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K E L L Y S G U ID E T O LON D O N — C IT Y D IST B IC T .

THE CITY OR E.C. DISTRICT.
'T ' H O U G H
A

this d istric t is n ecessarily th at to w h ich those w hom business ca lls

to L o n d o n w ill turn m ost re a d ily , it w o u ld be a m istak e to suppose that it

has not a grea t interest fo r a ll v isito rs to th e M etro p o lis. A p a rt from the fa c t that
it co n tain s m an y o f the best shops, it presents scenes o f b u stlin g a c tiv ity to be
seen in no other c ity in the w o rld .

I t is in d eed the m ost ch aracteristic part of

L o n d o n , fo r it is ty p ic a l o f that trade and com m erce w h ich h ave m ade E n g la n d
pre-em inent as a com m ercial nation.

T h e re is n o,m ore strik in g contrast than that

w h ich is presen ted in th e appearan ce of the streets in the C ity on an ord in ary
d a y and a t n ig h t,

or in d eed on a p u b lic h o lid a y or a S u n day, fo r the d ay

p o p u latio n is reckon ed a t 300,000, w h ilst th e n ig h t p op u lation is. but about
40,000.

B u t b eyon d a n y q u estion o f the in terest w h ich the sigh t o f the feverish

h aste and ceaseless bustle e x h ib ite d b y the m erchants, th eir clerk s, and the
tra d in g classes o f the C i t y ge n e ra lly , m ay h ave fo r th e v isito r, there are m any
p la ce s in the E .C . d istrict w h ich he sh ou ld not fa il to see.
I f the num ber o f h otels in the C it y o f L o n d on o r E .C . d istrict be lim ite d ,
and i f th ey cann ot b e said to riv a l those m agn ificen t establishm ents o f th e same
ch aracter w h ich are to b e found in the W ., S .W ., W .C ., and N .W . d istricts, it
can y et sa fe ly be' sa id that th ey o ffer a ll that can reason ably be desired b y those
lvho are a n x iou s fo r business or o th er reasons to be in the im m ed iate v ic in ity of
th e great w arehouses and other places o f business in the C ity .

M an y years a go it

used to be said w ith no little truth, th at in the m atter o f h o tel accom m odation
L o n d o n presented a strange contrast to C o n tin en tal tow ns, and m ore p a rticu la rly
to such a r e la tiv e ly m odern c ity as N e w Y o r k , but h ow ever true such a reproach
m ay h ave been, and indeed even if it m ay h ave been tru th fu lly said 25 years ago
th at Lo n d on h otels -were m o stly e ith er bad or d ear, if not both, such a change
h as now been m ade in this respect th at w e m ay n o w boast th at w e possess dozens
o f h o tels scattered over L o n d o n , w h ich w ill fa vo u ra b ly contrast w ith the best in
a n y other c ity o f the w orld .
T h e F irst A v e n u e H o te l is n ot a c tu a lly w ith in the confines of. the C it y of
L o n d o n , but s t ill it, and m an y others— such as the C e c il, w h ich can m ake the
proud boast o f b e in g the largest and m ost m agn ificen t h otel in E u rope, the Inns
o f C ourt H o te l w ith its 200 bedroom s, the C o ve n t G arden H o te l, H a x e ll’ s H o te l
(in the Strand ), the B e d ford H o te l (C oven t G arden), e tc.— are so near the C ity
as to render them m ost co n ven ien t fo r the use o f those w hose v isits to L o n d on