Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1892-05-26
For the Ellsworth American.
Ranbles in Old England.


Leaves from my Log
Those days are Pheasant TO recall once
more. During several OF them had for
companion Capt. Austin Of the American
ship Robert Dixon" He is one of ma
lures uoblemen." and it Is pleasure to
live over again those hours In his society,
and TO hope that In our wandcrlugs We
may drift together again. Upon one OF
those lovely September days he and rode
part of the way By rail through the
beautiful county Of Kent, said to be one
of the finest cultivated countie. Of Eng
land
The Robert Dixon" wa. lying at the
town OF Greenhith, but we left the train
at Dartford. three miles from the ship.
think | will always be able to recall the
beauties of that pleasant walk The day
was such day is seldom seen so near
that smoky metropolis of the world The
light west breeze blew all imperfections OF
atmosphere into some other quarter, and
bright Sunshine lay over all this lovely
many groups Of farm laborers gathering
the different crops, more than half the
workers being women. II seems a. If no
other country possessed more Interesting
features ~ gardening than is seen in this,
where iiferent generations for more than
thousand years have been arranging,
improving, cultivating and combining the
useful and ornamental. In our pleasant
Walk We crossed numerous small stream.
running clear and bright over their pebby
bottoms. their sides walled long distances
with stone thst looked as II Ii was laid up
thousand years ago. The land is smooth
to the edge Of the wall, and stately trees
line its borders; their branches touching
overhead from each side the brook. form
| an avenue SO invtiugly cool that one won
ders that the little stream Is not full of
barefo footed children wading up this cool
green bower
Walking beneath those noble old trees
whose boughs interlace above our heads,
we cross streams on quaint little bridges,
pass through quiet villages where stood
small stone churches buried in wv and
surrounded on three sides with their yards
wherein stood headstones OF many de-
signs, representing many generations, and
al! the angles between horizontal and a
perpendicular. Some of these churches
are hundreds Of years old, being built of
small n yal l. aaI
an insane asylum containing i've thousand
nmates-people enough to make quite
town
A stranger is impressed here everywhere
with the massiveness Of all structures, not
massive in height as buildings, but massive
in the amount of material that is used in
the construction, as stone, brick, and iron,
in roadways, buildings, and bridges. 1t
seems as if there had been three objects
| kept In view, regardless of strength needed
| for the purpose. or for proportion. The
| objects seem to have been, first, to give
the producer of the material a chance to
furnish the greatest quantity possible; :;
second, To consume the grestest amount
| of time possible in its construction and
| thirdly, that the work should nerer need
reconstructing. All are no doubt good
objects in country that has so much to
| furnish, so many to feed, and so much
building to do.
The system of getting to railway sta
tions in England calls for vast amount
of building. Passengers are not allowed
to cross line OF rails anywhere In the
station. Ways either under ground are
built walled, arched, and lighted, or else
| pass above the line from side to side, and
in many cases different ways for each
track that comes into the station. The
city of London is honeycombed with
underground railways, vaclts, and sewers.
| The cost of construction below the sur
face within the limits of London, it seems
to me, when we take into consideration
the difference of expense between building
below ground and above, the miles and
miles of arches, and the foundations of the
the ground. the expense of the buried city
must nearly equal that which stands in the
| light of day.
The atmosphere of England is very
humid, and the air is full Of the blacklist
dust ever seen, from the millions of tons
of soft coal constantly on fire throughout
the kingdom. Bridges, walls and build
ings soon become crusted over with this
black SCOT, which, owing to the dampness
of the atmosphere, settles upon and clings
to everything built out doors; which In
short time has the appearance of having
stood for hundreds of years.
The tendrils of the beautiful ivy find
support in all this grimness and throws q
mantle of verdure over these old smoke
begrimed walls. and makes that which
| vould be under other conditions An un-
tidy picture. - thing of beauty and 1t
would be to me - Joy forever" to wander