It may be safely affirmed that they who have witnessed the view of London, from Greenwich Park, have beheld a scene which neither time nor circumstances can ever obliterate, and to which it may be doubted if Europe itself could furnish a rival. It is a point to which foreigners and strangers uniformly advert, in expressing their admiration of the British capital and its environs; and to which, during the fine season, multitudes resort for the sake of the delicious park-scenery and the magnificent prospects which it commands. From the base of the National Observatory to the cupola of St. Paul's, the objects which it embraces are of the most variegated and imposing character. In the fore ground is the palace of the former "Kings and Queens of England,"—now the noblest Hospital in the world—with all its stately appendages. In the centre of the picture is the Thames—the great "highway" by which the fleets of commerce are continually pouring the treasures of the world into the heart of the metropolis. In the back ground—here in bold relief, and there dimly shadowed in the horizon—are seen the towers and temples of London, with the majestic dome of St. Paul's presiding over the whole in glorious pre-eminence. Turning to the east, the scene presents new objects of interest and admiration. The shipping off Blackwall—the Docks—the vast traffic by which the river is continually agitated—the steamers passing and repassing, their decks crowded with company, and the bands of music occasionally striking up, as they pass the Royal Hospital, the national air of "Rule Britannia,"—all produce an effect upon the spectators, which, in point of animation, cannot be surpassed. What gives peculiar interest to the picture, is the appearance of the "ancient mariners" who are continually in sight—pensioners who have given their legs and arms as pledges to British independence, and now pass the evening of their days in every comfort to which a weather-beaten seaman can aspire—

This magnificent Hospital presents an imposing range of buildings in the Grecian style of architecture, extending several hundred feet along the right bank of the Thames, and divided into two wings by a noble lawn, with a descent to the water's edge by a handsome flight of steps. The wings recede a considerable space from the river and are crowned in the distance by two lofty domes, behind which rise the acclivities of the royal park, covered with trees of centuries, and undulating with variegated masses of verdure. Through the midst of these, and occupying the site of the original fortress of Greenwich, rises that celebrated Observatory which has so frequently engaged the attention of scientific Europe; and with which the names of Flamsteed, Halley, Bradley, Bliss, Maskelyn, Pond, and Airey, are so emphatically connected.

To the history of Greenwich Hospital we can only very briefly advert. After the rebellion in 1715, the forfeited estates of the Earl of Derwentwater, amounting at that time to six thousand pounds per annum, were voted by parliament to this hospital; and with the numerous benefactions since bestowed by private individuals, it is now enabled to provide for nearly three thousand inmates. Every Pensioner receives a liberal allowance of provisions and clothes, with a shilling a week for pocket-money. The nurses—widows of seamen, and of whom there were lately a hundred and five—in addition to provisions, have each an annual allowance of from eighteen to twenty pounds. A library is provided for the exclusive use of the Pensioners. The office of governor of Greenwich Hospital is generally conferred on veterans of the highest rank and standing in the service,—such as Hood, Keats and Hardy, the friend and companion of Nelson.