| 509 open the Parliament and deliver her speech to the Peers of the realm. From Buckingham Palace to the Parliament house, a distance of one mile, she passed in the State Carriage, drawn by eight cream colored horses, elegantly decorated and attended by all the State attendants, and the horse guard going before, and others bringing up the rear, accompanied by prince Albert on her left side, and Lady Southerland, the first maid of honor, opposite. We were placed in front of the line by one of her horse guards, to whom we had an introduction, by Dr. Copeland, as gentlemen from America; consequently we had a fair view. As she passed and returned she bowed to us and we returned the salutation; and I can assure you we were much gratified with our morning excursion. It was supposed that there were between three and four hundred thousand persons present, and every thing passed off in perfect order, no accidents of any kind. Queen Victoria is considered the greatest Sovreign [Sovereign] in the world, and her Dominions are more extensive than those of any other Monarch; the number of her subjects amount to two hundred million, or more. The scene was the most superb I ever beheld. The great concourse of people assembled-the magnificence of the regal cavalry, and the appearance of the young Queen, the head of so many and such vast dominions, struck upon my feelings with a degree of interest which I have seldom, if ever before, experienced, and altogether the scene will not be soon forgotten by me. Her Majesty is small in stature, and unlike the English Women in general; she is pale and delicate looking, blue eyes, fair skin and an innocent and feminine look; but there is nothing particularly striking or handsome about her; I have seen many better looking women in America.
On the 23 of January, again accompanied by Elder Woodruff, Dr. Copeland and Lady, I visited St. Catherine's Dock; from that we went to the London Dock, then into the east wine Vault, on of the greatest in the world; it covers nine English acres of land, being arched over and supported by pillars, branching off into several different roads. We traversed every part of it; each one carried a lamp in their hand: we tasted the wine, having an order granting us that liberty. In this Vault was deposited forty thousand pipes of wine, thirty thousand of port, the remainder sherry. Over this Vault a part of the city is bnilt [built], so that it appears to be a sort of Cavern. From thence we visited the Jewish Synagogue to see their order of worship, which was all performed in Hebrew. We stayed during the whole ceremony in their worship, and at the same time some were singing the Psalms of David, in a sweet and melodious manner, some reading, some praying and others in different attitudes of worship, all of which passed off with great solemnity and order; there were no females present at that meeting, and no one permitted to enter their place of worship without a hat on. At the door we were requested to put ours on, which we accordingly did; but passing farther into their Synagogue, the beauty and splendor thereof caused us again to take them off. A second request to put them on rather embarrassed us, and perhaps to them we might have appeared a little Clownish.-During their worship, my mind was unusually solemn, and I looked upon those sons of illustrious sires, with mingled emotions of joy and sorrow for the unparallelled [unparalleled] cruelties which have been inflicted on their Nation, and joy that the day of their redemption was near. They seem to be a peculiar people, and can readily be distinguished from all other Nations. There are 200,000 now living in London mostly by themselves; we visited the part of the city in which they reside, called Peticote Lane, a noted place of business for the Jews. The streets were so crowded that it was with difficulty that we could pass. They are the most spirited, ambitious, and persevering people I ever saw. They believe the gathering of Israel, in the last days, is near, and they are waiting for their restoration to the land of Palestine. Much might be said upon this subject, but let this suffice for the present.
About the middle of December we were requested to go to Woolwich, nine miles down the river, and accordingly I went, too the rail road in the Borough, near London Bridge, passed the large town of Dedford on the left, thence to Greenwich, the end of the rail road, then took coach to Woolwich. I was permitted to preach twice on the Sabbath in a private room; the day following 4 went with me to London to be baptized, in consequence of the ice in the river, and the steepness of the banks, at the same time
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