The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-12-25

don, surrounding the small grassy quad
rangle known as Lincoln's Inn Fields.
Close by is the Temple, the centre foI
the law students, with its famous Temple
Church so intimately connected with the
history of freemasonry, by the side OF
which we found the grave of Oliver
Goldsmith: opposite is the splendid hall
where Queen Elizabeth is said to have
occupied the gallery while Shakespeare
gave one of his plays. The whole place
is full of elegant carvings in old oak,
while the roof is a marvel Of the seme
material.
Crossing the Strand, near by, stood
until within few years, the famous
old gate known as Temple Bar, whose
destruction was a terrible act Of van
dalism, which London will some
day realize now that it is too late. We
saw the old public house, blackened by
time, assisted bycoal smoke, from which
Jack sheppard, the, famous highway
man escaped by jumping from the side
window when the ,constables tried to
arrest him. In the rear of a building on
the Strand, reached through a little
court, was the public house where DR..
johnson and his, eronies used to gather,
and farther along we passed Bow Church,
the Bow Bells, conc0rhing which it rs
said that every man LIVING within sound
of them is Cockney;; the same bells
heard by Wilmington, as he was about
to leave London. In this neighborhood
is the great monument 202 feet high, be-
cause just that number of feet from
where the great London fire of 1868
started we found the place at what is
now vacant lot on side street. This
fire burned for several days, and de-
stroyed great part of the city. This
fire came the year after the great plague
and so effectually destroyed all the fever
infected buildings, that the plague has
never re-appeared.
On Great Tower street we found the
old tavern, the "Czar's Head" which
Peter the Great of Russia used to fire.
quent, when working in the English
shipyards in order to learn how to build
a navy.
A curiosity is the old Roman mile
stone from which in the time of the
Romans every mile in the country was
measured; it is now set in the
wall of a building close by where 1t for
merly stood. In the wall of st. Bar
tholemew Hospital is stone marking
the place where the martyrs were
burned in Smithfield: few squares dis
|
Cromwell was married and where Milton
lies buried. We passed Newgate Prison,
a gloomy stone building of great
strength; the very name is imbedded in
the history of crime; that morning early
an execution had taken place there. In
this same quarter of East London, sur
rounded by immense buildings and front
ingon one of the great arteries of the city,
lies the little four-acre tract called Bun
hill Fields, the famous burying ground
for dissenters; here we found the graves
of Susannah Wesley, Cromwell brother,
John Bunyan, George Fox and Daniel
Defoe (Robinson Crusoe). the monument
of the latter was erected within a
few years by the school children of
England.
London is well supplied with parks,
OF which st. James is nearest the centre
of the city, close by Westminster
Abbey, and fronting on it are several
palaces. 1t has pretty little lake and
nice grass and trees, but none of the
parks there are kept as Is Genital Park
in n. Y.
Just beyond is Green Park and then
Hyde Park, the latter having nearly 40C
acres, while only an imaginary line di
vides 1t from KensingtOn Gardens of ovel
200 acres; both have lakes and boats, ,anC
: all are very handsome. The famous
Hyde Park drive, 'Rotten Row" wa
along one side of the park close by {
, busy street, and in the season is crowded
with carriages and equestrians. Herr
crops out another feature of English lif,
} which is so disagreeable to our Ameri
: can ideas. To drive on that sacred soil
; sacred to those who choose to conside
/ Al lot ha, ha ,.f
l kind in London, it is necessary to have
private carriage and coachman, no othe
vehicles whatever are allowed there
u This was an am better than thou mat
u ter, that to me was extremely offensive
that was not allowed to take a carriag
Z in the street and drive through Hyd
Park. Very few tourists have time +
!, look up the proper equipage, and tina
y we must have, or walk, if we desired +
see Hyde Park, and as it is far too larg
l to walk over in connection with sigh
seeing, we had to miss most of it. VIII
II that park and drive should be kept TO
e the few to the exclusion of the many,
g fail to understand, and the English pull
l, llc are foolish, to say the least, to allO'
!, it to be so used. 1t is on par with tn
is way the Parliament buildings are kept
c and very much doubt if the Englis
n people will stand this sort of thing fol
d ever: at present the Kingdom appears
y be kept up for the benefit of very seleC
u few.
In the northwest part of the city
J. Regents Park of nearly 800 acres, col
e tanning the Botanic and Geological Ga
dens, and this is a regular playground
= for people can go almost where the
q choose and with no ''keep off the grass
e signs. There are many small park
'e scattered over the city, besides th
Ie dozens of squares full of trees flower
d and grass.
a. Near the Abbey is the famous "Hors
10 Guards" at the entrance gate of whic
81 two mounted soldiers are always to /
p found, just under the gate, horse an
y man so mOtionless they seem as if carve
10 in stone. One OF the most magnifieeI
10 monuments in the world is the Abe
Is Memorial standing close to the street
!, the side of Hyde Park; it is l75 feet higl
ID and the carving and sculptures are ma
ne yellous. Directly opposite across Il
le street, is the great Albert Hall, whiC
n, seats 5000 people, and contains the lar
ID est organ in the world; it is circular
ne shape, and is grand structure every wa
IN Near the South KensingtOn Museum
re the Brompton Oratory, founded by 81
Dl late Cardinal Newman, and we look'
he into the church connected with IL, whe
q the previous week the funeral of h
e. Cardinal had been held: both building
n are queer in appearance, being built
re grey and white bricks.
ry One of the sights of London is d
great Tabernacle where Spurget
re breaches. over on the side of the Than
X away from all that part of the city
ye which we generally hear. A very lar
ne plain building, it is extremely well fit
ne for the use of such congregation as
ne ways greets Spurgeon at both service
ny Strangers are admitted by tickets, al
as soon as bell is rung at five minut
ne before service time, are atliberty TO Ia
We any vacant seats. The interior is ov
no ia shape, two great galleries running G
Oh tirely around the building. Spurge
stands on platform projected out fro
ng the first gallery, and behind him sit t
m deacons. just below the preaching pli
III form, raised above the floor, is a SIN
= platform for the occupancy of the dc
people in the church. Spurge
III H.