The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-09-03

L have seen so many Ola cdSlle ruins,
so many historic towns, so many
places where great men were born, or
fought, or died, or wrote plays, novels,
history or poetry, so many towers in
which princes and kings lived and
reigned, or in which the great, the
good, the bad, the tyranical and the
famous have been imprisoned, so
many green hllsides f1Ocked with
grazing sheep and dotted with fat sleek
cattle, so many fertile valleys in WHICH
the Vari-colored crops blended so har-
that they showed up like
great carpets of gorgeous patterns, so
much of everything new and strange
that L hardly know how to select from
my experience so as to give you con-
nected letter. In fact, I'll have to
stick to what | said in my opening
sentence and merely give you few
notes telling about few of the things
have seen and heard.
The first and most important object
of my trip has been in part accom-
plished. | have visited quite a number
of the best schools in Great Britain
covering every grade of teaching from
our North Carolina first grade up to
and including college preparatory
work, and in addition, [ have seen two
of the best teachers training colleges
in Scotland and England. L have seen
much that has impressed me most fa-
vorably The work in the elementary
and preparatory grades is in many re-
spects very thorough, and is always
uniform, has to be because 1t is pre-
viOusly cut and dried for the teachers
Ey those who arrange the curriculum.
Some of the teaching in the elemen
tary grades is evidently modelled after
that which we in North Carolina re-
gard as the best pedagogical princi-
Ill -lnsa11 hO n 4xN
tell my friends much that will interest
them about the Scotch and English
way of applying scientific principles
to the act of teaching. | carefully eX-
amined the work Of the children and
brought away some specimens of their
written recitations. / am especially
proud of two compositions on George
Washington" | can not give a copy
of these here but | must say that l
was sad. very sad, when | found that
neither one mentioned that our great
American never told a lie." 1t strikes
me that such an undisputed fact
should be mentioned whenever OPP
portunity offers, and should ever be
kept before the people
While in Scotland, l wished for w.
S. Liddell, or j. G. Drewry, or E. S.
Martin, or F. ID. Winston, or DR..
Clarke, or General Register, or well,
in fact, all of my Masonic bretheren in
North Cadolina, for I there gratified
a long cherished desire of visiting a
Scotch lodge of Masons, and l shall
never forget the warm welcome and
hearty good cheer that | received from
the brethren of Scotland. With
doubts as to my ability to prove my
self a Mason I went tozLodge Clyde
No. 40S in Glasgow and had no trouble
in gaining admission. The work was
i'll hut
was SO entirely unlike ours in manner
that it was even more interesting than
it would have been had it more nearly
reSembled the American work. And
yet the grand result was genuine Ma
sonry in all of its practical effect and
symbolic beauty and gave to me fresh
proof of the universally of Masonry.
In Edinburgh l visited st. David's
Lodge, No. SO, whose members tel
with pride that within their lodge
room Sir Walter Scott was initiated,
passed, and raised to the sublime de-
gree of Master Mason. l here saw the
comforting of the Master Mason and
Mark Master degrees and by the way,
| was told that the Mark Degree in
Scotland is always conferred in Mas
ter Mason lodge, or rather not by
Mark degree is almost identical with
North Carolina chapter WC-.-. Afte'
work was finished the lodge was call
ed from labor to refreShment tables
were quickly arranged and all hands
sat down to a firSt-claSS spread made
up of many of the good things always
found at the best of banquets. There
were toasts, responses, refreshments
more toasts, responses and refresh
ments,-songs, toasts, responses, re-
freshmentS, recitationS cheers, and
every other evidence of good fellow
ship and a jolly good time, until ii
was so late that one could truthfully
say that he had come to the meeting
the day before he went home and that
he had enjoyed being there both days.
One day while | was in Liverpool
happened to see in a morning paper
some mention of revival meetings that
were then being held on the island of
AngleSey by the celebrated Welsh re-
vivalist Evan Roberts, and / inmedi-
ately determined to extend my trip
through Wales so as to attend at least
one service. | had the good fortune
to find him at Menai Bridge, a pretty
little Welsh village on the island of
Anglesey. The meeting was advertiS
ed for five o'clock in the afternoon
and so in good time l joined the crowd
passing my hotel and followed it out
into a field about half mile away.
Benches seating about five hundred
ndd Deen pldced In front OF Il platform
built on the farther edge of the field.
With difficulty 1 forced my way up to
the rear bench and stood there for
three hours witnessing the most re-
markable religious meeting | ever saw
in my life. The congregation was
singing when | arrived and everybody
seemed to be singing too. At the end
of the song, woman near me stood
up and with vehement gestiCulation
and shrilf. piercing voice prayed most
paSSionately, and evidently to the
great approval of the crowd which
time and again broke out with loud
words. screams, laughter. and other
vocal demonstrations of delight. When
she had been praying for quite
while another woman began to pray
with equal manner, vioce, and effect
but soon some one on the platform be-
gan to sing and the audience joined in
so loudly as to drown the voices of
the praying ones who then turned
their words of prayer to notes of song.
After this alternate singing and pray
ing had been going on for an hour or
two, Evan Roberts the great leader
of the present religious revivals in
Wales, appeared and took his seat on
the platform with the ministers and
leading singers. The wood-cuts of