[Illustration: WINDSOR CASTLE, ENGLAND.--This favorite seat of the sovereigns of Great Britain, twenty miles from London, at the town of Windsor, was frequently extended under succeeding monarchs, until finally, in the reign of Queen Victoria, when it was completed at a total cost of $4,500,000, it became one of the largest and most magnificent royal residences in the world. The Saxon kings resided on this spot long before the castle was founded by William the Conqueror. In its vaults are buried the sovereigns of England, including Henry VIII. and Charles I. The interior of the castle is richly and profusely decorated, and filled with pictures, statuary, bronze monuments and other works of art.] [Illustration: GREEN DRAWING-ROOM, WINDSOR CASTLE, ENGLAND.--Windsor Castle, the residence of the Queen, is one of the largest and most magnificent royal residences in the world. The interior of the drawing-room, which is fitted up at an expense of many hundred thousand dollars, gives a person a fair conception of the elaborate and artistic display to be witnessed in numerous other apartments. The interior, beautified with colored marble, mosaics, sculpture, stained-glass, precious stones, and gilding in extraordinary profusion and richness, places it among the finest castles in all Europe.] [Illustration: MIDLAND GRAND HOTEL AND ST. PANCRAS STATION, LONDON, ENGLAND.--The roof of this station is said to be the most extensive in the world, being seven hundred feet long, two hundred and forty feet span, and one hundred and fifty feet high. The hotel is the terminus of the railway by the same name, and is one of the largest in London. Travelers arriving at the metropolis of the world, by almost any of the large railway lines, can secure hotel accommodations at the end of their journey in the Railway Hotel.] [Illustration: THE STRAND, London, England.--This street has been so named from its skirting the bank of the river, which is concealed here by the buildings. It is very broad, contains many handsome shops, and is the great artery of traffic between the city and the West End, and one of the busiest and most important thoroughfares in London. It was unpaved down to 1532. At that period many of the mansions of the nobility and hierarchy stood here, with gardens stretching down to the Thames. The buildings on the left are the new Law Courts.] [Illustration: CHEAPSIDE, LONDON, ENGLAND.--This street is in the very heart of the "city" and is especially noted for its so-called "cheap shops," where is offered for sale every variety of articles, from a locomotive to a toothpick. The street is constantly so crowded with vehicles, that pedestrians are often delayed from fifteen to twenty minutes in crossing from one side to the other. It affords much pleasure to stroll along Cheapside and watch the crowds of pedestrians and vehicles pass up and down the avenue. The buildings lining Cheapside have an imposing appearance, and are of uniform architecture.]