'Life of Johnson' there are numerous letters and reports of conversations relating more or less to the brewery; but without entering upon these, we may briefly state how the great lexicographer became connected with this spot.

It appears that in the early part of the last century the brewery belonged to a Mr. Halsey, who reaped a fortune there, and upon the marriage of whose daughter to Lord Cobham the brewery was sold to the elder Mr. Thrale. Thrale was an active and liberal man; became sheriff of the county, and M.P. for the borough; and died in 1758, leaving his property to a son whom he had educated liberally. This son married a Welsh lady of good family, and, to use the words of Boswell, although in affluent circumstances, he had good sense enough to carry on his father's trade, which was of such extent, that I remember he once told me he would not quit it for an annuity of ten thousand a year; Not,' said he, that I get ten thousand a year by it, but it is an estate to my family.'" The beer brewed by Thrale at the period here alluded to was about thirty thousand barrels annually, not one-twelfth part of the quantity now brewed in the same establishment, which produces as much as the nine principal breweries did in 1760. In 1765 Dr. Johnson was introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Thrale by Malone; and from that time till the brewer's death, Johnson lived almost entirely in their houses, at the brewery and at Streatham. Before the fire at the brewery in 1832, the room was pointed out, near the gate, in which the Doctor wrote many of his most celebrated productions, more particularly his Dictionary. In 1781 Mr. Thrale died, and as he had no sons, the executors, of whom Dr. Johnson was one, deemed it desirable to dispose of the brewery. It was sold jointly to Mr. Barclay and Mr. Perkins (the latter of whom had been the superintendent of the brewery) for the enormous sum of one hundred and thirty-five thousand pounds! Boswell relates: "When the sale of Thrale's brewery was going on, Johnson appeared bustling about, with an ink-horn and pen in his button-hole, like an exciseman; and on being asked what he really considered to be the value of the property which was to be disposed of, said, 'We are not here to sell a parcel of boilers and vats, but the potentiality of growing rich beyond the dream of avarice."

III. Messrs. Smith and Co.'s Distillery, Thames Bank.-Face p. 41.

THE object of the next visit takes us up the river to the vicinity of Chelsea. Let us, then, get on board one of the little river-steamers, and proceed in that direction.

After passing under Vauxhall Bridge, we stop for a few momentsas everybody now knows-at the Nine-Elms pier, and thence proceed onward towards the termination of the route at Chelsea. On the left we pass the South London Water-works, as well as factories, warehouses, and wharfs of different kinds; and then arrive at the river-side house so well known to all amateur boatmen as the Red House.' On the right, after passing a gas-factory, we see the noble manufacturing premises of Messrs. Cubitt, the builders, with the chimney inclosed in a decorated square tower. Then we come to the London Steelworks; beyond which is the Belgrave Dock; and westward of both are two tall chimneys, one of which points out the Chelsea Water works, and the other the distillery of Messrs. Octavius Smith and Co., the establishment to which our attention is here directed. This latternamed chimney is conspicuous from the river on account of its proportions, the celebrated obelisk called Cleopatra's Needle' having been taken as a model in its construction; and although the summit has been somewhat shorn of its beauty by a lightning-stroke, the symmetry of its form is still observable. The river-front of this factory presents to view a dock, whereinto barges laden with corn and coals for the factory are conveyed to be unladen.

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The entrance to the distillery is on the eastern side; and on entering the outer gates we find ourselves in an irregularly-shaped open court, surrounded by buildings, of which several are seen on Fig. 1. On the left are large granaries, in which the grain, after being hoisted from barges in the dock, is stored. Beyond these we see various buildings connected with the still-room, comprising a cylindrical worm-tub of very large dimensions, water-tanks and coolingtanks at a considerable elevation, store-warehouses, &c. In front are

the offices and counting-houses; bounded on the right by various workshops for smiths, millwrights, coppersmiths, carpenters, and others engaged in the repair and adjustment of the apparatus used in the distillery. On the right of the entrance, and extending to a considerable distance northward, are the mill and the brewhouse, wherein all those operations are conducted which precede the actual distillation. Stables and other outhouses occupy other parts of the area; while the open court presents a busy scene of traffic: here waggons being laden with casks about to leave the distillery; at another spot yeast being brought in from the great London breweries; at a third, 'grains' being carted for conveyance to the dairies; and at a fourth, men filling barrels with spent-wash,' to be carried away as a fattening ingredient for cattle and pigs.

Before describing the operations of this establishment, it may be well to explain briefly the meaning generally attached to the terms 'distillation' and 'distillery.' All kinds of grain, such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, &c., whether in the raw or the malted state, as well as the juices of fruits, of the sugar-cane, of potatoes, of beet-root, and of many other vegetable substances, contain certain elements which, by peculiar processes, are capable of being converted into alcohol or spirit. Distillation always forms one of these operations; but it is preceded by others which vary according to the nature of the ingredients employed. The various liquids known by the names of brandy, rum, whiskey, hollands, gin, spirits of wine, cordials, and compounds, all contain the alcoholic principle, developed to a greater or less extent by the process of distillation. French brandy is produced from wine; West Indian rum from sugar or molasses; and British spirit, whether called by the name of spirit of wine, British brandy, British rum, whiskey, or gin, from corn. In every case the substance which undergoes the process of distillation is a sweet liquid; but the means whereby this sweetness or saccharine quality is brought about differ according to circumstances. The different qualities presented by these various liquids depend partly on the alcoholic strength, partly on the substances whence they are produced, partly on the berries, herbs, and seeds with which they are flavoured, and partly on the mode in which the manufacture is conducted.

We are thus prepared to understand that the operations of a British distillery relate to the extraction of the alcoholic principle from various kinds of grain. We must next bear in mind that the extract produced