The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-08-24

WhIC6 uaa IlIne0S6o IOt poSSknA yee. a.o 49,. 49,
rSosa of Oxford and Cambridge, aud which has
been chosen for the coming contest between
Ene}snd and America, ID bend Of the river OF
.1ye miles, reaching from Putney to Mort!ake.
On tho map II horseshoe, Oh more nearly an
eye (of hooks and eyes) % shape. by tnefah-
way or the high-road the distance between tne
s.S places is not more than two ~hes ana
! .Putney is Q quiet little town ofsbout si1
thousand inhabitspts, immediately opposite
InIhsm. With which It is connected by wood
en bridge. The pipes of the Chelsea water
1osfs company. Cross the river on piers Just
sbove the bridge. There Is little OF interest IN
Pntdsy, Witch VAS the birthplace Of, Gbbon,
historian, beyond the old PARISH cauroo sa;a :;
1 Henry VI Come pretty villas lie scattered
about along the river, the village BANK Of
vhicih. tmTedistely ct the bridge, ls edged
with inns and beerSbousee. deriving their Gus
, tom chiefly from the bostIpR ciuoe.
"a About midway OF the course the Thames ls
spSnned by noble suspension pridee ss nam,
mersmith, an onuying suburb OF London; ano =
here TIE river bank on the northern SIDE ls
lined, with buildings for Q considerable dis
!.:tSnoe, cEyeey window OF these Dunoin9s 10
anroNded with, spectators on the occaHon OF
great raoe, ss the windows on broadway are
, 4lied when sn imposing PROCESSION is 70 pass
By. The bridge also. from snore 20 snore.
wing every foot OF space, from an early hour
Shoys Hsmrnersmith, on the same side, is
ChisNiek. and beyond Chhwick on the otner
nd !. s Barnes, small anhquated cluster OF
brick houses, built along narrow lanes, Wlsn Q
fhe pariah church, where Melville breaches.
Here . solid iron railway bridge raised on
sfoue piers crosses the river. No spectators
aIe permitted to 20 upon this bridge:
-. As soon as the boats shoot upder its arches
the, cocxs1ains catch sight Of the snip. az
, 1Ioftlske, where hag signal indicates tne
zoal Not more than az aunefee ydrGs ,S.sncs nov
nd "a Barnes Bridge is passed the excitement
of ths spectators reaches its acme.
On the southern bank Of the Thames, all the
vAy from Putney 70 Mortlake, there is tow
path for the horses employed IN the barge
thronred with ssgents.H the trsdespeople. the
mulitudfnous hoi poloi Of London town. Here
he .sKrect Kyard" Of the race, with the dress,
names. ages, weights, respectively, Of the
two arevs. is hawked about by ragged little
Arabs. Here mounte banks. stroliing, gypsles
and Ethiopian serenaders beguiie the weary
-hoErs of waiting WITH thelr perlolmanoSss' aSs
Here the pickpocket plies his nimble trade.
md the voice Of the little joker makes itself
audible: .'One, two, three; two little thimble'
and one smsll pea" As the gun ls heard an
nouncine that the boats are off, ths immense
mass sways to aud fro with eager expectation.
and the towpath then becomes dangerous
mice. torc great numbers Of horsemen and
horsevornen-amoug the latter many OF the
sVpfeity horsebreakers" at the Ladies Mile
charge up the river, keeping pace with the ar
Arowy flight OF the boats and running over such
unlucky people as may be In their way. >,
On the northera bank OF the river, pr the
greater part Of the distance, the grouods are
nv11 tkapn IA h.Fn
{. Hee privileged parties Of spectators. may be
.l0een grouped upon the sward, or on the port'.
coes al handsome villas. Just opposite the
Pufhey startiug.post is the Episcopal palace.
dffrrounded BY q ylde-Apreading park, OF the
Bfshop Of london, and further on is the coun-
Try residence of Poole, the tailor who 5,,g sigma
cellenoe Of cuisine, to which the most aristo-
cratic Of his customers only are invited.
Immediately following the boats in the con-
test comes large dotiila OF the river steam
boats from London. black with cockneys, who
have come to witness the spectacle from the
, ,dyer itself Nothing more dangerous or more
Uncomfortable than this mode OF attending the
rsce could we'll be imagined, yet the accidents
sre FEW. and the cockney likes his steamboat,
which ID the worst specimen OF that kind OF
convey snce known to exist. But the steam
boats are not merely uncomfortable Tor the
passengers, they are o great outrage upon the
contestsnts. and have not tuufrequently swamp
ed the unsuccessful boat in the swell they
create. Eight or ten OF them ascending the
river abreast make surge which overtakes
and embarraeses the crews that are imme,,
diately in advance of them. 1t is to be hoped
that some restriction may be imposed upon
the coming contest, and that the river may
also he cleared OF barges, which, by some per-
verse chance, seem always to get in the way.
The race Of the 81st August will probably be
witnessed. should the day be fair, by more
than one million Of Spectators, and every pre-
caution should be taken. as we'll for the pre-.
vention Of accident as for giving the competi-
tors TAR chance.