Scotland, Ireland and Wales in the XIX Century

Scotland 1

At 5 P.m., May 26th, we took the steamer "Earl of Carlisle," for Glasgow; passed out beyond the fort, and had a pleasant trip through the Irish Sea, and up the Frith and river of Clyde. Saw as we passed the mammoth ship yards along the river, where so many iron vessels are now being made; saw them in all stages of construction, from the rudimentary scaffolding to the almost finished plougher of the sea. Verily, old Ocean has now its iron age. We were disappointed, however, in the Clyde. It is not the wide, deep, majestic stream we expected to find, on whose bosom the largest vessel might ride at ease, and whose waters are broken by the swift plying ships, but it is rather a stream deepened by dredges and walled in with masonry.

GLASGOW.

Passing up the Clyde in a small steamer we saw Dumbarton Castle and the monument to Henry Bell, the first steamboat builder on the river. At Bowling a large number of ships and other floating craft were laid up, and the oldest steamboat in existence. Lord Blantyre's Castle is on the right bank going up. The Biver Clyde is an artificial stream, and large numbers of dredges are at work keeping the channel pear. At high water ships drawing twenty-one feet can go up to Glasgow. We saw many fine looking cattle browsing on the grass or lazily chewing their cud in the adjacent meadows. We also saw the fourth largest steamer in the world named the Orient. She has four masts. We saw several iron steamers in process of building at several yards. In the afternoon, after registering at the Grand Hotel here, we strolled out to the Cathedral, which was begun in the year 1175. The stained glass is from Munich and is very beautiful. We also visited the Necropolis, near by, where stands a monument in memory of John Knox. Still strolling, we came to St. George's Square, on which stand monuments to the Prince Consort, the Queen, and Nelson. In front of the. Royal Exchange is an equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington. At dinner, we came across a new custom. The proprietor refused to serve the food until grace was said. One of our clergymen helped us out, so we see they are good for something besides card playing, which I alluded to in my first letter. In this latitude the days are so long that a great deal can be seen after dinner, which is generally served about 6 p. m. Daylight lasts until 10 p. m., so this evening we saw West End Park. 

At Glasgow, within a few minutes' walk of our hotel, is St. George's Square, in the centre of which is a conspicuous monument to Walter Scott, its high fluted column surmounted with a statue of that great novelist. On either hand of this monument are beautiful bronze equestrian statues,—one, bearing the name of Victoria, is that of a crowned female figure, sitting the horse most admirably; the other is a perfect match-piece bearing Prince Albert. Each has elaborate emblematic panels in bronze set in the pedestals. A little farther off, in the same square, are statues of Robert Peel, Lord Clyde, &c. The whole square is tastefully laid out in walks winding among trees, flowers, and shrubbery. Within a few minutes' walk of the square is the famous Suspension Bridge over the Clyde, but we could see nothing in it involving a departure from those we had seen in our own land, nor exceeding them in length of span.

While here we visited the only cathedral left uninjured by Cromwell and the madcaps of the Scottish Reformation. It is the first church in Scotland in which Protestant service was ever performed, and is a magnificent structure, founded in the eleventh century, and finished in the thirteenth.

We attended there on the Sabbath, but our attention was drawn more to the beautifully stained windows, quaint architecture, and ancient structure of the building, than to what the pastor or choir were doing. On either side, in the old nave, are the stone galleries, from the narrow windows of which, in olden time, the nuns looked down upon the people, and joined in the service. The long, high windows at either end of the nave, and those underneath the galleries are gorgeous with stained glass, representing scenes and persons in the Old and New Testaments. Below the windows and around the walls are well sculptured tablets and monuments for the worthy dead.