The Land of the Angles (continued)

I ONCE asked an Englishman if he lived in London.

“Why does every American think that every Englishman lives in London?” he replied—and he sounded rather vexed. “There are other places in England besides London.

There is Chester and Manchester,

There is Norwich and Harwich,

There is Oxford and Guildford,

There is Birm ingham and Nottingham,

There is Cambridge and Tunbridge,

There is Northampton and Southampton,

There is Plymouth and Yarmouth and Weymouth…” And as he gasped for breath I cried, “Please don’t tell me all the ’wiches and ’fords and’mouths in England.”

“Well,” said he, “there are over thirty million people in England who don’t live in London and I am one of them.”

But nearly every Englishman, no matter where he does live, goes to London some time in his life. You can get to London in a day from any place in England, for the island is so small and trains are so fast.

Railroads were invented by an Englishman, and some of the fastest trains run in England. Their trains look different from ours. They seem much smaller and lighter and the cars are divided into rooms instead of being one long room like ours. Each room has half the seats facing forward and half facing backward, so that half of the people have to ride backward. Some of these rooms are labeled “lst class,” but most are “3rd class.” People pay more to ride in a lst class room than they do in a 3rd class room. The 1st class has cushioned seats and there is more space for each person. The 3rd class has wooden seats without cushions, and more people are put in a room. The English railroad trains run on the left hand side of the road. Most Americans are right-handed, and we say “Keep to the Right,” but most Englishmen are right-handed too, yet they say “Keep to the Left.” You would be arrested in England if you drove or rode on the right hand side as we do here.