Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1867-06-19
LONDON, MAY p. 1867.


veLS-Peopie-,Spl ltrgeOn-Cfystdt Pal
ace and Park-Ke10 GarCIeRS-Of for
Paris.
LONDON, May p, 1867.
We arrived here from Liverpool on the |
evening of the 18th, having traversed .
proud little England from shore TO shore |
( in a few hours. Thirty miles an hour is /
the ordinary rate of speed on the railroads /.
here. The tracks are more substantially
/ built than in our own country, and for
nearly their entire length are as straight I
as the surveyors line can make them. In
stead of the long cars used in America, the
English employ carriages, containing
three separate compartments, with doors
at the sides, Il large number of which are
attached to each train.
The country between Liverpool and
London, comprising the very heart of
/ England, is the finest, in an agricultural
point of view, | ever looked upon. The
entire route at this season presents mar
! velous picture of verdure and beauty. The
rich and deep green of the fields, the haw-
thorn hedges, the gardens, the beautiful
villas, the charming cottages, half cover
ed with eglantlne and ivy, the little rail
way stations, built in very picturesque and
emdlessly varied fOrms-these and a hund-
red other objects come into view in the
most rapid and ever changing succession.
But | believe / promised your readers not
to be pOetical, and | shall have to leave
the country and get back to London, or
they will begin TO think | have forgotten
my promise.
Well, here l am, in this great city, the
largest in the world, said to contain 3,000,-
= 900 of inhabitants. Having been here but
IA few days, | have of course seen but little
of the worlds metropolis. The public
buildings, Of which | have obtained a
glimpse, are splendid specimens of archi-
lecture and strength, looking rs if they
!. were constructed to last to the end of time.
Those built of marble soon turn black, the
atmosphere being constantly filled with
the smoke from n million chimneys. The
principal structures [ have seen thus far
are the Parliament House, Westminster
: Abbey, and St. Paul's Cathedral.
Our party is stopping at the United
States Hotel, an Old but finely kept house,
. the proprietor as well as the title of which
causes Us to feel at home. In an English
, hotel the usages are entirely different from
. those which prevail in America There
, are no stated hours for meals, and no pub
. lie room, except one for gentlemen. IN
, an American hotel there is no objection
f to a little hustle and life; in England, on
, the other hand, the hotels are kept as still
and quiet as possible, the idea being TO
make you feel just a if you were in your
own private house. Indeed, they are so
strictly private that friend might be Iiv-
ing in the same house with you for week,
and you would not know it.
The people of England appear to be
a gruff, good humOred set. The women
i; all look alike, being stoutly built and
cOarse-teaturrd. / have not seen pretty
one among them. The men, however,
f are, as a general thing, handsomely form
, ed, and possess good-looking features. On
the whole, [ am very well pleased with
our English cousins.
My first day in London was the Sab
bath OF course ] went to hear SpurgeOn,
f who sustains the same reputation here
that Henry Ward Beecher does in Amer
lea. His church is called the Taberna-
p cle.N 1t is OF oblOng form, holds over
5000 persons, and on the occasion of my
visit was crowded 10 its utmost capacity.
1t contains no organ. as the lOudest tones
of such an instrument would be drowned
, by the mighty sound of human voices
which arises from the vast congregation.
Such singing | never before heard Spur
geOn Is ashOrt, stout, cOarSe-looking Eng
ishman. There is nothing prepOsSessing
in his appearance. His utterances are
plain, but he throws them at you with
Il force that cOmpels you to feel all that he
says. His power a. a pulpit orator seems
to lie in an originality of expression and
a deep earnestness of manner, combined
with voice of remarkable sweetness and
strength. [ visited his SundayschOol
: also, which contains about 1000 scholars
. On Monday we took the cars for the
|" Crystal Palace and Park, " situated sew
en- miles from London. 1t is the old
, building used for the World Exhibition
of 1851 removed to this spot, and contains
/ specimens of natural history, pictures,
plants, ruins from ancient Pom peii ,
Egypt, &c. The Park, in which the Pal
ace stands, is beautifully laid out, with
walks and fountains, and adorned with
every variety of flowers. We visited Re
gent Park, also, which is in the city, and
handsomely laid out III expensive lawns,
beautilied with trees and shrubbery, some
thing like the New York :" Central"
Tuesday we took the ears again, and
went seven miles from the city in another
: direction, TO see the famous Kew Gar
dens.n These are the National Botanical
Gardens, containing specimens of almost
every tree and plant that has ever been
. discovered. Gardening is here praCtised
on the most extensive scale. There are
/ some twenty immense green houses, two
of them resembling the Crystal Palace
building. Upon entering some of them
+ you would think that you had been sud
+ denly transported to Asia or Africa, so
[ dense are the artificial forests of palm,
mahogany, and gigantic fern, that meet
your view. Trees, plants, and flowers, of
every variety and hue, are to be seen at
: every step you take in these wonderful
: gardens. You almost imagine yourself
! in Paradise as your eyes feast upon the
gorgeous colors and your senses take i'll
the delightful perfume. To see this spot
: so beautified by nature and art, is in itself
worth a trip across the Atlantic.
g. Tomorrow we will be off for Paris,
where we will remain few days only,
and then push on to Italy, wishing to
reach there before the weather becomes
too hot. My next letter will be written
from the French capital. Yours,
HANS.