A Trip Abroad | Page 4

is attractive on the inside, but the
exterior impressed me more with the idea of stability than of beauty.
The old Cathedral, which I visited twice, is in an excellent state of
preservation, although founded in the eleventh century. There is an
extensive burial ground adjoining the Cathedral, and one of the
prominent monuments is at the grave of John Knox, the reformer.
These impressive words, written from memory, were spoken by the
Regent at the burial of Knox, and have been carved upon his monument:
"Here lieth he who never feared the face of man, who was often
threatened with dag and dagger, yet hath ended his days in peace and
honor." Carlyle spoke of him as a man "fearing God, without any other
fear."
One day I visited the birth-place of Robert Burns, at Ayr, a point not far
from Glasgow. I not only saw the "lowly thatched cottage," but a
monument to the poet, "Auld Kirk Alloway," the "brig o' Doon," and
many interesting articles in the museum. When the street car came to a

standstill, I had the old church and cemetery on my right hand, and the
monument on my left hand, while a man was standing in the road,
ahead of us, blowing a cornet,--and just beyond was the new bridge
over the Doon, a short distance below the old one, which is well
preserved and profusely decorated with the initials of many visitors.
Along the bank of "bonny Doon" lies a little garden, on the corner of
which is situated a house where liquor is sold, if I mistake not. It was
before this house that I saw the musician already mentioned. As I came
up from the old "brig o' Doon," I saw and heard a man playing a violin
near the monument. When I went down the road toward the new bridge
and looked over into the garden, I saw a couple of persons executing a
cake-walk, and an old man with one leg off was in the cemetery that
surrounds the ruined church, reciting selections from Burns. Such is the
picture I beheld when I visited this Ayrshire monument, raised in
memory of the sympathetic but unfortunate Scottish poet, whose "spark
o' nature's fire" has touched so many hearts that his birth-place has
more visitors per annum than Shakespeare's has.
On the following day I had a pleasant boat-ride up Loch (Lake) Long,
followed by a merry coach-ride across to the "bonny, bonny banks of
Loch Lomond," which is celebrated in song and story. It is twenty-two
miles in length and from three-quarters of a mile to five miles wide,
and is called the "Queen of Scottish lakes." Ben Lomond, a mountain
rising to a height of more than three thousand feet, stands on the shore,
and it is said that Robert Bruce, the hero of Bannockburn, once hid
himself in a cave in this mountain. A pleasant boat-ride down the lake
brought me back to Glasgow in time to attend a meeting of the brethren
in Coplaw Street that night.
Leaving my true friends who had so kindly entertained me in Glasgow,
I proceeded to Edinburgh, the city where Robert Burns came into
prominence. In the large Waverley Station a stranger, who knew of my
coming through word from Brother Ivie Campbell, of Kirkcaldy,
stopped me and asked: "Is your name Don Carlos Janes?" It was
another good friend, Brother J.W. Murray. He said he told some one he
was looking for me, and was told, in return, that he would not be able
to find me. His answer to this was that he had picked out a man before,

and he might pick out another one; and so he did, without any difficulty.
After a little time spent in Waverley gardens, I ascended the Walter
Scott Monument, which is two hundred feet high. The winding
stairway is rather narrow, especially at the top, and it is not well lighted.
As I was coming down the stairs, I met a lady and gentleman. The little
woman was not at all enthusiastic over the experience she was having,
and, without knowing of my presence, she was wondering what they
would do if they were to meet any one. "Come on up and see," I said,
and we passed without any special difficulty, but she said she didn't
believe "two stout ones could" pass. As she went on up the winding
way, she was heard expressing herself in these words: "Oh, it is a place,
isn't it? I don't like it." The tourist finds many "places", and they are not
all desirable. Princess Street, on which the monument is located, is the
prettiest street that I have ever seen. One side is occupied by business
houses and hotels, the other is a beautiful