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The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour dtre reproduites en un seul clich6 sont filmdes d partir de Tangle supdrieure gauche, de gaurhe d droite et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la m6thode : 1 2 3 % 2 3 4 5 6 ] t>R i KOTES AND REMINISCENCES or A JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. BY REV. JOHN GODDEN,' hAJE RECTOR OP DUNHAM, P. .9. o n « » o' 000 ?n^t 3 tt I I » .';^ k ( • * ^ » > « 0*\ Co '^ <* • • • * O p ^ \ ,.• • * . • • e • a u • • a' s a I • » I a > t • t » • « t c b tRiNTBD AND PUBLISHED BY JOHN LOVELL, ST. NICHOULS S*. a 1878. <4(«(^r.>' Entered aecording to Act of Parliament in the jear one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, by John Lovbll, in the office of the Minister of Agriculture and Statistics of the Dominion of Canada. nt^A JA?.?»T^0M ^Q TOH^ie j?T4 LA c! .ff I..- •:;:•; «t^ ^ i«1'».h«!T5H'R^.>. fr"2 ^'^'JiJ7?' nr: ^ S3|T^^ ■HMyji'-^ ■ «• • * -• • -• • «*» < « 4 • • • » •> t • > .• • • • • • • • < • /• • •* • • • • -i,* • • • t • • t •••• ••• * • • • • • !•• •••• • * t ' • . • * • * * ' i e a • ••• <.4.'t' CONTENTS. Departure from Canada— Lake Champlaiu— Quakers-^Ar- rivalatNewYark.... , 9 CHAPTER II, Departure from New York— Sources of Danger— Sea Siok- ness— Divine Service^Arrival at St. John's, Nfld.— Glorious Sunset — Enduring Attachments — Pleasant Voyage— Galway U CHAPTER III. Galway— Visit to the College— Round Towers— Maynooth— Dublin— Kingstown— The Channel— First sight of Old , England ; 31 CHAPTER IV. Holyhead— Britannia Bridge— Chester-Liverpool— Birken- head — Return to Chester 28 * CHAPTER V. Journey to London — Disappointment— Chatham— Great Eastern— Greenwich Hoapital—Old Sailors » 35 CHAPTER VL Monument at Greenwich— Return to London— St. Paul's Cathedral— A Climb to the Ball— Descent to the Crypt •^WelliDgtoa'a Tomb— Neljoo's Grave 42 a CONTSNTI. CHAPTER Vn. Pioi Jtew Gardens— Parliftment Buildings— Westminster Hall- Westminster Abbey—- View from Hongerford Bridge 02 CHAPTER YIII. * Itching Ears '—Spurgeon— Thames Tunnel— The Tower... 60 CHAPTER IX. The Tower— Armada— The Queen— Aldershot— Grand Re- Tiew— A Retreat, , 6» CHAPTER X. British Museum^Oxford— The Martyrs— Bristol— Oliftim 80 CHAPTER XI. Crystal Palace — Musical Festiral — Brighton— Southaiapton — Salisbury— Stonehenge , 91 CHAPTER Xn. Old Sarum— Wilton— Bemerton— George Herbert^! Bram- dean — Roman Remains — Winchester — Lyming ton— " Royal George " 101 CHAPTER XIII. Portsmouth— The "Victory"— A Rest— Smithfield— Fare- well — Departure— Arrival at Newfoundland— Happy Visit— lieturn to|Canada , UO Irf. >. ^'^f fte * PREFACE. •iJCiil T'-ffQ9'gjA.^:- riA 3J/5 It is possible that something like an explanation, or apology, may Ije due to those who may be cognizant of the publication of this little volume, for my having ventured to appear before them in the character of an author, however humble the work may be. I desire, therefore, to explain that, having been asked in the winter of 1871- 72 to assist at meetings of the ^* Literary Institute," which were held in my late Parish of Dunham, in Canada, I prepared and read three papers from Notes and Reminiscences of a journey which I had made to England some years before, and I need not say thM I was" very lAutih gratiiBed by the Tiindly appreciation of them by my friends ; and it is entirely through tW suggestion and request of many of thetii, that i ndw venture to publish those papers in an extended form, I hope they will not' therefore be alarmed when I Bay that I must throw upon them the responsibility in one sen^e of their publication, "';■(>.■ T^ f . : •■ ■'Tv-f 'r-; .'} £ I^ • t( ti w ^9 ,»::5» CHAPTER I, ,.'/ Departure from Canada^— Lake Champlain— Quakers— Arriral at New York. • It was in the month of May, 1859, that my wife, after a protracted illness, was ordered by her doctor, in the exercise of his mature wisdom, to take a sea voyage. Immediately therefore I commenced making arrange- ments for our journey to Newfoundland, the land of our birtii, and for my own thence to England, that I might gratify a long-cherished desire to see that dear old land, and to visit relatives whom I had never yet seen. As there was no other direct conveyance to Newfound- land than by the Galway line from New York, which then touched at the Island on its way, I resolved to go thither by the next vessel, which I understood would not leave New York for at least ten days, and which I thought would give me ample time tc make arrange- ments for filling my place in my absence, and other- wise to prepare for our journey, and for getting down to New York in good time, and by quiet and easy stages. But great was my surprise when on Monday, the 23rd May, I received a letter from the agent at New York to say that the steamer would sail in three days' time, or on the following Thursday, the 26th, just a week earlier than I had expected. Of course it was S 1 'i ' 10 NOTES AND REMINISOBNCES. said by friends around us, '* it is impossible that you can go by this vessel ;'* in fact all but myself insisted that we would be obliged to wait for the next steamer, which would not leave New York till the 26th June, or one month later. This was Monday afternoon, and to sail by the ship leaving on Thursday would neces- sitate our leaving Mansonville on the following, or Tuesday morning. It was, moreover, the usual wash- ing day, hence some articles needed for the journey were passing through their cleansing process. Under such circumstances, what was to be done ? DiflSculties many stood in our way, but all were not sufficient to move me to wait a month for the next steamer ; and well they did not ! The fate of that vessel fullyjustified the wisdom of my decision. Through God's unerring providence our movements were over- ruled for good, for the ne?t vessel wAs wrecked, and the passengers, although saved themselves, lost, it was said, all their luggage. At the risk therefore of being thought related in one particular to a well-known stubborn animal I determined on leaving for New York the following morning after getting my letter, in spite of all the apparent difficulties, and it was a great relief to us that, by the aid of kind friends who came to our assistance, and whom we shall long remember for their kindness, we found ourselves by the early hours of mom nearly ready for a start. After a few hours rest we left Mansonville at 8 $)'clock in the morning of Wednesday for St. Albans, :tir"- RIH JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 11 irly ,t 8 inS) in the State of Vermont, distant about 42 miles,'- where we hoped to take the cars for New York. The day was very fine,and the journey would have been a very pleasant one were it not that our way lay over several miles of broken plank road which made it exceedingly tiresome, and chiefly owing to which we did not reach St.Albans till 10 o'clock at night. After crossing the frontier, although a portion of the road was execrable, unmistakable evidences of enterprise and prosperity met our view; and as on former occasions, so during that little journey into the Republic, the respectable appearance of the dwellings and out- buildings through the general use of paint was very marked, and contrasted in one sense painfully with the cheerless and dilapidated appearance of too many of our Canadian country homes. Our people do not seem sufficiently to realize the fact, and it is a fact, that the liberal use of paint on their premises, instead of being a loss or useless outlay, is an actual saving of money. The buildings will last many years longer, and remain warm and comfortable, and besides adding so much to the appearance and respectability of any village or settlement, is calculated to increase the self-respect of their occupants, which of itself would be an inestimable result, in fact without which no man can be a desirable citizen or neighbor. A few hours' rest at St. Albans, and on Wednesday morning we took the cars for Burlington, where we embarked on a steamer, Oil Lake Champlain, for Whitehall, the terminus of oxw 12 NOTES AN& EEMINiSCENOB0, lake journey. That day also was very fine, and the water smooth, which made the trip on the beautiful lake exceedingly pleasant and refreshing. The only thing which detracted from the pleasure of the lake trip was the extreme tremor or vibration of the vessel, which rendered it impossible for any one,espe' cially for an invalid, to rest, even when reclining on a couch or sofa, and which must have arisen either from the great age or defect in the construction of the steamer. On our way down the lake we passed Ticon* deroga and Crown Point, places of great interest in the American war with England, which while calling up unpleasant reminiscences, moved one to hope and pray that never again shall the United States and dear old England engage in war, and that the good time may soon come when, in the glowing language of the^ Prophet, " nations shall beat their swords into plough?^ shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks ; when^ nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall learn war any more." At the usual time we reached Whitehall, where we took the cars for Troy, and which we safely reached at 7 p.m. We had no time for observation at Troy, but went directly on board the night boat for New York ; on boarding which I was struck not only with th^^ great size, but with the magnificence of that noble vessel, and which well indeed deserved the appellatior of a floating palace. The boat seemed to be crowded with passengers, the most of whom appeared to be. JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 13 bQ qtiakers and their wives, wlio, I was told, were gather- ing from long distances to attend some convention of their society at New York. As is generally my way, I soon found myself in conversation with some of those " Friends," and I found them very kind and intel- ligent. I could not also but admire the extreme neatness of their persons, and, better than all, their apparent unity and attachment to each other ; the latter was very marked ; and while we regret the great delusion about religious matters of which they are the victims, we ,who profess a purer faith may well imitate in a measure their simplicity of dress and their seeming warmth of feeling, and fraternal interest in each other, and for the cause which they believe to be right. It was a very great relief to me to find that amid the throng I had really secured a comfortable state-room where, after the fatigue of the past two days, one might hope for a refreshing sleep : hence after committing ourselves into the hands of Him who never slumbereth, nor sleepeth, we lay down to rest. That refreshing sleep we had, and at 7 o'clock a.m. we found ourselves close by the great and busy, if not very good city of New York, and were soon able to land. On doing so we immediately drove to the ocean steamer in which we were to sail; and amid the great bustle and seeming confusion, soon had our bag- gage in safe keeping, and our cabin prepared for the »i •7?j!ioo'3or?*'?'r!a •r w{ .t|.fj:^^ y? :Y*t^fy'5 '?f ■ Si j^/::^ CHAPTER III. Arrival at Galway— Visit to the College— Round Towera— May- nooth— Dublin — Kingstown— Crossing the Channel— Sight of the shores of Old England. On landing at Galway, which we quickly did, we found the wharf or quay filled with a promiscuous crowd, but chiefly beggars, many of whom by their physiognomy betrayed their Spanish origin. There was the unmistakable Spanish face, modified of course by the intermixture of native blood. I was thus reminded of what I had somewhere read, that a colony of Spaniards had long before settled in that ipart of the country, whose descendents it appeared to me from their countenance had retained whatever might be repulsive in] both nationalities, to the pro- bable exclusion of much of what is no doubt good in them. And such persistent beggars I never had seen. It was a perfect gauntlet to force one's way through to reach a place of quiet. But I must say that the annoyance from the beggars was as nothing when compared with that caused by the tardiness and exactness of the Custom House officials ; so that it was near midnight before the most of us were able to briog away our bagga,ge. But this over, after ^ n <*: 22 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. refreshing bath, I took refuge in as good a bed and surroundings as ever a poor traveller could desire. Galway is a very respectable town. It is a great pity that the line of steamers which then made it their eastern terminus, after calling at St. John's, Newfoundland, should have been taken oflf the route ; it is a pity for the sake of Galway, as well as for that of the travelling community, for from it& nearness to the western shores of the Atlantic, the ocean voyage was reduced to a minimum. Galway can boast of one of the " Queen's Colleges " in late years erected in Ireland, and I was anxious before leaving it to visit its college, which I did, and was well repaid, espe- cially by my visit to the museum of anatomy, in which were very conspicuous, on first entering, many skele- tons of the human body of every age — specimens of malformations, casts of criminals' heads, and numerous other objects of great interest, the inspection of which would well repay any ordinary visitor. The journey from Galway ^to Dublin, directly across Ireland, was a very pleasant one. The day was very fine, and the air balmy and salubrious. In crossing, we saw evi- dences of much poverty, but at the same time indi* cations of great prosperity. We passed the thriving towns of Athlone, MuUingar, Balinasloe, and others. We passed also several vast beds of peat, which had occupied no doubt many thousands of years in their deposition. A great many persons, chiefly women, were at work in them, cutting out blocks of it for fuel. Journey to England. 23 Those vast peat-beds are incipient coal mines, but whose process of transition was being arrested to supply the necessities of the present time. Genera- tions of another order of beings, perhaps far in the eternal future, may get coal where they can find it. The Irish are determined that the descendants of no future Adam shall dig coal from the present peat-beds of Ireland. Having read and heard much of the * Round Towers ** of Ireland, it was with very great interest that I saw some of them very distinctly in crossing the Island. There they stand, having resisted the elements for possibly two thousand years or more. They are nearly a hundred feet high, divided into several storeys, with a small window in each storey. They have but a single door, which is so high as to be of no use without a ladder. They are detached, are very strong, and a mystery to every one. No one can tell when or for what purpose they were built. Some learned men think they were temples of a people who worshipped the sun as their god ; how long before the Christian Era, no one can tell. As we drew towards the end of our journey, we reached Maynooth, faaaous as being the seat of the celebrated Roman College of that name. Having for many years heard so much of it, and being aware of all the controversy to which it had given rise in the British Parliament, I felt much interest in seeing it. It is a noble pile of buildings, and however we may abhor much of the :t.: "m 24 NOTES ANt) KEMINtSdEiTCES. teaching of the Church of Rome, without questioning '^ their motive, we cannot look upon the great structures which they have erected, and the great eflPorts which they have otherwise made in the cause of education, ' in many instances at a sacrifice of means and personal comfort, without a feeling of respect and admiration. And as one looks at their vast and costly buildings, it is impossible to check the rising inquiry, Why is it that not only Romanists, but those living in greater darkness and the shadow of death — why do the heathen and the Mahomedan, why do r;he most cor- rupt among the professed followers of Christ, shame, by their liberality and self-denial, those who boast of the purity of their faith, and who have indeed the unclouded light of the gospel of Christ shining around their pathway ? Echo only answers, Why f But we pass on, and at 6 o'clock reached the beau- tiful city of Dublin. There the public buildings are numerous and magnificent. Sackvillo street, with Nelson's monument in its centre, is a study of itself. This city has the honor of being the bij'th-place of the great archbishop Usher, Grattan, Sheridan, Thomas Moore, the author of "Irish Melodies," and many other celebrities. The quays on both banks of the river, together with the fairy -like bridges which crossed it, were worthy of admiration. The river is navigable only for small vessels, in consequence of its shallowness, and because of a bar of sand at its mouth. ^Dublin itself is remarkable for its wide streets of well- ^OmiNEY TO ENGLAIH); 25 built houses, and, as I have said, for its public buildings, which are not only handsome, but are so placed that the J can be seen to advantage. It has a university, Trinity College, which was founded by Queen Eliza- beth. This is a large and noble edifice, with a park behind it, and an open space in front, called College Green, on one side of which is the Bank of Ireland, another fine building, which was formerly^ I believe, the Parliament House. I was very much pleased not only ^itli the absence of anything like rudeness among the people of Dublin but with the politeness of all classes with whom I came in contact. This costs nothing, but is certainly a very great recommendation. It is a great pity that on this side of the water it is not more generally cultivated, especially in the education or bringing up of the young, whose manner towards those older, and their superiors in education and position, is very often rude and offen- sive in the extreme. After too short a stay in Dublin, I found I should hasten on my way, and took the cars for Kingstown, which may be called the Port of Dublin. Here one is amazed at the power and enterprise of man. Kingstown is not a natural^hxit in great part an artifi- cial harbor, made almost entirely by the building of a gigantic breakwater, in the construction of which were used vast quantities of hewn stone of immense si7;e, and which, although so ponderous, seem to have been laid with comparative ease in very deep water. This 26 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. iini M noble breakwater enables men-of-war — one of which I saw there at the time — to ride in perfect safety Xvithin it. After lounging about a little while, and viewing with admiration the beautiful bay of Dublin, I embarked on the packet for Holyhead, the terminus of the N. W. Railway from London, and distant about 64 miles across the Irish sea. The ferry steamer was not large, but her engines were very powerful. The water, as I believe it generally is, was pretty rough. I stood it for some time, but unfortunately had at last to yield to its power, and quietly went below. I was not long, however, trying to resist sea-sickness before I was told that the cliffs of Old England were in sight. I suppose nothing else save the announcement that the ship was sinking would then have voluntarily moved me. I could scarcely believe for joy that I was soon to see what had been hitherto to me but a subject of history, — that I was really drawing near to th<^.t dear old land which, with all its faults, is the land oi the brave and the free, the asylum for the destitute and the outcast, the protector of the weak, and the great bulwork of civil and religious liberty ! May it be more generally remarkable for that righteousness which alone exalte th a nation ! It was not long after the announcement was made that the shores of Britain could be seen, before I ascended to the deck, and what less could I do on JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 27 seeing for the first time the glorious old land of my fathers— (I wish I could, with Bjron,say " the land of my fathers and mine ")— what less, I say, could I do than raise my hat, which I did in loyal salutation and exclaim — I have no doubt audibly enough — ''Long live Old England r^ ^^i ■'•U': II . CHAPTER IV. Arrival at Holyhead-Britannia Bridge-Chester-Liverpool- Birkenliead Docks— Beturn to Chester. We were not long in reaching the port of Holyhead, which is in a small island called Holy Island, close by i 1 JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 29 that of Anglesea, and in about an hour after our arrival we were rushing along at the rate of 60 miles an hour for London, and of course were not long in crossing the Island of Anglesea (Angle's ey) or " Englishman's Island," the name given to it by the ancient Saxons, — an island famous in ancient ecclesiastical lore, and reaching the celebrated Britan- nia Bridge, joining the island to the mainland. This was the first tubular bridge ever erected, and although only 1833 feet long, or about one-fifth the length of our own noble Victoria Bridge, which crosses the St. Lawrence at Montreal, strikes the beholder with something like awe from its great elevation, being 240 feet above the sea. It is especially on that account a wonderful achievement of engineering skill. It is supported by three piers. Two of the tubes are each of the enormous length of 470 feet ! 11400 tons of iron and 1,400,000 cubic feet of stone were used in its construction. On our arrival at the bridge the train halted for several minutes, when I got out and viewed with wonder the stupendous structure before me, and I must say that its great height and the length of those tubes almost scared me, so that it was with no little fear and trembling that I returned to the cars and awaited the time of starting. As it was my first experience in a tubular bridge, it was not remark- able that owing to the darkness and the smoke, but above all the thought of being whirled along at such a feajfol height over those long spans, I should have 1 ? i 0HidiH 30 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. li! felt a little timid, nor on the other hand that I should have felt superlatively glad and relieved when we emerged from its awe-inspiring cavity and reached the solid land in safety. Soon the view became very grand as we flew onwards through the mountains of North Wales, and never I think had I seen any thing more beautiful than the towering mountains, with the green fields and pretty white cottages nearly up to their very summit. It was almost night when we reached the town of Conway, but there was light enough to see the remains of ancient defences which betokened the pertinacity and chivalry of the Welsh, when long, long ago they battled for their national independence. Remains of walls of great strength, and near by, the ruins of a grand old castle, frowned down from their lofty elevation, and proclaimed by their ruined condition the passing away of a time of strife and danger which had given rise^ to their erection. After passing several little towns we reached what I had looked forward to with much inter- est — the ancient city of Chester, where I had decided on halting for the night. That was my first night in old England, and although in one sense alone, and really among strangers, it is remarkable what a sense of perfect security I enjoyed. I felt that I was among — not strangers, but friends, and as though nothing from without could in any way disturb my repose. Chester is not only an ancient city, but still wi JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 81 mid shed lew and Ltiful ields very vn of mains lacity ) they ins of grand a, and ;away rise- to rns we i inter- ecided ght in le, and i sense I was Dhough xb my ut still retains its antiquated appearance. It was originally, nearly 1800 years ago, a Roman camp. This is indi- cated by its name, and such were all those towns or cities whose names now end in chester^ such as Chi- chester, Winchester, &c. Being somewhat of an antiquarian, it was with much interest and pleasure that I spent some time in that old, old city. Its ancient walls, about two miles in circumference, still remain, and in a good state of preservation, — the top. of which affords the inhabitants a delightful prome- nade. I walked around on their summit, from which one gets a beautiful view of the surrounding country. Although there was no city or town in England or Ireland that I visited with more pleasure, yet I despair of describing satisfactorily even to myself the many objects of interest which I saw in Chester. Elsewhere in England you may meet with ancient houses and picturesque streets, but Chester is still all antiquity. In making a circuit of its walls I came to Charles the First's tower, so called because from the summit thereof that unfortunate monarch beheld the rout of his army by the arch-rebel Cromwell. It is a mere watch-tower, but as the memorial of a great event it would be hard to imagine a monument more striking. There is much more to interest the traveller as he goes on, looking now into houses built into the wall like swallows' nests, and now into churchyards, and now into a race-course and again into the river : but one of ordinary thought will find it hard to think of anything but that tower 1: mi m i;r 82 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. i I and the mighty issues which were once decided by the sword before it, and in view of an august and deeply interested spectator, one in whom there was much worthy of imitation^ who, with all his weakness, deserves our hearty sympathy. We pity the poor king, — as he descended from that tower, what must have been his feelings ? I was very glad to get a little piece of its walls as a memento, and which I have now in my possession. The streets of Chester are a great curiosity ; some of them seem to be cut in the rock while the houses were built on the banks above their level. And such houses ! gable after gable, timbered, enriched with ancient carving, and jutting out end-wise over the streets, so that some of the side-walks are completely covered, and people walk under shelter in all weather. The Cathedral is an ancient pile of red sandstone, and so worn is its appearance that one almost fears to enter it. How were the walls, and the stone tracery of the great windows worn away by the cruel atmos- phere of seven or eight centuries ! The stone floor was also very much worn by the chafing of the feet of millions of every rank and condition who are now sleeping " the sleep that knows not breaking." The daily 3 o'clock service commencing, I was very glad to enter the sacred fane, and with feelings of that reverence and awe which every thing around was cal- culated to inspire one, joined with the few worshippers in praise and prayer to the Giver of every good and Wi an ob to bur bee gre *»M.- ^ ■■'■ '!■ ■•1 84 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. measure dependent on kind friends ifi Canada for their support. It was therefore an errand of mercy on which I diverged from Chester and sought my Canadian friend first in Liverpool, and afterwards at Waterloo — a village a few miles down the river, where to his sur- prise I luckily found him, and was, I believe, instru- mental in restoring him to his family, a poorer though I think a wiser man than when he left Canada. I was very glad, in one sense, of the journey in search of him, for I saw not only a portion of Liver^ pool, but those stupendous works — the Birkenhead docks, for the reception of merchant vessels. They are of vast extent, built of ponderous stones, and enclo- sing an area sufficient I should judge to admit nearly all the British Navy. That which in connection with their public works in England particularly strikes the traveller, is their massiveness and solidity. They seem in general to be built to endure perhaps as long as the world itself. Time would not permit me to stay as long in the neighborhood of Liverpool as I wished, so taking the return train for Chester, I arrived there in good time to catch the N, Western to London, my ultimate destination. CHAPTER V. Journey to London— Disappointments— Chatham— Great Eastern — Green wich Hospital — Old Sailors. The day of my journey from Chester to London was a lovely one, and the face of the country seemed to me to be fully equal to all that I had heard of it, — ^it appeared to be cultivated like a series of kitchen gardens. Their farms all seemed to be very small, as far as we could correctly judge of them from the rapid rate at which we were going, and to the compa- rative smallness of those farms, no doubt, may be attributed in a measure their superior cultivation. You cannot conceive how beautiful the face of nature looked on that glorious day. All the way through to London, towns, villages and hamlets were each in turn reached, and as quickly left behind. Trees abounded in all directions, and the hedges of thorn neatly trimmed, met our view at every turn, while not a stump and but few useless stones seemed to disfigure the land. I thought of our Canadian farmers, and felt if the majo- rity of them were to sell half the land which they now own, and which in many instances is a burden to them, and were to imitate the good cultivation of those ex- quisite little farms, our people would be far better off, til' I f III' I 36 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. and not have to toil even as hard as they now do. I hope my farmer friends will forgive me for expressing an opinion about what I may be said to know very little ; however, we will have our opinions, and to think other- wise on this subject with such sensible demonstrations before me would be indicative of more intense stupi- dity than I wish to get credit for. But I was reminded that we were fast drawing near to the great city. Night, however, had closed around us an hour or more before we halted at the London terminus at Easton Square, so that I could not see much of the suburbs of London, which by observa- tion afterwards I saw to be so very beautiful. It was 10 o'clock at night when we arrived, but amid the din and bustle and the darkness I soon procured a cab, and was driven oflf for Kingslandj a north-east suburb of London, where my relatives resided, and distant about 4 miles, nor did the din and " roar " seem to abate, as I drove through that mighty city, till I reached my final destination. On my halting before the door of my friends* house I felt a sense of relief and of exultation, and I trust also of gratitude, which it would be difficult for another to conceive. My journey had been long and varied, and of course attended with no little fatigue. I need not, therefore, say that for these as for other reasons I was mov© than glad when I found myself at the door of a beloved relative ; but as great as wa§ my joy on my arrival, as I thought, at the end pf mj journey, so great or JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 37 greater was my alarm and disappointment, when the servants, not expecting me so soon, and being alone, refused for a time to admit me. My relative had gone down to Chatham but a day or two before ; but few can therefore realize what my anxiety was, when, (in the dark, and at that late hour, — for it was midnight, and I very tired, and in a strange country,) doubting for a time my identity, the servants hesitated about admitting me. After some explanations, however, I got admittance, and soon fell a victim to the charms of Morpheus. On the following day I drove to London Bridge, where I took the cars for Chatham, a few miles down the river, to meet my friends. At Stroud I left the cars, and walked the remainder of the journey, passing on my way through Rochester, where are an ancient castle and cathedral, neither of which, for want of time, could I enter. Chatham, which I reached in due time, is a great naval and military depot,having extensive dockyards for the building of men-of-war , and an arsenal containing prodigious quantities of arms and munitions of war of every description. There were in port several of those im- mense wooden walls of old England, beautiful looking ships, but many of them, notwithstanding their great size and costliness, had been but little used ; some, in fact, were being broken up, and all are ultimately to be superseded by the iron-dads, on which alone it is feared too many are placing their hopes of defence. m ip\ 1 38 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. li i!': i 1 'i I visited with much interest the vast barracks of Chatham, and was amused to see there hundreds of raw recruits, who were just beginning their drill, and throwing their arms about in every possible form, and their persons were apparently put in every conceiva- ble shape ; all this looked ludicrous enough as one viewed them in different squads in the great barrack yard. My first Sunday in England I spent in Chat- ham, but I fear not so profitably as I ought to have done. I must say also that my former exalted opinion of an English Sabbath received on that day no little shaking. I saw but little in Chatham on Sunday to inspire one with any reverential feeling for its sacred hours ; in fact, I was amazed to see very many shops open, and a painful air of worldliness, if not worse, seemed to pervade a large part of the town. I was not sorry when I left it, which I soon did, for in a day or two my friends and I took coach for Gravesend, on our return to London. We had thus a better opportu- nity of seeing the country than we would by rail ; and a great treat it was, one long to be remembered, for the journey wa« a delightful one ; the view was every- where beautiful, the day was fine, and all nature clothed in loveliness. We passed on our way the residence of the late Mr. Dickens, and I admired its almost para- distic beauty. Although not an admirer of Dickens' writings, yet he deserved commendation for the example which he has set of perseverance under difficulties, and applica- JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 39 tion to work. And let us hope that while amusing a certain class of society, and laboring to rise above the pressure of adversity, and for the meat which perisheth, he did not forget to work for that which endureth unto everlasting life. On our way to London, I was reminded of that con- summate hypocrite Cromwell, by our passing a house which I was told the regicide at one timeoccv^>:' : I did not enter it, nor did I care to do so if I could. But a short time before I visited England, the Great Eastern, after an enormous expense, was launch- ed, and was by every one considered to be, as no doubt it is, a wonderful structure, in fact, a triumph of naval architecture. Having heard and read so much about her, I felt very desirous to inspect her for myself, so one beautiful day a friend and I went down the river and boarded her, and although not then finished, we found her to be all that her admirers had said of her. Everything was on a gigantic scale ; her ponderous en- gines, her immense masts, chains and fastenings, and her gorgeous cabins excited my admiration. After having, at the expense of a good deal of time, gone over the mighty ship, and examined her in nearly every part, pleased and gratified we returned to London, wondering what next the busy Httle animal, man, will attempt to do. After a day's rest I started off on a second visit to Greenwich. When there before, we were on our way from Chatham to London, and we merely passed B 40 NOTES AND REMINISCENCtg. H through it, staying there only long enough for refresh- ments. I was especially desirous now to see the mag- nificent asylum for aged and disabled seamen, of which I had heard so much, so, pioneered by a kind friend, we soon found ourselves beneath its shadow. Greenwich Hospital, which is the name of that magnificent sailors' home, was originally a Royal Palace, and once occupied by the good Queen Elizabeth, but in the year 1694, in the reign of William and Mary, it w^as set apart as a home for worn-out and invalid sailors. The old tars numbered, when I visited it, nearly 3000, and it would do one good to see the aged vete- rans so splendidly housed. But mingled feelings of pleasure and of pain alternate as you see those pen- sioners, some hobbling on wooden legs, others with an empty sleeve, some with only one eye, and their scars and battered visage seem to speak of storm and ship- wreck, and of shot and shell in nearly every climate under heaven. They show the utmost attention to strangers, manifesting a politeness and good nature generally characteristic of the sailor. I was very sorry, however, to hear from one of the oflficers in charge, that they display very often a spirit of dissatisfaction, that although they are so magnificently lodged, and, as I was told, so bountifully fed, they, or very many of them I should say, give their overseers no little trouble by their discontent and fault-finding. May we not infer from that, that the despicable spirit of ingratitude and unthankfulness is the offspring of our common Journey to England. 41 fallen nature. If those men with every comfort, living in one of the Royal Palaces, and furnished with every luxury almost, and their time their own, if they would not be satisfied and thankful for the kindness shown them, then the offensive spirit of ingratitude and of discontent must be innate in our common fallen nature, and hence arises the necessity of our being con- tinually on our guard against it. The painted hall, once a royal apartment, is gor- geous ; its ceiling is covered with various painted scenes, and it is said that from the length of time during which the artist had to lie on his back while painting it, he never could again sit up. It was painted by Sir Jas. Thornhill in 1703. Its walls also are adorned with numerous portraits of the great and the noble, who have long since passed away. Here, in a g^.ass case, I saw the very coat worn by the hero Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar, in which he was shot, and on which the trace of his blood is yet very distinct. The old sailors have a superb chapel, elaborately adorned and beautified, and which is only in keeping with all the other accommodations for the comfort and instruction of those old worn-out seamen ; and on leaving that glorious pile I could not but feel all honor to the noble nation that had made such a luxurious provision for the support and comfort of those who had served it in its hour of need. rr : U !f Mk mE ,-!Fi CHAPTER VI. Monument at Greenwich — Return to London— St. Paul's Cathe- dral—Climb to the Ball — Descent to the Crypt — Wellington's Tomb— Nelson's Grave. After having for some time wandered about, examin- ing the beauties of the sailors' exquisite chapel, we left the noble " hospital " with feeUngs of admiration, but had not gone far when our loyal enthusiasm was excit- ed by another object, one which was designed to immortalize as far as it is possible the disinterested humanity and self sacrifice of a noble foreigner. A splendid monument in the grounds before the Palace, in memory of a French officer, who lost his life in searching for Sir John Franklin, detained us for some time in admiring its beauty, and in expressions of admiration for the heroic virtues of the man, and sympathy with him who found a watery grave in the frigid waters of the Arctic ocean. Surely this monu- ment was an evidence of well-deserved gratitude on the part of the British people. Having paid a deserving tribute to the memory of the noble Frenchman, my friend and I then took ferry for London Bridge; and the river we found to be as busy and as full of life, as the great highway, the Strand itself, the spiteful little steamers that incessantly ply JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 43 up and down being about as numerous and as noisy as the omnibuses, and every one apparently crowded with its living freight. And this is the rule in every kind of conveyance, not only on the river, but on the land, in every direction, and as I have said, in every kind of conveyance so that one's amazement is excited by the dense masses of living beings, all rushing onwards over the restless stream of life. Very swiftly we glide up the river's graceful bend, and reach London Bridge. There my friend and I parted, and I made my way as best I could, through the moving mass, for St. Paul's Cathedral. ;. ^: I' m \ ■ \ Although I had read much of, and seen prints of that glorious edifice, yet its actual sight surpassed all my anticipations. But the grandeur of the noble building is sadly diminished by the crowded nature of the approach ; in fact it has no approach at all. It is a gigantic, hallowed fane, with a fr- .(Sflf 44 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. ^•! 11 ;3 • li f I dense mass of houses almost up to its very door. What the glorious view of it would be if many of those houses were taken down and it made to stand in a suitable square, the imagination of the artist and the lover of the beautiful only can conceive. Now, as you approach it you can only see that vast and wonderful dome towering up in majesty before you, for all the world like a mountain peak. After having labored, and with no little danger, to make my way through the dense crowd, I suddenly emerged through a narrow street, and lo ! there is the sacred building close before you, whose vastness and majesty are for the moment almost overpowering. St. Paul's is 614 feet long, 286 wide, and 370 feet high to the topmost pinnacle of the towers ; and cost one and a- half million pounds sterling, or over seven millions of dollars. On looking up with feelings of delight and of wonder to the gigantic dome, the top of which, to the summit of the cross, is 404 feet high, one is tempted to linger there longer than is well, and hence you tear yourself away and enter this noble house of God. On enter- ing St. PauPs for the first time, one cannot help being impressed by its vastness, with an indescribable feeling of reverence and of awe. Having taken some time in a general survey, I ascended to what is called the whispering gallery, which in its construction is a mar- vel of geometrical accuracy. It is the interior of the base of the dome, and though 100 feet in diameter, — JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 45 is in le tr- ie from the great perfection of its circular walls, the slight- est whisper can be heard on the opposite side. The clock and great bell of St. Paul's always attract the notice of visitors. The pendulum of the clock measures 14 feet in length, while the mass at its extremity is 100 lbs. in weight. The great bell on which the hours are struck, and which only tolls when a mem- ber of the Royal Family dies, weighs 4| tons, and is 10 feet in diameter. One cannot help looking with a feeling akin to reverence at this great bell which tolls out the irresistible flight of time from hour to hour. Its vastness, with that of the clock and its enormous dial, gives one fresh impressions of the magnitude of every thing around you. Having taken a leisurely survey of those works of art, and a peep at the library, I ascended to the top of the dome, intending to go still further up and enter the ball, which is capable of hold- ing six or eight persons comfortably, although from the street looking no larger than a man's head. Although the day was warm, and I had already had exercise enough for one day, I could not forego the gratification of a peep from the summit of St. Paul's, 60 I climbed up, and up, and reached at last the neck of the ball, which is formed of massive iron bolts, and ooking out between them I saw with pride and admir- ation the mighty city beneath me, with the Thames looking like a stream of molten silver winding its way through the dense mass of buildings. The tallest epires looked down imder mo» Awed at the immense 46 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. ;i -.jl ,t:, ill f: IP m height I shrunk back with fear, as I thought of the result, the awful result of the overturning of the colossal ball, carrying with it in its tremendous descent the body of the Canadian, who, far from his noble adopted country, had been so determined on entering it ; but I thought I would not be deterred from carrying out my resolution, and so, making one or two violent efforts, I found myself nearly through the neck and in the ball. I did not, however, succeed, but cowardly drew back, and tired with my journey heavenwards I made my way downwards to the abodes of men. From the top of St. Paul's Cathedral you get a glorious view of the vast and mighty city of London : and here a thoughtful mind can indeed find food for reflection, and a benevolent one for interesting prayer. 0, to think of the life and the death, the joy and the misery, the crushing disappointments and the exultation, the ignorance and the guilt, and all the mixed and mingled thoughts, deeds, and passions, which are actively going on within those walls, along those numerous labyrinthine streets and alleys beneath you ! But you can onji/ tJdnk of them ; their number and their magnitude, One only knoweth, to whom alone all thing are known. At that giddy height of nearly 400 feet all their mingling sounds strike upon the ear like the murmur- ing of a distant sea. During the descent you emerge from time to time to open air, and get external views from successive galleries, Frequently, no doubt, iu JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 47 5ir ir- Iws iu descending, one may first pass through a canopy of smoke and vapor, then the steeple of the churches are reached, and finally you arrive to the region of the roofs and chimnies of dwelling-houses, and are soon in the midst of the busy throng, which having in due time reached, after a fatiguing day I made my way to my lodgings, fully three miles distant, well repaid for my day's ramble. In my perambulations on another occasion, I found myself again within the walls of St. Paul's, and spent some hours in examining the numerous monuments therein erected to the memory of the brave and noble dead, but which, notwithstanding their costliness and b eauty as works of art, sadly defaced, I thought, the sacred building, and marred its internal beauty. It would occupy too much time to attempt to describe the form and character of those numerous memorials, as they were of nearly all conceivable designs and sizes, and one has to see them for himself to be able to form even an approximate idea of their costliness and beauty. I had not forgotten that the body of the Duke of Wellington was resting in the crypt or vault beneath me, and being naturally desirous to see where the dust of the hero of Waterloo was reposing, I descend- ed the gloomy cavern, which was, however, so well lighted with gas that every object could be distinctly seen, and it was with melancholy satisfaction that I gtood bjr the magnificent stone sarcophagus or sepul- ji' ffT" 'I'. ;! 48 NOTES AND KEMINISCENCES. chre in which lay all that was mortal of the warrior who had fought a hundred fights, and though he had captured 3000 cannon from the enemy, had never lost an English gun. As I stood by the tomb of that renowned soldier, many incidents in his life, and the momentous issues which he had been the instrument to bring about, crowded upon the mind. Nor was his funeral, with all its solemn pomp, its costliness and magnificence forgotten. Great and grateful, and no less magnani- mous must be the people who would spend, as the English are reported to have done, the enormous sum of £80,000 sterling, or nearly $400,000,on the funeral and tomb of their incomparable warrior. The follow- ing extracts are from the pen of " Montgomery," and were written to commemorate the interment of the great Duke, and which enable one to realize the intense enthusiasm and excitement by which the great heart of Old England was then moved : — Night-scenes on November Xlth. November's night is harsh and cold ; Like banners seem the clouds up-rolled, Sable and dusk, in starless heaven, And, here and there, by night-gales driven ; Fiercely and fast the loud-ton'd rain Rattles against the window-pane ; But neither wet nor winter's chill The mingled rush becalm of myriads coming still :— Through dusky lane, and street, or lighted square London is moved, and motion ev'ry where 1 JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 49 Midnight. But, at last, there seems a lull, Making night more beautiful. Chariot, steed, and rapid car With fainter cadence roll afar ; Till a deeper hush is come. And the wide and wakeful hum Ebbs and falls, and dies away. Dawn. But the cloudy dawn is waking, And the day-tints dimly breaking : — Again the fevers of excitement roll Tides of emotion through that public soul Which heaves vast London, this eventful morn When Arthur Wellesley to his tomb is borne. 1:^ -re Morninf/. And now go forth ! — a spectacle to see Eternalized in mind and memory. Yet, when the Muse of History records The pomp we celebrate, in deathless words. She will not pause o'er car and cavalcade Or mailed hosts in banner'd pomp array'd ; But this will be the truth to tell, — That Empires loved one man so well, A million and a-half of mourners came. Whose hearts were mottoed with his cherish'd name The People make the pageant then 1 His monument is living men ; And never in the past of hero-crowded time Look'd Hannibal so great, or Pompey so sublime ! On window, roof, and balcony. Where foot can stand, or eye can see ; By churchyard-gate, or garden wall. Near porch and palace, hut and hall Crowd human forms, like clust'ring bees, That swarm at noon on summer-trees ; While, clashing with incessant jar. Rush chariot- wheels and rolling car I Ik 50 NOTES AND UEMINISCENCES. The Procession 'Tis eight o'clock by matin chime ; forms. And signal-guns announce the time, While countless numbers, mute with breathless trance, Seem melted into one, co view the pomp advance. — With lingering preludes, long and low, Comes marchijig on, serene and slow, 'Mid symphonies of solemn woe. Yon Cavalcade of Death ! With mourning trumpp and muffled drum, Behold the vast procession come, — And hold your pausing breath ! The Charger. But yet awa'ts a tearful sight, Though noii with martial splendour dight ; A groom-led Charger, riderless, Coraes drooping in its loneliness. As though the meek-eyed creature felt Funereal sorrow through it melt. And, who that saw the boot and spur. And did not feel his life-blood stir, When that denuded steed a type was made to be How glory is the garb earth puts on vanity ! Military Scene. Hark ! again the muffl'd drum, While the plura'd Battalions come, Timing deep their measur'd tread To the March surnam'd the Dead, Six in file, in single rank. Ringing out a hollow clank : — Mingle with the martial scene Mailed Guard and red Marine, Foot and Horse-Artillery, And brigades of Infantry. — For thus, each Regiment sent its type to shov?" Some fitting token of funereal woe ; And when, to end the vast array. Hussar and Lancer lined the way, The wailing Piper, next, a pibroch blew And coronach that thrilled the soul of Feeling through ! JOURNEY TO ENGLAND, 61 A Living 'Twas not the pomp, the banner nor the plume, Spectacle. Nor all which glorifies a Warrior'a tomb, That touch'd with Buperhuman power The awful pathos of that deathless hour. 'Twas moral grandeur ! — 'twas the true sublime Of sacred nature soaring out of time. And drinking in from Worlds which Faith can see, The inspirations of eternity. And one such moment grasps an age of life, With more than poetry and passion rife ; Making us feel immortal instincts rise, And claim celestial kinship with the skies. Nearby the tomb of the " Iron Duke" lay also the reputed coflfin of another of England's warriors — the immortal Nelson. I say reputed, for the dust of Nelson is resting, it is said, not in the coffin, but in the earth beneath it. An iron railing guards its sanctity from the obtrusion of irreverent feet. It is thus excluded from any near approach ; but one can easily see how vastly inferior the sleeping place of the great Sailor and its surroundings are to those of the I)uke of Wellington. That coffin resting on the narrow house of Nelson is said to be an empty relic of the great Cardinal Wolsey's ambition, but looks so modern as to make one very much doubt it. As one stands close by the long home of those departed warriors, what glorious memories are awaken- ed ! But at the same time, who in that narrow vault, with the ashes only of England's greatest heroes remaining there, could fail to think of the words of the Christian poet : " Earth's highest honor ends in ; *Here he lies' ; and ^Dust to dust',concludes the noblest song ?" 1 1 *i I. fW CHAPTER VII. ■ Kew Gardens — Parliament Buildings —Westminster Hall — West- minster Abbey — Grand view from the Bridge. Being a great lover of flowers I was glad ©f an opportunity to visit the celebrated Kew Gardens, some five or six miles from London, which were for many years a place of residence of the Royal family of England ; but those gardens have for a few years past been thrown open to the public, free of cost, and are consequently a place of great resort. Consider- able sums of money are annually expended by the Government in keeping up those gardens for the gratification of the public, by furnishing them with every possible variety of flower, tree and shrub ; and really it would be almost worth a visit to England to explore the beauties of those gardens alone. A true lover of flowers (and who that has a soul at all is not such ?) I say a true lover of flowers is almost tempted, if possible, to m^ke there a tabernacle and to consider it next to heaven. such fuschias ! Such a variety of verbenas, such geraniums, and the last, not least, such roses I never had seen ! Then in the conservatories and in the open aif you may see representative trees from perhaps every part of the world. The majestic palm trees BB JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 53 from the East, growing luxuriantly in the great glass palaces, you would admire. In one of these I saw with no less admiration the celebrated water-lily the "Victoria Regina" brought some years ago from South America, whose flower, just opening, was larger than my head, and its magnificent leaves of equally grand proportions. Surely a ramble through those delightful gardens, which are charmingly situated on the bank of the Thames, would not only be produc- tive of much delight and pleasure to any refined mind, but of a nobler feeling still, — -one of gratitude is excited as you behold such evidences of the loving indulgence of our Father in heaven ; and surrounded by such a profuse display of the power and wisdom of God, the words of the holy Psalmist come forcibly to the mind : " The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein." My next ramble of great interest was to the Parlia- ment buildings. Unfortunately Parliament was not then in session. On drawing near to that wondrous pile one is, as it were^ rivetted to the ground with admira- tion. Its external appearance, from its vastness and majesty, is grand in the extreme. Its massive propor- tions dwarf every building around it, no matter how great those buildings are. One great and glorious building in pretty close contiguity is the glorious old Westminster Abbey, of which I shall say a few words by-and-bye. The Parliament building confuses the beholder by m 54 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. its great size, by the elaborate richness of its details, its profuse symbolism, and the number and variety of its decorations. But what is thus true of its exterior is almost infinitely more so of the inside. By a great good luck, I got admission within the House of Lords, the magnificence and gorgeousness of which is simply overpowering. There is the Throne, — and with what- ever feeling of antagonism to monarchy or of inde- pendence one may be imbued, and unhappily many such have no doubt gazed upon the insignia of Royalty in that gorgeous chamber, as well as elsewhere, whatever their political principles might be, I defy any one to look upon the throne of England without feel- ings of veneration, if not of awe. It is a gorgeous seat, while on either side were seats for the late Prince Consort and the Prince of Wales. A splendid canopy overhangs the dais on which those seats were ranged. The ceiling is ribbed with massive gilded bands, and fully set with rich and elaborate devices. Between the lofty windows were niches to receive the bronze statues of the old Magna Charta Barons, while the windows themselves were filled with stained glass, commemorative of Kings and Queens of England. The pictures over the Throne are splendid frescoes ; the central one represents the baptism of King Ethelbert, who in the sixth century was converted to Christianity and baptized by St. Augustin. On one side of this fresco is one representing Edward the Black Prince receiving the Order of the Garter ; and on the other is JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 65 represented a scene, which in our early days at school made, no doubt, a lasting impression upon the mind of many of us. It is that of Henry, Prince of Wales, submitting to imprisonment for an assault upon Judge Gascoigne. One cannot enter this gorgeous apart- ment without having, through its symbols and paintings, a great deal of the history of the country brought to his mind, nor without having illustrated to him the chequered way through which that mighty nation has passed from its early existence in semi- barbarism and weakness up to its proud and honorable position to-day as the leading nation of the world in all that constitutes true majesty and greatness. Yess much of England's ancient and chequered history is illustrated in that small though gorgeous chamber, at which illustrations you cannot look but with feelings of pride and admiration. I was so fortunate as to see and hear the great Lord Brougham, since dead, and other Peers who were in the House of Lords at the time, hearing a case of divorce. Mine was, how- ever, too hurried a visit, and with a friend, I left to look into the celebrated Hall of Westminster, which was built by William Rufus, A.D., 1097. The present Hall is what is left of the old houses of Parliament, and is now only what may be called an anteroom to the law courts around it. The roof of this Hall is a great architectural work, and arrests the visitor's rapt attention as soon as he enters it. Beneath this very roof in ancient times the constitution of old Endand NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. 1^1 -IS I I I iii II, :?'! »■ '41 III was gradually matured. It has been the scene of violence and outrage, and of both popular and imperial tyranny. But as you stroll through that ancient Hall, musing over the days of trouble and of anarchy that have happily passed away, one cannot but be thankful for the peace and liberty which now reign in old England, and which are a guarantee of the same great blessings throughout the vast and glorious Empire of which we happily form a part. Near by is the famous West- minster School, where many of the great ones of Eng- land received their primary education. The desks are said to be made of oak taken from ships which formed a part of the infamous Spanish Armada. Boys, I saw, were mischievous and idle there, as everywhere else, for those old desks or tables, although of such historical interest, were cut and hacked most unmer- cifully. I went into one of the law courts close by, and found it so crowded and suffocating that I was glad after a little time to beat a retreat. How those Judges could endure the grotesque and hideous wigs which law or custom seemed to oblige them to wear under any and every circumstance, I could not tell. After staying there as long as I could, I passed on for the first time to Westminster Abbey. The great symmetry and beauty of this building are perhaps, not equalled in England. On entering, one thing, however, more so than in St. Paul's, distresses one of any taste, and that is, the JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 57 5S ill. for the vast crowding of monuments as memorials to the mighty dead, whose dust is resting heneath its floor. This glorious church is some 800 years old, and from the time of WilUam the Conqueror, the kings and queens of England have been nearly all crowned here. There was and is still to be seen in Westminster Abbey an object of very great interest and curiosity ; it is that of a stone under the chair on which the kings of England, for hundreds^ of years, have sat at the time of their coronation. This stone is said to have been brought from Scone, in Scotland, where the kings of that country were anciently crowned, and on which they then sat — and which stone, it is said by tradition, was the identical one that Jacob used for a pillow at Luz. It is impossible to describe one's feelings on enter- ing, especially for the first time, that ancient and, I may almost say, wonderful building. As I have said, its symmetry, with its vastness, its great antiquity, the thought of all the gorgeous rites which have been performed there, and the multitude of the greatest and noblest of the earth who have taken part therein — the wonderful memorials of the dead which, while they remind you of those who had passed away, yet, as I have said, sadly deform, if not desecrate, the sacred building; and then, last though not least, the thought that this holy and beautiful house is a charnel-hcuse for the burial of the dead as well as for prayer and praise — that beneath that very floor 58 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. 11 ijil i on which you tread, and the floors of the various chapels which you see before you, lie the bones of kings and of princes, of warriors and of statesmen, of priests and of literati in every walk of life. I say all these thoughts crowd upon the mind, and are simply overpowering. The Chapel of Henry VII opens into the Abbey Church, and is one of the most elaborate specimens of stone work that I saw in England ; in fact, as a specimen of Gothic art, it has been extolled as a triumph of ecclesiastical architecture. Its floor has an elevation above that of the Abbey, and is reached by steps of black marble, beneath a stately portico. The effect produced on entering this chapel is solemn and grand. The top ceiling is not made of lath and plaster, but wrought in stone into a great variety of figures and devices. The floor is composed of black and white marble. Another chapel, that of Edward the Confessor, is near by also. Here is the coronation chair before mentioned, and on which I had the honor of sitting. Having visited this noble church several times, I became quite familiar with it and its chapels, nor did the interest abate one iota ; in fact, the more I saw of it the more I was enraptured with its beauties. I had the great pleasure of attend- ing divine service there at three o'clock one week-day, and was gratified to find so large and devout a con- gregation. In my perambulations, on another occa- sion, I made my way through the city, and finally rambled on to Hungerford Bridge, — one of those noble Mn JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 69 structures that span the river and is near to the Houses of Parliament ; and such a view ! On looking south there are the old towers of Lambeth seen nobly towering up in the grey mist or smoke ; north, there are the new Parliament buildings, Westminster Hall, the glorious Abbey, St. Margaret's Church, and so on, till turning round, there is St. Paul's, with its majestic dome, towering up, vast, sublimely vast ! ! and, near by, Somerset House ; and there are the bridges, and the little steamers shooting to and fro beneath their noble arches — but enough for one day ; so, gratified, though rather weary, I made my way homewards. ^\ it in ired md- lay, con- )cca- lally loWe "« \ CHAPTER VIII. n Mi iii' « Itching ears" — Mr. Spurgeon— Thames Tunnel— The Tower of London. Having a spasmodic attack, one Lord's Day morning, of that uncomfortable and sometimes expensive infirmity which an inspired authority calls " itching ears," with an equally afflicted friend, I made my way to the Music Hall, Surrey Garden ; not, I regret to say, to pray, but to hear, and to hear no less a preacher than Mr. Spurgeon. After waiting some time we were admitted, by ticket, for which we had to pay. When the appointed hour for their service arrived the doors were opened to the pubhc, and a general and diso- derly rush ensued, and certainly a great congregation gathered within those walls. So far as numbers were concerned, and I might add, also, the respectable appearance of the audience, nothing seemed wanting; but it did not appear to me that many in that crowded hall felt they were in a " house of prayer," or that their object in coming thither was the worship of Almighty God. While waiting for the preacher, many read their newspaper, and others joined in free conver- sation, as though they were waiting for the opening of a conqert or a popular lecture. At length the door JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 61 opened, and Mr. Spurgeon, accompanied by three or four persons, whom I judged to be his elders, appeared on the platform. The preacher did not appear to me to indicate the ability or the talents for which he has so generally got credit. His countenance, I thought, bore a very strong resemblance to that of an Esquimaux ; but, of what- ever blood or origin he might be, or whatever else he lacked, he certainly did not lack that which, in moder: ation, is often a desideratum — unbounded assurance and confidence in his own influence and power. His prayers (I say it with reverence) were very friendly addresses to the Majesty of heaven. His sermon contained, of course, many good thoughts, and which were enunciated with both eloquence and authority ; but his frequent use of vulgar or commonplace phrases very much detracted from its worth and power. He spoke of " a wild goose chase," of the words which he was enunciating being *• red-hot words," and " now my voice almost fails me," with many such like expres- sions, some of which were very humorous, and which, on more than one occasion, excited the risibility of the audience. At the end of the performance I left with the crowd, and, I must say, very much disappointed and self-condemned. The more I saw of the antiquities and works of art and great public works in England, the more anxious I became to see still more ; hence ^ having just now got myself in trim for sight-seeing, I took the ferry «9 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. nil "1 m one fine morning at London Bridge, intending first to visit the tunnel, which is a London wonder, being a roadway far down under and across the River Thames. In a few minutes, after boarding the steamer, you find yourself at the landing. I descended into the earth by a capacious staircase, and entered it. It is of considerable height and strongly arched with two tiers of brick, with a central succession of columns all through, to support the roof, and which divide the tun* nel into two roadways. I found it lit by gas and very clean, and really not so damp as one would expect to find it. There are numerous stalls where trinkets are sold, and where refreshments can be had, and you are so bored by the importunities of the hucksters that it is with diflSculty you can compose yourself and reflect that fishes are swimmimg, and that the keels of many ships are passing over your head, and that the very smallest break in the arch over you would quickly fill the dismal cavern and send its occupants into eternity. I walked leisurely across under the river from the Middlesex to the Surrey side, and returned in the same way. I could not but feel, on leaving it, what a piece of almost unpardonable stupidity and want of enterprise on the part of the company owning the tunnel, that,instead of limiting the traffic to pedestrians who have to descend into it by a shaft, they did not purchase the buildings at the opening of the tunnel, clear them away, and make a good entrance for vehicles. It would then, no doubt, become a great and JOURNEt 1:0 ENGLAND. 63 invaluable highway and means of easy communication between two parts of the river over which it would be impossible, without ruining the trade of London, to build a bridge, but I see that even the English can sometimes manifest a want of enterprise and pluck. I did not return to London by steamer, but walked up on the north side, intending to take the Tower of London on my way ; and what one's feelings are as he stands in front of that grim and frowning mass of buildings he cannot himself describe. The " tower," or that part of it called the keep or citadel of the for- tress, is known by the name of the White Tower, and stands in the centre of the fortifications. It was the first erected, and was built by Gundulph, Bishop of Rochester, ^under William the Conqueror, about the year 1079. It is a massive quadrangular structure, and measures 116 feet from north to south, 96 feet from east to west, and is 92 feet high. It is embat- tled, and has watch-towers, or turrets, at each angle. Its walls are 15 feet in thickness. This great central building, or citadel, has been added to by several monarchs since the time of William the Conqueror, and has been in turn a fortress, a palace and a prison. It gave me a thrill of emotion to see that great ancient building towering up conspicuously before me. A little further on and I am up to its surrounding walls, or rather to the deep moat by which those walls are sur- rounded. And here is " Tower Hill," said I; here, no doubt, stood one of the fatal scaffolds, and I am sure i\ I ' I 64 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. those walls must have been the last things seen by the Earl of Straflford and Archbishop Laud, and by so many before and after, who were executed there, before they closed their eyes for ever. I pass on and reach the precincts of this gloomy for- tress. A feeling of awe comes over one as he enters the ponderous gate, and thinks of the number of those who had passed the same gates never more to return. There, and at that moment, you seem to be thrown back some hundreds of years, and fancy yourself, as it were, living in the reign of one of the Henrys, and not of our own good Queen Victoria. And you are almost inclined duri'^g your reveries to feel such is really the case, when before you, you see the yeomen of the guards clad in the very costume worn in the reign of Edward VI. In your perambulations you will fall in with many of these men, who have long been known by the nickname of beef -eater 8, in their round flat- crowned caps, and bands of parti-colored ribbons, their fine scarlet cloth coats, with large sleeves, and full gathered skirts, seamed with gold lace, and their broad laced girdles. Bearing the royal badge under their breasts, they accompany the visitors in their rambles. Their ranks are now filled up by veterans, who have distinguished themselves in their country's service. I was so fortunate as to have with me a note of intro- duction from my friend, the late revered Bishop of Montreal, which led the Lieut .-Governor of the Tower to accord me the privilege of seeing some places and ei isi 01 fo) th\ shI toi JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 65 it Dt St tie he of in n at- Ins, ull ad eir es. ive ce. ro- of er and objecta of interest not generally seen by visitors. To give anything like a sketch of what I saw would ex- ceed the limits of this paper. I must be content with a few hurried lines, and then pass on. The ancient for- tress called the Tower was not only a vast citadel and place for defence, having massive walls and a ditch around it, with ponderous gates and drawbridges, but it was also for centuries a place of imprisonment for the great and noble of Britain, who were supposed to be guilty of political crimes ; and the day of judgment only will reveal all the miseries and suflferings endured by the innocent as well as by the guilty in that gloomy prison. Had that great central White Tower there a tongue, what a fearful tale it could tell me ! How often has Bell Tower rung out its alarms in seasons of turbulence and of strife ! Here Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, was imprisoned by Henry VIII., and here Queen Elizabeth is also said to have been imprison- ed. That Beauchamp Tower close by forms a part of the massive inner walls which surrround the fortress. Its wall is 15 feet thick. It consists of two storeys, each about 20 feet square. Near the entrance of one is the name of Marmaduke Neville, cut in the stone, one who, in Queen Elizabeth's reign, was imprisoned for taking part with Mary Queen of Scots. Near to this is a large piece of sculpture containing three wheat- sheaves, and also a crucifix, a bleeding heart, a skele- ton, and the word " Peverel." In another recess are several inscriptions and devices, whish it would I m NOTES AND REMINISCENCE?. Hi I ii J J lii It occupy too long to describe. We leave thode gloomy cells with almost saddened hearts, and ramble onwards. My guide, through the indulgence of the Lieut.-Gover- nor, tells me he will take me wherever- 1 wish. We turn to the right, and enter the Horse Armoury, and no doubt, this is a goodly sight, not only for a warrior, but for a man of peace like myself ; for here the walls are hung, — " Resplendently with arms and armour bright, Habergeon hard, and ponderous battle-axe, Hauberk, and helm, and ouirass, lance and sword." This structure is about 150 feet in length, and 34 in breadth. The windows are of stained glass, the centre compartments of which are said to be ancient, and contain coats of arms, and scriptural subjects — the latter are said to be exceedingly well painted. Here are stored vast quantities of arms of all kindn, and almost of all ages. Here you may see also, amid all sorts of bristling weapons, representations of the sove- reigns of England, and others of note, from Edward I., 1272, to James II., 1683, all on horseback, and of life size, and the most of them are clad in the arm.our or coats of mail of their time. Some of those coats of mail are splendid specimens of workmanship; some are fluted and plain, bronzed and engraved, as well as inlaid and embossed. Armour must have been in some instances very expensive ; in fact, we are told that it was said of Sir Walter Baleigh, that when habited in JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 67 nour .ts of le are A\ as some at it led in his silver suit of armour, " he had a Spanish galleon on his back." Of course, horses and riders are artificial, but both look really like life. What a procession of them ! You are startled on first entering this apartment, and almost fancy the ancient sovereigns of old England have been recalled from their graves, and stand before you instinct with vitality. The very wooden horses in their plated steel and ancient ponderous trappings seem clothed with thunder. Queen Elizabeth, of course, retains her own fantas- tic dress, but there she sits before you, in spite of her vain and gaudy display, every inch a queen, a glorious memorial of a chivalrous age. That very suit of armour which you see stuflfed with the resemblance of her father, Henry VIII., was once worn by bluff old Hal himself; and further on is the beautiful array of steel, in which the goodly limbs of the Royal Martyr, Charles the First, were once actually encased. These mail-clad warriors make one think of the Philistine giant slain by David, who, nearly 3000 years ago, defied the armies of the living God : ^^ And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a tar- 68 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. 1 if:l ! i r ' 9' 1 ? !'' 1! Ji vt i 1 get of brass between his shoulders. And the staT of to spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron ; and one bearing a shield went before him." Among such a profusion of armed men and armed horses, the spectator becomes almost bewildered. I could linger here, but it is time I move ; hurrying, therefore, past the effigies, archers, cuirassiers and pikemen, and taking a rather hasty view of the pistols, carbines, and muskets, the Mame- luke crimson velvet saddle, the splendid Turkish bridle, and the swords, helmet and girdle of Tippoo Saib, I made mj way to Queen Elizabeth's armoury. 1 CHAPTER IX. Vke Tower— The Armada — Hsr Majesty — Aldershot — Grand Re- view — A Retreat. Iif the apartment called Queen Elizabeth's armoury, the implements of war, — the instruments of destruction thicken upon you. On entering the room, groups of spears will be observed on each side of the doorway. Here are arranged in chronological order all the wea- pons of this kind which were in use before the intro- duction of firearms. These are the prolific ofispring of evil passions ! Turn which way I will, I see wea- pons of cold-blooded cruelty. Ingenuity has been industrious and successful in providing means to beat, bruise, pierce, cut, tear, mangle, batter, and destroy the human form. In this awe-inspiring apartment were, as I have said, not only warlike instruments innumerable, but instruments of torture also, many made and used in England in times of religious perse- cutions, especially during the reign of the notorious Queen Mary ; but there is also an extensive collection of awful instruments, which were sent from Spain in the fleet called the Armada, which was destined by the Court and Church of Rome to crush the glorious R«formation in England. I could not look at those dreadful instruments of torture without mingled f«el- 70 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. ings of horror and of gratitude, — ^horror at the thought that man should, through such fearful means, torture his brother man, and gratitude to God for the entire destruction of the fleet in which they were, and the consequent final overthrow of their infamous designs. I seem to see now the dreadful block on which the heads of Lords Balmerino, Kilmarnock and Lovat were cut off on Tower Hill, in the year 1746, and the great incisions made by the axe on those occasions are as distinct as ever. And the horrid axe itself is close by, the axe that cut off the heads not only of those noble- men, but of one nobler than either, that of the young, the accomplished, and better than all, the pious Lady Jane Grey, and also that of Anne Boleyn, one of the unfortunate wives of Henry VIIL What my feelings were when I drew my finger along the edge of that ghastly axe, it is impossible for me to describe. let us thank God for our present peace, that every one is now able to worship Him under his own vine, and under his own fig-tree, without let or hindrance, and let us hope that those awful times have passed away forever. Having inspected those many objects of great antiquity and interest, we were shown into a chamber on the north side of this ipartmont, formed in the thickness of the wall, and measuring ten feet long and eight feet wide, where, as tradition says, Sir Walter Raleigh was so cruelly imprisoned, and where he wrote his ** History of the World.** There are JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 71 inscriptions cut on the angles of its entrance, supposed to be done by the hands of unfortunate captives confined there. One is, " He that endureth to the end shall be saved ;** and another, " Be faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Immediately over Queen Elizabeth's armoury, reaching up to the roof, is St. John's Chapel, said to be " one of the finest and most perfect specimens of Norman architecture " to be found in England. On entering it, however, I was surprised to see this grand and noble chamber abandoned to filth and desolation. Those 12 pillars of the peculiar Norman style, the gallery with its corres- ponding arches, and the windows which you see in the southern aisle as you look between them, together with the odd and peculiar shape of the apartment, give it an air of extreme antiquity and of solemn grandeur , and you feel sorry to see it so desecrated and neglected. I suppose it was under Cromwell that its interior was covered with that thick coat of plastering. The floor was originally composed of very hard, grey, polished cement,marked with lines to resemble squares of stones, but that is nearly all boarded over. It is said that " for a long time a chaplain constant- ly performed divine service here, for which he receive d fifty shillings yearly at the Exchequer." At what period or under what circumstances this noble Chapel was stripped of all its ornaments and furniture, and when it thus ceased to be used for religious purposes, no one can tell. f: Ml 12 NOTES AHiJ) REMINISCENCES. m; ri-i I Leaving there we made our way to the new Jewel Tower, where, for safe keeping, are deposited the Crown Jewels. This building is, of course, both fire and burglar-proof, but yet of a very plain and humble character, so plain and humble that you are led to believe that John Bull for once in his lifetime began seriously to think of being economical when he thought of building this casket for his jewels. The splendor of the magnificent display of gema therein will, how- ever, strike the visitor even though the apartment be so plain. We are told that during the confusion which prevailed after the murder of King Charles I. by Cromwell, all the Eoyal ornaments and the portion of the ancient regalia which were kept in Westminster Abbey were sold and scattered ! Amongst these were the ancient crown of St. Edward, an orb, and some sceptres. It was decided after the restoration to appoint a committee to direct the re-making of those portions of the regalia. There is now to be seen there the crown of our present beloved Queen, — the cap of purple velvet is enclosed in hoops of silver, surmounted by a ball and cross, all of which are glittering with diamonds. In the centre of the cross is " the inestim- able sapphire," and in front of the crown is the heart- shaped ruby, said to have been worn by the Black Prince. There are also the crowns of St. Edward, and of the Prince of Wales, the ancient Queen's Crown, the Queen's diadem, made for the wife of James II., and is richly adorned with large diamonds and pearls JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 78 r k d There are there also the Royal and other sceptres, the glittering swords of justice, the font in which the Royal children are baptised, and various other objects of great interest and value, including the mag- nificent Koh-i-noor diamond. The history of this piecious stone, whose possession by the English and arrival in England made such a stir at the time, may not be uninteresting, as illustrating the fabulous value which man, through a feeling of vanity, may attach to a little pebble or a piece of simple carbon. We read that " that the Koh-i-noor was originally found in the mines of Golconda, in the East Indies, and was presented by the Viceroy of the Deccan of the the Great Mogul, from whose successor it was taken by Nadir Shah. On the assassination of Nadir Shah it was seized with his treasury by his General, Ahmed Shah, the Abdalie, who took it to his native country, Affghanistan, of which he became the Sovereign. His descendant. Shah Soojah, when obliged to fly his country took it with him, and throwing himself upon the protection of Runjeet Singh, was, by a little torture skilfully applied to the mind and body, made to sur- render it to his generous host. On Runjeet's death it was inherited by Dhuleep Singh, and on the late revolt and defeat of the Sikhs it was yielded to the British Crown, hy special clause in the treaty then concluded." Leaving the Jewel Tower we wandered to a place which, from its antiquity and associations, I was very 74 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. desirous to enter ; this was St. Peter's Chapel, which was built in the reign of Edward I., 1272, and which stands in the north-west angle of the inner ward or enclosure. On entering this ancient and neglected church, as I said of another place, you seem to be thrown some hundreds of years back, and h is impos- sible to resist the sensation of awe which steals over you when you remember that beneath you are buried so many of the great and the noble who had died a violent death, either within or near the Tower. There I stood upon what may well be called "one of the saddest spots on earth." So many graves of so many innocent as well as guilty, who had perished at the hands of the executioner. Underneath this very plain chapel now rests in peace the dust of the revered and beloved Lady Jane Grey, of whom Fuller writes that she had " the innocence of childhood, the beauty of youth, the solidity of middle, the gravity of old age, the learning of a clerk, and the life of a saint, all at eighteen." With her also sleeps the dust of many less exalted, but perhaps not less worthy martyrs. Here the dust of a Northumberland and of a Norfolk in- structs us that grasping ambition often only raises itself on the loftiest pinnacle to experience the deeper fall. Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, two wives of Henry VHI., are here, and here Lord Guilford Dudley once more reposes with his lovely Lady Jane. Here Thomas Cromwell, the noble Earl of Surrey, the good Duke of Somerset, the brilliant Devereaux, Earl of JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 75 re led of EsseX) combine tx) teach that the loftiest talents, the most exalted virtues are no security against the loss of fame, of liberty and of life ; and the once lovely Queens, whose bodiei also moulder within those vaults, repeat the same warning respecting woman's beauty and most attractive graces. Having spent a considerable time in perambulating the various parts of the fortress, I made a parting circuit to the Bloody Tower, where it is said Richard III. caused to be murdered the two children of Edward III. Here is to be seen a noble gateway. The grooved arches that vault the portal, the gro- tesque heads and finely-carved tracery that spring from them are beautiful. Here is a massive portcullis, or gate armed with its huge spikes, and said to be the only one of the kind remaining in England. Although nearly done of my perambulations I could not leave without a closer inspection of the Traitor's Gate than I had made, so I made my way thither again, and satisfied my curiosity to the full. This is a large square building, erected over the moat, and protected by two circular towers. The gate itself, which is the river entrance to the Tower or Fortress, looks awfully gloomy, especially when you look at it in the light of the past. Under that low, frowning arch passed one after another of many an historic character. Queen Elizabeth herself passed under it the captive of the bloody Mary ! Poor Laud also in his barge passed under it from the Thames without, to his prison i\\ f\l 76 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. within. But I have had enough for one day of violence and cruelty, of war and executions, and all that is harrowing to the feelings, so I pass on, and leave the shadowy pile behind me. Famous as is that fortress I like it not. Not always would I dwell within its moat-surrounded battlements for all the money that was ever coined within its walls. The murders and cruelty and oppression there committed have polluted its atmosphere. Fit up the White Tower, and make it again a princely abode ; clothe me with purple and fine linen, place the regalia at my command, and guarantee me an income to keep up my establishment, on condition of my making my home within those walls, and I would a thousand times over prefer to be a missionary of the Church in the backwoods of Canada. Up to this time I had not had the pleasure and gratification of seeing Her Majesty, but hearing that she was to leave Buckingham Palace on a certain day for Aldershot Camp, with a friend I took an early start from Kingsland and wandered towards the Palace. Arriving there some time before the hour for the Queen's departure, we spent the interval in looking through a portion of Hyde Park and at other objects in the vicinity of the Palace. The noble trees, the pretty Serpentine, Apsley house — the residence of the late Duke of Wellington — were all worth seeing, and one could not but feel how vast must be the benefit to the citizens of London of those noble parks, which JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 77 s le enable one to enjoy the beauties of city and country life in the space of one short hour. But it is time that we make our way to the gate of the Palace, nor had we long to wait, before there is a stir and com- motion among the crowd, and presently an actual enthusiasm is manifested, as though the appearance of Her Majesty in public were an event which had very seldom occurred. But here she is ! How strange this feeling of reverence and something akin to awe ; what makes me feel this strange and hitherto unknown feeling, I know not, but I am not singular ; I raise my hat, I feel excited ; others raise their hats and are excited too ; we cheer. She bows most graciously, and is soon lost to our view. The Queen was then on her way to Aldershot to witness a grand review of the troops on the following day ; and, of course, this great sight I felt I coul d not possibly lose, so on the follow- ing morning, my beloved companion and I took an early train from London for Farnboro', which was the railway station of the camp, though then distant from it fully three miles. There did not seem to be any regular conveyance to the camp, so we left on foot, but as the sun was very hot we did not find walking so agreeable as we expected, and we were glad to take advantage of a ride in a rough vehicle which overtook us, though for rather an expensive consider- ation. In good time we reached the camp, and found all astir and excitement. Sight and hearing soon became 78 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. almost overpowered with the similar clash, and din, and pomp which attend the movements of armies in actual war. Thousands of visitors were arriving, of all ages and conditions in life, from the nobleman down to the beggar. The day was beautifullj fine, and it was not long before the sham fight began, and the grandeur of that review, and the enthusiasm which it excited, I shall never forget. The Queen, the late Prince Consort, and several of the Royal children were there. The Queen and the Prince were on horseback, accompanied by the Duke of Cambridge. Her Msgesty was an object of admiration as she cantered so well and so fearlessly over the inequalities of the plam. About 20,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry were said to have taken part in all the exciting operations of the fight on that long-to-be-remembered day. While the review was gomg on, the crowd of visitors— some on foot, some on horseback, and others in vehicles of every description and of all sizes, from the one-horse chaise to the grand carriage and four of the nobleman — ^were resting on a little eminence overlooking the splendid plaib where the troops were apparently going through all the operations of a battle. The review being nearly over, they were then drawn up in line and ordered to take the hill on which we, iu peace and admiration, were looking on and helplessly reposing. But though non-belligerents, the immense line kept advancing and firing at us. Still, on they camCi but we did not for a moment dream of being JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 79 LU Ise disturbed, till at last they must have been ordered to take the hill. We saw a simultaneous change in their movements, and on they ran with fixed bayonets, giving a shout and a yell which extended through the whole line, which was probably two miles long, and, of course, never before did I realize what the horror and destructive force must be of what is called a charge, by brave men maddened in the fight. On they rushed towards us, and such was their impetuosity that, I believe, if we had not used our various means of loco- motion, and that too with precipitancy, that fatal acci- dents might have taken place. It was ludicrous, however, in the extreme, to see us in such a plight, many in terror, and all in confusion flying from the enemy. I need not say wo were completely routed, and the enemy took possession of the hill. • In the afternoon, the Queen and Royal family took up a position, and the whole body of troops passed by six deep. I was so fortunate as to get very near Her Majesiy, and had a magnificent viewr It was eleven o'clock at night before I reached my friends in London, very tired, but extremely pleased with my day's excur- sion. ^S CHAPTER X. British Museum— Oxford— The Martyrs—Bristol— Clifton. Up to this time I had not seen the British Museum, but I felt that, above all other places, I could not leave England without visiting this depository of representatives of nearly all that is rare and wonderful in nature and in art ; and one day, to my great grati- fication, I found myself rambling amongst its wonders. With the e;..jption of St. Paul's Cathedral, perhaps no public building in London is more generally visited than the British Museum ; and it might be difficult to find a place that has been more frequently described. It possesses two very great attractions ; one, that it has so much within it deserving attention ; the other, that it may be seen for nothing. Although a large building, yet I was much disappointed at the exterior of the Museum ; it looked to me exceedingly plain, and not worthy the great nation to which it belonged. As a great national institution I was not prepared to find it so lacking in architectural beauty ; but, cer- tainly, if John Bull manifested a want of taste and liberality in the style and character of the building, we are disposed to forgive him, in a measure, when we enter it, and see what he has|done there in the interest JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 81 >9 le it of the arts and sciences, and for the gratification of his family. Youth, maturity, and age, all press forward to see the British Museum. Even now, there is a perfect throng upon the staircase, and holiday and cheerfulness may bo seen in almost every face. 0, how gratifying, amid the crosses and difficulties of our trying journey through the wildernesa, to see any traces of human happiness ! Here is a room crowded with curiosities, once the property of savage tribes, living thousanis of miles apart from each other ! The Esquimaux, the New Zealander, the Otahcitan, and the South American Indian, have all contributed to the collection. Imple- ments of labor, fishing tackle, warlike weapons, and instruments of music, are ranged around, and,* though in great abundance, yet in excellent order: Here you see demonstrations of the awful spiritual catastrophe that has befallen our race, and how universal are its effects 1 We see here instruments of wai- and torture, instruments for the giving effect to the worst impulses of fallen hearts from nearly every land. The spear, the javelin, the sharktooth saw, the club, the toma- hawk, and the scalping-knife, are mingled with bows and arrows, canoes, sledges, fish-hooks, harpoons, bowls and calabashes. Here is a screen made of the feathers of an eagle ; there a dancing-dress of the fibres of cocoa-nut bark ; and, yonder, are ugly, grotesque, and hideous idols, bracelets of boars' tui ks, necklaces of seeds and shells, and wooden coats of t '} f ? If 82 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. ■ii armour. Nor are the trophie9 of war forgotten ; the scalps of those slain in battle may here be seen — a species of spoil that is too dear "to the cruel and implacable spirit of savage men. 0, how contrary is this to the spirit of man when first he came from his Maker's hand. How opposed to man's fallen spirit in general, no less than to the fierce hostility and relentless revenge of the untutored Indian, is the merciful injunction of the blessed Saviour : " Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despite- fuUy use you and persecute you." In the centre of the room, in a glass case, lies the far-famed Magna Chaita, wrung from a weak and tyrannous monarch by the armed hands of his barons ; and many a prying eye pores over the time-worn document with curiosity and wonder. It takes us back to the days when King John was forced to accord to those long oppressed, the rights of citizens — liberty and freedom, instead of crushing despotism and oppres- sion. But we pass on, and are now amongst thousands of the feathered tribe, whose variety and beauty you would admire. To describe the animals, birds, rep- tiles, fishes and insects, the shells, minerals, fossils, petrifactions, and antiquities of the Museum, would be impossible ; for there is nut one department f hat would not furnish amusemenc for a week. They are all admirably classed ; the carnivorous animals are sepa- rated from those that arc granivorous ; and the birds JOUKNEY to ENdLANl), 83 of prey from the aquatic and those that sing. From the pretty little humming-bird to the stately ostrich, the feathered creation may here be seen in all their varied forms and gaudy plumage. At the beautiful birds from the Brazils and other parts of South America, and the tropics generally, you would look, if you could, for hours, •with feelings of wonder and admiration, exhibiting as they do so truly the power and wisdom of the great and beneficent Creator. As we pass on from one department to another, we are amazed and almost bewildered. Here meet ur view objects of vast antiquity. Ilerculaneum and Pompeii have sent of their long-buried stores to add to the costliness of this extended treasure house. Its newest, and yet its oldest treasures, were the great stones full of inscriptions from ancient Nineveh, which, for thou- sands of years, had lain buried in the debris of that idolatrous and voluptuous city. Greek and Roman antiquities are here, and numerous idols of metal, wood and stone ; sculptures, vas:?s, jars and urns, with busts and figures, coins and medals, rings and curious seals almost without end. There are also beautiful speci- mens of precious stones, of nearly all the kinds that are known, so that almost every shade of disposition may find something that will amuse, instruct and add to its gratification. And what a number of mummies are here, and ornamented mummy-cases, containing poor, dried, mahogany-looking specimens of our frail humanity! ! I I ; rv. 84 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. And yet, this is London, and not Thebes. As one looks at them, one is thrown back in thought to the days of yore and to the land of the pyramids, and of the statue of Memnon, and Thebes with her hundred gates. Here is a splendid raummy-case, half-opened, and the embalmed mummy half unswathed, the whole indicating their enclosure to have been a person of high standing and wealth. While looking especially at this latter relic of the hoary past, one is minded of the expressive lines of the poet : > " And thou hast walked about, how strange a story ! In Thebes' streets, three thousand years ago, When the Memnonium was in all its glory, And time had not begun to orerthrow Those temples, palaces, and piles stupendous Of which the very ruins are tremendous," Well, I have wandered from one apartment and one department to another, from one ancient object and one piece of sculpture to another — the treasures from Egypt and Assyria I have seen, and 1 could sit me down before this huge sarcophagus, which is so full of hieroglyphics, and muse and moralize. One may well, then, think of the past ; of the temples of olden time ; of the artists of genius and talent, wh'^se works are before us, and those to whose fame they have vainly sought to give immortality, and ask. " WTiere are they f^^ The mutilated marbles and time-worn inscriptions of the most splendid works of art seem to press upon the reflective mind the lesson, " Grate- fully enjoy the things of time, but forget not those of JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 85 3 )f eternifcy." Amid the wonderful collection of objects which are to be seen throughout this great building there are, of course, things of very great interest from every part of the world ; every land and every age, almost, have contributed their quota to its collection of wonders ; all have aided to instruct, to gratify, and to amaze the visitor to the British Museum. The vast library is perhaps after all still more gene- rally valuable than all parts of the Museum, containing as it does 700,000 volumes, —almost every book from which pleasure and information can be derived. The manuscripts there are also yecj numerous and very ancient, and as no book or manuscript is allowed to be taken out of the library, the number of persons whom I saw in the reading-room pondering over the ancient tomes sufficiently testify, by their numbers and busy attention, how highly they estimate the advantages of the institution. I regretted very much that, owing to my limited tim3 in England, I could not afford to spend more than one day in that noble building and amid its collection of wonders ; but having done so with very great delight and edification, I made my way to my loc gings, some three miles dis- tant, to recruit for a journey by rail on the mor- row. The morrow came, and, after driving to Paddington Station, I took the cars for Oxford, ar 1 after a pleasant ride through a beautiful y rt of UiC cou itry, I soon reached that " City of Spires'' and ancient II ;i I, j ]j .!i i $1 86 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. il seat of learning. Unfortunately, there, however, as in many other places, I had to hurry ; but yet I saw many things there that I could not anywhere else. I visited several of the colleges ; entered the room where the holy martyrs were tried and com- demned ; saw the hall where Charles's abortive parlia- ment sat when driven from London by the rebel forces of Cromwell, the regicide. But what were my feelings when I stod on the very spot, in Oxford, opposite Balliol College, where the martyrs Ridley, Latimer, and Cranmer were burned alive ! There is fixed in the earth a cross of stone, sunk horizontally to a level with the street, to indicate the fatal spot where, amid the flames, they yielded up their souls to God. How long I stood upon that cross I cannot tell you, but certainly long enough vividly to realize the awful scene, and I seemed to hear as it were the dying Latimer exhorting Ridley, his brother martyr, in those quaint but never-forgotten words : " Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man ; we shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England, as I trust shall never be put out/* But more than that, thoughts of the cruelty of man — of those who acted as the agents of the powers of darkness in their endeavors to overthrow the pure gospel of Christ in England, and also of the power of divine grace in sustain- ing the holy martyrs in such a dreadful extremity, crowd- ed upon my mind ; and how much we are to day indebted to those holy men for thus giving their lives in defence EH JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 87 lat, leir in im- ted nge of the " faith once delivered to the saints" God only knoweth. The monument erected to the memory of the martyrs but a little distunco from the spot where they suffered is exceedingly chaste and appropriate, and let us pray that the feelings of gratitude to the men whose memory it is designed to perpetuate, and hatred for the system that committed them to the flames, may never be less in England than it was when that beautiful monument was erected. Oxford is an ancient and beautiful city, one whose objects of great interest and varied attractions would occupy many days even cursorily to examine, but many of which I was unfortunately unable to see. In Oxford, the kings of England at one time resided ; here Alfred the Great once lived. The River Thames flows by Oxford, but it is hero called the Isis, and is very small. It is said that the city was first called Oxford, because, before any bridge was built, there used to be here Sifurd, or place for oxen to cross the river. I know not when I regretted so much leaving any place as I did Oxford, but time would not permit my staying longer, so I had to break away to fulfil my promise of visiting Bristol. The journey to that old city was a very pleasant one. Un route we passed through the long Box Tunnel, where a short time before there had been a collision and several lives lost, I suppose of whatever strength of nerve one may be able to boast, but few pass through this tunnel without feeling a little timid. The ; I 'I II 'sa 1! ': I R 88 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. rushing along four miles under ground is calculated to fill all with a feeling of gloom and anxiety ; but we soon reached the outer world in safety, and enjoyed its sunshine and the beauties of the landscape all the more. On o\ir way we passed close by the beautiful city of Bath, which is said to be the oldest town in England. Its appearance from the cars is remarkably, and I suppose peculiarly, neat and uniform, but I thought its situation was not good, as from the railway it seemed to be built quite in a hollow. Time would not permit my halting there, even for a little while, so I had to be content with a distant view of it, and the expression of the hope that some day I would be able to ramble through its beautiful streets, and drink its mineral waters. Ou our arrival at Bristol, I took a cab and drove to Clifton, which may be called a suburb of that city, and where I was a guest of the family of its late hospitable mayor. After dinner, the evening being a most delightful one, four of us drove around the suburbs, and I think that nowhere is the scenery arcund Clifton surpassed for boldness of outline and varied beauty. To Clifton Common we went at diffe- rent times, and the more frequently it is visited the more enraptured you would become. The view down the Avon is grand as it flows onwards between those towering cliffs, and certainly nothing can be more pic- turesque. Near its right bank is the lovely Clifton, sitting like a queen looking down i^pon dingy ol(J Bristol, f JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 89 Though Bristol is a slow and not very clean old place, yet it is the seat of many factories, sugar refi- neries, glass works, foundries, etc. I visited in Bristol a celebrated pottery owned by my hospitable friend, where all kinds of earthen and of China ware were made, and I even now often think, when using the various articles of ware in domestic use, that we little think how many are sacrificing their health and enjoyment in ministering to the supply of our neces- sities ; and very often when drinking my cup of coffee or of souchong, my thoughts are wafted on to the pottery at Bristol, and I think of the poor women and children whose health is injured in coating our earthenware with that injurious glaze which is so necessary a process in its manufacture. Bristol was in early times celebrated as the seat of great maritime adventures. Here in fact Cabot, the discoverer of Newfoundland, in 1477, was born, and from which he sailed. Here the youthful foot Chatterton, and others of no less note, both as seamen and authors, were born. Being in Bristol on Lord's Day, I attended Divine Service in the morning in another of those grand old Cathedrals of England. Bristol Cathedral is not large. I was glad, however, to see it crowded, the congregation very reverent, and the service very hearty. In the evening, I worshipped with my kind friends in the Parish Church of Clifton, and I shall long remember, and with a great deal of pleasure, the very happy Sunday which I spent in that part of m I! i i;l 90 NOTES AND BEMINISCENCES. \\m I 111 England ; but soon my happy visit was brought to a close, for on the following day, bidding my kind friends adieu, and no doubt adieu for ever, I took the train for my rendezvous, London, which, after a safe and pleasant journey, I reached in Lbout seven hours, extremely pleased with my visit to Bristol. CHAPTER XI. m Crystal Palace— Musical Festival— Journej to the South— Brighton — Southampton — Salisbury — Stonehenge. Hearing of a grand musical festival to be held at the far-famed Crystal Palace, I, with some friends, left London on the appointed day, at 9 o'clock, for Syden- ham. The day was very fine, and everything around us, as we journeyed towards our destination, tended to make one feel how glorious this world would be if the black pall of sin had never been permitted to curse it with its blight. As the iron horse drew us rapidly onwards, it was not long before the magnificent glassy fabric came to view ; v/hen quite a distance away we could see the sun shining on, and reflected from its glassy sides and roof. The approach, after leaving the cars, was admirable ; the grounds were beautifully laid out, with numerous fountains throwing up their crystal streams high in air, which, radiating in the sun, gave the whole a fairy-like appearance. Flowers, Lnd shrubs, and trees combined with the grassy plots, and the sparkling fountains, and the moving thousands of visitors, and the mountain of glass standing up before us, to make the view on entering the ground one of the most beautiful imaginable. The Crystal I « IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V /. t'^. /. t/i & ^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 l^|2.8 ^ 1^ ill 2-0 M 12.2 1.4 1.6 V] <^ /] >m / m VI J> 7 f^.^'^^ .^.'^ ^ <%-' ^\ Wr\ '•^"^^Z-ns ^■^ * ^ <» 92 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. i!> "t I '',< ' i 5-'; i-- Palace, as its name implies, is built entirely of iron and glass, iron for its frame, and glass for its covering. It is said in stvle of architecture to be a correct representation of the ancient palace of the Moorish kings in Grenada, in Spain, and called the " Alham- bra." Its size is immense, being 1608 feet long,384 wide, and height of nave 100 feet. On this occasion it was crowded by what were computed to be 20,000 visitors. The Prince Consort, two daughters, and a foreign prince were there, and I need not say that their arrival was the occasion of a thrilling out- burst of loyalty from that vast assemblage. The music was chiefly Handel's, sung by the celebrated Novello and Simms Keeves, with over 300 musical instruments, and never, never was I so amazed at the power of the human voice as then. Novello, an Italian songstress, although far away in the orchestra — in fact 80 far that she really looked like a child — could yet be heard very distinctly throughout the palace, and no doubt by nearly all of her 20,000 admirers. You could hear nearly every word, while her higher notes seemed to pierce the roof of that vast building with all the clearness of a nightingale. After taking a leisurable survey of the splendid palace, of its many works of art, and wonders of nature which are col- lected there, we returned to London very much gra- tified and refreshed, and I would certainly advise any of you who may ever visit London not to forget to go to the Crystal Palace on one of its great musicaj I? I JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 98 festivals, should such an opportunity offer while there* You will find nature and art withou and within the works of God and the works of man also, and in connection with, though above all, music, with her wondrous powers, will be there to charm, to soothe and to delight you, and you will not leave that beautiful spot without being refreshed and benefited both in body and in mind* Before leaving England I was very anxious to visit the extreme South of the Island, where my ancestors resided, and where also are the great dockyards and arsenals of the Empire ; so on a lovely morning, with some friends I took the cars at London Bridge, intending to skirt the coast for Salisbury. Soon Brighton, — the great fashionable watering place — the queen of the South of England, was reached. I was very much pleased with the appearance and situation of that town. Although but a few years ago it was only a small fishing village, it was, when I saw it, quite a large town, and contained many streets of pretty and respectable residences. When drawing near the town we passed through some very deep cuts in vast deposits of chalk, which from a geological point of view are so very interesting, being as they are demonstrations of the vast antiquity of our globe, and also of the fact that the Island of Great Britain had lain for countless ages at the bottom of an ocean whose contour no geographer can define. At Brighton we halted but for a short time iiii ^i '1 94 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. only, and then rushed on for Portsmouth. On the way we passed several little fishing villages, and Chichester with its cathedral on our right hand, but we were too far off to enable one to see anything definite of that ancient city, nor had I any opportunity afterwards to visit it. Skirting the coast as we did nearly all the way, we found the sea air moat salubrious and the scenery ever varied, marine views and landscapes alternating, and at times both land and sea together ministered to our enjoyment. * In due time we reached Portsmouth. Here engines of war of every kind met our view at every turn; but not intending to stay in Portsmouth then, we took steamer for Southampton, and never shall I forget the beauty and the grandeur of the view going up what is sometimes called Southampton Water, or Bay. The whole way up was dotted with country seats, and on our right were the remains of Netley Abbey looking grand and mysterious even in its ruins. We met several of the pretty yachts for which that part of the coast is celebrated, looking almost instinct with life. On the whole, taking a view^^of the placid waters — the beautiful shores of the bay with their parks and palaces — the life-like yachts — the little steamers darting about, and one or two men-of-war in the distance, I don't know of any combination' that I saw of the beautiful in nature and in art that more enchanted me than what I saw on the waters of Southampton. Through the merciful pro- tection of an ever watchful God, aa on former occa- pas reai fort but ten and nev< JOCRNET TO ENGLAND. 95 id le jo- sions, we were now protected from harm, and soon brought safely bo the landing place at Southampton. Though we sta^^ed here over night, we had but two or three hours for observation ; but we made the most of our time in looking about the town at several objects of interest, with which one of our party was very familiar, and which enabled us to turn a very hurried visit to good account. The time having arrived for starting we took the cars for Salisbury, and through- out the entire distance the face of the coun try appear- ed, as everywhere else, to be beautiful ; but I felt, as on former occasions, that many of its beauties were lost to us, as to all others who journey by rail. Of course, to see the beauties of any locality one should either walk or be taken by the living, not by the iron horse. But we cannot have all we wish. There will ever be some drawback. We cannot have speed to hasten on our way, and at the same time leidure to survey the beauties which nature spreads out so lavishly before us. So let us be content and thank- ful that our advantages are so many. After quickly passing through a beautiful part of the country wo reached old Salisbury in good time, and were soon con. fortably quartered with kind and hospitable friends ; but I could not long resist the temptation, (our quar- ters being near the Cathedral Close) to go out and have a look at that glorious old fane — the Cathedral ; and you may look, and look, from all directions, and never betired looking at it. Surely the science of 'ill 96 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. ii..4^>^; i i. 1 architecture, like that of music, must have its origin in a higher and more exalted sphere than earth ; its source and origin must be where is the seat of wisdom and of power infinite ! In the mind of God no doubt is its seat and origin, and in the metropolis of the universe it is manifested, we may be sure, in all its glory. Here on earth we see, notwithstanding all its grandeur and beauty, but the feeble imitation of the divine original. But here we see much to excite our admiration, and in fact almost our reverence and awe ; and nowhere, perhaps, more truly than in the glo- rious Salisbury Cathedral now before me. I had, however, to give up my reveries, break away from the exchanting fabric, and return to my lodgings, not to tea, but to supper^ for our English friends always have supper at 9 or 10 o'clock. Next morning at 10 o'clock I was thankful for the privilege of attending divine service in the Cathedral, and no man who had a soul could help being solemnized, or could act other- wise than with reverence in such a building, where both wood and stone combine to point the worshipper from earth to heaven. I was sorry to find there but few persons comparatively at prayer. In Salis- bury, as in too many parts of Canada, the sad truth was apparent that men are too much absorbed with the affairs of the world to permit them to conse- crate their daily labors by giving unto the Author and Giver of every good and perfect gift any portion of time for public prayer which is more particularly JOURNEY TO BNaLAND. 97 appropriated to secular labor. Men everywhere seem to fo|*get or to disbelieve the Master whom they pro- fess to serve, when He tells them, " Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and a,ll other things shall be added unto you." ! when shall the good time come when the multitude of even professing Christians, shall feel that instead of being a loser they will be infinitely the gainer by spending a portion of their time in daily prayer ! Bat this they never will, till they feel that their prosperity and happiness depend not upon their own wisdom and application, but that the blessing of the Lord it aloR^. wkefeh riph, and He addeth no sorrow thereto. il I had long heard and read of Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain, and had determined before I left 98 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. tsrr i ■Hi England, if it were possible, to see it. Now then the opportunity was at hand for gratifying my long-cherished desire ; so having hired a conveyance, a party of us started oflf for that ancient ruin, distant about ten miles from Salisbury. I need not say we enjoyed the drive amazingly. The day was a charm- ing one ; a beloved uncle was the driver, whose knowledge of the surrounding country contributed much to our pleasure and enjoyment. We skirted the beautiful Avon, and soon saw in the distance the wonderful ruins before us. And we may ask the question. What is Stonehenge ? It is a collection of ancient ruins in the centre of a great" plain, the ruins it is thought of a Druidical temple, in which religious services were held, and human sacrifies oflfered to their idols very likely thousands of years ago. After about two hours' drive, lo ! there stand those mysterious stones before you — monuments of the religion, the self-denial, the perseverance and mechani- cal power of a race the whole of which has probably passed away for ever. You draw up to those won- drous ruins and look at them with amazement ! You pass in between them and enter, from a Drui- dical point of view, the sacred area, and there on your right lies the altar from which many a soul was made to wing its way to God, and from which you can discover in the distance the tip of the majestic spire of that Christian temple at Salisbury. And what a contrast ! Never before did I so fully realize the fact f JOURNEY TO BNaLAND. 99 • ? '0 a that the inhabitants of the land of our fathers were at one time Pagan. But what would strike you is the peculiar form of their temple, and the extraordinary way in which it was built. It seems never to have bad any roof, but merely consisted of gigantic stones of vast and unknown weight placed on end in the earth, and which form two circles or rings one inside the other ; then on these are tenanted great stones, resting from the top of one upright one to another, and which formed a continuous circle round the whole. The immense blocks which stand up before you are from 18 to 20 feet high above ground^ and aboat as much in circumference. As one wanders about them, and you turn from the thoughts of the bloody rites which were performed within those circles, you ask yourself, you ask the stones, " Whence came you f^ When those mighty stones were erected there were no roads, no machinery, nor can any one tell where they were got ; but having found them, how did their builders transport them, how stand them on end ? You look at them with amazement and are dumb. The ruins of this stupendous temple, overturned and shattered as they are, still produce a sensation of awe upon the mind of the beholder which perhaps no other work of man j??ii^';^O^g;ibly do. I was very anxious to get a piece *6f ''en^/.oC .^tlfe^V/glgantic stones as a memento, j)ul t^ehr.surface Was* WoYp,' so' Smooth by the atmosphere that* I.* a^aiidontejd alj^^hopp', but* finding a boy, I sent him to a cottage, bVei' ji tiiiU jiistaat, for a 1 i '» *r.« » ' I I! I 100 N0TB8 AHP BENINfSOiNC^d. hammer. He was 8ucce$s&il, and after laboring for some time, I was so fortunate as to secure a piece, which I very much pri^e, but I had only jusjb got it when the agent of the owner ordered me to delist. On my remonstrating he told me that if every visitor were allowed to take away a piece, that the stones, ponderous though they were, would soon be all removed ; but I was glad to have been before him, and brought my little treasure with me. After feasting our inner man for two or three hours we partook of spme physical refreshments, and departed on our return to Salisbury, which we safely reached, very much pleased with our day's excursion. <%■ '',* i%4:' II' «■■■• tk» ,i 'V*^ *•* • » • • ' '•<;>' •> t .^ , .< • • •« 't i' CHATER XII. 1 Old Sarum — Wilton— Bemerton —George Herbert — Bramdean — Roman Remains — Winchester — Lymingfton— The " Royal George." With the same kind relative who drove us to Salisbury Plain for our guide, we one day again rambled through a part of Salisbury, and thence to the site of *' Old Sai'um,'' distant about 2 miles from the city, arid where the present Salisbury once stood ; but there ydu see nothing more than mounds of debris and remains of ah ancient Roman wall, made, not of large blocks of stone, but of small pieces of flint and mortar, the mortar so good that it is now hke the flint itself after nearly 2,000 years' exposure to the atmosphere. Many would be amused to know that for hundreds of years after the demolition of Old Sarum a member continued to be returned to Parliament for it as formerly. I had a pleasant ride one day to Wilton, distant from Salis- bury 3 miles. I went to visit Pembroke House, the country residence of the late Lord Herbert, and a few other objects of intere^ In the old mansion there were many splendid specimens of statuary and coats of mail. I saw also some of Queen Elizabeth's hair, Bonaparte's writing-ease, and some other inter- esting relics. A ramble through the Batonial Hall 102 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. was itself worth the journey, as one thought of all the scenes which had taken place there, and of the ancient actors who took part in them. The old carvings and dc corations were very fine, and looked the finer to me from their high antiquity. Near by was a magnificent church built by the late and good Lord Herbert, for many years known as Mr. Sidney Herbert, at a cost to himself of about $300,- 000. Lord Herbert had long been known as one deeply interested in the progress of every good work, and his example in that, as in his munificent expendi- ture in the erection of the beautiful church, comes down to those who have wealth committed to them in our day, urging them to go and do likewise. Having wandered through the ancient village of Wilton, and examined its celebrated carpet factory, we left on foot on our return to Salisbury, and on our way, at the neighboring hamlet of Bemerton, we entered, with no less enthi^siasm than we did the magnificent church of Wilton, the very little and humble church in which for many years the saintly George Herbert ministered to the favored people who worshipped therein. I had often read of it in connection with the life and labors of the good man with whom its name is chiefly associat- ed, but I was not the less glad on seeing it, humble though it was. That little church has been visited by thousands of travellers from this continent, and is of almost world-wide fame from the character of him who so long ministered therein. It is no larger than our JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 103 ordinary district school-houses, and is as staringly plain as it is diminutive. r knelt at the altar rail, and thought of him whose sacred dust lay beneath me, and prayed that I may reach the haven of rest where, no doubt, he is waiting for the fulness of his joy at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. As the day was fast wearing away, wo walked on towards Salisbury, diverging for a few minutes to examine a memorial church, building in Bemerton to the memory of Rev. Mr. Herbert, and to take the place of the old one. The shadows of evening had closed around us when we reached our hospitable abode at Salisbury, after having spent a most pleasant and happy day. I was much pleased with a visit to the grounds of a Col. Baker, near Salis- bury, which were well worth seeing, especially tho conservatory, where were growing, among several other tropical fruits, splendid pine-apples, nearly fit for the table, and much larger than we get in Canada. From there we walked again to the Cathedral, and examined the Chapter House, which is said to be the finest in the Kingdom. Some splendid sculptures round the wall at the junction of the roof had just been restored. They were illustrative of sacred history, but had been barbarously covered over in the time of Cromwell with a coating of plaster. Its beautiful roof also was an object of admiration. We then ascended to the top of the tower of the Cathedral from which there is a fine view of the country around it. I saw m M Ill ■ I'. ': 104 NOrES AND tlEMlinSCfiiCCEg. ihe great bell, dated 1680, and brought away a piece of an old beam in the tower which, though 600 years old and decayed, I value not a little. It was dis- tressing to see many of the monuments in the Cathedral hacked and cut by the swords of Crom- well's troops ; plates torn off from the tombs, and other acts of sacrilege and of vandahsm committed by them when they were quartered in that sacred building. I had that evening the pleasure of taking tea with a friend in a house where Edward the Black Prince once slept about 600 years ago ; and in that friend's garden I saw such magnificent straw- berries as I never had seen before. They were fully as large as an ordinary hen's egg, and unlike the pine- apples in Col. Baker's conservatory, some of those fine strawberries were made that evening to minister to our enjoyment. Having a relative living in Bramdean, a village 8 or 10 miles from Winchester, whom I was very anxious to see, a dear relative and I took the cars from Salis- bury to that city, intending to walk thence to our destination ; but being rather warm, we were glad to get in a cart that overtook us, and thus reached Bram- dean a little before night. Next day we drove to West Meon, about 4 miles distant, to see a very great curiosity which had lately been discovered. It was that of the floor of a Roman mansion which had been covered over by about 2 feet of earth and debris for perhaps 1200 years ; and no doubt for hundreds of JOURNEY TO EiTGLAND* 105 years it had been ploughed over, btit Was still in a splendid state of preservation. What was remarkable about it -was its being not ohly an ancient Roman relic, but the nature and character of the floor. It was made, not of brick or stone, but of thousands of little pieces about an inch square of tesselated pavement, which being of different dolors were so put together as to represent military scenes, horses, chariots and armed men. It looked, therefore, like a grand and spacious painting spread out before us. The owner valued it so highly that he had built over it a costly stone house for its protection. I could not, of course, touch a piece of the magnificent floor, but I secured a little bit of the brick oven close by, in which no doubt bread had been baked fully 1500 years before. Two or three days passed away too quickly at Bram- dean, where we so much enjoyed the society of kind and loving friends, as well as the beauties of the sur- rounding country, and it was with no little regret that we left that beautiful hamlet, and bade farewell for ever to those whose kindness made it so pleasant there, and returned to Winchester. On our arrival there, after refreshment, the first thing, of course, which we should see was the ancient Cathedral, and I must say that its external view very mi¥jh disappointed me. Its tower is dwarfed, and looks as if it rested on the roof; but its interior is grand. Here are tnany tombs and monuments of the mighty dead. Here lie many of the old Saxon Kings, With* ■it ¥] ;"c ■ iiji' 1. i m F f ' : 1/ :l^ II 106 i70TE3 AND REMlNISCBNOId. Chester is otie of the most ancient places in Englan(), and was the scene of Alfred's and Canute's glories. It is said that there was a town here before the Chris- tian era, and as it subsequently became a place of residence of the Royal family at times during succes- sive dynasties, we are not surprised to find that many of them sleep there the sleep of death. Curious enough, on entering that famous Cathedral, one sees several little chests surmounting the screens of the choir, and is told on inquiry that they contain all that remains of Princes and Priests, of mighty Kings and fair ladies, their Queens. And what an idea does one get of the infamy of the Puritans under Cromwell on reading this inscription on one of those chests : " In this chest, in the year 1661, were deposited the con- fused relics of Princes and Prelates which had been scattered by religious barbarism in the year 1642.' Cromwell's troops had broken open the tombs in search of plunder, and for mischief had scattered their contents around them. We examined the tombs of William Rufus, of Cardinal Beaufort, 1444, of Bishop Fox, 1529, and others, and left the sacred temple for a ramble to less hallowed and solemnizing scenes. We did not go to the " Hospital " where every traveller may demand " bread and beer " as the condition of an ancient legacy, but after a ramble through the antiquated streets, made our way to the Museum, and spent some time in examining some of its many relics of antiquity and curious specimens of the arts from various parts of the world. JOURNEY TO BiTGLAin). 107 Our next journey was by rail to Lymington, on our way to which old town we passed through the beauti- ful " New Forest" where, in the year 1100, William II., or William Rufus, as he is generally called, was killed while hunting. The view as we approached Lymington was very beautiful. There is the Isle of Wight a little way in the distance, with the Solent between, and the country around was pretty. After a little rest I climbed to the top of the old church tower, and there on the right is Hurst Castle, cele- brated as being a place where the unfortunate Charles I. was for a time detained a prisoner by Cromwell, and there on the left is Osborne, Her Majesty's resi- dence in the Isle of Wight. In the tower of that ancient church there was a beautiful peal or chime of bells. I broke off a piece of stone, and descended very much pleased with the charming view which I had had of the surrounding country. Our next ramble was of a more solemn character. We went to the old, old churchyard to see the sacred spot where some of my kindred lie buried. There were some very old grave-stones there in quite a good state of preservation, and many inscriptions as quaint and humorous as they were ancient. While rambling through this city of the dead, among other thoughts I could not help musing on the law of Divino Providence by which members of almost every family become more or less scattered. Here lay the dust of some of my ancestors, but in how many different climes memben I la is; ■7 ■ rr M W8 NOTBS AlTD RBMlilMCBrCES. of the game family will sleep the sleep that knows no Waking till the resurrection morn, none can tell. We spent a day or two very pleasantly in the slow old town of Lymington, and one beautiful morning took steamer for Portsmouth. It was nearly calm, and the sun shining out brilliantly ; the trip was a most delight- ful one. On the way we touched at Cowes and Ryde, in the Isle of Wight. Cowes is a considerable town, and is the great rendezvous of the fleet of yachts which swarm in these waters. After rambling about and making the most of our time, the shriek of the whistle warned Us that our perambulations there were at an end, and it was hot long before we were on our way for Portsmouth. And there is Spithead, the great anchor- age for the Royal Navy, and here^ yes, nearly about this very spot went down the Royal George, and with her 800 of the brave hearts of Britain* " A land-breeze shook the shrouds, and she was oyerset ; Down went the Royal George, with all her crew complete. It was not in the battle ; no tempest gave the shock j She sprang no fatal leak ; she ran upon no rock ; His sword was in its sheath, his fingers held the pen, When Kempenfelt went down, with twice four hundred men." It was distressing to pass over that fatal spot, and to think of the sudden destraction of so to^hy valued lives, and as the Poet says, not in the heat of battle, but on a beautiful sunny day, when everything around them was calculated to minister to their comfort and comparative enjoyment. On our arrival at Pof tsmouth JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 209 CHAPTER XIII. Portsmouth— The "Victory"— A Rest— Smithfield—FareweU- Departure — Arrival at Newfoundland — Happy visit— Return to Canada. At Portsmouth you cannot make yourself believe that one soul there thinks for a moment that the good time is near when " nations shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks." War, war, war, is forced upon your thoughts at every turn you take. Forts and guns, and ships, ships of war of all sizes, and guns of every calibre are to be seen, go where you will, about Portsmouth. After a while, we hired a boatman and rowed out in the harbor where lay Her Majesty's Yacht, the Victoria and Alber4;. Having got a permit, my friend and I were allowed to board her, and the magnificence of her fittings and apartments surpassed of course all that I had ever before seen on shipboard. We were shown into Her Majesty's bed and sitting rooms, and those of the Prince Consort and children. The library was small, biit the volumes beautifully bound. On the whole, that yacht was in reality a floating Palace. May it long bear the Royal family of Britain in safety over the angry waters ! From Her Majesty's yacht we rowed to the Duke of Wellington, an 131-gun ship, which p JOUBNBT TO BNGLAND. Ill turn that time into every 3f war was at anchor not far off, and were permitted to]^hoard and visit any part of her. Of course those]^who ha\' e never boarded one of those monster ships, can have no idea of their enormous size, and what a pity that through the revolution which has taken place in the construc- tion of ships of war, so many of them'should bej'if not broken up, yet almost equivalent thereto in a pecuniary point of view. Their transition, if not destruction, must involve an enormous loss to the nation, I believe the Duke of Wellington never had been at sea, nor is it probable she ever will, being as'she is, useless in resisting the tremendous guns now being invented. She and her huge sisters will be superseded not any longer by the wooden, but by the iron walls of old England After thoroughly examining that noble man- of-war, we rowed with no little enthusiasm, — where do you think ? — to the old historic ** Victory,'* the grand old ship in which the immortal Nelson was killed in the battle of Trafalgar, some fifty years before ; and there she is, looking as smart and apparently as new as if not long built, although probably over 100 years old. She is now, and has been long used as a training ship for boys for the Royal Navy,"and^when I tell you that there were then about 600 of them on board, you may conceive what a din and bustle greCjted our senses as we drew near her. The boys were then under drill, or training in all directions, some in boats, some swarm- ing up the masts and rigging like bees, and others variously employed on deck. We were kindly peis • ■ *! t ■ !ffi ft If li ft f ]8 ' U2 NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. mitted to board her, which was to us a greiit source of gratification. On going aft to the quarter-deck, there was before me the plate of brass, showing the very identical spot where the hero of the Nile stood, when the fatal bullet from the enemy's " top " laid him low. After standing there some time, and trying to realize the awful scene of destruction and of death which sur- rounded the dying warrior, I wandered down, by per- mission, to what is called the cock-pit, or room where the wounded in battle are carried, and there I saw the spot where Nelson breathed his last. Presently I heard the shrill whistle of the boatswain, and was told that the boys were being piped to tea. After giving them time to muster and get fairly at work, I was allowed to go down to their great mess-room, to see them, and really that alone was worth a visit to the Victory. Such a multitude of boyi, most of them, no doubt, orphans and children of paupers, who were being rescued from a life of wretchednesB, and were * now fed, clothed, and schooled, and thus fitted to liv^ a useful life ! I need not s^y that as these boys were exceedingly clean, and uniformly clad, they looked remarkably well, and a benevolent mind must derive no little gratification from the sight. Ne^t day we rambled over the batteries or fortifications, which seemed to be wonderfully strong, and I felt, as we all must feel, wtiat a melancholy comment on the fallen nature of mii^n, that he has to be continuailly inventipg m,ea,n3 of ddfi^pce 9^4 protection frpm the, yiolence and aggres- TT, JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. 118 Bion of his brother man ! It would be in vain for me to attempt to describe all the numerous works going on in connection with a great dockyai*d like that of Ports- mouth. Of course the grandest of all is the construc- tion of those monster men-of-war, severi\l of which were building when I was there. After speniing some time in examining them, I went to the great building where they manufacture the immense hemp cables, and all kinds of rope for those vessels, and which was well worth seeing. From the rope factory, I rambled to the great forges, and 0, such a scene 1 Really you are forcibly reminded on entering, of what you have read of the regions of the lost. The building itielf is of course very large, and through the smoke, and the dust, and the gloom, you see immense fires in ail direc- tions ; you hear the clanking of machinery, the i oaring of the fires, the noise of the workmen, whom ycu see all begrim with soot and smoke, and looking for ad the world as you may suppose, like the prisoners ad infer- nos. There they make monster anchors and chams, for the great men-of-war, and to see with what ei.se they would handle those gigantic anchors would astonish you. But nothing surprised me more tha\i the working of what is called the great Nasmyth ham- mer. It is of enormous weight, in fact, several tons, worked by steam, and with which they weld the mass- es of iron together in making the anchors and other heavy articles for the ships ; but they can so easily control the movements of that ponderous hammer, that i 114 NOTES AND RBMINISCENCBS. I they could beat out, if needed, a tiny horse shoe nail with it, or, as they say, " crack a nut without breaking a kernel." I should like to have lingered longer in Portsmouth, but time would not permit, so after pay- ing Gosport, on the west side of the harbor, a flying visit, my friend and I left by train for our head-quar- ters, London, which by a direct re ite, we reached in a little over two hours. On our return to London, we felt that we really should take some rest, for to continue travelling nearly every day for some weeks as we had done, was not only a tax upon a small purse, but, although most instructive and exhilarating, was at the same time extremely fatiguing. Of course, it was not easy to keep that mysterious thing within us at all times quiet, but some rest we had. While in London there was one place of great historic interest, which I wa$ anxious not to omit seeing, and that was Smithfield; so, as an illustration of the old adage " Where there is the will, there is a way," at that celebrated locality I found myself one day. I diverged from the ordi- nary route, and wandered through a part of London which I had not seen before, and at last emerged from the dense mass of houses into the open space long used as a cattle-market, and called Smithfield^ and there I rambled and thought of the tragic scenes which had transpired there through the instigation of that corrupt religious system that from the 6th to the 16th centuries, had been forced upon England, From 11 JOURKEY TO ENGLAND. 115 ;ed )ace leld, mes of the Irom Some laborers who were digging there, one of whom was rather an intelligent man, I learned that but a short time before human bones had been disinterred, which were not unlikely those of some of the victims of Rome, when on that very spot, many a soul in defence of the truth passed through the fires of mar- tyrdom to their God. I shall long remember a little incident in connec- tion with my rambles in London, and which happened when my delightful visit to old England had well nigh ended. I had been out rambling all day, and, anxious to see as much as I could, to get as it were a good parting intellectual feast, I stayed later than I ought before I made my way homewards. I had also spent what little I had in my purse, retaining just enough to pay my cab-fare, with one penny over. Tired as I was, I felt relieved and happy when I got into a cab and left, as I thought, for my lodgings, about 3 miles distant. But what was my alarm, when after travelling nearly that distance, I found I had, through ignorance and want of care, taken a wrong cab, and was in consequence on the wrong road, but one fortunately which, if not parallel, diverged at a very sharp angle, so that I waa not very far away. There being no other conveyance, (and if there were I had no money), I had to walk at about 10 o'clock, in the dark and through an unknown district to my lodgings, and certainly if ever a traveller had been glad, I waS; when, with strong evidences of past I "I t* T! ifti il! II I > 116 NOTES AND REltlNISCENCES. anxiety, the loving voice of mj friends welcomed me home. But now time, that waiteth for no man, warned me that as there was an end to all earthly things, so there must speedily be to my sojourn and rambles in England. So after a day or two of partial rest and packing up, I foujd I should bid farewell to loving friends who had ministered so much to my enjoyment, and leave for my return to friends who were dearer still, and to my native land, and thence to my home in Canada. There is something touching in that one word last^ a last dat/, a last word, a last look. So the last day of our sojourn in England came, and the last farewell was taken, and we departed for the last time from the abode of loved ones, and taking a cab drove to Paddington Station, thence by rail to Holyhead, which we safely reached after a very rapid journey. I returned very nearly by the same route that I went to England. I crossed the channel to Dublin, thence by rail to Gal way, where we again embarked in a ship of the Galway line, and in a week reached St. John's, Newfoundland. The return trip across the Atlantic was not so smooth and pleasant as when I went over. The winds were for the most part against us, and sometimes very strong. When about mid-ocean and at midnight, we had a very remarkable evidence of the mercy and protecting care of God ; fire was dis- covered in the cook-house, but it was fortunately dis- covered and extinguished before any alarm was caused, JOURNEY TO KNCHAND. IIT Lip itic rer. md md of li3- lis- and no harm was therefore done. Who can tell how near we were to the jaws of an excruciating death, but in mercy saved ! Aye the barren trees were spared for yet another year — the day of grace was extended to all to see if we would bring forth some fruit. We ** made the land " on a beautiful Sunday morning. Afterwards, at the usual hour, Divine Service was held. The saloon was crowded, and I had the honor of again preaching. The day rapidly passed away,' and in good time we safely anchored in the noble harbor of St. John's. After spending a few weeks in Newfoundland, and enjoying the kindness and hospitality of relatives and old friends, hospitality for which the Newfoundlanders are so justly celebrated, another parting day arrived, and we had again to break away from the scenes of childhood and of youth, and take the steamer fot Halifax, en route for Canada. There is to most minds something harrowing to the nobler feelings of our common nature in bidding farewell, and perhaps for ever, to those whose kindness and affection has endeared them to us, but for which there is often no alternative. Providence points the way and we must go. Let us under such circumstances seek a strength that is stronger than ours, and think of the happy time when distance will not separate us, and when parting will be unknown for ever. i.'.Wd'h^d acacoely.left'^t. John's, before we were overtaken •by* ^ .fiorofe* *hurH-v cane, which for two dayS"fi^otisljf* tossed .the. Jittle • • • • ♦ • * . t • • • • « • » • • : • • • * t o 118 NOTES AND REMIMISCBNOSd. il» ^: vessel, the S. S. Osprey, about as though it were a bubble, but barring a fearful sickness to some of the passengers (and none were worse than myself) no harm befel us, and we reached Halifax in safety , though some two days behind the time. A day's rest there and we took the cars for Windsor, thence by steam to St. John, N.B., and Portland. On the way from St. John, we were assailed by another gale, and much anxiety was felt and expressed by the passengers, though many of them had been long used to the sea. We were extremely relieved and thankful, however, ste'*ming as we were along by a lee shore, when the Captain, yielding to the entreaties of the passengers as well as to the dictates of his own judg- ment, bore away and made a shelter under an island. That evening was spent very pleasantly, and the next morning we reached Portland in safety. There we took passage in the Grand Trunk, and in due time were mercifully permitted to reach our home in Canada,, and to receive that which is ever a source of inexpressible gratification to a clergyman, the hearty and iiffec- tionate welcome of his people, to whom in the providence of God he had been sent to minister. THE END. 4 a*» "*^ . '''■■• «*"(«. .VI *t'il lifi