hundred streets, thirteen thousand houses, eighty nine churches including St. Paul's cathedral, the Guildhall, the Royal Exchange, and many other buildings. In rebuilding, the city was much improved; the streets were widened, and the houses constructed with brick instead of wood and plaster.

One of the first places that I visited was St. Paul's Cathedral, which was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren after the great fire. It is a magnificent structure, and, with the exception of St. Peter's at Rome, the grandest cathedral in the world. Within it are several fine statues in commemoration of generals, statesmen, and other celebrated persons who are buried there. Inside the dome is a curious gallery, called the whispering gallery. If a person at one end of this gallery puts his mouth against the wall and whispers ever so faintly, any one at the other end will hear him distinctly. highest part of the building is about three hundred and seventy feet from the ground; and a fine view of London may be obtained from it, but the people, houses, carriages, &c. being seen from such a height, look exceedingly small, and have a curious effect. Another building which I visited, would, I think, interest you

The

even more than St. Paul's. I mean Westminster Abbey, which is a very ancient building, having been founded by Edward the Confessor, one of the Saxon kings of England, and rebuilt by Henry III. and his successors, with the exception, however, of the two towers, which were built by Sir Christopher Wren. One part of the abbey is called the Poet's Corner; and there some of the most celebrated poets that England has produced are buried. There I saw the names of Chaucer, Spenser, Shakspeare, Milton, and many others; and there are many beautiful monuments in marble to their memory. But the chief curiosities of Westminster Abbey consist in the chapels at the eastern end of the church, with their tombs. One of these, which stands behind the altar, is dedicated to Edward the Confessor. Here is then his tomb, which was built by Henry III., and contains the ashes of the Confessor. In this chapel are also the tombs of several kings and queens of England. The helmet of Henry V. is preserved, with the saddle on which he rode at the battle of Agincourt; stripped, however, of every shing but the wood and iron. At the eastern

tremity of the church, and opening up to it, is the famous chapel of Henry VII. one of the finest specimens of Gothic architecture in the world. It was built at an enormous expense, and Henry's tomb alone cost ten thousand pounds, a sum equal to a million of dollars in our time.

In going to Westminster Abbey, I passed through the old gateway called Temple Bar.

CHAPTER XI.

Parley goes to Westminster Hall. The Houses of Parlia ment. St. James's Palace, and the Parks.

I STOPPED a long time in Westminster Abbey, for, thinks I, it is ten to one if I shall ever see this place again, or any one like it.

Not content with seeing what was to be seen inside the abbey, I went up the winding staircase to the top of it, but this made my legs and thighs terribly stiff'

on the morrow.

There is another very interesting building near Westminster Abbey, called Westminster Hall. It was built by William II. and is part of a place which he erected on the site of one occupied by Edward the Confessor. The ceiling is said to be the largest in Europe unsupported by pillars. The parliament used formerly to meet in this hall, and it is now used for state trials, and on some other occasions. Close to this structure, and communicating with it by a passage, are the buildings in which the parliament meets; these contain a variety of apartments connected by passages. Since I was in London a terrible fire has burnt down a great part of these buildings.

In this neighbourhood there is an extensive royal palace called St. James's and another much more splendid, called Buckingham Palace.

There is a large space of ground, laid out in lawns and walks and shrubberies. This is called St. James's Park, and here many people may be seen walking about, or sitting down on chairs under the trees. Besides St. James's Park, there are others equally pleasant; of these, Hyde Park and Regent's Park are the

most extensive. In the former is a fine statue of Achilles; and in the latter, are some gardens called the Zoological Gardens, containing a very fine collection of animals from different countries. There are thousands of persons who go to see the gardens, the beasts, the birds, and the gay company; and if I lived in London I should go as often as any one, if it were only to see the light hearted boys and girls that flock there in the summer time from morning till night. I should have mentioned that the entrance to the Green Park, and also that of Hyde Park opposite are very grand.

The Surry Zoological Gardens are a few miles from those in the Regent's Park, but you may be sure that I went to see them.

There is a noble collection of birds and beasts there. The large conservatory, under which the lions, tigers, panthers, leopards, and other animals are kept, is three hundred feet in circumference, and all of glass. The whole covering contains more than six thousand feet of glass.

The lake is a fine sheet of water with canoes fioating on it, and there is a kind of island on which grow