he Mediterranean and the
Baltic glided slowly, borne by the tide. Houses with several stories and
pointed roofs lined the water, and formed, on the ground floor,
colonnades that served for warehouses, and under which merchandise was
landed.[449] The famous London Bridge, built under King John, almost new
still, for it was only entering upon its second century and was to live
six hundred years, with its many piers, its sharp buttresses, the houses
it bore, its chapel of St. Thomas, stood against the line of the
horizon, and connected the City with the suburb of Southwark. On that
side were more houses, a fine Gothic church, which still exists,
hostelries in abundance, for it was the place of arrival for those
coming by land; and with the hostelries, places of amusement of every
kind, a tradition so well established that most of the theatres in the
time of Elizabeth were built there, and notably the celebrated Globe,
where Shakespeare's plays were performed. Save for this suburb, the
right shore of the Thames, instead of the warehouses of to-day, offered
to view the open country, trees, and green meadows. Some way down, on
the left side, rose the walls of the Tower; and further up, towards the
interior of the City, the massive pile of St. Paul's stood out above the
houses. It was then a Gothic cathedral; Wren, after the great fire,
replaced it by the Renaissance edifice we see to-day. The town was
surrounded by walls, portions of which still remain, with Roman
foundations in some places.[450] At intervals gates opened on the
country, defended by bastions, their memory being preserved at this day
by names of streets: Aldgate, Bishopsgate, &c.

The town itself was populous and busy. The streets, in which Chaucer's
childhood was spent, were narrow, bordered by houses with projecting
stories, with signs overhanging the way, with "pentys" barring the
footpath, and all sorts of obstructions, against which innumerable
municipal ordinances protested in vain. Riders' heads caught in the
signs, and it was enjoined to make the poles shorter; manners being
violent, the wearing of arms was prohibited, but honest folk alone
conformed to the law, thus facilitating matters for the others;
cleanliness was but indifferent; pigs ran hither and thither. A decree
of the time of Edward I. had vainly prescribed that they should all be
killed, except those of St. Anthony's Hospital, which would be
recognised by the bell hanging at their neck: "A