interest which London then presents, become so overwhelmingly numerous, that one cannot fail to regard it as magnificent and grand; or reflect upon it as a whole, without feelings, almost, of awe. London, which a few hundred years ago was a weak and unimportant city, inhabited by people unlettered, nay, almost barbarous, may now be regarded as the storehouse of the world: whether, as relates to the productions of ingenuity, or the qualities of the mind-the central spot in the civilized globe, where are concentrated, portions of all that are powerful, intellectual and good. Let us not however, be led away to vanity; for almost equally great were the cities of Babylon, and Nineveh, and Palmyra, and Tyre-equally powerful in relations, equally rich in possessions; yet these are now no more; a few stones alone remain to circumstantiate the record, that there, once dwelt the mighty, the learned, and the luxurious of the earth.

In the immediate neighbourhood of the church of which we are about to speak, that of St. Bartholomew, near the Exchange, are the greater number of those establishments required by all commercial nations, for facilitating business; such as the Bank, by which are regulated the money operations of the community; the Royal Exchange, where merchants of all countries assemble to make their various arrangements; and the Stock Exchange, the resort of those who deal in government securities; and it is to these places, that the stranger should go, who would obtain any knowledge of the enormous amount of business transacted in London, and of the degree of effectiveness and dispatch which may be ensured by organization.

The Rectory of St. Bartholomew by the Exchange, the church belonging to which we have now to describe, was anciently in the possession of Simon Godart, a citizen;

and afterwards belonged to the Abbot and Convent of our Lady of Grace, a Cistertian Abbey near the Tower of London, which was founded by Edward III. in the year of our Lord, 1349.1

At the dissolution of their monastery, the crown obtained possession of this rectory; and the right of presentation is now exercised by the Lord Chancellor.

The church appears to have been rebuilt about the year 1438, by Thomas Pike, Alderman, and Nicholas Yeo, a Sheriff of London; and about 70 years afterwards, Sir William Capel, Mayor, who suffered much from Empson and Dudley, the venal ministers of Henry VII., built a chapel on the south side of the church, and was afterwards buried there. Nothing remains of the old church but the tower, and a portion of the walls at the west end and the north side (where there is also a small turret with staircase leading to the roof) the interior of the building having been consumed by fire in 1666. The present building is from the designs of Sir Christopher Wren, and was completed in the year 1679. It consists of a nave and side ailes, formed by Tuscan columns and arches, which spring directly from them (without the intervention of an entablature) and support a clere-story containing windows on both sides, as represented in the annexed engraving. The ceiling is divided into panels; and an organ and a carved altar-piece of oak occupy the usual situations. Beneath the organ a lobby is formed by a screen, and from this, doorways open into Bartholomew Lane, and Threadneedle Street.

1 "The Abbot and monks were possessed, at the dissolution, of £546 Os. 10d. per annum, according to Dugdale, and £602. 11s. 10d. according to Speed; and the site of their house was granted 34 Henry VIII. to Sir Arthur Darcy; in place of which is now, on Tower Hill, the victualling office of the Royal Fleet." Tanner's " Notitia Monastica." Middlesex. VIII.

There are no monuments in the church requiring notice. The body of Miles Coverdale, bishop of Exeter, and one of the earliest Reformers, lies beneath the communion table; but there does not appear to be any tablet to record the fact, the original having been destroyed when the church was burnt; a circumstance to be regretted, and which should be remedied.

Coverdale was born in 1487; and is said to have been one of the first who taught the gospel in its purity and dedicated himself wholly to the Reformation. In 1532, being abroad, he assisted Tyndale to translate the Bible into English, and a few years afterwards, published a translation of his own, which was the first that received the royal sanction. The life and writings of Coverdale are interesting matters in the history of the reformed Church of England. He was in early life an Augustinian Monk, but was converted to protestantism, and exerted his best faculties and influence in advocating its cause. In August 1557, he was advanced to the See of Exeter, and availed himself of that station to preach frequently in the Cathedral, and in other churches of Exeter. Thomas Lord Cromwell patronized him, and Queen Catherine Parr appointed him her almoner. At the funeral of that ill-fated lady, he preached a sermon at Sudeley Castle. When Mary came to the throne, she soon exerted her authority in tyrannically ejecting and persecuting this amiable and learned prelate. By an act of council 1554-5, he was allowed to

passe towards Demmarche with two servants, his bagges and baggage," where he remained till the death of the Queen. On returning home, he declined to be reinstated in his See, but repeatedly preached at "Paul's Cross; and from conscientious scruples continued to live in obscurity and indigence till 1563, when he was presented to

the Rectory of St. Magnus, 'London Bridge, which he

resigned in two years.

Dying in the year 1568, at the age interred in this church.1

of eighty-one, he was

Of the exterior of the building, we present two views ; one of the west end, and another, which represents it as viewed from the Royal Exchange. In both the old tower is seen, and no one can fail to remark the peculiar termination which was given to it by Wren, at the time that he rebuilt the body of the church. It has all the appearance of an unfinished structure; indeed it might be imagined that the upper part of the tower had been blown down, leaving, on each side, a door-way, or window-frame, standing alone.

1 See a review of his life and writings in Britton's History &c. of Exeter Cathedral.

1

The Rector of St. Bartholomew, is the Rev. George Shepherd, D. D. and the Rev. Rowland Smith, M. A. is the curate. Several lectures, founded by pious individuals, are read in this church during the week; 1 amongst which that delivered on each Tuesday morning by the Rev. Watts Wilkinson, B. A. who appears to be almost the patriarch of divines, is the most numerously attended. This lecture was founded by William Jones, citizen and haberdasher in 1614, and is in the gift of the Haberdashers' Company.

Immediately opposite to the church under consideration, is the building erected for the purposes of the "Bank of England," and it would not be excusable were we to neglect the opportunity here offered of paying a passing tribute to the talent of its architect the late Sir John Soane. Although perhaps deficient in height, and occasionally disfigured by vagaries in style, this must be regarded as one of the most successful efforts of modern architectural skill and its designer deserves the more praise, insomuch as it may be looked upon as one of the earliest attempts to introduce a bolder and purer style of architecture than that which was brought into notice by the Adams' and their contemporaries.

1 A lecture is read here every Wednesday and Friday; the former, founded in 1531. by Richard Croshaw, Goldsmith; and the latter, by Richard Fishborne, Mercer, in 1625; both of which are preached by the Rev. R. Smith, the curate, to whom we offer thanks for his polite attention to our inquiries. Another lecture delivered here on the last Saturday in every month was founded by Hugh Perry, in 1630.