Qur Own Archdruid in America.|1890-11-08|Weekly Mail

Qur Own Archdruid in America.

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Qur Own Archdruid in America. Notable Welshmen of Philadelphia ¡ PITTSBURG, OCTOBER 8. The more one sees of the United States the l&ore difficult he finds it to convey to the C Tender correct notions about them and their So-ahead inhabitants. We have only been in the country a little over a week, and in that Ttperioa so many events have occurred and so *&any wonderful soenes have been witnessed Y us that it seems almost impossible to do fustioe to the great themes before one. We started from New York on Saturday morning nine o'clock. The weather was delight- fully fine< \vre travelled in two trains of parlour coaches, and as we arrived at the station there were the great trains awaiting 43ur coming. There were the conductors, standing in rows to receive their "unclea and "aunts" from bevond the seas. I say "cndles" and "aunts" because I firmly Relieve, judging by their demeanour towards ms, they deemed us their very near relations. General Sherman, when at the Delmonico (banquet he fooularly said to the visitors, Upon my word, I think you are related to ihe Americans,1' or words to that effect, •Imply expressed the warm sentiments which iteelu to me to animate all Americans towards their British visitors to-day. They conduct Ir themselves towards us exactly as if each of us kad brought a love message and a loaf of cake from his or her own mother from the old home in Britain 1 To illustrate this: Last night, ■Boon after arriving here, I went into a tobacconist's shop to make a small purbhaae, and it was when paying discovered 1 was a cent abort of the neces- &Sry American currency. There was standing qtt the counter an aged Irishman, who was father the worse for drink. When be heard the conversation between me and the tobac- before anything could be done by "*y of •exchanging British money for Ameri- the generous son of Erin began to shake head and to speak to himself thus The Then, addressing the smiling Vendor bf the weed, Paddy said, Be kind to boy, for lie comes from the ould He then placed the necessary in any hand and said, I come from the County Ca\ an, but 1 was born in "How in the world can you say you come from County Cavan if you were born in America ?'' H I mean," replied lie, "my father and mother came from County Cavan; and am I not jist their son, sure?" 1 regret exceedingly I i!1not convey the rich brogue in which the Irishman spoke. It is impossible, too, to CIOnvey on paper the effect the sentiments and the act of the Irishman, simple as they were, fcftS upon one's feelings. They placed me in such » condition that I was somewhere, as regards llle living principle within, between laughter 4tnd tears. This is traly the Oreater Britain fceyond the seas, and whatever interested pdlrbiciaus may do, there are adamantine dhaiins Tnnnlng through the Atlantic linking together the British Isles and the United States of America. To return to tbe New York railway station. There was something in the appear- ance of the grand rows of parlour-cars pre- pared to receive us that, by an association of ideas, brought greyhounds before the mind. The splendid cars seemed to the imagination Assigned for speed and panting to be let off. We were soon in our places, and the great bell, suspended a couple of feet above the kack of the immense locomotive, with its "cow-catcher" in front, sounded, the loud trumjjet tones of what we call /he whistle fcaomed,, and then away we went. The impres- sion the appearanoe of the country we passed throngh left on the mind was that it was fcouudlesa. It was undulating, with vast Ureen patches and wooded slopes and knolls, and the leaves on the trees presented to the view a variety of most charm- ing autumnal tints. Indeed, so dengbt- roJ. was the appearance of the woods that we were all attracted by their beauty, aDd watahed them from the windows of the swiftly running train like an audience a splendid panorama unrolling before it. DECEIVED BY PENTNSYLVANTA The trains drew up at eleven o'clock at Tacoma Station, ten miles short of 1 hila- delphia. Rows of Philadelphians, dressed in Llack and bearing on their coat fronts sky blue rosettes, were here waiting our arrival. We all left the cars, and were received with "touch oordiality. Each member of the "Itiladelphia committee seemed bent on outdoing the othera in attention and polite- ness. There was something in the air ana manners of the Philadelphians which Jnade us feel very much at home in then- society, Does the spirit of William PenD, fche founder of the State, still influence those a.clImg therein ? There is a quiet dignity and courtly courtesy and kindness «he aDbleold Society of Friends in the inha- bitants of Philadelphia as we saw them. Wa walked about a mile from the 1 acorns llation, until we reached the very broad DslttwaM River, with its shining waters. Then, walking along its bank, we saw beyond, at a short distance, many coloured flags fluttering in the wind. They were the decorations of the Columbus steamer palace, which the people of Philadelphia had brought down the Dela- ware River to meet us and to convey us down as far as Chester, 30 13IRes away, to enable us to see Jjb* various industries on both banks or the belaware. Opposite to where the Columbus W" moored were.the rolling and sawing mills, "1uoh most of the visitors visited and ?**«fully examined. Nothing has more interested the Britons and Germans than the Results of the inventive genius of the Americans seen in mechanics, and every- -.nere those inventions are carefully scruti- nised. There is no doubt whatever that the J^ventire genius of these euergetic people is, "te the hair of Samson, one of the chief *?Uroes of their strength in their competi- tlOQ with other nations in the com- marts of the world. This is the •Pinion of the chief mechanical experts arnong the visitors, and it is full for Britons to wake up to its impor tance, koine believe the inventive genius ol t&e American people is the result of the mixture raoas in the United States. lhat can Wdly be correct, for it is stated that—with exception of Mr. Edison, the eleotrician vnan in America has been the producer ot useful inventions than a natlveTt? ?^ales, viz., Mr. Jacob Ileese, Pittsbmg. father, who came from tbe neighbourhood ot is still alive, and is in his lOoui year. I hope to be able to visit the patn-rch, fto, MjT I'eese told mo, spe«k« fluently, and talks of tbe aay* 1fhen we thrashed Bony," as it the. event happened the other day. Then there is the great ironfounder of Ohio, Mr. l orn Moi as he is called, a native of Dowlais. tie *ost one of his legs at the Dowlais orks, *nd oame to be called" Peg-leg.'1 Tom went to *°nool, and was looked upon favourably by the «*te Benjamin Martin, one of the relatives the present distinguished head manager or JJe great Dowlais Works, Mr. Edward Martin. Tom Morgan came to the United Slates, thrived, and is to-day known as one of America's principal ironfounders, AN ETHNOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT. < "> When we were leaving the aforesaid mills we beheld a large throng of well-dressed ladies and gentlemen with sky blue ribbon rosettes, standing on the bank of the river to receive us. Thought the scribe to himself, There are many Welsh people in Pennsyl- vania. I will now endeavour, without asking questions of any in the throng, to single out a Cymro, if there be one among the Philadelphians prepared to receive us here on the banks of the Delaware." I singled out one who seemed to be a Silurian of the original type, as described by Tacitus eighteen centuries ago. He was a dark-featured, shapely little man, with sharp, shrewd eyes, His short beard and hair were beginning to turn grey. Ue wore on his head a bowler, and his entire appearance denoted that he had a wife, and, probably, also daughters, of taste to watch over his personal appearance. He did not quite catch my first question, and instead of replying to it asked if a Mr. Martin (Birch- grove) was among the visitors. 1 replied Yes and I then repeated A fedrwch chwi siarad Cymraeg P" To my delight, he replied in the same venerable tongue, Medraf." It was like discovering Fair Glamorgan on the bank of the Delaware, and, had Mr. John Thomas been a woman, in my enthusiasm I would have kissed the representative of fair Morganwg on the spot. He gave me his card. I asked him, How long have you been in the United States, Mr. Thomas ? To my surprise he said that he bad been fifty-one years in America. He afterwards introduced me to his wife, a lady-like woman, on board the Columbus. But I had not yet the remotest idea of the important position occupied by Mr. John Thomas in Pennsyl- vania. He is the son of Mr. David Thomas, who came to the United States from \nys- cedwin in the year 18o9. He died June 20, 1881: and his widow died two years ago. His memory will live in the United States as that of the first man in this country who successfully employed stone coal in the manufacture of iron. Mr. John Thomas is the principal owner of the Thomas Ironworks and Cata- sauqua Ironworks, Pennsylvania. On lues- day I had the great pleasure of meeting Mr. ( Thomas, who was accompanied by one of his three daughters j(a young lady of much vivacity and intelligence) and one of his three sons (a thoroughly cultured Silurian) at Mount Lebanon, in I the forest. Both Sir John Jones Jenkins and the writer received pressing invitations to visit thefii at their charming residence—3Ir. Martin spent the Sunday there at Hokendauqua, Pa., bu,t I fear we cannot go. ON BOABD THE COLUMBUS. The steamer Columbus was decorated in such a beautiful manner that I can compare it to nothing but the State barge in which Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, and Marc Antony, of Home, sailed on the Rile. All the colours of the rainbow had been used by the Philadelphians to indicate their welcome to the visitors from Britain and Germany; and the stars and stripes fraternised with the Union Jack and the tricolour of the German Empire. The band on board struck up The Star Spangled Banner ,"followed by other tunes, and the huge steamer palace moved grandly from the bank into deep water. It steamed a distance of 40 miles down and up the river. Everywhere on the banks we saw ample evi- dences of the vast industries, such as ship- building, &c., carried on there. We reached Philadelphia about five o'clock in the after- uoon, and those who wished were conveyed in carriages to their respective hotels. NEGRO WAITERX. Philadelphia, the Quaker City of America, is a splendid city. We admired New York, and were grateful for the hospitalities of its sovereign citizens. But it mast be admitted that the city of William Penn won our hearts, and we left it with regret. f The moment we met the Philadelphians on, the bank of the Delaware a home influence I seemed to pervade the social atmosphere, and we felt we could pass our lives among them. In New York the sense of fixed routine seemed to prevail everywhere, but the Pniladelphians made us feel ourselves among cordial and good-natured friends. I had met two Phila- delphian ladies on board the Servia-n iz., Mrs. Lee, widow of the late secretary of the American Embassy at St. Petersburg, and Miss Robson, a voung lady of much attraction -and, as we found afterwards, they were both excellent specimens of the Philadelphians generally. The Hotel Washington had been the quarters selected for me, and as long as I live I shall never forget the scene that met my view when I entered the dining-room of the Washington that evening. Suspended by iron bars from the ceiling were wooden flappers, each about five feet in length and about a foot at each end flat like the end of a paddle. About six of these at regular intervals under the ceiling along the middle of the room were twirling horizontally very rapidly. NOlv. I am by uo means aGoliathin stature: nevertheless, it was with some dread I passed along to my table underneath- the spinning flappers. But, lo! and behold the dusky waiters! Eight or nine of the duskiest sons of Africa, dressed like fashionable people in evening suits, were passing to and fro attending to the wants of the visitors. Their skin was like shiny ebony, and their coal black hair resembled curled wool from the blackest of black sheep. To me tbe scene was inexpressibly amusing, for they seemed like so many of my excellent Rhondda friends pressed to wait upon us before thev bad bad time to wash themselves The ne«ro waiters were most courteous ana anxious to please, and I told the u^roe" ■ re supplanting all other classes of male .er- vants throughout the United States. I 00" j ■ome of thole here intelligent, and one of them was induced to relate to me some of the hardships of bis earl, life. Ha'dly one or them is ready to admit he waa ever a weor j that bia parents were sl»\es. born' to reioice in being able to say, I wa I cZen and a free man !» «h, o with them one thought of Lnclelom, L George Harris, and others of the characters ol. Uncle Tom's Cabin," one of the eaihe books of the kind tbe scribe ever read, and often tearfully. Hotb Philadelphia one saw m the streets many negroes and negres.es well dressed. One of our most remarkable experiences iu Phila- rlelDbia was being present m a ne^io Wesley an chapel—of which there are_ several in the city longing to that and other denominations-and witnessing hundreds of the doskv sons and daughters of Atnca, uniting in prayer and praise On Monday Z Company" vi-ted the various vna: and steel works, and, among others, Baldwin s Locomotive Works, wh:ch turn out 800 locomotives a year, which are An,t,alia. iS-m Z«alan<1 Queen,d, 01^ ployed here, and one of the ofhOlals stated b e, tat, without exception, thej ale all men and they have 110 1 rades L> n work 60 hours per week. By tue, day closing is strictly enforces in the Pennsylvania, and even lodgers hotels cannot obtain a sing]le di<?p beer, wine, or spirits during that day. I wall present at one of the hotels when some of the visitors, who were dining, askfd foi Hi? 'i' beer. The landlord came in and said ibfoould not supply anything of that nature I 0 that day; that on licensing day he had to appear before the authorities, and take an oath to the effect that during the pre- ceding licensing year he had neither sold nor given away any intoxicating drinks on the Sunday 5 and that if he could not say so his licence would not be renewed. A Merthyr brewer heard this said at the same time as I did. On Monday evening a grand full dress recep- tion to the visitors was given at one of the public halls of the splendid city. At the same time the Comte de Paris and his son, the Due d'Orleans, received the veterans of the Civil War, with their wives and daughters, in another hall. Both receptions were very largely attended.

The Welsh of Pennsylvania.

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The Welsh of Pennsylvania. PITTSBURG, PA., OCT. 12. We have spent four days and nights in this busy town of Pennsylvania. It some- what resembles Cardiff as regards its trade and population, but it is much larger than Cardiff. It is situated in the fork between the Monongabela and the Allegheny Rivers, which meet below the town. Thence the united rivers are called the Ohio river. The cordiality with which the visitors have been treated here will ever live in our memory. Indeed, it seems as if business had been, to a considerable extent, suspended to give opportunities to all to welcome us. Many of our German associates but imperfectly understand the English lan- guage, and are, therefore, unable to enter fully into the spirit of the scenes and to compre- hend the inner workings of the reception committees. Thus we learn that the active members of the committees are the leading gen- tlemen, both as regards wealth and social posi- tion, in the town and neighbourhood, but some of our German friends have mistaken those courteous and kindcitzens for ordinary waiters, and have ordered them about in broken English Thank ye. Get me now a mutton chop r Picture the indignation of the diamond-fingered American at such a request Imagine the scowl and the withering Sir! with which such a mistake 'tiz is repelled by each of the sovereign citizens But it is a literal fact that the mistake j has been made so often that last night at Carnegie-hall public reference to it was made by one of the hosts, and to-day the Britons are somewha.t indignant that some have, though ignorantly, blundered in the manner indicated. HOW AMERICANS LOVE A LORD." Those who have read the list of names of the British visitors will have observed that we have among the party several ladies and gentlemen of title. It has been bsTig fefldwii tfeai American^especially American ladies, "dearlylove a lord." A tuft-head is a sure j recommendation into the sanctuaries of the tabernacles of wealthy oil, glass, and iron merchants. Our party have been tickled by wit- nessing with what eagerness the leading Pitts- burg nabobs and nabobesses have contended for the honour of entertaining our baronets and knights and their female belongings—of course, free of cost-wbile those not blessed with tuft-heads incur heavy bills at the gigantio hotels. There is some peril that some of the softer set who have been thus favoored have imbibed Pittsburg gas during the visit, and that the responsibility of the Pittsburgiaus is greater than they imagine. What I refer to has been commented upon in the local papers here, and a friend of mine, who seems to be a bit jealous of the distinc- tion thus conferred on our titled friends, states that "he will take precious good care when he comes next to the United States to book himself as Viscount Buckahoo." THE PATRIOTISM OF THE WELSH rJTT&BURGIAXS. The presence of so many natives of Sooth Wales among the visitors has much stirred the Welsh element at Pittsburg, where the national feeling is pretty strong. The great j hall at the Monongahela House has been largely visited by Welsh workmen, while their wives and daughters remained outside about the windows of the hotel nursing their rosy Cymric offspring in the true Cymric fashion. Most of the callers at the hotel appeared to be natives of Swansea, Morriaton, Llanelly, &c. A stout old Welshwoman rushed through the crowd outside to the writer and asked him in Welsh, From what part of the 'Hen AY lad' (old country)'' —bv which names they always desig- nate Wales—"do you come." 1 replied, "From Treforest." Lifting up both hands and clapping them together, she said, pathetically, O'r anw'l from Treforris (Morriston) Ob, dear, dear how does the old place look like now It was with some difficulty that the writer and the friends of the warm-hearted old Cvmraes succeeded in making her under- stand'that "Treforest," and not "Treforris/'j was my home. The throng grew thicker, and I asked the daughter of Morriston, Whioh do you like best, Treforria' or America P" Down went her visage, to hide, I believe, the willing eyes, and she made no reply exoept; murmuring something about higher wages here. The writer then, in the incantation style so dear to the old lady's cUss, repeated a stanza of Cawrdafs" "Longing for Wales 'r :— pa lea jvna ffrwytbydd dolydd dcilio Mwyn aur etho), uii'n hiraethog't G well ydyw cieigiau gwyltt careeog, JViutinu dedwydd Cymru odidog Each of the crowd stood with parted lips, and appeared to regard the exquisite senti- ments of the old bard like delightful manna for the longing soul I believe the old Welsh woman conolnded I was a pregethwr, for she joined fervently in a kind of reverential murmur of approval of the words. I was not without expecting an invitation to hold forth as a brawd (iyeith)- 0". Hen lVÜtd" (a brother- stranger from the old country) until one of the crowd called out, very kindly and very warmly, my nom de plume, and it became j necessary to disappear from the effusive kind- ness of the generous throng. Scenes like) these were often witnessed during our stay in Pittsburg, but let the above suffice to illus- trate them all. I must, however, add that on another occasion Mr. Henry, a native of Taibach, Aberavon, and the owner of large ironworks at Mansfield, eight miles from the city, formed the centre of a Cambrian circle in one of the rooms of the Alonangahela j ilousc and offered up abundance of champagne libations to the eternal muses of Wild Wales A PllOSPHWOTJS CARIn." One of the principal wholesale provision! aud fruit merchants of the United States is Mr. John 0. Jenkins, Liberty-street. His parents came from Cardigan to the United States, and it was there their distinguished son was born, but he has not become so absorbed in the United States as to forget the land of his fathers The heads of his departments are Welshmen, and the head of them is Mr. Llewelyn, who is "Mr, Jenkins's right hand." I shall have more to state about Mr. Jenkins on a future occasion, and will only state now that the ground floor of his vast premises covers an acre in extent, and that his warehouse has seven floors of like extent, one above the other, and all thronged with goods. Mr. Jenkins kindly called upon the writer and took him with him to his enor- mous premises. An additional indication of the state of Mr. Jenkins's heart towards Ovmru, Cymro, and Cymraeg may be found in the fact that he drove on Sunday morning in his superb carriage and pair-in whioh carriage was also the llev. Dr. Roberts, one of the Charles o'r Bala family-to convey the writer with them to the Pittsburgh Presby- terian Church. THE CARNEGIE WORKS, One of the most important and interesting of the many visits paid by the foreign visitors to the various industries in and around Pittsburg was that to the three ironworks of Messrs. Andrew Carnegie Bros., on the banks of the Monongahela River. They are situated about twelve miles up the said river from Pittsburg. They are literally the largest ironworks in the world, and turn out annually twice as many steel rails as the next largest steel rail producers. There are eleven immense blast furnaces in full opera- tion, and, with the exception of coke for the locomotives, the entire works are carried on by the heat obtained from the natural gas issuing from the earth. I ahall not attempt on this occasion to give a detailed account of these enormous concerns, but will give the results of the operations. Doring- the first nine days of the month of October the results were as fol- low:- Besseiaer steel rails, direct from tjte blast farnaefS, tlnougli the converters aud hot ingots, into finished fiange ratis (60ibs. per yard) :— Tons. October 1 1,4-20. October 2 1,270 October 3 1,481 October 4 (Saturday) 583 October 5 1,749 October 6 1,330 October 7 1,370 Ocwber 8 1,326 October 9 1,351 Total 11,830 Ninety per cent. of the iron ore used comee from ù:ke Superior, and the other 10 per cent, is the kind found in the neighbourhood of Pittsburg, To give the reader a better idea of the output of steel rails here, it may be mentioned that the Dowlais Works pro- duce something less than 4,000 tons of the same kind of rails in the same period of time, and Barrow a little more. Sir William Thos. Lewis and Mr. Edward Martin, Dowlais, paid a private visit, and, therefore, more leisurely, to these stupendous worlcs the day before the excursion took place. CAPTAIN JONES—THE WELSH ENGINEER. It will be interesting to the people of Wales to learn that the genius who designed and carried on these works on behalf of Mr. Andrew Carnegie was a native of Brecon-1 shire, named here Captain Jones, one of the sons of a Breconshire Welsh Calvinistie Methodist minister of the name of Jones, who came to the United States j many years ago. Captain Jones seems to have been almost idolised by the entire inhabitants of parts of the United States, and especially of the town of Pitts- burg. Twelve months ago-the beginning of October, 1889—while Captain Jones was gazing through the glass eyepiece fixed in the side of each blast furnace, with a view to ascertain what was the matter with the fur- nace which Wå8 in what is called a "trouùled" condition, the side of the furnace suddenly bulged out, a quantity of the molten liquid iron, in a condition of white heat, shot out, and instantly consumed a Hungarian workman who stood near Captain Jones. Not a particle of the man's remains was ever found. Captain Jones's face and the front of his body were terribly injured. He was conveyed to the hospital at Pittsburg, and for four or five days he seemed hovering between life and death, Hourly bulletins u to his condition were' published, and the entire people seemed to suspend their breath through anxiety as to his fate. A bulletin announcing that he was progressing satisfactorily was issued; in an hour another annonncing his death came upon the city like a thunderbolt. It is stated that his funeral was the largest ever seen in I' the State of Pennsylv*nis. There were present over 10,000 of the Carnegie workmen alone, who attended as a token of respect to the memory of the Breconshire boy, who— like Andrew Carnegie himself, a son of Scot- j land-bad climbed to a portion of great, usefulness and renown, unaided except by ¡ Providence and hie own native intelligence. It is stated by Welshmen of Pittsburg that Captain Jones contributed largely towards the cost of the Pittsburg Annual Eistedd- fod, and that now he is gone there is every probability that the eisteddfod will, through lack of his usual support, die too. MR, CARXF.GIE'SGl"ESTS: J The foreign visitors and friends were con- veyed up and down the broad and muddy Monongahela Kiver on board one of the enormous steamer-palaces for which this extraordinary country is famous. A rich: luncheon, consisting of all kinds of delicacies and wines, said by good judges to be excel- lent, was given on board. The Britons drank the dryest of champagne, smaeked their lips, and blessed the name Carnegie, and the Germans cried Hoch f' While I was, seated among a bevy of Britonesses on board the May Flower, and viewing from a distance the glare of the three enormous works owned by Carnegie, it occurred to me that Andrew Carnegie would have been named in our country Lord Monongahela. Then I wondered why the genial great little man of Pittsburg had not made his appearance that day among his visitors. I had had the honour of an interview with him on board the II Servia, and found him chatty and agreeable. He spoke affectionately of his native Scot- land; condemned hereditary Royalty and hereditary legislators; but there was nothing of the tire-eating Republican about him. Before we left the Servia, beneath the shadow of the Goddess of Liberty, a New York inter- viewer had boarded the ship, and had spoken familiarly through his nose to Mr. Andrew Camegie, saying, I like you, Mr. Carnegie You are endowed with the true American spirit, you are, Mr. Carnegie"; and the Pitts- burg magnate did not resent the familiarity. On the contrary, he seemed rather to like it, as a refresher coming from Republican insti- tutions after the frigidity of Saxondom. THR HOST AMONG HIS GUESTS. Bnt where was Lord Monongahela to-day ? The next second there was a push to my right arm, and on looking round there was Mr. Andrew Carnegie elbowing his way, unnoticed and unknown," through the crowd, some seated on ohaire and others standing on the deck, intently gazing at his j vast works. He is not above five feet in height, and is sligbt of build. He wore a short, round jacket, and a round, cloth cap, with a poke. He was good and kind enough to ask the writer how he was getting on, and other questions, which I duly and respect- fully answered. Taking a leaf out of the fashion book of the reporting-interviewer of New York, I told Mr. Andrew Carnegie that I had been thinking of the contrast between his own bodilv siise and the enormous magnitude of his works. Laughingly he replied that I could not say much, for I was a little fellow mvself; and he had before told me that he had never found big people of much good for anything. Thus the greatest iron and steel master in the whole world appeared and unbent himself at a moment when all the visitors were amazed at what they had just witnessed. The King of Babylon would have lost his head through conceit. Not so Andrew Carnegie. MBS. ANDBEW CARNKG1E. He has married a charming young wife, and they were both successively photographed the other day by Sir John Jones Jcn!»iiii during the journey up the Hudson Ilivef by means of a ICodao." When Sir John sought to plaoe Mr, Andrew Carnegie in a suitable attitude I heard Mr. Carnegie say- ing, with a merry twinkle in his eyes, If you wish to have my pleasantest look I must look at my wife," and at the same time he turned his gaze towards the laughing, blushing, and amiable Mrs. Carnegie. A NATURAL EXHIBITION. During the journey towards Pittsbarg down the Monongahela Hiver the night be- came very dark, We were in a floating palace, and the brass band played suoh tunes as Llwyn On (Ashgrove) My Country, it is of Thee" (the American name for "God Save the Queen ") and « Thd Star Spangled Banner." All at once we were startled by an column of firfl shooting into the air from tbe river in front of us It was as if Gehenna had broken loose in the midst of musical strains. The fiery column went up, a continuous stream like water from a powerful fountain. It danced with fury, and the river reflected it back. At first it bore a deep yellow tint; then it changed to deep crimson. The water at the base of the column rose at least a yard in the midst of the fire. After it had roared and danced and shot enormous tongues from its summit during ten minutes it went out, and another column on the land shot up in similar proportions. It will hardly be believed, but it is perfectly true, that the immense fiery columns were produoed by natural gas issuing from the earth, They were fired for our amuse. ment and to gratify our curiosity. We were favoured with a view of many 01 those blazing exhibitions duriug the rest of the return journey. Mr. Charles M. Schwa!, who ocoupies the position formerly held by Captain Jones, informed me that the columns of fire shooting from the bed of therirer were produced by large gas pipes being passed from the gas outlet into the bed of the rirqf and fired, and that the variety of tints to thi flames were produced by chemicals being put into the pipes. The visitors loudly applauded each of the grand displays. MEETINGS OF THE INSTITUTE. A portion of each of the four days during which we stayed in Pittsburg was spent by the scientists at the Carnegie-hall—a splendid gramte building presented to the town by Mr. Andrew Carnegie. Papers on scientific sub- jects were read at these meetings, and some learned discussions took place upon kindred topics. £ >ir James Ivitson, Bart., delivered an address, and presented a letter from 'Ur. Mr. Bessemer, in that gentleman's own handwriting. The original letter has been placed in the archives of Pittsbarg, to remain there among the most valualao treasures of the State of Pennsylvania. "en llOVTR" TO CHICAGO. On Sunday night, the 12th, at six o'clock, we returned to the three Pullman trains, and started for Chicago, which we reached about nine o'clock on Monday morning, after travelling during the night a distance of nearly 500 miles. The beds in the Pullman cars are one above the other. Two seats are utilised on the ground floor, and converted into a bed. A long cupboard opens above, and the door of that cupboard forms the roof of the bed underneath. Partly upon that door and partly inside the cupboard is the upper bed. When a married oouple are lodged, the wife occupies the oupboa.-d and the husband the bed underneath. A long curtain in front hides all the beds in bith sides of the car from view. The married/air receive tickets corresponding in number with each other. A few nights ago one of the ladies was much alarmed at finding that the number of her berth did not correspond witt that of "ber lord," but the mistake was rectified in time, and the nervous lao, slept. I am glad to May, oomior tably. STRANGE BEDFELLOWS. The gentleman sleeping above me is an ironmaster from Berlin, and between his Ger- man and my Cymraeg we get on capitally. In the morning when he descends, legs fore- most, from his roostery the sight is calculated to make one nervous. But I am not nervous, I, however, did not sleep much last night, and during most of the journey of 50C miles I kept up the blinds and watched the shadows of the night as they skimmed the woods and broad plains of this distant country. Occasionally a mosquito would hymn her nocturnal song near my eyes, and I expected every moment to feel her poisonous fangs in my skin. But mosquitoes, it seems, do not touoh Archdruids, and I have been spared. Not so some of the party. One lady's face and hands have been so bitten by mosquitoes, or, as they are called here, "tbunder bugs" (emitting electric light -not anything like your British name- sake) as to appear as if she were recovering from the small-pox. I am finishing this letter at Chicago, which is 1 splendid city.

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE BY A FRIENDLESS…

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ATTEMPTED SUICIDE BY A FRIENDLESS GIRL. A young woman was found late on Thursday evening lying insensible on the pavement in it thoroughfare known as Eton Villas, Hampstesd, not hr from the plaoe where the body of the murdered woman Mrs. Hogg was found last Friday. and she was removed to Bampstead WorkhouM Infirmary, where Dr. A. H. Cook, the medical officer. made renewed attempts to bring the young woman round, but it was not until nearly seven o'clock on Friday morning that he succeeded ir restoring consciousness. Stie gave her name asClara A'ter, aged nineteen. She says she bas no friends, and wilt give no addrtss, saying she has been ic St. John's Refuge, Forest-lane, and a retreat in London, since which time she has been living in coffee-houses. She answered questions with apparent unwillingness, and was very reticent about her movements. She said, however, that she left Stratford-green on Friday morning, and arrived at Barrpstead at hall-past two o'clock in the afternoon. the went to Hamp- etead with no object, and, while wandering about, met a man who took her to Eton Villus, and there attempted to assault her. She rejected his overtures, and when he attempted to force het •he (creamed. Be then put his hand behind him and produced a kitchen knifr. On ptu'ceiviug the knife she raited a shriek, and he ran away. She remembered nothing more. Asked whether she could identify the man, she replied he was a tall man, whom she had never seen before, about eiihteen or nineteen years of fiee, well dressed, and ware a watch and chain. His trousers were made of grey material, and hie coal and waistcoat were black. He had no beard or moustache. The young woman, although still contined to bed, is recovering. The polico are making inquiries into the matter. A later telegram states that on hearing of the above statement Inspector Collis at once went to the girl, who admitted having made the statement, but declared there was not a word of truth in it. She says she brought a knife from the home at Stratford and went to Eton Villas. iotcadiDg to cut ber throat, but her courage failed her.

Welsh Newspapers

Weekly Mail

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