The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-08-16
ON THE RIVER THAMES.
THE COcKNEY PENN'ORTH TRIP
ON TaE GREAT RIVER.

III 1FDDuOu bUdn Tie GlNSE 6JeaInOOAGS winch
ply from point to point along the Thames.
There is no Distinguishing of classes, no
respecting OF persons on board these floating
omnibuses; the sole passe partout is the
possession of the modest British medallion of
the queen in copper, value just two Ameri-
can cents. All sorts and conditions of hui
manity patronize the penny steamboats,,
from peers of the realm to newsboys and
street arabs As our craft moves away into
the stream observe that portly laundress
with a bundle elbows a merchant prince
from Mincing lane on my right, while on
my left hand chimney sweep sits cheek by
jowl with colonial bishop.
MINsTRELS SINGING PIT-A-PAT.
Nor is there lack of artistic talent on
board this latter-day Noah's ark. A trio Of
sable serenaders are singing at the top of
their voices a pit-a-pat "nigger" ditty to
the huge enjoyment of a most appreciative
audience. These enterprising bands 80 Wig
orously stunning a banjo, humping a
tambourine and rafting the bones, while
| the man with the tin whistle-who is APP
parently the leader of the orchestra-is in
| dustriously cruising after coppers, are the
| most jovial souls imaginable. They are
not ebony-hued Ethopians, but natives of
burnt cork-one fellows carrotty locks
show plainly beneath a wig about three
| sizes too small for his builet-shaped Uranium.
| Very keen in their appreciation of the
vocal instrumentalists are a pair of inter-
esting looking lovers reclining against the
| rail Of the steamer with their backs to the
water The arm of the loudly dressed
swain encircles the waist of his charmer,
| and from time to time AIRY whispers hon.
| eyed words into the ears of his 'Arriet and
now and then kisses her boisterously, OBJ
| livious to the presence of such motley
crowd of spectators The steamboat pat
rons, beyond an occasional smile of amuse-
ment, take little notice of these almost
| hourly occurrences during these penny
water trips on the placid bosom Of old
| Father Thames.
VERY MUSICAL PAIR.
| A "coster" and his girl are singing up
| roariously in the stern of the little vessel
| The itinerant merchant of vegetables has
| left his cart and donkey at home and il off
/ to have two coppers' worth of amusement
| with the only maid he ever loved. To
| cement the alliance the "coster' has the hat
| of his sweetheart stuck rakishly on his head,
while she wears his derby hat, which, being
| a couple Of sizes too big, threatens to blind
| fold her.
The ostrich plumes on the girls hat are
alone worth S25, but the decoration has
been hired for the occasion from one
Michael, a Hebrew of Hunsditch. This
hiring of hats to ''coster" girls is a lucra-
tive business at the east end, as no White
chapel Hebe would go on any excursion
without an imposing headpiece.
! THE PEER COULDN'T STAND IT.
The MISUNDERSTANDING stranger who
rather hurriedly got on board at Charing
Cross appears to be dresdfully bored TO
find himself jostled so unceremoniously by
| the vulgar trades-people, and target for
the loud and sarcastic jibes of AIRY and his
noisy friend, the ''coster." The trial is too
great for the fastidious tastes of the
adventurous peer of the realm, who beats a
| retreat at the next stopping place.
Hurry up there with that gangway u
bawls the captain from the bridge as he
gives vigorous spin to the wheel and kicks
| the bell vigorously with his heel. "The
| crew." solitary longshoreman, obeys with
alacrity, and drags the fender on board as
the vessel backs off from the pier and
plunges away at full speed.
! SCENES ALONG THE ROUTE.
The charming bits of scenery along the
route seem to be utterly lost upon the bulk
| OF the voyageurs, who gaze hstlessly at the
splendid architecture of the houses of par
| lament, while the great clock, "Big Ben, u
| clangs forth the hour as it towers above
| New Scotland Yard, Charing Cross station
and the other huge buildings astern.
Passing beneath the lofty arches of Wa
terloo bridge the patrons of the penny
steamboat get a splendid view of the rear
of the government taxing offices in Somer-
set house and the embankment upon which
stands Cleopatra's needle The huge build
| ing of gray stone stands forth against the
| blue summer sky, which sharply and clearly
defines the outlines of the architecture and
maize of roofs and spires stretching away
beneath the cloud of smoke in the back.
ground.
LIFE is CALM AND RESTFUL.
The beautiful gardens at the rear of the
Temple are looking their best Just now. but
| the groups of people who rest themselves
| and enjoy the sunshine give a languid,
| dreamy aspect to the picture, in marked
| contrast with the restless, almost feverish
| activity to be found elsewhere. The bright
costumes of the tennis players give the
needed coioring to one of the most pict-
uresque bits of scenery on the route
CHURNING THE BLACK THAMES.
| As the paddles of our steamer churn I'D
the black waters of the Thames into white
| foam, the wash spreads out astern like a
fan, and rolling along with billowy mo-
ton from shore to shore sends couple of
grimy stevedores. who are padding dingy
to the ferry steps from huge barge an
| chored in midstream, bobbing up and down
| like corks. Farther down we seem to be in
| imminent danger Of running into huge
empty coal barge which a waterman is tug
| Ring by slow strokes with an enormous pair
of sweeps into the center of the river in or
der that the lumbering-looking craft NAV
float down with the fast ebbing tide.
AS THE CAPTAIN TURNS THE WHEEL.
The captain on the bridge, however.
gives another spin to the wheel and a ring
| ing stroke of his hobnailed boot on the bell.
and our steamer, turning like a duck,
passes astern. "Steam must give way to
everything" is the rule of the road on the
Thames as well as on the high seas.
UNDER BLACKFRIARs BRIDGE.
After one or two further stops we pillow
our way beneath the dark arches of Black
friars bridge, from which point is obtained
one of the finest views of the giant dome OF
| st. Paul's cathedral, which looms up against
the sky high above the roofs of the sur.
rounding stores and warehouses of the city
and wharves.
THE FAMOUS RAILWAY STATION.
On speeds our steamer toward the won
derful Cannon street station, where more
trains arrive and depart-on two tracks
only-during single day than are handled
| in all the other stations together. Under
| the bridge we 60, and we are now nearing
the end of our journey and we see the great
volume of vehicuIar traffic entering and
leaving the city over the lofty stone arches
Of London bridge
| THE FOREST OF SHIPPING.
From this point the excureionists oct a