If Chicago is to equal or surpass London in size, the provision for open spaces here certainly should be no less than that which the British metropolis has found necessary. And yet London is constantly adding to its recreation grounds. As respects large parks, that city counts Epping Forest, sixteen miles to the north, which with the neighboring Hainault Forest includes 5,600 acres, an area opened by the Corporation of London in 1882, as a free and inalienable public park and place of recreation; and Bushy Park, fifteen miles to the west, comprising a thousand acres; and Richmond Park, with its 2,255 acres, not counting the famous Kew Gardens; while Windsor Great Park, 1,800 acres in extent, is but twenty-one miles from the city. Thus within a radius of twoscore miles from his city, the Londoner has at his command large parks comprising in the aggregate more than ten thousand acres; and every traveler who has found himself in London on a pleasant Sunday in summer knows well how the city empties itself of people on that day, and how every vehicle available is brought into service to accommodate the crowds seeking rest and recreation in the woods and on the Thames. On such an afternoon the Thames at Richmond is so covered with canoes and wherries that one might walk dry-shod across the river, stepping from boat to boat. The great crowd of all sorts and conditions of men and women is gay and good natured, and the scene, as looked down upon from the terraces of Hampton Court, has a charm beyond the power of words to express. [Illustration: XLVIII. LONDON. A VIEW OF ROTTEN ROW IN HYDE PARK.] The name of Henley brings to the mind of the Englishman all that is beautiful and picturesque in the amateur aquatic life of that country. Henley is situated on the Thames in one of its most beautiful stretches; the valley is verdant; the trees are old and stately, while velvet lawns and gardens gay line the banks at frequent intervals. Back from the water the Chiltern Hills rise in a mass of green woods and waving grain. During regatta week, bunting, flags, flowers, and decorations of all kinds attract the eye, and the picturesque old place is made a scene of brightness and gayety. In the evening the many house-boats are aglow with colored lanterns; lights from boats of every sort flash hither and thither on the water, and fireworks light the heavens in beautiful colors.