Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-09-08
POINTS OF INTEREST IN LONDON.
[Contribu ted by Rev Churm. Letter No. f.


at Ketternig Junction, and from thence
made no stop until the train pulled up
alongside the platform of st. Prancras.
The trip from Derby to London is very
interesting, passing through quite a
number of manufacturing towns, and
a very fine tract of country. The
first stop was Loughborough a place of
H. 600 people, where an extensive trade
Angola hosiery, woolen and cotton
goods, elastic webs, net, lace, and shoes.
A run of twelve miles farther brought
the train to Leicester, the county town
of Leicestershire, situated on the right
bank of the Soar, the center Of a famous
agricultural and wool raising district.
The population numbers over hundred
thousand, and returns two members to
Parliament. I noticed here that in the
outlying portions of the town is a large
plat of land, laid out in cottagers' gar
dens, and in each garden spot, a house
was built for the purpose of slowing
away garden tools, and perhaps, in
some instances, vegetables. Those who
rent houses in the city and have no
garden attached to them, find this to be
a very convenient arrangement, thus
giving them houses and gardens at NOM
inal rents. The next point of interest
was Bedford, the Saxon name being
Bedcanford, (or town of the ford) situa
ted on the Ouse, which is navigable to
the sea, a distance of seventy-tive miles.
John Bunyan was born near Bedford,
he dreamed his immortal dream in the
jail here, and ministered to the Baptist
congregation in Mill Lane from 1871 to
his death in 1858. The inhabitants still
hold his memory in deep veneration,
and some relics of him are preserved.
bronze statue of him was erected by
the Duke of Bedford in 1874, and a
| handsome new building, Italian in style,
was erected in 1867 and called Bunyan
schools.
London, the capital of the British
Empire and thc largest city of the
world, stands on both banks of the
Thames. Under the names of Londin-
ium and Augusta, it was one of the
chief stations of the Romans in Britain
They encircled portion of what is now
| the city with a wall, which was rebuilt
and extended in later ages. In Slows
| time the remains of the Norman or
Anglo-Norman wall were about rods
in extent from the Thames at the Tower
to the Thames at Blackfriars. The
great fire of 1866, and continual recon-
structions since then have nearly oblit-
Grated all traces of the old wall. The
seven gates which pierced it are entirely
gone, Temple Bar being merely one of
| the outer bars or suburban gates. 1t is
almost impossible to say what is the
| size of London, because there is no
| boundary wall, nor any definite number
of surrounding villages and parishes
included within it. London, without
the walls, comprises 230 acres and with
| in the walls $40 acres; then we have
such places as Westminster Borough of
| Southwork, the Tower Hamlets, etc.,
which are cities in themselves For
parliamentary purposes London consti-
tutes ten boroughs, and for poor law
| purposes it is divided into 40 unions
| Among the buildings in London belong
ing to the Crown and nation, the follow
ing are the principal James Palace
Buckingham Palace. Marlborough house
kensington Palace, Houses of Parlia-
| ment, Westminster Hall, and Somerset
House. The city is we'll supplied with
| churches, there being over one
thousand places of worship. st. Pauls
is the cathedral of the diocese, situated
at the east end Of Ludgate Hill, ex-
tending to Cheapside; Westminster
Abbey comes next, while st. Saviours in
Southwork occupys the third place of
Importance is the Church of England.
The largest dissenting church is the
Metropolitan Tabernacle in Nevingston
Butts; as | entered this building which
will seat 5000 people or more, and
|
the pastorate of Rev. C. H. Spurgeon
were 1000, | almost fancied | was stand
ing on holy ground, and it was holy
ground, for there many hundreds of
souls had been converted, and signifed
the inward spiritual grace by the out
ward visible sign of baptism. DR..
Pierson, of Philadelphia, had just
returned home, while there he was all
heart, and though Presbyterian. these
Baptists in this large Baptist tabernacle
did not hesitate to invite him to be the
successor of their much lamented
pastor, Rev. c. II. Spurgeon. Water
was running into the baptistry, for
preparations were being made for a
service that evening, at which the
ordinance of baptism was to be admin
istered, the preacher being Rev. Thos.
Spurgeon, of Australia, twin son of
the Rev. c. III. Spurgeon. | asked per-
mission to go through the college and
this was granted; this building is close
to the Tabernacle, is we'll fitted up, and
divided into rooms for students, with
appropriate rooms for recitation, and
public services, and conferential meet
ings. From this college, young men
have gone to all parts of the globe to
proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom.
Perhaps l took peculiar view of
matters, and instead of running to see
l