The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1857-10-31
Ie,,crrrom London.

old acquaintance
LONDON, (Eng.) Oct. I, 81.
DEAR BROTHER Since my last letter we
have enjoyed excellent health, and have not
been idle in sight seeing Within the las,
ten days we have visited the following
places, to-wit Westminster Abbey, Parlia-
ment buildings, Thames Tunnel, Geological
Gardens, st. PauEs Cathedral, Tower of
London, British Museum and Crystal Palace.
will briefly as possible point out the most
remarkable features of portion of thcm.
The Crystal Palace stands on beautiful
elevation miles from the city, the building
above the level of the foor is entirely of
iron and glass, the whole length Of the main
building is 164s feet, and the wings 514 feet
each, making length Of 2756 feet, which
with the 100 in the colorado leading from
the railroad station to the wing, gives Il
total length of 3476 feet or nearly three
fourths Of mile, covered with roof Of
glass. General width of the building 3l2
feet; area, including wings and gallery,
S64 $40 feet; height of central transept,
from floor Ia feet, from basement l9o feet;
the total weight Of iron used 10 the main
building is 9,642 tons of glass, equal to Is
acres, and weighs 500 tons. Ii the panes
were laid side by side they would extend to
a distance Of 4e miles or il end to end,
242 miles. Bolts, rivets and nails required
270 tons Of iron. The Palace and its grounds
occupy space OF 200 acres of ground. The
grounds are handsomely arranged and orna-
mented with wide gravel walks, and innu-
merable varieties Of flowers and trees. The
great fountains in the grounds OF the Pal
ace are the most stupendous in the world,
and when playing are beautiful and grand
beyond description. The basins (nine in
number) are of beautiful design, le4 feet
each in length, having diameter in the semi
circular center portion of 46S feet. A CEN
trail column of water rises in each, streaming
upwards from 60 to $50 feet. The pressure
on the mouth of the pipes is said to be 262
pounds to the square inch. There is IN In
finite variety Of water display. 1t assumes
various forms, and when the whole is dis
played no less than llISS jets are in opera
ton, throwing 10000 gallons Of water per
minute. There are also two water temples,
each 60 feet high, and on the top Of each are
bronze figures, from beneath which the water
gushes forth and falls over the roof down
the sides of the temple; from thence the wa
ter rushes down distance Of 600 feet and
falls over stone arcade into the great foun-
tain basins, forming cataract l20 It. broad,
with fall Of 20 feet. A grand display Of
all the fountains consumes about 6,O00, 900
gallons Of water. We had the pleasure OF
being present on two grand display days
The interior of the Palace is grand and pic
turesque the first object Of interest is the
different departments Of architecture, ex-
hibiting the different phases through which
it has passed, commencing from the earlies,
period known down to the present time
The next is grand array Of magniicen,
engines in motion, propeling beautifully
wrought machinery Of various kinds, some
Of which are the beating frames, carding en-.
gines, drawing, stubbing and rowing frames
thostle spinning frames, and self acting
mules. We have witnessed cotton trans
formed into the perfec. woven fabric. We
also saw silk velvet manufactured here
The next object of interest is the Botanical
collection. viii only give few specimens
out of the thousands in the Palace. First,
the Paragua tea tree, camphor tree from
which gum camphor is produced Ceratonia
tree, which bears the locust upon which St.
John fed Oralia trilotiate tree, the leaf Of
which shortens as the tree advances in age !;
Ci,ron tree, Socosrine Aloe, from which
aloes is produced ; Bay fig tree, from which
olive oils produced India rubber tree, the
sap Of which constitutes the article so ex-
tensiyclv used; Japan medlar tree, sheds its
bark; Eucalypti tree, the leaves change
from round to lance shape as the tree ad-
vances in growth Peppermint tree, Banana
tree, bearing fruit; Sage tree from which
bread is made Ficas tree, from which bread
is made also Tupioca, Coffee tree, Assum
tea plant two kinds Of ginger, the common
and spurious Nut meg tree, alspice tree,
pepper plant, from which our common black
pepper is derived; Ordeal tree, bears bean
a deadly poison Cinnamon tree, Peruvian
bark tree, Bohea tea tres, from which blac h
ten is derived black bamboo, il is said that
the shoots will grow one foot daily screw
tree, mahogany tree, gamboge tree from the
south sea, from which bread is made, and
strychnine plant, which contains the deadly
poison Of that name.
The collection Of antiquities from Egypt,
Greece, India, China, and other places Are
numerous also, paintings, sculpture, &C.,
a hne collection Of agricultural implements,
glass manufactured at different periods
also, furniture and queensware, and various
articles TOO numerous to mention.
ST. PauPs Cathedral is situated nearly in
the centre Of London, and is second only to
81. Peters q. Rome it is 500 feet in length
within tho walls, and 2s6 feet vide; circui,
Of entire building 2229 feet to the top Of
western tower 222 feet; tota, height from
the ground i14 feet. The building cover,
over TWO acres Of land, was over IS year II
building, and cost when labor was only {
cents Per day. 1912, 125. You can form
some idea Of the granduro and magnifcenc'
OF this cathedral from the above statistics
the exterior aud interior finish is OF the mos