town, labours to establish the belief of such a trade existing here as early as the time of the Ancient Britons. In the disastrous civil war of the 17th Century, Birmingham sided with the Parliament. King Charles was here in the year 1642, but so active was the dislike entertained towards him by the inhabitants, that when His Majesty quitted the town, they seized the carriages containing the royal plate, and conveyed them to Warwick Castle.

The restoration of monarchy in the person of Charles II. is the period from which Birmingham dates her great rise in commercial prosperity. Implements of husbandry, tools used in carpentry, and such coarse articles of iron manufactory, had, till now chiefly engrossed the attention of the artizan.

This reign, a long holiday after the troubles of civil contest, produced a relaxation in public manners, and a demand for those embellishments of luxury, which may be termed the play-things of elegant habit. At this period the toy trade was first cultivated in Birmingham: industry, the great basis of successful effort, was already in the possession of the natives, encouragement stimulated genius, and the trade has since been carried on to an extent unprecedented in the annals of manufacture, and productive not only of local wealth, Lut of national pride.

Birmingham is approached on every side by an ascent, except from the North West, and as scarcely any of the streets lie on a dead flat, every shower conduces to cleanliness and health. As the chief parts of this immense town are of comparatively modern erection, the examiner will be induced to expect that the great errors of antiquity, in respect to formation of streets, and character of domestic architecture, are now avoided, and in a general point of view he will find that his anticipations were correct; the inland situation of Birmingham was unfavourable to the first views of commercial interchange on a large scale, as no navigable river flows near the confines of the town; but industry and art have supplied every deficiency, and by the introduction of canal navigation, greatly accelerated the commerce of the place. By this mode of conveyance a communication is effected, on easy terms, with the metropolis, and most of the principal trading places in the kingdom. A town not possessing a charter of incorporation, fails to present such a variety of public structures as would appear suited to its magnitude or resources; it, however, contains three churches and five chapels, for the exercise of the established religion; twenty meeting-houses for various classes of dissenters, a nd one jewish synagogue; three charity schools, a general hospital, an asylum for the deaf and

dumb, a handsome theatre, and assembly rooms; two public libraries, a philosophical society, and a new prison, with spacious rooms, used for the meetings of the county magistrates, and for other business of a public nature.

SOHO.

This manufactory may justly be considered the first of its kind in Europe, both with respect to the value of its productions, and the extent and grandeur of the buildings in which it is carried on. In support of the former assertion, it may be observed that in the early stages of the establishment, the chief wares were similar to those usually made in this part of the country, such as buckles, buttons, watch-chains, &c.; but, under the able management of Messrs. Boulton and Watt, it was soon extended to plated goods, which have been produced here in the greatest perfection. These were succeeded by elegant fancy articles, manufactured in stone, bronze, or-molu, &c., all of which gave such universal satisfaction that the proprietors were induced to bring forward an article of more novelty and importance than any of the foregoing; this was plate wrought by means of machinery, the great beauty of which, and its excellent workmanship, caused the invention to be attended with the most brilliant success, and it now forms one of the

principal productions of the place. Lastly, that beautiful and truly valuable machine, the steamengine, to which the most extraordinary powers have been applied by the proprietors, has not only been called in aid of this vast establishment, but forms in its turn an article of manufacture, and is hence exported in great numbers; and thus has the fame of Soho been firmly established in all parts of the world. The buildings in which this extensive assemblage of the useful arts is conducted, are situated near the base of a considerable elevation, and consists of four squares that are connected by long ranges, or rather streets of warehouses, sufficiently extensive to accommodate more than one thousand workmen. On the South side there are a number of agreeable gardens, that give to this stupendous and superb seat of art and industry, an air of peculiar cheerfulness. The elegant mansion of Soho, is situated at a short distance from the manufactory, and is surrounded by delightful pleasure grounds.

RUGBY.

RUGBY is a well built town, pleasantly situated on an eminence, and contains a neat church, with a square tower at its west end, besides two dissenting meeting-houses. To the north of the church may be seen some slight vestages of a castle that formerly stood here, and is said to have been erected in the reign of King Stephen; but, if so, it must have been only for a temporary purpose, and was, no doubt, shortly afterwards demolished. The market is held on Saturday, besides which, the town has the right of holding eleven annual fairs, where very considerable numbers of cattle are sold; but, the chief support of the inhabitants is derived from the grammar school that was founded here by Laurence Sheriff, in the time of Queen Elizabeth. This establishment was formerly of a very humble nature; but, the lands left for its support, which are situated near the Foundling Hospital, London, have since so considerably increased in value, that the Trustees have lately been enabled to build a very splendid school, with houses and apartments for the masters and assistants, in com