Amador ledger. (Jackson, Amador County, Calif.) 1875-19??, 1907-10-11
Letter from
England.
Friend Emerson /:

l suppose you would like to know
how we got along after leaving Liver
pool, as the English system is sc
different than at home. We notified
the luggage man at the depot to cal
for our baggage which we had
addressed to our next destination,
they called gave a numbered receipt
and delivered it at the address given
without any farther bother on oul
part for shilling package. There
are no transfer companies as we know
there, but the R. R. Co., will attend
TO it just the same, and make the
profit. We bought our tickets, got
lon the express, which only made two
stops and ran 80 miles an hour. Nc
one looked at our tickets after we
left, although our train was made OF
vestibuled corridor cars, quite Jan
improvement over the old style, there
are no brakemen only guard, who
don't bother with or about passengers,
just checks out the baggage as label
ed, and signals when to start again,
which he does when he thinks every
one got off or on that wanted to-.
They don't call out station names,
you must keep your eyes open for the
signs as you enter the station. At
Rugby, where the foot ball game of
that name originated, we had to
transfer to another line, still no one
asked to look at our tickets, and did
not until we tried to pass out of the
depot at Northampton, then ticket
agent asked for our tickets which he
took and let US pass out. There is
no way of getting out of depot with
out passing a ticket iaker. The
booking Office where they sell the
tickets is named from the old stage
coach custom when they booked your
name for passage and didn't give yon
ticket, now they give you ticket,
but don't book your name.
The farms along the road are all
small with hedges for fencing, and on
account of the cold wet summer, the
crops are very late with the wheat
down in many places.
Northampton like all the towns in
England has narrow crooked streets,
but this beats them all in the old
part of the city. We took an cleo
trio trolley and rode up town to find
stopping place, we found place at
the Peacock Inn," its an old Inn of
the stage coach time with its old
and DeTT purr -
to come and hold the horses, and any
description that you may read in
Dickens or any old English writer
about an Inn will fit this; but is
frstclass in cleanliness, food and
prices.
We soon started out to find if we
could some of Mrs VS. relatives, in
this we succeeded and surprised lot
of uncles, aunts, sisters and cousins,
nephews and neices who had never
expected to see her again. After the
joyful meeting was over of course we
had to have tea. Nearly everyone has
tea here about p. m. Even some of
the factories stop work for twelve
minutes to let the employees have
tea. So four meals a day is the rule
20
Northampton is an old and quiet
historic city now about 81, 900 popula-
tion, the most of whom work at shoe
making. There are large number of
shoe factories employing from 20 to
1000 hands, of boys, men and girls.
We visited two factories, and saw the
whole operation of shoemaking from
start to finish, its quite an interest
ing sight, but what pleased US most
was the fact that all the best, most
efficient and complicated machinery
was of American make. The sewing
machines we're all of the Singer
Manufacturing Co., made in the
United States; although the Singer
Co. has factory in Scotland.
Beer making is the next largest in
dustry and there are a number of
breweries, but from the taste of the
"Bitter Beer,'' which is monthly
sold, they can make barley and hops
60 long way, the Porter is better
than the Stout, but the Ale or Small
Beer as it is named here, seems to be
made after any of the others, by lett
ing the water run through the gram
watts as long as it comes out colored.
1t will quench thirst like water, but
as a nutriment or nerve food its q
failure. No more cold English Ale
or me. All public houses as
saloons are called here, open at a.
M, close at II p. m. except Sundays
when its from noon till 2:30 p. M,
and from P. m. till 10 p. m, and
they obey the law or lose theil
license. They are not allowed to sell
to an intoxicated person, so we never
saw drunk man.
The historical part of the city con
sists of the fact that Parliment under
various Kings met here, also ole
battlefields of the Danes and Nor
mans, the Romans also had been here
There are four OF the ancient church
still here, one built in the 12ti
caDturv and ono nv the Knioht