V Epsom and back from £ i up. It will cost any single individual from $15 to $20 to visit the Derby by way of the country roads and take in its sights. This is the minimum cost. Of course if one bets, or yields to the thousand and one importunities on the grounds to spend money, he can make the day at the Derby cost him anything he likes. The average American with money who goes down to the Derby spends from $100 to $200. The Americans are not the only people who go to the 1 6 ENGLISH LIFE. Derby on the top of a drag. It is a favorite method also with the English who have plenty of money to spend. Those who go down to Epsom for the racing of course prefer the grand stand. There they have some chance of seeing the horses. But I come back to my original the- ory concerning the Derby. People go to it as they would go to a picnic. It is a day for an outdoor lark. It is one long round of stuffing and drinking from first to last, com- bined with the rural fair features, as I have mentioned above. I went down to the Derby on top of a drag in the Amer- ican style, with the star-spangled banner waving over the top seat of this very high vehicle. The start was made at 10 o'clock. The road was through West Ken- sington and Wimbledon over a perfect road from begin- ning to end. The day was raw and an east wind was blowing. The clouds obscured the sun all day. The sun shines only on six days in the year in England, and this was not one of the six days. But it did not rain, and for that fact every one was thankful. It is hard to re- alize in any place in the United States so late in May the intense cold of this Derby day. The season was' sup- posed to be on the verge of the full bloom of an English summer, and yet the heaviest blanket coats and rugs were necessary for one's comfort. The English country at this present time is a perfect garden of beauty. It does not seem possible that there has been enough warmth or sun during this so-called spring to develop the rich and beau- tiful green of the hedges, the great stretches of emerald color over the meadows, the luxuriant growths of the clo- ver fields, and the brilliant hues of the deep, dense wood- lands. The depth and richness of the greens of the Eng- lish landscape will always strike the American eye. This depth of color comes from the moisture of the at- mosphere. From the very start there were rows upon rows of peo- ple, ranging from the outskirts of London down to Epsom itself, waiting by the roadside for the spectacle of the mov- ing hosts marching on to the Downs. These people re- mained along the line of this road all during the day en- joying hugely the coming and waiting patiently for the return. The children were the most vociferous. From behind nearly every hedgerow and corner there would ENGLISH LIFE. , - come the most hilarious shouts from bands of apple- cheeked British youngsters, who, with yells of good cheer, pelted every passer-by with flowers, expecting a return fire of coppers. The cat-o'-the-wheel boys, as they are called — that is to say, small boys who revolve on their hands along the roadside after the fashion of a wheel — also expect pennies. The visitor to the Derby who u ishes to go through the day without loss of his peace of mind should take along at least a peck measure full of British copper coin. English lads hang around and call for pen- nies in a very bluff and matter-of-fact way. They sing " Chuck out your rolling coppers.'' A gentleman on the coach with me called attention to the fact that the Scotch boys have altogether a differcntcry, which he said was in his mind significant of the difference between the English and Scotch character. The Scotch boys call "Poor oot" (pour out), upon the theory that a Scotchman wants every- thing which you have for nothing. I do not propose to give in detail an exact sketch of this ride, the number of hedgerows and all the various quaint public inns and the character of each group passed. That would require a volume. I shall merely allude to some of the features of the ride as it struck my eye as a stranger. I was particularly impressed, in the first place, with the capacity for drinking of the wandering, waiting crowds. Every public inn from the outset of the journey was crowded. I noticed that upon the wagons the drinking and the lunching began at even the early hour of 10 o'clock, when the shadow of breakfast could not have been far distant. This lunching and drinking continued appar- ently without cessation during the day, and on the way home the lunching and the drinking were still going on with an energy and thoroughness which indicated very hard heads and very matter-of-fact stomachs, at hast upon the part of the lunchers and drinkers. Now and then a man would fall out of the ranks and drop upon th< by the roadside, lie was regarded with that respectful consideration which is paid to the veteran who falls light- ing with his face towards the enemy. The pedestrians walked carefully round him, and no one presumed for a moment, — not even the blue-coated policeman — to disturb the dreams of the sweet sleepers along this variegated road to Epsom. Going out, these fallen veterans were 2 1 8 ENGLISH LIFE. occasionally met with, but in coming back they were to be found in great numbers all along the road, and partic- ularly in the neighborhood of some public inn — the Royal George, the Prince of Wales, or the Hare and the Fox, or the Dog and the Partridge — which lined the way. Another feature of this day which I noticed was in marked con- trast to any such day with us — the drinking of the women. In nearly every public inn there were nearly as many women as there were men. They were not women of the class who would be seen drinking in public with us. Nearly all of them belonged to what is called here the lower working class, that is to say, the families of un- skilled laborers. These also comprised the costermonger, the green-grocer and the petty tradesman class. Nearly all these people owned either small ponies or donkeys. The endurance of these small beasts was something phenomenal. Most of the donkeys are about the size of a good Newfoundland dog. You would see some forlorn, undersized donkey or dwarfed pony harnessed up to a green-grocer's rack wagon, which is a simple frame for carrying vegetables on two wheels, and on this frame you would often see four or five full-grown men. The wretched little donkey would trot along contentedly, and would show no signs of being engaged in any unusual labor, although he would be expected to go with this load twenty miles and return, dragging a weight which the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals with us would regard as a great load for any one horse, however strong and powerful. Of course the perfection of the roads alone made it possible for the little donkeys and small ponies to drag their heavy loads. The women drank with the men, and appeared to have the same royal privilege of getting drunk without attracting the slightest notice or criticism. This privilege of becoming uproariously drunk appears to be one of the great feat- ures of an English holiday. The wandering minstrels who torture the ears of the public with wretched apologies for musical instruments swarmed along through this moving mass of pedestrians and vehicles, catching with great alertness at the slightest suggestion of any one of the coaching parties, to whom they paid the greatest attention. The coaching parties are the ones who are supposed to have the money, and ENGLISH LIFE. , 9 naturally all the wandering- crowd of merchant-. ' street fakirs and the like pursued the coaches as they did none of the other vehicles. The appearance of our coach carrying the American flag, was always the signal lor the minstrels to strike up "Yankee Doodle" or some national air which would at once unloosen the rolling coppers of the sentimentally patriotic Americans. The susceptible patriotism of the American abroad is thoroughly un- derstood by the army of street highwaymen who lie in wait for opportunities of assaulting the pocketbooks of the passers-by. The police arrangements for this day are admirable. Notwithstanding the enormous number of vehicles turned out on the road on this day, there was very rarely a col- lision and never a lock which checked for more than a moment the going and coming of this long line of wagons. The police were stationed all along the road atadistance perhaps of two rods apart from the starting place in London to Epsom itself. On the grounds the police swarmed everywhere. They were very skilful in their management of this holiday crowd. They were very careful about not using any arbitrary power which would provoke the crowd. They were very firm in saying what could or could notbe done, butthey acted more as friendly monitors than as arbitrary representatives of the law. The English constabulary certainly handle large crowds in this regard better than we. There is no pushing, no jostling, no scrambling permitted. The rights of the humblest are respected. The costermongcr, with his overloaded vegetable cradle and his little rat of an animal, has as fair a chance in the street procession as the showy drag, with its handsome, dancing double teams. The police on this day, so far as I could see, made but few- arrests. Where a man was found transgressing he was simply warned. If many arrests were to he made it is easy to see that the mob element might become excited, and the result would be anything hut tin- good order which is now maintained. Forinstance, gambling is nol permitted on the grounds at Epsom, hut there were many gamblers on the grounds, and they so occasion to ply their vocation. They would entrench themselves in quiet little corners behind coaches and would in a few minutes be doing quite a business, when some active 2o ENGLISH LIFE. member of the constabulary would come along. In no case would he make an arrest. He would simply walk up to the gambler and make him stop and put up his traps. The crowd at this would always fall back good-naturedly and the gambler would take his little table and start out on his hunt for another hiding place. The gamblers were thus kept moving on and on, and while some betting and swindling games of no chance took place there were com- paratively few, when the great number of people on the ground is considered. I saw on one place on the road the venerableand classic game of three-card monte. I had not believed it possible that there was any place on the globe where this most ancient form of swindling could for one mo- ment engage the attention of any sane person ; but this rep- resentative of three-card monte did a tremendous business just outside Epsom for three-quarters of an hour before the police found him behind a lovely hedgerow, where, backedby amass of flaming rhododenrons, this picturesque swindler from the United States explained in voluble phrases to the gaping crowd about him how easy it was to pick up the right card if one only knew just how to do it. A number tried it, greatly to the profit of the operator. The last I saw of this genial representative of the United States he was offering to wager ten sovereigns that a very red-faced 'squire could not pick up the king, and I thought I saw, as the coach whirled round a corner, that the red-faced 'squire was about to make the attempt. What became of this three-card monte man I do not know. He was not seen anywhere along the road on the return, and there was no evidence of this Spanish-American game on the Downs. Epsom Downs course is unlike anything we have in the United States. The course is over a turf track. That is a novel feature. This turf is staked off between the same lines which guard our beaten and rolled track. It is a much better track, of course, for running horses than our dirt tracks, but owing to the way the course is laid the greater part of the run is lost to the spectators. The roll- ing incline of the course hides the movements of the riders from all except those on the highest point of the grand stand. This turfy course is open to the public up to the very last moment of calling up the horses. The track is blocked for half its length with a moving mass of people. ENGLISH. LIFE. _, r It would not be possible for us to clear our tracks of any- such concourse of people in anything like the time in which this Epsom race-track is cleared. At the outside it does not takeover two minutes to move quietly from the smooth and velvety lawn track the entire host of people, who take up their positions outside the lines in a matter-of-course way, as if nothing- else could be expected. The grand stand, on account of the peculiarity of the ccurse, is very high. It is six stories in height and the top story is without roof. It is a great white framework, combined with covered balconies and boxes. The upper places on the stand are the only ones Avhere you can see everything, and in my judgment this point of view is not a good one for any one fond of sport. Abird's-eye view is always an unnatural and uninteresting one. Looking down from a height of fifty feet or sixty feet upon fii is a great disadvantage. To the right and left of these stands are a number of smaller stands. In the front of them is a long line offence where the public can stand, as with us. Opposite the grand stand and across the course is a parkway for the carriages. This also corre- sponds to the same division as with us. Here are placed in line numerous vehicles, the drags, victorias, broughams, hansoms and wagons employed by the fashionable people and those who have money enough to buy a place within this inclosure. The carriages are placed in solid ranks ; but the horses are always withdrawn. The carriages are placed as closely as possible to each other. The points of advantage are next to the track. To obtain a position here it is necessary to go to the Epsom Downs very early. Although the Derby race proper is not run until 3 o'clock, by 1 o'clock ever)- point of advantage along the course is taken. The coaches being the highest of the wagons are of course a great deal better than any of the others. This is the real advantage of the drag. The carriages are in double and triple rows and are banked from away above the grand stand down along the line of the course for upwards of half a mile. The horses from these carriages are retired from down a declivity at the foot of a small slope at the back of the carriages. Standing on the top of tin' drag, within a few feet of the grand stand, I shall now try to describe some of the 22 ENGLISH LIFE. features presented. The grand stand itself is crowded from the base of its wooden frame-work to the top with a well-dressed assemblage representing the more experi- enced and devoted patrons of the turf. To the right and to the left of the stand are a succession of buildings and booths. In front of this stand is a great and compact crowd of pedestrians and of itinerant venders, thieves, and the thousand-and-one motley characters who have swarmed down from all quarters of London, ranging from the best to the East End slums. The booths are in the shape of tents hastily constructed — wooden shanties, such as might be seen in a new Western camp. A bril- liant flag bearing the coat-of-arms of the United Powers of Great Britain and Ireland flaunt against a gray back- ground of cloud on the top of the grand stand. This key of color is extended throughout the length and breadth of the wide stretch across the downs. Flags fly from every direction. Opposite the stands is the line of packed car- riages which I have just mentioned. On the top ofthese wagons are various groups of gayly-dressed people lunch- ing and drinking or studying the various pictures pre- sented in this hubbub of noise, chatter, song and dance passing around, beyond, and beneath them. Following the line of the course round there is one succession of booths, stands, and tents, while the townspeople swarm in such numbers that you soon become weary of trying to estimate their number. Upon every breeze there comes some new cry, some discordant note of struggling bands, the hoarse shouts of the book-makers, the howl of the wandering minstrels, the wheedling tones of the gypsies, the pop of the champagne corks, the laughter of the groups on the wagons — all making a medley of sound which is confusing, but at the same time exciting. Back of the line of carriages stands a row of book- makers. These bookmakers transact business in about the same way as our bookmakers. They have the same blackboards and give odds in about the same proportion. Record of the bets is made in the same way. The better is given a ticket, which is cashed or not at the close of each race according to his good or bad fortune. Where the bookmakers differ from ours is in their dress. Nearly all of the English bookmakers wear some peculiarly dis- tinctive article of apparel in order to attract attention. I ENGLISH LIFE. 2j do not know what would be thought on any of the tra near New York if some one of the bookmakers should ap- pear in a claret-colored suit of velvet or in a servant's livery, in order to attract clients. One of the bookmakers near me stimulated interest in his stand by wearing a great broad, flat brimmed straw hat about three feet across, one flap of its broad brim caught up and pinned against the crown of the hat by a huge blue how ribbon. The face underneath this eccentric hat was cold and mat- ter-of-fact and anything but suggestive of the shepherd- like simplicity of his head covering. Two other men in this row wore purple wine-colored velvet suits and skin- tight white breeches, and shiny, low-crowned black beaver hats canted over their right ears. In another way these bookmakers differed from ours. Our bookmakers are very impassive, quiet, and rarely speak unless asked a direct question. They have enough to do in watching their bulletins and in recording the bets made. The English bookmakers constantly vociferate the advantages that they have to offer in the way of betting. When they are not recording bets they are begging as would an auctioneer for bids. Up to the very last second, when the race is declared on they were howling loudly for bets. Scattered throughout the grounds are smaller bookmakers with movable tables who take bets as low as one shilling, but these are very untrustworthy men, who, if the odds go against them in any way, have a fashion of decamp- ing without paying. These men are called, in the lan- guage of Epsom Downs, " welchers. " Occasionally you will see a crowd running and hooting and stoning and chasing some unfortunate British citizen, you would be surprised to see the indifference of the police and the ap- parent enjoyment of every one at the pursuit of this poor, unfortunate Briton who flees as if his life was in danger. You ask what is the matter and you are told, "Oh, that is a welcher ! The crowd are running him off the ground." The occupants of the carriages and drags inside the parked enclosure have very little opportunity of follow- ing the race. Nearly every foot of the enclosure i cupied by some one with designs upon the purs, of the jolly throng perched up on the roofs of the wagons. Gypsies swarm in great numbers. They are the most 24 ENGLISH LIFE. picturesque people at the races. These women tell the fortunes of the people of the line of carriages. It is hard to escape their good-natured, wheedling, and persistent demands. If the people of the carriages ignore them they climb up on the wheels, and no one ever thinks of drag- ging them off. They are the privileged characters of the Downs, and as they always tell good fortunes, long life, luck, and good fortune in love and war, for everybody, they manage to pick up a great many shillings in the course of the day. One of the most picturesque of the gypsy women made a small fortune on account of a handsome gypsy baby which she carried in her arms. This baby was only eight months old, but it carried on its stolid brown face a look of the shrewd experience of a veteran, I asked the proud mother the name of this little one, and she said "Louisa." I handed down Louisa a cake. Louisa took possession of it in a matter-of-fact way that would have done credit to a child five years old. I then handed a glass of brandy-and-water to the mother, telling her to drink the health of Louisa. She took a sup of it and then turned around and placed the glass of strong drink at Louisa's mouth. This gypsy baby took a drink which would have knocked out the average weak- headed young man, and smacked her lips over it with a zest that was peculiarly droll, and then, after having taken that enormous drink down without even a shudder, turned calmly to her cake. I asked the mother of Louisa how much she would take for her baby, just to see how far the gypsy fondness for money would go. She was indig- nant at this. She wrapped up Louisa in a striped plaid and turned away with a swing as she said, with a gesture of dissent, that there was not money enough in the world to buy Louisa. One of the greatest nuisances of the day was the negro minstrel. I do not know of anything more distressing than the English imitation of the American negro's pecul- iarities. This style of fun does not, I should say, bear transplanting. The English minstrel is vulgar, awkward and coarse ; he is never by any chance funny ; there is no real wit in him. The darky humor is spontaneous and genial. The English negro minstrels are simply types of very bad rejected Music Hall talent of the lowest grade disguised behind a coating of burnt cork. Their dress is ENGLISH LIFE. 2 5 in imitation of our minstrels. These men go about and howl under the coaches and will not leave until they receive something. The wandering photographer is also a feature of the Derby. All of those happy lunching parties welcome the photographer. Those who are on the coaches are generally people to whom the Derby is a novelty, and as a necessary consequence they are delighted to take home with them some permanent souvenir of their new experi- ence. The photographer, therefore, does a thriving busi- ness. The style of picture taken by him is what is called with us, tin-type, which is taken in any one of the galleries for 15 or 25 cents. At the Derby each picture costs half a crown, or about 622 cents of our money. I do not intend to devote any space to the race itself; that is such a small and incidental feature of the Derby. The favorite did not win. The winner of the race, Merry Hampton, had never made any appearance on the public track. But that she was to win had been posted for several days before the race throughout the London clubs. There were a great many happy Americans who had received this tip in time, and who had placed their money when the odds on Merry Hampton were still twelve to one. The Derby is only one of a series of races at Epsom, and Wednesday, Derby day, is only one of several days devoted to racing on this track. On the day of the I >erby itself, five races were run, and two of them were much more interesting than the Derby. The Derby race was run at three o'clock. The distance was one mile and five furlongs. The horses were placed, therefore, on account of this distance, at a starting post where it was not possi- ble they could be seen even by the people on the grand stand, with the exception of those occupying seats on the upper story. There was an affectation of enormous interest at the time the race itself was run. The vast crowd turned towards the long line of hills beyond which was the start- ing post. The venders of threepenny plaees on high benches along the fences sold every toot of this point oi advantage. The mass of faces on the grand stand turned towards the left; those on the coaches and drags 26 ENGLISH LIFE. faced round from the grand stand towards that part of the track where the horses were first to be seen. There was a moment's comparative silence. Then there went up a cry. "There they come! there they come!" and there was a shimmering line of bolting horses, a waving line of the backs of the silken-jacketed jockeys, and then the racers came plunging down over the turf, and in the briefest possible moment of time from their appearance they were flying down by the grand stand. It was a mad rush, and all that the crowds could see of it was this skurry at the finish. They all shouted and roared and yelled along the line as if it was the most exciting and dramatic of spectacles. It was nothing of that. The picnic people simply had their attention diverted from stuffing and from drinking for a moment. There was some congratulation along the line of carriages, among those who were lucky, but the majority of the people who had money up had selected something else for the winner. There was a very small pressure of people about the bookmakers to have their tickets cashed. That fact in itself might have accounted for the absence of any marked hilarity of feel- ing at the close of this world-renowned race. One of the great features of the Derby is the extraor- dinary number of thieves who go out to plunder and way- lay. The carriages were watched like hawks by these thieves. No carriage was safe that was not thoroughly guarded by one or two servants standing about on the grounds. If there was the slightest relaxation of the watching some thief would step up quickly and snatch the first thing at hand and pass it to an associate, who, in turn, disappeared. I saw one active, urgent thief pick up from a drag near me a large brown bag filled with bottles, glassware and other articles, right from behind the servant who had set it down and was turning for one other article before going up to finish settling the lunch table on the top of the coach. The thief took up the bag, and in just one twist it was out of sight down between some other coaches, and when the servant turned with his table ware he found the bag gone, and with it all trace of the thief. Pickpockets also swarmed everywhere. People with watches or with money in their pockets were fortunate if they escaped without any loss if in their sight- seeing they ventured into the dense crowds. ENGLISH LIFE. : 7 But the most striking feature in my mind of this vast and motley assembly was the presence of so much dis- tress and the evidence of such abject, squalid poverty that was to be seen at nearly every hand. There were gaunt, lean, hungry wretches who hung about the coaches and snapped at every morsel of food that was dropped from these coaches with the avidity and voracity of hun- gry dogs. There was no bone, however clean it had been picked, that had fallen to the ground that was not immediately struggled for by two or three men. It poisoned every mouthful I took to sec such abject hunger upon every side watching the fortunate people who had what was unknown to them — plenty of food to eat. I gave two boys who stood near me the best part of my lunch, and the way that they bolted everything that was handed to them showed that they were actually suffering from hunger. My attention was first attracted to them by their friendship for each other. When one would find a bone or scrap he would invariably divide it with the other. There was no fighting between them. It was a close partnership in a mad hunt for food. Everything that I handed down to either one or the other was at once scrupulously divided. It was the first time that I had ever been confronted with evidence of this tremen- dous English poverty which I have heard so much about among certain classes. This increasing and terrible poverty must account for the increasing emigration. There is nothing, I was told by an English gentleman present, to give a better idea of the unnatural relation of things in England than this very picture represented to-day. Here was one class on the top of carriages spending money with a lavish hand, apparently rich and certainly careless, having everything that plenty of money could give, and the other class actually suffering the pangs of want. The rich in England are very rich, and the poor are poorer than in any country in Continental Europe. ENGLISH LIFE. CHAPTER III. A GLANCE AT THE FASHIONABLE ASCOT MEETING ITS LACK OF IN- TEREST FOR A FOREIGNER. It is a general belief that the English are fond of rac- ing. I have been on two of their great race-tracks only, and perhaps this two days' experience is not enough for even an approximate judgment, but the surface indi- cations contradict the theory that they are really fond of racing. They are fond of being out of doors ; they like the picnic life found on the race-tracks, but the general crowds I have seen take very little interest in the races themselves. Betting is always high and general among the strictly sporting element, but it is not free enough to give what you might call a general interest in the race. There is no nervous watching of the horses as with us ; no shouts or cheers at the finish. Perhaps this is owing to the nature of the tracks. None of the great tracks in England are so arranged that the start and the finish can be seen by those attending. At the Ascot, where I was last Thursday, the course is a straightaway one. Each start is out of sight of the grand stand. You have none of the interesting incidents of an uncertain start, and un- less you have a specially favored position at the Ascot, you cannot see the horses nor gain any idea of them until the race is fully three-quarters run. The finish is not in front of the principal stand, but is continued beyond in front of the royal boxes, at the end of the lawn. The Ascot is much more of a social than a race meeting. The Ascot course is of the same character as that at Epsom, only it is quieter and less picturesque. The land is more level, and there are none of the rolling hills seen at Epsom. At the right and left, as far as one can see, are stretches of woodland, meadows, sleepy farms, and elegant country places. The course itself is a grassy field, carefully laid out and maintained with something of the care which you would find on a private estate. The stand-buildings, for the accommodation of the patrons of ENGLISH LIFE. 2g the course are four or five in number, and are three stories high. The first two stories are made up of com- fortable boxes. These are filled with chairs. They are partitioned off from each other so that the occupants have great privacy. The third-story of the stand is a succes- sion of seats rising in tiers to a much greater height than anything I have seen on any American track. These principal seats are absolutely unprotected from the sun, wind or rain, though the occupants of these for- lorn seats are the real supporters of the track. The boxes below are given by favor to the friends of the court circle and the people whom the Master of Buckhounds thinks should have them. The majority of them are not paid for. But to see so many prominent people, to come in contact, possibly, with royalty, by breathing the same at- mosphere with it, though no nearer than something like an eighth of a mile, is a great privilege in England, judg- ing by the tremendous rush for the seats, although the price charged for them is enough to make the man of moderate means shed bitter tears. The price for a re- served seat in this gallery of suffering innocents is one guinea and a half, while the price of admission to the grand stand itself before you can sit in your guinea-and-a half seat is £i, but between the races the person who has parted with his £2 is. has the privilege of descending from his sun-burned and wind-swept golden perch aloft, and can take his place on the green lawn in front of the boxes oceupied by the most select members of London society. Very often the occupants of these boxes come down on the lawn. This lawn is supposed to be the meeting-place of the most fashionable people in all Europe, the spectacle of which could not be equalled anywhere else in the world. It is upon the crowd on this lawn that the English society writers employ their most gushing phrases. The crowd is a good-looking one, but in the main it is a badly dressed one. I had heard a good deal about bad taste in the dressing of the ladies oi the Eng- lish high society, but I never had such evidence of it as was gained during my stroll up and down 11)1011 the lawn last Thursday. There were s<> many women who ap- peared to think that royal purple velvet was about the most dashy and picturesque material for a racirigcostume that could be devised The endless combinations of tins 30 ENGLISH LIFE. purple velvet, with jarring, inharmonious colors, made anything but attractive effects. The English bonnet- makers are very clumsy. The bonnets are built very much like the English road wagons. They are very solid looking, and have frames which convey the idea that they would come out of a collision or a serious accident intact, but in all the elements of grace and looks they are lacking. The people who seemed to be having the best time occupied the high coaches opposite the stand. These coaches reached at least a quarter of a mile in solid line, and were covered with picnicking parties who gossiped, ate, drank and were merry all through the day. There were about the same kind of rough entertainments going on up and down the course as at the Derby between the races. The very moment the horses had reached the finish the people swarmed back on the grassy track, where juggling, tumbling, and clumsy circus evolutions are always going on in this never-ending struggle for pennies which one meets at every place in open air engagement in England. There were none of the rough or squalidly poor on this track as is seen at the Derby, the price of admission alone keeps them away. The majority of people who visit Ascot come so that they can say afterwards that they have been there. It is one of the most fashionable events of London ; the mere fact of being there is considered in itself such an advantageous thing as to preclude any other idea of enjoyment or comfort being necessary. The great feature of the Ascot is the royal parade on the track. This occurred on Tuesday, the opening day, and Thursday, Gold Cup day. On Thursday the pro- cession started very promptly at one o'clock. There were only six carriages. These were long open landaus with straw-colored bodies and dark bearings. Each was drawn by four horses guided by postilions. The Earl of Coventry, the Master of the Buckhounds, led the pro- cession. He rode a dark bay horse. He wore a dark riding suit, a high hat and a dark riding coat and white knee breeches. Following him were four attendants in red livery, representing the Ascot course. Then came the out-rider for the royal carriage and then the Prince of Wales' carriage. The Prince was on the left-hand side of ENGLISH LIFE. 3< the front seat, the Grand Duke Michael of Russia was on his right. The Princess of Wales and Princess Christian sat on the back seat. Both these ladies wore light creamy white costumes and shaded their faces from the view of those present with great lace-trimmed sunshades. The Prince of Wales wore a light spring suit, with a short single-breasted overcoat buttoned tightly to his chin. He bowed occasionally and saluted, but there was very little cheering done. Out of the twenty-five or thirty thousand people along the track it is possible that 500 cheered. This was the enthusiastic reception described by the Eng- lish papers. The occupants of the other carriages attracted no attention. The carriages were not five minutes in passing in front of the stand. Yet it is this sight of the royal procession which brings to the Ascot a greater portion of its visitors. CHAPTER IV. A PRINCE OF WALES' LEVEE. A COMPLETE STORY OF A PRESENTATION AT ST. JAMES PALACE. NOTABILITIES PRESENT THE RECEPTION CONTRASTED WITH THE WHITE HOUSE LEVEES THE RECEPTION OF LADIES BY THE QUEEN. What is known as the season begins on the first of May and continues until the first of August People begin to come back to London, however, during the month of April. In the capital of the United States the first official reception given by the President on New year's Day marks the opening of the season in Washington. But the official receptions held by the Queen do not appear to have any effect in the direction of formally opening the season in London. Two were held this year in March. Last Monday the Prince of Wales held a levee for the Queen at St. James Palace. The Queen's drawing-rooms are held in "Buckingham Palace. Ladies make up the greater part of the people presented at the Queen's draw- 32 ENGLISH LIFE. ing-rooms. At the levees ladies are never presented. Last Monday, through the courtesy of the United States Minister, I was presented and had an opportunity of seeing this official parade and comparing it with the official and diplomatic receptions of the President of the United States. The Prince's levee is not so very much different from an official and ceremonious reception by the President of the United States. There is a greater number of officials to be presented, a larger number of uniforms in the throng, greater formality and difficulties in the way of access, more parade and ceremony upon the outside, but upon the inside everything passes off in a matter-of-fact way, very much as at the White House. The officers of the army and navy and the diplomats all wear their dress uniforms. The high officials of the court, in fact every one holding any official position in England, makes it a point to appear at one of these State ceremo- nials during the year in the full dress of his office. Civil- ians are obliged to wear a court dress in order to be re- ceived. There are two styles of dress for civilians. One is a mulberry suit made of a fine cloth. The coat is of an old style that has been worn at this court for a great many years. It has a small stand-up collar and is cut upon the sides like a dress coat, while it has flaps on the hips and is long in the skirt. It has a narrow strip of gold braid on the collar, two gold buttons on each sleeve, with a small strip of braid ; the buttons front and back are large, gilt and embossed with a royal crown. A white waistcoat and mulberry-colored breeches, with a narrow gold band down the seam, a gilt-handled court sword and a gold-braided cocked hat complete this costume. The other style of court dress is handsome and becoming to most people. Its style, so far as the cut is concerned, is the same as the mulberry suit just described, with the ex- ception that it has no collar, and is not trimmed with gilt. The coat and knee-breeches of this suit are of black velvet. The waistcoat is white satin. The court coat is orna- mented with steel buttons. The breeches are buttoned at the knee with three buttons, and have an additional buckle back of the seam where the buttons are placed. A steel-handled court sword is worn with this suit. This is worn in a belt under the waistcoat, and is drawn up tight and close to the side, hanging in line with the left leg. ENGLISH LIFE. 33 A cocked hat with steel-bead trimmings is also worn with this suit, It is carried under the left arm after entering the palace. Plain dress shirts, with the regular tie and collar of a dress suit, are worn with these costumes. The gloves are white kid. Only the left hand is gloved. The right hand is left bare. People desiring to be presented must have permission given them by the Lord Chamberlain. The foreign .Minis- ters, members of the royal family or members of the no- bility and officials holding high places have the right to ask to have people presented. The names are sent in several days in advance and each applicant who is favorably recommended for presentation receives two large cards. These cards are pink on the back, with two pink strips upon the front. Between the two pink bars on the right and left of the card is a white space, upon which is inscribed, in large, plain hand-writ- ing, the name of the person presented and by whom pre- sented. One of these cards is given up at the entrance to the palace and the other is retained until the Lord Cham- berlain is reached in the reception-room. There the card is surrendered to him and he calls out the name of the per- son presented. The Palace of St. James is one of the oldest of the royal houses. It is on the Mall, very near the Marlborough House, occupied and owned by the Prince of Wales. The building is a long rambling one, built of brick. These are nearly black with age. Its site was originally occu- pied by a hospital for lepers, founded in the twelfth cen- tury. The present building was constructed by Henry the Eighth in the early part of the sixteenth century. Queen Mary died in this palace. Charles the First slept here the night before his execution. It was the principal residence of the English kings from William the Third to George the Third. The Queen used to hold her drawing- rooms here during the life of the Prince Consort, and it is from this palace that the English Court has its name. There are two entrances tor visitors upon levee days. Those who have the privilege of the entree are driven in- to one of the interior courts, and arc permitted to alight from their carriages without being obliged to undergo the inspection of a street full of curious people. Tin' ordi- nary mortals are admitted througha doorway undera low 3 34 ENGLISH LIFE. porch, whose floor was on a level with the street. It is considered the correct thing- to go in a hansom and dismiss it when you go in. Then when you go out pick up the first one at hand and you do not have to wait for any par- ticular carriage. Gentlemen attending these receptions have a great advantage over the ladies who are presented to the Queen, They have no vexatious waits for carriages, and arc admitted much more promptly for presentation. Presentations to the Prince of Wales at these levees are considered the same as presentations to the Queen. People who have been once presented have the right afterwards to attend these levees once a year, unless they forfeit that right by some scandalous conduct. Between the Park and St. James Palace on levee day is stationed a long line of Horse Guards to protect and guard the street from being occupied by passing carriages. I was advised by a friend who has passed through this official ceremony a great many times to go early. I arrived at the St. James street entrance at 1. 15. The hour of the reception was at 2 o'clock and was to continue for one hour. I found already upward of a hundred people in advance waiting in the room into which the first door directly opened. It was a long low room, perhaps a hundred feet in length and forty in width. It was supported by pillars. The ceiling was white and the walls were covered by a dark red tapestry. There was a row of white pillars down through the centre of this room. There was an open fire at the left of the room under a heavy wooden mantle. Upon this mantle were two great blue and white Japanese vases filled with flowers. Between these vases was an old-fashioned square mirror. Over the mantle was one of the celebrated portraits made by Lely in his studies of the court beauties of the time Of Charles the Second. There were several other portaits of royal faces of early times along the line of this wall. The gentlemen present moved down in a solidline between the first row of pillars and this line of portraits, pressing up against double doors, through whose glass windows several officers of the Guards and two household servants were standing. Most of the people to be presented were army and navy officers. Near- ly all of the army and navy officers in London were presented They looked very much like the officers in our two services, and their talk was upon the K\<; LI SU LIFE. same subject — of promotions, of the good luck i favorite and the bad luck of the poor fellow who had no in- fluence. One of the funniest conversations that I heard while we were waiting- to have the doors opened suggested the intrigues of Washington military and naval life. One old General said to another of equal rank, judging by his uniform and appearance, "You needn't think you will stay in London very long," said the first "Why?" asked the other with consternation in his face. "Mrs. — has arrived, and she has her finger-nails all sharpened to scratch you, and you may be sure that you will be packed off somewhere very soon." The officer addressed did not seem to make light of this information, but received it with as grave and serious an air as if his death-warrant had just been read to him. About 1.30 the doors were opened. The long corridor was now packed from end to end with the people who were to be presented. The diplomats and officials who attend regularly the court receptions were admitted by other ways, and were not seen at all by those who were coming to be presented until the audience chamber was reached The throng passed in quiet order up one flight of stairs, then turned and passed up two or three flights. At 1 1 h corner stood a servant in full court livery. These were the most imposing features of the spectacle. Thi no nobleman or high dignitary present who could begin to compare in grandeur and magnificence of deportment with these stately servants in their red coats, white waist- coats and skin-tight white breeches, white silk stockings and patent-leather slippers. Their ruffles were profuse, and the gold braid upon their coats matched in richness and weight any of the court uniforms of the diplomats. These solemn attendants simply posed, and never moA ed. An irreverent American who attended one of these levees last year had made no arrangement for his over- coat. Finding that there was no coat-room and no place to put the coat he attempted to obtain some information from one of these resplendent beings, but was sent from one to the other with an air of stem rebuke until hi one in an obscure corner who promised to look after his coat for the consideration often shillings. But he told the American that it would be as much as Ins place were worth if it were known that he had condescended to do 36 ENGLISH LIFE. anything so menial as to look after anybody's coat. The last stairway ended on a landing above a rectangle guarded by the Yeomen of the Guard. These men are generally known as the beef-eaters and can always be seen attired in their quaint uniform at the Tower. These uniforms are red. The hats worn are stiff-brimmed, with soft, bulging crowns, but flat on the top. They stood there holding their spears in the same position and oc- cupying the same attitude of respectful statues as they did at court receptions two hundred years ago. Passing from this rectangle the callers passed down a long hall to one other doorway, and then to the right into a large waiting-room. This waiting-room is about the same size as the East Room in the White House. It is in white and gold, with dark, dull red brocaded tapestry on the walls. There are numerous portraits about the room of previous occupants of the palace. The great windows in this room overlook the Mall and St. James Park. This room is arranged in such a way as to prevent crowding. It is divided off into three sections. They suggest simply pens to prevent any hurry. The first section runs the entire length of the room. This is a long rectangle. The other sections are nearly square and are made up by a fence running through the centre of the open space left by the first section. The fences between these sections are brass and with a cushioned railing along the top. Those who came first walked into the first section until it was comfortably filled, and then it was closed until the second section was full, then that was closed and the third filled. In each section there were two or three officers in the full uniform of the Gentlemen-at-Arms to preserve order. At the end of the first section there stood a group of these officers between the first visi- tors and the audience room. There is no favor shown to any one of the visitors. They are all presented in the order of their arrival. This room was filled up about 1.30. After it was filled the door was closed and the others were made to wait below until it had been emptied after the levee began. A Washington gentleman commenting upon this arrangement to prevent crowding said : "I should think these pens would be a splendid thing for the White House." Then he added: 1 ' No, I don't believe they would, though. The Washing- EXGLISLT LIFE. 37 ton callers would jump over the fences." At 1.50 those who were next to the window had an opportunity of witnessing the showy arrival of the royal coaches bring- ing the Prince of Wales and those who were to 1 with him. This was an interesting sight to a stranger. The grounds about the St. James Palace are surrounded by high walls. Heavy wooden gates bar the private en- trance. This entrance is guarded by a porters lodge. Outside of these gates stood a long line of Horse Guards. At a signal from the bugler upon the flank of this line of guards the porter, wearing a heavy gold-laced uniform and three-cornered hat, ran out to open the gates. The Horse Guards presented arms ; then appeared one of the royal carriages. These carriages were ornamented with crowns on the top and decorated with gold leaf until they looked like Roman chariots. The horses' harnesses were loaded with gold mountings. Long strips of gold- stamped leather were placed in rows along their 1 Kicks. and new back in the wind as they advanced. Four gold- laced footmen stood behind, while an outrider in the uniform of the Horse Guards followed each carriage. The coachman of the Prince of Wales looked like a Mephisto. His overcoat was red and the blanket in which he had wrapped his legs and feet was also fiery red. He wore a tight-curled wig, upon which he had cocked in the most rakish fashion a three-cornered hat. Instead of having the solemn countenance of the average English driver, his face was almost ribald in its conviviality of expression. As soon as the Prince had alighted from his carriage this man drove his team down under the windows where we were waiting, and there he sat and chaffed and shouted at his brother coachmen with the freedom and volubility of a hansom cabby. At two o'clock sharp one of the Gentlemen-at-Arms signalled to those in waiting to advance ; that the Prince was ready to receive them. The occupants of tin- fust pen moved forward. There was no haste or crowding. The officers at the door stood at one side in the attitude of attention as the group passed through into the next room. This room is large and high, about half tin- size of the room opening into it, from which the callers had just come. The walls are covered with a dark red tapestry. S S ENGLISH LIFE. The ceilings are a light yellow in tone, picked out in gilt. There is only one picture in the room. This is a life-size portrait of George IV. , painted when he was a young man. This stretches from the wainscoting to the frieze on the left-hand side of the room as you go out. The Prince of Wales stood at the north end of the room, just in front of a small raised platform, over which hung a dark red silk canopy. Upon the back part of this canopy fell a broad background of red silk, upon which was the coat-of-arms of England The Prince wore the uniform of a Field-Marshal. His coat was red, his trous rs a very dark blue. He wore white kid gloves. He re- ceived every one with a pleasant bow and a smile. He shook hands only with those whom he knew person- ally. In this there was the difference between a presen- tation to him and to the President of the United States. The President of the United States shakes hands with every one who is presented to him. These presentations with us are generally made by an officer of the army. This officer stands in front of the President, and, meeting the advancing visitor, asks him his name and then turns to present him. Here the ceremony of presentation is much simpler. The Lord Chamberlain stood at the right of the Prince, and if anything a half step back of him. As the visitor advanced he handed to the Lord Chamberlain his card. He in turn then called out the name written thereon, and as this name was called the person presented advanced, bowed first to the prince and then separately to the two members of the royal family who were receiv- ing with him. After that was done each one walked off, as he would after being presented to any-one. There was no one who attempted to back off. The attention of the receiving party was always directed to the coming, and those who left turned their backs directly the last bow was made. Upon the left of the Prince of Wales stood the Duke of Cambridge, the Commander-in-Chief of the army. He was one of t^e finest-looking men in the room. He is over six feet in height, very broad-shouldered and deep- chested. Although he is sixty-eight years of age he looks as strong and vigorous as most men at fifty. His hair is nearly white, bushy at the sides and thin at the top. His forehead is broad and full. His eyebrows are very ENGLISH LIFE. 39 bushy. His eyes are a keen blue-gray, deeply set. cheek bones are high. His nose is large and irregular in shape. White side-whiskers follow around the line of his jaw to the base of his nose. His mouth is full and firm, while his jaw and chin are square, indicating force of character. If his nose were Roman he would resemble the portraits of our Gen. Scott. He was dressed in the sombre uniform trimmed with black frogs ami braids <>\ the Rifle Brigade, of which he is Colon el-in-Chief. ( >n each shoulder bows of white ribbon fastened the gold collar of the Order of the Garter to his shoulder-knots. At his left stood Prince Christian, of Sleswich-Holstein, the husband of Helena Augusta Victoria, the third daugh- ter of Queen Victoria. He was dressed in a similar uni- form to the Prince of Wales. He is a very austere-look- ing man. He is a little taller than the Prince of Wales and with a slighter figure. He must be at least sixty years old. His hair is very white, and he wears it brushed back from his forehead, it being parted low on the side. His eyes are a very cold blue. His nose is straight. His complexion is sallow. A short white mustache and care- fully arranged white beard cover the lower part of his face. He was very stiff in his manner and bowed only in the slightest possible degree to those who were presented, with the exception of army officers who were known to him. The Duke of Cambridge was especially friendly to the army officers. The Prince of Wales had a smile for every one. It seemed impossible for him to keep his face straight. He would nod and his eyes would begin to twinkle whenever he saw any one in the line that he knew, and for the strangers he had also a pleasant smile and a friendly bow. The Lord Chamberlain was as austere and business-like in the performance of his part of the reception as if it were a religious performance. The Lord Chamberlain is the Earl of Lathom. He is a very tall man with a slim figure. He does not look unlike .Air. Bancroft, our historian, although his features are smaller. He is not so old. lb- has the same profusion of fine, silky hair, about the same shaped mustache and lou-- flowing beard, but a soil ■ in color, which lias not yet reached tin- fleecy whiteness of Mr. Bancroft's. He wore a close-fitting dark-blue and gold uniform. The buttons were embo ssed with the royal 4 o ENGLISH LIFE. arms. He held in his right hand a gold stick upon which he leaned. Back of him were several members of his personal staff wearing the same dress, also holding gold sticks. To the right of them were other officials holding silver sticks. These are the gold and silver sticks in waiting. To the left of the royal group is the most envied post in the chamber for the members of the Diplomatic Corps. It is a little space assigned to the six Ambassadors who represent Austria, France, Russia, Germany, Turkey and Italy at the English Court. These Ambassadors have the right to stand on an equality with the members of the royal family at all receptions. They have the right of admission to the royal presence at any reasonable time. They represent the sovereigns of Europe, and as they represent them are given the social footing and position which the sovereigns themselves would occupy should they come to London. They take no part in the recep- tion. Few of those who pass down the line around the place of presentation ever notice them as they go along. They have the wearisome task of standing in one posi- tion for an hour or an hour and a half to assert the dignity of their rank. Beyond them at the left and standing be- tween them and the exit door are Her Majesty's Ministers. In the centre of the room in a space the shape of a horse- shoe stand all the other diplomatic representatives, the Ministers, the Charges d'Affaires and the attaches. Those who are presented have to pass rapidly around the skirts of this group and directly out of the room, un- less they happen to be fortunate enough to know some member of the Diplomatic Corps, who can invite them to remain. Through the courtesy of Mr. White, the First Secretary of our Legation, I was enabled to remain in this room and witness the spectacle of advancing officials during the remainder of the levee. The eyes of diplo- matic envy were constantly turned towards the Ambassa- dors. There were only three present upon this particular occasion, the Austrian, the Turkish and the Italian. The Austrian Minister was the finest-looking of the group. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with a large head and strong, positive features. His hair was long, iron-gray, falling about his swarthy countenance. He wore a full, flowing mustache and broad, short beard. He was dressed ENGLISH LIFE. 41 in a dark uniform with heavy fur cloak falling over his left shoulder. He posed for a time in the most picturesque of attitudes, and finally becoming- weary of the monotony of his position simply leaned back against the wall and yawned from time to time. The Italian Minister, Count Corti, who was formerly in Washington, is a very small, slight, insignificant-looking man, with dark hair, irregular features and wearing a small black mustache and short beard. The Turkish Minister is also small and slight. He had a dark, smooth-shaven, hook-nosed face. His hair was dark. He wore his fez and a dark-blue diplo- matic uniform trimmed with gold lace. The dresses of the diplomats in general were very much like those worn by the diplomats in Washington. Mr. Phelps was the only Minister present who wore no uniform. He was in plain evening dress, and by this I mean the evening dress of ordinary fashionable life. There have been Ministers who have worn the Court knee-breeches with evening- dress, but Mr. Phelps does not follow this fashion. Both of his secretaries, Mr. White and Mr. Charles Phelps, were also in evening dress, without the knee-breeches. Mr. Phelps was not able to stand among the Ambassadors, but was obliged to take his place in the general group. This is a subject of a great deal of annoyance to the English people. They wish to give the representative of the United States the highest possible social consideration. But they cannot give him a rank higher than that given to him by his own Government. Mr. Phelps really occupies upon the occa- sion of these levees a more prominent position than any of the ministers for the reason that he is made so much of by Her Majesty's Ministers. At the levees he is nearly always engaged in conversation with some of the mem- bers of the Cabinet. He is almost the only diplomatic representative who receives any special attention from the Cabinet. The fact that he stands with them is merely the result of social interchange, and when that is con- cluded his place is back in the general group. The propo- sition to make any Minister an ambassador has always met with opposition in Congress, upon tin- ground that it is a monarchical title, that an ambassador represents a sovereign and that it would he an improper title t<> give. France, which is a republic, sends an ambassador, and 42 ENGLISH LIFE. the word ambassador is mentioned in the constitution. There is nothing- in it any way but a mere phrase. It would not involve the raising of the salary, and it would give the Minister a footing that he does not at present en- joy. There is no American citizen who would not like to have his country stand as well abroad as that of any foreign poAver. It cannot gratify any American, however much of a republican he maybe, to know that if the Amer- ican Minister goes to see the Minister of Foreign Affairs on business of the United States, he must give way for little Italy or for Turkey or any one of the six powers, even if their representatives happen to arrive after him and he has already begun his work. There are four seats in the diplomatic box in the House of Commons. If the American Minister occupies one of these seats he can stay there unless enough ambassadors arrive to crowd him out. He must always give way and go out of the gallery if an ambassador wants his seat. These are petty things, but they are very annoying and are constantly placing the American representative in a position of infer- iority. No nation can have an ambassador representa- tive at any court unless that court is willing to receive so high a functionary. Spain has been seeking for a number of years to have ambassadorial representation at European courts, but has not yet succeeded. But in the case of the United States, the English Court, which sets the rules for the other powers, has made overtures upon several oc- sions to have the rank of our representative raised. If the United States were to-day represented by an ambas- sador he would be at the head of all diplomatic represen- tatives in London. Mr. Phelps is to-day at the head of them all in a social way. The Lord High Chancellor stands at the head of the Cabinet He wore the wig and gown of his office. He carried in his hand a large gold-embroidered bag. This bag is supposed to relate in some mysterious way to the seals of his office. The Lord High Chancellor is a smooth-faced, active, intellectual-looking man, with a big hook nose. I was told during this ceremony that the Lord High Chancellor takes precedence over everybody up to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and he is the only official who stands between him and the royal family. As this appointment is generally made from civil life, ENGLISH LIFE. 43 every English student of law has before him the prize of this great position, which permits a plain citizen to take rank and precedence above the nobility of the land. It seems strange to see him standing above the Prime Minister, but that was his position. The Prime .Minister, the Marquis of Salisbury, wore the dark-blue and gold uniform of a Privy Councillor. He is very tall, broad- shouldered and dark. The upper part of his great round head is nearly bald. His flowing mustache and long beard are still a dark brown, although they are beginning to show silver threads. One of the most noticeable figures in this Cabinet line is that of the little Earl Cadogan, who is the author of the recent Land bill now pending in the House of Lords. Ib- is very small, slight, and dark. His face is smooth- shaven and sharp-featured. His eyes are dark ; his hair a dark brown and thin. He is about forty-five years of age. He looks like a Catholic priest in austerity and solemnity. One of the most noticeably interesting men in the group was the Viscount Cross, Secretary of State to the Indian Department. Cross is a lord of recent creation. He was a member of the House of Com nun is for a great many years. He was made a peer in 1886. He is the confidential friend of the Queen. She consults him about all of her business matters. He arranges all <>t" her investments and is really the guardian of her finan- cial estate. He is tall, with a spare figure and the face of a devout Methodist patriarch. His hair is long ami white. His color is high. His features are irregular in shape, the nose being quite large. His mouth is full- lipped. His eyes are a blue-gray, over which he always wears a pair of gold-mounted spectacles. He lias some- thing of the benevolent appearance and air of the patriarch Senator Joe brown, of Georgia, lie is one of the most upright men in English public life, and bears with great good nature and fortitude the chaff which is occasionally paid out to him on account of his being one of the newest of the peers. There was very little attempt at general conversation throughout the room. Those who were privil remain in the room appeared to be mi »ted in watching the prominent people who were from tune to time presented. The army officers made the best ap- 44 ENGLISH LIFE. pearance. To them this form of ceremony was an every- day affair. They could bring their heels together with a click and make the regulation bow in one time and two motions, which none of the most accomplished of the civilians even remotely rivalled. There was a celerity of movement and a perfection of arrangement about the whole affair which snowed the value of some centuries of practice. There was not a hitch in any part of the line or a second's hesitation or crowding. Those who passed out were sent down through another line of beef-eaters back to the low hallway through which the entrance had been made. When once outside several agents of hansom-cab lines stood about looking for customers, and the line of policemen handled these carriages so deftly that there was no blocking and hardly a moment's delay in getting away. All about the palace there was a great crowd reaching out into the adjoining squares and open spaces. But the line of guards and constables kept the passageways open so that carriages were freer to move out at a rapid pace than when they actually reached some of the regular thoroughfares of the city. This levee was for gentlemen. The Prince of Wales received for the Queen. When ladies are presented, the Princess of Wales receives, when the Queen becomes fatigued or for special reasons desires to avoid the cere- mony altogether. The English papers are fond of poking fun at these pres- entations, where ladies sit for hours, waiting for the chance to make a bow to royalty, and then to walk on to another prolonged wait for their carriages. The desire of American women to be presented at court has been greatly exaggerated. Of the sixteen hundred odd ladies presented in 1888, only fifty were Americans. In this connection it must be again remembered that there is not now the slightest obstacle in the way of any American lady in good standing, being presented unless she is di- vorced, or is visiting in Europe without her husband. The Queen insists that where married ladies are received that their husbands shall come to court with them. Much of the gossip about the presentations has no basis of fact. The English papers continually misrepresent the scenes about the palace on a presentation day. They are fond of portraying women in the most indecent of ENGLISH LIFE. 4 5 decollettee dresses shivering- under the insults and ribald remarks of a gaping crowd for hours. Much fun has been poked at the kind of carriages employed. At one of the May functions of last year I drove around from one end of the palace grounds along the various lines of carriages, taking in the entire number of people who were waiting to be presented. Later in the afternoon the carriages were arranged in divisions. There was the first division, extending down the broad carriage drive of the Mall ; the next division was on the right of Buckingham Palace, extending around west towards the back of the ground. Then there was the third division on the opposite side. The line on the Mall was given precedence. The side- walks were crowded along this line of carriages, but ow- ing to the rain which fell at intervals the crowd was not as great as usual. The line of carriages in the Mall stood in the centre of that broad way and there was a line of policemen which kept the road clear and allowed no carriages except those going to the palace to enter that way. There were none of the spectators who could come nearer than fifteen or twenty feet of this line of carriages. It was only when the carriages began to reach the sidewalks about the palace that the spectators had an opportunity of coming close to the carriages. Throughout the entire line of spectators I saw no signs of rudeness. The people clustered about looking at beautiful dresses through the open windows of the car- riages in about the same way as they would look at pictures in a gallery and in about the same spirit In nearly every carriage there were two ladies. The trains of their court dresses massed in front of them made a billowy heap of silk, and the laces reached nearly to their chins. Occasionally there would be some forlorn man sitting upon the front seat. In the carriages a sight of this kind was nearly always a subject of quiet ridicule by the crowd. No man, however ferocious or distin- guished, could look anything but sheepish and out of place, with his head just sticking out above the frippery of court dresses. I saw no evidence of indecency, so dwelt upon by the English newspapers. The dresses were not more decollettee than would be seen at an average evening party in New York. It was plain that it was not obliga- tory to have them cut too low, for the majority of the 46 ENGLISH LIFE. ladies had their dresses cut most modestly. In no in- stance was any lady obliged to submit to any exposure of her charms before the spectators, for the majority of them wore wraps about their shoulders. Those who did not, and sat with bare shoulders and bare arms in the face of a gaping crowd, probably did so as a matter of choice. This evening costume in. the glare of midday appeared incongruous. That is the only criticism that could properly be directed against the style of dressing. I noticed that ladies who wore the most decollettee dresses were old, and had the least reason for such an exhibition. Those who had handsome figures were the most modest in displaying them. The most extremely reckless and liberal were fat dowagers of fifty. One of the features of the performance was the quiet lunching all along the line. Some ladies had brought their maids with them, and even a teapot, with spirit lamp. I saw one maid preparing a pot of tea and serving lunch to her veteran mistress, who was going through this drawing-room wait like an old campaigner. Some of the fair waiting ones rolled themselves up in furs and whiled away the time by reading novels. Others kept to newspapers and magazines. It was over six hours from the time the carriages first formed before the occupants were received and sent home again. Not one of them in this long time was in the throne-room, where the reception took place, for more than fifteen minutes. CHAPTER V. THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.- — COMPARED WITH OUR HOUSE OF REPRE- SENTATIVES, THE HOUSE OF LORDS AND THE FAMILIES THEREOF. The House of Representatives in the United States has not with us the best of reputation for order and decorum in the conduct of its proceedings, but it is a grave, digni- fied and quiet body compared with the House of Com- mons of Great Britain. The English House of Commons is considered the most conservative and orderly of the ENGLISH LIFE. 47 European legislative bodies, yet if business were to be conducted at Washington after the same fashion of the English House of Commons the country would have some reason for accusing Congress of being a turbulent and disorderly body. There are not half a dozen men in the House of Commons who can speak without being subjected to a running fire of jeers, sneers, groans, and hoarse laughter. The few speakers who are the general exception to the rule cannot command always respectful attention. Mr. Gladstone meets with fewer interruptions than any other man in Parliament when he is engaged in speaking, yet even he cannot go through an entire speech without encountering an occasional hoot, derisive cough or contemptuous and supercilious snorts, expres- sive of disbelief and denial, from the Ministerial side. These members make most uncouth noises and derisive howls, which appear to an unprejudiced stranger to be the most undignified of methods for expressing differ- ences of opinion. I have heard the Conservative mem- bers charge that the Irish members are responsible for introducing this style of debate in the House of Com- mons. This I very much doubt. The Conservatives are altogether too apt and too ready in the use of this weapon of personal abuse to have taken lessons from any one. The practice is now a well-nigh universal one with the members of the House of Commons. It is certainly as prevalent upon one side of the House as on the other. Only the oldest and most dignified of the members re- frain. I have never seen Mr. Gladstone or any of his immediate lieutenants join in this chorus of insulting noises made by the Liberal side, neither is it common for the members of the Ministry to join in the uproar occa- sioned by any of the members of the Conservative side. It takes men of strong self-possession and ready com- mand of all their resources to make any kind of speech in the face of the obstacles in their way in the House of Commons. I have no doubt much of the hesitation and stammering of the less ready members is occasioned by their nervousness at the uproar caused by their remarks whenever they make a statement which can be contro- verted in any way by the opposition. The true orator is a man of fine feeling, of a sensitive temperament, and peculiarly susceptible to the weapon of ridicule. What 4 8 ENGLISH LIFE. orator is strong enough to indulge in a fine flow of poetic sentiment or feeling when every phrase is followed with jeering, insulting noises from well-dressed, skilful experts in every form of parliamentary insult ? Men after a time become hardened to this form of abuse, but at the same time it has had this effect — this style of criticism and lack of attention has killed everything in the way of rhetorical eloquence. There is no speaker, outside of Mr. Gladstone, who would venture upon a field of dis- course which savored in the slightest degree of the senti- mental. None of the speakers in the House of Commons venture upon anything but plain matter-of-fact business statements. Even Mr. Gladstone, who is an exception- ally eloquent man, confines his talk in the main to clear, matter-of-fact, business-like utterances concerning the subject under consideration. The Irish members have suffered most from this style of Parliamentary tactics. They are the emotional men of the House. They are extremely sensitive, much more sensitive than any of the English members and therefore much more susceptible to this line of abuse. The Irish are constantly being made to appear in the papers as turbulent breeders of mischief, as men who have no re- gard for parliamentary decorum. They are the only members who have been punished or reproved this ses- sion for breaches of Parliamentary manners. But this is owing simply to the fact that they are much more pas- sionate and have less control over themselves in times of excitement. The English members employ every pos- sible means to irritate their Irish colleagues without in- curring personal responsibility, when the Irish member will become excited and jump up and make remarks which expose him to the instant attention of the Speaker. The English members actin concert, and call their insults in chorus, so that no one of them can be singled out for punishment. It is this concert of attacks which exas- perates the Irish members and makes them reckless of punishment. Mr. Healy, who was suspended last ses- sion, could have escaped punishment if he had apologized. Perhaps he would have apologized, but, as he looked across at the Opposition benches, there was a mild titter running along the line. It was very low, and nothing that could be called to the attention of the Speaker, yet it ENGLISH LIFE. 4g was as maddening in its effect upon Healy as if lie had been struck in the face, and he at once refused an apology and was suspended. This suspension is not a very seri- ous punishment. A Member of Parliament receives no pay. Mr. Healy' s suspension merely gave him a vaca- tion. His punishment under the circumstances certainly did not injure his standing in the slightest degree in his district. In this form of quiet insult the English mem- bers are past masters. It was the quiet titter and the sly sneer which followed Dr. Tanner out of the House dur- ing the same session and put him into such a state of rage that he replied insultingly to Mr. Long when the latter addressed him. If the Irish members only had more self-control they could put a stop to all this. But they indulge in this form of parliamentary tactics them- selves, and therefore have no cause to complain. But every time they lose their tempers under the goad of English taunts they expose themselves to very effective attacks upon the part of the opposition. Mr. Parnell is wise enough to know this, and his self- control is the real secret of his leadership to-day. He never loses his temper, and rarely, if ever, makes an angry retort unless under enormous provocation. He ig- nores the jeers, and the coughs, and the shouts and the groans, and never permits this form of opposition to break for one momentthe smooth flowof his cold-blooded, well- considered and incisive line of argument. It is he who rebukes in the sternest language the Irish members who lose control of themselves, and who thereby please the English Conservative members in making some demon- stration which will give the English an opportunity to call the attention of the Speaker to them. It is this system of goading uid pricking with pins which lies underneath the surface of the House proceedings, and it is necessary to witness this in order to understand the violent scenes in the House which crop up from time to time, as a result of this maddening system of personal insult and political persecution. There is no such (hing in fie present House of Commons at the present time as fair play. Political partisanship is carried to its extreme limit. I hen is hardly a newspaper in Great Britain which is inclined to defend the character of the present House majority. It is constantly a subject of criticism from even the most 5 o ENGLISH LIFE. extreme Conservative papers, but they nearly always wind up their criticisms upon the Opposition leaders by alleging as a palliation that all the disorder, riot, and lack of manners can be directly traced to the evil influence oc- occasioned by the presence in the House of the Irish members. From day to day I discovered interesting customs of the ancient times which still prevail in London. At the House of Commons access to the gallery for unofficial personages is not easy. There is so much formality of waiting to be gone through that one's patience is sorely tried if he has not written in advance for an order. The other night I was waiting in the lobby for a member to come out when I saw two boys, with shovel-board caps cocked over their ears and with black cloaks flowing back over their narrow shoulders, walk by the guards with a swagger that was very amusing. The policeman did not stop them. I heard one of the understrappers at the door mutter under his breath : "What himpudence of them brats!" I then made inquiries and found that the boys who attend the Westminster School, in the neighborhood of the House of Parliament, have had from time imme- morial the right of free and unquestioned admission to the galleries. They are the only people in England who have this right, and you may be sure that they make the most of it. The flunkies about the door are never so happy as when they are guarding these galleries to keep out the outside public. These merry-faced, swaggering lads never miss an opportunity of showing their superiority and their rank, while at the same time they never fail to indicate also their burning contempt for the flunkies, who are powerless to check their admission, for the boys are absolutely protected in their right through this ancient custom. There are some points of resemblance in the scenes about the House of Commons and our House of Repre- sentatives. There is the same rushing to and fro of lobbyists and sightseers. There is the same eager rush to command the personal attention of members. But the points of resemblance are not many. There is the great- est possible difference in the accessibility of members of Parliament. The outside public never gets nearer to the House than the rotunda or circular space between the ENGLISH LIFE. t { two houses. This open space is about as far distant from the two houses as is the rotunda in our capitol from our two houses. Stalwart policemen in black uniforms, with black helmets crowded well down over their heads, stand about at every available point. There is not a door or entrance to the houses of Parliament not guarded by policemen. The main approach to the House of Com- mons is guarded by at least half a dozen police officers. From the rotunda, extending out into the open space for the distance of fifteen or twenty feet, are two wooden railings, the extensions of the passage to the Chamber. The crowds form outside these railings and beyond. From this point they are occasionally permitted to send in cards to members. When the member appears the name of the constituent is shouted in a loud voice by the chief official at the door, and then member and his caller retire to some less conspicuous place to talk. Admissions to the gallery are secured only by orders from the Speaker or individual members. The galleries are so small that I do not see how it could be otherwise arranged. The Speak- er's gallery will hold perhaps thirty people. The gallery assigned to the public on members' orders will not hold over one hundred and fifty people. If the number of ap- plications for seats is very largely in excess of the capac- ity of the gallery, then the applicants have to be voted for on the floor of the House by the members. Ladies are not permitted in the galleries. The Speaker could not have his own wife in the special gallery controlled by him. The only place where ladies can go is behind the bars of a hidden gallery above the reporters' tables. They can get there only by making an application a long time ahead. Their names have to be put up in a list on the floor and balloted lor before an order can be obtained. Last Friday 1 visited the House of Commons and through the Speaker obtained an order tor a seat in his gallery, where I heard lor the first time .Mr. Gladstone in his speech opposed to the coercion programme pro- posed by the Government. The hall of the House has not over one-quarter the capacity of our House of Representatives. It is rectan- gular in shape, with very high walls and half-arched ceil- ings. Its Gothic architecture and stained i;'lass windows give it more the appearance of a church than a legislative 5 2 EXGL1SH LIFE. chamber. The galleries run entirely around the hall, and overhang and darken the chamber to the extent of their full width. The short end of the rectangle back of the Speaker is given up to the reporters of the English news- papers. No foreign newspaper correspondent is admitted to this gallery, upon the theory that every seat is needed for the English reporters. There is a great, strong wire screen between this very dangerous class of visitors and the House. This gallery will hold about sixty. The front row in this gallery has seats for twenty. The occupants of these front seats are the only ones in this gallery who can see and hear with any degree of satisfac- tion. The galleries at the other end of the rectangle have three divisions. The first two front rows are cut in half. The right half is the Speaker's gallery. The left division is reserved for peers. Back of these two, with a raised solid black walnut wall so as to shut off as much as pos- sible the view below, is the public gallery. The galleries on the long lines of the rectangle are reserved exclusively for members who cannot find seats upon the floor. The chamber has only seating capacity for about one-third of the members. The Speaker, the Right Hon. Arthur Wellesley Peel, has held that office for the last five years. This office does not correspond in political character to the same office in our House. It carries with it no political advantage, and is never made the subject of partisan contest. It is more like a judicial office. He acts merely as the presiding officer of a parliamentary debating society. He must be a member of the House, and must be re-elected every Parliament. He sits under the reporters' gallery, facing the two special galleries. His chair places him about four feet above the level of the floor. It is a species of throne. It has a high back, sheltering sides and an arched wooden canopy. The interior lining of the chair is black. The Speaker wears a gray wig, which descends in tight curls to his shoulders. The front of the wig hides his forehead entirely. He wears a long, flowing black gown over a full court costume of black. His knee- breeches have silver clasps. Silver buckles ornament the front of his patent leather shoes. A small sword just peeps out from the folds of his sombre costume. The Speaker's face is thin, sallow and angular. The lower ENGLISH LIFE. 53 part of his face is extended by a sharp-pointed brown beard. To the irreverent American visitor the Speaker is not an imposing sight. He looks much more like an actor gotten up for comic opera than the presiding officer of one of the oldest legislative assemblies in the world. He has no table in front of him, but the arms of his chair are so wide that they are ample for the little writing that he has to do while presidir j. The Speaker has a very clear, sharp voice, and a very energetic, nervous manner, not at all Eng^sh. He points his bony right finger at a member and fires his name at him like a pistol shot on the second of his rising. He passes from side to side with great impartiality. Nearly everything is left to the House itself. When the Speaker calls for a viva voce vote he delays the announcement of the result long enough for any one to make an objection and demand a formal count. He says over several times, "I think it's yea, I think it's yea," or the reverse, before declaring the result. When a formal vote is taken every member has to leave the House, the yeas going jut the front £.wt and the nays going out at the left. The attendants at the doors check them off as they go out. In front of the Speaker sit three clerks wearing wigs and black gowns. The desk in front of them is very large and broad. In front of this desk is still another desk, upon which rests a great gilt mace with a crown on the top. Upon each side at each end of the mace are two large boxes of rosewood or mahogany, bound in brass. It is upon these boxes that the leaders of the de- bates rest their papers. The members' seats run in parallel lines with the longest way of the chamber. The bench upon the right of the Speaker, facing the open space in the rectangle, is occupied by the members of the ( 'ab- inet. They must be present at every sitting of the I louse. Upon the left bench from the Speaker and facing the cabi- net, not over ten feet from them, sit the leaders of the opposition. The members of the Cabinet are selected from the members of the House of Commons. Tiny are the constant target of question and attack. These attacks sometimes degenerate into howls of derision. Their presence on the floor of the House gives a personal zest to the debates unknown to our House of Representatives. The reason of this is very clear. The Cabinet in England 54 ENGLISH LIFE. is the Government. If it can be pulled down in the House and defeated in a vote upon any decisive measure, then it must resign and give way for a new Cabinet to be made up from the party successful in putting them down. This compact line of men has to be armed at every point to meet the constant fire showered upon them in every session. Imagine the Cleveland Cabinet being obliged to sit every day in the House of Representatives to explain and defend the acts of the Administration. Certainly our present Cabinet, under such a daily fire, would soon have to be reorganized. I discovered in this night's session of the House of Commons why it is that the officials of the English Gov- ernment are averse to being interviewed. There is no reason or necessity for any newspaper interviews after they have run the gauntlet of questions in the House. Every member has the right to ask any question he pleases and it must be answered. The business of gov- ernment here is done much more in the light of open day than with us. These questions are first formally submit- ted in writing, then printed, and the members of the Cab- inet given a certain brief time, if necessary, to prepare answers. Any curious British citizen who wants to know anything about any matter of policy can have a question put into the House hopper by his member, and an answer is sure to be ground out at an early day. Talk about the Yankee capacity to ask questions ! I am sure the)'' can be more than matched by their curios- ity-stricken English brethren. Friday night, when I was in the gallery, questions were asked and answered for upward of an hour, and such questions ! One member wanted the Home Secretary to tell him if it was true that a dog had been taken away from a blind girl by some local Dogberry because she had no license for the dbg, £2 being the London dog-license fee. The Home Sec- retary replied that he had investigated the subject. The dogs of blind people were exempt under the license law, but it was proved in this case that the girl was not really blind. Then he was called on to say whether it was true that certain river steamers chartered for the University race had put up signs that passengers not behaving them- selves would be "chucked overboard" by the police. ENGLISH LIFE. 55 The Secretary responded, with great gravity, that no such orders had been given to the police, etc. Mr. Gladstone's head suggests the portraits of Daniel Webster. He has the same massive features and same ponderous outline. His forehead is very full and high. His eyes are deep set in hollow caverns under beetling eyebrows. His huge Roman nose, square at the end, stands out fiercely from his strong, square, pugnacious- looking face. His short, closely trimmed side-whiskers are merely gray, not white. His hair is quite thin and is combed with a full sweep over the top of his head, parting low on the side. His face has the good color of a temperate, healthy man. His manner indicated strength. He did not look a day over sixty. He was dressed, when I saw him, in a loose-fitting black frock suit, with a purple orchid in his button-hole. When he spoke he was very simple and direct. He had none of the mouthing and stammering affectation of the general run of the members. There was nothing in his delivery to suggest any typical English peculiarity. He employs the conversational rather than the oratorical style. He has the air and man- ner of a great special pleader, while there is underlying all of his talk a vein of sarcasm of the political veteran. He is very quick, and turns upon an antagonist with lightning-like adroitness. He rarely wears his hat when he is sitting on the benches, as is the custom with the majority of members. Mr. Gladstone is the most abused and most admired man in all England. In this one re- gard the public estimate of him here corresponds in a great degree to the public opinion of James G. Blaine in the United States. The members of the House ofCommons are not asstrong a looking set of men as the members of our House of Rep- resentatives. The Opposition leaders are tin- only line- looking men in the House. Sir William Harcourt, one of Mr. Gladstone's most active lieutenants, is almost a giant in size. He has a great square face and a big hook nose. His eyes are blue, and his manner has the brusque- ness of a New York business man. He is as straight as a military man, while he cocks his silk hat over Ins l.-ii ear with the swagger of a sporting gentleman. The mem- bers of the House ofCommons pay more attention to dress than the members of our House. The House never 5 6 ENGLISH LIFE. meets until 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and then sits through until 10, 12 and 1 o'clock. Sometimes, but it is rare, there is an all-night session. The members, when they come in in the afternoon, are generally arrayed as so- ciety men dress themselves for attending an afternoon re- ception. They nearly all wear closely buttoned-up black frock coats, some of them single-breasted cutaway coats. But every coat is black, and is closely buttoned up. Every member wears a silk hat. There is no exception to this rule. The greater majority of them wear very shining patent leather shoes, and some even of the older men wear light over-gaiters over these shoes to give an ap- pearance of smallness to their feet. Buttonhole bouquets are worn in great profusion. There has been a great im- provement of late years in the neatness and the trimness of the dress of the members of our House. But there are few of them who would venture to attend a day session of the House arrayed with such excessive care as is found in the daily dress of the members of the House of Commons. During the sitting the members wear their silk hats, but take them off when they address the chair. This custom of wearing hats during the session is falling off to a cer- tain extent. I noticed a large percentage of the members did not put on their hats at all during the session. A heavy silk hat is uncomfortable enough to wear when one is obliged to. There are a number of bald heads in the House of Commons. Without doubt the largeness of the number can be traced directly to this habit of wearing continually the heavy hat within doors. I visited, during my first call at the Houses of Parlia- ment, the House of Lords. Several of the senior peers were sitting as a Court of Appeals. This chamber corre- sponds in size to that of the House of Commons, and its arrangement of seats and galleries is the same. Every- thing here is in red. The walls and ceilings are bright with this color, while the desks and seats are upholstered in red leather. I used to think that the Supreme Court room of the United States was about the dullest and most sleepy place to be found, but it is a place of exhilarating excitement in comparison with the House of Lords. There is absolutely no popular interest in its proceedings. Its influence is absolutely negative. I was shown into this room by one of the officials in charge of the building ENGLISB LIFE. 57 and found that the place where visitors were allowed to go, was a little pen at the left of the entrance, where not over ten people could stand at one time. This pen is never crowded at any time. The dozen or more Lords who were attendant upon this session were seated about with the dull, wearied look of unimportant members serv- ing on some obscure Congressional committee. They were a comfortable, clean-looking group of old gentlemen, whose faces did not indicate the semblance of interest in anything. The peers who sat as the chief judges in this case wore wigs and gowns. It is said that the peers take much more interest in the proceedings of the House of Commons than in their own. There is never a debate in the House of Commons when the peers' gallery is not filled to overflowing. With us, Senators no longer visit the House of Representatives, except upon very special occasions, but not at all as a regular thing. The House of Lords will be the first body to feel the effect of modern progress in Great Britain, Undoubtedly the public mind is slowly but surely forming against the rights of hereditary sittings in the Upper House. The majority of the members of this body are without doubt cultivated, well-bred gentlemen. Among them there are a few black sheep, and their blackness is made much more conspicuous by their having become social outlaws, from a high and conspicuous order. When once they fall, they are like women who have lost their social position. When one considers their surroundings, their wealth, their enforced idleness, and the tremendous adulation which surrounds them everywhere they go, it is a wonder that they remain as respectable and good as they are. But the fact still remains that talent is notof necessity hereditary. The children of great men arc nearly always weaker than their fathers. The firsl places in the peerage are won through ability or special service. When that position passes to the son, it often passes to a weak and incompetent man. If the peerage were not strength- ened constantly by the presence in the House of Lords of the law lords, the bishops who come up through merit or ability in the Church, and through distinguished service in the House of Commons, the body would soon sink into hopeless intellectual inferiority. These new recruits save 5 S ENGLISH LIFE. it to a certain degree, but the body as a whole is, in a legislative sense, weak. This intellectual inferiority and lack of legislative char- acter, constitute the chief source for the popular prejudice against the present prerogatives of the House of Lords. In other words, this body is unable to protect itself through lack of ability. The House of Lords to-day is absolutely powerless against the House of Commons upon any legis- lative question of the slightest importance. In the United States the Senate, or the Upper House, is really the stronger body. In a contest between the two Houses, in your country, the House nearly always has to recede. Here, the House of Lords always recedes if the matter is of enough importance for the House of Commons to assert itself. The utmost that the House of Lords can do is to cause a slight delay, which will give the House of Com- - time for a second thought. If the House of Com- mons reasserts its original position, then the House of Lords' opposition always falls. The House of Commons is made up of the strongest men in ( ireat Britain. They reach their places through fierce competition for the suffrages of the people. The result is that their debates are the only ones in which the public take any interest. The sweep- ing changes which have taken place in Great Britain in the last ten or fifteen years, in the extension of suffrage, further strengthens and popularizes this all-powerful body. With this House the question of future royalty lies. I once asked a prominent official here the following question: •• How do you account for the fact that the English people, forming one of the most virile and independent of civilized nations, should be content to be ruled even nominally by a woman, and, second, how do you ac- count for the fact that they who have a strong prejudice against foreigners should consent to be ruled by a line of foreigners ? " His reply to this was very pertinent and direct. " I had better answer the second part of your question first, " said he. "It is true that there is an intense prejudice in England against foreigners having anything to do with the Government. Foreign-born people have no chance in politics. The English people will not have them in responsible offices. But when it comes to a question of royalty there is such a jealousy ENGLISH LIFE. ?y among the great families here that they would not consent to any one of them being- elevated to the rank of royalty. You see, there is a sacredness attached to the personalty of royalty which belongs to nothing else in Great Britain. The English higher orders would prefer to pay this personal deference which royalty commands to a descendant of a foreigner rather than to any one of their own social rank. As to their consenting to be ruled by a woman, that is a mere incident. They know that royalty means nothing beyond show. It is about the same kind of thing as having a lady manager for a ball." The other day I had an opportunity of seeing, within a circumscribed space and at short range, a represent- ative crowd made up of the families of the highesl rank in Great Britain. This was on board the "Euphrates," a snowy white troop-ship, assigned, during the recent naval review at Portsmouth, to the House of Lords and the families of the peers. It was through the favor of an official friend that I had tickets for this ship. The number of people who did not officially belong to this ship was not large, but it was sufficiently large to annoy some of the minor members of the English aristocracy who were quartered on this boat. The Lord Chamberlain had charge of the ticket arrangements, and he wasat onetime rather torn up in his mind because his authority had evidently been overruled by some of the high officials of the Admiralty. I saw one slim-waisted, energetic-look- ing lady of about thirty come up to him with mock hum- mility, and say: " Good morning, Lord Latham. I received your very polite note yesterday saying that it would be absolutely impossible for me to have a ticket for this vessel and that under no circumstances could 1 get here. "' Then she added, after a dramatic pause: " Well, you see I am here." The Lord Chamberlain lifted his hat from his very small head and bowed very low, saying that he was very glad to see her, but he looked anything bul pleased. I heard him say afterwards to some of his associates that he never knew the House of Lords con- tained so many members as it did that day. I was surprised to find how few really fine-looking, distinguished people there were to be found in this most representative group. I had no means of judging their mental accomplishments, and so am obliged to online 6o ENGLISH LIFE. my criticisms of them to their physical appearance. The Lord Chancellor, who was one of the highest dignities on board, is a venerable-looking old man, with strong, posi- tive character in his ugly, irregular-featured face. He is round-shouldered and has a very bad figure, and, with a heavy, slouching walk, is anything but graceful. The Lord Chamberlain, the Earl of Latham, is tall, with a very slim, spare figure. His head is very small. Not even the extreme length of his great beard could take away the insignificance of his appearance occasioned by the smallness of his head. He wore a rough black suit. His coat was a short sack. His hat was a square topped Derby. Viscount Cross, who is the Queen's most con- fidential friend, was a perfect picture of the amiable rural Methodist parson. He wore gold-bowed spectacles and walked about with his hands in the pockets of his loose- fitting brown tweed suit. He wore an old white straw hat, knocked out of shape by many seasons' wear, crowded well down upon the back of his venerable head, lie was accompanied by two daughters, who were well dressed but very plain-looking. The best-looking man on board was the Marquis of Bute. He was stout, with square shoulders and figure indicative of strength and vigor. He was a great favorite with the ladies and much sought after. The majority of the men appeared to be worn out. There was a lack of vitality in all of their movements. They had the weary, worn, and drawn faces of men who have spent years in high living, late dining, wakeful nights, studying the baccarat table or some other form of noble amusement. There were a great many old women in the party, and they far exceeded in ugliness the men. There are more ugly old women in England probably than in any other country on the globe. Indeed, it is rare to see a good- looking old woman in England, and the higher their rank the uglier they appear. If you chance to see a particu- larly ugly old lady you may venture to assume that she is at least a duchess without any danger of making a mistake. The younger women of the party were very plain. There were not over three or four on board who could be passed as good-looking in New York. This would hardly include the Dowager Duchess of Montrose, otherwise known as Mrs. Manton, The belle ENGLISH LIFE. 61 of the ship was the daughter of a Scotch laird. She was tall and straight, a regular-featured brunette, but her com- plexion was too highly colored and she lacked the easy air and graceful manner which are common with women of southern latitudes. The people on board this boat were very quiet. There was no unseemly levity at any time. There were perfect decorum and dignity from one end of the ship to the other. I do not think I heard from the beginning to the close of the day a laugh. They sat about on the decks silent and observant and only showed signs of animation when the royal yachts were neai. There was as much excitement then among these people to see the Queen as there was shown in the streets of London when she pa- raded on the Jubilee days. There was the same curiosity, the same eager dispute about her personal appearance. I am told that the Queen is as much an object of curiosity with the higher official families as she can possibly be with the people. With the exception of the Lord Chan- cellor and the Marquis of Bute there was not a single man in this entire collection of peers who would attract atten- tion among strangers, yet it would have been difficult to find anywhere a more civil, polite, well-mannered collec- tion of people. During the day there was a number of small things happening of an uncomfortable character and which might have been avoided with a little more care, but there was no grumbling and so little fault- find- ing that it is hardly worth mentioning. PART II. CHAPTER I. ROYALTY. THE QUEEN STUDY OF HER DAILY LIFE FROM INFORMATION GIVEN BY HER INTIMATES — 1IKR TIMIDITY — HER PHYSICAL WEAKNESS ANALYSIS OF HER CHARACTER BY AN INTIMATE HER SUM- MARY SOCIAL INVITATIONS BY TELEGRAPH — HER WEALTH PER- SONAL ANECDOTES AND SKETCHES — THE PRINCESS OF WALES. Since the Jubilee year has passed, the Queen has gone into more absolute retirement than ever before. It is a question whether she ever will break through this re- served life, and take part in public ceremonials again as she did last year. I have asked a number of people who have come in contact with her, to explain her dislike for appearing in public in England, and why she led such a retired life when in this country. From these people I have gathered a number of interesting things concerning the private life of the Queen. In the first place she is a very timid, nervous woman. She lives in constant an- ticipation of some attack upon her life by dynamiters or some crazy person. Two attempts have been made upon her life while passing through the streets of London, and these attempts have produced an indelible impression upon her mind. When she went out during the ceremonies of last year, she did so with the greatest fear and trembling. On Jubilee day itself she fully expected an unkindly de- monstration from some one. In the second place, she is not strong. It is generally believed by the English peo- ple that she still enjoys most vigorous health. The health ENGLISH LIFE. 63 of a sovereign in Europe is such a serious matter, so far as it affects other interests, that until actual danger is threatened, nothing is said upon the subject. The Queen is very stout. She has but little strength. She has to hus- band her resources with great care. She never gives this weakness as an excuse for declining to take part in public ceremonies, and often her refusals are regarded as unkind. She is unable to withstand the fatigue of standing through one drawing-room. She is nearly always obliged to sit after the first half hour, and nearly always is obliged even then to retire before the end, calling the Princess of Wales to act as her substitute. I have heard a good many un- favorable comments made upon the Queen's abruptness in leaving a drawing-room, and of the short time which she spends in receiving. This criticism comes from people who do not know the condition of the Queen's health. She is so often known to go out riding in all kinds of weather, that every one has come to believe that she has unusual health and strength. An official who comes into frequent intimacy with the Queen has told me that the popular impression concern- ing her character was not a correct one. He said : " I have noticed that the majority of people believe that she is a cold, selfish woman, puffed up with the pride of her place, and who is extremely sensitive upon all questions relating to her personal dignity." A distinguished Amer- ican who was present during this conversation, and who has been a guest upon one or two occasion s at Wind- sor Castle, several years ago, said that this impression was a prevailing one in Ameriea. "I never gave the subject much attention," said he, "before coming here ; but from casual and careless reading, I had received the impression that the Queen was a very uninteresting and disagreeable woman. But when I came to meet her, I found that this impression was wholly incorrect All who have ever been her guests at Windsor Castle unite m saying that she is very kindly in private life, and that she is anything but stiff and ceremonious in associating with those brought under her roof by special invitation. She is fond of general conversation, likes a good story, and often tells one herself. The dinners at Windsor < 5a9- tle, which have been often described as such Stiff and disagreeable affairs, arc very nleasant. There is not the 6 4 ENGLISH LIFE. same lightness and easy conversation that there would be at a dinner of intimate friends, but the conversation at the table is just such as would occur between people of prom- inence and position, who are not specially intimate and who are dining in a house with a host who is not very well known to them. The Queen never gives much of any notice to her guests. That is the one point of complaint made against her. She nearly always summons her guests by tele- graph, and on the day when they are expected to be at Windsor Castle. The despatch always names the train upon which the guests are to depart from London, and often a guest so selected will have to hurry in the most violent way in order to be able to get his things together and make the train. These invitations are regarded as commands. They override all other engagements. Any one receiving an invitation from the Queen, or any mem- ber of the Royal Family, lias a perfectly satisfactory rea- son for cancelling any other engagement necessary to its acceptance. The Queen sends a carriage and four horses guided by postilions, to the station for each guest. The dinner hour is always nine o'clock. The guests are driven to Windsor Castle on their arrival, where they are given a private sitting-room and bed-room. Tea is served to them in their sitting-rooms. The guests then dress for the dinner ; they all go down to the dining-room at a given time, where the Queen stands and receives them. They sit at a nod from her and she is the first to give the signal to retire from the table. The gentlemen do not re- main at the Queen's table after the ladies withdraw, as is the English fashion. All of the guests go out together. When the dinner is at an end, the Queen rises. All of the guests then stand. The Queen then goes around the table, and exchanges a few words with each one of her guests. She then retires. Then the guests resume their places at the table, and remain for a short time before re- tiring to their own rooms. All of the dinner guests re- main for the night, and leave upon a certain train in the morning. The guests are not only told upon which train they must come, but they are also notified upon which train they are to depart. None of them see the Queen after she leaves the dining-room at the dinner. They have their breakfasts served to them in their sitting-rooms. ENGLISH LIFE. 65 Occasionally, where the Queen wishes to show a special mark of favor to a guest, she will ask him to remain over to a later train and visit the mausoleum. But even in the enjoyment of this privilege, this specially favored guest does not even then see the Queen again. The Queen's abritrary commands summoning people to dinner come very near, some times, involving her guests in embarrassment. An English official, whom I quoted in the early part of this article, said that he was once in danger of losing the good opinion and good will of the Queen through the shortness of notice given by one of her telegraphic invitations. He received his invitation one day with the scantiest possible time to reach the time train. He succeeded, however, and was congratulating himself upon his success when his footman from his house came tearing down the platform at the railroad station and succeeded with great difficulty in throwing a little package into the window of his compartment. It was addressed to him and it was from his wife who had received the pack- age a few moments before. In it was a case containing one of the Jubilee medals with a personal request from the Queen that he should wear it at this dinner. If it had not been for the promptness of his wife and the alertness of his servant this guest would have been placed in the position of ignoring the command of his Queen and no excuse that he could have made would have been re- garded as satisfactory. The Queen gives a great deal of attention to public affairs. It is not generally known to what an extent she carries this attention. Every night an abstract of the work of the House of Commons is sentto herby telegraph. This is done even when she is on the Continent. Every important act of the Cabinet is submitted to her. She never interferes in anything which is the will of tin- House of Commons. At the same time where her ap- proval is necessary she will not give it until the subject is thoroughly explained to her in all of its be While she has never exercised the veto power she yet does assert her authority in the matter of appointments, this is particularly true in church appointments. If it had not been for her steady refusal, Col. Valentine Baker would have been restored to the army years ago. The War Office favored it and used its entire influence to 5 66 ENGLISH LIFE. move the Queen. Baker was a skilful officer, a man of positive military genius, and the War Office would have been only too glad to have got him back into the service. The Queen would never consent t<> forgive him. In all questions relating to morality the Queen is most uncom- promising. She will not tolerate a person at Court whose conduct has been thesubject ofserious scandal. It ison ac- count of her uncompromising views that no divorced wo- man can be received at court. This decision is adhered to without any regard to merits of the case. If the woman is divorced upon the most proper grounds and she is simply a victim in the matter, such circumstances do not change the inflexible rule. This is one of the strongest features of the Queen's character. Her inflexibility of mind when it is once made up, no power, influence, or argument can make any impression upon her. The Queen has a great fondness for work : she enjoys studying public business. She speaks French and German as well as she does English. Within the last three or four years she has studied Ilindostanee and is now able to use that language in giving directions to the Hindoo servants on duty at Windsor. Her one amusement is water-color sketching. She enjoys also reading but pre- fers to have some one of her ladies-in-waiting read to her. She never goes to the theatres. Last year she attended two shows : that of the Wild West, and one at the Olympic. Upon each occasion the exhibition was given solely for her benefit The public was not admitted. A great many attempts have been made to get the Queen to go to some one of the theatres of London, but she will not go. She had been tempted once or twice to give a conditional promise to come to a concert at the Albert Hall. This half promise was secured through the influence of Albani who is a great personal favorite of the Queen and who is often summoned to Windsor Castle to sing. She ful- filled her promise by going to one concert, but she will probably not go again. She lives really a most narrow and secluded life. It is a life of routine and humdrum, with very little in it by the way of excitement or variety. She has no general society, and with her fear of appearing in public takes no real pleasure in England, outside of her castle and grounds at Windsor, or at Balmoral in Scotland. She has a large staff of ladies-in-waiting who are continu- EXGLISTT LIFE. 6 7 ally coming and going. One or two of the elder ones are her especial favorites. Lady Ely and the Duchess of Athol are her two great favorites ; to them, in private life, she is not the Queen. She is considered one of the richest women in Europe. No one appears to have any correct idea of the amount of her wealth. She has an income from Parliament of over three hundred thousand pounds a year. I have heard her income from public and private sources placed as high as three millions sterling. She is very quiet in her tastes. She is not fond of wearing jewelry. She prefers the plainest of dresses. When she is going about the ordinary affairs of life she wears black cashmere or soft silk goods, devoid of ornament or trimming. It is the dress of a respectable lady of the middle class, and is even more bare of ornament than the plainest and most simple people of that class would average. She has such a dislike for display that this taste has been used against her in the way of criticism. Some of her critics have accused her of misplaced economy. The English people are fond of display. They are most liberal in their provisions for royalty and everything re- lating thereto. They are fond of imposing ceremonials. The chief charm to them of royalty is that it is a splendid stately ornamental cap-sheaf to their form of government. They, therefore, do not take kindly to the Queen's method of living. They would much prefer she should squander in entertaining and in show, the great sums she has at her command. Much of the Queen's income is invested in private property all over the world. It will doubtless all come to the Prince of Wales, who will know how at least to make a more popular use of this .ureal fortune which has accumulated during the fifty years of the Queen's reign. I have heard her fortune estimated as in the neighborhood offorty millions sterling. There is not much doubt but what the Prince of Wales will survive his mother and that he will some day rule over England as king. While he will be the gainer in the way of power and position he will yet loseall of the freedom and enjoyments of his present position. He will be so hedged in by the dignity of the place that he will have as little personal freedom as has his mother .at the present time. The Eng- lish people would not endure a monarch who did not 68 ENGLISH LIFE. maintain the dignity of his great position as the ruler of the greatest nation of Europe. What would be overlooked and regarded as a matter of course in the conduct of the Prince of Wales would be absolutely unpardoned in the conduct of an English king. The Princess of Wales is the most popular personage in Great Britain. So far as the institution of royalty is con- cerned it can be truly said of her that her life is the most valuable in the kingdom. So long as she lives her popu- larity will be sufficient to keep the cause of royalty well protected from innovations. 1 have tried to obtain from those who know the Princess of Wales well the secret of her great popularity. She is not a brilliant woman, she has never written anything, and in conversation she never impresses any one with the idea of her having any particular originality or striking force of character. If in ordinary society, without the advantages of her position, she would make but little impression. She is excessively ladylike and refined. She has a most marvellous beauty. This beaut\- chiefly consists in regular features, a fair com- plexion, anda perfectly serene and placid expression. The most remarkable feature of her good looks is the preserva- tion of her youthful appearance. In the broad glare of daylight she looks to-day as young if not younger than her eldest daughter. Her figure is also slim and slight as that of a young girl. She dresses with exquisite taste and appears to enjoy general society very much. The secret of her popular charm is said to be this : she has the rare and gracious faculty of impressing people who come in contact with her in the casual meeting of a general recep- tion or a levee. People who have been presented to her and who have simply seen her bow and smile, and per- haps have heard a half a dozen words of commonplace greeting, are the ones who are the most enthusiastic over her. Her bearing before the public constitutes her chief charm. Every one is led to believe that she is the most gracious and winning personage in the kingdom. It is this outward suggestion upon the part of the Princess of Wales of brilliant graciousness which has captivated and thoroughly charmed the British public. Those who know her best say that a more intimate acquaintance with her does not bear out the public estimate. She is thoroughly ENGLISH LIFE. 6 9 refined, accomplished, and self-possessed, but is not inter- esting in a general conversation. A distinguished critic who was comparing the character of the Queen and that of the Princess of Wales said, "It is hard to exactly explain the elements of attraction in men and women. Some people you like or dislike at first sight without any particular reason. The element of personal magnetism explains these likes and dislikes. The Princess of Wales possesses this personal magnetism to a high degree. She can charm and fascinate any public as- semblage simply by her manner. The Queen has none of this. She is rather lacking in it, and yet the Queen is a much more entertaining and interesting companion in a general conversation. In the first place she is a much better talker, has more originality, and possesses a fund of humor which is entirely lacking in the character of the Princess of Wales." While I was on the Continent last month I heard a number of interesting stories concerning the early life of the Princess of Wales. These stories are not particularly new and I do not propose to allude to them except to give the exact income of her father before he was called to the throne of Denmark. This prince lived in the most obscure poverty for a number of years. He had an in- come of exactly twelve hundred dollars a year ; there were five children to be supported and educated from this sum. The young ladies of this household learned to cook, to sew, and to do all kinds of housework. They were obliged to make their own dresses for many years. No members of any family so obscurely placed have risen to more brilliant positions than this Danish family. The head of the family became the King of Denmark. His oldest son is, of course, the Crown Prince of that country. Another son is the King of Greece. His three daughters are the Princess of Wales, the Czarina of Russia, and the Duchess of Cumberland. 7 o ENGLISH LIFE. CHAPTER II. NOTES CONCERNING THE QUEEN FROM PERSONAL OBSERVATION. None of the published pictures of the Queen give a cor- rect idea of her — she is so much shorter than her photo- graphs represent her. The pictures are productions of a photographic trick. In all full-length photographic por- traits of the Queen she is posed standing on a raised plat- form. The train of her dress is then brought around in front so as to conceal the step on which she is standing, and by this means she is made to appear fully four inches taller than she is. She does not look to be much over five feet two inches in height. The effect of even this height is lessened by her stoutness. I had an opportunity of seeing the Queen upon a num- ber of public occasions during the Jubilee year, but at none of them did I have such an opportunity as at a private exhibition of the Wild West given before the Queen last May. The order was very strict that none except the regular members of the Wild West company after the Queen and her suite should be admitted. Thanks to Major Burke, Colonel Cody's lieutenant, and a snow-white buckskin suit, I became for the time a member of the company, and as such was enabled to stand at the corner of the Queen's box and study her at my ease during the three quarters of an hour she was present. None of the visitors were more plainly dressed than the Queen. She rigidly adheres to black cashmere dresses and plain cloth capes except upon State occasions. It is said that she wears these soft cloths on account of her stoutness. Al- though she is so stout she does not look at all apoplectic. Her flesh looks as hard as iron. Indeed there is some- thing very stolid and wooden-like in her figure and face. The photographs, of course, flatter her greatly. I have not seen a photograph of her in London which shows a wrinkle in her face. She has but few lines in her face, but these are very pronounced. She is very full under the eyes. She has the "pop eyes " of a voluble talker. ENGLISH LIFE. 7 | This fulness under the eyes is criss-crossed with wrinkles. Her eyes are very large. On each side of her nose are two marked lines. There is not a wrinkle in her forehead and only a faint line at the corner of each of her eyes. Her face shows no sign of care, annoyance or anxiety. It is a very cold face and has but little expression except when she smiles. Her smile is mechanical and is gener- ally accompanied by a little nodding of the head. This is a habit which the Prince of Wales also has. Whenever he smiles at a friend, the smile is generally followed by a series of jerking nods of approval. She wore, upon this occasion, a large, square-shaped black bonnet, tied by two black ribbons under her heavy double chin. Over her black cloth dress she wore a plain black cloth coat embroidered with small designs of black beads. She has a very clear complexion and very few wrinkles in her face for a woman of sixty-nine years of age. Her hair is still thick and is only iron gray. Her forehead is full and prominent. Her eyes are cold gray- blue. Her nose is prominent and Roman in character. Her mouth is very determined in its expression. She has an air of one who is used to command, but in her manner she is as plain and direct as a man. Standing slightly in her rear was Princess Beatrice, her favorite daughter and constant companion. She is tall and much more distinguished-looking than her mother. She has a very clear complexion, a high forehead, the blue-gray eyes of her mother, and also the same high arched nose. She wore an olive-green wrap brocaded in darker shade over her dress of light brown cloth. Her bonnet was a dainty Parisian shape of the same shade as her coat, with lightbrown ribbons. Her husband, Prince Henry of Battenberg, a tall, slight, ordinary-looking young man, stood just at the back of her, while the Marquis of Lome stood upon her right. There was a long period of waiting before the Queen came. Finally, at '5.15 p.m., a mounted groom, in black coat and black top hat and white leather breechesand top boots, came dashing down the line as an avant-courier ol the royal party. Col. Cody sprang on to his gray horse, "Charlie," and fell back into a position oi attention. Then there came a carriage with coachman and footman in red livery on the box, driving with great rapidity, pre- 72 ENGLISH LIFE. ceded and followed by outriders. This carriage con- tained one of the ladies-in-waiting to the Queen. The cowboys thought that this was the Queen, and saluted profoundly, and the cowboy band, as this carriage passed around the corner, began to play "God Save the Queen." But they had not played more than two or three bars when they were checked. This false start of the band seemed to amuse the cowboys very much. The Indians, however, were very grave, and remained standing like so many statues. Next came the carriage containing the Queen. It was preceded by two outriders mounted on bay horses and in liveries like that worn by the first out- rider. The Queen's carriage was drawn by four powerful bay horses ridden by postilions, who wore mourning liveries. The harnesses were very plain, with some light gold plating. On the box were two men also in black liveries and top-boots, and upon the rear seat of the car- riage were two Scotch gillies. Behind the carriage came two equerries and two mounted footmen, all mounted on bay horses. The carriage was a heavy, plain, open lan- dau, devoid of ornament. The Queen sat on the right of the carriage, with Princess Beatrice on the left. The Queen was at once driven to the royal box. The gates were kept closed until she had alighted. The box was draped in purple velvet, with a canopy upon which the royal arms were embroidered in gold. The guests whom she had invited to be present came in through the other gates and occupied seats to the right and left of the royal box. About forty people in all were invited to be present as her guests. Her box was dec- orated with flowers. There was also a line of flowers and plants in front of the box on the track. In the box, besides the Queen, were the Duchess of Athol. Prince Henry of Battenburg, Princess Beatrice and the Marquis of Lome. It had been threatening rain up to this time, but although the clouds hung heavy and gray the rain did. not fall. There was, therefore, no hitch in the perform- ance. Among the people present was the Earl of Latham, the Lord Chamberlain. A group of detectives in high hats and black shiny clothes occupied seats well down towards the right. The policemen stiffened like stakes when the Queen entered the amphitheatre, and stood like soldiers on guard all during the performance. ENGLISH LIFE. 73 The gillies and servants stood with the policemen in the central entrance of the amphitheatre, and did not venture once to sit down upon any of the vacant seats near them. The Queen took her seat, and when all of her party- were seated she signalled to one of her equerries. He nodded to a policeman and the latter touched the arm of handsome Richmond, the orator of the Wild West per- formance. Richmond then waved a small red flag, and the scenery which had parted to admit the Queen and her attendants again opened and the voice of Buffalo Bill was heard shouting, " Go." Indians and cowboys came dash- ing in like the wind, and formed in a parade line on the opposite side of the amphitheatre. Then each section of the separate tribes dashed to the front and posed in picturesque line in front of the Queen. The yelling of the Indians, the shouting of the cowboys and the rush of the steeds appeared to exercise a perfect fascination on the Queen. She put up a pair of glasses and gave her en- tire attention to the line, going up and down, until Col. Cody came to the front at last and, backing upon his graceful horse, bowed in front of her. The regular programme was not given, the time of the Queen being limited. She said that she could remain only until 6. 20. This gave a scant three-quarters of an hour. Everything was done with a rush. All the per- formers were very nervous, but in spite of their nervous- ness they were much more successful than upon the open- ing day. The war dance interested the Queen more than any other feature of the performance. Several of the most distinguished chiefs of the party were stripped entirely naked except their breech-clouts. When the fervor of the dance reached its height their only covering, except what has been mentioned, consisted of a coat vl' paint, and of a few bracelets. Richmond, the orator, in a pict- uresque suit of buckskin and bead-work, with his long brown curls floating in the wind, stood just at the left of the Queen, outside of the box, and called out hi a clear musical voice an explanation of every item of the limited bill. Occasionally the Queen would turn to him and ask him some question. The attack on the cabin was the closing act in the per- 74 ENGLISH LIFE. formance. This was done with great spirit and dash. The cowboys and Indians excelled themselves in most reckless and daring riding. Buck Taylor, when the cavalcade swept down near the royal box, fairly threw his horse around into twenty or thirty positions inside of a minute. He fired his revolver from under the horse and exhibited such lightning-like gymnastic ability as to call for a perfect yell of approval from the excitable Major Burke, who stood at the right of the royal box inspiring the boys with his enthusiasm and fire. The Queen did not go. She directed that "Red Shirt" and the principal Indian chiefs should be brought to where she was. Red Shirt was the first presented. The Queen now advanced to the front of the box. Every one uncovered as she stood up. I was not over six feet distant from the place where Red Shirt was presented. The Queen advanced to the opening of the box and stood upon the floor, which is about six inches above the level of the track. "Red Shirt" advanced and stood upon the tan bark. When he was presented by the inter- preter the latter was very much overcome, but "Red Shirt" remained as self-possessed as the Queen herself. He half nodded and smiled. The Queen directed the interpreter to say to him that she was glad to see him, that she had admired his riding very much, and bade him welcome to England. "Red Shirt's" face lighted up when this was communicated to him in husky whispers by the interpreter. He responded in the gutturals of his native language, which the bashful interpreter translated in such a feeble tone of voice that the Queen could not understand. Orator Richmond, however, repeated the phrase so that the Queen heard it. It was as follows : " I have come many thousand miles to see you. Now that I have seen you, my heart is glad." The Queen nodded at this flowery sentence, and "Red Shirt" stepped back. Then "Yellow-striped Face," the half-breed interpreter, was presented, and then came two squaws, mothers of the two pappooses in the camp. The little girl pappoose was first presented. The Queen patted her cheek with her black-silk gloved hand, and then the little thing stuck out her brown paw, and the Queen shook it. After this the Queen stepped back, but the mother was not content. ENGLISH LIFE. ~- She walked up and stuck out her hand, and the Queen shook hands gravely and bowed. Then the other squaw came up and said: "How," and offered her hand, and finally a little brown boy papoose came up and offered his hand. The Queen shook hands with them all, those being the only members of the Wild West party who were thus honored. Then Messrs. Cody and Salsbury were presented. Both of them bowed gravely, and Col. Cody smiled pleasantly at the compliment paid to him by the Queen. She told him that she had been very much inter- ested, and that his skill was very great. A moment after this an equerry signalled for the carriage, and it came dashing up. The Queen gave directions to have the top of the carriage lowered. She then turned to the Marquis of Lome and extended to him her right hand. He bent very low and kissed it and then fell back. Two Scotch gillies now came forward uncovered. The postilions and all of the attendants uncovered ; then the carriage steps were let down, and the two gillies helped the Queen carefully up every step and did not let her go until she was safely seated in the carriage. A heavier cloak was put around her and the carriage robes drawn up, and then Princess Beatrice took her seat by her mother's side. The Duchess of Athol was next helped into the carriage, and then came Prince Henry. The Queen raised a small black sunshade, the Princess a light green one. The Queen turned and bowed one especial farewell to Orator Richmond, and then the carriage started and in a moment had disappeared from the grounds, pass- ing through a great compact crowd waiting outside. The Queen is surrounded by elderly people. The Duchess of Athol, who was with her at the Wild West show, is one of her ladies in waiting. She appeared to be very much older than the Queen. She is a little slight and bent. She had to be helped into the carriage by the two gillies after the Queen had taken her seat. She looked so feeble that it seemed as if a breath of wind might blow her away. The two gillies were men over fifty years of age. The coachman was a grave, smooth-faced man, over sixty. Only the postilions and the outriders were young men. They had a nervous, seared look, and turned white every time the Queen turned her face in their direction. That was a noticeable feature to be ob- 7 6 ENGLISH LIFE. served in all those about her. They all appeared nervous. The messenger that came in ahead of her was pale to his lips with anxiety. The postilions when they drove the carriage down through the stables kept turning their heads every instant for some reproving signal. When they went away there was the same anxiety. Sir Henry Pon- sonby, her secretary, who was with her upon this occa- sion, is an old man. He was the least nervous of all her personal staff. He is a tall, slim, fussy-looking old man. He was dressed in a black frock suit, with a black stock coming up around a very high collar. His face is a min- iature edition of Kaiser Wilhelm. His mustache and w hiskers are cut in the exact shape and style of the old Ger- man Emperor's. His thin white hair is brushed over a high bulging forehead, also in the Wilhelm style. • I was out at Windsor Castle the other day and had an opportunity of looking over that part of it which is thrown open to the public only during the absence of the Queen. The rule which she enforces at Windsor with regard to seclusion from the public is eminently characteristic. Here she has the finest royal residence in the world. Its beautiful grounds, the palace and its interior are closely guarded from the public which bought and paid for all this splendor and beauty, except when they are opened a few days in the year during the Queen's absence. The portion of the castle which is shown to the public during this absence could, without in any way infringing upon the privacy of the Queen, be shown to the public at any time. When the Queen is actually in the castle the rooms occasionally opened to the public, are never entered by her except upon special state occasions. The beauty and the peaceful quiet of the surroundings at Windsor are so great that it is not to be wondered at that the Queen pre- fers the life there to the dingy and damp atmosphere of the palaces in London. ENGLISH LIFE. ?7 CHAPTER III. A PEN PICTURE OF THE PRINCE OF WALES — AN ANALYSIS OF HIS CHARACTER AND A CORRECT ESTIMATE OF HIS IN- DIVIDUALITY. I saw the Prince of Wales last Sunday afternoon driving towards Kensington. He was in a private hansom. He was dressed in plain black ; his coat was a single-but- toned cutaway made of the soft, rough cloth now so fashionable in London for morning coats ; his hat was black silk; his tie at his throat was a dark blue, with a light polka-dot running over it. He wore no gloves. He leaned with one hand upon a tightly rolled silk umbrella, while the other hand crossed and rested easily upon the one supported by the umbrella stick. The hansom cab was dark blue with a light white line traced upon its paneling. There was no coat-of-arms upon the cab to indicate its belonging to the royal stables. The horse was a dark bay, strong, clean, and powerful. The harness was black and absolutely devoid of ornament. The man who sat in the driver's seat wore a high silk hat ornamented with a black cockade. His coat was a dark blue with blue buttons. A square, white craval was at his throat. Mis breeches were white, and skin tight, buttoning at the knee above a pair of black top-boots. The Prince was smoking a cigarette and was apparently lost in contemplation of the rich greens and shifting colors of the vast stretch of Hyde Park at his right. He wa driving along at the rate of eight miles an hour. He sal so far back in the hansom that few noticed him. If he had been recognized generally there would have been much hat-lifting and cheering. 7 8 ENGLISH LIFE. There is no more interesting man in England than the Prince of Wales. Wherever he goes he is the central figure. His popularity is very great. You rarely hear even the mildest criticism of him, even in the most radi- cal circles. There is no man in England more sensitive to criticism or personal comment than the Prince of Wales. He was very much vexed at the comments of the English press upon his visit to a club where Sullivan and other boxers appeared. He is so averse to every form of news- paper criticism that there is scarcely a newspaper in Lon- don which does not respect his wishes in this regard as strictly as do the Berlin papers the wishes of Prince Bis- marck. Only in Berlin Bismarck has autocratic author- ity to back up his wishes, while the Prince of Waies's power is entirely social. This social influence is one of the most powerful in London. Nearly all the London editors and publishers are very ambitious of social suc- cess and conduct their papers with the view of furthering their social ambitions. I have been told over and over again by writers for the English press that they nearly all write with fear and trembling anything for publication. To offend any member of the aristocracy is enough to secure the discharge of almost any writer. This timidity towards those high in social authority has given great prominence to the boldness of the policy of T. P. O'Connor's newspaper, the Star, which has made all journalistic London shudder by his free criticism of the Prince of Wales for his carrying on a rather too loud conversation in a box at the Varieties Theatre recently. Mr. O'Connor's criticism was very mild indeed, but the fact that he has cared to criticise at all is what has created the sensation. During the year which I have now nearly finished in England I have had many opportunities of seeing the Prince of Wales. I was formally presented to him by the Minister last spring and saw him then for one hour, watching him receive the official crowd of London. Dur- ing the year I have seen him at a number of public occa- sions and at a few private gatherings where he was more off guard. I have talked freely with those who know him and who are brought into intimate contact with him. From these various sources I have gathered a general idea of him which differs essentially from anything I have EXGLISII LIFE. 79 ever read about him. I shall give it for what it is worth, as a summary of the evidence concerning him from those who should at least know him well. It is difficult to get a correct estimate of a man holding high position in the European world from the evidence alone of those who are immediately associated with him. They always exaggerate the good qualities and ignore en- tirely the faults; but I have been fortunate enough during the year to become acquainted with several gentlemen, who, while they are not officially connected with the Prince of Wales, have had abundant opportunities of en- joying an intimate acquaintance with him, and are there- fore able to give a correct and unprejudiced idea of his real character. From the different views given me by these gentlemen, I have been able to obtain certain out- lines of character upon which they all agree. In the first place, the Prince of Wales is eminently adroit and possesses tact in the highest sense of the word. He is extremely sensitive to public opinion. He is keenly alive to the progress of modern ideas. He realizes, as much as does any man in England, that the distinctions of caste and class and even the prestige of royalty are rapidly passing away before the uprising tide of demo- cratic spirit among the English people. He fully under- stands that royalty and the institutions immediately con- nected with it depend for their future existence upon its making concessions to this popular advance and to keep- ing touch, so far as possible, with popular sympathies. There is no man of high rank in England who studies the public as does the Prince of Wales. It is in this that he has shown his greatest ability. The fact that he is to- day one of the most popular men in England is not owing to the fact that he is the heir-apparent to the throne. It is due simply to his conduct in his position. He holds him- self aloof from no class. He cultivates every element of English social life. He has even identified himself with the commercial class. For several years he has acted as Treasurer of the Inner Temple, bringing himself in close relations with the legal profession, lie constantly studies to bring himself in close contact with the active, pushing dominating business elements of England. He canal- ways be relied upon to assist at any public demonstration. He can always be had to assist at all meetings and ga- 80 ENGLISH LIFE. therings for the benefit of the public. Hospitals, churches, public buildings of all kinds find in him ready assistance, real business tact, and energy in helping them to carry out their objects. He is a splendid politician. He has the rare quality of never forgetting a name or a face. There is no man in Europe who has a more remarkable memory for names and faces than he. This has been tested over and over again. People whom he has met casually and with whom he has exchanged but a few words have been very much sur- prised to be recognized by him several years afterwards. This is undoubtedly a very strong element in his charac- ter so far as popularity is concerned. He possesses very easy manners. It by no means fol- lows that a person because he occupies a high position is therefore a person of easy manners or good appearance in general company. I saw the Prince of Wales in contrast with four of the reigning sovereigns of Europe and several Crown Princes at a private exhibition of the " Wild West " last summer. The Prince was the only one who ap- peared really easy and thoroughly self-possessed. The others were, to a certain extent, stiff, cold and awkward in their movements and expressions. The Prince of Wales is noted for his politeness and for this happy ease of manner. Several months ago the Prince of Wales was surprised by receiving from the village of Brookline, Mass. a superb clock. It was a most beautiful piece of work- manship, and it now adorns one of the rooms at Marl- borough House. This present came from an anonymous American admirer. When the clock was received at Marlborough in the package was also a letter which said that the gift was a "humble token of gratitude for the Prince's kindness and courtesy in picking up the cane of a cripple." The Prince has been very much exercised over this peculiar present and epistle. He has vainly sought to recall to mind such an act as is described in the letter. During the Jubilee year there were a great many public ceremonials, and he faintly recalls passing through a line of spectators at one of the ceremonials last spring and noticing a lame gentleman who, in his embarrassment in attempting to get out of the way of the Prince, dropped his cane, Of course, the natural thing for him was to ENGLISH LIFE. 81 pick it up, restore it to its owner, and pass on. The Prince has vainly sought to find out the name of the giver of the present so that he might suitably acknowledge it. He has even gone so far as to ask prominent Americans to help him discover the gentleman who sent him the clock. Perhaps this publication may assist in bringing him to light. The Prince cannot be called a great man. He is not a student of books. He is a most excellent judge of human nature, and may be said to be a graduate in the science of the study of man. He forms the most accurate judg- ments concerning people. He nearly always estimates people near him at their full value, although this estimate may not be shown in his conduct towards them. Some- times his near friends will think that he is deceived in people with whom he happens to associate for the time, but when they come to talk with him privately they very soon learn that he understands fully the character of the people with whom he is dealing. He often permits peo- ple to be intimate with him for a time for no other reason than amusement. He finds a special amusement in peo- ple of absurd pretensions, and is inclined to humor these pretensions to the top of their bent. One of the most successful qualities of the Prince's character is his ability to make a good public address. He is not an eloquent man. None of his speeches are at all out of the ordinary way. You might read them all through and you would not find in them a single sentence remarkable for its beauty or originality. But these speeches are always short, simple, plain and unpreten- tious. They are keyed in the note of perfect good taste, and never fail to please the audience to which they arc addressed. These addresses are always carefully adapted to the people to whom they are spoken. They fit into the occasion. The Prince is very careful and very happy in all of his local allusions. The fact that he is the Prince of Wales would not make his speeches go if they were not masterpieces of tact. The English public is only too ready to criticise the public utterance of those high in place. The fact that the Prince of Wales is able to avoid public criticism in the main is owing to his discretion and his diplomatic tact. There is to-day in England a very high official personage who makes much better speeches 82 ENGLISH LIFE. than the Prince of Wales, who is much more eloquent, and who is much more original, but he never makes a public address at any time or place without creating a number of enemies and involving himself in the most disagreeable personal criticisms on account of his lack of the all-predominating characteristic of the Prince of Wales — that of tact. The Prince of Wales takes no part in politics. He has never voted but once in the House of Peers, and this was upon the act for the bill authorizing marriage between a man and his dead wife's sister. He knows that royalty in England owes its strength to its occupying a neutral position, and that it would be soon endangered if it were .to be embroiled with political factions. He does not ex- press opinions upon political subjects, even among his most intimate associates. Two years ago he gave a din- ner at Marlborough House which no other English gen- tleman could have succeeded in giving. He gathered there a company which could not have been brought to- gether under the roof of any other house. At this dinner- table there were forty-two guests. It is extremely diffi- cult to get together in England, under any circumstances, such a large number of prominent people, for the reason of the multiplicity of engagements of such persons. But the invitation of the Prince of Wales being a royal com- mand overrules all other invitations, and so he was able to bring together at this dinner all of the representative elements of English society. He took a particular de- light in this dinner, because he had brought there the leaders of factions who had been fighting each other with the greatest intensity and bitterness for years. The ex- treme Tory and the most vigorous Home-Ruler, the rep- resentatives of the highest aristocracy and the most ex- treme Radical, high church dignitaries and eloquent dis- senters, the legal profession and even the city were taken into this gathering. The Prince, in the seating of his guests, placed the opposing elements side by side. Mr. Gladstone, who was an honored guest at this dinner, was seated between two of the most furious Tories in Great Britain, one of them, a high church dignitary, who had often said that he would be reconciled if a thunderbolt from God struck Gladstone down. The gentleman who gave me the picture of this dinner, said that the arrange- ENGLISH LIFE. 83 merit of these guests afforded a striking illustration of one of the most prominent elements in the Prince's character. He hates factions and is always seeking to harmonize. In giving this dinner he practically said, "Gentlemen, differ as you will as to the method of conducting the public affairs of England, but do not let these differences carry you so far as to forget that you are Englishmen, and that upon the subject of England herself you should always stand united and harmonious." The Prince speaks the French language as well as he does his own. He also speaks the German language, but' not as fluently. He manages to keep well informed of what is in the London newspapers. Sometimes he glances through them himself, but usually one of his equerries looks through them and tells him what is in the papers, and if there is any special thing which attracts his notice he may give it his personal attention. He is particularly fond of amusing gossip and what contributes to entertain. The point of criticism made against the Prince by those who know him best is that he is not serious-minded enough. They say that for a man of his years he is too fond of mere amusement for amusement's sake. He is passionately fond of being amused, and is rather reckless of where he goes in seeing such entertain- ments. He is rather careless in this regard and labors sometimes under the delusion that he can go to certain places in London without the fact of his going there be- ing known. For instance, he will go to any one of the music halls of London whenever he happens to feel in- clined. There is no form of theatrical entertainment given in London which may not receive a visit from him if there is the slightest chance of his being amused when he goes there. He goes to many places of this character that none of the officers of the Government could afford to visit. He does things every day in the way of picking up acquaintances or in visiting places of amusement that not a single member of the Cabinet would dream of doing. But this trait of character does not lessen in the slightest degree his popularity. If anything, it increases it. There is no class of people in the world fonder of amusement than the English, and those who arc restrained by dignity or serious-mindedness I have no doubt envy the Prince his reckless carelessness in going about hunting for means 8 4 ENGLISH LIFE. to kill dull time. There is hardly any night when he is in town that he is not at some one of the theatres of London. He is an inveterate theatre-goer, and is not at all blase. He appears to enjoy every good point in the performance as much as if he were a provincial upon his first visit to London. In this regard he very much re- sembles our amiable Gen. Sherman, who is one of the most enthuiastic admirers of the stage that we have in the United States. The Prince of Wales is an enthusiastic admirer of pretty women. An Old World cynic, in speaking to me of this trait said, " People in general society are never charitable when a man at the age of forty-five with grown-up children pays much attention to young and pretty women. People always put anything but an innocent construction upon such attentions. Young people can flirt as they please without any one thinking much of it ; but when elderly married people enter the field of flirtation they are never credited with innocent intentions." This same worldly- wise critic went on to say he did not believe that the Prince of Wales had been a saint in the past, but that it could not be said of him to-day that his life was not one of propriety in the ordinary acceptation of the word. He lives in such a glare of light and of attention that nearly all of his movements are subject to criticism and exag- geration. "Now it must be said of him in connection with his attentions to pretty women that it is always open and avowed. His attentions are always public attentions. It he admires for a time a pretty face it is simply on ac- count of the pleasure he takes in the society of handsome and refined women. I do not think that he is absolutely alone in this liking ; but he is avowedly frank in letting every one know of his predilections in this direction. I think that such frankness argues the most innocent of motives. If he were pursuing an intrigue he certainly would be able to conduct it in private and ignore the ob- ject of it in public. He has been involved in no scandal for years. He has been under the sharp and critical eye of English society for many years without being con- spicuous in anything more than chaffing and gossiping and comment upon his attentions to the many pretty women who come and go in London society." There is much jealousy in high circles. Those who ENGLISH LIFE. 85 enjoy the friendly favor of the Prince of Wales often have to pay for that by being made the subjects of unkind criticism. There is no pretty woman among the foreign residents who can receive attention from him and escape a certain kind of criticism which is not pleasant for a modest woman. It makes no difference how innocent and how well-meaning are the attentions of the Prince. There are very few American women who come to Lon- don who appear to appreciate this. Nearly all of the so- ciety women of the United States who come to London aspire to become members of the Prince of Wales' set, and appear to be perfectly indifferent as to the penalty which they have to pay for entering into that society. There is one American lady in London who fully un- derstands the disadvantage of even an acquaintance with the Prince of Wales, and this, too, without in the slightest degree improperly estimating him or his character. Miss Mary Anderson, who has made such a great success both artistically and socially, has never yet met the Prince of Wales. She has been asked by friends of the Prince of Wales to be presented to him, but has always refused, saying that she fully understood the disadvantage to any actress or any lady of position having her name connected with that of the Prlace of Wales. The disadvantage lies wholly in the public criticisms and the popular view of the motives of the actress in seeking his acquaintance. Even the disadvantage is all upon the side of the actress. The Prince has the entire world open to him for friends and companions. The actress, upon the other hand, is as constantly before the public, so far as her conduct is concerned, while her life is of a necessity within limited lines. The Prince is very charitable, although his income is limited considering the requirements of his position. He is always giving to the right and to the left. The extent to which his contributions are carried was shown the other day, when an American who had been borrowing money all over London for the alleged purpose of buying a ticket to go home called in the course of his wander- ings at the Office of Marlborough House. Although this man had become a mere confidence man and a swindler, he yet had letters from one or two representative Ameri- cans giving him the character of an honest man. The 86 ENGLISH LIFE. Minister of the United States received the day after the call of this beggar at Marlborough house a letter from the Secretary of the Prince of Wales saying that such an American had applied to him for assistance, and that if the Minister would say he was all right (the man having given him as a reference) that the Prince would like to send him two guineas. The Minister happened to know that he was anything but all right, and at once notified the Prince in time to save the money. It was this same impostor who succeeded in obtaining so much money from people in high places that the Legation had to ad- vertise him in the newspapers to protect the English pub- lic from further imposture. The regular allowance of the Prince of Wales by Par- liament is £40,000 a year, to which must be added £10,- 000 more which is annually allowed to the Princess. He receives a further annual income of £60,000 to £70,000 from the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall, which is his by birthright. His income in round numbers is about $500,000 a year. He spends every penny of it and is often reported as being in debt, although of late not so much of this kind of talk is heard. It is said that the Queen makes him some kind of allowance, as he bears nearly the whole brunt of the royal entertaining. The Prince is in his forty-ninth year. He is scarcely five feet seven, and has become quite stout. He must weigh fully 180 pounds. He dresses very neatly, but plainly. It cannot be said that he is now a leader of fashions. That leadership has passed to his son, Prince Albert Victor. The Prince spends the fall in his country house at San- dringham, the early winter in the south of France, the social season of the spring and early summer in London, and the midsummer on the Continent. He enjoys life and is less burdened with cares than any of the high-placed men of Europe. ENGLISH LIFE. 87 CHAPTER IV. PERSONAL NOTES CONCERNING THE ROYAL PERSONAGES WHO VISITED ENGLAND LAST YEAR. I saw the chief royal personages who visited London last year upon the occasion of the Queen's Jubilee in one group at another private entertainment of the Wild West. There was not a striking-looking person in the group wim the exception of the Prince of Wales. The King of Saxony is a very ordinary-looking man. He has the appearance of a retired merchant with a small income who lives a peaceful, narrow life. He is of medium height, with sloping, round shoulders. His hair is gray ; his complexion sallow ; his eyes cold gray-blue ; his nose large and straight ; a snowy-white mustache and white side-whiskers concealed in a measure the weak character of the lower part of his face. He wore a black frock suit with a light spring overcoat buttoned up tightly to his chin. His hat was a high silk one ; his gloves were dark yellow. He very rarely spoke and appeared to be half asleep. He was one of the first to move away from the performance, although the shouts at one time appeared to wake him up. The King of Belgium was the most forceful-looking of the visiting sovereigns. He was tall, straight, with a full chest and broad shoulders. His hair is a dark brown- black, and when he lifted his high hat to some of the princesses as they arrived, I saw that it was parted exactly in the middle. His eyes were dark, set deeply under very straight eyebrows. His nose was straight ; a full, sweeping brown mustache and very full brown beard descended upon the breast of his black frock suit. He wore a dark overcoat ; on his hands brown gloves. He was very formal and very stiff in his movements. Although there were not above twelve or fifteen persons present as spectators outside of the royal personages, the Belgian King moved exactly as if he were upon dress parade. He is a frequent visitor to England. His 88 ENGLISH LIFE. son is said to be a suitor for the hand of one of the daugh- ters of the Prince of Wales. He is received with great favor in England ; he is seeking to establish close relations with the English Government because he fears that his country is being threatened by the prospect of a re- newal of the struggle between the French and the Ger- mans. The King of Denmark is tall, with a broad, compact figure. He wore a high hat similar to that worn by all of the royalties, and the same dark frock suit. He has the face of a sea captain ; his complexion is very red, his face has not much expression and his features are irregu- lar. He wears a mustache and side-whiskers, which are of an iron-gray color. His shaved chin is square and positive in its lines. There is nothing about any one of these royal personages, with the exception of the Prince and Princess of Wales, to suggest their holding high pos- itions. The King of Denmark might have been the captain of a merchant ship on shore on leave. The King of Den- mark, as everybody knows, has seen hard times. He was, until his elevation to the throne of Denmark in 1863, very poor. He did not evidently have the ability himself to conquer any favors from fortune. He was obliged to live in the most narrow and economical ways. Then came the change in his life of so great a character as to suggest the wand of the magician in the fairy tales. From poverty and obscurity he reached the throne, while three of his children occupy the most prominent places in the royal circles of Europe — one daughter is the Empress of Russia, a second the Princess of Wales, while his third child is King of Greece. His fourth daughter is the un- fortunate Duchess of Cumberland. His sixth son is married to the daughter of the Due De Chartres. His son, the King of Greece, who stood near his father, is very tall and slim, with a dull, heavy face, sleepy, blue eyes, thick, straight nose, and a drooping, brown mustache. You would find hundreds of more distinguished and better- looking young men in almost any of the business offices in New York. The Princess of Wales is the most interesting member of this Danish family. She looks every inch a Princess. In the first place she is very handsome, with regular features, fresh, clear, plain complexion, and a dainty man- ENGLISH LIFE. 89 ner of refinement, which is her chief charm. Her figure is as slim and graceful as that of a young girl. She dresses with the air and grace of a Frenchwoman, while she has a dignified carriage and the manners of reserved Northern people. She has as democratic tendencies as her husband, she is as fond of appearing in public as he, and if Royalty continues in England after the death of the Queen, its continuance will be owing largely to the pop- ularity of the Prince and Princess of Wales. They are popular with people simply because they take pains to please. The Princess of Wales was one of the later ar- rivals at this morning's performance. She came walking down the platform in front of the grand stand in company with Major John E. Burke, the agent of Cody. The three little princesses preceded their mother. These three young ladies are very plain. They have none of the beauty of their mother, neither have they the ease or vivacity of their parents. They are plain, stiff, young English girls, who never speak unless they are spoken to, and who stand about in a stolid way that no American girl could by any possibility assume, least of all when in the presence of such an exciting entertainment as that of the Wild West. The Prince of Wales was the only man in the group who was at all easy in his manners. He wore a light gray frock suit, with a drab overcoat, buttoned up tight to his throat. There was a pink rose in the short lapel of his overcoat. He wore a high white hat, which was the only white hat in the group. White hats are not popular in London, and even the powerful influence of the Prince of Wales upon London fashions is not sufficient to make the London swells wear these white hats, except for country drives and for visits at country places. I do not think there was a funnier sight than that where the Princess of Wales came forward with the sweep of a schoolgirl and climbed into the Deadwood coach without any assistance. Then the King of Saxony and the King of Greece climbed in after her. The Crown Prince of Sweden was on the box and Prince George of Wales, a dashing young naval officer, was upon the back part of the coach. Prince Albert Victor of Wales, the heir^ap- parent to the English throne after the Prince of Wales, sat inside the coach and puffed cigarettes alternately in his mother's face and in that of the King of Denmark. go ENGLISH LIFE. Indeed, smokers who have been restricted for their lack of manners in enjoying- the weed in the presence of ladies would have plenty of examples to justify their course among the royal members of this group. All of the men smoked their cigars or cigarettes. The smoke was puffed straight into the faces of the ladies of the group without apology from the smokers or protest upon their part. With the exception of the Prince and Princess of Wales, who are always graceful and easy, I think that this group of royal personages made up the most stiff and awkward-appearing group of people that I have ever seen in public together. Mr. Cody, when he was presented to them, appeared much easier and more at home than any of the members of this distinguished group. Another very good sight of the morning was the riding of the royalties on the switch- back railroad. In one of the cars which pitched up and down the inclines there sat the four visiting kings, the Princess of Wales, her three daughters and two sons. The four kings sat up as solemn and as stiff as so many wooden men. The only movement made by any one of them was an occasional clutch at their high hats. Prince Albert Victor puffed his eternal cigarette even during this exciting ride, but it was the Prince and Princess of Wales who appeared to enjoy this part of the performance the most She held up both her hands and gave a real fem- inine scream of delight as the car plunged up and down the course of this switchback railroad. The Princess of Wales came out very often in the morning for the crowd at the Wild West show and appeared to enjoy the freedom and absence of formality that she encountered among the managers of this exhibition. Major John E. Burke was a great favorite of hers and treated her exactly as he would Mrs. Smith. When I saw him walking with her at the performance he kept his broad-brimmed hat upon his head from first to last. He slightly lifted it as she first approached, but he did not uncover, as did some ot the people connected with this show in the presence of the royalties. The Duke of Cambridge is one of the most noticeable figures in the royal circle of England. I had a front seat within a few feet of the platform where all of the royal- ties were assembled upon the occasion of the laying of ENGLISH LIFE. g t the corner-stone of the Jubilee Institute, and so had a good opportunity for inspecting- the notables who were present on that occasion. The Duke of Cambridge very- much resembles Gen. Sherman in his inability to remain quiet for any length of time. He was continually rush- ing about, and from the beginning to the close of the cer- emonies he did not once sit down. This nominal Com- mander-in-Chief of the English army is very tall. He is over six feet in height, but there is a slight stoop in his shoulders which detracts from his military bearing. His head is large and nearly bald ; the little hair which he has left is combed in thin gray wisps over the top of his tapering skull. About the base of his neck his hair is still quite thick ; his forehead is full and lined with wrin- kles ; his eyebrows are bushy and beetling, standing out like a thick hedge round a pair of blue, good-natured look- ing eyes. His cheek bones are high and red. His nose is large, bulging and very irregular in shape. It is not an aristocratic nose. I have seen genial London cabmen with similar noses — cabmen who had been exposed to the weather for many years. A pale, iron-gray mustache and thick, close-cropped side whiskers set off the broad full face of the Duke. His chin is double. He wore upon this occasion a skin-tight, flaming scarlet full dress coat. There was very little gold lace upon the coat. A heavy gold ornamented belt encircled his ponderous figure. A light blue sash over his left shoulder stood out in striking contrast against the scarlet background of the coat. Pink skin-tight breeches met his high patent-leather boots at the knee ; a black cocked hat with a white plume he carried under his left arm. I constantly heard friend- ly comments from English admirers of the Duke. Said one: "Oh, he is so h affable." The fact that this distin- guished personage could smile was constantly dwelt up- on as a proof of his most remarkable amiability. The Marquis of Salisbury, the Prime Minister, who stood at the head of the group of Ministers near the roy- alties, was looking very tired and worn. He is said to be very much worried over the political situation and is beginning to feel that power is slipping away from him. He is about the same figure as the Duke of Cambridge ; he is equally tall, equally stout, ami has about the same stoop in his shoulders. His head, however, is nearly 92 ENGLISH LIFE. twice as large. He has the strong, sleepy features of a man of power — the unmistakable countenance of a states- man. His head is very round and full ; he is even more bald than the Duke of Cambridge. Indeed, it is the ex- ception where an English public man is not bald very early in life. Of all the royalties grouped together on the day of this institute there was not a single man who had a good crop of hair on the top of his head. The Marquis of Salisbury has a heavy, ponderous look of fatigue and indifference. His face only lights up in a sluggish way when he is engaged in conversation. His complexion is quite sallow for an Englishman. He has a very broad, full forehead, deeply set dark eyes, a straight nose, a broad, full face, the lower part of which is concealed by a silky brown beard and mustache. Underneath his eyes he has the full, puffy look indicative of volubility in speech. The lines underneath his eyes are very deep. There is a bluish tinge underneath the lids — signs of fatigue and worry. All of the Cabinet Ministers were in uniform. This uniform is very handsome and becoming. The coat is military cut, with a high standing collar. This collar is brocaded with a heavy gold arabesque figure. The coat is buttoned with a single row of gold buttons as snugly about the figure as the uniform of a Life Guards- man. The cuffs on the sleeves are ornamented in the same way as the collar. On the hips there are flaps in- dicating pockets. These flaps are covered with gold ornamentations. Broad gold stripes follow the line of the flowing wide trousers. This uniform from its sim- plicity and dark color, is very becoming. The various members of the Cabinet wore upon the breasts of their coats the orders to which they were entitled. A similar style of court dress is worn by a large number of the civil officials of the Government. Indeed, every official improves an opportunity to cut the black evening dress ordinarily worn in private life. They retain in England in every possible way the picturesque dress of the past. The heralds and the knights who preceded the Queen upon the occasion I have just mentioned were dressed exactly as they were three hundred years ago. The advocates, the high law-court officers of England, wear to-day upon all official occasions the dress of sev- eral centuries ago. The barristers who plead before the ENGLISH LIFE. 93 courts wear the wig and gown of the past. They adhere to this traditional dress with the most remarkable tenacity. I have asked numbers of the legal profession if they do not object to wearing these wigs and gowns. Their re- ply has been in the negative, saying that they would not upon any account give them up. This retention of all of the picturesque costumes of the past adds great interest to the general effect of nearly every public gathering from the spectacular and artistic point. The Indian princes were prominent figures in the Jubi- lee groups. Mr. Blaine said when in London that the scenes of the royal festivities carried his mind back for several hundred years to the time when royalty paraded the streets with its most conspicuous captives displayed as a living evidence of the skill and valor of the royal con- querors. These Indian princes are subjugated vassals of the British Government. They are paid every considera- tion, but still they have lost their great power, and it is a question how well satisfied these very proud Orientals are with their subordinate position. Their countenances are as impassive and cold as those of the North American Indians. They have taken part in the public ceremonies of the day and show no surprise, emotion or pleasure. They are stolid, indifferent, resplendent in their Oriental dress, adorned with all of the jewels of the heroes of the "Arabian Nights" tales. They rarely talk among them- selves when in public. They are critical, observant, but very unresponsive to every advance made to them. The two royal princesses from India who belong to this Oriental group, appeared only upon the occasion of the most stately ceremonials. They do not attend at any of the public places where the princes go seeking amusement. I saw yesterday the two princesses seated just in front of the Queen at the ceremony of the laying of the corner- stone of the "Jubilee Institute. The Maharani of Kuch Behar is slight in figure, with a clear yellow-brown com- plexion, straight regular features, flashing black eyes, full red lips which, when they parted, disclosed the most dazzling white teeth. She wore about her crinkled mane of hair a filmy white veil which twisted twice about her head round her dusky hair, falling in soft waves upon her dark, lustreless black silk dress. Near her was the Kan- warani Harnam Singh. She looked more like a pure ne- 94 ENGLISH LIFE. gress ; she had the thick lips and pale pupils and the yel- low-hued eyeballs of the mulatto. The officer attached to her husband's staff was a pure negro. He was just such a boy as might be found in any barber shop in Washing- ton. His head was covered with short, tightly twisted wool, through which a narrow parting had been shaved. A slight black mustache shaded his thick lips. He had a good straight figure. He was buttoned up closely to the throat in a dark blue uniform, heavily embroidered with gold, skin-tight white breeches, and high patent leather boots completed his uniform. There was a haughty look of pride and resolution upon this negro's face which was greater than that seen upon the countenance of any of his chiefs. Upon his right sat a fair, lily-faced blonde of the purest Anglo-Saxon type. Her features were daintily regular, the color upon her cheeks was a real peach-blos- som. Her hair was the color of a wheat sheaf ; her wil- lowy, graceful figure showed to its full advantage in a tightly fitting dress of the most delicate heliotrope color. She is one of the most prominent of the society belles in London. She was as politely attentive to this negro of- ficer as if he had been a white prince of the most royal blood. There was an air of intimacy and perfect equality between the two hard for any one to understand who has seen the negro only in the United States. PART III. CHAPTER I. THE ENGLISH NEWSPAPERS. THE GREAT LONDON DAILIES THEIR PECULIAR FEATURES — ■ SOCIETY JOURNALS ENGLISH AND AMERICAN NEWSPAPER METHODS THE PRESS CLUB. The great newspapers of London have character and dignity. Their editorial pages contain their best writ- ings. These editorial articles are generally long drawn out. They are full of the faults which belong inevitably to any writing done under the ironclad rules of editorial- writing for the English press. If it is arbitrarily ordered beforehand that an article must be of fixed length without any regard to its subject, such an order must of necessity affect its character. To prepare for the public so many feet or inches of opinion upon a given subject introduces a mathematical element which leads to mechanical phrase- making. The best quality of the editorial-writing of the English newspapers is the English employed. There is a much greater pretence to literary finish than in our newspapers. You never see any slang or common ex- pressions of speech on the English editorial pages. Indeed this is true of all of the departments of the leading English newspapers. Their political arguments are con- ducted in a seemingly fair spirit, however unfair may be their tendencies. Bitter personality is almost unknown. If an English editorial writer wishes to show to the pub- lic that his opponent is a liar he believes that it is a 96 ENGLISH LIFE. stronger thing to prove him a liar than to simply assert the fact through the forms of epithet. Discussions are carried on very much as they are carried on in the clubs, in the quiet matter-of-fact way, making due concessions for the prejudices of the position of others. A remarkable exception to the general rule of the editorial treatment is in the handling of the Irish question. The Times news- paper, which is perhaps the most conservative and dignified of them all, does not hesitate to denounce Parnell and his associates as co-conspirators in crime. But it must be considered in this connection that the Times people at least have labored to prove their asser- tions by a formidable array of alleged evidence purchased from informers, and have not been wholly content with the mere assertion of their charges. This conservative tone and polite attitude towards the general public in the treatment of the questions of the day naturally have a tendency to make the newspapers very careful in their utterances, and their care is so great that it continually stands in the way of legitimate enterprise. English newspaper men concede readily the immense superiority of American newspapers over any other in the world, from a standpoint of publishing and news-collecting of the day. The criticisms which they direct against us touch almost entirely upon the use of slang and common expressions in some of our newspapers and upon the tendency of some of our most sensational journals to invade the domain of private life. The English writers say also that we often treat serious subjects in a spirit of levity or with flippancy wholly lacking in proper dignity. They frankly confess, however, that our treatment of current subjects is much more popular, and more in accordance with modern newspaper ideas ; but the tendency to drop into exaggerated attempts at humor or the use of common phrases of speech in some of our reports they seize upon and exaggerate far beyond what is fair and right in an unprejudiced criticism. The favorite English accusation against the Americans is that of egotism. This from a modest, shrinking, self-denying Briton is particularly in- teresting. The English journals as a class never touch a personal scandal unless it has appeared in the courts. The Pall Mall Gazette is the exceptional paper as far as this rule is ENGLISH LIFE. gy concerned. Its publishing of the Hughes-Hallet scandal was one of the most radical violations of the rules which govern English newspapers concerning such matters. It was an- odious scandal, and had been the property of the clubs and the lobbies about the House of Commons for two months, but there was not the slightest prospect of the case ever appearing in the court. The disputes about money had all been settled, but there was not the slightest possibility of any prosecution. The pub- lication, therefore, has not been noticed in any way by any of the great morning papers. If a scandal should come into the courts then all of the papers will print full reports. When a scandalous case has reached the English courts the newspapers go further than we do, no matter how much dirt is brought out. The newspapers which have kept clean at other times during the year do not hesitate then to publish, without the slightest attempt at concealment or abridgment, matters which could not appear in our worst police journals. The place where the great London morning journals really compete is in the domain of foreign correspond- ence. All the London morning dailies have correspond- ents and offices at Paris, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Vienna and Rome. The Times's correspondents have, perhaps, the highest social rank of any of the representatives of the other London papers, but this is chiefly on account of the support given them, by the great prestige of the Times, and the footing and standing given to them by the paper itself; for instance, the representative of the Times who is sent out upon an expedition is always a man of character and standing. Then he has an equipment which, in itself, adds to his prestige. If he is a war cor- respondent he has a staff of servants and horses equal to that of a general in the army. He has unlimited means at his disposal, and, if he does not secure the latest news, it is because he has no capacity in that direction. Notwithstanding his immense advantages, the Times correspondent is often beaten without occasioning the slightest sense of discomfort to the journal which spends such great sums for news. The 'Times correspondent at Rome has a house given him by his paper. lie is the only American employed on the paper in a prominent .position. His name is William J. Stillman. He is a very 9 S ENGLISH LIFE. tall man, with a very tall wife, and has six daughters whose average height is nearly six feet. He has there- fore six able assistants to aid him in picking up news at Rome. He has been there many years. He is much the best correspondent at Rome. The Times is supposed to have the best correspondent at Paris. Blowitz, the Times correspondent, is paid £3,000 a year and is allowed a liberal sum for expenses, but he has passed his day as a correspondent. The Daily News has much better Paris information. The Daily Telegraph is also in advance of the Times in Paris matters. Blowitz writes very interest- ing despatches upon the subject of European politics, but he does not keep up with current news compared with his rivals. The Daily Telegraph is represented by Camp- bell Clark at Paris, who is son-in-law to Lawson, one of the principal proprietors. He has a handsome office. His reports under the head of " Paris Day by Day " are more in accordance with the gossiping news character of the American papers than any other feature of the Lon- don morning journals. The Telegraph correspondents at Vienna and Berlin are also considered the best. These correspondents, however, devote too much space to the Bulgarian question, and are too speculative in romancing concerning meetings and interviews of prominent per- sonages. Of actual news and current affairs they send but little, and in the event of a great catastrophe like an earthquake in Italy or tremendous loss of life through some calamity they are too apt to depend upon the rep- resentative news agencies instead of going out and dropping for the time their statesmanlike discussions of European politics in order to become good news report- ers. But if they were to do so I doubt very much whether such conduct would be appreciated and ap- proved by their managers. The society journals are the only newspapers in Lon- don which print anything like gossip or free comment upon the actions of royal people or of high officials, yet the society papers are divided into two classes — the ef- fusively fulsome and the odiously vulgar. One class praises and writes on its knees, using capital letters at every point to show reverence and humility, while the other stands up and indulges in coarse invective and abuse. The paper which would pursue the middle course ENGLISH LIFE. 99 and speak of current affairs witn good nature and at the same time with carefulness as to truth and some regard for decency would undoubtedly be very popular. The society papers which attack the higher classes, as they are generally understood, depend almost entirely upon their imagination for their facts. They tell with the most glib familiarity the most preposterous stories of social life where writers for these papers can by no possibility pen- etrate. Several articles have been written lately contrasting American and English newspaper methods. I do not think that enough importance has been given to the dif- ference between English and American reporters. In American newspaper offices, reporters rank high, as they should. I believe that the best men around a newspaper office are its best reporters, and that no man who is a first-rate newspaper man could desire any better reputa- tion than that of being considered a great reporter. The most successful newspaper proprietors to-day owe their success to the fact of having the nature and educa- tion of high-class reporters. In English newspaper offices the reporter is an unimportant, underpaid, ill-con- sidered individual. His work is regarded as of the least importance upon the paper, and is paid accordingly. Mere reporters are separated from descriptive writers. These descriptive writers are known as special writers. They will condescend to go out and write an account of a great scene or spectacle, but no special writer who re- spects himself would write anything so vulgar as a piece of news for his paper. The result is that the actual news in London newspapers is written in the dullest and most plain and uninteresting of styles. There is also very little discrimination in the presentation of routine matters. The police courts all over the city are reported at great length, the unimportant reports being given just as much space as the most important. The pettiest local quarrels appear in these reports written in a dry, statistical fashion, with- out a particle of color or life. The public men of Eng- land class reporters as do their newspapers. I do not think the English reporters as a class have any social standing. If a reporter should go to see a public man there — and by this I mean an ordinary news reporter — 1 am quite sure that this English public man would not ioo ENGLISH LIFE. think it out of the way to have this reporter wait among his servants until he should see fit to see him. I think the servants in the first-class houses have a better stand- ing than the average news reporter upon the London newspapers. There is no reporter on any London news- paper, unless it is the shorthand reporter of Parlia- mentary debates, who receives a salary of over £4 a week. Two or three pounds is a very common salary, some of the space men feel very well satisfied if they make £1 a week. The English system of news manage- ment, too, is discouraging. The members of the staff of these papers keep strictly to the performance of their regu- lar duties. I could not better illustrate this than by giv- ing a personal experience. One evening I was in the company of a night editor of a prominent English news- paper. I mentioned to him an interesting piece of news much more interesting to London than to New York people. I told him he could use it if he wished. He said : "I don't want it." "Why don't you," said I. "Is it not a good piece of news ? " " Oh, very good, indeed ! but I am not paid to write news for the paper. I am merely paid to edit it. If I should hand in a piece of news to the paper it would be misunderstood and I should get no thanks for it." In all well-regulated American newspaper offices every man in it from the editor-in-chief down to the office-boy is taught to regard news as of first importance, and the man who should hear of a piece of news and who should not give it promptly to his paper, no matter whether he was paid to do that special thing or not, would be con- sidered wholly unworthy of being in that paper's service. None of the London newspapers give much space to provincial news. The happenings of the great towns of Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham are as unknown to London people as if they were cities of the United States. Irish news occupies a very limited space. What is the reason for this but lack of enterprise ? In no coun- try are the rates for telegraphic transmission so low as in Great Britain. The day press rate from 6 o'clock in the morning until 9 p. m. is one shilling for 100 words, or at the rate of one-fourth of a cent a word. This rate is a uniform one throughout the United Kingdom. It is so low as to be hardly worth considering as an item of ex- ENGLISH LIFE. ioi pense in the collection of local news. The rate goes up slightly at night, reversing the scale of charge with us. After 9 p. m. the charge is one shilling for seventy-five words, or one-third of a cent per word. The postmaster is obliged to keep his office open for the reception of messages after 9 p. M. only upon receipt of notice that he will be so required. Then the sender has to pay the postmaster and his clerk sixpence each extra for every 500 words filed. There is also a uniform rate for the rental of private wires for short or long distances. The price is only £500 a year for the use of a private wire twelve hours a night for six days in the week. What advocate of the English system of news-gathering will pretend that these splendid advantages are at all utilized by the English newspapers ? What can be known of the life of Glasgow or Edinburgh except from the Scotch papers ? Here the Queen was in Scotland, attending funerals, attending the Presbyterian Church, or else stand- ing a delighted witness of Highland games, and you only learn anything about her life from the dry bones of the Court circular and a Central News despatch. The managers of the London newspapers spend no money upon news-collecting because they are not obliged to. If there were any one paper to lead they would have to change front. The English public are as fond of news and gossip as their American brethren. They would swarm without prejudice to the support of a paper that gave them the best news. There was never such a field for legitimate newspaper enterprise to-day as exists in London, or where it would meet with a quicker or richer reward. Every one of the great papers of London use the most kindly expressions in speaking of the United States. The London Times has nearly every day an editorial upon American affairs, speaking of our growth with the greatest respect and with the greatest admiration for the United States. All of the papers have spoken in the most agree- able terms of the centennial celebration at Philadelphia. Nearly all of them have printed very long cable reports of the celebration itself. Ordinarily the English papers do not spend money in cable despatches from the United States, but they have been very liberal in their reports of this Philadelphia event. I have taken some pains to find out 102 ENGLISH LIFE. the reason for this ebullition of good feeling. This kindli- ness of expression has been much more common during the last year. You see criticism in the United States only in the most bitter of the smaller weeklies'. The special reason for the publications in favor of the United States I find to be this : The progressive people of this country believe that Great Britain has reached the full zenith of her political power under the existing order of things, and that unless she takes positive and decided steps in the future to inaugurate a new policy, her future will be one of loss and constant retrogression. The Imperialists, as they are called, are the people who are seeking to improve and strengthen England, and to provide for her a prosperous future. These gentlemen believe that England will lose her power unless she can secure a close union between herself and all of her col- onies. These men believe that there should be a close federation of all the English colonies, under a system similar to that of the United States with us. It is this feeling and this movement which direct the arguments in favor of the United States which are now constantly being printed and talked throughout Great Britain. The United States is held up as the most powerful and prosperous nation of the globe, with a future beyond anything that imagination can surmise. This picture of prosperity and strength is held up as an inducement to the federation of the English colonies. Froude, the historian, wrote his book of "Oceana" with the distinct idea of advancing the union of the English colonies with the home government. In his book he speaks of the possibilities of this federation, and says that the idea of what can be accomplished by such federation is brought home to the minds of every Englishman who sets foot upon the soil of the United States. He says that there is in the mind of every intelligent English visitor who goes to the United States "something of envy, but more of pride, and still more of admiration. The Ameri- cans are the English reproduced in a new sphere. What they have done we can do. The Americans are a genera- tion before us in the growth of democracy, and events have proved that democracy does not mean disunion." The English leaders dream of this federation and some of them think that when the federation is once accom- ENGLISH LIFE. 103 plished, the monarchy itself, which is now but a mere name, will go with it, and that England will become a republic in name as it is now in reality. They are anxious to work hand in hand with us and to have the support of the great democratic union of States of our country. In all of the discussions of the fishery disputes in the news- papers was seen everywhere expressions of the greatest kindliness. There was nothing seen of the truculence of the Canadians. The English weredisposed in advance to respect any reasonable report from the commission. They argue constantly in favor of settling all disputes between the United States and Great Britain by arbitration. The dream of the English federation over the globe is a high one, but the Tories are to-day the worst enemies of this plan of advancing England. Instead of forging bolts to strengthen the union they are doing all they can to weaken it. Their policy in Ireland would make union and har- mony there forever impossible. If it were not for the growing conviction in Ireland that the mass of the English people do not sympathize with this policy, the Irish would become desperate. As it is, the English are daily sending over special investigators to Ireland. You see constantly in the papers letters from independent English tourists who have gone over to Ireland to investigate for them- selves. The Tory policy has also been unfriendly towards the colonies. The Tory Ministers have sought merely to aid themselves selfishly without any idea ot reciprocity. The colonies are yet very loyal, but in order to secure the federation which is planned by the greatest of English statesmen, a change in the Ministry and a radical change in the policy of the Government will have to be secured before any steps in this direction can be profitably taken. London has a very successful Press Club. It has been in existence only about five years, but it now numbers nearly three hundred members and its financial condition is good. It has rooms down in the city. This club is made up exclusively of working members on the London dailies. Its rooms are kept open all night. It is a place of resort also for foreign correspondents, who find here in the early hours of the morning first editions of all the leading London papers. The oilier night I sat through the annual dinner given by this club, and for the first time saw a large company of English newspaper men together 104 ENGLISH LIFE. under one roof. As a general thing when you visit the London newspaper offices you see only occasionally and but few of the workers. It is the rule of nearly all of the newspaper offices to have separate rooms for their leading writers. Unless you have an especial acquaintance with each individual you would never see the whole of a staff of an English newspaper, no matter how freely you might be permitted to visit its office. This dinner, which was given at Freemason's Tavern, began at 7.30 and contin- ued until nearly one o'clock. Then the diners adjourned to the Press Club down in the city, and there, I understand, over bowls of punch the members discussed their profes- sion and told stories until the early morning. I can only judge of the English newspaper men by their conduct at the tavern, as I did not go down to the Club after. In the dining hall they were as grave and solemn in their demeanor as the Justices of the Supreme Court. In the speeches which were made after the dinner there was an utter absence of the spirit of fun and chaff which would have run through the after-dinner talks of representative newspaper men in the United States. There were occa- sional attempts at humor but they were very quiet. The speeches, however, were not dull. There were a very great many good things said, but the decorum and dignity were at times almost oppressive. To the right and left of the Chairman were. a number of prominent Englishmen, and it is possible that the presence of these distinguished men had a restraining effect upon the journalists. The English newspaper writers have a reverence for position which is utterly unknown among American newspaper writers. It is possible that we go to the other extreme of thinking too little of the dignity of high public position. But it appeared to me at this dinner that too much deference was paid to the guests of the club. Upon the right of the Chairman sat Viscount Cross the Queen's private and confidential adviser ; Lord Her- schell, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer ; Sir Charles Russel, who was the counsel for Lady Colin Campbell, and Sir Algernon Borthwick, the editor of the fashionable Morning Post. Upon the left of the Chairman were Wolse- ley, the Adjutant-General of the British Army, and several members of Parliament. Every speaker who arose to talk addressed himself directly to these titled guests. The ENGLISH LIFE. 105 speeches were a series of compliments between the mem- bers of the club and these guests. It is the custom in the United States when public men dine in company with the members of the press for the former to exaggerate the virtues and influence of the painstaking reporter. I have heard many American statesmen say in the expansive hours after a good dinner that they owed their entire fame and position before the public to the industrious and faith- ful reporter who had taken down their utterances and caused them to be printed so that the world could read. While public men indulge in this kind of talk with us I know as a matter of fact that none of them believe it. While they are ready to concede that the newspapers are of some advantage to them, yet the average public man in the United States dislikes the newspapers and chafes at the assumption that they have any real influence. I was not therefore surprised to hear the English public men re- peat in the presence of the London newspaper men this exaggerated praise of the power and influence of the re- porter. But in the case of these English speeches there appeared to be a gravity and an earnestness about this praise which argued at least a belief that the newspapers here had a great influence in advancing the fortunes of a public man. Certainly they do have more influence in England, where public opinion has much more weight than it does in any other country in the world. I would have liked to have seen some member of the Clover Club, of Philadelphia, sitting at this dinner and listening to the resentful tone of the speeches. The Clover Club member who believes in howling down and jeering at invited guests when they attempt to make any kind of a speech would doubtless have found nothing but flunkeyism in the polite forms of address of " Mr. Chairman, My Lords and Gentlemen," which preceded the opening remarks of every member of this club. Hut yet on the face it had nothing but the appearance of courtesy, and the criticism that naturally would come to the mind of an American in listening to the speeches of the members of this Press Club would be this : that the English newspaper men were too respectful, and that their speeches, when addressed to the public men who were present, were not in a spirit which indicated a feeling of equality with the men who were seated at the same table with them. IC6 ENGLISH LIFE. I noticed throughout the talk back and forth that unus- ual importance was given to the war correspondents. They were the heroes of the club and were especially compli- mented by the public men in flowery phrases. These war correspondents are simply good reporters — better reporters than the average on the English press — who have a presentable appearance and have had successes in going through a campaign or two. The moment an English newspaper man has reported one campaign and made a reputation as a war correspondent he ceases to be of any value as an all-around newspaper writer. There is nothing that he can be called upon to do after that which does not relate to his specialty. If the paper has any military subject to be discussed the war correspondent will condescend to write about it. But of politics he knows nothing and cares less. He would refuse and consider himself degraded if asked to do any ordinary piece of reporting. One of the war correspondents, a Mr. Pearce, who was in the Soudan with Wolseley, in re- sponding to the toast of the Houses of Parliament, said that he knew less about the subject than any man in Eng- land. He had never attended a Parliamentary debate and had met not over half a dozen members in his life, and never had read anything in the way of political discus- sions. In order to appreciate that, one must remember that this English journalist was living in London, where the Houses of Parliament are sitting and where their de- bates are the constant subjects of discussion and criticism by every man of thought or education in the city. I was told by an old English journalist who sat near me that the special war correspondents are not expected to do anything except in the event of a war. Some of them have difficulty in finding employment in times of peace, but since the war flurries of the last year they have been very prosperous and contented. There is not an English newspaper of any importance in London that has not re- tained several of the war correspondents so as to have them at their disposal in the event of the outbreak of a war. There is a good deal of humbug, I think, about the special war correspondent. I feel perfectly confident that any one of the well-trained reporters of any of our import- ant metropolitan newspapers in the United States could easily outstrip any one of these English specialists with ENGLISH LIFE. I0 7 their backing 1 of unlimited money. I would be willing to back any American reporter with a few weeks' training against any one of these heavy, self-satisfied, indolent looking gentlemen, who must have become sluggish through their having nothing to do while waiting for a war. They would certainly be in a much better condition for a campaign if they were engaged in all-around news- paper work during the time of peace. The London newspaper field is a most prosperous one. London is so large and so rich that the newspapers published here have great resources at their command. London is so broad and is made up of so many different localities that the prominent business people are abso- lutely driven to advertise themselves in the newspapers if they wish to make themselves known and not become lost in the crowd. The result is that all of the prominent papers are loaded down with advertisements. In almost all of the cities of the United States some one newspaper has the monopoly of publishing the small advertisements, such as " wants " and the like. Here nearly all of the morning papers have their share of this paying class of business. The morning newspapers of London are great blanket sheets, clumsy in size and awkward to handle. The greater part of this space is given up to advertise- ments and editorials. News occupies a subordinate place. The collection of news is a most expensive item of outgo in the accounts of American newspaper management. The subordination of news in the London papers makes them cost very much less to produce than papers occu- pying corresponding positions in the United States. Their telegraph bills are small and they have but few reporters. The Daily Telegraph, the Daily A T ews and the Daily Stand- ard are eight-page newspapers, with eight columns on each page. This morning's Telegraph, which is a fair average edition, has thirty-seven of its sixty-four columns given up to advertisements ; six more of its columns are devoted to the money market and shipping intelligence ; three columns to Parliament ; four and a half columns to editorial articles of the regulation length, leaving less than fourteen columns for news. The Times is a six- column paper, but it prints so many supplements that it publishes as a rule more matter than any other one of the London morning papers. io8 ENGLISH LIFE. The paper having the largest income in London is the Daily Telegraph. This paper is owned by Levy, Sr., and Lawson and Lawson, Jr. The Daily Telegraph is by far the richest paper in London ; indeed, I do not believe there is any newspaper in the world which has so large a net income. I have asked a number of men whose business is closely connected with newspaper publishing concerning the income of the Daily Telegraph. Those who are familiar with the advertising rates of the Telegraph and who know the figures of its circulation say that the net income of the Daily Telegraph reaches the enormous sum of £300,000 per annum, or $1,500,000. This paper is said by all financial authorities to have a reserve of 6,000,000 of pounds invested producing an income which can be used at any time for any extra expenditure, like a great war or a fight against competition from any new newspaper enterprise. Its circulation is in the neighbor- hood of 280,000; that is its average. Although it is a Conservative paper, it comes closer to the people of Lon- don than any other newspaper published here. It has almost no circulation in the rural districts. Its great cir- culation is almost entirely confined to the city of London itself. The Times newspaper has a circulation now of some- thing less than 60,000. This paper will have to come down in its price, as its circulation has fallen off consid- erably the last few years. Its income is about half that of the Telegraph, namely, £150,000. A large part of this income is from its advertising. It has a larger amount of advertising than any other London paper. It is the high- est-priced newspaper published to-day in the world. The three-pence charged for it corresponds to six cents of American money. The Times in the rural districts is rented out. It is often taken by three people who divide its expenditure and its cost. In this way its readers are brought up to over 100,000. ENGLISH LIFE. 109 CHAPTER II. A VISIT TO THE OFFICE OF THE TIMES NEWSPAPER. Soon after arriving in London I had a long talk with Dr. McDonald, the manager of the London Times. This news- paper is one of the most exclusive in London. It never divides its news with any paper, however remote. It is thc.fashion among Englishmen to poke fun at the Times, but it is a most influential factor in English poli- tics from its very characteristics, which harmonize most thoroughly with prevailing English ideas. The Times is, in the first place, the highest-priced newspaper in the world. It is sold at three-pence, or six cents of our money, while every one of its principal competitors is sold at one penny, or two cents of our money. It steadily holds its own in spite of this high price. I asked the manager of this paper yesterday if he did not think they would make more money by lowering the price. He said, in reply, that they might gain a larger circulation, but added: "It was a matter of principle with us to maintain the price as it now is. " For with the lowering of the price I have noticed in the cheaper papers a tend- ency to the lowering of their general tone and character." I have never seen any newspaper establishment which has such a combined air of a war office and a monastery. Although situated in one of the noisiest quarters of the city, when once you are fairly behind its solid walls you hear only a soft, confused murmur of the roar in the streets. The Times building is a plain red brick, of a heavy, almost clumsy style of architecture. It sets so low in the street that you do not get a fair idea of its great size until you have begun to walk through it. Un- like the greater part of our newspaper offices its space is HO ENGLISII LIFE. entirely occupied by the newspaper publication and staff. No foreign element is permitted to occupy the remotest corner of the establishment. No one is permitted to enter the building beyond the domain of the business depart- ment except he has a personal acquaintance with the editor or a trustworthy letter of introduction to him. Every one in the employment of this paper is expected to guard all of the regular business proceedings and work of the office as if the most trivial matter were a grave State secret. I found a personal letter of introduction from Mr. George \V. Childs, a key which at once unlocked to me this most closely-guarded office. Within five minutes after its being sent up by the blond-mustached, soldierly- looking messenger I was ushered up two broad flights of stairs to the manager's reception-room. The Times es- tablishment is altogether too conservative to introduce ele- vators except in their publication department, where the " lifts " are employed for carrying the forms up and down and for similar heavy work. The room where I was received was large and high, lighted by two great windows, devoid of drapery. The walls were a dull yellow-gray, with one picture hanging thereon. This was of Bull-Run Russell, the Times's famons special correspondent. The picture must have been painted many years ago, as it is quite dimmed with age and coal-soot. It hangs directly over the heavy, dark wooden mantle, underneath which glowed and snap- ped a bright, open, soft-coal fire. There were a half- dozen very heavy mahogany chairs in the room, up- holstered in dark-green leather. One chair had a maho- gany writing-leaf on its arm. The desk of the manager, in the centre, was very plain, and contained but few papers. Back of it hung a great white chart of the con- struction of sentences in the French language. To the right of the desk was a broad, luxurious light gray-green chintz-covered sofa, large enough and wide enough to rest the Cardiff giant. In the corner beyond this was a plain, handsome dark bookcase, with glass doors. This case was filled with works of reference only. The carpet was a dark, dull red. The room was almost severe in ENGLISH LIFE. i x , its simplicity, and yet it seemed thoroughly complete and satisfactory. Dr. McDonald, the manager, received me with a cor- diality that is unusual for a publisher to show to a visitor who calls during working hours. He gave me more time than the President of the United States could reason- ably hope to obtain from a New York editor, if he sought a consultation with him during working hours. The Times manager has been in this office since 1841. He has been the manager ever since 1857. If he owned every inch of this property he could not extend to it more loyalty, pride or care. He does not look a day over forty-five years of age, although from the length of his service in this office it is reasonable to conclude that he is at least fifty. He is above medium height, with a broad pair of shoulders, a splendidly developed chest and an air of health and energy in reserve, good to see in a man occupying a position of responsibility and active occupation. His large head is quite bald. About the base of the skull is a fringe of yellowish-brown hair touched lightly with gray. His forehead is full and pro- jecting in the region of the perceptive faculties. His eyes are a clear, cold, blue-gray. His nose is straight and large. The lower part of his ruddy, fresh-colored face is covered by a short brown mustache and beard, very much of the fashion and color of that worn by the late Gen. Grant. His voice is rich, full and deliberate. He is a man evidently of an iron will and great executive capacity — one of those rare individuals who never get excited and are most deliberate when others are demor- alized. He has an unusual burden of responsibility in maintaining the high state of discipline necessary to the keeping of the morale of this most exclusive and dignified of newspapers. Dr. McDonald personally showed me through the Times establishment instead of turning me over to the ten- der mercies of a messenger. I do not propose to give a detailed description of the mechanism of this publication office, but merely to note a few things that especially struck my mind. In the first place the editorial rooms would interest most American newspaper men. Every prominent writer on the paper had a large room to him- I i 2 ENGLISH LIFE. self, furnished in the same style of solid comfort and simplicity as the manager's office. In each room sparkled an open fire. In each there was a library of reference. In this monkish solitude, in front of a glowing fire, with his books and papers about him, guarded against any possible intrusion, if ever a writer should be inspired to do good work he surely would be in such surroundings. But these writers are not permitted to select their own subjects. They are given their subjects and told how to treat them by the manager. The rest is a mere matter of literary gymnastics. In the visit to the editorial rooms we stopped at one room on one of the upper-floors. This was the only shabby-looking room in the whole establishment. The carpet here was worn threadbare. The coverings to the desks were ragged. It was such a break in the general character of the institution that I involuntarily turned to- wards the doctor. He glanced quietly at a carelessly dressed young* man, who, with a silk hat on the back of his head, was writing away for dear life, as he said in a low tone of voice, " This is the penny-a-liners' room. No one who works in this room has any regular employment or connection with the Times." "In other words, the writers who come here prepare news articles to sell to you at so much a line ? " "Precisely."' "They correspond to the space-writers of our offices. Do any of these penny-a-liners ever graduate from this kind of work into regular employment on the Times P" The manager said with peculiar emphasis: "I might say almost never ! " In the composing-room there was the same silence, decorum and discipline. There were great screens back of the printers to protect them and their manuscript copy from the sight of casual passers-by. The cases are of dark wood. The floors are stone. Everywhere exces- sive cleanliness and order. There is no lounging. The printers are obliged to put all their outside wraps and hats in a check-room. No article of apparel is allowed to rest on any of the cases. The sombre dignity of the establish- ment extends to the compositors, who are not generally regarded in newspaper offices as models of decorum. Cabinet Ministers could not be more grave and quiet in ENGLISH LIFE. "3 their work than these printers. Over each case is a beau- tiful circular light under a glass globe ; it is a gas pro- duced by the action of hot air instead of cold. It is stronger and mellower than the electric light. Upon the right of the composing-room are the famous type setting machines of the office. They are used to set up all the matter of the paper except the advertisements. The man- ager says there is no question about the practicability of the type-setting machines. The trouble is wholly outside of the machines in their being employed. From this I in- ferred that it is largely a question of overcoming the printers' objections to them. The Times will not employ union printers. The parliamentary debates are dictated directly from the galleries of the Houses of Parliament through a long speaking-tube to one of the type-setters. Each type-setter can set about one column an hour. In England there is no official report of the proceedings of Parliament corresponding to the Congressional Record of the United States. It is left to private enterprise to make the record, and the result is all of the rubbish is lost, and only note-worthy speeches are preserved. The Han- sard reports have been recognized as official, but as they were made up of compilations of the Times' reports the Times now forestalls these reports by publishing special and earlier ones of their own. The press-room instead of being in the basement, is in a side wing, a great high- arched room, large as many modern churches. In it are ten great Walter presses, the invention and design of Mr. McDonald. It was he who also invented the stereotyping which made the rapid press possible. The stereotyping in the Times office is now done in exactly five minutes. The paper in the press-room comes in great cylinders, containing each four miles of paper. At the mills each cylinder is rolled together, when ready, in five minutes. So rapid is the movement that the paper parts at the end of the work with a snap that sounds like a clap of thunder. The Times orders only a two days' supply of paper ahead and takes from three manufacturers, so that it has the constant advantage of daily competition. I had often heard that the places on the Times staff were for a life tenure. I asked Mr. McDonald about this, say- ing : "I have heard that no one ever employed on the Times is ever discharged. If he should fail in any way he 1 1 4 ENGLISH LIFE. would be still retained on your pay-rolls, although not actually employed in doing any work ? " The manager replied that such stories were apt to he greatly exaggerated. They exercise great care in the em- ployment of their staff, and it had just happened that there never had been any occasion to discharge any member of their personal staff. The writers on the Times are the highest paid journalists in Europe. Their special corre- spondents in the various social capitals are given establish- ments that entitle them to a footing of equality with the diplomatic representatives. In Rome the Times has only recently finished the building of a handsome house for the exclusive use and comfort of its correspondent at that point. The Times newspaper is rapidly departing from its former lines of management. I understand that there is some talk of reducing its price. The management is adapting itself more and more to the line of modern news- paper methods. The solemnity and ponderous dignity of its editorial page are passing away. In their place there is a light vein, which often descends to what the English would term flippancy. I have heard a number of English gentlemen express surprise at what they call "the degra- dation " of its editorial pages. From an American stand- point the change is much for the better. An argument, to my mind, does not lose weight if it happens to be expressed in light and effective satire. The rapier is very often a more effective weapon than a club. The methods em- ployed by the Times against the Irish party belong to modern newspaper management. It has expended great sums in the way of personal investigation, and has shown great enterprise in gathering together material to be used against Parnell and his associates. This newspaper is planning to connect the leaders of the Irish party with the new dynamite conspiracy, which it alleges it has un- earthed. It has in its employment a number of Irish informers. The paper may be considered to-day the strongest enemy in England to the Irish National party. It is much stronger than the ministry in its collection of mate- rial to be used. This newspaper employs its money and its advantages in such a way that it has come to be regarded as the leading element in the present ministerial govern- ment in the campaign against Ireland, Its editor and ENGLISH LIFE. *5 proprietor, Mr. Walters, will probably receive a peerage r as a reward for his skill. He is a gentleman above medium height, and inclined to be spare. He has a face not unlike that of the late Charles O'Conor, with the ex- ception that his features are larger and his face longer. His nose is a decided Roman hook. His eyes are dark and deeply set under snowy-white eyebrows. His mouth is thin-lined and large. His face is smooth-shaven to the line of his jaws. Around under the jaws is a thick growth of white whiskers, which pass up from the throat in front of his ears, and there joining his hair, make a frame of white for his long, fresh-colored face. He is not given to saying much, but is well liked by those who come in contact with him. The ponderous sledge-hammer force of the Times comes, however, from the dominant and masterful management of Mr. McDonald. CHAPTER III. THE OFFICE OF THE " DAILY TELEGRAPH." The office of the Daily Telegraph is one of the best newspaper buildings in London. It is fully equal to the one occupied and owned by the Times. Like the Times, the Telegraph occupies all of its building, admitting no outside tenants to any of its floors. The Telegraph build- ing is in Fleet street, about midway between the end of the Strand and the beginning of Ludgate Hill. Its hand- some, substantial brick building, with yellow-gray stone front, is four stories in height. It has a very wide front upon Fleet street, running back to a great distance. You enter from the street directly into the business office, which occupies the full width of the building, and must be at least fifty feet, and extends back fully seventy-five feet. The windows and doors are plate glass, and the floor black and white marble tiles. The ceilings are supported upon polished red granite pillars with gray caps ami bases. The woodwork is all in oak. There is no at- tempt at economy of space. Three-quarters of this great u6 ENGLISH LIFE. room is surrendered to the public. Around the two sides, upon the right and left of this office, are the counters be- hind which stand the advertising clerks. Several files of the newspaper are in the open spaces between. At the rear of this great room there is a partition of oak and ground glass which shuts off from sight the bookkeepers and accountants of the paper. This place has the solid look of a great bank. The magnificence and solidity of this great business room suggests a public building rather than one devoted to private enterprise. Yesterday I had an opportunity of going all through the offices of the Telegraph. There was throughout the establishment the same solid character and thoroughness as was shown on the ground floor. This newspaper building has been erected with such care that it will stand as long as any of the public buildings in London. In spite of the large sums of money that must have been spent making a complete modern newspaper building there is one thing missing which is particularly notice- able to an American visitor. This is the absence of the elevator, or lift. But there are not many stairs to go up in this building for the working force. The editorial rooms are only up one flight, occupying what is called here the first floor. There is the same order, discipline, and system of silence maintained in the office of the Tele- graph as in the offices of the Times. The hallways are wide, clean, and clear of everything in way of litter and rubbish. The doors leading into these halls are kept closed. There is throughout the building an atmosphere of quiet and repose certainly conducive to careful mental work. The leading editorial writers have rooms to them- selves. These are well fitted up with conveniences for communication with the editor-in-chief. Copy and proofs are passed through pneumatic tubes, so that there is no confusion and hurrying boys between the rooms of the writers, the proof-readers and the composing-room. The editorial council-room is an interesting place. In the centre of the room is a long, open table surrounded with chairs, and with a larger chair at the head for the editor-in-chief. In front of each desk is a blotting-pad, pens, ink and paper for notes. About the room are different tables for the exchange editors. The American newspapers go to one table, the Continental papers to ENGLISH LIFE. 1 1 7 another, and the English provincial papers to still an- other. When the editorial council is not sitting- the ex- change editors here do their work. Over each door in these working-rooms, where several writers are gathered, I noticed the impressive word "Silence" printed in large letters. This editorial council-room contains also a library of reference stretching from the floor to the ceiling, rest- ing in careful order and arrangement behind locked glass doors. I walked through a number of the rooms of the writers after leaving this library. All were light, clean, well furnished and free from every form of dirt and con- fusion. The reception-room of the editor-in-chief, Mr. Lawson, is a great, square room, suitable for the recep- tion-room of a Cabinet Minister. It has large, dark, red rugs upon the floor and a great oaken table in the centre. The furniture was in green leather, solid and substantial. There were several pictures on the wall, portraits of Mr. Levy, senior, one of the large owners of the paper and of others connected with the establishment and who own interest in it. This paper is owned by Levy, senior, and Lawson, senior and junior. The composing-room is in the back part of the building upon the next floor. This is well lighted, clean, orderly, with little side rooms for the printers to place their coats, hats and luncheon baskets in. It is lighted by the elec- tric light. There are but seventy cases, although this is the largest paper in London. A little comparison here will show how much more type is set by The World office in New York. The World newspaper has 150 .stands, employing an equal number of printers. If it had room some twenty-five more cases would be added. The com- position in all of the London newspaper offices is paid by the " en " instead of the " em " measurement used in New York. Making allowance for the difference in money and the difference in the scale, the cost of composition in London is about 44 cents for the equivalent of 1,000 ems. The stereotyping-room is just out of the composing-room. It is long and narrow, with high ceilings, and with every possible mechanical facility for rapid work. It is in charge of a tall, stalwart, handsome Italian foreman. He told me that the best record made by them as yet on the last plate, the one that counts, is eleven minutes. The press-room is on the ground floor. The Telegraph Ii8 ENGLISH LIFE. has ten of Richard Hoe's best presses. These presses are capable, under careful management, of netting 12,000 im- pressions an hour. Only one of the presses in the Tele- graph office has folding and pasting attachments. The reason of this is very simple. The English newsdealers do not want their papers folded. They will not take them if they are folded. They say that they are more conven- ient to handle in unfolded sheets. They are taken by the wholesale trade. They distribute them in turn unfolded to the small dealers. Upon them falls the burden of the folding of them by hand. The Telegraph folds and cuts papers to send away by mail, but as the bulk of its papers are handled by the wholesale dealer, it does not have to employ more than one machine. Mr. W. H. Smith, a member of the present Cabinet, is at the head of a concern which practically monopolizes the handling and sale of the London newspapers. He has folding machines in his establishment, where he folds for such of his custom- ers as want them that way, but he prefers to receive all his papers in bulk, unfolded. The fact that the English wholesale dealers want the papers that way is a great ad- vantage in point of time and economy to the London pub- lishers. One of the features of the Daily Telegraph building dif- fers from that of any other newspaper building I have ever heard anything about. The upper floor is conven- iently cut up into bed-rooms and sitting-rooms. These are comfortably furnished for the use of any members of the writing force who have to be on duty during the evening or night. Indeed, I am told that any member of the writing staff of the Telegraph can have sleeping room here if he wishes, and this without charge. It is here that the managing editor has his private chambers. The Standard has a circulation in the neighborhood of 200,000, and its income is about £150,000. The circula- tion of the Daily News is placed at 100,000, and its income at £100,000. These are the most profitable papers in Lon- don. The Chronicle, which is a later newspaper in point of establishment, is published by the owner of Lloyd's Weekly. Lloyd's Weekly clears for its owner from £60,- 000 to £70,000 a year, and it is estimated that the Chron- icle brings his income up to about £100,000. The Graphic and the Illustrated London News are very prosperous news- ENGLISH LIFE. ug papers. They bring in to their publishers a net income of £100,000 a year. There are a great many trades papers published in London; all of them make comfort- able incomes. The evening newspapers are not so prosperous as the morning papers. The Globe has the largest income, which is estimated at £50,000, but none of the other evening papers have any income which can at all compare with those of the morning papers. It is a remarkable fact that in this rich field, where pros- perity follows almost every form of newspaper publica- tion, there should be less enterprise in news collecting than in any one of the minor cities in the United States. Few of the morning papers receive despatches after ir o'clock at night, and it is very rare that they make special efforts to get news outside of their regular routine sources. The result is there is great sameness in all the papers. The essential difference between them is found only in their editorial pages. The Morning Post, which I have omitted from the list of morning papers, is very rich. It prints no special news ; it is made up entirely of the routine press despatches, the paragraphs from the Court Cir- cular and social paragraphs. These latter paragraphs are paid for where a person is not of sufficient prominence to secure a free notice. The rate is 75 guineas per column for this class of matter. The income of this paper is about $100,000. Its editor is Sir Algernon Borthwick. He is a member of Parliament, and a thick-and-thin supporter of royalty. He has recently been rewarded with a title. He is a popular man, and prominent in all [he clubs. PART IV. CHAPTER I. MISCELLANEOUS. THE THEATRES CONTRASTED THE BARMAIDS AND THEIR PECUL- IARITIES THE EATING AND DRINKING THE MUSIC HALLS AND THEIR PATRONS. There is one feature of London theatrical management which always looks odd and strange to an American, even when he has been a resident for some time in London. This is the refreshment bar, where people go between the acts for a drmk or a short smoke. I do not know of a single prominent threatre in America, except the Casino, where the bar is under its own roof or where it is directly connected with the theatre management. Here it is always in the theatre, and is generally upon one of the upper floors, on a level with the boxes and dress-circle seats. The bar itself, very much like ours in style and shape, is always presided over by barmaids. They are as respectable and well-mannered as the saleswomen of the best shops. They have alert business manners, and are not given to saying much, unless a golden youth in- sists upon a bit of what he calls "chahff," as he orders. In the large room where drinks are served there are al- ways small round tables. Here ladies from all parts of the theatre, with their escorts, come to drink a glass of wine or a cup of coffee. To see a bar presided over by women, and to see among its patrons ladies from all parts of the theatre, of undoubted respectability and standing, ENGLISH LIFE. I2i creates at first upon the American mind a queer impres- sion. It is similar to the impression that would be made upon the mind of a stranger, who, entering the Hoffman House bar for the first time, should find it in the hands of business-like barmaids, with ladies and gentlemen sitting at the little tables as customers. The presence of women in these places appears to have the effect of eliminating the element of rowdyism. You hear no loud conversation, oaths or coarse expressions. The talk and manners are the same as those you would find in a refreshment room at a private entertainment. The barmaids generally dress in black. They are much given to having their hair cut short and then curled tight over their heads. They are always supposed to be youthful and to wear a merry expression. This merry expression is a little wearing at times, but in the main the careless customers are content with mechanical smiles and cast-iron laughter at the traditional British joke that comes in with every order. Here is a typical barmaid as sketched last night in the Princess Theatre. She was slightly above medium height and very plump. She filled a close-fitting black dress nearly to the point of bursting. Her face was round and clear in its lines. Her complexion was naturally fair, and, if she had been content with what nature had given her in the way of a complexion, would have looked very well. But she was not. The red and white of the theat- rical paint-box were laid on in thick stripes and without the least pretense of disguise. Her eyes were the intense dark-black bead color so common among the women of the servant class. Her features were regular, and when she laughed, as she did at stated intervals, she displayed snowy white teeth. Her intensely black hair was curled tight around her very round head. She represented the very sunniest of barmaid good nature and lively spirits. She smiled upon the lame, the halt and the blind with the same unction when they came for an order as she did upon the most resplendent of the gilded youth. She laughed with unwearying fortitude at jokes that were old, weary, and moss-grown when Csesar invaded Britain with his Roman hosts. The amount of eating and drinking done in a first-class London theatre every evening would astonish an Ameri- 122 ENGLISH LIFE. can manager. People come straight to the theatre from their dinners and immediately begin ordering ices, cakes, coffee and sweets. The privilege of furnishing refresh- ments to a theatre is paid for in large sums by restaurant proprietors. The refreshment room is one of the large sources of revenue of a theatre management. Waiting maids during the evening go about throughout the theatre knocking at the box doors hawking refreshments. Between the acts people eat and drink constantly to fill in the time. Programmes also are charged for in nearly all the theatres. The average price of a programme is a sixpence. If an American audience in any theatre in the United States should be called on to pay 12 cents for their programmes there would be a riot. American managers say that it would be impossible to introduce the feature of asking even one cent for programmes. The theatres are arranged upon a plan essentially different from ours. In only one theatre, the Haymarket, has the pit been abolished. The pit is the rear space upon the same floor with the stalls, which correspond to our orchestra chairs. There is no aisle down the centre of the stalls. They are entered from the sides. Seats here are ten shillings, and ten shillings and six- pence, equal to two dollars and a half. Entrance to the pit is generally from one to two shillings, but here the people sit upon benches and no seats are reserved. The prices of seats in the galleries range down from seven shillings ($1. 75). Theatre-going is very expensive. Few of the theatres make money notwithstanding the high prices. Plays are better mounted in London theatres than anywhere else in the world. A play that could not go upon its merits is often carried by its exquisite cos- tuming, scenic and spectacular effects. The noted figures in the London theatrical world are the Kendals, Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, the Bancrofts, Ber- nard Beere, Mrs. Beerbohm-Tree, Charles Wyndham, and Toole. All of these have been students in the same finished school. Irving, Terry, Bernard Beere, and Wyndham once played together in the same stock company. The theatres, with few exceptions, possess no architectural merit. There is not a single theatre in London with a handsome exterior. They are confusing in their exits. The managements are ENGLISH LIFE. ^3 conservative and take to electric lighting with the greatest reluctance. So slow are some of the theatres in dis- charging their audiences and so ancient their methods of lighting that it is a wonder they have so long escaped any great calamity in the way of fire and panic. In all the good theatres a careful watch now is maintained against fire, and managers are stationed in all of the passages near all the exits during performances. The special feature of the London amusement world is the music hall. There are at least thirty in the city. Every neighborhood has it music hall, always run in connection with a drinking establishment. At all of the regular theatres ladies cannot wear bonnets, and gentle- men attend in evening dress. At the music halls you can go in ordinary dress. Gentlemen wear their hats, and can smoke or drink. At the highest priced places, the stalls only cost five shillings. The entertainment corresponds to the features of the programme offered at our best variety theatre. The utmost order is always maintained. There are never any rough talk, or any more indecorum in the stalls or in any part of the hall, than in the best theatres in London. The freedom of these places draw great crowds. Their cheap prices cut directly into the business of the regular theatres and show what could be done if any theatre-giving standard drama were to adopt a more popular scale of prices. The two great music halls of London, the Empire and the Alhambra, are situated in Leicester Square, the centre of the French quarter of London. These theatres are decorated and fitted up on a scale of gorgeousness not to be equalled in any theatres in the world. The stalls at the Empire are great easy chairs, while those of the rival establishment are scarcely inferior. The ballet is the great feature at each place, although there are given in addition all of the features of the regular music hall programmes. The Alhambra was the first comer. Its originator made a great fortune, and then the Empire ap- peared last year as its rival. But so great is the crowd of idle pleasure seekers, in this great capital of the world, that both places do a great business ; and if a dozen more were to be built in their neighborhood upon an equal scale of magnificence they would undoubtedly draw crowds. 124 ENGLISH LIFE. These .places are supposed to be the most wicked places in London. They are the haunts of the fast young men and of the bachelor club-men. But under the peculiar management of the places, none of this wicked- ness appears directly upon the surface. In the lower part of the house, in the stalls, and in the boxes, you will see the same class of people found in any of the theatres. The ballet is always a most decorous spectacle arranged upon the highest lines of terpsichorean art. A lady ac- companied by a proper escort could visit either one of these theatres in the part given over to respectable visitors without seeing or hearing anything to offend. But at the back part of the theatre, upon a floor on a level with the upper galleries, is what is called the promenade. Here there are gathered people of both sexes who come here for the purpose of drinking, gossiping and for the conduct of intrigues. The women all belong to the demi-monde. The men are club-men, young fellows, and inquisitive strangers. The men are nearly always in evening dress. The women are well dressed and quiet in their demeanor. There is nothing here to out- wardly offend, as the rules of both establishments secure mere surface order. The Square is one of the sights of London after the performances at the two places are at an end. It is most brilliantly lighted by flaring gas and electric lights. Every thoroughfare is packed with cab men shouting for fares. The sidewalks are packed with a swell-mob. The enforced decorum of the in- terior is lo^t. The few London policemen about are deaf and blind to the shouts, songs, and wild jostling of a most free and easy crowd. There is generally a grand rush for the Hotel Cavour at one of the corners of the square, one of the famous supper places of London. This is always packed in a few moments, and then its doors are closed against a crowd of reckless men and women seeking supper. But even this most noisy and most uproarious place, celebrated justly for its good eating must be closed dark and silent by one a. m. The law requires the closing at 12.30, but the police do noth- ing if the place is shut at sharp one. Just around from Leicester Square, in Piccadilly Circus, are the other noted music halls, not quite so high in price as those I have just mentioned. ENGLISH LIFE. 125 This Circus is brilliantly lighted all night. The late crowd from Leicester Square sweeps down here, so that from eleven to two this neighborhood becomes the ren- dezvous of all the outcast class of London. It is called by some the slave market of London, where women are as openly and publicly bought and sold as in the slave marts of Constantinople. This is not an agreeable subject, but it is one constantly before the attention of visitors to London. The way the streets are surrendered after eleven o'clock to the lawless classes is a constant source of wonder, when it is to be noted that in many respects, such as the carefully guarding of life and property, the cleanliness of the streets, and in the maintenance of high sanitary conditions, London is un- surpassed by any city in the world. CHAPTER II. THE SPECIAL TRAIN OF THE PRIME MINISTER— FREE PASSES FOR HIGH OFFICIALS RELATIVE SPEED OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN TRAINS. The Queen rarely interferes in the conduct of public busi- ness. The affairs of the government are directed by the Cabinet. Occasionally the Queen desires to talk with the Prime Minister, and then he is sent to confer with her. She receives him generally at Windsor Castle. The Min- ister always has a special train when sent for by the Queen. I was in tne Paddington station one day when the special train for the Marquis of Salisbury was there. That was a week ago last Sunday. The train consisted of two coaches. The second coach was for the baggage. The special coach represented the very ex- treme of luxury and comfort as understood by English railway carriage builders. It was the wagon often used by the Prince of Wales and the Queen for coining and going between Windsor and London. This coach could not compare in comfort with the poorest of our Pullman cars. I was in the station some twenty minutes before the arrival of the Prime Minister and as the special was 126 ENGLISH LIFE. right alongside of the platform where I was, I had a good opportunity to examine it at my leisure. The special coach was painted white, with bands of dull brown red. It was divided into four compartments. The compart- ment at the upper end of the car was shut off from the other portion. This was fitted up in dull red leather. It was the same style of compartment found in the average English first-class railway coach. It was intended for the servants. Back of this was the saloon compartment, which occupied about half the space of the car. This car was furnished with an Axminster carpet and red-leather- covered furniture. The arrangement of the seats was any thing but comfortable. Along each side of the saloon were two great leather sofas, but their backs were so narrow that one could not sit upon them comfortably. The only position of comfort would be found in a reclining pos- ture. They were very suitable for the purpose of sleep, but if one wished to look out of the window he could not find a position in the entire saloon where he could sit at ease. At the end of the car and facing backward was a long, padded, high-backed, continuous seat, capable of holding four or five people comfortably, but on this seat there were only two places where any one could lookout of the window. Just beyond this saloon there was a small, narrow wash-room, no larger and no better fitted up than those on many of the day coaches on the Pennsyl- vania Railroad. Beyond this lavatory was another com- partment, about as large as the one at the opposite end. This had a long leather seat against its back. Here were the only comfortable seats in the carriage. Its system of ventilation was as bad as that of the ordinary English railway coach. The Marquis of Salisbury came down buttoned up tightly in a black frock coat, carrying a light gray overcoat over his arm. He was followed by his two secretaries and a man servant. He was preceded by the railway officials, bowing and bending, as if the honor of furnishing a train free to so distinguished a person was too great for them to bear. One moment after the Prime Minister's arrival the train was whisked out of the station and run up ahead of all the regular trains on its way to Windsor. I have found upon investigation that the English rail- ways have to bear the onerous task in the way of furnishing ENGLISH LIFE. 127 free transportation to prominent individuals and officials, as did the railroads in the United States before the passage of the Interstate Commerce bill. 1 was told by a railroad official the other day that all of the royalities travel free, and that they expect in addition special coaches. The visiting- royalties have also been furnished free transportation, and in many instances special trains. This pass system must be very expensive. Coming up from Portsmouth the other day I got a seat on the special train assigned to the members of the House of Peers. These peers had with them innumer- able relatives, and I noticed at one of the stations where the guard came along to take up the tickets that he looked very much surprised when I gave him one. It was appar- ently the only ticket taken up by him on the train. Every peer and peeress and every peer and peeress in prospect and every peer's and peeress's relatives had passes. This naval review at Portsmouth has been the only public place of interest which I have visited since coming to England where I did not have to pay two or three times more tham was indicated as the cost of the trip in the advertisement. The reason of this, I soon found, was that it was an entertainment gotten up for the higher classes and was therefore made cheap for them. Any entertainment given where the general public is permitted to go results in double charges all round, but at the Ports- mouth review the railroad fare was not increased, and this was the only expense, because the naval officers were required to furnish luncheon to their visitors and make no charge. I understand the majority of the members of the House of Commons also had passes on this trip. The speed of the English railway system has always been greatly exaggerated in the United States. You con- stantly hear there of trains being run in England, as a common thing, at the rate of sixty miles an hour. On the average their trains are much slower than ours. Their local trains are simply abominations on account of the slowness of their speed and their long delays at stations. The average train in England does not run above thirty miles an hour. Their tracks and road-beds are better than ours on the average, but their cars are so much more un- comfortable that the superiority of their road-beds does not compensate. Their tracks, however, are no better than are found upon some of our trunk lines, such as the Penn- 128 ENGLISH LIFE. sylvania. Coming up from Portsmouth the other night the Peers' Special, as it was called, was run independently, at an alleged high rate of speed and without delays, yet the train was over three hours going one hundred miles. It was run at very irregular rates of speed — there would be a spurt of sixty miles an hour and then it would come down to twenty five without any apparent reason. CHAPTER III. A VISIT TO CARDINAL MANNING, ONE OF THE GREAT CATHOLIC PRINCES. I saw Cardinal Manning the other day at the Arch- bishop's house, Westminster. I wrote him a note asking for the pleasure of an interview and received a prompt reply by return of post. The Archbishop's house is a black stone building between Victoria Street, where the United States Legation is, and the river. The exterior of the building does not suggest the character of the place, and looks like a great, gloomy, wholesale store-house. Inside its black, forbidding portals you find light, exces- sive cleanliness, beautifully arranged rooms, and the at- mosphere representative of quiet which belongs to every well-managed public building. The messenger at the door showed me into a large ante-room below, and then a moment after I was taken upstairs to the ante-room adjoining the Cardinal's private reception chamber. This room is very long, wide, with very high ceilings. The windows were so broad and high as to leave very little of the outside wall. The ceilings are white, the walls are neu- tral in tint, while the floor is dark and polished, covered with rugs. Around the room hang numerous pictures of the saints and of various Biblical subjects. There are also in the room a number of bookcases filled with books, Scattered round the room are a number of handsome old- fashioned chairs, some in plain mahogany and leather, others in French gilt and red tapestry. In the centre is a round table covered with dark red cloth, upon which lie ENGLISH LIFE. 129 books written upon the subjects of art, religion and church architecture. In the centre is a beautiful bronze figure of the Virgin Mary cast from metal of the bronze cannon captured during the Crimean war. The dignified, solemn servant left me here in this room, and within five minutes the black doors of the private, room on the left opened and there entered, not his servant, but the Cardinal him- self. He invited me to walk into his private library. The Cardinal is very tall, he is over six feet in height. He is very slender. Advancing age has rounded slightly his shoulders. He wore the long black cassock of the priest. It was trimmed with red. The buttons clown the front were also red. As he walked crimson stockings showed above his low cut shoes from under his black flowing skirt. Walking with a long stride to the hard leather high-backed chair near the table the Cardinal motioned me to a chair near him and then turned. As he sat there he presented a most interesting and picturesque appearance. The pose, dress and positive character of this distinguished prelate of the Roman Catholic Church would have made a picture painted as he sat in the soft light from the window. His dark red Cardinal's cap was brought forward and slightly over one ear, giving him a rather dashing appearance. His aristocratic features and long white hands indicated a man of the highest intellec- tual and aristocratic type. His face is particularly gentle and kindly in its expression. His forehead is broad and high. His eyes are dark gray, well sunken under pro- jecting eyebrows. His nose is a fierce, aristocratic Roman. His face is quite angular and is, of course, smooth-shaven. His check-bones are high, with a large depression in the hollow of the chin. His mouth is thin- lipped and straight. His chin is pointed, projecting and most positive in its lines. His neck is long and was half hidden by a pink linen collar standing up squarely around his neck and circled by a black tie, over which was twisted a long gold chain. He twisted in his hands a pair of steel-bowed eyeglasses as he talked about the policy of the Church, and its relations to the Labor question. He spoke with the greatest deliberation, enunciating with the greatest distinctness every word. His voice was at no time raised above the ordi- 1 30 ENGLISH LIFE. nary tone. It was the easy, gracious talk of a man of the world of the highest class. There was a gentleness and simplicity of bearing in his manner which were most pre- possessing. When the conversation was finished he ex- tended to me his hand and said that at any time if the New York World desired any information from him con- cerning the Church or its policy, so far as it was known to him, he would be glad at all times to furnish such in- formation. He was very much interested in the United States and in the problems which are yet to be solved there. He believes fully in the daylight of public discus- sion, and is in no sympathy with the public men who pursue their ends through secret and devious ways. He argues that what is kept hidden is not good, and that, therefore, however good objects sought to be accom- plished by secret societies may be they are more than counterbalanced by the evil of the system of secrecy. The private library is a beautiful room and about half as large as the ante-room. It is lined with old books from the ceiling to the floor. Some of these books are priceless in value. It is a wonderful library of reference and of historical association. There is a simplicity and dignity about the surroundings of the Cardinal more im- pressive than the more'formal systems of ceremony to be found in any of the houses of royalty in England. The Cardinal looks more like a statesman than a priest. He has an appearance of force and of power of a most uncommon kind. He looked like a leader of men. There was something of the military air in his resolute, quick, decisive way of disposing of matters presented to him. The man who reaches a high position in the com- pact military organization of the Catholic Church must of necessity be a man of ability and character. There is certainly no such dignitary in the Protestant Church of England who can for one moment, in point of ability and force of character, be compared with this distinguished Prince of the Catholic Church. The Archbishop of Can- terbury is an amiable, gentle old man, who takes life as easily as possible and who never concerns himself with anything outside of the narrow technical duties of his office. Cardinal Manning, I should say, from his style and manner, combines the duties of priest, diplomatist and statesman. Another thing that I noticed about him was ENGLISH LIFE. 131 that he spoke the English language without any marked "English'' accent — he spoke as does Mr. Gladstone and the highest types of English public men. The so-called English accent, which is occasionally imitated by some of our Anglo-maniacs, is nothing but cockneyism refined and subdued, perhaps, but still cockneyism at the bottom. The cockneys and the uneducated classes use the exces- sively broad A and exaggerated forms of dialect which influence to a certain degree the better educated classes who are obliged to come in contact with them. The servant classes to a large extent are responsible for the peculiarities of speech of the educated English people who have never been able to overcome the influence of the servants in their associations with them at a tender age. The mass of the people in England are uneducated. The result is great impurity of speech by the majority, and that majority's imperfections must have its influenceupon a higher class minority. I do not think that it can be suc- cessfully disputed that the English language is spoken with greater purity by the masses in the United States than here, and that the average of our educated people speak with much greater purity and with much better accent than do the educated people of this most self-satis- fied and self-reliant of nations. CHAPTER IV. THE ENGLISH POSTAL SYSTEM, AND THE LONDON POLICE ENG- LISH ADMINISTRATION OE JUSTICE. The English postal system is an excellent one. It is conducted at a profit The surplus money of its revenues is applied each year to the improvement of the service. Its carrier system has developed to such a degree that letters and papers are delivered throughout the rural dis- tricts with nearly as much frequency as in the cities. The postman makes his round so often that private let- ter-boxes are almost unknown in the English postal sta- 1 32 ENGLISH LIFE. tions. In the city of London the mail is collected from the street boxes, or pillars, as they are called, every hour after 8.15 in the morning up to midnight. Between mid- night and 8.15 there is an early morning collection at 3 o'clock. None of the mails taken up at the pillar post for local delivery go to the main ofhce. They are all carried to sub-stations, and from there sent out. The system is so complete for the collection and carrying out of letters that you can send a letter by post to the most distant part of London and receive a reply by mail about as quickly as you could send and receive an answer by telegraph. By this I mean a message sent through the ordinary working of the telegraph system. The telegraph service, also conducted by the Post-Office, does not compare for one moment with the rapid mail service. The Post-Office Department also does an express business throughout the United Kingdom, and even distant colonies. This ser- vice is called the parcels post. It corresponds to our ex- press service. By this post very bulky articles are carried at a very low rate. I came into personal contact with the iron-clad rules of the British postal system the other day when I sought to recover a letter which had been mailed through mistake. It was not an important matter, but in the United States I never have had any trouble in getting back a letter from the postal authorities when I was able satisfactorily to identify the letter, so I thought the experiment was worth trying here. I went to a pillar post where a postman was to arrive ten minutes after the letter had been put into it I explained the matter to a friendly policeman close by, and he said there would be no trouble in getting my letter. I had the address of the letter and, as the en- velope had a monogram on its back, there was no possi- bility of any mistake in identifying it. In a few moments the postman arrived. He was dressed in a blue soldier- like uniform, trimmed with red. He wore a French mili- tary cap, also blue and trimmed with red. Over his shoulder he carried a long, loose hempen bag, such as a farmer might use for gathering apples. There was no lock or string to fasten the mouth of the bag. When the postmen had emptied the post-box I explained what I wished. He was frightened at my asking for a letter and twisted up the bag at once, saying he could not even ENGLISH LIFE. 133 consider such a proposition, but if I wished I could go with him to the station and submit the matter there to the official in charge. I walked along- with him. This little British postman appeared to be walking at a very leisure- ly pace, but I soon found that to keep up with him re- quired very unusual exertion on my part. He took a very short step, but his hobnailed shoes came down very fast on the sidewalk. His gait was at least five miles an hour going to the station. At the station another official in blue uniform referred me to the inspector, a short, resolute, full bearded man in civilian dress. He said nothing could be done. A letter once posted was the property of the addressee and the Postmaster-General was responsible for the same until it was delivered. He asked me to read the rule. I did so, and found the rule forbade the surrender of mail matter, after it was once posted, to the person posting it ; but at the foot of the rule I found a possible exception to it in an appeal to the secretary of the Postmaster-General. This gave me a new leg to stand on. I then called on the postmaster of the station. I asked him how long before the letter would be sent out of the station for delivery. He said within three-quarters of an hour. I asked him if he would hold the letter if I got an order from the sec- retary to the Postmaster-General. He said he would certainly obey any order of that official, but he would not hold hack the letter one second without such an order. I left him, having three-quarters of an hour to go some three miles down in the city to reach the secretary. Through the underground railroad I was able to get to the main department within twenty-five minutes, and in ten minutes more, with very little ceremony — not so much as would be required to reach the Postmaster-General at Washington — I was ushered into the presence of the working head of the English Post-Office Department, the secretary to the Postmaster-General. I asked him if he would consent to give back the letter, lie was exces- sively polite, but absolutely unyielding. He said he had no doubt about my ability to identify the letter. He was sorry that he could do nothing, but the rule was one to which his department had adhered lor years withoul any favor to anyone. He said: " I have before me nearly every day people representing all conditions and degrees *34 ENGLISH LIFE. of life in England seeking to have letters given back to them which have been posted through mistake ; but we never have waived the rule." I said : "The object of the rule is undoubtedly to protect the interests of the public ? *' "Certainly that is the object." "Then you who make the rule and can suspend it at will certainly ought to have some discretion. If you are convinced that no public injury can be done, then you surely can safely suspend the rule." " What would our subordinates say if we should break our own rules ? " ' ' Those rules are made for your subordinates, who should have no discretion in the matter ; but no subordinate would have any right to question the discretion of the rule-making powers." He shook his head at this and said it was not a matter for argument. The English Post-Office Department never waived its rules. I then asked him if he would not do so if he were confronted with a case where the delivery of a letter would develop some domestic tragedy or a great scandal. At this he said : " I have ruled upon your case, and you must confess it was not serious. I will decide the serious one when it is actually presented. I am not in the habit of making hypothetical decisions upon hypothetical cases. How- ever, I have no hesitation in saying to you that I do not believe the rule would be broken even then. At any rate I should not so act without consulting our solicitor." "But meanwhile, under your system of swift delivery and the rule that no letter should be delayed in its. trans- mission, the letter would be delivered before you could reach your solicitor." "Ah," said he, "I see that you admire the perfection of our postal system, and although it hits you a little hard now you must confess it is the best postal system in the world, and we keep it that way by rigidly adhering to our well-considered rules." Through practical illustration I learned something of the police laws of London the other day. I drove from The World office into the city and left my umbrella in the hansom cab. I had hardly walked into the place where I was calling when I thought of my umbrella. I went back at once. The cabman was gone. I asked a ENGLISH LIFE. 135 neighboring' cabman which direction he had taken, and explained to him my loss. He said : " He could not give you the umbrella if he were here. Every cabman is bound to turn in everything he finds in his cab to the police and cannot give up an article after the owner has left the cab to any one except the police. " You will find your umbrella," said he, "at Scotland Yard." I sent to Scotland Yard the next morning for it and also sent its description. The superintendent of the Lost Property Department sent me up a printed form which I had to fill out, in which I was made to tell the exact hour I had taken the cab and the time I had dismissed it ; also the number of the cab, if possible, and a full description of the property, my private address and my business. After fulfilling all of these requirements I sent down to Scotland Yard and found that there was one requirement not men- tioned in the form which had to be fulfilled before I could recover my property. I found that there was an act of Parliament directing cab-drivers, under heavy penalties, to turn over all property found in their cabs to the police. It also provided that they should be paid an award for compliance with the act of half a crown in the pound on the value of ordinary articles. For jewelry they receive three shillings in a pound. This money is all given to the cabman, so the police people say. There is one com- forting certainty about the act. So rigidly is this law en- forced that you cannot possibly lose anything in a cab or a public conveyance. The second certainty is, if you do temporarily lose an article, 12 per cent, of its value will have to be paid for its recovery. An American friend of mine who was robbed at one of the hotels was placed in a most embarrassing position 1>v the fact that the police recovered all of his property which was stolen. In this connection it should be carefully noted by American visitors at London that the hotel pro- prietors here are not liable for any property stolen from the rooms of their guests. At least that is what hotel guests are told. The hotel thieves are generally well- dressed, well-appearing people. They lounge about, and whenever they see a key left in a careless place by a guest, they pick it up and visit the room on a chance of what they can find. These thieves generally carry over- coats over their left arms. In the pockets of these eoats 136 KXGLISI1 LIFE. and under diem they are able to store away the property stolen. My friend, who had every article of wearing apparel except what he had on, and a large number of small articles purchased for presents at home, stolen from his room, found that when the police caught the thief and recovered the stolen goods he could not touch one of the articles until after the trial. He was also informed that he would be obliged to remain in London as a Witness against the thief and that the trial could not come off for at least two months. This is the situation which would be occupied by the average visitor in London who falls a victim to the hotel thief. My friend could not afford to remain. He had business engagements at home of the utmost importance to him. When he found that he him- self was under the surveillance of the detectives to pre- vent his going away he bolted and escaped to the Conti- nent, going home in that direction. When the case came up against the hotel thief there was no one to prose- cute. The fact that the average guest of a hotel has but a limited time at his disposal is the greatest possible shield to the hotel thieves. In the same way I had explained to me the other night why the police are so reluctant to make arrests in the streets of London at night. In a previous letter I de- scribed the brigandage and the lawlessness of the Strand after midnight. The police never interfere. The reason I found to be this : The police are on duty from 6 o'clock at night until 6 o'clock in the morning. If they make an arrest during the night they will be obliged to be in the police court in full-dress uniform at 10 o'clock the next morning, and may perhaps have to remain on duty all day waiting to testify, so that any arrest they may make is equivalent to their sentencing themselves to go without sleep for the next twenty-four hours. It is, therefore, not to be wondered at that they are reluctant to make arrests. The law in England relating to witnesses appears to be as arduous and as hard upon those who are called upon to prosecute as in the city of New York, where a witness is often more severely punished than the criminal him- self. I have always heard the English courts of justice de- scribed as models for the entire world. The swiftness and fairness of their decisions have been constant themes for ENGLISH LIFE. m admiration by all of my legal acquaintances in the United States, but a nearer view of the English system of admin- istering so-called justice, does not present so attractive a picture. It is true that in cases involving great crimes, to which public attention is attracted, the methods of pro- cedure are in the main most admirable. The man who takes life in the United Kingdom is given very short shrift if the evidence is at all clear, but in minor cases, too small to attract public notice, I am constantly hearing stories of the most revolting injustice. It was only last week that one of the most cruel stories of wrong was brought in a suit against a man in the hum- bler walks of life, to recover the sum of £1,000 lent to him several years ago. None of the great London papers has noticed this case ; no high-minded member of Parlia- ment has brought this story of injustice to the attention of the Government authorities. This is the case briefly : The defendant in the suit for the £1,000 was arrested several months ago, charged with stealing silks from the Great Western Railway Company. It was shown in the court that the goods were taken by a man with a long black beard. The defendant was a smooth-faced blonde. The case against him utterly failed, in the opinion of the Judge, as his identity with the thief was never proved ; yet, as he had been arrested and imprisoned, the railway company pushed the case against the prisoner to secure a conviction. If they had failed they would have been liable to a suit for damages upon a charge of false im- prisonment. The power of this great corporation was used to secure a conviction. The jury, by the ingenious arguments of the attorneys of the railway company, found the defendant guilty. Under the law the lowest sentence that could be passed upon him was seven years' penal servitude. The Judge was obliged to pass this sentence, yet he made such a decision that the prisoner was able to use it in his appeal to the Home Secretary. It was such an outrageous conviction that the mere recitation of the facts in the case when laid before the Queen, secured a prompt pardon. He then sought to recover damages against the railway company. He was met in court with the statement that, having been convicted for a penal offence, he was dead in the eyes of the law, and could not therefore bring suit. His pardon, which established 138 ENGLISH LIFE. the fact of his innocence in the strongest terms, was not ' sufficient to give him standing in court. This last week in court, when sued, the defendant set up this strange plea. He said, in effect : " My business has been ruined. I have lost all my money through an unjust prosecution. I have been told by the highest court in England that I am dead in the eyes of the law and cannot sue to recover damages. I now wish to avail myself of this decision for protection. If I cannot sue, how can I be sued ? " The learned Judge was obliged to take time to consider this new point. He said such a case had never before been presented to him. Even he admitted the tremendous injustice which had been perpe- trated upon this poor man, but was puzzled to find where the law could be construed, without amendment, so that he could be helped. The police magistrate system of London is now threat- ened with general investigation. It appears from the de- velopments thus far brought out in the investigation of the Cass case that the police magistrates depend entirely upon the testimony of the police and that any story which any policeman may see fit to tell will outbalance any other class of evidence. The police now, to justify their arrest of the innocent Miss Cass, have been seeking to gather evidence to smirch her character. A more in- famous line of procedure, far exceeding the outrage of the original arrest, has never been developed. A second case of police outrage, which has attracted but little at- tention occurred last year. A lady living in the suburbs of London had occasion to make complaint because a rough climbed on to her garden wall and broke off a branch from one of her fruit trees. She reported the case to the constable. He arrested the rough and the lady was notified to appear before the police magistrate of her district to give testimony against the prisoner. This lady when she went to the court was placed in a room where witnesses are detained. Making a mistake she endeavor- ed to go too soon into the court-room, when she thought her case was called. The constable at the door ordered her back and in pushing her away struck her three times in the breast. She was so overcome by this assault that she could not appear in court when her case was called, and the rough arrested was released, being escorted from ENGLISH LIFE. J 39 court in great triumph by his friends. This lady after- wards submitted to the court the report of a surgeon showing the injuries she had received, but the constable was not even reprimanded, the magistrate saying that he believed the word of the constable against the evidence of the surgeon. The constable said he had merely pushed the woman back. For this outrageous treatment there has been an appeal made to the Chief of the Police, Sir Charles Warren, but probably with this result, that the public will never near any more of it. The latest case of judicial outrage I do not believe could have happened in any town in the United States. This occurred at Ilkington. The criminal in the case was a six-year-old baby boy. He was accused of having stolen a watch. The boy said he found the watch. The mother restored it promptly to the owner. The baby might have been given the benefit of the doubt at least. The owner — good, virtuous Pharisee — complained. The police executed the warrant in the middle of the night. The little lad was dragged out of bed between one and two o'clock in the morning. Think of that ! He was locked up until the next morning. Then the magistrate ordered that he should be birched. This was done with such cruelty that the little man's body was cut open in six places, reaching around his back on to his stomach. Think of the devilish cruelty of this punishment and of such a little fellow ! I am told the Queen reads no paper but the Morning Post. As no mention of this case has ever been printed in that paper I presume that she will not hear of it. The Home Secretary is supposed to be investigating the case, but you may be sure nothing will come of it. CHAPTER V. THE PRINCE OF VALES AT SMOKING CONCERTS. One of the features of London social life unknown in the United States is the smoking concert. There are sev- eral societies throughout Loudon which give smoking i 4 o ENGLISH LIFE. concerts. These are considered the most interesting forms of entertainment. Only gentlemen attend. Evening dress is requisite. The members sit about in an informal way and smoke during the rendering of a good programme. It is a happy combination of formality and informality. Generally these organizations are made up of men of leisure, who find an occupation in the study of the arts. One of the most noted of the fashionable amateur organ- izations is the Ro3^al Amateur Orchestral Society, which holds meetings once a month during the winter in the Prince's Hall, Piccadilly. This is the society whose President is the Duke of Edinburgh. It is especially favored by the royal family. "Patronized" is the ex- pression, I believe, to use. The Prince of Wales always attends its concerts. It is one of the few places where he comes early and remains until the close of the programme. This society has an orchestra of eighty members. Each member is supposed to be a gentleman of leisure, or of a titled family. When the Duke of Edinburgh is on duty at London he personally conducts the orchestra. Now it is under the lead of a professional. Occasionally profes- sionals assist during the evening in giving the different numbers of the programme, but the orchestral work is all by amateurs and members of the society. I attended one of these concerts of this society the other evening. A member of the society furnished me a ticket, the price of which was ten shillings. Any one can purchase these tickets and attend these concerts if he is known by any member of the society. No cigars are sold in the hall. People who wish to smoke bring their cigars or cigarettes with them. Brandy, Scotch and Irish whisky with soda, are furnished throughout the hall, up- stairs and down, without any extra charge. The slang ex-London expression for taking a drink is the thoroughly odious phrase of "taking a ball." "Will you take a ball ? " says one heavy swell to another when he wishes him to take a drink. It is the most meaningless and stupid of phrases. Generally slang has some basis of reason or ordinary suggestion, but I fail to see any in this form of expression. I was told that this was one of the places where the Prince of Wales came and unbent and freed himself from all formality. It was at these concerts that he placed him- ENGLISH LIFE. 14 I self on a perfect footing- of equality with the members of the society. It was here that he came and sat among- them in a free and easy way, drinking his brandy and soda and smoking his cigar during the performance as if he were an ordinary visitor. It would hardly be correct to say that this represents the position of the Prince of Wales at these concerts. I don't see how more formality could be extended to any one, and the equality spoken of was not even suggested. In the first place he came in by a side entrance, attended by his famil- iar, the Hon. H. Terwhitt Wilson. The Prince was in plain evening dress. As he solemnly entered the entire audience arose, as does the Congress of the United States at the entrance of the President elect upon Inaugu- ration Day. This audience stood in a respectful attitude until the Prince of Wales had advanced into an open square at one end of the hall Justin front of the orchestra. This open square was lined about with sofas and seats, with a table in the centre upon which were two vases filled with flowers. The Prince took a seat upon the sofa in the centre, facing the orchestra. Until he sat down the audi- ence remained standing. No one present was expected to enter this square except upon invitation of the Prince unless he were a high official or of a rank which entitled him to a familiar social relation with the Prince. There was a special table just beyond this square, against the wall, for the Prince of Wales' refreshments. His own servant, in red livery, stood there against the wall all the evening ready to respond to the slightest gesture of his master. This little square where the Prince sat was filled Up soon after his arrival by prominent and distinguished men. The Lord Chamberlain, who is neverfar away from the Prince of Wales, sat at his left and Mr. Wilson upon his right. No one of the dignitaries inside the square spoke to the Prince of Wales unless he first addressed them. Every one present appeared to follow the movements of the bored Prince with as much interest as if he had never seen him before. The Prince led the applause. No one presumed to applaud unless he first approved He would cry out at different times "Good, good," and then the audience would become frantic in its approval. During the wait between the first and second parts the Prince sent for Hcrr Schoenberger, a pianist who had pleased him 1 42 ENGLISH LIFE. very much, and personally complimented him. The pianist fairly writhed with ecstasy as he bowed again and again before the Prince. If he ever arrives at heaven's gate and is admitted without any personal investigation into the abode of the blest he will never be happier than he was that evening. The Prince appeared to have a real fondness for the music. He followed with unflagging interest the rendering of every number and showed a real appreciation in his applause and approval. Yet it was so funny to watch him and his audience about him and think that this — what a number of English gentlemen had told me — was where the Prince came to unbend, and to become "one of the boys," as a member of the society described it. I never saw any one surrounded with more formality and there was not the faintest suggestion of familiarity from beginning to end. Every person who attends this concert is required to sign his name on the visitors' book. A glance over this book at any time will give a list of some of the most prom- inent names in London. The Prince himself signs the book. His name always heads the list, a vacant space being left for his name and those of his suite when he chances to come a little late. The book is left at the upper end of the hall, where the members come in. Quill pens are used. Nearly all of the autographs are written in bold, clear hands. The autograph of Albert Edward is written in very large characters, and has a sweeping splash of ink drawn back under it in a defiant curve. This book contains a most interesting collection of auto- graphs of distinguished English people, and also the names of the most prominent foreigners. There is not a diplomat or statesmen of Europe who comes to London who does not go to some one of these smoking concerts. When the concert is fairly under way there is a blue cloud of smoke which hangs over the audience like a fog. But the hall is so large that the atmosphere never becomes thick or heavy, at least, so as to be noticeable by the smokers below. Ladies are never invited to attend. There are two boxes with curtains overlooking this hall. Into one of these the Princess of Wales came one night for the purpose of gratifying her curiosity concerning this rather unique form of entertainment. But these boxes were several feet above the stage, right in the region of the, ENGLISH LIFE. J 43 densest smoke. The Princess found that the smoke was so thick that she began to choke. She was not able to remain overlive minutes before she betrayed her presence by a cough, and then she precipitately retired, and has never ventured upon the experiment since. It is an odd sight to see the leader of an orchestra smoking as he leads, and to notice members of the or- chestra catching up cigars or cigarettes during a slight rest in the rendering of some intricate classical piece. But the smoking of the orchestra only appears to stimulate them to greater nicety, as they play with great delicacy, accuracy and expression. CHAPTER VI. THE SUPERIOR POSITION", OCCUPIED BY COLORED PEOPLE IN ENG- LAND, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. Colored people who are ambitious for association with white people and to escape the social inferiority of their position in the United States, should emigrate to England. In this country there does not appear to be any prejudice against the colored brother. In fact there appears to be a prejudice in his favor. There are not many negroes in England in proportion to the whites, but those who are here appear to be specially delighted with their situation. The negroes in England have free intercourse and com- panionship with the whites of a corresponding and even superior grade of intelligence and education. I have seen any number of negro men out walking or riding with white women, well dressed, respectable and intelligent looking. It is also common enough to see negro women attending by clean-cut, good-looking Englishmen. If the negro woman does not have a white attendant, it is because she prefers one of her own race. I have seen a number of negro men and women in England but 1 have invariably seen them in company with whites. I do not remember having seen negro men or women in company. Having nearly the entire white population of England to pick 144 ENGLISH LIFE. and choose from, they have naturally shown a discrim- ination against their own color. The only noticeable prejudice, therefore in England against the negro comes from the negroes themselves. Last Sunday, going up the river to Kew, there came on board the little steamer at the Chelsea pier a fair-complexioned, blue-eyed blond. Her color was clear and her manner that of a neat housemaid or upper servant. She was dressed in black, with a small black astrachan fur cap flattened down upon her yellow hair. She was in the company of the meanest-looking negro specimen I have ever seen. He was small, lean, and almost weazened. He was undersized and shabby. He had the unwholesome color of the offspring of a very low specimen of white trash united with a degraded mulat- tress. He was a most mongrel representative of a bleached-out, degenerate branch of the negro family. His eyes were small, catty, and yellowish through his faded, furtive black pupils. His teeth were dirty, broken and decayed. His scanty, ragged beard partly concealed his unwholesome looking face. A thick mane, which was neither wool nor hair, but a dirty black mass somewhere between the two, stood out from his small head under a low-crowned soft hat. This degenerated specimen of humanity was looked up to by this fresh-faced, neatly dressed English maid as if he were a person of superior rank and position. As they sat down upon the side of the rail her negro companion passed his lean, yellow-nailed hand round her waist under her cloak and gazed up into her clean-looking face with an expression of leering sat- isfaction. Such a spectacle in a public conveyance in the Southern regions would undoubtedly have led to their both being pitched overboard. As it was, no one but a small group of Americans on board the vessel appeared to notice this strange companionship. I have been living this summer in what are called in London residential flats, near Hyde Park. There are several porters employed about these flats. One of them is a New York negro who acquired his education and knowledge of mankind as porter in a Pullman car and afterwards in one of the New York hotels. He wears a double-breasted brass-buttoned blue frock livery, with round, fiat-topped cap, which has a square visor. He is a most imposing individual. He has the soft, melodious ENGLISH LIFE. H5 voice of the best type of his race. He is a clean, manly- looking- fellow. He is the hero of all the cooks and housemaids of the entire fiats. This porter is on duty at night. He always moves about escorted by several admiring white servant girls. He hardly ever has less than six in his company. They stand in the most admir- ing positions. No Bunthorne was ever surrounded by more complete postures of adoration. But this porter takes all this admiration gravely. He evidently has a very poor opinion of white people who run after negroes. He permits the servant girls to run after him, but not much more. All of the girls speak to him with the pre- fix of " Mr." before his name. None of the white porters are honored in this way. They are all called by their first names, although two or three of them are men ad- vanced in life and the heads of large families. The colored porter is always Mr. Brooks. One of the tidiest of these servant girls, born and reared in the country and who has not yet lost the fresh color acquired in her farm life, expressed the other day a fervent desire that when she had a husband she hoped he would be just such a nice black man as Mr. Brooks. Coming out of Paddington Station the other morning I saw a four-wheeled cab drive up with a rattle and crash. Its top was covered with trunks, bags, and boxes. Six fresh-faced railroad porters stood in line to receive this splendid array of baggage. The door of the cab opened and out stepped a regular-featured, wholesome, alert, active-looking man in clerical dress. Whether a member of the English or the Catholic church was not apparent from his dress. Both wear the soft black hat so popular with us in the West and the regulation black frock-cut uniform, with white tie at the throat. After him came a tall, dark, lithe-figured negro girl, dressed in all the hues of the rainbow. A great yellow-beribboned hat perched upon the top of her tightly twisted and crinkled hair. She was about three-quarters black. Tones of yellow shone in the high lights upon her dusky face. She was about eighteen. I supposed she "was a servant girl. There followed directly after her another negro woman, also gayly dressed and about the same shade of color, and after her came still another, a little blacker, shorter, stout- er and evidently the chaperone of the party. It was 10 146 ENGLISH LIFE. clear that they were not colored Sisters of Charity. They were too gayly dressed for that. They stood about per- fectly at their ease, and appeared to regard the clergy- man who was with them as a person whose only occupa- tion in life was to look after them. It was he who took charge of all the baggage and who purchased all of the tickets, and who kept running to them with polite sug- gestions for their comfort and convenience, and when it was time for the train it was the youngest, the one who wore the yellow-ribboned hat perched high upon her head, who took his arm and with a real cake-walk swagger marched to a first-class compartment, followed by her dusky companions. This compartment was specially reserved, and when the train pulled out the priest sat facing his three colored fairies, listening with rapture and attention to their lively remarks and gleeful giggles, which occasionally broke into real darky laughter. Viewing the utter absence of prejudice against colored people in England I do not think better advice could be given to colored people who are ambitious than to come here. Those in the South who have had their political aspirations cut short by the energetic action of white leaguers, by the insinuation of tissue ballots and by ex- cessive skill upon the part of whites in counting votes, should by all means come to England. There is nothing here to stand in the way of their advancement. They would be able to strengthen at once a naturally prominent position freely accorded to them by the English masses. By judicious marriage backed by the admiration of the white race I do not see what should stand between them and Parliament, or even the Cabinet. The English are very fond of oratory and the negroes with us have a special gift in that direction. One of the most eloquent negroes who ever spoke in Congress, Elliot, a simon pure negro, received his education at the University of Ox- ford, England. ENGLISH LIFE. 147 CHAPTER VII. THE ENGLISH SOLDIERS, AND FEATS OF SKILL SHOWN BY "TOMMY ATKINS " DARING HORSEMANSHIP. The English soldiers are very familiar figures in the life of London. There are several thousand always stationed in the London barracks. The private soldiers are all fine-looking men. They are carefully selected. They are tall, broad-shouldered, straight, manly-looking men. They have a set-up not to be found in any of the soldiers of the Continental armies. They are to be seen in every public place in London, in their tightly buttoned up coats, with a ridiculous pill-box cap strapped down over one ear. They generally walk in groups of three or four, swinging their little switch canes, swaggering in a way that thrills the nurse-maids and servant girls with quivers of admiration. These splendid physical types form the material for the finest army of modern times. But the English army is badly managed. The administra- tion of the army is strangely behind that of the armies of modern Europe. It is the very last to adopt any im- provements in the art of warfare. Favor controls the best appointments. The chief in command, the Duke of Cambridge, holds that command only through his title. He is no soldier and knows nothing of military science. In Parliament, every time the subject of appropriations for the army comes up, stories are given, almost without num- ber, of waste and incompetency in the army. Gordon lost his life owing to defective ammunition. Some of the worst casualties of the Zulu war, came from the pri- vate soldiers becoming helpless through the jamming of worthless cartridges in their guns. There is no army in the world where the soldiers re- ceive a more rigorous physical training. Some of the magnificent results of this most excellent system of physi- cal training I witnessed at a military tournament given at the Agricultural Hall, Islington. The men selected wen- strong, wiry, active, and splendid-looking young fellows. I 4 8 ENGLISH LIFE. All of the contestants were non-commissioned officers and troopers. These exhibitions attract large audiences and have resulted in great profits to the originators. The hall is large and long, with an arena eight hundred to a thousand feet in length and about two hundred feet in width. It is in this arena that all of the feats take place. The fencing and the contests between the sword and the bayonet are not so interesting as those which brought feats of riding into play. One of the first exhibitions of riding was what was known as lemon cutting. Two lemons were suspended by a thread about fifteen feet apart and hung from small wooden stands about the height of a cavalry rider's sword- arm. At a signal from the bugler the rider would come dashing in at one end of arena at full speed, and as he flew down by the lemons he would make a forward cut at the first thread and a back-handed cut at the next one. The distance between the two is very short and the speed was tremendous, yet two or three of the most skilful riders succeeded in dropping each lemon by very scien- tific cuts. This trial was followed by tent-pegging. In the first place a square peg painted white was driven well down in the ground, leaving about four inches standing above. Then various members of the corps of lancers would charge down at it at full speed, and in passing it were required to strike this peg full with the lance and tear it from the ground and carry it clear to the end of the arena upon the point of the lance. In order to constitute a success this was to be done without for a second check- ing the speed of the horse. The two heroes of this piece of riding were members respectively of the Life Guards and of the Prince's Own. The public here expect more from a Life Guardsman, and this particular representative never failed to carry off the peg. But the favorite of all was a young fellow from the Prince's Own Guards. He was round-headed, small-featured, slim-waisted, with hair the color of pale mustard, while his eyes were a dare- devil grayish-blue. He had a little wisp of a mustache and a neat, reckless, defiant set-up. There was in his manner a combination of swagger and graceful effrontery. He would come riding in at the peg as if there was thing on earth easier for him to do. He never hurried any of his movements, although his horse moved like a Eye lis a LIFE. 149 steam engine, and he invariably flourished his lance twice, and at the very last possible second would strike the peg- clean in the centre. At once it would fly out and go swinging round his head as he sat like a man of steel upon his magnificent bolting black-bay horse. Of all feats of daring and skill this rattle-headed young fellow was the master. Whenever he appeared the audience cheered in advance. The most interesting feature of the exhibit was the musical ride of the Horse Guards. Thirty-two privates of this showy military organization rode in upon thirty- two black horses. The horses as well as the men ap- peared to be all of the same size and age. I have never seen such a piece of military machinery as was exhibited in this series of movements. The band of horsemen went through their movements without a word of com- mand. They would first divide and go through all the movements of a cotillion, and then circle through the most complicated mazes of the most fanciful of germans. The men and horses would weave in and weave out of its various figures without a word or a motion. The men sat like statues upon their black horses while the band played shrilly, indicating the movements. The precision and the grace of this drill made a sight which the audience cheered again and again. The horses would change step at the change in the music. Some- times the evolutions were so complicated that if the horses engaged in it had not all gone at exactly the same pace and the same speed, there would have been a break and consequent confusion. One of the wonderful pieces of horsemanship was in the drawing of field cannon at a hand gallop about the arena between certain marked places. An officer of artillery would come dashing in, followed by a field piece drawn by six horses. There was an artillery rider for each team, with two men on the caisson. Earthen pots were placed about at a distance just wide enough to permit the heavy wheels of this great wagon to pass through without hitting. The thing was to drive this clumsy vehicle at top speed and come safely through every place without hitting. The officer, who goes ahead, acts as pilot. The horses were very large and powerful and as excited as those in the fire service. They came I 50 ENGLISH LIFE. in plunging and rearing with the heavy wagon at their rattling hoofs. It was marvellous to see how deftly and skilfully these clumsy engines were dragged through various places marked for them, and only at rare intervals knocking over the piece which marked the roadway. I noticed one feature of the English troopers' riding, and that was that during all these daring feats they sat in their saddles after the fashion of the Wild West cowboys. There was no attempt at any time, not even when the horses were trotting, to rise in the saddle. Some of the horses were ridden during the exhibits without saddles. It was a much more interesting and attractive exhibition of a soldier's skill than a mere drill. The firing of Gatling guns, the bridging of a stream under fire, the laying of a line of rails for an artillery engine and its use, were actual illustrations of various features of the Soudan campaign. The rapidity with which all the field pieces can be fired and the murderous efficacy of the improved Catlings, and the rapidity with which soldiers can discharge their breech-loaders, show that the military preparations in Europe have now reached such a high state that a war between any of the great powers would be of necessity a very bloody and a very brief one. CHAPTER VIII. AMERICANS IN EUROPE HOW LIVES ARE WASTED OUR INSANE ABROAD THE AMERICAN CLUB AMERICANS WELL RECEIVED FOOLISH AMERICANS SEEKING WORK IN CROWDED ENGLAND. There are a great many Americans living in Europe. There is a large colony in London and a much larger one in Paris. Throughout all the Continental cities there are increasing colonies of rich Americans. There is a large colony in Berlin. In the winter time Rome is thronged with Americans. All through the Riviera there are more Americans than other foreigners. Every year brings over a larger number of tourists from the United States. They bring with them as a general thing plenty of money and ENGLISH LIFE. I?I spend it freely. The American passion for visiting Europe results in a great loss of money to the United States. But the loss in the case of the tourist who comes for a short time for study and improvement is made up by the gain in the education of the visitor. But the most serious loss and drawback to the United States comes from the large emigration from the United States to Europe of some of our richest people. There is a very large number of wealthy Americans who now spend the greater part of their lives in the Continental cities of Europe. These people come over with an indefinite idea of what they will do and become completely enthralled by the life of pleasure to be had by people of leisure in Europe. They soon learn to forget their own country and remain away year after year, thinking that some time they will go home, but when they do they stay but a short time and come drifting back to their old life of ease and indolent travel. Some of the heads of these wandering American families hug to their breasts the delusion that they are over here for the purpose of educating their children and to teach them foreign languages. Their children do pick up a smattering of French, German, and possibly of some of the other Continental languages. The slight gain ob- tained in their facility to talk in two or three languages is more than lost through their lack of proper education in other directions. Wandering about with their parents they become unsettled and receive no regular, thorough education. They are unfitted to go home and engage in business and they are not fitted for anything else but the wandering life which they have led. If they have plenty of money they can manage to get along, but there are many cases reported at the legations of Americans who lose their money through long life abroad and consequent inattention to their business affairs at home. The result is often great poverty and distress. The greater number of Americans who live abroad labor under the idea thatthey are studying and improving them- selves. ' They are not. They are simply undergoing a process of denationalization. They lose all interest in their own country and its affairs. Their patriotism be- comes reduced to the lowest possible degree. They air always ready to chime in with the foreign critics of our institutions and know of no greater evil than being ban- <5- ENGLISH LIFE. ished from Europe. There is no other nation in the world that sends out such a large number of wealthy emigrants as ours. There is a very small number of English people among the foreign colonies on the Con- tinent. The so-called better classes of England swear by their own country. They would live nowhere else. You will never find any Englishman with such a poor opinion of his own country or its institutions that he will sit silent when they are being made the subject of adverse criti- cism. This trait of national character might well be emu- lated by our rich classes who are constantly leaving the United States because they find life in Europe so much pleasanter. They chase after the social dignitaries and the nobility with an earnestness that has made their am- bitions the by-word of European social circles. I was talking the other day with a prominent American, a public man who has spent a number of years in the diplomatic service, who said : "Americans should not come to Eu- rope except to study, or when business actually forces them to come. People with nothing to do here and with plenty of money to spend invariably waste their lives and destroy the future of their children if they remain too long. They acquire a habit of dawdling and frittering away their time and of chasing after the petty vanities of for- eign social life which are most degrading and deteriorat- ing. I wish that there were some way of forcing all of these Americans to return to the United States, where they might be of some use to themselves and to others. In European countries the rich and leisurely class turn their attention to politics. If these rich people who bring their children over to Europe to give them a so-called ed- ucation would keep them at home and train them for public careers in the United States the result would be a great advantage to the country. There is everything in public life with us to satisfy the most honorable ambition, and the reason our politics is not better than it is, is because so many of our rich people sniff contemptuously when- ever the word is mentioned and set their faces towards Europe, where politics is the very breath of life of the most cultivated societies." This same ex-diplomat said that another marked pecul- iarity of the people in the United States was to send their insane people abroad. He said : "You would be aston- ENGLISH LIFE. 1 53 ished to find how many insane people are shipped over to Europe by their relatives, simply to get rid of them. Of course, I mean cases where the insanity is not so marked as to attract immediate notice." With this suggestion which I have just quoted in view, I called at the United States Legation and asked them about the correctness of this declaration. They said at the Legation that it was true. There was hardly a ship which came to England which did not bring some insane person from the United States. They have had calls upon their attention with regard to insane people within a week. They come to the Legation and ask for all sorts of impossible things. Then the English authorities are constantly making appeals to the Legation to take charge of these people. But the Legation has no authority over the matter any more than any visiting American. The Legation is constantly harassed by this class of people, and by another which appears from its actions to be worthy of being classed with the insane. These are the people who come to Europe with just enough money to bring them over here, who are confident that they will find some way of making a living when they get here and pick up enough money to carry them back. There is not one in a thousand of this -class who can find any- thing to do. The result is that they become penniless within a few weeks after their arrival and then besiege the Legation for money to go home. The most that the Minister can ever do for them is to cable to their friends, if they have any. These cases do not deserve sympathy, as in nearly every instance the sufferers have brought their own troubles upon them by their foolish visionary ideas of the possibilities of European life. I had only the other day a young slip of a boy call on me. He was from Washington and wanted to know if he could get work in any London newspaper office, so that he could stay here a year. I asked him if he had ever written for any newspaper. He said that he had never written a line for one. He was perfectly confident, however, that if he had the right kind of an introduction he could get on to some one of the great London dailies. I could not convince him that they were not anxious to take on American apprentices. Respectable Americans visiting in London have long I 5 4 ENGLISH LIFE. felt the need of having some place where they could go and meet their friends and make the acquaintance of de- sirable English people. The good English clubs do not have very hospitable arrangements for visitors. In none of the crack English clubs are visitors on a footing with the regular club members. The list of applicants for memberships in the leading clubs is so long that one has to wait for years to obtain admission. Exceptions are only made in the cases of exceptional and brilliant public service. During the last year or two there has been an exchange of views between Englishmen who are interested in America and the best known of the American residents of London, upon the subject of forming a new club. This has resulted in the formation of a club called the Ameri- can Club. It is proposed to limit the membership to 1,000. Although the club has only been formally or- ganized for a few weeks its membership is filling up rapidly. It promises to be one of the successful clubs of London. It is proposed to have its membership, as far as is practicable, equally divided between gentle- men living in Great Britain, North and South America and the West Indies. Its character is non-political. Its Executive Committee has for its chairman Sir Edward Thornton. The members of the committee are Francis B. Blake, Lieut. -Gen. Sir Seymour Blane, Bart. ; Walter H. Burns, Capt. F. E. Chadwick, United States Naval Attache ; Ernest Chaplin, Col. Sir Henry Ewart, K.C.B. ; J. I. Fellowes, W. A. Gibson, Lieut. -Gen. Sir Gerald Graham, Col. Henry M. Hozier, Charles P. Phelps, United States Legation ; G. W. Smalley, the Viscount Torrington, Harry White, United States Legation, and J. E. Wood. This club has met from the start with the heartiest approval of prominent Englishmen. During the last year there has been a growth in the cordiality of feeling between Englishmen and Americans. There was an unusual number of prominent Americans in England last summer, and the present impression made by them during their stay has increased the English interest in this new club venture. This club has adopted the same general rules which govern the prominent clubs of Lon- don. Poker playing is not permitted, and only the reg- ulation card games are allowed, and then within formal ENGLISH LIFE . i 5 5 limits. Among those on the General Committee arc Count De Lesseps, Sir Evelyn Baring, Lord Charles Beresford, Lord Berwick, Profs. Tyndall and Huxley, Bret Harte, Henry James, J. S. Morgan, Sir Morell Mackenzie, Sir Frederick Leighton, Sir John Puleston, the Earl of Roslyn, Viscount Strathallan, Marquis of Win- chester and Sir Charles Wolseley. In every foreign colony abroad, English or American, there is an endless amount of scandal and backbiting. Where clubs have been formed of any one nationality on foreign soil, they have generally failed. Experiments in this direction in Paris have resulted in great loss and an- noyance. There is a much larger resident colony of Americans here than in any city on the Continent. Nearly all the resident Americans are continually harassed by appeals made to them for money from very importunate and sometimes numerous fellow-countrymen, who have come over here in the hopes of bettering their fortunes, and who have become penniless. There are some of the most skilful gamblers and confidence men in the world, who come here at various times during the season from New York. The New York gamblers arc constantly coming to London to seek victims. These men naturally seize upon any opportunity to flock at once to any place supposed to be an American headquarters. You will find them in the hotels specially patronized by the Americans, and they belong to the lower sporting clubs. Naturally, some of the boldest of this class have made a dead set to get into the American Club, but one of the special objects of this club is to make it impossible for disreputable Americans to obtain social footing or standing in London. Something of this sort has long been needed. Plausible swindlers have been able to use the name of the Minister or some one of the leading banking firms of London to make acquaintances through the carelessness of people who do not always follow up a reference confidently given. Respectability and good financial standing are necessary to secure admission, candidates' credentials being carefully scanned. It is very easy tor any one who is all rigid to get into this international club, but its committee remorselessly blackballs every applicant with any shade upon his social or financial reputation. Now Americans are better received in London than 156 EXGLISU LIFE. they have been for many years. It has been discovered by the practical business men of London that there are a great many very rich people in America, and that they spend their money freely. The English encouragement to Americans dates largely from the desire of the mercan- tile class to have American visitors come to London. One of the prominent editors of London said in conversa- tion yesterday, "We are very glad to see Americans here. They go about and visit otft :r countries much more than our people. I am glad to see that Englishmen are begin- ning to visit America more than they have. In the old days the education of a young Englishman was not considered finished until he had made a trip to the Continent. Now his education is considered very imperfect if he has not made a tour of the States. The number of Englishmen who visit America is not yet as great as it should be. Americans who come here with any kind of letters of in- troduction are sure to be made most welcome. The climate here is at first depressing, but it is soon found to be an excellent working climate and an extremely health- ful one." Some of the society papers make a great feature of at- tacks on the American element in London society. There are two or three of the society papers which never miss an opportunity of saying unkind and severe things about American ladies in London. They are never weary of representing them as crazy after royalty, Court favor, and eager in striving to make acquaintance with titled people. One of the oftenest repeated stories is that American wo- men come in great crowds to be presented at Court, and that it requires the united efforts of the Lord Chamberlain and the United States Minister to restrain this mob. I met the editor of one of the society papers the other day, and I asked him where he got all of his wonderful facts about American women. His reply was a strange con- fession. "You would not suppose," said he, " that I am a great admirer of American women. I think they are the most agreeable and attractive class of ladies in the world. I go almost entirely with Americans in London. I would not sit down and talk with an Englishwoman of any type except under compulsion. Englishwomen are too dull and commonplace. I prefer the society of American wo- men Next to them in vivacity and agreeableness I rank ENGLISH LIFE. 157 the French and the Irish ladies." "But why are you always criticising them so severely in your paper ? " " Oh, " was his reply, "the American women do not read my paper. It is a paper gotten up for Englishwomen. I dis- covered some time ago that Englishwomen are very jealous of the prominence given to American ladies in London society, so I began this kind of running fire upon the fair invaders of the most sacred precincts of London society, and the result is an enormous increase in my circulation. Every dull, heavy minded Englishwoman believes that it is the presence of these American women in society which prevents her from receiving her due share of attention, and consequently she reads with great pleasure all of these attacks upon her successful rivals. The circulation of my paper has nearly doubled since I have adopted this inno- cent ' fad ' of poking fun at and criticising the American wo- men in London." I have met during the last month a great many Ameri- cans on their return home. Nearly all are jaded and worn. Europe, instead of resting them, appears to have tired them out physically and mentally. The majority of tour- ists from America come over to Europe as a matter of education. Many cannot afford to come twice, and when once here they feel in duty bound to work almost day and night at that hardest of all kinds of hard work, sight-seeing. I met the other day a conscientious, energetic, clear- headed New England judge. He was accompanied by a very intelligent, highly educated and enormously ener- getic daughter. She had been in Europe studying for some time, and was able to act as courier and interpreter for her father. He came over to take her home. His time was limited, as business required his return before the 1st of September. She succeeded, however, in getting him to give up three or four weeks for sight-seeing, and then started him out on a career of lightning-like inspection of Europe which nothing but New England endurance could have followed through. The judge was presented by his quick-witted and dashing daughter with a series of dissolving views of European life which, while they interested him hugely at first, in the end became very confusing and fatiguing. 1 saw him in London a few days before his ship was to sail. He was anticipating a few days' rest in London, but soon found that that was 158 ENGLISH LIFE. hopeless, as his daughter desired to take in rural Eng- land and the best scenery of Ireland within the four days left for them before the ship sailed. It was amusing to hear the judge talk of his European experience. He had been to see so many places that he had lost track of, and had forgotten a great many of the names, and he had contantly to consult Ids daughter as to where he saw this or that wonder which had left an impression upon his mind. 1 have no doubt when he gets back to his peace- ful library, with his books about him, that he will be able to straighten out and classify these dissolving views of European life, and if he ever comes to Europe again will be able to make a selection of places to visit for more leisurely enjoyments. His experience is only one of many. The doing of Europe by visiting Americans who come over for the first time is a most serious and fatiguing busi- ness. The enjoyment, I suppose, will come afterwards through memory. A most philosophical American I met the other day, who had been in London two weeks, and had not been to a single place of public interest and had no intention of so doing. He said he came over here for a good rest and a good time. Public buildings and picture galleries he hated. A friend of his said to him : "But if people ask you when you get back, have you been to such and such a place, what will you say?" "why," said he, "I shall say I have been there." There is a large number of foolish Americans who are continually coming to Europe to seek work. I hear of most touching stories of want and suffering among people of this class. Consul-General Waller said the other day that he had heard of more pitiable cases of suffering since his occupancy of office than he had ever heard of before in his life. The fact cannot be too widely published that Europe is no place for American workingmen of any class. If they come over here with positions secured in advance they still run the risk of being exposed in the end to poverty and distress. Once their places are lost it seems almost impossible for them to get a foothold again. I had yesterday given me one of the worst cases I have known for some time. It was the story of an American electri- cian who came over upon a contract to engage in the service of the Edison Electric Company in Paris. He had been in the service of the Edison Company in New York ENGLISH LIFE. 159 and his papers show a good record. He brought with him his wife and two children. For a time they fared very well at Paris, but then the French employees of the company set up a protest against the employment of foreigners and the rebellion was so great that he was dis- missed. This electrician had at that time some money ahead, and instead of coming home with it he came over to England and went to the little village of Deal, where he set up a cigar and tobacco shop in a small way. He was wholly unprepared for the close competition and the narrow margin of English trading, and so he soon lost his money. Two weeks ago a third child was born. The wife and the children are managing to maintain existence in this little English village through the kindness of their neighbors, while her husband is walking the streets of London living upon chance charity. He has been in the streets since the 1st of June and has not money enough to get back to his wife and children. He has been making a despairing effort to get work in London so as to get back to his peo- ple in the United States. He recognized now the suicidal folly of workmen trying to compete here, where thousands are out of employment and where thousands more are suffering the extreme degradation of absolute want. This electrician told me last night that he had spent the last month out of doors. He had slept when he could in Trafalgar Square. He had not known what it was to sleep under a roof and good shelter for six weeks. He is not a drinking man. He told his story in a quiet and dignified way and in a tone of defiant courage, showing that his spirit was not yet broken by his tremendous suffering and exposure. His case has been called to the attention of people who are willing to come to the rescue of deserving Americans and he will doubtless be sent home. But he is only one of thousands who come over here with bright ambition, hoping to gain new ideas in the way of study, while at the same time maintaining themselves through their work. People who have not enough capital to take themselves home after trying the experiment of seeking work here are courting the worst possible of fates. Two or three days ago a hollow-checked, dark-eyed young man, not over twenty-two, came into The World office and told me his experiences. He was a designer in Brook- lyn and received fairly good pay in the line of industrial 160 ENGLISH LIFE. and decorative art work. He came to London to better his fortunes, and was soon walking- the streets, sleeping in Trafalgar Square, hoping against hope to be able to get a place where he can make enough money to pay a steerage passage back to the United States. The competition in Europe among the working men is so fierce, and the wages are so low in comparison with those in our country, that it is hard to understand how any intelligent workingman would venture to come here without careful investigation. There are thousands of men in London out of work. For every vacancy there are hundreds and hundreds of applications. For three or four dollars a week you can command the services of a university undergraduate. Trafalgar Square every night is filled with poor men and women who have no homes. They fill the benches, and in one of the lower corners, sheltered from the wind, they lie upon the hard pavement stretched out in long lines, two or three hundred in num- ber. The majority of these people are tramps and vag- rants, but there is a large percentage of well-educated and skilful workmen among this army of outcasts. This electrician, whom I mentioned in the outset of my letter, said that a great difficulty in his way was, that he never could get to see any one. He was ready to do any kind of work, but the heads of all the establishments visited by him are absolutely inaccessible to the applicant for work. PART V. CHAPTER I. ENGLISH COUNTRY. THE FOUR GREAT HOLIDAYS THE FREE, PICTURESQUE, OPEN AIR LIFE ON THE THAMES DURING THE SUMMER. Upon four days in the year the banks are closed in Great Britain, and business generally is suspended. These days are called bank holidays. The people generally de- vote these days to pleasure. The dropping of business is much more general than upon any holiday occasion with us. It is almost impossible to get any workingman to do any work within the few days preceding the holiday or directly after it. This last bank holiday, which occurred on Monday, Aug. i, was the occasion of at least four days holiday for the general run of working people. Every Saturday afternoon the majority of the shops in London are closed, so the great crowd was set free early on last Saturday. They took advantage of the conjunc- tion of Sunday and the bank holiday to go into the coun- try in great crowds. So universal was the departure that the streets of London late Saturday had very much the ap- pearance of Sunday. These excursion crowds are very interesting to study. The trains offer very low third-class rates for short trips into the country, so that there is hardly any one so poor that he cannot get out of London. These crowds swarm to the watering-places where their means will permit, and where it does not they go to some of the woodland sub- urbs of London or pour into the great Hyde Park, which 1 1 1 62 ENGLISH LIFE. is large enough to be free from the contaminating atmos- phere of the city. These crowds are in the main very- good-natured and orderly. You see very little fighting, quarrelling or excessive drinking. The people are pleased with very simple amusements, and so long as they are in a stretch of woodland or open country they are contented with very little beyond that. I have seen these holiday crowds in various haunts, and have wondered that the English artists have not made more use of them in their pictures. Upon the last bank holiday I walked over Hampstead Heath, which is one of the most popular of the open commons near London. This is within reach of the poorest. Those who cannot pay the three or four- pence required to reach it can easily walk there, as it is not over five miles from the centre of London, Charing Cross. Hampstead Heath is a section of rolling hills running over a great barren stretch, which overlook the meadows of Middlesex. Harrov-on-the-Hill, the location of the famous school, is also in sight. These commons, where the freebooters used to harass weary travellers, are still as desolate and unoccupied as when given up to outlaws. Gorse bushes grow in wild profusion over the heath and afford snug bits of shade for the heavy, dull, sleepy holiday-maker, who often spends such a day in peaceful sleep flat upon his face in the coolest and most comfortable place he can find. It is a Wonderful peculi- arity of a certain class of English workingmen to regard sleeping on the ground out of doors as the highest con- dition of human enjoyment. I go in the country nearly every Sunday, and I always find on a pleasant day men sleeping hour after hour in the same position, with their faces flat on the grass. You see men sleeping in this way in their own door-yards if the weather is at all fine. Upon Hampstead Heath on the day I have mentioned there were at least fifty thousand people, nearly all of the class who earn their living with the labor of their hands. The day was sunny, clear, and bright. There was every form of outdoor amusement to attract and interest this crowd. At every turn you would hear the sound of a concertina, shouts of laughter and the roar of jolly songs. There would be a group of tumblers in tights performing wonderful feats of agility, while during their rest a clown would make the simple-minded audiences roar with his ENGLISH LIFE. T 6 3 time-worn jokes. Shooting galleries, picture galleries, fruit stands, perambulating venders of lollypops and drinks jostled against each other, while gypsies were wendng their way in and out telling fortunes. The crowd would gather in little bits of open round some wandering fakir and then would suddenly rush off in search of some other novelty. Under nearly every gorse bush there was a pair of frank, unembarrassed lovers, who made protestations to each other of their undying regard in the face and eyes of the wondering people. No one paid any attention to them. The English lover evidently is a privilege personaged for, whatever form of demonstration his affection may seek to display towards the object of his passion, the public pass him by and affect not to notice. It was a great sight to see this moving, chattering, singing, shouting crowd, and above all, to witness the spirit of good-nature and fun that ran through the roughest of their sports. If there were fifty thousand on Hampstead Heath there must have been as many more on the river Thames and in its neighborhood. Here was a picture of a different character. The holiday-makers here were of a better class. The scenes presented were brighter, cleaner and even more picturesque. The young Englishmen of the present day of the well-to-do class are in the main fine physical specimens. They are passionately fond of out- door sports. Thousands of them swarm down upon the river upon the occasion of any holiday, where they find an opportunity of rowing their dainty shells up and down the cool shades of the overhanging trees. But they are not always in the shells. You will often see them in heavy barges working their way at the oars, with gayly-dressed ladies reclining on the cushions in the stern, shaded under luxurious, soft, brilliant-hued parasols as they lazily watch the movements of the picturesquely dressed oarsmen. All of the men on the river wore flannels. Sometimes these flannels are white, but oftener they are striped in fanciful colors. The hats are white flannel or straw. Their dress is very picturesque and generally in the best of taste, but occasionally some young fellow seizes upon this opportunity given him to devise some- thing original in the way of dress. Such a costume I saw yesterday. This dress, which was such a glaring 1 64 ENGLISH LIFE. one in point of taste, in contrast with the simplicity of the average athlete of the river, was a combination of red, blue and yellow. His shirt was a pale blue, over which he wore a pink cravat against a high, white collar. His coat was a dull garnet in color, with a coat-of-arms and a monogram worked in gold upon the outside pocket. The trousers were pale yellow, falling over white canvas shoes. His hat a straw, adorned with sky-blue ribbon. In the rim of the hat, at the back, was a green cord run- ning to the front of his coat. But it is not often that you find such a combination as this. It is one of the sights of England to see this merry, free, picturesque life on the river. These bright, whole- some-looking young fellows and these gayly-dressed young ladies are not the same people you would meet in a conventional way. It is only out of doors that the English people appear easy, or where they appear to take any pleasure in life. Indoors they are solemn, reserved, stiff, and awkward. The house-boats on the river are in- teresting features. These are great, broad barges with real houses built upon them. These houses will have promenade decks, protected by red, blue, or white awn- ings, according to the fancy of the owner. People who engage these-boats, which are comfortably fitted up, often live upon the river for days and weeks at a time. Sometimes they will be freed from their moorings and put in the tow of some of the steam launches that run up and down the river. I saw one house-boat which is worth a description. It was long, broad, and roomy. The house built upon it was of unusual height. Over the back was stretched a snowy white awning. The boat and house were painted snowy white, picked out in gold. Along the line of the upper deck were great masses of flowers. In front there were great pots of crimson and purple flowers. Under the awning were rugs and easy-chairs. In the fiont of the boat, on the lower deck, was a square, covered entrance to the house. In this space were seated four or five handsome young women, dressed in white, light-pink and heliotrope dresses, making a delicate com- bination against the light background of the house. Sit- ting in front of them at their feet, upon a soft pile of rugs, was a young, athletic, brown, regular-featured, clean-look- ing young Englishman, playing with great spirit and ENGLISH LIFE. 1 65 brilliancy upon a banjo, On the upper deck there were other picturesque groups. From the windows streamed upon the breeze pink silken curtains. This resplendent house-boat, loaded with youth and beauty, was in the tow of a fanciful, sharp-lined steam launch, which, protected by the red awning-, carried also its gay party. From behind the house-boat there were numerous shells and small barges, also in tow, for it is an unwritten law of the river that whenever an oarsman asks for a tow from the happy possessors of steam power that favor is never to be refused. But to describe all of the pictures of English holiday time would require a special volume. Epping Forest, several miles beyond Hampstead Heath, where the oaks still stand under which Robin Hood's merry men used to meet, was densely thronged with picnic parties. Thou- sands of people pierced the gloom and shade of this wood on this day. Along the line of every country road were picnic parties. Groups were gathered in upon every corner where shade and green grass were to be found. There was also to be found upon every turn a British workman fast asleep upon his face. The trains that ran to the seashore were loaded to almost suffocation. At least half a million people were carried down to the sea- shore during this holiday time. At the Crystal Palace there were 30,000. At the Wild West show there were 40,000 during the day, but it is useless to try and give with mere figures any idea of the outpouring of the public when one of these great davs has come. CHAPTER II. THE CHARM OF ENGLISH RURAL LIFE STOKE-POGIS THE GEM OF THE COUNTRY THE VILLAGE OF WARWICK. One of the principal charms of the year was the oppor- tunity afforded for visiting rural England. When once spring is fairly opened you cannot fail to find pleasant places to visit, take what direction you will from London. 1 6 6 ENGLISH LIFE. Within a very short time you lose the dirt and smoke of the great city of the world for a quiet, peaceful spot, ut- terly outside of the rush of modern life. England is one garden. Everywhere you find such completeness, such a finish of roads, hedgerows, lawns, and green fields, that at times you long for wildness and absence of such perfect cultivation by way of contrast. The old con- stantly appeals to the American visitor. The ancient castles, the venerable cathedrals and the quaint, pictur- esque villages still unchanged from their appearance as built several hundred years ago, all deeply interest American visitors familiar with England's history. The ancient architecture is superior, and dominating in point of interest. Modern English architecture is ugly, material, and the very opposite of interesting. It would require many volumes to describe all of the beautiful places in Eng- land well worth seeing. In this book I shall only try to give a few pictures taken from English rural sight-seeing, but sufficiently typical of the rest to indicate their char- acter. One of the pleasantest places to visit in the vicinity of London, if one is looking for a strictly rural scene, is Stoke-Pogis, near Slough. A little over half an hour's ride on the Southwestern Railway brings one to Slough, and then there is a walk or drive, according to one's fancy, of about two and a half miles to the church of Stoke-Pogis, the scene of Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." When I visited the place the other day I took the more English way of walking, and a very pleasant walk I found it, too, through a pleasant country road. To reach the church one finds a short cut from the road across a large field. From this field one enters Stoke Park, as it is called, though in reality it is a large open common, shaded by handsome oaks and horse chestnuts. Near the centre of this is the manor of Stoke- Pogis, which was the property of William Penn. It was this beautiful place that he left when he went to America. In the centre of the common is a monument of granite which was erected to the memory of Gray by a member of the Penn family. The granite is crumbling under the effects of the English climate. It consists of a large sar- cophagus standing on a heavy granite base. Selections from the elegy and his ode to Eton are carved on the ENGLISH LIFE. 167 base. Gray's body, however, is buried in the church- yard, close up to the church, in the grave with his mother. The little church, which is 700 years old, is in the main as it was built. Some of the window trimmings and stones have been replaced. The doors are so low that one has to stoop in order to enter, but the church is quite roomy when once inside. In one corner of the church is a marble tablet in memory of Penn's son and his children, who are all buried in the church. No member of the Penn family is left, and even the old manor house was burned long ago. The beauty of this place is in its absolute rural charac- ter and quietness ; yet it is within an hour of the greatest city of England. There is nothing here to even suggest the metropolis. Windsor Castle shows against the hori- zon, the only mark of prominence upon the irregular line of forest, hill and wood. The inn atPogis Green is a real country tavern, with only bed room for a chance traveller. Its sparkling ale, bread and cheese can be only appreci- ated by those who walk instead of ride over from Slough. In London one does not obtain any idea of the number of American visitors to England. It is only through visits to the interior places of England that you obtain some cor- rect knowledge of the perfect army of American travellers here. In London they are swallowed up and lost in the throngs of that great centre of the world ; but out in the interior you find that they are greatly in the majority among the visitors at the leading hotels. Chauncey De- pew in an after-dinner talk the other day said that nearly all the rich people in the United States who had any sur- plus money came to England every summer to spend it, and that afterwards the English actors and lecturers came over to the United States and took what was left. This exaggerated and satirical form of picturing how much of our money comes to England has underneath it a sub- stantial vein of truth. At Warwick, one of the few old- fashioned rural villages left in England, I was told that the principal hotel, the Warwick Arms, owes almost its entire support to American visitors. Warwick appears to have been untouched by the de- moralizing hand of modern progress. It has railroad con- nections, and the large stage coaches which used to run through the qlace are gone, leaving in their place drags 168 ENGLISH LIFE. for the use of tourists or visitors. The place is one of the few in England which retains the early primitive character. It was formerly a walled town, and the two gates of this wall are still standing. I found, in making- some inquiries concerning these relics of early times, that some very interesting discoveries have recently been made in connection with them. Some subterranean passages leading from the entrances of these gates have been dis- covered, but their discovery has attracted no particular at- tention, because the knowledge thereof has been confined to the local dignitaries of the village. They sought to explore these passages, but have not been able to on ac- count of the accumulation of poisonous gases therein. As the passage is devious and winding the authorities do not know how to trace its direction upon the surface, so as to ventilate this underground way for the purpose of exploration. There is no knowing what a wealth of an- tiquarian discovery there may be along the line of this secret passage, which has remained closed and practically unknown for at least five hundred years. The Warwick Arms is the only hotel that I have yet seen in England where the landlord meets the arriving visitor at the door. The landlord of this village inn is a very dignified, pleasant-looking man in the neighborhood of sixty years of age. He was as dignified as a member of Parliament. He came out bareheaded and personally showed me into a bedroom. The landlord is rapidly dis- appearing from the village inns and hotels of England ; in their place are housekeepers. This inn is conducted in the old way. Their ales are of their own bottling. The hams are of their own curing, and nearly all of the special features of the table are products of the interior management of the hotel. It is a pleasant place to visit. Its charges are very reasonable, and the personal atten- tion of the friendly and attentive landlord very grateful and very pleasant. On account of his thankful regard for the comfort of his guests Warwick is a favorite resort of many Americans, who make it a head-quarters from which visits can be made to Kenil worth, Stratford-on-Avon, Leamington, Birmingham, and many other interesting places. The drives about here are beautiful. It is the centre of rural England. The great feature of the place is Warwick Castle, which ENGLISH LIFE. 169 is almost the only castle of feudal times which is still pre- served in nearly every feature as it was in the twelfth century. This is the one castle which has been kept up in perfect order, and which is to-day occupied by the family to which it has descended as an heritage. With this great feudal castle dominating and overshadowing the town, with its thousand acres of park land, with the great prestige of the name of its occupant, the little town, which is built under its walls, satisfies the American visitor more than almost any other place in England, for I have found that the American visitor to England is interested more in what is old and what relates to its past history than in the modern and in its present life. Ancient England is picturesque and interesting, modern England is the very reverse of picturesque. The ancient architecture was beautiful, and surpasses in every way in point of interest anything architectural in the United States, but when it comes to modern building we are so infinitely superior to the average English work that it is not to be expected that the American visitor will find in this line of study any- thing to attract his attention. The lasting name that one can leave for himself in some monuments of thoughtfulness for the helpless and those who deserve support is well shown in the hospital founded by the Earl of Leicester, Queen Elizabeth's favor- ite. It stands upon a slight rise along High-Street Road, inside of the west gate of the old wall of the town. This home, or college as it is called, is one of the most pic- turesque of buildings. It is of the old-fashioned oaken frame-work, with oak timbers showing in the wall in the form of squares or triangles, while the inner spaces are filled with stucco. The front part of this college building is the original structure, about five hundred years old. The institution was founded by Leicester about three hundred years ago. The building was bought by him when it was about two hundred years old. It is a beau- tiful, quaint, home-like place. It has large gates attached to it. The walk in front reaches up to the battlement of the gateway, from which you have a most exquisite country stretched out beneath your gaze. This home is for twelve men who have served in the army and who have earned the right to be here through gallant and mer- itorious services. They wear no uniform, no badge of 170 ENGLISH LIFE. charity. The men are all proud of being there. They have a different feeling- than that of inmates of any other home that I have seen. They have absolutely nothing to do. They have servants for every want. They are fine, splendid looking, manly old men. I asked one of them, who showed me about through this quaint place, if he thought he would be any more comfortable when he got to heaven. He replied very promptly, " No sir, I do not." Each man has a sitting-room and a bedroom to himself. When a vacancy occurs a successor is selected by Lord Dudley, one of the collateral descendants of the original founders of the institution. In the museum of beautiful weapons and historical pieces of work I noticed one thing which I am sure will interest New York people particularly. This is a handsomely carved oaken frame taken from the wood of the old Kenilworth ruins, enclos- ing a piece of embroidery supposed to be the work of Amy Robsart. This frame was the gift of Charles O'Conor, who in a visit to this place found that it was unprotected and was lying about carelessly, and so made this present to this institution. But the great sight of ancient Warwick I saw just as I was leaving the town. It could not have been better ar- ranged. The morning of my departure from Warwick sundry bold and adventurous Warwickians had gone on a railroad excursion to the unknown and distant Portsmouth, some one hundred long and weary miles away. Just as I was going away the town crier came on the streets car- rying in his hand a message announcing the safe arrival at the distant port of Portsmouth of the band of adven- turers. He wore the exact costume of the town crier of . the time of Plenry VIII. He wore a black cocked hat a la Napoleon I. His coat was a single-buttoned red frock, with long skirts descending nearly to his feet. He was a solemn-looking man, with a long red nose, a sharp- featured face and a straggling yellow mustache shading his yawning mouth. He carried a brass bell in his right hand. He would ring this bell with a sharp jerk and then howl the contents of the despatch something like the fol- lowing : " Kerching ! The Warwick party, numbering forty souls, arrived this morning at Portsmouth at 9.30. All safe and well I Kerching ! " ENGLISH LIFE. 171 The way windows and doors flew open at the " Kerch- ing ! " of the crier's bells showed how popular was this means of circulating news in Warwick. The solemnity and curiosity expressed upon the wrinkled faces of the old women at some of the open doorways were most flattering tributes + o the majesty and importance of the town crier. Some of the advanced thinkers of the village — few in number — scoffed at him, but the majority re- garded him as a most important and useful functionary. CHAPTER III. TUNBRIDGE WELLS AND ITS DELIGHTS THE DISAPPOINTMENT OVER STRATFORD-ON-AVON. There are few places left m England retaining the characteristics of the coaching-day period. The railroads have changed all that. Cheap excursion rates take great swarms of people upon every possible occasion down from London to every place within two or three hours' ride of the capital. The English excursion crowd is a very disagreeable one. It is very noisy and rough. Its members go into the country to seek freedom from re- straint. During their absence they are particularly law- less and careless concerning the rights of others. The wealthy people of England are not fond of their own watering-places. They are fond of country life, and spend much time in visiting each other at private places, but the patronage of the interior villages of England or summer resorts is largely confined to foreigners. The English preferthe more cheerful surroundings of the Con- tinental watering-places. The charges on the Continent are much less than their own and the spirit of pleasure running through the watering-place life there is wholly different from that of England Yesterday I visited what is considered one of the most fashionable of the interior watering-places of England. This is Tunbridge Wells. It is within an hour and ten minutes' ride by the express from London. It is in the 172 ENGLISH LIFE. County of Kent, and is the centre of as beautiful a coun- try as is to be found in England, not even excepting the neighborhood of Windsor Castle. The most noticeable feature of this place is its absolute quiet and repose. It is the place of all others tor a tired or nervous person to find rest, but the very last place of all others for one fond of gayety and amusement to go. The entire valley where the village lies was steeped in a hazy mist of sleepy rest. There is hardly a sound to be heard from morning to night. Even the birds are subdued by the unusual heat of the English summer. The people at the various hotels rarely speak to one another, and observe that solemnity and reserve of manner which are common to people who are not exactly certain concerning their surroundings. The village was filled from one end to the other with visitors. There has never been a time in the history of Tunbridge Wells when they have had such a season as the one they were then enjoying, but you would not suspect, except upon careful examination of their hotels, that there was a stranger in town. During my twenty-four hours' stay in this beautiful place I did not even hear the distressing notes of the watering-place band. There was no frantic attempt at display of toilets or dazzling dressing even at late dinners. The few young women about looked languidly at the few languid young men. There was not even a semblance of flirting or ordinary rudimentary watering-place amusement. The hotel where I was staying was so different from anything known in the United States, and so different even from the general character of the hotels in England, that I shall try and give some idea of its principal features. I have seen only one hotel resembling it in England, and this was on the cliffs of Bournemouth. The Calverly House, at Tunbridge Wells, was formerly the private resi- dence of the Duchess of Kent, the mother of Queen Victoria. The Queen lived there several years before she succeeded to the throne. The house does not have the slightest appearance of being a hotel. It is large, square and of gray stone, with a massive portico supported by great pillars. The name of the hotel is upon the front, but in such a way that it might be the name of a private house, as all of the houses in England are named. The entrance is exactly like the entrance of a great country ENGLISH LIFE. 173 house. It has a great, broad hallway, which runs clear through the house. The floor is polished, with numerous bright rugs on its dark surface. Against the walls were handsome old-fashioned chairs, above them pictures, old engravings, and articles of bric-a-brac, arranged with a taste and judgment rarely seen except in private collec- tions. An excellent mask of Shakespeare was one of the most noticeable features of the hall. Black oak cabinets and old-fashioned clocks added to the art look of this great entrance. If I had not received the precise direction I certainly should have thought that I had strayed into a private house. A pleasant-faced housekeeper met me •after my entrance and asked me what I wanted and how long I was going to stay, and placed me in my quarters with the dignified ease of a hostess receiving an invited guest. There was not a man to be seen about the place. The little office at the left had the look of a private wait- room. The cosy sitting-room opening into it was where the lady manageress spent her time. A fresh-faced, slight- figured, regular-featured brunette had charge of the office. She was a great improvement in manners over any hotel clerk I have ever seen in the United States. She was pleasant and matter-of-fact, without the slightest sugges- tion of carelessness or impudence. The entire house was filled with pictures. The walls of every hall were covered. In every room there were examples of the best engravers of the schools of twenty- five or thirty years ago. Just back of the house was a beautiful terrace three or four times the length of the hotel. The flowers and walks along the terrace were arranged with the same taste as a private ground. From the rear of this house there was a great stretch of rolling hill and sloping dale. The yellow patches of ripe harvest, the soft green of the second crops of grass, the dark masses of woodland, with innumerable groups of sheep grazing here and there, made up a series of rural pictures not to be surpassed anywhere in point of quiet beauty. The life led by the guests of this hotel was nearly the same as if they had been guests of a great country house. The servants were visible only when needed. If you wanted anything the lady manageress or some one of her assistants was always ready with suggestions. The cool, bracing air which came down from the hills gave one the 1 74 ENGLISH LIFE. sharpest of appetites. In the morning- a private consulta- tion with the head waiter was necessary to order your breakfast. Then, while it was being prepared, a walk on the terrace made the waiting period seem very short. All of the guests at the hotel took luncheon together. The breakfast was a moving feast from 7 to 12. Luncheon was from 1 till 2. At 4 those who wished it had black tea and bread and butter. Then came the table d'hote at 7. A portion of the guests dined in their private rooms. There was no extra charge for meals served in private rooms. At English hotels those who take the sitting- room with the bedroom commonly have the privilege of having their meals served in the sitting-room if they so desire. In this hotel, where there were perhaps fifty people (it would hardly accommodate any more than seventy-five), there was the utmost reserve and exclu- siveness shown. None of the guests seemed to have any acquaintance with the others. During the time I was there I never saw any attempt at conversation between any of the guests. They would go out and walk or ride, and when inside stand about gazing vacantly into space or go through the form of reading a book. Coming up from the terrace at night I was very much impressed with the striking picture of an old gentleman whom I saw from the window of the ground floor dining alone in solemn state in the dining-room large enough to feed fifteen or twenty people. He appeared perfectly contented and happy, though I could not imagine anything duller than dining alone. There was no attempt at any time to do anything so ridiculous as to seek to provide amusement for the visitors. The quiet country was there. You could look at that. Then you could ride. If you wanted sociability and gay- ety you would have to move on. Yet the very quietness and repose of the place made it much more attractive than many more pretentious places given up to noise and gar- ish display. Stratford-on-Avon is the Mecca for American pilgrims. There are many more American visitors who come here during the year than English. There is scarcely an Ameri- can who comes to England on business or pleasure who does not find time to go to Shakespeare's birthplace. I do not believe that there is any more disappointing place ENGLISH LIFE. I75 to visit in all England. It is one of the few places that does not correspond in any degree to one's anticipa- tions. The town is uninteresting. It has no picturesque features. It has a very modern look, and the majority of the houses are ugly, unornamented brick. The greater number of the streets present the hard, glaring appear- ance of hurriedly finished villages of the far West. The town is permeated with Shakespeare's history and name. His fame apparently affords the principal means of liveli- hood for the inhabitants. The house where Shakespeare was born is interesting, but in my opinion it would be much more interesting if it were kept empty instead of being made a museum for all the junk which has been packed up in Shakespeare's name during the last two or three hundred years. There are people who are interested in viewing the boots and old clothes of great men, but this number cannot be very large among the class of peo- ple who have money enough to cross the water upon a pilgrimage to Shakespeare's home. I asked a local digni- tary who was in charge of the house to whom the place belonged. He said: "To the people of England." I asked him to be more specific. In whom was the title ? Again he replied: "The people of England." Then I asked who had control of the property. He then said that the house was purchased from the heirs of the Shake- speare family through subscriptions made throughout all England, and that when it was purchased by the com- mittee who collected the subscriptions it was turned over as a trust to the corporation officials of Stratford, and that they controlled it to-day. That this house is controlled by the great men of this corporation is shown by the pic- tures of the prominent men of Stratford appearing on the walls. I noticed one particularly ugly looking old woman on the wall in the museum, and upon inquiry was told that she was Miss Wheeler, the sister of a former his- torian of Stratford. The historian of Stratford may be a very great man, but his fame has thus far not extended outside of the city whose history he has written, yet the portraits of himself and his sister are as conspicuous in the Shakespeare house as those of the original occupant. The Shakespeare house was purchased in the same way as was Mount Vernon, the home of Washington. It is nominally the property of the people. The public can- I7 6 ENGLISH LIFE. not view the Shakespeare house without paying sixpence to see the living rooms and sixpence more to view the second part of the house, which is filled up with a lot of rubbish, supposed to have some relation to the Shake- spearian period. This represents about 25 cents of our money, and as there is an average of 250 visitors a day to the Shakespeare house this would foot up an income of $60 per day. Certainly this great amount of money is not all required for keeping up a very plain house. Two or three hundred dollars a year would surely cover that ex- penditure. What becomes of this large fund would afford an interesting subject of inquiry, I should say, with the people of England, who are supposed to own this place. Nearly all of the show places of England have en- trance fees charged for admission. The ruins of Kenil- worth Castle, near Stratford, are supposed to be the most interesting ruins in England. A visitor to them brings away a few distinct impressions. First, a quickening sense and appreciation of the magnificent story of Scott written in the neighborhood of this once great castle. Second, the realization of the fitness, beauty and gran- deur of the theatre upon which so many historical page- ants during Elizabeth's time were displayed. Third, a feel of pity and indignation for the ruthless destruction perpetrated by Cromwell, who dismantled this noble fortress, creating a ruin which no one has since attempted to restore. Fourth, intense admiration for the thrifty spirit of the Earl of Clarendon, who in acquiring this property hedged it carefully in and permitted visitors to see it upon a payment of threepence each, or six cents our money. In this way he derives from this property a handsome income. The Sabbath is observed at this in- stitution by refusing to admit the public for the sacrile- gious price of threepence. Those who are willing to pay eighteen pence on the holy Sabbath day can have the privilege of inspecting this most profitable property of the most noble Earl of Clarendon. Warwick Castle, which is one of the great feudal cas- tles of England, affords a very handsome revenue to its present occupant, the Earl of Warwick, through shilling admissions being charged to view all except the private living apartments. The present Earl is a poor man for one in his position. He has been obliged to live quietly ENGLISH LIFE. 177 md husband his resources to do his best to free this prop- erty" from the debts upon it when it came to him. The ;state was loaded with mortgages when he received it, His oldest son, Lord Brooke, married a few years ago Due of the great heiresses of England. Looking back Dver the history of this family I find that nearly all of its inancial successes have come through the marriage of a ■ich young woman. This heiress who married Lord Brooke is a spirited young lady who refused the hand of Prince Leopold when it was tendered her a few years ago. Jp to within a few years ago there was no admission fee :harged at Warwick Castle. Then the butler and the housekeeper were permitted to show people through at :ertain hours of the day, and they were permitted to pocket the fees paid them. The result was that these :wo people accumulated a great fortune during their :wenty years' service, and have now set up as magnates Df county kitchen circles. To quote the language of one Df their rural admirers, they have ' ' an 'ouse of their h'own nearly as big as the cahrsle, and more 'orses and carriages az the h'Earl 'imself." The present Earl now takes this revenue to himself. One of the peculiarities of this busi- ness is that the tickets of admission are not sold on the castle grounds. There is a strange avoidance of any ap- parent connection upon the part of the castle with the financial features of this transaction. At the porter's lodge you are told that tickets can be bought at the little humble house in the feudal row, under the lofty battlements of this most aristocratic abode of one of the greatest peers of the realm. You visit this house and there your money is taken through a little wicket, and in exchange you are given a ticket which entitles you to be shown through the castle. Commissionaires are on duty there, and they display the treasures and the beauties of the place with the same business-like method and manner of people in charge of any of the show-places of London. The money deposited by the visitor finds its way to a bank to the Earl's credit, affording him at the present time a clear net income of fully $15,000 a year. 12 l 7 8 ENGLISH LIFE. CHAPTER IV. CHRISTMAS DAY IN THE COUNTRY ON THE SANDS AT BOURNE- MOUTH. I spent Christmas Day and the one succeeding- at a coun- try place in the neighborhood of Bristol, two hours and a half from London. I had an opportunity of seeing an old-fashioned English Christmas. I learned there the Eng- lish people at home are even more sociable and fond of fun than almost any civilized people. There is more genuine democracy in the country gatherings than one would ex- pect. I do not intend to give any description of this par- ticular Christmas beyond indicating in a general way some of the principal features of the country amusement at this time of the year. In the first place, the country is much more interesting than with us in the winter. It is rare for the mercury to go below 26 or 28 degrees Fah- renheit. The English people use the freezing point 32 as the indicator. They speak of 3 or 4 or 6 degrees of frost meaning so many degrees below 32. They never have weather which approaches zero. The winters being comparatively mild, the grass remains green throughout the year, and but little snow falls. The morning after Christmas I went over with a party of friends to a meet of the hounds. Lord Fitzhardinge is the master of the hounds for that district. It was the first English meet I had ever seen, and as the day was absolutely perfect the picture was a most delightful one to my unsportsmanlike vision. The morning was crisp and clear. There was a light hoar frost on the ground which soon gave way, so that the ground became moderately soft under the rays of the sun. There was not a bit of wind. The course to be run was over a succession of green, grassy downs skirting hedgerows and thick clumps of woodland. These downs ran to a line of cliffs overlooking an arm of the sea, be- yond which was a long line of blue hills — the Welsh mountains. A meet in England is one of the most demo- ESGLTSH LIFE. 179 cratic of gatherings. It was a new thing for me to learn that anybody in the neighborhood can come to a meet and be received if he can find a quadruped to carry him. The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker can come and ride alongside of the gentry and keep up with them if they have as good horses and are as skilful riders. The meet took place on the broad lawn of a handsome coun- try place of a private gentleman who has large coal inter- ests at the Cape Verde Islands. There were upward of a thousand people who came through his gates and up his walk without any invitation, driving in all sorts of car- riages and carts and upon all sorts of horses. Several hundred came on foot. Another strange feature of this promiscuous gathering was the fact that every one who came was made welcome to the private hospitality of the house. The son of the host actively assisted the servants in passing out sandwiches and mulled claret to whoever rode up to the door. There was a constant procession of lunching horsemen in front of the door for at least two hours before the hounds arrived with Lord Fitzhardinge and the whippers-in. I doubt very much whether the American riders to the hounds in the United States are as hospitable in their welcome of every one as are the Eng- lish fox-hunters. There were all sorts of riding costumes. The master of the hounds and the whippers-in wore the traditional pink coats, as did a few of the other riders. The majority of the riders, however, even among the regular members of the hunt, wore dark coats. Two army officers from the neighboring barracks came up on very smart horses, wear- ing hunting dresses which looked as neat as full-dress uniforms. They wore high silk hats with small steel chains attached to the brim in the rear and passing around their necks. Their coats were four-button cutaways with long skirts and broad flapped pockets. These coats were buttoned up tight to the throat, above which appeared a high white collar and a white cravat. Their knee-bree< hes were white corduroy. Their boots were high patent- leather, with steel spurs upon the lower part of the heel. They were handsome trim-looking men and sat their horses with perfect ease. One of the most striking of the lady riders was a relative of the master of the hounds. She was not over fourteen years of age. Her slim figure 180 ENGLISH LIFE. was set off by a dark blue close-fitting riding suit. Her hair, a dazzling golden silver, floated in the wind uncon- fined from underneath a black derby hat. She was mounted on a thin-skinned, high-bred, iron-gray horse, which seemed to be under the perfect control of his beau- tiful young mistress. But the good riders and the correct hunting dresses were the exception. This was owing in part to the fact that it was a holiday, and upon such occa- sions the regular members of the hunt are inclined to stay away. The tradespeople of Bristol came out in great numbers. They were very enthusiastic sportsmen, but they made up a motley gathering, coming as they did upon all sorts of horses and in all sorts of riding-dresses. They have a peculiar way of clipping the hunting horses in this part of the country. They clip the horse's body only and leave the legs covered with hair. Gloucester- shire has a great deal of limestone, and it was found that where the legs of the horses were clipped that the gritty mud soon made their legs sore. This fashion gave the horses, however, a very peculiar appearance. The clip- ping of a bright bay gives him in the first place a mouse- color. The leaving of the hair upon the horses' legs gave them the appearance of having on high boots. To see a mouse-colored horse with high, reddish boots on, bear- ing on his back a vociferous rider, coming at a great stride across the green downs is certainly a novelty to a stranger. The main interest culminated when the hounds arrived. They were such a smart, intelligent looking lot of animals. They all carried their heads and tails straight up. They appeared to be eager and anxious to be away, but were easily restrained by the whips of the servants in charge. They were moved about with the precision and rapidity of well-drilled soldiers. When the hounds came into the inclosure about the house where the meet took place, they smelled the food of the morning lunch and were at once going to press to the front, but a wave of the whip- pers-in-stick sent them back in a compact mass to a corner of the inclosure, where they remained. The amount of lunching and drinking done by the people who arrived, and who must have just come from their breakfast, simply illustrated the ability of the English people to eat at any and all times as a preliminary to anything in the way of ENGLISH LIFE. 1S1 work or fun. There was no great excitement about the start. The hunters went away at an easy pace and fol- lowed the road for several miles. Gates were opened for them all through the first part of the morning. It was only when a fox was started and the hounds were in full cry that anything like hard cross-country riding was at- tempted. Few of the Bristol people ventured on jumping any of the hedges, so within a very few moments after the start the good riders had everything to themselves. Pedestrians, horsemen, and people in wagons went about the country all the morning seeking to cross the trail of the hunters. There is one noted pedestrian in this neigh- borhood, the postman, who is so familiar with the country that he is always able by short cuts and hard running to be in at the death of every fox killed by the huntsmen of any meet where he attends. This is so well known that it is regarded as one of the features of the hunt of this part of the country. He is always made a small present for his skill in running. I was told that the cost of keeping up a pack of fox-hounds for ordinary hunting purposes is £6,000 a year. After once seeing an English meet it is easy to understand the interest in it. The fox is merely an excuse for sharp and brilliant riding across a lovely country in brilliant, sparkling weather. The meet is generally made up of congenial spirits, and, there- fore, has the additional element and zest of socia- bility. The most pleasant seashore resort is on the south coast of England. From its iron pier the yellow- white banks of the Isle of Wight are visible. Bourne- mouth is a little over three hours' ride from London by any of the fast express trains. It is one of the most beautiful and restful Dlaces to be found any- where. This resort has the gentlest and most " equable climate in England. Dense pine forests shelter the town from the back, while under the great sand cliffs which overhang the beach, it is warm and com- fortable on the coldest day inland. There are even more elegant places at Bournemouth than at Newport. I drove during my visit for two hours throughout a range of beautiful \ residences. 1 82 ENGLISH LIFE. which were sometimes completely hidden in the forest and then appeared out in the open along the line of the cliffs. The vegetation is very rich and luxuriant, even up to the sands of the beach, taking away entirely the barren look of the average neighborhood of the sea. Flowers are grown and cultivated everywhere. For miles and miles there are endless gardens against the sombre background of the drowsy, nodding pines. The roads are perfect speci- mens of the best of English highways. They are broad, smooth as floors, and absolutely devoid of loose sticks or stones. This seashore place is famous for the lung-healing properties of its atmosphere. The air is laden with the balsam odor of the pines, the neighborhood of which has such a wholesome influence upon people affected with nervous or consumptive troubles. The population of this place is in the neighborhood of twenty thousand. In no place in the speculative West, not even in Kansas City, have there been more brilliant speculations in real estate and dizzier advances in real-estate values than at Bourne- mouth. Three thousand pounds for small cottage lots is a common price. The quiet house and surrounding land where Mr. Manning is staying is valued at £50,000, when only a few years ago it was not valued at one-tenth of that amount. Very little is said about this place or the rapid advances of its property values by the English news- papers. That might savor too nearly of news, and news is almost a contraband article in English newspaper offices. Wealthy people have been coming in quietly 3'ear by year, purchasing or building great houses and mak- ing improvements, which have produced a seashore town equaling, if not surpassing, Newport in point of actual capital invested. Life here is so quiet. To an active man the sudden change from the whirl of London life might be tedious, but to the poetic or artistic mind, or to the one who is weary and sick, there is an irresistible attraction in this place. Its profound silence and quiet soothes without a suggestion of monotony. Those who would think a walk under the pines too quiet, will find along the beach the crowds and sights familiar to nearly every seashore place. But the cliffs ENGLISH LIFE. 183 are so high and the roar of the sea so persistent that the human chatter on the beach is utterly lost. Along the line of the sands are to be found the most interesting character-studies. Boatmen in black jerseys, loose trousers, and black skull-caps with visors, are very numerous about the iron pier. They are a very jolly, pic- turesque lot, and anything but servile in their tenders of employment. They have a rakish, reckless air, and nearly always wear some enormous floral adornment. The morning I visited the beach, the salty tars about the pier had huge red camellias backed against two green leaves and pinned on the left sides of their caps. You can im- agine the effect of this hot-house plant associated in the mind with high society and its adornments, standing out as a brilliant and dainty patch of color upon the side of the face of a bronzed and sturdy son of the sea. The cliffs are of sand and chalk. They are covered in patches with dark-green grass and the savage spiked gorse bushes, now blazing as far as the eye can reach up and down the cliffs with their flaming yellow blossoms. The patches of dark green alternate with the yellows and grays of sand and shale. The cliffs are not abrupt except in occasional places. You can climb them nearly where you please up over sliding, shelving steps of sand. There is no rock any- where. If it were rocky, few would venture upon an ascent, but, as it is, a slip or a fall could not hurt if you should fall from the top, as you would merely tumble from one soft, sandy hummock to another. Along these warm, sandy cliffs, absolutely sheltered from any cold, under the influence of the sentimental sea, the thoughts of many of the English wanderers up and down the beach turn " lightly to love." There is something so frank about the English lover. If his fair one is within the reach of his sheltering arms, he shelters her then and there, regardless of the public. And the English people ignore most admirably the lovers who display their passion for each other in public. I have often seen men and women embrace under the flare of the gas lamps in the crowded streets of London, without any one paying the slightest attention, but I have never seen such prolonged public exhibitions of devotion as I have seen on the life-stimulating sands at Bournemouth, where 1 84 ENGLISH LIFE. the crowds who walked up and down affected not to see the lovers who in mute ecstacy reclined in various postures of abandon along the glowing sands, studying, as'one cynical friend said, "the geography of each other's eye- balls," without a thought of the people who passed every moment within a few feet of them. One of the funny sights I saw along the line of the upper cliffs was the hunt of an aged British matron after a wil- ful English girl who had escaped from her guard. The matron was sharp-featured and very waspish in her temper. She was accompanied by a maid who was help- ing her to hunt after the lost young lady. Finally, from one of the extreme points of the upper cliff the vigilant matron discovered her lost charge about a quarter of the way down the cliff. This very proper young lady had slid down a nearly perpendicular path of about thirty feet, and then had crawled around a corner under a great clump of gorse, and there she had dug for herself a soft bed in the sand. Over this bed she had fastened a great black umbrella. With a fur-lined mantle to cover her and sev- eral novels, the young lady had made for herself a position of ideal comfort. She was about two hundred feet above the sea and seventy or eighty feet from the roadway over- hanging the cliff. She had escaped from every one, and was so securely hidden, that she was able to read and doze there for some hours before she was found. At the time the above sketch was taken the duenna had discovered her. She was perfectly horrified at the young lady's posi- tion. She did not dare to come down the path to shake her, and moral suasion at the distance of sixty or seventy feet is very ineffective. The discipline of English servants was shown at this particular juncture. The stern British matron took the shrinking maid by her shoulder and act- ually forced her to slide down the path, giving her a good push for a start. The maid arrived in a perfect cloud of sand on her hands and knees, and barely escaped tum- bling over a quarter of a mile stretch below. Through the combined efforts of the maid and the urgent commands of the matron above the young lady was with difficulty coaxed out of her sand pit and persuaded to climb reluctantly back to the more conventional life of the hotel grounds above. Up and down the sand children have great frolics. It ENGLISH LIFE. 1 85 is one of the most secure of places for children. The sea is very shallow for a long- way out, and the surf is never very heavy. There are a great number of donkey boys around the iron pier. The little donkeys, it is said, can be bought for four shillings each. They are rented for a shilling an hour. This shilling includes, besides the don- key, a boy and a club. The club is worked by the boy, for without its constant application the little don- keys refuse to move. CHAPTER V. A GLANCE AT THE LIFE OF OXFORD EXPENSE OF LIVING AT THIS FAMOUS UNIVERSITY AMERICAN STUDENTS. Last Thanksgiving Day I had an opportunity of getting a hurried view of Oxford student life. The American stu- dents at Oxford gave a Thanksgiving dinner. It is the intention of the American students to keep up this custom if their numbers will permit. I found to my surprise that the number of American students at Oxford is only twelve, and that of this number the majority are taking special courses and have no fixed period for their stay there. It is not generally known that among the dons or fellows there are at present two Americans. It is only within late years that any foreigner could become a fellow of the Oxford University. These Americans are Walter Ash- burner, Fellow of Merton, and the Rev. W. A. B. Coolidgc, Fellow of Magdalen. These two men have won their positions at Oxford through their scholarship. Mr. Cool- idge is a noted Alpine explorer. He is the editor of a paper devoted to the pastime of scaling the peaks of the Alps. He has excelled even the most extreme English- men in his passion for this form of recreation and inves- tigation. He is a short, square-shouldered man, with a sturdy frame and a resolute, iron-featured face. 1 1 e wears steel-bowed glasses. The lower part of his face is covered by a dark mustache and beard. He is in the neighbor- Z S6 ENGLISH LIFE. hood of fifty years of age. Mr. Ashburner is tall, slim, with regular features, dark eyes and a slight mustache. He made one of the best speeches of the college men at the dinner. He does not look a day over twenty-five years of age. He has the stooping shoulders and the classical pallor of a student too fond of his books and too little of outdoor exercise. The small number of American students at Oxford is easily accounted for. Until a very recent time the regu- lations at Oxford were so strict that American students preferred the greater freedom of the German universities. The young men who come to Europe from America to study are nearly always graduates of good schools. They feel that they have been in leading strings long enough and so they have not taken kindly to the extraordinary discipline which was and is still enforced at Oxford. The relaxation of some of these regulations, however, has brought to Oxford a few American students, and they hope to have others come in time, so as to have as large a representation at Oxford as at any one of the German university places. It is only within a few years that any one not a believer in the tenets of the Church of England could obtain a degree. This has been changed, I be- lieve, only since 1870. Life at Oxford is no more expensive for a student than at any one of the great colleges of the United States. I asked Mr. Warburton about the cost of student life here, and he was able, reporter-like, to give me the exact fig- ures. He said that a student could live well and have everything that he should have with an income of $1,500 a year. There are plenty of students who are getting along on half that. Two thousand dollars a year would be a most liberal estimate. The students that were classed as rich were the sons of wealthy families who allowed them £1,000 a year pocket money. Of course there was a fast set at Oxford, as there is in every univer- sity town. The members of this set spend money reck- lessly and often get into debt, but their expenses have nothing to do with any proper estimate of the cost of student life here. The standard of examination for ad- mission to Oxford is no higher than at our best colleges. The requirements after that are very much less. An under- graduate of ordinary abilities can finish the course in any ENGLISH LIFE. 187 one of the colleges here within three years, and in the three years he will study six months only in each year. The scholastic year consists of three terms of only eight weeks each. They have six weeks' holiday at Christmas. It is easy to see from the short period of study and the predominance given to classical studies that not much of a general education can be obtained at Oxford. Strangers who come to Oxford often ask where the university is, not seeming to understand that there are thirty colleges comprised in the university system at Oxford. While they are generally classed together and pursue the same lines of study, yet they are separate and distinct organiza- tions. Some of the colleges are very rich and some are very poor. Adult students from the United States object very seri- ously to the close hours that students are required to keep. In the first place, they are required to be in their quarters at 9 o'clock in the evening. If they come in after 9 o'clock they are fined twopence ; if they come in after 10 they are fined a shilling; if they come in after 11 they are fined half a crown; if after 12 they are obliged to pay a pound, and three appearances after midnight subject a student to expulsion. The students are required to live during the first year or two at Oxford in the college build- ing. It is only in the second year or in the latter part of their course that they can obtain permission to live in lodgings. People who lodge students can only take them after permission is given by the faculty of the college where the student is enrolled, and only after the lodging- house keeper has agreed to make reports daily upon the character and conduct of the student lodger. As a matter of fact, the lodging-house keepers rarely, if ever, make reports against the students. This is pretty generally understood by the college authorities, and they never per- mit students to lodge outside when their conduct has been at all questionable during their preliminary course of study. Students' quarters in the various colleges consist of a sitting-room and a bed-room. The sitting-room is also used as a dining-room. The rooms are cared for by a male servant, called a scout. He also serves the meals. The students breakfast and lunch in their rooms ; they dine in the commons. I visited a number of the dining 1 88 ENGLISH LIFE. halls of the various colleges. They are very handsome, and are fitted up very much like the dining-rooms of the various inns of court in London. The walls are all in dark "woods, with portraits and the coat-of-arms of the various colleges and patrons ornamenting them. The ceilings are in dark wood. The tables for the students run lengthwise with the room. At the end of the room, and at right angles with the students' tables, upon a plat- form raised a foot and a half above the floor, is the table for the dons of that particular college. This is similar to the relative placing of the tables of the barristers and the benchers in the Inns of Court dining-rooms. A blazing open fire lights up cheerfully this rich and handsome framework of dark wood and ancient ornaments. The dons put on full dress for their dinner, 'and the students wear their mortar-board caps and black gowns. These gowns and caps have to be worn by the students when- ever they enter any of the buildings of any of the colleges. Often a student walking in the street will take off his loose gown and carry it over his arm, but the moment he enters any of the college buildings he must put it on, or he would be refused admission. The country around Oxford is beautiful. The town itself is quaint and most picturesque. The life here is one that would charm either a student or a young man fond of society and athletics. The river is constantly thronged by college oarsmen. When the racing season is on, I am told, one of the most exciting events of each day is the struggle to gain the position known as "the top of the river." As it was explained to me, the top of the river means this : Several boat crews — sometimes to the num- ber of fifteen or twenty — will be placed in line, one slightly ahead of the other, upon the river. At a signal they start off racing for a certain point. The object of each boat's crew in the rear is to run down the boat ahead of them. This is called bumping. If they can bump the nose of their boat against the one just ahead of them, that entitles the bumping boat to go up above the boat that has been bumped. And the boat bumped falls back one in the line. The boat that obtains the position of the top of the river is the one which is able to distance all competitors and to draw away from them in this most exciting of struggles. Very often the boat crew bumped ENGLISH LIFE. ^9 is turned clear over and has to pick its way out as best it can. But this only appears to add fun and hilarity to the race. Until very recently none of the Dons were permitted to marry. Now a certain number of them can marry. They tell a pathetic story concerning one of the Dons who has been engaged to be married for several years, but he cannot be married until the present number of married Dons is diminished by one or one becomes a widower. One can imagine the thoughts of this forlorn Don and his patient sweetheart as they wait in the quiet atmosphere of Oxford for some one of the Dons of that particular college to give way for their long-expected hap- piness. There is quite a community at Oxford of middle- aged and venerable students, who live here and who re- tain their membership in the college on account of the advantages of the Bodleian Library. For when you have once been graduated from any one of these colleges you can, by paying a small fee each year, retain your mem- bership in that college all your life. A number of noted writers and students make their homes here and are often seen in cap and gown hard at work in some one of the beautiful rooms of this most richly endowed and equipped library. Here it would seem that a student could accom- plish the very greatest possible amount of work. The village is quiet, peaceful and beautiful. Life here is very pleasant, the society is agreeable and London is only an hour and a quarter away. 6$ 7