tion; and their homage, being no longer a mere matter of form, possesses the greater value. The singular strength and warmth of attachment to the Queen, which all sorts and conditions of people delight to manifest, is chiefly due to the prevailing conviction that she cordially reciprocates all their good and kindly wishes." During fifty years she has associated herself with all the joys and sorrows of her people. Hundreds, if not thousands, of her afflicted subjects she has personally endeavoured to console. She has written to them, she has assisted them, she has sometimes gone and wept with them. They tell a pretty story in Scotland of a poor woman who had lost a child, and who received a visit of condolence from the Queen. The neighbours afterwards asked her what the Queen had said. The reply was, "She didna say onything; she jist sat and grat wi' me!" It is something— it is much—that for half a century she has governed her mighty empire with such unfailing wisdom. But it is more-infinitely more-that she has shown a genuine sympathy for every individual subject whom she knew to be in distress. She has been at once the best of queens and the most womanly of women.

God bless her!

With all our hearts we say

The second thing I have to do this morning is to

give you some little account of the history and objects of the Foundling Hospital. It was founded in 1739, and it owed its existence to Captain Coram. This philanthropic gentleman had, it seems, more than once stumbled over infants who had been left in the streets to die; and he conceived the idea of founding an institution where these poor little waifs might be received and nurtured. In most cases the infants had been deserted by their mothers in order to avoid disgrace. Captain Coram thought it was the duty of a Christian community, not only to prevent the destruction of every such innocent child, but also and specially to help its mother to recover her lost position, and to give her a fresh start in life. He endeavoured to enlist public opinion in favour of such a scheme; but public opinion was against him, and for seventeen years he laboured in vain to change it. At last, however, he succeeded, chiefly through the influence of some noble ladies-noble by birth and noble in character. Women have the reputation of being very hard upon one another's failings. And no doubt they sometimes are. But in this institution we have a proof that it is not always so. Had it not been for the assistance of ladies possessing great influence in the State, Captain Coram's scheme would never have been carried out. At

last however a royal charter was granted for the foundation of a hospital which was "to maintain and educate exposed and deserted children."

For a time the hospital was badly managed and did more harm than good. Captain Coram had himself pointed out that great care would be needed for the proper working of such an undertaking. But for a long while no such care was shown. The first admission of children took place in 1741 under the following advertisement. "To-morrow at eight o'clock in the evening this house will be opened for the reception of twenty children, under the following regulations.-No child exceeding the age of two months will be taken in, nor such as have the evil, leprosy or disease of the like nature, whereby the health of the other children may be endangered; for the discovery whereof every child is to be inspected as soon as it is brought; and the person who brings it is to come in at the outward door and ring a bell at the inward door, and not go away until the child is returned or notice given of its reception; but no questions whatever will be asked of any person who brings a child, nor shall any servant of the house presume to endeavour to discover who such person is, on pain of being discharged." On such occasions the number of applications was greatly in excess of the number

of children to be admitted. There were frequently a hundred women at the door, when only twenty children could be received. This gave rise to a good deal of scrambling, not to say fighting, which was eventually put a stop to by making the women ballot for the right of presenting their infants for inspection. Those who drew balls of a certain colour went up first, and if any of their children were rejected on the ground of health or age, ballots were again taken to fill up the vacancies. Of course it is manifest that very little good could come of a system of charity so unguardedly dispensed, especially as chance so often favours the least deserving. In fifteen years—viz., from 1741 to 1756-1384 children were received, or upon an average 92 annually. This was only a small proportion of those for whom admittance had been sought.

The managers however looked forward all along to the time when they should be able to open their hospital upon the most unrestricted plan. At last they applied to Parliament for help. The House of Commons agreed that it was desirable for the hospital to receive all the children offered to it, and grants of money sufficient for this purpose were guaranteed. A basket was accordingly hung outside of the gates of the hospital, and an ad

vertisement publicly announced that all children under the age of two months tendered for admission would be received, in pursuance of which on the 2d June 1756, the first day of general reception, 117 children were admitted.

The new system was even worse than the old. The workhouses handed over all their infants to this convenient receptacle. It happened not unfrequently that a father who was unwilling to be at the expense of keeping his child, would take it by force from its mother and deposit it in the Foundling basket. The hospital was so useful, that from every part of England children were sent up to it by the score. In fact there arose a new trade. There were a considerable number of persons who undertook to convey children to the Foundling Hospital at so much a-head. These traders often found it the simplest and most agreeable plan to pocket the fee without doing the work. At Monmouth person was tried for the murder of his child, which was found drowned with a stone. about its neck; when the prisoner proved that he delivered it to a travelling tinker, who received a guinea from him to carry it to the hospital. Nay it was publicly asserted in the House of Commons that one man, who had the charge of five infants in baskets, happened in his journey to get intoxicated,