and so it is in many respects; in one of them
contradictory to the prettiness; for one side
of the square is formed of the backs and
garden-walls of the Earl's Terrace houses;
and the opposite side of its coach-houses, and
of little tenements that appear to have been
made out of them. The whole of this side,
however, is plastered, and partly overgrown
with ivy, so as to be rather an ornament
than an eyesore; but what chiefly surprises
the spectator, when he first sees the place, is
the largeness as well as cultivated look of the
square, compared with the smallness of the
houses on two sides of it. The gardener's
lodge also is made to look like a Grecian
temple, really in good taste; and, though the
grass is not as thick and soft as it might be,
nor the flowers as various, and the pathways
across the grass had better have been straight
than winding (there being no inequalities of
ground to render the winding natural), yet
upon the whole there is such an unexpected
air of size, greenness, and even elegance in
the place, especially when its abundant lilacs
are in blossom, and ladies are seen on its
benches reading, that the stroller who
happens to turn out of the road and comes
upon the fresh-looking sequestered spot for
the first time, is interested as well as
surprised, and feels curious to know how a
square of any kind, comparatively so large,
and at the same time manifestly so cheap (for
the houses, though neat and respectable, are
too small to be dear), could have suggested
itself to the costly English mind. Upon
inquiry we find it to have been the work of a
Frenchman. The story is, that the Frenchman
built it at the time of the threatened
invasion from France, and that he adapted the
large square and the cheap little houses to
the promenading tastes and poorly-furnished
pockets of the ensigns and lieutenants of
Napoleon's army, who, according to his
speculation, would certainly have been on the
look-out for some such place, and here would
have found it. Here, thought he, shall be
cheap lodging and fête champêtre combined;
here, economy in doors, and Watteau without;
here, repose after victory; promenades;
la belle passion; persual of newspapers on
benches; an ordinary at the Holland Arms;
a French Arcadia, in short, or a little Palais
Royal in an English suburb. So runs the
tradition: we do not say how truly; though
it could hardly have entered an English head
to invent it.

It was allowable for French imaginations
in those days to run a little wild, on the
strength of Napoleon's victories. We do not
repeat the story for the sake of saying how
wild. We believe that both Frenchmen and
Englishmen at present, for reasons best
known to all governments not actually out of
their senses, are for keeping their own localities
as quietly as possible to themselves;
and we devoutly hope they may continue to
do so,  not only for the sake of the two
greatest nations in Europe, but for that of the
security of advancement. For it is better to
advance gently, however slowly, than to be
incessantly thrown back from one extreme to
another; and the world and right opinion
will progress as surely as time does, whatever
efforts despots and bigots may make to
put back the clock.

It is said in Kensington that Coleridge
once had lodgings in Edwardes Square. We
do not find the circumstance in his biographies,
though he once lived in the neighbouring
village of Hammersmith. Perhaps he
was on a visit to a friend; for we are credibly
informed that he used to be seen walking in
the square. A lady, who was a child at the
time, is very proud of his having spoken to
her, and given her a kiss.

IN THE DARDANELLES.

Our man-of-war, the Modeste, entered the
Dardanelles surrounded by a fleet of
merchant vessels. When the breeze over the
highland caught our sails we ran ahead; when a
deep current rushing round some headland
caught our hull we fell astern; and we were
enjoying the excitement of a grand regatta
when, at the narrowest part of the strait
between the inner castles of Europe and Asia, a
heavy shot from the fort came right across our
bows. The captain was below at the moment,
and just as he got on deck and was giving
orders to shorten sail another shot fell astern
and ricocheted close alongside, sending
showers of spray over the gangway. We
could see a crowd of officers at a house
in the fort, and others were at the same
time busy laying other guns. There was
no misinterpreting the hint. We accordingly
bore up, and in the midst of a heavy squall
of wind and rain anchored off the consular
offices at the town of the Dardanelles.

Our consul soon coming on board, from
him we learnt that all men-of-war must have
a firman, or permission to pass, from
Constantinople before they are suffered to
ascend the Dardanelles. We knew nothing of
this regulation, since by some chance no notice
had been taken of it in the general orders to
the squadron. It was clear that the Pacha
in command of the fort had exceeded his
instructions, as the rules are that in a case like
ours two blank cartridges shall be first fired,
and then followed up by shot if necessary.
The captain accordingly went ashore to call
upon the Pacha and demand an explanation.
His apology was the truth, that he thought
we wished to pass him in defiance of the
regulations, and had an idea that we looked
as if blank cartridge could not stop us. We
were obliged to wait until a letter could be
written to and answered from Constantinople.
It was Tuesday, no steamer would go up
before Thursday, and no answer be had
before Saturday. Accordingly we had five
days before us, and as our stroll about the