whether for commercial or pleasurable purposes, than the building of a jetty or pier, whereon passengers may land from a vessel without the disagreeable necessity of passing in an open boat from the vessel to the shore, or passing over a wet and muddy path at low water. Margate has not been behind-hand in attention to such conveniences; indeed there appears to have been some kind of a pier so far back as the reign of Henry the Eighth; for Leland speaks of a pier "much decayed and gone to ruin;" and in the reign of Queen Elizabeth certain rates or dues appear to have been charged for its maintenance, on various articles of merchandize landed thereon. But the pier at present existing at Margate dates back to about the year 1810, when Mr. Rennie formed the design. Through some failure in the operations, a modification was made in the plan; and Messrs. Jessop and Edmunds undertook the construction; the completion being effected by Mr. White, of Margate. The pier is built of Whitby stone, and extends rather more than nine hundred feet in length; being sixty feet wide in the broadest part, and twenty-six feet high, with a parapet of four feet and a half. At the extremity a lighthouse has been built from a design by Mr. Edmunds. A portion of this pier is partitioned off as an esplanade, elevated seven or eight feet above the general level of the pier, nearly as long as the pier itself, and eighteen feet in width. It is well gravelled, brilliantly lighted with gas, covered with an awning to defend it from rain and sun, and provided with other adjuncts fitted to make it a promenade for the visitors of Margate, who pay a small sum for permission to use it. At a time of high water, when the sun has not long risen in the east, and the broad expanse of sea spreads out northwards in front, this esplanade is a very attractive spot. Looking westward from its extremity, the church and cliffs of Reculver can be seen on a clear day. The pier cost a sum variously stated at from sixty to a hundred thousand pounds, which is to be repaid to the company (or a dividend on the capital expended), by certain dues paid by those who avail themselves of its advantages. The pier is so constructed as to increase the safety of the harbour, which is much exposed to storms from the north-east. It was completed in 1815.

In addition to the stone pier, there is at Margate a wooden jetty, intended to obviate the difficulty of landing on a rough and stony beach at certain states of the tide. It extends out considerably more than one thousand feet into the sea, and has a width of about eighteen feet. In compliment to the gentleman at whose suggestion it was built, it is called "Jarvis' Landing-place." A sum of six or seven thousand pounds was expended in its con

struction.

The old church of Margate, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is situated on a hill, and consists of a nave, chancel, and aisles, with a square tower at the north-west angle. It appears to occupy the site of a church built so long back as the year 1050, and made parochial in or about 1220; indeed some portions of the interior of the present church evince remains of Anglo-Norman architecture. The increasing population of Margate led to the construction of a new church about fourteen or fifteen years ago. This church, which is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is an architectural ornament to the town; it is built of Bath stone, in the early-English style of architecture, and in the eastern window is a beautiful specimen of stained glass. The benefice is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the vicar of St. John's. Among the establishments at Margate devoted to objects of charity is Draper's Hospital, situated about one mile distant from the old church, and founded in the year 1709 by Michael Yoakley, a member of the Society of Friends. It consists of ten small tenements, one of which is inhabited by an overseer or superintendent, and the others by decayed housekeepers of the parishes of St. John, St. Peter, Birchington, and Acole.

The buildings devoted to commerce and manufactures are, as may be supposed in such a place as Margate, limited in extent. The most important perhaps are the market and the town-hall, constructed in 1820. The market is entered by four Tuscan porticoes, with elliptic arches, closed by iron gates; and it is furnished with the customary arrangements for the reception and sale of provisions. The town-hall forms one side of the mar ket-place; and consists of a plain unornamented structure, of the Tuscan order, the main apartment being a handsome hall supported by cast-iron pillars.

The promenades, bazaars, libraries, "boulevard de Paris," Tivoli gardens, and other places professedly intended for the amusement of visitors, present similar features to other establishments of the kind in various holiday-watering-places, and need no description. The vicinity of Margate, however, presents attractions well worthy of notice. A glance at a map of the Isle of Thanet will show that Margate is situated within about four miles of Ramsgate; and between the two are numerous interesting objects. A walk across the straight road from one town to the other brings us within view of a pleasant though flat district on either side; a glimpse of the sea being obtained now and then at the north and north-west. Instead of proceeding direct from one town to the other we may take a route branching more eastward, and passing through St. Peter's and Broadstairs. The first-named of these two places is a spot to which the visitors at Margate are much accustomed to resort. On two days of the week, during the height of "the season,' public breakfasts are here given, for which a certain charge is made per head, and as many as one thousand persons have been known to partake of this kind of holiday-making in one day.

But the most picturesque route in the neighbourhood of Margate is that along the sea side, from thence to Ramsgate, a distance of about seven miles. Here many scenes of real beauty are presented. The coast makes one of the most decided curvatures any where to be met with, forming in fact the extreme eastern point of England. At Margate we gaze on the sea towards the north, or even the north-west, at Kingsgate towards the northeast, at the Foreland and Broadstairs towards the east, and at Ramsgate, only a short four miles by road from Margate, towards the south-east. The coast winds gradually round, past the point called Fair Ness, to Kingsgate, where it bends decidedly southward. This place was formerly called Bartholomew Gate, which name was exchanged for its present appellation in remembrance of King Charles the Second, who landed here in the year 1683. At this spot Is situated a mansion, once erected for the former Lord Holland, the design being taken from Cicero's Villa on the coast of Baiæ; but many incongruities were afterwards added, such as a convent, a bead-house or chapel, a temple of Nepture, a small fort, &c. Some of these buildings were subsequently washed into the sea, during a tempestuous night; and the remainder have been altered and modified so as to form three or four private dwellings.

From Kingsgate a short distance brings us to the North Foreland Lighthouse, one of the many erected on the northern coast. This headland is supposed to be the Cantium of Ptolemy. It projects into the sea nearly in the form of a bastion; and being rather higher than the contiguous line of coast, forms an excellent situation for a lighthouse, intended generally for the safety of mariners, but more particularly to warn them of the dangers of the sands lying off the coast. The present structure was built about the year 1683, and is a strong octagonal building, chiefly composed of squared flint; it was repaired in 1793, and heightened by two stories of brick-work.

A pleasant walk of one mile along the cliffs brings us to Broadstairs, a little town which has sprung into notice by its attractions as a bathing-place. It is much

more retired and quiet than Margate, and is thence frequented by those who would avoid the gaiety and bustle of the latter place. Many new buildings have been erected within the last few years, chiefly for the accommodation of visiters. Strictly speaking Broadstairs is not a modern town, since it was in early times a place of some importance; but it subsequently declined to a neglected village, until brought again into note as a bathing-place. Here is an ancient water-gate, once designed to act as a barrier against the crews of privateers. There is a beautiful walk called the Parade, on the edge of the cliff, protected on the sea side by a strong fence, and commanding a fine view across the Channel.

Leaving the sea-ward route, and proceeding west from Margate, we arrive at Dandelion, a fine old fortified mansion, formerly the seat of the ancient family of Dent de Lyon, in the reign of Edward the First. The embattled gate-house, composed of alternate courses of bricks and flint, remains nearly in its original state. The grounds belonging to the mansion were, some years ago, opened as public tea-gardens; but they have since returned again to private occupancy.

LINES SUGGESTED BY THE CHORAL MEETINGS OF THE CLASSES
INSTRUCTED IN SINGING,

UNDER THE SANCTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL
ON EDUCATION.

WHENCE springs the flood of harmony that peals
In measured strains within that lofty hall?
And whence the thrill that every listener feels,
The glad emotion thus entrancing all!
'Tis that those sounds from many hundreds there
(A voluntary choir,) towards Heaven ascend;
The rural lay, the loyal hymn, the prayer

Of love and gratitude those voices blend.
Who could believe, that scarce a year has passed
Since first that crowd one tuneful note could frame,
Though skill and industry awoke at last

The slumbering spark, and fanned so bright a flame,
That now in throngs, the great, the wise, the fair,
To hear and to admire all eager press?
Our Hero, and our Prince, their wonder share,
And all, delighted, music's power confess.
Praise then to Hullah: he whose patient mind
Guided with anxious care the learner's way,
Praise to their diligence and ardour joined

Which brought them from life's daily cares away
To toil anew. Yet praise is needed not;

A bright reward is earned; the songster's art
Is gained, to soothe their pains and gild their lot;
To lead from vulgar joys, to glad the heart.

Never can memory forget that hour,

The eager multitude so mute at first,
Till shouts pealed forth, their gratitude to pour,

As each kind patron came; then the glad burst-
"How great and wonderful, O Lord, thy name !+"
Majestic music of the olden time,
Grateful alike to heart, and ear, it came-
Nought have I heard or fancied so sublime.

Oh! never may the new-born impulse cease

To spread throughout our Isle this lovely art;
It bends the stubborn heart to calm and peace,
Enhances joy, and blunts misfortune's dart.
It may, when holy words with songs combine,
Direct the youthful mind to virtue's glow,
And point the way to happiness divine,

Religion's fairest handmaid here below.

R.

+ PALESTRINA'S Motel.

THE BANKS OF THE THAMES. SOMERSET HOUSE.

In the month of January, 1547, the eighth Henry died, and was succeeded by Edward the Sixth, then in his tenth year. His uncle, Lord Hertford, created soon afterwards Duke of Somerset, was declared Protector with powers which increased daily, until, by a patent obtained from the young king, he was intrusted with all Our preor more than all the prerogatives of royalty. sent purpose is to trace not the history of this remarkable man but that of his palace, the erection of which was one of the causes which led to his untimely fate.

Previous to the erection of old Somerset House the south side of the Strand was occupied by a number of buildings, many of which were unjustly destroyed by the Protector Somerset, to make way for his magnificent The buildings thus swept away are minutely structure. detailed by various writers, and seem to have consisted of the following:

St. Mary le Strand, a very ancient church and parish, a rectory in the gift of the Bishops of Worcester, who had near it their inn, or town residence. The Bishops of Lichfield and Coventry had another, built by Walter de Langton, elected bishop of that see in 1296. It was also called Chester Inn, as that bishopric was at the time annexed to the former. The Bishops of Landaff had also another house or inn. Finally the Strand inn, an inn of Chancery, belonging to the Temple. Occleve, the poet of the reign of Henry the Fifth, studied the law here; the place of his education is called Chester Inn; but as that was never appropriated to the study of the law, I little doubt but it is a mistake for this adjacent house. Every one of these were levelled to the ground by the Protector Somerset, to make way for his magnificent palace. The architect is supposed to have been John of Padua, who had a salary in the preceding reign, under the title of "devizer of His Majesty's buildings.' No compensation was made to the owners. Part of the church of St. John of Jerusalem, and the tower, was blown up, for the sake of the materials. The cloisters, on the south side of St. Paul's, underwent the same fate, together with the charnel-house and chapel: the tombs were destroyed and the bones impiously carried away and flung into Finsbury fields. This was done in 1549, when the building was first began: possibly the founder never enjoyed the use of this palace, for, in 1552, he fell a just victim on the scaffold. The crime of sacrilege is never mentioned among the numerous articles brought against him. This is no wonder, since every man in those days, Protestant and Papist, showed equal rapacity after the goods of the Church. PENNANT.

According to Mr. Pegge, a bridge, known as the Strand bridge, was also destroyed. He says:

What is now a street, called the Strand, was at that time no more than a highway leading from London westward to the village of Charing, where stood Queen Eleanor's cross, and a few houses; from whence, in a right line, you was led on, through open fields, to St. James's house, lately an hospital, but then a royal house. This highway, being the property of the Crown, as such was easily modified to accommodate the king's uncle, and consequently there was little difficulty or hardship upon the subject in the change it underwent by levelling, and on the whole, perhaps, the road was rendered better by the change. By Stowe's ac count there was not any current of water under this bridge; for, (says he), in the autograph remaining in the British Museum, "then had ye, in the high-street a fair bridge, called Strand bridge, and under it a lane, which went down to the Strand, so from being a banque of the river Thames." But here Stowe speaks of it as if it were in his own time, and not with reference to the reign of King Edward the Sixth, or to any other period. Mr. Maitland, on the other hand, tells us, that there was a rivulet under the bridge; for, (says he), "a little to the east of the present Catharinestreet, and in the high-street, was a handsome bridge, denominated from its situation Strand-bridge, through which ran a small water-course from the fields, which, gliding along a lane below, had its influx to the Thames, near Somerset stairs." In this account I should incline to believe Mr. Maitland; because lanes do not often become rivers, though the beds of rivers, by a diversion of their courses, mav become lanes.

The next tenant of Somerset House occupied it only during the brief pause between his passage from death to the tomb. George Monk, duke of Albermarle, died 3d January, 1670, and here at the King's expense were conducted his splendid funeral obsequies.

In 1677 it became the residence of William Prince of Orange (afterwards King William III.) when he came hither to espouse the Princess Mary.

Catherine, queen of Charles II., frequently occupied Somerset House, which, on the demise of her royal consort, became her permanent abode until her secession into her native country, Portugal.

In the reign of Queen Anne, a portion of Somerset House was devoted to the celebration of divine service. It was opened for this purpose on Sunday, April 15, 1711, when Dr. Robinson, bishop of Bristol, preached a suitable sermon. The house continued to be used thus, and for occasional entertainments to ambassadors, up to about the year 1763. During this year the Venetian ambassador made a grand public entry into the old palace, and it was shortly after pulled down.

In May, 1775, in consequence of a message from the King to both houses of parliament to that effect, an act was passed settling Buckingham House on the Queen, instead of Somerset House, which was given up to the use of the nation. During this year Sir William Chambers, the architect, was appointed to superintend its re-erection. He performed his task with skill and zeal, and the new building is considered his best work. It may be interesting to read an account of it in the architect's own language, which we extract from a statement submitted to the House of Commons on the 1st of May, 1780.

The building which faces the Strand is now almost completely finished; it extends in front 135 feet, is 61 feet deep, and has two wings, each 46 feet wide, and 42 feet in depth, the whole being seven story high; is faced with Portland stone, built with hard Greystock bricks, Russian timber,

and the best materials of all kinds.

All the fronts of this structure are decorated with a rustic arcade basement, a Corinthian order of columns and pilasters, enriched windows, balustrades, statues, marks, medal

lions, and various other ornamental works, necessary to distinguish this principal and most conspicuous part of the design; which being in itself trifling when compared with the whole, required not only particular forms and proportions, but likewise some profusion of ornaments to mark its superiority. Decorations too have been more freely employed in the vestibule of entrance, and in all the public apartments of this building, than will be necessary in the remainder of the work; because the vestibule, open to the most frequented street in London, is a general passage to every part of the whole design; and the apartments are intended for the reception of useful learning and polite arts, where it is humbly presumed, specimens of elegance should at least be attempted. The work just described forms the upper part of a large quadrangular court, being in width 210, and in depth 296 feet, which is to be surrounded wth buildings 54 feet deep and six story high, containing the navy, the navy pay, the victualling, and the sick and hurt offices, the ordnance office, the stamp, salt, and tax offices, the surveyor general of crown lands, and the offices of the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, also the offices of the two auditors of imprests and the pipe, the treasurer's remembrancer, the clerk of the estreats, and comptroller of the pipe, with various apartments for secretaries and other persons whose residence in their several offices has been judged convenient for the public service.

In 1779 the Royal Academy, under the auspices of George III., were allowed to occupy apartments in the new building; the west wing of the north front being allotted to their reception. The east wing of the same front was assigned to the Royal Society, whose members first met here on 30th Nov., 1780; and to the Society of Antiquaries, whose first meeting here was held on 11th of January, 1781.

The colossal bronze figures, which occupy the quadrangle, were executed by Bacon, and seem to have given much dissatisfaction. The principal figure, which is an allegorical representation of the Thames, is a cumbrous effort, and elicited the question from the Queen, " Why did you make so frightful a figure, Mr. Bacon ?" "Art," replied the courtly sculptor, "cannot always effect what is ever within the reach of nature-the union of beauty "that it is a and majesty." Mr. Ireland also says general remark that this river god is totally misplaced,