Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-02-16
A London Fog.

During five of the last seven days the
city has been enswathed in a dark and
palpable combination of mist and smoke
which is known to the technical as Lon
don fog. Business is benumbed by it,
and for several days vehicles have not
been able to move in the streets. On
Monday last a gentleman and his wife
started from the Strand in a hanson cab
to come to my house, a distance of three
and half miles. Cab drivers are sup
posed to know the city thoroughly, and
they do. But my friends, after enduring
the anxiety and extreme tension which
necessarily accompanies moving in an
almost opaque atmosphere for an hour,
found themselves on the bank of the
Thames, near the Tower of London, hav-
ing increased the distance to their destin-
alton two and a half miles. Being near a
cab stand, they discharged the driver
and employed another. After three
hours of attempt to return to
their hotel they drove against a
red light danger signal which was to pro-
tect migratory citizens against deep eX-
cavatiOn in the street. Fortunately the
pole and lamps had been placed thirty feet
from the pit, otherwise horse and cab and
occupants would have had slim chance
of escaping death, for the light was not
seen, so dense was the fog, until the horse
ran against it. The cabman now refused
to risk his life and that of his horse in at
tempting to move in any direction, and
said he would make no charge for his ser
vices so far, which is the most conclusive
possible evidence of his earnestness, and
would tie his horse to the back of his We
hicle until the fog lifted. Leaving him to
his cheerless waiting, my friends found
near by a saloon, or, as it is known here,
''pub," which the same is an abbreYia-
tiOn of public house,
They found that they were in northwest
London, far from their place or mine, but
fortunately near the house of an acquain-
tance. Although the friend lived in the
next street they had to employ two men
with torches to lead them, the mist being
so dense that the torches had to be held so
closely to the persons conducted that
dropping embers ruined the dress of the
lady. Thus the befogged ones, after five
hours of effort, neither got to my house or
their own, and this too, in the daytime.
Several months ago there was formed a
society of scientists who proposed to dis
cover some means by which fog could be
dissipated. Their efforts have not been
attended with success as yet, nor have
they given to the world any statements of
the nature of their plans, or of the re-
suits obtained. Although / have always
been able to make my ways through its
tortuOus streets and misleading alleys
nothing short of dire necessity that would
induce me to go out of the house when
London puts on her impenetrahle veil and
even its cab horses get lost.
The electric light has been found to be
utterly useless, and the strong rays of
$4,000 candle power Brush lamp have lost
their penetrative power and been dulled
almost before they left the carbon. Look
ing out from the window as l write across
the narrow street where there is usually
brilliantly lighted shop, or store, as i
should say in America, which frequently
casts shadows into my room, although l
know that hundred gas jets are shining
there now, / can see nothing. 1t would
be indeed a triumph for science and
blessing to London if the fogs could be
made to disappear. / have said that busi-
ness was benumbed, many branches of
trade brought to an absolute standstill,
omnibuses, trans (street cars), hackney
coaches and hanson cabs are withdrawn,
the streets are deserted and the silence
of midnight rests upon the city
at the hours when it is
usually most active. At night the
condition is eYen.worse, The theatres are
deserted; the restaurants and other places
of public resort are without patrons, and
the unfortunate wayfarer, cropping about
in the dark, seldom reaches his destina-
ton and frequently spends the night in
the streets, not knowing where to turn or
whittier to move in safety. On such
night the thieves take advantage of the
darkness to break into the windows of
jewelry stores and bag their contents, as
sured that escape will be easily made. In
stances are not rare of people being run
over and killed in the streets by reason of
carelessness of drivers, who are forced to
be out, through their inability to guard
against such accidents. The mortuary
statistics of Ioi1doh show that such fogs
as this cost more lives than did the recent
war in Egypt,
Imagine If you can darkness shutting
upon Cleveland at midday, a darkness so
dense that street cars cannot be run in
Prospect street and that one might be lost
in making his way from the Kennard
House to the Weddell House; out of
whose thick veil would rise every now
and then voice crying out for Aely in a
wilderness of intense darkness, and then
you will have obtained some idea of the
condition of London to-day.