The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-04-07

Portland Street. It is very nice place
belonging to the Young Woman's Chris
tian Association, and the very thing for
girls going to that great city without any
one to meet them.
London frightened me. 1t is so i'm
mense-has so many short, narrow, wind
ing streets. It is not only easy to get lost,
but it is next TO impossible to find your
wsy about. The impression it left on me
was of giant, black whirlpool, where
one might be sucked into the undercur-
rent and disappear forever. But for all
that there are splendid things to be seen
in London. Our first view of the square,
grey towers of Westminster Abbey gave
us feeling of awe and at the same time
of pleasure, which can only be felt, not
described. And inside, that dim, myste-
rious light, falling through windows on
which the dust of ages had accumulated,
on the solemn, majestic figures of kings
and queens, lying side by side their arms
folded peacefully on their breasts! 1t was
indeed awful. But in many places the
Abbey is disfgured by immense monu-
ments of the eighteenth century. They
block out the light, ruin the perspective
and commemorate nobody IN particular.
The Poets Corner is the most interesting
cans" are very proud Of the post OF honor
accorded our poets.
We attended service on Sunday at st.
Paurs Cathedral, and the music was per-
fectly grand. But the best sacred music
have heard was at the Oratory, Ro-
man Catholic Church in London. We
spent some time in the great city visiting
the Kensington and British Museums,
the National Gallery and all the picture
galleries we could find. We stood on
London Bridge and watched the dark wa
ter of the Thames flow downward to the
sea, and we thought of Little Nell and OF
Lizzie Hexam. We passed over great
deal of the ground i'm mortalized by Dick
ems.
Of course we went to the Tower of Lon
don, and, among other curiosities, saw
the crowns worn by English sovereigns
on different occasions. The one used at
the coronation is simple iron Crowd,
and there are many more elaborate and
plittering with Jewels. We saw at West
minister the throne on which the sover-
eigns of England are always seated when
crowned. It is q clumsy looking arm
chair, and the seat Of it is rough stone,
said to be the one on which Jacob dream
ed of the ladder of light with angels as
Icending and descending. We don't
know how much truth there is in that ira
dition.
During our last days in London we be-
came very impatient for the time to come
when we could settle down and get to
painting. We hadn't seen inside Of our
trunks since leaving America. So on the
fifth of October we went on board the
steamer which crosses from New Haven
to Dieppe in four hours. We spent the
most miserable time Of our lives on the
English Channel, and would now rath'
or cross the Atlantic five times than the
Channel once. i wish I could 60 around
some other way when 60 home!
Just imagine landing in Paris at 10
o'clock at night, not able to tell what you
want nor where you want to go. We were
in that extremity, but luckily we met a
boy who spoke English and we were GER
tainly glad to hear that good, honest Ian
guage again. And the French always
look excited, gesticulate, throwing them
selves around and almost tear their hair,
so when they are in hurry we are apt
to think they are on the verge of an ex-
piosion of some description. was glad
to get into a cab with our trunks and bags
on top and hurry off out of their way.
Fortunately rooms had been engaged
beforehand or we should have had time
of it, for the Car and Empress Of Russia
were in Paris, and every hotel and board
ing house was packed with people wild
to see ROYALTY. And Paris that night was
lust like fairy-land. Millions of electric
lights were festooned all along the
Champs Elysees and the gardens of the
Tuilleries. All the trees were coyered
with paper flowers, and every statue dec
Grated with flags of Russia and France.
The very next day We saw the Car and
Empress in carriage with the President
of France, pass along Boulevard Mont
parnasse at the head of procession OF
soldiers, French and Russian. The EN- :
press was dressed in lilac satin and a
white chip hat covered with lilacs. She
bowed right and left, but the Car sat up
beside her looking awful mad. sup
pose the poor man had been feested and
entertained almost to death. The French
people who crowded the sides of the
Boulevard did not seem very enthusias-
tic over Royalty. There was once just a
faint cheer, which i'm ediately died away.
They have had enough of Kings. And
yet many people think that France will
be an Empire again.
Since we have been in Paris we have
displayed an amount of energy and "get
along" which is surprising to people who
know we are Southerners. They tell US
that when we Southerners 60 into any
thing thoroughly VIC come out ahead Of
Yankee grit We thought we knew a lot
of French when we left home, and we
could read it very well, but when we
heard these French people rattle it Oft at
the rate of q mile minute, it sounded
yerv different from the French we heard
at school.
We had not been in Paris ten minutes
before we heard one word which has since
become very, very familiar. I believe
now have heard it oftener than any 9TH
or word I ever heard in MY life. Every
child knows it; the cabby, the butchers
boy, the concierge, the man who directs
you how to 60 anywhere, the garcon, who
waits on you in the restaurant, the old
woman who cries her vegetables at your
door. They all know that word pour
boire," meaning tip or fee. And with
what an air Of depreciation they say it,
with what smiles and shrugs and gestic-
ulations irresistible. Hewould be tiend
indeed who could refuse sou to the in
sinuating beggar. Or else he would be
accustomed to Paris. There is Georgia
lady here who says she wouldn't offer the
= 1IcSlOSAI Va dlSO q pun -OOii0 oONGooO
she knows he would take it.
The first thing we wanted in Paris was
a map of the city. So we went into a
bookstore and after consulting our little
red dictionaries, which we always carried
with US, we asked for map of Paris.
The two clerks gazed at each other, for
I suppose, then one brought
out little box Of lead pencils of different
colors. shook my head and repeated,
as firmly as possible, 'une carte geo:
graphique de Paris" I was determined
not to buy those pencils. The clerks
talked together volubly for few minutes
looked at US as if we were curiosities,
then talked some more. We didn't un-
derstand word. Then smile of tri-
umph lighted up the face of the older
clerk, and he rushed to the show window,
dashed the things about, and after lot
of trouble, brought out red plush photo
graph frame, with a glass over it and
rest at the back to make it stand up. We
turned around and were about to give it
up in despair when the proprietor came
in and asked us what we wanted. We
told him, just rs we had the others, and
he Immediately got US what we wanted.
Those others, believe, were simply stu
pid.
Next time write want to tell you of
our housek keeping IN the Quarter Latin
and perhaps you don't know exactly why
it 10 the Ouartiar attn 40 / will tall Won