SEEING LONDON.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 729, 31 January 1910, Page 6

SEEING LONDON.

.> IMPRESSIONS. OF A aywwAii.l ' .;'-. .■',•;■:- SKETCH.,;:'; , "Cold, wet, and dreary;: London was evi. dentiy T not; at,'her*best'when we-visitora from _New. Zealand-Stepped ashore at- the Docks. : However,: we soon learned Jjhat/itLwas not. always' wet and dreary there,; for 1 the,glorious next morning, and its warmth' inspired ,us:,with. new/vigour.".-;: So writes; - Mr. Donald ;S..Hancox,,' a young Wellington resident,';in.a contribution'to ; anr English,' paper.;. The' article.' runs as under:—; '.-;;■

,-..^low,,vast,;:how..full, of /-misery: and•• suffering,, yet how full of Splendour'did' city;appear;to .our New'Zea>'/ ■land eyes. We passed without recognitionmillions .of •■ faces; "we. rubbed ' shouldera' with ■. men' of ■ 'every • '!■-'■ nationality, 1,and Vyet-Khow.; lonely,'■"': how-- unufc-' terably; lonely,..we:feltjs more'' so':;'than 1 ifowe; had.been lost; in the vastness of; our \bwn'dense.:bust -~'We", would'-;hav«; given much ;to have ;been!;able' to-.shake one countryman by, the hand. We. soon found: that' the" real''beauty-. of - London i lies'.hot 60 much' in-ifa crowded thbrough<V. fares ; as; in -its' 'parks, and .'suburbs:' Ao-.' cordingly 'we: lengthened.: and .were rewarded-; beyond ..expectation' with the. 6ight;'. of'the' wondrous beauty, of. the;' parks and 'gardens.'.;-,- Here,'! from.. 'all 'bustle ; ';'and<..-noise,.^her \ citizens,;,.see ■some of ,'the"-'wb'ri'de"rs o of'r Nature""mada doubly, beautiful by: the; art of. the landscape gardener; here they breathe, air.'as. ;freshi and' as; sweet "as':'ariywliere'in all, !Merriei!England]'>'>'' ¥ .-.■'■'i ;l ; 'W-?■:'s*■ :-.!JV-'-:>-

: .'.The memory'of bur-. visit" to'.-Kew'-'Gais' will ever ; remain. ' ••■ Could' %e' ''forget' Ihow; perfectly the colours of ..the" flowers' ;in each little bed Karmonised with each, other;; not'■ a. bud:out of. place, hot a leai' wanting?;l We saw'growing in l .all their' natural glory the- trees '.of the wide world.' ;Wegazea affectionately at the'well-known: .and . well-remembered; :;New."' ZealanA'' manuka as we lovingly thought of home, We. beheld the trees of' tropical ■''- Souti ■ America,.; exquisite .in their -. warmth ' oo f /colouring, : . luxurioushess, and;-- beauty.' ; Not even:in th"e famous, Eio de Janeiro! gardens', was -there;anything 'to ; '.;equal them. •.' ■-.::'., .:;,v : ,'-!'';.:'.. :;;, : :',:■.':.'

: ■ "The gardens at Hamptoa .Court' were: also- worth-, a ;visit.:-".The -beautiful'old . building,;>rearing: its.,' turreted towers .' amid -the surrounding i. love-y iliness,.. formed a-'■ picture l which - still" '.'■•' dingers .with'.us;' We: did. 'not; stay long ; ..:."; 'atßamptonCourt.i'hbwever.'.as the'river,' .;. the'.beautifur river, was calling, us. It wa&Y:; here; more, than-' anywhere lelse.. thak.we; " : New, Zealariders saw' how the people-cf' . Old England made much out of little.: W«~ ,' have many more beautiful rivers in-New ; '.Zealand; but'.; the newness .of. the English'. ' river and the picturesqueness of it;to our ; : ■; 'colonial eyes- gave .it-beauty unsurpassed. ';•..■ By the' 'distribution.'of locks,''thisjcom-.::,'. :paratively small, river had been made: into'.' a succession, of small'lakes, upon; which '.-.-; are,hundreds..of-'houseboats'.moored to "the; small islands'?thronging, the banks. How/;..; wonderfully .calm and peaceful'it all was, so near and yet'so distant from all-' they • tout and.bustle'of Londonrysteven here .' ' (10 ' miles ; distant) ■'■ we could see, :as > the'., twilight gradually, deepened,-the red glare'y■which tinged .the .'very clouds v hanging l '■ v over the;great city.:y ■ ■'-: ■:>; ... ■■ .'.;.. i , "What a wonderful .contrast—the emblem of:.wariand. ; peace,.thev.warof : man struggling with man for daily bread, and :the v peace.':and'/ calm'..'of ■ the,- twi-' (light • ■ inr.vthis.'f'ione" of : .the. • most; beautiful ~ spots'•':'of•-' /God's' r beautiful l .;. earths The twilight was a, constant source ! of wonder and, delight to: us colonials , coming from: a land where day merges ■; ■- into night~with\ startling rapidity. _, ■_;,..; : "Drifting down stream in a small boat by twilight, how. peaceful it: all seemed, land when the moon gradually rose_,ita, ' Tays. lent-, new and wondrous beautjy to ,'the. most commonplace of objects. -The reflection of the lights of the houseboats. . ■■in the water,, the quietness of the. night, invested'the whole scene/with a miniature Venice. Many false lm- , pressions" would be removed if all colons - mis visited the parks, gardens, and^sub-..... urbs, which are. the crowning beauty ot London. ■.■■.'■ ■ , .-'■.'.''.' .',';'. V m f, v -'i- : " "Eegent Street, at midmgh.'. To. the • ' uninitiated, the words '.do not. .convey."', much,, arid yet they tell, of-one, of the/, greatest sights, of, the. city.'.An'hour be-, fore'midnight the music-halls and theatres disgorgo their: multitudes, who' temporarily' turn Begent Street, into, a hugepromenade. As light as day, the street in the "early .hours of the;morning was , Blled with cabs and shouting' newsboys.. - It was' a sight which impressed ...ltseM-.; • indelibly upon. our. minds. In the'midst ' of all-this dazzling light and gaiety .we. could "not but think; low many of. th« ; . - poor we saw could boast (* no other; lodging-place but the embankment, wjew...,,, the derelicts, the outcasts, congregated- to ... sleep and to. forget,.if only for;aie-w.-short hours, their misery f and wretchedv: , ness London, so full .of ;• riches and , wealth, could surely, make ( some proyi-.. sion for these stricken;ones. :■•',;.■..- i. .' .