A short distance from Hadley is the village of Edgeware, with Whitchurch, famous for its association with the musician Handel.  He was organist here for several years, and on the small pipe-organ, still in the church though not in use, composed his oratorio, “Esther,” and a less important work, “The Harmonious Blacksmith.”  The idea of the latter came from an odd character, the village blacksmith, who lived in Edgeware in Handel’s day and who acquired some fame as a musician.  His tombstone in the churchyard consists of an anvil and hammer, wrought in stone.  Afterwards Handel became more widely known, and was called from Whitchurch for larger fields of work.  He is buried in Westminster Abbey.

The road from Edgeware to the city is a good one, and being Saturday afternoon, it was nearly deserted.  Saturday in London is quite as much of a holiday as Sunday, little business being transacted, especially in the afternoon.  This custom prevails to a large extent all over the Kingdom, and rarely is any attempt made to do business on Saturday.  The Week-End holiday, as it is called, is greatly prized, and is recognized by the railroads in granting excursions at greatly reduced rates.  There is always a heavy exodus of people from the city to the surrounding resorts during the summer and autumn months on Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

Owing to the extreme difficulty of getting about the city, we made but few short excursions from London such as I have described.  If one desires to visit such places in sequence, without going farther into the country, it would be best to stop for the night at the hotels in the better suburban towns, without attempting to return to London each day.

The garage accomodations in London I found very good and the charges generally lower than in the United States.  There is a decided tendency at grafting on the part of the employes, and if it is ascertained that a patron is a tourist—­especially an American—­he is quoted a higher rate at some establishments and various exactions are attempted.  At the first garage where I applied, a quotation made was withdrawn when it was learned that I was an American.  The man said he would have to discuss the matter with his partner before making a final rate.  I let him carry on his discussion indefinitely, for I went on my way and found another place where I secured accommodations at a very reasonable rate without giving information of any kind.

With the miserable business methods in vogue at some of the garages, it seemed strange to me if any of the money paid to employes ever went to the business office at all.  There was no system and little check on sales of supplies, and I heard a foreman of a large establishment declare that he had lost two guineas which a patron had paid him.  “I can’t afford to lose it,” he said, “and it will have to come back indirectly if I can’t get it directly.”  In no case should a motorist pay a bill at a London garage without a proper receipt.