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O^^ ^0' ^-^ ^C^x" .^^' •0- ^-^^ v^^: ,• e-%'^ A^'^' \' -r-. ,0 c-. <^' y\J^_'> '^. .0 c Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/onwingthrougheurOOsess ON THE WING THROUGH EUROPE. ON THE WING THROUGH EUROPE, V:^ BUSINESS MAN. COLUMBUS, OHI.O: H. W. DERBY & CO. Copyright, 1880, by F. C. Sessions. ITHB LIBRARY I OF CONGRESS |WA8H1NOT0£ Press of Francis Hart & Co. New- York. ^o^n J/edicatiOH. q) zSeivcate im& dDcok io mu de laz vune w ax^ ^1 ul qocd itomavv and izne, Luiijoae nofeie ana &el|-dactv|icina apviit ojaeuca ifae wiau Q^ox 'hez nu&\^ana io ttair-ei atioaa loz a |em aciiqfoilui wontfej cJ'oz zedi and ^ecv^peratlon qteauu needed, (Sfoeetiiiilu ^:akvna wpciv iDetsell exit ine caze^ ana zei>iponii\b\iihe» oi 'laouie, Cwat -foe iniqfot ■l?e l^eneuled and OlCade laaiapai. CONTENTS. Letter I. Page i. Across the Deep .... Queenstown, Cork, and Blarney Castle An Irish Cattle Fair. . . .How the Irish Peasant Lives. . . . Lakes of Killarney. Letter II. Page i8. Parting Glimpses of the Emerald Isle. .. .Cathedral Restora- tion . . . Welsh Scenery . . . Llanberis . . . Snowdon . . . Chester Cathedral. . . .Eaton Hall. . . .The Hotels. . . .Railways. Letter III. Page 35. The English Lakes and Homes of the Poets .... Ayr and Robert Burns .... Glasgow : Its Working People, Open Air Serv- ices on Sunday, the Old Cathedral .... Ship-yards on the Clyde. . . .Inverness. . . .Glencoe. . . .Loch Ness. Letter IV. Page 52. Visit to the Hebrides The Tradition of " Lady Rock " Castle of the " Lord of the Isles "... .Fingal's Cave. . . . lona and Saint Columba. . . .Reflections. viii Co7itents. Letter V. Page d^i- The Trossachs Perth Edinburgh Melrose Abbey York and its Cathedral .... Cambridge and its Univer- sity .... Notes and Incidents. Letter VI. Page 8o. First View of London .... The American Minister. .. .West- minster Abbey and Tombs of the Poets .... Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace English Equipages and Pubhc Parks. Letter VIL Page 84. London Tower .... Kew Gardens .... The National Gallery .... A Royal Display and Garden Fete.... The Queen's Sta- bles .... The London Slums .... The Pulpit Orators of London .... Curiosities at Kensington Museum. .. .Envi- rons of London .... Royal Academy Bank of England. Letter VIII. Page 105. Eminent British Divines * . . . . Punshon. . . . Pulsford. . . . Wilber- force. Letter IX. Page 119. Dr. Joseph Parker .... Dr. John Gumming. . . . Canon Farrar .... Dean Stanley .... Charles H. Spurgeon. Letter X. Page 135. From London to Paris .... First Impressions of the French Metropolis .... The Second Great Exposition .... The Tuil- eries, the Trocadero, and Surroundings .... America's Edu- cational Exhibit. .. .Columbus in the Great Exposition. Conte7its. ' ix Letter XI. Page 149. Fine Art Department of the Exposition. . . .Notable Works by American Artists. .. .Art as an Educator. .. .Paris and Philadelphia. . . .Hotel Life. . . .The French Sabbath. Letter XIL Page 157. From Paris to Lucerne .... Lake of the Four Forest Can- tons. . . .Ascent of the Rigi ; Scenes at Sunset and Sunrise; the Ranz des Vaches. . . .Fliielen. . . .Home of Tell. . . . St. Gothard Pass .... Glacier du Rhone. .. .The Hanseck.... Sunday at Literlaken. Letter XIII. Page 174. Description of the Swiss Capital. . . ..Geneva and its Historic Associations .... Lovely Lake Leman .... The Vale of Cha- mouni .... Mer de Glace .... Over the Simplon Pass .... Farewell to Switzerland. Letter XIV. Page 184. Sunny Italy. . . .Lago Maggiore and the Borromean Islands. , . . Milan and its Cathedral .... The City of Palaces .... Mon- ument to Columbus .... Pisa : the Campo Santo, Duomo and Leaning Tower. . . .Rome : Festival of the Assumption of the Virgin : St. Peter's, the Vatican, and their Art Treasures. Letter XV. Page 199. Reminiscences of Rome. . . .The Coliseum. . . .Ancient Baths aiid Catacombs . . . .The Quirinal. . . . Bay and City of Naples .... Ascent of Vesuvius .... Pompeii and its Wonders .... Off for New Scenes. X Contents. Letter XVI. Page 214. Florence, the City of Palaces .... The Duomo and Campa- nile Art Collections at the Uffizzi Palace The Studio of Powers. ..." The Bride of the Sea.". . . .A Gondola Trip through Venice .... Palace of the Doges, San Marco and Clock Tower Piazza of St. Mark Evening Recreations. Letter XVIL Page 226. The Old Amphitheater at Verona Departure from Italy Trent German Homelikeness Munich The Pin- akothek Famous Americans in Bronze The Great Breweries Use of Stimulants A Novel Species of Morgue .... Famous Cemeteries of Europe. .. .Heidelberg and its Students. Letter XVIII. Page 240.. Degradation of the Female Peasantry on the Continent. . . . A Sunday in Heidelberg .... The Old Castle and the Uni- versity. . . .A Land of Plenty. . . Frankfort-on-the-Main. . . . The ludengasse .... Antiquities of the City .... Down the Rhine .... Cologne and its Cathedral Thoughts upon Art. Letter XIX. Page 253. Amsterdam : its External Features, Industries, Galleries of Art and Banking Houses .... Haarlem and its Flower Gar- dens. . . -Leyden and the " Pilgrim Fathers "... .Royal Marriage Fete at the Hague .... Antwerp : its Cathedral and Art Treasures .... Brussels : its Hotel de Ville, Lace- makers and Milk-carriers .... Return to Paris .... Our Rep- resentatives Abroad. Cojiteiits. XI Letter XX. Page 273. Paris Workingmen .... Their Social Character .... Pecuharities of Domestic Life . . . National Faults and their Origin .... Sunday as a Holiday .... Musical Societies; their Popu- larity and Management. Letter XXI. Page 281. Stratford-upon-Avon .... Shakespeare's House .... Relics of the Poet still existing. .. .Tomb and Epitaph in the Church of the Holy Trinity. Letter XXII. Page 290. Conclusion : On the Atlantic .... Thoughts of Home. Appendix. Page 298. Letter from a Niece of Robert Burns .... An Unpublished Letter of the Poet. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Letter Page c Blarney Castle. . . .Irish Jaunting-car 8 (. Lake of Killarney 15 II. . . .Old Palace, or Derby- House, Chester. ... 27 III Home of Wordsworth, Rydal Mount 36 IV lONA Cathedral 57 VI. . . .Westminster Abbey 81 VII Houses of Parliament 82 c Dean Stanley 125 Rev. C. H. Spurgeon 129 X . . . . The Trocadero 140 XII vSUMMIT of the RiGI VlTZNAU l6l XIII Crossing the Mer de Glace 180 XIV Milan Cathedral 186 XV. . . . Bay of Naples and Vesuvius 204 XVI St. Mark's Place, Venice 220 XVIII Heidelberg Castle 242 XIX Milk Vender at Brussels 265 XXI .... Shakespeare's Birthplace 285 IX, ^ PREFACE, yt T the una7iimous request of the Young Men's -^^^ Christian Associatio7i of this city, given i?i the cordial and friendly letter printed below, the writer was induced to prepai^e this account of his visit to the Old World. For the long delay in responding to their most complinie?itary 7-equest, he can only say most frankly that other pressifig avocations have hitherto barred the way to a task which he has 7iow gladly e7ideavored to fulfill : F. C. Sessions, Esq. : Dear Sir : — We have bee7i dii'ected by the Yotmg Me7i's Clu'istian Association, of this city, to 7'equest you to prepare a7id ar7'ange for publicatio7i the result of your observations and experie/ices in your 7'ecent t7^avels i7i Europe. Your lette7's to the press while abse7it attracted very general atte7ition, and lead us to believe that they are xiv Preface. luorthy to be put in a more extended and pei^maiieiit form. The Association will cheerfully accept a book in such form as your judgment and taste shall dictate., and assume the responsibility of such a circulation in this and other cities as we are confident it will merit. Permit us to assure you that we not only express a unanimous wish of the Association^ but also that of a wide circle of friefids. Fraternally yours, Geo. H. Twiss, W. Y. Miles. Committee of V. M. C. A. Wm. G. Dunn, President. Columbus, Ohio, November, 1878. Messrs. Geo. H. Twiss and W. Y. Miles: Gentlemen: — Allow me to thank you for the kind and flattering request of the Young Men^s Christia?i Association to pj^epare for publication the result of my observations during my European tour. As soon as my pressing business demands will admit, I will en- deavor to comply with your wishes, — not because 1 am vain enough to believe t/iat my book ivill possess any- thing deserving a place among the valuable works written by professional men traversing the same Preface. xv ground., but more with the hope of aiding fijiajicially so valuable and worthy an association., which is doing so much for the young men of our city., in whose wel- fare I feel so deep a?t i?iterest. It is this that induces me to venture before the public, regardless of criticism. A book of travels by a business man. will at least be a novelty, and may attract the attention of business men. Francis C. Sessions. / take with pleasure this opportunity^ to acknowledge my g?'eat indebtedness to my pastor., Rev. R. G. Hutch- ins, D. £>., of the First Congregational Church of this city, the genial companion of my travels. The experience of Dr. Hutchins as a traveler abj'oad, his intelligent mappi?ig-out of our route, and the friendly hitei'est he ma?tifested in endeavori?ig to have me see all that was itiost noteworthy, afforded me not only great pleasure and content, but also furnished opportu- nities of Ideally enjoying the idmost possible in the somewhat limited peiiod of our tour. Aliuays happy and joyful himself, he made this journey to me equally pleasant and instructive, and the memory of it unll remain, like all things of beauty, "■ a joy forever ^ xvi Preface. And here let me add one further word of acknowl- edgment i?i regard to his two interesting letters on " Enwient English Divines^' which give, I cannot hut feel, a greater value to my work, and which, I am siwe, my readers will peruse with a pleasure equal to my own. I am also greatly indebted to Mr. William M, Briggs^ of Neiv York, for the taste and discretion shown in supervising this little work while in process of publication. INTRODUCTION. THE letters contained in this volume were written hastily for the Daily Ohio State Jour?ial, of Columbus, as I could catch a moment's time on the cars, or while stopping for rest during the intervals of travel and sight-seeing. I had no expectation that they would be received with so much favor, and I cannot but think that the words of apprecia- tion so often addressed to me come from over-par- tial friendSp and that, on the other hand, I have not heard the criticisms of those less favorably impressed. It has often occurred to me that many, while traveling abroad, do not derive that instruction and entertainment which they might, and fail to have their interest sufficiently awakened in the novel and lovely scenes through which they are passing, because they have not, by previous preparation, informed themselves of the countries and peoples which they I? xviii IntroductioJi. were to visit. Thus, not properly prepared either to appreciate or understand them, they consequently bring back, when they return, but little beyond a mere collection of isolated facts and inadequate im- pressions of all that should have enriched their future lives, to the benefit of themselves and of their friends. Nothing, it appears to me, can impart such healthy vigor to body and mind, through agreeable exercise and continuous change of scene, as travel; and nothing, perhaps, Avithin the range of moderate expenditure, can confer so rich a fund of knowledge to the intelligent observer as the conclusions deduced from a personal and faithful study of the govern- ments, manners, customs and institutions of the peo- ples visited. An American needs to learn that his countrymen do not monopolize all the intelligence and enterprise of the world; but still, as a close observer, he may honestly return, notwithstanding the many novel and excellent usages he encounters abroad, with a greater admiration of his own country and its republican government and institutions, where every man, be he ever so poor, has an opportunity to rise to opulence and influence, according as he makes himself their Introdtictioii. xix rightful possessor through industry, education, and earnestness and honesty of purpose. Too often Amer- icans are overweening in their national pride, and imagine that they have nothing to learn from the mother-land; but they should remember that her great age and experience count something in the scale, and that at least we can there gather what things are best, and what things safest to avoid. Moreover, they should never forget that we have an interest and common stock in the literature and science which come to us from our transatlantic ancestors, and that we are naturally affiliated to them in all noble efforts and aspirations. I have tried to give in my letters life-like pictures and various reflections upon what I saw abroad; these may seem commonplace, perhaps, to older travelers, but my excuse may be pleaded in a remark made by a certain friend, viz.: " Your letters con- tain observations upon common matters which most travelers omit," — which, indeed, I hope may prove true. Many there are who, in traveling abroad, have some special object in view in which they are wholly absorbed, and which almost exclusively occupies XX Introductio7t. their letters, but fails to interest the general reader, leaving him uninformed upon those common points which are of the most pertinent interest, and about which almost every one wishes to know. Trusting that the perusal of this volume may supply informa- tion perhaps often found wanting in works of more pretentious effort, and hoping it may prove a pleas- ure to the reader, as its writing was to the author, — a happy record of rare enjoyment amid novel scenes in those lands from which we or our ances- tors came, — I submit it to the friends who have re- quested it, and to such others as may read it, with confidence that those critically disposed will remem- ber that it was written with the earnest purpose of conveying genuine impressions, and that it is not assumed to be altogether free from faults and minor errors. F. C. S. ON THE WING THROUGH EUROPE. I. Across the Deep. . , .Queenstown, Cork and Blarney Castle. . . .An Irish Cattle Fair. . . .How the Irish Peasant Lives. , . .Lakes of Killarney. Glcngariff, Ireland. IT has been the dream of my Hfe to visit the Old World. Everybody does so nowadays. " Going to Europe ? " says a friend, " truly, it is not much of an event now." We were only eight days in crossing the ocean in the City of Berlin, a splendid floating palace five hundred and twenty-five feet long by forty-five feet beam, and thirty-six feet deep, indi- cating five hundred horse-power, and steaming sixteen knots an hour. She is the largest steamship afloat. 2 0)1 the Steajner City of Berlin. except the Great Eastern^ and is nearly as long as the distance from Broad to State Street in front of our Ohio State House, at Columbus — the latest and most commodious form of ocean traveling to be found ; she is supplied with steam by twelve boilers, w^hich are heated by thirty-six furnaces, ample means being adopted to insure ventilation in the furnace-room, and, indeed, in every part of the vessel, and the boilers are so arranged that any of them can be cut off. There are accommodations for seventeen hundred passengers, and a crew of one hundred and fifty. She is a naval man- sion. In our state-room, which is eight and a half feet long, the same measure in width, and seven feet four inches high, are a sofa and two berths. While con- versing with an officer in regard to the excellent arrangements for washing, he informed me that there are between three and four miles of lead-pipe in the vessel. We had a smooth sea all the way over except the first day, when nearly every one was sick. I asked a sailor, " Do you call this a smooth sea or a rough one ? " He replied : " Smooth — only a nasty swell," which we were all realizing. I lost only one meal during the entire voyage, and consequently found it delightful. Every morning a salt-water bath, in marble Amusements of the Passengers. 3 bath-rooms, supplied with hot and cold water, could be enjoyed; whilst the eating and drinking — in fact the entire me7m — was all that a hungry voyager could desire. One of the pleasures on board was to examine the novelties of the ship, and promenade the long upper and lower decks. '*■ There were passengers from all parts of the world, many of our own States being represented — -Ohio sending in her quota from Cincinnati, Springfield, Dayton, Cleveland and Columbus. Doctors of divinity, doctors of the law and of medicine, presidents and professors of colleges with their families, men of busi- ness, lawyers — indeed every class w^as there present. Various amusements filled up the leisure hours — lect- ures, concerts, reading and recitations, quoits,, shovel- board, chess (and too much card-playing). Dr. Gregory, - President of Ilhnois University, read a paper on " Antagonism of Labor and Capital," and Mrs^ Lippin- cott (Grace Greenwood) recited admirably several pieces, and her only daughter sang Scotch and French ballads in a voice whose sweetness delighted all. She is going to London to cultivate her musical talent, which already gives indication of a successful future. We have a promise that at some coming time both 4 Days of Anxiety on the Sea. mother and daughter will visit Columbus, and furnish us an opportunity for enjoying their charming readings, recitations and music. Mrs. Lippincott remembers her former visits to our capital with pleasure. With hair just flecked with gray, and with her large black eyes intelligent as ever, she seems hardly to have grown older. She has the same depreciation of herself, as one never having accomplished anything in the world on account of having been obliged always to write for a living, seeming to forget her ardent labors in behalf of all good moral causes — antislavery, temperance and others. In her recitations and readings she seems to have laid aside the elocutionist, and appears natural and easy. We started from New York with three other steam- ships, so that the scene down the bay was an exciting one; but, soon leaving them out of sight, we sped on our voyage, and arrived in just eight days at Queenstown. The days of most anxiety were those in which the dense fogs off the banks of New Foundland enshrouded the ship in impenetrable mist. For parts of two days and nights the fog-whistle was blown every few minutes, and at times I would awake, the whistle impressing me for the moment that we were First View of the Old World. 5 just sweeping into some station on a sleeping-car, but soon enough I would realize that we were in the midst of the troubled deep. A clergyman, being called upon to preach on board, talked a great deal about the dangers of the sea. The waves were dashing wildly against the ship, and he said that " there was only a thin board between us and eternity." At this the stew- ard exclaimed, quickly : " Thank God, it is a thick plank ! " He uttered a sentiment that acccomplished more good than the former. As we approach land, how our hearts thrill at the first sight of that Old World of history and long renown, so different in every respect from the New, We first see the headlands and mountains of Kerry, on the extreme south-westerly point of Ireland, between Bantry Bay on the south and Kenmare Bay on the north. Probably more voyagers from the western world have greeted Europe at these little points of view than in any other locality. Our vessel was met by a steam-tender, and the passengers who intended to land for Ireland were, with the European mails, transferred to the latter, which steamed up the beautiful harbor to Queenstown — formerly the old " Cove of Cork," but whose present name is in honor of the Queen's visit, 6 Queenstown and Cork, made some fifteen or twenty years ago. The city lies at the west of the harbor on a side-hill, and as we approach it from the ocean, with a bright sun shining upon it, with the shipping around us in every direction, w^e exclaim, " What a picturesque, beautiful view !" and we feel well prepared to enjoy it after our ocean sail. The beautiful River Lee sweeps round behind it, south-westwardly, to the city of Cork, about twelve miles distant. Here we remained overnight, and attended Sabbath evening service at a small Methodist church, where we heard the congregation sing the same hymns and offer prayers as at home. Doctor H s made a few remarks on the oneness and fellow- ship of all followers of Christ, while bringing to them the greetings of Christians in America. Here we begin to notice the high, thick walls around the residences of the rich, with entrances locked — " where the rich are fenced in and the poor out." Our sail the next morning up the River Lee, in a little open steamer, was one of the most enchant- ing of my life. On either side the hills are dotted with beautiful dwellings which are surrounded by dense foliage, and every little while one is surprised by the glimpse of some fine architectural villa peep- Ma7iiifactiiring Industries. 7 ing through the trees. We passed Black Rock, whence WilHam Penn, driven out of England, emi- grated to America. Also, we saw a minaret or tower, erected in honor of the kind reception given to Father Mathew by Americans. I had the pleasure of meet- ing on the boat an intelHgent Irish merchant from Cork, who gave me much information about the coun- try, and pointed out the objects of interest. Most of these beautiful homes are occupied by the wealthy merchants and retired citizens of Cork. He said our manufactures were intruding greatly on their own. For instance, leather was formerly one of the chief manufactures of Cork, but latterly has been driven out of market by American leather, which was sold at eighteen cents a pound, w^hile they could not make it for less than twenty-two cents. Also, that by our improvements in machinery, our boots and shoes were sold cheaper in Cork than they themselves could afford to make them : our calicoes and agricultural implements, too, competed successfully with theirs. He deprecated a war wdth Russia, because the in- creased taxation caused by it would be that " last straw that breaks the camel's back," as the margin was already so small between the cost of manufact- 8 The Jauntmg-Car. ured articles and the prices they fetch, that we Ameri- cans would have increased advantage in other things also over their own manufactures. Cork is a beautiful city, the second in size and trade to Dublin. Here we first met the Irish jaunt- ing-car. Vehicles drawn by horses are here called cars, while what we call cars are known as coaches. This jaunting-car was a great curiosity to us. It is a two-wheeled vehicle, with seats for two each side, back to back, to balance the driver in front, and once started, off we go like Jehu ! If one could only be introduced into our city streets everybody would stop to gaze at it. Our jaunting-car driver was a real Irish wit, who made our journey interesting by his lively sallies, and it seemed indeed as if he had kissed the Blarney Stone, from his surprising facility of speech, accompanied by a good-humor quite equal to his glibness. We asked him, when w^e saw a large number of woro.en going bare-footed to the fair, "What kind of shoes have those women got on ? " Quick as a flash he replied, " They are made of bare skin, sir." All through Ire- land we found the guides full of wit and ready at repartee, intelligent and willing to give information. I The Blarney Stone. 9 believe no other nation equal to them in natural fluency of speech. Our first ride, of course, must be to Blarney Castle, five or six miles distant. The road leading thither out of Cork is a beautiful one, adorned with fine resi- dences, whose grounds are covered with oak, birch, holly and yew trees ; with vines and hedges of holly ; with myrtle, laurestinus and English ivy; indeed, everywhere we can now see why Ireland is called the " Ever-Green Isle." All the farms look like Uttle gar- den-spots, separated by hedges, or walls covered with vines. Blarney Castle is a grand old ruin, with the donjon-keep still more than one hundred feet in the air, much better preserved than most ruins ; it is said to have been originally the home of the royal McCarthys. The original " Blarney Stone " hangs near the top of the southern wall, and " only fools risk their necks in trying to kiss it." It is claimed by the Irish that any one w^ho kisses it has the gift of eloquence given them. A bright EngHsh girl at the hotel told me that it would do just as well to kiss any one that had already kissed it ; but that she had not kissed it. Of course I did not try to kiss the Blarney Stone, if such were the fact. When we arrived at the lo A Weddins: Fete. Castle we found flags flying from every eminence, and poles all about, with banners bearing the coat-of-arms of Sir George Colehurst (who owns the three thousand acres upon which the Castle is situated), on account of the marriage which was to take place that day in Lon- don of his daughter Julia and Mr. Bruce, of Belfast. All the inhabitants of Blarney were out in their best clothes, as this was a holiday, and a grand fete was given, with a dinner free to all, and dancing, with music furnished by the Dutch band from Cork. The table was spread with substantial viands, tastefully arranged among flowers, vines and mottoes. One motto in Irish was ^^Cead viille failthe'' (one hundred thousand welcomes) ; another motto in vines bore the legend, " Long live the happy pair." Here we saw the stables of the owner, and his vehicles, which they called the drag, the brake, the dog-cart, and the barouche — all heavy and cumbersome looking, and not at all like our light, handsome, artistic carriages. On our return we visited the Cork County Annual Fair, where we had a good opportunity to see the genuine Irish peasant. The men were all well dressed and well shod ; but the women, although they wore clean, short woolen dresses, were bare-legged and The Irish Flora. ii without shoes. The horses, sheep, and cattle were like stock in Ohio, except that the latter were a short- horned breed, and much smaller than ours. The little donkeys were a great curiosity, and we saw them everywhere, hitched to drays and carts ; and how they could draw such loads was a wonder to us — they being about the size of the smallest Shetland ponies. Common cows — small ones — brought eighty dollars; horses, ditto, one hundred and fifty dollars ; good, fat lambs, twelve dollars ; sheep, eighteen dollars ; and butter, twenty-eight cents a pound. Farm laborers and men who hire out get two dollars and a half a week and board themselves. Wherever we have been in Ireland we were delighted with the gay, bright flowers, almost, if not quite, equal to the flora of California. Some of the little mud cot- tages with thatched roofs were covered with daisies, white and yellow, and looked cheerful enough; and all along the road there was a great variety of flower- ing plants, among which the fox-glove (called the "fairy-slipper") was the most conspicuous. We rode around Cork, a city founded by the Danes A. D. looo. Several of the churches are worthy of attention — the Cathedral, St. Patrick's, St. Ann's, and 12 Bells of Shandoii. the very ancient church of Shandon, with its thirty sweet bells, which I Hstened to until midnight, being kept awake by the characteristic volubility of the people around me. These bells are referred to by Father Prout in his " Bells of Shandon That sound so grand on The pleasant waters Of the River Lee." Our ride by car (stage-coach), about one hundred miles, to the Lakes of Killarney, via Glengariff, was full of intense interest. On the way we noted the ruins of many fine old stone castles, at least twenty- five in number, now almost hidden among the green of clambering vines. We enjoyed to the full this oppor- tunity, while passing through the country, of seeing the Irish farms, their mode of cultivation, and the manner in which the people live. All along the val- ley, wherever there is a piece of ground large enough to insert a spade, they plant potatoes and corn, by which latter term they mean oats and barley, for with them all grains are " corn." I asked the driver, " Do you plant any corn here ? " — meaning maize. Cabins of the Peasantry . 13 " O yes," he answered, " don't you see it ? " pointing at the same time to the oats and barley. The cabins are small, low, stone buildings, with thatched roofs, the doors just high enough to admit of entrance without stooping, and with one or two rooms six or eight feet by twelve, where the family lives with its chickens, ducks and pigs. The fire is of peat, which we saw donkeys carrying, a pannier full on each side, dug from the marshy ground ; the floor is of earth, well swept, and clean and neat ; no furni- ture is to be seen but a stool and a bed of boards, covered with straw and a few rags, in which all sleep together, or at least in pretty close proximity. In the corner, was piled, on a shelf against the wall, the delf, the clean, pretty plates of blue fronting us. It was disagreeable to notice that, almost without exception, the front yards contained a cess-pool, the ground being dug out so as to hold VA^ater, and then the accumulations alike from the house- hold and the animals thrown in, to remain and greet continually the olfactories of the inmates. There are no windows, so they have a continual odor. You ask, " Why is this ? " An intelligent CathoHc priest who rode with us some distance, told us 14 A Health Anomaly. that they had tried to reform them in this ; but long habit, the necessity of making compost for their land, the convenience of having a receptacle wherein can be thrown all refuse, and the fact that site's for cabins were selected hundreds of years ago, chiefly with reference to this said conveniency for land manure, altogedier seemed to render it almost impos- sible to change their habits in this respect. The men, women and children look healthy and rosy- cheeked notwithstanding; but with us it would surely breed typhoid and other diseases. We asked the good Father, " Why not the same law of health here as with us at home ? " He replied, " The cabins here have no windows ; the people live largely out-of-doors, and, therefore, do not suffer so much from the effluvia." Lord Bantry, who lives on Bantry Bay, by the side of which we rode for miles, owns an area of fifteen by forty miles of these lands, and rents them to these poor people. Rents, taxes and church-rates make their lives hard indeed. Nearly all the land of the country is owned by a few lords and rich proprietors, and these poor men own nothing. In fact, the land of Ireland is cultivated by six hundred thousand VIEW OF THE LAKE OF KILLARNEY. Tore Mountain from Dinis Island.) The Lakes of Killarney. 1 5 tenants, and owned by sixteen thousand landlords, of whom about two thousand possess two-thirds of the whole. It is not surprising, that, under such a system, there should exist Irish discontent. Glengarifif is a most picturesque place near the head of Bantry Bay, combining mountain and coast scenery in such perfection that Dr. H. thought it almost equal to the view in Lucerne, Switzerland. Here stands the old stone castle, now abandoned, dating from the time of the French wars ; and Crom- well's Bridge, erected so that he could visit the O'Sullivan. From here over the Kerry Mountains, we wandered about Bantry and Kenmare Bays, the scene of many of the landings during the invasions of the French and others. The ride to-day was even more grand and picturesque than before. It culmi- nated as we approached the Lakes of Killarney nearest to the mountains ; while the last seven miles were along the three beautiful lakes called Lough Leane, Muckross and Upper, resembHng somewhat Lake George, although not nearly so beautiful and picturesque. There is a legendary and poetic charm about them, as they are the scenes of all the O'Don- oghue legends, from which have been formed so 1 6 Muckross Abbey. many stories and dramas; while Moore has immor- talized one of the most charming portions of the lower lake in his " Sweet Innisfallen," and Lover (appropriate name) has clustered around them the most mischievous of memories, in his song, — " Kate Kearney, Who lives on the Banks of Killarney." All about here is most delightful. Many of the estates and residences of lords and the old aristocracy were selected on account of the beauty of situation, with their lovely views of mountain and lake. Muck- ross Abbey is one of the finest mediaeval ruins in Ireland. It was founded for the Franciscan friars, in A. D. iioo, by the McCarthys, Princes of Desmond. It is so luxuriantly umbrageous, that the ivy-covered building is not perceived until the visitor stands close beside it, and gazes upon the mouldering relics of antiquity. The sepulchers of the ancient chiefs, among them those of O'SuUivan, Mor and O'Donoghue, are here, their tombstones still existing in different stages of decay, some with and some without epitaphs. The building consists of two principal parts, the church Footpi'ints of Cromwell. 17 and the convent ; the length of the former being one hundred and ten feet, its breadth twenty- four feet, while thirty-six feet is the length of the transept. It is divided into three compartments — choir, nave and south transept, at the intersection of which stands a square, massive tower of no great height. An elegant arched doorway, covered with a soft garb of ivy, forms the entrance, through which may be seen the great east- ern window of the choir, in which part of the building the tombs are very numerous. The best preserved portion of the abbey is the cloister, in the center of which grows a magnificent yew tree, probably as old as the abbey itself, its circumference being thirteen feet. The refectory, the kitchen and the dormitories are still in good preservation, and the great fire-place that remains attests the attention that the friars paid to good cheer. The people tell you that Cromwell destroyed all these old castles and abbeys ; they show you the hill from which he fired upon Blarney Castle, hitting the tower, whose injured portion is now upheld by iron rods. Irishmen, in truth, hate Cromwell, and if they wish to show their deep execration toward any one they cry, " The curse of Cromwell be upon you ! " II. Parting Glimpses of the Emerald Isle Cathedral Restoration. Welsh Scenery Llanberis Snowdon. , . .Chester Cathedral. . . .Eaton Hall The Hotels. .. .Railways. Llanberis, Wales. ON Monday we came across the Irish Sea from DubHn to Holyhead, to make a tour through the " Switzerland of Wales," as it is called. We spent about ten days in Ireland, and were dehghted with our visit, especially around the Lakes of Killarney, in favor of which much more might be said than can be written without kissing the " Blarney." The Sabbath was passed in Dublin, where we heard the Rev. Dr. Morley Punshon preach. He is one of the most eloquent Methodist clergymen in the world, and many of our friends remember the trouble he had with his denomination, in England, on account Ditblin. 1 9 of marrying his deceased wife's sister. He came to this country, therefore, to gain a residence, and evade the law of England. The people here were dehghted with his eloquent rhetorical periods and exquisite style, quite in contrast with his rather coarse, large physique. His sermon did not give me an impression of great sincerity, but rather seemed a rhetorical display of eloquent words. When he lec- tured in Columbus we were all pleased, and it appears to me that he is more popular on the lec- ture platform than as a profound and effective pul- pit orator. Dublin is an old and substantial city, dating back to A. D. 140. The native Irish called it " Drom-Col-Coille " (the hill of hazel-wood). It is now four miles in length, and has nearly one thousand streets and many ancient and beau- tiful specimens of architecture, noticeable among which is Christ's Church Cathedral, erected A. D. 1038. It was here that the Church liturgy was first read in Ireland in the English language. The old Cathedral has just been restored, through the liberality of a Mr. Ray, a whiskey distiller, at a cost of ^180,000 (about $900,000). Near this edifice, down Nicholas street, through the " Five 20 Sf. Patrick's Well. Points" of the city — a most wretched locality — stands the Cathedral of St. Patrick. Tradition points out this spot as the scene of very early religious rites in pagan times; but the earliest account of any Christian ceremony performed there is of the occasion when St. Patrick preached to the Irish during his efforts to convert them to the Christian faith. The sexton opened a well inside the Cathedral, and gave us a draught of water. The well, he said, was dug by St. Patrick himself, and thousands of bottles of the water had been taken to America. He informed us besides that the saint had dug the well to baptize the king and his newly-converted subjects, in A. D, 448. He showed us, also, the old stone font in the Cathedral where Cromwell watered his horses, and where he stabled them in the nave. The build- ing was almost a ruin, a few years ago, until Mr. Giiinness, the wealthy brewer, undertook to restore it — a work which has cost him ^225,000 (about $1,125,000). In the interior are the monuments of Swift and Mrs. Esther Johnson, the " Stella " of his poems. There are also grotesque tombs of the Boyles, Schomberg, and others. If Mr. Ray and Mr. Guinness had underpinned and buttressed these Llaiiberis. 2 1 old edifices, monuments of the past, and expended their money in building new cathedrals, their deeds might have been more Avorthy to embalm their memories in the coming years ; for to me it seems a sacrilege to restore, as it is termed, these grand old architectural ruins. I begin to realize that we are moving among the stately monuments which still speak of the genius and wonderful creative skill of the past. After visiting Bangor, Wales, and viewing the grand scenery from the top of the tubular bridge across the Menai Straits, which is eighteen hundred and fifty feet long, built by Sir George Stevenson at a cost of over three million dollars, we reached our present stopping-place, Llanberis, passing rki;ii:^-;ncfi. tlu' (lay l)cing Saturday, the afternoon of which is always a holiday for workmen. Wc thus had an 0|)i)()rlunity of seeing the Scotch working people. 'I'he working men of (Ireat llritain, from all accounts, seem terribly demoralized by drunkenness; and (he skilled ()])eratives are losing their genius and their power over other nations as superior workmen, by their dissolute habits, which seem to deaden their sensibilities. On the other liand, the manufacturers of the United States are fast taking the lead, and securing the markets of the world through means of their superior goods, which they produce at a price that enables them to compete with the {''nglish ; and even American-manufactured articles of cutlery and silvered ware arc sold in Sheffield. Some of the intelligent men that we met admitted this, and, when asked the reason, answered us, that ''the working-men take Saturday as a holiday, and invariably get drunk, and on Sunday are unfit to go to church, and take Monday as their religious day; so that Monday is called '■ Saint Monday,' as they lose so much time, and drunkenness imlits them for })roper application to their duties." ]']ii;jlish /hor. 4 1 'J'hcre is great rlistrcss in C)rca.t Hritain arDfjng working jjcojjIc. There are more persons suffering from hunger and want than at any jjrevious time. 'J'he wr;rk-houses and jjoor-houses are overflowing. Many farnih'es are not ahle to buy meat, and live on bread anrl /^^er. 'I'he mills are not running, and the poor can find nothing to drj, anrl despair seems to stare them in the f)j.ee. 'I'he country apjjears overcrowdefi. Let them oorne to the United, States, where there is room for the-rn all, vvitli our sixty times more land than l'>nglanfJ, though her popula- tion is nearly equal to our own. Whiskey and beer drinking are a terri!;le curse, and twelve times as much is spent for alcoholic stimulants as for clothing, which, is enough to ruin any country. I''ngland's army also costs her more than we [;ay for all fjur schools. The laboring classes are not able to j;ur- chase a home, because the land is owned by a small number of large land-holders. More than half the land of Great Jiritain is owned by two thousand persons. 7'hese aristocratic gentry think Jess of the poor than of their thousanrls of acres for deer parks, and of having penal laws made, as if the very existence of the country dej^ended upon "hares 42 The Re7it System. and rabbits." The Chatsworth estate, the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, through which we passed, con- tains two thousand acres for his private park, and thousands for farming. His flower-garden has two hundred acres. There are two thousand deer on the place. We traveled for miles without seeing any house except two or three large castles, occupied by fami- lies Hving in great splendor; while at the villages may be seen the renters of the land, who are miserably poor, and hardly able to make both ends meet after paying their rents, taxes and church dues ; " the abject slaves of the soil, whose sole hope in life is too often the work-house (that famous device against revolution, paid for by the middle class) and the pauper's grave." In talking with some of these renters, they say that " there is no inducement to try to any more than live ; we cannot own a home; the laws are all made to pro- tect the few thousand aristocrats, and thirty-two million souls are in their hands. The land-owner overrides all justice, takes precedence of all ordinary creditors on the helpless tenants of his estate, and controls the system of cultivation, often in utter The Rent System. 43 disregard of private rights or private judgment; and, in addition, secures to himself the absolute reversion of every improvement which the tenant may make on the land." We asked one renter what rent he paid, and he repHed, two thousand dollars a year for one hundred and sixty acres of land. He could buy four hundred acres of as good land as the sun ever shone upon, in Kansas or Nebraska, for what he pays for the rent of one hundred and sixty acres for one year. People are likely to waste money when they do not save it to buy homes. Small farmers are a conservative influence in our land. They pay taxes, and are deeply interested in an economical management of the affairs of the govern- ment. We said this to one of the large land- owners, and he replied: "Our renters are satisfied; they set apart so much for taxes, so much for the church, so much for rent, and then live according to what remains from their income." In Ireland the poor people are not allowed to own a gun; they cannot fish in the lakes and streams, or hunt without a license; and if deer, rabbits or foxes come from the parks and destroy their crops, they have no remedy, and cannot shoot them. 44 Glasgow. Glasgow, Scotland. Glasgow has a population of over half a million, and is the second or third city in Great Britain. We were impressed with the substantial appearance of the town. All the buildings are of stone, and its public edifices and churches are large and in a good style of architecture. Here we spent the Sabbath, and were struck with the crowds of well-dressed people on the streets, hurrying to and from church. Not a street car or public conveyance is to be seen, and only a few private carriages. No " wine and liquor " or drinking saloons are open, and all is quiet and orderly. As we pass through the thoroughfares to visit the cathedral, we notice at every corner, or prominent place, and park, orderly crowds, who seem quite attentive to lay preaching. A gentleman informed us that we should find out- of-door services in every part of the city from seven to nine o'clock, on Sunday nights, during the sum- mer months. The old Cathedral was founded A. D. 1133, though there was a church on the site as early as 539, and dedicated to St. Mungo or Kentigerne, the The Old Cathedral. 45 titular saint and founder of Glasgow. It is one of the few cathedrals saved from the mad fury of the populace, who sought to destroy, in these magnificent buildings, " the rookeries," as they styled them, lest the Popish prelates, " the rooks," should gather again. It was only saved by a prominent citizen threatening to shoot the first person that dared to touch a stone of the venerable pile. This cathedral has lately been "restored," and is unsurpassed by any other in Britain. The stained glass windows, which are considered fine works of art, add greatly to the beauty of the edifice. It is now owned or controlled by the Presbyterians, and whilst we were there services were being held. It seemed odd to witness the simple yet beautiful ceremonies of the Presbyterian Church conducted in so stately an edi- fice, and, as there was neither organ nor procession, it presented a striking contrast to the service we had so recently witnessed in Chester Cathedral. Leaving Glasgow, we made a tour through the Highlands, by the Scotch Lakes and Caledonia Canal, by which route we were informed that we should meet with the most picturesque and beautiful scenery anywhere to be found in Great Britain. Embarking 46 Down the Clyde. on the new steamer Columba, on this her first trip, we noticed that the dock, for a mile at least, was lined with men, indicating that many people are out of employment. We learn that there is a strike among the men at work in the railroad shops, and hear also of serious strikes among all classes. Sailing down the Clyde, the great steamship docks and Atlantic steamers are in view. Upon this river are situated the most extensive yards for the building of iron ships in the world. Our new steamer is a magnificent one, costing two hundred thousand dol- lars. It is claimed to be the most perfect ideal of a steamboat as yet constructed, but they evidently have never seen our North River steamers. Her length is three hundred and eighteen feet, breadth of beam twenty-seven feet six inches. She is made entirely of steel, with steel boilers, and is the fastest sailer in Great Britain. Crowds line the docks at every stopping-place to look at her. During our trip through the Scottish lochs, we passed many beautiful watering-places, ajid obtained fine views of the Dunglass Castle, with the monu- ment arising amid its ruins, erected to the memory of Bell (who succeeded in launching upon the Caledonia Ca?ial. 47 Clyde, for practical purposes, the first steamer in the world, the " Comet"), and Dumbarton Castle, the residence of the Duke of Argyll. It is truly a lovely tour, winding around through the lakes, and our steamer accomplished twenty miles an hour. At length we arrived at Ardrishaig, and took a steamer going by way of the canal to Crinan, situated on Loch Crinan. Inverness, Scotland. Our ride for two days through the Caledonia Canal and various lochs (lakes), from Oban to this place, which is its northern terminus on Moray Firth, has been worthy to be long remembered. The valley through which the canal runs is sixty-three miles long. The proposition to construct the canal was first made after the suppression of the rebellion in 1745; but it was not until the beginning of the present century that the scheme was revived. The work did not meet the expectations of its projectors, although it cost five million dollars. In 1846 it was improved, at a cost of one million dollars. Although it has never been profitable, yet it is 48 Ballachulish and Gleiicoe. of great importance to the Highlands, and tourists certainly ought to feel grateful, as by this means they are enabled to view from the deck of a steamer some of the most sublime and picturesque scenery of the country. We stop on the way at Ballachulish, and take coach for nine miles, through Glencoe, obtaining many views of surpassing grandeur, and tarry for the night at Corpach. While taking a walk to view some old ruins, we were accompanied by Dr, Donald Macleod, a popular preacher of Glas- gow, editor of Good Words, and Chaplain to the Queen. He w^as stopping with Rev. Dr. Clerk, the Presbyterian minister of the parish, through whose kindness we were permitted to pass a delightful evening at the " Manse," and enjoy conversation and music in a refined and highly cultivated High- land home. Dr. Clerk is brother-in-law to Dr. Macleod, and the latter informed us that he was one of the most learned men in Scotland, and yet, for many years, had been settled over the very small congregation at Corpach, belonging to the " Old Kirk," and received his salary from the government; which gave him opportunity for leisure and study. Glencoe. 49 His wife and daughters were beautiful and intelli- gent, and quite inclined to compliment America and Americans, and American lakes and scenery. They seemed quite familiar with our authors, and the youngest daughter told me that she had just been reading " Uncle Tom's Cabin." Dr. Clerk asked his daughters to sing and play on the piano for us. They responded with some old Scotch ballads, joining with Dr. Macleod, who has a splendid voice. The music was restful and cheering, and artistically rendered. Dr. Clerk told us an anecdote of an old lady visiting Corpach, which Hes at the foot of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain, its top being continually covered with snow. Seeing the snow on the mountains, she wondered if the women up there " kept their clothes out to dry all the time." In the morning we continue our journey by another steamer on the canal, and reach this place through forty-one miles of lakes and twenty-one miles of cuttings. This canal, intersect- ing Scotland from sea to sea, was planned to supersede the dangerous navigation of the Pentland Firth. Various old castles and ruins are pointed out to us, and almost every mountain and tarn has 4 50 Loch Ness, its own history, massacre or battle, connected with the various contending clans and parties in the past. The longest loch through which we passed is Loch Ness, twenty-four miles long, and averaging one mile and a quarter in breadth, and its banks are clothed with birch woods to the water's edge. We stop and walk up the mountain about a mile to the Cataract of Foyers, a beautiful fall; but, as the streams at this time were not full, it disappointed our expectations. On our steamer there was a dehghtful company, mostly families traveling for pleasure, and an intelligent gentleman, noticing that we were Americans, and taking notes on our way, remarked that he had observed in a Glasgow morning paper that a telegram from the New York Herald Weather Bureau predicted rain in the north of Scotland on the fourth of July, and the prediction was confirmed by the rain driving us from the deck. He related a conversation with an old farmer, who had been greatly annoyed by the rainy weather in getting in his spring crops, and who had the old English prejudice against Americans. He said that when God Almighty managed the weather it was tolerably good, but since those Americans had got control of Liverness. 5 1 it it was outrageous, and he hoped the Almighty- would resume his care of it soon, or the Americans would ruin their crops. Inverness is of great antiquity. Cromwell's fort and other places of interest are to be seen from the top of Castle Hill. I am writing now, at one o'clock a. m., Avithout artificial light. It does not get dark, but only " a little hazy," as they call it, between twelve and one o'clock ; and it is light enough to read out of doors, except during the hour above mentioned. To-day is our " Independence Day," and it has been so cold that we w^ere obliged to wxar our winter garments and overcoats in order to keep com- fortable. It is " fast day " here, which is observed twice a year in each parish by the Presbyterians, on the Sabbath previous to Communion. All business is suspended, therefore, in this district or parish, for it is their " Easter " day. IV. Visit TO the Hebrides. .. .The Tradition of " Lady Rock " . . . . Castle of the " Lord of the Isles " . . . . Fingal's Cave .... Iona and Saint Columba Reflections. Staffa and Iona Islands, Scotland. WE spent a most intensely interesting day in visiting the islands of Staffa and Iona, two of the inner Hebrides, fifty-five miles from Oban, whence we take the steamer and sail up the Sound of Mull, skirting the most striking coast scenery which the Hebrides afford. The weather was most delightful, and the natural and picturesque scenery of the coast afforded us keen enjoyment, which was heightened by association with the historical events and traditions connected with the islands. In stormy weather the Sound is exceedingly rough, and its passage disagree- able. After leaving Oban, the famous " Dog-Stone " Traditio?i of Lady Rock. 53 is pointed out to us, to which, according to tradition, Fingal was wont to tie his dog Bran, on his visits to Lorn. Lismore Light-House is seen on the western point of the island of Lismore — the "great garden," and before the Reformation the seats of the Bishops of Argyll and of the Isles. In passing the Hght-house, the "Lady Rock" is seen. According to tradition, '' ' Lady Rock ' was the scene of a tragic episode in feudal times, which Campbell, the poet, has immortal- ized in his poem of ' Glenara,' and which forms the ground-work of the ' Family Legend,' by Joanna Baillie. The story is to the effect that Lauchlan Cathanach Maclean, of Duart, had married a daughter of Archibald, Earl of Islay, a progenitor of the Argyll family ; but wishing to get rid of her, he conveyed her from Duart Castle to the ' Lady Rock' — one mile — and left her on it at low water, in the hope that she would be drowned when the tide rose. In this he was disappointed, for the cries of the lady brought some fishermen to her rescue, and when she got safe to land she made at once for her father's castle, at Inverary. Maclean shortly after went to Inverary, in deep mourn- ing, to tell her father that his wife had mysteriously disappeared, but he was rather astonished to find her 54 The Loi'd of the Isles. there before him, aHve and well. On leaving the castle, Maclean was set on by a brother of the lady he had used so ill, and killed ; or, according to another account, he was assassinated in Edinburgh." The Sound of Mull is entered by a channel between the Grey Islands. We soon see the lofty basalt cliffs of Artornish, over whose wall-like front a torrent of great height falls after heavy rains, though the water never reaches the bottom in a body, being caught up by the wind and converted into spray. The ruins of Artornish Castle stand on a point of the same name, one hundred and three feet in height. " In this castle, in 1 46 1, John, Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles, held a parhament of his vassal chiefs, and dictated, as an independent prince, a commission to his beloved cousins, Ronald, of the Isles, and Duncan, Archdean of the Isles, to treat with Edward IV. and James, Earl of Douglas, for the conquest of Scotland. This was the last parhament held by the Lord of the Isles, as in a few years after the title became extinct, and the power of island kings passed away forever." We passed through a small lake, two and a half miles long, called Loch Alline, or " loch of the sun," at the end of which is seen the ruins of an old castle, said to have Staffa aiid lona. 55 been built by a female chieftain of the clan Macinres, who, according to tradition, paid for it in an equal amount of butter. The entire trip, both going to and returning from Stafifa and lona, was full of intense interest, with picturesque scenery, the ruins of many old castles, and the passage of various lakes. Camp- bell, the poet, spent some time as tutor in one of these romantic places — a grand locality for a poet to garner imagery. Dr. Johnson also spent considerable time in this vicinity. The ruins of the house where he was entertained by Sir Allan Maclean, on a small island, can yet be seen. " He declared a Sunday on Inch Kenneth was the most delightful Sunday he ever spent in his life," and from this island he visited lona in 1773- We reached Staffa, which is about a mile in circum- ference and one hundred and twenty-nine feet high. Our steamer stopped long enough for us to cHmb the basalt rock, whence we get a view of lona and various other islands, and the coasts of Mull. The basalt columns are regular and lofty. The same character- istics in the basalt of Staffa have been traced as in that of the Giant's Causeway. The great attraction here is Fingal's Cave, which is a marvelous sight; two 56 FhigaPs Cave. hundred and twenty-seven feet long, forty-two broad and sixty-six in height, and having at ebb-tide twenty- five feet of water. It was a quiet, beautiful day, and, as our boatman rowed us into the cave, the walls pillared with basalt, in striking forms and grotesque- ness of outline, and with effects of color tempered by the twihght of the cavern, reflected exquisite shadows in the waves. On this still, summer day the cavern, doubled in the sea, was a wondrous sight. The innermost vault of Fingal's Cave is reached by a slip- pery path along the tops of the broken columns, with a rope attached by holdfasts to the rock for support. All around Staffa the size and disposition of the pillars change. At one place, it is said, they are loftier than those of the Giant's Causeway. Some were dis- appointed at this splendid view, and, as one said, a contemplative mind is needed to enjoy it to its fullest extent. A solitary shepherd and his family at one time lived all the year round at Staffa ; but he entreated to be removed, since in the winter gales the hollow roar made by the sea through these island caverns, sounded so dismally that he could not endure it. Bishop Van Troil has been humble enough to admit that Fingal's Cavern surpasses the architectural ruins il!ii:illl!i!!!lil!;ii:iHi;!liliili!liillii' i',ill,lilil,l,llkli,lli' ilf,"' ' lona, 5 7 of the ancients. Wordsworth writes, on hearing the fury which breaks against the pillared capes of Stafifa : " Do\vn-bearing with his whole iVtlantic weight Of tide and tempest on the Structure's base, And flashing upwards to the topmost height, Ocean has proved its strength, and of its grace In cahns is conscious, finding for his freight Of softest music some responsive place." Our sail to-day culminated on arrival at lona, eight miles from Staffa. The island is three miles long by one and a half broad, and contains about two thousand acres of land, only six hundred of which are capable of cultivation. I cannot better describe the wonderful events which began on this island in A. D. 563 than by using the interesting account found in a little book published by Mr. James W. Miller, of Oban : " The rocky islet of lona has filled a marvelous place in the history of Christendom. Chosen by some curious instinct as a refuge from outward dominion, on this isle the Christian faith survived a chaos which swallowed up the civilization of Rome. It needs some effort to believe that in this desolate place, in its most ancient form, was preserved and purified the Christian creed, 58 Io7ia. when all continental lands were overrun with turbu- lence, and everywhere else was practiced the most dismal superstition. Like the sunset on the neigh- boring capes, the light of the world lingered in this sanctuary, and saints and apostles carried from, its precincts the precepts and practices of Christianity to all other countries. Thirteen hundred years ago, Columba, with his twelve evangels, landed on the beach, and for nigh one thousand years the light they kindled remained uneclipsed. The pious, the learned, warriors, princes, the poor and the stricken — all turned toward lona for counsel, for absolution, for a refuge, for alms. Christians sought lona as they afterward journeyed to Rome and to Jerusalem ; its shores were crowded with pilgrims, the sick and the maimed, beseeching a cure or a blessing. And not only was lona the single island so blessed — Columba estab- lished thirty-two churches in the Western Isles, besides twenty-one which were scattered along the coasts of the mainland. To those were in time numbered the innumerable chapels or cells, relics of which are found on almost every isle of the Hebrides. In these dwelt solitary monks, away from all temporal allurements, and the benefaction of the pious. Isolated by the S^. Colli in ba. 59 sea, they confirmed, by their own Hves, the faith of their converts. Eschewing comforts and inured to poverty, these m.onks, amid their penances, were slaughtered by Norse pirates, and had their holy places given to the flames. No legends of Christian life are more pathetic, none have been so soon or so cruelly forgotten." Columba was forty-two years old when he left Ire- land, from which he was compelled to flee because of the bloodshed which arose on account of copying without leave the Psalter of his master, Finian. His purity has been recorded in the saying, " that he never told a lie nor looked upon a woman." The monks who accompanied him adhered to celibacy and no woman was allowed to land on lona. Such was the superstitious reverence attached to Columba's life that it is believed that his old horse knew of his master's approaching death, from the fact of its laying its head upon his shoulder while he rested near Maclean Cross. He copied with his own hand, during his leisure hours, three hundred volumes of religious works. When death overtook him, on the evening of the 27th of June, A. D. 596, he had just reached the ninth verse of the Thirty-fourth Psalm. 6o The Free Church. lona became the burial-place of kings and nobles. Forty Scottish kings, one king of France, two Irish kings, and two of Norway are among those buried here. Druidical relics were pointed out to us ; the old cathe- dral, in ruins ; the different monuments, with crosses and gravestones, the proportion of whose figures and the forms of whose decoration indicate a superior taste and knowledge of art. One needs days to examine the large number of monumental antiquities, and the mind can hardly grasp the fact that we stand on such sacred ground. For hundreds of years after the land- ing of Saint Columba, lona was exposed to the attacks of heathen Danes, who, in A. D. 796, set fire to the monastery. lona has always attracted illustrious visitors, and Dr. Johnson wrote in regard to it : " That man is little to be envied whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plains of Marathon or whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of lona." We returned to Oban by the southern coast of Mull, and Kerrera Sound. Some Presbyterian clergymen came on board the vessel at one of our stopping places, who were pastors in the Free Church of Scotland, and their criticism of the Old Kirk ministers The Free Church. 6i was severe in the extreme; insinuating that they were as fond as any one else of taking a httle, if not sometimes a good deal, of wine for the stomach's sake. The Old Kirk is the State Church of Scot- land, and receives its support from the government. The Free Church separated from it, and often there is one church of each denomination in small ]3laces, and sometimes the former has scarcely any members, although the good clergyman still continues to hold on to the " living." The Free Church ministers of Scotland seem proud of their success, and now number about as many churches and members as the State Church, from which they separated in 1843, on account of the State claiming jurisdiction over her spiritual affairs. It required great sacrifice of place, and even of their bread, for them to take the position they did — resign their livings, give up their churches and masses, on account of certain proceedings of the government affecting their rights and privileges. Dr. Chalmers and most of the great leaders of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland seceded. The pastors of the small, poor churches suffered most ; and these men's description of what they endured, for conscience' sake — leaving their homes and going 62 The Free Chwxh. forth houseless — showed that they were men of no ordinary abiUty. More than 400 ministers went out to start new churches without government domination ; losing their livings which they had received from the establishment. Such sacrifice and pluck makes one proud of Scotland and of the Presbyterian min- isters; and no wonder the Free Church is taking the lead and is the most prosperous and aggressive ! We can hardly realize how much we have learned and enjoyed, and feel like exclaiming that this has truly been a "red-letter day" in our calendar. V. The Trossachs .... Perth Edinburgh Melrose Abbey .... York and its Cathedral .... Cambridge AND ITS University. .. .Notes and Incidents. Londo7i, Engiaitd. OUR ride from Inverness to Edinburgh, a distance of about two hundred miles, was through the Trossachs, the last one hundred miles being through a country abounding in beautiful scenery and the theatre of stirring historical events. We passed through Grant-town, founded by Sir James Grant. Scotchmen claim that Gen. Grant's ancestors were from Scotland. When here, he visited the nieces of Robert Burns, at Ayr, and one of them said to him, " You are of Scotch descent, Gen. Grant ?" He replied, " If so, it is so far back that I can hardly claim it ; I am an American." She showed him one of Burns' letters to 63 64 Blair Athol and Duiikeld. his brother . William, pressing upon him to study " taciturnity," and she remarked to me that she thought Gen. Grant did not need any such advice, for he said scarcely anything during his visit. She thought that he was the most distinguished American living, and prized his photograph, which she showed to his wife; and Mrs. Grant promised to send her a better one when she returned to the United States, as the one she had was not a very good likeness. One of these ladies remarked that they had received a visit from ex- Presi- dent Fillmore when he was in Scotland, and she considered him the finest looking man she had ever seen. We passed through Blair Athol and Dunkeld, At the former place is the noble old castle of Blair, the ancient residence of the dukes of that name. It is traced back to the thirteenth century. The district around is the best hunting ground in Scotland, and is the scene of many historical events. From Dunkeld Station we obtain a view of Dunkeld Cathedral. The place is beautifully situated among wooded hills, on the northern bank of the Tay, and is of great antiquity, claiming to have been the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland during the ninth and tenth centuries. Sir Edinburgh. 65 Walter Scott wrote several songs suggested by historic events in this district. We afterwards visited Perth. Among the many incidents of history related of this place is one stating that "In 1545-6 five men and a woman were burned here for heresy ; and it may also be said that the Reformation in Scotland began in Perth, as John Knox preached here some days after his return to the country." Edinburgh did not disappoint us. It is certainly one of the most beautiful cities for natural situation that we ever saw. Standing upon three hills, from every point the city appears to great advantage. It is divided into the old and new towns. We have a splendid view from the old Castle, with the sea in the distance. The first places visited were the Palace and ruined Abbey of Holyrood, the former founded by James V. and the latter by King David I., in 11 28. The most interesting part of the history of this palace — a history of stirring events and well-known per- sonages — was the fact of its being the residence of Mary Queen of Scots, with whose eventful life almost every reader is familiar. We are shown the picture gallery, one hundred and fifty feet long 5 66 Holy rood. by twenty-seven broad, decorated with pictures of one hundred and six Scottish sovereigns, " who Uved from the time of Fergus, before the Christian era, to James VII." Many interesting rehcs of Queen Mary are pointed out, among them the private stair by which Rizzio's assassins ascended to Mary's apartments, and the stain of the blood, said to be Rizzio's, at the entrance to the audience chamber. It requires some faith to beheve it, as well as many other things related in all seriousness. The old palace is a splendid specimen of architecture. Queen Mary's portraits, seen in both palace and castle, show that she was indeed a beautiful woman. The room in which James VI. was born, is not more than eight feet square, with a recess of about three feet at the window. Then there is the crown-room, containing the ancient regalia of Scotland — crown, sceptre, sword of state, etc. The crown jewels are valued at one million dollars. The view of the city from the old Castle walls one wishes to enjoy for hours. Another view is from Arthur's Seat, a mountain rock about eight hundred feet high, which seems as if it were in the city, though covered with grass and used as a sheep pasture. The Abbotsford. 67 view is a grand one, commanding as it does both city and surrounding country. On our way to London we visited the ruins of Melrose Abbey, about thirty-six miles from Edinburgh — larger and more perfect than anything of the kind we have yet seen. The finest feature is the great eastern window, thirty-seven feet high and sixteen broad. We also visited Abbotsford, erected by Sir Walter Scott, at a cost of two hundred and fifty thou- sand dollars. His library consisted of twenty thousand volumes, and the dimensions of the room are sixty by fifty feet. The drawing-room is richly furnished. The walls of the armory are covered with old muskets and many other ancient instruments of war, coats of mail, etc., arranged by himself In another room are a copy of one of his writings, the jewelry and other articles presented to him, and in a glass case the clothes worn by him just before his death. The situation of the house is low, and one cannot see why such a location was selected, since the country about abounds in hills and beautiful building spots. We came to old York, England, to spend the Sabbath and worship in the cathedral, regarded as the most splendid in Great Britain, whose length is five hundred 68 York Mmsfer. and twenty-four feet, and whose nave is one hundred feet m height. Our State House in Columbus is, I think, about three hundred feet in length, so that one can easily estimate the relative proportions of the buildings. This old Cathedral, York Minster, is in the form of a cross, and is considered one of the finest in the world. It was begun in the seventh century, but was principally built in the thirteenth and fourteenth. We heard a first-rate total abstinence temperance sermon from Rev. Canon Wilberforce, a grandson of the late Hon. William Wilberforce, England's great reformer and anti-slavery agitator. The sermon had the true ring to it, but was evidently not enjoyed by the worshipers, as we see everywhere, at hotel tables, that nearly all, men and women, drink either ale or porter. We noticed printed cards in the seats as fol- lows : " Memorial Church to the late Bishop Wilber- force. Rector, Rev. Canon Wilberforce. Canon Wilberforce is extremely anxious to add one bay of the nave, to be built exclusively from the contributions of temperance well-wishers, to be surmounted by a brass plate, inscribed to this effect. The cost will be ;^i,ooo, some ;^2oo of which has already been sub- scribed by various temperance societies. He earnestly The City of York. 69 solicits the aid of his brethren in the teetotal cause," etc. We went in the afternoon to the choral service, and if we had not known that we were in a Protestant cathedral, we should have supposed we were where the full Roman Catholic liturgy was used in all its ceremony and display. The city of York, from which New York derived its name, is the capital of Yorkshire, situated about midway between Edinburgh and London, some two hundred miles on either side. It was the scene of most important events during the successive struggles of the Britons, Saxons and Danes. Constantine the Great is said to have been born here, A. D. 272. " In A. D. 521 King Arthur kept Christmas in York, said to be the first celebration of that festival held in England." The view across the great transept of the Cathedral is said to surpass, in architectural effect, that of any other Gothic edifice. The deanery, chapels and canons' residences give to everything a grandeur and lavishment of wealth and a religious display hardly realized by those who first enter the old country from America. I had heard and read of, and had longed to visit this famed cathedral pile, and judge for myself. 70 ' ^'■ScroobyT and find I had received no adequate conception either from reading or pictorial illustration. The great east window in this cathedral is seventy-five feet high by thirty-two feet wide. It is one of the glories of the building, and is the largest window in the kingdom that retains its original glazing. The contract for glazing between the Dean and Chapter and John Thornton, of Coventry, is dated 1405. He was to receive for his own work four shillings a week, and finish the window in three years. There are two hun- dred compartments, each about a yard square. The subjects in the upper division, above the gallery, are from the Old Testament, beginning with the Creation and ending with the death of Absalom. All below are from the Book of Revelations, except those in the lowest tier, which are representations of kings and bishops. ■ On Monday, after our study of the grand old Cathedral, we felt it a pleasure to visit " Scrooby," where the first Congregational Church was organized. " The three simple points," says Professor Hoppin, of Yale College, in his book entitled " Old England," " upon which Elder Brewster and his co-religionists founded their right of separation from the Established Fi7^st Congregational Church. 71 Church at that time were these : i . The determina- tion not to support and attend upon many prescribed ecclesiastical forms, not perhaps vested in them- selves, but inwoven with ordinances and opinions that they esteemed Popish. 2. The claim to the right of individual interpretation of the Scriptures. 3. The assertion of the right to exclude immoral persons from their Church Communion. These points of difference compelled them to be separatists ; not only driving them to a separation from the Church of England, but from their native soil, and finally compelled them to become ' strangers and pilgrims ' on a totally new and foreign shore. The Pilgrims under Brewster were mostly unknown — Lincolnshire ditchers and plain Nottinghamshire farmers, with now and then a yeoman and a man of family and education. They were, however, sound, honest, thoughtful Englishmen. The Church thus established was organized in 1602, and was the model of all our ' Congregational ' churches. They went first to Amsterdam, afterward returned to Eng- land in the Speedwell, and finally embarked in the Mayfloiver from Plymouth. These were the ' Pilgrim Fathers.' Such were the men who were gathered 72 First Congregational Church. together in that small, despised, religious communion, and who came to the new world to plant, uncon- sciously, and, as a natural result of their religious views, the principles of a free republic." We find here only the lonely and decayed manor-house stables, in which Brewster preached, now occupied as a house. We were shown his pulpit, library (" a bit of a cupboard," as the old lady who showed us around expressed it), and a niche in the wall where he kept his wine; and in the buildings some carved wood-work and ornamental beams, covered with dust and cobwebs, which belonged to the Archiepiscopal Palace. There are only about two hundred inhabi- tants here, and a small church edifice, where Epis- copal service is held once every Sabbath, the rector receiving ^loo (or about five hundred dollars a year). The manor-house is in the midst of marshy surroundings, " and to think of what vast influences and activities have flowed from this quiet and almost hstless scene, one has strange feelings." Do you wonder we enjoyed the contrast with York Cathedral ? Our ride from Scrooby to Cambridge gave us an idea of Old England's country scenery, seeming, as Rural Scenery. 73 it were, through a city dotted with small farms like garden-spots ; with their little patches of grass, wheat, barley, oats (no maize anywhere to be seen), garden vegetables and lavender. Very few handsome farm- houses are to be seen, such as can be met with on most of the roads leading from Columbus. The large towns and cities, as you approach them, look like new brick-kilns just opened; for the buildings are of brick, and the roofs of clay tile, making everything appear red and "bricky." The most beautiful and attractive places are the manses or rectories (or, as we should call them, parsonages), attached to the churches. We noticed this alike in Ireland, Scotland and England. The grounds about these buildings are spacious, laid out with taste, surrounded by hedges, and adorned with vines, plants and flower-beds. We thought it no wonder that these " livings," or rectorships, should be sought for and purchased by those desiring an opportunity to cultivate their taste, and study, and live a life of ease and pleasure. We stopped at Peterborough to see another old cathedral, measuring four hundred and seventy-one feet in length by one hundred and eighty in breadth. 74 Cambridge University. Here were buried Queen Catharine and Mary- Queen of Scots — the latter now removed to West- minster Abbey. Peterborough Abbey was destroyed about 807, and restored in 966, A. D. We passed Huntingdon, the birth-place of Crom- well. Cambridge, where we stopped over night, is celebrated for its great University. There are seven- teen different colleges, with separate corporations and officers, holding the buildings and libraries and large funds in money, lands, etc. Trinity, King's, St. John's and several other colleges were visited, in whose libraries, among other treasures, we were shown the original manuscript of Milton's " Paradise Lost," and also the original of the " Old Covenant," signed in blood. The University library has half a million volumes — one of the earliest Bibles, written in the sixth century, also " The History of Troy," translated by Caxton and printed by him about the year 1475, and many ancient manuscripts. There are two thou- sand students in the colleges, the grounds of several of which extend across the River Cam, from which Cambridge received its name. The large old trees arching the walls, the lawns and flower-beds and river, give to all a delightful appearance, and one Cambiidge University. -~ 75 could easily dream away his time under the shady boughs by the banks of the stream, forgetful of high honors to be obtained by hard study. In one of the large courts of Trinity College, two hundred feet square, with a lovely fountain in the center, surrounded by flower-beds and a velvety lawn extending to the stone buildings, four stories in height, occupied by the students, we noticed at the base of each window a wooden box painted green, about a foot high and the width of the window, full of scarlet geraniums and other showy plants in full blossom. Here were hundreds of windows, from the first to the fourth story, around the inclosure, lighting up the old dingy stone buildings wonderfully. The rooms of the students were elegantly furnished. Each student has a sleeping-room and parlor. Their meals are ordered as in a hotel, and some of them, at eleven o'clock A. M., were just taking their breakfasts. Everything here appears to indicate that even a student in moder- ate circumstances could enjoy the advantages of these grand old institutions. One young man informed us that, with reasonable demands, the expense might be limited to from fifteen to eighteen hundred dollars a year. 76 Cambridge University. So many colleges in one place cause great rivalries among the students. Trinity College boasts, among her graduates, of Bacon and Newton, whose portraits, in full length, together with a large num- ber of other distinguished men, grace the apart- ment where so many have supplied the wants of the inner man. The old dining-hall looks like a chapel, with its large Gothic windows and high Gothic ceiling. Christ's College claims Milton as one of its graduates. They show you here his full-length portrait, and in the grounds the old mulberry-tree that he planted. These seventeen colleges, with their various buildings, are of stone, and situated in different parts of the city, although in one locality several are not far apart. These, with the University church, and various other old churches, give to the city an appearance of one great educational center, as certainly it is one of the greatest in the world. We have now been through Ireland, Wales, Scotland and a part of England, running up through the last two on the east and returning on the west side to London. We could not have wished for more delightful weather, having been detained only one day by rain. We were advised to "marry to an umbrella" Hotels. 77 on our arrival, but as yet we have not done so. We have found hotels at moderate prices with but one exception — at the Maclean's Hotel, Glasgow. It is a splendid hotel — almost equal to the Windsor in New York. Our arrival was on Saturday. The guests were few, and no regular dinner was served. We ordered a plain dinner and a cup of tea, and when our bill was sent in, on Monday morning, dinner was charged at $1.12 each, and tea at fifty cents a cup, making the entire charge for the meal $1.62 each, with everything else in proportion. At the Waverley Dining-rooms, in Edinburgh, the charge for a better cup of tea was 2d. or four cents, while other things were equally reasonable. The less pretentious hotels were generally our choice. Sometimes they were even ancient looking, though within we found them neat, hospitable and clean, always with flowers adorning the apartments and with beautiful httle yards laid out in beds of flowering plants, and sometimes the smaller hotels were covered with clambering roses, rivaling in size even Underwood's Chro- motel and Marshal Neil, and in the greatest pro- fusion. The hotel at which we are stopping here, '•'The Old Castle" ("The Bull" is the popular 78 ^Hotels. hotel), is antiquated enough. The building was erected in 1620, and is so quaint and odd that we begged a photograph of it. They supply us with the nicest French rolls we ever ate, and everything else is abundant and good; charges about two dol- lars a day. One can spend a "mint" of money if he chooses, and Americans are generally so lavish that the hotel people and everybody else consider them fit subjects for plunder. Some Germans who were traveling with us, and made no previous bar- gain for their entertainment at a different hotel from ours, showed us their bills, which were more than double our own. I do not think we have seen men as managers or conductors in the office or bar (they are both one) in any hotel. No men are about except " Boots " and the table- waiters, who are habited in black dress suits, white cravats, and with hair oiled and parted in the middle. You would think they were the elite of the place, just ready for a ball. Women receive you at the door cordially, and sometimes gracefully. Women show you to your rooms ; women make out your bills, and women deal out the ale, porter, brown stout, whiskey, etc. There are said to be one hundred Hotels. 79 thousand beautiful girls in England employed in saloons, tending the bars. The handsomest and most graceful are selected, as an attraction to the young men; for, as we have said, the office and bar-room are one, and all classes resort thither to smoke and drink. At one place in London we saw from twenty to thirty girls in a large and brilliant restaur- ant, all dressed neatly in black, and at least one hundred young men smoking and drinking, while the girls served out to them their whiskey, brown stout, and other drinks. One young Englishman with whom we traveled, and who seemed anxious to criticise Americans, and to touch some tender spot, said: "You have the Mormons." "Yes," Dr. H. replied; "but they are mostly increased by immigra- tion from Europe." The Englishman further said: "You have women's rights." "Yes," said Dr. H. ; " but we should consider it indelicate to have our women deal out liquors and tend bar ; the ' lady- waiter' saloons are closed, and both proprietors and waiters are marched off to jail." The Englishman sub- sided. Women run the hotels, and do it well, so that one would think that they were the proprietors them- selves. Cannot they do anything they undertake ? iiiiSi^iiiiSSiiiiiiS^i^iii^^ VI. First View of London The American Minister Westminster Abbey and Tombs of the Poets. .. .Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace . . English Equipages and Public Parks. London. OUR ride from Cambridge to London was through a flat, uninteresting country. We are now in this grand metropoHs, the most interest- ing to Americans of all the great cities of the Old World, from the fact that it is the largest city of the civilized world, and contains a population of about four millions, and covers a space of about twelve miles by ten. After seeking a homelike resting-place with Mr. and Mrs. Burt, where friends in Columbus advised us to stop, we started out, with a letter to our United States Minister to the Court of Saint James, Hon. John Welsh, who 80 ^ Westminster Abbey. 8i received us cordially, inquiring after Columbus acquaintances, and offering to give us tickets of admission to Parliament and to the Queen's Stable at Buckingham Palace, and any other favor he could grant us. Our first visit was, of course, to West- minster Abbey, with its wonderful aisles, arches, and forests of noble columns. Historians have fixed the era of the first Abbey in the sixth century. The interior of the Abbey is three hundred and seventy- five feet long ; breadth, two hundred feet ; height, from pavement to inner roof, one hundred and one feet ; and to sky-light, or lantern, as it is called, one hundred and forty feet. It is well we visited the other celebrated English Cathedrals first. Although York Minster is superior in architecture, this is more historic and interesting, with its nine chapels, contain- ing tablets and reclining statues and the tombs of kings and queens from the tenth century. But to an American these are of little interest in comparison with the tombs and statues and inscriptions in the Poet's Corner — of Shakspeare, Chaucer, Campbell, Thomson, Wordsworth, Dickens, Bulwer, Charles Kingsley, and, indeed, many of the most prominent British writers and poets. The architecture of the 6 82 House of Parliament, Chapel of Henry VII. is a feature of general admira- tion — the chapel containing the magnificent tomb of the founder, and those also of Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots. The gold-mosaiced altar tomb of Edward the Confessor stands in the chapel of Saint Edward, together with the coronation chairs in which every sovereign of England since Edward I. has been crowned. Here, indeed, one may spend a day with great interest. The Houses of Parliament are near Westminster Abbey, and help to add, by their two lofty towers and the elaborate finish of the immense stone structure, to the contrast and effect of the old walls and grand buttresses of the Cathedral. To vary the scene, we make a visit to Buckingham Palace, the London residence of the Queen — an immense, plain, stone building, which looks as low and flat as our I Ohio Penitentiary, and not as attractive in architect- ural style. We should judge that it is as large as the latter building, and only occupied when the Queen visits London. Everywhere we see the immense expense attend- ant upon keeping up royalty, and impressing upon the people its wonderful power and dignity. We |!illllll!llll|!||||»ll!l!llf||||||||!l!(1il!l|i>!lll|lillll Tiiiiii^^ ii|'in>iriiii'iiiii!'f ' '!((» 4-01 S^. James' Park. ^-i) visit Marlborough House, the residence of the Prince of Wales, and then St. James' Park and Kensington Gardens, large parks, — the former con- taining about ninety acres, with handsome drives and lawns, enriched with lofty trees. The lake is a famous skating place in the winter, and the park is a delightful resort for children and others. This is considered one of the greatest ornaments in the metropoHs, and we had a fine opportunity to view the splendid English turn-outs, with their coaches and four, with various out-riders, dressed in all styles of livery, with rosettes on their hats, and white knee-breeches. The horses and carriages do not look so stylish as those you see in Central Park, New York, on a pleasant afternoon ; and what greatly mars the looks of the horses is the cutting off of about half the tail of each, which gives them all such a bobby appearance. We have not seen a horse since we came into Great Britain but what had his tail thus mutilated. We asked several times, " Why do you cut off the horses' tails in this way ? " The only answer is, " Because it makes them look tidy." VII, London Tower Kew Gardens The National Gal- lery. . . .A Royal Display and Garden Fete. . . .The Queen's Stables. . . .The London Slums. . . .The Pul- pit Orators of London. .. .Curiosities at Kensing- ton Museum .... Environs of London .... Royal Academy. . . .Bank of England. London. IT takes some days to realize that one is in a city of nearly a million more inhabitants than the whole State of Ohio contains. There is such a mass of people that the inclination arises to exclaim, ^ " I am a mere bubble, a speck, on this immense sea of existence ! I am worthless and insignificant in the eye of God." We walked the streets for miles, and mounted the tops of omnibuses, in order to see the prominent buildings, etc., of the city. If our High Street Omnibus Company would have The Tower of London. 85 their omnibuses arranged, as here, to carry as many or more on the top than on the inside, it would be a saving of the number of horses and drivers employed, and make an attractive, pleasant place on which to ride. We then w^ound our way to the " Tower." We had read about it in our youth, and wondered what such a place of torture and imprisonment looked like. Instead of one great tower, as we supposed, it consists of a cluster of houses, towers, barracks, armories, warehouses and prison-like edifices, situated on the Thames. It is the ancient fortress and gloomy state prison of London, and historically the most interesting spot in England. The Normans began t^ie erection of the "Tower" in 1079. We saw twenty-two equestrian figures, in full equipment of armor, consisting of kings, queens and old warriors, w^hich give one an idea of the ancient manner of protection against lance-thrust, arrow and bullet, and carry one back into the past. One cannot remember the long list of the distinguished and the notorious who, during the past eight centuries, have been beheaded and have perished within these walls. The implements of torture, the beheading block, and thousands of S6 Kew Gardens. other ancient things pertaining to war and imprison- ment, are seen — enough to give a man the night- mare for the balance of his Hfe. There can be no sadder spot on earth. The crown jewels, which are preserved in a glass case, protected by a strong iron cage, were shown us. Among them is Queen Victoria's crown, adorned with two thousand seven hundred and eighty-three diamonds. All of the regalia in this glass case, about ten feet in diameter, is valued at from fifteen to twenty millions of dollars. On another day we were glad to go some ten or twelve miles into the country and visit Kew Gar- dens. The flower-beds, hot-houses and conserva- tories are numerous, where ferns, orchids and cacti are particularly interesting. Immense sums have been laid out here by the Government, and the gardens are kept up by employing most celebrated botanists, who obtain rare plants from all parts of the world. The Palm House, reaching to a height of sixty feet, cost one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The large Fern House contains one thousand different varieties of ferns, of which there are sixty varieties of adiantums. The gar- The National Gallery. 87 dens are seventy-five acres in extent, beautifully laid out in flower-beds, and present a gay and lovely appearance; while two hundred and forty acres are laid out in walks, with rows of trees, where one could spend days in admiration and enjoyment. Our visit to the National Gallery was one long to be remembered. This gallery is one of the finest in the world. There are one hundred and ten paintings in oil by Turner, and even more landscape sketches in water colors by the same master (the latter sketches being loaned by Ruskin). I do not, as a general thing, like his paintings. They are too indistinct and shadowy and fairy-like; but who can help praising them when Ruskin considers him the greatest of English painters ? One of the most beautiful, as the sun came out and shone suddenly upon it, was his "Bridge and Palace of CaHgula," — to which bridge (the work and caprice of the tyrant) old Sue- tonius has the following reference : " Bajarum medium intervallum Puteolanas ad moles ponte conjunxit." The picture, as we have said, is an exquisite one: on the left are seen the ruins of the palace, and on the 88 The National Gallery. extreme right, in the distance, the shores of Baiae; children are sporting with goats in the foreground, while the sun is rising behind the ruins. Caligula, in order to confute a prophesy made by Thrasyllus, a mathematician, declaring that he would no more be Emperor than he could drive his chariot across the Bay of Baiae, had constructed a bridge of boats from the mole at Puteoli across the bay, upward of three Roman miles, which he actually both rode and drove over. The Bridge of Caligula was necessarily tempo- rary ; but Turner has assumed in his picture a struct- ure similar to that of the mole, extending completely across the bay, and has in his MS. poem, " The Falla- cies of Hope," given the following description of it : " What now remains of all the mighty bridge Which made the Lucrine Lake an inner pool, Caligula ! but massive fragments, left As monuments of doubt and ruined hopes Yet gleaming in the morning's ray, that tell How Baise's shore was loved in times gone by ? " The paintings in the grand gallery are among the finest in the world, comprising works by Raphael, Correggio, Rubens, Murillo, Rembrandt, Leonardo, A Garden Party. 89 Titian, Wilson, Reynolds, West, and others, many of which are the originals of the fine engravings given in "Art Treasures of England," a recent publication, and one largely subscribed for in Colum- bus. Some of the paintings cost seventy thousand dollars. The funds to keep up the Gallery are provided by Parliament, about fifty thousand dollars a year being granted. One needs to spend a month here to fully enjoy and appreciate such a vast and rare collection. One day, in passing up Pall Mall, near Marl- borough House, we saw a great crowd gathering. Inquiring the cause, we were informed that there was to be an afternoon " garden party " at the Prince of Wales's residence, and that the Queen would be there, coming, as she always does, in great state from Windsor Castle. Of course, we stopped with the crowd. Great preparations seemed to be going on. First, about one hundred police, in full uniform, marched in through the Pall Mall gate; then a company of British red-coated soldiers; then a band of musicians, about one hundred in number; then came the Prince of Wales, preceding the Princess with their three children, looking as sweet and pretty 90 Royal Magnificence. as those of other people \ then, for two or three hours, came the British aristocracy in splendid equipages; the foreign ministers ; Gladstone ; Baron Rothschild (an old, decrepit man), walking; the Duke of Connaught, the Queen's third son; the Earl of Granville; Duchess of Welhngton; Earl and Countess of Dudley, the latter being very beautiful. These and many more were pointed out to us. Soon great excitement- was everywhere manifest, and two knights on horseback came riding up the street at full speed, carrying a lance with a scarlet flag. Then a dozen gay outriders in half armor, looking like our Knights of Pythias; then came the grand state carriage, with four gray horses and various footmen, and everybody became aware that it was the Queen, with her daughters, the Princess Louise (wife of the Marquis of Lome) and Princess Beatrice. A shght cheer went up as the Queen passed. She is a robust, red-faced, well-preserved woman of about sixty, look- ing not over forty or fifty, and has nine children, all living — five sons and four daughters. The sons seem to inherit their mother's avarice and love of power, and the daughters Prince Albert's gener- osity and mental capacity. For two or three hours, The Qiieeii's Stables. 91 nearly as fast as they could enter the gate, came the splendid equipages, — mostly open carriages, — giving us a fine opportunity to see the ladies in full dress. Many of the young ladies were in white Swiss or white silk and satin. Most of the older married ladies were in plain black silk. Only a few were on foot. One lady alone, with a footman behind, drove a pair of gray horses, in a Victoria phaeton. We made a visit to the Queen's stables, at Buck- ingham Palace, in which are kept about one hundred horses, for the use of the royal estabHshment in Lon- don, and about the same number are kept at the Windsor Palace, all of the best blood that can be obtained, with gold and silver-mounted harness and carriages to match. The great State carriage of George III., which is used only on coronation occasions, looks like one of Bamum's grand parade band chariots. It is one hundred years old, weighs four tons, and cost over fifty thousand dollars. On the doors and sides are some original paintings, by Cipriani, which are valued highly. Some sixty men are employed as grooms about these stables in London. The Queen's own horses are nine cream- 92 Coffee Taverns, colored stallions, and are used only on State occa- sions. At Windsor Castle she keeps the same number of gray horses. All the horses in the stable but these have " bob tails." Our landlord asked us to accompany him to a different scene from those we had witnessed during the day, and about nine o'clock at night we were divested of watches, money and jewelry, and started % out to see the " slums " of London. Such squalor and poverty were heart-rending; but the saddest sight was at the drinking-places. There were more women drinking and drunk than men, and they were altogether the most boisterous and belligerent. We saw here so many to remind us of Dickens's characters, as portrayed in his books — characters so often selected from the poorer and lower classes. Every now and then we would come across a temperance saloon with bathing-rooms, or " coffee taverns," as they call them in England, showing that benevolent people are at work. The temperance ad- vocates have formed large corporations, called " Coffee Tavern Companies," of prominent men of wealth and reputation, to operate these taverns in different parts of London. The one we visited, called the " Morton Coffee Taverns. 93 Arms," has seven branches, called " The Glass House," " The Market Tavern," " The Temple Arms," " The Tom Hughes," "The Cross Keys," "The Phoenix Tavern," "The Red Boot Tavern," — curious names to us. Other houses are in course of adaptation all through London. The design is to make these places attractive to working people, and they generally seek a place near some liquor-selling tavern where the working men congregate, and their intention is to make the temperance taverns more attractive than the others, and offer a " bill of fare " at lower prices. Here is the "price-list" and notices on the bill of fare : Cocoa, per cup i d. = 2 c. Coffee, " I d. = 2 c. Tea, small cup, per cup i d. = 2 c. Tea, large cup, " 2 d. = 4 c. Small plate of beef 2 d. = 4 c. Large " " " 4 d. = 8 c. Small " " ham 2 d. = 4 c. Large " " " 4 d. = 8 c. Seed and currant cake, per slice i d. = 2 c. Bread and butter ^ d. = i c. New milk, per glass i d. =: 2 c. Boiled eggs, etc., etc., etc. 94 Practical Temperance Work. The Company will also supply lemonade, gingerade, soda water and other aerated drinks, in bottles and by the glass, at i d. and 2d. Good cigars to be had at 2 d. N. B. Non-alcoholic beverages, i>^ d. per bottle. Working men may bring their own meals and eat them on the premises. Everything good and clean. Out-door trade done. Customers bringing their own jugs or cans will be supplied. I have been particular in describing the above on account of the success attending these taverns in attracting the working men and their families, and as a financial investment. Gladstone, the Lord Chancel- lor, and the leading reformers are interesting them- selves in this good work. Here is something practical for us at home to adopt, where intemperance is becom- ing a national disgrace. These coffee taverns, I am told, become self-supporting. Reading-rooms, smok- ing-rooms, and everything to entice young men away from drinking-places, are made as attractive as possible. Many acquire the habit of drinking from visiting these places, because they know they are expected to patron- ize the drinking saloons by drinking themselves; if they enjoy their hospitality, they must take a little spurge on. 95 alcoholic stimulus to repay them. I wish our Young Men's Christian Association, in connection with look ing after the spiritual interests of the young men, would connect reading-rooms, bath-rooms, and an attractive gymnasium with their rooms; and thereby show an interest in providing suitable amusements and entertainments to draw them away from gambling- rooms and disreputable places. Many of our young men avoid religious meetings. Let us have no com- pulsory features about them, but make the rooms cheerful, social and free from anything wrong, but have nothing to repel the class who need them most. On Sunday our first thought was to go and hear Spurgeon, and we were fortunate in finding him at home, and able to preach. He is suffering terribly with the gout, and is unable to preach often. His great church is in the form of an amphitheater, with two galleries extending around the entire room, in the rear as well as front of the platform, and will hold, when packed, about eight thousand. Every seat was occupied to-day, indicating some six thousand present. First come upon the platform about one hundred boys from his orphan school, g6 Spurge 01U and take their seats, and then follow the officers of the church. Over the platform is a high pulpit, surrounded by a railing, which Mr. Spurgeon, soon entering, occupies and commences the services at once with an earnest prayer. He is a rather short, thick-set man, and to look at him one wonders whence such great influence and power for good can come ; but when he gets thoroughly warmed in his discourse, you find yourself in full sympathy with the great audience, for all around you are men and women weeping, showing that he knows how to touch human sympathies and well under- stands human nature. In referring to some people that were always despondent, he said : " They always squeeze the juices of sorrow out of the clusters of Eshcol." The sermon was about an hour long, and delivered entirely without notes. Earnest, eloquent, and full of beautiful expression, he was not by any means the coarse, sledge-ham- mer man I expected to see. After service he invited all members of churches to unite with them in celebrating the Lord's Supper in the chapel. There are about five thousand members of his church, and one of the deacons pointed out to Canon Farrar. 97 me a poor, decrepit old lady, who was the first one on the Hst of church members. In the afternoon w^e all went to St. Margaret's Church to hear Canon Farrar, who has, by his pub- lished sermons on eternal punishment, drawn the attention of people toward him. He is a fine-look- ing man. He preached a good sermon, directed mostly to young men, condemning the frivolous habits and fast lives of the young men of England who, having inherited wealth and position, yet made it a curse to them on account of their dissipation. We have heard Dr. Parker, the leading Congregational minister, and Dr. Cumming, the prominent Presbyte- rian clergyman, and Dr. Punshon, Methodist, and could not but feel that they are more than equaled by Bishop Simpson, Dr. Phillips Brooks of Boston, Dr. John Hall, Dr. Storrs, Beecher and others in America. We find Americans everywhere, and in greater numbers, it is said, than ever before. Dr. Parker, I think, said to us, " You Americans, I suppose, have come over to tell us how hard the times are in America." There are so many things of interest in London that one wants at least a month to see them. 7 98 Kensington Museum. We have been here about ten days, and have not yet visited all the places of special interest, such as the Natural History Gallery, etc. We were deUghted in spending a day at Kensington Museum, where, among other objects of interest, is the Forster Collec- tion, which contains the original manuscripts of Dickens's works — Oliver Twist, Old Curiosity Shop, American Notes, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, David Copperfield, Dombey and Son, and many others. Nearly one-half, or more, of each line had been erased and re-written, showing with what care Dickens pre- pared his works for publication. It was very difficult for me to read them, even with a glass, and no one but printers could do it, for they seem to have a sort of intuitive power to read poor scribbhng and make out what one wants to say. There are also original letters or manuscripts of William Cowper, Keats, Thomas Campbell, Samuel Johnson, Alexander Pope, Daniel De Foe, author of " Robinson Crusoe," John Locke, Sir Isaac Newton, Addison, Thomas Moore, John Hampden's letter to his friend. Sir John Elliott, at his lodging in the Tower, and many others. The collection of paintings is one of the most valuable in London, and has not been here long, but attracts Rich77io?id Hill. 99 great attention. The admission to this Museum is free three times a week. We made an excursion to the environs of London. In every direction are most attractive places, none more so than Hampton Court and Richmond Hill, with its park of three thousand acres, on the bank of the Thames, thirteen miles from London. At the latter, one gets one of the finest views of the beautiful country, with London and Windsor Castle in the distance. We take a carriage and ride through Twickenham, past many delightful places occupied by lords and ladies ; their names I do not care to remember. Pope's villa and Lady Russell's are the most prominent. We ride through Bushy Park, a splendid avenue of horse-chestnut trees, one mile long— the park stretching away in green glades and small lakes on either side. We see all about picnic parties enjoying the cool shade and velvety lawns, and notice some boys starting up and chasing a herd of deer. The flowers, covering the grove of horse-chestnut trees in May, are said to be a most attractive sight, filling the air with fragrance. As we pass into the grounds connected with Hampton Court, it looks, all around us and in the loo HamptoJi Court. distance, like a wild tract of land with immense trees, as are some of those beautiful pasture-grounds, interspersed with oak openings, in Madison County, Ohio. The day was warm, and the sun shone out brightly. The walks were delightful. Most of the English parks seem to be left as near their natural state as possible, but of late years more attention is paid to landscape gardening; and here you come suddenly upon flower-beds of every artistic shape and every bright, beautiful flower that could be imagined, arranged along the walks under the yew trees in every direction, almost as far as the eye can reach ; here are arches of trees, and here flowers and lawns, and artificial lakes and water-courses, covered with water-lilies and white water-fowl; with the sober, majestic, red-brick walls of the palace, covering eight acres, in the background, and with three thousand five hundred and ninety-six acres of park in view. It presents an appearance of grandeur and beauty long to be remembered. We enter the palace, which has been occupied by nine different sovereigns. Its long suits of apartments seem to be the gathering-place of historical antiquities, paintings, old furnished parlors and dressing-rooms (the State Ha7Jipto?i Court loi Bed-room among them), with the ancient beds and furniture. The whole number of pictures at Hamp- ton Court is about one thousand. The palace garden has a vinery where there is a grape-vine over ninety years old, which has yielded three thousand bunches of black Hamburg grapes in one year. The principal stem is forty-two inches round at the base, and is over one hundred and ten feet long. We spent a whole day here, and could not but say, "In what other country could one find the same perfection of gardening ? " The grass was soft and green, and the dark shade of the yew and brown beech contrasted finely with the fighter verdure of the oak and the smooth-leaved, elegant liirie and rougher elm. I can- not describe the scene; it was enough to enjoy it. The palace was originally built by Cardinal Wolsey, who was also its architect. "The historian relates that at Hampton Court were two hundred and eighty beds of silk for royal and noble guests." From these historical antiquities and old paintings, one turns with delight to the exhibition of the Royal Academy — all modern pictures. This is the one hundred and tenth exhibition, opening in May and closing on the first of August. Here are about fifteen I02 The Royal Academy. hundred paintings and some one hundred pieces of sculpture, the Hst of exhibitors numbering about nine hundred. No artist is allowed to exhibit more than eight different works; none which have already been publicly exhibited in London being admitted, and no copies of any kind. The Academy was established over one hundred years ago, by George III. Its principal objects are the maintenance of a school or academy of design for gratuitous instruction of stu- dents in art, and an annual exhibition, free to all artists of distinguished merit. It is a private society, supporting a school open to the people from its own resources, without any grant of public money. The first President was Sir Joshua Reynolds. The Presi- dent now [1878] is Sir Daniel McNee. Among the paintings, of course, are some of the first productions of modern art ; and to me, not a connoisseur in such matters, it seemed a rich day's enjoyment to be where I could examine so many works by the artists of the later school, and judge for myself whether they were good or not. I must confess that, although many of the works by the old masters may be of rare worth, as showing the history and progress of art, yet I cannot see the merit which is often attributed to them. Batik of England. 103 However, in this I plead ignorance. The paintings were of every conceivable design. Bierstadt had one on exhibition which was much admired, entitled " Estes Park, Colorado, U. S." We could not cross over to the Continent until w^e had visited the greatest bank in the world, the Bank of England, with its one thousand clerks, and its low but attractive stone buildings, covering three acres. The area in the center is planted with shrubs and ornamented with a fountain. There is a valuable library for the use of the clerks. The value of bank- notes in circulation is about one hundred millions of dollars. The specie or bullion in its vaults amounts to one hundred and thirty millions of dollars. It pays interest on deposits, as do all the banks in Great Britain. The interest paid is from one to two and a half per cent. We see no bank-bills in England except the Bank of England notes, which go at par anywhere in Europe. The Bank buildings here all look old and dingy. It is said that the bankers and rich business men abhor fresh, new and showy fronts and counters for offices; but the older and more begrimed they are the better, as an indication of an Englishman's substantial character and his aversion 104 Off for the Continent. to change. A visit to some of these old commercial houses, whose monetary transactions are counted by milHons, is quite interesting. The firm that I had business with seemed to boast of having rooms for their office which had been occupied by Queen Anne Boleyn. It is said that over eighteen hundred children are bom in London every week, and that there are over twelve hundred deaths. We leave now for the Continent, feeling that we have had a hurried, and therefore somewhat unsatis- factory visit. VIII. Eminent British Divines* Punshon Pulsford WlLBERFORCE. " London, WE have heard in Great Britain eight notable preachers — Punshon, Pulsford, Wilberforce, Parker, Gumming, Farrar, Stanley and Spurgeon. I will now give you my impressions of the first three, reserving the remaining five for my next letter. Dr. W. Morley Punshon was in Dublin on Sunday, June 23d (a day which we spent there), in attendance upon the M. E. Gonference of Ireland. He preached in the " large Goncert Hall " of the International *The present letter and the following one were kindly furnished by Rev. R. G. Hutchins, D. D., Pastor of the First Congregational Church, Columbus, Ohio, who is my pastor, and who was my traveling companion during the pleasant journeyings of which the present volume is the record. 105 io6 Emme7it British Divines. Exhibition Palace of 1853 — a hall which, with its wings, will seat between three and four thousand people. The service was to commence at half-past three o'clock p. m., and before three o'clock the entrances were thronged with people. We found the hall hterally packed ; for be it known unto you that Dr. Punshon is generally esteemed by his denomina- tion in Great Britain as their most eloquent preacher. Barely room enough for the speaker was left on the stage by the time of his arrival. He is a large-framed, heavy man, perfectly erect, with full, red face and dark- brown curly hair, which is wanting on the top of the head. He is perhaps fifty years old. Over his eyes, which are half hidden with flesh, he wears spectacles, at least when reading. His whole appearance and bearing suggest solidity and power. He might sit for the portrait of the typical Englishman. A few years since, his face and style were made familiar to many American audiences. You will remember that he served two years in Canada for his deceased wife's sister, whom he could not, according to English law, marry at home. The term of his service was vastly more reasonable than that which Rachel's father exacted from Jacob. Two of his lectures in America Dr. Pimshon. 107 — one upon " Daniel," the other upon " The Huguenots" — I heard in Brooklyn. They were too highly wrought — -the "tool-marks" were too apparent — to be received with enthusiasm in a country where Mr. Beecher's naturalness and spontaneity have so largely set the fashion for oratory. But he evidently improved his time among us, studying our history and visiting our national shrines: for I observed that he was advertised in the Dublin papers for a lecture, on the Wednesday evening following his sermon, upon " The Men of the Mayflower." I saw a report of this lecture, as previously deHvered, which proved, con- cerning Plymouth Rock, that he " had been there'' He commenced and continued his discourse in a natural, straightforward way, like a man having a direct, honest purpose. His voice was too high and loud at the beginning, and was unduly sustained in pitch and volume throughout. It sounds as if it had been strained. Blunt, familiar sentences were occasionally interjected, but the bulk of the discourse was highly elaborate and ornate. His imagination is tropical in its luxuriance, and as he takes you through his tangled forest-paths and bowers of beauty you some- times begin to doubt his earnestness, and to question io8 Eminent British Divines. whether it may not be his chief purpose to show you his rhetorical plantation rather than to lead you to any moral destination. But, suddenly, at the most unexpected point, you are brought out into the plain highway again, and he utters a few sentences, short and pointed, like the inscription on a guide-post, and you blame yourself for having distrusted your guide. There is a striking contrast between the man's ponder- ous frame and his fine and often exquisite rhetoric. The presence of the strong man always redeems his nicety from mere prettiness. He spoke without notes, yet it was evident that (with the exception of occasional sentences, intended to break the excessive smoothness of the flow of his polished periods) the sermon had been carefully written and committed to memory. His text was Mat. 5: 14, 15, i6: "Ye are the light of the world," etc. The following were his three grand heads : 1. " Light is derived, and therefore humble. It is not ye but your Hght that is to shine." 2. " Light is self-evidencing, and therefore cannot be hid. Does any one ever ask if you are a Christian ? Then you are no proper Christian at all. Did any one ask where Moses had been when he descended Dr. Punshon. 109 from the Mount with the glory of God shining in his face?" 3. " Light is a pleasant thing, and therefore needs no apology." Here he enumerated some of the substantial reasons for Christian joy. Shall I jot down for you a few of his sentences as specimens ? " Christians are to let their light shine, not as hermits but as men ; not in the convent, but in the company." " The primary duty of the Christian is to glorify God — to fill life with doxologies of song and hallelujahs of service." " When duty, with solitary finger, points one way, and self- interest and the applause of men point the other, the Christian obeys the index of God." " The Christian is to let his Hght shine before men ; he is not to glare it upon them as a policeman suddenly glares his lantern upon the affrighted criminal." " The path of the just shines dimmer and dimmer? No, that is the class-meeting version of it. No, brighter and brighter ! " " Naturalists tell us that the eye of the eagle droops and weeps when it looks at the sun. The world has an eagle eye for your faults; but let your light shine so purely that its critical eye shall droop before the brightness and beauty of your life." no Eminent Biitish Divines. Having heard Morley Punshon twice, and also read a volume of his published discourses, I am sure I should not expect from his preaching, with all its excellences, any of those mighty works which accom- panied and followed that of the illustrious founder of Methodism. In Glasgow we heard Dr. William Pulsford, a Con- gregationalist, who is accounted one of the two or three first preachers in the city. He is said to have the faculty of attracting and holding young men. He is a small man, rather frail than robust in appearance, with a high forehead and thin, study-worn face, and is about sixty years of age. His manner is exceedingly quiet and conversational. His thoughts are clean-cut and distinct. His sentences are concise and rich- freighted. He is not fluent; continuity is broken by too long pauses between passages. His language is classical in its purity, and yet impresses you not as the result of present effort or special preparation— not as the treading of the wine-press, but as the bursting juice from the ripe clusters of culture. Though deep, rich sweetness and purity chiefly characterized his discourse, yet it was not without passages of real power. I heard him spoken of as a popular preacher, Norman Macleod. in but, judging from the sermon I heard, I should never venture to call him one. There is no living Scotchman whom I so much desired to hear as Prof. John Caird, who now holds a chair in the University of Glasgow, and seldom preaches. His present manner is described as calm, and his sermons as thoughtful and scholarly, but in his earlier years he must have had an impassioned eloquence nothing less than marvelous. We had come to Glasgow a few years too late to hear that great and good man Norman Macleod, but it was pleasant to hear his praises spoken on every hand. I am told that his likeness adorns the walls, not only of rich mansions, but also of multitudes of cottages in Highland hamlets. When the poor saw him they blessed him, and the Queen delighted in him. We visited his church, " The Old Barony," the place where he had power with God and with men, and prevailed. It is situated in an unfashionable and even poor part of the city, near the Infirmary ; yet, as the old parish church, it still enjoys a certain prestige. On the outer wall of this sanctuary we saw a perma- nent announcement of services " for people in working 112 Eminent British Divines. clothes." You saw at a glance that the interior of the church, with its amplitude of space and its semi- circular pews, was designed for popular audiences. The people who were gathering for evening worship were of the humbler sort, and the contribution receivers in the vestibule were loaded, not with sover- eigns or shillings, but pennies. We went to hear Dr. Donald Macleod, the biog- rapher of his famous brother, his successor as editor of Good Words, and one of Her Majesty's chaplains, but he was away upon his vacation. His church is in a fashionable quarter of the town, and is said to be attended by what are known in Great Britain as " the best people." We subsequently made his acquaintance on the steamboat from Oban to Inverness, and still later enjoyed a stroll with him and his brother-in-law, Rev. Dr. Clerk, the parish minister at Corpach. Through their courtesy we passed a delightful evening at the parsonage, a refined Highland home, where we heard the old Scotch ballads beautifully sung by the daughters of Dr. Clerk, assisted by their uncle. Dr. Macleod, who has a superb voice. Professor Hoppin, of Yale, calls York Minster " the grandest building in Great Britain, and among the Ca7io7i Wilberforce. 113 finest in the world." It was in the choir of this min- ster that we heard Canon Wilberforce, a son of Bishop Wilberforce, and grandson of the great emancipator. He is a tall, slim man, with a fine, unwhiskered face, and is about forty years old. At the beginning of his sermon you are annoyed by his high, unnatural voice and declamatory tone. He uses no gesticulation, but betrays the intensity of his temperament by his constant stepping from side to side of the little pulpit, or " theological tub." But you are soon made to forget his infelicities by the simplicity of his rhetoric and his profound earnestness. Though he reads closely, yet he makes the impression that he is doing nothing for display, but is simply seeking to press home his thoughts upon the minds and hearts of his hearers. He had come up from Southampton, where he resides, to attend the meetings of a temperance society to be held in York during the week; and, as was natural, he preached upon Temperance. He is erecting a memorial church in honor of his father, the Bishop, one portion of which is to be built with the contributions of temperance people alone. The collection of the morning was devoted to that purpose. 8 114 ^ Sjuall Audience. His discourse was one of the boldest and grandest I have ever heard upon the subject. I have heard men preach, both at home and abroad, whose world of thought seemed infinitely removed from the real world of men and women, with its wants and woes, its struggles and defeats ; and it did my heart good to hear a man, especially one of aristocratic prestige and in an aristocratic place, speak as if he really knew something of the sins and sorrows of the teeming masses outside of church walls, who are, alas ! too often outside, also, of the bounds of our sympathy and effort. The services which we had attended in English cathedrals had not prepared us to expect, in such a quarter, a sermon like that of Canon Wilberforce. At one cathedral choral service we counted three ecclesiastics, seven men and twelve boy singers, one organist and one organ-blower, and one verger — total, twenty -Jive persons^ — all to edify an audience of seven, including ourselves and other tourists who had happened in, and one little boy. The intoning was above criticism, and the service was artistically rendered, but I could not help saying (and may the dear Lord forgive me if I was uncharitable) that if Caiion Wilbcrforce. 115 the world is to be converted by such means, the accomphshment of the work must be indefinitely postponed. No part of that choral service seemed more in keeping with the hour than the petition " that we may spend our time in rest and quietness ; " which petition seemed to be richly answered in the case of the celebrants. Canon Wilberforce, taking total-abstinence ground in the presence of a beer and wine bibbing congre- gation, illustrated the law of heredity, exhibiting the courage which dwelt in his grandfather, the statesman, and his father, the Bishop, and, I am per- suaded, in himself also. Repeatedly the ancestral fire flamed out. He quoted statistics showing the relation of the great recent increase of crime and pauperism to intemperance. The present depression of business, and consequent dissatisfaction of the working classes, he thought largely due to the withdrawal of such vast amounts of money and so much enterprise from legitimate channels, to supply the self-indulgent drink- ing habits of the people. In a most impressive and pathetic passage, he illustrated the damage inflicted by drink upon domes- tic life. He spoke from his own observation, and ii6 Afi Impressive Temperance Sermon. told of " one of the gentlest and most devoted wives he ever knew, over whose grave the earth is scarcely set, who, having borne with a drunken, brutal hus- band for long years, received from him a kick which liberated her anguish-stricken spirit, and suf- fered it to fly where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest; while her babe, prema- turely born, lay dead by the dead mother's side." While reciting at her funeral the blessed words of the burial service, he had vowed never to cease lifting up his voice against the vice by which that woman had been murdered. The wonderful ring of the sermon may be guessed from two or three sentences which are printed on my memory. Speaking of the impossibility of restraining men's lusts by law, he said : " This is not the plat- form ; and yet, before this altar, I declare that there is nothing at which the devils laugh more than at an act of Parhament." Again : " The Church of Eng- land of to-day, with its polished and gilded formalism, is pining for want of zeal. Christ can bear with our opposition better than our indifference. ' I would ye were even either cold or hot.' " These words sounded heroic in the choir of York Minster. Everything The Temperance Cause. 117 considered, nothing which I have heard on this side the water has moved me Uke this sermon by Canon Wilberforce. I can close this letter with no more cheering news than that the temperance cause is advancing wonder- fully in Great Britain. Four of the Bishops of the Church of England and three of the Canons of West- minster, including Canon Farrar, are now total abstainers, and are outspoken in defense of their principles. The Duke of Westminster, who is accounted the richest man in the country, is also using his vast influence in favor of temperance, though I do not understand that he has yet taken the total abstinence ground. So much for progress among the powers that be. Meanwhile, Mr. William Noble, who commenced public speaking as a reformed drunkard by repeating from memory parts of Mr. Cough's lectures, has been over to the United States and learned the methods of the " Murphy movement," and introduced them in one of the worst quarters of London. The reformed men are called the " Blue Ribbon Army," and the Murphy pledge is most solemnly administered. The meetings are held in the " Hoxton Music Hall," a place where low concerts ii8 The Temperance Cause. were formerly given, and which was closed by the poHce as a disreputable place. I attended one of these meetings, and I confess that I never before saw so motley a crowd. They poured in fresh from the slums. The evening was the one hundred and tenth night that the meetings had been held, and four thousand five hundred signers to the pledge had been secured. m IX. Dr. Joseph Parker. . . Dr. John Gumming. . . .Canon Far- RAR Dean Stanley Charles H. Spurgeon. London. DR. JOSEPH PARKER, of London, is known to Americans through his published works, especially his " Ecce Deus." Many of our coun- trymen made his personal acquaintance at the meet- ing of the Evangelical Alliance in New York, in 1873, where he delivered an admirable address upon " Modern Preaching and its Requirements." His appointment to this service, on so important an occasion, indicates the rank he has attained in his art. Occasional copies of his weekly paper, TAe Fountain^ which publishes his sermons, find their way across the sea. 119 I20 Eminefit British Divines. We heard one of his Thursday-noon discourses to business men. His church edifice is conveniently situated for such mid-week services, being near a business center. The sermons which he gives on these occasions have all been previously delivered to his Sabbath congregations. Dr. Parker is a large-framed, bulky man, with black hair and eyes, and a broad, full, red face. His bearing and speech betoken great self-reliance, an imperious will, force and energy, and no small self- complacency. His first utterances in our hearing were those of prayer, and suggested self-conscious- ness and an affected loftiness. His sermon was delivered entirely without notes, and was character- ized by strength, fluency, beauty and unction. He proved himself a master of sarcasm and irony, and of pathos as well. He won and held the warm sympathy of his hearers. They smiled, they wept, were instructed and convinced. Before the benedic- tion, the preacher announced that The Foimiain for the week contained the sermon to which we had just listened, and would be for sale in the ves- tibule. So, many of us had the sermon both given to us and sold to us, and thus preserved two copies, Dr. JoJni Ctimnwig. 121 one on " the fleshly tables of the heart," the other on " the printed page." Though Dr. Parker is a man of recognized power, yet conservative Londoners speak of him as sensa- tional. And, certainly, not all his measures for attracting the public ear and eye would seem deli- cate, even to our less fastidious American taste. This fear haunted me in hearing him, that he had more ability than amiability. One Sunday afternoon we attended Crown Court Chapel, near Covent Garden, London, and were surprised to find a congregation of only some fifty persons, w^here admiring throngs were wont to gather. The pastor, Dr. John Cumming, a minister of the Scottish Church, and a Scotchman by birth, is a tall, well-proportioned, refined and venerable old gentleman, about seventy years of age. He has, as you know, been a voluminous theological writer, a distinguished adversary of the Romish Church, and a steadfast opponent of the party which, under Chalmers, founded the Free Church of Scotland. His sermon (if a disjointed talk upon a variety of subjects, having no relevancy to the text, deserves 122 Eminent British Divines. so considerable a name) was an abundant explana- tion of the empty pews. He read, apparently from a little commonplace book, thoughts which had not the remotest mutual kinship ; lifting his eyes between the passages and proceeding to thin them down by extemporaneous remarks. In his prime he is said to have had " a peerless capacity for continuousness," which he still retains. But the old- time dehght of his hearers has given place to a patient, respectful weariness. The spectacle w^as altogether pitiable. But our hearts were melted in tender sympathy for him when we subsequently learned that the career of a reckless son had broken down the noble old man more than the weight of years. His style of speaking has always been fluent and conversational. Though never among the strongest and grandest of preachers, yet his was formerly a genuine and captivating eloquence, and for grace and polish of manner he was unsurpassed. Canon Farrar is apparently about forty-five years old. He is of medium height and neither fleshy nor thin, but plump and well rounded. His brain is probably never dull nor dizzy from plethora, Can oil Farrai'. 123 neither is he haunted by dyspeptic horrors. He seems Hke a man in thoroughly sound health. He has a large, symmetrical head, round in its general form and partially bald, with a high, broad forehead. His hair is dark brown and his eyes are small. He is erect in form, having nothing of the " scholarly stoop " which we naturally associate with the writer of many books. You would call him a fine-looking man. He has not attained entire self-possession or self-forgetfulness in public address, but his face is red with blushes. We heard him in St. Margaret's Chapel, which stands within the inclosure of Westminster Abbey. He is much discussed just now on account of his recent deliverances upon the doctrine of future pun- ishment, and his photograph is conspicuous in the book-shop windows. We therefore anticipated find- ing a crowded house, but there were seats for many who had staid away. His sermon was about what his published dis- courses had prepared me to look for. It was exceptionally clear and pure in language, but suf- ficiently commonplace in thought. It was a con- trast between Samuel and the sons of EU. He 124 Eminent British Divines. spoke some words of denunciation concerning the dissipation of young men belonging to the gentry and nobiHty, which, from the sensation they caused, were evidently regarded as bold; and in all his utterances there breathed a high, free and manly spirit; but in no sentence did he exhibit great power or impressiveness. Farrar reads closely, and his tones in delivery are execrable — the inevitable sing-song of the English Church. In one part of his sermon he betrayed annoy- ance and hesitancy, which culminated in a pause, followed by the remark : " We do not wish people to come here who are not willing to remain through the services." By which it appears that some had come to hear the superb music, and, not being spell- bound by the preacher, were retiring. Thus it seems that even a Canon may not be a sufficiently big gun to carry all before him. It is not strange that the EngHsh Church, though she develops the ablest and most scholarly men, is not rich in great preachers. The ritual and not the sermon is emphasized. If comparatively little is expected from the sermon, it is natural that com- paratively little should be done for it. Moreover, DEAN STANLEY. Dean Stanley, 125 the splendid prizes, in place and titles, with which the Church rewards superior authorship, successfully invite time and strength from pulpit preparation. The widow and biographer of Charles Kingsley says that "his sermons were always remarkable." But he who turns from "Hypatia" or "Alton Locke" to read Kingsley's discourses, cannot fail to conclude that the press rather than the pulpit claimed and got the hon's share of the thought and labor of that knightly soul. Those who have been instructed and charmed by the scholarly and delightful books of Farrar are doomed to some degree of disap- pointment when they hear him preach. Of Dean Stanley it may be said, more truly, per- haps, than of any other minister of the Church of England, that he is the bright, consummate flower of the highest Enghsh breeding and culture. The son of the Bishop of Norwich, he was a pupil of Arnold, of Rugby, and subsequently his biographer. A graduate of Oxford, he became Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History in that University. Chap- lain to Prince Albert, he became the intimate and beloved friend of Her Majesty the Queen, who gave him one of the noblest and best of the ladies of 126 Eminent Biitish Divines. her court in marriage. He was selected to accom- pany the Prince of Wales in his journey through the East, which tour furnished Stanley the raw materials for his rich and vivid volume upon Sinai and Palestine. And now he wears his crowning honors as Dean of Westminster; and, despite his splendid career, wonderful to relate, he holdeth fast his integrity! He is said to be simple and child- like in manner and spirit. We heard him preach, in his own cathedral, probably his last sermon before his visit to America. Every seat and standing - place within reach of his voice was occupied, and he was listened to with profound and sympathetic attention. He is a short, slim man, with head and shoulders slightly bent. He is now sixty-three years old, but he seems much older, his voice and whole appearance suggesting feebleness. He is, however, evidently in poor health. His face has great delicacy of mould, and a serious, refined and gentle expression. His eye is light, probably blue, and his hair and English side beard are thoroughly bleached. His fine head and fair forehead betoken the predominance of intellect. You see at a glance that he is a fine-fibered man. Dean Stanley. 127 He reads his sermon closely, without changing his position or making a gesture. Nothing favorable to his elocution can be said, except that there is evident warmth and sympathy in his voice, and a rhythm in his tones in curious keeping with the rhythm of his sentences, and really interpreting their thought. In themselves considered, his inflections are absurd; but, sustaining the flow of his noble rhetoric, and conveying to the ear his generous meaning, we welcome them for what they bring. He who presents us with pearls in a rich casket may be shabbily dressed; but, in the light of his gift, we are ready to make oath that he is "clothed in purple and fine linen." Stanley's sermon was upon Elijah at Horeb ; and, after hearing it, I turned to his " Jewish Church," and found several passages which he had, " for sub- stance of doctrine," reproduced, and others which he had almost literally reproduced. Though birth and privilege and royal favor have raised him to a position far above the masses of men, yet he evidently lives in the same world with them, and sympathizes with their aspirations, their struggles and discouragements. The discourse was full of 128 E??iineiit British Divines. hope and charity — the helping hand of a vaHant brother. How beautiful a thing is genuine culture! Such culture is, I think, always recognized by two tokens, — self-restraint and orderliness. The uncultivated but hospitable housewife places before her guests viands excessive in variety and quality, with defective taste in arrangement and manner of serving. But the refined housewife shows her breeding in the restraining hand, and in the order and dehcacy of her table. An uncultivated speaker is in danger of overcrowding his address, and presenting his thoughts in a crude, mixed way. But a ripe scholar, like Stanley, does not attempt to give too much, but pre- sents the thoughts he offers clearly, strongly, elegantly. Moreover, this must be said of Dean Stanley, that however much you may differ from him in doc- trinal or ecclesiastical views, you must admire and love this man, who has evidently got past Esek, the well of strife and controversy, and beyond Sitnah, the well of recrimination, even to Rehoboth, the place of largeness and breadth. I have heard Mr. Spurgeon three times — twice in V 1858, and now again in 1878. I first heard him REV. C. H. SPURGECN. Sptirgeon. 129 at Epsom Race-course, where the celebrated Derby- races are run. The race season had passed, and he spoke for the benefit of a church there (an admis- sion-fee being charged), in the grand stand of the course. His text was i. Cor. ix. 24 : " Know ye not, that they which run in a race, run all, but one receiveth the prize ? So run, that ye may obtain." I took no notes of the sermon, but the points he made can never fade from my memory. These were his heads : I. " No horse runs in the race that is not entered r From which he inferred the neces- sity of having one's name enrolled in the Lamb's Book of Life, and an actual entrance upon the Christian course, in order to a successful ending of the race. IL ^^ No horse wins in the race that is heavily laden^^ and here he urged the necessity of laying aside every weight, etc. III. " No horse wins in the race that leaps the posts and rails, and gets out of the course entirely'' From which he pre- dicted the failure of such Christian professors as go over to profane isms and practices. IV. ^^ No horse wins in the race that stops to kick his competitors T At this time Spurgeon was but twenty-four years « old, and had been preaching in London four years. 9 130 Emi7ient British Divines, The following Sunday I heard him in Surrey Music Hall, and though an admission fee of a shilling was charged, to feed the fund for building the Metropolitan Chapel, the house seemed full of pay- ing auditors before the doors were opened to the non-paying crowd. But then the people poured in like the sea when the dikes are leveled. Even at this early period of his ministry he spoke with the same assurance and self-possession which now characterize him. The consciousness of his embassadorship led him, even in extreme youth, to speak "as one having authority, and not as the scribes." A friend of mine, who heard him when he was but eighteen years old, at which age he became pastor of a church at Waterbeach, testifies that when, at the close of his discourse, he appealed to the aged, they were deeply moved, the whole air of the preacher indicating his right to counsel and warn his grey- haired seniors. He brought the expectation of doing a great work in the ministry up with him from child- hood. His father and grandfather were both inde- pendent ministers, and on one occasion, when Richard Knill was visiting the latter in Essex, the good s missionary took Charles, then a little, white-haired Spurgeon. 131 lad, into the garden, and talked with him awhile under a yew-tree. After praying with him, he took the boy upon his knee and said : " This child will preach the gospel, and he will preach it to the largest congregations of our times." In one of his pubhshed sermons Mr. Spurgeon thus refers to this utterance of Mr. Knill : " I believed," says Spurgeon, "his prophecy, and my standing here to-day is partly occasioned by such beUef. It did not hinder me in my diHgence in seeking to educate myself because I believed I was destined to preach to large congregations; not at all; but the prophecy helped forward its own fulfillment; and I prayed and sought and strove, always having this star of Bethlehem before me, that the day should come when I should preach the gospel." On his first appearance in London, and for several years afterward, many regarded him as a mushroom growth, and he was harshly criticised and even ridiculed. But his influence as a preacher and pastor and organizer have yearly increased, even to this day. His average congregation numbers from five to six thousand, and he has, on occasions, preached to an assembly of twenty-five thousand 132 Ejnijient British Divines. people. His sermons are translated into all the principal European languages. His training college furnishes scores of preachers every Sabbath, from among its students, for the destitute sections of the metropolis, and its graduates are eagerly sought by Baptist churches throughout England. His earnest, evangelical, catholic spirit has elevated the tone of the churches of his order throughout the United Kingdom. li I were asked to summarize Mr. Spurgeon's elements of power, I could not fail to mention: i. A voice of wonderful clearness, sweetness and com- pass. 2. Marvelous fluency. 3. Perfect self-posses- sion. 4. Great variety of thought and illustration. 5. The habit of distributing his thought under pointed and concise heads. 6. Robust common- sense, bringing him into sympathy with the common people, who always hear him gladly. 7. Profound sincerity and earnestness. Of this last-mentioned characteristic, Henry Vin- cent, the English orator, gave me an illustration. Mr. Vincent, having been impressed by a simple presentation of the truth by Mr. Spurgeon, repaired to the ante-room after service, to thank him for the Spurgeon. 133 sermon. The door was ajar, and the preacher was leaning his head upon his hand in the attitude of prayer. Lifting his eyes, he warmly welcomed his visitor. " I did not intend to intrude," said Mr. Vincent, "but simply wanted to express my enjoy- ment of your sermon." " But they will so soon forget it ! They will so soon forget it ! " exclaimed Mr. Spurgeon, while the tears were rolling down his cheeks. In personal conversation, this pastor of the Metro- politan Tabernacle exhibits, in the most delightful way, the simplicity, frankness, warmth and kindness of his nature. Suffering now from the gout, he has to spend, every year, some months (and those the most propi- tious for Christian work) away from the moist climate of England, usually in Italy. This annual season of exile he regards as one of the severest trials of his life. When we remember the immense size of his weekly congregations and the variety and efficiency of the benevolent agencies of his church, and esti- mate the far-reaching influence of his published discourses, and the personal power of his hundreds / 134 Eminent British Divines. of living epistles in the pulpits of the land; and when we bring to mind the prominence of4iis posi- tion in the midst of the largest and wealthiest capital of Europe; and when, moreover, we recollect that the man who has been the inspirer and main- spring of all this wonderful and far-reaching system of benefactions, not for a year but for a quarter of a century, is but forty-four years old, we need not hesitate to declare that the career of Charles H. Spurgeon is unparalleled in the history of the Chris- tian church. .^^^^.^.^.^^.^^ X. From London to Paris .... First Impressions of the French Metropolis. .. .The Second Great Exposi- tion The Tuileries, the Trocadero, and Sur- roundings .... America's Educational Exhibit .... Columbus in the Great Exposition. Paris. OUR trip from London to Calais was a pleasant one, twenty-four miles by rail to Dover, through a thriving country of towns, interspersed with green fields and grain and hops. We took the new double steamer " Calais- Do veres " across the usually boisterous British Channel, which was as smooth and calm as one could wish. This new- steamer looks like two lashed together, and will run just as well backward as forward. Indeed, it has no stern; it has two prows at each end, and the paddle-wheels are in the center. The construction 136 Across the Channel . is to prevent its rolling on this stormy sea. This was the first time it had been used for a passenger steamer, though once it had brought over Lord Beaconsfield from the Berlin Congress. He was received with great enthusiasm in London while we were there. He seems to be exceedingly popular with the English people, and almost every English- man that we conversed with lauds him to the skies and depreciates Gladstone. As we arrive and pass through France, we notice that there are no hedges or fences to divide one farm from another, and that the stock feeding upon the fields is guarded by women or children to keep them in the lots appro- priated to them. On reaching Calais we hear nothing but the French language, which is sufficiently musical when used by educated persons, especially by ladies, as they meet in social intercourse. They are so polite, and utter so many words of commendation, and do everything with so much grace, that one is inclined to be a little rude and stare at them with delight; but the jabber of the crowds seems like that of an excited mob, so many words are employed to express a Httle, and the people are so demonstrative. First Impressions of Paris. 137 The railroad cars — or coaches as they are called (iwitiires de chemin de fer) — look like Hawkes' stage- coaches. They are made in compartments, like the English coaches, holding in each compartment eight or ten persons, one-half riding backward. We are locked in, and off we go. Paris is about ten hours' ride from London, all by rail except the one hour and a half by steamer across the Channel. Everybody says that " Paris is the most beautiful city in the world." As we get up in the morning and take our first walk up the Boulevard d' Opera and Rue de RivoH, to the new Opera House, and notice the long blocks of hand- some, cream-colored stone buildings, with mansard roofs, and the clean asphalt pavements, the artistic windows filled with beautiful goods of every descrip- tion, and walk up and down the splendid boule- vards (of which there are over seventeen hundred), with their fine shade-trees, one can enjoy them with a zest in comparison with the dingy, old-looking buildings in London. Paris used to be a fortified city. The walls and towers w^ere pulled down, and a road made over them and planted with trees, to which the name boulevard (bulwark) was given. 138 Public Parks. The city was founded so far back in the past that when anything is spoken of as being "old,"^ it must refer to something that existed or occurred before the time of Christ. Paris is proud of her palaces, monuments, fountains, parks and boulevards. While many of her monarchs have expended immense sums in improving and adorning the city, Napoleon III. did what neither Paris nor any other capital of Europe ever witnessed before in the way of improvements. He has remodeled and restored every building that was defective. Superb thorough- fares were opened. He constructed new bridges and made them free to the public, and to him more than to any one else is due the credit of making Paris the most attractive city in the world. It contains thirty-five monumental and eighty-eight unadorned fountains, besides over two thousand water-plugs, which are turned on daily to purify the streets. The drinking-fountains, which are seen everywhere, were erected through the liberality of Sir Richard Wallace. The population of Paris is two millions, and one-quarter of the births are illegitimate. As we go through the city, here and there may be seen marks of the destruction of many Second Great Exposition. 139 of her most beautiful and attractive public buildings during the Franco-Prussian war and the reign of the Commune. Many of these, however, have been rebuilt, and Paris now makes a splendid appearance, and indicates a wonderfully recuperative power in being able to dupUcate the glories of 1867 in her second great Exposirion on the Champ de Mars. The present Exposirion was decided upon by a decree of the President of the Republic (MacMahon) in 1876, and the Commissioners determined that it should be held within the limits of the city of Paris, and the Champ de Mars was selected. It is about a mile and a half from the Grand Opera House, which is considered to be about the center of the city, and is easily reached by steamer, rail- road or omnibus. Starting for the Exposition, we took the little steamer on the Seine, in front of the Tuileries; fare only twenty centimes, or four cents. No edifice in Paris is so rich in historical asso- ciations as the Tuileries, and none, with the exception of the Hotel de Ville (City Hall), has ever been overtaken by so terrible a fate. The Communists, in 187 1, aware of their desperate posirion and impend- ing destruction, determined, at one of their secret 140 The Trocadero. meetings, to wreak their revenge on the ill-fated city by setting all the principal buildings on fire. The whole of the western side of the palace, facing the Jar- din des Tuileries, and the paviHon on the north side, next to the Rue de Rivoh, were reduced to a gigan- tic heap of smouldering ruins, after burning three days and nights. The restoration is rapidly ap- proaching completion, and the imposing mass of buildings forming the old and new Louvre will soon be as grand and beautiful as ever. We pass the Hotel de Ville, which remains as a monument of the terrible destruction that overtook it in those sad days of the Commune, the loss to Paris being irre- parable, the library and so many pubUc documents having been destroyed. We see upon the right, a httle further on, a splendid palace, in a style of architecture wonder- fully characteristic of French genius, which is called the Trocadero. It is said to be the finest specimen of architecture in the world, and is now used as a museum for the Exposition, and is to remain per- manently, to be used by the city of Paris for pub- lic festivities, etc. It is on a high elevation, and as one crosses the bridge and passes through the THE TROCADERO. The Aqiia7ium. 141 beautiful park, a most attractive panorama is pre- sented to the eye, replete with marvels imitative of ancient art and modern suggestion. Around are miniature lakes and cascades, fountains and flower- beds. The grounds facing the Champ de Mars were once the garden of a convent; the building, on its elevated plateau, is now an annex of the Exposition, the central portion forming an immense amphitheater, seating eight thousand people. Before the grand pavilion is the monumental cascade, the water of which, after passing over an arched grotto, descends, by a series of marble steps, to an immense basin, ornamented with fountains and with animals representing the four quarters of the globe. When these fountains are playing in the afternoon, and scattering the spray, arched with rainbows, in every direction, nothing can be more charming. We visit the immense underground aquarium, covered with rock work, and descend by rustic stone steps, as if entering a cave; and then, winding around, we come across great plates of glass in the sides of the cave, behind which can be seen many species of fish, swimming about in their element, so arranged that they cannot see us 142 Ma'm Building. while we gaze upon them. The length of this aquarium must be from two to three hundred feet, and it was amusing to see the excitable French people gesticulating and chattering as they passed from one section to another. The galleries of the Trocadero, extending right and left, contain a retrospective exhibition of the products of every period of history, from the remotest times; giving a record of the progress of art and industry in their development, from the flint period down to the present day. The main building, on the opposite side of the Seine, covers about seventy acres, and is of iron and glass, with an immense dome in the center and at each of the four corners. It is not a success in an architectural point of view; but for the purposes for which it was designed nothing could be better adapted. The ground upon which the Exhibition is held covers upward of one hundred and fifty acres, and everything is most admirably combined and arranged. Passing through the grand halls, we are amazed at the rich display of everything useful and ornamental — the choicest and best that every nation on the globe can produce (except the United States). Crown Diamonds. 143 The first object that meets the eye is the unique India palace or temple, in which are the presents received by the Prince of Wales while in India, embracing every variety of precious stones and rich productions which that country can offer. To pos- sess these would be a fortune alone. Then we come upon the Gobelin tapestry and " Sevres " por- celain vases, etc. These are from the national manufactories, which are conducted by the French government, and none of the goods are sold. No expense and pains have been spared by the govern- ment to make this display superior to any other in the world, and one needs weeks to enjoy and properly appreciate it. The French National Re- galia, valued a,t from fifteen to twenty milHons of dollars, comes next, all diamonds and precious stones, and they seem almost as large and plentiful as pebbles upon the sea -shore. Eugenie's diamond necklace is three feet long, with large diamonds glit- tering and sparkling like so many stars. The Regent (a solitaire) is shown, which I should think would measure one and a half by one and three-quarter inches. There are necklaces of diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies and opals combined, tempting a 144 Types of Architecture. lover of the beautiful to break the command against covetousness ; also Napoleon's sword, with the hilt of solid diamonds, all making a display of precious stones not equaled in the world. The buildings containing the exhibits of the dif- ferent nations front upon the Rue des Nations, down which we now pass. As specimens character- istic of the respective styles of architecture of the different countries of the world, they are, in chaste- ness and elegance of design, a study and a wonder. Japan shows a small Buddhist temple; the Chinese adopt a style of building characteristic of the Celes- tial empire ; Spain, of Moorish architecture ; Persia, Tunis and Morocco present a beautiful minaret. Says a French writer, " The fagade of the United States building is one of those wooden structures which the settlers of the interior erect." I hope not, if Ohio is in the interior. It is a showy, gilded- looking building, covered all over with shields. On these shields are emblazoned the coats of arms of the thirteen original States, and also that of the District of Columbia. The building would attract attention, certainly, but by no means represents our style of architecture. We should call it altogether too The America7i Section. 145 " Frenchy." We could not, however, pass without taking off our hats to the old flag, with its stars and stripes floating in the breeze. Here is a grand opportunity to study the pro- ductions in art, science and industry of England, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Russia, China, Turkey, and, indeed, of every nation on the globe. Though ignorant of their different tongues, we can enjoy and appreciate the wonderful results of the unceasing progress of the world, as represented here. Naturally, we first find ourselves in the exhibit of the United States. Here everything looks bright and active, and indicates at least our " go-aheadi- tiveness." There are but eleven or twelve hundred exhibits from the United States, although, considering our capacity and genius, we ought to have had a representation worthy of the Great Republic; but the dflatoriness and stinginess of Congress in the matter have deprived us in a measure of a grand opportunity. The educational exhibit is one of the most important features of the American section. Two very appropriate mottoes have been chosen for the outer wall of the paviUon — Montesquieu's 146 Educational Exhibit. famous maxim, ^'■Cest dans le gouver?inient republi- caiii que Pan a besoiii de toute la paissa7ice de P edu- cation^^' and the sage saying of Washington, " Pro- mote, as an object of primary importance, institu- tions for the general diffusion of knowledge"; and as you enter the room you notice prominently this motto, " Public instruction is free in every State in the Union," Every American feels proud of this, and the common people of all other nations applaud it. We may well pride ourselves upon our educa- tional exhibit, which, notwithstanding the great drawback of lack of space, has attracted general notice and admiration. It is said to be fuller and more perfect than that of any other nation, except, of course, France herself, who has a wide stretch of halls at her disposal to spread out an exhibit scarcely more important than ours, which could well cover ten times the ground it occupies at present. A supplementary educational exhibition is to be held in the Palais Royale, where the United States has been invited to make an exhibit; and France or Paris (I did not understand which) has appropriated one hundred thousand francs to bear the expenses of teachers who have been selected, for Educational Exhibit. 147 their reputation in their respective departments, to come to the exhibition from all parts of France; each one is to make a report of their observations, and their head- quarters to be in the hall of the Palais Royale occupied by the United States. This will give us an opportunity to show our resources in this department, the superintendent of which is assured that we shall take many awards, notwith- standing our poor opportunity for display. Our exhibit of national education is a great and grati- fying success. The French have adopted a number of our educational methods, and recognize our superiority in ah practical branches, though, of course, in everything that appertains to art they are masters of the world. What the United States does exhibit shows that we have sacrificed the beautiful to the useful to a certain extent, and in this respect the character of our department is different from that of other nations, whose strong point is art rather than science and industry. In agricultural machinery I have no doubt we shall take the principal awards. I notice around the exhibit of Fay & Co., of Cin- cinnati, of " wood- working machinery," an interested > 148 Machinery^ Etc. crowd, while the machinery is highly commended. In passing through the department of agricultural tools I noticed a fine display, attractively arranged. On looking up to see where they were firom, I read as follows, from a gilt-lettered sign : " Brown, Hin- man & Co., Dayton, Ohio." I always supposed that this enterprising firm was located in Columbus. The Ohio Tool Company, of Columbus, make a creditable display of carpenters' hand tools. The Revolving Scraper Company show their scraper in a prominent place, and the Lechner Mining Machine Company exhibit one of their coal-mining machines, which is attracting a good deal of attention. These were all the exhibits I saw from Columbus. «^^F|^^^- XL Fine Art Department of the Exposition .... Notable Works by American Artists. . . .Art as an Educator ....Paris and Philadelphia. .. .Hotel Life The French Sabbath. Paris. THE Fine Art Galleries of the Exposition are beautifully arranged, and are as if you entered a large and splendid palace with numerous halls and parlors. As you pass from one to the other you observe that the walls are tastefully hung with paint- ings, the floors carpeted and the doorways handsomely draped with curtains, while over each is the name of the country it represents. It is an enchanting scene. Here are the choicest and rarest productions of living modern artists. France has the greatest number of paintings, two thousand and seventy-one in all, while the United States has only one hundred and 149 150 Art at the Exposition. twenty-six. France will of course take the first awards. She has a number of distinguished artists, and Meis- sonier, the most famous of all, has twenty pictures on exhibition. He sold one of his paintings to the late A. T. Stewart, of New York, for seventy thousand dollars, and probably has as high a reputa- tion as any living artist. Most of his pictures are small ones, and the one, "The Philosopher," which is said to have the first award, reveals his power of rendering in detail every part of a painting to perfection. " The Review " is his largest painting, and is a brilliant scene of thousands of soldiers in their gay uniforms, bringing out in a life-like manner the spectacle of a grand military parade. His portrait of Alexandre Dumas is said to be admirable. From lack of proper education in art, no doubt, I could not understand why so great a value is put upon his works, and in my ignorance I should have selected two or three in the American Department as my choice. One, " Les Funerailles de une Momie," by Bridgman, was bought by James Gordon Bennett, of New York, for three thousand dollars, and to my mind is the choice of the United States paintings, among which I particularly noticed The French Gallery. 151 a tropical scene, by Church ; " Playing a Violin by Candle-light," by Guy, and " The Passing Show," by J. G. Brown, portraying four street boys viewing the passing of one of Barnum's shows, in all their glee, pointing, gesticulating, etc., which is wonderfully life-like. Americans are fond of depreciating our display in art, but, considering the small number of paintings, there are as few poor ones among them as in the exhibit of any other nation. The French, of course, would undervalue them, as there are no nude pieces, of which there are numerous examples in the French Gallery which would shock the modesty of prudes, at least. You will see crowds of men and women enjoying or admiring one called " The Nymphs," where there are thirteen nymphs bathing and swinging and reposing themselves upon the velvety lawn under the shady trees; while in the thicket behind are two " Bohemians," peeping through the thick meshes of trees and vines. I selected a painting in the French Gallery that I should like, by the distinguished artist Bouguereau. The subject is "Charity," representing a motherly, lovely woman, holding in her arms three orphan children, each clinging to her with intense earnest- 152 Art as an Educator. ness, and looking into her face as if instinctively knowing that she loves them and would relieve them, reading aright her kindly and benevolent expression. At her feet a child on either side, nestling closely to her, one covering modestly its bare bosom, with its arms, the other leaning on two volumes of the Bible and pointing its finger closely, as if spelling each syllable, toward the word " Evangelium," and under it the printed page which could not be read, but whose significance is apparent. By the side was gold coin spilled out from an iron safe, and in front a pile of gold, which was so well represented that it seemed as if you could take into your hand each piece. The figures were all so life-like and suggest- ive and characteristic that I thought what a beau- tiful illustration it was of the subject, and what a study for those who enjoy, portrayed upon canvas, anything which will elevate and refine the soul. Pictures upon the wall reveal the taste and character of the inmates of the home, and, if of the right kind, help to educate and refine us. What we see portrayed before us every day must have an effect upon the character. On making inquiry of Mr. E. F. Andrews, the artist from Columbus, and others, I Our CeJite7i7iial. 153 learned that the painting I admired was one of the most valuable in the Exhibition, and could not be purchased for less than eight or ten thousand dollars. As I walked through the galleries, looking at the paintings which attracted me most and trying to read the inscriptions — but not often with success — these paintings from so many different nations, speaking different tongues, nevertheless all breathe the same language; and it is a deUght, after visit- ing the various departments of the Exhibition, to get away from the babel of speech and drink in inspiration from these mute representations of truth and beauty, as depicted by so many great and noble artists. There are so many things here to attract admira- tion that a fuller description would occupy too much space, and perhaps fail to interest our readers. The Exposition is a grand success. The grounds and location of our own Centennial Exposition in 1876 were far more picturesque and beautiful, and the space occupied more than four times that of the Paris Exposition ; and while the arrangement and unlimited expense laid out on the buildings of the latter make everything almost perfect, and while at 154 Expenses. the same time everything is compact and easily reached, yet it appears to me, all things considered, that we compared favorably with Paris, and that such an impression generally prevails. Paris, being so near the other old nations of the world, and her own productions making in themselves so grand a display, even if no other nation were represented, I cannot but feel, comparatively speaking, proud of our Centennial Exposition. To-day, but on a grander scale, the Exhibition of Paris recalls that of Philadelphia, by its general arrangement, by the classification of its contents and by the beauty of its exhibits. The price of admission is fixed at only one franc, or twenty cents, and great crowds of peasants, with blue cotton blouses, and their wives, with their short, cheap frocks and white caps, are to be seen enjoying the best things the world can produce. The number of exhibitors amounts to some sixty thousand, of whom about one-half are from France alone. We meet here, as everywhere, a great many Amer- icans, and do not find the prices for board at the hotels so high as we had been led to expect from letters and representations we had ■ seen in news- A Parisian Sunday. 155 papers at home. If one chooses to be imposed upon, it is very easy to go to the Grand Hotel and pay ten or fifteen dollars a day ; but we found a good central location and as pleasant rooms as one could wish in the Boulevard Hausmann, at about three and a half dollars a day, including all meals. Our first meal is coffee and bread and butter, sent to our room at nine o'clock in the morning; breakfast, cold meat, etc., at twelve m. ; dinner, table d'hote (all dine at one table), at half-past six p. m. ; and tea at half-past seven in the evening, which gives us a good long day for sight-seeing. The weather is cool and delightful here, and hence we are enabled to go about and accomplish a great deal of sight- seeing in a short time. On Sunday we attended church at the American Chapel. On our way we could notice no difference in the appearance of the streets from that of any other day in the week. The workmen were busy as usual on the splendid stone buildings that are going up all over Paris. Stores were open, and on our return, coming down the Champs filysees (the finest promenade in Europe), a panorama of the greatest gaiety pre- sents itself. Upon each side are the numerous 15^ ^ Patisian Sunday. cafes chantajits, for open-air concerts, which on sum- mer evenings do not close until midnight. Bands of music were playing and crowds were gather- ing, for Sunday seems to be the grand holiday for Parisians. The central road is thronged with car- riages and the side-ways with pedestrians. In the evening it was brilliantly illuminated, and one would think that the Sabbath was a grand fete day, like our national holiday, the Fourth of July. All the parks (and they are numerous in Paris) were crowded with people, and, with the fountains playing, pre- sented an exciting scene. iSiiM^ XII. From Paris to Lucerne .... Lake of the Four Forest Cantons .... Ascent of the Rigi ; Scenes at Sunset AND Sunrise; the Ranz des Vaches. . . .Fluelen Home of Tell.... St. Gothard Pass .... Glacier du Rhone. . . .The Hanseck. . . .Sunday at Interlaken. Stresa, Italy. FROM Paris our ride to Lucerne was mostly through a flat, uninteresting country, until we enter Switzerland at Miihlhausen, where we leave behind us " Oiii, out, inonsieur^'' and hear instead " Ja, ja, meiii Herr^ In the morning we get the first view of the Rhine at Basle, the greatest rib- bon manufactory in Europe. It was at this place that we had our first experience with German feather- beds. It was a cold, uncomfortable night as we entered our rooms, whither we were shown by a tidy-looking servant- girl. Now, a German feather- 158 A Germa?i Bed. bed is a peculiar institution — narrow, and so lofty that one needs a ladder to mount into it. As you trust yourself unwarily to its sleek-looking surface, you find yourself sinking into fathomless depths of feathers, and as you strive to enter and cover your- self for the night, you discover that you must slide yourself, sandwich fashion, between two immense sacks of down, whose heat and yielding softness, especially in summer, soon prove themselves unen- durable. For my friend the Doctor, however, it was an experience altogether too trying; so he requested the chamber-maid, as well as he could, to bring him two woolen blankets. Off she ran, with the reply, "7"^, j'a, mem Herr,'' and soon returned with a glowing face and two additional feather-beds, one under each arm — making four in all for an August night. It was impossible for him to make her understand what he wanted. In France the Doctor had rather the advantage of me, insomuch as he spoke French, and I did not. But now came my turn ; so, at the top of my voice, so that the girl might hear me in his room, I essayed to air my German, and shouted, " Zwei wollene BettdeckenP With a merry laugh all round, the girl hurried oif, First View of Switzerland. 159 and soon brought the blankets, and I had the satis- faction of knowing both that my German was understood and that the good Doctor was in no further danger of being smothered for the night. All the way from Paris we notice peasants gathering their oats, wheat and hay, using the old- fashioned short scythe to cut their grain, and we only saw one mowing-machine in the whole dis- tance of four hundred miles. As we pass, we observe whole families of men, women and children seated upon the grass, with their farm implements in their hands, resting themselves while the train passes, and looking in the distance like a picnic party. The morning ride was a delightful one, affording our first glimpse of the Bernese Oberland, and, riding along Lake Sesaporck, we also get our first view of a lake in Switzerland, and our atten- tion is attracted by the quaint Swiss houses, their thatched roofs laid regularly with flat stones and their sides all covered over with small shingles, about one by two inches in size, and which, with their rounded ends, make them look like the scales of a fish. The word " Restauration," painted on numerous large buildings, indicated that here was a 1 60 Lucerne. hotel or restaurant. We arrive at Lucerne, situated on the western extremity of the Lake of the Four Forest Cantons, or " Vierwaldstadter See," and our first walk through the town is to see the greatest curiosity of the place, a magnificent work of art by Thorwaldsen, wrought out of a lofty soHd rock. It represents a dying lion, twenty-eight and one-half feet in length, transfixed by an arrow, and was designed to commemorate the Swiss Guards who died in defend- ing the royal family of France in 1792. In front is a beautiful lake, with a fountain playing, and from the rock beside it a mountain stream leaps down. We cannot linger long, and after getting a view of the town and lake from the highest emi- nence, take the steamer on the lake for Vitznau, to ascend the Rigi. The lake is said to be one of the most beautiful in the world, and from what we had read and heard from travelers we were prepared for unusual pleasure. Nothing could be more complete and satisfying than the grandeur of its mountain scenery, the quiet beauty of its banks, and the endless variety of its charms. Soon in the distance the Bernese Alps present themselves, with their summits covered SUMMIT OF THE RIGI VITZNAU. Ascent of the liigi. i6i with snow, and we see the two bays of Alpnach and Kiissnacht stretching away to the west and east, and giving the lake the form of a cross. At Vitznau it seemed as though we had reached the end of the lake, for a promontory on the right and left somewhat overlap each other. We landed at the village of Vitznau, nestling in the little bay, to ascend the Rigi. " It would be like going to Rome and not seeing the Coliseum, or going to Naples and not seeing Pompeii," to come to Switzerland and not ascend the Rigi. We can either ascend on foot or take the railroad up the mountain three and a half miles. \\q prefer the latter, although we do not go over three miles an hour, " for every four feet of length the line rises one foot." The engine does not look like an ordinary locomotive, the boiler being upright, and when standing at the station it has an odd appearance. Every precaution is taken for safety, and the toothed wheel working between the rails, by which the train ascends, and the brakes by which the car can be held fast to the rack-rail, give us faith in the safety of the ascent. Up we go, across deep ravines and through tunnels, with splendid scenery all around us. The lake below and 1 62 A Sunset Scene. its surrounding views are charming to behold. We soon arrive at the summit, which towers up to the height of nearly six thousand feet; it is green with grass, and cows, sheep and goats are seen feeding in every direction. We came to view the glorious scenes at sunset and at sunrise, but the prospect is gloomy enough. It is cold as winter; the rain pours down, and clouds cover the valleys and mountains. We go out, in our rubber overcoats, to catch every view possible. We watch a couple of hours, in hopes of obtaining a glimpse of old Sol as he takes his leave of us. We soon see his rays reflected upon the distant snow-covered Alps, and the gold and silver colored clouds, with a long line of greenish tint, encourage us to hope that we are to have a view to-night which many have been waiting a week to witness. We are not disappointed. Soon the clouds begin to lift, and form a dark, heavy bank. An immense ball of fire seems to drop slowly down, throwing its rays all over the horizon, and a scene of indescribable beauty presents itself. We hold within our vision a circumference of some three hun- dred miles — about one hundred and fifty miles of View front the Summit. 163 continuous snow-capped Alps on the east and south, with the grand old Jungfrau in the distance. The names of the different mountains are given us by our guide. Conspicuous stand the mountains of the Bernese Oberland. They present a magnificent appearance, with their mantles of eternal snow. Fourteen lakes are counted in full view. On the other side we see the towns of Lucerne, Zurich and many villages hugging the mountains by the banks of the lakes, and numerous Swiss chalets dotting the mountain sides. We linger until driven in-doors by the cold. I here undergo another experience in trying to sleep between two Dutch feather-beds, one above and one below, and, notwithstanding these adjuncts to warmth, I do not think that I ever suffered so much in one night from the cold. The feather-bed which was to cover me was sure to be where I could not find it, either on one side of me or on the floor; and as I looked around for a strap to fasten it over me without success, I was obliged to shiver with cold all night. We were given warning that if we heard the Alpine horn — a wooden instrument some eight feet in length — at about half-past three o'clock in the 1 64 Stmrise. morning, it would be an indication that the sun could be seen as it started on its journey from the east. We jump at the welcome sound, "Tra-da-tra- da-dui-da"; it is the ^^ Ranz des vaches^'' thrilling out into the fresh morning air, and, obeying its echoing notes, a motley crowd rush up the summit. A variety of strange costumes are to be seen; for men, women and children, fearful of missing the sunrise, make a hasty toilet or catch up a blanket or shawl. Brides and young ladies have evidently neglected the mirror, and, cold and shivering, pace to and fro the elevated height, waiting the appear- ance of the refulgent orb of day. The peaks of snow begin to change their colors, indifferently white at first, then yellowish, and at last turning to a lovely pink. One bright flash, and the first ray of the sun shoots forth. For a moment all is silent, then a shout goes up which makes the wel- kin ring, and the full splendor of the vast pano- rama is displayed. Presently a party of Americans, who were on the Belvedere, raised the stirring strains of " America," and a band of Swiss minstrels (making an Alpine walking tour), in their quaint costumes and knapsacks, sang " Praise to the Alps." Fluelen. 165 To me the evening view was more attractive than that of the morning. We were fortunate in being able to enjoy, on our first visit to the Rigi, views long to be remembered, and, well satisfied, take the steam- carriage down to Vitznau, and from there pursue our way by steamer up the lake to Fluelen, about twenty-five miles distant. The lake winds around among the mountains, and every little while one is surprised with a gallery of new and varied pictures. Of all lakes, either in California, the Eastern States, Ireland, Wales, England, Scotland or France, this is the most beautiful Our own Lake George is next in picturesque and beautiful scenery. We take diligence at Fliielen through the Furca and St. Gothard passes, via Glacier du Rhone, etc., to Interlaken. We pass, between Fluelen and Altorf, Theodore Tilton (looking as serene as a thunder- cloud) and his two daughters, walking. They evi- dently came down the lake, and were on their way to Altorf to see a colossal statue of William Tell, marking the spot where the Swiss hero stood when he aimed at the apple on his son's head. Altorf is near Biirglen, the birthplace and home of Tell, where is also a chapel, painted over with scenes 1 66 Home of Tell. from his life, and supposed to mark the site of his house. We begin to reahze that we are in the land of Tell, as so many of the hotels, restaurants and pensions (boarding-houses) are called by his name. After crossing the Schachenbach ("in the waters of which Tell perished while struggling to save a child"), the ascent of St. Gothard is soon begun. It is not over a single peak or eminence, but over a mountainous group, presenting a wild and magnifi- cent appearance, winding around among the mount- ains by the River Reuss, which here dashes madly along, foaming and leaping over its rocky bed. Numerous water-falls come plunging down the declivi- ties, and the ride to Andermatt is a grand one. We pass the Devil's Bridge and many places of historic interest, occasioned by the deadly struggles in the wars between France, Germany and Russia in 1799. The Alps are ranged about a central spot west of the St. Gothard Pass, where about a hundred square miles of rock, etc., lie above the limits of perpetual snow, while the Galenstock and other mountains rise to the height of from ten to twelve Aiidermatt. 167 thousand feet. " The waters of this elevated region pass by the Rhine to the German Ocean, by the Rhone to the Mediterranean, by the Po to the Adriatic, and by the Danube to the Black Sea." At Andermatt we encountered a snow-storm. It is the chief village of the valley. A tunnel is being cut through the mountain, which is to be nine and a half miles long, and is to be called the St. Gothard Tunnel, a wonderful work of engineering. It will be the longest one in the world. Workmen by the thousand are engaged upon it, and it is to be finished in 1880. They have already been at work upon it six or eight years. We found a good hotel at Andermatt, and although their summer is so short for the raising of produce, being only four months in duration, they gave us a better dinner, and served in better style, than any that we have had since coming to Europe, and all for four francs, or eighty cents. There were eight different courses, with plates removed each time. The courses after soup were as follows : fish, roast beef, boiled tongue with greens, chicken with salad, plum pudding, cake, and, lastly, fruit and nuts. I spent another cold night under a feather-bed, and concluded I must 1 68 Glaciers. try something else to keep me warm, if I am to remain long in this region of ice and snow. Our passage from here, by private conveyance and our own good walkers, brought us to the Glacier du Rhone, where we first hear the sound of an avalanche, hke distant thunder. Our guide had spent six years in America, and could therefore talk English enough to point out to us all the objects of interest — the different mountains and glaciers. We pass the Tiefer glacier on the northern flank, and the Siedeln glacier on the southern. Hep worth Dixon, in " The Switzers," says : " Three years ago a cave was entered by this Tiefer glacier, and then the noblest crystals in the world were found. The rock was topaz. Fragments lay about in heaps, each broken piece a hundred or two hundred pounds in weight. Some fifteen tons of topaz were removed from this great hiding-place of Nature in a single year. What sage can count the mounds yet lurking near this ' Pillar of the Sun ' ? " The descent from the Furca Pass is by a series of zigzags, very abrupt, and giving the unnecessarily nervous traveler the impres- sion that he is going to the bottom with a bound. The Rhone glacier — that great sea of ice extending The Ha7iseck. 169 for fifteen miles — is passed, resembling the American water-fall at Niagara if frozen up. I walked over this consolidated mass and entered a natural grotto of ice, winding under the glacier, about eight feet high and from one to two hundred feet long. I thought that if this mass of ice were in Paris (ice beneath us, ice above us, ice all about us), we should not have to pay twenty cents a week extra for it at our hotel there, as we did. We make the ascent of the Hanseck, seven thou- sand one hundred and three feet in height, and traverse numerous snow-drifts firm enough to bear up a horse, and pass the Todtensee. Here, in 1799, French and Austrians closed in deadly struggle, and the dead were buried in the lake. One would naturally suppose that these mountains would be a barrier to war. We were glad to get to the Grimsel Hospice to rest for the night. This hospice was formerly a monastic refuge down among the litde lakes, with snow-capped mountains and water-falls all around. We were shown a new part to the house, where an avalanche came down last year and took off a corner. It rained all night, and in the morn- ing it was dismal enough; but the idea of spending lyo Handeck Falls, the Sabbath here, among the noisy guides, when we had expected to be at Interlaken, was altogether too much for us. We therefore thought it a good time to test our rubber overcoats and Western pluck, and, although warned that the day would be a stormy one, took the bridle-path to Meyringen, over what is called a seven-hour walk. As we wound our way across the mountains, by the roaring River Aar, crossing it many times, with the cataracts thundering down the steep declivities, the rain beat- ing upon us and the wind whistling about our ears, I said to the Doctor : " What is the romance in crossing the Alps and not braving a storm ? " " Oh, yes," he repHed, "make a virtue of necessity." We stopped at the only chalet on the path to Imhof and dried our clothes, and then visited the Handeck Falls, the finest in Switzerland, where the Aar leaps down two hundred and fifty feet at a bound, to which, half way down, the Erlenbach, entering at right angles, joins its falling waters. Agassiz here studied glacial action, and left his name carved on the rock of a mountain named after him, which the guide pointed out to us. His experiments on glacial action proved that one of these glaciers moves at Lake Brienz. 171 the rate of eight inches a day, or eighty-five yards a year. We were glad to roam about so lovely a spot as Meyringen, where we visit the falls of the Alpach and of the Reichenbach. We stopped at an excellent hotel, and, finding that the rain had penetrated our rubber overcoats, stripped off our wet clothes to dry them, and then took diUgence for Brienz, and from there by Lake Brienz to Interlaken. This lake is nearly surrounded by mountains, and it was delightful to glide again over placid waters, quite in contrast with the roughness of our day's experiences. The clouds had cleared away, and we rode on to the Giessbach Falls. Here many passen- gers left us to pass the Sabbath. These falls are illuminated with Bengola lights, for the benefit of visitors, every evening. Sunday at Interlaken is delightful, for it is a charming place. Our hotel fronts the Jungfrau, whence one of the finest views in Switzerland is obtained. The mountain this morning was covered with snow, and the white, fleecy clouds, lower down, lay in folds as beautiful as those of a rich, white satin dress. We were tolled to the Scotch Pres- byterian Church, and heard an excellent sermon 172 Interlaken. from Rev. Dr. White, of Edinburgh, which was full of rest and refreshment after the week's pleasur- ing among the grand scenery of the Alps. I think that mountains such as are found in California and Switzerland, full of sublime scenery, are an expression of God's benediction, — "A pure speaking to the spirit of man of that power and love upon which the soul may rest as upon the everlasting rock." I do not believe it is wise for us to read the vengeance of God in the mountain crag, the lightning flash and the ocean storm. Does not such a theology as has been preached — that God's wrath is depicted in the mountains, the thunder and the fury of the tempest, as indicative of His power and justice — drive us rather to fear than to love Him? Interlaken is situated between two lakes (as its name implies), about two miles apart. It is supposed that these were formerly one body of water, but were divided by the earth deposits from the mount- ain streams into the two present basins. The dividing belt is from one-half to a mile broad, and about two miles long. From here numerous excur- sions can be made up the mountains, and the one that we chose for our day's delectation was by the The Schyjiige Platte. 173 bridle-path up the Schynige Platte, six thousand one hundred and eighty feet high. We were dehghted with the views of the valleys and lakes — Thun and Brienz, and the Snow Mountains — which seem just across the narrow valley from us, glittering in the sunshine like Peruvian silver, and appearing to belong more to heaven than to earth. ]g][MltMl^[M |lMl|H|| Ml P