The Indianapolis leader. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1879-1890, 1881-09-24
BEYOND THE SEA,
London Letter From Rev. j
M. Townsend, Delegate to the Ecu
menical Council.

81 LONDON, Eng, Aug. 30.-Many of tn
Leader readers are no doubt interested il
8the first delegation sent to the Old WorlC
from among us, and l know of no bettel
medium through which to communicate thar
4your valuable paper. 1 therefore drop 4
} few brief notes of travel, etc., as an intro
Sduction to what shall follow, which l trus,
Twill be of interest both to you and them.
On the 30th of July left Richmond, Ind
dmy home and friends, for New York, from
which point We were to sail for London,
stopping Sunday, the 31st, with my only
living sister at GAINESVILLE, O., reaching New
York on the morning OF the 2nd of Angus st.
There met the other delegates who were
TO set sail on the same steamer. Elder Me
<Cants Stewart, the pastor of the Sullivan
1Church, had arranged grand reception 10
: be given in his Church in the evening. and
Ilt WIS grand, programme of which YOU
have no doubt received
On Wednesday morning at 0:30 A. NJ
we were on board the magnificent steamer.
the Queen" all ready to "'loose away" and
be of for twelve days voyage across the
Is'deep blue sea''
The dock was crowded with an anxious
Ithrong of kind friends who desired us God!
speed and safe return, singing beautifully;
Jas we hoated by the pier, Take the NameI
3of Jesus With You"
1t was day never by us to be forgotten.
IThe sun shone out beautifully clear above,i
1and the sea was all that could be desired [
] We stood on deck while our noble ship of.
hnr ,,ri4
Lof passengers and freight moved grandly outt
|of the harbor, and past Sandy Hook, wheret
Ithe pilot gave her over to the captain andt
Grew turned my eyes toward the great
metropolis as she sank away in the distancet
|and bade farewell to the land of my birth. 5
3and committed myself to the Father of all, I
who holds the waters in his hands and meas
ures the ocean as with a span. As 1 retiredp
Ito my state room feeling of sOlitarinessk
(crept over me. l thought of home, of FAM
PLY, of friends, and this oft-repeated questions
(came to me, SHOULD / ever see them again ?''e
1t was answered in this, that God cares fors
them and me, and if not in this life we.
would meet In brighter and happier cline
|Our delegation was composed of Bishops
Shorter and Dickerson, Elder Carr, Profit
Shorter, Prof. Morris, Alex. Clark and M
self
There were about twenty five cabin pass Z
|engers aboard beside us, three of whom were2
Americans, the others were English. Ital-h
|ians, French and Scotch. We had onlys
been out little till we formed acquaintance
les, and soon became the favorites on board
with passengers and crew. Every possible
'attention was paid US, and we almost foreotl
that it was the rule for colored persons to-
take second place. 1t required some times
flor our friends from America to adapt them-s
selves to the situation, but they fnallys
came to it and tried to be as agreeable ssi
|anyone else. One gentleman from Florida5
|hnally got drunk. The passengers gener-s
|all gave him the drop after which hes
tried to be very good to us, but gave hlms
Ia frst-class freezing"
confess that while I have seen andE
known much of the petty prejudices of myS
country, the real "cussedness' of the aver
|age American does not appear until ne is
|contrasted with the broad-mi nded and true.
hearted European. In England, France.
IS Switzerland and Savoy, where have trav-
,eled, the people absolutely know nothing off
color lines. A man is only regarded for3
what he is. No notice is taken OF his COM
'plexion. We simply travel as gentlemen,
|and every attention is paid US that is accord 4
led to any one else. We have travelled with
ladies and gentlemen OF various nationali-E
ties, lords, doctors, bankers, statesmen, art
lists, poets, merchants, teachers. ministers,
ETC., OF almost every grade, from the highest
TO the lowest, and not one, from the gray