The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-12-18
WAKEMANS WANDERINGS.
CARLYLE's CHELSEA HOME AND
ROUNDABOUT.
An Ancient London suburb RepIete With
men, Noveiists, Poets and Painters.
Copyright. 1897. by Edgar l.. wakeman.

LONDON, NOV. IA BOOu, sweet pDvh
could be written about the folk who have
loved and known old Chelsea. whom we
have known and loved for what they did
for the world.
Many years ago | saw one OF these folk
on London bus and haGA good hours
study Of him as n curious character with
out knowing who he was He first at
tractcd my attention by his generally di-
sheyced and thrown 'ogcther appearance.
When he entered the bus lie held a copy
Of the London Times in one hand and
dragged a very old bit Of 4 travelling rug
in the other lie slapped the latter over
his knees as he sat down, glared at the
passengers sayagcly, ard Immediately
closed his eyes and began n peculiar mo-
ton Of his mouth that seemed like a nery-
Gus chewing Of his neither lip.
lie was a scraggy and it then seemed to
me an III kempt man, out Of sorts with all
the world. I mentally endeayored to place
him. Perhaps he is some one of those
secdy old clerks so wOndrously pictured by
Dickens, thought l. lie may be "a misery
old bachelor Tho daily tumbles ont Of his
lodgings and Ento his work and then back
again, never knowing chanSS sleeping in
his clothing, mummied 10 everything on
earth but his ledgers and his desk. If he
have a wife and family, he cuffs the chill
dren, warns the cook, abuses the house
maid and blows up his wife before leav-
ing his habitation, and this particular
morning he has made them understand
who is master with greater vehemence
than usual
Pretty soon he seemed to awake with
start, glared again at his fellow passes
gengers, and giving his bony knees q Vi
cious twist away from proximity 10 al
elderly fat woman who sat beside him.
plunged into his paper as though he haC
80 far overlooked his duty Of discovering
capturing and furnishing some sort of sedi-
ton within. Sure enough 10 was there.
lie scanned tue editorial page moment,
smashed the paper together with his
knuckly hands, dropped it upon the bus
floor, and paving 10 back beneath his feet
for some time gave it nervous kind Of
pounding which plainly told hiSecntiments
for the balderdash he had discovered.
Then he fell to chewing again, with hl3
eyes quite closed, and shortly awOke with
start, TO luuge toward the door and
sOundly bcrate the conductor for carrylnS
him past his destination. | could not hear
all Of this scolding, but it brought traffic
on the Strand to standstill, and then the
scraggy, hairy, tum5led up, loose jointed
old man disappeared among the cabs and
buses, tangible, irasoble Alteration
with a Scotch dialect, prompting from
drivers as he passed the choicest black
guard quips and quirks that roll from Lon
don drivers ready tongues
The incident left a smile on nearly every
face in the omnibus. a pleasant faced man
sitting beside me, noticing my look OF in
uuiry, and rightly Judging my nationality,
kindly solved the mystery. My dear sir, y
he said with almost an air Of pride, hes a
brave literary man. that. He wasn't born
in England, but he's the biggest man in it.
When you get back to America you can
tell the Yankees you've seen old Thomas
Carlyle"
never saw him again. But the London
incident Of long ago made me student OF
Carlyle-one Of the most difficult tasks Of
my life, and from much reading after the
sturdy old barrator in philosophy and re-
ligion, many pilgrimages to his birth and
burial place up there in dreary Eccle-
fechan, and to other British localities which
his strange personality and genius made
something Ike shrines, | have come TO
love his memory, and specially to have an
affection for the place where for half u life
time lie struggled, contended, rallied, as
saulted, defended, suffered and repcHted
in his humble and imperial, niggardly and
noble career.
That place is Chelsea. 1t is London now.
You cannot find a break in all the great
mas~rs OF solo structures from the densest
part Of the borough out to old Chelsea and
for many miles beyond. Yet the Chelsea
region is still most charmingly distinct.
You know insensibly when you come to it.
You feel, without being told, that you
have crossed its boundaries on leaving it.
Without participating IN its memories,
knowing none Of its history, if you were
set down within it, its lovely, leafy, SOM
nolent air has the very spirit and hush OF
lingering noble prcsences.
in the very heart of this pleasantest Of
all London outer districts Thomas and
Jane " elsh Carlyle literally battled along
together from the l0Ch day OF October, 1884,
until Mrs. Carlyle's sad and strange death
in her brougham in Hyde Park in April,
1866. The lonely old soul that was left re-
manned, rather than lived, in the same
house to the end, in 1881. And | somehow
believe that the fCTty-seven years staying
Of the sage Of Ecclcfcchan in NO. Great
Cheyne Row has thrown more OF poetic
glamour over old Chelsea than all the other
famous and great who have come and tar
ried ana gone.
Materially Sir Thomas More originally
made Chelsea. Carlyle rounds out its fame
Vast fields Of history and romance lie dc
tween. This pore house i'll Chelchitb, -
as the ancient records speak Of the home d
Sir Thomas More, was not 50 humble D
habitation after all. 1t had great porch,
many fine windows, dozens OF gables, a
pretty tower, splendid gardens for the
time, and besides housing the happieSt
family living in England in the Sixteenth
century was 30 attractive il place, though
then far away from London that Queen
Mary was moved 10 purchase II, the gar
rulous Erasmus found it a hOspitable re-
treat. and King Henry VIII often came up
the Thames in his royal barge 10 debark
and stroll to this first old Chelsea mansion,
with his arm lovingly around the neck Of
More, which his headman's AK severed one
July morning little later on.
Lying along the northern bank OF the
Thames, TO the west Of the city, Chelsea
proper may be said TO begin on the east at
the famous Chelsea Hospital for British
pensioners. The magnificent Thames EN-
bankment forms the shore edge here and
near the Botanic gardens becomes Cheyne
Walk, which continues a mile or so 10 Bat
tersea Bridge. In this two or three miles