CHAPTER XLV. London; Rothchilds the Bankers; St. Paul's, its Dimensions, Monuments, Dome, Vault, Organ; General Post Office, its Administration, Courtesy, Penny Postage; British Museum, its Curiosities; Egyptian Hall; Catlin's Indian Gallery; Portraits; John Murray; The Dinner; Courtesy; Remarks, &c. HAVING a letter of introduction and credit from the American minister, to the Messrs. Rothchilds, bankers, I called at their banking-house, which is in an obscure narrow lane, a short distance from the Mansion House, and was, without any formality, introduced to the great banker in his private room, and was received by him with all that ease and polite bearing, as is so characteristic with the members of the President's cabinet, and so proverbial throughout the country. Although the great banker was surrounded with papers, letters, &c., he turned from them with a smiling aspect, to know how he could serve me, and to command him in any way to promote my interest while in London, or elsewhere; and in his usual bland manner, continued, by observing, "I like your countrymen very much, although sometimes I am a little vexed when not prompt in their engagements and repudiate just demands, although as a whole people they would never consent to barter their honour and credit for a thousand millions." I found that the great banker was deep in the stocks of the States, and felt a little nettled with some of the proceedings of the Southwestern States for their repudiating principles, as he spoke in exalted terms of the Northern States. On leaving the Rothchilds, I walked up Lombard Street, and turning into St. Paul's Churchyard, (which is a street where all kinds of goods can be had at a much cheaper rate than in any street in London,) where, purchasing a few necessary articles, crossed over and entered the noted Cathedral, the pride of the metropolis. Although St. Paul's stands upon an eminence rising from Fleet Street, yet a person may be near to, and not see it, on account of the buildings around it, until coming into Cheapside, or the Churchyard. It is in the form of a cross, 510 feet in length, in breadth 300 feet; height to the cross 440 feet; from the pavement inside of the church to the beautiful dome, is 360 feet. The best point of view to obtain a general impression of the majesty and beauty of St. Paul's, is, when coming up Ludgate Hill: then it has indeed a sublime grand effect. The best place for seeing the paintings is the Whispering Gallery, which is about 500 feet in circumference, where a low whisper breathed against the wall at any point of the vast circle, may be distinctly heard and understood on the opposite side. The bell on which the hours are struck, has been heard at Windsor Castle, a distance of twenty miles. It was cast in the reign of Edward I., and weighs 12,000 pounds. The weight of the great ball is 6,000 pounds, and will hold sixteen persons; from the ground it appears about as large as a man's head, and is reached by ascending about 600 steps; from it a most magnificent view is had of all London and its environs; people walking the streets appear like emmets moving about from that immense height. The organ is the finest in the kingdom, the sounds clear and mellow, and have a remarkable effect on an auditor standing in the body of the Cathedral. I run over its chords, and played a hymn at the request of the visiters present, to hear its vibrations. The crypts or vaults are silent, dreary mansions, lighted by a few grated windows, some of them very spacious and well worth examining. The monuments on the floor of the Cathedral are many and beautiful; among those to be admired are, Nelson's, Cornwallis, Hay, Rodney, Reynolds, Howe, Howard, Ponsonby, Cook, and Vandyck. These monuments are all of the finest statuary marble, and the statuary faultless. The Tomb of Lord Nelson is in the middle avenue of the crypt. The body of Sir Christopher Wren, who built St. Paul's, lies in the south aisle of the crypt. To attempt to detail all that is worthy of notice in and around St. Paul's, would make a small volume in itself, and require one to visit the Cathedral several times before he becomes acquainted with all its numerous attractions. On leaving St. Paul's, I crossed to the General Post Office, standing at the east end of Newgate Street and Paternoster Row, about one square north of St. Paul's, and was conducted throughout the whole of the immense establishment by one of the principal clerks, Mr. Laman. England claiming the credit of having the post office system under the best regulation in the world, caused me to be more particular while there than I should otherwise have been, to be convinced of the fact; and being somewhat acquainted with the ramifications of public offices, I felt perfectly at home while examining the different rooms, and came away satisfied, that for its financial regulations and convenience, with promptness in delivery, &c., it has no equal in the world. The penny postage not only furnishing the government with a handsome revenue, but accomplishes the highly and important beneficial purposes so important to the people generally throughout the kingdom, and I may say, the world. There are over two hundred receiving houses for the General Post Office in London, in different parts of the city, and some five hundred other places to deposit letters, &c. The British Museum is in Great Russel Street, Bloomsbury, an imposing stately edifice, quadrangular, something of the style of the Tuileries, at Paris, and contains, it is supposed, the largest collection of curiosities of any other institution of the kind in the world; to enumerate all, or even one half, including its ancient manuscripts, would require too much for the pencillings of a tourist, presuming no stranger would visit London without calling several times at the British Museum. At the foot of Bond Street, on Piccadilly, stands Egyptian Hall, in which I found Catlin's celebrated Indian Gallery of portraits of Indians, and curiosities obtained by him while taking his tour among the American tribes. Having resided among several Indian tribes, as United States Special Commissioner, to hold councils for peace, &c., it was pleasing to see in a foreign country the portraits of those chiefs with whom I had held treaties and on terms of the warmest friendship; among them was the portrait of my late friend Osceola, the principal and celebrated head war chief of the Seminoles, in Florida, which cost the United States rising $40,000,000, before that chief could be subdued, and then it was by a most disgraceful stratagem, while under the protection of a flag of truce; the blot never can be erased from the escutcheon of America, and myself being the innocent cause of that chief's capture and subsequent death in a dungeon. Mr. Catlin being an old friend of long standing, I used to pass many hours in his Gallery while in London, and was happy to find he was liberally patronised, including the royal family, which made the Gallery a very fashionable resort by night, and lounge by day. The mild, courteous, and winning manners of Mr. Catlin while in London, won for him golden favours, which he most richly deserved. I had called with Mr. Catlin on John Murray, Esq., the late great publisher in Albemarle Street, who some years previous purchased through my agents the Barings, the copyright for publishing in London, my life of the celebrated "Paul Jones," which run through several editions in Europe, as well as in the United States. Mr. Murray returned my call, and not finding me in, left his card, on which he wrote in pencil, an invitation to dine with him en famille the following day, which I accepted, and fo::nd as sembled at the table, not only his family, but a few of the literati of London, to whom I was formally introduced as the writer of the life of one of the most gallant naval heroes in the American Revolution. From the ancient and costly paintings which decorated the walls, all tastefully arranged by Mr. Murray's talented and accomplished daughter, convinced me he was not only a connoisseur, but a patron of the fine arts. I felt it an enviable honour in having the pleasing satisfaction of ranking among my limited friends in London, one who stood so conspicuous in the literary emporium as the late veteran John Murray, Esq., of Albemarle Street. His stock of information when in conversation, appeared unbounded, and like that veteran statesman Ex-President John Quincy Adams, (with whom I have had the good fortune to have many highly instructive and interesting conversations, not only at the Executive Mansion, but at his own private domicile,) one is never fatigued, and the charm remains unbroken until the voice like melody ceases to vibrate its highly intellectual notes on the sensitive listening ear. True genuine politeness and strict etiquette exists in England to a far greater extent, than some American tourists and authors are willing to accord to the hospitable, high-minded people of that beautiful, wealthy, and sublime country. Some there are who visit England, who probably never move but a few squares round Bond and Regent Streets, in London, and filled with deeply imbibed prejudices formed in early youth, are never willing, it seems, to have them eradicated, emanating most generally from disaffected minds, which, although knowingly in the wrong, have not the honesty and candour to confess their error; hence their unmerited, uncalled for, and unchristian-like remarks, about a country, which all they have seen is in going up to London from Liverpool by railway, at the rate of forty miles the hour, part of the time asleep, and then passing a couple of months lounging around a coffee-house, and through a few fashionable streets, including perhaps Hyde Park, come home with a full knowledge of England and its people. The futile strength of such calibre on both sides of the Atlantic, are becoming known and respected accordingly, by those of liberal views and enlightened sentiments. 19* CHAPTER XLVI. London; Hammersmith; Holland House; Mr. Doo, Artist to Prince Albert; Courtesy; Visit to Windsor Castle; Its Magnificence; The Queen and Court at Windsor; St. George's Chapel; Windsor Park; Virginia Waters; Queen's Yacht; The Ruins; Appearance; Their Immense Cost; Belvidere Battery; Cascade; Artificial Cave; Queen's Fishing Temple and Yacht; The Game Keeper; Royal Lodge; Cumberland Lodge. HAVING received an invitation from Mr. Doo, at Hammersmith, the accomplished artist to Prince Albert, to dine en famille, and examine his studio, I took an omnibus at the Red Lion, Piccadilly, three hours previous to the hour of dining, in order to have time to visit Holland House on the way, and examine Mr. Doo's fine collection, he having promised me a peep at the full-length likeness of Prince Albert, from life, which had not been seen by any one save the Prince himself, it not having had, as it is termed, the finishing touch. Hammersmith is a beautiful village, about three miles from Hyde Park Corner; to a stranger, it would appear as attached to, or the city proper, as the houses and lamps continue the whole distance, with paved sidewalks. In riding out, the omnibus passes up Piccadilly, by Hyde Park Corner, and Kensington Gardens and Palace on the right, Lady Blessington's on the left, and a little beyond, on the right, the beautiful park in the centre of which is seen rising above the ancient elms, the turrets of Holland House, with its massive iron gilded gates. When opposite its gates, I stepped out (the omnibus passing on) and entered the park, and by a romantic serpentine gravelled carriage way arrived at the ancient portal without seeing a living object, save two young fawns, who followed me to the house. Holland House is ancient, of brick, having several wings and towering turrets, built like a French nobleman's chateau, and the only building of the kind in London. Sounding the summons, the doors were immediately opened by two polite servants in rich livery, to whom I stated my wish and from whence I came. I was informed the family were away, but if I wished to see the house it would |