[Picture: The Monument]
There is the Monument: it is situated on the east side of Fish Street
Hill, and is the highest column in the world. It was erected in
remembrance of the great fire of London, which broke out in _Pudding
Lane_, very near Fish-Street Hill, destroying all the buildings from
Tower Wharf in the east, to Temple church in the west; and from the north
end of Mincing Lane, to the west end of Leadenhall Street; passing to
Threadneedle Street, thence in a direct line to Holborn Bridge, and
extending northward to Smithfield, when, after having burnt down thirteen
thousand and two hundred houses, it terminated.
At that time provisions were very cheap, and many people eat to the full;
so that gluttony was alleged by some as the cause of the fire; it
beginning, as they said, at _Pudding Lane_, and ending at _Pie Corner_,
which was the case.
The Monument is a very fine pillar, 202 feet high, having a staircase
leading to the gallery, from which, on a clear day, beautiful views of
the city and surrounding country may be seen.
By the inscription on the Monument, the Roman Catholics are accused of
“burning this Protestant city;” but Pope, the poet, was of a different
opinion, for he says,
“London’s high column, pointing to the skies,
Like a tall bully, lifts its head and lies.”