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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
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TETCHY Fm\ 
 
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 BY R. A. YOUNG. ^ 
 
 DEC 14 189? 
 
 Printed for the Author. 
 
 Publishing House of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 
 
 Barbee & Smith, Agents, Nashville, Tenn. 
 
 JS92. 
 
 V 
 
1 
 
 '■I 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1891, 
 
 By R. A. Young, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
"©edication. 
 
 To 
 
 The Beloved Wife and Children, 
 
 Who Have Been My Constant Companions in All the 
 
 Oriental and European Journeys, 
 
 This Book Is 
 
 AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. 
 
<aA fJote of preparation 
 
 Even in this day of superior facilities for the tour- 
 ist, comparatively few of our people go abroad; aud 
 most of those who do travel appear to have no high- 
 er motive than self-gratification. True benefactors 
 of the reading world are the select minority of trav- 
 elers who study every thing from the best point of 
 view, and faithfully chronicle the results in available 
 form. To this honorable class, whose mission it is 
 to please and instruct mankind, our author, Dr. 
 Young, pre-eminently belongs. His tour of the far 
 East, some years ago, was described with master- 
 touch in his "Twenty Thousand Miles; " but this ac- 
 count of his recent eight months' excursion through 
 Europe, when the experiences were altogether differ- 
 ent and more stimulating, will give him a clearer 
 title to the high rank we have assigned him. It is 
 indeed a charming record of travel, and by him hap- 
 pily styled "Sketchy Pages." The auspicious so- 
 journ in England and France, and the leisurely pas- 
 sage into Italy, Spain, Germany, Russia, Turkey, 
 Denmark, Sweden, Norway, etc., afforded "sketchy" 
 material without limit for this always cheery compag- 
 non de voyage. With the genuine vim and elastic 
 tread of youth, he leads us away from beaten paths, 
 
 (5) 
 
6 A NOTE OF PREPARATION. 
 
 or makes old things seem new; for he sees with re- 
 fined vision, catching and interpreting as by instinct 
 the truest spirit of strange peoples and places. He 
 is uniformly sage, terse, piquant in narration, while 
 an air of purest altruism pervades his every sketch, 
 and a rich deposit of historic lore underlies all. 
 
 Many have been anticipating this volume with 
 pleasurable emotions. They enjoyed a foretaste of it in 
 the letters given to the public from time to time dur- 
 ing the progress of Dr. Young's journey. Read as a 
 whole, these letters will be found to reflect with more 
 distinctness the individuality of the writer. This 
 characteristic quality amounts to real genius in 
 Dr. Young, and its presence in these pages will im- 
 part higher relish to their perusal. Like Cowper's 
 pilgrim, 
 
 He travels, and expatiates: as the bee 
 
 From flower to flower, so he from land to land. 
 
 The manners, customs, policies of all 
 
 Pay contribution to the store he gleans ; 
 
 He sucks intelligence from every clime, 
 
 And spreads the honey of his deep research 
 
 At his return — a rich repast for me. 
 
 That means for every one into whose hands this 
 treasure of a book shall come. And now that the 
 " note of preparation " has been sounded, let young 
 and old, without number, enter upon this ideal " feast 
 of good things." They will soon discover that no 
 vain expectations have been raised by these com- 
 mendatory words. John L. Kirby. 
 
 Nashville, September 3, 1891. 
 
©ontent^. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 "The Booking Office" 11 
 
 Ad Interim 16 
 
 The Voyagers 21 
 
 "My Journey into Spain" 28 
 
 Madrid 35 
 
 Seville 43 
 
 The Alhambra and the Mosque 51 
 
 Eunning Out of Spain 59 
 
 A Connecting Link 66 
 
 Second Connecting Link 74 
 
 Another Connecting Link 81 
 
 The Last Connecting Link 88 
 
 The German Capital 97 
 
 "Holy Moscow " 106 
 
 The Eussian Capital 115 
 
 North of the Baltic Sea 124 
 
 Still Due North 131 
 
 Toward the Midnight Sun 139 
 
 London Day by Day 147 
 
 Paris Day by Day 157 
 
 Farewell to France 163 
 
 Eesume 168 
 
 (7) 
 
SKETCHY PS6E8 of FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 (9) 
 
" THE BOOKING OFFICE.' 
 
 EMERSON says that traveling is the para- 
 dise of fools. But Emerson says a thou- 
 sand things that nobody pretends to under- 
 stand or believe. In early life he made a 
 pilgrimage to the genius of Carlyle, of 
 Wordsworth, of Landor, and wrote his name 
 several hundred miles up the Nile. Later, he 
 lectured all over the British Isles and the 
 United States. He ought to know how to 
 pronounce on "globe-trotters." 
 
 New York, with the adjoining cities, is a 
 wonderful hive of humanity. Put them all 
 together, like Ave do Constantinople, and you 
 have the largest city in the world but one. 
 It takes Stamboul, Pera, and Galata on the 
 European side, and Scutari on the Asiatic, 
 to make up Lamartine's "predestined capi- 
 tal." So if you were to extend these corpo- 
 ration lines around New York, Brooklyn, 
 
 Jersey City, and Hoboken, the place would 
 
 fin 
 
12 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TEA VEL. 
 
 be twice the size of Constantinople. The 
 city on the Bosporus has no grander ap- 
 proaches than this on Manhattan Island. But 
 Xew York lacks antiquity, history, and tra- 
 dition. So we cross the seas. 
 
 I have spent the day examining steamers, 
 especially those of the French line — " Trans- 
 atlantique." Splendor is the word to use in 
 a description of these ships. Surely naval 
 architecture can do nothing beyond what I 
 have seen to-day. 
 
 The French ought to be good sailors, es- 
 pecially those from Normandy. They come 
 by their seamanship honestly — from the old 
 Norse vikings, who plunged their prows into 
 any port of Europe without saying, " By your 
 leave." They do say, however, that when 
 the storm is violent the Frenchman quits 
 working and goes to praying. I heard this 
 with pleasure, not knowing heretofore that 
 devotion was one trait of his character. If I 
 had heard that the louder the storm the more 
 rapidly he "dances the cancan," I should not 
 have been surprised. " O foolish Galatians, 
 who hath bewitched you?" 
 
"the booking office/' lo 
 
 I have been figuring* with these Gauls to- 
 day, and making some contracts. Necessity 
 compels me to trade more closely than 1 did 
 four years ago. Then every man fancies that 
 he owns a reputation for keeping his word. 
 Certain promises are out that the entire ex- 
 penses of this trip shall not exceed $1,800, 
 and that it shall embrace nearly every king- 
 dom and capital in Europe. 
 
 For the best of reasons some of the happy 
 party who traveled with us before will not be 
 on this journey. But their places will be 
 taken by other bright young people who want 
 some information that reaches beyond pomp 
 and millinery, and who are willing- to give 
 up surplus funds. Of the class who say, 
 " Give me money, and I will deny you noth- 
 ing," there will be no representative. 
 
 If Providence permit, we shall sail about 
 the last week in January, so as to spend a 
 winter month in the south of Spain, Andalu- 
 sia. During the spring we shall be zigzaging 
 about over historic and classical spots. The 
 summer will be passed among the Russians, 
 Finns, Swedes, Danes, iSTorse, and Lapps. 
 
14 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TEA VEL. 
 
 The best time to see the English — that quiet 
 and inconsolable race — is in the early au- 
 tumn. 
 
 Broadway is so exceedingly noisy and un- 
 interesting to me that I came over to Jersey 
 City to-night. This letter is the result. To- 
 morrow I must look after the statue of Com- 
 modore Yanderbilt. 1 have a dozen bids 
 from the sculptors here. There are two whose 
 prices I can reach — thanks to the liberality 
 of Nashville citizens. If I find them to be 
 genuine artists, and not mere monument 
 builders, I shall close a contract with one of 
 them. (When I speak of Nashville liberal- 
 ity to any worthy enterprise, I wish to say 
 that I have never seen it equaled anywhere 
 else.) If a heroic bronze figure of the founder 
 of our great university cannot be cast here, 
 then it must be done in Munich, where the 
 bronze workers of the world live. I hope 
 also to see the grandson, Cornelius Yander- 
 bilt, Jr., that I may gain some information 
 that will benefit our re-investment commit- 
 tee. 
 
 I may hear Dr. Talmage on Sunday, though 
 
"the booking office." 15 
 
 I confess to conscientious scruples. He has 
 been preaching for years to the largest con- 
 gregation in the world, and yet they are not 
 sufficiently Christianized and consecrated to 
 rebuild a place of worship. They borrow the 
 money, and give note and mortgage. "I 
 reckon" he is a mere sensational performer. 
 If I am strong enough to give Talmage the 
 slip, then John Hall and Charles F. Deems. 
 When a man puts a text at the top, I insist 
 upon having the pure gospel. 
 
 I saw nothing new on the way to Xew 
 York except Johnstown, and that looks rather 
 old and dilapidated since the terrible disaster. 
 Qood-niglit. 
 
 New York, November 14, 1890. 
 
AD INTERIM. 
 
 WHILE we were still at home, awaiting 
 the departure of the French steamer, 
 " La Bretagne," we enjoyed the company and 
 profited by the instructions of some distin- 
 guished travelers. I mean books. 
 
 Of all the editors who travel, Henry M. 
 Field is the most readable. There is a habit 
 of authorship apparent in all he has done. It 
 is manifest that he lives by his pen. 'Tis 
 true he writes many pages about himself — the 
 receptions, audiences, and entertainments of- 
 fered him by orators, princes, and other 
 grandees — yet he does it as delicately and 
 modestly as one could expect. " Old Spain 
 and ^ew Spain " and " Gibraltar " will charm 
 many a dreary and many a lazy hour. 
 
 Edward Everett Hale and his daughter 
 
 have made themselves famous by a series of 
 
 books called '* Family Flights." I suppose 
 
 the old Doctor furnishes the information and 
 
 the daughter does the writing. Their "Fam- 
 (16) 
 
AD INTERIM. 17 
 
 ily Flight o'er Spain " is equal to the one we 
 read in Egypt, and that is praise enough. 
 Histories of Spain are abundant, some of 
 which we have read. 
 
 On the Scandinavian countries and peoples 
 old Mr. Laing and Dr. Baird have furnished 
 the " bottom facts." These venerable chron- 
 iclers have read their way back to Odin and 
 beyond. What a realm of literature unknown 
 to the men of average intelligence and cult- 
 ure! At the close of Dr. J. M. Buckley's 
 big book— "The Midnight Sun, the Tsar, 
 and the Nihilist " — I wrote on the blank 
 page: "Bright, full, accurate, from begin- 
 ning to end." W. R. Morfiil's " Story of 
 Russia " shows the hand of a laborious and 
 delving scholar. I Le is the reader of the Rus- 
 sian and Slavonic languages in the Univer- 
 sity of Oxford. The young people of our 
 party have all read "Fred Markham in Rus- 
 sia," "The American Girl Abroad," "Per- 
 sonally Conducted," and all the " Vassar 
 Girls" series. I rather hesitate to say that 
 I have spent one month on Buel's " Story of 
 Man: A. History of the Human Race." 
 
18 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 My desire to visit the Iberian and Scandi- 
 navian Peninsulas is no fresh-born emotion. 
 This is what I wrote in the spring of 1887: 
 " To see all the countries of Northern Europe 
 may bring me back in a few years from this 
 time. If Providence permit, I must see the 
 ancient seats of those great races who have 
 run all over the world and who are at pres- 
 ent enlightening and benefiting mankind." 
 
 In this meanwhile Bishop Key has been to 
 see us. He is better than a book. There 
 is always a room and a welcome and an ad- 
 miration for him at our house. No day is so 
 happy or so busy that the presence of Bishop 
 Key does not improve it. Forty years ago 
 we met in Griffin, Ga. We were rejoicing 
 in our first white cravats and long frock- 
 coats. The young man preached about Sam- 
 son, and he has been getting stronger and 
 stronger from that day to this. "We entered 
 our first General Conference together, and 
 have met in the same body six times since. 
 At the close of an election in 1882 I got the 
 office, and Dr. Key dined with me. At the 
 close of another election in 1886 Dr. Key 
 
AD INTERIM. 19 
 
 was elevated to the episcopacy, and I dined 
 with him. I heard his first sermon after or- 
 dination. We were in Norfolk, Va. The 
 argrument was the best 1 had heard for his 
 theory of scriptural holiness. Very good. 
 Lie can afford to advance high views of "ho- 
 liness" so long as his life illustrates them 
 with such %i perfection." 
 
 Dr. R. K. Brown called the other day. He 
 is our pastor at West End. Brown draws 
 and edifies. They believe what he says. Fn 
 the midst of the conversation he asked: "How 
 does the sea appear to you when you are in 
 the midst of it? " Henry M. Field has written 
 a chapter on the "Melancholy Sea." To me 
 it always looks cruel. So it did to Racine 
 when it suggested that fine line: 
 
 Though cruel seas roll wide between us. 
 The Doctor then asked: "How does a ship 
 appear when you are on it?" At the wharf 
 it looks like a monster five hundred and fifty 
 feet in length; in the midst of a wide waste 
 of waters it seems like an egg-shell. And so 
 we two talked of the dreadful fascination of 
 the sea, and the wonders of naval architecture. 
 
20 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOBEIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 Eight of us have engaged rooms on the 
 steamer "La Bretagne." Miss Dora Jones, 
 of ]^orth Carolina, may stop in Paris. Dr. 
 Bilbro would like to bring home a diploma 
 from the Medical School of Vienna. The 
 original six will remain together. " God be 
 with you till we meet again." 
 
 January 30, 1891. 
 
THE VOYAGERS. 
 
 THE best time to sail is when you get ready, 
 quoth the veteran sea-captain ; so we kept 
 our appointment, and weighed anchor Jan- 
 uary 31. 
 
 Let us not fail to record, even at this dis- 
 tance of time and place, that elegant supper, 
 that congenial company, and those solemn 
 prayers from which we set out. Col. Thomas 
 D. Fite knows exactly how to mingle the 
 social and the religious element. He also 
 knows how to kiss his way, right and left, 
 out of a palace-car when the time comes for 
 all friends to leave. There is no duplicate 
 of the Colonel. 
 
 The sudden death of Secretary Windom 
 was the sensation of the hour just as we 
 pushed out from J^ew York. He had come 
 up from Washington to the city of great din- 
 ners to attend a banquet at Delmonico's, 
 given by the Board of Trade and Transpor- 
 
 (21) 
 
&& SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 tation. He had responded to the first toast 
 by making- the speech of his life. He was 
 dead in ten minutes thereafter— breathed his 
 last while the applause of his countrymen 
 died upon his ears. 
 
 What avails all our learning on this French 
 greyhound of the sea? Officers and crew, 
 waiters and passengers speak the French 
 language so rapidly that Ave are bewildered. 
 "Wife was graduated from the " Old Acade- 
 my," daughter has a B.A. degree from Dr. 
 Price's, son was "trained" at Webb's, Miss 
 Davis holds a diploma from Ward's, Miss 
 Lester has studied French, Miss Hart was 
 educated at Nazareth, Miss Jones at Greens- 
 boro, N". C, and Dr. Bilbro has two degrees 
 — and yet, here am I, with three degrees, 
 promising handsome "tips" to an English 
 boy if he will stay around our table and in- 
 terpret for us. But we shall improve, espe- 
 cially Miss Jones. She reads French with 
 ease, and will soon learn to speak it. They 
 report that Coleridge once thanked God 
 publicly that he could not speak a word of 
 such a language. We are not of his mind. 
 
THE VOYAGERS. 23 
 
 One rarely ever crosses the sea without 
 meeting some new man. (/apt. Schley this 
 time. He and our Prof. Wharton were mem- 
 bers of the same class at Annapolis. The 
 Captain commands the ship "Baltimore," U. 
 S. X. He gave us a thrilling account of his 
 polar experience in search of Lieut. Greely 
 and his crew. Capt. Schley is an " all-round- 
 man " — talks with marvelous fluency on all 
 subjects, from navigation to theology; and 
 speaks English, French, Spanish, Italian, and 
 what not. He is fond of music, games, and 
 promenades. He does not dance. He be- 
 lieves, with Cicero, that no man in his senses 
 will dance. The Captain and his wife have 
 proposed to show us some attention at Gi- 
 braltar. 
 
 Another new man — Benjamin Constant, 
 the great French painter. He was pleased 
 with "Jack," the boy who swept the prome- 
 nade deck — made a rough sketch of him on 
 canvas. The picture sold immediately for 
 six hundred francs. Fame is valuable in 
 several respects. 
 
 Of course we had the usual concert on the 
 
24 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 night before our arrival in Havre. The pro- 
 ceeds of all these entertainments are devoted 
 to charitable purposes among seamen. On 
 the Cunard line the money is given for the 
 support of a sailor's hospital in Liverpool. 
 On the French line it goes into the treasury 
 of a life-saving society. On this occasion 
 there was not a large company present, but 
 their contributions amounted to 1,875 francs. 
 The music was worth the money, for it was 
 our singular privilege to hear a man singer 
 who receives 2,000 francs a night in Paris. 
 At the close an American lady made an ef- 
 fort to get up a dance, but she found the 
 company too intellectual and cultured for 
 that. 
 
 As our voyage was in the winter, we ex- 
 pected storms, and were not disappointed. 
 We had two— one on Tuesday night and an- 
 other on Wednesday night. The great ship 
 rolled and pitched and quivered from end 
 to end. But we knew Him who manages the 
 deep, and thought : 
 
 This awful God is ours, 
 Our Father and our love. 
 
THE VOYAGEBS. 25 
 
 After an eight days' run we glided safely 
 into the port of Havre, all well and eager to 
 get another trip through sunny France. 
 
 The road from Havre to Paris runs through 
 a part of ancient Normandy. The conductor 
 gave us thirty minutes at Rouen, where we 
 walked the platform, and talked of "William 
 the Conqueror, and especially how, in 10G6, 
 he went over to England, won the battle of 
 Hastings, and established the Norman dy- 
 nasty. Since then all " my lords " of En- 
 gland boast of pure Norman blood, and of an 
 ancestry that came over with William's " fleet- 
 load of thieves and pirates." 
 
 Here we are in Paris, reading the Oalig- 
 nani Messenger. From that veracious jour- 
 nal we learn that " King Carnival " is dead, 
 and that only his ghost appeared on the 
 streets and in the Grand Opera House on 
 the night before Lent. Itte mortuos est! 
 Thank the Lord! 
 
 This is Ash- Wednesday, the first day of 
 Lent, and the British Parliament has re- 
 solved to sit two hours longer than usual. 
 In France the places of amusement are closed 
 
26 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 for forty clays; in England the Imperial Par- 
 liament moves straight along with acceler- 
 ated motion in the transaction of business. 
 The Frenchman lays stress on trifles; the 
 Englishman is always practical. " The one 
 invented a ruffle; the other added a shirt." 
 
 All the world has found out where we live. 
 The Shah of Persia has resolved to make an- 
 other tour. He will travel due east through 
 India, across the Pacific, and from San Fran- 
 cisco to New York (taking in the World's 
 Fair). Surely the people of the " Windy 
 City " will not presume to entertain the King 
 of Persia and suite at a yankee hotel ! They 
 must build and furnish a palace forthwith, 
 and place it at his Majesty's disposal. Queen 
 Victoria always gives him Buckingham when 
 he visits her; and when he leaves, the royal 
 abode has to be renovated from garret to cel- 
 lar. "Thenausty Persians!" " They don't 
 daunce well." 
 
 A note to parents whose daughters are 
 traveling with us: Your girls have learned 
 the way to two places — Am oon marche and 
 the Magasins <h< Lou ere. Women are said 
 
THE VOYAGEBS. 27 
 
 to be fond of shopping. Look out for an ex- 
 pense account. 
 
 Our address for the next seven months 
 will be Paris, France. Care of Thos. Cook 
 & Son, Place de V Opera. 
 
 Paris, February 12, 1891. 
 
"MY JOURNEY INTO SPAIN." 
 
 TEN days in Paris, and we were off. Miss 
 Ella Ford and her mother made our last 
 hours in the fair city very happy. They in- 
 vited sixteen Nashville people to "a tea." 
 Among them were the queenly granddaugh- 
 ter of Chancellor Garland and the rosy- 
 cheeked children of Mr. Ben Wilson. I 
 would advise " Ben " not to call his daugh- 
 ters home, but to pick up their mother and 
 come to Paris. The girls are anxious to see 
 their parents, make a continental tour, and 
 resume their studies. Miss Ford has ample 
 quarters near the Arch of Triumph. 
 
 Our last day in Paris was Sunday. The 
 forenoon was spent listening to the music in 
 Notre Dame Cathedral. In the afternoon I 
 went to hear Pere Hyacinthe — of course 1 
 did. Think of this great priest who once 
 preached the lenten sermons in Notre Dame, 
 
 with the royalty, nobility, and scholars of 
 
 (28) 
 
"MT JO URNE Y INTO SPAIN. ' ' 29 
 
 France in front of him, now occupying a 
 plain church in an obscure portion of the 
 city! But he differed with Pius IX., and 
 that settled the matter. When I was here in 
 1887, his congregation was not large. Kow 
 it fills the nave and four galleries. Every 
 aisle is packed with chairs, and every foot of 
 standing-room is taken. I saw scores of men 
 with great, cliff-like brows, beyond which 
 there must have worked busy brains. Why 
 not congregate here? If the hearing ear 
 comes close to the speaking tongue, it need 
 not travel any farther than Pere Hyacinthe's. 
 lie is the prince of living orators. 
 
 I met a man the other day who ought to 
 have some notice. It was at the mouth of a 
 church. He helped my wife into a carriage 
 and looked at me as if making the usual de- 
 mand. I offered, him half a franc, and he de- 
 clined it pleasantly. The twin of this man 
 does not live in all Europe. At the tomb of 
 Napoleon a valet de place forced himself into 
 our party and began to talk. More than 
 once I ordered him to stop. The more I or- 
 dered, the faster he "lectured." At the gate 
 
30 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 he demanded three francs. 1 refused. He 
 threatened to call the police. We drove off 
 to the Eiffel Tower, and left the fellow fairly 
 raging over a two-franc piece. 
 
 We left Paris on Monday evening, dusk, 
 February 16. When our Spanish courier 
 took charge of us at the Hotel du Louvre, I 
 thought of St. Paul's words: " When I take 
 my journey into Spain." We are going to 
 the same Iberian Peninsula. A twenty-four 
 hours' run brought us to Burgos, in the north 
 of Spain, where I am writing this paragraph. 
 We have had three meals on the way — the 
 usual "coffee" at Bordeaux, luncheon at 
 Iron, and dinner at Meiranda. We are spend- 
 ing a night and a day at this place, resting, 
 ki doing the town." and writing letters home. 
 Of course we are across the Pyrenees. They 
 are not so sublime as the Alps, or our own 
 "Rockies," but the landscape is beautiful to 
 the last degree. All the charms of nature are 
 lavished on this romantic part of the King- 
 dom of Castile. The Cathedral at Burgos is 
 the first of the four ecclesiastical wonders 
 that we are promised on this circular tour of 
 
" M Y JOUJRNE Y IS TO si'. I IS. ' ' 31 
 
 Spain. We saw it at our leisure this morn- 
 ing, under the guidance of the sacristan. 
 
 Nobody is in a hurry down here. The 
 Hidalgos wear their jaunty cloaks gracefully 
 thrown oxer the left shoulder, and walk with 
 stateliness; while beggars of every age, sex, 
 and size swarm. The ladies protect their 
 heads with the black mantilla, and the nur- 
 sery maids wear snowy caps. They are all 
 on the streets. At the eating stations the 
 train stops from thirty minutes to an hour. 
 The meal is served regularly in courses, with 
 change of plates, knives, and forks. Wine 
 flows, and smoke ascends from scores of ci- 
 gars. It is now 8 o'clock, and I have 
 rung four times for the morning lire. We 
 get our coffee at nine. A French barber will 
 shave you in five minutes; a Spaniard will 
 fool and fondle around you for twenty-five. 
 
 We have seen the Escorial, pronounced by 
 Castilians "the eighth wonder of the world." 
 I have never known when to quote from Phil- 
 lips's description of Napoleon before. The 
 palace is "grand, gloomy, and peculiar." It 
 is located at the foot of snow-crowned mount- 
 
82 SKETCHY PAOES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 ains. about thirty miles north of Madrid, with 
 bad lands between it and the city. It is 
 built of granite, in the shape of a gridiron. 
 Everybody has heard the reason why. The 
 walls are seventeen feet thick and five stories 
 high. The structure is so large that it re- 
 quires 14,000 doors and 11,000 windows. It 
 employed an army of skilled workmen 22 
 years to finish it, at a cost of (i,000,000 Span- 
 ish crowns. The money spent on internal 
 furniture and ornamentation could have been 
 furnished by no man on earth 330 years ago, 
 except Philip II., King of Spain. Viewed us 
 a palace, a monastery, and a mausoleum, the 
 Escorial stands alone in the history of archi- 
 tecture. We devoted the entire day to it, 
 chaperoned by courier, castellan, and monk. 
 A straggling village has grown up around it, 
 whose population seems to be made up of 
 soldiers, sisters, hotel-keepers, and beggars. 
 I should like to give the reader a more par- 
 ticular account of the Escorial if I had a 
 " guide book," but there is not one in our 
 traveling family. Every man who has read 
 any thing knows that this palace was built 
 
" MY JOURNEY INTO SPAIN." 33 
 
 when Spain was the richest kingdom in Eu- 
 rope. Ship-loads of silver and gold were con- 
 stantly arriving from her colonial posses- 
 sions in Mexico and South America. "With 
 untold wealth, an indomitable will, a gloomy 
 disposition, and a vow to St. Lawrence for the 
 victory of St. Quentin, we are not surprised 
 that Philip created this wonderful palace. If 
 the reader wishes to know any thing more, 1 
 refer him to " Souvenirs of Travel," two vol- 
 umes, by Madame Octavia Walton Le Vert. 
 By this means of acquiring information, he 
 will have some delightful employment and 
 save his money. 
 
 We are spending a week in the Spanish 
 capital. Our young people are sending let- 
 ters home and writing up their journals. 
 They are all vigorous travelers and eager 
 sight-seers. They lack neither appetite, 
 health, nor humor. 
 
 Madrid is rich and gay. I have seen Cen- 
 tral Park, in ]\ T ew York; Hyde Park, London ; 
 the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, each in " the 
 height of the season; " but never have I seen, 
 in one afternoon, so many splendid turn-outs 
 
34: SKETCHY PAGES OF FOEBIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 as we .saw in the Prado to-day. All the 
 grandees of the capital seemed to be airing 
 themselves. The descriptions we have read 
 of their equipages are all true. We make an 
 excursion to Toledo next week, and then re- 
 turn to the capital. I may write something 
 more. 
 
 Please tell the assistant Agent that I have 
 not seen an Advocate since January 26. I 
 must hear from the Tennessee brethren. Of 
 course they are living up to the New Testa- 
 ment standard, and the God of love and peace 
 is abiding with them. But I want to hear 
 from them. Send me the Christian Advocate 
 AVe have had no rain since we left the At- 
 lantic. The climate is delightful. 
 
 Madrid, February 21, 1891. 
 
MADRID. 
 
 WHAT of Madrid? The name is from a 
 Moorish word, signifying- a " current 
 of air." It is certainly high and dry, and 
 under the dominion of the winds. 
 
 As a town the origin of Madrid is prehis- 
 toric : as a place of royal abode it dates back 
 only to Charles V.; as a capital to Philip 
 II., who, in 1560, declared it the only court 
 of the realm. While the kingdom of Spain 
 has a population of 20,000,000, its capital 
 city does not contain over 400,000 souls. It 
 has no environs, except bad lands poorly 
 cultivated. 
 
 On our arrival our courier quartered us at 
 the Hotel de Russia. Here we have the best 
 apartments ever offered us on this side. The 
 food reminds me of the Palace Hotel in San- 
 ta Fe, New Mexico. That is kept by the 
 descendants of these Madrilenos. Wife's 
 
 olfactories are more troublesome than mine. 
 
 (35) 
 
36 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 The servants are polite, obsequious, and slow. 
 Fuel scarce. Lights dim. 
 
 Tourists usually go to the Royal Picture 
 Gallery first, and devote one whole day to it 
 — simply because it is the largest one on 
 earth. Besides thousands of others, it con- 
 tains the following numbers from the great 
 masters, namely: Rubens, 62; Teniers, 53; 
 Raphael, 10; Murillo, 46; Velasquez, 64; 
 Tan Dyck, 22; Titian, 42; Tintoretto, 34; 
 Veronese, 25; Poussin, 19; and Claude, 10. 
 
 The next day we adopted our old plan, tak- 
 ing two open carriages and driving six hours. 
 This afforded a general view of the churches, 
 palaces, monuments, schools, libraries, indus- 
 trial institutions, legislative halls, driving- 
 parks, and the rest of Madrid. The Madril- 
 enos seem to be like the ancient Atheni- 
 ans: fond of sunshine and the latest news. 
 From all I can see and hear, I judge that ab- 
 solutism is forever dead in Spain. I can 
 praise the American government as much as 
 I please here. 
 
 Spain is a country where the Protestant 
 religion has never been able to live. Pleas- 
 
MADRID. 37 
 
 lire, business, and labor are as manifest on 
 the Lord's day as on any other day. On the 
 way to three churches on Sunday, the En- 
 glish office of Thomas Cook & Son was the 
 only place closed. The first place of wor- 
 ship I attended was one of the oldest in 
 Madrid, ornamented with the rich carvings 
 and furniture of the middle ages. Early 
 mass was well attended by poor people. One 
 old woman, having communed, came down 
 the center aisle with a huge market-basket 
 on her arm. About midway she interrupted 
 a devotee for about one minute. The inter- 
 view resulted in the loan of some market- 
 money. In the second church a number of 
 schools (male and female) came in. A fine, 
 black-headed boy read some part of the serv- 
 ice. The music was glorious. At the third 
 church I heard a sermon. So now I have 
 completed the list. In each Catholic coun- 
 try of Europe I have heard a priest, in his 
 own language, deliver a sermon. They never 
 preach from the great altar, but from a side 
 pulpit. Xo Bible lies before them as with 
 Protestants. They skip " thus saith the 
 
38 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 Lord." They prefer " thus saith the Church." 
 That is where all the ruin comes in to any 
 body of Christians. For years I have felt 
 perfectly impious whenever told of Church 
 requirements, if they are not exactly in ac- 
 cordance with the letter or the broad and 
 loving spirit of the 2s ew Testament. Do 
 you quite understand me? lint let me get 
 back to these Komish priests. Their sermons 
 are extemporaneous, and do not last over thir- 
 ty minutes. They speak with great delibera- 
 tion, and at the end of each paragraph pause 
 longer than we do. They gesture too much. 
 
 The day on which I attended all these 
 churches was bright and warm. The beg- 
 gars were out in force. Women were sitting 
 flat on the dark, dry sand. One young, ema- 
 ciated creature had a baby in her arms. That 
 brought my %)esetas to the light. There I 
 stood, and thought of the world-wide differ- 
 ence in condition between this Spanish baby 
 and my darling grandchild out at the Kirk- 
 patrick mansion in Nashville, and for little 
 "Anna Hunter's " sake I gave the charity. 
 
 We have "permits" for the national pal- 
 
MADRID. 39 
 
 ace, where the buy king-, Alphonso XII J., 
 and his Austrian mother live. We propose 
 to use these passes to-morrow; but as the 
 royal family are " in residence " we cannot 
 hope to see much beyond the throne room, 
 library, armory, state carriages, and the like. 
 This palace is built upon the spot where the 
 Moors first erected their Alcazar. It was 
 the enterprise of Philip Y., who resolved to 
 rival that of Louis XIV., at Versailles. The 
 material of the vast structure is white gran- 
 ite from Colmenar. 
 
 The visit has been made, and we saw more 
 than we expected — even the queen and the 
 little royalties. One of them, the boy, unites 
 two of the oldest and highest houses of Eu- 
 rope — the Hapsburgs and the Bourbons. I 
 hope this youngster may live and prosper. 
 There was trouble enough about him before 
 he Avas born. (See Henry M. Field.) This 
 item will appear quite unimportant to all 
 those who have not read, the touching story 
 of his young mother, who stood before the 
 Spanish Cortes, and took the oath of regency 
 for the unborn child. 
 
40 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 Yesterday, bright and early, we went to 
 Toledo. The farmers and gardeners were all 
 out and busy with their spring work. Their 
 land is not rich like the Netherlands. Toledo 
 is a quaint, old, walled city. Old, did I say? 
 If you should believe their chroniclers, the 
 foundation of the town was laid about the 
 time Adam and Eve made their appearance 
 in the garden of Eden. The Alcazar is worth 
 seeing. This vast stone palace was built by 
 the Moors during the eight hundred years of 
 their supremacy in Spain. It is well known 
 that during that period they were the best 
 educated and most highly cultured people in 
 the world. The architecture of the Alcazar 
 is one of the proofs. AVe saw two hundred 
 workmen engaged in its restoration. Toledo 
 is the seat of an archbishop. Its cathedral 
 is the second of those four magnificent houses 
 of worship of which all travelers write. The 
 contents of the room containing the altar 
 cloths and vestments, if sold at their nomi- 
 nal value, would build John Hall's church in 
 N"ew York. The swords made at Toledo are 
 as celebrated as those of Damascus. All 
 
MADRID. 41 
 
 military men are loud in their praise of tole- 
 dos. The hospitable captain of Greenland 
 and the gallant colonel of High Street wear 
 no swords; but, after our return, they shall 
 have the pleasure of dispensing turkey from 
 the point of a Toledo carving-hnife. We re- 
 turned to Madrid by the light of a full moon, 
 and, as we approached the brilliantly illumi- 
 nated city, thought of our future abode, and 
 sung Philip Phillips 1 * favorite song. 
 
 The mule is a popular animal here. Thev 
 drive an omnibus with three abreast. They 
 pull a heavy wagon with six in a row. Sol- 
 diers in gay uniform ride them. Even the 
 queen's state carriage is drawn by four of 
 these dashing hybrids. Wife wants a min- 
 iature donkey for our granddaughter's baby 
 wagon, etc. 
 
 This country has had about six epochs — 
 Iberian, Carthaginian, Roman, Gothic, Moor- 
 ish, and Spanish. TVe shall take a stroll 
 through the Biblioteca this afternoon, and 
 glance at the curiosities, coins, books, and 
 manuscripts of all these peoples. Then we 
 leave for Seville, in the extreme South; hope 
 
42 SKETCHY PACKS OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 the weather will be warmer in Andalusia. It 
 is now 11 o'clock in the morning, February 
 25, and I am finishing this letter in the 
 warmth of a good fire. We are well. 
 Madrid, February 25, 1891. 
 
SEVILLE. 
 
 He who lias not at Seville been, 
 Has not, I trow, a wonder seen. 
 
 PAIR Andalusia! We entered the extreme 
 southern province of Spain last Thursday 
 morning. We had been running the live- 
 long night almost due south from Madrid, 
 when we were aroused for a six-o'clock 
 breakfast at Cordova. From there to Seville 
 we noticed on all sides olive groves, orange 
 orchards, cactus hedges, and palm-trees — all 
 semi-tropical. This is the country where the 
 Moors delighted to live, and which, for eight 
 hundred years, they made flourish like a par- 
 adise. The country is level as a prairie, in a 
 high state of cultivation, and dotted with 
 charming white villages. It is watered by 
 the Guadalquivir and its tributaries. We 
 shall need no more fires, shawls, or cloaks 
 while we are in this region. 
 
 A city founded by the Phenicians before 
 
 (43) 
 
44 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRA VEL. 
 
 Romulus and Remus were born, encircled 
 with walls built by Julius Caesar, and where 
 the Emperors Trajan and Theodosius were 
 born, may well claim to be one of the oldest 
 cities in Europe. Such is Seville; and yet 
 it is in as perfect " repair " as Paris, and fully 
 as clean. We are in the heart of the city, at 
 the Hotel de Paris, on the Plaza del Pacifico. 
 The great square where the Cathedral now 
 stands has always been occupied for religious 
 purposes: first, a heathen temple; then, in 
 the early days of Christianity, a church; in 
 the year 1163 the Mohammedan Abu Yousef 
 erected on the spot a noble mosque, which 
 was pulled down two hundred years after- 
 ward. The present vast Gothic structure 
 then arose. The Chapter of the Cathedral 
 assembled in July, 1401, decided on erecting 
 a church " so large and beautiful that coming 
 ages may proclaim us mad to have under- 
 taken it." They certainly succeeded. To 
 give you an idea of its size, I ma} r mention 
 that a small space on the inside is given up 
 for an orange orchard, covering an acre or 
 two of ground. The present bell-tower, Gi- 
 
SEVILLE. 45 
 
 ralda, is the minaret of the ancient mosque. 
 We were all on the top of it this afternoon, 
 feasting our eyes on the plains of Andalusia 
 and the winding course of the Guadalquivir. 
 There are some interesting things to be seen 
 in the interior: original letters of Christo- 
 pher Columbus, written with bold and graph- 
 ic hand, the massive silver tomb of his son, 
 Ferdinand, etc. ^Ve noticed a number of 
 families amply and comfortably quartered in 
 the various stories of the bell-tower. They 
 are not disciples of Malthus either, but be- 
 lieve in the divine command — judging from 
 the number of cradles and children visible. 
 Talk of " high livers! " Here they are, " liv- 
 ing higher " than those who dwell on the top 
 of St. Peter's, at Rome. (See "Twenty 
 Thousand Miles.") 
 
 Near by is the gorgeous Alcazar, covering 
 many acres of ground. This is a palace built 
 by the Moorish kings in the days of their re- 
 finement, wealth, and power, when their ar- 
 chitects were as famous as their scholars. It 
 is in as good condition to-day as it was when 
 the Moors left it, for after their final expul- 
 
46 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 sion, 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella restored 
 and beautified the roval residence for their 
 own occupancy. It was still further embel- 
 lished by Charles V. on the occasion of his 
 marriage to Isabel of Portugal. I am glad 
 we have seen this perfect specimen of the 
 Arabesque, with its gardens, and labyrinths, 
 and kiosks, and pavilions, and grottoes, baths, 
 lakes, Xeptunes, tritons, under-ground fount- 
 ains, and all else, before we wander next 
 week amid the ruins of Alhambra. It is dif- 
 ficult to keep our young people away from 
 the Alcazar. They never dreamed of such a 
 human abode. I have not heard of Louvre, 
 or Luxembourg, or Palais Royal, or Escorial, 
 or even Queen Christina's marble home since 
 they saw this royal establishment. They 
 will be reading "Washington Irving," and 
 such like, until they — get married. Let us 
 hope that they may select men of culture and 
 refinement, who will lay out some money on 
 books, and encourage them to read on. 
 
 I brought them down from these elegant 
 altitudes this morning, when I put them on a 
 tram-way and carried them out to the Fabrica 
 
SEVILLE. 47 
 
 de Tabacos. There they saw 3,000 poor 
 women and girls making cigars and cigar- 
 ettes. While they worked with flying fin- 
 gers they chattered like so many Spanish 
 magpies. The building in which they assem- 
 bled is a vast government structure, sur- 
 rounded by a moat and exceedingly pleasant 
 gardens. A man who can smoke a cigar 
 after seeing one made is like myself: he can 
 stand any thing. I think I said, not long 
 ago, that Spaniards do not hurry. Here are 
 these laboring-women, who can barely earn 
 one pesata (20 cents) in a whole day, coming 
 to their tasks at 11 o'clock. We arrived at 
 10 o'clock, to see them coming in from all 
 quarters, leading children, carrying lunch- 
 baskets, babies, and various impedimenta. 
 One lively, little, black-headed Senora had a 
 pair of twins — one in each arm. Away went 
 wife's coppers! 
 
 After all this, we were in proper frame of 
 mind to take two open carriages and drive 
 through the Alameda and Las Delicias, to 
 visit the University, the House of Pilate, and 
 the palace of Duke de Montpensier. Thus 
 
48 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 we have passed the week in this bright old 
 town. 
 
 Fair is proud Seville; let her country boast 
 
 Her strength, her wealth, her site of ancient days. 
 
 We did not cross the river to see Triana, 
 where the gypsies live, or to explore the ruins 
 of Italica, a city founded by Scipio Africa- 
 nus. 
 
 Later. This is the Lord's day, and I am 
 just in from Church. Forasmuch as I never 
 could learn, in a Romish Church, where the 
 apostolic ceremonies end and the pagan cer- 
 emonies begin, I thought it safest to abstract 
 myself, and engage in mental devotion; pray- 
 ing to the Father, in the name of Christ, to 
 direct me in all things by the light of the 
 Holy Spirit. I am candid enough to admit 
 that this is nearly all the religious direction I 
 want from any source. The only theological 
 book that ever suited me exactly is the New 
 Testament. That I accept without hesita- 
 tion. Such works as Calvin's " Institutes " 
 have done the cause of true religion more harm 
 than all the infidel literature from Porphyry 
 and Celsus down to Ingersoll. Nobody be- 
 
SEVILLE. 49 
 
 lieves in Calvin's God to-day. The old-timers 
 are all dead. I knew the last one. His name 
 was Andrew Vance. I once heard this dear 
 old fatalist talking to a dying' parishioner on 
 the blessings of "election." What of the 
 doom of "reprobates?" thought I. Dear 
 Presbyterian friends, give us a revised Con- 
 fession of Faith that magnifies the love of 
 God, even if you have to put it in a "foot- 
 note." 
 
 I read with pleasure, from the London 
 Times, that great interest has been aroused 
 by the arrangements which have been made 
 for the celebration of the Centenary of John 
 Wesley's death, at City Road Chapel, on 
 March 2, and the following days of the week. 
 The Wesley Statue will be unveiled by the 
 President of the Wesleyan Conference, the 
 Rev. Dr. Moulton, at 11 o'clock on the morn- 
 ing of March 2. This ceremony will be fol- 
 lowed by a public meeting in the City Road 
 Chapel, to be addressed by Archdeacon Far- 
 rar and several representative Wesleyan 
 ministers and laymen. At 3 o'clock the Rev. 
 Dr. Moulton will deliver the Centenary Ser- 
 
50 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TEA VEL. 
 
 mon. In the evening a public meeting will 
 be held, to be addressed by the Presidents of 
 the different Methodist Conferences in Great 
 Britain and the Vice-president of the Irish 
 Conference. On each succeeding day of the 
 week, excepting Saturday, a sermon will be 
 preached at 3 o'clock p.m. by a representa- 
 tive of one of the other Non-conformist bod- 
 ies, and a public meeting will be held in the 
 evening. Dr. Dale, of Birmingham, will be 
 the Congregational preacher; Dr. Clifford 
 will preach as a representative of the Bap- 
 tists; and Principal Rainey as a representa- 
 tive of the Free Church of Scotland. This 
 Centenary will also be marked by the publi- 
 cation of several volumes by the Wesley an 
 Book-room, bearing on the life and work of 
 John Wesley and the growth of the Method- 
 ist movement. 
 
 Times have changed since March 2, 1791. 
 "What hath God wrought! " 
 
 Seville, March 1, 1891. 
 
THE ALHAMBRA AND THE MOSQU E. 
 
 THIS opening sentence is written in the 
 Alhambra — in the room where Washinar- 
 ton Irving registered in 1829. Hither came 
 he in the suite of some titled gentleman in 
 those days. The names of the aristocratic 
 people have passed into oblivion; the man 
 of genius is known the world over. " Ever 
 thus." 
 
 In a few days after the arrival of Mr. 
 Irving, the Governor of the old palace va- 
 cated his apartments, and tendered them to 
 the quiet stranger. Here he indulged in 
 those reveries and engaged in those re- 
 searches that resulted in that charming book, 
 "The Alhambra." Who has not read it? 
 Venders of articles hereabouts will offer 
 you an edition of it in any language you 
 may chance to speak or read. I saw three 
 translations. They offered us an American 
 
 edition, supposing, of course, that we spoke 
 
 (51) 
 
52 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 a language differing from all others. There 
 are three apartments in the Alhambra that 
 were occupied by Mr. Irving: a library, a 
 bed-room, and a dining-room. Here he not 
 only wrote " The Alhambra," which has made 
 the place known to the world, but I dare say, 
 formed plans for the " Conquest of Granada," 
 and "Mohammed and His Successors," and 
 gathered the materials for those books. I 
 can conceive of no better spot in Spain for 
 the study of the romance, legends, traditions, 
 and history of this wonderful country. 
 
 When Ave were at Stratford-upon-Avon, 
 years ago, we stopped at the Red -horse 
 Hotel. It had a room in it filled with sou- 
 venirs of Washington Irving. Here we are 
 at a hotel bearing his name. It is so full of 
 American tourists that my traveling family 
 is scattered about in rooms on the second 
 and third floors. Two old gentlemen from 
 New York have big incomes at home and 
 sprightly young brides with them. The 
 brides read the guide books, and then tell 
 their venerable husbands about places and 
 events. " Who was Boabdil?" quoth one. 
 
THE ALHAMBRA AND THE MOSQUE. 53 
 
 " The last prince of the Moorish Dominion 
 in Spain,'' replied she, etc. The man from 
 Baltimore knows exactly where he is and 
 what he wants to see. The college professor 
 has done Enrope by the inch, and knows 
 every thing. The California gentleman wants 
 the names of the good hotels in Seville and 
 Madrid. "Many men of many minds," was 
 onr first copy. But the most amusing man 
 is the uneducated and unread foreign trav- 
 eler. " What is the difference between 
 a mosque and a cathedral?" queried one 
 to-day. " A mosque is a Mohammedan 
 temple; a cathedral is used for the worship 
 of Christ," 
 
 Granada is a large and interesting city — 
 capital of the province of the same name — 
 with a long and marvelous history. It is in 
 the extreme South, with nothing between it 
 and the Mediterranean Sea but the Sierra 
 Nevadas. Their tops are covered with per- 
 petual snow, and, forasmuch as most of the 
 rooms in the Washington Irving Hotel are 
 without fire-places, we are here entirely too 
 early for comfort. When you ask about any 
 
54 SKETCHY PAGE8 OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 manner or custom here, the invariable reply 
 is, cosas de JEspana. We have concluded 
 that it is the custom of Granada to be with- 
 out fuel. 
 
 This place was greatly favored by Ferdi- 
 nand and Isabella, whose armies drove the 
 last Moors out. Here they built the Royal 
 Chapel, which is now their mausoleum. They 
 rest side by side. In their day a new world 
 was added to the dominions of Spain, to 
 be lost nearly four hundred years there- 
 after by another Ferdinand. The sacristan 
 shows you a golden casket, which contained 
 the jewels pawned by Isabella to raise money 
 for the expedition of Columbus. Some wom- 
 en know what to do with jewels. 
 
 The Alhambra has always been the royal 
 abode of Granada. It is a palace, or rather 
 a congeries of palaces, commenced by the 
 Moorish kings, and finished, or disfigured, 
 by Charles V. It covers many acres on a 
 precipitous height overlooking the city. It 
 it mostly in ruins. Some parts of it have 
 been beautifully restored. The architecture 
 is Saracenic, with infinite details and hide- 
 
THE ALHAMBRA AND THE MOSQUE. 55 
 
 scribable beauty. But the gardens, towers, 
 fountains, pavilions, grottoes, over-ground 
 and under-ground water-falls are more won- 
 derful than the buildings. There is no other 
 such ruin in the world. I am saving the 
 whole subject for a lecture when I return. 
 
 Was there ever a people so leisure-loving 
 and pleasure-loving as the inhabitants of 
 Spain? Each man seems to be enjoying his 
 dolce far niente, so that when he is old he 
 holds out his hat for charity. Well, it is 
 " cosas de Espana." The most restless creat- 
 ure in the world is an American on a Span- 
 ish train. We started from Granada to Cor- 
 dova early in the morning, and arrived late 
 at night. The distance is about one hun- 
 dred miles. Wonder if one man ever " cred- 
 its " another in this country? He would 
 have the pleasure of scheduling his out- 
 standing accounts in his will. I requested 
 a landlord to make out my bill each day and 
 send it to the lunch-table. He hesitated, 
 but finally agreed to do so if I would pay 
 for the government stamp (ten centimes). He 
 kept it up two days, and after that neglected 
 
56 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 it. He reminded me of the Nashville man, 
 who was opposed to " settlements," even if 
 the money was coming to him. 
 
 What shall I write of Cordova? It cer- 
 tainly contains a mosque which is the largest 
 place of worship ever erected in honor of the 
 only true God. It was built by Abdurrah- 
 man I., and was converted into a Christian 
 church by Charles "V. We have been wan- 
 dering through it all morning, and feel too 
 much wearied to write about it in detail. 
 The founder resolved to erect a structure 
 that should rival the Kaaba of Mecca in ho- 
 liness, and the great mosques of Damascus 
 and Bagdad in size. Our courier, Mr. Yo- 
 lonte, has seen the one in Damascus, and 
 tells us that this surpasses it in every re- 
 spect. The priests were conducting the 
 morning service when we entered. The 
 music that sighed, and wailed, and rolled 
 throuofh the vast inclosure seemed to come 
 from the upper and heavenly choir — now 
 loud, as from numbers without number, and 
 then sweet, as from angelic voices uttering 
 happiness and joy. O may we all finally meet 
 
THE ALHAMBRA AND THE MOSQUE. 57 
 
 in the great temple along whose aisles God's 
 footsteps are ever heard! 
 
 As this letter is made up of hurry graphs, 
 you will allow me to close it with something 
 better. On entering this place Mrs. Le Vert 
 exclaimed: "And this moldering and crum- 
 bling city is Cordova! Cordova the learned 
 and the wise; Cordova, so prosperous under 
 the Carthaginians, and so famous under the 
 Romans — the native city of the philosopher, 
 Seneca, and the poet, Lucan; the city which 
 gave to Rome her bravest soldiers, and which 
 clung the longest to the fortunes of Pompey! 
 After the Romans came the Gothic rule, and 
 then the Moorish dominion, when Cordova 
 was spread over these plains, and one million 
 was the number of its inhabitants. While 
 nearly all the rest of Europe was engaged in 
 frightful wars, literature, the sciences, and 
 the fine arts flourished in this favored city. 
 Within the mosque is a forest of hundreds 
 and hundreds of pillars and columns of mar- 
 ble, of jasper, of porphyry, brought, many 
 of them, from the ruins of Carthage, from 
 Asia Minor, and even from Rome. There is 
 
58 SKETCHY /'AGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 a perfect labyrinth of these pillars, while far 
 above is the delicate tracery of the roof, al- 
 most like the foliage of trees." Cordova has 
 been repaired since Madame Le Vert's day. 
 Cordova, March 6, 1891. 
 
RtTNTXIXG OUT OF SPAIN. 
 
 OX our last morning in Cordova we strolled 
 across the old Roman bridge to admire 
 the massiveness of Caesar's architecture, and 
 thence through the immense mosque to hear 
 the music float. Our young people are al- 
 ways ready for a ramble, for the tram-cars 
 and carriages, or a sail on the waters. Mean- 
 while, each one journalizes every thing. It 
 was from a journal like one of these that a 
 very popular book of travels was produced 
 about three years ago. Good luck to Lena- 
 may! 
 
 On the long run from Cordova to Valencia, 
 by the way of Alcazar and Albacette, we 
 were compelled to infringe on the Lord's 
 time until breakfast Sunday morning. We 
 have never done so before; may we never be 
 compelled to repeat it! The people were at 
 work just as usual. Women were washing 
 
 clothes, boys tending the flocks and herds, 
 
 (59) 
 
60 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 men planting and plowing-, teamsters haul- 
 ing, and mechanics building houses. All 
 this grows out of the teachings of Roman 
 Catholicism. Such a development of the re- 
 ligion of the " holy, harmless, and undefiled " 
 Christ! 
 
 Spain is an undulating country; every- 
 where mountains, or hills, are in sight. Still 
 there are vast areas of cultivable land. It 
 looks somewhat poor and dry now. We 
 have had one shower in thirty da} r s. The 
 olive is the great wealth of the southern por- 
 tion, and there seem to be oranges enough 
 to supply " the rest of mankind." All trav- 
 elers write of the fine horses of Andalusia; 
 we saw none. 
 
 We spent two days in Valencia at a very 
 pleasant hotel. They say over here that (i in 
 America the traveler has to please the hotel; 
 in Europe the hotel must please the trav- 
 eler." There is some little ground for such 
 a remark. 
 
 Valencia has been called the Sultana of 
 Spanish cities. We saw nothing remarkably 
 queenly about the place. It is a flourishing 
 
RUNNING OUT OF SPAIN. 61 
 
 commercial town on the shores of the Medi- 
 terranean, with the usual narrow, winding 
 streets and suburban drives. The Spanish 
 gentleman must have three things — his cloak, 
 his opera box, and his drive. Without these 
 he is nobody. He may sleep in a back room, 
 and live on broth, or at a soup-house; but if 
 he can purchase these three luxuries he holds 
 his social position — maintains his rank. 
 
 The history of the Province of Valencia is 
 that of its capital — Carthaginians, Romans, 
 Goths, and Moors have, in succession, pos- 
 sessed this fair land; and although it derived 
 benefit from each, it is especially indebted to 
 the Moor, who loved it, and lavished on it his 
 gold and blood. Under the Moslem rule 
 Valencia became the garden of Spain, and 
 here the Moors placed their paradise. They 
 called it " The Country of Mirth." The Cid, 
 the great hero of the Spanish historical ro- 
 mance, wound up his career at Valencia. We 
 saw his bones at Burgos. May be they were. 
 
 Thence due north to Tarragona. The rail- 
 road runs right along the shores of the Med- 
 iterranean Sea. In some places a tidal wave 
 
62 SKETCHY PACES OF FORfflGN TRAVEL. 
 
 would overflow the track. Tarragona is ad- 
 mirably situated on a limestone rock, 800 feet 
 high, and sloping to the sea. The climate is 
 delicious, genial, and so wholesome at all 
 times that the Roman Praetor used to make 
 it his winter residence. But Roman remains 
 here are considered modern. On the way to 
 the Cathedral, in the picturesque Plaza, you 
 may drink water from the ancient Phoenician 
 well. Carthaginian " antiquities " are abund- 
 ant. The Cathedral of Tarragona is a sort 
 of Escorial, and contains the ashes, lately re- 
 moved from Problet, of several mighty kings 
 and queens of Aragon. Sculpture has not 
 been despised or neglected in Spain, as mon- 
 uments and statues frequently attest. 
 
 I fancy the reader ready to exclaim: " Will 
 they never get away from the Romans?" 
 Never, until we enter the dominions of the 
 Tsar, or skim around through the Scandina- 
 vian Peninsula. The Romans encircled the 
 Mediterranean Sea. Some day it will be dif- 
 ficult to get away from the English and 
 Americans. 
 
 If you are in search of a "queenly" city, 
 
RUNNING OUT OF SPAIN. 63 
 
 come to Barcelona. It is the largest city in 
 Spain, and by far the most beautiful. The 
 Hotel of the Four Nations is unsurpassed in 
 Europe. Barcelona was founded by Haniil- 
 car 237 years before Christ, and is so favor- 
 ably situated that it has never gone to decay. 
 Ataulphus, the first king of the Goths, chose 
 it as his court, and made it the capital of His- 
 pana-Gothia. While Toledo is the Pompeii 
 of Spain, this commercial emporium is solid 
 as Glasgow. 
 
 When the Modern Language Association 
 met in Nashville, one of its members referred 
 to his two years' study in Barcelona. This 
 remark attracted our attention to the uni- 
 versity. It is a conspicuous pile of buildings 
 of quasi- Byzantine character, dating from 
 1873. While leaving much to be desired in 
 the way of curriculum, this is, perhaps, the 
 most advanced of all Spanish universities. 
 The institution contains a staff of really en- 
 lightened professors, 2,500 students, and a 
 library of 200,000 volumes. There are over 
 eighty primary schools attached to it. Would 
 not Vanderbilt rejoice over eighty such train- 
 
64 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 ing schools as the Webbs'? When we drove 
 up in front of the university this morning, it 
 was about 11 o'clock. There stood hundreds 
 of plainly dressed young men waiting for the 
 professors to appear. They have no use for 
 early hours here, except to lie in bed. 
 
 We have at last seen a monument to Chris- 
 topher Columbus worthy of his name. It 
 stands on the wharf of Barcelona, the right 
 hand of the figure pointing to America. We 
 thought it surpassed kelson's Pillar on Tra- 
 falgar Square. 
 
 On quitting Barcelona, in July, 1844, Wash- 
 ington Irving gave his opinion of the city 
 thus : " I leave this beautiful city with regret. 
 Indeed, one enjoys the very poetry of exist- 
 ence in these soft Southern climates which 
 border on the Mediterranean. All here is 
 picture and romance. Nothing has given 
 me greater delight than occasional evening 
 drives with some of my diplomatic colleagues 
 to those county seats, or torres, as they are 
 called, situated on the slopes of hills, two or 
 three miles from the city, surrounded by 
 groves of oranges, citrons, figs, pomegran- 
 
SUNNING OUT OF SPAIN. 65 
 
 ates, etc., with terraced gardens gay with 
 flowers and fountains. Here we would sit 
 on the lofty terraces overlooking the rich and 
 varied plain, the distant city gilded by the 
 setting sun, and the blue sea beyond. Noth- 
 ing can be purer and softer and sweeter than 
 the evening air inhaled in these favored re- 
 treats." All our opinions agree with Mr. 
 Irving. To-day, when I mentioned our early 
 departure for Marseilles, I thought there 
 would be a mutiny among the youngsters. 
 
 No country on earth, except Egypt and 
 Syria, has ever interested and instructed me 
 like Spain. But there will be no more let- 
 ters. There may be none from Italy, Aus- 
 tria, Switzerland, or Germany. I visited 
 those countries in 1886-87, and wrote my 
 observations then. (Read " Twenty Thou- 
 sand Miles.") 
 
 Letters are beginning to reach us, but no 
 newspapers yet. Kind regards and best 
 wishes. 
 
 Barcelona, March 12, 1891. 
 
A CONNECTING LINK. 
 
 FORASMUCH as we are on our way from 
 Spain to Russia, it may be well enough 
 to supply a connecting link in the form of a 
 diary. 
 
 March 12. — Our train is running along 
 the shores of the Mediterranean. " Sunny 
 France" indeed! We can see leagues of 
 snow on the mountains to the left. The 
 winter has been awfully severe in Europe, 
 and it still lingers. We see the women at 
 work in the fields. The army of Spain is 
 large enough to preserve order at home. The 
 standing army of France is the largest on 
 earth. The able - bodied Frenchmen are 
 there. It was dark when we reached Mar- 
 seilles. We shall remain in this stately old 
 city four or five days. We need rest and 
 the services of a laundry maid. Did not the 
 letters from home pour in upon us this even- 
 ing! We are all happy. I am glad Dr. 
 (66) 
 
A CONNECTING LINK. 67 
 
 Er win's meeting resulted so gloriously, lie 
 and Blanton are invincible. 
 
 March 14. — A new French general lias 
 just arrived and taken command of the 
 troops stationed at this place. He reviewed 
 them this morning, while a steady rain came 
 down on their gay uniforms. The column 
 reached from our hotel out to the railroad 
 station. A French soldier wears a bright- 
 red cap with the number of his regiment 
 glittering in front of it. He wears a deep- 
 blue coat with red shoulder straps and cuffs. 
 His baggy trowsers are red likewise; boots 
 black; gloves white. Taken altogether he 
 is a fiery-looking individual, but the German 
 manages to whip him. 
 
 March 15. — All things come to those who 
 wait. We have been waiting nearly two 
 months for the privilege of entering a Prot- 
 estant church. It was offered us to-day, and 
 we all enjoyed it. " How sweet to the soul 
 is communion with saints! " There are 
 many Protestants in the south of France: 
 at Montpelier, at Nimes, at Aries, at Avig- 
 non, and here at Marseilles, descendants of 
 
68 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 the old Huguenots. The service was con- 
 ducted by Rev. Mr. Skeggs, of Oxford. 
 Like all Englishmen, he gave ample time to 
 it. We have attended English Churches in 
 America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in 
 all places they required a full hour and a 
 half. Why not? They read long scriptures, 
 and sing hymns " clear through." They go 
 through the Commandments and all the 
 creeds. The clergyman to - day not only 
 prayed for the queen, the Prince of Wales, 
 the royal family, Parliament, bishops and 
 other clergy, army and navy, all sorts and 
 conditions of men, health, wealth, and long- 
 life, and else; but he even included the Pres- 
 ident of the United States, and Mr. Carnot, 
 who presides over the French Republic. T do 
 not know whether the gentleman can preach 
 or not. He read a capital exegesis, sixteen 
 pages in length, wherein he clearly main- 
 tained the supreme divinity of our Lord. 
 You can always trust an English Church- 
 man on the text: "Before Abraham was I 
 am." In America it is safest to wait until 
 you hear him, especially in ~New England. 
 
A CONNECTING LINK. 69 
 
 (After our quiet family prayers we shall 
 sleep well.) 
 
 March 17. — We are on the " Reviera 
 Route " — that picturesque and romantic 
 country bordering on the sea, from Mar- 
 seilles to Genoa. The great earthquake of 
 1887 shook this region terribly. The towns 
 are all winter resorts for the grandees of the 
 north of Europe, and they are indescribably 
 beautiful. Architecture, art, and landscape 
 gardening have done their best work along 
 here. Napoleon I. connected his name with 
 Toulon. Queen Victoria spends a part of 
 her winters at Cannes. Mr. Spurgeon comes 
 to Mentone. The German royalties are par- 
 tial to San Remo. All the gamblers flock 
 to Monte Carlo. Tourists generally stop at 
 Nice (pronounced JS'ees). An elderly man 
 must not walk on stilts. I must not attempt 
 a description of the palaces, chateaus, cot- 
 tages, promenades, and sylvan solitudes of 
 this place. A rain-storm is raging just now. 
 The clouds are inky black. The tempestu- 
 ous heavens pour down torrents. The thun- 
 ders roll along the shores and far over the 
 
70 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 billowy sea. But we are comfortably housed, 
 and Nice will be bright again to-morrow. 
 
 March 20. — We have completed the Ke- 
 viera, and are literally " basking in the sun- 
 shine " of Pisa. Even in Italy there never 
 was a more beautiful day. While the young* 
 people were climbing the Leaning Tower, 
 and doing other duties of travel, I sat on the 
 steps of the cathedral. A carriage drove up, 
 such as I had never seen outside of royal 
 stables. When the service closed, I ex- 
 pected the king and queen of this realm to 
 enter it, when lo! a red-capped cardinal ap- 
 peared. He and the attendant bishops filled 
 the gorgeous conveyance. If the President 
 of the United States were to attend church 
 with such an array of horses, harness, driv- 
 ers, and liveried footmen, no political party 
 or combination on earth could re-elect him. 
 Martin Van Buren tried certain showy ways 
 while he occupied the White House. The 
 halls of Congress rang with glowing descrip- 
 tions of them. The newspapers teemed with 
 ridicule. He was defeated. 
 
 March 22. — There are five cities in the 
 
A CONNECTING LINK. 71 
 
 world that are called "holy:" Benares, for 
 the Hindoos; Mecca, for the Mohammedans; 
 Jerusalem, for the Jews; Moscow, for the 
 Greek Church in Russia; and Home, for all 
 good Catholics. To each of these places dev- 
 otees make pilgrimages at certain seasons. 
 We are in Rome not as pilgrims, but accord- 
 ing to a schedule of travel made out in Amer- 
 ica. This is "Holy Week." All nations, 
 tongues, kindreds, and people are represented 
 here. An archbishop from Madras appeared 
 the other day. The most gracefully robed 
 functionary I have seen is a Chinaman. The 
 little fellow from Tonquin comes next. The 
 city is full. Resources of public comfort 
 are exhausted. Every hotel and -peMsion is 
 packed. The place where we are stopping- 
 is so crowded that the Americans have been 
 offered a private dining-room without the 
 usual " supplementary price." So the Hotel 
 D'Allemague has forced us to be "elegant." 
 We have been writing and telegraphing for 
 one week before our rooms were secured. 
 
 "Hail, holy Rome!" exclaimed a German 
 pilgrim about the year 1510. His name was 
 
72 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 Martin Luther. Before he quitted the place 
 those thoughts entered his mind which result- 
 ed in the Protestant Reformation. To-day 
 is Sunday. I went in search of a Protestant 
 Church. There are many here. After get- 
 ting lost several times, I called a cabman 
 and succeeded. The house was large and 
 comfortable, and was filled with devout 
 worshipers. The service was altogether ed- 
 ifying. On the way home I noticed that 
 offices and places of business were open as 
 usual. The military bands were in full blast, 
 cavalry prancing and soldiers marching. 
 Carriage' wheels glittered on every street, 
 and the lovers of pleasure were all afloat. 
 " Hail, holy Rome! " Your saints have man- 
 aged to skip all the Commandments to-day: 
 Palm-Sunday. In the evening we heard 
 vespers in St. Peter's. 2so instrumental 
 music. Only singing. Italy is the land of 
 song. 
 
 Next Sunday is Easter day. Five days in 
 advance, I offer this prediction: After all 
 the solemn and pompous ceremonies in hon- 
 or of the resurrection of our Lord are over, 
 
A CONNECTING LINK. 73 
 
 and the pope has blessed the people in front 
 of St. Peter's, every theater, dance-house, 
 and place of sin will be open and filled to 
 overflowing. I acknowledge the good works 
 of benevolence which the Romanists have 
 done, but my observation teaches me that 
 they have never learned to keep holy the 
 Lord's day, or practice many Christian 
 virtues. 
 
 March 23. — We have spent the entire day 
 in "Old Rome." At the Colosseum, Arch 
 of Constantine, and along the Via Sacra; at 
 the Arch of Titus and through the Forum; 
 at the Arch of Septimus Severus, and among 
 the statues of the Capitol and the Pantheon, 
 I have been talking to my traveling family 
 on Roman history and antiquities. In this 
 way we expect to occupy every day of the 
 present week. 
 
 Rome, March 23, 1891. 
 
SECOND CONNECTING LINK. 
 
 O Rome! my country! city of the soul! 
 The orphans of the heart must turn to thee, 
 Lone mother of the dead empires! 
 
 TTARCH24-— I have finished reading "The 
 .-VI Romans a Hundred Years Ago." This 
 must have been a dirty, dilapidated city, and 
 filled with a desperate population. It is not 
 so now. Within the present century, it has 
 grown from 160,000 souls to half a million. 
 I can name no city in Europe where so many 
 magnificent structures are in process of erec- 
 tion. They are even embanking the Tiber like 
 the Londoners have done the Thames and the 
 Parisians the Seine. " The Eternal City," 
 which has lived since 750 before Christ, has 
 " taken a new lease on life." Look from the 
 top of the capitol or from the dome of St. 
 Peter's at the beautifully undulating coun- 
 try! It suggests health. Wine-drinkers all 
 declare the water is not good. People who 
 
 come here for dissipation complain of Roman 
 (74) 
 
. SECOND CONNECTING LINK. 75 
 
 fever. But whence the healthy men and 
 women who have lived here for twenty-five 
 
 hundred vears? 
 
 «/ 
 
 After cabling our congratulations to the 
 niece, Lenamay Green, we devoted the day 
 to the palace of the Pope of Rome. St. Pe- 
 ter's " successor " lives in a much larger house 
 than those usually intended foi* the shelter of 
 Christian ministers. The building was com- 
 menced over one thousand years ago, and 
 there has been time for enlargement since 
 that date. The walls are 15 feet in thick- 
 ness, and inclose 14 ample courts, 300 stair- 
 ways, and 11,454 rooms. Leo XIII. is 82 
 years of age, and, like all great men, he is 
 doomed to incessant thought and labor. In 
 this respect he is the peer of Xapoleon I. or 
 Frederick the Great. The pope rises at six 
 in the morning, and works far into the night. 
 His only recreation is a drive through gar- 
 dens of bewildering beauty, three miles in 
 circumference. The old gentleman was never 
 married; but his family, counting from the 
 College of Cardinals down to the Swiss 
 Guards, numbers 1,160 persons. Our busi- 
 
76 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 ness in the Vatican was to see more than a 
 mile of frescoes, pictures, statuary, mosaics, 
 and books. It will require another day to 
 complete the job. If any critic should read 
 this diarv, and differ with me about the an- 
 cient foundation of the Vatican, let him re- 
 member that it existed in the time of Charle- 
 magne, who inhabited it when he was crowned 
 by Leo III. on Christmas-day, A.D. 800. 
 
 March 25. — AVe beheld service and cere- 
 monies in the Pantheon. This magnificent 
 temple of all the gods of " Old Rome " is now 
 a Christian Church. It was erected by 
 Agrippa 27 years before the Christian era. 
 The Parthenon at Athens is shattered and in 
 ruins, but the Pantheon is preserved. A.D. 
 608, Phocas, Emperor of Constantinople, 
 gave it to Boniface IV., who consecrated it 
 to the Virgin and Martyrs; hence its pres- 
 ent name. The portico is supported by 16 
 columns of Oriental granite of a single block, 
 with beautiful capitals. They support an en- 
 tablature and a pediment of stupendous de- 
 sign. In the interior we find grandeur and 
 elegance united. Bein^r of a circular form, 
 
SECOND CONNECTING LINK. 77 
 
 it is commonly called La Roionda. Its di- 
 ameter is 132 feet, and it measures the same 
 in height. Its roof is all dome — the largest 
 in the world. Like all pagan temples, it has 
 no windows; the light comes from an aper- 
 ture in the dome. In this temple are buried 
 several celebrated artists, among them Ra- 
 phael, the most famous of them all. Victor 
 Emanuel, the " Unifier of Italy," was interred 
 here in 1878. (This paragraph looks to me 
 somewhat like a page in a guide book. Well, 
 there shall be no more to-day.) 
 
 March 26. — Holy Week is passing away. 
 Churches all open day and night. Service, 
 ceremonies, music, marching, masses every- 
 where. Dignitaries of Church and State are 
 thick as knaves. The Queen of Italy and the 
 Duchess of Genoa assisted at the service to- 
 day in the Church of the Sudario. In the 
 afternoon her Majesty visited several churches 
 where the sepulcher was exhibited. She 
 made the pious pilgrimage on foot. I have 
 heard of but one sermon. On Tuesday last, 
 at the Vatican, Father Francesco da Loreto, 
 of the Capuchin Order, preached the last of 
 
78 SKETCHY PACES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 his Lenten sermons in the presence of the 
 pope and the pontifical court. If the monk 
 held forth the word of life, it was delivered 
 in the right place. 
 
 The music lias not met the expectations of 
 the multitude of foreigners who are here, one 
 piece excepted — The Miserere. We heard it 
 twice — once in St. Peter's and again in St. 
 John Lateran. There were 20,000 persons 
 present at St. Peter's, and about 5,000 at St. 
 John's. The choirs of these rival churches 
 are led by masters of great celebrity. I know 
 nothing of the science of music; but any 
 man of sense or sensibility ought to be spir- 
 itually improved by listening to The Miserere. 
 All descriptions of the execution and effect 
 of this wonderful chant seem tame, except J. 
 T. Headley's, in his " Letters from Italy." 
 The reader is referred. 
 
 Easter Sunday. — AYe have used our time 
 this morning to the best advantage. First 
 to the Church of 8. Pietro Yincoll. This 
 church contains the world's masterpiece of 
 statuary — Michael Angelo's "Moses." The 
 service was dull, and we left. !N"ext to the 
 
SECOND CONNECTING LINK. 79 
 
 Basilica, where the Bambino is worshiped, 
 and on whose steps Edward Gibbon planned 
 the " Decline and the Fall of the Roman Em- 
 pire." Then to the Jesuit's Church for the 
 sake of the music, of which there was none. 
 A iter all this we had ample time to worship 
 the Lord with the English Protestants. The 
 clergyman maintained, in the usual way, the 
 resurrection of Christ and of the whole human 
 race. While speaking of the foundation of 
 the Church he regretted that strong men like 
 John Kobinson and John Knox and John 
 Wesley had been able to mar its unity. lie 
 told the burly English people that they were 
 more capable of keeping Lent than any other 
 nation — they were naturally a quiet, sober, 
 sedate race. Thought I : u They may have 
 capacity for fasting, but scores of them in 
 Hotel D'Allemagne have the largest 'ca- 
 pacity ' for breaking a fast I have ever seen." 
 The house was full this morning — the last 
 chair taken. The carriages of the aristocracy 
 drove up late. Their liveried footmen came 
 in with their masters and heard the sermon. 
 After to-night Holy Week is over. Plays 
 
80 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 and operas are announced, and the races be- 
 gin to-morrow. "Hail, holy Rome!" The 
 gay turn-outs are already glittering on their 
 way to the Pincian Hill drives. I wish I could 
 be at a Methodist protracted meeting. I want 
 to see somebody in earnest — talking about re- 
 ligion as if he believed in its truths. 
 
 March 30. — This is a good day for letters. 
 The portier handed us a large package from 
 America. I make my best bow to Col. Fite 
 for four pages. His letter is like himself: 
 agreeable, versatile, newsy. W. T. Turley, 
 Esq., is in with two more. He ought to have 
 a premium for letter- writing. He is next to 
 Irving on a literary salmagundi. 
 
 We leave Rome to-day for an excursion to 
 the island of Capri. It lies out in the Bay 
 of ^Naples, just opposite the city, and in full 
 view of Mt. Vesuvius. There we shall rest 
 a little while on its shining shores, and then 
 return to Rome. "We have forty-six days 
 yet at our disposal before the season for en- 
 tering Russia or Scandinavia. Health still 
 gushes from a thousand springs. Love to all. 
 
 Rome, March 30, 1891. 
 
ANOTHER CONNECTING LINK. 
 
 JV PRIL 6.— We leave Naples—" la Bella." 
 jMl. The island of Capri is twenty-five miles 
 distant from the Sea-wall. I mention a few 
 of the excursions that may be made from i t s 
 shores, giving the Italian spelling: Grotte- 
 Bleue, Sorento, Castellammare, Pompeii, 
 Ilercnlaniim, Mont Vesnve, and all the en- 
 virons of Napoli. We took these delightful 
 and instructive trips without hurry or weari- 
 ness. The bay of Naples is usually quiet 
 as a lake, and the little steamers are crowded 
 with intelligent tourists from all lands. 
 Bands of music everywhere, but no danc- 
 ing. 
 
 We are again in the "Niobe of the Na- 
 tions." Many of her children are dead, but 
 Rome now lives and nourishes. The city is 
 still called "UMema." My last view of this 
 world center w r as taken from the Church of 
 
 San Maria Maggiore, w T hose foundations 
 
 6 (81) 
 
82 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 were laid away back in the first ages of 
 Christianity. 
 
 April 7. — Reached Florence, the city of 
 fair flowers, and certainly the flower of fair 
 cities. All that nature can furnish or art 
 create may be found here. We abide for 
 several days. 
 
 The ninth General Conference of the 
 Christians of all nations, known as the 
 Evangelical Alliance, is in session here. 
 Think of free discussions on religious mat- 
 ters in the heart of Italy! There are two 
 Churches represented here now. On one 
 side is the dominating papacy, which, by 
 reason of its own special dogma, does not 
 allow controversy. It must be accepted or 
 wot j list as it is. The people, or at least a 
 majority of them, accept it in form; but if 
 statistics could be drawn up of the con- 
 sciences, how many among those who are 
 registered as Roman Catholics in name 
 would appear as real Catholics? How 
 many are there, in fact, who openly admit 
 that their religion is nothing else than a re- 
 ligion of habit? 
 
ANOTHER CONNECTING LINK. 83 
 
 On the other side, moved by a noble spirit 
 of charity, several Protestant denominations, 
 from various parts of the world, have sent 
 members to Italy to awaken the religious 
 spirit. These learned men, hard-working, 
 patient, and benevolent, have done a great 
 deal of good. They have founded churches, 
 gathered around them groups of sincere be- 
 lievers; but a real religious movement has 
 not been stirred by them yet. 
 
 Steps toward reform in Italy were taken 
 about the end of the 15th century by Sa- 
 vonarola and others, and again in the begin- 
 ning of the 16th century; but they were 
 checked at once, and not by Italians only. 
 !N"ow, near the close of the 19th century, a 
 new reform ought to be started by Italians 
 in Italy. 
 
 A part, small but compact, of the Italian 
 population, since time immemorial, consti- 
 tutes a Church which could gather around it 
 all those dissenting from the Vatican doc- 
 trines, but who intend remaining Christians. 
 That glorious population, which has for cent- 
 uries inhabited those valleys running down 
 
84 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 from the Cottian Alps, between the sources 
 of the Po and the Dora; which has upheld 
 inviolate its belief through persecutions of 
 every kind; which has been rendered famous 
 by historians and sung by poets from Milton 
 to Mamiani — could it not be the center of 
 Italian reform? The Waldenses are meant. 
 Several delegates from America were es- 
 pecially cordial to me, among whom was 
 Bishop Walden. Some went so far as to 
 offer me a permanent seat, but a ticket of 
 admission was all I desired. Suppose you 
 print it in words and figures as follows: 
 Alleanza Evangelica. 
 IX a Conferenza internazionale. 
 Dal 6 agli 11 Aprile 1891. 
 (E. Peatro Tommaso Salvina, Via de'Neri.) 
 Biglietto d' Ingresso 
 Posti Resevati in 3a Fila. 
 II Presidente del Comitato Florentine 
 
 P. Geyonat. 
 The theater in which the Alliance met 
 was filled from floor to ceiling, including 
 four o-alleries. After the President an- 
 nounced the hymns in several different lan- 
 guages everybody sung. Then came the 
 
ANOTHER CONNECTING LINK. 85 
 
 opening prayer in a foreign tongue. Indeed, 
 I heard but one speech in English, and that 
 was delivered through an interpreter. The 
 speaker was an American and a Methodist. 
 His subject, the " Doctrine of the Holy 
 Spirit." " 
 
 While I am writing, the Roman Herald 
 has been brought in. Under the head of 
 (i General News" it says: "The ninth In- 
 ternational Conference of the Evangelical 
 Alliance was inaugurated last week in Flor- 
 ence. A great number of ministers and 
 evangelical notabilities, representing twenty 
 different nationalities, were present. After 
 the opening formalities had been gone 
 through with, it was proposed to send a tel- 
 egram of respectful homage to King Hum- 
 bert. The proposal was voted immediately, 
 amidst enthusiastic applause. 
 
 " In reply the following letter was sent to 
 the President of the Congress : 
 
 " His Majesty the king received, with great pleas- 
 ure, the respectful homage accorded by the repre- 
 sentatives of the religious faith professed by a Sub- 
 alpine people (Waldenses) endeared to him for their 
 
86 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 faithful loyalty to the House of Savoy. Our August 
 Sovereign thanks in special manner all the strangers 
 assembled, for their good wishes, and invocations to 
 God for Italy's prosperity; and is happy to know 
 that when they return to their homes they will take 
 with them feelings of sympathy for this country and 
 retain a pleasing remembrance of it. His Majesty 
 the King wishes to express his cordial feelings to- 
 ward the Congress. The General Secretary, 
 
 "Battazzi." 
 
 Another learned body has just gone from 
 Florence. The gentlemen were scientists 
 from London. They all stopped at the An- 
 glo-American Hotel, where we are also lodg- 
 ing. 
 
 There are six American Episcopal Church- 
 es on the Continent of Europe, established at 
 the following places: Rome, Paris, Nice, 
 Dresden, Geneva, and Florence. They are 
 building another at Lucerne. 
 
 April 12. — Attended the American Church 
 expecting to hear Dr. Tiffany, of New York, 
 or Dr. Philip Schaff, but heard a vastly in- 
 ferior man. The paragraph on Stonewall 
 Jackson must have been written for the 
 especial benefit of Southern ears. Wife is 
 
ANOTHER CONNECTING LINK. 87 
 
 determined not to hear him any more. The 
 men of our latitude have accepted the results 
 of the Civil War, and are behaving admira- 
 bly; but the women who were once refugees, 
 and tasted sorghum and corn-bread, are re- 
 solved "to die game;" or at least they will 
 tolerate no eulogy on Stonewall Jackson 
 that contains the word " misguided." 
 
 April 13. — We are shipped for Venice, 
 the " City Built on the Sea." "We can af- 
 ford to remain there for some time. The 
 "tarif" at the Victoria Hotel is very mod- 
 erate. 
 
 The Christum Advocate is beginning to 
 reach us with some regularity. News from 
 a far country; how delightful it is! Espe- 
 cially if that country is our home. I hope 
 John Howard Payne is in heaven. I feel 
 like I would be willing to turn an angel out 
 to let him in. 
 
 En Route, April 13. 1891. 
 
THE LAST COIOs T ECTIXG LINK. 
 
 APRIL 20. — For a week we have been 
 floating along water streets and alleys, 
 gazing at the beauties and triumphs of ar- 
 chitecture, walking over bridges, listening to 
 music, and occasionally hearing an eccentric 
 Scotch Presbyterian preacher. 
 
 My friend Hill is exceedingly fond of Pus- 
 kin. For his gratification I quote a para- 
 graph from the "Stones of Venice:" "The 
 State of Venice existed thirteen hundred 
 and seventy-six years from the first estab- 
 lishment of a Consular Government on the 
 island of the Rialto to the moment when the 
 general in chief of the French army of Italy 
 pronounced the Venetian Republic a thing 
 of the past. Of this period two hundred and 
 seventy-six years were passed in a nominal 
 subjection to the cities of old Venetia, espe- 
 cially to Padua, and in an agitated form of 
 
 democracy, of which the executive appears 
 
 (88) * 
 
THE LAST CONNECTING LINK. 89 
 
 to have been intrusted to tribunes, chosen 
 one by the inhabitants of each of the princi- 
 pal islands. For six hundred years, during 
 which the power of Venice was continually 
 on the increase, her government was an elect- 
 ive monarchy, her king or doge possessing, 
 in earl} 7 times at least, as much independent 
 authority as any other European sovereign, 
 but an authority gradually subjected to lim- 
 itation, and shortened almost daily of its pre- 
 rogatives, while it increased in a spectral 
 and incapable magnificence. The final gov- 
 ernment of the nobles, under the image of a 
 king, lasted for five hundred years, during 
 which Venice reaped the fruits of her former 
 energies, consumed them, and expired." 
 
 The work accomplished in the early days 
 of Venice must have been stupendous. Her 
 canals (streets) were made and preserved. 
 Man's enterprise had to do battle with the 
 assailing ocean. Forests of piles had to be 
 sunk to hold the shifting land together. In 
 the lapse of time the huts of Veneti gave 
 way to marble palaces, and the group of des- 
 olate islands, stolen from the sea, was con- 
 
90 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 verted into one of the chief cities in the 
 world. 
 
 The fifteenth century witnessed the culmi- 
 nation of the greatness of Venice. From its 
 earliest days until the close of that century, 
 step by step it rose higher and higher until 
 the whole world acknowledged it as the cen- 
 ter of commercial prosperity. 
 
 More. Here Galileo, in 1609, on a visit, 
 while professor in the old University of 
 Padua, invented the telescope; and having 
 with it studied the stars from the summit of 
 the Campanile of St. Mark, presented it to 
 the doge. Here, too, at a subsequent period, 
 Sirturi constructed an instrument of the 
 same description, and used it on the same 
 bell-tower. Here Ignatius Loyola, in 1536, 
 organized, with his friends, the order of the 
 Jesuits, and hence repairing to Rome, sought 
 and gained the sanction of Paul III. to his 
 enterprise. In Venice were born, or lived, 
 or died, Titian and Tintoretto, Vittoria and 
 Canova, Tasso and Marco Polo; and the 
 dwellings they inhabited are yet pointed out. 
 
 At the opening of the seventeenth century 
 
THE LAST CONNECTING LINK. 91 
 
 the first newspaper in the world appeared at 
 Venice, and being* sold for a coin called a 
 gazetta, it thence took its name. Strange 
 that the great " palladium of liberty " should 
 have originated under the most jealous des- 
 potism that ever existed! At Venice, too, 
 appeared the first bill of exchange and the 
 first bank of deposit and discount. 
 
 Just see where this fondness for history is 
 about to carry me ! Don't I know " full well " 
 that the more I write in this strain the less 
 interesting will this diary appear in the esti- 
 mation of the majority of the people? Won- 
 der if my old friend Gov. Foote ever finished 
 and published his " History of the Venetian 
 Republic?" The pages I heard read were 
 brilliant to the last degree. They reminded 
 me of "John Lord's Lectures." 
 
 We left the unique city early this morning, 
 and came to Milan by the way of Padua and 
 Verona. The university buildings at the 
 former place are " a sight " with age, and the 
 tomb of Shakespeare's Juliet, at the latter, 
 has been converted into a washing-tub. So 
 we tarried at neither place. 
 
92 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TEA VEL. 
 
 Milan is the solidest city in Italy, and one 
 of the largest. Three hundred thousand peo- 
 ple are making- money, and therewith seem 
 content. Not a beggar appears ! Of course 
 we shall take the regulation drives and make 
 the usual visits — to the " Miracle in Marble; " 
 to the spot where the iron crown of Lombardy 
 was placed upon the heads of Charlemagne, 
 Charles V., and ]STapoleon I.; to the church 
 containing the original " Great Supper," by 
 Leonardo da Vinci; and to the Campo Santo 
 and Crematory. Then we shall gather up 
 our clothes, strap our valises, settle our bills, 
 "tip" the servants of the Belle- Yue, and 
 take leave of the fine arts of Italy forever. 
 
 April 23. — We are at Lucerne — the shining 
 place. To get here we came through the 
 wildest of all wild regions. When the St. 
 Gothard railway begins to ascend the Alps, 
 it climbs elevation upon elevation and height 
 upon height so easily you think it may equal 
 Hannibal or Napoleon, and cross over; but 
 after awhile the train glides into a tunnel 
 which runs under the highest peaks for about 
 ten miles, and lets you out on the other side. 
 
THE LAST CONNECTING LINK. 93 
 
 On the route from Milan to this place we 
 left Lake Como and Lake Lugano on the 
 right hand, Lake Maggiore on the left, and 
 skimmed around Lake Lucerne. This is an 
 old city. The inhabitants are the descend- 
 ants of the prehistoric " Lake Dwellers." It 
 has been raining all day. No difference. 
 Let it rain on. The letters came from home, 
 and along with them a beautiful picture of 
 the charming and chubby grandchild. Wife 
 is willing to have rain to-morrow. 
 
 Here we find the Lion of Lucerne, a, cele- 
 brated monument executed by Lucas Ahorn, 
 of Constance, after a model by Thorwaldsen, 
 and completed in 1821. It is intended to 
 commemorate the soldiers and officers of the 
 Swiss Guard, to the number of eight hun- 
 dred, who laid lown their lives at the Tuile- 
 ries in Paris, in defense of Louis XYL, in 
 1792. The men who died so bravely are per- 
 haps destined to find a more lasting monu- 
 ment in the eloquent and spirit-stirring words 
 of Carlyle: "Honor to you, brave men; hon- 
 orable pity, through long times! Not mar- 
 tyrs were ye, and yet almost more. He was 
 
94 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 no king of yours, this Louis; and he forsook 
 you like a king of shreds and patches. Ye 
 were but sold to him for some poor sixpence 
 a day, yet would ye work for your wages, 
 keep your plighted words. The work was 
 now to die, and ye did it. Honor to you, O 
 kinsmen! ]N~ot bastards; true bora were 
 these men; sons of the men of Sempach, of 
 Murten, who knelt, but not to thee, O Bur- 
 gundy ! Let the traveler, as he passes through 
 Lucerne, turn aside to look a little at their 
 monumental lion; not for Thorwaldsens sake 
 alone. Hewn out of the living rock, the fig- 
 ure rests there by the still lake waters, in 
 lullaby of distant tinkling Hance-des-vacJies, 
 the granite mountains dumbly keeping watch 
 all round; and though inanimate, speak." 
 
 April 25. — This is Saturday. We came to 
 Schafhausen and stopped, simply because we 
 never travel on Sunday. The Creator's plan 
 is better than ours. 
 
 On the Lord's day we attended a Protest- 
 ant Church of immense size. It was com- 
 fortably seated and well filled. The people 
 were not coming in, strolling around, and 
 
THE LAST CONNECTING LINK. 95 
 
 going out all the time, as in the pewless ca- 
 thedrals of Italy. John Hall's congregation 
 in aSTew York is not more prompt and orderly 
 and devout than these Swiss Calvinists. 
 
 April 28. — After running out of Switzer- 
 land and crossing Lake Constance, we are 
 spending several days in Munich, the capital 
 of the kingdom of Bavaria. Among: the 
 cities of Germany, this holds the first rank 
 as a city of art, possessing a greater number 
 of monumental buildings, replete with valua- 
 ble collections. "I will make of Munich 
 such a city that whosoever has not seen it 
 does not know Germany," once declared 
 King Ludwig I., and he made good the dec- 
 laration. It is certainly the most beautiful 
 place we ever saw. (If I wrote a sentence 
 like this in Barcelona, Spain, I now beg leave 
 to take it back.) 
 
 April 30. — Spent the forenoon in the Royal 
 Bronze Foundry, established in 1825 by King 
 Maximilian I. The moment one enters he 
 sees that America has availed herself largely 
 of the work done here. The models of Wash- 
 ington, Jefferson, Webster, Clay, Benton, 
 
96 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 Marshall, Everett, and dozens more are here, 
 in the midst of emperors, kings, princes, au- 
 thors, and generals. The chief of the estab- 
 lishment is a nobleman, in whose office I 
 passed an hour. His calculations and prop- 
 ositions are more favorable than those made 
 in New York. I shall return to his office 
 to-morrow. 
 
 May 2. — This is the last paragraph I shall 
 write in the form of a diary; for after stop- 
 ping some days in Dresden, we go straight 
 to Berlin. There, according to contract, a 
 Russian courier will meet us. "With him we 
 shall travel through the Tsar's dominions and 
 all Scandinavia. When I was a country boy, 
 one of my few " manly accomplishments " 
 was swimming. Early in the season I al- 
 ways dreaded to make the first dive. So now 
 we hesitate about making our first plunge 
 into a country so naturally cold and strange 
 as the immense Empire of Russia. But the 
 Lord is provident. So we have found him. 
 Therefore we trust him with implicit faith. 
 
 Dresden, May 2, 1891. 
 
THE GERMAN CAPITAL. 
 
 ON our arrival in Berlin I had, in small 
 change, only about thirty marks. So, as 
 soon as we settled down, I must see some 
 bankers. It was about 1 o'clock. The In- 
 ternational Bank was closed for lunch — two 
 hours. I walked on to the Dresden Bank. 
 Closed for lunch! They showed me the 
 reading-room, where I found the New York 
 Herald and other American papers. At 3 
 o'clock all the financial gentlemen appeared. 
 
 "Who speaks English?" quoth the cus- 
 tomer. 
 
 " I do," said an officer. 
 
 " Can you give me German gold for En- 
 glish bank-notes? " 
 
 "We can." 
 
 Whereupon he wrote out a receipt on a 
 
 piece of paper about the size of a leaf from 
 
 a family Bible. It stated that the bank had 
 
 received from me two five - pound notes, 
 
 7 (97) 
 
98 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 Bank of England, for which I had been paid 
 two hundred and two marks. The officer 
 then went to the vault where the precious 
 metal is kept, and remained about five min- 
 utes before delivering the gold. Two days 
 afterward I went back for more money. All 
 the banks were closed. It was Ascension 
 Day. Suppose the banks of Nashville were 
 to shut up every time the Roman Catholics 
 or the Protestant Episcopalians choose to 
 observe a " day! " What a number of holi- 
 days the officers and employees would enjoy! 
 I write this paragraph for the consideration 
 of Plater, Keith, Harris, Porterfield, Sperry, 
 and the rest. They are just a little too en- 
 ergetic for any German use. Why rush 
 yourselves to death, old gentlemen? 
 
 We have been to the Royal Art Exhibi- 
 tion. The artists of Berlin are celebrating 
 the fiftieth year of their Association. Em- 
 press Frederick, mother of the Kaiser, is the 
 chief patroness. Her late visit to Paris is 
 known to all. The Exhibition grounds and 
 buildings are "wonderful," as Bishop Keen- 
 er would say. All lands where sculptors 
 
THE CKUMAS CAPITAL. 99 
 
 and painters flourish have " departments " 
 here. Even distant "Amerika" has filled 
 two rooms. And let it be said to our credit 
 that no obscene figure appears upon any 
 Western canvas. "We are the decent people 
 of the world. 'Tis true, we rise up early and 
 lie down late, and hurry through life; we 
 drive and strive and struggle to get rich, and 
 refuse to enjoy ourselves unless we are "in 
 easy circumstances; " but, compared with 
 other nations, we are decidedly religious 
 and decent. 
 
 The American flag floats westward from 
 one pinnacle of the Exhibition building. 
 One sight of the " stars and stripes " brought 
 to memory a long-forgotten poem of N. P. 
 Willis: 
 
 Bright flag, at yonder tapering mast, 
 Fling out your field of azure blue ! 
 
 Let star and stripe be westward cast, 
 And point as freedom's eagle flew! 
 
 Strain home, O lithe and quivering spars ! 
 
 Point home, my country's flag of stars. 
 
 When we were here four years ago, Prince 
 William was living quietly at Potsdam. 
 
100 SKETCHY PAGES OE FOBEIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 Then he was two removes from the throne. 
 Now lie is an emperor, and, though quite a 
 young man, seems to have mastered the 
 whole trade of kingdom and lordship. (The 
 history of heroes is the history of young 
 men.) At that time Prince Bismarck was at 
 the head of the government — an actual Dic- 
 tator. Now he begs votes to elect him a 
 member of the Reichstag, where he will ap- 
 pear as the opponent of the government. 
 The most pathetic spectacle of antiquity is 
 the great Belisarius begging an obolus at the 
 gates of Rome. But Belisarius never posed 
 as the eneni}^ of his emperor. If Prince 
 Bismarck had remained in retirement — otmnn 
 cum dignitate — he would have gone down to 
 posterity as the most powerful statesman of 
 the nineteenth century. Now he loses 
 henceforth. 
 
 What uncounted sums of money kingdoms 
 and royal families expend in the building of 
 palaces! I give the list of those I have seen 
 here: The National Palace, Berlin; the Kai- 
 ser's private palace; palace of the Crown 
 Prince; Castle of Charlottenberg; the Na- 
 
THE GERMAN CAPITAL. 101 
 
 tional Palace at Potsdam; Sans Souci; New 
 Palace; Marble Palace; and Babelsburg, be- 
 sides others at watering-places, summer re- 
 sorts, and on the Rhine. All these are at 
 the service of the royal family of the king- 
 dom of Prussia — a family that has never 
 been accused of much splendor or extrava- 
 gance, as Louis XIY. was. Add to this 
 that the German Empire is made up of a 
 number of kingdoms, dukedoms, princedoms, 
 and free cities, and that each of these kings, 
 dukes, and princes has more than one pal- 
 ace. The apartments of these palaces seem 
 to be endless, and there are many single 
 rooms that cost more money than the finest 
 dwelling-house in Tennessee. Then look at 
 the grounds, furniture, servants, guards, and 
 you are ready to exclaim: "No wonder the 
 common people are so poor and women work 
 in the fields! Who blames such strong- 
 headed men as Stahlman and John Ruhm 
 for getting up and going out of such a conn- 
 try?" 
 
 While I am writing, intelligence reaches 
 us from the courier who is to travel with us 
 
102 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 through Russia. His name is Clausen, a 
 Swiss by birth, but thoroughly conversant 
 with the Tsar's people. I hope our experi- 
 ence with him will lead us to speak, as all 
 European people do, of " the fidelity of the 
 Swiss." When, in revolutionary times, a 
 " Guard " was placed in front of the palace 
 of Louis XVI., Swiss were chosen, and they 
 died for him. As one enters the Vatican in 
 Rome, he passes between files of soldiers. 
 They are the famous " Swiss Guards." The 
 Republic of Switzerland could only be con- 
 quered by the death of the last Switzer. 
 May our Swiss conductor prove to be a du- 
 plicate of William Tell, if we get into any 
 danger of inhabiting- the penal settlements 
 of Siberia! 
 
 What shall I say of this great city? It is 
 not so beautiful as Munich, but it is the most 
 regularly laid out and solidly built capital 
 of Europe. The streets are wide, and smooth 
 as a house floor. They are scrubbed every 
 morning just as we scrub our halls and 
 porches. Human life is as safe at night as 
 in the day-time. A policeman stands at 
 
THE GERMAN CAPITAL. 103 
 
 every crossing". Living- here is abundant 
 and cheap. I am spending less money here 
 than I should at home. Wife says that ev- 
 erybody is well dressed except her husband. 
 Our traveling- family sleep about nine hours 
 out of every twenty-four. They will be kept 
 wide-awake for the next forty days. We 
 shall get but little rest until we arrive in 
 London next July. Then, for a few days 
 again, Ave shall test the Neapolitan maxim 
 for all it is worth. 
 
 Why do Christians keep their religion so 
 much in abeyance? At the breakfast-table 
 this morning they were telling each other 
 about the concerts, operas, theaters, and 
 what places of innocent entertainment would 
 open (free) to-day ; but not a word about the 
 location of a church, the hour of service, the 
 music, or the minister. Each person at the 
 table is a member of some Church at home. 
 Finally I called a German maid, who "speaks 
 English a leetle," and inquired for Dr. Stuck- 
 enburg's place of worship. In reply she 
 brought the following card: "American and 
 British Union Services, 11:30 a.m., Nos. 5 
 
104 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 and G Junker Strasse." About one dozen 
 went from our breakfast - table to church. 
 The Doctor is a very learned man, a most 
 impressive preacher. He came to his pulpit 
 just fifteen minutes before there was a sound 
 from the organ. He did not wait, like my 
 St. Louis friend, until the organ "pealed 
 forth," and then march up the aisle with in- 
 describable solemnity. Our preacher to-day 
 wore no robes, read no hymns — did nothing 
 but conduct a plain, extempore service, and 
 preach a pure gospel sermon. ISTo wonder 
 his house is filled every Sunday. His de- 
 scription of "modern society, spending a 
 life-time in the pursuit of trifles — nothings," 
 is equal to any thing Thackeray has written 
 when in his most excoriating moods. Then 
 when he dwelt upon the quiet and peaceable 
 lives of all true Christians, it made me think 
 of Middle Tennessee, and the differences be- 
 tween brethren there who have been life-long 
 friends. That subject never enters my mind 
 without converting my usually delightful 
 wanderings into a via dolorosa. Pardon 
 me, dear brethren. A man of my years and 
 
THK GERMAN CAPITAL. 105 
 
 present sentiments has nothing to gain or 
 lose by the course of events, but you must 
 allow me, under the influence of the noble 
 utterances I heard to-day, to record my in- 
 expressible sorrow. 
 
 We shall probably spend our next Lord's 
 day in Warsaw, the ancient capital of Po- 
 land, and the next in " Holy Moscow." Fare 
 you well. 
 
 Berlin, May 10, 1891. 
 
" HOLY MOSCOW." 
 
 TT was easier asked than done. Alex, and 
 1 I appeared " during office hours," before 
 the Russian Consul-general at Berlin. We 
 spread seven passports before him asking 
 for his vise. The dark-haired nobleman 
 looked at us. and we looked at him. He 
 knew no English, we knew no Russian. He 
 sat down, we sat down. There was silence 
 for half an hour. Just then an American 
 lady came in speaking German. So soon as 
 her passport was stamped she became our in- 
 terpreter. We must first secure the vise of 
 Mr. Edwards, the American Consul, and then 
 come to the Russian Consulate. This was 
 done, and we entered the dominions of the 
 Tsar protected by the American eagle and 
 the double-headed black eagle of Russia. 
 This awful-looking, two-headed bird has been 
 doing service since 1472, when Ivan III. 
 married Sophia Palaeologus, daughter of the 
 
 last Christian Emperor of Constantinople. 
 
 (106) 
 
" HOLY Moscow." 107 
 
 Some evening when I am telling the " Tales 
 of a Traveler" I shall give yon a description 
 of a company of Laplanders whom I saw be- 
 fore leaving the German capital. There were 
 men, women, and children — fathers, mothers, 
 and babies — all clad in furs, from the shores 
 of the Arctic Sea. They exhibited their 
 tents, sledges, implements of labor, cooking- 
 utensils, and scores of other things peculiar 
 to a life spent in the region of perpetual 
 snow and ice. They are a small, white, with- 
 ered, and tough-looking race. By judicious 
 use of small coins I made several friends 
 among them whom I met frequently after- 
 ward. On the same morning I saw some 
 descendants of the Aztecs, from Central 
 America; also an intelligent two-headed, 
 four-armed boy from Italy, and a full-bearded 
 Virginia woman. (I suppose she is a de- 
 scendant of Esau.) 
 
 We left Berlin on Saturday, and came to 
 Breslau to rest and worship on the Lord's 
 day. While listening to the pealing organ 
 and a thousand voices in the Lutheran Church 
 I thought how fortunate it is for Protestant- 
 
108 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOEEIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 ism that the great reformer was so devoted 
 to sacred poetry and music. To the ordina- 
 ry reader the word " Breslan " seems only a 
 geograpical distinction, yet it designates a 
 flourishing commercial city, about the size 
 of St. Louis, paved and built and covered in 
 as if the workmen intended it to stand for- 
 ever. And that delightful old German hos- 
 telry, Zum Weissen Adler! Breslau is the 
 capital of the province of Silesia, to know all 
 about which one must read Carlyle's "Life 
 of Frederick the Great." But in this utili- 
 tarian age who cares for the quarrels of " Old 
 Fritz" and Maria Theresa? He lies quietly 
 behind the pulpit in the Garrison Church of 
 Potsdam, and she in a splendid mausoleum 
 in Vienna, and Silesia flourishes as a member 
 of the German Confederacy. 
 
 Our next stop was in Warsaw, capital of 
 the ancient kingdom of Poland. We were 
 now in Russia. To know this, we did not 
 have to wait until our arrival at the " Border 
 Station," and the call was made for baggage 
 and passports. In less than a mile after 
 crossing the little brook that divides the two 
 
" HOLY MOSCOW." 109 
 
 empires, you miss the neat farm-houses, the 
 carefully trimmed hedges, the compact roads, 
 and high cultivation of Eastern Prussia. 
 You enter a country that looks as primitive 
 in every respect as some of our North-west- 
 ern States. About one hundred years ago 
 the various partitions of Poland Avere com- 
 pleted. The most densely populated portion 
 fell to Austria, the richest part was given to 
 Prussia, while the Russians took the largest 
 area. This included the city of Warsaw. 
 Somebody says : "An emperor, a king, and a 
 Tsar swallowed unhappy Poland without even 
 saying grace." Warsaw is a bright, beauti- 
 ful, and bustling city of nearly half a million, 
 with stately lines of houses and ample squares. 
 We had only two days to devote to it, but 
 we made good use of them. We drove 
 from 9 in the morning until 8 in the even- 
 ing. Our cicerone was a native born Jew. 
 lie knew all the topography, history, and bi- 
 ography, especially the exploits of King John 
 Sobieski and Thaddeus Kosciusko. Wonder 
 if anybody ever lived in Warsaw except those 
 two knightly gentlemen? 
 
110 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 Miss Lester was completely obfuscated by 
 the signs. " Well," said she, " this is the 
 first place on our tour where I can neither 
 read nor translate the sign-boards." None 
 of us could assist her. 
 
 The long run from Warsaw to Moscow by 
 the way of Minsk, Smolensk, and other well- 
 known cities, gave us some idea of the vast- 
 ness of the Russian Empire, occupying, as it 
 does, one-seventh part of the land surface of 
 the globe. In 1886 the Tsar and his people 
 numbered only 109,000,000. Any one can see 
 that the country is thinly settled. Forests 
 are always in sight. The inhabitants use 
 wood as we do in America — for building and 
 fencing, and even for fuel. The railroads are 
 the best in the world. At present they meas- 
 ure only 17,000 miles, but others are in 
 course of construction. No trouble to build 
 them: the country is as level as Holland. 
 The mujiks (peasants) gather about the rail- 
 road stations to see the trains pass. They are 
 dressed very much like the same class of peo- 
 ple with us. The Tcupets (traders) look exact- 
 ly like brisk Yankee merchants. The hoyars 
 
"HOLY Moscow." Ill 
 
 (nobles) are generally in uniform. Everybody 
 is serious. We have not heard a native laugh 
 yet. Every man, woman, and child seems to 
 have an aft'air to look after. These are ro- 
 bust people. 
 
 On reaching Moscow we are in the polit- 
 ical and ecclesiastical center of all that is 
 truly Russian. The city is spread over a cir- 
 cumference of twenty-five miles, and has a 
 population of 753,000. Some guide book- 
 maker calls it " a vast village." We are at 
 once struck by the busy life in the broad, ir- 
 regular streets. They are crowded in sum- 
 mer, as well as in winter, with vehicles and 
 pedestrians. High prices rule. No staying 
 at a hotel here on ten francs a day; ten rou- 
 bles will pay you through, and leave a few 
 co*peks over. 
 
 Moscow is an old city. Chronicles record 
 its existence more than one thousand years 
 ago. In the year 1862 was celebrated the 
 one thousandth anniversary of the existence 
 of Russia, whether in the form of principali- 
 ties, independent or confederated, or as the 
 Grand Duchy of Moscow, by which those 
 
112 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 principalities were absorbed, and ultimately 
 welded into an empire. 
 
 Moscow is regarded as a holy city. The 
 Church is every thing here. Hither pilgrims 
 come from all parts of the Russo-Greek world. 
 All Tsars are crowned in Moscow, and each 
 one was buried here up to the time of Peter 
 the Great. 
 
 The religion of the eye and the ear, a relig- 
 ion of forms and ceremonies, rarely ever has 
 any effect on the lives of its professors. I 
 had a capital opportunity of proving this to 
 my courier the other day. There is a picture 
 of the Virgin and child, or of some famous 
 saint in the Russian calendar, at every street 
 corner in Moscow. On one of our drives the 
 courier gravely said: " What a religious peo- 
 ple these Muscovites are ! See how they bow 
 and cross themselves at the corners of the 
 streets!" "Yes," said I, "and the largest 
 building in the city is a foundling hospital, 
 with accommodations for thousands of in- 
 fants, and it is generally crowded." The 
 four hundred Greek Churches of Moscow, 
 with all their forms and ceremonies, do not 
 
" HOLY MOSCOW." 113 
 
 seem to have much influence on the morals 
 of the men and women. I pray that another 
 word may never be added to the Ritual of 
 our Church, but that several lines may be 
 taken out. 
 
 The Grand Duke Sergius, brother of the 
 emperor, is the Governor-general of Moscow. 
 On the day after our arrival, he held a recep- 
 tion in the Kremlin of all the grandees of the 
 city. State carriages by the acre! On the 
 next day he reviewed the troops. If any 
 American wonders how monarchy is main- 
 tained in the Old World, he should see more 
 than twenty acres of well-drilled officers and 
 soldiers. The standing army of Russia num- 
 bers 1,000,000. 
 
 We remained about a week in " Moscow 
 the white walled." Of course we saw the 
 Romanoff House, the Petrofski Palace and 
 Park, all the wonders and untold wealth of 
 the Kremlin, the gorgeous churches, lofty 
 towers, big bells, and ancient mausoleums. 
 But all these will make a good theme for an- 
 other lecture, and I must print no more at 
 present. 
 
114 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TEA VEL. 
 
 We have plenty of light in this country. 
 The sun was up at 3 o'clock this morning. It 
 is now 10 o'clock at night, and not dark yet. 
 I shall have to get my people out of Russia 
 on account of the heat. I shall date this let- 
 ter May 25, but all the papers this morning 
 are dated May 13. "Old Style" is twelve 
 days later than " [New Style." Do you un- 
 derstand? Ask Dr. Garland. 
 
 May 25, 1891. 
 
THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 
 
 WE left Moscow on the 26th of May, and 
 arrived at St. Petersburg the next day. 
 We passed the imperial train at night. The 
 Tsar was going to Moscow to celebrate the 
 tenth anniversary of his coronation. Every 
 mile of the road was guarded by soldiers. 
 "Seeing is believing." The encampments 
 were about five miles apart. The Russian of- 
 ficers and soldiers wear gray coats. They 
 look like they would fight. 
 
 The railroad from Moscow to St. Peters- 
 burg is so perfectly balanced, and the compart- 
 ments of the train are so admirably arranged, 
 that one can hold a quiet and satisfactory 
 conversation, or sleep soundly. The second- 
 class cars are better than first-class in Spain 
 or Italy. The conductors, or guards, are 
 always ready to say and do pleasant things. 
 I could entertain you, or harrow you up, 
 
 with an account of the arrest of Nihilists, 
 
 (115) 
 
116 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 the departure of exiles to Siberia, and the 
 exodus of Jews, but everybody knows that I 
 prefer the bright side of things. So I must 
 record the cleanliness and comfort of rail- 
 road traveling and the politeness and ac- 
 commodation of hotel functionaries. Hotel 
 life is a luxury in Russia. I am now writ- 
 ing in a room of Hotel de France nearly as 
 large and comfortable as the " living room " 
 of Alexander II. in the Winter Palace. 
 (Wife and the young people are taking an 
 evening drive by daylight at 10 o'clock p.m. 
 If I go down for coffee to-morrow morning 
 at 7, I shall probably find the servants scrub- 
 bing up the dining-room.) 
 
 Moscow, the ancient capital, is in the heart 
 of European Russia. Peter the Great grow 
 tired of the place in 1703, and resolved to 
 have a " window looking out into Europe. 1 ' 
 So he built himself a cabin in a low swamp, 
 just where the river Xera empties into the 
 Gulf of Finland. That is where St. Peters- 
 burg now stands. At a distance it looks 
 like the city is floating, but it is well pegged 
 down to the moist crust of the earth. Every 
 
THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 117 
 
 house, even the vast cathedral of St. Isaacs, 
 is built on piles twenty-one feet long. The 
 place overflows, but it has not washed away 
 yet. "A-pres nous le deluge." 
 
 St. Petersburg contains one million of in- 
 habitants, and is built upon a scale of vast- 
 ness and magnificence far superior to any 
 modern capital. It is like the Russian em- 
 pire — immense; but not so monotonous. The 
 Landaus and proliothis, drawn by superb 
 horses, are flying in all directions. They 
 move at run-away speed, and among their 
 drivers we find ethnographical types on 
 which we gaze with the interest we would be- 
 stow on a Hindoo or a Chinaman in London. 
 Their dress is almost a mediaeval survival of 
 long, coarse, blue robes; and the head-dress 
 is clearly a modernized descendant of the 
 " beef-eater's " hat, brought to Russia by the 
 adventurous Englishman, who discovered the 
 sea-board of Muscovy in the sixteenth cent- 
 ury. 
 
 There is busy, noisy life in the market- 
 houses as well as on the streets. These are 
 huge inclosures, with avenues and stalls laid 
 
118 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 oif with perfect regularity, and they are kept 
 clean. The people who sell and those who 
 buy are dressed very much like the same 
 classes of people in our own country. We 
 have never heard of any thing to eat that 
 may not be found in a St. Petersburg mar- 
 ket-place. 
 
 The palace of Louis XIV., at Versailles, 
 has always been our example and illustration 
 of the utmost regal splendor; but in every 
 thing except building material and architect- 
 ure it must now take second rank. An abso- 
 lute monarchy surpasses all others in the erec- 
 tion of colossal edifices and the collection of 
 costly furniture and adornments, simply from 
 the fact that there is nothing like a legisla- 
 tive body to vote for or against a budget of 
 expenses. Bear witness the temples and 
 tombs of Egypt, the palaces on the Bosporus 
 at Constantinople, and those of Moscow and 
 St. Petersburg. The fiats of Pharaohs, Sul- 
 tans, and Tsars have been sufficient for any 
 undertaking. We left Moscow thinking that 
 half the wealth of the world, invested in roy- 
 al goods, in robes, crowns, jewels, plate, ar- 
 
THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 119 
 
 mor, carriages, thrones, and the like, had been 
 stored in the Kremlin (fortress); but we come 
 to the capital to find every thing duplicated 
 and even surpassed. 
 
 The Winter Palace on the " Great Square " 
 was completed in 1769 by Catharine the 
 Great. This immense edifice may be con- 
 sidered as emblematical of the magnitude 
 of the empire, and <rf the power by which it 
 is governed and held together. Connected 
 with the palace, but entered by a noble ves- 
 tibule from without, is the famed Hermitage, 
 originally the Pavilion, built in 1765, in 
 which the great Catharine spent her leisure 
 moments with philosophers, men of letters, 
 and artists. Among the ten thousand of 
 other books may be found remnants of the 
 libraries of Yoltaire, D'Alembert, and Dide- 
 rot. We spent the best part of two days in 
 the Winter Palace and the Hermitage. At 
 the close, when we were all exhausted, one 
 of the young people inquired how many 
 miles we had walked. The question was 
 not inappropriate. This royal abode, be- 
 sides others in the city and suburbs, is a 
 
120 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 wonderful improvement on " Peter's House " 
 at the mouth of the Neva, and Peterhof, 
 many miles out on the shores of the Gulf 
 of Finland, both of which we visited yester- 
 day. , 
 The interior of St. Isaacs, the cathedral* 
 of St. Petersburg, is well calculated to in- 
 spire feelings of solemnity and veneration. 
 As in all Russo-Greek churches, the pur- 
 posely subdued light brings into relief the 
 glittering sumptuousness of the ilconostas, or 
 screen, and of the ikons, mostly in mosaic 
 work, which adorn the walls and pillars of 
 the temple. Theologians of the Greek 
 Church say that these are not worshiped. 
 To my mind, the belief in images, to which 
 miraculous powers are ascribed, is not easily 
 distinguishable from actual material adora- 
 tion. The Russo-Greek Church rejects as 
 idolatrous any carved or molded representa- 
 tion of saintly or sacred subjects for pur- 
 poses of worship; but holds that an ikon 
 painted or produced in Mosaic work, on a 
 flat surface, is not a violation of the Second 
 Commandment. 
 
THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 121 
 
 We attended service at St. Isaacs on the 
 anniversary of the coronation of the present 
 emperor, and heard the Te Deum sung, and 
 on several other occasions. At the Kasan 
 Cathedral we saw an infant baptized by trine 
 immersion. There are many costly votive 
 objects and military trophies in this Cathe- 
 dral, and the emperor never fails to offer up 
 his prayers here immediately on his depart- 
 ure from the capital and his return after a 
 residence at some other imperial seat. Peter 
 the Great and all the emperors since his day 
 lie buried in the Cathedral of St. Peter and 
 St. Paul, within the fortress. 
 
 We have just returned from the Imperial 
 Public Library. It is the largest library in 
 the world but one. The number of printed 
 volumes is over one million, and that of man- 
 uscripts about thirty-four thousand. In ad- 
 dition, there are eighty thousand engravings 
 and maps. In one room are all the different 
 pictures of Peter the Great ever made. I 
 once saw, at Stratford-upon-Avon, all the 
 pictures of Washington Irving. Peter ranks 
 him. The Ostromir manuscript in the old 
 
122 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 Slavonic character, and containing the Evan- 
 gelistarium, bears the date of 1056 — that is, 
 it was written about seventy years after the 
 introduction of Christianity into Russia. A 
 Greek codex of the four Evangelists, on 
 parchment black with age, bears proof of 
 its having been written in the ninth century. 
 A copy of the Koran, made by a caliph of 
 the ninth century, is also on exhibition. A 
 still older manuscript, the chief glory of this 
 department, is the famous Codex Sinaiticus, 
 a complete copy of the Greek Bible, written 
 in the fourth century, and discovered by Tes- 
 chendorf in the Convent of St. Catharine, on 
 Mount Sinai, in 1859. Those who suppose 
 the Russians know nothing of the opinions 
 entertained of them by other nations should 
 see a room in this library, containing thirty 
 thousand volumes in all languages (except 
 Russian) that relate to the geography, his- 
 tory, and government of the empire. 
 
 There is a reading-room in this hotel, 
 where native and foreign newspapers and 
 magazines are free to all the guests. The 
 English publications, especially the Times 
 
THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. IM 
 
 and the Standard, just teem with editorials 
 and dispatches animadverting upon the gov- 
 ernment of Russia, and denouncing it for its 
 opposition to the Jewish race. From these 
 and other sources the Russians can learn all 
 about themselves. The Jews are also taught 
 the cause of their troubles. 
 
 It is known to all that the late emperor 
 was assassinated by the Nihilists. The 
 other day, under the direction of an old 
 guide, I saw the place where he lunched on 
 that fatal day, the spot where the bombs ex- 
 ploded, the carriage that was shivered to 
 splinters, and the bed on which he died. 
 This was Tsar Alexander II., the one who 
 emancipated over eighty millions of serfs. 
 
 We leave here to-morrow for Finland, that 
 country never visited by American tourists. 
 My next letter may be from " The Land of a 
 Thousand Lakes," or " The Lake of a Thou- 
 sand Isles," as Finland is called by her lov- 
 ing sons. 
 
 St. Petersburg, June 1, 1891. 
 
iSTORTH OF THE BALTIC SEA. 
 
 AFTER a long journey we are in London 
 for the mid-summer. We left St. Peters- 
 burg with the following sentences formulat- 
 ing: It takes humanity a long while to be- 
 come human. After all our boasting about 
 the brotherhood of Christianized people, we 
 frequently find men barbarians at heart. The 
 present attitude of the Russian Government 
 toward millions of Jews is in conflict with 
 the civilization of the 19th century, and 
 against the universal conscience of mankind. 
 There are facts in connection with this sub- 
 ject that I should scarcely require an Amer- 
 ican audience to believe, and yet I propose to 
 tell them when I get home. All that George 
 Kennan has said concerning the penal settle- 
 ments in Siberia may be surpassed by the 
 story of the cruelties now practiced upon 
 multitudes of offending and unoffending 
 
 Jews. 
 
 (124) 
 
NOBTH OF THE BALTIC SEA. 125 
 
 Tribes of the wandering foot and weary breast, 
 Where shall ye flee away and be at rest? 
 The wild bird hath his nest, the fox his cave, 
 Mankind their country, but Israel the grave. 
 
 Most tourists prefer the water route from 
 St. Petersburg — sailing down the Gulf of 
 Finland, and across the Gulf of Bothnia to 
 the Swedish capital. We came " down to our 
 work," and took the land route, crossing 
 Finland from side to side at the widest part. 
 The country is seven hundred miles from 
 North to South, and two hundred miles from 
 East to West. The population numbers a 
 little over two millions, 85 per cent, of whom 
 are peasants. 
 
 Every thing looks extremely Northern. 
 The soil is thin, and all that grows out of it 
 is stunted or dwarfed. The people have fair 
 complexions, light hair, and heavy garments. 
 Everybody appears to be serious, sober, and 
 industrious in this well-ordered and much- 
 governed country. It would be considered a 
 rare thing to find a man or a woman in Fin- 
 land who cannot read and write. They all 
 belong- to the Lutheran Church, and outside 
 
126 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 of the towns and villages there are thousands 
 of them who walk many miles to the " meet- 
 ing -house." 
 
 There are some Americans who would en- 
 joy the free and easy manners of the railroad 
 eating-houses of Finland. We went in, 
 called for a table, and sat down, expecting to 
 be served by the usual waiters. Nobody 
 paid any attention to us, and there we sat. 
 Directly we noticed a very large table in the 
 middle of the room, loaded with bread, meat, 
 vegetables, sweets, and the like. Every one 
 who came in picked up a plate, knife and 
 fork, walked up to this table, and helped him- 
 self. Our hungry girls were not backward 
 in going forward. So we fared sumptuously. 
 When the meal was finished, each passenger 
 hunted up the cashier of the establishment, 
 handed him a marc and a half, and passed out 
 to the train. Everybody took his time for 
 every thing. " Never hurry except when 
 catching fleas," is the motto of Finland. Vi- 
 borg is the shipping port of the country. The 
 place contains 17,000 inhabitants. We 
 stopped there long enough to see a castle that 
 
NORTH OF THE BALTIC SEA. 127 
 
 was built, in 1293. Nothing interests the 
 average tourist more than a shattered old 
 pile of the middle ages. 
 
 Helsingfors has been the capital 01 tne 
 Grand Duchy since 1819, the seat of a uni- 
 versity since 1827, and owes much of its pros- 
 perity to the political connection of Finland 
 with Russia. It is a grand little city of 23,- 
 000, and the presence of 100 professors and 
 1,700 students reminds one of Cambridge. 
 The hotels are exceptionally fine. 
 
 We had no business in Abo except to see 
 the Cathedral of St. Henry, with its rude and 
 heavy Gothic exterior. The first Episcopal 
 chair of Finland was instituted within its 
 walls after their consecration by Bishop Mag- 
 nus in A.D. 1300, when the city itself was 
 removed to its present site from its pagan 
 foundations a short distance up the river. 
 This "old city" was founded A.D. 1157. 
 Abo has 23,000 inhabitants, and was the seat 
 of a great university up to the fire of 1827. 
 
 In 1809 Sweden ceded to Russia all her 
 rights over Finland, and after a separate ne- 
 gotiation between the Finnish Diet and Alex- 
 
128 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 ander I. the Estates swore allegiance to the 
 Tsar as the Grand Duke of Finland. The 
 maintenance of the Lutheran religion and the 
 integrity of their Constitution, together with 
 all previous rights and privileges, were as- 
 sured to the Finlanders in a solemn manifesto 
 which continues to this da} r to be their zeal- 
 ously guarded Charter of Rights. In virtue 
 of it they have a Diet of their own, composed 
 of four estates — nobles, clergy, burgesses, 
 and peasantry. 
 
 In regard to religion and education, the 
 Finlanders have reason to be proud of the 
 results of the legacy bequeathed to them by 
 their old Scandinavian masters. An excel- 
 lent system of instruction is zealously carried 
 out under the superintendency of the Lu- 
 theran clergy, who do not admit to the com- 
 munion any person who is unable to read or 
 write. 
 
 We rounded out from Abo in the midst of 
 a furious snow-storm, June 4. This troubled 
 the waters of the Gulf of Bothnia, and we all 
 lost reputation as sailors, except Alex. The 
 boy is getting to be a regular " old sea-dog." 
 
NORTH OF THE BALTIC SEA. 129 
 
 We are comfortably quartered in London 
 at an inn where we have stopped twice before. 
 At the table adjoining ours we have the com- 
 pany of a friend of my boyhood — Zeb Vance , 
 of North Carolina. He and I parted at 
 Washington College forty-five years ago. 
 With no introduction or hesitancy we shook 
 hands instantly. We are both getting old. 
 fleshy, and gray. How did we know each 
 other at this distance of time and place? 
 Senator Vance is accompanied by his wife 
 and son. In the evening he sent up the fol- 
 lowing card: 
 
 Dear Young: If not too late when yon come in, let 
 me know, and meet me in the ladies' drawing-room 
 for a talk. Vance. 
 
 We did not talk about ourselves, but of the 
 bo}s we knew long ago — of their history, suc- 
 cesses, defeats, death. Then we spoke of the 
 changes in religious history and worship. At 
 the close of this conversation, he looked me 
 earnestly in the face and said : " Young, you 
 have read the history of the Church and have 
 now seen modern Christianity in all its phases. 
 Is not our good old country meeting-house 
 
130 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRA VEL. 
 
 worship the purest and best?" To which I 
 replied with emphasis: "It is." And then I 
 delivered my mind on every species of Rit- 
 ualism. That is the germ and cause of all 
 the evils that have crept into our beautiful 
 and holy religion. 
 
 We were wandering through Westminster 
 Abbey the other day, when we had the pleas- 
 ure of meeting Col. Ed Baxter, wife, and 
 daughter, of Nashville; also Mr. Ben Allen 
 and wife. It is difficult to express the de- 
 light one feels when he sees the face of a 
 compatriot in a strange land. I told them 
 that there were twenty-two Nashville people 
 over in Paris. When I asked Col. Baxter 
 how he found time to leave home, he an- 
 swered: "I just pulled away." There are 
 other hard- wrought people who ought to pull 
 away. " But it costs so much money! " All 
 right, old gentlemen! Stick to your slavery. 
 Make secure investments. Watch them 
 closely. Live in hope. Your sons-in-law 
 will be along after awhile. 
 
 London, June 26, 1891. 
 
STILL DUE NORTH. 
 
 AFTER a miserable night on the Gulf of 
 Bothnia, Ave landed at the Swedish cap- 
 ital. In every respect the approach to Stock- 
 holm surpasses that to Constantinople. Nat- 
 ure and art have left nothing undone to 
 charm the eye and excite the admiration of 
 a stranger. If any hotel in Europe surpasses 
 "The Grand Hotel " here, we have not been 
 fortunate enough to unpack within its walls. 
 Stockholm has been the capital of Sweden 
 for six hundred years. It is called " the 
 Venice of the North," because it is built on 
 islands. However, the islands are larger than 
 those on which the Italian Venice is built. 
 It has, perhaps, a population of 200,000, and 
 the architecture of the place is as solid as 
 Edinburgh. We were taken to the top of 
 the celebrated " Lift," where we had a bird's- 
 eye view of the city and its environs. Then 
 we drove all over the place. The "Museums 
 
 (131) 
 
132 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 of iNToHhern Antiquities" here would inter- 
 est any man of sense or sensibility. The 
 palace, built on an island, is large, massive, 
 plain; and the occupant, Oscar II., is the 
 third king of the Bernadotte family. They 
 say that he is the tallest man in Europe. (I 
 am off the continent now.) 
 
 While wife and the young ladies were tak- 
 ing their ease at their inn, Alex, and I made 
 the excursion to Upsala. This is the histor- 
 ical, intellectual, and religious center of 
 Sweden. It is the charmed spot, the en- 
 chanted ground, of the kingdom; for here 
 the old kings and vikings lived and stormed 
 and died; here Christianity was introduced, 
 more than fifteen hundred years ago, and 
 paganism fought its last battle with the new 
 faith; here the great university was founded, 
 and here it still grows and flourishes. 
 
 The road to Upsala extends due north 
 along the coast. On our arrival a turn-out 
 was offered us, in which. we made the circuit 
 of the little city. We found it clean and 
 cold. An archbishop resides here, whose 
 church is the grandest brick structure we 
 
STILL DUE NORTH. 133 
 
 have seen. The university buildings are 
 plain and enormous. The great treasure 
 of the library is the "Codex Argentius." It 
 is a translation of the four Gospels, made by 
 Bishop Ulphilas in the fourth century. The 
 manuscript contains 188 leaves, written in 
 silver and gold. The language is Moeso- 
 Gothic, the only specimen of that language 
 now in the world. 
 
 In the afternoon we drove to Gamla, Up- 
 sala. There is nothing left here except four 
 huge mounds and an ancient stone church. 
 On these mounds were performed the bloody 
 rites of the old Scandinavian religion. The 
 largest is named Woden; the next Thor; the 
 third Freya; and the fourth is called the 
 Assize Hill. From the top of this the pagan 
 kings addressed the multitude below and is- 
 sued their proclamations. (There was no 
 printing in those days.) The church-building 
 marks the spot where Christianity was intro- 
 duced. When, the next day, I saw in Stock- 
 holm the glitter of the gorgeous vestments 
 of the Lutheran clergy and the performance 
 of an elaborate ritual, I thought of the sim- 
 
134 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 pie worship that must have been offered in 
 this venerable pile. The rites of Gothic 
 heathenism have gone out, but forms and 
 ceremonies borrowed from the mythology 
 of Greece and Koine have come in. All hi- 
 erarchy and ritualism point to one result: 
 the ruin of the Church as a means of con- 
 verting men to the religion taught in the 
 !New Testament. The magnet does not lie. 
 
 It does not take one long to learn who are 
 the demi-gods of Swedish history: Queen 
 Margaret, Gustavus Yasa, Gustavus Adol- 
 phus, Charles XII., and Marshal Bernadotte. 
 Their pictures and statues are everywhere. 
 
 The Swedes are refined, kind-hearted, po- 
 lite. A gentleman does not enter even a shop 
 without taking off his hat. - Since leaving 
 Hew York I have not slept without folding 
 my coat, containing letter of credit, under 
 my head. In Sweden I retired as if I were 
 at home. 
 
 Now let us turn our attention to London. 
 Yesterday was Sunday. For months I have 
 been witnessing the idolatrous ceremonials of 
 the Romish Church in France, Spain, and 
 
STILL DUE NORTH. 135 
 
 Italy, and the gorgeous rites of the Greek 
 Church in Poland and Russia. Of course 
 my soul longed — "yea, even fainted" — for 
 some court of the Lord, where I could enjoy 
 an extemporaneous, intellectual, and spirit- 
 ual service. So, as Mr. Spnrgeon is not well, 
 [ went to hear Joseph Parker. A Wesley an 
 preacher can state the plan of salvation as 
 well as any man in the world, but he must 
 needs wear a robe and spend the first hour 
 in reading the Morning Service of the Church 
 of England before "he takes his text." I 
 am tired of the rags (gowns) of popery. I 
 am weary of written prayers. Dr. Parker, 
 in his suit of black, with black cravat and 
 turn-down collar, and with his manly and 
 mighty utterance of the pure gospel, suits 
 me exactly. I would exchange him for our 
 own Bishop Wilson, but my dear and be- 
 loved friend was not here to preach. Wil- 
 son's head reminds me of the Greenwich 
 Observatory: it is so solid that it never 
 jostles or trembles. He says and seals, but 
 his heart is as tender as a mother's before he 
 says it. 
 
136 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 Mr. Spurgeon is very sick with the pre- 
 vailing influenza. His people believe in the 
 religion he has taught them. An all-day 
 prayer - meeting was announced yesterday. 
 At 7 o'clock this morning they met in the 
 Tabernacle, and have been praying ever since 
 for the recovery of their pastor. " It shall 
 not be said that praying breath was ever 
 spent in vain." 
 
 I know nothing of Church affairs at home. 
 Two papers should have been mailed to me 
 regularly, but they have not come. My 
 friends are beginning to write, but the most 
 of their letters ask for lectures. A few of 
 these shall be delivered in aid of Church 
 enterprises, for which I have always worked. 
 A tempting invitation from a Lecture Bureau 
 in New York City has also been received. 
 I shall answer " Xo," because I prefer my 
 old manner of life. 
 
 The young Emperor of Germany, a grand- 
 son of Victoria, is expected here this week, 
 lie has mentioned one of two Sundays in 
 July when he will be pleased to visit the 
 Royal Naval Exhibition. As soon as this 
 
STILL DUE NORTH. 137 
 
 took air, a member of the House of Com- 
 mons called the attention of the British Par- 
 liament to the proposition, asking the royal 
 gentleman to appoint another -day. A note 
 of animadversion also rang out from the 
 most robust of the city pulpits last Sunday. 
 Another day has been named. England is 
 not Germany, thank the Lord. England 
 keeps holy the Sabbath-day. 
 
 All Russia shudders from sea to sea. The 
 crop report for June, published by the Min- 
 ister of Finance, shows that a famine is in- 
 evitable — such a famine as the Tsar and his 
 people have not experienced since the Ro- 
 manoffs have been on the throne. To avert 
 the calamity, the priests are reading prayers 
 to the Lord from every altar in the empire 
 and sprinkling every acre of the reluctant 
 soil with holy water. It may be that the 
 Lord is turning their attention away from 
 the unfortunate Jews. 
 
 My near neighbors, Mrs. Burch and her 
 son, have just arrived. Miss Sea well and her 
 traveling party are in town. Maj. Stahlman 
 and family left for Paris this morning. We 
 
138 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 have bought our return tickets, and shall be 
 at home about the 1st of September. Some- 
 body may ask if our wanderings will thou 
 come to an end. I do not know. 
 Loudon, June 30, 1891. 
 
TOWARD THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 
 
 THE entire kingdom of Norway, with 
 eleven hundred miles of sea-coast, does 
 not contain more people than the single city 
 of London ; but they are the simplest, clean- 
 est, and most religious people we ever saw 
 outside of our own Southland. 
 
 The water approach to Christiania is equal 
 to that of Stockholm. The present capital 
 of Norway was founded in 1624. It has 
 now a population approaching 100,000. The 
 former capital was Bergen. The ancient 
 capital was Throndhjem. We visited them 
 all before leaving the cold and sterile region. 
 We did not see the "Midnight Sun;" but 
 we saw it shining one hour before midnight, 
 and that explained the whole cosmic won- 
 der. 
 
 Norway once depended upon Copenhagen 
 for the education of her sons, but she now 
 
 has a university of her own, situated in the 
 
 (139) 
 
140 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 center of Christiaiiia, numbering fifty pro- 
 fessors and one thousand students. Most of 
 the museums and scientific collections of the 
 city are on the university grounds. Here 
 also we saw the famous Viking Ship, seventy- 
 six feet in length by sixteen feet in breadth. 
 When an old Xorse Viking died, a vast ex- 
 cavation was made in the earth, where his 
 ship and himself, his horse and all his imple- 
 ments of warfare were buried. This one at 
 Christiania was dug up on the shore of a 
 Fjord on the Southern coast. "What fol- 
 ly!" exclaims the reader. Please take no- 
 tice, my friend, that if the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury were to die to-day, the London- 
 ers would bury him in his robes and miter, 
 and with all the insignia of his high office. 
 The Archbishop is probably a descendant of 
 the old Viking, but the race has been 
 churched and civilized, rolled and combed 
 and perfumed a great deal since then. 
 
 After driving over the city, and wander- 
 ing through the Deserted Palace, we spent 
 the evening in the Norwegian Parliament. 
 Sweden and Norway are both under one 
 
TOWARD THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 141 
 
 crown, but each has its own legislative body. 
 The Norse Parliament is composed of an 
 Upper House and a Lower House. The first 
 is called the Lagthing, the second the Stor- 
 thing. We visited the Lower House. The 
 members were elegantly dressed, and the 
 presiding officer had them well in hand. 
 Each member spoke from a manuscript. So 
 you may know the proceedings were orderly 
 and dull. Whenever the manuscript comes 
 in, bid farewell to eloquence and excitement. 
 " Drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds." 
 Manufactures are in great esteem over here 
 — manufactured orthodoxies, liturgies, ser- 
 mons, speeches, and proceedings. 
 
 From Christiania to Throndhjem seemed a 
 great distance to ns, but we made the jour- 
 ney in a little over four days. The first day 
 by rail and steamcM- to Lillehamar was easy 
 enough. The last three by carioies ought to 
 have worn us out completely. To drive two 
 hundred miles in three days keeps one busy, 
 especially if he eats three meals a day, and 
 sleeps at a way-side inn at night. More- 
 over, we changed carioies and horses six or 
 
142 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TEA VEL. 
 
 seven times a day. Each fresh little Nor- 
 wegian trotter seemed wilder than the one 
 we had left behind. The people of the coun- 
 try do not understand a word you say; but 
 when you drive up to one " station," they fit 
 you out immediately for the next. A cari- 
 ole holds only one person, and he does his 
 own driving. We are bringing a sketch 
 model home, in the hope that some enter- 
 prising carriage-maker will introduce the 
 vehicle. 
 
 Throndhjem is the largest city in the world 
 so far north as the latitude of Iceland. It 
 contains about 25,000 souls. Most of the 
 houses are built of wood, like those of Abo, 
 in Finland. The streets are broad, and the 
 open spaces, or squares, are large. This plan 
 was adopted in view of the danger from con- 
 flagrations. 
 
 All Norwegian history centers in Thrond- 
 hjem. So of literature and religion. The 
 Cathedral of St, Olaf is the oldest and larg- 
 est place of worship in all Scandinavia. It 
 is considered so sacred that the Constitu- 
 tion of the country requires all kings to be 
 
TOW AND THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 14o 
 
 crowned here. The government of the coun- 
 try has appropriated 80,000 crowns a year 
 for its restoration. According- to the calcu- 
 lations of the architect, these repairs extend 
 from 1869 to 1925. We attended service 
 twice on Sunday. There are no forms or 
 ceremonies. The service was as simple and 
 impressive as a venerable Lutheran minister 
 could make it. This accounts for the piety 
 of the people. 
 
 We went so far north that we could see to 
 read good print at any hour of the night. 
 On the 21st of June the sun dips under the 
 horizon- at 11 o'clock, and comes up again at 
 1 o'clock. The absence of fruits and the 
 abundance of all meats indicated that we 
 were among people who live near the frigid 
 zone. 
 
 Norway is the wildest country we have 
 seen except Switzerland, but the roads are 
 perfect. The drives to the various water- 
 falls in the neighborhood of Throndhjem are 
 as delightful as one could ask. 
 
 A sail of two days and nights down the 
 western coast of Norway brought us to Bci - 
 
144 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 gen. It was a very quiet and pleasant run, 
 for the numerous islands along the coast 
 shelter the water. The hotels of Bergen are 
 superb. They live on tourists. The drives 
 of the back country are generally lined with 
 travelers. 
 
 Then we came across the North Sea in the 
 good ship "Britannia." She is a monster 
 that behaves beautifully among the waves. 
 When we approached Newcastle, we found 
 the fog so dense that it required us nearly 
 all day to land. Strange that one cannot ap- 
 proach England without getting befogged! 
 We did finally get ashore, and slept that 
 night in the stately city of Edinburgh. 
 After a little rest in the Scottish capital, 
 and revisiting the famous spots, we jour- 
 neyed south to see some English country 
 life. But all roads lead to London. 
 
 The most unique collection we have seen 
 is the Royal Naval Exhibition at Chelsea. 
 Whatever relates to the study of oceans and 
 seas, ship building and navigation, is here. 
 Pictures of naval heroes, sea fights and vic- 
 tories, are in abundance. Lord Nelson is 
 
TOWARD THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 145 
 
 the deini-god, and Trafalgar the greatest vic- 
 tory ever won on water. So the English 
 think. But for their experience with the 
 Thirteen Colonies, I suppose they would be 
 tempted to take the word " surrender " out 
 of the dictionary. Patriotism is a prominent 
 virtue. They sing " God Save the Queen " 
 in Canon Farrar's Church. Paganism is still 
 a pew-holder. 
 
 Dr. Parker preaches a sermon every Thurs- 
 day at 12 o'clock in the City Temple, and 
 has been doing so for twenty-two years. 
 His church is packed every time. A glance 
 at the heads of the men last Thursday re- 
 minded one of a convention of bankers. They 
 did not sing a national hymn, but they did 
 sing "What a friend we have in Jesus!" 
 Dr. Parker has driven paganism out of his 
 Church. Christ reigns there. Glory be to 
 his name forever! 
 
 How rapidly time flies! So every old man 
 thinks. Here now is another Fourth of 
 July. I am going to see the American flag- 
 before night. "Long may it wave!" It 
 
 points to the freest and happiest country the 
 
 10 
 
146 SKETCH V PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 world ever saw. I beg pardon for referring 
 to age. Christians ought to feel young as 
 they approach that blessed immortality where 
 they publish no almanacs. 
 London, July 4, 1891. 
 
LONDON DAY BY DAY 
 
 OK the first Sunday in July we attended 
 the Wesleyan Chapel on Great Queen 
 Street. We timed the "Morning Service of 
 the Church of England," as it was read and 
 sung from the " Book of Common Prayer." 
 It lasted exactly one hour. The preacher 
 stood on his feet, and even leaned backward 
 occasionally, during these devotional exer- 
 cises. We never heard this service so well 
 done before. The preacher and people read 
 and sung with genuine Methodist vigor and 
 solemnity. The sermon was short, well deliv- 
 ered, and full of meaning. If the Rev. George 
 Kenyon should ever see this paragraph, T 
 suggest to him that John Wesley and the 
 early Methodists knelt when they prayed. 
 In the afternoon we were present at a re- 
 vival meeting held in Exeter Hall. The 
 evangelist was a Methodist from our own 
 
 country. No man ever stated the plan of 
 
 (147) 
 
148 SKETCHY PAGES OF F0BE1GN TRAVEL. 
 
 salvation more clearly. If he had only left 
 out the usual interesting (?) allusions to 
 himself and his achievements, the sermon 
 would have been worthy of Spurgeon. The 
 evening service found us at the City Temple 
 again. Parker gets better and better. 
 
 The Salvation Army celebrated their 26th 
 anniversary on Monday night. The great 
 audience-room at Exeter Hall was crowded 
 at one shilling admittance fee. With mar- 
 tial music, waving flags, and storms of ap- 
 plause, " General " Booth was received on 
 the platform. He is an old gentleman (with 
 an immense beard), who puts on quiet airs, 
 and seems cool as a statue in the midst of 
 his noisy and enthusiastic followers. There 
 were present on the platform, in their na- 
 tional costume, no less than one hundred and 
 twenty " officers " (preachers) from foreign 
 lands. I must say their hymns and prayers 
 and speeches were strictly evangelical. The 
 fanatical creatures all seemed to have learned 
 the exact way of salvation: Repentance, 
 faith in Christ, love to Christ, obedience to 
 Christ. The speakers were from England, 
 
LONDON DAT BY DAY. 149 
 
 America, Germany, Finland, Italy, Austra- 
 lia, Norway, and Zululand. Somehow, some- 
 where, somewhen, they had all learned 
 enough of English to express themselves. 
 Is not our language the best vehicle for the 
 conveyance of gospel truth to all nations? 
 These "Salvationists" publish, in books, 
 magazines, and weekly papers, quite a volu- 
 minous literature. We left before the meet- 
 ing closed. From all serious things that are 
 not done " decently and in order," good Lord 
 deliver us! A gentleman is quiet, a lady is 
 serene. Bishop McTyeire could "do things," 
 bring events to pass, accomplish great re- 
 sults, and keep cool about it. He seemed to 
 have no "energy" — broke no double-trees 
 or single-trees — but he invariabty moved his 
 load. Bishop Wilson is his nearest of kin. 
 
 We spent the afternoon of Tuesday at 
 City Road Chapel and in Bunhill Fields 
 Cemetery. They are " restoring " the old 
 cradle of Methodism. Contributions of cost- 
 ly materials are coming from some other 
 parts of the world. They showed us a mar- 
 ble column from America. The workmen 
 
150 SKETCHY I' AGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 leave Wesley's house just as it stood when 
 he died. What a pity the old chapel has 
 been made to look so modern! After visit- 
 ing the tombs of John Wesley, Adam Clarke, 
 Joseph Benson, and others, we stepped across 
 the street into Bunhill Fields. There sleep 
 John Bunyan, Isaac Watts, Daniel Defoe, 
 Susanna Wesley, and many more. 
 
 London has seven months of winter, and 
 five months of bad weather. The rain was 
 pouring- so profusely on Wednesday morning 
 that we could make no excursions above 
 ground, so we concluded to take a long ride 
 on the Metropolitan Under-ground railway. 
 We found the road a model of excellence, 
 and the trains superb. It was a little darker 
 than usual as we passed under the river 
 Thames. We are all on terra firma now, 
 and the girls are spending a delightful after- 
 noon shopping. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to mention the fact 
 that the German Emperor is making a ten 
 days' visit to his grandmother, Queen Vic- 
 toria. I suppose the American papers are 
 teeming with dispatches concerning his 
 
LONDON DAY BY DA Y. 151 
 
 kt progress." Each morning paper here de- 
 votes columns to it, informing the public 
 how and when every step is taken, lie 
 landed at Windsor Castle on Saturday, at- 
 tended a Thanksgiving service on Sunday, 
 was present at a royal marriage on Monday, 
 received a State banquet on Tuesday, came 
 to the city on Wednesday, is holding a draw- 
 ing-room at Buckingham Palace to-dav, will 
 attend the Italian opera to-night, will make 
 a procession through the city to-morrow and 
 attend another banquet, will visit the Koyal 
 ]^aval Exhibition on Saturday, attend church 
 on Sunday, and so on. This is the merest 
 outline of the programme. Walks, rides, 
 drives, reviews, luncheons, and garden par- 
 ties fill in. The young Emperor has always 
 been remarkable for his unflagging industry 
 and untiring attention to business. Since 
 he came to the throne all Europe has been 
 astonished at the revelation of his ability. 
 Instead of Bismarck, he keeps himself before 
 the public. In times of peace he proposes to 
 command the ship of State; and if war should 
 come, he holds himself ready to lead his 
 
152 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 army. This is what the German peoples 
 have always admired. It is rather interest- 
 ing to notice the comparisons that are made, 
 or rather the contrasts drawn, between the 
 Emperor and his uncle, the Prince of Wales. 
 (Since writing this paragraph I have read 
 the morning papers. The young Kaiser has 
 broken out in so many new and unexpected 
 places that my gossiping pencil reluctates. 
 lie has received a delegation and an address 
 from the fishmongers.) 
 
 All Thursday has been consumed by a 
 visit to the Kew Gardens. We tried the 
 Under-ground railway again. Our young 
 friend from Xashville, J. Sykes Gilbert, ac- 
 companied us. Mr. George Dazey and his 
 partner, Mr. Dobbins, are also on this side. 
 Landscape gardening has displayed all its 
 science and art in the Kew Gardens. After 
 six days of constant seeing and hearing in 
 the great cit} T , it is restful and refining to 
 pass a whole day in such a place as Kew. 
 
 Our last journey from London was made 
 to Windsor Castle, Eton College, and Stoke 
 Pogis Church. The English people submit 
 
LONDON DAY BY DAY. 153 
 
 to the expense of keeping a number of pal- 
 aces to shelter their royal family. I men- 
 tion the following: St. James, Buckingham, 
 Windsor, Balmoral, Osborne, Hampton Court, 
 Marlborough House, Sandringham, and how 
 many more? 
 
 Mr. Spurgeon seems to be nearing his end. 
 Was there ever such a sensation produced 
 by the illness of a city pastor? Each morn- 
 ing paper contains a " bulletin " from his 
 physicians announcing how he passed the 
 night. Messages of sympathy are wired 
 from all parts of the Christian world. The 
 Primate of the Church of England has vis- 
 ited him. The Archdeacon of London has 
 eulogized him in a sermon from the pulpit 
 of St. Paul's Cathedral. 
 
 The London " Season " is now over, and 
 the great event of the season a thing of the 
 past. Of course I refer to the public recep- 
 tion of the German Emperor at Guildhall. 
 The city has always been generous in its 
 welcome to foreign sovereigns. The Sultan 
 of Turkey is welcomed one year, the Shah 
 of Persia another; now it is the Emperor 
 
154 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 of the French who is received, and then the 
 King of Sardinia; the Imperial Tsar is en- 
 tertained, and so is the Emperor of Brazil. 
 Nor do these people limit their welcome to 
 the illustrious personages whose stately 
 names are inscribed in the Almanack tie 
 Hatha. Men not very far advanced in years 
 can recollect the welcome given by London 
 to Louis Kossuth, and later still to Garibal- 
 di. This city has, more than once, even in 
 our own days, entertained reigning sover- 
 eigns, who afterward came back to be re- 
 ceived with courtesy as imperial or royal 
 exiles. And if the President of the French 
 Republic should visit England, he would be 
 received by the city of London with as much 
 cordiality as could be shown to any king or 
 kaiser. The streets of the city, which have 
 echoed for centuries to the tread of royal 
 processions, would witness a monster dem- 
 onstration in honor of M. Carnot. 
 
 The great preachers of London may be 
 counted on one's fingers. Parker is the 
 most intellectual, Spurgeon is the most elo- 
 quent, Farrar the most rhetorical, Newman 
 
LONDON DAY BY DAY. 155 
 
 ' Hall the most religious. We chose Hull this 
 morning, and were amply repaid. The old 
 gentleman is seventy-five years of age. lie 
 offered his resignation last week. 
 
 The English boast that the music of St. 
 Paul's is the finest in Europe. They have 
 fought and colonized around the world. 
 They have grasped every inch of soil and 
 sand within their reach. They can digest 
 more heavy meat and swallow more strong 
 drink than any nation on earth. From the 
 days of William the Conqueror they have 
 tolerated wicked rulers enough to curse the 
 world. .But the English are neither artists 
 nor musicians. The singing we heard at St. 
 Paul's this afternoon is not to be compared 
 with that of the Russo-Greek Church, nor is 
 it to be named alongside the Miserere of Italy. 
 Their public speakers, with a few exceptions, 
 would not be heard a second time by an 
 American audience; but they can build en- 
 gines, grind steel, spin cotton, weave cloth, 
 train scholars, write books, make laws, and 
 shatter to pieces half the navies of the world. 
 
 This evening we went around to the Wes- 
 
156 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 leyan Chapel and heard an excellent sermon. 
 American tourists are returning- in such 
 numbers that we expect a crowded ship. 
 Good-night! Look for us August 20. 
 London, July 13, 1891. 
 
PARIS DAY BY DAY. 
 
 THE day before we left London, a corre- 
 spondent telegraphed ns not to reach 
 Paris on Tuesday evening. The people 
 would be celebrating the 14th of July, and 
 not a vehicle would be allowed on the streets 
 after sundown. But we came on, not at all 
 averse to witnessing a " Fete " that marks the 
 day when the Bastile was destroyed, 102 years 
 ago. The English Channel was as "smooth 
 as a dollar," and the journey from London 
 to Paris was uneventful. On our arrival 
 three cabmen offered to take us, by a round- 
 about way, to Hotel St. Petersburg. We 
 found our rooms all ready. 
 
 This place seems to be the paradise of 
 Americans. We have met twenty-two JSTash- 
 villians already. Our good friends, B. F. 
 Wilson and family, Miss Seawell and her 
 company, Harry Evans and his bridal party, 
 are among the number. Wilson reads Tlie 
 
 American and sends it around. 
 
 (157) 
 
158 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOBEIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 The Paris papers each day announce the 
 state of Mr. Spurgeon's health. All ranks 
 and classes of people have paid their respects 
 to him — princes, nobles, statesmen, prelates, 
 preachers, and scholars. Telegrams of sym- 
 pathy arrive daily from all parts of the world. 
 Mr. Gladstone's letter is the best I have seen. 
 Was ever a city pastor so popular and so be- 
 loved? 
 
 Some years ago I read " The Augustan 
 Age of France." It was one of the most 
 interesting works of pure literature that I 
 have seen. Pascal opened the literary glo- 
 ries of the reign of Louis XIV.; Fenelon, 
 Moliere, Racine, and others came later. To- 
 day has been spent among their monuments. 
 That to Pascal is the tallest. Several of the 
 others may be found in Pere la Chaise Cem- 
 e'tery. 
 
 In this city of the dead one pauses at 
 many a spot. Here lie Abelard and Heloise; 
 and although they have been dead five hun- 
 dred years, fresh and costly bouquets are laid 
 on their tombs every day. Who places the 
 flowers there? No one seems to know. Like 
 
PARIS DAY BY DAY. 159 
 
 Swift and Stella in Dublin, these erring- and 
 sinful lovers lie side by side. An iron rail- 
 ing incloses the large space allotted to them, 
 and they sleep under a marble canopy. Ev- 
 ergreens and roses are planted all around. 
 The grave of Marshal Ney is beautifully or- 
 namented, but no monument has been erect- 
 ed. The mausoleum of President Theirs is 
 the most pretentious structure in this cele- 
 brated burial-place. If any one wishes to 
 know how wickedly a great Frenchman can 
 live, let him question me about M. Theirs. 
 
 The Chicago World's Fair Commissioners 
 have arrived in Paris. Their names are Mr. 
 William Lindsley, Mr. A. G. Bullock, Herr 
 Butterworth, Herr Hand}', and Herr Peek. 
 The Germans in London sent an influential 
 deputation to the Victoria Station to see 
 them off. Notice the number of " Herrs." 
 No one will be surprised. In Chicago, which 
 has a population of 1,000,000, there are 400,- 
 000 Germans. The great majority of the 
 public offices of that city are in their hands. 
 There are more " Sangerbunds " and German 
 beer saloons in Chicago than there are lamp- 
 
160 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOBEIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 posts. It thus follows that the decision to 
 make the World's Fair primarily a German 
 Exhibit is hailed with immense delight over 
 in Fatherland. " So Galignani says." 
 
 If I were an ethnologist, I should like to 
 visit Paris next year. Steps have been taken 
 by the committee appointed for that purpose 
 to organize the Exhibition of the Human 
 Races to take place in 1892. M. de Quatre- 
 fages, member of the Institute, is, of course, 
 at the head of the committee. He has al- 
 ready received the promise of several distin- 
 guished explorers to bring to Paris types of 
 all the principal races from different parts 
 of the world. Each group of individuals 
 will be provided with all the tools employed 
 for their work, and for the construction of 
 their dwellings, which they will themselves 
 build on the ground to be allotted to them. 
 This arrangement will permit them to pass 
 their time in their customary manner, and 
 thus enable the visitors to learn much of 
 their manners and customs. 
 
 The final results of the French census of 
 1891 are now known. The entire population 
 
PARIS DAY BY DAY. 161 
 
 of France on April 12 of the present year 
 amounted to 38,095,150, being an increase 
 of 208,584 over the census of 1886. Seven 
 cities like London could furnish as many 
 souls as all the French Republic. 
 
 Regularly every Sunday we attend the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church. There is less 
 paganism here ("vain repetitions") than we 
 find in any other Church of the city. But 
 after the eulogy to-day on "Old John Brown " 
 and Henry Ward Beecher, I am not prepared 
 to say where we shall worship next Sunday. 
 The preacher even rehearsed some lines of 
 that miserable doggerel concerning "John 
 Brown's body." Had Bishop Keener been 
 present, he would have been tempted to 
 "speak in meeting." I know his aversion 
 to that song. 
 
 This letter is not written to chronicle our 
 daily routine as sight-seers, or to describe 
 the delightful excursions to the environs of 
 Paris. I attended to all this when I was 
 here in the fall of 1886, and again in the 
 summer of 1887. See « Twenty Thousand 
 Miles." (The edition of that book ordered 
 
162 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 by Thomas Cook & Son, of London, is ex- 
 hausted.) 
 
 The mailing clerk of the Publishing House 
 sent me a package of Christian Advocates 
 containing my published letters. I am sorry 
 to infer that so many of them have been lost. 
 These shall be reproduced, and more shall be 
 written, when I publish " Sketchy Pages of 
 European Travel." 
 
 The authorities of the Epworth League 
 were kind enough to ask me to write a 
 Church History for young people — a book 
 of 312 pages. For this the material has been 
 collected. 
 
 During the solitary hours which I fre- 
 quently enjoy in Paris, I read the New Tes- 
 tament with an interest and delight never ex- 
 perienced before. I must Avrite a little book 
 to be called " Introduction to the Study of the 
 New Testament." There are some " notions " 
 in the religious world that are not taught in 
 that sacred volume. Adieu! 
 
 Paris, July 27, 1891. 
 
FAREWELL TO FRANCE. 
 
 WE are not of those who believe that 
 Paris is France; so before leaving the 
 beautiful and bad city, we made some ex- 
 cursions to the country. Matthew Arnold 
 wrote an essay to prove that the French 
 peasantry are the most industrious and pros- 
 perous in the world. 
 
 Our first trip was to Versailles. Thirty- 
 two Americans found comfortable seats in a 
 carriage drawn by six horses. At certain 
 places on the route, our courier would order 
 a halt, and give us a lecture in tolerable En- 
 glish. Here are a few of his statements 
 made in the course of the day : 
 
 The church of St. Augustine was erected 
 to commemorate the birth of the Prince Im- 
 perial, son of Napoleon III. This prince 
 was the young fellow who was captured and 
 slain in Zulnland. 
 
 The favorite resort of Parisians, Bois de 
 
 (163) 
 
164 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 Boulogne, was originally a game preserve, 
 but is now a public park, under the control of 
 a municipality. It covers 2,250 acres — less 
 than Phoenix Park, Dublin; larger than Hyde 
 Park, London; inferior to Central Park, 
 New York. 
 
 The English and American visitor will be 
 shocked to find that all through the spring 
 and autumn races are run at Longchamps 
 nearly every Sunday afternoon. There is, 
 however, none of the rowdyism which pre- 
 vails on the English turf, while the charge 
 of an admission fee contributes greatly to 
 exclude disorderly persons and thieves. 
 
 The citadel of Mont Valerien played a 
 prominent part during the siege of 1871. It 
 not only caused great destruction to the for- 
 eign invader, but probably saved the govern- 
 ment of M. Thiers from destruction by the 
 Commune, by opening fire upon the insur- 
 gents as they marched to Versailles with 
 the intention of capturing the government. 
 
 The Palace of St. Cloud (now in ruins) 
 was built in 1658 by Louis XIV., and pre- 
 sented to the Duke of Orleans. It was af- 
 
FAREWELL TO FRANCE. 165 
 
 terward purchased for Marie Antoinette. 
 Napoleon I. always had a strong liking for 
 the place. In 1825 Bliicher had his head- 
 quarters at St. Cloud, and the capitulation 
 of Paris was signed there. It was the fa- 
 vorite summer residence of Xapoleon III. 
 It was destroyed by fire in 1870. 
 
 The French think the Palace of Ver- 
 sailles the finest in the world. It was built, 
 for the most part, by Louis XIV., at a cost 
 of $200,000,000. The front is one-third of a 
 mile in length. When it was finished, half 
 the crowned heads of Europe wanted new 
 palaces. In 1871 Versailles was occupied 
 by the German forces, and on the 18th of 
 January King William, of Prussia, was here 
 proclaimed Emperor of Germany. On the 
 departure of the Germans this palace became 
 the seat of government, under the presi- 
 dency of M. Thiers, and remained so until 
 the }^ear 1880, when the legislative body re- 
 turned to Palais Bourbon. 
 
 On our return to the city, we called at 
 Sevres. Its principal attraction is the cele- 
 brated porcelain factory. Here we had no 
 
166 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOBEJGN TRAVEL. 
 
 lecture from the courier, lie does not know 
 so much about manufacturers as he does 
 about French history. 
 
 ]S"ow if any mistakes should be discovered 
 in the foregoing* paragraphs, the reader will 
 remember that I am quoting from a garru- 
 lous conductor, who was himself repeating 
 somebody's guide book. 
 
 The next day we took the tram-car and 
 went out to St. Denis. It was befitting that 
 seven Americans, before taking a final leave 
 of France, should go out to St. Denis, where 
 the kings have been buried from Dagobert 
 I. down to the nineteenth century. And it 
 is not amiss for us to join in the prayer, 
 Vive la Hejmblique! 
 
 We are glad to know that the kings have 
 been decently laid away in the Cathedral of 
 St. Denis. Here are all the demi-gods — 
 Clovis, Charles Martel, Saint Louis, Henry 
 IT., Francis I., Louis XIY., and the others. 
 On the site where the Cathedral now stands 
 was anciently a chapel in honor of the first 
 Bishop of Paris. It was built A.D. 275. 
 
 We shall make some excursions to the va- 
 
FAREWELL TO FRANCE. 167 
 
 rious botanical and zoological gardens, and 
 to the numerous libraries and factories here- 
 about, but there will be no time to write. 
 
 We are well prepared for our departure 
 from Europe. Not a mile has been left out 
 of our original itinerary, but many have been 
 added. May we all be as well satisfied to 
 leave the "shores of time! " 
 
 From here to Havre; thence to New York; 
 thence home. After the first of September 
 I am at the service of my brethren. I feel 
 like I have a fortune in their friendship. 
 God bless you all. 
 
 Paris, August 1, 1891. 
 
RESUME. 
 
 Through Europe— Eeturn of Kev. K A. Young, 
 D.D., and Party— The Great Sights That Were 
 Enjoyed on the Grand Tour— A Close Observ- 
 er's Comments on Countries and People — Moor- 
 ish Euins of Spain, and Oriental Magnificence 
 of Eussia. 
 
 RET. R. A. YOUNG, D.D., and party re- 
 turned from their foreign travels Wednes- 
 day night. He and his family have made 
 two extended European tours during the last 
 few years, and have visited every country on 
 the continent. The party who made the last 
 trip comprised himself, Mrs. Young, Miss 
 Susie Hunter, Mr. Alex. G. Hunter, Miss 
 Estelle Hart, Miss Marga Davis, and Miss 
 Lale Lester. They left Nashville in Janu- 
 ary, 1890. 
 
 " I suppose you do not want to learn an}' 
 thing about our voyage across the Atlantic," 
 the Doctor said to a Herald reporter who 
 
 solicited an interview with him yesterday. 
 (168) 
 
i:e* ume. 169 
 
 " I may say, however, that the Trans-atlan- 
 tique Line is now regarded as one of the best 
 of the great ocean lines. Their steamers are 
 superb, and they are handled by men who 
 evidently are descended from the Normans. 
 
 " Paris is still the social center of the great 
 world of fashion. If you inquire, for in- 
 stance, where Milan, the ex-King of Servia, 
 resides, you will be told in the French capi- 
 tal. The city and its environs are immensely 
 more beautiful in summer than at any other 
 season. The Bois de Boulogne is the finest 
 park in the world, and St. Cloud, Versailles, 
 and Fontainebleau are the largest royal 
 grounds in Europe. President Carnot does 
 not live at any of them except Fontainebleau, 
 and that is for the pleasure of Madame. The 
 new building for the French Academy is 
 one of the finest structures for the purposes 
 of education and learning that I have seen. 
 
 " We made the whole circular tour of 
 Spain, starting at the Bay of Biscay and 
 ending at Marseilles in Southern France. 
 We visited Madrid, the capital; the Esco- 
 rial, where the Spanish kings and queens are 
 
170 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 buried; Toledo, Cordova, Seville, and Gra- 
 nada, where there are famous specimens of 
 Moorish architecture, and many other places. 
 It is well known that the Moors of Spain 
 were in their day the best educated and most 
 cultivated people in the world. For 700 
 years they were the teachers of the great 
 scholars of Europe, who went to them for 
 instruction. 
 
 " We spent thirty days among the remains 
 of Moorish civilization at Toledo, Cordova, Se- 
 ville, and Granada — these are the four charmed 
 spots. The interest and splendor of the ruins 
 the Moors have left are not overrated. The 
 ruins of the Alhambra at Granada are inde- 
 scribably grand. I was in the rooms occu- 
 pied by Washington Irving, his library, din- 
 ing-room, and bed-room; and I brought home 
 a piece of wood from the table on which he 
 wrote * The Alhambra,' and on which he 
 forged the materials of ' Mohammed and His 
 Successors.' 
 
 "At Granada I found * The Alhambra ' 
 printed in English, Spanish, French, Ger- 
 man, and Italian, on sale at every news stand 
 
RESUME. 171 
 
 and in the hands of every valet de place. 
 The effects of the fire on the palace of the 
 Alhambra, which injured it about a year ago, 
 have been very much exaggerated, and the 
 repairs were completed before we landed. 
 At Toledo, which is called the Pompeii of 
 Spain, there was also a fire a year or two 
 ago, which destroyed the Alcazar, used as a 
 military academy. The Spanish people have 
 a great deal of evidence of their ancient civ- 
 ilization and style. 
 
 "There is nothing new to say of cities in 
 Italy, except that Rome bids fair to be 'The 
 Eternal.' Since the location of the Court 
 there, it has been improved according to 
 modern ideas, and it already looks like Paris. 
 
 " On our way to Austria and Germany we 
 passed through Switzerland, where prepara- 
 tions were being made to celebrate the 600th 
 anniversary of the Republic. One feature 
 of the celebration was the kindling of a fire 
 on every mountain and hill top of any size in 
 the country. 
 
 " Traveling in Russia is very delightful. 
 The country is monotonously level, the 
 
172 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TEA VEL. 
 
 stretches very long, and the cars of the most 
 easy and luxurious style. I suppose about 
 one-half of all the royal stuff in Russia may 
 be seen in the Kremlin at Moscow : thrones, 
 robes, crowns, scepters, armor, plate, and 
 jewels by the thousands. One can have no 
 idea of the splendor of a semi-oriental, semi- 
 barbaric capital until he sees Moscow, and 
 gets within the Kremlin walls. 
 
 "One-fourth of all the gold produced in 
 the world comes from the mines of Siberia, 
 and they belong to the crown. The Tsars, 
 therefore, can build railroads, palaces, and 
 churches to their heart's content. The peo- 
 ple are a very quiet, stately race, but appear 
 to a foreigner like they are too much gov- 
 erned. The music everywhere is of the wail- 
 ing kind and in a minor key. Eighty-five 
 per cent, of the 110,000,000 population are 
 peasants. 
 
 " Our passports were demanded Avhenever 
 we made a stop. They were carried to the 
 Prefect of Police, and never returned until 
 after we had made a start to leave; we could 
 not get them before. They generally came 
 
RESUME. 173 
 
 after we had paid our bill, the hotel-keeper 
 handing them to us. They were viseed ev- 
 erywhere. The letters that I wrote to the 
 Nashville Christian Advocate about Russia 
 were not mailed until I reached Stockholm, 
 to avoid the possibility of their being read 
 by the censor of the press. 
 
 "Stockholm is a grand little capital, and 
 its water-ways make it the Venice of the 
 North. Oscar II. is the only king now 
 reigning that has descended from those made 
 by Napoleon Bonaparte. lie is the fourth 
 ruler in the Bernadotte family. From Stock- 
 holm we went to Upsala, the site of the great 
 Swedish university, and from there crossed 
 the kingdom to Christiania, where the Nor- 
 wegian Parliament was discussing political 
 questions as freely as any Democratic Leg- 
 islature on the face of the earth. 
 
 " From Christiania we went by the cariole 
 route to Throndhjem, which is in the latitude 
 of Iceland, and where we saw the "Midnight 
 Sun." The distance was between 300 and 400 
 miles, and the young people pronounced that 
 the liveliest week of the trip. From Thrond- 
 
174 SKETCHY PAGES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL. 
 
 hjem we crossed the North Sea to Edin- 
 burgh. Then we spent a month in London, 
 and a month in Paris. A person could be 
 interested in London as long as he should 
 stay there. The most astonishing thing 
 about it is its immense size." 
 
 Being asked about the morality of Euro- 
 peans as compared with Americans, Dr. 
 Young said : " If I should place the moral- 
 ity and religion of any part of Europe in 
 comparison with the moral and religious 
 condition of the United States, I would be 
 compelled to give the preference to our own 
 people." 
 
■ : ■ . ■'