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hotographic

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32X

1 2 3

4 5 6

BEING ]
SC01

NINE!

THE "WOKLD ;
ROUND IT AND OVER IT.

CHESTER GLASS,

OP 03G00DB HALL, BARRISTRR-AT-IiAW.

BEING LETTERS WRITTEN BY THE AUTHOR FROM ENGLAND, IRELAND
SCOTLAND, BELGIUM, HOLLAND, DENMARK,' GERMANY, SWITZER-
LAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, MONACO, ITALY, AUSTRIA, GREECE,
TURKEY, TURKEY-IN-ASIA, THE HOLY LAND, EGYPT,
INDIA, SINGAPORE, CHINA, JAPAN. CALIFOR-
NIA, NEVADA, UTAH AND NEW YORK.

TOOBTURR WITH

NINETY-SIX ILLUSTRATIONS ENGRAVED ON WOOD.

SECOND EDITION.

How fresh was every sir/ fit and sountt

On open main or winding shore I
We knew the merri/ tvorld was round,

And we might mil forcverm,ore."

Tennyson.

^ov0nto:
ROSE-BELFORD PUBLISHING COMPANY.

1881.

V-P

(^^zo~C54

Entered according to the Act of the Parliament of Canada in the year
one thousand eight hundred and eighty-one, by Chester 'Jlas-s, in the
Office i)f the Minister of Agriculture.

.^,

To the Members of the Press, and other friends,
who gave the writer a hearty welcome on his
return home, these pagos are respectfully
dedicated.

359388

List of Illustrations.

CANADA.

FAGE

EDWAHI) HANLAN, CHAMPION SCLLLER OF THE \VoKLI>- full page, - M

SUSPENSION BKIDUE AT NIAGARA FALLS, 5

UNITED STATES.

STARS AND STRIPES- LIBKRTY, EQUALITY AND FRATEKNITV, • • 508

BIG TREEfl or MARIPOSA, CALIFORNIA- full page, .... fipj

A CALIFORNIAN FoRTY-NINER, AN EMBRYO MILLIONAIHE-full page, - 621

ENGLAND.

CHALK CLIFFS OF SOUTH COAST, 17

WINDSOR CASTLE, RESIDENCE OF THE QUEEN, 22

SIR BEVTS AT THE DERBY~NECK-AND-NECK PASSING THE WINNING-
POST— full page, • • - 2o

THE THAMES EMBANKMENT— full page, ....... 34

RIGHT HON. W. E. GLADSTONE, 35

THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD, 47

SCOTLAND.

OLD EDINBURGH BY GASLIGHT, 30

SCOTT'S MONUMENT ON PRINCES STREET, 61

EDINBURGH CASTLE -full page, 53

BOOM WHERE JOHN KNOX DIED -full page, 54

HOLYKOOD PALACE AND MONUMENT TO BURNS -full page, • • . 66

COLLEGE WYND, WHERE WALTER SCOTT WAS BORN, - • • • 58

IRELAND.

THE giant's CAUSEWAY, 67

TOMB OF EDMUND BURKE, Qg

THE FAR-FAMED BLARNEY CASTLE, • • • - . . . 76

BELGIUM.

tHE BELFRY OF BRUGES, . • 77

LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS.

THE LION MOUND ON THE FIELD OF WATKRLOO, -

HOLLAND.

WINDMILLS AND DYKE8, .......

HTBEET SCENE IN AMSTERDAM— TEAM OF DOGS, •

DENMARK.

rHOBVALDSEN, THE GREAT DANISH SCULl'TOH, •

SWEDEN.

WHABF-St'ENE— full pivyc,

GERMANY.

BBANDENBUIKJ GATE AT THE END OF THE UNTER DEN LINDEN,

THE GREAT WINE TUN AT HEIDLEBERG CASTLE, •

A CASTLE ON THE RHINE— full page,

SWITZERLAND.

LUCERNE AND MONT PILATU8,

FRANCE.

PLACE DE LA CONCORDE AT PARIS— full page, -
THE TRI-COLOUR OF FRANCE, WITH CAP OF LIBERTY, -

SPAIN.

PAOE

83
86

HBAD-PIKCE— BALCONY AND CONVENT,
SPANISH PEASANT GIRLS— full page,
SPANISH MONASTERY AND MONKS,

MONACO.

GAMBLING CARDS AT MONTE CARLO, ....

ITALY.

VENICE— GRAND CANAL AND PALACE OF THE DOGES, '-
bird's-eye VIEW OF PISA, WITH ITS LEANING TOWER,
ROME- CUPOLA OF ST. PBTER's,

-THE PANTHEON,

ARENA OF THE COLOSSEUM — full page,

-TOMBS ON THE APPIAN WAY, . . . •

ill

10.3
106

101

110

108

123

126
130

132

139
7
160
162
172
173

PAOB

!»I
103
106

101

110

108

123
125
130

U.ST OF ITXUSTRATfONS.

ROME- INTKBIOR OK THE CATACOMBS, •

•' —ST. PETER'S CATHEDRAL, THE TIBER AND CASTLE OF ST. ANOELO,
" —ST. PETER'S AND THE VATICAN— full page, . . . .

CRATER OF THE VOLCANO VESUVIUS,

SCENE IN EXCAVATED POMPEII,

THE VOLCANO STROMBOLI, A LINK BETWEEN VESUVIUS AND .CTNA,

GREECE.

PALLAS ATHENE, THE 00DDE8S OF THE ATHENIANS, ....

THE ACROPOLIS AT ATHENS, WITH THE PARTHENON AND THE TEMPLE

OF JUPITER OLYMPUS— full page,

TURKEY.

MAHOMMEDAN MOSQUE WITH MINARETS, ......

PALACE OF THE SULTAN ON THE BOSPHORUS-fuU page, -

A TURKISH pasha's WIFE,

THE LATE SULTAN ABDUL AZIZ, -

WHERE NEXT?

TURKEY.IN-ASIA.

THE OIANT STONES OP BAALBEC,

THE HOLY LAND.

A BEDOUIN TRAVELLER IN THE DESERT,

THE HOLY SEPULCHRE AT JERUSALEM—fuU page, ....

THE WAILING-PL.VCE OP THE JEWS, AT THE ACTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF

SOLOMON'S TEMPLE— full page,

EGYPT.

Cleopatra's needle, as it once stood at Alexandria, ■

POSTAGE stamp, PYRAMIDS AND SPHINX,

CHEFREN, the BUILDER OF THE SECOND PYRAMID,

PHARAOH MENEPHTHES, WHO DROVE THE ISRAELITES OUT OF EGYPT,

THE PYRAMIDS,

INDIA.

TAJ MAHAL, THE MOST MAGNIFICENT EDIFICE IN THE WORLD,
AN INDIAN RUPEE— VICTORIA EMPRESS, ....

PAGE
181

185
188
199
202
210

208
220

223
9
232
234
237

257

266
291

301

320
322
332
Ml
10

352
3.55

VIU

MHT OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

ELKPHANT-niniNfi IN INDIA- full page,

OKOIIP OP MATIVK I'RINCKrt OK INDIA full pa>,'P,

THE MONKKY TEMPIjE AT UBNAUEH— full page,

MALACCA.

MALAY niVKRH AT SINOAPORE,

THE ANTIPODES, HAI,P-WAY ROUND THE WORLD,

HONGKONG.

f'HINEHE PALANQUIN, OR SEDAN CHAIR,

CHINA.

MOONLIOHT AT aEA, ....

CHINEHE PAOODA AND JUNKH,

BOOT AND FOOT OP A SMALL-FOOT WOMAN,

CHINESE VIHITINO CARDS,

TAIL-PIECE : MOON-Pi.CE AND PIG -TAIL,

JAPAN.

THE EMPIRE OF THE RISING SUN,

THE FAMOUS INLAND SEA OF JAPAN,

ISLAND OF ENOSHINA, BY A NATIVE ARTIST, ....

DAIB00T8, THE LARGEST PERFECT FIGURE IN EXISTENCE- full page,
A JAPANESE DINNER, WITH MUSICIANS AND RICE-GIRLS— full page,

PUBLIC NUDE-BATHING IN JAPAN,

JAPANESE FERRY- BO AT— full page,

NATIVE DINNER BILL,

JAPANESE TEMPO,

JAP. BED, WITH WOODEN PILLOW AND LANTERN,

A NATIVE FAMILY GROUP,

JAPS. ON THE WAY TO MARKET,

A STREET IN ABIMA,

HANDSOME COSTUME OF A NATIVE JAP.,

FUJIYAMA, THE SACRED MOUNTAIN OP THE JAPS.,
JINRICSHA RIDING WITH NATIVE COOLIES— full page,

HOME.

PAGE

:tti7
371

400

40ft

408
416
421
428
441

44C

447
485
486
489
495
14
497
498
500
458
461
464
478
502
526

TPUNK FULL OF 9URIOS,

PAOF

■M\7

;i7i

'*TF^HE following pages consist of letters written from
Mr), cities on the four continents to a daily journal
during a tour around the world which lasted about a year
and a half, together with a large amount of correspond-
ence hitherto unpublished.

For years, it had been my cherished idea to make the
circuit of the Globe, and to see the strange peoples and
strange sights of other lands.

I had long been promised the tour, to commence so soon
as 1 had acquired my profession. This being accomplished,
I started out on 10th May, 1879.

To my delight, a few months afterwards 1 met a friend
at Paris, France, who decided to accompany me for
the whole journey. Our pleasure was enhanced by the
fact that my friend and I were of the same profession,
and had similar tastes in the way of keen relish for ad-
venture and si<;ht-.seeinir.

In writing about different nations, their religions and
their customs, I have endeavoured to speak with toler-
ance and without prejudice, to give them credit for what
AA'as really worthy of it, and to condemn what appeared
to be clothed in biofotrv and humbu";.

PllEPACE.

The composition must not be too severely criticized, for
most of tlie letters were written not only amidst the ex-
citement and novelty of sij^lit-seeing, but in odd, out-of-
the-way places, as noisy hotels; pitching steamships; Syr-
ian huts ; tents in Palestine ; Indian bungalows, with
the heat at frying point ; Chinese inns, with the owners
of pig- tails swarming a'ound ; — or in Japanese tea-houses,
with one's attention distracted by cuiious and in({uisitive
natives.

After leaving Greece, a somewhat connected narrative
is kept up; before that lime 1 have only written of sub-
jects which specially attracted my attention.

In conclusion, so far as I have been able to learn, no
book has yet been published covering all the ground
spanned by the following pages, namely, a thorough tour
around the Globe, witli correspondence from the various
points of interest, written on the sj>ot.

-.^

TOUR ai'ouiid the Globe sounds foriiiRlable, but
tlie railvva\'.s, steamships, and telegraphs of the
nineteenth century have greatly dwarfed what
was once regarded as a feat of daring and enterprise.

From the days when Captain Cook astonished Europe
with the announcement that he had actually three times
at oomplished the circumnavigation of the Globe up to
twelve years ago, there were but few persons who had
properly made the tour.

Now, however, since the building of the Pacific Railway,
completing an iron girdle around the continent, we have
furnished to us what was for ages a missing link.

But there are even to-day several modes of going around
the world.

For instance, thousands of sailors can say that they
have left England for Australia via the Suez Canal, and
returned home by way of Cape Horn.

In this way, of course, they .see almost nothing, having
only stopped at a few sea-ports, and never having even
got within gun-shot of the cities of Europe and Asia.

Another traveller, desiring the mere credit of having
seen all the countries of the earth, sets out on the journey
with this grim «letermination, and resolves to finish the

INTRODUCTION.

tour within five or six months. He does this, probably, on
a Cook's ticket, rushing through Japan, China, and India,
making rapid connections with trains and steamers, and
finally bolting past the Pyramids and over into Italy. A
day in Rome — a glance at Venice — a dash through the
tunnelled Alps, and away he goes to Paris.

He arrives home, weary and dissatisfied, having finished
his tour within the allotted time, but really having done
himself and the great subject undertaken but scant jus-
tice.

Then, again, there are others who manage matters some-
what differently.

They travel leisurel}', buying no through tickets, stay-
ing long enough in each country to see its cities and its
people, to understand the leading features of its history,
and to participate in the amusements and modes of life
of the natives.

They enjoy life, never think of moving away from a place
till quite ready, and spend at least a year and a half or
two years in this thoroughly pleasant mode of travelling.
When they arrive home, they are stronger in body and
mind than when they left, and have a clear and possibly
an intelligent idea of the great sights of the earth.

Under the banner of this latter class of travellers, T
"svould advise an intending tourist to enrol himself.

SYNOPSIS OF TOUR.

PART I.

'HIS 811011 chapter and the following one cont«,in a
running synopsis of the contents of the book, so
that the reader may have, at a glance, a comprehen-
sive idea of the itinerary followed without reading through
the whole of the pages to discover it.

I left my home at London, Canada, by Great Western
Railway; pxssed Niagara Falls, took the New York Cen-

s, T

SL«I'ENHION BBirxiE OVEIl THK CHASM AT NIA(;AKA.

tral to the Great Metropolis of the Empiie State ; and at
New York embarked on the steamship " Abyssinia," of
the Cunard Line, for Liverpool, where we landed after a
ten days' passage, during which the ocean was as smooth
as a mill-pond, an^ I so sea-sick that I hadn't a gleam of
hope or [)luck left in me.

I went pretty thoroughly over Great Britain from the
Isle of Wight to the Highlands of Scotland, visiting Edin-
burgh, with its Princes street, the most picturesque prom-
enade in the world, and spending six weeks in exploring
London, that most delightful of cities.

After an Irish tour from Cork to the Giant's Causeway,
seeing hy the way the Groves of Blarney, the lovely Lakes

SYNOrSlS OF TOUR.

of Killarnoy, classic Dublin, go-ahead Belfast, and the
fine old Cathedral City of Armagh, I crossed through
England and over to Ostend, in Belgium, at last touching
foreign soil.

Brussels ; the field of Waterloo ; Antwerp, with its
masterpieces of Ruber.s ; quaint old Rotterdam ; Amstei'-
dam, the Venice of the North, with its diamond mer-
chants and its " Night Watch," and Hamburg, the great
free city of Germany, were all in turn visited.

A Danish steamer, up the Baltic, took me to Copenha-
gen, the shrine of Thorvaldsen ; a flying visit to Sweden,
and then back to Germany.

Berlin, the splendid capital of Kaiser William ; Dres-
den, the home of art ; Cologne, famous ecpially for its
pleasant perfumes and its disagreeable odours; the Rhine,
with its picturesque castles and its sunny vineyards ;
Frankfort, the cradle of the Rothschilds ; Baden, with its
memories of Rouge et Noir; and fortified Strasburg, were
each enjoyed.

Then came Switzerland, with Lucerne, the gem of lakes,
and the glorious view from the Rigi. A railway ride
through France brought me to Paris, the gayest of the
gay, where I spent five weeks most enjoyably, seeing the
dark as well as the bright side of the far-famed French
metropolis.

Here I met an old Canadian friend, who decided to
accompany me around the world.

Together we descended through the rich heart of Gaul
to Marseilles, the hot-bed of revolutions. By rail again
we crossed the Pyrenees and entered Spain, the land of
beautiful Senoras, stately Dons, and terrific bull-fights.

From Barcelona we sailed across the Mediterranean to
Marseilles, and went to Nice, the favourite English winter
resort. The gorgeous Gambling Palace of Monaco; the
magnificent scenery of the Riviera; Genoa, which breathes
of Columbus ; the wonderful Cathedral of Milan, and the
inasterpiece of Leonardo were seen, and we moved o^ to

SYNOPSIS OF TOU«.

the
the
euch

d to

^ -r"

Venice, that weird City of the Sea, which one never thinks
of but in a sort of dream.

Across the Adriatic to Trieste, the Austrian home of
the ill-fated Maximilian, and of his still more unhappy
( ^arlotta.

Then to Bologna, famed for its past learnin<(, and Flor-
ence, with its great picture galleries containing priceless
treasures of art.

Across to Pisa, with its leaning Towei- and its wonder-
— P^- ^.^ — ^.. ^ ful echo, and down
j—-^ \^ ^ ^^ ^ ^j^^ Italian coast,

parsing in sight of
Corsica, the birth-
place of the Man of
Destiny, who shook
the cobwebs fiom
the eyes of Europe,
and ujade monarchs
tremble in his pres-
bird's-eve view ok PISA. ence.

Kome at last, and glad we were to see it. Five weeks
were none too long to see the glories of the once mistress
of the worlil, and then we were off to Naples, Vesuvius
and Pompeii.

Steamship from here to Sicily ; passing through the ex-
aggerated dangers of Scylla and Charybdis, and viewing
the monster /Etna, we saile<l on to Athens, the fountain-
hea<l of oratory, philosophy, and art — the home of Demos-
thenes, Plato ami Phidias.

Thence through the barren Archipelago to the Golden
Horn, and we stood in the ])resence of Constantinople,
with its domes and minarets, its haccms and its palaces.

Iliii

SYNOPSIS OF TOUR.

PART II.

HE last chaj)ter terminated the sketch of our tour
in Europe. This, on Asia, Africa and America, will
finish the synoj)sis.

Out of the Golden Horn, down the coast of Asia, past
the site of Troy, to Smyrna. A visit to deseited Ephesus,
where Paul once preached and Diana flourished, and we
pushed forward, seeing the coast cities and stopping at
Bey root, in Syria.

In the saddle over the mountains of Lebanon <o Baal-
bec, with its peerless blocks of stone, and to Damascus,
the Paradise of the Arabs.

Then down through the Holy Land on horseback,
sleeping at monasteries and visiting Sidon, Tyre, M6unt
Carmel, Nazareth, the home of Christ; Galilee, the scene
of His greatest works ; Mount Tabor, Nabulus, the pecu-
liar home of a peculiar people, and, finally, Jerusalem,
the loadstone of pilgrims from every clime. With the
city of David as headquarters, we made journeys in the
saddle to Bethlehem, where the first Christmas was cele-
brated ; to the Dead Sea, covering the doomed cities of
Lot, and to the historic Jordan, the border line of the
promised land.

A steamer of the Austrian Lloyds took us from
Jaffa to Port Said, the northern terminus of the Suez
Canal, that mighty achievement of modern engineering.

Thence to Alexandria, once the pet city of the youthful
Greek, before whose conquering stride all nations fled in
terror.

Through the rich lands Df the Nile Delta we went to
Cairo, the busy, quaint and Oriental City of the descend-
8,nts of the Pharaohs • Heliopolis, where Moses was a

SYiNOl'SIS UF TOUR.

ur tour
ica, will

ia, past
Ipliesiis,
md we
3ing at

Baal-
imscus,

seback,
Mdunt
i scene
2 pecu-
isalein,
ith the
in the
Ls cele-
ties of
of the

from

Suez

^ering.

uthfui

fled in

eiit to
3cend-
\^as a>

SYNOPSIS OF TOUR.

i; I

stn(l(^nt ; the Pyramids, the last of the Seven Wonders of
the World, and the Sphynx — monuments mysterious and
vast — all claimed om- ;.if, ).fi,,ii

K I

By rail throu<;h the
land of Goshen, wlicre
the children of Israel
toiled for the E<j^yptian
tyrant, and were deliv-
ered.

From Suez, a trip in-
to the Desert of Arabia
to the Springs of Moses,
where Miriatn and the
Jewish maidens played timbrels and sang songs of praise
for the destruction of the hosts of Pharaoh.

A sea voyage of fourteen days down the Red Sea, pass-
ing, by the way, Mecca, the holy city of the Mohamme-
dans ; and Aden, a British stronghold, and a living evi-
dence of the wonderful pluck and enterprise of its owners;
out into the Indian Ocean, and over to Hindostan.

India, whose faV)ulous wealth and history for so niany
centuiies dazzled the imagination of the rugged northmen,
and whose dusky millions now bow to the sway of Down-
ing Street.

From Bombay, the great commercial metropolis, we
went to Jubbulpore, the prison-home of the Thugs, the
foiiner scourge of India. Thence to Allahabad — a sacred
city with strong forts, — and on to Agra. Here the Taj
Mahal, the most magnificent edifice on the earth, built of
solid white marble and inlaid with precious stones, proved
a strong attraction for us.

Over by rail to Jeypore, the capital of a powerful Ma-
harajah, or native independent Prince, where we were en-
tertained with true Hindoo hospitality ; an elephant ride
to Aml>eer, and then up to Delhi, the Durbar City of the
Great Moguls, where luxury once ran riot, and barbaric
splendour was the order of the day.

SYPNOSIS OF TOUR.

We tarried at the "Mutiny" cities, Cawnpore and Luck-
now, with their imperishable memories of " fair women
and brave men." Also, at Benares, the holy city of tlie
Hindoos, with its worshipped monkeys, elephants and
bulls, and its burning ghats for human bodies; then we
sped down the fertile valley of the Ganges to (Calcutta,
the capital of the Em|)ire. This city, which witnessed
the dangers and the triumphs of Hastings, and the dire
tragedy of the Black Hole, is to-day bright, attractive and
prosperous.

Down the Hoogley, past its treacherous quick-sands,
out of the Delta and into the Bay of Bengal.

Penang,an island weighed down with the wealth of the
tropics, where mangoes, cocoanuts and mangosteens flour-
ish, and then we came to Singapore, seventy miles from
the Equator and the antipodes of our home. We were
half way aroun<l the world.

Then up to Hong Kong, and
we were amongst the " Heathen
Chinese." '

The Fan Tan gambling at Ma-
cao ; the curious siglits of (.anton ;
its quarter of a million people in
small boats ; the odd and some-
times disgusting habits of the Chi-
nese ; the theatres and curio shops
of Hong Kong, were leisurely seen,
and then we were off to Shanghai,
the commercial heart of the Celes-
tial Empire. The foreign city, with
its air of wealth, and the native
nij; AMU'uui s. walled city, with its curious cus-

toms, we devoted a week to.

The " Tokio Maru" took us over the Yellow Sea to Na-
gasaki, in Japan. We were in the Empire of the Rising
Sun, the (juaintest and most interesting of all the lands
we had seen — through the far-famed Inland Sea, with
its peculiar and fascinating scenery.

mil!

SYNOPSIS OF TOUR.

Kobe, a brisk treaty port. Kioto, the former capital of
the Mikado, the Son of the Gods, with its pretty women,
rare curios, and rich temples ; then Osaka, the Venice
of Japan, and we embarked for Yokohama, probably the
most cosmopolitan of cities.

With our headquarters here for two months, we made
detours into the interior, which 1 will always remember
as some of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.

The mountain resorts, Miyanoshita, a favourite haunt
of Europeans; Ashinoyu, the Sarato^^a of the natives;
Hakone, with its magni6cent view of Fujiyama, the sacred
mountain of the Japs ; Enoshima, a shrine of pilgrims ;
Kamakura, with Daiboois, the largest perfect figure of a
man in existence, were all leisurely visited.

We went by Jinricsha up to Nikko, with its gorgeous
tombs, one of the modern Seven Wonders of the world.
Then through the heart of the silk, tea, and rice provinces,
seeing the people in a state of nature ; where men and
women bathe together, perfectly nude, in the public baths.

After a two months' stay in Japan, we embarked for
California, and in eighteen days passed through the Golden
Gate, and once more stood upon the American continent.

We put up at the colossal Palace Hotel, the largest in
the world. Had the good fortune to see Mr. Hayes, the
President of the United States, and to hear him and Gen-
eral Sherman make excellent speeches to the citizens.

A few days at 'Frisco, and we started for the Yosemite
Valley. We stood on Glacier Point, and were awed to
silence by cliffs of gi-anite. But such cliffs ! Perpendicu-
lar walls of solid bare gianite, 5,000 feet high, or over
thirty times the height of Niagara, towered before us in
awful majesty. We saw the Big Trees of Mariposa, and
had a glorious drive of 180 miles in a famous California
coach-and-six.

We then struck the Central Pacific Railway ; saw Sa-
cramento, with its stately capital ; Lake Tahoe, a beauti-
ful spot, but much overrated ; and then up to Carsoji ajid

SYNOPSIS OF TOtTR.

by the crookedest of railways to Virginia City. Here Mr.
Mackay, reputed to be the richest man in the world,
treated us with great kindness, sent us down a gold mine
half a mile straight into the earth, and gave us some gold
and silver specimens.

Salt Lake City was our next detour from the great
trunk line. We walked around the prosperous Mormon
metropolis, and were introduced to President Taylof, the
successor of the gi'eat chief, Brigham Young. Then we
dashed through Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa and
Illinois, never delaying till we pulled up at Chicago, "'J'he
Queen of the North and the West." This is one of the
most go-ahead and attraotively-built cities to be seen
anywhere. State Street alone would rank well beside
any avenue in Europe.

A day's ramble around Detroit ; four hours by rail, and
we were home, in the heart of the Garden of Canada.

I went out to the East and returned from the West
on the same line of Railway, and thoroughly pleased I
was at the hearty welcome which awaited me.

-1*

NEW YORK.

TAl.MA(iK AND HI.S TADERNACMC—ARBrCKLR, THE BL'QI.BU -Kt.KV VTKD KAILKOAD
— LUXUUIOUS C'ARKIA(JKH— THE CUNARI) H. S, " AUY««1NIA."

New York, 13th May, 1879.

AST Siinday evening I crossed over on the Brook-
lyn Ferry to liear the famous pulpit orator, Tal-

(>=:■

n)a«'e, in his Tabernacle. The building is said to

seat o,0()0, and was jammed to the doors some time before
service began. It is built in the style of a modern opera
house, the seats near the entrance being about ten feet
higher tlian those in front. 'Yha |)astor sits at the roar of
the platform in a plain arm-cliair. There is a small table
V)efore him, but no other furniture. Iirimediately below
Mr, Talmage is seated the organist, who plays as if his
life depended upon the lou(hiess of his music. In front
of the platform, to the right of the preacher on an ele-
vated (lias, stands Arbuckle, the bugler, who is an im-
portant feature of the service.

When Talmage gave out the hymn, Arbuckle mounted
his <lias, and with three theatrical waves of his hand mo-
tioned the peoj»le to rise. He accompanied the organ on
his brass trumpet, and better or more inspiriting music I
never heard. Everybody sang, and the house fairly trem-
bled with the volume of music. The sermon was on " The
Ministry of Tears," and during its course sometimes quite
an audible titter was heard. Evidently Talmage intended
to make his audience smile, but the moment they did
smile he became unusually solemn, and soon made them
serious enough.

He has a rasping, disagreeable voice, and a forbidding
smile. The secret of his success lies in the entertaining
character of his sermons, made so by telling short, spicy
stories with a great deal of point in them, and never

Kew vorK.

'II

h'i

i!i

dwelling too long on any one portion of his subject — he
knows when to stop.

One of the wonderful sights of New York is the ele-
vated steam railroad, which would seem to be a partial
fulfilment of Mother Shipton's prophecy. The originator
and promoter of the scheme was Cyrus W. Field, of At-
lantic cable fame. For five miles from Bovrling Green
northwards the trains of (his novel line dash along in
mid air. The carriages and way-stations are got up re-
gardless of expense in the way of luxurious furnishings.
The great advantage over the street railway is speed, they
being able to accompli"/n the five miles, including stop-
pages, in a very few minutes. One would think that the
horses travelling fifteen or twenty feet below would be
frightened by the terrible racket and noise above, but they
have apparently got used to it, and neither man nor beast
ever look up at all, at least such v/as my observation when
seated in one of the elevated cars.

I have secured a passage in the s. s. " Abyssinia," of the
Cunard Line. Its cabin and state-rooms appear to be the
embodiment of substantial comfort and safety. The ser-
vants are English, and look sleek and well fed.

)ject — ^Ke

5 the ele-
a partial
n'iginator
.d, of At-
ing Green
along in
^ot up re-
rnishings.
peed, they
ling stop-
k that the
would be
e, but they
I nor beast
ition when

nia," of the
r to be the
The ser-

OKHBY DAY— England's oreat huliday— excitement on the tuuf—

KOTHHCHILU'S HOUSE VICTOIUOIS THE I'lUNCE AND I'UINCESS OF WALES -
AN LPUOAUIOUS UIDE HOME.

London, Encjland, 30th May, 1879.

#N Wednesday morning, 28th instant, at 8 a.m., 1
started from my hotel for PicadDly Circus to get
■^■4^ a uood seat on a four-in-liand and drive out to the
Derby. 1 was early, and secured an excellent seat on the
knifeboard of a first-class coach drawn by four spirited and
powerful horses. The road being crowded with vehicles,
when we got to " The Elephant and Castle " there was a
Jam and for a time we could not get on. As far as the eye
could reach in front and behind could be seen four-in-
hand coaches, hansoms, costermonger carts, four-wheeled
cabs, dog-carts, broughams, and gentlemen's and noble-
men's cjiriiages, all in a motley mass, the occupants mak-
ing a frightful din, laughing, swearing, and yelling. The
road was lined with a dense crowtl of men, women and chil-
dren, who had come from London -dud nei'dibourinf; towns
to witness the great sight of every person in England,
who could attord it, " going to the Derby." Lots of boys
and girls were I'uiniing along beside the conveyances sell-
ing " tormentors," These are little bottles made of thin
sheets of lead and filled with water. Upon removing the
B

ENGLAND.

top and pressing the tormentor, one can throw the water
about twenty feet distant. The way to operate it is as
follows : Your 'bus drives up beside another vehicle ;
you lean over with your hand within a few feet of the
face of the occupant of the aforesaid other vehicle, and
douse his face and dress. It doesn't make much differ-
ence whether the other is a peer or a street arab, a lady
or the wife of a costermonger. In several instances I saw
ladies beautifully dressed, riding in magnificent carriages,
get thorouglily drenched over face and clothes. I need
liardly say that I did not use any tormentors. At first
I could not believe my eyes ; it seemed rough fun ; but
everybody laughed, and took it in such good part that I
soon got used to it and laughed too.

I was exceedingly fortunate in sitting beside a pleasant
fellow-pa.ssenger. Mr. Vincent. Wekept together the whole
day, and enjoyed our.selves hugely. TTe is a bacheloi- of
means, and has fine apartments at the West End. With
the exception of the ride back from the Derby, I never
enjoj^ed a drive so much as I did the one going out there.
We passed by a succession of beautiful country-houses
belontrino- to the En^'lish nentry. All the families were
standing at the gates watcliing tlie great procession, while
at other gates were to be seen the servants. Every per-
son seemed to have made up his mind to enjoy himself to
his heart's content, and not to get offended a^ anything.
There must be an exception to every rule ; so on Derby
Day there were two or three crusty old fellows who t'ot
fearfully mad when a tormentor was emptied on their
new linen shirt and necktie; but their wrath was greeted by
the crowd with shouts of derisive laughter, and the chances
were ten to one that about a dozen tormentors would at
once be turned on them, so the best policy was to laugh
and deluge your opponent.

The distance to Epsom Downs is about eighteen miles.
The coaches stopped about six times on the road at dif-
ferent {)ublicdiouses^ when some people made it an in-

DERBY DAY.

V the water
rate it is as
ler vehicle ;
feet of the
vehicle, and
nuch difFcr-
irab, a lady
bances I saw
nt carriages,
les. I need
rs. At first
y]\ fun ; but
I part that I

le a pleasant
ler the whole
a bachelor of
End. With
rby, T never
\cf out there,
ntry-houses
,imlies were
|ession, while
Every pcr-
.y himself to
lat anything,
so on Derby
ws who got
,ed on their
,s greeted by
the chances
rs would at
Ivas to laugh

ihteen miles.
I road at dif-
lle it an in-

variable rule to get down and have a tankard of stout.
The result of this was, that when we got to the Downs,
the crowd was emphatically joll3^ Our coach drew up
behind the grand stand, and the occupants alighted. Mr.
Vincent and 1 walked around to the high hill opposite the
grand stand, and there in a tent had luncheon. The view
of the whole Downs from this hill is a sight never to be
forgotten. It is crowded with myriads of uioving human
bein<As, the most of them arrayed in the loudest and most
conspicuously-coloured clothing. I have not been able to
get a definite idea of the number present. One man told
me there were about a million, and another said two or
three hundred thousand. The latter, I fancy, was nearer
the mark.

Standing on small square boxes in the field were hun-
dreds of men called " welchers." They were dressed in
oddly-fantastic costumes, and were ottering to bet with
anyone on the result of the next race. You could not find
more accommodating fellows. No odds were refused, and
everything ran as smoothly as possible until the race was
over and your horse had won. In a pleasant, exultant
frame of mind you look around for youi- kind, suave
"welchcr." You remember himbyhiscostume, but amongst
all that crowd no such dress is to be seen. True, there is
a man there with a face exactly like his, but his apparel
is entirely ditt'erent, and when you speak to him he doesn't
know you ; never saw you before to his recollection. The
fact is, after each race, if they lose money, they change
their dress. The odd costume is merely an outside cotton
covering, which can easily be thrown aside. I saw one
fellow lose some money in that way. The " welch "rs" have
to pay, I am informed, one hundred pounds for their
I license during the Derby week.

All over the grounds are also to be seen side-shows
[exhibiting horrible human deformities, animals with half
|a dozen or so heads and a good many more tails, tight-rope
ralkers, fire-eaters and Aunt Sallies. As you may imagine.

ENGLAND.

these were all very attractive and enticing to .an uncivil-
ized American, but I retained fsutHcient strength of mind
not to lavish any money on them.

There were five races during the day, V)ut the grand
one, and the one on which the undivided interest of that
vast throng was centred, was " The Derby." This was
third on the list, and I think twenty-three started. The
favorites were "Cadogan," "Charibert," and" Victor Chief ;"
and to show the uncertainty of this life, and a betting
man's life in particular, the mutability of human attairs,
&c., «fcc., not one of the three got first, or even second or
third place. The wirmer was never thought of, and any
man who would have been so silly as to bet on " Sir
Bevys" would have been quickly hurried into a four-
wheeled cab by some intimate friend an<l taken to Bed-
lam Asylum, and there incarcerate<l until his connnon
sense returned and he knew how to bet propeily on a hoi'se-
race. The odds were twenty to one against several horses
w^liich had not the slightest possible chance of winning,
and amongst them was " Sir Bevys," owned by Baron
Rothschild, the great Jewish bankei', and ridden l)y a
jockey named Fordhatn. I had a good view of both the
start and the finish. The course is about a mile and a
half long, and it takes a few seconds less than three min-
utes to run the race. A large number of owners, trainers
and jockeys think and talk of nothing else during the
whole year l)ut of the Derby Day and of the horses which
they are training to compete for the great prize, and the
honour, which, on the turf, I believe, is considered by
noblemen, who chiefly own the horses, a much greater ob-
ject than any mere matter of money. The stakes some-
times amount to about $40,000. The jockey always is
entitled to S5,000 if he wins, and his name is immortal in
the records of the English turf. It is said that the owner
of the winning horse, in his enthusiasm, frequently gives
his jockey hero the whole stakes. The amount of money
bet on the result is enormous. The Houses of Parliament,

DERBY DAY.

uncivil-
3f mind

ic grand
, of that
[his was
id. The
)r Chief;"
a, betting
i,n affairs,
,econd or

and any

on " Sir

a four-

1 to Bed-
; connnon
)n a horse-
:ral liovscis

\vinninj4,
hy Baron
den V)y a

both the
liiile and a
,hree min-
is, trainers

uring the

•ses which
ic, and the

idered by
•eater ob-
likes some-

always is
mortal in

the owner

ntly gives
of money

'arliament,

■A

both Lords and Commons, rest from their hibours on
i)erl)y Day and go to the race-course. Just fancy what
tremendous interests are crowded into less than three
uiinutes per annum ! I should think that the jockey's
heart would alv^ost stop beating when he gets witliin a
few hundred yaids of the winning post. After several
false starts, the horses at last got away, and a beautiful
sight it was ; the vari -coloured costumes of the jockeys and
tlieir briirht hats ijlistening in the sunliffht made a stirrinsf
picture. The earth trembled with the tran.pling hoofs of
the horses, everybody was at the highest pitch of, excite-
ment, and when the racers reached Tottenham Coiner a
low roar of suppressed cheering could be heard, which grad-
ually increased to a perfect thunder of applause. Up to
within a (piarter of a mile of the goal it was thought that
one of the favourites would win. The cries were, "Victor
( 'hief has it !" " Charibert wins !" " Two to one on (.Wo-
gan ! " But now Fordham, the jockey riding " Sir Bevys,"
who had been reserving his strength for this critical
moment, gave his splendid horse full rein, and with a ter-
rific dash he tore past his competitors like a Hash of light-
ning, and won the race by three (quarters of a length. I
was wound up to such a state of excitement that 1 found
myself running with the crowd as fast as I could, and
cheering like mad.

The great event was over, and fortunes had been lost
and won.

People generally were pleased tliat Foi'dham had at last
won a Derby. He is an oM jockey, and had often tried
before. After the race he was the lion of the hour, and,
1 suppose, was by all odds the happi(!st man in Englan<l.

Vineent and I strolled over to the grand stand, and in
a box above the weighing-house had the pleasure; of see-
ing the Prince and Princess of Wales, Piince and Princess
Teck, the (Jrown Prince of Dennuiik, and the Duke and
Duchess of Candtridge. The Prince of VVales is a hand-

ENGLAND.

some, genial-looking man. His wife is said to be the most
beautiful woman in Europe.*

WINDSOR CASTLE.
THE CHIKF UESIDEXCK OV HEU MAJESTY QIEEN VICTOniA.

Our drive back to London was the funniest and alto-
gether most ludicrous experience I ever had.

One of our passengers had taken entirely too much can,
tie vie. Ail the coaches are provided witii old-fashioned
horns or trumpets, and this passenger was just sober
enough to play tlie horn vigorously and continuously. I
sat beside him and kept him going. His grimaces and
acting generally kept us in roars of laughter.

Our coach was the jolliest one I saw on the road. Some
of the occupants had false beards or noses. Nearly all

* At the Kilburn Exhibition, a i ""v days hiter, while standincr close to the
Royal carriage, I also saw (^ueen Victoria. Se.ated beside Her Majesty
were Princess Beatrice and Prince Leopold. Immediately behind the Queen
sat John Brown, a brawny Scotchman, one of the best-known men in Eng-
land. Her Majesty has a larjje, smooth, florid face, and, when bowing to
the people, did not smile. Her face, though not handsome, has a kind and
powerful expression— a face that one would trust to do a noble action.

4 =
'.a ^

lie most

=f --'fir; ijCJ ;. J5

■4

4, »

and alto-
much W.V,
ashioned
ist sober
ously. I
laces and

id. Some
Nearly all

: close to the
ler Majesty
nd the tiiieeii
men in Eng-
n bowiiiij: ti>
IS a kind and
action.

■T V,

■,■■-,, 'J

f f !i|

in III

I' fl

DERBY DAY.

liad provided theniselvcs witli pea-.shootors and two pock-
ets crammed full of peaH. We had dozens of tormentors,
iind kept our neighbours in a lively state of excitement,
lioldint^tlii'ir ears to keep out the bugle blast, and in pro-
tecting themselves from the showers of peas and torrents
of wattii*. The only part I took was in laughing until I
tliought 1 would expire, and in keeping my bugler con-
stantly blowing, hardly giving him a moment's rest.

It was certainly a jolly, free, happy day for the people.
All the girls in the windows and on the side of the road
threw kisses to whoever would notice them in the car-
liagcs or on the top of a four-in-hand.

It rained a little and got rather daik near the city, but
jiothing could dampen our ardour. We sang and shouted
till all were lioarse. It must sound rather sillv to read
about, but the people thought it was real, unadulterated
fun, and so it was.

o pock-
iientors,
tement,

in pro-
torrents

until I
;ler con-
;st.

i people.
;he road

the car-
city, but

shouted
' to read
iilterated

ENGLAND.

THE OREAT RACR ON THE TYNK— OUK B^Y HANLAN VH. KT.MOTT -SCENES UE-
KOKKTHE STRUr.CLE- HUJH I,RVEr, BRIDOE— HANI.AN AS COOF. AS A t'lICUM-
HKK THE KKARKUI, EXERTIONS »»K ELMOTT-THUNDERS OK AI'HI.AIISE -
HEAVY BETTINC THE CANADIAN TAKES IT EASII,Y— AND WINS- TIME, 21
MIN. I SEC— FRESH AS A DAISY — PLAYINU WITH THE BRITISH CHAMPION—
KACTS ABOl'T EACH— COLONEL SHAW, THE FRIEND OF THE VICTOR— CARRIER
PIUEONS— PRESS ENTERPRISE— HANI-AN's SPEECH- PRATSED IN EVERY LAND
-STORY ABOUT THE CANADIAN -HANLAN VS. TRICKETT AND LAYCOCK.

Newcastle-on TVNE, ENOr.AND,
17th June, 1879.

,T was announced in the Newcastle Ghroniclc, tliat the
contest between " our Canadian boy Hanlan " and
William Klliott, the great English sculler, for the
a({uati3 championshi]) of England, was not to commence
till 11.45 a.m., so we had a couple of hours to stroll around
Newcastle-on-Tyne. On the corners of the streets were
to be se^n kn(jts of excited sporting men, some of whom
had con e from long distances, and had a large money in-
terest in the result of the approaching contest. The
neighbourhood of the railway station presented a busy ap-
pearance ; every few minutes trains arrived from all direc-
tions, east, west, north and south, packed with people who
had come to see the much-talked-of and long-expected
race. The pojmlation of the town is over a hundred
thousand, and it has been estimated it was considerably
more than doubled by the influx of visitors on this day.

The coming struggle was regarded with ])eculiar inter-
est both by the sporting men, who are an extensive and
influential body in England, and by the public at large.
The competitors stood on the top rung of the ladder in
their profession, and each was the champion of a great

KNGLAND.

continent. Never before had real terror entered into the
hearts of the Tynesiders. True, they had lost races in the
past, but they were always confident of producing a cham-
])ion who could recover and keep the coveted laurels. Now,
however, a youthful, boyish-looking stranger had appeared
upon the scene, had thrown down the gauntlet to the
gigantic and world-renowned scullers of the Tyne, and
the general opinion airiongst friends and opponents was that
his success was almost a foregone conclusion. The British
champion is a splendid specimen of his class, a very Her-
cules in size anrl strength, and regarded as the best sculler
in England. On the other hand, Edward Hanlan, the
champion of America, is a young man of njedium size,
rather slight in build, and I should say would not have
much more than half the physical strength of his oppo-
nent.

Notwithstanding these apparent ineijualities, the aver-
age betting, for some reason which hns never been satis-
factorily explained, was al)Out two to one; in favour of
Hanlan. It could not be becau.se the Cana<lian had beaten
Hawdon, for the latter was only a second-rate man, and
not to be at all compared with Elliott. The principal
cause, probably, was on account of the mamver in which
Hawdon had been annihilated. It will be remembered
that during the progress of that race Hanlan deliberately
stopped rowing, and with the greatest coolness sponged
some water out of his boat, then resumed work and won
without half trying. At anyrate, whatever the reason,
the odds offered were largely in favour of the Canadian,
sometimes as high as five to one. It was estimated by a
sporting man that if the little fellow got a licking his
backers would lose about two hundred thousand dollars.

At about 11.30 we strolled down to the banks of the
Tyne, and purchased tickets for the steam-tug " Newcas-
tle," which, by previous arrangement, had been allotted a
place on the course, to view the whole race, next best in
position to that occupied by the referee's boat. The tickets

IIAN'LAN VS. FXLIOTT.

nto the
s in the
a cham-
s. Now,
ppeared
, to the
'ne, and
(vas that
} British
iiy Her-
t sculler
Ian, the
lun size,
lot have
lis oppo-

lie aver-
en satis-
ivour of
fl beaten
nan, and
)rincipal
n which
enibered
berately
sponged
md won
reason,
anadian,
ted by a
king his
dollars.
s of the
Sfewcas-
lotted a
best in
e tickets

on the latter, which was already crowded, were sold at a
sovereign each.

The large nund)er of boats created a jam ; but after con-
siderable delay, shouting, and a good deal of not strictly
pious language on the part of the bargemen, our craft
shoved oft into the centre of the stream. Here we had
a good view up and down the river. The start was to
be made from a point near the high-level bridge. This
bridge is an object of pride to the natives of the place,
who are under the delusion that it is by all odds the
finest structure of its kind in the world. They invari-
ably drag their unwilling but amiable friends to see it
before they have been many hours in the place. The
topn»ost level is used for railway traffic ; beneath is a
passage for carriages and pedestrians. Both these places
were densely packed with spectators. The high banks on
either side of the Tyne are covered with houses of very
irregular shapes and sizes. As far as the eye could reach
on both sides every available spot where a human being
could either stand or hang on was occupied by some one.
Several old Newcastle boating men who were on our boat
.said that such a .sight had never before been witnessed at
a Ijofit race on the Tyne oj* any other part of England.

F^Uiott was the first to make his appeaiance ; he rowed
out from the north side of the river, and was greeted with
tremendous cheering by his friends. I was informed that
he felt quite confident of winning the race, and advised
his friends to bet on his success. He even offered to bet
three to one that he would lead the whole way.

After he had rowed up and down for about five min-
utes, Hanlan pulled into the stream from the south side.
This was the signal for thunders of applause. Everybody
cheered him. He looked so much smaller, lighter and
younger than his opponent, it seemed ridiculous that he
could possibly vanquish the English I'itan.

The race was for the sportsman's cup, the champion-
ship of England, and £200 sterling, the stakes.

il I

KNGLAND.

Elliott had twice won this cup. If lie won it again he
would become the absolute owner of it, and also £100,
which the donor had generousl}' j)roniise(l to the man who
would thricii come off victorious.

His personal risk in the race was also increased by an
even bet of <£100, which he had made on the result im-
mediately after the nuitch was arranged.

Klliott had certainly great reason for confidence in Ins
ability to win ; he had beaten the best men in tin; North
of Kngland, and had swept everything befoie him at the
Thames International Regatta, last August, where he car-
ried off the Duchess of Teck's Challenge; (Jup.

Hanlan's career is well known to all Canadians. He
was born at Toronto, on J 2th July, 1855, and is of pure
Irish parentage. His first gieat public exploit was in
1870, at the Centennial Regatta, where, in the presence of
a vast concourse of people from all nations, lie won the
Cham])ionship Sculler's Prize. His (juiet, gentlemanly
behaviour while residing at Newcastle has made him
many friends. The most enthusiastic supporters of Elliott,
and even P]lliott himself, take every opportunity of stat-
ing their confidence in the Canadian's uprightness and
honourable conduct throughout the training and the race.

At 12.15 the start was made.

From the first, the Englishman worked like a Trojan,
and fairly lifted his boat out of the water with the tre-
mendous force he put into his stroke. It was a beautiful
sight to watch the sculling of Hanlan. It seemed perfec-
tion ; not a particle of strength was lost. He was smiling,
and not in the least excited, and did not appear to be
rowing half so powerfully as he might have done. If I had
seen them row over the course separately, at the rate they
■were going, I should have said from appearances that
Elliott was rowing nearly twice as quickly as his opponent.
Elliott drew the best position, but from the start Hanlan
kept the lead. After they passed us our boat followed
them, and for the rest of the course, over three miles, we
had an excellent view of the contest.

HANLAN S HACK.

again he
IlIso £100,
mat) who

sed by an
result im-

tice in liis
If North
im at tlie
re he car-

ans. He
s of pure
it was in
resenee of
'■ won tlie
itlcnianly
jade Idni
ofElHott,
y of stat-
:,ness and
[ the race.

a Trojan,
I tlie tre-
beaiitiful
id perfee-
H smiling,
3ar to be
If I had
rate they
ices that
ipponent.
b Han Ian
followed
niles, we

The Canadian })oy looked as cool and happy as possible,
and sf^emed to be merely amusing himself, whiU* the
struLTiflcs of his apitai^onist to overtake him w«;re fearful.
The latter took every short cut at the curves, and never
missiMl an advantage, but, on one occasion, Hanlan lost a
length by taking the king wa}* around a corner. It was
plain to every one now that the contest was one of con-
summate scientific skill against great physical stren;.'Ui
and a (Comparative absence of science. Although Hani.u
did n(jt look excited or distressed, he must have been
working very hard, as he was at that moment making the
fastest pace ever recorded on the Tync.

The winning-post was at the Suspensirm Bridge. A
(juartei- of a mile before reaching this there is a dock about
*iO() yards long ati<l 20 wide; this was literally jamini'd
full of people wK ■ had come here to get a view of tlie
finish. As the scullers passed them, Hanlan about jit
lengths ahead, a perfect roar of cheering rent the air.
Some distance further on, about 200 yards from thefinish,
Hanlan recognized some fiiends in the windows of his old
training (piarters ; he waved his left hand to tliem, and
then settled down to a final spurt, which lasted till he
passed under the bridge, eleven lengths ahead of the Eng-
lish champion. Time, 21 minutes 1 second.

The winner was as fresh tus a daisy when he stepped on
shore at Scotswood. Here, before he was fairly out of
his boat, he was warmly grasped by the hand by his patron
and trusty friend, Colonel Shaw, who, I think, is entitled
to the glory of having brought Hanlan to England.

Elliott rowed to his cutter, which in a few minutes
passed by our tug, and we had an excellent view of the
defeated champion. Great allowances, I suppose, must be
made for the terrible struggle and disappointment through
which hehad just passed ; but I must say that I never saw a
more vindictive and unpleasant countenance. He scowled
at his friends, and did not seem to take the affair philo
sophically at all

EN(JLAND.

.'i

The moment the race was over 1 noticed about a dozen
birds rise in the air from a house on the right hand side
of the river. They rose to a considwable height in a
straight line, and then Hew in different directions. These
were carrier-pigeons, conveying the intelligence to the
different newspaper offices. As there is no telegraph office
near the Suspension Bridge, this was the quickest mode
of sending the news.

The excitement now over, all turned their steps to the
city. In about half an hour we were again on the streets
of Newcastle. Passing the office of the Clu'otiicle, we
fcjund a large crowd collected. The ofhce was filled with
men and boys ell)owing each other and purchasing the
miflday edition of the paper as fast as it could be run off
the presses. Although little more than half an hour had
elapsed since the race, this paj)er contained more than a
column and a half, describifjg the contest and the result.
The Americans could hardly beat this for newspaper en-
tei-prise.

About two o'clock Hanlan made a really capital speech
out of one of the windows of the Chronicle office to a
crowd of not less than fifteen thousand people. He re-
ceived the ovation of a conqueror, and was cheered and
cheered, and cheered again.

In the afternoon we called upon Colonel Shaw, at the
Royal Turf Hotel, and by him were introduced to Edwartl
Hanlan, who at that moment was being uraised and talked
about in every land on the face of the eaith, the tidings
having already been flashed over the wires all around the
world.

The hero of tJic hour — for such he certainly was — was,
of course, delighted at his good fortune. I had a short
conversation with him, and was much pleased with his
quiet, pleasant manners.

Colonel Shaw told a good story about him. It appears
that after Hanlan had addressed the crowd at two o'clock
he had turned around to a newspaper reporter and handed

bout a dozen
it hancl side
height in a
itions. These
^ence to the
legraph office
lickest mode

steps to the
m the streets
yhroniclc, \v«)
LS filled with
rchasing the
lid he run oft'
an hour had
more than a
nd the result.
^wsi)aper en-

apital speech
le office to a
pie. He re-
cheered and

Shaw, at the
2d to Edward
dd and talked
, the tidings
11 around the

V was — was,

had a short

Lsed with his

I. It appears
it two o'clock
and handed

EUWAUD HAN LAN,
CUAMi'iON SCLLLKU CI' TllK WOULU,,

ENGLAND.

him the manuscript of his speech. The reporter, astoni.slied
at receiving the paper, asked liim when he had written
it. Hanlan replied that the night before the race lie had
nothing to do in his bed room, so he sat down and care-
fully wrote out his speech. He said he felt perfectly sure
of winning, and wanted to have some suitable remarks
ready for the crowd, which he was also quite sure he
would have to address. After a good laugh over the
champion's speech, we said good-bye to Colonel Shaw,
Ilanlan, Mr. Ward and others, and left the hotel.*

* Since writing the above Hanlan has become " Champion of the World,"
by beatin;,' Edward Trickett, the Australian, on the 'J'hames at Lfmdon, on
the l;"»tli November, 1S80. The Canadian, as usual, 8imi)ly played with his
antagonist, lying back in his boat and laughing, while his ojjponent was
I'uUing at a killing pace. It is agreed that Hanlan is a phenomenon in the
rowing world.

The race with Laycock later on, and the splendid welcome home tendered
to the great sculler at Toronto, Canada, are matters fresh in the minds of
everybody.

ENGLAND,

*HE BRITISH HOUSE OF COMMONS— SKETCH OF A DEBATE AND OF SOME
rROMINENT MEMBERS — GLADSTONE — NORTIIfOTE— BRKSIIT — HARTINO-
lON — THE HOME RULERS —THEIR ELOQUENCE AND WIT — SMITH — KEN-
EALY AND JENKINS.

London, England, 1879.

HE English House of Commons is the most import-
ant assemblage of men in the greatest nation of
the world. The debates are deeply interesting. I
have attended them several times, and a few evenings ago
went again. Through the kindness of an M.P. I was en-
abled to get an excellent seat in the Speaker's gallery,
and remained there for over ^our hours.

The debate was on the question of abolishing flogging
in the British army ; and there was an unusually large
attendance of members. The galleries were crowded. On
the bench immediately in front of me was seated Colonel
Gzowski, of Toronto, the distinguished patron of Canadian
riflemen. During the time that some unimportant ques-
tions were being asked members of the Government by
lion, members of the Opposition, I was greatly amused at
the conduct of the messenger who had charge of the gal-
leries. There was evidently a deep-seated impression on
his mind that the machinery of the House would collapse
were it not for his valuable assistance. While I sat there
he exercised a prodigious amount of authority. He was
an old, grizzly-looking man, and I think regarded all
strangers as his natural enemies ; I noticed on one occa-
sion, when speaking to an M.P., his countenance actually
relaxed into a ghastly smile, but this was an exceedingly
rare occurrence, and he looked upon all who were not offi-
cials with an ominous scowl. His lips were firmly set,

h S:i 1|

I il

HOUSE OF COMMONS,

<
n

and lio was constantly watching the occupants of the t^al-
leries ; 'f one of them inadvertently phiced his arm on the
railinf( in front, or sliglitly arose from liis seat to see the
member who might be speaking at the time, he was
greeted with a sort of electric shock by hearing the old
fellow squeak out loudly, " Take your arms off! " or, " Sit
down ! " All eyes, of course, would be immediately turned
on tht .nfortunate offender, who would obey inconsider-
able wrath and confusion. The old man's manner was
amusing, but his face was a study ; it was a personification
of wisdom, I mean that sort of wisdom which is acquired
cheaply by peo})le who say very little, and for that
simple reason get a reputation for profundity. Fox used
to say " that no man ever was so wise as Lord Thurlow
looked," I will back this ancient messenger atrainst the
noble lord for a visage of more profound sagacity.

The debate now began. On the left of the Speaker,
seated side by side, were two men who are probably at
present the most conspicuous personages in the House
— the Right Hon. William Ewart Gladstone, M. P. for
Greenwich, and the Right Hon. John Bright, M. P. for
Birmingham.

Mr. Gladstone is declared by the Liberals to be the most

brilliant financier that Enrdand
ever produced, hisbudgetspeeches,
when Cliancellor of the Excheq-
uer, being regarded as nuister-
pieces. He certainly has, for the
last quarter of a century, taken a
very active and controlling part
in English politics, and in pro
curing for the people many pre-
cious concessions. In addition
to his high political status, he
is a distinguished author, and
stands second to none as a classical
KiGHT HON. w. y. liLADSTONE. scholar. Hc is a man sixty-nine

'>t

ENGLAND.

III

'fi

years old, of about medium height, with a stern, hand-
some face, and quick, bright eyes. One of the chief })ic-
tures at the Royal Academy this year is his portrait by
the great painter, Millais. True to nature, it deUneates
a rugged face with a broad intellectual forehead and a
decidedly Roman nose, altogether features denoting great
mental strength. Gladstone is a worthy leader of the
Liberal party in England. He was first returned to Par-
liament in 1832, in the Conservative interest, but, like
Sir Robert Peel, he afterwards found a more congenial
sphere in the ranks of the Liberal party. When he
announced his conviction that he could no longfer follow
his Tory leader, he was assailed by a servile press with
the coarsest abuse, and branded as a traitor and a rene-
gade. The people, however, who are always, in the long-
run, the best judges, ha ^e thought differently of him,
and at the present moment no public man in England
has such a well-earned reputation in the hearts of the
British nation for unswerving integrity and an entire
devotion to the true interests of the people.*

John Bright, who was for some time in earnest conver-
sation with Mr. Gladstone, is acknowledged to be the
greatest orator in England. He has always been fore-
most in the ranks contending for the many reforms
through which the country has passed during his parlia-
mentary career. Although now sixty-seven years of age,
and with hair quite white, he is still a vigorous and ener-
getic man, and apparently in the best of health. He is
about the same heiijjht as Mr. Gladstone, but has much
broader shoulders and a deeper chest. When he got up
to speak he rose so deliberately that another member, and
on the Government side, had the floor before him ; how-
ever, when the latter perceived that John Bright was also

* The electioua in the spring of 1880, subsetiuent to the writing of this let-
ter, have proved, by un overwhelming majority, how British public opinion

regards Mr. Gladstone.

THE MARQUIS OF HAllTINCJTON.

'n, hand-
chief })ic-
►rtrait by
lelineates
ad and a
,ing great
31' of the
id to Par-
but, like
confjenial
When he
rer follow
ress with
d a rene-
the long-
r of him,
Enorland
ts of the
m entire

it eonver-
o be the
een fore-
reforms
is parlia-
,rs of age,
md ener-
He is
las much
le got up
nber, and
m ; how-
was also

of this let-
blic opinion

on his feet, he immediately l)Owed and gave way. All
were anxious to hear him, and where a moment before
tliere wjis a fearful hubbub of voices, it now in a moment
became as (juiet as a church, and all bent forward to hear
the silver-tongued orator. He commenced to s|)eak very
slowly, but in a clear, distinct voice, which rang out over
the House in decided contrast to the com[)aratively imper-
fect speaking which had preceded him. He spoke for
about a (juarter o*" an hour on the barbarity of flogging
with the 'cat" in the army, and drew a stirring picture
of the greu'i; injustice which sometimes occurs through this
beastly system of punishment. His persuasive and con-
vincing eloquence reminded me of the lines of Homer : —

"Experienced Nestor, in persuasion skilled,
Words sweet as honey from his lips distilled."

On the left of Mr. Bright, a little further from the
Speaker, sat the Marquis of Hartington. He is the eldest
son and heir-apparent of the Duke of Devonshire, and is
leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Com-
mons. The Marquis is forty -five years of age, and up to
this time is a happy bachelor. From the average mother's
point of view, I fancy he would be regarded as the best
match in England. His income is now large, but will be
something fabulous when he comes into the title. He
will then be the lord and master over one hundred and
ninety thousand acres of land, situated in the most fertile
))arts of England and Ireland, besides coal mines, manu-
factories, and city houses without number. About a week
ago I looked over the palace and grounds at Chatsworth,
the principal seat of the Duke of Devonshire. It is situ-
ated in Derbyshire, and is the chief one of what are called
the four princely residences of England. The picture-
galleries, libraries, collections of antique china and curi-
osities, green-houses, fountains, kc, are the best that
money can procure, and are very interesting. It is a
charming drive of eleven miles around the park, and thtj

ENGLAND.

palace is a superb eilifice; yet, notwitlistanding these at-
tractions, there is no mistress to shed her benign influ-
ence over all, for the Duke is a widower, and the Marquis
is still unmarried.

But I fear 1 am wandering very far from the House of
Commons. When the Marquis of Hartington rose to
speak he was received with warm Opposition cheering,
and listened to with attention by tlu; whole House. He
is not at all a clear or impressive si)eaker, and his elocu-
tion is careless, hesitating and defective, but ho appeared
to be an honest sort of a man, and to mean what he said.
I was informed that he is popular in the House, and when
in Mr. Gladstone's late Government showed excellent ad-
ministrative qualities.

On the same side of the House, but below the gangway,
are seated a compact body of men, who for eloquence and
wit, and a deti^rmination to make their influence felt, sur-
pass any other e(|ual number of members in the House.
In vain do the Government try to annihilate them by cold
indifference or direct snubbing. Every session-day these
Home Rulers are to be found in their places, always ready
to contend for a principle which they believe to be right.
They all speak with a strong Irish accent, and those that
I heard address the House spoke with unusual force and
brilliancy. They are the life of the whole assembly, and
though often extremely amusing in their quick repartee
and in relating an occasional anecdote, they are thorough-
ly in earnest in at all times advocating their darling
scheme, " Home Rule for Ireland." Since the death of the
late much-lamented Isaac Butt, M. P. for Limerick, Mr.
Charles Stewart Parnell, M. P. for Meath, a prominent
Irish Protestant, has been chosen leader of these remark-
able men. Below the gangway is also seated Sir Charles
Dilke, M. P. foi- Chelsea. He is a young man, thirty-five
years of age, and a distinguished member of the House,
in appearance tall and slight, with a dark complexion and
prominent features. He is an agreeable speaker, but, like

MR. SECRETARY CROSS.

hose at-
[n iriHu-
Marquis

iouso of
rose to
leerin^^,
?e. lie
s elocu-
peared
ho said,
d wlien
ont ad-

ngway,
ICO and
3lt, sur-
House.
by cold
y these
3 ready
5 right,
se that
•ce and
ly, and
jpartee
roiiffh-
larling
of the
k, Mr.
ninent
mark-
/harles
by-five
House,
Dn and
fc, like

most of the other members, talks in a conversational sort
of a way, making no attempt at excellence of elocution.
The members who sit bolow tho gangway, on either
side of the Speaker, are supposed to be independent, and
not to be the absolute property in foe-sim[)le of either
party. Thus far T have only mentioned members sitting
on the Opposition, or Liberal, side of the House.

On the Government benches are many men well known
to the world.

Sir Stafford Northcote, the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer, and M. P. for North Devon, has stepped into the
shoes of the Earl of Beaconsfield, and is the Government
loader in the Commons. He is a tall, stout man, with
grey hair and a thick, heavy beard, and is fifty years old.
I have not had an opportunity of hearing him speak more
than a few words, but am informed he is a good speaker
and a master of parliamentary tactics. He sat almost op-
posite to Mr. Gladstone. Next to the Chancellor of the
Exchequer sat Mr. Secretary Cross, who, whenever I have
attended the House, ap[)eared to have more business to
attend to and more questions to answer than any other
member of the Government.

It is said to be a rule that men who particularly dis-
tinguish themselves in the Universities seldom make a
prominent figure in the world afterwards; this is probably
attributable to the fact that too much study has worn
them out, and made them unfit in their more mature years
to grapple with and overcome difficulties.

To this rule, if it be a rule, Mr. Cross has proved an
exception. At his University he carried everything be-
fore him — prizes, scholarships and medals — and has now
crowned his successful career by having been chosen for
a most important post in the Ministry. He is a barrister
of the Inner Temple, and as Home Secretary draws a
salary of twenty-five thousand dollars per annum. He is
not even a fair public speaker, but has a pleasant manner,
and is very conciliatory to the Opposition. The House

III

■ 1 1

ENGLANO.

liavinf^ resolved itself into a coimnittec, I had an oppor-
tunity of lieann<( the dullest speech of tin; eveniii<,', ft was
deliveiedhy Mr. Speaker Brand, who, for aggravating pom-
posity, stands without a peer in the House. The burden
of his remarks was that the Government hnd a majority,
and that the minoiity shouM, therefore, quietly submit
and not take up the time of the House in making objec-
tions to the desires of the Ministry.

This was a remarkal)le doctrine to propound, but as
not a soul in the House paid the slightest attention to it,
his remarks did no harm to the great principle of freedom
of speech in Parliament, of which we so justly boast.

Opj)osite to the Home Rulers sat Lord Eleho, M.P. for
Haddingtonshire. He is a rising man in the Conservative
ranks. In appearance he has the erect mien of a military
officer, and, coupled with a good voice, is a pleasant and
fluent speaker. Quite an intei'esting diversion was
caused b}"- Lord Charles Beresford, M.P. for Waterford.
He is but a boy in ap])earance, and I was surprised that
he had the temerity to address the House at all. He is
a captain in the navy, and made a rattling good speech,
defending the use of " the cat " at sea. The speech was
good, chiefly from the fact that he spoke out like a man,
and did not, as the majority of the members do, mumble
away as if he were carrying on a soliloquy. He is a
young Irishman, brother of the Marquis of Waterford,
and, I am informed, is a favourite protegd of the Prince of
Wales.

Seated on the bench beside the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer was the Right Hon. William Henry Smith, First
Lord of the Admiralty. He is said to be the hardest-work-
ing man in the Government, and to have a marvellous
head for details. Before being taken into the Ministry,
he was known to fame as the head of the gi-eac firm of
W. H. Smith & Son, news-agents. At every station on
the vast network of railways which covers England is to
be seen a neat and commodious news-stand^ where books,

DH, KENEALY, MP.

nowHpapers and maps, all the very latest puhli^ied, are
exi>ose<l for sale. AlK)ve the stan<l, in plain hlaek letters,
is i>rinte(l " W. H. Smith & Son." The First Lord is 53
years old, and I believe has now withdrawn from all con-
nection with the enormous news traflic in favour of his
son. He has a cool, business-like mode of speaking, which
is quite refreshing.

Next to Mr. (!ross sat Colonel Stanley, M.P. for North
Lancashire. He is Secretary of War, and just now, owing
to the Afghan and Zulu troubles, has his hands full, not
only in attending to the onerous duties of his otHee, but
also in defending himself from the searching inijuiries and
shaip criticism of the members opposite below the gang-
way. He is a fine, stalwart-looking man, l)ut only an
average speaker ; is 37 yeai-s (»f ago, and a brother of the
Karl of Derby. Both sides of the House seem to regard
him as (juite an authority.

Not far from Lord Elclio was Sir Robert Peel. The mere
mention of his name led me to expect something fine, and
I was not disappointed. He has been in the army, and is
every inch a soldier, not only in his bearing, but in the
manly, deep tones in which he addressed the House. His
sensible, pointed remarks very properly received sxn atten-
tive hearing. He is a worthy descendant of his illustri-
ous ancestor.

Edward Vaughan Kenealy, M.P. for Stoke-upon-Trent,
is well known to all the reading world as the celebrated
and fearless advocate of the Tichborne claimant. At
the time of the famous trial he was an eminent Q.C.,
a Bencher of Gray's Inn, and stood among the fore-
most at the Bar of England as a counsel of extraordinary
ability. He conducted his client's cause with only too
much zeal, and for that zealous devotion to what his friends
say he thought was his duty, he was removed from his
high position as a Bencher, disbarred by the Benchers
of Gray's Inn, and can now no longer practise his profes-
sion, He is certainly a martyr to the Tiohborno cause,

ENGLAND.

The refill) fc of brinj^ing that unfortunate action is, that of
the two j)rin(Mpal characters concerned, on<! — whom a largo
class of the En<,Hish people think is the rii^'htful lieir to the
vast Tichhorne inheritance — is now <lra<;i;inir out a miser-
able existences in Dartmouth prison, and the other leads
the life of an Ishmaelite, his j)r' " ion gone, and his once
prosperous newspaper, TJtc Kv^ Jimaii, set aside by its
mor(! wealthy rivals.

Dr. Kenealy is sixty years of age, has a determined
face, with a long, bushy beard, and wears spectacles. Ho
pays close attention to the business of the House, and fre-
quently speaks.*

Edward Jenkins, M. P. for Dundee, is a Canadian, hav-
ing been born in Montreal, Canada, in 18.S8. He is the
well-known author of " (Jinx's Baby" and other books and
pamphlets, and has, against considerable od<ls,won for him-
self a good position in the House. He sits below the
gangway on the Lil)eral side, and is an active and useful
member. In appearance he is ^ ledly peculiar, having
a small, irregularly-shaped, \ery ' head, with fringes of
red hair. He has a slight frame, and is short in stature,
but speaks with as much force and energy as any man in
the whole assembly.

* Since writinj? the above, Dr. Kenealy has died, and The Claimant has
lost a staunch and irrei)ru8sibl'j advocate.

ENGLAND.

THK HOirSEOR LORDS SKKTrHOF A DKIIATK— THK KAMI, OK HKAJONSFIRM),
TIIK MARI^IUS OK SAMSHURV, ANI> UTIIEK I'KKRH TAKK PAKT.

London, England, 1.S70.

^HK Brltisli House of Lords is a much nioro diguiHed
||\ ami screiU! cbauibor tlian tlio Houso of (.'Onunons.
^^ The lattor is plainly fitted up, ami is usually well
tilled with a noisy, boisterous lot of men, who, when an
obnoxious member is spcakinp;, seem to vie with one
another as to who can make the <,aeatest disturbance,
either by talkin<^ loudly, laughing, calling out " Order ! "
" Sit down! " " Question ! " or something else to disconcert
the speaker. Leaving the Commons during the heat of
a debate, I walked over into the gallery of the Lords, and
was much impressed with the ditterent cliaracteristics of
the two Houses, TIk^ upper chamber is quite gorgeous in
appearance, and, although it has more than two hundred
less members than the Commons, its room is considera-
bly larger and higher. There are 434 peers, but the red
leather benches are seldom even fairly filled. Everything
is conducted in the most quiet and inoffensive manner;
in fact, they are hardly given an opportunity to get up
any excitement, as their deliberations usuallylast lessthan
an hour. The ordinary programme is somewhat as fol-
lows : The Speaker takes the chair and proceeds to open
the House, whereupon noble lords show their appreciation
of the solemnity of their position by talking quietly to
each other, and not paying any attention to the Lord
Chancellor, who is, meanwhile, in an incoherent sort of
way, passing some bills through and declaring them duly
carried. After the Lord Chancellor has made these laws
of the realm, he promptly adjourns the House, which, for

ENGLAND.

that day, concludes the labours of this august assemblage.
Sometimes there is not even this much business to be
done, but, on the other hand, on rare occasions the House
sits for several hours. They seldom originate bills, and
usually are content with constituting themselves a check
on the more hasty and impetuous Commons.

Opposite the gallery is the throne of the Sovereign.
To the rifjht is a lower throne for the Sovereifjn's consort,
and on the left another for the Prii'^e of Wales. All
three are magnificent and richly embellished. In front of
the throne is the celebrated woolsack, which has the ap-
pearance ^f a very plain cushioned ottoman covered with
crimson repp. On this seat Lord Chancellor Cairns sits
and regulates the proceedings. The first front bench to
the right of the woolsack is occupied by the Archbishop
of Canterbury and the other spiritual lords. This place
is alloite<l to them permanently, and does not depend upon
what party may be in power. The next front bench is
occupied by the membei's of the existing Government who
may chance to be in the Lords.

The last time I attended the House of Lords it was
expected that the sitting would be longer than usual, as
Lord Selborne was to call attention to the question of
slavery in Cuba, and to move for papers relating thereto
which had passed between the British and Spanish Gov-
ernments. Lord Selborne, who is an ex-Lord Chancellor,
and before receiving his title was better known as Sir
Roundell Palmer, made an excellent speech, clearly and
forcibly drawing the attention of the Government to the
present state of slavery in Cuba. The question was re-
plied to and met by the Marquis of Salisbury, who, as
Foreign Secretary, explained the relative positions of the
two governments, and the impropriety of England's inter-
ference with a matter which was really the private busi-
ness of Spain. The Marquis is an unusually large man.
He stands over six feet in height, and is broad in propor-
tion. With a ho-iidsome, intelligent face, he would be

liENJAMlN DiSRAELt.

physically a very fine specimen of manhood, were it not
that he is round-shouldered and stoops so much that it is
almost painful to see him walk. Ht is the leader of the
Cecils, an old and powerful family of the English aristo-
cracy, and is regarded as a representative member of the
nobility.

Seated side by side with the former speaker was the
Earl of Beaconsfield. This man will probably rank in
future history as one of the most remarkable men of his
time. Although belonging to a race which has until very
recent times not only been despised and persecuted in
England, but deprived of the ordinary rights of citizen-
ship, he stands without a rival and the acknowledged
leader of the most select and aristocratic assemblage of
English-speaking men in the world. From what I have
been able to gather respecting the career of this peculiar
man, his motto appears to have been — " Self-advancement
at whatever cost ; " and he has certainly succeeded in
attaining the highest possible political position, and has
nobody to thank but himself. In writing his first novel,
" Vivian Grey," he is said to have mapped out his own
future career. When speaking of the means of advance-
ment, he says : " Yes, we must mix with the herd, we must
humour their weaknesses, we nmst sympathize with the
sorrows that we do not feel, and share the merriment of
fools * # ♦ Mankind, then, is my great game.
A smile for a friend and a sneer for the world is the way
to govern mankind, and such was the motto of Vivian
Grey." These crafty principles of expediency seem to
have been followed by Mr. Disraeli from his youth up.
After a brilliant and successful career as a novelist, he
first appeared in the political arena in 1832, when only
twenty -seven years of age. He twice contested Wycombe
in the extreme Radical interest, and was defeate<l on both
occasions. In anticipation of a vacancy at Marylebone,
he issued an address in the Radical. cause again, but the
vacancy did not occur. In 1834 he seems to have come

ENGLAND.

to the conclusion that the Radicals did not appreciate liis
talents, so, witliout quarrelling with them on any public
question, he quietly transferred his allegiance to the
Tory leader. During this year he contested Taunton in
the Tory cause against Mr. Labouchere. Although backed
by the influence and money of his new-found friends, he
was again defeated. This was his fifth attempt to enter
Parliament, but he had never yet sat in the House of
Commons.

Mr. Disraeli's wonderful perseverance was at length re-
warded. In 1837 he was returned for Maidstone, with
Mr. Wyndham Lewis, in the (Conservative interest. In De-
cember of that year he made his first speech in the House
of Commons. As is well known, his foppish appearance and
extravagant manner created great amusement amongst the
solid and practical British M.P.'s, who drowned his maiden
speech in deiisive laughter. He, however, was confident
in his own powers, and boldly prophesied that the day
would come when they would hear him. It has come,
and with a vengeance. For some years his slightest word
has been eagerly listened to and quoted, and all who are
not blinded by party zeal must acknowledge his marvel-
lous tact and command of lanujuaoje. On this evfinint; he
followed the Marquis of Salisbury in a speech of about a
quarter of an hour. He is now past the allotted threescore
and ten, being 73 years of age, has evidently lost much
of his early vigour, but still speaks clearly enough to be
distinctly heard in the galleries.* He talks like one who has
an assured position and need make no endeavour to please

* The wonderful vitality of the Earl.of Beaconsfield has been exlubited by
the recent publication of the political novel, "Endyniion." The author,
although 75 years of age, writes as brilliantly as of yt)re, carrying his reader
in a delightful way through an eventful jieriod of English histoiy, and intro-
ducing him to some of the most prominent characters of the age. Though
in the cold shades of Opposition politically, the Earl makes his influence
felt by putting the whole literary world in .1 buzz of excitement. The sale
of " Eudymion " in America is said to be unprecedented since its appear-
ance on 'iOth Nov., 1880. •

THE EARL OF UEACONSFIELD.

liis hearers. Since being raised to the peerage in 1876, he
has not spoken so frequently as formerly, and seldom ad-
dresses the House of Lords. It is said that in his younger

days he was regarded as quite a
handsome beau in appearance.
Now, he is the very reverse of
being comely. His last photo-
graph, taken at Osborne by com-
mand of Her Majesty, is an excel-
lent likeness. An old messenger
of the House of Commons in-
formed me that, in his opinion,
Disraeli had never been, even in
his best days, a really good speak
er, like Bright, or Gladstone, or
Macaulay, but had always been
TH!c EAKL ub jsKAcuNSFiKLi). ablc to secure a good hearing be-
cause of his enevficv and vindictive sarcasm. He would
stand up, and with his forefinger pointing over at his op-
ponent would hiss across the House the bitterest invective.
The day before yesterday, while I was walking on Down-
ing Street, I saw tlie Earl of Beaconsfield and his confiden-
tial secretary, Mr. Montague Corry, come out of the Trea-
sury Office and drive away in a brougham. The Earl walks
very feobl}^ and loans for f ssistance on his friend, but it is
said that his intellectual vigour has not diminished, and
that he takes as keen an interest as ever in politics.
Having arrived at so eminent a position, he may well ask
himself " if the game is worth the candle." Tlie lesson to
be gained from contemplating his life would seem to be
that what a|)pears impossible becomes quite feasible in
the presence of a man of untiling ])erseverance and in-
domitable will. Any person who would have said that
the gaudily-dressed young Jew who, in silly and extrav-
agant language, addressed the House of Commons in
1837 would one day be the undisputed leader of that
House, and afterwards Prime Minister in the House of

ENGLAND.

Lords, would have been promptly called an idiot. Some
superstitious people do not hesitate to allege that there
is something " uncanny " about the man, but he has sim-
ply done what many other clever men could do if they
devoted the immense amount of labour to it that Beacons-
field has done. The Earl sat during the whole debate
between the Duke of Richmond and the Marquis of Salis-
bury, but spoke not a word to either of them or to any
one else.* He was followed by Viscount Cranbrook, bet-
ter known as Gathorne Hardy, who is a clear but some-
what tedious speaker. He was unfortunate in following
the Earl of Beaconsfield, who is the great centre of at-
traction, and whose every word is regarded as an oracle.
After Viscount Cranbrook's speech the House adjourned.

* On the 19th day of April, 1881. a gloom was cast over Conservative
England. Although partially expected, the announcement of the demise of
the great Earl of Beaconsfield sent a thrill of surprise and sadness through-
out the British Empire. One of the m(«t prominent figures in the world's
txditics which has appeared in the nineteenth century, and a man whom
listory will always regard as a brilliant sta' -sman, orator and novelist, had
Eassed away- He died in the arms of his faithful friend and Secretary,
lord Rowton, formerly Montague Corry.

SCOTLAND.

PRINCES STREET, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PROMENADE IN EUROPE — DAVID HUME
— JOHN KNOX -HOI.V ROOD, ITS BEATTTIKUL AND UNFORTUNATE QUEEN -THE
ABBEY SANCTUARY — THE PARADISE OF INSOLVENTS— HIGH STREET -SAINT
WALTER SCOTT— HIS MACJIC PEN— ABBOTSFORD— ROBINSON CRUSOE— THE FA-
MOUS "qUIORICH" FOUND IN CANADA— PROP. WILSON, OF TORONTO UNIVER-
SITY, THE DISCOVERER.

Loch Ftne, Scotland,
June 23rd, 1879.

I HIS is my twenty-third birthday, and I am com-
fortably seated in the cabin of the " Lord of the
Isles," a splendid Clyde-built excursion steamer,
said to be one of the fastest ever constructed. We are
steaming up Loch Fyne at a rattling rate, on our way
to the Highlands of Scotland, and it is raining in a way
that it only can in mountainous countries.

From the first moment I set foot in Scotland I have
been greatly pleased with the people and country.

On the morning of the 18th instant I left Sunderland
for Edinburgh, where I was met at the station by my
friend, who at once escorted me to his hotel. After dis-
cussing a chop we strolled out on Princes Street. On com-
ing up from the station I had not noticed much of the
town, but now the full beauty of the scene burst upon
me. To give a proper idea of this street and its surround-
ings is utterly bfiyond my powers of description, but I can
safely say it is by all odds the most charming and pictu-
resque sight I have yet seen.

In the tirst place, the street itself is well paved and un-
usually wide, and is claimed to be one of the finest prome-
nades in Europe. Walking from east to west the shops
and hotels on the right hand are costly edifices, usually
built in Gothic style ; on the left side is a beautiful deep

SCOTLAND.

valley, about 300 yards wide and three-quarters of a mile
long, running parallel with Princes Street. This valley is
divided into the East and West Gardens, and its num-
berless flower-beds, its velvet
sod, and its showy fountains
are kept up at very large ex-
pense. There were thousands
of gas lamps all lighted.

On the opposite side of the
oardens rises a bold range of
mountains, the most promi-
nent of which is the preci-
pice of Castle Rock, on which
stands that splendid relic of
feudal times, the old Edin-
burgh Castle, which towers
above every other object for
miles round. On the other
opposite hills, as far as the
eye can reach, are lofty pic-
turesque buildings erected on
the sides of the declivities so
that their front appears a
great height, sometimes as
many as seven or eight stories,
while on the street behind
they are, perhaps, not more
than two or three. They
have evidently been con-
structed with an eye to ro-
mantic beauty, as a gi-eat
many are of the ancient tur-
reted architecture, while others are of pointed Gothic.
The gardens are separated into East and West by " The
Mound," which connects the Old and New Town, and on
which are erected two stately public buildings, the Mu-
seum and the Art Gallery. Immediately in front of our

OLD EDINBUKGH BY GASLIGHT.

PRINCES STREET, EDINBURGH.

hotel, on the south side of Princes Street, stands Sir Walter

Scott's Monument,
which was erected in
]840, and cost $1)0,-
000.

It is a Gothic spire,
200 ft. high ; heneath
the basement arches
is a marble sitting
statue of the poet
and novelist, which
cost .1^10,000.

When we went for
our walk it was ten
o'clock p. m., and
bright moonlight, but
with a lavish nesH
that I did not think
Scotchmen could be
guilty of, there were
scores of thousands
of gas jets illumin-
ating Princes Street
and the Gardens in
the valley from one
end to the other, also the picturesque city on thef hills con-
fronting us. The sight was dazzling, and one which I can
never forget. It was like one's idea of fairy-land. We both
agreed that we had never seen anything so fine before.
The great peculiarity of the scene, as distinguished from
the other celebrated promenades in Europe, is, that here
we have not merely fine houses and pavements, but be-
fore us is spread some of the grandest and most rugged
of mountain scenery. However, if a tourist would prop-
erly appreciate this sight, I would a<lvise him to see it on
a fine moonlight night, when the liglits are ablaze, and the
streets are thronged with people enjoying the charming

JSCUXr S ilOAUilK.NT.

SCOTLAND.

scene, for I found that when viewed by daylight a groat
deal of that delicious gloaming which gas-light throws
over everything disappears, and some imperfections are
seen.

I thought I would find in Scotland cities built purely
for commerce, and not a farthing expended on them but
what was actually necessary.

What was my surprise to find at Edinburgh the most
comfortable hotel I had ytit stopped at either in Ameiica
or England, and a city which, for lavish exjx'nditure in
public works, surpasses, comparatively speaking, either
New York or London. The shops also look as if they
catered to the taste of an extravagant people.

At the east end of Princes Street rises Calton Hill, on
which is an enormously high monument to Nelson. From
the monument there is a famous view. On this hill there
are also monuments to Dugald Stewart and the poet Burns.
There is an excellent view of the Frith of Forth, and in
the dim distance the hills of Fife. Near at hand is the
Calton burying-ground, which contains a lofty mausoleum
over the grave of the historian, David Hume.

One of the most celebrated men that Edinburgh ever
fostered was John Knox, the great religious reformer. I
was in the house in which he lived from 1559 until his
death there in 1572. I saw the very window from which
he was accustomed to preach to the multitudes who as-
sembled there to hear him. In Parliament Square we stood
on the slab which covers his grave, the only carving on
the stone being "J. K. 1572."

Perhaps the most interesting place for a tourist is Holy-
rood Palace. Here is shown the bed-room of Mary Queen
of Scots, with the bed, bedding and furniture exactly
as she left it, over 300 years ago. Her career was, per-
haps, the most eventful of any sovereign — a charming,
accomplished and beautiful girl, the daughter of James
the Fifth of Scotland, and grand-daughter of Henry the
Seventh of England. The guide now points out in a

■f

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111

in
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1111

his

las-

)ocl

ten

I I

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o
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o
04

nOLYROOD PALACE.

passage near tlie Queen's private apartment, the tlark
l)lo(Ml-stains of her lover, Riz/io, which have never been
erased. Queen Mary was only forty-live years old when
slu^ «lied, and had been Queen of France and of Scotland ;
had married three husbands, and had suffered nineteen
years' imprisonment. She was the mother of James the
Sixth of Scotland and First of England. I was shown
the room in the Castle (not nine feet s(juare) where James
was born. She seems to me to have been a pretty hard
case, but all Scotchmen, for some reason, look upon her
memory with a great deal of reverence.

The most remarkable feature about Holyrood Palace is
what is called " The Abbey Sanctuary." This very much
resembles the Cities of Refuge mentioned in the Bible.
The Sanctuary comprises the Holyrood Abbey precincts
and all the Queen's Park. In olden times it had a criminal
jurisdiction, but now confines itself to insolvent debtors.
By the law of Scotland at the present moment, insolvents
can be arrested for debt ; if, however, they are wily enough
to esca}>e to the Sanctuary, they can stand on one side
of the road and make faces at their enraged creditors on
the other. If they step one foot !)eyond the well-known
boundary line they may be dragged to prison. The old
guide informed me that it was greatly used at the present
day. During the panic which occurred after the smash-
up of the Bank of Glasgow, at all hours of the night ex-
cited, despairing men would rush into the Sanctuary, and
there, at least, in its quiet solitude, feel safe from all the
world. Some men who are there now have been in the
place for years, and do not care to leave, but generally
a stay of three or four days is all that is re([uired to make
some arrangement with their creditors. This is the only
remaining Sanctuary in Great Britain, and it has been
especially excepted in the statutes abolishing the others.
We visited the Signet Library and Advocates' Library.
The latter contains more than 2()(),00() volumes, and was
a great resort of Sir Walter Scott ; in the place where

n
I
I

Q
O
O

EDINHUUOH CASTLE.

he was wont to rest, is liis sitting Hgure in marble, very
natunii and life-like in appearance.

We weie in tiie Heotcli Law Oouits, and tliere listened
to cases trie<l liefore Lonl Crai<jfhill and Lonl lintlu'rford
Clark. The Advocates wear wiij[s, the same as IJairisters
do in Enjjrlnnd, and <'xceedin<;lv Ui'lv tlu-v look in tluMii.
The Writers to the Signet correspond to the Attorneys and
Solicitors in Knjrland or Canada.

The Lil>raries are more extensive than th(^ one at
Osgoode Ifall, Toronto, hut tlie building not half so tine.

In the old town, the road which runs from the Cattle
to Holy rood is called High Street; this was foiinerly tlie
rendezvous of fashion and tlu; resort of dandies, but time
works great changes ; it is now the lowest slum of Edin-
burgh, and, with the exception of the neighbourhood of
Seven Dials and Drury Lane;, at London, contains more
tilth and s((ualid men, women and children than any place
in the island. On this street are, John Knox's house ; a
house once occupied by Oliver Cromwell an<l another ])y
Miltcm ; also a churchyard, in which is ])uried Adam
Smith, the great master of political economy, and the
autlior of " Wealth of Nations." His tombstone is em-
bedded in a side wall, and on it is engraved very simply
a record of his name, his books, his l>irth and deatli.

The most prominent and romantic feature in any view
of the city is " Edinburgh Castle." This stands on a pre-
cipitous rock, 445 high, and was the scene of many a fiei-ce
conflict during the feuds between the Highlands and
Lowlands, and also between the Scotchmen and tlieir too
])owcrful foes, the English. The entrance is over a regu-
lar bond Jide old moat and diawbridge of the feudal
times; and its towers, battlements and prison-cells all
speak of days long gone by. In the (Jrown-room are
exhibited the (Jrown Jewels of Scotland ; these were lost
for a long number of years, })ut were finally <liscovered l)y
Sir Walter Scott, who fountl a clue to their whereabouts
in some of his researches for mate»ial for his Waverley
Novels.

SCOTLAND.

i ji

! i

The old Tolbootli mentioned in " The Heart of Mid-
lothian " has been long torn down ; where it stood in the
sidewalk is a large red heart, signifying the heart of
Midlothian. It is always pointed out to travellers with
great gusto.

The patron saint of Scotland, instead of St. Andrew,
should be Saint Walter Scott. His memory is almost

adored by the people, and in-
deed it is chiefly through his
writings that the country is
familiarly known to foreign-
ers. Almost every place in
Edinburgh which is pointed
out to a tourist is associated
in some way with the memory
of this remarkable man, while
Loch Katrine and The Tros-
sachs are celebrated solely for
the fact that there the chief
scenes are laid in " The Lady
of the Lake." In fact, his
charming Poems and his ini-
mortalWaverleys embrace the
whole of Scotland, and make
it the home of Romance. In
the good old days. Loch Ka-
trine was the stronghold of the clan Macgregor, who were
wont to conceal the cattle here wliich they had plundered
from their more Southern neighbours. They were, to speak
plain Saxon, nothing more nor less than robbers until
the magic wand of Sir Waltei- Scott touched them, when
they were immediately transformed into heroes, and now
the names of Rob Roy and The Douglas are treasured by
all true Scots as all that is chivalrous and great. Abbots-
ford, which was the joy and pride of Scott's life, is the
embodiment of beauty and romance. It is a shrine visit-
ed every year by thousands of pilgrims, who come at great
inconvenience to pay a tribute to his memory.

C'UliLKtJE WVNl),
WHERE WAr-TEB SCOTT WAS BOUN.

ABBOTSFORD.

now

1 by

ots-

the

isit-

rreat

The house itself is a fantastic pile, built at different
periods and under Sir Walter's personal direction. It is
an antiquarian museum in itself, and its walls contain odd
portions of Melrose Abbey, Holyrood Palace, The Old
Tolbooth, and other celebrated places.

The collection of curiosities is a precious and valu-
able one, and indicates the quaint and rich taste of the
collector. Among them are the cross carried by Mary
Queen of Scots on the scaffold when she was beheaded ;
the portfolio of the Emperor Napoleon, taken from his
carriage immediately after Waterloo, and given by the
Duke of Wellington to Sir Walter Scott ; also locks of
hair of Nelson and Wellintrton.

The study, though, is perfection. I would like to have
one built on its model. The leathered-covered arm-chair
which he used when writing is there. I know from per-
sonal experience that it is very comfortable, as I sat in it
and surveyed the room.

The old place is now owned by the Hon. Miss Maxwell,
great-grand-daughter of the Poet. To show what a deep
interest the world takes in making this ])ilorimage, my
companion counted in the Visitors' book 170 signatures
on 12th July, 1878. In 1867 it was visited by Queen
Victoria. It is gratifying to see that the memoiy of this
great genius is fully honoured and appreciated by his
countrymen. The most magnificent monument in Edin-
burgh, the capital city, is to him, and the other cities of
Scotland have followed this example and erected costly
memorials. He died at Abbotsford on 21st September,
1832, in the presence of all his children, and was interred
in Dryburgh Abbey. This abbey has been a picturesque
ruin for over 300 years, and is owned by the Erskine
family, descendants of the Earl of Buchan. Sir Walter
Scott promised the late Earl that this would be his burial-
place. The tomb is in St. Mary's Aisle, the simple in-

scription on the

granite

slab being, " Sir Walter Scott,

Baronet, died September 2ist, A.D. 1832." At his feet

h I

SCOTLAND.

iii:

hii :

lie the remains of John Gibson Lockhart, his son-in-law,
biographer, and friend. Scott's writings are, and, I fancy,
always will be, the classics of Scotland,

The museum of Antiquities at Edinburgh is excellent.
Everything is curious and recherche. The ordinary con-
tents of the average museum are little more than a
second-hand mummv and a few old coins ; but I must
say this collection was quite a treat.

There was exhibited what very much delighted my
juvenile mind, a sea-chest and drinking cup which be-
i ^nged to Alexander Selkirk, more familiarly known as
Bobinson Crusoe, and were actually with him during his
sojourn on the Island of Juan Fernandez, I had a long
look at this. " The Maiden " is also shown. This was the
modest little instrument used for beheading criminals in
Edinburgh. Many celebrated men have been despatched
by it, amongst them the Earl of Argyll, in 1085.

The most curious relic in the place is the " Quigrich," or
crosier of St. Fillan, and it has a strange history of 1,400
years. This crosier, emblematical of the shepherd's cross,
or the Saviour's care for His children, was owned by Saint
Fillan, a Scotchman, who flourished in the 5th century.

In one of the great battles of Robert the Bruce, this
crosier was carried in the battle-front to inspire the sol-
diers to fresh acts of daring. " The Bruce" perceived
that the monk who carried it wavered through fear. It
was a critical moment, for had the priest retreated, all
might have been lost. With great presence of mind the
commander ordered the faint-hearted monk at once to
deliver it to one Dewar, whom he had perceived per-
forming prodigies of valour. The battle was won, and
for hundreds of years this precious heir-loom remained in
the family of the stalwart Dewar. For along time past the
antiquarians of Scotland had searched in vain for it, but
finally Professor Wilson, of Toronto University, Canada,
after arduous researches, discovered that it was in the
po; iion of Alexander Dewar, of the Township of Plymj)-

,i , 11

PROFESSOR WILSON, OF TORONTO. gi

to tireir care by the great Wo Aft "'' ^"^ '^"^'^"''^
Professor Wikon af k't leeL,! ^r'?""" "ogotiations,

museum, it having been e'Xln 'ff"'?,^"'- *'''''
Dewar and his son Arehihll ^°"'^''y<;'^ 'f Alexander

Antiquaries. N^bed^s "st^iesZto d ^-^"'^-"^
vn-tues, healing powers, &c. itspecuhar

li !,

I '

SCOTLAND,

GLASGOW BANK— FAMOUS SHIPS OF THE CLYDK— KYLES OF BUTE— HIGHLANDS
OP SCOTLAND— CASTLE OF MACALLUM MORE -WELCOME HOME OF MARQUIS OF
LORNE— BEN LOMOND — LOCH KATRINE, THE HOME OF BEAUTIFUL ELLEN— THE
DOUGLAS AND FITZ JAMES— THE TROSSACHS— GRETNA GREEN, THE HAVEN OF
RUNAWAY LOVERS.

10th July, 1879.

N the evening of 21st June last we left Edinburgh
for Glasgow, and remained there over Sunday.
We saw the City of Glasgow Bank, now famous
for its peculiar system of bank management. It is situ-
ated in Virginia Street, and has a very modest appearance,
just the sort of a looking place to ensure confidence.

The city is entirely devoted to commerce and ship-
building ; to a tourist it has few attractions. The show-
place is George Square, a fine quadrangle in the centre of
the city, and a favourite promenade. In it is a massive
column, eighty feet high, surmounted by a colossal statue
of Sir Walter Scott. The statue is a beautifully-finished
piece of workmanship, and is very imposing in appear-
ance ; the only fault I could find with it was that it does
not bear the faintest resemblance to the original. Glas-
gow is known to fame as the centre of the most^extensive
ship-building trade in the world. If an ocean-going
steamer is not built on the Clyde, it is a very plebeian
affair, and has to take a back seat at Lloyds.

On the morning of 23rd June we left by rail for Green-
ock, at the mouth of the Clyde, and there embarked for
Rothesay, thence up the Kyles of Bute and around the
north end of the Isle of Bute into Loch Fyne. We
steaiied up this fine loch to Inveraray, stopped over
for a couple of houra, and inspected Inveraray Castle,
the chief place of residence of the Duke of Argyll. It is
a lordly old stronghold, and quite worthy of the premier

THE MARQUIS OF LORNE.

peer of Scotland. In 1847, Queen Victoria and the Prince
Consort visited at the castle, and it was then the scene of
great fetes and rejoicings.

When the heir to the Dukedom married the Princess
Louise, in 1871, the welcome home which awaited the
royal pair was on such a scale of grandeur as will be
remembered for many a long day in the county. In the
dining-room of the Argyll Arms Hotel, a short distance
from the castle, are large photographs of the Marquis of
Lome and the Princess Louise. The people in this part
of Scotland regard the Argylls as in every respect equal,
if not supei-ior, to the Royal Family of England. In 1871,
when the engfafjement of the Princess Louise was an-
nounced to an old Scotchman, he remarked to his com-
panion, " Aye, mon, but the Queen's a lucky chiel to catch
sic a mon as Macallum More for her daughter."

We left Inveraray on a four-in-hand coach, drove through
" Argyll's Bowling Green," a range of very rugged and
precipitous mountains, and a splendid specimen of the
Highlands, thence into Glencoe, a wild region, which con-
tains the grandest, gloomiest and most awful scenery I
have yet witnessed. It was a fearful pull for the horses
to the top of one of the hills ; on the summit is a small
monument called " The Rest, and be Thankful." Here
the guide pointed out a huge mountain called " The Cob-
bler," from its supposed resemblance to a cobbler at work
and his wife scolding him. I honestly looked and looked,
and tried to trace some resemblance, but after all had to
acknowledge to the driver that I could not discover any
likeness. I think he regarded this statement as rank
heresy, as from time immemorial this cobbler legend has
been handed down from father to son, and it is the correct
thing to say that you thought it was actually a cobbler
and his wife sitting on the top of the mountain.

The countr" here is so mountainous that it can only be
used for cattle and sheep-grazing. The sheep and lambs
can be seen in hundreds on the sides of the hills. After

SCOTLAND.

'I ^

i; f

[

passing Loch Rest and Loch Long, we arrived at Tarbet,
where we put up at the only hotel in the place, and a well-
appointed one it was.

After tea we strolled up the shores of Loch Lomond ; it
was a quiet, clear night, and warm. The luxuriant foli-
age on the banks, the still, transparent waters of the lake,
and Ben Lomond opposite us towering like a giant over
the pigmy hamlet, all tended to make it an interesting
and grand scene. Our walk continued for a couple of
hours ; it was altogether too pleasant to go indoors.

The next morning we crossed Loch Lomond in a ferry
to Inversnaid, and from thence bv coach, called " Roderick
Dhu," to Stronachlachler, on the shores of Loch Katrine.
This loch is called by Sir Walter the Queen of Scotland's
lakes, and is the scene of his celebrated poem, " The
Lady of the Lake." We had a pleasant stroll around the
head of the loch, picked ferns, and enjoyed the scenery.
In a little while we embarked on the ^crew steamer "Rob
Roy," which conveyed us the whole length of the loch to
the Trossachs. The captain pointed out to me the spot
where Fitz James' trumpet-blast startled the beautiful
Ellen, who immediately afterwards darted out from the
shore in her boat ; also the spot where Malcohn Gneme,
swearing he would not be under compliment to Roderick
Dhu, swam across the loch.

In a crevice of the rocks on the bank, not very far
from Ellen's Isle, is the Goblin's Cave, where Fitz James
gave the signet ring to Ellen, which she afterwards so
bravely used to save her father's life.

The centre of attraction, however, is Ellen's Isle, a small
green spot near the foot of the lake. This is where the
Douglas lived and extended his hospitality to Roderick
Dhu, Fitz James, and Malcolm Grreme. The w^ater sur-
rounding it is so clear that in all photographs of it the
shadow comes out so distinctly that one cannot tfeU when
the photo is upside down.

Loch Katrine is eight miles long, and has an average

' "Zx^^.^W^

GRETNA GREEN.

breadth of aliout thrcc-qnarters of a mile. It supplies the
City of Glasf^ow with water.

I forgot to mention that shortly after leaving Inver-
snaid we saw Coilantogle Ford, the scene of the desperate
struggle between the King (or Fitz James) and tlie lordly
Roderick Dhu. The poetry, alas ! has departed. Utterly
regardless of the feelings of romantic tourists, the pro-
prietor has used the rapids at the ford for a mill. It is
physically impossible in the presence of a modern flour
mill to paint a picture in one's mind of that knightly
encounter of yore.

The Trossachs are about a mile long, and are thickly
wooded throughout ; there are deep defiles, craggy gorges,
and everything dark, gi-een and luxuriant. From the Tros-
sachs' Hotel we took a four-in-harid Tally-Ho! coach to
Callander. On the way there it rained henvily,so that when
we arrived at our destination all were drenched to the
skin. At the hotel there was no fire except in the kitchen ;
here we adjourned, and had a jolly time over a scorching
large fire. I never saw fellows more grateful for a com-
fortable warm place to get to. After a short stay here we
took train for Glasgow.

At Stirling we saw the old castle celebrated in Scotch
stories, and an important "bone of contention" in the
olden days. The next day we started for England.

On the way down we saw that historic spot, " Gretna
Green." This is the nearest Scotch village to England,
and in the good old days it was customary, when stern
parents proved unmanageable and would not listen to rea-
son, and consent to the union of a youthful couple, for
the latter to take French leave, hire a pair of fast horses,
and make a bolt for that haven of safety, Gretna Green.
Once on Scotch soil, it required no tedious calling of the
banns thrice in the village church, but everything was sim-
ple and easy. The custom was to repair at once to the
village blacksmith, and there sign the n)arriage-book, and
have their signatures duly attested by the sturdy old black-
E

SCOTLAND.

[

smith. Generally, the adventurous couple were closely
followed by an enraged father or an indignant brother ;
BO, after hastily scrawling their names in the book, they
would rush out, jump into the carriage, and be off again
to a place of greater safety. The old smith was a celebrat-
ed character, and made lots of money from the hundreds
of runaway matches which took place every year. Un-
fortunately for him. Parliament, which never has a proper
sense of the romantic, by a very practical Act, in 1856,
declared all such marriages illegal.

! ft

Ireland

C '\\JS'<^-iv \ •

DUBLIN— JAUNTING-CARS — PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS — BURKK — ORATTAN —
GOLDSMITH — THE CASTLE — BOG -OAK CHAPKL — SACKVILLE STREET — rH(K-
NIX PARK — WELLINGTON — THE FOUR COURTS —GUINNESS* BREWERY —
BBLFA.ST, A WIDE-AWAKE PLACE— THE LINEN TRADE.

17th August, 1879.

Csifty-t

UBLIN, the capital of "the Emerald Isle," has a
population of about 300,000, but does not bear the
air of thrift or active prosperity. There, for the
first time, I saw Irish jaunting-cars, and can't fancy how
the people have not given them up long ago. I went
for a drive from Fitzwilliam Square to Guinness' Brewery.
The roads were hard and lumpy, and it was a matter of
life and death to prevent being thrown off. The driver
was a genuine son of the " ould sod," and drove at a fear-
fully rapid rate. As the hansom is the national convey-
ance of the Englishman, so is the jaunting-car to the Irish-
man. Although prejudiced in favour of the latter, I must,
in justice, say, after trying them both, that the hansom is
immensely superior in point of comfort.

In Scotland I did not notice any marked distinction
between the people and the English. This, doubtless, is
because they all reside in the same island, but upon ar-
riving in Ireland I could see at once that I had come
amongst a different nation. The people of Dublin and
south of it are careless, generous, and good-natured. They
speak in a rich brogue, pronouncing the i like oi, as "a foine

i'l

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1
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I !

I i
1 }

IHKLAND.

day, siir." Where money is concernod, I never saw such
careless people. In two instances when getting change
at shops they could not find a penny or twopence, and
insisted upon giving me the benefit of it, saying, " Shure,
sur, it doesn't make a ha'porth o' difference." In Eng-
land.or Scotland they would change a sovereign for the
sake of a farthing.

In conversation they are easy-going fellows, much more
deliberate and primitive than their brethren over the
Channel, and are not at all so anxious in l)usiness or to
induce one to purchase in their shops. They will spend
as long as you please in showing their goods, but do not
press you to buy, and ai)parently don't care whether you
do or not.

I went all over Trinity College, which has sent out
such famous men as Burke, Swift, Goldsmith, Gi-attan, and

Flood. The bronze statuesof Burke
and Goldsmith, in front of the
College, are considered two of the
finest in the kingdom.

The Bank of Ii-eland somewhat
resembles the Bank of England,
but its imposing colonnades make
^i it a much grander building. The
Irish PaHiament used to meet here
vft before the Union in 1800. The old
^^: House of Lords still remains the
S^ same, but the Chamber has noth-
ing striking — all very simple and
plain. The architect seems to have
devoted his whole genius to the
external appearance of the building, and not to have cared
a rush how the inside looked.

The old House of Commons Chamber is now the Tellinij-
Room of the Bank.

The Castle of Dublin, the present residence of the
Duke of Marlborough, the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, is

TOMB OF EOMl'ND BURKE.

DUBLIN.

worth seeing. The state apartments are not ])articularly
fine, but the chapel is a curiosity. Its pillars, j^alleries,
pews, floors, statues and pulpit are all ina<le of solid Irish
hog-oak — th% carvings aie quaint, and by masters of re-
nown.

Sackville Street, about whidi the Dublinites get so en-
thusiastic, is finer than anything in London, l)ut not at
all to be compared to Princes Street, in Edinburgh. At
the south end of the s^»'«et a massive colunni, 108 feet
high, surmounted by tue of the inevitable Nelson,

has been erected.

Further down is Carlisle Bridge, which is Just now
being widened to the whole width of Sackville Street.
When this is finished, the view from the Bridge will be
grand. Of course it will always lack the picturestpie
beauty of Edinburgh ; but, in point of public buildings,
will be able to compaie favourably.

Pluenix Park, celebrated in many an Irish ballad and
romance, is an enormous j)lace — almost a township in itself
— coverins: 1700 acres. The chief attraction here is the
Wellington Testimonial, which is, by all odds, the most
gigantic monument I have yet seen. On the side is en-
graved :

" Ania and Europe, saved by tliee, proclaim,
Invincible in war, thy deathlesa name ;
Nitw round thy brow the civic oak we twine,
That every earthly glory may be thine."

The obelisk rises to the enormous height of 205 feet.
The people here say that the Duke was born at No. 24
Merrion St., Dublin, in 1700, and the Irish are very proud
of his memory.

I was conducted all over the celebrated Brewery of Sir
Arthur Guinness &l Co. They devote themselves entirely
to the manufacture of porter. In the cellars there are
125 vats, each of which holds 1000 hogsheads. The build-
ings cover about thirty acres, and it requires every inch
of the room to supply the whole world with " Guinness'
stout."

IRELAND.

The River Liffey clividos Dublin into two parts. It is
navigable for large V)arges, and is bounde<l on both sides
by splendid stone embankments. On the north side the
Four Courts can be seen from Carlisle Bridtfe. This is a
stately edifice, the pride of the city, and holds somewhat
the same position, in a legal point of view, as Osgoode Hall
does tf) Canada.

Dublin is not essentially a business city, but is the resort
of families of wealth and of professional and literary men.

On the 14th inst., I left Dublin by the Great Northern
Railway and proceeded to Belfast. At Drogheda, on the
banks of the historic Boyne, is |)ointed out the spot
where, on the 1st July, 1G90 (not 12th July), the battle
was fought between King James II. and his son-in-law,
William, Prince of Orange. This great contest and victory,
which the Protestants claim gave them religious liberty
in Ireland, is much talked of and gloried in by the people
of the North. In the country through which we passed
hundreds of acres on each side of the railway line were
used as bleaching-grounds for the different linen factories.
The green sod covered by the pure white linen makes a
peculiar and very pretty sight.

Belfast is the most important business town in Ireland.
Here all is brisk, clean and lively; everybody wide-awake
and on the qui vive to make money. Less than sixty
years ago this town had only a population of 37,000. It
has now run up to beyond 180,000. For a city on this
side of the Atlantic such a growth is regarded as* marvel-
lous. The principal thoroughfares are High Street and
Donegal I Place.

The busy streets and anxious-looking men reminded
me very much of London, England; in fact, one could hardly
fancy the difterence there is between the dignified and
leisure-loving inhabitants of Dublin and the business-like
and active people of Belfast. The great stay of the town,
and indeed of the whole of the North, is the linen trade.
The York Street Flax Manufacturing Company has the

BELFAST.

largest linen mill in Ireland, giving constant employment
to over 2oOO pei-sons, cliieHy girls and women

I have gone through some of the leading manufactories
in the principal cities of England and Scotland, but never
did 1 witness a scene of greater prosperity than there is in
this mill at Be fast. One of the drives from Belfast is
out to Cave «ill, from the top of which an extensive view
of the country can he had. In approaching this hill a
peculiarity is pointed out. The formation of the side re-
sembles in a remarkable degree the profile of Napoleon I
the peculiar chin of Bonaparte coming out very well

Kr-4

IRELAND.

I!, i

'!'

THE WALLS OF />ERRy— GIANT'S CAUSEWAY -SEA-SICK ON THE CHANNEL —
DESOLATE SOUTH lUELAND-THE LAKES OF KILLAUNEY— BEWITCHING KATB
KEAUNEY— IKI IH GAME COCKS — A JOLLY RIDE THROUGH GAP OF DUNLOB—
KISSING THE BLARNEY STONE- HOW A CiRL DID IT.

Cork, Ireland, 25th Aug., 1879.

/^tW ^ last letter left me shakiiif^ hands with mv uncle
at Portadown station. I had been heartily wel-
comed by my Irisli relatives, and had spent a
deh'g^htful week at the house in which my grandfather
was born. After a }ileasant railway journey up thiough
tlie north country, J arrived at Londonderry.

'J'lie memorable siege of Derry,in 1G88, marks an epoch
in the history of Protestant Ireland, and this is about all
the town is noted for.

The walls are in a perfect state of preservation, and are
exactly one mile in circumference. They are between
twenty and thirty feet thick, so the wear^ms of the day
liad not much effect on them at the time of the siege ;
but under our modern system of aitillery the masonry
wouldn't sta,nd out many hours.

I walked around on top of the walls. There iwe four
unwieldy gates — one of them called " Butchers' Gate,"
because of the terrible slaughter which occurred at this
})oint during (me of the onslaughts of the attacking army.

H lom Derry by rail to Po.t Rush, where, in compan}''
with a vivacious Frenchman, I drove out to the far-famed
Giant's C^ausev/ay on a jaunting-car.

'J'he wonders of the Causeway, with its pillars so re-
markal)iy fitted together, the stately amphitheatre, and
the beautiful caves, have been too often })ictpred to allow
me to intlicc, upon the reader another descjiptiou.

At Belfast I airived just in tlie nick of time to catch
the steamer " Rathlin," bound for Waterford, 220 miles.

BEWITCHING KATE KEARNEY.

This journey on St. George's Channel was a memorable
one for me. I was hopelessly sea-sick the whole way.
The chops of the channel make a nasty, uneven, lumpy,
not- to-be- dependeJ.-on sea. I was miserable and home-
sick. Some one, in describing his feelings under similar
circumstances, as the malady progressed, said, with ex-
[)ressive and truthful brevity, " At first I was afraid I
would die, and then I wtis afraid I wouldn't."

Waterford is a poverty-stricken looking place, fearfully
behind the age. It has a fine harbour, and is surrounded
by a coimtry unsurpassed for fertility, but for some reason
aj)pears to be at present under the same blight as the
greater i)ortion of the South of Ireland.

From Waterford T crossed over the south country to
the Lakes of Killarney. Thousands of acres of land on
each side of the railway are entirely uncultivated. The
hedges are out of repair, and only a few stray sheep and
cattle are seen grazinor in the meadows. The mud cabins
give one the impression that the finances of the occupants
nmst be at a low ebb.

At Killarney I put up at the Railway Hotel, and was
fortunate in meeting a party of jovial young Welshmen,
who were out on the same errand as myself.

Our party in a large carriage drove around the Low^er
Lake to the Gap of Dunloe. At Kate Kearney's cottage
we alighted and engaged saddle-horses to ride through
the Gap, a distance of over four miles. This cottage is
named after a celebrated Irish peasant girl of great beauty,
who resided here in days of yore —

" Oh ! have you not heard of Kate Kearney,
She lives on the banks of Killarney ;
From the glance of her eye shun danger and fly
For fatal'H the glance of Kate K„aii:ey.
Oh ! should you e'er meet this Kate Kearney,
Who lives on the banks of Killarney,
Beware of her emile., for many a wile
Lies hid in the smil? of Kate Kearney —
Though she looks so bewitehingly simple,
There's mischief in evei-y dimple ;" &c., &c.

w m

IRELAND.

There is an easy-going raciness and simplicity about
these lines which is thoroughly Irish.

The horses in this neighbourhood are proverbially lazy,
and are called by the guides " Game-cocks." I couldn't
understand the reason of this, and asked for an explana-
tion. A genuine Paddy, in a rich brogue, replied, "Shure,
sur, its bekase the divils \vould rather die than run."

The Gap is a wild mountain gorge, and none of the
party will ever forget our ride through it. From the
first we were besieged by a crowd of women and girls,
who insisted upon our drinking a mixture of goat's milk
and mountain-dew. They carried a bottle of each under
their arms, and it was amusing to listen to the arguments
they advanced why we should imbibe a " dhrap of the
craythur." They were all barefooted, and wore no head
covering.

One of the girls, aged sixteen, named Eily O'Connor,
the Colleen Bawn, was a genuine beauty. I had a long
talk with her on the road, and was impressed with her in-
telligence. She said that the girls usually got married
when between eighteen and twenty years of age, but
always had to supply the fortuve, which means thirty-
five shillings to pay for the priest's services.

I'he Pass lies between the Purple Mountain and Mac-
gillicuddy's Reeks, and contain^ some grand and pic-
turesque scenery.

Notwithstanding the love of ease, which is the chief
feature in the character of the " game-cocks," we succeed-
ed by dint of an immense amount of bullying in making
them gallop at a rattling pace tor a part of the distance.
The girls took short cuts and kept up with us.

This canter in the pure mountain air was glorious.

At the end of the Gap we met two girls, about fourteen
years of age. They must have been relatives of " Be-
witching Kate Kearney." All remarked afterwards upon
their great beauty. Although e^^o engaged in the " busy
hum of commerce," they were exceedingly modest, and did

•i^j.^mm.SSMn

6LARKt:V CASTLE.

not unduly press us to buy their wares. One was a second
edition of Mrs. Langtry, the other was a brunette.

Our boat met us at the head of the Upper Lake, and
conveyed us back through the middle and lower lakes
to Ross Castle.

Near Tore we shot the rapids flowing under the Old
Weir bridge. It was quite exciting, and reminded me in
a mild way of adventures on Canadian rivers.

The Lakes are beautiful, in some respects more so than
Windermere.

That same evenir;g, our whole party of seven left Kil-
larney — six returning to England by way of Dublin and
Holyhead, and one going down to Blarney (Jastle.

The next morning, at eight o'clock, the weekly boat
was to sail from Cork to Bristol, so my object was to kiss
the Blarney Stone and then catch the Ijoat.

What was my consternation to find out from the con-
stable at Blaniey station, at 9.30 p.m., the following
obstacles : that the village was a mile distant ; that there
was no hotel there, but there was a Mrs. Smith, who might
take compassion and give me a night's lodging ; that
although only five miles from Cork, there was no jaunting-
car or other means to get into Cork to catch the steamer,
and no train left before 9.30 a.m. ; that the next day
(Tuesday) wasn't a visiting day at the castle, and visitoi-s
were, under no circumstances, allowed into the grounds
except on Mondays and Fridays. These little facts were
rather a damper. However, I walked with the constable,
who had just been relieved from his duty, through a dark,
lonely road into the little hamlet. Here I found Mrs.
Smith a regular trump. She made up a bed in her parlour,
and gave me a nice cup of tea and some poached eggs on
toast. I mentioned my desire to see the castle early next
morning, but she feared it was impossible.

After supper I called on the woman at the lodge gate,
and stated my case. After a long parley, she promised to
admit me at dawn the following morning in consideration
of my not mentioning to " a sowl" how 1 got in.

■m

,' I

IRELAND.

Shortly after six the next morning 1 was at the gate.
The gardeners and labourers were not yet astir. Every-
thing worked like a charm. I got into the old castle and
kissed the far-famed stone.

It is awkwardly situated at a great height from the
ground, and the kissing of it is really quite dangerous
without the presence of a companion to hold one's legs.
However, it is one of the most famous spots in Ireland,
and is visited by thousands upon thousands of travellers.
No one ought to be a hardy enough sce[)tic to doubt its
virtues, which are enumerated in the following lines :

" There is a Ktone there, that whoever kisses,
Oh ! he never misses to grow ihxpient ;
A cliver spoiiter, lie'll sure turn out, or
An out-and-outer, to he let alone !
Don't ljoi>e to hinder him, or to bewihler liim,
Sure he's a pilgrim from the Blarney Stone."

Ladies seldom kiss the original owing to the real dith-
culty and danger in getting down to it ; but one girl seems
to have actec^ very sensibly, as T noticed on the wall in a
lady's handwriting, " did not kiss tlie stone, but kissed a
fellow that iiad,"

THE FAK-FAMEU BLARNEY CASTLE.

BRUSSELS AND THE FIELD OF WATERLOO— THE LION MOUND- SERGEANT-MAJOR
COTTON— THE DUCHESS OF RICHMOND'S BALL.

Brussels, Belgium, September, LSTO.

le 3rd inst., at three p.m., I leiu the St. Kather-
ines Docks, near London Bridge, on the steamer
" Swallow," bound for Ostend. The amount of ship-
ping from every nation and clime on the face of the
earth which is to be seen for the first three or four miles
below London Bridge, on the Thames, is a thing which
nmst be seen to be properly understood. Mile after mile
of masts, flags, rigging, smoke-funnels and sails ; while
loading and unloading the merchandise are swarms of
deck labourers and sailors, a great proportion of the latter
being foreigners. The East and West India Docks alone
are a great sight. At one wharf they would be busy un-
loading a cargo of elephants' tusks from Hiiidostan and
Africa, while a little further on could l)e seen a ship laden
with seals and oil from Greenland. From eveiy (piarter
of the globe the inhabitants send their produce to this
vrorld's market.

After an exceedingly interesting sail down the Thames,
past Greenwich, Woolwich, Margate, etc., we steamed
past the North Foreland Light out into the English Chan-
nel. This usually rough piece of water was quite calm.
The night was beautiful and the moon full. On every
side at the wide mouth of the river were numbers of

ii| i

FELGIUM.

light-ships on which hung different coloured lamps. I
made an easy chair out of a sail on deck, and sat there
for a couple of hours revelling in the delightful scene,
and brushing up my French with a young German who
spoke excellent Parisian.

At three a.m. of the 4th inst. we docked at Ostend.
This is a fashionable Belgian watering-i)lace, and is said
to have more than twelve thousand visitors annually.
The swell promenade is the Digue, which is a massive
wall built along the shore to keep the ocean at bay. The
town being lower than the sea, if this wall were to give
way it would play hob generally with the natives. The
beach was well crowded with bathers and bathing ma-
chines — the latter four hundred in number. I thought
it would be as well to do in Rome as Rome does, so I
hired a machine (one franc), went in for a bathe, and had
a glorious swim. There were large numbers of children
on the shore, who amused themselves with small red-
handled spades, with which they dug entrenchments and
built forts and cannons, which were duly attacked and
captured by an armed body of little girls. Several pretty
young ladies about ten years of age were being buried in
the sand, all except their heads, by a crowd of admiring
youths, who adopted this method of showing their devo-
tion. Human nature was the same here as everywhere
else — I did not notice a single ugly little girl being
buried.

In the afternoon I left for Bruges, and laid over a couple
of hours to see the old city. In the fifteenth century
this place was the most important commercial city in
Europe ; it was the London of the trading world, and the
Paris of gaiety and fashion; now, however, its cosily
canals and its streets, with elaborately-carved and finished
houses, are almost desei-ted. I wondered, while walking
along the banks of the canal, if a student tourist like my-
self would ever stroll along Cheapside and be pointed out
by a chattering old guide a heap of rubbish and broken

USEFUL DOGS IN BRUSSELS.

pillars, where once stood the stately Bank of England,
the most powerful financial institution of its time. Such
has happened to Babylon and Homo, and such, I sup[)ose,
will be the fate of grand Old London. The same night I
came on to Brussels, where I now am. Belgium is a thrifty
little kingdom, and its capital is second only to Paris for
the beauty of its shops and boulevards, and the gay,
thoughtless, cafd life led by its people. The present King,
Leopold IL, is, I believe, popular with his subjects. I had
the pleasure of seeing him on Friday as he was alighting
from his carriage in front of his palace ; he is a fine, large,
handsome fellow, and looks quite the ruler of men. As
he is the cousin of Queen Victoria, I regarded him with
a little more respect than an ordinary foreign prince.
The Belgians are usually very small men, and the poorer
classes wear huge boots made out of a solid piece of wood,
not laced or tied on in any way, so their heels flip-flap
every time they step. The shoes are so fearfully out of
proportion to the size of their owners, that I did not
blame the fellow who called after a Belgian dwarf,
"Boots, where are you going with the man?"

This is the first place that I ever saw dogs put to prac-
tical use. It is quite common in the streets to see large
dogs, which are apparently of a sort of mastiff breed,
regularly harnessed up to a bread- waggon, an ice-cream
saloon, or a costermonger's cart ; they seem to perform
their duties quite as conscientiously as an English pony.

Yesterday I joined a party of three Englishmen and
went out to the field of Waterloo. This place is every
summer visited by many thousands of all nations, with
the exception of the French, who do not entertain pleas-
ant recollections of the little dispute which occurred on
this spot on the 18th June, 1815. On the battle-field,
near to the British position, is the Lion Mound, a pile of
earth 200 feet high, surmounted by a monument and
ferocious-looking lion. It is common to hear it abused as
an unsightly affair, and a disgrace to commemorate so

i*^

IJKLOIUM.

ffieat an event as WaterJor, t

THE HON MOIJliiTTrirTi^r ■"

'ng up a bitter feelino- ,,„, " "•""'^"''■

not necemny te "l^C TT J^'™''^ ^"'1 Britain it i

a the base „f tl.e lio„ f^ 1' f "" '"P »'' the cone

proceeded fco R ^' "'''*'^^'' ''^'i^^ at them !" "f. 7 '"^"^-

[eene f' SSHj^^tt^'"^^-'' -'■■^' - ^:
by the handful of British f?^' ^ "^^^ "^^e^ surrendenv?

TllK MArrLK OF WATERLOO.

which, however, I might remark, is not worth a rush on
}i military (|iie.sti()n, is that Wellington does not deserve
so nmch credit as he has received. He commanded men
who had the stnfF in them to resist the attacks of the
French, and many military authorities think he would
have been beaten had it not been for the timely arrival of
Blucher.

There was an English soldier named Sergeant-Major
Cotton, who took his humble part in the battle, perhaps
in the commissariat department ; however, his niece now
keeps a hotel near the Lion Mound, and is continually
talking about " my uncle, the Hergeant-Major." She is
well known at Brussels, as she advertises extensively.
The impression on the mind of the averagt; Belgian is
somewhat confused as to who is entitled to the glory of
having led the allied forces at Waterlo(j, whether it was
Wellington or Sergeant-Major Cotton. The majority, I
think, pin their faith to the sergeant as being tlie more
probable.

Brussels is a place of 384,000 population, including the
suburbs, and is a much brighter and nxjre beautiful city
than London. On the boulevards, streets, and avenues,
the sidewalks and part of the road itself are, in many
cases, thickly studded with small tables and chairs, at
which are seated crowds of light-hearted, laughing people,
drinking lager and light wines. The cafds, restaurants
and estaminets are all wide open, and apparently have no
doors or windows. The language spoken is French, ex-
cept amongst the very lowest classes, who speak the real
old Flemi.sh. There are several places in Brussels which
are well worth describing, but it would take too long. I
inight say, however, that the gayest day at this brilliant
capital is Sunday ; then everything is in full swing —
dancing, drinking and smoking all day long.

I have seen the house in which the Duchess of Rich-
mond gave her now famous ball on the eve of the battle
of Waterloo.

** '!:

BELGtuM.

The lines in Byron's Cliilde Harold describing it are
stirring :

** There was a sound of revelry by night,

And lielgiunt's cnpital had gathurM then

iler Beauty and her Chivahy, and bright

The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men ;

A thousand hearts beat happily ; and when

Music arose with its voluptuous swell,

Soft eyes look'd love to eyes which spake again,

And all went merry as a marriage bell ;
But hush ! hark ! a deep sound strikes like a rising knell !
*******

And nearer, clearer, deadlier than before !
Arm ! Arm ! it is — it is — the cannon's opening roar! "

The fact of such numbers of British officers leaving the
joyous assembly and proceeding directly to the battle-
field, fatal to so many of them, makes this ball quite a
tragic event in history.

LlANP

A TOURIST'S VIKW OF THE PEOPLK, THEIR JUSTOMS AND TIIKIR COUNTRY —
AMSTERDAM, THE VENICE OF THE NORTH — THE HOLLANDERS— THEIR
DYKES AND WIND-MILLS.

Amsterdam, Holland,

September, 1879.

, F ever there was a little kinf;doru wliich deserved credit
for making the utmost of its opportunities, that place
is Holland. It enjoys the reputation of being the
lowest country in the woild, the greater part lying many
feet below the level of the sea, but with praiseworthy
energy the i>eople have built huge dykes along their coast,
and thus are enal)led to live in a state of partial security
and keep the much-dreaded ocean at bay. The entire
kingdom is intersected with canals; they are almost as
common as fences in America ; in fact, that is one of the
uses to which they are put, as there is no other dividing
line between the farms ; but the most remarkable feature
of a Dutch landscape is the great number of wind-mills to
be seen dotting the farms in every direction. The frugal
peasantry make this economical servant do an immense
amount of drudgery. Its principal duty is to drain the
land by almost continually pumping the surface water
from the low soil into tlie adjacent canal, whence it is
conveyed to, and at low tide emptied into, the sea. In the
intervals, when not on draining duty, the mill grinds the
corn and cuts the wood. I would not be nuich surprised
to hear that it also split and carried in the kindling.

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23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. M580

(716) 872-4503

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I I

! M

HOLLAND.

Although tlie Belgians aud the Dutch have at different
periods of their history been united as one people, there
IS a marked distinction between the two nations. The
former, especially those residing at Brussels, greatly re-
semble their southern neighbours, the French, in vivacity
and intelligence, but the Hollander is a different being.
He drinks heavy beer, tills the soil to perfection, while
his face never loses a stolid expression, and he is usually
very foggy in comprehending and answering inquiries.

In Belgium, the language spoken everywhere except
amongst the lowest classes is French, and any person who
has the slightest pretensions to education will know
enough of English and German to converse a little ; Vjut
in Holland, except amongst the well-educated, nothing is
heard but Dutch, and very guttural and harsh it is. I
have, however, observed that a large number of the words
sound much like English, and that by simply adding scJte
or ein to an English word, throwing an immense amount
of emphasis on the last syllable, and gesticulating with
energy, one can sometimes make himself understood.

After having visited the ])rinci|)al picture-galleries in
England, Ireland, and Scotland, I came to the continent
with a strong prejudice in favour of modern painters, such
as Dord, Millais, Landseer and Maclise, and against the
old masters. This was caused by the fact that most of
the specimens of ancient art in the British collections,
although beautiful in colour, are stiff and unnatural in
design. The real masterpieces are securely guarded in
the continental galleries. At the Antwerp Notre Dame
Cathedral, I was first awakened to a proper aj)preciation
of the art of foriner days by seeing Rubens' two cele-
brated pictures, " The Descent from the Cross," and " The
Elevation c)f the Cross." The natural ap}>earance and in-
tensity of sadness thrown by the prince of Flemish paint-
ers into these two pictures is marvellous. Another grand
picture by the same artist, and I think his chef d'wuvre,
is " Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves," in which

AN EXTRvNOIlDINARY PAINTER.

the figures stanrl out almost as if alive, and the terrible
scene is depicted with rare power. In passing through
the Antwerp Museum,! witnessed a most remarkable sight.
Seated in front of and copying Van Dyck's well-known
" Christ on the Cross," was Carolus Felu, a painter of some
note in Belgium. He was born without either hands or
arms, and does (ill his painting by holding the brush be-
tween the toes of his right foot. He has a particularly
I)leasant voice and manner. I talked to him for about
ten minutes. He is an enthusiast in his art, and a devoted
idolater and follower of Rubens. Since then 1 have seen
the masterpieces of Rembrandt, Quentin Matsys, Jordeans
and Teniers, and am now thoroughly converted into what
it is, I believe, the correct thing to be, an humble admirer
of the masterly genius of the painters of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries.

Belgium, in common with some other continental na-
tions, has adopted the decimal currency, but have reduced
it to a much finer point than the American system.
Shortly after arriving at Ostend, I went into a sliop and
asked the price of a photographic view of the Digue, It
was ninety centimes. Not understanding the currency
of the country, 1 thought that to pay ninety of any sort
of coin for a small photograph was ratlier steep. However,
upon consulting a coin table, I found there was a good
deal of smoke without much fire ; it was only eigliteen
cents of Canadian money, and this was a reasonable price
for the view. The Holland coins are guildei-s, stivers
and cents, one of the latter being e(pial to two Belgian
centimes.

Aniongst the poorer classes the women are scrujMilously
neat in their attire, usually wearing short dresses oi light-
coloured cotton. Their liead-covering is very peculiar.
It consists of a sort of helmet, made of brass or tin ; from
its cOxAx .a ;»t the right and left temple hang down silver
or gold pendants of heavy wire, twisted into various
shapes — in some cases I have seen them four or five inche?}

HOLLAND.

lonf( — this is all covered with a lace cap, ti tout ensemble
having a rather uni((ueefl[ect.

T was a good deal amused at first to see the amount of
toliacco-smoking which the natives of Belgium and Hol-
land are able to accom})lish. They must commence early

in life, as I have seen

^Ntel&^ ^^y*^ ^^^ ^^"^^ "?*
have l)een over six

years of age walking
along the main tho-
roughfares quietly
puffing away at a
long clay pipe, and
no person seems to
notice it or see any
^ thing uncommon in
^*"3:;- what Canadians
would think was a
clear case of juve-
nile depravity. This excessive indulgence in the use of
tobacco may be the cause of the men being so dwarfish
in stature.

Amsterdam is a splendid old city of 300,000 popula-
tion ; all the houses are built on piles. It is divided by
the canals into ninety islands, reached by 300 bridges.
The river Y runs through the centre of the town. If it
ordy had a Doge, a Bridge of Sighs, and some kingly old
palaces, Amsterdam would be a second Venice.

HTHEET SCENE IN AMSTERIJAM.

THE D.VNKS -A VISIT TO THEIK CAPITAT-—KOYAL DAlMlUTKHS—THK 8HUINK "K
THOHVAI.DSEN PRESIDING GENII OF MANY CITIES (iREATKST SCll.rTOR
OF .M<)I)EI{N TIMES HIS Ml SECM.

CoPKNHAfJKN, DkNMARK, Sept., 1 <S7!).

-11' V^ E N M A R K is ratlicr outside of tlie onlinaty pale of
^J J European travel an<l civilization. To a tourist
])resse(l for time the attractions of the country
are not sufficiently ninnerous to entice him so near the
North Pole, and to the merchant and capitalist the little
kingdom is not rich enouf^h to be tempting. The result
is, one oidy hears the native dialect spoken. In crossing
the Baltic, from Lubeck to Copenhagen, there was only a
solitary passenger besides myself on the little Danish
steamer who could speak TCnglish, but this was luxury in
comparison to the state of affairs in the capital. At my
hotel there is not a soul in the place, or within hailing
distance, who can speak a word of English. One man
can manage a little French, and through him I am able
to make myself understood. He, however, is a German,
and can barely make his wants known in Danish ; so be-
tween one language and another affairs sometimes assume
a ridiculous and amusing aspect.

The good old times when the Danes were one of the
most warlike and powerful nations in Europe, their in-
vasions both by sea and land making them the terror of
the North, have entirely departed, and now only exist in
legends and on the page of history. At the present day
the country has a yery peaceful .sort of celebrity, it being

t, J

DENMARK.

known to the world chiefly because of the distinguished
alliances which have been made by its Royal daughters.
The second eldest child of the reigning King will some
day, in all probability, be the Queen of England, and the
third eldest will occupy the exalted position of Empress
of all the Russias.

Since Prussia, in 1864, by a peculiar system of reason-
ing, advanced her claims and forcibly took possession of
the Provinces of Schleswig and Holstein, the Danes have
entertained towards Germany an intense feeling of
jealousy and hatred, which is duly given vent to upon
every available opportunity. I am told that they are
much more bitter than even the French. This is perhaps
owing to the fact that they are a weak power, and will
not likely ever have an opportunity of recovering their
lost prestige and dominions.

Although it is only the month of September, there are
evident signs of approaching winter at Copenhagen. Nu-
merous shop windows are filled with furs of every de-
scription, some of them being magnificently gotten up,
and of the richest skins. In other windows are to be
seen heavy woollens and comfortable and capacious-look-
ing overcoats, it being apparently the season for the pur-
chasing of such goods. This, however, is not much to be
wondered at, as the city is in latitude over eight hundred
miles north of Toronto, Canada, and the average English-
man thinks that our fair Dominion is a mass of ice and
snow for at least eight or nine months in the year.

The men of Denmark are physically rather fine-look-
ing fellows, and are unusually polite and civil, seeming
to take it as a favour to be allowed to be courteous to
strangers ; but the women are not at all so comely or so
neatly attired as the natives of Holland and Germany ;
their faces seem to be characteristic for receding narrow
chins and large, protruding foreheads.

Copenhagen with its suburbs has a population of
SlGjOOO, and contains two or three standing and first-
class attractions for travellers.

nguished
aughters.
vill some
, and the
Empress

f reason-
ession of
nes have
eling of
' to upon
they are
perhaps
and will
ing their

jhere are
^en. Nu-
very de-
tten up,
•e to be
us-look-
bhe pur-
eh to be
lundred
English-
ice and
r.

le-look-
leeming
eous to
ly or so
rmany ;
narrow

F«

t
i

ion of
1(1 first'

DKNMAHK.

Tlic Museum of Northern Antitiuities is the finest col-
lection of its kind in existence, and is, doubtless, to an an-
ti(iuary a never-ending source of delight and instruction.
The Tivoli is the most magnificently-arranged and lighted-\
u]) pleasure resort I have seen ; the splendour-loving and
wealthy cities of London, Brussels and Hamburg have
nothing at all to comi)are with it. Within the extensive
grounds, which are open every night, are picturesque
buildings, which are occupied as caf^s, ball-rooms, concert-
halls, theatres, circuses, etc., and the outside walls are
literally covered with a blaz(i of gas gets, arranged in
curious devices and with difierent coloured globes. The
beautiful flower-beds are also lighted up by an ingenious
contrivance ; no gas-burners can be seen, as they are
hidden from view by a large circular shade, but a strong
light is thrown upon the flowers, which makes a unique
and charming effect at night. The evening I spent there
was fortunately a fine one ; the place was crowded with
a gay and brilliant throng ; no sound could be heard but
laughter and sweet music, while the ])eople seemed to vie
with one another as to who could be the most polite and
good-natured.

In the Old World I have noticed that almost every
town or city has its presiding genius, either in the j)ei'Son
of some distinguished living man or in the memory of a
departed hero, who may have been born or lived there.
London has its Wellington and Nelson, Dublin its O'Con-
nell, Edinburgh its Scott, Stratford-on-Avon its Shakes-
peare, Birmingham its Bright, Brussels its Leopold I.,
Antwerp) its Rubens, Rotterdam its Erasmus, Amsterdam
its Rembrandt, and Copenhagen has its little earthly di-
vinity in Bertel Thorvaldsen, the greatest master of
sculpture in modern times, who was born in this cit}'^ in
1770, and in 1844 died here, and is buried in a spacious
court in the centre of his celebrated museum. His sta-
tue adorns many public places, and the museum contain-
ing the originals, and some copies of his famous handi-
work, is the pride and glory of the city,

^^■a

nest col-
to an an-
truction.
. lighted-s
vinj; and
irg have
!xtensiv(3
turesquc
, concert-
walls are
inj,'ed in
es. Tlie
ngenious
they are
a stronj:^
a unique
ent tliere
ied with
card but
ed to vie
^lite and

st every
e j)erson
ory of a
there.

(TCon-
Shakes-
)pokl I.,
sterdain
thly di-
aster of
s citj'' in

pacious
His sta-
iontain-
5 handi-

PBISSIA- THE AHMV, TUK KMI'KKOK, AN'I) THE CHANCEM.OR.

Bkiilin, Prussia, Sept., IsTD.

fHE first impression made upon the mind of a travel-
h'r on crossing tlie German fi-ontier is that he lias
^-^ come amongst a warlike and armed people. In all
the railway carriages and at the stations are to be seen
stalwart-looking soldiers in full uniform, who are eitlier
going to or returning from their headquarters.

The great cause that led to Prussia now occupying a
position among the foremost nations of the world was the
efficiency of her army. Long l)efore the victory of Sad-
owa against Austria in 1800, and when Prussia wns simply
a humble member of the German Diet, her army, under the
leadership of Von Moltke, had arrived at a marvellous
state of perfection, not only in its system of organization,
but also in the physical development and discipline of its
soldiers. Though not then very strong, it was the admira-
tion of all Europe, and by many Stafies looked upon as a
model to be imitated. Prussia was fortunate in possess-
ing not only a soldier who was the finest military tac-
tician of his age, but also in having for one of her sons a
statesman who has astonished the world l)y the masterly
manner in which he has moulded events to advance the
interests of his fatherland. ( Jount Von Bismarck, the
Prime Minister and Chancellor of the German Empire,
did not fail to notice in the army the splendid material he

GERMANY.

had to work upon. Not content that Austria should pre-
side over the D'wt, he seized uj)on a pretext, and threat
ened to withdraw altogether from the alliance if that
State continued to lead. The result was that Austria
broke off all connection with the Diet, and Prussia was
elected to preside. In the twenty-five different German
States, although retaining their independent sovereigns,
the Prussian military organization was then introduced,
with King William as (/ommander-in-C'hief. Some of tliti
princi])al features of the system are, that every man in the
Empire, whether noble or peaf-ant, must be a soldier. He
must actually serve three years, iniless he succeeds in
passing a certain stiff educational examination, when his
term of service may he reduced to one year. The recruit
is sent to different military headquarters from that in
which he and his parents reside ; the reason being that, in
case?)f local riot or rebellion, he will not be able to sympa-
thize with his relatives or fiiends. The present standing
army of Prussia on a pea(;e footing is 420,000; in case of
war they could place in the field in eight or ten days a fully-
equipped force of one million two hundred thousand men.
All the soldiers have had the advantage of the best mili-
tary training in existence. As to the physical appeaiance
of the soldiers, 1 hesitate to express my opinion, lest I may
be thought too enthusiastic or too much carried away by
first impressions, I must say, however, that beside the
Belgians, Hollanders, Danes or Swedes, the Prussians are
giants. Their development is something ^'onderful ; ruddy
health and strencfth and larfje size seem to be the rule.
This may be because Germany is an agricultural country,
and that most of the recruits are reared in the health-
giving country air, few coming from the over-crowded
cities and towns. Another reason probably is, that there
are stringent rules as to diet and exercise, which are
rigidly enforced throughout the regiments. With the
exception of the Irish constabulary and the British Guards,
I have never yet seen such a fine body of meij.

^J^U.

jjwy^r^<^^\-7^-^M

A STAl.WAUT oLlJ KMl'EUOU.

1)3

The Fiaiico-Piussiaii war of 1870-71 <jfavo some i<lea of
the etHciency of tlie anny, to the honor of th(i French and
tlie surprise of the world. Th«; Prussians simply walked
over the ground and swept (everything hefore them. Von
Moltke's generalsliip and Hismarck's diplomacy were, for
the time, satisfied when tluiir beloved mastier, Willia n,
King of the State of Prussia, was crowned Emperor of all
Uermany at Versailles, on 18th January, 1<S71. That
this coi-onation shouM have taken place in the Instoric
old palace where, for so long a p(!riod, the wisdom of the
French nation had assend)le<l, and which had witnessed
the unparalleled triumphs of Napoleon I., and the regal
j)()mp and state of his nephew, Napoleon III., must have
been a ciushing blow to the pride of the French people.
The Emperor personally is a thorough soldi«M-. In his
day he has been one of the strongest men in his army,
and able to endure more fatigue than almost any of Ids
officers. His whole life and thoughts are wrapped up in
the army. Although over 81 years of age, the old vet-
eran is now on an inspecting tour to the forts of Stras-
burg and Metz. An anecdote is told that a short tinie
ago he was present during the rifle practice of one of his
regiments, in which he personally took part, and competed
with the men. The heat was so intense that all the ofH-
ci'rs, with their heavy helmets and trappings, were com-
pelled to letire to the adjacent tents, but the Empert)r,
whose strong cotistitution does not seem to have been im-
paired by age, continued (juietly to shoot in his turn, and
remained with his men until the match was over. I have
been through the private and state a])artments of the
Em[)eror's palace, where one seems to breathe the very air
of war. On the walls the paintings are chiefly battle-
pieces. There are a number of statues and busts of the
Kaiser and his son, the Crown-Prince ; also of Bismarck
and Von Moltke, and they are represented in military
uniform. Several bas-reliefs represent scenes in the war
of 1870, which is regarded as the great turning point in

GERMANY.

the onward career of the nation. The military element
predominates everywhere. In tlie gay and beautiful eity
of Berlin alone there are 21,000 soldiers in the barracks.
In case of war I cannot see what nation could staiid be-
fore this liost of over 1,000,000 trained fi<jfhting men.
En«^land has only a standinjr army on a peace footint^ of
about 100,000, and her militia have nothing like the regular
system of drill and organization that the whole (Jerman
army now has. However, England does not depend upon
her land forces. Her navy is, I believe, four times as
strong as the ships of the whole of the rest of the world
put together, and considering this, and her isolate*! posi-
tion, she has nothing to fear from her powerful neighbour;
but the continental nations had better look to their laurels
and keep remarkably civil to the Iron Chancellor.

Berlin, with a population of over a million, appears like
a city of soldiers and students, the former |)arading the
streets with a bold and fearless bearing, and the latter
strolling along with thoughtful faces. These two ele-
ments of power and education nuist surely be signs of
present an<l futuie real strength and prosperity. But
enough of military matters. I intended to mention some cus-
toms peculiar to the Germans, but fear it would make this
letter too long. I will, however, mention one, as it relates
to a subject which, in every country, seems to be enveloped
with a peculiar interest. The contract of marriage is re-
garded with great solemnity in Germany ; an engagement
is not lightly entered into nor lightly broken otf. When,
however, a youthful couple have given the matter due
consideration, and have mutually agreed to marry, they
go through a formal and ceremonious betrothal, the youth
betakes himself to a jeweller's shop and buys, not a ring
containing a precious stone, as is the custom in England
and America, but a plain gold one. This, at the betrothal,
he places upon the third linger of the maiden's right
hand. On the marriage day the same ring is transferred
to the third finsrer of the bride's left hand. The same

ddU'

retrotiial rings.

rules a])|)ly to a man woannL( and clianginj,' tlio rinj^. The
custom is, to say tlio Itast, economical, and is rej^ularly rec-
(»^nii/ed amouj^st all classes of the; pc<)j)l«', hcin<,' strictly
and religiously adhered to. In the onlinary intercourse
of society one can see at a j^lance if a man or wonum is
enj^aged or married, and no doubt it is a projier and use-
ful law.

In walking through the Rathliaus, or Hanseatic Hall,
in which the Diets were held in the free city of J^uheck,
the other da}^ 1 noticed something most peculiar and
luiirallant. In the room in which marriai^es were cele-
brated in bygone days there is engraved upon the chinmey-
piece an inscription, of which the following is a transia-
tioii : " Many a man sings loudly when they bring him
a bride ; if he knew what they brought him he might
well weep." Some kniglit-eiraut of the nineteenth
century ought to make a pilgrimage to Lubeck, storm
the chinmey-pieee, and destroy the heathenish iuscri[»tion.

This is a most delightful city. For beautiful streets,
shops and promenades, I unwillingly confess it far sur-
passes London. My eyes are giadually opening to the
fact that there are fictually some other cities worth
naming besides those of England and America.

■ i

■<

GERMANY.

THE MlLlTAUY CHARACTEK OV THE PEOPT.E— VON MOLTKE— STRASBUUCi ~-

KAISER WILLIAM.

Strashuro, Germany,

8opt. 29, 1870.

RINCE BISMARCK has (quietly umlertcakeii tlie
stupeiKlous task of alteriiif; the customs an<l modo
of life of forty-three millions of people, and he has
grasped the subject with a master-hand.

Before Von Moltke and the oreat Chancellor appeared
in the arena tlie modein Cci'man was a good-natured,
drowsy, peaceful sort of a fellow. But t.iis national dis-
])Osition did not .suit the ambitious plans of Bismarck. A
systematic and thorough change is now going on in the
education of the nation. The wliole of the German States,
including Alsace and Lorraine, being under Prussia as a
militaiy head, this position is being used with great effect.
The City of Berlin, with its magnificent palaces and its
beautiful avenue, the Unter den Linden, Is filled with tine
groups and monuments in marble and Ijronze, all of them
either representing ancient wai-riors and conquerors, or
celebrating some modern battle or act of heroism. At the
east end of the Linden is the Brandenburg Gate, an impos-
ing affair, surmounted by the finesi bronze I have ever
seen. It is about twice life-size, and represents the God-
dess of Victory in the chariot of a Roman warrior, driving
four splendid steeds. The (Joddess holds aloft a con-
queror's wreath. Through this stately portal and beneatli
this magnificent group, the Emperor, at the head of his
victorious army, passed in 1871, when he made his tri-
umphal entry into Berlin. This must have been one of

TriE WAllLIKK aKUMAN'S.

the finest sijjflits of inodern times, and not nnlike the Im-
perial trinniphs of tlic (hiys of ('josar. It took place
amidst a blaze of glory, and the Prussians were all the
more filled with enthusiasm and pride because in bygone
days their fathers had told them that these very French-
men whom they had just conquered had marched into the
City of Berlin and occupied it with a hostile army. This
famous bronze was taken to Paris by the French in 1807.
Other groups throughout the city re})resent fighting gladi-
ators, horse-tamers and fierce combats. This is not done
by chance, or because of a peculiar taste. The rising gen-
eration are being taught the art of war, and all those
matters are carefiilly regulated by the Government. The
only tribute to a peaceful hero which I saw at Berlin is
a fine monument to the poet Schiller. Before a public
memorial is erected, the consent of the Government has
to be oV)tained, and unless it is of a military nature the
request will be refused. The bridge spanning the Spree,
and leading to some of the finest public })uildings, is adorned
with eiglit fine groups, over life-size, by the best masters,
and illustrative of the life of a warrior. One of them is
" Victory teaching a boy the history of the heroes;" an-
other," Victory crowning the con([ueror;" another, "Minerva
protecting and aiding a combatant," and the last one, "Iris
conducting the victorious fallen Warrior to Olympus."
The stolid Germans stop before these beautiful statues in
mute admiration. War is represented as all that is noble
and great, and ev^erytliing is done that can stinuilate the
soldiers to acts of heroism. A little ftirther on to the left
is the Museum, the most imposing structure in the city.
On the steps are two splendid large groups, one, " An
Amazon on horseback defendinir herself aixainst a ticrer;"

, O O O '

the other ""A lion combat." None of these ornaments are
small or cheap ; each is a celebrated work of art in
itself, they having been purchased from time to time by
the (Tovernment without regard to expense. Inside the
building the atmosphere is the same ; one can almost ymell

Mi \

1)8

GEllMANY.

powder. Julius Cspsar, Pompey, Scipio Afrieanus, Napo-
leon 1., and whole rows of modern German ger; rals are
represented in statues, either adorned with victor's crowns
or in some warlike attitude. In the National Oallery of
Paintings, behind the Museum, the very most is made of
the events of the wars of 18G6 and 1870. The Emperor
William, Von Moltke and Bismarck are painted in glowing
colours in all sorts of spirited battle-scenes ; the victones
over the Austrians, the Danes and the French are done
full justice to ; but, by soiue strange oversight, they appear
to have forgotten to j)aint several disastrous defeats which
the Prussian army has suffered in the past.

The Thiergarten, a fine park, reached by passing
tlirough the Brandenburg Gate, is the great pleasure
resort of the citizens ; but even here they are not sufl'ered
to forget their past achievements. The monument of vic-
tory conunemorating the successful issue of the war of
1870-71 against the French is, without an exception, the
grandest and most artistically-finished column I have yet
seen. On the four sides of the massive ]iedestal are bas-
reliefs, one of them a most spirited scene, representing the
triumphal entry into Berlin, which must make the blood
of the Prussians tingle with pride. With all these sur-
roundiuijs, the science of war beinir made so attracti\'e
and the rewards of heroism so unlimited, and after a resi
dence of a year or so in Berlin as a soldier, the quiet
young peasant, however sluggish his ideas, must naturally
return to his home with a strong feeling of pride in the
military glory of his native land, and a burning desire to
distinguish himself if his country calls upon him.

The French are a powerful and wealthy nation, and to
a man they feel keenly the humiliating positi(m they
occupied at the close of the late war. It appears to be the
general impression, and is freely talked of, that another
great and bitter struggle between the two Powers is loom-
ing up in the near future. Certain wiseacres, who take a
fiendish <lelight in prophesying all sorts of disasters, do

CAFrURKD sTiiAsnuiio.

i>9

not hesitate to allege tliat Ent^dand is now on the brink of
liostilities with Russia tliroiigli the Afghanistan troubles.
England, of course, could do very little on land against
the Russian legions, but she would be helped by Prussia
and Austria. Tiiis would be the signal for France to rush
to arms, and, under pretence of helping Russia, endeavour
to wreak vengeance on her recent conc^uerors. This would
be a tine )>i lee, all Europe in battle array, each nation
rushing at an(jther nation's throat and trying to get some-
thing which did not belong to tlu^m. It is to be hoped
that such a general pell-mell scriunnage may not take
])lace ; but I don't think the French will ever rest satisfied
until they have another tussle for supremac}^ with the
Ueruians. In tlic present crisis, Count Von Moltke is a
most useful man. He is now engaged upon a set of plans
of campaigns so comi)lete and full that they cov^er every
country and nation with wdioni it would be possible for
(iermany to get into difficulty. The moment war nuiy
be declaied, out will come Moltke's minute plans, and at
once everything will be in readiness for action. This is
the legacy wliich this prince of military tacticians will
bequeath to a grateful nation.

The Germans, having captured the Fort of Stiasburg
from the Fi-encli, are now endeavouring to make it im-
pregnable. Thousands of soldiers are working on the
ramparts, and the nation is being impoverished to meet
the enormous expense. I asked a woman in a shop at
Strasburg if she lived in the city during the siege in
August and September, 1870. Aftei' ascertaining that I
was English, she gave free vent to her private opinion
of the, Prussians. The back wall of her shop was torn
and destroyed by the terrible shot and shell. Slu; was in
the city during the whole forty days, and thought every
moment would be her last. With tears in her eyes, she
further told me that her father and only brotjier had been
shot dead wJjen at their post of duty on the walls defend-

100

GERMANY.

m<f the town. Her's is only a specimen of thousands of
other desolate homes in France, The same, of course,
may be said of Germany; but it must be remembered they
have the solace of victory.

Last Monday, at Baden-Baden, once the most famous
<^^am])ling resort in Europe, I saw the Emperor and Em-
press of Germany. The old Kaiser, as he is res})ectfully
and affectionate]}^ called by his subjects, is a splendid
specimen of a man. Although about eighty-two years of
age, his footstej) is as firm and his eye as bright as those
of most men of fifty. He walks around amongst his
people without the slightest ostentation, and I believe
is really loved as a father by all with whom he comes in
contact.

«■<

A FKEE COUNTRY -FALLS OF THE RHINE— VIEW FROM THE RKil— SINRISE IN
THE ALl'.S— THE FAMOUS LION OF LI'CERNE- THE WANDEKlNCi JEW.

LucfmNE, Switzerland,

October 15, IcSTD.

rroHE Swiss are a plucky little nation. Although hem-
v*|k mod in on all sides by powerful Enij)ires and
^^ Kingdoms, they have actually had the audacity,
for about 000 years, to recognize the fact that Providence
had endowed them with sutticient intelligence to govern
themselves without the assistance of such a costly orna-
ment as an Emperor, Prince, or King.

The rational way in which the twenty-two cantons of
the Swiss (Confederacy (juietly elect their Deputies and
carry on their sim])le and sensible administration is nnich
to be admired. Tiiey don't vote a mint of money every
year to support a Royal household. The National Coun-
cil is elected for five years, and they in turn annually elect
a President and Vice-President.

In America a great many people are sufficiently self-
satistied to think that we are far ahead of the continental
nations in real civilization and advanced ideas, but I
think in one or two respects Switzerland leads us. Here
they have manhood sulirage. Every Swiss who has at-
tained the age of twenty years is entitled to vote for a
Deputy to the Council of the nation. He is also eligible
for election himself if he has a right to vote. The entire
telegraph system, which is more extensive in proportion

vt\A

■ '11

■■! I

I ri

102

SWITZERLAND.

:l> i

to the po])iilati()n tlian in i\ny other country, is owned by,
and under the innnediate control of, the Government.
Tliis i' sui'es a re;L(nhir and low late of charges, and pro-
tects tlie public from imposition. There are none of tliose
delightful little. monopolies and sometimes pooling of re-
ceipts between rival companies which exist in America,
and all of which mean outrage«)Us charges to the peo])l(\
This system of the Government owning the telegraph lines
is not, however, peculiar to Switzerland. Every nation
in Europe has had the conijiKm sense and justice to adopt
the sanui plan in conjunction with their postal arrange-
ments. For ten cents of Canadian money a message of
eight words can be sent, for twelve words it would cost
twelve cents, and so on. In these days of keen competi-
tion and rapid thought, the telegraph has become almost
as much of a necessity as the post, and I wonder that our
lawgivers have not abolished the monoj)olies years ago.
Some Amercian Sir Rowland Hill should take the matter
in hand.

All citizens of Swdtzerland are equal in the eye of the
law, every religion tolerated, and the freedom of the press
establishe<l. Altog«^ther this is quite a model State.

But Switzeiland is chiefly famous for the magniticence
of its .scenery.

1 have visited the Highlands of Scotland, the Lakes of
Killarney and the P^nglish Lakes, and thoroughly appre-
ciated them all, but it is well for a traveller to see these
j)laces before coming to the Alps, as the latter so entirely
eclipse them in grandeur. I entered the country by way
of Basle, and ])roceeded to see the celebrated Falls of the
llhine, near Schatthausen. The cataract is the largest
and finest in Europe, and although not at all to be com-
})ared in point of volume with our world-renowned Nia-
gara, it beais a very favourable comparison in its beauty
and ))ictures(|ueness. The river there is 880 feet wide, and
the clear blue waters of the Rhine tumble in three leaps
for about 100 feet. In the centre rises a picturesque

,fe

THK FALLS OF SCHAFFHAUSEN.

103

slender rock, which towers far al)Ove the top of tlie falls.
This is reached by boats, which land passengers at the
lower edge, right amidst tlie boiling surf. We wen^ rowed
over, and ascended by a narrow, winding, dizzy stairway

THK (JUFAT WINK TIN AT HKIDKMiKRG CASTLK.

to the summit. Here the view is superb. Immediately
at our feet was the rushinij:, roarinir torrent, and further
down, the gulf of seething waters ; al)Ove us the fine old
cliateau of Sehloss Laufeii, which for many generations

.'s\ii..

104

SWITZERLAND.

I !i

has calmly looked down upon this wild scone ; in the
distance to the right the rich valley of the Rhine, with its
hanks covered hy a luxuriant vintage from which the
costly Rh(;nish wines are produced ; ahove all, the clear,
bright sky, and the sun shining, throwing a glow of
warmth and beauty upon the whole picture, I have no
where seen a more charming combination of the wild and
picturesque with quiet rustic scenery.

The mountains are first approached at Zurich. From
the heights above the city an excellent general view can
be got of the whole range of Bernese Alps far away to
the south, but we were anxious to get nearer, and stand
on and climb up these mountain giants. The road to the
celebrated Rigi Kulm is by way of the Lake of Zug to
Arth, a small village lying at the base of the mountain.
From this point a railway is built to the sunnnit, and a
most extraordinary little road it is. It is on the rack and
pinion system, and ascends on an incline of one foot in
five. The engines have upright boilers, and beneath them
is an immense cog-wheel, which revolves on a row of teeth
running between the rails. The solitary passenger car-
riage is always placed before the engine in ascending, and
behind in descending. The engine and car are uncon-
nected, so that in case of accident to the former the car-
riage could be stopped and the lives of the passengers
saved, for if it once got beyond control no power on earth
could save the occupants from a terrible death. We reached
the summit in the midst of a blinding hailstorm, and put
up at the Rigi Kulm Hotel, situated 5,90G feet above
the sea level. From the pavilion behind the hotel there
is a view which for extent and magnificence is said to be
one of the finest in the world.

I was particularly impressed with its vastness; for 120
miles the long, snow-capped Alps can be distinctly seen,
and a circumference of JiOO miles is in sight. In the south
we were pointed out the St. Gothard Pass, while on the
left was the lofty peak of Finsterearhorn, covered with

•I S

GLOniOUS VIEW FROM THE RKJI.

10.-)

]je

120

the
ith

perpetual snow. Tminediatcly to the west tlie black-look-
ing, gloomy Pilatus frowned upon us in solemn graiuliMir.
Beneatli us, far, far down, were the lakes of Zug and I^u-
cerne, and eleven other smaller ones, each looking like a
good-sized wash-tub. At the foot of the Rigi, but so small
as hardly to be discernible, was Tell's Chapel, said to have
been erected on the exact spot where the famous Swiss
liberator sprang out of Gessler's boat. Away to the north
is the Black Forest of Baden, and ftirther to the left the
" Blue Alsatian Mountains," famed in poetry and song.
The greatest attraction of the view, however, is the sun-
rise. At early dawn a guide sounds a reveille on an
Alpine horn in tiue mountain style. Roused by this sum-
mons all the guests rush out in the most extraordinary
impromptu costumes and uj) to the extreme summit, where
there is nothing yet to be seen but the nearer mountains,
which fire barely distinguishable by the pale light of the
moon and stars. Every one is cold, shivering and miser-
al)le, but in a few minutes there is just the faintest sign
of a lighter sky in the east. All eagerly peer in this
direction, for it is one of the finest sights in Switzerland to
get a full and comi)lete view of a sunrise from this cele-
brated spot. Gradually a faint glow of red begins to light
up the horizon. It gets rapidly brighter, and suddenly
between two jagged peaks a momentary glimpse of old
Sol is got. It di.sappears again, but in about two minutes
bursts in all its glorious splendour over the top of the
Sentis, lighting up the far-distant glaciers and the fertile
valleys with its welcome, life-giving radiance. The nearer
valleys were entirely diaped with heavy clouds, which
looked like vast piles of snow ; the sun glinting in a thou-
sand colours on this billowy mass constituted one of the
most charming features of the view. Nature is here seen
in all its majesty, and in its presence men look decidedly
insignificant.

In descending the Rigi a thick cloud was immediately
below us,entirely shrouding the valley. We passed through

•I

■ ' 'Hi

ii ;:•

i; jr:

\ I

III

TIIK LION OK LUfKIlNK.

107

tliis for about lialf a iiiilc, and came out in tlio cloar at-
inosplu'iv of tlic villa'^cof V'itznau. It had for many years
\nniii my ambition to be actually in the middle of a real
cloud, and liuve both lioavon and •■arth hidden from view,
but the re;iIization of this youthful dream was not ([uite
so enchanting' as It mi<^ht have Ijeen. After a })leasant
sa'il on the lake, we arrived at Lucerne, a lieautiful city
nestlinuf between th«; mountains. The chief si<dit hen; is
the famous sculpture by Thorvaldsen, of Co])enha;^fcn —
" Tlie Lion of Lucerne." It is twenty-eight feet in len^^tli,
hewn out of tlie solid rock, and rei>r(!sents a dyini^' lion
pierced with a bi'oken lance, and protecti nix with his paw
tlie lilv <»f Frances Above the 'M'otto in which the j-rand
old lion lies are hangin<,^ vines clinj^dng to the rocks, while
a stream trickles down the side and forms a dark pool at
the base. The whole is surroumled by a circle of line
trees and shrubs, ju'ovinfj a delifj^htful l)0wei', which
is visited by thousands who annually come to Lucerne,
many of them ;L(oinu^ there for no other purpose. This is
one of the most celebrated scul[)tures in existence, and is
certainly most impressive in its simple opran<leur, and the
expression of sterling fidelity, in its dying moments, of the
noble animal. It was erected to the memory of some
Swiss otHcers and guards who fell in defendini>: the Tuile-
ries against the Revolutionists in 1702.

Switzerlatid is the C'anaan of Kuro[)e. It is literally a
land flowing with milk and h<jnev. At breakfast and
sujiper a traveller is always supplied plentifully M'ith rich
milk and delicious honey, for both of which the country
is famous fiir and wide.

The Swiss peasants are firm Vielievcrs in the legend of the
Wandering Jew. They allege that this unfortunate being
visits Switzerland every year, and that fr(jm thi,' day of tin;
Crucitixionon Calvary until to-day he has continued, with-
out ceasing, to wander hopelessly over the face of the earth.
In appearance he is stated to be tall, with Howing white
hair and haggard features ; his garments are coarse, and
in his hand, he c-anies a stout stati". I have not seen him.

I I

PARIS, THK HHUIHTKST AND (JAYEST C'APITAI- IN THE WOKLD— TIIK MA<!-
NIKH^KNT PLACK DE LA lONCORDE — OBELISK OK LUXOR— THE TL1LERIE8
— ARCH OK THE STAR — TOMB OK NAPOLEON.

Paris, France,

UctoVuT, 1879.

I ARTS is uiidoubttHlly the J,^ayest and wildest, tlie most
beautiful and fascinating city in the work!. Here
the devotee of pleasure has every o|)portunity of
gratifying- his wishes. Every night the boulevanls and
avenues are lighted up brilliantly, many of them with the
powerful electric burner, which sheds rays very nuich re-
sembling the light of day. Bfjneath this glare of gas and
electricity passes in never-ending procession an excited
and jovial crowd of students, tradesmen, men of means,
foreigners from every clime, and in the strangest costumes,
women of more than doubtful reputation, artists, tourists,
and every other imaginable phase of humanity. To annise
and pander to this motley throng, Paris, with its popula-
tion of over two millions, has an infinite number of opera
houses, theatres, dancing-halls, ball-rooms, caf(is and res-
taurants, which are kept open till the small hours of the
morning. All is light, thoughtlessness, and the very ex-
cess of luxury and self-indulgence. During the victorious
days of Napoleon the First, when each month brought its
fresh laurels and conquests, France reached the zenith of
her power and fame j intoxicated with success, the highly

(iAY PARIS.

101)

-TIIK MAn-
: TLILEklKM

1879.

tho most
L Here
[imity of
<ls and
itii the
iicli le-
as and
X cited
means,
^unios,
wrists,
nnuse
opu la-
opera
1 res-
of the
y ex-
orious
ht its
ith of
ighly

Cultivated but vain ParisinnH tlien abandoned tliernsclves
to unrestrained license. I liave seen several ])aintings of
celebrity which represent " The Last davs of tl»e Athe-
nians," "The Decline of Rome," "Tiie Fall of Corinth and
of Carthage." In all these pictures, which are founded on
authentic history, the cause of decline is apparent. The
people are represented as, having been inllated with vic-
tory, giving themselves up to unbridle*! indulgence in
every luxury which the art and money of man could in-
vent and j)urchase. Paris seems to be doing its best to
imitate them.

Saturday is a l)usy, active day at Paris, but, for ex-
travagant gaiety, the great fete day of the week is the
Sabhath. This day is specially set apart for horse-
racing on the Longchamp, the Chantilly, and other
famous courses. The gayest balls are in progress during
Sunday night and Monday morning. Every one of the
iifty-eight theatres in the city and its subuibs, with the
exception of the Grand Opera and the Italian Opera, are
crowded on this special evening. The Hii)podrome, tiio
circuses, concert-halls and siufjinj; cafds are in full swin;^.
The outlying towns of Versailles, St. Cloud and Sevres
have their quota of pleasure-seekers ; in fact, to see Paris
on Sunday night, with her nervous, excited throng, is a
sight most peculiar to one accustomed to the more staid
and dignified existence of Englishmen.

If the history of Paris for the last ninety years were
written in the shape of a novel, it would be scouted
and laujjhed at as too extravatrant a concatenation
of events for even sucli a romancer as Dumas to con-
coct. The Place de la Concorde has been the theatre
of the most important episodes in this strange history.
This Place is the largest and most beautiful in the city,
and said to be the linest in the world. In the centre
stands the obelisk of Luxor, similar to, but nmch larger
and better preserved than, Cleopatra's Needle, on the
Thames Embankment. At the time of the birth of our

! -1

Tilt NAPOLEONS.

iil

c
o

h4 "

c
o

Saviour this monolith waa 1,400 years old, and then rever-
ed as an object of great antiquity. It stood at the gate of
an Egyptian heathen temple, and now, after having existed
for over three tliousand years, it has been placed in the
centre of a magnificent square in the most highly-civilized
city on the face of the globe. When Cfcsar conquered
Gaul, and the ancestors of the modern dainty Frenchmen
were running half-naked through the woods, this obelisk
graced a city of one of the most learned and powerful
nations of antiquity, but who are now utterly insignificant,
and hanging on to the skirts of the most degraded and
weakest Power in Europe. If this wonderful old relic could
speak, what a tale of the rise and fall of nations it could
tell, and what words of wisdom and warning it could give
to the people amongst whom it has now found a tempo-
rary resting-place !

Standing upon this spot, the view is the most inter-
esting in Paris. Looking east, up through a well-kept
garden and forest, one sees the ruins of the Imperial
Palace of the Tuileries. Ten years ago there reigned in
this gorgeous palace the Emperor Napoleon III, whose
slififhtest word was as the law of the Medes and Per-
sians, and who ruled and modelled Paris with the hand of
a des))ot. His son, the Prince Imperial, was the idol of
his father and the pet of the court, and probably was sur-
rounded by a more magnificent retinue of letainers than
any other royal prince in Christendom. A few reverses
in quick succession sjfficed to send both father and son
into exile, and there they have both died in coniparative
obscurity. On the 2.*3rd and 24th of May, 1871, the
Tuileries were destroyed by the Conniiunists, so that the
once rendezvous of power and fashion is now nothing but
a blackened ruin. Turning round and looking to the
west, one sees a few yards in front the commencement of
the famous Champs Elysdos, so extravagantly praised by
Parisians. It is the Rotten Row of Paris, but has a much
broader cand finer drive than its English rival. It is a

■ii^i

FRANX'E.

mile and one-third in length, and gradually ascends till
it reaches the Arc de Triomphe de I'Etoile. This arch
cost two million dollars, and is said to be the most im-
posing monument of triumph ever constructed. The idea
of erecting this memorial of victory was conceived by
Napoleon the First, and is certainly worthy of the genius
of that marvellous man. It is 168 feet high, 14(5 feet
wide, and 72 feet deep. Those who have not seen it can
thus form an idea of its immensity. A few days ago I
determined to drive up to the arc and have a careful look
at the celebrated bas-reliefs which adorn its sides. Ar-
riving on the spot, I found a crov/d of excited people run-
ning to and fro, and asking the cause, was informed that
a short time before a young man had committed suicide
by throwing himself from the summit. In his descent
the unfortunate creature had caught on some gas-jets
which protrude from the front, and had wrenched them
off as if they had V)een so much paper. A dark pool of
blood on the pavrmcnt marked where he fell. The body
had been taken to the morgue for identification. I saw
it there late that afternoon. It was a shocking sight, and
such as I don't wish ever to see again.

Turning around again to the right, one faces the Rue
Royale, at the end of which is the church of the Madeleine,
which cost over two and a-half million dollars. This
neighbourhood was the scene of desperate fighting be-
tween the Communists and the Government troops. One
of the most formidable barricades was erected across the
Rue Royale, and when they were finally driven from this
position, three hundred of the insurgents took refuge in
the sanctuary of the Madeleine. The soldiers, after meet-
ing with vigorous resistance, at last effected an entrance,
and within the statelv walls of this sacred edifice, in the
year of grace, 1871, they actually slaughtered in cold
blood the whole three hundred of their fellow-citizens at
the point of the bayonet. In the Rue Royale a most dia-
bolical crime was committed at this time. The Commu-

«.'*>

SL'^-4

NAPOLKON HONAI'ATITE.

113

ends till
his arch
lost im-
^he idea
ived by
5 genius
4() feet
1 it can
^s ago I
'ul look
s. Ar-
•le run-
id that
suicide
iescent
ras-jets
i them
)ool of
3 body

I saw

t, and

e Rue
leine,

This
be-

One
s the

this
,'"6 in
leet-
ince,
L the
cold
s at
dia-

IllU-

.O"

nists beiniT foiled and defeated at every turn, took their
revenge by setting fire to every building of importance to
which they could gain access. While the fire was raging
they bribed some firemen to fill the engines with petro-
leum. This was done, and hundreds of barrels were
poured into the burning houses, causing indescribable
horrors and vast loss of life and property.

I am still standing at the obelisk ; looking towards the
south over the Seine one can see prominent above every-
thinff the mlded dome of the Hotel des Invalides. Beneath
this dome lie the remains of the most daring and masterly
genius that France, or perhaps any other coimtry, ever
produced. From a friendless Corsican exile, Napoleon
Bonaparte rose to be the most powerful potentate in
Europe, and made each of his brothers a Sovereign. There
is no parallel in history to the career of this extraordinary
man of destiny. Emperors and kings cringed before him
and were glad to obey his bidding. Berlin was entered by
liis victorious French army, and Russia trembled on hear-
ing of his threatened invasion. England alone was equal
to him. Her bull-dog tenacity and courage he could
never conquer, while the Fates seemed to be against the
formidable preparations he made to invade the snug little
island, and finally tlie British forces were the cause of his
complete overthrow. The tomb is the most solemn and
impressive one I have ever seen, not even excepting those
of the English heroes, Wellington and Nelson, under the
dome of St. Paul's. When standing beside it people speak
in hushed tones. Something in the solemn atmosphere
and presence of the mighty dead seems to forbid either
levity or indifference. The body was brought from St.
Helena in 1840 by Prince de Joinville, who was duly au-
thorized to do so ly the French Government. Above the
entrance to the crypt are engraved the following words,
being an extract from the Emperor's will : " I desire that
my ashes may rest on tht^ banks of the Seine, in the midst
of the French people, whom I loved co well." To this
H

FRANCE.

clay the very name of Napoleon has an indescrihable
charm with the imaginative French people. The Place
de la Concorde, despite its name, has witnessed some of
the most terrible scenes recorded in the whole range of
history.

Prior to the first revolution, in 1789, the French nation
and the Government seem to have been jogging along in
a very orthodox sort of a way, but upon the breaking out
of the people in that year, demagogues got the upper hand,
and commenced to dispose of the obnoxious aristocracy
by placing in the middle of the Place de la Concorde the
celebrated guillotine, and christening the dreadful instru-
ment with the blood of Louis the Sixteenth. His beauti-
ful Queen, Marie Antoinette, soon followed on the same
block, and then several others of the Royal familj'.
Through the proverbial fickleness of the French it was
not a year till Danton, one of the chief insurgent leaders,
himself met death on the same spot. A few months after-
wards Robespierre, the President of the Committee of
Public Safety (?), and the most cruel and bloodthirsty of
the whole lot, had his head cut off by the same guillotine,
amidst the jeers and acclamations of all classes of the
people. In less than twenty-nine consecutive months
more than two thousand eight hundred people were pub-
licly butchered by the guillotine. I saw this identical in-
strument at Madame Tussaud's, at London, where it is
exhibited in the Chamber of Horrors, together with some
other delicate reminders of this remarkable period.

Napoleon I., Louis XVIH., Charles X., Louis Philippe
and Napoleon III. have all lived adjacent to and taken a
great pride in this prince of open Places, and during the
reign of Louis Philippe the present obelisk was presented
to him by Mohammed Ali, Pasha of Egypt, and erected it
at an expense of four hundred thousand dollars. It was
considered a great engineering feat to raise it to its pres-
ent lofty position, as it weighs two hundred and forty
tons. In April, 1814, just after Napoleon's series of re-

£>

PLACE DE L\ CONCORDE, PARIS.

115

scribable
le PJace
some of
range of

h nation

along in

iing out

er hand,

stocracy

Drde the

1 instru-

; beaiiti-

he same

famil}'.

\ it was

leaders,

lis after-

ittee of

lirsty of

llotine,

of the

months

e pub-

ical in-

re it is

h some

hilippe

aken a

ig the

sented

ected it

It was

;s pres-

1 forty

of re-

verses, a solemn and sacred service was celebrated in this
Place in the presence of the Emperors of Russia and Aus-
tria and the King of Prussia, while the troops of tlie allies
were camped out in every direction surrounding the spot.
This imposing service was in honour of the dead King,
Louis XVI. The following year, after the irrepressible
Bonaparte had escaped from Elba, and risked his all and
lost at Waterloo, the Place was occupied by the British
forces under Wellington. The last chapter of the story is
probably the most unhappy one of all. It was brother
fighting againt brother, and father against son. The
Communists in May, 1871, took up their stand here, and
large numbers were slaughtered without mercy. These
reminiscences, although they render the spot unsurpassed
for historical interest, are at the same time rather gloomy.
The Place as it looks to-day, however, would never sug-
gest anything but feelings of admiration. It should be
viewed both in the daytime and at night ; by day, to get
the extensive viev, while by night the picture is l)cyond
all doubt more charming. In every direction, east, west,
south and north, can be seen myriads of gas-jets, while
the many places of amusement, even more brilliantly
lighted up, and the moving carriages with their different
coloured lights, add greatly to its beauty. A walk about
nine p.m. over the adjacent bridge spanning the Seine
will well repay any visitor to Paris. Here, in addition
to the above view, can be seen the Hippodrome, lighted
by electricity, the swift little steamers with blue and red
lamps, and the distant Palace of the Trocadero, from its
lofty position, looking like a huge beacon light.

If I have time to write another letter before leaving
this city, I will advert to a few of the many features of
Paris which command the admiration and respect of every
traveller.

I I

FRANCE.

PAKIS, THE CKNTHK OK LEABNINO AND AUTS— COURT OK JUSTICE -THE ARIS-
TOCRACY OK ACTOHH— HARA BERNHARDT— THE (iOR(;EOUH Ol'EKA HOUHE —
EXCITEMENT AT THE BOURSE— VERHAILLES—CHEHH PLAYERS,

Paris, France,

29th Oct, lcS79.

tHE capital of Franco is the rendezvous in Europe for
tlie leaders and students of the professions, the arts
^— ^ and the sciences.

To this cradle of learning students flock from all parts
of the world, as here they not only have the best masters,
but receive the greatest degree of encouragement. In
many cases lectures and institutions are provided by the
state free to every person who cares to take advantage of
them, and in addition prizes of great value are offered
for competition. For instance, take the School of the
Fine Arts, which is attended by over 500 pupils. Here
the lucky fellow who succeeds in carrying oft' first prize
in painting, sculpture or architecture, is sent to Rome for
further study, and is left there for four years at the ex-
pense of the French Government. The result of this is
that Paris has a recognized and influential School of Art.
Somebody called the English " a nation of merchants."
This is doubtless true, and the great cause of that coun-
try's marvellous wealth and prosperity ; but England is
not of importance in the field of art. Although they have
purchased an extensive collection of paintings for the
National Gallery, still there is not that atmosphere of
refined art which pervades the large continental cities.
True, there are distinguished individual British artists, but
to a great extend it is every man for himself, and not-

ARTS AND SClEiVCES AT PARIS.

117

THE ARI8-
i HOUSE —

;70.

rope for
the arts

all parts
masters,
erit. In
1 by the
atage of
ottered
of the
Here
f.st prize
orne for
the ex-
this is
of Art.
chants."
it coun-
land is
ey have
for the
)here of
il cities,
ists, but
md not-

withstanding the Royal Academy, they do not seem to
belong to an organized band of men whose sole object is
the furtherance of the interests of their craft.

The University of Sorbonne, whieli, for over two hun-
dred years, has been the most celebrated seat of learning
in France, offers gratis to any Qne who will take the
trouble to walk into its halls the advantages of listening
to lectures on law, medicine, mathematics, natural sci-
ence, the classics, history and theology by the best pro-
fessors in Europe. To the all-powerful Cardinals Riche-
lieu and Mazarin, and to other prelates of the Church of
Rome, France owes a debt of deep gratitude. In the dark
ages, and in days of difficulty and danger, when all sort
of learning was worse than at a standstill, these men care-
fully nurtured the rich mines of the classic literature and
history of the past, and by establishing and endowing
universities endeavoured and finally succeeded in bring-
ing about a newer and a better era. To this source can
be traced the cause of the }>resent unapproachable reputa-
tion of Paris as the great centre of arts and literature.
Neither Cambridge nor Oxford will bear a favouratjle
comparison with Sorbonne in respect of the freedom of
higher education to the great masses of the people. These
are only instances of the many inducements offered to
students. At the head of this admirable system stands
the Institut de France, which consists of a body of the
most distinguished scholars, statesmen, lawyers, painters,
scul|)tors, musicians, and philosophers of the nation, whose
object at their periodical meetings is to promote by dis-
cussion and more tangible assistance the general pros-
perity of the higher branches of learning in the State. To
be one of the 225 members of the Institut is the longed-
for goal to which every man of ambition, from the strug-
gling artist to the wealthy aristocrat, directs his eyes.

The l*alace of Justice is an imposing pile of buildings.
Here the well-known eloquence of the French Bar can be
heard. I attended the Assizes a few days ago, and was

.^■"Sftx

118

FRANCE.

! I

much pleased with the way in which the business of the
Court was conducted. The barristers wore gowns, but
no wigs, like in Britain and Ireland. As a sort of apology
for a wig, they have a hat something after the shape of
that worn by a bishop. Shortly after I entered the court',
the chief of the three judges, arrayed in scarlet robes,
sentenced a robber to twenty-one years' penal servitude.
After receiving the sentence, the prisoner made an attempt
to get away from his custodian, but it was a lamentable
faihire. The court-room is larger and iitted up in better
style than any I have seen. It was waited upon by gen-
darmes in uniform. When more than one prisoner is in
the long dock each one has seated beside him a grim-
looking gendarme.

In no other city has the theatrical profession arrived at
such importance, or perfection, as at Paris. Here actors
and actresses may, and do, hold a high position in society ;
a different state of affairs from that which generally ex-
ists in England and America, where this profession is not
so highly honoured. In Paris there are few ladies or
gentlemen more courted and respected than the members
of the Comedie Francaise. During the recent visit of this
troupe to England a leading journal styled them " The
finest company of actors in the world." It is ))leasant to
attend their theatre. All the appointments of the place
are the personification of elegance and comfort, the acting
is easy, pleasing, and, best of all, quite natural. The
actors do not look at, or make any apparent effort to please,
the audience, but throw their whole energy and thought
into the play, and seem as absorbed as if each role were a
real one. At present the great attraction of the company
is Mile. Sara Bernhardt, who during the past summer set
all London society agog with her genius. Like many
other actresses of prominence, sh^is not to be relied upon
to appear according to announcement in the newspapers.
I went to hear her at London, and although she was
specially advertised to take an important part, she, for some

THE GORGEOUS OPERA HOUSE, PARIS.

110

The

reason best known to herself, did not make an appearance.
However, I tried again at Paris, and succeeded at hist in
hearinfj the Queen of the French stage. In appearance
Mile. Bernhardt looks something like Mrs. Scott Siddons,
that is in size, figure, and the dignity of her gestures, but
her face is not at all so handsome. The secret of her
power, I think, lies in her voice. She speaks deliberately,
clearly, and in the most exquisitely-modulated tones, so
that every word is distinctly heard by the audience. She
is evidently ambitious, as her renown as a painter and
sculptor is only eclipsed by the splendour of her reputation
as an actress. 1 saw the exhibition of her pictures and
statuary at London, and was impressed with the vigour and
originality of the work. Tiiis celebrated theatre of the
Comedie Francaise has been established for nearly 300
years, and is now controlled and supported by the Gov-
ernment, which, in addition to its receipts, grants it a
yearly subsidy equal to forty-eight thousand dollars. The
Opera House of Paris is said by connoisseurs to be the
finest building of its kind in existence ; if it is not it ought
to be, as it cost the enormous sum of nine millions two
hundred and twenty thousand dollars, and is fitted up
inside in a style which I thought only existed within the
covers of the Arabian Nights Entertainments. Although
not first in point of seating accommodation, the building
is the largest theatre in the world. It is hard to discrim-
inate where everything is constructed on such a gorgeous
scale of magnificence, but after looking over the whole
place, I must say that I preferred the grand staircase.
This is a most costly piece of workmanship, the hand-rails
are of Algerian onyx, and the steps, landing, etc., are made
of different kinds of rare marbles ; on it fifty persons can
stand abreast. No more brilliant sij^ht can be imagined
than wlien the staircase and the adjacent Foyer are lighted
up, in the way in which only the Parisians know how to
light a theatre, and a gay throng of men and women in
full dress are promenading up and down between the acts

120

FRANC K.

of the opera, Tlie number of rcf^ular performers attached
to this phice of amusement is about two liumh'ecl and
fifty. Like tlie (Jomcdie Fran(;aise, it is owned and su])-
ported by tlie State, wlio vote it a yearly grant of J?1()(),()0(),
The chief performers here are persons of undoubted social
position, and some of them are {jjreat swells, a good singer
sometiuHis being paid as high .as S24,()()0 }»er amuim as a
trilling honorarium for Ji))pi^aring on an average; of, per-
haps, once a week, and then only for two or three hours
at a time.

In connection with education, I foigot to menticm the
National Library of Paris. Amongst the libraries of the
world this one stands first and that of the British Museum
at London second. This vast collection of thi'ee million
books is open free ; any person is entitled to become a
reader and to explore its priceless treasures. Here, as in
the case of its English rival, can be seen novelists and
journalists of both sexes, and l)Ook-makers and writers of
all kinds collecting material for the work which they have
in hand. I will not advert to the picture-galleries of the
Louvre, also open gratis to the public, and whose saloons
are nearly three-(j[uarters of a mile in length, nor to its
galleries of sculpture, containing the much-admired Venus
of Milo, as the slightest notice would far transgress the
limits of a letter.

Rather an interesting place to visit is the Bourse.
Here between twelve and three every day can be seen
the stock-broking business of Paris. From the gallery is
the best ])lace to view the wild scene beneath, and a
crazier-looking lot of mortals I don't think ever got be-
tween the four walls of a building. In a small circular
inclosure near the end of the room arc the sworn and
duly-enrolled brokers. Outside of this barrier are col-
lected a miscellaneous crowd of stock-jobbers, etc., who
each instruct their broker within to buy or sell certain
stock. When he has received his instructions he hurries
to the inner circle and shouts at the very top of his voice,

HOIJIISK — VKRSAILI.KS.

121

ourse.

seen

ly is

md a

tbe-

cular

and

col-

who

itaiii

iiries

oice,

accompanying this fearful row with violent gesticulations.
He wants to purchase or dispose of stock, hut he looks
lik(^ a maniac. This is only one of many hundreds ]»e-
neath, who are each trying to see who can shout the
loudest, r could hardly have believed that such a ])lace
existed if 1 had not actually seen it on several occasions,
or that leading husiness men couM act in such an ex-
traordinary manner. The only reason for this intense
excitement is the desire to nmke a little money, and if
possible get some advantage over their neigh])ours. It is
rather unpleasant to contemplate, and (ispeeially when
one sees that a great number of that wild, money-grab-
bing crowd are old, white-haired men, long past the allot-
ted three score and ten. The din can be distinctly heard
across the street from the Bourse, and that amidst the
noise of carriages, teams and pedestrians.

Every tourist who comes here makes it a point to go
out to Versailles. The town is eleven and a quarter miles
from Paris, and is the seat of the French Parliament.
Sunday is the pet <lay for visitors, as then somt; of the
fountains generally play, and, besides this attraction, there
are lots of people to look at. The Hall of the (Jham-
ber of Deputies is not worthy of the splendid palace in
which it is situated, or worthy of the great nation whose
as.sembled wisdom here meets. It is small, and not so
striking as even the plaiidy gotten-up Reichstag at Ber-
lin. The House of Commons has a much grander and
more dignified appearatice than either of them, and I
think our own Canadian Chamber beats them all. It
may be that my iirst impression of the grandeur of the
Hou.se of Parliament at ()ttawa was .somewhat exaggerat-
ed, but my pre.sent opinion is tliat its halls for the Com-
mons and Upper House are finer than those of England,
Germany, France, or any of the smaller northern nations
of Europe. Versailles Palace was occupied by the King
of Prus.sia and his staff from 19tii September, 1870, to (Jth
March, 1871. In connection with this occupation, one of

V .^il

(tr-

122

FRANCE.

the rooms is particularly interostinfif. The Qalerie des
Olaces, built by the splendour-loving Louis XIV., the
Grand Monarque, is 240 f^et long, and the most nmgniti-
cent room in the Palace. Here, on the 18th of January,
1871, the German States, without a dissenting voice,
called upon the Prussian monarch to be their Emperor ;
and here, in the midst of the hostile French, in the midst
of his faithful army, in the atmosphere of war and vic-
tory, the veteran soldier-king received his reward.

Among the continental nations, chess is extensively
})layed, but, like every other amusement, it finds the most
ardent votaries at Paris. The headquarters of the lovers
of the royal game are at the Caf(} de la Regence, opposite
the Palais Royal, and here every evening are congregated
large numbers of ])layers and spectators. At small marble
tables in all directions are seated earnest and thoughtful
men, (juietly sipping their coffee between the moves, and
keeping a sharp lookout on their adversary. Even the
waiters seem to partake of the general interest in this
king of all games. They watch intently the contests, and
show their approbation or disapproval of a move by a
smile, or a shrug and a frown. To make the place even
more a shrine, devoted to chess, the ceilings are actually
covered with paintings of kings and queens. Hanked by
sober-looking bishops, lively knights and solid castles,
all protected by rows of faithful little pawns. On the
walls are records of tournaments now in progress, which
are each night being contested. The celebrated French
player, Rosenthal, visits at this cafd, and receives the
humble adoration of a crowd of inferior players, who, if
they can't beat him, can at least admire his genius.

PASSPORTS— (!.VY COSrCMKS HOI.KMN CATUKDK U, HKHVICK— MTKOM< ON THK
KAMBLA — DKHOSITION OK THK gilKEN — HUIJ, KKIHTM -A MVINt! CUUIO.SITY IN
OUIDB8— KUKOPKAN OPINION OK CANADA -THK HlsrOHK' MFA— CUBA.

BaUCELOiNA, SI'AIN,

iSoveiiiber 13tli, 1879.

|T does not sound like a ditiicult matter to step over
the imaginary line dividing France from Spain, but
it is not by any means an easy tjisk. A great deal
of red-tape formality has to be gone through.

We were quietly sleeping in a railway carriage at four
a.m. of the 2nd inst., when the door was opened by a
gruft* brigandish-looking individual, who made short
work of rousing us from refreshing slumber, and demand-
ing our passports. We were on the border-line, and the
Spanish Government official wanted to be sure that we
were not political conspirators or some other equally
dangerous characters. We forthwith showed him the
required papers, duly signed by the Marquis of Salisbury,
and countersigned by the Spanish Consul at London. This
was satisfactory, and he departed, slamming the door

behind him in a way that only a great man could do. We
then twisted ourselves up on the cushions and got well
under way for another sleep, when a second wretch en-
tered the compartment and requested to see our tickets.
We again got up, fumbled in a confused way in our poc-

' "

124.

SPAIN.

P I

ets, and finally produced what he wanted. V/e con-
gratulated ourselves that we 1 ad seen the last of these
disturhers of the peace, but no such luck was in store for
us. No sooner had we made ourselves comfortable when
open came the door again, and, in a loud voice of author-
ity, a very small man announced that we must alight,
and have our baggage examined by the Douanier. Sleepy,
and inwai'dly vowing vengeance on the Spanish authori-
ties in general, we got out, and after standing with others
in a row, like a lot of convicts, we finally passed the Cus-
tom House witho 't having any of our goods and chattels
confiscated. Others, however, were not so fortunate. Two
men had no passports, and were in a most unenviable
frame of mind. They tipped an ofiicial |)retty heavily,
and he undertook to pull them through ; but whether
they were sent back to France, or whether tlieir bribery
was successful, I was not able to learn positively.

The costume of a Spanish peasant is somewhat odd.
They are fond of l)i*ight colours, and the combinations of
red, blue, black, white and green, that they' manage to
mix up in the adornment of a single individual, is rather
.imusing. His hat is red, something between a Pickwickian
night-cap and a Turkish fez, but longer. The end hangs
over the side of the band, and Hops against his right ear.
As an excuse for a coat, he wears a loose blue blouse,
which looks large enough for two. His trousers are
generally of black or dark -blue velvet, and on his feet he
has the most extraordinary shoes. They are white, and
consist of a light hemp sole, which is tied to the ankle by
strings or ri})l)ons extending from small ])ieces of canvas
at the heel and toe. There ai'e no uppers, and in many
instances no stockings, so that the protection to the feet
is more of a hollow formality than of any practical use.

For some reason Spain is qirite out of the tourist's
route, and the country therefore appears to have retained
its original chai'acteristics uncontaminated by the new
ideas, customs, and extravagance of American and Eng-
lish travellers.

'/c con-
of tliese
store for
)le when
' aiitlior-
;t alight,
, Sleepy,
authori-
th others
the Cus-
l chattels
itc. Two
lenviablc
r heavily,
, whether
ir bribery

^vhat odd.
nations of
iianage to
[, is rather
ikwickian
end hangs
right ear.
ue blouse,
ousers are
his feet he
kvhite, and
e ankle by
of canvas
il in many
,0 the feet
bical use. ^
G tourist's
ire retained
f the new
I and Eng-

l 1

111! \

igi

126

SPAIN.

Barcelona, with a population of 216,600, is the most
foreign place I have yet visited, with its narrow, winding
streets, its high houses with numberless balconies, its
people with peculiar costumes, tawny Southern com-
plexions ana large black eyes, its spacious and peculiar
promenade, the Rambla. A few mornings ago, we strolled
through the city and up to the Cathedral. This edifice,
although anything but imposing in its outward appear-
ance, is much like what a church should be in the solem-
nity and appropriate grandeur of its interior. Although
not a gloomy morning, the light inside was of the dimmest
description. Service was in progress, the high altar was
brilliantly illuminated, while small boys in white surplices
carried many more lights, which all served to bring out
the surrounding gloom in more striking contrast. The
bishop, the priests and the acolytes formed in a solemn
procession, which was followed by about thirty beggars,
who were either maimed, halt or blind, and each bearing
in his hand a lighted candle. This was, to my mind, a
most beautiful part of the service. The unfortunate poor,
who are usually practically excluded from swell religious
services, are here not only admitted, but are paid special
attention to, and are made happy by being allowed to
take a personal part in, or closely observe, a beautiful,
and, to its followers, a most comforting religious observ-
ance. The large church was tilled at eleven a.m. with a
miscellaneous crowd, consisting of the poor, in tattered gar-
ments, mixed with richly-attired senoras and fashionably-
dressed gentlemen, who all, here at least, met on equal
ground. The people do not sit in pews, and seldom on
the chairs which are provided, but walk quietly up to the
neighbourhood of the altar. Most of them were in an
attitude of prayer or devotion. The whole scene, although
I have not time to fully describe it, struck me very
favourably in its charity and utter levelling of social
grades.

The Rambla, speaking of it strictly as a promenade, is

SPANISH BEAUTIES.

127

in an
lough
very
social

finer than anything of its kind in Paris, the great city of
avenues and boulevards. It is about seventy -five feet
wide, nearly a mile long, and occupies the centre of the
street ; Dn each side are ways for carriages, but the centre,
or the Ranibla, is reserved exclusively for pedestrians ;
overhead are large trees, the branches of which nearly
meet. Beneath this, after the midday siesta, and about
four o'clock p.m., a fashionable crowd begins to assemble.
It is the heart of the city. Everybody strolls down to
the Rambla to sec everybody else, and no young fellow
is properly equipped to show himself off unless he is pro-
vided with a cigarette. Up to nearly midnight this inno-
cent amusement is kept up. The ladies, or senoras, have
a very becoming costume. They usually wear a dark-
coloured dress, and over their heads a black lace mantilla,
which is tied back from the face and hangs down over
the shoulders. Instead of black, the veil is sometimes of
fine white lace. The Spanish women are celebrated for
I'eauty, more especially for the beauty of their eyes, and
when dressed in this manner, and coquettishly using the
inevitable fan, they certainly look quite bewitching.

Eleven years ago the people of Spain got roused, and
shook off the yoke of the old monarchy by driving Queen
Isabella from the throne. An opportunity offered, the
Royalists again came to the surface, and elected Amadeus,
son of the Italian king, to be their Soverign ; but the poor
young fellow soon got heartily tired of the position, and
in 1873 threw up the reins of power. He is now leading
a gay life at Paris as plain Due d'Aosta. The nation again
took refuge in a Republic. Like the Communists of Paris,
some factions then got fighting between themselves, and
ended the matter by indulging in a serious civil war.
After terrible destruction of life and property, affairs were
compromised in 1874 by all parties uniting in calling upon
Alfonzo, the son of their lately-deposed Queen Isabella,
to be their King, and he now occupies the throne. The
young King is twenty-two years of age, and is just about
to marry a second wife.

128

SPAIN.

The celebrated Spanish institution, the bull-fight, the
last relic of bygone days of knights and tournaments, is
here a regular amusement of the people, and as com-
mon as a circus in America. The bull-ring in the Piazza
de Toros is a magnificent affair, capable of holding ten
thousand persons. It is much the same shape as the
tent for Barnum's hippodrome, but there is no roof, and
the seats are made of brick. The wild bulls re ad-
mitted on the opposite side from the door througii which
the matadores enter. When one of the matadores is killed
in the contest, the attention of the infuriated animal is
attracted away from its victim by waving a red flag in its
face. At this it rushes, and then the fallen fighter is con-
veyed from the ling through the same door as he entered.
Tids exciting but barbarous pastime is patronized by
royalty, and finds its chief encouragement at Madrid.

In being shown over the fine City Hall at Barcelona,
yesterda}'', we met a man who deserves to have a medal
presented to him. After being shown all the numerous
rooms with the greatest care and politeness, and taking
up a good deal of his time, we offered our guide the
usual tip, or, in other words, a peseta of the current coin
of the realm, but this he firmly declined. Astonished at
this remarkable being, the first guide we had met who
was not hungrily looking out for every cent he could get,
and filled with admiration for the man, we doubled the
amount and pressed him to take it just to oblige us. But
no, he was delighted to do us a service, but could not
accept money for his politeness.

Whilst riding in a railway carriage through the Pyre-
nees, I got into conversation with an agreeable, well-
informed Spaniard, who was just returning from Paris,
where he had bought several books. Amongst them was
a French history of a five months' tour in Canada. I was
amused with the contents of this book of travels. It
contained a large engraving of Louis Kiel, who appeared
to be one of its chief heroes, and after skipping over

THE HISTORIC MEDITERRANEAN.

129

Quebec, Montreal, and Toronto, and never so much as
noticing London, it devotes most of its pages to the North-
West. The impression, no doubt, that would be left on
the mind of a continental reader would be that Canada
was a land of wild bears, deer and buffalo, with some
excellent fishing in the Sault Ste. Marie and the St.
Lawrence, but no one would ever dream for a moment
that the country had any commercial or agricultural
importance.

In the morning the Rambla presents an interesting
appearance. The north side, for a quarter part of its
length, is lined by temporary stalls, forming a sort of
market or bazaar. Here the swarthy natives sell beauti
fully-coloured and richly-scented flowers. For a real, or
five Canadian cents, a small bouquet of geraniums, tube-
roses and violets can be boujxht. In other stalls are
exposed for sale monkeys, parrots, white rats, littki dogs,
and singing-birds — all of them cheaper than I have seen
such things sold for elsewhere.

We made an excursion to the Convent of Pedro Alves,
situated in a picturesque spot high up on the mountain
side. The view from it is very fine. At our feet lay the
city, with its snow-white buildings, which, for its popula-
tion, covers an immense amount of ground. Just beyond
it lay the still waters of the Mediterranean, with its beau-
tiful yellowish-red, hazy horizon. From the dawn of the
world's history up to the present day this sea has wit-
nessed some of the most famous exploits of man. Over it
Alexander the Great sailed with his Macedonian hordes
in search of more worlds to conquer ; over it Caesar came
with a strong arm and a fearless heart to reduce his ene-
mies to subjection ; through this sea Hannibal passed on
his way to conquer Spain, and then fulfil his oath to his
dying father and wreak a terrible vengeance on the power
of Rome ; over it, nearly four hundred years ago, Colum-
bus sailed with a doubting heart to present his daring
scheme to the King and Queen of the greatest naval

130

SPAIN.

power in the world ; and here in Spain his perseverance
was rewarded by Royal patronage; over it, in modern times,

SP, .NISH MONASTEKY,

EXPENSIVE CIQARS.

131

Napoleon the Great conveyed his trained hosts to win a
few empty laurels in the lands of Bible history ; and, later
on, the Heet of British iron-elads, the most powerful naval
armament ever manned, sailed proudly through Gibraltar
Straits and up to the Turkish capital, there, by a simple
exhibition of its power, controlling the fate of nations.

In descending the mountjiin we passed the gardens of
a Spanish nobleman, and there saw magnificent roses of
all shades, from pure white to deep red, blooming in lux-
uriance in the open air. Beside them were hedges of
cactus, which are here in their native element, the bloom
usually growing as high as twenty feet.

Spain carries its protection ideas to a ridiculous ex-
tent. Although its own soil is admirably fitted for the
growth of tobacco, the government forbids its cultivation,
as they fear that the local production might interfej*e
with the trade of their pet colony, Cuba. Every Span-
iard has to pay nearly twice as much as his cigar is wortli
in order to put money into the pockets of the wealthy
tobacco-growers of the West Indies. Speaking of Cuba,
the great question which now agitates the Spanish press
is the abolition of slavery in that island ; and to all
appearances the party of Reform will succeed in wiping
out this blot on the reputation of Spain. The difficulty
appears to be that the country is so poor that they are
not able to indemnify the slave-owners, and so, while
passing an act of common humanity they are at the same
time working an injustice on the Cuban capitalists who
have invested their money in this way.

rii

ITS NOTORIOUH GAMING-TABLES— SCENES IN THE CASINO— AN ENGLISH VKTIM
—GAMBLING MANIA— VETEEAN GAMESTEIIS- THE DEMI-MONDE A QUEER
THKONG.

Monte Carlo,

Principality of Monaco,

November 18, 1879.

HE gaming-tables of Monte Carlo are the most no-
torious in the world. It is only since the statute-
books of France and Germany have declared gam-
bling to be a criminal act that these salons have sprung
into such importance, and the once famous resorts of
Baden-Baden, Aix les Bains, and Homburg have dwindled
into mere watering-places.

The Principality of Monaco is an independent State,
ruled over by Prince Charles III. Although only cover-
ing an area of about six miles, and that mostly of barren,
precipitous rocks, it is a place of vast importance to a cer-
tain class of society. The town is situated on the shore
of the Mediterranean, on a spur of the Maritime Alps,
and owing to its sheltered position has a charming winter
climate. In the days of pirates and freebootei's, the Princes
of Monaco were celebrated for naval exploits and feats of
daring, but this reputation has long since departed. The
present Prince allows gambling in his dominions, and
this is his sole passport to notoriety. Some years ago he
rented a piece of barren rock on the sea-shore to a few

THE (UME OF ROULETTE.

133

former habitii(?.s of Batlen-Baden. Here a gorgeous palace
was erected, artificial gardens of princely magnificence
arranged without regard to expense, and now tlie place is
visited annually by thousands of tourists, idle men and
women of means, and real professional gamesters, the
latter coming for no other purpose than to make money.
The establisliment is called the " Casino," and is managed
by an administration who exei'cise entire control over the
tickets of admission ; no one can enter the rooms without
a ticket, and this can be refused by the proprietors with-
out alleging any reason for such refusal. None of the resi-
dents of the principality are admitted. When I ap[)lied
for and obtained a ticket, a mnn who entered the office at
the same time was refused one ; he blustered around,
offered to show his passport, and made a great fuss about
it, but the officer simply ignored him. The salons in
which the gaming is done, and in which thousands of
pounds change hands every hour, are richly fitted up, far
exceeding in costliness and grandeur those of the Conver-
sationshaus at Baden-Baden. There are four roulette-
tables and one for trente et quarante. The former is
the favourite game, the reason being t^at a stake as low
as five francs, or an American dollar, caVi be put up, while
at the latter the lowest is twenty francs. Each roulette
table will hold, beside the eight officers, about thirty
seated players. The middle of the long table is occupied
by the roulette or wheel, which revolves on a pivot. The
wheel contains thirty-seven compartments, eighteen white,
eighteen red, and one zero. Efich end of the tabic is a
complete game in itself. A player can lisk liis money on
a great variety of chances, either on red or l)lack, odd or
even, manque or passe, also upon different sets of figures,
which are delineated on the green cloth of tlie table. One
of the croupiers gives the wheel a twist, then places a
small white ball in the ring of the roulette, giving it a
push in the opposite direction to that in which the wheel
is revolving ; when the ball slackens its speed it drops

134

MONACO.

li ;1

down into one of the compartments of the wheel, and
tlie employ d calls out the result, as, " five, red, odd and
manque." All players who have won are then paid, while
the stakes of the unfortunate ones, usually in a large
majority, are raked into the cofters of the bank. It is the
most interesting game I ever watched or took part in,
not so much for the play itself as on account of the intense
earnestness of the players. The men are usually cool, or
at least present that outward appearance, while the wom-
en are by all odds the more restless and excited, the
more reckless and daring of the two. I saw one woman
so entirely absorbed in her play that she quite forgot the
presence of the other players, stood up excitedly, placing
her five-franc pieces on the wildest sort of comljinations,
all the while talking aloid in an incoherent way. She
had lost a great deal, and was vainly trying to regain her
gi'ound. Many of the frequenters have strong .faith in
luck. One woman had a small pack of cards in her
hands with a different number on the back of each. She
would pick out a card at random and stake her money on
the number drawn. This plan I do not think was as
successful as it might have been, as she almost invariably
was the loser, but still she clung to her idea with the
tenacity of despair. Another woman, dressed very richly,
did all her playing through the medium of her young
son, who placed the money under her directions. Prob-
ably she thought that his innocence and youth might
win the favours of the fickle Goddess of Fortune, and cer-
tainly the boy was wonderfully lucky. He staked high,
and seldom lost. It was positively painful to watch the
glistening eye, the feveicd cheek, and the intense excite-
ment of the mother, as she awaited the announcement of
the fate of the tiny white ball. I have spent, oft' and on,
a considerable time in the salons, and so have had an ex-
cellent opportunity of observing the different players.
The play at the Trente et Quarante table, although quieter
than roulette, is more absorbing to those engaged in it,

V\ ;

THE CHANCES OF O AMINO.

135

larnfe

Here the game is played with cards, and the stakes are
hiixh, ranfjin<i: from 20 to 12,000 francs. I was inter-
ested in watching the play of a successful gamester. He
was an old, wizened-up, humpbacked hit of humanity,
and had no more expression in his face than a piece of
cordwood ; but the .systematic way in which the old fel-
low won gold from the usually successful bank appeare<l
to give a good deal of satisfaction to the spectators. Hi.s
stakes were generally ten napoleons at a time, and in a
long cour.se of play I only saw him lose twice. He kept
a careful count of the progress of the game, appeared
to play on a system, and must have won in the neigbour-
hood of 5,000 francs while I was looking on. VV'^ith one
long, bony hand he supported his head, with the other ho
clutched his gains. At the other end of the table was
.seated a Turk in Turkish co.stume, with a face exhibiting
about the .same amount of emotion as an Egyptian mum-
my. He also had a wonderful run of luck. Everything he
touched seemed to turn into gold, and his winnings must
have run up into the thousand.s. At one of the rouh^tte-
tables I watched with interest the short career of an Eng-
lishman. He was a light-haired, delicate young fellow,
apparently .spending the winter in the south of France for
his health. Evidently quite a stranger to the game, he
modestly put down a five-franc piece on the red, and won.
Pleased at this, he again placed on the red, and lost. He
then played several times, losing more than he won.
Gradually the fatal passion laid hold of him ; he took a
seat which was vacated by one of the players, and sat
down trembling with suppressed excitement. Drawing
from his })ur.se six or seven napoleons, he changed them
at the bank, and laid the silver before him. This sum
lasted him for about half an hour. The game looks so
simple, and the chances, as far as can be seen, being quite
as much in favour of a player as the bank, makes it most
alluring. Fresh players and even old gamesters are
always buoyed np with the hope that the luck must soon

i i

V',

130

MONACO.

turn in their favour. Anxious to rotrieve his losses, the
youii<j^ Kn^li.sliinan pulled sonie bank-notes from liis
pocket-book, changed them and again commenced. He
played a simple game, and did not try any intricate com-
binations. Sometimes he would win a little, but the tide,
either of luck or good play, was against him, and he finally
changed i est what was, to all appearances, his last
bank-note. In all, he ])robably lost two hundred and
fifty or three hundred dollars, and looked about as down-
hearted, broken-spirited a man as I ever saw. I am sat-
isfied that this young fellow had never ])laye«l at the
game before, and simply came into the Casino for annise-
ment. His case is by no means an uncommon one. After
losing some small coins, there is a natural desire to be
even with the bank, and especially as the game is so evi-
dently one of chance, and one sees players on every side

scoopmg in large gains. The real gambling mania does

not seize a man until he has lost enough to feel it, and
then he is ^ ">und to pull up again by heavy stakes and
large pro At first I thought it was entirely a game

of chance, v. o looks to be completely beyond the ken of
man to form the faintest idea where the little white mes-
senger will drop ; but I am inclined to think now, after
having observed the play of several successful gamblers,
that the game can be played by a clever calculator with
a degree of safety, on certain systems of probability.

The upper classes of the frail sisterhood of the demi-
monde, who are not by any means no})odies on the Conti-
nent, fre(iuent this place in large numbers. They are
generally daring, and very often successful, players, but
with them, as is usual with other gamblers, it is a case of
short-lived prosperity — success one day followed by bank-
ruptcy the next. Into this maelstrom thousands are drawn
every year and whirled on to ruin and despair. If its
entire history for six months were written it would tell
of many a tragedy, many a case of blighted hopes and
wrecked prospects,

SUICIDES AT MONTE CARLO.

137

ises, tho
om his
3d. He
'te com-
he tide,
', finally
his last
od and
I down-
mi sat-
at the
aniuso-
. After
! to be
so evi-
vy side
ia does
it, and
38 and
I game
ken of
e nies-
', after
iiblcrs,
r with

•

demi-
"^onti-
y are
s, but
ase of
bank-
Irawn
If its
d tell
and

The late owner of the Casino, M. Blanc, died worth
several millions, and tho enormous profits are yearly
increasinir. No doubt it must earn an immense revenue
for the present administration. I am informed that the
runnin<^ expenses are about half a million dollars per
annum. These expenses consist, first, in keeping up the
plac«^ itself with its army of employ ds ; second, in large
subsidies to the newspapi^i's of the north of Italy and south
of France to suppress the reporting of numerous suicides
of broken-hearted gamesters ; third, in lavish donations
to the poor of the principality of Monaco, — this latter
fact goes forth to the world and serves to whitewash tho
reputation of Monte (Jarlo ; fourthly, and by far the
Itirgest draw on its resources, is the payment of rent to
the Prince of Monaco.

Not long ago, a wealthy Hungarian nobleman came
here, touched the tapis vert, played wildly, and lost nearly
a million francs. In despair he attempted to commit
suicide by hanging himself, but was discovered and cut
down before life was extinct. The Monte Carlo authori-
ties tried to hush the matter up, and gave the unfortunate
man ten thousand francs to leave the place. As one of
the sights of Europe, nothing can be more interesting
than to visit these rooms and watch the players. There
is no noise and no amusement. The gamblers do not
come here for fun, but with a thirst for excitement, a
desire of gain, and a vain hope that they may bieak the
bank. Neither are the spectators amused. The scene
before them resolves itself perhaps into a study of the
various faces ; some of them of veterans who never dis-
play the slightest emotion either when losing or gaining;
others, and the majority of the players, ai'e not so weather-
beaten, and apparently forget everything but the all-
absorbing game, displaying a great deal of nervous excite-
ment. Some spectators would, doubtless, be painfully
impressed to see old ladies and fair young girls so fearfully
carried away by the passion for play.

111:

138

MONAf'O.

At night the scene is a brilliant one. The crowds of
richly-dressed men and women, the strong glare of light
upon the green cloth, the red, black and brass roulette-
wheels, the piles of gold, silver and bank-notes heaped up
in front of the banks, and the eager, agitated faces of the
players, all combine to make a strong impression upon a
stranger.

These are the only recognized gaming-tables now in
Europe, and each season they form the rendcizvous of
roues and gamesters from every clime. Fi'enchmen
and Prussiaiis bury the hatchet and sit down side by
side. The Turk, with dry and solemn visage, has for a
vis-fi-vis his traditional enemy, the stately Russian. Swar-
thy Spaniards, mixed with Greeks and Italians, hob-nob
over their gains and losses. Dignified-looking English-
men, moon-eyed Japaneseand shrewd Americans all for the
nonce forget their nationality in the keen excitement of
rouge et noir. The most sensible man I saw in the whole
crowd was an American, who staked a five-franc piece on
a single chance, won, pocketed his 180 francs profit, and
walked away from the table. No more risking for that
wily youth.

^owds of
of light
'oulette-
aped up
s of the
upon a

now in
^ous of
ichnien
side by
s for a
Swar-
ob-nob
nglish-
forthe
lent of
whole
ece on
fc, and
that

^M^

.i«i.. ..i**;.- ..

VENICE.

A CITY OF THE SEA— THE BRONZE HORSES- THEIR MARVELLOUS STORY— THE
SECRET COUNCIL OF THREE— THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS— LEGENDARY PIGEONS
—MOONLIGHT GONDOLIERINO- LOUD BYRON— ST. MARK'S AND ITS RELICS.

Venice, Italy,

November, 1870.

'HERE is not a single horse used in Venice. For
streets it has canals, for cabs it has four thousand
gondolas. A few days ago, while conversing with
an intelligent, well-educated Venetian who was born in
Venice, and had never been outside of the lagune, he told
me he had never seen a horse used for any practical pur-
pose. Sometimes one is on exhibition here as a curiosity,
but that is all. The eftect is strange. When threading
through its crowded and narrow thoroughfares, there is
no noise but the patter of feet and the soft sound of
Italian voices. It is an agreeable respite not to be con-
tinually greeted with the din of heavy carts, the crack-
ing of whips, and the shouts of drivers, as is the case in
all other large cities. Though this is true, and there is
practically not a horse in the place, still Venice is cele-
brated all the world over for its famous steeds. These
are the four bronze horses of St. Mark. They are beauti-
fully-proportioned, noble-looking animals, and have a his-
tory more remarkable *ban fiction. In the reign of the

140

ITALY.

! ,

h n

Roman Emperor Nero, they surmounted one of his tri-
umphal arches at Rome, and, with war-chariot attached,
looked down upon the soldiers passing beneath, who
were then undisputed masters of the world. Later on, the
Emperor Trajan removed the famous horses and placed
them on an arch of triumph which had been erected in
honour of his own victories. Here they remained during
the zenith of Rome's power, and saw many a Roman army
return in triumph with spoils, captives and glory. At
length the Emperor Constantine took them away to Con-
stantinople. Venice afterward sprang into commercial
and then military importance. Dandolo, her greatest
Doge, and the founder of her power, waged a war
against the Turks, and in 1204 brought the priceless tro-
phies to Venice, and had them placed above the sacred
portals of St, Mark's. For nearly six centuries the four
bronze steeds presided over the piazza of St. Mark, which
lies below and in front of them, and came to be iden-
tified as one of the emblems of the dreaded greatness
of the State. They stood there during the wonderful
rise of the power of Venice to be mistress of the Adri-
atic and the queen of commerce ; they stood there while
the rotten system of government caused the downfall
of a prosperous and wealthy State; they stood there
and saw a hostile army for the first time in occupation of
this proud city of the sea ; and they stood there and wit-
nessed the inglorious sunset of the career of Venice,
when its last Doge threw up the reins of power to the
new conqueror. Napoleon Bonaparte.

Napoleon, whose victorious armies always returned
from their expeditions laden with spoils and treasures,
brought the horses to Paris in 1797. In front of his
Palace of the Tuileries he caused a triumphal arch to be
erected in the Place de Carousel, and on it placed the
bronze steeds. Here they remained and witnessed the
rise of the Corsican soldier to be First Consul, and then
Emperor of France and the terror to Europe, and finally

f his tri-
attached,
at J), who
eron, the
id placed
rected in
-d during
an army

^ly. At

to Con-
Hnercial
greatest

a war
[ess tro-
' sacred
^he four
, which
>e iden-
eatness
iderful

Adri-

while
wnfall

there
ion of
i wit-
enice,
>o the

irned
Jures,
f his
to be

the

the
:^hen
ally

GRAND CANAL, VENICE.

141

his downfall and banishment. After the Powers had got
Napoleon, as they thought, safely stowed away in the
island of Elba they commenced to distribute to their
rightful owners the many objects of art and rarity which
had been carried to Paris, and had made its palaces and
galleries the most attractive on the Continent. Amongst
the rest, the horses of St. Mark were restored to their old
places, where they now preside over the destinies of
Venice. They have been present at the rise and fall of
Rome, of Venice and of Napoleon Bonaparte — three of the
greatest epochs in history.

Venice, with its peculiar beauties, should be seen by
moonlight. To be rowed down the Grand Canal in a
gondola by daylight gives a traveller a grievous disap-
pointment. The whole city is a wreck of former magnifi-
cence, and will not bear the strong glare of the sun ; but
in the soft light of the moon everything which might dis-
tress the eye is clothed in silver drapery, and the grave
old palaces stand out in all the glory of their past greatness.
A row from the railway station to the palace of the Doges,
nearly two miles, takes in the whole of the Grand Canal.
The first prominent object on the left is the Gli Scalzi,
the gorgeously gotten-up church of the bare-footed monks.
The high altar aad its surroundings, although not so large
itS in some of the celebrated cathedrals, surpass anything
of the kind I have yet seen in poTr.t of massive gold orna-
mentation. Further on, we pass beneath the bridge of the
Rial to, an enormous affair in one marble arch. On it are
three passages for pedestrians and two rows of shops. For
hundreds of years it has been a most important quarter
for commerce and commercial men. The haunt of old
Shylock was on the Rialto, " where the merchants most
do congregate." After gazing upon palace after palace,
with many a curious legend att^iched to them, we came
to the Palace Mocenigo, which was occupied by Lord
Byron during his residence here in 1818. This remarkable
young nobleman was quite a hero in Venetian society.

142

ITALY.

After separating from his wife in England, lie

chiefly at this palace, but for a considerable period
lived at the Armenian Convent on an island in i

resided

the

lagune, opposite the city; here, under the tutorship of the
learned Padre Paschal, he studied the almost extinct Ar-
menian language, and made some remarkable translations
into English from the ancient collection of manuscripts
in the convent. Amongst them is an epistle of the Co -
rinthians to St. Paul, and a long reply of the apostle ; also
a letter from Abgar, the king of the Armenians, to the
Saviour, saying that he (the king) had heard of the won-
derful cures and miracles performed, and also that the
Jews had begun to murmur against Him, and concluding
with an earnest appeal to the Saviour to come and reside
in Armenia. The alleged written reply of Christ, declin-
ing the invitation, is in beautiful language, and regarded
by the fiiars of the convent as a treasure entirely beyond
price. Lord Byron's warm admiration for the old city,
his unfortunate career, his commanding genius, and his
immortal poetry have wreathed even modern Venice with
a halo of romantic interest. This canal in the olden days
was the Belgravia of Venice. Here the nobili, or patric- ,
ian families of Venice, had their palaces, and from these
portals they were wont to embark on their gondolas and
be rowed down to the palace of the Doges. This palace,
which adjoins St. Mark's, has been the scene of more cruel
tyranny than perhaps any other civilized State has ever
submitted to. Ascending to its interior by the giant's
staircase, on the top of which the imposing ceremony of
the coronation of the Doges took place, we walked into
the great Council Hall, where once sat the nobili in sol-
emn state. The cause of the utter downfall of Venice
was that the government did not rest with the people
themselves. They had. no voice whatever in the affairs
of State. Their duty consisted in obeying the laws passed
by men with whom they had no sympathies in common,
and if they were not satisfied with the state of afiairs had

VENICE — THE COUNCIL OF THREE.

143

e resitjed
period lie
»d in the
»P of the
tinct Ar-
ii'Slations
luscripts
the Co-
tie ; also
', to the
he won-
hat tlie
eluding
I reside
declin-
gardod
beyond
d city,
f»d his
3 with
I days
atrie- ^
these
5 and
dace,
2rue]
ever
mf's
7 of
into
sol-
lice
pie
lirs
5ed
an,
ad

their heads chopped off for treason. The whole power
rested with the nobili, whose names were enroUed in the
Golden Book. This body, becoming too unwieldy for
convenience, the device was hit upon of electing by bal-
lot ten of their number to be a sort of ministry. As des-
potic power increased, it was thought advisable to again
limit the number, thus giving rise to the celebrated Coun-
cil of Three. This was a secret tribunal, elected in a pe-
culiar manner ; no one knew who they were. The mode
of election, as far as I have been able to learn, was as fol-
lows : An urn was filled with carefully-folded papers, all
blanks but three, one for each member of the Council ;
each noblemen in turn stepped forward, chose a paper and
retired to a solitary chamber, where he opened his choice ;
if it had a number on he was elected to be one of the
secret Three, l)ut it was a secret trust, and he was not, on
peril of his life, to reveal the fact of his election. The
Council met masked, and except by their voices could not
discover who their co-judges were ; their proceedings,
their discussions, and their places of meeting were all
secret, and there was no appeal from their judgment. To
furnish them with material for adjudication, there was
sunk into the wall, outside of an ante-room, a mai'ble
lion's head, into the wide mouth of which accusations
against the citizens were dropped. These charges were
examined into by the secret Three, and, if history be true,
the result of the investigation depended entirely upon
whether the person charged were in favour or not with the
State. The sentence of death, which was the most com-
mon, was preceded by the mysterious disappearance of
the unfortunate victim, who was securely lodged in the
prison hard by, separated on the east from the palace by
a narrow canal. At the sunnnons of the Inquisitors the
offender was conveyed across the Bridge of Sighs into
their presence. Lord Byron, in writing of this notorious
bridge, and this vicinity so replete with interest, says :

144

ITALY.

" I stood in Venice on the Bridge of Sighs,
A palace and a prisoii on each hand ;
I saw from out the waves her structures rise,
As from the stroke of the enchanter's wand.
A thousand years their cloudy wings expand
Around me, and a dying glory sniilet.
O'er the far times, when many a subject land
Looked to the winged lion's marble piles,
Where Venice uat in state, throned on her hundred isles."

The bridge is enclosed by four stone walls, and is di-
vided into two corridors, one for criminal and the other
for political offenders. It has received its dismal name
because the sight of the bright world, which the prisoner
received through the stone gateway on his way to the
mock trial, was in all probability tlie last he would ever
have, as it was seldom that a man escaped. After the
condemnation of the prisoner, generally, it is said, on the
evidence of hired bravos, he was taken to the cells be-
neath the palace, and there, in complete darkness, chained
to the floor until the time of his execution arrived. We
walked through these cells, which have witnessed so
much cruelty and torture, and which were finally thrown
open by the strong hand of Napoleon. To arrive at these
horrible dens, we were led by a guide bearing a candle
away down dark, narrow stone stairways into regions
where no light except that of the jailor's lamp by any
chance ever found its way. There were two places of exe-
cution in Venice, one in the Piazzetta, between the granite
column surmounted by the winged lion of St. Mark, and
the column on which stands the statue of St. Theodore on
a crocodile, the patron saint of the ancient Republic ;
here, in the presence of the people, the executions which
it was deemed politic to make public took place ; but the
much-used place of private murders within the palace is
what has chiefly contributed to hand down the names of
the Council of Three to the hatred and loathing of pos-
terity. In a remote portion of the dark prison, in a nar-
row passage-way, the place is now pointed out. About

BRIDOE OF SICfHS.

145

four feet liigb across the passage stretclied a heavy har of
iron, and beside it, on the left, Imng an iron instrument,
something between a broad-axe and a guillotine ; on the
right hung an instrument for strangling. With these
playful instruments the decrees of the Council were car-
ried out. In front are gutters leading to several holes in
the stone pavement ; these told their own tale. No man's
life or property was safe in Venice ; and, although the in-
herent strength of the State ](mg prevented its decay, it
was a natural sequence that, with their wretched mode of
government, prosperity could not be lasting.

The great council hall contains a picture of Paradise,
by Tintoretto, which is remarkable for being the largest
oil painting in the world. It is quite bewildering in the
vast multitude of happy-looking people it portrays. In
an adjoining room is an old and celebrated map of the
world, by Fra Mauro, a monk of the fifteenth century.
The peculiarity is, that although Europe, Asia and Africa
are delineated with fidelity, there is no America to be
seen. This was, of course, before Columbus had convinced
an unwilling court that his bold scheme was not the dream
of a visionary.

One of the oddest and most interesting features of
Venice are its pigeons. On the Piazza hundreds are to be
seen daily. They live in the nooks of the Cathedral and
the surrounding colonnades, and owe their existence and
plump, contented appearance to a legend. The tradition
is that nearly seven hundred years ago, when " blind old
Dandolo, the octogenarian chief," as Byron calls him,
was fighting in the Levant to add Candia to the posses-
sions of Venice, he was materially aided in his conquest
of that island by information received through the means
of carrier-pigeons. The birds were then freighted with
the news of victory, and dispatched to Venice. The
people, delighted with the success of their leader, vowed
to respect and keep in luxury these messengers of good
tidings and their descendants. This is a very nice legend,
J

146

ITALY.

and whether it be true or not, the fact remains that the
birds are there in hundreds now, and unmolested. Every
day they afford great amusement, especially to strangers.
At an adjacent shop, an old man makes his living by
selling small portionsof corn, which are purchased to feed
the birds. When any person appears on the square with
a paper of corn, he is at once surrounded by an eager
flock of pigeons. I bought some grain, and upon making
my appearance in the s([uare was quickly the centre ot
attraction for a lot of hungry ones. My friend put some
corn on my hat ; in a minute there were four pigeons
fighting for it, and as many on my arms picking at the
paper in my hand.

The magnificent old Cathedral of St. Mark, with its
odd architecture and brilliant mosaics, I would like to
describe ; but it would transgress the limits of this already
long letter. The relics preserved here are regarded as
authentic, owing to the early dates at which they were
obtained and the constant intercourse which Venice kept
up with the cities of the Levant in the early days of the
Christian era. Beneath the high altar lie the remains
of a friend and disciple of Christ, St. Mark the Evangelist,
which were brought by the citizens of Venice from Alex-
andria with much ceremony. Another altar is supported
by several pillars. The two in the centi-e are of alabaster,
partly transparent. They are alleged to have once deco-
rated Solomon's Temple, the most gorgeous edifice ever
erected by the hand of man. In the baptistery, securely
guarded, is the stone upon which John the Baptist was
beheaded. Nearly all the cathedrals have interesting-
treasuries, but the one of St. Mark, from its great age, is
entitled to a prominent place.

Last night the weather was mild, a delightful, dreamy
haze peivaded the city, not enough to obstruct the view,
but just sufficient to give the palaces, churches and canals
of Venice an unreal, dream-like appearance. The moon
was bright and strong, and the Grand Canal looked its best.

MOONLIGHT IN VENKJE.

147

ins that the
jted. Every
bo strangers,
as living by
lased to feed

square with
by an eager
apon making
the centre ot
end put some

four pigeons
;)icking at the

lark', with its
would Uke to
of this ah-eady
re regarded as
dch they were
;h Venice kept
■ly days of the
Ae the remains
ithe Evangelist,
ice from Alex-
1- is supported
,re of alabaster,
ave once deco-
jus editice ever
[istery, securely
he Baptist was

«>•

tve interestin
^ts great age, is

[ghtful, dreamy
struct the view,
jhes and canals
Lce. The moon
[l looked its best.

We hired a gondola, not a new-fasliioned one, but one of
the real old piratical -looking black fellows, covered in with
a rakish canopy. On the stern stoo<l the gondolier as of
old, who guides and propels the craft in a very mysterious
manner. We were rowed down past the Doge's palace.
Here a company of strollinfj musicians were singing in
rich, deep Italian voices some of the sweetest songs im-
aginable. The Piazza to our left was brilliantly lighted
with gas ; grand old St. Mark's looked in the moonlight
as it was in the halcyon days of Venice ; the sounds of
music were wafted to us over the waters, and no noise
marred the delightful effect but the regular plashing of
the oar of the gondolier as we glided noiselessly through
the lagune. Then for the first time I was able to appre-
ciate the extravagant praise which I have read of the
peculiar beauties of this City of the Sea. After enjoying
this for some time, we turned up again into the Grand
Canal and listened to the stirring strains of martial music;
a band of Italian soldiers were slowly passing by on their
way to barracks.

After gliding beneath the shadow of palace after palace,
up as far as the Rialto, we turned homewards, and decided
that it was altogether the most charming scene that we
had ever beheld in any city.

The gondolier is addressed in Italian as " Poppe." The
canopy beneath which we sat in the gondola rather ob-
structed our view of the moon. My companion, not being
satisfied with this, put his head out of the window and
called out " Poppe, voulez vous movey this forward."
The ludicrous mixture of Italian, French and English, and
the dumbfounded look on the face of the gondolier, were
too much for our gravity. For .some time the silent old
canal rang with laughter, which the " Poppe " did not
seem in the least to understand.

I i

ITALY.

THE LAnV OF LYONS— MAHSKILLRS— COUNT OK MONTR CIliaTO- NICE, TMK
HAUNT OF THE WEALTHY— SCENERY ON THE RIVIEKA -THE MHRINE OK COL-
UMBUS—DANIEL O'CONNELL- CATHEDRAL OK MILAN— SWEEIMNO VIEW KROM
THE T(...ER MONT CENIH TUNNEL— MONT BLANC— ST. OOTHARD PASS — THE
MATTKRHORN— NAPOLEON'S MARCH OVER THE SIMPLON— PAINTINO OK " LAST
supper" — IRON CROWN CK LOMBARDY- TRIESTE IN AUSTRIA— KLORENCE, THE
CRADLE OK ART.

Florence, Itai.y,

29th Nov., 1879.

[HE railway journey of 537 miles from Pari.s to
Marseilles takes twenty-three hours to accomplish,
and, although the country is rich and fertile, it
becomes rather monotonous to see nothing but vinery- ard
after vineyard, and peasants who all look as much like
one another as two peas. The first great city arrived at
was Lyons ; this place has always been associated in my
mind with Bulwer's Lady of Lyons, Claude Melnotte, and
his lady-love. It is a city of importance, the second
largest in France, celebrated for its silks and for being a
hotbed of Communism.

After spinning along through the lovely valley of the
Rhone, we pulled up at Vienne ; then at the pretty little
town of Orange, which gave its name to the family of
Macaulay's hero, William IIL of England, the Prince of
Orange ; and on we go to the great seaport of Marseilles.
This is the most important commercial city on the Medi-
terranean, and is worse than Lyons for insurrections and
periodical Communistic outbreaks. In the ups and downs
of empires and republics, Marseilles generally leads the
way. In the harbour opposite the city is an isolated.

BODU

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO.

149

NICE, THE
NE OF COL-
VIEW KKOM
PAHS— THE
G OK " LAHT
DRENCE, THE

Paris to
:complish,
fertile, it
, vineyard
[luich like
irrived at
bed in my
notte, and

e second
31- being a

ey of the
etty little
family of
rrince of
Marseilles,
the Medi-
ctions and
ind downs
J leads the
n isolated,

ledges where a boat might land and a

right down into the

lonely-looking rock. Its precipitous sides are continued
up by heavy masonry, which forms the celebrated prison
of Chateau d'If. I can't fancy a safer place to put a
political offender. Around the steep sides there are no
comfortal)le little

prisoner escape. The rocks })lunge
blue sea, nnd the waves da.sh up as high as the prison grat-
ings, altogether a most discouraging sort of a hal)itation.

Here Mirabeau, the famous French statesman, lover,
wit and writer, was confined ; but his fame was as noth-
ing compared with the Count of Monte Cristo. This im-
aginary and im])ossible being, the creation of the wild
brain of Alexander Dumas, is now almost a household word
in every civilized country. In the Chateau d'If this hero
was confined, and down its perpendicular walls, near the
round tower, one dark night he escaped into the sea ;
after surmounting untold difficulties, he finally succeeded
in turning to account the old monk's secret, and went to
Paris probably the richest man in the world. In coming
from Barcelona to Marseilles by way of the Mediter-
ranean, our ship passed close to the old chateau. The
mate pointed out all the places of interest, and said that
the story of Monte Cristo was partly founded on fact.

The ride from Marseilles to Nice is interesting ; I en-
joyed it particularly ; nearly the whole way we skirted
along the shores of the Mediterranean, and passed by many
agroupof fishermen with their wives and children, mending
the nets and cleaning the tackle just as their fathers had
been doing before them for two thousand years back. I had
often heard of people wintering in the south of France, and
always thought it was a very swell thing to do. Nice, the
favourite wintering-place, is a charming little spot, beauti-
fully and warmly situated at the base of the Maritime Alps.
It is the haunt of wealthy English and Americans. The
walk along the sea-shore is a grand one ; it is called the
Promenade Anglaise, and is lined with palm and almond
trees. This place, with the neighbouring towns of Can-

150

ITALY.

n(?s and Mentone, is a fi^reat winter re^^ort, not only
because of its really delightful climate, but ])ecause of the
immediate vicinity of the fatally-attractive gaminpj-tables
of Monte Carlo. Between Nice and Genoa runs the cele-
brated Corniclie Road, on wliich, some authorities say,
there is the finest srenery in Europe, This road was
built by the Romans to connect Italy with their posses-
sions in Spain; it is better made tlian anything one; sees
nowadays, is as liaivl and almost as smooth as a billiard-
table, and certainly for coast scenery caps anything I have
yet met witli. All along the road the Alps come down
to the sea and make oddly-shaped capes and bays ; add to
this bare cliffs, ever so many hundred feet high, and a
luxuriant vegetation of cactus, wild roses, palms, almonds,
and oranges, and, as the crowning feature to the whole,
the peaceful waters of the Mediterranean filling up the
bays and stretching away to the south as far as the eye
can reach. This region is called the Riviera, and it is
considered the correct thing to be romantic and enthusi-
astic about it.

Genoa was once a rival of, and overcame, Venice in the
contest for the uipremacy of the Adriatic ; but, unlike
Venice, it still retains much of its old vim, and is now the
most important seaport in Italy. It is a city built on a
hill, and has some palaces erected on a scale of magnifi-
cence which greatly surprised me ; but it is not for its
commerce, nor yet for its palaces, that Genoa is familiar
to every school-boy. It is the shrine of Christopher Co-
lumbus. Everywhere one is reminded of the great navi-
gator. Upon emerging from the railway station, the first
object which arrests the eye is a fine monument. On
it stands the figure of Columbus, who is represented as a
man of about thirty-five years of age, with a handsome,
thoughtful face and a splendid physical development ;
from the pedestal four ships' prows appropriately project,
and at the great man's feet, which rest on an anchor,
kneels the figtire of America — an imposing monument,

CtrUISTOPHER ror.UMBUS.

ir.t

l)ut erected mthor late in tlu; day, Imntf only put up in
1S(j2. From his youth upwards, Columbus was an astute
mathematician, as, after many voyapfes and much study, he
had finally satisfied himself, from the ;:reo<jjraphy and pro-
portions of the globe, that there must be a continent, and
a vast one, between the western shores of Europe and the
eastern shores of Asia. The last embers of the Crusades
were still smouldering in Europe, and were only kept
from bursting into flame by the fact that no available
capital was left to carry them on. C^olumbus, however,
vowed that the proceeds of his expedition would be de-
voted to a pilgrimage to recover the Holy Sepulchre. In
the Town Hall of Genoa, the handwriting of this grand,
old pioneer is shown to the curious traveller. There are
three of his letters, all written in Spanish, but evidently
by one who was quite master of his pen.

The Genoese have always been celebrated for their
spirit of freedom and admiration of great men of any
nation who have had the courage and ability to use their
voice and pen against oppression, and to uphold the rights
of their native land. In one of the busiest thoroughfares
there is a bust of Daniel O'Connell, and an inscription in
honour of the Irish liberator and patriot. It made me
feel quite at home to see the well-known, strong, intelli •
gent face of O'Connell looking down from its place of
honour upon the busy throng of Italians passing beneath.

We next sojourned at Milan. This is a fine city, rather
reminding one of Berlin. It is celebrated for two things,
the Cathedral and " The Last Supper." The former is
the most beautiful, airy, refined piece of architecture
in Europe, and is called by the Milanese the eighth won-
der of the world. Just fancy, in the numberless nooks of
this gothic edifice there are over two thousand marble
statues, large and small, each one having had to pass the
severe scrutiny of the chief builder. Tlie view from the roof
and top of the tower is grand ; the spot where the world-
famed Mont Cenis tunnel passes for eight miles through
the Alps is pointed out ; further to the right, the ice-clad

152

ITALY.

! I

summit of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe;
then Mont St. Bernard, on the summit of which a coura-
geous band of holy monks have a monastery, wliere many
a lost and half-frozen traveller has found safety and good
cheer; further on, is the Matti^rhorn, which, during the
past suimner, has been the scene of a dreadful disaster.
The ascent of this glacier and peak is accompanied by
the greatest danger. An American physician tried it last
August, missed his footing on a jagged crag, and fell ; but
wliat a blood-curdling fall — down, down through space for
a thousand feet before he struck the first ledge of rocks !
When he first slipped, he slid for about twenty feet before
he went over the precipice. This slide of a few seconds
was agony for his companions. The poor fellow was an
experienced Alpine climber, and knew the full extent of
his danger. He turned around like lightning and grasped
some shrubs and grasses, but they were too weak to hold
him, he had gained such an impetus ; so, with a full con-
sciousness of his awful position, he was hurled into the
abyss. Amongst other peaks to be seen is that of the
Simplon. Over the pass on this mountain Napoleon
made his celebrated forced march into Italy, to the utter
astonishment of Al[)ine gui(ies and monks, who had taught
that the feat was impossible for an army and its imj^edi-
merita. The other great object of note at Milan is " The
Last Supper," by Leonardo da Vinci. This painting —
one of the most celebrated in existence — is upon the wall
of what was once the refectory of a monastery, but is now
a cavalry barrack. Three hundred and eighty years ago
Leonardo worked here at his great mastei'piece. It is
related that such was his enthusiasm that he would fre-
quently start at dawn and never descend from his
])latform or lay down his brush till dusk, when the
departing day forced him unwillingly to cease work.
The picture represents the Saviour with His twelve dis-
ciples as they are at supper. The Master has just said,
*' One of you shall betray me," and all the company are

■i

-1

IRON CROWN OF LOMBARDV.

153

deeply agitated at the words. Artists say that the expres-
sions of the different faces are j)erfect ; but unfortunately
the painting is in such a bad state of preservation that it
is difficult for one having only a limited knowledge of art
to form a correct opinion on its true merits. I looked at
it carefully, and must say I was much impressed with the
soleuujity of the scene and the beautiful grouping of the
figures. Its size is about eight feet by twenty. ! Vom
Milan we made an excursion to Monza. In the (cathedral
here is to be seen one of the most interesting relics in
Europe. It is called " The Iron Crown of Lombardy," and
is guarded by the monks with great vigilance. This crown
consists of a broad hoop of gold, curiously graven, and
adorned with piecious stones ; around the interior is a
thin strip of iron made from what is alleged to be a nail
of the true cross, and brought from Palestine by the hand
of no less a personage than the Empress Helena. We were
courteously received by a monk, who was not long in get-
ting ready to show the treasure ; but it is not very easily
got at. The high altar has every appearance of being
solid, with a large gilded cross on its face ; however, the
monk, with the aid of an assistant, [)laced a step-ladder
near the front, applied a key to the centi-e of the cross,
and opened wide two doors ; inside was a gorgeous cross
inlaid with precious stones, and surrounded by hangings
of the richest silks. Another key was inserted into this
cross, and upon opening it we saw resting in its centre a
casket ; this was carefully taken out and opened. At last
we had got at the Iron (^rown of Lombardy; thei'e it was
in a glass case, tenderly handled by the monk, who vouch-
safed copious explanations of its wonderful history. Like
the Stone of Hc<jne, in Westminster Abbey, this jelic is
asso'^iated with the memory of no one less distinguished
than a king. With it thirty-four sovereigns of Lon»bardy
have been crowned. The second last time it was used it
wreathed the brow of the greatest soldier and the most
king-like personage that it had ever fallen to its lot to

154

ITALY.

honour. Napoleon, with his rich taste and love of such
glory as was enjoyed by the Roman Emperors of old,
could not refrain, while in Italy, from ratifying his subju-
gation of the country by having a public coronation, and,
with his unconquerable guards at his back, this soldier of
soldiers ordered out the precious relic of the ancient House
of Lombardy and had himself crowned with great pomp
and ceremony.

From Milan we went to Venice ; on the way we passed
near the bridge of Lodi, where Napoleon the First won the
idolatry of his soldiers by personally leading one of the
most desperate charges on record. Right in the face of
blazing cannon and musketry, almost certain death,
the " petit caporal " led a forlorn hope, and earned the
bridge against fearful odds ; after this, his soldiers would
have followed him down the mouth of a loaded cannon.

From Venice I passed over the Adriatic to Trieste. This
is the finest seaport of Austria, and its second largest city.
It is charmingly situated for a summer resort, but is
known chiefly as the former residence of Maximilian, Em-
peror of Mexico, and his beautiful wife Carlotta ; near
the town on the sea-shore is the chateau of Miramar, which
is famous in that part of the country for its costly ap-
pointments and picturesque grounds. There Carlotta lived
during her happy days. In a principal square of the
city a monument is erected to the ill-fated Maximilian,
who had formerly been a rear-admiral in the Austrian
navy, and was well known and much beloved at Trieste.
The people are much the same as the Germans of the
North, but, perhaps, not quite so athletic in appearance.

From Venice v^e came to Bologna, and ate some of
their celebrated sausages, which they call " mortadella ; "
they are as pleasant to eat as one could wish. The old
University here is a great curiosity and very interesting.
Thomas a'Becket was once a professor of jurisprudence
here ; they had lots of lady professors for all branches of
learning, and in the hey-day of its prosperity it had ten

GALLERIES AT FLORENCE.

155

thousand students. It had a world-wide celebrity, and
received pupils from every quarter. From here we came
on to Florence, passing through what Macaulay calls
" The purple Appennines." As a cradle of Art, this city
takes the first place. In the good old days, in the begin-
ning of the sixteenth century, three of the greatest paint-
ers that ever lived resided here at the same time — Raphael,
Michael Angelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. Tlie picture-
galleries of the Pitti and Ufuzzi Palaces are the pride of
Florentines and the admiration of Europe.

ITALY.

MODERN ROME.

.u li

f !

A PROSPEROUS CITY— THE CAPITOLINE WOLF— THP: CORHO AND THE CARNIVAL-
HOUSE OK PAUL— NEAPOLITAN MODELS—THE FASHIONABLE PINCIAN GAR-
DENS—ITALIAN SUNSETS— THE FOUNTAINS OF ROME.

Rome, Italy,

Dec, 1879.

OME is a curious old place. West of the Capitoline
Hill is seen a briglit city, which, in the winter
season, is one of the gayest and most fashionable
capitals in Europe. On the other hand, looking eastward,
immediately at one's feet are the stately ruins of tem-
ples, palaces and baths, the great relics of a time when
the Cft^sars ruled the world, and spent the millions raised
by foreign tribute in beautifying the City of the Seven
Hills.

Modern Rome is apj)arently rich and prosperous. It is
not large enough to hold the increasing population, as,
in the new quarter, building operations are now being
actively carried on. The people number 285,000, having
increased 50,000 during the last ten years.

Standing on the Piazza of the Capitol, facing the city,
there is, on the left, the Palace of the Conservatori, which
contains, amongst many otlier reminiscences of ancient
Rou'e, the celebrated Capitoline wolf. The bronze group
representsa she-wolf suckling two muscular-looking babes,
Romulus and Renms. This stran<re tradition about the
early life of the founders of Rome has ever been treas-
ured by the people, and to this day the story is valued
so highly that two live wolves are always kept at the

THE CORSO AT ROME.

157

people's expense, as a public recognition of the legend.
The cage stands in an arbour close to the steps descend-
ing from the Piazza, and now contains two fine large ani-
mals which are a credit to their kind. The famous bronze
wolf is over two thousand years old, and is mentioned by
Cicero as having been struck by lightning sixty-five years
before the birth of Christ. On the right leg, the injury
made by the electric fluid is now plainly to be seen.

On the opposite side of the Piazza is the Capitoline
Museum. In one of the upper rooms is the sculpture,
" The Dying Gladiator," a favourite theme of poets and
writers. It. consists simply of an athlete, who has been
mortally wounded in one of the terrible combats for which
early Rome was so celebrated. He is leaning upon one
arm, with blood flowing from his side. The dignity of
his face is very much detracted from by a moustache, and
one arm has been badly restored by Michael Angelo. To
one not skilled in criticising statuary, this famous work
looks inferior to many of the groups of Canova or Thor-
valdsen. Next to the museum is the Church of Aracoeli,
containinfj the Bambino. This is an ima^Tfe of the infant
Christ, and is believed to possess miraculous powers. I
was informed, when I went to see it, that it is in almost
daily requisition for healing the sick, being conveyed to
the house of the believer in charge of a priest. Every
visible part except the face is thickly covered with prec-
ious stones, being the offerings of those who have bene-
fited by their faith in its supernatural attributes.

If it be not a plagiarism on Dr. Johnson, I would say,
" Let us take a walk down the Corso," the chief street of
Rome. For the main artery of a great modern city, it is
an odd old thoroughfare. The stone sidewalks vary from
two to four feet in width, and the space for carriages is
about seven yards. In the late afternoon, this street is a
fashionable resort. Crowds of people come to see the fine
horses and costly equipages sweep by, and to gaze into
the shop windows, which rival the boulevards of Paris for

158

ITALY.

brightness and a tempting display of jewellery, pictures
and bric-a-brac. During the Carnival this is the scene of
the famous horse-races. From the Piazza del Popolo to
the Piazza di Venezia, a distance of over a mile, the rider-
less horses tear along through the gaily-decorated Corso
amidst the shouts and acclamations of the masked multi-
tude. This custom of the Carnival, with the races, the
iTiasks, and the long holiday of license, is about the last
relic of the days when the haughty barons granted to the
plebeians o^ Rome a season of festivities ; but the fun of
to-day would not have suited the Romans of old, whom
nothing short of battles between gladiators and wild beasts
would satisfy.

Walking up the Corso past the Palazzo Bonaparte,
where Madame Lti?titia, mother of the founder of the
French Empire, died in 183G, we come to the church of
" St. Maria in Via Lata," built upon the spot where " Paul
dwelt two whole years in his own hired house." Two
rooms below the church are now shown where the Evan-
gelist St. Luke and the Apostle Paul lived and taught.
On the wall is pointed out an almost obliterated picture
of the Virgin Mary, which it is said St. Luke painted.

Passing, further on, the Palazzo Sciarra, and many
another huge pile, with legends and the dark history of
ages of oppression and revolution attached to them, we
turn to the right at the Via Condotti^ and across to the
Piazza di Spagna. This is the centre of the large English
and American population. Here one might almost fancy
it was an English square ; the numerous bookstores, lend-
ing libraries, photograph shops, hotels and banks all have
English clerks, and, with the trifling exception of having
to pay about twice »the value of everything, it feels quite
like home. Opposite is the Scala di Spagna, a magnifi-
cent flight of 125 steps ascending the Pincian Hill. This
is the favourite resort of a curious colony of Neapolitans,
composed of men and women, old and young, pretty girls

..„^^^X'f'^

MODELS FOR ARTISTS.

159

pictures
scene of
)polo to
le rider-
i Corso
1 multi-
ces, the
the last
d to the
e fun of
1, whom
d beasts

naparte,
: of the
hurch of
re " Paul
." Two
le Evan-
taught.
I picture
[ited.
d many
story of
lem, we
> to the
English
st fancy
es, lend-
all have
f having
Is quite
magnifi-
1. This
olitans,
Itty girls

and handsome boys, in costumes purposely of the most
picturesque description. Instead of a hat, the girls wear
a piece of pure white linen about two feet long, which is
several folds in thickness, and of an oblong shape. Almost
every garment is of a different bright colour. Take one
girl, for instance, who is a sort of belle, and dressed bett(ir
than most of her neighbours : the dress is bright red,
over this a lai-ge green apron, then a yellow bodice and a
small pink shawl, large white sleeves, red coral necklace,
yellow ear-rings, snow-white head-dress, and throughout
the whole costume vari-coloured trimmings. This, com-
bined with jet black hair and a beautiful face, makes
an odd but attractive picture. The men wear leggings,
yellow trousers, red vests, sometimes velvet coats, and
always a brigandish -looking soft felt hat, and frecpiently
abundant tresses of long hair. The children are, almost
without exception, handsome, but the older they get their
complexion begins to assume a sort of leathery l(X)k, which,
although not ugly, takes away the fresh beauty.

These people, probably the laziest in the world, are
models, and hire themselves to the Schools of Art and the
large number of painters and sculptors at Rome, to be
painted or chiselled as Madonnas, saints, heroes, or any
other character required. One little boy can make a very
respectable living in the double capacity of an imp of
darkness and a cherub ; an old man with snowy locks
will sit alternately as a Roman Senator and a Christian
martyr ; a handsome young woman may one day repre-
sent Venus, or Cleopatra, the voluptuous queen of the
East, and the next day sit for a stern vestal virgin of the
Pagan days of Rome. There are many ways of making a
living, but that of being a model is probably the easiest.

On the top of the steps we turn to the left and stroll
along a fine avenue of evergreen oaks, with here and
there a pretty fountain sending its cooling streams up
between the trees. This avenue, from its lofty position,
commands one of the finest views of the city, and is a

IGO

ITALY.

famous spot to get such a viow as will do justice to St.
Peter's. Fui-ther on, and higher up, we enter the Pincian,
where once were the gardens of Lucullus, in which Cicero
and Pompey were entertained with regal splendour, and
in which the notorious orgies of Messalina were cele-
l)rated. Here, between four and five nearly every after-
noon, a fine military band plays, and the youth and beauty
of Rome congregate. Although the crowd is never so largo
as on Rotten Row or the Bois de Boulogne, the carriages
and their appointments are quite as fine as seen anywhere.
It is the custom to drive here and to pay and receive
visits in the carriages. The band plays in an open place
situated immediately above the Piazza del Popolo, and
from this place paths diverge to all parts of the delight-
ful little park. On every side are groups of statuary
and busts of celebrated Italians. The main fountain is
adorned with a very fine group in marble, representing
the mother of Moses depositing the child in the ark of
bulrushes. This forms the central figure of one of the
most charming views at Rome. Standing about fifty feet

from the fountain, and look-
ing towards the city, one sees
first the fountain playing
around its beautiful orna-
ment ; next, a graceful arch
of evergreen oaks ; then the
gay, fashionably-dressed
throng, and the bandsmen in
their picturesque uniforms ;
further on are the fine car-
riages, bright costumes, liv-
eried coachmen and pranc-
ing horses; far beyond all
is the great landmark of
CUPOLA OP ST. PETER'S. R^j^e, thc Domo of St.

Peter's, which towers above every other object for miles
around. In the distant horizon is an Italian sunset.

111

ITALIAN VS. CANADIAN SUNSETS.

ICl

lightinfj up the sky with tints which seem to he peculiar
to this land. This scene is a favourite subject oY |>hoto-
j^^raphers, and, in truth, very deservedly so. In the inter-
vals between the music, the Roman youths and maidens
may be observed to quietly stroll off to the avenue over-
looking the Villa Borghese ; the place is apparently a sort
of lovers' walk, and dedicated to the goddess of "the old,
old story."

Speaking of sunsets, I expected from what I had read
and heard to find the " sunny skies of Italy " so grand
and beautiful that they would entirely eclipse anything
in C-anada. In this I was greatly mistaken. Neither in
Italy nor France have I seen the blaze of rich, deep colour-
ing in the horizon which can be seen on almost any line
autunm evening in Canada. The sunsets in Italy are of a
mild description ; the tints are delicate and pretty, but
there is none of that warm glow of colour which seems to
put life into a Canadian scene.

The fountains of Rome deserve mention, (comparatively
speaking, there are none at London. Paris I thought was
a City of Fountains ; but even beautiful Paris must give
way to Rome in point of prodigality in this charming
mode of beautifying a city. The main i-eason why Rome
has so many is because of her almost unlimited supply of
water, which is chiefly conveyed through the ancient
a(|ueducts from the Sabine and Alban hills. The fountain,
which is said by Italians to be the finest in the world, is
that of " The Trevi," situated in the heart of the city. It
covers the whole of the end of a block, and takes up a
little square for itself. The supply of water comes to
Rome by an underground channel fourteen miles long. It
was constructed over nineteen hundred years ago to sup-
ply the baths of Agrippa behind the Pantheon. In the
centre of the Trevi reclines a fjifjantic fii»:ure of the old
heathen god of the sea. On each side are colossal mermen
with sea horses ; in every direction are fantastic little
figures, and from dozens of odd nooks streams of water

if !

fl'

162

ITALY.

pour forth and tuniMe in orderly confusion over green
sedge and mossy rocks into a liuge wide basin. An old
legend says that a traveller quailing .some of this pure
water and tossing into the basin an old coin ju.st before
leaving the Kteinal ('ity will be certain to eventually re-
turn, however great tlu; obstacles to prevent him niay
apparently be. The Accjua Paola on the hill of Janiculus
is a formidable rival to the 'i'revi. Many other fountain.s,

THE PANTHKU.N Al UuML.

in every shape that art can devise, are scattered through-
out the city, and certainly do not constitute one of the
least attractive features of Rome.

King Humbert now resides here, and, by his presence
and that of his court, contributes greatly to making Rome
a centre of fashion for Southern Europe. I saw him in his

KINO IIUMnEHT OF ITALY.

103

)ver green

An old

tliis pure

list before

itually re-

liiin may

Janiculus

fountains,

h through-
one of the

rarrlage last night as lie was being driven into the Royal
Palace. He is a young, rather handsonuvlooking follow,
and is very cotirteous to the people. His father, Victor
Emanuel, ] believe, prided himself on having thi; largest
and longf'st moustache in Europe. The present King is, in
this respect, evidently following in his parent's footste|)s.
The Italians have not the faintest idea how to niako
themselves comfortable in the winter. The weather liere,
althou"^ '^nerally mild, is sometimes for several days
togetl 1 and disagreeable ; then the Italian appears

at his V ... He has an inveterate prejudice to stoves, and
can't be induced to build a decent, comfortable tire. Most
of them just bury themselves in their capacious cloaks,
pull down iheir soft felt hats over their eyes, and look as
wretched as tish out of water. Some, however, such as
the custodians of i)icture-galleries and mu.seums, ami the
vendors of chestnuts and wax matches, who have little
stands on the streets, and lead an inactive life, are forced
to do something to keep themselves alive, so they carry
aiound a small jar containing live coke coals, over which
they hover like a hen over a solitary chicken. The winter
climate is usually very pleasant at Rome; but, when the
cold north winds from the Alps sweep over the level
(Jampagna, it takes all the life out of the vivacious Italians.
Usually gay and polite, they become sullen and grumpy
when not baskintr in the warmth of the sun.

Is presence

dng Rome

Ihim in his

ITALY.

ANCIENT ROME.

THE FORUM— THK I'HI.SON OF I'ETEK AND PAUL— THE aOR(;EOUH I'ALACE OF
THE C.«SAH.S— THE COLOSSEUM- APPIAN WAY FOMPEY'S STATUE— HOBA-
TIUS AND THE UUIIKiE.

ROMK,

2211(1 December, 1879.

^' HE Ruins of Rome, which are, perhaps, its most
1^ interesting feature, are centred within a compara-
tively small space.

From the Caj)itolin,! Hill, looking eastward, the best
general view of the chief of these reminders of past sj)len-
dour and power can be got. Immediately at our feet
stretches the Roman Forum, with which almost every
important event in the local history of Rome was inti-
mately associated.

Attention is first attracted by the eleven columns of
the Colonnade of the Twelve Gods, in front of which the
images of the heathen deities were placed fifteen hundre<l
years ago by one of the most bigoted defenders of the
ancient creed.

Descending at this point into the excavations, and walk-
ing along the Via Sacra, one can trace on the left the
massive foundations of the Temple of Concord, founded
twenty-one centuries ago in honour of the termination of
the protracted fight for freedom between the Plebeians
and Patricians.

From the rostra of this famous Temple of Peace, Cicero,
the Prince of Latin orators, thundered against the con-
spiracy of Cataline. In strange connection with the place

nilSON OF PETKH AND PAUL.

165

I coinpaia-

whoro these pliilippics were delivered there stands, a few
yards distant, tlie Maniertine Prison, still in good preser-
vation, under the Cliureh of St. Joseph. This old prison
is one of the niostaneient Imildings at Rome, havin;^' heen
built in the half-mythical period of the Kin«^^s. 'J'he ad-
venturous Honuins, who conspired with the haiijj^hty ('ata-
line to burn the city and <{ui<itly pocket the contents of
the public treasury, were confined nnd executed here.
Many other illustrious prisoners occupied the ^dooiny cells,
as the old custodian will inform any traveller; but the
place is now surround(Ml by a sacred interest, and is
ehieriy visited because of its havin*,' been the prison of the
Aj)Ostles Peter an<l Paul. Protected by a heavy iron grat-
ing, a stone pillar is shown, to which the disciples were
bound by chains. In the pavement is a sj)rini^ of pure,
sweet "water, which believers say Peter, by a miracle,
caused to How so that he might l)aptizc his newly-con-
verted jailors.

Rettirning to the Forum, we find, a few yards cast of the
Temple of Concord, the massive Triumphal Arch of Septi-
mius Severus, erected to commemorate victories in the
east. Before the finest parts of this monument were
destroyed, in order to furnish marble for the Palaces of
(*olonnas, Orsinis, and other tasteless patricians of the
Middle Ages, it must have looked very imposing, sur-
mounted as it was by a brazen chariot, drawn by six war-
horses, and occupied by a colossal figure of the Emperor,
crowned by a wreath of victory, looking down upon his
marble palaces and temples, the costliest in the world — a
fitting emblem of the power of licmie, which then ex-
tended with its giant arms over every known nation,
from Britain in the North to Egypt and Persia in the P^ast.

Until recent timers, the Forum was occupied as a cattle
market. It was nearly level with the surrounding streets,
and was only distinguished l)y having here and there over
its surface a protruding column, with capital defaced, but
under Napoleon III,, during the French occupation of the

Tft •

106

ITAT-Y.

!.)<!• I IB-

city, and under other recent auspices, a large amount of
excavating ha.s been done. However, a porti(^n of the
debris in tl>e centre was not removed, and it now serves
as a public highway. Under the road, near the Arch of
Severus, we pass into the more interesting part of the
Fo; am.

On the left tapers up the lofty column of Phocas, which,
in the days of Byron, was "a nameless coluiim with a
buried base"; but, through the munificence of the Duchess
of Devonshire, is now unburied and its inscriptions deci-
phered. A little further on is the open place of the Comi-
tium, where the noisy and memorable assemblies of the
Roman people, always struggling for liberty, were wont
to take place. Here, according to Macrtulay, the graven
image of brave Horatius was " set on high, phbin for all
iblk to see."

On the right, running for the length of about a hun-
dred yards, are the I'uins of the Basilica Julia, founded by
Ciesar. The valuable marbles of the p.avement, and the
costly finish to t^ie numerous rows of shattered columns,
are ample evidoiice of wliat a princely edifice this must
once have been. East of the Basilica stood the Temple
of Castor and Pollux, elected by the imaginative Romans
in honour of the Twin Gods, for the timely assistance
which it was believed they rendered to the Roman army
at the battle of Lake Regillus. If anything further was
necessary to immortalize this legend, it has been furnished
by one of the charming lays of ancient Rome. Nothing
no\/ remains of this celebrated Temple of the Republic but
three stately columns of Parian marble. In form they
are pure Coiinthian. The delicacy of the workmanship
on the fluting and the capitals shows what a vast amount
of labour the ancients bestowed upon details. These
columns, perhaps the mos*" beautiful of the whole ruins,
are forty-six feet high, and arc said to be tiie finest of
their kind in existence. To my unskilled eye, however,
there is a lofty column adorning the scpiare in front oi

SPPECH OF MARK ANTONY.

167

the Church of St. Maria Maggiore, which appears to mo
to be L more perfect .specimen of the Corinthian ordei*.

Opposite the Temple of the Brother Gods on the north
was the Temple of (Jaesar. In front of this was placed
the Tribune, from whence the famous Roman orators
were wont to sway the excitable passions of the mul-
titude. After the murder of Caesar by Brutus and Cas-
sius, and the other " honoural)l:3 men," the mutilated b^ ^y
of the dead dictator was brought by the tribune Mark
Antony from the Senate House, through the Comitium
and up to this rostrum, from whence, with the permission
of Brutus, he delivered that marvellous speech, which, as
a matter of history, is said to have worked so powerfully
on the pa.ssions of the citizens as to change their feelings
from hatred of CVesar's tyranny to a thirst for sDcrdy
vengeance on his murderers. The oration, as embcuished
by the magic pen of Shakespeare, is enough to arouse the
most slui^iifish to a sen.'Be of Caesar's virtues. Beneath
the Comitium is a structure, well known by name to
every student, and, in niany respects, a most remark-
able relic of antiquity. The (Jloaca Maxima, or great
sewer, was built six centuries before the birth of Christ,
for the purpose of draining the swampy land near the
Forum. For nearlv a generation of centuries it hjis been
in constant practical use, and to day it is the wonder of
anti(piariansand a faithful servant to Rome. Goths, Van-
dals, and Huns have burnt temples, slain the citizens, and
destroyed the most costly monuments above and around
it, but this still remains as a monument to the marvellous
skiil of its ancient builders.

These different points, cursorily mentioned, form the
most interesting relics of the Forum. To-day this place,
from whence once issued decrees which ruled the world,
is a little desert. Stumps of columns and l)rokcn walls
are all that can be seen. We now ascend a number of
steps; upon reaching the road, wc turned to tlie left and
walked along the foot of the Palatine Hill. This hill is

T<"

168

ITALY.

11 II

I '

the one upon which Romulus founded liis little city, and
around it.s base can now be seen portions of the ancient
walls, niaue of large blocks of tufa, piled one on top of
another, arxl standing by their own weight without the
assistance of mortar. The grounds are now protected by
government aid, and a charge made for admission. The
chief i)oint of interest on the hill is the Palace of the C{t3sars,
where once the Emperors held their court, administered
justice, and presided at feasts and revelries, prepared and
carried out on a scale of magnificence and disregard of ex-
])ense, which we, of modern practical days, never dream
of.

The luxury enjoyed by th(> autocrats and patricians
in the palmy, or rather declining, days of Imperial Rome,
was most extravagant. Downy couches to recline upon
while dining; costly dishes, it is said, of nightingales'
tongues, and other extravagant epicurean fancies; bands
of skilled musicians and troops of dancing girls to amuse
the guests; with fountains of delicately-scented water to
cool the atmosphere ; were the ordinary concomitants of
the dining-i'oom of a wealthy noble.

Gibbon, in his " History of the Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire," says: " Every wealthy house possessed a
senu-circular table of massive silver, such as two men
could scarcely lift ; a vase of solid gold of the weight of
forty pounds, cups and dishes of the same metal."

The historian Olympiodorus says that, when Rome was
besieged by the Goths, several of the richest senators re-
ceived from i/heir estates an annual income of four thou-
sand pounds of gold, oi more than eight hundred thousand
dollars of American money.

The ruins of the Palace of the Caesars are now |)retty
thoroughly excavated, and one can trace the rooms (juite
distinctly. In the dining-hall, the marble and porphyry of
the pavement are still there in portions. In the Academia,
or lecture-room, there are the tieis of seats where the
youthful nobles sat and listened to the wisdom of some

A ROMAN TRIUMPH.

169

man of learning. This room is on the brow of the hill ;
from here one can look down on what was once the Cir-
cus Maximus. This circus was the most enormous affair
of the kind ever constructed ; it held 385,0; )0 spectators.
Furnished with massive stone seats by Ca'sar, and after-
wards, when Rome ran riot with luxury and extravagance,
i^orgeously decorated and lavishly supported by the
splendour-loving Emperors, the place, at last, became the
most extensive and, with the exception of the Colosseum,
the grandest place of amusement the world ever saw. Re-
tracing our steps through the broken pillars, defaced
pavements and fragments of walls, we again stood on
tlie road near the Forum, and, turning to the right, in a
few minutes passed under the ti'iumphal Arch of Titus.
This arch was erected to commemorate the destruction of
Jerusalem thirty-seven years after the Scribes and Phari-
sees of the Jewish nation had caused the crucifixion of
tlie Saviour on Calvary. On the interior right-hand side
is a bas-relief, representing the captive Jews being led in
triumph into Rome, and borne aloft is a representation of
the sacred seven-branclied candlestick of pure gold made
by Moses at the comn and of God. Beneath this Arch of
Victory no Jew ever passes ; a beaten track at the north
side marks the route taken by the Israelites. Roman tri-
umplis, perha})s the most impo.sing and splendid pageants
of a barbarous age, have actually passed over this pave-
ment and throuiih this arch. In the front, leadin<r an
army, would be the successful Emperor, or General, stand-
ing in his war-chariot ; behind him would follow captives
in chains, sometimes kings and nobles; then waggons laden
with rich spoils. The whole procession would be hemme<l
in on both sides by exultant and excited citizens. Walk-
ing slowly forward from the arch, an excellent view is got
of a structure which, taken altogetiier, is perhaps more
famous than any other — a structure with which every
student of Roman history is so familiar that it hardly ap-
pears a novelty when he first beholds it ; a, structure that

I>i!

170

ITALY,

i!
1

has witnessed witliin its walls such bloody struggles be-
tween human beings and wild beasts, for the amusement
of a warlike people, that were they not fully proved by
authentic history they would certainly be thought (juite
incredible — the Colosseum, the mightiest edifice of all
time. Who can look upon even its ruins without a
species of awe and admiration ! Measuring nearly one-
third of a mile in external circumference and l.")0 feet in
height, it has from very early times been regarded as the
great symltol of the power of Rome. The early Saxon
pilgrims to the Eternal City were wont to chant the omin-
ous prophecy :

" While stands the Colosseum, Rome shall stand ;
When falls the Colosseum, Rome shall fall ;
And when Rome falls, with it shall fall the world,"

The Flavian Amphitheatre, as it was originally called,
was completed by Titus. On the work, it is said that
12,()()() captive Jews were employed. The greater part of
the outside walls are now torn down ; but a portion still
remains at its original height. The interior is in a fair
state of preservation, A good idea can still be got of
what a stu[)endous affair this largest theatre in the world
was. From the vast arena there arose four tiers of seats,
resting upon arches of masonry. In the first row, called
the Podium, sat the Emperor, on either hand the Roman
Senators and the Vestal Virgins. During ih.a gladiato-
rial combats, it was this tier that controlled the fate of a
fallen gladiator. The victor was wont to look up into the
faces of the pious (?) virgins for a sign. If the conduct
of the defeated atldcte had been such as to enlist the
sympathies of the priestesses of Vesta they would turn
their thumbs up, and a life was spared; but usually it was
a case of tliumbs turned down, and the poor wretcls was
dispatched without fui'ther ceremony. The other rows
were arranged in .social grades, the highest one, a colonnade
running the whole Avay around the building, contained

THE COLOSSEUM.

171

tlie great unwashed. On the top of this colonnade stood
tl»e sailors of the Imperial fleet, whose duty consisted in
stretchinir a mammoth canvas across the whole theatre,
and thus prcjtecting the spectators from the scorching sun
of an Italian summer.

The seats, the walls, and the columns were all of marble.
Beneath the arena were the dens for wild animals, and the
machinery for arranging the combats. The inauguration
of the Colosseum must have been a sight such as has never
been ecjualled for excitement and a species of grandeur.
During a hundred days Rome, the mistress of the world,
a city having a population variously estimated at from
a million and a hal^' to six millions, was in a state of furore.
Every day nearly a hundred thousand people crowded to
the amphitheatre to revel in the barbarous exhibition of
men struggling for life with hungry wild beasts.

Now, as one stands where the hiifhest colonnade once
was, with ruins and utter loneliness on every hand, it is
dithcult to imagine what the scenes here must once have
been — to people the countless seats with shadows of so-
called Vestal Vii"gins ; of haughty Roman patricians and
warriors ; and of ignorant, excitable and debased multi-
tudes ; to clothe the decaying brick walls and seats with
their original raiment of costly marble; and to till the naked
and disfigured arena with gladiators, beasts of prey, and
helpless Christian martyrs, I have often wandered through
the Colosseum, but last night saw it by moonlight. 1
went with my friend, with whom I am travelling, and a
Canadian gentleman who has resided at Rome' for several
years. A Neapolitan guide, bearing a torch, led the way
up dark stairways and along gloomy corridors, until we
stood on the lofty balcony (U-ected during the regime of
Pius IX. The softenins: silver liirht of the moon gave to
the stupendous ruins a ghost-like, unreal apjiearancc.
Away in the distance, the gas-lamps of the city — not a
cloud in the heavens, and the moon, almost full, shone
right down into the arena. This magnificent scene is one
of the great sights of Rome and of tli woiM,

APPtAN WAY — DP:ATII OP C^SAll.

173

Probably, the Colosseum will bo known in the future
chietly as the scene where, during the days of the early
Christian persecutions, so many hundreds of men and
women, beautiful girls and brave youths, preferred to bo
torn lind) from limb, for the amusement of a Pagan multi-
tude, rather than renounce their creed.

For many centuries this amphitheatre was the quarry of

TOMBS ON THli Al'l'lAN WAY.

Rome. Numbers of palaces now standing in the city are
built from material taken from it; but still, so vast was the
amount of material originally employed, it is estimated
that what remains is worth, at least, two million and a
half of dollars. Returning; fiom the Colosseum, towards
the Forum, there is on the left the Arch of Constantine,
built at the time when the Emperor extended his protec-
tion to the Nazarenes. Passing through this, the best-
preserved arch at Rome, a short walk leads to tlie famous
Appian Way. We went out a few days ago for a nine-
mile walk on this road, which the Italians still term.

"i:

174

ITALY.

i |t

with pride "The Qucon of Highways." It leads over the
level (/ampagna, past the Catacombs an«l the Alban hills,
and away to Bnindusiuin. Altliough constructed over
tw(!nty-one centuiies ago, it is to-day one of the finest
public highways I have seen anywhere ; along its sides
for miles are the ruins of massive tombs of the Roman
nobility. This walk is, perhaps, the best in all the sub-
urbs of Rome. The view of the Alban and Sabine hills en-
veloped in a ])urj)le haze, of the ruins of ancient acpieducts
standing up like huge skeletons against tlie sk}', is line.

Befoi'e closing this already long letter, I nmst not omit
two other memorable spots in the history of Ancient
Rome, but whii;h cliieHy owe their world-wide renown to
the genius of English writers. The first is the old Senate
House or Theatre of Pompey, lying between the Forum
and the Tiber. Here, on thi. Ides of March, B.C. 44, fell
Julius CV.^sar, a man ecjually famous as soldier, writer,
statesman and orator. A man who forms one of the trio,
Alexander, Ca3sar and Napoleon — the greatest military
commanders who ever lived. Nothing now remains of
the old Senate House. The Church of St. Andrea del
Valle is built upon its foundations. The famous statue of
Pompey, beside which the umrdei' took place now stands
in the Spada Palace, not far distant. It is a fine, com-
manding marble figure, about ten feet high. In the left
hand, Pompey holds a marble globe ; the right is out-
stretched, as if he were addressing his soldiers. Shakes-
peare has not only innnortalized the event, but has ren-
dered all the circumstances familiar to every reader of
English :

" Even at the base of Pompey's statue,
Whicli all the while ran blood, great Ctesar fell,"

From the Spada Palace, walking southwards for about
half an hour, we reach an interesting point on the banks
of the classic Tiber.

Near to the beautiful and well-preserved remains of
the Temple of Vesta is the place where once the " Ponsj

'.-^^'

noUATlUS AND THE BRIDGK.

Sublicius," the only bridge of Rome, spanned the yellow
Tiber. Here, "in the brave days of old," the whole army
of Lars Porsena, assisted by other enemies of Rome, had
marched against the city, slain all those who had not
escaped within the walls, and had carried the outposts by
storm — then the Consul and the fathers in despair thought
all was lost : —

" Wlicn out ajjakt' luave HoratiiH, tlio cajjtain of the gate,
To tivery man upon thi« earth, death coincth soon or hite,
And how can man die bttter than fai-inj,' fearful oilils,
For the aslies of hin fathers and the Temples of his Gods?"

Macaulay's ballad, setting forth in stirring language
how Horatius, with S[)uriusLai'tius on his right and strong
Hcrnlinil^s on his left, kept the whole " thi'ice thirty thou-
sand foes " at bay in the narrow path until the senators
and citizens had hewn down the bridge, and liow Hora-
tius swam for his life, is too well known to allow of repe-
tition. The stone foundations of the old bridge are just
now being removed to make way for a new structure. I
stood upon the spot where the " dauntless three " set out
to meet almost certain destruction, and also in the vicinity
where the bravest Tuscans tastetl the " Roman cheer."
The vast improvements which Rome has undergone in
the nineteenth century have not yet reached this part of
the city, and it remains as degraded as it was in the Dark
Ages, when the city sunk to a population of less than
20,000.

ITALY.

RELICS OF ROME.

'jii

THE TRUE CROSS— THE ORIGINAL INSCRIPTION— THE SACRED CRADLE— PAINT-
ING BY ST. LUKE— THE HEART OF O'CONNELL— THE GHASTLY GRAVES OP THE
CAPUCHIN MONKS — THE CATACOMUH — A VAST LABYRINTH LOADH OK
MARTYRS.

Rome, Italy,

28th December, 1.S70.

(ilTJ OME is a city of churches. It is known to the world
^lK\ Jis tlie great centre of a powerful religious body,
and nearly every nation has a re})resentative
church here. Of the 800 ])laces of worship, 80 are dedi-
cated to the "Blessed Virgin," and almost all of them have
relics of more or less interest. To these relics, which form
one of the greatest attractions of Rome, I will chieHy de-
vote my letter.

Saint Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Con-
stantine, is believed to have found the true cross on which
the Saviour was crucified, together with the nails, the
crown of thorns, and the inscription, during a pilgrimage
to Jerusalem about three hundred years after the death
of Christ. Many other reminiscences were brought from
the Holy Lt\nd by the Crusaders. Probably the most
precious relic in Rome is that of the " inscription on the
cross." It is preserved in tlie innermost sanctum of the
church of St. Croce in Gerusalamme, which was erected
by the Empress Helena in honour of her finding of the
cross. The inscription is on a piece of board about an
inch thick, twelve inches long, and six inches wide. The
board must have originally been about two feet long, and
have extended on each side of the cross, as only the

THE INSCRIPTION ON THE CROSS.

177

middle portion is preserve<l now, the ends having appa-
rently worn away. Accordinrj to St. John's account of
the crucifixion, Pilate wrote a title in Hebrew, Greek, and
Latin, and put it on the cross, and the writinf]f was," Jesus
of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." The oM blackened
relic contains, in three languages, all written tVoni right
to left, a portion only of the writing. That in Latin is
" er sunerasan," which is a part of the inverted words,
" Jesus Nasarenus Rex Judeoruni." Many people do not
doubt that this relic is ounafide. On either side of "The
Liscription " are cases containing two thorns from the
crown of thorns, a nail of the cross, and three small pieces
from the cross itself. All these relics are guarded with
religious zeal, and are looked upon by the monks as of a
value entirely beyond price.

In the church of St. Maria Maggiore there is preserved
the " sacred cradle," which on the occasion of great fes-
tivals is shown to the people, and carried in solemn pro-
cession around the aisles. The cradle consists of five
pieces of very ancient-looking wood, about two feet and
a half long; and perhaps seven or eight inches in circum-
ference. They are tied together by some thongs, and in-
closed in a magnificent casket. This casket is very much
the same shape as an ordinary baby's cradle. It is of
gold, silver and precious stones, and the cover is sur-
mounted by a golden reclining figure of the infant Christ.
Through the crystal sides can be seen the bits of wood
which are believed to be a portion of the manger. In the
Borghese chapel of this church there is a picture of the
Madonna, painted by St. Luke during his sojourn at Rome.
It is almost black with age, but is valued highly, from
the fact that St. Luke, having seen the mother of the
Saviour, was able to make a correct portrait.

In the splendid church of St. John Lateran, below
the fine canopy in the centre of the transept, are kept
the heads of the apostles Peter and Paul. The ancients
did not seem to have the slightest objection to burying the

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178

ITALY.

head, heart, body, and perhaps the right hand of a great
man, in different places ; in fact, it was not unusual for
the man himself to direct that, after his death, his body
should be judiciously distributed amongst his mourning
friends. This custom would, of course, only obtain amongst
the sects who did not burn the dead, as the Romans did.

Close to the Lateran is a buildinfj containing the Scala
Santa. This is a flight of twenty-eight marble steps,
brought from Palestine by the Empi-ess Helena. The steps
once adorned the palace of Pilate, at Jerusalem, and the
Saviour is said to have walked up them. They can only
be ascended on the knees. During the time I was there,
perhaps half an hour, about twenty people ascended. It
is customary to say a short prayer on each step. At the
top is a chapel, " The Sancta Sanctorum ; " it can only be
entered by the Pope, and that generally once a year. It
contains a portrait of Christ, painted on wood by Saint
Luke.

Outside the walls of Rome is situated the church of
St. Paolo Fuori Ic Mura, once considered the finest and
most interesting church in the Eternal City. In the days
of Paul, the eloquent a})ostle, there lived here a pious
woman named Lucina ; who, after the death of Paul,
buried his body on her own property. On this site was
founded the present church, and the body now rests in a
grand sarcophagus.

In the city, not far from the Via Nationfile, is the
church of St. Agata in Suburra, belonging to the college
for Irish priests. In the left aisle is a monument to
Daniel O'Connell, the great friend of the people, and lib-
erator of his country. The inscription on the tomb is :
" This monument contains the heart of O'Connell, who,
dying at Genoa on his way to the Eternal City, bequeathed
his soul to God, his body to Ireland, and his heart to
Rome." A bas-relief below represents him at the bar of
the British House of Commons, in 1829, when he refused
to take the anti-Catholic declaration, in these remarkable

A GHASTLY CEMETERY.

179

the
)llege
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I lib-
nb is :
who,
athed
lit to
)ar of
fused
kable

words : " I at once reject this declaration ; part of it I
behove to be untrue, and the rest I know to be false."

The church of the Capuchin monks, on the Quirinal Hill,
contains tiie most extraordinary cemetery I ever saw. In
the crypt are four burial vaults, decorated in a curious,
ghastly way. The bones of over 4,000 monks are used to
ornament the place. The vaults are each about fifteen feet
square, the walls and ceilings are covered with anus, legs,
fingers, ribs, back-bones, hip-joints, knee-caps, and toes,
all arranged in the oddest shapes, and with a good deal of
ingenuity. The walls are surrounded with layers of skulls
reclining happily on cross-bones, and wearing a sort of
lazy, contented leer. Every head is known, and one can
touch the skull of a great, wise, and learned monk, with
a certainty that you have got hold of the right man.

Between the skulls, at intervals of three or four feet,
stand up the entire skeletons of monks, clothed in their
ordinary long brown gown, waist cord, and gloomy cowl;
each one is labelled with his name, and date of death.
Tills is a stage prior to his distribution on the ceiling.
The floor is of earth, from Mount Calvary, and occupied
with ten graves of recently-deceased monks. After a
Capuchin dies, he is first interred decently in the ground,
but, to make room for him, the deceased monk who has
been longest buried is exhumed and stood up between
the cheerful-looking skulls; and so on, stage by stage, until
each pious brother finds a resting-place on the ceiling,
The guide who showed us through this suite of rooms
was one of the Brotherhood, and seemed to take the live-
liest interest in explaining i|iatters.

Closely connected with churches, are the famous Cate-
combs of Rome. In these dismal, underground haunts,
tlie ear'^ 'Christians were forced to live, perform their re-
ligious services, and bury their dead. According to the
ancient Roman law, it was forbidden to bury either the
ashes or the bodies of the dead within the city walls.
The result of this was, that in every direction, for miles

180

ITALY.

around tlie city, are now to be seen the ruins of mas-
sive tonil)S of the Emperors and the nobility ; also, the
Columbaria, for the middle and lower classes. These
latter buiial-places are peculiar. It was the custom at
Rome, as well as in must other European countries, to
dis[)ose of the dead by cremation, on a funereal pyre ; the
ashes, and any bones remaining, wei"e then g-athered up
and placed in a cinerary urn. If the deceased had been
rich, the urn was of costly material, and was deposited in
a grand tomb ; but if of limited means, the modest urn
would be ]>laced in a Columbaria. This burial-place is
generally an excavation in the ground, about twenty feet
square and thirty feet deep. Around the walls are little
niches, about a foot square, in which were placed one or
two urns, and then the aperture was closed by a slab, and
the names of the deceased engraved upon it. We were
in one Columbaria wliich held GOO urns. The Christian
sect, who, in conunon with the Egyptians and the Jews,
believed in an actual resurrection of the body, did not
cremate their dead, but buried the bodies entire ; and thus
originated the vast subterranean cemeteries of the Cata-
combs. At the time of the persecutions of the Christians,
the Catacombs were in existence, and thither the Naza-
renos tied for safety ; here the thousands of martyrs were
buried, and here the Fathers of the Church kept together
the persecuted, but ever-increasing, flock. Pope Sixtus
the Second died in the C^atacombs of St. Calixtus, as a
martyr; his nol)le foi!.'tude adding greatly to the zeal of
his followers. There are more than sixty diti'erent Cata-
combs. Those of St. Calixtus are the most extensive. We
walked out to them about three weeks ago. The road
lies along past the Colosseum, through the gate of St.
Sebastiano, and out for about two and a half miles on the
Appian Way. There is nothing in the vicinity to betoken
that one is in the neighbourhood of so men.orable a spot.
The entrance to the underground passages is not marked
by any building. The old caretaker of the place provided

MILES OP CATACOMI^S.

181

liiinself vvitli a couple of yards of candle, and wo descended
by a flight of steps into the earth. Ahout twenty-tive
feet down we arrived at the first landinir, and were con-
ducted throu^di a series of narrow j)assages. On each
side were horizontal excavations, larire enouirh to contain

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the body of a man. When a burial took place, it was
customary to place a slab before the openin^^ with the
name of the deceased enj^a-aved upon it. The height of
the ceiling is very irregular ; sometimes I had to stoop to
get along, while at other times there was three oi- four feet
space above us. At intervals we found chapels, which

182

ITALY.

consist simply of a space, perhaps twelve feet square,
with an altar and erucitix a<^aiust one wall. In one of
them is the tomb of Saint Cecilia, a great heroine of the
early church. Once every year, on St. Cecilia's day, mass
is celebrated here, when the whole place is illuminated,
and thrown open to the public. Tlie Catacombs form a
vast town in themselves, extending all around the city.
The passages run one above another, sometimes as many
as five being thus pLaced, and at a depth of fifty feet. It
has been calculated that, if the whole of the subterranean
halls were placed in one continuous line, their entire length
would be over 500 English miles, or about as far as from
Montreal to Detroit. I have been through the Catacombs
at Paris, but they are not at all the same as those at
Rome. At Paris, the excavations were originally for the
purpose of a stone quarry. When the city authorities
were selling some cemeteries for building purposes, they
removed all the bones to the quarries, which were pre-
pared for them in neatly-built, lofty passages. Some cun-
ning workmen were employed to utilize the pile of bones
by decorating the walls and little chapels in much the
same way as I have described in tlie Capuchin church.
Nobody was ever buried there, and to-day it is nothing
but a ghastly, hideous show-place. At Rome the case is
different. The original purpose of the Catacombs was to
bury the Christian dead, in a Christian manner, and the
passages were rudely excavated, just as they v/ere required.
They are not neat or commodious, being only from two
to three feet wide. The place is sanctified by the murder
of hundreds of Cliristian martyrs in its chapels and
recesses. While at Paris it is a vast charnel heap of bones,
at Rome all these have been long ago removed. It is
recorded tiiat, at the consecration of the Pantheon as a
Christian church, the Po|)e caused no less than twenty-
eight waggon-loads of these bones of saints to be deposited
beneath the altar of the new Temple. Another record
says that, in the year 817, there were 2,300 skeletons of

Loads of martyrs.

183

martyrs removed from the Catacombs, to sanctify the
church of St. Prassede. Besides this wliolesale removal,
it was the custom, when the Gotlis and other heathens
of the North came down for a pleasure excursion to
plunder Rome, for each soldier of any s])irit to take home,
as a souvenir to his family, a few mai'tyrs.

ITALY.

ST. PETER'S AND THE VATICAN.

THE PIAZZA OK ST, PETKKH— KNCJMHH CATHKDKALS AS COMPARED WITH
THOSE ON THE CONTINENT— TmMU OK THKEE ENUMSH \VOUI,I)-BE KINCiS
IN ST. PETER'S— HIGH MASS AT CHRISTMAS -RAPHAEL'S TRANSFIGrRAIION
—THE SCULPTURE GALLERIES OP THE VATICAN.

RoiME, January 3rd, 1880.

T. PETER'S, the great Catliedral of the Mother
(.^liurch of Christendom, is the largest place of
worship in the world. Built upon the ruins of
the Cii'cus of Nero, the spot is hallowed by the blood of
the first Christian martyrs. It is a considerable distanc^e
from the centre of the city, Ijciug about half an hour's
walk from the Corso. The way is through narrow streets,
M'ith no sidewalks, and along which one passes at con-
siderable risk of being knocked over by cabs, which are
in Rome very numerous, and are driven in a manner quite
careless of the lives and limbs of pedestrians.

After crossing the Bridge of St. Angelo, and passing
under the shadow of the great Castle, one comes, in a few
moments, in sight of the Piazza of St. Peter's. This piazza,
with, its famous obelisk, its two beautiful fountains, and
its vast colonnades, supported by 284< nuissive columns
and surmounted by colossal figures of 1G2 saints of the
Church, is well known evervwhere. The Cathedral itself
at first disappointed me. I had heard so much and lead
so much about this wonderful edifice, that I suppose noth-
ing could have quite fulfilled my expectations. The
building did not look old enough nor lofty enough to suit
me. The cathedrals of England are, in some respects,

liKAUTY OF ENGLISH CATHEDRALS.

185

mucli more boautifiil tlian any on the Continent. In Kng-
land, they are ^^eneially surrounded by trees, and very
often aj)i)n)ached by an avenue of oaks, while from niches

ST. I'KTKRS AXO THE C'.VSTLK OK .ST. ANOKLO.

and eaves hang tlie beautiful ivy — for instance, the chni-ch
at Stratford-on-Avon, where Shakespeare is buried. Tliere,
nothing could be more charming than its situation and
surroundings. By the side runs the Avon, with so many
as.sociations of the immortal bard. Several avenues, over-
topped by stately trees, lead up to the church-door. The
ivv clinginsj: to the venerable-looking walls, and the green
sward stretching down to the river,all tend to give a home-
like charm to the place. The case is very ditlerent on the
Continent ; here all the churches depenrl for tlieir attrac-
tiveness solely upon the beauty of tlieir architecture. They
are generally situated in the midst of a city, surrounded
by bu.sy streets, and not a tree or a blade of grass in sight.
It is over a month a^ro since I first saw St. Peter's. Tlie
impression I tKen received has gradually worn away, and I
now never approach the magnificent Piazza and Cathedi-al
without seeing some new beauty in them. From the first,

'fP*

180

ITALY.

I was not in tlie least (lisa])})oiiitecl with the interior.
Stainliny noar the front entrance, and lookin*,' up tlie nave,
tlie si^dit is a (j^rantler one tlian I ever saw before inside
any edifice. Tlie hij^di altar is ])laced beneatli the dome.
Jn front of it is a marble stairway, leading down, by a
double flight of ste|)S, to the tomb of St. Peter the Apos-
tle. A railing surrounds the confesHio ; around it I counted
ninety-seven lamps of gold, which are never extinguished.
I have been in St. Peter's at least a dozen times, and have
tried, from different points of view, to form a proper idea
of its vast proportions. I know that St. Paul's — Wren's
great masterpiece, and the largest Protestant Cathedral —
could be placed inside this enormous structure, and still
leave room for several respectal)ly-sized churches, or an-
other St. Paul's ; but still so wonderfully is St. Peter's
proportioned, that it is a difficult matter to appreciate it
j)roperly. I found the golden lamps somewhat of a guide.
When standing near the entrance, these lights look to be
about two or three feet raised from the marble pavement,
perhaps not so high ; still I saw men passing to and fro,
and their heads did not reach as high as the lamps. This
seemed to explain the magnitude of the place. The fact
is, we judge everything by comparison, and there is noth-
ing small to compare with its dimensions. The marble
statues of apostles and saints in surrounding niches are
figures sixteen feet high ; the high altar, which has the ap-
pearance of beauty but not of magnitude, stretches ninety-
five feet into the air, and the celebrated dome, the pride
and masterpiece in architecture of Michael Angelo, towers
up 4J3!S feet. St. Peter's is the largest sacred edifice in
existence, and a worthy gathering centre of the great people
for whom it was erected. In the left transept are confes-
sional boxes for eleven different nations, the name of each
particular language being engraved over the door.

Even to the eyes of an outsider this ig a grand and
suggestive provision. Pilgrims and travellers of every
nation, rich and poor alike, find in this church a welcome

XTNKNoWN KINGS OF KNGLAND.

187

always ready for them, and wor<ls of encouiaijcinent and
consolation in case of need. The church is open all day
lonjnr, and entrance is free to everyone.

On the right, near to tlie high altar, is the sitting
hronze statue of St. Peter. Before this is generally to he
seen a group of devotees, who conehuh^ thtnr i)rayers by
kissing the foot of the apostle. This has heen continued
for so many years, and with such zeal, that the toes of the
protruding foot are almost entirely worn away.

In the days when Raphael and Michael Angelo, the two
greatest architects of their time, directed the building of
St. Peter's, labour was, of course, much less expensive
than it is now, but still the cost of erection amounted to
over fifty millions of dollars, and it now costs more than
thirty thousand dollars a year to ke(;p it in repair.

Opposite the entrance to the sacristy is a tomb by
Canova, which looks strange in this foreign land. The
inscription records the death of James 111., Charles 111.,
and Henry IX. of England. These were the last of the
line of Stuarts who died in exile, l)ut neve;; ceased to
assert their rights of sovereignty over Protestant England.
These titles arc never seen in a histoiy of England, and I
doubt if they exist elsewhere than on this marble slab.

The ascent to the roof and dome of St. Peter's is -is inter-
esting a wa}' to spend a couple of hours as any at Rome.
The roof is reached by a winding inclined plane. Ou the
side walls are tablets eno-raved with the names of cele-
brated persons who have climbed the same path, amongst
them Peter the Great and the Emperor Nicholas of Russia.

The roof is a little town in itself; it looks something
like a public square, and the gigantic dome like a church.
Up in this elevated atmos{)here a large number of work-
men live in a row of cottages. Climbing higher up, one
finally reaches the lantern,and there a splendid viewcari be
had of Rome and the Campa^na for miles around; even Os-
tia and the Mediterranean can be indistinctly seen. Tho.se
who are of an adventurous frame of mind can no still

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t»->R-.ri ^!_Dik* <»«»" I

IIKIII MASS AT ST. IMITKII S, HoMK.

189

l)it,'liei",fur a narrow perpcinliciilar iron laiMer extciuls from
tho l;ntern up to the copper hall on the sunnnit. I feel
sure a fat man could never j^et up. The j)laco is so nar-
row that one can lianlly l)en(l one's knt^es. The hall,
wliich looks from the ^nound like a small ornamcMit, will
hold, it is .said, sixteen persons. When 1 went up there
were twelve of" us there at once ; it was crammed full.

We attended Hi^di Mass at St. IViter's on ('hristmas
mornin<^^ The weather was delightful ; not so warm as
a Canadian Au<;ust day, hut a good deal like Indian sum-
mer. The service at St. Peter's is not now what it onco
was, in the days wdien the I'ope otliciated in person. Then
to see lli<rh iMass at St. Peter's was a sioht never to ho
forgotten. The Pope has not otliciated or left the Vatican
since the Italian occupation of the city in INTO. The
service now, although much inferior to that of former
days, is still Hic grandest to he seen anywhere. An emi-
nent Cardinal conducted the mass, and was assisted hy
alK)ut ninety-five priests. Although the chapels of the
church were not even fairly filled, there were several
thousand peoj)K' present, consisting chiefly of })ilgrims and
tourists. The Roman citizens ])atronize the otlier three
hundred cluncli-es of Rome. The famous Sistine choir
furnished the music, so, to one who has not seen the
grander services of the past, everything looks exceedingly
imposing.

Immediately adjoining St. Peter's is the Vatican, which
for extent stands unrivalled amongst the palaces of Eu-
rope. This is the head-([uarters of a system of government
more perfect in its detail, and more powerful in its influ-
ence, than any other government in existence. If unity
means strength, then the Church of Ron)e is indeed huilt
on a rock, and welded there with hars of iron. Its emis-
saries, picked men of strength and intelligence, are to l)e
found working steadily amongst every nation, devoting
their lives to the cause of the Church, and keeping in
constant communication with the Vatican. The Vatican

190

ITALY.

i I '

is a maze of corridors and galleries, with over 4,000 rooms.
The grand entrance is from the colonnade of the Piazza.
After pas >ing a number of the Swiss guard, in their
hideous black and yellow costumes, and walking up the
royal staircase, we entered the celebrated Sistine chapel.
The ceiling is covered with paintings by Michael Angelo,
representing scenes from the Old Testament ; but the gem
cf the chapel is his masterpiece, " The Last Judgment,"
which covers the whole of the end wall. Thu grouping
represents the Saviour on high, with the saved on the
right hand and the lost on the left. Below is a most dis-
mal representation of hell, as described by Dante. The
picture is fuU of force and attraction, but has been rather
spoilt by some odd alterations which were ordered to be
made by one of the Popes. The subordinate figures were
all, of course, nude, but now they are draped and look as
if they had carried all their good clothes down to Hades
with them.

Michael Angelo would, I fancy, smile if he could see
his grand masterpiece so robbed of its original design.

The next object of interest is the Stanza of Raphael,
containing a series of paintings by that master. My fa-
vourite was a picture in three sections, representing the
liberation of Peter. In the centre section Peter is in
a dungeon faced by heavy iron grating. He is sleeping
between two guards, and is awaked by an angel, who has
a face of peculiar beauty. The et.hereal light in which the
angel is enveloped is quite dazzling. The side sections
portray the angel leading the Apostle away, and the
awakening of the terror-stricken guards.

Further on is the picture-gallery, said to contain a more
select collection of paintings than any other rooms in the
world. Man}'- are the attractions here ; but I will only
mention one. Raphael, in the sphere of painting, is now,
I think, generally conceded to be the greatest master that
ever lived, although it is not unusual to hear people advo-
cating the claims of Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo,

:; i

RAPHAEL'S " TRANSFIGURATION. "

191

a-
le
ill

fly

w,
lat

lo,

Titian, Rubens, or Murillo, to that envied position. How-
ever that may be, the masterpiece of Raphael, " The
Transfiguration," is probably the most vakiable of paint-
ings. It is not large, being only about twelve feet high
and six feet wide. Although this subject has been por-
trayed in hundreds of different styles of grouping, no
painter that I have seen has succeeded in giving such a
sublime and realistic appearance to the scene as Raphael.
The Saviour in mid-air between Moses and Elias, and the
Apo.>tles prostrate on the ground, are almost startling in
their fidelity to what one would imagine the scene must
have appeared like. This was Raphael's last picture, and
at his death he left the lower part unfinished. When his
body was lying in state, " The Transfiguration" was hung
beside his coffin, a fitting memorial to his great genius.
Napoleon I. carried this famous picture to Paris, as not
the least amongst his trophies of war; but when the great
soldier was a prisoner at Elba, the Church got back its
own, and " The Transfiguration" was brought to adorn
the Vatican.

The almost endless galleries of sculpture are quite as
interesting as the pictures. It is a great satisfaction to
reflect that every object on which the eye rests is from the
chisel of a master. I will only advert to three small
rooms, containing statues which are regarded as the most
valuable extant. The first is devoted solely to " The
Laocoon." The aged Trojan priest of Apollo, in a figure
over life-size, is represented as struggling in mortal agony
in the toils of two huge sea-serpents ; his terror is in-
creased from the fact that his two young sons have also
been caught in the deadly folds. The group is eighteen
hundred years old, and was made by three sculptors of
Rhodes. Every artist, every man who properly under-
stands scul[)ture and the proper projiortions of the human
figure, says that " The Laocoon" is as near perfection as
it is possible to make a piece of marble. It would be rank
heresy for me to say that I liked some works of Thov-

l'^«

192

ITALY.

valdsen or Canova, men of the nineteenth century, better
than this wonder of the Rhodian School.

The next room contains the famous " Apollo Belvi-
dere," by an unknown Greek master, and dug up out of
some ruins nearly 400 years ago. This is really a mag-
nificent figure, and in a graceful attitude. The face,
although youthful, has an expression of lofty serenity and
conscious powei\ Judging from the various sculptures I
have seen, the forte of the Greeks seems to have been the
marvellous fidelity with which they could reproduce the
thousand and one expressions of a liuman face. In their
gods and goddesses, as in the case of the Venus of Milo in
the Louvre at Paris, there is a more than human look of
dignity and command, and a serene contempt for the
ordinary cares of humanity.

. The third cabinet contains three figures by Canova.
As one not initiated in the hidden mysteries of design,
which artists insist upon saying belong only to the Old
Masters, I must say that I think the works of Canova
surpass any thing that I have yet seen. Against the wall
is a figure of Perseus, with the winged sandals and the
helmet of Pluto. He holds aloft the head of the slain
Medusa. The head and face of Perseus are grand, just as
good as the Apollo Belvidere. The ancients frequently
worshipped a great work of art. I verily believe that if
they had posses»sed this Perseus the statue would have
become deified. The other two figures form a pair —
" The Boxers," — and are perhaps the masterpieces of
the many grand works of Canova. One is a large
athlete in the prime of life. He is apparently making a
feint with his open right hand, and contenting himself
with guarding the wild attacks of his opponent. The
attitude is a common one for pugilists ; the head and chest
thrown back, and both arms ready for instant defence or
attack in case of his adversary leaving his guard open.
The strong, handsome face exhibits the highest degree of
keen attention to the work before him, namely, of trying

THE GEMS OF THE VATICAN.

193

to quietly demolish his antagonist. The other figure is of
lighter build, or what would be called in our days a light
weight. He is evidently exasperated by the coolness and
power of the man opposite. He has raised his clenched
hand above his head and is about to make a desperate
attempt to break down the citadel of flesh and muscle
opposed to him. The perfect proportions, the natural
attitude, and the intense earnestness of the faces of this
pair make them, in my opinion, the gems of the Vatican.

f $

ITALY.

Al'DIKNCE WITH THK POPE -HIS HOLINESS DRESSED IN PUKE WHITE— SPECIAL
BLESSING— SOLEMN BENEDICTION— NO TEMPORAL POWER NOW— INTERVIEW
WITH CARDINAL HOWARD, THE HANDSOMEST MAN AND MOST POLISHED
GENTLEMAN IN EUROPE -GORGEOUS SUITE OF APARTMENTS— CARDINAL DE
FALLOUX'S ADVICE -PRINCE GORTSCHAKOFK.

Rome.

"E had the honour of an audience with his Holi-
ness Pope Leo XIII. At noon of Monday last
we drove to the Vatican, and passed through
lofty corridors and groups of the Swiss Guard till we
airived at the private reception-rooms of the Palace.

A number of persons were in waiting for presentation.
At 1.30 p.m. the Pope entered, accompanied by a retinue
of Cardinals and Bishops, and followed by a body-guard
of Italian nobles.

I was introduced by Mgr. Mackay as a young Cana-
dian Protestant, who was making an extended pleasure
tour. The Pope, in kindly tones, said (in Italian) that he
was much pleased to meet a young man from Canada, and
hoped that our stay at Home had been a pleasant one.
Altogether, his Holiness spoke to us for four or five
minutes, and closed by placing his right hand on each
of our heads in succession, uttering a solemn benedic-
tion. In accordance with the univer.sal custom, which is
never departed from, I knelt and kissed his ring.

After he had passed on, the English Bishop of Salford,
while in conversation, said to me, "The Pope has given
you a special blessing." His Holiness is tall, thin, and
stoops a good deal. His hair is white as snow, and I
liked very much the ingenuous, benign expression of his

A(^DIENCE WITH THK POPE.

195

face. He was dressed entirely in wliite, and looked a
very symbol of j^rit)'.

After all the presentations were made, the Pope walked
into the centre of the room, raised both his hands, at
which sign all knelt, and, in a loud voice, uttered a short
prayer. Then, with his stately retinue, the Great Pontiff
proceeded out of tiie room.

It was a grand sight to see this leader of a mighty
Church, clad in the raiment of his high ofHce, and sur-
rounded by all the insignia of a sovereign, with out-
stretched arms and conscious power, pronouncing a solemn
and impress! V'C benediction.

Since 1870, when all the Papal States were annexed to
the kingdom of Italy, the Pope has had but little tempo-
ral power, yet he still owns the Vatican and its extensive
precincts. This is now a little kingdom in itself. No
Italian soldier (^.are come within its limits. In no palace
in Europe is there more pomp and state of its peculiar
kind.

I also had the honour, in company with a friend wdio
resides at Rome, of calling upon Cardinal Howard, the
chief representative of England at the Vatican.

The Cardinal is a first cousin of the English Duke of
Norfolk, and is said to be the handsomest man and the
most polished gentleman in Europe.

He is very wealthy, and his suite of receiving apart-
ments are gorgeously gotten up. The walls are hung with
tapestries, and heavy silk curtains are at the entrance
to each room. The furniture is of curiously-wrought rare
woods, partly covered with satin. Ancient family portraits
are upon the walls, and around the rooms are raie articles
of vertu, bric-a-brac, mosaics and other curios, which only
a rich taste and unlimited purse can secure.

The Cardinal received us most graciously, asked me to
take a seat beside him, and at once easily glided into a
pleasant conversation on genei-al topics. He asked me at
length about Ontario and Quebec, and particularly about
the French Canadian element.

11 '

it.

196

ITALY.

f ! f ■:

Our [)leasant interview was only interrupted by the
amval of a Cardinal who had come to^iake a business
call.

I have seen a good many handsome men in America
and on the Continent, but never before did I see such a
magnificent specimen of manhood as Cardinal Howard.
He commenced life in the British Guards, is over six feet
in height, and has the manner of a sovereign.

There is nothinfj in the least forced about him; but ho
has a certain gracious dignity which some men are born
with, but which never can be acquired — others who have
seen this English Cardinal concur in my opinion.

In the Roman Catholic world the Pope is regarded as
more than human, not exactly as a divinity, but as the
living impersonation of Christ. The Cardinals are but a
step lower, and are looked upon with more respect and
reverence than the King on any throne in Europe.

Without having been in Italy, it is impossible to form
a correct idea of the relative positions of the Church and
people.

On another occasion we had an audience with Cardinal
de Falloux, one of the French nobility. He lives in a
palace on the Corso, and has a rich suite of apartments.
His collection of curiosities and antiquities is most inter-
esting. We found the Cardinal standing before a mantel-
piece and rubbing a small silver ball between his hands.
It was a cold day, and the ball was filled with hot water.
The aged Cardinal stoou my friend and me up before
him and gave us, in French, a long piece of advice, in the
shape of a running conversation.

He told us when to mairy, who to marry, and how to
marry. Before leaving, he asked if we intended on our
travels to visit Russia, and hearing that we would prob-
ably go to Odessa, he gave us a flattering note of intro-
duction to Prince Gortschakoft', the Prime Minister of the
Russian Empire, and a particular friend of the Cardinal.

I !

ITALY.

VESUVIUS AND POMPEII — ASCENT OF THE CONE — THK VOLCANO IN AN
ACTIVE STATE — THE FOR(!E OF VULCAN — HOME OF HIS SATANIC MAJESTY
— SUNSET FROM THE CRATER— THK RUINS OF POMPEII, WITH ITS BEAU<
TIFUL PALACES.

Naplks, January Gth, 1880.

NE of the two great attractions of the vicinity of
Naples is the world-renowned Vesuvius, or, as
Mrs. Partington calls it, " Mount Vociferous."
From my bedroom window, in the St. Lucia, there is
a splendid view of the mountain. It is immediately across
the bay, and although fully five miles distant as the
crow tlies, it does not look more than a mile. In the
daytime a steady volume of smoke and steam issues from
the crater ; but at night, when all around is dark, there
shines out a lurid and heavy mass of fire, illuminating
the heavens like a giant torch. I will never forget the
ascent of Vesuvius ; it was the most fatiguing day's work
I ever went through. It was the 9th of January, and no
doubt in Canada was a cold winter's day. Here the sun
was strong and warm. We breakfasted most pleasantly
in the open air at a caf<i kept in a garden.

It is regarded a'^ dangerous to attempt the ascent of
Vesuvius without a guide. After procuring an experienced
man at the guide-office, my friend and I at last mounted
two disreputable nags, which looked as if they had been
reared on a diet of oyster-cans. For some distance beyond
the town limits we were followed by a ragged retinue of
youthful Vesuvians, who, in true Italian fashion, were
clamouring to be paid for services which they were under
the impression they had rendered us ; but this impression

— 7

. I

198

ITALY.

^vadually wore off. The ride up is along narrow patlis,
and across the hiva streams of different eruptions. The
stream which issued in 1872 was a jxijjantic torrent. The
red-hot molten lava belched forth in vast quantities, and
flowed down the mountain in a couise a thousarul yards
wide and averaging about twenty feet deep. That por-
tion which cooled on the way down now remains as an
evidence of what a terrible sight the eruption must have
been. The intense heat, sometimes exceeding 2,000
degrees Fahrenheit, has twisted and gnarled the lava into
grotes({ue shapes. In some places it looks like the surface
of the sea in a storm.

The hoi*se I rode was a remarkable animal — it could
neither trot nor canter, but kept up a sickly sort of wob-
ble. It was a physical impossibility to keep any kind of
time with the beast, so I gave up in despair. Following the
example of the guide, we allowed ourselves to bump help-
lessly up and down, and got nearly shaken to pieces.
Finally, we reached the Hermitage. Those who drive up
are compelled to alight here and walk to the foot of the
cone ; but horsemen are able to follow further the nariow
path. When we arrived at the foot of the cone,, after a
two hours' ride, or rather jolt, we were at once the centre
of attraction for a lot of able-bodied fellows who wanted
to either carry or pull us up to the crater. Declining all
assistance, we gave our three horses in the charge of a boy
and conuuenced the ascent. This famous climb is only
500 yards long; but I think I would rather walk twenty
miles at a stretch than try it again. The incline is at a
pitch of about forty-five degrees. The cone consists of
loose ashes and small stones, in which one sinks ankle deep
and recedes about half the length of every step ; this was
discouraging, more especially as the hot rays of the sun
were beating down upon us. It was a wearisome struggle
for nearly two hours, with many rests by the wayside,
before we at last stood on the edge of the crater.

The mouth of the volcano alters at every eruption. The

INSIDE AN ACTIVE VOLCANO.

199

present one is that remaining after the disturbance in
1872. The crater is an abyss, averaging, perhaps, forty
feet in depth and 200 yards in diameter. The bottom
consists of lava from fissures in which steam an<l sulphur-
ous gases hiss forth ominously. In the centre of the cra-

CBATEn OF VESUVIUS IN 184r».

ter is a small fresh cone, about a hundred feet high. This
v/orks something like a gigantic railway locomotive. From
its red-hot mouth, about ten feet in diameter, there is
continually puffing forth smoke, steam and flames — at in-
tervals showers of scoria3, or small stones, are thrown up.
Our guide seemed to be used to the business, and at once
descended into the crater. We followed. Walking; on
the lava, it feels and sounds as if it were about an inch
thick, and as if nothing but this slight crust separated
us from the bailing lava underneath. As we were pro-

■ii»tr

;ii

III

fi'i

200

ITALY.

ceeding around to the east side of the small cone, a terrific
burst of stones and flame came out of the crater close above
The guide looked up (juickly and remarked, as if to

us.

reassure us, that this was the way Vesuvius always went
off* just prior to one of its worst fits. We commenced to feel
sliaky; but it would do no good to turn })ack, so we tried
to look bold and unconcerned, and went on over a pile of
sulphurous matter just fresh and hot from the interior.
We soon arrived at the worst spot in the whole volcano.
On the south side of the small cone, red molten lava was
])ouring down the side, and at the base had formed a little
hissing, seething lake. At first the smell of sulphur and
the heat were such that we could not approach. The sur-
face of the lava in the neighbourhood of the fresh liquid
soon gets comparatively cool, and forms a thin but strong
crust, beneath which the fiery lava runs. In a few min-
utes the guide led, and we followed, on to this crust.
The heat, was intense, and the odour almost suttbcating.
The ancients called this place " The F'orge of Vulcan." If
the biblical description of Hades is to be taken literally,
I think the place might be more fitly called the Retreat
of his Satanic Majesty the Devil. I never before stood
face to face with Nature in so terrible an aspect as in the
crater of Vesuvius. Every puff* of the giant engine seemed
to suggest an unlimited reserve of power. We could not
remain very many minutes on the hot crust, as, even with
heavy boots on, our feet got unbearably hot. When we
moved on further, although the other part of the crater
was fpiite warm, it seamed like stepping out into a cold
bree/e.

We timed our ascent so that we could have an oppor-
tunity of seeing a sunset from the summit. After sitting
for about half an hour on the upper ledge of the crater, and
listening to the guide's tales of the accidents and eruptions
M'hich had occurred in his day, we witnessed a sunset over
the Bay of Naples and the sea beyond. Fortunately there
were some clouds in the western sky, so the colouring was

THE CITY OF POMPEII.

201

more than UHually brilliant — the valley below us quite
(lark, the sun having left it nearly halt an hour before.
This made a strange effect, and one that can never be
onjoyc<l except upon a lofty mountain summit. We were
bathed in bright rays of the sun, while below us we could
distinctlv see the thousands of <ras-li<;hts in the streets of
Naples. When the glorious orb of day had sunk into the
sea it became rapidly dark, and we had to niake quick
work to get down to Resina. The guide led down the
cone in fine style, taking strides like Hiawatha, and at
double-quick march. Although the pitch of the cone is
so precipitous, it is (piite easy to go down rapidly, as one
sinks over the ankles at every step, and there is little
danger of -falling. The descent was jolly, and only took
eleven minutes, a very different matter from the laborious
scramble up. In excellent spirits we mounted our liorses
•md proceeded homewards as fast as })Ossible. In liding
down the mountain we got badly jolted. In the darkness,
the road was invisible, so we had to give the horses free
rein. They adopted a pace to suit tliemselves. I think
the pace is peculiar to this region. It would take a life-
time to get accust(jmed to the short, jerking, tumbling
gait. W^hen we alighted at the guide-ofiice, every bone
in my body felt as if it had been standing too long imme-
diately in the rear of a kicking mule.

A couple of days after seeing Vesuvius, we went over
to Pompeii. This place owes to Bulwer Lytton what
Scotland owes to the magic pen of Sir Walter Scott. If
it were not for the charming novel, " The Last Days of
Pompeii," which has been transKted into several lan-
guages, the excavated city would not be visited by a hun-
(bedth part of the tourists that now flock to the place
every year. The cit}' is entered at the Porta Marina. On
the right is an interesting nmseum ; in glass cases are
exhibited exact casts of human bodies as they were found
among the ashes. There are two men, two women and a
girl ; the latter has a ring on her finger ; the limbs are

(

?il

till'

I '

202

ITALY.

from what

.sees

fearfully contorted, showing with what agony the victims
suffered death ; the outline and some expression on the
faces may also be traced. The figure of a small dog, lying
on its hack with its mouth wide open, is one of the best
j)reserved. The peoi)le apparently lived a good deal in
the open air. The nouses are built on a different plan

The entrance was
through a vestibule
into a s(|uare court
surrounded by a col-
onnade or verandah,
from which doors
opened into differ-
ent rooms. This
court, with a little
fountain or tank in
the centre, was gen-
erally the gossiping-
place and common
nieetinjr-room of the

SCENE IN POMPKII.

family and their friends. Most of the houses, however,
were much more elaborate than this siaiple plan. They
had other courts, waiting-rooms, inclosed gardens, etc., but
the open court was the chief distinction between a mod-
ern European and an ancient Roman house. On many
of the deserted streets there are palaces of consideralxe
pretensions, the walls being richly decorated with frescoes
painted in bright, almost gaudy, colours, the columns of
the colonnades being of highly-finished marble, with
showy Corinthian capitals.

One of the houses is kept locked. No ladies are ad-
mitted. It contains frescoes which would bring a blush
to the cheek of a Parisian photograph-seller, and that is
saying a good deal.

I I

ITALY.

THE NEAI'OMTANS VinCiM/s TOMB— A LAZT, HAPPY-OO-MrCKV PKOPI.K— TKR
IIKUO CAHlHAI.Dt PI'Ht.U; I.KTTKK-WniTKUH -EXCHANfiK HANKS OS THK
ITHLK- MlliKWAI.KS- THE MIKACI-K-WORKINU ST. JANUAHtlS NEAPOLITAN
liEAUTIEM,

APLES cnjoy.s the ropiltation of being the hirgest,
the most beautifully-situated, and the dirtiest city
in Italy. It is the end of the tourist world, a sort
of junii»ing-off ])lace. Every t»-aveller wl»o undertakes to
make anything like a decent European tour comes down
to Rome, and ends up by taking a run over to Naples to
see Vesuvius and Pompeii. Aftei d' ing this, his a!nbiti(m
is satisfied; and he then makes his way homeward with
all convenient speed.

The chief attraction at Naples itself is tlie National
Museum, one of the finest in Europe. Here are collected
all the wonders of excavated Pompeii and Herculaneum.
The frescoes are particularly good ; perhaps the colouring
is too brilliant ; but the spirited designs and the natural
life-like groups would not disgrace the school of Raphael.
The collection of statuaiy, although not so large as those
of the Vatican, the Louvre or the British Museum, at the
same time contains a fine lot of master-pieces. The cele-
brated group called " The Farnese Bull " is the largest
group of statuary I have seen, and I think it is the largest
in existence. It consists of the figures of two men, two
women, a boy, a wild bull and a dog, all over life size,
and originally hewn out of a single block of marble. The
scene represented is that of the two powerful sons of Anti-
ope binding Dirce to the horns of a wild bull. The bull
has lashed itself into a state of the greatest fury, and can

204

ITALY.

iii

hardly be held for an instant in check. The trouble arose
out of a family disturbance ; there was a woman at the
bottom of it. Dirce, who was a handsome girl, had been
flirting with the husband of Antiope. The latter {i.e.,
Antiopo) got jealous, and the sons got mad. The result
was, that in simple Spartan fashion they took the law in
their own hands. Already the unfortunate creature is
bourd to the back of the infuriated animal. In a moment
it will be oft'. All the group are in the most intense
state of excitement. Antiope has relented, and is implor-
ing her stern sons to save the other woman's life — but too
late. The figure of the bull, as it is being with difficulty
held down by the horns, is a marvel of the sculptor's art.
The group was dug up at Rome and restored by Michael
Angelo. This museum is altogether very ?'ec/ie7'c*Ae; noth-
ing is allowed in it unless it is a gem of its kind.

The fashionable drive of Naples, where the West End
swells congregate, is on the Chiaja. This is an avenue
over a mile long, and flanked on one side by some of the
finest hotels and residences in the city. Like Rotten Row
at London, it has a sort of " ladies' mile," running parallel
with it, which is used exclusively for horsemen. Between
five and six p.m. every night this is the liveliest place in
the city. The vehicles and the people do not appear to
be such swells as the upper ten at Rome ; but there are
more of them. Near the end of the Chiaja is the peculiar
Grotto of Posilipo, a lofty tunnel nearly half a mile long.
It is lighted constantly with gas, and is one of the busiest
thoroughfares at Naples. Above the entrance to this
grotto is the grave of the poet Virgil. Near this spot
the immortal bard composed the Georgics and the ^neid,
and here the urn containing his ashes was laid in the year
B.C. 1 9.

" See Naples and die." This hackneyed phrase has, I
suppose, been used in hundreds of thousands of letters
from all shades of travellers — little girls up to old men.
I can't see the meaning of it. The city is not half so at-

GARIBALDI, THE HEUO OF NAPLES.

205

tractive as Venice, Florence, or Rome. It must be meant
to be taken literally. J udging from the disgusting odours
in most of the back streets, even in the winter season, it
must be a matter of exceeding difficulty in summer to
" see Naples and not die."

Some of the street scenes are rather odd. The cabmen
are a (jueer lot, even for an Italian city. They are
unusually numerous. They seem to regard life as an ex-
ceedingly good joke, and can't refrain from laughing at it.
They run galloping races with their fellow-cabbies, quite
regardless of the opinions or safety of their fares. They
shout loudly, but good-naturedly, to every well-dressed
person who passes their stand, and volunteer all sorts of
information about the city to any one who employs them.
The horses are not driven with bits, but are steered by
means of a strap tied round the nose ; apiece of steel pro-
trudes from each side, to which the reins are attached.

The Neapolitans are a happy-go-lucky crowd. Nothing
seems to disturb them ; nobody is in the slightest hurry ;
in other words, the place ftnd the people are fearfully
behind this age of telegraphs, railways and keen competi-
tion in every walk of life.

The earthly hero of Naples ii Garibaldi. Ever since
that glorious little chap coolly marched at the head of his
revolutionary army into the city of Naples, and, from his
lofty position as the chosen dictator of the people, declared
Victor Kmanuel of Sardinia to be King of all Italy, the
people have regarded him as a little god. The Garibaldi
hymn, when played by the band, is always received with
the loudest acclamations. Alas ! how frail is human
nature. Even this unselfish liberator of his countrymen,
who is immort«,l if ever man was, is not free from the
weaknesses of everyday life. He has just been granted a
divorce by the Italian courts. It is said, on respectable
authority, that he is about to take a pretty young girl to
his island-home as " a second wentur," as old Mr. Weller
used to say.

2()G

ITALY

fie

if:/!

But to return to tlie street scenes. Under the colon-
nades of the Opera House, at each column, are seated pub-
lic scribes. Their desk is usually a small deal table. The
scribe is generally an old man, and l>y his side is seated a
person who is unable to write, and is dictating a letter.
All of these public writers were engaged on the two or
three occasions when I passed through the Arcade. The
best customers, apparently, are girls of between fifteen
and twenty-five years of age. They all appeared intensely
interested in getting down in writing their exact feelings
on the subject. Perhaps they were dictating letters on
business. The old scribes look very stoical. It seemingly
makes no difference to them whether they are inscribing a
pathetic love-letter or a sharp dun. Another odd feature
of the public streets is the little banks. Italian money is
at a discount of about twelve per cent. There is no gold
or silver in circulation. The bank-bills vary in value from
fifty centissimi, or ten Canadian cents, up to very high
figures. The copper coins range in value from one ' p to
ten centissimi. At Naples, the smallest paper-money is
one lira, or 100 centissimi. This gives rise to a great and
constant demand for coppers. To meet this, the large
banking-houses have established all over the city num-
bers of small exchange-banks. They consist simply of a
small common table on the public sidewalk, behind which,
squeezed against the wall, is generally seated an old wom-
an. Tho table is thickly covered with regular piles of
pennies, each pile worth a lira. Isn't this a i)rimitive mode
of banking for a city of nearly half a million of people ?

The patron saint of Naples is St. Januarius. This saint
was, in the early da3^s of Christian persecution, one of the
leading martyrs, and the ppople still revere his shade as
one having great influence in the world beyond. Three
times a year religious festivals are held in his honour. At
the Cathedral, in two vials, is kept some blood of the
martyr, collected at the foot of the executioner's block,
about fifteen hundred years ago. The vials are doubly

"tiisj

NEAPOLITAN BEAUTIES.

207

secured by two complicated locks, for one of which, a
monk informed me, the ecclesiastical authorities have the
key ; of the other, the civic powers are the custodians, so
the precious relics can never be seen save by the joint con-
sent of church and state. Three times a year the miracle
of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius takes
place. Thus the people are assured of the continued pro-
tection and good-will of their patron. It is said that the
bottles, which are always closely sealed, are left out in the
sight of the whole people, and the congealed blood actually
li([uifies on these occasions. The miracle has for ages been
the subject of much scientific im^uiry ; but never yet has
its supernatural character been explained away. This saint
has special charge of the dreaded Vesuvius. When that
volcano has a bad attack of eruption, and is hurling forth
death and destruction all around, the Neapolitans trust
implicitly in their protector. The belief is, that although
other towns may be destroyed and overwhelmed, Naples
never will be as long as the saint remains propitious.

The further south we travel in Italy, the less energetic
and enlightened the people appear to be. At Genoa, Milan,
Venice, Florence, and even Jlome, we found the people
vivacious, comparatively clean, and unusually good-look-
ing ; but when we got down as far avS Naples, it appears
like a different country. Here the inhabitants are lazy
and innocent of soap, and there is not a good-looking
woman in the place. I have looked in vain on the Toledo,
the principal business street, and on the Chiaja, the fash-
ionable resort, for one of the celebrated Neapolitan beau-
ties — one with liquid, melting, southern eyes, with jet-
black silken haii-, coral lips, and a complexion of purest
Italian type, ich as the costliest cosmetics of Rimmel
could not pretend to rival ; in fact, such an ethereal being
as one reads about and sees pictures of. I have looked
in vain ; there are none at Naples.

■ 4

l-^

THE OCRAN VOYAGE FROM NAPLES — SCYLLA AND CHARYBms— ^TNA — A
SKrEAMBOAT RACE— GREEK FUNERAL — THE GREEK PARLIAMENT IN SES-

SION — A STORMY ASSEMBLY — PlSRFECT RAILWAY SVSTEM-
*' TUG OF WAR."

-A GREEK

Athens, Greece,

24th January, 1880.

^(^j^E came to Athens by steamer from Naples. Sev-
eral interesting spots were passed on the voyage
— the first, when we entered the Straits of Mes-
sina, dividing the toe of the boot from the Island of Sicily.
Here, on the left, we saw the rock of Scylla, which, from
the time when Homer described it as a terrible sea-mon-
ster, has been the theme of poets, and an object of super-
stitious dread to navigators. Opposite, on the Sicilian
coast, we looked upon what is supposed to have been the
great whirlpool, Charybdis. Ancient mariners are repre-
sented as when wishing to avoid Charybdis falling on
Scylla. The currents and eddies are still strong ; but the
passage is not at all dangerous to a vessel so thoroughly
under control as a modern merchantman or steamer.

We put in at Messina, which has a harbour said to be
one of the best in the world. The city is a busy, active
place of over 100,000 inhabitants, including its suburbs.
The old cathedral is a venerable and handsome building ;
the high altar is gorgeous ; it cost over seven hundred
thousand dollars ; beneath it is kept a celebrated and
precious relic. The faithful believe that within the recep-
tacle is preserved an epistle sent by the Virgin Mary to

.*:tna, a grand volcano.

201)

the

lo be

kive
irbs.

I red
land
jep-
to

the citizens of Messina, by the hands of the Apostle Paul.
We passed over the Straits to Reggio, the place where
Garibaldi landed with his few troops and commenced his
marvellous career in Italy. The next morning we awoke
to find ourselves in the harbour at Catania. Eagerly we
rushed to the cabin port-holes to get a first glimpse at the
world-renowned volcano, Mount iEtna, the big brother of
Vesuvius, which we had climbed a few days before. The
first view was disappointing. Catania is immediately at
the foot of the mountain. We went on shore and had
views of ^^tna from different stand-points — bought a large
photograph of it — but still we were disappointed. It
looked squatted, there was no fire issuing from the crater
— only a little steady stream of smoke. Altogether, we
returned to the ship feeling that ^]tna was a fraud.
After a time, we started out to sea. When about a mile
from the shore, one of us happened to look towards land,
and behold, what a magnificent sight was before us ! I
have seen the principal mountains of Europe, but never
before did I see anything so majestic, so shapely, so
sublime as iEtna is, as it appears when viewed from the
ocean.

It is not so high as Mont Blanc and several other
peaks, but it looks higher than any of them. This appear-
ance is caused by the fact that iEtna arises directly from
the level of the sea, and a spectator gets the full benefit
of every inch of its great height. The other celebrated
summits rise irregularly from land already very much
elevated, and as the altitudes are all calculated from the
level of the sea, one loses altogether the height of the
elevated land in an ordinary view.

iEtna is 10,870 feet high, is the loftiest volcano in
Europe, and about two and a half times the stature of
Vesuvius. W^hen we saw it, about one-third of the slope
was covered with snow. The sun glinted on this, on the
green trees, and on the grass below, making a very beau-
tiful picture.

,1 .

' ■o.itt. :..ij,— V— »•

RACE WITH A STEAMER.

211

iJltna stands alone. No other peaks lift up their heads
within sight to mar the eflect or detract from the grandeur
of the stately queen of Italian mountains. Our steamer
was a swift one, but for hours we remained in sight of
snow-capped ^Etna. When Sicily faded from sight, and
there was no light in the heavens but the pale moon and
the twinkling stars, still the tremendous volcano was in
view towering like a giant into the sky. The difference
l)etween looking at it from the town of Catania and from
the deck of a vessel at sea is astonishing.

We passed by some islands of the Archipelago. They
look like orphans — so lonely, so bare, so neglected. We
had a race with a steamer of a rival line. Our captain,
three mates, the enginoei* and the two Canadian passen-
gers were all in a state of keen excitement. The other
l)oat piled on the coal, but we gained on her rapidly. In
despair they rushed up a sail. This helped her some; but
when our captain saw this base attempt to use wind as
well as steam, he ordered the engineer to put our craft at
her topmost speed, and "To Hades with the expense!" We
fairly tlew through the water. Our screw revolved like
lightning, and we had the ineti'able satisfaction of victory.
We rushed by with tiying colours, and soon left the de-
feated Frenchman far in our wake. In about half an
hour later we entered the first portion of the Pineus, the
harbour of Athens. A wise man has said, " Pride cometh
before a fall." I think we were too proud about that vic-
tory over the French steamer. Through some bungling
in the steering of our vessel, we were delayed a consider-
able time in veering around in the bay, and while our
captain was swearing away and trying to get us straight
to enter the harbour, we were horrified to see our late an-
tagonist rapidly approaching us. We pretended not to
notice hei', and tried to cross over her bows and stop her
onward career, but it was no go. The great object and
rivalry is to get into the harbour first. After all our glo-
rification, we actually had at last to sit down quietly and

''<ii..i

If!

-■|

,1'i I

212

GREECE.

sec that little Frenchman oo first into the harhour. The
engineer Haiti " he felt bad, after liaving lieked her clean
and clever, to have the little beggar sneak by us like
that."

The harbour at Pineus presented a busy scene. I never
saw so many men-of-war collected together before. There
were English, Russian, Austrian, Italian, French, Egyp-
tian, Turkish and Greek. We were pleased also to notice
the familiar Hag, the Stars and Stripes. All these engines
of war lay peacefully side by side, and doubtless the
otHcers and men who could understand each other's lan-
guage were on the best of terms. One word from Beacons-
field, Gortehakoff, or the First Minister of any of the other
States — men whom probably none of these sailors had
ever seen — and this pleasant friendship, nurtured in the
peaceful harbour of the Pirteus, would be turned into
the bitterest animosity.

From this harbour Athens is situated about four miles
distant inland. We drove along a road shaded with large
trees nearly the whole distance. Finally, we reached
Athens — a city which, in its brilliant past, was the cradle
of civilization for the whole of Europe, serving as a model
for even imperial Rome — a city which could boast of citi-
zens more renowned in philosophy, oratory and art than
any other men that ever lived, either before or since — a
city which, even in the less noble pursuit of war, was for
ages the most gallant champion of the then known world.
With the exception of the ruins of departed glory, there
is little in modern Athens to interest a traveller. The
people who compose the 46,000 inhabitants are a stmnge
mixture of nationalities. There is the native Greek, with
his fine bearing and his picturesque costume ; there is the
strong Turkish element left here after ages of oppression
and tyranny of the Sublime Porte ; then there is the
element composed of a colony of Germans who came
hither with King Otlio of Bavaria ; lastly, there is the
court of the young Danish Sovereign, or, as he is styled,
George I., King of Hellenes.

A STKANOE FUNERAL AT ATHENS.

til 3

Tliere are two chief tliorougli fares. The most fashion-
able one leads from the Royal Palace to tlie railway
station, and is called Hermes Street. Running at right
angles to the latter is the Oxford Street of Athens. On it
are the market-place and bazaar, with their crowd of
loungers, and the principal banks and stores ; it is called
/Eolus Street — thus is the memory of the Pagan gods of
Elocjuence and of the Winds still kept fresh in the minds
of the Athenians.

The prevailing religion here, of course, is that of the
Greek Church. Its priests are seen frecpumtly on the
streets. They wear black hats with very high crowns,
but no rims ; long, black flowing gowns ; they n(!ver
shave nor havj their hair cut; their hair is Jillowed to
grow as it will, and it is tied up in a knot behiml like a
woman's. They do not live in brotherhoods, but are
generally married and reside with their families.

I saw a strange funeral procession ])ass by the King's
palace and down Hermes Street the other day. It was
accompanied by a military band, playing an air which
was dismal without being solemn, and very slow with-
out being in the least im])ressive. The leaders of the
procession were two men carrying a coftin lid before
them in an erect position. The lid was adorned with
the name of the decejused, and with some silver tirna-
ments. Next came several priests in the costumes of their
order, the centre one solemnly chanting the service
for the dead. Then followed a company of soldiers,
and then a number of men bearing the coffin between
them. The most a.stonishing feature of the whole cere-?
mony was, that the body of the dead man was expo.sed
to the gaze of the people. In fact, the head was raised
from the coffin, and could be distinctly seen at a consider-
able distance. Thus to carry the dead through a l)usy
public thoroughfare is an odd custom, and rather repug-
nant to English ideas of propriety. Behind the bier came
,some mourners, and then the band bringing up the rear.

11 ti

I '

214

r.IJEECE.

The Greek Parliament is now in sosaion. Last nii^lit
we attended a debate. We wei-e coiirteonsly admitted to
the stran^in's' i^^allery, and had an excellent view of the
House. The Chamber is, in form, semi-circular, and is
the smallest I have seen in any of the European capitals.
The f^alleries for the accoiinnodation of the public are
commodious, — at least three times as much room as in the
British House of Commons. The members pres(;nt num-
beri'd about seventy-five. Nearly a (piarttn- of them were
dressed in the national Greek costume. This costume is
worth while describing. In the first place, the men wear
a bright red fez with a blue tassel; then a blue jacket,
with red lining or trimmings, open sleeves, richly em-
broidered. The vest fits tightly, and is either blue or
white, according to tjiste. The white shirt has an elabor-
ately-end)roi<lered front, and Avide, flowing sleeves. The
jnost stiiking feature of the costume, however, is what is
called the " fustanella." This consists of a white linen
skirt, reaching from the waist almost to the knee.s. It is
apparently wi^ll starched, and is heavily |ileated. The
only dre>ss I ever saw that looked like it is that of a bal-
let girl in tlie Alhambra, at London. Were it not for the
manly bearing of the (»reeks, this would look ri<liculous
to a foreigner. The breeches are skin-tight, and reaching
a little below the knees. Red leggings extend from the
knees to the feet. Then come the boots, which make as
conspicuous an extremity as the scarlet fez ; they are of
red Russian leather, and have turned up, pointed toes.
On the j)oints are heavy silk tas.sels, either red or blue.
At first, I felt like laughing at seeing members of a solemn
deliberative body, met to discuss weighty affairs of .state,
attired in this outlandish costume. After a while we
became accustomed to it. I am not sure now that it is not
more dignified and more stately than the gloomy, mean-
ingless dress of the other members, who thought fit to fol-
low the Parisian fashions. It is certainly more pleasing
i\,m\ attr^^tive thaji the ugly tile h{^t and clawhammev

TIIK (SUKKK PAULIAMKNT.

215

ing

coat of.an Eni:,'liMl»inaii. All tho members sit facing tlio
Speaker. When one desires to speak, he must ascend the
rostinim, in front of the Speaker, and address the House.
'J'he assend>ly is a stormy little one. I fancy that popu-
lar parliaments are the same all tlu^ world over. In Kng-
land, where the people are generally supposed to rival tlio
'j'urks for taciturnity and reserve, [ found the House of
Commons a perfect Bedlam for noise and helter-skelter
confusion when a division was al)out to tak(; place, or
when an ol)noxious member was speaking. It is the same
at Athens. Everybody talks at once, and very often the
liell of the Speaker has liUle effect in restoring order. The
Piime Minister, Mr. Alexander Koumomidouros, is ap-
parently of a peaceable, politic turn of mind. Jle tried
to pour oil on the troubled waters, but there were a couple
of young fellows in the Opposition — perfect fii-ebrands —
who had made up their minds to carry th(;ir point, and
would not be put down by the evasive, but conciliatory,
speech of the Premier. Another talkative mend)er, in the
words of Mr. Disraeli, seemed to be " inebriateil with the
exuberance of his own verbosity." We couldn't under-
stand a word that was .said, but thought we could follow
the general tenor of the debate from the gestures and
tones of the speakers.

The railway system of Greece is admirably managed.
All the trains are tlirough trains. The traveller is not
annoyed by the anxiety of having to change cars at a
busy railway junction. There are no Bradsliaw's time-
tables to confuse one's mind and make life a burden.
The times of arrival and departure of the trains ai-e clearly
and explicitly set down, so that the simplest iidiabitant
can undei-stand. Accidents are unheard of. A Tay Bridge
disaster would be impossible. There are no railway kings
coining colossal fortunes out of the hard earnings of the
people. In the whole kingdom of Greece there are
exactly seven miles of railway, extending from Athens to
the Pirppus, The one intermediate station is quite harm-

210)

OHEECK.

less. You <'a,n't change cars. There is no hustle or con-
fusion, for tlie simple reason that there is no one hut the
station-master, a soldier, and a small hoy to hustle. The
trains run each way every hour, so no one ever dreams of
looking at the small written time-tahle hung up in the
station.

When at the Athens station an amusing episode occur-
red. My friend gave his heavy valise to a boy to carry
from the carriage to the railway train. Another hoy fan-
cied he had a right to he porter. They lugged and pulled
at the valise like demons, each having a handle. Then a
man came up and gave the biggest boy a fearful beating,
slapping his face and punching his head, but neither boy
let go the yalise. Finally, however, both rushed together
into the waiting-room, each still holding a ha die and
jerking with all his might. Then the station-master, who
evidently befriended the large boy, came up, and gave
the small youngster a regular trouncing, cutting him right
and left out of the station. A crowd had collected and
were laughing heartily at the plucky little Greeks and
their mimic " tug of war."

GREECE.

ANCIENT ATHENS.

THE STATELY WHECK *' THE ACR(»I'0LI8— WHAT 18 LE^T OF THE PARTHENON —
THE EUJIN MAllBLKM - ANTiyi'lTIEH — PAUL'S SPEECH FROM MARS' HILL —
THE ROSTRUM OF DtMOSTHKNES.

Athens,

31st January, 1880.

tHE ruins »jf departed splendour at Athens are its
greati .ttra^tion to the traveller.
On the beautiful warm morning last week when
we approached and sailed into the harbour at Pineus, the
first object which fastened our attention in the distant
landscape was the Acropolis. This stately rock, on which
were erected some of the grandest tem|)les ever raised by
the hand qf man to the praise of a deity, has been the
pride of Athenians and the wonder of travellers for over
two thousand years. We took the first opportunity of
going over and spending a few hours roaming through
the interesting ruins. The rock stands 500 feet above
the sea level, and on all sides rises precipitously from the
plain. Approaching it from the west, we entered the Pro-
pylaea, which is a vast porch or entrance of lofty columns,
flanked on each side by a temple of great beauty. After
passing through the Propykea, and ascending the incline
of the Acropolis, I was very nmch impressed with the
stupendous grandeur of the scene before us.

On the highest part of the rock, to the right, rises the
Parthenon, still the most majestic ruin in Greece ; to the
left, the delicately-constructed Erechtheum ; in all direc-
tions, fragments of smaller shrines, and of statues chiselled

218

GREECE.

i\,

(I .

>l|!

by the hands of masters out of the finest marbles. It is
a sea of shattered marble, not in rough blocks, but every
inch of it hewn and carved with the greatest skill and the
utmost nicety. Well might Aristophanes, in his enthusi-
astic admiration, write : " O, thou, our Athens, i/iolet-
wreathed, brilliant, most enviable city ! "

The Parthenon is a huge temple 243 feet long and 108
feet wide. When completed, B. C. 438, it was surrounded
by a wilderness of columns. Those still standing are of
the severest type ot the Doric order — plain, massive and
grand — no '=?howy Corinthian capitals to please a luxury-
loving age. The frieze which surrounded the walls was
adorned with scenes of battles, etc., in high relief. The
master-mind of Phidias, said to be the greatest sculptor
that ever lived, superintended the production of these
reliefs. Lord Elgin, while in the occupation of Athens,
had the best of these removed to the British Museum,
where they are now known as the Elgin marbles. Critics
say they are the best specimens of the sculptor's art in
existence, and the most precious antiquities in the whole
collections of the British Museum. I remember seeing
them at London, but must say that to my eyes they were
less admirable than reliefs I have seen by Thorvaldsen, a
man of our own day.

Erected to the honour of Minerva, the Goddess of Athens,
the Parthenon has, during its chequered existence, been a
Pagan temple, a Christian cathedral, a Turkish foit and a
Mahomedan mosque. Those not liable to dizziness may
ascend a dark, break-neck sort of a stairway within one
of the walls, and from the summit of some broken columns
enjoy what is perhaps the finest view in Greece. Philhel-
lenists say that there is no finer or more interesting view
in the world. To the north, at one's feet, lies the city of
Athens, having an air of thrift and comparative prosperity
which, until a few years ago, had for ages becTi an aspect
quite unknown to it. The view extends past the market-
place where Pftul disputed daily with the Athenians, and

*i m

TEAR-BOTTLES — WAI LING-URNS.

219

lay

up iEolus Street, beyond the city limits. Further to the
right, on a hill, is the King's palace, rising out of the
midst of a fine grove of orango trees, now heavily laden
with ripe fruit, and looking most refreshing in treeless
Athens. Near the palace is what remains of the Temple
of Jupiter Olympus, with its gigantic columns, sixty-
four feet high, finished in the grandest style of the beau-
tiful Corinthian order ; furtlier to the right, in the hazy
distance, can be seen Piraeus, with its little forest of masts
and its miscellaneous gathering of iron-clads ; beyond
Pira?us, the calm, blue waters of the Mediterranean ; right
at our feet, to the south, lie the ruins of the celebrated
theatre of Bacchus. This place, though elaborately fitted
up, was, according to ancient custom, without a roof. The
best seats were marble arm-chairs, which still remain, and
are exceedingly comfortable to sit in. Here the tragedies
of Sophocles and Euripides were exhibited by their authors
to the imaginative Greeks, and, it is recorded, created at
times such a profound sensation that the people had to be
carried out in fainting fits. The view from the top of
the columns is grand in extent, embracing, as it does,
nearly every object which history tells us formed the
world of the polished and learned Athenians.

In descending from the Acropolis, we were importuned
by some degenerate sons of Athens to purchase antiqui-
ties. There were tear-bottles, in which the ancients
gathered their tears for a dead friend, and then piously
placed them beside the corpse. The price asked for these
dismal little mementoes was four drachma. I exhibited
one drachma (equal to about a friiuc). The old merchant
could not resist the sight of the silver, and I got a prettily-
shaped one at my own price. The old man, however, in-
sisted upon an obolos or two, as a sort of recompense for
his sacrifice. There were also for sale wailing-urns, or
bottles. By blowing gently on the top of these the friends
and mourners at an ancient funeral raised a sad and
doleful tune, which was continued until the ashes of tlic

i;ti,

;i;

rr.

fAUL^S SPEECH ON MARS' HILL.

221

deceased were duly and decently interred. All these were
found in the graves which surround Athens in every
direction. They are probably anti(i[ue, as such things are
found in large numbers, and not enough tourists visit
Athens to make it profitable to have regular manufac-
tories of ancient coins, lamps and vases, as it is done to-
day at Rome.

Under the shadow of the Acropolis, about a hundred
yards to the west, is Mars' Hill, or the Areopagus, proba-
bly better known, and certainly more often read about,
than any other feature of Athens. Twenty years after
the death of Christ, Paul sojourned at Athens — " Now
while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was
stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to
idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the market rlaily with
them tliat met with him. Then certain philosophers of
the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered him. . .
. . . And they took him and brought him unto Areo-
pagus, saying, ' May we know what this new doctrine,
whereof thou speakest, is ? ' Then Paul stood in the
midst of Mars' Hill, and said, . . ." It is said that the
Areopagus stands to-day unaltered, exactly the same as it
did on the day when the fearless di8ci{)le delivered his
famous sermon to the Athenians. The Areopagus, the
highest judicial tribunal of the Greeks, with characteris-
tic solenuiity and strange simplicity, held its sittings on
this rock durin<; the niiifht, with no lisfht but the moon
and stars to illuminate the open-air court. The judges,
suitors, defendants and witnesses all ascended by the six-
teen steps hewn out of the solid rock to the irregular pla-
teau above. The room above is probably about ten .s(piare
yard.s. Standing near the summit of the steps, with the
gorgeous picture of the Acropolis, crowned with temples
of costliest and rarest marbles, on his left hand ; behind
him the city of Athens, famed for being more learned,
more skilled in philosophy, oratory, painting and scidp-
ture than any other city in the world ; immediately in

''<«

r m

¥-■ ■»;

"^^^'

222

GREECE.

front of him a body of men, probably teachers in the
world-renowned schools of Athens — scho'^^ls which dealt
chiefly with the subtleties of reasoning, philoso])hy and
public speaking ; — with these magnificent and awe-inspir-
ing surroundings, and in presence of such an audience,
as critical in exposing the slightest flaw or absurdity in
his speech or doctrine as any assembly in <'\istence, Paul
dared to chide these men of learning, and t oflei* to. them
the simplicity of a Christian's faith in lieu of the elabor-
ate and gorgeous system by which they worshipped their
pagan deities and their unknown God. About ^300 yardn
to the .south-west of the Areopagus is the Pnyx, a terrace
of hewn stone, approached in the centre by three steps.
We descended from Mars' Hill and walked over and stood
on the stej)S of the Pnyx. In front of the terrace, the
Athenian public assemblies took place, and from the ora-
tors' stage at the top of the steps the glowing eloquence
of Demosthenes was wont to arouse the citizens to action.
From the spot on which we stood the immortal Philippics
were delivered four centuries before the days of Paul.
The view from the Pnyx is, I think, one of the most
attractive of Athens ; not so lofty and impressive as that
from the Acropolis, but in some respects more pleasing.
The orator faced the city. To his right rose tlie huge
rock, the Acropolis, decked with its glittering mass of
temples ; then the Areopagus, always an important
feature of the city ; to the left of tl\is, the temple of
Theseus, a miniature Parthenon, and to this day in almost
perfect preservation. Between these points, and over the
heads of the assembled multitude, could be seen the city,
with its world -renowned universities, its marble palaces,
its gymnasia and its luxurious baths.

''•I

THE DOMES AND MINAUET.S OF THE CAPITAL— FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE —
THE MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA, ITS CONGREGATION OP SQUATTBD FAITHFUL—
THE HOLY " FLAG OF THE PROPHET "- THE WONDERFUL BAZAAR, ITS
COSTLY MERCHANDISE AND ITS GUIDE— FIENDS— THE I)0(JS OF CONSTAN-
TINOPLE, A PECULIAR AND HIGHLY-IMPORTANT COMMUNITY.

Constantinople,

February 2, 1880.

{\^J E left Athens last week in one of the Florio
steamers. The voyage through the Archipelago
is not interesting until the ship arrives off
the islands of Mytilene and Tenedos. Then we were in
the neighbourhood of Troy, which owes its fame to the
blind old poet, the most famous of ancient bards. We
walked the deck in the moonlight, and tried to fancy that
we saw the mainland and Mount Ida, under the shadow
of which old Priam sheltered tlie gay, handsome, good-
for-nothing Paris, and the faithless Helen, the hero and
heroine of the most celebrated elopement on record, and
where the great warriors Achilles and Agamenmon (j[uar-
relled so fiercely about their fair captive. But as we
hadn't as powerful eyes as Sam. Weller describes in the
Pickwick trial, I don't think we actually saw the famous
Trojan plains.

During the night we passed through the long, narrow
Dardanelles, and m the morning found ourselves just
entering the Sea of Marmora. After a few hours' further

'« -I

224

TURKEY.

sail, we cau*^ht the first glimpse of the minarets and
domes of Constantinople. No city in the world looks so
enchanting from a ship's deck. Gradually we approached
the Bosphorus. On the right was Scutari. The long,
white brick building is now a Turkish barracks, but was
once the scene of the noble and self-sacrificing labours of
a woman whose name will never be forgotten. Florence
Nightingale nursed the wounded and soothed the dying
British soldiers in the wards and corridors t^f that »ios-
pital during the Crimean War.

On the left we saw the prominent features of the Turk-
ish capital, such as the mosque of St. Sophia and tiie fire-
towers, but as yet only the back-yards of Stamboul were
distinctly seen. The grand view was yet to come. Se-
raglio Point juts out on the left. We rounded it and
glided into the Golden Horn. This is an arm of the Bos-
phorus running up between the lofty hills on which Con-
stantinople is built, and forming a splendid harbour. The
panorama before us was a magnificent one. All we had
read about it had not exaggerated the reality. Immedi-
ately on the left, crowning Seraglio Point, is an old royal
palace, said to contain the colony of wives which the late
Sultan left behind him. Further on, on the left, is busy,
dirty, interesting Stamboul, the oldest portion of the city,
with its numerous mosques and its wonderful bazaar. On
the right, Pera, a modern quarter, where the foreign Am-
bassadors and the English and French merchants and
bankers reside. Further on, Galata, the chief business
quarter of the British and other European merchants. In
front of us spread a city which, next to Paris, is the largest
on the continent — a city built, not on one hill, but, like
its illustrious model, on seven — a city fairly bristling with
towers, domes, mosques, minarets and palaces. The beauty
of this view is that it takes in the whole capital. Right
down to the water's edge of the Golden Horn the hill —
sides are covered with houses built so closely together
that most of the streets are too narrow for more than two

THE (U)LDKN horn — BAKHSIIEKSH.

225

waggons to pass. Connecting Galata and Staniboul is a
wooden pontoon bridge, which is all day crowded with
pedestrians.

In the Golden Horn all is life and activity. Steamers
and sailing vessels from every part of the world lie at
anchor, some of them discharging cargoes, others loading
up, and war-ships of many nations. Here and there and
everywhere, swiftly darting between ponderous vessels,
are the little boats of which we had so frequently heard,
but never seen before. They are Turkish caiques, as dis-
tinctive a feature of the Golden Horn as the gondola is of
the Grand Canal at Venice. Pointed at both ends, built
lightly and high out of the water, they are as rickety as
an Indian canoe. Some time ago I read in a newspaper
that the caiquedjis (or boatmen of the Golden Horn) were,
as a class, the best physically-developed men in the world.
They are certainly tine, brawny fcdlows, with arms
and chests of great size, and with quiet, good-natured faces.
No sooner had we cast anchor than dozens of caiques
surrounded the ship, bustling one against another in
the anxiety of the boatmen to get close enough to ask the
passengers if any of them wanted to go ashore. After
about ten minutes' waiting, the health officer arrived in a
stylish boat. There was a general scurry of the caiques
to make way for the important/government official. There
he sat in the stern of his boat, ordering people about right
and left in peremptory style. He was dressed in a uni-
form of dark-blue cloth with gold trimmings. Amidst a
good deal of bowing and scraping, he mounted our ship,
and with a lordly stride proceeded to inspect its sanitary
condition. He was a large, muscular man, over six feet
high, and as black as the ace of spades — a negro of typi-
cal negroes.

After the Galata custom-house officer had examined
my baggage, I experienced a peculiar sensation. The officer
leaned towards me and gently whispered in my ear the
word bakhsheesh. All books of Eastern travel warn the

-m

liilil

1^^

226

TURKEY.

tourist of tlie magic power of this word of two syllables —
this "open sesame" to the wonders of the Orient. This was
the first time I had ever lieard it used ; it sounded like a
connecting link between Euroj)e and Syria. The English
meaning of this word, which haunts every traveller, is
simply " a gift " or " a tip."

As far as I liave l)ecn able to see, Constantinople is
chiefly conspicuous for three specialties — its mosques, its
bazaars, and its dogs. The Mosque of St. Sophia, which
was built by thelioman Enjperor then li/ing at Con.?tan-
t-inople, to the honour of "Holy Wisdom," is the grandest
sacred edifice in the city. The proi)er way to visit it is
bv a fiinian of the Turkish Government, which costs .*o ;
but we hdkhsheeshed a priest of Mahomet, and lie let us in
without a muitnur. It was built for a Christian church,
and very much resembles St. Mark's at Venice. Befoie
passing the inner threshold we had to take off our boots
and put on slippers. A priest led the way around the
interior. The place is much barer and less interesting
than a cathedral of the Church of Rome. There are no
pictures, no high altar, no fine pulpit, and no chapels.
The mosaics of the dome, however, are very fine, quite
rivalling, if not excelling, those of St. Mark's. Eight
green jasper pillars support the sides. They are of great
historic interest. Once they stood in a temple which
was one of the seven wonders of the world — a temple, the
building of which occupied over two centui'ies. They
were each the gift of a king to the honour of a Pagan
idol. When Paul preached to the Ephesians, these pillars
helped to beautify the famous Temple of Diana at Ephe-
sus.

Service was in progress. There are no pews, or even
seats. The congregation w^ere all squatted on the floor,
cross-legged, with their faces reverentially turned towards
Mecca. The men never take off the red fez, and the women
keep their faces closely veiled with the " yashmak." The
priest, wearing a green turban, sat in a sort of pulpit or

STUKKT SCENES — CONSTANTLNOPLK.

227

box, which was ascended by a short laddor. In a chant-
ing, monotonous tone, he was reading the Koran to the
scjuatted faithful. We walked along the galleries, from
which there is a fine view of the dome. The priest did
not show us the idolized and far-famed "Flag of the
Prophet," which was used by Mahomet himself, as none
but the faithful may look uj)on it.

Mos(i[ues are seen in every street ; they are distinguished
by minarets, varying in number from one to six. A min-
aret is a tall, slender tower, with a winding staircase
inside and a small balcony near the to}). At five regular
intervals during the twenty-four hours a priest or muez-
zin ascends to the balcony and calls the faithful to prayer.
They have no church bells except the lungs of the muezzin.

I thought that Naples was a dirty, slovenly city, but it
is a Paris of neatness and elegance when compared with
Constantinople. The finest street in the whole city, and
the pride of the natives, is the Grande Rue-Pera. There ai'e
no two continuous blocks of the same width, and it is every-
where narrow and filthy. With the exception of two or
three residences of foreign ambassadors, there is not a
really fine building in the street. Pe<lestrians usually
walk in the road, as the sidewalks are too narrow for two
people to pass comfortably. In the greater part of it
not more than three carriages can stand abreast. A
pedestrian has rather an awkward time of it — first, he is
jostled on to the sidewalk by the liearers of a sedan chair ;
then he has to make way for a veiled Turkish lady and
her inseparable female slave ; next he will hear a hoarse
cry behind, warning him not to be knocked down by an
Armenian porter, who is loaded sis heavily a,s a pack mule,
and can't see his way before him, A crowd in front an-
nounces that a blockade has occurred ; two carriages and
a porter have got mixed up, and they wt)n't get unmixed
without a good deal of profanity.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the city is the
Grand Bazaar. This place, which is said to contain ^

^^'P'^

228

TUIIKKY.

finer collection of costly merchandise than any other spot
in the world, is an immense stone buildint^ one story
high. Jt covers several acies, but I can't form any idea
how many, as it is divided np into a perfect labyiinth of
narrow, vaulted passages. Every merchant has his allotted
quarter. In one place one sees nothing but shops for silks ;
in another, for perfumes ; another, for precious stones ;
another, for boots ; another, for Turkish carpets, and so on.
The size of the shops varies from about two feet square,
or just enough room for a Turk to squat in and place his
beloved nargileh beside him, up to (juite a decent shop of
perhaps twelve feet square. On the three occasions we
visited the bazaar it was crowded. There were numbers
of Turkish ladies doing their shopping ; some in groups of
three or four, all from the same harem. It is. the rule
here for the fair sex to be entirely veiled, but I noticed a
peculiarity in the custom. They appear to expose their
faces in exact proportion to their loveliness. An ugly or
a wrinkled face is nearly always completely hidden from
view, except at moments when goods recpiire to be critic-
ally examined. On the other hand, a beautiful Turkish
girl wears the merest apology for a yashmak. It is of
Avhite gauze, and does not cover her eyes or even her nose.
Some of the married ladies look like mere children, and
so they are.

The marriage arrangements — such as the trifling cere-
mony of popping the question, etc. — are conducted entirely
through the parents, and engagements are entered into
long before the unfortunate children are out of the nur-
sery.

A visit to the Bazaar is both amusing and interesting.
There is a certain class of parasites who do not aspire to
the dignity of calling themselves guides or dragomans,
but who attach themselves to every stranger venturing
within the bazaar. They infest every passage, their object
being to assist a visitor in his purchases by acting as
interpreter. The shopkeepers pay them a commission on

CONSTANTINOPLE DOGS.

229

is of

nose.

I. and

cere-

Aveiy

into

nur-

ire to
nans,

ring
bject
fg as

n on

sales, and this, in addition to hakhsheesh from the pur-
chaser, makes up quite a respectable profit. It is of no
use to ignore or sinib them. Y^ou can't offend them. With
a patient, whipi)ed-spaniel look they follow you, and
whether you will or no you must pay their conunission
to the shopkeeper. The latter is to a great extent at
their mercy for his custouj, and, it is said, seldom hesitates
to pay the percentage, in order to keep in tlieir good

graces.

I will leave the bazaar and mention another distinguish-
ing feature of Constantinople — its dogs. The description
which a small boy gave of a dog, as an animal with a leg
at each corner, would be hardly comprehensive enough
for one of the celebrated Constantinople breed. The dogs
of this city are an important institution, and recognized
as such. There are thousands of them. Each street and
each block has a contingent. They don't belong to any-
one, being free and 'ndependent citizens. The laws of
Draco were not more exacting than is their self-imposed
system of government. Each dog has a regular l)eat,
beyond which he wanders at his peril. The different
communities are not unlike the mueh-talked-of powers of
Europe. As long as a dog does not step beyond his
boundaries, and tiiere is not a fatal question at issue, such
as the ownership of a l)one of reasonable dimensions, then
everything runs smoothly and happiness prevails. But
the moment that he either accidentally or on purpose
crosses his frontier, or a bone, even although it has no
meat on it, is thrown into the arena, tlien there is sure to
be a fight. As a pup, the Constantinople dog has a plump
and not unhappy appearance, but when it gets old enough
to have to forage for itself then a change occurs. Its face
becomes anxious and careworn, its nose gets longer and
its ribs begin to appear.

The Turks like the dogs, and do not abuse them ; but
the Greeks and Armenians, who form a large proportion
of the population, have no respect for the city scavengers,

lllHi

ii!;

/■

230

TUUKEV.

jiiid beat and destroy thoiii on sli«(ht provocation. T have
seen as many as six dof^s lyinj^ in front of one small, in-
offensive butcher-shop waitin^^ for bones. Nearly every
grown-up Ciinine is marked with !nany scars, caused by
kicks, scalds, and fighting generally for a living. In ap-
])earance, they very much resiunble a small wolf, and are
of much the sanui colour, an ugly brownish drab. Some
time ago an enterprising Frenchman offered the Turkish
government a e(»nsid<Mal>le sum of money to ))e allowed
to kill all the dogs in (\jnstantinople and use their skins
for furs. I was informed by a resident here that the
Turks were indignant, and the governnwut had to refuse
the offer to pacify the people. Very few dogs are owned
here ; the English have some, but not many. It would
be as much as a decent dofj's life was worth to venture
unprotected into the streets ; he could not walk twenty
yards without being attacked ; the whole division of na-
tives would pounce on the unsuspecting stranger and cer-
tairdy destroy him if no rescue occurred. When a dog of
respectable breed goes on the street, his master must lead
him l»y a chain, and be armed with a stout stick to keep
the Turkish animals at bay. We live in Pera, in the Euro-
pean (piarter ; there are lots of dogs in our immediate
neighbourhood ; I have passed them so often that I know
several of them by sight ; they make night hideous with
their howling. About midnight some solitary wayfarer
kicks a dog out of his way, the dog bounds into the road
out of reach of his enemy's boot, and then deliberately
sets up a funereal groan. The other members of his divis-
ion join in sympathy. The refrain is caught up by the
neiirlibourin<r communities, and this continues until the
kicked dog is satisfied with his revenge. The frequent
repetitions of these canine concerts is monotonous. It
makes one wish that the Frenchrqan's offer had been
accepted.

3M!

TURKEY.

■Kj

CONSTANTINOPLE.

snt

THUEE SUNDAVa IN THK WKKK HKEINti THE HUM'AN HIS \VIVi;S AN'I) Kl NfCHS
- THE DE1V)SEI) SULTAN IN A LLNATK' ASTLl'M-THE OANCINti DKKVISHES A
LOT OK IDIOTS— DO IN TtUlKEY AS THE TIKKKYS DO.

CONSTANTIXOPLK,

February 7tli, ISSO.

fONSTANTlNOPLE sliould be the most pinus city
in th(5 world. Every week three Sabl)ath.s arc
kept by the citizens — on Friday, the Malionnne-
(larLS close their shops and attend nios(pie ; on Saturday,
the Jews, who form a numerous and important portion of
society, go to their synagogues and listen to rabbis ex-
pounding the Old Testament and the doctrine of a coming
Messiah ; on Sunday, the Christians, who include the
English, Greeks and Armenians, and are by far the most
powerful element of Constantinople society, go to their
churches and cathedrals and hear tlie tenchings of the
New Testament e.\plained.

Every Friday, at noonday, th(! Sultan, as Caliph of tlie
Mussulman world, goes in state to mosque. Last Friday
we went out to see the ceremony. After a pleasant walk
along the road skirting the Golden Horn, below Pera, we
arrived at tlie magnificent palace of Dolma Baktche,
])robably the grandest of the numerous palaces of the
Sultan. It stands on the water's edge of the Bosj)horus,
and completely distances any English royal residence in
costliness and grandeur. Arcund the massive iron and
marble gates were groups of eunuchs, who were watching
the bands, the soldiers, and the people passing by. The

■f

^nifiiv

Hfi-

[ .i. "i*

■I

S? "

i»

232

TURKEY.

They are all

Sultan has about four hundred eunuclis.
Africans, and are always well dressed.

A short distance further on we reached the gates of
another royal palace, with mosque attached. The crowds
of soldiers here showed that this was the phice wliere
the Sultan was expected to come forth. We got a good
standing-jilace and waited. The Turkish soldiers are
particularly line-looking. I never saw men who had the
appearance of being able to stand so much hardship. The
Irish constabulary and the Prussian privates would prob-
ably average more in weight than the Turks, but could
not stand as much privatiofi and fatigue. The chief

characteristic of the
Turkish uniform is
the fez. Every mili-
tary man in the coun-
try, from the Sultan
down through the
ranks of bey, pasha,
officer and private,
wears a red fez.
There is no apparent
difference in the qua-
lity between the one
worn by the Sultan
and that worn l)y the
most juvenile drum-
mer-boy. Many of
the soldiers wear a
large brass neck or-
nament in the shape
of a crescent — on it
are engraved Turk-
isli characters.
While standing, we heard a commotion behind, the
crowd gave way, and a pasha's carriage was driven up to
the front. When the curtains were drawn we saw three

A TURKISH pasha's W1K£.

THE SULTAN S HAREM.

233

veiled ladies seated inside. They were the pa^sha's wives.
The one who was apparently the youngest sat in front,
and was dressed in a pleasing combination of white and
cardinal red. She drew aside the white yashmak and
revealed the most beautiful face I have seen in Constan-
tinople. The next Hutter of excitement occurred when
the gates of the Imperial Palace opened and three grand
carriages were driven out. They were received with
great respect, and e\'idently contained personages of emi-
nence. They halted at a point about twenty yards oppo-
site the portal of the mosque. Several eunuchs bustled
around, opened the windows, and obeyed the (commands
of the occupants. Each carriage was tilled with wives of
the Sultan. Of course this was ordy a small contingent
from the large harem of his Imperial Majesty ; but I am
informed they take turns in paying their devotions to
Mecca.

Accordirg to the ideas of modern civilization, the Sultan
is doubtless wrong in being so much married ; but as he
does not believe in the New Testament he may, after all,
be not so very much to blame iil following the example
of a monarch whom all Christians are taught to believe
was the wisest man who ever lived !

After a wait of about half an hour, a bugler appeared
at the gate and sounded a shrill call. Soldiers and officers
who had been lounging around in conversation made a
general rusli for their proper places. In about five minutes
every soldier was standing as straight as an arrow, and all
was in readiness. The marble steps leading to the mosque
entrance were covered with carpet. The pashas and great
men, who had stood in the porch where the Sultan was to
alight, had all left the sacred spot and stood at a respect-
ful distance. The grand marble porch was nearly desei'ted,
but not (^uite. A handsome young eunuch, about sixteen
years of age, evidently a pampered favourite of the Sul-
tan, lounged against one of the marble pillars, and was
the "observed of all observers," while princes and generals

''iy

/ ':

" vt

TURKEY.

had hurried out of the way to less conspicuous spots. A
band playing a lively air heralded the approach of the great
Caliph ; preceded by officers of state and the household
guards, he at last arrived in sight. There he was ! Sultan
Abdul Hamed II., a man about medium height, thiity-
eight years of age, and of a thin, cadaverous ap})earance.
He stoops a little, and has a pale face, black hair and black
eyes. He rode a large, pure white Arabian horse, which
was literally loaded with ti'appings of gold. The horse
was the finest beast I ever saw. It is said that nowhere
but in the extensive stables of the Sultan and the Khedive

of Egypt can the pure
Arabian breed now bo
found. The Sultan has
a very care-worn look,
and is said to be in con-
stant fear for his life.

Re<j:ardin<.j the right to
the Turkish throne, there
is at the present moment
a drama being enacted. In
1870,Murad V., the son of
the late Sultan, succeed-
ed to the crown. He was
a young fellow of mod-
ern ideas, polished educa-
tion, and a great favour-
ite with the Christian
population. He had trav-
elled in Europe and im-
l)ibed certain ideas which
were distasteful to the
leaders of the Church of
Mahomet. In other words,
he wasn't a wooden man.
This unfortunate circum-

THB LATE SULTAN t)F TUKKEV.

and had a mind of his own.

stance was the cause of his downfall. The priesthood

THE SICK MAN.

235

trumped up a charge of insanity against the youthful sov-
ereign, placed him in durance vile, and by a coup d'Stat
raised his insignificant brother, Abdul Hamed, to the
throne. The deposed Sultan is to day confined as a luna-
tic, although no Christian, and no intelligent Turk thinks
he has the slifjhtest disorder of mind. I have h>een told
this page of recent history by several English residents
of Constantinople, and have every reason to believe that
it is true.

To return to the mosque. The Sultan rode his splendid
Arabian charger up to the porch, alighted without assist-
ance, and shutfied clumsily up the steps. Following an
ancient principle of the constitution of the Ottoman Em-
pire, a Sultan should be the son of a slave woman, a m.m
without family ties, so that his whole mind and aft'ec-
tions may be devoted to the good of the State. Probably
no monarch in Europe has so much personal power. The
Sublime Porte has been called the " Sick Man." The gov-
ernment is doubtless a sick one, rotten at the core ; but it
is the biggest invalid in existence. Forty-six millions of
people, or more than the whole population of the United
States, are within the Sick Man's dominions, prepared at
any moment to send money and men to fight under the
banner of the Holy Crescent. The question of slicing up
Turkey between the Powers of Europe, which has so often
been discussed, will be a difficult one to handle.

I went down to San Stefano the otlier day to see where
the Russians were encamped in ] 878. For seven months
the army imder the Grand Duke Nicholas were under
canvas at this village, eleven miles from Constantino[)le.
I was informed that the Russians were very popular with
the Turks in the neighbourhood, as they paid hard cash
for everything they got, which is more than can be .said
for the average pasha. The oiiicers and soldiers of the
invading army went into Constantinople in large numbers,
and walked all over the city unmolested. Within three
bourn' march lay £vn undefended city, which, aiucQ the

► 1

236

TURKEY.

days of Peter the Great, has been the ambition of Russia
to possess — a city, the key of the Black Sea, and to the
immense commerce of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
In the Bosphorus, within easy range, lay the fleet of Brit-
ish iron-clads, guarding the integrity of the Ottoman
Empire. All the world, with bated breath, was looking on,
watching each move in this tremendous political game of
chess.

One of the sights of Constantinople is the Dancing
Dervishes. These men are a sort of lay-clerical brother-
hood. Originally, the sect performed their services as a
penance ; but the performance has now degenerated into,
what I don't think I am intolerant in calling, the antics
of a pack of fools. Their fine building is octagonal in
shape, each side of the dancing-floor being about ten feet
in length. The wooden floor is as smooth as a billiard-
table ; around the sides were squatted fourteen perform-
ers ; at the head sat the chief of the sect ; a signal was
given, the fourteen sprang to their feet, formed in proces-
sion, and slowly marched in front of their chief, making a
low obeisance in passing ; another signal, and they all
began to spin around, always from right to left, at first
slowly, but gradually increasing to great speed. Their
costume consisted of a heavy white felt, conical hat, a
green short coat, and a long, loose green skirt ; the first
spin lasted between ten and fifteen minutes, some of
the poor creatures nearly falling down through dizziness
and exhaustion. One man surpassed all the others in the
perfection of his spinning. He increased and relaxed
speed at will, but his skirts alwa^'s remained spread out
in a perfect circle. The next day I met this man near the
Grand Bazaar in Stamboul with a carpenter's bag on his
shoulder. Three spins took place, with intervals of two
or three minutes between each. The service was on Fri-
day, the Mussulman Sunday ; crowds of spectators were
present, most of them evidently for amusement. In this
way do the Turkish Dervishes worship their God.

i-,.

WEARING THE FE;^.

237

As Mrs. Partington says, when you are in Turkey you
must do as the Turkeys do ; so we have bought ourselves
each a fez and visit the mosques and stroll through the
bazaars adorned like true followei's of the Prophet.

" m

■'M

WHERE NEXT ?

TURKEY-IN-ASIA

ASIA MINOR.

COMMENCEMENT OF A TOUR IN THE EAST— VIEW OF ANCIENT TROY — DR.
8CHLIEMANN— SMYRNA AND ITS PROPHECY — A CAMEL TRAIN— EPHESUS~1TS
CHARMINO SITUATION— THE ItlOT CAISED BY PAl'l/s PREACHING AGAINST
DIANA— TOMB OF ST. M'KE- THE TOWN CI-EKK OF EPIIESIS— A VERY WISE
MAN— THE TEMPLE OF DIANA OF THE EPHESIANS.

Smyrna, Tuiikey-in-Asia,

February, 1880.

% S we steamed down tlie sea of Marmora on last Mon-
day afternoon, and the domes and minarets of
Constantinople sank in the far-off horizon, we
bade adieu to Europe — Europe, with its beautiful mod-
ern cities and its rare treasures of art and civilization,
amongst which we have "just passed a delightful nine
months' holiday — Europe, the mother of America and the
mistress of the other three continents.

Leaving European elegance, refinement and power be-
liind us, we turn our faces towards Asia — towards a land
by far the most interesting in the world — towards Syria,
the birth-place of three great religions.

Before us lies a land surrounded by countless associa-
tions with which every one is familiar — where Abraham
and Moses, the grand old Jewish patriarchs, lived and
ruled ; where Jesus Christ came into the world, the great-
est event that ever happened since the Creation ; wdiere
Mahomet, with his fiery follow'ers, established a church
which noM'- numbers under its banners teeming millions.
Since the days of the Crusades, when the proudest chiv-
alry of Europe thought it a high and sacred honour to

j-^Bi'atmLW.mmr'

THE FAU- FAMED HELLESPONT.

i>39

be allowed to fight for the Holy Sepulchre, it has been
the ambition of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and
travellers to virjit this peculiar land, so intensely interest-
ing to every student of Biblical history.

We have now commenced a tour in the East. After
visiting Palestine vith dragoman and tent, and making a
considei'able stay at Jerusalem, we will move on to Egypt,
the land of the Pharaohs, the Pyramids and the S|»hinx.
Then our course will be down the Red Sea, past Abys-
sinia, across the Indian Ocean to Hindostan, visiting Delhi,
Lucknow, Agra, and other places famous for their bar-
baric splendour. At Calcutta we will embark for the
home of the " Heathen Chinee." This odd country we
will remain in long enough to see its cities, its people, and,
if possible, its interior ; then over to Japan, the country
of moon-eyed men and women — the country which hfus
made such ast(mishii)g progress in civilization within the
last few years. From Yokohama, it will be a long ocean
voyage of eighteen days across the still waters of the
Pacific to San Francisco ; then home to Canada by the
Union Pacific.

To return to the sea voyage from Constantinople to
Smvrna. We were fortunate in sailin<x throu£rl> the
greater jmrt of the Dardanelles or Hellespont by daylight.
This narrow neck of water, separating the East from the
West, has, from the earliest ages, been the crossing-point
for invading armies. XerxeS, at the head of his two mil-
lion Persians, the largest army ever led by any conquer-
or, passed over the Hellespont on a pontoon-bridge, and
marched on to Greece, there to be checked by Leonidas,
the bravest of tlie brave, at the pass of Thermopyhe.
Alexander the Great afterwards retuined the compliment
by crossing over with his dauntless Greeks and completely
demolishing the Persians.

I have read that Lord Byron prided himself upon three
things: first, that his initials were the same as those of
Napoleon Bonaparte ; second, that he had written Childe

} lU

240

ASIA MINOR.

till

^1 i

1 1

Harold ; and third, that, like the Srave young lover Lean-
der in the days of old, he had succeeded in swimming
the Hellespont.

The present appearance of the banks on either shore is
like those of Greece and the islands of the Archipelago —
barren, houseless and uncultivated. On emerging from
the Dardanelles, we hugged the shore and pa.ssed between
the island of Tenedos and the mainland. Wo here had an
excellent view of the site of ancient Troy. Close at hand
was the shelving beach on which Agamemnon landed at
the head of the Grecian forces ; beyond were the plains
where the brother kings encamped for ten long years ; at
a distance to the left, on the slope of a hill, are the exca-
vations recently made by Dr. ISchliemann, which have
awakened a world-wide interest in Homer's city.

Dr. Schliemann, one of the most prominent anticjuarians
of modern times, is now living at Athens. He is a man
of large wealth, and has just completed one of the finest
private residences I have seen. It is a marble palace,
built in antique style, and surmounted by about a dozen
colossal statues of ancient Grecian gods and heroes. If
the Grecian millionaires, who are to be found in England
arx.l at every large port in the Mediterranean, were to
follow the example of this German Philhellenist, the
world might yet see a revival of Athenian splendour.

In the South Kensington Museum, at London, a special
place is set apart for the very valuable Schliemann col-
lection. There are cases filled with plates and urns of
massive gold ; there are chains and bracelets of delicate
workmanship ; some of them may have been worn by
Helen, the most beautiful woman of lier time, and but for
whose doubtful reputation neither Troy nor Achilles nor
Hector would ever have been heard of. Nothing now
remains of the fortified city of Priam, not even broken
walls or pillars. The site is occupied by a few miser-
able huts, called a village, and dignified by the name of
Burnabashi,

SITE OF TROY — SMYRNA.

241

)re to
the

Decial
coi-
ns of
icate

for
nor
now
oken
iser-
e of

We crossed over tlic track taken by the wily Spartans
when they retired to Tenedos to await tlie result of
the famous wooden -liorsi? trick, and sped our way on
to Smyrna.

Amontijst the passengers on ])oard our steamer is a
curious old j^entleman. He is an Arab, and can't spi^ak
any language but his own. With commendablt^ ent(;r-
prise, he has for some months |)ast l>een ti'avelling for
instruction in England and on the Continent. Witli tlu?
aid of about half a dozen Italian words, and a great deal
of gesticulation, he manages to make himself partially
understood. In London he was particularly struck with
St. Paul's; in fact, that is the only object which he dis-
tinctly remembers. I regret to say that his heatlu^n mind
did not attach any sanctity to the venerable cathedral.
He thought it was a theatre, and, as such, one of the finest
in Europe, even rivalling the Grand Opera at Paris.

Next to Constantinople, SniA^na is the largest city in
Turkey. At the wharf, passing the inspection of the
customs officers is a great farce. No matter what luirijaffe
a traveller may have, it is quite safe to be passed without
examination if sufficient baklisheeHh is jjiven. On the
other hand, if one demurs to be thus iniposed ui)()n, his
luggage will be mercilessly pulled about, and each trivial
article critically inspected. The customs officer is a bare-
faced individual ; he openly and boldly, in the presence
of hotel porters and harbour loafers, demands his hakk-
sheesk, and no matter what he gets, does not neglect to
grumble that it is not enough. At Smyrna we had to
produce our passports, and were a good deal delayed by
the stupid red-tape formalities to be gone through.

Flourishing as a great centre of commerce at so early a
date as to claim to be the birth-place of Homer, Smyrna
to-day looks like a new city when com[)ared to its com-
paratively modern rival, Con;itantinople. Here was situ-
ated one of the seven churches of Asia mentioned in the
first chapter of Revelations. Amongst threats of dire

1 !'•

t|i*

212

ASIA MINOR.

II'

! S

ti a-

vengeance hurled an^ainst otiier churches, a promise is
given to Smyrna : " Be tliou faitliful unto death, and 1
will give thee a crown of life." If tlie ]MC)j)hecy refers to
material prosperity, it is certainly being fulfilled.

The Bazaar is a good one ; not, of course, so extensive
as that of Stand)Oul, but still excellent for its size. The
narrow arched stre(;ts hardly allow enough room to avoid
a pair of loaded donkeys. When strolling carelessly along
a particularly narrow passage, we were startled to see a
solemn procession approach us. A train of fifteen " Ships
of the Desert," laden with merchandise from the East,
had just arrived from an overland journey. For the first
time we saw the camel in practical use. Passing us were
over a dozen huge, awkward, heavily-laden, dust-covered
camels. J^eading the first and largest one was a typical
Arab, a child of the desert. He was a tall man, about
forty years of age, with black hair, and thin, wiry, jet-
black moustache, beard and whiskers ; complexion clear,
and of a very dark brown : the restless, fiery eyes, the
strong, firm mouth, and the proud, erect bearing marked
just such a man as I supposed an Arab chief would be.
I will, no doubt, see hundreds of wretched, inferior men
amongst the dwellers in tents before very long, but this
camel-driver at least was as stately as a king.

We went out to Ephesus, or rather where that city
once was ; the distance is forty-eight miles. An English
company have built a railway out there. I fancy the
shareholders must receive dividends small and few, prob-
ably about as much as those received by the first bond-
holders of the Grand Trunk, as the company only run one
poorly-patronized train per day each way.

The railway station at the village of Ayasaluk is situ-
ated about three-quarters of a mile from the remains of
the old city. The day of our visit was as warm as sum-
mer. Guided by a small Greek boy, we strolled out to the
ruins. In the days of the Saviour, and for many genera-
tions before that time, Ephesus was a great, a glorious city,

ii;ii

DIANA OF THE EPHESIANS,

243

and occu[)iod a delif^litful hiU\ It was built in a nar-
row valley, which lies |)rotocted between lofty mountains,
and extends to the sea-shore. The town surrounded the
])ase of an isolated hill, which rises at the east »'n<l of the
valley. The view from the; summit of this hill we found
to be much similar to, but not so profoundly impressive
as, that from the Acro[)olis at Athens ; below us in every
direction lay the crumbling walls ami l)roken columns of
a city which was once a great power in the politics of the
earth ; below us lay the place wh(n'e Demetrius, the sil-
versmith, called togother a meeting of the craftsmen, and
thus addressed them :

" Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.
Moreover, ye see ami hear that not alone at Ephesus, but
almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded an<l
turned away much people, saying that they be no gods
which are made with hands ; so that not only this our
craft is in dang.M to be set at naught, but also that the
tem|)le of the great goddess Diana sliould be despised,
and her magnificence should be destroyed, which all Asia
and the world worshipped. And when they had heard
these sayings they were full of wrath, and cried out,
saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians." The excited
citizens afterwards echoed the same ciy, but were finally
appeased and dispersed by the town-clerk. This town-
clerk of Ephesus was a wise and pru<lent man, a model
for all public officials. He advised Demetrius and the
throng of people to be quiet, to do nothing rashly. He
told them there was a law and there were Ephesian law-
yers. They had better commence a lawsuit.

Ephesus was one of the chief of the seven churches of
Asia. The prophecy concerning its fate appears to ])e some-
what vague ; but if the oi-thodox construction is that the
city should be destroyed, then it is fulfilled to the utter-
most. Were it not for the presence of a couple of shep-
herds and their flocks the place would now be absolutely
deserted. We walked around to St. Luke's tomb, on the

244

ASIA MINOR.

t' lit

I' it*

Houtli Hi<le of the hill. The hody of the FiVangelist was
hurled hy the (■hristiaiiH of EphesuH in a tine circular
niausoleiun, ahout fifteen feet hij^h, and said to have heen
fifty feet in diameter. The tomb is now wrecked to
pieces. ILii'dly one stone remains upon another. In
front of the entrance a heavy mar]»le slah lies upon the
l^n-oiuid. On it is en«,n'aved a cross, and below that the
tij^ure of a i»ull — the sj)ecial emblem of St. Luke. Ad-
joinin<( and almost surroundin*^ the site of the mausoleum
is a plouj^hed tield. Here we saw a half-naked, stu|)id-
lookinj^ Turk at work. He was drivin<^ a pair of small
Syrian oxen in a very primitive wooden plough with a
single handle. It would, in all probability, take the wdiole
winter to turn up the soil of the three or four acres at the
rate he was going. In the midst of this scene of desola-
tion, and beneath a pile of debris, lies the body of St.
Luke the Evangelist — the bosom triend and companion
of Pfiul — the acc()m])lishe(l orator and painter — the elo-
([iient writer of the Acts.

We left the tomb and walked around past where the
Forum and the public buildings once were. The great
theatre here, built on the side of the hill, has still pre-
served its shape. Its auditorium, a vast afli'air, could hold
over 24',0()() spectators. We took a cheap seat away up
on top, where once the great " unwashed" of the Ephe-
sians were wont to congregate ; below us, where in days
gone by sat the orchestra, and further back, the aris-
tocracy in reserved seats, we saw a flock of .sheep quietly
grazing among the tufts of grass which grew between the
blocks of marble and the crevices of the seats ; it was a
very large flock, numbering, together with the young
lauibs, about four hundred. The view from our gallery
seat was exceedingly fine. Away in front lay the calm,
blue waters of the Levant; to the right, the hill with St.
Paul's prison on its summit ; beneath, in a graceful valley,
were spread the ruins of a famous city ; on each side
lofty mountains clothed in a purple, sleepy haze.

KPHESUS— A LONKLY RUIN.

245

The calm and exquisite beauty of the site of Epliesus
lialt* redeems its utter desohiiion. We dese<'nded into tlie
theatre, passed boldly through the reserved seats, over
tiie stafife and out on to the road. Near by are the ruii\3
of the Palace of the Tyrants of Ephesus. This spot —
once the scene of opulence and luxury, the keystone of
the city's power, around whose majestic portals crowds of
slaves and retainers thronged in idleness — is now used
as a sheep-cot. In a protected portion of the arched base-
ment we saw smoke issuing from a hole broken in the
side-wall ; we ai)proached — a dilapidated door was opened
by an old num ; 1 went in, and found that a couple of
shepherds inhal»ited tiie place ; tliey make a living by
tilling a little ground and tending their sheep. A rude
tire was sulkily burning in the mid<lle of the floor; a thin
round sheet of iron lay on the top of the coals, and on it
a frugal meal of coarse bread was being baked. These
men, who looked more primitive and behind the age than
American Indians, are now the sole residents of the city
of Ephesus — once a city of j)rincely wealth and magnifi-
cence — the London of Asia — the possessor of the Great
Temple of Diana, one of the seven wonders of tin; world.
A further walk of about twenty nunutes brought us to
the ruins of the Temple itself Strange to say, the real
site of this wonderful structure was only discovered eleven
years ago. Mr. J. T. Wood, an Englishman, has the
honour of fimling the spot. He is probably satisfied with
the genuineness of his discover}^ and I am })repared to
take his word for it, but I never saw such a wretchedly
unsatisfactory ruin. We looked aiound for one, even one,
of the 127 colunms of rare and costly maible, each sixty
feet high, and each the mft of a monaich to the honour of
the twin-sister of Apollo, but we looked in vain. There
isn't a fine pillar or a broken statue to be seen anywhere.

At Rome, the Forum, the Colosseum, and the Triumphal
Arches, each present something beautiful and grand to the
eye to help one to form an idea of their former splendour.

•HI

ii UK

iif

HI!:

!)!
illii

'!!

I> El S

m ;

ill

246

ASIA MINOR.

At Athens, the Acropolis, with its stately Parthenon, is
of itself a sufficient recompense to travel from America
especially to see. But at Ephesus it is different. The
Temple of Diuna is a complete failure as a respectable
ruin. There is not even a view from the spot — the hill
hides that. There is nothing but a shapeless hole in the
ground and a few portions of coarse common pillars. The
appearance of things is not conducive to meditation on
the past glories of this rival of the Temple of Solomon.
No trace remains of an amphitheatre, where Paul was
doomed to struggle with wild beasts. In his first letter
to the Corinthians the Apostle says : " If after the man-
ner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus." At
that period of Roman supremacy such contests were very
common. They afforded amusement to the soldiers and
the people, and were a convenient mode of disposing of
prisoners and preachers of heresy.

Ephesus, the great seaport of Asia, the proud city of
Ionia, is a commentary on the mightiest efforts of man.
Let him build vast cities, rear costly tombs to immortal
heroes, erect magnificent temples, theatres and palaces of
marble ! We this day strolled through what remains of
such a city. The costly tomb is destroyed, and the lonely
ploughman w^orks amidst its ruins. The magnificent
temple is no more — its supposed site is painful to look
upon. The once gay theatre is a sheep pasture. The
gorgeous palace has long crumbled away, and its tottering
foundations afford a shelter for shepherds and their flocks.
The whole city, in its utter loneliness, is a desert. I forgot
to mention that Ephesus is one of Homer's numerous
birth-places. It is the second one we have visited.

.1)

fg^i'^

lil

TURKEY-IN-ASI/ .

THE LEVANT AND SYRIA.

COLOSSUS OP RHODES— MUI.TO GUACIAfi — ALEXAN:HETTE"aND ITS SHIFTLESS
PEOPLE — SYRIAN DRAGOMAN — A RIDE OVER THE LEBANON MOUNTAINS-
PILES OF SNOW IN THE PAHS -THE TOMB OF NOAH —WAS HE A GIANT ?—
AN ARAB VILLAGE -WATCHING TRAVELLERS AT LUNCH.

■»;;i

I ..:

Baalbec, Syria,

20th February, 1880.

O sea voyage could be pleasanter than the one
down the Levant. We left Smyi'na for Beyroot in
a steamer of the Messageries Maritimes Line, ana
for the whole six days' trip had delightfully warm weather.
On our first day out we passed the island of Patinos, the
place to which St. John the Divine was banished, and
where he delivered his marvellous prophecy, the Revela-
tion, about sixty-three years after the death of Christ.

The next day we were booked to stop at Rhodes, but
the sea was so rough that our captain feared to enter the
harbour, or to even weij^h anchor in the roads. The once
world-renowned Colossus, another of the seven wonders, is
now nothing but a memory ; the bronze giant which once
bestrode the entrance to the busy harbour is gone ; not
even its foundations are left. One of our fellow-passengers
was a Capuchin monk, an exceedingly well-informed gen-
tleman and a charming companion. He pointed out where
the Colossus had stood in the days when Rhodes was the
mistress of commerce — when her ships, burdened with
the rich produce of the East, passed beneath the brazen
monster.

Rhodes of to-day is a brisk-looking place. The whole

1 1 }.

If m

III

248

TURKEY-IN-ASIA.

island seems to be covered with wind-mills. The wind
was high, and the mills all going at double-quick speed,
making a lively scene. It reminded me a good deal of a
Dutch landscape. Nowhere out of Holland have I seen so
many of these useful economical servants.

The ship anchored otf Mersina, and we fully intended
to go on shore and ride out to Tarsus, the birth-place of
Saul ; but the sea was running so high that the captain
thought it would be unsafe for a small boat to try and
reach the shore, so we had to give up the idea.

We were pleased to find amongst the passengers our
little old friend, the ancient Arab, whom we had first met
at Constantinople. He is now on his way home to Aleppo.
The passengers have christened him " MultoGiacias ;" this
nickname arose from the old gentleman's limited vocabu-
lary of Italian. When he sees a new face, he at once com-
mences an acquaintanceship by blandly asking, "Araby,
bono, non bono ? " To flatter the Arab's national pride the
reply is invariably " bono." Then comes the culminating
point to the convei'sation. The old gentleman smiles all
over his face, bfts his hat, bows profoundly, and, in a
'gratified tone, repeats his thanks, " Multo gracias, multo
gracias," and walks contentedly away. This journey he
thought he would try to be economical, so he took a
second-class berth, but not being satisfied with the accom-
modation, he paid three napoleons extra and changed to
the first-class cabin ; this bit of extra vajjance has weifrhed
heavily on liis mind ever since. To add to his distress, he
has been slightly sea-sick, and unable to put in a regular
appearance at table ; he now slowly and desperately
parades tlie deck ; when any one approaches him he holds
up three fingers of hie right hand to denote his loss of the
three napoleons, and then with emotion rubs his left hand
across his stomach, and mutters, " Non e mangere — non e
mangere." The whole pantomime is meant to convey the
idea of dead waste of capital ; he can't eat a bite ; the
sixty francs might as well have been thrown into the sea.

SHIFTLESS ARABS.

249

land
ill e
the
the

sea.

Our ship lay a whole day in the harbour of Alexandrette,
so we went ashore. This town was founded by Alexander
the Great, or, as he is called by the Moslems, the Prophet
Alexander. The intention was that the town should be
the great terminating point of the caravan trade of Syria ;
but for some reason it has never been a place of import-
ance, and to-day there is not a more wretched apolog}'^ for
a seaport in all Asia. The natives are a gaudily-dressed, lazy
lot of fellows, whose chief business seems to be to lounge
around the little bazaar, or to squat in a cafd, smoke a
nargilch, and play dominoes. In striking contrast to the
miserable little town, with its dirty, shiftless people, wavS
the captain's boat from a British man-of-war, which arrived
at the wharf while we were standinir there. In the stern
sat the captain, a fine specimen of a British sailor. He
had come to call upon the Consul, and was dressed in full
uniform, cocked hat, white kid gloves, etc. Twelv^c sail-
ors, attired with scrupulous neatness, mad(i the boat almost
lly through the water, but there was no hurry or disorder ;
the blades of the oars glistened in the sunlight as they
were being feathered, and the entire twelve were worked
as regularly as if by a piece of iYmchinery. The whole
appearance of discipline and intelligence struck me as
being a good sample of the civilization of Europe, as
against the apathy and ignorance which prevails in tlie
East.

At Alexandrette, we bade farewell to our old Arabian
frien'^, and also to another passenger. The latter was
also an Arab, but of an entirely difierent stamp from
" Multo Gracias." He had been a soldier in the Turkish
army and an aide-de-camp to the late Sultan, Abdul Aziz.
Being an adherent of Muiad V., the young deposed Sultan,
who is now confined as a lunatic at Constantinople, he is
out of favour at court, and is returning for a time to his
home. He was a great favourite with all the passengers.
Being a fine linguist, he was exceedingly kind and service-
able to a large number of deck passengers, composed of

250

TURKEY-IN-ASIA.

many nationalities, which we had on board. When any
of them were sick, and unable to make their wants under-
stood to the swell ship's doctor, this generous Arab spared
himself no pains to see that they were made as comfort-
able as possible, and that the physician did not neglect
his duty.

At Tripoli we anchored for a day and went into town.
A tramway connecting the inland town with the seaport
has just been finished. Of course this bit of enterprise
was not undertaken by native energy ; English capital
and English managers had to be imported. We were
standing near one of the new cars, and debating whether
we would take «,n omnibus or walk back to the seaport ;
an uncivilized-looking fellow, with a thoroughly negro
face, and dressed in a tattered costume, heard us speaking,
and volunteered some information. He spoke English
with a pure Cockney accent, dropping his h's in orthodox
style. I was greatly surprised to iind this lad, who looked
as if he had just been caught in the wilds of Africa, speak-
ing English as fluently as any of us. The language of the
Levant is French. No other European tongue is heard,
not even English or German. On our steamer there is
not a soul who can speak English, saving always two ex-
ceptions. Tripoli boasts of miles of orange groves. We
walked through some of them. The fruit was ripe, and
lots of it lying around upon the ground rotting in the sun.
I was informed that they are sold upon the trees, good
and bad together, at the rate of one piastre (about four
and a half Canadian cents) per hundred.

The next mornino; we found ourselves anchored in the
harbour of Beyroot, the most important seaport and com-
mercial city in Syria. Beyroot is the terminating, and
sometimes the starting, point for overland tours through
Syria and Palestine, and as such is visited by many trav-
ellers ; but it has very little of interest within itself.

Our chief business here was to select a good dragoman,
and enter into a contract with him for a visit to Baalbec,

w 11 I

SYRIAN DRAGOMANS.

251

ben any
i under-
j spared
omfort-
neglect

town,
seaport
fcerprise
capital
e were
i^hether
Daport ;
Y negi'o
eaking,
l^nglish
thodox
looked
speak-
of the
lieard,
here is
wo ex-
. We
e, and
le sun.
, good

in tlie

com-

and

10 ugh
trav-

)inan,
\lbec,

Damascus, and back to Beyroot ; then to Tyre, Sidon,
Nazareth, Capernaum, Sea of Galilee, and on down to Jeri-
cho and Jerusalem. It is early in the season, so we had
our choice of dragomans, and at the most reasonable figure.
The report of the arrival of two travellers soon spread,
and our room at the Hotel d'Orient was literally besieged
])y a lot of fellows, each of whom had credentials for
honesty, sobriety, courage in emergencies — in fact, every
virtue which it would be possible to require in a drago-
man. There is not a single railway in Syria, and there
are only two carriage-roads, that between Beyroot and
Damascus, and that between Jaffa and Jerusalem, so all
travelling must be done in the saddle. One may go to
Damascus in the diligence of the French company, but it
is a cooped-up, disagreeable mode of travelling, and chiefly
used by business men and natives.

The result of this undeveloped state of the country is
that every tourist must employ a dragoman. The drago-
mans of the East are an important institution. They
were originally interpreters, and have existed as a separ-
ate and distinct class of men for over 2,500 years. To-day
they act not only as interpreters, but contract with the
tourist to furnish horses, tents, and hotel accommodation
at a fixed price per day, and so relieve a traveller of all
anxiety and responsibility in a country where it is diffi-
cult to get along with the natives.

After holding quite a levee of dragomans, we finally
employed a young fellow who was privately recommended
as honest and particularly intelligent ; we, however, took
the precaution to only contract for the tour to Baalbec
and Damascus and back. We have since heartily con-
gratulated ourselves upon this.

Last Saturday morning we set out blithe and gay from
our hotel at Beyi'oot. Our horses were fresh and strong ;
it was their first trip this season. We cantered through
the city, and away to the Mountains of Lebanon. Our
dragoman is a big, handsome fellow, a native Syrian, over

252

TURKEY-IN-ASIA.

six feet high, and dressed very finely. He is altogether
twice as great a swell as either of his employers. Like
others of his class, he is an excellent linguist — English,
French, Italian and Turkish are almost as familiar to him
as his native Arabic.

We rode through extensive plantations of mulberry-
trees, and up the highly-cultivated slopes of Lebanon.
During our ascent of this famous range of mountains, we
enjoyed the most charming views of Beyroot and of the
sea. As we ascended higher and still higher, the city be-
came smaller and smaller ; and finally, when we reached
the snow-limit, we could see a few white specks on the
sea-shore, which we knew were Beyroot, but which looked
like a small village.

In the valley it had been as warm as a Canadian sum-
mer day ; but we had now reached a height of over five
thousand feet, and it was very cold. On every side was
deep snow ; in some places further on, the road was cut
through snow, at least ten feet in depth. Crowds of na-
tive workmen, in the employ of the French Company, who
own the road, were working in gangs along the line, clear-
ing away the snow, and generally making the way easy
for the diligence, which would pass that way in the course
of an hour or two.

In a spot near the Lebanon Pass, exposed to the sun,
and sheltered from the wind, we lunched. The dragoman,
whom we call Michael, as it bears some faint resemblance
to the sound of his Arabic name, fairly outshone himself
on this lunch. We were treated like kings. It was a
good commencement. I have never been at the North
Pole, but I am convinced that it would not feel anv colder
than it did to cross the summit of the Lebanon Pass, after
having ridden up out of a warm valley ; it was fearfully
cold ; we had lost sight of the blue sea. In front of us,
behind us, and everywhere, we could see nothing but
bleak mountains of snow. I galloped on, hoping to reach
the point where we would conunence the descent into the

THE GIANT NOAH.

253

together
I. Like
Knglish,
V to him

ilberry-
ebanon.
lins, we
\ of the
iity be-
reached
on the
looked

,n su In-
zer five
ide was
.vas cut

of na-
ly, who
, clear-
y easy

course

le sun,
[01 nan,

iance
liiiiself
|was a

orth
!(jlder

after
[rfuUy

)f us,
but

'each

lo the

valley beyond, but it was of no use. We had a solid
hour of existence in a frigid zone. At last we reached
the end of the Pass, and coimiionced the descent. Soon
the broad and fertile valley which lies between the Leba-
non and anti-Lebanon ranges came into view. It was a
welcome sight. The winding road down hill is very
gradual in its incline. We galloped along in fine spirits,
but soon received a check. At a turn in the road we saw,
about a hundred yards in front of us, the diligence com-
ing along towards us at a rattling gallop. It was a large,
broad vehicle, drawn by six horses, three abreast. The
road, cut through the solid snow, was just wide enough
to allow it to pass along easily, but there was no room
for a horseman. We were in a dilemma ; there was no
time to consider ; we turned our horses and galloi>ed
back a considerable distance to an opening in the road
made especially for horsemen. We had not been stationed
there a minute before the diligence dashed past us and
out of sight in the winding road. This meeting had
troubled the dragoman for some time before it occurred.
After an eight hours' ride, we finally pulled up at the
village of Shtora, in the valley. It is a half-way house
between Bevroot and Damascus. The next mornini; we
started early for Baalbec. Leaving the fine diligence road,
we struck out north-east. At the village of Kerak Nuh,
we went to see the tomb of Noah. On an elevated terrace
we saw a buildin<^ about ten feet hiixh and one hundred
and thirty-two feet long. We were permitted to enter.
The grave itself, which is about three feet wide at the
base and four feet high, extends the whole length of the
interior, namely, forty-four yards. The Mahommedans
allege that the body of the Proj)het Noah is buried here,
and they hold the place in high veneration. Probably
they think he was one of the giants mentioned in the
chapter in which Noah was comnjanded to build the Ark.
But who ever heard of a giant one hundred and thirty-
two feet long ? Near the prophet's head is a small piece

li'

254

TURKEY-IN-ASIA.

of ancient-looking stone. This is an enchanted thing. It
can cure diseases, but, of course, only through the agency
of the virtues of the prophet. It is the etiquette for
everyone who has been cured to make an offering at the
pi ophet's shrine. From time immemorial handkerchiefs
of silk and of common stuff have been placed over the top
of the grave, so that to-day they lie there in deep folds.
Near the entrance to the tomb is a small dome-shaped
observatory, about ten feet high. Here the Moslems say
Noah was wont to sit, smoke his nargileh, and keep an
eye on his three sons, who were tending the flocks. This
is a nice tradition, but its authenticity is slightly impaired
by two facts — first, Noah was one hundred and thirty-
two feet high (according to their own story), and could
hardly get his foot into so little a place ; secondly, tobacco
is a comparatively modern luxury. America claims the
glory of having introduced it to the benighted Syrians.*
We lunched at the village of Talliyeh, a typical collec-
tion of Arab huts.

The dragoman spread our table-cloth on a piece of grass
about twenty yards distant from the village. The whole
population turned out to see us with as much curiosity as
if we were Barnum's circus. Before we were half through
lunch a crowd of between thirty and forty men, boys and
babies had made a circle around us, and were discussing
our appearance and what we had to eat. The dragoman
translated to us what they were saying. One, more wise
than the rest, boldly alleged that we were travellers from
England, that little island far away made of solid gold,
and where every inhabitant was as rich as Solomon.
Another said that if only the Arabs could have meat to
eat once a day, then each Arab would be as strong as ten
Englishmen. The fact is, the Syrian peasantry only eat
meat once a year.

We had a box of sardiiies. One fellow, who had

* I have learned since that the Syrians claim that the tobacco plant is in-
digenous to Syria as well as America.

■ j t i* jKF. » j B Ma'maj ' »'atj argi

ARABS IDEA OF ENGLISHMEN.

255

evidently travelled, recognised the sardines, and an-
nounced the fact in a very learned way to the crowd.
This knowledge of European luxuries added greatly to
his reputation for worldly wisdom. As to our appearance,
they thought our ruddy faces betokened great strength,
and they respected us accordingly. It was a pleasant
canter across the plain. About four p.m. we came in
sight of the ruins of Baalbec, which are in sonie respects
the most famous in the world. The celebrated six Co-
rinthian columns reared their heads before us — stately
sentinels over the wreck of a great city.

TURKEY-IN-ASIA.

BAALBEC AND DAMASCUS.

Fi>

THE LAROEHT BUILDING HTONKH EVER UHED— THE BAZAARS OE DAMASCUS—
THE BEDOUINS— AN ENCJLISH LADY OK TITLE MARRIED TO A BEDOUIN SHEIK
— STRAIGHT STREET— THE PLACE OF PAUL'S CONVERSION— A RAINBOW " '•
NOAH'S TOMB.

Damascus, Syria,

February, 1880.

[HE ruins of Baalbec are, in some respects, the most
massive in the world. Judging from what remains
of this once famous city of Syria, the architecture
does not appear to have been so refined or in such excel-
lent taste as that employed on the temples at Rome and
Athen.s. The Syrians, with their Oriental love of .splen-
dour and display, enriched the capitals and cornices of
their colunms to such a degree that it rather detracts from
their dignity. Baalbec of to-day is a wretched little
town built along the south side of the Acropolis of the
ancient city. As we rode through the town we were as-
sailed on all sides by cries of " Bakhsheealt! Bakhsheesh ! "
Children on the roofs of the small Syrian mud-houses took
up the cry. They had not the faintest hope of getting
anything; but it is a habit of long standing, and they
never let a Frank pass by without giving him the bei^e-
fit of it.

At Baalbec our dragoman sliowed the first signs of
weakness. He who was to guide us over the ruins and ex-
plain them did not even know the way into the Acropolis.
Finally, after struggling through dark passages and great
vaulted chambers, we emerged into the light of day, and
stood beside the far-famed Temple of the Sun. 1 won't
describe the ruins, but will merely mention two of the

GIANT STONES OF BAALBEC.

257

chief features. In the midst of a bewildering mass of bro-
ken columns, defaced ca|)itals and crumbling masonry, riso
the six columns, now the only surviving monument of tho
Great Temple, once famous for its magnificence all tlie
world over. The shafts of the columns are about sixty
feet high; but, with the addition of the base and tiie archi-
trave, as viewed from tho
south side, the whole is
iieaily ninety feet. When
riding over the plain, we
had seen these huge senti-
, nels at a distance of several
^. miles. The marble used is
!2 not so fine, nor is the work-
g manship so delicate, as that
I to be seen in the Acropolis
3 at Athens; but still there
* is a rugged grandeur and
^ massiveness in the work at
H Baalbec, which is very im-
^^ pressive.

^ The early history of Baal-
^ becislostin obscurity; noth-
3 ing is known of the build-
% ers of its magnificent tem-
'c pies. It is said that there
1^ < is not to-day in the whole
world, notwithstanding our
boasted civilization and our
fancied onward strides in
engineering, sufficient pow-
er to do what the builders
at Baalbec did so long ago
that the period is unknown.
In one of the side walls of
the Great Temple there are three blocks of hewn stone
which are the largest ever used in any building. One of
Q

?!!

i ;l

258

turki:y-in-asia.

them is sixty-four feet lonj,^ thirteen feet high, and thirteen
feet thick. Tlie other two arc eacli aljout a foot shorter.
These gigantic stones are each one solid piece, and were
carried from the quarry about a (juarter of a mile distant
and lifted up nineteen feet into tlieir present position. By
what system of concentrated forces this great feat was
performed will proVuibly for ever remain a mystery. It is
hardly possible that steam coidd liave been used. It must
have been done by the united strength of men, aide<l, per-
liaps, by the rise of an inclined plane; but they could not
have been men like we see to-day in Syria. There surely
were giants in those days. The words of the sixth chap-
ter of Genesis may be literally true : " In the days of
!Noah there were giants ; mighty men which were of old,
men of renow^n, the children of the sons of God."

And what place in all thoKastdid they dwell in, if not
near Baalbec ? Within twenty miles is the village where
Noah lived and died, and where his tomb i§ still carefully
preserved and honoured. Within fiftecm miles of Baalbec
is the place where, Moslem tradition says, "Adam delved
and Eve span," and where Cain slew his brother. Ten
miles further on is the Arabian Garden of Eden, where
our first parents were created and for their sin expelled.
The city of Baalbec rose in the midst of this land of the
first patriarchs ; and if there were giants in those days,
then they were the builders of the foundations of the
temples, which stand to-day looking down in calm disdain
on the wretched mud villages of the 19th century. An-
other stone, still larger, lies in the quarry. It is difficult
to appreciate its prodigious size, 71 feet long, 14 feet high,
and 13 feet wide. It lies as the masons left it centuries ago,
nearly finished at the top and side, but not yet separated
from the rock beneath. It has been well compared to two
railway freight cars of the largest pattern placed end to
end.

We returned to Shtora, and from thence on the fine,
well-kept road of the French Company to Damascus.

THK PARADISE OF THE ARABS.

259

higli,

The Syrian peasantry appear to be very friendly. When
pas.sin<( them on the road, we were.ahnost without excep-
tion, addressed with " Neharak sa id, " which is the Ara-
bic of " may your day be happy." The proper reply to
this, and one which they always expect, as our dra<^()man
informed us, is " Allah yesabbihkum bil-kher," which
means, " God f^rant thee a good morning. " They accom-
pany their salutation by solemnly touching their chest
with the right hand, and then touching their forehead
with the tips of their fingers.

From the fact that there are (with a couple of excep-
tions) no carria;^e-roads in Syria, all merchandise is car-
ried on the backs of donkeys, mules, horses and camids.
This mode of transportation is very primitive, and a great
waste of strength. The unfortunate beasts of burden
can't carry on their backs anything like the weight they
could draw. We frequently met trains ot camels on the
mountains. They are, however, more fitted foi' the desert ;
where they are peculiarly valuable, as they can live for
five or six days on one supply of water.

Damascus is said to be the oldest city in the world. It
was founded by the grandson of Noah, and is mentioned
in the book of Genesis.

I have read of no less than three of the prophets (there
may be more) who have prophesied in strong terms
against this queen city of the desert ; but it remains to-
day, what it has always been, a prosperous city, and the
earthly paradise of the Arabians, The greatest of gener-
als and the proudest of kingdoms have fought to possess
it. David, the grand old Israelitish general, conquered
the town after a bloody war. Alexander the (Jreat, in
his march of conquest, found at Dama.scus the treasures
and the harem of his enemy Darius. Hei-e Pompey sat
in Roman state and received the homage of the tribes.
Against Damascus the Crusaders marched with religious
zeal, but failed to get within its walls.

It is the most thoroughly Eastern city we have yet
visited. Lying, as it does, seventy miles from the sea-

2G0

TUIIK.EY-1N-AS[A.

coast, separated tVoin it by two lofty ranges of mountains,
Damascus is to-day a purely Oriental capital, as yet un-
influenced by European manners and customs.

The bazaars are well worth visiting — in some respects
more interesting than those of (Constantinople. There
are distinct bazaars for each kind of merchandise — for
silks, for saddles, for copper-smiths, for guns and ?wjrds,
for nargi'ehs, for books, etc., etc. During business hours,
there is a great deal of hum and noise. The narrow,
vaulted passages are tlironged with people dressed in
bright, g?Aidy colours. Passing to and fro are donkeys
with heavily-laden panniers, being urged forward by a
sharp stick. Occasionally a heavy shadow is throwr
across the passage, and a caravan of camels fresh from the
Syrian desert winds its way slowly along, until it arrives
at one of the numerous khans, where it turns in, and the
weary beasts are unloaded.

The Damascene women almost, without exception, veil
their faces with the yashmak. When shopping in the
bazaars, they look like veritable ghosts, their outer cloth-
ing consisting of a single pure white linen garment, hang-
ing ^- om the lop of the head to the feet. They frequently
walk in gi'oups, sometimes six or eight weird-like figures
gliding from shop to shop together. Th » Bedouins can be
seen here in large numbers ; their home, the boundless
desert, where they live from January to December, in their
black tents, lies inunediately to the east of Damascus.
The men dress in a dark-coloured cloak, called an
" abayeh ;" around their heads is arrayed a silk shawl of
brown, y?;llow, and gold. It is called the " Keflieyeh."
Tlieyare generally tall, muscular, swarthy, dignified-look-
in"- fellows, and have the appearance of lieing what they
really are, the freest and most independent of men. They
are not bothered by cares of business. They have no
votes, and are, therefore, never button-holed by aspiring
M.P.'s or aldermen. They own no lands or houses, and
recognize no sovereign or government but that of their

ill

ROMANTIC MARIIIAGE — DAMASCUS.

261

itly

ires

ess
leir
pus.

an
of

h."

.k-

<'y

hereditary Sheik. They are as free as the air of heavon,
and, if they possess a fleet horse, are as iiappy as the day
is lonj^. Apropos of the Bedouins : a few years ago an
English lady of title was travelling in Syria. She was
captured by some wandering Arabs, and her life was in
peril. The powerful Bedouin Sheik, Megivel, interposed
and saved her life and property. The result of this meet-
in iQf in the desert was in the hijxhest e^ree romantic.
The course of true love for once rari smooth. Metdvel and
the English lady became betrothed, and in due time mar-
ried. The}'^ are now living in a charming place, a short
distance out of Damascus.

We went to see the spot, outsi<le the city on the road
to Jerusalem, where Saul saw the vision from heaven;
and was converted from a persecutor of the Nazai'enes to
an ardent and powerful disciple of Christianity. On the
bare, open road, about a quarter of an hour's walk from
the Wails, the marvellous occurrence i said to have taken
place. The house of Ananias, the holy man, who, by t^ )
command of God, cured Saul of his blindness, is now con-
verted into a Latin chapel. Near by is Straight Street,
where Saul dwelt in the house of Judas, and where he
was miraculously found by Ananias. This street, if it
were in a Cana<lian cit}^ would be legarded as a model of
crookedness ; but at Damascus it is very properly called
straight. Most of the streets here, as, in fact, in all Euro-
pean cities, are narrow, and make no pretence at keeping
straight for longer than a ti-ain of four or five camels.
Straight Street also is compaivitively wide. In some
places, for a few yards at a time, it actually reaches the
wi'^'th of abo it fourteen or fifteen feet. In the barracks,
on this celebrated street, a window is pointeil out, from
whence, in 1860, the signal was given, with the approval
and connivance of the Turkish (jrovernment, to massacre
the Christians. This brutal massacre will never V)e for-
gotten. The infuriated and jealous Turks at Damascus,
and elsewhere in the north of Syria, murdered within a

.>»*
M

262

TURKEY-IN-ASIA.

short time more tlian fourteen thousand defenceless
Christians. I am informed that at the city of Beyroot tlie
situation was very critical. The Moslems had assembled
in great crowds, and were about to commence the attack.
A black fing of distress had been hoisted from the house
of one of the Consuls. B^ortunately, at that moment a
Russian man-of-war arrived in port. The captain and
crew at once came on shore. Being informed of the state
of affairs, the captain proceeded to the residence of the
Turkish Pasha, and by means of threats of personal vio-
lence forced the Pasha to give orders to disperse the
crowds, and thus saved the lives and property of the lead-
ing citizens of Beyroot.

At Damascus, the fearless preaching of Paul gave mortal
offence to the Jews. " They took counsel to kill him, and
watched the gates day and night. Then his disciples
took him by night, atid let him down by the wall in a
basket." The place in the wall where he was let down,
is still pointed out. Tlie descent was about twenty feet.

Over twenty-seven hundred years ago, when Damascus
was an ancient Eastern capital, there lived there Naaman,
captain of the hosts of the king of Syria. Although brave
and powerful, he was a leper. A little Jewish maid, a cap-
tive in his household, told him of the great prophet of
Samaria, who could cure him. The simple cure prescribed
by Elisha of washing in the Jordan disgusted the proud
soldier of Syria, who replied, "Are not Abana and Pharpar,
rivers of Damascus, better than all the watei's of Israel ?
May I not wash in them, and be clean ? " He had good
reason to boast of the waters of Damascus. The same
streams flow there to-day, under the names of the Barada
and El-Awaj, and furnish abundance of pure cold water
for the houses, the gardens and the streets of the city. The
great boon of this unlimited supply can never be appre-
ciated by one who has not seen what a dry, desert, parched-
up country the greater part of Syria is. We visited uhc
house of Naaman a short distance outside the walls.

A LUXURIOUS HAREM.

2G3

Strange to say, the place, although in a ruinous condition,
is now used as a resort for lepers.

One of the most interesting features at Damascus is its
private palaces, which are famed for their magnificence.
We visited several of them. In the house of Shanunai, a
Jew, a richly-furnished apartment is shown. The walls
are of delicately-carved marbles and lofty mirrors. The
divans which surround the room are covered with the
finest silk for whicli Damascus is so famous. The floor is
of inlaid fine marbles of different colours. A fountain, su])-
ported by four griffins, adorns the centre of the floor. It
is, of coui'se, forbidden for any European to see the harem
of a Turkish gentleman. We were invariably kept wait-
ing in a vestibule for four or five minutes, so that the
ladies might have time to retire. At one palace, however,
in passing through a coi'ridor, we caught a glimpse of the
harem. In a room, about twenty feet square, there were
eight or ten ladies. The room was furnished in costly
style, with heavy Persian carpets and luxurious divans.
The wives were reclining in easy attitudes and nearly all
of them smokiufj narfjilehs. The ladies of ]3an)ascus are
celebrated for their beauty. Two we saw in the harem
were really beautiful. They had black hair, dark eyes,
and faultless complexions. At one house we were treated
with great hospitality. The owner ])ersanally showed us
all over the spacious apartments, and finally invited us to
take coffee with him in his private smoking-room. The
great mosque is one of the sights of the city. The minaret
on the south-east side is a beautiful piece of architecture.
According toMahonunedan tradition, oui' Saviour will take
His place on the sunuuit of this minaret, at the beginning
of that awful day in the future — the day of the last judg-
ment.

Our dragoman, Michael, has ])rove<l himself an utter
failure. In the labvrinth of streets at Damascus, he is like
a fish out of water. The only places he knows anything
of aic the horse-market and the bazaars. He, however,

•^

^G4

TltRKEY-IN-AStA.

seems to be acquainted with a great many people, and
gets out of his difficulties by asking his way. At one time,
when walking along Straight Street, we had no less than
six guides, all talking at once, no two of them agi'eeing
upon the locality of the house of Ananias. The environs
of Damascus are especially interesting. We rode out to
the hill of Kasiun, which overlooks the city. The view
here is charming. Below us lay an oasis in a desert. In
the midst of this fertile spot was spread out the world-
renowned city of Damascus, with its mosques, its domes,
minarets, gardens and palaces. Beyond lay the Syrian
desert, a wilderness of sand and scorching heat. The Mos-
lems hold the hill of Kasiun as a sacred thing. Many
great events, according to their traditions, have occurred
here. From its summit Mahomet gazed upon the scene
of beauty below him and said, " Man can only enter into
one paradise. I must strive for the one above.' Thus
speaking, the camel-driver turned away and did not enter
the gates of the earthly paradise.

No docti'ine of Christianity is so much scoffed at and
ridiculed by the Moslems as that of the Trinity. They
allege that to believe it is to believe an impossiV)ility.
On this hill the legend is that Abraham dwelt, and the
doctrine of the Unity of God was revealed to him.

The Mahommedans have also located theGarden of Eden
at Damascus. After the fall, Adam and Eve lived on the
liill, and here the iirst murder ever recorded w as commit-
ted. In a cavern in the hill-side we were shown the spot
where the dead body of Abel was hidden by Cain. The
reddish rock surrounding the cave is said to have been
made so by the indelible stains of Abel's blood.

I forgot tc» mention an incident which occurred on the
Damascus road. We had been riding through the moun-
tains, and been caught in a shower of rain. On emerg-
ing into the valley, between the Lebanon and the anti-
Lebanon ranges, the sun suddenly shone out brightly and
strongly. To the north of us, a double rainbow appeared

RAINBOW AT NOAH's TOMB.

265

in the sky, stretching apparently exactly horn one side
of the valley to the other. It was the most perfect and
heautiful rainbow I ever saw. Strange to say, we were
within sight of Noah's tomb, and one end of the heavenly
arch appeared to touch the patriarch's grave. God's cov-
enant with Noah that a flood should never again utterly
destroy man off the face of the earth was exemplified
before us in the very place where the promise was first
given : " I do set iny bow in the cloud, and it shall be
for a token for a covenant between me and the eai*th."

A NKW DRAOOMAN-TYKE AND SIUON HIIIAM, THE FIUEXI) OF SOLOMON—
PUEVALENC'E OK ULINDNESS— ACUE, THE SCENE OF NAI'OLEON's DEFEAT-
MOUNT CARMEL— A SPLENDID MONASTERY IN A MAGNIFICENT SITUATION —
NA/ARETH, THE SCENE OF THE ANNUNCIATION, AND OP NEARLY ALL OF
CHRIST'S LIFE— MARY'S WELL, AND THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS OF NAZARETH.

Nazareth, Palkstine,

March, 1880.

FTER an eight days' trip to Baalbec and Damas-
cus, we returned to Beyroot. Here avc determined
to get rid of Michael, our dragoman ; he had
proved himself a perfect failure. The only o]>p()rtunitie.-i
he had for displaying a little gumption were at the two
cities, and there he was as helpless as a baby. Really, what
Michael does not know about his business would till a large
book. After considerable negotiation,we finally entered into
a written contract with a Syrian dragoman named Ibraham
Elias to conduct us to Jerusalem ]>y way of Sidon, Tyre,
Mount Carmel, Nazareth, the Sea of iJalilee, Mount Tabor
and Nabulus. We made an early start last Mon<lay morn-
ing, and were soon cantering along the sea-shore on the
way to Sidon. Our party is small, but formidable. We
are armeil with a revolver, a pistol, a gun, a sword and a
dagger. The dragoman is a terrible-looking fellow, quite
a })erambulating man-of-war. He wears a blue coat with
1 .ige brass buttons, part of the uniform of a Prussian

Mgfi

A Formidable dragiomai^.

2G7

naval officer; over his shoulder is slung a single-barrelled
gun, which always hangs fire ; from his helt hangs a
long sword, highly ornamented outside, but very rusty-
looking when drawn from the scabbard ; in the belt is
stuck a dagger, which Ibraham says would " Make dead
much Bedouin," if we were attacked. The head-covering
is probably the most imposing part of the dragoman's
costume ; his hat is covered with a large keffiyeh of red
and yellow silk, the bright-coloured little tassels hanging
all about his shoulders. Ibraham is a man of medium
size, with black whiskers and bright eyes, a pleasant com-
panion, and thoroughly acquainted with his business. He
assures us that it is highly dangerous to pass through
Palestine unarmed, as the j)eople are poor, and frc(iucntly
attack travellers.

Our journey was enlivened by tales of the robbery and
murder of many English tourists. He says that the pre-
vailing idea in the mind of a Bedouin is that every trunk
of an European traveller is half filled with clothes, and
half with bags of gold. In my opinion, the dragomans
greatly exaggerate these stories in order to increase their
own importance.

The road along the sea-coast connnands a beautiful
view, but the most of the way it is fearfully hard work for
the horses. Of course there is no carriage-road ; it is
simply a donkey path. For miles it may, without injus-
tice, be compared to riding over large, loose cobble-stones.
When about half way to Sidon, we nearly had an acci-
dent. The ilragoman, with his strong, big-footed hoi*se,
led the way across some sands which were covered about
two feet deep with the water of the sea. The place
proved to be a (piicksand. Ibraham's horse struggle<l
through, but mine, which was of light Arabian build, with
small feet, came to grief. I got fairly into the quicksands ;
my horse, though plucky and active, sank above his
knees, floundered helplessly, and finally fell on his side
into the sea. I was standing in the sands, gradually

■ h.

268

THE HOLY LAND.

.sinking, and had difficulty in keeping the poor heast's
head from (h-opping altogetlier beneath the water. Af-
fairs looked alarm ing for a few minutes. Ibraham was
excited, and did not know what to do. Tlie horse's
body and the saddle were nearly all under water, and
apparently sinking out of sight. The problem was
solved by the unfortunate beast making a desperate
effort, and finally extricating himself from the treacher-
ous sands. This contretc/mj^s put a dampc^r on Ibraham 's
flow of spirits. He told me he thought the horse " would
be ted for sure." After an eight hours' ride, we arrived
at Sidon, and were received hospitably at the Latin mon-
astery. This monastery is just such a one as existed in
the days of the Crusades. As we rode through the nar-
row, stone-paved streets of the town, we saw looming up
before us by the pale light of the moon the vast, solid,
fort-like walls of the monastery. We entered through a
large gate studded with iron bolts, and into a spacious
paved court. After dismounting from our horses, we
were conducted through long, vaulted passages to our
rooms. These were also vaulted chambers, built of solid
stone. On the table was an antique brass Roman lamp,
the first I ever saw in practical ase. The stone floor, the
bare furniture and the crucifix upon the wall reminded
me forcibly of the simple austerity of monkish life. We
were tired. The monks were kind and hospitable, and
gave us an excellent supper.

Sidon, once the rival of Tyre, as mistress of the com-
mercial world, is now a town of about ten thousand in-
habitants. It has been ravaged and burnt by nearly
every conqueror of Syi'ia ; but, like a phcenix, has again
and aofain risen from its ashes. Six times has it been
razed to the ground, and six times it has struggled back
again to prosperity.

The next day we pushed on to Tyre, skirting along the
sea-shore throughout the day. The >-oad was horrible.
There is no proper system of municipal government in

HIllAM, THK FRIEND OF SOLUMON.

269

Syria, and so tlie public lii;,'^]iways, such as they are, are
left to take care of tlieniselves. In many places the mules
and donkeys have worn 8tt[)ping-places in the rock. Their
short strides aie not suitable to a horse, and so the horses
have to pick their way with [)ainful care.

Tyre, like many of the Phctmician coast cities, is situ-
ated on a piece of land jutting out into the sea. In the
daj's when Solomon contemplated the building of the
Temple, Tyre had a famous king. Hiram, the Tyrian
monarch, had been a warm friend to David, king of Israel,
and was afterwards a staunch ally of Solomon. Hiram
sent his men to the mountains of Lebanon to bring down
cedar for the Great Temple. And Solomon had seventy
thousand that bare burdens, and eighty th(jusand hewers
in the mountains. " And the king commanded, and they
brought great ..tones, costly stones, and hewed stones to
lay the foundation of the house." "And Solomon's build-
ers, and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stone-
squarers. So they prepared tindjer and stones to build
the house."

Tyre of to-day is a walled city, with about five thous-
and people, chiedy Mahommedans. It has no conunercial
importance, as the whole trade of the coast has been di-
verted to the rapidly-growing city '"f Beyroc^t. When
Christ visited the district of Tyre and Sidon, Tyre was a
great commercial city, and vvieliled immense iutluence in
the Mediterranean. The indefatigable Paul afterwards
came to Tyre and sojourned there for seven days. Here,
as well as elsewhere in Syria, a large portion of the people
are afflicted with ophthalmia. This di.sease is a terrible
one, and I am informed is infectious. In many ca.ses I
have seen children totally blind ; but it is more usual to find
the childven with inflamed, diseased eyes, and ^ba blind
amongst the older people. When Christ cured the people
of this frightful scourge, no wonder that they fell down
and worshipped him as a God. What a blessing it would
be if a Great Healer were to come to these parts to-day !

270

THE HOT,Y LAND.

About three hours' ride from the town is shown the tomb
of Hiraiii. After the king of Tyre had spent his time
and sul)stance in helping to Ituild the temple, Solomon
made him a present of twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
" And Hiram went to see them, and they pleased him not,
and lie said, What cities nvv, these which thou hast given
me, my brother ? " I quite sympathize with Hiram. If
the cities were anything like the collection of nnid huts
one sees to-day in the land of Galilee, then it would be
more bother to collect the taxes than the places were
worth. It was not generous of Solomon to palm off the
worst part of his dominions on the unsuspecting Hiram.
On our way to Acre we stopped at midday to lunch at a
khan. A fine spring of water gushed out near by. The
village girls were passing to and fro with their water-
pitchers, which, like the maidens of old, they carry upon
their heads. One little girl was very ])retty. She was
playing in front of her father's house. Her costume was
not elaborate ; it consisted solely and simply of a small
straw hat to preserve her complexion — a clear case of
beauty unadorned.

The approach to Acre is most deceptive. For over
tw^o hours it lay before us in the plain, apparently quite
close. The city is walled ; there is only one gate, and this
is always closed at sunset. It was nearly sundown; we
galloped along expecting to arrive at the gate in a short
time, but were doomed to disappointment. The distance
seemed never to shorten. At last we passed through the
gate just in time, and were received at the Franciscan
monastery. The little town of Acre has had a chequered
history. Many important armies have besieged it, but I
fancy it will be chiefly remembered by the fact that the
invincible Napoleon, although he made eight desperate
assaults upon it, was finally forced to abandon the siege
as fruitless. We rode around the interior of the walls.
They are stout and strong, apparently able to stand
another siege of some " petit caporal.*' Across a large bay

MOUNT CARMEL — ELIJAHS CAVE.

271

from Aero lies tlio celebrated Mount Carmel, and at its
base tbe town of Haifa. We rode over to Carmel, as-
cended the mountain, and spent a ni(,dit in the splendid
Monastery which surmounts it. The mountain extends
far into the sea. The view is magnificent. To the north
lies picturesque and snu«,dy-fortified Acre ; below is Haifa,
with its prosperous colony of Germans ; to the west is
the boundless blue Mediterranean, with an occasional sail
dotting its surface. The situation of Carmel strikes one
iiH l)old, free nnd grand. The mountain juts beyond the
mainland into the ocean ; with its fine edifice on the
summit, it is a huge ocean watchtower. The ground on
which we walked was once the scene of the Prophet
Elijah's great trial of the false prophets. The men of
Baal prayed to their god to send fire down from heaven
upon their altar, but no fire came. '* Elijph mocked them,
and said. Cry aloud, for he is a god ; either he is talking,
or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or peradventure
he sleepeth, and must be awaked.'' The false prophets
paid dearly for measuring swords with Elijah. The peo-
ple, convinced that they were hund)ugs, slaughtered the
whole four hundred and fifty. A cave in the north sid(!
of the mountain is shown where, tradition says, Joseph
and Mary rested for the night on their way from Egypt to
Nazareth.

Beneatli the high altar in the monastery we were shown,
by one of the monks, the cave in the natural rock where
Elijah dwelt nearly three thousand years ago. During
the siege of Acre by Napoleon, this monastery was used
by the French as an hospital, and Napoleon himself slept
in the building. When the Franks retreated the Turks
coolly murdered every poor wounded creature in the build-
ing.

I was loth to leave Carmel ; rhe atmosphere was so
cool, the natural situation so grand, the monks so kind,
that it was a change, and very much for the worse, to de-
scend into the valley and pass through dirty streets and

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272

THE HOLY LAND.

dirtier people. Ho/VLver, we left the next day for Naza-
reth. After an eight hours' ride over bad paths, we came
in sight of the' town where (Jhrist spent nearly the whole
of His life. Although the place is owned by Turks, and
tlie Moslem influence predominates, the first sound which
greeted our ears was the ringing of monastery bells call-
ing the Cliristians to vespers. Nazareth is of consider-
able size, having a population of about ten thousand. It
is built on the side of a hill, and has the same narrow
streets and busy bazaais which are common to all Syrian
towns. We took rooms at the Franciscan Convent, im-
mediately opposite the C'hurch of Annunciation. The chief
objects of interest are the house of the Virgin, where the
ani^el Gabriel announced to the Nazarene maiden that she
was destined to be the mother of Christ. Tliis house was
originally, like many ancient dwellings, partly a cave in
the rock on the mountain side. It is now covered by
the Church of Annunciation, and lies below the high
altar. We were conducted by one of the monks down
into the crypt. After passing through the Chapel of the
Ansrels, we entered the small chamber where the Annun-
ciation took place. The top and sides are still of the
rough, natural rock. A marble column marks the spot
where the angel stood. About two feet distant, a frag-
ment of a column hangs from the ceiling above the spot
where the Holy Virgin listened to the heavenly message.
The lower half of this column is gone. The upi)er half
is believed to be supported in its present position by a
miracle. A dark staircase in the rock leads to a chamber
called the kitchen of the Virgin. The chimney was sim-
ply a hole in the rock above. In the Mahommedan quar-
ter of the town a small Roman Catholic chapel covei's the
workshop of the carpenter Joseph. If the tradition be
true, then it is unfortunate that nothing of the simple little
workshop remains. All that can be seen are the plastered
walls of a well-built church. In the west side of the
town, and near the market-place, we were admitted to a

SYNAGOGUE WHERE CHRIST TAUGHT.

27.1

building containing the table of Christ. This is simply
a piece of the natural rock, about eleven feet long by
nine feet wide, and three feet high. On this block of
stone, the Saviour is said to have dined with His disciples
both before and after the crucifixion. An inscription
records, in su[)port of the truth of the statement, that it
is founded on unbroken tradition.

The chief interest which clusters around Nazareth,
however, is the fact, which is certainly true, that Jesus
Christ, the only God who ever walked and live«l upon
the earth, spent His boyhood here ; grew to man's estate
as the son of an humble carpenter ; walked around the
very streets which we walked upon ; looked upon the same
hills and the same valleys which vic were looking upon ;
drew water and drank it at the identical well where we
drank it ; associated with people the same in appearance,
in costume, in language, in manners and in blood, as the
people whom we looked upon to-day.

The most authentic, and therefore the most interesting,
])laces are the Synagogue and Mary's Well. The former
is a low, ancient-looking edifice, just oft' the maiket-place,
and is now in possession of the Clreek Church. "And he
came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and, as
his custom was, he went into the Synagogue on the Sab-
l>ath day, and stood up for to read." " The Jews were
filled with wrath at His doctrine, and thrust Him out of
the city and led Him unto the brow of the hill, on which
their city was built, that they might cast Him down
headlonor."

There is every reason to believe that we stood in the
very synagogue where Jesus read to and taught the peo-
ple. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have during cen-
turies visited this spot, and it will continue a holy place
as long as the world lasts.

Sceptics, unbelievers and good Christians all agree on
the positive certainty that Mary's Well, as seen to-day, is
the identical one from which the Virgin drew water, and

274

TttE flOLY LAND.

carried it according to the custom of her people. The
child Jesus must also have hundreds of times walked by
his mother's side and helped to fetch the water from the
village well. The reason of this satisfactory certainty is,
that Nazaretli does not now, and never did, possess any
other spring hut this one. A Greek church is built over
the fountain-head of the spring. A brass slide under a
small altar covers the well. One of the attendant priests
let down a cup by a chain and got some of the water for
us. I did not find the taste so pleasant as I had been led
to expect. From Jiere the water is conducted in a con-
duit to a distance of about a hundred yards, where the
present town- well is situated.

The scene here in the evening about sunset is an inter-
esting and characteristic one. The girls of Nazareth,
who are famous for their beauty, both of face and form,
come down the hill for water. It is a sort of general gos-
sipping-place, a rendezvous for distributing local informa-
tion. The girls wear ornaments of silver coins, necklaces,
and bands for the head. Many of them have brass ank-
lets and bracelets. Amongst the costumes, bright colours
are most in favour — red and vellow sashes, blue dresses
and gaudy jackets. One of the prettiest features of the
scene is the graceful water-pitcher. As they did two
thousand years ago so they do to-da}^ The water-pitch-
ers of Syria aie celebrated. They are always carried on
the heads of the women. In .shape, the pitcher or jar is
something like a lemon, with a short neck at the large
end. When comini; to the well the women carrv the jar
resting on its side. When it is filled with water it is fre-
quently so heavy that it takes two strong women to lift
it to the top of a girl's head. A full jar is, of course, car-
ried in a perpendicular position, and a small pad is placed
between the head and the jar. The placing of such great
weights on the head has given the Syrian girls a graceful
and dignified carriage. They walk with their shoulders
back, and have a peculiar and admirable gait.

TttE WELL OF NAZARETH.

27.5

. The
ked by
om the
inty is,
■ss any
ilt over
inder a
priests
ater for
)een led
1 a con-
eve the

The well of Nazareth has a present interest, with its
beautiful maiden customers, and its tino example of the
habits of the natives of Palestine ; but what a stupendous
interest it can claim when associated with the events of
the past ! The thought that a God, the Creator of this
world and of the sun, moon and stars, the Founder of a
religion which to-day dominates over the most civilized
nations of the earth, once — not nineteen centuries a<xo —
walked humblv and unknown beside this fountain, and
on the very ground which we were treading upon, is hard
to realize, and aknost too vast to comprehend.

n inter-
azareth,
id form,
^ral gos-
nforma-
cklaces,
ss ank-
colours
dresses
fi of the
lid two
r-pitch-
iried on
)r jar is
Ihe large
the jar
it is fre-
|n to lift
•se, car-
placed
ill great
graceful
loiilders

THE HOLY LAND.

(TANA OK GALILEE KAKN HATPIN, THE SCENE OF THE SEHMON ON THE MOUNT
— TIBEKIAS, A .JEWISH TOWN THE SEA OK (;aMI,EE, ITS BEAITIKI'L BANKS
AND ITS HOLY HISTORY MACDALA, THE HOME OF MARY— CAPEKNAI'M —
A SWIM AND A ROW ON THE LAKE.

TlRRHT.VS. ON THE Sli.\ OK GaLILKE,

iMarcli, 1880.

HEN riding out of Nazarotli on our way to Tibe-
rias we passed Mary's Well in the early morn-
ing. As usual, some handsome girls with their
water-pitchers were there. One of them stepped forward
and gave each of us a drink fiom tlie mouth of a large
]>lack jar which she was carrying. After about an hour
and a half's ride we reached the spring and tlie village of
Kefr Kenna. This is the ancient Cana of Galilee, where
the marriage took place at which Jesus, his mother and
disciples were present. Here the first miracle was pei-
formed. Tliose at the feast wanted wine. " And there
were there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of
the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins
apiece." A small Greek church now occupies the site of
the house where the wedding party was held. Built
partly into the wall are two oddly-shaped stone basins,
which tradition says are the actual waterpots used in the
miracle of turning water into wine. There are, doubtless,
sceptics who do not believe the tradition ; but I am satis-
fied that the old Arab custodian of the church has perfect
faith in the genuineness of tlie waterpots under his
charge. A rough ride of about six hours more brought
us to the neigbourhood of Tiberias. Before entering the
town, we ascended the hill of Karn Hattin. This is an

MOUNT OF THE BEATITUDES.

277

isolated peak, round and lofty. When we reached the
crest, a line view Ijurst upon us. At our feet lay the far-
famed sea of Galilee, like a cradle among the mountains.
I was surprised at its size. It was much smaller in ap-
pearance than I expected. Altliourjh seventeen miles
long and from four to seven and a half broad, it does not
look when viewed from tliis point much larger than a
good-sized mill-pond. The ground .we stood upon was
holy. This summit is the Mount of the Beatitudes, on
which the Sermon on the Mount was preached. On the
plateau where we were walking, Jesus of Nazareth once
sat and delivered to the assembled multitude the grandest
sermon ever listene<l to. The miracle of feeding the five
thousand is also believed to have been performed on Karn
Hattin. It looks like a probable place for both events to
have occurred, as it lies within easy walking distance
of the .shores of Ualilee, where so much time was spent by
the Saviour.

From here we saw to the north the snowy ]ieak of
Hermon. This mountain is, perhaps, the most prominent
feature in the landscape for a hundred miles round. We
had seen it finely when riding to Baull>ec, and now we
had a view of the othta* side.

On the mountain-side lay the ruins of Csesarea Philippi,
the most northerly point visited by our Lord. A memor-
able event occurred during this visit, and one which htus,
perhaps, given rise to more keen religious controversy
than any other portion of tlie Bible. When Jesus asked
His disciples, "Whom say ye that I ami" Peter answered
and said: " Tht»u art the Christ, the Son of the living
God ! " This was followed by the remarkable declara-
tion : " Thou art Peter, and upon this rock 1 will buihl
my churchy and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it." The Church of Rome claims to inherit this promise,
and has placed the whole verse, in mosaics, around the
inner part of the dome of St. Peter's at Rome. As we
descended tlic hill and rode towards Tiberias, Ibrahani

(

i
I. I

278

THE HOLY LAND.

announced that lie <li.slike(i tlii.s town very niucli. f asked
him why. "Oh," lie rej)lied, " much flea. Tousand hun-
red flee in efiy house." lln-ahani docs not talkjii'ood Kn^-
lish ; hut he thinks he does, and that makes him ([uite
haj)|)y.

In the distance, Tiberias looks like rather a formidable
place. The town is commanded by a handsome old castle,
and surrounded by a Jloman wall. On closer inspection,
however, v/e found the castle in ruins, and no longer a
terror to the tribes of Zt^bulon and Napthali, and in the
walls were many openings which the builders had not in-
tendi'd. We put u\) at the monastery of the Franciscans,
the flnest building in the town, and situated on the edge
of the lake. After a dinner on flsh from the Sea of
Galilee, we ascended to the roof, and enjoye<l a fine view
of the sea, the mountains, and the town. Within thirty
feet is the spot on the shore where, according to ancient
tradition, Jesus showed himself to His disciples the third
time after He was risen from the dead, and performed the
miracle of the fjreat drauijht of fishes.

After the Jews weie expelled from Jerusalem, they
made Tiberias the gathering point for the chiefs of the
nation, and to-day the major portion of the population are
Israelites. Their costumes are strange. All the men
wear dark-coloured hats, with a soft velvet top and a
broad fur rim. In front of each ear a long curl hangs
down, giving them an efi'eminate appearance. Their faces
are usually thin and pale, but I could not distinguish the
Jewish features which one finds in America and else-
where. Tliey are said to be very poor, and to live chiefly
upon alms received from their richer brethren in Europe.
During oui- stay at Tiberias, we made an excursion on
horseback up along the shores of the sea. The first place
of note that we came to was the ruins of Magdala, which
has been immortalized by having been the home of Mary
of Magdala, or Mary Magdalene, the steadfast friend of
Christ. The view of the lake from this point is par-

THE SEA OF GALILEE.

279

tliey
)f the

faces
^h the

el se-
ll ietly
I rope.

)n on
[place

4iich
[aiy
bd of
par-

ticularly fine. 1 have read the opinions of several writers
upon this celebrated inland sea. One praises it in ex-
travajjant terms ; another is carried awav bv its jjfreat
historical interest; another does not see much beauty.
Few people seem to .igree in their impressions about it.
Quite apart from its intensely interesting associations, I
was charmed with the Sea of Galilee. Thegently-slopin
mountains, and the narrow plains surrounding it, aie the
most fertile-looking spots I have seen in Palestine. After
travelling in the hot sun over a barren, parched-up coun-
try, the sight of Gennesarct, away down in the valley,
with its cool, Ijlue waters flashing in the sunlight, is a
welcome one. Hermon, the king of Syrian mountains,
seemed almost to cast its shadow upon us ; Karn Hattin,
with its graceful crest and its holy history, is close at
hand ; further south rises the cone-like summit of Mount
Tabor ; along the shores, in great luxuriance, grow anem-
ones, which botanists allege are the scriptural lilies of
the field ; they are about the size of a common tulip, and
are of a deep, rich scarlet colour. The zizyphus also
abounds ; it is generally about six feet high, but frequently
grows as high as twelve ; this thorny bush, which is to
be found in many parts of Palestine, is believed to be the
same as that from which the crown of thorns was made.
There were also numbers of olive and oleander trees.

At Magdala, a sailing boat passed by in fine style be-
fore the wind. We were lucky to see a boat in actual
use, as the once-powerful fleet of all Galilee is now re-
duced to three small fishing smacks. We rode on further
to the site of Capernaum. Near a spring we f(Mind an
Englishman encamped. He had come there for shooting,
and had had excellent sport. A fox, a gazelle, hares, rab-
bits, ducks, etc., were nundiered amongst the slain. Here,
we got some English newspapers only twenty days old.
This was the freshest news we had .seen for some time
W^e lunched here, and revelled in reading the papers antl
laughing at the stiff, clumsy jokes in Punch. An hour's

280

THE HOLY LAND.

y*i

fuitluT ride broviglit us to Tell Hum, the geneially-recoj^-
uized site of Capernaum. This city in the days of Christ
was a place of importance ; it had a custom-house and a
garrison. Peior lived tliere, and his Master dwelt with
him. Probably the greatest woiks of Jesu.y were per-
formed there, but the place was tilled with unbelief, and
lie cursed it: "And thou, (Capernaum, which are exalted
unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell, for, if the
mighty works which have been done in thee had been
done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day."
The place has been so utterly destroyed and swept away
that even its site is now a matter of keen disi)ute amongst
Biblical students.

Ca})ernaum lay in the land of the tribe of Napthali —
the land out of which came Hiiam, the widow's son, to
Jerusalem, to aid Solomon in building the Temple. For
Hiram "was filled with wisdom and understanding and
cunning, to work all works in brass."

The ruins of Capernaum are of black basalt, and look
very gloomy, but out of their midst ii.se a few broken
white marble pillars, supposed to be the remains of a
Christian church, ])uilt upon the site of Peter's house.

When near Magdala, on the way home, we went in for
a swim. The water is clear and cold — much more refresh-
iuir than a Turkish bath. It lies 020 feet below the level
of the Mediteiranean, and at this season of the year is
warmer than that sea.

Jn the evening, we hired the solitary boat at Tiberias,
and went for a row out into the lake. Ibraham informed
us that on these sacred waters " the twelve possums " used
to fish. We could not make ont what he meant, but
finally ascertained that he was trying to say " the twelve
apostles."

Tiberias is, of coui'se, not lighted by gas ; neither are
Jerusalem, Damascus,or Beyroot ; but the little town looks
very well when viewed from a point a mile out in the
Jake. The castle and the walls, like the palaces of Venice,

FISHING AT TIHEIMAS.

281

look grand and fornjidablo when veiled with tlie kindly
haze cf evening light. Everything was as still as death ;
not a sound distuihed the silence but the indistinct ring-
ing of the monastery hell.

The Sea of Oalilee has its own jjeeidiar clianiis. It is
not so pictures(|ue as Killarney or Windermere, not so
wild as Loch Katrine nor so <;rand as J^ucerne, hiit it has
an attraction wliicli none of tlieni have. It is a fertile,
liome-like and beautiful fresh-water lake in the midst of
a hot, desert country.

Of course it is impossible to disassociate from one's
mind the stupendous scenes which have been enacted at
this favoured spot. Here Jesus of Nazareth, perhaps in
the vicinity jf where we were rowing, exercised the power
of God, connnande<i tlie elements, and they oV)eyed him.
What conscious and unlimited j)ower is expressed in the
words, " Peace, be still ! " We may liave crossed the place
where Christ walked upon the waters an<l suffered Peter
to approach Him. Peter lacked faith, sank, and cried to
his Saviour for help.

The disciples, James, John, Peter and Andrew, were
fishermen upon tliis sea, and were- called from their em-
ployment to follow Christ. In tliose days there were
many ships and many fishermen there, and .several cities
upon tlie shores.

Now Tiberias is the only town on the Sea c>f Galilee.
Its population is three thousand, more than half of whom
are Jews. The Christian element, represented by the
congregation at the Franciscan monastery, is very small.
Probably there are not more half a dozen fishermen on the
whole lake. I saw one man fishing in primitive style.
He had a net about six feet s{[uare ; standing on the
shore, he cast it into the sea, and then sat hims»df down
and threw stones for about ten minutes on all sides of the
net, trying to frighten the fish into it. Finally, he waded
out up to his waist, gathered up the little net, and walkecl
{\shore,

:^'

THE HOLY LAND.

MNCH AT A BEDOUIN VILLAOE— MOUNT TAHUK, THE SCENE OK THK TBANSFUJUR-
ATION MOST INTKIIKSTINCJ VIEW IN ASIA- EHDK.VEhON, THE CHEAT UATTI.B-
KIEI.l) HAUAK, SISKUA AND NAI'OMION- TOMH OK JOHN THK HAITI ST -THE
SAMAKITANS, A I'ECUMAU SECT — JACOB'S WELL— A CONtEUT OK UEUOUIN
SHEIKS— VIEW OK JEUl'SALEM.

Jki{Usalkm, Palestine,

March, 1880.

^Jji^J K lingered at tlie Sea of Galilee, and were reluctant
yy/^ l(» leave the interesting spot. However, early
on last Monday morning we mounted our horses
and started for Mount Tabor. The way is rough, up high
hills, over stony bridle-paths, and then down steep, rocky
inclines to a valley. We lunched at a Bedouin village,
composed of black, primitive-looking tents. Our presence
was the signal for the men and children of the tribe to
assemble and form a circle around us. Every bite that we
took was watched with hungry curiosity. The son of the
Sheik, a manly, dignitied-looking boy, was amongst them.
The whole tribe paid gieat deference to his wishes. He
was an imperious youngster, about fourteen years of age,
and gave orders with the air of a prince.

Al)out four o'clock, the dome-shaped Tabor was reached.
A stiti' climb to the summit brought us to the Latin mon-
astery. We were received by the Superior with great
hospitality, and escorted around to the points of interest.
The name of Mount Tabor is familiar in every land ; on
its summit Chiist was transfigured before Peter, James
and John. On the place where Peter wished to build
thi'ee altars — one for his Master, one for Moses and one for
EUas — the Crusaders erected three churches. The monk

l'Al{-FAMKI» VIKNV FROM TAIJOU.

2Hn

slioNV'od us the inaasivo niins of tho churclies, and also the
spot where the traiistii^'umticn took place. We mounted
to the top of tlu! last wall and «'njoyed a maL^MnlicM-nt
view. TIh' prospect from this lofty point is piohahly
luirivalled in the whole of Palestine. To the nort]i-«,'ast
lay the Sea of Galilee, with Tiheiias and the sites of Mag-
dala and ( ^ipeniaum upon its shores ; further nortli, tlu*
snowy peak of liermon ; to the east, the valley of the
Jordan, with its sacred river; hdow us, southwards, tho
j)lain of Ksdraelon, the most famous of hattlc-tields ;
l)eyond that Endor, where Saul, brave .soldier thou<;h he
was, consulted the witch on the eve of a fjreat hattle, and
raised the shade of the prophet Samuel ; further still,
the mountains near Jerusaleuj.

Westward lay Nazaieth, the home of Chiist, and many
miles further Mount Carmel, extendinuj into the sea. As
a border to the picture, the blue waters of the Mediter-
ranean stretched below the settin<r sun.

The next morning as we galloped over the ]>lain of
Ksdraelon, we saw lots of wild game. A gazelle, a hare
and two foxes sprang up in our pathway. This plain,
anciently called Jezreel, has, owing to its favourable sit-
uation for fighting, from vory early times been a well-
known field of battle. Here the great battle between Saul
and the Philistines was fought, and here that monarch, in
his despair, committed suicide ; here Deborah, the woman-
judge of Israel, incited Barak to collect his ten thousand
men and give battle to Sisera, who had an army and nine
hundred chariots of iron ; not far distant is the place
where Jael committed the fiendish murder of Sisera. She
violated every law of hospitality, and drove a nail through
the temple of a man who was weary, asleep and defence-
less. The last struggle was by the last great general. In
1790, Napoleon was fighting to wrest Palestine from the
infidel Turks. General Kleber, with 1,500 men, held the
whole Syrian army of 25,000 in check. The French wei-e
wavering; they had fought like tigers from dawn till noon,

284

THE HOLY LAND.

i ii^

and were thoroughly exhausted. Word was brought that
Napoleon was coming to the rescue, and at that magic
word every soldier feit that victory was sure. The " petit
caporai " did come, but with only six hundred men. It
was a case of 2,000 against 25,0()0, and in an open plain.
The French charged brilliantly, and actually put the
Turks to flight. After this remarkable victory, called
the " Battle of Tabor," Napoleon dined and slept at the
Latin monastery at Nazareth. The monks still talk about
" Napoleon le Grand."

At Seba tiyeh, we went to see the tomb of John the
Baptist. Tradition points at this spot as being wheie the
forerunner of Christ was beheaded and afterwards buried.
The Moslems have erected a dome — under it a crypt, into
which we descended by a flight of over thirty steps, all
hewn in the solid rock. A stone slab covers the tomb.
The place, cis is everything else which the Mahommedans
have charge of, is in a state of dilapidation and filth.

Nabulus is a beautiful city situated in a narrow valley.
It is chiefly famous for being the seat of the Samaritan
religion. In this city of 13,000 people, there are l^O per-
sons who are the sole representatives in the worhl of a
religion which has existed since the days of Moses. The
members of tlie sect strictly observe the rites required by
the Levitical law, such as sacrifices, circumcision, etc. We
Avent to the synagogue, in the Samaritan quarter of the
town. The high priest admitted us. His office is hered-
itary, and he is a direct descendant of the tribe of Levi,
The matted floor cannot be trodden upon by shoes, in
this respect I'esembling a Turkish mosque. We were
shown the famous Samaritan Codex of the Pentateuch.
It is a venerable piece of parchment closely written upon,
about eighteen inches wide and several yards long. It is
kept upon two rollers, and usually remains concealed
bi'hind a curtain. The higli priest said that this Codex
had l)een written by the grandson of Aaron, and had been
carefully preserved hy the successive chief priests untu

__._vA^ at- J."" .

Jacob's well — Joseph's tomb.

28.'

this day. The Samaritans do not believe in Jesus Clirist ;
ihey expect a Messiah will appear 0,000 years after tlie
creation of the world ; but think He will not be greater
than Moses. Some of the social laws at;e odd. When a
married man dies, his nearest relative other than his
brother is bound to marry the widow.

About half an hour's ride south of Nabulus we stopped
at Jacob's Well. It is agreed on all hands that this is the
veritable well of the Jewish patriarch mentioned in Gene-
sis. A greater interest, however, attaches to the spot.
Here Jesus had the memorable interview with the Sa-
maritan woman. " Now Jacob's Well was there. Jesus,
therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the
well, and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a
won»an of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith unto her,
Give me to drink. Then suith the woman of Samaria
unto Him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest
drink of me, which am a w^oman of Samaria ? for the
Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans." Near
by is the tomb of Joseph. What a remarkable' career this
man had ! sold by his brethren ii to Kgypt, he rose to
almost kingly power, and was buried as became his state.
When the Israelites escaped across the Red Sea, they
brought the sacred bones of Joseph with them. During
that long journey through the desert they carried them,
and finally, in the land of promise, in this spot, they were
buried. At Ramalah, our last resting-place before Jeru-
salem, we put up at the Latin monastery. For ten days
previous the district court had been in session in the sit-
ting-room of the monastery. We arrive<l on the last day,
and saw a couple of trials take plact. In administering
the oath and signinjj the written statement of a witness,
the witness holds out the forefinger of his right hand, the
judge makes a cross in ink with his pen on the tip of the
finger, and the witness presses this on the bottom part of
the paper, which constitutes his signature. We were in-
troduced to the judge, who was sitting cross-legged on a

28G

THE HOLY LAND.

divan. He spoke French, and informed us that the Arab
peasantry were lamentably ignorant, and the majority of
thom had no conception of the nature of an oath.

This being the closing day of the court, the judge in-
vited the sheiks of all the villages in the district to spend
the evening with him at the monastery. We nlso were
asked to the feast. After dinner, we walked upstairs and
entered the sitting-room. It was already well tilled with
sheiks. We were supposed to be .some distingui.shed
Europeans, friends of the judge and of the government
at Constantinople. The sheiks, who were squatted, all
rose and bowed lowly as we entered. The judge motioned
us to a seat of honour beside him on the divan. There
wer, about thirty chiefs present. All were Christians
but one, who was a Turk. As an evidence of the native
politeness of the Arab, the Christian sheiks paid the most
devoted attention to the strange Turk in their midst.
They filled his nargileh with the best tobacco to be found
in the room. Tliey kept it continually lighted with fresh
coals. They brought him coti'ee, and laughed at everything
he said which was intended to be funny. Around the
room there were low couches on which the <ruests were
seated. All were smoking nargilehs, and were waited
upon by the servant of the judge. The costumes were
interesting and varied. Every sheik wore the ordinary
fez, with long white turban band twisted several times
around his head. The coats were of different colours ;
they were not of the straiglit-laced European pattern,
but of a loose and gracefid build, extending down below
the knees. All wore the abayeh, or Bedouin cloak — a
stiff, square-topped garment, proof against all weathers.

The entei'tainment was a musical one. A sheik, noted
for his musicii' kill, wa^ called upon. He had brought
with him an insti'ument looking something like a banjo.
It was evidently home-made, an enterprise of his own.
We thought it only had one string, but I am sure there
were not more than two. Amidst an expectant and

A BEDOUIN CONCERT.

287

admiring silence the banjo started, an<l the sheik com-
menced a song, pitching his voice in a h)W chant. There
were many verses, and the judge translated them for us.
It was a tale of love and war. One of the most beautiful
daughters of the tribe, and an accomplished water-carrier,
had been carried off by a neiixhbourini; sheik. A formal
demand was made for the mairlen and as formally de-
clined. War was declared. A lover appeared upon the
scene anxious for the blood of the robber-chief A battle
ensued. Amidst the clashing of the steel, the firing of
musketry, and the shouts of the victors, the precious
maiden was carrie<l back in triumph b}- her faithful lover.
This song created the utmost entiiusiasm, the singing
sheik being evidently looked upon as a genius; at inter-
vals there followed Bedouin war-songs, and songs of love
without any war in them. The mode of singing is at first
unpleasing. It is entirely unlike the style in Europe and
in America. The Arabs make no attempt to rise to high
notes or to sink to low ones, but cliant through a dozen
verses all in the same plaintive key. 1 have heard a good
deal of singing in Trrkey and Syria, and have now got
so accustomed to it that I rather like it.

The next morning we were in the saddle at seven. We
were anxious to see the far-famed city of Zion, and in a
few hours climbed to the summit of Mount Scopus. A
splendid view of Jerusalem lay before us. There it was
at last, surround d by lofty walls ; it looks to-day a fort-
i-ess of great strength ; there was the dome covering the
Holy Sepulchre, a spot sanctifie<l first by the body of
Christ, and afterwards by the blood of tens of thousands
of the boldest hearts in Europe.

Under the same roof is Mount Calvary, the scene of the
darkest tragedy the world ever saw ; further to the left,
at the east wall, rose the fine dome of the Mos(jue of
Omar, occupying the site, and Iniilt upon the foundations,
of the Temple of Solomon ; still to the left, across the
valley of Jehosaphat, is the Mount of Olives, the witness

''i

288

THE HOLY LAND.

of the last scene in the life of Christ, From its summit,
in full and close view of the city of Jerusalem, He as-
cended into heaven.

This city, once the stronghold of David, the depository
of the ark of the covenant, within whose walls was the
holy of holies, is, in many respects, the most interostini^
city in the world.

THE HOLY LAHD.

THK HOLY SEPULOHRK.

A THllONC OF PIUJRIMS THK TOMB OF THK HAVIOUIl— KEMCS OF ttOHFUKY DE
BOni.LON- CAI.VAKY, THESl'OT VVHEUE C'HKIST WAS C'BLCIKIEI) THE FAM()1'8
C'l-EFT IN THE ROCK- THE TRUE CROSS.

Jerusalem, Palestine,

IGth Marcli, 1880.

JERUSALEM is thronofed vvitli pil^n-iiiia, chiefly Rus-
sians beloiifjinf; to the Greek Church. Tlie Easter
season is at hand, and ev^ery day brings its fi'esli
(juota of travellers and devotees. The great centre of at-
traction, of course, is the Church of the Holy 8ej)ulchre.

This sacred ediflce is situated nearly in the centre of
the present wailed city. With the exception of the lofty
dome, the exterior of the building is anything but pleas-
ing or imposing in appearance.

Jerusalem has two main thoroughfares — David Sti'eet,
lunning east and west, and Christian Street, extending
north and south. Our hotel is outside of the Jaffa Gate.
We cnten.'d at this gate, walked for about five minutes
on David Street, then turned to the left on to Christian
Street. After three minutes' further walk, we turned to
the right into a narrow alleyway and down some dilapi-
dated stone steps. We then stood in the ([uadrangle of
the Church of the Holy Si'pulchre, which lies about three
feet below the level of the street. Squatted in every di-
rection on tha stone pavement were the vendors of crosses
and crucitixes, made of mother-of-pearl, and of olivewood;
of incense covered withgilt; of strings of prayer-beads, suit-
able for Greeks, Latins, Copts or Armenians; of j»icturcs
S

2!M)

THE HOLY T-AND.

of tlie Virgin and of seen -; from the life of Christ, ]>ainte(l
with tlie most eccentric colours; of charms to protect
from disease and the evil eye. This tempting array of
articles was for the special benefit of pilgrims. Most nf
the ol I jects ottered for sale are manufactured at Bethleliem.

Wc entered the church l>y the piincipal poital. On a
licncii to the left, in the vestibule, were lounirinir scvci-al
Mahomme<lan Turkish soldiers. It is a lamentable fact that
this armed guard is necessary ; but experience has proved
that the different sects can not refrain from fighting when
left to themselves, especially at the Faster .season. This
holy shrine of Christian pilgrims is owned and occupied
jointly l>y the (Ireek Catholics, the IJoman Catholics, or
Jjatins, the Annenians and the (^opts. The (JreeUs. who
are chiefly Ru.ssians, own the greater part of it, and have
the firmest foo.hold. Between the pilgiims of the several
connnunities feelinos of iealousv and animosity LTenerally
exist, and slight provocation has fre(|uently led to the
most viole!it scenes within the very walls of the church.

Passing the guanl.s, we observe<l, a few feet further on,
a number of men and women kneeling upon the pave-
ment, earnestly kissing a large slab of nuirble. This ob-
ject of reverence was the stone of anointment upon which
the body of Christ lay when anointed by Nicodemus. It
is a piece of pinkish-coloured marble, al»out eight feet by
three in size. The pilgiims are ])robably not aware of the
fact, but it has been lenewed several times since the Ciu-
sades, the last renewal having taken place in ]8«KS.

Passing the stone to the left for about forty feet, we
entered the rotunda of the Sepulchre. Since the time
when the triumphant Crusaders a])proached this holy .spot
barefooted and with hynnis of jiraise it has been an object
of the supremest veneration to ( 'hristians of every nation.
The rotunda and dome are s]>acious, and higldy ornament-
ed with mosaics. It is sixty-five feet in diameter. In
the centre of the pavement, inunediately beneath the
dome, is the Holy Sepulchre itself. It is inclosed within

])ainte(l

protect

>irav of

Most of

lileliom.

On a

several
act that

prove* 1
jg when
L This
rcnpied
oh OS. or
ks, who
1(1 liave

several
^Tierally

to the
u-h.

}

ler on,
pa ve-
ils ob-
wliich
us. It
eet by
of tlie
C^ru-

et, we
time
y s]^ot
object
lation.
uiont-
r. In
li the
vithin

I*." \

mi: HOLY sKiniAiiuK.

it.

'f:

292

THE HOLY LAND.

a small chapel, twenty-.six feet lon<^ and seventeen wide.
The entrance is from the east. The chapel stands prob-
ably twenty-tive feet high. The east side is richly
ornamented with goM and silver lamj)s, paintings of
the Virgin and Child, precious offerings of pilgrims, etc.
Ascending a couple of steps to a small raised pavement,
we stood at the entrance. Bending down, we entered the
vestibule, called the Angels' Chapel. The size of this is
sixteen feet by ten. In the centre lies a stone, about
eighteen inches S([uare, set in marble, and on a pedestal
four feet high. Tradition alleges that this is the actual
stone which the angel rolled away from the mouth of the
Sepulchre, and on which he sat ; pilgrims kiss it fervently.
Fifteen lamps burn here, whicn are apportioned amongst
the different sects.

We passed further on beneath a very low entrance,
not an inch more than four feet high, and stood in the pres-
ence of and touching the Holy Se[)ulchre. There are
conflicting authorities as to the genuineness of this tomb;
but this much we know, that it htts been hallowed by the
faith of millions for many centuries in the past, and it
can do no possible good to cavil at what appears to be
well established simply for the purpose of raising doubts.
The little chapel of the Sepulchre is only six feet wide
by six and a half long, and holds not more than three or
four persons at once.

The tomb itself is about two and a half feet high, ami
is covered by a white marble slab, with an irregular
crack in the middle. Around the wall are paintings of the
resurrection, the Madonna, and of Christ ; gold and silver
offerings in profusion also hang from the walls ; forty-
three precious and costly lamps are suspended from the
ceiling. The Greeks, Latins and Armenians each own
thirteen, and the Copts four. Lamps and candles are
constantly burning here under the supervision of a priest,
who must always be in attendance. In the heated at-
mosphere of candles, lamps and incense, we looked upon

RELICS OF PILGRIMS.

293

en wi«lo.
Is prob-
s richly
tings of
inis. etc.
ivement,
,ered the
i* this is
), about
pedestal
le actual
:li of the
Tvently.
amongst

entrance,
he pres-
liere are
is tomb;
l1 by the
and it
s to be
doubts,
set wide
^hree or

l;1i, ami
regular
\s of the
d silver
; foi'ty-
•oni the
h own
les are
priest,
Ited at-
d upon

the spot where our Saviour was buried by the kindly
hands of Joseph of Arinuithea ; the spot where, on the
third day, in the presence of angels from heaven, the Lord
rose from the dead, and went forth to gladden the hearts
of His disci])les, and to prove to Pharisees, Sadducees and
sce])tics that He was God. 1'his spot is the holy of Injlies
of Christian pilgrims. The culminating point of a pil-
grimage arrives when Ji devotee comes here and deposits
on the top f>f the tomb all his or her purchases of a sacred
nature at Jerusalenu

The last time I visited the Holy Sepulchre I saw sev-
eral Russian women bring in their precious loads, consist-
ing of engravings from the life of C^hrist, shell-crosses,
rosaries, Bible.s, etc. The j)arcel was unticl, and all the
objects spread out on the tomb. The priest then went
through a short service, at times sprinkling holy water
over the different articles. The pilgrims also bring their
shrouds, which have been nieasured by the stone of
anointment and washed in the ford of the Jordan. These
also are blessed, and, I am informed, are intended for
actual winding .sheets.

The church is very large, having many chapels, choirs,
etc. Leaving the dome of the Sepulchre, we entered the
Latin saciisty. Here a monk showed us the cross, .spurs
and sword of Godfrey de Bouillon. These relics are used
in the ceremony of installing knights into the Ancient
Order of the Se})ulchi'e, founded by the Crusa<Ieis. The
spurs are fierce-looking things, eight inches long.

The Greek chapel is thi^ finest in the Iniilding. In the
centre is a piece of a cohnnn which, according to very
early tradition, is said to occupy the centre of the world.
Since the discovery of the world being round, the legend
is not {[uite so interesting.

A small chapel is dedicated to Saint Longinas. This
man, who afterwards turned out to be a saint, was the
soldier who pierced the side of Christ. He was subse-
quently converted to ( 'hristianity. From one of the cor-

11^

a ,i

;. I

294

THK HOLY LAND.

rklors we descended about twenty feet into the (/Impel of
8t. Helena. Tlii.s is simply a natural cave which exi.sted
in tlu! n^anlen adjoininiuj Calvary. From a window we
looked still further down into another cavern chapel.
Beside the window is a seat where the Kmpress Helena is
said to liave .sat when the cro.ss wa.s heinjL; found in tlie
cave below.

The place, however, winch overshadows all others in
the church, both by its height and mighty interest, is
Golg<^tha, or Mount Calvary. Turning to the right at the
entrance, we ascended by some slij)pery stone-steps fif-
teen feet to the Chapel of the Raising of the Cross. It
belongs to the Greeks, and occupies the summit of Momit
Calvary, where the Saviour was crucified. The high altar
at the opposite end covers the sjjot where the cro.ss stood.
A large crucifix now stands there, with a life-size figure
rej)resenting the Saviour nailed to it. Pilgrims regard
this spot with especial reveience. The bra/en-cased
aperture under the altar, where the cross was erected in
the rock, is approached on bended knees and with many
prayers.

To stand within a few feet of the cross, and gaze u]»on
the very spot where our Lord suffered death, is of the
•rreatest and most solemn interest. Eiohteen centuries
have rolled into the past, but the interest is more intense
now than it was on that awful occasion, when the day
was turned into night and the veil of the temple was rent
in twain. This spot marks the one great, all-absorbing
event between the creation of the world and the judg-
ment-day. The celebrated cleft in the rock is about six
feet to the right of the cross. The bare, natural rock is
seen with a cleft in it as if from some convulsion of
nature. Some persons say that the cleft extends to the
centre of the earth.

The religious revolution thus commenced, while it has
extended with power and controlling influence to the far-
thest corners of the globe, is still weak in the land of its

HOW THE CROSS WAS FOUNP.

lM).")

birth. Palestine i.s in tlie lian<ls of the MahoinnuMhiiis,
who hclieve in Ohrist us one of the j,'reatest of prophets,
l»ut deny His divinity. Tlie great battle between the fol-
lowers of the Cross and th(^ ( Vescent is beinjjf foui^ht to-day
in the Hoiy Land, The ehanipions of (vhristianity (which
means humanity and civilization) are chieHy the monks
of the' Church of Rome, who, throughout the length and
breadtli of the land, tenaciously retain their monasteries.
Atditf'erent times they liave been persecuteil and massa-
cred by the fanatical Moslems, but still they continue to
dispense theii- welcome liospitality to travellers, and to
educate the risin*' jjeneration of Mahommedans as well as
Christians.

The tiniling of the true cross by the Roman Kmpress
Helena, three centuries after the death of CJhrist, lias
uiven rise to a ijreat deal of controversy. It is said that
she found the three crosses buried in a cave beside Cal-
vary, where the disciples had concealed them. The <iues-
tion then arose which was the true one. It was solved by
a blind man, who, in the hope of being cured, touched two
of the three without success ; but when he came to the
third one and laid his hands upon it he was instantly
liealed. This test settled the question, and the third cross
was thencefoi'th regarded as a holy relic, and distributed
in pieces to different churches.

It lias been glibly stated many hundreds of times by
travellers and others that there is enough of the true cross
shown in churches to build a ship of the line. I have
visited nearly every principal cathedral in Europe, and
can bear testimony to the fact that there is not enough of
this cross shown in the ditierent sacristies to make a block
of wood one foot square.

ill

1 ;

^L^tefe

^■■3

THE HOLY LAND.

JERUSALEM.

THK VIA I)OI,<»U()HA MAINT VKKONICA - HOLOMON'm TEMIM.K MUMWliK oK
OMAR OVEU TMK KAMOUH HOI.Y UOCK I,K(iHNI)SOF THE IIOCK - THE WAILING-
PLACK OF THE JKWS— HECKPTION OK UAKON KOTH.SCMUJ).

Jerusalem, Palestix i;,

March, l.S8().

tHE site and lower foundations of vSolonion's Temple
still exist at Jerusalem. The site is (jicupied hy
^^' a jjjorgeous Mahommedan mosque, and the founda-
tions are regularly the scene of an exceedingly peculiar
religious service of the Jt^ws. Under the escoit of Esau,
a local dragoman, we made interesting tours throughout
the city, finishing up at the ccdebrated Dome of the Rock
on the teniplt; plateau. Tlu^ first place we went to was
the Ccenaculum, or Chamber of the Last Supper, just out-
side of the (iate of David. It is a ground-floor room, in
the same building as the tond) of King David. The
])ainters who have depicted this memorable scene have
all apparently followed in the wake of Leonardo da Vinci
in his great picture at Milan.

Near by we entered the spacious precincts of the
Armenian monastery. Approaching a small chapel, wc
discovered that it was the reported spot where Peter
denied Christ and the cock crew thrice.

Passing through the walls at David's Gate we crossed
over to David Street, and down as far as the Churcli of
the Holy Sepulchre. This sacred building, which covers
Mount Calvary, marks the termination of what is known
as the Via Doloi-osa, or Street of Pain. Tt com mences at

K NVAIMNO

1.S80.

Temple
ipied l)y
fouiula-
pt'culiar
of Esau,

DUji-llOUt

10 Rock
to was
ustoiit-
oom, ill
1. Tho
|iii' liavo
a Vinci

of the
[pel, we
Peter

Icrossed
Inch of
covers
ikiiown
In CCS at

STOKY OF SAINT VEUONIf'A.

2!)7

the house of Pilatt» an<l ends at (lok'otha. Alonj' tliis
route JesUH of Nazareth bore His cross amidst a jrerin^
crowd of Jews. Then; are fourteen stations marked at
which particular inci<lents occurred ; five of tluun, in-
cluding the nailiu;^ upon the cross and the lnirial, are
within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; the sixth sta-
tion is that of Saint Veronica,

This saint was a youn«; girl on the day of the ciuci-
fixion. As the procession ])assed her father's house the
Saviour was ahout to fall i'vom exhaustion ; slie stepped
into the road, and with her handkerchief wiped tlu' sweat
from the brow of Christ, whereupon His image became
imprinted (►n the linen. This handk<Mchief is now one of
the most precious relics at St. Peter's, in Rouie. Her father
was so enraged at her conduct that, tradition says, he de-
stroyed her by throwing her into his oven, where she was
buint. Passing the reputed houses of Dives and of Laza-
rus, we arrived at the fouith station, where the saddest
of all sad meetings took place. Here Christ, bearing the
cross, met His gentle and broken-h«'arte«l mother.

We walked down this street, so a[)propriately called
the Street of Pain, till we reached St. Stephen's Gat(.'.
Here, turning to the right and ascending a few steps, we
entered through a portal and stood upon the famous Tem-
ple jilateau. In the centie of the square; before us once
stood the rarest gem in architecture that the world has
yet seen — the richest temple ever ei-ected t<j the praise of
God. On the spot where Solomon's Temple reared its
(pieenly head, there now stands the Mos(pie of Omar. This
mosque was, vmtil recent times, inaccessible to unbelievers,
but, since the Crimean war, the Turks have admitted
" Christian dogs," as they affectionately term us. It is
necessarj'^, however, to get a firman from the Moslem
authorities, and to be accompanied by the kawass of the
Consul. A kawass is simply a military servant, but he
dresses like a brigadier-general, and looks a good deal
Tnore important. I was much disappointed with the ex-

i-i';5

1^1 ^ '

i !'

(

1 "• i

298

THE HOLY LAND.

terior appearance of the mosque. Tt looks rather clingy,
and its surroimdings are not in keeping witli a place of
such vlignity. Before crossing the threshold, we had to
t;>ke off our boots and put on slippers, as is the custom in
all Moslem mosques. The interior is grand, surpassing any
building I liave seen in its impressive magniticenee. It
is simply a massive doui.e, and is commonly calh^d the
"Dome of the Rock ;" under the dome is the celebrated
Holy Rock, one of the most interesting spots on earth.
Surrounded by costly mosaics, rare marble and alabaster
pillars, enveloped in a dim and solemn light, stands the
fau)ous 7"ock. It is a piece of bare, natural stone, of ir-
regular shape, about fifty-seven feet long, and forty-three
wide, rising about six feet from the surrounding pave-
ment. The effect is peculiar and striking, to see a huge
rock in a state of nature tended with such idolatrous
care.

Long is the history and many are the legends which
cling to this sacred place. The Mahommedan priest who
acted as our guide entertained us with a resume of the
rock's marvellous career. Abraham's great trial took
place here ; he was on the point of killing his much-loved
and only son, when God stayed his hand. The Jews
regarded the rock as the centre of the world, and on it
placed their Holy Ai'k of the Covenant. The Arabs have
a wonderful capacity for belief; their legends remind one
of the tales in the AraV»ian Night's Entertainment ; they
believe that the rock remains in space without sup])ort.
There is a cave beneath it, to which we descended by a
flight of steps. Under this cavern there is a large hollow
space. The Arabs call this the " Well of Souls," where
the shades of dead men are collected together three times
every week to hold religious services. On the day of
judgment, the blast of the trumpet will resound from this
spot, and the throne of Allah will be placed on the rock.

Mahomet appears to have entertained a high opinion
of the virtues of this wonderful stone, and is said to have

:^^

THE OKLEBRATED HOLY ROCK.

200

frequently prayed here. No peculiar formation of tlie
rock is allowed to pass without a satisfactory ex|)laiia-
tion. A round hole in the top is thus accounted for :
Mahomet was once praying in the cavern ; he was
mounted upon his miraculous Arab horse, Kl Barp.k.wlien
he was suddenly carried up to heaven, horse and all ; in
his rapid transit, the hole in the rock was ])ierced. Tljo
rock was exceedini^dy anxious to accompany the prophet
in his visit to the worhl beyond ; but the angel ( faljriel
pulled it back and held it down in its proper place. With
a sober countenance, and with becominjjf solemnity, the
priest showed us the marks of the impression of the
angel's hand ; the fingers were about a foot long. Solo-
mon's Temple once stood guard here. On this rock was
the Holy of Holies, that mysterious sanctum of the
ancient creed. It has always been regarded by Jews,
Christians and Moslems with the most profound rever-
ence. No profane foot is allowed to touch the rock ; it is
surrounded by a high railing ; once a year the high priest
enters amidst solemn services ; he collects the dust from
the surface, and distributes it to the poor as a sovereign
remedy for the national scourge, ophthalmia.

We spent a couple of hours examining the rock and
the beautiful edifice covering it, which is not a very un-
worthy representative of the Great Temple. On coming
out we walked over the plateau ; this elevated place, alxjut
•S2() yards by 520 in size, prepared by Solomon, stands
chiefly upon massive substructures, and commands a mag-
nificent view of the Mount of Olives and surrounding
country. At the south-east corner we descended to the
immense vaults, which, the Arabs say, were built by de-
mons and fairies, but which modern scientific investigation
has led to the conclusion are the actual masonry prepared
by Solomon's workmen to convert the .summit of Mount
Moriah into a vast level plateau tor the Temple and its
surrounding colonnades. The city wall extends aUmg the
east and south sides. On the east is the Golden Gate.

I-

300

THE HOLY LAND.

Tlii()U<,^h this fine portal C^lirist entered the city in tri-
umpli, amidst the acclamations of a people grateful for
His miracles and determine<l to regard Ilim as an earthly
king. The west side of the plateau faces the city. At
the lowest visil)lc part of the foundations on this side, in
a narrow lane, a peculiarly interesting service takes place
every Fri<lay. This is the famous " wailing-place of the
Jews." The Israelites regard the period of Solomon as
that of their highest prosperity. They think that now
God's displeasure is being visited upon them for their
manifold sins ; and every Friday, on the eve of their
Sahhath, they assemble at the wailing-place, and, amidst
deep hunnliati<m, ])ray to (Jod for a return of favour and
the rebuilding of the Temple. Last Friday we witnessed
the peculiar scene. Over two hundi'ed Jews, men, wom-
en and children, were densely cr'^wded in the small
space. The favourite positions were those close to the
wall and the second row back, where the people could
lean forward and kiss the stone. The men, dressed in
broad fur turbans an<l flowing garments, like their bi-eth-
ren at Tiberias, carried well-thumbed coj)ies of the
Tahnud, and read portions aloud, in a sing song tone,
apparently for their own gratification, as nobody listened,
but all lead aloud to themselves ! I thousfht at first that
the whole thing was a matter of form, but soon found out
that it was a veritable place of mouining. The nit-n and
women actually wept. Copious tears flowed down their
cheeks as they prayed for a revival of the ancient power
and sj)lendour of their race. Into the crevices between
the joints of the massive stones some of the faithful
shoved little pieces of carefully- folded paper. On these
were written prayers to Jehovah, either for the general
prospeiity of the nation or for some jn'ivate blessing. I
was infoi-njcd that if the paper has disa})peared by the
following Friday it is believed tliat the prayer will be
answered.

Jerusalem has now a population of about twenty-four

•A

r
o

'■; " ji

ill

'ill
It

1 .1 ^-s ^

S02

THE HOLY LANt).

thonsanfl. Of those, four thousand arc Jews. They are
weakly-looking and degenerate descendants of their val-
iant foicfatheis, and live chiefly on alms received from
tlieir prosperous brethren in Europe. Baron Rothscliild,
of Lon<lon, England, the richest of hankers, is regarded
as the chief of this scattered hut still strangely united
race. During our stay in the city the Baron arrived on
a visit. Eroni early <law)i the load at the Jafi'a Gate,
and for more than a mile beyond, was lined with Israel-
ites, patiently awaiting the arrival of their distinguished
fellow-countryman. About noon word was ]3assed along
that the horsemen were in sight. An enthusiastic recep-
tion was tendered the celebrated English capitalist, who,
together with his father and other members of the house,
have bestowed so much substantial benefit upon Jeru-
salem.

With such names as the Earl of Beaconsfield, Sir Moses
Montefiore and the Rothschild family associated with
them, the Jews would seem, in this century of advance-
ment, to be destined t(^ occupy a better place in men's
opinions.

THE HOLY LAND.

TlIF STAR OK BETHLEHEM -nACHKI,'s TOMB —THE CAVKHN WHERE CHIUST WAS
HORN -MAHOMMEDAN SOLDIERS TO KEEP THE CHRISTIANS FROM FIGHTINC
- -MAR HABA, A PECULIAR MONASTERY ; NO I.AIHKS ADMITTED— DEAD SEA-
WATER SO HEAVY A BODY CAN'T SINK TllK 1 oKD OK JORDAN, WHERE
CHRIST WAS HAITIZED JERICHO.

.Ifriciio, Palestine,

March, 1880.

'wJ^J '^ ^' ^' camped on the site of tlie ancient city of
V'y Jeiiclio— the city near tlie hanks of tin? Jordan
wlierc Joshua led the Israelites across, and won
his first miraculous victory in the Promised Land. iSoth-
iug marks the spot to-day but an Arab village, with the
usual mud huts, naked children and veiled women.

At Jerusalem we joined a party of five young Euglish-
mcn and two Americans, and set out with tents to spend
a few days in visiting Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, the Jor-
dan, Jericho, etc. The road to Bethlehem is a bad one,
l)ut it is unusually good for Palestine. Many interesting
spots are passed on the road. The well of the Magi is
held sacred by pilgrims. Here the men of wisdom saw
the guiding star. " When tliey had heard the King they
<lepai'ted ; and lo ! the star which they saw in the east
went before them till it came and stood over where the
young child was." At the well we saw congregated tlu»
women and children from an adioiniiii; villa<re, dressed in
the same primitive fashion, and speaking in the same lan-
guage as did the people of the tribe of Judah on that
eventful Christmas day when in their midst the Redeemer
was born.

A shoit ride further brought us to the tomb of Ivachel.

■ l

11
ii

304

THE HOLY LAND,

The white dome and .s([uared walls are much the same as
the modern tombs of wealthy Moslems seen in every di-
rection throughout Palestine and Syria. Lookin;^ upon
this ancient jL^rave, the romantic story of Rachel and JacoV)
becomes fresh again, — how Jacob kissed Rachel, and then
acted in a most remarkable manner ; instead of doing it
again, or being pleased, or acting in some ordinary ra-
tional way, it is recorded that " he lifted up his voice
and wept;" how Jacob worked ten long years on the
faith of Laban's promise that he would have the beauti-
ful and well-favoured Rachel for his wife ; how Laban
went back on his word, and gave Leah instead ; how,
finally, Jacob won his longed-for bride ; the charming
story, also, of Joseph and Benjamin, the children of Ra-
chel and the favourites of Jacob. The Jews revere this
tomb of the mother of their illustrious ancestors, and make
it a rendezvous of pilgrims.

In a short time we galloped into the town of Bethlehem,
in the midst of a heavy rain-storm. Bethlehem is of a
horse-shoe shape, prettily situated on the side of a hill.
Being tlie place of the nativity of Christ, it is one of the
chief resorts of pilgrims to the Holy Land.

The great event took place in a cavern, which was used
during the crow<led state of Bethlehem as a stable. Over
the spot stands the fine old church of St. Mary. At the
adjoining monastery our party was received with kind-
ness by the monks. After lunch we walked over the
church and its precincts. The spacious nave has double
aisles divided by four rows of columns. These monoliths
are of a reddish stone with white veins ; they have fine
oi-nate Ci\pitals, and are said to have once adorned the
richest of all human structures, the Temple of Solomon.
Greeks, Latins and Armenians all share in the occupation
of the building ; but party-feeling runs so high that, as in
the case of the Holy Sepulchre, it is dangerous to leave
the monks to themselves — there is sure to be a tight. The
result of this state of affairs is that there are Mahomme-

MANGER WHKUE CHRIST WAS RORN.

:k)5

same as
very ili-
'^o upon
1(1 Jacob
Liid then
doinjj; it
nary ra-
is voice
on the
! beaiiti-
V Laban
(I ; how,
harming
I of Ra-
,'ere this
lid make

thlehem,
I is of a

a hill.

of the

as used

Over

At the

kind-

ver tht^

louble

noUths

ive fine

ned the
lomon.
ipation
t, as in
o leave
it. The
omme-

> (I

dan armed soldiers always on guard, The.se Turkish sol-
diers are generally an ignorant class of Arabs.

We descended some steps — pa.ssed a stolid-looking Turk
with blue coat, brass buttons and an Engli.sh rifle — and
entered a natural rock cave, the place of the Nativity.
Under an altar, a silver plate, the shape of a star, is em-
bedded in the marble pavement with the in.scri])tion :
*'Hic de Vlru'ine Maria Jesus Christus nafiis est." Here,
on this very spot where we stood, the Virgin Mary gave
birth to the child Jesus — an event constantly before the
minds of the civilized world, as it is the pivot on which
time past and present turns — an event which we yearly
commemorate with national gladness and rejoicings at
Christmas-tide.

Opposite the silver star, and three steps lower down, is
the little chapel of the manger. The original primitive
wooden manger, in which the child was laid in swaddling-
clothes, is now preserved in a casket of gold and pi'ecious
stones at the church of St. Maria Mairjriore at Rome. Last
Christmas, while at Rome, we saw the holy relic taken
from its usual resting-place and carried around the church
at the head of a solemn proce.ssion, amidst the music of
the famous Sistine choir.

The place of the genuine manger at Bethlehem, where
the shepherds, guided by the star, came to worship the
young child, is now occupied by a marble one, which is
chiefly remarkable for bearing no possible resemblance to

a maiiijfer.

Leaving the little cavern, with its dim, subdue<l light
and its associations of such overwhelmin<x interest, we
walked further on to the tomb of St. Jerome. Of the
hundreds of saints of the early struggling Christian
church, this man was especially worthy. In early life he
was a heathen, but through a vision was converted, and
afterwards rendered himself immortal by his scholarly
attainments. He learnt Hebrew from the Jews, and
translated the whole of the Bible into Latin. To perform
T

_^^

i:|i

..Mil

life

306

THE noLV LAND.

this heavy task, our guide informed us that the saint
remained for forty years in the cave we were looking at,
and so great was his zeal that he never once left it during
that long period. One of the great master-pieces in paint-
ing is " The Last Communion of St. Jerome," l)y Raphael.
It hangs in the gallery of the Vatican, opposite to the
most famous and most valuable picture in existence, " The
Transfiguration," also by Raphael.

A ride of three hours brought us from Bethlehem to
the far-famed monastery of Mar Saba.

We rode through a teriitic wind-storm. As we ap-
proached the monastery along a narrow ledge between
two gorges, the hurricane had reached its height ; three
fellows were blown otf their horses, and the horses, with
extreme difficulty, kept their feet.

The monkish retreat of Mar Saba is built on a wild and
picturesque spot. No stranger is admitted without a
letter of introduction from the Greek Patriarch at Jeru-
salem, and under no circumstances whatever is a woman
admitted within the walls. The latter rule has given
rise to an immense amount of curiosity on the part of the
fair sex. I met several ladies travelling in Palestine who
would rather be allowed to see Mar Saba than even the
Holy Sepulchre. This is solely because entrance is for-
bidden, as there is nothing very extraordinary to be seen
within. We quite retained our presence of mind when
being conducted through its jealously-guarded chambers,
courts and terraces.

Over fourteen centuries ago the monastery was founded
by a number of anchorites, with the saintly Sabas at their
head. Sixty-five hermits now live in the cells, and occupy
themselves in cultivating a tiny garden on the rocky ter-
races, and in leading an ascetic life, fasting frequently,
and eating no meat. The chief attraction to the visitor
is the view from the terrace. Here an extraordinary and
wild scene presents itself. The monastery is built on the
extreme edge of a rugged ravine 590 feet in depth. The

TKNTS BLOWN OVKH.

terraco is supported hy Hyiii*^ buttresses, and actually
overhangs the abyss. Much of the oceupied buildin<^' is
cut out of solid rock. The perpendicular side of the
rock is dotted with cots for wild birds, which the monks
have so thoroughly tamed that they will eat out of one's
hands. On the opposite side of the wild ravine there are
innumerable caves once ()ccu|)ied by hermits, but deserted
since the establishment of monasteries.

The scene is o\^(» of desolation ; no living thing, exce[)t
the few wild birds and their peculiar caretakers, is in
view. That night we camped about a mile from the mon-
astery, in what our (b-agoman suj)posed was a sheltered
valle}-. In this belief John was cruelly deceived. The
storm, which had abated, came on again at midnight with
redoubletl fuiy, accompanied with torrents of rain. Our
tents had a bad time of it. The rain wet our beds, and
the wind was cold. About three o'clock in the morning
I was vainly trying to think I was comfortable, lying be-
tween damp, cold bed-clothes, when a suchlen gust of win«l
caught our tent and drove it in on top of us. We sang out
to the Bedouins who were watching the camp, and soon
had matters set to right. Shortly afterwards we heard a
row near by, and found that the adjoining tent had also
blown in. At breakfast that mornintr all hands looked
cold, wet and miserable. Such are some of the delights
of camping in the Holy Land. A ride of five hours brought
us to the Dead Sea. This is one of the most, if not the
most, remarkable bodies of water in the world. Sixty-
four miles to the north, the Sea of Galileo empties itself
into the Jordan. This water is the sweetest and freshest
in Palestine, but the moment it enters the Dead Sea it
becomes the heaviest and deadliest of salt water. Woe to
the Msh that so far forgets itself as to approach this basin
of death \ We went in for a swim ; I never experienced
such a peculiar sensation. The specific gravity of the
water is so great that it is a physical impossibility to sink.
I walked out to the depth of my shoulders, but could

.<■

;

1
(

A .. .

308

THK HOLV LAND.

sink no further. After that I simply walked in the water
without the sliirhcst effort ; doubtless I couM have taken
a promenade for forty nules.thc whole length of the lake,
without ever usinj,^ my hands, l)iving is unpleasant, as
it leaves a .stin<jiniLj sensati(jn in one's head. The sea is
remarkahle for having no outlet whatever, ms it lies
about 300 feet below the level of the Mediterranean.

The Aral)s believe that the cities of Sodom and Go-
morrah \n\ at the bottom of it, and that the pillar of salt,
formerlv Lot's wife, is the cause of the excessive saltne.ss.
The surrounding scenery is the very ideal of a dreary,
desert picture — no vegetation, no birds, no animals, not
even a Syrian dog, no people. We moved on to the more
pleasant neigiibourhood of the Joidan. The road lay
through fields, and was very heavy from the raiils of the
preceding night. The dragoman led the way. The horses
liad to gallop, and were urged far beyond their strength.
'J'he result was that, with two exceptions, every man in
the party had a throw fiom his horse into the mud. On
arriving at the famous ford of the Jordan, a pretty spec-
tacle we presented ! Each one seemed to have heavier
layers of mud on him than his neighljour, and the horses
were simply ])erambulating mud-banks. We lunched at
the ford. Bekuv us was the spot, as settled by unbroken
tradition, where John the Baptist was baptizing the peo-
])le who had come out of the wilderness to hear him. At
this juncture, Jesus of Nazareth arrived from Galilee, and
was baptized by His cousin John. "Then the heavens were
opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descend-
ing like a dove, and lighting upon Him, and lo, a voice
from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I
am well pleased." Baptism by immersion, in this favoured
spot, forms one of the last acts of a pilgrimage to the Holy
Land. After a pilgrim has measured his winding-sheet by
the Stone of Anointment and placed it on the Holy Sepul-
chre, and has witnessed the miracle of the Holy Fire at
Jerusalem, he joins a caravan and proceeds on foot to the

THE FORD OF JORDAN.

noj)

peo-
At
and
■vorc
iid-
oice
m I
I red

at
the

Jonlan. At tlio ford tlio whole concourse of people encamp,
and at night carry on their weird ceremonies hy the li<,dit
of pine torches. The priests wade into the stream hreast
<leep, and dip the men, women and children as they are
pressed forward, clad in their ghostly shrouds.

The stream is about forty feet wide, and is rapid, muddy
and deep. Many people luring away jars of water to be
used at christenings at home, as the Jordan is believed to
possess uncommon virtues.

To make the view at this peculiar spot more interest-
ing, there towers, in the distance, the lofty peak of Horeb,
where Moses beheld the long-sought Promised Land, and
near to which that mysterious funeral took place. Our
tents are now pitched at Jericho, under the shadow of
JebelKarantal, the scene of the temptation of (Christ, and
of His forty d lys' fast. The rain and wind have started
again, and our tents are drenched ; but it is not cold, so we
are tolerably coinfort.ablt'.

I V.I

'1 '**s:j

i'-'-'jaii ■

THE HOLY LAND.

ENVIRONS OF JKRUSALEM.

TLACR OF HTONINU HTKI'HKN— TOMH OF THK VIR(JIN — THK PILLAK WHKHK JUDAH
HKTHAYKI) CHKIHT ~ liETHSKMANK AND THE (JKOTTO OF THE AUONY— MOUNT
OK OLIVEH WHEHK t'HKIST AHt'ENDEI) TO HEAVEN— MJT-ENnil) VIEW FROM THE
MOSI,EM MINAUET BKTHANY, THE HOME OE IHIUST TOMK OK I-A/.AHl'S VAL-
LEY WMEKE DAVID KILLED (iOLIATH OHANOES OK .lAKKA.

Jaffa, Palp:stink,

March, 1880.

tHE environs of Jcru.salem arc nearly as interostinir
as the city itself. To understand properly a letter
^"^ on the subject.one must picture tlu- natural ])osition
of the ancient metropolis. It is huilt upon a lofty plateau,
surrounded on three sides by deep valleys ; on the north-
west side a hill connects it with the adjacent country — a
natural stronghold, and doubtless, for that reason, selected
by the warlike David as the site of his capital. The
city is surrounded by heavy walls about forty feet high,
and entered by seven gates. In shape it is an irregular
quadrangle, nearly three miles in circumference. On the
east side lies the steep Valley of Jehoshaphat, dividing
the city from the Mount of Olives. During our stay W(i
crossed the valley and climbed this famous mountain three
times. The route is down the Via Dolorosa and out of
St. Stephen's Gate. Our dragoman was one called Jacob
Anteeka. Descending the side of the hill, we came to a place
where two paths met. On this spot Stephen was stoned ;
near by, the young and brilliant Saul stood, held the
clothes of the executioners, and witnessed the deliberate
murder. At the bottom of the valley we crossed a bridge

(JAUDEN OF GETUSEMANK.

'Sl\

Hpannin*^ the brook Kodron. Aocordiiiu^ to a tradition
j^onerally believed by Jews, Christians and Mosler.is, this
valley will l)e the scene of the last jndf^Mnent. This belief
is founded on an interpretation of a verse, Joel iii. 2. As
there will not be room for the vast assembly of souls, the
mountains will move further apart so as to give every one
stan<lin<j;-room.

On the left, beyond the bridji^e, is th(; tomb of the V ii£fin
Mary, where she was buried by her friends, the apostles,
and where she remained till her ascension. 1 can tind no
authority for the accepted doctrine. Tlu; legend, however,
is, that the apostles came to the tomb a few days afti-r
the burial and found the body was pjone. From this th»y
inferred that it had been carried off by Divine agen<'v.

Withi'i theciiapel are shown the tondjs of JoacMm and
Anna, the parents of the Virgin ; also the grave of ^ .^eph,
ber husband, and her own sarco[)iia«.Mis. Nearly oppovsite
uie chapel is the (Jarden of Gethsemane. It is now a
walled inclosure belonging to the Franciscans. Before
entering the gate, Jacob pointed out the rock where the
disciples slept during the agony of Christ. Al)0ut twelve
yards to the south of this is a broken column which, for
all eternity, should stand as a monument of baseness,
cowardice, and treachery. Here Judas Iscariot betray ei
his Saviour. We entered the gate and found ourselves in
a beautiful, well-kept garden. The seven olive trees are
celebrated. Their ma.ssive, gnarled trunks are evidently
of great age, and it is alleged they were actually here at
the time of Christ.

The gentle monk who \ea the way around, gave us
some flowers and twigs of olive, and described the history
of the place. The spot, however, where Jesus, in His
agony, prayed to His Father in heaven that, if possible,
the cup of bitterness might pass from Him, is, strange to
say, not within the walls. That spot of surpassing inter-
est is settled by tradition in the Grotto of the Agony, a
cave in the natural rock, a short distance from the garden

312

THE HOLY LAND.

We continued our ascent of Mount Olivet. It still do-
serves the name, as in every direction olive trees flourish
and bear good crops. There are also fig and almond trees
to be seen. In a quarter of an hour from Gethsemanc
we reached the summit by a rough, stony path. Notwith-
standing the passage in St. Luive, it has been the unbro-
ken tradition that the ascension of Christ took place from
the top of the Mount of Olives. In the absence of any
settled site near Bethany, I, for one, am prepared to be-
lieve that tradition, especially as in one sense the place
is on the road to Bethany.

An octagonal-shaped chapel stands ujjon the summit;
it belongs to the Moslems, who regard it just as sacredly
as do the Christians, for Mahomet, although he preached
that there was but one God, still he regarded Jesus as the
greatest of the prophets. An impression of the foot of
Christ turned southwand is shown in a piece of naturj^
rock in the pavement ; here was performed the last scene
in the life of Christ. It was a scene of glory and power,
and so thoroughly convinced the disciples that their
Friend and Master was actually the Son of God, that they
went forth to the world and died the death of martyrs
rather than renounce their creed.

Adjoining the chapel is a small Moslem mo'^^(jue, with a
minaret which commands a celebrated view. We gave
the dervish in attendance a trifling hakhsheeHh, and
mounted to the muezzin's gallery. It was a crazy, rick-
etty place, and badly out oi rejiair, I felt rather doubt-
ful, but thought there could be no danger, or else we
would not have been allowed to ascend. We afterwards
learned that about a mor.th before a young fellow with
his wife had tumbled ofl* and both were instantaneously
killed. The view is grand. To the west lies Jerusalem,
with its large domes and its little domes ; its Jewish syn
agogues and Moslem minarets ; its enormous walls, with
their associations of kingly David and voluptuous Solo-
mon ; of invincible Alexander and proud Pompey ; of the

VIEW FROM MOUNT OF OLIVES.

313

flestroyer, Titus, and of knightly Crusaders ; to the south-
west sti'etches the valley of Hinnom, where the tribes of
Israel sacrificed their children to the idol Moloch, and even
the kings, in their fanaticism, did not hesitate to immo-
late their own sons on the altar of fire. The view to tlie
(iast, however, i-5 the most extensive, and lias a peculiar
feature ; apparently at a distance ot about half an hour's
ride the Dead Sea lies at one's feet. It looks not an inch
more than 500 feet below where we are standing ; this
is an optical dehision of the most decided type. The sea
is, in fact, eight hours' hara ride from Jerusalem, and it
lies 8,900 feet below the minaret. There is something
mysterious in this view. I knew of the gross deception,
but still could not convince myself of the true distances.

The historic Jordan, the mountains of Moab, where
Moses viewed and bade farewell to the Promised Lnnd,
the lands of Reuben, of Jacob, and of Benjamin, all lay
stretched before us in a vast panorama.

We descended from the mosque, and proceeded on don-
key-back around the south side of the mountain to Beth-
any. This village is a little over half an hour's ride from
Jerusalem. It is beautifully situated on a spur of Mount
Olivet ; but it is much better to look at it from a respect-
able distance. The village itself consists of a few Miud
huts occupied by Mahommedans, who are as dirty as tl.e
Turks in the slums of Stamboul. We passed a tower;
this, Jacob announced with a fiourish, was once the resi-
dence of " bimon the leopard." Hard by is the tomb of
Lazarus ; this is an undeiground chamber or cave, ap-
proached by twent3'^-six steps, and appears to be well
authenticated. Lazarus is a Moslem saint, and .'i couple
of lazy Turks guard the door and extract bakhsheeHh from
visitors. On this spot Christ performed one of His great-
est miracles. Lazarus, who had been dead and buried
four days, was, in the presence of his mourning sisters,
Mary and Martha, and a crowd of Jews, called to life by
the command of God.

'■

314

THE HOLY LAND.

Tradition says that he who was so wonderfully restored
to life became a teacher of the new religion, and finally
died in Italy.

The most interesting feature of Bethany is tlie house of
Mary and Martha. Judging from the ruins, it must have
been a fine building. It is believed, from various circum-
stances, that the sisters were wealthy.

This house was the quiet retreat to which Christ fre-
quently came after the storms and butfetings at Jerusa-
lem, This was His home with Mary, Martha and Lazarus,
His faithful friends ; here, within easy distance of the
great Jewish capital, could He enjoy the rest and pence-
fulness of a country village.

There are hundreds of interesting spots in the suburbs
of the city, which it would take more than the space of a
letter to even mention.

After a considerable stav at Jerusalem, which was ren-
dered doubly pleasant by the society of some English
friends, we left last Wednesday morning on a coach bound
for Jafta. There isn't a railway in Palestine, and the only
Ci rriage-road is that between Jerusalem and Jaffa. A
drive of an hour and a half brought us to Kuloniyeh.
Two traditions cling to this village and the valley beneath
it. The village is the ancient Emmaus, where the dis-
cij^les were astonished after the crucifixion by meeting,
talking and eating with their Master, who, they supposed,
was in the sepulchre where they had laid Him.

In the valley a memorable event occurred more than a
thousand years before the meeting at Emmaus — " Israel
and the Plulistines were in battle array, army against
army." The monster Goliath had cast terror into the
marrow-bones of the Israelites, and defeat was imminent;
dismay was in every Jewish face, when a slender youth
appeared on the battle-field. He was without shield,
buckler or sword, but he had a stout heart and firm faith
in Divine assistance. He offered to fight the giant single-
handed. The king and the soldiers evidently thought he

A MIGHTY SHEIK — WHETCHED PRISONERS.

315

was crazy ; but, nevertheless, he went forth and accom-
plished with a simple sling what the whole army couldn't
do.

We passed the village of Abu Gosh, built high up on
the mountain. As late as this century the sheik of this
village, with his six valiant brothers and eighty-tive male
relatives, for many years kept the whole district in a state
of terror. Tribute was extorted nolens vol ens from cara-
vans, pilgrims and travellers. Althojgh the mighty sheik
is dead, and the power of his tribe is broken, " still his
name sounds stirring " to muleteers and pilgrims.

Latrun is another villa«:e of interest. This was the
native place of the penitent thief Dismas, and some say
that the impenitent one also hailed from here. Apropos
of thieves — as we were driving al()ni; near the village we
met two Turkish soldiers on horseVjack. Each one was
leading a prisoner by a halter around his neck. The poor
creatures were bareiooted, and were compelled to walk as
fast as the horses. A revolver, a rifle and a sword were
mild warnings of the fate of any attempt to escape.

We had a rest at Ramleh, drove throuffh the delisfhtful
groves of orange and lemon trees iu the environs of Jatia,
and put up at Howard's Hotel. Jaffa is chieHy celebrated
for its oranges. They are by all odds the finest I ever
tasted. We saw two at Jerusalem which were at least
five times as large as those commonly eaten in America,
but the ordinary Jaffa orange is only twice or three times
as large. Notwithstanding this great size, they are .soft,
luscious, .<\nd of a delicious taste.

AFRICA.

FIRST CLT.IPSE OF AFRICA— PORT SAID AND THK FAMOUS SUEZ CANAL —
VIEW FROM THE M(illT-H0U8E— CAIT. UURTON- ALEXANDRIA -ITS ANCIENT
LIHKAKV— I'OMI'EV'h FILL AH— GOING TO NEW YORK.

Alexandria, Egypt,

29tli March, 1880.

*^AFFA rejoices in the reputation of having the most
^^r disreputable harbour in tlie world. The only mode
ct^ of entering it is by a channel about twenty feet
w^ide tlii'ough a nasty reef. Large ships liave to anchor in
the roads, about half a mile outside. In rough weather
they can't stop, and are forced to carry their passengers
on to the next port. Thousands of pilgrims land here
every year. The wretched harbour is the cause of much
inconvenience and profanity.

We left Jatfa in one of the Austrian Lloyd steamers,
bound for Alexandria. As the sun set, so did the shores
of the Holy Land fade in the distant horizon. We spent a
longtime in exploring Syria and Palestine — countries, in
some respects, the most interesting in the world. We were
twenty-three days in the saddle, over worse roads than
Americans or Europeans ever dream of; but, on the
whole, were more than i-epaid for the time spent, although
exposed to wet and cold in tents, and the racking to
pieces on the backs of Syrian horses. Many travellers
come away from a })rolonged tour in Palestine disap-
pointed. They expect to find the comforts and sights of
a modern city at Jerusalem ; in the places rendered im-
mortal by incidents related in the Bible, they look for
something beautiful or imposing to please the eye. The
only way to thoroughly enjoy travelling in that })eculiar

ENORMOUS LIOHT-HOUSE — SUEZ CANAL.

317

lan^l is : First — be entirely indcpentlent ; travel with
your own friends and dragoman ; on no account admit an
unknown stranger into the party, and be l)ound to no cast-
iron route which may be laid down by Cook, or Howard,
or any dragoman. Secondly — live entirely in the mar-
vellous past history of the country, and do not expect
the Gtractions of modern Europe.

The next morning we sighted land. It was the conti-
nent of Africa looming up before us. In tliis neighbour-
hood of the world three great continents seem to join
hands. When at Constantinople, a few hundred miles
north, we sailed down the Bosphorus, with Asia on our
left hand and Europe on our right — each of them within
rifle shot. This morning we steamed into the fan-oiis
Suez Canal ; within a stone's throw on the loft was Asia ;
opposite, a few yards from us, was the town of Port Said,
in Africa. We went ashore, and had a look at this town,
wliich has just sprung into existence since the building
of the canal. Everything smacks of canal — coal-agents,
ship-chandlers, sailors' grog-shops, and tlu^ fine canal of-
fices. The only "sight "in the place is the big light-house,
which stands on the sea-shore near the mouth of the
canal. Entrance is forbidden; but, as the view from the
top is considered excellent, we determined to try and get
in. We presented our cards to the Arab keeper; I fancy
ho must have thought we were government officials of
some sort, as he at once escorted us to the top with a
great deal of deference. It is 164« feet high, one of the
largest ever built, and is lighted by electricity. The mys-
teries of the electric burner were explained, and the keeper
gave us each a carbon point for a sou\onir. The view
from the outside gallery is extensive. The Suez Canal —
probably the grandest engineering feat of modern times —
is in full view for fifty miles as far as Ismalia. It runs
through the flattest, yellowest, most desolate-looking
country imaginable. The construction of it certainly
reflects high credit upon the pluck and genius of M. de
Lesseps. The view, though lacking the beauty of an El^

»o-

318

AFRICA.

lish or the wildness and variety of a Swiss one, still com-
prises much that one reads and hears a good deal of. To
the west, towards the horizon, lay the fertile delta of the
Nile, within whose wide-stretched arms were cradled the
sciences and learning of the early Egyptians, where the
aged Jacob was welcomed by his princely son, and where
the Israelites grew to be a great nation ; northward, at
our feet, stretched the Mediterranean, washing the shores
of three continents, the most historic of all seas ; to the
east, the Desert of Arabia, where Mahomet founded a
religion which now threatens, through its attractive sim-
plicity, to engulf all Asia and Africa ; southward, the
straight, rigid lines of the canal ; also the caravan route
betweeen Egypt and Syria, along which Joseph's breth-
ren trudged their way from their famine-stricken homes
to buy corn from the well-filled granaries of the Nile, and
along which, seventeen centuries later, Joseph and Mary,
with the child Jesus, fled from the wrath of the tyrant
Herod.

Between Port Said and Alexandi-ia we had a distin-
guished fellow-passenger — Captain Burton, perhaps the
most intrepid of all African explorers. Although past
middle-age, he has still apparently all the fire and energy
of youth. Some authorities say that he is the only Euro-
pean who ever visited Mecca and returned alive. He is,
at least, one of the very few non-Musselmans who have
succeeded in performing the dangerous feat. Mecca, the
Jerusalem of the Mahommedans, is regarded by them as
holy ground, and any " Christian dog " who enters the
city and is recognized is instantly killed, without troubling
a judge or jury. Captain Burton, who speaks Arabic like
a native, dressed in Turkish costume, joined the Mecca
pilgrimage, and saw the jealously-protected shrine of
Mahomet.

The Alexandria of to-day is a modem city. Although
founded by the youthful Macedonian conqucor, and by
him made a splendid capital, it fell into decay, and was

POMPEYS PILLAR — CLEOPATRA S NEEDLE.

319

for centuries an in^ifjnificant town. It remained for a
ruler of this century, Maliommed Ali, the famous founder
of the present Egyptian dynasty, to restore to Alexandria
her lost siiipping, commerce and importance. Nothing
remains of the great library of which we have heard so
much, consisting, over two thousand years ago, of nearly
a million volumes — a vtist multitude of books in those
days of manuscripts, when printing was unknown — tlie
great library which Euclid, the father of geometry, con-
sulted daily ; which owed its foundation to Aiistotle, the
founder of logic ; which increased to renowned dimensions
under the enlightened rule of the Ptolemies and Cleo-
patra ; and which, to the gi-eat grief of the learned world,
was utterly destroyed by fire in the time of Ctesar,

The only relics now existing of the magnificence of the
ancient capital are Pompey's Pillar and Cleopatra's Needle.
The former is situated a couple of hundred yards outside
of the Nile Gate. We rode out on lively donkeys, and
soon arrived at the great pile of rubbish which surrounds
the base of the column. 1 think it is the general impres-
sion that this monument was raised to the memory of
Pompey, the Roman conqueror, who was murdered on
the Egyptian coast after his defeat at Pharsalia by Coesar.
It appears, however, from the inscription, that it was
erected by a Roman governor named Pompeius, in hon-
our of the Emperor Diocletian, who had rendered some
services to the city. The red granite shaft is one solid
piece, sixty-seven feet high and nine feet in diameter.
With the pedestal and the Corinthian capital it measures
104 feet. It is a stately pillar, of pleasing proportions.

This monolith shaft is the largest I have seen. Those
of the Temple of Jupiter Olympus, at Athens, are very
lofty, but not quite as high as this one. The giant stones
of Baalbec are much larger, but they are not pillars ;
they are simply huge blocks used in the foundation of a
building.

The proper place to view these ancient monuments is

in -if']

320

AFRICA.

in their native soil, surrounded by the ruins of their past
greatness. It is to be hoped some would-be j^enerous
Khedive will not think tit to make a present of Pompey's
Pillar to a foreign power, as has been already done in
the case of the two Needles of Cleopatra.

In histor}', as
well as on the
familiar pages of
Morse's geogra-
phy, the very
name of Alex-
andria is always
associated with
the Pillar and
the Needle. The
Needle, now
standing on the
Thames embank-
^ ment at London,
formerly lay in the
sand by the side of
a fine standinff
obelisk. The latter
was a few years
ago presented by
the Khedive Is-
mail totheUnited
States. We walk-
ed out along the
shore of the bay to
have a look at the grand old obelisk, which once stood in
Heliopolis, in the land of Go.shen, when the children of
Israel toiled there like slaves for the oppressor Phai-aoh.
This obelisk Moses, the great lawgiver, must frequently
have seen, for he studied in the City of the Sun where it
stood ; and Alexander and Caesar and Pompey, Mark
Antony and Cleopatra, Napoleon and Nelson, all looked

-tii^^"*

cleopatra'.s needle,
as it once stood at alexandria.

THE NEEDLE READY Pon KEW YorK.

621

heir past

[generous

'ompey's

clone in

:'Or3', as

on the

mges of

,'eogra-

i very

Alex-

always

id with

ar and

3. Tlie

now
on the
nbank-
^ondon,
y in the
! side of
an ding
e latter

years
ted by
ve Is-
United
) walk-
ng the
bay to
ood in
Iren of
ai-aoh,
uently
lere it
Mark
ooked

upon and aclmired it. But we fonn.I no obelisk. Wc saw

ts pedestal, and on the sea-sho,c a ti-emendou.sriaZ

,ack.ng ca«e m which the old relic wa, enc«sed, rea,ly to

be taken on Iward the .steamer for New York Bv th^

toe we return to America, it will probably adorn CM

I <9i

^ rawigmiiuiiaaa

u^'^'^m

EGYPT

VyVrr///'/'.",'^'" '.7"^', ' ' • •■ • ' ' • // • "TTT^,''^', '^ '"^K'T^r:' • "

IRUIOATINf; WITH NILE WATBR- CAMELS AND DONKEYS PLOUOHINO CAIRO,

THE i-ar(;kht city in akrica -.street scenes— its kamous donkeys - cos-

TCMES Ol-' THE WlMEN, VEILED, TATTOOED AND DYED-MARRIAOE A MATTER
OF BUSINESS— NO SUCH THING AS LOVE-MATCHES THE 8AYIS-B0Y8- PRIM-
ITIVE WATER-CAKRIEUS.

Cairo, Egypt,
1880.

GYPT owos evcrytliing to tho Nile. Were it not
for tl>at <,n-eat fertilizer, the father of rivei-s and
the god of the ancient Egyptians, the whole
country would be as arid a desert as Sahara. On the
railway journey from Alexandria to Cniro we passed
through some of the finest portions of the great delta.
It is astonishing to watch the ingenuity with which the
ftillaheen or j)easantry man.age to distribute the life-giving
water over their lands. In the first place, the Rosetta
blanch of the river, which fiows along the west side of
the delta, is tapped at thousands of points and supplies
as many canals, which intersect the country like a spider's
web. There are divers modas of lifting the water from
the canals so as to irrigate the crops in the fields. The
commonest, and .at the same time the most primitive, way
is by means of a slightly concave basket made of straw and
lined with mud. Two men stand at the side of the canal,
each with a rope in his hands, which is attached to the
basket. With a regular swinging motion they dip the
l)asket into the water, raise it six or eight feet into a
trough, and away the water goes in little gutters over the
land,

CAino DONKEYS.

t\2n

Tho ploutrhinj:^ is frenerally <lon«^ by ImffaloeM. Tliene
animals do not look like the wil<l huHalo of America, Imt
more resemble a badly-built cow. However, the fellaheen
are not partieular as to the animals they use. I saw some
curious teams at work — a camel over eij^ht feet hi«,'h
hitched up with a donkey less than four. ( -antels and
buffaloes, and buffaloes and donkeys, frequently pull to-
^'ether. The plou<jh <(enerally consists sim])ly of a «harp
stick fastened to a pole. Considering' that this land has
been in actual and careful cultivation since the days when
Noah was a boy, it is certainly odd tliat the people haven't
more advanced and labour-saving ideas in the way of
irrigation and cultivation.

At Cairo we [)utup attlie hotel opposite the Esbekeyeh
Hardens. Cairo, the laig(;st city in Afiica, tlie capital of
Kgypt, has a population of about half a million, (;»>mposed
of a motley gathering of representatives from nearly ever}
nation undca- the sun.

The late Khedive Ismail spent immense sums in im-
proving the city. The great cities of the Turkisli Kmpire,
such as Constantinople, Smyrna, Beyroot, Damascus and
Jerusalem, are none of them lighted with gas. At night-
time one has to navigate about tliose places with a guide
an«l a lantern; but in Cairo things are different; here
a blaze of gas illuminates the streets, and renders an even-
ing stroll in the Muskee or the bazaars a deliglitful mode
of spending a couple of hours.

The street scenes afford an endless source of amusement.
The donkeys of Cairo are one of its specialties ; they are
active, sure-footed, faithful little fellows, and carry one
quickly and safely through the crowded bazaars. They
are not expensive ; a tariff' piastre, or five American cents,
will pay for a ride from one part of the city to another.
It is said they are the finest of their race to be found
anywhere ; I have never seen any to ecjual them in Italy,
Turkey or Syria, where they are extensively used. The
donkey -boys are, however, generally a decided nuisance.

■«*'."

524

EGYPT.

The moment tliiit an unwary traveller emerges from his
hotel-door he is at once espied by a dozen or more donkey-
boys stan<ling at an adjacent corner, who make a pell-mell
scramble to reach their inten<led victim. Each boy shoves
his donkey in front of you, e e while shouting out his
various virtues — " Go like t» debbil." " Take «lis one,
Howajee ; he run all the same like lightnin'." To please
English travellers, they christen the animals by names
which they suppose are common in England. One eager
little Arab edged his way forward, leading a neat little
jacka.ss. " Dis one Bishop London, him debbil to go; take
him, Howajee; him not good, no ])ay." Other donkeys,
also highly recommended as " debbils to go," were called
" Prince o' Wales," " General Grant," " Maud Branscombe,"
and " Mi-s. Langtry."

During our stay in the city we nearly always employed
the same boy and donkeys, ^'he boy, who by the way
was over thirty years of agi 'oiced in the unassuming
name of Mahomet Hassen. spoke a little English,

and acted as our dragoman and general encyclopaedia. My
friend rode a small but gamey animal, called the " Flying
Dutchman;" I rode "Sir Roger Tichborne." I venture to
say that there is not an animal in the world more com-
fortable to ride than a C^airo donkey ; they never stum-
ble or jog, but ti'ot along (juickly, safely and comfortably.

All soj't of inducements arc offered by the donkey -boys
to get customers, but the oddest one of all I heard the
other day in the Muskee. Travellers in Egypt frequently
ask for and purchase antiquities, something genuinely old,
dating at least from the time of the Pharaohs. This has
tai'.ght tlie natives to offer all kinds of trumpery little
ornaments, and declare that they are "anteeka;" and
further, they have the idea that anything anteeka must
be exceptionally good. The boy in the Muskee did not
recommend his beast as strong, lively and young, but
called out, " You want donkey, mister ? Dis good donkey
—anteeka, beiTy good anteeka."

EGYPTIAN WOMKN — NO LOVE-MATCHES.

325

way

»g

A walk through the Imzaars gives one an excellent op-
portunity of obHcrving tlie odd eostumes of the people.

The women, except those of the very poorest class,
wear veils, or burkos, consisting of a long stiip of black
muslin, covering the whole face except the eyes, and ex-
tending almost to the feet. From the centre of the burko
to the top of the forehead, a ])iece of hollow biuss tul>e,
about an inch in diameter, and sometimes highly orna-
mented, is fastened. Many of the women have their lips,
chins and foreheads tattooed with indigo; this is doubt-
less done for the purpose of enhancing their beauty.
Perhaps it does ; but if so, they must have been terribly
hideous before the tattooing operation. They dye their
linger an<l toe nails with red heima, and colour their eye-
lids and eyelashes with powder of a blackish tint. What
with the tattooed faces, the smothering veils, the red dyo
and black eyes, the women must make a great sacrifice
of comfort to keep in the fashion.

There is no such thing known as courtship, stolen in-
terviews, or delightful engagements. Marriage is entirely
a matter of business. A man wishing to embark on the
sea of matrimony employs a professional female match-
maker. This woman arranges everything with the parents
of some marriageable girl. The man pays down a mar-
riage-portion of about a hundred dollars, but never sees
his intended bride until the wedding-day. I have seen
several Arab weddings. The ceremony consists chiefly
in loud music and the shrieking for joy of the female
friends. Our new-fangled custom of marrying for love
wouldn't be tolerated in this land of ancient traditions ;
for then, where would the father make ai^ money out of
his child ?

The Egyptian woman of the better class knows noth-
ing of the world. When scarcely old enough to leave the
nursery, she is veiled, married, and carried off to a harem.
In this secluded and mysterious place she is jealously
guarded by eunuchs for the rest of her days ; somewhat

[

326

EGYPT.

of a contrast to the .state of freedom and equality enjoyed
by the fair sex in America.

It is not easy when walking to thread one's way through
the densely-crowded and narrow streets of Cairo. There
are no sidewalks; the people walk anywhere, and the
carriages are driven wherever there is room. About ten
or twenty yards in front of every respectable carriage a
sayis-boy runs along to clear the road. These fellows, as
a result of their occupation, are fully developed in their
legs and chests, and are probably the handsomest class of
men in Cairo. They vary in age say from fifteen to
forty, and wear an attractive costume. From their fez
hangs a long blue tassel, characteristic of, and only worn
by, the sayis-boys. They have a dark-coloured, open vest,
elaborately embroidered with gold ; this is over a pure
white linen garment with broad sleeves and with skirts
flowing to the knees ; they run swiftly and gracefully,
calling t ^ the crowd to clear the way, suiting the action
to tlie word by vigorously using a long staff". Many of
them are Nubian or Ethiopian slaves, with the three deep
gashes in their cheek — the well-known badge of serf-
dom. The best time to see the sayis-boys, in all their
glory of tine carriages and gorgeous clothing, is on Friday
or Sunday afternoon on the Shoobra Road, the Rotten
Row of Cairo, when the Khedive and his family drive
along the stately avenue of acacias, and the Egyptian
aristocracy turn out for an airing with their splendid
Arabian horses and costly equipages. Then pashas and
beys, with their ample retinues of slaves, eunuchs, sayis-
boys, and last, but not least, a couple of carriages carrying
part of the hawm, flock to this fashionable resort to bask
in the afternoon sun and excite the admiration and envy
of the simple fellaheen.

The water- carries of Cairo are soiiiewhat of an oddity.
They generally carry the water in slirny-looking goat-
skins slung over their backs. In their hands they rattle
a couple of brass saucei-s, and shout out as they trudge

WATER-CARRIERS — BABIES.

327

along, " Ya hawad Allah" C" May God recompense me")
When anyone wishes a drink, the carriers give the goat-
skin a hump up and empty a saucerful of water from the
neck, for which they sometimes get a small coin and
sometimes nothing. Some of these vendors of Adam's
ale carry it in large earthen jars, with a straight tin
spout. The clever way in which they bend over and. fill
.1 small jar without spilling a drop of water is really to
be admired.

The women have a peculiar mode of carrying their ba-
bies. They don't carry them in their arms like an Euro-
pean, nor stretched on a shingle and tied on their backs
like the papoose of an Americari Indian, but seat them
up on their right or left shoulder astride, and let the
youngster hang on the best way it can. This is very
commonly seen, and frequently the babies are stark naked.

EGYPT-

THE PYRAMIDS AND THE SPHINX.

Pil " ' F

THE ONLY SURVIVORS OF THK FaMOI'S SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD-
LUNCH ON THE PYRAMID OF CHEOPS- FINK .VIEW -TWO HUNDRED YEARS
OLTHANDKR CREATION— THE SPHINX THE GOD OF THE SETTING SUN.

Cairo, 1880.

ITH the single exception of tlie Pyramids of E<ify|)t,
not one of the Seven Wonders of the World
remains.

The Temple of Diana, at Ephesus, -which filled the
world with amazement at its magnificence and wealth, is
gone ; its site, recently discovered, is only marked by an
unsightly hole in a barley-field.

The tomb of Mausolus, at Halicarnassus, erected by a
grief-stricken queen to the much-loved memory of her
brother-husband, is lost, it was so costly and so impos-
ing that a new word was added to a language, and all
tond)s were named after it.

The Colossus of Rhodes, that mammoth creature of brass,
which stood like a demon sentinel over the vast conunerce
of its builders, is nowhere to be found. I saw the spot
where tradition says it once stood ; but the image itself
was ages ago sold as old metal by the Saracen conquerors
to a Jewish merchant.

The palace of Cyrus, the Persian king, the marvel of the
age, exists to-day only in the pages of Ejustern romance.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the very symbol of
wealth and luxury, occupied a spot which is now a wil-
derness. They beautified the most magnificent city in
the world — a city with a hundred brazen gates and sixty

ON DONKEY-BACK TO THE PYRAMIDS.

329

miles in circumference. The sUtue of Jupiter, in ivory
and gold, by Pliidias, the prince of sculptoi-s, shared the
fate of cultured Atliens. The temple where it once
stood, and was greeted by all nations with admiration,
has still a few fluted shafts and Corinthian capitals left
standing, just enough to show the wiseacres of the nine-
teenth century what really was the masterly genius of
those men of old-time.

But the most ancient and the most wonderful of all the
seven wonders have defied the storms of decades of cen-
turies ; have smiled at the puny efforts of would-be
destroyers, and stand to-day the oldest and mightiest
structures in existence.

The pyramids are within two hours' ride of (^airo, and
can be distinctly seen from the city.

A few mornings ago we engaged Mahommed Hassan
and his two donkeys, and proceeded to the Pyramids of
Goezeh. The way lies from the Ksbekeeyeh CJardens
through the modern portion of the city, past a couple of
fine palaces of the Khedive, and down to the new iron
bridge over the Nile. It was early morning yet; the
bridge presented a busy scene — strings of camels, laden
with fresh grass, stalked p.long in solemn file — donkeys,
whose panniers were more than filled with greens and
vegetables, trotted in the shade of the huge " ships of the
desert." All were on their road from the country parts
to the great markets of Cairo. The animals were urged
on by the shouts, but more particularly the shai p sticks,
of women and boys, A beautiful avenue of trees leads
from the city right out to the pyrami<]s. For this, as
well JUS the excellent road, travellers have to thank the
late Khedive, who spared no expense to make his capital
attractive to Europeans. The land here all l)el<)ngs to the
family of the monarch. We saw a string of sixty-nine
camels of l>urden cross the road in front of us ; they
were royal property. At the end of the avenue the desert
begins, and here on the elevated plateau the Great Pyra-
mid stands.

330

EGYPT.

In the (lays gone by — the days before history was
written and facts were lost in fable — the pyramids were
built as tombs for Egyptian monarchs.

The desert runs along the western edge of the fertile
banks of the Nile. On the border of the desert, for about
forty miles, extended the ancient cemetery of the Egyp-
tians ; here their mummies were interred, and for centu-
ries preserved intact by the peculiar qualities of the sand.
It was also a great desideratum to lie beside the sacred
waters of the Nile. In this vast cemetery many kings
were buried, and over the kings were erected pyramids.
The most energetic and wealthy sovereign had the largest
mausoleum.

No sooner had we arrived at the desert plateau than
we were surrounded by Bedouins, who, amidst a good
deal of noise and stamping to fix a bargain, escorted us to
the base of the Pyramid of Cheops, where stood the sheik
of the tribe. This sheik was a handsome, courteous fellow ;
he has the monopoly of furni.shing guides to travellers,
so we were compelled first to come to terms with him.
One Arab was all we wanted ; but it costs tlie same for
one as it does for six, so we took half a dozen along.

Originally the pyramid had a smooth, glazed outer
coating, but several layers of stones have long disap-
jiearcd, so that now the side has somewhat the appear-
ance of a great staircase. An idea of the tremendous
magnitude of the structure can l)e formed from the fact
that, even in its present mutilated condition, the base
covers thirteen acres of ground. We ascended at the
north-east corner. A Bedouin had hold of each of my
hands, and one made a pretence of shoving behind. As
to whether this ascent is easy, or dithcult, or dangerous,
there is a contiict of ojiinion. To onij not accustomed to
standing upon dizzy heights, I think it would be*l)oth
difficult and dangerous — were it not for the presence o
the stout Arabs. Ten minutes before we arrived an
Knglishmau tried the ivscent, but became dizzv, and had

4 1

LUNCH ON THE GREAT PYRAMID.

331

ul(HI.S

fact
])a.so
the
my

OUS,

il to
)()th
ce o
I ati
hail

to turn back. The climb is exceedingly fatiguing, quite
as bad, though not so tedious, as toiling up the cone of
Vesuvius. The blocks of stone vary in heiglit from three
to over four feet. The Bedouins are a sort of Egyptian
fiend ; they have no consideration for a man who is
utterly played out with fatigue. I was pulled and jerked
up that pyramid in a most disreputable way ; at last,
after about twenty minutes' struggle, I was dragged on to
the summit, exhausted, out of breath, and as limp as a
jelly-fish. On the summit we had a g( ^d long rest, an<l
deliberately took our luncheon. The view is one of the
most interesting I have seen. Away to the west stretches
the boundless desert of Sahara, a sea of hot, yellow sand,
a very symbol of dreariness and death. Nothing could be
imagined more desolate and solenm than the lifeless
plains of Sahara.

Turning away from this joyless scene, there lies at
one's feet, to the east, a dazzling picture of life, beauty
and fertility; the rich alluvial soil of the Nile delta,
dotted with forests of waving palms, and in their midst,
rising like a fairy queen, the city of Cairo, with its glit-
tering domes and countless minarets ; the Nile, also,
with its white-sailed dahabeeyehs scudding swiftly be-
fore the south wind, and carrying the produce of U[)per
Egypt.

Northwards is the sharply-defined limit between the
desert and prosperous farm lands. In this district the
Bedouins pointed out the spot where Napoleon fought
and won the famous battle of the Pyramids. Almost
every country I have visited bears the stamp of having
had to submit to the sway of the (Ireat Corsican. Bel-
gium, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, J'alestinc and
Egypt — all bowed before his irresistible career of con-
(|uest. Probably the most interesting i>art of the view,
however, is that towards the south. The whole proces-
sion of pyramids stretches as far as the eye can reach,
some of them almost totally buried in the sevnd, others

' rt

332

EGYl^.

^1^

111 I

■I

. I. Ill

^WS> '

raise their half-smothered heads a few feet above the
desert; a few miles off, the site of ancient MiMiiphis and
the Pyramids of Sakarra, which we afterwards visiteu ;
close at hand is the Pyramid of Chefren, second only in
size to that of Cheops, on the summit of which we were
sitting. At our feet to the left we were shown the

Sphinx ; but it looked so small
that we were much disappointed
with its appearance. Two rea-
sons accounted for this; first, the
altitude of our position, 488 feet,
or, in other words, 135 feet
higher than the topmost pin-
nacle of St. Paul's, and 53 feet
above the lantern of St. Peter's
at Rome ; second, that the
Sphinx is dwarfed in the pres-
ence of such giants as the pyra-
mids.

One of the guides, an athletic
fellow, as lithe as a panther, made
some money out of us. For five
francs he undertook to run down
Cheops, climb up to the pinna-
cle of Chefren, and bring us each
a piece of polished stone from
the summit — all in ten minutes.
He bounded down the side like
a piece of rubber, and won his
reward in nine minutes.

We descended at the opposite angle to the one at which
we made the ascent. A visit to the interior is indispen-
sable to form a proper appreciation of the tomb. The
entrance is at the north side. With the exception of three
or four narrow corridors, or rather shafts, and some small
tomb-chambers, the whole structure is of solid masonry.
In exploring the interior, we found the Bedouins useful,

OHKKllKN, THE Ulill.DKIl ol
hECONU rVRAMU).

Tilt;

ls*i

THE MYSTERIOUS SPHtNX.

333

)ve the
ill is and
visiter ;
only in
ve were
vn the
50 small
pointed
wo rea-
irst, the
nS^feet,
35 feet
ist pin-
53 feet
Peter's
at the
le pres-
e pyra-

itliletic
,Hiade
or five

down
)inna-
s each

from

inutes.

e like

m his

which
ispen-
The
three
small
;onry.
seful,

for with their hare feet they could walk easily down and
up the smooth and steep shafts and [)revent us from slip-
ping. In the centre of the pyramid is the King's Cham-
ber, in size 17 by 34 feet. Here, according to the tables
of Mariette, the mummy of King Cheops was deposited
in a granite sarcophagus, six thousand one hundred and
fifteen years ago, or over two hundred years before the
Jewish account of the creation. The great desire of the
ancient Egyptians was that their mummies should be so
buried that they should never be disturbed. Cheops built
his own tomb, and made a praiseworthy endeavour, by
means of blind alleys and innocent-looking trap-doors, to
render any attempt at desecration futile ; but the relic-
hunters of Persia, Ro ne and Arabia managed to get at
the sacred chamber and confiscate the mummy. Below
the King's Chamber is that of the Queen. Her mununy
has also been stolen.

The early pilgrims used to believe that the twelve
largest pyramids were the twelve granaries of Joseph ;
others have thought that they possessed important astro-
nomical (qualities; others allege that at one time mys-
terious prophecies of the adventof Christ, and of the final
destruction of the world, were engraved upon them. But
the modern scientific idea, and, doubtless, the true one,
is that they were simply the tombs of ambitious mon-
archs. Of course, we saw the Sphinx. This is situated
about a quarter of a mile south-eastwards. On close in-
spection of this monster, half-beast, half-human, all sense
of disappointment vanished. It is covered with sand,
except the head, neck, and part of the back. The body is
that of a crouching lion, and is 140 feet long ; the paws
ai'e fifty feet in length ; the face is that of a man, and is
thirty feet from forehead to chin, and fourteen feet across.
Unfortunately, the face is much mutilated, the nose being
almost altogether gone. With all these defects, there is
still a majesty, almost a sublimity, about this pagan
god rising out of the desert which must be seen to be

b t

1: I:f1

S34

KOYPT.

appreciated. The enormous eyes have tin expression of
benignity and power, and stare into the far Ea.st with an
expectant, mysterious look.* It is sti-ange to think that
on this same picture of the Sphinx, with its solemn back-
ground of the pyramids and the desert, Abraham, Jacob
and Joseph, Moses and the Pharaohs, and the great con-
(juerors and learned travellers of the past, have all looked
in wonde)' and amazement. The sun was low in tiie west
when we again entered the avenue of acacias and bent
our way to Cairo. Through the trees we got farewell
glimpses of the pyramids and the great figure — the God
of the Setting Sun. None of the modern wonders of the
world can compare, in grandeur and magnificence, to these
mighty mormments of a forgotten age.

* All travellers do not look upon the .Si)hinx with bo deep and pecxiliar an
interest as we did. A short time aj^o, an American, writing from Cairo to
a friend, summed up his criticism jvs follows : " My dear .lim, T have seen

the Sphinx; it is the ugliest thiny I ever
druggist. '

saw, except Tom Jenkins, the

EGYPT.

'nifc ALABASTER MOSQIK- crRIOUS I'ERFOUMANCE OF THE HOWLINO DEKVIHH-
KS— THE NILOMETER GREAT INKI-UKNCE OK THE NILE UPON THE COUNTRY
—SPOT WHERE MOHES WAS FOUND IN THE ARK OF BULRUMHE8- THE C0IT8
—THE LATE KHEDIVE, HLS WEALTH, HIT HAREM AND BOUNDLESS EXTRAV-
AGANCE.

Cairo, Egypt,

April, 1880.

<y^AIRO is famous for its mosques. There are 264 of
^%^ them ; hut I will only mention one — not hecause it
^^ is sit all a characteristic Egyptian mosque, hut he-
cause of its heautiful situation and costly workmanship.
The mosque of Mohanuned Ali stands on the lofty citadel
rock, overlookin": the city, and is the most conspicuous
and l)eauteous ohject in any view of Cairo. Parsing the
sentries in the court of tlie citadel, we approached the
colonnade of the great mosque; at the dot)i" we ])ut on
straw-shoes, and entered the spacious ([uadrangle. Th(*
interior is one mass of alahaster, in fact, it is conunoidy
called " The Alahaster Mosque;" the walls and pillars are;
all of the same costly material. In one corner is the tond)
of Mahommed Ali, the distinguished general and enlight-
ened statesman, the founder of the present Egyptian
dynasty. One of the doors leads into the large court in
the centre of which is the usual hanefeeyeh or Moslem
fountain for ablutions before entering the sacred pre-
cincts. This court is surrounded by vaulted galleries, and
is entirely built or cased with the precious alabaster. The
inlaid pavements and massive domes all bear witness to
the enormous cost of the structure. Walking around to
the parapet on the south-west side, we enjoyed the finest
view at Cairo. The city was so close beneath us that we
almost hovered over it. With its 204 mosques and 225

! i

i I

:. I

3dG

EGYPT.

zawicliH or chapels, it looked as if every alternate house
was a Mahoinmedan temple. The two wonderfully grace-
ful minarets of the alabaster mos([ue tapered into the
sky above us, and the Pyramids of Geezeh, with their
clearly-cut outlines, towered against the western horizon.
Hjiving seen the Dancing Dervishes at Constantinople,
we did not care to witness the repetition of such an idiotic
performance; Imt we did go to hear the celebrated Howling
Dervishes. Their little mosque is on the east bank of the
Nile, opposite to the island of Roda. We started early,
and sat out the whole of the services. The chamber in
which the performance took place was scjuare, with a
dome overhead. The order of dervishes is governed by a
sheik, whose title is hereditary. The sheik, who was a
good-looking young fellow of about twenty years of age,
squatted him.self on a mat in a niche on the Mecca side of
the room ; the performers, to the number of eighteen,
squatted in a semi-circle in front of him. The orchestra,
consisting of an old negro with a Hute, very much out of
tune, sat on the .sheik's left. The dervishes were of differ-
ent nationalities ; one was an athletic negro, over six feet
high, with a chest like a blacksmith's bellows ; the others
were Arabs, Egyptians and Turks ; nearly all had long
hair, which hung in gieat masses over their shoulders. As
the service proceeded, they took off* their white skull-caps
and let their hair tumbledown. After a short prayer from
the sheik, the others commenced to chant in a low tone
the Moslem creed — "La ilaha il Allah, wa Muhammedu —
rrasiil — Allah," " There is no God, but God and Mahomet
is the prophet of God." This emphatic declaration of the
Unity was repeated several times in the same key, all
the while being accompanied by the regular bowing of
their heads to the floor. All then stood up and repeated
the creed in a higher key. This continued at every stage,
the actors getting more excited and howling louder. Fi-
nally, all restraint wore away; they seemed to have worked
themselves up into a sort of ecstasy ; at every obeisance

I house
' gi*ace-
ito the
h their
lorizon.
binople,
I itliotic
[owling
c of the
I early,
iber in
with a
ed by a

was a
; of age,
L side of
ighteen,
chestra,

1 out of
f differ-
six feet

others

id long

lors. As

;ill-eaps

(T from

i\v tone

Inedu —

lahomet

of the

:ey, all

ing of

jpeated

stage,

W. Fi-

'^orked

iisance

THE HOWLING DERVISHES.

337

they bent double, and threw their liair forward till it
swept the floor. They fairly yelled out thoir convictions
on the (piestion of the Unity ; but it wasn't an untrained
howl, every note was regular an<l trained, and the <leep
<ruttural noise shook the buildifj*'. It was a wild scone.
The discordant music ; the strange, excited features of the
dervishes ; the long hair, in some cases as white as snow,
streaming in mid-air ; the varied costumes, and the pecu-
liar shrieks and yells — all combined to make an impnis-
sion not easily forgotten. There did not appear to bo
much sense in what they were doing; but it was aluui'
dred per cent, more sensible than the cruel performance
of the Dancing Dervishes. This idea of trying to propit-
iate their God by much noise and repetition of prayer is
doubtless a relic of barbarism ; but it appears to be popu-
lar at Cairo, as many men of prominence belong to the
order.

After about an hour of this fantastical performance, the
proceedings closed by all the dervishes approaching the
sheik in turn, kissing his hand, and then retiring to an
adjoining chamber.

On the island of Roda, opposite the Dervish mosque,
we went another day to see the celebrated Nilometer ; this
is an insti-ument for gauging the height of the yearly in-
undation of the Nile. It is simply a hole in the ground,
about twenty feet square, and walled with stone. In the
centre rises a stone pillar, marked off into cubits, and by
these marks the height is ascertained. While the flood is
in progress, from June to October, great excitement pre-
vails throughout the country, and its daily condition is
proclaimed by professional criers in the streets of Cairo.
This is the most important event in the year for Egypt. If
the river rises lc;i<s than the usual height, it means drought,
and consequently famine amongst the people ; if it rises
a cubit more, it means overflooding and destruction of the
crops. The whole country, as far as agriculture is con-
cerned, depends upon the Nile. The people think it is
V

338

ECYPT.

water sent ))y God from heaven. It can liaidly be won-
dered at tliat the early E<(y|)tians worshipped the noble
old river as a deity. Tradition has settled a spot on the
island of Roda as the place where the daughter of Pha-
raoh wa.s bathing when ahe discovered the ark of bul-
rushes in which little Moses had been hidden by his
anxious niother. The place looks like a frog- pond now,
but perh.ips it was once a royal bath.

Not far from our hotel is the new Coptic Cathedral.
A clever young Coptic student, named Klias Simaikeh,
was very kind to us, showing the church, and explaining
many of the peculiarities of this sect of Christians. They
are pure Egyptians, and claim uninterrupted descent from
the family of the Pharaohs. As early as the time
when St. Mark preached at Alexandria, thc^y adopted
the Christian faith, and, although cruelly persecuted by
the Mahommedans, have continued to adhere to their
creed. Numerically, they are not important, but their
intelligence gives them considerable iniiuence. I noticed
that, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem,
they had a status as well as the Greeks, Latins, and Ar-
menians. The Khedive of Egypt is, in many ways, a most
important and independent potentate The present ruler,
Tewlik, is not a good example, being a weak descendant
of his great forefather, Mahommed Ali — but the late
Khedive, Ismail, who was last year deposed, and is now
residing in Italy, was a remarkable man. He owned one-
fourth of the whole cultivable land of Egypt, valued at
two hundred million dollars, and the rest of the land was
practically owned by his government. He is said to have
had five hundred wives, the most beautiful women to be
found in the country. Without exaggeration, it can be
said that he actually built palaces by the dozen ; for in-
stance, one at the Great Pyramid, simply for the recep-
tion of the Prince of Wales overnight. He spent millions
of dollars in the entertainment of, and making presents to,
foreign princes ; ke kept the largest retinue of slaves and

THK KHEDIVE, IIIS BOUNDLESS EXTUAVAOANCE. S.'iO

eunuclis in existence; his stud of Ara)»ian horses was
the finest in tlie worM ; lie clianf^tMl Cairo, from a city of
narrow, dark, dirty streets, to a beautifid capital, witli
broad avenues, stately trees, and abundance of gas ; ho
was tlu! patron and chief promoter of the Suez (Janal.tlie
great higluvay of natiotis. Every enterprise of merit
received his countenance and aid ; but his imperious
temper and his lujundkiss extravagance ruined him. Only
a year ago he was courted by all Europe ; his harem, the
most important feature of Eastern social life, contained a
dazzling array of beauty ; his palaces, horses, and car-
riages were nowhere surpassed ; to-day, ins butterfly
friends have forsaken him ; his merits are forg(jtten, and
he occupies that most anomalous and unhappy of all posi-
tions, that of a deposed and exiled monarch.

-* I

EGYPT.

LAND OF GOSHEN, AND THE SUEZ CANAL.

THE TREAfSURE-CTTIES BUILT BY THE ISRAELITES- THEIH ROUTE ACROSS THE
RED SEA— SUEZ AND ITS MAMMOTH CANAL WORKS—MOSES' SPRINGS IN
THE DESERT OF ARABIA, WHERE MIRIAM PLAYED THE TIMBREL AND THE
WOMEN DANCED— THE ARABS -A RIDE ON A CAMEL— THE FIRE BRIGADE
OF SUEZ— FACTS ABOUT THE GREAT CANAL,

Suez, Egypt,

April, 1880.

'W^KE land of Goahen was the choicest portion of
"i^N Egypt — the land which Pharaoh granted to the
^-^ brethren of Joseph, and where their descendants
grew to be a great and dangerous nation — the land where
a Pharaoh, who knew not Joseph, placed the shackles of
slavery upon the Israelites and made them build great
stoie-cities ; the land, also, where, under the inspired
leadership of Moses, the oppressed people rose in their
might, shook off the yoke of Egypt, and departed for the
land of their forefathers. Through this land, so replete
with interest, we passed a few days ago. It lies between
Cairo and Ismalia. The city of Heliopolis, formerly the
great centre of Egyptian science, learning and theology,
and where Moses was educated, is said to have formed
the south-westerly angle of the Hebrew land.

At Tell-el-Kebeer, we passed the reputed site of Pithom,
one of the treasure- cities of Pharoah, where the Israelites
made bricks ; further on was Rameses, another of the
great storehouses. This is also the place where the nation
gathered, celebrated their Feast of the Passover, and, at
the dead of night, started upon their memorable journey

ISRAELITES CROSSlNQ THE RED SEA.

34-1

NAL.

;boss the
princjs in

AND THB
BKIGADB

1880.

•tion of

to the

endants

i where

iles of

great

nspired

their

or the

replete

etwee n

ly the

eology,

ormed

ithom,
aelites
of the
nation
nd, at
)urney

into the wilderness. This is the very heart of the land
of Goshen, once so famous for its ri(;hness and fertility.
To-day it is barren and almost deserted. The reason is,
because the ancient canal from the Nile was stopped, and

for centuries the place was unwat-
ered and a desert ; but recently
the Suez Canal Company again
opened the freshwater canal. All
it wants now is people to make it
again prosperous. As to the route
pursued by the Israelites in get-
ting out of Egypt, there are about
half a dozen dirt'erent tracks point-
ed out by as many authorities, each
of which has plausible arguments
in its favour. Some over-wise men
try to account for the crossing of
the Red Sea on natural grounds, as
the receding of the waters because
of a strong northerly wind. The
Arabs, on the other hand, who
sacredly treasure the story of their
prophet Moses, try to make the
passage as miraculous as possible
by placing the point where the
Jews crossed at a spot far down
the Red Sea, where the water is
very deep. The simple view taken
by the Arabs is much more satisfactory, and is generally
believed by proper-minded travellers.

We passed through Ismalia, and then skirted along the
shore of the canal to Suez. Suez has no importance of
any kind, except as one of tlie termini of the great canal.
About two miles to the south-east of the town, and con-
nected by a stupendous embankment, are the quays,
docks, etc., of Port Ibrahim, a marvel of engineering skill.
They form quite a town, by far the most important por-

I'llAKAOH MKNEPHTHEH,

WHO DROVE THE 18KAEL1TE.S

OUT OF EGYPT.

1 1

342

EGYPT.

tion of Suez, and were within the last few years entirely
reclaimed from the sea by means of the colossal dredges
of the French Company. The chief attraction of Suez is
to get out of the town as soon as possible, and pay a visit
to the famous Spring of Moses. The way to^do it is to
hire a boat, cross over the narrow canal from Africa to
Asia, taking your donkeys with you, and ride out to the
Springs. We did this. The desert of Arabia is a howl-
ing wilderness, and about as cheerless and deserted a
place as I ever saw. After two hours' ride, a beautiful
vision appeared before us. In the midst of the yellow,
drifting sand, there rose high up in the distance an oasis.
As we approached nearer, we discovered waving palms
and rich vegetation. There are three small oases, each in-
closed by paling ; we went into the largest and had lunch
in a Bedouin's house. Close at hand was the celebrated
and " only original" Spring of Moses, marking the spot
where the great Hebrew leader and his sister Miriam,
with songs and timbrels and dancing, rejoiced and praised
God for the overwhelming of Pharoah and his host in the
Red Sea. The well, or spring, is about eight feet square,
and walled with stone. On the oasis, wheat and other
crops are raised, also the tamarisk shrub, which gives
forth a sweet gum, commonly supposed to be the " man-
na" of the Israelites.

On our return, we enjoyed a quiet stroll along the shore
of the Red Sea, picking up curiously-shaped shells, and
talking to some Bedouins in their black tents. This
Arabia is a peculiar country ; it belongs to the different
tribes of wandering Bedouins ; neither Turkish, Egyptian,
Persian nor any other government controls them. They
are a.bsolutely their own masters, and own no authority
but that of their hereditary sheiks. We found our boat
waiting for us. At the landing, a caravan of camels wa.s
..l.out to start. A couple of the animals were uncom-
monly fine ones, evidentl;y belonging to Bedouins of
wealth Their harness and trappings were cpiite georgeous.

llIt)E ON A CAMEL — A fiRE.

343

gives
man-

3 shore
s, and
This
fcrent
ptian,
They
lority
' boat
s wa.s
ncom-
ns of
geous.

We made a bargain with the Bedouins, and had a ride
on the camels ; . it was a terrible experience. We were
not contented with the slow and stately walk of the ani-
mals, but insisted upon having them trot. The proper
seat is like that of a lady on a side-saddle ; the camel
crouched on the ground, and I jauntily got into the saddle ;
it commenced to rise — first, the hind legs got just high
enough to throw me forward on the camel's neck ; a sud-
den jerk, as it rose to its knees, threw me backwards
as if I had been shot out of a gim. My camel was as
nimble as a cat, and I feel pretty sure knew that I didn't
understand his ways. The third motion was stretching
his hind legs to their full length, which left me at an
angle of about forty-tive degrees ; I clung to the pommel,
fully expecting to be thrown by some new double back-
action movement. The fourth and last move was com-
paratively mild ; it rose from its knees, and I was simply
hoisted into the air a couple of feet, but returned safely
to the saddle.

We had a trot into the desert. Talk about the jolting
of a railroad collision' or the mysterious movements of
a Vesuvian horse ! — they are both quiet comfort in com-
parison to the trot of an Arabian camel.

That evening, while we were at dinner at our hotel at
Suez, a man rushed into the room and called out " Fire !"
Every one at once jumped up thinking that the building
we were in was in flames; but we discovered that the
trouble was in a wooden shop opposite. A few sparks
were coming out of the chimney; but the crowd who had
collected evidently thought it was a serious conflagration.
They rushed into the unfortunate shop and upstairs to
the bedrooms ; tumbled out the crockery and glassware
into the street in orthodox fashion, and carefully carried
the feather-beds down stairs. A little smoke appeared at
one of the windows ; this was the signal for an excited
Italian to rush on to the balcony and yell for " aqua,
aqua," and then bravely return to destroy more goods and

I if

•ait

t\u

EGYPT.

chattels. Finally, after about three-quarters of an hour,
the fire, of its own accord, died out. At this time, how-
ever, the fire brigade arrived. They would not be done
out of an opportunity to display their abilities, so, not-
withstanding that there was no fire to work upon, they
at once fell into line and prepared to .submerge the build-
ing. A trifling difficulty arose from the fact that there
was no water on hand. The engine was what would be
calhid in America a small garden one, which could be
worked by a boy ; but twelve full-grown men got at this
one, all ready for action. At last, after much swearing,
(juarrelling and anxiety, the tank arrived, and commenced
to empty itself into the trough of the engine. The tank
was hidden for some moments by an admiring crowd, but
I finally got to see it ; it was one of the common Eastern
water-carriers — a little old man with a goat-skin full of
water slung on his back. As soon as the supply which
he had brought was exhausted, the brigade stop|)ed work,
and had a rest until another reservoir arrived. This con-
tinued for some time. The street was littered with beds,
bedding, tables, cooking utensils, etc., all pretty well dam-
aged by the crowd, and all caused by a few harmless
sparks from a chimney. The people do not have much
excitement here,^so they make the most of every oppor-
tunity for diversion.

I went for a tour up the Suez Canal to Port Said.
It is worth seeing, if for nothing else but its world-wide
reputation. Some writers say it is the greatest engineer-
ing feat ever accomplished in any age. I will give a few
statistics about it. The figures I have extracted from a
bf^ok on the subject.

vkfore the time of the Pharaohs, it is certain that a
canal connected the two seas ; but it was neglected, and
the smothering sands of the desert soon filled up the ditch.
Many modern engineers talked, wrote, aijtl agitated a
canal, but M. de Lessens was the first man who had the
ability and courage to practically grapple with the vast

PRINCELY FESTIVITIES.

345

undertaking. In 1854, lie laid his plans before the Vice-
roy of Egypt. The English, who were the acknowledged
masters of commerce and capital, threw every conceiv-
able obstacle in the way of De Lesseps, but he perse-
vered, and the canal was commenced. Desperate strug-
gles to raise money were fought by the Khedive and the
plucky Frenchman with European capitalists. Finally, it
was completed after Hfteen years' labour, at a cost of
ninety-five million dollars, of which the Khedive contrib-
uted sixty-four million. On the 16th Nov., 1869, the
canal was opened amidst festivities more magnificent
than anything else this century has seen. No expense
was spared. Sovereigns lent the light of their counten-
ances to the great spectacle of the Mediterranean and the
Red Sea meeting, as by a miracle, in the midst of a
desert ; palaces were built for the reception of guests ;
Khedive Ismail, the munificent, and M. de Lesseps, the
hero of the project, were the hosts ; princely hospitality
was dispensed. The inauguration festivities cost the
fabulous sum of twenty-one million dollars. Forty-eight
ships of all nations formed in the triumphal procession,
and passed through the canal free of dues ; an English
vessel was the first to pay the tax. Never before was I so
much impressed with the fact that " Britannia rules the
waves" as when spending a few days in the neighbour-
hood of the Suez Canal, Nearly every ship passing
through is British. During a recent month the ofiicial
figures were 174 ships in all, of which 167 were British.
In addition to contributing more than three-fourths of
the Company's revenue, England owns twenty million
dollars' worth of stock,* which should give her some voice
in the control of affairs ; yet French is the language of the
canal offices, and none but Frenchmen are employed. The
canal is 100 miles long, and the three towns on it are

* This speculation of the late Earl of Beaconsfield has proved to be a
bonanza. The 17(5,000 Hhares have niore than doubled in value, thus netting
to the British Uovernment a proKt of over twenty million dollars.

mi'

teGYPT.

Suez, with a population of 10,000 ; Ismalia, with 4,000 ;
and Port Said, with 9,000. They are supplied with fiesh
water, by a canal and pipes, from the Nile. If this sup-
ply were stopped for a week the towns would be deserted ;
not a man, woman, child, or even a dof^ could live in them.
The canal dues are heavy — ten francs per ton, and ten
francs per passenger. Many of the largest ships pay more
than ten thousand dollars simplv for the privilege of pass-
ing through. From Liverpool to Bombay the distance
saved is 4,840 miles ; l)ut the old route of Vasco da Gama
around the Cape of Good Hope is not yet, by any means,
abandoned. Sailing-ships almost invariably go that way
in the India and China trade ; in fact, it is very seldom
that a sailinor- vessel is seen in the canal.

EGYPT TO INDIA.

DOWN THK KED SEA -MOUNT SINAI, WHERE GOD SPAKE WITH MOSES— MECCA,
THE JERUSAIiEM OF THK MOSLEMS —MOCHA COFFEE- -A DANOEUOUS SEA-
STEAMER ON THK REEFS— OUR DINNER-TAHLK — NILE AND LOCH KATRINE
WATER, ETC.— THE SOUTHERN CROSS, A BEAUTIFUL CONSTELLATION— THE
YARNS OF THE FIRST MATE— ADEN, A BRITISH STRONGHOLD.

Bombay, India,

23rd April, 1880.

Chi.

"jjT>g AND in sight, ger'Jtmen ! Elephanta rocks right
^'1^ ahead." Yesterday morning, about six o'clock,

**^^~' the steward of the Clan Gordon thus announced
that we had at last arrived oft' the shores of India.

We were soon on deck ; but it was not until after mid-
day that our steamer was anchored in the spacious har-
bour of Bombay. The city presents no attractions when
viewed from the water; in fact, it looks rather ugly; but
I have seen enough of it already to be delighted with its
peculiar people, its grand public buildings and its interest-
ing bazaars, none of which can be seen from an outside
view. Our two weeks' voyage from Suez to Bombay wasn't
very exciting, but it was quiet and pleasant. At Suez,
we caught the steamer Clan Gordon, of the Clan Line,
as she was passing out of the canal at break of day. She
is a Clyde-built iron ship, 2,500 tons burthen.

The Red Sea is now one of the most frequented of
ocean highways. Besides the vast multitude of Mahom-
medan pilgrims, or hadjiis, who are annually conveyed
from the north and from the south to Yedda, the port of
Mecca, there is now the commerce between Europe and
India and China, which of itself means legions of ships

848

EGYPT TO INDIA.

.11 :

i)'i

and a world of wealth. Before the establishment of the
overland mail line between England and India, the Arabs
used to think that no Europeans would dare to navigate
the reefy, lockj'^ and uncertain waters of the Red Sea. Of
course, with the enlightenment of a British captain and
the splendid charts at his command, it becomes only a
matter of great care to make his ship quite safe ; but still,
all mariners dislike this sea, and breathe more freely
when they get through the Straits of Bab-el-MandeVj and
out into the broad Indian Ocean. On the way down we
saw a line English steamer stranded on a reef. She had
been there for over a month, and will soon fall to pieces.
There were three channels to choose from ; they all looked
a good deal alike, but the captain of the stranded steamer
selected the wrong one, and before he could say " Jack
Robinson " had run his ship aground amidst the breakers
and ruined his own reputation. The cargo had been
mostly taken off, and was stored under canvas on the
shore, but the ship is a total loss.

On our first day out we passed Mount Sinai, and had a
fine view of it; it stands on the Peninsula of Sinai, a part
of the Arabian desert; there is nothing remarkable about
it, except that it looks unusually black and forsaken. On
one of the summits a convent has stood for ages ; this
retreat is walled and fortified ; visitors provided with cre-
dentials from Cairo are hauled up the steep wall by means
of a rope and basket. What a hopeless place to lead a large
army to ! and yet Moses brought the hordes of Israelites
to this arid spot hundreds of miles out of their direct
route. On the summit of that dark, lowering mountain
before us God spake with Moses face to face, and deliv-
ered to him the tables of the law.

It took our ship about a week to get to the Straits of
Bab-el-Mandeb, the end of the Red Sea, 1,400 miles. We
passed, on the right, Egypt, Nubia and Abyssinia ; on the
left, Arabia, with its holy city of Mecca and the commercial
town of Mocha, famous for its good coflfee, which doesn't

ODD DINNERS — THE SOUTHERN CROSS.

349

grow there at all, but is collected from all parts of AraV)ia
by the Bedouins, and sold to European merchants as the
simon-pure article.

It was interesting to note the different parts of the
world which were put under tribute to furnisli our din-
ner-table. The water was a remarkable nuxture : at
Glasgow the tanks had been filled from the pipes of the
city water-works ; these are fed from Loch Katrine,
famed the world over by Scott's " Lady of the Lake."
Last summer, when sailing over the loch, I saw the piping
by which Glasgow is supplied.

At Port Said one of the tanks, being half empty, was
filled — this time with water which had been conveyed
several hundred miles by canals and piping from the most
celebrated river in the world. A mixture of Loch Katrine
and the Nile we drank every day.

Then we had canned corn-beef from Chicago ; tongue
from London, England ; salmon from British Columbia ;
butter from Denmark ; milk from Switzerland ; curry
from India ; cod from Newfoundland ; the inevitable
sardines from France ; mutton from Syria, and chicle-
ens from Egypt. The latter articles had probably been
raised in the desert and fattened on sand, for it was the
unanimous verdict that nothing could be tougher. Of
course, there was coffee from Java, tea from China, and
sufjar from Jamaica.

Shortly after crossing the Tropic of Cancer, we were
able, in the beautiful clear nights, to see the famous
Southern Cross. Captain Cowie informed us that, when
it is erect, it marks the true south, and is a true guide to
mariners. As an Irishman said, " It is the North Star of
the southern hemisphere ;" however, in navigation, there
is no guide except the sun which is so safe, so unalter-
able, and so valuable as the Dipper and the North Star.
With the assistance of this trusty friend, the position of
the ship can be ascertained at any hour of the night.

The Southern Cross is a beautiful constellation of five

350

EGYPT TO INDIA.

f(:i

stars, the centre one being rather indistinct. I have often
heard and read about sailors' yams, but never till we
boarded the Clan Gordon did I imagine they could be
so entertaining. The chief mate, Mr. Rule, is the most
charming story-teller I ever listened to. He never tires,
and the interest never flags. We used to sit on the cabin
deck for a couple of hours nearly every evening listening
to him spinning yarns.

Mr. Rule is a young fellow about thirty, descended from
an out-and-out sailor's family. His father, grandfather,
greatgrandfather, and all their families, as far as he
knows, have been tars, and lived a " life on the ocean
wave." As long as Britannia can keep such athletes and
thorough men as Rule in her service, there is no danger
that she will cease to be mistress of the seas. The yarns
were not about such tame, insipid things as love or gossip
or business, but we had hair-breadth escapes in the African
slave-trade ; interviews with native kings and princes,
and employing them and their queens as servants ; storms
at sea, when all hope of ever seeing land again was aban-
doned, and the " bloomin' ship " was expected to sink
eyery moment ; deadly encounters with Chinese pirates,
when it was a case of a handful of Europeans against
swarms of pigtails ; a mutiny at sea, when it was a trial
of strength of the captain and one mate against an angry
and a drunken crew, an almost hopeless struggle for life
kept up for over a month without seeing land or another
ship.

These are a few of the subjects of the mate's yarns, in
all of which he himself took part. The honest and real-
istic way in which they were told was quite dramatic.

We did not stop at Aden. It is one of the great coal-
ing stations on the highway to India ; but we had lots of
coal, and so we sped on at the rate of ten knots an hour
for Bombay. It costs one English company four million
dollars per year to coal here.

The town of Aden is situated behind some gi-eat black

,t*"*,.

THE OIBHALTAU OF THE INDIAN OCEAN.

351

rocks, so we didn't even see it. It is the most important
place between Egypt and India, ami, as ia usual with im-
portant keys to situations, it belongs to Britain. The fact
is, a few years ago England wanted a naval station, some
place for a half-way house between Europe and her great
Eastern possessions. In truly Briti.sh fashion, she (juietly
appropriated Aden from its lawful ownera. the Arabs, an<l
so fortified and improved it that it has been justly called
" the Gibraltjir of th 'ian Ocean."

England has an ard knack of securing strong-

holds^ and, when onct secured, no expense is spared to
make them impregnable.

- The islands in the Red Sea don't belong to anybody in
particular. After the opening of the Suez Canal, the
French determined to secure and fortify the best one. A
French man-of-war lying in Aden harbour was instructed
to go at once and take possession of the island. The
captain, thinking there was lots of time, started the next
morning. He arrived safely, but was amazed to see
a pole stuck in the rocks and the Union-Jack floating
in the breeze. The captain of a British man-of-war had
heard of the instructions, had left Aden the night before,
put on full steam, and several hours before the arrival of
the Frenchman had planted the British flag on the island,
and made it British soil,

:' n

W: )'

THE SICiHTH OF BOMHAY— THK rAllSKKS, A HI.KEK AND PUOHPKROUS BACK—
HOTKL niNINCJ-ROOM -THE i'UNKAHS AND THK OUR8T8— DISUAE'm'S DEFEAT
AND THE AFGHAN WAK— THE NATIVE TOWN, HWARM8 OF HINDOOS HAL^
NAKED, THE CHILDKEN AH NAKED AH THE DAY THEY WEKE BORN— THE
RUPEE OF INDIA- THE CAVE TEMPLES OF ELEPHANTA.

Bombay, Hindostan,

2Gth April, 1880.

OMBAY is the great metropolis of Western India
The ruling spirits of the place, they who rule it
both financially and socially, are the English and
the Parsees. The latter are a peculiar people. Like the
British, they are aliens to Hindostan, having come from
Persia ; they are vjuick, vigorous, and intelligent, and
many of them have accumulated enormous fortunes in
commerce. Their costumes are remarkable ; you can tell
a Parsee as far as you can see him ; the first one I saw was
a ship-chandler; he came out in a small boat to meet
the Clan Gordon, and try to secure the patronage of
the captain. The hat was the oddest part of the cos-
tume, and particularly odd to be worn in a tropical cli-
mate ; with two or three im[)ortant exceptions, it is not
unlike an English tile hat ; it has no rim, and the top, in-
stead of being flat, slants backwards at an angle of about
forty degrees ; it leaves the face entirely exposed to the
sun, but all the Parsees wear them ; it is the well-known
badge of their nationality. I never saw fellows with
such sleek, well-fed, contented-looking faces as these

SLEEK PARSEES— PUNKAHS.

353

India
rule it
>h and
e the
from
and
les in
liii tell
V was
meet
of
e cos-
al cli-
lis not
p, in-
ibout
10 the
Inown
with
Ithese

lige

Persians. Thoy remind one of the wily Pecksniff in their
suavity, sleekness, and perfect respectability. Some peo-
ple might regard their clothing as rather loud ; those of
the better class wear satin trousers of the brightest col-
ours — rich scarlet, deep cherry, or bright blue appear to
be the favourite shades ; shoes of red and gold finish the
costume. The Parsee women are famous for their beauty ;
I saw numbers of them in the bazaars. The girls are cer-
tainly fine-looking, with clear complexions and intelligent,
mischievous eyes; they also are particularly good walk-
ers, rivalling the girls of Nazareth in their erect and
graceful carriage.

On the first evening of our arrival at Bombay, we
were forcibly reminded of having at last actually arrived
in the Tropics by seeing the punkahs at work. We put
up at Watson's Hotel, on the Esplanade. On entering the
dining-room, we saw six large punkahs waving lazily to
and fro over the heads of the guests at tiible ; on the
balcony sat the ditterent |)unkawallas, dark, thin Hin-
doos, pulling at the ropes like so many machines. The
punkah is simply a huge fan suspended from the ceiling,
and is certainly an institution in India. The guests at the
hotel presented an interesting picture. Most of them in-
tended leaving by the P. & O. boat the next day for Eng-
land; they had come down from the hill-stations and
other parts of India, and were eagerly looking forward to
spending their furlough among friends at home. There
were British ofi^cers, with weather-beaten faces, who had
seen service, and were now en route to a land where they
expect to spend the rest of their days in peace and con-
tentment on a government pension ; there were lads just
arrived from England, and eager to get a whack at the
Afghans ; not many days will elapse before they will be
in the midst of a bloody war. All at the long tables were
English, and all were talking on one of two subject^.
The recent defeat of Beaconsfield's cabinet is fresh news
—old ladies and young girls, veteran officers, and boys
w

354

INDIA.

If
II,

■

ii'i

■*;;■

low down in their teens, are each giving their opinions on
the sulyject with becoming gravity. The majority ap-
peared to fa's^our Disraeli — his foreign policy in creating
an Empress of India ; in sending the Prince of Wales on a
Royal tou'* ; in obtaining a st)'ong seat in the councils of
the Suez Canal Company : jr< flourishing around Constan-

with the present situation, which, as usual, is "highly
critical." The other subject of conversation was the
Afghan war, wiiich is being urged so fiercely at the pres-
ent moment on the northern borders of this land. The
officers who had been killed and wounded within the last
few weeks had personal friends at the table, i.nd many
were the anecdotes told of the courage and ability of the
poor fellows who were slain in battle.

As Bombay is a modern city, having been ibundedand
built by the East India Company, there are not many in-
teresting sights for a traveller. The public buildings on
the Esplanade are splendid specimenp of modem archi-
tecture. The University Hall and Library, designed by
the euxinent English architect, Sir Gilbert Scott, are espe-
cially fine. The Hall far surpasses those of Oxford or
Toronto. The native town occupies a large portion of
the city ; here no Europeans are to be seen. The bazaars
are a perfect hive of human beings, with black bodies and
white turbans. I never saw people in such thick swarms
before. Every narrow alley-way, every Hindoo temple,
every public tank, is crowded with men, women and chil-
dren. The men — that is, of the low r classes — generally
wear no clothing whatever, except a narrow breech cloth
and a turban. The women also are somevdiat scant in
their clothing — a vest, about six inches wide, and a -^otton
skirt, not much larger than that worn by the mf*n, makes
ifp the simple and sensible Hindoo costume. The chil-
dren of both sexes, under say nine or ten, are entirely

'**^-.i»

■V,.'.

NAKED YOUNGSTERS — INDIAN RUPEE.

355

:es

nude ; not a stitch of clothing of any description ham-
pers their movements, and they jump around the bazaars
like so many monkeys. A mother carries her child astride
on her right or loft hip. I noticed this fashion followed
by an European lady at the hotel.

We went to the Mint, and saw the different stages
through which a rupee goes before it is ready fir circu-
lation. The gi'cat coin of India is thre rupee ; it is silver,
worth forty Canadian cents, and looks about the size of
a half-dollar. The coins now being struck off are hand-
somer than any silver money I have seen elsewhere ; on
one side is impressed, in distinct and simple lettering,
" One Rupee. India 1880 ;" on the opposite side, " Vic-
toria Empress," with a fine head of her Majesty.

The mohur is extinct, and no gold is now in circula-
tion.

At the Bombay Mint they coin rupees by the cartload.
The silver used, of which we saw a large quantity in bars,

is partly received dir(3ct from Ne-
vada, via Japan, and partly through
London merchants. They seem to
have all the appliances used at the
British Mint, with the exception of
the wonderful automatic weighing
machine, which I saw in use at Lon-
don. This, however, the foreman in-
formed me, they expected shortly to
AN INDIAN RUPEE. rcccivc froHi England. The lower
coins are sixteen annas to a rupee, and twelve pies to one
anna.

The Oiily antiquities of which this city of G50,00() peo-
ple can boast are the famous Cave T<^imples of Elephanta,
situated on an island opposite to the island on which
Bombay is built. We took a Bunder boat and crossed
over. About half a mile from the landing-place, after
passing through a jungle said to be filled with snakes, we
reached the caves. Two enoi'mous pillars guard the en-

N EL" \ \
R U P E E -tt •

INDIA
18 8

356

INDIA.

trance. The great Temple is 133 feet broad, 130 feet
long and 20 feet high, all hewn out of the solid rock.
When it is remembered that the roof is supported by long
rows of columns ornamented with figures of Hindoo gods
and various animals; that the walls of the different cham-
bers are profusely decorated with huge fantastic shapes
of heathen deities, and with elef>hants, serpents, etc., all
of mammoth size ; that not a particle of the carving or
ornamentation is fixed on or placed there in any way, but
has been, at immense expense and labour, cut in the face
of a perpendicular cliff — it makes these Hindoo temples
exceedin<j:lv interestiniij. The chief attraction is a jjiii^tintic
bust, situated in a recess at the end o|)posite the entrance.
It has three heads, representing the Hindoo Trinity, Brah-
ma, Vishnu and Shiva. The faces were sculptured by an
artist, for none other could have given them the expres-
sion of power and benignity which they possess. The
temi)le is still used as a place of worship. I saw a Hindoo
approach the sacred Trinity, v/ith bowed head and bared
feet, and prostrate himself in the presence of the image
of his god.

INDIA.

RAILWAY TRAVELLING IN INDIA — LUXURIOUS STATIONS— THE THUCS, PROPES*
SIGNAL MURDERERS— ALLAHABAD, A HOLY HINDOO CITY— AGRA, ITS PALACES
AND TOMBS— THE TAJ — THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDING IN EXISTENCE.

Agra, India,

SOtli April, 1880.

iHE heat at Bombay was intense. Between 9 a.m.
and 4 p. m., hardly an European was to be seen on
the streets. They were to be found at their bun-
galows or in their offices, sitting under a punkah, and
abusing the weather. This is the hottest season of the
year, just before the advent of the south-west monsoon.
Night is the favourite time for railway travelling. We
left Bombay by an evening train of the Great Indian
Peninsula Railway Company ; it was the through fast mail
train for Calcutta ; but we only booked as far as Jubbul-
pore. During the night we ascended the mountains, and
passed through the famous Ghauts scenery. The train
wound like a corkscrew around the sides of the gi'eat hills,
and passed along the ledges of dizzy precipices ; the moon
shone a little, but not enough to show us properly the
wild region throuirh which we were beirii; carried. The
stations along the line are models of beauty and freshness,
making a strong contrast to the parched-up country sur-
rounding them. The company offer prizes to the station-
masters who can show the coolest and most beautiful gar-
dens, with vines, fountains, flowers and trees. We break-
fasted at Bhosawul Junction ; the staticm there is a little
paradise, at least it appeared so after alighting from our
carriage, which was as hot as an oven. In the dining-
room fountains were playing, and the water dashed over

358

INDIA.

v!it

miniature rocks and down amongst a bed of rich vegeta-
tion. Flowers were everywhere, and big punkahs made
the place deliciously cool. Hindoo servants, with broad
red turbans, snow-white clothing and bare feet, glided to
and fro, attending to the wants of travellers. It was a
refreshing place.

After a twenty-eight hours' journey we an'ived at Jub-
bulpore, and stopped over to see the notorious Thugs.
Before the supremacy of the British, and even for a good
while afterwards, there existed in India a powerful band
or company of men who were professional murderers.
Their mode of dispatching a victim was peculiar. A Thug,
bearing every appearance of innocence and sanctity, would
walk along a public road ; in his pocket he carried, in
small compass, a silken cord ; meeting another wayfarer,
he would enter into conversation with and join him ; at
a favourable moment, he would drop behind, whip out
his cord, and in an instant throw it around his companion's
neck. So skilfully was it done that in a few miiiutes the
victim would be strangled. They were a terrible lot of
fellows, bound together by devilish oaths, and extending
in their numbers all over India. Their object was chiefly
money, but, in addition to simply robbing from the per-
son, they could easily be hired to commit murder. In the
courts of the native princes, jealousies and rivalries were
a matter of e very-day occurrence. An unscrupulous enemy
had siniply to hire a Thug, and from that moment his
opponent was doomed. The Thug would follow his in-
tended victim like a bloodhound, never losing sight of
him, and perhaps track his footsteps for months until a
favourable opportunity amved ; then the silken-cord
performed its work, and it was a case of " dead men tell
no tales." The strong and wholesome intiuonce of British
government has suppressed these fiends, and the few that
remain arc kept in durance vile. The prison where they
and their families live is politely termed the School of In-
dustry. We walked all ever the place, and saw thera

*rHUGS — AGRA.

359

Hl>

« 111-
it of
ntil a
cord
n tell
itish
that
they
of Tn-
thera

liianufacturing tents, tent-poles, ropes, etc. The workshops
occupy the four sides of a large quadrangle, and every-
thing looks busy and prosperous. Some of the Thugs are
heavily ironed, chiefly in the cases of old, white-haired
men, who have in their early days been specially hard
cases. I am informed that thc)'^ don't feel any qualms of
conscience for the lives they have taken ; but, on the other
hand, actually brag of the numbers they strangled in the
good old days before the pale faces got into power. They
also profess to have propitiated one of their gods by the
sacrifice of human life.

The next day we moved on to Allanabad — one of the
sacred cities of the Hindoos. It stands at the junction of
the Ganges and Jumna, two holy I'ivers. The innocent
Hindoos say that three rivers join hands at tliis point ;
one of them is invisible ; it Hows direct from heaven, and
makes up the Trinity.

Lacs of pilgrims come to the holy meeting-place annu-
ally. They sit on the bank, and have their head and bodies
shaved, so that each individual hair shall fall into the
water. Their Bible promises them a million of years' rest
in heaven for every hair thus deposited.

We drove out along the bank of the river to the Fort —
a splen»did citadel built by the great King Akbar. It is
now held by British soldiers, and may be regarded as one
of the' strongholds of India. The armoury occupies the
Emperor's reception hall. Although there were many
thousands of rifles of latest pattern standing in the racks
still there were vast empty spaces to be seen. The arms
that once filled them are now killing off the Afghans, a
few hundred miles to the north of this spot. We left Alla-
habad by the East Indian Railway for Agra. This city,
which was formerly called Akbarabad, or City of Akbar,
is remarkable for containing the most beautiful edifice in
existence. Agra boasts of many fine buildings ; there is
the embattled fort, with its walls of fine red granite, two
miles in circuiriference, loftier and grander than those of
Jeru"P,lem or Strasl>urg.

3C0

INDIA.

There are the palaces within the Fort, built of the cost-
liest marble, and glittering everywhere with the precious
stones of India — agate, lapis-lazuli, cornelian and jasper.
The Sheesh Mahal, or Palace of Glass, also is a wonder ;
it is an Eastern bath, once used by the favourites of the
royal harem ; the walls, the arched ceilings, the alcoves
and the fountains are a mass of small mirrors cunningly
arranged, so as to give a dazzling effect ; the water, which,
after all, in this tropical country, was its chiefest beauty,
fell in cooling streams over the bright lamps, and splashed
into the bath below ; all the arches are of solid Jeypore
marble, inlaid with precious stones.

There are also to be seen the famous ijates of Somnauth,
built of sandal-wood, and taken by Lord EUenborough
from the Hindoos. But all these sights sink into insig-
nificance when compared with that inimitable gem, the
Taj, the most magnificent structure on the earth. The
Taj is a tomb built by the Mahommedan Emperor, Shah
Jehan, for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. She was
called " The Light of the World," and is said to have been
the most beautiful and accomplished woman in India.
For twenty-two years, twenty thousand men worked con-
stantly to complete the mausoleum, and it cost fifteen
milli(m dollars. Labour at that time was exceedingly
cheap ; but this immense outlay was for labour alone, as
the marble and gems were the gifts of friendly princes.
It was built of polished white marble, two hundred and
fifty years ago, but really looks as if it might have been
finished yesterday. It stands on the banks of the sacred
river Junma, and on three sides is a spacious garden kept
up at the expense of government. We entered the
garden through the principal gateway, a splendid edifice,
elaborately carved with inscriptions from the Koran, and
surmounted with twenty-six marble cupolas. Wc enter-
ed, and before us was a picture f Oriental magnificence
finer than any described in Eastern romance. At the
end of a long avenue of fountains, shaded by stately

THE WORLD-RENOWKED TAJ.

S61

cypresses and palms, stood the world-renowned Taj, risinfj
like a fairy-queen out of the midst of a forest of tropical
vegetation. It looks like an ethereal thing, not of earth —
so pure and radiant and glistening is it in the sunlight.
The dome, with its inlaid mosaics, is a picture of grace.
The mausoleum stands upon a marble terrace 400 feet
square and 80 feet high. The eight sides of the tomb are
each 130 feet in length. A number of Moslem })riests
guard the place, and do not omit to din into one's ears a
continual whine for hakhfiliecsh. I never yet met a
mosque Moslem who omitted this little formality. In the
upper chamber are two empty sarcophagi ; they, however,
represent the graves of the monarch and his beautiful
wife, and are each a solid piece of richest marble, carved
with elaborate care and inlaid with bouquets of bright-
coloured flowers, composed of bloodstone, jasper, agates,
etc. An octagonal screen, six feet high, carved in the solid
marble, with intricate and difficult designs, surrormds the
sarcophagi. The real graves are in a vault below. The
dome contains a delightful echo. A writer has said that
it is sweeter and purer than that of the Baptistery of Pisa,
the most celebrated in Europe. I quite agree with this
view. The echo of Pisa is longer and more distinct, but
it has not that rich music and pleasing reverberation
which delifrhts one at the Tai. The Golden Crescent is
2G0 feet from the ground. Cunning workmen from all
parts of Asia aided in the building, and even the mosaic
workers of Florence were called on to help. Crystal from
China ; cornelian from Bagdad ; turquoises from Thibet ;
lapis lazuli and sapphires from Ceylon ; coral from Ara-
bia ; diamonds from Pannah ; onyx and amethyst from
Persia — all were used unsparingly. So marvellous a work
of art was the Taj considered, that its Imperial builder,
fearing lest a rival might be built by some other poten-
tate, caused each one of the skilled workmen, who had
laboured in thouspjids on the structure, to be deprived of
his sight. A magnificent mostjue and two marble min-

3G2

INDIA.

arets Hank the Taj on cither hand. The Emperor intend-
ed to build a mausoleum for himself on the opposite bank
of the river, and connect the two by a bridge of solid sil-
ver, but this idea was nipped in the bud by his fall from
power.

I have seen the solemn and im])ressive tomb of Na-
poleon at the Hotel des Invalides ; I have seen the Opera
House at Paris, said by some critics to be the most beau-
tiful and gorgeous building in existence ; and the Cathe-
dral i; Milan, that marvel of beauty and symmetry ; and
Great St. Peter's at Rome, the stateliest edifice in Europe.
I have also seen the mosque of Mahommed Ali, at Cairo,
the most attractive buildinij in Africa ; I have seen the
tomb of the great Akbar, at Secundra, and the dome of
the Holy Rock at Jerusalem ; but never have I seen any
building, sacred or otherwise, which can compare in rare
beauty and costly workmanship with the Taj at Agra.

I? ■

I I

INDIA.

THE MAHARAJAH OF* JEYPORE, HIS ENORMOUS WEALTH AND OENEROt'S HOSPI.
TALITY— THE FAMOUS TIOERS— OXEN IN FINE CABS— A TIOER THAT HATES
EUKOPrANS— THE ROYAL PALACE, OPULENCE AND LUXURY—NAUTCH (ilRLS
AND RETAINERS— THE THEATRE, A NATIVE PERFORMANCE— AN INTERVIEW
WITH THE MAHARAJAH— RIDE ON AN ELEPHANT- SACRIFICE IN A HINDOO
TEMPLE.

Jkyi'ore, India,

May, 1880.

fEYPORE is the capital city of an inflependont ^^tate
of India. The Maharajah, or chief of the Rajahs,
resides here, and is ahsohite iiionarcl; over terri-
tories more vast than England, and over nine million sub-
jects free from British interfere' ice or control.

The Maharajah is enormously wealthy, having a private
income of fourteen lacs of rupees, or seven hundred thou-
sand dollai's, and, in addition, a State income of two mil-
lion and a half of dollars.

His Majesty is famous not only for ruling over one of
the finest independent States in India, but also for hospi-
tality to travellers who may come to visit his court.
Having heard much at Agra of this enviable reputation,
we determined to go to Jeypore and judge for ourselves.

The Rajpootana State line, a narrow-gauge railway,
doing an immense business, connects the two cities. Our
visit to Jeypore was an exceedingly pleasant one. Shortly
after our arrival, the Maharajah placed a carriage and pair
at our disposal. The carriage was a tine one., of Euro[)ean
make, and adorned with the p.yal arms ; the horses were
a dashing team of Arabs. Two footmen and a driver, all
in the royal livery, accompanied us. We were for the
time being tremendous swells, and had a pleasant drive all

r I

I
'I

SC4

INDIA.

over the city. The pubhc j^ardens would be a credit to
any capital; many of the streets are 110 feet wide and
well paved; all are supplied plentiuilly with water from
the city waterworks, and, wonderful to relate for an East-
ern city, are actually lighted with gas. I saw several big,
lazy-looking elephants striding through the town ; the
drivers sit on their necks, and induce them to move along
by digging a sharp iion spike into the top of their heads.
Camels are used very commonly as beasts of burden ; they
are stronger and larger than those which I saw in Syria
and Egypt. The commonest beast of burden, however, is
the ox. Neither Hindoos, nor, generally speaking, Ma-
hommedans, eat its Hesh, so it is used entirely for labour
— at the plough, in heavy carts, ard in light carriages, the
faithful ox can be seen. In Bombay, a large proportion of
the licensed cabs are di-awn by small, lightly-built oxen,
whose only harness is a common yoke, but who manage to
get over the ground at a very decent rate. We went to
see the famous tigers of the Maharajah. Jeypore is sit-
uated in the heart of one of the finest tiger districts in
India. The beasts are pi'otected ; no person can shoot
them without permission from the palace, so they increase
and multiply in their native jungles without being in con-
stant dread of English rifles. Three magnificent tigers are
kept in cages just inside the city walls. The largest one
has an intense hatred of Europeans ; he was captured
when a cub, and during his youth the children of some
British officers used to punch him and tease him with
sticks; this treatment made an indelible impression on
his mind. He is now slightly crazy on one point ; if an
European comes within sight of his cage he becomes wild
with rage, rushes against the bars and roars like mimic
thunder. But the splendid beast knows his friends ; any
Hindoo can approach the tiger in his wildest moments and
stroke his head. I saw a native do this while the tiger
was roaring and pawing as if he would like to demolish
me. Another tiger is an enormous brute, over twelve feet

MAN-EATINO TIOEUS — ROYAL PALACE.

365

long. Nothing can be imagined more ferocious than the
demeanour of this gentleman, who has in his day eaten
twenty-tive men.

A large portion of the city is occupied by the palace, the
harem, the stables, and tlie royal gardens. We were
escorted over the palace, where the Prince of Wales was
entertained so royally. It is a huge pile, half a mile long,
and in many places eight stories high. The palace is
swarmed with servants, retainers, and nautch girls ; the
latter are selected for their beauty, and many of tliem are
exceedingly pretty and attractive. There are dur))ars, or
assembly-rooms, for the chiefs of the State ; as is usual
in the East, they are supported by rows of coluums, but
are open on one side ; there are reception-iooms, smoking-
rooms, lofty marble terraces, long vaulted galleries, sfjuare
courts to give light and air to the surrounding chambers ;
there are long suites of rooms which no man but the
Chief enters ; close lattices cover the windows of these
chambers, and through the tiny a})ertures the wives or,
favourites, of the Maharajah may be peering as we pass
along. The gardens are especially grand. When I say
there are many hundreds of fountains to beautify the
place, I know I am keeping within the mark ; ]ialms, cy-
presses, mangoes, pomegi-anates, bananas, the gum arable
tree, and the banyan, were all to be seen in tropical pro-
fusion. In one large tank, or small lake, there were several
huge crocodiles basking in the sun ; they move very
slowly, and look uncommonly stupid, but I am informed
can be as active as a cat when an unwary Hindoo vent-
ures into the water to bathe.

The theatre at Jeypore is said to be the prettiest and
coolest one in India. We went to see a native perform-
ance. A state carriage called for us at nine p.m., and we
were driven to the Opera House. We, of course, couldn't
understand a word of the play, as the actors spoke in
Hindostanee, but the plot was explained to us by Baboo
Kantachunder, the Secretary of State, and confidential

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INDIA.

friend of the Maharajah. He talks English well, and I
was somewhat surprised to hear him speak critically about
Shakespeare and Milton. The former he compared to a
bottomless well, from which the richest gems of thought
and language flowed unceasingly.

The play of the evening was called " The Tragedy of
Teyly Mujnoo " — a sort of second edition of Romeo and
Juliet. Tlie heroine, Mujnoo, was a Mahommedan nautch
girl residing at the palace. She played her part admira-
bly, and, in the last scene, died very- cleverly in the arms
of her lover. We were honoured with a presentation to
the Maharajah. His Highness is not at all the terrible
being one might expect a native Hindoo prince to be. He
is a small man,^*about fifty years of age, wears gold spec-
tacles, and has a dark -brown, almost black, complexion ;
in manner, courteous and exceedingly kind. Like all
natives, he wears no shoes or stockings in the house, and
his clothing is of the lightest possible description. He
talked with us for about an hour, telling about the prog-
ress of his people ^id the state of his country, and ask-
ing us questions about Canada, that place which foreigners
generally suppose is frozen solid for at least nine months
in the year. We did not fail to do some justice to the
glorious climate and varied resources of the Dominion.
The Maharajah has no child to inherit his wealth and
throne.

The following morning an elephant was placed at our
service by his Highness ; this was for the purpose of visit-
ing Ambeer, a place of interest about six miles distant.
The road is uphill and downhill, so much so that no con-
versance but an elephant can manage to make the journey.
We started at five a.m., the coolest and most pleasant por-
tion of the day. Sitting in the howdah on the top of an
elephant is not an uncomfortable situation ; the move-
ments of the huge animal are deliberate, and do not cause
one to ache in every joint like those of a camel do. It is
astonishing to watch a small naked native striking terror

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ELEPHANT RIDING IN INDIA.
A JOURNEY OF THE PBINCE OF WALES AND SUITE.

368

INDIA.

'iillil

to the heart of this giant of all animals. The elephant is
controlled by fear, and a keeper drives a sharp iron spear
into his head without mercy. The natives account for
the fact of the elephants submitting to them as follows :
they say that the animal's eyes are magnifiers, and they
imagine that men are about forty times their actual size.
The howdah in which we rode was a comparatively
plain affair, but a royal one makes a magnificent specta-
cle. The elephant which carried the Prince of Wales
wore anklets of gold, and bore a golden howdah valued
at two hundred thousand dollars.

On the road to Am beer we saw for the first time troops
of wild monkeys ; the trees were alive with them, swing-
ing from branch to branch, chasing each other and having
any amount of fun. The Hindoos worship monkeys, so
the cheerful little animals live here safely and happily
under the mighty protection of a religious superstition.
At Ambeer our elephant climbed a steep hill, and we
entered the court-yard of the palace, or rather fort, of one
of the present Maharajah's ancestors. The palace is a
natural stronghold. Far below us lay the village-tank,
with its sacred crocodiles; a few miles to the right the
cupolas and towers of Jeypore ; above the city stands the
mysterious -citadel, within whose walls are the priceless
jewels and treasures of the princely house of Ram Sing,
which even the monarch himself has not seen, but which
are intended to be the stay of his house in the uncertain
future, if, perchance, dangers or difficulties surround the
throne. This palace at Ambeer is like other royal palaces
in India; it has similar compartments, and for similar
uses, to the residence at Jeypore. On the ground floor is
a Hindoo temple dedicated to Hanooman,the monkey-god,
who is prayed to for good luck and physical strength. In
former days a human life was sacrificed here every morning
to propitiate the god. The daily sacrifice is still continued,
but the death of a young kid is now considered sufficient.
We happened to be present at an opportune moment, and

A BRAHMIN SACRIFICE.

369

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were allowed by the Brahmin priest to witness the sacritice.
All the priests and assistants belong to that highest and
most revered caste — the Brahmins. A youth led a young
black kid up to an altar; then a priest approached, knelt
beside the kid, and repeated the services of his church,
meanwhile anointing the animal's head with oil, rice and
jessamine flowers. The kid was then led to a square
place in the pavement covered with sand, the rope was
slipped over its head and tightened around the jaw and
ears ; its neck was slightly stretched. Another young
Brahmin now appeared with a large sword in its scab-
bard. The sw^ord was withdrawn, its edge tested as to
sharpness, and the priest approached his victim. Mut-
tering certain formula?, he lifted up the weapon with both
liis hands ; in an instant the work was done ; one blow
severed the head completely, and both head and body
rolled writhing in the sand. It was cut off exactly at the
proper joint, just behind the ears. Strikingly like the
ancient Jewish sacrifices !

It!

(|i}

INDIA.

DELHI.

Mil!

• THR CAPITAL OF THE GREAT MOGIM.S — ITS ATTKACTIVE SHOl'S AND WARES —
THE I'EACOCK THRONE -THE KOHINOOR niAMOND - JUMMA MUSJID, I,AR(iEST
MOSQUE IN EXISTENCE —A HAIU OF MAHOMET — KOOTUB MINAU- NOTED
DIVERS— THE SIEUE OF DELHI.

Delhi, India,

7th May, 1880.

E left Jeypore mucli pleased with the reception

we had met with there. The Maharajah i.s a

Prince who still retains those old-fashioned and

refreshiiiL;- notions t)f hosi)itality to tiuvellers who hap]wn

to visit his capital, which one often reads of but seldom

sees.

Our next sto])pino-place was the famous city of Delhi.
In many respects, this is one of the most interesting places
in India. Its past history, before the days of the East
India C\)mpany, is enveloped in a halo of glory and mag-
nificence. Here the great Mogul Emperors fiom'ished in
all their barbaric splendour. They were Maliommedans,
and therefore, by religion, warriors. They gi'ound the timid
Hindoos with heavy taxes, and lived in opulence and
luxury, which can only be appreciated by seeing the
])alaces, mosques and citadels they left behind them.
There was Baber, the con(pieior; Akbar, the greatest of
Indian statesmen and soldiers; Shahjehan the Magnifi-
cent, an indefatigable builder ; the Taj alone renders his
name inunortal. Then came Arungzebe, a false son, and
the ruin of his illustrious house. From the sixteenth to
the eiijfhteenth centuries, this line of threat Mogruls ruled

Hed in

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and

tlie

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th to

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372

INDIA.

I: r

ill

the North ; their death-knell commenced to ring when a
company of British ti'aders got poHses.sion of Fort William,
now Calcutta. There is a good deal to be seen at Delhi.
The chief street of the city is called the Chandnee Chowk,
or street of light. Its whole length is lined by .shops,
seldom rivalled in beauty and richness of their wares. The
famous Cashmere shawls and scarfs are here a specialty.
'J'here are also in profusion jewellery, filigree ornaments,
bangles, ivory-paintings, sandal-wood and teak-boxes, and
precious stones of various kinds. The merchants send
boys with bundles of this attractive merchandise to the
hotels to try and sell it to travellers ; it is amusing to deal
with them ; they are sharp, persuasive and intelligent,
but never expect to get anything like the price fii'st asked.
As a specimen of a transaction with them, I asked one
young Hindoo, about twenty 3'ears of age, " how much for
this moss-stone ?"

" Oh, saieeb, dis moss-stone worth fifty rubees, but I gib
him you for thirty — lowest brice — dake him." I simply
smiled at the innocent native, and shoved the stone away.
" How much you give sah, proper ? You want moss-stone
blenty good — dis one blenty good. How much your honour
gib V The stone was really a fine specimen, so I ottered
two rupees.

This offer was received in the greatest apparent disgust.
" Master want moss-stone for hakhsheesh." The native
went away saying he wouldn't take one anna less than
thirty rupees. He returned to the reading-room of the
hotel several times, and at last, with the resigned air of a
martyr, offered me the stone for twenty -five rupees. I was
inflexible, and made no advance. Finally, he succumbed,
and actually parted with it for two rupees. It is aston-
ishing the prices they ask, and sometimes receive, from
tourists for precious stones.

We went with Ramjee, our guide, an intelligent Hindoo
of the Banian caste, to see the royal palace and its fort.
It is surrounded by walls of red granite, a mile in circum-

PEACOCK THRONE — KOHINOOR DIAMOND.

ference, and entered l»y massive «^ateH. The audience-
chamber of the Emperor is a beautiful piece of workman-
ship — the cohunns, pavement, walls and ceiling all of
solid white marble, delicately inlaid with jasper, cornelian
and other stones. Here once stood the far-fame<l Peacock
Throne, built of solid gold, and adorned with diamonds,
rubies and the rarest gems. It cost thirty million dollars,
and was in its day the marvel of (jven Delhi. Over a
century ago, Nadir Shah crossed into Hindostan with an
innnense army, entered Delhi, and marched oft' with 124
million pounds sterling ; amongst the trophies was tlie
Peacock Throne.

I forgot to mention that, while at Agra, we saw the
former resting-place of the most celebrated diamond in
existence.

At the tomb of Akbar, at vSecundra, there stands near
the head of the mausoleum a marble column about four
feet high, in the top of which was once embedded " The
Kohinoor."

When the name of Akbar no lonjrer acted as a talis-
man to ward oft' attacks from the north, a Persian king
descended into the plains, and, amongst other booty, car-
ried off the great Kohinoor diamond. The King of Lahore
distinguished himself by stealing it back again from Per-
sia. Then the all-powerful East India Company, with
its fatherly care over the interests of the native princes,
but more particularly over its own, quietly pocketed the
gem, and, with loyalty burning in their honest bosoms,
made a present of it to Queen Victoria. It is now the
most valuable of the British Ciown-jewels, and is kept in
the Tower of London or at Windsor Castle. Our guide,
Ramjee, is my authority for the early history of the
Kohinoor.

The most prominent building in Delhi is the Jumma
Musjid Mosque, said to be the finest in India and the
largest in the world. It is built of white marble and red
sandstone, on a rocky eminence overlooking the city, and

374

INDIA.

is approached by a magnificent Lroad fiiglit of steps ; as
is usual with the finest buildings in this part of India, it
was erected by the splendour-loving Shahjehan. Like the
old mosque of Amrou, at Cairo, which it somewhat re-
sembles, it is entirely open on one side, and forms part of
a large quadi'angle. The place will accommodate ten
thousand squatted worshippers. In one corner of the
quadra!igle there is a sort of sacristy ; here some Moslem
relics of priceless value are kept ; there is a Koran writ-
ten in fine Arabic by the grandson of the prophet ; there
is even a shoe of Mahomet himself ; it is a heavy,
coarse, strong one, and may have been worn by the war-
rior priest ; but, greatest and most precious treasure of
all, there is sacredly preserved within a case one hair from
Mahomet's beard ; it is coarse, short and red. Up to a
short time ago no infidel was allowed to look upon this
little hair ; but the priest has evidently now persuaded
himself that there can be no harm in turning an honest
penny out of even such an abandoned wretch as a Christ-
ian ; so for a hakhsheesh of two annas, he sinks all preju-
dices and exhibits the relics.

We drove out to the celebrated Kootub Minar, eleven
miles from Delhi, The minar was evidently intended by
its builder to be one of two minarets for an enormous
mosque. It is 249 feet high, 150 in circumference at the
base, and looks like a great telescope ; five heavy balco-
nies divide the column into as many stories, but the dis-
tance between them diminishes in proportion as the minar
narrows to the top ; the ettect of this clever arrangement
is to nuike the column look much higher than it really
is by exaggerating the perspective. It is built of red
stone and marble, and is the highest column in the world;
horizontal bands surround it, adorned with passages from
the Koran carved in beautiful and bold Arabic chai-acters.
We ascended to the summit 375 steps, and enjoyed a
splendid view of the surrounding country.

At the village of Mehrowlee, near to the minar, we sf\,w

WONDKUFUL DIVINO — DKIJIT.

37")

some notod (livers. There is a well about' ihirty feet
s(![iiare and eif^lity feet to the surface of the water ; for a
few |)iee the natives will dive down into the well.

No soon«;r had we arrived upon the spot than five Hin-
doos — two men and three boys — strippe<l, tliat is, took
ort' their turbans, and were ready for action. Th(»y did
not dive head foremost, but jumped down, first spreading
their legs and arms wide apart, and when witliin about
ten feet of the bottom bringing them close together again,
and shooting like a rocket into the water. It is not a
.simple matter to dive from this tremendoiis height, and
takes years of careful training. Delhi is the great city
of the Punjab, and has been famous in recent times. It
was famous in the days of Runjeet Sing, the Lion of
the Punjab — first the; redoubtable antagonist, and after-
wards the pensioned friend, of the Kast India Company ;
it was famous even after the British appeared in India.
The Oreat Mogul had not yet api)arently decreased in
power ; his court ■«.'■« a continual scene of wildest revelry
— the best nauteh girls, the cleverest snake-charmers,
jugglers and bird-tamers; the finest musicians of Persia,
conifrecfated from the most cultured cities of Asia to add
brilliance to Isie court of Delhi.

But in l(Sr)7, all this dissipation came to an abrupt ter-
mination The Great Mogul was charged with being the
leading spirit of the mutiny. The story of the mutinous
Sepoys making a resolute stand within the walled city ;
the long and dreadful siege; the final .and l)rilliant attack
on the Cashmere Gate under General Nicholson ; and the
blowing up of the gate, are too well known to be repeated.
Brave Nicholson was shot down in the moment of vic-
tory ; but for his astonishing courage it was said that
Delhi would never have been taken.

!ii

INDIA.

Ml'TINY CITirS— CAWNPOItE-THE MKMOHIAI, WEIJ, -RAILWAY STATIONS— THE
PANEWAI.LA8— HINDOO CUSTOMS— OOUDOO LANOUAOE— PEOS — I.l'CKNOW—
A LEVEE OK .IlJ(i(>r,EI«S AND HNAKECUAUMKIIS— SNAKE KIOHT—THOUSANDS
OF SQUIKHELS— THE KELIEK OFM.rC'KNOW — CAUSES OF THE Ml'TINY.

Luc KNOW, India,

May, 1880.

tHE cities of the Ganges figured conspicuously in
the great mutiny of 1857. Tlie very names of
^-^ Dellii, (>awnpore and Lucknow are associated in
the mind of every Englishman with brilliant deeds of
heroism ; with defences by a handful of British against
hordes of blacks ; and with cruel butcheries of helpless
women and children. We left Delhi by the night train of
the East Indian Railway, and the next morning arrived
at Cawnpore. This city has but one solitary attraction
to a traveller; it is a melancholy though intei-esting
one — the Memorial Well. In the mutiny year, Nana
Sahib led the rebels in this part. By means of lying and
tieachery, he induced the small garrison of Europeans to
come out from their safe retreat for the purpose of em-
barking in boats and leaving the city. The ruthless
scoundrel had planted an ambuscade in a Hindoo temple
near the liver ; when the English party were about leav-
ing the shore he opened fire upon them ; all were killed
with the exception of two men, who escaped by swim-
ming down the stream.

In the Memorial Gardens (a beautifully-kept piece of
ground) a monument commemorating the tragedy has
been erected. It stands over the well into which " a
great company of Christian people, chiefly women and

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(JAWNPOUK— RAILWAY TllAVELIJNO.

:i77

children," were thrown by the command of Nana Sahih.
Tlie monument consists of an elevated stone platform. In
the centre stands a colossal marhle-H^ure of an angel, de-
signed by Baron Marochetti ; the wings are outstretched,
and the stately tigure, with its sad, stern face, s»'lmhs like
a protecting genius over the memories of the brave
victims. An octagonal gothic screen sui'roun»ls the plaL-
form ; no native is permitted to enter the inclosure.

By the Oude and Rohilcund Railway, we reached
Lucknow. At all railway stations throughout India, as
soon as a train draws u|) at the ])latform, a number of
panewallas, or water-(;arriers, approach the carriages ; they
are in the employ of the Company, and furnish water
gratis to passengers. Tliere is a Hindoo panewalla for
the Hindoos and a Mahonrnedan one for the Moslems.
No Hindoo will drink out of the sa'i\e vessel as a
Christian or Mahommedan. A few <lays ago, while at
Delhi, I asked a Hindoo for a drink of water. He innne-
diately went and got it for me, but after I had taken the
water he ({uietly threw the vessel on the ground and
broke it. It is a well-understood custom amongst the
Hindoos, that after contact with a man of a strange relig-
ion a vessel is contaminated and must be destroyed. The
panewallas chietly supply the intermeditte and third-
chiss i^assengers. The first and second-class carriages are
usually occupied by Europeans, who alight at the stations
and adjourn to the refreshment-room. A common
salutation to hear on a station platform is, " I say, old
chap, come and have a peg." A peg means l)randy and
soda, or some other like decoction. The origin of the
name is a ghastly and rather suggestive one. Each
smile, or peg, is popularly supposed to be a peg in the
cofHn of the pegger. At all stations the name of the
place is painted on a signboard in three languages — first
in English, then in Hindee, or high-caste Hindustanee,
with straight characters, somewhat resembling the an-
cient Kufic, This language is used by the trading classes

\\i

378

INDIA.

in their book-keepinir, etc. ; also in books and news-
papers at j^reat Hindoo cities, like Benares ; third, in
Oordoo. This language is a sort of mongrel Persian, with
letters round and flourishing, like the Arabic. It is the
almost universally-spoken language of the north of In-
dia. I am informed that with a knowledge of Oordoo one
may travel all over India, and that even in the remote
villages of the South one can always find an old man
who can speak it.

Lucknow is but a wreck of its former self. Before the
mutiny it is represented as having been beautiful beyond
description when seen from a distance, with its majestic
buildings of dazzling whiteness, its domes of burnished
gold and its lofty minarets; but the place conld never
have had substantial beauty.

We saw the Kaiser Bagh, which was built only thirty
years ago at a cost of four million dollars. It was
probably very gorgeous for a few years, but is now like
faded tinsel, and has a thoroughly gingerbread appearance.
There are other extensive buildings, erected by a tasteless
king, but they are not worth enumerating.

Our hotel here was a comfortible bungalow, with a
wide verandah in front. On the verandah we held a sort
of levee of itinerant merchants, jugglers and snake-
charmers. The jugglers were clever fellows ; they blew
flames of fire from their mouths, and did a host of other
astonishing things. A young juggler showed us how to
do several tricks and puzzles, and sold them to us for a
few annas. Several snakes were exhibited, two of them
being large cobras. The Hindoo teased them so that
they erected their heads a couple of feet into the air and
darted a,t him with great rage, hissiiig, and with harmless
fangs protruding. Before the fangs were ex ^ "acted they
were poisonous; a bite from one would have meant a
horrible death. We wei'e entertained with a fight be-
tween a mangoose and a cobra.

The mangoose looks like q,n American muskrat, and

SNAKE FIGHT — THR OLD RESIDENCY.

379

„(]

when wild, makes his living by demolishing snakes. The
fight was lively. The mangoose thoioughly understood
his business, and fenced around, warding off the swift
darts and the danger of getting caught in the deadly
toils. The onl}'^ chance of the vigilant little mangoose was
to catch the snake by the head ; this it finally did, and
from that moment the contest was decided ; the colmi,
threw up the sponge, and, with a good deal of aimless
wriggling, submitted to its fate. But the snake proprietor
was too good a manager to allow one of his ])ets (?) to be
killtid. He rescued the snake, after it had suffered a cou-
ple of severe bites, — so I suppose it will live to fight a
good many more such battles.

The Hindoos are very fond of animals ; in fact, they
worship many of them. In all the towns and cities of
India that I have visited there were thousands of squir-
rels ; they run about on the public highways and into
the houses of the natives ; it never occurs to them to be
alarmed, as no native will harm them. If an European or
American boy sees a sipiirrel or chipmunk, his first thought
is either to shoot it, or, better still, to try and catch it, and
make its life a burden by keeping it in a whirling cage.

I was being driven through a street in Agra not long
ago. The carriage suddenly stopped without any appar-
ent reason. I told the driver, who was a Hindoo, to go

budged until a pup, which was
the road, was induced to move

sitting

on, but he never

in the middle of tne road, was inuuced to move away.

He was afraid that the carriage might have touched the

little dog.

The interestinjx feature of Lucknow is the oM Resi-
dency, now a pile of ruins, well riddled with shot and
shell. It is almost exactly in the same condition as the
rebels left it after the mutiny. The Residency was a
spacious three-storied house, built in light fjushion for a
tropical climate, and utterly unfit for purposes of defence.
The compound, or garden in which it stood, was surrounded
by a wall about four feet high. I had always imagined

f^-

■i«l'l

380

INDIA.

that the English at Lucknow were protected by an almost
impregnable fort. This idea was probably got from the
pictures which one sees of the Relief of Lucknow. Lofty
walls are always represented apparently about forty feet
high, with ladies on the top waving handkerchiefs to the
British troops who had advanced and were killing off the
rebels.

The real state of affairs was widely different. The walls
could hardly be called walls at all — only four feet high —
and the ladies were all huddled together in a villainous
cellar.

It seems almost incredible that, within this rambling
house, a few British officers and men, with a large num-
bes of ladies and children, could have held out for five
months and twenty-five days against an army of ferocious
Sepoys, who had arms and provisions in abundance.

We were shown the room where the gallant Sir Henry
Lawrence was fatally wounded bj'^ the bursting of a shell ;
also the cellar where a beautiful young girl, the wife of
an officer, died of fright on seeing a shell explode. This
defence is certainly one of the most remarkable on record
for the almost superhuman pluck displayed by the little
band of foreigners. Death and privation had, however,
reduced them almost to despair ; they were preparing to
meet the horrible fate which awaited them if once the
Sepoys got the mastery, when joyful tidings sent a thrill
of hope into every heart. The music of the bagpipes was
heard on the distant road, then the British uniforms ap-
peared ; it wa relief ; Havelock, the bravest of the brave,
led the force. He had seen hard fightins: and severe
fatigue ; but he was leading troops who for stubborn
courage have never been surpassed in the world's his-
tory. The rebels were driven from point to point,
defeated and routed in every direction.

The story of Jessie of Lucknow is a very pretty one,
but I fear is chiefly imaginary. As I said liefore, there
was no wall for her to stand on, and the ladies were all

CAUSE OF INDIAN MUTINY.

381

in a cellar. She might, however, have n1ini ljg <l to a tower
on the Residency, waved her handkerchief, and heard —

"The Campbells are coming."

I have read of various reasons being assigned for the
mutiny of 1857. Whether it was greased cartridge, or
reduced pay, or too many subordinate native officers, or
the abolition of Hogging, or the forcing of Christianity
upon the soldiers, is a matter of difference of o})inion. It
seems sure, however, that it was a religious war ; the Sepoy
soldiers and the natives were inflamed by demagogues
who alleged that their religion was in danger. I am told
that the Hindoos were never bitter against the English ;
but the warlike Mahommedans were furious. The war
was in many senses a blessing. The control of affairs was
transferred the next year from the East India Company
to the British Government, so that now a great nation is
responsible for the fate of India. The British altered their
Indian system a good deal, and received many valuable
lessons how to control the destinies of two hundred and
forty millions of swarthy children.

-,I:M !

i-flf

III

li I '

■ ill

INDIA.

BENAHES, THE HOLT HTNnOO CITY— ITS SACRED APES, V.VhlS ANP ELKPHANTS
— THE MONKEY TEMPLE — A MONKEY HTOBY — THE BULL TEMPLE AND THE
HOLY ANIMALS— PUAYKD TO FOR CHILDREN - BRASS GODS — THE MAHOM-
MEDANS- -THEIR RELKJION THE MOST POWERFUL HINDOO AND MAHOMME-
DAN EMPIRE IN THE WDRLD.

Benarks, India,

1880.

[HE Hindoos worship monkeys, elephants, and bulls.
In their Pantheon of Deities there are other ani-
mals ; Vmt these thi-ce are by far the most popular.
Benares is the great Holy City of the Hindoos. It
stands on the l»ank of the sacred Ganges, and is " wholly
given to idolatiy."

Hideous-looking idols are to be seen everywhere.
Throughout the labyrinth of narrow^ dark streets there
are thousands of nooks in which gods are ])laced. It is
estimated that there are more than half a million pagan
idols erected for worship. The most interesting places,
however, to visit are the largo temples, which number
over a thousand. Up to recent times it was forbidden for
CyhristiaiLs to enter tliese shrines ; but now the ban has
been removed. We went to the principal of them with
our guide, Budh Singh, a Hindoo of the (Jhuttree or sol-
dier caste. The Temple of Hanooman, oi' the Monkey
God, is a curious place. It is situated on tlie outskirts of
the city, and the road approaching it is lined by trees. In
the branches were crowds of monkeys, welcoming us to
their sacred home. The temple itself is well worth .seeing.
Usually there are about a thousand holy apes congregated
here, but just now, during the hot weather, several hun-

It
I'

THE PRINCE OF WALES VISITING THE MONKEY TEMPLE.

■B

884

INDIA.

Si 1

II'

fr.

^H HB'

■<

H Hi

1 ■

«l

dred of them have voluntarily migrated to the jungle for
greater comfort. When we entered, several Brahmin
priests approached and showed us around. Among them-
selves the monkeys have a regular government. They
are controlled by a sovereign, styled " The Rajah," and he
enforces tlie obedience of his subjects more promptly and
absolutely than a human monarch. Over the marble
pavement and up the beautifully -carved and costly sides
of the temple these peculiar animals scampered and
chased each other in high glee.

The priests supplied us with small morsels of cake to
throw to the monkeys. It was amusing to watch the
crowd which collected around us. They would sit down
nibbling at the cake, and certainly looked human enough
to satisfy the warmest supporter of Darwin. The babies
are cunning little chaps. They hang on their mothers by
their four legs, and in this position they are carried up to
the dizziest heights. The rajah is a large and exceed-
ingly dignified animal. He, however, condescended to
take some of the cakes thrown to him.

Hanooman is warranted to give physical strength to
those who worship him. A story is told of a poor milk-
pedlar of Benares. He had come to the city a poor and
friendless boy. From a simple carter of milk he rose
finally to be the sole proprietor of a cow. After many
years of hard worn and privation to himself and family,
he accumulated a fortune. It was only thirty rupees
(equal to twelve American dollars) ; but it was enough to
keep him comfortably for the rest of his days without
toil. Before leaving the city he repaired to the Monkey
temple with the rupees in his pocket to give thanks.
Now, outside the temple is a large tank with trees sur-
rounding it. The pedlar divested himself of his clothing
in order to bathe before entering the holy shrine. A large
monkey, perceiving the clothes lying on the stone steps,
stealthily approached, seized the garments and hurried up
a tree. The wretched pedlar turned around in time to

ngle for

Irahmin

g them-

They

and he
tly and

marble
\y sides
ed and

cake to
bch the
t down
enough
! babies
hers by
d up to
exceed-
ded to

igtli to

milk-

>or and

le rose

many

\mily,

upees

ugh to

ithout

onkey

hanks.

;s sur-

)thin(r

large

steps,

ied up

me to

A MONKEY STORY.

385

see his hard earnings disappear amongst the branches in
the clutch of a holy ape. He was in despair, prayed to
the representative of Hanooman to give back the rupees
just this once, and he would never ask any further odds
of him. The monkey was quietly pulling on the trousers
when he discovered the coins ; after some cogitation, he
took one rupee and threw it far out into the water ; then
he seized another in his paw and tossed it into the I'oad.
Thus he went on, alternately throwing one into the tank
and another into the highway. The distracted ])edlar
picked up fifteen, but the other fifteen lay at the bottom
of the water, and were lost. For many hours the poor
man thought that Hanooman had been cruel, and dealt
hardly with him ; but finally he saw that the god had
acted justly. He therefore entered the sacred building,
and at the altar confessed what had for many years been
a secret in his own breast. He told the god that it had
been his daily custom to dilute his milk with water in the
exact proportion of half-and-half He had always denied
this fact to his patrons, but now in contrition of heart he
saw that just retribution had fallen upon him. The god,
with far-seeing wisdom, had handed over fifteen rupees to
the water, where it properly belonged, and had i-estored
the other fifteen, which were honest ])rofit, to the ])edlar.
This is a rather milk-and-water kind of story, but is
related by the Hindoos as an instance of the profound
sagacity of Hanooman.

The Bull God, or Mahadeva, is very frequently invoked.
His chief temf)le is in the heart of the city ; we went
there and found the place crowded. In a large quadrangle
surrounding the sandwn sanctorum there were stalls in
which about twenty holy bulls were confined and wor-
shipped. The creatures are well fed and of the finest
breed ; I have not seen the same kind of animals in any
other country but India ; they have a high but rather
graceful hump on the shoulder, and are usually of a light-
grey colour. These bovine deities are consulted and

sso

INDIA.

worsliippo<l in relation to certain family matters of irn*
]M»rtance. The birth of a son is regarded as the greatest
l>it of good luck that can happen to a family ; this is prayed
for most earnestly. If the god he not proj")itioiis, and no
son is vouchsafed, then a daughter is asked for. Usually
speaking, however, the birth of a danghter is looked upon
as a sad misfortune, especially to the poor, but a rich man
pr(!fers a daughter to no child at all. If a rich man gets
neither son nor danghter, then he and his wife fre(|uently
pray to the god that they may have even a daughter with
one eye, and they will be satisfied. Nearly opposite to
the Bull Temple, and in the same narrow, dirty, crowded
lane, is the famous Golden Temple, dedicated to Shiva,
the reigni'.ig deity of Benares. It is the great destroyer
of the world, has a very bad temper, and is worshipped
in fear and tremblinir.

This busy lane is the chief bazaar for tlie sale of rosaries,
charms and little biass gods. We purchased a stock for
nslics.

Ganeesha, or the elephant god, is regarded as of high
importance. He is the son of Mahadeva, and gives knowl-
edge and wisdom to his devotees. He is representtnl as
a little fat man, with a large elephant's head on his shoul-
ders, the trunk being twisted sideways, and giving the
figure a particularly hideous expression. Pilgrims usually
worship this god first. Then there are the great gods,
membei's of the Hindoo Trinity — Brahma, with his four
licads, the creator of the world ; and Vishnoo, preserver
of the world and the forgiver of the sins of man. TWvse
and many other idols do the people fall down and worship.
This religion is the purest form of idolatry, and to the
eyes of a Christian has nothing to recommend it ; but there
are one hundred and eighty million people in India who
recognize its sway, and bow to the authority of the all-
powerful and half- deified caste — the Brahmins.

The next religion in point of power in India is the Ma-
hommedan. This wonderful sect has enlisted under its

HELIOION or MAHOMET.

38:

hi I'll
10 wi-
ll as

lOlll-

the
ally
ods,
four

ver
i^se

lip.

the

lero

who

all-

sii

Wnncrs thirty-five million natives of India. It is a reli<ij-
ion which has <(athered enormous strengtli in the East, and
lias many attractive features. They have over seventy
sects, and worship the same (Jod a:s the Christians do.
Mahomet recognized Jesus of Nazareth as the greatest
among the prophets, but not the Son of God.

The Mahommedans are fatalists. They believe that God
is omniscient, and knowing all things, both |»resent and
future, th«at the fate of each man is foreonlained, and noth-
ing he can do will alter this fate. They, of course, believe
strongly in their Bible, the Koran ; they read it in their
little shops in the bazaars while waiting for customers, and
obey its commands most rigidly. Indulgence in wine or
other intoxicating li(j[Uors is prohibited, therefore no Mos-
lem drinks aught but water. The religion is exceedingly
simple ; there are no perplexing questions of theology
to puzzle the brains of the faithful ; there is no Athana-
sian ( h-eed to bewilder the unlearned ; the whole Ma-
liommedan creed is embodic^l in the words : " There is no
(fod but God, and Mahomet is the prophet of God."
They reverence very highly the memory of the man who
rescued them from idolatry, and each ludiever must, in
his lifetime, make a pilgrimage to Mecca, their holy city,
and to Medina, where, in A. D. G2*i, Mahomet was buried.
Mahomet was a most extraordinary man. At forty
years of age he was a common cjimel-driver, became ac-
quainted with a Christian monk, Bahira, studied the faith
of the Nazarenes, and founded a religion of the Unity of
God. Such a thing as a convert from the doctrines of
Islam to Christianity or any other religion is, I am in-
formed, quite unknown, the reason probably being that
the punishment for such treason is strangulation. There
are other religions in India, but their numbers are com-
paratively small ; there are the warlike Sikhs ; the mur-
derous Thugs, now almost extinct ; the Jains, Christians
and Parsees. The latter number nearly 200,000, and re-
side chiefly at Bombay ; they are lire-worshipping Per-

n8s

INDIA.

sians, and follow tho doctriiio of Zoroaster, a good an<l
(•ncrji^etic man, who, by his earnest labours and code of
morality, greatly elevated the character of his fellow-

ineii.

The enormous population of over 24(),000,0()() of diverse
religions and totally difieicnt races is I'uled over l»y 150,-

000 Englishmen, scattered broadcast in every direction
over the country from the Himala3'^as to (,*eylon. Before
coming to India, I had often read and heard of tlie sup-
p()se«l delicate position of the British in India ; that the
education of the natives had rcn<lered them andntious and
discontented ; and that British supremacy couldn't last
another generation. From Mdiat I have been al)le to learn,

1 believe these fears are groundless. The dominant and
better classes amonjxst the natives recof;nize that the
honesty and security of British rule is nnich to be pre-
ferred to the unc(?rtain whims and taxation of a native
prince. The native States of India are as distinct in cus-
toms and <lialects as are the States of p]urope, and they
hate each other a lifood deal more. This division amonj/
themselves is the chief source of Kuiiland's streni^tli. Un-
less some European Power invades India, there is no dan-
ger but tliat the Empress Victoria will continue to rule
over the most formidable Hin(hK) and Mahommedan em-
pire in the world.

! >l

INDIA.

Un-
ci an -

THESACKKIXiANGES— A MA<;NIFlCKNTAMI'HnHKATIU: OF" PALACES AND TKMPI.F.S
— THOUSAND!* OK HINDOOS IIATMINO -HINDOO WIDOWS -THKIK TKlUaiJl.K
FATE-CBEMATINO BODIES -THE SL'TTKK NOT TO BE WONDKKED AT.

Bknaues, India,

May, l.SSO.

(jT^ EN ARES is built on a lofty cliff ovcrlookini^ tlio
iHO sacred i-iver Ganj^es. For three iiiiles aloii<; tl»(5
^-"^ hanks there is a succession of niao^nitieeiit ])alaces
belongin;^ to native princes from all ])artsof India ; (jfcuri-
ously-carved tenij)les dedicated to the «lifferent deities of
tne Hindoo mythology ; and of splendid ghats or stone
steps leading from the water's edge to the buildings above.
The scene ])resented at these ghats every morning from
six to ten o'clock is highly interesting, and one never to
be forgotten. At the ghat opposite to the palace of the
Maharajah of Jeypore, we embarked in a dinghi, or river
boat, and for about three houi's were slowly rowed u|) and
down the stream close to the shore. The long line of
white .steps was alive with human beings. Thousands of
Hindoos — men, women and children — were bathing in the
sacred waters, and each performing certain religious ob-
servances. On the lowei- step, and for about twenty fet^t
out into the water, there were erected long, low sheds of
bamboo and straw, which served as a pi'otection from tlu;
sun for the higher castes. Amongst the crowds the
widows could be easily picked out ; they had shaven
heads and exceedingly doleful countenances. According
to the severe and inhuman laws of Hindooism, a widow
cannot marry again, and after her husband's death nuist
shave her head and spend the rest of her days in drudgery

i -.11

is :

390

INDIA.

K r

and almo.st constant prayer. She is tlit; family servant,
and the most despised meml»er of tlic eonnmmity ; this
is horrihlo in many eases ; for instance, cliiMren are mar-
ric<l at the ages of nine and ten ; if the little hoy dies the
moment after his nuptials, then his hahy wife is con-
ilemned to a life of slavery. With some of the castes, it
is the custom that engagements to marry can only be en-
tered into once in ten years ; amongst these people, it is
actually not uncommon to engage their children to each
other before they are born ; thi« is done in order to not miss
the tenth yeai-, wliich may be just at hand. Amongst the
sorrowful widows we saw bathing, there were several
young girls, one ([uite pretty, about sixteen years of age.
After bathing himself, a Hindoo sipiats on the steps or
under a cool shed, takes his ro.saiy, repeats certain formuhx',
and then paints his forehead with mud of different coloui-s.
He draws characters and figures on his forehead to su\t
his own fancy.

Our guide pointed us out the ))alaee where Warren Hast-
ings, the Governor-Cleneral — almost autocrat — of India,
took upliis (juarters when he came to wrench tribute from
Cheyte Sing, and where his remarkable caretu* was nearly
coming to a disastrous close. The Ganges is at this point
about 000 yards wide and fift^feet deep.

The hordes of dusky bathers were interesting; Init tlu;
most remarkable sight is the Burning Ghat. Here they
daily l)urn or cremate the bodies of deceased Hindoos. A
space of the natural river bank is left for the purpose.
We moored our boat opposite the ghat, and saw the whole
ceremony gone through with. Three bodies were there —
two women and one man — all in different stages of cre-
mation. A dead man had just been carried down to the
water's edge on a bamboo stretcher; his V>ody was coveied
with white linen ; the sorrowing friends were seated in a
groui)on the bank above ; in a space between two blazing
j)yi'es the pivparations were made ; large logs of resinous
teak-wood were piled up to the height of about four feet

CUKMATION ON THK GANGES.

31)1

'10 — -
cie-
tlie

)icd

111 a

— each row being placed crosswayH to the row beneatli it;
in tlie crevices, wooden shavin^.s were ])laced ; all was in
lead inciss for the body. Four men approached the bii'i- ;
the linen was withdrawn from the head, and the dead
man's face carefully shaved ; he was a man, I should say,
about twenty-tive years of age. Then the bier was lifted,
carried over to the pyre and placed upon it, with the feet
towards the Ganges ; about six logs were piled upon the
body ; all was ready for th(; widow. Led <lown the bank
by a kindly relative, the poor cieatuie came to play her
part in the ceremony. She was a tall girl about twenty
years of age, with a sad but rather handsome face, and
dressed in a flowing rolie of pure white. A Brahmin priest
stood at the head, muttering the service of his church ; he
directed the widow as to what she should do. TakiniLr a
rod in her hand, she walked .slowly three times around the
pyre, waving the rod ovei* the body as if bidding it a last
farewell; the Brahmin then handed her a torch, which,
apparently, was not lighted, but it contained a spark of
lire V ithin. She again resumed her sad walk, waving the
torch, which soon, by being fanned in the air, became thor-
oughly ignited. The unfortunate woman was evidently
in great distress, and with difficulty performed her duties.
Her last act appeared to be a terii!)le ordeal. The priest
commanded her to apply the blazing torch to her husband's
funeral pyre ; with tottering steps she was led to the head,
and, almost fainting, threw the torch amongst the shav-
ings. In a few moments the inflannnable pile was in a
blaze. So far the ceremony was the same as the suttee,
formerly so con\mon in India, but now rarely heaid of.
The suttee, however, had a fearfully tragic ending. After
a pyre got thoroughly burning, a widow would throw
lierself upon her husband's body and perish in the sight
of her afiectionate friends. And really the suttee is not
much to l)e wondered at. It had two reasons to recom-
mend it to a iiiiidoo woman; first, it was in her (^yes an
houour^ble and a sacred duty; second, and by far tlu;

392

INDIA.

most cogent reason, it was relief from a future life worse
than martyrdom, in which she would be treated as a drudge,
a slave, and an outcast.

British law forbids suttee; but, in spite of it, there are
occasional instances still where high-spirited women pre-
fer death to the life of a Hindoo widow.

The body is allowed to burn for about three hours,
being all the time watched by professional cremators, who
keep the logs in their places, and see that the whole body
is burnt. At the end of that time all the male friends de-
scend from their position upon the bank ; they form in a
line at the water's edge, and, using their hands, vigorously
splash water on the tire ; as soon as the flames and smoke
arc quenched, the large portions of wood not entirely
burnt are thrown aside, but all the rest, ashes and cinders,
are raked into the Ganges. Thus is the ambition of a
Hindoo gratified ; his ashes are saf 3 in the arms of the
river god, and his future state is assured. The only dis-
tinction between the funeral of a prince or rajah and
that of the humblest sweeper is, that in the former case
the logs of the pyre are of the costly sandal-wood instead
of plebeian teak.

We saw bodies cremated at Delhi. The only difference
w^as, that after the fire was quenched the ashes were care-
fully collected in an urn, for the purpose of being, at an
early future day, carried to the holy Ganges. Within
ten feet of the burning ghat, where this solemn scene was
being enacted, there is the most aristocratic bathing-place
in all Benares. While we were watching the cremation,
the wife of a rajah arrived in a covered boat, amidst great
state and ceremony, at the ghat ; numerous attendants
were in her train ; she was carefully guarded from the
eyes of a curious public. On emerging from the boat,
several servants immediately placed over her a square
portable tent, and thus secured she walked into the
water and bathed. Hindoo women of a less high degree
simply wear a cotton bathing-dress,

INDIA.

CALCUTTA.

ITS MOTLEY POPULATION— CIVIL SERVICE— HIGH PAY AXO LIBERAL PENSIONS- ■
EVERYBODY AT SIMLA— LORD LYTTON, HIS BRILLIANT CAREER— THE BLACK
HOLE— THE GREAT BANYAN TREE— INDIAN SOCIETY— THE CURIOUS RUBBER.

STONE.

Calcutta, India,

May, 1880.

ast Indian Eni-

^g^ALCUTTA, the capital city of the vast Indian Ei
^ pire, has few attractions for a traveller. It is,

fact, a modern city of merchants, like its great
rival, Bombay, and its chief interest lies in the variety of
the population. Of its million people, there are only
twenty thousand Europeans, and about the same number of
Eurasians, or people half European and half native. The
great bulk are Hindoos and Mahommedans, but there is
a fair sprinkling of Chinese, Malays, Greeks, Armenians,
Jews, Parsees and Africans. All these diverse races can
be well seen by a visit to the China Bazaar, the chief
place for native shops in the city. Calcutta is the head-
quarters of the Indian Civil Service, the best-paid body
of public servants in the world. To gain an entrance to
this high-salaried and aristocratic caste is difficult ; there
is a very stiff examination, a long probation, and a severe
test as to physical condition required to be submitted to
by every youthful aspirant for the service ; but then the
rewards arc really splendid ; large pay is given, and after
faithful service a liberal ]»ension. In case of death, a
widow gets a handsome allowance. Nearly every civil
servant keeps a horse and carriage and numerous native
servants; a married vcxnn^ with a modest household, will

Fi If

394

INDIA.

frc(jU(3Mtly liavo as many as seventeen servants, each one
having his or her sjiecial duty. During the liot season,
the Governor-General, his staff, and nearly all the gov-
ernment officials migrate from Calcutta and other parts
of India to Simla, a beautiful spot at the feet of the Him-
alayas. This is the hot season, and everybody is at Simla.
Lord Lytton is up there, but is shortly to be followed by
the Marquis of Ripon, the new nominee of Mr. Gladstone,
who is expected to arrive in a few days.

Lord Lytton has enjoyed a brilliant career. Commenc-
ing life, the eldest son of one of the finest writers in the
English language, he struck out for himself, and, under
the assumed name of Owen Meredith, wrote Lucille, and
became famous ; }is a diplomatist, he has basked in the
sunshine of nearly every court in Europe — Paris, Flor-
ence, St. Petersburg, Constantinople. Vienna, Athens,
Lisbon and Madrid have all in turn been the official
home of Owen Meredith. Now he has ari-ived at the
very pinnacle of success. Ruling over a great and rich
empire, he occupies a position more independent and en-
dowed, perhaps, with more actual power than his Sover-
eign; he is the nominee of the Earl of Beaconsfield, and his
yearly salaiy is one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

From what I have heard, I fear his rdgime has been
unpopular in India, especially amongst the more sober-
minded people ; he was, probably, unfortunate in succeed-
ing such a popular and wealthy statesman as Lord North -
brook, one of the great Baring family of bankers.

The Black Hole of Calcutta, better known to the world
than any other object in the city, has entirely disappeared,
and there is a conflict of authorities tis > its site; the
general opinion is, that the post-office stands on the site ;
l>ut the statement of a select few, who pretend to have
investigated the matter, is, that, a fountain op})osite the
post-office occupies the exact s[)()t. There is no moini-
ment connneniorating that awful night (a huiidriMl yoais
before the mutiny), when so nmny Englishmen mid deli-

L'J

BLACK HOLE — GREAT BANYAN TREE.

395

lied,
tlic
ito ;
;i vo
the

)im-
irs

•li-

cate ladies were suffocated in a loathsome den at the
command of Surajah Dowlah.

The city extends for six miles along the banks of the
River Hooghly, one of the branches of the great Ganges
delta.

On the opposite bank of the river, about four miles up,
are the well-known Botanical Gardens — a beautiful place
for a ramble. There are orchid-houses and rare tropical
plants, all carefully tended, and in a high degree of per-
fection ; but the " sight " of the gardens is the gigantic
banyan tree. It is about one-fifth of a mile in circum-
ference around its outer l)ranches, and has three hundred
stems. A respectable little army of soldiers could be
sheltered from the rain under its winjjs. Some of the
stems are only about two inches in diameter. They drop
from branches perhaps thirty or forty feet high, and are
about the same diameter at the top as at the l)ottom ;
most of them are stretched as tightly as a guitar string.
It is the largest banyan tree in the world, so say the Cal-
cuttites. There are other places of passing interest at
Calcutta. In the eveninir a stroll throu<;h the Eden Gar-
dens is pleasant ; it is part of the Es})lanade, and nearly
in the heart of the city. The band plays, and the upper
crust of society makes its appearance in broughams, ba-
rouches, phaetons and dog-carts. I am informed that in
the English social life of India the lines are as severely
drawn as between the native castes. The civil service
people, having the most money, tl)ink they lea<l the way;
then come the military. People " in trade " must, of
course, according to the severe Indian code, keep to them-
selves, and at a proper distance.

Drive along the Chowringhee Road, and you will see
tiie fine residences of the wealthy, and the Museum, a
costly but tasteless pile. This Museum is, however, the
pride of the city. I must say I have never seen a place
of the sort kept in such excellent and comprehensible
order, To the precious stones of India, all in a rough

' it-

'!J

54 >«

! m

(

39G

INDIA.

state, a large room is devoted. One of the most curious
stones of Hindostan is the " rubber stone." It is found
at Jhujur, a place about fifty miles north-east of Delhi,
and, I am told, has not been discovered elsewhere. It
has ever; appearance of ordinary close-grained sandstone,
and is sold in pieces about eight inches long and half an
inch thick. It will bend like rubber, and when shaken
in the hands makes a rattling noise.

i^' i ^i

INDIA.

HALF-WAY ROTTND THE WORLD.

SINGAPORE, THE ANTIPODES OF CANADA— THE TREACHKROL'S HOOGHLY RIVER
—DOWN THE BAY OF BENGAL -PENANG, A TROPICAL ISLAND WITH BRITISH
MASTERS— PENANG LAWYERS — SINGAPORE, WITH NO WR.\THEB FOR CONVER-
SATION— CLEVER LITTLE MALAY DIVERS.

Singapore, Straits Settlements,

27tli May, 1880.

^,. E are now half-way around the world, and it has
^ occupied one year and seventeen days to reach
this point from New York. When midday at
London, Ontario, it is midnight at Singapore. A letter
posted here for Canada may go either vki Suez or via
Yokohama ; the distances are equal, so the first steamer
takes it.

We left Calcutta last week in the steam.ship Moray,
belonging to the great China firm, Jardine & Co. The
descent of the Hooghly River for 110 miles is tedious and
dangerous. Shifting quicksands beset the path of the
navigator, and render accidents numerous. The pilot, who
accompanied the ship as far as Penang, informed me that
a short time ago a fine large ocean steamer coming down
the river ran on a quicksand, in less than four minutes
sank into the treacherous element, and nothing could be
seen but the tops of the masts. It is more speedily de-
structive than the Goodwin Sands of England. The cargo
is alwa^^s a complete loss, and generally a large number of
people perish. After two days in the river, we at last
emerged into the Bay of Bengal, and were soon running
at the rate of ten knots an hour in the face of the south-

Ut:

nos

INDIA.

west monsoon. Our first twenty-foin' liours we made 2o()
miles — ratlier an improvement on ten knots.

There are a large number of steerage passengers on
"board — Persians, Hindoos and Malays bound for Singa-
pore, and Chinese on their way to the Celestial Empire.
We can see them all from the ])oop deck. They play
cards, sing songs, smoke tobacco and opium, and generally
have a much jollier time of it than the cabin passengei-s.
In the evening, they reach the climax of happiness ; a
concert of music and singing is improvised, and, led by an
old man, a Persian Jew, they really mannge to get through
(juite a respectable performance. One Chinaman is very
ill, in the last stages of consumption ; like all others of
his race, he wishes to die and be buried in the land, and
even town, of his birth. I fear he has left his journey till
too late ; he will hardly survive the journey from Cal-
cutta to Hong Kong, 3200 miles.

On the sixth day out, we entered an archipelago of
islands, off the coast of Burmah, They are generally
small and uninhabited, but bear a decided contrast to the
barren, bleak spots in the Grecian archipelago. These
are cheerful-looking little islands, shoving their bushy
heads up out of the ocean. After passing in sight of the
coast of Lower Siam, we next day anchored in the harbour
of Penang. Penang, an island in the Straits of Malacca,
is twenty miles long by nine broad ; it forms one of the
interminable chain of British seaports, links of which are
to be found in every quarter of the globe. We went on
shore at Georgetown, the capital ; here English influence
is to be seen in every direction. Although the 132,000
population of the island are almost entirely Chinese,
Malays and Klings, still the signboards are painted in
English, the newspapers are printed in the same tongue,
and even the printed regulations of the native cabbies are
in the language of the lords of the soil.

The post-office is on Downing Street, and the banks are
of course British, We <lrove through the Chinese town,

KKNSITIV1-: I't.AKtS— t'KNA\(J LAWVKUS.

|i are
it on
lence
1,000

lese,
[1 in
Igiie,

are

and out to tlio watt^r-fall. Tlie country contained tlie
richest tropical ve^^otation we have yet seen. 'J'he cocoa-
nut ])ahn is cultivated extensively ; waj^^'on loads of the
fruit lay in piles on the ground, ready to he carted away.
Pine-apples are almost as cheap as dirt ; hig choice ones
are sold for a cent apiece. The celebrated mango, the
substantial banana, and the delicious mnngosteen are now
ripe and ready for the market. In walking through the
inclosure, near to the water-fall, we saw quantities of the
sensitive plant growing wild. This peculiar plant, which
at the slightest touch re ils and quickly fohls its leaves,
is cultivated in American hot-houses ; here, in its native
state, it is even more sensitive than when reared artificially.
The water-fall is about sixty fecit high, and the stream is
small, although it manages to supply the water-works of
Georgetown. It is a pretty little cascade, tuml)ling over
the rocks and dashing its spray against the rich foliage.
Close to the water's edge is a small Hindoo temple, (h^di-
cated to Ganeesha, the elephant god ; a hideous figure
of the deity is cut over the poital. Before leaving Penang,
I bought one of the celebrated " Penang lawyers." These
are not .so dangerous as the name would seem to imi)ly,
being merel}' a species of walking-stick, much in fa.«hion
in Europe ; they are so named because, from tlieir dimen-
sions and durability, they would be powerful persuaders
in case of a row. That night we left for Singapore. On
the way down the straits we saw on our port side an odd
light-hou.se ; it is built on a few iron piles upon a spot
entirely out of sight of land ; apparently, it rises out of
the deep sea, but in fact there is a sand-bank, which at
low tide is only six feet below the surface.

The approach to the island of Singapore is beautiful ;
little islands, thickly studded with trees, block the way,
and the scene, in many resi)ects, resembles the Thousand
Islands of the St. Lawrence.

Singapore, the capital of the Straits Settlements, is as
Englisli as Penang. It is almost under the ecjuator, being

I a

U' ■

ili:

400

INDIA.

only eighty miles from that imaginary line. Life must
be rather monotonous in this favoured spot. The people
actually lack that grand staple and standby of conversa-
tion, the weather ; there is no summer or winter here ;
neither is there a rainy season and a dry one, as they have
in India ; rains do not fall periodically, but in a drizzling,
general way. The days and nights are always equal, the
sun rising and setting as regular as clock-work at six ; in
fact, the weather at Singapore is distressingly reliable ;
there is nothing to say about it.

Penang is famous for its walking-sticks ; so is Singa-
pore. Here we have the simon-pure malacca canes, strong,
flexible, and exceedingly useful for school masters. We
brought away some specimens.

MALAY DIVEKS AT SINUAPUKE.

I was desirous of going down to Java, that model Dutch
colony, said to be the richest and finest tropical island
in the world ; but I found it impossible without remaining
a week at Singapore, doing nothing but waiting for a
Dutch steamer, so I reluctantly gave up the idea.

i»i|

Lining
for a

FUNNY LITTLE DIVERS.

401

Wliile the Moray was lyin<( at Borneo wharf, we
were greatly amused Viy ])oy-(livers. Young Malay hoys,
in the tiniest dug-out canoes, came alongside and offered
to dive for coppers. I threw a cent swiftly into the
water; in an instant half a dozen little blacks plunged
after it, and a fight ensued under water ; the copper was
caught before it reached the bottom. They di\'ed for us
for about an hour. They bale out their canoes by splasli-
ing the water with their feet. At last, one little chaj)
cried out " capsize sah ! " then he turned his craft (piickly
over, and with his head underneath clasped his arms
around the canoe and clapped his hands ; he stayed under
for three or four minutes.

HONG-KONG.

DEATH OP A CHINAMAN— A DEVIL FOLLOWS THE SHIP— PIDGIN ENGLISH, FEAR-
FlIL GlBIlERISH— WAB SHIPS AND MERCHANT SHIPS IN HONG KONG HARBOUR
— SEDAN CHAIRS AND COOLIES— THE SIKH POLICE — HANDSOME ATHLETES-
CHINE;, E SHOPS— MEXICAN DOLLARS— THE SPREAD OF THE UNITED STATES
DECIMAL CURRENCY,

Victoria, Hong Kong,

June, 1880.

"^HE consumptive Cliinaman, whom I mentioned in
my last letter, died when we were two days out
from Singapore. He had just finished tiffin (a
lunch), and was seated in an arm-chair, when his head fell
back and he died almost instantly. His two sons be-
seeched the captain to carry the body on to Hong Kong
so that it might, according to the dead man's most ardent
wish, be buried in China. The request was reluctantly
granted, and the corpse, wrapped in matting, suspended
from the stern of the vessel. That night a Lascar, who
slept aft, had bad dreams. He dreamt that the devil was
following the steamer and trying to snatch away the
body ; he further dreamt that his sulphuric majesty sat
on his (the dreamer's) chest, and watched the corpse
swinging to and fro. The next day the Lascar confided
his vision to a few friends, alleging, however, that it was
no dream, but had actually occurred. A feeling of un-
easiness spiead rapidly amongst the steerage passengers,
who all believed the tale in so far that nothing would in-
duce them to walk near the stern. The next night a
Chinese girl awoke with a bad pain in her foot. She
promptly fastened the blame for the bruise on the devil,
and advertised the fact with nmch ado. Every one of

A DEVIL — PIDGIN ENGLISH.

4or<i

HH, FEAIl-

HAUHOUK

rHI.ETKS —

iV STATES

1880.

oneil in
ays out
tiffin (a
lead fell
5ons be-
ig Kong
ardent
ctantly
;pended
;ar, who
ivil was
;iy the
|esty sat
corpse
lonfided
it was
of un-
;engers,
>uld in-
Inight a
it. She
le devil,
one of

the 234 superstitious Chinamen on hoard Hnnly Isfiheved '
tliat the ship was liaunted. They still chow-clmwed ■
drank tea, smoked opium and played cards, hut tlifold
joviality was gone. A cloud of mystery hung over all
that region of the vessel called midships. Kv(!ryonfc
glanced gloomily at the two unfortunate sons, and things
began to look serious, when the captain, for reasons
of his own, solved the difficulty by ordeiing the ropes to
be cu-t and the corpse dropped into the sea. This was
done ;• iha Celestials breathed easier, and the devil at once
de])arted', sufKt the cabin passengeis, from jinothcr cause,
breathed moi-e eoTiifortably. It is well known that( 'hina-
men, although^ they talk freely about death, have a horror
of the pr<\sence of a; cmfps'^.

The steward and hi.s^ assistants are (Jhines*;. riu-y
speak pidgin English, socaHe^l hoin the way the Celes-
tials pronounce the word busiifbess. This mongrel lan«^uiigiv.
is used at all the (Miinese ports when the natives con^ersfe
with Europeans. It is horribW gibb^n.sh, and hardei' to»
undeTstiind than the dialects of the counties of England.-
John Chinaman can't pronounce the letter " li." 1 couldJ
not understand the waiter at table when hf asked me if I
would take " cullee and lice," I had heanl that the na-
tives ate cats, dogs, mice and bugs, and this dish might
possibly be somewhat similar, but certainly an odd one to
offer to a harmless European. T soon got accustomed to
the lingo, however, and found that it meant s^imply the
favourite dish of the East, " currie and rice."

I was roused the other morning by one of the waiters,
or " boys," as they are called in India and this part of the
world — I suppose in imitation of the French g<ir{(rn.. The
boy said, " Bath leady, sah, bime by no catchee." He
meant that he had prepared the bath-room, and if I didn't
go at once some other passenger wouhi get in before me.
When you want to tell a Chinaman that he is acting like
an idiot, the formula is, " That blong all same fool, savez."
I heard a lady ordering an ahmali,ov nurse, to tell a small

81*!

[

404

HONO KONQ.

hoy to couK! and take his diimcr — " Talkcc cliiloe, cutclK'c
chow-cliow." In conversation, tl\oy put on a great deal
of "side." If you ask a Celestial where he is goinjr, lie
will reply, " Hong Kong side," or "Calcutta side ;" if down
to his stateroom, " down side ;" if up to the deck, then
" top side."

With the exception of the flutter of excitement ^'aused
hy th(5 dead Chinaman, our voyage to Hong Koi i,' was
uneventful. We stc^crcd in an almost due northerly ( >ursr,
with Borneo an«l the Phiilipine Islands on the right, and
Cochin CJhinaand Siam on the left. The ( 'hina Sea, until
recently so infamous for pirates, is now eom])aratively safe
for a steamer, although eases of the capture of sailing ves-
sels are still (juite connnon. On the morning of t^ sixth
day from Singapore we sighted the island of H* '<•■• Kong.
The .scenery, as we a|>])roa('hed, was grand; noL of the
tropical description, but hare, gloomy and mountainou.s,
much like the Hi^ddands and lochs of Scotland. The
island itself is simply a huge mountain, rising 1900 feet
from the .sea, and the city is built in terraces on its steep
sides. It has only an area of 58 square mile.s, })ut the
British were fortunate in getting it from the Chinese, as
it stands at the mouth of and commands the Canton
Kiver. As we steamed into the harbour, a busy and
prosperous scene lay before us. In addition to the hun-
dreds of junks and sampans, there were men-of-war and
merchant-ships from many European and American na-
tions ; there lay the trim little turret ship Wivern,
wdiich, nearly three months ago, I saw at Port Said as she
entered the Suez Canal ; there was the new steel-plated
British corvette, the Comas, said to be capable of doing
great things in the way of high speed and Gatling guns ;
there were also Brazilian, Chinese, German and the
United States ships of battle. The capital of Hong Kong
is Victoria, quite a large city, sprung entirely into exist-
ence since 1841. The population is about 100,000, of
whom less than 3000 are Europeans. All the rest are

STUONO COOLIKS— SIKH VOUCK.

405

Tlic

loing

1 the
Kong

( ■lunoHe. The t-hiof .street is a lon^^ f>ne, called tlie Queen's
Road ; it is broad, well k(!pt, and hordei'ed by l)uildin<;s
handsome enough to liold up thrir heads heside even sueli
livals as the structures of Oxfortl or Regent Streets. With
the exception of a couple of private carriages, tliere are no
liorses or waggons used on the island. All the carrying-
trade is done by coolies. The peo})le, who are too lazy to
walk — and that coujprises all Kuropenns and well-to-do
('hinamen — are carried from place to place in sedan chairs
or palanquins. Two coolies are sufficient for sliort «lis-
tances ; the chair is supported by two long bandioo ])oles,
borne on stout shoulders. Th(f coolies, who make their
living in this servile way, are big num, with uiuisually
large muscular developtiient, es[)ecially in the legs and
shoulders. Although almost as strong as mules, they
live entirely upon rice and water; their straw hats are
round, and at least three feet in diameter. This gicat
size is to protect their pigtails from the sun and rain.
Ridintr in sedan chairs is comfortable. The coolies w?ilk

chine.sk palanquin, oh skdan chair.

fast, with a long, swinging stride ; the chair is not shaken
so U)uch as a carriage is on a smooth road.

A large body of the police consist of Sikhs. These are
])icked men from the Rajpoot district, in India, and are

400

HONO KONO.

?.v

.Hi-:

srJid to make the finest soldiers in the world, not even
eXiOepting an^equal niia»iberof British. It would be diffi-
cult to find ^handsomer fellows — all over six feet high,
witili straight, swarthy features and athletic figures. Dur-
injj: the recent war between Turkev and Russia, Lord
JSeaconsfield made a masterly move when he V>rought
some regiments of Sikh soldiers from India to Malta. All
Europe read in the newspapers the glowing descriptions
of the Sikh army, and were filled with admiration and
secret envy of the Britkh, who were thus able, at a mo-
ment's notice, to make a I'lj-aught f rom what was generally
supposed to be an inexhaustible supply of athletes. The
Sikh police of Hong Kong are dressed in linen suits and
bright scarlet turbans.

The British residents had a great deal to contend with
to make this island a decent place to live in. A bleak
hill-side, without a solitary tree or shrub, confronted
them. By a lavish expenditure of money during the
last forty years a metamorphosis has taken place. The
gardens, the drives, and the villain are beautiful beyond
description. I have never seen such charming drives,
except in the Isle of Wight.

The cemeter}^, called the Happy Valley, is situated in a
sforge between the mountains. It is maintained at laroje
expense, and lies ni a spot almost Swiss in its wild and
picturesque beauty. Imniediiitely below the cemetery is
the race -course — odd companions.

This is the first real Chinese city we have seen. Every-
thing about the people is peculiar. They still adhere to
their ancient fashions and customs, and don't appear to
be the least anxious to imitate our boasted civilizatiow.
A stroll along the Queen's Road comprises the best part
of the town. Ne?»rly all the shops are kept by Ohinanieiij
the signs are of bright red, with black or gold letteifs •
instea«l of being horizontal, like European ones, they hang
perpendicularly, as that is the way the Chinese read.
There are no verandahs, but the houses are built over the

CURIOS — ODD NAMES.

407

sidewalk in a way reminding me of the famous Rows of
Chester, in England. 1 he shops contain a tempting dis-
play of curios.

The ivory carving of Canton, in the way of elaborate
chess-men, jewel-boxes, card-cases, heathen deities, man-
darins, elephants, etc., is especially novel and attractive.
Fans, ebony and sandal- wood boxes, and the famous lacq-
uer ware of Japan are displayed in profusion, and can
be bought at much cheaper rates than in Europe. Tommy
Traddies could never have confined himself to lookinjir in
at the windows of these curiosity shops ; he would ^ave
gone in and squandered his moans.

The names of the shop-keepers sound rather curious ;
for instance — Wink Kee, Tung Gat, Sun Shing, Ah You,
Fat Jack, and another more faniiliar one, *' Ah Sin "
was his name.

The money in use here is dollars and cents. It is the
same at Penang and Singapore ; in fact, the splendid deci-
mal system of the United States now extends from the
Bay of Bengal eastwards to the Atlantic, more than half-
way round the world. As the rupee is to India, so is the
Mexican dollar to China and the Straits ; it is a clumsily-
made coin, but is genuine silver, and passes everywhere.
The only Chinese currency is what is called " cash." A
cash is a round brass coin, vrith a square hole in the middle
for the purpose of stringing a large number of them to-
gether. Ten cash equal one American cent.

i I

f.!

.(■ =

CHINESR THEATRES AND OAMBM.VG— ACTORS LIKE LUNATICS— LOTS OF MUR-
DERS Ow THE STAGE— CHINESE FUNKIJALS— QUEER CEREMONY ON THE
PUBLIC HIGHWAY A PRESENT OK A COFKIN -MACAO, ITS COOLIE TRADE-
GREATEST GAMBLING DEN OF CHINA— THE GAME OF FAN TAN— MUCH MONEY
LOOT— TOMB OF POOR CAMOENS.

Macao, China,

June, 1880.

CHINESE thontre should be visited once, but not
oftener ; a second infliction would be apt to make
a mental wreck of the average European. We
went a few evenings past to the large native theatre at
Hong Kong; it was crowded, al)Out 4()()0 natives being
present, closely packed together. The stage is an open
platform, with two doors leading to the diessing-room
behind. There is no scenery of any nature used. The
orchestra occupy a large portion of the back of the plat-
form. A play generally lasts for twenty-four hours, not
stopping night or day till the bitter end. The actors
strut upon the stage in the most exaggerated burlesque
fashion. There is nothing natural about their movements ;
the blood-and- thunder style is literally what seemed to
please the people the most. One of the scenes represented
a young man making love to a brilliantly-painted woman ;
the delightful interview was interrupted by the unex-
pected return of the dame's husband ; the latter fairly
danced with rage, gnashed his teeth, pulled his pigtail,

THEATRES, QtlEER ACTORS AND AC^TING.

400

•1

[plat-
not
:tors
5que
frits ;
[1 to
ited
lan ;
lex-
|irly
bail,

and finally hacked the young man to pieces with an im-
mense sword ; this struggle between the two men being
accompanied by what wns supposed to be music, but was
nothing: but a deafeninir clash and din of instruments.
With the musicians it seemed to be a mere (pjestion of
muscle as to who could make the most racket. While we
were there several men and women were killed in the
play and carried off the stage, each death being the sigmd
for such screechin<; and howlin*; as I feel satisfied never
occurred outside of a Chinese theatre. I said, " carried
oft the stage;" they were, in fact, only carried three or
four feet ; then the dead man would get up himself and
quietly walk oft* the stage in full view of the audience.
It was pandemonium. The actors, with their grotesquely-
painted faces, forced attitudes and bogus exc'.tement,
looked like maniacs just escaped from Bedlam. One old
Mandarin, who vigorously played the part of an irate
parent, ha<l a false moustache at least two and a half feet
long; the women weie boys dressed up. Chine."'^ actors
are generally the slaves of the theatre owner. We were
disgusted with the acting; it was not to be compared
with the natural perfoi'mance of the Hindoos which we
witnessed at Jeypore in India.

All the guests at our hotel were annoyed the other
night by a disturbance which occurred in the adjoining
house ; theie were drums and fifes being played, and the
noise, loud and deep, of many human voices. It was
kept up without intermission from ten p.m. till about
five the next morning. I thought it was probably a
dancing-house, or place of nvsort for fast young men and
women; but I was mistaken; it was a scene at the death-
bed of the father of a family. Wlien tlu^ physician gives
up all hope for the recovery of a patient, the (/hinesc, as
a last resort, try what efi'ect loud music an<l howling will
have. If, by reason of great strength of nerves and the
fortunate absence of the doctor, the patient recovers, then
the music gets all the credit ; however, the noise gener-

Ii<fl

i«i

i:^-

410

CHINA.

ally completes the business which, perhaps, the -unskilful
physician has begun, and the sick man dies. It was so in
this case. The funeral took place next day. I was at-
tracted by music to the front of the house, and went to
see the ceremony. As the widow lived in the top story,
and the coffin was too large to be carried down-stairs, 9,
strong bamboo scaffolding had been erected, with a pUt-
form on top, at the fourth story window. Preceded b}*-
mourners, the coffin was carried down an inclined plane
to the ground ; the widow and four small children fol-
lowed ; the whole five were clothed with long, loose gar-
ments of straw ; over their heads, each had a huge,
rough straw hood, which completely hid the face from
view. The coffin, carried by six coolies, w^as deposited
on trusses in the middle of the ro.ad, and a ceremony took
place ; the band in attendance, which consisted of a large
drum, two instruments resembling fifes, and two pairs of
symbols, never ceased its din. At the head of the bier
was placed a large wooden vessel, in which certain pro-
visions were arranged, as a sort of last tiffin for the de-
ceased. The menu consisted of his favo\n*ite dishes — four
duck eggs, a quantity of rice, the pickled face of a pig,
four cupfuls of tea, a piece of mutton and some bread ;
dots of ioss-sticks, or Chinese incense, were burning in the
vessel. A largo crowd of people collected around the
scene, and a Buddhist priest conducted the ceremonies.
The priest led the widow once around the bier, then she
^nc^l the four children knelt opposite the burning incense,
and each p;laced in another joss-stick and set fire to it.
^hm was ^i-epeated three ' tim'es in a manner resembling
^he duty requirec^ of a Hindoo widow aVthb ci^ematiort m
Jier husband, as we saw at Benares. At a signal from thb
priest^ the coolies liftc4 their great l9ad ; Ihe widov/,
/children, friends and hired mournei'sgot inio sedan chairs,
and moved off to the cemetery amidst £he clanging knd
banging of the band. A Chinese coffin is an extraordin-
H-vy piece of furniture ; it is at least three times as large

A PRESENT OF A COFFIN.

411

fi.^ ail American one, and is very heavy and expensive,
sometimes costing over a thousand doUai-s. Respect for
their ancestors is the religion of the Chinese. Confucius
instilled this principle into them 2400 years ago, and it
^now forms the most beautiful feature of the national
^heracter. Never is a father so honoured as when in his
,colJip. To carry out the complicated ceremonies attend-
jing thei^prial, a son frequently spends his last dollar, and
,in addition goes heavily into debt. Confucius requires
t,hat at least h^lf the fortune shall be thus spent. So all-
liijnportant does a C)jipaman consider a fine coffin, that a
ssofi wjio particularly xlei^i.i'es to show his filial affection of-
! tep presents to ^is living father the finest coffin that he can
;\affoi'd,to buy; it thenceforwjjtrd becomes one of the most
iJionourefl an<l conspicuous articles of* household furniture
amtil at.hust ifie owner is ready for it. -It is related that
'Sometimes when a physician prescribes an expensive cure
a family council is held, in which the invalid takes part.
The question coolly discussed is whether it would be bet-
ter to lay out the money on a first-class coffin from one of
the leading manufacturers, or to invest it in a doubtful
cure. It is said that the sick man, weary of disease,
,':A}'en argues strongly in favour of the fine casket. JJe
, gSj^i^M his point, an undertaker is at once sent for, measures
• the k-ngth and breadth of his customer, and the latter's

•I ' *

j last ^iHiinents are rendered placid and contented by thinks-
i ing of hcv7 envious his neiofh hours and how delighteti
jiis friends will be at his showy funeral. After the
.Kl^ath of a father, the son sleeps upon bare boards for
tt^hrpe inontlis, and for a whole year holds communication
\^it(li no one, not even his wife. A woman mourns her
dead husband for t>vo years and three months.

But .to change this lugubrious subject. We crossed
over from Hong Kong tc Macao, thirty-five miles distant,
on the other side of trie mouth of the Canton River. The
steamer White, Ctovbcl w^hich brought us, is an enormous
paddle-boat, bwiiLlfi^.|r. fhetJnited States, and exactly like

412

CHINA.

rtk

those which run on the Hudson River. The great width
of beam and light, airy style of construction are quite new
to tliis part of the world. In the cabin are several i-acks
filled with loaded revolvers and rifles; these are pro-
vided for the officers and Europeans, in case the Chinese
passengers ever repeat the attempt, which was once made,
to take forcible possession of the ship and murder all the
Europeans. No Chinaman is allowed in the first cabin.
The weapons are unloaded upon arriving at the wharf,
and loaded again the moment of de|)arture. The captain
and chief officers, on this and several other Canton River
steamers, are all Americans.

Macao is the stillest, deadest and most unprosperous-
looking town I have seen out of Syria. Over two hun-
dred years ago, when the Portuguese were princes of com-
merce and enterprise, they founded a trading station at
Macao, and from that day to this thought they owned
the place ; but recently there has arisen a contention be-
tween the Celestials and the " foreign devils," as they call
them, as to who has tin; right of possession. To-day the
place is famous, or rather infamous, for two specialties —
first, the coolie trade, and second, gambling. From this
port many hundreds of natives are annually shipped to
South America and other parts. These labourers belong
to the lowest class of Chinese, and leave their homes
under a contract to serve their masters for a certain num-
ber of years. Large fortunes are made in this traffic, as
the brokers let the coolies out in gangs to work on plan-
tations, and receive for the laboui- an enormous advance
on the amount they pay for it. It is said that there is as
much injustice and more cruelty in the traffic than there
was in connection with the African slave trade. The
Chinese government so hate the business that they chop
the head oft* every Chinaman whom they discover to have
induced any native to emigrate in this manner. The great
attraction of Macao is the gambling; it attracts crowds,
and amongst them many Europeans. The Chinese are

GAMBLING AT FAN TAN.

413

chop
liave
great
3wds,
e are

naturally gamesters, and the luxury in in«lulged in all
over the empire. As Monte Carlo is to Europe, so is
Macao to China. Considering that the inhabitants of the
Flowery Land comprise one-third of the whole human
race, Macao is rather a representative gambling resort.
There are twenty dens in the town, all belonging to one
company, who pay one hundred and seventy thousand
dollars per annum for licenses. The game played is Fan
Tan ; it is much slower than roulette or trente et quarante,
and, unless the stakes are large, it takes a long time to
win or lose much ; however, there is no ditticulty on that
score, as the bank places no limit on the amount of the
stake, so a man can ruin himself in a comparatively short
time.

We went in the evening to the largest house ; al)out
forty persons were present, of whom five were Knglish,
and the rest Chinese. The game is absurdly simple ; one
of the bankers sits at a table with a pile of cash, or
(Chinese brass coins, before him ; he separates a couple of
handfuls of coins from the pile, shoves them into the
middle of the table, and then places a small brass plate on
the top of them. The gamblers now begin to bet on
whether, after dividing the number of cash by four, there
will be anj^ and, if so, what remainder. After the bets are
made, and the amounts staked placed on a square lead
plate near the middle of the table, the l)ankcr begins to
count off the cash, amidst the breathless attention of the
crowd. With a slender stick he spreads the coins and
separates them into groups of four; before he is half
finished, the practised gamesters can count the rest of the
pile, and know the remainder, and the fate of their bet.
If the remainder is two, for instance, tjhen those who have
bet, say one dollar, on the single number two, will get
back their dollar, and three more dollars for gain. If a
man bets on numbers one and two and wins, then he gets
a dollar profit. As at Monte Carlo the bank has the
advantage of the zero, so at Macao the bank always has

•. !1

4iU

CHINA.

on its side the chance of the number of cash being equally
(livided by four. Above the tablfe there is a hole about
s^x feet square in the ceiling ; this opens into a room
where the rich gamblers congregate ; a railing surrounds
the aperture ; the players, lean oyer, tell the bankers what
they wish to bet on, and drop their money or valuables
down to the table in little baskets. It is an odd scene.
The Chinese, when they are Vicibiis, go into the vice heart
and soul. They kill themselvtis with opium, and ruin
themselves with gaming, all the While looking as placid
and sleek as a Parsee. The bankers are not proud men ;
after you have lost all your gold and bank-notes and
silver, they will accept a gold watch and chain, or a Iccket ;
in fact, they will take anything you have got. Cases arc
not infrequent where Englishmen have come out of the
den with valual^les gone, and not enough money left to
pay their fare back to Hong Kong.

Lest I may be thought to have overlooked an important
feature of Macao, I will mention that we did not onut to
visit the tomb of the ill-fated Camoens, the Homer of the
Portuguese, who sang in immortal poetry of the advent-
ures and daring exploits of his fellow-countryman, Vasco
da Gama.

CHINA.

THE MOST ANCIENT OK EMPIRES — OUR GUIDE, AH CUM, NO RELATIVE TO AH
SIN— CELESTIAL FINGER NAILS— QUARTER OK A MILLION I'EOI'LE IN SMALL
BOATS— THE VENICE OF THE EAST -CHINESE EAT KITTENS, I'UPPIES, BATS,
MICE, AND SNAKES.

Canton, China,

June, 1880.

f AN TON is the most Chinese city in China. The
Tartars, although the dominant race of the empire,
have very little affected the inhabitants of the
great metropolis of the South. Europeans are too few to
have any influence, so here we find the " Heathen Chinee "
in his native element, wearing the same style of clothing
and talking the same language as he has done for thou-
sands of years past. Speaking of age, the Celestials have
a profound and deep-seated contempt for such mushroom
nations of yesterday as the Egyptians, the Israelites, the
Greeks or the Romans. As for the English and French,
they are, from an antiquarian stand-point, quite beneath
notice. The native histories of China, with a coolness
which is really refreshing, allege that the empire existed
ninety million years before the birth of Christ. Euro-
peans allow that there lived a civilized Chinese Emperor
two thousand years B. C. — an admission that China is the
oldest empire in existence.

We came to Canton, from Macao, on one of the splendid
American river steamers. The scenery on the Pe Kiang,
or Pearl River, is not startling or grand, but it is interest-
ing. There are two fine pagodas on the south side, the
largest one about a hundred feet high, and divided ir.to
eight or nine stories ; at each story a small balcony en-
circled the tower, and on each balcony there was a pro-

\ H

E< ,

WJ f

416

CHINA.

fusion of flowers an<l shni])s <5a'ovviiig- finely, ;^'ivinf;f the
{•{ij^oda a fresh and attractive appearance, which is hick-
in<,' in tlie costly and pretentious minarets of the Mahoin-
niedans.

On botli hanks w(5re to be seen evi-
dences of the marvellous inchistry of the
natives. Large tracts of land redeemed
from the river, and called |)addy-fiel(ls,
were planted with rice ; the rice is sown
in soil covered with water ahout a foot
deej). The tender <jfreen shoots weie a
few inches above the water, and added
beauty to the landscape in every direc-
tion.

Canton has a population of nearly two
millions. It is lar^^er than New York,
Philadelphia, or any city in America ;
but there is only one hotel in the whole
town. It is situated in a centi'al posi-
tion on the river bank; in fact, its broad
balcony overhangs the water. The pro-
prietors are RozarioBiothers, Portuguese.
Shortly after our arrival we were inter-
viewed by Ah Cum, the well-known

"^im

',ti»aat^_^

^S«r

3*^i£a:«'

Jg».:

CHINESE PAGODA.

guide for the city. Ah Cum is a character. He has " a

OUR GUFDE, AH CUM — FINGER NAILS.

417

IS "a

aniile which is childlike and bland;" hut T have every
reason to believe he has none of the " guile " of the wily
"Ah Sin." His appearance is that of an ordinary China-
man — namely, smooth, hairless, yellow face ; small Hat
nose ; slits for eyes, and no eyebrows to speak of; head all
shaved, except a circular patch at the back, about four
inches in diameter, from which hangs a queue, or pigtail,
about four feet long. The pigtail is usually real hair for,
say, half its length, the rest is fine silk skilfully plaiti'd.
This absurd custom of wearing the hair was instituted by
the Tartars as a badge of serfdom, but the conquered race
have now l)ecome so accustomed to the fashion that they
regard it with great pride. Ah Gum's costume is that of
a well-to-do Celestial, and a sensible one it is, namely,
very loose trousers, reaching to the knees, and only fast-
ened by a band to the waist ; loose white stockings tied
above the knees ; shoes with soles of light material, but
about an inch thick ; the coat is of light silk, very loose,
and of a graceful double-breasted patten , no hat. Ah
Cum does not conform to the national custom of lonj; fin<xer
nails ; his are only about half an inch long, not much
better style than an European. Some Chinese dandies.
Beau Bruramels in their way, have nails three and six
inches in length. In such cases, a great sacrifice of com-
fort is made, as the pets have to be always kept in bamboo
cases, except when on exhibition. Some years ago, a phy-
sician here gloried in a splendid set of nails ; they aver-
aged about eleven and a half inches. Probably no man in
all Canton was so devotedly admired by the fair sex.

Ah Cum takes great pride in his one valuable ])ossession
— an English stem-winding watch. It is really one of the
finest chronometers I have ever seen. He bouofht it for
about half value from the gaml)ling bank at Macao ; an
Englishman had staked and lost it at the enticing game
of Fan Tan.

The panorama constantly passing before our hotel, day
and night, is one of the liveliest imaginable. On the Can-
AA

418

CHINA.

ton River (as it is commonly called) there live a quarter
of a million peo[)lc in small sampans, or covered house-
boats ; they live on the water all their lives, and are about
as near amphibious as human beings win be. The sam-
pans are thickest opposite the hotel, where the river is
about 250 yaids wide ; here also are the famous flower-
boats, where every night scenes of dancing, singing and
revelry take place. As the Cantonese have no public
theatres, circuses or balls, they devise anmsement other-
wise. A wealthy Chinan\an, when he wishes to entertain
liis friends, hires a flower-boat for the evening; pretty
girls are employed to sing and dance; and, "that the guests
])e more contented," a good supply of cards, opium and
spirits is furnished.

The ferry sampans are nearly all owned and rowed by
women. A few evenings ago we were ferried over to the
flower-boats by Susan and Helene, the sampan women
for the hotel ; there were j)robably a dozen parties in
progress. In nearly every case an old Cliinaman seemed
to be entertainer. Young girls, about fifteen years of age,
with faces painted thickly in the deepest shade of pink,
were the singers. In every boat cards were being played
with much gravity and seiiousness. We walked for two
hours in and out amongst the colony of boats. Space is
so valuable that they are crowded closely together, and a
pedestrian can step from one to another without the
slightest difficulty. The music and singing are both un-
pleasant to the European ear ; they much resemble the
monotonous and soulless style prevalent in Turkey, Egypt
and India. A singer makes no attempt to throw expres-
sion into her face or voice; and the musician labours under
the impression that the secret of excellence is lungs and
muscle.

The scene at night, when viewed from the hotel-bal-
cony, is varied'and brilliant. The Chinese are particu-
larly fond of displaying lanterns of bright colours and
striking contrasts. The river is ablaze vith these showy

FLOWKU-IJOATS — IKKS AND CAT MEAT.

41!)

two
ice is
md a
the
un-
the

)ros-
iider
and

lights. Thousands of them hanging from the prows of
sampans are darting to and fro in and out between the
big boats. The Howcr-boats, however, eclipse all othiM's
in point of display'. From every available hook or nail
a gay lantern is suspended, and the clash of music Hoats
over the water.

With Ah Cum, who is an lionest, entertaining fellow,
for our guide, we proceedetl to do the sights of ('anton.

The streets rival the maze at Hampton Court. With
the excepti(m of Archdeacon (Jray — a man whose memory
is nmch respected at Canton — I doubt if any European
ever knew his way from one end of the city to the other.
The streets are narrow, varying from two and a half to
ten feet wide. The per|)endicular signs in frt)nt of tlie
shops frequently touch each other. As there are no horses
or carriages in the city, tliere are no sidewalks. The
Avhole street is for jiedestrians, urj<l it is narrow enough.
The principal thoroughfare is name<l " 'J'he avenue; of
benevolence and love," which sounds well. Cant(m might
be called the Venice of the East ; tlie absence of hor.se8
and carriages, the narrow, crow<led, quiet thoroughfares,
and the thousands of sanq)ans, or Chinese gondolas — the
common means t)f conveyance — all reminded me of the
famous Italian city of the sea. The shops are all com-
pletely open to the street, and tlie different sorts of mer-
chandise lie unprotected and within easy reach of a would-
be thief; but lam informed that amongst themselves the
heathens pay strict respect to the laws of meum et tuum.
A great number of the streets are devoted entirely to the
sale of meat.

The bazaars are narrow, and particidarly dirty. We
went to a shop where dog and cat meat was on sale, the
aged animals, of course, bringing a small price in compari-
son to the sum paid for fat kittens and puppies. Worms,
black cats'-eyes, sharks'-fins, ducks'-tongues, insects and
birds'-nests are delicacies of the rich. Birds'-nests are
veiy expensive, and are made into soup ; they consist

(ri

'. -i.

420

CHINA.

of a glutinous matter collected by the birds to strengthen
the nest. A poor Chinaman will eat anything ; rais,
mice, fat monkeys, snakes, unhacched ducks and chickens,
all are welcome to him. In the market, we saw a great
profusion of fish, turtles, crabs and eels sold alive and
kicking in small tubs of water.

and

CHINESE CUSTOMS.

SMALL-FEET WOMEN— POOR LITTLE HTA(KiEllEUa -A (iREAT Bi;i)I)HIST TEMPLE
— ITS IDOLS AND PRIESTS — THE FUTURE BATTLE HETWEEN CHRISTIANITY
AND MAHOMMEDANISM— THE UNSELFISH JESl'ITS- MARCO POLO AND NAPO-
LE).V AS DIUTIKS -TEMPLE OF HOKRORS— CELESTIAL PUNLSHMENTS FORT-
UNE-TELLERS, ETC.

Canton, China,

June, 1880.

</^HINESE small-feet women are pitiul>le-l(M)king
^j^/ ol)ject.s. Amongst the wcli -to-do classes of the
people it is the custom, shortly after a female child
is boin, to double the unfortunate youngstei's toes under,
so that the ball of the foot and the under portion of the
toes are pressed together. The great toe, howevi!r, is not
bent under ; after a time the flesh grows together, and
the oj)eration is complete. Thus they walk on htubs ;
what Nature intended should be the top, they convert
into the sole of the foot. Growth is, of course, impeded;
but the shorter the bettca*, and this is the grand test of
CMiinese female beauty. A girl with a foot from two to
four inches long is sure of a fine marriage; but a girl wear-
ing a large shoe, or having good, honest feet that were
never twisted or cramped, finds the greatest difficulty in

irettino; a husband. Small-feet womim

can't walk ; they stagger along as if

ri I I ^^n on stilts, and very frecpiently recjuire

r£ Jf J ^^^B ^^^*^' assistance of a servant. The inhu-

.man fashion is said to have been in-
vented in remote ages past by man-
darins jealous of their beautiful wives.
The Tartars, having brought with
them a little common-sense from the North, have never
adopted the custom. It is at first painful to watch the

BOOT AND FOOT OP A
CHINESE LADY.

'ft

liA

422

CHINESE CUSTOMS.

IV;

im'i

\ i'

poor little staggering women ; but one soon gets accus-
tomed to it.

On our first afternoon at Canton, we went with Ah
Cum to the Temple of Honan, said to be the finest Buddhist
place of worship in China. The gateway, or entrance to
the temple court, is guarded by two sentinel gods, one on
each side. The seated figures are of gilded wood, about
twenty feet high ; each has in his hand a drawn sword,
and wears an expression of countenance perfectly dia-
bolical.

We passed between the scowling monsters, and entered
the court Before us, in the centre of an extensive quad-
rangle, stood the temple. It is simply a square, wooden,
one-story structure, built in the Chinese pagoda style,
with heavy and highly-ornamented overhanging roof. A
Buddhist priest, or bonze, admitted us to the interior. The
priests only differ from ordinary mortals in that they shave
their heads entirely, thus giving up all worldly pomp
and display in the way of pigtails. On the smoothly-
shaved head are numerous marks of sanctity in the shape
of about a dozen round scars caused by burns. Of these
self-inflicted wounds, each has a meaning ; each denotes
the registration of a vow : one is not to smoke opium ;
another not to make lov3 ; another to promote the doc-
trines of Buddha, etc., etc.

The bonze showed us the Buddhist Trinity ; in a recess
opposite the entrance was seated the deity. Here were
three gilded figures, each of which, thougli seated, was
about fifteen feet in height ; the centre one, which looked
like a placid, well-fed Chinaman, with his hands content-
edly clasped over a capacious corporation, represents the
Past ; the companion figures on either side are emblemat-
ical of the Present and Future, the right arm in each
case being uplifted, in token of activity. In front of the
god, which is one in three and three in one, are several
costly urns, in which joss-sticks are constantly burning.
The arrangements are very simple.

THE BUDDHIST RELIGION.

423

Buddhism, like Hinduism, is pure and simple idolatry ;
both creeds are repellent ; there is no beauty or sentiment
in either, and both are losing ground before the earnest
advance of the Mahommedans. Buddhism is an ancient
faith ; it flourished in India for a thousand years before
the birth of Christ, but is now almost extinct in that
country. At the dawn of Christianity, when the Galilean
fishermen were stirring the hearts of men, the creed of
Buddha was introduced into China and spread like wild-
fire. Its easy superstition was eagerly taken in exchange
for the severe code of morality imposed by Confucius.

Religion forms such an important element in the life of
every man — be he savage or civilized, thoughtful or utterly
careless — that it is probably the most interesting subject
for observation amongst the various peoples of Asia.

China comprises about a third of the population of the
globe. There is no state religion in the country; in fact, it
may be said the Chinese practically have no religion ; they
are indifierent about the matter, and look down upon the
priests as vagrants and impostors. As to whether a man
professes the doctrines of morality and filial piety laid
down by Confucius in his five sacred books ; or follows in
the footsteps of Lao-tse, who, like Voltaire, established a
worship of reason ; or enrols himself as a rank idolater,
and believes in the doctrine of transmigration of souls
and final extinction, as taught by the bonzes of Buddha,
seems to be thought a matter of little consequence.

There is, at least, no rivalry, hatred or fanaticism on
religious topics, I read in a book al)out Chinese customs
that the common salutation amongst the people is, when
four or five people belonging to difierent sects meet,
"What sublime religion do you belong to?" When all
have replied, then each one pronounces praises about the
religion to which he does not belong as politeness requires;
then all in chorus repeat, " Religions are many, reason is
one, we are all brothers." This phrase is in the mouth of
every Chinese. In the face of such utter inditiertntism it

11 i
11;

424

CHINESE CT/STOMS.

\\i<t

lili

is plain tliat the great Lattle in the future is to be fought
between tlie only two earnest religions that the world
possesses — Christianity and MahommcdKnism. The
former pervades Europe and Axuoiica — the latter has vast
strength in Asia and Africa, and gains rapidly amongst
heathen nations. The fight which commenced between the
Cross and the Crescent, in the days of Peter the Hermit,
has hardly begun. Any firm foothold which the Christians
have in China is owing to the Jesuits, who have pene-
trated to the interior of the empire. With incredible
stilf-sacrifice, these ardent ministers of the Gospel have
abandoned the language, costume and mode of life of their
native land ; they enlist the sympathies of the natives
by changing themselves into Chinamen ; they wear pig-
tails, live on rice and water, talk Chinee, are the free
advisers and physicians of the people, and trusted with
the education of the children ; in fact, they are unselfish
benefactors, and they never accumulate money; tlie Chi-
nese believe in them. Ah Cum took us to several other
tem])les on the opposite side of the river.

The temple of five hundred Genii, or wise men, is repre-
sentive of the national character. Here the famous
ancestors are worshipped, or rather paid homage to.

Five hundred gilt figures, rather over life-size, are ranged
in rows in the interior ; one of them, a fierce-looking fel-
low, appeared to me to be out of place ; he represented
Marco Polo, the famous Venetian traveller, who, in the
sixteenth century, spent a numbers of years at the Peking
court. It is said that Napoleon Bonaparte has also been
placed amongst the genii in some temples, but I have not
yet come across him.

We also went to the Temple of Horrors. The coini
before the sanctuary was the chief object of interest here.
On either side were a number of chambers, in which the
modes of celestial (?) punishment are placed before the
public eye — reminding me somewhat of the ghastly relics
in the Black Museum of Scotland Yard. In one of the

TORTURES— FORTUN E-TELLERS.

425

rooms the scene represented by life-size wooden figures
was the decapitation of a prisoner ; in another, the iron
pressing- macliine, where a man was being starved, and his
head pressed into an inch smaller compass each day ; in
another, torture, where a prir.oner gradually decieased in
weight, by having a different member of his body cut off
each day, and fin..ily his bowels out open. This, as well as
roasting alive, was a favourite punishment. The other
more trivial tortures of the rack, ear-twisting, finger-com-
pressing, and filling the eyes with quick-line, are given
due prominence: all these witnesses of the loving care of
the Emperoi", who is both father and absolute ruler of the
people, could be seen through bars. The court was crowded
with Chinamen. At least a dozen fortune-tellers were
seated at difierent tables, and they were all busy. The
gaping silly-l)odies who consult them are re([uired to
choose a little coloured envelop(^ out of a boxful. This
being done, the magician takes from the envelope a paper
with mysterious characters u])on it, and foretells the man's
fortune. Buddha may be C(msulted in the same way l^efore
entering the temple. Upon payment of a few cjish, a
bonze will give the god's answer on a piece of paper to any
(piestion asked.

A common sign over shops in Canton is, " Tdols and
Buddhas, of all sorts, made, repaii'e<l and gilt."

fjil

CHINA.

HIOHWAVS AND BYWAYS OF CANTON— JOSS-STICKS AND INNOMERABIiK ALTARS
- THE COSTLY JADE STONE— NECKLACE WORTH $.),000 -PRISONERS WITH
THE mo WOODEN COLLAR— IVORY CARVING— NATIVE BARBERS— THE DRAGON
BKING FRIGHTENED BY THE BEAR- THE LION STEPS IN— THE EXECUTION
GROUND— TWO HEADS LYING IN A BUCKET.

Canton, China,

June 13, 1880.

E have walked a good deal about the highways
/'V^ and byways of this quaiiit and curious old
Chinese city. Generally speaking, the streets
are exceedingly dirty, densely crowded, narrower than a
street-car, and pervaded with a heavy, disagreeable odour.
They entirely eclipse, in these particulars, the famous
Petticoat Lane of London, or the most disreputable por-
tion of the Ghetto at Rome.

In every shop or house at Canton or Hong Kong — and
I believe the custom exists throughout the empire — there
is an altar erected in honour of the proprietor's ancestors.
At this shrine joss-sticks are constantly burning. No
matter what the hurry of business may be, time is always
found to replenish the smoky little altar. It is said by
the Chinese, and believed by Europeans, that were it not
for this custom of burning hundreds of thousands of joss-
sticks every day Canton would be unfit to live in. The
reason is this : the city occupies a low position, is greatly
overcrowded with unclean human beinofs, who constantly
breathe a damp, vitiated atmosphere, and there is no sys-
tem of drainage. Fortunately, the chemical qualities of
the joss-sticks are such that they purify the atmosphere,
and the result is that the rate of mortality is exceedingly
low.

Jade stone — Chinese prtsoneiis.

427

Whole blocks of shops, many of them richly fittetl up,
are devoted to the sale of the much-prized jade ; tem-
porary bazaars are also held by itinerant merchants at
which nothing but jade is seen. In Europe, and in fact
everywhere out of China, people adorn themselves with
rings and ornaments of gold and silver, or maybe of brass
or copper. It is the correct thing to wear metal, whether
it be the simon-pure article or simply Brunnnagem. In
the riowery Land, however, they have tastes of their own
A certain rare and ])recious stone called jade is cut into
rings, brooches, necklaces, charms, etc., and fetches enor-
mous prices. T saw a small greenish piece, half an inch
wide and an inch long, made for a watch-chain ornament ;
I thought it would do as a specimen to buy for curiosity,
so I priced it. Fifty dollars ! We said we might call
again on our way back. The stone is exceedingly hard ;
its value depends upon the particular shade of green.
The ring of a mandarin is an inch or more in width, is
worn on the thumb, and is very heav}^. A good necklace
is worth five thousand dollars.

We went to see the prison ; it is a fearful sort of place.
We arrived there before we knew we had left the street.
In the busy thoroughfare, opposite the prison, there were
twenty or thirt}'" vicious-looking fellows squatted upon
the pavement ; heavy chains hung from their necks,
wrists and ankles ; here they are allowed to remain dur-
ing the day. at night being huddled together in a small
chamber of the prison. Inside the gaol, which is a low,
one-story wooden building, is a specimen of Chinese
cruelty ; in a room, about ten feet square, there were six
prisoners ; each one wore the cangue, or wooden collar.
The cangue consists of a piece of flat wood weighing from
fifty to two hundred pounds ; it is really in two pieces,
fastened together by a hinge and a lock, on the same
principle as the stocks, formerly a mode of j^unishment in
Enofland ; in the centre is a hole large enoujjh to fit a
man's neck. The cangue is so wide that the prisoner

mum

428

CHINA.

can't see his feet or put his han«l to l»i.^ mouth. Men
fre([uently die from torture and oxhau.stion. It was
reall}' liori-ible to see the looks of wild despair and mad-
ness with which the poor wretches regarded us, — we, who
were as free as air, the subjects of a govertunent strong,
mei'ciful and just, — we, whom the C'hinese torturer could
never touch except at the I'isk of a national war. Perhaps
the unfortunate victims C()mj)ared our positions. An in.sol-
vent wears the cangue till his debts are paid — a robber
gets three months.

Canton is the most celebrated place in the world for
ivory-carving. Here all the curiously-wrought chessmen,
which are seen in certain shops on tlie Boulevard des
Italiens and on Regent street, are carved. The ivory is
got chietly from the elephant country down in Siam and

CHINES2 VISITING CAKU.S.

Cochin China. We went to the manufactories, saw the
elephant-tusks, and how they were transformed from

IVORY WORK — BARBERS.

420

^Ii. Men
It was
nd inad-
-wo, who
t sti-ong,
■t'r could
Perliaps
-n insol-
t robber

>rld for
essmen,
lid des
vory is
ni and

the
rom

ungainly spikes into the most delicate ornaments. Tlie
factories are very unpretending, generally situated in back
streets, and only employing about half a dozen workmen.
After a set of chess is completed, half of the number are
steeped in vinegar and then plunged into a crimson dye.
The manufacturer told me that the colour would never
wear out or fade. Card-cases and jewel-boxes have carved
upon them curious and fantastic figures and scenes. An
innnense amount of labour is bestowed upon one well-
carved object, but tlie prices asked here are remarkably
moderate.

The Chinese are very particular al)out their heads being
properly shaved, and their pigtails kept in irreproachable
condition ; the result is that the barbers drive a brisk
trade. In every part of the city, little sliops, which look
like overgrown packing-cases, are devoted to the tonsorial
art. A barber for a few " cash" will shave a head, plait
a pigtail, clean out a pair of ears (by no means a tritiing
job in the case of an average Chinaman), and scrape tlie
insides of a pair of eyelids.

During our stay here, rather an amusing incident oc-
curred. China is on the eve of hostilities with Russia,
and it is even said that war has been declared at Pekinj;.
The Celestials are awfully scared at the prospects. A
few days ago a Russian man-of-war sailed up the Canton
River, and coolly anchored near the city for the purpose
of taking soundings. Cantonese, who })ioserve a lively
recollection of the terrible British boats during the opium
war, thought their town was about to be bombarded ; thou-
sands of Celestial knees shook with fear and trembling.
When the excitement reached its height, a British man-
of-war happened to come quietly up the river, past our
hotel, to where the supposed enemy was anchored. At
this moment, the Russians had finished their soundings
and quietly proceeded down the river and out to sea.
Great were the rejoicings. Tho British, though without
the slightest reason, got all the credit of, by mere force of
their prestige, driving off the enemy. The natives could

'in

i.-\\

430

CJIINA.

not say tlun<:js civil onou«^li ahoufc tlio Kn^li.sh ; but the
Europeans of Sliamcon only liiu<;'h(Ml at their simplicity.

I forgot to mention that wo had paid a visit to the
execution ground. It is probal)ly the most horrible place
I was ever in. As the punislimcnts of sawing in pieces,
boiling in oil, etc., are rather out of fashion, the common
mode of polishing off a prisoner nowadays is simply to
cut his head off with a hatchet.

The place of execution is in an open lane off a busy
street. No death had taken place for over a week ; but
tlie s|)ot where the condemned men kneel was heavily
marked with the (quantities of blood which have Howed
upon it. The mode of carrying out the hiw is as follows :
The victim kneels, his hands being tied behind his back ;
one executioner seizes his pigtail, and by pulling it for-
ward stretches the prisoner's neck into proper position ;
another executioner wielding a hatchet, or rather sword-
axe, completes the business. Against a fence was lean: ig
a wooden cross, on which the lingering death is inflicted.
When this punishment is ordered, the executioner in-
dulges in an extraordinary bit of grim humour. The
programme is to cut the victim to pieces gradually, but
not stopping until he is dead. The Chinese Calcraft
seems to take delight in his business ; he gambles with
the prisoner's fate ; in a box are mixed up a lot of papers,
on which are written the names of different portions of the
doomed man's body. The executioner draws out a paper
by chance, and whatever name is on it that part is cut
off. 'J^he tragedy may last an hour or so, unless by great
good fortune the first paper may direct the cutting out of
the heart or some other fatal operation. In a large
wooden bucket we saw two men's heads which had been
severed a few days before ; they were thrown into this
pail and kept there as an additional disgrace.

The Chinese inflict their disgraceful punishments with
im])artiality. Men, women, girls and children are dragged
indiscriminately to this ghastly lane when the " big man-
darin" gives the order.

CHINA.

CHINESE PIllATEH ATTEMPT TO SEIZE A 8TEAMEK P. A O. STEAMER '* MIRZA-
PORE -WlIIET ("OMFOKT THE (JKEAT VANfi-TSE KIANC lUVEH UNDOIUTKO
BRITISH ASCENDENCY IN THE EAST— THE ENULIMH TONULE SPOKEN EVERY-
WHERE.

Shanghai, China,

17th June, 1880.

J^IIINESE pirates have <,'ot life loft in them yet. A
startling case occurred just before we left Hono;
Kong, in which a splendid ocean steamer nearly
became a i)rey to a pack of bona fide sea-robbers. Jt
appears that the steamship Boiven left Australia with
313 Chinese steerage-passengeis. On her way to Hong
Kong she called at Singa))ore ; here forty-three more
Chinamen embarked. Nothing was suspected until two
days out, when the interpreter overheard a conversation
between some of the Singapore fellows, in which they
let the cat out of the bag. A plot had been matured to
that night murder the officers, first-class pas.sengers —
amongst whom was a lady and children — and all others
who opposed their designs ; to set fire to the ship, and
make off with the choicest part of the cargo in boats.
This crafty little plan was at once comnumicated to the
captain. A council of war was held. The Singapore
worthies were separately seized, put in irons, and a search
made. The result was astounding, almost enough to
freeze the blood of the officers and passengers ; twenty -
five packages of gunpowder, lots of revolvers, cartridges,
fusees, guns, touch-paper, and other necessaries for fight-
ing, were found to be the sole baggage of the conspirators.
When the ship arrived at Hong Kong, it was ascertained

432

CHINA.

that the plot was well and carefully laid ; a large number
of confederates had l(;ft Victoria in junks to meet, what
they f(mdly hoped would he, tlie doomed ship. It was
the old story of " the l)est-laid schemes of mice and men,"
etc. If the pirates hadn't talked so much, they would
likely have been successful. Several of the prisoners
were recognized as old offenders. Fortunately for them,
they have fallen into the hands of the English at Hong
Kong, and will l»e regularly tried, and probably get
transportation for life. If the Chinese had caught them,
they would have been beheaded the next day at Canton.

We left Hont^ Kon<j: in the Peninsula and Oriental
Company's steamer, Mirzaporc, bound for Shanghai.
Up to a couple of years ago this steamer was the largest
one of the great P. & O. fleet of seventeen vessels ; now
she is the fourth largest, and belongs to the wealthiest
shipping company in the world. A few hours out of Hong
Kong, we crossed the Tropic of Cancer, and entered the
Temperate Zone. The weather did not alter at once ; but
we had not been out forty-eight hours before we had to
change our linen suits and put on clothing as heavy as
we had worn in Italy in December.

The Chinese coast, as seen from the sea, is wild and
inhospitable ; sailors don't like the neighbourhood ; there
are bad harbours and bad rocks, and at this season of
the year the terrible typhoon nuiy swoop down without
a moment's warning. However, we got oft' very easily ;
we were only delayed a whole night in a fog. I wouldn't
have minded the delay, but I did mind the awful row
whicJi was kicked up all night. What with the fog-
whistle blowing as if the valve would burst, and the
pulling of the bells from the bridge, ordering either slow,
or half speed, or stop, it was physically impossible to get
a wink of sleep.

The Mirzapore is as comfortable as a ship can be ; in
fact, it is like an English home, which is, indeed, the
highest praise. The captain, officers, stewards and waiters

p. AND O. STEAMER— SHANGHAI.

433

Id and

there
son of
ithout
asily ;
)uldn't

1 row
e fog-

d the
f slow,

to get

be ; in
[d, the
raiters

are all English. The ship is Clyde-built, by Laird, and
has the latest improvements. One thing I noticed specially
— it may be common, but I never saw it before — the
mode of extingaishing fire is by steam. Pipes are laid to
every corner of the vessel ; into any one portion the
whole strength of the steam from the engines can be
turned in less than two minutes. If a fire be discovered,
the tap of that compartment is turned ; in a minute
every crevice is filled with vapour, and the flames must be
choked ; fire can't live with steam. It has the advantage
over water that it fills the remotest corner of a compart-
ment, can be used with far greater dispatch, and does not
injure the cargo.

On the morning of the fourth day from Kong Kong,
we arrived at the mouth of the great Yang-tse Kiang
River. No land was to be seen ; but we knew our posi-
tion, because the colour of the sea had changed from the
usual deep blue to a muddy yellow. We sailed up the
stream for a considerable distance, and then anchored at
the bar, off the mouth of the Wangpoo River. The Yang-
tse Kiang is the fifth largest in the world, being only
exceeded in length by the Mississippi, Amazon, Yenisei
and Mackenzie. As the Mirzapore drew too much water
to cross the bar, we were met by a steam-launch of the
P. & 0. Co., and mails and passengers carried up four-
teen miles to Shanghai. On the first view, Shanghai
looks like a splendid European city. The Bund is a hand-
some boulevard, extending along the river-bank, and
backed by a row of buildings, many of which are palatial
in their style and extent. We disembarked at one of
the Bund wharves and proceeded to the Central Hotel.

The city is curiously divided into quarters. On ascend-
ing the river, the first quarter we see is the American
settlement, where several foreign consuls live and wave
their flags, and the Astor House Hotel stands out promi-
nently. Divided from this settlement by a creek is the
English settlement. Here the merchant princes reside,

434

CHINA.

ill

and here is concentrated ten times as much wealth, energy
and importance as is contained in the whole of tlie rest
of the city put together. Farther up, and divided by
another creek, is the French settlement, rather a half-
alive neighbourhood. The only centres of activity which
I can see are the offices of the Messageries Maritimes
Steamship Company, the residence of the all-powerful
Consul, and the Hotel des Colonies. Beyond the French
settlement, and separated by another of those everlasting
creeks, is the native walled Chinese city, of which more

anon.

The most interesting and noticeable feature of Shanghai
is the simple fact that a few British merchants have suc-
ceeded — in spite of a hostile and })owerful native govern-
ment ; in spite of business failures and reverses ; in spite
of a great civil war waged for years at their very doors ;
in spite even of dissensions amongst themselv^es — in estab-
lishing a splendid city, and in amassing large fortunes.

It may not be quite the thing for one to sound too
loudly the praises of his own countrymen, but I must say
I have been astonished, when travelling in Asia, to observe
the strength of the British. Jules Verne, the brilliant
French wiiter, says, speaking of places in Asia, that " they
betrayed everywhere the evidence of English supremacy."
This strength is not owing to the {>aternal care or influ-
ence of government, but to the pluck and perseverance
inherent in the Anglo-Saxon character. After leaving
Europe, and passing the Suez Canal and Aden, we first
appreciated the result of England's energetic, adventurous
spirit in India. Here, like at Shanghai, a handful of
traders landed ; the native [)rinces, in their lordly pride,
scorned the few hardy men of the North, and forbade them
the land. After much treaty-making and conciliation, the
immigrants got a slight foothold. The East India Com-
pany of merchants grew in wealth, subdued the princes
one by one, and at the time of the mutiny, in 1857,
were Trader Kings over an empire of untold wealth and

BltlTISH. THE ROMANS OF MODERN TIMES.

435

population, all owing to their own courage and genius,
without the help of their mother-government. The next
links in the chain are at Burmah, Penang and Singapore
— all laces where only two languages are spoken, the
native and English. Then came Hong Kong and Shani);-
hai, the former actually owned ])y the British, and the
latter virtually so. The British are the Romans of modern
times ; but they rule over an empire more vast than C'jt'sar
dreamt of. I w^as speaking to a Spanish physician the
other day, who is making a tour of the world. He said
that while in Europe, and until he got to Suez, he found
he could always get along with the French language, in
fact, it was the most useful of any; but after leaving Suez,
no European tongue was spoken but English. The doctor
is travelling alone, and, as he can't speak a word of Eng-
lish, he finds it rather dull work. At Shanghai he was
delighted to find a French hotel ; here surely all would be
plain sailing ; but, alas ! the native waiters or boys could
only speak pidgin English, and the doctor was in despair.
The difierent characteristics of the French and English,
two great sister nations, are plainly seen in colonies. I
do not wish to disparage the French, for they are a brave
and honourable people, and have a country perhaps in
itself the most prosperous and beautiful in Europe; but
one can't help seeing that they are not equal to the Eng-
lish as colonists. In India they have equal chances with
the British, and at one critical period had the upper liand;
but the British traders, by their unaided management and
stubborn courage, managed to secure what is now the
richest foreign possession of any government. In our own
Canada, the struggle ended in the same way ; and to-day,
in (/hina, one nation monopolizes the wealth and trade.
I am informed, upon good authority, that in the whole of
Kong Kong and China there are not five tliousand British.
In China, there are more than four hundred million
people; but still so marvellous is the prestige of the Union-
Jack that it appears to rule the roast. The fact is, the

430

CHINA.

great cities and centres of wealth of the Chinese are situ-
ated near the coast. Past experience lias shown what
terrible engines of war the iron-clads of England are, and
how easily a city can he destroyed by them. As a deli-
cate reminder of this fact, there are always a number of
corvettes, turret-ships, etc., stationed in Chinese waters.
The Celestials are not stupid. They call us " foreign
devils," but are painfully civil all the same. The few
British who have come here from their far-off island-home
keep the hundreds of millions of Chinese at aim's-length,
and their government in fear. It is sti-ange, but true.

CHINA,

8HANGHAI— OPIUM TRADE —CHINESE RAILWAYS SCARCE — THE AWFUL
SMELLS OF THE NATIVE CITY— BUDDHIST TEMPLE USED AS A RICH
man's CLUB — AN OPIUM SMOKE — TWO PIECEE MAN BLON(i MUCHEK
SICK — OPIUM A NATIONAL CURSE— ENGLAND RESPONSIBLE FOR IT.

Shanghai, China,

June, 1880.

[HERE is not a single mile of railway in the whole
Chinese empire. True, in the days of Shanghai's
wonderful prosperity, a line of ten miles was built
to Woosung. The Celestial authorities, however, regarded
the unfortunate little line as an invention of the devil,
which disturbed the tranquillity of the people, and even
might some day open up the interior of the country to Eng-
lish barbarians. After grave consideration, the govern-
ment bought out the enterprise, pulled up the rails an<l ties,
placed them, with the engines, carriages and rolling-stock,
on ships, and sent the ships to sea. There was a good
deal of specu^ition and curiosity as to what use the expen-
sive railway appliances were to be put. The vessels soon
returned, but guiltless of any cargo. The fai'-seeing
mandarins at Peking had ordered that the Shanghai rail-
way be dumped into the deep sea, and it was done.

The sights of Shanghai are few and far between. There
is the Bubbling Well, to which every visitor is hurried
the next day after arrival. As a sight, the well is a fraud ;
but it would not be polite or good policy to make that
remark to a Shanghailander ; I expected to find boiling-
springs at least ecpial to the Geysers, but all we couhl
see was a well about eight feet sc^uare ; in the bottom
was some dirty water, through which gas was escaping,
and making a few feeble little bubljles,

-H

' -SI
- ^4

(ii

438

CHINA.

The most interesting place to visit is the native town.
It is walled, and as thoroughly Chinese as if no European
existed within a thousand miles of its gates. I went one
day alone, and had just passed the Peking gate when a
fine-looking native accosted me in English. He turned
out to be a guide ; and, stra«ge to say, his name was Ah
Sin, the same as Bret Harte's hero ; he was tall, serious, '
and as dignified as a mandarin with a red button. We
went around together, and saw the tea-houses, gardens,
temples, silk-shops and coffin-shops. All were much like
we had seen at Canton ; but the streets were narrower
and dirtier, and the smells, in many places, were so dis-
gusting that I wonder the people can live in the place.

I have smelt the smells of Stamboul, of Benares, and of
Canton; but they must all hide their diminished heads in
the presence of the back alleys of Shanghai. I was inter-
ested in a Buddhist temple, situated in rather a decent
neighbourhood. It stood in the midst of a well-kept
garden, and was richly ornamented with images of Buddha,
and with goW and bronze sacred utensils. A number of
priests were chanting the services, and seated at little tea-
tables in the temple an<l ai'ound the garden were a lot of
jolly, well-fed looking fellows, who were laughing and
talking, paying no attention whatever to the bonzes. Ah
Sin explained that this was a temple belonging to the
richest Chinese merchants in the city, who, at certain
hours, resorted here to play cards, smoke and gossip. As
soon as the Chinamen saw me, several of them at once
rose, and with a great deal of politeness showed me all
over the temple and grounds. The latter only consisted
of a quaiter of an acre ; but in it, accoi-ding to Chinese
fashion, there were miniature lakes, bridges, boats, grot-
toes, etc., and in the water lots of goldfish, turtles and
pollywogs.

It is supposed, according to very ancient authority, to
be the Cv)rrect thing to do in Rome as the Romans do ;
partly from this reason, and partly allured by the glowing
picture drawn by the pen of Bayard Taylor, we decided

OUR OPIUM SMOKE.

439

to have an opium smoke before leaving the Flowery
Land. Ah Sin undertook to manage the matter for us ;
so two evenings ago we went to one of the opium-dens
in the Chinese part of the English concession ; they are
riot allowed in the native city. The den was a stylish
affair ; in it there must have been tweniy small rooms,
all devoted to smokers ; in each room is a broad dais, or
couch, on which the smoker reclines while using his pipe,
and generally, owing to stupefaction, for a good while
afterwards. We were escorted to the finest apartment,
in which the wood-carving on the screens was of an
elaborate description. With Ah Sin for instructor, we
commenced to smoke. The pipe is of bamboo, about three
feet long and an inch in diameter. About two-tliirds
distance from the mouth-piece there is a tiny hole in the
side of the stem ; into this hole, wliich is cased with
ivory, the black liquid opium is placed. The opium is
kept in a small round box ; with an instrument like a
darning-needle, the smoker fishes out a portion of the drug
on the end of the needle, he then (piickly holds it over the
flame of a diminutive lamp, where it boils and expands
for a few seconds ; it is then pressed into the pipe-hole.
The next move is to hold the pipe itself over the flame,
and draw into the lungs one or two whiffs of smoke. It
takes long pi-actice to learn how to smoke opium properly ;
the art consists in drawing the smoke so steadily through
the tube that the opium, though held over the flame, will
not take fire. I have seen many men smoking at differ-
ent times ; the average length of each pipe is two pufls ;
many smokers only take one puff and then fill the pi[)e
aojain. It is much more trouble than tobacco, as most of
the time is taken uj) with preparing and filling the pipe.
For a beginner, one j)ipe is considered quite sufficient ;
but we were not warned, so we smoked five each. We
confidently waited for the heavenly visions and ecstasy
described by Bayard Taylor, but none came. On the
contrary, I think Ah Sin was not far astray when he mur-
mured, " Two piecee man blong muchee sick." The drug

?»■

440

THINA.

^I^r

is powerful ; I did not sleep all night after our smoke ;
but I must confess that after the first effect was over I
felt a dreamy, pleasant sensation for several hours — much
the same, I am informed, as that resulting from the use of
chloroform.

Opium is indulged in to an alarming extent in China,
and is the great curse of the empire. It is worse than the
curse of drink; for when once the habit is contracted the
doom of the smoker is sealed. He can't leave off without
enduring acute physical torture ; and if he continues,
which he almost invariably does, he will die a wretched,
hopeless death in four or five years — perhaps a little more
or less, according to his strength. There are very few
moderate smokers. The opium question has now assumed
national importance. The Imperial government intensely
hate the traffic; they see it destroying the social happiness
of their people, but fear to strike against the European
merchants who furnish the poison. In 1889 the authorities
at Peking determined to take a firm stand ; a decree went
forth to suppress the traffic ; large quantities were being
smuggled across the lines. Mandarin Sin demanded that
all opium be at once surrendered ; over twenty thousand
chests, valued at ten million dollars, were seized and placed
in trenches filled with quick-lime. The sea was admitted
to the trenches and the contents destroyed. This act, done
b}' the Chinese in their wrath and despair, led to the
celebrated "opium war" of 1840, in which the British
espoused and fought for a bad cause. Doubtless the
Celestials bitterly repented the quick-lime business, as
the result of the war was that they had to open five ports
to free trade ; to cede the island of Hong Kong to the
British Crown ; and to pay a war indemnity of twenty^
one million dollars.

This opium business is a dark spot on the otherwise
splendid reputation of England. She must plead guilty
to the indictment of directly aiding in blighting the homes
of millions in order to enrich her merchant princes,
Befoie the " opium war," the use of the drug was confined

OPIUM THE CURSE OF CHINA.

441

to the wealthy, as it was an expensive luxury ; Init since
the opening of the ports the trade has assumed gigantic
proportions. Vast quantities of the poppy are raised
specially for the Chinese in the territories of the native
princes of India, and the poorest coolie can now afford to
kill himself with the seductive pipe. British soil, British
ships and British merchants monopolize the business.
Large profits are made. Shanghai may be regarded as
the headquarters. Although the import of Manchestiu*
goods and the export of tea create a great deal of the
business at Shanghai, I am informed that the real back-
bone of the banks and capitalists is opium. The P. & O.
steamer on which we came from Hong Kong to Shanghai
had 633 chests of Malwa opium on board. It was wotth
abont half a million dollars.

People talk about the benefits of European civilization,
and how thankful the Chinese should be for havinfj a few
modern ideas instilled into their craniums. It would
appear China has, so far, reason to regref the day she
allowed foreigners to dwell on her shores.

The Chinese fashion of giving names to new objects is
amusing ; the names are rather descriptive than arbitrary ;
for instance, they call the English "Men of red hair;"
the Americans are " Men of the gaudy banner," alluding
to the Stars and Stripes.

Although I believe the Chinese have a proper respect
for the English bishop, they have a decidedly odd way of
describing him in pidgin English : " Number one topside
heaven pidgin man." This name, they think, conveys all
the dignity that lau^i^uage is capable of.

I '

tail-pjecb;.

CHINA TO JAPAN.

CHINESE TEA— A COSMOPOLITAN CROWD FREEMASONS OF THE EAST— CHESS -
LANfJUAGES OF CHINA -JUNKS- OFF FOR JAPAN— NAOASAKI, ITS JOHN
KEEN08— ITS HAUBOUK ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SPOTS IN EXISTENCE.

Nagasaki, Japan,

26th June, 18«0.

HE Chinese arc great tea-drinkers. In every street
IF there are a good many " tea-houses," which occupy
- the same position liere as cafds do in Europe. Men
and women meet to sip the beverage and gossip. They
take it neat, and liave a contempt for our mode of using
milk and sugar. I read in a connueicial newspaper the
other day that twenty-five million acres of land are
devoted to the cultivation of the plant in China. The
product of this culture is two thousand million pounds
of tea ; but the magnates of Mincing Lane control only a
small portion of it. The British only import two hun-
dred and four million pounds. India now sends a quar-
ter of England's supply.

The pleasure resort of the English concession of Shang-
hai is " The Gardens," situated on the Bund, close to the
wharves and hotels. Nearly every evening the band,
from some one of the men-of-war lying in the harbour,
plays for the amusement of the people. We went over
a few nights ago. Music, and very fair music too, wixs
afforded by a Manilla band from a Spanish frigate. A
curious cosmo}>olitan crowd had assembled to listen to
the welcome strains of European music. There were
Frenchmen, Germans, Portuguese, Spaniards, Americans,
Chinese, Hindoos, Japanese, and English, and withal
there were probably not a hundred people present,

. -^ -*.*****■ ' i»--w»iv4wi;

FREEMASONS — CHESS.

44n

Opposite the gardens is the Freemasons' Hall, the finest
edifice in Shanghai. Its interior looks like a palace, but
the lodge-rooms are not a bit finer than those at Hong
Kong. Freemasons in the East are wealthy and rnHu-
ential. I expected to find in China that chess was
played a great deal, but I looked in vain in the tea-
houses for the familiar game, with its conspicuous kings,
queens and castles. Everywhere men could be seen
engaged in a play that looks like draughts, only the
pieces have each a difteient character marked upon them.
I have discovered now, through an English resident, that
this game is the Ciiinese chess. The handsome ivory
sets of men made at Canton are merely for the European
mai.^et. Their game, however, is the same as ours in
principle. It consists of a mimic battle between two
sovereigns and their retainers. The Chinese men are
called emperor, prime minister, elei»hants, guns, carriages,
and soldiers.

It is difficult for a foreigner coming here to learn the
language. If he does succeed in mastering it, say at
Canton, it is exceedingly annoying to discover, when
he goes to Nanking, Shanghai, or Peking, that he can't
understand a word the people say — yet such is the fact.
The colloquial dialects are so difierent that a coolie liv-
ing at Shanghai can't converse with his neighbour living
on the opposite side of the river, a mile away. Of this
fact I was assured by a gentleman who lias lived several
years here. The language of Peking is called mandarin ;
it is the official tongue of the empire.

We left Shanghai by the Japanese steamer Tokio
Mam, bound for Yokohama and intermediate ports.
As we steamed down the Wangpoo river, we saw the last
of China, and were ofi' to the Empire of the Rising Sun.
As usual, the river was crowded with junks, looking so
comical with their huge goggle-eyes. Every junk has
two large eyes painted in bright colours, one on each side
of the bow ; the natives say they are to enable the bo^t.i
to fsee their way clearly over the waters,

< f' 1

444

CHINA TO JAPAN.

I am quite channe<l with the Tokio Mam. It is one
of tlio most comfortablo passenger steamers I ever trav-
elled on, and the captain and officers are unceasing in
their kindness. Formerly this ship was the Neiu York
of the Pacific Mail Com))any, but it now belongs to the
Mitsu Bishi Line of the Japanese government.

The Japs are a go-ahead people. They own a couple
of large ocean steamshij) lines, while their powerful
neighbours, the (Chinese, have not much more shipping
than the Swiss.

The tirst port chored at was Nagasaki, the most

southerly town ii. -an, situated on the island of Kius-
hiu. This place was tlie first one opened to foreigners.
The Dutch had a trading-station here, made heaps of
money, but had to put up with great indignities. They
enjoyed this mixture of sweet and bitter for over two
hundred years, until, in 1854, the country was partially
opened to the Americans, and immediately afterwards to
the English and Russians. It is only since the latter
date that it can be said that the Japanese people had
ever seen an PJuropean, so strictly were the Dutch kept to
their small trading-post, and so religiously were all other
foreigners driven ofi". Nagasaki is now famous for three
things : its tortoise-shell ornaments, which are the finest
to be found anywhere; its John Keenos, and its harbour.

A John Keeno is a dance peculiar to the country. It
is the can-can of Japan, only more so. A remarkable
scarcity of apparel is the chief feature, and the clothing
gets scarcer and more scarce as the orgie proceeds.

Nagasaki has great reason to be proud of her liarljour.
It is, I believe, the most beautiful little basin in the
world. It looks land-locked, and is shaped something
like a champagne bottle. High mountains are on every
side, and each mountain is thickly covered with vege-
tation, green and fresh ; no hill is like its neighbour ;
each has a grotesque individuality of its own. The
captain and two or three passengers stayed on deck till

A CHARMING SCENE.

445

ippiii

midnight watching the delightful scene. The moon and
stars were shining hrightly, giving the mountains over-
topping us a bath of silver ; the town was brilliantly
lighted with lamps, stretching for half the amphitheatre
of tlie bay ; the water was thickly studded with men-
of-war and meichantmen of diH'erent nations, and on
every ship were several lights of varicid colours — green,
red, white, blue, etc., as re([uired by marine law ; the air
was waiin and delightful. We sat for hours in Indian
easy-chairs, and thoroughly enjoyed the situation.

Without a single exception, it was the most charndng
and beautiful sight of the kind I ever beheld. We
couldn't leave it ; it was long after mi<lnight before we
turned in.

THE FAMOUS INLAND HEA THE FASOINATINC SMILE AND BOW OF THE JAP-
ANESE I'RKTrY TEA-(iIRLS KOBE A TREATY I'OHT— JINRICSHA8— SHINTOO
TEMPLE -SACKKl) ALUINO HOUSE KOKMIDAHLE I'ASSl'OKTS.

tHE Inland Sea of Japan ia or
tiers of tlie East. Travellers,
^-^ tion, rave about its beauty

Kobf:, Japan.

. J-. one of the natural won-

yjk tiers of the East. Travellers, almost without excep-

beauty in exti-avagant terms,
and wtm't allow that there is anything else of the kind
to compare with it.

We expected great guns, and, strange to say, were not
disappointed. About tw^elve hours after leaving Naga-
saki we passed through straits and entcretl the famous
sea. As there have been heaps of descriptions written of
it, I won't enter into a loiig, tetlious account. The empire
of Japan, or Nippon, consists of numerous islands, which
are together much larger than Great Britain and Ireland,
and have a population over eight times that of Canada.
Between Hondo, the largest, and Shikoku, another large
one, lies the Inland Sea. The water bristles with islands
— most of them small, uninhabited, and very fresh and
green ; othei's are several acres in extent. One was
of bare rock, rising precipitously from the water about

INLAND SEA Of JAPAN.

447

HiAty feet. It look(Ml as if elnselled }»y man, but it was
not; on the lop is a lii^dit-liouse, wliere a keeper spends
the loneliest ot" existences. The sea lies between high
mountains on either hand. I never saw mountains like
these before, 'i'hey rise in tiers one above another, and
the highest are regularly the furthest away. They are
all extinct volcanoes, which accounts for their cone sliape.
From the; water's edge to the higlu'st peak is one dense
mass of foliage. It is like a stupendous theatre, the
deceased volcanoes being the audience sitting in rows,
while our steamer was annising them by twisting in and
out along the narrow chaimels between tlu; islands. I am
loth to confess it, but I think the scenery beats our
('ana<lian I'hou.sand Islands in the St. Lawrence. It is
certainly finer than the approach to Singapore. People

INLAND HK.V OK .I.VF.VN.

say that for natural scenery the most picturesque in the
world is to be found in Japan. If Nagasaki an«l the
Inland Sea are merely specimens, then 1 am beginning to
be of the same opinion.

We have a Japanese Prince on boai-d the ToJdo Maru.

448

JAPAN.

:M'^

1 ' 'f

He dresses in European costume, the greatest mistake
any Japanese can make, as the ck^thing of a native
daimio is infinitely more becoming. At one point where
we stopped tlie Prince received a deputation. We had
an opportunity of witnessing for the first time the pecu-
liar and graceful mode of bowing. The obeisance is made
by bending the knees slightly forward and bowing the
head about as low as the knees. This ceremonial one
sees constantly in Japan. When a Japanese meets a
friend he bows befoi'e speaking. Then for the rest of
the conversation, if it be merely of a complimentary
nature, each person bows while he is speaking, but takes
a rest while his vis-d-vw is getting a word in. There is
a natural grace about this formula, accompanied by an
innocent, winning smile which is really quite captivating.

At noon the next day we arrived at Kobe, a brisk place,
and one of the treaty ports. Being a treaty port means
something here. It is only at such a place that a
foreigner can land, except by special permission of gov-
ernment, signified by passport or otherwise. The free
ports now are Kobe, Nagasaki, Yokohama, Osaka, Hako-
date, and Tokio, but it is confidently stated by Europeans
that when ohe next treaty is arranged the whole country
will be thrown open. This partial exclusiveness is nearly
the last relic of barbarism left by the intelligent Japs.
At Kobe we left the I'ok'io Maru, having decided to
spend ten days in the interior seeing the lions of Kioto,
Osaka, etc., and then catch the next Mitsu Bishi boat for
Yokohama.

The watei--fall at Kobe is the only natural wonder of
the placo ; we hired jinricshas and went out to see it.
The jinricsha, more familiarly termed "'ricsha," is an
importa-it institution of Japan. There are a few of them
at Hong Kong and Shanghai, but as they originated here
I will describe one. The literal translation of the word
is " niau-})ower carriage." People who desire to be funny
call them " Pullman cars." It looks like a large baby-

JIXRICSHAS — JAPANESE GIRLS.

449

carriage with two slipfts, between which a uiiiii stands
al^d does the business of a horse. The vehicle is so
lightly built that a strong coolie can draw a man in
one forty miles in a day, and go at a swinging trot
nearly the whole time. I should fancy that anyone troub-
led with a torpid liver would be cured quickly in Japan
if he rode much in 'ricshas, as the jolting one gets beats
horseback riding all to pieces.

To reach the water-fall, we had to alight at the foot of
a mountain and climb a considerable distance. All alonijf
the path were tea-houses, for which Japan is famous. As
we passed each house, two or three prettily-d)-essed young
girls came out, and tried >»y all sorts of blandishments to
induce us to go in and take something to drink. The
general inducement ofiered was a bottle of Guinncss's
stout and another of Hennessey's brandy, of which every
house ap[)eared to have a supply.

The Japs apparently think that all Europeans take

brandy and porter as ste* dy drinks, the same as tea is

drunk here. I< is a doul)tful sort of reputation, which,

'however, we endeavoured to dissipate by pretending we

had never seen such liquor befoi'e.

The water-fall is prettily situated amidst rocks and
dense foliage ; but the chief attraction of the neighbour-
hood is the number of singing, dancing and tea-hou jcs.
People come here to while away a few hours, and cliatf
with the pretty waitresses. It is the orthodox thing to
say they are all handsome, but I must say 1 can't fully
indorse that wholesale statement.

The Japanese girls are small, but usually have beauti-
fully-proportioni'd figures, pretty mouths and a winning
smile. Their genuine smile of welcome and graceful
courtesy form, I think, the chief attractions ; but certain
it is that they are famed in the East for their fascina-
tions. It takes some time for an European to think a
woman with a Mongolian face is really beautiful.

We went also to see t' o Shintoo Temple, at the Hiogo
CO

•i ■ :' ■■.'■ I-

450

JAPAN.

end of the town. This temple is built of plain, unpainted
wood, and contains no idols. The only furniture was a
sacred mirror and a few pictures and mats. Shintoo is
the religion of the Mikado and the Imperial Couit, The
doctrines are those of the worship of deified ancestors
and of the Mikado, and teach of no future state. The
religion of the people and of the late Tycoon is Budd-
hism, but under the new regime it is being gradually
suppressed.

To the left of the temple entrance

building, in which a sacred horse is

is a small wooden

kept. It is pure

The custom is to

white, with pinkish eyes — an albino
give a cash or so to the old caretaker, who then feeds the
horse with a saucerful of corn. I can't find out exactly
what office the horse occupies. It can't be an idol, as
the Shintoos would not have that. The jinricsha coolie
siiid it was placed there conveniently so that the god
could ride it any time he felt inclined for an outing.
Within the large temple inclosure there were tea-houses,
theatres and a circus. We went into the latter, and saw
some acrobats performing, — reserved seats, ten cents.
The feats of balancing were not to be compared in clever-
ness with those done by the All-Right Japanese troupe
which travelled through America. We intended to
leave here at once for Kioto, the ancient capital of the
empire, but found it was necessary to first procure pass-
ports. Through the British Consul we have got them,
and will start to-morrow. The j^assport is a formidable
document, printed in red and black, half English and half
Japanese, and contains a host of restrictions, which we
must comply with or come to grief.

JAPAN.

MILES OF PADDY-FIELDS — FARMERS RAISING CHOPS IN SIX INCHES OF
WATER — JAPANESE LAIUKS SMOKING — ^ NATIVE THEATRK, ACTORS ALL
WOMEN — BEHINI* THE SCENES — ERRORS ABOUT JAPAN — ONLY ONE
EMPEROR — RKCKNT EVENTS.

Kioto, Japan,

July, ]S.SO.

"^HE Japanese have reached a high state of civilization.

||\ Amongst otlier signs of advancement, they have
railways ; a line extends from Kobe to Kioto, tifty
miles. The country through which the track is laid con-
sists of a succession of paddy-tields — mile after mile of
fields covered ahout six inches with water, and devoted
to the cultivation of rice, the staple ood of the country.
The mode of planting and raising rice strikes an European
as odd. The primary consideration to the farmer is an
abundant supply of water. He divides Ids land into ter-
races, and sub-divides into small [dots, from say five to a
hundred feet square. Each plot is enclosed by a mud
embankment about a foot high — this is to keep the water
in. The water flows from one terrace to another, and
keeps an average depth of five or six inches. In this water
the peasant w^orks with his ox and plough, sows his rice-
seed, and then cultivates the plants. The only manure
used is water. The day we })assed along from Kobe to
Kioto it was raining heavily. The farmers were culti-
vating ; they and their wives and children stood nearly
knee-deep in the fields, many of them holding umbrellas
while working. In every direction we saw paddy-fields
cultivated with marvellous care and dotted with moving
umbrellas.

iill

452

JAPAN.

In the i-ailway carriage, seated opposite to us, was a
Japanese lady, dressed richly and having a refined appear-
ance. I was somewhat surprised to see her draw from her
pocket a pipe case and tobacco pouch, and coolly com-
mence to smoke. She smoked almost incessantly durintj a
three hours' journey; but the j)astime is of a mild descrip-
tion compared to our mode of indulging in the weed. The
Jajmnese use a diminutive pipe, till it with light, fluffy
tobacco, take two puff's and then empty the bowl. This
is repeated again and again, more time being occupied in
preparing than in smoking — a good deal like the way
they use opium in China. I have since been informed that
nearly every Japanese woman carries a pipe.

At Kioto, we had a jinricsha ride » ' about two and a half
miles from the railway station, through narrow, old-fash-
ioned streets, to the Maruyama Hotel. This hotel is simply
a native tea-house, a good deal Europeanized to please
travellers. It is situated high up on the side .of a hill, and
commands a grand sweeping view over the whole city.
Our vicinity has the reputation of having the gayest tea-
houses and the prettiest dancing and singing-girls in Kioto.
At any rate, the neighVjourhood is certainly popular. We
are entertained with the distant sounds of music and
laughter day and night. A couple of young Englishmen
are the only other guests besides ourselves ; they are on
their way from China to England fia A !nerica. One of
them told us thfit he was greatly interested in the railway
journey to Kioto. The train only went eighteen miles an
hour, but he thought it was a tremendous rate of speed,
and was delighted with the rapi<l motion. He has been
eight years in China, and has never seen a railway in all
that time. Six or seven miles an hour in a jinricsha is
what he had been accustomed to.

In the evening we went to a native theatre. It differed
from the Chinese ones we had seen. All the phiyers were
women, and they acted remarkably well. It was, however,
entirely pantomime, as they only mouthed and gesticu •

NATIVE THEATRE.

453

lated, and never uttered a word. The talking was done by
an excited individual, who should have kept behind a
screen, but insisted upon remaining in full view of the
audience. This man had one virtue — he threw his whole
soul into his work, and assumed the expression of each
character. He appeared to be paiticularly at home in heavy
tragedy, when his duty was to look like a villain ; it
seemed to require less effort than the other parts. After
the first act the manageress asked us to go behind the
scenes, and we went. The dressing-rooms were reached
by narrow, crooked stairways, which felt very much as if
they would break down with our weight. In different
small rooms, about six by six, and with ceiling about five
feet high, were squatted the actresses preparing for the
next scene ; the majority of them were girls between the
asfes of ten and sixteen. Holdin*; a steel mirror in front of
her, an actress would be painting her eyebrows and mouth,
while an assistant would be arranffinof the delicate com-
plications of the hair toilet. Each girl had a gaily-coloured
lantern beside her, and those were the only lights in the
room. They all seemed pleased and curious at seeing two
big Europeans appearing in the little dens, but at the same
time they were modest and lady-like in behaviour.

The richness and variety of costumes are, I think, more
admired by the natives than the acting. Kioto, or, as it
is called in my atlas, Miako, is the ancient capital of the
Japanese empire ; in fact, it was the i-esidence of the
Mikado until only twelve years ago. Some stupid errors
have existed, and still exist, about Japan. I remember
being taught at school that Japan had two Emperors, one
spiritual, who resided at Kioto, and one temporal, who
lived at Yedo ; also, that the city of Yedo had probablv a
larger population than any other city in the world. Both
of these statements are wrong. As to the latter one, it is
ascertained now that the population is 830,000 ; and even,
in the palmiesb'-days of the Shoguns, it never exceeded a
million and a half. So, after all, London is still double
the size of any other city in existence.

M
-•?«■

g<j

jsi.«

I'
i «.

454

JAPAN.

r«B

Japan never had more than one Kmperor, and he is,
and always has been, the Mikado, the Son of the Gods — an
ethereal being, who, until the recent radical ^changes, was
invisible to all the world but a few attendants and minis-
ters. His capital was Kioto. The Prime Minister of the
Mikado was the first vassal in tlie empire, and was calletl
the Shogun. He lived at Yedo in grand state, and really
exercised nearly all influence and power. The office,
strange to say, had been hereditary for over seven hun-
dred years.

In 1845, when the American Admiral, Pcny, concluded
a commercial treaty with the Japanese, hetreate<l entirely
with the Shogun, who, some one informed him, was the
temporal Emperor. The Shogun, perceiving the foreigner's
ignorance of the actual state of affairs, donned the title of
Tycoon, a Chinese appellation of royalt)^ The so-called
Tycoon assumed Imperial power, and concluded treaties
with Americans, English, French and Russians. In a short
time, however, the«e doings at Yedo i'ea(;hed the ears of
the Mikado and his court. The treaties were declared null
and void. The great revolution soon followed. I have
lead several accounts of the recent startling history of
Japan, and have conversed with native gentlemen on the
subject.

The long and short of the story appears to be this: The
Shogun had many enemies amongst the powerful native
daimios, or noblemen. The unauthorized treaties with
foreigners, and their admission to reside in the country,
were seized upon as a pretext against the great minister
at Yedo. The Prince of Satsuma and other nobles took up
arms for the Mikado, but in reality to demolish the hated
Shogun. The office of Shogun was abolished by an Impe-
rial edict. Battles ensued, and the flas: of the Son of the
Gods was triumphant. The capital was removed from
Kioto to Yedo ; the name Yedo changed to Tokio. The
Mikado <ippears tt:) have been but a puppet throughout,
his name and sacred character being made use of by anibi-

TIIK ROVOLUTION OF JAPAN.

455

I really
office,
n li un-
ci luled

tious but onlijtrhtenefl nobles to gain their own ends. This
cli(|iic of (lainiios are to-day the actual rulers of the
empire, pulling the w'res behind the scenes. The result
has been astounding. This empire, which, since the days
of the first Emperor, Jinmu Tenno, over six centuries
before, Christ had, with the bitterness of fanatics, excluded
foreigners, became suddenly transformed. Europeans and
Americans, with their sure companion, civilization, were
welcomed by the new ministers with a generous hand.
Railways, telegraphs .ind steamships were got with feverish
haste ; post-offices, schools and universities were estab-
lished ; scores of young men wei'c sent abroad to be
educated.

The ministers of foreign nations were received at the
capital, and the Mikado sent his ambassadors to the chief
Powers. Where before not a farthin*; was owed, and
nothing was known of the science of finances, the new
advisers soon accumulated quite a respectable national
debt, and began issuing paper-money at a heavy discount.
The question of adopting English as the official language
of the empire is now seriously considered.

The last twenty-five years has been pregnant with vast
issues and results to the entire world. America lias had a
war which shook a continent ; England has fought in
Russia, India, China, and, in fact, almost everywhere,
altering maps by wholesale ; France and Austria have 1 )een
humbled ; Italy regenerated ; and Germany has ri.sen like
a mighty giant among tho nations. But no one of these
changes is fraught with such tremendous consequences to
a people as have followed in the wake of the revolution of
Japan. A transformation has taken place in the country
and nation in the last twenty-five, nay, twelve years, so
gi'eat that the late Shogun, if he could rise from his grave,
wouldn't recognize his native land. Japan now possesses
the most civilized and enlightened native government of
the East.

V i

-f*»l

■Vf

JAPAN.

TEMPLE WITH THIRTY-THREE THOUSAND THREE HLNnREO AND THtltTYTHREE
GODS IN IT- DAIBl'TZU, AN ENORMOUS IDOL— SINGERS AND DANCERS— MEN
EXTENSIVELY TATTOOED — LAKE BEWA, ITS TROUT— CURIOS— FUNNY LITTLE
NEITCHKEES—OLD LACQUER AND BRONZES— WEALTHY BUDDHISTS— CON-
VE[l^:ION OF HEATHEN CHRISTIANS IN AMERICA — MIKADO'S PALACE— A
POPULAR TEMPLE.

I. ., S

Kioto, Japan,

July 6.

"w^J ^ ^^^'^^ (lashed about this lively city a good deal
\w(y> ill jiniicshas. The distances between the dif-
""^ fei-ent objects of interest are so great that one

rexjuircs the assistance of coolies in order to get over the
inniiense area of ground within any reasonable time.
This is at once the gayest and most religious city in
Japan. Tlie chief siglits are the temples. One of them,
which outside looks like a barracks, is decorated in the
intei'ior with a multitude of idols. Tliore are a thousand
large ones over life-size, and the rest are little fellows.
1 didn't count them to verify this statement, but I am in-
formed that there are *i8,3.S3 <>ods in the buildino-. It
must be rather bewildering to an honest Buddhist to find
out his special favourite in order to recjuest an indtd-
gence. The figures ai"e of wood, covered with gold, and
the whole afi^'air is dedicated to Senjo Kuwanon, the god
of a thousand hands. Near to this temple is the J)ai-
but/u (])Vonounced Daiboots) — an enormous head and
shoulders of Buddha. If there were a body of this idol,
it would be the biggest figure in Japan. It is the largest
head, except the Sphinx, I havo seen. Sixty-three feet
is said to be the height, but I do not think It is over fifty.

SINOING-OIRLS—COSTUMES.

457

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find

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A dancing party could be held comfortably inside the
head if a proper platform wen; elected.

On the way home we crossed the tine Spectacle Bridge,
spanning a sheet of water in which some beautiful lotus
plants were growing and in bloom.

In the evening the hotel boy arranged for the guests a
musical performance, in which ten singing and dancing-
girls took part. The eti(juette at such entertainment'^' is
to order c/nnv for tlie girls. This was done, and (piite a
feast brou'dit in. There was lots of fermented beer made
from rice ; also cakes, jellies, rice, etc. There are neither
knives, forks, tabhis or chairs in the whole native empire,
so we ate with chop-sticks and s(juatted on the Hoor.
The girls were dressed in the height of native fashion —
a silk dress of finest texture ; huge bustle, consisting of
several bows of silk ; a pij)e and tobacco case hatiging at
the belt ; fine straw sandals ; powdered face, lips painted
cherry-red, eyelids darkened, eyebrows shaved, neck pow-
dered ail but two little trianLfles at the back of the head
between the ears. These are some of the features of a
fashionable costume, but the most remarkable is the hair
toilet. A Japanese woman has her hair arranged about
once a week. Jt is built up by the help of anotiier wom-
an, and some sticky, oily sul)stance and lots of pins, into
a fantastic shape, which looks like a number of wings.
She sleeps on a peculiar narrow wooden pillow, so the
precious toilet is not disarranged. The mistress of the
house sat in the midst of our i)arty, which made a sort
of family circle, and dispensed the dainties to the girls
and guests.

After a good deal of conrtesying and compliments on
the part of the hostess, to which we rcjdied at landom,
but with th .' o-eatest assurance, out of our stock of about
a dozen Japanese phrases, the show began. The music
was about the same as is found all over Asia from
Sm^^'na to Yokohama — a monotonous jingle, an<l very
few note.-?, neither high nor low — just the kind to send one

i i:

458

J A PAX.

asleep. A girl named TTakodate sang a native love-song;
I trust that 1 n»ay never hear Hakodate sing any more.
However, we were kept awake by the dancing. The girls
were really graceful, and the posturing was such as would
outHhiimihit f(( hi eanx viviimts of Europe. Between acts,
the dancer who sat beside me took out from a capacious
pocket a mirror and powder-box, and coolly powdered her
face. We had a jolly time for a couple of hours, and then,
amidst a shower of smiles and bows, said " i:^}f/hon(ira"
and went home.

A Japanese gentleman, wlien he entertains his friends
to dinner, always has singing and dancing-girls to en-
hance the enjoyment of his guests. This custom is not
unlike the Roman style " in the brave days of old."

We have been out to Lake Bewa, a place famous for
its scenery, but, I think, a good deal overrated. Wo went
in jinricshas, passed through tea plantations, paddy-
fields, and any number of villages. The women at this
hot season are all naked to the waist, and appear tp feel
(juite comfortable. The children are quite nude, and as
thick as blackberries. The men are naked all but a queer

little breech-cloth. Many
of the men of the lower
class are tattooed. They
don't confine themselves
to simply covering an arm
with devices, as one sees
sometimes on a British
sailor, but cover their
whole body with figures
and hieroglyj^hics. A fa-
vourite mode is to repre-
sent two trees which have
their roots at a man's feet
and the branches spread

A FAMILY GROUP CP .TAPANESE. ^11 OVCr thc body. lu the

branches are birds, and occasionally a woman's face peer-

TATOOIN(J — CUIUO SHOPS.

4.')!)

ing over a twif]j. Tlio scowling face of a < lemon is also
conunon. 'I'hey use both red and biuo ink.

At Otzu fpi-ononnced Oats), we ascended a l«)fty liiii,
and enjoyed a view ovin* Lake Bewa. To uiy mind this
view is Hat, and not to he compared to other places seen
alreaily in Japan ; but I su})pose I am wronijj, as every-
body says it is maf^nificent, etc. About three miles fur-
ther on, at Karasaki, we saw the famous pine tree trainiMl
over the lake, and said to l)e three centuries old. The
branches niv. j)ropp(!d in every direction, which <^ives it
.somewhat the a|)pearance of the great banyan at (Cal-
cutta. The natives here are mostly fishernuin, and sup-
ply the epicures of Kioto with delicious lake trout. They
catch the fish in nets, and then preserve them alive in
baskets kept in tho water, so that at a moment's notice
a supply can be se\it off We have had them for dinner
at Maru3'anja, and I think th«\y are (piito as fine as Cana-
dian brook trout. On this Lake Bewa day we went
twenty-five miles in 'riesha.s.

It is a splendid way to spend an afternoon to go around
the curio shops and inspect the porcelain, bronzes, lac-
quer-ware, and carvings in ivory and wood. I have taken
a fancy to an odd sort of little carving called a neitchkee.
They are generally humorously conceived, and are used
by Japanese to fasten their tobacco pouches in their belts.
Some neitchkees are beautifully carved and very expen-
sive. They represent such groups as boys wearing feio-
cious-lookinff masks and lauixhinir behind them, or mon-
keys pretending to fight, or frogs singing, etc. Nearly
every curio shop has lots of these amusing ornaments,
but, I regret to sa}^ the fashion of wearing them is going
out. In their stead, a plain round piece of ivory is used.
Some of the old lacquer is expensive. A box about afoot
square was shown me. It had some peculiar virtues, so
its price was three hundred and fifty dollars. Between
old ware and new, there is usually a vast difference. Most
of the latter is mere rubbish, while a good piece of old

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WEBSTER, NY. 14580

(716) 872-4503

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lacquer looks smooth, bright and rich. I have, however,
seen new lacquer cabinets, inlaid with ivory and mother-
of-pearl, which are as handsome as anything ancient,
although not a tenth of the price. Tlie bi'onzes of Japan
are celebrated. I had heard a great deal about them, but
was grievously disappointed. The amount of labour be-
stowed upon a good piece of Nippon bronze is immense ;
but in beauty and variety of design and artistic finish, it
can't touch a piece of Fiench work.

The Kioto teujples of Nishi Honganji are said to be the
largest and finest in Japan. The high priest is always a
prince of the blood, a relative of the Mikado. A few
days ago the Emperor stopped here and was entertained
foi- a few hours. The interior of the main temple is a
glittering mass of gold, the pillars, shrines and idols be-
ing heavily gilt. The place belongs to the Monto sect of
Buddhists, which is immensely wealthy. A Japanese
gentleman informed me that a short time ago the govern-
ment, being slightly pinched in their finances, the chief
of the MontoR came forward and lent them five hundred
thousand dollars. The Mikado's advisers are disestab-
lishing tlie Buddhist reliijion, and have left most of the
sects in a deplorably poor condition, but the Montos have
not been disturbed. The Montos are the only Buddhists
I have heard of who are thoroughly in earnest. They
have sent missionaries to America and Europe to convert
the heathen Christians in those countries. Forty priests
have been dispatched to China to gatlier Confucians to
the fold. The individual who has taken the Americans
in hand has, I believe, one convert, and daily expects
more.

One of the outside trips here is to drive to Kameyama
and go down the rapids of the Oigawa river in a boat.
We went, but were disgusted to find that the river was
so swollen by recent rains that we could not induce the
boatmen to make the trip.

We, however, enjoyed a fine view of the mountain

THK MIKADO S PALACE.

4.131

gorge from the top-room of a tea-house, and contented
ourselves with abusing the boatmen for their faint-heart-
eflness.

Nine years ago, a German baron was the second P^uro-
pean who had ever entered the Mikado's palace, and then

NATIVE TRAVKLLEKS IN JAPAN.

he had the very greatest diffi(;ulty to get in. Now, if an
application be made through the proper channel, any for-
eigner is adhiitted. We got in and were well repaid for
our trouble. The whole inclosure is called the Gosho.
The long one-story wooden buildings which compose the
Imperial palace are the finest Japanese houses I have
seen. Each room is separated from its neighbour by slid-
ing panels ; there is, of course, no glass used ; the jmnels
facing the verandah are simply covered with white Jap-
anese paper, made from wood, and having somewhat the
appearance of frosted glass. On most of the panels scenes
are painted by well-known artists. Were it not for the
total ignoring of the art of perspective, the paintings would
probably rank high even in the eyes of an Euro|)ean art-
ist. The reception-rooms, bed-rooms, etc., are all beauti-
ful specimens of wood-work — a craft in which I think the
Japs excel all others. One room was shown us with con-
siderable ceremony b}'^ the attendant. It is the sanctum
sanctoritm of the palace. We were only allowed to look

' 1

if:

It:

402

JAPAN.

in; our infidel feet ni> t not touch the sacred mats.
Here the holy symbols ot royalty were formerly kept —
the sword, the crystal and the lookint^^-glass, which are
now removed t(? Tokio. A small building in the garden
is shown where the Mikados always rushed for safety in
case of earthquake. It appeared to me to be the shakiest-
looking edifice in the whole inclosure.

The most popular temple in Kioto is at Kiomeedzu. It
is a beautiful spot, shaded by grand old forest trees.
When we visited it the interior was crowded with wor-
shippers, making it look business-like and prosperous.
The way a Jap performs his religious duties is this : he
walks up to a spot opposite the figure of the god, rings a
bell three times ; at the last l)ang he thinks the god ap-
pears and listens ; then the devotee throws a cash into the
money-box, drops on his knees, mutters some prayer for
about aminute, and then gets up and walks hap|)ily away.
The walls are decorated with |)ictures presented by grate-
ful Japs. A man who has escaped shipwreck hangs up a
picture of a storm, etc. One old idol named Benzuri is
nearly worn to a shadow. In its palmy days it doubtless
had comely features, but they have been entirely rubbed
off. He cures pains. The sick part, such as a head or
leg, is rubbed against Benzuri, and a cure follows as a
matter of course. The old fellow also looks after
children. From his neck hang a large number of bibs
and pinafores, the otferings of anxious mothers.

THE JAPS.

MEN AND WOMEN, ENTIREI-Y NAKED, BATHE TOGETHER -OSAKA, THE VENICE OF
JAPAN— YOKOHAMA, A COSMOPOLITAN CITY— A TEA KIUING GODOWN— THE
CHINESE, THE GRASPING JEWS OK THE EAST.

Yokohama, Japan,

12th July, 1880.

NE of the most peculiar features of Japanese social
life is their mode of bathing. Men, women and
children, all perfectly naked, bathe together in
an enormous tub full of hot water.

The people are fond of the public bath, and the place
is always well filled. Since the advent of foreigners, the
bathing together of the two sexes is not indulged in so
much at places like Kobe and Yokohama; but at country
towns it is still the same as ever. From Kobe we went
in jinricshas up to Arima, a lovely little spot amongst the
mountains. After lunching at a temple, we strolled up
through the main street. Stopping at the bath, we
walked in ; a wooden vat about ten feet square and
four feet deep was sunk into the floor ; in it were aV)Out
sixteen people of both sexes. On the floor around the
sides people were standing unconcernedly drying them-
selves. They don't seem in the least ashamed of their
nakedness, and, I am told, laugh at Europeans who think
there is any harm in it.

The water is used at a frightful temperature, varying
from 130 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

No Japanese could be induced, if he could avoid it, to
take a cold plunge. We went to another bath and saw
the same thing. This is the first country in which I have
observed this odd way of living,^ but it is really not iui-

464

THE JAPS.

moral or even immodest, because the people are perfectly
innocent in the matter. They may well rejily to our
shrugs with " Honi soit qui "iiial y pe?is«."

We walked further up the hill to the source of the
springs and had a drink. The water is much like soda
water, quite pleasant to take. Arima is famous for its
straw ware, wdiich is exposed for sale in dozens of small
shops and at very cheap prices.

ARIMA.

I wrote last from Kioto. A run of an hour and
a half on the railway from that cily brought us to Osaka,
which is the great centre of native trade in Japan. Here
tea and silk are to be seen by the cart-loa<l, and the
streets present a busy, wealthy appearanco. Canals
almost take the place of streets, tliey are so numerous ;
and as every country with any poetical aspirations must
have its Venice, this place is conunonly styled " The
Venice of Jajian." For some time past we have been
travelling with Captain Barton from Hong Kong, and
have enjoyed ourselves very much. At Osaka we met

OSAKA — YOKOHAMA.

405

and
f.saka,
1 Here

the
lanals
L'ous ;
Imust

The
J been
I, and

met

another friend, and all tofjethcr went aronnd to see the
Hii^hts. The lion of the; place is the castle, a stronijhold
of the ohl Sho«^ains. It is a fort, havitii^^ gii^'antic founda-
tions of stone and .a douhle moat. The stones used are
enormous, and reminded us of the massiveness of Baal-
bee. During the civil war in IJSII!) it held oiit man-
fully asj^ainst its l)esiegers; but nowadays, with Kuroj)ean
artillery, forts seem to be really of little use. Strans^^e to
say, the builders did not seem to know about draw-
bridges, for although the walls are timely protected by a
deep moat the gates are entered over a solid embank-
ment. I suppose in olden times they centred all their
strength to defend the gates, and considered the rest of
the walls impregnable.

After a jolly stay at Osaka, we came down by rail to
Kobe, there caught the steamer Tafjasahi Marit, and
started for Yokohama. THe next morning we entered for
the first time the Pacific Ocean, and now nothing but
water lies between us and America. This steamer is not
half so comfortable as the Tokio Mam. After a run of
thirty-six hours, we entered the bay at Yokohama. Here,
as at Shanghai, there is a bund or street facing the sea ;
fine buildings adorn it, and European enterprise is seen
everywhere.

In the harbour is the American man-of-war, the Aslh-
dot, which we saw at Hong Kong. It has two masts,
two funnels and paddle-wheels. The way the Chinese
name it in ])idgin English is rather amusing: "Two piecee
})aral)oo, two piecee puff-puff, outside walkee walkee."
Yokohama is a tine city, with broad streets, and with
citizens from every nation under the sun. It is the con-
necting link between Asia and the New World. News-
jiapers are published in English, French, Chinese an<l
Japanese. The foreigners here, as at all other European
settlements in the East, are a superior set of men. They
have left their native land with the intention of making
a fortune, and then returning to Rotten Row, the Champs

TllK .lAlS.

r ^

Kl^sj'es, the UntiT «leii Linden, oi- Brondwny, as tlio rase
may be, and astoiiisli tlieir friends by di-iving a fine ear-
riaoe, and movinf^ on tlie upper crust of society. 'J'liese
men are keen, maidy, independent fellows, and liaviiiM to
<leal so much vvitli natives, soon ac(|uire a masterly man-
ner. After landiiiijj at Yokohama, our first thought was
to Iniiry to the otKce of the Oriental J5ank ('or})oration
and <,^et the letters and })apers which had been aceumu-
Jatino for us foi- four months. 1 was deli^^hted to re-
ceive a lar<re bundle, and spent the <lay in readin^^ up the
news. It is astonishing what a number of important
events appear to occur in one hundred and twenty days
when one reads of tliem all in one afternoon.

The tea business forms an important comnnMcial feat-
ure of Yokohama. Oi)posite to our hotel there is a tea
iiring godown, which is well worth visiting. The tea in
its fresh state, as used by Japanese, is never seen in
Ameiica; in that condition it would not keep during the
Pacilic voyage.

The aiticle intended for export first passes through a
drying and adulterating process. In the godown men-
tioned there aie probably two bundled native Japanese
at work under Chinese foremen. Each employee has in
front of him (or herj an iion bowl about two feet in
diameter and two feet deep. This is situated over a
brick furnace, and is continually kept at a high degree of
temperature. A few ])ounds of fresh tea leaves, which
are aliea«ly lolled and prepared as far as is necessary for
hgme consumption, are thrown into the bowl and kept by
the labourers constantly in motion, being turned over
and over until perfectly dry. Meanwhile, a Chinese fore-
man walks up and down the rows of furnaces. In his
hand he holds a pot full of indigo, which he distributes
into the ditleient bowls with a long spoon, and thus gives
to the tea that dull blue colour which is considered in-
dispensable by the foreign merchant. Some of the
labouiers were women with babies tied on their backs in

fore-
m his
ibutes

gives

}d in-
If tlie

•ks in

CHINESE COMPAUEn WITH JAPS.

4(>7

Japanese fashion, imicli after tlie manner of an Indian
squaw with lier papoose. The working hours are hard,
from six a.m. till six p.m.

The (.'liine.so have a (juarter of the town to them.selves.
They are a ditierent race altogether from tlie Japs ; tiie
latter are impulsive and extravagant ; naturally, gentle-
men ; ]X)lite to foreigners ; eager to grasp tlie latest Eui'o-
pean ideas; hut, on the whole, rather unreliable in matters
of busine.ss. The Chinese character presents a different
picture, — they are cold-blooded; economical to meanness;
boori.sh, if not actually hostile, to foreigiiers ; have a pro-
found admiration for their own antediluvian institutions,
and an equally ])r()found contemj)t for the i<leas of
" foreign devils." In justice, however, to John Chinaman,
I must say he has the reputation amongst European
merchants of beinix a thorouirh and reliable man of busi-
ness. He is the grasping, far-seeing Jew of the East, and
can make a fortune where an Englishman or a Japanese
would starve. Knowing the actual truth of the old saw,
" Honesty is the best policy," he acts u|) to it and fulfils
his engagements to the letter. The fihroff's, or tellers of
the banks, in Honjr Kouir, Shanghai and Yokohama are
all Chinamen. They are proud of their nati(mal costume,
and do not, like the Japs, adopt the European dress.
There are dozens of exchange-banks heie, chieHy patron-
ized by sailors. They are all kept Ijy yellow-faced Celes-
tials, who sit behind their counters and seem to be always
calculating on their sorobans. They don't use figures in
their arithmetic, but do their addition, subtraction, etc.,
on a soroban, or counting-machine. These machines look
very stupid, but are used at all the banks, and by the
Japanese also.

The Chinese here celebrate the birthday of their Em-
peror. We went over hist night to see the illumination.
Several streets were ablaze with lanterns all adorned
with dragons, the national emblem.

Many of the lanterns were ingeniously constructed ;

ill

4C8

THE JAPS.

moving fi<(ures were kept ^'oing l)y a little fan at the top ;
groups representing a public execution, a boat at sea, a
'log-light, a «lrag()n chasing a horse, a company of soldiers,
etc., could all be seen on ditterent lantern.s. The temple
was the centre of attraction ; in it were more lanterns
and moi'e devices. As a rule, the Japs hate the Chinese ;
]>ut they turned out gayly in large crowds to see the fun.
Many of the Celestials here are innnensely wealthy. I
am inforuied that, although paragons of meanness, they
are cool and daring speculators, and are not afraid of
handling enormous transactions. They will risk every
cjish they possess, and look as cool as a cucumber.

THE CAPITAL OF JAPAN.

THK MAON'IPICKNT TOMBS OF THK SH0GUN8— FINK.ST IN EXISTENCE EXCKPT
TAJ MAHAL-LAK(iE BEAU8— PUBLIC WRESTI.KKH MKE THE (il.ADIATORH OK
THE COLOSSEUM — A MUSCULAR CHRISTIAN.

^ To Kio, Japan,

July, l.S8().

tOKIO, the capital of Japan, is the larijost and most
populous city in the empire. It is situated on
the Bay of Yedo, eighteen miles from Yokohama,
and is readied from the latter place l)y rail in fifty-Hve
minutes.

We have spent two weeks at Tokio, an<l have well en-
joyed seeing its temples, its people, and its amusen. <\is.
The shrines and tombs of Shiba are \mongst the chief
attractions ; here, amidst avenues of grand old cryf)tomo-
rias and in regal magnificence, lie the Itones of six of the
Shoguns of Japan. The Shognns (or Tycoons) made up
for their defective title to sovereignty by their princely
style of living and the gorgeous extravagance of their
tombs ; each tomb consists of outer an<l inner courts, a
shrine or temple, and another inclosure behind containing
the monumental bronze urn ; the courts are pebbled, and
surrounded by buildings ornamented with elpjjorate
carvings of dragons and birds, demons and deities. The
shrine is, in each case, a building of about forty feet
square, built in the usual style of a Buddhist temple,
with overhanging carved roofs, and approached by a
flight of steps ; at the entrance, the pilgrims kneel and
pray to the shades of their deified rulei-s. The interior,
to which we were admitted by a bonze with a shaveri
pate, is a fine sample of Oriental splendour ; the ceilings

470

TIIK CAPITAL OF JAPAN.

_!*'

pillars, panels ami altar are a glitterin;^ mass of polisherl
Iac((uer, quaint carvinfjs and solid gold. We of course
had to take oft' our shoes hefore entering. Behind the
temple, in a raised stone inelosure, is a graceful b?'onze
cinerary urn, ahout ten feet high, containing the ashes of
a Shoixun. In the courts in front of the slirine are lonn
rows of lanterns of stone or bronzt*, the gifts of daimios,
or noblemen, to the Shogun ; each lantern is a work of
art in itself, the bronze ones especially ; tliey stand about
eight feet high are delicately ci^-ved and ornamented in
gold, and with Japanese characters.

All the tombs are kept in perfect repair, thus affording
a pleasing contrast to tlui neglected shrines of China.

We have also visited Uyeno, where six more semi-
emperors lie buried ; it is much like Shiba, only the park
surrounding it is grander.

The finest tomb — in fact, tlie most beautiful buililinjx —
1 have ever seen is the Taj Mahal, at Agra, ejected over
the grave of an Indian princess ; but I must give the
second place to the tombs of the Japanese Shoguns. Any
one of them is more artistic and l)eautiful than the Dome
of the Invalides, or the cumbrous piles of Cheo[)s or
Chefren.

In the Shiba irionnds there is a museum devoted to
showing the silk, tea, mineral and other resources of the
empire. Behind the ])uilding is a permanent exliibition
of wild beasts ; it is small, but select, consisting of four
bears and two eagles — one of the bruins is a monster
gray grizzly from the Rocky Mountains. In the Zoolog-
ical gardcTis of fvondon and Amsterdam, which are sup-
posed to be the finest in the world, there isn't a bear to
touch this grizzly in point of size ; it is over four feet
high at the shoulders, when on all-fours.

Public wrestling is a favourite amusement in Japan,
and a time-honoured institution. Just now, there is a
band of famous wrestlers giving exhibitions of their skill
fit Tokio ; I have seen them twice ] ihe last tiniQ it was?

PKIZK WKKSTLKHS.

471

ipan,

is a

skill

was

(juito cXL'itiii;^'. Tilt' jn'i'foniiiiiico takos place, in a lar^cj
ttMiiporary l»uil<lin<,^ in slia))!' like a circMis tent, but nruh?
of lianilxM) and straw ; wluMi we enterod, it was (riowilcd
witli rntluisiastic spectators. In the centre was tlie riii,!^,
aliout twelve teet in diainetcr, and raised about a foot
from tlie ''round ; the reserved seats consisted of a •rallerv
runnin^f around tlie inolosure, in which any one inclined
to s(piand(;rsix cents was entitled to scjuat; about twenty
wrestlers sat on opposite sides o\' the rins^ facin^jf each
other. The J.ipanese, as a rule, are not tall, but these
athletes were picked men, many of them were over si.K
feet, and the majority were at least o feet 10 incites in
heiiflit. They do not confine tliemselves to i^atinir rice
and fish, the ordinary food of their countrymen, but are
fed with meat to i,nve them greater streni(th.

I remember, when at Rome, seeiiiLj at the fjatinvin a
splendid larLfe mosaic, which had been found <bninir th(;
excavations of tlie batlis of the Emperor Caracjdla ; the
mosaic consists of tlie portraits of a number of Jloman
gladiators, who had becouKi famous as prize-fiij^hters in
the (Jolosseum; their faces had much of the brute and
little of humanity in their expression — retreating foie-
heads and ears well forward.

The heads of several of the Jajmnese wrestlers re-
minded me strongly of those in the mosaic. When one
of the wrestlers enters the ring, he places himself in a
position as if he were going to do the spread-eagle on
skates; he tlien lifts liis right leg as high as he can, and
brings liis foot down on the ground with a terrilic thump;
ditto witli the left. After eyeing his opponent, who has
gone through the same pantomime opposite to him, he
gets up and swaggers to the side, takes a small drink of
water and a pinch of rice — the latter he spreads on the
earth as an offering to the Goddess of Fortune. Both men,
who are naked all but a breech cloth, nowajiproach «'acli
other and squat on their toes vi'i-d-vis ; first, one places
both his hands on the ground, then the other follows suit,

472

THE CAPITAL OF JAPAN.

and tljcre they are on all-fours, glowering at each other
like mad dogs ; in a couple of seconds they spring at each
other, and the battle commences. The first one who is
thrown or is shoved beyond the straw ledge of the ring
loses the round. They are thick, heavy fellows, and not
at all delicate in their movcmients ; for instance, one
fellow lifted his opponent (who must have weighed 180
lbs.) bodily, and threv/ him clear out of the ring, knock-
ing over the referee and spoiling his dainty clothing.
After the twenty had each had a contest, a drum was
sounded, and all the fighting men formed in Indian file,-
and marched out amidst applause of the people.

Now g'eat preparations were made; the ring was raked ,
music was played, and the master of ceremonies made a
speech. A battle was about to take place between two cele-
brated champions. Amidst the clash of nmsic a new com-
pany of wrestleis approached the arena, led by two enor-
mously big men; all entered tne ring and performed a sort
of pugilistic dance. Then the two prize animals were left
alone, and after tiiumping feet and propitiating the god-
dess, they went for each other ; they fought, and pulled,
and struggled for about five minutes. Time was up, but
no fall had occurred. The referee approached, observed
the exact attitude of the contestants, and separated them.
These men were swells in their way ; each had a servant
to fix his hair and sponge him down ; twominutes' rest, and
they entered the ring again. The referee carefully placed
them in the identical attitude tliey left otf at, called out
"Hail" and they went at it again ; three desperate rounds
were fought, but no fall. The men were huge specimens.
When free from each other, they would dance around the
ring, and then rush together with arms apart ready to
clinch ; their chests would collide w4th a thud which
shook the building, and they were roaring all the time
like wild beasts. After all the fighting, neither of the
champions could down his opponent. Other tussles fol-
lowed, which resulted in blood flowing, black eyes and

AN ENGLISH ATHLETE WINS.

473

bad falls ; but the Jinale was the best part of the show.
The whole crowd of athletes entered the arena and
formed into two opposing parties. One fellow dashed
into the ring, and was met by one of the o})posite side.
Several of each party were eagerly waiting to attack
whoever should i)C the victor. In an instant after a
man was van([uished, one of his side took up the gaunt-
let and rushed upon the conqueror. It was exciting.
The men were in earnest, and fought desperately. Some-
times a big fellow would demolish five or six enemies,
and at last, exhausted, give under to a fresh man. The
spectators stood up intensely excited, and cheered the
fighters lustily. At ia«t one brawny giant stood alone
and defiant in the ring ; he was tho victor. The referee,
with much deference, gave him an illuminated card on a
lacquered salver in token of his prowess. Some Japanese
ladies were present in specially reserved seats. The
champion approached them, card in hand, in true Colos-
seum style, and bowed low to his fair patronesses. Tiiey
in turn smiled graciously on the gladiator, and he was a
proud man.

Not long ago, a Church -of-England missionary, of the
muscular Christian stamp, was present at a wrestler's
contest; he had been a renowned English athlete, and
couldn't resist the temptation of trying a bout with the
Japanese champion; I am told the struggle was a fierce
one ; the Englishman was large and powerful, but hadn't
half the animal strength of his professional antagonist ;
the Jap was confident, and had thii honour of liis
people to sustain ; but he had to succumb finally to a
scientific Devonshire grip and throw, The fickle people
hooted tlieir champion,

ill

111

MIKADO OF JAPAN.

ANNUAL HOLIDAY KUK HADES -SIGHTS <W TOKK) CWNADA AS A MODKL —
FKSTIVAL NIGHT— SINGING GUASHHOPl'KUS— THK MIKADO AND HIS EM-
PUE8S —PUBLIC UECEPTION — SCENES.

ToKio, Japan,

July, LScSO.

[HE inmates of Hell have three days' holiday per an-
num, according to the Japanese belief. The su)>er-
stition is, that on the 10th, 17th and 18th of July
in each year the cover of Hades is lifted otf and the
spirits revisit the scenes of life. The visit is made
as agreeable as possible. The master of each house
has lanterns lighted, and welcomes his shadowy guests.
Rice, eggs, tea and hot saki are spread out as a feast.
On the third day farewells are said, and the feasting is
at an end. This must V>e done before sunset, as the lid
is put down sharp on time, and late spirits have to .van-
der about in space the whole ensuing year. The Japan-
ese think hell is a huge pot of boiling water. We were
in Toldo during the three days' holiday. It was a gay
time. The people sympathize with the spirits, and each
night held bazaars and joyous festivals on the principal
streets.

There are so many interesting things to see at Tokio
that it is impossible to give a proper description of them
in one letter, or even in a dozen letters.

There is the popular Temple of Asaksa, dedicated to
Kuwanon, the Goddess of Mercy, and always crowded
with worshippers — having also wax-works which rival
Madame Tussaud's in their realistic grou|)s.

There are the picturesc^ue ponds of Kjvu^e Ido, stocked

SIGHTS OF TOKIO.

475

with enormous goldfish, some of them over two feet in
lenj^th.

There is the Temple of Sengakugi, containing in its
grounds the graves of the ever-famous heroes, the
"Forty-seven Ron ins."

There is the shrine of Sho Kon Sha, erected upon a
beautiful and lofty site, and boasting of the two finest
bronze lanterns in Japan.

There is Nihon Bashi, the bridge from which all dis-
tances in the empire are measured.

There is the Tori, tlie main street of the city, built up
since the great fire in 1873, ninety feet wide, lined with
trees and fine buildings, and, altogether, a magnificent
boulevard.

There is the famous, or rather notorious, fish-market,
dirtier than Billingsgate, where cuttle-fish, crabs, eels, and
all sorts of inhabitants of the sea, are sold alive and
kicking.

There is the Scientific Museum, a place well worth a
visit. In it the very latest European and American ideas
on chemistry, hydrostatics, engineering, etc., are exempli-
fied by books, plans and models, so that every Japanese
can with facility ac(piaint himself with the most advanced
scientific lore. In the school department, I noticed that
Canada was the model. Photographs of Toronto Univer-
sity and some of our Colleges hung upon the wall, and a
complete model Canadian school-room was on exhibition.
The idea was got from the Centennial at Philadelphia.

During any festival season, it is a pleavsant mode of
spending the evening to walk along the principal streets
of the capital. On such occasions the main thorough-
fares are turned into a bazaar for the sale of almost every
imaginable article, but chiefiy things to amuse the peo-
ple. We strolled for a couple of hours through the scene
a few nights ago. The streets were filled with teinpoi'aiy
booths, brightly lighted with torches. Men, women and
children came in shoals to see the fun- To^ standi

476

MIKADO OF JAPAN.

! S,

seemed to be the chief" attraction, but we were mostly in-
terested in the goldfish, the dwarf trees, white mice, and
singing locusts. Goldfish are favourite ])ets of the Jap-
anese, especially those with three tails, which are quite
common (I refer to the fish). Some dealers had as many
as a dozen tubs filled with different sizes and qualities of
the finny tribe. A customer selects from a tul> what he
wants, and in an instant the exact ones picked out are
ladled up into a small basin. I saw two fine goldfish
sold for three tempos, about a penny.

The dwarf trees are really curiosities. The Chinese
are famous for their cunning in training and torturing
trees into all sorts of shapes, but I believe they are sur-
])assed by the Japs. The favourite subjects for experi-
njenting upon ai-e pines and cedars. Lots of them were
on sale, and ap})eared to get a fair share of patronage. A
pine may be so thoroughly dwarfed that, though old and
gnarled, and planted in a tiny pot of earth, it can be ap-
propi'iatel}'^ used as a button-hole ornament.

Several men devoted their energies entirely to the sale
of white mice. A good pair of performing ones could be
bouglit for hatchi sen (eight cents).

But the greatest oddities of all the merchandise offered
for sale in the gay torch-lit bazaar were the singing
locusts, or grasshoppers.

There were about half a dozen different grasshopper
merchants, and the vigorous chirping in their respective
neighbourhoods was almost deafening. I knew of the
costly fighting grasshoppers of China, but never saw
them valued for singing till I came to Japan. They are
kept in ssmall delicate wooden cages, and are fed like a
tame bird. The average songster has a body about an
inch and a half long. I priced one whic^h was buzzing
like a sawmill — it was ten cents, cage and all. The
scene on this festival night was characteristic of Japan.
The crowd wiis light-hearted, laughing and polite ; old
people were buying toys, mice and grasshoppers, q,nd en-
joying it all as niuch j^s if the^ were bcibies,

RlDICtfLOUS COSTUMES.

477

It was like carnival night at Rome, only more primi-
tive and innocent.

We have seen the Mikado, or Emperor, and the Em-
press; it was atapuhlic reception, at the railway station,
on the 23rd July. The present Mikado, whose name is
Tenno Mutsu Hito, and umler whose rf'yime such aston-
ishing changes have taken place, has just completed a
royal progress throughout his empire. He was expected
to arrive at the Tokio railway station at 10 a.m., and at
that hour all the approaches to the station were packed
with a crowd of people anxious to see their sovereign,
whom all the traditions of their nation had taught them
was a son of the gods — a supernatural being.

Accompanied by a member of the Japanese Imperial
diplomatic body, our jinricshas dashed through the
crowd, and we were enabled to get an excellent position
inside the station, and there, for an hour and a half,
awaited the arrival of the special royal train. A large
number of daimios and ministers of state were in attend-
ance. Some of their costumes were amusing. They all
wish to imitate Europeans, and to this end have (juite
abandoned their really handsome native dress.

Several wore dress coats, many sizes too large for
them, and trousers three or four inches too short. Their
tile hats were of the French style of the last century — low,
large, and with a tremendous curve of the brim. The
Japanese are, almost without exception, bow-legged ;
this is caused by their habit of squatting, instead of sit-
ting on chairs, but is not noticeable when the loose
national costume is worn. They imagined, doubtless,
that they were got up cap-di-pie in latest European style ;
but they simply looked ridiculous with their short, tight
trousei-s, bandy legs, and anti(iuated hats. Some of the
diplomatic body, however, who had been in Europe,
were dressed in excellent taste.

The soldiers who formed a guard looked well ; they
were accoutred in a uniform which combines the best

! fr

^Hl—~

NATIVE JAPANESE COSTUME,

THE EMPRESS OF .JAPAN.

470

iVatmcs of tlioso worn l)y the Giiinian and French infan-
try. At ahont eleven o'clock, the Empress arrived in a
.state carriage. She wa.s attended by several maids of
honour, and was received by .some princes of the blood,
Thi! costume of the Empress had, at least, the merit of
Iteino- Japanese. It was not an imitation of Western
ideas, but unfortunately it wa.sn't a tithe .so becoming as
tlui dress of an ordinary Japanese pea.sant girl. Plain
red and green silk were the sole materials used, and they
looked ugly. The Empiess is short, lias a pale face, but
quite of the Mongolian type. Her Majesty is twenty-
nine years of age, being a year older than the Mikado,
and has the orthodox expressionless face of Japanese
royalty.

At half after twelve, the train arrived with the Em-
peror. The Empre.ss, with her maids, took up a position
to welcome her husband. Daimios, soldiers and guards
were all on the qui vive, and standing in each other's
way. Amidst a flourish of tiumpets from the band, the
great man alighted from the train, and walked towards
us ; when he reached liis wife, he did not even look at
her, but, with Eastei-n stoicism, rai.sed his hat slightly and
passed on. The Mikado dresses like a French lield-
marshal, and makes rather a line appearance — that i.s,
finer than I was led to expect. His Majesty is above
medium height, has a slight figure, and an awkward, stiff
gait. The awkwardness is not to be wondered at, as he
has just recently emerged from a life more exclusive than
that of a j)r soner, and, doubtless, feels nervous in the
presence of a multitude. His face is rather too long and
thin to be a typical Japanese one.

A throng of princes and retainers liung upon the foot-
steps of the Mikado ; but the poor little Empress followed
alone, and did not seem to be taken much notice of.

The Emperor drove away in a fine Kuropean carriage
drawn by four dashing bays. The Empivss followed in
a more modest turnout.

Iiil

■pi

480

MIKADO OP JAPAN.

The Empress has no child to inherit the throne, bnt
the heir presumptive is an infant son of one of th(; Em-
peror's concubines. The Mikado lives at the Shiro, tl»e
home of the kingly old Shoguns. The Shiro is an im-
mense property in the heart of the city ; it is surrounde<l
by lofty walls and two wide moats, and for many gener-
ations was the feudal stronghold of the great Tycoon.
Since the latter's downfall, the Mikado has taken u\) his
quarters in the Shiro, and is about to build a magnificent
palace there. The moat is just now a beautiful sight.
It is filled with lotus plants in full bloom ; the grace-
ful leaves and the stately blossoms are seen in rare per-
fection.

JAPAN.

MOUNTAIN RESORTS OF DAI NIPPON.

SCENES ON THE TOKAIDO, THE OKEAT lUiiHWAY OF TIIK p:MriflE — THE
GAME OF GO — SULPHUR SPRINGS OF LITTLE HELL — BATHIN(> APRES
NATURE— LAKE HAKONE — WONDERFUL SPONGES OK ENOSHIMA — DAI-
BUTZU, THE LARGEST PERFECT FIGURE IN EXISTENCE.

Yokohama, Japan,

August, 1880.

VERY traveller in Japan, who lias any regai'd for his
f - ,_ -. re})utation, takes a trip to Hakone and Miyanosh-
^•^"^^ ita, in the mountains ; so we went. The distance
is about fifty miles from Yokohama, and is accomplished
by three different modes of conveyance — carriage, jinric-
sha, and cango.

For the first thirty-five miles, to Odawara, we took a
Nip2^on hashi, or Japanese carriage. It is ever so much
cheaper than one of Cobbs' swell English drags, and an-
swers the same purpose. To be sure, the native horses
were simply bags of bones, and the harness consisted
chiefly of clothes-line, which snapped every once in a
while ; but that doesn't make much difference if one is
not in a hurry. The road lies along the Tokaido, the
most famous highway in Japan, and abounds with lively
and interesting scenes the whole way. The gently-un-
dulating land, the rich green vegetation, and the hedges
of tea plant, resembling privet, all reminded me of simi-
lar scenes in the southern counties of England. The day
was hot, and the Adam-and-Eve style of costume pie-
vailed. Houses and shops, all open to the street . line both
££

482

JAPAN.

sides of tho road, alnioHt without intormission — an exccl-
l(!nt opportunity to ol).servo tlic liahits of the people. A
j^ood deal of ingenuity is displayed in nia])ping out the
lieads of the children. The hair on a youngster's head is
shaved ofi" hy a fond parent with a view to a humorous
or picturesque effect. Sometimes all is shaved except two
small tufts which hangover tlie ears ; again, a tiny patch,
an inch s([uare, is left just above the forehead. The most
connnon mode, however, is to scrape out furrows, so that
what hair remains looks like a well-kept paddy-field.

I have bought some photographs of Japanese children,
and they look very comical, with their moon-shaped eyes,
laughing mouths, and garden-])lot heads. It seems to be
natural in Japan to develop the humorous side of every-
tlnng. Tho images of the gods themselves are carved
with a d(!cided sense of the grotes(]ue. The brightly-
painted pictures of l)attlcs and tragedies, which are for
sale in almost every shop, can't be looked at without a
smile.

Even the animals seem to partake of the universal ten-
dency to oddness. There are fish with three tails, cats
with no tails, and chickens with feathers turned the
wrong way.

The people write in ])erpendicular lines, and read from
right to left, like the ( -hinese.

The Japanese women have a peculiar custom of dyeing
their teeth as black as ebony. In this part of the country
the dyeing is done immediately after marriage ; in the
Sat^suma country, to the south, I believe it is not done
till the birth of 'he first child — at any rate, it is a hideous
fashion, and nspulsive to an European.

At Odawara, we hired jinricshas and coolies, and used
them over the rough road to San My Bashi. From the
latter place, it is a beautiful seven-mile mountain climb to
Miyanoshita. Old ladies and lazy tourists used the cango,
a sort of bamboo sedan chair, for the mountain paths, but
we hired a boy to guide us and carry our luggage. Miya-

THE GAMK OF GO.

483

n excel-
)plo. A
out the
l)eatl is
iniorous
ept two
y^ patch,
he most
so that

3ld.

bildren,
3(1 eyes,
IS to be
every-
carved
ightly-
are for
hout a

sal ten-

s, cats

(1 the

Ifi

0111

lyeing
untry
n the
done
deous

used
11 the
iiib to
ango,
s, but
^iya-

noshita is the Saratoga of Japan ; thither tlie Yokoham-
ites Hock in the sumiiior, and enjoy pure mountain air
and hot spring baths. Tln' Fujia Hotel, kept by a native,
hangs on the brink of a wild gorge, and must be a de-
lightful spot to spend a week or so at in fine weather.
However, during our three days' stay, rain fell almost
incessantly, so we couldn't appreciate the full beauty
of the place.

We amused ourselves with playing Go, and with hold-
ing several levees of women and girls, who were offering
the famous inlaid woods for sale.

The game of Go is Japanese. Go is the Japanese word
for five, and the object in play is simply to get five in a
row. It is played on a board with 324 squares, some-
what resembling a chess tal)le. The natives are passion-
ately fond of the game, and a Go ban, or Go board, is
to be found in almost every house. I have played a good
deal with natives at different places in Japan, and find
there is lots of room for skill and judgment.

Under the name of Go hang, the game was introduced
into Canada from Japan, I believe by Lord Dufferin.

The inlaid woods of Miyanoshita are celebrated. Cabi-
nets, boxes, etc., are made here with a skill and beauty of
workmanship that I have never seen rivalled in wood.

For a yen, or Jap dollar, which, at the present rate of
discount, is only worth 72 cents in silver, one may buy a
good specimen.

There are a number of baths in the hotel, kept con-
stantly full of fresh hot water, which bubbles up from
boiling springs a couple of hundred yards away, and is
conducted to the hotel in bamboo pipes. The Japanese
always bathe in hot water, even where they have to
heat it artificially, and at considerable trouble. I found
the baths pleasant to take, but very enervating in their
effects.

We stayed three days at Miyanoshita; met some pleasant
people ; between showers walked over to Kanga, a village

r:\

484

JAPAN.

clmrniiiif^ly situated, and iiuidefnMjucnt oxcuiHions to tlio
piotty water-fall in the ^oige, near the hotel.

We tlien left, and walked over to Ashinoyu, a place a
thousand feet higher than Miyanoshita. This place con-
tains several sprin<;s of hot sulphur water, and is greatly
resorted to by the Japanese, as the waters are beli(;ved to
contain powerful medicinal ([ualities. The hotel we put
up at was crowded with natives. 1 never was in a place
before (not even Arinia) where so little ref^nrd was paid
to modesty, that is, modesty according to European ideas.
In the numerous and conunodious baths, men and women,
girls and boys walked aroinid entirely nude, and in that
airy costume strolled carelessly through the corridors.
Two small rooms a<ljoining the j)ublic bath are set apart
for foreii;nei"s. I was conducted to one of them, and
passed through a bevy of bathers, who stared at me with
great curiosity, as if I were some extraordinary being
dropped from the clouds. We spent the evening playing
Go with two Japanese gentlemen.

The next morning we walked further up the mountain,
to see the source of the sulphur springs. The natives call
the place " Little Hell," and it certainly is a most uncom-
fortable-looking spot. In every direction are piles of
fresh sulphur, and out of countless fissures in the ground
steam and gases hiss forth. The whole of 'Japan is of
volcanic origin, and where we stood was, doubtless, over
half-shnnbering fires not many feet below us. The place
reminded me slightly of the crater of Vesuvius ; Imt if
the Japs call Ashinoyu " Little Hell," I don't know what
they would call the monster of Naples. We walked over
the mountain-paths to Hakone, another favourite resort
of Europeans. The chief beauty of the place is that it is
situated on the banks of a charming lake, and connnands
a magnificent view of Fujiyama, the Olympus of Japan.
At night, as we sat upon the V)alcony of the tea-house
overlooking the lake, a beautiful scene lay before us. The
moon, neaily full, shone in an unclouded sky, casting

fi fc

JINUICSHAS ON THE ToKAlDO.

485

to tlio

shadowH of trees and mountains into the clear, deep
water; the hjn«^, narrow hike, with its rnt^'tjeil hanks of
h)rty iiiountains, looked as hright and pure as a Shintoo
mirror ; overtoppin*^ all in its nii«^hty ^^andeur stood
out the shapely cone of Fuji — dark and l()werin;,^ Imt the
pictuie of jLjrace and symmetry. The peacelidness and
grandeur of the pieture were impressive.

Th(i next morning we rose early and walked twelve
miles to Odawara hefore tiffin. We were anxious to get
to Enoshima that night, so, in hiring jinricshas, I spe-
cially bargained for die job do (strong men). Sure
enough, they did give us stout fellows, regular athletes,
and no mean rivals of the Tokio wrestlers. We fairly flew
along the Tokaido, dashing past 'ricshas and carriages
without the slightest ceremony. The coolies seemerl to
take a delight in beating every conveyance on the road.
At Fujisawa we left the Tokaido, turned to the right, and,

^tinir

II -^^

* ^ id tL

ENOSHIMA, BY A NATIVE PAINTER.

after five miles on a bad path, arrived at Katase, a villpgo
opposite the island of Enoshima.

■'?■■■, '/

48G

JAPAN.

The island of Enoshinia is sacred. It is a resort of pil-
grims who come liere to worsliip Benten, the goddess who
destroys dragons. The scenery is l3autitul around its
rock}' shores. One great curiosity can be ])urchased in the
shell-shops here. The peculiar sponge called " Hyalon-
ema Sieholdii," is, I am informed, found in no other
place: in the world but off this island and oft' a certain
portion of the coast of Portugal. The sponge only grows
in deep water, and has roots of glassy threads oi' cables.
For a long time it was thought that the roots were really
glass or crystal, so great is the resemblance. Between
Enoshinia and Yokohama is the world-renowned Daibutzu,
at Kamakura. We made a special journey to see it, but
I may as well mention it here. It is pronounced Daiboots,
and was once under the roof of a temple. It is the largest
perfect figure I have ever seen, and is composed of a mix-
ture of copper, tin and gold. If it were not a sitting-
figure, it would probably stand nearly a hundred feet in
height. As it is, the statue is fifty feet. It represents
Great Buddha in an attitude of repose. The face has
an expression of calm dignity and power, which has
a strong effect upon the superstitious Japanese. The
workmanship shows to what a rare degree of skill the
ancient Japanese workers in bronze had arrived. Inside
the body is a spacious temple. The length of the mouth
ij three feet three inches, that of the ear, six feet six
inches, or higher than a tall man. It is the largest per-
fect statue in existence ; one at Nara, in Japan, is slightly
higher, but it is injured, and is not at all so magnificent a
specimen of art as the bronze Idol of Kamakura.

>rt of pil-
dess who
oimd its
ed in the
Hyalon-
»o other
' certain
ly grows
r cables.
VQ really
between
aibutzu,
3 it, but
a i boots,
largest
■ a mix-
si tting-
feet in
resents
ce has
h has
The
11 the
n.side
nouth
et six
t per-
ghtly
ent a

DAIHUTZU,
THE OUEAT UUDnUA AT KAMAKUHA, JAPAN.

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JAPAN.

LONG JINRICSHA JOURNEY WITH AOORAVATINO COOLIES -SLEEPINO UNDER
A HMOKY BUDDHIST ALTAR- -THE PKINCELV TOMB OF FOUNDER OF TYCOON
DYNASTY- MODERN SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD.

NiKKO, Japan,

August, 1880.

OBODY should leave Japcaii without seeing Nikko.

It is ealleil the most lovely spot in the empire.

The natives have a trite saying, " Until you have
seen Nikko, don't say splendid."

The place is about 120 miles north of Yokohama. We
got passports from the Legation at Tokio, and started.
The first foi-ty-five miles was accomplished on a native
steamer up the river Tonegawa. As the Japanese are
almost invariably short and always squat, the cabin had
a very low ceiling. We couldn't stand upright, and found
the twelve hours' journey to Namii tiresome. We are
accompanied on the Nikko trip by a Chinese mandarin,
who is an exceedingly jolly fellow, and, by the way, is
also an Englishman. At early dawn we arrived at
Namii, the end of our water journey; had a native
])reakfa»fc of rice and eggs, which we had to dispose of
with chopsticks; and hired jinricshas foi the first stage
of our journey. In country journeys it is in some places
customary to take fresh coolies every twelve or fifteen
miles. We made a bargain for five ri, or twelve and a
half miles, at eigiit cents per coolie per ri. The country
passed through was similar to what we had often seen
l)efore — paddy-fields, fine roads, and busy villages.
Another stage of six ri brought us to the town of
Kanoma, where we dined off the inevitable native chow-
chow.

VINC. UNHER
I OF TYCOON

, 1S80.

g Nikko.
3 empire.
you liavc

na. We
.started,
a native
ese are
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mdarin,
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ved at
native
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» seen
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400

JAPAN.

We had arranged with our guide, Hakodate, to follow
us in a couple of days, so we had to depend upon our own
resources in getting up to Nikko. Nobody at Kanoma
could speak English, and the jinricsha coolies entered into
a conspiracy to fleece the " foi-eign devils. ' After two
hours' delay and haggling, we got under way, but the
men we hired were the most exasperating animals I liPA^e
ever seen in Japan. They evidently considered us at
their mercy, and took every opportunity of ignoring our
wishes and doing exactly what they pleased. One fellow
was particularly impertinent, and incited the others to
rebellion. At last his conduct got beyond bearing, so I
struck him witli my cane and prepared to give him a
licking. He subsided at once, and for the rest of the
way was the most willing coolie of the lot.

The twenty miles we went with these coolies was spent
in anything but an agreeable manner. It rained heavily
nearly all the time, and we didn't arrive at Nikko till
10.30 p.m. For the last ten miles we were slashing along
through a pelting storm in pitchy darkness, over roads
we didn't know, and with hostile coolies who might be
taking us anywhere. Cold, wet, and a good deal out of
temper, we at last alighted at Suzukis' tea-house, Nikko,
aTid a thrill of comfort went through us when we saw
the bright lamps and smiling host.

We have to put up with native beds, that is, simply a
quilt on the floor and a wooden pillow. My bed is inune-
diately at the foot of a Buddhist altar. Right over my
head is a gilded image of Shaka (the Japanese Buddha),
and beneath liim are offerings of rice, fruit and cake,
which are replenished twice a day ; also joss-sticks, which
burn all night. The smoke from the latter floats con-
tinually over my head, giving one rather the idea that
the house is on fire. The attractions at Nikko itself are
the tombs of the 'first and third Shoguns, or Tycoons, of
Japan. The vast temple grounds are separated from the
town by a mountain stream, which, at the present time, is

THE WONDERI^UL YOMEI GATE.

41)1

swollen into a roaring torrent. The gorge is crossed by
two bridges, one for onlinary pilgrims and pedestrians,
and another, painted bright red, and never used except
by the Emperor and by pilgrims twice a year. The red
bridge is believed to have been erected by a miracle.

Crossing the bridge, and walking for about live minutes
through an avenue of magnificent cryptomerias, we arrived
at the famous stone torii, the entrance to the temples.
A torii, being translated, means bird's rest, and is simply
two gate-posts with a cross-piece laid on the top. A
torii is to be seen in front of eveiy Buddhist or Hhintoo
temple, and some of them are of fine workmanship.

This stone one is 200 years old, but its artistic merits
are, I think, much over-estimated. Passing through two
preliminary courts, we stood in presence of the Yomei
gate. This gate is a marvellous thing. It is worth while
(I say it with all seriousness) to come from Yokohama
specially to see such a wonderful piece of art. Built in
the usual form, with heavy overhanging roof, it is a
bewildering mass of figures carved in wood by the hand
of the most famous sculptor that ever flourished in the
empire. The figures are arranged in groups in excellent
taste ; some args gilt, others painted. There are men,
women, children, gods, demons, birds, dragons, and all
sorts of animals represented in the grotesque but clever
way in which the Japs appear to be unrivalled.

The Niomon, or sentinel gods, are brilliant in colour ;
they seem to be suggestive of the evil spirits or elfins
one reads of in fairy tales, or perhaps of the mysterious
little Red Man who warned Napoleon. The Yomei gate
must be seen to be appreciated. The innumerable carv-
ings, each a chef-d'ceuvre in itself; the ex(iuisite taste
in which the rich colours are blended ; and the harmo-
nious and magnificent appearance of the whole structure,
make it, in my opinion, the finest piece of woodwork in
Japan. Proceeding further, we were admitted to the
temple which appertains to the tomb of lyoyasu, the

492

JAPAN.

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founder of the Shogun (l3''nasty. The interior is in more
severe taste than the temples at Shiba and Uyeno, but
is, perha[)s, really richer in its ornamentation.

At the tomb of lyemitsu, the third Shogim, the tem-
ple contains some excellent carvings, on dark wood, of
eagles and other birds. They are in high relief, and it
would be difficult to find anything superior to them in
Europe. There are many shrines, temples, an<l other
objects of great interest within the inclosure, but they
are too numerous to mention in detail ; there is the
famous carving of the Sleepy Cat, to which the people
pray ; there are the holy Dancing Girls, who go through
a weird sort of sacred dance, part of the Shintoo rites ;
there is also Sorinto, the column of black copper forty-
two feet high, and covered with elaborate Chinese char-
acters ; there are also imajres of some of " the eiixht million
gods of Japan."

One point of view is specially imposing. On passinof
through the first gate after the torii, one stands beneath
and in the midst of a dazzling assembly of golden tem-
ples, each vieing with its neighbour in display and magnif-
icence. It would require a dozen letters to describe, even
faintly, the wonders of Nikko. Without hesitation, I
place the tombs of the Japanese Shoguns, as seen at Shiba,
Uyeno and Nikko, as one of the wonders of the world.

The old seven wonders of the world have all perished
off the face of the earth, with the exception of the imper-
ishable Pyramids ; but there is no reason why the tra-
dition of the magic seven should not be kept up. The
Cliristian era has furnished sights as marvellous to be
seen as any boasted of by them of old time.

First without a peer stands the Taj of India ; then may
follow St. Peter's at Rome ; the Tombs of the Shoguns of
Japan ; the Arch of the Star at Paris ; the Daiboots of
Kamakura ; the Alabaster Mosque at Cairo ; and the City
of Boats at Canton.

INTERIOR OF JAPAN.

tem-

WATEK-FAIiti OK NIKKOZAN—PILGKIMS— CATARACT SAID TO BE FOUR TIMES ,
HIQHEK THAN NIAGARA— CHIIJZEN.II MORE NAKEDNEMH AT YIIMOTO -NO
MARRIAGE CEREMONY IN JAl'AN- RESULT, IMMORALITY — DEMI-MONUE—
EARTHQUAKES LANGUAGE EASY TO LEARN— IRON CASK SMALLEST OF COINS
—THE RICH SILK ANU TEA DISTRICTS.

Yokohama, Japan,

17th August, 1880.

^UR guide, Hakodate, turned up at Nikko, so we at
once started with him to see tlie lions of the
neighbourhood. The first afternoon we took a
seven and a half mile walk to the Falls of Urami. For
the past month it has been raining almost steatlily in
the Nikkozan, so we saw the cascades and the scenery at
its best, but were caught in a storm just as we started to
return. The Falls are beautiful — there are three, separ-
ated from each other b}' belts of land thickl}'^ studded
with trees ; the whole forms a semi-circle. We took ofi'
our boots and walked under the centre cataract, and
enjoyed a charming view down the wild gorge and up
through the blinding spray to the three rivers of foam.
The next morning we were ready early to start for Lake
Chiuzenji. Four pack-horses were in waiting. As we had
to submit to the indignity of being led along at a snail's
pace for eight miles over steep mountain paths by an
an aged female, I declined the bother of a pack-horse.
My two friends and the guide rode. When a little more
than half way, we climbed a steep part of the road, and
found ourselves on the brink of a precipice. Before us
lay a wide and deep valley ; close to us, in a circle
around, were lofty mountain peaks. We were in a sort

til

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404

INTERIOR OF JAPAN.

i i

■

t-F-

of inammoth crater ; away on the opposite side of the
valley, rushing out from the midst of thick vegetation,
were the Falls of Hanaya and Hodo, one of them a cloud
of s[)iay like a ])ridal veil. It was a magnificent sight.
The group of spectators looked like specks in comparison
to the grandeur of surrounding Nature.

The road was crowded with groups of pilgrims dressed
in white, carrying bells, and wearing a straw mat over
the shouldei's. They appear to be a harmless, good-
natured lot of people, and were very curious as to what
sort of animals we were. 1 have no doubt Init that our
party were the first European faces that many of the
pilgrims had ever seen, so we could overlook their star-
ing and amazement.

A further stiff* hill-climb, and we stood before the
famous Falls of Kegon. These are not so beautiful as the
ones last mentioned, but are celebrated for their height.
Native authorities state the height to be seven hundred
and fifty feet, or over four times that of Niagara. It
is one clear tumble, without any intermediate break, upon
the rocks. It is somewhat terrible to stand on a project-
ing rock and gaze down into the abyss of seething
waters below. The rainbow formed by the clouds of
spi-ay was a fine sight.

The village of Chiuzenji, about a mile further, is only
occupied in the summer. It was crowded this day with
pilgrims, and Hakodate said (guide-like) that had it not
tjeen for his personal influence we could not have found
quarters for the night. Our room looks out upon
the lake. All Japanese lakes are alike in one respect.
They look like, and doubtless are, the craters of extinct
volcanoes.

Early next morning, after having been nearly eaten up
by musquitoes and kindred disturbers of the peace, we
hired a boat and went for a sail. The natives don't row
their boats, but uloe them by a single large oar at the
stern," similar to our sculling.

I ii

A FINK SWIM.

495

The water is an clear as crystal, and as coM as the
sulphur spring at London. We had a rrlorions swim near
the opposite shore, where the water is ahout fifty feet
deep. It was too cold for the mandarin ; he nearly <rot
crumps. That day we had a fifteen-mile walk iip'^to
Yumoto and l)ack. Yumoto is on the Imnk of another
delightful lakelet. It is famed for hot springs, and there
are three whole streets of baths. Bathing is done a la
Japon, and nakedness everywhen* is the order of the
day. I saw an Italian in the same tub with four women
and half a dozen men ; they all looked as hapi)y as
clams at high tide. In this niatter of the sexes bathing
together in a state of nature, whicli looks so startling to
an European, the ])eople are, I am informed, (piite inno-
eont of anv evil intention.

I'UBLIC HATHINC IN JAPAN.

up
we
ow
the

In fact, the relation of men and women to each other
in Japan is altogether very different from what we find
in Europe and America. There is no ceremony of mar-
riage. An agreement is usually entered into between
parents, that certain children shall become man and wife.
The chief parties interested then go away together and
begin housekeeping. A man can send away his wife at
any moment he pleases, and without alleging any cause.
There is no divorce court, and no necessity for one, as the
marriage agreement is not binding. As a necessary con-

490

INTEUIOU OF JAPAN.

seijucnce of this loose state of social ties, immorality pre-
vails conspicuously throu<»^liout the length and breadth of
the land, and it is fully recognized by the authorities.
Every town has its Yoehiwara, or demi-monde quarter,
generally the finest street with the largest houses.

At night it is gaily lighted with lanterns; and music
and singing are heard in all directions. The front of
each house, instead of being open, is bari'cd like the cage
of a wild animal. Behind the bars, in a small scpiare
compartment highly illuminated, are seated four or five
girls with jtowdered faces and gay ribbons. The peoi)le
collect outside, watch the unfortunate creatures in tlui
cage, and pass their opinions upon them. This is a ba<l
state of afi'airs, but the Japs have very dull moral in-
stincts, and don't regard a Yoehiwara girl as guilty of a
heinous crime against society.

I can't account for this moral obliquity of vision, ex-
cept it be that there are no lawyers in the empire to
give a healthy tone to society, and be a terror to evil-
doers.

We walked back to Nikko, had a farewell look at the
cataracts, and started on our return to Yokohoma. Frcjm
Nikko to Kanoma is twenty miles, along the finest ave-
nue of trees I have ever passed through. The Shoguns
were princely in their expenditure. This was their route
when they came each year to worship at the tomb of the
founder of their house. It is now one long triumphal
arch. The cryptomeria is a tall, straight tree, makes
splendid timber, and looks like a combination of pine
and cedar.

I forgot to mention that at Chiuzenji we felt a severe
shock of earth(|uake. It waked us from sleep, the house
shook as if it had the ague, and every window rattled
loudly. I have felt at least half a dozen shocks during
our eight weeks' stay in Japan, but this last one was the
most severe. Sir Rutherford Alcock says that during his
stay at Yedo the average was one or two shocks per week.

I lakes
pine

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EAUTIK^UAKKS— LANCJUAUt:.

M)7

The next day wc went forty miles in jinricslias to
Sano. Wo only had one coolie (>aeh. It was a good
day's work. We passed througli a country filled with
rich tradingcities, having unpronounceable names, and in-
dustrious and well-to-do people. The rural districts are
cultivated with the greatest assiduity. Tin; only draw-
back to US was in many ])laces the disagreeable odour

from the fcrtilizi'rs used by the
farmers. We saw fields of tea,
ricL\ corn, peaches, pears, pota-
toes and beans.

The Jai)anese language is an
^ -iw'' *^^^y ^"^ ^^ learn. We have
4|Hi^>SS!^( '^^'^^ already learned enough to
^v • ft ^* ■ "> make mild jokes at the tea-
houses, to go alone to curio
shops and to bargain with, and
if necessary bully, the jinricsha
coolies.

Very much of the written

languat^e is taken from the

I \s\*^ W2!3y ^ !^ ^ ^ (.'hinese ; the same character

\ X ^'v^St^^kIT^v has the sanu.' meaning in each

language, but the pronuncia-
tion is entirely different. Thus
a Chinaman can read the
gi'eater part of a Japanese book
but can't undeistand n word of
the colhxiuial lanufuatre. We
had ample ilkistration of this
NATIVE luNNKK lULi.. ^^ ^^^^^^ .^j^.j clscwlu're. Ouv

friend, the mandarin, is a fine Chinese scholar, and can
translate the inscriptions on tombs, the signs and advei-
tisements on shops, etc., but can't talk enough U> ask
Itchiban gozen arimaftka ? or to pay a delicate compli-
ment to the prettiest little tea-girl, cheese eye moosnie
tacksan cnroshee ; or to attempt to purchfuse the best

»S^iA^^,'

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^

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408

INTER roR OF .lAPAf^.

baby in the house, Ikoovdh okee h(ih}j8an ? in Japanese,
which is laughably ungraniniatical, but perfectly uinler-
stood. The money in common circulation amongst the
people is tempos and cash. Of the latter some arc copper
and others iron. Tliere are (me luindred iron cash to one
tem])o, and ouo hundred tempos to a yen , oi' dollar. If ovv-
ever, just now, nativ«^ money is at a discount. There
are one hundred and thirty tempos to one paper yen, and
one yen is only worth seventy cents in silver. Thus one
silver dollar (or yen) is worth over eight(!en thousand
iron cash, making the latter the smallest coin in value
I have ever seen, not even excc[»ting the shell cowries of
India.

The next day w- went from
Sano to Shin Machi, thirty miles,
with the same coolies. It is pretty
good work for one coolie to draw
a heavy jinricslui, with a substan-
tial European seated within, over
roughish rocids, seventy miles in
two days ; and these men live on
rice and water, and never toucli
meat. At tlie end of tlie journey
they looked as good-natuied and
fresh as when they started. We
passed through a country bright-
ened by the signs of industry and

A JAPANESE TEMPO.

teeming with agricultural wealth.

The rich harvests are about to be
gathered, and the people look happy and contented. It is
the heart of the tea and silk district. Great piles of tea
leaves are spread on the public highway to be dried, and
women, children, dogs and chickens lie about on them as
uncoiwernedly as if the leaves might never find their way
into ttie teapots of America. We have seen the manufact-
ure of silk in all its stages, from the black worms, mul-
berry-leaves and cocoons, upwards. The large govern-

Tea lraves -silk-makino.

490

luenfc factory, at Shin Machi, wlien twoliun«lre«l and fifty
]ian«ls are eniploycd, and machinery from Germany,
Switzerland and Leeds is used, is intcrestinj^ ; but I like
l)etter to watcli the natives at work in thrir own liouses.
The cocoons are placed in hot water, which loosens
the web; then the filaments are cleverly di-avvn fioni
several >coons at once on to a wheel which is rapidly
turned w th the ri<;ht liand. While the husband attends
to the ten, rice and mullwrry-trees, the wife and children
do the spinning'. From Shin Machi to Tokio, sixty-one
miles, we came in one day along tin Na^'asendo lioail,
one of the great highways for which Japan is justly
praised We changed horses several times ; had one
break-(l()vvii at Ulawa, travelled all night, and arrived
at th 'iyokon Hotel, Tokio, at 1.30 a.m. We had
looked forward to a decent bed here, but found the
hotel crowded, and had to sleep on the fioor.

We have enjoyed our twelve days' trip immensely —
it has been such an entire change ; in that time we
have never once tasted meat, bread, butter or milk —
nothing but rice, eggs, and occjisionally, for a great treat,
fish. We have never seen a newspaper, or spoken to
an European, except ourselves. We have seldom seen a
table, chair, knife or fork, and have always slept on the
floor, in very lively company — I think a man could get
indifferent to fleas, bugs, and musquitoes, but it takes
more than twelve days' practice.

Ill

ir ■'?

i^' ^^te

JAPAN TO AMERICA.

DEPARTURE ON " CITY OF TOKIO "— LAST VIEW OP FUJI— RESUME OF JAPAN —
LIFE AT SEA— PASSENGERS, ETC.— CHINESE (iAMBLERS— CROSSING THE LINE
— TWO SUNDAYS IN A WEEK— ERGO, DISSATISFACTION— EXPLANATION— (JAIN
OF A DAY IN THE CIRCUIT OF THE GLOBE— 3()7 SUNSETS IN ONE YEAR.

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San Francisco, California,

September 8th, 1880.

*HE longest ocean voyage in the world, without seeing
[^ land by the way, and made by a regular steamship
line, is that between Japan and California. I can
speak feelingly on the subject, as we have just made it.
After an eight weeks' stay in the Empire of the Rising
-Sun, or Dai Nippon, as the natives love to call it, we left
for America on the 21st ultimo. At 7.30 a.m., we rode in
jinricshas from the French Hotel to the English hatoba,
bade adieu to some pleasant friends, hired a ten-cent
sampan, and started for the steamer Qlty of Tokio, which
lay far out in the harbour. The wily proprietor of our
craft, perceiving a tug about to leave the wharf, bore down
on her and hitched on behind. I never went so fast in a
lumbering old sampan before. We dashed past cargo boats,
and even junks under full sail. It was as good as a private
steam yacht, though a trifle less stylish. When we climbed
the gangway and stood on the deck, all was bustle and
confusion attendant upon departure on a long voyage.
Steam was up, the bluepeter nying at the foremast ; con-
signments of tea arriving in tugs at the last moment, and
being tumbled on board in loose and careless style ; a
reasonable amount of swearing and bullying at the hatch-
ways ; and amidst all the noise some sad farewells being
fcjpoken, Some of the passengers \\diA been over the route

502

JAPAN TO AMERICA.

before ; they were old stagers, who had been through
the mill, so they looked with becoming pity, and perhaps
amusement, on the excited hand-shaking and handker-
chief-waving of their innocent fellow-passengers. At last
the commodore gave the order, " Beat the gong, all hands
ashore!" The screw began to move, and we were off.
Several hours were passed in skirting down the Bay of
Yedo, and then eastwards into the broad Pacific. All
land faded from sight, except a curious piece amongst the
clouds. A few hundred feet of the dark cone of Fuji shot
out clearly from the midst of a billowy mass of white
clouds. It was like a miraculous mountain, resting upon
air. On a clear day it can be seen 147 miles out at sea.

;>. i

FUJIYAMA, THE SACRED
MOUNTAIN OF THE JAPS,

^-3? -g^-^

^^i.-j ,-i^r'~^.

The sight much resembled that of ^tna, when we were

RESUME OF STAY IN JAPAN.

503

n-Q

leaving the shores of Sicily last Jjinuaiy, but Fuji is per-
haps more slender and graceful than her Italian rival.

Finally, even Fuji melted into haze, and we bade fare-
well to the Old World. All around was a measureless
expanse of sea, and we are not likely to set eyes on land
or another ship for three weeks to come.

Upon calmly reviewing the places which we have seen
in Europe, Asia and Africa during the past year and a
half, I think Ja[)an is, taken altogether, the best worth
visiting of them all. It abounds in rich charming scenery
like England, and rivals Switzerland in the grand and pic-
turesque. Its people, unaided by example, have developed
a marvellous civilization under a feudal system more pro-
nounced than that of the Normans. The customs of the
natives are singular, and generally attractive — at all
events, (juite unlike any other nation.

The tombs of the Shoguns, the Daiboots, an<l Fuji, the
sacred mountain, are themselves worth a tour specially to
sec.

I like the Japanese; I like them for their genuine
smile and bow of welcome ; I like them for their briifht
intelligence, quaint ideas, startling customs and cleanly
habits ; and 1 like them for their industry, love of humour
and natural politeness. But Japan is at this moment
undergoing a rapid change. European ideas and customs
are being adopted by wholesale, and it is only in the inte-
rior that Old Japan can be enjoyed. Whether the advent
of Europeans has been a blessing or a curse, is a problem
yet to be solved. The most apparent results, so far, are a
violent change amongst the reform party, from extreme
simplicit}' of life to the other extreme of European extrav-
agance ; the ready adoption of brandy, whiskey, l>eer and
cocktails, and the creation of a large national debt (before
unknown), which is already felt to be a burden on the
people. Any person intending to visit Dai Nippon should
do so SIS soon as possible, as 1 fear the novelty which now
charms the traveller bids fair to be soon rubbed off,

504

JAPAN TO AMERICA.

The steamer City of Toklo is a sister ship of the City
of Peking They are the laigest vessels of the great
Pacific Mail fleet, and rank amongst the biggest afloat.
Each is a screw steamer of 5,500 tons burthen, with four
masts and two funnels, and will carry 150 cabin and 1,500
steerage passengers. In pidgin English, a Chinaman
graphically describes one as " 'our j)iecee bamboo, two
piecee puft'-puft', have got makee walkee inside, no can
see.

We are in an atmosphere which breathes partly of Asia
and partly of America. All the waiters at table are China
boys, with irreproachable pigtails, but the cuisine is
decidedly a la Jonathan ; for instance, we have porridge,
buckwheat pancakes, pumpkin pie, hominy, com cakes
and waffles — all delicacies I haven't seen since I left New
York. I can't quite settle the nationality of the second
steward ; he might be an Aztec or a Digger Indian, but he
looks suspiciously like the missing-link. The officers of
thd ship are Americans, and fine manly fellows they are,
from the commodore down to the quartermaster. The sail-
ors a}'e all Chinese. The forward part of the deck is also
fille<l with natives of the Middle Kingdom, wdio gamble all
(lay, just as naturally as a duck takes to water. They
play a sort of dominoes. Those who are too poor to own
a set, cut up a potato and improvise a game. In their
own country it is not uncommon for a man, after he has
lost all his possessions at gambling, to put up his wife as
a stake, and play for her. The Japs are nearly as bad in
their craze for games of chance.

The City of Toklo is, I think, the most comfortable pas-
senger ship I ever travelled on. Built for long voyages
and immense burthens, at a cost of nearly two million
dollars, she is a well-regulated floating city in herself. The
distance from Yokohama to San Francisco, in a straight
line, is 4,750 miles, but by the Grand Circle it is only 4,(500
miles. On the map it looks as if two sides of a triangle
were less than the third side, but the difficulty is solved

TWO SUNDAYS IN ONE WEEK.

505

by observing that, the glol:4 gets narrower in circumfer-
ence towards the north.

We started at thirty-seven degrees north latitude, and
gi'adually went north on the Grand Circle six hundred
miles to forty-seven degrees, and then came down south-
wards to San Francisco. These distances, of course, only
refer to latitudes. On the seventh day out, the nearest land
to us was Kamtchatka, in Russia. On the eighth day, the
nearest was the Aleutian Islands, ott* the shore of Alaska.
Although over a thou.sand miles from any tern tfirrna,
there were lots of sea-gulls flying about the .ship, some-
times over fifty at once.

Our list of cabin passengers is small, but there are several
nationalities represented. There is a Hindoo Brahmin,
from tlie interior of India, who speaks English as purely
as a Dublinite ; an English shipowner from Liverpool ; a
Spanish surgeon from Brazil, making the grand tour ; a
Belgian lady on her way to Europe ; a German traveller
who has been everywhere ; a Japanese merchant bound
for New York ; an Irishman from China; several Ameri-
cans ; a Japanese daimio, or noV^leman, with his wife ; some
missionaries who are going home from Japan for a holi-
day, and two Canadians.

On the ninth day out, at 6.30 p.m., we crossed the 180th
meridian of longitude. At that moment it was ().30 a.m.
at Greenwich Observatory, London, England. We were
twelve hours ahead of Greenwich time, but immediately
upon crossing we put ourselves back one day, or twtmty-
four hours, thus making us now twelve hours l)ehin(l
Greenwich. If we were to steadily proceed to England,
gaining time each day, we would be even with Greenwich
when we arrived there. We crossed on Sunday. I noted
a coincidence. We had service in the morning, and had a
Sunday look and manner all day, or rather the mission-
aries and their wives had. After G.30 p.m., we adopted the
San Francisco day of the week, which was Saturday. This
contii^ued unfiil midnight, when, of course, it became Sau

50G

JAPAN TO AMERICA.

'm^

Francisco Sunday. Thus, as a matter of fact, we had
within six hours, first a Sunday, then Saturday, and then
Sunday a^ain. This double Sunday business created a
murmur of dissaHsf action amongst the irreligious passen-
gers, but I believe the missionaries enjoyed it, and thought
it a special dispensation of Providence. On the ship's log,
the 291/h of August was entered up for two days in suc-
cession. The whole distance for the forty-eight hours
scored was 522 miles — a tremendous run for Sunday. If
the captain had made no change th n, when we arrived at
'Frisco it would be Monday to Californians, but Tuesday
to us on the ship.

These facts are all very simple, but, strange to say, few
people seem to have clear ideas on the subject. Another
point — as we are making the circuit of the globe from
west to east, we gain a day in the year. Going in this
direction conslantly towards the rising sun, each day is
shorter to us than twenty-four hours, at the rate of four
minutes per sixty miles, but still we see the sun rise and
set each day (or rather, I should say, we could see it ri.se,
if such an accident occurred that we were up in time).
In the whole circuit we gain twenty-four hours, and see
one sunrise and sunset more than if we had remained at
home.

This is leap-year, and consequently has 3GG days. Thus,
although it ordinarily falls to the lot of human beings to
see 365 sunsets per annum, we have had the odd experi-
ence during the past year of seeing 307.

As our splendid ship passed through the Golden Gate,
and we stepped once more upon the American Continent,
we felt at home again.

We will see the Yosemite Valley, the big trees, some
mines of gold and silver ; also Lake Tahoe and the Mor-
mon metropolis ; then six days on the Pacific Railroad,
and we will be in Canada — we will then have travelled
more than thirty-four thousand miles.

I httve written a large number of letters to the Adver-

TOUR OF 34,000 MILES.

507

tiser, describinf^, in a hasty and disjointed way, some of
the places and people I have seen in the Old World, and
the task lisis been a pleasant one. It has whiled away
many a moment which would otherwise have hung heavily
on my hands. To any one making a similar tour, I would
say : Keep a journal ; write letters, or have some other
occupation to turn to, as on the protracted voyages, in the
East especially, there would otherwise be many and many
an hour of ennui ; besides,- it gives a keener relish to
conversation and amusements to fancy that one has a
duty which should be attended to. I have thoroughly
enjoyed my long holiday tour around the globe, but must
say that the pleasure has been greatly enhanced by the
society of a congenial friend.

vr'

i I

SAN FRANCISCO— PALACE HOTEL, LAKcJlirr EVER CONSTRUCTED— PRESIDENT
HAYES AND GENERAL SHERMAN— SPEECHES— A CITY ON SAND-HILLS— ODD
STREET RAILWAY— SEA LIONS —PECULIAR RAILWAY MAPS,

fAN FRANCISCO may be regarded as an ugly city.
It, however, has the grandest hotels in the world,
and its public buildings and streets are a fine
monument to the enterprise of Western pioneers.

The Palace Hotel, at which we put up, is said to be
the largest inn ever constructed. Its interior court,
around which carriages drive, is lighted by gas and elec-
tricity, and surrounded by six imposing colonnades rising
one above the other.

The President of the United States w^as expected the
second day after our arrival, and his party had been
offered free quarters at the Palace. In anticipation of
this honour, workmen had for several days been occupied
in beautifying the court with banners, mottoes, paintings,
and mammoth " Stars and Stripes."

At last President Hayes, with General Sherman and
suite, arrived from Oaklands. A public holiday was pro-
claimed, and everybody turned out to see the show.
Escorted by a military procession, the Chief Magistrate
of the nation appeared in a carriage, standing erect and
bowing to the people

Mr. Hayes is a tall man, with grey hair and a kindly,
intelligent countenance. I must say, however, that the
hero of the occasion was the veteran soldier, General
Sherniei-n, He is a tall, wiry, grizzle-looking man, with

PPESIDENT HAYES— r.ENERAL SHERMAN.

509

PREHIDKNT
ILLS— ODD

fly city,
world,
a fine

1 to be

court,

id elec-

i rising

ed the
been
;ion of
cupied
n tings,

n and
Ls jiro-
show.
strate
it and

indly,
it the
meral
with

keen eyes and an expressive face. As his carriage passed,
the crowd burst into tlie most vociferous cheering, and
pressed forward to catch a glimpse of the great soldier
of the Republic. In the evening speeches were delivered
from one of the colonnades. The President spoke like
one not accustomed to' address large assemblies, but the
General was quite at home. He wittily referred to
his own early life in California, at one time saying to the
crowd : "Now boys, just wait a minute till I tell you a
story."

Mrs. Hayes was called for, and presenting herself to the
people bowed smilingly several times.

The ugliness of 'Frisco consists in the fact that it is
built on hills of red sand, and at the end of nearly every
street an unsightly pile of drifting sand real's its head.
Market, Kearney, California and Montgomery S.reets are
busy, attractive thoroughfares, but every wliere one is
hauntod by the unlovely surroundings of the city.

As part of it is built on steep hills, a curious street
railway is in use, worked by an endless underground
cable.

It is really quite puzzling at first to see or understand
what power propels the cars. The Chinamen of the city
regard this new-fangled railway with a good deal of con-
sternation. One of them, after giving up the problem, as
he was turning away, remarked to a fellow-countryman,
" No man pushee, no man puUee, go like the debbil."

We went for an excursion out to the Clitf House, driv-
ing through a sea of sand. The Seal Rocks are worth
visiting. Hundreds of sea-lions, protected by the State,
gambol about in the water and up the sides of the rocks
in the most awkward way possible.

We bought overland tickets by the Central Pacific,
Union Pacific, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, Michigan
Central and Great Western Railways to our homes in
Canada.

Mackay, the agent for the Chicago, Burlington and

510

UNITED STATES.

Quincy Railroad, is quite a character. He boards all
steamers from Japan and Australia, and, although rivalry
exists, generally succeeds by pure force of blandishments,
and alleging the advantages of his Company, in getting
all the patronage. We had heard of him, and were pre-
pared to use our own judgment, and not submit to any
<lictation on the part of a railroad agent, but it was of no
use.

The contest between the rival agents is simply as to
which of the three lines of railway travellers will take
between Omaha and Chicago. There is a remarkable
feature about these three lines. Each one publishes a
brightly-coloured, atti'actively gotten-up map ; each one
lays out its own course as in almost a straight line
between the two cities, while the tracks of its competitora
are most inconveniently located far out of the direct line
of traffic. To look at either one of the three maps, a
traveller would think it almost insanity, if speed were
the slightest object, to go by any road but the one marked
out with the heavy red line.

UNITED STATES.

DUSTY ROAD TO VOSKMITE VALI.BY THE BT<} TRKKS ONK 14 FKET IN OIAMF-
tER -LOFTIEST CATARACT IN THE WOUI.n— MOONMdHT IN VOHEMITB— MAO-
NIFICENT VIEW FROM OI.ACIRR POINT -THE (J<M>I)ESS OF THE VALLEY—
SEVENTEEN MILES ON THE OALLOP.

E left San Francisco in the afternoon, crosseil on
the ferry to Oak lands, and went by Central Pa-
cific Railway as far as Lathrop. Here we took
a })riinch line, got into a sleeping-car, and during the
night were carried down to Medeia, the getting-ott' place
lor Yoseniite Valley.

At early dawn, a spacious coach, drawn by six fine
Californian horses, was in waiting for us.

Fortunately, we had pleasant coin|)anions, some people
from Boston, with whom we spent five days most enjoy-
abl3\ All day long, and until 7 p.m., we drove at a rat-
tling pace through a par^hed-up, dusty and fearfully hot
pi^ce of country. The dust rose in clouds and literally
buried us beneath it. We passed a timber boom fifty-
three miles long, and in some places elevated twenty or
thirty feet in the air. It is a large wooden trough, filled
with a rushing stream of water ; in it timber is carried
fiom the Sierra Nevada mountains to the railway.

At seven p.m., a coachfuU of dust-heaps pulled up at
Clark's, sixty-eight miles from Medera. Each heap made
its way with all convenient speed to the bath-room, and
shortly afterwards to bed.

Next morning we drove up to see the famous trees of
Mariposa. They are called the Seq^to'ut Gignntea, and
are quite distinct in species from the surrounding forest.
There are 427, and the tallest is 3^0 feet high j but it

THE BIG TRKES OF MARIPOSA, CALIFORNIA.

BIG TREES — YOSEMITH VAI.LKV.

513

is not for their heiglit ho much as for their great girth
that tlicse giants of Nature are celebrate*!.

A tree, not in tliis group, but in the Kings river grove,
measures forty-four feet in diameter and about X'Vl in
circumference at the base. It is tlie hirgest tree alive.
The trees whicli we saw in the Mariposa group arc
some of them about one Inmdred feet in girth. A scpiaro
hole is cut throujjh the base of one. IMie hole looked
quite small in comparison to the size of the trunk, but
our coach-and-six drove through it with the greatest ease.
The group is situated on the mountain side.

After lunch at Clark's, we had a dashing drive of twenty
miles to Yosemite Valle}'. Our Hrst view was from In-
spiration Point, and it was disappointing. Kver since
leaving Medera we had been climbing up into the moun-
tains ; DOW we stood at our highest elevation, and were
on the brink of the famous valley. It is about two miles
wide, but doesn't look half a mile. We descende<l into
the deep valley, and gradually became aware that wo
were in the presence of one of the most stupendous scenes
in Nature.

Yosemite, or big grizzly-bear, Valley, is simply a gorge
in a spur of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Through
some terrific convulsion of Nature, the mountains of gran-
ite have been riven apart, and to-day bare, perpendicular
walls of grey rock thousands of feet high overshadow tho
valley. Our horses galloped through the gorge past
Leidig's and Black's Hotels, and on to Barnard's, the best
and most frequented of the houses.

Our hotel is close to the Yosemite Falls, 2034 feet in
height, the loftiest cataract in the world, over sixteen
times the height of Niagara.

The next day we followed the trail, without a guide, up
to Snow's — chatted with old Mrs, Snow, one of the char-
acters of Yosemite ; saw the Vernal and Nevada Falls ;
also the Cap of Liberty, an isolated piece of granite
3100 feet high, and particularly impressive in its solitary
majesty. GG

^14

UNITED STATES.

That evening we enjoyed the peculiar beauties of the
place by moonlight from the photograph gallery. The
weird grandeur of the scene attracted us till midnight.

The finest sight, however, in the whole valley, and
without seeing which no one can properly say they have
been to Yosemite, is the view from Glacier Point. I must
confess that after driving through the valley, and even
after the trip up to Snow's, I was disappointed with what
I had seen. It was all grand, towering and massive, but
I had quietly come to the conclusion that the world-wide
reputation of the place was simply " California brag." I
was shown the written opinions of several eminent travel-
lers, who stated in glowing terms that the grandest sight
of all was from Glacier Point, so an Englishman and I de-
termined to make the ascent.

We started at C a.m., with good horses and Mexican
saddles, climbed the steep Macaulay trail, and finally stood
on Union Point, where a white flag was flying in the
breeze. The view here is excellent, but we climbed higher
and reached the goal of our journey. We walked to the
extreme edge of Glacier Point, and looked down a per-
pendicular cliff of glistening granite 3200 feet. The pros-
pect here is superb, said to surpass anything in the Alps.
The sweeping view of ten miles up and down Yosemite,
with El Capitan at one end and Star King at the other,
is one of the most awe-inspiring sights on earth.

The stupendous depth of the gorge ; the bare, inhospit-
able cliffs of granite glistening in the sunlight; the cat-
aracts tumbling through air till lost in spray ; above all,
towering in una{)proachable majesty, the South Dome,
the Goddess of the Valley, over 9000 feet above the s-^a
level — all made up a picture of gloomy grandeur, once
scvm, forever photographed on one's memory.

In the far distance, the snow-clad peaks of the Sierras
line the horizon — Barnard's Hotel looked like a speck on
the banks of the Merced river. Some cattle, which we
knew were in a field, were invisible to the naked eye.

COACH-AND-SIX-A HARD GALLOP. 6I5

full gallop for sevpnfppr; !.-i ^'"^' ""^'^^y ^n the

UNITED STATES.

' k

THE SIERRAS— LAKE TAHOE— LOOS CRASHING DOWN TIMBER SLIDES— A DAY ON
THE LAKE -ITS EXAGGERATED BEAUTIES— STO BY ABOUT HANK MONK AND
HORACE GREELEY — CROOKEDEST RAILWAY IN THE WORLD— ANECDOTE-
VIRGINIA CITY— ITS BONANZA KINGS— MACKAY, THE RICHEST MAN THAT EVER
LIVED, FORMERLY A DAY LABOURER -DESCENT HALF A MILE STRAIGHT INTO
THE EARTH— COMSTOCK LODE— HEAT 135^ FAHRENHEIT— GENEROUS HOSPIT-
ALITY OP THE BONANZA KING.

f' Ja

T Lathrop we struck the Pacific Railway again, and
were soon in Sacramento, where we saw the fine
Capitol, with its stately pillars and colonnades.

Between this city and Truckee there lies some of the
finest scenery of the Sierras. The view as the train
passes around Cape Horn is thought to be something
wonderful, but it was tame after Yosemite.

At Truckee we got off in order to see Lake Tahoe and
the world-renowned bonanza mines of Nevada. A stage
conveyed us to the lake. As we drove along the banks
of the Truckee river, we saw several timber slides. Tliey
are constructed simply of heavy timber, and reach from
the top of the banks, several hundred feet high, down to
the river. Huge logs come crashing down the slides like
lightning, and splash into the water with tremendous
force, throwing up spray for fully a hundred feet into
the air.

We were on a steamer going around Lake Tahoe from
10 a.m. till 4.30 p.m. On board was a jolly editor from
Carson City, who told a number of anecdotes about Mark
Twain and Bret Harte when they were hard-working
editors in San Francisco.

Tahoe is undoubtedly very pretty, and many wealthy
people have villas on its banks ; but to compare it with

CROOKED RAILWAY — BONANZA KINGS.

517

roni

fom.

irk

ing

fhy

ith

Lucerne, Chiuzenji, Hakone, or even Loch Katrine, is
absurd. Either one of the last-named lakes entirely
eclipse Tahoe in beauty. The lake is twenty-five miles
long, with an average width of ten miles ; part of it is in
California and part in Nevada.

From Glenbrook we took stage with Hank Monk, the
famous California driver, over to Carson City, passing
through the desert of Nevada, as bleak and arid as Sahara.
They tell a stoiy about Hank Monk : Many yeai*s ago
Horace Greeley, who w^as then '-egarded as one of the
leading men in America, came to California to lecture.
Monk had driven the lecturer in his stage 109 miles in ten
hours. It was getting tow^ards dusk, and Greeley was
booked to lecture at 7.30 in a town twenty-five miles yet
distant. He was getting anxious, and kept frequently
putting his head out of the stage window. Hank is
exceedingly taciturn, but seeing this, called out, " Naow,
Horace, jest you keep quiet and I'll pull you through on
time ;" and so he did.

Froi Carson we went to Virginia City by the crooked-
est rail\> ' in America. It is related that once an engineer
on the late express saw in front of him a red light.
Thinking a collision was imminent, he whistled on brakes
and jumped from the engine to save his life. It turned
out, however, that he had been frightened by the light
hanging from the rear end of his own train, and he was
laughed out of the country.

The approach to Virginia City is through a multitude
of working mines, booming engines, mounds of waste
from crushers in the mills, belching smoke-stacks, and
abandoned shafts.

Here the bonanza kings, Mackay, Flood and Fair, three
Irishmen, sweep in their millions ; ami here hordes of
speculators indulge in the wildest gambling and debauch-
ery. It is the richest mining city in the world, and is said
to have produced four men wealthier than Crtvsus, and
one, Mr. Mackay, the richest man that ever lived. He is

518

UNITED STATES.

!'■

^ f

the chief shareholder in the Big Bonanza mine, which
alone has produced more than fifty million dollars for its
owners.

AiTiving at the station, we at once walked over to the
office of the California and Consolidated mine, the head-
(juarters of Mr. Mackay. A man informed us that the
gentleman just emerging from the doorway was the great
bonanza king, as he is called. We spoke to him, and were
received with warm cordiality, invited into the office and
given a general written permission to see all the works.
Mr. Mackay is a man about thirty- five years of age, of
agreeable features and manners and erect bearing. He
commenced life in Nevada as a miner, working at four
dollars per day, and is now said to be in receipt of a
larger income than the Rothschilds. His nominal home
is at Paris, France, where Mrs. Mackay is a leader of
fashion, and gives princely entertainments.

We were escorted over the works, seeing all the processes
of converting quartz into bars of silver. The machinery
for working the shafts is enormous. One iron wheel at
the Union mine is thirty-six feet in diameter, an<l creates
a heavy draught of air while revolving.

Perfect silence is maintained in the spacious engine-
room, as the lives of hundreds of men away down in the
bowels of the earth may, at any moment, depend upon
the instant answering of the distress signal.

At noon we met Mr. Mackay by appointment at his
office, and were fortunate in obtaining a permission to go
down the C. & C. shaft. Before descending, we changed
all our clothes in a dressing-room, putting on heavy boots,
a miner's coarse woollen suit and slouch hat, which had
seen much service.

With an old miner for guide, we entered the cage to
descend into the earth. The cage fits prettly closely to
the sides of the shaft, and its floor is three feet by four in
size. Ordinarily, nine men stand in it, packe<^ together
like the inmates of a sardine-box. It is raised and regu-

:|i

IN A GOLD MINE— INTENSE HEAT.

519

his

lated by a heavy flat wire cable which unwinds from
wheels near the colossal enjjine. We went down with
fearful ra}>idity for half a mile straight into the earth.
The cage works, if possible, more smoothly than the new
elevator at the Palace Hotel, but is not at all so comfort-
able. The velocity of the motion downwards gives one a
gulping sensation, at first almost taking one's breath
away. Water drips steadily from the sides of the shaft,
all being as dark as a dungeon, only relieved by the fitful
glinnnering of the lamps which each of us carried.

We soon reached bottom, and were in the heart of the
fjiir-famed Comstock lode. The mine has been worked at
different elevations, and vast quantities of rich gold and
silver ore are being taken out now every day.

At the bottom of the shaft our cage stopped, at a signal
from the guide. We got out and entered a dark, vaulted
passage, where a pumping engine and dozens of miners
were at work. We walked for five or six hundred yards
along the passage, passing several cars full of waste which
were being shoved along the track. The guide lifted u|)
a board in our pathway and showed a stream of water a
few inclies below. It was boiling hot. The temperature
in the pa«»sage was something terrible ; it was almost
smothering, notwithstanding the constant and powerful
draught of air being pumped into the mine. The heat in
one place was 135 degrees Fahrenheit, but as the air is
pure it doesn't seem to hurt the miners; in fact, the
constant Turkish bath appears to agree M^th them, as I
have seldom seen a stronger, ruddier-looking lot of fellows.
They work with picks, drills and gunpowder, sending an
enormous quantity of quartz up the shaft every day. The
ore from this mine is soft and of a whitish colour. It
produces both gold and silver, the former in a greater
proportion of value.

We also visited the*higher levels, which are, many of
them, connected by ladders like the different stories of a
house. We were accompanied by a gentleman who said

520

UNITED STATES.

that not many years ago he liad been n'orking by the day
in a mine side by side with Mr. Maekay, the former as a
carpenter, th^ latter witli a pick and shovel.

.A-fter selecting some good specimens of ore, we again
entered the cage, darting up the shaft in a cold draught,
and emerged into the light of day.

The bonanza kings treat their guests with true Western
generosity. We were conducted into a warm dressing-
room, where a glass of toddy and a shower-bath were in
readiness. After a good rub down and rest, we were
each lianded by an attendant our specimens done up in a
neat little linen bag.

President Hayes, General Sherman and suite had gone
down the same shaft the week previous. The photograph
of the Presidential party, all in mining costumes, with
boots like raisin boxes, trousers too short, and slouch hats
of great antiquity, is very amusing.

I .^^^^jiH^^m^ .si^

A CAl.IKORNIAN FORTV-NINKK,
AN EMBRYO MILLIONAIRK.

UNITED STATES.

THROUGH A HOWLING W1LDERNE88--THE PROHPEROLS MORMONS— MANY WIVES
IN MONOGAMIST AMERICA— RIVULETS IN STREETS OF SALT LAKE CITY —
PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR— SPREAD OF THE KAITH -THE FAMOUS TABERNACLE
—HEARING A PIN DROP— A TEN MILLION DOLLAR TEMPLE -THE GRAVE OF
BRIOHAM YOUNG, A WONDERFUL GENIUS.

"\(()j^7'E joined the Great Pacific Railway at Reno and
Wr proceeded to Salt Lake City.

•"^ The country passed through, instead of being

glorious and fertile farm lands, as described in some
advertisements, is a howling wilderness.

Humboldt station is an oasis in the midst of surround-
ing desolation, and here a breakfast is provided, one of
the best between California and Illinois.

The few miles in Utah, before reaching Ogden, is the
most fertile country I have seen since leaving Japan.
The Mormons are thrifty, energetic people, and have
bright, prosperous-looking homes. Gliding along in full
view of Great Salt Lake, we arrived at Ogden ; here,
changing cars, we went down to Salt Lake City.

The capital of Utah is chiefly known to the outside
world as the head-quarters of the polygamist Mormons;
but really that feature of social life is only prominent to
the eyes of a ti"aveller by observing the number of front
doors which a Mormon has to his house.

In monogamist America this custom of having a lot of
wives seems to be regarded as a terrible offence against
society ; but when it is remembered that more than half
the population of the world to-day are polygamists, and
that the heroes of the Old Testament were the same, the
Mormons of Utah may not be such heathens after all.

The city is well built. Down each side of the main

THE MORMONS — TABERNACLE.

523

street a rivulet constantly runs, giving a fresh and lively
appearance to the public thoroughfare.

Since the death of Brighani Young, who was a natural
pleader of men, and one of the most prominent character
of this century, the mantle of President has fallen upon
an elder named John Taylor. As is customary with
visitors, we called upon the President. Our reception
was cordial, Mr. Taylor is an Englishman, about seventy
years old, tall, and with a pleasing countenance. He
informed us that Mormonism was spreading rapidly in
the West ; was not by any means confined to Utah, but
extended far into the neighbouring States. The body
have numerous apostles in Europe, who are constantly
forwarding consignments of embryo Mormons to Utah,
chieily from England, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Mr. Taylor's office is the same as the one occupied by
Brigham Young.

A large number of Gentiles are now settled in Salt
Lake city, but the Mormons hold aloof from them, and
buy all their necessaries from the co-operative stores,
supported under the patronage of the Church.

The most interesting sight in the city is the Tabernacle.
This is the second largest edifice in America, roofed
by a single unbroken arcli. It holds 8,000 people.
The acoustic qualities are wonderful. Our guide stood
opposite the organ at one end, and we stood 250 feet
away at the other end of the church. The guide
dropped a pin into his hard felt hat, and we distinctly
heard the sound of its fall. He lowly whispered also,
and I heard him as clearly as if he were standing
three feet away in the open air. In the whispering-
gallery of St. Paul's, at London, and the Dome of St.
Peter's, at Rome, there is a somewhat similar effect, but
in those cases one has to whisper against the wall. In
the Tabernacle one speaks straight forward through tlie
centre of the building.

In the same enclosure is the new Temple now in course

524

UNITED STATES.

■Hi !

of erection, to cost ten million dollars, and will, doubtless,
be tho j)ride of the city.

We went with an intelligent young Mormon, whom we
had met on the train, over to see the grave of the great
founder of Salt Lake City, and of the prosperity of
Mormon ism.

Beneath a simple slab, and surrounded b}' a high iron
railing, lie the remains of Brigham Young — a man who,
for all time, will be regarded as a genius of no ordinary
character — a man who created out of a band of ignorant,
poverty-stricken immigrants a strong and prosperous peo-
ple — out of a district of sand and alkali desei-t bright
corn-fields and cosy homsteads — a man who, single-
lianded, bid defiance to the United States Government,
and exacted from his people as unquestioning obedience
as did the great Napoleon.

f I'

siiiirle-

UNITED STATES.

LKVEL KOCKY MOl'NTAINS— PAFNTED INDIANS ON THE TRAIN -SHKRMAN, THK
BUMMIT OK THE ROCKIES— BROKEN BAOrtAOE -FERTILE IOWA— CHICAGO,
THK ylEEN OF THE WEST— AN ATTRACTIVE CITY -ELEVATORS— PIO-KILLINO
—THE FAIR— HOME AT LAST— A MAGNIFICENT TOUR.

T 0»j(len we caught the overland train, and on we
went to Omaha, passing through Wyoming and
climbing the Rocky Mountains.

I say " climbing the Rocky Mountains," but really
one would never think the train was in mountains at all,
much less the loftiest range in America. In every direc-
tion the land looks level enough. Far away one can see
snow-covered peaks, but nothing of the kind close at
hand.

The only evidence of our great altitude was the fact
that we were constantly passing through long snow-sheds
built to prevent blockades in the winter, which is ter-
ribly severe up here.

Several lords of the forest, with their accompanying
squaws and papooses, boarded the train from time to
time. They have broad, flat features and high cheek-
bones — the men with brightly-painted faces and genu-
ine fly-away leggings. The Pacific Railway, according
to regulations, give all Indians a free ride, but the noble
red man must squat outside on the platforms, and not
enter the carriages.

At last we reached Sherman. When the road was
completed here, it was the highest railroad point in the
world. The altitude is eight thousand two hundred and
forty-two feet. Leaving here, we were made aware by
the rapid grade down into the valley that we had been
amonsrst the mountains.

BROKKN «A(JGAOE — ATTRACTIVE CHICAGO.

527

ding

was

1 the

and

)eeii

Paaainnf through the fertile hinds of Nohraska, we
finally pulled up at Oinaha, a city finely Hituated on the
banks of the Missouri River, Crossing on the iron bridge,
we were in Iowa, and at the transfer grounds, the termi-
nating point of the Union Pacific Railway.

Here there was a general scrimmage for biiggage.
Ours had been checked through, two weeks previously,
from San Francisco.

To our disgust, we discovered that an accident liad
occurred to the baggage car, and our trunks were smashed
up a good deal. After carrying them for so many thou-
sands of miles safely, this was annoying. However, we
afterwards found that very few of the curiosities, whicli
composed the contents, were broken.

Iowa probably has the richest soil of any of the
Western States. It lies in the basin between the Mis-
souri and Mississippi rivers. People here say, if that be
any criterion, that the lands in this particular part are
the most fertile in the world.

The crops are something amazing, and the prices
received for lands, in some cases, are very large. Fine
homesteads dot the landscape in every direction, an<l
abundant harvests are now being gathered into tlie
granaries.

Via Burlington, and through thickly-settled Illinois,
we passed on to Chicago, the undoubted commercial
centre of the West, and a peif ect marvel of pluck, energy
and w^ealth. This was my first visit to " The Queen of
the North and the West." I was pleased and astonished
at its beautiful streets, attractive shops, grand buildino-s,
and general air of Parisian life and elegance. State
Street would rank well beside the famous boulevards of
the French metropolis.

The Palmer House is a magnificent block of buildint^s ;
its interior is in better taste, although, of course, not so
vast as The Palace at San Francisco. The new court-
house will be a rival to the p^st-office at New York.

528

A MAGNIFICENT TOUIl.

We walked over to Elevator B, said by the natives to
be the largest one in the world. It has held as much as
a million and a half bushels of ^rf.in ?t one time. The
colossal bins contain from 5,O0o to 10,000 bushels apiece.

On the State Street car we went out to the stock yards.
These are immense places, filled with thousands of cattle,
sheep, pigs, etc. We saw the slaughter-house, where, by
very complete machinery, a pig is in four minutes con-
verted from a lively grunter into shapely hams. I believe
the killing is much less painful than the ordinary mode.

On Saturday evening we visited the State Fair. It was
a brilliant scene, quite equal to the one at San Francisco.
Under lights of gas and electricity, a great throng of
pretty women and well-dressed men moved to and fro,
listening to the music and inspecting curious inventions.

After a short stay at Detroit, and passing the lynx-
eyed officers of the Canadian Customs, with our trunks
full of curios, we rode for four hours through a splen-
did agricultural country, and arrived at London, where a
warm welcome was waiting for us.

At last we were at home, having completed the circuit
of the Globe — in one year, four months and seventeen
da3's.

It was a magnificent tour, unmarred by a single serious
accident.

I firmly believe that no greater good fortune could
happen to a man than to be enabled, with a congenial
friend, to make a similar journey " Round the World."

" This is my home, and hither I return,
After much wandering in the waya of men."

—Owen Meredith.

the natives to
W as niucli as
ne time. The
bushels apiece,
lie stock yards,
ands of cattle,
ise, where, by
minutes con-
ims. I believe
dinary mode.
Fair. It was
•an Francisco.
?at thi-ong of
d to and fro,
s inventions,
ng the Jynx-
1 our trunks
^gh a splen-
ion, where a

d the circuit
d seventeen

ingle serious

I'tune could
a congenial
World."

HEDITH.