The Lafayette gazette., 1894-05-26
BUSIEST STREET IN THE WORLD.

BUSIEST STREET IN THE WORLD.
Cbe.p.,de. LondSn. . Short Thorouxhfars.
sIe-~~ With Oddly Observation-Disclosures
Cheapside is the busiest street in the
weeld- 1t is notA9ng; it is not beauti-
tnlS It is not the resort of the fashiona-
biz. It Us a business thoroughfarc
from first to last, and it has more his
tory crammed into its short stretch
than other great thorough fares have
in their combined long ones. Cheap
side not being at the side of any thing
insthe present era, but at the heart of
al things being in the heart of Lon
don. haa51 very important place in
civic affairs 1t is what they call IAN
artery of traffic." asplalted into the
bargain, and affording ingress and exit
as between the city and the regions
wes&s-lf it has Il quarter of a mile to
itssength it has as much as it can lcgiti-
ma te1H Hllairn, and evsDpthat includes a
-liSe4 SssSf1ct at tie -Aa1kaxn end called
the "Poultry," a title which signifies a
local purpose in the picturesque past.
/: Cheapside has at one end the Poultry,
but this need not be- counted as a sepa-
rate entity. And at the Poultry end is
the Mansion House, where the lord
mayor lives in gold-lace state. Cheap
side bumps into Threadneedle street up
to the steps of the Royal exchange
and against the walls of the Bank of
Observation-Disclosures which are both
useful and ornamental. At the other
end of Chea pside there is q statue of
Sir Robert Peel. But half the people
who pass there every day do not know
whose sta tue it is. Shops, shops,
shops, insurance companies, great rner-
cant tile houses, restaurants, a church
Dick Whittington's. that is to say,
Bow church, where the bells
still tingle-these are the station
ary ingredients of Cheapsidc. Omni-
buses, human beings, cabs and carriers
vans are the nova BILE ones. Cheapside
is like the channel of tidal river: at
one time of the day the current sets in
one direction and at another time it
GIBBS to the opposite course.
The street has many funny little
tributaries, with funny little names.
Broad street, Friday street, Ironmon-
ger lane and the Old .Jewry being
some of these, narrow passages where,
in days more primitive than our own.
neighbors leaned out of the windows
and shook hands across the street.
while from the pavement they could
scarcely have seen the sky, SO closely
did the overhanging stories approach
to the roofs thereof But there arc no
adjacent tributaries. The buildings
are all for business purposes only: tho
old vogue of overhang has been
long dispensed with, and u sprighily
modern air is worn by the com
mercial architecture. One kind of
abundance than any other place on
the whirling footstool-jewelry. 1t
may not be the most sumptuo,ls jewel
ry ever made, it may not compare
with the golden filigree work of Ia
mara, but it is jewclry, nevertheless.
and of good sort for the moderate
classes. And there is SO much of it
that it overflo1vs the contracted en-
poriums and flows in cascades and
Niagaras of watchchains, necklaces,
fantastic guards behind the plate glass
win lows. 1T seems to be Il trick of
.Cheapside's shops to display all their
Treasures to the preoccupied eyes Of
those who here march in legends along
the pavement. They pour their wares
into their windows with reckless pro-
fusion. Cheapside should enchant
those western gentlemen who believe
tions. For the jewelry OF Cheap
side is mainly silver jcwelry,
and the radiance of the WIN
dows is the white radiance
which furnishes with such haplcss
suit in the London fog. They lad
pleasant way. five Or six centuries ago,
of observing public festivals by open
ing wine in the streets When son
was born to King Edward II. wire ran
in Chcapside, and there was nothing
else to drink. TunS of it were dis
tributed and all the passers-by were
hailed to come and help themselves.
Those cheerful practices could not be
attempted in these prosaic times. Is it
that our human nature has progressed
so far that it not safely indulge
itself in this style of holiday: If you
opened tun of wine in Cheapsidc
nowadays you would have to call the
military within half an hour after
moving the bung.
Cheaps is best seen between eight
and ten in the morning or between
five and seven in the afternoon; either
when everybody is coming to or going
from his occupa tion. But all day long
the street is crowded from end to end,
SO crowded that yo1l can not any
where cross it in safety except at the
points where consta bleS are stationed
to regulate the traf1ic.-Bo ston Herald.
Value of Twin Scr
The great value of twin screws
apart from the Increased speed which
they give, was shown in the case of
the steamship Paris, belonging to
the American Navigation Co. AL
though the rudder of the Paris was
broken, she remained under control
aud, by the use of her twin screws
was turned about and returned to
port. Such accidents are relatively
rare, but when they occur it is usually
in rough weather, when steering gear
is most needed. The ships with twin