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VOL LXXXVII. RICHMONE
Summer Holi
Having profited so well by the vacation
spent in England the previous summer, the
writer decided to spend the months of July
and August, 1912, on the continent, combining
the pleasures of such a vacation with the information
gathered by close observation and study.
.tor alter all, the benefits of a vacation are determined
by additional capital you are enabled
to put into your work on your return.
"The boat is moving" caused quite an
excitement among the 1,400 passengers F"
on Cunard liner Lacoma as the ship
moves away from the wharf and turns to- 9
wards the sea. The laughing, gayly
dressed passengers waved hands and'
and hats and handkerchiefs to the
ineuai tuiu muiuikb iucj ?cu ica?ui?
behind. Soon we were out of their eight, j'
and are adjusting ourselves to the new i .1
life in our city alioat. We find oui I i I
steamer chairs and enjoy reading thi feagjujj
letters and post cards that our friend*
so kindly sent.
A sea voyage is surely a time for serious
meditation. It affords you ample Cunard
opportunity for many self-conferences.
It enables you to see your own insignificance
amidst the immensity of sea and sky. And as
you walk on deck on a starlit night and all is
still save the lashing of the waves, you feel deeply
the mystery of life. Amid all the loneliness
and uncertainty of. such an hour, while the
breezes of heaven fan your cheeks, there comes
into your mind the thought that Qod is our
Captain and in the words of the man on the
lookout, "all's well "
There were four hundred first-class passengers.
The fellowship among them was delightful.
Every profession was represented?men
prominent in business, politics and literary cir
eles. The social intercourse was quite general.
Many acquaintances were made that will ripen,
no doubt, into abiding friendships. It
does not pay to be undemocratic on p ,?,
board ship. One thing that brought us
closer together was the intense interest
in the Baltimore Democratic Convention.
And when one of the passengers reoeived
a wireless of Governor Wilson's nomina- I
tion and asked the writer to assist in tell- ]
ing the good news to the passengers, he I *
' ^ . 8
went into tnat pleasant rasa warn ine
enthusiasm of a full-fledged politician.
A concert was given on Tuesday be- I
fore we landed for the benefit of the Sea- I
men'a Home of Liverpool and Boston. I |g
The Stewards-and crew made up the ex- F
eellent program of recitation and songs,
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1 riTsiunn uauit^, vi a. air, mauc ca ?uu?orous
talk. The collection tour about
$130.
After eight delightful days Liverpool was
reached and the hour of parting came with ?le?p
regret to all- A superficial custom's examination
preceded our l)oarding the Txxndon & North
'rar' ?TlWrW^^'
HjMffiJ"!) THE Centra
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\ NEW ORLEANS, ATLANTA. FEBF
days in Euro
western "boat special" which in a few hours,
pat us in the great city of London. From our
Hotel Russell we prepared to make a second inspection
of the city. St. Paul's Cathedral, "Westminster.
Abbey, Tower of London. British Museum,
Houses of Parliament and many other
places of interest are all places of common knowledge
to the reader. London has its own peculiar
pharm for the traveler and an interest to suit
?
*
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Liner "Laconia," one of the Steadiest Steamers
* " ' ' *
every taste. On Sabbath morning we attended
divine service at Westminster Chapel. We regretted
the absence of the pastor, Dr. G. Camp
bell Morgan, but the pulpit was acceptably tilled
by a Scotchman, Dr. J. A. Hutton, who preached
an excellent sermon from Mark 12:34. It was
communion Sabbath and the fact which impressed
the writer was the exceedingly small number
who remained to participate in the sacrament.
Out of a very large congregation not more than
twenty per cent remained. Can it 'be possible
that England is drifting into the American indifference
with reference to this sacred occasion?
Sunday evening we attended the Marylebone
Presbyterian ehurch, of which Rev. R. C. Gillie
is pastor. There was a large congregation, for
ITotel Russell, a Comfortable London Hotel.
a night service, and Mr. Gillie preached a very
line 9ermon from Matthew 4:19. Prom what we
could gather this is one of the moat aggressive
Presbyterian churches in the city. On our re
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i l Presbyter/an ,<t
iERN PRES3YTEMAM
.VARY 12, 1913. NO.^
REV. RUNtAN McLEOD, Ph. ??
||%/| Pastor First Presbyterian Church,
'1/V Harrodsbnrg, Ky.
turn Sabbath in September we attended the
Regent Street Presbyterian church in the morning
and City Temple at night. The writer must
confess to a feeling of disappointment at the indifference
to strangers shown in the Presbyterian
churches he visited in London. The Baptist and
Wesley an churches in London seem to have a
monopoly on cordiality, and that, no doubt, contributes
to their great success.
The next week found us in Paris.
Paris is a bewitching city. It has an indescribable
fascination for the average
IJ American. Here every section has its
I] historic associations, its sentimental ro''I
vcries and its harmonious beauty.
-caving out the pleasure side of Paris,
which is certainly not to be envied, the
I J $3., traveler finds much to interest and enK
ighten him in his daily carriage drives.
. jfi c^roni our hotel on Rue de Rivola we
were in walking distance of many of the
5 things worth seeing: Garden of the
H Tulleries, Louvre, Place de l'Opera,
etc. turniigu unvca ihajii m&e u?
Afloat. Napoleon's tomb, Notre Dame, Bastile,
Eiffel Tower and Place de la Concorde.
Religion has still a strong hold upon the French
people despite reports to the contrary. The
Roman Catholic churches visited were usually
thronged with devout worshippers. Only one
Catholic church did wc find closed and for sale.
It was in Fontainbleau and belonged to the
Capuchin order of monks who were expelled
from France because of their political activity.
The rural population have many quaint religious
ceremonies, notably the Fete-Dieu, when the
priests beseech God " to bless the earth and all
its produce?wheat, wine, lruit and flower, the
water we drink, and the grass we tread upon"
and sprinkles the ground, trees and rivers with
holy water. But even the French Protestantism
is not free from such inoffensive and poetical
superstition.
?Chantilly and Fontainbleau are
] charming places to visit by auto. The
1 former contains the famous castle of the
Condes, the latter the forest of Fontainhleau,
the largest and most beautiful in
Hi j France, and the palace originally built
I about 1160 A. D. Napoleon I occupied
it and it contains his apartments aa he
left them, apartments of Marie AntionH
ette, Madame de Maintenon. and of Pope
Pius VII, who was held as a prisoner
BH from June, 1812, to January, 1814. The
H whole interior of the magnificent chateau
I or palace is a memory of great past days,
when France, under Napoleon, was leading
all the nations of the world.
Brussels, Waterloo and Antwerp were
next visited. They are situated in the
1!mU 1,: J-~ -* ?v:_v a
muTT f\iii^uuiii ui WHICH uwa 10 it?
called "the cock-pit of Europe" because of the
many battles fought in it. Here sixteen miles
from Brussels is the famous battlefield, just men
2?] . *