Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-08

the chopping block had It's place. A num-
Der of ravens hover Familiarity about.
How long have the ravens been here?'
asked the curious visitor.
They have had ravens here since I1Oe. I"
Is the warder's answer
Why are they kept?'
Il suppose they keep 'em here for the
same reason they keep US here. Their
looks are supposed to go well with the old
buildin." 1t Is a modest and insufficient
explanation, but must serve.
A walk about the tower bringing into
view the Tower bridge (so-called. perhaps
Its proximity to the Tower of London) and
Tower Hill. whose now blooming sward
Was wet with much blood from the heads
mans ak, reveals the moat in many as
poets In one place It Is desolate and
bleakly reminiscent of its past; in another
school boys. who have earned a special hol-
ioay reward, are using its level bed for q
cricket ground. In another portion, thrift
lily FENCED on for kitchen gardens by at
taches OF the tower. hens and roosters strut
and scratch and cackle, as they thought
iessly await their own impending tragedies.
II Is in Westminster Abbey that the har-
monies or reyered association are best pre-
served. and 1t is to the poets corner that
the crowd always turns first. The sepul-
chres of kings are shown for a fee and
described IN an outrageous jargon of dia-
iect, Dut the men who wrote the songs Of
nations are most remembered by the
casual throng. This perfunctory lecturer
must not be Interrupted. If he Is, he will
probably have to go back to the beginning
o. his speech and deliver 1t all over
To write knowingly and feelinely of
westminster Abbey is not the task of the
time-measured, train-pursuing vsyager. It
should be a life study. yet even this place
reveals its ironies. Here are men of tenn
porary fame who have edged themselves
by dint OF influence into proximity with the
immortals whom in life they would have
scorned- Here are long labored Inscriptions
N
haunted high and spaciously on the side
walls In hollow contrast to the simple
words, Charles Dickens" inscribed upon
the moor. Here. too. DR.. Johnson and David
Garrick, lying side by side in eternal recon
citation. The honor done to America by
the bust of Longfellow Is gracious thing
But the presiding genius of all is repre-
sented only by statue of Shakespeare
Iresh wreath OF laurel attests the re-
greet that Sir Henry Irving's death has
caused Yet the merry and sarcastic Sheri-
Gan seems to offer strange companionship
TOT MS slow-paced earnestness The humor
OF John Gay takes on something more than
sneer In the coupiet inscribed beneath his
efigy:
,hsnl l. Jest. and all thing. show It.
The Cheshire Cheese" where Dr.. John
son issued so many OF his trenchant SEN
fences with Boswell as his faithful phono-
graph. Is now occupied by a thirsty and
vociferous throng. whose thoughts are more
on the education bill than on any associa-
tons OF the past. / crossed the threshold
with sense OF awe, in which was plainly
alone. Two young Londoners, who con-
versed In sing-song cadences, occupied the
very corner in which Dr. johnson was sup
posed to sit. A book is kept where visitors
may register their impressions. It's con-
tents are chiefly made up OF off-hand In
dorsements of Cheshire Cheese" as an
article OF diet. and personal illusions Of an
fnnocentiy hirtatious character fiddle
plays with doiorous frivolity in an adjacent
room. and the Sporting Times, profession
ally known as 1.-THE Pink .Un," hangs con-
spicuously on the wall
One contribution to the visitors book In
the Cheshire Cheese has dash OF Quality
1t consists Of four horizontal lines thus: