The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23
Ferguson Returns With
 Story Of Merry England

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 visited St. Paul's, where many he foes or English history are buried an, aiso iohs list of Saxon and Norman pishops of more or less historic fame
 fefnaps one of the most delightful NIslts 1 made taking in one day. wa, to Windsor castle and Stoke pogts where Gray wrote his undying elegv on this visit our party also took in ston college, erected by Henry VI fo, the education of the aristoeratic youth of the land, and where some of Eng iaho most eminent men received the groundwork of their education. Prom there we took d trip down the Thames to Church1y l can imagine no more peaceful scene than Is to be found upon this voyage on the river. The toy houses are enshrouded in flowers and oftentimes houseboats are bountifu1ly decorated in this manner, where the residents of London seek to while away the time in innocent amusement
 T can image that this beautiful scene has been interrupted by the rude blast of war
 On this trip down the Thames we passed the spot where King John in the twelfth century was forced by the barons to give to the people of Eng land the Magma Charter on the meadow ol AullHtiItGh.
 Where Warwick Stands
 on another trip about 100 miles from London We visited Warwick castle, one of the superb types of Nor man architecture in existence today It was one of the most perfect of it's kind left standing by Oliver Cromwell and many relics pertaining to CromwelIs $ time and person were found in the castle. 1t is beautifully situated on the river Avon, to my mInd one of the most perfect views of English land seape
 About five miles distant is Kenn- worth castle, much larger in extent than Warwick and made famous in song and story by Sir Walter Scott in his book of the same name. This castle was dismantled and destroyed by Crom- well because 1t resisted the advance of his arms and Warwick castle owes it's preservation to the fact that its owner defended the Cromwellian cause.
 ''On this visit we went to Stratford- on-Avon, which every student of Eng fish history knows as the home of Shakespeare and of his wife, Ann Hathaway. There arc number of relics kept on exhibition in Shakespeare S house and in the house of Ann Hatha- way pertaining to these individuals
 ''In this immediate country is the home of the Lucys, one of whom, Sir Thomas Lucy, was so strongly cari- catured by Shakespeare in his play of Henry " under the guise of Justice Shallow. It is remarkable fact and illustratiye of the power of English country families that the Lucys have lived upon this same spot since long before the Norman conquest and are living there today. It is also remark able that there has never been any other title than of sir in the family. Tn other words, no title of nobility has been conferred upon them.
 "Of course, l went to the British mu- scum and saw all the implements Of war and arts of other countries.
 Place of Death
 T saw also the Tower of London so redolent of English history the sup posed place where the princes of the House of York were murdered and on the castle green, where Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Seymour, Sir Walter Ral- elgh the Earl of Essex and many oth- CT English notables were beheaded.
 After viewing the beautiful Eng fish landscape. which looks like one perfect garden. I wondered how 1t was that people living in a land like this could have been so cruel and oppfes- sive at times. This, however, has all passed away, happily, and the England of today is regarded as the most hu- mane nation on earth. The thing that impressed me most with the English people. however, was the splendid sys- tenn of traffic management in London, where thousands of vehicles of all kinds are operated without accidents.
 My visit was cut short by the rude sound of war. If was my intention to visit Scotland. Ireland and. briefly. Holland and Paris. But war clouds began to hover over Europe and l seized the first opportunity to sail for nome. We saw many vessels in the Thames as we left London, passing by Dover castle. and slxirted 300 miles of English coast. We were not interrupted in our voyage and saw no hostile ships on the trip across the ocean,"