Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. LONDON.?THE CITY. On the evening of the second day after their departure from Anesti, our travellers found themselves approaching the north-eastern suburb of London. The country through which they rode was rich grass-land, abundantly timbered and watered by clear and rapid streams, which flowed into the river Thames. Many picturesque houses with fertile gardens and orchards were scattered over this pleasant landscape, to which the massive battlements and stately spires of the distant city formed an imposing background. Leaving behind these suburban villas of the wealthy citizens, having made the passage of the river Lea at Stratford, they halted presently at Aldgate. The great gate-way was still open and indeed its recesses were lined with movable stalls, the owners of which, vied in commendation of the excellence of their respective wares, while groups of lepers and other piteous mendicants invoked the alms of the charitable. The appearance of the strangers proving satisfactory to the city serjeants, they were allowed to pass through into the shadow of the overhanging gables. Hence they rode westwards along a broad avenue which debouched on to Cheapside, and so up the incline to St. Paul’s Church, where the son of Nigel was to part with his companion, since he intended to push forward to the palace of Westminster, instead of sojourning at the comfortable residence which he occupied as a canon of that Church. But first he bade one of his serjeants escort Richard de Anesti to an honest herbergeour near by, promising further to acquaint his brother, John the Clerk, of his coming to London, and adding that his brother the Treasurer expected an early visit from his old friend to his official residence at Westminster. The following morning, accordingly, Richard was a…
