A mighty mass of brick, and smoke, and shipping,
Dirty and dusty, but as wide as eye
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A mighty mass of brick, and smoke, and shipping,
Dirty and dusty, but as wide as eye
Could reach, with here and there a sail just skipping
In sight, then lost amidst the forestry
Of masts; a wilderness of steeples peeping
On tiptoe through their sea-coal canopy;
A huge, dun cupola, like a foolscap crown
On a fool's head--and there is London Town.

He was born within the sound of Bow-bell.

He was born within the sound of Bow-bell.

I came to Gotham, where I saw many who were fools, if not all.
[Lat., Veni Gotham, ubi multos,
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I came to Gotham, where I saw many who were fools, if not all.
[Lat., Veni Gotham, ubi multos,
Si non omnes, vidi stultos.]

London is the clearing-house of the world.

London is the clearing-house of the world.

If the parks be "the lungs of London" we wonder what Greenwich
Fair is--a periodical breaking out, we suppose--a read more

If the parks be "the lungs of London" we wonder what Greenwich
Fair is--a periodical breaking out, we suppose--a sort of spring
rash.

London! the needy villain's general home,
The common sewer of Paris and of Rome!
With eager thirst, read more

London! the needy villain's general home,
The common sewer of Paris and of Rome!
With eager thirst, by folly or by fate,
Sucks in the dregs of each corrupted state.

London is the epitome of our times, and the Rome of to-day.

London is the epitome of our times, and the Rome of to-day.

London is a roost for every bird.

London is a roost for every bird.

The way was long and weary,
But gallantly they strode,
A country lad and lassie,
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The way was long and weary,
But gallantly they strode,
A country lad and lassie,
Along the heavy road.
The night was dark and stormy,
But blithe of heart were they,
For shining in the distance
The lights of London lay.
O gleaming lights of London, that gem of the city's crown;
What fortunes be within you, O Lights of London Town!