The house is at 8 Bishopsgate Street,
Within. It has no sign of any kind, but stands back from the street,
behind an iron-grated fence. The firm appears to occupy the whole
edifice, which is spacious, and fit for princely merchants. Thence I
went and paid for the passages to Lisbon (32 pounds) at the Peninsular
Steam Company's office, and thence to call on General ------. I forgot
to mention, that, first of all, I went to Mr. B------'s, whom I found
kind and vivacious as usual. It now rained heavily, and, being still
showery when we came to Cheapside again, we first stood under an archway
(a usual resort for passengers through London streets), and then betook
ourselves to sanctuary, taking refuge in St. Paul's Cathedral. The
afternoon service was about to begin, so, after looking at a few of the
monuments, we sat down in the choir, the richest and most ornamented part
of the cathedral, with screens or partitions of oak, cunningly carved.
Small white-robed choristers were flitting noiselessly about, making
preparations for the service, which by and by began. It is a beautiful
idea, that, several times in the course of the day, a man can slip out of
the thickest throng and bustle of London into this religious atmosphere,
and hear the organ, and the music of young, pure voices; but, after all,
the rites are lifeless in our day. We found, on emerging, that we had
escaped a very heavy shower, and it still sprinkled and misted as we went
homeward through Holborn and Oxford Street.
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