number of poor wretches covered with crimes are precipitated into eternity, whilst the frequency of these spectacles brutalizes the lower classes of mankind. In the province of Pensylvania, capital punishments are abolished, nor has their abolition been found to injure society. Solitary imprisonment, recommended by the benevolent Howard, answers valuable purposes-few criminals are so depraved as not to feel its efficacy.

On the south side of Blackheath, stands Lee Church, an ancient structure, in a secluded situation. Here lie buried, among many other celebrated characters, Halley the astronomer (which has been already noticed), and Parsons the comedian. The latter was well known in the gay world for his powers of wit and mimickry; the former will be revered for his discoveries in science, particularly in astronomy and navigation

Immortal Halley! thy unwearied soul

On wisdom's pinion flew from pole to pole,
Th' uncertain compass to its task restor'd;
Each ocean fathom'd, and each wind explor'd;
Commanded trade with every breeze to fly,
And gave to Britain half the Zemblian sky!

CAWTHORNE.

The church-yard is also decorated by a monument to the memory of Lord Dacre, which the late Lady Dacre used to visit daily with devotion. Such circumstances show the power which the association of ideas holds over the mind. To an in

MORDEN COLLEGE.

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stance of a similar kind, Akenside refers in the

following lines:

-Ask the faithful youth

Why the cold urn of her whom long he lov'd
So often fills his arm, so often draws

His lonely footsteps at the silent hour,

To pay the mournful tribute of his tears?
Oh! he will tell thee that the wealth of worlds
Should ne'er seduce his bosom to forego
That sacred hour, when, stealing from the noise
Of care and envy, sweet remembrance sooths
With virtue's kindest looks his aching breast,
And turns his tears to rapture!

A little higher up, on the same side of the heath, we perceived Morden College, founded by Sir John Morden, a Turkey merchant, who died in 1708; it is designed to be the residence of decayed merchants, of which thirty-five are now cherished beneath its roof. Such institutions "rock the cradle of declining age," and their founders leave behind them lasting proofs of their kindness and generosity.

Near the college was buried, in 1752, pursuant to his will, a very eccentric character, Thomas Cooke, Esq.-His corpse was placed upright in the ground, covered only with a winding sheet; the coffin, in which it was conveyed to the place of interment, being left for the first pensioner it would fit! His funeral was attended by twelve poor men, members of a club at Stoke Newington, where he died. To each of these he bequeathed a guinea and a suit of clothes, on condition of keeping themselves sober; otherwise the legacy was

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MORDEN COLLEGE.

lost, and only 2s. 6d. given him for the day's work. This gentleman had once resided at Constantinople, as merchant, when he contributed greatly to the relief of Charles XII. King of Sweden, then a prisoner in Turkey, and raised a large sum towards his liberation, by a scheme of exporting copper from Sweden. In February preceding his death he sent a note of 1000l. to the governors of the Bank, requesting that it might be distributed among the clerks in the proportion of a guinea for every year that each person had been in their service! His name is mentioned here on account of his singular interment near Morden College, and these traits will serve to illustrate that eccentricity by which the human character is not unfrequently distinguished.*

Not far from this spot, the mansion of the late Sir George Page used to rear its head, and attract general admiration. It was begun and finished in twelve months! For this expedition various reasons were assigned; but Sir George died in 1775, and in 1787 the materials were sold-so that no traces are left of its former glory! Should the report be true, that this princely seat originated in the success of the South Sea Company, 1720, it may be said to bear a resemblance to that institution in its evanescent nature; they both glittered like a meteor, and then disappeared, to the astonishment of mankind.

From the edge of the Heath looking towards

* See Lysons's Environs of London, article, Stoke Newington.

SHOOTER'S HILL.

355

the Surry hills, there is a pretty view of a valley, in which Lewisham Church raises its tower, and heightens the beauty of the prospect. Here lies buried that unfortunate young man Dermody, the Irish poet; he was kindly patronised by Earl Moira, and other distinguished personages, but his indiscretions rendered every assistance to make him comfortable vain and nugatory :

Here pity with a beaming eye,
Forgeting faults have laid thee low;
O'er thy cold grave shall deeply sigh,
And mourn thy pilgrimage of woe!
Still-red-breast! o'er the tuneful dead,
Thy sweetly-soothing dirge prolong;
Know his who owns that earthy bed,
His was as sweet, as sad a song!

COUTIER.

Having thus glanced at Blackheath and its environs, we proceeded along the Canterbury road up to the summit of Shooter's Hill, whence we enjoy an extensive horizon. The cities of London and Westminster rise full before you, generally enveloped in smoke, but always exhibiting marks of grandeur and sublimity. The sight also penetrates into Essex, Surry, and even Sussex. But the landscape is enriched by the meanderings of the Thames-the pride and ornament of Britain; originating in a spring not broader than the palm of your hand, it gradually widens by the accession of lesser streams, passing by the royal towers of Windsor-till it bears upon its bosom the stately vessels of commerce, and then pouring itself into the ocean, flings its waters round the globe

356

SHOOTER'S HILL.

See the silver maze

Of stately Thames ever chequer'd o'er
With deeply laden barges gliding smooth;
And, constant as his stream, in growing pomp,
By Neptune still attended, slow he rolls
To great Augusta's mart, where lofty trade,
Amid a thousand golden spires enthron'd,
Gives audience to the world!

DYER.

On the brow of the hill, near the seventh milestone, is a triangular brick building, raised by his lady, to the memory of Sir William James, Bart. (who died, December, 1763) and is beheld in every direction around London, on account of the height of its situation, being 482 feet above the sea! He had the command of the company's marine forces in the East-Indies, where he distinguished himself by the capture of Severndroog castle, on the coast of Malabar, April 2, 1755. This singular tower has three floors, and the entrance is decorated with trophies taken from the enemy. I once inspected it, with pleasure, along with my worthy friend the Rev. Mr. L. Evans, who obligingly accompanied me thither from his own house at Woolwich: the day, though fine, was hazy, and of course our view, from the summit of the building, afforded little gratification. But the interior is neat; not only are there pictorial representations of the taking of Severndroog, but the motto victa, inscribed on the furniture, indicates the purpose for which the tower is raised and embellished. The late Gen. Ray made it a point in determining the relative situations of the observatories of Greenwich and Paris. Not far from the tower is one of