We are now in the region of music-halls, theatres, cafés, dining-places, and Scott’s, the famous shell-fish shop.
“What is the origin of the name Piccadilly?” is a question asked again and again. It is difficult to decide. Was it from the ruffs called “peckadils” (from the Spanish pica), whose stiffened points were like diminutive spearheads, worn by the mashers or dudes of the early Carolean period, who gathered here at a gaming-house, Piccadilly Hall? Or was it, as Pennant thought, from the “piccadills” (cakes) which may have been sold in the surrounding fields? Who in the year 1903 can decide?
Here I pause. The rest of the new Tube’s route to Stamford Hill is useful but prosaic, and none of the remaining ten stations, except Cranbourn Street, Covent Garden, and Holborn are surrounded with any remarkably interesting associations, either historical or modern.
From South Kensington to Piccadilly this railway is certainly an aristocratic one. Daintily-clad ladies will, doubtless, use it largely for shopping and paying visits. The rank and fashion of London will patronise it. Countesses, marchionesses, even duchesses, may condescend to travel by it; nay, royalty may even give it a trial! Nobody would be surprised to see its booking-office æsthetically designed; the officials well-groomed and decorous as bank clerks; the lifts luxuriously upholstered with seats for all; the cars-de-luxe (for which an extra charge would be made) beautifully decorated, warmed in winter and delightfully cooled during summer heats, with fresh flowers provided, and perfumes sprayed at intervals to remove the least trace of bad smell; copies of the Court Guide and the most fashionable magazines at the disposal of the passengers; umbrella and parasol stands; special and comfortable quarters for pet dogs; the smoking-cars models of elegance and comfort; and the guards’ uniform scarlet and gold.
Seriously, however, is there or is there not, “one little rift within the lute”? Will the size of the tunnels—11½ feet in diameter—suffice for maintaining an equable and pure atmosphere throughout the year? Doubtless it will; for special attention has been given to this matter by the distinguished consulting engineer, and inlets for fresh, and up-cast shafts for foul air, together with fans worked by machinery, will be liberally provided.
CHAPTER XI
ELECTRIC TRAMWAYS GENERALLY
“And I have taken away your horses.”—Amos iv. 10.
HISTORY OF TRAMWAYS
NEARLY fifty years ago there arrived in this country an enterprising citizen of the United States bearing the name of George Francis Train, with whom will always be associated the first attempt to introduce tramways into Great Britain.
Like many other innovators, Train was ahead of his time, and after vainly struggling against indifference, and, in London, against the strongest opposition voiced by the Chief Commissioner of Works, he returned home a wiser and a sadder man, having failed to launch his great enterprise.