Time Traveler
I hire a hansom cab and tour greater London. We pass through Mayfair, which is just being developed as a haven for the wealthiest citizens. The homes here are massive and the architecture is beautiful. Then we continue on to Tyburn where a crowd is gathering. The driver tells me, "Here's a fine bit o entertainment, guv'nor." I climb up onto his seat to get a better view. I am shocked to see a gallows. On it is a man the driver identifies as Jonathan Wild, "thief-Taker General." It seems he was a criminal gang leader who posed as a crime-fighter, turning in his rivals to the police and often returning for a reward things he or his gang members had stolen themselves. It is gruesome to watch but he is hanged before my eyes. The crowd erupts with cheers. I am getting my nitty-gritty history lesson today.
We pass by Grosvenor Square and Marlborough House and the London Bridge. Traffic is now required to drive on the left, the cab driver explains, a recently enacted law. As we pass by the Tower of London I shudder at the thought of being imprisoned there. Only one American ever was, or I should say will be, since it will happen in about fifty years. That will be Henry Laurens, a member of the Continental Congress. He will one day be exchanged for General Cornwallis.
I pay the driver but I have no money for a tip. He spews billingsgate at me.
We pass by Grosvenor Square and Marlborough House and the London Bridge. Traffic is now required to drive on the left, the cab driver explains, a recently enacted law. As we pass by the Tower of London I shudder at the thought of being imprisoned there. Only one American ever was, or I should say will be, since it will happen in about fifty years. That will be Henry Laurens, a member of the Continental Congress. He will one day be exchanged for General Cornwallis.
I pay the driver but I have no money for a tip. He spews billingsgate at me.