The Hanover Square rooms are occasionally used for the meetings of religious societies, but the place is not so favourable as Exeter Hall to the enthusiasm of an audience, at least any warmth of feeling which is excited is expressed far less lustily, if with more decorum. Freemasons' Hall, a very fine room for the purpose, is also still used by religious bodies; but there is an increasing disposition to assemble at Exeter Hall, which combines every convenience necessary, and is in a good situation with regard to other parts of the town. Our view of the interior of the great hall represents the great exhibition of Mr. Hullah's system of popular singing, when 2000 pupils combined their voices in the performances. Concerts not unfrequently take place at Exeter Hall, besides being the place where Mr. Hullah's musical classes and the drawing classes (both under the Committee of Privy Council on Education) assemble for instruction.

If one were desired to name the most delightful lounge in the metropolis, difficult as the task of selection might seem to be amidst so many attractive spots, the Zoological Gardens in the Regent's Park must, we think, be the chosen place. Equally suited to the young and the old, the solitary and the gregarious, the cheerful and the melancholy, the ignorant and the learned, all are here sure of enjoyment at least, and it will be strange indeed if instruction, in some shape or other, does not follow. Pacing its broad terrace-walks, or winding about among its leafy passages; here idly pausing to glance at some newly-blown flower, there (where the unoccupied seat wooes us) at some picturesque combination of tall waving trees, reflected with all their restless lights and shadows in the clear waters of the little lake at their feet, like a second green world below; leaning now against the parapet of the bridge over the tunnel to gaze on the comparatively comprehensive view of the demesne thence obtained, with the mounts, and dells, and islands, and lawns, and parterres, and rustic habitations so harmoniously intermingled; and, now, descending to the stern-looking depths beneath, where, with the carriages of fashionable London rolling incessantly over your head at the distance of but a few feet, you may imagine, without any great exertion of the fancy, that you have accidentally wandered into the remote subterranean habitation of some hermit, who, in this gloom, finds his eyes more naturally turn their glance inwards to the contemplation of his own nature, to whom this deep silence is dear, since it enables him the better to hear the voice of his own heart;-thus or similarly occupied, we might saunter through the

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Gardens without missing or desiring any other sources of interest. But the beautiful place has its own proper inhabitants: turn that corner, and you are tête-à-tête with a tall dromedary; cross that velvet lawn, with its richly blooming beds of flowers, and you are suddenly arrested by a couching lioness; here you open the door of a pretty-looking piece of Swiss architecture, and are in a kind of domestic "wilderness of monkeys;" there, as you are trying to make out what forms there are in the cages on one side of a dark passage, a tap on the shoulder makes you suddenly turn in alarm towards the other, where you perceive dimly some vast moving bulk, to find the outlines of which your eyes rise higher and higher, till at last an elephant's gigantic frame becomes visible, his trunk near enough to take you up, so that he may more conveniently see who you are, should he be so minded: it is not till we are out of that narrow passage, and secure from any more such surprises, that we can satisfy ourselves that a friendly shake of the hand, in elephant-fashion, was most probably all that was desired, unless indeed we chose to add thereto any little delicacies from the adjoining refectory— trifling but satisfactory proofs of our friendship, which the elephant, in his cordial good-nature, never takes amiss. But the number and variety of these inhabitants!-there really seems no end to them. A visiter who, after spending some hours here, sauntering hither and thither, just as curiosity or impulse guided, should discover a good half of the collection, would deserve every praise for his industry and tact. Still more surprising, rightly considered, than even the number and variety of the families that compose this strangest of villages, are the differences as to the quarters of the globe from whence they have respectively come. Listen but to the characteristic sounds that rise from time to time: the low growl of the bears from the eternal snows of the Polar regions; the hoarse screams and piercing crics of the tropical birds, whose plumage speaks them the children of the sun; the magnificent bay of the Spanish bloodhound;—but, in short, the whole world has been ransacked to people these few acres of soil, where the magic of skill and enterprise has overcome all difficulties-reconciled conflicting seasons, and tempers, and habits-formed, from the most heterogeneous of materials, one of the most thriving, and orderly, and happiest of communities. How admirably man can govern everything but himself!

At the very entrance-gates of the Gardens, we meet with an amusing illustration of the oddities, to say the least of them, that characterise the dealings of men with each other, even here. Admission to the Gardens, it may be necessary to inform our country readers, is obtained by the presentation of a ticket (admitting any number), signed by a fellow of the Society, and on payment of a shilling for each person. Two young genteel-looking females have been waiting for some time, looking with a peculiar air of curiosity in the faces of those who enter; at last, seeing a party of ladies and gentlemen stop for the same purpose—one of them modestly steps up and begs permission to enter as part of their company. Surprise appears on the face of the lady addressed, but another steps forward, remarking, "O, yes! it is a common request;" and the whole enter; the money-taker at the lodge, who could hardly avoid seeing what passed, making no comment. Musing upon this, and remembering our own mode of obtaining a ticket-that is, by simply asking for it at a neighbouring tavern-one must be in a serious

mood to be able to avoid a hearty laugh as we read the announcement carefully set up over the gates, requesting, on the part of the Society, that the fellows would not give tickets except to persons with whom they were acquainted! The effect therefore of this very sensible arrangement is, that uninformed, or peculiarly scrupulous persons, have frequently to put themselves to inconvenience to obtain introductions to fellows of the Society, whilst those of a more doubtful character, the very persons whom it might be supposed the Society wished to keep out, have only to put on their hat, see that they have got a shilling in their pockets, and, if they don't choose to trouble the tavern-keeper, trust with perfect confidence to the passing in, under cover of some other person or party's ticket at the gate. If any of the attendants of the animals were to exhibit eccentricities of this character in their treatment of them, we wonder how long they would remain the Society's servants? We are in, however, and more agreeable subjects for thought await us. A broad terrace walk extends from the little rustic lodges at the entrance, in a straight line onwards, bordered by flowers, shrubs, and trees on each side, and which is now continued at the same level for some distance, over the lower ground, by a handsome viaduct, which, when completed, and all its roomy cages beneath occupied, will form the most striking feature of the Gardens. Here the carnivorous animals,-the lions, tigers, leopards, &c. are to be located, instead of, as at present, in the Repository, in a distant part of the grounds; and it is considered by having a large space for exercise and for the admission of fresh air, set apart for each animal, with a small sleeping place behind, that artificial warmth may be dispensed with, to the advantage of the animal's health: hence the size of the cages shown in our engraving. Branching to the right of the terrace-walk, immediately on our entering, we find a winding path among lofty bushes and trees, presently opening on our left, and presenting a fine view over the Park, in the foreground of which the beautiful zebra, known as Burchell's, is seen grazing among other novel-looking inhabitants for an English pasture ground; and continuing along the same path, on our right, appears a series of tall broad aviaries, containing some of those splendid domestic birds of the farm-yards of Peru and Mexico, the curassows; and which, in a wild state, are so common in the woods of Guiana that a hungry traveller looks upon them as a certain resource when ordinary provisions fail, for their flesh is white and excellent, and their disposition so accommodating that they will remain perfectly quiet on their perches in the trees whilst he helps himself to his mind and appetite. It may not be generally known that these birds may be bred with as much ease in England as our own poultry. Returning to the terrace, we may remark by the way, that the accurate List of the Animals,' sold in the Gardens, occupies no less than twenty-eight closely printed octavo pages; and therefore, that in our notice of the Gardens, we can aim only to give a kind of general view of their contents, pausing here and there over such details only as seem to us of peculiar interest and moment. At the point of junction of the terrace walk and the Carnivora Terrace on the right, in a deep square pit, are those two amusing climbers, the cinnamon bears, male and female. They are idle this afternoon, and not even a cake will tempt them to mount the tall pole. Their prenomen is derived from their handsome brown coats, in which, as well as

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in locality and in greater ferocity in their natural state, they differ from the Amcrican black bears, of which species they are considered to be a variety specimens of the latter are also to be found in the Gardens. It is these last-mentioned animals whose furs constitute so important a portion of the business of the Hudson's Bay Company. They are caught chiefly in their winter retreats, places scooped out by themselves beneath fallen trees, where they retire as the snowstorms begin to fall, and are soon as snugly enveloped as any bear can desire. Unfortunately, however, the sagacious hunter has a mode of discovering them even here their breath makes a small opening in the snow, round which the hoarfrost gathers the hunter sees that, and his prey is secure. Descending by a circuitous path on the left of the terrace, commanding a charming little bit of scenery, with a lawn and pond in the foreground at the bottom, we find a large octagonal cage, splendid with macaws, in all their red and yellow and red and blue plumage; and who, by their most un-bird-like tumult, seem desirous to show that there is some truth in the philosopher's idea of a kind of compensating principle in nature: it seems we must not expect the songs of the nightingale, the lark, or the blackbird from such magnificently arranged exteriors, or that the last-named birds, whilst enchanting our ears, should at the same time dazzle our eyes. The path, now running between the macaws' cage and the llama-house opposite, conducts us to the lawn rich with purple beech, and with its sparkling little piece of water, dotted over with aquatic birds-among which black swans are conspicuous-and with little raised nests or boxes. In the centre a fountain

"Shakes its loosening silver in the sun."

A beautiful and very familiar species of Coreopsis geese, from New Holland, deservedly attract much attention. They are numerous, and have been all bred from a single pair. These might be naturalised in our farm-yards, and their flesh is said, by some travellers, to be more delicate than that of the English bird. The following drawing was made from a pair hatched in the Gardens.