alphabet again, down to the Watermen's Arms, of which there are fifteen.

In the animal kingdom, there are three Antelopes; fourteen Brown Bears, besides a whole bear-garden of various other lively colours; Birds in the Hand, five; Black Bulls, sixteen; Bulls' Heads, twenty-five; Black Dogs, four; Black Horses, twenty-five; Black Lions, ten; Black Swans, six; Blue Boars, seven; one Blue Pig; one Blue Lion; one Camel; four Cart-horses; three Cats; one Civet Cat; twenty Cocks; four Cocks with Bottles; two Cocks with Hoops, and one Cock and Neptune; two Dogs and Ducks; fourteen Dolphins; six Eagles; seven Elephants with or without Castles; ten Falcons; one Fish; thirty Foxes, with Grapes, Geese, or Hounds; three Hampshire Hogs; five Hares and Hounds; ten Goats, some in Boots, and some furnished with a pair of Compasses; thirty Green Men; nine Greyhounds; two Hen and Chickens; one Hog in the Pound; twentyseven Horses and Grooms; ten Lions in a state of nature, some tête-à-tête with Lambs, some with French Horns; ninety Lions in red skins, and twenty-eight in white ones; seven Magpies, one with a Maiden, three with a Stump, one with a Pewter Platter, and one with a Punch-bowl; twenty Nags' Heads; one Old Cock; one Old Fox; six Old Red Lions; and four Old Swans. There are twelve Peacocks ; one Pheasant; four Pied Bulls; two Rams; two Ravens; nine Red Cows; one Red Horse; ten Roebucks; seven Running Horses; one Running Footman; three Spotted Dogs; eleven Spread Eagles; thirty Swans, some with Horse-shoes, some with Sugar-loaves, and one with two Necks; five Tigers; twelve Turks' Heads; five Unicorns; eighteen White Bears; seventy White Harts, and only one White Hind; fifty-four White Horses; one White Raven; thirty-one White Swans; four Stags; one Leopard; three British Lions, and one Porcupine.

Some publicans betray a partiality for a particular number,

and double or treble their signs, or choose some device which shall express their favourite figure. Thus we have the One Tun, the One Swan; the Two Bells, the Two Black Boys, the Two Sawyers, the Two Ships, the Two Mariners, the Two Brewers (of which there are thirty), the Two Eagles, &c. Then we have the Three Colts, the Three Compasses (twenty-seven in number), the Three Cranes, the Three Crowns, the Three Cups, the Three Goats' Heads, the Three Hats, the Three Herrings, the Three Jolly Butchers, the Three Kingdoms, the Three Kings' Heads, the Three Loggerheads, the Three Lords, the Three Mackerel, the Three Neats' Tongues, the Three Pigeons, the Three Stags, the Three Suns, and the Three Tuns, which last number over a score. Four is not a favourite number with Publicans, and the Four Swans in Bishopsgate Street is the only quadruple alliance upon the sign-boards of London. Fives there are in plenty; among which we may particularise the Five Bells and Blade-bone, the Five Ink-horns, and the Five Pipes. Of sixes, there are but two-the Six Bells, and the Six Cans and Punch-bowl. the sevens, there are just seven-of which six are the Seven Stars, and one the Seven Sisters. Then the Eight Bells, of which there are four; and the Nine Elms, of which there is but one. There is also but one ten-the Ten Bells; and one

twelve, which is also a peal of Bells.

Of

There are sixteen saints-St. John, St. Luke, and St. Paul being the favourites; and though there is but one bishop, Bishop Blaize, there are eleven Mitres. Of Georges, there are fifty; and twenty more of that gentleman settling his account with the Dragon. There are twenty-one Angels, and fifteen more Angels in partnership with Crowns, Suns, and Trumpets; seven Flying Horses; about thirty Golden prodigies of various kinds-Anchors, Fleeces, and Lions; of Green Dragons, there are sixteen; and five Griffins, three Men in the Moon, one Monster, three Neptunes, eleven Phoenixes, and one Silver Lion.

Among the Jolly fellows are the Jolly Anglers, the Jolly Farmers, the Jolly Millers, the Jolly Sailors, and the Jolly Waterman, with a Tippling Philosopher at their head.

Of fruits, fruit-trees, and vegetables, we have-Artichokes, seven; Apple-trees, three; Cherry-trees, five; Grapes, sixty-six; Mulberry-trees, four; Orange-trees, two; Pineapples, five; and Vines, three.

The most absorbent colours are found to be black, blue, green, red, and white. Of these the Blacks amount to nearly a hundred, the greater part of them being Black Bulls and Black Horses; the Blues are sixty, being mainly Anchors, Boars, and Posts; the Greens are fifty, mostly Green Dragons or Green Men; the Reds are a hundred and ten, of which three-fourths are Lions; and the Whites are above two hundred, in which the White Hart and the White Horse principally predominate.

Among the mysterious signs which are apt to puzzle us as we walk the streets, are the Hole-in-the-Wall, of which there are seven; the Bag of Nails-thought to be a corruption of The Bacchanalians-the Two Black Boys; the Cat and Salutation; the Fish and Bell; the Globe and Pigeons; the Goose and Gridiron; Grave Maurice (who was he?); the Half-moon and Punch-bowl; the Ham and Windmill; the Hat and Tun; the Hop and Toy; the Horns and Chequers; the Horse-shoe and Magpie; the King's Head and Lamb; the Naked Boy and Woolpack; the Queen's Head and French Horn; the Rose and Three Tuns; the Salmon and Compasses; the Sash and Cocoa-tree; the Sun and Sword; the Ship and Blade-bone, &c., the significations of which, if they have any, lie too deep beneath the surface for our comprehension.

Of the implements of agriculture there are-Ploughs, eighteen; Harrows, five; one Shovel, three Carts and Horses, and two Waggons. We may add that there are fourscore Ships in all conditions, from a Ship on the Launch,

to a Sheer Hulk; and of Anchors there are twenty, most of them allied with Hope, and twenty more allied only with blue paint.

The above selections from the list of wooden banners, beneath which assemble nightly the thirsty population of the metropolis, must suffice for the present. They are the multifaced symbols of the most frequented, most popular, and best patronised of all our national institutions; whether they reflect much credit upon us as the inhabitants of the most enlightened city in the world, is a question we have not leisure to enter upon. The hospitality they practise is regarded by humanitarians as a very doubtful virtue-and some of them do not scruple to declare, that though by no means ministers of charity themselves, they are the originating causes of half the munificent and splendid charitable endowments which adorn our land, and, moreover, of not a few of those palatial-looking prison-fortresses which the genius of architecture has latterly condescended to render ornamental too, on the principle, we suppose, that if the body politic cannot get rid of an unsightly wen, the next best thing is to hide it beneath an agreeable covering.

LAGSMANBURY.

LIKE a rotten core beneath the bloom of ripe fruit-like a treacherous and villanous heart under a hypocritical aspect -like anything and everything that is evil and bad, yet clings to the semblance of decency and goodness-is Lagsmanbury. Neither Westminster, nor, indeed, all London, contains a more remarkable instance of the isolation of that supplementary order of society that sinks below classification, yet is in the very arms and close embrace of orders whose ambition and pretension it is to soar above it. You shall pass a hundred times within a few paces of the boundaries of the Lagsman's domain without discovering it or suspecting its existence-for it lies between two well-frequented thoroughfares of respectable and official character, and can be entered through either only by the narrow approach of a coveredway. The world to be found within, however, is worth the notice of the observant, and we shall take the liberty of making such investigations as may suffice to satisfy our curiosity.

Three or four acres are probably the utmost extent of the whole area, and this is traversed from north to south by a narrow winding lane, at least twice the length of the distance, as the crow flies, between its termini: like a long snake in a short bottle, it has to double upon itself to keep within its bounds. The sinuous course of the lane saves it from being used as a short cut by pedestrians, and thus helps to keep the company within select; another cause conducing to the same result, is the fact that Lags Lane is rarely