Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-12-19

HOLIDAY PRErARATIoSs-THEATE AID
POLITICAL GOSSIP. ETC.
LONDON, Nov. 90, 1879
To The Editor of the Free Press and Times.
Predictions of another severe Winter are
being verified by exceptionally severe storms
all over Great Britain. London, after enjoy
ing whole month of bright weather has at
last entered her usual dense November fog,
which, added to the constantly falling sleet
and snow and extremely muddy walks,
makes out door life anything but agreeable.
The Englishman, however halls with de-
light this weather as being the first prophecy
of the approaching Christmas with its gay
pantomiGes, roast turkey, plum puddings
and all the associated pleasures of the holi-
days. Already are the shop windows illum-
ined with their attractive assortments of
beautiful and curious presents, aud the shop
keeper taxes his genius TO the uttermost in
displaying his treasures in Ii taking way.
However bad the weather may be you can
not pass down any street without finding
crowd at every prominent window stamping
their feet and blowing their fingers to keep
them warm while they are using their eyes
and their imaginatons to the very best ad-
vantage Even the most respectable people
catch the infection of gazing as if they never
saw anything before in their lives. Whether
this is simply habit or is the result of an
ignorant curiosity it is hard to say. 1t is
however certain that an English shop-keeper
relies much more on an appeal to the eye
than American store keepers do Long lines
OF men parade the streets with advertising
boards before and behind. | counted twenty
in going one block, with the same advertise
ments on all the boards Most of the theatres
employ this method largely. At frequent
intervals through all the large cities of Eng
land you run across immense bill boards
which are continually besieged by a multi
tude In fact about the only way you can
ascertain the approach of public meetings or
entertainments is to keep a careful watch of
these boards. English newspapers are sadly
behind American papers in this respect, they
never predict events except in an advertise
meat 1t is provoking 10 pick up a paper
and find that only last evening some interest
ing public meeting was held which you ex-
pectcd to see noticed in the papers and to at
tend.
But for all this gloom and mud and gen.
eral discomfort, November is one of busiest
months OF the year in London. The return
Of the Queen from the North, Guy Faux day
with its quaint effigies and roaring bon fires,
Lord Mayors day and its grand parade, the
school board elections and the opening of the
theatres and other places of amusement for
the season-all these and more are allotted
to November. 1t seems as though an at
tempt were being made to Danish external
evils from the mind by general rush to at
tractive indoor amusements. At the 'Drury
Lane" the gallant ''Henry v" is nightly
attracting a crowded house to witness his
bravery and splcndor as depicted by Mr..
Merchant of Venice" and the old days of
Garrick are being reproduced by Mr.. Henry
Irving as Shylock and Miss Ellen Terry as
as Portia At Her Majesty's Theatre, the
Italian operas Faust, "Mignon," etc, fol-
low each other through the week. The Sat
urday concerts at Crystal Palace have grown
famous and the Royal Albert Hall Choral
Society has crowded houses every evening.
Cannon Farrar, Dean Stanley, Newman
Hall and DR.. Parker are the principal attrac-
tons on the Sabbath Spurgeon is at pres
ent way on an eight weeks vacation.
The school board elections which occurred
on the 2Tth inst were chiefly remarkable for
the large number of woman candidates.
There were at least twelve, about six of
whom were elected. The main cry of the
opposition was economy" but the general
satisfaction in the old board was manifested
by the return of large majority of its men,
bers. The school expenses in London for
the past eight years have been very high,
much higher than the trainers OF the new
educational code expected. But the amount
of ignorance and the demand for the accom-
modetion for children was greatly underes-
timated, and the attempt to furnish every
child in the city between the ages of five and
thirteen with good educational privileges
could not fail to be expensive.
Fer all this combination of gaities, the real
excitement in London, during November,
has been decidedly political. The liberals
have have been firing off gun after gun
against the "Beaconsiield policy Mr..
Bright and the marquis of Harrington started
the boom at Manchester and told the peo-
pie, in perhaps too highly colored figures of
speech, the general misdeeds of the govern
ment at home and abroad. The duke of
Argyll, a little mistaking his cue, chang
ed his denunciations into invectives
and hard names. But nj last the
candid, strong and earnest words of
Mr.. Gladstone in Scotland are putting to
shame the poor taste and poorer logic OF both
his friends and opponents. He takes up the
issue, which, in his own words, is the great
est one the country has seen this half centu-
ry. He has many startling facts with which
to deal and his wise and eloquent declara-
tions are winning their way wherever they
go. The attacks of his opponents have
dwindled into mere complaints against his
verbosity and other minor details. If, to-
gether with wise domestic policy, he can
establish n digniied and stable foreign policy
there can be no doubt of the success of the
liberal party at the next general election.
WOOD WARD.