and the air at a few miles distant, as pure as that on the Grampians; and although the environs do not present monastic ruins, ornamental canals, or those formal plantations to be met with in some of our parks, which Pope has so happily described, as where

"Grove nods at grove, each alley has its brother, And half the platform just reflects the other,"

yet there are vales rich in verdure, and eminences which command an extensive prospect, particularly the point at Blackheath, which affords one of the most varied, and one of the richest panoramic scenes in the world.

In the vicinity of London there is no "deserted village, ""no glades forlorn," or, " tangling walks and ruin'd grounds," which Goldsmith describes and laments so pathetically; but splendid villas and populous towns, all in active bustle, stud the environs of London for a circuit of many miles; these villages form a pleasant day's excursion to the secluded citizen. Many of the neighbouring towns have also other attractions, from some event associated with their history-some institution worthy of public notice, or from some recollections of their former occupants. Who, that has ever passed through" merry Islington," has not thought of Cowper's inimitable ballad of John Gilpin ; and what traveller ever rested at the Bell at Edmonton, who did not sympathize with Mrs. Gilpin on the disasters of her wedding day? Hampstead Heath, and Jack Straw's Castle, carry us back at once four centuries and a half, and we feel grateful that the peace of the metropolis, and the stability of the government, are no longer endangered

by a lawless mob. At Highgate, we may laugh at the nugatory oath which honest Boniface wishes every new visitor to swear, that he will not eat brown bread when he can get white, or kiss the maid when he may salute the mistress, unless he likes her better; or, if we wish to be serious, let us turn to Chalk Farm, and reflect on those victims to a sense of false honour, who have fallen in duels on this spot. Even Paddington with its canal, which now circumscribes London, since the Regent's canal has been added to it, is worthy of notice. If we follow the derious course of the latter to White Conduit Fields, we lose sight of it for some distance, on account of its subterraneous navigation. At Paddington, we may also smile at the whimsical fancy of the two maiden ladies who fettered an annual donation of bread, with an injunction that it should be thrown from the steeple of the church!

Twickenham, so long "the favourite retreat of the scholar, the poet, and the statesman, that almost every house has its tale to be told ;" and Richmond, so long the seat of royalty—whose hill is London's pride, are as attractive, on account of the beauty of their natural scenery, as the endearing recollections with which they are associated.

Chelsea will ever be famed for its Hospital, where the veteran "shoulders his crutch, and shows how fields were won ;" and the young embryo soldier in the military school burns with eagerness to reap those laurels his father won, reckless of the fate of war. Chelsea Hospital was founded by Charles II. on the site of a college his grandfather, James I. had erected, for controversial divinity! The new hospital was built by Sir Christopher Wren, and is a handsome brick

building, 790 feet long. It consists of a large quadran-
gle, open on the south side, in the centre of which
stands a bronze statue of the founder, Charles II.
The east and west sides are 365 feet long. The hos-
pital was erected for maimed and superannuated
soldiers, upwards of four hundred of whom are
comfortably boarded and lodged, at the expense
of the country for which they fought. The es-
tablishment consists of a
governor, lieutenant-
governor, major, two chaplains, physician, surgeon,
&c. There are also belonging to this establishment,
four hundred sergeants, who are out pensioners and
receive a shilling a day, and an unlimited number
of privates, out-pensioners, who have five-pence per
day. The expenses of this noble establishment are
defrayed by annual grant from parliament.

The Royal Military Asylum was erected in 1801, and owes its foundation to his royal highness, the Duke of York. It was erected for the education and maintenance of the children of the soldiers of the regular army; seven hundred boys and three hundred girls are in this establishment.

From the veterans and youth of the British army, we turn to those heroes who have contributed to maintain the supremacy of their country on the ocean, who are equally well provided for in the Royal Hospital at Greenwich. The idea of a national asylum for seamen, disabled by age, or maimed in the service of their country, is said to have originated with Mary the Queen of William III., who highly approved of it: when their majesties had resolved to found a hospital for this purpose, Sir Christopher Wren suggested that Greenwich Palace, which Charles II. had

begun to rebuild, and finished one wing, should be converted to this use, and enlarged with new buildings. The suggestion was adopted, and to the lionour of the great architect, he superintended the new buildings for many years, without any emolument or reward. The first stone of the Hospital was laid on the 3d of June, 1696, from which time it has been successively enlarged and improved, until it has attained its present splendour and magnificence.

Greenwich Hospital consists of four distinct piles of building, which are named in honour of King Charles, Queen Anne, King William, and Queen Mary, and in the centre is the grand square, 270 feet wide. The royal hospital was first opened in January 1705, when forty-two seamen were admitted; the sum has since been increased to nearly three thousand; the number of out pensioners is much greater; the hall, the chapel, and the several buildings of Greenwich Hospital are a source of great attraction to strangers.

It was a part of the original plan of Greenwich Hospital, that it should provide for the education of seamen's sons, and nearly 4000 boys have been thus instructed. In the same year in which the military asylum was founded, a naval asylum was commenced at Paddington, but in 1807 it was removed to Greenwich, where 800 boys and 200 girls are now educated.

Sterne says, "I hate the man who can travel from Dan to Beersheba and find all barren," and fastidious indeed must that person be, who does not find something to gratify him in almost every village within a circuit of a dozen miles of London; Deptford has its dockyard, Woolwich its arsenal and other military

establishments; and all and each present somewhat of interest to the intelligent traveller. Dulwich, in Surrey, ensures a visit from the lover of the fine arts, on account of the picture gallery and the college, founded by Edward Alleyne, the comedian and contemporary of Shakspeare, who, when actors were not paid as they are now, realized a fortune. The gallery, which is open to the public, was bequeathed by Sir Francis Bourgeois, an eminent historical painter, as the nucleus of a national gallery- an institution which will soon be formed under the immediate auspices of that munificent sovereign to whom this history of London is inscribed.