Omaha daily bee., 1895-10-13
WANDERING IN LONDON.
The Traveller Becomes Humble md
His Pride LeRNes Him.

His Pride Leaves Him.
London is like the melancholy and silent
workman who displeases on first acquain-
lance, but gains on being known. In the
bar cafes of Leicester square, says a corre-
s%pondent of the New York Sun, you will
hear Italians, French and even Germans ours
ing the great town from out the bottom Of
their indignation.
They are all brutes here!"
THE military set the worst example!"
"The police are half drunk"
They cook their vegetables in water!"
There are too many children!'
A the streets are ugly!"
There is no pleasure except in the thea
ters!"
THE rich are insolentw
The cafes are only drinking dens!"
Nobody is OF any account"
Perhaps this last remark touches the truth
the most intimately. Nobody Is of aIfy ac-
count. The stranger has scarcely set his
foot down in this monster city than his per-
sonal value undergoes a depreciation Of 100
per cent. He feels inferior to a pauper idiot.
He becomes humble, his pride leaves him.
And l fancy the principal reason American
tourists are not heard oftener to give ex-
preston to this state of soul is, first per-
haps), because they are accustomed to the
same abomination Of desolation in some OF
their own great cities, but, secondly, be-
cause they speak the language, and, more i'm
portant still, have regularly just landed.
Everything old world is new to them; money
Is Qor the first few weeks Of small account,
and they are content to be hauled about and
see in the most formal way.
1t may be set down as a rule that It Is
safer to go about London drunk than sober.
The Inhabitants Of that city are, in this re-
spect, like the North American Indians, who
regard an imbecile as one touched by the
finger of God and sacred.
To be lost In London is to be walking I'm
and down a series OF streets seeking a place
to sit down. You will see a great many ON
nibusses plastered with little advertising
signs. You will see about 75, 900 nice looking,
we'll behaved children running loose, the ma
jority Of them selling flowers or matches.
You will see interminable rows of shops, their
show windows invariably messy looking and
badly arranged. There are an equal number
OF public houses, seeming the streets with
the aroma Of stale beer. There are great
numbers Of cabs. great numbers of people
walking quickly. a steady roar Of traffic, more
terrifying than the Punch and Judy noises of
the Paris streets. Every ten minutes thsre
is an oasis of rest and pleasure in listening
to a piano organ captained by an Italian and
frequently drawn by a handsome little donkey
evidence OF the poor exile's dawning pros
perity. Around the plano organ there is q
cleared space and little girls dance to the
music. In this dancing they copy, accurately
enough, the ballet @ prancings of the EN-
pire, the Alhambra and the Christmas panto-
mines. They are pretty faced children, and
1t is nice to see them Hopping about, only II
seems improper that they should be running
streets.
Or there will be a crowd around two boys
having a good old fist fight. As long as
everything goes fair and the boys are decently
matched, even the police will stand by be,
nignantly. l have seen this. Eve heavy
men OF the lower class were fighting on .
street Just off the Strand. One had a con.
siderable grievance against the other, who
according to the crowd, was quite in tn,
wrong. A policeman separated them, but tn,
injured man pleaded:
Just let me sock him once frst!'
WELL" said the policeman, "go on ant
sock him once and then clear out!'
l suppose all this Is Interesting, but II II
not complete. artistic. calm. we'll ordered, o.
gay, according to the continental standard.
Everywhere there are stress and contrast
and in sufficient quantity to overweight tina
balance Of harmony inside and out which w
call decent, reason-guided pleasure. LondoI
is too big, too heavy, too rich. too poor, too
hurried. shapeless. and irresponsible. Paris Il
a baby to II. With its populationsof 5000, 900
its gigantic streets, Its narrow alleys, It's low
dens, Its palaces, its dark corners. its riel
open squares. its underground railways. III
overhead trafic. its Incredible lavishness anC
its shocking lack. its debauches and It's rigor
ism. the town offers a spectacle Of contrast