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"ALONG THE COAST." --

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"ALONG THE COAST." (By a Travelling Correspondent). I observed this week that the present epell of ielightful summer we are now enjoying was called by one of the daily papers the "Indian Summer." It is true that the conditions of the weather now closely resemble that glorious but brief season of every year which we designate by the term ''Indian Summer," but my im- preesion is that if this is the real thing it is coming upon us at an ominously early date. I prefer rather to think that we are now, as I said last week, experiencing a. belated portion of the real summer, which is succeisisfully stav- ing off that too early commencement of a hard winter such as seemed impending at t'he end of A ug tib t. » » The "Indian Summer" properly so called oo- ours towards the end of October, or the begin- ning of November, and it is also known in this country as St. Martin's Summer. In America, it comes—every year without fail-in the season known there as "The Fal! and almost invari- ably follows the preliminary onset of winter. It is as though the cold weather comes on in waves, and the Indian Summer follows the first flow of the winter, and before the second and more severe wave motion finally brings winter upon the country. In our land the St. Martin's Summer comes to the farmers at a most useful period, and they hardly ever fail to profit by it, while they are very rarely disappointed by ite conoccurenoe. • • • They "raise" their potatoes during the Indian Su "e r, and stow them away neatly and in dry condition in the earthen "barrows" to be kept free from frost and wet during the coming hard wca.thcr. Many other operations about the land which are helped by dry weather am also attended to, and in days gone by at Mar- tinmas, or the Feast of St. Martin, on November 11th, the country folks used to get in the store of salt meat and other provisions needed for the sustenance of the farmstead family and depen- dents during the approaching winter. Let us all hope that, in addition to the present most Welcome period of summer weather, we will also get a generous measure of the true Indian Sum- itner a month or more from now. • • • • The visit of the Llandudno Field Club to the Conway Church and Castle, on Saturday, would do the old town good by calling public atten- tion to its antiquity and to the exceptional mea.- sure of archaeological remains it possesses- The Rector of Llandudno, who is a loyal member of the club, and anxious to promote its welfare, —well knowing, as a citizen of Llandudno, how great an attraction to the place it is, inasmuch fcs it affords opportunities to visitors of getting a closer insight into the places of archaeological interest near by than can be got from mere guide-book study,-had arranged to lecture to the party upon the architecture of the two great Conway buildings. He is a close student -of architectural matters. » » » But the opportunity of hearing the eloquent Mivino upon two such famous antiquities as Oonway's Castle and Abbey attracted to the party quite a number of North Wales archi- tects. There were Mr G. A. Humphreys, of Llandudno; Mr Edwin Turner, of Llandudno; Mr Harold Hughes, of Bangor; and Mr Her- bert North, of Llarufairfechan, present; and there may have been more gentlemen of the lame profession. < The Rector had something very interesting to Isay. He pointed out, for instance, that during the time of the Tudors Wales became important, and benefitted from a wave of prosperity and energy. During that time those churches along the coast were built, which are perpendicular in stylo. A good many of these churches exist, and there are portions of Conway Church built during that period. The most beautiful flower of English architecture, he said, was the ex- cellent work done in oak, and of this again Conway Church contains, in its rood screen, a very fine example. Originally this screen was nearer the west end than it is at present, and in those days the choir or chance! was much larger than now, and the nave was much smaller. » The Rector was also instructive in the Castle, showing how its outer aspect was grim and for- bidding, while within effort was made to make it pleasant and homely for the people who had often to spend months shut up in it, and sur- rounded by a more or less hostile populace. There was chivalry in those days, said the Rec- tor, and the safest quarters in the building were set apart for the ladies, the very best of all the apartmenta being reserved for the queen. On the south aide of the Castle, by the way, the danger of attack was slighter than on the other aides. and it is interesting to notice how plea- sant embrasures were formed in the walls of the towers at various points on that side, with stone seats round them on three sides, from which the occupants of the Castle might peep out Safely through the narrow opening in the wall across at the woods of Benarth, or over the es- tuary, or up towards Gyffin. The stone seats still exist, and one does not need a very vivid imagination to picture them occupied by maids and matrons in their everlasting needlework or embroidery, whilst their husbands, lovers, or .brothers were out upon the chase, or marching against some body of the irrepressible, rebel- lious Britons! Methinks, too, that the same frtono seats would serve right well, look you, for the happy lovers to siO upon, and tell the story of their valour into the willing ears of their ladyes faire! » # » » I hoard it suggested that the Corporation of Conway might usefully expend some little amount of the funds fchev receive from visitors ic the Castle in excavating the debris at the foot of some of the towers. Very interesting finds might be made. The well, too, in Jie Sourtva.rd migflit be dug out, carefully, and un- er struct au pair vision, for it is evident that it must have been much deeper than it is at pre- sent. • • Dr. Frasor, of Carnarvon it now appears, db. finitely settjled. is about to give II phis appoint- ment as medical officer of health for the Ca.rna.r- vOTifthire districts. I think it is uridoubted that 80 long as he chose to continue in office none of the councils in tihe districts would have wish- ed to withdraw from tihe union, for he is uni- versally respected, and his undoubted Christian (isiiO&rity makes him a perfect officer. But tie ha4 elected to give the remainder of his life to the missionary oaitse, and I hope that he will have every blessing out on the Khassia, Hills, where the mission field of the Welsh Calvinistio Methodists is situated. The country lie soubh of the Braihmaputra Valley, in about the 25th parallel of latitude, and though probably not nigh enough to be wholly suitable for Europeans, it will be a better home for the worthy doctor |(han down in the Brahmaputra Valley on tho 0ae hand or in Lower Bengal on the other. Now that toi-e dbotor is voluntarily relinquishing his office, I am inclined to think that the joint dis- trict will be laj-gely split lm into ite component parts, and that Llandudno Colwyn Bay, Ban- gor, Conway, and other towns will elect their own medical offioer of health, as, if local medi- 0aJ mon are ? ppointod they will always be on the spot Wh(\n required in emergency. • • • « A wonderful man is Sir James Browne, who, as president of the Sanitarv In- spectors' Association, has presided over the Llandudno meetings this week. He would nave made a name in any profession, had not medi- cine, and especially tho study of lunacy, claimed has energies and talent at an e.arly age. lIe loves a controversy, too, and one of his most famous wars of words was with Mr Winston Churchill in the "Times," on the subject >f the manufacture of Harris tweeds- I would rather not say who was adjudged to have had the better of the argument, but I believe the young politician was lured into saying more, than he probably meant. • • » Two vears ago Sir James Crichton-Browne delivered a (striking condemnation, of town life and the increasing size of our great cities. If cities persisted' in growing at the present rate, and under existing conditions, they would, I remember he said, dry up the reservoirs of dtrengtli in the population and leave a.n im- mense proletariat of inferior quality. Needless to add. Sir Jamtw Crichton-Browne is a firm believer in the gosped of fresh air but, by one I oi tho strange little ironies of fate for whidh there is no accounting, a.t the very meeting in which he expatiated so eloquently on the need for plenty of ventilation not a sing-le window of .the was open—and t.here were quite two hundred other people present besides thp great medio.1 J scientist- The incident afforded another ¡ s apt illustration of tihe injunction, "Pli-v heal thyself.

-------LLANFAIRFECHAN.

COLWYN BAY.'

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