Walsh Around the World in Eighty Minutes

1. Auflage 2023
ISBN: 978-3-98826-094-9
Verlag: OTB eBook publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 69 Seiten

Reihe: Classics To Go

Around the World in Eighty Minutes is a travelogue written by William S. Walsh. It is a collection of stories and accounts of the author's travels to various locations around the world. The book provides a vivid and engaging account of the sights, sounds, and experiences that the author encountered on his journey, and offers insights into the customs, cultures, and people of different regions and countries. The author uses vivid descriptions, personal anecdotes, and historical and cultural context to create a compelling narrative that captivates and informs the reader. The book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in travel, geography, culture, and history, and provides a glimpse into the world as it was during the time the author lived.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Walsh, William S.

Leseproben

Around the world in eighty minutes
THE STATUE OF LIBERTY. This colossal statue, by Auguste Bartholdi, stands on Bedloe’s Island in New York harbor. It is distinguished, not only by its immense height (three hundred and five feet six inches from foundation to torch), but by the elegance of its proportions and its imposing dignity. At night, especially, when the torch is lighted by electricity, its effect is unique and commanding. The statue was presented to the American people by France, the cost being defrayed by public subscription. The sculptor himself took no remuneration. Public subscription here put up the pedestal. The statue was formally handed over to the President of the United States by the French delegates on October 28th, 1886. THE TOWER OF LONDON, ENGLAND. In all the world there is no more famous fortress than this ancient citadel of London. Situate in the oldest portion of the city, on the north bank of the Thames, it at once arrests the attention of every stranger in the English metropolis. Tradition ascribes its erection to Julius Cæsar, but tradition is unsupported by historical evidence, and at the most it is only conjectured that the Romans had a fortress on this site. It may be stated authoritatively, however, that the Keep or White Tower (so named because it was formerly whitewashed), which is now the oldest extant portion of the citadel, was built by William the Conqueror. As the council chamber of the ancient kings of England, and subsequently as a prison of state for political offenders, its glory and its shame are part and parcel of the glory and the shame of all England. Some of the most momentous events in the history of the country were enacted within its walls. From an early period it has been the depository of the ornaments and jewels of the crown. WESTMINSTER ABBEY, LONDON. This is the supremely interesting spot in all London. Its exquisite architecture would alone ennoble it. But as the sepulchre of sovereigns, heroes, statesmen, authors and poets, as the scene of some of the most hallowed events in English history, it makes an even more serious appeal to the imagination. Its very history is involved in becoming mystery. Tradition asserts that on this site Sebert, King of the Saxons, built a church and dedicated it to St. Peter. More authentic history ascribes its inception to Edward the Confessor, who designed it for his own burial place. Hence, other royal interments followed. William the Conqueror was crowned here within a few yards of the Confessor’s tomb, and every succeeding sovereign of England has followed his example. It also has continued to be the favorite spot for royal weddings and funerals. As it now stands the Abbey was for the most part rebuilt by Henry III. Henry VII added the famous chapel which bears his name, and the two towers on the front were placed there by Christopher Wren. The Poet’s Corner in the south transept contains tombs or monuments in honor of many of the most famous of English literary worthies. ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL, LONDON. This, the metropolitan church of London, is one of the largest and, without exception, the most conspicuous of its edifices. Built on a slight eminence, which is said to have been anciently occupied by a temple to Diana, it is the last of a series of Christian churches that succeeded to the Pagan temple. The first, founded about 610, was destroyed by fire in 1087. The second succumbed to the Great Fire of 1666. The present church was begun June 21st, 1675, and was finished in thirty-five years, under one architect, Sir Christopher Wren. The whole cost, £747,954 2s. 9d., was paid by a tax on every chaldron of coal brought into London. The structure is five hundred and fifty feet from east to west by one hundred and twenty-five feet in width; the front is one hundred and eighty feet wide, and the top of the cross is four hundred feet from the crypt floor. Carlyle said of it that it was the only edifice that struck him with a proper sense of grandeur. HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, LONDON, ENGLAND. This is the largest, and in some respects the most imposing, of all the public edifices in England. Gothic in style, in size, at least, it surpasses any other Gothic building in the world. And in respect to its equipments and the excellent adaptation of every part to the purposes for which it was erected and for the transaction of the business to which it is consecrated it is absolutely unrivaled. Both Houses, Lords and Commons, meet within its walls. Yet it is a comparatively modern structure. Occupying the site of the Royal Palace, dwelt in by every English monarch from the time of Edward the Confessor to Queen Elizabeth, the corner-stone of the present building was not laid until April 27th, 1840. It covers about eight acres of ground, and has four fronts, the longest and most effective of which, facing the river Thames, is nine hundred and forty feet long. The Victoria Tower at the south-west angle, which is about three hundred and forty feet high and admirably proportioned, is one of its most effective features. BANK OF ENGLAND, LONDON. This, the most celebrated moneyed institution in the world, is situated on Threadneedle Street. Hence, it is sometimes facetiously alluded to as “The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.” It has a branch in the West End of London and nine branches in the provinces. It was founded July 27th, 1694, as a joint stock association, with a capital of £1,200,000, which was lent at eight per cent. interest to the government of William and Mary. And as it began as a servant of the government so it has continued. At the present moment it has the management of the public debt and the paying of interest thereon, it holds the deposits belonging to government and aids in the collection of the public revenue. It is the bank of all the other banks in England. Its notes are legal tender, and are convertible into coin. Its credit and reputation have been absolutely unequaled by any other establishment of the sort. Hence, the recent discovery of a deficit of £5,000,000 shook the financial world to its centre. But the bank has been able to meet the emergency. MANSION HOUSE, LONDON, ENGLAND. The Lord-Mayor of London has his official residence at the Mansion House. It is situated nearly opposite the Royal Exchange, on the site of the ancient Stock’s Market; was begun in 1739 and finished in 1741. In its great banqueting hall, known as the Egyptian Hall, are given the state banquets. Formerly it was the ambition of every great London merchant and banker to become Lord-Mayor, but since the district actually under his jurisdiction has come to be a very small part of what is known as London, the importance of this functionary has greatly diminished in the eyes of all save foreigners. As the dispenser of civic hospitality he receives £8000 a year, with the use of the Mansion House, furniture, carriages, &c. LONDON BRIDGE, LONDON, ENGLAND. This is not the London bridge of Shakespeare’s time, for that was a wooden structure, lined with houses on either side. The present London bridge is substantially built of granite on the site of the older one. It cost £2,566,268, and was opened to the public on August 1st, 1831, by King William IV. There are five arches, the central one having a span of one hundred and fifty-two feet. The entire length is nine hundred and twenty-eight feet and the width fifty-four. A curious interest attaches to the lamp posts along the side, which are cast from the metal of French cannon captured in the Peninsular War. The constant stream of traffic that pours across this bridge is prodigious. It is estimated that every twenty-four hours no less than twenty thousand vehicles and one hundred and seven thousand pedestrians are borne along in the opposing currents. TRAFALGAR SQUARE, LONDON. The battle of Trafalgar (22d October, 1805) was won over the combined French and Spanish fleet by the English, under Lord Nelson, who lost his life at the very moment of victory. One of the finest open places in London is named after the conflict. In the centre a massive granite column, one hundred and forty-five feet in height, rises to the memory of the great admiral, whose statue surmounts it. The pedestal is adorned with reliefs in bronze, cast with the metal of French captured cannon, and representing scenes in the career of Nelson. Four colossal bronze lions, modeled by Sir Edwin Landseer, in 1867, crouch upon pedestals running out from the column in the form of a cross. The square is paved with asphalt. Statues of Sir Henry Havelock, of Sir Charles James Napier and of George IV are distributed around it. Towards the north side are two fountains, and on the terrace to the north rises the National Gallery, with the interesting old church of St. Martin in the Fields by its side. THAMES EMBANKMENT, LONDON, ENGLAND. At an early period the banks of the Thames River had many wide stretches of marsh land, covered by shallow lagoons. From time to time embankments have been erected, some of them dating from the time of the Romans. The greatest of all these works is the new Victoria Embankment, leading from Blackfriars Bridge towards the west, along the north bank of the Thames as far as Westminster. Built in 1864–70, under the direction of Sir Joseph W. Bazalgette, it cost nearly $10,000,000. It consists of a macadamized carriageway about two thousand three hundred yards in length and sixty-four feet wide. The foot pavement on the land side is sixteen feet broad and on the river side twenty feet. This entire area was formerly covered by the tide twice a day. A granite wall eight feet thick protects it on the side next the Thames. Rows of trees...