The largest number in the Palace, at any one time, was ninety-two thousand. What seems very singular is, that only twenty-five commitments have been made by the police, and all of them were for minor offences. I think no parallel can be found, in the history of the world, in which so large a number of persons assembled with so little confusion and crime.

I have seen going the rounds a strange little prediction of the poet Chaucer, made years ago, and which seems to have been singularly verified in the Crystal Palace. In his "House of Fame," he is speculating as to the cause of dreams, informing his readers that he cannot tell whether

"Spirits have the might

To make folks dread o'night,
Or if the soul of proper kind
Be so perfect as men find

That it wote what is to come.”

He goes on to say,

“As I slept,

I dreamt I was

Within a temple made of glass,
In which there were more images
Of gold standing in sundry stages,
In more rich tabernacles,
And with jewels more pinnacles,
And more curious portraitures,
And quaint manner of figures
Of gold work, than I saw ever.

"Then saw I stand on either side
Straight down to the doors wide
From the dais many a pillar
Of metal that shone out full clear.

Then 'gan I look about and see

That there came ent'ring in the hall
A right great company withal,

And that of sundry regions

Of all kinds of conditions

That dwell in earth beneath the moon,

Poor and rich.

Such a great congregation

Of folks as I saw roam about,

Some within and some without,

Was never seen, nor shall be more!”

The old poet is dead, but his vision has been realized in the great exhibition and the Crystal Palace, to which we now bid adieu, with a single remark as to its moral influence upon the nations of the earth. This influence cannot fail to be very beneficial. Thousands from all nations came together and mingled their congratulations, and the friends of peace, liberty, and religion seized the occasion to forward the high purposes of the gospel. It is not probable that another such gathering will be held for many years; but when it is held, our own country will be the place; for the artists of Europe are yet to take lessons in republican enterprise and industry. We are confident that, in the next exhibition, wherever it may be held, the American department will be one which will be most attractive to those who value real utility. That, in the present instance, we have done justice to ourselves, none will admit. Much finer displays have been made at some of our county fairs, during the present autumn, than was made by our department in the exhibition in London; and, if another opportunity should come, our artists will not be slow to vindicate the wounded honor of our nation, or backward in competing for the highest prizes.

To England, as a nation, the exhibition has been a source of great pecuniary benefit. Millions of money have been carried into the country from abroad, and immense purchases of goods have been made in London, which would have been secured elsewhere but for this great and glorious gathering; and when another Crystal Palace is erected in America, may we reap advantages as great in a commercial and moral view.

VII.

THE MINISTERS OF LONDON.

I FEAR I was led to attend church in Europe more by curiosity than devotion. The desire to hear distinguished men, to be impressed by their eloquence, did not always fit me for communion with God. I confess my object was more to see and hear than to have my heart made better; and if I cannot bring back to you an account of much personal improvement, I will try to give some idea of the impression made upon my mind by the appearance of the clergymen, and the services of their churches. I left home determined not to preach at all, but was obliged to abandon this wise course, and, on several occasions, consented to deliver poor sermons, and thus lost the opportunity of hearing as many good ones.

The service in English churches is much the same as in ours. The dissenting ministers, however, as well as those of the establishment, have an assistant, or clerk, who reads the hymns, and sometimes performs other parts of the service. The clerk is generally selected in consequence of possessing a good voice, and being a pleasant reader. But they all get into a drawling and unpleasant habit, reading poetry and prose, grave and gay, alike with a "holy tone," or a "sacred twang," which sounds more like the recitations of a schoolboy than the voice of one who is appointed to lead the devotions of the people of God. I found this assistant

J

to be regarded as a sort of privileged fault-finder - not knowing how to preach himself, and yet continually trying to teach his minister.

The singing in the dissenting chapels is congregational, a deacon, or some other person, standing in front of the pulpit, lining out the hymn, and giving the pitch. The singing was like Jeremiah's figs some of it very good, and some very bad. This exercise afternoons, and perhaps at other times, in the churches of the establishment, is often done by children, the boys being attired alike, and the little girls with neat white caps and aprons- presenting to the congregation below a pleasing spectacle, as their infant voices are raised in devotion and praise. The afternoon service is devoted to the improvement of the poor, and those who, by living in the houses of wealthy families, are unable to attend in the morning, and is generally poorly sustained.

The sexton in English churches is often a woman, who seats the people, waits upon the minister into the pulpit, and performs sundry other services, which here devolve on the other sex. I was much amused, on one occasion, by a woman who seized me by the arm, and led me up through the aisle, and gave me a seat beneath the pulpit. The more I held back, the harder she pulled me forward, until I found it was all in vain, and I surrendered at discretion. The first sermon I heard in London was preached by

JOHN CUMMING, D. D.,

the eloquent pastor of the church in Crown Court, who is said to be the most popular minister in the city. He is connected with the established church of Scotland. His chapel His chapel-for by this name the meeting