The Alaska citizen., 1912-02-26
Another Interesting Letter
From Major Strong


might go TO pieces any day. if ii
were impressed into service. But
1t is not. 1t is kept to show cur
ious Americans and people from
overseas
Westminster Abbey, st. Paurs ca
thedral and the Tower of London
always attracts the visitor to Lon
don. not 10 mention the British
museum, the Royal Art Gallery and
a score or more of interesting build
ings and historic places. A recent
addition TO the show places is the
Victoria and Albert Art Museum.
magnificent pile, stored with the
finest art treasures of many, many
kinds. that the world has produced.
A marble statue. of heroic size. of
the late Queen Victoria. is a recent
addition to St. James park, as is
also memorial group" badly exc
cuted to the soldiers who fell in the
British-Boer war Near st. James
park is building known as the
Victoria apartments, twelve stories
nigh, which the Londoner is always
careful to point out to the visitor.
because it is the "tallest building in
the metropolis" and | am told that
people come miles to see it-even
from the continent.
Westminster Abbey, with its stat
uary and stored urns" easily sets
one to wondering about departed
siorles winch never return. and the
strange mentations of time. Names
OF men, famous centuries ago for
deeds of blood, and peace and dar-
ing are there preserved in marble
names that today are remembered
by few and seldom or never heard.
Among them is John Gay. poet and
wit, whose marble bust. not far from
that OF our own Henry w. Longfel.
low, bears the inscription
Life is joke. and all things show
it.
i thought so once, but now know
it."
Viewed from a strictly orthodox or
Gehenna standpoint, Gay must have
been a pagan, and it is a wonder
that some narrow-browed ecclesias-
tics did not object to the inscription
But, perhaps, they did. Cav has
been dead for several centuries. and
the statute of limitations may have
been invoked against the objections,
The vast rooms in the British
museum, which are devoted TO the
preservation of precious files of Brit
lsh newspapers are guarded as if
their contents We're almost sacro-
sanct. One needs special per
NIT to enter them, and once in he
is closely watched by keen-eved
but unobtrusive attendants. The
earliest prints that | could find
were small leaflets, closely printed
IN line type, containing accounts" of
the doings in parliament in the
reign of Charles l., in which were
set forth in more detail than might
have been expected. the struggle of
Charles with that recalcitrant body
Inc rise and progress of Oliver
Cromwell, too, are noted, and after
Charles had fallen victim to his
own stupid folly. and "Old Noll" had
risen to supreme power. his con-
fllcts with parliament are referred
to, sometimes in prose, sometimes in
pretty bad poetry, frequently in
both, notably his personal adventure
with the parliament, which he ar
bltrarily dismissed, saying in thun-
dering tones to the speaker: Get
thee gone, Sir Harry Vane; the Lord
deliver me from Sir Harry Vane,"
These accounts" or weekly mar
ratives" as they were sometimes
called contain little other news of
that remote time. Lately, when
British newspapers began to assume
their present form, some attempt
was made to publish news even from
our distant America.
J. F. A. STRONG.