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ST. PAUL'S FROM THE RIVER THAMESENGLAND
BY
FRANK FOX
AUTHOR OF "RAMPARTS OF EMPIRE" "PEEPS AT THE BRITISH EMPIRE," "AUSTRALIAAND OCEANIA"
WITH 32 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR
LONDON
ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK
1914
[Pg v]
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
To bring within the limits of one volume any detailed description ofEngland—her history, people, landscapes, cities—would be impossible. Ihave sought in this book to give an impression of some of the most"English" features of the land, devoting a little space first to an attemptto explain the origins of the English people. Thus the English fields andflowers and trees, the English homes and schools are given far moreattention than English cities, English manufactures; for they are morepeculiar to the land and the people. More markedly than in any superiorityof her material greatness England stands apart from the rest of the worldas the land of green trees and meadows, the land of noble schools and ofsweet homes:[Pg vi]
Across this watery waste we fare,
One image at our hearts we bear,
Green fields of England, everywhere.
Past where the waves' last confines be,
Ere your loved smile I cease to see,
Sweet eyes in England, dear to me!
If but in thee my lot lie cast,
The past shall seem a nothing past
To thee, dear home, if won at last;
Dear Home in England, won at last.
That is the cry of an Englishman (Arthur Hugh Clough). On the samenote—the green fields, the dear homes—a sympathetic visitor to Englandwould shape his impressions on going away.
If, by chance, the reading of this book should whet the appetite for moreabout England, or some particular part of the kingdom, there are availablein the same series very many volumes on different counties and differentfeatures of England. To these I would refer the lover or student of Englandwishing for closer details.[Pg vii] My impression is necessarily a general one;and it is that of a visitor from one of the overseas Dominions—not theless interesting, I hope, certainly not the less sympathetic for thatreason.
FRANK FOX.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGE
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