The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-06-13
THE NOTES OF A
TRAVELLER, Nc. 4

good fortune that some one else does not
get it. We find ourselves tucked In with
two Englishmen who, with characteristic
English retieence make the whole jour-
ney without ever speaking. We find a
solitary carafe or bottle of water in a
corner of the lavatory without a stopper
to keep out the dust It may be to drink,
but is more suitable for a tepid bath; we
try to go through the corridor to the
dining car but are stopped by door which
is locked to keep the third-class passengers
back. Their is no porter and no electric
bell, so we keep our thirst in patience till
dinner time, when the door opens. We
get an excellent dinner of six courses for
60 cents, and a glass of water with piece
of ice as large as a postage stamp
But oh! The beauty of that ride! The
wondrous green carpet of the English
pastures stretches by the darker hue of
pines or the ever present hedges of holly
or the steeples and houses clothed with
Ivy, or by the lighter hues Of young leaves
of the deciduous trees bursting forth I'M
der these last few days of bright sum
shine. The fields are glorious with color,
some as yellow with buttercups as others
white with daisies, and the miles of hedge
rows gay with the white May" blossom
or the blushing hawthorn bloom. The
banks of the deep railroad cuttings are
yellow or blue with the bonnie "bluebells
of Scotland" and anon flaming into splen-
dor with the magnificent profusion of the
yellow garse. As we flash along (only three
stops in 1886 miles) we still have time to see
the houses surrounded by purple lilacs,
the long strings of golden beauty pendant
from the laburnums, and the countless
masses of inverted pyramids of white
bloom loading the horse-chestnut trees.
Surely on a bright June day old England
shows to most advantage. It is broad day.
light till after p M, and outside every
town and village are groups of men and
boy splaying cricket, or occasionally ten
mis- always on grass courts), and looking
picturesque in their white fannels; and
here and there a glimpse of pastoral or
bucolic scenery; winding canal with the
horses on the towpath, the men walking
beside them, and the women steering, and
one thinks of the journey of little Nell
and her grandfather.
But the England that Dickens knew IS
changing rapidly. We see but lew
matched roofs or diamond easements from
the windows of express trains, and on the
site of our old hotel in London stands
pile of offices where we used to dine with
an old harper playing in the courtyard, call
to Sam Weller to take oar books and bring
us slippers and candle, and go to our
bedroom by an outside gallery watching
for q beam overheard that would crush our
hat We're we not to stoop. Is it a proof
of age or of reverence that we cling to the
things of our youth? There is little of
either perhaps in our rushing life of today
in America
But there is plenty here in London, and
as they rebuild the next house they care
fully protect Crosby hall which although
solely used as a restaurant is kept as
nearly as may be in its original Henry VIII
condition.
It is said that 1.-The English take their
pleasures sadly" That is not true, for
they are thorough in whatever they do;
but surely they take them slowly. They
are celebrating the queens eightieth birth
da as it best suits local convenience, some
one day, some another. Fancy Washing
tons birthday being kept by installments
so that one might be present ten days
apart at the same festivity in New York
and San Francisco
A great feature of an English holiday is
the Volunteer elevent. Born in the six
ties of the fear of French invasion there
has developed a force unequalled of it's
sion there could be modified in twenty
four hours 100000 trained riflemen, each
man individually trained to hit a target up
to 500 yards range. No time is wasted on
fancy drills" 50 common with US. Nor is
money wasted on SNOWY and conspicuous
uniforms. The war department provides
the arms and ammunition, the men pro-
vide their uniforms, all of government
pattern, and they are drilled by non-coms
of the regular army. Thus counting those
who have passed through the ranks there
900 to 1000 men in England who
e5$re practiced rifemen and trained to one
uniform drill, and most of whom have at
one time been brigaded with regulars for
the purpose of instruction. The popularity
of this movement is shown by the crowds
that assemble to see all their evoutions,
or even their march past in a birthday
procession.
But we get tired and return to the hall
1t is an immense stone building, of great
cost owned by a railroad whose capital is
named only by hundreds of millions We
seek the reading room and find stiff
solemn room with heavy expensive furni-
ture, fine engravings on the walls, but
nothing to read except the directory, of
which one might say as the Frenchman
did of Johnsons Dictionary that "the
stories are interesting but rather short"
The only way to it is through the dining
ROOM The smoking room is in the billiard
room. The elevator holds Just two people
and does not run before a. M. nor is any
breakfast ready till then. You go into the
dining room at and fine walters in their
shirt sleeves who look at you with amaze
ment take your order fill it in twenty
minutes, and charge you so per cent. extra
for not waiting till s a. m.
Today Is Derby day, and If ones busi-
ness left one foot loose it would be the ex-
perience of life time to the great tide
of humanity which Firth has painted and
hundreds have described; but this is not to
be. So we will look at the academy pic
lures instead at Burlington House, and
then another peep at the Dare gallery in
Bond street. How hushed the people al
ways are in the sublime presence of those
paintings; how responsive to the spirit of
the artist who placed Christ In the center
of his canvas. and made every bowling
rioter in That mob fall back, more from
that unspeakable dignity than from the
balanced Roman spear of the guard
We climb on the ever ready bus and pay
two cents, receive a punched ticket which
no one ever looks at asks for, and ride
t0 Ra0aofs' mark hopa IF tba zaolooi