th. Upwards, near yonder frail tenement which is
now fast mouldering into decay, lived the beautiful gardener's daughter,
the flower of Millbank, whose charms for a long time excited the
admiration of many a noble name, ay, and inspired many a noble strain
too, and produced a chivalrous rivalry among the young and generous
hearts who were then of Westminster. Close to that spot all matches on
the water were determined; and beneath yon penthouse, many a jovial cup
have I partook of with the contending parties, when the aquatic sports
were over, in the evening's cool retirement, or seated on the benches
which then filled up the space between the trees in front of Watermans'
Hall, as the little public house then used to be called. About half
a mile above was the favourite bathing-place; and just over the water
below Lambeth palace, yet may be seen Doo's house, where, from time
immemorial, the Westminster boys had been supplied with funnies, skiffs,
wherries, and sailing-boats. The old mill which formerly stood on the
right-hand of the river, and from which the place derived its name,
has now entirely disappeared; and in lieu of the ~69~~green fields and
pleasant walks with which this part of the suburbs abounded, we have now
a number of square brick-dust tubs, miscalled cottages _ornee_, and a
strange-looking Turkish sort of a prison called a Penitentiary,
which from being judiciously placed in a swamp is rendered completely
uninhabitable. Cumberland-gardens, on the opposite side, was, in former
times, in great vogue; here the cits used to rusticate on a summer's
evening, coming up the water in shoals to show their dexterity in
rowing, and daring the dangers of the watery element to _blow a cloud_
in the fresh air, and ruralise upon the 'margin of old father Thames.'

[Illustration: page069]

But where can the Westminster boys of the present day look for
amusements? there's no snug spot now for a dog-tight or a badger-bait.
Earl Grosvenor has converted all the green lanes into Macadamised roads,
and covered the turf with new brick tenements. No taking a pleasant
toodle with a friend now along the sequestered banks, or shooting a few
sparrows or fieldfares in the neighbourhood of the _five chimnies_{3}
not a space to be found free from the encroachments of modern
speculators, or big enough for a bowling alley or a cricket match.
Tothill-fields have altogether disappeared; and the wand of old Merlin
would appear to have wav