"Ease er! Stop er! Full ahead! Full astern! Oh, Bill, for pity's sake get them ropes out!"
What Londoner of a quarter-century oF niore ago will not confess to a love for the, old penny steamboats. A trip on them was good: to loll over the landing stages when things were not going too smoothly was better still. The old bus drivers Monday—Operatic and instrumental, Eocpdy—tnarumental and Friday -~Vocal and instrumental.
Light opera, band, seth ordhetral mania ter?
Each programme will be énterepersed At 7 pam.—Wednesday and Satur-Jay light classical selections; other days dance music, had a reputation for wit and the Billingsgate porters for a variety lof expletives, but the steamboat hands, from' the Cunarder-looking skipper down to the deck boy or the longshoreman much of whose day was spent in missing the moor-they were flung ashore, combined the two in London's inimitable way. One would have missed many things more than the old steamboats, but they were driven off the river—one forgets quite why, out probably the competition of modern traffic was too great. After all these years, London has suddenly decided that its grand old river is being wasted and once again it is crying out for its steamboats. The romance is gone, however, and, i€ the metropolis, gets anything, it il be motor launches and Trade Union crews, rigid time-tables, ete. It is interesting to note that the Watermen's Company has a big in the matter. This guild boasts a charter dated 1372, which roughly gives Father Thames into its sole keeping. Of course, many of its it privileges have not been for two or three genera-are retain-exercised mostly through the Port of London Authority, which licenses all river craft and directs the apprenticeship of waterman and lightermen—the men who—scull every year for Doggett's coat and badge. One interesting provision is that every craft on the river must have on board one of the guild's jeansed men—perhaps to prevent people falling overboard—but this again, of course, in these days whitty les down' to an assurance that a boat is controlled by some competent person. London looks well after Londoners. One can hope the. revival scheme will succeed, for it would be good to go Home and see—and listen to—those old steamboats lonce more, Forthcoming Programm, Scxoay, September 20.—Charch Secvices, "Gobi: Holy Tries Gathedeat pin. Holy Trini Ca Terspat, Gctobee 1 9 pin Reading 6
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.