LONDON'S LURE.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 February 1920, Page 5

LONDON'S LURE.

WHAT IfcTHE FASCINATION J ' What is it about London that «xer- , cises such a fascination, not only over ; its residents, but also over visitors-from : ; all quarters of the globe? (ask* a Kxite? \ in the London Daily Mail). It cannot be beauty, for there are <i many other cities more beautiful, gt«en« '< er, and architecturally superior.; besides, ( j such things attract only the curious or i interested minority. It cannot be its* . mere size, for that in itself would not « fascinate. It cannot be its luxury And j wealth, for I know people to whom Such 1 things aro but hearsay who confess to ! this mysterious longing for London. 1t..; cannot be its lights and life, for thefts . "are thousands of its residents Who h«T« .1 clung to London from choice when the! j moon was a danger and London life wis, .' very sad. It cannot be its museums, for the Londoner leaves them to tourists; nor il« educational facilities, for they are no more than those of any other city In proportion to its size. It certainly not be its healthiness, for that Is ft minus quality. It is not even its fcttsi- , ncss opportunities, for by.far the greatest, proportion of London's residents *re> those who can just manage to "rub . along," and no more. . ■. Yet I know Scotsmen without number, . and some Irishmen, who, having gravitated to London,- now sfty\,they never feel happy away from it. I know many, Americans who declare that, after «T taste of London, they could never settle . in any other country, and others who,'while they cannot reside here pennon* '< ently, find annual excuses for trips to - Lonilon merely "to be here again." ; I know of Australasians whose fighting" ; fitness brought them to England »M. either have succumbed to the lure of' London and are taking up business interests here or have declared that they witt , never rest in their native land until they have come back to visit London again. One Anzac, referring to his Sallipolt experiences, told me "it was worth It all ; to see London." Then I know country folk, women born in London, and settled through marriage in distant villages, who would give all they have to be back within sound of . Bow Bells. What, then, is this fascination that keeps Londoners faithful to their city love, that drags the exile ever bacfc and transforms visitors from other countries into devoted admirers? Is it that London is one vast pano- ■ rama of constant change, and that, with- " in it, lies an inexhaustible store :of In* : terost, excitement, and appeal, varying .; with every moment of the day and night, ] and satisfying all? ' ■', But that might equally be sal* of i Paris or of New York. What then, Is > tho particular lure of London?