This was the age of arbitrary violence and of lawless Somerset House originally rose upon the power. ruins of ecclesiastical edifices, and of private dwellings. The proud man who degraded and abused his authority, by making it the minister to his personal gratification, pulled down an ancient church, an inn of court, and a number of houses, to make room for the magnificent palace which he here erected. Not the slightest compensation was made to the owners. But Somerset did not long enjoy the poor gratification of his splendid abode. He expiated his crimes on the scaffold in the year 1552.

In succeeding times Somerset House became the residence of various Queens. The great Elizabeth sometimes resided here. Anne of Denmark, Queen to James 1., here kept her court, which was remarkable for its grotesque amusements, being, as an old author says, "a continued masquerade." The unfortunate Queen of Charles I. resided here after her husband's murder; and here the Roman Catholic wife of Charles II. kept a separate court, and made herself suspected and odious by rendering it the great resort of the professors of her religion. Those were the ages in which Royalty displayed itselfin cumbrous pomp;-and in which religious contentions of the most intolerant character, interrupted the quiet of the people, and degraded the faith which they were meant to uphold.

At length, in his late Majesty's reign, arrived the age of well-regulated freedom, of commercial prosperity, of national superiority, of refinement in science and the elegant arts. A building of sufficient magnitude for the business of several of the most important departments of public affairs, and of sufficient splendour to indicate the wealth and greatness of the nation, was required in the metropolis. Old Somerset House presented an eligible site;-and the present extensive pile was commenced in 1774, from the design of Sir William Chambers.

On the right of the great entrance from the Strand, are the apartments belonging to the Royal Academy

of Arts. This Institution was founded under the patronage of his late Majesty; who, in thus lending his support to the encouragement of painting, sculpture, and architecture, was essentially contributing to the prosperity of the nation. The annual exhibition of this Academy, to which all artists are invited to send their productions, is a most interesting spectacle. The paintings generally amount to eight or nine hundred; and these are displayed in several magnificent apartments admirably suited for such a purpose. They consist of historical compositions, landscapes, familiar scenes, and portraits. There is generally too large a proportion of the latter;- but nevertheless it is highly interesting to recognize, as we often do, the resemblances of our most illustrious contemporaries, amongst the mass of less dignified likenesses. The admission to this exhibition costs one shilling ;—and several thousand pounds are thus added every year to those funds which are devoted to the instruction of students, or the encouragement of rising merit.

On the opposite side of the gateway are the apartments belonging to the Royal Society. This is one of the most celebrated scientific institutions of Europe; -and has numbered amongst its members all the illustrious names in philosophy, from the time of Sir Issac Newton to that of the present distinguished president Sir Humphrey Davy. At the meetings of the Society, which are held in these apartments, communications are read from various learned men, who have made some experiment in science, or some important observation in natural history. The most curious and instructive of these papers are annually published, in a volume called the Philosophical Transactions ;"-and this narrative of the labours of the Royal Society, which has continued to be published ever since its foundation in the reign of Charles II., contains some of the greatest discoveries which have benefited mankind, and enlarged the boundaries of human knowledge.

"

The Society of Antiquaries also holds its sittings in Somerset House.

The principal departments of government, which are here carried on, are the Stamp Office, the Victualling Office, and the Navy Pay Office. Each of these offices employs a prodigious number of clerks, and the business is managed with the greatest promptitude and exactness. At the Stamp Office, all the various stamps for law proceedings, bills, and receipts, are issued;-and the preparation of these employs no inconsiderable number of persons. Added to this, the stamps for all the newspapers in the kingdom are here printed on the blank sheets, which are sent for that purpose ;-the average quantity issued of these stamps is no less than six hundred thousand each week.

Somerset House is certainly one of the most interesting buildings of the metropolis. Its architecture is grand and appropriate;-the objects to which the edifice is applied are highly characteristic of the greatness and liberality of the country. While one part of the building is assigned to purposes connected with the immense revenue and expenditure of the state, the other is dedicated to the cultivation of learning and taste. It is in this union of wealth and refinement that the true greatness of a people consists. A portion of the revenues of a government can never be better employed than in calling forth those talents of individuals which elevate nations to the highest glory; in creating those monuments of art, and eliciting those discoveries of science, which delight, instruct, and benefit the whole world; and the fame of which remains when the achievements of valour and the influence of wealth, shall have passed away'

K.

VACCINATION.

THE lamented death of Dr. Jenner, reming s us of the high obligations under which this learned physician has laid the whole human race, by the important discovery which he made after long and laborious investi

VOL. I.

gation, that an innocent distemper, transplanted from the cow, is an effectual remedy against the contagion of the Small-pox, a disease, which, loathsome in appearance and malignant in its nature, has proved for many centuries the scourge of the human race.

Some uncertainty exists as to the period when Small-pox first made its appearance in this country. It seems to have been well known in China in very remote times, and to have visited Arabia and most of the other nations of the East, long before it extended its ravages into this quarter of the globe. It has been conjectured by some of our earlier writers, that this dreadful malady was brought into England about seven hundred years ago, by our countrymen returning from the wars in the Holy Land; but there can be little doubt that it existed here considerably before that period, as it made its appearance in Europe so early as the eighth century, when it is said to have been first introduced into Spain by the Moorish army, led by Count Julian, who, in revenging his private quarrels with Roderick, the last of the Gothic Kings of Spain, became the occasion of communicating this fatal disease to his fellow-countrymen, and from them it was quickly propagated among the other European nations. On the discovery of America by Columbus, his followers carried the disease among the Indian nations of that continent, and for want of knowledge of its proper treatment it spread like a pestilence wherever it appeared.

England stands indebted to a celebrated female for the first step towards putting a stop to its virulence. In the year 1717, Lady Mary Wortley Montague, having accompanied her husband as ambassador to the Turkish Court, acquired, during her residence at Constantinople, a perfect acquaintance with the practice of Inoculation, which was known there by the term of sowing or buying the Small Pox. The person who desired to receive the infection, bartered a certain number of dates or raisins in exchange for some of the crusts or matter of the Small-pox, which being rubbed on the back of the hand (previously pricked

with a needle or lancet) communicated the disorder, under a greatly mitigated character. The mode of treatment during the ensuing fever consisted in keeping the patient cool, which, united with a spare diet, greatly promoted the successful issue of the complaint. The medical practice at that time pursued in England bore a remarkable contrast to the Turkish method: the external air was carefully excluded from the patient, who was thus compelled to breathe an infected atmosphere of his own, almost suffocated by clothing and close confinement. We have since shown our wisdom in returning to the Eastern practice.

Being fully persuaded of the superiority of the oriental treatment, Lady Mary had her son inoculated at Constantinople, and on her return to England some years after, it was performed on another child, under the same favourable circumstances. By this time her influence and example had introduced the new system into great notice. In 1721 inoculation was publicly performed on seven condemned criminals, by permission of King George I., who soon after consented to have two of the royal children inoculated in like manner; and all these cases terminated so favourably, that the practice soon became general amongst persons of condition.

But the great mass of the people for many years resisted the practice. A multitude of objections were started against it; many of the faculty were decidedly averse to inoculation, while other persons hesitated to receive it, under scruples of conscience not less difficult to overcome. While they acknowledged its advantages, they doubted whether they could lawfully inflict a disease upon themselves or their children without offence to God. A variety of publications appeared on the subject, which was disputed with great zeal and ability. Perhaps these objections might have received a satisfactory explanation, by asking-1st, Whether it is lawful to save life or to destroy it? 2d, Whether of two evils we are not permitted to choose the least?-and 3dly, Whether