Bartholomew's Hospital, where three thousand seven hundred and twenty-five have been admitted, cured and discharged in one year. There is also a large hospital at Charing Cross, one in connexion with the London University, one called London Hospital, another for the Jews; there is also one for small pox, another for fever, and one for diseases of the eye, where the first-rate men of the medical profession give constant superintendance and advice; one for women when in parturition; and, in fact, an establishment for every species of disease.

CHRIST'S HOSPITAL.-We had an opportunity of inspecting this excellent and useful institution through our kind friend Mr. Rice of Chatham Yard, who gave us a letter to the Rev. Dr. Rice, Master of the Grammatical School, who introduced us to Mr. Brooks, the Steward, and the latter gentleman conducted us through the establishment and gave us all the information relating to it.

This institution was founded in year 1552, by King Edward the Sixth, and the place where it now stands was a monastery called Greyfriars. Charles the Second founded the Grammar School and it has since been encreased by voluntary contributions, eight hundred boys are here lodged, fed, clothed, and liberally educated. The whole expence of the establishment is from fifty to sixty thousand pounds annually and the income is nearly the same. The management is under the

hands of a number of Governors and a Treasurer, the latter is an important man, and is always a member of the Court of Aldermen. The Governors have the privilege of recommending a boy to be admitted, once in three years, and any one might have that privilege by once paying a sum of five hundred pounds towards the institution.

The boys wear a sort of livery consisting of a long blue coat reaching to the ancles, and fastened round the waist with a leather strap, a yellow worsted petticoat worn underneath, yellow stockings, and a small black cap, which they very rarely wear, and we have often wondered when we saw the boys walking the streets of London with their heads uncovered how they escape catching cold. The uniform we think is very picturesque, and more so than the ordinary dress in England; there is something very pleasing to the eye, and indicating gravity and seriousness in it.

The boys we were informed are very proud of their dress on account of its connection with the institution, and from the circumstance of the blue colour of the garment, they are commonly called "Blue Coat Boys" and the Hospital "Blue Coat School."

The principal entrance to the premises is from Newgate Street, and except the New Hall that was built about ten years since, the buildings are very irregular.

We were first shewn into the kitchen and we

found it in very high order and cleanliness; the boys are allowed bread and butter and milk for breakfast, meat and bread for dinner five days in the week, plum pudding, bread and butter one day, and pea soup and bread one day in the week, and they have table beer to drink as much as they like at dinner time, and for supper they are allowed bread and cheese; every boy has equal share of provisions and the daily allowance made for them is more than they can eat, and we were told that many poor people were daily fed with their families from the fragments, or what was left by the boys. Great care is also taken for proper management and economy in this department. The articles supplied by tradesmen such as bread, butter, cheese, &c. are the very best of their sort, and the food is prepared with as much attention and cleanliness as in any private family. Ten hundred weight of cheese alone was consumed in a fortnight. There were storehouses attached to the kitchen where the provisions are deposited and daily served out.

The boys rise at six in the morning, take their breakfast at seven, dinner at half past twelve and go to bed after supper at seven, they are allowed to go out of the school every other Wednesday to their friends, besides the vacations at Midsummer and Easter holidays, and every Saturday and every other Wednesday are half-holidays, but they must remain within the limits of the premises.

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We were next conducted to a large room at one corner of which was a large boiler, and two rows of troughs in the middle were arranged comcunicating with it, by means of a number of pipes for conveying hot water and a similar communication with a small reservoir at the other end for cold water; this was the room where the boys washed themselves, and so excellent was the arrangement that each boy had a separate cake of soap, separate taps of water hot and cold, and a towel, so that every possible care for their health and comforts was taken as well as for their education there are four such rooms, each capable of admitting a hundred boys to wash at once. Their sleeping wards were also very neat and clean, bedsteads of iron were placed in range with a small chest attached to each to place their things in, the rooms are very airy and contain fifty beds, which are all numbered, and their towels numbered accordingly and hung on hooks bearing corresponding figures, so that each boy has his separate towel. There are sixteen such wards and a wardrobe attached to each of them, where the Sunday clothes and clean things are deposited, in fact every one is placed upon a happy equality, so that there is no complaints, or no jealousy among the boys, on the contrary we found them as happy and as comfortable as possible.

An infirmary is maintained for the boys; when they are ill, they have medical aid and all

necessary wants are supplied and the comfort of the patient is most scrupulously studied, in so much that it would be morally impossible for them to be better looked after even under parental care, however parents are allowed to have their children home in case of sickness if they prefer it.

At half past twelve the bell for the dinner was rung, and we saw the hall which is a large and magnificent room full of all the boys, and narrow tables with benches were ranged along. In the middle against the wall was a pulpit from which the chaplain said grace before the meal, and then pieces of bread and butter were handed round, and the pudding soon followed, each boy had a knife and fork, a wooden spoon and a wooden plate in which he has his pudding or meat, earthenware is not used here because of economy; they have their milk in wooden bowls, and the soup and meat are also conveyed from the kitchen to the hall in wooden pails and troughs, they also have the beer in wooden vessels, all of which were remarkably clean, so that it is not at all unpleasant to eat or drink out of them; we also saw that many of the boys could not eat all they had which was a proof that they had quite enough. We were very much pleased in seeing eight hundred children in one room, it is a very beautiful sight.

A splendid and large organ is placed in the