Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-06-19
LONDON FoGS.
Some Record Breakers In London's
History.


This morning we experienced
slight touch of the fog for which Lon
don has been noted for centuries. 1t
is difficult to discover from historical
records when the first great fog set
tied down upon London, but ii is very
certain that i'm no other town in Eu-
rope do the same conditions prevail to-
day. Paris has at times its hours OF
atmospheric gloom. but with us it is
an Egyptian darkness that can be
felt. So far back as the reign of Queen
Elizabeth the annoyance caused by
coal smoke was recognized in London
In those days all the large manufac-
tories, such as existed, were in the
heart of the city. AS they grew In
number, therefore, the smoke nui-
sance must have increased. Very lit
tie, however, seems to have been done
toward the abatement Of the evil un-
til 1861. These were the days of
EVELYN. He has much to say in his
diary on the subject; London to him
is a city than which no finer exists,
but he adds, IF she was to be re-
lieved from that which renders her
less healthy, really offends her, and
which darkens and eclipses all her
other attributes then that hellish
and dismal cloud of sea-coale" must
be removed. To Evelyn the sickness
of the inhabitants, lung complaints,
catarrhs, coughs, all owe their origin
to London fog. He speaks of the sun
being eclipsed, of the great inconven-
fences caused by the smoke and of the
traveller "at many miles distance
who sooner smells than sees the city
to which he repairs" The strange
thing is that Pepys never so much as
mentions a fog in London. Evelyn,
however, not only deplored their ex-
istence. but he wrote treatise on fogs
under the title Of "Fumifugeum,'
which he tells us he dedicated to his
majesty, (Charles ID, who was
pleased that l should publish it by his
special command, being much gratified
with it," The upshot of it all was
that by an act Of parliament oilers,
sope and salt boilers. lime burners and
the like" were removed outside the
city. We are not told whether the
remedy cured the complaint. 1t prob
ably lessened the evil for time, but
as London grew and trade increased
the smoke nuisance must have been
continually recurring.
In 1885 James Watt, the inventor
of the steam engine brought out
smoke-abating machine, and fifteen
years later one, Cotter patented a
smokeless CRATE. But still the fogs
smothered London until at last, in
1919, parliament took up the matter
and appointed a committee of in
quiry. This was followed by two
others in 1S43 and 1S45, out Of which
an act of parliament was evolved i'm
posing certain restrictions as regards
the smoke factories, but none in the
case of private dwellings. Twenty
seven years have now come and gone
since the Smoke Abatement EXhibi-
tion took place in South Kensington.
The movement was started by the
National Health society, but beyond
attracting a great deal Of interest and
the patronage Of the board of trade,
little good resulted, and today the
London fogs are as celebrated as ever.
According to an old paper called the
Mirror of the Months, there is an
amusing account of London fogs,
which the author speaks Of as far
famed" He says that Novembe' is
the great month for such delicacies.
and adds that it is like breathing
water and the fishes too; it is also
meat and drink, something between
much more "digestible than either"
and it wraps you, he continues, all
round like a cloak, a patent water
proof, one which no rain ever pene-
trated. These were, no doubt, fogs Of
the ordinary winter type. But there
have been great fogs, fogs that were
remembered and talked about for
years after. Such a one was that
which took place on the 27th Of De-
cember 1913. This was in the days
of the regent, afterward George ".
The accounts of this celebrated fog
are meagre, but those that exist are
sufficiently authentic and fully bear
out the assertion that it was the most
alarming that ever hung over Lon
don. For two weeks the whole city
was in total darkness, a darkness
that is described as being felt. The
mails were delayed, coaches on the
high roads were overturned, people
were lost for days, business was at a
standstll There was not a breath Of
wind to carry away the smoke which
increased in density every hour. The
oldest citizen had never heard of
anything to compare with 1t. Added
darkness, murders, robberies and
street brawlS were inceSsant. few dar-
ed to walk the streets for fear Of be-
ing assaulted, and the terrible silence
that settled down over all was only
broken by the curses Of the hackney
coachmen as they cOllided in the
narrow roads or the shrieks of some
wretched VICTIM who was being mur-
dered for his purse. The cold was in
tense, so much so that many of those