The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-08-22
AMERICANS IN LONDON.
Thousands Of Tourists Thronging
the English Capital
What an American Secs In His Trips
About the Great City-lt Il Easy
to Distinguish the People
from This Side.

The world will surely turn upside
down if the English begin to change
their ways. It looks as if this were go
ing to happen. They are showing an
intelligent acquaintance with our ge-
ography and our public men, for. one
unheard-of thing. The prince of Wales
has had electric lights put in his town
house; the suffocating, sulphurous I'M
foreground railway is experimenting
with electric motors, and the newspa-
pers are printing pictures. Vestibuled
trains with saloon cars are appearing on
therailways and the theaters are begin
ming to give away programmes to the
audiences. But the most surprising,
rock-shivering revolution makes the
latest news of the week-the city ner-
chants have formally agreed to let their
clerks wear straw hats. 1t has been as
hot as Chicago during a national con-
vention, go something had to be done
for the clerks, but who would have
dreamed that the traditional dress Of
tens of thousands of clerks who have
gone about sweltering in their hats was
thus suddenly to be changed? 1t prob
ably has taken ever since the French
revolution for them to get their high
hats and no one supposed they would
lose them inside of another century.
This change makes it bothersene for
me to pick out the Americans in the
streets. For weeks l have been riding
about on the tops of buses (the chariots
of the masses) and picking out Amer
leans by their derby hats and straw
tiles. Fancy my surprise, then, when
1 see on the Strand my cigar counter
clerk in a straw hat, and Bob Fitzsim-
mons, the champion of the world, in
silk tile. By the way, 1 stepped down
from my chariot when 1 saw the pugi-
list and said: Hello. are you over here
to fght?" NO." said he, and his an
swer was suen as Alexander might have
made when he had rounded up the
world. There's nobody here to fight.
/ can stop them all is four rounds"
There are about 5000 of US here. and
part of this huge burg has become al
most home1ike in consequence. West
minister Ashley is as American resortas
the Fifth Avenue hotel, and you could
not 90 amiss in ST. Paul's or the Tower
if you went up to the first man or wom-
an in tho crowd and said: "Hurrah
for Old Glery!"
Some Of tho American men who come
here are q terror to their countrymen.
They seem to have had enough money
to get here with, and, once here, they
borrow to get back. They catch US who
are rooted here and cannot get away.
novelist, got card from a hard-up the
other day, and asked him in. The Wis
itor began TO tell him how much he adj
mired the novelist's work, how he had
read every line he had ever written and
there the novelist stopped him. "See
here" said he, you have run short of
money and are 1900 miles from
home, and want slight favor Of
u - and so forth, and 50 forth. I
understand; you needn't say a word.
Now. don't you think you are
wasting your time with me? Lam only
a novelist, and have family. could
not possibly loan you more than five
shillingA but If you would go to Astor
and spend the san,e time and honey
on him, telling him how fond you are
of his books, he could give you hun.
dred dollars"
The visitor rose to his feet. "You are
q brick" said he. THANK you very
much. I'll 60 and see Aston at once"
There is another way Of telling Amer
leans without looking at their hats. II
Is by their quick, alert, nervous move
ments. their bright, wids-awal1e faces
and their conscious Independence and
pride. You thought was going to say
by their speech, but that is not so. The
sharp. nasal speech that the English
ascribe to us is only the heritage Of a
few Of US. and we got it from the Eng
lish. Down in Cornwall and up in
Yorkshire they have the sane sharp
"a" that we use. Here in London the
cockneys all say "caow," and "raound,"
and "naow." Just as our Philadelphians
and some Yankees do No; there is no
sense in that old gibe about our
speech. We got it from these FOLKS, and
we left it here besides.-N. Y. Journal.