Brenham weekly banner. [volume] (Brenham, Tex.) 1877-1907, 1897-08-12
BRENNAN TOURIST ABROAD.
TORONTO; OR SOME LEAVES FROM
MY NOTE BOOK"
Rev. E. P. Newsom Tells Something of
the Recent International Ep-
worth League Conference
at Toronto, Canada.

| have been asked to tell your
readers something about my
trip to the International Epworth
League Conference, which re-
Gently convened at Toronto,
Canada.
| had so much to see and hear,
and such fragment of time to
see and hear it in that my. i'm
pressions are very much like the
results of old uncle Sci's dream.
A fat opossum lay baking in the
oven, and that the pleasures
both of sweet anticipation and
realization might be enjoyed he
lays himself down to slumber
and to dream. Old Sam in the
meantime spies the opossum, and
decides upon the unequal division
of eating the opossum and greas-
ing the mouth Of uncle Sci for a
remembrance thereof. Where
upon, after a season, Uncle Sci
awakes and is confronted with
four facts, a dream, an absent
opossum, a greasy mouth and an
empty stomache; and this was
his conclusion: "Ef | did eat
dat possum, it had less influnce
wild me, and settled liter on my
constitushum dan eny possum l
liver eat" | too am confronted
with some facts, a dream, the
absence of Canada, some re-
collections that, while not grease,
are almost as thin, and an empty
pocket book. So 1 may say that
my trip, while perhaps as
thoroughly delightful as uncle
Sets dream, yet because of the
limited time at. my disposal,
settled lighter on my constitution
and had less influence with me
than most any trip ever took.
Three through sleeper loads of
as happy and congenial lot of
young people as we're ever got
together pulled out of Houston on
the night of July 18th for
Toronto, Canada; and while we
had our first nights dream steel
and steam had borne us swiftly
but safely through the shadows
of the darkness, until with the
dawning of the sun, we found
ourselves beside the great Father
of Waters and in sight of the
Crescent City. Having been
ferried over the river in the hugh
railway steam boat, our coaches
were quickly caught by an
engine and whirled away through
acres of railroad tracks, by the
side of numberless putting
engines and moving trains, to a
depot, where, it seemed, we
stopped just long enough for our
engine to get long breath and
make a couple of desperate
snorts, and in a short time we
we're being borne as on the wings
of whirl- wind away from the
great city into the heart of
Mississippi. We stopped just
long enough at jackson, Miss
issippi, to take on beave-hatted
gold-spectacled gentleman
greatly to the delight of one of
our Economically inclined ladies'
in the person of a most excellent
and companionable brother who
formerly occupied some of the
best pulpits in Texas. The re-
gion of Mississippi through
which we passed was innocently
free from anything which might
be called interesting scenery.
Tennessee and the greater por-
ton of Kentucky by night
Louisville for breakfast, and
more than half of our journey
was completed. We saw none of
Kentucky's fine horses, and only
two of her handsome women, and
they were hoeing corn in the
field, while we suppose their
husbands were seated on a pine
goods box in some small town
engaged in the arduous labor of
saving the country.
From Louisville to Cincinnati
we passed through what is known
as the hill country of Ohio. 1t
was while going through this
section that we saw a remark
able instance of yankee" in
dustry. l saw a field of corn on
the side of hill that appeared to
me to be almost perpendicular.
l was astonished beyond measure,
and enquired of our railway
representative, who was always
affable, and ready with explana-
tons, how a farmer was ever
able to plant corn on a steep hill
side, and after it was planted,
what prevented it from being
washed out by the rain. The
following story, which he
vouched for, sufficiently ex-
planned to me the mystery: