USA > Ohio > The Western Reserve of Ohio and some of its pioneers, places and women's clubs, Vol. I > Part 22
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You see his saddle used at Fort Donelson and from then until the close of the war.
The statue of himself in marble, with its calm, symmet- rical face, who with silent prayer and not oaths unraveled all difficulties. From Hongkong, China, the flags of two nations, in miniature, stitched on a satin background and bound in silken wire were given him.
From Yokohama, a crimson silk decorated screen; from Canton, a cloisonne vase and other ceramics; from Dublin, a box of rosewood and a gold certificate of "freedom of the city;" from Glasgow, a gold box of beautiful workmanship with the eagle upon it.
In the ceramics we find a case of very beautiful Sevres china, prepared under the supervision of the director of fine arts; a Chinese cup, saucer and plate with net-like perforations; and a cup and saucer baked with strong fire, the latter giving a gloss. Mantua pottery from Korea; two large pieces of the Cessrioli, collection of Cyprus; a case of silver jewelry from Japan; Mexican Indian bracelets of metal, with carvings; idols of heathen countries.
Spheroids of clay formation from the head-waters of the Connecticut River, the work of boring mollusks in rock, with
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many shells imbedded in them; shell work from St. Augustine, used for building purposes; large balls of sandstone weighing several hundred pounds from Dakota; and in a cyclone a board twelve inches wide and one inch thick, driven through a small tree. Musical instruments are shown from all the nations of the: earth, the first and rudest look like barrels, top and bottom covered with dried skins, fastened together with cords of skin through holes cut in it. A moon guitar from China with four silver strings in two pairs. An Eskimo guitar is a triangular piece of wood, long neck, flat body, frets of gut, these strings tightened with wooden pegs thrust through the back; a Bengal tambourine mounted by Tambour is strung with four wires, one brass, the rest steel. Its use is to fill pauses in the song and to keep the singers in the right key. It reclines on the shoulder with a bag-like globe resting on the floor, similar to our viol, and requires the hairs of the bow to pass between the strings and needs much practice for the learner to pass the bow firmly upon one without touching the others, thus mingling the tone desired with some extraneous noise of the most grating descrip- tion. Some of their work is so great it is a pity they cannot have a better tool for their pains.
Tongkin, a sort of dulcimer from Canton, China, has the strings run through two bridges and over the other wires, struck with two small wooden horns, was known in Hindustan and western Asia as "war horns," are made of perforated conch shells.
The various brass instruments used with us; flutes from Arabia; Bengalese music written on one line; Hawaiian sheet music for piano in native language. Medieval church music by Missal-a name widely used-a concert given on those instru- ments would draw large audiences.
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As you enter the geological room you stop to admire the ripple marks on stone and imagine what a beautiful wall could be made with jasper, opal, flint, crystallized limestone, from the caves of Virginia, it looks like honey, alabaster, rock salt, specimens of all kinds of granite, with Nature's effort to stamp color on the stone, glacial flutings on the stone from Kelley's Island, Lake Erie; lava stalactites from Hawaiian Islands; ma- terial ejected from volcanoes in Bering Sea. Lava volcano aglomerate are like solidified bubbles. Basalt from Germany, Mexican onyx, which is a stalagmite and is the most beautiful of all stones.
Nature here distills her solids.
Among the skeletons, a cat is placed with a tiger, and shows they are of one genus. The fiercest, by domestication, becomes docile.
From Australia we have the kangaroo, a species of rodent or rat, also the kaola, with monster head and no tail. These freaks of Nature remind us that it is the part of the world where the peaks of the lost continent Atlantis project, and these may have escaped from the great destruction of the deluge. Opossums, monkeys and gorillas are in the collection. The skeletons of serpents resemble lace, so small and even are their ribs. A human head is placed in the case with the skeletons of monkeys; you can observe the difference. The sockets of the eyes are larger in the monkey, the jaw and the teeth greater and the depression above the eyes shows a much less weight of brain.
As you see the skeleton of man beside the others you feel if it should try to walk on all fours its head would be out of proportion, to be well sustained. It is the only animal in an upright position, and its brain is equal in weight to the sum of all others. We cannot believe all animals come from one;
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but that wisdom could as readily create other kinds suited to their condition.
We saw skeletons of bats, which, if man had wings in proportion, he could fly. A species of turtle, or tortoise, flying fish with elongated fins. The horns of the rhinoceros are sim- ply an epidermis structure and are not formed on a bony core, sections of bone showing this cellular tissue, sections of an elephant's head with the remark that "a ball could traverse it and not cause death," as has been found by post-mortem exam- ination. The immense head of a catfish containing a sponge- like substance. The skeleton of a flounder is so thin it might be taken for an engraving.
CORK, LAKES OF KILLARNEY, DUBLIN
The library of the Etruria was well filled with good books, Boswell's Life of Johnson, Hume's Detective Stories and Strick- land's Lives of the Queens being samples of their character.
As we neared the coast of Ireland, several detours from the route were suggested, some wishing to visit Windsor Castle, some Holland and some Italy.
Queenstown harbor is protected by two immense forts, has ten square miles of surface, and is the finest in Great Britain. Six miles from it is Monkstown, which has a castle that was built by a woman, and as she paid for it in goods, all excepting one groat, the inhabitants in its vicinity say that it cost but a groat.
Cork has a wall built by the Danes, in the 9th century, and a cathedral built on the site of a pagan temple, in the 7th century. Desmond McCarthy surrendered this cathedral to Henry II in 1172; Cromwell took it in 1649 and Marlborough, in 1690. This is the edifice where William Penn became a Quaker, through the preaching of Thomas Lee. The bells of Shandon are in the tower of St. Ann's Church, built in 1772. Victoria Park contains 140 acres.
The ride of eight miles to Blarney Castle was made in omni- buses and jaunting cars. When we alighted at Blarney village, women met us with strawberries of a most delicious flavor, which they sold for three-pence per pint and presented to us on leaves of the grape vine. Gooseberries, both ripe and green, of great size, were also offered us and were served in the same manner. To reach the castle, we had to cross a rustic bridge and then a campus, dotted here and there with large chestnut trees, under which were seats; making a good place for tourna- ments and giving the castle a hospitable appearance. We fol-
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lowed a wide path up a hill, as the lower windows of the castle were barred, and entered the tower, with its spiral stairway of 120 feet. As you go upward, corridors lead off to different parts of the building. At the top, where you reach down to kiss the Blarney Stone, two iron rods extend the entire side of the tower. In explanation of their use, we were told that between them stones could be let fall on the heads of invaders below; and, also, that the triangle by each long, narrow win- dow was so placed to enable the inmates to send arrows from both sides, while those shooting from without would have little chance of getting even one arrow to enter the small opening. Ivy was creeping across the walls from without, and as we looked over the battlements, we could see a wing, two stories high, which had a bay window, and three large, long windows on each side, similar to houses of the present century.
All but one of our party, of eighty persons, made the ascent of Blarney Castle, and a dozen were held by the feet while they reached under the arch and kissed the Blarney Stone. The guardsman at the rustic bridge said the castle was built in the 15th century, by Cormac Mccarthy, one of the petty kings of Ireland.
At Blarney village, we saw "National School" on a low two- story building, which had white sash curtains at the lower, and boxes of flowers at the upper windows, giving it a cozy appear- ance. As our three omnibuses and six jaunting cars, over one of which "Old Glory" floated, passed along the streets, the pe- destrians gazed and smiled upon us in good natured wonder. As we approached Cork, we saw flocks of sheep and herds of goats and other cattle being driven along the same road over which we passed.
The Imperial Hotel, at Cork, gave us a meat luncheon, but for a cup of coffee, we had to pay sixpence (12 cents) each. We
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left for Killarney at four o'clock in the afternoon, arriving at six. The next morning at ten we drove through the village of Killarney, past an Episcopal and a Catholic church, both of which were built of gray granite, and entered an arch of lime and ash trees, the bark on the trunks of which was covered with green mold. The great branches spread over us, making a roof of green. On either side was a wall five feet high, built, we were told, three hundred years ago. The stones of the top row were placed edgewise and the interstices filled with earth, and upon this grass was growing and English ivy was matted for a foot or more. Through openings in the trees, made on either side, we caught glimpses of vistas of sloping meadow- land and green hills draped in purple. We passed the residence occupied by Queen Victoria in 1861, which is of a pale yellow color, also a cottage used by her, with grounds sloping down to the water's edge.
Holly trees, yew trees and laurel bushes hedged us in. After a two hours' ride, we approached Muckross Abbey, which was founded in 1440 and rebuilt in 1602. These cathedrals, Inver- ness, Ross and others, were destroyed by Cromwell. The win- dows are long and narrow and the ceilings lofty. On one side of Muckross is a room without a roof and in it grows a huge yew tree, which was planted when the castle was first being built. A marvellous way of preserving the age of a cathedral.
Some queer epitaphs were to be seen on metal or marble slabs on the walls of some rooms. One Stephen Coppenger says of his wife Helen, "Her solid understanding, her judicious thoughts diffused charity and true piety and adherence to the Christian religion. The charity which she never ceased to per- form, rendered her an object of admiration to all who had the happiness to know her. She lived and died the ninth of August, 1802." A similar one was to the memory of one Mary Delaney, who died January 13, 1737.
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Lunch was served at noon within sight of the oldest bridge in Ireland, which consisted of one stone arch. One-half of our party came by boat and met us near this bridge, which is oppo- site Brandon cottage, so noted in Churchill's late novel, "When Knighthood was in Flower." Three boats took us across the Killarney lakes, while a cornetist played "The Star Spangled Banner," "Annie Laurie" and other melodies. The music was perfect, bringing out the sad tones of the Scotch songs with much pathos.
At Inverness we were drenched with rain, having to seek shelter in the deep doorways and under the trees. Fortunately, the shower soon passed and as we rode to Ross Castle our boat- man told us of the castle of the Earl of Kenmere, whose owner lives in Grosvenor Square, London, nine months of the year. Kenmore Castle is a modern structure of red stone. The boat- man showed us the pulpit-rock, where O'Donahue comes back to preach in the Irish tongue. We also passed the rock of Colleen Bawn, then landed at Castle Ross, which is the best preserved of the older castles. Here strawberries and gooseberries were again offered for sale, and also jewelry made of bog-wood. Many sales were made to the half of our party that was wait- ing for the carriages, which had gone to the hotel with the other half.
Great bushes of blooming rhododendron, the rose of Sharon, the yellow blossoms of the shamrock and the blue of the heather made the country beautiful, suggesting the question, "Why is Ireland forsaken by its youth ?"
Our coachman said the stronger among the young men had gone to the war in South Africa, and an old man in a store told us that seven of his children were in America, coming home oc- casionally on a visit, only to return again.
The ride to Dublin was through fields in a state of perfect cultivation, small patches of wheat, oats and potatoes being on
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either side. Sleek cattle, in herds of ten, twelve and in one case thirty-five, were grazing in the fields. A few one-story cottages were to be seen, but no barns. A great quantity of grass which was ready for the sickle which must be preserved in stacks. The dividing fences were either hedges or ridges of earth cov- ered with ivy.
As we sat at table at the Great Southern Hotel at Killarney, a landlord of Sherwood Forest said, "The poor do not own a foot of land, and if they did, they would soon spend it in drink."
But to be always a tenant, with nine-tenths of the profit going as rental; to see no day in the future when one could be independent, seems enough to make the bravest heart seek in the bottle the pleasure that lasts but for the moment.
On our way to Dublin the cars shot through distance like a cannon ball. A passenger counted the mile stones, and the rec- ord was sixty to sixty-five miles an hour. We landed in a down- pour of rain, having passed the only dry day in two weeks at Kil- larney. Later, we drove out to St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is on the same ground on which St. Patrick built one. It is of gray stone. The interior is surrounded by a corridor, in which are many monuments, the finest being that of Archbishop Whately. Red tiles cover the floor. We next visited Phoenix Park, which contains 175 acres. In it is a monument to Welling- ton and also one to Lord Carlisle.
The houses of Dublin, made of brick and stone, look as though they would withstand the ravages of all time; fires would have little to feed upon. Our meals at "The Maples" were wholesome, consisting, in part, of good bread, and butter without salt, good coffee, delicious strawberry jam and orange marmalade; but they were served in a very informal manner, the dishes being passed, for all to help themselves.
GLASGOW, EDINBURGH, ABBOTTSFORD
As we crossed the Irish Channel to Glasgow, we passed Ayr, the birthplace of Burns, which was on the right, the seat of Hamilton and the place of Brandon being on the left. The Central Station Hotel, at Glasgow, is one of the finest in Great Britain, having three hundred rooms and the best of service. In our ride about the city, we saw such signs over shop door- ways as "Fruiterer and Flowers," "Tea Blender," "Fish Mon- ger," "Family Butcher," etc., showing a variation from Amer- ican ways. Glasgow's Town Hall and the statues of Scott and Robert Peel were some of the points of interest.
The Cathedral of St. Mungo is near the Acropolis, which stands on a high knoll, topped with the statue of John Knox. The cathedral has a "bridge of sighs," so-called, which passes over the railroad track, connecting the burial grounds with the building. In the churchyard are many tombstones, which lie flat upon the ground, and are inscribed with this sort of epitaph : "Mr. Peter Ross Wright, a rope maker, now the property of Daniel McCorkel." "James Barr, Clothier." "Alexander Scott, writer, ground 7-5 feet, died 1861, aged 76 years."
The cathedral building is of pure Gothic architecture and was 250 years in construction, having been begun in 1666. It is four stories high, and as you enter you feel its loftiness, al- though from an outside view you do not get the same impression. The stained glass windows are lessons from the Bible. One represented the prodigal son. In the first section was the pig he was feeding; in the next, himself in prayer, with an angel hover- ing over him; in the third, his father welcoming him as he re- turned home, and in the last, the fatted calf, with the prodigals
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surly brother in the background. The interior is very much like that of a Catholic cathedral, a corridor running around the sec- ond story and being called "The Nun's Walk." Plain glass windows let in the light. Services are held in this cathedral every Sabbath by the Presbyterians. Only two other churches survived the period of the Reformation.
We took cars down along the river Clyde to the Scottish lakes, where we found the pleasure boats around the eleven isles that dot them, crowded with excursionists. This was because of the vacation of two weeks that is given in July to employes. We there could study the typical Scotch character, with the red cheeks and the bonny blue eyes. Pure air, and plenty of it, must account for this highland characteristic. The hills around Lake Katrine are terraced by nature and the grass upon them is of a velvety green. Ellen's Isle, which contains but a few acres, is so densely wooded as to entirely hide the ground from view.
Our boat, the Adder, stopped at many landings where were refreshment booths and swings, and from which bicycle paths led away, very much as at our home resorts. We soon reached our place for disembarking and, near a waterfall, entered our high "brakes" or omnibusses-built with high seats to allow room for hand bags below-and took a ride of eight miles along the banks of the swiftly running stream. Then, as we were not booked for lunch at the first hotel we saw, we went on board another steamer, sailed across a second lake, took another ride, this time of four miles, and finally alighted at a hotel called "The Trossachs." As it was three o'clock, our hungry crowd was scolding, but savory soups, roast beef with cabbage, pota- toes and peas, followed by oat cakes with orange marmalade, soon brought quiet. The diet was not the same we had been
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accustomed to, coffee being served only at breakfast without extra charge, and no fruit being visible. However, the pure air had given us appetites and we were a merry lot.
After lunch, we again mounted our vehicles, which, by the way, we had to do by step-ladders, and as we passed along, we saw pheasants in little cotes, where they were being raised for market, large, fine sheep and fat cattle not unlike those from Texas. At last we were glad to roll down the steep hills to Callender, which is a village of one street, every house on which is of stone, two stories high and with most beautiful grounds of flowers and shrubs.
A ride of forty miles brought us to Edinburgh, where dinner awaited us, it being six o'clock when we arrived. The meal con- sisted of soup, thick or thin, as we chose, roast beef with vege- tables, Victoria pudding and cheese, but no tea or coffee unless ordered and paid for as extra at the table.
The morning after our arrival, the party climbed into six large "brakes," containing from fifteen to twenty persons each, seats facing the front, with an aisle between the two rows, and went direct to Edinburgh Castle. The road wound gradually up a high ascent, and when we arrived, the highlanders, in red coats and short breeches, and short plaid hose, which showed their bare legs, gave us a royal salute with pipe and drum. The banquet room, where the two Douglas boys were killed, is now used as an armory. The youngest, David, was only twelve years of age. He had been invited, with a thousand others, to the feast, to be companion to the King, and although friends pleaded with him not to accept, he did so, and there, with the other Douglas, was murdered. A large stone is over a door on the exterior of the castle, and as it gave out a hollow sound, it was removed and in a cavity was found the skeleton of an infant wrapped in cloth of gold.
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Margaret's Chapel is the oldest edifice of the castle grounds, having been built in 1093. It is a one-story, gabled house, of stone. In it we purchased photographs, which were on sale. The view from the castle wall looks over the whole city. It is two hundred feet above Edinburgh and six hundred above sea level. We next descended to St. Giles Cathedral, and passed the quarters for married soldiers. St. Giles, or John Knox' church, is large enough for four congregations, and is now divided to accommodate that many. The picture of Knox preaching to the people is brilliant with color and is said to represent the scene where, when a collect was given out, Jane of Guise threw a stool at the dean and turned the tide of feeling against it, and thus greatly advanced the Reformation. A slab is on a pillar, giving an account of the occurrence.
Outside of St. Giles Cathedral is a raised platform, with a canopy, where proclamations of the city are announced. Oppo- site are the City Council Rooms. In an open court, well paved, is the grave of John Knox. An oval piece of brass on which is engraved "J. K. 1672" marks the place.
After proceeding down the street in old Edinburgh where stands the red tiled house of John Knox, with its little porch on which he stood and preached to the people, we arrived at Holyrood Palace. This home of Mary, Queen of Scots, is still kept as it was in her own desolate life. The portrait of Darn- ley, her second husband, represents a young man (he was four years the queen's junior) with long black locks hanging around a ruddy, but hatchet-featured face with most sinister eyes, and of small, straight form. It seems small wonder that Mary soon saw through his character and was obliged to ask the protection of David Rizzio, who, both a musician and her private secretary, was devoted to the Queen's service. Darnley's jeal-
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ousy became so intense, as all readers of history know, that with the aid of dukes and earls who wanted to get rid of them both, he succeeded in accomplishing Rizzio's murder in the very pres- ence of the queen. But his triumph was of short duration, as his own life was soon after ended by his being blown up by gun- powder in a building in which he lay ill with small-pox. Bothwell, who afterward became the husband of Mary, was the perpetrator of the deed. It is also related that Bothwell's treat- ment of Mary was such that at one time she was heard to cry out, "Kill me! I do not care to live."
We saw the stairway down which Rizzio's body was thrown, and the bed-room of Mary, which was afterwards used by Charles I. The tapestries, of Gobelin manufacture, are still preserved. The banquet room is lined with portraits of Scot- land's distinguished men and women. In the chapel, we saw the brass plate on which is inscribed the death of Darnley. This wonderful Holyrood House is a beautiful specimen of the architecture of the time in which it was erected.
Stirling Castle, which is thirty-four miles from Edinburgh, was next visited. The ride was by steam cars and only occupied about thirty minutes. Within sight of Stirling Castle is Wal- lace's monument, which is on a hill behind which he kept the main part of his army when the English crossed the bridge and made the attack. Those concealed came to the rescue and the English were many of them drowned in their efforts to retreat. The armor worn in those days, judging from actual appearance, would certainly have sunk anyone who attempted to swim a river. The view from Stirling Castle is fine, with the battle- field of Bannockburn in the distance. The room in which Mary, Queen of Scots, was born, for Stirling was her birth-place, is a very small one, but has two windows and a fire-place. The
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dungeons are large, and with but one window, each of which has a large triangular sill, where, no doubt the prisoner spent most of his time. We entered the royal cemetery and on one tomb saw the words: "Throne of Light, Word of God, Light and Truth," whatever they may have meant by it.
As we came down the steep descent from Stirling village, we bought strawberries of very large size of the fine flavor of our wild ones at home, at the rate of two quarts for twenty-five cents. Edinburgh is a good place to shop in, being modern in every way. Its street cars carry a double number, not by the American way, but by having extra rows of seats on the top. The public parks are clean and attractive, and the monument of some noble citizen stands at nearly every street crossing.
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