Evening star., 1919-09-25
View Is Unobstructed.

On either side of US were windows
that we could open or shut by sliding
left was unobstructed and we could
ZEE ahead and behind, except for the
small interruption of the slim body
Of the machine. There were thick
masses of clouds above US, lowering
and in constant motion, but not the
the glorious hills valleys. forests.
meadows and fields Of Kent.
Mr.. Lewis Is an Englishman. quiet
of speech, but ardent of nature. l
silently watched him-one could not
make oneself heard above the din of
one side and then on the other. n
settled smile on his face. Suddenly
he looked at me and shouted at the
top OF his voice. uttering each word
quite separately. I shook my head.
lead pencil. wrote something and
handed 1t to me. It read:
Il have seen England for the first
time"
One easily understood. for England
does not unveil her features fully
to those who stand too close. She
does not do it even to motorists. She.
reveals her extraordinary beauty al
together only to those who dy. So
1t 10 OF the sea. Of France and of
all the world. Il We were sorry to
gleaming channel and screamed In
effectually at each other at the first
glimpse Of the lovely coast OF France.
Passage Above Channel.
There were wild waves on the chan
millions Of them. A strong
southeast wind was blowing. These
presented surface like that Of dent
ed metal. whitening as far as the aye
could see, with disso1ving. foam. There
we're numerous ships here and there
-warships and traders-all throwing
plumes Of beaten sea and all tumb1ing
with the movement Of the water. Mr..
Lewis and I. 1000 feet above, with
our eyes riveted on the spectacle. al
most forgot the outings and totter-
tngs OF our own craft as it rushed
southward across the wind. We cross
ed the channel from point between
Folkestone and Romney to a point
Just west Of Boulogne in fifteen min
utes precisely. It seemed that we had
hardly lost sight OF the white cliffs of
England until before us clearly mark
ed lay the winding coast of France.
For dfty miles we few above the
creamy line. where the sea was break
ing on the French sands. Then we
passed inland. In improving weather,
50 far aS the clouds were concerned,
but without relief from the wind. dy-
iAS ouS SouLu TO E6r1A. 4
At Abbeville We had . dne view of
the cathedral. and We saw many other
towns and villages and much evil
dence Of vigorous agricultural life.
The landscape was less uniformly
green than that Of England, but
looked beautiful. The fields seemed
lifted together. like parquet floor.
Rivers, canals, roads and long ave-
nues Of trees adorned the natness.
The wind tore the massed clouds
asunder. and great shafts Of sunlight
broke through upon the countryside,
revealing its loveliness. Ftlmy tat
ters Of cloud, driven downward by
the wind. enveloped our plane again
and again. Dashes of rain broke over
it. But the engine roared on and the
machine took care Of all bumps and
bufteting. Long before we were ex-
pecting It the slowing Of the pro-
peilers announced Le Bourget aero
drome and Paris.
This great city lay Just on our
right az we nosed ieisurely downward
"a far-spread, smoky, dreamy piece
of metropolitan grandeur. 1t was good
to see It. It was good to drop out
OF the sky.