The Republican journal., 1885-11-05
Letter from London.
FURNACES VS.. OPEN FIRES. ROUND OF
THE LONDON THEATRES. AMERICAN
DRINKS" AND BARkEEPER FROM BOSTON.
"THE MIKADO," ETC.
Correspondence of the Journal.

Correspondence of the Journal.I
| LONDON, ENGLAND, Oct Is, 1885. | have
| always been strong advocate of good venta-
tion but my views weakening somewhat,
and am beginning to think after all that head
aches are preferable to pneumonia and con-
| sumption, and that it Is quite possible to have
too much of good thing. The close and foul
| atmosphere caused, as it is claimed, by furnace
heat, is said to be the principal reason why
house warming is generally accomplished here
| by means of open fires, as the draft of these
| keeps the air in room constantly changing.
| During my second week of London, when my
homeslckness was at its hghest-say about
| $4,000 feet above the level of the sea, gentle
man said to me "Wait until you get seated in
an easy chair in your room before an open fire
| or bltumlnous coal, smoking a good pipe and
| you will feel better" AS | told him that the
| comforts of tobacco We're utterly out of the
| question he suggested as substitute that |
| should get bag of fresh English Walnuts and
| learn what good nut really was-''So differ
| ent, ye know, from the nahsty dry things you
| have IN America" The whole scheme sounded
| pleasant and the first chill night | tried it,. |
| had all the properties they had been speci
| ned, but somehow it was not success. | kept
| my feet on the fender and these, with my
| hands and face were warm, but then my back
| and shoulders was a play ground for chills Of
| the chlllest kind, While the atmosphere of the
room that was tolerably warm before the fire
| was kind,ed was drawn up the chimney and
| Its place supplied by frigid air that actually
whistled as it rushed in under the door and
| window sash. Cracking the wainuts was good
| exercise but you all know the convOluted shape
| OF the English walnut. and when tell YOU that
| before ealing the fresh ones you have to re-
| move thin. delicate, bitter skin from the
| kernel, you will see that Il Chinese puzzle has
no interest at all beside the operation. Then
| the taste is something similar to that of our
| beecanut only not a quarter part as sweet. |
| finally decided that would worry along with
| out this vegetable until | could hire some Que
to work for me by the day and do the cracking
| and kernel peeling. And also concluded that
| impure air was good enough for me, 50 had
| the lire removed, lit candle, and soon
| comfortably warm again. | Judge it will be
| sometime before get accustomed to these and
| other things and my present estimate of the T. S.
| is in the neighborhood of live hundred per cent.
| higher han few months since. Tic language is
| hard TO learn. A Yankee friend Of mine re-
marked in the course of conversation at the
| dinner table, an evening or two since, e,-'l'll
swap even, | guess There was u sudden
| stiffness settled down on the assembled com
pauy and then kind Old gentleman, q physi-
! clan and an Oxford man, said beg pawrdon,
| ye know, but you must not say Il guess 1t is
| bad form; ana swap is deuce,l nahsty.
| think that as fine an illustration of the mote
and beam principle as one could ask for. Just
examine the wording of hi, corrective remark
| 10 say nothing of Beg PARDON" the ''ye
know Is certainly as bad As ~ guess" and
| more SenSeless, for the things in this world
| that we ''hnoW' and do not have to guess"
| about are very rare; bad form is Il metaphor
| borrowed from the racing stable grOOms, and
| NASTY" i,-Well you can see what it means if
| you will borrow a dictionary and look it up,
and yet it is of the most common occurrence in
| the talk OF educated people here and is applied
| indlscrlminately to anything diSpleasing. For
| instance, heard refined, pretty Young lady
| say of an actor. "Oh, he is very uahsty
man." Now She did not mean that he never
| batned, OF that his morals were uuCleau: She
| simply meant to imply that in her opinion he
| was bad.actor aud everyone present un
| derstood it. ! discovered another little thing
| which rather Quickened th" Declaration Of ln-
| pendence blood in my veins. At one END of
| the Square wherein is the house ! am BOW hon.
| Gring with my presence, street leads to the
| great thoroughfafe very near to three Of the
| largest railway stations in London, and across
| the entrance Of this street into the Square are
| placed iron gates, which are open during the
| day but always closed at night. No heavy
| teams are ever allowed to 90 through, and a.
| say none, either light or heavy, can pass after
| eleven P. NJ. This is very delightful for the
| people living in the vicinity as it ensures COM
| paratve quiet during tie day and perfect still
| ness at night 1t is however incouvenient for
| those concerns transporting merchandise and
| freight from the three railway stations to q
| large part Of London, as, on account of it, they
are obliged TO make Il long detour but it is i'm
| possible to have the gates or the restrictions
| removed. Why: Because, by Il ROYAL Act,
| believe in the early part of the sixteenth CEN
| tury, this Square and many of the surrounding
| streets became the property of the Duke of
| Bedford, and his authority over them is COM
| pAratiyely absolute. and the city Of London is.
| as nearly as | can ascertain, but Il lessee Of
| these highways. There are many other streets
| similarly gated In other parts of the great me-