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206 THE CHURCHES are to be ascribed to the genius of Sir Christopher Wren. I first saw St. Paul’s during the height of the great Gothic mania, whose prevalence has led both in London and in the country to such widespread destruction of the relics of old time, under the name of “restoration.” I came _ prejudiced . in every possible way against it; I had, as I supposed, a fair idea from prints—it was in days before. photographs —of what impression the church would make on my mind, but I freely confess that all my pre-formed opinions and ideas were swept away at the first visit. The " view up Ludgate Hill, with the short graceful spire of St. Martins in the foreground to afford a measure to the eye, is without a rival in England. The widening of the roadway seems to me partly to compensate for the interruption of the view by the railway bridge. What an opportunity was lost when this hideous viaduct was made! It would have been so easy to design something worthy of the view. Another excellent place from which to enjoy the exterior of St. Paul’s is Paternoster Kow. Here at the corner of the so-called “Cannon” Alley, the
