The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-07-24

Passing from Trafalgar Square along
the Strand through Fleet street, about
mile, nearly parallel with the river, which
here flows Easterly again, we reach St.
Paul's Cathedral, erected 1875 to ITO at
a cost of about three and half millions
of dollars. Although it is magnificent
structure, 500 feet in length, with a
breadth at the transept of 250 feet and
height of over 400 feet to the top of the
cross which surmounts its mammoth
dome, the first feeling of the visitor is E 81
to be one of disappointment. Its nave,
with those massive square piers, has not
the solemn majesty of York Minister or
the beauty and grace of Westminster,
and were it not for the monuments and
other evidences of the character of the
place which are seen on every hand, it
would not be difficult for one to imagine
himself in gigatic warehouse instead of
a christian church. Many of the mill
tary heroes Of England find resting
place within its walls, and dozens Of
monum .nts are placed here in memory
of those whose remains are deposited
elsewhere. The crypt contains the tombs
of Nelson and Wellington, the latter di.
rectly beneath the dome. The tourist
who is ambitious enough to ascend to the
dome, will be rewarded with magnif-
cent view of London smoke and fog,
extending at least thousand feet in
every direction while those. who con-
tinue the ascent to the ball, will find that
it savors far more Of labor than pleasure.
We speak from experience.
A short distance East of st. Paul's is
the Bank of England, one of the largest
institutions of its kind in the world,
covering eight acres of land and having
a capital of $40 100000. 1t is irreverently
spoken Of as "The old lady of Thread
needle street." About half a mile South
east of the Bank, is located the Tower of
London, which as fortified palace, has
figured largely in the history of England
ever since its erection by William the
Conqueror in 1080 1t covers IL acres of
ground and comprises 16 towers, 4 of
which are in the outer ward and IL in
the interior. It was in one of the former
that the young princes were murdered
and in one of the latter that the Duke of
Clarence was drowned in butt Of wine.
The tower is now used as military
museum and its armory contains many
specimens of ancient and modern impla-
ments of war, including large number
of equestrian figures in armor. 1t is the
finest collection of its kind in the world.
In one of the inner towers is kept the
Crown Jewels and Regalia, valued at $751;
100000 The collection comprises q
large number of crowns, scepters, etc., of
various ages. Numerous eminent per-
sons have been imprisoned here, many
never to go forth again except to execu-
ton. In st. Peters chapel, near by,
some of these unfortunate victims were
buried. Here lie the remains of Anne
Bolyn, Catherine Howard, Thomas Crom-
we'll, Lady Jane Grey and many others.
Macauly remarks that there is no sadder
spot on earth than this little cemetery.
The British Museum is about two miles
Northwest of the tower and ee-fourths
of mile North of Trafalgar Square. The
collection, which is without doubt the
largest in the world, has never been cata-
logued, mere list of its millions of
exhibits would require several large vol.
umes. 1t should be study for weeks
instead of the few hours the tourist is
able to give to it. Its libraries number
over one million volumes and its manu-
script rooms contain many interesting
documents, such as the original copy of
Magna Charta, etc. Of its myriad of
interesting exhibits, we can only mention,
without description, few of the more
prominent. The Rosetta Stone from
Egypt, the inscription on which furnishes
the first key to the ancient Egyptian
hieroglypbics the remains of the Mau-
soleum of Hslicornassus, one of the Seven
Wonders of the world; the Elgin mar.
bles, brought from the Parthenon at
Athens; the collections of bas-reliefs
from the ruins of the ancient cities of
Assyria, dating from 600 to 900 years
before Christ monuments from Egypt,
inscribed nearly 1000 years before
Christ, with many other statues, orna-
ments and antiquities of various ages and
countries. It is wilderness of curiosi.
ties and interesting relics of the past.
In Hyde Park, in the Western part of
the city, are Kensington Gardens and
Museum. The gardens comprise many
acres and are, we'll laid out, and the
museum, though not as large as the Brit:
ish Museum, is very fine and we'll
| arranged. Near by is the Albert Memo
Trial, erected by Queen Victoria, in mem
ory of the late Prince Consort. 1t is in
the form of Gothic canopy, surmounted
by a spire rising to the height of Its feet.
In general appearance it greatly resem-
bles the Scott monument, on Princes
street, in Edinburgh, which we neglected
to mention in our letter from Scotland.
But it is impossible to give descrip-
ton of London in the brief limits of
letter, as mere mention of its places of
interest would require volume. Its
Geological Gardens, containing the larg-
est collection of birds and animals in the
world, its beautiful parks, its underground
railway, (which, by the way, is not to be
compared with the elevated system of
New York. its mighty river with its tide
of from eight to twelve feet, and the great
embankments with their fine drives on its
Northern shore, its numerous bridges
connecting the two portions of the city,
would furnish material for dozen letters,
without mentioning Windsor Castle, the
home of the Queen, and from whose
lofty towers portions of twelve of Eng
lands fairest counties can be seen
Stokes Poges Church, the scene of Gray's
Elegy, Rumingmede, where Magma Cbarta
was signed, the Crystal Palace, Kew
Gardens and many other places of interest
in the suburbs. To the English speaking
traveller its opportunities for study and
improvement are boundless; and it was
not without regret that we took our
departure from its busy streets.
TRAVELLER.