Some Notes On Progress.

one licence taken out for a hackney-coach—that is , oneof the lumbering carriages on four wheels draAvn by tAVO horses , which Avere once to be met Avith in such large numbers : whither the remainder of those public carriages and their ancient Aveatherbeaten drivers have gone it is not easy to say .

Inside the houses , during the time mentioned , many objects once familiar have either vanished from the vieAV altogether or are now seldom to be seen ; and some of them are kept rather for ornament or curiosity than for use : amongst these the heavy unwholesome hangings of the best beds

, and the Avarming-pans ; the predecessor of the lucifer—the flint-and-steel tinder box ; black leathern "jacks ; " horn driuldng-cnps ; peAvter and Avooden platters and spoons ; cradles with , rockers ; A'ery common prints of Scripture subjects , nailed to the walls and margined with

dark-coloured list ; the semi-transparent pictures of Lord Nelson's funeral ; rude plaster casts of the Virgin Mary ; the gaudily-coloured and ill-shaped parrot ; the cock that " croAved in the morn , " have now become rare ; and it is more than twenty-five years since the Avriter of these notes saAv in a

remote part of England the turnspit-dog made to work in the wheel . This brings to mind that several kinds of dogs Avhich used to be common in and about houses haA r e become very scarce ; for instance , the pug-dog , the representative of which Avill live for ages yet to come in Hogarth ' s

portrait of himself ; and that formidable animal the truly-bred English bulldog . In connexion Avith the interiors of houses there is one thing the ¦ disuse of Avhich is to be regretted ; that is , the cleanly and neat application of stencilling , Avhich is pleasant to the eye and also pi'events the assemblage , of troublesome insects to the same extent as Avith wall-paper .

From amongst the once well-known London exhibitions we miss the Avild beasts at Exeter Change , and those of the ToAver Menagerie ; Miss Limvood's needle-work , Mrs . Salmon ' s Avaxwork , the Lowther Arcade , Polytechnic exhibition , and fifty others of greater or less celebrity ,

including now the Colosseum in the Regent ' s Park . During the last twenty-five or thirty years the present writer has seen the end of several celebrated metropolitan institutions . He has , for instance , heard the last notes of the bell which , after use during several centuriesclosed Old

, Smithfield Cattle-market ; seen the civic procession which " eyed" for the last time the A ery ancient fair of St . Bartholomew's ; heard " All out" called for the last time in the old Readingroom of the British Museum ; seen the last interments in the Old St . Pancras and other

metropolitan grave-yards ; and other events AA'hich , although they IIOAV belong * to the past , will throughout lifetime linger in the memory . Except for the crime of murder , England is now no longer degraded by public executions ; and

although chains and shackles are represented on the outside of some of the prisons , they are but seldom used inside . On the Thames , the changes during * the past half century are not less marked . Old London Bridge , Blackfriars Bridge , and Westminster

Bridge , have given place to other structures . ' The crowds of watermen are no longer seen at wellknown points ; the Maria Wood is in jeopardy ; and the barges of the City companies , which' used " to make such a goodly shoAV , have either been disposed of or are in boat-houses , gradually falling into decaA .

Let us glance at another part of the subject . While admitting to the fullest extent the exquisite and indescribable beauties of much ancient art as we find it illustrated in examples of architecture , sculpture , painting * , and articles for domestic and other uses which have been left to us , it seems

that in many instances there is an affected admiration of things which have no claim to it in an artistic point of view , and are only praised because they are old . The action of time , by rendering scarce once familiar objects , and by giving a picturesque indistinctness and peculiar colouring to matters not of themselves beautiful , produces a pleasing effect upon the imagination .

To some persons , everything old is worthy of praise : ugly mugs , and objects which are absolutely unpleasant -to the sight , are affectedly regarded as objects of delig ht . The proper consideration of this subject is of consequence , and it may be worth while one day to direct attention to some ofthe points Avhich are connected -with it .

When looking from our present point of view at the Avorks of modern sculptors , it is necessary to compare them Avith the remains of the ancient and Mediaeval times . HOAA * , for instance , do the carving of the Houses of Parliament bear comparison AAith those around the shrine of Henry V . in

Westminster Abbey ? or how will our modern statues bear contrast with those of the ancient personages which are placed so closely in connexion Avith them ? Will the halo of antiquity give something ofthe same charm to the monuments of Watt , Wilberforce , Mansfield , Peel , and others , Avhich is noticeable in the effigies of kings and queens of days long since gone by ? Probably not .

This subject has many aspects , but we must here be content to put the following queries : — Has the hand-skill of masons , carpenters , and bricklayers declined ? Is our glass for building purposes of a better or Averse quality than formerly ? Is it no advantage in these days to have

geometrical skill applied to carpentry , and iron in combination Avith other building materials ; and hoAV will the new city streets bear comparison in after-years with those which have passeel aAvay ? What has been said may be a hint to lead others to pursue this line ef reflection . The Builder .