Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1872-09-04
Correspondence from England.


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Correspondence from England.
The following is from Miss Fannie
Hodgson, the gifted Knoxville authoress
who has been in England for some time:
CHESTER, August 1, 1872.
We had perfectly exquisite day at
CHESTER.
To me, fresh from land where cities
spring up like mushrooms and even the
people don't live long enough to grow old,
(you should see the records in the English
graveyards), it was like slipping back
century or so, doing that little seven sleep
er business backwards and awakening to
find oneself enjoying life in those good old
times when one could dash ones self into
minute fragments in endeavoring to find
ones way down ones own nice corkscrew
stair case and where every genteel family
residence had its own private dungeon,
and its own select assortment of racks and
thumbscrews. There's something like COM
fort in such state of affairs as that, you
know. No straining at gnats in those
days, though what uncharitable and preju
diced persons might say about swallowing
camels, / don't feel at liberty to refer to.
It's worse than useless TO combat against
prejudice, particularly against modern
prejudice, the prejudice of a degenerate
chivalrous feeling is so fearful that Mr..
Smith and Mr. Jones settle their feuds at the
Recorders Court instead of valiantly defy
ing each other to mortal combat as their
illustrious ancestors Baron de Smythe
and the doughty Sir Guillame de Johai-
mes would have done in their day.
Life - this life of ours in A. D,
1872, must have had spice in time when
a gentleman could retire to his bed of rush
es in blissfnl uncertainty as to whether he
might or might not awaken early the next
morning to find himself studying human
nature, as it appeared from an extremely
exalted point Of Old London Bridge
namely, from one of those highly ornamen-
tai spikes, erected by an obliging govern
nent for the accommodation of such par
ties as had accidentally lost themselves for
private or State reasons.
OF course we were providing, you know.
II you don't know what providing means,
/ will explain. 1t means going to place
as tourists always do go to places, WANDER
ing from one end of it to the other, appear
ing in groups in ALI sorts of impossible cor
ners that are remarkably hard to get at,
and not much to look at when they are
reached. 1t means snatching ghost of a
dinner at fashionable restaurant, and
then rushing off again and goading ones
unfortunate guide to madness, by insisting
on being led into mouldy places in damp
situations for the express purpose Of seeing
nothing in particular And so on to the
end of the chapter.
Well, we We're providing here in Chester
and in the course of our prowlings oul
guide turned us all at once up in an uncer
tain sort of passage, into an indefinite sor
of court, and we found ourselves gazing
blankly, and might say with some Sigh
embarrassment at the domestic arrange
ments of some respectable family who's
kitchen door stood open, and whose domes
tic utensils revealed themselves with pain
full frankness TO our startled vision. Tn,
house itself, / may add, was Of an elabor
ate style Of architecture, being built OF
highly ornamental species of wooden waf
fie or muffin, and finished upon plan
had never seen before-a plan / should
judge 10 be extinct-perhapsh happily so.
This" said our guide, sis the hous'
Lord Derby was taken out of to be be
headed
And here suppose you will expect tina
l am going to tell you who Lord Derby is
but the fact is i can not, because / dom
know, and / have not the slightest doub
that / may conscientiously assert that NJ
one else in the.party knew exactly, though
we all tried to look as if we did. Check
ing an indiscreet disposition to say "Poo
man how unpleasant he must have foun,
it, / summoned up an air Of havin
known him personally from his earlies
infancy. "Ah, indeed % ] remarked
'how very Interestingly" Ut is Away
safe TO say things are interesting, and
sounds rather well, upon the whole, II 20
don't say it too often.) Just at this crit
cal moment diversion in our favor wa
created. Out rushed small boy in col
dnroy trowsers, and a state Of excitemen
followed by a small girl, overcome by tn
strength Of her feelings, and they bot
darted at us at once, both shrieking gu
the same words in precisely the same tones
Want 10 see
!, THE OLD DINING-RooM,
p mum they said. "Want to see the Of