Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1882-02-10

plotting him back again. London
Is like a helpless infant at such
times. Traffic is all but stopped.
People walk into the river or under
horses feet, and many strange to
say, find their way into shop win
dows.
Besides fog, January is also
blessed with statistics of every i'm
aginable kind. The newspapers
fairly reyel in them. I was reading
to-day that three tramway lines in
London last year carried over sew
enty million passengers, almost
double the entire population of
Great Britain, yet the tramwavs
have been and are still very much
disliked. They have had a haru
struggle in getting established. This
seems strange to an American, and
he wonders why the people can
complain, as they do of the rails
which when compared with those
in any city of the United States are
almost imperceptible. But it seems
that it is considered a virtue with
some people to fight against inno-
vations, although they make use of
th,m. The trans" (street cars1
are mostly of New York make, and
the larger ones will carry forty pas
sengers, twenty inside and twenty
on top. As in the case of the omnl-
buses they are only allowed to car
ny stated number, and thus Lon
doners miss the edyfying sight, so
common in Chicago, of street car
boiling over with humanity, and
still with plenty of room for more.
| wish l could say good word for
the Loudon omnibuses, and | think
| can, for the knife board" as the
seat On top is called, is the best
place | know of for gazing down on
humanity. From this airy perch,
which is reached by kind of lad
der at the back of the bus, one can
look down upon the people, into all
the shop windows and watch with
out fear of being mixed in it, the al
ways entertaining street row. One
can also be RECALLED with the unlim-
tied chair between the conductor
of the bus and passing "cabbies" or.
other bus conductors. The drivers
and conductors, at least many Of
them. seem still to retain a flavor of
the immortal Weller's father and
son. Many of the old stagers who
have been in the road for thirty or
forty years, and whose faces are of
that once fashionable color, magen-
ia, might sit for the portrait of
Tony Weller" Like him they are
big OF body and small of leg, and
have a fondness for the letter 1--WE"
Not long since | sat by one whilst
going toward Croydon. He was
tondly addressed by his friends,
whom we passed in the road, as
"old picked kebbidge face" ''old
rawspberry tip" etc. He was quite
a wit, too, in his way, and as we
were passing rival bus, whose con-
ductor was calling out Norwood,
Norwood" be wheezed to our con-
ductor low! Bill 'ere's a chep as
hawsks US to gnor wood I'd rather
peck am than gnor wood" This
was SO good and he chuckled SO that
his eyes disappeared and he nearly
burst the strap which held him III
his seat. Both Peckham and Nor
wood are suburbs of London. The
omnibus drivers are bitter enemies
of the tramcars, for the latter since
their introduction have cut down
fares more than half. Nothing
pleases them SO much as to see a
car off the track, or a breakdown
blocking the line. The sarcasm at
such times, with which they in
quire into the health of the 'penny
bumper, is something awful.
The cab drivers in London mus
ter about ten thousand strong, and
seem to be recruited from all ranks
Of life. Those who drive Hanson
cabs, the strange Russian looking
vehicles with two wheels and the
driver in perch behind, are gener-
ally young and impudent, whilst
the drivers of the four-wheel cabs
or "growlers" are old, stiff in the
joints, and much given to profu-
sion of hat and great coat, some
times in rainy weather mounting
three of the former and as many as
they can get on of the latter. The
Hansoms dash along at great speed
and to them London sacrifices in a
year people by the score. They are
up, "have knocked your pins from
in under you and are off again be-
fore you have time to think of get
ting out of the way. They are cap
ital things to ride in but if the
pavement is slippery, it is very pos
sible that the horse will fall down
and yourself be shot out into the
street for the editication of an adj
1,.o,,1 II Nj