Oldal 26 [26]
4 ORIGIN OF THE CITY
pure fiction or pure conjecture. As
a result, many competent historical
writers have declined to meddle with
the subject ; and so the legend-makers
and theorisers have been left undis¬
turbed. Within the past few years,
however, some attempts have been
made to put the history of London
on a scientific base, the great Dr.
Guest being one of the pioneers of the
movement. In nine out of ten books,
————— = ae a ön a
however, we still see the same old
stories and the same old topographical
mistakes appearing year after year.
We learn that Ludgate was the chief
entrance of Roman London, and was
called after King Lud; that Billings¬
gate was called after King Belin, the only doubt being as to which
ALDGATE PUMP
King Belin, as there were several monarchs of that name; that Julius
Caesar had something to do
with the foundation of the
Tower; that Helena, the
mother of Constantine, first
built the wall; and that, fin¬
ally, Aldgate was the oldest of
the city gates. We do not, it
is true, often hear nowadays of
Troy novant, but King Lucius
is still gravely spoken of as the
founder of St. Peters, Cornhill,