The Republican journal., 1872-10-10
English characteristics.

England is a mellow country, ana The
English people are Il mellow people,
they have hung uu the tree Ot nations Il
lon9 time, and viii, do doubt, hang Is
much longer tor WindialIs, ! reckon, are
not the order in this island. We are
pitched several degrees higher il this
country. BY contrast, things here are
loud, sharp, and gairish. Cur geography
is loud; the manners OF the people are
loud; our climate is loud, very loud. 50
dry and sharp, and full Of violent change
and contrasts; and our goings-out and
cOmings-m rs a nation are anything but
silent Do we not occasionally give the
door an extra slam, just tor effect?
In England, everything il on a lower
key, slower, steadier, gcntler. Life is no
doubt, as full, or fuller. in its material
forms and measures, but less violent and
aggressive. The buffers, the English have
between their cars To break the shock, are
| typical Of much one sees there.
All sounds are softer in England; the
surface OF things is less hard. The eye
OF day and the face of nature arc less
bright. Every thing has a mellow, sub
dued east. There is 10 abruptneSs in the
landscape, no sharp and violent contrasts.
no brilliant and striking tints in the foil
age. A soft, mellow, pale sunlight, is all
one sees in the way of tints along the
borders OF the autumn woods. English
apples (very small and inferior, by the
way,) aud not so highly col"lcd us ours.
| The hlackherrieS, Just ripcning in October,
are less pungent and acid and the gar
den vegetables, such rs cabbage, celery,
| caulillower, beets and other root crops,
are less rank and fbrous and | am very
clear that the meats also are tcndprcI and
sweeter. There can be no doubt about
the superiority of the mutton; and the
| tender and succulent grass, and the moist
| and agreeable climate. must tell upon the
beef also.
English coal is all soft coal, and the
stone is soft stone The foundations of
the hills are chalk instead Of granite,
The stone with which most of the old
churches and cathedrals are built would
| not endure in ON climate half y century
but. in Britain, the tooth OF time is much
| blunter, and the hunger ct the old man
| less rlvenous, and the ancient architecture
stands half u millennium, until il is slowly
| worn away by the gentle attilon Of the
wind and and rain.
| AT Chester, the old Roman wall that
surrounds the town, built in the first
| century and repaired in the ninth, is sill
| standing without Ii break oi :, swerVe,
though, in some places, the outer face OF
,he wall is worn through. The cathedral,
aud St Johns church. in lie same town.
| present t. the beholdel outlines rs Jagged
and broken as rocks and ellis; ana yet ii
is only chip by chip, or grain by grain,
| that ruin approaches. The timber als'
lasts an incredible long time. Beneath
| one of the arched ways, in the Chester
wall above referred to, saw iimbers thai
must have been in place five or six hun
| drcd years. The beams in the old houses
| also, fully exposed to the weather, seen
incapable of decay; those dating from
Shakespeare's time being apparently q:
| finn as ever.
| noticed that the characteristic aspect
OF the clouds in England was dit1eren
from -ours--sot, tleecy, Vapory, indis
tingnishable- never the firm, compact
sharply defined deeply dyed masses an,
| fragments so common in our own sky
II rains easily but slowly. Storms ac
companied with thunder are rare while
the crashing, wrenching, explosive thun
der-gusts, so common with us, delugin,
the earth and convulsing the heavens, az,
never known.
In keeping with this elemental contro
and moderation, found the character an,
manners of the people gentlcr and sweet
er than had been led to believe the
were. No loudness, brazeneSs, imperii
nence; no oaths, no staggering, no leel
ing at women, no irreverence, no f1ippan
cy, no bullying, no inSolence of porterS
or clerks, or conductors, no lmportunit
of boot blacks or newspaper boys, no ON
nervousness of hackmen--at least, com
paratively nOne-all Of which IN Amer
can is apt to notice and hope appreciate
In London, the bnot-black salutes yo
) with 4 respectful bow, and touches hi
, cap, and would no more think OF purst
ing you or answering your refusal tina
he would OF jumping into the Thames
The same is true of the newSboy. II the
g were to scream and below in London. =
t they do in New York or Washington, the
would he suppressed by the police, as the
. ought to be. The venuer Of papers stant
ut the corner of the street, with his goo,
n in his arms, and a large placard sprea
+ out at his feet, giving IN big letters tn
principal news-headings.
y Street-cries of all kinds are less mott
n able, less aggressive, than in this countr,
T. and the manners of the shopmcn MAX
you feel you are comforting Il benefit il
e stead of receiving one. Even their loc
d motives are less noisy than ours, havin
G shrill, iniantile whistle that contras
a strongly with the loud demoniac yell th;
| makes Il residence near q railway or d.
0 pot, in this country, so unbearable. I'll
trains themselves move with more won
s derful smoothness and celebrity. making
v | mere fraction of the racket made by OF