The principal remaining fragment of the palace is the Banqueting-House of
Inigo Jones, from which Charles I. passed to execution. Built in the dawn
of the style of Wren, it is one of the most grandiose examples of that
style, and is perfect alike in symmetry and proportion. That it has no
entrance apparent at first sight is due to the fact that it was only
intended as a portion of a larger building. In the same way we must
remember that the appearance of two stories externally, while the whole is
one room, is due to the Banqueting-House being only one of four intended
blocks, of which one was to be a chapel surrounded by galleries, and the
other two divided into two tiers of apartments. The Banqueting-House was
turned into a ehapel by George I., but has never been consecrated, and the
aspect of a hall is retained by the ugly false red curtains which surround
the interior of the building. It is called the Chapel Royal of Whitehall,
is served by the chaplains of the sovereign, and is one of the dreariest
places of worship in London. The ceiling is still decorated with canvas
pictures by Rubens (1635) representing the apotheosis of James I. The
painter received £3,000 for these works. The walls were to have been
painted by Vandyke with the History of the Order of the Garter. "What,"
says Walpole, "had the Banqueting-House been if completed?" Over the
entrance is a bronze bust of James I. attributed to Le Soeur.



THE TOWER [Footnote: From "Her Majesty's Tower."]

BY W. HEPWORTH DIXON


Half-a-mile below London Bridge, on ground which was once a bluff,