New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-06-12
IMPRESSIONS OF LONDON.
THE rOyEIIEsT COUNTRY AND THE
GREATEST TOWN IN THE WORLD
London, May %.

for MANY years. surprised me a day or two ago
bv congratulating upon being a newcomer
with fresh pair OF eyes Il envy any one" he
said 1.-THE high privilege Of making a first visit
In England Ones fret weeks in London are
never to be forgotten: but how soon they pass
and with them the supreme happiness Of earliest
,mpressions.' What he meant that the
high tension Of senslbility speedily relaxes and
London with its splendid antiquity infinite
variety and awc-.nspiring vastncss, becomes
familiar and prosaic. My friend convinced me
that there might be compensations for rawness
and nexperence. and that my earliest impress
sions Of the loveliest country and the greatest
town in the world might have some value
Nor am I deferred from trying what may he
a rash experiment by English comments upon
the opinions expressed by NJ Daudet. who has
been visiting London for the first time. and re-
cordng with characteristic dlscernment and
genius his impressions In Figaro" Cynical
critics have affected Amusement that so much
attention should be paid TO his reflections. He
Is a novelist not thinker" remarks The
Spectator" He has never been In England be-
fore and he does not know English. His con-
clusions. therefore on gloomy London have
but little value" Nevertheless. the Figaro
articles are reproduced III the London press, and
apparently are read with curiosity, If not with
keen appreciation. Indeed the least pretentious
visitor soon learns, when he meets Englishmen
that they are interested in what he has to say
abou; their metropolis and their country They
listen eagerly to what is said, although they
may be Indifferent TO what Is written about
them. especially in American journals. The old
time slur. who reads an American book? may
Re revised TO run: What EnGlishman ever
reads an American journal until he crosses the
Atantc?" 1t is for American readers alone.
for those who have visited England many times
and for those who are longing to London,
that have the hardhood TO offer the meagre
evidence Of fresh pair Of eyes.
Since one cannot come up to London without
a short journey from the coast the first word
must be about the loneliness of English rural
scenery. Whoever enters England at South
ampton, the most convenient gateway. seems to
be journeying all the way through a continuous
park planned by a landscape gardener who has
known the poetry Of his art. 1t is not necessary
to refer to the distant glimpse of the noble
cathedral Of Winchester. the picturesque villages
the thstched-roof cottages. the stately trees
the broad sweeps of level meadow. the winding
lanes the Towering hedges and other equally
familiar details. What is most remarkab bic in
this series Of enhancing rustic pictures is the
absence Of bemishes and flaws. There is moth
ing unsightly any turn. There are no black
ened stumps bleaching in the fields; there are
ugly fences falling out OF repair; no depres-
sions in the slopes Of the well-drained meadows.
and no signs Of disorder and lack Of tidiness In
the villages. There is the refinement Of land
scape art without traces Of neglect. careless
ness or lack Of harmony. No rural scenery can
be more beautiful than the English fields and
byways In May. when the pink bloom Is on the
chestnuts. the hawthorn is bursting into flower
and the meadows are lighted up with the golden
tints Of the iaburnum and innumerabe red and
white flowers. Nowhere flowers lovelier
and more delicate; nowhere are the trees more
shapely or the fields greener. Everywhere there
is sense of symmetry and repose that comes
from perfection CT detail. The English country
scenes are not in a transition stage with dsfg
urements TO be removed. The English country
is finished. Nothing remains TO he done in order
to perfect these pictures Of rural loveliness.
The same impressions are produced by the
magnificent pleasure grounds Of London and its
environs do not refer to the new parks COM
mons ard breathing places controlled by the
County Council and in process Of transforma-
ton. but to the old parks. and especially to Hyde
Park. Regents, Kew Gardens. Richmond and
Hampton Court. These. too, like the English
country. are finished. Where there be a
finer stroll than walk through Hyde Park
In the early forenoon or In the late after
noon, when the light is eoftly tempered and
the background is not too brilliant? Or
where there be lovelier drive than
that. from Kew TO Richmond, and thence
through Bushy Park TO Hampton Court? There
has been a long. disagreeable winter which has
impaired the most robust human constitutions
and rendered to depress the most buoyant
spirits: but Nature has not suffered from the
protracted frosts and sharp changes. The trees
are full and the verdure Of the woods and fields
is as vivid as ever; the oaks walnuts, beeches,
larches cedars and chestnuts show no signs OF
weakness or dryness; the azaleas are flaming
with splendor and over the hedgerows hangs
q glory OF pink and white; and fields powdered
with buttercups daisies and bluebes are free
from dust and delicate IN their freshness OF
tone The English love their trees and nowers'
and know how to group and mass them In
their parks they study the broadcast and most
restfu effects. and avoid business and pettiness
In details. There is an artistic sense OF trah-
ouillty and repose in their landscape art that is
lacking in American rural and suburban scenery.
Everything is finished. perfect ana harmonious
He must have indeed a dull soul who can
stand in westminster Aooey AL '"' N ~
or catch from the Thames his earliest glimpses
OF the dome Of st. Pauls and the Houses OF
parliament after a long walk from Hyde Park
% Iombard-ss. without being profoundly I'M
pressed with the vastness and stateliness OF Lon
don. It is modern London In transition stage
that he sees. OF old London comparatively
little remains, although what there Is OF II Is
either splendid In form or rich in precious asso-
Citations. There are stored spots In the busiest
quarters haunted by benignant ghosts FOR those
who have eyes to them but. the mooerh
town is now so incomparably great ana interest,"
ing az TO discourage historical "reminiscences
and sentimental Journeys for The iden''hcaoo"
Of famous sites. The visitor Is no" content ~
have antiquity massed Tor MIN IN inc '''."'
parable Abbey. the ancient churches. the re"
d-tme taverns and chophouses and the
Tower. and even In the last named spot his at
.or,,o, 4. d,stracted nv the splendid new brldge