The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-10-14
:; WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN IN NGIANDS ANCESTRAL HALLS



Of the death of those older, seem to
accept the situation as a matter of
curse. ard enants descended from
generations of tenants seem to acqui-
,sce without protest in a tenure which
deprives them of the prospect Of own
crship.
While one can appreciate the beauty
of the manors and admit that they
could not be maintained under any 9th
or system than that which gives them
entire to one member Of the family.
and prevents alienation, still An Amer
lean finds his admiration for Ameri
can institutions increasing while h,
travels. for to him the advantages that
flow from individual ownership and the
division of estates at death seem in
finitely greater than any that are to be
derived from the English system. A
hundred farmers stimulated by hope
and secure in their holdings. contrib
ute more than one country gentleman
and ninety-nine tenants possibly can to
the strength and vigor of u state.
After ALL the large estates are in
significant in number when compared
with the homes Of the middle classes
in tho various cities and villages. but
these are much like the homes In
America. both In appearance and in
management. that it is not necessary
to dwell upon them. The owners of
these homes are potent in parliament
airy elections. as are also the laboring
men. although the House of Lords rep
resents the landed proprietors. more
than One-third of all the farm lands.
in England being owned by member.
of that body.
We took occasion to visit some CT
the shrines of Great Britain. or course
no one place is SO rich in historic mem
cries as Westminster Abbey. Il being
the burial place of most of the illus
trious of England. One of the most
frc1ucnted places outside OF London is
Stratford- on- Avon, the birthplace ami
burial place of Shakespeare. The house
IN which he was born Is still standing.
and Is well preserved. considering the
years that have passed over 1t: from
it's size and arrangement it is evident
that Shakespeare was man of some
means. The house Is now public prop
erty, ana serves as museum where
numerous Shakespearean relics are ex-
hibited. One oil painting of him, made
when he was still young man. would
indicate that even then he enjoyed
some distinction among his fellows al
though succeeding generations have
appreciated him vastly more than his
own.
The grammar school which Shake
speare attended Is still to be seen and
at the church they have the baptsmal
font used at his christening and the
parish register in which his baptism
and burial are entered. His grave is
In the floor of the church and there n
nothing to mark the stone slab that
covers 1t but the familiar lines:
Good friend, for Jesus sake forbearc
To digg the dust enclosed heare.
Bleste be we man vt spares thes stones,
u h4-
At Edinburgh we saw the home Of
John Knox and were impressed anew
with the tremendous influence which
he exerted upon the religious life Of
scotland Seldom has, it fallen to the
lot of one man to stamp his thought
upon so many people. In Edinburgh
also stands the little chanel, l~s4 known
to tourists, In which tho Covcnantcrs
met and In which the struggle logan
between them and the Church of Eng
land. 1t Is hard 10 bclicv" that az
short time ago there was Il bloody
war between two branches tof the Pro-
testant church in which thousands suf-
fered martyrdom for their religious on
viCtjons.
We visited Loeb kutrirc. and l.oc,,
Lomond. to which Scott aas givt,,,
permanent place in Literature, md az
ter seeing them Will not enter a dis
pute with any Highlan lcr. however
extfaVaSant, mis- praise or these beau
tiful lakes. And. il may digrcss for
moment, we also visited the lakes
of Killarney. of which Moore sang
They also are beautiful enough to move
"A poot's heart and inspire poets pen
although to be truthful. must assert
that Lake Tahoe, when shines like a
jewel in the crown of the Sierras on
the boundary line between California
and Nevada need not fear comparison
with any of the lakes of Scotland or
Ireland. In one thing, however. we
cannot compare with England. Scotland
and Ireland. namely. the ivy-,nantied
ruin. 1t Is picturesque ana pleasing to
the eye. and yet who wouli exchange a
plain cottage, occupied by happy
family. Tor the crumbliug vine clad
From Glasgow we went by antonio
bile to Ayr, the birthplace of Burns
Thirty three miles out, and thirty
three miles back. and 1t raIned nearly
the entire way. We were sustained
amid the discomforts of the trip by
our interest in Scotland's rustic bard,
whose simple lays have cndeared him
to the universal heart. but our SYM