GHOSTS OF LONDON

There's a warmth and enthusiasm and a curiosity about running down odd facts and a zest in sharing his enthusiasms that makes one think of H. V. Morton as a sort of English Alexander Woollcott without Woollcott occasional acidity and mordant wit. Here is a nostalgic book which establishes Morton's own private preservation of English antiquities, at a moment when they may be blotted out. With loving patience be assembles them for our consideration, -- the traditional customs and ceremonials still observed in London, survivals of a past, the curfew bells, the keys at the Tower, hansom cabs, lamp lighters, the Lambeth dole, guards, funeral regalia, weavers, public houses, a motley collection of quaint bits which delight the tourist and which the true Londoner cherishes. Armchair reading for those of us who would like to see old London once again. A nice job by an author with a loyal following.