The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1889-08-31
THE EDITOR ABROAD.
Random Notes of Foreign Travel
LONDON, August 10, 1889.

LONDON, August 10, 1889.
.Hy Dear Hdy:-Iu a speech delivered
SAID of London, that he had spent there
six months of every year for forty years,
and yet knew nothing about it. While
there is considerable extravaganza of
speech in this assertion of Mr. Bright's.
yet as intended to convey some idea of
the extent of the British Capital and of
the intricacies of its streets, it is not ex-
aggerated. You may readily then ap-
preciate my trouble in saying anything
knowingly about London alter week
spent here. Before saying anything a
bout it at ALL pardon me for INDUCING a
few preliminary observation" as our
mutual friend Mr.. Thomas Tyson would
say. AS young lady who sat opposite
me at the breakfast table this morning
would express it, Edinburgh is an Jaw
fully nice" city, and while my head was
full of pleasurable expectation in starting
for London, yet confess it, l left it with
considerable regret. | took the train
known as the Flying Scotchman at Wa
verify Station, Edinburgh, this day one
week ago we left there at 10 a. m. and
arrived here a few minutes late at 6:20.
AS the distance is 39S miles, you see the
running time is over fifty miles an hour,
as we came down what is known as the
East Coast route, passing through and
making considerable stops at New Castle
on the Tyne, Durham, York and Peter
borough, the first being a great coal
shipping point, and the last three all
Cathedral towns. Yorkminster partic-
ularly is celebrated, the other two being
scarcely less so. each for it's own peculiar
style of Gothic architecture. As this was
my first long railroad ride, had my best
| opportunity to notice the differences be
| tween English and American railway
cars and equipment. | notice one and
only one single point of superiority IN rail-
road travel here. There is less jar of the
train in starting and coming to full stop.
In this respect the English lines resem-
BILE the Elevated rail- Dads in New York.
But their road beds are no better than
the leading American trunk lines, taking
the Pennsylvania Company's road beds,
and rolling stock as the standard. So
far as can judge by looking at it. there
is no difference in the weight of rails, the
rails here sitting in an iron chair, in
which they are held by wedge of wood
A gentlemen next me in our compart
ment said, that this system was tried and
abandoned in the States twenty years
ago. give this on his, not my own au
thority. AS you know, the Compart
ment Coach System prevails everywhere
in England. The coaches are divided
into three compartments opening on the
side, each compartment being in ended
to carry ten passengers, five on each seat.
Of course one-half the passengers in the
coach always ride backwards. Tue first
class coaches are patronized only by the
nobility and silly Americans. On the
continent the case is different, there the
upper middle classes ride first class, the
cars or coaches being very inferior to
those in England. OF recent years the
preference for third-cass coaches has be- |
come SO general in Great Britain, that
one trunk line, the Midland. has abolished
the second-c class coaches entirely, and the
third-classes coaches are very generally
used by all CLASSES other than the no.
bility, the difference being SO triHing in
the equipment of the second and third
class coaches, while there is so consider
able saving in fare. quote the fares
from Liverpool to London to show you
the difference, First Glass 800; Third
So 90, while the fare Second Glass would
be about $3.50. On the Midland railway
line, one OF the most picturesque lines
between Glasgow and London, which as
| Just said has abolished second class car
riages, the third class compartments have
cushioned seats and backs, and while not
quite so stylish as the dark blue cloth of
my lords" first class, are quite as COM
Portable. You see, the compartment
existing social conditions in England.
My lord Noddy wishes to travel alone;
he has the money to pay for his exclu-
siveuess; why should he not have the op-
portunity to enjoy it? We have the same
system precisely, rapidly developing in
America, and with more disagreeable
features than those that characterize the
British system. Here they have an arts
tocracy of birth, while our aristocraoy in
America is one of dollars. 1t is very
much louder and more presuming, be-
cause made of coarser stuff. You find
it in the Pullman Palace Cars Of our
American roads for many a man rides in
| them vino can't any more than write his
own name, and when he cornered pork
| in Cinclnnatti, or beef in Chicago, he
cornered every other letter in the alpha
bet, except those which he mechanically
knows spell his own name. | confess |
prefer to come in contact with the indi-
vidual representatives of any aristocracy
sooner than our American shoddy type,
and while am too good Republican to
believe in any hereditary civil rights,
still it takes more than one generation
to make a gentleman, even if brains are
so rarely inherited. After this depression
l rise to explain therefore, that each sys-
tenn of public conveyance, the American
and English has its ownmerts and defects.
You could not exchange them, because
each is we'll adapted to the necessities of
its own locality. AS to equipment, l con-
fess the English carriages are very much
more cheaply built than l had expected
to find them, aud far inferior, in quality
and finish to our American coaches. The
best railway carriage have seen in Eng
land (unless the Royal family keeps rail.
way coaches not visible to the naked eye)
cannot be compared to an ordinary car
of our Pensey. With its handsome an
tiaue oak and brass flushed cars, its easy
springs and comfortably warm plush in
Winter, and cool rattan seatings i'll Sum-
ner. For cheap and ordinary looking
affair commend me to the average English
railway carriage. But it gets there all the
same, and you pay less fare to ride in it.
A penny mile is the rate. II you know
the distance you can easily compute the
cost of your ticket. A penny of course
means two ca of our American cents,
Two cents American coin then, is the
rate here per mile, against three (3) cents