poised nervous manner oh yes so you re new to england i envy you your early impression i am for the future the extreme pleasure of reading you these little opening always amuse me we are all on the � stage and we play our parts whether we do so or not it appeared that the had to be provided for sir had to be given a hasty lunch he seemed to fall in with the idea of a short run to before dark even if the day were gloomy and so after feeding him quickly before the grate fire in the drawing room we were off � sir and � s son � and myself sir sat with me in the and and in the front seat sir made no effort to strike up any quick relationship with me � remained quite aloof and talked in i could see that he took himself very seriously � as well he might seeing that as i understood it he had begun life with nothing there were remarks � familiar ones concerning well known painters and the social life of england a at forty this first afternoon trip was pleasant enough me as it did with the character of the country about level for miles and miles up to this time i had been on the fact that it was winter and i was seeing england under the worst possible conditions but i am not so sure that it was such a great disadvantage to day as we sped down some damp slippery where the river thames was to be seen far below twisting like a letter s in the rain i thought to myself that light and color � summer light and color � would help but little the villages that we passed were all rain soaked and solemn there were few if any people abroad we did not pass a single on the way to and but a single railroad track these little english villages for all the extended english railway system are practically without railway communication you have to drive or walk a number of miles to obtain suitable railway connection i recall the moss vine cottages of once red but now green brick half hidden behind high brick walls where curiously trees sometimes stood up in order and vines and bushes seemed in a conspiracy to the doors and windows in an excess of until you see them no words can suggest the of age and some old order of comfort once prevailing but now which these little towns and separate houses convey you know at a glance that they are not of this modern work a day world you know at a glance that no power under the sun can save them they are of an older day and an older thought � the thought perhaps that goes with gray s and s traveller and deserted village that night at dinner before and after we fell into a most stirring argument as i recall it started enter sir with sir s that st paul s of london which is a product of the skill of sir as are so many of the smaller churches of london was infinitely superior to the comparatively new and still unfinished roman catholic cathedral of westminster with that i could not agree i have always objected anyhow to the ground plan of the cathedral namely the cross as being the worst possible arrangement which could be devised for an interior it is excellent as a scheme for three or four � the arms of the cross being always invisible from the � but as one interior how can it compare with the straight lying which gives you one grand forward sweep or the solemn greek temple with its and rows of columns of all forms of architecture other things being equal i most admire the greek though the even more than has a tremendous appeal it is so airy and however st paul s is neither greek nor an else very much � a staggering attempt on the part of sir to achieve something new which is to me not very successful the dome is pleasing and the interior space is fairly impressive but the general effect is and i think i said as much naturally this was solid ground for an argument and the battle raged to and fro � through greece rome the east and the of europe and england we finally came down to the of new york and and the railway of various american cities but i shall not go into that what was more important was that it raised a question concerning the of england � the common people from whom or because of whom all things are made to rise and this was based on the final conclusion that all architecture is or should be an expression of i a at forty national temperament and this as a fact was partly questioned and partly denied i think it began by my asking whether the little low cottages we had been seeing that afternoon � the quaint windows varying ik but delicious angles and the battered time worn state of houses generally � was an expression of the english temperament mind you i love what these things stand for i love the of soul which somehow is conveyed by and and hardy and i would have none of change if life could be ordered so sweetly � if it could really stay alas i know it can not compared to the speed and skill which is required to the modem railway trains the express companies the hotels the newspapers all this is helpless pathetic sir s answer was yes that they were an expression but that nevertheless the english mass was a beast of muddy brain it did not � could not � quite understand what was being done above it were intellectual classes each smaller and 