The St. Louis Republic., 1902-06-29
LONDON AS SEEN FROM
THE TOP OF AN OMNIBUS

Special Correspondence OF The Sunday Republic.
| London, June 15.-Never shall forget that
bright night few weeks ago when, from
| an omnibus top. first saw the streets OF
London. whose names have always been IA
| miliar and woven into my very life. So
wonderful it was TO find places read Of and
heard OF suddenly leap, as It were, TO life
and surround one on every side.
| When / saw the quaint old houses in Hol-
born. and Cheapside with its memories OF
/ past pageants. the glittering scenes Of old
passed before me-the Jewels and silks, the
| shining oreast-plates and steel helmets-and
l heard above the roar OF the traffic the
| shrieks of Queen Phiippa and her 'fayre
! ladyes,'' as on one OF these occasions their
gayly decorated stand collapsed and they
tunbled into the street below.
I nearly choked with Joy when the island
churches of the Strand came In sight, so
quaint and gray, with such busy life throb-
bing and surging round them congeS-
ton of traffic was more intoxicating than
champagne. The shining black hansoms.
the fower-seliers. Trafalgar square, the
sight of the theaters, tho brilliant lights.
the crowds-above all. the crowds-they
made my brain spin for hours, till felt
had a pantomime head with a nerve at the
root of every hair. And then, later-the
marvel of itl-the dome of St Pauls
loomed out darkly and came nearer and
nearer. l hated the night that must
be slept through before I could plunge again
into this wonderful city.
And the delight of exploring even the out
side fringe OF it, / could understand how
Charles Lamb said that he often shed
tears for fullness of joy from 50 much life"
but the peculiar charm is the double sense
of Ife not only the teening millions Of to-
day, but the dead and gone hosts who have
wandered along these same streets and
lanes. and have left their footprints every
where.
And then those other folk. too. whom
Dickens and Thackeray and Scott have told
us about: they are just as real. and they
hurry along the same paths. When 1 was
IN High street, Borough. the other day and
saw what was the White Hart Inn-half OF
It is still standing-Sam Weller was
whistIing gayly as he polished Mr.. Jingle's
boots and l heard Mr.. Pickwick engaging
him on that very spot. And 1t was quite
close by that Bob Sawyer and Ben Allen
had their encounter with the ferocious land
lady. Little Dorrit, too. like pale shadow,
fits along near the Marshalsea.
Lost Twenty Times n Day.
With a recklessness born OF weIl-founded
confidence in the oInniscience and omnipo-
tence OF policemen, l get lost on an aver
age twenty times q day The lame OF Ine
London policeman has reached the antfpo-
des, and here again the reality exceedeo
my anticipations. a crowning act OF uneX-
pected kindness was on one pouring wet
afternoon when l first visited the British
Museum-a policeman on the steps whom
consulted about the chances of its clear
ing up actually lent me his umbrella, with
apologies for it's lack Of snartness, and only
a delicate hint that 1 might. please. bring |
it along next time l passed. My own l
had left that morning in an omnibus top |
when hurrfedly alighting to explore Pud-
ding lane. where the great fire started. and |
bent on discovering Pie corner. where-with |
a sense of the fitness of things, l was con-
vinced it had ended.
1t gives a sense OF being watched over |
TO hear a policeman say as one is gayly i
up an omnibus: Now, that's the |
wrong one, miss. Here-wait a moment
it's yellow one you asked for; it'll be
along SOON" To stranger an omnibus
Is somewhat bewildering, and generally Is
yards away by the time one has disentan-
gled its route and destination from mus !.
tard starch and theatrical announcements.
The omnibus that has the privilege of TAX
ing me home bears magic legend in green
letters winding up the back of its steps.
This distinguishes it from all others on the
route exactly similar except for this one
1etail- Its front and side views are most
deceptive 1 have often turned wearily
away from the Establishments OF the