Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1870-11-30
Misteltanu.
For the Freeman.
Our Long Journey.
BY REV. Z. W. PARKER.


STEAMER " NORTH Tyne" NEAR
CAPE ST. VINCENT, OFF SPAIN.
October u, 1870.
Our stay in England was short, and con
fined wholly to Liverpool, as we lande
Monday morning and sailed the following
Wednesday evening. Yet, though our tim
was SO short, and every moment filed wit
business,-in getting our boxes through tn
custom house, changing our money, engagin;
and arranging for our passage, shipping on
goods, erc., etc. ,-still we could but max
some observations of things and customs
which differ from ours in Vermont.
The carriages are nearly all different from
ours. We did not see common buggy will
one seat during our stay, but nearly every
kind of vehicle was 50 arranged as to provide
separate seat for the driver. A very com.
mon carriage is made much like our OLD
fashioned chaise, with seat for the driver
behind, high enough up so that he can see
to drive over tho chaise top. Il would seem
like doing something, for a gentleman to
drive his own team hence every kind OF
vehicle must have place for a driver. A
story is told of the Irishman in Ohio, who
wanted to go down the river on the canal
boat, and having no money, offered to work
his passage. lie was taken on condition OF
driving the horses so he ran the whole way
on the shore behind the horses He re.
marked to his friend after he got through,
that he would as soon have walked as to
have worked his passage, were it not for the
name of it. 50 in these buggics, and in a
thousand other things, we see men hiring
work done that they could do great deal
easier and better themselves, were it not for
the g name of it. y"
An American in going into an English
city will at once notice men poorly clad and
sad looking, standing about the squares ap-
parently quite idle-neither thinking, talk
ing nor acting. As | noticed from our window
these men at all times of the day, thus in
dolently standing about, the words of Scrip
ture came to mind, " Why stand We here all
the day idle ?" And the only answer
found was, q Because no man hath hired
u.s." If we can judge at all from appear
ances, it is difficult for poor day-laborers to
get work sufficient to do in Liverpool. We
saw evidences of this by the number of men
who would swarm around few trunks that
were to be lifted on board the ship, each one
anxious to be employed to do the work
Yankee can but dislike the unmanly
custom of exacting presents, SO common al
most everywhere out of America If you
would get your goods through the custom
house readily, why little money will do it.
If you don't use the money, and have no in
fucntial friend, you may depend upon delay.
If you want to get along comfortably on the
cars the conductor must have fee quietly
of course, and you are sure not TO get your
baggage checked in season unless the baggage
master is encouraged. If You leave a hotel
without making the servants your friends by
means of a few shillings, you had better 90
to some other hotel next time if you want
good care.
We did not, however, think to write YOU
n lott Of oil hrrt Ill
of our long journey. Our little steamer, the
/" North Tyne, is a new boat built express
ly for freight between England and India. |
There is room, however, for nine passengers /
in her cabin, and as there are eight in our 4
company, we were very glad to secure this /
cabin to ourselves. So we are a missionary |
family, and in our little ocean home can
have our prayer meetings, social chats, les
sons in the India language, ETC., without let
or hipdrance.
In the Bay of Biscay we had the toughest
seas that we have yet found. 1t seems as
though all the mountain waves of the entire
Atlantic had been rolled together here, and
that they were spending their last strength in
breaking each other in pieces. Our steamer
seemed helpless amid such fighting, lashing,
foaming mountains, and she rolled and
bounded, jumped and pitched, trembled and
shook, plunged and rose again, until the
constant terrible motion became quite I'M
bearable Each one in our company was
very sick for three long days, notwithstand-
ing we had all just crossed the Atlantic.
Some of the company thought that perhaps
it was well for missionaries to cross the Bay
of Biscay, as they would no longer have any
inclination or temptation to turn back across
that fearful sea. All along down by the coast
of Spain and Portugal after crossing the Bay,
the weather was beautiful and the sea not
very rough : and now at the end Of one week
we are about entering the Straits of Gibral-
ter All are well and happy, and the new
missionaries are studying hard learning the
IIindustanee language.
NEAR MALTA, MEDITERRANEAN SEA,
October II.
We had a smooth sea and clear sky as we
passed through the Straits of Gibraltar into
this great sea. 1t seems wonderful that this
road or pass between the mountains should
be found here connecting the ocean with this
sea. 1t is literally pass through the
mountains, about one mile wide in the mar
rowest place, with rocks rising abruptly
from the water With this strait and with
the Suez Canal ships can go from America
across the Atlantic, through the Mediterra-
mean and Red seas to India, or still on round
to San Francisco. We arc having beautiful
weather on the sea. and have sailed near the
coast of Africa, often seeing the lights by
night, and the mountains by day.
We are to stop at Malta, the island where
St. Paul was shipwrecked and we hopc that
we may happen to get there in the day time,
go that while the ship takes in her coal, we
NAV go ashore and see the island, and sec
where ST. Paul landed. We may write OF
Malta in our next.