JOURNEY FROM LIVERPOOL TO LONDON.

August 23d, 1853. Set out in the Railway train from Liverpool for London at half-past 7 o'clock in the morning. At this hour, owing to the fog or smoke, the sun had such a lurid appearance, that at the first glance we hardly knew whether it was the sun or moon. There were three classes of carriages which went on the train at this hour; the first, second, and the third, or Parliamentary. The fare in the Parliamentary, or as it is sometimes called the Governmental Train, is one penny per mile, all over the kingdom. Each Railroad Company, we were informed, were obliged, at least on one train per day, to carry passengers at this rate, the first class passengers had to pay nearly double this amount. The carriages for the first class were cushioned.

The Parliamentary train is the slowest of all, being about twelve hours on the route between Liverpool and London. The Railroad carriages are coach-like in appearance, opening on their sides. In addition to their being more uncomfortable, I should judge them to be more expensive in their construction than our American cars. The roads themselves appear to be under better regulations, and the passengers feel safer in passing over them than with us, as every part of the road appears to be under the supervision of the police, whom we found in every part of the kingdom, at short intervals, on every road we traveled. Determined to see all I could of England on our passage, I seated myself on the right side of our carriage so that I could look backward, as well as forward. All the country I saw was in a high state of cultivation. It was divided into fields or lots, rather smaller in extent than with

us.

What struck me the most was the fresh or living green of the fields, and the foilage of the trees and shrubbery. One marked feature was the appearance of the hawthorn hedges every where on the route, forming the division between the different fields. Whenever a field was to be divided, the process appears to have been this, first a ditch was dug, throwing the dirt up on one side, forming a kind of elevated embankment by the side of the ditch. On this elevation the hawthorn hedges were planted. On viewing these hedges, I could now comprehend what was meant by the "hedging and ditching" we so often meet with in English books. Another marked difference from what we see in our country, was the appearance of the houses and barns, particularly as we approached London. These were, without hardly an exception, built of brick or stone. The old stone house in Guilford, Conn., is a fair specimen of many farm houses seen on the route. Many had thatched roofs, others slate or tiles; the more ancient were moss-covered. Most had a beautiful little garden of flowers and shrubbery. The trees were mostly set in the hedges; occasionally, however, they stood in small clusters in the fields. In our route to Liverpool I did not see any apple tree orchards like those we have in the United States, and but seldom observed what I supposed to be an apple tree.

Every part of the ground appeared to be under cultivation, even on the surface of the deep cuttings of the Railroad. At many of the stations, beautiful beds of flowers and shrubs were cultivated. The country roads which we observed on our passage were narrower than ours, but much smoother, gracefully winding among the inequalities of the surface over

which they passed. All the cattle we observed feeding in the green pastures appeared to be of the Durham breed, white and red in color; numerous flocks of sheep were seen in every district through which we passed. In many of the pastures were small watering places, so fenced off that the animal could only approach it with its head, to drink.

The harvest for wheat, barley or oats, was just commencing. These grains were cut or reaped by the sickle, and not cradled as with us. Saw many laborers in Liverpool, also at the stations where we stopped, with their sickles, apparently just from Ireland, seeking employment. Some of these were what is termed "green looking" young men, dressed perhaps in the costume of a century since. Several of our passengers, of a sportive turn of mind, would call out to them to get on board the train and go with us. Instead of being foolishly angered with the liberties taken, Patrick took the invitation kindly, replying only with a broad grin. Many of the fields were being plowed as we passed along. This was done for the most part by a light plow with a wheel before it, drawn by three horses. All the grass fields had the appearance of having been plowed for a rotation of crops.

In all the prominent villages we passed, some kind of manufacturing business was performed, much of it by steam. We saw establishments for iron castings: potteries and brick kilns, similar in appearance to those seen in our country; saw also many canals, in which boats, with masts, were passing. All the bridges, even over very small streams, were built in the most substantial and durable manner, with arches of brick or stone.

Every thing connected with the Railroad is built in the most substantial manner, the bridges for the Railroad crossings, above and below, are well-built structures of brick or stone, of which the above engraving is a fair specimen. At every station on the route, we observed the police

officers, with their flags, to signify that every thing was in order for the passage of trains. They also traversed the platform on which the passengers landed, or from which they got into the carriages of the train, to see that proper order was observed. As a body, the police were not such portly men as I expected. In all parts of the kingdom we visited, they had very much the appearance of our countrymen of the same age. There is, however, a greater contrast between the American and English women, the latter being generally of a stouter size, and more healthy in appearance.

The route from Liverpool to London, (204 miles,) is through the central part of England, from the north-west to the south-west, traversing the counties of Cheshire, Stafford, Warwick, Northampton, Buckingham, Hertford and Middlesex. The whole route lay through a rolling country, having no elevations which could be called a mountain. Passed in a short distance from Lichfield, saw the cathedral with the three sharppointed spires. Wheedon was, in appearance, a very ancient place, with narrow crooked streets, and occupied as a station for soldiers. When the train arrived at Pittston an extensive prospect was opened to the westward, showing the valley of the Thames in the vicinity of Oxford. Berkhampsted, Oxmoor and Watford, on the route, are all large villages. Arrived at the station in London, near Regents Park, about 7 o'clock in the evening. From this place we took a cab and were carried to our hotel, in the Strand, in the central part of London. Here we found, as bad been stated to us, good accommodations at reasonable charges, having fixed prices for every thing on their bill of fare. Having selected London as a central spot, we visited the Continent, and after our return took various journeys through different parts of England and Scotland.

ENGLAND.

"England, the southern part of the island of Great Britain, is a very irregularly shaped territory, extending in its extreme length, from the Land's End, in Cornwall, in the lat, of 50. 4. 7. and long. of 5. 41. 31. to Berwick, at the mouth of the Tweed, which divides it from Scotland, in the lat. of 55. 46. 21. N., and 1, 59. 41. of W. long. The meridional distance between these two points is 366 geographical, or 425 English statute miles; this line, however, intersects the entrance to the Bristol channel, South and North Wales and the Irish Sea; the extreme meridional line that could be drawn on English ground, from N. to S., would be from Berwick to St. Alban's Head, in the county of Dorset: this line would measure 366 statute miles; and the extreme length from West to East, would be from the Land's End, Cornwall, to the Dudgeon Lights on the North-east coast of Norfolk, which would measure 359 statute miles. The four South-east counties of Somerset, Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall, however, form a promontory; and as the superficial area of England, by actual survey, proves to be 50,535 square miles, taking the length from North to South to be 366 miles, the mean breadth from West to East will be within 150 miles. The sea on the South is called the

English Channel, and which divides England from the North-west coast of France: the sea at the South-east point is called the Straights of Dover, and divides England from the North-west point of France and the Netherlands: the sea on the East coast of England is called the North Sea, or German Ocean, and divides England from Holland, Germany, and Jutland: the sea on the North-west coast of England is called the Irish Sea, and divides England from the North-east coast of Ireland. Wales, North and South, bound the center of its western side; and the four South-west counties before mentioned, project into the Atlantic Ocean. England, for local purposes, is divided into forty counties, viz.: Bedford, Berks, Bucks, Cambridge, Chester, Cornwall, Cumberland, Derby, Devon, Dorset, Durham, Essex, Gloucester, Hants, Hereford, Huntingdon, Hertford, Kent, Lancaster, Leicester, Lincoln, Middlesex, Monmouth, Norfolk, Northampton, Northumberland, Nottingham, Oxford, Rutland, Salop, Somerset, Stafford, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, Warwick, Westmoreland, Wilts, Worcester, and York; each of which is subdivided into hundreds and parishes. For judicial purposes it is divided into six circuits; and for ecclesiastical purposes into two archiepiscopal and twenty episcopal sees, or jurisdictions. Population of England is about 17,000,000.

The face of the country affords all that beautiful variety which can be found in the most extensive tracts of the globe; not, however, without romantic, and even dreary scenes, lofty mountains, craggy rocks, black barren moors, and wide unculivated heaths; and yet few countries have a smaller proportion of land, absolutely sterile and incapable of culture. The richest parts are, in general, the midland and southern. Towards the North it partakes of the barrenness of the adjoining parts of Scotland. The East coast is in many places sandy and marshy. A range of rude and elevated land, sometimes rising into mountains 3,000 feet in height extends from the borders of Scotland to the very heart of England, forming a natural division between the East and West sides of the kingdom. Cornwall is also a rough hilly tract; and a similar character prevails in part of the adjacent counties. These mountainous tracts abound with various mineral treasures, more particularly coal, iron, copper, lead, and tin.

The rivers of England are numerous, and contribute essentially to the beauty and fertility of the country, as well as to facilitate the conveyance of its products from one part of the kingdom to another; the four most deserving of notice for their magnitude and utility, are the Trent, Mersey, Severn, and Thames. These four rivers rise in the interior of the country, and flow in contrary directions, the first to the North-east, the next to the North-west, the Severn to the South-west, and the Thames to the South-east; and being rendered navigable, and united to each other by canals, they afford an admirable facility of conveyance over all parts of the country. In addition to these, the great Ouse and the Nen, flow from the center of the country in a North-east direction, into the North Sea, between the Thames and the Trent, and the Nen is united to the line of canal which unites those two rivers, and thereby with the Mersey and Severn. Further North are the Humber, Tees, Wear, Tyne, and the Tweed, which divides England from Scotland, all flowing from West to East into the North Sea: and on the other side is the Eden, Derwent, Ribble, and the Dee, flowing into the Irish Sea: the tributary rivers de

serving of notice, are the Medway and Lee, falling into the Thames, the Soar and Derwent falling into the Trent, the Don, Aire, and Ouse falling into the Humber, the Irwell into the Mersey, and the Upper and Lower Avon and Wye into the Severn; all of which are navigable, and yield a variety of fish. The Tamar, Torridge, Tame, Exe, Arun, and a few other rivers of inferior note, intersect the South and South-west parts of the country, falling into the Bristol and English channels. The lakes are neither numerous nor extensive, and are chiefly in the North-west counties: those of Westmoreland and Cumberland, in particular, exhibit such varieties of beautiful scenery, as to become the object of summer excursions from every part of the country. With respect to climate, England is situated in the North part of the temperate zone, so that it enjoys but a scanty share of the genial influence of the sun. Its atmosphere is inclined to chillness and moisture, subject to frequent and sudden changes; and is more favorable to the growth, than to the ripening of the products of the earth. No country is clothed with so beautiful and lasting a verdure; but the harvests, especially in the northern parts, frequently suffer from unseasonable rains. The country, nevertheless, generally affords an abundant supply of grain, and all the other necessaries of life, and the rigors of winter, and the heats of summer, are felt here in a much less degree than in parallel climates on the continent; a circumstance common to all islands. The whole country, some particular spots excepted, is sufficiently healthy; and the longevity of its inhabitants is equal to that of almost any region. All its most valuable productions, both animal and vegetable, have been imported from foreign countries, and have been kept up and improved by constant attention. England has now no other wild quadrupeds than those of the smaller kind; as the fox, badger, marten, otter, hare, rabbit, squirrel, &c. On the other hand, every kind of domestic animal, imported from abroad, has been reared to the greatest degree of perfection. The horse has been trained up for all the various purposes of strength and swiftness, so as to excel in those qualities the same animal in every other country. The breeds of cattle in various parts of the kingdom have also been cultivated with much care, and have been brought to the largest size and the greatest justness of shape. The different races of sheep are variously distinguished, either for uncommon size, goodness of flesh, or plenty of fineness of wool. The deer of its parks, which are originally a foreign breed, are superior in beauty of skin, and delicacy of flesh, to those of most countries. Even the several kinds of dogs have been trained to degrees of courage, strength,. and sagacity, rarely to be met with elsewhere. Domestic poultry, as well as wild birds, are numerous; the shape and beauty of plumage of the pheasant, and delicious note of the nightingale, cannot be surpassed. The improvement in the vegetable products of this island is not less striking than in the animal. Nuts, acorns, crabs, and a few wild berries, were almost all the variety of vegetable food which its woods could boast. To other countries, and to the efforts of culture, it is indebted for corn, esculent roots, plants, and all its garden fruits. The seas as well as the rivers of England are stocked with a great variety of fish.

Of the early history of England, but little is known prior to its becoming a province of the Roman empire, during the first century of the Christian era. The first invasion of England by the Romans was under Julius Cesar, in the year 35, at which period the country was inhabited