Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-08-11
JOHN WESLEY'S BIRTHPLACE.
Contributed by Rev. Churm. Letter No. 9

Before leaving Grand Rapids, 1 had
made up my mind that if it were
possible [ would visit Epworth in
Lincolnshire, the birthplace of the
founder of Methodism John Wesley.
| was in London on the 3Oth day of
June and took from thence the 5:45
train at Kings Cross by Great Northern
Railway for Lincoln, on my way to
Epworth. 1t was "fast train" an
express shall we call it, and ran at the
rate of 90 miles an hour. 4 railway
porter opened the door of the compart-
ment [ was to enter and as soon as I
had entered | heard a click behind me,
he had locked the door. In this
compartment was a gentleman from
Peterborough who had been to the
great city on business connected with
his brickyard, for some Cockney had
been obtaining goods from him under
false pretenses and he in turn was
for redress. This car or rather carriage
for that is what railroad cars are called,
was the most comfortable and conven-
tent that had ever entered in England.
An alleyway ran the whole length of
the car and the compartments all
opened into the alleyway. There were
special compartments for ladies, as
outrages and indecent assaults have
been SO numerous that railroad COM
panies are throwing some protection
around the ladies. There was also a
gentlemens smoke room, and in ad-
dition at each end of the car were lava
tories for ladies and gentlemen respect
lively.
My travelling companion was perfectly
familiar with the country which We
were passing through. When we were
we'll out into the country, he pointed
out to me Hatfield, in Hertfordshire,
the residence of Lord Salisbury, and as
| looked at it nesting among the green
trees so comfortably, with spacious park
near by, l wondered who could not be
happy and contented with such a resi-
dence and grounds.
Now the train is at It's best, and
with changing scenery, pleasant quar-
ters and agreeable company the time
flies, oh! so quickly away. Right
through this delightful country we go,
buzzing along through village, town and
country until we cross the line into
Huntingtonshire, the capitol of which
is Huntington, situated on the left bank
of the Ouse. Here is the home of Oliver
Cromwell, of historic interest. 1t WAS
here he first saw the light, on April %,
1899, and in 1923 was first elected by his
borough as a member of the British
Parliament. We passed onward through
the 'Fens", an extensive tract of fiat,
marshy land extending inland, around
the wash into the six counties of North
ampton, Huntington, Cambridge, Lin
coin, Norfolk and Suffolk, and having
an area of some 100000 acres. The sur
rounding country is sparsely settled.
Wy lilShIi polutCu oIe W IlS d IIttlc
grove, and said as he did so,-do you
see those woods" they are called
Monks Wood" l rplied,-that little
clump of trees, you mean? l would call
it grove. All! says he, but we call it
"a wood" Near there, he continued,
isa rare kind of butterfly, which sells in
London for e3, and Londoners come
out here to catch the fly and put it on
the market. That sounded to me like a
big story, a butterfly worth SIS, but l
was not in position to contradict him,
and so let it pass. Look here, he con-
tinued: you see that little hill yonder?
Yes, | said. Well that is called "Nor-
man Cross" and it is supposed that
some prisoners from Waterloo were
quartered there.
Very soon we came into Peterborough,
Northamptonshire, our first stop, about
76 miles northeast of London, where l
bade adieu to my companion. The next
stop was Grantham, in Lincolnshire,
about 81 miles farther on. | had an
hour and half to wait here and so
looked around little. Here Newton
was instructed in classics before he went
to Cambridge. A canal 80 miles long
connects this town with the river Trent.
The trade is chiefly in malt, corn and
coal. Leaving Grantham L came to
Lincoln some forty miles further, where
l stayed all night at a Temperance
Hotel, kept by a Methodist local
preacher. This city is built on the slope
of hill which is crowned with ca
thedral. The famous bell ''Tom of
Lincoln" was cast in 1910, and was hung
in one of the west towers in this edifce;
it was broken in 1884, and together with
six other bells was recast to form the
present large bell and two'quarter bells
Leaving Lincoln, l went by Great
Eastern Railway to Haxey, little
country station. the nearest station to
Epworth, and imagine my surprise when
the station master told me that Epworth
was five miles away. 1 enquired how /
could get there. Oh. he says, there will
be bus here to meet the next train,
and you may go on that or you may
walk it-1 walked it the last time l was
there-it's pleasant walk To this l
replied, [ will wait for the bus, and he
showed me to the little waiting room,
where | tarried until the bus came, and
then went out to renowned Epworth.
AS | passed along the splendid road on
either side were fertile fields and