to 15001. towards erecting churches in other parts of the potteries. Three thousand pounds more are to be raised by parish-rates in the years 1824-5; and some of the inhabitants have voluntarily subscribed upwards of 2300l. A Report from the Committee appointed to superintend the business, which was read in September last, announced that "the church-people had contributed to promote it, even beyond their power" so that, after all, you see, there was nothing ridiculous in that lofty boast of a certain swaggering tragic hero, which has so often made us smile, "I will strive with things impossible; Yea, get the better of them." Prevalent, however, as the sectarian spirit is here, it does not seem to have tinged the tempers and manners of the people in general with that sourness and gloom which I have elsewhere observed to proceed from it. They appear, on the contrary, to be for the most part a jovial, thoughtless, hearty set of mortals, full of good fellowship, strongly attached to convivial meetings, and no enemies to the good things of this life, professing the heedless philosophy of Master Sly, the tinker, "Drink, and let the world slide!" Societies of Freemasons, Odd Fellows, and Druids, are very numerous; and the ancient reputation of Staffordshire for good living is here most vigorously maintained. Dr. Plot, who visited these parts a century and a half ago, says, "Meats and drinks are no where better or more plentiful than in this county;" and I can honestly aver, that what he asserted in 1680, is equally applicable in 1823. The Staffordshire ale is unquestionably the finest in England. one Literature and literary pursuits experience at present no remarkable encouragement, but the progress of education and refinement promises speedily to work a material change in this respect. Of course, in such a state of things, few productions issue from the local presses. I saw a folio Bible, and or two other standard works, which were printed at Burslem, but there was nothing to admire in their typographical execution. A newspaper, however, that certain indication of growing civilization and intelligence, has been established at Hanley, under the title of "The Pottery Gazette," and meets with a considerable share of encouragement, which the rapid growth of population will doubtless, ere long, materially increase: it is conducted with much spirit by a gentleman of talent and independence. There is also in the last-mentioned town a scientific and literary meeting, graced with the high-sounding title of the Pottery Philosophical Society; but of the members' talents I know nothing, of their taste I cannot augur very favourably; for, by a late resolution, they excluded from their library all novels, plays, romances, and works of imagination. Who will pretend to talk of Beotian dulness after this? Book-clubs are rather numerous, also national and Sunday schools. Upon the origin of earthenwaremanufactories in Staffordshire, and the particulars of the process, I have gleaned little worth repeating. The latter you may find pretty clearly described in Aikin's "Thirty Miles round Manchester," but the former topic is clothed in much obscurity. All that can be learned with certainty, is, that pot-works were first established at Burslem, probably three or four centuries ago; but they were for a long time so inconsiderable, that Speed, in his numeration of the "commodities" of the county, (1610,) is totally silent upon the subject; and Dr. Plot, whose work was published about eighty years later, says, "the sale of pots is chiefly confined to the poor crate-men, who carry them at their backs all over the country." Even so recently as 1760 or 1770, a handsome tea-pot, manufactured in Staffordshire, appears to have been looked upon as a thing to be wondered at, a kind of prodigy. In the works of Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, there occurs a poem, called “Isabella,” which describes the morning occupations and visitors of Lady Isabella Montague, and says of one of her admirers, a Mr. Bateman "To please the noble dame, the courtly squire Produc'd a tea-pot, made in Staffordshire! So Venus look'd, and with such longing eyes, When Paris first produc'd the golden prize. 'Such works as this,' she cries, 'can Eng land do? It equals Dresden, and excels St. Cloud; And for best-fancied silks, let France be fam'd; De Do thon, thrice-happy England, still pre pare Thy clay, and build thy fame on earthenware!" Upon the amazing increase and improvement in the manufacture of English earthenware during the last half. century, it would be impertinent to dilate, as the former is universally known, and your cups, plates, and dishes, must remind you of the latter at every meal. I cannot, however, forbear attempting to give you some idea of the ratio in which the trade in this article still advances, by subjoin. ing an extract from A Comparative Statement of the Value of British Earthenware exported, and of Foreign Earthenware imported, during the years 1821 and 1822," which was issued from the Custom House in April last: Value of exports. Value of imports ...... In the year 1821. ·£423,399 128. 7d. •£4.992 188. 4d. In the year 1822. •£489,732 178. id. Value of exports Value of imports.... £6,695 0s. 7d. Hence you will perceive, that the value of earthenware exported ad. vanced nearly 70,0007. in a single year; and the bustle now visible in the potteries seems to presage that the next Return will exhibit a correspondent or still greater increase. The consignments were chiefly to Ireland, North America, the East and West Indies, Germany,Holland, and Russia. France received very little, and the other European nations comparatively nothing. The imports were principally from France, the East Indies, and China: the total value of ware, (principally jars and vases,) received from the two latter, in 1822, was 1940. 14s. 8d. ; yet, a century ago, England depended almost entirely upon China for the supply of this article. The circumstances which have mainly contributed to produce this prosperity (aided by the national spirit of enterprise,) are the increase of canal navigation, and the exhaustless supply of coal which the earth in the neighbourhood affords. Of the former, the potteries may be said to form the very centre; and, of the consumption of coal, some estimate may be formed from the statement, that 8000 tons are burned weekly in the manufactories alone, to say nothing of the immense fires which are kept up both night and day in the private houses: the people, not having the fear of a salamander before their eyes, seldom taking the trouble to extinguish them. Half the district, in fact, is undermined, and the walls of many buildings betray what is passing beneath them, by fearful rents and deviations from the perpendicular, where the foundations have partially given way; yet the inhabitants scarcely secm aware of their danger, or, if awakened to a sense of it by some warning more serious than usual, forget it again in a day or two, and relapse into their previous indolent security, "They start, when some alarming awful shock Strikes through their wounded hearts the sudden dread; But their hearts wounded, like the wounded air, Soon close." The potteries cannot boast of having produced any noted writers, with the exception of Elijah Fenton, who was a native of Shelton. The house in which he was born is still standing, and at present is occupied by a Mr. Woodward. Dr. Johnson tells us, that he "sought intelligence of Fenton, among his relations, in his native county, but could not obtain it;" and you will therefore be little surprised to learn, that what Johnson was unable to gather fifty years ago, I failed to procure in the present day. The very name of Fenton, in fact, appears to be unknown in the neighbourhood; and it was, therefore, of little service to make enquiries respecting a man whom few had ever before heard mentioned: so true it is, that a poet, like a prophet, is least honoured in his own country. I am not certain whether Wedgwood, who may almost be said to have created the potteries of Staffordshire, was a native of the district; but, if so, his name should never be forgotten when speaking of its eminent men. I am sorry to qualify this generally favourable description of the potteries with a few notices of their defects, but truth demands it. "They have their praise. Now mark a spot or two, Which so much beauty would do well to purge." In the first place, the system of police is wretchedly defective; in plainer terms, there appears to be scarcely any police at all, and the rabble are therefore at liberty to indulge their brutal passions and knavish propensities propensities without restraint. The innumerable petty thefts which daily pass unpunished, illustrate the latter position, and the former was strikingly exemplified during my late sojourn in the neighbourhood. The adjoining borough of Newcastle had just been the scene of a contested election; and the defeated candidate, being a resident in the potteries, the potters, vastly exasperated at this rejection of their champion, "vowed vengeance, and performed it too." Not an individual from Newcastle, suspected of having voted on the wrong side, could for some time pass along without experiencing gross abuse, if not actual violence; and the women connected with the obnoxious voters, who attended the pottery markets, were brutally attacked by beasts in the shape of men, their persons maltreated, and their goods destroyed. Yet Messrs. Dogberry and Verges, the worthy constables, slept soundly and quietly at their posts, whilst lawless proceedings were carried on with impunity for hours, which, under a well-organized police, would not have been suffered to continue as many minutes. Measures, however, are in contemplation for suppressing this crying evil, and to the town of Hanley is due the honour of having taken the lead in promoting them. The state of the roads and footways is likewise very defective; they are, in many parts, in vile condition, and are neither watched nor lighted, though coal costs little beyond the trouble of carrying it, and gas could therefore be brought into general use throughout the potteries, as it already is in Newcastle, at an extremely cheap rate, and greatly to the well-being of the inhabitants. A few more blemishes might be noticed, but I will not make so ungrateful a return for the hospitable reception I experienced here, as to dwell any longer upon "the nakedness of the land," and point out its deficiencies with invidious minuteness; therefore, farewell! Alexandria) a small tract ceded to the jurisdiction of the United States by the states of Maryland and Virginia. Its extent is a square of ten miles, unequally divided by the Patomac, a magnificent river which here separates itself into two unequal branches, nearly at right angles to cach other, the area between them having been selected, by the advice of General Washington, as the site of the national city, at present containing about 10,000 inhabitants. Of the city of Washington so much has been said, and so little is generally known, that I shall endeavour to give some idea of its actual state from my own personal observation. Let the reader imagine himself upon the summit of the "Capitol Hill,” a natural eminence of about eighty feet, in the centre of the city. If his face be directed toward the S. E. he will perceive the fort on Greenleaf's Point, about two miles distant, at the fork of the Patomac, from whence the river flows downward in a straight stream, a mile in width, to the city of Alexandria, distant eight miles, which is distinctly seen in clear weather. If now the spectator turn slowly to the right, he will trace the course of the main upward stream of the river, and, about a mile from the fort, will perceive a wooden bridge, three-quarters of a mile in length, (with a draw in the centre,) connecting the city with the opposite shore, and communicating with the high road to Alexandria. Inclining more to the right he will continue to pursue the river, at length "Tiber Creek,” and some clustered buildings, will appear to variegate the hitherto unbroken nakedness of the area of the American Metropolis. The buildings now increase upon the view, some ornamental trees at length present themselves, and presently the "Pennsylvania Avenue" appears reaching from the foot of the Capitol Hill, nearly to, and almost in a line with, the President's mansion. A busy and uninterrupted line of buildings may be traced nearly from the foot of the hill to Georgetown, on the Patomac, about two miles off. The President's manFor the Monthly Magazine. sion, a handsome stone building 170 WASHINGTON; and the CAPITOL, or feet by 80, and the government offices, THE DRUID IN LONDON. Oct. 7, 1823. CONGRESS-HALL. in its immediate vicinity, midway beTHE city of Washington, the seat for a conspicuous feature of the scene, tween the Capitol and Georgetown, States of America, is situated in the district of Columbia, (which also conains Georgetown, and the city of 2 which in this direction is particularly interesting from the picturesque combination of trees and buildings, backed by by the clear waters of the Patomac, and the gentle hills which crown the opposing banks of the river, clothed with luxuriant cedar woods, and sprinkled with the villas of the wealthy land-holders of the vicinage; among these the seat of Mr. Custiss is most distinguished. Continuing to turn to the right, the buildings and the river gradually disappear; the vacant but now undulating site of the city, intersected, however, with good roads, or avenues, presents itself; but, were it not that the distant view is by no means uninviting, the scene would be altogether devoid of interest. Further to the right a considerable number of scattered dwellings of a respectable order are seen on the Capitol Hill, in the immediate vicinity, and on a level with the spectator, whose back will now be turned towards Alexandria, while his eyes are pursuing the high road to Baltimore; presently his back will be towards Georgetown, and he will look towards the " Navy Yard," situated on the "Eastern Branch;" but, although there is a considerable number of buildings in this direction, and notwithstanding the Navy Yard is itself a large establishment, the elevation of the intervening land and houses prevents them from making much appearance. A road from the Capitol in this direction, is terminated by a very neat and commodions wooden bridge, across the Eastern Branch, which is about a furlong and a half in width, but this bridge is not visible from the Capitol Hill. Continuing to turn, there are still some respectable dwelling-houses to be seen in the immediate neighbourhood: the lower part of the Navy Yard now makes its appearance; the Eastern Branch, and its luxuriant opposing shores, come into view; the Navy Yard disappears, the Eastern Branch gradually expands, the prospect insensibly widens, and the vacant site of the city is seen between the straggling houses on the Capitol Hill; the fort on Greenleaf's Point again appears, and the magnificent prospect down the main stream of the Patomac, beyond Alexandria, terminates the circuit at the point whence it began. A few miles below Alexandria the river inclines to the left; were it not for this deviation, a glass of moderate power would descry, at about fourteen miles distance, "Mount Vernon," the seat of the immortal Washington, a respectable but modest mansion, surrounded by an extensive and valuable domain: the ornamental grounds extend to the river, whose right bank rises at that point with peculiar majesty above the surface of his translucid waters; and at the verge of the lawn, in a vault of the simplest structure, beneath the placid shelter of luxuriant cedars are entombed the remains of him whose name is borne by a capital city, and who by the universal voice of his compatriots has been styled, “The first in peace, the first in war, and the first in the hearts of his countrymen." The city of Washington is 500 miles from Boston; 248 from New York; 144 from Philadelphia; 42 from Baltimore; 133 from Richmond, in Virginia; 232 from Halifax, in North Carolina; 630 from Charleston, in South Carolina; 794 from Savannah, in Georgia ; and a road partly executed to New Orleans, is estimated to exceed 1000 miles in length. The Capitol, or Congress-Hall, in the city of Washington, is at the summit of the hill which bears its name, and affords the view of the circumjacent city already described. It is a structure 348 feet in front; the material of the external walls is a yellowish, strong, and apparently durable, sandstone, found at a moderate distance, but the substance of the interior walls is of brick. The lower or basementfloor consists entirely of common offices, and apartments, with the exception of a portion of the western wing beneath the Senate Chamber, which is appropriated to the Court-room of the Supreme Judicature of the United States. The principal floor of the Capitol is immediately above the basement. The Hall of Representatives is suited to the reception of the members, in number between 2 and 300. The columns supporting the roof are of a peculiar stone, called Patomac marble, a sort of pudding-stone, intensely hard, and which, when polished, has the same appearance as the section of cold mock-turtle soup, except that the tints are less powerful; the effect is very handsome. The capitals are of statuary marble, and were carved in Italy, in imitation of those in the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, at Athens; the entablature corresponds with the columns, and the ceiling is half domed. The entablature above the colonnade or skreen, behind the Speaker's Speaker's seat, is surmounted by a statue of Liberty, with the American eagle, and other national emblems. At a proper elevation, between the semi-circular colonnade and the general rectangular inclosure, is the space appropriated to the gallery for stran gers, beneath which are several small apartments. The opposite or western wing of the Capitol contains the Senate Chamber. This chamber, though finished in an elegant style, will not bear comparison, in point of grandeur, with the Hall of Representatives; it rises through two stories of the building, and its ceiling is a half dome: the skreen consists of a double height of Ionic and Corinthian columns and antæ, exquisitely worked in marble. The Grand Vestibule, in the centre of the building, (which was incomplete when I left Washington,) is nearly 100 feet in diameter, surmounted by a dome, and may be considered more as a place of show than of general utility: it is intended to be adorned with paintings and sculpture, illustrative of the national history. The Library is spacious and handsome, and is open to all the members of Congress. The remainder of the plan is occupied by offices of state, committee-rooms, antirooms, vestibules, and passages; some of which are beautiful in their effects, and others would be much more so, were it not for a deficiency of light. The interior architectural detail is generally in the Grecian taste. The external elevation was principally designed by a French architect; the interior is almost exclusively the work of the late Benjamin Henry Latrobe, esq. an English architect, who received his professional education under the late James Wyatt, esq. R.A. and by whom the interior of the structure was nearly re-built after its destruction during the late war. London, 1823. C. A. BUSBY. population in large towns, in which cleanliness ought to be the first consideration. The air should be kept pure by every means human invention can devise, to promote the bealth of a large population, who are crowded together in streets where the circulation of air is frequently stopped; and, if any filth should lie upen the ground, it must in some degree infect the air, and consequently injure the health of the people. Cleanliness is absolutely necessary to every street. The pavement of the Scotch Purbeck stone has many advantages: it is durable, and easily swept by scavengers, SO that all filth liable to putridity is removed. When beavy rain falls, it washes every street, and carries all the dirt into the sewers; by which means the streets are rendered perfectly sweet, and the air is purified. The inhabitants are thus refreshed by the improved state of the atmosphere. I am of opinion that roads cannot be kept so perfectly clean and healthy as a pavement: for, if any putrid matter is laid in the street in hot weather, it must penetrate more into roads than is possible in the pavement, and is not so easily scraped off. Ali the care that can be devised will not render the road so clean and pure as the pavement. In winter the highway will be very sludgey, and all the crossings bad; so that there will be a difficulty in walking from one side of the street to the other without being over your shoes in mud, which is proved in all the roads about London; for, where there is any great crossing, it is necessary to pave it, for the convenience of the public: this proves how impracticable it will be to keep the streets so clean upon Mr. M'Adam's pian as they are at present. I hope the above observations will be well considered before any steps are taken to change the present comforts that are enjoyed, for any new plan that may endanger the health of the inhabitants of London. The reads have most certainly been greatly in proved by Mr. M'Adam's plan; but, because the roads have been benefited, is it to be concluded that cities and towns will be equally so? I have mostly found, that any scheme which proves beneficial in one instance, is generally taken up with great warmth; and, like a quack medicine, is foolishly estimated to be good in every way. Sept. 3, 1813. S. W. To |