The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1890-10-04
SCENES IN LONDON.f
PHASES OF LIFE IN THE ENGLISH
METROPOLIS IN 1890.

Although containing within the bills
of mortality perhaps $4,000 inhabitants,
the English metropolis a century ago was
a huge community, and the city was busy
at its center and in its main thorough
fares. London in 1890 did not extend
more than a mile north and south of st.
Paul's, The houses and gardens at
Hoxton pushed out a little further to the
north, and to the south High street,
Southwark, continued through Black
man street to the village of Newington
Butts, with line of houses reaching to
Remington Common. To the east
saving a fringe of houses on both sides
of the Thames, the town ended at Mile
end gate; to the west it was bounded by
the parks
The southern portion of the metropo-
lis was even less overbuilt, and more
space was filled with gardens, Besides
the bridges, the river was crossed by
numerous ferries, and there were no
docks but the Commercial; the pool was
crowded with shipping, and its wharves
were busy enough. London bridge, it
was calculated, was daily crossed by
some 10, 600 persons, and the stream of
life flowed east and west. We remem-
Der the saying of DR.. johnson. "Why,
sir, Fleet street has very animated APP
pearance, but the tide of existence is at
1 Charing Cross"
The west end of London was well
built, but the old parts of the city were
dingy, close and decaying. The general
condition of London, indeed, was inn
proving, since the excess of deaths over
! births, which had been 10,995 in 1860,
and j,519 in 1910, fell in 1890 to 1908.
That was still bad, but as set off Lon
doners in 1890 had ready access to the
country by every road through the rural
! environs. East-enders flocked to Cam
bridge Heath or Bow Common, West
enders to Hyde park or along the river
at Millbank, while to the south lay Ken
nington and Camberwell, and to the
north Islington--long the most noted
popular resort of holiday pleasure.
| FEATURES OF THE OLD CITY.
In 1890 Islington was full of tea gar
1 dens, bowling alleys and suburban tav-
erns; the mere list of their names sug-
| gests perpetual fair more or less noisy,
according to the character of the com
pany, and especially crowded on Sunday
afternoons, when there was great con.
sumption of buns and beer. On Sunday
mornings the favorite promenade was in
Hyde park, where the fashions in vogue
might be seen; but the place for a show
of London society was the Mall in St
James park. The costumes of gentle
men were often brilliant, and on fine
day the coats, of gay colors, the scarlet
waistcoats and the bright attire of the
ladies, all standing out against leafy
background, with a peep Of "Queen's
house" in the distance, might have de
lighted lover of picturesque grouping
Only few months had passed away
since King George III had recovered
from his sad malady, and the cloud still
hung over a court which at its best was
never very lively. However, in January
1890, there was an effort to restore the
aspect of magnificence. The royal dukes
and the aristocracy arrived in coaches
Surprising" so said the newspapers
"anything of the kind ever SEEM" while
those exalted personages We're clad IL
rich velvet, embroidered with gold, sill
yer and spangles. The public went tC
gaze on their glory; but either the peo
pie looked somewhat unsympathetic OIL
the officer was peculiarly suspicious, foi
the soldiers who surrounded the palace
suddenly backed their horses among the
, crowd, so as to cause a crush and panic
The season advanced, summer came, anG
ON June II grand patriotic military
spectacle was got up at the Royal circus
The death of Gen. Wolfe at Quebec wa.
represented, with the scenery of the
falls of Niagara and the falls of Mont
morenci, tableaux of the French arm,
and the Indian warriors, concluding
with Gen. Wolfe expiring in the arm
of Victory.
/ SPECTACULAR ENTERTAINMENTS.
On July II a new piece was brought
Out called "The Triumph of Liberty; or
. The Destruction of the Bastille," whicl
apparently proved more successful, fol
on Aug, o Astley's came out with "Tht
ConfederatioA at the Champ de Mars,
in which an attempt was made to repro
duce the pomps of the recent grand polit
ical ceremony in Paris. At the other enc
of the town the much frequented theatre
at Sadler's Wells produced spectacle O.
the same subject, calling it 1.-THE ChamI
de Mars; or, Loyal Federation, ," in which
r the whole affair was set forth in a series
. ! of tableauX, beginning with the activity
! of the citizens in preparing the ground
their joyous loyalty shown at the visit o.
the king, and ''the striking and orderly
manner in which the great business oi
+ the day was conducted Finally tn,
Royal circus, having led the way, wa,
not to be outdone, but again entered the
lists with this popular subject, emitting
1t "The French Jubilee" and made
> few striking points omitted by the othel
theatres.
A feature characteristic of 1890 was
the performance of these spectacles of the
contemporary revolutionary incidents
+ put ON the stage to crafty public feeling
(which had more serious exponents. There
was a society in London deriving il,
} name from the revolution of 1893, OF
which the Rev. DIR. Price, the minister
Of highly respectable Presbyterian con
gregation at Stoke-Newington, and tht
Earl of Stanhope, a brother-in-law of Mr.
Pitt and a distinguished man OF science
We're leaders, and they were jointly re
sponsible for congratulatory address tC
the national assembly in Paris. Thii
occasioned the writing Of Burke's "Re
factions ON the French Revolution. -
b London Graphic.
why Crabs and Lobsters Are Red.
2 The shell of the crab and lobster owe
e its BLUSH gray color 10 the superpositiol