The National tribune., 1909-09-30


Gallery, took luncheon at DR.. Johnson's
celebrated restaurant in Fleet street,
did the Abbey and as much of the
Houses of Parliament as the horrid old
official would let me, which wasn't
much, worse luck to him, then finished
up the day with a drive to Hyde Park.
This evening we went to the Haymar-
ket Theater. Do you wonder, then,
that at the present hour of 11:30 p. m.
/ am nearly dead? Strange as it may
seem, however, tho worn to frazzle,
/ am not at all sleepy. and feel just in
the humor for chat with you.
But to particularize. My last letter
was written on Monday night, after
having been in London a day and
half, during which time we certainly
made the dust fly, or should have had
We walked to any extent On Tues
day, let me see, well, to tell the truth,
Monday had been SO squeezed in and
running over with sightseeing, that we
thought We would take things more
easy Tuesday, so We practically spent
the day in the shops. We found things
at the Army and Navy store very nice
and reasonable; for instance, the best
quality of two-button gloves we bought
for 75 cents, three-button, 81, and long
evening gloves for about 81. Those
sparkly scarfs-you know the kind with
the gold or silver fastened all over
them-the cheapest of which sell at
home for s5, saw there for $3.50, and
about twice as wide as the s5 kind. !
purchased one for myself; they make
such a pretty light wrap, you know.
We saw charming parasol, black silk
and white chiffon, the daintiest thing
imaginable, marked $3.50, which in
America would easily sell for IS or SO,
and loads of other things in like Pro-
portion. One wants plenty of money to
shop in London, and that's a fact, be-
cause the cheapness of things tempts
one to buy.
On Tuesday evening we went to the
Coliseum, a very fine, handsome thea
ter given up to the popular vaudeville.
1t is very gorgeous inside, with much
gold ornamentation, etc, and has at
least eiSht-well, perhaps not more than
six--tiers or side boxes. The last tier
is 50 high up that IL is almost out of
sight, and We wondered if anyone ever
occupied its boxes. They were vacant
the night We were there. The show
was very good thruout, but we went
specially to see the Russian dancers,
who have created such furore in
Europe, and who will undoubtedly soon
visit our shores. There were three of
them, two girls and a man, and never
have I seen lovelier dancing 1t wasn't
at all on the Isadore Duncan order,
charming as her dancing is and per-
fectly as she gives expression to the old
pagan Greek ideas, but it was more
like the ballet dancing we used to see
so much of. but which in these days of
"Salome" and Soul Kiss" eyrations has
become so rare. The girls were not
specially handsome, but there was in
their appearance, as in their dancing,
something so refined and dainty, so al
together charming, that Elizabeth and
j were delighted. 1t was a sort of spir-
itualized ballet dancing, If you catch
\ of
some of her inimitable impersonations,
the trials of a young mother with her
lnquiSitiye small son on the top of a
London bus being one, and extremely
funny ii was The entire performance,
tho good, as / said before, was no bet
ter than our vaudeville shows are at
home, not a bit
Our last day in London" / said TO
Elizabeth this morning as we sat at
breakfast finishing our bacon and eggs
land we've a big contract on our hands
Where do you think we had better go
frst?"
We'll" replied that extremely good
looking person, particularly handsome
in her becoming heliotrope hat, for we
were all ready to go out, since the
National Gallery is so near, perhaps IL
might be well to begin with that There
are lot of awfully good pictures there
and l wish We could give the whole
morning, at least, to the gallery, but we
can't; we'll just have to hurry thru
You'll see the best of the Sir Joshua
Reynoldses, Gainsboroughs, Landseers
and other celebrated English painters
and Well give our attention particularly
to these, for, since there Is not time for
all, i think we had better devote our
selves to the art of the country"
You are quite right, Elizabeth, as
usual, and your remarks do credit to
that mighty intellect OF yours, which
has served us so we'll since we started
out on this pilgrimage. Wen go to the
gallery at once. 1t looks like rain to
me. I'll amble back to the room and
get our umbrellas and meet you out
side"
The gallery was indeed but short
walk from our hotel. and we were soon
inside the great black building. We
had agreed to spend but two hours
there-think of it, only two short
hours-and never did I so long to
break the legs of Time" as Holmes
says U believe il was Holmes), or take
MN with no gentle touch by the fore
lock- (Spencer). show him the door
and request him emphatically to lose
himself" as l did when we began to
wander from room to room You must
remember that it was the first gallery
win worldwide reputation l had
= e.er VISITED, and, naturally, / wanted to
stop and look at every picture The
wonderful coloring Of Fra Lippi and