- Pembroke Lodge, the present seat of Lord John Russell, is in this place. It was, for a long period, in the gift of the Sovereign, or rather Prime Minister of England.

Richmond Bridge, erected in 1777, (seen in the engraving,) connects Richmond with Twickenham, where Pope's villa was situated. From the bridge a fine view is presented of Richmond Hill, also the numerous villas, terraces, hotels, &c. The Parish Church, a quaint old building of stone, brick, and flint, is an interesting structure, on account of its being the burial-place of several distinguished persons, among whom was Thomson, the author of the "Seasons." Collins, the friend of the poet, mourned his death in a touching and beautiful ode, in which he says, affectionately: Remembrance oft shall haunt the shore,

When Thames in summer wreaths is drest;
And oft suspend the dashing oar,

To bid his gentle spirit rest.

"On the outside is a monument, or medallion, in marble, erected by the present actor, Mr. Charles Kean, to the memory of EDMUND, his father. The body of the great tragedian is interred below, those to whom the edifice belongs, or who were entrusted with the temporary managemnt of it, refusing to admit either within the interior, because he was an actor; but thousands are thus enabled to offer their tribute at the tomb of this great, though erratic, son of genius. At the most distant extremity of the Green, near the river, is the Theater, where poor Kean used to strut and fret his little hour,' as manager. It was a favorite resort of his in summer, and here, in 1833, he died in the forty-eighth year of his age."

KEW.

KEW is a picturesque village on the banks of the Thames, about seven miles from London, and one and a-half from Richmond. The grounds, which so distinguish this place, are laid out in the most tasteful manner, with serpentine walks, little hillocks, clumps of trees, beautiful flowers, shrubbery, grass plats, &c. About every kind of tree, plant, or shrub, of which any one has read or heard, is to be seen here, and it is stated that there is on these grounds the greatest collection of plants in the world. Every part of the globe is represented. Trees from the Himmaleh mountains, and other parts of Asia: tropical trees and plants from the eastern and western continents, are growing here in the atmosphere of the tropics.

The church stands upon Kew-green: it was greatly enlarged through the munificence of William IV, after whose decease, in 1838, nearly £5,000 were found to have been set aside for the completion of the work. In the church is buried the king's brother, the Duke of Cambridge, the youngest son of George III. In the

church-yard are buried Meyer, Zoffany, and Gainsborough, the distinguished painters. Adjoining Kew-green is the residence of the Duchess of Cambridge. The old red brick palace was occupied by Queen Charlotte as a nursery for her children; and here she expired in 1818. The Pagoda was designed in imitation of the Chinese Taa, in 1757; it consists of ten stories, 163 feet in height. There are several other ornamental buildings in the grounds; besides an observatory, used for some time by the British Association for the advancement of science. The Botanic Gardens at Kew are open to the public from one till six every day, the entrance being from Kew-green. The new palm-house is perhaps the finest in Europe; its total length is 362 feet six inches; the ribs and columns are of wrought iron, and the roof is glazed with sheet glass, slightly tinged with green; the floor is of perforated cast iron, under which are laid the pipes, &c., for warming with hot water. ; and the smoke is conveyed from the furnace by a flue, 479 feet, to an ornamental shaft or tower, sixty feet in height. The cost of this magnificent palm-house has been upwards of £30,000. The gardens are visited by many thousand persons every season; and, under the judicious curatorship of Sir W. J. Hooker, have been greatly extended and improved:

So sits enthroned in vegetable pride

Imperial Kew, by Thames' glistening side;
Obedient sails from realms unfurrowed bring,
For her the unnamed progeny of spring.

Among the rarities here, is a weeping willow, raised from that which overshadowed Napoleon's tomb at St. Helena; the Egyptian papyrus; the bread-fruit tree from the South Sea Islands; the cocoa-nut, coffee, and cow-trees; the banana and cycas (sago); the gigantic tussack grass, &c. In short, a more delightful addition has not of late been made to the public recreation than in the extension of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew.

JAMES THOMSON.

JAMES THOMSON, the author of the Seasons, the son of a Scotch minister, was born Sept. 11th, 1700, at Ednam, in Roxburghshire, about two miles from Kelso. He was educated at Jedburgh school, and then entered at the university of Edinburgh. He here distinguished himself by the elegance and spirit of his compositions, and when he had been directed by the divinity professor, Hamilton, to write an exercise on a psalm, descriptive of the greatness and majesty of God, his paraphrase was much admired for its fire and its poetical beauties. He then studied divinity, but soon relinquished it, as he considered the profession too confined for the expansion of his abilities. He determined to seek in London the patronage which might be extended to merit, and the publication of his "Winter," 1726, soon introduced him to the notice

of the great and learned. By the friendship of Dr. Rundle, afterwards bishop of Derry, he was recommended to lord chancellor Talbot, and attended his son as a companion in his travels on the continent. The popularity of " Winter," produced Summer in 1727, Spring 1728, and Autumn in 17830: and other pieces were also published to prove the diligence, the patriotism, and the creative powers of the poet. The death of his noble pupil was soon after followed by that of the chancellor, and Thomson was thus reduced from a state of comfort and independence, to a narrow and precarious subsistence. The place of secretary of the briefs, which he had obtained from the chancellor, fell at his death, yet the generosity of his friends was kindly exerted; he was, by the recommendation of lord Lyttleton, noticed and patronized with a pension by the Prince of Wales, and by the influence of the same noble friend he obtained, in 1746, the office of surveyor-general of the Leeward islands. He died of a fever, 27th Aug. 1748, and was buried in Richmond church, Surrey. His executors were lord Lyttleton and Mr. Mitchell. Besides his Seasons, Thomson wrote an elegant poem to the memory of Sir Isaac Newton, 1727-Britannia, a political poem, occasioned by the quarrels of the Spaniards with England, with respect to America -Liberty, a poem in five books, containing ancient and modern Italy compared, Greece, Rome, Britain, the Prospect-the Castle of Indolence, an allegorical poem, after Spenser's manner-besides some tragedies, which were received on the stage with reiterated and deserved applause-Agamemnon, acted 1738-Edward and Eleanora, a tragedy, not acted in consequence of the dispute between the prince of Wales, his patron, and the king—the Masque of Alfred, written jointly with MallettTancred and Sigismunda, from Gil Blas, acted 1745-and Coriolanus, acted after his death for the benefit of his sisters. Thomson in private life was an amiable, pious and benevolent character, with great goodness of heart and the most virtuous disposition. As a poet he possessed powers and perfections peculiarly his own. His Seasons display the most glowing, animated, and interesting descriptions of nature, in language at once elegant, simple, and dignified. They bring before us, as is well observed, the whole magnificence of nature, whether pleasing or dreadful. The gayety of spring, the splendor of summer, the tranquillity of autumn, and the horrors of winter, take each in turn the possession of our minds. In the midst of a florid and luxuriant flow of imagery, some exuberances perhaps may be found by the critic, but the merits of the poet are built on too solid a foundation to be shaken, and while the delightful changes of the varied year continue to convey pleasure to the eye, so long must the verse of the poet entertain the mind with the most seducing powers of wellmanaged description and of animated portraiture.

Thomson's house, or rather cottage, is still in existence at the foot of Kew Lane, two miles from the Thames. After his death, his cottage was purchased by George Ross, Esq., who, out of veneration for his memory, forbore to pull it down, but enlarged and improved it at a great expense. The walls of the cottage were left, though its roof was taken off, and the walls continued upward to their present height. Thus what was Thomson's house, forms the entrance hall of Lord Shaftesbury's house. The part of the hall on the left, was the room where Thomson used to sit. Here is preserved a three legged stand in which is inserted a scroll of satin wood on which is inscribed

"On this table James Thomson constantly wrote. It was therefore purchased of his servant who also gave these brass hooks, on which his hat and cane were hung in this his sitting room.

F. B.

Behind the house is the garden of Thomson, a scene of wild pensive beauty. A large elm is pointed out as the one under which his alcove stood. This alcove, (a simple wooden construction) has been removed to the extremity of the grounds, and now stands un

der a large Spanish chestnut-tree in the shrubbery. On its front

Thomson is buried in Richmond Church, where there is a brass tablet erected to his memory with the following inscription:

"In the Earth, under this Tablet, are the remains of JAMES THOMSON, Author of the beautiful Poems, entitled, The Seasons, Castle of Indolence, &c., who died at Richmond on the 27th of August, and was buried here on the 29th, old style, 1748. The Earl of Buchan, unwilling that so good a man, and so sweet a Poet, should remain without a memorial, has denoted the place of interment, for the satisfaction of his admirers, in the year of our Lord, 1792."

"Father of light and life, thou Good Supreme!

O teach me what is good; teach me myself!
Save me from folly, vanity, and vice,

From every low pursuit! and feed my soul

With knowledge, conscious peace, and virtue pure,
Sacred, substantial, never-fading bliss.- Winter.

The following extracts comprise the beginning and end of Thomson's celebrated Hymn at the conclusion of "The Seasons:"

THESE, as they change, Almighty Father, these
Are but the varied GOD. The rolling year
Is full of THEE. Forth in the pleasing Spring
THY beauty walks, THY tenderness and love.
Wide flush the fields; the softening air is balm;
Echo the mountains round; the forest smiles;
And every sense, and every heart is joy.
Then comes THY glory in the summer months,
With light and heat refulgent. Then THY sun
Shoots full perfection through the swelling year:
And oft THY VOICE in dreadful thunder speaks;
And oft at dawn, deep noon, or falling eve,
By brooks and groves, in hollow-whispering gales,

THY bounty shines in Autumn unconfined,
And spreads a common feast for all that lives.
In Winter awful THOU! with clouds and storms
Around THEE thrown, tempest o'er tempest roll'd.
Majestic darkness! on the whirlwind's wing,
Riding sublime, THOU bidst the world adore,
And humblest Nature with THY northern blast.

Should fate command me to the furthest verge
Of the green earth, to distant barbarous climes,
Rivers unknown to song; where first the sun
Gilds Indian mountains, or his setting beam
Flames on th' Atlantic isles; 'tis nought to me:
Since God is ever present, ever felt,

In the void waste as in the city full:
And where HE vital breathes there must be joy.
When even at the last solemn hour shall come,
And wing my mystic flight to future worlds,
I cheerful will obey; there, with new powers,
Will rising wonders sing: I cannot go
Where Universal Love not smiles around,
Sustaining all yon orbs, and all their suns;
From seeming Evil still educing Good,

And better thence again, and better still,
In infinite progression. But I lose

Myself in HIM, in Light ineffable!

Come then, expressive Silence, muse His praise.

CHISWICK-WILLIAM HOGARTH, &c.

CHISWICK is a village on the Thames, about seven miles from London. The parish church is of a picturesque character, and the church yard contains the remains of a number of men of genius. Among these, are those of Hogarth, whose monument is shown in the annexed engraving. About the year 1750, Hogarth purchased a house at Chiswick, where he usually spent the part of the summer season, occasionally visiting his house in Leicester Fields.

There are many elegant mansions in the vicinity of Chiswick, among the most prominent is the Palladian Villa, or 'Chiswick House," belonging to the Duke of Devonshire. His pleasure grounds comprise about 32 acres, amply adorned with wood and water, having many antique statutes, three of which were dug up in Adrian's garden in Rome. Attached to the grounds is a small park stocked with deer. The Rt. Hon. Charles James Fox died here in Sept. 1806, and afterwards, in similar circumstances, in 1827, the gifted Canning. In 1814, the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia, and many illustrious personages, were entertained here by the Duke of Devonshire. The gardens of the Horticultural Society of London, extending over thirty-three acres, are in this parish.