Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1897-03-09
FROM PARIS, MAINE, TO PARIS,
FRANCE.
No. l6.
rKoM LONDON TO PARIS.

From our Special Foreign CorresPondentl
PARIS, FRANCE, Feb. IL, 1897.
AT last We are Ia Paris! Gay, giddy,
gaudy, gorgeous Paris!
1t was with genuine regret that we
shook the SCOT OF London from our gar
meuts, and bade goodbye to friends and
kindred, to seek another foreign
shore. Before boarding the train at Vic
toria Station, London, baggage had to
be weighed. for the traveller scross the
border Is allowed to carry but 6O pounds
without extra charge. Ours not being
excessively large, the charge was but
81 80 excess, In addition to the ticket.
Our fellow-trsvelers were not espe-
cially interesting, except the woman with
the seal-skin coat reaching to her knees,
which could not be bought even in
France, for less than $500, and the
French poodle, which Is usually nee
esssry adjunct to this sort OF woman-of
which more anon.
The landscape IL about the same as In
all parts of England We have seen. At
every little hamlet which the train
rushes through We have glimpse OF the
''little brown church" with It's square
tower, instead Of more modern steeple,
sometimes on sloping green hillside.
with its picturesque houses Of the peas
antry clustering around, and sometimes
on the top Of hill overlooking the little
valleys and lochs and streams. Some OF
the fields are green all winter, for there
IL a certain kind of vegetable called
Brussels Sprouts, resembling q diminu-
tive cabbage, which is gathered here all
the year around, and even dug out from
under the snow when necessary. The tiny
cabbage heads are no larger than
robins egg, and when cooked are most
delicious eating. Great quantities are
raised for the markets.
We traverse the fair and fertile county
OF Kent, where the extensive hop gar
dens are the characteristic feature OF the
landscape, especially in August and Sep
tember. when thousands OF hop plckers
are employed. The process Of harvest.
ing them Is about the same as In the
United States, and requires more labor
ers than the local resources can supply,
so men, women and children come from
London, and the annual hopping as
Il is called. affords much priced outing
TO thousands Of dwellers In the slums.
Rochester il the first place Of note we
come to. Readers OF Dickens will remem-
Der the description Of Mr.. Pickwick when
he stood on Rochester bridge "contem-
plating Nature and waiting for break
fast" Gsd's Hill Place, the residence
of Dickens. Is very near. Ii is an old
fashioned red brick house.
The venerable ruins OF Rochester
Castle can be seen very plainly. The
most learned and accurate historian has
been unable TO lift the veil OF obscurity
which hangs over its origin. Some go
so far back as to say that Julius Cesar
commanded It TO be built, and called 1t
the Castle OF Midway, 1t being near that
river. This seems quite plausible from
the great variety Of Roman coins which
have been found there--some Of the Em-
poror Trojan, Marcus Aurelius, Maximus
and others, which have been found in the
ruins Of the castle. Ii is supposed TO
have been rebuilt several centuries after.
There are few buildings in England OF
equal antiquity so perfect.
The next place Of interest Is Canter-
bury. on the river Stour. The founda-
ton Of the city Is said TO be older than
that OF Rome. The immense and beau
tiful cathedral Is the great centre OF at
traction. II came 10 be the seat OF an
archbishop In the year 600. The present
structure was built 10 ll30. After the
death Of Archbishop Thomas Beckett,
who WAS murdered because of religious
preferences, In the church, while at
vespers, Il became the undisputed centre
of religious.life In England. He was
canonized soon after, aud became the
most popular Of English saints. The
shrine erected TO him in the church was
adorned with such magnificence that 1t
is said that sGold was the meanest thing
TO be seen." Henry VIII destroyed II
and burned the body Of the saint, and the
only remaining trace of the shrine is the
pavement surrounding 1t, worn away by
the knees OF thousands OF pious pilgrims.
The income OF the Archbishop OF Can
terbury is s75, 900 per year.
Then we come to Dover, the terminus
Of the railway, situated on small bay
bounded by chalk cliffs where our chalk
comes from; on the top OF which are
barracks and Notifications. Ii has
castle more than thousand years old.
Fort Burgoyne is connected with the
old castle, and there are also several
churches that have been standing from
seven to ten centuries.
The chalk cliffs loom up like giant
spectres, and the blue cloud resting upon
the waters Is the dim shore of France.
Shakespeare Cliff, rising sheer from the
sea $50 feet, takes its name from the we'll
known passage in King Lear:
"From the dread summit Of this chaiky bourne
Look up a a-height;-the shrillgorged lark 90 far