The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-27 00:00:00

METROPOLITAN GOSSIP.

Mr. George Augustus Sala is about to contribute a
series of chatty articles in the Sportsman newspaper.
The height of the season is the time in which to view
London. There are two " heights" in the year-s one in
late spring and early summer, the other at Christmas.
The latter presents specially the characteristic features of
the English character--the kindly hospitality with which
a certain amount of business-like, trader promptitude of
manner, seems to he inalienably allied. Resolved to be-
hold the " humours" of a London Christmas Eve in the
inadequate sense in which these can be seen by a casual
observer, I set forth on Tuesday night. As the destiniek
had decreed, I found myself piloted by a guide, philoso-
pher, end friml, through the me zes of Lambeth. The
choicest quarter of Lambeth appears to be the
Lower Marsh. Here there were indeed novel
ties of all descriptions. Vegetables in every variel y.
confectionery, fish of every fin, pets and pans, trousers;
and other gear of an endlessly miscellaneous kind were
being bought and sold. The great street, brilliantl3i
lighted, was crowded with people. The Lower Ten were
fully represented, and it was neither an uncommon nor
unpleasing sight to behold huge, hulking, unwieldy
labourers steering through the crowd with quite a little
load of toys in their hands and accompanied by troops of
jubilant children. One of the chief establishments
in this district is that of Mr. Grove. What
Lambeth labourer knows not his pants—what transi!
pontine clerk is unfamiliar with his " Chesterfields ?"
This enterprising gentleman was at one time the most
frequently-named person in the city and neighbourhood of
London. There was a time when meadow, grove, and
field around London were all duly labelled, " Who is
Grove ?" to which the answering wayside and the turn-
Pikegate replied, " The best clothier in Lower Marsh."
The very stones prated of his whereabouts, and the pave-
ment was eloquent on the subject of underclothing.
Country inns invited your inspection of coats (superfine
quality) at nine shillings, and inexpressibles (really goocL
at the sum of one crown. As for London itself, it was
perhapsfa miliar, sick, of Grove. Grove, like the
present " Griffiths," was seen on every dead wall,
in every newspaper, magazine, railway carriage,
omnibus, coffee-shop, and bar. If you wished to
enjoy a day's fishing, and went a little way into the
country, yon would find that the shallow river to whose
falls melodious birds sang madrigals had been indoctri-
nated into the name of Grove, that the tree beneath
which you reclined was ticketed " Grove," that the paper
that enwrapped your flies or your tobacco hinted at cheap
clothing, and that the Tyne and Wear babbled of the
Lower Marsh. There must be something fine in the Grove
nature, however. No sooner had he amassed the princely
fortune which was the natural result of sufficiently
extensive advertising, than his tastes began to
develope, and he shelved what stuff he was made
of. The dilettante elegance of taste, the poetic sym-
pathy without which life would have no " trimmings"
either for man or tailor, began to skew itself, and a few
years of good trade saw Mr. Grove what he is at present
--the proud proprietor of Pcpc's Villa at Twickenham.
Shade of Belinda, rest !

One of the most valuable properties in Londonis likely to
become the subject of a lawsuit. St. Katherine's Docks
are claimed by an officer in the Indian army, the son of
a former Governor of the West Coast- of Africa. The
officer and a brother were, if the claimant's statement is
to be believed, entitled to the fee-simple of the land on
which these docks now stand. The brother died during
the Indian mutiny, and the survivor now contends
that this enormously valuable estate, bringing in 00,000
a year, is his. I do not pretend to know what foundation
there is for this claim ; hut I am certa'n that it will be
resisted to the uttermost.

The outer circle of the metropolitan railways is making
great progress. The line between Paddington and Vic-
toria stations will not be opened this Christmas, as was
hoped, but I believe not many months will elapse before
passengers will be able to pass from the Great Western to
the London, Chatham, and Dover line, without the neces-
sity of threading the narrow defile of Park-lane. Two
large stations are being built, one just opposite
the Grosvenor Hotel, the other fronting the Great
Western Hotel. Praed-street, in which the latter build-
ing is situated, has to a great extent been pulled down,
and is now in course of re-erection. The railway over
Mont Cenis has been a practical failure thus far, and the
Italians are inclined to make merry at Mr. Fell's ex-
pense. But an Englishman never knows when he is beaten.
and Mr. Fell has not yet abandoned his attempt, but is
at the present time constructing covered ways to keep off
the snow in the most exposed places. He may succeed,
but inasmuch as themoney invested will have to be earned
back in four years, the pecuniary success of this project is
at least doubtful.

There is in one of the streets near Covent-garden a shop
for the sale of artistic furniture. The manufacturers
retain the services of several gentlemen well known in
the art world, and these furnish designs in chairs, tables,
carpets, bookcases, &c. Among the designers are Mr.
Godwin, editor of the Builder, and Mr. Charles East-
lake, a nephew of the late Sir Charles Eastlake, presi-
dent of the Royal Academy, and known to the readers of
London Society under the none de ptunzt of " Jack
Easel."

When the Anglo-French commercial treaty comes to
be revised two years hence, it is to be hoped that the two

Governments may agree upon reducing the import duty
laid upon marble conveyed into France. At present this
duty is enormously heavy, and the fact that in spite of it

a large quantity of English marble finds its way to
Paris shews how good a trade might be done if the terms
were more equitable.