Morning journal and courier., 1880-07-12

LONDON June 26, 1880. To the Editor of the JOURNAL COURIER:
 ! We loft the dock at New York promptly at the hour named-S o'clock a. m-but the great length of the City of Berlin-53O feet caused some delay in getting under way However, with the assistance of a steam tug we at last moved down the harbor The docks we had left were lined with friends of the passengers waving us off, and a steam boat load of friends accompanied us down the bay with fine band of music. But we had cut loose from our base and we soon left them behind. The first half day was spent in getting strengthened out, finding our berths, selecting seats at the table, etc There is no end to the feeding if one chooses to eat. To commence with, in the morning at 6 o'clock crackers and cheese are furnished in the smoking room. Breakfast from 9 o'clock to 9:3O o'clock. Lunch at 12 o'clock and 1 o'clock. No regular table is set for supper but anyone can call for what he chooses | from 9 to II o'clock. Some topped off with such light food as ham and eggs, Welch rare bits, etc. hope their dreams were pleas ant We had heard so much about ice- bergs before we left that no little anxiety was felt, and one would suppose from I the accounts published that the North Pole was drifting down. The steamer l was kept in the latitude of New York city for l the first three days and when off the banks of Newfoundland was 15O miles south of the 1 most northerly track. On Tuesday, the third day out, we sighted the first iceberg at 6 o'clock a. m., and in the course of an hour four of those mountains of ice were in sight Some of them the captain estimated at 200 feet in height, and one of them appeared to be a mile long and shelved over at one end leaving room for the tallest ship to sail under. We were in no peril from them, they being l IL would be dangerous customers to meet. The northern Atlantic has lately been infested with these icy tourists from the Arctic re- gions. Their course from the North Pole is interrupted by the whirlings of the Gulf Stream. There have been crowds of them
 this season in the neighborhood of the Banks, and nayigators have experienced great diff culty in keeping clear of them. These disa-
 greeable wanderers over the deep have indeed been so numerous as to drive navigators from
 their usual course across the ocean. To lovers of the picturesque there is much in
 the spectacle of these great masses of ice towering high above the water, white, grand
 and cold. At respectful distance they may
 delight one in noting the fantastic shapes and
 the bright colors wherever the light plays
 upon them. But mariners will do well to avoid the path of these tourists from the Arctic regions, for, to a homely saying, their room is much better than their company. Vessels reported to have just grazed the grim monsters and had their decks piled with masses of ice from the disturbed pinnacles. The captain. of our ship remarked that he used to run in among icebergs and think he had done a smart trick but he don't do that any longer. He gives them wide berth. The perils of the past spring have induced a new era of ex- ceptional caution, and the northern route across the Atlantic is left untraversed.
 We had fine weather every day of the voy age and the sea was so smooth as to make it decidedly dull and uninteresting. Dr. How son, dean of Chester, and daughter were pas sengers on board, and religious services were conducted by him. Rev. MT. Hendry of Kentucky, Presbyterian clergyman, took part in the exercises Sunday the 20th of
 June being the 43d anniversary the Queens accession to the throne, the dean referred to that event and also to his being boy in college at the time, 43 years ago. He allud- ed very feelingly to his classmates, one of whom lay beneath the waters of the Ganges, and another had found grave in New Zea-
 land. very practical discourse was deliver ed by the dean from Acts, 27th chapter and 23d verse-''Whose I am and whom serve" Sunday evening we arrived at Queenstown, but did not enter the harbor. Signal rockets were sent up, and lighter came out for the l mails and passengers. We had left every thing behind that we had seen on the way, but we found the telegraph had beaten us, and we here learned of the serious accident to the Anchoria, of the Anchor line, which left New York at the same time as the City of Berlin and which we passed at Sandy Hook. We arrived at Liverpool Monday afternoon, and here our baggage was overhauled at the custom house. Spirits and tobacco only are | looked for. Ladies' well as gentlemen's baggage is tumbled over to find these arti- cles but I can assure any traveller who may follow me that they are the last articles in I the world that ever need be brought here, l for he will find the country oyerfowing with | them, and they prove greater curse to this country than all other evils combined
 All the American passengers were invited | to Chester by the Dean of Chester, and
 hour appointed to meet him at the cathedral,
 at which time he proposed to show 1 through it and give its history. I accepted the invitation with several others, and an hours ride brought us to the rare old city of Chester. But I shall not attempt to give any description of the city or it's grand old cathe- dral, and will only say that the eye of the stranger, be he Englishman or foreigner, European or American, will here find an am- pie and luxuriant field for information The l man of taste who may finger within it's walls will not depart unsatistied, nor will the anti quary search heresin vain for rich and profit able treasure for investigation. The walls are built only Roman hands could build l them, defiant alike of time and of the foe. But no pen can depict the scenes of glory and renown bound up with the history of these walls, where for centuries the Roman soldier kept watch and ward over them and the city. The dean showed us over the cathedral, which is one of the finest in England. Three services are held here every week day and five services on the Sabbath. Ninety thousand pounds have
 been expended by the present dean since 1867 in restoring and in additions to ths church. The dean was much pleased with his visit to America, and was general favor ite on the steamer for the goodness of heart
 shown and for his plain and simple manners. We reluctantly left him after receiving much information about this ancient city. I have
 an abiding faith that he is good and true man.
 Four hours ride brought us to London. The city is as noisy and smoky ever, and 1t IS raining every day and always ready at any moment. Business is very dull here, and it may be thought hardly possible, yet com petition is much greater here than in New York or any other American city. Every exertion is made by the tradesmen to secure customers, and some of the artifces resorted to would do credit to 8 genuine Yankee. Ad- vertising is resorted to more generally by the English merchant than by the American. Some of the daily papers have enormous cir culations. We in America think we can beat all creation and we can, but we have not not done it yet in the matter of the circula- tion of daily paper I was told in the office of the London Telegraph to-day that they pub- fish 25o, 900 copies daily and ndsometimesr run up to 8oo,OO0. But few have any idea of the amount of labor to be performed in printing
 one quarter of a million of papers. The
 size of this paper is larger than that of any New York daily, and it is sold for one penny
 The crops in England promise well this
 season, but the exportation of American pro- duce has nearly ruined the agricultural inter
 est of England. The English farmer is hav-
 ing very hard time of ir to compete with
 American exportation and to meet the de-
 mands of the English landholder Many of
 them are giving up the problem and emigrat-
 ing to New Zealand and America The four
 million inhabitants of London must have
 cheap food from some quarter, and it will
 have to come from the United States The bell from the tower of St Pancras tells me