collection the finest examples of contemporary British art. For this purpose all pictures are considered modern which have been painted by artists born since the year 1790. The building occupies part of the site of the old Millbank Penitentiary, and, as an inscription within records, was presented to the nation, together with sixty-five pictures, by the late Sir Henry Tate (d. 1899), "for the encouragement and development of British

Art, and as a thank-offering for a prosperous business career of sixty years." The Gallery was opened by the King, then Prince of Wales, in 1897, and enlarged by the addition of eight rooms and a sculpture hall in 1899. It was designed by Sidney R. J. Smith, and is an excellent specimen of the modernized Classical style. In addition to the pictures presented by Sir Henry Tate, the collection includes the works purchased from

year to year under the terms of the Chantrey Bequest; the Vernon Collection, removed from the National Gallery; many pictures by the late Mr. G. F. Watts, R.A., and a number of sculptures. Here, too, are shown the Turners rescued in 1905 from a cellar of the National Gallery.

As a branch of the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery is controlled by the Trustees of that institution. As rearrangements of the pictures in consequence of the opening of new rooms have been of rather frequent occurrence, we think it better not to draw attention to particular works. Nor is there any necessity to do so, as all the pictures are plainly labelled and catalogues are on sale in the hall. It is best to turn left on entering, and go through the rooms in numerical order (see plan). The Watts Collection is in Room VII, with an overflow into the adjoining Sculpture Gallery. The rediscovered Turners are shown in Room XI.

Adjoining the Gallery is the new Military Hospital.

The river is here spanned by Vauxhall Bridge, rebuilt by the London County Council at a cost of nearly £600,000, and reopened in May, 1906. The old bridge was closed in August, 1898, so that the work of reconstruction occupied a period of 7 years, during which a temporary bridge, erected at a cost of nearly £40,000, was used. As originally designed the bridge was to be entirely of granite, but only the piers and abutments are of that material, the superstructure being steel. There are five spans, the central one being 149 ft. 7 in. wide, the intermediate spans 144 ft. 5 in., and the shore spans each 130 ft. 6 in. The centre arch at its crown is 20 ft. 9 in. above high-water level. The parapet has been specially designed to improve the appearance of the bridge, the arches of which are necessarily flat. Monumental blocks of masonry with bronze figures are to decorate the bridge. The carriage-way has a width of 50 ft., and the asphalte footways on either side are 15 ft. wide, making a total width between the parapets of 80 ft. The tramways of the L.C.C. cross the bridge and connect Vauxhall and South London generally with Victoria Station.

Lambeth Suspension Bridge dates from 1862. Under the Westminster Improvement Scheme a new embankment, with gardens, is to be constructed between Lambeth Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, making the riverside more worthy of the noble buildings close at hand. A great transformation, including the

widening of roads and the building of blocks of flats and offices, is also taking place in the hitherto squalid area around St. John's Church and Smith Square.

THE PALACES AND CLUBLAND.

ROUTE III.-ST. JAMES'S PARK-THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL TO QUEEN VICTORIA-BUCKINGHAM PALACE ST. JAMES'S PALACE-PALL MALL -THE HAYMARKET-LEICESTER SQUARE-SHAFTESBURY AVENUE. Starting again from Charing Cross, let us cross Trafalgar Square and enter

St. James's Park.

Plan II. E. 8 and 9.
Nearest Stations.-Trafalgar Square (Baker Street and Waterloo), St. James's Park

(District).

Here, in connection with the National Memorial to Queen Victoria, a remarkable transformation has taken place. The roadway of The Mall, leading directly from Charing Cross to Buckingham Palace, has been widened to 65 feet, and is flanked on either side by an alley, 25 feet wide, with double rows of plane trees, making a splendid processional road. A wide pathway, screened by beautiful wrought-iron gates, bearing the maple-leaf, the heraldic emblem of Canada, leads across the Green Park to Piccadilly, emerging opposite Half Moon Street. The Memorial consists of a canopied Carrara marble Statue of Queen Victoria, surmounted by a winged figure of Victory, the

head 65 ft. from the ground. On the plinth are figures representing Justice, Truth, Love, etc. (T. Brock, R..A., sculptor). The monument stands on a platform 8 ft. high, approached by steps guarded by winged lions. A semi-circular colonnaded screen, with arches and gateways, having a radius of about 100 ft., encloses the Queen's Garden, in which the statue stands, and around which traffic entering from Constitutional Hill and Buckingham Gate circulates. Sir Aston Webb, R.A., is responsible for the general design of this worthy memorial of a great Queen.

St. James's Park (93 acres) is one of the oldest and prettiest of London's pleasure grounds. Up to th the reign of Henry VIII it was a marshy expanse, with a hospital for lepers, dedicated to St. James the Less, on its northern boundary. That sagacious monarch built a palace for himself (St. James's) on the site of the hospital, and converted the marsh into a deer park. Charles II played paille-maille on the broad roadway known as the Mall, and employed a French landscape gardener, Le Notre, to convert the deer-park into a garden. It was still, however, far from being a pleasant place until George IV commissioned Nash, the architect, to improve it. A fine sheet of ornamental water, with a uniform depth of 3 to 4 ft., extends nearly the entire length, and is the haunt of many varieties of wild-fowl, who lead here a somewhat pampered existence. In the cold wintry months sea-gulls may be counted by the thousand, and the spectator finds it hard to realize that he is in the heart of London, 60 miles or more from the coast. The lake is spanned near the middle by a light suspension bridge, commanding one of the most exquisite views in London. The water is much used for boating.

On the eastern side of the Park are the Foreign Office and other Government buildings, the Horse Guards Parade and the New Admiralty (see p. 89). In front of the last-named is a Statue of James II, removed from Whitehall when the new War Office was commenced. Close at hand is a very effective memorial by Adrian Jones of the Royal Marines who fell during the fighting in China in 1900 and during the Boer War. On the south the Park is bordered by Birdcage Walk, probably deriving its name from an aviary kept here for the amusement of Charles II. Facing this, or rather towering high above it, is the huge block of residential chambers known as Queen Anne's Mansions. To the west are the Wellington Barracks, where the Guards may generally be seen at drill or play. The Guards' Chapel is en