Printad privately for the Author by Z, & L. Rosenfield, Uew York, T^ith Inkograph prints "by Soltmann &; Co . , and limited to lOO copies, of which this is iiiuaber . / 5> 0,-V V a Copyright, 1913 by Osborne R. Lamb. ©CIA357825 t Portrait of Antoin Lang as the Christus, in the Passion Play, given at Oberam- mergau during the Summer of 1910 C ¥ T S U T S Page Introduction i--iv The Lure of Europe 1 Our Departure 4 Chercourg 15 St. Michael 18 St. F-alo 23 Paris 29 Pontainebleau 37 Farewell to Paris 41 G-eneva 46 Lake Leman 51 Montreux 54 Caux 59 The Zweiziminen Pass 62 Interlaken 64 Lake Prienz 69 The Brunig Pass 72 Lucerne '3 Mount Pilatus 79 Zurich 89 Page En route to the Tvrol 92 Innsbruck ^^ En route to llunicli 105 Oterairimergau ^^"^ The Passion Play 1^^ Munich Vienna Bohemia Dresden Berlin Maarken Zandvoort 125 En route to Vienna 133 137 143 Prague ^^"^ 151 157 Amsterdam ~ 1"^ 169 The Amstel ^"^^ 176 Haarlem 1'''^ The Hague 1^"^ Scheveningen 1'^ Across the Channel to England 193 London ^^^ Swanage 'by the Sea 206 2ack to London ^1'' OOP Canter'burs'- '^'^'^ .1 . ^__ Page Deal 225 En route to Oxford 229 Oxford 233 Leamington 242 Eenilworth Castle 246 Guy's Cliffs 248 Warwick Castle 252 Stratforci on Avon 2d6 Chester In Retrospect Adio 267 Liverpool 2V3 Homeward Bound 282 3C4 308 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Le Mont Saint llicliel La Madeleine Paris PontainelDleau Le Palais Le Pantheon Paris .Geneve Castle of Chillon Les dents du Midi Interlaken Luzern Gallerie an der Axenstrasse Zurich Innsbruck Hoflcirche Innsbruck Oberanmergau Das neue Rathaus Munchen Hifbrauhaus Munich Stefanskirche Vienna Karl splat z Vienna Die Te ink ire he Prague Burg i-Iarlstein Prague Page 19^ 29 37^ 41/ 47. 55 59 65 73^ 79/ 89v 93 99/ 115. 125 131/ 137 V 143/ 147 151^' Page Da,-^pf schifflandeplatz Dresden 155. Dom. Berlin 157, ITational gallerie Berlin 163^ Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam 165/ Eiland lilarlcen 169/ Cahal Scene Holland 183^ London 197/ Houses of Parliament London 205/ S^wanage Toy the Sea 207^ Canterburj' 223^ Magdalen College Oxford 233/ Street in Warwick 253/ Chester 2.67/ St. George's Hall Liverpool 273/' lUTRODUCTIOlT To one desiring to visit the old v;orld for the first tine, the proTslem of the best route to take becomes one of importance. If a vacation of three raonths be allov;ed and the spring or autumn be selected, the routes to Italy, Spain, or Greece via the Mediterranean offer their at- tractions; but if the summer months be chosen the trip described in this narrative v/ill be found to be one of the best, for it includes some of the most interesting countries scenically and historically of the Continent and does not neglect the cradle of our Anglo-Saxon civil- ization, England. Por that reason I have recorded our journey in detail from the departure of our steamer in Hoboken to the arrival of our ship at the pier in New York, hoping that the information contained in my narra- tive may be of service to others. Reviewing our tour at this late date, there seems to ne but one way in \7hich our route could be improved, and this I have mentioned in my chapter on Deal. Three months pass rapidly rrhen travelling abroad, and \ihen from this vacation one sixth of the time must be deducted for the ocean voyages, the remaining seventy-five days are -i- little ei:;ough, for the countries I'-lajLt^cL, Indeed, a y^BJf T^ould not suffice to see them thoroughly. In order to make the journey I have described and enjoj- it, good health a,nd congenial companionship are essential, as well as a sufficient sum of monej'- to pre- vent anxiety in case of illness or other misfortune. As ■ the expense of the tour nay he according to the tastes and meaais of the traveller, I need not discuss this ques- tion. ITor need I refer to personalis^ conducted tours i Which eliminate much discomfort and responsihility. But to those who prefer to travel independentl3'- as I have always done, I would commend to their attention the new and very practical Individual Tours issued "by Messrs. Thos. Cook and Son ¥:hich include transportation and hotel accom- modation for an entire trip, or part thereof if desired, for one or more persons. As the name indicates, these tours are individual in character and guarantee the traveller transportation and hotel accor:iiiodation for the time and date specified. The peace of nind v;hich this gives one while travelling in the busy summer season can only be appreciated by those who after a weary day's journey have landed in a foreign city unable to secure accomiiodations for the night. Fur- thermore as these tickets are non-negotiable and non- transferable and are paid for before departure, a -ii- comparatively small sum of money need be taken with one, and. if tliie be in a Letter of Credit or in the popular form of Traveller's Express checks, the tourist is safe- guarded as far as it is possible to do so. As the checking of baggage now obtains in Europe much the sarrie as in this country, a small steamer trunk may be taken without any great expense. I have no quar- rel with those who prefer the cumbersome collapsible bag, but I believe that it is an imposition on one's fellow travellers to crowd a small railroad compartment with one T;hen a small fee will permit the owner to register iz to his destination. Moreover, as the variation in climate In a European trip is ver3'- great, especiallj'- if one crosses the Alpine passes, both light and heavy clothing become necessary and a trunk is therefore indispensable. Perhaps the chief objection to individual tours comes from the uninitiated who fear being unable to roake themselves understood in a foreign language; but as I have explained in my concluding chapter, while a knowl- edge of both French and German were necessary in the past to have made the tour described, conditions have so changed in recent jj-ears tliat one may make it now with a knowledge of English alone and experience little or no inconvenience. -iii- One other observation "before proceeding rrith my story. If one travels individually; that is, unattend- ed by a courier, good guide books of the covintries to be visited become an absolute necessity. There are tian^' such, bu-;: for all English-speaking citizens the old and reliable Baedecker I believe is the best. During ity many trips abroad I have acquired a snail library of these guide books and it is from them that I have gleaned many of the important facts recorded in my narrative. I have augmented this information from local guide books secured en route, and it now gives me pleas- I ure to acknowledge m;- indebtedness to all. Herevrith I append the publications consulted:- Baedecker 's various guide books of the Continent and Great Britain; "Tlie i Official Guide of Lake Leman;" "Brucknann's Guide to Munich and its Environs;" "Guide to Vienna, text by L. Lehr;" "Guide to Vienna and Environs" by R. Lechner; "Official Guide to Prague and the ICLngdon of Bohemia;" "Collier's Guide to Dresden;" "OberaiiDiergau and the Passion Play" by Perdinand Peldigl; "The Passion Play ! at Oberanr/iergau" by ¥.T. Stead; "Guide to Zurich and Environs" bv G, Graber; ''The Cathedral of Canterbury" by | 1 ^Hartley Withers B.A. ; "Guide to Lucerne Lake and Environs" I by J.C. Hecr; and "Chester" published by Huke's library, Chester. -IV- TIIE LURE OF EUROPE I -think i-c will be adiaitted by all thoughtful people, that \7o are living in an era unparalleled in the history of the world. Tlie tremendous advance in science and in- vention, in the past fifty years has surpassed the dreams of the most sanguine optimist, and the wealth which these agencies have brought into existence is so well employed that deserts are made to bloom in a day and cities grow up in a night. \Ih.en a nation has supplied the demands of its people, it seeks other lands in which to sell its surplus, thus reciprocal trade relations are engendered, and the various countries are brought into closer rela- tione with one another. Commerce or foreign trade is therefore a civilizing influence, notwithstanding the fact that it has brought mzmy bloody wars in iiis train. However commerce is not the onl^r agency that is working for a more intimate relation of the nations. Foreign travel is accomplishing that which foreign trade cannot do. Travel is bringing the various peoples of the earth into closer social relations and its effect as an educa- j tional and civilizing influence cannot be estimated. Com- merce exchanges the material products of one country for -:- that of another. Poreign travel extends the realm of }:noT;ledge and exchanges thought, and the traveler and the resident are "both benefited "by the intercourse. It 1 TTOuld "be inverosting to ascertain the amount of money ex- pended anmjially in travel in all the countries of the ^7orld. Unfortunately no such figures are attainable. Suffice ix, the sum must be a prodigious one and this for the reason that it is estimated that the people of the ' United States alone, have expended 21,000,000/ of dollara abroad during the last season. Surely this is an unpre- I cedented amount, and it is not too much to assert that I the major part of this sum has been well invested. TOiile [ it is true that many travel for health, others for pleas- ' ure a,nd a few for business, all receive benefit from the I intercourse. Purthei^ore, interclaange of social relations disarms prejudice, encourages friendship and inspires a broader sympathy with our fellOTmen. The dajr is past v;hen a nation can live in seclusion as was possible a few centuries ago. There is a world movement in progress to- day vrhich is so far reaching in its effect, that even the wildest fancy of the prophet cannot foretell its ultimate benefit "o mankind. It is well therefore for us to study the ti-easures that are to be found in the old world, not merely the sciences and arts, but all that pertains to civilization, for it is b^'- co-relating these tliat we -2- get a "broader and more intimate knowledge of the v/orld we live in, and as the years roll "by we nay perhaps contem- plate with satisfaction its spiritual and material progress. It is for this reason that a three nontha ' va- cation such as I am a"bout to narrate is of the greatest "benefit to those who have never traveled beyond the confines of their own United States, for the countries we visited having had the advantage of centuries of cul- ture offer opportunities to the student which cannot "be found in a young and rising nation like our own. -3- OUR DEPARTURE There -was a time, and that \7ell v;ithin the memory of many living ■ooday, when a trip to Europe was c moat ven- turesome exploit. Fortunately it is no longer so, for the dangers of the deep have been conquered, and one is now nucli safer upon an ocean liner than upon a crowded metropolitan thoroughfare. Waen ^iTashington Irving made his first trip to England in the year 1815, he took the flyer of his day, a sailing ship. He does not inform us in his narraxive how long it took him to make the passage, but it is interesting to read his description of the vo;''age and compare it with a trip upon one of our modern ocean liners. Alas.' the jauntjr sailing ship of his time has passed from the pass- enger service to that of slov; freight; nevertheless an air of romance still hovers about that gallant craft and as we pass one on the open seas, with studding sails set, and her rail awash, bov;ling majestically along, we wonder whether or no the luxuries of modern ocean travel have not deprived us of many simple pleasures and experiences. But time is monejr, at least that is the crj'- of most Americans, and the fastest and most luxurious steamship -4- finds its passenger list al\'TB,ys fulL during i;lie~season. "hat was the case with the S.S. Cleveland of the Hamburg- American Line that sailed from llexr York for Cherhourg on the afternoon of June the eighteenth, 1910. ITot desiring to he einharrassed by the crowd of pass- engers who eiTibark at the last moinent, I took my baggage a- board the day before our departure, and had an opportunity of lookjng over the vessel that was to be our home for the next eight days. All was confusion. Preight and stores were being put aboard and the cabins and salons were receiving their final cleaning preparatory to sail- ing, nevertheless I had an excellent opportunity to in- spect the ship and was surprised to learn that she had just coBie from a trip around the world, and that she was now homeward bound after an absence of three months from Hariburg. This v/as the first time I had ever heard of an Atlantic Liner being used for such traffic. I there- fore made further inquiry, and learned that she and her sister ship, the Cincinnati, had been built expressly for cruising, and that in many respects I should find her ar- ranged differentljr from the express steamers of the same line. As the Cleveland registered 18,000 tons and had a cargo capacity of nearly 15000 tons I was anxious to dis- cover how such a ship could be made to pay. A glance at the vessel herself lielped to elucidate the matter. She -5- v;as evidently "built for several ptirposes., and^ aJLtl^ou/^ her cargo capacity was large, yet her passenger accomciO- dation ^as so great that the revenue from this source aiust be very large. This can he seen from a glance at her passenger accoiaiuodations , which are designed for 230 first class, 400 second, 530 third and 2,200 steerage or fourth class, making a total of 3,360, not including the crew of 360 officers and men. Furthermore, although equipped with everj* modern convenience, and propelled by twin screws actuated hy quadruple expansion engines, her coal consumption for her size and speed, is very small. This is important, for on a cruise of the world it is not possible alwajTS to secure fuel at the end of a week's run. iioreover, a speed of sixteen or seventeen knots puts her in a class with the average modern liner, so that during the suim/ier season she may take her place among the North Atlantic squadron, and profit from this trade. It will be evident therefore that the Cleveland and the Cincinnati are the latest examples of a new tyj>e of stesoniship. One that combines many advantages to the traveler and fair profit to the o'-'mera . They mB.y never compete with the express steamers which make 25 or 26 knots per hour, but they will no doubt be able to show a profit when the others show a loss. It would be interesting to describe in detail the interior arrangements of the Cleveland and -6- show how it is possible to house and feed 3700 souls for the eight or nine days without serious hardship to anyone, "but that would divert me from my purpose. Naturall;'-, those travelling first class receive the "best that is of- fered and the service and cabin accommodation in this class maj'- well be compared to that of a modern hotel. But the same cannot be said of the other classes v/here ever;'- cubical foot of area is made to render full return to the company. -he little German Band, which has always been a feature of this Company's ships, whether in the li7est Indian trade, or that of the Orient, was painfully present when we embarked, I confess I have never been enthusiastic over this kind of music and was glad when they had ceased and we set forth upon our voyage. The day was oppressively hot, but as we passed out into the stream amid the adieus of our friends, I chanced to look in the west and there saw a bank of heavy omi- nous clouds that threatened a squall. Had we been under full wajr, we might possiblj'- have evaded this battle of the gods which was coming. That was impossible v/hen we entered the ship channel a half hour later. Here the squall struck us in full force. As if by magic, the sun disappeared, the bay which had a few moments before been a scene of placid beauty, now became a roaring cauldron, great sulphorous clouds cane rolling down upon us -7- producing a darkness akin to niglio liglated every now and then "by a crashing thunderbolt that drove all but the intrepid from off the decks. Then the rain descended in torrents and our course became more and more difficult. ITevertheless our pilot decided to continue on. Fortunate- ly he passed out of the channel safely and before we had reached the Ambrose Light Ship a rift in the clouds dis- closed the pilot boat not five hundred yards away. !rhis was a gratif^T-ing sight to everybody, for I am certain our pilot never saw a buoy from the time the squall struck us. 9vir stearrjer no^e>/. gOIirTAIlIBLEU After a \7eek of sight seeing one "becomes weary. Tlien it is wise to get back to nature and. seek the open. ■^^e therefore determined to spend a day at Pontainbleu where I knew the charm of its forests would delight by contrast. Going oy train we were I believe the only guests who descended at the Hotel de Prance that morning The weather had been rainy when we started but as we dro^'^e up to the hotel the clouds rolled by and the sun came forth to greet us. It was a welcome sight, for the past week had been a rainy one. Being anxious to drive through the forest, we therefore ordered our luncheon and after arranging for a carriage, started to visit the chateau directly opposite the hotel. Like many other palaces the impression ons derives from the exterior is not impressive But once within, the spaciousness ajid wealth of the apart- ments amazes one. Pontainbleu, the favorite home of Prancis I. has been the country seat of many other sov- ereigns but it was ITapoleon I. who rebuilt and enlarged it to its present proportions. Here it was that he loved to retire from the cares of state, and here it was that he signed his abdication and bade farewell to his arm;-. I confess tc little interest in history, especially the history that records only wars, and the more remote -37- 1 these events the less they appeal to me. But in the case of impoleon we have a personality whom if alive to- day TTOuld find himself in accord \7ith our greatest living Ecipire builders. War with him was a means, not an end. But alas.' we cannot call upon the gods of war, without paying "heir tribute in human lives, and eventually the people revolt at the sacrifice and the end for which all Y/as spent is lost. lilapoleon desired Prance to become the greatest covuitry in the world, yet his dreams of Empire vanished with him, and since then, no one has arisen to lead France to the proud position he desired her to attain. However what he failed to achieve by force will be accom- plished by a swa:'- of universal justice and the day may not be distant when another dreamer shall arise and light the path toward Universal Peace and Brotherhood. Such were my meditations as I wandered thi-ough the Palace of Pontainbleu, and sav; the manj'' regal apartments, the large and interesting library, the chapel, and - last but not least the tinj' suite where I'apoleon slept and worked alternately^ while he conceived his plans of conquest, and developed the stupendous public works which to this daj*- remain a iuon\iment to his genius. Tlie Gardens which surround the palace are extremely interesting to one who likes the formal beautification -38- of nattire. Por tay part simple rolling fields of wheat with here and there a clump of fruit trees, and boxwood hedges enclosing a mass of hardy per<3nnials please me better than these elaborate formal gardens, with their trees and hedges trimmed in such fantastic shapes. But It is in the forest of Pontainbleu that one may revel in the glories of nature. This forest is fourteen miles in diameter and covers an immense area for a preserve within only thirty miles of Paris . All about it are fertile farms and prosperous villages, yet for centuries its noble trees have been permitted to remain undisturbed un- til today the forest has attained its majority in years and beaut3''. I noted one famous beech tree which is known to be four hundred years old, this patriarch stands aloft among a grove of similar trees all of which are but one hundred years or so its junior. The first impression of such a forest is truly inspiring, and it is not diffi- cult to understand why a band of nature-loving artists settled in the village of Barbazon near by and founded that wonderful school of landscape painting which has since been known as the Barbazon School. Cazin, Corot, Daubigny, Diaa , Dupre, Jaque, Rosseau, Millet and Troyon. These were the men who made Pontainbleu famous and their works will live when the forest they loved so much has fallen in decay. -39- It took fully tv/o hours to drive through the forest and then vre only sa'.i the principal points of interest. One part hov.'ever interes"::ed me greatly. It v/as a valley of rocks a mile or more long. At first I was not in- clined to venture in this ciaze of rocks and gorse and heather, Lut an old peasant pointed out the path to me and alone I entered the valley which I discovered to he the "bed of an extinct lake. The drive through the wood- land had oeen cool and damp, hut the moment I set foot in this lowland the temperature rose twenty degrees, all about me were towering rocks and caves with only here and there a stretch of white sand to contrast with their sombre colorings. The scene was most desolate and would have "been uninteresting had not nature adorned every earthy nook v/ith purple heather, and a m^/riad of wild flov;ers that exhaled their perfume on the balmy air. I gathered some of the heather and would gladly have re- mained a while to enjoy the solitude, had not a threat- ening shovTer warned me to return. This I did and soon regained my friends. A half hour later we were at the Railway station and had bid good-bye to Pontainbleu and its noble forest, the most historic and beautiful in all France. -40- PAREWELL TO PARIS , It is incredible liow quickly time flies when new scenes continually arrest the attention. In this respect Paris more than any city in the world offers such infin- ite variety that it is a perpetual kaleidoscope. But our nine daj/s were nearing their end. It r/as v;ith real regret that we noted this, for now our vays lay in different directions. Our young college professor had bought a cir- cular ticket before leaving ITew York and his tour took him through Qermanj'- to ITaples vriiere two months later he embarked for home. I was sorry when he left us for he was a charming companion, bright and intelligent, and inspired us by his keen desire to see and learn the most that could be acquired in so short a time. Our friends the lav;^'"er and his wife, decided to take an auto trip in the Chateaux district of Tours, and invited us to accom- pany them. This I v;ould gladly have done had the two young men accompanj'-ing me acceded to the suggestion, but they preferred to see the most of Europe in the time at their command and the weather being rainy and cold I did not oppose their wish, for I knew from experience that when rain prevails in the north one can often find good weather a day's travel to the east or south. We therefore selected a tour that took us through Switzerland -41- and Genaany to Vienna, thence north to Serlin, then west to AL'isterdam, thence to London. Although the route chosen v/as not unknown to me I felt certain that I should find iz interesting after a lapse of so iria.ny years. -0 the young men accompanying me everything was new and the route they selected could not have been "better chosen had they laid out an educational tour. I douht, however, if they appreciated the extent of it until later. Distances are not great upon a map, but they become stem realities when we have to make them. It took several days to conclude our arrangements. Tliis finished, we bade good bye to our friends and on the morning of the Twelfth of .July took tlie Geneva ex- ' press from the Gare de Lj-on. This train and the Oriental i and ^ice expresses are the best trains in Prance. They are coiiposed of large cars somewhat like the Pullmans of ! this country, but with the corridor on the side. These cars are divided into staterooms or compartments accommo- dating ei~her two or fouoT' persons v/hich to me is prefer- able to the open Pullman coach. Our train had a dining car attached and the meals served were as good as one could desire. At night it is an imposing sight to ;see ' one of these fine trains pull inxo a station with its electric headliglit blazing the way and its coaches bril- ls sjitlj2_lj:^tedjb2:^jtiny inc a ndes c en t^lamPA i then afzer a -42- short delay a shrill screech of the whistle announces its departure and it is off again to its destination. It is not always easy to find an unoccupied compartment on these express trains, but we were fortunate in this respect and in fact our luck seemed to follow us on the remainder of the trip. Perhaps this was because we uere a party of three (three being a lucky number) or it may have been because we waited patiently for the guard to place us, and on the principle that patience is rewarded he always gave us a compartment to ourselves. Once upon our way I v/as able to settle myself com- fortably in our compartment and reflect upon the many incidents that had passed. And as is often the case the mind having gratified its wish, began to look toward the future and revel in anticipation. This is the natural sequence, and explains v/hy travel makes us forget our troubles. We reason from the past to the present and from the present to the future. Yet the future is knoxm to God alone. We laay realize our anticipations nine times out of ten, but on the tenth time some unexpected incident occurs and changes all. This is the element of the unexpected in which there is often a share of fate. Such was my thouglit as we were speeding along at the rate of eighty kilometers an hour. Then I asked myself the question: "Why this haste?" And the answer came, -43- to reach our destination that ^ve may revel in ne77 scenes and increase our store of knoY;ledge, for that which we learn from our experiences in life , is retained in the storehouse of the mind, v;hen what v^e have learned from books has pa,ss9d awa;'. Tliis resolved, the fatal question of all prepoionded itself. But hov/ can one expect to learn much of Europe in fort3'--five days (that v/as the time we had allotted to recch London)? And the answer that was forthcoming v/as , it was almost impossible to do so. Tlae best that one can hope to do is to obtain a rapid "coup d'oeil" and return later when time is not the laaster. The truth is that we usually travel under the sway of some compulsion. Tlais maj^ be self-imposed or it may be the result of circumstances, and happy indeed is he who can go where he listeth and return when he desires, Europe is such a store house of interest that years would not suffice to know its treasures. Purtherraoro the var- iance of customs, manners and thougiit of the different nationalioies are so great that it would require volumes to record ohem. It is therefore only possible to mention such fleeting impressions as the trip made upon myself, and with such I must be content. Wiile these meditations were flitting through my brain, I looked out of the window and saw that we v/ere .passing throu^jh,e_ garden jaif. Prance. Everywhere about ua -44- were beautiful fields of grain, vine7ard3 and orclmrds. Through the window catae the odor of nev; mown ha;'' and with it the sunshine so long deferred, to make all merry. Our route lay tiirough Dijon and Macon to Bourg, a famous old tovm not, far from L^'ons. ^len I thought how near I was to the town in which I had spent so many liappy d&ya , I confess my conscience pricked me for not returning there to greet my old friends, but alas.' it v;as not to be for the present at least. Some day I hope to return and re- pay them roundljr for the man;' kindnesses they extended to me during the fourteen 3rears I was in business with them. But of tliat ano ni - At the moment we were rolling along toward a village called Culoz . This is a railway junction not far from Lake Bourge'c, at which point pass- engers for Aix les Bains descend \i4iilst our train contin- ues on to the frontier of Sviri tzerland. At six o'clock we- entered the mountain pass that leads to the frontier sta- tion of Bellegarde where it is usual to pass the customs, fortunately our baggage was registered through and an hour later jxxat as the sun was setting the city and the beautiful lake loomed up in the distance. Arriving at the station we had little delay in securing our baggage and in a few moments v;ere driven to the Hotel National > where we were heartily welcomed by the landlord. -45- GEffiVA. I confcjss to a cccret admiration for the Swiss. A nation fnat lias retained its solidaritj'- for over five hundred years amidst a lot of powerful monarchies must have some sterling qualities. And these, Patriotism, Courage and Intelligence. Prom my observation the Swiss have all these virtues and the additional ones of enter- prise, thrift and sobriety. A class of hardy mountain- eers they thrive v/here other people would perish. Their realm tourers above blue lakes and touches the clouds with its snow capped peaks. Its valleys everywhere are culti- vated and the hillsides flourish with vineyards, grain and clover. Above the cultivated land rise forests of spruce, pine and beech, then higiier still protrude a barrier of granite rocks whose lofty summits are crowned with eternal snows. It is natural, therefore, that such a rugged environiiient should breed a hardj'- race, and in this conflict of man with nature for a sustenance, in- telligence and endurance are absolutely necessary. I be- lieve that Chesterton has said that intellectuallj'- the Swiss are nowhere. They are merely peasants, shop keepers and hotel proprietors. But the land which has produced a Rousseau and a Calvin and viras able to protect and en- courage such geniuses as Voltaire and Wagner cannot be -46- ^I^AT Qeneye I classed as unintellectual. Man^ of the brainiest men of all countries sought refuge here v/hen revolution rent Europe in twain and their influence still endures. If it i I is true as ITapoleon asserted, that the more languages one can speak, the more is he a man, then the Sv/iss take the palm. Prench is the language most favored, hut German and English are nox7 as current, and it is quite a common occurrence to find those who speak Italian as well. I liave witnessed a meeting of Pranctireurs (sharp shooters) conducted successively'' in these four languages, where every one present understood the language of the others. I doubt if this could occur anywhere else in the world. The city of Geneva is a very imposing and important onec It is situated at the foot of Lake Leman whose waters are about 1100 feet above sea level. The city is divided into two parts by the river Rhone, which finds its source in the lake and its rapid current is apanned by many imposing bridges. In the distance rise the Alps from whose snow-capped peaks Mount Elanc looms up majes- tically. On the opposite side are the Jura mountains and from the quaj^- one may see the beautiful blue water of the lake reaching out to touch the shores of Montreux, Ville Ifeuve and Bouvret many miles away. The city claims a population of 115,000 inhabitants and as is well kno\ina has been for years the centre of the watch-making industry -47- in Europe. To this day the finest watches and chrono- meters are still made there and it is likely to hold this reputation for years to cone. Owing to its indus- tries and also its superb location and cliinate Geneva has grovm greatly in the past decade. It can boast of a University, a superb Library, founded by Calvin, contain- ing 150,000 volumes; a school of Chemistry, one of Busi- ness, another of Pine Arts and a Conservator;'- of Music. The tovra has iaa.ny rich inhabitants and is much frequented by English and American families who prefer to educate their children here. During the vrinter season they enjoy the opera and their Opera House is the prettiest I have seen in any city, Paris excepted. At etated seasons a touring company of the Comedy Prancaise of Paris also gives c repert:oire of their plays and the critical knowl- edge of the audiences convinces me that the best is not too good for the residents. I regret to saj'" that recent ly G, Casino has been built on the riva not far from the national Hotel. It is a splendid affair, but, like all these institutions now so common in Europe, is a menace to society for the reason that gambling Is permitted. l^iile the limit here is only five francs on the turn of the wheel, the game nevertheless lures many thoughtless people who become fascinated by the hazard and Aix or Monte Carlo soon denude them of their savings. -48- fortunately such a fine hotel as the National has so many attractions of its o^m that one nnay "be quite content to spend the evenings there. Located on the riva it is ViTithin a sxone's throve of the lake, and is hidden from the driveway that follows the shore by a pretty park in which there are the rarest of trees and flowers ■• one of the beeches and also a noble cedar of Lebanon there I am sure wore one hundred ^.'-ears old, the others had been planted not less than fifty ^'■ears ago and were in their prime. An imposing terrace overlooks the driveway and the lake, and at night when the table d'hote is over the guests sit in this natural bower sipping their coffee v/hilst the orchestra of the hotel lure them into dreaca- land with its entrancing music. The contrast between this prettj*- scene and the confusion of a great city like Paris may well be imagined. There are many interesting buildings and monuments in Geneva, but time only permitted me to view the Cathe- dral of St. Peter which crowns a hill in the old part of the tovm. This site is historic having had a pagan temple dedicated to Apollo built there in the year 170 A.D The present church is now the shrine of faithful Protes- tants and its interior is very imposing. I cannot con- clude my notes on Geneva without mentioning the superb monument recently erected to Charles II. of Brunswick who -49- left his v/hole fortune to the city, Tliis monuEient or mausoleum is designed after the tomb of Can Signorio della Soala's tomb at Verona, Italy, and cost more than a uillion francs. It is located on the riva not far fron the Casino where its Gothic design contrasts sti-ong-' ly v;ith the modern Ecole dos 3eau:c Arts architecture which surrounds it. It is a wortliy monument to a great and good man and as such must inspire everyone vdao sees it. -50- LAKE mCAiT It was a beautiful morning on the fifteenth of July when v/e went on boa.rd the Steamer Lausanne for a trip up the lake to our next resting place, Uontreux. Arriving an half hour "before the departure of the boat I load an opportunity to inspect this superb vessel, v;hich •but recently had made her maiden trip, and represents the latest development of lake navigation. I confess to great interest in yachts and yachting, not because it is a fashionable sport, but because it is the most hardy and manly of them all and takes one out into the open with nature. It gave me a thrill of pleasure therefore to look at the Lausanne as she lay alongside the quay, the blue waters of the lake sportively lapping her fresh- ly painted hull, and, as I noted her graceful sheer, the rake of her mast and smoke stack, I recognized at once that she had been designed bjr a yachtsman. She was per- haps 300 feet long by 55 feet wide and like all European lake steamers that are propelled by paddle wheels, has little or no overhang to the main deck except near the paddle boxes. l*he cabins extended aft two thirds the length of the vessel. This gives a promenade deck above -51- about 200 feet long broken only by the pilot house, cliart rooia and stairway. It is on this deck the first class passengers congregate and here they taay dine if they de- sire, whilst an excellent orchestra beguiles the hours away. If one is weary or sad I know of no more deliglit- ful antidote than a trip on one of these steamers. During the season they are frequented by tourists of all nation- alities, among whom I have often noted many Russians of noble fanilies as v/ell aa English, and Americans who de- liglit in this means of transportation. Our steamer, an express boat, was reputed to be one of the swiftest of the line, being propelled by compound inclined recipro- cating engines which pushed her through the water at 16 knots an hour. Hot long therefore, aftor we departed that I noted the castle of ITyon standing out majestically pif)on an elevation on the Swiss shore. The country here- abouts is very fertile and of a rolling character that adapts «bit to cultivation. Prom ITyon our course lay across "the lake to Thonon les Bains, where I saw the old feudal ccstle of Vufflens located above the tovm of Llor^ues on the opposite shore, situated amid verdant fields and noble forests. Tlionon les Bains is situated on le cote Savoyard of the lake is a pretty town and has a population of 6000. AiBong its buildings are many fine hotels and the town is -52- the Sous prefecture of Haute Savoy. Evjan Les Bains is located alsout five milea further up the lake on the saine side, and is nov; a renovmsd v/ater- ing resort. It is here that the celetraoed Evian spring was discovered in the seventeenth century, and as it is now the roost popular table v/ater in Europe, tlae revenue derived from its sale laust be enoraous. Proci Evian les Baine we recrossed the lake to Ouchy which is the port of Lausanne^, one of the fairest resi- dential tovms of Switzerland, At present it is the most important of the chain of tovms called the Bernes Riviera whicih extend up the lake ae far as Territet. Being a universit;/ town it has acquired a good reputation for its schools and colleges, and many English and American fam- ilies live there throughout the year. It supports a theatre, and during the winter a eymphony orchestra give weekly classical co;icerts to i'^s people. The next tovm of importance is that of Vcvej", five miles north. This ' is a very aristocratic resort and in character much re- sembles Lausanne^ -53- MOIJTREUX After nan:' stops at sns.ller tovms we readied our destination, Hontreux, at two o'clock, and ^ere quickly driven to the Palace Hotel, tlie best hostelry in the place. This Bernese riviera is little but a chain of hotels and pensions located upon the mountain side over- looking the lake ^rith the Alps in the distance. Les Dents du Uidi being at the head of the lake and plainly visible from this shore. Being built on the hill side our hotel was a most imposing bit of architecture, and rose up from the inc.in thoroughfare xaany stories, the first two stories being off set BO that a terrace 75 ft. wide by 200 feet long occupied the roof, whilst the lower part is given to stores and shops of all kind. As it happened we arrived at a time when liiany tour- ist parties were frequenting this resort. All was there-: fore movoifient and gaiety, and at dinner time the magni- ficent dining hall -.rns filled to its capacity and the v/aiters, of which there seemed to be an army, were kept busy attending tho guests. At present the hotels gener- ally throughout Europe have discarded the large tables -54- G/^///o ro seating often 150 or more, for cainy sriiall ones acooimno- dating parties of two, four or eight persons. This has certain advantages "but the spirit and sociability of the old regime has departed. I regret this for I have made many good friends under the old system, and to one trav- eling alone this is very agreeable. However certain of the old forms are still retained. The waiters under the supervision of the maitre de 1 'hotel are still called to the serving room as each course is prepared and pass out. into the dining hall at a given signal. The effect of this is very imposing and they seem extremely proud of the attention they attract. Tftien the dessert is' served an electric gong announces the conclusion of the service"; then the doors are throvm open and the strains of an orchestra upon the terrace, lures the guests there for their coffee and segars . It was quite late that evening when our party finished dinner and when v;e arrived upon the terrace, I was amazed to find it lighted by thousands of electric lanips of all colors, clustered about in the foliage and upon electroliers. The orchestra occupied a dias not far from the exit of the dining hall and as v;e passed out the bewitching strains of Le Valse Bleue made us feel the merriment that pervaded the assemblage. It happened that we were obliged to seek a table at the ex- treme end of the terrace, from v/hich vantage point we -55- could look upon the ontrancing scene. The sun had set, tut the twilight still lingered and the curvalous clouds T/hich during the day, had hung about the movintain peaks nov7 floated higli above them and reflected a gentle radi- ance upon the peaceful v/aters of the lake. The soft south wind v/hich had blo\7n all day, had died a'jay; not even a breath v/as stirring, and like spectators at the opera v:e sat av/aiting the next denoueiiient . For a v/hile Liy attention was attracted to three beautiful Italian girls seated at a table near ine. They were evidently sis- ters and vrere in a nerry inood, their ciother having left then alone for a mouent, thinking of course her dears •■."ere quite safe in such a throng of foreigners. How little she knew her pets mr.y be iinagined by an incident that happened a laoment later. I had finished ii^y coffee and was lighting my cigarette v;hen a piece of paper fomed like a dart, fell at my feet. I pn,id no atten- tion to it, but an intuition told me that it was intend- ed for the young ladies, liy nattiral impulse was to pick it up and hand it to them. But prudence reminded me of the man \iiio made a million dollars hy attending to his ovm business, and I desisted. I kept my eye open to wincl-jard however and a moment later saw a young Frenchman laake another dart and v.'ri"oe something upon it. T-^atching me Intemly he threw the missive over my head -56- and landed it upon the ta"ble of the trio, v;here it wcs instantly seized and read. Then the yov.rxg ladies put their heads together in consultation and not long after- I sav; theiQ enter the grand salon where the 2''0ung gallant had preceded them. Doubtless they found some mutual friend to introduce him to their mother who quite uncon- iBCioiis of wha,t had happened vrould present them to her loving daughters. Thus are v;e often deceived by our own* It was twelve o'clock when the orchestra played its final huuber and the guests departed. Instantly on the stroke of the hour the electric lights were ejctinguished ismd as my friends retired I sat alone beneath the canopy of heaven and v/atched the moon rise slowlj'- on the horizon. Por a while I was lost in meditation when a waiter ap- proached me and advised me to enter the hotel, warning me of the morning chill which often settles down from the mountains at an early hour. I paid little attention to his advice but continued in my reverie until one p.m. when I sought my bed. Two days later I was taken ill with tlae grippe, the result of this indiscretion. Such are the vagaries of Swiss climate. Montreux has become a favorite winter resort within recent jrears owing to the excellence of its hotels and its temperate climate. Pifty years ago there were but three little villages here surrounded by renowned -57- vineyards. Today the shores and mountain sides are occu- pied hy iioany handsome ■buildings extending each year further and further up the mountain. There are good reasons v/hy this tovm and its neighboring villages extend- ir.g frc-j Trerriret to Lausanne should be called the VaudoisG lUviera. The conditions which favor the growth of the grape, favor also the people of temperate climes, I and as the mountains on this side of the lake are exposed to the southern sun, and their height is so great that the northern winter^- blasts pass directly over them the cli- mate is versr temperate. It is said tlaat one may pick roses in Ilontreux in the morning and coast 6n the snow- clad mountain-sides above in the afternoon. However fanciful this maj'- be, exotic plants like the palm and pommegranate flourish here the year round. The many villages and towns composing this Vaudoise Riviera are all connected by a shore road upon which there is an electric tram running at short interval, but the co/rimunication by boat is much to be preferred. \Ie visited the Castle of Chillon on our first day and ■.;.-.ro delighted to sea this historic monument 30 well cared . lor by the state. Its location on the lake is ideal> and! its historj'' interesting, but it is due to the poet Syron, i '.Those tale of the Prisoner of Chillon has immortalized the site, that the castle has become renovmed. Su3h is -58- t' Jjz3 eienta c^k- Af/t:t, the power of v;orda to stimulate the it'iagination. CAUX. If the Swiss are great mountain cliuibers, they are also great engineers. Today their railways like their intrepid mountaineers cliiati the most daring peaks. It is certainly a curious sensation to enter the electric train that mounts froia Montreux to Gaux and feel it leave the lerrel and mount up, up, up through narrow corkscrev/ tunnels of limestone rock, then up, througli fields and vineyard until the timber line is reached, and at last reach the terrace of Caux 3,300 feet above the lake. By TJhat mighty pov/er this is accomplished God alone can ex- plain. I looked at the trolley v/ire and tlien at the sturdy little electric locomotive with its train of cars, and decided that the strength of the trolley wire could not support the traction strain of the cars even on a ten percent grade, yet here was a train v^eighing many, many tons, mounting grades of twent;r and thirty per cent with the greatest ease. Surely this is a modern miracle; but alas.* so common lias become the use of electricity, that we no longer marvol at its wonders and rarely contemplate the maker of all things who has endowed us v/ith such -59- priceless gifts. It v;ould "be difficult to describe tlie sensation the vie\7 froia the terrace of Ca^xc created in me. At first it ',ms a feeling of av/e , as I looked dovm from the giddy height upon the placid lake T/here steam- ers like the Lausanne v;ere but specks upon its mirrored surface. But as I raised lijv eyes and let them wander over the ranges of the Alps, v:hich like an undulating sea sY/ept tlie horizon I began to appreciate that I had ascended an Ol^rmpus e.nd. was in the realm of the gods. A tlirill of exultation swept over tie as I gc^ed upon this mighty panorama, then as our thoughts are often diverted from meditation to action "oy some trivial incident, I happened to turn about and look up at zhe foreboding cliffs of the Rocher de Uaye 3000 feet above, and an uncontrollable desire came upon me to make the ascent; yet my saner judg-iient warned me not to attempt it, for there is an exliilaration in these altitudes that spurs one on to venturesome feats only to meet with fatigue and disappointment afterward. It is because of its stim- ulating climate that Caux has become such a favorite re- sort for those suffering from pulmonary diseases. Many come here during the season and while inany are cured, the white plague doubtless claims its victims in the majority of cases. I was greatly interested in the Toboggan Garage of -60- the hotels situated in Caux. This is a ver:" large build- ing with man:' shelves for storing the sleighs. There were over 350 scored there \7hen I visited it, the xaajori- t;r of these "being large bob-sledges, capable of carrying 6 or 8 persons v/ith the most approved steering gear and brakes. A glance at this array of sleighs gave me a better idea of Caux as a winter resort tlaan reams of ad- vertising could have done. Some day I hope I may return and experience this exliilarating sport, which in m;r youth held such a lure for me. After a cup of tea and another look at the beautiful panorama we descended to Montreux. As it v/as late v:hen v/e arrived at the Hotel and as v/e had decided to continue our journey on "che morrow as far as Intorlaken, I retired early to bed. I cannot now recall how long I lay in slumber land, I only remember that when I av/oke the church bells were tolling and the sun came peeping through my casement v.'indow. It was Sunday the iVtli of July, a day made for peace and praj'-er, yet we v/era to continue traveling as though pursued by JTomesis. I knew v/e were justified hov/ever for time hath fleeting wings and our journey v/as a long one. After pa;-ing our bill, which v/as the smallest we had yet re- ceived, v/e sent our baggage forward by Grande Vitesse and took an electric trolley road for the journey over the -61- Zv.'-eiziiaiaen pass to Interlaken. 'HE STTEIZTIHSl^ PAFS. Arriving at the station ne found oiix train of tiny cars :aade up and awaiting tixe signal to depart. Five coaches coiAposed the train with a most coquettish little dining car attached in the rear. The route lay half way up the i-iountain to Caujc then skirted tlie mountain side until finally at an altitude of 3000 foet we entered the Zveiziiaiaen Pass^ where a surprise was in store for us; Altho I had never crossed this pass, yet it was, and still is, a higliway to Interlaken, and I was therefore unprepared for the extraordinary change in scene v:hich one meet-s in such a short journej-. All about us lay rocky peaks jutting up from verdant fields of clover. Above ohese neadov/s , rise forests of spruce and fir, v/ith here and there a tiass of snow which had been drifted by the winter -jinds into the rocky valleys which compose the suijnits. Tlisre was endless quantities of sncv/ every- v/here in sight, yet, (and thrls is the curicas anomaly), the air was as balmy as a sumn'Sr da^y could be. Up and down this tortuous pass lay fai'miiousos , barns and chalets, with a village dotted here and there for variety. -62- InnuK^era'ble pensions (iDoarding houses) v/ere visible at every station and all were, or at least appeared to "be well filled. I cannot imagine a more deliglitful or less expensive country in i)7hich to spend a vacation, for liere 5'ou are in the home of the mountaineers the people who have made Svritzerland great, not "bjr arts of war. Tour "by the arts of peace. It look several hours to cross this pass, for our train did not proceed at more than ten miles an hour, and often v/ent so slov;ly that one could have descended without difficultj'-. I was content, however, for the scene was new to me and I \7DUld gladljr have remained there Iiad that been possible. But alas, we were ticketed I ! through and Interlaken was our destination. -63- IITTERLA I^U Interlaken is situated upon a narrov; strip of land "betueen Iiake Thun and Lake Brienze. In olden times it vxas customary to go from Geneva to Berne and from Berne to Thun. Tliis was the old coach route and is noi;? the rxi^r.7a;;' for the railv/ay. Prom Thun village one then pro- ceeded oy "boat to Interlaken, "but our route over the Zweiziiauen proved shorter and took us through the village of that name, to Spies, the terminus of the electric road Here xre changed to the Geneva Berne Railway and reached Interlaken "b;/- skirting the Lake of Thun. At three o'clock on Sunday afternoon T;e arrived and -7ere driven to the Hotel Victoria, one of the oldest and "best hotels in the place. The journey over the mountains had been interesting, hut a feeling of lassitude now c?jne upon me and after a hath I retired early to "bed. That nigiit I dreciij- of ghosts and goblins and all manner of uncanny things, and awaked the next morning in a high fever, to find that the "grippe devil" had me in his grasp. I would not mention this incident, for the grippe is such an ordinary occurrence now~a-da;'"s as to be comtrion- place, but this same thing imd happened to me on a former •64- — "^^ . p l^^^T, tl« In. ^;^^ mil lit I m visit here, and I mention it in order to warn otliera from viae vagaries of Sv/iss climate. Owing to its proxi- mitv to the great mountain ranges, v/here snows eternally fall, Interlaken is invaidated throughout the summer "by frequent rains. I have often v/atched it snowing on the Jungfrau and raining in Interlaken, while on the opposite side of the valley the sun would be briglitly shining, Indeed I remember on my last trip paj^ing a visit to the Grundelv/ald glacier and returning drenched to the skin, for v/hich indiscretion I paid Toy a severe cold that laid me up for a week. Portunately I had reached the village of Thun that day and found an excellent hotel there, I called the Thunerhof where I was extremely comfortable, v/ith medical advice at hand, but it is not pleasant to have one's vacation interrupted in this May and I advise j others to be careful and avoid such experiences. j I?or the next two days I v;as confined to my room, but true to his promise the fine little house physician v/hose namt^ I have forgotten, had oy the use of sedatives and anti-pyritics, so reduced any fever that on the third dajr I was able to proceed. Consequently I sav; little of Interlaken, and the trip we had planned to Eisengletscher was abandoned. Eigengletcher is the last station of the nev/ Jungfrau railv^aji- which v;ill, when completed, be the most wonderful -65- scenic railuay in the world. It is quite impossible i for one v;lio lias never visited this countr;'' to imagine the daring of this engineering feat. I can onl;'- suggest I jit. Imagine then - a mountain peak rising majesticallsr from a range of smaller ones, *oo a heiglit of 12,500 feet, the entire range covered ',7ith heavy snovirs and glaciers centuries old. Amid them all the Jungfrau toi/ers as a monarch of the forest looms above the sailings beneath i its limbs; so near at hand it seems that if one had an [aeroplane he might alight upon its summit in a i'ev7 moments' [flight; some day I expject this v/ill be accomplished; at i present there is only one vr&y to do so. One must pro- j j ceed from Eisengletcher , (the present terminus of the ] Jungfrau-cogroad) , across numberless glaciers and valleys filled with snow and ice until some "arrete" or crest of protruding rocks is found, then as a chamois leaps from rock to rock the mountain climbers crav;l from point to point until the;- reach the solid snows upon the summit. Every year some one is lost in these ascents, and by a curious fatalit^j- our present visit v;as to be made mem- I orable by the most shocking accident that has ever occurred j in this vicinit;/-. A party of nine men had gathered at j Eisengletcher awaiting a favorable moment to venture upon i j the glacier. For three da3''s the;- had been storm-bound. I Wrestling under the restraint, the ports'- decided to make -66- the attempt on the fourth day, the \7eather then liaving cleared. In the party there were tvro Englislnnen and seven of the hardiest Swiss guides. Tliey had set out and had just preceded upon the glacier, v/hen an avalanche of snov: fell froci above crushing and burying them in its wad descent. It is supposed that the vibration caused loy the tramping of the party upon the glacier had loosened the snov/s above them and brought the mass crashing down to become their tomb. Be that as it may, only tv/o were recovered alive, and these poor fellows (two of the guides) T/ere maimed for life. Such is the price that the Jungfrau exacts from those who brave its summit. ¥ith this sligiat suggestion of the dangers of the Jungfrau, I think one can better understand v/hat a colossal engineering feat the new electric road i/ill be. It is estimated that it will require tliree jrears more to complete the tunnels that lead under the glaciers to where the perpendicular peak ascends. Whom, this is finished and an electric elevator installed in a './ell, in the heart of the peak, one raa;'- then mount to the very pinnac- le of -he Jungfrau and in pride and awe contemplate the mastery of n»an over nature. Interlaken is so v;ell known that a description of it is hardly necessai-y. It is a town of about 15,000 in- habitants all of whom appear to be interested directly or -67- indirectl7 in the vast tourist travel that passes through their village. Having grovm up ahout a hii^way that con- nected the two lakes, the tovm is therefore very long and narrov;. It has j:aany handsome hotels and shops of all kinds "built along the thoroughfare, and a Casino to lure the idle tourist. Directly in front of the Victoria i Hotel, there is an open park, from which site one roav- look in wonder at the Jungfrau, while listening to the strains of distant lausic. This is fascinating for a while, and to one who never knew the to\Tn of old, its present modernity maj^ prove ver3^ attractive. But to me the simplicitjr of the old regime v;as far to "be preferred. In those stage coach daj-'s, the hotels v/ere smaller and more sociable, nor was one then obliged to don evening dress for dinner, moreover the repast 7;as then served by prettj*- Sv;iss maidens decked out in their native costumes, and the orchestra of native players rendered the folk songs of their country. Todaj'- all that is changed, the waiters v/ear dress suits so that one cannot distinguish tiiem from the guests, and the orchestra chooses its selections according to the nationality of its patrons. The last number I remember hearing was called "Love Me And The ^orld Is Mine", a beautiful song artistically rendered, but oh.' ho\.' futile this, to the lonely wanderer '.:ho more than half ill must listen to a melody that •68- reminds liim of friends far away, at hoiae and has no re- lation whatever oo the environment he is in. LAKE BRIMZ A thunder storixi vras threatening when we took our "baggage on board the steamer for Briena, rAiich is the station for the Brunig Pass Railway. Arriving on board at eleven o'clock in the morning on July the 20th, v/e were shortly afterward coinfortably settled at luncheon in tlie salon of the steaiaer, when a crash of thunder an- nounced the coming storm. A moment later it became as dark as night and before we had fairly got underway the rain descended in torrents. Por the next hour our little boat plowed through the most vicious thunder storm I have ever witnessed in these parts. After a little while we dre\7 in to a tiny dock built upon a ledge of rocks that lifted themselves up precipitouslj'- from out the lake. Thinking that the Captain was unwilling to proceed in the storm, I asked why we had stopped at such a God-forsaken place and was told that about a hundred feet above there •war- a fine hotel built upon a plateau of the ledge. In vain I tried ^o see the building, which the torrents of rain shut out from view. But that it is there I am -69- I certain, though I inagine the patrons, like the ChEuiiois, nust he very nimhle to get about. Lake Brienz is remarkahle for the precipitous cliffs by v;hich it is surrounded. It is in effect, c rift in the mountain chain, whose chasii has been filled by the v/aters of melting snov;s . Although not large it is ex- tremely picturesque, and like our Lake George, has been a highv;ay for travelers froiri ancient tines. It v/as twelve o'clock when he had finished luncheon and I was quietljr enjoying a segar r/hen a toot of the whistle announced our approach to Brienz, the head of the Lake, As the rain had ceased I went out upon the deck and behld a transformation scene the like of which I ha,ve never v/itnessed before. The air being literally saturated v;ith noisture a heavy fog hung over the lake like a miglity pall. Very, ybtj sloxjly this mist ascend- ed until it reached only a few feet above the snioke stack of our steamer, there it seemed to rest for a while until we, the audience, could scan the shores and get our bearings. Per a v;hile our boat proceeded thus slowljr along a cliff of lime stone rocks rising perpendicularly from the lake, when, in an instant, a glow of the mist, converted the cliffs of neutral gray, into lapus-lasuli, one of the rarest forms of blue. The llglit seemed so mystical and unreal that I was at a loss -70- t to account for it, but like ny friends, who also wit- ; nessed the effect, xje were too much occupied in adniring its 'beaut^'- to analyze the cause. A little further on a i ] raging cataract came tearing dovra the cliffs , its blue j j T/aters turning to snov; v;hixe foam as t?iey rushed into the j lake. The contrast of this white water with the "blue of 1 the cliffs v/as most beaut if ul. But this was onlir a trifle ' in comparison with v/hat was still to come. As it had i "been many years since I had been here, I could not re- member the location of Brienz. However my curiosity was satisfied a few moments later when the curtain of fog which had been hanging overhead gradually lifted and dis- played a beautiful valley many miles in length extending far beyond Meiringen to the great Alp chain that forms the barrier between Switzerland and Italy. And Brienz, tiny little Brienz, l&zr peacefully before us not half a Mile away. Surelj-, Switzerland is a land of theatrical surprises. An artist's paradise it has always been, and, not until electric signs shall have disfigured its moun- tain sides and noisy factories replaced its thriving farms, will its pastoral charm and prestine grandeur have I passed away. God grant that day iriaj'- never come. I -71- THE BEUITIg PASS, In olclen ~lme the trip froia Erienze to Lucerne was Eiacle "dv diligence. I can remember well the days v/hen the stately and picturesque vehicle drawn by eight po'.7erful horses was in use and it seems but yesterday that I made jny first trip, an all daj^- journey then, but incomparably more attractive than the present one by cog road. Our journey over the pass took us past Lake Sarnen to the village of Sarnen, from thence to Alpnachstad the head of Lake Lucerne v&ieve if one v;ishes thej-" may take the boat to Lucerne, We preferred however to continue on by rail, and in a half hour or more reached Lucerne at four o'clock in the af"cernoon. After a short delay we were driven up to the Palace Hotel, a new end stately building located at the extreiae snd of the promenade, whore com- fortable rooms were furnished us and quite content we I 1 'determined here to await our friends the lawj^-er and. his wife who were to pass througli Lucerne on their way down the Rlaine , -72- V \ ^ ^'^ ?w , uze r/-v LUCEPJIE Because of its stragetic position, lying in the heart of a picturesque countrj"- approachable from all points North, East, South and West, Lucerne has become the Metropolis of the European tourist. Prom Lake Constance and Zurich, from Basel and Olten, froia Geneva and Berne, Railways converge at this point, whilst the laJce steam- ers bring tourists from the Lake Cantons ancL the St. Gothard Railway piercing the Alps transports its quota of I travelers from the Italian lakes and points further south. I It is here that the tourists of all nationalities congre- ! gate during the summer, and it is therefore the most like- 1 ly place to meet friends or acquaintances who are trav- I eling abroad. I I Although Lucerne is a much smaller to^vn than Geneva or Zurich its summer population is large and its transient trade enormous. The hotels and shops consequently do a thriving business, and the banking and exchange done here would surprise one who has never before visited such resort. I had occasion to make a draft on my letter of credit the day after I arrived, and although I reached the bank at 9.30 in the morning the establisliment was -73- cro'.7d.ed ^o the doors. Soine \7ere purchasing JLetters of credits, others vvere making drafts on their credits t^a others s'ill, exchanging foreign money for SvTiss, Prencli^ Genrir.n, Austrian or Italian. It r/as the busiest banking house I had seen on my trip and the expe rience gave me an excellent object lesson in the importance of foreign travel as a means of exchange. Lucerne is too well kno'iTn to require a lengthy de- scription fron me I will therefore onlj'- mention that originally it was a fishing village and that only fifty years ago its advantages for tourists became knovra, since which time the to\7n has grown until today it may j boast of the most beautiful hotels in Europe. The town has no mr^ufact^rieo to mar it, and its streets and parks are so well maintained that fhey are a deliglit to the stranger. It is therefore, essentially a pleas- ure resort from which one laay make innumerable excur- sions and where during the season one may also have the advantage of ample societir. Like Geneva the town is divided into two parts by a river. The name of this river is the Russe, and is crossed diagonally by a very famous wooden bridge called the Ilapellbrtlcke. This bridge was built in the year 1333 v;hen all the houses of the town were built of wood, the toxm being then called the vrooden stork's nest. In the middle of the -74- river and at the side of the "bridge stands an octagonal tower called the Wassertunn, said to have been the an- cient treasurjr of the town and is still the store house of its municipal archives. This tower is onl^ one of many similar towers, which with the ancient wall foriaed the fortifications of the town. I think the most promi- nent "building as one approaches the to\'m from the lake is the Kofkirche of St. Leodegar which stands upon a slight plateau above the town, its graceful towers form- ing a landmark visible for manj'' miles. This is the prin- cipal Catholic Church of the town and it is well worth a visit. I know of no niore deceiving structure than this. Its simple lines are those of a village church but its proportions those of a cathedral. Indeed it is not un- til one mounts the steps approaching the facade and then looks up at the delicate tapering spires that an idea of its great size can be obtained. If one has a love for i music it is very interesting to attend -che afternoon concerts which are given here, and listen to the grand organ, which is one of the oldest and most famous instru- i ments in Europe. But enough of general information; there is something vastly more important than this. And he who has not learned it, will never write entertain- ingl;'- of any country. Character is the flower of a nation as it is also -75- of the individual and i" is in this stud;- that we dis- cover the greatest pleasure in travel. Desiring there- fore to find a place not frequen'oed by tourists, I r:an- dered one evening in a part of the to'.7n reraote from the riva ai:id its splendid hotels and had reached a suxniuer garden near the nails, v/hen hearing the livel;' strains ' of an orchestra, I entered. To xa*- surprise I found the place crowded. It was necessary for me to cross tiie open court and seek a tahle at the opposite side from the en- trance. As I passed tahle after table, I noted that all were either Germans or native Sv/iss, who, according to j I their custom, come to such resorts to sip their coffee j or drink their beer and listen to the music. The wait- resses were all young girls attired in the costumes of their cantons, each having some distinctive note of in- dividuality. The young girl who attended the table at v.'hich I had seated myself v/as dressed in the typical black velvet bodice of the Swiss, laced fore and aft, and wore a stunning apron of blue brocaded silk. Ker hair was simply dressed and tied witii a black silk rib- bon v/hich was gathered in a large bow upon tiie top of her head. VTlien she approached I addressed her in Trencli and ordered a glass of beer, which she brouglat in a tall fluted glass. I knew from her accent that she was not from the French cantons, and tliis was confirmed a moment later when she addressed a gentleman at an -76- ] adjoining table in Greman. I tlien deuenained to see if she could speak English, and ordering another glass of ! beer addressed her in j:i"j;- native tongue. Immediately her I face brightened and she made bold to reply, but alas.* i I her vocabulary soon deserted her. After a somewliat j futile effort she continued in French and being called I elsewhere excused herself in as graceful a manner as if she had been a lady born. Well a oynic may say, what \ of it. S2ie was only a waitress and in a beer garden at ; that. True, my gentle cynic, she was a waitress and a pretty one too. But let me tell j'-ou this, - she was well educated, her manners were not those of one aping a lady, but were the result of inborn gentleness and goodness, the certain result of character. Oh, you may laugh if you v;ish, but character is an open book to some. To others it is the darkness of a Stygian night; for they can onl3r imagine the traits they hope to dis- I cover. Therefore when they see a pretty girl emplo3'-ed ' as a waitress in a public garden, they conclude that the management lias selected her to attract custom. The I ] ignorance of English and Americans on this subject is amazing. Did thejr but know the truth they would under- ' stand that the waitresses in such a place are often the patron's daughters or relatives and their conduct gives the place its caste, so that one maj'' not fear to bring -77- his v/ifo, liis children or his 3v/eethoar~ there. I v/iah it were possible for such beer gardens to exist in this country, but I fear that is not likely to be, until our P90]:le hc^-ve greatly changed in character and in their ?uri':anical attitude xoward the connunption of light alcoholic beverages. It vras late that niglat when I returned to ny hotel but I slept soundly and on the follo\7ing laorning deter- mined to Liake the ascent of Mount Pilatus. On a previous visi" I had mounted the Righi, and descended the saae day without having seen inuch of the surrounding countr3!-. On another occasion I had cllabed lit. Pilatus only zo be cauglit in a snow storm that made me hover around a red hot. stove in midsujn;:ier. As this was my third at- tempt to reach a iiiOun"uain peak where I could look upon the great Alpian chain, I felt that m;- perseverance would be rewarded. -78- G-ex.//et~/e ccyi c(er .A-xej^s^ra.sse. MOUl^T PILATUS. It v/as a ceautiful sumraer morning on the 22ncl of July v/hen tlie young college boys v/ho , with myself, were making the tour of Europe, went aboard the boat ■chat was to take us to Alpnachstaclt , from which point the Kt, Pilatus road ascends. Once out upon the lake I had an opportunity to look back at Lucerne, bathed in sunshine. Back of the town the rolling land displayed many beauti- ful villas set amM verdant fields and \/oodland. On the lake front or riva, vrhich for a mile 1§ a beautiful prom- enade shaded b;- thrifty chestnut trees, I could see our hotel set amid pretty gardens and adjoining it the new National Hotel and Casino with its summer garden and annexes, r.nd further on the Kurplatz with its famous Sweitzerhof, so v;ell knovm to our countr^ncaen. The sites of these buildings are ideal. And this because they lock out directly on the lake as far as Viznau where the -Righi, the Burgenstock and Mount Pilatus loom up in the middle distance; whilst the groat Alp chain v:ith its snow capped peaks from tlie background to this noble panorama. If one has arriple time innumerable excursions can be made to these extremely interesting pointc. In -79- fact one could spend a nontli in this locality and enjo;.' every monent of tlie tine- On our v;o.y tlie Soeaj.icr shopped at !3uochs, Kehrsiten and Stanssand. T.'laic-i tovms are on tLe Vierwald, the nialn am of Lake Lucerne j then after passing through a dra'.7- tridge t/g entered a lagoon at the head of v.^iich lay the village of Alpnachstad. After a short delay we disem- barked "571 th the other passengers, a hundred or iiiore nearly all of whoni were, like ourselves, intent upon making the ascent of Mt. Pilatus. And now a v/ord ahout the railway that is to take us up to the si;iiLmit. Althougli the Mt, Pilatus road ?/as built in 1689, it retiains to "che present, the wost re- markable mounxain road in the world. In aanir respeccs it is a more original conception than the Jungfrau road now being constructed, and this for the reason "chat its course follows the exterior of the precipitous cliffs that for:a the peak, v.'hile its roadvmy is li-^verall;/ cut out of the solid rock. ]?urtherraore, "che system of pro- pulsion is tha'j of steai/j and the ascent is accomplished without recourse xo cables or elevators. Briefly the ilt. Pilaxus railway is a cogroad a liiile in length with an average gradient of 38 in. 100 feet. Its roadbed is of solid ruasonry upon which the traction rails and the central cograil are bolted. Tlie central rail, has the -80- cogs placed upon zlze side so th.a,t the two powerful cog- wheels of tlie locomotive iija:'- interlock in the spurs, the Exies of these wheels therefore are vertical to the plane of the car, and. are actuated oy a po\7erful pair of engines tmich under a pressure of 150 pounds to the square inch push the car, of which tliey are r. part, up the incline. ITow in ascending there is little or no danger as long as the locomotive is able to push the load; out in descend- ing the case is quite different, for friction "breaks could not possihly hold the weight upon the steep grad- ients. A much more po'.verful aj'^stem is therefore neces- sary. Tliis is accoL'iplished by converting the engine in- to an air compressor, and as the car descends it forces the engines to revolve in the opposite direction from that in which they operated under steam. The cylinders thereby create a pov/erful compression of air; which upon being released permits the car to descend b3.- gravity. Such in brief is the principle, whidi when explained to ' me gave me perfect confidence in the system. Wien we arrived at the station, which is located on the side of the mountain near the boat landing, I saw six cars each with its locomotive in the rear, puffing, wheezing and snorting, like a lot of restless chargers ready to be off. It took some time before our car, the last one, was started. TOien it got away I looked up at -81- the others whicl-i had preceded us and sa\7 five little giants pushing and puffing as thougli they v/ere living things that enjo;.-ed the vigorous exercise. Tliat there was a mighty po\7er behind us v;as made evident by the jolting v/e rrcre receiving, this *v7a3 not due to the sj^eed, but to the thrust of the engines, which produced a ijost disagreeable vibration, so that a,n hour and a half later when v;e reached the sijonmit we ^7ere glad to get off and steady our nerves. Our route laj'' through fields of clover, then up through forests of beech, and further on through woodlands of spruce and fir. Bej'ond this 77ere stunted cedars and heather; and then nothing but bare and barren cliffs with here and there a vallej'- filled with snow. The utter desolateness of these rockj'- peaks cannot be ii-iagined; one musx have been there to full realize vlitxz a mighty mass nature has fashioned and from them survey this barren grandeur. At one o'clock we arrived at the Pilatus Kulxu, an hotel built under the Esel peak upon its southwestern side, from wl^lch point one tiay look down an iuiLiense ravine upon the lake and surrounding count rj'". Luncheon "being announced, we did nov. linger on the terrace but proceeded to care for the inner man. An hour later I started out alone. I had not proceeded far however be- fore a certain lassitude overcame me, as though I had -82- oeen vialking ver;- fas-c, this I knew to be due to the alti- ' tude , and I am told is caused b;- the raritjr of the air | V7hich accelerates the action of the heart. In time one ! becoiaes accustomed to the change but it often requires ^veeks to get fullj' acclimated. This was made evident to j ! me as I passed a 2'oung Sv.-iss who utterly exiriausted, was sitting on the pathway, to rest, before entering the hutel. He had climbed up from the Lake, a distance of over 5000 feet since breakfast time. Upon his back was 1 hia knapsack, and at his side a flask, whilst in his hand j i i I he carried a stout hickorjr staff with a sharp iron point, i He wore the typical costume of the Swiss mo'xntaineer , a : i ' cloth of an olive green color witli a hat to match. His' shoes vrere shod v/ith soft iron nails, so that thejr would | not slip on the smooth rocks, and on the whole he was a ' most picturesque character, but a somevrhat sorry one at j I t tiiat moment. I would gladly have interviewed him, but | time was pressing and I wished to make a tour of the peak. : I This can nov; be done b;^ means of an excellent path which : ! has been herm out of the solid rocks, Tliis path traver- j I j ses many small tunnels in which openiags are cut so that j I one may look down the precipitous cliffs without danger, | j the effect being as tliough one v/ere imprisoned in the mountain, 3''et permitted to look upon a promised land. Below me lay farms and fields and woodlands extending for -85- iiiiles "ill the eye lost thexii in the ascending iiiountain ranges. The Lake of Zug, a lake of considerable size, appeared no larger than a pond, while the lake of the Po.ur Cantons seeiried to be only a part of the landscape and siiall in coiaparison. Upon it Lucerne lay peacefully iDefore me inany iiiiles av/ay. Had iz been possible to reach the.re 'oy air ship, I think I should have been ter.'ipted to have taken the trip, "but as that vras inposs- ■ ible I satisfied uyself by passing around the Esel so as tc ob-^ain a view of the grea'c Alp chain. A few udonents \7alk brought. lue -co a seat lierm out of the rock, from T7hich point,, I could contemplate for zhe first time in mi' lifs the beautj'- and grande'.ir of this great mountain range. At tl^at moment the sun had passed the zenith and the air T;as as clear as crj'-stal. The safety .of my position eliminated any sense of danger and as my eye souglat the middle distance, and then the horizon scanning a radius of several hundred miles, I felt as though I had been transporfed to the realm of the gods. Before ne lay the iiatterhorn, ■ its snow-capped peaks shimmering in the noonday sun;- to' the right the Jungfrau raised j i~s towering head; whilst in the distance on my left lay the St. Gothard, whose 'pass and tunnel form a hi^i- 1 way into Italy. Innumerable peaks and spurs connected these great Alpian patriarclaa, which like their peers. -84- xrere decked in snows and glaciers centuries old. So i massive and so numerous were these snowy crests that one niiglit well have fancied theri a nigiit:'- ocean whose Titanic ! waves had "been congealed and left as monuments for man j to contemplate in awe and deep humility. But, alas.' how futile are words to describe this scene; Man is an atom amid such majestic surroundings; yet, his lifo is a reflection of his environment. What wonder then, that the Swiss have produced a great race: for it is a fact i that amid this grandness of nature there has been born in them a love of country and loyalty of state that are akin to worship. ! I I I cannot tell how long I sat in contemplation of the ' wonderful panoracia that lay before ne. I only remember | that I was cwakened b-:'- the approach of a German lady who i I quite out of breath demanded of me the hour of day and the time of departure of our train. I looked at my watch and was amazed to note tliat it was after three o'clock; and fearing to be left on the summit all night, v/e hurried on together she speaking German while I re- plied in :^rench. Af^ier a few moments' conversation in this fashion she asked me in excellent English if I was not a Londoner; to which I responded that I was a native of Hew York, although my father had been born in England. At this information she burst into a fit of laughter and -85- nierrily replied: "Well, then, \7hy do we not ape ak our native tongue, I too, sen from llev; York." This was sure- 13'' a ridiculous denouement, "but it put us both in good humour. Suffice it, we arrived at the station in ample time to take the cogroad, and at five o'clock were on board the Lr.ke Boat and on our V7ay back to Lucerne. It was nearly six o'clock v;hen we arrived at our hotel that evening, and the young men v/ho load accompanied me were so tired from their climb up the Esel that thej' retired for a,n hour's sleep before dressing for dinner. I availed myself of this opportunity to enter the Lounge, a spacious salon with large plate glass windows, look- ing out upon the riva and the lake, and choosing a seat that coiriL'janded an excellent view of the snow capped xjiountains in the distance, ordered a cup of tea. The sun was setting at the time and as it passed over the mountains back of our hotel, it shot a ruddy glov;, across the lake, tipping the snowj"- peaks in front of me, with rose, rod and orange hues that made them seem a- flaiae. At the same instant a delicate blue mist seemed I to arise froxri the lake and blend the scene in unity. I I have often witnessed these effects upon the stage and believed them to be the tricks of the electrician, j^et here was the same effect taking place in nature before my very eyes. It was not long before the fiery glow upon -86- the peaks vanished, and the mist at once seemed to be coLie more dense; this of course 7iras due to contrrvSt, ! the sun having set. At that; moment a waiter approached and I requested him to close the large plate glass win- ; dov/. To my surprise he replied that it was already I closed. Scarcely believing him, I advanced and found ' that he r;as correct. Tlien looking out upon the lake I ; sa\7 ever3"!ifhere that mysterious light 'vThich gave such a theatrical effect to the panorama. Phile I was standing thus in reverie, suddenl;/ there flashed a light from off : the Burgenstock. Like Hesper, the evening star, it shot j its rays through the enveloping mist and dazzled me ' with its splendor. Fot having seen anything of the i kind before, I made inquiries and learned that it v/as a powerful search light, recently placed there by means of which the Alps are scanned at night. The momentary flash which I had seen was but a preparatory attempt, and as the evening promised to be extremel3^ clear I should be able later to witness it in operation. This was the case, and as I watched it later, I marveled that tiny, puny man had been able to produce a light so power- ful that in truth it vied with nature. Proa the view point of the lover of nature, it is certainly deplorable to see a picturesque country such as Switzerland become a showground for the tourist. -37- Cable railway's, searchlifihts and sumptuous hotels do not ooifipensate the mountaineer for the prii:iitive siniplicity of olden tines ^ yet it should be reiiieruberod that Europe is today, t2ie hlgh'-school of the world; a tour of the continent such as I am describing is educational and broadening in the best sense; therefore if it is neces- sary to build cable railways to obtain a proper concep- tion of the inajesty of nature, the purpose for which they are designed must justify their existence. I On the afternoon of July 23rd, our friends not having arrived fron G-ene/a; we decided to proceed to Zurich, at ' which place we learned that the Passion Play at Ob er amine rgau would take place on the norning of July 28th, and that in order to reach there in time it v/ould be nec- essiary to go a day in advance. This v/as unfortunate for it again forced us to travel on Sunday, and gave us but a short tine for Zurich and Innsbruck. I 18- B//cA auf duu^z/ia/72.// ZURICH As Zurich is a city of Kiuch interest and. tlie conner- cial capital of Switzerland., I naturally desired to spend a couple of days there, and above all visit the Polytechnic irrhich is famous the v;orld over for having graduated the idaring engineers who have built the great mountain roads 'and from the v;ater falls, lighted every tovm T/orthy of the name v;ithin the state. Unf ortunatelj-, my stay being limited to a night's rest there, I can give only such in- forciation as I gathered "en passant". Briefly, Zurich is a town of 180,000 inhabitants located at the head of jLake Zurich, vdiere the river Lim:iiat finds its source. Like Geneva and Lucerne a river divides the town into two parts, and many handsome bridges cross the stream, while beautiful q\iays extend on both sides of the lake. It is on the lake side that some of the most beautiful villas of the v:ealthy residents of the cityy are located. In fact there are so many fine estates on both sides of the lake that the v/hole form a sort of suburb of Zurich. As Geneva is the center of the watch industry, St. [Gallen that of lace manufacture, so Zurich has become the jlieart of the silk industry of Sv/itzerland. Within recent -89- years their craftsnen have becoiae very expert, and to- day their tro,de is very considerable. Although Perne is ti\c political capital of Sv/itzsr- land, Zurich is its coiinr-ercial cen-cer, notwithstanc'.ing the grov/^h of Basel nearby. Being a tov/n of v/ealuh, it has encouraged the arts and sciences. Sin^e my last visit the beautiful T'onhalle, where symphony conc-erts are frequentl3!- given, has been constructed on the quay not far fron the famous Bauer au Lac Hotel. it v;ould require much time to note the important buildings of which the National Iv-usevin and Polytechnic are justly f ?jiious . Suf- f:'.ce it, the torm is •'jrorth a visit not merel^'' because of its buildings, ancient and modern, but also because of the great men of art and letters ^f^ho have resided there from time to time. During the age of classic poetry Goethe, Kolpstock, T7ieland, Kleist, visited the tomi, and it was here that Richard Wagner resided from 1849 to 1853, and vrote hj.s famous operas, Die Mcistersinger ; n?ristan and Isolde and pai-ts of Siegfried. This fact alone should make the tovm i.nteresting to those i:vho love this great composer ■ s v/o rks ., It was early Sunday morning when the maid of the Hotel Belleview rapped upon my door and annov.nced the hour; seven o'clock. lOiov/ing that the Vienna express de- parted at ten, I arose and looked out upon the landscape -90- that la3' before lae . A pale blue haze enveloped every- I thing; nevertheless I could distinguish tlie beautifully : cultivated rolling hills that border the lake and maJce j it so attractive, and as I stood admiring the scene, hes- I itating in ay mind whether to remain in this pretty lo- cality'-, or proceed to Innsbruck, the tyiapanums of my ears were nearly cracked by the tolling of a colossal bell near by. It must have been a powerful affair to have produced vibrations of such force as to rattle my case- ment window, yet that it v;as quite able to do. Tlie I deep growl of this old patriarch seemed to awaken otlier bell-ringers to activit^r, and in a jiffy every church ; in the town was belching forth noise enough "co awaken the dead. There was neither rhj'-thm, sequence nor harmony in it all, simply a mass of discordant sounds thrown upon the air in defiance of all the rules of art or eti- ; quette. Then I wondered if this infernal racket was ! necessarj?- to help one into heaven, and deciding that it was not, ordered the porter to bring my baggage down tell- ing him that I wished to spend a quiet Sunday aboard the train, A grim smile swept over his face as he complied, and at ten o'clock we found ourselves aboard the Vienna express en route to Innsbruck, the most famous town in the Tyrol. -91- EIT ROU"E TO TI!E TYP.OL I an. not surprised tha"c strangers are confused at the conformation of Switzerland. Tlie iriountains are so high and the vallej'-s so tortuous that it is difficult to comprehend direction -/irithout an excellent detailed Ljap^ Tiie Alps "being the highest land in Europe, it is not sur- prising that the three great rivers of that country, the Phino, the ."Rhone and the Danuoe , should find their sources there. The inline and the Rhone take their source in the great Alp chain vmich I looked upon from Mt. Pilatus. The Rhone flo\7ing into Lake Leraan exits at G-eneva then flows west to Lj-ons , where joining the Soane it proceeds southward past Valence, Avignon and Aries de- touching into the Mediterranean not far from Marseilles . The l\liine rises in the sai:ie vicinity hut taking an opposite course flows into Lake Constance, passes out at its northern- end , then turns v/estward to Basel, from which point it flows north past Strasshourg, llainz , ColOfi'ne and enters the l\Forth Sea at Rotterdam, Holland. If , therefore , these rivers were navigable their en- tire length, it would he possible, v/itii only a short portage, to go from the IJorth Sea to the Mediterranean, -92- — JT^n shn-c ck. . "by \7ater. Unfortunately, the upper reaches of these rivers are so rapid that even transit by canoe is not practical. The L'anuhe, the greatest of the threo rivers men- tioned, rises near Lake Constance, flows westerly to .■RegensDurg, Crer0iany, then takes a south-easterl;- course past Linz, Vienna, Euda Pe^th and Belgrade and finally enters the Slack Sea not far from the .Russian frontier, where is located the important to'>im of Odessa. Ho\v it is quite safe to venture that not one American in a thousand has the least idea of the length or importance of these rivers. Yet the Shone has a length of 550 miles, the Rliine of 950 miles, and the Danube courses 2000 miles before it reaches the Black Sea. I mention these facts to convince those who imagine it possible to make a flying trip of the Continent in thirty days. Assuredly one may cover the distance in that time but the journey would be one of almost continuous travel. Furthermore, one passes many frontiers and connections delay the traveler greatly. As an example of these dif- ficulties, my experience in the summer of 1891 may be illuminating. In the month of June '91, I found myself in ITaples, with a return ticket from Glasgow to the North Cape. Hot desiring to proceed to Scotland I determined to go north to Trondlieim, Sweden and join the part^r there. -93- Imagine iny surprise rrlicn I was told tli3,t it would take a '.^eek to jTiake the Journe", v.n6. as the expense of this trip v.'as nec'.rly as mixch as I had paid for the cruise, I for- feited half iny passage laone;" and gave iz up. The truth is, Eurxpo is a larger countr;^ than we iiijagine and the means of transportation, although good, are much slower than "hose of the United States. It may be somewhat mollifying to knov/ that Europeans are perhaps more ignorant of our country than v.'e are of theirs. Jew know much of our country's Hiagnificont dis- tances, its great lakes, or miglit;-- mountains, and they often regard one as a romancer when he is simply staging the truth. I rememoer an incident of this kind vrhich occurred to me when in Rone in the surraer of '91. At tahle d'hote the conversation drifted toward mountain climoing and mountain railvrays. The young Englislman who v;as holding the audience spellboiind witii his descrip- tion of mountain cliL-ibing suddenly aslced me the heiglit of Pike's Peak, Colorado, and was pjiiaaed to learn that a Gog rocd had heen huilt to its su^ujit. ITow the alti- tude cf Lit.. Blanc 15,000 or more feet and Pike's Peak are nearly the same, hut the conditions of latitude, direct ele^'-ation etc. are totally different and it does not f ollov; that because a road has been buil' up one th;>t it ca n be buili^ on th e othe r. This sa me gentleman -94- flat 13'" denied tliat an ordinarv railroad could cross the Eock;'- Mountains at an altitude of 11,000 feet. Yet I have crossed Llarshall Pass on the Rio Grande Road at that altitude. Such is the ignorance of Europeans upon the conditions in our country. But enough of these digressions. Suffice it, vire found ourselves on the Vienna Express bowling along toward the village of Sargens, which we reached about eleven o'clock. Here our train was s\fitched in a narrow valley and v:e proceeded backv;ard up some very steep grades to the village of Peldkirch where the same manoeu- vre was reversed and we rhen started off upon our long and tortuous journey to Innsbruck. It is at Peldkirch ohat one laay transfer to a line running JForth and rea.ch Landau at the foot of Lake Constance. I comnend this trip to all vrho have time enough at their cornaand, for the country"- surrounding the j lake is ciost beautiful and the cliiaate delightful. Lake Constance is 42 miles long and has the distinction of be- ing surrounded by five different states. These are Bavaria, V/urtemburg, Eaden, Sv^itzerland and Austria. The locality has alv;ays been greatly favored by tourists i and it was with regret that we were obliged to pass it by. Luncheon being announced, we went forward into the dining car and during the service had the opportunity of -95- looking out upon the re::iarkable countr:' through which v/e were jyassing. Although tv;o locotiotives •';7Gre pulling our train wg vrere proceeding at a relatively slov: pace; our course lying up a valley beti,veen two large and precipi- tous ranges of Kiountains . So lofty "rere they, that it was difficult to look up at theia in order to see their sno'.v-capped peaks. The da;- having been a rainy one die mountain streans v;ere raging cataracts, the uiountain peaks covered \7ith freshly fallen snovr, and the fields and meadov/s of emerald green freshened by the suxnrjer tain. It ':7a3 the time of harvest, and though a holiday the farmers were tr;/ing to dr^r their crop of clover upon curious sticks which permitted the air to blow through it 77hile keeping it off the humid ground. Pathetic this, when compared with our farmers v;ho sow and reap by machiner.y. But let us not siympathize too Liuch; there arc no poor in this country; on the contrary there is every evidence of prosperity, and the people are happier far than our western farmers, whose acres are counted by the hundreds or thousands. All the coL-ipliments I have paid the Swiss, can v;ith equal justice be paid the Tyroleans, their brothers, and I cannot give a better idea of their courage, self-re- liance and manhood, than to quote froni Baodecker the ^tory^ of Andreas Hofer, the George Washington of their -96- country. "This extraordinary nmn wa3 born in 1767, near the village of St. Leonliard in the Passeyer. A dealer in wines and horses a" the age of 29, he began his public career as a leader of a corps of riflemen against the Prench, who were then invading Ital:' and enco untie red his men near Lago di Garda. In 1803 he assisted in a reorganization of the uilitia of his country and in 1808 took an active part in the rising against the Bavarians. During the year 1809 he was elected to the coromand of the Tyroleae, who under his generalship, achieved many victories. Later he accepted the civil and militarj'- governorship of the Tyrol with a residence at Schloss Tyrol, during which time he conducted the administration with characteristic simplicity and direction. After the peace of Vienna the liaperor of Austria himself oxliorted the Tyrolese to submit to the foreign yoke of the 3?i»ench, ^ but Hofer misled by false reports, led his troops a- I I ' gainst the enemy and v^as defeated, himself being obliged to flee for safety. His hiding place was eventually I discovered hov/over and on O'an, 20, 1810 he and his family I trere taken prisoners. He v/as conveyed to llanteva, tried by court marshal and notwithstanding the fact that a majority of the Judges were opposed to his execution, 'was shot by the order of Napoleon on February 20, 1810", -97- Such \vc3 the career of this brave in£.n. As our progress through the valley had. been very slov; it v;a.3 nearl:' three o'clock when v;e arrived at Lr.ndec:-:, the Austrian frontier. The journey to this point 'ixe.d. been one of rare beauty, £.:id now for the first tiiae since leaving Zurich "le had an opportunity to de- scend froiQ the train and look up at the mighty mountains t."irough whicli v.-e had be;n traveling so many hours. it is a curious fact tho.t one feels instinctively that they are in a different country, the raoraent thej^ enter the station at Landeck. Of course the unifoniis of the guards, the custoiQ officials and the Gonde Arms help to confinn tliis i-jipression, "rut there is also a noticeable clian^e in the employees themselves. They have a certain poise and dignity that attract attention, and conducted the passing . of the customs nith as much care as though we were people ; cf great importance and station. It took fully an hour to o;>;a_.:'.ne all the baggage and put it back upon the I train again, \ihen this was accomplished the Chef de la C'are, came out and standing at attention, gave the order to the Chef de train, who in turn, gave the signal to the engineer, and lo , we were again upon our vfay to Innsbruck. -93- ■"/;! ["^T fy^^^^^-::^- Lv,Y^^fel.l' ;.a.^^;^'^l!^'"f .<^«%i^c:^ ^^\A IimSHRUCK The approach to Innsbruck from Landeck is certainly very beautiful. The rain having cleared the atmosphere, the sun came out and not long after we left Telfs, the city loomed up in the distance. The valley through which we had been proceeding was the water course of the Inns River, a narrow but formidable stream, which separates the city of Innsbruck into two parts; on the right are high mountains, and on the left, toiver the Tyrolean Alps to the height of over 10,000 feet. The noble and beauti- ful background that these make to the town cannot be imagined. Pictures give only a faint idea of it, and words are inadequate, it is therefore, like my view from Mt. Pilatus something that must be experienced to be appreciated. As our hotel, the Tyrol lay but a pistol shot from the depot we walked there and were disappointed to find it such a foreboding looking establishment, as the great oaken doors were closed as thovigh in fear of invasion; but once within we appreciated that we were in a comfortable and prosperous hotel. On being shovwi to my room, I noted that the hallways were heated by steam, and that each room had a large open fireplace as well. I • 99- opened, the casenent vrindows, and observed they were made double, a sure indication of a cold cliiriate. The altitude of the to'/n being pr obably 3000 feet, the air is always i crisp and cold, and it is only at midday that the tempera- ture increases to the point v/hich we tern confort. It was quite half past seven o'clock vrhen our part;'- went into the tal5le de hote. As I had not seen nany ^ r- sons about the hotel when we entered, I was surprised on entering the noble dining room to find it filled vrith guests. Tlie talJlas were arranged in the old-fashioned way and seated at least two hundred persons. While waiting ! for the naitre de I'hotel to find us places at table, I took a glance at tlie room. It was perhaps one hundred feet long b;'- seventj'' in width, with lofty ceilings, rich- I ly decorated. But the crowning glory of it all, was an immense window at the end, made in large sections that framed in the landscape. Imagine an opening filled witli plate glass, fortj» feet v:ide hy fifty feet in height, framing in the Alps v/ith its chalets, forests, and snow- capped peaks, (not in miniature but in actual reality) and ;-ou can then get a slight idea of the beauty of the scene. At the moment I v/as looking at it, the sun v&s gilding the summits of the mountain v/ith a soft rose tint, j that formed a delicate contrast with the white snows and the sombre green of "che firs belov/, and as I stood in -100- contemplation; I begun to appreciate how futile it is for tlie artist ■.vi'cli canvas and pig^ients to attempt to portray such a marvelous and majestic scene. It cannot be done except in miniature end that is but a ;nemory. Ilae dinner over the tolling of the church bells re- minded us that it v/as Sunday- , and wear:' from our journej' we did not venture out of the hotel that evening, but retired early to bed. The ne:c"c day I arose earl;'- and learning that there T/as an exhibition at Munich decided to take the 1 P.M. train on to that point. This gave us but a half day in Innsbruck. I can therefore only give such information of the place as I obtained in that short time. Briefly, Innsbruck is a city of about 25,000 inlmb- itants, and like Lucerne is the center of tourist travel from Italy to Germany during the summer season. Most tourists coming north from Italy take the route to Milan from thence through the Italian Lakes, then over the St. G-othard to Lucerne or other points north. Yet in doing this they miss one of the most beautiful scenic trips in Europe - the trip from Venice to Verona, thence to Bozen ond then through the r/onderful Dolxaites to Innsbruck. Tliis country of the Dolmites is truly the glory of Europe, and in order to be properly seen and appreciated, the trip should be made by means of a -101- I Eountain vragon staroing either a.t Innsbruck or Botzen. To a p Tzy of four tl:e expense is nox excessive j and the experience will "be one to "be renecibered. Unfortunately T7e v/ere unable to make this detour our ITeirier. is driving us to\/ard Oberajoniergau, Innsbruck is an extremely interesting city, and possess iniiny broad and handsome streets, and se\''eral Jn- portant buildings. The town being located on both sides of the Inn River, is consequently,'- divided into two p^rts known as "che old and new to'.Tn. The new town is cf course the most i.npcrtant and conta,ins the principal places of interest. Of these the only one that I visited v/as the Franciscan Church, or Hofkirchs as it is called. As this is the TTestiainster Abbey of the TjTolese, a word abouo it will be of interest. Architecturally, the church is of no great irriportance , the exterior being sadly in need of repair and v/ere it not for the superb monuiient of Maxi:nilian I. which graces its interior the church would probably- be little visited. This toab however, is one of the best examples of the Renaissance period. It was constructed m 1563 and occupies the center of the nave of the church. In foi'm i\ is that of a sarcophagus beauti- fully ornamented by many bas reliefs and small statues, j the top surmounted by a bronze figure of Maximilian I in a kneeling position, facing the chancel of the church, luid -102- ' the \7hole surrounded "by a most beautiful and ornate iron grille. On tlie right and left of this tomb occupying the open spaces bet\7een the large columns that support the nave roof are tvrenty-oight colossal statues of the po^7erful royalties of the period. The marvelous detail of the costumes of these statues gives one a slight impression of the magnificence of tlie time. The list of these remark- able statues is as follows: On the right are: 1. Clon's of Prance; 2. Philip I. of Spain son of Maximilian; 3, Emperor Randolph of Kapsburg; 4, Duke Albert the Wise; 5, Theodo Duke of Austria and Styria. 7, Theodobert, Duke of Burgundy; 8, Arthvir King of England; 9, Archduke Segismund; 10, Bianca, Maria Sforza second wife of Maximilian; 11 Ilargaret their daughter; 12, Zimburga, wife of Duk© Ernest; 13, Cliarles the Bold of Burgundy; 14, Philip le Bon, father of the last. Op the left are: 15, Johanna Queen of Philip I of Spain; 16, Ferdinand the Catholic, her father; 17, Cunigunde sister of Maximilian; 18, Elonora of Portugal mother of Maximilian; 19, Maria of Burgundy his first wife; 20, Elizabeth, wife of Albert I; 23, Frederick IV, Count of the Tjrrol; 24, Leopold III; 25, Count Rudolph of Hapsburg, grandfather of the Emperor; 26, Leopold the Saint; 27, Emperor Frederick III, father of -103- Maxixiiilian; 28, Empejroi' Albert II. | 3uch are tlie statues of tlie ro7al personages 'Jlio sur- i round, this tcmb, and as they are placed, the sta'oues form a noble frane work for the sarcophagus, and the whole makes an array, which ranks this iiioni:inent as one of zhe most interesting in Europe. j -104- EIT ROUT S TO IITOIGK Although v.'e liad spent but half a day in Innsbruck and \7ould gladl3^ have rexaained longer, nevertheless friends v;hom lire had iriet advised us to hurr^* on to Munich and as circuiastances afterv/ard transpired it t/as v/ell that we did so. Therefore at 1:30 p.m. v/e took the Munich Eccpress and were soon out of the tiountainous dis- trict of the Tyrol. As v;g approached Roseniioim, the frontier, the countrjr becatae laore rolling and fertile, and it was evident that v:e had descended into a differ- ent land. Our baggage being registered through we did not pass the customs hero, but continued on to Munibh which we reached about 4:30 in the afternoon. Our ap- proach to the city convinced me of the inportance of tiais town as a irianufaoturing center, which possibly ex- plains wh:" the present exliibition was held there. Be that as it may, on arriving at the Central Station I vras amazed at the crowia of tourists rushing to and fro. Had I been transported in a drearn to the World's Pair at Chicago, the rush and disorder could not have been worse. We finall3- pushed our way out to the open sqiiare where the hotel omnibuses align themselves , and seeking -105- tliat cf Z\e 2ae:-cr.3c:ier ?Iof went tov;ard it. To our ^ur- i priso tlie l;anci.soi:ie electric bus stood there unattended, ' find no one sesraod -^o kno%7 ".zherG the driver had gone. Af- i ; ter a terr laoj^ents delay he arrived and politel.7 told us ! that tlieir hotel was quite full and that it v7ould be use- ' less for us to go there. ?Ie was aboui: to leave us \7liBn , I recalled hia and told hin that we 7;ere traveling with I Coc]k's I-o':el Coupons, and having written in advance, it i was his place to find U3 accoroiiodations elsevjhere. The ar^'ur-ent proved effective and after an half hour's delay he returned telling us that he had secured accoinijodations at T'lie -lotol 3avo", v/here we would at least have good food and a clean bed. TVe accepted and were driven to one of the liiost unique Bohemian resorts in the tc.Tn. I was not sorr:" for this, for the dress and pa]:'ade of first class hotels wa3 beginning to pall on ne , and "che moLiCnt we descended at the ho-:el I knevir that we liad finally found a typical jeriAtin hostelry. But of this anon. At present v;e are concerned with reaching OberariLicr- gau in ti::je for the Passion Play. It was therefore de- cided that we should have oujr rooms reserved for our return and leave on the afternoon of -110- The interior of the house v/aa xaost interesting. A large hallwa;* divided the "building, and on i/his the main floor, were the Forester's office, his v/ife's sitting roon, a large dining rooip and the kitchen. A handsoiae staircase in carved oak led up to the floor above where there were several large and small roo/ns , all beautifully furnished and decorated. These, and in fact, the entire building, 'v7erc lighted oy the most approved electric lights. It was evident that the proprietor was a great hunter for Cliamois horns and deer antlers in great num- bers, decorated the laalls and gave a most picturesque patriarchal effect. In the dining-room were several exai:jples of fine carved oak furniture and a beautiful Black Cock, superbl^f mounted, stood at the head of the room, in a defiant attitude whicli seemed to say, "Look at me, 1 am the rarest and most beautiful game bird in the world." As for the proprietor Herr GBbel himself, he was a t^rpical -yrolean. A nian of importance in his town, he not onls!- looked but acted the part. He met us in his native costume - knee breeches, embroidered jacket and Robin Hood Imt, which he politely doffed as we entered. A man of about 45 years of age, he stood six feet two inches in height, and being in the pink of health weiglied probably 200 pounds. His beard and long hair lent a -111- picvure3;iue 30u"ing oo his genicil face -jhich soe/nad to t say: "Gen'cleinon, my h.o:ae is at :-our disposal, laaJzo i yourselves Lapp"." Por a lielpna^e lie had chosen a ■:rlfe \ as healthy as hiriself. Siiapls, genial and conpeten^, she , I "ore her hc^ir in fcraids and v/as dressed in a broi/n houe- I i spun dress over •."•:ich she v/cre a largo black silk apron, the enslejri ol" lier ofiice. Unaor Iier care v:er3 the cook I and tv;o house maids, v'ho '.vith her aid made ^he "bufoer and cheese and co,red for tlie house. These attendants rroro large v/hi^e aprons -'ilzli scraps over the shoulders the crrihleMs of their office. Che King's Porester is neyzz to the mayor of the village the mosi: iiuportanr, personage in the tovm, for he controls uhe cutting and planting of the forests, and it is before hira that all infringers of the gaiae laws are "brouglat for piinishniGni; . But iz would xake a book "co describe -^he village and i^s very interesting iniiabi-:;ants . Suffice ij, they are nos'cl;- wood carvers and f aiiners ; and during the season of 'che plaj* every nan, wouan ana child in the village is either directly- or indirectly interest- ed in the performance. As an example, I learned from the \/aitress of our house, a j/^oung girl of about eighteen, that she posed as one of the angels in the tableau::, of v/hich there are a nuiaber interspersed bet\7een xhe acts. She seeKied to be very proud of the minor part she essayed, -112- and told me that there -./ere no less then four or five liundred perf enters, the laajorit;- of vfaom v/ere quite con- tont -^0 bo t^iven an opportunit;'- to appear £u:iong tlie mul- titude upon the stage. But do not let me anticipate the performance. It v;as quite six o'clock v;hen I retired to 013* room for a fe^7 moments' repose before dinner. I must have fallen asleep, for about seven o'clock I \ira,s av/akened by the distant voices of the villagers singing a solemn and dreary chant. Desiring to knot; the reason for this I arose and proceeded to the opposite side of the house, from v/hence the sound seened to coxne , and looking out of the 'jindow saw in the church yard belov/, a priest and tt7o acolytes standing at the head of an open grave. About the priest in a seiiii-circle v^ere gathered a group of tv7ent3'- or more peasants, In a kneeling posture, chant- ing the responses to the roass, - the last rites to tlae dead. It v/as a pathetic picture this, the men and women with tlieir cliildren at their side, all in deep sincerity rendering their praj^er to God. I 770uld have remained until the service ended, had not the dinner bell announced the hour for supper. I therefore descended at once and found the other guests about a dozen or more already seated at table. Tlie v/aitress, of '.vhom I have spoken, seeiiied to be perfectl:-- capable of attending to the guests and proceeded by asking each wliat wine they xTould prefer, -113- Iiandini5 w'.eja a '•rri~ten list of the vir/jaces. Fnen I glanced c,~ tliis liot I kner; that our patron v/as a connoiasev.r of good './ine , ana fortliv.'ith ordered a bottle of Iv/J-dersheiiuer . -lie v/ine v.'as excellent tuT; the dinner v/'as even "oeti-er, such superb cooking I had no"G tasi:ed since leaving i'-oiiiS. ^riefl" it consisted of Lin'cel soup, brock trout vith bu'oter sauce, roast laiiib "ith vegetables cauliilo^-er salade, nesslerode pudding, cheese, fi'uits and nuts. 5" the tiaio coffee ".'as served all the guests at tabic '.\c.d become acquain'::cd and v/e sat about sip^:iing our coffee, and discussing the play uiitil the late hour of nine o'clock v/hen ue all retired "o bed. -114- I 2I-IE PASSIOiy PLAY So i£iuch lias been x^nritten about tliis performance that is true and so much that is fanciful flattery, that it is difficult for one v;ho has not v/itnessed the play I : to get a just appreciation of its real appeal. I shall j therefore recount only as much as I saw and give luy im- I : pression of the event rather tlian an analysis of ^he play,. It was six o'clock on the Biorning of J"ul;'- 28th vrlzen the laaicl rapped on in;'- door, and told rue that inass v;as al- ready on at the church. I would gladl3^ have gone to sleep again cut the tolling of a great church bell near by, made the.t impossible, I therefore arose and v/hile dressing vfatched the shepherds drive their flock to pasture; the covra and sheep were passing dovn the road in troops of ten or more at a time, their tintillating bells, makiiig a laerry roundelay in opposition to the solemnity of the church bourdon. I was soon out of doors and when the procession had passed, entered the church. To idy surprise I found it crov/ded to the doors, pushing lay way through the throng I reached a side aisle and aa\7 a priest, a deacon and a sub-deacon with attendant acolytes performing the high mass at the high altar. -115- There v-ere also four other priests at the four side altars all going through ^he same cereKion:', each quite oblivious of tlie otliers - assuredly it was an imposing arra" en:}, in justice I iiiust add that the service v;as solernn and dignified. The church not being heated v/as as cold as a vp.ult, and after passing my luite to the verger v/ho collected the alms "by means of a velvet "bag tied to a fishing pole, I gladly returned to the open. Altiiough it '.7as inidsujniner the laorning v/as as cold as autui.in. A inis- like steam '-vas arising froin the ground and there was a chill in the air that penetrated to the laarro'v? of the oone. I was glad therefore to return to the house and get a cup of hot coffee to warm me and after a chat with m" friends set out for the play house. Before leaving, lladame Gflhel handed us each a cushion which we like the others, carried instead of a prayer iDook. As we passed through the village ' the sun caxie ov.z and as we neared the theatre the crov/d became so densG that we could proceed "but slov/ly. Iz took us some tine to find our seats which were only a board bench with many nujiibers on the back. Pinal- 1;' getting located \;e './atched the auditorium from our point of vantage. The v;hole audience seemed to be a sea of humanity, going and coming, talking and laughing as tlioug?i they were to witness a comedy instead of a -IIG- tragedy. Such a babel of tongues I have never heard be- fore, but among them all the Anglo-Saxon seemed to dom- inate. I stood for a moment in order to note the size of the auditorium which I was told was 47 meters long by 47 1/2 in width. In appearance the building has no architectural beauty whatever, resembling a skating rink, more than a theatre. The seats are placed in rows, and ascend step by step to the back, so that the last row is at a verj-- great distance from xhe stage. The acoustics, nevertheless, are Yery good and I am told that one can hear quite distinctly in the last row. Measiirements give one but a vague idea of this auditorium which seats 4000 people. That there was not an empty seat at the opening of the play speaks voltimes for the enoerprise, and it would be difficult to describe the spirit of ex- pec tanc;' tliat pervaded the throng. However, it is not the audience that we come to see but the play. Tlie stage is an immense affair being 145 fest wide, and open to the v/eather, the scenery, like the Greek Theatre, pennanent, but instead of being built in stono is constructed in wood and canvas frescoed to simulate stone and marble. This was a sad disappointment to me, for I know the great advantage of a dignified setting and this can only be obtained by using real material. The permanent set repre- sented a series of colonnades and arches which lead tip to -117- the central theatre, reserved for the tableaujc and cer- tain scenes of the play. This cen-cral theatre is quite modern in its appointments, having a curtain which nay "be raised and lov^ered, and the rapidity'- with which the scenes \iere changed would do justice to the "oest modern stage management. It was quite eight o'clock when the orchestra opened with tlie prelude. After a few moments' silence was obtained and the play commenced, 133^ the presentation of a tableau entitled the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. I confess the beauty of this tableau sent a thrill through me, and I looked forward -00 the next scene T7ith great interest. Then follov;ed the greeting of the Prologue, which was succeeded by another tableau entitled The Adoration of the Cross. All thus far has been pre- paratory to the first Act which opens with the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem. In this act fully 400 people are upon the stage at once, and the hosannaiis and shouts of triumph make a truly dramatic opening to the play. To give a full list of the acts and various scenes and tableaux v;ould require many pages, I can therefore onl;' give a sumiriary of them and explain the action. Briefly the play is of 18 acts each of which is preceded by a speech from the prologue followed by a chorale of the chorus of thirty or more voices. Interspersed between ■118- tlie various scenes of the pla^ are twenty-two tableaux, all viTith few exception, "l^eing incidents from the old testament. Now it cmst be evident that a plaj'' of this length is a tremendous affair, comparable only to the old Greek tragedies. In its printed foim it m£i,kes a book of 136 finely printed pages. And its presentation takes eight hours. Fortunatelj'- there is an entre act at midda;/ of two hours whidi gives the audience a respite sufficient to eat a good luncheon in order to sustain them for the afternoon performance. As for myself, I was tired out by the end of the first half and had I not been induced to do so , I would not have returned to the theatre . Although the vlay has many moinents of dramatic action, the progress of events (happenings) is greatly retarded by the infernally long speeches of the Prologue and the dreary chants of the chorus. Music is alv;ays a delightful relief to intense dramatic action, but the chorals as sung, had the reverse effect notwithstanding the fact that the music was well composed and fairly v/ell interpreted }^'j an orchestra of tvrentjr-eight instruments. Purthenaore the introduction of ni;i3berless tableaux greatljr retarded the action. As these with fe\r exceptions had little or no relation whatever to the storj'' of the Passion of Chribt, their exclusion v/ould have advanced -119- the action Greatl". llorr man:' autliors have from xine to time had a hand in the writing and rev/riting of the text, I do net kno'.v. Ho'.rover, draiLaticall;', the pla;- coiai-^ences at the corrent poin-:; and the scene in which Giiriso drives the Eionev chaiigers fron the tenple starts cr/ase and effect at once in action, j^rom this point forvfard the scenes follov; tlie stor;- of the nev; testeunent v;ith great fidelity concludir.-^ \7ith a heautiful tahleau of the ascension of Christ into Hea,ven. Of the acting, declaruation and stage manageiaent it is only possible to spe::k in tei^s of highest praise, and it is therefore not difficult to understand why the average observer hecoL-ies so enthusiastic about the per- formance. But aside from the remarkably successful cast- ing of the play and the acting, the lighting of the stage; v.'as uneq'Jial to that of the modern theatre. I confess I T.-as disappointed at this, for I had expected much of the ooen air setting, Tjhich in the Greek draraa, gave it such a characteristic atnosphere. Doubtless the costumes and ensemble effects v/ere vastl;'- superior to those of the ancient drar^a, and Lis.ny of the stage pictures v/ere v/orthy of a painter. I'evertheless, the lagging of the dracjatic action wea,ried the audience, and long before the entre act of miuday v/as reached it was plain that the play was losing its grip upon the multitude. -120- After luncheon we returned to the theatre and at two o'clock precisely the play recommenced, 'When I en- tered the auditorium from the clear air without, "che viti- ated atmosphere t/ithin the theatre nearly choked me. It seems incredible that the place had not "been ventilated during the entre act, nevertheless that v/as the case. Notwithstanding the fact that the second half of the play was by far the most dramatic, I noticed many about me yf'.vming and atteii^pting by various means to keep a-.7ake. As for myself, an uncontrollable desire to doze came upon me, and after an hour or so I fell asleep. This is a sad con- fossion, but true nevertheless. Fortunately an entre act of a few moments gave me an opportunity to escape and I left the theatre, never to retizrn again. It v.'as perhaps four o'clock in the afternoon when I left the theatre and being chilled to the bone sought a restaurant to get a cup of hot coffee. To my surprise there was no one about. I finally found a waiter asleep in the kitchen and after the refreshing influence of the coffee started off for a tramp into the countrjr. Til/liat highv/ay I followed, I do not kno^7, but the sun came out to cheer me and I had proceeded several miles up , the valley to a place vrhere a mountain stream ran lazily ; through a prettj'- meadow and v;as resting upon a mossy rock j i I I ■when I heard the merry laughter of children near by. There -121- vere perlia':.s a dozen ;'ou:ig clailtlren of froL'i V.70 xo six years of are accoLipcr.ied by a 'rer;- pre"ct7 £irl of twenty, T7iio was playing tlie little motlier, "v/liile the parents of the children v/ere at the play. She had evidentl;* brought theri into this sunny valley to gather wild flowers. Plither and thitlier the youjigsters rem, gathering a flo\.'er here and another there, and when finally the3- had secured a handful, they would run toward their little laother and hand the-n to her receiving a loving embrace for their pains, It was a Tprezzj sigiit and as I sat in contempla- tion, watching the love -ohis young girl bestowed upon her little fa;riil3^, I siailed as I thought of those cynics who define love as the laemor;- or anxicipation of the gratification of sex. Such definitions are like those who make theia false and earthl;^, and had any one with a heart, v/itnessed the beautiful scene I liave describedj they would have been obliged to adrriit that love is some- thing greater, deeper, more beautiful than that, some- thing far beyond the power of words to define. How long I remained in the sequestered spot, I do not remember, I only recall ohe mad honking of automobile horns as one after ano":iier in a wild race a dozen or more passed us en route for Munich. Slov;ly I took my way homeward and again at seven o'clock our little group gathered about the host's table. To my surprise, the conversation seemed -122- to lag, notv/'i 13.13 tandj.ng the excellent dinner tiie hostess had served. Of course eventually xhe talk driJToed to the play, and the sun of the different opinions ma:'' "be gathered in the terse statement of a" friend when he said: "I would not have iQissod seeing it for a hundred dollars, but I would not take a thousand to' see it again." This sta'cemcnt does not accord with the opinion of W. T. stead, "but it fcAtly represents, the judgment of' the .average ob- server. The truth is the play is miich too long, and the traged;', although an illusion, is nerve racking at best. I was therefore not sorrj- to have missed tlie crucifixion, and v;ould not have exchanged my walk in the. hills for the tragic scenes, v:hich have brought the actors the praises of ICings and Queens. That ni^t we all retired early to rest. Fatigued by the strenuous events of the cLbly, 1 ; remembered nothing until the next morning when I heard the stentorian voice of the town crier ordering the visi- ' tors out of town. I did not need a second call, but arose end awaking '.riiy companions, we descended to break- I fast, paid our bill and bade farewell to Herr Gfibel and ' his wife. On the ?:ay to the Railway statioii I passed the very picturesque house of Anton Lang, the Chris tus. Al- though it was an early hour, many of the tourists were frequenting his establishment buying souvenirs and con- versing with the master. Such is fame.' For my part I -125- regard \7i~l- disdain "he a^i'citude of those people, who linni2:e, siL'iple thov.gh oalented peasants, siaply "because f.-.e:* have acted in the Passion Play. It is true that many cf ~he performers are men and women of rare talent and good education, "but it )nust he remembered that the very oeav.tiful and dramatic speeches they declaim have "been written hy great and good men and the actors only interpret them to the audience. Regarded from the view- poiiit drciuatic art the play ranks favorably vrith the best ancient tragedies ";hat have been performed within recent years. I'cs defects I have already mentioned, but there is one insurmountable obstacle which the art of man can- not overcome, and that is the impossibility of adequately portra-ing the character of Christ. I do not say this to disparage in any vmy, the excellent acting of Mr. Anton Lang, for I doubt if any modern actor could have done better, but as is well knovm to the practical dramatist, the borderland bstv;een illusion and reality is very frail. And if the audience canno":, through a previous conception oi" Christ's character, accept the illusion, the play misses its mark. However it does not follow that because this is my opinion that it v;ill be the opin- ion of otlicrs. Each must decide for himself. With this thought I boarded the train for Munich and after an uneventful ride we reached our Hotel, the Savoy, -124- A" 1 /, / / / -sv.. ^ + % Mil 51 "Li"' ■■ 111 ^ * « . n^. */'<^^ ■-iiT- ^ ?: .-'^l-^l "■ ^PBfcV 1^? ,a ititi':^';,; f» rrmi' • #1 \ y^ii/z cheriy SPec^s foeu.e AjUc'i/ficu s in time for lunclieon. HimiCH . Munich is situated on an exvensivo plateau on the "banks of the Isar at an altitude of 1700 feet above the level of the sea. It is the third largest city in Germany having a population of 556,000 inliabitants , and "being the capital of Bavaria, ranks high in wealth cocimerce and art. After the 3?ranco -Prussian war when Kaiser Willielm der Groase and Bismarck v;elded the 22 discordant Lukedome Dutchies, Principalities and Palitanates, and the four Kingdoms of Prussia, ¥urtemburg, Saxony and Bavaria into the Great Gennan Empire, they ouilded better than they j I knew. Ever since that day the German star has been in the ascendant, until today the population of United Germany is estimated at 65,000,000, and the amount of their manu- factures and exports are now quoted in billions. Unques- tionably Germany is the most prosperous and progressive country in Europe, notwithstanding the Vi^onderful advance of Stance and Austra-Hungax-j'-, I have not time to enter into the many causes that have operated so successfully to produce this result within a period of 40 years. -125- Suffice i", a -.^isG and masterful acbr.inistration of the la.vj3, ii protectix'e tariff, and above all, a drastic re- vision of t'jie educational s^'stea of the s~a":c, }iave all aided materially to this end. As an exaitple of the present ayazoni of education a ■7ord about that of iiunich must si;.fiice. At present education is cor:.::ul3ory until the Bch.olar has attained to Ic years of aje . Afrer that there are tlie continuing- schools rrhere all zlie traces and arts are tau"Jat. The cor.pleteness of uhe curriculu.ii of these schools is ajaazing and includes every -rade and art from hair-dressing to house building and engineerinc* A three years course in one of these schools puts the student at the aje of 21 in the ptrcductive class '.7here he Liay at once 1)6001x16 a bread \7inner. It is therefore no~ surprising tliat the Creri:ian Craftsirian of today are the best trained nen in the vrorld. As for the popularity of these hunicipal Schools the follov/ing figures will be il- Ivx.inating. The present municipal schools educate 70,000 students per ann^Jiiu, vd-.ilst the total nienibership of the private schools of liunich onl:' amount to 300 scholai's. Prot. this it irill be seen ?/hat an important part tlie educational systeii of the state plays in the life of the people. Architecturally, Munich is 0, curious coiibination of the old and t2:e new. Llanv successive d-"Tiasties have -125- added their laite toimrd the beautification of the citj". But It was during the reign of LudvTig I, the son of Maximilian I: who died in 1868, that the city attained to its present dignity, A magnificent patron of art King Ludwig I causod the city to be embellished with most of the handsome churches and palatial secular edi- fices which r,re now the chief boast of the Bavarian Capital. In its treasures of art, Munich has accumulated so much that is rare and interesting, that today the city is ranked artistically first in the Empire. I con- fess this statement greatly surprised me, for I had al- ready seen the collections of Dresden and Berlin and could hardly believe that a tovm of the size of Munich could have accumulated so much treasure. The statement however is quite correct, and I doubt if two weeks would suffice to visit the galleries, uiusevims, technical schools, palaces and important churches which grace the city. Por my part I onl;^ saw the galleries of ancient and modern art, and the beautiful New national Museizm. This latter is built in the new part of the city and is located upon a beautiful boulevard as fine as any in Paris. It would be difficult to describe the wealth of rare objects gathered within this mass of buildings, but some idea of the extent of the collection can be obtained when one is told that it takes three hours or -127- iTiOrc t-o 'valk ~iirou~li the various rooms. I liad nacle a rr-pid aur^e;'- of the lever floors an I 'beconing T/eairy ^7as aljou" to return to "he ho~el r;hen, a si^n at a stairT;Tay near the -op floor of the "ouildins, attracted m;- atten- tion. Ever curious, I inounted the stairway and found Himself in a rast scries of rooms, containing man;- models of erupts. These cvypzs are all miniature iiiodels of ^he visit of the liagi to the Clirist Child at Bethlehem and are i.-icun^ad and lighted artificially in such a clever laanner that the;,- give one the impression of looking upon a tahleau or landscape. Some of them T;ere evidently modeled 'oy artists of rare ahility and the T;ealth of de- tail, heautiful grouping and coloriiig, rendered an illu- sion that T/as truly s-orprising. The collection was in- deed E surprise to me for I had never seen an^'thing of the kind hefore. It would require much tirae to give a list of the principal mon^Jiments and puolic Duildings of the cit^--. IIo"^sver, the new Ho.tliiiaus or Git;?- Hall, is especially/ v/orthy of mention. This beautiful "building is in the Gotl-ic style so dear to the Gennans, and is something to be proud of. It is nearly as large as the hotel de VUle of Paris and to my mind much more beautiful. But enough of the city and its buildings; in the last analyses it is tlie people who have produced these that interest most. -128- And to sec the inlaalDitants one must either meet them In their homes, or else find them at the resorts they fre- quent. I therefore took one of m;"- friends and drove to the Sxhihition of Decorative Arts located in a pretty park ahout a mile from Karl Platz , the centre of the town. It was a beautiful afternoon and my enthusiasm knew no bounds irhen I entered the gate and looked upon the groups of buildings \7hich compose this unique exliibi- tion. All was L'Art ITouveau. Buildings, Cafes, Kiosks and the thousand end one minor details of landscape v/hich lend such charm to architecture. A stringed orchestra Vfas playing a lively waltz when we entered, and seated about in little groups v/ere the elite of the city, tak- ing their afternoon coffee and cakes, as is their custom. It was surely a pretty sight and as I Y/atched the family groups, and noted the many little courtesies they extended to one another, I began to understand why wc crude Ameri- cans enjoir the society of our foreign neighbors. At night time the e:diibition grounds were lighted by thou- sands of electric lights hidden among the trees and shrubs. Miilst in a large open court a militarj^ band attracted man:' by the excellent selections it played. A variety theatre and other attractions were included in the group of buildings which on the v/hQlp- were the best examples of L'Art ilouveau Architecture I saw during my -125- trip r.liroad. It T.'as nearly -olie hour of table d'lioto V7h.en.t7c re- turned -0 our i.otGl to find it thronged with AiJerican touris-3. The patron told me that he scctcd and fed two: hundred in "he dining- roorri that evenin.^, and I can well j l:olieve it from the tabel of voices that nearly drovmed the C-^^psy orchestrr. while the courses were being served. As wc cpjae out of the dining room wg heard z'ne strains of another orchestra necir "by, and passing throug]{i n c^^azed. door on 'che right fo^und ourselves in an intense cafe -chronged vritli psoplc of the town. ?his cafe was a part of our ho'cel and was conducted hy the same propri- Gt.or Morr Bauer. A part of the large room was given over to six milliard tables which were ell in active opera- tion. Another secGion was reserved as a restaurcnt, while the inain part of tlie establishment was filled with tables where innumerable parties v;ere seated, drinking their beer or ea.ting ref reslunents . An orchestra, com- posed of two first violins, a cello and a double bass, a piano, a. flute and a reed organ, occupied a platforxa zo the riglit of the ucln entrance. These artists played a rcir^arkable variety of music, and the dash with which they essayed the Viennese v;altses completely v^on me. ^Iiile I stood v/atching the Bohemian crowd the proprietor came up to me and noting my interest asked me how mcixiy people I -130- »-^ r^ Mun/'c/, . inagined were in the room at that time. I replied a"bout t^70 hundred. "ITo", he said, "there are nore than that, for v/e have already served four hundred. Wlienever there is an eiript;r table it v/ill find some one read;.' v/aiting for i-. You see, our place is popular." Indeed it was, and as I now look back at the scene, I marvel at the food and drink that was consumed that night. Love, laughter and good cheer were the inspiration that drev/ them there. And although the beer flov/ed like vmter, and the frankfurters and sauerkraut vanished like dew before a suiiiTiier sun,- yet there was no disorder or intoxication. Could the saiTie be said of a similar establishment in this countrj'-? I doubt it. Hunich being the home of the celebrated brev; of that name I desired to see the Hofbrau house before leaving town. We chose however to visit the Deutches "Theatre instead. Here was another establishment as thoroughly Bohemian as our hotel and cafe. Imagine a large theatre in which the orchestra, the balconies and boxes are furn- , I ished v;ith tables seating four, six or eight persons. Con-^ ceive if you can the establisliment filled with men and women eating and drinking and smoking whilst a vaudeville i entertainment is in progress on the stage, and you may have some faint idea of the picture. I think our party j |-v/ere the only foreigners present that niglit, for when the -131- cntre act occurred we seethed to ""db quite out of i'c, aaiong the throng of army officers and gaily dressed ladies v;ho promenaded tlio foyer.. But alas <•' Our days in Munich were drav/ing to a close. Sunday, July tlie 31s 'c had r.rrived, already half our vacation had paosed and on the morrow we were to take "lie express to Vienna. -152- EIT ROUTE TO VI EJITA. _ | It was a beautiful morning wlien we awoke the next de.7, and after our coffee and rolls, we paid our bill ' and bade goodb^re to Herr Bauer. Arriving at the depot I was surprised to find ouch a crowd awaiting the train. j It seeiaed impossible that a single train could accommodate them. Yet I am not av/r.re that any v/ere left behind. By nine o'clock the express drew slowly out of the station and with a sigh of regret we bade farewell to ISunich. It is regrettable that modern journalism seems to thrive on sensationalism. Ihen a writer's story is lack- ing in this qiiality, the editor deplores the invention of the author, and nine tines out of ten the mos is returned with thanks. How it is not difficult to fill a narrative auch as I am writing, with adventures that never occurred, and jokes that never were cracked. But : with such methods I have no patience whatever. Sinceri- ty is the essense of all real art, and the best writers never descend to deception in order to entertain. I am therefore recounting my experiences as they occurred, not ; as the;- miglit have happened. | Our route to Vienna lay through Rosenheim to Salzberg, -133- the Austrian frontier. It was about tv;elve o'clock v/hen we arrived in the oeautiful nev; SLation of Salzberg and I v;ould gladly liave "broken our journey there had out tine permitted. 3u'o fortunately- v/e decided to proceed. Therefore, I -.Tent to the Customs to pass our baggage, v.v.ile the youn^ men accotipanjring me atterapted to get so'iaething to eat. An hour is usually allov;ed the pass- engers to pass the custons and get wheir luncheon. Had v/e been allovjed tr:ice that tiirie i~ v;ould not have suf- ficed 30 great Y^as the crowd at the stcoion. Already a half hour had passed and our trunks had not been brought into the examining room. Becoming nervous at the delay I returned to the platform and found them la3'-ing beneath a mass of baggage mountain high. In vain I appealed to the porters to get them out and cc.rry them to the exam- ining room, lly apyeal v;as useless, either the3- did not understand or did not wish to. Portunatel^'- an Inter- pre-^er appeared upon the scene and I explained my pre- dicaraent to h.im, passing him a mark at the same time. Tiie effect of this little courtesy v/as electrical. In a Jiffy our trunks were pulled from out the mass of baggage ; a.nd brought before the examiners who passed them in short order, and a few moments later v/e and our trunks were enroute to Vienna. j "Tlie country about Salsberg is open rolling land —1 "yA — "beautifully tilled. At every turn are to be seen hand- ' some fanahouses and imposing barns indicating a wealthy peasantry. As we proceeded toward the tovm of V7ol8 the 1 land became richer and more fertile. From thence it slopes gradually, until it reaches the valley of the Danube uponv^ich is located the Cit3'- of Linz. This town is the most important in this section of the country and does a flourishing trade; being located on the ! Danube it has daily communication with points north and South by water, and excursionists can proceed from this point to Vienna by s'ceamer if they prefer. We chose to continue on, and as we neared the river were not sorry vre had decided to do so. So much poetic exaggeration has been written about the beautiful Blue Danube that our expectations ran high. Certainly the first view of I the river was disappointing. Througla miles of flat meadow land a muddy clay-colored stream wound its way | toward some rolling hills in the distance. Uot a boat was visible and it was hours before we passed a steamer upward bound. The country bordering both sides of the river has been so denuded of forests that during the rainy season the river rises with marvelous rapidity and floods along its course are of such frequent occurrence as to be commonplace. The route of our railway followed approximately that -135- of "'.le river and gave us a i'air iupression of the sur- roundinc country, r;l:ich is as fertile as an;' in Prance or Spain. About 6:50 p.iii. •:ve spied upon a high hill over- looking the Danuce , Klosoer 7ev7"burg - a uost imposing ::ias3 of ouilclinf^s conparable onl" to soLie of the great jjonas'..eric3 in Spain. As this celebrated inonaster;/ is ; onl:' about t^.irty j.^ileB from Vienna our journey v/as soon at an end. At 7:50 p.ia. we entered the Cit,y Station ano. 8:50 p.m. precisely xwelve 'aours from the time of our departure az Ilunicl'. , v/e founc. ourselves at vhe Hotel ?ris"ol on the Ring Straaser, completely wearied oy our day's journey. -156- e/7nou . Qj te/a.n,sJ(/rc/ie, VIEFIIA It is quite impossible to give a description of , Vienna in a few paragraphs , and the same remarlc is j equally applica^ble to Paris, Berlin or London. All these cities are so large and have such a wealth of in- terest that voluminous guide "books aro necessary to record them. I The present year being the Diamond Jubilee of the accession to the throne of Emperor Joseph I. much atten- tion has been attracted t;o Vienna. A reign of sixty years ia a remarkable one at best, but when we compare the city of sixty yetxTs ago with the Vienna of today the Austrians have good reason to be proud of their capital. I Today it is a city of 2,000,000 inlaabitants, with a com- I merce that has grown at a tremendous pace. Located upon flat meadow lands bordering the Danube the city was fre- I quentl;' inundated by floods until the present Danube , canal was built. At present the town has grown up to the i canal upon the borders of which are built many handsome i business houses, hotels and apartmeiita. The climate of Vienna is approximately'' that of New York. Its altitude above the sea 436 feet, giving it a -137- slijl.': advantage over our cit". I'everTSlieless during the su:i:er "ilie temperatures T\m as liiili as ITeT; York, and the •waria reception v:e received v;iiile there, discouraged us froij goin^- south to Euda Pcs^h. C?l-:.e Cfi'icial Guide sa; a "I'c v/as not unoil the Im- perir.l edic- ci lc57, oh-:-,t the ci'c;' oegan to at":ain -c its -.resent digni":,-. The old citj-- v/alls and glacis ".Tere then des~ro:-ed and in their place was buil" ohe present F.ing, v/liich the Viennese clain ~o be xhe uost beautiful I stree" in the vorld." I do not -^ish to dispute theia, ifor it is cer-ainl7 a noble and dignified thorouglifare unlihe thr.t of any o':;her cit^-. But once off it we find ourselves in a t-pical jaodern city, lacking in ohe charac- ter of ol'i^er to"7ns. Hov/ever, there is one excepxion; I r^fer :^c the haria Theresien Plats vhich is en-ered froxn I the r.ing and is justly the nobles': square in E-orope. The sisG of "his square is enomous . In the center of an open pai-k stands a colossal bronze i^ioniJiaent erected zo the xuemor:- of ilaria Theresa; beautifully surrounded by gardens. Cn ^^.e right of -oh is square is the lluseuiii of his-cric Art and on the left the Iluseum of iCatural His- jtory, whilst at the enil are other public buildings fona- I ing a group riios-b iiaposing and artistic. All the buildings are designed in -he classic style so dear to Christopher '.Vrenn, and their in"oeriors were quite as beautiful as the -158- architecture of their exteriors. The Rathhaus is also a very beautiful building of Gothic design and the Hofburg Theatre and the Hofoper - or Opera House, are justlj' famous. In point of historic interest however, the Stefans Kirche, or Church of St. Steven, is the most important edifice in Vienna. It dates from the year 1300 and was so long in building that it was not completed until the year 1510. The total length of this edifice is 118 yards and the height of the nave 89 feet. The extraordinary lofty nave, with its 18 massive supporting columns, gives this church its rare distinction. I remember entering it late one after- noon as the sun was setting. There was no light in the c'hurch except that which filtered through the tall lancet windows. Groping my waj'- cbout I finally found a pew and sat for a moment in reverie. A priest was reciting mass at one of the side altars, the monotonous drawl of his voice, broken every now and then by the tinkling bell of the acolyte producing a most dramatic effect. I can well understand why this building has been so often mentioned by tourist, when greater buildings have been forgotten. There is a dramatic effect produced by its proportions and lighting, which completely transports one on entering for the first time. The architecture of pointed Gothic is good but not as beautiful as other cathedrals I have seen, -139- while its roof of black and red tiles is as u^ly and discordant a co:nbination as •ne can imagine. Tlae tower, hovfsver, rises to the extraordinary height of 435 feet from the ground. But T7hy atteiapt to give even a suggestion of the architecture of Vienna. It is too large a task and photo- graphs speak through the eye with more enduring effect than \Yord3 can ever hope to do . Desiring to see the city and onjoy an afternoon in the open, vie ordered a carriage and drove to Sclioenbrunn, the residence so intimately associated with Empress llaria Theresa. Tliis castle is at present occupied by the Etaporor Joseph I, and it is here that tlae groat recep- tions of state are held. Although the Hofburg in the City has also seen many brave events during his reign, the castle is interesting because of its beautiful loca- tion, and the gorgeous decoration of many of the salons. These are kept in excellent preservation and lighted by electric lamps, yet strange to sa;'' the ancient porcelain stoves are still used "co heat tlie various rooms. The gardens are beautifully maintained and on the whole it is a castle v/orthj* of an Emperor, Prom Schoenbrunn we drove to the Exhibition grounds on the opposite side of tiie city passing througla m&nz^ uninteresting and dirty streets. Pinally after an hour's -140- drive the coachiaan stopped "before a cafe in the Tir Garden and we got out for our afternoon coffee and cakes. A I largo militar3^ "band occupied one side of the gaxden, while ; a Gypsy orchestra held forth in an opposite kiosk. As we ' entered, the Gypsy hand was playing the Blue Danube Waltz. Tlie strains of which made me lau^i when I contemplated its age. IJevertheleos the audience seemed to enjoy it as much as if it had only been vrritten a year ago. The Viennese are a QQ.y and light hearted people. "In the days when Metternich suppressed free thouglat, Strauss and Lanner revived the drooping spirit of the people by their vivacious waltzes and set all feet tripping to their seductive strains. Thus while mouths were gagged, the populace gave vont to their feelings in the dance." "While the Viennese waltz is known the world over, it is not generally known that the great composers Haydn, Beevhoven, Mozart, Bruckner and Braiims lived and worked here, and their works are intimately associated with the gay Viennese. Although Vienna lias been the home of the Secession Movement in art and architecture, the only exhibition of these artists I sav: was in Munich. As for their L'Art I\?ouveau Architecture there are but few examples to be seen in Vienna, altliough the most celebrated Secessionists are either Viennese or have been trained there. -141- One often hears enthusiastic admirers of Vienna comparing it \7ith Paris. Aside from the similarity of its archi- tecture the conparison iB absurd. One miglit as well com- pare Philadelphia v;ith Hew York. Boti are large cities, "bU" '^here is more enterprise, ccmL'ierce and activity'- in GothEun in a day than takes place in Philadelphia in a month, -he night before we left I took a V7alk a mile or 30 up the brillian-013/ lighted Ring in the hope of seeing some movement such as one sees on "che boulevards in Paris. Although it v:as only ten o'clock at nigiit, the thorouglifare r/as deserted. I therefore returned to the 035 ra and passed up Karntner Strasser, the Broadway of the Cit3'. On this thoroughfare and those radiating from ±z, are located the beautiful shops of the city. To my amasement, I did not pass a dozen persons in my walk of a mile or more through this brilliantly lighted district. YTnere were the people? At the Tir Gardens and Exhibition, my friends replied. Pei-haps.' But in Paris one would not have to ask this question for the boulevards are the life of the city. j i -142- /(btr/s^/rc/n /^r/sjo/ciZ-z BOHEBilA August the third had arrived and with enohuaiasm a- noT/ we boarded the train for Prague, the capital of Bohemia. The correct designation of that vast territory which i we call Austria, is the Austra-Eungarian Empire. The i ' Official Guide says, "It is divided into two distinct and nearly independent groups of provinces, each group having a government of its own, -cdiile the central govorniaenx of the whole empire is maintained in Vienna. The provinces differ much in nationality, race, language and religion, of which about one fourth arc Germans, a sixth Magyars of Hungary'-, arid the remainder Slaves, Jews, G;/psies and Greeks. To the South lies the JLLngdom of Hungary, with its beautiful capital, Buda Pesth, five hours ride from Vienna, whilst the flingdoia of Bohemia adjoins the Gennan boundary on the north-west of the Empire. Its superb capital, Prague, 13'ing north of Vienna, seven hours ride."] Out course lay due notth through Znaim and Inglau to \ Kolin, from thence to Prague. It is difficult to describe the beauty and richness of the territory through which we passed on this journej'-. The land is not flat like the -143- t plains of Castielle in Spain, hxxz of vast rolling areas, nearl" dGVOid of treos, divided, in'co farms of inuiiense acreage. The size of tliese farms and the great ;rield of grain vhich they produce, I confess surprised ne . I liad never seen the like except in "r^he far v/est and was unpre- pared to pass through a lane in Europe v;here patent har- vesters and steam thrashers were in as active operation as I in our o".vn country, yet these are the surprises 'chat a- wait one and ahcir the advantage of even a hurried trip thr ligh Eur p e . The day had been overcast when ■we started, but by iaidda2' the rain had ceased and sun cane out ■cc gladden us, and with the sun cai.ie forth the harvesters to reap and garner their grain. Ever;-where, as far as the eye coula reach, were peasants v;orking like beavers to secure the I golden harvest, Pields of wheat, rji-e, oats and barley, Vfith here and there a small section of flax, V7ere visible ever;n:irherc . All these, except the meadows, which bordered the streajas, were of man;'- shades from burnished gold to sombre brown, relieved by xhe verdant green of the clover reserved for ■::he pasture of the herds. As our train progressed through this El Dorado of the farmer, I v^on- dered hov/ many generations liad tilled that soil to pro- duce the beautiful fields. And then when I v/ould look upon a farm house with its many barns and other buildings j -144- often forming a colony in themselves, I knew that they dated back to the old patriarchal tines vzhen the farm house was the center of many industries such as the spin- ning and weaving of flax and wool, and when the crafts such as smithjr, masonry and carpentering were practiced within the farmer's home. Many of these arts, such as wine making, cheese making, embroiderj/- and lace making, are still in vogue among the farmers and their wives, "but the introduction of roachinerj'' has had its effects upon these people as upon others, so that one must go far to see the perfection to which the old regime attained. Our train progressed hut slowly among tlie foot hills and rolling knolls which like the waves of a mighty ocean seemed to sweep the landscape. Often on looking out of the window I could see the tracks of our railway, miles I ' away, crawling like a mighty snake, irregularly to a i point in the distance. Then after a while I would espy a I I church spire far away, and a half hour later our train i would pass, not through a tiny Alpine village, but through ; a large and prosperous town, as modern as our ovm and usuallji' much more beautiful than those on our western i plains. Such tovms were Znaim, Inglau and Kolin. If j one wishes to see the Bohemian in his native home he should stop at one of these to^rns , and drive into the -145- surrounding country. I It was nearl3^ five o'clock \ihen we arrived a* Prague, Although soinevdiat weary from our long day's journey, we were glad that viq had made it, for from this point for- ward, we were nearing home, and that is always something ! agreeable to contemplate. -146- w >:r. /Ill ^v I ,•;. 4;,./ /^^'^ '' '' -Z-^/e Tk/'nA/f-cAe. 9> mAGUE. Like Rome, Prague is built upon seven- liills from which fact it has derived the name of Rome of the ITorth. "A city of 250,000 inhabitants, it is a place of real historical interest and has innianerable evidences of the great wealth and power of the Kingdom." Goethe, Humboldt, George Brandes and others have written enthusiastically about the town and it is surprising our American tourists so frequently paaa it \>y. Prom the Guide of Prague I quote the following: "The Kingdom of Bohemia is counted the most precious jewel in the crovm of Auatro-Hungarian monarchy. It was during the Pifth eentur^r A.D. that Cech with his tribes of Slaves invaded the land which they have dominated ever since," They still retain many of the Slav characteristics, and the kingdom is often called the land of the Ceclis. To us their language is xinintelligible , and the Russian clu-r- acters in which it is written and printed does not help us to understand it. Our hotel "The Arch Puke Stephan," was fortunately located on Venceslance Place, the most important square in the town, graced on both sides with imposing buildinss and dominated from an elevation e^.Jove by the beautiful -147- Museuia of Bohemia. In the afternoon I walked up past the lauseura and seeing a pretty park lying further up on the hillside, decided to climb there to obtain a view of the city. Though late, the park t/as thronged witli nurse laaids and children enjo;.'-ing themselves in all manner of games T7hilo many arm;- officers sat about ogling the maids and laughing at the children. Perhaps I enjoyed the fun as much as they did - at any rate, it was quite late when I returned to the hotel, and entering the cafe called for a cup of coffee. The room was crowded to its utmost, and reeked with the odor of beer and tobacco smoke. At last here was a real Bohemian crowd for me, laughing, joking, playing chess and checkers whilst thej'' smoked their pipes and drank their beer, little they cared for the morrow and were enjoying life for the day. Among the group were many ladies enjoj^ing the spirit of good cheer with the men in a manner trul;'- Bohemian. Compare this scene with the alleged Bohemian resor's of our cizy and the comparison will not be in our favor. ¥e have not yet passed the barbaric age when intoxicatioJi is con- sidered a disgrace. The real Bohemian has. Once a gentleman, always a gentleman is his motto, and the man who does not live up to that standard, soon discovers that his acquaintance is undesirable to his friends. I Such is social ostracism. T -148- r / J..... IK. -"^'^ /J u 7 %^im It would seem almost hopeless to get an idea of a city- nine Diiles in circvunference in a morning's drive. IToverthe less, tlie principal "banks and commercial houses of Prague I are located in the heart of the town and a drive through the main streets gives one a glimpse of the great wealth centered there. Kow many banks and trust companies we passed, I do not know. But I noted the Equitable Insur- ance Company of ITew York and several other institutions of thin kind among the n^amber. All the buildings were sub- stantially built and many of them of modern architectural design. In the residential part of the city innumerable new and beautiful modern apartments were being built, giving evidence of the rapid growth of the city. But to the tourist the older parts of the town are the most in- teresting. Most imposing is the Cathedral with its large open square and market. And the quais which border the River Ultava which fona a pretty promenade for the people and give one a view of the Castle and Cathedral of St. Vitus on the opposite side of the stream. Many handsome bridges cross the Ultava, the most historic being tlie Charles Bridge with a Gothic tower and gateway at each end . To describe the Cathedral of St. Vitus would require many pages and serve but little purpose. The Castle and the Cathedral have seen the vicissitudes of many wars -149- ! and the work of restoration is progressing so slovly that it may be a century "before it is completed. As a group • of medieval architecture fehe buildings are Justly famous ' and students of architeccure will do well to visit them. j It was a long drive up a steep hill to the eathedral, and it was therefore nearly*- midday v/hen we returned. But I I stole a few minutes to go through the ITational Museum, I before luncheon. It is a beautiful building with inter- esting collections of all kinds. IHost gratifying to me v/as the series of twenty or more tableau?: of the peasants of Bohsiaia in the native costumes of their provinces, I su:rrounded by examples of the products of their industry, i These included the arts of spinning and weaving, pottery making, embroidery and lace work and many other crafts for which the peasantry have become famous. But our flying visit to Prague is at an end. A htirried luncheon and wo were soon on our Miay to the Hail- way that was to take us to Dresden. -150- \ m i k Terrassenufef DRESrESr. "Jot long after leaving Prague our course led inio the valle-r of the Elbe. At its souroe it is a narrow streari following a serpentine course through rolling hills until ati:aining volume and velocity, it becomes a stream of inporoance, rushing like the Rhine through rock-bound shores, bh-jn through the mountain ranges known as the Saxon Switiierland. The journe;'- by rail although picturesque does not give one the same impression that a trip by steamer would do; and if one has the time the boat trip will well repay for the day's delay. But ours being a flying educational trip, rather than a siommer outing for pleasure only, we con-cinued on by rail and at four o'clock reached Borden- bach, the German frontier-, ¥e were not long delayed here, but one of our passengers had a hot discussion with the Custom officials before his trunk was passed by them, fortunately, he being a Geraan, was able t:o fight for hia rights and eventually won. The incident reminded me of an episode that occurred to a fellow passenger when in 1S91 we v/ere traveling from Paris to Ba'Teuth to hear the Wagner operas. ¥c had -151- taken f.ie nigli* train direct and ny coiripanion, a young FrencliLian, wh.0 had "been very entertaining on the trip, requested the guard to pass his baggage for him v/hen we reached the frontier. The guard, hc\7ever, declined and at 2 p.n. V7e were ushered out into a dimly lighted sta- tion to av/ait our trunks. Liine was one of the first to arrive and after a slight examination hy the officia,l v/as passed a,nd taken hack to the t?'ain. I retired to my bed , i and was i.ioinentarily awaiting ny "companion de voyage", | -.Then to r.y surprise the train drew out of the depot with- out him. I asked the guard v^i-hat had become of the Prenchman and was told that he had failed to declare a five pound box of chocolate caramels, which he was taking to some friends. I laughed at this and could scarcely credit the incident, but was assured that his offense was a very grave one end that ten to one he v/ould have to spend the niglit at the station and pay a fine besides. Such is fate.* ?or my part, I never have had any diffi- cult;'- in passing any frontier in Europe and I have passed the most of them - some many times. Yet friends of mine j have liad very different tales co relate. I can only account for this by the fact that I travel only with such cloth.ing as is necessary and never purchase anything en route tliat is liable to duty. I am thus quite within I my rights and when the official demands my declaration can -152- give it v^ith the conviction tlir.t I must be sUotained. ITov; these officials arc almost without exception excellent judges of hioiaan nature and seem to knot; "by intuition the \ i I I j people vfAO nish to evade the law. Consequentl;'- those who '' are too clever eventually find themselves in their net, i and few indeed deserve ejiy s^^apathjr. As Di'esden is so w'ell kno\Tn to Ariericans I shall only relate e. few incidents and proceed on our journey. It had been nineteen j^ears since ny last visit, and I was therefore not surprised to see the city nearlj"- doubled in size. Today it is a tovm as large as Munich covering many square miles on both sides of the Elbe. Being the capital of the Kingdom of Saxony--, it hcs alwaj'-s held c high place in commerce, art and letters. The resident ' Aaierican colony, I was told, often cjaounted to forty or I fifty thousand per annum and as these people come to ! study and reside for mon'chs at a time, the revenue to the town from this source must be very considerable. Located on the Elbe and occupying the old palace of the King of Saxony, are the art galleries and museums of Dresden. This art collection is justly famous and contains come examples of ancient art of priceless value. ' ITevertheless, the collection is small compared to that ; of the Louvre in Paris. But the art objects collected in the museum called the Green Vault, I thinlc vfill compare -153- faroracly with tliat of ohe Musee Cluney. Tlie extraordin- ary' collection of silver end "old, bronze and enaiiels that are gathered in these email roor.is defy dcscrip~ion. Ancng ■chera all perhaps the crovm jewels cf Saxony attract inost attention. These ceexn ever to he a source of won- der, "but I confess to little interest in then, for the reason that the stones selected are so largo that they appear unnr.tural. I recall one necklace of thirtj'' or i^ore diamonds J the smallest of which would weigh many cara"cn, the total producing a chain cf several pounds weight. Such cumbersome jewelrj'- is neither beautiful nor practical, but it has that sordid quality, intrinsic worth, which scorns to be a sufficient excuse for its ex- istence. On a bright summer afternoon iz is very p].easant to walk down the quay to the Eelvedere, a high terrace over- looking the Elbe, and listen to the orchestra hidden therfe among the mulberry trees. This is the rendezvous of the elite of the town who come here for their coffee and cakes in the afternoon, a:id often remain to dine in the open- The view up and dovm the river from this point is very pretty. Directl;^ opposite lies the new city v/ith its many bcautifu]. publi.c buildings, parks and open squares. The gro'.vth of the citj' in this direction is surprising, but to my taste the residential quarter of the old town -154- where the English and American colonies reside is 1:0 be preferred. In this quarter are to be found i;he schools and academies and the fine shops and hotels are near at hand . It would he difficult to Ciention the import;ant buildings in Ta-esden, there are so man;'; but. the new ."RatMiaus or Git;/ Ha,ll, is one of the finest exaniples of the sane laodern G-erman architecture I saw while abroad. Cov- ering a ver:* large area, its facade facing a prett;'- park, ' i it looas up with its red tiled roof and loft^- tower to a, 1 great height and it v^ould seem that its interior jnight accoianodate a veritable arra:'' of officials. Our hotel, dignified by the title of "The Palace", happened to be located beside the Central station said to be the largest in Geraan;-. \?hile I have no complaint to make against the hotel, the treiaendous amount of traffic passing through this station, made the location undesir- able and we therefore decided to go on to Berlin on Monday, the 9th of August. In the aieantime, Sunday had arrived and as this is alvmys a quiet day in Dresden, we asked the porter if it was not possible to hear some good music before leaving. "Oh yes," he replied, "I v/ill se- cure the tickets." Wlien we went to pa^?" for them, imagine our surprise to find them for Strauss 's opera "The Gr^psy Baron". Suiidaj' Opera is therefore quite permissible -15(3- while Sunday shop-keeping is not. However, desiring to ■ see the perfcrmance, rre were driven to the nev/ opera house on the opposite side of the city, and to our sur- prise, found it crowded wi"ch the elite of the town. The arraT"- of arm;/ officers and heautifully govmed v/oman made an attractive sight, and one could not ask for a better production. On the whole, the experience was well worth while. The Germans understand the art of living. They are not an irreligious people, hut they sec no harm, after having "been to church in the norning, to go to the opera in the evening. i -156- IT Ill .,4-^1^ 3EBLI1T . It was about midd.a:'- of August 9th, wlien v;e arrived in Berlin. If I had been surprised at the growth of Dresden I since my last visit, I was amazed at the change in Berlin. I Txie treiiendous growth of the citj'-, and the increase of its nanufac~ories seem almost incredible. And then again, its beautif ication in public buildings, parks and monuments, makes the city today a capital Y/orth;?- zo rank ' vrlzh. Vienna or Paris . Ljring upon a sandy plane of great extent, through which runs the river Spree, there has been built a citj'' now ho'osing 3,000,000 inhabitants. The capital of the German Empire, it is also the capital of the ICingdom of Prussia, and is the residence of the German liiperor and the seat of the Imperial Government. Likewise, it is the centre of the railway system of Germany and is today perhaps the greatest manufacturing town in Continental Europe. A slight conception of its size may be imagined |V;hen it is know2i that the present city covers an area of ; 25 sq'Jare niiles, its municipal revenues amounting to over C'-iO, 000,000 per annum. This is of course smaller I than London or Hew York, nevertheless Berlin occupie;s -157- tliird place ox'iong ulie cixies of Europe, and it is already a beautiful capital of which the Oermans ma" justly "be proud. On a fonaer visit I had spent a week in Berlin anc. hr.d visited the principal galleries anc liiuseums and had enjo:red a delightful day a'c Potsdsun with its inemories of Prederick the Great. At thct tirae the Unter den Linden was paved -.yith huge granite "blocks, after the fashion of Vienna of today. The Beautiful Cathedral or Dom was still inconpleted and the Reischtag only half finished. Today these noble buildings and many others grace the xslzi'- and are in active use, while the beautiful Siegers Allee with its thirty-two inonunents of the Ger/nan con- querors, make a proiaenade unequalled by any other city of the world. It is difficult, on arriving in Berlin, to compre- hend its vast extent and unless one takes an auto and makes a tour of the city, he will return Trith only a vague ii£ipres3ion. however, the hep.rt of the tovm lies in the vicini-y of the Kaiser's Palace about which are gathered the art galleries, museuns and the beautiful new cathedral. The coiiiTiiercial centre of the town is the Frederick Strasse and the streets radiating frora it. On these are located the prominent shops and cafes; whilst the Unter don j Linden is given up mainly to the clubs, hotels and stores -158- of the first order. Out liotel, the Bristol, being located on the Unter den Linden proved "co be a beautiful establisliinent and well laaintained. Arranged with two open courts, the entire iar„in floor is given to restaurants, cafes, reading rooms etc., while the upper floors are reserved for bed rooms and suites of apartinents. During the evening rnan^ private dinner parties are given here and its cuisine is justl" f ariious . In order to tenpt the appetite of the guests it is the custom of hotels of the first order in Geman;- to have a table set near the entrance of the restaurant, with the masterpieces of the chef's art. Tlaese are ver^ artistically arranged surrounded by the rare fruits of the countr3''. I have often watched a "bon viveur" stand surveying the display while the tempting dishes made his mouth water. Then he would enter the 'restaurant and order a dinner fit for a prince and sit for an hour or more alone in his glory listening to the music of the orchestra. A selfish sort of enjoyment I this - yet gourmand though he be, he \TOuld doubtless re- sent i;he insinuation and ridicule temperate people as fools . If I were asked to name the most beautiful building in Berlin I should unquestionablj!- mention the llev/ Cathe- dral, or Dom. This noble building is in effect a votive -159- church, the entiro cr^jpt being given up to the toinbs (37 in nuiDoer) of Hohenzollern farciily. Located on the Lust- garten axaid ma.ny beautiful buildings its central done (374 feet high) is e distinguisliing feature from an^r part of the cit:,'-. In style the building is of Italian penaissance. Its dimensions being: len^'th 3^4 feet; breadth 246 feet; height to cornice 102 feet; to foot of lantern 246 feet. The main auditoriuci lies beneath the central done and forKia. a most beautiful interior. Sur- rounding the central dome are four small ones vrhich sepa- rate the main church from these chapels. One of the chapels is known as the Uemorial Church and contains many beautiful tombs including that of Prince Bismark. The cost of this superb cathedral is said to have been 10,500,000 marks. "JTliile it cannot compare in size with St. Paul's, London, it is nevertheless one of the finest churches of classic style, built within the century. Opposite the ILiperor's Palace in the Schloss Platz , is erected the ilational Hon\r:aent to Eaperor William I. As this is one of the most costly nonuments in Europe and of quite recent date, I cannot neglect mentioning it and quote from Baedecker: The sculpture is by Begas and T7as unveiled in 1897. On tl'^e pedestal, 66 feet high, rises the colossal equestrian figure, 30 feet in height, of Eaperor William I. in bronze. Tlie cliarger upon which -160- he is mounted, is being led bv a graceful figure of Peace. At the four corners of the br.se are Victories, and on ^he tT7o principal sides are colossal seated fig- ures of Peace and Yfer. At the four corners of the base are four noble lions cjiiid trophies of weapons and banners A Suone colonnade with coupled Ionic columns extends on three sides of the platform, the at-cic being adorned with other sculptures - too nTimerous to mention." As an exajmpli.e of modern sculpture this monument ranks high and I confess to great admiration in witnessing it for the first time. Its cost is said to have been i^l,000,000. Such is the tribute the nation has paid to their beloved sovereign. To give m:* impression of the museums and art galler- ies, the Emperor's palace and stables, and the many at- tractions of -his imposing city, would take much time and serve litxle purpose. These things must be seen to be appreciated for even photographs only vaguelj'- suggest them . 'Jhien the Emperor and his family leave town for uhe summer, the elite follow and the cit;'- is then relatively quiet until they return, which is usuallj'- at the opening of the P.eischoag in the autumn. The sumner is therefore, a poor season to visit Berlin. However on my last trip I was more fortunate, at that time a review of manjr army -161- corps was ordered to take place on the plain at the out- skirts of the cit3'. By a special peruiit our carriage v/as allov/ed to dravr up v;ith the foreign attachees and I saw i the Ilaiser and Kaiserin accompanied by a staff of officers reviev: the troops. In their excursions up and dovfn T;he { i Kaiser passed very near us so that xre sav/ the rrar lord I in his glory. Regiment after regiment passed in review. I Cavalry, artillery, chasseurs, cuirasseurs, and soldiers j of the Line, vrith. their attendant wagons and ambulances,. made an array the like of which I had never seen before. In all 70,000 laen passed in review that day, wearied with it all, I 3e f t the scene dazed at the magnitude of the event. Although taxridden b3'- her army and navy, Germany holds to her course of xailitarism claiming it to be the onl;/ way to retain peace. But ohe present course nust eventually-' give wa;;- to a more sane policy. Mutual dis- armment will come with time and the millions that are spent for war will some d.a.y be disbursed for nobler ends. Europe cannot continue to drain her resources, and this must be the result unless some form of mutual disarmment takes place. The personalitj-- of the Emperor is too well known to require comment; a man of strong personal it;'', broad intelligence and initiative, fate has placed him in a -162- ( ^e.r//,n^, ( position where he has been able to achieve great results in a relatively short time. While he has made some— eneia- I ies he has made more friends and his people are loyal to i him and love him. Tliis is the best evidence that he is a \7ise and good sovereign. As for the other members of the royal family, all are loved hy the people and the interest they take in them is evidenced by the photographs of the I members which are sold during a season. A very popular photograph is that of the tiny Prince Louis "Ferdinand von Prussen" running through a daisy field, -his genuine glimpse of a little tot who may some day attain to great power is ver;.'- interesting and those vrho have seen him must surely love him. It would be interesting to give an idea of the summer life in Berlin, where the open air parks and restaurants make the cit;r as attractive as Paris. But again, our "ejnssis pursues and on the night of August the 12th, we secured our sleeping car accommodations for Amsterdam. Although our stay in Berlin had been short it had 'oeen very interesting, notwithstanding the fact that socially, the city r^s dead. However, the great influx of tourists and the iL-duense movement of business, keeps the city as lively as E'ew York, and it is this similarity that makes the Crothairiite feel at home. -3 63- AIISTERDAII 7roiii Berlin tc Amsterdam is s. tv/elve-lioui' ride on an express train. There "being little advantage in making this trip oy daylight, we gladly cra\7led into our "bunks, hoping ^o sleep the drear;- hours av^aj.', Alas, the night v^as an oppressive -one, and "being obliged to keep our windoT/s open, ue could sleep ""cut little for the noise, the dust and cinders that filled our mouths and e^'^es. 3?ortunately, a shower at ruidnight cleared the air and shortly after vie left :-anover I fell into a doze and re- iQeiQ"ber little until the guard called me at 6 a.iTi. Then I arose tv^j'bled into my clothing and when the train drew into Salzbergen, the Dutch frontier, got out -with the other sleep;'' passengers to puss our baggage. As this was the seventh time I had passed a custon house since leaving JIe\7 York, the procecLdKe was becoming monotonous yet I, an American, had no right to complain for I knew the attitude of our people on the subject of tariffs a.'rid see no reason why our Europea,n cousins should not enjoy the same privilege. The foruiality of passing the Custor^s being over I entered the restaurant to get a cup of hot coffee. A -164- sleepy Dutch girl was lazily serving the-^ p-assejaijere-oruL as I was one of the last, I got the dregs of the pot. The draught was v^elnoQe howevir, for it put new life in xne,! and as I boarded the train, the ascending mist permitted a ray of sunshine to peep through the windows, and my spirits rose with the genial warmth it yielded. The cotmtrj'', through which we were then passing, was low and uninteresting, yet in this unattractive locality, flourish many farms and gardens. ITow and then we would | pass a chain of sweet water ponds, filled with pond lilies and other v;ater plants, and the contrast of these with the Bonotonous level meadows was very agreeable. About j 7 o'clock we arrived at Appledoon and in less than a half hour afterward were landed in the magnj.ficent Central Station of Amsterdam. The citjr being filled with tourists it was nearly niddaj'- before we secured rooms at the Hotel Amstel, an hotel located on the River Amstel, at a considerable dis- tance from the Dam which is the center of the town. I was not sorry however, to be located in this hotel which held pleasant memories, for on a former trip I had made some delightful acquai.iitances here; one proving to be a wealthy velv3t manufacturer of Crefeldt with whom I afterward entered into business relations to our mutual advantage. Since that time the good man has passed away, and at -165- a"bout the saLie ticie I wit hdrev; from commerce to essay the difficult art of literature. Such is the irony of fate. Buv, to my story: ihe afternoon proving fair, I took a v/alk through the to\m and after seeing many quaint houses and canals upon the "oojiks of r/hich grow noble elms whose branches nearly Kieet at Didstrea-Ti, I chanced to pass a narrow house about 14 feet wide with a hi^a stoop and a brass plate upon the door bearing the name Speyer 6 Co. Curiosity led me to inquire further and I 1b arned that this diminutive office was the parent house of the great and v/ealthy firm of that name so v/ell knovm in this country. I recount this in- cident because it is typical of the countrj'-. i/Tno in a city of Granite Banks and Trust Companies, whose towers, touch the clouds, could possibljr imagine a wealthy bank- ing firm being housed in a tiny house 14 ft. wide by tT,'o and a half stories higla? The idea is ridiculous, yet ] here in Holland such things are the rule rather than the excep tion. Holland is a land of great wealth though one would rarely know it from the simplicity of its people and the modest though generous manner in v/hich they live. I could give a dozen incidents of this kind to prove my point, but time is too valuable for that. In the opening chapter of this narrative I submitted -166- as a premise "T]riat loatexial'Tn'oeperllr^^'^iji^jtr'rijrt^^ precedes artistic supremacy and. this in turn engenders a desire for tiie more beautiful and spiritual things in life." : iTow when the course of Empire passed from the Vene- tians to the Spanish in the fifteenth century and from Spain to Holland in the sixteenth century the arts of Flolland began to flourish. By arts I do not mean only painting, but architecture and the many kindred arts and crafts » It was during this period that the comtuerce of Holland extended over the world. Their fearless navigators had explor3d the most distant lands while the factories or colonies they established in the East Indies, yielded a ' golden harvest to the no ther .country. During this era the j sciences flourished and the art of painting (notably that ' of portra^.tursOattained its greatest perfection. The great wealth of the Dutch at that period can only be sur- mised, and although the course of Empire later passed to Prance an-i then to England, the evidences of Dutch suprem- s.cy still exist. It is for this reason that a view of their luJ^seums and art galleries are of such interest, for in them are gathered the rarest treasures of their art. j j It is not my intention to give a list of these or to attempt by words to describe them. Suffice it, the Ryka Museum of Amsterdam alone, covers three acres and every -167- room and passage ■'no.-j is filled rrith the best exauples of Dutch Art. vrnile iimsterdan has not gro^m as rapidly as nan:' other European north seaports, such for exanple as Ant-jerp, i'c is today a cit^-- of over 500,000 inlaahitanta vrith a large export and import trade. "As the chief laart of the East Inaian Colonies of the Dutch, it is the larg- est importer and distributor of coffee, sugar, rice, spices, etc. in Europe, and its refineries of sugar, its camphor, tobacco, cobalt blue, and diamond polishing industries are very important." A cit^'- of canals and bridges, it is extraj.iely picturesque, and the new residential quarters contain manj'- handsome buildings that v;ill compare favorably with those in other European cities, but, aside from these characteristics the cit;?- is lacking in movement and is as dead on a week daj*- as a provincial town in England would be on Sunday, I -168- -lie Island of I'laarlcen lies at a distance of about 20 lailes from Aiasterdain. It is a fishing village a-nd in order to reach it one uust go Itj steaa 'boat, and pass out of the h£ir"bor, through tlie great sea looks into the Zu;-der See. It v;as a beautiful surjuijer norning v;hen we boarded the Steasi Yacht Kaarken for the trip. The boat was of about sixty ton burden and croxv'ded with passengers so that it was '.Tith difficulty that •'.ve found a seat. Hov/ever every- body 'v7as good natured and there being laan;?- Anericans ainong the nuiiiber we felt quite at home. It required a half hour to lock our boat up to the Zuyder Zee - a distance of about six feet, but once out of the locks, we started for the Island, passing all manner of quaint sailing craft on the way. I remember noting a ya,wl rigged lugger one hundred feet long nanned "by the captain and his son, a lad of fifteen. A. t the helia sat his wife in her peasant costunie steering the craft, while the father and son worked the sails. A piping breeze was blowing, their craft careening and as it passed us by, it made a picture for a painter. We doffed our hats to the hardy crev/, and received a -169- salutation in return. In a moment tkey had passed and i soon \vere lost in uhe distance, ilov/, although "che i 2;^: or "ee is a sliallov; Ir.nd locked "bay, it is ver:-- large in oxten- r.nd during heavy v^eather is a ver^'- dangerous place, yet here vrere three haraj' mariners "braving i'^s shoals and storiis in a craft tliat should have been manned by six good nen. Sui-eljr C-od is good to the brave. Doubtless, as the^-- had reached port man:/- tiir.es before in safety, they continued to believe that fate vjould always treat them kindly, nevertheless there coues a time when t?iey,like m.ny others, sail their last course and their craft becomes a wreck upon the shoals, while the brave crevj perish with it. About midday v/e reached the Island harbor, which seemed a maze of masts and nets. ?ollov/ing the board pathways we reached the village witli its quaint houses, school and church, and at the request of one of the good women of the village v.'ent to visit her house. Although it was v/ash da;;- everything was scrupulously clean- The house v/as a stor;'- and a half higli, built of wood heavily pitclied on the outside. VJithin it was cozy and attractive. In the eaves hung the nets, whilst the main floor v/as used as living and sleeping room in one. The beds were built in the wall like ship's berths and nay have been comfortable enough although they did not look it -170- But tlie peat fire used for heating and cooking was no tiling more than an open hearth with a crane hung over it, the ft-jaes passing through the open room to a hole in the roof al3ove. Such c;rude methods are hardly credible, among a people so near civilisation, yet here they were still in use end no effort made to improve them. The old lady told us they suffered lauch from cold in winter, when for nontlis at a time they are cut off from communi- cation with the mainland. However, v/hen the Zuyder Zee is frozen over they skate to Amsterdam or Volendam for sup- plies. '^Jhat a life they lead during the dreary v:inter months, we who live in comfortahle homes, cannot imagine, but God knows I do not envy them, although I am free to admit the men and women and their beautiful flaxenliaired children, fairl-- radiate good health. It was great fun to txy to talk to the children who seemed anxious to air the little English they had learned at school, and we were making friends rapidly when our merriment v;as cut short by the tooting of our stearner's whistle. Thither v/e went, follov;ed by a band of laughing children who crowded the pier as v/e sailed away and waved their hand to us in loving adieu. The grouping of these children in their ^rctvy colored costuries, with the quaint village in the background, made a picture I shall long reEiCmber. Luncheon had been prepared in our absence, and as we -171- went abroad v/e found, the deck set vritli ruany little tables, filled T;ith excellent food. As soon as we cleared I the harbor v;e sat cov/n to an "Al fresco" luncheon as good as one could desire. Oj.'ielette, beefsteak and vege- tables, sa,lade, cheese and plent;- of good bread and butter with a bottle of beer to help it along. Surely vrho could ask for more on such a tin;- craft, whose kitchen was only about ten feet square. To this day I marvel that one hundred people were fed 'virith such inadequate arrange- - i:ients and this, without dissatisfaction to an;,'. ; About half past 1 o'clock our steacier put in to Volendati, another famous fishing village so much souglit by artists. The town was "en fete", it being a feast day of the church o '^'e therefore had an excellent opportunity ! to see the natives in their gala array. The women T:ere really attractive in their pretty costujnes aJid dainty caps, but the men, ye gods, were the V7onder of all. Decked out in their velveteen trousers as broad as a laeal sack, -.vith two silver buttons on the fore, and a saucy little jacket and slouch hat, tliey wore so ungainly' as : to be grotesque, ;ret they strutted about with the air of dandies en Broadway. Surely the coobination was a curious one and I have often laughed at the meiuor3'- of the husky lads I saw that day. i j Our captain tried to enter Marikendam, another i -172- in"eres~ing village further Inland. But tlie tide liaving ' fallen ■'.ve found ourselves aground before we had progressed a mile up the inlet. As the yacht only drew six feet of water. I asked the captain if this thing often happened. "Oh yes", he replied, "the deepest v/ater in the Zuyder Zee is only fourteen feot and v/hen we get off the high ways v;e usually get aground," It was sone tine before we got off the mud bank, but finally b;- going stem first the screw worked its way through the ooze and sline and at six o'clock we were ' back in AiasterdaD, sunburnt and exliilarated by our de- liglitful day's outing. -173- A highway to the luid-countries of Holland, the Aiiiboel river finds its source in the sweet v.'axer lakes T/e passed on our railv/a:" journoj' from Bex'lin. These lie nearly'- in the center of the state and are the sources of many streams » The Anstel like the other rivers forinerl;/- overspread the low lands as it neared the sea. -oda7 throiigh the untiring efforts of the people all the im- portant streams and rivers are confined with solid em- hankments and thus there liave "oeen hundi-eds of square miles of land reclaimed for agricultural purposes. Host of this is meadowland upon which can "be seen fine herds of Eolstein cattle grazing from Spring until /lutumn. On a "bright sunny afternoon we hoarded one of the river steamers that make the trip up the river; and as our boat passed under the last "bridge of Amsterdam, I saw the river erahanlanents for xhe first time. These v.'ere of oaroh from six to i:v;elve feet in height with a fine roadway upon the one on "che right and a footpath on tiie other. Large e3.m trees shaded the roadway, hut on the other side we could look far cut over the meadows, and see the farms and villages that had grown up on this -174- reclaimed land. It was a pretty siglit from the deck of our boat for we v/ere man;?- feet above dykes and experienced the novel sensation of gliding over the meadows instead of sailing through then. Tlie course of the river how- ever was so serpentine that the boat had to travel many miles in order to progress one mile direct. ITevertheless every turn developed a new picture and the many craft upon the river added to the interest. One in particular attracted my attention. It vvas a Dutch fishing boat which had been fitted up as a yacht. Although only a gentle breeze was stirring at the time, this unwieldy craft was slipping through the water at a lively- pace, its sails filled as though it had a good capful of wind. I can not imagine a more delightful vacation than to spend a month on such a boat cruising on the inla,nd v/aters of Holland. To the artist this mode of travel offers oppor- tunities that cannot be had in anv other vmjr. The beau- I tiful pastoral scenes of the low countries are difficult to reach by roads; and the sunsets, which are the artist's delight, must be seen from the open. Of course one must I love the country and be able to converse sufficiently'- to be understood in order to enjoy it. But I venture to predict that if he is a writer in search of quaint t^/pes or a painter in search of pretty pastoral landscapes, he will return with something worth while, for one cannot ~].75- ; travel in this country.' "?;hen nature smiles without adciir- I ing it and its people. " ZAITDVOORT, " The Dutch have conquered irallanci, is a pleasantry as old as the hills, the meaning of it heing that they have reclaimed it froia the encroachment of the sea. Chis poetic metaphor, hov;ever, is only partly true, f o r a very great part of the country'- is above sea level. ?or exaLiple the en-^ire ■western coast from the hook of Holland north to Helder, is a noble sea coast of migl-itysand dunes that extend man^' miles inland and form a nattiral protection from the iTorth Sea. But the Zu^der Zee, a vast inland bay is d3''ked in for miles and miles to pre- vent encroacliment . Tlie dykes at Volendam which I saw were fort;/ feet high above tide v/ater faced v^ith granite blocks to prevent heavy seas from undermining them. I~ is very difficult for one v:ho has never visited this curious country to uncerstand the magnitude of the I works v;hich Zlze r;'Utch have constructed to save their country froifj inundation by the fresh './ater rivers £ind flooding from ":h6 sea. Perh.aps, however, I ma;'- suggest this 'o-j mentioning the cost of the llorth Sea Canal wliich -176- was tuilt to permit large stesuners to enter Amsterdaia and thus prevent retransportation of cargo from Rotterdaua, the main sea port. To accofliplish this a ship canal of fifteen miles long was built from Amsterdam to the North Sea, where great sea locks are located at a place called j Harweg, six miles from the Village of Zandvoort. The i total cost of this canal \7as 35,000,000. florins or near- ly 15,000,000. dollars, a prodigious sum for such a small country as Holland. Nevertheless the success of this en- terprise has agitated a still greater project, viz., the reclaiming of the Zuyder Zee. This is not an impossible engineering feat for as I have observed before the Zee is very shallow, and should it be put into effect 687 square miles of territory would be thus reclaimed. How many square miles have already been reclaimed I do not know but the number must be very great for the present works repre- sent the effort of centuries of persistent endeavor. It would seem almost a waste of energy to drain marshes, when there is so much fertile land elsewhere in the world, but this is not the case, the land reclaimed is extremely rich and the farm products, fruits and flowers of Holland, arc one of her chief sources of wealth. Zandvoort is sometimes called the Coney Island of Amsterdam. The comparison, however, is erroneous. Loca- ted on the North Sea, at a distance of twenty-five miles. -177- ' frcn Anisterdai-i, aucl sLx miles from tbe Toie-toi^lxs Ixrwn of ilaarlen, was once a fishing village o Altliough the vil- i I lage rcLiains the fish have departed for other waters, j and instead of the finn;;- tribe the populace of Amsterdan disport themselves in the orinj- r/aves. Arounci the village there has grovm up a seashore resort that extends for lailes up and do^Tn the beach. The heiglit of the dunes here above the sea give one a full vie\7 over the ITorth Sea, and the great T;xdth of the beach makes it a Yery desirable bathing ground. To compare Zandvoort, there- fore, to Cone- Island -.Tould be absurd for there is no sinilarit;;' either in location or otherwise, nevertheless on a bright sujamer afternoon it is a wonderful sight to see the throngs that come for a dip in the sea. In a simple manner they are content to enjoy themselves, wan- dering among the dunes or sitting on the sand where they paijij the hours away in merry groups. ^Tlien evening comes they climb up to the hotels and cafes on the bluffs and dine in par-iea until the last departing trains hurr3'- them back to I-Iaarlem or to /uiisterdam. T7e chose to lunch tliere with some friends who were spending the summer at the place, and througli their courtesy were shown all the interesting sights. After a dip in the sea we too re- tvirnei to Ansterdam and arrived at our hotel in time for table d(hote. -178- " HAARLiat." 2he next day, "b;,' special appointment I set out to meet my Butcli friends in Haarlem, for a day's outing in the suDurbs. I considered this a rare privilege for , one iiiust either speak the language or miss much in a land where beauties la^'- in unfrequented places. I had visited Holland many times on previous trips but could jOnl'- vaguely rsiiiember rlaarlem. It was therefore necessary I for ae to refresh my memor;^ ty a glance at Baeaecker. I A toxjn of 50,000 inhabitants it lies six miles from I the Iforth Sea on the direct line to Amsterdam. It is said to be the cleanest town in Holland, but that honor is claimed by many others. However, it is a very quaint and interesting place. The old ramparts from which the Dutch repelled the Spanish in the famous siege of 1572-3 are now converted into promenades and pretty gardens, and jit was only witii the greatest stretch of imagination tliat I could picture that heroic defense which has gone .down in history as one of the bravest, from the peaceful streanis and beautiful trees and flowers that now occupy' Ithe site. E;r the courtesy of my friend, after a walk through -179- the gr.rdens he took me to ccJLl upon his \inc3.e th-e Karbor i-iaster of T,he tovm. Here vras a charac':er fit for t-ny novelist. A xnan of about sixt^'-f ive 7ears of age, still hale and hearty , he had lived a life of adveiiuure tliat few raen can boast of. It rras \vith difficulty that I could get an idea of his career, for he spoke lit';le English and as I spoke no Hutch, uy friend had to act as interpreter with the usual result. ■'Tever'cheless I cau[;lit a gliinpse of his life. Briefl:" it v/as as follows: An incorrigible scliool 'ooy, his parents had quite given up an;'' hope of estab- lishing him in a career in the quiet to':7n of Haarlem, .■ when one day they awoke to find that he had taken ship for the East Indies. Por over eighteen ^^ears they heard nothing of hiti, and were about to believe hiui dead; when lo.' one fine day he arrived, with the East Indian fleet of which he liad becoiae Admiral. ITow to advance froKi cabin boy to Captain v/ould be a rcriarkable thing for a lad handicapped by lack of education; but to advance to the very responsible position of Adiairal of a fleet reads like the v/ildest roiaance. nevertheless truth is stranger than fiction. If I ara spared I hope some day to write the narrative of this remarkable nan. Prom the short conversation I Iiad with him I learned more -of the i^utch East Indies, its iiHiabitants, clii-iate and -160- alDorigines than I have ever learned from books; when he had finished a dim idea of the wealth of those countries began to filter through my "brain, and then I no longer wondered that little Holland was so rich. I shall not linger over the -veTj interesting toA7n, with its quaint and "beautiful town hall and still more fataous collection of paintings, "but prefer to relate our drive to P.osendaa.1. Blessed ti' a 'balm;'- afternoon, we rode for hours among the beautiful countr3'- residences that are built in this district. Being located on the edge of the sand dunes the country becomes more rolling and is often wooded with beach and other hard;.- trees, which gives it a character quite English. At the best vantage points are built the residences of the rich bankers and merchants, who liave created a colonv like Lencooc or similar country places and who during the greater part of the 3^ear re- side here enjoying their ease upon their beautiful estates. It was an interesting trip, this, for it gave i me another proof of the v/ealth and simple tastes of the i ; more prosperous Hollanders. After ovjr drive we returned hy train to Zandvoort I and I had the delightful experience of dining in a tj^ical I Dutch home, vrhere simplicit:', refinement, and good cheer 1 I abounded, it is such excursions as this that give zest -181- to an EvjTopean "crip, and tlie only pity is that fe-;? of us have tlie op'-ortunity to enjoy tliem^ It was wixh real regret that I bid farewell to n;'- friends that nigli", for I knev; it might "be years before we could all meet again, rlowerer, I did so \7ith the con- viction 'Chat we should reiiember the jollj' reunion and mark it as a red letter day. -182- '^-■f TI-IE HAOUE. riie 18-ch of August had arrived; already our vacation ; was t'TO-tliirds over. Sixty days had passed since we 1 sailed from -^eir York, yet who can sa" that we had not I lived a 3-ear in that short tine? Surely- no one v/ho has 1 j carefully' read this narrative. And pray reii^ember, good I friend, that this short story does not conve^'- a tithe of oui' experiences; it only records the principal ones, or at i best such as I imagine uaj'- interest you. ITow to have i left Holland without visiting The Hague, would have been like a visit to Italy without seeing Rome. At the risk, therefore, of tiring you I am going to quote Wiiat an English v;riter says about Holland, and then I will tell you about The Hague: "In our groove-spun haste, we pass the quaint- est of European Mingdons b;-, forgetting or ignoring its fascinations, its sweet floweriness, the unique picturesqueness of its water-waj'^ed landscape, its Eiarvelous ol(". towns, its stupendous triviiphs in art and le-'cers, tlie vigour of i"cs histor^r, and ita people, 'oheir wholesouje and happ^r industriousness, their pretty and ancienx wa^^-s of dress, their brave -185- association ivioh the sea, and their courage and suc- cess of their fight for freedom and all it stands for in tlie constitution and peace of Europe." A handsojxie tribute this yet well deserved. Of all this "beautiful country The Hague is the political, social and intellBctual capitol. A city of about 150,000 inltabi- tants , it is relatively a small town, ^''et I predict that there will coue a day when it will becoine the laost famous city in the world. To not lavigii at this, my friend, wait until you have heard me out. ?lie first and second Peace Conference have alread;/- been held there, and although the results they attained ma;^ not appear encouraging, the fact tliat they have taken place is a miracle in itself. iTever before in tlie histor;;- of the world has this been accoin- plished, and v/ho can predict where this spirit of amity will lead? Certainly' neither you nor I. Therefore do not let us say with some of otir pessimistic writers that the Palace of Peace is built upon a foundation of sand. Tlie assertion may be literally correct; for The Hague itcelf is built upon piles driven into sand; and the foujidations of the Peace Palace will doubtless be con- structed in the sane inanner; but there the simile ceases. MotwitJistanding the trerriendouo obstacles encountered by -he International Court of Justice the novement is gain- ing ar ound and all rifg l.t -t hinking pe ople ar e in favor of -184- it. The world moves slcwl"', for human nature is perverse, "but that it moves at all toward such an important goal is indeed encouraging. As an evidence of this movement let me narrate an incident that occurred to my brother ?red and myself some tv/ent}^ 3-ears ago when we were making a trip together on the Steainer Potsdam hound for Ro--cerdam. One stormy day we found ourselves in the smoking room v;ith a dozen or more fellow passengers, \7hen the conversation drifted from various subjects to International Comi.aerce and Recip- rocity. \Ye had taken little part in the discussion, when one of the gentlemen turning to me asked for my opinion. I replied that we were at present in the period of tariff wars, "but that the principal of reciprocity v/as gaining ground, and that when more equitable trade relations were established International ComLierce would grow at a trem- endous pace. But, in order to facilitate this, I foresaw that many other conditions would then become necessary'- and that their establishment would prove of the greatest benefit to mankind. These '.vGre, an International system of weights and measures, an International unit of exchange or money, an International language oral and written (for commercial purposes), and an Internationetl Court of JuKjt.Ice. At the mention of the last a roar of laugiiter swept over the room, and I would have felt quite alone -185- Iiad not a worthy man (a rnsr chant and banker) coifie to ny rescue. A practicc<,l man of affairs, he sustciined ne on every proposition, but knowing laore about the subject than I did, shov'ed the great obstacles which at that ticie pre- vented such ends being realized. Since that da;' three blcociy v.'ars have taken place, the South African or Boer War, the Spanish Aiaerican and the Russo-Japanese ^Jar. The anount cf blood and treasure v-liich these have cost, beggar analysis. ITe'/er the less they ha,ve av;-akened the world to the folly of war, as a means of attaining justice between nations, and there lias been created a new and laore stable belief in "The International Cotirt of Justice." Although only tv^enty years have psBsed, since our dis- ' cussion took place in the cabin of the Potsdao, I would be quite cea^tain that every man in that coiapan3r would acknowledge today the great advance that has been made tOT/ard the penvianent establishment of aii International Tribunal with its blessing to luankind.- ^fcile we were in The Hague the fisheries Cotiwission were holding their conference there and the advent of these important personages added to the tremendous influ:: of su-mi.'jer tourists filled the town to ovsrf lo\Ting. We had fortunately written ahead for rooms and found them on our arrival at "Tlie Hotel des Indes", one of the ba^t hotels in The Hague, vrhich since the Peace Conferences lias -186- been nick-ncmed the anti-chamlDer of the Palace in the Woods. It is at the house in the woods that the Queen and Prince Consort reside, ohe greater part of the year. ^.l.though the Queen has many palaces she loves none more than "He-: Loo", the house in the woods. It was in this quaint and historic palace tl.at the Peace Conferences were held, during Y/hich period "The Hotel des Indes", heing frequented "b;" the aojbasaadors, and roj'alties of cia-n;- countries actually became the lobby or anti-chaiaber of the Palace where their deliberations were held. To have been a guest of the hotel at that time would have been a rare experience, for probabl;'- neYer before have there been so nany of the world *s diploiuats gathered together in such a place. lian;' ^rears ago I visited tlie Palace in the IToods and the iinpression of simplicity ana homeliness that per- vaded it has alwa2's remained a pleasant memory with me. . At that time 1891 Queen TTilhelmina was a child of about fifteen years of age. I remember the custodian showing me her latest photograph, v/hich proved her xo be a sweet and pretty child. About the house were man;'- evidences of her good taste and simplicity and while she has since married I fancy that I see upon her later photographs a i careworn expression that I did not see in years agone. I However tiiat may be, she is ever;'- inch a queen, and holds ' I -187- the love, nox onl" of iier people, but of all nations. This is r,n ex'^raorclinary t;ribute, yet I believe ic is true, for in "liis laovenent toward an Interna'cional Ccur^ of Justice, zl.e little Queen and li'otle Molland have played an important role, one ~hat will forever endear then to fjankind. j -lie "vig'xe was originall" a hunting seat of the Counts of ^'olland, froia whence its name, S. Graven riage , is derived - lieaning, the Counts' enclosure or hedge. Ax that tijiie, the 16th Century, tlie forest was of vast extent. CiA'-iliaation however has gradually encroached {upon it, and the present wood is all that renains. It is j hovrerer a park of considerable size and adorned with noble beech trees as hcmdsoiae as those in the forest of i Pontainbleu, On a sunny afternoon its shady glens and I pretty water ways filled wi":h aquatic plants, are a re- "^■reat for the lovers of the to'.7n, and A7ho can blame them, for ciiriicL such roiaantic spots surely' love should tlirive. Mow little ironder then, that Queen Willielxuina should pre- fer the Palace in the \7oods to the ciore s tat el;'' ones she possesses. j I I i Upon the Place Voorhout is located the Palace of the I I Queen Mother, and near there the Hotel des Indes, where we stopped during our stay in The Hague. It is said that no to^m in riolland possesses so luany -188- Inroad and handsoxne streets, loftj- and. substantial houses I ' and lian.'.soine squares as The Plague. ITow tliat I have renev/- ed lay acque.intance \7ith the city after a lapse of twenty years, I know that this stateaaent is no exaggeration. Of I ' the sho'^ palaces, I shall only mention the Picture Gallery' or liauritshius as it is called, an iiaposing structure j erected oy Prince John Maurice of Imssau, Governor of Brazil in 1679, which novr contains a rare collection of Pictures, the .inucleus of which was nade hy the Princes of [ Orange. It is in this galler;'" that Ilexn'brantitJs famous | ' ! picture, the School of Anatomy is safelj^ guarded. His j : other faraous picture "The ITight Watch" "being shown in a I room speciall3' built for it in The Ryks Museum, Amsterdam. I It would be difficult to put a value on these two master- | pieces, so highlj' are they prised, but I think few pictures I in Surope would bring a higher price if put up at auction. -189- " SCHEVEITIITGEIT" A iiiile or two froQ -he Hague lies the seashore re- sort of Scheveningen, Once a fishing village, it has grown and prospered until today, it is one of Europe's great seashore resorts, Biarritz, Trouville, Ostende and Scheveningen, these are the places where during the season one nay see life and fashion. Ostende, the laost i^nportant of theia, is not far from Brussels and steaiaers ply regularly froui there to Dover, England. It is there- fore wore frequented hy English than Scheveningen. ilever- theless inany English and Americans favor Holland's "Bains de mer":,: and the Continent sends its portion so that it like The Hague has become an International resort. During the season it is very gaj'" and the concerts and balls at the casino, or Kurhaus, as it is called, are most brill- iant affairs. To one who loves good music the Sjrmphony Concerts are a deliglit. Under the direction of Herr Ernst Kunwald with his PhiUiannonic Orchestra of Berlin, there ha^tebeen produced many original works at The Casino tiiat might never have been heard by tlie public. One of these "La Hoi en Exile", b3'' my friend of Zandvoort, was produced on August 5th, before a most brilliant and -190- entliusiastic audience. The work took 25 minutes to per- | form, and was followed Toy a work of the master Tscliaikowsky To descrilDe the various emotions of my friend upon hearing for the first time one of his works interpreted by the best orchestra in Europe, would be iiapossible. One must listen to the composer tell it "viva voce", in his i I own inimitable wa;-; and as he arrives at the climax - ' "vvhen the hoiJise rose to a man and cheered him lustily for i ten ninates" ^ as the memory of this triumph brings suf- ! fused tears zo his eyes, one ma^'- then perhaps ujiderstand what it means to labor and slave for twenty-five years I without recognition, to become famous in a night, j I could fill many pages vrith interesting incidents that have happened to me upon my various visits to Scheveningen, for it is amid such thicngs , made up of all nationalities, that a writer often finds his best mater- ial, I will mention one experience that was extremely , interesting. i : During the tour of The Comedy-prancaise Company of Paris, I liappened to be in The Hague and secured tickets for the performance. Arriving at the Theatre adjoining the Casino, I found mj-self among the most fashionable audience I had. met in Europe, Everj' man (except mj'-self^ seemed to be in evening dress and the fairest ladies in the land were present decked in their la'oest Parisian -191- toilettes. I could hardly 'believe that such a "brilliant audience had cone out on a rainy night to honor the pla:,-er3, and therefore acked a gentleman near ne for an explanation and Y/as "old t!:at af^er "che theatre there was to be a grand ball. ITothing daunted, I requested hiia to ' find ne sorje i.7ay to get into the ball roon that I night I see the audience v/ithout being stopped 03- the liveried eiaployees because I rras not in evening dress, rie courte- ously did so v.ncx I beheld a scene that I have remembered ever since. Beautiful Tjomen were there in abundance, their brilliant costumes contrasting strangely witii the uniforms of the many Arj;^y and l\a.vy officers present, who danced with spurs on their boots as thougli their equipment would be incomplete virithout them. Courtiers, Diplomats, Princesses and Princes, all were i inisxorably mixed in the maze of the waltz with the elite of the town and the for- tunate comiaoners who, like myself, were reveling in the intoxication of th.e monent. Such is -he Hague during the season. -19^ ACROSS THE CHA17.TEL TO EITG LA!^. It -^ras Sunday afternoon, August the 21st, when we I 'ocd.e cood-loye to Scheveningen. A gale wr.s blov/ing at the i t.liT.e and ever;^ indication pointed to heavy weather for i our trip across the Channel. However, it was too late to back out. Our cabins had "been secured and off we went on the "boat train to The Hook of Holland, which is not : far from Eotterdani. Arriving on hoard at eleven o'clock, imagine our surprise to find the gale abated and the moon i ' shining through the rapialy drifting clouds. I I Pinding that our steainer would not start until the Berlin Express arrived, I placed my baggage in my state room and went on deck. It v;a3 a wonderful night, one such as Clark Russell would revel in for one of his 'poetic descriptions. Out upon the horizon hung a pall of black clouds lightened only where the ocean and the ; horii:on met bjr a luminous ra;- that permitted one to peep ' upon the cold ITorth Sea, O^'-erhead v/ere masses of drif t- I ing wind clouds, pa.ssing with the speed of an express ; train, ever and anon shutting out the moon's raj'^s, which {persistently tried to pierce their sombre mantles. A 1 heav;?- swell swept into the estuary indicating that the sea be^-ond had not subsided although the gale had blovm -193- iteelf out. Tlic earth air current which but a few hours I passed had tossed the sea into Liountainous waves, was passing over zlie English coast, while the upper air current was apparently passing in an opposite direction tearing I the clouds into all manner of fantastic shapes that beggar description. ?or a long while I sat T;atching this dramatic spect-acle when iny attention was attracted by a red light | which I supposed to be upon the jetty of the liarbor. A noicient la':er a green light came out to match it and a small steaiier inv/ard~bound passed us by, without a sound. The appeai-anco of the boat had been so unexpected that I almost fancied it a phanton ship, until I was told that it was a coaster that had bucked the gale all day, her hardy capxain having brought her safely into port when others would have scudded before the gale. Our steamer proved to be one of the new "turbine boats of which so much has been written. A long narrow ciaft cf about one tiiousand tons burden, she was propelled by a pair of twin screws actuated "by compound turbines. In ap;:ointment8 and accomLiodation her equipment was as fine as any channel stcainer I have seen, but I confess that I should not ca.re to be caught in a gale in her. However, speed is the quest of the public, and if tliey wish to make the run from the Kook to Harwich in six hours they must have a boat that flies. -194- At the midnight r,s the German Express had not arrived I retired for the night and had fallen asleep, when the sounds of v.n Aeolian harp avroke me = By the motion of the boat and the hum of the turbines, which produce this curious musical sound akin to an Aeolian harp, I knew i ' that we were under full headway. To some the sound is extremely annoying, but to a wearj'- traveler like myself, it acted as r. lullaby and in a few moments I was again sound asleep. j It was six o'clock the next morning when the steward awoke me. After a cup of coffee I dressed and went on deck. A cold clammy fog enveloped even'iJiing, but as we neared the harbor of Harwich, it lifted sufficiently to permit us to enter the estuary at half speed. A few moments later we were landed at the wharf, a dreary place with a dirty railwajr station, and were ushered into I a large shed where our hand baggage ^ras examined by the Customs. Then entering the Great Eastern R.R. train ; tliat awaited us, were bowled off to London at fiftj"- miles an hour. -195- '-'ron J-"aiT/ich to the Liverpool Street Station in London, t/as a ti.Yo liours ' ride. The day being overcast, the country through vrtiich we passed, lacked the charm le e:;cpec"ied and as we entered the scioke-laden city, a sense of depression caL'ie upon U3,"buu as this is the inpression Lo nJ-on first i;:>akes on an American we had our baggage passed oy xhe custom officials and tossing it aboard a four-'T/heeler and were driven "Co the Hotel Thackeray, Great Russel Street, directly opposite the entrance «o olie British liuse'omo i As this hotel is comparatively little known, I shall say a word about it. A temperance house, owned and run by woraen, it is an excellent place for those who wish to remain for so^e time in London, ""^ile it may not have i the privacy of quarters in a private family, it has many advantages, such as good room and board, a library, a billiard room, a lounge and a parlor v:here one may be I quite at home for a modest stipend per v/eek. "Tere it more centrall;."- located I should prefer it to many of the more expensive hotels, frequented by Americans. | 1 But alas.' the contrast of smoky London to the sunny -195- .X^/ic^o/z^ cheer:'' cities we had left behind us, dampened our spirits BO that we were not enthusiastic about our quarters or I our contemplated sojourn in the greatest citjr in the | world. I "'The Soul of London" is the title of a book which it Tjas ii;'' good fortune to read some six years ago. A curious title, you will say, for how can a city have a soul? Of i course, the inanimate city, the bricks and mortar, cannot i have a soul unless we believe Maeterlinck's Pairy Tale of "The Blue Sird" , - but as an individual may have a per- sonal soul, so a collective "body of individuals may also have a collective soul, and it is to the study of this j subject that the author treats us. Oeorge Moore has called i this studj-- "The Psycholog:^'- of the Mob". Hoxv the author proves (at least to my satisfaction) that London (the mob soul) is 30 great and powerful that it dominates all in- dividuals and nationalities that come within its gates. I So powerful are its allurements and attractions; so dominat- ing the customs, manners and modes of life; so irresistible the good cheer and love of King and country, that whosoever comes within its influence, is eventually changed in cliar- acter and after a few years' residence, becomes a Londoner in name and in reality. Curious this wonderful influence, yet true nevertheless. The sway of environment is something lixtle understood -197- ty the average person, else vre touIcI not see men and vjotuen I of xntelligence content wioh a drearj' lot, ",vhen 3 ome tiling tetter for a little pains might ce theirs. Of all nation- alixiea, the Anglo-Saxon is the icost adventurous e^-ni self- relian'c, yez incredible as it aaj seexii, we see an ar^Ly of theni content \-ith a tare livelihood in London, 'vhen their own colonies offer theci £oloen opportunities, ^xzy do "he"' not go? The ansv/er nine tiiLes out of ten Trill cs , the hcae ties are too great, they cannot oreak theni. i The lure of lonc'on has fallen upon them and they are lost. It is therefore quite iii.possitle for an Anierican, atrve all, a tourist, to comprehend this lure or influence in a short visit. To c'o this one must live there, at least 'for a tin.e, and cecoxne one of theiL. 'Tner., after a year or more of residence, his kno?(ledgo of the city and his acquaintance with its people shall have gro'OTi, he -.vill 'c; is cover that he too has fallen under the influence of the Soul of London. His fcrasr prejudices and antipathies [have disappeared, and loj'-al Aiijerican though he be, he !has nevertheless, hecoiie a Londoner in taste and s:^iDpa"chy. It is not iT.y purpose to attempt to explain this won- c'erful influence, I only kno'.v that it exists, and thaL a week had barel;- passed, tefocre the s.zicky dirty city I sa^v I en rii3' arrival, began to tecoae rnore attractive to me, and vhen one day I found .ii;-self standing upon the steps of the -198- I'ational Gallerjr ovex-looking Trafalgar Square, I said to myself, "Surel^r, London is the peer of all other cities in the ^orld." It was earlj- in the eigliteenth centurj'- v;hen the course of Empire passed from Prance to England. The Sattle of Waterloo settled forever ITapoleon's dreams of conquest, and England today is the peer of all the nations of Europe. To her comes the wealth of the Indies, her colonial possessions are vast, rich and powerful, and her friendly trade relations have developed a foreign com- merce 30 great that ours is 'but a mite in comparison. : ■'jTith the introduction of steejm and machinery her manu- I ! factures have developed "beyond the wildest dreams of her forefathers of old, until today her trade, foreign and domestic, is counted in billions. Of all Great Britain's vast empire, London is the commercial and political capital,, and it is therefore not sur. rising that there has grown up on the hanks of the Thames, a city of over 6,000,000 inhabitants made up of all nations of the earth. To give an idea of the vast wealth whicii has been brought through foreign commerce and controlled by the Banks and Trust companies of London would be a task so great that fev; but experts could do it. Puxthermore such statistics would be bej'-ond my purpose which is to relate v:c trip as it occurred, and give -199- t "en passant", such infomation as may "be instructive and .entertaining. ^ioli the death of Queen Victoria, there ternjinated the greai;est era of prosperity Englajid has ever kno^Tn. -hose fift^"- or more vears have justly- been called the Victorian Era, and a better designation could not be chosen. ?or it was rrith her accession to the throne that "he arts and sciences flourished in England as they had never floui-ished before. j One must look at the wealth of treasure gathered with- in "he museums, galleries and libraries of London to ! understand this, and remember that fifty years ago these collections either did not exist or else were so small as to be unimportant. Moreover by private bequests, London is gradually acquiring collection upon collection of paintings and other art treasures, so that today it mav justl*' boast of rivaling the wonderful collections I 'of Paris. As an example of private bequest, the Sir Richard Wallace Collection recently acquired, is appraised at $25,000,000., and this, be it remembered, is the be- quest of one man, a collector of excellent taste vjho has l3ft a monument behind him worthy of an Emperor. How many other private collections there are I do not recall. But the 1*3W Taite CJallery on the Thames embankment, dazz- led me with the beauty of its building and the wealth and -200- excellence of its paintinga of the English mastera. Com- pare this collection, and the National Galler3'- collection of ant:.q.ue art, with the host that Berlin can shovv in the painter's art, and one can theia apprecitite why an art student cannot neglect London in his itinerary. It has "ceen rrj good fortune to visit London many times, and though it had "been hut six years since I vxas last there, the changas which are taking plaoe, are sur- prisingc Charing Cross or Trafalgar Square, may justly "be considered the heart of London. In this Tloinity many great improTements have already taken place end others under completion, will eventually make thic part of the citj as fine architecturally as Paris, Berlin or Vienna. The Thames embankment is now "being extended a mils further up the river to a point v/here the l\iew Taite Gal- iQTj is located. On the opposite side of the river the emhanlariont is "being carried down from Lam'berth Palace to the l^ow Palace cf the London C;cunt3r Council, (City Kail), and eventually it is hoped the Surre-^ side of the city v/ill "be as attractive as the other. ' Through the courtesy of my friend, the Superintend- ing Architect of the London Count3'- Council, we had an i opportunity-- to inspect the foundations for this new i City Hall. Already the emhankment is coyjplcted with : its massive granite walls, and the excavation of the ; -201- accuiiulated jxi'ud of centuries ■vitiiin the wall, is now nearly finished. During these excavations the workmen discovered the remnants of an old Roman C^allev, with many otlier rare trophies of the period of the Romsui in- vasion. EoT this craft hp.ppened to "be abandoned, there, no one vrill ever kncA7, but the finding of it 2GC0 years later, gives one some conception of the antiquity of London. I think one of the best viev/s of London iiia.z^ be ob- tained froii the WestKiinster Bridge Avhich crosses the river at a point between Lamberth Palace and The New Count" Council. Pros:, this point one juay see the beauti- ful Parliament Buildings and the iiiany other superb struc- tures, such as the Whitehall Chambers, the Savoy and Cecil Hotels, and following Covm the embankment, the noble CoiTLe of St. Paul's Cathedral finally looms up high above the mist and smoke of the city forming a land mark discernible as far as tlie e3'e can reach. Often I have delighted in a trip on the penny stsaui- ers that run from Kew wardens to Black Eriars Bridge, and from thence to Greenv/ich Observator;- and Arsenal, many miles down the river. In making such a trip one gets a better impression of the magnitude of London and ics im- portance as a sea port, than can be acquired in any other -/ay. However, the average tourist prefers to stick -202- alDout the Strand and Piccadilly, or Bond or P.egent Streets v/liere the principal shcpj: are located,. I It would require much time to describe the many im- proveinents whicli are making London realljr an attractive cit^^, hut the Uew Mall in front of Garleton Terrace, the :Kingsv7ay, the Strand improvement, and many other radical changes are transforming London, as Paris was transformed in Saron Haussmann's time. I I Architecturally, and in plan, London is unlike any city in the world. An inextricable net of narrov/ streets with only here and there a highwa3.', one often finds some I of the best examples of architecture surrounded by a mass of humble or ramshackle buildings that completely?- destroy its dignity. 3?urthemore the law of ancient lights, j prevents property owners from building to any great heiglit, for the reason that adjoining property o\mers have a right to God»s free gifts, light and air. This jvery v/ise law has saved London from the abnormal build- I ings we see in Hew York and elsewhere in this country. London, therefore, is a mixture of the old and the new Ithat often illy harmonizes In style the preference has largely been for the Classic of which the British Museum is an excellent example of the Greek, while St. Paul's Cathedral, the Jfational Gallery and manjr other public and private buildings, are good examples of the Roman -203- Classic style. Sir Chris toplier Wren's masterpiece of St. Paul's is the third largest church in Christendom, being surpasced only bir St. Peter »b at Rome and the Kilan Cathedral. Its proportions are enormous, and the interior capahle of accommodating, if I remember cor- rectlj', ten thousand people. Hovever, the Church is so hemmed in "by narrovr streets and unimposing houses, that from nowhere near at hand can one obtain a fair view of its gigantic proportions. This is not true of the Parliament Buildings, of which a fine view can be had from the Surrey side of the Thames* -hese buildings were erected in 1840 from the plans of Sir Charles Barry and are in the richest late Tudor Gothic style occupying a space of 940 feet on the river front and covering eight square acres of ground. The beautiful Victorian Tower adds greatly to the magni- ficent pile of masonry which are in my opinion the finest Parliament Buildings in the world. In the tower is hung the great bell, called "Big Ben", weighing thirteen tons. This monster is capable of sending its vibrations over the whole city of London, but owing to a defect, it is only rung upon important celebrations. To give a review of the many new and beautiful build- ings which make London so interesting to an architect, would not be practical, but the new War offices are -204- Il[ff#vw' V. IN wortlr-- of irien";:ion, and the Imperial Institute, where are gathered the rare collections of England's Colonies is, I think, one of the finest specixnens of xaodern architec- ture. I Sut v;hy attexapt such a task as the description of London's architecture. Tliat is feat for a student '.7ho i has unlimited time. I './as not so "blessed; five days had passed and Sundaj'- v;as at hand and I v/as meditating how I ' could get out of London on that day, when an invitation from my architectural friend requested me to come dovm and spend the 7:eek-end at Swanage "by the Sea where he and his family '.vere residing for the summer. Needless to say that v;eary irlth sight-seeing I was glad of the chance to get out again into the open, and hurriedly packing my satchel, I I Called a hansom and in about twenty?- minutes was landed in ohe ^^aterloo Station of The Grand Central R. R. in time , to catch the 9:30 A.M. train for Swanage . I -205- SWA2AGE BY THE S3A . Our train was an express and crowded to its full capacit3'' v;ith inan:'- week end trippers who like myself were anxious to get a breath of the sea. After leaving the snoke-laden city, the sun came out disclosing the "beauti- ful fields and farms of Surrey. An hour's ride brought us into Hampshire with its lovely rolling fields of grain and prosperous farms, its picturesque cottages and fine estates, and about twelve o'clock passed through T7inches- ter. A lialf hour later we stopped at Southampton, iihere many of our passengers got off, a few more descending at East Bournemouth, whilst I and those who remained con- tinued on to Swanage by the Sea. At two o'clock we arrived. Somewhat weary from the Journey I descended from the train, and was met by my friend, who with a cheery - "Welcome home old chap" - greeted me like a long lost brotiier. In a few moments we were driven to his cottage where a hearty welcome awaited me from his wife and his four beautiful children. A jolly reunion it was, one especially agreeable to me, for it had been many years since we had all met, and one of the little tots I had never seen before. Ever -206- ,0 y^o-noc^e ^«^ T/JJy V^ht'tn Caves thoughtful of the inner man our hos*ess had prepared a royal luncheon which a half f£?j[riished iijan like myself en- joj'ed to the full. Afi;er a chat and a cigar it v/as sug- gested that I accompan;'- the faiailv on an excursion to Corfe Castle a distance of ten miles or so, but I "begged off and sought my quarters in the Hotel Grosvenor near "by, v/here to my surprise a palatial room, large enough for a fai'iiily, had been reserved for me. As I opened the '.Yindov; and caught a breath of the fresh sea breeze laden with its brine, I looked out upon Sv/anage bay, with its yachts at anchor, and saw in "ohe distance the Isle of Wight. "Hiien a sense of compassion came upon me, and I pixied those less fortunate than myself, who housed with- in a smoke laden city might rarelj^- see so pretty a scene. Swanage I found to be an old fashioned seashore re- sort rareljr frequented b;'" any but English families, who come for the season, that is, for July and August. On the first of September a general exodus takes place and I a month letter the place is deserted. I was fortunate ! therefore in arriving before xhe people had left and in i the afternoon took a walk around the bay, which is semi- j circular and about a mile in diameter. On the north side of the bay are lofty chalk cliffs forming a bold head land which makes it an excellent harbor. The south side is equall;r well protected by imposing hills whose woodland -207- or verdure run cIo^tti to the soa - Between these natural ■bul'.7arks lies the town and the "bathing beach. It was about five o'clock in the afternoon, the time Tvhen cliildren and nurse maids should have been at home for tea, when I reached tlie beach which was crowded with chil- dren ei'cher disporting themselves in the water or building sand castles to be destroyed by the morrow's rain. I sat for a long wiiile watching the sport and tried to ixiiagine myself a boy again. But alas.' so many years have rolled "by tLifxt the feat was difficult. However, as I looked out over the channel I saw a mist gradually shutting tlie Isle of Wight from view and noting the sudden change in temper- ature csked an old sea dog near me, \7hat the indication meant. "Ah',' he said, "There be a storm brewin' sor". Al- though I suspected then that he knew the weather better than I yet I never Imagined we should get the gale that twenty-four hours later lashed us with its fury. But of that anon. j The sudden chill in the air encouraged me to continue my walk, when suc-.denly on turning a cornor of the promenade I literally ran into an old friend, a Londoner, who with his j'-oung wife, were spending their vacation in the town. l»rithout more ado we went to his hote?. for a chat and a cup of tea. As v/e sat around the hoapitaole board I began to feel at home in Swanage and from my friend learned much -208- about the vicinity which may be of interest. As this coast is a delightful place to spend a summei- I will quote the information. Let me see if I can expDain it to you without the aid of a map. Tl-ie English Channel from Lands End on the ^est, to Dover on the East runs approximately east and west. Lo- cated midway" between these two points is the Isle of ¥ight, England's most delightful summer resort. To the west of the Isle of ^ight about 25 miles distant a prom- ontory projects into the Channel, called by some the Island of Purbeck, it is however really a peninsular, on the channel side of wh-ich is Durlston Bay with its famous St. Alban's Eead and light house, ivhilst on the eastern side of the peninsular facing the Isle of Wight lies Swanage bar and its prettj town nestled in between for- boding bluffs or head lands. In coming in or up the Channel therefore if one follows the English coast, one must pass the following headlands and lights on the way to Dover. I shall omit Lands End, for the reason that The Lizard light, is really further to the Southard, and is in effect the most southerly part of England. After leaving the Lizard and its famous liglit the next headland is Start Point - located East of Plymouth, then comes Portland Bill, St. Albans Eead, St. Catharines Point Isle of ^""ight; then Beachey Head, Dungeness and Lover. -209- These headlands and lights have "been ric^de fa?iiouc "by Clark Rv.ssell in his nautical stories, and it Wiis surprising to ine that one of these very renoTmed lights, (St. Altans Head) should be so nearbj'-. I deterinined therefore to pay it a visit the next day. But zo continue - The narrowest part of the English Cliannel as is well known is called the Straits of I'over and lies "between Calais (Trance) and Dover (England). The next narro'.vest point is that lying between the Isle of ¥ight and Cherbourg, Prance. It is therefore possible to nake a trip froni Swanage to Clierbourg and re- turn the same day. In fact; day and night steamers do this regularly during tlie season, weather perriitting. j l-Ibw was it not a curious turn of events rhich broiiglit me '.vithin fifty miles of Cherbourg where two nonths before 'we had disembarked so f"j>ll of enthusiasm for our educa- tional tour through Europe. How many miles we had covered 'in that time I do not know, but if you have followed our journey from the start I think you will admit that oixr time :ras not idly wasted. Swanage therefore is a very desirable place to reside in the summer, for the reason that steamers ply regularly to Portsmouth, Southampton, and The Isle of Wight, as well as to Cherbourg, St. lialo and the Channel Islands of Guernsey, Alderney and Jersey. rurtheiTQore the country in the vicinity of Swanage is very rugged and beautiful and innumerable excursions inland are -210- possi-Dle. It is an ideal place for a poet or a painter, but not for those ^vlio desire excitement drese or parade. Por such I would recommend Brighton, vrith its? swc^riiiing crowds of trippers, touters , Jacks and Jills of every station. One may see more of the human side of life, high or low there in a day than could be seen in S-.7anage in a year. If time and space would permit I could tell many interesting things about this peninsular wiaich my friend maintains has all the geological formations of England T/lthin its small domain, but I must hurry home to dinner, {then to bed for the next day Sunday wo had arranged to i walk over tho dovrns to Studland, five miles distant. In Puritanical England Sunday is always strictly ob- served, and it is for that reason that London is such a dreary place on the Sabbath. If its many r:.hiirches were filled to overflowing one would feel that the outward solemnity'- corresponded with the inward grace. But un- fortunately that Is not the case. In some of the oldest I parishes, we see a clergyman and a curate with all the attendant choir, holding forth to a dozen or more of the faithful, whilst in the more fashionable p?.rishes few churches are filled to their capacity. However this is not the case in Swanage, which being the hone of John Veiiley, has a strong following of IJon --Conformists nearly ■211 equalling that of the Church of England residents there. As the Church bells "began to ~oll I v^andered through the tovTn to see the Sunday parade. I had passed the Wesle^.^n Church and several others whose congregations crowded about the doors in their anxiety to get in, and was proceeding up the hill when I heard the Episcopal Church nearby- ringing its peal in a merry fashion. Desir- ing to see liow this was done I proceeded to the church to find that it was already filled to overflowing and that many were being turned awaj-. i As the peal or old-fashioned bell ringing is little known in this country', I will say a word about it. A peal usually consists of seven bells turned in the scale of C. Thus if the fundamental C. be rung once at Lhe begin- ning and once after the six others have successively been rung, there will be a complete octave in effect, though not in reality. IIow in chimes the bells are struck by a hanuner virhile the bell remains stationary, but in bell ring- ing or pealing this is not the case, the bell is tolled in the ordinary manner, and in a complete revolution j i is struck twice by the clapper. It is this, that gives bell ringing such a curious character. In effect there 'is a harmon^"-, and ;.-et an apparent discord. The bell ropes ; of each tell in the cliurch I mention was manned "by a husky i lad or a man over whom the head bell ringer dominated. -212- I By indicating successively'- the bell to be tolled there j was produced a series of double bell strokes \7hich al- ! ■chough not producing a melody, obtained a harmony, that j I sv/ept in surging vibrations over the village end must ; have awakened the dead in the grave yard from their slvim- bers, had it continued much longer. But at a final growl ■of the bass or fundamental, the organ in the church burst forth in a peal of melody and as I left the scene the choristers were marching in to that beautiful processional singing, "Onward Cliristian Soldiers, marching on to War, with the cross of Jesus going on before." I had arranged to join my friends for a walk over the chalk cliffs in the afternoon to see the very interesting old church of Studland, but as I looked out over the channel, I saw the heavy storm clouds gathering and knew 'that the prediction of my old sea dog was going to be true. jl therefore went to my friend's cottage near my hotel and iwe decided to await events. Xfe had not long to wait, for ivfithin an hour the wind had increased to a gale thiit i soughed and sighed through the trees and rattled the doors land windovrs as though it would break them in. It was a iwild storm, yet withal thei-e was no rain, and the v/ind I coming from the southard was not cold enough to be uncom- fortable. Ever ready for an adventure my friend suggested} i that we walk over the cliffs to the Tilly Y/liim Caves, ^213- located on the head near St. Alban's Liglit. Prom this point he argued we might see the surf and yet "be safely protected fron the s terra. I accepted, and the two eldest children pleading so hard to accompany us their mother consented and off vie went in great glee. ^e had not gone far however before we found it diffi- cult to face the gale, nevertheless by taking advantage of such shelter as we could find we reached the woods that skirt Durlston Bay, and following the path emerged into the open road which leads to the Light House. This road winds gradually down to the light but being long and cir- cuitous, my friend decided to take a short cut down the grassy slope and reach the caves bofore the rain should ouertake us. The slope being at an angle of 45 degrees was very slippery and I feared that if any of us should miss our footing, nothing on earth could save us from falling into the channel, which was now a seething caul- dron of hissing surf lashed into a mad fiiry by the gale. Unfortunately we had dela3'ed too long, the storm accom- ; panied by a driving rain that cut us to the quick was now upon us in deadly earnest. ITo thing daunted, we attempted j to descend in the face of the blinding rain, when a miglity gU3t literally blew us backward up the decline. In the roar and tumult it was imroasible for one to be heard. My ; friend who had rushed blindly into the storm, had reached -214- L tiie path leading to the caves and was waving frantically for us to follow. If he called to us we never heard hiia j nor would it have been possible so terrific was the roar of the gale. The children and myself stood for an in- stant with our backs to the driving rain in order to tie handlcerchiefs over our mouths, so that vie might breathe; ' for the air vras so saturated with moisture that we felt as though we were drowning. Then, as if by coiomon consent, > we turned back up the slope and were aluoso lifted there j by the force of the v/ind. Gaining the roadway we found a \ stone wall nearby which formed a wind-break about four feet higa, behind this v:e sat to catch our breath while the rain drove over us at such speed that 've were as dry there, as under a roof. Hot far from us were a flock of sheep who with the instinct of self-preservj.tion, load also souglat the shelter of the wall. Tliere they stood quite oblivious of us patiently awaiting the abatement of the gale and seemed to take the event as a common occur- rence. Tliey ho^TBver, had a great advantage over us for their woolly coats being smoothe and oily, shed the rain like the feathers of a duck; v/hilst we were literally drenched to the skin. Pearing that the children would catch cold if we remained longer I induced them to pro- ceed and finally we regained the wood. Once there our spirits revived, and wo itere v/alking along laughing at -215- our exi^erience, \ihen lo, in a sheltered nook, vrhom should we discover but the mother and her other little bairns, who fearful for our safety'-, }md come with her brother-in- laT7 to bring us home. Learning that we xrere all sai'e a smile p-i3saed over her face and in a cheery manner she sent us home, promising ta follow as fast as the little tots could follow. It was six o'clock that night when I rea'^lied n;,' hotel. Already'- it had gro\Yn dark and althougli the sun had nearly set l!he wind had abated but littl3. Retiring to my room I called for the maid and handing hnr my v/et cloth- ing to dry, retired to oed and fell inoo a heavy slumber from which I did not av;ake until the next morning. -216- BACK go LOITDOII. I i KefTeahed ami invigorated "b" my night's rest I awoke earl7 zlie next day, and looking out of my window thought I sav; the sun at-::eiapting to peep through the heavy cunu- j lou^ clouds that floated over the ^.iDay. The storm had olovm itself out, hut "chere was a tremendous sea running, the roar of which I could plainlj' hear although my hotel ] was at considerable distance from the sea. A dozen or Miore fishing iDoats had taken refuge in the harhor during the nig]it and were riding at anchor, tossing and pulling ■ at their chains as though they were tethered mustangs. i Galling for my clothing which the xnaid had dried and pressed, I hurriedlj?- dressed and after a cup of coffee ! i v;ent out on the pier. notwithstanding the fact that it I was most substantially huilt and sheltered from the Channel the waves had washed clear over it in the niglit 1 and a small steeamer that had been lying alongside, had j found the berth so dangerous tliat she had cast lose and I scudded before the gale up the Solent to Portsmouth. j Returning from the pier I went to bid my friend ! goodbye and learned from him that he had not only reached the "ill;' ^''liim caves safel;--, but that he had secured a -217- fine TTater- color sketch of the surf and shore. After ■blading all gcocl-'b^e I vr.z rotum.lng to ia2r 'hutfii vihen a comiaotion on the pier attracted ray attention and I went down to ascertain the cause. An old salt necirty pointed to a large paddle wheel steamer putting in to the pier. "Well vfiiat of it," I inquired; "She's a go in' to land, sor". "Veil, v^hat of tliat," I continued, I "there's nothing nexr in a channel steamer landing here." "Oh no sor", he replied, "urilj'- she's a "big 'un and left Portsmouth this inornin' "bound fur Cherbourg." "Well, then, i-why don't she go there?" I ventured. The old tar shifted his quid and giving lae a scornful look, blurted out: "Gawd sor, she couldn't live in the sea cut there, an' she's got 800 trippers aboard." I was not entirely of his opinion, however, for as the steamer cane up to the pier I saw that she was a very powerful boat of about 1500 tons I "burden. Doubtless she could have ridden out the sea. But the excursionists, "oh ye gods", what of them? TTliat a sorry spectacle. Men, women and children lay about the deck in the most deplorable condition - some too weak to rise their heads, had to be carried ashore while all were pale and wan from the terrible tossing they had received and 'were more or less drenched with the sprry thnt had come aboard. I could learn little about the party, except that tl'.ey had set out from Pnrtcmcuth in high spirits in the -218- morning exr:eGting to spend a jolly da;'" in Cherbourg a- cross the Channel, hut ilie sea had proved so heavy that the captain had wisely put in'oo Sv;anage, \vhere although excursionists are no~ encouraged to land, they xrero kind- ly received by the townspeople. Surelj?- here was an excit- ing incident for sleepy old Svranage and I only regretted that I could not reioain to get a further glimpse of the mass of humanity that landed there that day. Hy trip to London xvas made agreeable b;*- a South African and his vrife who occupied the same compartment I wioh myself. Prom him I learned much of Johannesburg ^ I and the mines in which he was interested. Twenty-five | years agone he had been a lad in London with little or no prospects for making a livelihood. Chafing under the ! intolerable condition T^iich surrounded him, he load shipped; to Cape Colon;'-, and load become rich from the opportunities j the new count r;^ offered. It v;as ver;r interesting to hear him lash his ovm countrj'-men for their lack of enterprise j and contentment with dirty old London. Bur as I ex- plained to him, during his absence he had become an ! Africander, his s^'mpathies and interests wore v/ith his people in the South, and he now sav; his native land as a stranger. He adr:iitted my argument, but deplored the lure of London that held so many able-bodied people enchained. At Southampton we secured luncheon baskets and being -219- quite alone in our compartment set our little tatle and dined tr)gether in true old-fashioned cainaradsrie. Prow my cunversauion vvioh this gentleman and his wife, I think the true Afrj.cander is nore like an American than any othur rTationr.lit^-- I have ever met. Resourceful, ' self-reliant, enterprising, and courageous, they have dug their gold from the bowels of t;he earth and sown it broad- cast in a thousand enterprises that are making of South Africa a nation that will in time rival our own. i Our train arriving in London I bade him ajid his wife i good-b3'-e, and as he shook my hand he said, "We have had a | delightful trip together, I wonder if we shall ever meet again." "I fear not," I replied, for a week hence I sail for ITew York and you for the Antipodes's,. Yet, I knew in i my heart" that God's ways are greater than man's, and that ' fate might, ere we knew it, drift us together again. lly return to London was to be short, for the first of September liaving arrived, we liad but ten days left before VTG were to sail from Liverpool. I called my companions together and we lald< out a short trip to occupy tlie few i remaining days abroad. It took us a day or more to make some purchases, and bid goodbye to our friends, then we were read^i-. ! I wish before leaving London. I could g:' ve a resiimee of the gallex'.'fcs and their collections, the theatres and -220- their plays and above all, a slight glimpse of the verj'' great ohangss that are talcing place in the city owing to the underground rail^zays and penny tubes that run in everj'- direction sometimes 200 feet under the city's i massive buildings. Tliese extremely cheap and rapid means of transit are rapidly transforming London, so that in ten years it will be a cit:'- of such colossal proportions that I other cities will be villages in comparison. As an example of the speed of the penny tubes, my experience laay be in- teresting. I flined with a friend in Golder's Green on our last night leaving his house at nine in the evening and in less than half an hour was landed at Tottenham Court Road, a run of seven miles into the cit;''. The actual run- i ning time, I think, was 20 minutes and when I arrived at my hotel I had made the trip in just half an hour. This is rapid transit in fact, and I little wondered as I sat in my room a few moments later, tliat the e:^od\is is pushing out into the suburbs , where the air is clearer and the sun can be seen on a fair day. A thousand other things I should like to relate, but now we must say au re voir to London, for time and tide wait not. -221- In ordor 1:0 make the seven days' trip as rapidly as possi"ble, we had our trunks sent forv7ard to Liverpool "by advance luggage on The Great Western R. R, As the term "advance Imggage" is one that is \inknovni in this country, a word ahout this excellent system, will he necessary. Expressage is less exi.ensive in England than in the United States, nevertheless, it would have cost a pound or more to have expressed our trunks to Liverpool. I was therefore surprised when the head porter informed me that the cost by advance baggage would only be a shilling for each trunk or three shillings in all, but in order to receive this rate he advised me that it would be necessary I for us to sign a document by whj.ch we would agree to pur- chase three tickets on the G. ¥. R. R. to Liverpool within' the coming week. I As vje were perfectly willing to do this, our baggage was called for, and two days later WciS delivered in the Hotel Adelphi, Liverpool. Surelj'' hsre i,:; a convenience to travelers which we have not ^-et secured. I may remark "en passant", that the Parcel Post rs: another. I It is about a two hours ' run on en e:cpre3s from London I -222- Afercery .^»e. Ito Can~ei-bur:/. Our route Ir.y tlirougli Ileni: jus':lr called I ftlie garden of England. At al^oui; 4 P.M. v;e shopped a^ fciatiiai;! , a yerj- imp or".; ant tjanufac".:uring town and a'c five o'clock reached our destination. Tlie hotel \ie had selected X7as "Tlic Fleur de Lz's", located on "che nain Street, reputed to he the oldes'c hostelr:.' in England, a [part of it having he en huilt in the 13th Eentur;r. i was greatl" interested in i:he building thouj^h the modem in- stallation of electric lights detracted somev/hat from its ancient character and it was not until the dinner v;as served h" old and faithful servants that I began "oo feel quite at home. The dcferonce and decorimi of tliese ser- vants was a delight and the cuisine xnuch the saxiie as tliat of all English hotels, xhat is to say hiediocre, but when one leaves the Continent one must not coiriplain. The English have their tastes and believe in their dishes as I tftuch as the Erench do in theirs. Canterbury in liistoric interest, is a to'.m the tourist should not pass "by. Its beautiful Cathedral is a jstudy for the student, and the vi^al English hisoor3' that centers around it endears it to every good Englislnaan. I iiave not the time to quote, but the place v;here Tliomas j A. Beckot was killed is still shovri and is quite authentic. "■//e were unfortunate in the hour we selected to visit the cathedral for the norning services were about to take -225- — J_ placG and t/e had the alternative of being locked in or loclced outr We chose the latter and "being directed down the nain street to the R.R. Station, decided to spend the dav in Deal. -224- DEAL . Deal is a seashore resort fourteen iniles from I Canterbury and about ten frora Dover. It is £i,n linattrac- I I tive village located on a vast meadow v/liida like that of j Atlaiivic Git3", slopes do^Tn to the sea. In picturesqueness I it has none of the beauties of either Dover or Swanage, I but it has that T;hich is Yevy necessarjr for a seashore j resort, a beautiful shingle beach Eiiles in extent. Once, ' one of the ancient Cinqtie Ports, it lias become the ren- ' dezvous of English fair-ilies xirho enjoy sea-bathing. After luncheon at The Black Horse Tavern in the town vfe went for a stroll on the beach. A milii:ary band was regaling the proix^naders and the nurse maids and children v;ere liaving a merry time paddling in the sea which to our surprise was as smoothe as glass. So placid was it that my 3'"oung companions could scarcely believe they were j looking on the dreaded English Cliannel, and hiring a I wherrjr rovred out toward the iron pier. The tide rises and I falls in this vicinity about 21 feet making a tremendous i current when at its half flood or ebb, but at the time ! j thejr started it had attained its full flood, and they therefore had the advantage of the slack. However an -225- hour later Tdien the3'' returned the ebb xras comraenclng; and shortly after that, the current had attained such velocity that onlj-- po'.Terful steoiaers could stem it. As the average visitor little understands the power of these currents he -will do uell to find a safer place for his nautical excursions, for my par"C I have never en- thused over the English Channel as a cruising ground for I have seen it in too many austere noods and know too well its dangers. About Deal the coast is especially dangerous for the reason tlaat the treacherous Goodwin Sands lie only a few miles off the shore and the number of lives that have been lost there will never be known. The Goodwin Sand and the Manicles that lie further to the westward are undoubtedly the most dangerous places in tlie English Channel, and all good sailors heave a sigh of relief v;hen they have passed them by and put out into the broad Atlantic . It was my good fortune to find some old Yorkshire friends stopping in Deal and after a cup of tea in their hospitable home, we wandered out upon the beach and en- jo3'-ed a jolly afternoon until the departure of our train for CanterbuTir. I In returning to o\ir hotel on arriving in Canterbury, [ it was neces3ar3'- for us to proceed up the High Street which was, and still is, the main thorouglifare or post -226- I road, to and from the totm. How many pilgrims have passed ' in and out this road, it would be vain to surmise, "but their number must "be legion. The street is crowded with many qtiaint and interesting houses of the half timbered '■ construction so popular in the 14th, 15th and 16th Cen- i turies, and many "Pubs" indeed I cannot understand how i [ they all exist, yet the odor of tanneries and other works I on the outskirts of the city suggest a large laboring j population and it is no doubt from this class that they secure their patrons. Canterbury is today a tovvn of j j about 30,000 inhabitants, situated on a small stream called I the Stour, and its history has been that of the religious history of the land. j After the murder of Thomas a Becket in 1170, the ' town became the undisputed center of religious life and is now dignified as the religious metropolis of England. Of the famous inns there still remains only the old Palstaff Inn on High Street, "The Chequers Inn" of Chaucer's day has disappeared; not\7ithst£inding this tliere is a wealth of historic material in the town in which an antiquarian could revel for months. The following day being Saturday, and not desiring to spend Sunday in a sleepy to\TO like Canterbury, we decided to proceed to Oxford, which at least would be on our homeward way. In order to do this it was necessary to -227- return again to London aJ3d take the Great 'Western R. R. upon which, according to our contract, \iq had agreed to travel to Liverpool. This forced us to double on our tracks and one joB.y justly ask vrhy we did not cross from Ostend, Selgium, to Dover and proceed up to London through Canterburj'' 3aving this detour. That would have been the proper route to have chosen on leaving Amsterdam and woi^ld have given us a glimpse of Antwerpp Brussels.- and Ostend. Unfortunately, there v/as an Exhibition in Brufl:;els i I at the time and this had encouraged so much travel via the Gstend route to and from England that accomrnodationswere |d?.ff?-cult to secure; furthermore a short time before our larr.-f.val in Holland half of the exhibition had been de- struyed by file, and the j.ncentive being gone, we wisely 'Chose the route from the Hook of Holland to Harwich. -228- " Ell ROUTE ?0 OXPORD" It v;as a oeautiful morning v/hen V7e started on the ex- press, which t^;o ho\irs later landed us at the Victoria Station not far from Buckingham Palace the heart of aristo-^ cratic London. "he -/eather had heen so rainy and depressing during our foriTiar stay in the city that nov/ that the sun had come out to dispel the gloom an ujicontrollable desire came upon us to remain a few days longer so that we might enjoy it at its best. An odd confession this; yet true, nevertheless. Was it po3si'ble that in so cohort a time we v/ere beginning to feel the lure of London? Yes it '.".'as true - and nov; that we are three thousand miles away the delightful memory of our visit only makes it truer. But alas.' it was not to be. Hiring an auto we put our luggage aboard and were whirled off to Paddington Station at tv;enty miles an hoar. As we passed Buckingham Palace, with the new memorial now' being erected on the liall, to the late Queen Victor-'.a, we caat a last lingering look at it and the beautiful px-omenaie, and before we v/ere a- i ! ware of it wore in Regent Gi'.rcus with its ever moving throng of h'jmanitjr. Up Regents Street \ie fle^;, passing -229- tlie eliT;e a'.iops of London, to Oxford Circus, whence up '^^ :>Tcl Street passed the iTew Selfridges Store to Paddington TT.-.en \7e arrived I asked the cabb;^ the fare; and paid hin the sun, giving hirn a shilling tip for the skill he dis- pla^^ed in passing in and out these cro'irdod thoroughfares TTithout a scratch. riie speed rre had laade across London gave us an }iour for luncheon "before the departure of our train. Heedless to say vre were read;-" for the meal. It |then becaiue necessary for us to cotiply with our contract with the G.T7.E.R, and buy our tickets to Liverpool. Desir- jing to stop at many places "en route", we decided to buy ifron point to point. I therefore went to the Booking Office and asked for tliree second class tickets to Oxford. ! i^o my surprise the Booking Clerk informed mo that there was no longer a second class, only first and third. Kaving tray lelled on this road many tines before, second class, I could' scarcely believe him, and asked him how long this new class-^ ification had been in effect. "Oh," he replied, "since this morning." We thereupon bought tliree first class tickets paying the round sum of 31 shillings and 6 pence for them. As the Paddington Station is one of the largest and most confusing, we got a porter to put us on the train, an exi:roBs, and asked him wlaat had become of the second class carriages. "AIi," he said, "'ere's one, onl^r it's got a tliree painted on the door Instead of a two." VZe looked -230- it over and sure enough he had let the cat out of the "bag. Tiiereafter v/e bought third class tickets and saved just one half on our trip to Liverpool. I mention this incident to show how the coEipetition betTxeen the various R. R. lines is slov/ly but surely giving the people of moderate means better acconmiodations for their money. It is a virell known expression in England that only fools and Americans travel first class. That, hov;ever, is not altogether just, for it often happens | that the second and third class carriages are so crowded ithat one is forced to travel first class or remain for a later train. ^Nevertheless , every indication points to an elinination of the second and the advancing of the third class on all the English R.R. 's, so that they will even- I 'tually have cheaper fares than \re have in this country. Our route lay through the beautiful mid-counties of England which on this fair early autumn day, vrore to be seen at "cheir best, the harvesters had already gathered 'their crops, the shooting season had opened and as we i 'passed the large turnip fields we could see the sportsmen [and their dogs beating the fields in search of the wiley pheasant. i Tiien we reached Slough, where a short branch road I I runs up to Windsor, I regcetted thr^t our time did not al- I low us to spend t: e day there, for on a former trip I had -231- discovered a charming little inn near the Castle and I would have liked to have vi^iited it again. Eut we ha-f*. no time to dall^. A short time after Isaving Slough we stopped at Reading and a half hoiir later v/sre in Oxforci.. -232- Oxford. <- I'athaniel Ka\7thorne is said to have viriften in one of his essays, "The T;;orlcl surely has not another place like Oxford, iz is a despair, to see such a place and ever leave it, for it would take a lifetine and more than one to comprehend and see it satisfactorily." Surely, after such an introduction as this, it v/as discouraging to tourists like ourselves to hope to see or comprehend much in a day and a half. Portunately I had visited this great University town tv:ice "before and the last time in company vrith my "brother Pred and together \7e had faithfully visited all the principal points of interest. Our visit this time was confined to onljr one College, Christ Church, which is one of the largest (accommodating 250 students) and also one of the wealthiest of the group of 21 colleges that form the University of Oxford. Pound- ed in 1524 by Cardinal Wolsey, it is one of the most fash' iona"ble colleges and its Cathedral, the smallest in England; is used as the College Chapel. Justly famous for its ITonnan Architecture, it has some ^'ery beautifully modern stained glass v;indows which greatli'- add to the -233- beauty of its interior. The Q,uadrangle or f^uad of this college is the largest and finest in Oxford, and its hanc'sone gateway called the Toci Gate was begun ty ¥olsey. In its tov/er is hung a bell called Great Tom which weighs seven and one half tons and tolls the curfew ever;'' night I at five Eiinutes to nine, by striking one hundred and one strokes, indicating the number of students on the founda- tion. Five Liinutes later the college gates are closed all over Oxford, and the town then takes on its quiet pea.ceful air to last until the next raorning. | I It was our good fortune to visit the Great Dining I •tiall and Kitchens before the gates were closed to visi- tors. The Great Kail is a beautiful room 115 feet long by 40 feet wide and 50 feet high. It is lighted on both I sides by long lancet windows, and the carved oak Tuaor ceiling gildad and decorated adds greatly to its beauty. Around the walls wore hung many portraits of the famous i 'graduates and others. Among the number I noted a por- trait of Gladstone by Millais , one of Henry "III by Kollbein, one of Q,ueen Elizabeth by Zucchero and one of John Lock© by Leiy. Mow many others there were, I do not remember, but the majority v/ere portraits of high dignitaries of •the Church of England. This fact led me to inquire fur- ther and I learned greatly to my surprise that the total revenue of the University of Oxford was i 400,000 per -234- 1 annua and that it had in its gift 450 ecclesiastical I I livings Talac?d. at £ 190,000,- that of Carrjbridge being i 370 livings valued at £ 100,000. Here was the explana- i tion readily enough. Think of it. These two Universities I control 820 livings valued at '-pi, 450, 000 per annum, or an i „ I average of §8,600. each. However many of the clergymen i occupying these livings I regret to say are miserably under paid, whilst others are grossly overpaid. I remem- ber once having this made quite clear to me, when I was shown a parish church, near a manufacturing town the cler- i gynan of v/hich, I was told, received the munificent sum i of £ 300 or $1500 per annum. On another occasion in coaching through Cornwall, I was shown a magnificent j parish church set in the centre of a vilD.age of twenty houses i' the clergyman of which received L2,000 or $10,000 per annum. Is it little wonder therefore, that there is great dissatisfaction at this injustice? Pur- ! thermore, in England, we must remember, the people are I taxed for the Established Church, and ITon-conf ormist j though one be, he must pay the tax although he mii.y never ! desire to enter the shrine of the estate. I On returning from Ohritbt Church College to our I Hotel, dignified by the ecclesiaf uical title of "The ' Mitre". I was sorrjr to note that the sun had become ob- soured under a heavy bank of wind clouds that portended a -235- cold ancl dreary- day for the morrow. lEy companions who hcd preceded me had retired to their room and ordered a fire built, to the great surprise of the maids Tvho found the ho'iiel warm o.nd comfortable. Probably'- if we had had to work aj hard as they, we too would have found the house warm, but 65 degrees was not a comfortable tsmpera'-i'.re to i us. Hov; they manage to keep warm in the winder in such a countrj'-, is a problem. ?ew houses or hotels liave any other means of heating than small open f ire-p^'.aces, v.'hioh burn-- ing semi -bituminous coal require an eternity to get sta-^ed and then only give out enough varmth to take the chill ovt of a tomb-like room. That night we dined with the other guests in ~he cozy dining room of the hotel, being served an excellent meal a I'Anglaise. Although it was not yet the opening of the college term, the hotel was filled T;ith English pecpla, we being the only Americans among them. The dinner over, I went for a walk through the tovm. To my surprise, the main streets were brilliantly lighted and thronged with boys and girls, men and v;omen of evei^;'- station in liie making their purchases for the morrow, Ir.ughing and. jok\ng as they pacsed up and dovra the fatieots, w-iose s.rae wn,ll:3 weae so narruv that thoy were forced to take to the road- way to the great disgust of the av.toigts, w'^o dared not proceed at a speed above a snail's paoe. Prom \/hence all -236- th-GSfe; people a me I do not know for the town onlj*- has a pc-piOp/t.; on of about: 55,000, and there bsJng no xnanufactor- ie.i near oy, I cjlu onl;r surmise that they ■mere actual resi- dents. Howovtr, I concluded that the county seat of Oxfordshire, (an Episcopal See) and the most ancient and celebrated Universitjr in Europe, has gathered together as large a population as jrnan:'' of our great University towns in this country. As I had anticipated the next day Sunday broke with an i overcast sky and a cold north wind that chilled cne tc the bone nevertheless I ventured out for a walk on the meadows that border the River Thames and returning by Polly Bridge heard the Church bells ringing. I therciupon decided to go to church. Amid such a wealth of churches I was at a loss which to select, but finally nearing a beautiful church on the l/Iain Street, which ceemed to be attracting many of the townspeople, I entered. The services were I jjust beginning and noting the large choir and the Dean and other clergymen with their brilliantly colored hoads , I anticipated a rare and interesting service. Imagine my [disappointment when the choir began to chant the Te Deum in a dreary nasal manner that nearly drove me mad; then follonud the long and tedious prayers, and seme more chant.'.rtg until the offsrtor^'- was taken. Ah.' now, thought I, we chall have an interlude on the organ by a competent -237- iLiubical Bachelor zhut will make me forget the aelinquenciea I of the choir. Alas.' whoever was at -che key board had nothing to say and knew nox \7hither he was drifting. Prom the ciorciinant he progressed \>y a simple transivion to the iQinor, then again the raajor then to the aiminished seventh and after an uneventful wandering, arrived at the dominant with which he had comraericed. Surel;-' a pathetic musical wandering this; for an interlude that should have touched the hearts of the congregation and made them weep. But finally the Dean ascended the pulpit and in a feehlQ voice read the text. Hardly had he finished when I saw in his face that "beautiful spiritual expression, that only years of coianunion with God can give. An old man with snow white hr.ir carefully dressed, he in his pure 7rhite surplice and hrillianx college hood, stood there a living excimple of Ozcford's culture and the sweet and ser- viceable life which the clerg^'' of the English Church lead. As he progressed with his sermon, hio voice grew stronger j and ere long he had the congregation completely under the away of his scholarl;' mind. That his message of gentls - ness, love, hope and faith reached the hearts of many hat day, I am sure for as we passed out of the church I saw many eyes of the congregation sul'fused with tears as they took t}ieir way homeward strengthened and upheld ty his good words. Gratified that m;/ lonely adventure -238- k had-^noir T^een xirLrewarded^ XTretrurrie7- ever this defect is scarcel3^ noticeable and the interior still confornis to the ecclesiastical points of the con- pass. The chancel being called the east in all English churches although geographically it nay point to the j north or any other point. i The chancel of the church is particularly fine, being beautifully decorated with a handsoxae carved marble altar with dossal curtains of red plush, as vrell as pol- ished brass candelabras and other appointiaents of recent date. But the chief point of historic interest is | Shakespeare's tonb which is a slab of marble let into the ! pavement in which is carved the famous epitaph of the Bard of Avon: Good friend, Por Jesus ' sake forbearTi I To dig the dUBt enclosed here, -260- 1 I I Blessed "be he that spares these stones, And cursed be he that inoves my bones. C'he effect of this epitaph has been to prevent Shakespeare's I reii'iains from being removed to Westminster Abbey and Strat- I ford on Avon has consequently become his shrine. Returning to the hotel we lunched and then drove to Anne Hathaway 's Cottage, about a mile beyond the town. I airi glad to sa^-- thax this picturesque cottage is now the property of the state, and well maintained. A pretty countrj'- lass shovred us about and exlaibited the settle on which Shakespeare courted and proposed to Anne. Chere were many other interesting things in the cottage, but the most naive and original v^as the lass herself v/ho told her tale in such a convincing manner that one would liave been a brute to have doubted anything she said. A short drive brought us to Shakespeare's house, the home and birthplace of the bard, l^ius by contrarity had we journeyed from his grave to his cradle instead of from his cradle to his grave. I think I ai-Q quite within the realm of truth v;hen I say tliat there is no house in all England so interesting to (Americans as this. "I7e may be shovm the rarest treasures of ■ Snglish history and adijit a general interest in them, but as this history is alwa^^s a record of bloody wars, the theme "be- comes nauseating and vie gladly discard it for something -261- more beautiful. In Shakes per.re 's x.iany plays we find not only English historj'- but English custonis and manners, and most delight- ful of all "Che fanciful inspirations of a great poet. Eis plavs bring us nearer to the life of the times he de- I piots, and. consciously or unconsciousl;/ we are grateful to hin for the pleasure he has given us. It is in this ! t spirit; the vast majorioy of our people visit his home, and' I venture to assert that none leave it without a loftier regard for his abilit-"- and an unbounded adiniration for i I the works he has bequeathed us as a heritage. I In the days of Washington Irving the house was shown by "a garrulous old lad3'-", - and kept in indifferent re- pair. Today it is in^ perfect preservation and the guard- ian, a sweet and amiable old lady of about sixti?-, takes a genuine love in showing one about. Aside from its archi- tectural interest, there is a wealth of literarjr treasure within this small abode that would make a bibliophile happy for the remainder of his life. Koting my interest in the manuscripts the dear old lady came over to me and pointing to a copy of "Midsianmer Might's Dream", printed in 1610, said there is onl^'- one other edition of this play more rare and that was printed in 1600. The copy is now in "The British liuseum". As I regarded the quaint copy and then looked up in the intelligent face;,. I wondered -262- by what m<*ann of mind reading shs had sslected the play of c.ll I lcY8 the r>.o£t» There wp.re many more valuable and hio turioallj'- iatereating inanu!:i'^r ipts in the case, why did she net mention them? But no, b3'- intuition she had doubtless read my thought and noting my interest mentioned the smallest edition, a single play, vriiich in olden time was sold for a couple of shillings. Prom this incident oiiT conversation led to the questioned authenticity of certain of Shakespeare's works, and wre we knew it we were both deep in the study of his personality and plays. It has been my pleasure to meet in my day ma.ny stu- dents well ^''versed in Shakespearean lore, but rarely have I met one so intimatelj?- acquainted with the life and works of the famous Bard. I laughingly'- told her so and advised her to v/rite a little history for the tourists. She blushed and apologetically disclaimed any literary abil- ity. Yet if the truth were known this dear old lady knew more about the subject than many of those who have written or discoursed upon the theme. If she would write the story In the quaint English in which she addressed me that day her narrative would have a charm that would make it worth whj.le- For art, as RuskJ.n has said: "is nature passed through the alembic of man". And Shakespeare's life and labors seen through her amiable personality would make a etory nicst compelling. -263- To rise froio obscurity and become a prince is the thsiae of laany a romance. Yet sucli stories are based upon the accident of birth, and final discovery of the real identity of the prince. There is little of interest to me in such stories for the reason tht^t the prince could not control fate, and hereditary glory is conferred, not I .achieved. | i The story of Shakespeare is iiameasural)ly more com- pelling because it is true. By his manhood he first learned oO conquer his o^n unruly spirit, and by unrelen;;- ing effort and genius he later attained to the highest i distinction in his art, the drama. Surely, here is mater- jial for a romance unequalled, yet incredible as it may appear none of importance has yet been vsa-itten. The cold Itruth is; his life is shrouded in mystery, and although e attained due recognition for his work v/hile alive, I am sure that if he v^ere to. return to this world today and hear the praises chanted in his neune , he would be the most surprised man in the v;orld. In fact, I think he •./ould ! gladly cisk to be transported back to the realm where adulation is unknown, where name and fame are lost, and tjj-'ie and sp^. ce are one. I have no intention of writing the story of Shakes- peare's life, others have already done that, but that he was the grea'^est genius of his time I will gladly admit, -264- r I onljr ask thai; those poets rirhoa he gpithered atout hira and T7ho unqviestionabl;.- aided hici in many of his plays be not forgotten. I It was the custom of the period for great masters to gather about themselves, collaboraters and "by the united effort of all thejr thus produced innumerable works of merit. That Shakespeare did the same I am convinced; I that he wrote manj- plays unaided I am also convinced, and j I am satisfied that KidsuiDmer Hight's Dream, is one of them. To my mind, it shows him at his best, although "The j Tempest" in fanciful conception is a rare second and per- haps the most mature of his plays. However taste differs in these matters and it is difficult to decide. Suffice it, he was not only a great poet, but what is more impor- tant he was a very great dramatist, perhaps the greatest the English stage has ever known. Eut now w^e must leave him and his works to return once more to Leamington, and prepare for the morrov/'s j urn ey homeward . As I sat that night in my room before my cheer3'- fire, medixating over the wonders of the ds.y, my mind in fancy j Tv'as wafted back to the time when as a boy I sat upon my father's knee in the Old Bowery Theatre, to witness the ! first Shakespearean drama I had ever seen. Then, as this memory psssed., half dozing, half awake, the various -265- -1 chrxructHiT of his ple^ya passed in solemn procecsion "be- j r^'Txr rr^r:. crid ere I knew it, I v^as in that poet's dreamland, j j ''where axry nothings take a local habitation and a najne", Suuh is the influence of this great toaster's works, and happy is he, v;ho in meiaorj'-, can still fall beneath their Eiagic spell. -266- GAesie?'. - CKESTER It was another overcast day ■'.Then we left Leanington for Chester; unf ortunatel-"" we wore not a"ble to catch the i through train and consequently- were olDliged zo take a local to Birruinghaci where we intercepted a later express direct to Chester. A dela;;-'' of a half hour at Birruingliaia gave us a cliance to walk through the to'vra and see a lixtle of | i j ! the city, hut not sufficient to encourage mo xo v^rite a- j I bout it. ?Iov7ever we were hurrying on to a tov/n that held more interest for us and it v;as therefore with no regret | I that we left the snoke of Birmingliaia behind us. ■'•Tiiile v;e were at luncheon in the dining car our train passed through Shrewsburj/-, and scarcely believing ray e;^es, , I asked i:he waiter if it could be possible tha.t we had cone that distance in so short a time. "Oh Aye"!^ he re- plied, "This is the Great Western Express, ^e are due in I Liverpool at two o'clock, sir, Chester at 1.30." He v^ras i quite correct, for we load hardly finished our luncheon be- fore the guard opened the dooi' and we v;ere landed in the historic old tovm of Chester. I On a forner trip we liad gone to the Queens Hotel oppo- site the station, but that proving ao noisy, we deterinined t this time to try "The Orovesnor", located on East Sate -267- Street quits near the Cathedral. It had just ceased rain- I mg vi'r.en. we took the cah, and ':he air was inoist and chilly.' It was therefore a welcome treat to see a roarinc soft coal fire in the \7riting roo/n adjoining the office, and thither we drifted with some Arriericans who had just ar- rived from Slirewsbury in -heir automobile. Although they v/cre "rarraly clad they were chilled to the hone. One of the ladies in the partj'- was so complete- ly done up that she v/as quite ill. Yet iu v;as only the first week in September, the time \fiien England should look its best and the weather be bright and bracing. And now to those Americans v^rho think the;'- know Englishj climate, let me counsel tiiem to trus': it no longer. The climatic conditions are gradually changing. Cold and rainy summers arc becoming more frequent. -his season it rained almoso incessantly in London from the first of May until the 25th of July. And in Paris the record was little be-cter, therefore if one be not prepared for such a cola reception, he must cross to the contineni; and run to the south. Chester being tiie capital of Cheshire, and the Chief Eiarket for the famous Chedder Cheeses, is to this da;;- a place of importance and enterprise. Although h town of only 40^000 Inhabitants, it Is next to Stratford ana Oxford the tovra most .frequented by tourists i Aside from its •2G8- historic interest it is the town of all oohors in England where one can study "best th.e half tifibereci stj^le of archi- tecture. -hat this earl;^ style of construction is still in vogue after 500 yean-s use is the oest proof of its prac- ticabilit;,.' and utilitj^. It is th.is adherence to style that gives the to'.m its character, and I hope "uhe da;"" may he far distp^nt oaf ore steel cage construction \;ill "be per- mitted. Historically the ~own "boasts of earlj-' Roiijan origin, | and their fighting men have "been noted for tiieir courage and braver;-. The last tcvm to ^'■ield "co Villianj the Con- queror in 1070 during the Civil V/ar it held out stoutljr for two years for Charles 1st, but finally the people were stai-ved into sub/nission in 1646, The tower in which King Charles I, saw his amy defeated on Rov/ton noor s"Gill stands and being a part of the ancient v/all is new pre- served as a museum. ! This wall is of con^iaerable extent, and like that of St> lilalo , is nov; converted into a promenade. I v/as told that it was two miles in circumference, and can assert that it is fully -hat length from ":he time it took me to make the circuit. Originally- the River T^ee washed the foot of the walls on the southern side, but the silking of the stream has left the walls a considerable distance from the presen'c edge of the river. -269- If one lias time it is a pretty excursion up the r.".ver by launch, and a veritable floxilD.a aTvai'cs one ao Dee Sricge where on a lioliday, the youth of the town dcsport theiiselvea. However interesting the wall and tlie river nay he, th.e most characteristic feature of the tovm is what are called the Eows . These are really a kind of sheltered way ouilt above the shops on the street and approached by steps at various points. Sonie of the best shops in the tovm are located in these Rows which are sheltered by the overhanging houses, which align with the stores below. The effect is extreoely picturesque and I marvel thr t in crowded London they have never built any- thing of the kind. Perhaps some day they will awake to 1 the utility of the sche:rie. | Learning that service would be held in the Cathedral at 4:40 o'clock. I went there with the hope of once a- gain hearing the great organ. Vnen I arrived the clergy ar.d choristers had already ente.riid the chancel and the service had commenced. Altho the service was very inter- i esting the chanting was ver^.- poor, notwithstanding the imposing nuciber of choristers. However, the services were short and almost before I was aware of it the choir re- turned to the sacristy. Then for the first ticie, the organist seejned to awaken from his daj*" dream, and there floated through tha-tvast interior, such a mj.ghty volume -270- of laannonic sounds that I sat spell-bound for nany iaOi_ents. Prom EQv vantage point I could see the organist, 'vrorking at the Icey-Doard in a sort of xrjusical ecs'cas;'-, whilst at his side, a 3'oung assistant, coupled and uncoupled the various stops, which being operated electrically brought into instant action new coi/ibinations of pipes that made the church tremble. I do not know what corubinations were employed that afternoon, but thec^ffect was often that of I an orchestra pla:-ing sweetlj--, and then again that of a mighty thunder storm, reverberating from one end of the church to the other. I would have gladly remained longer, but the Sacristan appearing, the organist ceased, and I with a few others, was shovm the chancel and the exquisite carved stalls and ibishop's throne that have, at great expense, been repaired and now are considered the best oak carving of the period. I It would require a book to fully describe this beau- i tiful Cathedral, but I cannot leave it without mentioning the Mosaics which occupy the north side of the nave, which my brother considers to be the best exeimples of modem marble mosaics in the country. This statement in no way detracts from the importance of the modern mosaics in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, which are of glass mosaic very foeautifully relieved with gold. Since my last visit, a beautiful marble tomb has been -271- placecT in the tranoept to the iDecjory of England's grand old men, (Gladstone). It is a most beautiful exa^iple of jthe sculptor's art and I predict "ill "be treasured as such in years to coir.e. r-arwarden Castle, his late ho^iie , lies but a short distance frcii here end thus he, like Shakespeare, Till ever be associated with Chester. i ' Another estate of great interest, Eaton riall, lies about four niiles up the P;iver Dee. This estate is the seat of the Duke of Westminster, a descendant of Hugh Lupus, a nephew of William the Conqueror. Eaton Hall is said to I be one of the finest modern mansions of the ari3tocrac3'' hereabouts, and is adorned with every resource of modern art. Although I liac: not the time to visit it I can well I believe it is a very beautiful estate, i or if I am not mistaken the income of the luke of Westminster is so great ■that it would make that of many of our millionaires seem small in comparison. I There are so many places of interest in Chester and its vicinity that one should allow three days instead of one to visit them, ITevertheless our day had been well occupied, a.nd v^eary but content I returned to the hotel wl:ere, after a good dinner, I retired to my room just as the Town Clock was striking nine. Ten ininutos later I wa,3 in the lend of dreams, from which no tiling short of an -272- l^/'ve.rA}ool earthquake could have av;akened me. Such is the fatigue that coraes upon one after three montha of incessant sigiit -seeing. LI^^ZRFOOL I I j I Prom Chester to Liverpool is a short run of atout thirty Eiinutes, if one goes "by the Tiray of the Mersey Tun- nel, hut the 1:y trip by ferry from Birkenhead is more i agreeable it one has the time. Ho^.irever, desiring to reach j the Central Station near which our Hoxel "The Adelphi" was loceted v:e transferred at Birkenhead to the Electric | road, that runs under the river. A worse rattle trap of an equipment I have rarel;- seen; the doors and Tvindows j seemed in the throes of dissolution, and the floor and sides of the cars squeaked and groaned as if thej^ could ' stand the strain no longer. Finally we arrived and v;alk- ing across to the hotel found that our trunks had come from London a week before us, thus the G. \7, R.R. had fulfilled its promise and v/o had completed our agi'eemeno ' wi th th em , an d both we r e y a t i 3 f i c d « I Our steamer being billed to sail on September 10th at 4 P»M, , and as we arrived in Livei'pool on the 8th, we had therefore just 46 hours in which to prepare for the voj^age . As the last days on shore are always busy ones, -273- I had but little tinie to devote to the to\'m or its attrac- tions, therefore T.'hat I v/rite on the subject must be brief and may be unoatisf actorj'- to thosG who greatly adiiiire the , citj-. Although I have visited the city many tiiies, I have never founc" it an alluring place. The greatest sea- port of Englano, with a coinmerce rivaling that of any j European port, has little to attract the historian, archi- tect, poet or painter, but to those interested in ships j and shipping and a,ll the many ramifications of trade con- nected with them, Liverpool must be the El Dorado of th3ir dreams . In fact it might be compared to a lusty shipwright who has grown to be a merchant pri'.ijce, whose house is furnished with the lujcuries of the rich, yet whose I aesthetic tastes have never progrcsssed be^^ond the limits of his urade or social environment. I Tith a population of nearly a million inl^abitants , with niany large manufacturing towns near by, with the Great T^estern and Great l^orthern R. E. terminating in the j cit3', one would naturall}"- expect to find it a town resem- bling London in some siriall degree. But drive a mile out j London Road from the heart of the city, and you would j think you were in a country town of the thousand inhabi- tants. However, if you pass down to the water front and look up and down the river at the miles of docks and -274- thousands of tons of shipping, you will get a different ijmpression. The truth is, Liverpool is a Yery great port, -.vhe re cargoes, like the sujruner flock of American tourists, coiae and go, but never remain. Located on the Mersej'" an estuar^^ chout a mile in width, running into the Irish Sea, it is an excellent haroor for the greatest ships. The tidal conditions, hov;ever, jLake it necessary to dock all but the very larg- est ships, 1-,'hich are anchored in mid-streain and loaded or lAiiloaded b;^ lighters. It was thought that Then the Manchester Ship Canal was cut through from the Mersey, that Liverpool would suf- fer grea~ly froir: the loss of trade. Yet Liverpool has survived end thrived notwithstanding the enterprise of Ivlanchester, the greatest market of cotton goods in the world, v;hose cargoes now sail gaily down the Mersey with- out paj-ing tribute. This is a great compliment to the enterprise of Liverpool whose citizens deal in cargoes, the destination of which ma3/ be the antipodes. I re- member once having a glance at a ship from the Orient, ty going on board a P. i: 0., Steamer which had just come from India. It was Sunday afternoon and the Laskar fire- men were seated on the deck in their turbans listening to a dusky lad playing a flageolette whilst another one of -275- their troup beat a tota-tom in a weird rliytliHiic cadence. I Vsas greatly- surprised at the nvjjjher ejiployed on Lhe coat, and seeing an officer inquired hov: he xuana,ged to get along with such a lot of heathens. "Oh", he said, "they are "better workers in hot climates than Englishiiian. " And I have no douct he spoke the truth. If one were to wander among the miles of docks which I skirt the waterfront of Liverpool, he could see ships which have come frori ever^- corner of the glohe. The cosmopolttan crews which these vessels bring, are with their cargoes, emptied into the town, anc' the "Fucs" consequently do a thriving business. This and the close proximity of many manufacturing towns explain r/h;- Liverpool has such a large population of the so-called other half.. If I reiiiemcer correctly, rirkenhead has 100,000 inhabitants, and to'Tns j like "Port-'Sunllght" , the home of Sunlight Soap, liave 6000 or more interested in manufacturing. i^ear Eirkenhead, facing the sea, directlj^ opposite Liverpool, is a sort of Coney Islanc' called Black Pool. This resort is much frequented by the holiday excursion- ists of llanchester and other towns, who by pre-arrangement , go there for a "wake" of two weeks during the season. I yyish I could describe one of thece "wakes" or excur- sions, and the manner in which they are managed, but that is something that I must reserve for another story. -276- Suffice it, it is on these excursions that one can stucij- English character to his heart's content. The proximity of Liverpool to ¥ales, and also to Ireland-, ineuces iLan3'- of these countrj'men to come to the city vrhere often to their own detriment, the^- re^nain to live anc' die airiid its saoke and traffic. Tl'.sir influence is very noticeatle upon the town and helps to explain the 1 jthriving "business of the "Pubs". 1 Eesiring to catch a glimpse of these countrymen in their haunts, I strolled one afternoon through the fish 'market where were displayed all the edible fish of the English waters. The great variety and beaut;' of the ifinny trite ahsorted my attention so much that I had al- most forgotten my purpose in going there, when a monstrous 'fish wife, with a voice like a rasp and a face with n.fwany a "blossom upon it, carrje up and spoke to me in Welsh. Por 1 Ithe life of me I could not understand 7;hat she said; when another one, a neigh"bor of hers much of the same build, came over and aeked me, in an Irish "brogue that was al- most equally unintelligible, to buji- her fish. I explained that I was a naturalist, not a hotel stev^ard, and told them I was sailing that day for ITev: York. At once their solic- itations ceased and they bombarded me with questions ahout Amerikee until, in self-defense, I was o"bliged to flee. Oh;, the magic of that word Americac' ??ho can •277- understand Vr^at charms it holdo for those 7:hose errviromiient is £0 heirless and depressing. Before sailing I detemiined to have a peep at Tne Walker Art Gallery, located on the square opposite the Lrine Street Station. Unfortunately the collsotion vsas "being re-hung and such pictures as I saw teerc already well known to me. However there is there the neucleus of a good exhibition and in time to come they may obtain "by bequest or purchase enough other works to uiakc it a really strong collection. | Tirectly opposite the Art Museum, in the centre of the gretit square, lies St. Georges Hall, the finest build- ing in the city, said to have cost a million and a half dollars. The large expanse of space around this fine structure, gives it such a dignified setting that one is naturally attracted to it. In form it is that of a Greco- Rosian Temple of colossal proportions, being 600 feet long "by 170 feet wide, with two wings each of which form a i facade with a colonnade of sixteen colujnns each bearing a tympanums above, containing emblematic sculptures of coji- i merce, art etc. Curiously enoiAgh, the north end of the i building is semi-circular, giving it the effect of chan- cel to a cathedral. ' The exterior of this building i.s certainly very re- markable, and architecturally, will rank v/ith any "building -£73- n of the period in England. Nevertheless, it is the interior ! that appeals most to "-:he average observer. Designed for various purposes, the wings are given to the Courts of Assize, Khilst the Great Kail, 170 feet long, 90 feet wide, 'and 80 feet high, occupies the aain nave or Basilica, if i I ma.y term it such. This Great Hall is used fOT public liaeetings and concerts and is handsomelj'- decorated -^^ith carved marble statues of local celebrities and others, and has a re^ticrkable arched ceiling of stone. At the end of the hall, opposite the entrance is the great organ, claimed to be the largest in the '.vorld. In a seiLi-circle about the console of the organist, are the seats for singers, while the platform in front of these accommodates a large orchestra. I regret to say that with all our lavish ex- penditure for nusic and concert halls, we have nothing in this country approaching this magnificent building archi- tecturally- or in practicability^. Opposite the facade of St. George's Hall are equestrian statues of the late Queen Victoria and Prince Consort, and to the north rises the ¥ellington Monujient, 115 feet high. There are other monximents end fountains, and the square on all sides is surrounded by inan^r buildings of consider- e,ble architectural importance. j Prom the square one may v;alk down Dale or Victoria Streets, passing man3^ fine shops on the vfs.y, and reach the -279- Pier head where is located the ne'.T "Dock Board Offices", a tuilding in Ksnaissance architecture '.7hich \7ill conpare favoral-1;;' -with rrjr.r." of our cest. Western capital buildings. Tear ty are the nevr and siii^ptuous offices of "The Lloyds", a ii.assive "building taller and larger than "The Dock Board Offices" and ccTering q-iite a nq;\are block. These are still uncoii/rleted and are of L'art ITouveau archi- tectujre. The coinparative proxiinit3^ of these tv;o great "buildings gi^es one an opportunit;" to compare these styles of architecture. And I think I voice the opinion of the vast uiEjority ■:rhen I sa^?- that L'art Nouveau building is infinitely less dignified and beautiful than its neighbor. At the Pier head is located the Great Landing stage - sonietiaes celled The Princess Pier because it adjoins the Princess Tccks nearb;-. This is a series of floating pon- toons of colossal proportions, perhaps a half aile in length, on '"hich are located all lianner of shipping offices, rraiting roorus and the like. This sj'^steja of landing stage is made necessary by the great rise and fall of the tide in the Mersey. Connected to th? Pier head b;/ :iizny iron bridges, the stage at high tide is level -7ith the stone Pier, but at lo" '--ater it is 20 or CiOre feet belov; the level of the Pier, and it is then difficult to mount or :nd . I re;Tje:Lber '.veil the last time I took ship here. It -280- ' T7as at that time low tide, and I had given my taggage to a i:orter -.vho putting it on a little two-wheeled truck i started do'i'm the decline. In his anxiety to appear ener- getic he hustled the truck to the bridge and started down j at a saart pace. Alas.' he had under-estimated the pitch I I of the bridge which was quite an angle of 45 degrees. In 1 a jiff3r he and the truck struck the floor of the stage with such force that he was thrown completely over the hag- gage and landed ten feet away. A crowd instantly gathered around him, and finding him unhurt chaffed him for his clumsiness. Then follOT;ed a flow of Billingsgate, that cannot be heard short of Merry Old England. Such is the comedy Y;ith which one's travels are often relieved. -281- The afternocn of our la,st Ciaj ashors h.ad arrived. The passengers Tere "busy getting their luggage together, and our hotel was in an uproar. As m^* oompaniuns and myself T7ere awaiting a cab an olcl friend '>7ith ^hom I had crossed severr.l tiir.es "before, caane up to greet me. "Kello Dick," said I, "Tuiere avrajr?*' "?Iomeward "bound", he cried as he slung his satchel into a cab^ "liThat ship?" I inquired. "The Arabec" he replied. "Good," I sallied, "V/e shall aiQQ% again in Queenstov/n. " He laughed incredulously at this and a Hioiiient later was bowling along to the Princess Pier. Tow it v;as surely a curious coincident, that neither of us had knovm the other vras abroad, yet after an absence of three months v/e h^d met in Liverpool on the day of our ship's departure. To one who covers the beaten tracks abroad ouch unex- pected meetings are not infrequent, >2.nd that is "fhj one need net fear being lonesome while traveling alone in Euroite. I have had so JLany experiences in which I have met friends on my journey that I nov; regard it as a part cf the trip. Arriving at the Princess Pier, our steaaer "The -282- liauretania" lay alongside the floe.ting stage, a Uir.jestic picture for a painter. All atout was noise and confusion, and I marvel now that all is over that the passengers and baggage that xrere put aboard that dB.y in so short a tinie. Cn the stroke of 4, three pov;erful tugs caiXie along- ' side and as soon as the cahles attaching the Leviathan to I i the pier had teen cast off, to^ved our craft out to mid- st reajti, Vv'-herewith the eobing tide she slipped gently do^m ! the streri'j. A few moments later the;- ooo cast off their I cables and then under our own steam vie proceeded down the i river past Blackpool, then into the channel and at last I I were out into the Irish Sea, homeT/ard bound. I I Ireland, being separated from Scotland by the ITor'ch Channel, and from England by the Irish Sea and St.(Jeorge's Channel, our course therefore after leaving the Uersey lay due r/est. A short run brought us to the Light of Hollj-head lying off the peninsular or isle of Anglesea, Prom this point our course lay from south to south west down the St. George's Channel around to Queens town which lies on the southern coast of Ireland. Once out to sea, the nervous straiii under which we had been laboring for the past few hours, gave Y/ay to a foiling: of repose and I retired to my cabin and fell into , ■ i a heavy slujiiber from which I did not awake until late in I ' the afternoon. TTnen I went on deck an hour later a heavy -283- ir:i3t had se'tled dcvm and vritli it cane "he rain. Hovrever, it c'.iCv not last long and as we rounded liollyhead and lay our cou^s3 to the southard, I kne*:? that we wore homeward "bound at last and that was quite enough to keep us all in a clieerful hvinor. j There ia a grandeur in the open sea that lias a wonder- ful fascination ior me and I confess this was in no way | lessened by the size and power of our ateazuBr, I have too i often witnessed, the power of old. Boreas and encountered ] i in my voyages frightful gales that have toyed with our ship in such a fashion as to threaten our destruction; yet with- al, we hi-.ve sailed safely into port. It is a curious fact i tl'iat all these gales were laet with in mid- ocean during the latter part of September, the month usuall;/ reputed .the best for favorable passages, and I now wondered whether we should encounter a gale on our way home. Surely the indie aticns were not unfavorable, but one cannot read the weather in northern latitudes as one does in tliose further south. I therefore v-ent on deck after supper, and was de- lighted to see that the haze had disappeared and through the filmy gauze which drifted landward the stars peeped through, an almost sure omen that the morrow would be fair. Tor a long while I sat on dock watching the starry firmainent which from time to time was unfolded before me, -234- when the sharp crack of r.he w.ireless told me that the operator was speaking with a passing steaaer. I looked atout and finally? hull dovm I saw a /nass of hlack against the horison, and then the lights of a large steaaier 'bound for Liyerpool. 'Wliether or no she was a sister ship of the line I could not tell, "but the fact that vie were able to converse with her, while progressing at full speed, im- pressed, me as the greatest scientific discovery and wonder of our age . Although the range of coinxnunication is ccxn- paratively liinited, being dependent upon the conditions of the weather, nevertheless, as one travels on the Atlan- tic routes it frequently happens tha.~ a ship is continual- ly in coaimunication with some other steamer, and thus by mutual consent the message is passed along from steamer to steamer to I^Tew York or London. However, these aerograms sometimes miscarrj. I recall an instance of this kind in v/hich a steamer bound for Jamaica in the ¥est Indies, sent an aerogram t.o.LCape Hatteras. The message never reached the station at Ea^teras, but was picked up by the station in Cincinnati, Ohio, and re-forwarded to Hew York iTow the apparatus employed in this feat was not a very powerful one, yet by some freak of atmospheric condition it vjus carried 1500 miles or more from its point of de- parture - a trulir wonderful flight almost bej'-ond the com- prehension of the mind. -285- It was Tfith such rccolleot.ions as this that I -^vhilid 4'.":ay Ttiy tice vil.cn the port T/atch coming on deck to -;ach I down, I '.Tent telov; and sought aiy dov;ny bed. It was earl 3'- the next niorning when I a\7oke and went on deck. Before rne 1^3'- the cliffs and grassj"- hills of the outer harbor of Q,ueenstown. where during the night we had anchored a half aile or so from the forta that guard the Karrow entrance to the inner harbor. As I looked through the narroT\;'3 a thin veil of haze enveloped a large liner at anchor; it was the Aracec, which had preceded us from Liverpool and v/as at that moment busily engaged taking a- board passengers and their baggage. Eesrond her lay the town of Q,ueenstown, so well knovm to Erin's iiTiniigrants . It is not a very attractive place as I can assert from a hurried visit ashore on one of rriy former voj'ages, cut not far from it lies the cit;- of Cork in which the business of the port is principally transacted and from which point one ma 3^ proceed to the Lakes of Killarnej'-j Tublin or Belfast. The coast of the southern part of Ireland is verj' rocky and precipitous. Tjeverthcless the fields are culti- ated to the very edge of the cliffs and it is this beauti- ful e:>cpan3e of green that one seas on approaching the island from the open sea that gives it the i:3mc of The vmerald islo_? ■286- I As I liung ctcut the rail watching the bum iDoats along ; side and heard the crow chaffing the icijuigrantc that had | I come ahoard an Irish woman near me threw a rope over to i the men in the coat belov^; to which they attached a large ' hamper "basket full of their wares. The basket Uiust have "been a heaYy one, for it took all her force to pull it 'up, but she succeeded verj^- v^ell and soon had hsr stock of 'goods spread on the deck for displa3?'. Then in an Irish brogue that was clmost unintelligible she solicited the passengers to buy. It is quite impossible to describe the scene that followed, but amid the chaffing and banter, I made my escape. After making a small purchase from a less garrulous old woman, I walked to the stern to watch the gulls feed- ing in the ebb that carried the debris of the ship to sea. How many there were in the flock, I cannot sajr, but the air seemed white with them, and as I watched them cr;ring and fighting for the choice morsels that were thrown to them, I thought how much their struggles for sustenance resembled our ov/n- But as I watched more closely and saw , the strongest gorge themselves and then fly away; I thought again how ridiculous the comparison, for so-called civi- lized man is not content alone to gorge himself, he must eat his fill anc' then store untold quantities away until sitting uron the m-ound he ha^s acciimulated he may survey -287- with equanifliity the approach of old age and death. The ' gull lias no thought of the morrov;, nor has it any fear of old age or death, it is content to live for the day and is happy trusting in the good Father who gave it being. ^iile I was thus engaged in contemplation, one of the passengers "beside xne pointed to the Arabec which had raised her anchor snd was putting out to sea. I ascended to the I hiirricsne deck in order to get a better view and had the satisfaction of saluting my friend Dick as his ship passed within a pistol shot of us. So near was she that we could pis inly distinguish the passengers and hear the cheering as she sailed by. Thus liad m;/ promise to my friend been fulfilled. It took quite an hour to eaibark the passengers and get the mails aboard oi-ir ship, when that had oeen accom- plished, we broke out our anchor and glided slowly out of the harbor toward Daunt Rock, at that moment the sun came out and shone upon the beautiful verdant fields that fringe the coast, changing them from a sombre green to a brill- iant emerald. A lucky omen this, I thought, for as we sail away fair Erin greets us with a smile to make our I I jtrip a happj"- holiciay. And that in truth is proved to be i .as 3''ou shall learn. i ly the time we passed Daunt P.ock, our ship was under full speed, running gaily down the coast, in pursuit of -268- Ciie Aral^ec 'Ji.icli had preceded, us an hour or -.more"-' she" was aluicst hull dcvm v/hen we started, but hy the time we reached Old Kins ale ?Iead, a no Tele headland jutting out in- to the Atlantic, she was plainly in vieu and a short time thereafter we passed her as though she v/ere anchored. At the time we passed the Arabec, she was probably making seventeen knots an hour, a good speed nowadays ;yet our ship was cowling along in the smooth sea at the rate of 26 knots ITow a knot, being a nautical mile, v/hich is approximately an eighth more than a statute mile, "The Istiauretania" was Slaking the extraordinar^r speed of 29 to 30 statute miles per hour. If that speed could be nsintained for the en- tire passage then we surely were destined to make a record ru:n. iTot long after passing Old Kinsale Head, we sighted Pastinet Light, perched upon a pinnacle of rock so many miles from the mainland that I have often wondered by what freak of nature this solitar3f spire could have remained when all between it and the mainland, had sunk beneath the sea. Pastinet is the last light one sights on the passage westward, and the first on arriving from the east- ward- As I saw the lighthouse slov;l3- sink beneath the aorizon, a feeling of regret and pleasure came upon me. 7:eGret at leaving a land that held so ma.ny pleasant mem- ories for me, and pleasure in the expectation of being at -289- last lioiiie";ard oouncL, to meet tlie loved oneo IzoJie . TT.-.ile Tl:.cse reflections vrere passing throuij-h -Ji'-r mind, I tliougnt I -"ould £0 forward and see the l?.r.ce numcer of i.cnfliigrants that had come aboard, manj- of whom were douttless leaving tl'.eir netive land with litrle hope of returning for ^-ears to come. ■ -0 ix>v surpriss, instead of tears and siglis, a husky Irish lad sat on the hatchway busily playing an accordeon, T;hile a group of young people v/sre attomp-ing to dance to his rather erratic music, xhat they succeeded at all, vvas due to the fact that the onlookers beat time with Their hands and feet and b;- ^his means maintained a rhj-thjn that gave a weird assent to the music. All seemed to be enjoying themselves and as I left them I wondered how many there could have been aboard. Passing into the salon, I ventuj-'ed to ask a stoward how many passengers we had aboard. "Oh. we're full up, 3ir"m he replied. "Tliank you" I said, "but ho'.v many vrould that be." He did not seem to know, but by accident, I happened to pick up a cop;^ of "The Scientific American", lying on the table in the reS-ding room and found it contained a complete de- scription of the boat and her accomiaodations . As the "I'iauretania" and her sister ship the "Lusitania" mark the very latest development of the ocean greyhound, a bricof synopsis of these vessels '.vill be interesting. At the time they were built, I remember reading that the -290- British Governrient had. voted an appropriation of $13,000,000. dollars on the condition that they should "be built according to plans mutually agreeable to the Com- panj"" and to the GoverniLent, and that in case of ^'var, the government reserved the right to enlist them in the ser- vice of the navy. Eut it did not occur to me at the time that the German Liners, by their superior speed had for ten years held the honor of transporting the English mails, and that an important reason therefore in the construction of these two greyhounds, was to regain this government con- tract. This they have done and up to the present there are no steamers afloat that are capable of wresting the laurel from them. ■When a boy, I remember being shown the Great Eastern at anchor in the Hudson Rivier, where to me she appeared the most colossal and ungainly thing in the ^j'rorld. Her siae was 680 feet on the load water line, 83 feet beam and 57 feet, deep, and at 25 feet draft registered 27,000 tons displacement. Compare this with our steamer The Mauretania which is 760 feet long, 68 feet beam and 60 feet deep, and on a 33 feet draft displaces 38,000 tons. If you can men- jtally grasp these figures, I think you will understand hat a colossal craft human engineering skill has pro- duced. But it is not alone in the construcoion of the p.ull that the engineers have made such an advance in the •291- m. j past fort- or fifty years c It is in the poorer that pro- pels these vessels throug-i the water that their skill has produced such fljigl'-t3' powers that the mind, of can cannot cciriprehend them. Let me illustrate this oy a comparison of the "Great Eastern" and "The Mauretania". The former .T,ras propelled Cj a pair of paddle wheels and a single screv; nctuated "by engines, the comhincd power of ?/hiGh oiil3^ aggregafed 7,650 horse pov/er, whilst the LJaurotania is propelled cy four screv/s actuated "by four steozi tur- l)ines, the power of v/hich is estimated to cs S8,000 horse power, or nine times that of the Great Eastern. "--o".7 is itl possihle to comprehend such a force as thit r Surely the i aYera~e man is incapacle of doing so, and even the engineer can only vacuely understand it cy the most intima,te knowl- edge of his science. ?or my part such pov;ers are like the millions one sees mentioned daily in oi".r journals, but vhich no man could live long enough to couiit. However there is another factor that enters into the sxtraordinaryj speeds of the ocean grey hounds, other than sise and horse power, and this is the model of the hull. In this the Meuretania and Lusitania represent the highest perfection yet attained. Unlike ordinary liners, they pass through j the water v/ith the least possible resistance. This is at' tained. by very graceful lines, almost identical to those i of a 3'acht. From stem to stem as one stands on the main -292- deck, it is possible to see a graceful cur¥e, which is ever the delight of a yacht snian. i It wou-ld be interesting to give a description of the ; interior arrangements of the ship, which resemble fnore ! those of an hotel than a steam ship, but that would be a I long story. Suffice it, the great height of the ceilings gives the salons in the first class, every appearance of a modern hotel ashore, and were it not for the vibration of the engines, one could well believe they were in "The Waldorf" or "Tlae Carlton." One of the real luxuries on these steamers is the large open fireplaces in the Ladies Salon and in the j SiTioking Eooxn, which are made very cheery and homelike by the glow and warmth of these fires. Surely this is a trifle that the other liners would do well to imitate. The size of the ship and the great number of first class passengers 550 or more, make these vessels much less sociable than the smaller and slower ones. However, this is compensated for by the sumptuous accommodations and the large and well selected library which to one of literary tastes is a veritable Godsend. Then again there are the evening concerts in the salon which are always well at- tended anci make one feel so completely satisfied with the trip that the loss of sociability is after all not so serioi;is . -293- On Sv.n:-ar, our second day ov.z, the service of the Church of En£landj was held in the Ladies Salon. As this cusioiri coes nc~ ohtain in the lines of other nationalities , I rnj- companions anc! dvself decided to attend. At sea a ser- Ivice is al'.va"s nore impressive than upon land for the reason xhat one is out upon the mighty deep v.-hose vast ex- panse reaches froiri horiacn to horizon and. -^rhere the heavens form a mish-y dome in comparison with which the greatest I 'architecture of inan is cut puny mockery. F-jirthermore there is alT7ays a certain danger on the deep, from storm and iceberg, from fire and collision that threaten one night and day, anc' render even the most "choughtless meditative once out of sight of land. It is this communion with Tiatujre, G-od if you will, that makes the sailor different from the landsman, "corn and "bred within a city. In olden times it was the custom to call all the passengers and crew to this divine service, which was al- ways read "by the Captain. Today, the service is more for- mal and is confined to first and second class passengers only, There is consequently lacking that spirit of democra- cy which was the chanji of former days. I I A lev; mcmeiisssl liofore the hour of eleven, the tolling of the ship's hell announced the service and when we entered the siilon it was already'- crowded to its full capacit;''. I ortunately found a seat beside a dear old lady and awaited 294- j ' ^he entrance of the choir. The choristers were hell hoys a::d pa£,e3 of "lie ship, twenty or ruoro in number, who, un- i der the direction of the steward, marched in t7;o hy two i 1 and took their seats near the piano, where the musicians ! were clready assemhled. In front of the piano a lecturn ' had "been pla.ced over which the English flag was draped and I before it stood the Purser in full uniform, awaiting the conclusion of the incidental music which preceded the service. Then in a voice that could be heard from one end of the room to the other, he read the beautiful service of the Church of England, receiving the responses of the con- gregE-tion. If anyone there expected that the service would be one whit less sp.rious than those within a church that day, they were soon disillusioned, for no one could have asked for a more dignified and responsive audience. A touch of pathos was added to the music, when the choir Dojs wear^ang of chanting the long Te Deum failed to re- spond to the steward's encouragement, and for a moment let him lead alone. The passengers, however, saved the da3'-, and ere long were chanting lustily, while the orchestra concluded with the "Glory be to the Pather" etc.- in grandiose style that would h^ave done justice :;o xhe best church in England. After the collection and the singing of the grand old hymn "Praise God from whom all blessings flow", the audience still remained while the orchestra •295- played in the Uiosl: finishecl ..iCnner Kanal^s Largo. So i:er- fect end teD.uti fully was this composition rsnclered. that even ■when the orchestra hcd ceased and the Purser and the j choir bo3'-s had withdrawn, they still rec^ained as if hyp- notized t-j the ir.elody. I was finally awakened from :iiy ! rsA'erie ty the dear old lady next to me, asking .ne the nama of the coi:.posi tion, and upon learning that it vras I-iandl's f aureus "Largo" went into ecstasy at its beautj-. "Yes," I replied, "It is ver;" beautiful, such music oouches the heart, and is "better far than a sernion." I ajii not at all sure thc:t she agreed v/ith me, but I think I voice the opinion of the aost intelligent people when I state that while vords niay stimulate thought and induce euiotion, yet the haraoniss of good music reach the heart direct and lead one unconsciousl;/ into the realm of beauty. Once within th3t real:;j, all cares dispell, all sorrov/s flee and for the r.once we live in that dreataland of ecstasy, that land of Spirit from -iirl^ich only sympathy, coapassion and gentleness can flow. Such is the xLagic of the inusician, to whoni we owe so much and to whom, alas.' we pay so little. On the evening of the third day outj our trip was en- livened by a Suffragette Meeting held in the dining hall. rever having attended one of th?se meetings, I deter^xiined tc CO so in order to learn their i:oint of view. On the -295- whole their speeches y/ere very mild and. therijr plaints ihany ano j'Jist; out I still fail to see mIiv it is necessary :|'or u-Oiaen to vote in order to change the present unjust lav;s relating to laarriage, divorce, etc, A unification of ] the laws of all our states on ther.e questions must eventual- ly coj:fie in the interest of good governinent. If therefore, | the vror.ten will force the fight on this issue they will accomplish a iiiuch-needed reform and this, I believe, can "be done hest through tlieir personal, rather than their political relations- I Our run- after leaving Liverpool had heen extraordin- I dry. and at noon, on the 14th, v/e had covered 2267 nauti- cal yjiles. Thus far the passage had been extveiiiely smooth, and soificred by overcast skies. But as we e^aerged frojn Ijhe haze that hung about the Eanks of Few Poundland, and once iiiore entered the Gulf Streanj, the tei-nperature rose perceptibly and at night the starry heavens shone forth in all their glorj'. Who can describe the beauty of these starry skies? Alas.' not I, nor are there v/ords within the lexicon to picture to the mind of one who has not seen them, their grandeur and subliiriitj^. In order to see them well at sea, one aust ascend to the hurricane deck far above the lights and throbbing of the engines, and recline in a Eitea-mer chair undisturbed. At first the starry firmament is oiily seen indistinctly, but as the e;.'es gradually become -297- accustoEjed to xhe fllnrj lig;ht. , one ty one f:ae stars peep out and ere one h.as oegun to note the constsllations , an inexpresai'cle av/e takes possession of you and in that rooai- ent tl'.ere is trought into the frail human consciousness, a I conviction that v:e stand cefore the throne of jod. j To one of a poetic teujperament , this communion -jith nature on the open sea is one oi the luost delightful parts of an ocean trip. I never cease to adiiiire the ocean, even in its wildest moods, provided I aiii upon a ship in vrhich I have perfect conlidence? Eut , "ou mo.y justljr ask, have I ever seen a hurricane and tested 117 confidencs? Yes, that I have and under conditions I little anticipated '^^en set- ting sail. It was iiiany years ago, yet the lueuior;- of it is still fresh in my itind . I was az that time upon a oj^aller ship of the sarie cornpany, hound for Few Yorko Our trip had been uneventful until the second day out when the baro- me^jer began to fall steadjly until it had reached 28 5/lO inches. At that time the wind was blowing at the rate of seventy miles an hour^ and we encountered the heaviest seas I have ever •.7itnessed in the North Atlantic. One of these monsters caae aboard v;ith such force xhat the briage staunchions were bent and the dining room flooded with water. I'o one 'vas r-llowed on deck, and our speed was re- ducedt to just sufficient to keep our ship head to the sea. •-296- On the second day the storm seexued to have abated somewhat r.nc I cra-.vled zq the lea companionway to get a view. To my surprise I sav7 a steamer (a sister ship) bound oast- ward, running before the gale not shipping a drop of warer whilst the deck of our ship was being washed from steirj to stern. Surely here was a co/nparison for me; the gale whicli was figliting us was wafting our sister ship hoiDe?;ard at a. record-breaking rate., On the 15th of September^ just before noon, we learned by vi'ireless, that ^ve had passed the I^antucket Shoal Light- I ship. Iiamediateljr preparations were rriade to disembark our passengers and their baggage = Stev/ards and deck hands all were busy nowc The life boats were swung in, the mails and baggage piled on deck and for the first time since sailing I began to appreciate the great nu-:aber of people aboard. The officers and crew numbered 800. The first class 540, second class, 460, and third class 1200, - a total of 300C souls. Surely a precious cargo. And all contained within one ship - which was racing to brea,k the record. About four thirty o'clock we sighted Fire Island Light, s.nd. at five reached The Ambrose Lightship off Sandy- Hock, having covered the distance from Daunt Rock, Ireland,] in four days, 10 houjrs and 41 minutes. Great was the cheerr- ing and congratulations upon the achievement of this feat, j •299- for in order to acccisplish it our ship liacL, had to iiiain- tain £.n average spoecT of 26-6/10 knots per hour, or approx imately 50 statute miles per hour for a period of over 4 days. Ifover "before had such continuous high speed been attained cy any vessel afloat. ^e had therefore broken the v:orld's record. Surely soriiething to be proud of. It took nany Biinutes to bring cur stea^ner to a full stop, in order to take aboard the pilot. Tlien this had been accomplished, -Tre proceeded slo^rly up the channel toward Quars-nrine and anchored there, awaiting the arrival of the Health officers anc. the discharging of the :iiails. year -by at anchor lay an Italian ship close under the guns of the fort, with a yellow flag fl^^-ing from the main niast. She had been detaJned for :ijan3'" days; soine malignant disease having broken ou'; ai'nong her passengers, all of "vh.oii: vTOUld be transported to Hospital Island zo await developments. As the hour of seven arrived, dinner was announced and we went below to enjo;- oujr last meal aboard, ^len v/e came on deck again we were still at anchor and the boats that Were coming and going to the Station Pier indicated that we, too, were having some difficulty in getting a clean bill of health. Later it developed that a child had died aboard and been buried at sea, consequently, we were being given a most thorough examination, there was 500- therefore nothing to do cut wait events. This delay, hoivevor, gave everyone an opportunity to see the "beautiful sunset and enjoy the ever moving pano- ra.ffia, which passes continually in and out. the narrows. Por the first tine that day a spirit of quietude and re- pose seeded to come upon everylaody ahoard, excep* the stewards who v/ere occupied with their daily duties. Many passengers were about on the deck watching the receding sun which left the western clouc's tinged with fiery red and [ pujrple and cast a most theatrical light upon the placid ^vaters of the inner hay that made them reseiiihle molten \ JLava. This ma.gic display df liglit and shadow continued for more than a half hour and I was wondering if we should land that night, when a passenger "beside me ca,lled my | attention to the fact that we were moving. I could scarce- ly "believe him for the engines were not working and there was nothing to indicate that the ship v;as under way. ITever- theless, it was a fact our anchor had "been raised and we were slowly drifting up the baj'- with the incoming tide. fills wa.s encouraging, for I felt sure that this '-vould not have been done if the Quarantine Officers had expected to detain us. Slovjlj?-, very slowly, we passed Staten Island, then Eobbins Beef Light and finally were opposite the Statue of Liberty. Ey the time we had reached this point ■;he fantastic color effects of the sunset had disappeared, -301- and in their place an after glo'.v of radiating rays of light, scxi^ev.hat reserr.hling an Aurora borealis, shot up frcn.' *he horizon in a fan shaped display that foroied a I most majestic "background to the Statue of Liberty and its liglit which, like a diamond, sent forth its scintillating ' rays into space. ITever before have I seen such a beauti- ful exhibition of nature's glory and the art of jiian. Yet I , there -.vere other A7oncers still ahead of us for as tjs , i _ I drifted on, the iirooklni Eridge burst into ligiit, and as if by iriagic, the City with its myriad of lofty buildings, flashed, their -vvelccjUie rays over the bay. I To those, who looked upon our city that night for the first tide, surely that wonderful panorama iuust have been entrancing. "What wonder than that emigrants from foreign , I lands should believe thej-- have at last found the El Dorado of their dreams, l?71iy disillusion them, surely an El Korado it has been to riar.v in the past, and no doubt will continue I to be to iLany more in the future. But alas J to the vast | majority it holds only disappointment until tiri]:g of the I hujTj aiid bustle of its streets they are content to emicrate , I to ot:ier localities. I I ! I need not recount the disexiibarking of the passengers or the passing of the customs. Suffice it, at ten thirty, I we v/ere landed anc warmly greeted by dear friends, who, -302- with, a loyalty unprecedented, had "been awaiting us since six o'clock in the evening. After a mad scraiiible to find our baggage, we had it passed and hiring a man to put it on tocrd a cab, were home at last. I -30o- After an absence of ho many j'ears from Europe, it ir.:-.gh.t seem that a coxcpari^ion of modern Europe v;.ith that of t7/enty or thirty years ago, might be interesting, and that .before concluding I should jnclude these inprBasi'.ons in my narrative. Unfortunately to do this v/ould require a volume in itself, and the best, therefore, that I can do is to touch the most important impresfjiono and leave the I task for others. I If I v/ere asked what sujrprised me mout on my past trip abroad, I should say it wai the increasing popularity of our language among the Continental nation;?. There v/as a time T^Len I thought a Cosmopolitan language such as i h^olapuck or Esperanto would become popular on the Contin- ent. ITotwith standing the man:; protogonists of Esperanto, English is. conquering Europe at a trejnond.vac pact-;. I can ; remember the time when a kno7:ledge of Trenrh anr^ Gornan j ViTcre absolutely necessary to have made the trip I have de- i scribed. Today, one may do so very succesfsfully T^ith English alone, and enjoy it greatly in spite of the fact, I I that an intimate knowledge of a people can only be gained by personal contact with them. I attribute this popularity -304- of Englisl: tc three causes: First, to the extraordinary.^ increase in foreign travel and corrjiLerce , both English and Ainerican; seconc. , to the fact tha,t Prci.nce, C-eririan^r, Holland and Switzerland and other countries have made English a part of the school curriculum, and third, to the , retui-n of raan;; emigrants, who having gained a small fortune in our country, desire to end their da^'s in their native land. The comtined influence of all these c-gencies lias accomplished much in a ver3' short time. Let one land, for exesmplGj on any of the Azore Islands, in Madeira or even the Canaries, •vm.ere Portuguese is the native tongue, and he will he amazed at the nujnber of people v;ho can he found to speak English. Ihese, in nearly everj^ case, are returned i emigrants who, for the pleasure of conversing v;ith you v^ill act as guide and interpreter. The same is true of Italy and other European countries, hut becomes less frequent as we approach the Orient, u.nless we stick closely to the v/ell travelled highvrays . If one does this he may have no fear to make a complete tour of the world, for the Anglo- Saxon is gaining foot in everj'- ^and and vmerever the Anglo- Saxon stag's, he dominates. But 7,'hat of the Anglo-Saxon, you Uiay justly ask? By what have I been most impressed in his land - and my an- swer will be that in the past ten years the decrease of intemperance has been so great that to one arriving after -365- an alDsence cf mony years, it seems aluiost incredible. Whether di-unkenness is the result of poverty, or poverty the result of intenperanco, ^e noed not inp^uire. But cer tain it is, th&t in a great city like London the improve- ment 20 verj' carked, roattleoc this la due to many causes, not tha least of v.-hich it; that cf the Crusad? cf the Salvation Anr^y and sim.'lc^r rcs^cae crgan:?2.atiun3 . The increase of the tax on lioenijod Lousos or "Pubs" has also had its effect. Purthentiore, the extraordinary activity of "The London County Coua.:J.l" in its comprehensive plans for the hou,-r:.ing of the poor, h'?-c made the rockery a th:ng of cunteriiptj for self ••JT.^poot euid sobriety go hand in hand It would be interesting to note my observations on pover'cj'- and intemperance in the otiier cities I have visit- ed, but I fear the comparison would not be to the credit of our o'.vn. Sx.iffice it, throughout Europe this question is being successfully combatted as the great connuinpbicn of Mineral \7aters and other light beverag-jri v:ill prove. One other observation and I shall conclude- Ihars seems to be a prevalent opinion among oui people that Europe is unfrogressive ; while this reproach was true many years ago, it is no longer so, as the tremendous growth of the great cities abroad must prove. Cities like Munich, Vienna and Berlin have trebled in the past thirty years, and smaller towns have improved in proportion, not -305- t merely in nux-^'bers, cut in all the arts and sciencos. In ;t.he iriatter of education, Gerjiian:,* is the peer of all, and the trade mark "Hade in Germany" is doing more to awaken jother nations to their lethargy than political discussion could eTer do. As I have already observed, we are at present in the throes of tariff wars, but these barbaric measures must eventually succtuiib to fair Reciprocal Trade relations, and once this principal is accepted. The International Tribunal of .Justice will take its proper place. Standing ansies ■will then disappear, and there will be brought about a more friendly- and intiaate relations of all the nations of the eai'th. I am not, however, such a blind optimist as to be- lieve that this will be brought about in a night; for self- ishness and self-sacrifice are as far apart as in the days of Christ, but the world moves on a pace, and the brightest I minds are now being directed toward the solution of these very difficult problems. -307- ALIO And nov; the most difficult part of my task is at hand: I must bid icy friends and you, my gentle reader, for the nonce farewell. We liave journej'ed through many lands and climes and have accomplished in three short months what well might have occupied a year. Yet I am sure we have no ! regrets, for whether reader or "compagnon de voyage", there has "been created between us a spirit of camaraderie which has made the journey worth while. Moreover for myself there will ever remain a thousand pleasant memories to lighten the day of toil and dispel my cares. If therefore I my storjr has increased your love for the scenes I have de- scribed, if it has added but a mite to your store of knov;ledge, if for a moment onl;- it has made you happy and raised a smile, then surel3'- what I have written has not been in vain. END. -308- NCV 21 1913 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS A^ 020 657 29301 t