nothinglessaristocraticthanaprivatecarriage。]Itisagreatbenefaction—isHydePark。There,inhishansomcab,theinvalidcango—thepoor,sadchildofmisfortune—andinserthisnosebetweentherailings,andbreathethepure,health—givingairofthecountryandofheaven。Andifheisaswellinvalid,whoisn\'tobligedtodependuponparksforhiscountryair,hecandriveinside—ifheownshisvehicle。IdriveroundandroundHydePark,andthemoreIseeoftheedgesofitthemoregratefulIamthatthemarginisextensive。
AndIhavebeentotheZoologicalGardens。Whatawonderfulplacethatis！Ineverhaveseensuchacuriousandinterestingvarietyofwildanimalsinanygardenbefore—except\"Mabille。\"Ineverbelievedbeforethereweresomanydifferentkindsofanimalsintheworldasyoucanfindthere—andIdon\'tbelieveityet。IhavebeentotheBritishMuseum。Iwouldadviseyoutodropintheresometimewhenyouhavenothingtodofor—fiveminutes—ifyouhaveneverbeenthere。Itseemstomethenoblestmonumentthatthisnationhasyeterectedtohergreatness。Isaytoher,ourgreatness—asanation。True,shehasbuiltothermonuments,andstatelyones,aswell;buttheseshehasupliftedinhonoroftwoorthreecolossaldemigodswhohavestalkedacrosstheworld\'sstage,destroyingtyrantsanddeliveringnations,andwhoseprodigieswillstillliveinthememoriesofmenagesaftertheirmonumentsshallhavecrumbledtodust—IrefertotheWellingtonandNelsonmonuments,and—theAlbertmemorial。[Sarcasm。TheAlbertmemorialisthefinestmonumentintheworld,andcelebratestheexistenceofascommonplaceapersonasgoodluckeverliftedoutofobscurity。]
ThelibraryattheBritishMuseumIfindparticularlyastounding。
Ihavereadtherehourstogether,andhardlymadeanimpressiononit。
Ireverethatlibrary。Itistheauthor\'sfriend。Idon\'tcarehowmeanabookis,italwaystakesonecopy。[AcopyofeverybookprintedinGreatBritainmustbylawbesenttotheBritishMuseum,alawmuchcomplainedofbypublishers。]Andtheneverydaythatauthorgoestheretogazeatthatbook,andisencouragedtogooninthegoodwork。AndwhatatouchingsightitisofaSaturdayafternoontoseethepoor,care—wornclergymengatheredtogetherinthatvastreading—roomcabbagingsermonsforSunday。Youwillpardonmyreferringtothesethings。Everythinginthismonstercityinterestsme,andIcannotkeepfromtalking,evenattheriskofbeinginstructive。Peoplehereseemalwaystoexpressdistancesbyparables。Toastrangeritisjustalittleconfusingtobesoparabolic—sotospeak。Icollaracitizen,andIthinkIamgoingtogetsomevaluableinformationoutofhim。IaskhimhowfaritistoBirmingham,andhesaysitistwenty—oneshillingsandsixpence。