prepare a petition accordingly. Unhappily the inefficiency of this enquiry appeared very striking, after waiting some years for its aid; as at a meeting of the Common Council, in the beginning of January, 1816, Mr. Waithman said, the way in which the Hospital Committee managed was, that the members of it were for life, and they elected new ones to fill up the vacancies occasioned by death in their own number. The children were admitted by the almoners; and, in many instances, the children of persons possessing six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, and even some of 12001. a year had been admitted: yet when an enquiry was instituted into these abuses, he found not one commoner or alderman to stand by his side, or to support him. The great fault lay in the composition of this committee, four or five of whom managed the whole of the affairs of the hospital completely. The committee ought to be elected annually. He then moved, that this memorial be referred to the committee for enquiring into the affairs of Christ's Hospital.

Mr. Jacks and Sir W. Curtis wished it to be referred to the committee of City Lands, and Mr. Waithman, again foiled in his laudable efforts, withdrew his motion.

It is remarkable that since this perversion of these noble funds has been increasing, a circumstance not sufficiently noticed will appear evident in its object to the judicious observer. As testimonies to the original design of this foundation, a statue of a Blue Coat Boy in each of the four corners of the cloisters had, within the recollection of several persons living, the following painted notice underneath :

"This is Christ's Hospital, where poor Blue Coat Boys are harboured and educated."

What sacrilegious hand removed this salutary land

mark, set up by the piety of our ancestors, we cannot at this distance of time point out. It would seem that some reasons, not the most commendable, must have been felt for getting rid even of these dumb witnesses; or, that modern pride and false refinement could not bear the implication that the objects of this charity were still, as they were originally termed, "The children of poor distressed men and poor distressed women."

However, that the public may be satisfied with the excellent mode of education pursued in this national institution, the various specimens of the boys' perfor mances are exhibited at stated times in the great hall.

"The Public Suppers," in the great hall, from Christmas till Easter, commence about six o'clock. Three tables are covered with neat cloths, wooden platters, little wooden buckets for beer, with bread, butter, &c. The ceremony commences with three strokes of a mallet, producing the most profound silence. One of the seniors having ascended the pulpit, reads a chapter from the Bible; and during prayers the boys stand and pronounce the Amen all together. A hymn, sung by the whole assembly, accompanied by the organ, concludes this part of the solemnity. At the supper, the Treasurer, governors, and persons admitted by tickets, which are easily obtained, are seated at the south end of the hall. The Master, Steward, Matron, &c. are at the north end, with several nurses at the tables to preserve regularity. At the conclusion of the supper, the doors of the adjoining wards are thrown open, and the boys proceed in the following order :-The nurse; a boy carrying two lighted candles; others with bread-baskets and trays, and the remainder in pairs, who all pay their obedience as they pass.

In a niche over the avenue into the hospital, from the passage leading from Newgate-Street to the west

door of Christ's Church, is the statue of Edward the Sixth, as represented in the wood-cut. That of Charles the Second embellishes the entrance of the hospital from Newgate-Street, opposite Warwick-Lane, still called Grey Friars.

A passage from under the Writing-school, through the court called the Cloisters, leads to St. Bartholomew's Hospital.-This structure, founded mostly on the site of the hospital built by Rahere, was begun by Gibbs, in 1730. The exterior towards Giltspur-Street is a good piece of Doric architecture, with a large gate and foot-way on each side and two round windows; the basement is rustie, and four pillars support an entablature and a pediment. In the centre are two plain, and a handsome Venetian window; over them a circular and two attic windows. In the tympanum are well sculptured enrichments. The north portal

faces Smithfield; here the entrance appears too diminutive; the basement is rustic, through which is a very large arch. A good figure of Henry the Eighth stands on a pedestal over the key-stone in a niche, guarded by two pillars on each side of the Corinthian order. Underneath the statue of Henry is the following inscription:

"St. Bartholomew's Hospital, founded by Rahere Anno 1122, refounded by Henry the Eighth, 1546."

Above is a severed circular pediment; on the segment of this recline two emblematic human figures, one representing lameness, the other sickness: the pilasters supporting the pediment, &c. are Ionic, with festoons suspended from the volutes. Under the grand pediment is a clock, with several embellishments; the tympanum is ornamented with the arms of England. The grand pile next Smithfield is well worthy of notice. The staircase was painted by Hogarth at his own expense. The principal subjects are, The Good Samaritan, and the Pool of Bethesda. In another part is Rahere laying the foundation stone of the first hospital; a sick man carried on a bier, attended by monks, &c. The hall at the head of the staircase is a grand and spacious apartment, and contains portraits of Henry the Eighth, Charles the Second, and a fine full-length of the famous Dr. Radcliffe, who left 5007. per annum for the improvemeut of the diet, and 1007. per annum to purchase linen for the patients. Here is a fine portrait of Percival Pott, Esq. many years an eminent surgeon to this hospital, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

The centre of the great quadrangle has lately been ornamented with a curious cylindrical pump enclosed within a handsome iron railing, for the use of the hospital. The water is drawn from a very deep spring on