wealth to Great Britain, in addition to the materials for ma nufactures and commerce, which are of English growth. From the toleration, which the legislature of England grants to all religious denominations, London is distinguished for the number and variety of its places of divine worship; besides 116 churches and 62 chapels of the established religion, it contains 11 Roman Catholic chapels, 17 churches and chapels belonging to foreign Protestants, 6 Jewish synagogues, and 132 meeting houses, belonging to different sects of Protestant dissenters, making a total of 344. Next to the religious aspect of the metropolis, we may view, in the multitude of its institutions for the relief of the indigent, in their various wants and distresses, a striking feature of its moral portrait. The sum, annually expended in charitable uses, has been estimated at 850,000l. exclusive of the private relief given to individuals. The police, though regular, is far from being rigid. As few crimes of a sanguinary nature are committed in London as in any place, perhaps in the world, in proportion to its extent and population. it The British metropolis cannot boast of any great degree of magnificence; in this respect, it is inferior to many great capitals of the modern as well as the ancient world; but in commerce it far exceeds every one of them. In regard to wealth may claim an equal superiority, unless we may admit ancient Rome as an exception. London exhibits less of the contrast between the ostentatious display of exorbitant wealth, and the squalid wretchedness of extreme poverty, than any other capital of Europe : its distinguishing characteristic is the comfortable existence and decent appearance of the middle and lower classes of the people. The environs of London exhibit a grand and interesting spectacle of opulence; extensive streets, villas, and houses, running in every direction to the distance of five or six miles, present to the eye a vast continuation of the metropolis. Elegant houses, flourishing manufactures, fertile gardens, and luxuriant pastures, display the appearance of wealth and plenty. Among the provincial towns Liverpool may claim the pre cedency. In 1792 it employed 132 vessels in the African trade. The number of ships, which paid duty at this port, in the year 1752, was 1371: and in 1794 it amounted to 4,265, being an increase in the space of thirty-seven years of three to one. In the American war, between the 1st of September, 1778, and the beginning of May in the year following, Liverpool sent out 1,70 privateers. Liverpool was only a village at the commencement of the last century. The dock was made A. D. 1710, at which time it began to make some figure in commerce. In 1760 the number of its inhabitants was estimated at 25,787. In 1787, they amounted to 56,670; but cannot now be estimated at less than 80,000. With the sole exception of Petersburg, no town in Europe exhibits so rapid an improvement. Newcastle upon Tyne is situated in the centre of the great coal mines which have for some centuries supplied, not only the metropolis, but most of the eastern and southern parts of the kingdom with that excellent fuel. The coal fleets sometimes amount to 500 sail. The large carts loaded with coals, proceeding towards the port on inclined planes, without the assistance of either horses or men, are to a stranger a spectacle, not less surprising than curious.* The neighbourhood of Newcastle abounds with glass-houses, and the manufacture of the article is there carried to great perfection. Few towns in England have made greater improvements than Hull. Its situation can scarcely be paralleled for commercial advantages. It commands a very great inland trade, and is equally adapted to foreign commerce, The capacious dock on the north side of the town opens into the river Hull. Another, now cutting on the western side, will open into the Humber, When this work is completed, the town will be almost entirely insulated, and surrounded with harbours and quays, exhibiting an assemblage of commercial conveniencies. which very few ports can boast. Whitehaven, in Cumberland, consisted, in 1666, of no more than six houses. At present it is a large, populous, and well * St. Fond, Voy, en Angleterre. built town, and, next to Newcastle, is the principal port in England for the coal trade. The coal mines, in its vicinity, are a singular curiosity. They are sunk to the depth of 272 yards, and are extended to the distance of a mile and a half under the sea, where above them the water is of sufficient depth to carry the largest vessels. Bristol gradually rose to eminence during the Saxon period, and in the reign of Henry II. was so opulent and flourishing, that he granted to it the possession of Dublin in Ireland, to to which place a colony from Bristol was transported. At that period the port of Bristol was crowded with vessels from Ireland, Norway, and various other parts of Europe. Its commerce, since the rise of Liverpool, has gradually declined, and a great part of its trade with the West Indies and America is transferred to the latter port. Bristol, notwithstanding, is yet a place of great trade and opulence, as well as an excellent port. Its quay is one of the finest that any commercial city of Europe can boast. In 1787, Bristol employed about 416 vessels in the foreign, and 1,600 in the coasting trade. Its foreign commerce is chiefly with the West Indies, North America, and the Baltic. In opulence, Bristol is generally ranked next to the metropolis, and 80,000 is the number of its population. At present Bristol is undergoing very considerable improvements, by the construction of new floating docks, upon a very extensive scale. Bath, though not a sea port, being the most elegant town in England, merits insertion in this place. The hot baths, from which it derives its name, were known in the Roman times, and have acquired great celebrity. The waters are used both internally and externally, and are esteemed extremely beneficial in gouty, bilious, and paralytic cases. Bath is not frequented solely by valetudinarians. It is the grand resort of persons of rank and fortune. In some seasons the concourse of visitors exceeds 3,000, of whom more than two-thirds are attracted by the charms of society, and the scenes of amusement, in which Bath is inferior only to London. Yarmouth is a town of considerable trade, and particularly remarkable for its herring fishery, which now employs about 150 vessels. About the end of the fourteenth century the inhabitants became so powerful at sea, that they frequently attacked their neighbours, and in these encounters great loss was sometimes sustained on both sides. The royal authority was at last exerted to check this turbulent spirit, and it was soon after extinguished by the great plague, which in one year carried off 7,000 of the inhabitants, a number probably not less than nine-tenths of its population. Portsmouth is the grand naval arsenal of England. Its capacious harbour is formed by a bay of from five to six miles in length, and from two to four in breadth, having a narrow entrance, secured by strong fortifications. Portsmouth is the best, and most regularly fortified place in the kingdom. Across the mouth of the harbour is Gosport, a populous town, inhabited chiefly by sailors and artificers. Near to it is the famous road of Spithead, the grand focus of naval armament. Portsmouth, with the vast assemblage of maritime objects by which it is surrounded, presents a most striking spectacle. 1 Plymouth, which is next to Portsmouth in maritime importance, is situated in a bay called Plymouth Sound, sufficiently capacious to contain a thousand sail of ships. Here are docks, arsenals, and every thing necessary for fitting out ships of war. Its trade, although flourishing, depends chiefly on the royal navy. Dock town is the most populous in Devonshire, it stands on a pleasant eminence, and although of such considerable magnitude, is only of modern date, and owes its origin and rapid increase to the establishment of the dock yard and naval arsenals. The number of its inhabitants, according to the late parliament survey, was 23,747; but this is not the whole of the population that crowds its busy streets. The number of inns, in the late war, amounted to 200; but the magistrates have since that time limited them to 100. The inhabitants are chiefly composed of persons belonging to the navy, or small shopkeepers, retail dealers, and some wholesale dealers. These, with a variety of mechanics, make up, almost, the whole population. This place seems not to be adapted to the cultivation of intellect. The military and naval officers or persons attached to the army or navy are the only individuals, who are distinguished by literary attainments. The fluctuations occasioned by the alternate operations of peace and war, have hitherto prevented the society of this place from acquiring any permanent feature. Under the influence of these opposite causes, it exhibits a surprising contrast. Peace is almost annihilation to it. Trade then stagnates; speculation expires; numerous shops and houses are shut up; the streets are silent; inactivity and despondency pervade every place. War, instantly changes the scene. A new spirit is suddenly diffused, and the greatest ardour and industry prevail. The frequent equipment and return of fleets occasions the expenditure of immense sums of money; and multitudes of speculators resort hither, from all parts of the kingdom, to participate in the spoil. Shops of every description in endless succession; not a house is vacant; clamour and bustle pervade the streets; and at length the whole place resembles a fair. open The prodigality and credulity of seamen have long been proverbial. The inconsistent and thoughtless profusion of this singular class of men, their frolics, their credulity, and the impositions practised on them, would, altogether, form a curious detail. Extravagance, however, is not confined to them. The artificers in the dock yard, and many of the inhabitants evince a similar disposition. Prodigality seems to be the order of the day. This superfluity, however, is principally lavished in personal decoration and luxurious living. This is not merely a delineation of the moral scenery of Dock town; but, with some circumstantial variations of shade and colouring, may be considered as applicable to Brest, Toulon, and in some degree, to several other places, which are the theatres of similar transactions, and where similar modes of life are displayed. York has long ago obtained the pre-eminence among the inland towns. This city, the chief of a very extensive, populous, and commercial province, may ins ome measure be regarded as the capital of the north of England; being the |