St. Paul's preaching to the Bereans (as in Acts xvii. 2). It consists of a group of nine figures, besides that of St. Paul, with books, &c., lively represented by the same hand as "The Conversion."

On the south side of the church, near the west end, is a forum or portal, the doorcase being enriched with cartouches, volutas, and fruit, very excellently carved under a pediment, and opposite to this on the north side is the like doorcase. And, in brief, all the apertures are not only judiciously disposed for commodiousness, illumination of the fabric, &c., but are very ornamental.

At the west end is an acroteria of the figures of the twelve apostles, each about eleven feet high, with that of St. Paul on the angle of the pediment, and those of the four evangelists, two of each cumbent between as many angles on a circular pediment. Over the dials of the clock on the fronts of the two towers, also an entablature and circles of enrichment, where twelve stones compose the aperture, answering to the twelve hours.

The said towers are adorned with circular ranges of columns of the Corinthian order, with domes upon the upper part, and at the vertex of each a curious pineapple.

The choir has its roof supported with six spacious pillars, and the church with six more, besides which there are eight that support the cupola and two very spacious ones at the west end. All which pillars are adorned with pilasters of the Corinthian and Composite orders, and also with columns fronting the cross-aisle, or ambulatory, between the consistory and morning prayer chapel, which have each a very beautiful screen of curious wainscot, and adorned each with twelve columns, their entablatures arched pediments, and the king's arms, enriched with cherubims, and each pediment between four vases, all curiously carved. These screens are fenced with ironwork, as is also the cornice at the west end of the church, and so eastward beyond the first arch.

The pillars of the church that support the roof are two ranges, with their entablature and beautiful arches, whereby the body of the church and choir are divided into three parts or aisles. The roof of each is adorned with arches and spacious peripheries of enrichments, as shields, leaves, chaplets, &c. (the spaces included being somewhat concave), admirably carved in stone; and there is a large cross aisle between the north and south porticoes, and two ambulatories, the one a little eastward, the other westward from the said cross-aisle, and running parallel therewith. The floor of the whole is paved with marble, but under the cupola and within the rail of the altar with fine porphyry, polished and laid in several geometrical figures.

The altar-piece is adorned with four noble fluted pilasters, finely painted and veined with gold, in imitation of lapis lazuli, with their entablature, where the enrichments, and also the capitals of the pilasters, are double gilt with gold. These intercolumns are twenty-one panels of figured crimson velvet, and above them six windows, viz., in each intercolumniation seven panels and two windows, one above the other; at the greatest altitude above all which is a glory finely done. The aperture north and south into the choir are (ascending up three steps of black marble) by two iron folding-doors, being, as that under the organ-gallery, &c., exquisitely wrought into divers figures, spiral branches, and other flourishes. There are two others at the west end of the choir, the one opening into the south aisle, the other in the north, done by the celebrated artist in this way, M. Tijan.

And what contributes to the beauty of this choir are the galleries, the bishop's throne, Lord Mayor's seat, with the stalls, all which being contiguous, compose one vast body of carved work of the finest wainscot, constituting three sides of a quadrangle.

The cupola (within the church) appears erected and elevated on eight pillars of a large magnitude, adorned with pilasters, entablature, circular pediments, and arches of the Corinthian order, and each pillar enriched with a spacious festoon. Here are also as many alcoves fronted with curious ironwork, and over the arches, at a great height from the ground, is an entablature, and on the cornice an ambulatory, fronted or fenced in with handsome ironwork, extending round the inside of the cupola, above which is a range of thirty-two pilasters of the Corinthian order, where every fourth intercolumn is adorned with a niche and some enrichments; and it said that in every foot of altitude the diameter of this decreaseth one inch.

On the outside of the dome, about twenty feet above the outer roof of the church, is a range of thirty-two columns, with niches of the same altitude, and directly counter to those aforesaid within the cupola. To these columns there is entablament, and above that a gallery with acroteria, where are placed very spacious and ornamental vases all round the cupola. At twelve feet above the tops of these vases (which space is adorned with pilasters and entablament, and the intercolumns are windows) the diameter is taken in (as appears outwardly) five feet, and two feet higher it decreases five feet, and a foot above that it is still five feet less, where the dome outwardly begins to arch, which arches meet about fifty-two feet higher in perpendicular altitude, on the vertex of which dome is a neat balcony, and above this a large and beautiful lantern, adorned with columns of the Corinthian order, with a ball and cross at the top.

Christ's Hospital is situated between Newgate Street and St. Bartholomew's Hospital in Smithfield. Here, as has been observed already, was anciently a monastery of grey friars, founded about the year 1325, which, upon the dissolution of monasteries, was surrendered to King Henry VIII., anno 1538, who, in the last year of his reign, transferred it to the City of London for the use of the poor. King Edward VI. endowed this hospital--together with those of Bridewell and St. Thomas's Hospital in Southwark--with large revenues, of which the City were made trustees, and incorporated by the name of the mayor, commonalty, and citizens of the City of London, governors of the possessions, revenues, and goods of the hospitals of Christ, Bridewell, and St. Thomas the Apostle, to whom the king granted 3,266 pounds 13s. 4d. per annum.

It was opened in the year 1552, in the month of November, and a good writing-school was added to this foundation in the year 1694 by Sir John More, Kt., and alderman.

The children admitted into this hospital are presented every year by the Lord Mayor and aldermen and the other governors in their turns, a list of whom is printed yearly and set up at the counting-house, and a letter is sent to each of the said governors, some days before the admission, reminding him of the day of choosing, and how those he presents should be qualified, wherein is enclosed a blank certificate from the minister and churchwardens, a blank petition to the president and governors, and a paper of the rules and qualifications of the child to be presented. Upon this the governor, having made choice of a child to present, the friends of the said child come to the counting-house on the admission-day, bringing the said petition and certificates, rules, and letter along with him, and on the back side of the said petition the governor who presents endorseth words to this effect.

"I present the child mentioned in the certificate on the other side, and believe the same to be a true certificate.

"Witness my hand . . . the day . . . of 17." Which the said governor signeth, and the child is admitted.

The said rules and qualifications are as follows:

1. That no child be taken in but such as are the children of freemen of London.

2. That none be taken in under seven years old.

3. That none be taken in but orphans, wanting either father or mother, or both.

4. That no foundlings, or that are maintained at the parish charge, be taken in.

5. That none who are lame, crooked, or deformed, or that have the evil, rupture, or any infectious disease, be taken in.

6. That none be admitted but such as are without any probable means of being provided for otherways; nor without a due certificate from the minister, churchwardens, and three or four of the principal inhabitants of the parish whence any children come, certifying the poverty and inability of the parent to maintain such children, and the true age of the said child, and engaging to discharge the hospital of them before or after the age of fifteen years if a boy, or fourteen years if a girl, which shall be left to the governor's pleasure to do; so that it shall be wholly in the power of the hospital to dispose of such child, or return them to the parent or parish, as to the hospital shall seem good.

7. That no child be admitted that hath a brother or sister in the hospital already.

8. To the end that no children be admitted contrary to the rules abovesaid, when the general court shall direct the taking in of any children, they shall (before taken in) be presented to a committee, consisting of the president, treasurer, or the almoners, renters, scrutineers, and auditors, and all other governors to be summoned at the first time, and so to adjourn from time to time: and that they, or any thirteen or more of them, whereof the president or treasurer for the time being to be one, shall strictly examine touching the age, birth, and quality of such children, and of the truth of the said certificates; and when such committee shall find cause, they shall forbid or suspend the taking in of any child, until they receive full satisfaction that such child or children are duly qualified according to the rules abovesaid.

And that such children as may be presented to be admitted in pursuance of the will of any benefactor, shall be examined by the said committee, who are to take care that such children be qualified according to the wills of the donors or benefactors (as near as may consist with such wills) agreeing to the qualifications above.

The Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen present each their child yearly, but the rest of the governors only in their turns, which may happen once in three or four years.

No child is continued in after fifteen years of age, except the mathematical scholars, who are sometimes in till they are eighteen, and who, at the beginning of the seventh year of their service as mariners are at His Majesty's disposal; and of these children there is an account printed yearly, and presented to the king the 1st of January, setting forth, (1) each boy's name; (2) the month and year when they were bound out; (3) their age; (4) the names of their masters; (5) the names of the ships whereof they are commanders; (6)