SIGHTS FOR THE SUMMER.

To the bachelor, who prefers "the sweet shady side of Pall-Mall" be- fore the groves of an Arcadia, and who " does the pastoral " on a bench . in Kensington Gardens, or a chair in the enclosure of St. James's Park, a London May has attractions far surpassing those of the country. Ex- hibitions open as thick as the hawthorn blossoms, ;old morning and even- ing concerts are sweeter to his ears than the vocal woods.where Philomel instead of MALIBRAN is prima" dinnna. The influx of fair faces to the metropolis " during the merry month of May," is net the least of its charms ; and whether we stern the tide of pretty Quakeresses setting in for the °° Yearly Aleeting," or mingle witNthe throng of rural beauties who shun the theatreand concert-room, andtseek the excitement afforded by the sober mirth made by serious speakers at Freemason's Hall, we are equally captivated. Yielding, then, to the force of example, and the solicitations of some fair friends, we resolved upon a holyday ; arid, hav- ing always the gratification of our readers in view, we proceed to relate the result of our peregrinations, and to describe such " sights " as are newest and most attractive.

lire will not be superfluous-upon the Zoological Gardens, o• the Co- losseum, or the Diorama, whose beautiful views of .Mount St. Godutrd and Rheims Cathedral we so lately noticed ; nor will we do more than name the Panoramas of Paris nail Constantinople in the Strand, and of Sydney and Calcutta in Leicester SquanT,—as our readers are doubtless familiar with them, at least in our description. We will, however, turn in with them to that agreeable lounge and 46 most 'magical of peep shows," the Cosmorama in Regent Street—many of the views having been recently replaced by new ones of equal beauty and interest, retaining two or three of the more strikingly pleasing, scenes which delighted us befOre. The two new interiors of :it. Genevieve (the Pantheon) at Paris, and St. Peter's at Rome, are, like those of St. Paul's :old St. Gutiule at Brussels, almost deceptions. The view of Alma illime is worthy or its neighbours Mount "Vesuvius in mention, and Mount St. Gothard with the Falls of the Reuss. The execution of some of the other views, we think, might be improved, and rendered 'less like toy pictures seem through a magnifying-glass. On the whole, however, this interesting exhibition is to its larger competitors," Le Petit Lazary," to the " Little Haymarket."

While on the spot, and ;amongst the ramas, we will just take a peep at the four views of the British Diorama (which is a (Thohi, one, by the by), at the Royal Bazaar in Oxford Street. Theo colonist I L views of the Grand Canal, Venice; a mountain pass, a most roinantic and beautiful scene, Irons STANFIELD'S bold and vivid pencil ; and interiors of Durham Cathedral and the Thames Titnnel. They are only inferior in execution and effect to the Diorama in the Regent's Park ; and may be seen, more- over, without the disagreeable sensation of the moving saloon in the latter. The fourteen views of the " Physiorama," to be seen here also, are inferior to the Cosmorama, though interesting. as representations of the various places. This establishment, since its destruction by fire, has been rebuilt, in a style of commodious elegance worthy of admiration ; the interior presents a pleasing coup and attracts crowds of visitors. 'We must leave the ladies to discuss the comparative merits of the VIIriottS new Bazaars, from the larg,e one in Gray's Inn Lane, to the small one in Kensington Square, including the "Carlton" in Pall Mall, and that next to Miss LinewooD's Gallery in Leicester Square,—for we have nei- ther time nor inclination to run the gauntlet through toys mid trinkets, pastry and perfumery.

THE .TUNNEL.

The sight of the Thames Tunnel at the British Diorama, proved so attractive, that a party was formed to visit the Tunnel itself ; and we accordingly concluded a morning's sight-seeing by boating it to Ruttier- hithe. Descending the immense shaft—not by the frail and precipitous conveyance of a rope and basket, as in the mines, but by a commodious staircase—we entered the sub-aqueo-tenTancan archway, and stood for some time in silent admiration of the singularly striking effect. The sensations of delight and wonder were, however, mingled with tremor, which lent a charming terror to the countenances of our far friends, who had not made the descent without experiencing those interesting

alarms which heighten the enjoyment of a novel scene, that has a dash of the dangerous to recommend it. Not that there was any danger here, however; but the illuminated darkness, the under-ground sensation, and the ponderous rumbling and incessant action of the steam-engine, and the gushing of the Water which it pumps out (the oozings through the unvaulted part of the excavation supported by the " shield,'') all conspired to impress the mind with a feeling of awe ; which was aided by the reflection that we were walking under five-and-thirty feet depth of water. The excavation extends to about 30 feet, or midway across

the channel of the river, between which and the roof of the tunnel there is fifteen feet of clay in the deepest part. The brick-work is extremely

solid, and the construction of the arches is such that a curve is given to the brick-work capable of supporting the greatest possible pressure. The length of the perspective is augmented by the insertion of large plates of looking-glass at that end which is bricked up; and these, reflecting the row of lamps and arches, give great additional effect. We departed, deeply impressed with the boldness and magnitude of the

unadorned structure, and regretting that so stupendous a record of the triumph of man's ingenuity and perseverance should remain incomplete for want of funds.

To those who admire human ingenuity and the perfection of skill in mechanism" and manufactures, we recommend a visit to the National Repository at Charing Cross—remarkable for its numerous specimens of the novel and the beautiful in the useful and ornamental arts of life. We have not space for description.

THE MICROCOSM.

Those who prefer the contemplation of the works of Nature, will accompany us to CARPENTER'S Microcosm, in Regent Street ; a most beautiful and rational exhibition, alike interesting to the naturalist and the merely curious. in the centre of one apartment is a set of lucerne' microscopes, of high magnifying power, the reflected light Winne; thrown on the lens by lamps. The objects presented to the eye are a selection of the most beautiful and interesting that come w ithinthe microscopic focus ; and they consist, at present, of the common fly, beetles, paste eels, cheese mites, seetions•of stems of plants showing the sap-vessels, wings, and other parts of insects, &c.; but the most splendid object is the

Diamond Beetle,—a very superb insect, which, seen through the micro- scope, has the appearance of an incrustation of the most brilliant and sparkling gems : part of a peacock's feather, also, looks like a rich piece of gold embroidery. Bound the room are various optical illusions, by which shells, flowers, fruit, figures, &c. are presented to the eye with extreme vividness, and tempt the touch of the beholder ; and if, in defiance of the motto above each, " noli me tangere," he should put Out his hand to the object, he finds it au empty frame, and grasps a shadow. There are also several kaleidoscopes, some of which reflect the passengers in street in their radiated mirrors, producing a curious effect.

The Camera Obscura of Regent Street is a source of untired delight ; but as our readers are, doubtless, familiar with the most attractive object in the fairs that they visited in their childhood, it needs no de- scription here: we may just remark, however, that the attentive con.. temptation of this moving picture of shadows would prove very useful to the artist, and afford him valuable instruction in perspective and chiaroscuro.

But the crowning wonder of this curious and delightful exhibition, is the large Achromatic Solar Microscope, which may be seen only by favour of the Sun. Choose, therefore, gentle reader, a cloudless day, it' such an atmosphere can he found in our humid climate, and ascend to Mr. CaneENTER's optical theatre, where "veinal in speculum" you shall see reflected, on a plane disc of plaster-of-paris, a drop of stagnant water, nine feet in diameter, instinct with animalcular life : myriads of insects not visible to the naked eve, and others which would appear the thirty-second part of an inch in size, here dart and wriggle about in the aqueous atmosphere—a little world of animated existence in a drop of water ! But let us first possess the reader with an idea of the magni- tude and peculiar construction of this grand instrument, made by Mr. CAR PESTER. The illuminating lens is a foot ins diameter, with every part inn proportion ; and it condenses one hundred times more light on the objects than the largest solar microscopes its general use. It has also an additional power in the achromatic lens, by means of which, not only are the aberrations of the diverging rays of light corrected, and transparent objects thus exhibited on the disc or screen without the fringe of light commonly seen, but an increase of distinctness is acs quired, and opaque objects are displayed its the full brilliancy of their colours : the picture thus delineated on the screen also may be closely examined with an improvement of its development. Tine instrument has !hur magnifiers, of different degrees of power : the lowest magnifies the object 32511 times; the second 11,6G•1 times; the third 83,000; and the highest half a million. With this immense power, a portion only of the eve of a fly is shown, nine feet in diameter! the numerous little transparent lenses of which it is composed appearing beautifully distinct and perfectly defined. A piece of the finest cambric, shown under this magnifying power, looks like the iron grating of a prison ! The living scenes are by far the most amusing. In the drop of water, nine feet in diameter, will be seen the lame of the Dytiscus, or water-beetle,—a formidable and voracious insect, with forked pincer-like jaws, with which it fastens upon the fish to suck the juices out of its body ; and the spectator may watch it darting about with the fish in its jaws, which is all the while gasping as with agony. The larvae of the Ephemeris, an insect that exists but a single day, is also very curious ; it has seven Small fins on each side, which serve to propel it, and as lungs to respire. The larva, and puree of gnats, dragon-flies, &c., various monoculi,

corallines, and animalcules, will also attract the attention of the naturalist ; the Wheel and Globe insects are particularly curious ; and the connoisseurs of putrid cheese will be delighted to see what myriads of active insects, of the size and shape of a sole, but covered with long hairs, they devour in a lump of their favourite dainty. The eels in sour paste and stale vinegar are also wonderful to behold ; and the incessant and rapid motion of these animalcule: is not the least striking part of the exhibition. Besides these living objects, transverse cuttings of different trees, oak, vine, &c., showing the air and sap vessels, wings of insects, those of the fly, diamond beetle, and lady-bird, appearing nine feet in length, and that of the bee sixteens feet, the trunk of a bee six feet long. feathers of birds, scales of fishes, skins of serpents, shells, ores, minerals, corals, and coins, are also exhibited. A sovereign ap- pears three feet in diameter, and seemed very much battered, although a new one.

We have bestowed a greater share of attention upon this exhibition than is consistent with our space or plan of pointing out rather than describing sights, on account of its intrinsic merits, and the universal interest which a view of it will excite in every mind capable of under- standing and appreciating the hidden wonders of tine insect world. Pa. rents will do well net only to go themselves, but to take their families to set: the Solau• Microscope : no one who desires to become acquainted with the curious and beautiful fitness shown in tine structure of plants or in- sects will be satisfied with one visit. The microscope is to the earth more than the telescope to the heavens ; for it lays open as it were the innermost recesses of natural objects, the knowledge of which must form the basis of the study of animal and vegetable creation.