The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1899-07-29
WALES STRANGE CHURCH.
Its Pulpit Is Located Several Hundred
Feet Beneath the Earth's
Surface.

1eet underground, in the heart of a
coal mine, and fashioned entirely with
pick and shovel by hardy toilers in the
fossil woods, this strangest of all Chris
tan temples is to be found at Mynydd
Newydd, near Swansea, in West Ola,
morgan. My way to church lay first
up steep hill, then down by means of
a wet and dirty iron cage to the bottom
of shaft, and finally through series
of may labyrinths, lighted by the glim-
mer Of the miners candles, to the
chapel.
The walls of the chapel are formed
in part of small, rough pine logs,
through which the splendid, thick coal
seam "outcrops" to the view he-c and
there, and in part of loose dry walling.
1t is not an MISUNDERSTANDING place,
and suggests to those unacquainted
with coal mines speedy death from
want of oxygen. The roof is somewhat
menacingly close overhead, but it is d
hard, smooth cliff, and has been whit
ened with lime, so that it looks like an
artificial ceiling. AS you enter you OBJ
served that the chapel is "timbered''
with pit-props on either side, and fur
nished with rude plank seats placed at
equal distances between the props. TO
be exact, there are eight of these seats
On either hand, with room for six per-
sons on each, while at the entrance and
at the deck or pulpit there are what
Welsh nonconformists call "set fawrs,"
or big seats, in which miners sit round
and face one another. These would
hold, at pinch, perhaps dozen apiece,
so that there is sitting accommodation
for over a hundred in the little con-
venticle.
AS the colliery is worked with naked
lights, there is no risk in illuminating
this little chapel in the depths of the
fossilized forest; indeed, the miners
subscribe regularly for candles, which
are stuck on the pillars and fitted vaults
al round-an ample allowance of two
being made to the pulpit. There is no
regular officiating minister, but con-
ductor calls on anyone he pleases, and
there is no lack of spiritual gifts. The
service is held only once week-on
Monday morning at the early hour of
six, before the men 60 to their daily
work.
But now the service, which takes the
form of short Welsh prayer meeting,
has commenced. The conductor has
given out hymn, and the voices of
prayer and praise ring out in this meet
ing-house in the modern catacombs.
The seats are all well filled, and even
outside, all Along, row of men are
squatting with their lamps by their
sides-for lamps are not allowed in.
side the building" because of the
smoke they emit. 1t is only as the
eyes get accustomed to the gloom that
one fully sees all the shadowy forms
assembled. They have taken their seats
noiselessly and the place has filled i'm
perceptibly. But the "Amens" and the
Welsh "Yes" interpolated in the pray
ers soon help one to realize the large
number in the audience. The service
is entirely in the Welsh language, and
consists, as it almost invariably does,
of chapter from the Bible, two hymns,
and two eXtempore prayers. The Bible,
which is treasured in a tin case, is now
carefully taken out, and one of the
miners, with emphatic, measured in
tonation, reads chapter. Then another
miner offers prayer.
The service is impressive entirely
from its spontaneity and simplicity.
Neither high mass at ST. Peters, nor a
! national celebration at St. Pauls-in
fact, no rite, ceremony, solemnity, or
sacrament in the world above-could
strike so convincingly upon the mind
and imagination as this simple service.
Another prayer, another hymn, and the
little gathering, which rarely lasts
more than half to three-ouarters of an
hour, comes to close. The miners sep
arate and go to their working places,
probably with distincter impression
of their dependence on the protection
of Providence. At any rate, a scoffer
is unknown at this little chapel, and
it is admitted that the Myndd Newydd
pit contains an unusual proportion of
sober, upright, thoughtful workmen.
The Myndd Newydd chapel has exist
ed and has been in regular use for 81
years. 1t was started, SO far as could
discover, on August 10, 1S45, two or
three years after the opening of the col
liery. 1t was one of the first happy
thoughts that occurred to the newly
employed golfers. There was one or
two men still working in this colliery
who were present at the first service
held there Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Alligator and Men in n Tug-Of-War.
AT the logging camp of Messrs. Brady
& Earl, on Turkey creek, a hog COM
menced squealing and the balance of
the hogs began rallying around small
pond behind the camp. Mr.. Earl, hear
ing the noise, ran down to see what
was the matter, and, seeing a hog I'M
der water, jumped in and caught the
hog by the leg and started for the
bank, but instead of going to the bank
he was pulled the other way, calling
for assistance. Taking hold of hands,
they all pulled together, and it was
soon evident that monstrous alligator
had the hog. When they got his head
out of water he objected to going any
e