Visit To Stratford-On-Avon And Its Vicinage.

and Bilston , Deepfields , Tip ton , Dudley Port Junction , Albion , Oldbury and Bromford-lane , Spon-lane , Smeth-AA'ick , Soho , and Edg baston stations , and let us come at once to Birmingham . It is one o'clock at noon Avhen Ave reach the Newstreet station , and my next destination is Eedditch , Avhere I lnave arranged " to spend Whit Sunday with my

friend Richard Wyers , Avhose " drilled-eyed needles " and fish-hooks are Avell-knoAvn throughout the country . As the train does not leave until 4 . 25 I have leisure to stroll through the market , and visit the Bull-ring , of which one hears so much , and with which , I confess , I Avas very much disappointed . After refreshing myself ,

I have just time to see the exterior of the principal public buildings near the station , the only one that I Avas inside of being Edward VI . ' s Grammar School , a very collegiate-looking building , erected from a design draAvn or delineated by our late brother , Sir Charles Barry , E . A ., F . E . S ., etc . I Avas much p leased Avith this

structure , and also with the civility of the woman who showed me the school . I may mention that the statue of the late Thomas Attwood , founder of the Birmingham Political Union , had onl y been inaugurated two days before , and therefore the wdiite marble of A \ -hich it is composed was quite clean from the hands of the sculptor . It stands at the head of the outlet from the station

oi the London and North Western Railway m the centre of the NeAA' -street , and I was delighted to see that the sculptor , Mr . J . Thomas , had represented his hero in an English frock-coat , instead of donning him in a Roman toga . It is an artistic lie purposely to represent men in dresses they never wore , and , had brave Benjamin West been the most miserable painter AVIIO

eA'er handled a brush , I for one Avould have honoured him for the good sense he displayed , in opposition to the ad \ 'ice of Sir Joshua Reynolds and the other artists of the day , in representing every soldier in his picture of the Death of Wolfe , not in Grecian aud Roman habiliments , but iii their true costume . We have , thanks to

West , returned to nature in clothing figures correctly in paintings . AVhy should Ave outrage common sense and good taste in sculpture ? I would have liked to have \ -isited a lodge in Birmingham , but my train was soon due , and , as the line to RedditehVas not completed , my friend had instructed me not to book through , but get off at Barnt Green , from which station the company provided an omnibus for the remainder of the journey .

Passing the stations of Camp Hill , Moseley , and King ' s Norton , without calling , AVC are presentl y at Barnt Green , for this was the "fast train . " ' The scenery all the AA ay from Birmingham was a pleasant relief from that soul-withering desolation Ave had passed through before reaching the great emporium of buttons ,

steel pens , guns , and jeAvelery . But the Lickey Hills , though a great ornament to this part of the country , are not to be compared for a moment AA ith the fine range of the Cleveland Hills , which are perhaps not to be equalled in England for beauty . But I must secure a seat for Eedditch before I examine the scenery any closer .

There are an old-fashioned stage-coach , painted red , an omnibus , and a phaeton in AA'aiting for passengers at the station . Whether the pha ? ton was provided by the railway company or not I do not enquire ; but as I find the old red coacli and the omnibus are , I choose the top of the formerfor I always liked the outside of a coach

, in fine weather , and besides not having ridden on one of this sort for some years , it is just of that description which , like a windmill , a rustic cottage , a church spire , or a good bridge , make such a pleasant object in

Visit To Stratford-On-Avon And Its Vicinage.

a landscape . But gently , for this coach is , as the saying goes , " on its last legs , " and if Ave are not careful the back seat will tumble down Avith some of us . If I had not been so "tarnation poor , " as the Yankees say , I would haA e bought this relic of a bygone age , and presented it to some museum , for I fear that it will be with the stage-coachas Avith the British Avar-chariot

, and the more modern whisky , no one AAdll have thought it worth while preserving one as a remembrancer of the times of our forefathers . The driver , too , is unique in his way ; a respectable looking man , of modest manners , dressed in a genuine old-fashioned coat and topboots . But crack goes the whip , and Ave are off , down

the lino rustic lanes of Worcestershire , Avith on every hand trees Avhose stems are literally covered Avith ivy . ( To he Continued . )

Architecture And Archæloogy.

ARCHITECTURE AND ARCH ? LOOGY .

LONDON AND MIDDLESEX ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY .

The annual meeting of the members of this society ivas held on Thursday , October 25 th , in the Library of AYestminster Abbey . The chair was taken by the Very ' Rev . the Dean , one of the vice presidents . The minutes of the last meeting having been read , and other formal business disposed of , Mr . AV " . H . HART read an interesting paper descriptive of

the library and of some of the principal books contained in the collection . He stated that the present building Avas ¦ adapted to its purpose by the Lord Keeper Williams in the year 1622 . In 1664 the books suffered from a conflagration , Avhich also desti'oyed some of the manuscripts . The library IIOAV contained 11 , 000 volumes , including Walton's Polyglot Bible , Cranmer ' s Bible , and A ^ arious

ancient copies of the Sacred Scriptures in Greek , Latin , and Hebrew . It was also rich in Avorks of the ancient fathers , in theology , and history . The first edition of thc works of Plato , printed in 1-513 , Avas one of the most valuable books in the collection . Many of thc works were gifts by Camden , and wero signed by him . Not the least interesting in the collection Avas a series of narratives of

local and historial A-alue , being accounts of the coronation ceremonials of the Sovereigns of England . In connection Avith this subject the visitor could not fail to be struck Avith the gradual falling off of the decorative art as nppled to those records , thc account of the coronation :

of Queen Victoria , for instance , being merely stitched together Avithout care , and almost without decency . The manuscripts , for . the most part , perished in the fire ; but among those Avhich escaped might be mentioned the celebrated " precious Psalter , " in two volumes , profusely illuminated , and formerly the property of AVilliam Littlington , Abbot of Westminster . This magnificent book bore the

date 1373 , and must have entailed immense labour in its ] : > roduction . It contained not only thc office of the mass , but special services for State occasions , coronations , consecrations , funerals & e . Another curious manuscript AA as deA'otcd to natural history . It Avas illustrated Avith a multitude of quaint-looking animals in very uncomfortable attitudes . Many ancient specimens of binding were also to

be found in the library . " Rubbings" of these Avere exhibited , and the "toiling" and other ornamentation Avas of a curious and elaborate description . Mr . Hart next referred to the organ in the cathedral . Thc original organ Avas , with many others , destroyed by tho fanatical miscreants of the Parliamentary army . Avho are responsible for so much haA T oc among the ecclesiastical treasures of tho kingdom . After

the restoration organ-builders Avere in great request , and Bernard Smith was employed to build the organ for St Paul ' s Cathedra ] , and also that now in use in the Temple Church . Bernard Smith was succeeded by his apprentice Schnieder ( who subsequently became his son-in-law ) , and he it was who built thc magificent instrument in thc Abbey Church