Gilpin observer., 1917-03-22
Cny's Heart

lHeTe are IeW corners OF the eurtn
where the wonders of the worlds cap
ital are not knOwn-the city which
spreads its vast bulk over nearly 700
| square miles, an area three times as
large as the county of Middlesex and
| which counts its citizens approximate-
ly to twice as many millions as ther,
are in the whole continent of Aus,
tralia. Its palatial buildings, its state
ly streets through which its rich It'd,
OF traffic rolls, Its wealth and splen.
dor, and its treasures of long dead
centuries are an open book to the
world.
"Could we imagine" Charles Knight
writes in his London" "that this
great capital of capitals should ever
be what Babylon is--its very site for
gotten-One could not but almost envy
the delight with which the antiquaries
Of future time would hear of some dis
covery of London below the soil still
remaining.
ave can fancy we see the progress
of the excavations from one part to
i another of the mighty. but for while
inexplicable labyrinth, till the whole
was cleared open to the daylight and
the vast system laid bare before them,
revealing in the clearest language the
magnitude and splendor of the place
to which it had belonged, the skill and
enterprise of its people,"
Where Millions Travel.
But without any such laborlous
process of excavation the antiquaries
Of the remote future could easily ex-
plore most Of the marvels of this bur
led London, remarks writer in Lon
don Tit-Bits. They could walk for
scores of miles along subterranean
streets, over which London's traffic
once surged-streets well paved and
drained and spacious, each counter
part OF the thoroughfare above it and
labeled with the same name. They
will be able to say, "Just over our
heads ran historic Cheapside, or st.
Bride street, or Ludgate Hill, In the
/ long gone centuries when London was
the worlds metropolis"
They can spend weeks exploring Its
marvels of underground railways and
tubes, through which London's teemine
millions Travelled on business or pleas
ure in the nebulous age when flight
through the air was still in its cradle.
Network Of Waterways.
They can SPEND further weeks in
exploring London's vast network OF
channels and waterways, measuring in
all more than 1000 milestone OF
them vaulted passages 10 or IL feet
high, others so small that progress can
only be made by STOPPING; and in their
journey they will encounter waterfalls.
and wade along historic streams more
than one of which in long gone cen
turtles carried ships on their deep wa
tiers. In other journeys they may see
subterranean vaults, nearly 30 miles
of them, In which London merchants
once kept their wine in casks; and
baths, once fed by holy wells, in which
the Roman emperor Vespasian may
have bathed nearly 10 centuries ago.
! Such are few Of the marvels which
the earth will reveal to the curious
searcher thousands of years hence, II
London ever shares the fate of Baby
Iona city beneath n city, duplicate
of the one above tan almost endless
maze of subterranean passages and
tunnels thousands of miles in aggre-
gate length descending, one below an
other, to depth of about 200 feet
Vast Underground Lake.
And deeper still lies another mar
vel which the eye Of man may never
see; for, extending under the whole
of London and far beyond it Is n vast
underground lake, which stretches as
far as Westerham on one side and ST.
Adams on the other. The whole of
London, in fact, is built over water,
which is sinking at the rate of II foot
or more every year. for 1t is tapped
by means OF artesian wells to the ex-
tent of 100000 gallons daily.
Happily there is no danger of any
subsistence occurring through the ex-
haustion of the water, as its presence
or absence has no effect whatever on
the stout barrier of chalk, flint, gray
sand and clay which separates the sub
terranean lake from the city which has
been built over it.