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600 LONDON tropolitan charity children on the first Thurs- day in June was characterized by Haydn as the most powerful effect he ever experienced from music. Divine service is performed in the chapel thrice every day: at 8 and at 9.45 A. M., and at about 4 P. M. ; and since 1859 there has also been an evening service on Sundays under the dome, with seats for 3,000 persons. St. Paul's is the cathedral church of the see of London. Its administration is under the charge of a dean and chapter, consisting of four resi- dent canons^ four prebendaries, and various minor officers. Westminster abbey existed be- fore the end of the 8th century, and is traced to the early part of the 7th. The larger por- tion of it in its present condition was comple- ted in the middle of the 13th. It is in the form of a somewhat irregular cross. Its length, ex- clusive of Henry VII. 's chapel, is 511 ft. ; ex- Westminster Abbey. treme breadth at the transept, 203 ft. ; height of the nave 102, and of the towers 225 ft. Soon after the revolution the abbey, which had suf- fered much during the civil wars, was repaired, and the western towers were added by Wren, but in a mixed Grecian and Gothic style which occasioned much criticism. On approaching Victoria street from Parliament street, the buttresses and pinnacles and the whole ex- panse of the abbey gradually open to view. The British sovereigns, from Edward the Con- fessor to Queen Victoria, have been crowned in Westminster abbey, and many of them are buried there, some with, others without mon- uments. Surrounding the E. end in a semi- circle are nine chapels, the most interesting of which are those of Edward the Confessor, be- yond the altar, and of Henry VII., which forms the eastern extremity of the abbey. The centre of the former chapel is occupied by the shrine of Edward the Confessor, formerly richly inlaid with mosaic work. Henry VII. 's chapel is a fine specimen of the architecture of the time of that monarch, who founded it. The monuments of Queen Elizabeth and Mary Stuart are in the N". and S. aisles of the chapel respectively. In the S. transept, in and near Poets' corner, are monuments to most of the great poets of the country ; and here, as well as in both aisles of the nave and choir, are monuments of other illustrious Englishmen. Among those buried there most recently are Macaulay, Dickens, Bulwer, and Livingstone. Religious service is performed daily in the abbey, and the services on Sunday are nu- merously attended, though the voice of the preacher is not generally audible. Westminster abbey is officially called the collegiate church of St. Peter's, Westminster, and is governed by a dean and chapter of eight prebendaries, and other officers. The cathedral windows . have been lately pro- vided with paint- ed glass, but not with sufficient ef- fect to encourage similar embellish- ments for the chapter house, which latter was completely re- stored in 1872. The most inter- esting among the various works re- lating to religious edifices is the " History of the three Cathedrals dedicated to St. Paul in London," by William Long- man (London, 1873).- Most celebrated among the many religious associations of London is the British and foreign Bible society, with thousands of branches all over the United Kingdom, the British colonies, and in other parts of the world ; its annual circulation of volumes is about 4,000,000, and it distrib- utes the Scriptures in 200 foreign languages. Since 1868 it has occupied an extensive build- ing in the street leading from the mansion house to Blackfriars bridge. (See BIBLE SO- CIETIES.) The total number of persons re- lieved in the second week of August, 1874, in connection with workhouses and almshouses, was 33,274 indoor paupers and children, 34,- 389 outdoor paupers, and 24,026 under 16; total, 91,689, against 118,803 in 1871, 101,630 in 1872, and 97,984 in 1873, the relative decline being much greater in view of the increased population. Conspicuous among other public