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Page 50
After remaining a short time, and reading the epitaphs of the departed,
we again returned to "The Knoll." Nothing can be more imposing than the
beauty of English park scenery, and especially in the vicinity of the
lakes. Magnificent lawns that extend like sheets of vivid green, with
here and there a sprinkling of fine trees, heaping up rich piles of
foliage, and then the forests with the hare, the deer, and the rabbit,
bounding away to the covert, or the pheasant suddenly bursting upon the
wing--the artificial stream, the brook taught to wind in natural
meanderings, or expand into the glassy lake, with the yellow leaf
sleeping upon its bright waters, and occasionally a rustic temple or
sylvan statue grown green and dark with age, give an air of sanctity and
picturesque beauty to English scenery that is unknown in the United
States. The very labourer with his thatched cottage and narrow slip of
ground-plot before the door, the little flower-bed, the woodbine trimmed
against the wall, and hanging its blossoms about the windows, and the
peasant seen trudging home at nightfall with the avails of the toil of
the day upon his back--all this tells us of the happiness both of rich
and poor in this country. And yet there are those who would have the
world believe that the labourer of England is in a far worse condition
than the slaves of America. Such persons know nothing of the real
condition of the working classes of this country. At any rate, the poor
here, as well as the rich, are upon a level, as far as the laws of the
country are concerned. The more one becomes acquainted with the English
people, the more one has to admire them. They are so different from the
people of our own country. Hospitality, frankness, and good humour, are
always to be found in an Englishman. After a ramble of three days about
the lakes, we mounted the coach, bidding Miss Martineau farewell, and
quitted the lake district.
LETTER XVII.
_A Day in the Crystal Palace._
LONDON, _June 27th, 1851_.
Presuming that you will expect from me some account of the great World's
Fair, I take my pen to give you my own impressions, although I am afraid
that anything which I may say about this "Lion of the day," will fall
far short of a description. On Monday last, I quitted my lodgings at an
early hour, and started for the Crystal Palace. This day was fine, such
as we seldom experience in London, with a clear sky, and invigorating
air, whose vitality was as rousing to the spirits as a blast from the
"horn of Astolpho." Although it was not yet 10 o'clock when I entered
Piccadilly, every omnibus was full, inside and out, and the street was
lined with one living stream, as far as the eye could reach, all wending
their way to the "Glass-House." No metropolis in the world presents such
facilities as London for the reception of the Great Exhibition, now
collected within its walls. Throughout its myriads of veins, the stream
of industry and toil pulses with sleepless energy. Every one seems to
feel that this great Capital of the world, is the fittest place wherein
they might offer homage to the dignity of toil. I had already begun to
feel fatigued by my pedestrian excursion as I passed "Apsley House," the
residence of the Duke of Wellington, and emerged into Hyde Park.
I had hoped that on getting into the Park, I would be out of the crowd
that seemed to press so heavily in the street. But in this I was
mistaken. I here found myself surrounded by and moving with an
overwhelming mass, such as I had never before witnessed. And, away in
the distance, I beheld a dense crowd, and above every other object, was
seen the lofty summit of the Crystal Palace. The drive in the Park was
lined with princely-looking vehicles of every description. The drivers
in their bright red and gold uniforms, the pages and footmen in their
blue trousers and white silk stockings, and the horses dressed up in
their neat, silver-mounted harness, made the scene altogether one of
great splendour. I was soon at the door, paid my shilling, and entered
the building at the south end of the Transept. For the first ten or
twenty minutes I was so lost in astonishment, and absorbed in pleasing
wonder, that I could do nothing but gaze up and down the vista of the
noble building. The Crystal Palace resembles in some respects, the
interior of the cathedrals of this country. One long avenue from east to
west is intersected by a Transept, which divides the building into two
nearly equal parts. This is the greatest building the world ever saw,
before which the Pyramids of Egypt, and the Colossus of Rhodes must
hide their diminished heads. The palace was not full at any time during
the day, there being only 64,000 persons present. Those who love to
study the human countenance in all its infinite varieties, can find
ample scope for the indulgence of their taste, by a visit to the World's
Fair. All countries are there represented--Europeans, Asiatics,
Americans and Africans, with their numerous subdivisions. Even the
exclusive Chinese, with his hair braided, and hanging down his back, has
left the land of his nativity, and is seen making long strides through
the Crystal Palace, in his wooden-bottomed shoes. Of all places of
curious costumes and different fashions, none has ever yet presented
such a variety as this Exhibition. No dress is too absurd to be worn in
this place.
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