High Constable of the Tower, it was my intention, could I have had the honour of presenting to him my letter, of asking him to grant my wish to visit the Tower at leisure; being disappointed, I asked the advice of an influential friend, who replied " Address the Duke a note at Walmur Castle, enclosing to him the letter of introduction." I did so immediately, and the next afternoon the penny post handed me a letter from Walmur Castle written and superscribed by the Duke's own hand. Showing it to my friend, he was equally as surprised as myself,-observing that there were antiquarians in London who would give £10 for it: and after the Duke's death, £20, as he seldom took a pen in hand, except only to sign his name officially to some public document. The next morning, early, stepping into an omnibus in Piccadilly, I was soon threading my way through the Strand and Fleet Street, for the Tower of London. The governor being absent, I stated my wish to the officer of the day, who politely observed "it would afford him great pleasure to see that my wish was gratified:" and, sending for one of the men-at-arms, who was in the rich costume of two centuries past, gave him his instructions, and for four hours we were roaming through its rooms, vaults, cells, &c., and for half an hour examining the celebrated costly crown jewels by lamplight. The splendid Imperial Crown, made for Queen Victoria, has in front a large Jerusalem cross, entirely frosted with brilliants, and in its centre a unique sapphire, two inches long, of the purest and deepest azure, all presenting, under the reflections of the lamps, a dazzling succession of colours.

The Horse Armory, in itself, is worth a jaunt across the Atlantic to examine. The room is 150 feet by 33, all arranged in chronological order-no less a number than twenty-two equestrian figures, comprising many of the most celebrated Kings of England, accompanied by their favourite lords and men of rank, all of them, together with their horses, in the armour of the respective periods when they flourished; many, indeed, in the identical suits in which they appeared while living. The horses stand, mounted by their riders, almost without any visible support, on a brick floor, and it is some time before one can do away with the impression that all he sees is not reality. The imposing magnificence and deep interest which pervade this scene is probably unequalled. A crusader, upon his barbed horse, is deserving of a little time to examine, said to be 700 years old. Near him is a man-at-arms, of the fifteenth century, 7 feet high in gigantic armour; and Henry the Eighth, in armour, on horseback.

The Tower was a palace during 500 years, and only ceased to be so on the accession of Queen Elizabeth. Here fell Henry the Sixth; Clarence; Edward the Sixth and his brother, the Duke of York; the two last by order of Richard the Third. The room

in which these innocents were murdered, was shown me; also the rooms in which were confined Sir Walter Raleigh, Queen Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, the Earl of Essex, and Sir Guilford Dudley; the axe which took off the heads of the last four persons, was placed in my hands, and I stood upon the spot where each one of them was made to suffer.-The principal buildings are the Church, The White Tower, Governor's house, Bloody Tower, Jewel Office, Ordnance Office, Horse Armory, Queen Elizabeth's Armory, Artillery and Tent Room. Some of the walls are 17 feet in thickness. In the room of torment, were the thumb screw, the collar of torment, the bilboa, or yoke, the cravat, an engine for locking together the hands, feet and neck, before being placed on the rack. The small-arm armory is over 350 feet in length, and when I saw it, contained over 150,000 stand of arms, most beautifully and tastefully arranged. I took a seat in the Tower barge, and was rowed through the Traitor's Gate, ascended the steps, and stood on the landing stone where all state prisoners were received. From there I passed through the dismal winding passages to the different courts, rooms, prisons, &c., on to the banks of the broad moat that surrounds the Tower, and crossing the drawbridge stood on the "Devil's Battery," still mounted with heavy cannon. The Tower has four gates of entrance.

On leaving the Tower, I took a waterman, and was rowed a mile down the Thames, to see the celebrated Tunnel, landing first at Wapping; then rowed over to the Surrey side, and for one shilling was permitted to pass through it. Its length, to Wapping, is thirteen hundred feet; width, thirty-eight feet; height, twentytwo feet; width of each carriage-way fourteen feet including sidewalks. It is brilliantly lighted with gas. The carriage-ways are laid with cement, hard as stone, and very smooth. The Tunnel, is 30 feet below the bed of the river, over which, hundreds of ships, of all nations, daily sail. A register is kept in the Tunnel, for all visiters to enter their names. Among them, I saw the autographs of many distinguished Americans.

The tourist should make the Tower and Tunnel his first objects on visiting London. On returning he can take the river up to London Bridge, passing the Tower, Custom House, Somerset House, all the shipping, with a fine view of St. Paul's, the Bridge, and Monument; or, crossing over to Wapping, he can take an outside seat on an omnibus, and for sixpence will be taken over Tower Hill, Minories, Leadenhall Street, Cheapside, Poultry, Cornhill, Newgate, Skinner Street, High Holborn to Oxford street, some four or five miles through the heart and most busy parts of London; and his outside seat will afford him a fine opportunity of seeing and taking notes of all that is worthy of observation.

On passing through Lombard Street, the next morning, I called at" No. 43," it being once the residence of the late unfortunate Lady Jane Shore. The house is now occupied by a fishmonger. On stating the object of my call, the good woman, with a true English smile of welcome, conducted me to the sleeping room where once rested the unfortunate Jane Shore, once the gayest of the gay, and the most beautiful woman in London, in whose streets she died of starvation, by a cruel edict of the crown. The hostess would take nothing for her trouble, but seeing an aged poor woman as I came out of the door, looking most wishfully at a small bunch of fish, I took them up and presented them to her, and throwing on the fishmonger's stall the value of them, and receiving a smile with thanks from both, I took my way to the first restaurant for a late lunch.

CHAPTER XVII.

London; St. James' Palace; The Horse Guards; Admiralty; Treasury; Downing Street; Banqueting House; Westminster Abbey; Extensive prospect from the Towers; The Cloisters; Tombs ; Chapels; Westminster Hall; Its magnitude; Carlton House; Marlborough House, the residence of the Queen Dowager; National Gallery; Its Paintings and Statuary; Haymarket Theatre; Italian Opera House; Its dimensions; The Royal box; Rehearsal; ChitChat; Politeness of its Manager; Waning of the Drama; Somerset House; Invitation from the Duke of Sutherland; Hint to the Tourist.

THE tourist on his approach to London, by land or water, or in his first ramble through it, cannot fail to be struck by the magnificent edifices which meet his enraptured gaze. A faint sketch of them will be attempted in the following chapters, and will be found deserving of the attention of the tourist on his first arrival in the great metropolis.

St. James' Palace was built and occupied by King Henry the Eighth and his Queen, Anne Boleyn. It is of brick, standing on Pall Mall, and facing St. James' Street, the street on which stands Crockford's and other fashionable Club houses. The rear of this palace and court-yard are on St. James' Park. Its external ap

pearance is very venerable. It was in the chapel of this palace that Victoria gave her hand to Prince Albert, in which the Queen has her pew in the gallery, facing the pulpit, (the organ on her left,) to which I was invited, and seated myself in the Queen's velvet chair in the pew, as well as in the altar chair, in which her Majesty rested after the marriage ceremony. The Queen holds all her levees in St. James' Palace, which has but little furniture, as no one is permitted to sit in presence of Royalty on such occasions. All the chandeliers and pier glasses are magnificent, and when all the five saloons are thrown open and illuminated, they have an enchanting appearance.

On leaving St. James' Palace, I walked down Pall Mall to

Charing Cross, and turned into White Hall, on my way to Westminster Abbey. The Horse Guards, or War Office, stands on White Hall, and is an elegant building of stone. A regiment of Horse guards are stationed here at all times, where is transacted the business connected with the departments of the army. The Admiralty adjoins the Horse Guards, and is a large brick building, containing the apartments of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. The Treasury is beyond, facing Parliament Street on the east. The front is of stone, and a noble pile to behold. Vaulted passages run beneath the offices from St. James' Park to Parliament and Downing Streets. Downing Street is a short street running into Parliament street, and is where all business of a foreign nature is transacted. The Banqueting House is opposite the Horse Guards; before this house, on a scaffold erected on that occasion, Charles the First was beheaded, on the 30th of January, 1648. The King passed from the Banqueting House to the scaffold through one of the windows; though now blocked up, the place is still discernible. Continuing down Parliament Street, and passing Westminster Bridge, on the left, the tourist will stand in front of Westminster Abbey. Its common entrance is at the "Poets' Corner," and very properly named, for here are to be found the names, on marble tablets, of Chaucer, Spenser, Shakspeare, Ben Jonson, Milton, Dryden, Butler, Thomson, Gay, Goldsmith, Addison, Samuel Johnson, &c., &c.; also, the tombs of Garrick, Handel and Chambers. The tomb of Dr. Watts is in the south aisle. Near the great gates, and opposite the tomb of the Earl of Chatham, lie the remains of Charles James Fox and William Pitt, two great political rivals. Lord Mansfield's monument is at the north end of the cross aisle; his lordship is represented in judges' robes, sitting on the seat of justice. In Edward the Confessor's Chapel, are to be seen two chairs, in which the kings and queens of England are crowned, and for a sixpence any person can sit in them and imagine himself a king. Henry the Seventh's Chapel is one of the finest and most highly finished pieces of Gothic architecture in the world; it is contiguous to the eastern extremity of the Abbey. The cloisters are on the south side of the church, from which there is a door leading to them. The prospect from the tower is more beautiful, though less extensive, than that from St. Paul's. The many fine situations and open sites at the west end of the town, and its environs, occasion the difference. The Banqueting House, at White Hall, St. James' Park, with the parade and Horse Guards, Carlton House, Queen's Private Gardens, Green Park, Western end of Piccadilly, and Hyde Park, with its river, all lie at once under the eye, and compose a most grand and delightful scene. Then the two bridges of Westminster and Blackfriars, with the broad expanse of water between them; the Adelphi and Somerset