The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1923-08-24
ONE THIRD
OF ENGLISH
IN ONE CITY
London ThrongS Walk Over
Ruins Thousands of
Years Old,
Rv John w. RAPER .

4 n
III prietor told me the other day
- that he had handled within the
past twenty-five years not less than
100 different books on London. He
felt certain that twice as many had
been published.
How many in fifty years He would
not venture a guess. but John Burns,
the great labor leader, had made the
collection Of books on London a hobby
and his library contained several
thousands.
London, of course, is not England.
But Greater London, composed Of
various boroughs has a population of
100000, while the population of the
territory that 1t is proposed to bring
in under common health regulations
is $500, 900.
Almost one-third Of the population
of Englnd lives within half an hours
train ride Of the geographical center
of the great city.
Legal City Small
What is known to the Londoner as
the city, and is legally the City Of
London, is small in both area and
population. It's greatest population
was seventy or eighty years ago,
when 1t had about 1901 residents.
In 1891 1t had only 1901 residents.
and the number is smaller today.
The history OF London begins In
mystery. The Romans were here
several centuries befor Christ. just
exactly when Is unknown, for they
left no documents telling. Many
local historians and Psychologists be
time of the Romans.
Evidences Of Roman occupation
are found eighteen feet under the lev
oil of the presnt city. Thr are build
ings whose foundations in part con-
slst of a piece of the ancient Roman
wall and in the cellars Of business
blocks are pieces of wall preserved
by the owners.
Roman Bath Remains
There is in the Strand a Roman
bath In an almost perfect state of
preservation, fed by the ancient
spring that engineers of today have
been unable to locate. The city had
at leact thirty such baths as late as
the day of Queen Elizabeth.
The city is at present a cheap
commercial section, filed with shops
Of all kinds, light manufacturing.
publishers OF high and low class, the
center Of the British newspaper
world and important government
buildings.
Step through an archway. II was
kult 300 years ago by Christopher
Wren. an architect who did more
than any other man to make London
Once through the arch
you are out OF the city. You are in
the Middle Temple, an area entirely
OF the city. The church
at which you are looking was built
by the knights Templars 500 years
ago. Part OF It is new. only four
or five centuries old.
Dance Floor Remains
Walk a few steps and you see a
grave Here Hes Oliver Goldsmith"
slve looking building comes into view.
Queen Elizabeth used to dance there
and the floor IS the same one upon
which she stepped. An actor named
William Shakespeare once appeared
there. To the left is building in
which Charles Lamb lived.
Another short walk; Those two
windows are OF the room occupied by
when writing the greater
part of his commentaries. Upstairs
lived Oliver Goldsmith. Blackstone
did most OF his writing at night and
along aobut 10 o'clock Oliver and a
bunch of friends. all soused. would
climb the tsairs and make merry till
daylight, so that poor Blackstone had
little peace.
Where Johnson Ate
Back to the street Of the city and
you find a restaurant that was one
Of the loahng places of authors for
three centuries. Tennyson, the last
great writer to frequent It, wrote a
poem about It. Drop into another
and occupy DR.. Johnson's
favoriet seat The one next was
where Dickens sat when he ate there,
which was frequently.
Step into this court. There is Bos-
wells house, A few feet away in
Johnson's old house, In which he
the first English dictionary.
Within a few minutes walk lie the
bodies of England's greatest war he
roes, Nelson and Wellington. And
within ten minutes ride is Westmin-
ster Abbey, where lie kings and