"This has recently all been restored, and I suppose it gives us a very slight idea of its past glory. Later on, Sir Thomas More lived here, and then Philip Sidney's sister, the Countess of Pembroke, owned it. Shakespeare mentions it in his play of 'Richard III,' you know. In mediaeval times, there were many great houses in London (Baynard's Castle and Cold Harbour foremost among them), but all except a little part of Crosby Hall have disappeared. The owners of these houses, the wealthy nobles, lived in great magnificence, having four, six, or even eight hundred servants. Just fancy how large the establishments must have been! In Queen Elizabeth's day, the French Ambassador was lodged here with four hundred retainers. At that time, there were more great palaces in London than there were in Verona, Florence, Venice, and Genoa, all counted together; but instead of being situated on the Grand Canal or in a spacious square, the English palaces stood in narrow, filthy streets, surrounded by the poor hovels of the common people.--It seems to me that our lunch is a long time coming," she commented. Adjoining Crosby Hall is a very interesting church--St. Helen's, which has been called the "Westminster Abbey of the City," because of famous citizens of "the City," who are buried there. Among them is Sir Thomas Gresham, the great merchant of Queen Elizabeth's reign, who founded the Royal Exchange, and did much to increase London's trade. The church--dating mostly from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century--is very quaint and old. It consists of two parallel naves, divided by pillars. "The church was once connected with an ancient nunnery which covered the whole square outside. The naves were originally quite separated by a partition; one side was used by the nuns, and the other by the regular members of the parish. Shakespeare once lived in St. Helen's parish, and is charged up on the church books with a sum of something over five pounds." Mrs. Pitt gave this information as they walked about, gradually growing accustomed to the dim light. "See here, John," whispered Philip; "here's something interesting. It's this little square hole in the wall, which is called the 'nuns' squint.' That woman, whom I suppose is the caretaker, has just been telling me what that means. You see, the nunnery was on this side, or, at any rate, the part where the nuns slept. When a nun was dying, the rest would carry her to that little 'squint,' and in that way she could look through to the church and see the altar." Leaving St. Helen's Place, and passing the picturesque, narrow facade (or front) of Crosby Hall, Mrs. Pitt took them along Cheapside, one of the most crowded streets of the city. The amount of traffic is tremendous there, and it is said that sometimes teams are held eight hours in the alleys before they can get out. They noted Bow Church, and the site of John Gilpin's house at the corner of Paternoster Row.