New Hampshire Statesman

MISCELLANY.

ENGLAND.

Extract of letters from one of the proprietors of the New-York Daily Advertiser, Dated at London,

LONDON, May 8th, 1825.

Liverpool is a beautiful town. The docks are wonderful indeed, particularly the new dock. The approach to Liverpool is hazardous in the extreme. They want the bay of New-York. The exchange in this town surpasses that of any in Europe. What astonished me most was the immense size of the cart horses, their carts and their loads, they draw. The cart itself, I think, weighs more than a New-York cart, horse, hhd. of sugar and the carmen in the bargain, and on one of these ponderous vehicles I counted twenty-six bales of cotton, drawn by two horses with great ease. The people look very much like New Yorkers, and are quite sociable. Their living is twice the price of living in New York, and what I hate above all things is, after having paid the landlord double fare, one is obliged to pay the servants—for transient persons the rule is nine-pence a day for the head waiter, sixpence a day for the chambermaid, and threepence a day for boots as he is termed. Then come the coaches—the fare outside from Liverpool to Birmingham is one pound two—then comes the guard, he must have his shilling for such a distance, and the coachman must have his—if the guards or coachmen are changed, you must pay the new ones. Servants pay their masters large sums of money, in some cases, to wait upon gentlemen in public houses, and they must be remunerated by passengers. Coachmen, guards, and all indeed not from wages but from gratuitous presents; and one is bound to comply with their custom.

Oxford is a beautiful city. The colleges, some of which were built in the thirteenth century, have rather an old look—somewhat wrinkled and furrowed—but gothic and magnificent in the highest degree. Indeed as the colleges are scattered all over the city, it appears as though there were no other buildings there—between 4000 and 5000 students at present, are at this ancient place of learning.

Nothing pleased me better than a visit to the house in which Shakespeare was born, in Stratford upon Avon. The coachman gave us half-hour for dinner at this town and although quite hungry, I postponed the dinner to pay a visit to the birth place of the celebrated poet. The house is on the main street the lower part occupied as a butcher's shop. It is a miserable looking place, very narrow and low, and rough enough for a stable. The room in which Shakespeare was born, is about 14 or 15 feet square, low ceiling, and built as though it was intended the house should last forever, as most of the English houses are built.

I found the walls, sides and overhead, written, so full of names, that it was quite difficult to find a space sufficiently large to put down mine. On passing through the butcher's shop (he occupies the first story) I looked sharply at his meats, for there seemed to be music in the very bones of the joints.

For ten miles before you got to Birmingham the coal smoke suffocates one. I have often heard of their inventions for consuming their own smoke in England—they must mean by the inhabitants, for each one appeared to me as though he had been assisting in the consumption.

I am delighted with the appearance of the country. All England is like a flower garden—indeed is so highly cultivated and so beautiful, that one gets almost fatigued with seeing such a continued sameness of beautiful fields and hedge fences. Above all, nothing can compare with the neatness of the English cottage. They look so neat, and are enlivened in their appearance by such a profusion of flowers, which are to be seen in every window, as well as in their gardens—and then too, the smiling and healthy countenances of the cottager and his family, with cheeks as red as the rose, and eyes as bright as a new sovereign—one has little time for any thing but admiration at such as these.

England was never so prosperous as at the present moment, and the most perfect good will, and most friendly feeling, exists towards America. The people speak of our country with admiration, and so far I have found them agreeable and sociable to such a degree that a blush is constantly put upon American manners.

I was not very much surprised at any thing I had seen until I had reached London. I entered this world of a metropolis at Hyde Park corner, the fashionable and west end of the town. To describe to you my feelings I cannot. It was at the moment, when all the fashionable and nobles of gentry were in motion. It appeared to me that what I saw was magic—that the whole world had met in a single street—thousands of carriages, with servants in splendid gold and silver livery, elegantly dressed with white coats, red plush breeches, buckles in their shoes, cocked hats laced with gold and silver two servants behind a carriage with staffs in their hands—then the beautiful horses and glittering harnesses. These carriages were coming from the various streets towards the main street, and add to these a thousand vehicles of different descriptions, men on horseback, and the great mass of foot passengers—my conscience! what did I expect but that every moment a tremendous rush would be made, and horses, and carriages, and people all be dashed to atoms; yet they passed each other like magic without apparently a touch, although the space which a carriage would pass, or a heavy wagon with six horses tandem, appeared to be not half large enough for a wheelbarrow.

I have not been so much gratified at any thing I have seen since I have been in London, as I was this day at an exhibition at St. Paul's Church. On Thursday next is the anniversary meeting of charity children belonging to the various schools in and about London. To-day the children all appeared for rehearsal. I really wish you could have been here. Temporary seats were erected under the dome of this great building, running from the floor to the height of about twenty-five feet, around the whole area, representing a great amphitheatre. These seats were divided by iron railings or rods, running from the floor to the highest benches, so as to give to each school a certain space The children were marched in line into the church and to the place allotted to them; the boys occupying ten or fifteen benches from the top, and the girls the remainder of the benches immediately below them. In this way were seated about eight thousand children.

The children of each school were differently dressed, some of the boys were dressed wholly in red, others in blue, light blue, brown gray and dun colour. The girls were also dressed in various coloured garments or frocks, but all of them wore white aprons, white handkerchiefs around their necks and over their bosoms, and caps with borders; but every school was distinguished by a different colored ribbon around their caps. The whole of the children wore brass badges of five or six inches in circumference. The whispering of these children, and of the spectators, with the noise of footsteps, caused a constant roar in this wonderful building, which resembled the roaring a thousand waterfalls, and struck me with astonishment.—

For the purpose of having a full and unobstructed view of this most splendid scene, I made my way up to what is called the whispering gallery, which is about 160 feet above the children, and which runs around the dome, with iron railings, over which a person can look upon the scene below. I have no language to describe the scene I looked down upon. The distance was too great to distinguish the faces of the children. The various schools of females were distinctly marked and I can only compare them and their movements to rich beds of tulips, moved by a gentle breeze. Sometimes when no motion was perceptible, the children of one school would resemble an immense bed spread elegantly ornamented with various colors, which their gowns their white aprons, the color of the ribbon on their caps, and their faces, would form. Looking in another direction, the children appeared like so many hundred rolls of cotton which had been carded, and stood up in rows, each roll having an ornament on the top, and whenever the whole of them rose up, the motion appeared as though the wind had gently bended over their heads, and when they sat down, as if their heads had again become righted.

The appearance of the male children also had a most singular effect. Sitting close together, at the distance I looked upon them, each school appeared to be one solid mass, and varying from each other in their dress, each could be distinctly seen. They appeared to me like large squares of most elegant floor cloth; their dresses, their white neck cloths, worn with so much regularity, their faces and heads formed the various colors.—

The whole appearance of these children was truly deceptive to the eye, yet most beautiful. But when they all sung together, and with such precision as to time, that not a discordant or misplaced note, was heard, accompanied by the great organ, which is most immediately under the dome, how can I convey to you the effect of eight thousand voices, and the sounds of the organ, all ascending the great dome, upon my ears! It was deafening, yet so sweet, and so full of melody, and so distinct withal, that every word of the psalms was heard. The vast concave seemed ready to burst with the melody, which passed the gallery where I stood, and ascended to its top, which is nearly four hundred feet above those from whom the music proceeded.

Truly, such a scene as this I never expected to witness, but it was my good fortune to be present, and never, never can it be effaced from my memory.

It was a considerable time after I reached the gallery ere I could look over the railings upon the scene below, such appeared the distance, and so alarmed were my ears lest by dilapidation the railing might give way and send me down upon the mass beneath. These fears, however, gradually subsided, as I saw others, and females, standing in crowds against the railings, but more particularly as my feelings were moved and soon interested with the heavenly sounds, arising as though it were almost to the very skies, from eight thousand living voices, returning thanks to God for those great charities which they were receiving through his infinite goodness and mercy. I remained until the whole ceremony was finished. On Thursday it will be repeated, when the royal family and the nobility of England will probably be present.

In addition to the children, there were from 4 to 6000 persons present. These occupied benches placed immediately under the dome, on the floor, in the centre of the children, and which run along one of the great halls, or passages, the back seats being elevated, giving the spectators a full view of the whole. In the centre of these benches is a pulpit but not elevated, where the service is performed. One person directs the whole of the singing. He uses something in his hand like a rule, which he elevates and keeps time with. The movement of this is seen by the organist in a mirror near the organ, which directs him when to play. I shall endeavour to get in on Thursday if possible. The members of the church and others are allowed to give a ticket away, but the whole number of citizens admitted is small, in consequence of the room required by the nobility.