arly as 1432, stood at the south-west
corner of Shoe Lane. Here the Clockmakers' Company held their meetings
before the Great Fire, and in 1708 the "Castle" possessed the largest
sign in London. Early in the last century, says Mr. Noble, its
proprietor was Alderman Sir John Task, a wine merchant, who died in 1735
(George II.), worth, it was understood, a quarter of a million of money.

The _Morning Advertiser_ (No. 127, north) was established in 1794, by
the Society of Licensed Victuallers, on the mutual benefit society
principle. Every member is bound to take in the paper and is entitled to
a share in its profits. Members unsuccessful in business become
pensioners on the funds of the institution. The paper, which took the
place of the _Daily Advertiser_, and was the suggestion of Mr. Grant, a
master printer, was an immediate success. Down to 1850 the _Morning
Advertiser_ circulated chiefly in public-houses and coffee-houses at the
rate of nearly 5,000 copies a day. But in 1850, the circulation
beginning to decline, the committee resolved to enlarge the paper to the
size of the _Times_, and Mr. James Grant was appointed editor. The
profits now increased, and the paper found its way to the clubs. The
late Lord Brougham and Sir David Brewster contributed to the
_Advertiser_; and the letters signed "An Englishman" excited much
interest. This paper has always been Liberal. Mr. Grant remained the
editor for twenty years.

No. 91 (south side) was till lately the office of that old-established
paper, _Bell's Weekly Messenger_. Mr. Bell, the spirited publisher who
founded this paper, is delightfully sketched by Leigh Hunt in his
autobiography.

"About the period of my writing the above essays," he says, in his easy
manner, "circumstances introduced me to the acquaintance of Mr. Bell,
the proprietor of the _Weekly Messenger_. In his house, in the Strand, I
used to hear of politics and dramatic criticisms, and of the persons who
wrote them. Mr. Bell had been well known as a bookseller and a
speculator in elegant typography. It is to him the public are indebted
for the small editions of the poets that preceded Cooke's. Bell was,
upon the whole, a remarkable person. He was a plain man, with a red face
and a nose exaggerated by intemperance; and yet there was something not
unpleasing in his countenance, especially when he spoke. He had
sparkling black eyes, a good-natured smile, gentlemanly manners, and one
of the most agreeable