London at the End of the Century:A Book of Gossip
a Beckett, Arthur William
1900
RELIGION IN LONDON
PERHAPS nothing strikes a Londoner with greater force than the altered tone about the manner of spending Sunday in town which marks the end of the century. It was Charles who first called attention to the dismal view that some very worthy people adopted relative to what they were pleased to call London, in spite of its vast population, is distinctly I use the word in its broadest sense. We have little of that which in means Certainly here and there we find a who delights in proclaiming his contempt for things divine, but the bulk of sensible men regard him with as much esteem as that accorded to the gentleman who took pleasure in speaking disrespectfully of the Equator. A stroll through the streets between twelve and one on a Sunday will show the promenader all sorts and conditions of | |
22 | men coming from church and chapel. And if the afternoon and evening are spent in recreation away from the tavern, why none should be the worse. After all, it is only reverting to the eighteenth century, when many a country parson took part in a game of cricket on the village green. So, without entering into the vexed question of sacred music (or otherwise) in our halls and public buildings, I will give a rapid glance at Sunday as we find it in London at the end of the nineteenth century. |
