The Coolidge examiner., 1936-10-16

Us Ill Il HNGkdlld
famous ancestor in the age of Queen
Anne or Nell Gwyn.
At a pageant the king may sit
his horse while colors that have
faced enemy fire are dipped in sa-
lutte, or the tale of Runnymede, built
up by Roman and Dane, Plantagenet
and Tudor, may be retold in one
stirring afternoon beside the
Thames.
In the Midlands, smoke and haze
often thwart the sun, but spring ar
rives with the pounding of hoofs and
the cries Of the crowd at the Grand
National Steeplechase, which deter
mines the winners of the Irish
Sweepstakes, now duplicated on
Derby Day.
The course ic four and one-fourth
miles, with 80 jumps. Beyond any
of them, all but the lead horse may
land on his rivals sky-turned hoofs
instead of on billiard-cloth turf, or
trample a bright-clad jockey. An
Aintree steeplec chaser will sWerve
in the middle of a leap to avoid a
fallen rider, but when a dozen leap
ers cross Becher's Brook together,
like pony ballet paving the foot
lights, there is danger aplenty and
drama for all.
A few days after the race half
the men who slap reins on workaday
horsefesh will be clucking to their
steeds in the name of the year S
Grand National winner.
After this dramatic attack, spring
consolidates its hold. Small parties
HE away to rustic spots beloved be-
cause they are known to few. How
one island can contain so many IA
vorite picnic sites is a mystery.
Gated roads" private" signs, and
turnstiles are designed not so much
to keep out beauty seekers as to
keep in an air of seclusion and
quiet.
Everywhere citizens move out to
greet the bursting bud, the newborn
lamb, the soft spring breeze along
white cliffs, or welcome warmth at
the foot of red-rock sun traps near
the sea.
England can be grim. There is the
cruel tower where Anne Boleyn' S
slender throat was severed by a
sword and those of Catherine How
ard, Lady Jane Grey, and the Earl
of Essex by an AK; but London
River calls us. London Tower is a
scene of the nations tragic deaths;
the Thames of its birth and growth
and power. Who has not heard the
aphorism: The st. Lawrence is
water; the Missouri is muddy
water; the Thames is liquid his
tory?
Cruises on The Thames
Today a well-managed excursion
cruises down London River under
the auspices of the Port of London
Authority. Shiploads of school chill
dren and adults are carried amid
the busiest portions of London's TO-
mile port. They are shown through
the docks that feed and furnish a
nation and link this tiny island to the
Empire it's restless mariners won,
and to the world.
Leaflets are distributed which map
the course, epitomize the river S
history, and list the days portion
of thousand ships week converg-
ing from the far corners of the
earth. Through loudspeakers, intel
ligent guides point out where Ra-
leigh spread his cloak for Queen
Elizabeth, where the time-ball of a
modest observatory marks the
stride of our sphere, where Francis
Drake, expecting punishment, was
knighted on the Golden Hind.
Once there were more boats upon
the Thames than there we're hack
ney coaches in the streets, and mag
istrates from the City were rowed
to Westminster. Today many travel
ers ignore the most significant wa
terway in the world" extended by
the Grand Union Canal, which
makes the industrial Midlands ship
ping suburbs of the London docks.
Near the upper reaches of tide
water is Kew, a vast open-air nurs-
cry for plants and "a convaIescent
home for all sore souls" Through
the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew
the rubber plantations of Malaga
passed on their way from the native
forests in Brazil. India's post offices
could not sell Asiatic quinine to re-
lieve the tropical fevers of countless
millions until South Americas Gin
chona tree was bequeathed to Cey-
Ion and the Eimalayas through the
propagating gardens of Kew.
Kew is one of London's bestowed
Fairgrounds, especially when young
spring has ringed its little lake with
fuzzy foliage and touched the wide
spread green with masses of gay
blossoms. Bluebell, lilac, magnolia,
and aZalea, all have their deVotees.