Newspapers / The Smithfield Herald (Smithfield, … / Jan. 22, 1909, edition 1 / Page 2
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OUR ENGLISH LETTER. . I English Railway Service-Visit to a Norman Church Seven Hundred Years Old - Good Roads and Green Fields Bjr OSCAR R. RAND * ? " - " ?? ??-?-??.j ; A letter composed of Impressions gathered at raudom in leisure mo ments and dealing with a large vari ety of subjects must of necessity be somewhat rambling and illogical, and as such will be a failure if its con tent does not compensate for Its form. I trust that in the present case the content will be of sufficient in terest to outweigh defects due to ar rangement and to excessive variety of subject matter. I wish to speak first of Knglish railways and railway service. The traveller who is making his first trip to Europe will be somewhat at a loss as to how to proceed when he is about to board a . -ain for the first time. The car consists tic ? in a sin gle large room, tut of a number of compartments. ch compartment Is provided wllh seats, each of which will ?c -date four persons The scats an nged so that one row of perso . a# the other. The compartments .. j tlly take up about four fifths of .u>; width of the car, thus reserving a small continuous passage for the conductor. On the door of cach compartment, both on the exterior and Interior, is painted its class, that is, whether it is first, second, or third. The cars are heat ed and the compartments are very comfortable. The road bed is well constructed, has a largo degree of stability, and tho cars run Binoothly, without any rocking or jumping. I examined the track at one or two points and noticed that the rail does not rest directly on the cross-tie, but Is firmly held by an iron clasp which is attached to the tie. This gives tho track a greater degree of securi ty and safety than when the rail rests directly upon the tie and Is held in position merely l?y spikes. The locomotive, iir point of outward resemblance, is quite different from what wo are accustomed to see at home. But being unacquainted with the technical terms of machinery I shall not attempt a description of It. However one point of difference is that it has no cow catcher. There is no necessity for one. The land ad Joining the railroad track I so fenc ed In that cattle cannot get on the track. Furthermore persoi. are not allowed to walk tl" 11 h the country on the r.ilway tracks nor alongside the trncks. The law forbids the use the railway tracks as thorough fares, and the person violating this statute is liable to Indictment and to the penalty of a fine. English ami American Railway Ser vice Contrasted. The man who runs the engine is called not the engineer, but the driv er. Likewiso the term conductor is unknown. The official who corres ponds to our conductor is called the guard. Furthermore the term railway car in America gives place to the term railway carriage in England. The freight car is a rather comical looking object. To one who has been accustomed to large massive cars of 40 to 50 tons capacity, the contrast afforded by these cars Is somewhat lumonous. They are very small, not more than half as large as our cars. I have wondered why this is the case. Possibly it is due to the fact that there are co long distance hauls here. As far as appearance goes tlie Eng lish passenger train of freight train would make a poor showing beside the American freight or passenger train. Ilut the railway companies here have the main requisites of an efficient transportation service. With comfort they combine speed nnd safe ty. The trains have a greater de gree of safety 'than ours, and they make fully as good time. A comparison of passenger rates will be interesting. There are three classes: first, second and third. The fare pi r mile for third class is two cents. For second class it is a lit tle more than two cents. It is nearly four cents for first class. There is thus a much greater difference be tween first and second class than be tween second and third. Third class is quite good enough ordinarily, and I think I would be justified in saying that a majority of people travel in compartments of this class. Names of English Money. Not a little confusion at first to the traveller is the English system of money. The lowest denomination of coin is the farthing, but this is a rare coin. The lowest coin common ly used is the half penny or ha' pen ny, as it is called, which is equiva lent !?? value with us to one cent. The next in denomination is the threi penny piece or thrippence, as it is termed. Then comes the six pence, wnich is equivalent in value to 1] cents. The shilling is supposed tc b* the equal in value of our guar- I ter, but in reality it is equal to only 24 cents, so that (our shillings lack four cents of making a dollar. There is the lialf crown (60c), tho crown ($1.20), the half sovereign (approxi mately $2.40), und the pound or sov ereign (4.80). The guinea is equal to 21 shillings. It is difficult enough for the newcomer to acquire the hab it of using correctly the names of the various coins, and this difficulty is Increased for the student when he finds that some of the coins have dif ferent names among students. For instance a shilling is called a "bob," and a pound Is known as a "quid." The terms "tuppence" for two pence ; and "thrlppence" for three pence are ! not confined to students. To illus trate how It sounds, a student re marked a few days ago that the fare from Oxford to London was five bob, thrlppence, ha' penny; which would be equivalent to saying that it was $1.27. And as one walks through the business part of the city he will see on display in a store window an ar ticle with a card attached to give the price, which will appear thus: 8?6. This means eight shillings and six pence. This case is typical. One notices the absence of paper money. Gold is common in the form of half sovereign and sovereign pieces. The only thing corresponding to our pa per money, so far as I know, is the bank note issued by the Bank of England. This is found in five and ten pound notes, and upward. The five pound note does not at all re semble our paper money. It looks like a certificate of some kind. It is an Inch or two longer than our pa per bill, and twice as wide. Enalish AS Snoken in Fn/ilanH anH America. There is a greater difference than one would suppose in the language as spoken here and as spoken In America. We think we speak Eng lish, but the English hold that we speak American. At least that is what an English student smilingly maintained in a discussion with me. He found it difficult to reconcile our use of certain phrases and expres sions and our pronunciation of certain words to what he believed to be the correct use and pronunciation of English. But on the other hand the English pronunciation and use of cer tain expressions seem equally strange to an American. The individual let ter which gives rise to the greatest difference is the letter 'a' and this difference is strongly marked in such words as ask. laugh, last. The dropping of the 'h' in such words as horse and house Is confined to the lower classes and I do not think it is universal with them. Another dif ference is found In the pronunciation of the word schedule, which is pro nounced as if it were spelled shedule. 1 was introduced to several new ex pressions also. For instance a stu dent will say that he is keen on foot ball, meaning that he likes to play football. The use of the word keen is extended to such expressions as, "I am keen on Shakespeare" meaning that I take pleasure in reading Shake spcare's works. Another expression is "keeping fit," meaning keeping in good physical condition. One Avill also hear used with reference to a man's skill in playing a game, this expression: "He's jolly good." There are other expressions of like charac ters, but these are the ones I have noticed most frequently. Good Roads in England. As far as I have been able to ob serve the roads in England are very good. 1 hear that the roads are good over practically the whole of the coun j try. They have the appearance of having been macadamized, but I do not know for certain Just how they are constructed or out of what mate rial. They are hard and smooth, and are well adapted to bicycles and au tomobiles. The experience with a road between Kilmarnock and Stew arton which prompted Robert Burns , to say on reaching his destination: "I'm now arrived, thanks to the gods! Thro' pathways rough and muddy. A certain sign that making roads Is not this people's study. And though I'm not with scripture crammed, I'm sure the Bible says. ; That heedless sinners shall be damn ed V I'nl' ss they mend tluir ways" could have befallen him on very few ' If any, English roads. Green Fields and Beautiful Lawns. I j One thing which Is attractive to e the stranger in England Is the green j wss of the fields. I noticed this par , ticularly when I went from Liverpool ! to Oxford early in October. There > seemed to be very little land in cul i tlvation. Tha view from the car win dow presented little but green pas- j tures aud?W'adows with cattle graz ing in them. And in coming down from Oxford to Newquay on Monday, f December 7, I noticed the tame green ness of fields aud scarcity of cul tivation. The distance from Oxford to Newquay Is over 200 miles, and ye in all this distance there appeared to be but little land in cultivation. The most beautiful lawns I have ever seen are here In England. They J are carefully looked after, and retain their greenness throughout the year. A very peculiar thing about the lawns here Is that they can be trans planted or transferred In neet ions from one spot to another. The soil, though not very hard, seems to be | somewhat sticky and adhesive, thus making it cling to the roots of the grass. One day while walking along a street in the residential portion of Oxford I saw a man putting down a lawn in a yard in exactly the name manner as a person would put a mat ting down on a floor. The rolls of turf were of course not as large as rolls of matting. All the man did, so far as I could see, was to place tile rolls of turf closely together and then pack them down. I Absence of Wooden Houses. One thing which the traveller looks ' for in vain is a wo<<den house. The I houses are all built of brick or stone. 1 I have not seen a wooder. house since I have been In England. In coming through Cornwall on Monday I no ticed several large quarries of red sand stone which were being worked to obtain stone for building purposes. I am told that the reason for dispen sing with wood as building material Is that brick and stone are much cheaper. Tile Enirlish houses have the appearance of being very com fortable anil my sojourn In Newquay is confirming this impression. The varying color of the stone gives some of the houses an appearance which while odd, is rather attractive. Still one misses the fresh, cheerful look of the painted wooden house. Many of the houses here, particularly those that are old, have about them a kind of grayness which, while not produc ing a depressing effect, presents a oheerless aspect, especially in winter. One who has spent a few days with an English family and who has seen, even from a distance, an English country house standing in peaceful re pose amid green^ pastures and mea dows will be able to appreciate to some extent the accuracy and effec tiveness of Tennyson's description of an English home. "And one, an English home?gray twilight pour'd On dewy pastures, dewy trees. Softer than sleep?all things in order stored. A haunt of ancient peace." English Rural Life. Rural England constitutes a very attractive side of English life and the traveller who does not take a long walk or ride in the country will miss many beautiful scenes. And any adequate Idea of English life must take Into account rural, as well as urban, England. If one takes a walk out Into the country, sees green meadows in which cattle are quietly grazing, comes to a country house of gray stone peacefully reposing on the brink of a gentle hill, passes on and at length reaches a village, ob serves the few old stone houses, no tices the weather-beaten old church and the ancient churchyard he has formed by the time he is ready to re trace his steps, an impression which If expressed will probably be, "old and settled." And I believe that this environment, wrapped up In history and tradition; is reflect ed In English lite and character. There seems to be a certain steadi ness and poise about English life. The great energy and enterprise which make things "move" In Amer ica do not appear In so marked a ' degree here. Things move but they move more slowly. The Old Norman Church at iffly. According to Cecil Rhodes one of the most potent factors In the build- I ing of English character has been the village church. However this may | be, thee village church forms an interesting study as a connecting link with the past. One afternoon In Oc tober I walked out to lffl.v, a small village about two miles from Oxford. The village contains only a few hous es, all of which appear to be very old. Hut the main interest in the Vil lage centers about the church and churchyard. It is an old Norman church and was built about 1175. It 1 occupies a central position in a plot j of about one and one quarter acres. I which composes the church yard. | The church Is about 50 or 53 feet j long and 21 feet wide. The two sides . of the roof move sharply up from the I eaves and meet In a point. Midway (the roof is a square tower which rises to a i 'ght of about ten feet. The windows are after the Norman | style. The surface of the walls on the exterior Is worn aud somewhat darkened by tim?. The Interior is ( quite Interesting. At one end Is the sanctuary, after which la the choir, and then follow the benches for the t congregation. There Is only one aisle, this being in the center of the church with the benches on either side. Very close to the wall on the right side and midway between the choir and the benches, is the pulpit. The pulpit is a small platform about a fool above the level of the floor, and It offers room for only one per son. With the exception of a small opening reserved for the entrance anc exit of the vicar, the platform is sur rounded by a railing about four feel high, upon which is a rest for the Bible. Near the opposite end of the ! church from the sanctuary, and stand ng in the center of the aisle, is a marble font. The floor of the choir s about eight inches higher than :hat reserved for benches, and the 'loor of the sanctuary Is about eight inches higher than that of the choir. 1 rite walls of the church contain n^any memorial tablets, on some of which :he dates of death run back several I hundred years. The surrounding churchyard is thickly dotted with iraves, over which grows with some degree of luxuriance a heavy carpet of green grass. Most of the graves have tombstones, a few of which are comparatively recent. Others are old and worn, and the inscriptions on | them can be made out with difficulty. Still others are almost blackened, and even the grooves of the let ters of the inscriptions are worn away, so long have they been stand ing. In one part of the churehyard is ;ui old stone cross, and near the cross is an ancient yew tree whose spread ing branches cover a number of the graves. As one stands in this church yard at sunset on a clear afternoon and surveys the old graves with their worn tombstones he repeats almost unconsciously the familiar lines "Beneath those raugged elms, that yew tree's shade, Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, Each In his narrow cell forever laid, The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep." And if, considering the probable con ditions under which the occupants of these graves lived and died?their lowly birth, their lack of opportuniti es, and their uneventful lives?,he gives free rein to l^is fancy he will agree with Gray that "Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid Some heart once pregnant with ce lestial fire; Hands, that the rod of empire might have swayed, O: waked to ecstasy the living lyre." And if, for a moment, he turns his eyes from the graves and looks up at the old walls of the church, and re alizes that it has been used as a place of worship for more than seven hundred years he cannot help feeling a kind of reverence. And as he re flects that while other structures have arisen and disappeared, while institutions have come into existence and passed out, while material pow er has flourished and waned, while generations of men have lived and died, this old village church has survived and from its hallowed walls has emanated and continues to em anate an influence for good, he feels inclined to agree with Cecil Rhodes that the village church has been a potent factor in the building of Eng nsii ciiaracier. Newquay in Cornwall. I am spending the Christmas vaca tion in Cornwall, a county In the southwestern part of England. Just now I am at Newquay on the north coast. Although a small town, New quay is growing in popularity and im portance as a watering place. Its chief attractions are its bracing at mosphere, its great cliffs pierced by wave-hewn caverns, and its wide beaches with their vast sands, and its beautiful sunsets. In addition to this Newquay forms a very conven ient point for visiting numerous pla ces of historic and scenic interest. The north coast of Cornwall is in most places a wild and rugged coast and presents to the tourist some striking scenery. In several places the tall cliffs and the dashing of the waves against a rocky shore line form a most attractive picture. One point In particular Is worthy of men tion. At the extremity of a headland which juts out into the sea Is a chaos of rocks of various sizes and shapes, against which during a high wind the waves hurl themselves with tremendous power. And the immense volumes of spray and foam created by this fearful Impact and the roar resulting from it, form a scene and produce an effect at once beautiful and grand. It may be said In con clusion that the tourist who is In search of wholesome, bracing air and fine coast scenery will be likely to cease his quest when he has come to Newquay. Newquay. Cornwall, Dec, 11, 1908. Don't Get a Divorce. A western judge granted a divorce on account of Ill-temper and bad , breath. Dr. King's New Life Pills : would have prevented it. They cure j constipation, causing bad breath and 1,1 ver Trouble the Ill-temper, dlspe' colds, banish headaches, conquer chills. 23c at Hood Bros. k r?I BEST CROUP, COLD I And PNEUMONIA REMEDY ? IMtWTie You Want Get HOOD'S. Ask the hundreds who have used it about it. It's White and does not stain the clothing. Guaranteed. Price only 25c HOOD BROS., Prescription Druggists :: Smithfield, N. C. | Clothes Made | 1 lo Measure $ ?? Our Six Years Experience as fitters puts njj ? us in position to better supply your needs than any concern in the county, j? | our 1,000 all wool samples f gs Gives you the highest scope in the coun ?? try to select from. |S I our spring and summer samples ? 8? are now on-display at Our Store. Give li us the privilege of showing you through. You are under no obligations to buy. | Gulley & Gulley I tfj Clayton, :: :: N. C. || I Better Clothes 1 |FOR SALEll gj One second hand Brick Machine in good gj ?R condition. This machine has a capacity of ?* jj Fifteen thousand brick per day. W * Will sell it cheap for cash or good paper. 5* O. R. RAND, Smithfield, N. C. g NOTICE?] f I thank the people for their patronage during my ^ > stay at Benson. I am now gctng to leave on ac ^ count of my health f My entire stock will be disposed of in a very short C J time. 1 am now offering you prices lower than C ! ^ ever before. ...... ^ | Come earl y and re a p i ? your share of the profits before the stock is exhausted ^ X i4 large line of new clothing and shoes going at ^ ^ prices lower than ever before in Benson. %? ^ i4/so a /arge line of pants and ladies coats that % i must go below cost. ^ < Afany other things too numerous to mention go- % ^ > ing regardless of price. Come Early and Get J ? $1.00 worth of goods for only 48 cents. Every- ^ < * thing new, nothing old. These low prices will begin ^ > Tuesday, January 19th, 1909, < V and will continue until entire stock is exhausted. J ^ 77ien / will bid you all adieu. J ; J. L Fleishman, "kM Building Material We manufacture and sell Rough and Dressed Lumber, Shingles, Brackets, Porch . Trimmings and turned work. i1 Heavy Turning a Specialty, i Come ana see our Material. ;j Four Oaks Lumbeij^o. FOR THE PIANO OR ORGAN With the Sweet Tone See C. B. PAYLOR And get the KIMBALL Smithfield, 1V. C. GO TO Josej' E. Holmes for gro ceries, Vegetables, Fruits, Cold drinks and General Merchandise. Cafe in connection. Meals at all hours. Ben* son. N. C.
The Smithfield Herald (Smithfield, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 22, 1909, edition 1
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