The Republican journal., 1874-01-08
A London Fog.

A correspondent of the Boston Post,
writing from London, under date of Dec
10Th gives the following experience Of the
great fog that enycloped that city
London was visited yesterday BY n black
tog, the most dense and dangerous known
10 this generation Thinking that some
brief account OF our experience in one OF
London's most peculiar and exclusive in
stitutions might prove Interesting 10 your
readers, / am tempted to beg a little space
IN the columns OF vour valuable paper for
that purpose.
We We're stopping with friends al Gypsy
Hill, one of the most charming suburbs OF
The great metropolis and in the immedi
ate neighborhood of the Crystal Palace
come nine miles out OF London The morn
ing opened bright and cold a sharp hoar
frost the previous night had crystallized
the face of Nature, rejecting the sunlight
from millions of prismatic angles, like
Gene of cnchantment, as we entered the
train for town Within a mile of London
Bridge station we found ourselves sudden
IL enveloped in what Mr. Cough has
iehcitously termed an atmosphere strongly
resembling pea soup in color and consist
ency Our progress thence into London
was slow and hazardous The eXhlara-
ting air OF the country had changed to
stinging, narrow penetrating chill. unlike
anything we have experienced in our own
country. AT the station we bribed q re
uctant cabbv to drive us around Saint
Paul's Cathedral and across 1.-The city TO
Holborn and the West End, where at 2
o'clock the foe was the blacklist and most
rghtful AS we drove oyer the Holborn
yiaduct the colossal statue of Englands
virtuous sovereign, winch adorns the
bridge, could be dimly discerned in the
waving pillows OF mist, looming like u
coroneted spectre. The street lamps were
I'll lighted, and in every house, shop and
GIN palace window the gas was burning as
in the darkest night, but now emitting a
7ickly blurred light One could not dis
tinguish any object at a yards distance;
The occupants ofcarrages even We're some
times invisible to each other. Occasion
ally the fog would lift q little or become
less dense, when vehicles OF human figures
could be family outlined moving weirdly
about in the most absurd and impossible
attitudes like disemboded spirits in a sea
If smoky vapor. Gustavc Dore's master
ly sketches in Blanchard Jerrold's lllustra-
ted London give one a tolerable idea of
such scene, but they Of course lack the
most appalling feature, color, which yes
terday was deep reddish yellow, not I'M
like the lurid smoky tints Of the heaven
during some great conflagration in the
night AS a natural consequence innumer-
able collisions between pedestrians as well
as,yehiclcs were of frequent occurrence.
Very many serious accidents have been re-
ported, and dozens OF persons, becoming
bewildered, walked from the new embank
ments and bridges into the Thames and
were drowned One had to feel his way,
rs ii were, and ii required no small amount
of courage to cross 4 street in the busy,
crowded sections of the city In the vicin-
ity Of the Bank of England and other great
financial centres numerous assaults ard
robberies were committed the thieves dis
appearing Immediately in the all-envelop
ing fog, thus eluding pursuit Early il
the day the river steamers ceased running
and all water traffic was stopped; the
drivers of horse-cars, here called Grams, :"
which attemptedto run at all, were obliged
10 use tog- whistles and lead their horses at
q snail's pace. Suburban residents and
nearly everybody who could possibly leave
town fed as from a city visited by the
plague, and business, after noon, was vir-
fually suspended for the day! Towards
evening the owners of the various lines of
public carriages, "hansoms and four
wheelers,' called IN their vehicles and be-
fore o'clock the streets of London We're
pretty well deserted. The atmosphere be-
ing strongly nnpregnated with sulphur
made respiration difficult and aggravated
throat and chest difficulties SO that close
muffling OF mouths and noses became COM
pulsory. On all the railways, especially
those leading to the south and east of
London, large forces of extra watchmen
were stationed within hearing distances
and supplied with torpedeos and other ap-
pliances for regulating the slow movement
of trains, the usual signals of whistles.
bells, etc, becoming useless for the time.
Before 5 in the afternoon an army Of link
boys made their appearance in the streets
and found active employment lighting the
way for such unfortunate mortals as were
compelled by necessity to traverse the
gloomy thoroughfares; the Pickering
ghastly lights of their huge torches and
the continual explosion Of torpedoes fright
ened and rendered unmanagable the
horses, while the shouting Of invisible