Nor only the visitor but the resident in London seems to confine his view solely to objects of art, science, or commerce, connected with the city itself, never once inquiring whether the suburbs, or the still exterior circle, include any thing picturesque, romantic, or interesting. This is a very prevalent practice, and only excusable on the plea that the greatness of the metropolis and power of its associations completely absorb attention, and throw all other recollections into the shade. Could we only emancipate our minds a little from this impression, and when the cares of business are laid aside, ramble into the country round London, in search of health and recreation, we would discover how vainly we sigh for the pleasures of a rustic life, and complain of the distance of such scenery as would alone be worth the toil and the cost of migration, for, had we a genuine appetite for the fruit, it may be found within' reach of our hand. Parts of Essex are densely afforested, and the natural undulations of its surface picturesque and pleasing: the vicinity of Southgate presents a landscape of luxuriance and beauty; and Kent is a natural picture gallery, which even Stanfield might stoop to study with advantage. But to come to the practical part ;-steam will convey the home-tourist" of

ten miles round London" to Greenwich, where we do not now wish him to pause and study the proportions of its majestic Hospital, or call up his recollections of Elizabeth and Raleigh, or of England's naval heroes: but, pursuing the search after the picturesque, we shall lead him into the Deer-park, over One-tree-hill, and emerge at the doorway that opens upon Vanbrugh Castle. This last is a most grotesque and ponderous concretion of bricks and mortar, and an ample justification of the quaint satire involved in the great architect's epitaph

"Lie heavy on him, earth !-for he

Laid many a heavy load on thee."

A pathway crosses the Vanbrugh fields, and opens on the high-road from Blackheath to Charlton; an avenue broad, level, overshadowed by ash and lime trees, between the stems of which the silvery surface of old Thames occasionally sparkles as it flows along the low-lying coast of Essex. A deep, verdant, and wooded glen sweeps down towards the river close under Charlton Church-a spot of beauty and seclusion; and the interest of the scene is not a little heightened by the venerable Churchtower that crowns the eastern eminence, giving, probably, a useful check- -a profitable direction to those thoughts that would otherwise be too extravagantly occupied in the enjoyment of the pleasurable scenes around. It is to this little sanctuary that we would conduct our companion, who, having gratified his taste for the beauties of nature by the lovely scenery through which he has passed, will less object to enter this hallowed precinct, and read amidst its monuments the history of his country. For here the ill-starred statesman, the unhappy victim of morbid patriotism-the adventurous merchant-the stern philosopher, are entombed; and there are few village churches in the kingdom whose biographical histories afford a more varied or valuable lesson for contemplation and instruction.

Charlton (Ceorlton, or Churl-town,) is an ancient manor, divided, in the reign of Edward the Confessor, between Godwin and Alward, brothers;-granted by the Conqueror to his half-brother, Odo, Bishop of Baieux, and given to the monks of St. Saviour, Bermondsey, in the sixth of William Rufus, by Bloett, Bishop of Lincoln, who retained it until the general dissolution. It was assigned to White, Martyn, and Blackwell, by Queen Mary-regranted to Lady Anne Parry by Queen Elizabeth; granted in fee to the Earl of Mar in 1606, who sold it to Sir James Erskine, from whom it passed again by purchase to Sir Adam Newton. From this Sir Adam, who had been tutor to Henry Prince of Wales, eldest son of King James the First, the manor passed to diverse families; and the noble Gothic mansion, which Newton built, and which has remained in entire preservation to the present time, has been the residence of several persons who were variously distinguished. Among the many there are the Ducies (Viscounts Downe, in Ireland), Langhorn, Conyers, Games, Marryon, Weller, Percival, (Earl of Egmont in Ireland,) Jones (also of Ireland), and the family of Wilsons, Baronets. The rectory of Charlton, which is in Rochester diocese, originally be

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longing to St. Saviour's Bermondsey, possessed an ancient but inconvenient church, which was pulled down, and the present erected in its stead, by the executors of Sir Adam Newton, who had in his lifetime contemplated this pious object, and left a large sum for the purpose by his last will. It is a brick structure, consisting of a chancel, nave, and north aisle, and having a lofty, square, embattled tower at the west end, with a good ring of bells. The east window was adorned with stained glass, but it became much injured, and the only perfect parts remaining are the busts of Moses and of Aaron, now placed in the upper compartments. The glass of the side windows was destroyed during the civil wars in Charles I.'s reign; some fragments, however, still remain, representing Saint Luke, the tutelar saint of the church, with his winged and horned OX. "Horn fair," which is annually held in Charlton village, is supposed to derive its distinguishing epithet from the cornuted animal usually attendant on the patron saint, on whose festal day it is held.

Not to dwell too long upon the past glories of the building, which probably were never very dazzling, let us redeem our pledge of pointing to those instructive precepts, those practical lessons, those forcible historic examples which are here authenticated in marble letters, the perusal of which may prove either incentives to virtue, or admonitions against vice. Amongst the tomb-stones in the churchyard, one more particularly attracts by its costliness and design; and the inscription repays the young inquirer by the encouragement it promises to exertion and integrity. It is the tomb of John Turnpenny,-prophetic name! "who, by industry acquired, by economy improved, and with equity dispensed a considerable fortune amongst his surviving friends." Could Franklin have given better advice to the children of poverty? Must not many who read these words have turned away either with sorrow at not having met them earlier, or with a determination to observe their meaning in future?

Literature and science have here also mourned over the tombs of their favourite children. It was in Charlton parish that Henry Oldenburgh died, and in its cemetery that his remains were laid. He was fellow and secretary, at its first institution, of the Royal Society, whose Transactions, down to the year 1677, he published. He translated several works from foreign languages, amongst them a Life of the Duchess of Mazarine. No monument marks his place of rest, but his memory has survived many a tablet of brass and stone, raised to celebrate his contemporaries. Equally well remembered is Robert Hooke, professor of geometry at Gresham College, master of experiments at the Royal Society, author of several treatises on machinery and physics, and distinguished by his invention of the pendulum watch. He was one of the commissioners appointed to survey the new buildings after the fire of London, in 1666.

To leave commerce and literature, having shown the immortality to which their successful pursuit may lead, let us turn for a moment to notice the proud monuments of those the world calls great, but who are nevertheless less remembered, and whose posthumous praises are so much less valuable as lessons to mankind, than those of men of business

or of letters.

Here lies Adam Newton, the restorer of the church, the founder of the noble manor-house, and the tutor and friend of Prince Henry of England. His successors at the manor-house generally evinced a strong attachment to this locality, and almost all of them selected the village church as their last abode. The stream of time, however, flows over their names and titles, and few even seek to trace in their epitaphs their noiseless histories. One melancholy coincidence, however, must here be noticed; it is, that two public victims, Spencer Percival, prime minister of England,* and Mr. Drummond, private secretary of Sir Robert Peel, and who both fell by the hands of assassins, lie buried in St. Luke's Church. The former, more celebrated for his private virtues than for a high order of genius; the latter, a valuable and valued public servant both were accompanied to the grave by the regrets of their countrymen. Bellingham, the murderer of Mr. Percival, laboured under an impression that he had been ill-treated by the government, and this delusion, increased by real misfortunes, led him to the commission of the cruel act: but M'Naughten, the assassin of Mr. Drummond, literally appears to have become mischievous or deranged from downright idleness; he had abandoned his trade, attempted to live contentedly upon the interest of a trifling fund, without any employment,—in which difficult experiment he miserably failed.

We must not quit the pleasing village of Charlton, without some notice, however brief, of its Gothic manor-house, to which Adam Newton owes some of his immortality, and on the stable walls of which his initials are set forth in letters of great size. Besides a family chapel, consecrated in 1616, there is a grand saloon, finished by Sir Adam, a beautiful and perfect specimen of the times. The ceiling is richly ornamented with the royal arms, and with the cognizance of the Prince of Wales; and the alabaster chimney-piece is adorned with large figures of Venus and Vulcan. In a room adjoining this, there is a chimney-piece of black marble, the upper slab of which is so highly polished, that Lord Downe is said to have seen reflected in it a robbery committed on Blackheath: tradition adds, that his lordship immediately despatched his servants to assist, who came up in time sufficient to arrest the thieves. The north gallery was also completed by the founder, and contains portraits of Prince Henry, Thomas Wilson, Secretary of State to Queen Elizabeth, besides a well-arranged collection of specimens of natural history. An extensive library was formed here by the Earl of Egmont, who also much enlarged the gallery of paintings and of sculpture.

* Inscription on the tomb of Mr. Percival.—“ Near this place are the mortal remains of the Right Hon. Spencer Percival, First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, who died 11th of May, 1812, in the Commons' House of Parliament, in the 50th year of his age. His noblest epitaph is the regret of his Sovereign and his country-his most splendid monument the glory of England, by his counsels maintained, exalted, amplified. But the hand of an assassin not only broke asunder the brilliant chains of duty which bind the statesman to his native land, and made a void in the high and eloquent councils of the nation: it severed ties more tender and delicate, those of conjugal and parental affection, and turned a home of peace and love into a house of mourning and desolation."

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THE SELF-EDUCATING.

We propose to devote a portion of our time and space to the interests of a class which of late years has increased in numbers to an unprecedented extent; namely, the SELF-EDUCATING. Those who come under

this head are chiefly youths, who, from the diffusion of useful knowledge at a cheap rate, have formed some idea of the intellectual wealth at their command, and wish to appropriate it to their use and we have good reasons for using our utmost power in endeavouring to gratify their laudable desire.

A few years hence, those youths will be men; and as members of that portion of the community termed the middle class, will exercise the duties of parents and subjects with various degrees of influence. Who is he that will prepare his children in the fittest manner for their journey through life?—that will urge them to the pursuit of knowledge, and implant in them a love for all good things? Who is he that will impartially consider a subject, clearly discriminate between the right and the wrong, and determinedly adhere to, and act upon, the conscientious conclusions to which he arrives, without reference to party or private interest? We answer, he whose mind has been accustomed to view things not through the mists of prejudice and ignorance, but in the beams of the bright sun of truth, as reflected from the works of our wise men, and from the fair face of nature. It is he who will act the part of a good master and servant; and who will promote the good of his kind by exercising all his power in favour of Wisdom and Virtue. And thus, as patriots, we would instruct the youth of our land; for a nation rises in power in proportion to the intelligence of its members; and as philanthropists we would instruct them, for by so doing we place at their command the means of procuring the greatest happiness on earth.

We address ourselves to the self-educating—to those who are endeavouring to acquire that knowledge which they perceive is so valuable. We are aware of the difficulties in the path which they must tread to attain their object; and our purpose is to guide them on their way; here to teach them how to remove obstacles, there how to surmount them; and at length to place them in the fair broadway to the goal which they are sure to reach if our directions are followed.

No youth ever begins the task of self-education, without having some benefit in view; the hope of obtaining which, prompts him to toil. His object may be either wealth, fame, or pleasure, or some or all of these. Shall we ensure to every student riches, if he act upon the principles we lay down? No! for a thousand accidents of life may prevent success, but we will put him in the path to obtain them in the most honourable manner; make them a blessing to him if obtained, and if not, show him how to be contented without them. Shall we ensure to every student fame? No-all have not the abilities, but those who have the power of obtaining glory by their talents, we will incite to the doing of the noblest