Part 2

[Illustration: SHAKESPEARE'S HOUSE, STRATFORD-ON-AVON, ENGLAND.--Of all the ancient castles and monuments throughout England, the house of William Shakespeare at Stratford-on-Avon is perhaps the most interesting and popular. The chief literary glory of the world was born here, April 23, 1564, which gives his home an ancient and noted history. The house has undergone various vicissitudes since his time, but the framework remains substantially unaltered. The rooms to the right on the ground floor contain interesting collections of portraits, early editions of his productions, his school-desk and signet-ring. The garden back of the house contains a selection of the trees and flowers mentioned in his plays.]

[Illustration: BRIGHTON, ENGLAND.--This town, situated on the English Channel, forty-seven miles from London, extends three miles along the coast, and is fronted by a sea wall sixty feet in height, which forms a magnificent promenade. The town has elegant streets, squares and terraces, built in a style equal to the best in the metropolis. Its fisheries furnish large quantities of fish to the London market. In the time of George III., it was a mere fishing-village; but since his day, it has become the most fashionable watering-place in England.]

[Illustration: OSBORNE HOUSE, ISLE OF WIGHT, ENGLAND.--This is the residence of the Queen of England; it was completed in 1845, and is located near Cowes. The latter town is on the north coast of the Isle of Wight, directly opposite to the mouth of Southampton Water. The port between them is the chief one of the island, and the headquarters of the Royal Yacht Squadron. Behind the harbor the houses rise picturesquely on gentle wooded slopes, and numerous villas adorn the vicinity. Magnificent residences and castles are located near by, of which the above picture is a fair representation.]

[Illustration: HAMPTON COURT PALACE, HAMPTON COURT, ENGLAND.--This palace was built by Cardinal Wolsey, the favorite of Henry VIII., and was afterwards presented to the King. It was subsequently occupied by Cromwell, the Stewarts, William III., and the first two monarchs of the House of Hanover. Since the time of George II., Hampton Court has ceased to be a royal residence, and is now inhabited by various pensioners of the Crown. The various rooms that were formerly occupied by the royalty, are now devoted to the use of an extensive picture-gallery.]

[Illustration: GREENWICH OBSERVATORY, GREENWICH, ENGLAND.--Greenwich Observatory is situated six miles from London Bridge, on a hill one hundred and eighty feet high, in the centre of Greenwich Park. It marks the meridian from which English astronomers make their calculations. The correct time for the whole of England is settled here every day at one o'clock P. M.; a large colored ball descends many feet, when the time is telegraphed to the most important towns throughout the country. A standard clock, with the hours numbered from one to twenty-four, and various standard measures of length are placed outside the entrance, pro bono publico.]

[Illustration: WINDSOR CASTLE, ENGLAND.--This favorite seat of the sovereigns of Great Britain, twenty miles from London, at the town of Windsor, was frequently extended under succeeding monarchs, until finally, in the reign of Queen Victoria, when it was completed at a total cost of $4,500,000, it became one of the largest and most magnificent royal residences in the world. The Saxon kings resided on this spot long before the castle was founded by William the Conqueror. In its vaults are buried the sovereigns of England, including Henry VIII. and Charles I. The interior of the castle is richly and profusely decorated, and filled with pictures, statuary, bronze monuments and other works of art.]

[Illustration: GREEN DRAWING-ROOM, WINDSOR CASTLE, ENGLAND.--Windsor Castle, the residence of the Queen, is one of the largest and most magnificent royal residences in the world. The interior of the drawing-room, which is fitted up at an expense of many hundred thousand dollars, gives a person a fair conception of the elaborate and artistic display to be witnessed in numerous other apartments. The interior, beautified with colored marble, mosaics, sculpture, stained-glass, precious stones, and gilding in extraordinary profusion and richness, places it among the finest castles in all Europe.]

[Illustration: MIDLAND GRAND HOTEL AND ST. PANCRAS STATION, LONDON, ENGLAND.--The roof of this station is said to be the most extensive in the world, being seven hundred feet long, two hundred and forty feet span, and one hundred and fifty feet high. The hotel is the terminus of the railway by the same name, and is one of the largest in London. Travelers arriving at the metropolis of the world, by almost any of the large railway lines, can secure hotel accommodations at the end of their journey in the Railway Hotel.]

[Illustration: THE STRAND, London, England.--This street has been so named from its skirting the bank of the river, which is concealed here by the buildings. It is very broad, contains many handsome shops, and is the great artery of traffic between the city and the West End, and one of the busiest and most important thoroughfares in London. It was unpaved down to 1532. At that period many of the mansions of the nobility and hierarchy stood here, with gardens stretching down to the Thames. The buildings on the left are the new Law Courts.]

[Illustration: CHEAPSIDE, LONDON, ENGLAND.--This street is in the very heart of the "city" and is especially noted for its so-called "cheap shops," where is offered for sale every variety of articles, from a locomotive to a toothpick. The street is constantly so crowded with vehicles, that pedestrians are often delayed from fifteen to twenty minutes in crossing from one side to the other. It affords much pleasure to stroll along Cheapside and watch the crowds of pedestrians and vehicles pass up and down the avenue. The buildings lining Cheapside have an imposing appearance, and are of uniform architecture.]

[Illustration: ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, LONDON, ENGLAND.--Conspicuous, on a slight eminence in the very heart of London, stands the above-named cathedral, the most prominent building of the city. It is claimed that in Pagan times a temple of Diana occupied the site of St. Paul's. The present church was begun in 1675, opened for divine service in 1697, and completed in 1710. The bulk of its cost, amounting to nearly $4,000,000, was defrayed by a tax on coal. The church resembles St. Peter's at Rome, and is in the form of a Latin cross, five hundred feet long and one hundred and eighteen feet wide.]

[Illustration: THE BANK OF ENGLAND, LONDON, ENGLAND.--This irregular, isolated, one-story building, covering an area of four acres, and located in the central part of London, is the largest and most powerful institution in the world. It is the only bank in London which has the power to issue paper money; its average daily business is over $10,000,000. It employs 900 people, and usually carries in its vaults from $75,000,000 to $100,000,000, while there are from 100 to 125,000,000 dollars of the bank's notes in circulation. On the right is the Stock Exchange, giving 1000 stock brokers daily employment.]

[Illustration: TOWER OF LONDON, LONDON, ENGLAND.--This celebrated fortress is located on the Thames in the eastern portion of London. Some of the most interesting events in the history of the Old World are clustered around these ancient relics. Some say the tower was commenced by Julius Caesar, while most writers affirm that William the Conqueror commenced it in 1078. The tower-walls enclose about twelve acres, on the outside of which is a deep ditch or moat, formerly filled with water. The tower was for a time a residence for the Monarchs of England; afterwards a prison for State criminals.]

[Illustration: LONDON BRIDGE, LONDON, ENGLAND.--Centuries ago the Saxons and Romans erected various wooden bridges over the Thames, on the site of the present London Bridge; but they were all carried away by floods, or destroyed by fire. This bridge was begun in 1825 and completed in 1831 at a cost of $10,000,000. The bridge, 928 feet long and 54 feet wide, is borne by five granite arches, that in the centre having a span of 152 feet. The lamp-posts on the bridge are cast of the metal of French cannons captured in the Peninsular War. About 15,000 vehicles and 100,000 pedestrians cross the bridge daily.]

[Illustration: WESTMINSTER ABBEY, LONDON, ENGLAND.--The Abbey, built in the form of cross, four hundred feet long and two hundred feet wide, is of Gothic design, and was founded in 610 A. D.

"That antique pile, Where royal heads receive the sacred gold; It give them crowns, and does their ashes keep; There made like gods, like mortals there they sleep, Making the circle of their reign complete. These sons of Empire, where they rise, they set."]

[Illustration: HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, LONDON, ENGLAND.--These edifices form a single pile of buildings of the richest Gothic style. They cover over eight acres, contain one hundred stair-cases, eleven hundred apartments, and cost $15,000,000. They are perhaps the most costly national structure in the world. The Queen enters on the opening and prorogation of Parliament through the Victoria Tower, which is three hundred and forty feet high. The imposing river-front of the edifice is nine hundred and forty feet long, and adorned with statues of English monarchs, from William the Conqueror to Queen Victoria.]

[Illustration: TRAFALGAR SQUARE, LONDON, ENGLAND.--Here is one of the finest open places in London. This great square, which is a centre of attraction, was dedicated to Lord Nelson, and commemorates his glorious death in the battle of Trafalgar, October 22, 1805, gained by the English fleet over the combined armaments of France and Spain. In the centre of the Square, rises to the memory of the great hero, a massive granite column, one hundred and fifty-four feet high, and crowned with a statue of Nelson. At the foot of the pedestal is inscribed his last command, "England expects every man will do his duty."]

[Illustration: BUCKINGHAM PALACE, LONDON, ENGLAND.--The above palace, being now the Queen's residence and occupying the site of Buckingham House, was erected in 1703 by the Duke of Buckingham, and purchased by George III. His successor remodeled it in 1825, but it remained vacant until 1837, when it was occupied by Queen Victoria, whose residence it has since continued to be. The palace now forms a quadrangle, and is three hundred and sixty feet long. It contains a sculpture-gallery, a library, green drawing-room, throne-room, grand saloon, state ball-room, picture-gallery and private apartments.]

[Illustration: ROTTEN ROW, LONDON, ENGLAND.--Rotten Row is the finest portion of Hyde Park, irrespectively of the magnificent groups of trees and expanses of grass for which English parks stand pre-eminent. The Park is surrounded by a handsome and lofty iron railing, and provided with nine carriage entrances. In the spring and summer the fashionable world rides, drives or walks through the Row; and in the drives are seen unbroken files of elegant equipages and high-bred horses in handsome trappings moving continually, presided over by sleek coachmen and powdered lackeys, and occupied by some of the most beautiful and exquisitely dressed women in the world.]

[Illustration: ALBERT MEMORIAL, LONDON, ENGLAND.--This magnificent monument to Albert, the late Prince Consort, was erected by the English nation at a cost of $600,000. On a spacious platform, to which granite steps ascend on each side, rises a basement adorned with reliefs in marble, representing artists of every period, poets. musicians, painters and sculptors. In the centre of the basement sits the colossal bronze-gilt figure of Prince Albert. The canopy terminates at the top in a Gothic spire, rising in three stages and surmounted by a cross. The monument is one hundred and seventy-five feet high, and gorgeously embellished with bronze and marble statues, gildings, colored stones and mosaic.]

[Illustration: ANTWERP, BELGIUM.--Antwerp, the capital of a province of its own name, stands on the right bank of the Scheldt. It is strongly fortified; its walls and other defenses completely encompass the city on the land sides, having more than twelve miles of massive ramparts. The appearance of Antwerp is exceedingly picturesque, an effect produced by its numerous churches, convents, magnificent public buildings, its elaborate and extensive fortifications, the profusion of beautiful trees, and by the stately antique-looking houses which line its older thoroughfares. Of the docks, dock-yards and basins, constructed by Bonaparte at an expense of $10,000,000, the last only remains. Its harbor is one of the finest in the world.]

[Illustration: PANORAMIC VIEW OF BRUSSELS, BELGIUM.--Brussels, the capitol of Belgium and the residence of the royal family, is situated nearly in the centre of the Kingdom. The above picture presents a general view of the city, the tile roofs of the houses, with the Palace of Justice looming up in the background. This stately edifice, completed in 1883, was erected at an expense of over $10,000,000. This high tower of marble forcibly suggests the mighty structures of ancient Egypt or Assyria, and the vast amount of energy spent in their erection.]

[Illustration: PALACE OF THE KING, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM.--The above edifice originally consisted of two buildings, which were erected during the last century. These were connected by an intervening structure, and adorned in 1827 with a Corinthian colonnade. It is one of the principal and notable buildings of the City of Brussels. The interior contains a number of apartments handsomely fitted up, and a great variety of ancient and modern pictures. A flag hoisted on the palace announces the presence of the King.]

[Illustration: BOURSE, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM.--In the central portion of the City of Brussels on the Boulevard Anspach, rises the Bourse or New Exchange, an imposing pile in Louis XIV. style. Its vast proportions and almost excessive richness of ornamentation combine to make the building worthy of being the commercial centre of an important metropolis; but it has been sadly disfigured by the application of a coat of paint, necessitated by the foible nature of the stone. The principal facade is embellished with a Corinthian colonnade, to which there is an ascent of twenty steps.]

[Illustration: CITY HALL, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM.--This is by far the most interesting edifice in the city, and one of the noblest and most beautiful buildings of the kind in Belgium. It is of irregular, quadrangular form, one hundred and ninety-eight feet in length, and one hundred and sixty-five feet in depth, and encloses a court. The principal facade is of Gothic style, and the graceful tower, which, however, for some unexplained reason does not rise from the centre of the structure, is three hundred and seventy feet in height. The entire building dates back to the fourteenth century, and is still occupied by municipal offices.]

[Illustration: CATHEDRAL OF STE. GUDULE.--In the central part of the City of Brussels, overlooking its lower section, is the above edifice, one of the most imposing and most ancient Gothic churches in Belgium. It consists of a nave and aisle, having a retro-choir, and deep bays, resembling chapels. It was built in 1220, and has been in constant use for 670 years. While the elements of time are crumbling its outside surface, leaving an abundance of disintegrated matter at the base of its walls, its interior is adorned with fine paintings and kept in apparently good order.]

[Illustration: THE FORBIDDEN BOOK (BY OOMS), ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM--This striking painting by that celebrated artist, is a pleasing commingling of many colors, which, of course, are lost in the photograph. The picture represents a private library, the father and daughter eagerly devouring the contents of the Bible. Unexpected foot-steps are heard; hence the frightened look of both, for, in those days, reading the Bible was punished by death. The painting is a subject study for the earnest Bible-reader.]

[Illustration: SCHEVENINGEN, HOLLAND.--This famous and popular summer resort is annually visited by thousands of people. The sand is firm and smooth, and the place possesses a great advantage over other watering-places on the North Sea, having The Hague and woods in close proximity, the latter affording pleasant and shady walks. What appear like wooden posts driven in the sand in the above picture, are wicker-basket chairs, with roofs to keep off the sun. Scores of canvas tents line the shore, and thousands of people lie on the beach from early morning until late at night.]

[Illustration: AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND.--This is the largest and most important city in Holland, and constitutionally its capital. It stands on a soft, wet ground, under which, at a depth of fifty feet, is a bed of sand. Into this sand piles are driven, on which buildings are reared, a fact which gave rise to the jest of Erasmus of Rotterdam, that he knew a city whose inhabitants dwelt on tops of trees like rooks. The city is surrounded by grassy meadows. Amsterdam ranks much higher as a trading than as a manufacturing town. The photograph represents St. Antoine Street.]

[Illustration: WIND-MILL, HOLLAND.--Millions wonder that a country so situated as Holland can exist; and the stranger is almost unable to decide whether land or water predominates. Those broken and compressed coasts, those deep bays and great rivers, the lakes and canals crossing each other, all combine to give the idea of a country that may at any time disintegrate and disappear. In the thirteenth century the sea broke the dykes in northern Holland and formed the Zuyder Zee, destroying many villages and causing the death of eighty thousand people. To drain the lakes, and save the country from destructive inundations, the Hollanders press the air into their service, which is represented by the above wind-mill.]

[Illustration: CHRISTIANSAND, NORWAY.--Christiansand is the largest town on the south coast of the Scandinavian peninsula, and the residence of one of the five Norwegian Bishops. It is beautifully situated at the mouth of the Otteraa, on the Christiansand Fjord. The town is named after Christian IV., by whom it was founded in 1641, and is regularly laid out with streets intersecting at right angles. It possesses an excellent harbor, at which all the coasting steamers of that country, and those from England, Germany and Denmark, arrive regularly.]

[Illustration: BERGEN, NORWAY.--Bergen is one of the oldest and most picturesque cities in Norway. The general aspect of the town is modern, though traces of its antiquity are not wanting. The older part adjoins the spacious harbor called Vaagen, and spreads over the rocky heights at the base of the Florfjeld and over the peninsula of Mordanes. Fish has always been the staple commodity of the city, and it is still the greatest fish market in Norway. The above picture represents the harbor, with vegetable-peddlers and their portable stalls in the foreground.]

[Illustration: NIERDFJORD, GUDVNAGEN, NORWAY.--One of the grandest and most picturesque of the many Fjords on the broken coast of Norway, is represented here. Enormous waterfalls, formed by the melting snows and ice, are seen along the steep precipices of the high mountains on every side. The mountains on both sides of this inland sea, rise to the height of several thousand feet. The steamer in the foreground is one of the many that make weekly trips between Christiansand and Hammerfest, the latter being the most northern town in the world. During the summer season, these steamers are crowded with tourists to their utmost capacity. This fact evinces the grandeur of the place, and the interest it must afford to travellers.]

[Illustration: NORTH CAPE, NORWAY.--This cape (71 deg. 10' N. Lat.), consisting of a dark gray slate-rock, furrowed with deep clefts, rising abruptly from the sea, is usually considered the most northern point of Europe; its height is about nine hundred and seventy feet. The northern sun, creeping at midnight (the time this photograph was taken) along the horizon, and the immeasurable ocean in apparent contact with the skies, form the grandest outlines and the most sublime pictures to the astonished beholder. Here, as in a dream, the many cares and anxieties of restless mortals seem to culminate.]

[Illustration: MOSCOW, RUSSIA.--Moscow, which was at one time the capital of all Russia and home of the Czar, was founded nearly seven hundred and fifty years ago. The principal event in its history is the burning of it in 1812, for the purpose of dislodging the French from their winter quarters during the French and Russian war. The city is built with strange irregularities, having streets and numerous paltry lanes opening all at once into magnificent squares. It has a great number of churches and monasteries, and a university with 1000 students. This photograph represents the principal portion of the city and the river Moskva, on whose bank it is situated, with the Kremlin in the distance, piercing the air with its lofty spires.]

[Illustration: WINTER PALACE, ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA.--This magnificent palace is fronted with a large number of Corinthian columns, which give it a formidable yet beautiful appearance. On the top, along the front and sides, it is adorned by a number of statues representing various emblems and figures in Russian history. The most beautiful apartment of the edifice is the Salle Blanche, or white saloon, where the court fetes are held. The room contains the crown jewels of Russia, and is decorated in pure white and gold. The effect is most dazzling.]

[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL, COLOGNE, GERMANY.--This building justly excites the admiration of every beholder, and is probably the most magnificent Gothic edifice in the world. It stands on a slight eminence, sixty feet above the Rhine. As early as the ninth century, an Episcopal church occupied the site, but the inhabitants regarded it to be unworthy, as compared with the prosperity of the city, and consequently started a new one. The foundation-stone of the present structure was laid on August 14, 1248. On the 15th of October, 1880, the completion of the Cathedral was celebrated in the presence of William I.]

[Illustration: BINGEN, GERMANY.--Bingen, a Hessian town of Prussia, with a population of 7100, is situated at the confluence of the Nahe and Rhine rivers. The Romans erected a castle here in 70, when a battle was fought between them and the Gauls. Bingen carries on a large trade in wine, starch and leather. The town is in a beautiful and highly picturesque country, and is visited by thousands of tourists during the summer season. On an island in the Rhine is the Mansethum, or "Rat Tower," a structure erected in the thirteenth century. Bingen is celebrated in song, poetry, story and history.]

[Illustration: EHRENBREITSTEIN, GERMANY.--This small town, with five thousand three hundred inhabitants, prettily situated in a valley, is crowned with the fortresses of Ehrenbreitstein and Asterstein, which are connected with Coblenz by a bridge of boats, about four hundred yards in length. The majestic fortress of Ehrenbreitstein rises opposite the influx of the Moselle, and is situated on a precipitous rock, three hundred and eighty-five feet above the Rhine, inaccessible on three sides, and connected with the neighboring heights on the north side only. The view from the top is one of the finest on the Rhine. It embraces the fertile Rhine Valley from Stolzenfels to Andernach.]

[Illustration: FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN, GERMANY.--The above city, formerly one of the few independent towns of Germany, now belongs to Prussia. Old watch-towers in the vicinity indicate its ancient extent. The city lies on a spacious plain bounded by mountains, on the right bank of the navigable river Main. On the left bank lies Sachenhausen, a suburb connected with Frankfort by four stone bridges and one suspension bridge. In a commercial, and particularly a financial, point of view, Frankfort is one of the most important cities of Germany.]