plate, and all the crown jewels worn by the royal fam ily on coronation days. It is said that these articles are worth from eight to ten millions of dollars, independently of several particular jewels whose value is very great.

It is not easy perhaps to form a correct idea of the appearance of the regalia, without seeing them, but when it is considered that the gems are set in gold, not of the pale colour of the trinkets of the jewellers, which are half copper, but of the deep yellow hue which is characteristic of gold, it will easily be conceived that the resplendent white of the pearl, the fine blue of the sapphire, the beautiful grass green of the emerald, the rich yellow of the topaz, the deep red of the ruby, and above all the clear transparency and unrivalled splendor of the diamond, must afford an exhi bition of magnificence and beauty not to be surpassed by any object of nature or art.

Since the famous attempt of Colonel Blood, to carry off the imperial crown in the reign of king Charles II. in which attempt he was frustrated by the courage and activity of Mr. Edwards, keeper of the regalia, a very old but intrepid man, I believe the crowns and other articles of the regalia which are occasionally wanted at Westminster, are carried thither privately, in a com. mon hackney coach, without any parade, or any circumstance whatever which may serve to distinguish the transaction. The king and prince of Wales array themselves in the palace of Whitehall before proceeding to the parliament house, and when they return, the crowns are carried back to the tower in the same private manner as they were brought thither, the distance is about three miles..

The mint, which, with the houses for its officers, occupies one third of the tower, we were not permitted to see.

You will wonder perhaps that I have said nothing of the wild beasts, for, from our infancy, in America we hear so much of the lions confined in the tower that we never think of it without this association. We did not pass them over. They are confined in dens in an open yard; an image of a lion is over the entrance, and a bell calls the keeper. The dens are furnished with strong iron gratings; they are spacious and cleanly; each den is divided into two apartments, one beneath, in which the animals sleep at night, and the other above, where they remain during the day. The beasts are generally healthy, notwithstanding their confinement, and appear more active" and lively than one would expect to find them.

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The principal animals which we saw were lions and lionesses, leopards, panthers, tygers, bears, wolves, hyenas, and racoons. There was a white polar bear of astonishing size, and untameable ferocity. When the keeper pointed a stick at him, he flew at the bars with incredile fierceness, rose upon his hind legs (for the dens are lofty) and threw open such a mouth as made me shudder. He had very large and strong teeth, and might have embraced the body of a middle sized man within his fangs. A beautiful black leopardess attracted my particular attention. Her form was exceedingly delicate and elegant, and although black, her skin was distinguished by spots of a still deeper black. She was from the coast of Malabar. Some of the animals were very tame, particularly a fine tyger

which had contracted an intimate friendship with a little dog.

There was one old lion whose mane was full grown ; his appearance was truly majestic, but, it is a remarkable fact that two lionesses which were whelped in the tower, are the fiercest animals there, while most of the lions which were taken wild are quite tame.

The most beautiful and at the same time majestic animal which we saw, was the royal tyger of Bengal. His skin is superbly variegated, with yellow and black, and his form is more graceful and majestic, and better adapted to strength and activity than that of the lion. The palm, I am sensible, has been usually, but I think unjustly, given to the lion.

On leaving the tower, one of us was required to write his name and address in a book, for the obvious reason of creating a responsibility in case any thing should be missing.

No. XIII.-LONDON.

Adelphi....Distribution of prizes there....Alien office....Cause of its institution....Restrictions imposed on foreigners there.... Rudeness of some of its officers....Westminster Abbey....Its solemnity and grandeur.... Monuments and inscriptions.... Difference of the ancient and modern taste....Incidents.... Pidcock's Menagerie.

ADELPHI.

May 28. By the attention of a friend I received a ticket entitling me to attend the distribution of prizes at the rooms of the Adelphi. At 11 o'clock I re....

paired to the splendid apartment, where every year they make a public distribution of prizes to those who have distinguished themselves most in the cultivation of the fine or useful arts, for the encouragement of which their society was instituted. Their rewards are not confined to the elegant arts of painting and sculpture, but are conferred equally on the inventors and im. provers of the most humble machines and contrivances for facilitating the most common operations of life. For instance, I saw a machine at the Adelphi, for enabling shoemakers to stand at their work, by which ́ means they may be relieved from the painful and inju rious confinement in which they are now compelled to

sit.

I derived very little satisfaction from my visit, for the apartments were already so thronged with fashionable people, and with strangers of all ranks, from the Russian ambassador down, that after struggling a long time in a crowded passage, and after being pushed, elbowed and pressed, on every side, for an hour, I found that I was still no nearer to entering the door than at first. I obtained only a very imperfect view of the fine paintings which adorned the walls, and witnessed absolutely nothing of the ceremonies of the day, except the pleasure of a fashionable squeeze, from which, although I had the honour of being shoved by lord and lady, I was sincerely glad to make my escape. I saw more beautiful women here than I had seen any where else in England.

ALIEN OFFICE.

Two or three days after my arrival in London I went to the alien office, and presented the credentials with which I was furnished at Liverpool. The alien

office is of recent establishment, and was instituted in consequence of the abuse of the almost unrestrained liberty which foreigners had, till then, enjoyed in En. gland. It is said that some French emissaries were detected in surveying the principal ports, and in other machinations against the safety of the country.

consequence of this, foreigners of every description are now registered at the alien office in Crown-street, Westminster, and the government possesses a history of them from the moment of their arrival till their departure out of the kingdom. On making my ap. pearance at the office, I was reprimanded in the first instance, for having remained several days in London without reporting myself. I made such excuses however as were accepted; and after writing in a book which they gave me, my name, profession, age, place of nativity and residence in America, business and views in England, and in short, every circumstance which was necessary to exhibit a succinct history of myself, I was next directed, for ensuring my good behaviour, to name sponsors residing in London. I was then dismissed on sufferance only, and directed to call or send within two or three days, when I was promised a permission to reside. Accordingly, it being inconvenient for me to go, I despatched a servant at the appointed time, who was sent back empty, and with a message that I must come myself. I have been there to-day and found an angry endorsement upon the note which I had sent by the servant, the purport of which was, that I must not presume to send but must come in person. I remonstrated on the impropriety of the censure, as they had themselves offered me the alternative, but I received only a very short an.