Cañon City record., 1910-02-03
BY WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE
"OFF TO ENGLAND"

We don't like the aristocratic Tories
strong on some of the cockneys, but
the great common people of England,
who rose with Cromwell and followed
Gladstone-they are flesh of our flesh
and bone of our bone.
So when we rode into Londan on
the elevated tracks, across a choppy
sea of slate roofs. with million chin
neys. tossing like driftwood on the
visitors, but as home-comers.
The history of England until after
the Restoration is our history. The
literature of England is still our lit
erature; the folk-songs of England
are ours. The aspirations of England
toward democracy and the rule of the
people are our own. We are travelling
in parallel paths in politics. And in
lands where we were aliens to every
thing. that at least we were where we
could understand and sympathize with
what we saw.
1t happened that our hotel was near
Westminster Abbey and Parliament
And the first hours we spent in Lon
don were spent walking by the Abbey
and Parliament and watching the
crowds that throng over Westminster
bridge. II was a joy to hear the Eng
lish speech. although English as she
is spoke" in England differs so much
from American English that often II
Is exceedingly Difficult, to understand.
often during our stay in England,
we had to ask English people over
and over again to repeat what they
said Our long 20" became "ow," our
short "a" becomes a broad "ah our
long "a" becomes "oi." and thus
boat" becomes "bowt" cant" be-
comes "cahn't" and mail" becomes
"moil:" so when one finds these dis
crepancies OF speech all through
conversation and adds to it the col
loquial Issues OF the country, lug
gage" for baggage" "stoition" for
depot, "trahm" for street car"
cab" for hack" turning" for
block" "stroight away" for "on
ahead" and to that pile Of difficulties
puts on the invariable collapse OF
consonants that Gomez with proper
names in long usage. one understands
the point of view OF the gentleman
from Omaha. who went about inquir-
ing for a school where an American
who could write and read English
understand it.
| But for all that 1t is a delight to
hear it even in the broken English of
London. And we sympathized with
: big "Learoyd"-or was 1t little "Orth-
I eris ?"-who, in far OF India. longed
for London and the stinks OF 'er."
But this Is far afield from West
minister Abbey. where we did our first
! like all London public buildings in Its
gray aspect, white and hoary above
/ the dust zone. and black and grimy
( below. Inside the Gothic effect of all
Northern churches OF whatever creed,
/ Is emphasized. I does not differ in
any essential particular from the Ca
\ tholic churches OF the English; just
as the Episcopal churches OF Italy
we're as caudy as the Catholic
churches Taste in building does not
divide by creeds. II divides on race
/ lines.
And Westminster Abbey Is an ex-
preston OF people and not OF doc
satrine. The walls and the columns OF
Il H inside of the church are bedecked
] atA dadoes and warted all over with
statues-mostly bad-of men of small
i,reputation. who had the price to put
them there. Only in the so-called
N&ttO corner is there an acre Of real
tame. There are busts and tablets
and tombs and brass name plates to
men who have made English liter
latpre. But they occupy but . small
part Of the cathedral. And they are