Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-28

, in one-cent stamps to pay G.
Chimes" low, narrow frame boxes or
closets. just big enough for person to
dress and undress and hang up his clothes
on the nails that are. driven into the wall.
And that's another funny feature OF the
British watering place. Our cousins over
here, as l have already told you, build
their seaside residences in compact blocks
and make, their bathing houses separate,
while we build the latter in long rows.
When any one wants to take a din In the
sea he pays shilling to the proper au-
thority and is shown to a bathing ma
ohine.'' which is placed for him on the
very edge of the water so that he can
step Immediately into the surf without
exposing himself to the curious crowd
upon the beach. The machines" are
moved up and down. according to the tide.
There are both advantages and disad-
vantages in this arrangement, but 1t
would not be popular at Atlantic City,
Narragansett Pier and some of the other
American resorts where. l have heard,
people go ito show their shapes"
They Have Better Railway Stations.
The railway. continues around on the
edge of the ocean as far as the famous
Island of Anglesey. The farther you
go the more delightful is the landscape;
enterprise of the railway company in
building convenient. commodious and orna-
mental railway stations. That is one thing
in which every part of the United King
dom surpasses the United States. We
have some splendid railway stations in
our great cities, and the country stations
are admirable on some of the lines, but
England, Wales, Scotland or Ireland in
many respects. The wide platforms, the
glass rooted sheds and the driveways
which permit carriages, cabs and Omni-
buses to load and unload their passengers
sheltered from the rain and the wind are
far superior to those of the United States
In some places the mountains come
down to the sea and terminate in abrupt
precipices. which has compelled the rail-
way company to pierce tunnels or chisel
shelves on the sides of the cliffs for the
tracks. Much Of the scenery is wild and
romantic. and the little valleys between
the mountains are supplied with fine hard
roads that make 1t easy for pedestrian
or q bicycle rider to find his way around
almost as comfortably as the richer peo-
pie who have carriages and motor cars.
Many Men and Women Bicyclers.
You never saw SO many bicycles in your
life. There Is a continuous procession
of them passing and repassing and as
many are ridden by women as men. And
walking tours are still popular in Wales.
The, mountains are not difficult to climb.
Every day In the summer season hun
dreds of people go to the summit Of
Snowdon. the highest peak in Wales and
second highest in the kingdom, and it Is
healthful and enjoyable diversion.
Every arrangement possible is made for
the accommodation and entertainment OF
pedestrians and people who come on their
wheels. There are 'bicyclers' rests"
every few hundred yards along the road.
Almost every wayside cottage hangs out
a sign offering teas and minerals" the
latter being what we call soft drinks"
such as bottled soda and ginger ale. Dur
ing the summer months thousands of
"trippers' come over into Wales every
day by train from Liverpool, Manchester.
Leeds. Birmingham and other of the
great manufacturing cities of northern
England. just as New York and Phila-
delphia send their tired workmen to At
lantic City and Asbury Park.
Llewellyn the Welsh Hero.
Conway is the first place of Importance
along the line. and 1t has not much of In
terest to attract the tourist. except pile
Of ruined masonry that remains of an
ancient and famous old frontier fortress
of the Norman period. There is a fine
church and market place ornamented
with a statue of Llewellyn the Great
who founded the town and Is the hero OF
every Welsh lad today. The Cambrian
an annual exhibition which keeps up the
artistic spirit and educates the taste OF
the Welshmen: and, besides these lighter
things, there's a good deal Of profitable
business done in Conway. 1t is the CEN
ter of a prosperous community of fifty
acre farmers. who raise rich crops and
breed fine cattle among sea of hills
that rise around them to a thousand feet
and inclose labyrinths of narrow valleys
with deep fertile soil.
Welshman Is Thrifty.
There are mines and quarries to be
worked with profit also. for the Welshman
is as thrifty and as successful in his In
dustries and his trading as the Scotch
man. You can't tell by the looks of a
man in Wales how much land or cattle
he owns. or how much money he has in
the bank. any more than you can tell
the number OF his children. They seem
to raise large families in these parts. II
one may Judge from the testimony of the
tomb Of Nicholas Hookes. in the parish
churchyard at Conway. which declares
him to have been the forty-first child OF
devoted father and mother and the
happy parent of twenty-seven children
Most of the well fed, serious-looking.
heavy-set. bewahiskered natives that you
see along the streets of the towns or
meet in carts upon the highways are in
dependent. high-minded. educated dis
senters, Baptists and Presbyterians most
ly, with an occasional Methodist, and
they adhere to their dogrnas as tenacious
ly as do the Scotch. / have been told
that no Welahman ever discusses politics
with: Scot. because both realize that It
would be waste Of time.
Conway Castle, which Is Immediately
beside the railway track where the train
enters the station, is one Of the largest
ruins in the kingdom. and looks as big as
the Tower Of London. It was erected by
Edward l in 1894 to defend and protect
the pass that runs down through the
mountains to Bettws-y-coed. and bore
many a siege during the stormy days
when the Welshnen were fighting for
their Independence. At one timea. we are
told. handful of defenders held out for
three months. with nothing tl eat but