reached that city, we obtained a sight of its lofty and imposing cathedral and stately castle. Both buildings stand on an eminence, and command a prospect of great extent. The beautiful Gothic fane is not surrounded by houses, and consequently affords a splendid view. A stay of twenty minutes enabled us to run up the hill on which it stands, and walk around the structure. Niches, now saintless, and rich carvings embellish its external walls, and around it spreads a velvety sward, as soft to the tread as a rich carpet. Portions of the old walls which once inclosed the city still remain, and one or two gateways span as many streets. The city is not large, nor is it very handsome, but it has many attractions for the stranger, and is well worth a visit. A stay of a few minutes allowed no time for an examination into the habits and condition of the inhabitants, and not sufficient for a look at its principal structures.

From Lincoln to Peterborough the road lay through the reclaimed fens, one of the most fertile and productive grain countries in the world, and as the crops were ripe for harvest, we saw numbers of people in the fields reaping. Women and fair young girls were engaged in this rural labor, and many a bright eye glanced at our lengthened train as it pursued its iron way.

The country is almost a dead level, and at no remote bygone period was a vast and useless swamp. Now, thanks to science in mechanics and agriculture, the whole surface is drained thoroughly, and fields of waving grain, and numerous farm-houses, and villages and cities abound throughout the district. The system of drainage is most excellent, and the same that is used generally in England and Scotland. Large ditches are cut through certain parts of the land, and some of them are so extensive as to greatly resemble canals. Into these flows the drainage of the land, which is conducted through earthen pipes, laid under ground, in almost every field. The only comparison I can make, by which a correct idea of the plan can be imparted to others who have not seen it, is to say that the system is the same for drainage here as that used for supplying water to the city of Philadelphia. No conduits are seen all are under ground, and the water is conducted from the surface into small reservoirs, which lead to the pipes, and through these pipes into the large canals, and then into the natural streams. Some of the rivers are embanked to prevent overflows, and the country reminds one of Holland, where they "scoop out the sea, and usurp the shore."

We made a short stop at Boston, in Lincolnshire, a considerable town near the sea-coast, and had time to see its famous church, the spire on which is three hundred feet high, and can be seen at a distance of forty miles in clear weather. Nearly all the cities, in this section of England, boast a cathedral or other noble ecclesiastical edifice, and every village has its Gothic church and soaring tower and spire.

By the time we arrived at Boston, our company had grown sociable and mutually entertaining. The young ladies were agreeable and pretty. The Germans were polite and gentlemanly, and chatted English intelligibly enough. The Englishmen relaxed their usual stiffness, and joined freely in the conversation. I, as the representative of young America, came in for an occasional rub about slavery and our territorial acquisitions, and the show we made at the Exhibition; I laughed at their jokes, and, as the yacht "America" had just beaten the whole fancy fleet of such English craft at Cowes with ease, I had some show for fight, and did not hesitate about exulting at the achievement of my countrymen. I intimated to them that Jonathan would play them a Yankee trick yet, and take the conceit out of the nation in more things than building ships, and they had the candor to acknowledge that it was very likely he would. The time passed away pleasantly as we fled through the counties of Lincoln and Northampton, and, in fact, during the entire journey. At Peterborough we made another half hour's stay, and looked at its hale cathedral, the burial-place of Catharine of Arragon, and, for a time, of Mary, Queen of Scots, who, it appears, was not even allowed repose in death, and she was afterwards removed from Peterborough to Westminster Abbey. As we approached the modern Babylon, the country became more hilly, and parks more numerous.

Our route lay through a number of old and remarkable towns, among which were Huntingdon, the birthplace of Cromwell, and Bedford, the place in which Bunyan wrote his "Pilgrim's Progress,"

and near which city he was born. Hertford, and Barnet, a town celebrated for a fight which took place near it during the wars of the Roses, in which the great Earl of Warwick fell, were successively passed; and then we pressed on to the great city, which we entered after night in the bustle and confusion incident to the arrival of an immense train within its bounds. I parted for the time with my German friends and travelling companions, and wended my way along the crowded thoroughfares of the metropolis to my former lodgings. Thousands of people thronged the streets, and the black smoke obscured the stars and moon-the atmosphere was not that of the country, nor the inhabitants like those of the smaller cities. As I passed the numerous gin-palaces on my route, the fumes of liquor impregnated the air, and the dazzling light from the windows of these sinks of iniquity flared broad in the streets, and contrasted strongly with the dark slums and back lanes which lay in my walk. Degraded men and women crowded the bar-rooms of the poison palaces, and the atmosphere was thick with smoke and the fumes of gin. I pressed on, and gained my destination, where I met a hearty and sincere welcome home; still, I could not divest my mind of thoughts concerning the scenes I had just witnessed-the change from the rural to the metropolitan life was so great. Surely enough, "God made the country, man made the town."

CHAPTER XXI.

LONDON-NORTHUMBERLAND HOUSE-HAMPTON COURT

MADAME TAUSSAUD'S-VERNON GALLERY, ETC.

THE metropolis of England is unlike any other city in the world; it has no counterpart, no imitation. Its great magnitude, its busy throngs, its sombre aspect, its squalid misery, and matchless splendor, alike defy description and claim observation. A writer may throw a few sketches of it together, and call them a picture of London; but he who examines the tableau will detect its many defects, and expose its inaccuracies. No one can convey to the mind of another, by means of words, a correct idea of its wonders and peculiarities; nor is it possible for a reader to comprehend its greatness and its poverty, its glory and its shame. I was as much a stranger in it on my second visit as at my first; and threaded its thoroughfares, eager to behold its curiosities, and admire its many attractions. There was an endless throng of conveyances and pedestrians in the streets, the noise from which was ceaseless and stunning. Carriages dashed past, bearing the wealthy on to the abodes of luxury, while shoeless men and women roamed the sideways, begging the passers-by to purchase of their stock of wares-a cane, a knife, a dancing-spider, or some other useless toy.

The Great Exhibition was still in existence, and crowds from the provinces, as well as thousands of foreigners, had taken up their temporary abode in the royal city. New attractions had been added to the many already designed for the edification and delight of the people, and the Duke of Northumberland, with a praiseworthy liberality, worthy honorable mention, had ordered his townresidences-Syon and Northumberland Houses-to be opened to the public. Both are fine mansions, and princely in their internal arrangements. Northumberland House is in the city, at Charing Cross; and is mainly remarkable for a superb marble stairway, which leads from the ground to the first floor. The rooms are hung around with pictures by the old masters-the most valuable being the original of the "Cornaro Family," by Titian. The ballroom, a very large and lofty apartment, is adorned with copies of two of Raphael's great works- "The Marriage Feast of Cupid and Psyche," and the "School of Athens;" and a copy, by Mengs, of Guido's "Aurora." The paintings are of great magnitude, and occupy three sides of the room, which is decidedly the finest in the palace. The furniture, although costly, did not appear to me to be in character with the splendor of the decorations and extent of the place, and some faded tapestry in a particular department would better suit a rag-shop than the walls it now defaces.

Syon House is a few miles from town on the Thames, near Brentford. It contains some fine pictures by Vandyke, and several of Sir Peter Lely's and Kneller's best productions. The "long room" is embellished with portraits of the Percys, from the days of William the Conqueror down to our own time, including one of the valiant Hotspur. The drawing-room is the finest apartment, being hung with rich crimson damask, and ornamented at the ceiling with paintings from ancient mythology. In the entrance-hall is a number of verd-antique marble columns, said to have been recovered from the Tiber at Rome; and several fine bronze figures of great excellence. The grounds are extensive and extremely sylvan. They abound in secluded walks and shady groves, tall cedars of Lebanon and brave old elms. The Thames flows not far from the house, and although the building is very plain, the scenery around gives the visitor a strong partiality for the quiet and princely residence. Thousands of persons availed themselves of the privilege of visiting the two mansions, and the strictest decorum and propriety characterized the conduct of all. Many were the wives and daughters of London tradesmen and mechanics, and in no instance did I observe the slightest rudeness on the part of a single individual-a proof to me that it does not require a person to be of noble blood, even in England, to be of good manners and genteel behavior.

Hampton Court, the former residence of the deposed and disgraced Wolsey, is now the resort of the public, and the freed, toil-worn citizens of London fly to it on Sundays to drink in the rich air of its magnificent parks, and admire the wealth of its splendid galleries. They go there by thousands, and well may they be proud of the privilege their sovereign grants them, of viewing the monarchic palace, and living in its healthful grounds. I have seen thirty thousand persons there at one time, nearly all of whom were London mechanics and their families, and not once did I notice a single improper act. Every individual conducted himself as if upon his behavior depended the reputation of his class, and he was determined it should not suffer in his keeping. Cheerfulness, sociability, and a spirit of kindness characterized all, from the little child to the grayheaded man; and not a pro