Doctors' Commons, Jan. 1819." "Lent Assizes, Maidstone, the defendant had converted to his Mr, URBAN, N Aug. 9. "In an action of Trover, brought July Mag. p. 37, you have given by the Churchwardens of St. John Baptist, Margate, against the Rector, to recover the value of the black cloth which had been put up by the Parish in respect to the memory of the late Princess Charlotte, and which it appeared had been converted by the Rev. Gentleman into coats, waistcoats, &c. "It appeared that the plaintiffs, as Churchwardens, had hung the pulpit, reading-desk, and communiontable, on that occasion, with superfine black cloth and kerseymere, to the amount of 371. 6s. 9d. and at the end of six weeks were about to take it down, when the Defendant took steps to appropriate part of it to his own use in the manner before-mentioned, and to divide the remainder between the Clerk and Sexton. This gave rise to some personal animosities, and subsequently to the proceeding in question. "The Rev. Defendant pleaded general custom. Mr. Justice Bayley objected to such evidence, but allowed evidence to be given of the particular custom in this parish; and in his Charge to the Jury laid it down, that no individual had a right to hang up what are called ornaments in a Church without the leave of the Rector, because the Freehold of the Church was iu him, and he might make his own terms for that leave.In general, when private individuals hung up black cloth in the ParishChurch, with the concurrence of the Rector, there was a kind of understanding that the cloth became the property of the Rector. In the present case there had been no bargain between the plaintiff and defendants with respect to the terms upon which the cloth should be hung up; cousequently the latter had no right to take any part of it, because by law be was not entitled to take such property, unless by matter of arrange ment between the parties to whom it belonged. Under these circumstances, the plaintiffs were entitled to a verdict, for the value of the cloth which your Readers a sketch of the progress of Architecture in the City of London since the great fire. The numerous works of Sir Christopher Wren, which arose at that period, are so many ornaments to the Metropolis. Yet that this great Architect and his successors were guided by a very false taste in their rejection of the beautiful and appropri ate Pointed style for ecclesiastical edifices, must be apparent to every admirer of the works of our ancestors. In the construction of steeples, Sir Christopher has been particularly happy. The elegant spires of Bow and St. Bride's Churches, especially the former, display rich specimens of architectural elegance. A great variety of design may also be seen at St. Vedast, Christ Church, St. Stephen's, and others erected by the same Architect. Yet amidst all this profusion of ornament, columns piled upon columns, and order upon order, the Spectator will ever admire with increasing pleasure the "heaven-directed spire" and magnificent tower of our forefathers, and on this aecount even St. Michael's tower, Cornhill, and the spire of St. Dunstan's in the East, contemptible as they are when compared with ancient erections, are more admired than the most elegant of their neighbours, attired with all the art of Grecian finery. After Sir Christopher Wren's day, the fifty new Churches next engaged the abilities of Architects. But in those that have been built, the hand of that great master is missing; his mantle has not fallen on his pupil Hawksmoor. Yet the generality of them are not deficient in magnificence, though their beauties are almost lost in the general mass of ornament, the production of a luxuriant imagination. Perhaps the best is St. John's Church, Westminster, built by Archer. The late Act of Parliament having revived the spirit of Church building, some edifices have been recently' erected, in which are introduced every extravagant, novel, and fantas tic appendage, formerly only appropriated to Theatres, but foreign to Churches, until this age of improvement: these innovations are most glaring in the New Church at Mary-le-bone, where the place of the grand window above the altar, to be seen in almost every Church, antient or modern, is supplied by a transparency, such as decorate the fronts of houses in a general illumination, fixed in the centre of the organ, which, in violation of all custom, is erected over the altar, and to complete the absurdity, accompanied by two tier of private boxes, fitted up with fire-places and fashionable chairs, giving this part of the Church the appearance of the proscenium of a Theatre. The Altar itself is placed at the South, instead of the East end of the Building, an arrangement which Sir C. Wren strictly adhered to, as his Cathedral plainly shows. The favourite model of the day is the Parthenon: the New Church building at Pancras is said to be copied from it. The incongruous additions of a steeple, and a plain body, with two series of dwelling-house windows, to the magnificent portico of Minerva's Temple, would have as much surprised its architect, if he could have witnessed the absurdity, as appropriating the same portico to fill up the metopes in the frieze, though they may be classically consistent, become ridiculous when placed on a Temple dedicated to the service of a Deity whose sacrifice is obedience, and not the blood of bulls. The same want of character is apparent in Shadwell New Church: take away the steeple, and it may be easily mistaken for a dwelling-house. I once cherished a hope that the Pointed style of architecture would have been preferred at this period; but as its adoption depends so much upon parish committees, guided by professional men, who by education are prejudiced in favour of modern architecture, and generally ignorant of the principles of the "Gothic style," as they call it, the present age is likely to be as far from perfection as Wren, Hawksmoor, or Batty Langley, ever were. Should these lines meet the eye of any one who has an interest in the erection of any of the projected New Churches, I hope he will seriously consider the propriety of Pointed architecture for Christian Churches and Chapels, and exert his voice for its adoption, against the prejudices and opposition of interested professioualists. E. I. C. Mr. URBAN, June 9. HE following is an account of King Charles before his troubles. the box lobby entrance of a play. The magnificent Table kept by house. It is not improbable, if the present taste should exist for a century longer, the Church Architects will choose for a favourite design, the Coliseum; the Roman edifice will, no doubt, be as accurately copied as the Grecian, and with the same propriety be metamorphosed into a Church; and which is not unlikely to be the case, if the Methodists should have a voice in the selection. A structure may then appear large enough to contain a whole sect, and the Moorfields Tabernacle, or the Conventicle in the Surreyroad, dwindle into insignificance be fore it. With respect to the New Chapel in Waterloo-place, the iron portico is certainly not without its merits, and has a noble and commanding appearance, but until the beholder glances his eyes up to the insignificant turret which stands upon the roof, he will probably suppose it is the entrance to a Masquerade room; the ox-skulls and pateras which There was daily in his court 86 tables, weil furnished each meal; whereof the King's table bad 28 dishes; the Queen's 24; four other tables, 16 dishes each; three other, 10 dishes each; 12 other had 7 dishes each; 17 other tables had each of them 5 dishes; three other had 4 each; thirty-two other tables had each 3 dishes; and 13 other had each two dishes; in all about 500 dishes each meal, with beer, wine, and all other things necessary. spent yearly in the King's house, of grass meat, 1500 oxen; 7000 sheep; 1200 veals; 300 porkers; 400 sturks, or young beefs; 6800 lambs; 300 flitches of bacon, and 26 boars; also 140 dozen of geese; 250 dozen of capons; 470 dozen of bens; 750 dozen of pulletts; 1470 dozen of chickens: for bread, 3600 bushells of wheat: and for drink, 600 tun of wine, and 1700 tun of beer; of butter 40,640 There was pounds pounds used with fish and fowl, venison, fruit, and spices, in proportion. By special order of the King's house, some of his Majesties household went directly to Westminsterhall, in Term time, between 11 and 12 o'clock, to invite gentlemen to eat of the King's acates or viands, and in Parliament time to invite the Parliament-men also. W. R. I LETTERS FROM THE CONTINENT. Rheims, Aug. 15, 1818. MUST give some account of our visit to Versailles, on Thursday. It is a large town, about ten miles S. W. of Paris, said to contain 30,000 inhabitants. We hired an open carriage, which conveyed our party of six. In going out of Paris, along the North side of the Seine, we passed the bridge of Jena, a very handsome flat bridge, built by Buonaparte. It leads into the centre of the Champs de Mars, at the opposite end to the Military School: on the North side of the Bridge, and intended to face the School, Buonaparte had laid the foundations of a palace for the King of Rome. This Bridge, and the Column in the Place de Vendome, seem the only buildings about Paris which Buonaparte has the credit of erecting. It was this Bridge which old Blucher wanted to blow up, on account of its name. The day proved delightful for our excursion; a clear transparent sky, a defined outline in the horizon, and a cool North-east wind to tem per the heat of the sun. At the Western end of the Champs d'Elysées, which is the barrier in a direct line with the Tuilleries, Buonaparte had begun to build a grand Triumphal Arch, in commemoration of his victories; the foundations, which are on a very large scale, are visible from the Tuilleries, at the end of an avenue of a mile in length. The barrier is called the barrier D'Etoile. Near St. Cloud we crossed a Bridge over the Seine, and saw about 100 washer-women standing in the river at their employments. They never use hot water, but beat the clothes in the river, with large clubs, till the dirt is expelled. We stopped to see GENT. MAG. August, 1820. Buonaparte's favourite palace, five miles from Paris, commanding a fine view of that city. The rooms are elegant, and the furniture magnifi. cent and shewy. In the principal room are now placed two full-length pictures of Louis XVI. and his Queen, which had been concealed during the troubles. The present King comes here occasionally, but his wish is to remove to Versailles, as soon as it is habitable. There is a handsome painting, the subject of which is the reception by the King of the Duchess of Berry, from Naples, after her marriage with the Duke. We walked from St. Cloud to Sevres, distant about half a mile, to see the Royal Porcelain Manufactory, which belongs to Government.—The price of one of the largest Vases is 1,1257. sterling. We arrived at Versailles about noon, but had no time to see any thing of the town. When Louis XIV. built the Palace of Versailles, he gave pieces of ground to the Courtiers and Officers connected with the Court, and required them to build houses; and thus the town of Versailles attained its present dimensions; the Palace having always been the favourite residence of the Bourbons. But at the Revolution, the furniture and tapestry were destroyed by the mob, and the place has been ever since comparatively deserled. It is an immense and most magnificent pile of buildings, in comparison with which, Blenheim is quite insignificant. Great progress has been made in repairing and restoring the Palace; several of the rooms are now in order, and fitted up with paintings; but there is yet no furniture, and the tapestry, which was destroyed, is not yet restored; so that I should suppose half a million of money must be laid out to make the place what it was, and fit for the Royal Residence. The Chapel, which is very splendid, is completely put in order. It has a richly-painted roof. The grand gallery, which is considered one of the largest and most magnificent rooms in the world, is adorned with a ceiling painted by Le Brun; representing the various battles and triumphs of Louis XIV. Fortunately this was out of the reach of the mob, when they destroyed the tapestry, and and it is now in a perfect state of repair, though the gallery is yet unfinished. Two things might prevent Buonaparte from making Versailles his residence-the immense expense necessary to put it in order, and the circumstance that it is calculated to remind France of the glory and magpificence of the Bourbon family. A few of the rooms escaped injury; some of these are lined with curious mirrors, which multiply and invert the company in the room. On the grand staircase, the Swiss Guards were cut in pieces in attempting to defend the Palace against the popuJace. In the Queen's lodging-room we were shewn the private door behind the tapestry, through which she escaped just as the mob was entering her apartment. There is a large Theatre belonging to the Palace. After going through the Palace, we proceeded to the Gardens; these are on a large scale, laid out in straight lines, with sheets of water, and fountains, in the old stile, which corresponds very well with the Palace. We proceeded to the Great Trianon, a Chateau built by Louis XIV. for his Mistresses, and in which Madame Maintenon, Mademoiselle Fontanges, Madame Lavallier, and Madame Montespan resided. The walls within and without are of the finest marble. There are pictures of Madame Maintenon and Miss Fontanges. The former is a well-looking matron, pear 50; the latter a beautiful young woman. We proceeded to the Petit Trianon, built by Louis XIV. for Madame Pompadour and Madame Du Barrê. This was the favourite residence of Louis XVIth's Queen, who formed an English garden near it, in which she took great delight. Here we saw portraits of Louis XV. and of Madame Victoire, his sister, a venerable old Lady, who, at the Revolution, fled to Naples, and died there. Our guide was an old sailor, who was taken prisoner by an English ship, and confined in prison in America. He knew Louis XV. and his Mistresses; and was full of talk. He said, that of 30 guides who shewed Versailles, he himself was the best, for that he knew every thing. At the Great Trianon there is a grand Amalekite Vase presented by Alexander to Buonaparte. Our guide, however, would not venture to say so much-but only that it was a present to "the Government." We returned to Paris to a late din ner, and at a Restaurateur's we had good beef steaks, bottled porter, and Cheshire cheese; and we afterwards bought at the Gourmaud, a shop in the Palais Royal, a good slice of the cheese, to take along with us on our journey-the French cheese being very bad. I one day shewed my watch, which cost 18 guineas, at Baley's, in Wigmore-street, Cavendish-square, to Mr. Le Roi, watchmaker to the King, in the Palais Royal. His foreman guessed the price at 807. and Mr. Le Roi could not believe it possible to be less than 351. Only one person makes Chronometers in Paris. Mr. Le Roi deals chiefly in Geneva watches. He acknowledged the superiority of English workmanship nothing can be more foolish than for Englishmen to buy watches on the Continent, unless merely as toys. We have met with great civility every where-sometimes the people say as we pass, "Voila les Anglais;" and occasionally children call out “goddam;" but on the whole there is nothing to complain of. The Exchange is more in favour of England than when we set off. At Amiens we received 234 fr. for a one pound note. On our arrival at Paris, 24 fr. which is par: and yesterday, at Perigaux's, above 24 fr.-One of the common inscriptions on signs is, “Ici on donne à boire et manger." Here they give to eat and drink. Friday, Aug. 14, we have hired a Cabriolet for 240 francs, which we are to leave at Brussels in three weeks. We ordered our horses for half-past nine. About eight, a barber came to cut my hair, who informed us the Statue of King Henry was to be set up at eleven: we there fore postponed our journey till twelve, and called on the party to accompany us to the Tuillerie Gardens to see the grand spectacle. Mrs. —————'s fair maid Betty, from the Pateley Bridge Moors, accompanied us. The gar dens and avenues were crowded with people. All Paris seemed to have turned out, and all eyes were directed towards the barrier D'Etoile, the road by which the Statue was to pass. It was to be drawn by forty oxen, in blue blue drapery, with gilded horns. Twelve o'clock arrived, but no Statue. The roads were lined with English carriages. We asked a centinel the cause of the delay, who replied, "Beefs don't travel fast." At length, at half past twelve, we came away, tired of waiting, and determined to proceed on our journey. On arriving at our lodgings, we were informed by M. Blondeau, that after the car with the Statue had proceeded a very little way, a wheel broke, and occasioned the delay; but he believed it was never intended to set it up till the feast of St. Louis (the 25th inst.) We left Paris very well satisfied with the civility and attention of Mr. and Mrs. Blondeau, our hosts. The former was born in England, and speaks the language. The servants are civil and respectable. The charge for a week for a suite, consisting of two bed-rooms and sitting-room, was 80 francs-about 37. 6s. In travelling to Senlis, we had an instance of honesty in a postilion. I had paid, in the lump, for the horses and himself, without specification. After we had proceeded a mile and a half, he came galloping after the carriage to return five francs, which he said I had over-paid him I am sorry that after he was gone, and on a deliberate computation, I was quite satisfied the mistake was his, and that he had taken all the trouble to wrong himself of the money; but I mention it, because, if I had paid ever so much more than was usual, most postilions in England would have thought themselves honestly entitled to keep it. Our English Book, in some particular parts of this road, describes "Chains of Mountains" and the passage of "Rivers." The mountains are about as high as the Mount without Micklegate Bar at York, and the rivers are between two and three inches deep. This comes of translating from the French. Senlis, where we slept, is an old decayed town, with a Bishop's See. The old Gothic Cathedral, at which we heard Vespers, has one lofty West tower-what should have been the other tower has never been built. Our Inn was the Hotel de Flandres. Besides the Cathedral, there are the remains of another venerable old church, with a beautiful modern Go thic front, which is now used as a barn, having been ruined at the Revolution. After dinner we had a pleasant walk on the ramparts. The country round Senlis has all the appearance of a park. There are some beautiful openings into the distant country. The town itself is very poor. At eight, the bells announced the approaching feast of the Assump. tion. At dinner we had a bottle of Old Tavel, at six francs. It is a rich syrupy red wine. Saturday, Aug. 15, we breakfasted at Compeigne, an old town, with two good Gothic churches. We had a beautiful prospect on the road, on descending the hills near Verbery, into the vale of the rivers Oise and Aisne. There is a Palace at Compeigne belonging to the King; and the town is surrounded by 27,000 acres of wood. The Palace is a modern building, and handsome. The road from Compeigne to Soissons was along the rich vale of the river Aisne. The width of the valley between four and five miles. The hills finely wooded. The town of Soissons is surrounded by rich land. On approaching it, we were struck by the appearance of two very magnificent Churches. The one with only one tower-the other with two towers and a grand West front, similar to Lichfield. The building with two towers proved to be the remains of the Abbey of St. John, which was destroyed at the Revolution, and nothing left except the West front and part of the cloisters. The towers are elaborate, and in the same stile as Lichfield Cathedral, but of more elegant workmanship. The stone is a beautiful light grey stone, in perfect preservation. As a ruin, this is even more striking and elegant than St. Bertin's at St. Omer. The cloisters are equal, if not superior to those at Gloucester. The Cathedral is a venerable Gothic building, in neat order. Only one West tower has been built. The other, as usual here, left unfinished. There is a fine opening round the Churcb. There are good statues both within and without, but some of the latter have been decapitated. The finest peal of bells I ever heard was summoning the people to Vespers; it being the Assumption. The tenor bell was in the key of G. and whilst the treble bells were chiming, |