New-York tribune., 1875-01-28
WINTER IN ENGLAND.
,rs nIsACREEABLR ASPECTS.


LONDON. Dec. Sl.-Eleyen O'clock in the morning
Of the last day in the year. and havo to begin
writing by lamp-light. The gas is burning on the
opposite side of the street aud you can just see it,
This is what we call u London fog, Ii may clear off
in five minutes or il may last all day. When say
clear os, mean that il NAV become thinner. Any
thing like a pure atmosphere is hardly TO DO OK
pected. We did see the sun yesterday for III n'''
or so. IL came streaming into my bed room "i"u'"
when drew the curtains, and did not Ano" WI"
to make of IT, fancied must have got UP ID 'uo
middle of the night and that The house across tne
WAY was on fire. But it was really the SUM- anu 'n''
is why began writing about the weather lhere
are ceron norts Of the world. it is said, where the
weather il so uniformly good that IL has ceased 10
ma tooic of conversation. Here we stop talking
ahout il bscause 1t ia 50 uniformly bad. But a
glimpse of sunlight restores its interest Anything
il better than nonot0ny. Cold and snow and bitter
east Winds and gloomy skies, for instance. That Is
obout al We have lad to congratulate ourselves on
for some weeks past. 1t Is the worst Winter known
for long time. | believe each Winter is either
worse OF better than any preceding Winter known
for long tme. But This is really very serious The
cold has got into the bills of mortality. 1t has
LTed an extraordinary number of old people; ana
Of very young people also, | presume Inc dlstIeSs
the known distTess-is very great. The Bishop oi
London bmSeu mas nlu 10 como 10 thc lCoOuO WIN
"a letter of appeal for funds to Relief Society
which administers aims in the name of the Church
and under tho advice of the parOchial clergy. The
Church Cf England. you see. is not above taking
leaf ont OF the book of tho Church of Rome, whose
skilful organization of charity for the beneht oi
believer, IN long been celebrated. The newspapers
r.n oyor with letters every possible subject re-
iatinC to poverty. We always have Christmas ap.
pcals just as ALWAYS have appeals II the Summer
rmoncy to give city children day in ,he country.
But the cold has stimulated English Wits TO degree
of activity quito unlike anything that occurs in
,rlinary seasons. There has been series of letters
IN the papers on how to keep warm at night with
recommendations from philosopher to use cotton
sheets instead Of linen. from another to keep your
windows open, from third to have stone bottles Of
lot water, and fro.I fourth to make blankets our
Of newspapers. One respectable weekly advises
sou 10 have warm little dog sleep ION the outside y
AZ your back or feet trained not to grow when you
Sick hiIn oil. Tho coal merchants have prescr1p-
ton for cold weather which is infalble-for them
selves. They raise their prices. Coal Is eOme hVe
.hIngs a ton dearer in London than o. the begin
ning of the month. 1t is ut the same time, rather
cheaper at the mouth Of the pit out Of which 1t Is
dug This is one Of those commercial phenomena
which 10 fellow can understand. don't remember
that Lord Dundreary himself ever offered an eluci-
IltlOu Oi ~. llcT6 uStu 10 Dc % law hkdiuol WI
rupt combinations for regrating or imprOpriatirg
the market, but the oOal-ring i'll London is law
anto itself-which would not much matter if it
we're not also law unto everybody else including
the railways which practically refuse to transport
coal for anybody who is not in the ring. Would
some free-trading political economist kindly explain
how his supply and demand law is going to help US
out of an organized fraud like thisf
Nor can you judge OF the distress BY the state of
the thcrm meter, if you take New-lOrk "a stand
ard Everything ID relative. Freezing point here
is almost trying as zero with You. We are not
used to cold There is no preparation for it, and the
want of preparation ID what occasions so much suf
fering Few houses in London can be thoroughly
warmed III Winter. There furnaces. few
stoves and steam is not available Open CRATES
the rule. and a very good rule they are for single
rooms if the rooms are not too large. But the
halls and staircases without the least heating
cOntrivance, and that is where most of the in
huenzaS, and the fur moro dangerous bronchial
affections come from was staying sOme three
months ago in q country ryhouse-lOng before there
was any really cold weatbeT-and even then ii was
impossible TO keep warm. Extra clothing would not
do. In the rooms you did not need it, and in going
from room to room it was no protection. This. to
be sure was one of those old houses b1ilt some
three hundred years ago, and built TO last. Its
architects-here were several of them, for different
parts of the house were built at different periods
took account of everything but cold and damp. The
walls of the most ancient part are niue feet thick
The halls and floors are Of solid granite. There
we're double doors and ,p0rtieres, and every expe-
dent for excluding cold from the drlwing-roOms
and bedrooms and huge fires all day aud night.
even in October But from one room 10 another it
was a north west passage. So it is in London IN
less degree.
Nor does London street life show any
tional expectation OF Winter Au inch of snow is
enough 70 impede the whole traffic Of the city
seriously. SIX inches would parayze it, don't
know whether ~, ever have six inches at once, but
when half this. comes ii is pitiabe to the horses
lud carriages foundcrng along. II it freezes, the
horses are not shod for frozen roads. If il mets,
there are not enoue Of hem to draw heavy vehicles
through In, "slush' No effort Is ever made 10
lear it oil the n az thoroughfaTes. The sidewalks
1re scarcely swept The greatest possible benefit to
London would he au increase of cold and snow.
THEREAFTER a century or sC-sOmc arrangements
would he made for them. il is certain that three
inches Of here create far greater obstruction
10 street lOcOmotion than three feet do 10 Boston.
II we had the three feet here often the NewEn
Gland capital has should not manage as well
Boston-that would be too much 10 expcct-but
should manage better than we do now. Old travel
ers know that to see a cold country at its best you
should 90 in Winter and IN Summer to hot cOuu-
uy. st. Petersburg is delightful in January, and
Naples in July They know how TO provide for cold
In the one and for heat in the other. Englishmen
whocome back from Calcutta tell you that they never
suffered from heat in India as on a swelterng July
day in London. aud am certain that the occasional
moderate cold here in December is harder 10 bear
than the regular extreme cold of Rnston Climate