"Sacred to the Memory and Reputation of INIGO JONES. Let no Hand attempt to remove me: A Mind improved by Taste Will consider me as a bulwark To controul the Waves, Repel the Flood, And buffet the Western Blasts that annoy The Inhabitant. I am the only perfect Building of the Kind In England; An search Europe thro', none excell me. Who Seek to destroy me, Repentance shall o'er-take. Genius shall hunt them from Society, Contempt shall mark them for her own." Whether the sinful souls who had thought to execute their fell purpose ever repented or were hunted "from Society," is not recorded. Another satire was in more lively strain:-- "A strange hubble bubble Confusion and trouble Has been about York Buildings Gate; And some gentlemen swear It shall not stand there, It's a thing, above all, that they hate. Tho' 'twas Inigo Jones Plan'd the piling these stones, And superb is the architecture; But alas! some so say It does stand in the way Of one that's a Terras director. Must this building at length Render up all its strength, That's withstood the tempestuous billows; Even rain, storms of hail, Stood secure from each gale, To please some testy old fellows. Last Wedn'sday at night With all malice and spite Poor Inigo's fame they did sully; Till a member arose And opposed his foes Verbatim he spoke like a Tully. Some the cause did maintain, That it should there remain, Or where can we go helter-skelter? At a time when it rains, Without trouble or pains The ladies go there for a shelter. And from Phoebus's Rays, In hot, sultry days, To be free from intenseness of heat; Such a prospect it gains O'er the river of Thames, There's not a more pleasing retreat. T.B." The gate had become so neglected in 1823 that it was necessary to repair the roof and stone-work and to renew the iron-work. This was done at a cost of £300, defrayed by a rate levied on the occupants of York Buildings. Thirteen years later, however, I find a complaint that the gate had been allowed "from neglect, to be almost smothered in river mud." Again, in 1854, it was said to be "in a ruinous state"--a view of the case which is somewhat exaggerated, for the gate is still in wonderful preservation, considering its age and the destructive nature of the London climate. The gate, and the terrace behind, are now under the control of the London County Council. It is a pity that the "stairs" are so hidden in the hollow of the gardens, but this cannot be avoided. The terrace, which leads from Villiers Street to York Buildings, with an entrance from Buckingham Street, is well-kept, and, very properly, it is only open during the day.