WE arrived at Rye, a small English seaport. Here, as soon as we came on
shore, we gave in our names to the notary of the place, but not till he
had demanded our business; and being answered, that we had none but to
see England, we were conducted to an inn, where we were very well
entertained; as one generally is in this country.
We took post-horses for London: it is surprising how swiftly they run;
their bridles are very light, and their saddles little more than a span
over.
Flimwell, a village: here we returned our first horses, and mounted fresh
ones.
We passed through Tunbridge, another village.
Chepstead, another village: here, for the second time, we changed horses.
London, the head and metropolis of England: called by Tacitus, Londinium;
by Ptolemy, Logidinium; by Ammianus Marcellinus, Lundinium; by
foreigners, Londra, and Londres; it is the seat of the British Empire,
and the chamber of the English kings. This most ancient city is in the
county of Middlesex, the fruitfullest and wholesomest soil in England.
It is built on the river Thames, sixty miles from the sea, and was
originally founded, as all historians agree, by Brutus, who, coming from
Greece into Italy, thence into Africa, next into France, and last into
Britain, chose this situation for the convenience of the river, calling
it Troja Nova, which name was afterwards corrupted into Trinovant. But
when Lud, the brother of Cassibilan, or Cassivelan, who warred against
Julius Cæsar, as he himself mentions (lib. v. de Bell. Gall.), came to
the crown, he encompassed it with very strong walls, and towers very
artfully constructed, and from his own name called it Caier Lud, _i.e._,
Lud’s City. This name was corrupted into that of Caerlunda, and again in
time, by change of language, into Londres. Lud, when he died, was buried
in this town, near that gate which is yet called in Welsh, Por Lud—in
Saxon, Ludesgate.
The famous river Thames owes part of its stream, as well as its
appellation, to the Isis; rising a little above Winchelcomb, and being
increased with several rivulets, unites both its waters and its name to
the Thame, on the other side of Oxford; thence, after passing by London,
and being of the utmost utility, from its greatness and navigation, it
opens into a vast arm of the sea, from whence the tide, according to
Gemma Frisius, flows and ebbs to the distance of eighty miles, twice in
twenty-five hours, and, according to Polydore Vergil, above sixty miles
twice in twenty-four hours.
This city being very large of itself, has very extensive suburbs, and a
fort called the Tower, of beautiful structure. It is magnificently
ornamented with public buildings and churches, of which there are above
one hundred and twenty parochial.
On the south is a bridge of stone eight hundred feet in length, of
wonderful work; it is supported upon twenty piers of square stone, sixty
feet high and thirty broad, joined by arches of about twenty feet
diameter. The whole is covered on each side with houses so disposed as
to have the appearance of a continued street, not at all of a bridge.
Upon this is built a tower, on whose top the heads of such as have been
executed for high treason are placed on iron spikes: we counted above
thirty.
Paulus Jovius, in his description of the most remarkable towns in
England, says all are obscured by London: which, in the opinion of many,
is Cæsar’s city of the Trinobantes, the capital of all Britain, famous
for the commerce of many nations; its houses are elegantly built, its
churches fine, its towns strong, and its riches and abundance surprising.
The wealth of the world is wafted to it by the Thames, swelled by the
tide, and navigable to merchant ships through a safe and deep channel for
sixty miles, from its mouth to the city: its banks are everywhere
beautified with fine country seats, woods, and farms; below is the royal
palace of Greenwich; above, that of Richmond; and between both, on the
west of London, rise the noble buildings of Westminster, most remarkable
for the courts of justice, the parliament, and St. Peter’s church,
enriched with the royal tombs. At the distance of twenty miles from
London is the castle of Windsor, a most delightful retreat of the Kings
of England, as well as famous for several of their tombs, and for the
ceremonial of the Order of the Garter. This river abounds in swans,
swimming in flocks: the sight of them, and their noise, are vastly
agreeable to the fleets that meet them in their course. It is joined to
the city by a bridge of stone, wonderfully built; is never increased by
any rains, rising only with the tide, and is everywhere spread with nets
for taking salmon and shad. Thus far Paulus Jovius.
Polydore Vergil affirms that London has continued to be a royal city, and
the capital of the kingdom, crowded with its own inhabitants and
foreigners, abounding in riches, and famous for its great trade, from the
time of King Archeninus, or Erchenvinus. Here the kings are crowned, and
solemnly inaugurated, and the council of the nation, or parliament, is
held. The government of the city is lodged, by ancient grant of the
Kings of Britain, in twenty-four aldermen—that is, seniors: these
annually elect out of their own body a mayor and two sheriffs, who
determine causes according to municipal laws. It has always had, as
indeed Britain in general has, a great number of men of learning, much
distinguished for their writings.
The walls are pierced with six gates, which, as they were rebuilt,
acquired new names. Two look westward:
1. Ludgate, the oldest, so called from King Lud, whose name is yet to be
seen, cut in the stone over the arch on the side; though others imagine
it rather to have been named Fludgate, from a stream over which it
stands, like the Porta Fluentana at Rome. It has been lately repaired by
Queen Elizabeth, whose statue is placed on the opposite side. And,
2. Newgate, the best edifice of any; so called from being new built,
whereas before it was named Chamberlain gate. It is the public prison.
On the north are four:
1. Aldersgate, as some think from alder trees; as others, from
Aldericius, a Saxon.