Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1897-10-11
THE RETURN TO LONDON.
{ correspondence Alexa ldria I. azstte ]


long train of narrow cooped up car.
were in waiting. In passing through
the depot stopped 10 front of the news
stalls and inspectedsome of the literature
intended for the edification of railway
travellers. The books all bore sugges.
1--WE titles and were of the "hashiesL'
character. Most OF them purported to
aave been written by Paul de Koch
and others of the same class. While
seated in the Car 1 surveyed some oi
the rolling stock running in and out Of
the depot. Most of the locomotives
engaged in shifting in appearance were
but slight improvements upon the en-
gines in the National Museum at Wash
iugton. Three Englishmen occupied
the apartment with me. They Z,
drank, smoked and slept during tie
four hours run to Calais and manifested
90 interest whatever in the country
through which the train passed. l was
made to pay 50 cents extra for the priv
ilege OF riding on this car inasmuch as
it contained one or two limitations OF
the conveniences found on the CON
.nonest trains on all railroads in the
United States.
We arrived at Calais on schedule
ime and embarked on The steamer for
another trip across the channel l was
uere required to pay seven shillints
additional to return to on this particn-
lar trip. The weather was fine and
tue sea comparatively smooth, aud
be run across was pleasant. At Dover
took the waiting train and about B
o'clock was again in old London.
passed through several English cities
N the trip, among them Cha ham.
Ispent the next three days mostly in
walking through the main streets of the
Euglish capital and in visiting the
parks, museums, &C. My favorite walk
vas from Charing Cross through the
Strand, Fleet street and other thorough.
fares to London Bridge, St. Paul's,
Gornhill, ThreadneeGle street and
5hrough the labyrinth Of side streets,
from which watched the steady march
# tens of thousands of human beings
and the moving tide of omnibuses aud
every other sort OF vehicle Gncludiup
the donkey drays mentioned by Dick
ens). On other occasions | would take
d fferent routes and walk through Pic
C .dilly, Oxford, Regent and other busy
streets. l also enjoyed rides on the
little steamers on the Thames, embark
.ug at Westminster, near the Houses OF
Parliament, and landing on the stage at
I.opdon Bridge. These steamers look
.s though they have not been painted
.iuce they were built, and number
are antique in pattern. | saw some
that nuch resembled in general ap
pearance, especially in the stern, the
Joe Johnson and Phpoix, boats used
during the carly days of steam on the
Potomac, or the picture of the steam
,cat in John Comly's spelling book
which many of us in our childish
lays have glared at and contemplated
ahile squirming around on benches in
school.
They have no pilot houses and some
are still steered by tillers at the stern.
The fare is cheap-one penny, or two
cents, from one stage to another. You
can make the trip to Greenwich for
three pence, or six cents.
seldom took seat on London
Bridge without thinking of some of the
fiction connected with it. The r. fec
tion of Macaulay, regarding the New
Zealander sitting upon broken span
viewing the ruins OF St. Paul invariably
entered my mind, and while watching
the dense crowd would ask yself the
question, Can such thing be possible
Yet Nineveh, Babylon, Thebts, BAal-
bek, Palmyra and other mighty ii ies OF
ancient days fell and became the abode
of owls and bats. and the crumbllng
ruins of ancient Athens show that all
mundane things are trausitory. :.
| made several visits to st. Pauls
and Westminster Abbey. The Duke OF
Wellington's remains sre in the formeI
place, as are also those of Lord Nelson
/ entered the crypt and stood by the
sarcophagi of both, paying sixpence, or
II cents for the privilege.
Everything seemed left-handed in
England 10 me. Trains take the left
hand track. omnibuses and other We.
hlCleS tne lell siuo vi lno o"iS0', VIZ
baby carriages are the reverse OF those
in America, the children sitting with
their faces to the nurses and their backs
to the dashboards, some old men still
wear knee breeches and twelve-yenr'
cd boys in jackets wear stovepipe hats,
giving them a top-heavy appearances
often strayed through the busy
streets after dark, ard viewed London
by.. gaslisht. Every omnibus, cab,
hanson and hack is compelled to carry
two liehts-ope on each side-and al
ght look up the Strand is sugges
We of an immense and endless torch
light procession. In the daytime the
moving tide of omnibuses reminds one
Of never. ending circus parade. Inc
sa.eets swarm with people until long
al er midnight, or until the theatre
b we disgorged their immense auai
euces. after which time the cro~os
grow thin until day break, when marx nii;
ed lu.l follows, and by sunrise the ousl
est streets seem deserted. The stores
O, most Of them, are not opened un1i
about 9 O'Clock, st which time the AMI