The  entrance  and  principal  front  of  the  Royal  Exchange
were  on  the  south  side.  We  looked  in.  The  place  was  crowded
with  merchants,  grave  and  sober  men,  walking  within  in  pairs,
or  gathered  in  little  groups.  Among  them  were  foreigners
from  Germany,  France,  Venice,  Genoa,  Antwerp,  and  even
Russia,  conspicuous  by  their  dress.  '  Before  the  building  of  this
place,'  said  Stow,  '  our  merchants  had  no  place  to  meet,  and  were
forced  to  seek  out  each  other ;  nor  was  there  any  place  where
the  latest  news  might  be  brought,  however  much  the  interest  of
the  city  might  be  affected.  Now  all  is  changed,  and  every  morn-
ing our  worshipful  merchants  meet  to  hear  the  news,  and  to
discuss  their  business.  Come,  we  must  not  linger,  for  we  have
much  to  see  ;  else  there  would  be  many  things  to  tell.  Believe
me,  sir,  I  could  discourse  all  day  long  upon  the  trade  of  London
and  yet  not  make  an  end.'

He  led  me  past  the  Royal  Exchange,  past  two  churches,  one
on  the  north  side  and  one  on  the  south,  into  a  broad  and  open
street  which  I  knew  must  be  Cheapside.
'  Here,'  said  he,  '  is  the  beauty  of  London.  This,  good  sir,
is  Chepe.'

The  street  was  at  least  double  the  width  of  its  modern  suc-
cessor. The  houses,  which  were  the  fairest,  taken  all  together,
in  the  whole  of  the  city,  were  nearly  all  five  storeys  high,  each
storey  projecting  above  the  one  below,  with  high-pitched  gable
facing  the  street.  The  fronts  were  of  brick  and  timber,  and
some  of  them  were  curiously  and  richly  carved.  In  some  the
third  storey  was  provided  with  a  balcony  shaded  from  the  sun.
