teers contains, perhaps, the greatest deposit of arms in existence at the present day. Last, the jewel-room, in which are kept the crown diamonds. The Royal Exchange is a grand square building, in the centre of which is a court-yard, surrounded by spacious porticos, and all around adorned with the statues of the greater part of the Kings of England. The Mansion House is the splendid city palace, and residence of the Lord Mayor. At a little distance, the Bank of England encloses within its walls the most enormous quantity of money that has ever been collected in one place. The new Post-Office is, without doubt, one of the most magnificent buildings that can be viewed. The Custom-House, which displays its imposing front on the edge of the River Thames; and last, Somerset House, which is the largest and finest building, that is reserved for the administration of public affairs.

London possesses a great number of churches, several of which are justly enumerated as among the finest in the world. The two principal are, the Cathedral of St. Paul and Westminster Abbey; the former is regarded as the largest and most sumptuous of protestant churches: it is a most gigantic edifice, constructed of Portland stone, after the model of St. Peter's at Rome, (to which, however, it confesses itself inferior,) above the choice architecture of its exterior, rise to a stupendous height the elegant proportions of its majestic cupola. The interior is enriched with statues of great value, and monuments of exquisite workmanship, all of which are dedicated to the memory of eminent personages.

In most parts of the metropolis, occurring at short distances from each other, are spacious squares, which are built not entirely for ornament, but more especially for the salubrity of the surrounding neighbourhood. They are generally square, and in the centre have a garden planted with trees and shrubs, accessible to the inhabitants of the surrounding houses, and surrounded by iron railings. Grosvenor Square is considered the finest, and Lincoln's Inn Fields the largest. Here I may also just mention the small square in which the column called the Monument of London is erected, which is more than two hundred feet high, and destined to perpetuate the memory of the horrible fire which occurred in the year 1666, and consumed the greatest part of the city.

The communication between the two sides of the river, which runs through the middle of this great emporium of the world, is maintained by six magnificent bridges, among which the new London ranks first, from the beauty of its architecture, and the extraordinary span of its arches. Next to this comes Waterloo, like the former, built entirely of granite, and particularly worthy of admiration. But it is impossible to name the bridges of London without saying something of the Tunnel, a subterraneous passage which they are now digging under the bed of the river, a work before unheard of,-and thanks to the recent munificence of Parliament, now likely in a short time to be completed.

The famous docks, immense basins, surrounded by vast warehouses, destined to receive vessels and merchandise from all parts of the world, are gigantic constructions, common also to other harbours of the kingdom; none of which latter, however, can vie in extent of basin or structure with those of London, more especially with those named after the East and West Indies. These two are destined, as the names sig

nify, to receive the produce of the innumerable British Colonies in the two Indies. The former, combined with various capacious storehouses in the city, belonging to the Company, alone present such a mass of mercantile riches of all descriptions, that the mind becomes actually lost in the calculation of treasures so immense. This vast collection belongs to a company of merchants, called the Honourable East India Company, which counts among its vassals, an emperor and a multitude of princes: a company which, within less than a century, has made the arms of England feared and respected, in countries where its name previously was never even heard of, and which now governs more than a hundred millions of inhabitants. The actual centre of operation of the Honourable Company is a spacious architectural building called the East India House, which contains an infinite number of rooms and offices, and employs a legion of active individuals in the various branches of its management. The Oriental museum and library contained in the above building are worthy of great admiration, and contain specimens of all that nature offers as most interesting among its productions, and science affords as useful and instructive among its discoveries.

Among the finest streets in London, we must name first, Regent Street, unmatched in any other part of the world. Oxford Street, PallMall, the Haymarket, Holborn, and the Strand.

Among the public walks which adorn the capital, those of St. James's Park, Green Park, Hyde Park, and Regent's Park, are the most beautiful and most frequented; but, certainly, nothing in the world can reach in magnificence, variety, and elegance, the immense assemblage of architectural structures which encircle the Regent's Park; in the north part of which is situated the incomparable and much admired Zoological Gardens. On one side of this park an immense line of columns and porticos remind us of a grand Roman perspective; whilst, on the other, the light minarets and fantastical kiosks transport the imagination to the poetical fantasies of eastern architecture; and when a bright sun strikes his rays on the sward of the park, the waters of the canal, and the refulgent stuccos of so many magnificent palaces -then, truly, we may enjoy a sight, which all the powers of the pen would fail to describe. A city which embraces such an extensive variety of palaces and monuments of every design, could not but be equally provided, in a manner worthy of its greatness, with institutions of learning and public amusement.

London, in fact, possesses, under these two heads, a great number of establishments superior in themselves to anything of the same kind, however much admired, in all the great capitals of Europe.

Among the places destined for public amusement, those which rank as first are the theatres, of which the metropolis contains about fifteen, all much frequented, managed with taste, and generally decorated with great richness. That of Drury Lane is the largest, and is capable of furnishing seats for three thousand six hundred people. Covent Garden, although rather inferior in size, surpasses it in elegance of arrangement, especially in the majestic display of its front, which readily recalls to mind the Temple of Minerva at Athens. The King's Theatre, or rather the Italian Opera, is situated in one of the finest positions in London, and during half the year is the resort of the highest and most fashion

able society, who in the evening assemble in crowds to admire the talent of the most celebrated theatrical performers, collected from the best stages in Europe, at prices the most exorbitant. The other theatres, although yielding in extent and grandeur to the above-mentioned, are, however, judiciously constructed, gracefully ornamented, and generally furnished with good actors,-excellent above all in comedy, which, in the eyes of a superficial observer, might contrast singularly with the grave and concentrated character of the nation. Among the numerous establishments which, after the theatres, offer a varied and rich pasture for curiosity to the public, is the Colosseum, a work without example, as well for the grandness of its plan, as for the truly marvellous execution of the Panorama of London, which is, without doubt, the most enormous picture that was ever undertaken, occupying not less than forty thousand square feet.

The means of instruction afforded in London are more numerous and more accessible than in any other part of the globe. The private institutions for learning in the metropolis and its neighbourhood, consist of no less than four thousand establishments, frequented by more than one hundred thousand scholars. But that in which the City of London is quite surprising and inconceivable is, the unlimited development that is given to public and elementary instruction: the facility offered in this manner to the poorer classes surpasses belief,-it will be sufficient to observe, that more than forty thousand children receive gratuitous instruction in a proportianate number of schools endowed for that purpose; and above sixty thousand receive the same from establishments called Sunday Schools, which are founded by religious and charitable persons, and taught gratuitously by five thousand instructors. I now proceed to establishments of a higher and much superior order, and note, first, that of the London University, a magnificent institution, recently formed by a society of rich philanthropists, founded upon a most liberal plan, and above all, most useful to the numerous classes of Dissenters, whom inveterate prejudices and party animosities exclude entirely from the sanctuary of the two higher Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. King's College, likewise of recent formation, and Westminster School are, successively, the two principal eslablishments for superior education.

The great school of arts and sciences has obtained the most exalted fame, and is open to all who desire to profit by the knowledge of celebrated men, who resort thither to explain their doctrines.

The science of jurisprudence has, for a length of time, been taught in London, in places called the Inns of Court; and that of medicine in the principal hospitals.

Among a numerous assemblage of literary and scientific institutions, the Royal Society maintains its venerable and venerated position, as mother of all; while the British Museum contains a most extensive deposit of natural history and fine arts, and an inestimable collection of all that nature has discovered to the indefatigable researches of science. Adjoining the magnificent gallery of minerals, is the muchadmired and famous library, to which, perhaps, no other in the world can boast itself superior, either in the value of its contents or the splendour of its interior; and certainly not in the commodiousness of its reading-rooms, and the ease and regularity with which it is conducted.

After the institutions for intellectual culture and advancement, succeed those devoted to corporeal beneficence, such as the charitable institutions called hospitals, and houses of recovery. Twenty-four hospitals, some of which are of vast extent and regular architecture, admit daily a great number of invalids of every description, who are provided with all the care, attention, and comfort, that poverty and distress can possibly receive from a charitable and compassionate people. Besides these, there are more than thirty public dispensaries, which gratuitously furnish medicine and relief to more than sixty thousand persons annually. And a great number of aged poor are provided with asylums, founded by persons of wealth, for the benefit of the infirm.

London contains at this period the greatest number of houses of which mention is made in modern history, as existing in one place, and it is the most simply, and decidedly the best regulated city in Europe. A foreigner, accustomed on the Continent to see the police maintained by force of the bayonet, will scarcely credit that order and regularity among a million and a half of people is maintained here. without spies, gendarmerie, or secret institutions, but by a comparatively insignificant force, armed with no other weapon save that of the autho rity of law, which is sufficient to command the respect of the people, and ensure the welfare and good of all. The present establishment and regulation of the metropolitan police is due entirely to the wisdom of Sir Robert Peel, who presided over the Home Department in the year 1829, and ought to be considered as a masterpiece of good sense and political moderation, worthy the example of all those degraded and jealous policies of many European states, in which the subject is viewed as incessantly engaged in plotting the downfall of social order, or rather of timorous authority.

From the physical aspects and material objects in London, I now advance to the moral character and manners of its inhabitants; and I find, especially in certain respects, they possess a remarkable superiority over other nations. And I hesitate not in asserting, that a judicious observer, ready to investigate deeper than mere outward appearance, and to throw aside popular prejudices, and fallacious reports of capricious and party men, will find my opinion well and justly founded.

The character of the people of England, in order to be estimated at its true value, must be considered under two distinct and particular aspects, as the idea that a foreigner would form, from a mere outward acquaintance, cannot absolutely place him in a condition to judge of their nature and inclinations, which a closer inspection and association with them in their own houses can give. Strangers have, however, generally taken their opinion on this subject from the light under which an Englishman presents himself to their eyes at a distance from his own home, which has given rise to his countrymen being described by the vulgar of foreign countries, as most cold, proud, insipid, and unsociable; and many other defects are attributed to them, from sentiments rather of malignity than ignorance. The Englishman, examined in the midst of foreign society, appears proud; and why?-because he feels himself superior to the greater number of servile and superstitious individuals by whom he is surrounded, and the consciousness never forsakes him of the grandeur of his country, and the respect which he knows is due to him as a citizen of the first nation in the world. But this species

of reserve, put on more from reflection in his intercourse with foreigners than from its being his natural character, is far from being preserved in respect of his own countrymen, and towards even foreigners themselves who visit him in his own house. There vanish all those traces of pride which the presence and the contrast of foreign customs made him assume when out of his own island; and his apparent roughness is found to be a mere veil, or cover, to a mind that is good, generous, and kind. The English certainly do not strive to be officious or complimentary, which other communities more inclined to these exterior signs are, and who possess a kindness too often equivocal, and which not unfrequently ends in deception; but the substance of their character abounds not the less in integrity, truth, and generosity. The classes which have received in England a distinct education are more numerous than in any other part of the world; and they possess in all respects a courtesy so prompt, a kindness so cordial, an affability so dignified, that I think it would be impossible to surpass, or even equal in any other nation. And I feel truly happy in being able to give personally a proof to the world of the kind manner in which a foreigner has been received by all those with whom he has had any intercourse. My introductions have gained for me everywhere the greatest attention and kindnesses without limit. A frankness the most cordial, an affection the most flattering, and a willingness to oblige the most perfect, have obtained for me among my connexions all the pleasure and delight that can possibly be enjoyed after a long and most sincere friendship. And I trust the several friends with whom I have become acquainted during my sojourn in this city, will accept in this declaration a public attestation of my profound acknowledgments, and a tribute of sincere homage to the good qualities of their character.

This affability, the especial attribute of all the superior and middling classes of society, is not entirely alien to the habits of the lower orders, it being no extraordinary thing to see a labourer suspend his work merely to direct a foreigner in his road; and tradesmen of every description courteously offer to convey whatever you may have purchased from them to your own house, without further expense or inconvenience on your part.

The modesty and beauty of the English ladies have become proverbial throughout Europe as a national characteristic ;

Mirata da ciascun passa e non mira-(TASSO)

and it does not decrease in the least on a closer examination,-the affectionate attachment of wives to their husbands, their attention to all that regards domestic comfort and economy, and their care and tenderness to their children, are truly worthy of admiration, and eminently exemplary. The apparent liberty which is conceded to ladies in England, forms a source of reflection to a foreign observer, and undoubtedly proceeds from the modest purity and reservedness of their character and habits, and causes them to command that respect, to obtain which in other countries a greater sacrifice of liberty is required. The society of women in England is, in my opinion, more sweet, more natural, and more affable, than is generally met with in other nations. The candour and goodness of their disposition, united to the extraordinary care bestowed on their education, gives to their conversation great interest and unutterable attraction. To those who wish to see all the