tomb, and raising her bleeding finger, as if to excite compassion, while she is looking at it, with a dismal expression of pain and fear.

The modern monuments are much more dignified; they represent living men in natural attitudes and situations, and excite interest, sympathy, and impressions of solemnity.

Among these I was particularly pleased with the monuments of Lord Mansfield, Lord Chatham, General Wolfe, and Captain Montague. From these scenes I returned home, meditating on the vanity of human pursuits, the emptiness of sepulchral glory, and the poor rewards of fame, even when its object is enshrined in Westminster Abbey.

London already begins to grow to a considerable degree familiar, and I now find my way from one part of the town to another without difficulty. But the place is hugely overgrown. If one has concerns of business, or engagements of civility of any considerable extent, the probability is, that he must travel eight or ten miles a day, and of

ten more.

May 30.-London is justly renowned, all the world over, for its charitable institutions. As I was passing by St. Paul's this morning, I found no small difficulty in winding my way through an immense crowd, assembled around the church, to see the procession of the charity children, who, to the number of six or seven thousand, assemble annually at St. Paul's, on the last Thursday of May.

I met several companies of them dressed in uniform; they appeared neat, healthy, and cheerful, and were of both sexes, and generally under twelve years of age. I regretted that I had no means of procuring admission to

the religious exercises of the day. It was a thing which money would not buy, and which I had no one to procure for me.

On my way back, I stopped an hour at Pidcock's Menage in the Strand. This is by far the most extensive and interesting collection of living animals that I have ever seen. It exceeds that in the Tower. But it is impossible for me, my dear brother, to give any thing like a complete description of the various collections and curiosities which every day brings to my notice. You would not have patience to read, nor have I time to write such long details. All that I can do is to connect with the history of my life in this country, general notices of the interesting things which I see, with descriptions of such particulars as strike me most forcibly. Even this will perhaps be tedious, but my apology must be, that my principal motive for writing this journal, was to comply with your wishes, and to gratify a few other friends, whose affectionate partiality will induce them to overlook the unavoidable egotism of a performance, in which the writer must constantly speak of himself, if he would be faithful to the truth. One may, it is true, like Cæsar, substitute the third person for the first, but this is a mere parade of modesty, and, in any man less famous than Cæsar, would be justly considered as evincing the very thing which it would seek to hide.

Among the large animals at Pidcock's, are two royal tigers from Bengal; a lion and a lioness; two large and fierce panthers from South America, elegantly spotted like the leopard; a hunting leopard or tiger from the East-Indies, a small but beautiful animal which is used by the Asiatic princes in hunting; it is said that they carry

them on the pommel of the saddle, from which they spring upon their prey, particularly the antelope. There were two hyenas, animals which no degree of kindness or familiarity with man can at all soften from their native ferocity; a nhyl-ghaw, a large animal resembling the elk in form, but having a head like that of a horse, except that it is crowned with horns.

The elephant held the first rank in size. This animal was nearly nine feet high, and looks more like a huge rock than a living animal. It is wonderful with what ease he "wields his lithe proboscis." It answers him all the purposes of a hand, and as Buffon remarks, he carries his nose in the same organ, and thus unites touch, smell, and the power of grasping, all in one member. Without it he certainly could not subsist. I threw a small key among the straw on the floor, when, by the direction of his keeper, he found it with his proboscis, and gave it to me. Being asked how many gentlemen there were in the room, he gave as many short breathings as corresponded to the number, and the same for the ladies; in the same manner he told the ages of two children that were present;-he bolted and unbolted the doors, picked up my cane and gave it to me, took off the keeper's hat and put it on, thrust his proboscis into my waistcoat pocket, and took out a piece of money that was there, &c. Well might Mr. Pope call him "half reasoning elephant.”

Among the smaller animals were several kangaroos; they have very short fore legs and very long hind ones, on which they stand erect, and one of them had been taught to box with his keeper, while in this attitude, and might have made a very tolerable pupil of Mendoza, with at least as much that was human about him.

There was a very great collection of monkeys and baboons; but with this burlesque on the human form, I am always disgusted, and feel disposed to say, as the king of England, under the title of king of the Brobdinags, is represented in a late caricature print, as saying of Bonaparte, under the character of Gulliver. The king, with an-opera glass at his eye, looks intently at the little invader, whom he holds up between his thumb and finger, while he petulantly exclaims, "I am of opinion that it is a most odious little animal!"

I must not omit to mention the little bull taken from the menagerie of Tippoo Saib, at Seringapatam. He is only two feet seven inches high, and is kept in a garret, around which he runs like a cat.

No. XIV.-LONDON.

Mr. West-His sentiments on the progress of the fine arts---Anecdote of the King and Mr. West-An excursion into the country ---Singular whim of a Dutchman.

MR. WEST.

May 31.-I dined to-day at the house of Mr. West. At his table I unexpectedly met the author of the Vision of Columbus.

Mr. West is a venerable old man of 70. His head is white as snow, but he exhibits no other marks of age. He has much ease, affability, and simplicity of manners, with a kindness of deportment which enables one to be immediately unembarrassed in his society. His house is 18

VQL. I.

adorned with a profusion of fine pictures, but I did not take the liberty of inquiring which were his. I endeavoured to draw him into conversation upon the subject of the fine arts, in one department of which, that of historical painting, you know he has gained the first rank. He very obligingly yielded to my wishes, and gave me an interesting and instructive historical sketch of the rise and progress of the fine arts in England. With this subject he seemed to be perfectly acquainted. He dates their origin from the time of the third Edward, and he enumerated the painters, architects, and sculptors, who had flourished in the different reigns. But, so little progress had these things made, even at the close of the reign of George II. when Mr. West came to England, that he declared the country was at that time almost destitute of the cultivators of the fine arts;—more destitute in his opinion than America now is. But, he added, that England could now boast of more than three hundred distinguished painters and sculptors. Along with this progress in the fine arts, he had traced a growing refinement and humanity in the manners of the people. Formerly, every young gentleman was obliged to learn boxing, to defend himself against the insults of the mob, which he was sure to receive in walking the streets; but now, there is universal decorum and civility in the manners of the lower ranks.

He inquired concerning the state of society in America, and particularly of the progress of the fine arts. He thought that they had already attained a great degree of attention, considering the age of the country, and seemed very much gratified with the introduction of the plaster casts of the celebrated statues of antiquity, into NewYork. He said he would not relinquish the idea of revis