both cities". We are not surprised to find that in spite of royal proclamations and Acts of Parliament, "little was done, and these cities are still increasing in buildings of cottages and pestered with inmates. Alas! human affairs will never accommodate themselves to the convenience of organisation, and organisation is sorely pressed to cope with problems which it is perpetually trying to avert. Economic forces were at work which compelled the increase of London, though their full influence was only slowly felt. The troubles in the Netherlands caused a great transference of industry to England. This establishment of new industries quickly reacted on those which already existed. There was a very rapid heightening of the standard of comfort, which created much inventiveness. When once the manufacturing impulse was given to Englishmen, they began to compete with the foreign market. I need only instance a manufactory of Venetian glass which was set up by Crutched Friars. As trade increased, the advantages of London over other ports became more apparent. The Court was now permanently fixed in London, and was an abiding attraction for those bent alike on business and on pleasure. There is a very modern tone about the following: "The gentlemen of all shires do flee and flock to this city; the younger sorte of them to see and shew vanity, and the elder to save the cost and charge of hospitality and house keeping".
We may reckon Elizabethan London to have contained at the end of the Queen's reign a population of about 250,000. Its wealth had steadily grown
