There was formerly a Ferry a little eastward of the spot where now stands Battersea Bridge, and consequently not far distant from the distinguished mansion just described. It belonged to Thomas, Earl of Lincoln, who sold it in 1618 to William Blake. After some time it became the property of Sir Walter St. John, and passed with the Bolingbroke estate to Earl Spencer, under whom it was held in 1766, when an Act of Parliament was obtained for building a bridge over the Thames, from Chelsea to Battersea, and empowering Lord Spencer to build the same. Fifteen proprietors having subscribed a sum of money each, it was accordingly begun in 1771, was opened for foot-passengers in the same year, and in the following year was ready for carriages. From 1772, when the bridge was finally erected, to the present time, 1869, is exactly 97 years, and this is the precise age of it. It is a most unsightly structure of wood, about one furlong in length, 28 ft. wide, and its cost rather more than £20,000. The proprietors have a vote for the counties of Middlesex and Surrey. * * * * * Lamps were first placed on the bridge in 1799, and in 1821 and 1822 an iron railing 4-ft. high, on the western side, was substituted for the original wooden railing, and in 1824, the eastern side was completed. So far apart were the original wooden railings, which were placed crossways, that the body of a child might have passed through them, and, if not observed, no person cognizant of the fatal accident. There were also, at the above period, eight projecting recesses, four on each side, constructed for the safety of foot-passengers, and a slightly raised pathway made. * * * * * The number of lives that have been sacrificed at this bridge, together with the barges sunken at it, even within the last few years, is really painful to contemplate. It is a sad contrast, in every respect, to the elegant structures that now span the river, and it is to be hoped there will soon be erected another one in its place—one that will be an ornament to Chelsea, Battersea, and the metropolis. HYDE PARK ON THE THAMES. That part of the river, known as Chelsea Reach, was so fashionable a rendezvous of pleasure boats and barges in the reign of Charles II. that some persons have described the scene as being a sort of Pall Mall Afloat, and it was called “Hyde Park on the Thames,” in that king’s reign. The reach is the widest of any part westward of London Bridge, which rendered it peculiarly suitable for such grand aquatic displays. There were dukes and duchesses, marquises, earls, and barons, with a similar fashionable throng to that which may still be witnessed in Hyde Park. The watermen were arrayed in dresses of all colours, and the whole presented a scene of grandeur which cannot be adequately described. * * * * *