1936 On the Continent

resort when, during the summer, the military band of the Guards is performing in the Music Pavilion, generally to a large audience reclining comfortably in deck chairs. Apart from their band, the Guards, with their bright red coats, provide an enlivening splash of colour to Hyde Park. At dusk they appear in their hundreds, attracting the admiring glances of the girls.
    For Hyde Park is also, so to speak, a Temple of Love. Here, “in the lap of nature” the modesty and reserve which is otherwise characteristic of the English, and which governs their conduct even between four walls, seems to lose its force, and after nightfall Cupid holds undisputed sway. The Hyde Park police, who have a separate station within the park, have a difficult task when, towards midnight, just before the gates are closed, they have to remind the courting couples of this fact.
    Yes, the most characteristic thing about Hyde Park is the fact that everyone here may do what he likes, without interference from others.
Mirror of English Life
    Hyde Park is more than a park—it is a mirror of the whole of English life, by which the changes in its own life are determined; but fundamentally Hyde Park always remains the same—like England herself.
    We have dealt with Hyde Park in some detail not only because it holds so many novel impressions for the foreign visitor, but also because owing to its enormous size and central position it is bound to attract his especial interest, and, unfortunately, we have had to do this at the expense of the other big parks, with which we can only deal briefly. Unfortunately, because, as we have said, each of these parks has a character of its own, and is of immense importance to the population of the district in which it is situated.
    It is perhaps not generally known that London’s parks are, in a sense, graded according to “rank.” The most beautiful of them belong to the Crown, while others are administered by the city, and a large number, particularly of the newer parks, are under the authority of the London County Council, the body by which greater London is governed.
Kensington Gardens
    Kensington Gardens is perhaps the most “royal” of the Royal Parks. Although is is contiguous to Hyde Park, it is subject to very different regulations from its great neighbour. As both Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens belong to the Crown, the special position of thelatter is one of those mysteries of London that no one is able to penetrate completely. Probably the stricter regulations of Kensington Gardens date from the time when Kensington Palace was still a royal residence. The Palace was acquired by William III from the Earl of Nottingham, and was a favourite residence of many royal personages. William III, Queen Mary, Queen Anne, her Consort, Prince George of Denmark, and George II all died in this modest red brick building, and it was here that Queen Victoria was born.
The Albert Memorial
    Not far from the Palace is the Albert Memorial, which we have already mentioned, and which was erected in 1872, at the express wish of Queen Victoria. The memorial cost £120,000, and took twenty years to complete.
    Whereas Hyde Park is a colourful, democratic place, Kensington Gardens breathes exclusiveness. This exclusiveness arises not from any special regulations, but solely from the peculiar sequestration of the social classes in England, which applies just as much in the downward as in the upward direction. Particularly in recent years, Kensington Gardens has acquired a considerable social importance, its tea house, which for many years had led a modest existence, having suddenly come into the fashion. English Society people have acquired the habit of having their tea, and even their lunch and dinner, at this open-air restaurant, thus bringing about a minor social revolution, for nowhere else in London is there any open-air restaurant of any importance. However, a further development of social activity in Kensington Gardens is rendered impossible by the strict regulations, which decree a comparatively early closing hour.
Green Park—St. James’s Park
    There is a whole chain of parks in the area between Kensington Palace and Trafalgar Square, for in addition to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, there is, within a short distance from the busy Hyde Park Corner, the Green Park with its rural atmosphere, which is adjoined by St. James’s Park, a miracle of garden design. Its five-acrepond, its rock gardens and romantic corners