Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1859-11-26
THE SOLITARY CITY.

some fears they wished to inspire, and tn
thousand cautions they gave me to walk cir
cumspectly in the crowd to discriminate nice
ly in my choice of acquaintances and to es
chew, above all things, the whrling vortex o
company, into which an inexperienced persoi
was so liable to be drawn. cannot hell
smiling sadly as | reflect on the provincial
simplicity ofsuch advices, and the dreary years
passed in London before could he said tt
have formed a single acquaintance, or had any
temptation put in my way to enter into society
at all.
There are, it is true, introductions which
operate as an "open sesame" even there ; but
these are of a peculiar class, and are only
within the reach of Il few To the many, Lon
don society presents as hard and stony an cx-
terror as the cave of the Forty Thieves; and
| they may circle round and round it in search
ofan opening for years, and try all the conjn-
rations of the cabala in vain. In the desert
there are peopled oases, where the stranger
may enjoy ntcrcommunion with his kind, but
in London every heart is closed against him /;
every family; and while his car is stunned
with the myriad noises ola great city, and his
eye distracted with its eyer-moving crowd, he
is, emphatically, alone.
Society in London may be described as con-
ssting of so many circles, the parts of which
are extended over spaces of lesser or greater
dimensions. People are in no respect acquaint-
ed from contiguity. A knows B, who lives six
miles off; but, thousand to one, has no
knowledge of his next-door neighbor. Circles
so scattered are impenetrablc from invisibility (;
yet, when once entered, they are found with
an external air of responsiveness, to possess all
the kindliness which distinguishes the human
family elsewhere. I say when entered that
is, introduced in n regular manner. And there
lies the mighty difficulty The vastness of the
place creates suspicion, or at least certain
distance of manner; and nothing is more COM
mon than for parties to be on nodding terms
for lifetime, without advancing an inch fur
ther in each others acqnaintanceship. If any
one wishes to fly from the world let him plunge
into London, and no wilderness will yield him
a more secure retreat
If the Londoners show general character
of reserve, it cannot he said they have any dis
position to pry. Nowhere is respect for indi-
vidual rights or feelings so markedly evinced.
Nobody cares who you are, or what you are,
or where you come from, or anything else
about you. All that people care for is, that
you pay your way, mind yourself and don't
trouble them. Not that there is any positive
churlishness, but it is against all rule to be
unauthorizedly familiar. This is very obser-
vable in the higher class of coffee-rooms and
taverns. There, each visitor selects m empty
box or table, if he can find one; and if he is
not so fortunate, sits as far from his neighbor
as he can, or entirely abstracts himself in
newspaper. In the clubs, the case is nearly
similar. l know men at this moment who are
moving heaven and. earth to obtain admission
to the Athenaum, in order to become PERSONAL
ly acquainted with the stars of literature and
art it numbers among its members. They may
rs well think of becoming personally acquaint-
ed, by as summary process, with the stars of
heaven.
was once sitting in n coflec-house where
there were only two other guests, one nm old
and the other young one, occu-
pying different boxes. The former was a fine
ola man, with mar rs while as snow ana
remarkably bcnignant expression of counte-
nance; while the other presented favorable |
specimen OF the Londoner, ana was obviously |
an intelligent ana educated person. The at
tentlon oil the senior seemed to be attracted by |
the younger man. lie looked at him long and |
some pleasing recollections or ap-
pearance and at last getting up, though with |
some diihcuity or uncertainty he approached |
the object OF his interest, and seated himself in
the same box. The young man looked up, and
their eyes met. the Old gentleman seemed
about to speak; but on the other dropping his
eyes again upon his newspaper, he paused.
At length he broke the dead silence of the
room.
"l think you Will understand said he,
and trust you will pardon the liberty am
about to take" The young man looked up in
surprise, succeeded by an expression of impa-
Iience. His eyes dropped again upon the news
paper; but presently, as if on consideration,
he looked up again, and bent his head chilling
~ as much MS 10 say, "Speak-since You
will"
"lhardly know continued the old man with
A gentle smile, "why address myself to you.
But this room is very solitary-very silent.