A Taranaki Man Abroad.

Taranaki Herald, Volume L, Issue 12650, 7 September 1904, Page 8

A Taranaki Man Abroad.

ME G. TISCH'S TRAVELS.

Dating from Plymouth, Devonshire, August 6th, Mr G. Tisch writes as follows :— Since writing you last 1 nave been seeing a little more of England and London. 1 am getting along all right and can now claim to have been in the pulpit and at Oxford and its Universities, passing through the whole of the various colleges. I attended service in the City Temple to near the Rev. R. J. Campbell preach. White waiting to be shown a seat 1 was asked by the usher if 1 would like to go into the pulpit. 1 replied "Yes ; amd was immediately shown into the pulpit. There were between two and three thousand of a congregation. During the service Mr Campbell «aid he was going to personally conduct a party to Oxford and any of the congregation wishing t>o join the party were, to send m their names. 1 wrote for two places. The following Tuesday morning the party met at Paddington railway station and proceeded by express train for Oxford. The town is situated in the most beautiful part of the Thames Valley. Mr Campbell soon bad us interested by his explanation of the founders and the dates of their establishment. They are of respectable ages, some of them dating AD., Sl* to A.D. 1500, and up to the 18th century. There are 21 colleges, therefore you will pardon me for deferring describing them. Christ Church interested me not so much on account of the long list of illustrious persons it has produced, but that being the name of my birthplace and New Zealand town. The chapel, which serves as the cathedral of the docese of Oxford, is the most ancient portion and was built in 1180. It has a tower in which hangs Mighty Tom, the great bell of Oxford, weighing 17,0001b5, the clapper weighing 342fts. The hall close by, in which the students have meals, has a series of portraits on the wall. Drom the hall we enter the kitchen, erected by Wolsey. Here we saw a We curious gridiron, 4ft 6in by 4ft 1 in used for dressing whole joints prior to the introduction of the spit and ranges. The party adjourned about I pS: to the Methodist Free Church when the good people of Oxford had a splendid luncheon prepared for us in the ante-room, after which we returned to the colleges, where more history ot the buildings and memorial were explained and sites shown where the martyrs Ridley, Latimer and Archbishop Cranmer suffered for their faith. A cross marks the spot where they were burned. After a further walk through the great quadrangle and nice garden attached to Merton College, with its terrace walks and pleasant prospects, viewing the new college gardens, etc., at 5 p.m. another adjournment was made to the chapel, where a race tea, consisting of all the nice cakes and jellies that the good ladies of Oxford had prepared for us. The distance from Oxford to London is 64 miles and the return ticket vd f£ oU f lunch and tea, was only 8s 6d, that being considerably less than the ordinary railway fare. Mr Campbell must have got a substantial concession which we all got the benefit of. I spent an interesting day at Windsor Castle, but on that occasion did not join a church party. We were shown over the Royal apartments vis- ' itinc St. George's Chapel, climbed to the top of the tower and then were shown th* Royal stables, borne of the 1 carriages are ancient. I suggested a , clearing sale, but my guide replied 1 that it was the ancient and antiquities brought visitors. We hired a carriage and went for three hours drive through the grounds, passing close to Frogmore. There are about 3000 acres of grounds. There are several thousand deer in the park and numerous rabbits and other game. I There is one long drive, eight miles long, straight a s an arrow There are | ornamental waters on which the King keeps a small yacht and boat, the Virginia waters at the bottom, and the old oak said to be a thousand years old. Any person visiting the Oastle should certainly find time for a drive, which is the most interesting part ot the visit. . 1 visited the Imperial Institute, South Kensington. I complained to the officer in charge that our little lot was not sufficiently represented. me Year Book lying on the table was 1902 He replied that it was the latest published. I told him I had one in my hotel for 1903. I often trot it out and show what our colony produces. The figures and information ot the Institute were all dated 1904. it ghould be kept up-to-date. Canada is the colony that does things properly. I had a wish to see Devonshire and got a circular ticket, enabMng me to visit Exeter, Dawlish, Torquay, Dartmouth, coach to Kingsbridge and several other towns. Devonshire abounds in beauty spots and its coast has numerous watering places. Plymouth, the capital and principal town, is so well known and closely associated with our "New Plymouth, that I felt quite at home and spent a vory j« liy time. The names of a number of the places were quite familiar. Plymouth and Devonport are two separate towns. Each place has its own Meyor and Corporation, yet to the ordinary stranger they appear as one town, being only divided by a creek named Storehouse Pool or Mill Lake. A half penny toll is charged on the bridge, which connects the principal thoroughfares of the two places- (I enclose you a pass ticket.) The population of the 'two places, including Stonehouse ! which has lately been amalgamated, with Plymouth, is 200 000 Plymouth Hoe is one of the finest places m England I? is an elevated plateau, over ,100 feet above the water, with natural slope and terraces to the water s ! „djrp. This beautiful promenade is about a half mile long and several Chains wide, having numerous seats. i \t the back of the promenade is a Sreen park ; at the bottom the wmdt sea road edges the Hoe, places beW excellently laid out for bathing, a sheltered basin being reserved for ladies. A fine promenade pier rums out, from which excursion steamers start, and it hae a roomy pavilion for entertainment. There was an entertainment at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. each day. There is also a band rotunda on the cJrSn sward above, in which band. Slay. T have listened to numbers of i bands but Plymouth is the only place that I could hear the music and see the Sound. There are several memorials on the Hoe, to Drake and others. The most interesting was Smeatou .* lighthouse, which for over a "^jred years marked the dangerous Eddy1 stone rock, and has been re-erected on Hhe Hoe. Visitors may ascend to tne

top on payment of one penny. You act I was not long in getting to the top and chatting to the old gent in charge, who pointed out places of interest, and told me their names. The breakwater stands across the Sound about four miles from the Hoe. The Sound at the point is about 2000 yards wide. The breakwater is about a mile in length, leaving a space of about 300 yards at each end for vessels to pass into the harbour. People wishing to see the breakwater are landed in a boat. I walked along the whole length ; the top is about 40ft wide. I don't know how wide the bottom is, probably 400 ft. It has sloping sides like a flat roof oi a house. (Query : Why was not our breakwater built on the same lines ?) There, are no wharves or piers. The large steamers are attended by lighters. There is a small lighthouse at one end oi the breakwater, which I climbed up to the top. At the other end is a cage made of iron bars capable of holding a dozen men. The cage is erected on a tall pedestal 40ft high and is reached by climbing up steps and holding on to a chain. In case a sudden storm came on men could climb up and escape drowning , in rough weather (the waves roll over the breakwater). I made several excursions and visited the dockyard at Devonport. There are 6000 men employed ; there are 1000 men working on the newest type of battleship, the King Edward VII. She is one of the largest and will cost a million and a half pounds. Another, the Hibernia, was receiving her armour plates. I shall always read with interest of those two warships, having seen them building ; and at Woolwich arsenal I saw them making the oannon and cartridges, etc. The appliances used in the construction give one so much to think of. In fact I have seen so much I don't know what to write and what to leave out, and am in a fog. We arrived in London this morning^ the 'Frisco mail closes to-morrow. 1 called at the Bank where my New Zealand letters and papers are addressed to and received a number of "Budgets," "Press," "Auckland News," "Inglewood Record." Thanks, kind friends ; you are very kind. If you were here to-night I would shout theatre tickets for you all. All good tilings have an end and my tour is about to close. It is strange I have not met any New Zealanders. Yet there are scores in London. My wife says I travel about too fast. True, I have been on the wheels since 21st April, that is the date I left Genoa. I shall have been four months in Great Britain and the Continent, and will relate more of my tour when wei meet. Meanwhile, with kind regards to New Plymouth, etc.