an adverse motion in the House of Commons, and were succeeded by Earl Grey, under the banner of Parliamentary Reform.

NEW LONDON BRIDGE OPENED.

On August 1, 1831, this noble bridge, unrivalled in the world "in the perfection of proportion and true greatness of simplicity," was opened with great ceremony by King William IV. and Queen Adelaide, who proceeded thither in their state barge. Their Majesties partook of a banquet on the bridge, the Lord Mayor presiding, and the king, queen, and royal family partaking of the loving cup. The bridge and its approaches cost nearly a million and a half of money. A granite statue of King William was set up to commemorate the opening; and an equestrian bronze statue of the Duke of Wellington in acknowledgment of his grace's exertions in facilitating the means of erecting the new bridge.

THE LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY

OPENED.

This line, the first grand work of its kind, about 31 miles long, and connecting two of the most important towns in the empire, was opened September 15, 1830: the Duke of Wellington and other illustrious personages were present. Mr. Huskisson having alighted during the stoppage of the engines, was knocked down by one of them, which went over his thigh, and caused his death.

THE REFORM BILL.

The intense excitement which existed throughout England during the debates on this great measure, was at length happily terminated by the royal assent being given to the bill on the 7th June, 1832. Illuminations, bonfires, processions, congratulatory addresses, ringing of church bells, exhibitions of flags and trophies, marked the joy of the people at this most important addition to their liberties. The disfranchisement of the decayed boroughs, and the enfranchisement in their stead of the great and populous towns, effected a momentous change by substituting real in the place of the nominal representation that had previously existed; while the extension of suffrage to £10 copyholders and tenantsat-will, whereby the poor man had equal rights with the rich, completed the popularity of the measure, and stamped its establishment as one of the most glorious epochs of British freedom. Kings of England, p. 285.

CORONATION OF KING WILLIAM AND QUEEN
ADELAIDE.

The coronation was simply the ceremonial in Westminster Abbey, September 8, 1831; the whole terminated by three o'clock in the

afternoon, when their Majesties, and the princes and princesses, returned in procession through the choir and nave. On reaching the west door, the king's style was proclaimed by Garter King-atArms; the regalia were returned to the state officers; and the king and queen entered the state carriage to return to St. James's Palace, both their Majesties wearing their crowns.

DEATH OF SIR WALTER SCOTT.

This excellent and accomplished writer, in his 62nd year, sunk under disease brought on by excess of mental toil, but the purpose for which he sacrificed himself was attained. His debts, materially diminished before his death, have since been entirely liquidated by the profits of the edition of his collected works. He sought, but too late, health in a foreign climate; his worn-out frame craved to be at home and at rest; and he murmured, when he reached home, "Now he knew he was at Abbotsford." He expired September 21, 1832, after fourteen days' total insensibility.

The greatest author of the present century, whether we regard the beneficial influence of his writings, or its extent, is Sir Walter Scott. His characteristics as an author have been ably sketched as follows:

With far less classical learning, fewer images derived from travelling, inferior information on many historical subjects, and a mind of a less impassioned and energetic cast than other writers of his time, Sir Walter is far more deeply read in that book which is ever the same—the human heart. This is his unequalled excellence there he stands, without a rival since the days of Shakspeare. It is to this cause that his astonishing success has been owing. We feel in his characters that it is not romance, but real life, which is represented. Every word that is said, especially in the Scotch novels, is nature itself. Homer, Cervantes, Shakspeare, and Scott, alone have penetrated to the deep substratum of character which, however disguised by the varieties of climate and government, is at bottom everywhere the same; and thence they have found a responsive echo in every human heart. Every man who reads these admirable works, from the North Cape to Cape Horn, feels that what the characters they contain are made to say, is just what would have occurred to themselves, or what they have heard said by others as long as they lived. Nor is it only in the delineation of character, and the knowledge of human nature, that the Scottish novelist, like his great predecessors, is but for them without a rival. Powerful in the pathetic, admirable in dialogue, unmatched in description, his writings captivate the mind as much by the varied excellences which they exhibit, as by the powerful interest which they maintain. He has carried romance out of the region of imagination and sensibility into the walks of actual life.-Sir Archibald Alison.

EMANCIPATION OF BRITISH SLAVES.

The 1st of August, 1834, was the day on which the slaves in the British colonies were assigned, not to their actual freedom, but to a so-called "apprenticeship," which was to precede and prepare for freedom. Lord (then Mr.) Brougham brought forward a measure to this great end in 1830, and Mr. Fowell Buxton another in 1832; but no Act was passed until 1833. It provided that on the 1st of August in the following year all slaves should become " apprenticed labourers" to their masters, in two classes, that in 1838 and 1840 respectively; these two classes should receive their actual freedom; that twenty millions sterling should ultimately be paid to their masters, who would then lose the services of their slaves; and that this sum would be distributed rateably, according to the market price of slaves in each colony, during the eight years, 1823-1830. Many subsequent statutes modified the minor details, but left the main principle untouched. It was found, on a careful analysis, that on the 1st of August, 1834 (all negroes born after that date were born free), there were 770,280 slaves in the colonies affected by the Emancipation Act.

DEATH OF WILLIAM IV.

His Majesty expired at 12 minutes past two o'clock on the morning of the 20th June, 1837, at Windsor Castle, of general decay, in the 73rd year of his age. He was fervent in his expressions of religious hope, and just before breathing his last faintly articulated Thy will be done." The queen had been unremitting in her attentions; was scarcely ever absent from the sick chamber, and for twelve days did not take off her clothes. Wade's Chronology.

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PERSON AND CHARACTER.

The "sailor king," as he was called, was the third son of George III., and shared with his royal brothers in the natural advantages of his family. He came to the throne in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and his loss was generally and sincerely felt by the nation, as that of a good man and beneficent sovereign, who had committed no wrong, provoked no enmity, and whose memory may safely repose undisturbed by the shafts of envy, vengeance, or malignity. He had been a good man and beneficent sovereign, but his virtues were rather those of private life than of the regal station; his merits were the unpretending qualities which contribute to domestic comfort, social enjoyment, and personal friendship. Notwithstanding defects of early culture and natural gifts, his name is connected with a portion of British history over which the philanthropist may exult without alloy. The glories of his seven years' reign were the triumphs of peace.

EE

CHRONICLE.

1831. March 1. INTRODUCTION OF THE REFORM BILL. June 24. THE REFORM BILL PASSED THE COMMONS. Aug. 1. Opening of New London Bridge. Oct. 7. The Reform Bill rejected by the Lords. Oct. 29. The Bristol Riots. Dec. 12. Third introduction of the Reform Bill. 1832. Feb. 13. The cholera. April 14. The Reform Bill passed the Lords. Sept. 21. Sir Walter Scott died, in the 62nd year of his age. 1833. May 15. Edmund Kean, the celebrated tragedian, died, in the 46th year of his age: he first appeared on the London stage in 1814, in the character of Shylock, his performance of which immediately established him in that rank as an actor which he ever after maintained. 1834. July 9. Resignation of Earl Grey. Dec. 8. Sir Robert Peel's ministry. 1835. April 18. Lord Melbourne's ministry for the remainder of the reign its most important measure was the Municipal Reform Acts. June 18. William Cobbett died, in the 63rd year of his age. 1836. Nov. 4. Charles X., King of France, died, in the 80th year of his age. 1837. June 20. WILLIAM THE FOURTH DIED, IN THE 73RD YEAR OF HIS AGE. He was buried at Windsor, July 6.

:

REIGN OF VICTORIA.

BEGAN TO REIGN 1837. WHOM GOD LONG PRESERVE.

ACCESSION OF THE QUEEN.

Thus,

The demise of the Crown was intimated by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Chamberlain to Queen Victoria, on June 20, then residing in the south-eastern portion of Kensington Palace. A Privy Council was held during the day at the Palace, which was largely attended by noblemen and gentlemen, including the Lord Mayor of London, for the purpose of signing the Act of Allegiance. Of this, her Majesty's first Council, Sir David Wilkie painted a commemorative picture, with many portraits. within a month of having attained her majority, the Princess became Queen of these happy realms, and in her Declaration to the Council, said: "This awful responsibility is imposed upon me so suddenly, and at so early a period of my life, that I should feel myself utterly oppressed by the burden, were I not sustained in the hope that DIVINE PROVIDENCE, which has called me to this work, will give me strength for the performance of it, and that I shall find in the purity of my intentions, and in my zeal for the public welfare, that support and those resources which usually belong to a more mature age, and to longer experience." Another passage

of touching interest was the following:-" Educated in England, under the tender and enlightened care of a most affectionate mother, I have learned from my infancy to respect and love the constitution of my native country."

THE FORFARSHIRE WRECK.

On the 5th of September, 1838, was wrecked the Forfarshire steamer, in her passage from Hull to Dundee, when thirty-eight perished of the fifty-three persons in the vessel before she struck. Owing to the courageous conduct of the Outer Fern lighthouse keeper, J. Darling, and his heroic daughter Grace, who ventured out in a tremendous sea in a cobble, several of the passengers were rescued. The brave woman, by this and similar acts of daring, brought herself to an untimely grave. Her noble deeds will live in memory beyond a local fame.

THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO THE CITY.

On November 9, 1837, this being the first Lord Mayor's Day since the accession of the Queen, her Majesty was invited to dine at Guildhall. The Queen was received at Temple Bar by the civic authorities, and proceeded in state to Guildhall. The day was kept as a holiday, and the streets and windows of the houses in the line of the procession were crowded with spectators. In front of St. Paul's an address was delivered to the Queen by one of the boys of Christ's Hospital-the rest of the boys of the School witnessing the scene from seats which had been fitted up for their accommodation. At Guildhall, which was magnificently prepared for the banquet, the Queen conferred the rank of Baronet on the new Lord Mayor, and the Sheriffs were knighted. In the evening, along the whole line of procession, the illumination was very general.

QUEEN VICTORIA'S FIRST PARLIAMENT.

On November 20, 1837, the Queen went in state to open the Session of Parliament, and in commencing her speech, said:" In meeting this Parliament, the first that has been elected under my authority, I am anxious to declare my confidence in your loyalty and wisdom. The early age at which I am called to the sovereignty of this kingdom renders it a more imperative duty that, under Divine Providence, I should place my reliance upon your cordial cooperation, and upon the love and affection of all my people."

BURNING OF THE ROYAL EXCHANGE.

On January 10-11, 1838, the Royal Exchange in Cornhill, built in the reign of Charles II., was entirely consumed by fire. The