end this fortnight.

Moreover,' added he, a

much smaller matter will pass your shawls and crapes here than above."

6

"His advice was followed. We soon bade adieu to the Victory, which I really left with regret ; and a tear fell on Captain Braithwaite's hand as I pressed it to my heart in gratitude for his unremitting kindness to me and my family. May we soon meet in London!' said I; and the cutter pulled away towards the shore. The current down the Channel, however, was so strong that night overtook us, and we spent it far less pleasantly than we should have done on board the ship.

"Next morning the sun rose in splendour, and a gentle breeze carried us under the stupendous bulwarks below the harbour of Dover, into which we entered through a majestic gap in the cliffs, whose height and grandeur strike the unaccustomed eye with astonishment. There is something so sublime, too, in the old castle, that my memory recurs to it with awe. These gigantic cliffs stand towering above the sea, which seems, at some distant period, to have burst for itself a

passage into the German Ocean, between Calais and the English coast.*

"We were soon on shore, and comfortably accommodated by Mrs. Jell, whose kindness and attention heartily welcomed us to England, and impressed us warmly in her favour. It must be admitted, however, that any one accustomed to the open virandas and bazars of Indian towns, and to the light dresses of Asiatics, beholds the closed doors and windows of English houses, the retired closeness of the shops, and the muffled appearance of every one in winter, with dissatisfaction. Instead of the pleasure I expected to fill my breast, on beholding objects once familiar, a melancholy sensation stole over my mind. Such is the effect of habit; it obliterates early impressions, and makes a new creature of man.

>

"I was, moreover, chagrined at the seizure of my trunks, which were carried by the revenueofficer's order to the custom-house, whither I was desired to follow with my keys, to witness their examination. However, while full of apprehen

* Pennant and some other writers have entertained this idea, and reasoned upon it with much plausibility and force.

sion respecting some Indian presents which I had brought with me for relations, I was accosted by a gentleman-like person, who gave me to understand, that if I followed his advice and conformed to usage, every difficulty would be surmounted. He certainly had the necessary influence. started for London next day.

I

"The road from Dover to the metropolis crosses a fine rich country; it seems a continued street of seventy-two miles, through Canterbury, Rochester, Chatham, and their dependent villages, diversified by gardens and parks. Every thing was new to my children. I was amused each moment with 'O, papa, look at this!' and 'O, mamma, look at that!' But what pleased me most was the surprise of my little girl, who, seeing the effect of a heavy shower of snow for the first time, exclaimed in rapture-O, papa, do look at the trees covered with beautiful white flowers.*

"We entered the suburbs of London late in the evening, and the city soon appeared to our right and left, opening into long vistas studded with The prospect was indescribably charming as we passed every new street. The prodigious

stars.

display of wealth in the magnificently-lighted shops dazzled the eyes of my wife and little ones, and indeed filled my own with wonder. My children clapped their hands, and strove to express their admiration, notwithstanding the rattle of the coach along the pavement. Will this never end?' thought I, as the carriage rattled along for many a mile this amazing city by far exceeds the accounts I have read of it, though I pronounced many of them exaggerations.' At length the coachman pulled up at the New Black Bear, in Piccadilly; and, next morning, I procured comfortable lodgings at the west end of the town.

N. V.

LONDON.

A mighty mass of brick, and smoke, and shipping,
Dirty and dusky, but as wide as eye

Could reach, with here and there a sail just skipping
In sight, then lost amidst the forestry

Of masts; a wilderness of steeples peeping

On tiptoe through their sea-coal canopy;

A huge dun cupola, like a foolscap-crown
On a fool's head-and there is London town!

BYRON.

"SEATED in a snug room, well curtained and secured from the biting blast, with a blazing fire, a pair of mould candles, a smoking veal-cutlet, and a bottle of generous wine, my eye rested with delight on the bright faces of my wife and children.

"Come, my dear,' said I, 'take a glass on occasion of our safe arrival in the land of com