and libraries; Steine, gardens, and spas; customhouse, churches, and chain-pier; is altogether the reverse of the Brighthelmstone of threescore summers back.

To visit a place like Brighton, without any information respecting its history, would not be a prudent course; and few people come here, I suppose, without a general knowledge that the place in the fifth century was invaded by the Saxons; that it obtained its name of Brighthelmstone from one Brighthelm, who possessed it; that Roman remains have been found within it ; that at different times it has been much annoyed by hostile attacks; that to repel these, the Blockhouse and Gun-garden batteries were erected; and that the rapid advancement of the town, in extent, affluence, and importance, is mainly to be attributed to the circumstance of its having been adopted as a royal residence.

I have promenaded the Steine, where a goodly assemblage of persons was collected; walked through the different squares on the West Cliff, the Marine Parade, and at Kemp Town; as well as through the Hanover, Kemp Town, and Royal Crescents; taken refreshment at the Swiss Cottage; drunk of the chalybeate spring; rambled in the park; and paid a visit to the great attraction of the place, the Pavilion.

The outward appearance of the Pavilion surprises the stranger, being so unlike any thing he has ever before seen, unless he has visited the East. The question is, perhaps, a doubtful one, whether he will praise it as a splendid palace, or abuse it as an un-English pile. Its pointed pillars and domes, rising in profusion, have set before me all that I have heard and read of Moscow, Constantinople, Benares, and Pekin, in admirable confusion. They have set me

thinking all at once of mosques, temples, and pagodas; Russians, Turks, Brahmins, Hindoos, and Chinese.

But if the stranger who gazes on the Pavilion from the Steine is astonished, his wonder is not likely to subside on entering the place. The illuminated staircases, the ceiling setting forth the five-clawed dragon, the four bats, and the Chinese bird of royalty, the bamboo couches, the rich china, the splendid canopy, and the stained glass skylight, representing in brilliant hues the Chinese mythological God of Thunder, will arrest his attention in the Chinese gallery; while the golden dome, the pagoda of sparkling glass, the paintings in imitation of crimson-japan, and the organ and carpet of the music room, will have a sensible influence on his imagination.

Much might be said of the royal banqueting room, exhibiting, as it does in its masterly paintings, the manners and elegant dresses of the higher order of the Chinese; but beyond compare the rotunda, with its rich entrances, massive gold cornice, ceiling, centred with a flying dragon, enwreathed with serpents, and transcendent lustre, is the most superbly elegant apartment of this oriental palace. He for whom the Pavilion was raised and decorated, is now mouldering in his lowlier dwelling place; and I, who have so lately gazed on its glories, am also on my way to the grave. The sentence has gone forth, princes and people, mighty monarchs and undistinguished millions, "shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them," Job xxi. 26.

I am now standing on the West Cliff, my attention divided by the company, the carriages, the magnificent edifices, and the heaving ocean. These goodly buildings, that stretch along the coast, have banished the fisherman from his accustomed dwelling place.

Far as the keenest eye may reach
Along the billow-beaten beach,
Where yonder rugged rocks appear,

His hut, his wife, his babes are there.

I am on the edge of the cliff, and no farther

can I go; but it is not so with the tenants of air and ocean. The sea gull winnows himself a pathway, with his long wings, through the mist and the spray of the heaving waters; and the scaly inhabitants of the deep wander widely, where man cannot follow. Vast and illimitable ocean! How do the amplitude of thy power, and the infinitude of thy terrors, set forth the greatness of His majesty, whose whisper can hush thee to sleep, and whose voice thou art swift to obey! "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed," Job xxxviii. 11.

Natural scenes, if not always lovely, are ever interesting, whether clothed with beauty or sublimity. Nature, I love thee! And

Whether I view thee in the lonely glen,

Where vales recline, or where proud mountains rise, What time the moon is gliding soft, or when

The glorious sun, careering through the skies,
Throws round creation his resplendent dyes;
Or where wide ocean's endless wonders be,

Still art thou beautiful to my rapt eyes:
Thy mighty Maker in thy face I see,
And sing his praises while I gaze on thee.

And this is the far-famed chain pier of Brighton, said to be the most elegant marine

structure in the world, and scarcely do I think its popularity has exceeded its deserts. Its clustered piles, its extended platform, more than a thousand feet long, its paving of Purbeck stone, its iron towers, its massive chains, with its galleries and flights of steps leading to the water, constitute a structure that is no less beautiful than it is beneficial.

For some time have I been promenading to and fro, enjoying the fresh breeze, the sea view and landscape presented to the eye, and the well dressed company around me; but I must hurry away to the end of the pier, for the gun was fired an hour ago, and a packet for Dieppe, with her steam up, is almost ready to tear her way through the waters.

A busy scene this! for what with laden porters and hurrying passengers, the crowded company on the pier, hasty farewells, recognitions, and all the bustle attendant on a vessel's departure, a spectator has enough to occupy his eyes and his ears. The two stout men who have just stepped on the deck, and are now making the best of their way to the cabin hatchway, have crossed the channel so frequently, that the passage excites no more emotion within them, than would be called forth by a promenade along the pier. What a contrast do they present to the