Little Britain.

LITTLE BRITAIN .

[ We have found this little amusing sketch iu the now forgotten " Sketch Book" of Washington Irving , published in 1 S 30 . —Eli . jlf . ili . ] AVhat I write is most true * * * * I have a whole booke of cases lying by me , which it' I should setto foorth , sonic grave auntieuts ( ivithin the hearing of Bow Bells ) would

be out of charity with me . —NASIIE . IN the centre of the great City of London lies a small neighbourhood , consisting of a cluster of narrow streets ancl courts , of very venerable and debilitated houses , which goes by the name of Little Britain . Christ Church School and St . Bartholomew ' s Hospital bound it on the west ; Smithfield and Long Lane on the north ; Alclersgate Street , like an arm of the sea , divides it

from the eastern part of the city ; whilst the yawning gulf of Bull-and-Mouth Street separates it from Butcher Lane and the regions of Newgate . Over this little territory , thus bounded ancl designated , the great dome of St . Paul ' s , swelling above the intervening houses of Paternoster Row , Amen Corner , and Ave-Maria Lane , looks doivn with an air of motherly protection . This quarter derives its appellation from having been , in ancient times , the residence of the Dukes of Brittany . As London increased , however , rank ancl fashion rolled off to the west , and trade , creeping on at their heels , took possession of their deserted abodes . For some time , Little Britain became the

great mart of learning , and was peopled by the busy ancl prolific race of booksellers : these also gradually deserted it , ancl emigrating beyond the great strait of Newgate Street , settled doivn in Paternoster Row ancl St . Paul ' s Churchyard , ivhere they continue to increase ancl multi ply , even at the present day . Bat though thus fallen into decline , Little Britain still bears traces of its former splendour . There arc several housesreadto tumble doivnthe fronts

, y , of which arc magnificently enriched with old oaken carvings of hideous faces , unknown birds , beasts and fishes ; ancl fruits and flowers , which it would perplex a naturalist to classify . There are also , in Alclersgate Street , certain remains of what were once spacious and lordl y family mansions , but ivhich have in latter days been subdivided into several tenements . Here may often be found the family of a petty tradesman , with its trumpery furniture ,

burrowing among the relics of antiquated finery , in great rambling timestained apartments , with fretted ceilings , gilded cornices , and enormous marble fire-places . The lanes and courts also contain many smaller houses , not on so grand a scale ; but , like your small ancient gentry , sturdily maintaining their claims to equal antiquity . These have their gable ends to the street ; great boiv Avindoivs , with diamond panes set in lead , grotesque carvings , and IOAVarched doorways . *

In this most venerable ancl sheltered little nest haA'e I passed several quiet years of existence , comfortably lodged in the second floor of one of the smallest but oldest edifices . My sitting room is an old wainseotted chamber , with small panels , and set off with a miscellaneous array of furniture . I have a particular respect for three or four hi gh-backed claw-footed chairs , covered with tarnished brocade , ivhich bear the marks of having seen better clays , and