ity of Westminster, and cause a writ to be served on the King of Great Britain to appear and answer for allowing the doorkeepers of his chapel to take money of those who go in to worship there. For aught I can see, the king is actually liable to be thus arraigned; and it would be a curious fact in history, if it should be done, and he should be fined. It would be still more interesting, if, in paying his fine, he should say-This is as it should be, the king subject to the laws.

The Chapel Royal of St. James is very small. Not more than three hundred persons can crowd into it, sitting and standing; and by far the greater part of this number will be obliged to stand. I was on my feet from the time I left home till I returned-three hours and a half. The chapel and its furniture are very plain. I could but remark the difference between this and the one in the palace of Versailles. The former is a little oldfashioned English box: the latter corresponds in all respects with the magnificence, the gorgeousness, and extravagance of that prince's reign, under whose fiat it came into being, as one of the many equally remarkable features of that splendid monument of despotism, which cost the people of France more than £40,000,000, or $192,000,000.

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I challenged the attention of a friend, an Englishman, to this comparison. Ay," said he, "you see the difference between liberty and despotism!" The Englishman boasts of his liberty compared with other parts and periods of the world; and the American looks at the expense of the British monarchy, and says, "See what an unnecessary bur

den!"

Precisely at twelve o'clock the king and queen appeared in front of the box, or pew, assigned them. What is commonly called the front gallery of a church or chapel-and where there is no other gallery-is here appropriated to the king and royal family. The central part is occupied by the king and queen, who, when standing, are exposed to the view of all persons in a position to look that way. On their right and left are seated other members of the royal household who happen to be there. In the present instance the Princess Augusta and one of the young princes were in these places. Several persons in waiting were in the retired parts of this gallery, and among the rest two dignitaries of the church, deputy clerks of the closet, whose office on this occasion was to come in before service, and so arrange the marking-strings of the prayer-books of the king, queen, princesses, and princes, that they might be able to find their places in the lessons of the day, and other parts of the service; and also to stand behind, to render any information, or give any hints that might be needed in the progress of Divine worship. When I saw these clergymen in full robes, tumbling over and arranging the prayer-books

before the service had commenced, I concluded that they themselves were to officiate from that place; not imagining that the king and queen, and other members of the royal family, had need of such assistance, as the finding of their places in the liturgy, or that the said office was of sufficient importance to employ high church dignitaries in their robes. Such, however, seems to have been the fact. I could but think that it would have been a more economical arrangement, if those reverend gentlemen had been sent out somewhere to preach the Gospel to hungry souls-for they seemed to have nothing to do there but to find places in the prayerbook! Cannot a king find his own place?

As the king and queen entered, and were visible to the assembly, all the congregation rose. I could not find fault with this, unless I were to censure the practice in our colleges and universities, where the general custom, I believe, is to pay this respect to the presiding officer, when he enters the assembly, even on the occasion of Divine worship. I must confess, however, it has always struck me as unsuitable. It is no more nor less, in either case, than the worship of man, in the place and at the time of Divine worship. I do not mean that the worship in each case is of the same kind; but it is homage-it is worship. It seems to me, in spite of all reasoning, incompatible with that undivided respect which is due to God on occasions of public worship.

The service immediately commenced. There was nothing remarkable in any part of it to those who have attended cathedral service. It was for the most part chanted by separate groups of choristers, men and boys, and often in full chorus. There was an anthem after the sermon, as usual at the royal chapel and at cathedrals. "The bidding," as it is called, is a sort of bill, or public notice, read by the preacher after sermon, prescribing, commanding, and ordering to the congregation present, for whom and for what they are to pray, beginning "Pray ye," &c., being itself of the twofold character of a prayer, and a commendation what to pray for. On the present occasion it appeared to be a new bill, adapted to the state of public affairs. Inasmuch as it is itself a prayer, apparently so, I was struck with the occurrence of the following expression :-" Especially for our two famous universities of Oxford and Cambridge.' "Famous" in a prayer! "We pray unto thee, O Lord, for our famous universities."

These "biddings" are very specific. You may hear them at Oxford and Cambridge-at Oxford, certainly, and I presume at Cambridge-even at this day, "bidding" the congregation to pray for the departed souls of such and such patrons and benefactors of the university, mentioning their names!!!

The sermon was delivered by the Rev. Mr.

His

introduction, or exordium, was apologetic for himself, as not knowing how to address such an assembly, he being a country clergyman. He did not appear, however, in any wise to be embarrassed. I do not think, on the whole, he was much inclined to be affected in that way. I think he must have been fresh from the university, and from the chymical laboratory. For, having found occasion to employ the somewhat homely phrase " to set people a thinking," and to repeat it a third or fourth time, lest his hearers should not understand it, or lest they should fail to feel the force of it, he gave it to us in the less vulgar form of " to strain through the alembic of our own brains." In the progress of the sermon we were served with a great variety of style in an abundance of tropes and figures--some things remarkably clever, and some remarkably stupid. I shall be pardoned, perhaps, on account of this variety, for suspecting,as the custom is tolerated, and even sanctioned by high authority in England-that the sermon was not got up at the expense and trouble of this preacher's having been " set a thinking;" that it was not "strained through the alembic of his own brains ;" nor yet, indeed, that it was produced by one other man, but by many; that it was a somewhat elaborate compilation, suited for the début of a country clergyman, in the Royal Chapel, who, perhaps, was a candidate for place.

During the last prayer, offered by a Right Rev. Bishop at the altar, the king seemed to have become tired of the service, and leaned forward resting carelessly on his elbows, looking down on the congregation, and appeared as if he were counting them, and making a close inspection of each -one by one;-and his examination was not arrested, even while the bishop was praying for "our most gracious sovereign and lord, King William." His majesty still kept counting, or making his observations on this, that, and the other of the assembly. He looked at me.

But I was affected, and could have wept, at the manner of the queen, as the bishop in his prayer came to the clause, "Our most gracious Queen Adelaide." So much are we influenced by appearances. I shall never forget it. If I were a painter, I could describe it exactly. If I were to attempt it by the pen, it would be thought sentimental; and I will therefore let it alone. But I love to think of it. It was an agreeable sight. Yet it cannot be appreciated without a consideration of the morale in its public and social relations. To think of a whole nation praying at the same moment for a single individual-" Our most gracious Queen Adelaide;" and there she is! you see her! She rests her elbow on the cushion, her head upon her hand, and seems to be in tears! She is overwhelmed with gratitude, at the thought of so many united and sincere prayers going up to heaven in her

behalf. Her name is at the same moment on a thousand tongues, and the kindest affections of ten thousand hearts, throughout the kingdom, mingle in the orisons, and sweeten the incense!

THE TEMPLE OF BUDDHA.

On a time, as I was emerging from Green Park into Piccadilly, I saw an attractive human figure turn a corner, and pass off into another direction from that in which I was going. One does not like to be arrested, nor to turn aside at every new or strange thing that presents itself in London-we are so often made fools of by it. And yet there was something very peculiar in this personage. I could not tell whether it was man or woman, the dress had such a mixture of what might be supposed to belong to either sex. It was rich also. The movements of the individual, who seemed to me at the moment a mysterious being, were graceful and dignified, as he turned his back upon me, showing at the instant an interesting profile of a dark, and almost African countenance. He glided away, and in another moment became invisible by the intervention between himself and me, of the massy walls of those stately mansions of Piccadilly, which look out upon the park. Every individual, man, woman, child, and, I might say, the very horses stopped, like myself, and turned to gaze at the stranger. Do not let me lose credit for saying horses-because those who drove and rode after them were so curious. It was altogether an unwonted vision, even for London. I had seen, as I supposed, all manner of costumes, from all parts of the world, in that great mart of the nations; but this was strange among them all. A rich shawl-the richest of the eastoccupied the place of the woman's petticoat on the person of this individual, but wrapped so close as apparently to embarrass the motion of the limbs, and constrain the shortest steps, but not the less graceful. A mantle of the richest and finest wool, with its large and manifold volumes, hung over and pendent from the shoulders. A head of thick-set, long, black, and well-oiled hair, was done up, after the manner of women, and secured by one of the most expensive and finely-wrought combs. On the top of the head, as a crown, rested a rich woollen cap, set with care on the side of the head, tapering off, and hanging a tassel behind the ear, which fell nearly on the shoulder. I was struck with the apparently conscious and yet careless dignity, the lofty mien and entire self-possession, with which this strange

being made his entrance and his exit so suddenly, and so much like an unearthly vision, before me. There was evidently too much importance in the personage, whether man or woman, to allow of vulgar approach and vulgar gaze. And no crowd, strange as the apparition was, presumed to follow its footsteps. It was present-it was gone. And myself and many more that saw it, were left wrapped in wonder. I spoke of it afterward, and inquired for explanation, but nobody could solve the mystery.

Some few days subsequent to this strange apparition, I went, not to worship, but to see the temple of the Indian god Buddha, then exhibiting at Exeter Hall. It was in all respects complete, and a perfect model. Nay, it was not a model, but a very original, once consecrated, and actually used in India (Ceylon) for all the common purposes of religious and divine worship. It had every part and parcel of a Buddhist temple, and by some stealth and sacrilege, I know not how, had been taken down, brought from India, and set up in London for show and money-making. The public authorities in London and in India, and also a Wesleyan missionary from India, then in London, certified to its genuineness and completeness, which was very satisfactory. We knew that in seeing this we certainly had thus far an exact pattern of Indian idolatry—as much so as if the very tabernacle of Moses were set up before our eyes, to show us the Israelites' temple of the true God in the wilderness.

I have not its exact dimensions, say twenty-five feet by eighteen, and eight feet high, divided into two compartments of equal size; the farther one being what might be called the sanctum sanctorum, where was exhibited the colossal image of the god Buddha, recumbent on his right side, his head resting on a pillow, his right hand lying under his cheek, though not touching it, the left stretched full length, and lying on the body. The image, or god, was eighteen feet long, and the whole form in proportion in all its parts, equally gigantic, and fully exposed, except that it seemed to be laid out in rich and costly vestments, the whole being a carved work from wood, and gorgeously, though somewhat fantastically, painted in divers colours. The form and features, and every thing, were African-the colour only excepted-with black and woolly hair on the head. As a whole, it was far from being a captivating picture. It was even ugly. The art of carving in the east must be in its infancy. At the head and foot stood two devotees, Bramins of distinction, large as life, engaged in the worship of their god. There were several other carved statues in the temple, ugly enough, two or three having four arms each, after the manner of the east. The walls and ceilings were filled and crowded with paintings, to represent the mysteries of the religion after death, and the various and successive