the stem.

At No. 32 (north side) for many years Messrs. Rundell and Bridge, the
celebrated goldsmiths and diamond merchants, carried on their business.
Here Flaxman's _chef d'oeuvre_, the Shield of Achilles, in silver gilt,
was executed; also the crown worn by that august monarch, George IV. at
his coronation, for the loan of the jewels of which L7,000 was charged,
and among the elaborate luxuries a gigantic silver wine-cooler (now at
Windsor), that took two years in chasing. Two men could be seated inside
that great cup, and on grand occasions it has been filled with wine and
served round to the guests. Two golden salmon, leaning against each
other, was the sign of this old shop, now removed. Mrs. Rundell met a
great want of her day by writing her well-known book, "The Art of
Cookery," published in 1806, and which has gone through countless
editions. Up to 1833 she had received no remuneration for it, but she
ultimately obtained 2,000 guineas. People had no idea of cooking in
those days; and she laments in her preface the scarcity of good melted
butter, good toast and water, and good coffee. Her directions were
sensible and clear; and she studied economical cooking, which great
cooks like Ude and Francatelli despised. It is not every one who can
afford to prepare for a good dish by stewing down half-a-dozen hams.

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF STATIONERS' HALL (_see page 230_).]

The hall of the Stationers' Company hides itself with the modesty of an
author in Stationers' Hall Court, Ludgate Hill, close abutting on
Paternoster Row, a congenial neighbourhood. This hall of the master, and
keeper, and wardens, and commonalty of the mystery or art of the
Stationers of the City of London stands on the site of Burgavenny House,
which the Stationers modified and re-erected in the third and fourth
years of Philip and Mary--the dangerous period when the company was
first incorporated. The old house had been, in the reign of Edward III.,
the palace of John, Duke of Bretagne and Earl of Richmond. It was
afterwards occupied by the Earls of Pembroke. In Elizabeth's reign it
belonged to Lord Abergavenny, whose daughter married Sir Thomas Vane. In
1611 (James I.) the Stationers' Company purchased it and took complete
possession. The house was swept away in the Great Fire of 1666, when the
Stationers--the greatest sufferers on that occasion--lost property to
the amount of L200,000.

The fraternity of the Stationers of London (says M