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Show B Lontlon. B Editor JJAjwftiW I takegrcnt, pleasure H in telling my ffleirda who rend the B Bannuk lipw I enjoyed- my Visit lo B London, and if youvwi!l try and find H Bpnee for tliiH letter I phnll 'feel very B grateful o yon. fl I left my Held of labor on July 14th nt B 12 o'clock and arrived in Lundou about B 3:80 p.m. I wan very much surprised B upon arriving at Pnddincton Station to B see the large amount of business that is B carried on at this station alone, pnd- B dington is the terminus of the Great B Western Railway Co., and although only B about 180 trains cnt.r and leave Pad- B dington daily tlio Great Western Kail. B way Co. claim to run faster between B point and point than any other line. B They own two of the fastest engines, B "The Flying Dutchman" and "The H Zulu." The "Flying Dutchman" is 45 B years old and, with itd engine and tender, fl weigh 70 tons and cost 3,750. On a H busy day between 7 ,000 and 8.000 gtej fl through the booking oiiico windows lor fl tickets, and this )3 incrensed' to over B 527,000 in August Bank Holiday weekt B After viewing tlie great station for a fl few minutes I took a ride on the nuder- B ground railway to Kings Gross. Tliis is B a very liyely way of hum.in tnuid- fl poftation, only two minutes time for a B person to step into the train and away B aho goes thundering along under the fl great city. After alighting from the B train and ascending the stair case, 1 B ' found my way to 30 Peutoji Street, the B Latter-day Saints headquarter-.. 1 K made myself acquainted with the Eldeis B and was perlectly at home. I left my fl grip nt "30" and took a buss for Madame B Tnssaud's Wax Workf, where I spei't B the remainder of the day. O" the day B following I met Bro. J. S. Brondbent B whom I had not seen for nearly a year B an wo weri both out 'or seeing, sights. B Our iirst visit wan to St. Paul's Cathedral. H This noble structure is 500 feet long by H 118 feet broad, and measures from the H ground to the top of the cross 370 feet. H This grand Cathedral is the third largest B church in Christendom, being only sur- B passed by St. Peter's at Home and the H Cathedral at Milan. The old Cnthdral B was burnt in 1000 and the first stone of B the one designed by Sir Christopher B Wren was laid in 1075, The building H cost, according to Milmnn 73(i,7o0. The H great doue is 112 feet in diameter, 27 H feet less than that of St. Peter's. We B ascended to the top of the dom c where H we could plainly view the surrounding H buildings wbhdi covered the ground an H far as the eve could reach. While we H were in this part of the city we decided H' to see most of the plaess of interest K which are located here. We stepped K into the Bank of England, hut the cold H was so dazzling we only stayed long H' enough to get on idea of the amount of H business carried on. Next we crossed B the street and visited the Royal Ex- H change. Upon leaviuu this bnildingwo H had the pleasure of seeing the Lord B Mayor of London on street parade, which H was a very peculiar sight and one that I H will not foig.it for a long time. After H taking a short stroll across the well H known London bridge, we took the B train from Waterloo Station to Crystal H " Talnco. My visit to this place was very H much enjoyed. It is built of the H materials ttnit housed the great xhibi- B tion of 1351 in Hyde Park. The Crystal H Palace at Sydenham cost uo Icsh than a H niilliQii and half sterling. It is composed H, entirely of glass and iron and was B designed by Sir Joseph PnxtPn. The. H Tiie palace, from its lofty eminence, is H visible for miles in every direction. Its H principal hall, or nave, is 1,003 ft. long, Hf whilo the central transept is 300 ft. long B by 120 ft wide and rises to a herghth of H' 175 ft. On either side of the )alace are B the water towers, each 282 ft. high, and B theee add greatly to the general efTect, B best appreciated from the delightful B grounds, which cover in nil some 200 B acres. The ha 1 is full of relics, manu- B facturing companies, ' printing ofiices, B candy' booth? etc. We much enjoyed B the lhewoikK in the evening but space B. will not permit a lengthy discription. B Suffice me to say that they were very B beautiful, representing tlio progress that B has becti made since Queen Victoria B ascended the throne until the present B time. The grounds in frontof the palace B were illuminated with colored powder B which caused tho water fountains to look B ' very beautiful, beyond description. I B will not take time to mention all the ... b?autifil places wo visited, they being oo nuilierous. Our next day A-as well 'apentVn viniting Westminster Abbey HousA ot ParliniHiii, a stroll through St .lame)) Park and a view, '(yes only nn oxlermr vlow) of Uuckinglinm Palace, tjie Queen'H blrthnlnco. Wo wended our way to Trafalgar pquare. The squaio has been pionounced tq,be-"the ilnept sito in Europe," but it is certainly tho finest open space in the metiopolis. From the terrace stops leadBdown to the area of the square in which nro two large founlninVand beneath these stands the Nelson column 145 ft. in height, erected to the victor of Trafalgar in 1843 by volui tary contributions, with four gigantic lions at tho base which were modeled for it by Sir Edwin Landseer. Among the other statues in tho equnre is one to tho late Gaueral Gordbn by Mr. Ilamo Thornycroft, R. A., representing the hero in the attitude of meditation. On the day fo'lowing Bro. Broadbent left for Oldluun and 1 spent the remainder of my visit with Elder Adams, preaidentoftholrish conference. Wj agreed to tike a sail up the Thames to Kew Gardens. This id a most enjoyable enjoy-able trip. StaU from tho old Swan pier, London Bridge. The steamer quickly e'ears Common St., railway bridge and Soutlnvark bridge, when, on the south side of the river, you see Barclay's brewery built on the site of the old Globe Theater. Your first stopping is at St. Paul's Pier. St. Paul's Cathedral towers up on your right and immediately on passing under Black-fiiars Black-fiiars hiidge you nro at the beginning ot Victoria embankments. On yaur rigl t tlie buildings passed are the City oi London echool, Sion College, the Guildhall School of Music, tho Temple and Gardens, oflice of the School Boutd of Loudon, and Somerset Houstj. Arrived Ar-rived at Waterloo you run alongside the Embankment Gardens and are given a pei feet view of Cleopatra's Needl t After leaving Westminster Pier you pasei on the righttho House of I'arliment and on the left St. Thomas's hospital wliicn starts tho Albert Embankment and and Lambert Palace. Its quaint, olJ-world-nppearance will be readily! recognized, the oflicial lesidence of the Archbishop of G'untcrberryl Tho journey now,js rather slow,, in the way if sights till you reach Full. am Palace,' just beneath Putney bridge, and where the Bishop of London .resides. Our destination is reached upon arriving at K.v bridge. After viewing witli profound pro-found interest the lovely sights in Kew Gardens w procure a buss and our ride through Richmond U thoroughly enjoyed, en-joyed, being made complete by, or.r visit to Hampton Court. Wo justhae time to visit the palace of Cardina WoIpcv and tho return journey was made by train from Hampton Court Station. I liavo not space to tell you how I enjoyed myelf in visiting tho National Art Gallery, British Museum, South Kensington Museum,. Zoological Gardens, Hyde Park, London Tour and, many more places not mentioned. Before closing I wish to mention ono very interesting sight which I had tlu pleasure of seeing. Near tho SinithlL-ld Market is a little squaro fenced vith iron railings wherein'is erected a beautiful I statue of pence, wheio once many lives of tho Protestants were taken, they being burnt to tl o stake by the CiWholics for worshiping God according to their (the Protestants) belief. I was led to roflect upon the contrast of Christendom in those day and at the present time. Thanking you for the Banni:k I remain ' as ever, J. F. Russon. Sept 11, 1807. ' . 42 Roland Road, Handsworth, B'ham. |