THE UNIVERSAL FAMILY PAPER FOR INTER-COMMUNICATIONS ON 



NATURAL HISTORY-POPULAR SCIENCE— THINGS IN GENERAL, 



Conducted toy WILLIAM kidd, of Hammersmith,— 



Author of the Familiar and Popular Essays on "Natural History;" "British Song 

 Birds;" " Birds of Passage ; " "Instinct and Reason;" " The Aviary," &c. 



"the OBJECT of our avork is to make men WISER, without obliging them to turn over folios and 



QUARTOS. — TO EURNISH MATTER FOR THINKING AS WELL AS READING."— EVELYN. 



No. 25.— 1852. 



SATURDAY, JUNE 19. 



Price \\d. 



Or, in Monthly Parts, Price Id. 



NOTES ON A RAMBLE THROUGH LONDON 



TO 



DULWICH AND NORWOOD. 



Come! let's away to greet tha primrose, 

 And daisy trodden down like modest}' ;. 

 The fox glove, in whose drooping bells the bee 

 Makes her sweet music, the narcissus (named 

 From him who died for love), the tangled woodbine 

 Lilacs, and flowering limes, and scented thorns: 

 All these, from the voluptuous -winds of June, 

 Catch their perfumings. B, Cornwall. 



We who live in England, are too well 

 aware of the nature of the climate to place 

 any great reliance upon a continuance of fine 

 weather, — even though a sunny clay or two 

 should shine upon us now and then, and glad- 

 den our hearts. Neither one swallow, nor 

 one week of sunshine, constitutes an English 

 summer. 



Alive to this fact, we are ever on the look- 

 out to seize upon the first fine day that 

 offers, to bury ourselves in the bosom of the 

 country. There alone do we feel " happy ;" 

 surrounded by the jewels of Nature, and re- 

 velling in the poetry of the earth. 



At this season, we always look for (and are 

 seldom disappointed) Rain in abundance — to 

 wit, on the first fete at Chiswick, the Derby 

 day at Epsom, and the opening of Vauxhail 

 Gardens. The first of these escaped the honor 

 this year, but the two last dropped in for 

 it nicely ! Anticipating this, we sallied forth 

 on Tuesday (May 25) the day immediately pre- 

 ceding ; and we showed our foresight there- 

 in. Did we not congratulate ourselves on the 

 day of the Derby for our weather-wisdom — 

 when we saw the victims of fashion and the 

 betting-table come shivering and fluttering 

 home through the pelting rains and " heavy 

 wet !" Did we not also feel devoutly thankful 

 that we were out of " the affair" altogether ! 

 Long faces, discontent, oaths, drunkenness, and 

 debauchery, were seen and heard, we under- 

 stand, from one end of the road to the other. 

 Chacun a son gout I It seems the knowing 

 ones were taken in — so much the better. Let 

 us hope, however, that the " winners" will 

 make good use of their money ; for alas ! the 



"betting-shops" which have sprung up all 

 over London (after the manner of mushrooms) 

 portend extensive ruin to somebody. If we 

 were in power for one single day, our very 

 first measure would be the instantaneous de- 

 struction of these dens of infamy, and the 

 demons who own them. This by the way. 



We have alluded to our determination for 

 a ramble on the 25th ult. The morning was 

 ' grey,' with some little wind stirring ; but the 

 clouds were high. Every now and then a 

 streak of blue presented itself. This decided 

 our movements. Again associating our- 

 selves with the amiable ally of our former 

 walks, we threaded our way to Fleet Street ; 

 and as the clock struck ten, we found our- 

 selves seated behind a very intelligent coach- 

 man, and en route for Dulwich. Our carriage 

 was an omnibus, drawn by a- team of three 

 fine horses ; and our way lay through the 

 very heart of the City. 



To a contemplative and reflecting mind, an 

 opportunity now presented itself that was 

 worth improving upon. Our own thoughts 

 being for the time tranquil, and business for- 

 gotten, we viewed all that passed before us 

 with a philosophic eye. What a scene did we 

 witness, ere we reached the confines of the 

 Borough ! What anxious countenances met 

 us at every turn ! How were their thoughts, 

 objects, doubts, fears, hopes, and anticipations 

 painted on their brow ! The day was " begin- 

 ning." What would be its " end?" 



Nor was the contrast less painful, when we 

 observed the well-filled omnibuses and 

 coaches rattling along with the merchants, 

 stock-brokers, and wealthy citizens. These 

 ever evinced by their jolly, happy counte- 

 nances, as they approached our Modern Ba- 

 bylon, that the cares of the world, or rather 

 the frowns of the world, troubled them not. 

 They could jest, joke, and chat, with a heart 

 light as air, — Avhilst many on whom our eye 

 fell, were unmistakeable objects of despair ; 

 coming up to town perhaps to try and accom- 

 plish that which, if not accomplished, might 

 seal their ruin. There was the fear of disho- 



Vol. I.— New Series. 



