The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1884-07-12


| in the elevnth century, and incorporated
into the present edifce, has been the chief
theatre Of the great law history of England.
Here Wallace, More and King Charles /
were condemned. Here Hastings was tried
aud after seven years acquitted. Probably
no spot ID England has been the scene of
SO many eyentSinvolving the destiny of the
nation.
From the Houses Of Parliament it is but
q short distance northward, through Par
lament street and Whitehall, to Charing
Cross and Trafalgar Square, with its foun-
tains and its magnificent monument to
Lord Nelson. Just beyond is the National
Gallery. richin the productions of Landseer,
Turner, Gainsborough, Copley, Reynolds
and others OF the British School, and con-
tanning many excellent specimens from the
older continental artists.
Passing from Trafalgar Square along the
Strand and through Fleet street, about a
mile, nearly PARALLEL with the river, which
here flows easterly again, we reach st. Paurs
Cathedral, erected 1876 to ITO at cost of
about three and half millions of dollars.
Although it is magnificent structure, 500
feet in length, with breadth at the
transept of ESQ feetand height Of over 400
feet to the top Of the cross which surmounts
its mammoth dome, the first feeling Of the
visitor is apt 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 gigantic warehouse instead of
a Christian church. Many of the military
heroes of England find resting place
| within its walls; and dozens of monuments
are placed here in memory of those whose
remains are deposited elsewhere. The
crypt contains the tombs of Nelson and
Wellington, the latter directly beneath the
dome. The tourist who is ambitions enough
to ascend to the dome, will be rewarded
with magnificent view of London smoke
and fog, extending at least thousand feet
in every direction; while those who continue
the ascent to the ball, will find that it
savors far more Of. labor than pleasure.
We speak from experience.
| short distance east of st. Paul's is the
Bank of England, one of the largest insti-
tutions Of its kind in the world, covering
eight acres of land and having a capital of
SIC, 900, 900. 1t is. irreyerently spoken of as
"The old lady Of Threadneedle street."
About half a mile southeast of the Bank.
| is located the Tower of London, which as a
fortified palace, has figured largely in the
history of England ever since its erection
by William the Oonqueror in 1880. Itcovers
u acres Of ground and comprises 16 towers,
E4,ofs which are ia the outer ward and l2 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 Clar-
ence was drowned in butt of wine. The
tower is now used as military museum
and its armory contains many specimens
of ancient and modern implements 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 in
ner towers are kept the crown jewels and
and regalia, valued at $15,0OO,OOO. The
collection comprises large number of
crowns, sceptres, ETC., of various ages.
Numerous eminent persons have been i'm
prisoned here, many never to &c. forth again
except to execution. In st. Peters chapel,
near by, some of these unfortunate victims
were buried. Here lie the remains of Anne
Bolyn, Catherine Howard, Thomas Crom-
well, Lady Jane Grey and many others.
Macauley 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 three-fourths
of mile north of Trafalgar Square. The
collection, which is without doubt the
largest in world, has never been catalogued.
A mere list of its millions of exhibits would
require several large volumes. It 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 manuscript rooms contain many
interesting documents, such as the original
copy of Magma Charta, etc. OF it's myriad
of interesting exhibits, we can only men,
ton, without description, a few of the more
prominent. The Rosetta Stone from Egypt,
the inscription ON which furnished the
first key to the ancient Egyptian hieroglyph-
les; the remains of the Mausoleum of
Haicornassus, one Of the Seven Wonders
of the world; the Elgin marbles, brought
from the Parthenon at Athens; the collec-
hons of bas-reEefs from the ruins of the
ancient cities of Assyria, dating from GOO
to 500 years before Christ; monuments
from Egypt, inscribed nearly 2000 years be-
fore Christ, with many other statues, orna-
ments and antiquities of various ages and
countries. Its is a wilderness of curiosities
and interesting relics of the past.
In Hyde Park, in the western part of the
The gardens comprise many acres and ars
we'll laid out, and the museum, though not
as large as the British Museum, is very fine
and well arranged. Near by is the Albert
Memorial, erected by Queen Victoria, in
memory of the late Prince Consort. 1t is
in the form of Gothic canopy, surmounted
by spire rising to the height of ITS feet.
Inigeneral appearance it greatly resembles
the Scott monument, on Princes street, in
Edinburgh, which we neglected to mention
in our letter from Scotland.
But it is impossible to give description
of London in the brief limits of letter, as
mere mention of its places of interest
would require a volume. Its Geological
Gardens, containing the largest collection
of birds and animals in the world, its beau
tiful parks, its underground raiIway-which
by the way, is not to be compared with the.
elevated system of New York city-its
mighty river with its tide of from eight to