris Nicolas, editor of Nelson's Despatches and Letters, and a distinguished antiquary and genealogist. He died at Boulogne in .

Running parallel with , and with , forming a communication with , is . This is chiefly noticeable as containing a chapel for Anabaptists.

, on the west side of the , stands on a part of the Bedford estate, and covers some considerable portion of the old

rookery

At No. lived Lord Chancellor Eldon from down to ; and here occurred the memorable interview between his lordship and the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV., which has been so often told, though it will bear telling here again in the words of Mr. Peter Cunningham:--

The Prince came alone to the Chancellor's house, and upon the servant opening the door, observed that as his lordship had the gout, he knew he must be at home, and therefore desired that he might be shown up to the room where the Chancellor was sitting or lying. The servant said he was too ill to be seen, and that he had also positive orders to show in

no one

. The Prince then asked to be shown the staircase, which he immediately ascended, and pointed

first

to

one

door and then to another, asking,

Is that your master's room?

The servant answered

No,

until he came to the right

one

, upon which he opened the door, seated himself by the Chancellor's bedside, and asked him to appoint his friend Jekyll, the great wit, to the vacant office of Master in Chancery. The Chancellor refused--there could be no more unfit appointment. The Prince, perceiving the humour of the Chancellor, and that he was firm to his determination not to appoint him, threw himself back in the chair and exclaimed,

How I do pity Lady Eldon!

Good God!

said the Chancellor,

what is the matter?

Oh, nothing!

answered the Prince,

except that she will never see you again, for here I remain until you promise to make Jekyll a Master in Chancery.

Jekyll, of course, obtained the appointment.

In , during the riots at the Westend on account of the rejection of the Corn-Law Alteration Bill, some portion of the mob proceeded to , and broke the windows of the house of the unpopular Tory Lord Chancellor.

In , , was living in Olivia Serres, Wilmott, when she came forward before the world to claim royal rank and precedence as

the Princess Olivia of Cumberland,

Princess

, which runs from the north-east corner of into the , is a broad thoroughfare, nearly a of a mile in length, but dull and monotonous in appearance. Mr. James Grant, in his

Travels in Town,

a street which scarcely exhibits any signs of being an inhabited place .. . Here and there,

you see a solitary pedestrian, or perchance a

one

-horse chaise. The stranger in passing along this street feels an emotion of melancholy come over him, caused by its dulness and unbroken monotony, and wonders how people can betray so entire a disregard of the truth as to represent the metropolis as a place of business and bustle, of noise and din.

This street,

was still so perfectly free from smoke

forty

years ago that grapes were ripened by the sun in the open air in the garden of

one

at least of the houses. Lord Eldon used often to speak of the fine fruit which he raised in his garden here, and also mentioned in Court the sad effect of the smoke upon it. A still more extraordinary fact is that even so late as the year

1800

, Mr. William Bentham, of

Upper Gower Street

, had nearly

twenty-five

dozen of the finest and most delicious nectarines, all fit for the table, gathered off

three

trees in his garden, and that the same plot of ground continued, even long after, to produce the richest-flavoured celery in great abundance.

In the Toxophilite Society began to hold its meetings in grounds on the eastern side of , under lease from the Duke of Bedford; and they continued here till , when they were driven away westwards, the land being

required for building purposes.

in its time has numbered among its residents a few remarkable men. At No. , Jack Bannister, the actor, lived and died.

In the drama,

he was affecting, because he was natural and simple; in society, he was distinguished by the same characteristics. His unaffected hilarity in conversation, the flexibility of his mind in adapting itself to every subject which arose, and the almost puerile good humour with which he recalled and recited the incidents of his earliest life and observation, formed altogether a picture equally singular and interesting. In these moments he

showed himself to the greatest advantage; his animated countenance displayed at once the intelligence of a man, the sweetness of a woman, and the innocent sportiveness of a child. His social virtues will never be forgotten; they assured to him the respect and the esteem of all; he enjoyed upon earth full reward of his talents and good qualities, while his hopes of an hereafter were cherished with a warmth and confidence resulting from a true and lively faith.

A house at the corner of and was for some years the town residence of the eccentric philosopher, the Hon. Henry Cavendish, who was well known for his chemical researches. Few visitors were admitted there, but some found their way across the threshold, and have reported that books and apparatus formed its chief furniture. For the former, however, Cavendish set apart a separate mansion in , Soho. Here he had collected a large and carefully-chosen library of works on science, which he threw open to all engaged in research; and to this house he went for his own books, as would go to a circulating library, signing a formal receipt for such of the volumes as he took with him. Cavendish, it is asserted, lived comfortably, but made no display; and his few guests were treated on all occasions to the same fare, and it was not very sumptuous. A Fellow of the Royal Society reports that

if any

one

dined with Cavendish he invariably gave them a leg of mutton and nothing else.

seldom had company at his house, but on

one

occasion

three

or

four

scientific men were to dine with him, and when his housekeeper came to ask what was to be got for dinner, he said,

A leg of mutton!

Sir, that will not be enough for five.

Well, then, get two,

was the reply.

Dr. Thomas Thomson writes of Cavendish:--

He was shy and bashful to a degree bordering on disease. He could not bear to have any person introduced to him, or to be pointed out in any way as a remarkable man.

One

Sunday evening he was standing at Sir Joseph Banks's, in a crowded room, conversing with Mr. Hatchett, when Dr. Ingenhousz, who had a good deal of pomposity of manner, came up with an Austrian gentleman in his hand, and introduced him formally to Mr. Cavendish. He mentioned the titles and qualifications of his friend at great length, and said that he had been particularly anxious to be introduced to a philosopher so profound and so universally known and celebrated as Mr. Cavendish. As soon as Dr. Ingenhousz had finished, the Austrian gentleman began to speak, assuring Mr. Cavendish that his principal reason for coming to London was to see and converse with

one

of the greatest ornaments of the age, and.

one

of the most illustrious philosophers that ever existed. To all these high-flown speeches Mr. Cavendish answered not a word, but stood with his eyes cast down, quite abashed and confounded. At last, spying an opening in the crowd, he darted through it with all the speed of which he was master, nor did he stop till he reached his carriage, which drove him directly home.

Sir Humphry Davy, in addition to the eloquent eulogium passed on Mr. Cavendish soon after his death, left this less studied but more graphic sketch of the philosopher amongst his papers:--

Cavendish was a great man, with extraordinary singularities. His voice was squeaking, his manner nervous, he was afraid of strangers, and seemed, when embarrassed, even to articulate with difficulty. He wore the costume of our grandfathers; was enormously rich, but made no use of his wealth. He gave me once some bits of platinum for my experiments, and came to see my results on the decomposition of the alkalis, and seemed to take an interest in them; but he encouraged no intimacy with any

one

. . . He lived latterly the life of a solitary, came to the club dinner, and to the Royal Society, but received nobody at his own house. He was acute, sagacious, and profound, and, I think, the most accomplished British philosopher of his time.

On the east side of is [extra_illustrations.4.568.1] , which was founded in the year , for the purpose of affording

literary and scientific. education at a moderate expense;

Recollections,

The foundation-stone of the college was laid on Monday, the , by H.R.H. the [extra_illustrations.4.569.1] , who had long been associated with the leaders of the Whig party. The architect:

May God bless this undertaking which we have so happily commenced, and make it prosper for honour, happiness, and glory, not only of the metropolis, but of the whole country.

oration,

The building was opened on the in the following year, under the title of the University of London. Its constitution then was that of a joint-stock company, and the original --deed of settlement provided for a dividend not exceeding per cent. on the share capital-a --dividend which, as a matter of fact, was never paid, inasmuch as from the the expenditure of the ,college absorbed all that portion of the receipts in which it was supposed the dividend would be found. Thomas Campbell, then in the height of his celebrity, was appointed Lecturer on Poetry on the opening of the institution. As the title of

University

The governing body of the college consists of a council, elected by its members, who in their turn comprise the Governors, the Fellows, and the Life Governors, the of whom, as representing the registered proprietors of the original shares, although, as we have said, all their pecuniary rights have been abolished, retain the privilege of nominating their successors. The Council itself consists of a President, Vice-President, and Treasurer, and not more than or less than other members, of whom, eligible to re-election, retire every year. The powers of this body are very wide-comprising, indeed, the sole and entire management of the college, both in the financial and educational departments, and also the government of the hospital to the same degree. There is, however, a subordinate body known as the Senate, and consisting of the professorial staff, which, having no voice in the government of the College, and no existence, indeed, under the Act of Parliament, is yet empowered to advise with the council on various subjects of management, especially of the libraries and museum, and has, moreover, a good deal to say to any contemplated addition or alteration in its own numbers. In connection with the larger establishment is a school, which stands to it in the light of a feeder, a considerable number of well-instructed pupils yearly passing up into the ranks of its students. The head master stands in all respects on the same footing as the professors of the college, and, like them, is subject to the regulations and control of the council. There are faculties in the college--of arts and laws, of science, and of medicine-besides a department of civil and mechanical engineering. In the faculties are numbered professorships, and of the scientific chairs therein included, but is endowed, the chair of physiology, although the professor of geology receives a yearly sum of from the Goldsmid Fund.

The college comprises a central facade and wings, and has a total length of about feet. In the centre, which looks to the west, is an immense Corinthian portico, formed by columns supporting the pediment, and elevated on a lofty plinth, approached by numerous steps effectively arranged. Behind the pediment is a cupola, with a lantern light, and in the great hall beneath it are placed on view the original models of the principal works of John Flaxman, which were presented to the institution some years after the death of the sculptor by his sister-in-law, Miss Denman, to whom, with the late Miss Flaxman, belonged the remaining works of the great

Michael and Satan;

Shield of Achilles

In the ground-floor are lecture-rooms, cloisters for the exercise of the pupils, semi-circular theatres, the chemical laboratory, and museum of . In the upper floor, besides the great hall above mentioned, are museums of natural history and anatomy, theatres, libraries, and other rooms set apart for the purposes of the college. The principal library is richly decorated in the Italian style; it is large and valuable, containing upwards of volumes and pamphlets, to which has lately been added a fine collection of works on mathematics, physics, and astronomy, the gift of the late Mr. J. T. Graves. The laboratory, completed from the plan of Professor Donaldson in , is stated to combine all the recent improvements of our own schools with that of Professor Liebig, at Giessen.

At University College the Graphic Club, composed of artists, painters, and engravers, used to hold their monthly meetings for the purpose of interchange of thought on matters connected with the fine arts. The club was originally established by the late Mr. John Burnet and his friends; and it numbered among its members J. M. W. Turner, Prout, Landseer, Clarkson Stanfield, and other departed worthies.

On the opposite side of , facing the college gates, is the North London, or University College Hospital. It was founded soon after the college itself, under the presidency of Lord Brougham, for the relief of poor sick and maimed persons, and the delivery of poor married women; and also for furthering the objects of the college, by affording improved means of practical instruction in medicine and surgery to the medical students of the college under the superintendence of its professors. The building, which was erected from the designs of Mr. Alfred Ainger, affords accommodation for beds, of which, in separate wards, are devoted exclusively to the use of children under years of age. The total number of persons relieved yearly is about , at the cost of ; whilst the income from subscriptions and other sources amounts to not quite half that sum, thus leaving a yearly deficit of nearly to be provided for.

In , and nearly opposite the hospital, is the Dissenters' Library, which was originally founded in Cripplegate, in the year , by Dr. Daniel Williams, a Presbyterian minister, for the use of the Presbyterian, Independent, and Baptist persuasions, with a salary for a librarian and housekeeper. In pursuance of his will, a building was erected in Redcross Street, with space for volumes (though the original collection did not comprise more than volumes), and an apartment for the curator. In the library was also a register in which Dissenters might record the births of their children. When the premises in Redcross Street were required for the extension of the Metropolitan Railway, in , the library was temporarily transferred to a hired house in , Bloomsbury, where it remained for years, until a home was found for it here. The site of the new library cost , and the new building in which it is lodged more. It is a plain and substantial Gothic building. The basement includes, besides offices, strong rooms for the custody of manuscripts. On the ground floor are the entrance-hall, committeerooms, waiting-rooms, &c. The library occupies the whole floor, which is lofty and well lighted. The upper portion of the building is occupied by the librarian. The architect was Mr. T. Chatfield Clarke, and the structure is as nearly fireproof as possible.

The library, a very rich collection of theological works, and especially of Nonconformist literature, was actually opened in , and the new library was completed and opened in . It now comprises about volumes, among which are various editions of the Bible, also the folio edition of Shakespeare; but. there are no Caxtons or Wynkyn de Wordes. The library is open to respectable persons of every class daily throughout the year, excepting during the month of August and in Christmas week; on Good Friday and Whit Monday it is also closed. Books are allowed to be taken out under proper restrictions. Upon the walls of the library are portraits of Richard Baxter, by Riley; of Matthew Henry, of Wm. Tyndale, of Joseph Priestley, by Fuseli; of John Milton, and of Isaac Watts. The trustees, in number, must all be Presbyterians; and it may be added that each trustee makes a present of books to the library.

Of Dr. Williams's ministerial career we have already spoken in our account of Redcross Street;

occasional conformity.

A portion of Dr. Williams's estates, bequeathed for years, was appropriated to the following objects :--The formation of a library; exhibitions at Glasgow University, and divinity scholarships; also to the establishment of schools for poor children in various parts of England and Wales; to the payment of poor Dissenting ministers; Christian teachers in Ireland, the West Indies, and New England; and to the distribution of the Doctor's own works among suitable persons.

[extra_illustrations.4.565.1] a statue

[extra_illustrations.4.566.1] Sir Thomas N. Talfourd

[extra_illustrations.4.568.1] University College

[extra_illustrations.4.569.1] Duke of Sussex

[] See Vol. II., p. 239.

[extra_illustrations.4.572.1] New Church, Regent Square, Sidmouth Street