ful examples for instance, Keddlestone House, the residence of Lord Scarsdale, near Derby, the front of which is a line of 360 feet, comprehending a central and two lateral masses connected by low corridors, and universally admired for its classic purity and grace. Chatsworth, the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, also near Derby, is another magnificent mansion

of this class.

Within the last fifty years, houses have been built in various styles, imitative of modes long ago fashionable. The castellated, the Elizabethan, and the Grecian, have all had their admirers. It is also common now-a-days to build houses from the foundation in the manner of those Gothic priories and abbeys which were originally designed for purposes so different.

Eaton Hall, the seat of the Marquis of Westminster, situated near Chester, may be considered as a prime example of the modern Gothic. It comprises, besides other apartments, an entrance hall, paved with variegated marbles, a music-gallery, adorned with two fine pictures by West, a saloon, decorated with some beautiful specimens of stained glass, and a library. This magnificent mansion is much visited by strangers on account of its architectural beauty, its splendid furniture, and the vast number of interesting objects contained in it. It cost the enormous sum of £1,000,000 sterling.

Having pointed out some of the chief physical peculiarities of England, we will now proceed to speak of the English people. At the period of the Roman invasion England was possessed by various aboriginal tribes, supposed by some to have been Celts, and by others a mixture of the Celtic and Gothic races. Their descendants still form the chief bulk of the people of Wales and Cornwall, but their language is extinct, except among the Welch. The south-east at that period was occupied by the Belgæ, a branch of the Tuetonic family, from Gaul, which had dispossessed the natives and driven them into the interior. After the downfall of the Roman power, the south-east and midland districts were subdued by the Jutes and Saxons; and Norfolk and Suffolk by the Angles, while the north was over-run, sometimes possessed, and largely colonized by the Danes-all kindred families of the Gothic or Teutonic race. The Normans subdued England in the 11th century, and subsequently commingling with the Jutes, Danes and Angles, formed the present intermixture, the modern English and the English language. For a long period, and until lately, however, the people of each county had a dialect peculiar to themselves, but by the diffusion of education, intercommunion, and other causes, the mother tongue has become more uniform, and one language, with slight deflections only, is now spoken in every part. The groundwork of the English language is Saxon, with a large addition from the Greek, Latin and French. In short, the modern English are of very mixed origin, and their language, from that circumstance, contains probably a greater number of different elements than any other of the modern tongues, and the large influx of the Irish into the manufacturing districts is still operating strongly on the form of a language already so polynational.

The amount of the population of England and Wales prior to the year 1801 cannot be ascertained with any degree of certainty. McCulloch conjectures that at the era of the conquest it amounted to about 2,150,000; Mr. Chalmers estimates its amount in 1377 at 2,350,000, and the celebrated political arithmetician, Gregory King, in 1696, states it at 5,500,000. Since 1801 a decennial census has been taken. The following table exhibits the

gradual progress of the population from 1700 to 1801, as computed by How

ell and Finlaison respectively:

The enumerations taken since the last period are certain, the annexed tabular view:

and appear in

INCREASE.

. 10,791,115. . 1,447,537...-15.4 .12.298,175. 1,507,060...-13.9

13,091,005....806,182.... 277,017. 14,174,204....1,876,029...-15.2 15,173,164....911,241...

16,084,405.......... 1.910,201...-13.4

The following table shows the relative proportion of sexes, according to the census of 1841:

Our notices regarding the distribution of the population, and the division of occupations among the people, must necessarily be brief. About onethird the total resides in towns having a population of 10,000 and upwards; and as the increase of this class is rapidly progressing, and in a greater ratio than the population of the rural districts, it indicates a corresponding preponderance in manufacturing industry. The occupations of the people are shown in the annexed, constructed by Mr. Marshall, which states the population of the districts devoted to the several branches of British production :

INCREASE.

per cent. .1,339,856... 31 .2,984,101... 25.5 .3,463,288..

Metropolitan and City Districts...

1821. .1,028,078.. 2,378,363. .2,904,266.

1831.

Inland towns and Agricultural Districts....5,668,166... .6,102,430..

......

.....

19

7.3

England and Wales is divided into 52 counties, of which England proper contains 40, and Wales 12. The general statistics of these will be seen in the adjoined results of the census of 1841:

NOTE. The aggregate results of the census of Great Britain, in 1851, were as follows:

STATISTICS OF THE WELCH COUNTIES.

It has already been seen that a large part of the people of England are collected in towns and cities. Some may be classed under the heads of manufacturing and commercial towns, while others are university towns, naval stations, cathedral towns, or towns of summer recreation, or the residences of persons in independent circumstances. The cities and towns of England are in great number, and though often of plain exterior, include immense wealth. The prevalence of brick in domestic buildings, and of the smoke arising from coal fires, gives them a peculiarly sombre character. In all, however, there are numerous churches, and in some there are streets altogether built of stone, and very cleanly.

LONDON, the British metropolis, is a world within itself. It is situated in the counties of Middlesex, Kent, and Surrey, on the banks of the Thames, 60 miles from the sea. The larger portion of the city is built on the north side of the river, and rises in a gentle slope from the water's edge. Its outline is exceedingly irregular, and it is difficult to determine its exact extent. It is usually said to include all the buildings in a radius of four miles around St. Paul's Cathedral. The area cannot be less than 20 to 25 square miles. It must be borne in mind, however, that London is not one city only, but consists of eight distinct cities and boroughs, with extensive suburban villages and hamlets. The cities are London proper and Westminster, and the boroughs Marylebone, Finsbury, Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lambeth and Greenwich; the five first being in Middlesex, the two next in Surrey, and the last in Kent. This immense city contains an aggregate population of at least 2,000,000; having had, in 1841, 1,873,676, and has about 10,000 streets, lanes, terraces, &c. ; 80 squares, 24 marketplaces, and nearly 200,000 houses. The streets are for the most part wide, but there are also many which scarcely admit of the passage of carriages. The finest streets are those in Westminster and Marylebone, where the aristocracy reside. This portion of the city is known as the " West-End," and contains the Royal Palaces, the seats of the executive and legislative governments, the parks, and in general the most splendid buildings. The city proper, &c., are known as the "East-End," which comprehends the most populous portions of Tower Hamlets. The foreign merchants are chiefly quartered in this portion of the city, and considerable manufactures are carried on, especially in silk-weaving and sugar-refining. It also contains the extensive docks and warehouses at Blackwall, belonging to the East India Company; those connected with the West India trade at Poplar ; the London Docks, at Wapping, and St. Catharine's Docks, near the Tower. Southwark and Lambeth contain some extensive iron founderies, breweries, and many other important manufacturing establishments, especially those of patent shot, plate-glass, &c.; and at Bermondsey, leather and parchment are made to a large amount. The latest additions have been made on the north and north-west, in St. Pancras, Finsbury, &c. The houses built here are of brick, chiefly supplied on the spot, and are generally faced with stucco. Few houses are of more than three stories, and whole streets are built of uniform design. It has been remarked that there are few public buildings and monuments in London at all worthy of its extent and wealth; still among the number it contains, there are edifices of every variety of style, character and size, and structures adapted to every purpose of national and municipal government, law, religion, education, charity, science, art, amusement, and trade; but the mere enumeration of their names would occupy one-fourth of the present volume. Our descrip

tion, therefore, must necessarily be limited to a few of the more prominent, and the more celebrated of those structures.

The CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PAUL, in the City, claims our first attention, as being at once the most prominent and the most interesting object. The spot on which the present building stands has been occupied for many centuries by churches of the same name, the last of which was destroyed by the great fire of 1666. The first stone of the present building was laid by Sir Christopher Wren in 1675 and the last in 1710, but the whole decorations were not finished until 1723. The church is in the Roman style of architecture, built in the form of a cross, with a large dome in the centre. It is 500 feet in length, 180 in breadth, and the height to the top of the cross which surmounts the dome, is 340 feet. The whole building is of Portland stone, now very much discolored with smoke, and long exposure to the weather. The interior is very plain; but of late years the dull monotony of its appearance has been to a considerable extent relieved by a number of monuments, erected to the memory of England's worthies. The CHURCH OF ST. PETER, commonly called "Westminster Abbey," though not so prominent an object as St. Paul's, is of not less distinguished fame. It is likewise in the form of a cross, but without a dome or central tower; and the tameness of its exterior aspect is but little relieved by two modern towers at its west end. The whole building is in the Norman and Gothic styles, and some parts of it are of great antiquity. The interior is crowded with monuments of the illustrious dead; and it is here that the ceremony of the coronation of the kings and queens of England is performed. The other churches of the metropolis are generally small in proportions, and few can boast of a high order of architecture. Henry VII.'s Chapel, however, is a splendid structure, and an exception to our remarks. One hundred new churches have been erected within a few years by the Church Extension Society. Adjoining the Abbey is WESTMINSTER HALL, the only remaining part of the palace commenced by king William Rufus. It measures 276 feet in length by 100 in breadth, and is covered with an elegant roof formed of oak. It has long been occupied by the supreme court, and now forms the entrance hall of the magnificent building erected for the accommodation of the Imperial Parliament, a building second to none in Europe. With regard to the latter, the present writer can say, from ocular demonstration, that it is the most magnificent building in Christendom, and a glorious monument of British genius. Both in exterior and interior decorations, statuary, and the symmetry in all its paits, it is perfect. In the same neighborhood is WHITEHALL, a small portion of a palace commenced by king James I. The design was furnished by Inigo Jones, and the ceiling was painted by Rubens; it is now occupied as a military chapel.

The royal palace of Pimlico or BUCKINGHAM HOUSE, a modern stone building; and ST. JAMES's, an ancient, irregular, and gloomy structure of brick, are also situated in Westminster. To these may be added SoмERSET HOUSE, a large pile of buildings occupied by various public boards, and by King's College; the national gallery; the British Museum; University College; Drury Lane and Covent Garden theatres; the Temple and Lincoln's Inn, for students at law; and many other large and costly structures-more remarkable, however, for their extent and utility, than for their architectural elegance.

On the east side of London is the TOWER, an ancient fortress of little importance as a military defence, but of great historical interest. It derives its name from a lofty square tower or keep in the centre, erected by William