1936 On the Continent

to the value of roast frog’s legs as a cure for rheumatism. Representatives of every imaginable sect erect their platforms and hoist their banners here, proclaiming their message as the only cure for the ills of humanity.
    Jews and Negroes air their wrongs here; fanatical Communists preach Red Revolution against the Fascists dictators of the world, or demand assistance for the Spanish Government, their hoarse cries mingling with the shrill oratory of Fascist and anti-Socialist agitators who preach a contrary gospel. Nature cures or the epoch-making virtues of a new method of shorthand, are proclaimed with the same fiery enthusiasm as the teachings of the Buddha. Sometimes as many as forty or fifty speakers orate simultaneously, shouting themselves hoarse, answering questions, or arguing with hecklers. Anywhere elsein the world this battle of words would degenerate into a battle of fists, and even knives, but here an almost parliamentary decorum is observed, even during a clash between the bitterest opponents. Marble Arch provides an enjoyable daily show for the unemployed, the idlers, and also for foreigners who come here to improve their knowledge of the English language.
Rotten Row
    Rotten Row, on the opposite side of the Park, and also of the social scale, is the rendezvous of the “cream” of London Society from early morning to noon. Politicians, wearing the appropriate costume, aristocrats and their ladies, ride here on choice horses. Everybody who is anybody is there, to say nothing of the nobodies. Rotten Row is a daily exhibition of riding fashions and horsemanship, just as it was a century ago, and probably will be a century hence.
    A short distance from Rotten Row is the Serpentine, a large pond with swans, rowing boats, and even an open-air swimming bath, which the English with unconscious humour call the “Lido”. Many London motorists stop their cars on the banks of the Serpentine and spend an hour or two in enjoyable idleness, ladies and gentlemen sitting in their closed cars and staring into nothingness as only Englishmen can.
    Hyde Park also has a pond for those who like to play with miniature sailing and motor boats. Here you can see grown men engaging in boat races with their model boats, or spending many days on end with mysterious experiments.
    In another corner there is a bowling green, where the ancient English game of bowls is played by men in appropriate uniform, consisting of a straw hat and rolled-up shirt sleeves. Football and miniature golf are also played in Hyde Park.
Chairs
    You can walk in Hyde Park for three miles without returning to the same spot. The paths run between stretches of ever-green grass, and sometimes you can see flocks of sheep grazing over it, guarded by clever littlesheep-dogs, just like in the heart of the country. The presence of the sheep is explained by the fact that sheep improve the land over which they graze by providing natural manure and also by stamping down the soil, and it is in accordance with an old tradition that Hyde Park is let for grazing. However, the presence of the sheep does not worry the thousands of people lying on the grass or sitting in deck chairs all over the Park.
    The green deck chairs are supplied to all the big London parks by the same concern. A twopenny ticket entitles visitors to the Park, to use any deck chair that happens to be free, and to change from one to another as often as he likes. The uncomfortable steel chairs are available on the same terms.
“Pram Parade”
    In some parts of Hyde Park there is a “perambulator parade” every morning, when the younger generation of English Society are taken for their airing by English, Chinese and even Negro nurses, sometimes under the eyes of a proud mother. Latterly, Hyde Park has also been the scene of birthday parties. On such occasions a long table is laid in the open bearing, in addition to other good things, the inevitable birthday cake, decorated with the number of candles corresponding to the age of the child. It is here that Father and Mother, amid the envious glances of the little guests, hand over the mysterious box or bag containing their birthday presents.
    It is characteristic of the tact and good manners of the English that although all this takes place in public, it would never occur to passers-by to intrude upon the privacy of such a family event by any exhibition of curiosity.
The Temple of Love
    Hyde Park reminds one of the idyllic pleasures of a seaside