New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-05-16
THE RECORD OF FIFTY YEARS
"REMINISCENCES OF A JOURNALIST.
BY CHARLES T. CoNGDON.
YXIII
FROM LIVERPOOL TO LONDON

FROM LIVERPOOL TO LONDON
vipsr IMPRESSIONS OF LIvERPoOL-A GLANCE AT
REAL ANTIQUITY IN CHEsTER-RAlLwAY TRAVEL
IN ENGzAND-THE GENERATIONS THEREOF
THE COUNTRY AND TIE ToWNs-A SIGHT OF
ST. PAUl's.
There is q perpetual conflict between the
romance of travel aud lis reality. our
ideality is kept well curbed by the ineyltaDle
annoyances Of wayfaIing and as you advance
through unfamiliar surroundings, you occupy
position, half tolerabe and half Othelwlse, 3e-
tween pleasure and ploVocatlon: dnH HN{ NOT NOT
pass over the seas change their SKIES DliC hoI
tn cir habits. One is not easily rtconClILeu "
different peculiarties of dong famlilar InllEe
to exotic methods OF tempenng inc ausU e C.C1
of pilgrimage; to sudden, anu, II tbns,9 90"
go wren ching divorce a menSd et WC'O. L
desire here to interpOse retractiOL VI IIo 10
few ill-natnred things which nave spoken , Inu
written of the whole tribe OF BRUSH IaHelt:iIs
in Amtrra-of TrOllOpe and Fiu6ieI Oh fl'F Tbo
TON and If | must say it, OF Dickens. Inc
Smelfungus of Sterne went from one emu Oh
Europe to the other, and found all barren
This meant merely that they did not COOK NUT
ton chops in Germany as they c'9keu rlT hos
the Strand. Not one man III ten thousand ilas
perfectly cosmopolitan nature-nOt 0pe EnS,
iishmari in hundred thousand! Our American
travellers in England used to be thorOnKhly
re verential; and reflect as write, VIII "a
which Ii ey used to submit without a growl
upon the money which they needlessly spent
mon The timidlty with which they regarded
everything In foreign parts. bnt alieat ~ %o
beplI, to feel our legs under us, Wherever lIOeH
legs may carry us, and having achieved enough
moral courage to speak our own NINA, we nave
only to take that we do SO with sue CT;
sense of veracty ana nOnol; TaSc Int erowls
are o commodity too precious 10 NC "aS'eu'
They are 10 be sparingly lnterposto'
It ia little unfortunate, think, that Amerl-
can voya gers should so generally dlsem0aiK at
Liverpool. Perhaps those OF my ITlloT landed
better than they knew, For Liverpool, pros
pelOus, populous wealthy, is IsnGuIally I'm,
interesting city, and has the disadvantage, 70
traveller of great expecta'lons ~ +r"f Hs
and constant intercourse with New Il ORR now
maintained for nearly century, has given ny I
erpool physiOgnOmy not altOLethtr uhilhe .no
Battery, the BOwery and the bFOaHW"S iSfvIIiS
from which we elOpe. 1t is city palntuliy
modern in its character. You look ABOUT III
val for n suggestion OF antiquity, 1or al tne
proportions of the place, large as they are, nave
been acquired since the beginning OF the present
century. You are little vexed at the newnesS
and the familiarity of everything I0n seem TO
have come back to the old streets-Wall ana
South and Water. You see the sigais ana you
smell the smells OF New-YOrk. Nothing, Is
wanting to break the illusion. The corner ale
houses in which the thirsty mariner changes MS
allegiance from Neptune to Bacchus, are pre-
ciseiy similar to our festive haunts OF tue same
buildings, the chambers shops and the slOp
shops are exactly like ours. The hack drlveT
cheats YOU there as he cheats you mere ana
having had his taste OF the exceeding hDeIallty
of American tourists, lie Will charge you, u nc
can, as much for taking you couple OF squares
as he would be legally entitled to Tor taxing
YOU five miles. l was myself an awful ex-
ample of British eXtOTtlOn before l hau Deen
Zen minutes upon the historic soil. II had
been n simmer of cotton if l bad been an
exporter of our native produce; If l had Deen,
though the suggestion is ridlcuously ABSURD
member OF some monetary synqlcate, no
doubt should have found Liverpool G ss =,
full. AS it was, landed with only two ideas IN
my head. This was the city, remembered, IN
which they tried to throw Mr.. WilberfOrce into
the Mersey for opposing the slave trade ana IN
which William Roscoe wrote %Ihe W. LIE OF Of
Alexander Pope" Here it was, said, that
the elegant scholar and accomplished gentle
man wrote that beautiful sonnet upon parting
with his books sold IN conSequeenttSS o Of fres1
compositions of its class in the English
language. Everybody WHO. has read it will
remember Washington lIylngs mention OF
tered to myself the words as paced by the EA-
change :: II could not pity him, as heard some
rich men do considered him far above the
reach of my pity. Those who live only for the
world, and in the world, may be cast down by
the frowns of adversely but man like Roscoe
is not to be overcome by the mutations OF Tor
tupen Not many of those whom passed, with
percentage stamped and turrowed upon every
square inch of their round faces, would have
known anything of Roscoe, If had arrested
and cross examined them upon the subject.
found that his statue by Chantrey stood In the
Town Hall, and that, at least, was consolatlOn'
For the rest, the CITY, known all over the COM
mercial world, is of the ugllest descrlptl0n,
dlney gloomy and smoke colOred. sighed for
antiquity, and for Chester, that fine old town
which Americans make 1t rule and religion to
visit, and which amply Tepays them for follow
ing the fashion, even II does no more than give
them lesson in going up and down stairs.
Those who have seen tho house in which
Shakespeare was born at StratfOrd will un.
derstand me when say that Chester Is tnIl OF
lust such queer ancient blick and timber
ediices. You plunge at once upon enterlnR
it into such maze of antiquity that If you
should meet Roman in full tOga and carrying
his shoulder high as he marched through Water
gate Row, you would not be In the least aston
Ished. Everything about you seems much Older
than medieval. The walls over which we
walked were built upon a Roman substructure
andswhat walk it was There was nothing to
mar our illusion except the American tourist
constantly to be met with in this venerable
pathway, and the bad cigars which shop
keeper sold u.s. in full view OF RowtOn Moor
where Charles l. met with one Of his many mis-
hapsin 1645. / entered, previously paying six
pence the round tower from which the hand
soonest of the Stuarts witnessed the dlscOm'
future of his army. ] climbed the same steps
which his Majesty did but l had the advan,
taee of coming down in a much more cheerful
frame Of mind than his probably was upon
descending. 1 reflected that it was like, a
Stuart to keep himself safely there while his
was dreadfully shabby museum in the tower,
/ doubt il our enterprising Barnum would have
given fifty dollars for the whole collection. So
came ont not in the least satiated by sight-see.
ing and resumed my walk upon the walls, and
so up stairs and down stairs, and Though tho
oueerest alleys, and into yards out of which
came suddenly, and under arches. and across
bridges, thinking all the time OF tue AXth Le-
nn,foTmerly quartered there, as was Informed
Thinking also of the Danes, who never so long
nen cnme thcre in q blOndthrsty spirit, and u