Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-08-21
ACROSS THE CONTINENT
OF EUROPE.
Coin. DEN,fAvk. Julv 21st. 1879.


md it quite task to write a letter that a
FouId be of interest to the readers of the |
IERALD and travel at the same time, for
While travelling it is utterly impossible to
write, and when ives stop we have SO much
Use to attract our attention until night,
when we should rest; then,b by the aid of
/ tallow candle. kindly furnished by ho-
.els on the Continent, we try to collect
our thoughts and jot them down, until
over powered by sleep, or the candle melts
away to the socket, when we are obliged
to stop. We believe this to be the expe- /
rience of every one.
We date this letter at Cologne, but viii |
have to go back some distance, in order
that our disjointed mention of the trip |
may be more complete.
ENGLAND.
After passing from Glasgow to Edin-
burg, and making tour of the lakes and
trossacks of Scotland and back again to
Glasgow, of which we mentioned in our
last letter, where we again took the cars
for London, England, visiting Kenilworth
castle, and Stratford, the home of Shaks-
peare, by the way; after riding all night,
we arrived early in the morning at the
toWn of Kenilworth, and disembarking,
those rode in hacks who wished, and
others walked mile and half, to the
castle. The morning was cool and brac-
ing, with more or less F'Scotch mist, so
prevalent while in Scotland; but, wish
ing a little exercise after the long and
tedious ride of the night before, and pro-
vided with umbrellas and waterproof
coats and cloaks, many preferred the
walk, which was shaded by stately trees,
and along by old stone walls. We crossed
the clear and sparkling steam, Avon, on
a rustic foot-bridge, and a few minutes
walk brought us to the hotel, close to the
castle grounds, where a breakfast had
been ordered; but our number, some two
hundred, and the limited means of the
house to accommodate, the party Jared
very slim-a cold meat breakfast, with
tea and coffee; and many were lucky to
get that. To get this repast we were con-
Quoted through the house to the rear, and
lin long, open shed we ate sparingly our
first English meal. Had this renowned
castle been located in Scotland an lexten-
sive hotel, of modern architecture would
be found adjoining, for the accommOda-
ton of tourists and others visiting it. AnC
after travelling through the countries oi
Scotland, England, Holland and Ger
many, we find Scotland to be the banner
country; and all tourists will agree will
u.s. The Scotch have flner hotels, better
, accommodations; more cleanly in thei
|
toms; more social to their guests, ant
have great taste in their public and pri
vate buildings. The Scotch dialect is mu
: steal to the ear; they are highly educated
) as a rule. The Swiss we are told, vie wit
Scotland in fine recommendations; but, il
e regard to til1s8latter, we will have NOR
! to say after visiting Switzerland. Butw
f are wandering from our subject. Kenil
t worth castlelis a fair sample of the man
:. OthersNFe have seen. Cesar's Tower, on
e corner of these ruins, now standing oYe
: a hundred feet high, is supposed to be tn
a only vestige of the original portions bui
i by Geoffney de Clinton but though tn
e most ancient, it is the strongest and mos
: perfect part of the castle now in exist
: ence; the walls Baiug fifteen feet thick
i But the feudal giePies, power and pom
: of Kenilworth castle have long since d.
e parted, and the ivy, green to the memory
n CLIMBS the mouldeging walls within whic
It princes and mobiles caroused, and whel
!. knightly barons and kings ruled wit
power and splendOr; but, desolate an
disnaantletl, tho interest I'm its crumblin
ruins still remains, and will never pas
: away so long as fragment of the one
It splendid structure continues to exists
= Of the ancient history of this stupendol
~ edifice, very little is known with certain
o ty, but it is supposed to be of Roman o
e igin, but the building proves that tt
:. builders of that age were more elaborai
Ie in the art and designs of building tina
1t the present day. The custodian of ii
castle says it was founded in the fifth ce
le tury. The building and grounds are vel
,t large-covering several acres-a part
n, which is in good preservation, containiI
lr ancient armour. paintings, etc.
of Having finished the castle, we retrac'
re our steps to the railroad depot, and soo
S we were on our way to the home of Shak
n peare, Standardization, and, on arri
m ing, went directly to the house, and in
Sc the identical room where Shakespeare w
rs born. One room, the "museum," co
nc tains many relics and pictures of Shah
,le peare and family. The old, oaken de
re that he used at the grammar school, al
III badly defaced by his pemknife, was thel
~ ~ his chair was also there, in which we
Id sat down. The house stands about t
~, T Z
nd also visited the Cathedral, in which
II, the remains of Shakespeare. The tol
lie of Shakespeare and his wife is on the |
he side, just in front of the altar. The hou
ad is quite large, with nave and tranceps.
~ ~ stands to the rear of the old church val
m on the banks of the Avon. We took d
ner at the Cred Horse Inn" and, like
sc such places we fonnd in England, the
ov tel was an ancient structure, and al
Of gether too small TO accommodate our d
nd ty. At 2 p. M. we took seats in the C
70 for London, were we arrived about D..
Io and label d'hOte dinner was served al
he These label d'hOte dinners are always
.ry the evening, and from eight to tive
loE courses are served, occupying from
and half to two hours. This we hi
to put up with until we return to Am,
is ca, as it is the custom all over Europe
-! ne We stopped at London four days, visit
ge- the Art-galleries, Museums, Westm
in ster Abbey, Parliament buildings (wl
De in session., st. Paul's Cathedral, Lone
Iii Iii Tower, and many other places of inter
Id and curiosity to an American. On s.
lie day, while at London, in company W
ler several of the party, we took steamb
81 el- ride down the river Thames, some
emf miles or more-and then only wen
of small distance through the city. By