ignorance, and justly too; and yet my question would have been as reasonable as his. A gentleman who was presiding at a temperance meeting in Exeter Hallthe editor of a London paper introduced a speaker as from Portland, Massachusetts. He was corrected; but, making another blunder, he said, "The gentleman is from Maine, Massachusetts." Should the presiding officer of a meeting in America introduce a speaker as from Scotland, England, the children present would smile at his ignorance; and yet the moderator of a meeting in England feels no blush if he makes such a mistake with reference to our country. You may remember that, on one occasion, Mr. Webster was spoken of by a distinguished Englishman as a "member of the Upper Senate of New York"-a blunder very pardonable in a child or an ignoramus, but not in a statesman or a man of letters.

One day, on the platform of Exeter Hall, I met with a distinguished member of the society of Friends. He asked where I was from, and who I was, and added, "Why, thee talk our language as well as we do"-the poor man evidently thinking we used here the dialect of the Indians, or the brogue of the Irish, when the fact is, the English language is used nowhere in the world with as much purity as in New England; and of this fact all Englishmen who have ever visited our country are aware. I repeatedly heard the remark, when I informed friends with whom I became acquainted where I was from, "Why, you are no darker than our people!' or "You are as light as an Englishman!”—as if they expected I was of a copper color, when all the blood which flows in my veins I have derived from an English ancestry. In the great exhibition, in the department of America, are two model Indians, adorned in

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all the quills, feathers, and laces of an Indian chief and his wife, or squaw. An intelligent-looking lady one day was overheard to ask a member of the House of Commons, with all apparent seriousness, if "all Americans were like these."

If I should say that this ignorance of and prejudice against America was found in all circles, it would not be true. Where America is known, she is appreciated : and among all the people of different nations, I have found none more agreeable and kind than our English friends. When once you get under the cold, icy, outside crust of English life, you find the finest and most delightful society in the world.

But we return to Birmingham. To its credit be it said, it has, with its two hundred and twenty thousand inhabitants, about sixty churches, some fifty of which are evangelical, and but few theaters; many pious ministers, and few preachers of error; many scenes of pure and reasonable recreation, and very few which are degrading and vicious. It is one vast workshop- one industrial exhibition, in which all trades are represented. Here may be found all kinds of iron work, glass works, tin and brass works, button manufactories, pin and pen factories, electro plating, papier maché working, India rubber works, manufactories where fire-arms, metallic furniture, cloth, and almost every other namâble article is produced in the most finished manner, and in the largest quantities.

Nor does the stranger find the country surrounding Birmingham to be destitute of interest. Out at a little distance is Coventry, and the old ruins of Kenilworth Castle, and Warwick Castle and town, in which still remain the evidences of former greatness the hålls where kings and queens reveled in luxury. Still beyond

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is Stratford-on-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakspeare, with the old house in which he was born still standing. Still farther off is Dudley Castle, memorable in the history of the past, and living with the associations which link the past to the present and the future Indeed, every inch of ground in this vicinity is historic; every cliff, and hill, and vale bring to mind some scéne of glory or shame of which poets have sung, or over which orators have grown eloquent.

We left Birmingham early one morning for London, the Babylon of modern times; and into that great city our readers, in the next chapter, will be taken.

V.

GENERAL VIEW OF LONDON.

ONE day, about ten o'clock in the morning, I found myself in a London omnibus, rolling away from the railroad station, towards I knew not where, near the center of the great city. Where we were "put down " mattered little to myself and associates. We had no home; and one part of the city was as likely to afford us a stopping-place as another. The streets were blocked up with carriages and cabs, and crowds of busy men were moving to and fro. Now we were obliged to wait until the street-way could be cleared; and anon we were dashing on by proud churches, wellfilled stores, and grand residences. Near the Bank we left the "bus," and commenced our search for a temporary home. We soon found that we could live any where, and at any price; for, notwithstanding the crowded state of the city, we found "apartments to let" in great abundance. We soon engaged lodgings, including breakfast, service, &c., for three shillings and eightpence per day. Under this arrangement, we were to find our dinner and tea where we could, which usually cost about three shillings more, making our daily expense six shillings and eightpence. To this was to be added the expense of washing, sight-seeing, riding, and other extras, which we found, notwithstanding the cheapness of our board, to amount to à considerable sum by the close of the week.

My companions, being somewhat particular as to what they ate and where they slept, determined to make an effort to improve our condition, and forthwith commenced a most amusing search for a new abode. One of the visits which we made, one morning, I may as well describe. Seeing a notice on the window of a house on G-Street, informing the public that "rooms were to be let,” we inquired. An elderly lady, stiff and starched, opened the door, and in a shrill tone inquired what we wanted. Our first business was to examine the lady. We eyed her from head to foot from her cap, which was none of the cleanest, and that covered a head which certainly had not been too neighborly with the comb, down to the shoe, which, as she walked, went up and down, down and up, in heelless propriety. Having satisfied ourselves on this point, we were shown up over a narrow and crazy staircase, into a bed-room, which we were informed would do for two. The bed was a small one; but our persevering hostess surveyed us leisurely, and decided that one of my companions and myself could occupy it comfortably on the principle, I suppose, that he, being a man of aldermanic proportions, could occupy two thirds, while I, being of much smaller dimensions, could content myself with the other third. The room was also small; but here our Yankee ingenuity suggested a plan by which all difficulty arising from this might be obviated, which simply was, that each could use it half of the time. So far so good. We now began to inquire what could be done for our companion; for we were three. We were escorted into another room, which was to be our parlor, and in the middle of which was a rickety sofa, on which were some bed-clothes. This was the bed for the third. Now, it happened that, while the bed was