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LOMBARDY

IIIO

LONDON

thought to mean long beard, from the long beards of the people. Though never a numerous race, they were distinguished for their fierce love of war. They invaded Italy in 568 and established themselves there, but adopted the Latin language, began to build churches, founded monasteries, and gradually united with the Italians. Charlemagne the Great overthrew the Lombard dynasty and had himself crowned king of the Franks and of the Lombards. From that time the Lombards merged entirely into the Italians. In the i3th century Lombard Italians visited England for trade and gradually became London bankers. They dwelt principally on Lombard Street.

Lom'bardy, that part of upper Italy between the Alps and the Po. It comprises the following provinces in the plains of the river: Brescia, Como, Cremona, Mantua, Milan and Pavia. The area is 9,297 square miles, with a population of four and a half millions. The country was conquered by the Romans in B. C. 222, belonging to the Carlovingians from A. D. 843 to 961, and was a bone of contention at one time between the king of France and the German emperor. The emperor prevailing, through Charles V it passed to Spain. In 1815 it fell to Austria; but in 1859 it was given up to Italy, of which it is now a part.

Lo'mond, Loch, "the queen of Scottish lakes," lies 23 feet above sea-level and is 22 miles long- and from three fourths of a mile to five miles wide. It is studded with 30 wooded islands. Of the hills and mountains beautifully surrounding it, Ben Lomond is the highest, rising to an elevation of 3,192 feet. A cave on the bank of this lake is said to have been a hiding-place for King Robert the Bruce and for Rob Roy.

Lon'don, the most populous city in the world and the capital of the British Empire, is situated on the Thames River, about 60 miles from the sea. The name is Celtic, and seems to mean a fort on a lake, as the Thames here is a tidal inlet which once covered all the low-lying land around. The ancient city was surrounded by a wall, built in the 4th century, and covered about 380 acres, and that part is still called "the city." Parts of Middlesex, Surrey and Kent are now included in London, though many of the villages which have been absorbed still retain their old names, as Chelsea, Lambeth and Hampstead. The present area of the administrative county of London is 75,442 acres. The Thames flows through the city and is crossed by several bridges, Waterloo, London, Vauxhall and Westminster, with Blackfriars, Victoria, Albert, Tower, Lambeth and Southwark being some of the best known bridges. There are several tunnels, including Blackwell Tunnel, under the river, and wide embankments on both sides, forming fine roadways, besides ferries across the river, such as

Woolwich Ferry, which in 1904 had a passenger traffic of about 5,500,000. The river steamboat service embraces 30 boats licensed to carry 500 passengers each. The North Metropolitan Electric Company runs a service of 48 J miles; while on the south side of the Thames there are 25 miles of horse and 28J miles of electric traction service. Besides (these transit facilities there are now those of the tube (underground) railways, and the vast systems of the above-ground roads leading to all parts of the kingdom and far extending suburbs. There today are about 550 railway stations within the area of Greater London; the number of mechanically propelled vehicles in the city is about 2,500. There are many large parks: Hyde Park is the site of the Albert Memorial, the finest modern monument, with marble groups, reliefs, frescoes and 169 sculptured portraits of great poets and artists; Regent's Park has the finest zoological garden in the world; St. James Park with Buckingham Palace; Green Park with a statue of w ell-ington; Victoria Park and Alexandra Park are a few of the best-known, besides a number of botanic gardens, as Kensington and Kew Gardens. There are a large number of squares, among them Lincoln's Inn Fields, Trafalgar, with Nelson's monument, Belgrave and Grosvenor Squares. Regent Street, a favorite resort of shoppers, is the handsomest street in London, and Cheap-side, Bishop's Gate and Leadenhall are among the most crowded. Buckingham, St. James and Kensington Palaces are the city residences of the sovereign, including Marlborough House which was wont to be occupied by King Edward VII, when Prince of Wales. Lambeth Palace is the official home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, while Fulham Palace is the residence of the Bishop of London. The parliamentary buildings called W^taimte1" Palace, at Westminster, cover eight acres and have 1,100 rooms. The cellars are searched two hours before the sovereign arrives to open parliament, and have been so searched ever since the era of Gunpowder plot.

St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey are the best known of the more than two thousand churches. St. Bartholomew the Great is one of the most ancient, dating from 1102; St. Giles', Cripplegate, another old church, is the burial-place of Milton; St. Mary le Bow, with its far-reaching bells, gave rise to the saying "born within the sound of Bow bells;" St. George's Church in Hanover Square is used for the most fashionable marriages in London. White-field's Chapel, built in 1756, Rowland Hill's Chapel, opened in 1783, and Spurgeon's mammoth Tabernacle are other interesting churches. The St. George and Westminster Cathedrals of the Roman church are magnificent structures. St. Paul's Cathedral, standing on the site of the old church which