Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1858-09-02


makes the best in old Vermont
As we are soon to leave, we cannot take much
notice of Southampton. 1t, as you will see, is
on the Southern coast, and is, to passer by,
very fine appearing town, containing some
twenty to thirty thousand inhabitants, and is
held in some repute as the place where the cele-
brated Canutc feigned to exercise his authority
over the sea. The Hotel at which we stopped
was named from him, and beautiful cngravings
Of this, his wonderful feat, adorned its wallis
a historian has thus described the man, and the
veneration in which he was held by his people:
6 Canute, afterwards surnamed the Great, sue
ceeded Sweyn, as King of Denmark, and also
as general of the Danish forces in England
| He again lost possession OF one half Of his
kingdom, but Edmond, the possessor being
murdered about month afterwards, he was
kept in peaceable possession of the whole king
dom. Canute has been described, by some his
torans as one of the first characters in those
barbarous ages. The pioty of the latter part
Of his life, and the valor of the former, were
topics that filled the mouths of his cohrticrs
with Hattery and praise. They even affected to
think his power uncomfortable, and that all
things would be obedient to his command
Canute, sensible Of their adulation, is said to
have taken the following method to reprove
them. He ordered his chair to beset on the sea
shore while the tide was coming in, and COM
manded the sea to retire Thou art under my
dominion, cried he. The land upon which
sit is mine. | charge thee, therefore, to ap
proach no farther, nor dare to wet the feet of
thy sovereign He feigned to sit some time ex-
pectng submission, till the waves began to sur
round him; then, turning to his courtiers, he
tobsorved that titles of Lord and Master belonged
only to Him whom both earth and sea were
ready to obey Thus he lived many years,
feared and respected, honored with the sur
name OF the Great for his power, but deserving
it still more for his virtues"
But we must to London. Baggage inspected,
and betimes we are ready to start. The whis
tie blows-no BELLS here on the engines, but BEAUs,
of conrs6-and soon we are again under the
! auspices of that great motive power, steam
The order and precision with which all things
on an English railway are conducted, can but
attract the attention of an American. All goes
on like the incest clock work. as if some MASTER
power held it in CONTROL and it could but obey.
Would you like to see an English car? They
are not cars, but carriages. They are much
smaller than American cars, and are entered at
the sides instead Of the ends. a first class car
aisgo haa threo, entraeoosf fand viii sset eightee9
persons there. being two seats for three in eacH
apartment, across the car. These, the first
class are very comfortably furnished, but no
better than ours and the second and third class
are so much inferior that 1t lowers them in this
respect much below the American Having
| once taken your seat, if alone, well; if five
associate with them, and no more, and not only
are you obliged to stay, but to sit, for you can
not stand without smashing your beaver; and
when | have thus much said, have no more
fault to find with English Railways; but in
their praise may speak by-and-by.
But the country-to speak of it as it should
9 be, cannot; but if you will take the will for
the deed, | shall be obliged. If yon please,
imagine yourself in vast garden, laid out in
all shapes Of parks, and fenced with green
hedges, and with the beauty of nature varying
it in hill and dale, diversified with here castle,
or some lordly mansion, there some ancient ruin
but all one lovely field Of verdure, in which
9 you find here group of husbandmen, there a
family party, and diversified throughout by
scenes new and curious to a stranger; imagine
! yourself in such place as this would be, if
e beautifully described, and whirliLg through it
/ at the rate of forty miles an hour, and you
have something of the trip from Southampton
G to London. As you arrive in Lonpon from this
n direction, as from almost any other, you see on
4 the outskirts long, black, smokey, uninviting
range Of buildings; but soon in town, and in
r the most central part Of the city, we take up
r our abode for season, and | did take my
1DVuO3 Will ihiolh JOu3 ioi uDuub lOuI
i, near the feathers, and never enjoyed London
!, heartier Having thus refreshed myself, al
though quite late, mounted bus, and took a
ride for ten or twelve miles through portion OF
/ the city, seeing what hons the very gentleman
G ly driver could show me, and then as it was
n nearly midnight, returned to my Inn, quite
d satisfied from what little had seen that Lon.
a don lcaS quite a tocn, after aH'
=. The next morn, as had no other matters or
d hand, resolved to begin my views of the city
t but before commencing bought small bool
see it," volume of some two hundred page
n of short descriptions of tho most noted places
h and principal objects of interest, As IA brie
Q account of London and its history, may be o
Q more interest than anything should say of it
4 pardon me the use of what history tells of th
: Babylon of old, and also of its present: g Lon
d don, now one Of the largest and most opulen
e cities of the world, was mentioned by Tacitu'
J, as a considerable commercial place in the reigI
% of Nero. About AIT it was taken from tn,
y Brittons by the Saxons under Hugist, but OF
ID his death it was re-taken by Ambrasius. Ii
d 664 it was ravaged by the plague. Destructiv,
II fires happened in 764, 79S, SOL, 1857, ant
1885. In 1000 hurricane overthrow six hun
s dred houses, several churches, and damaged thu
a town of London. On the coronation OF Rich
y ard Ist, dreadful massacre Of the Jews wa,
Y made by the ignorant and ferocious popuace
e In ll96, William Fitz 0sbat, called Longbeard
e Lord of London, excited a sedition, and was
| inined hv 80 600 men hut hn hninn In knn nnf