The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-11-08
BLACK COUNTRY,

An EnGIiShmau's Description OF In.
WaYe.EArncr's ynlIeE OF the shadow O
Death.
A Birmingham (England) correspondent
writes: Birmingham or Madagascar :
which shall put first, or rather, which
last? l never think OF my travels in the
''iron region" tf South stafordshire with
out recalling Punehs famous cartoon Of the
two wretched little English street-boys say.
ing TO the passing missionary: "Please,
sir, amt we dirty and heathenish enough
to be taken care Of, too?" liza few Of those
honest British zealots who ara so eager to
"convert the heather" by adding the vices
Of civilization to those Of barbarism would
only take the trouble to walk across the
"Black Courtry"-as I did some lineage
from the border Of WarwiCkshire to that Of
Cheshire, and 10 keep their eyes open on
the way, they would see quite enough to
convince them that lis gloomy title Is am.
ply deserved, and that there is plenty oil
The heather in "Cbristian England" who
stand in need Of help and teaching fully as
much as the idoiatots Of the Ganges or the
fanatics Of the Nile.
The long war OF labor AMI capital bas
been fought out upon mSny divese fields,
but never has 1t chosen apot more grimly
appropnate than The scene OF the recent
labor riots around Birmingham and VOL
yerhampton. The line OF the Great Yves.
tern railway from the Messy to the
Thamss, though beginning and ending
with true English Gcenery in its most
charming form, pssses midway, like Bun.
vans pilgrim, through the Valley Of the
Shadow Of Death. At first starting you are
among green Cheshire meadows dotted
with grazing cattle and tall hedgerows and
clustering trees, and passing glimpse OF
ancient Chester looking down with its
grim old rampahs and dark.red cathedral
tower upon the broad, smooth curves Of
the Dee. Then come the grassy slopes and
dark woodlands Of the Welsh border, and
the houses Of queenly Shrewsbury, the city
OF the proud Salopians," massing them
selves along the heights that overhsng its
winding river, on whose banks, nearly FIVE
centuries ego, Prince Henry charged, and
Falstaf TESTED, and Douglass battled, and
Hotspur died.
''HELI WITH TIE FIRE BURNT OUT"
Bat as soon as you begin to near tho fatal
border all tho freshness, and brightness,
asl beauty dies out OF the landscape at
once, just as the reeds aud grass whirled
down into The Dead sea by the Jordan
shrivel up and perish the moment they
touch the deadly smoothness OF the lake.
Even the glorious July sunshine cannot
pierce the league, broad veil Of smoke
which Ia the standard hoisted by the Iron
King over his own chosen capital. The
whole fifteen mills between Wolverhamp.
ION ans Birmingham, make one huge, sooty,
filthy, hideous town. Biston, Dudley,
Upton, SmethTiCk West Bromwicb, Wed.
form continuous chain OK out.
posts, so 10 speak, between the two great
central camps, and from first to last you
never escape from the endless labyrinth Of
blackened bricks and mortar.
Huge, upsightly buildings, grimed with
SCOT and dirt, great black chimneys, out
lined.ip all their gsunt ugliness against q
emoky, sunless sky, MOSES Of broken tim
her rotting in pools Of filth, black dust and
cinders covering the earth and filling the
very air, green, Shiny bitches fostering
under the scattered windows OF tumble.
down novels, bideeus cliffs and rents gear.
ring the earth in all directions, cranes and
pitscsfolds starting up amid mountains Of
rubbish like the hsli-buried skeletons OF
primeval monsters, and everywhere as far
as the eye can reach, smoke above and
ashes below, till the whole scene looks las
its ragged children will tell you, with grim,
unconscious p9etry,) like hell with the
fire burnt out"