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diff --git a/41639-0.txt b/41639-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8313fbe --- /dev/null +++ b/41639-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7848 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Reminiscences of Travel in Australia, +America, and Egypt, by Richard Tangye + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Reminiscences of Travel in Australia, America, and Egypt + + +Author: Richard Tangye + + + +Release Date: December 16, 2012 [eBook #41639] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REMINISCENCES OF TRAVEL IN +AUSTRALIA, AMERICA, AND EGYPT*** + + +This ebook was transcribed by Les Bowler. + + [Picture: Frontispiece. Richard Tangye] + + + + + + REMINISCENCES + OF + TRAVEL + IN + AUSTRALIA, AMERICA, AND EGYPT. + + + [Picture: Vignette] + + BY + RICHARD TANGYE. + + _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY E. C. MOUNTFORT_. + + London: + SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, AND RIVINGTON. + CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET. + + 1883. + + (_All rights reserved_.) + + * * * * * + + PRINTED BY + + WRIGHT, DAIN, PEYTON, AND CO., + + AT THE HERALD PRESS, BIRMINGHAM. + + * * * * * + +Having made several voyages to Australia, I have often been asked how I +managed to relieve the monotony of so long a period on the water. I have +never felt this monotony, simply because on each occasion I have set +myself something to do. + +In Mr. Trevelyan’s “Life of Lord Macaulay” it is stated that when +returning from India, that statesman set himself the task of mastering +the German language, and accomplished it during the voyage. I did not +attempt anything so ambitious, but during my last voyage I occupied the +time in writing the following pages; and as they were written under many +difficulties, I feel I may confidently rely upon the indulgence of those +who may do me the honour of reading them. + + R. T. + +_Gilbertstone_, _1883_. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + [Picture: The Rabbit and the Thistle] + + PAGE. +CHAPTER I.—_At Sea_:—Early Troubles—Cabin’d, Cribb’d, 1 +Confin’d—Travelling Companions—“Ordered Abroad by the +Doctor”—“In the Bay o’ Biscay O”—Ship Stewards—Racing +under Difficulties—A Selfish Amusement—Musical +Discords—The Ship’s Newspaper—Our Ship goes too Fast—Why +Ship Captains are Tories—Ixion goes Mad—Burial at Sea—The +Parson “quite at Sea”—A Congregation Guaranteed—Look Out +for Sharks!—“Let the Soup pass, Sir”—The “Scarlet Lady.” +CHAPTER II.—_At Sea_:—“Working off the Dead Horse”—“Poor 21 +Old Man!”—“May your Shadow never Grow Less!”—The “Blatant +Beast”—The “Generous” Gambler—A Fiery Celt—The “Classic” +Dolphin—“Get your Letters Ready”—“A Man of Peace +now”—Mixing his Degrees—Good enough for the +Colonies!—“Now Fridolin was a Pious Youth”—A Bootless +Errand—Cross Signals—Tristan d’Acunha—A Parson +Wanted—“The Rolling Forties”—A Hot January Morning. +CHAPTER III.—_In Victoria_:—The Black Death in 40 +Melbourne—Melbourne—Education—A Caustic Smile—“All Work +and no Play”—“A New Way to Pay Old Debts”—“Happy Land” in +Victoria—“Hush! prohibited”—An Opening for +“Gentlemen”—“Hallelujah Claim”—The Black Spur—A +“Soafler”—Comforting the Widow—Hard +Fare—Pioneering—Lovely Marysville—The Five Deadly +Poisons—Back to Melbourne. +CHAPTER IV.—_In Tasmania_:—Cologn–ial Smells—Launceston—A 60 +Tonsorial Palace—Harvest in February—The Land of +Snakes—Der Dichter spricht—“The Dangers of the +Seas”—“Sweet Vale of Avoca”—A Charming Village—Where’s +Falmouth?—A Lonely Burying-place—A Narrow +Escape—Snakes!—“Scotched, but not Killed”—“Acres many, +People few”—The Rabbit and the Thistle—Breaking the +Pledge—Hobart the Beautiful—Jericho to Jerusalem via +Bagdad—Farewell, Tasmania. +CHAPTER V.—_In New South Wales_:—Off to Sydney—“What d’ye 80 +think of our Harbour?”—A “Southerly Buster”—Oysters on +Trees—A rather particular Couple—Mount Victoria—A +Tremendous Leap—A wicked Parrot—“Bail up”—The Laughing +Jackass—Let Sleeping Bull-dogs Lie—An Election in +Sydney—Beer and Bible—Through Wagga-Wagga—In the +Bush—Track-making—Sighing for Old England—“Tommy”—Albury +and Wodonga, a contrast—The Bush-rangers. +CHAPTER VI.—_In Australia_:—Victoria, Protection—The Dog 101 +subsisting on its own Tail—Cabby over-rides the +Tramway—His Profit was not “quite enough”—Protection with +a Vengeance—“Quite right to Cheat the Government”—Free +Trade, New South Wales—A Genuine “Native Industry”—How +Population is attracted—A Prosperous Colony—Demand for +Agricultural Labourers—“Young Australia.” +CHAPTER VII.—_On the Pacific_:—Homeward Bound—Ten Months’ 113 +Drought—Auckland—Fiji—Kandavu Harbour—A Fearful +Voice—Sharks and Dark Skins—Dropping a Day—A Colonial +Doctor—Man Overboard—Honolulu—A Square Meal—Dressmaking +in Honolulu—A “Brownie”—“Yes, for a Dollar”—A Plague of +Centipedes—A Bilious “Down-Easter”—Jefferson Brick, +Junior—“Mister”—“A Personal Favour!”—Through “The Golden +Gate”—Earning a Cent anyway. +CHAPTER VIII.—_In America_:—San Francisco—The Palace 135 +Hotel—Chinese Washermen—The National Habit—Flats and +Sharps—Qualifications for a State Governor—John Chinaman +in California—The Missing Link—Little Min-ne, a Chinese +Bride—Am claimed as a Chinaman—Pacific Sea-Lions—The last +of “Mister”—Across America—A Magnificent Country—The +Noble Red Man—A Long Arm and Quick Eye—John Bright—A +Tremendous Crash—The Trapper’s Story—How Taurus “Meets +the Train”—The Alkali Plains—Salt Lake City—“I guess I’ll +take your Gold”—Rock Groups—“No, Sah!” said Sambo. +CHAPTER IX.—_In America_:—“Eat and be 160 +satisfied”—Chicago—Niagara—Ruthless Desecration—“He must +raise his Salary”—The “American Language”—The Hudson—The +Celestial Harmonies—A Dealer in Justice—“Rich, but +Honest”—“Dear” America—Baggage +Arrangements—Philadelphia—The Centennial Exhibition—An +Argument for Protection—Artisans’ Wages and +Holidays—Protection doomed—Cadgers—Freedom, for Tongue +and Foot—Something hot! +CHAPTER X.—_In Egypt_:—Suez—Hassan—Donkeys for Nine—The 181 +Languishing Nobleman—Backsheesh—Painting the Lily—Forced +Labour, a painful Sight—Agriculture _à la_ Adam—School +Interrupted—In the Bazaars—The Jewellers—A Bridal +Party—Sultan Hassan—Familiar Devils—Up the Great +Pyramid—The Heaven-sent Stick—A Wash and a Shave—To +Sakkara—A Great City—At Sakkara—Tomb of the Sacred +Bulls—The Tomb of a High Priest—A Graphic Biograph—The +Eternal Backsheesh—A Camelcade. +CHAPTER XI.—_In Egypt_:—Pious Orgies—Howlers and 209 +Dancers—Miss Whateley’s Schools—“She only steals the Eggs +now!”—In Shubra Avenue—A Useful Animal—A Morning +Ride—Sultan Selim—“Sir, I am a Christian”—A Holy Fakir—A +Statue four thousand years old—Irrigation—Venerable +Orphans—Home to Vote. +CHAPTER XII.—_In Egypt_;—Port 226 +Said—Hawkers—Bohemiennes—Marines—The last Unmarried +Lady—The Harbour—A discerning young Arab—The Red Ribbon +Army—“Once a Member, always a Member”—The Spider—“One +must be civ-il!”—Our Blue Jackets. +CHAPTER XIII.—_The Suez Canal_:—Arabi in Exile—A ’cute 238 +Governor—The French outwitted—“Thomas Cook and Son”—A +Black-Guard—Tel-el-Kebir—The Land of Goshen—The Suez +Canal—Lord Palmerston—Immense Traffic—Lake +Timsah—Predictions—Red Tape—Absurd Restrictions—Lesseps’ +Position—A Suggestion—The Dual Control—Arabi Bey—Mutinous +Conduct—Irregular Court-Martial—How Arabi recruited his +Army—“L’etat c’est moi.” +CHAPTER XIV.—_Alexandria_:—Ras-el-Tin—The Forts—A 260 +Courageous Merchant—Alexandria in Ruins—Alexandria not +Bombarded—Anglo-Indians—Brindisi—Quarantine. +INDEX. 269 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + PAGE +PORTRAIT Frontispiece +VIGNETTE Title +RABBIT AND THISTLE vii +TERRA FIRMA 1 +TENERIFFE 7 +THE SPORTS 8 +THE CAPTAIN 11 +ASCENSION 17 +CROSSING THE LINE. WHY, DON’T YOU SEE IT? 19 +THE BABY HIPPOPOTAMUS AT PLAY 21 +BURYING THE DEAD HORSE 23 +THE CLASSIC DOLPHIN 28 +A COLONIAL PARSON 31 +IN THE TROPICS 40 +GOLD MINE 49 +A BIG TREE 52 +ON THE BLACK SPUR 56 +THE LYRE BIRD 59 +THE DOCTOR CONTEMPLATES—A POEM 64 +AVOCA 67 +ST. MARY’S 68 +FALMOUTH HOTEL 69 +BURIAL PLACE 70 +SUMMIT OF MOUNT WELLINGTON 76 +VIEW IN HOBART GARDENS 77 +OUR WAITER 79 +SYDNEY HARBOUR 80 +COTTAGE AT MOUNT VICTORIA 86 +WEATHERBOARD FALLS 87 +DESCENT TO HARTLEY VALE 88 +THE LAUGHING JACKASS 90 +THE AUTHOR SKETCHING 91 +A BULLOCK-TEAM 94 +A BUSH HUT 95 +AN UP-COUNTRY TOWN 98 +THE PLATYPUS 112 +A FIJIAN 117 +THE KING’S SISTER 127 +THE CHINAMAN 142 +LITTLE MIN-NE 143 +SEAL ROCKS, SAN FRANCISCO 145 +THE LAST OF “MISTER” 146 +THE EUCALYPTUS 148 +SALT LAKE 155 +MONUMENT ROCK 158 +THE DEVIL’S SLIDE 159 +UNDER THE FALLS, NIAGARA 163 +THE PALLISADES, HUDSON RIVER 166 +JOHN SCALES, JUSTICE OF THE PEACE 168 +A DRAGOMAN 182 +A DONKEY BOY 184 +THE “ORIENT” 186 +THE SCHOOLMASTER “ABROAD” 189 +A “PEEP” 190 +“BERY CHEAP, SAH!” 191 +THE MOSQUE OF SULTAN HASSAN 193 +ASCENDING THE GREAT PYRAMID 197 +VIEW ON THE NILE 198 +THE SPHINX 199 +A WASH AND A SHAVE 201 +THE SERAPEUM, SAKKARA 204 +BAS-RELIEF, TOMB OF TIH 206 +A CAMELCADE 208 +PRAYERS IN THE DESERT 209 +A RUNNER, OR SAIS 212 +IN SHUBRA AVENUE 214 +WATER CARRIERS 215 +THE TOMBS OF THE KHALIFS 218 +A STREET IN BÛLAK 219 +A HOLY FAKIR 222 +A WRECKED SHIP OF THE DESERT 223 +AU REVOIR! 225 +IN THE SUEZ CANAL 226 +A FEATHER MERCHANT 227 +CETEWAYO DISGUISED AS A GENTLEMAN 236 +ADENESE WOMEN 240 +A FAMILIAR FACE 261 +THE END 268 + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + + [Picture: Terra Firma] + +It is commonly supposed by landsmen that the perils of ocean travelling +are much greater than those encountered upon land. For my own part, I +believe that, once on the open sea, there is no pleasanter or safer mode +of locomotion than is to be found in a well-appointed sailing ship or +steamer. I certainly was in much greater danger of being drowned while +travelling on the railway between Bristol and Plymouth upon one occasion +than I have ever known myself to be while on board ship. The autumn had +been exceedingly wet, and the low-lying districts in Somersetshire had +become flooded, causing the railway to be completely submerged for a +distance of about three miles. The water reached to the floors of the +railway carriages, while the locomotive in its progress made a great wave +in front of the train. The wheels of the locomotive were 8ft. 10in. in +height, and the fire-box was 6ft. above the ground. Boats accompanied +the train on either side during its passage through the water. Certainly +I have never felt in so much danger in the 60,000 miles of ocean +travelling which I have had since then. Not that there are no dangers to +be met with on the water, as I found to my alarm before I had fairly +commenced my last voyage. + +Our vessel lay three miles off the Hoe, at Plymouth, and we had engaged a +large sailing boat to take us on board. When we had got half way to the +ship, and had lost the shelter of the land, a fierce squall struck the +sail and turned the boat over on its side, throwing us into a confused +heap on its bottom. The boatman tried to lower the sail, but having tied +it in a fast knot he could not do so, and had no means of cutting the +rope. The rain came down pitilessly all the time, and the waves dashed +over us, drenching us to the skin, darkness coming on in the meantime. +For a few moments we almost gave ourselves up as lost, but fortunately +the violence of the wind lessened, the boat righted itself, and we got +alongside our ship, but were unable in the darkness and the rush of the +water and the noise of the wind and rain to make ourselves heard. My +companion and I had to climb up the rope-ladder attached to the ship, and +to scramble over its side as best we could, in the confusion altogether +forgetting to take leave of our friends who were in the boat below, and +who were lost to sight the instant we got on to the deck. + +On entering the saloon the contrast was very great. The big ship riding +at anchor was as steady as the land we had just left. The saloon was +brilliantly lighted; and the passengers who had joined the ship at +Gravesend were sitting round the table engaged in various occupations; +some were reading or writing, while others were playing at whist, or were +engaged in conversation. Being new arrivals, there was considerable +curiosity to see which cabin we should call our own. + +To a man taking his first voyage the phrase “cabin’d, cribb’d, confin’d” +is at once understood as he surveys the cabin, a portion of which is to +be his home for a month or two. The first feeling is that it will be +impossible to bestow all his belongings in the limited space at his +disposal, but before he has been long on board things settle down into +their places, and he almost begins to wonder what he shall do with all +the room. + +The first night on board ship is generally one of great confusion. The +passengers seem to be in everybody’s way; but immediately after leaving +port the baggage is stowed away, the purser allots the seats at table, +and everything goes on with the greatest regularity. + +The passengers on board one of the great Australian ships form a perfect +epitome of the great world ashore. The line of division is sharply drawn +between the various sets or cliques. Many never condescend to notice +numbers of their fellow-passengers during the whole voyage; but for the +most part fraternisation becomes general after the first fortnight has +passed. + +A three months’ voyage often enables a man to form a juster appreciation +of the character of his fellow-passengers than many years’ residence in +the same neighbourhood would do on shore; hence it often happens that +life-friendships of the warmest kind are formed on board ship. On +steamers bound for the Colonies representatives of almost every class are +to be found. Judges returning to their duties after a holiday all too +short; colonial statesmen with sufficient time on their hands to allow of +their formulating a policy to meet every conceivable combination among +their parliamentary opponents; and squatters and merchants returning to +the Colonies to look after their property or their business. These men +are generally very much preoccupied, and their only anxiety appears to be +to get as speedily as possible to their destination. + +Another class is composed of clergymen and professional men taking a +holiday, and generally speaking with every sign of great enjoyment; while +two other classes are largely represented—viz., invalids in search of +health, and young ne’er-do-wells sent to the Colonies under the mistaken +idea of their being more likely to reform in a new country. The latter +class is mainly composed of young fellows who have never been brought up +to any trade or calling at home, and who, with their friends, seem to +think that the Colonies are a sort of “Tom Tiddler’s ground,” where they +can “pick up gold and silver.” + +These youths are sent out by their friends as a last chance, under what +is known as the “private convict system,” and I believe that a very small +proportion of them ever take a position of respectability after landing +in the Colonies. Nor is it to be wondered at, for on the principle of +“birds of a feather,” etc., these young men get together on the outward +voyage, and all their previous vices become much intensified by the +association. On the other hand, many young men of good character, going +out to the Colonies in search of employment, and showing by their conduct +during the voyage that they are self-respecting, and consequently +trustworthy, have secured good appointments from colonial merchants +before leaving the ship. + +Those who take the voyage on account of impaired health mainly consist of +men suffering from overwork, and invalids more or less affected with +pulmonary disease. In the case of the former a long voyage is the surest +remedy; and for those in the earliest stage of consumption it is +generally found to be efficacious; but it would be impossible to devise a +more cruel fate for such as are thoroughly affected by that fell disease +than to send them out on a long voyage. The conditions are all against +them; the draught in the saloon is always great, and there is a total +absence of those little comforts and delicacies which consumptive +patients so greatly need, and the lack of which is so sorely felt. +Doctors who have never made a voyage little think to what a miserable +fate they are dooming their consumptive patients when they order them to +take a sea voyage. In five cases out of six these patients are sent out +too late, and the voyage only hastens their inevitable end, while, if +they had only been sent in the earliest stages of the disease, they would +almost certainly have been restored. + +I started on my first Australian voyage on a lovely day in the late +autumn. The sun was shining brilliantly, and as there was very little +wind we fondly hoped we should cross the Bay of Biscay without having to +go through the disagreeable experiences usually met with there; but our +hopes were rudely dispelled when, after two days, having fairly got into +the bay, we found a strong “nor’-wester” blowing, with heavy seas and +torrents of rain. + +Our ship was a duplicate of the ill-fated “London,” and the officers +comforted us with the information that we were just on the spot where she +had gone down a few years before. + +The wind and waves had been increasing in force during the day; but at +four o’clock, just as we were sitting down to dinner, a heavy sea burst +’tween decks with a great uproar, breaking through the doors leading from +the main-deck to the saloon, swamping the nearest cabins, and completely +scattering the dinner, dishes and all. + +The stewards had a busy time of it for the next two hours in mopping and +baling the water out, and in preparing another dinner. Many of us, +however, preferred retiring to our berths, the weather in the meantime +getting decidedly worse. Presently another sea was shipped, deluging our +cabin, amongst others, and leaving us in perfect darkness; while the +noise of the sailors tramping overhead, the smashing of crockery, and the +falling of blocks and ropes, the shouts of the officers, and the +continual roar of the storm, effectually banished sleep for the night. I +gained, however, one valuable piece of information, for as a result of +the storm I learned a certain cure for sea-sickness! I had been quite +ill before the final burst, but the excitement from this cured me +instantly. + +During the night we travelled out of the storm into smoother water, and +it was curious to note the effect of this improved state of affairs, and +of the bright sunshine, in bringing fresh faces on deck. + +The life of a steward on board one of these ships is not an enviable one. +He has to be up at work at four o’clock, washing and scrubbing the +saloon; to wait at table four times a day; to make the beds, and attend +to the cabins; and to be generally useful amongst the passengers, rarely +finishing before ten o’clock at night. Our steward was a very handy +fellow. He informed me he had a brother in New Zealand in practice as a +doctor, who wanted him to settle there, but he preferred “a life on the +ocean wave.” He strongly recommended us to bathe frequently in salt +water, saying it “was good for the spin-ial orgins!” + + [Picture: Teneriffe (from a sketch by J. Willis)] + +Eight days after leaving Plymouth we passed the Canary Islands, steaming +between Teneriffe and Gomera. The weather was delightful, and we had a +fine view of the famous Peak, which rises apparently straight out of the +sea to a height of 12,000 feet. These islands form a province of Spain, +and are volcanic in their origin. The last eruption was in 1824. The +vegetable productions of the islands are very varied. Palms and tropical +plants grow near the sea; higher up cereals are grown; above, laurels; +and still higher, pines and the white broom. The islands also produce +oranges, lemons, dates, sugar-cane, cotton, and silk. + + [Picture: The “Sports” (from a sketch by G. A. Musgrave)] + +Soon after passing the Canaries the Tropics are entered; and some of us +begin to feel, for the first time, what heat really is. Awnings are +fixed, and preparations are made for various kinds of amusements, amongst +which the most popular are quoits, a run with the hounds, jumping in +sacks by moonlight, racing in sacks, etc. + +The game of quoits is much in favour with those who can play it, but it +is a most selfish affair, for half-a-dozen men monopolise the whole of +one side of the deck—and that the best or upper side—and, beginning at +ten in the morning, continue till the dinner hour. + +These are the day amusements. In the evenings there are concerts, +recitations, and occasionally theatrical performances. Some passengers +are of a studious turn, and divide their time between reading, writing, +and walking, while others—notably young men from the Colonies—recline at +ease during the day and become lively at night, often perambulating the +decks with heavy heels till the small hours of the morning, to the great +discomfort of those sleeping below. + +Our second-class fellow-passengers commenced the concert season by giving +a very amusing entertainment in their saloon. The first piece on the +programme was an “overture by the band”—the band being represented by a +single concertina. The chairman, a jolly-looking old tar, tried three +pieces, and broke down in amidst roars of laughter and calls for the +chorus. An “ancient buffer” sang “My Pretty Jane,” and a few other +sentimental things, with looks of fond affection. Then came a solo by +“Bones,” and another sailor gave a song which recounted his many +ailments. He said he had had “brownchitis,” “scarlatina,” “concertina,” +and “tightness in the chest.” Then a melancholy youth ground out +something about his love for a “Little brown jug,” calling frequently for +a chorus, the whole ending with “God save the Queen.” + +We had other concerts during the voyage, and it was noticeable that the +peculiarity which is said to attend amateur performances on land was not +absent with us, for our concerts were usually productive of anything but +harmony—at any rate amongst the singers. Those who were first invited to +sing usually had colds, and those who were free from colds often declined +because they were not invited first. Even the singing of hymns at the +evening service was more than once made the occasion of heated +discussion. + +Another mode of occupying leisure hours on board ship as soon as the +passengers have fairly settled down for the voyage is to start a +newspaper. A few of the passengers meet and choose an editor, and the +general public are invited to send contributions to him. At the outset +promises of help are very abundant, but, as a matter of fact, the work +has to be done by a very few persons. The paper appears weekly, in +manuscript, and is usually read aloud by the editor after dinner on the +day of issue. + +Sometimes it is agreed to have the paper printed on reaching the Colony, +and when that is determined upon one or two individuals undertake the +duty of passing it through the press, and of forwarding it to the various +subscribers. As a rule the same persons rarely undertake the duty twice, +for it is a very arduous and oft-times thankless task. + +Some of the more cautious subscribers object to paying in advance, or +require guarantees for due delivery and for the proper performance of the +work. On one occasion one of my companions undertook the work of +preparing the paper for the press, and correcting the proofs; it took him +nearly three weeks to do so, and I am sure he will never undertake a +similar task. The colonial printer gave him a great deal of trouble, +persisting in ignoring his corrections, and in “improving the text” by +altering it according to his own ideas. One peculiarity of amateur +authorship came out into strong relief in the printing of this paper—the +number of quotations and of inverted commas was so great that our +printer’s stock was quite exhausted, and he had to send all round the +city to borrow a sufficient supply. + + [Picture: The Captain (from a sketch by G. A. Musgrave)] + +In a three months’ voyage the advantage of having a genial captain is +obvious, and in this respect we were most fortunate, for it was +impossible for anyone to be kinder or more considerate. Our captain +entered heartily into all our amusements and schemes for the relief of +the monotony of the voyage, and was ably seconded in his efforts by his +amiable wife. + +Sometimes it did appear to some of the more eager and impatient of the +passengers that the captain was fonder of being on the water than they +were; for he had a great regard for his sails, and whenever the wind +developed unusual energy had no hesitation in diminishing the rate of our +progress by shortening sail. The first officer, perhaps with the +rashness of youth, would crowd all sail during his watch before +breakfast, but when the captain made his appearance an order to “Take in +those sails” would be promptly addressed to the chief. + +Our captain had made the voyage more than twenty times, and had very +carefully studied and noted the meteorological signs in various +latitudes. The sky seemed like a book to him, and often when we could +see no indications of change—and it was wonderful how quickly changes +sometimes came—he would rapidly make his arrangements, and was rarely +caught by the most sudden of tropical squalls. Our first experience of +one of these squalls was when we were fifty miles to the south of +Madeira. The weather had been fine all day, but about five o’clock we +were aroused by great activity on the part of the officers and crew, who +acted as though they expected to be boarded by pirates. The sky had +become cloudy, and we were told that a squall was expected. The captain +stood at the stern and gave his orders to the first officer in a quiet +manner, while the latter shouted them to the sailors, who at once began +to climb and pull at the ropes, all the while singing their sea songs. +In the meantime the wind had come up, and was blowing like a hurricane +through the rigging, and then the rain came down in torrents. While this +was going on we saw a ship at a little distance, also overtaken by the +squall, and it was wonderful to see how soon they took in her sails—it +was done in a twinkling. Our vessel rolled and pitched heavily, and +everything looked wet and wretched; but the squall passed off almost as +quickly as it came, and the sun shone out, and everything looked smiling +again. Unfortunately, during the storm the wind changed right ahead. + +Our captain was a Tory, as most long-voyage captains are. I have often +thought it strange that it should be so, seeing that the whole purpose of +a captain’s life is to make progress on his voyage; but it would appear +that, although he is always progressing, he invariably comes back to his +starting point. + +At dinner one day, happening to say I was from Birmingham, the captain +said jocularly, “Oh, that’s where all the shams come from!” + +Now the captain hails from London, but his wife is an Irish lady, so I +answered, “No, captain, the things known as Brummagem shams are like the +Irish bulls, and are, for the most part, manufactured in London.” + +“That’s so,” said the captain’s wife; “well done, Mr. Tangye,” and the +captain subsided. + +Truly life on shipboard is a curious medley. Here is a picture of what +went on one night. In the lower tier of cabins lies a young man in the +last stage of consumption, and almost in the agonies of death; in a cabin +just above him is another suffering from scarlet fever; within a few feet +of these are mothers nursing their babies. Sitting in a corner of the +saloon is another young man, also in the final stage of consumption, away +from all his friends, and without a single acquaintance on board; in +front of him are two card parties, one of them playing for money, and +looking as eager about it as though dear life depended on success. + +While all this is going on below, what might have been a tragedy is being +enacted on deck, for the quartermaster went suddenly mad while standing +at the wheel. The captain had just given him some instructions, but he +did not seem to take kindly to them, and was inclined to be disputatious. +Presently he said, with an oath, “I won’t argue with you to-night, +captain.” The captain then ordered another man to take the wheel, when +the poor fellow ran along the deck and fell forward, kicking vigorously. +The captain, thinking the man was in a fit, summoned the doctor, who, +after waiting till the patient became quieter, tried to persuade him to +go forward with him. The man, however, suddenly sprang up and aimed a +tremendous blow at the poor little doctor, who, fortunately, being +cunning of fence, managed to evade it. He then chased the doctor around +the deck, and would doubtless have thrown him overboard if he could have +caught him. The first officer then came to the rescue and seized the +lunatic, but, although a very strong man, the doctor and he were unable +to hold him, and ultimately it took six men to carry him forward. At +last they managed to secure him, as they thought, but in a very short +time the sailors came rushing pell-mell on to the poop-deck, the maniac +having got loose and begun to chase them with a long fork. It was some +time before they could again secure him, but finally they succeeded, and +put him into a strait-jacket. + +In the morning the first officer went to see the poor fellow, who asked +him to shake hands, but the officer declined. “Well, sir,” said the man, +“I saved all your lives last night, for if I hadn’t put the ship about +she would have been right into that other ship on the starboard bow!” Of +course this was entirely a delusion, for there had been no ship there. + +Soon after entering the Tropics on one of my voyages, one of the +second-class passengers was taken ill, and died in a few hours; he had +been suffering from an attack of _delirium tremens_. The funeral was +arranged to take place at 7.30 on the following morning, and at the +appointed time the body, which had been sewn up in sail-cloth, was placed +on trestles on the main deck, opposite a port-hole, the “Union Jack” +covering it. Presently the bell began to toll, while the clergyman and +captain read the service for the dead, and when the latter came to the +passage “We therefore commit his body to the deep,” he looked at the +sailors, who at once loosed the corpse, which, being weighted with iron, +shot through the open port-hole into the water with a great splash. +During the ceremony the engines were stopped. + +The day following was Sunday, and it being a glorious day, with a +perfectly smooth sea, it was arranged for the service to be held on deck, +which was covered with an awning. One of the passengers had brought a +set of hand-bells with him, and he and some others rang out a peal before +the service, the effect being curious. + +The water was of a beautiful purple colour, and the sky a deep blue, and +some large white birds were lazily flying around the ship. Under these +unusual circumstances, and with the solemn incident of the burial of the +poor drunkard on the previous day, one would have thought that even the +dullest minister would have felt a thrill of inspiration. Judge, then, +of our surprise when the parson commenced talking to us about geology! +Nor did he make the slightest reference to the scene around him during +the whole sermon. He told us, incidentally, that miners had not yet +succeeded in getting more than twelve miles deep! During the afternoon I +ventured to ask him where the mine was situated of which he had spoken, +as, happening to know something about mining operations, I was anxious to +know how the miners managed to pump the water from a depth of twelve +miles. He answered testily, “I was not speaking of any particular mine.” + +On one occasion a discussion arose as to the best means to be adopted to +ensure the attendance of the working classes at church. The reverend +gentleman told us that for his part he had no difficulty in getting +people to attend his church—all classes and conditions of people came to +hear him, and yet he took no special means to secure their attendance. +Not being impressed with the parson’s eloquence, we were at a loss to +understand how it was that he was so successful, when far abler and more +attractive men failed so conspicuously; but he vouchsafed no explanation. +On arriving in the Colony the explanation was forthcoming, for I found +that our reverend friend was chaplain to a cemetery! + +On another occasion the old gentleman preached a sermon in which he +related an anecdote of a soldier who was mortally wounded on the field of +Waterloo. One of the chaplains found the poor fellow, who showed him a +Bible which he had always carried in his pocket, it having been given him +by his mother on leaving home. “Doubtless,” said the clergyman, “this +young man, having served his country to the death, went straight to +glory.” Curiously enough, in the lesson for that day occurred the verse, +“Love your enemies,” etc., so during the day I asked him how he +reconciled the verse with the idea of the red-handed soldier going +straight to glory? The parson (who was an Irishman) replied, “Sure, the +soldier was heaping _fire_ on his enemy’s head!” + + [Picture: Ascension (from a sketch by J. Willis)] + +In about eighteen days after leaving Plymouth we reached the island of +Ascension, whose fine group of volcanic peaks formed a magnificent object +from our steamer. The island is used as a sanatorium for the British +Colonies on the west coast of Africa. It has an area of about +thirty-five square miles, and produces an abundance of turtles, +pheasants, peafowl, and eggs, while tomatoes, castor-oil plants, and +pepper, are indigenous. + +The first officer went ashore with a boat to take our letters, and to +bring back some turtles for use during the voyage. Immediately the boat +left the ship we saw a big shark following close in its wake, the brute’s +fin showing above the water until the landing-stage was reached. This +gave us some concern, as sharks are very bold at times, and have been +known to snap at a hand hanging over the side of a boat. We saw large +numbers about the ship during our stay, and one of the passengers shot +several of them with a rifle. One was quite near to the ship when shot, +and on feeling the bullet leaped right out of the water, and was +instantly attacked and doubtless devoured by its brethren on falling back +into the sea. We also put out a hook baited with pork, and observed +several of the sharks make attempts upon it; but they appeared to be very +clumsy, for they repeatedly missed it. Presently, however, one fellow +got the hook firmly into his mouth, and we hauled him in over the stern +on to the poop. He dashed about madly, looked very vicious, and reared +right up on end, when the sailors barbarously hacked his tail off. Soon +he was hauled on to the main-deck and quickly despatched, his teeth being +on sale at a shilling each in less than an hour afterwards. Three +turtles were brought on board “all alive,” and placed on their backs on +the deck until they were required by the cook. They each measured +5ft.6in. long by 3ft. wide, and 6ft.8in. in girth, and each weighed about +330 lbs. + +One day we had very rough weather, with an occasional sea dashing over +the deck, along which the dinner was brought from the kitchen. My +steward quietly told me to take none of the turtle soup, and I obeyed. +After dinner I asked him why he advised me to let the soup pass? He said +that as they were coming along the deck a sea came over and washed half +the soup out of the tureen, decidedly mixing what was left! Those who +partook of the soup remarked that the cook had put rather too much salt +to it; but they libelled that useful functionary. + + [Picture: Crossing the “Line”—“Why! don’t you see it?”] + +One of our fellow-passengers was an old German lady, who was returning +from a visit to her fatherland. She was very lively, and informed us she +had not told her husband she was returning by this ship, intending, as +she said, “to catch him on de hop,” but she did not know that the +passengers’ names were all sent on by the mail, which went faster than we +did; so when we got to the port her husband, “Shemmy” (Jemmy), as she +called him, had come out with the pilot, and was very near catching her +on “de hop,” for she was a very lively old lady. One morning, while we +were in the Tropics, upon getting on deck, we found the old lady dressed +from head to foot in scarlet! It was too much, with the thermometer at +101° in the shade, so a deputation waited upon her and begged her to +shade her glory, for it was too overpowering. + + [Picture: The “Baby Hippopotamus” at Play] + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +After being a month at sea the sailors performed the ceremony called +“Burying the Dead Horse,” the explanation of which is this: Before +leaving port seamen are paid a month in advance, so as to enable them to +leave some money with their wives, or to buy a new kit, etc., and having +spent the money they consider the first month goes for nothing, and so +call it “Working off the Dead Horse.” The crew dress up a figure to +represent a horse; its body is made out of a barrel, its extremities of +hay or straw covered with canvas, the mane and tail of hemp, the eyes of +two ginger beer bottles, sometimes filled with phosphorus. When complete +the noble steed is put on a box, covered with a rug, and on the evening +of the last day of the month a man gets on to his back, and is drawn all +round the ship by his shipmates, to the chanting of the following +doggerel:— + + [Picture: Music to Burying the Dead Horse] + + BURYING THE DEAD HORSE. + + You have come a long long way, + And we say so, for we know so. + For to be sold upon this day, + Poor old man. + + You are goin’ now to say good-bye, + And we say so, for we know so. + Poor old horse you’re a goin’ to die, + Poor Old Man. + +Having paraded the decks in order to get an audience, the sale of the +horse by auction is announced, and a glib-mouthed man mounts the rostrum +and begins to praise the noble animal, giving his pedigree, etc., saying +it was a good one to go, for it had gone 6,000 miles in the past month! +The bidding then commences, each bidder being responsible only for the +amount of his advance on the last bid. After the sale the horse and its +rider are run up to the yard-arm amidst loud cheers. Fireworks are let +off, the man gets off the horse’s back, and, cutting the rope, lets it +fall into the water. The _Requiem_ is then sung to the same melody. + + Now he is dead and will die no more, + And we say so, for we know so. + Now he is gone and will go no more; + Poor Old Man. + + [Picture: Burying the Dead Horse] + +After this the auctioneer and his clerk proceed to collect the “bids,” +and if in your ignorance of auction etiquette you should offer your’s to +the auctioneer, he politely declines it, and refers you to his clerk! + +As we neared the Equator the heat became very oppressive. On October +2nd, when 7° north of the line, the thermometer stood at 120° in the sun, +while under the awning it registered 85°. On the thermometer being +dipped into the sea the temperature of the surface water was found to be +82°, while in the cabin at midnight the thermometer stood at 80°, with +the wind blowing in at the open porthole. + +In passing under the vertical sun the old proverb “may your shadow never +grow less” is entirely out of place, for it is impossible it can +diminish, unless, indeed, one should become like poor misguided Peter +Schlemihl, and find oneself altogether without one! When standing +upright my shadow was about two feet in diameter, and it looked like the +shadow of the brim of my hat all round my feet. + +The wife of the captain of our steamer had been very unwell until we had +passed the Equator, and had not come out of her cabin. One evening, soon +after she made her first appearance, I was chatting with her, when, +finding I was from Cornwall, she asked me if I knew a certain +watering-place in that county which she named. It happened that I had a +residence at the place in question, and curiously enough she had been a +visitor at the same house before I had it, and she said, “last year my +sister was staying in the neighbourhood with some friends, when they were +nearly caught by the tide on the beach opposite the house, and had to +scale the face of the cliff, climbing up some old ladders left in an +abandoned mine.” I told her if they had taken my advice, and had turned +back, they would not have had such an unpleasant adventure, for I +happened to be on the beach at the time, and warned the party of their +danger, but they disregarded it! It was curious to be reminded of this +occurrence under such circumstances. + +Amongst our fellow-passengers were two young men, whose friends, it was +reported, had become tired of them at home, and had made a present of +them to the Colonies. They were very lively youths, and did their best +to keep the ship lively by their pranks and escapades. They were known +by the names of “Tall and Fat,” and “Short and Stout,” and were always +together. Sometimes, however, the playfulness of these two young men +received an unexpected check. On one occasion they had gone “forward” to +play some tricks upon the emigrants, who, however, did not see the fun; +so, having got the lads into a corner, they covered them, first with +molasses and then with flour, and so returned them to the saloon. They +did not repeat their visit. + +There is one feature on board many ships which always strikes passengers +with surprise; and that is the impunity with which the “wild spirits” +carry on their disorderly conduct. Drinking, betting, shouting, tramping +the deck at unseemly hours of the night, are permitted, to the great +annoyance of the majority; but it is in vain that you appeal to the +officers—they will not interfere. On one occasion a noisy youth, who +went by the name of the “Blatant Beast,” was firing a revolver about “at +large,” and although we appealed to the captain, and begged that he would +disarm the lad, it was useless—he would not interfere. Ultimately the +young man accidentally discharged the pistol and broke his arm, and so +relieved his neighbours from further apprehensions for a time. + +One night “Short and Stout” and “Tall and Fat,” and a few other rowdies, +got drunk, and in their rambles found a poor harmless cat, which they +chased all over the ship, and succeeded in killing. On the following day +these gallant youths determined, in Irish phrase, to “wake” the cat. +They proceeded to fit up one of their cabins as a chapel, and upon a bier +the corpse of poor pussy was laid, having been dressed for the occasion, +candles surrounding the body. The mourners, or murderers, stood around +the body with pipes in their mouths, meggy-howling and cat-a-wauling in a +most vigorous fashion, afterwards parading the deck, headed by one of +their party, arrayed in a dress coat over a night shirt, and wearing a +tall white hat, carrying the dead body of poor puss before him. + +Betting is often carried on to a great extent, considerable sums of money +changing hands. One passenger told me, after we had been some weeks at +sea, that he had cleared enough to pay for his own passage, and also for +that of his wife and child, and that it only remained for him to win +enough to pay for the nurse, and to take them all from Australia to New +Zealand, and he should be happy! I knew one man, the father of a very +large family, who lost £700 in three weeks, £400 of it going at a single +night’s play; yet, with striking consistency, this open-handed gentleman +refused to allow his wife and daughters to go on shore at one of the most +interesting of our ports of call on the score of the expense, which he +said would amount to at least £2 or £3! + +A pleasant sight it is to watch the fish and birds which begin to make +their appearance about 30° S. Occasionally flocks of flying-fish are to +be seen flying a few feet above the water, pursued by dolphins. +Sometimes their headlong flight carries them right on to the deck, or +through the cabin windows when lighted up after nightfall. They are +caught by the sailors at night by the simple device of suspending a net +in front of a lantern, and they are said to be very good when cooked. + +We first saw that splendid bird, the albatross, when about 28° S. +latitude, and when more than 1,000 miles from land. They appeared in +flocks, and would follow the ship for many days. Their flight is +exceedingly graceful, and very rapid, the movement of their wings being +scarcely perceptible. The capture of the albatross is a favourite +amusement upon sailing ships—it is scarcely possible to catch them from a +steamer—the plan being to let out a line over the stern, having a strong +hook baited with a piece of meat or with red cloth. We were successful +in catching a magnificent fellow, which measured 15ft. across its wings. +A drop of prussic acid applied to the eye of the poor creature causes +instant death. The breast forms an excellent muff, and the wing bones +make good stems for pipes of the “churchwarden” pattern. One of our +passengers was a fiery Irishman, who was travelling with his +newly-married wife. One day, while at dinner, the ship gave a heavy +lurch, and the lady fell back, breaking her chair; upon which her +husband, in a great rage, seized the chair, and, rushing on deck, threw +it overboard, when lo! a flock of albatrosses crowded around it, and one +fine fellow “took” the chair, and appeared to be addressing his friends! + +One of the most beautiful creatures to be seen in tropical waters is the +“Portuguese Man-of-War.” It is often confounded with the Nautilus, but +is a quite distinct organism; it has a crest which can be raised or +lowered at will, and its body consists of a long, horizontal, oblong +bladder filled with air. They vary in size from 12in. diameter to small +discs no larger than a shilling, and present a beautiful appearance as +the ship passes by a fleet of them. + + [Picture: (A) The “Classic” Dolphin. (B) The Dolphin] + +We caught some dolphins, and an examination of their stomachs proved they +were not unjustly suspected of eating the pretty little flying-fish. The +pilot-fish, also found in these latitudes, is coloured purple and silver, +with five black bands across it, and is about five inches in length. We +also saw specimens of the white shark, porpoises, grampuses, Mother +Carey’s chickens, booby-birds, etc. + +One of the most interesting sights at sea is the passing of ships. I +shall never forget our meeting a ship in full sail one glorious moonlight +night. It came close to us, the moon shining full on its sails, and +being like our vessel, a sailing ship, not a sound was heard until our +captain hailed the stranger, and asked him to report us “all well.” + +One would think there was not much danger of collision at sea, in broad +daylight and in the open ocean, but on one occasion, while in a sailing +ship, another came so close to us that it was only by the most dexterous +management on the part of our captain that a collision was avoided. + +The monotony of a long voyage is occasionally relieved by the opportunity +of sending letters in homeward-bound ships, and when we had been out +about a month we were told to have our letters ready, for a ship was in +sight. Everyone was immediately deeply engaged in writing, and presently +the stranger came sufficiently near for us to communicate with her. Our +signal was run up, “Will you take letters for us?” to which she quickly +replied, “With pleasure,” and then a boat left us to take our letter-bag +on board the “homeward-bound.” This vessel was from Moulmein with teak, +and she had been one hundred days out. Those on board had heard nothing +of the Cabul massacre, but they brought us news of the capture of +Cetewayo, having got it from a passing ship. In return for this +intelligence we told them of the death of the Prince Imperial, which they +had not heard of, although it happened before the capture of Cetewayo. + +Some of our passengers went on board the passing ship, and two of them +scrambled up the rigging, and presently we saw a sailor follow them and +tie their legs to the rigging, releasing them as soon as they had paid +their footing. In the evening the two ships parted company, saluting +each other with rockets of various colours. + +While our letters were being taken on board the homeward-bound ship, we +saw a huge shark follow the boat until it reached the vessel, and on +hearing a shout, “a big fish!” we ran to the ship’s side and saw a whale +not more than a hundred feet off. The monster gave a loud snort, spouted +water, and then made off. I wonder if it had any idea what we were? + +There was a boxing match going forward one day, when the captain invited +the parson to put the gloves on. “Oh, no,” he said, “I am a man of peace +_now_.” He told me he objected to war as much as anyone could do. +“But,” I said, “your Church does not.” He replied that there was nothing +in the teaching of the Church which advocated war; so I asked him, if +that was the case, what that part of the prayer-book meant where a hope +is expressed that the Queen may “vanquish and overcome all her enemies.” + +At dinner one day our friend undertook to explain to us how drain-pipes +were made. He said, “You know those round things that are put in the +earth to carry off the water?” Some one suggested drain-pipes. “Ah, +yes,” he said, “you know they take a kind of clay not like other clay, +and put it into a sort of machine and turn it around and the pipes are +made.” I thought his description was not so good as that of the Irishman +who explained the manufacture of cast-iron pipes by saying, “You take a +round hole and pour the metal around it.” + + [Picture: A Colonial Parson] + +Some one remarking that we were now 36° south, he said, “Ah, that is just +4° below freezing,” having confused the degrees of latitude with those of +the thermometer. Upon being told that 32° was the freezing point. +“Really?” he said, “I always thought it was 40°.” + +In listening to most of the clergymen with whom I have travelled, I have +been irresistibly reminded of the complaint made so bitterly, and with so +much truth, by Australian importers in the early gold-finding days, that +English merchants and manufacturers were utterly reckless as to the +quality of the goods they sent out, acting on the principle that +“anything will do for the Colonies.” This idea has long ceased to have +any currency, for it has been discovered that the coinage of the +Australian mint ranks equally with that of London, but it does not appear +that those responsible for the due supply of clergymen to the Colonies +have realised the same truth, for on every hand I have had my own +experience confirmed. The general complaint amongst the colonists, +especially in the country districts, is that either young and totally +inexperienced men are sent to them, or else men who have proved failures +at home; and they not unnaturally resent such treatment. + +In a recent voyage we had a large number of steerage passengers, and +amongst them was a very earnest, hard-working evangelist from Mr. +Spurgeon’s college; this man had sacrificed his ease during the voyage by +attending to the sick and ailing “in season and out of season,” and was +admitted on all sides to have done much good; frequently, too, he held +religious services amongst the steerage passengers, and met with great +acceptance. One man had been very ill for a long time, and had been +tenderly waited upon by the evangelist. After a time he became suddenly +worse, and some passengers at once went to a clergyman, who suggested +that the Communion should be administered. Having obtained the help of +another clergyman and two or three of the passengers—none of whom had +before shown any interest in the patient—they proceeded on their errand +without saying a word to the evangelist, and on the following Sunday the +clergyman preached a sermon to the poor people, endeavouring to prove +that no one had any right to teach or to preach but members of his +Church, who, only, held the true commission, by virtue of what he called +the “direct succession from Peter:” and I suppose he thought he was +preaching religion, not perceiving that he lacked what Paul described as +being the highest of all the Christian virtues—that of charity. + +In passing through the Tropics one of the most glorious sights is the +phosphorescence in the sea. Of course it can be seen to the greatest +advantage in the absence of the moon; it is something wonderful, and +worth coming all the way to see. As far as the eye can reach, the track +of the vessel is marked out with the utmost brilliancy, and sometimes +tiny balls of phosphorus seem to explode, scattering their radiance far +and wide. + +We had as fellow-passengers three young men who rarely spoke to anyone +outside their own party, and during the early part of the voyage they +usually sat on the deck for hours at a time engaged in reading their +Bibles and making notes on the margin. After we had been out a few weeks +the youngest of the three was stricken with scarlet fever, and at one +time he was seriously ill. + +The trio were known as the “Danite Band.” The eldest was a young man +about twenty-one, and one evening I had a little chat with him. He said +he belonged to no sect; he had “come out from among them”—that his soul +was safe, die when he would, and that he could only look on the poor +sinners around him with a pitying eye, and pray for their souls. He was +rejoicing at having saved one soul since he came on board. It so +happened that this young man occupied the same cabin as the youth who was +ill with fever, but becoming alarmed for his personal safety (not his +soul’s), he requested to be accommodated elsewhere, while another +passenger volunteered to take his place and to nurse the invalid, so they +exchanged cabins. On the following Sunday the young man who had +volunteered as nurse knocked at the pious young man’s door and asked for +his boots, receiving for answer, “I won’t be bothered about boots on the +Lord’s Day.” + +It is usual to hold a bazaar on passenger ships proceeding to or from the +Colonies. These bazaars are almost invariably held in aid of the funds +of the Merchant Seaman’s Hospital and other similar institutions, and a +large sum is annually obtained in this way. The result in the case of +the sailing vessel in which I made one of my voyages was a sum of over +£50, besides some annual subscriptions, although the number of adult +saloon passengers was only about thirty. + +Great preparations were made for this bazaar, it being the event of the +voyage. The day previous the sailors were busily engaged closing-in the +promenade deck with canvas and bunting, and dividing it off into stalls +by means of flags and other coloured materials. While thus engaged, +another sailing vessel came in sight, and the sea being nearly dead calm +the two vessels approached closely, and parties were speedily passing to +and fro. We invited some of the passengers in the stranger to join us +to-morrow, and they invested about £5 in lotteries before going back for +the night. + +Next day was a most lovely one, but a heavy rolling sea was sufficient to +prevent our visitors of yesterday joining us. Nevertheless, we +thoroughly enjoyed the day ourselves, for the whole ship’s +company—passengers, crew, men, women, and children—held high carnival on +the promenade deck. It was pretty to see the children of the second +class who, owing to the high bulwarks, were rarely able to see over the +ship’s side, rush first of all to look over the rail at the heaving sea. + +The first officer was dressed as a showman, and presided over the Fine +Art Exhibition, his face being painted a fine terra-cotta tint. The crew +and stewards were variously costumed as nigger minstrels, etc. The +stalls were presided over by the ladies, who, as usual, were very +successful in disposing of the various articles, which, by the way, were +for the most part made up by the ladies themselves during the voyage. +Much curiosity was excited by the announcement of a dramatic performance, +entitled “The White Squall,” which was to take place in the Theatre +Royal. The _corps dramatique_ evinced great anxiety to secure the +attendance of the whole ship’s company, and were fairly successful. The +performance did not take long, for as soon as the audience were seated +cries of “Let go” were heard from the actors, upon which the air was +filled with a veritable “White Squall,” consisting of clouds of flour, +causing a general stampede. + +Next day we found our companion of yesterday lying at some distance +ahead, while a stranger lay on the port quarter. A curious instance of +cross-signalling ensued. The stranger asks our companion, the St. +Vincent, for latitude and longitude. The St. Vincent missing this, and +intent on their investment in yesterday’s lottery, puts up, “What have we +won?” The reply, “Nothing.” The stranger runs up, “Don’t understand. +Repeat, please.” Then St. Vincent replies, “Very sorry,” upon which our +Captain signals the stranger, and removes all further doubt. + +We passed close to the Island of Tristan d’Acunha, which lies in the +South Atlantic, lat. 37° 6′ S., long. 12° 7′ W. As a curious little +history attaches to the island, I make the following extract from our +ship’s newspaper: + +“Tristan d’Acunha is a volcanic peak of very considerable altitude, so +considerable indeed that its summit is covered almost perpetually with +snow. It rises sheer out of the water, and there is only a single +landing-place on the whole island. Previous to the downfall of Bonaparte +it was uninhabited; but when that scourge was despatched to St. Helena, +the British Government deemed it advisable to secure this isolated rock, +and so prevent the French using it as a base of operations against the +place of Napoleon’s internment. A small company of soldiers, in charge +of a corporal, was therefore despatched, and left in possession. + +“In 1821 Napoleon died, and the necessity for maintaining the garrison at +Tristan existed no longer. A man-of-war was accordingly sent to bring +away the corporal and his little army. But he and they had by this time +comfortably settled down, tilled the—rock we were about to say—and +produced excellent potatoes and other vegetables; raised pigs and goats, +and having in some mysterious way obtained wives, had raised families +too. They were therefore extremely reluctant to leave the scene of their +successful labours; and the English Government, nothing loth to encourage +colonisation, at once gave the necessary permission to remain, and with +it a small pension or annuity. + +“They have gone on flourishing and increasing, forming a useful and +peaceable community in the very centre of the South Atlantic; useful +because whalers and other vessels, by putting in there, are able to +obtain fresh potatoes, vegetables, and pigs. Little money is used, +barter affording sufficient facility for interchange. + +“Crime is almost unknown. We had as well said absolutely unknown, for it +is doubtful whether the one case of dishonesty on record as such was not +rather an ill-fared joke. It seems that when a marriage takes place a +pig is killed by the bride’s father, and dressed the night before the +nuptials. On the occasion referred to the pig disappeared before +morning, and was traced to the house of a notorious wag, as to whose fate +history is silent. It is only fair to add that he admitted taking the +pig, but protested that it had been done by way of a practical joke. At +one time a missionary existed in the midst of this innocent community, +but he eventually disappeared—either died or was removed. His place was +never refilled, and the consequences have been rather trying to the +budding men and women of Tristan, for whereas in the missionary’s days +loving couples could be, to use a nautical phrase, “spliced,” when they +had made up their minds, now they must wait until a chance man-o’-war, +with a chaplain on board, puts in, and as their visits are nearly as rare +as those of the angels, the patience of these Tristan lovers must +unquestionably be sorely strained. When, however, like some comet of +very eccentric orbit, the parson does at length turn up, he finds plenty +of ripe pairs ready—nay, eager—for him. + +“What a popular man that parson must be! Last and most interesting fact. +When the ‘Sobraon’ put in at Tristan in 1879 the corporal was still +living, a venerable patriarch of ninety years.” + +After leaving Tristan we soon get “into the forties,” or as the sailors +are wont to say, “the rolling forties,” where the westerly winds steadily +prevail, and continue right on until we make Cape Leeuwin. These winds +cause the magnificent waves, or “rollers,” which tower up over the stern +of the vessel, threatening, apparently, to overwhelm it. In a gale of +wind, and when the “following seas” are running at a high speed, it +becomes necessary for some vessels to “lie to” in order to avoid this +catastrophe. We had an opportunity of seeing this operation. Soon after +passing the Cape we were overtaken by a heavy gale, and a high following +sea. Our vessel being a sailing ship of the old type, with broad bluff +bows, necessitated our adopting that course. Our stern was turned in the +teeth of the wind and sea, and, with the exception of a top-sail and +jib-sail, all our canvas was closely taken in. She lay so all night +labouring heavily, and the sea breaking over her decks. + +Soon after sighting Cape Otway vessels bound for Melbourne receive their +pilot, whose advent is the occasion of great excitement among the betting +fraternity. Bets are laid on the colour of his hair and whiskers, +whether or not he has a moustache, the letter with which his name begins, +and which foot he will first put on deck. As soon as he makes his +appearance he is greeted with shouts of “What’s your name?” Evidently he +is accustomed to it, for he does not look surprised. In this particular +case everyone was out as to the colour of his hair and beard, for he had +a black beard and white whiskers. The pilot brought news of a general +election in one of the colonies, and one of our passengers, a colonial +statesman, eagerly asked him for papers. The statesman’s countenance was +expressive of blankness within when he saw he was beaten in his +constituency—but soon brightened on hearing he was returned by another. + +The entrance to Hobson’s Bay is very narrow, and the distance therefrom +to Melbourne is about 40 miles. We landed soon after six on a January +morning, and found the heat almost unbearable. Taking a cab to our +hotel, we made our first experience of the high charges in a +Protectionist colony, for we were obliged to pay a guinea for this +service. + + [Picture: IN THE TROPICS] + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +When driving to the hotel we were struck with the deserted appearance of +the streets, as very few persons were seen during our three miles’ ride +from Sandridge. It did not occur to us that this arose from the +earliness of the hour, our day having commenced about three A.M., when we +began to make preparations for landing; but, as will be seen, the fact +became of startling significance to us. While waiting for breakfast I +took up the newspaper, and had not proceeded far before I came to an +article headed “The Black Death in Melbourne.” This article gave a +detailed and circumstantial account of the progress of the disease, which +was stated to have been raging for the past four or five weeks. Among +other things, the article stated that the number of deaths had become so +great that it was impossible to dig separate graves; that the bodies were +placed in trenches, one being dug each day; that all who could leave the +city had fled; and that the mob had surrounded the Town Hall, demanding +to see the Mayor and Corporation, who, however, had already disappeared. +Getting alarmed, we rang for the waiter, and asked him how we could get +to Adelaide. He naturally enough seemed surprised, as we had only just +arrived. I told him it was too bad he had not warned us of the state of +the city, and of the existence of the plague. The man looked astonished. +I asked him if there had not been great illness and mortality in the +city. He answered that there had been a few cases of measles, and a +whooping-cough or two, and that six people had died during the last week +from these causes. I began to suspect we had been “sold,” and was about +to pass the paper to him when I caught sight of an asterisk placed +against the heading, and on looking at the foot of the column saw that +the article was written as a prediction of what would happen in Melbourne +within 100 years unless sanitary matters were at once attended to. + +Melbourne is a city of fine broad streets, handsome public buildings, +splendid shops, and vast warehouses. Indeed, a stranger cannot fail to +be struck with its metropolitan-like character. Only forty years ago the +site on which it stands was a mere swamp with a few log huts; now its +population is about the third of a million souls. For this population a +series of educational institutions of an unusually high character have +been founded, and are in active operation. The Free Library, which we +visited, is a handsome room, and seems in every way well adapted to the +requirements of a large number of students and readers. We were +impressed with the quietude which prevailed, notwithstanding that the +room was well filled with readers, most of them apparently of the artisan +class. The Art Gallery is a free institution, and contains a very fair +collection of good paintings. + +The Natural History Museum, which by the way is really a museum of +general science, is a truly magnificent institution. Very fine +collections are here classified in a manner which, while perfectly lucid +to the student, is also in strict accordance with the views of modern +scientific authorities. We noticed particularly a good collection of +sedimentary fossils, well preserved and fairly comprehensive. A fine +meteorolite weighing 30 cwts., a portion of one weighing four tons which +fell in Victoria a few years ago, is a prominent object near the +entrance. This museum, in common with the Art Gallery and Free Library, +is the resort of vast numbers of students, and it is cheering to be +informed that the working classes largely avail themselves of the +advantages thus provided for them. + +As in the other Australian colonies, education here has been taken up in +a vigorous and thorough manner, and the State schools are a credit to the +colony. Although the population of Victoria is under one million, we +observed in Melbourne a school bearing the inscription No. 1465. But +with all this liberality and foresight, a strange blot exists in the +educational course, for the study of history is, in deference to the +prejudices of a portion of the population, absolutely interdicted. It is +impossible, however, that this absurd concession to ignorance can long be +endured. In leaving Aden on one occasion I began to have doubts as to +whether geography was also excluded, for a young man, son of a well-to-do +squatter, hearing me speak of Suez, asked which end of the canal that +town stood at; and another youth, in passing the island of Candia, said +he always thought _Canada_ was somewhere in America. + +Happily, no fears exist in Australia as to the policy of thoroughly +educating the people; on the contrary, it is commonly recognised that the +future prosperity of the State—indeed its very existence—depends upon the +universal diffusion of education. + +At the time of our visit party feeling ran very high in connection with +the doings of the “Berry” Ministry, and as extraordinary personalities +were nightly being indulged in by both sides in the House, we went one +evening to hear a “debate.” The regular business seemed to be conducted +as well as it is at Westminster, but it was curious to see the careless +way in which the members, in brown holland or yellow silk coats, lay +about on the sofas, or lazily lounged off to the table for frequent +draughts of what was said to be iced water. The shouts, cries, and +interruptions were very unseemly, much worse than anything we had then +experienced, giving us a very low opinion of the representatives of the +people. One honourable member, in the course of debate, hurled a heavy +tome across the house at the head of one of his opponents with crushing +effect, while another member characterised the smile of the Minister of +Lands as being such as to “sour all the milk in the colony, and to take +the varnish off all the mahogany in the house.” This compliment the +Minister lightly parried by remarking that anything coming from the son +of a cabbage hawker could not affect him. + +The Melbourne legislators evidently do not believe in having “all work +and no play,” they have consequently provided themselves—of course out of +the public purse—with billiard tables, and, with a spirit of rare +generosity and thoughtfulness, have made the parliamentary reporters for +the Press free of the rooms. + +With such provision for their comfort, and with handsome salaries paid +them for their services by a grateful country, what wonder that there +should be considerable competition for seats within the walls of the +Victorian House of Parliament? and with what feelings of commiseration +must they regard their brethren of New South Wales, who, when one of +their number recently proposed to imitate the example of Melbourne in the +matter of billiard tables, were reminded, in unmistakable terms by their +exacting constituents, that they were sent to Parliament to work and not +to play! And what makes the matter harder for the Sydney legislators is +the fact that, unlike their Melbourne friends, they are not paid for +their services. + +The question of the payment of Members of Parliament has acquired +considerable interest in England of late, mainly in consequence of Mr. +Chamberlain’s declaration in its favour; and it appears not unlikely that +at no distant date it may be carried into effect. There are two modes by +which the object in view may be attained;—either by a general charge upon +the Imperial Revenue, or by each constituency paying its own +representative; in either case the amount of salary would be determined +by Parliament; and, if the latter course be adopted, its payment would be +made obligatory. In Victoria the salaries are paid direct from the +Treasury, and those who have seen how the system works are the least +enthusiastic in its favour. + +Time was, when to be a Member of Parliament was looked upon as a certain +way to repair a broken fortune, or to make a new one; but since the days +when George III., of pious memory, taught his Ministers how to corrupt +the Parliament, a seat in that assembly has not been considered to be +pecuniarily advantageous. But in some of the Australian colonies the +case is different, politics being looked upon, to a great extent, as a +trade or profession, and very largely because of the salary attached to +the position of Members of the Legislature. + +One of my customers in Victoria, who had long owed me £50, told me he +would soon be able to discharge his debt as he had been nominated for +Parliament, and would pay me out of his first quarter’s salary! It is +only fair to say that, although he failed to secure the seat, he +nevertheless paid his debt. + +The Houses of Parliament stand on a slight elevation, and though still +unfinished, promise to be a magnificent pile of buildings, of which many +an old-established country, with far greater pretensions than Victoria, +might well be proud. The Great Hall, a sort of ante-chamber to the +Houses, impressed me as much as any building of the kind I had ever seen. +It is about 180ft. long, by 60ft. wide, and 60ft. high, without +galleries, seats, or anything to detract from its magnificent +proportions. The whole surface of the walls and roof is covered with a +beautiful enamel-like cement, brilliantly white and polished quite +smooth, the floor being of white marble, and a superb white marble statue +of the Queen in the centre. The whole effect is startlingly beautiful. +I subsequently went over the Town Hall and Council Chamber, but these are +much inferior to corresponding buildings in Birmingham. The councillors +wear cocked hats and gold-braided coats, and the aldermen black stuff +gowns or robes. + +I have already spoken of the tension in party politics at the time of our +visit. This was seized upon by the theatrical people, who produced an +adaptation of the burlesque known in England as “Happy Land,” the +principal characters being Mr. Berry—the Premier, the man with the +caustic smile, and another prominent member of the Administration. On +the morning of the day on which the first representation was to have been +given, a Cabinet Council was hastily summoned, and the question gravely +debated as to whether the safety of the State, or at any rate the +Cabinet, would not be compromised by tolerating the performance. It was +quickly and unanimously decided to prohibit it, and this decision was +announced. Such a universal storm of ridicule was thus aroused that the +infatuated Berryites were driven to reconsider their course, ultimately +licensing an emasculated version of the play, with all the political +references erased. The newspapers, ever alive to the chance of turning a +penny, and showing up an opponent, published the original _in extenso_, +and when the performance began large numbers of the audience had copies +before them. When an excised passage was reached, the actor or actress +would pause, and, holding up the hand, whisper audibly, “Hush! +prohibited,” giving time for those with copies to read the obnoxious +reference. For days after people in the street would, on meeting, put up +the finger, and greet each other with “Hush! prohibited.” The Government +were overwhelmed with ridicule, and were glad to compromise with the +persons they had so injudiciously provoked. + +During the summer Melbourne is occasionally visited by what are called +“hot winds.” They blow from the north, and derive much of their arid +character from coming over the great wastes of the interior. We were +unlucky enough to experience one of these hot winds, and we subsequently +learned that the shade temperature had reached 117°—as high a point, I +believe, as any that had previously been recorded in the city. It is no +exaggeration to say that while exposed to the wind it felt like the hot +blast from the cupola of a foundry when iron is being melted. The +clothes were little or no protection against its scorching influence. +The air was filled with choking clouds of dust, which penetrated +everything and everywhere. In the evening, however, the wind fell off, +leaving the temperature very high. + +The sanitary arrangements in Melbourne are extremely defective, and to my +mind fully justify the writer of the article on the “Black Death,” which +so much startled us on our arrival there. There is literally no system +of sewerage, the whole drainage of the town running by the side of the +pathways in wide ill-paved channels, crossed by wooden foot bridges. The +whole runs into the river Yarra. In heavy rains these channels become +surcharged, and the lower-lying streets are flooded with diluted sewage. +On such an occasion I was crossing one of these gutters, when a +street-sweeper approached, holding his cap in one hand and his broom in +the other, and asked me to remember “an old shipmate, your honour.” I +soon recognised him as our old friend “Tall and Fat”. I could not help +looking surprised, whereat he assured me he had found a most excellent +berth as a street-sweeper—that none but gentlemen were engaged in the +“profession,” all being Oxford or Cambridge men—the wages being 7s. per +day. I asked after his friend “Short and Stout.” He said he held a +similar appointment at an adjoining corner, and he promised to share my +gratuity with him. + +The country between Melbourne and Ballarat is flat and somewhat +uninteresting, but near the latter city it becomes more hilly and +diversified. Ballarat is a well-built city, containing about 40,000 +inhabitants. A few years ago there were 10,000 more, but in consequence +of the alluvial gold becoming exhausted a considerable exodus took place. +The streets are wide, and have trees on each side; in some there are +trees in the middle as well. The houses are substantially built of stone +or brick, and altogether it has the air of being a busy and prosperous +place. + +We visited one of the gold mines, and as we approached the office saw +three persons coming towards it, one of them carrying a parcel, which +appeared to be heavy. It proved to be a brick of gold weighing 33 lbs., +and worth about £1,200, being the result of one week’s working. We were +shown the various processes of obtaining the gold from the quartz, and +were rather surprised at the somewhat primitive character of the +machinery employed. + + [Picture: Gold Mine, Ballarat] + +Several of the companies with big-sounding names occupy spaces of only +60ft. by 50ft., and yet yield substantial returns. One such little patch +is part of the Church land, and is called “Hallelujah Claim,” in honour +of the Church. The total value of gold raised in Australia up to end of +1879 was 275 millions sterling. + +One of the prettiest features of this handsome city is a fine sheet of +water called Lake Wendouree. This lake is about a mile across, and lies +in the crater of an extinct volcano. The Botanical Gardens are on the +farther side of Wendouree, which has a fine boulevard round each side +leading thereto. On the lake are several pretty little steamers, which +make frequent excursions. In the evening they are provided with coloured +lamps, and music and dances may be enjoyed by the passengers. Ballarat +is less than thirty years old, yet has quite an old-world appearance. It +is a charming city and well worth a visit, and we were well pleased to +have seen it. + +A favourite excursion from Melbourne is to the Black Spur Mountains, +about two days’ drive from the city. Leaving Melbourne the route passes +through some miles of suburban villa residences with beautiful gardens. +After about ten miles “the bush” is reached, and continues for the +remainder of the journey, relieved here and there by a clearing or by a +little village. The term “bush” must not be understood as scrub, furze, +etc., but all kinds of uncultivated land, thick forests, and open +country. A curious feature of colonial life is to see in full operation +the old stage coaches, so long ago discarded in England. They are +painted a brilliant red, and indeed appear to be the veritable machines +used in the “good old days when George the Third was king.” They are +frequently drawn by six or more horses, and, true to their ancient +traditions, now and then have a spill, for roadmakers in the Colonies +have the same habit as their English brethren of making short “right +about turns” at the bottom of steep hills. We drew up at a small wayside +inn, intending to bait the horses, but found it was closed, owing to the +death of the landlord. This man was a large wine grower, and his +vineyards extended for a considerable distance round his house. After +passing through many miles of country under vine cultivation we pulled up +for the night at a little village called Healesville, where a very +miscellaneous company sat down to a substantial repast, ending with what +the waiter called a “soafler.” The light being dim it was difficult to +see what the dish really was, and curiosity being awakened, inquiry +elicited the fact that it was intended for a soufflé. The hotel being +quite full of visitors, two of our party had to sleep in the parlour on +sofas of the horse-hair order. The landlord, coming in to see if we were +all right, informed us we could not have our boots cleaned in the +morning, as his man was just then out on a boose. A colonial friend +travelling with us remarked that it was “awkward when master or man took +to boosing.” Our friend had previously told us that the landlord was +generally “on that line.” “You never saw me boosy!” said he. “_Never_!” +retorted our friend, with peculiar emphasis, which summarily stopped the +discussion. We were awakened early in the morning by the screams of +laughing jackasses and the crowing of cocks. Our toilette was performed +somewhat under difficulties, one of us having to use the piano as a +washstand, and another being constrained to go through the same operation +in the open street under the hotel verandah. Our route now lay over a +steep hill, through a forest of gum trees, the fragrance arising from the +latter in the early morning air being delightfully refreshing. The main +roads are kept very fairly, a certain number of men being told off for +each section at 9s. per day wages. The old corduroy roads, formed by +laying trees across the track and filling the interstices with earth, are +being gradually superseded by Macadam. The men seemed to work in very +leisurely fashion. We were to have breakfasted at a cottage on the road, +but when we arrived there found that the old lady who kept it had gone to +a ball at some village public-house, several miles away, as also had the +owners of all the other cottages along the route. A little girl left in +charge told us that after the ball all these good people were going to +the funeral of the wine grower and innkeeper previously mentioned, and +our friend told us they would doubtless stay there to comfort the widow +as long as there was any wine left in the house. We soon after entered +the region of the big gum trees and of the tree ferns, and a wonderfully +beautiful sight it was. + + [Picture: A Big Tree] + +The whole valley is filled with tree ferns, and the fronds, in many cases +being new, with the sunlight falling upon them, formed a picture not soon +to be forgotten. Some of the gum trees were enormously large—we saw +several 15ft. in diameter and over 200ft. in height—but these were small +when compared with some found in the less frequented parts. In the midst +of such surroundings lies the pretty little village of Fernshaw. When we +were first invited to spend a week at the country house of our friend we +rather unreasonably pictured in our minds an English country or seaside +residence, and anticipated much pleasure in the change from dusty +Melbourne. Our surprise was great, therefore, when after jolting over +some half-formed roads we came upon a clearing among the gum trees, and +were told that the wooden shanty before us was the Melbourne citizen’s +country house. We were not disposed, however, to be very critical, for +the sixty miles drive in the mountain air had made us hungry, and we were +quite ready to respond to the invitation to the evening meal. But our +disillusion was complete upon entering the sitting room and finding that +no provision had been made for the satisfying of our keen appetites. By +some accident the supplies from Melbourne had not arrived; the rough +table was covered with a couple of towels, and on it was spread a repast +consisting of some bad bread and sour raspberry jam, while the “cup which +cheers but not inebriates” was innocent of milk and sugar. It was +Saturday evening and we were “out of humanity’s reach,” being many miles +from any source of supply, so had to content ourselves as best we might +with this Spartan fare until the Monday, when our host proposed an +excursion to a distant part, involving the staying a night at an hotel. +We gladly embraced the proposal, and finding that the hotel was a +comfortable one I determined to excuse myself from joining in the +excursion on the following day in order that I might have the opportunity +of recruiting nature’s exhausted powers by an extra meal, a resolution I +had much satisfaction in carrying into effect. Our friend and his sons +own about one thousand acres, at present covered with trees, with the +exception of a small clearing round the house. When a piece of land is +taken, the first care is to fence it, which is done with logs, at a cost +of £25 per mile, including the cutting of the logs. The next step is to +“ring” the trees—that is, to cut a deep groove round them, and so by +killing them prevent any further exhaustion of the soil. The trees being +dead, vegetation rapidly springs up, and there is soon abundance of food +for cattle. Clearing the ground of trees and stumps is a very costly +operation, and takes many years to finally accomplish. The Government +with a view of preventing the accumulation of lands in a few hands, +refuse to sell more than 320 acres to one person, but of course this is +easily evaded. At the time of our visit the price was £1 per acre, +payable in ten years by equal instalments, a condition being that some +one should reside upon the allotment. At the end of three years the +owner can obtain from Government a lease of the land, and can then pay up +the full value, which leaves him at liberty to sell if he wishes to do +so. Of course the building up of large estates is thus encouraged, but +this could, perhaps, be prevented by imposing a tax on every acre. The +20,000 acre men would soon be compelled to dispose of some of the land +which they hold in the expectation that it will increase in value. Such +a plan has been proposed, but it naturally met with great opposition from +the landed interest. + + [Picture: On the Black Spur] + +Leaving our friend’s house a drive of a few miles through the bush +brought us to the picturesquely-situated village of Marysville. This +little village lies in a deep hollow surrounded by fine ranges of +tree-clad hills of extreme beauty. A pleasant hour’s walk from the +village, under the shade of the tree ferns, took us to the Stephenson +Falls. The principal fall is 80ft., and the volume of water is unusually +large for an Australian waterfall. Close to the fall are some +magnificently large tree ferns, and while sitting here enjoying the +lovely view some little birds came flitting about, one of them hopping on +to the shoulder of one of our party, attracted, doubtless, by the aroma +of a fragrant “weed” which at the time he was enjoying. English visitors +to Australia, especially those in search of health, would find the +conditions existing at Marysville most conducive to their restoration. +The air is bracing, and as before stated, the scenery most delightful. A +tolerably good accommodation is to be had at the inn, which will +doubtless be improved as the place becomes more widely known. + +Returning to Melbourne, we stayed another night at Healesville, arriving +at 7.30, and as we had fared badly during the day we were quite ready for +a substantial dinner, and from our previous experience of the house made +no doubt of obtaining it. But unfortunately for us, there had been a +chapel tea-party during the afternoon, at which a large force of parsons +had been present. We had therefore to be content with a tough, woody +steak, a wild duck of ancient and fish-like smell, varied by salted +mutton. The butter was rancid and full of dead flies, and the bread +appeared to have been cast upon the waters. We had to go to bed feeling +quite faint, but hoping for a better breakfast. The beds were good, and +we should have had a good night’s rest, which we sorely needed after the +twig beds of the previous night at the Marysville Hotel, but the +partitions between the rooms being only of half-inch plank everything +passing around us could be heard all too plainly. A little after +midnight some fellows came in from night-fishing, and going into the room +next ours woke us up by a great noise. One old donkey was telling the +two younger ones he had had a deal of experience among snakes, killing as +many as eight a day for many years, and that as the result of a series of +experiments during that time he had found an infallible cure for snake +bites. He had offered his discovery to the Government for £1,000, and +his partner offered to be poisoned by the most deadly snakes to test its +efficacy, but all to no purpose. So he had determined to let the secret +die with him. The others asked if the sovereign remedy was to be +swallowed. “Oh, no,” said the old fellow, “for it is composed of five +deadly poisons. You must first cut out the wounded part, and rub the +antidote in. But,” added he, “the secret shall now die with me.” “But +how about your partner?” asked the others. “Won’t he tell the secret?” +“Oh no,” was the reply; “he’s safe enough, for he’s dead.” Then we heard +the voice of the landlord’s pretty daughter telling them it was time to +go to sleep, upon which the old boy growled, “I wonder people can’t go to +sleep without bothering me.” The rest of the night was made miserable +for us by the two “night fishers,” who, rising long before dawn, went +prowling about the different rooms, ours included, collecting their +tackle for a shooting expedition, but leaving behind them, as we found +afterwards, their percussion caps. + + [Picture: The Lyre Bird] + +We returned to Melbourne by another route, affording us some fine views +of the plains called Yarra Flats, and the Marysville Hills in the far +distance. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +At the end of January we left Melbourne for a few weeks’ tour in +Tasmania, taking steamer from the wharf on the Yarra Yarra, the river +upon which the capital of Victoria is situated. + +The banks of the Yarra have been selected as the scene of the operations +of all the most offensive trades in the colony—the bone boilers, tanners, +fellmongers, candle makers, chemical manure makers, glue manufacturers, +etc., in addition to which all the sewage which is not left on the +surface of the streets is run into it. The river is very narrow, the +fall to the sea extremely slight, and the traffic great, hence at every +revolution of the paddle-wheel or screw-propeller the abominations from +the depths below are stirred up and mingled with those coming from the +before-named savoury factories, forming a more horrible compound than +ever proceeded from witches’ cauldron. In this one respect the New World +has certainly shot far ahead of the old, for even the memory of ancient +Cologne is made savoury to the nostrils by this colonial stench. + +Our friends came to say good-bye, and brought quite a sack of peaches and +apricots, which were very acceptable during the voyage. If there were on +board any roysterers or betting men they had no opportunity for +displaying their peculiarities. Until we reached the entrance to the +river Tamar almost every person on board was ill, for Bass’s Straits is +notorious for its disagreeable cross seas. + +Launceston is forty miles up the river, and is the capital of the county +of Cornwall, as in England. The scenery along the river banks is very +beautiful, and is so exactly like the Truro river at home that it is +difficult to believe we are out of England. The river is winding and +broad, and the shores slope gently down from high ground covered with +trees. Here and there are bright green meadows and villages and +scattered farmsteads and churches. I saw nothing in Victoria to compare +with it. + +Launceston, a quiet city of 10,000 inhabitants, is surrounded by hills. +Looking down upon it, one is reminded of Florence from Fiesole, the +beautiful climate and clear air being quite Italian, with the lovely +Tamar winding its circuitous route for miles away. We drove out towards +a place called the “Devil’s Punch Bowl,” walking the last mile through a +beautiful wood down a hill, with firs, gum trees, etc., in abundance, +with here and there delightful glimpses of green glades. The air was +filled with the sounds of the tree locusts and the tremendous hissing +noise of the cicadas, the sun shining through the trees and producing a +temperature and light which were simply perfect. The only drawback is +the presence of snakes, which, our driver said, are very abundant here. +The scene is truly English. At the bottom of the little wooded valley we +came upon an old wooden shanty, where we tried to get a glass of milk, +but there was no one at home. Presently an old man appeared, driving +cows. We asked him for milk—he had none, but gave us water, and offered +raw eggs. My companion took two, and said he liked them, but I am sure +he liked the first best. The old man was seventy-three years of age, and +lived there alone, sleeping on a door covered with an opossum rug. He +told us his master died there close by the bee-hives a few weeks ago, +“so,” said he, “I put the bees in deep mourning, or they would all have +left.” + +I wrote my notes sitting on a gatepost, out of the way of snakes; the +moon shone brightly, and in the distance I could hear the church bells, +mingled with the voices of children, the tinkling of cowbells, and +barking of dogs. + +The shops close at six o’clock, but the public-houses of course remain +open. I observed a small fruit-shop, a mere shanty, with the sign of +“Pomona’s Temple,” and a hairdresser’s saloon with the high-sounding name +of “Tonsorial Palace,” while a democratic opponent in the same street, +with a proud humility, called his place of business a “Barber’s Shop.” + +Strolling in the town one evening I talked with a policeman, who was an +almost exact counterpart of Count Moltke. He had just received his new +regulation helmet, and did not like it at all: it was hard and heavy. He +was very pleased to hear we liked Tasmania better than Victoria. “Ah,” +said he, “you will find real hospitality here; here everybody helps +everybody, but in Melbourne everybody helps himself, and the bobby or +somebody catches the hindmost.” He said he had been a policeman for +twenty years, and, “although I say it as shouldn’t, I will say for the +Launceston police, they are the most civillest, honestest body of +policemen going,” with which I quite agreed. + +Another beautiful ride is to the Cora Linn, seven miles from Launceston. +On one side of the road, stretching almost the whole distance, is a hedge +of sweetbriar, giving forth delicious perfume. It is difficult to get +accustomed to the reversal of the seasons; here in February the farmers +are busy cutting and saving their corn, but with no fear of rain to spoil +their harvest, as in England. A bridge crosses the Linn, and a +cataract-like stream tumbles down over rocks, very much like the Lynn at +Lynmouth. Below the bridge is a deep basin, and all around are numbers +of queer trees, young and old, with many burnt-out trunks black as +negroes, with white spots in them like eyes. The trees and shrubs are +full of _cicadas_ making a great noise. + +Leaving Launceston, we drove to Falmouth, ninety miles away. The road +lies through a beautifully-wooded country; indeed, the entire ride is +just like going through a park in England. We saw lots of magpies, very +much larger than ours, but quite as mischievous. A gentleman told us a +person once asked him to change a sovereign, which he did, and then +looked for the sovereign, but it could not be seen. Presently, looking +up, he saw Master Mag in a shrub, with one eye shut, his head on one +side, and standing on one leg, with the piece of gold in his mouth. + +Our first night’s stopping-place was at Stoney Creek, where there is a +comfortable hotel, just like a private house, with only one other house +for miles around. Near to the hotel flows the River Esk, a black, +silent, swiftly-flowing and suicidal-looking stream, suggestive in its +motion of some huge black snake, of which there are many in the +neighbourhood. In crossing a field to look at the river our clothes +became covered with burrs and spines from the prickly pear. We sat down +on a grassy mound to watch the flowing of the river, but had quickly to +move, as we found ourselves in the midst of a colony of great ants. The +following verses were written on the occasion by one of my companions: + + [Picture: THE DOCTOR CONTEMPLATES—A POEM] + + THOU AND I. + + Thou art in happy England + With peace, content, and joy, + And there no poisonous reptiles + Thy comfort can destroy; + No hissing sound the startled ear + With fear of death awakes— + Thou art in happy England, + I, in the land of snakes. + + About thy household duties + Serenely thou canst go, + No fear of fierce tarantulas + Or scorpion brings thee woe; + And day by day flows calmly on, + And sleep wings through the night— + Thou art in happy England, + I, where mosquitos bite. + + Thou hast the trusty faithful dog, + The quiet, harmless cat, + But I the fierce Tasmanian D—, + Opossum, and wombat; + Familiar objects greet thy sight, + Here all is strange and new— + Thou art in happy England, + I, with the kangaroo. + + Thou hast the blithe canary, + The robin chirps to thee, + While here the magpies chatter + And rail from every tree; + Bright parrots glint beneath the sun, + And shriek their hideous song— + Thou art in happy England, + I, wattle-birds among. + + Thou canst recline in any place, + And watch the moments pass, + Here burrs and prickles fill the clothes + While lying on the grass, + They stick into the flesh, and sting + Like gnat, or wasp, or bee— + But thou in happy England + From all such plagues art free. + + Hurrah for happy England, + For all the folk at home! + From hill and dale resounds the cry, + No matter where we roam. + Rare scenes of beauty greet the sight, + The balmy air is sweet, + But still I sigh for England + Where thou and I shall meet. + + DR. L—. + +The landlady was a widow, her husband having recently died. Her son had +just returned from sea, where he had been for twelve years. He had been +wrecked three times, and the last time should have given him enough of +the sea for the rest of his life. It was in the ship “Euxine,” taking +3,000 tons of coal to the Mauritius. She took fire off the Cape of Good +Hope in the midst of a terrific storm. The captain was washed overboard +and drowned; a sailor was also swept away, and while only twenty feet +from the ship was attacked by a flock of albatrosses, right in sight of +his comrades. He fought with them, but all in vain, and the wretches +literally pulled him in pieces with their strong bills in a very few +minutes. The crew got out the boats, but of course they were in a bad +state. It was, however, a choice between burning and drowning, so they +put off, preferring to risk the latter. After two or three days, two of +the boats were picked up, but the third was out for eleven days. The +poor wretches on board had nothing whatever to eat, and in their +extremity were driven to cast lots which among them should die. One +unhappy man was disposed of, and in two hours after a ship came in sight +and picked them up. + +A lovely drive through Epping Forest brought us to Avoca, where “the +bright waters meet,” the North and South Esk uniting here. Our route lay +along a fine road, through avenues of gum trees, wattles (acacias), +cultivated for their bark, the sweetbriars and hawthorns scenting the air +delightfully. We saw a splendid eagle, and large numbers of parrots, +magpies, and hawks. + + [Picture: Avoca] + +On our way we passed many residences of great woolgrowers, owning as much +as 20,000 acres of land each, but living, for the most part, in England, +their affairs in the Colony being managed by agents. They keep only one +man on each 5,000 acres. There is scarcely any agriculture, although the +land is very suitable, but being taken up in this way, there is no room +for population to increase, and the people have to emigrate. + +At Fingal we stopped at an hotel, kept by an Irishman married to a +Jewess. They presided at either end of the table, and kept us short of +food; indeed, I never saw a small joint go so far before. Next day we +left the hotel, still hungry, although the charges were quite as high as +those at the Great Western Hotel, Paddington. + +Soon after leaving Fingal we saw something by the roadside which looked +very like a snake, and on examining it we found it was one—a black snake, +4ft. 6in. long. It lay perfectly still, and presently we found it was +dead; but the sensation was not pleasant. A gentleman at the hotel told +us he had killed four the night previously, and doubtless this was one of +them. + + [Picture: St. Mary’s] + +After passing through the charming village of St. Mary’s, embowered in +trees, we entered a lovely avenue, two miles in length, filled with +beautiful flowers and ferns, the air laden with scents from the gum and +other trees, and on emerging came upon St. Mary’s Pass. This is an +immense gorge, four miles long, filled with fine trees, the road, which +is remarkably good, being cut in the side of the cliff by convicts in the +old days of Van Diemen’s Land. It winds down the valley to the sea at +Falmouth, and on either side rise lofty hills, while the valley below is +1,000 feet deep, and filled with immense trees of various kinds, +including the tree fern. I have seen most of the passes and valleys in +the Tyrol, but have never seen one to excel this in grandeur or beauty. + + [Picture: Falmouth Hotel] + +In the map the word “Falmouth” was printed in rather large letters, so we +expected to find a somewhat considerable place. At the head of the pass +we were told the township lay between the foot of the hill and the sea. +On getting down the hill we could plainly view the sea and the +intervening land, but no town was visible. Inquiring of some little boys +the way to Falmouth, they directed us away to the right. We went on, +feeling assured we were going wrong; and presently, meeting a gentleman, +we inquired again, when he told us to retrace our course, to go through +an ordinary field gate, and that we should then get to Falmouth in three +minutes! We told him that the little boys had directed us the other way, +but he said we should have asked for “Hotel.” The town of Falmouth, +where the boys lived, consisted of two or three houses, and was a mile +from the hotel. On exploring the place next day we were informed that +fifty years before it was much more important than now. Miles of streets +were marked out, but were grass-grown, and there were not more than a +dozen houses in the place, all built of wood, and of one storey in +height. The burying-place for the district is about a mile away, on the +open common, each grave being surrounded with stakes, with no wall or +fence enclosing the whole. It was a melancholy sight, reminding me +strongly of the graves on the battlefields of the Franco-German war. + + [Picture: Burial-Place at Falmouth] + +The beach and sands are very fine, like those of my native county. The +bathing is delightful, but you must keep a sharp look out for sharks. +One morning, however, while bathing, we stood in much greater danger from +the mad folly of some Cockneys who had recently come to the hotel. We +had been bathing in an arm of the sea, the point beyond which it was not +safe being marked by a stake driven into the sand. Between our bathing +place and the hotel was a high sand bank, screening us from sight, the +stake being visible from the verandah of the hotel. After dressing, we +were leisurely walking up the sandbank towards the hotel, when we were +startled by a bullet passing between our heads and lodging in the sand +behind us! We threw up our towels and shouted, and then saw the Cockney +sportsman standing on the platform under the verandah, from whence he had +been aiming at the stake in the sand with his rifle for the past half +hour. On examination we found the sand riddled with bullets, not 50ft. +from where we had been bathing. The little burying ground possessed a +new significance in our eyes after this incident. We found some +beautiful sea-shells during a delightful walk along the beach towards +Swansea, and on our return called upon the gentleman who put us right for +Falmouth on our arrival. He is a farmer from near Oxford, and had been +here seven or eight years, finding it a terribly lonely place. Recently +his nine children and his servants took the measles, and his wife being +ill, he had to nurse them all. When they got well his wife sickened and +died, leaving him with seven daughters and two sons, the eldest being +only fourteen years old. The nearest doctor lived more than thirty miles +away. + +In order to get to Hobart Town, we had to retrace our steps some sixty +miles, as there is only one road on this side of the island. We stayed a +night at Avoca, a charming place, but the roads were a foot deep in dust. +Although the climate is so fine, and everything favours the growth of +fruit, there is very little grown. It is alleged that fruit trees do not +prosper, but I had ample evidence that the cause is to be found in the +indifference or laziness of the people. Strolling in the neighbourhood +of the village, we came upon a beautiful orchard, and were admiring the +large, ripe plums, when a voice behind said, “Walk in, gentlemen, and +help yourselves.” The speaker was a hearty old man, who had lived here +forty-six years. He came from Ledbury, and was much interested in +hearing about Birmingham. He told us that the day before he left England +he walked from Ledbury to Birmingham to see the Nelson statue in the Bull +Ring. + +The old man told us a snake story, which strikingly illustrates the +vitality of these reptiles. A short time previously he and his son went +across a neighbouring mountain on horseback to visit one of their farms. +Going “single file” between the trees, the son, who was leading, suddenly +called out to his father, “Look out, there’s a snake,” and at the same +instant his horse started. The old gentleman got off, and finding it was +a “carpet snake,”—one of the most venomous species—caught up a stick, and +aimed a blow at it. The stick however was rotten, and broke without +hurting the reptile, which now prepared to strike; but the old man +managed to get his heel upon its head, and ground it into the earth; and +having, as he thought, killed it, tied a piece of string around its +middle, and bending a wattle tree down, attached the end of the string to +one of the branches, and then released the tree. They thought no more of +the matter until three days after, when two of his men, returning from +his farm with a cart, were seen by their master dragging a snake behind +the cart. He asked them where they caught it; they explained that while +coming down the hill side, their attention was arrested by a snake in a +tree clashing towards them, but unable to release itself. On +examination, they found it was tied up! “So that after all,” said the +old man, “it was only scotched, not killed.” + +A fellow-traveller on the coach told us that he was coming from the tin +mines near Mount Bischoff, and that for some months he and his partner +had slept in hammocks slung from trees. One night, just as he was going +to sleep, something dropped from the tree across his body. He took it in +his hand, and finding it was a snake, he flung it from him, when it +alighted on his companion. Luckily, both escaped unhurt. He also told +me of the experience of a friend of his, a Government surveyor, who was +frequently in the woods for weeks together, with one or two men. This +gentleman slept in a hammock suspended from trees. The hammock was in +reality a sack, hanging some feet from the ground, into which he got at +night. One night he had retired as usual, and being very wearied, did +not at once notice that there was independent movement at his feet. Very +soon, however, he realised the fact that a snake had gone to bed before +him, and was coiling itself round his legs. The gentleman quickly got +out, unhurt, and soon killed the snake. + +I also read in a colonial paper another account of a night adventure with +a snake. A lady had retired to rest, and was fast asleep; the weather +being very hot, one of her arms was outside the clothes, and during the +night she was awakened by feeling something trying to force its way +between her arm and her side; she quickly realised the situation, and +without moving, tightly pressed her arm against her body and prevented +the venomous reptile from getting between, when presently it glided over +her shoulder and fell on the floor with a thud. She was soon out of bed +at the other end, and calling for help and a light the snake was quickly +despatched. + +The doctor in this place has charge of a district sixty miles in +diameter, and always expects his fees before leaving his house; but +although he has so large a district, I question if he makes his fortune, +for although acres are many, people are few, and the salubrity of the +climate does not favour the medical profession. + +The main road between Launceston and Hobart is struck at Willis’s Corner, +a few miles from Campbelltown—the principal town in the interior of the +island. There is a station here on the main-line railway. The gauge of +the line is thirty-nine inches, I think. + +Campbelltown is a straggling place, with streets enough laid out for a +city, but with only few houses, and it is not likely many more will be +built, as the railway is expected to take away its trade, which depends +mainly upon the coach traffic. The streets are about one hundred and +twenty feet wide, which is greatly in excess of all requirements, and +causes the traffic to run in ruts, instead of being distributed over the +roadway, giving a desolate appearance to the whole place. As a rule, the +Tasmanian roads are very good, having been made in the old days by +convict labour, but you must not venture to mention the word “convict;” +the people all speak of these public works as having been executed by +Government. Having had so much done for them by the Government, the +Tasmanian people are lacking in energy, and are much too prone to rely +upon outside help; and yet when Melbourne people come over to invest +capital in mines and other industries, the cry is that the strangers are +taking all the money out of the country. As I have said, the farms are +of a great size, but the number of men engaged are but few. The farmers +have two great enemies—the thistle and the rabbit. It is said the former +was introduced into the colonies by a patriotic Scotchman, to remind him +of his bonnie Scotland, the rabbit being introduced for the purpose of +sport; but, like our old friend the sparrow, they have so increased as to +be the cause of serious loss, and are the subjects of special +legislation. Some landowners spend many thousands of pounds in putting +walls around their estates to keep the rabbits out. + +From Campbelltown to Hobart is seventy-six miles, and we rode the whole +distance in a single day. The country is very beautiful, and towards the +end of the journey we had fine mountain and river scenery. The Derwent +is a splendid river, running through a lovely country, sometimes through +rich pasture lands and hop gardens, and at other times between high +precipices and rugged country. + +Mount Wellington is a remarkably fine mountain of 4,000 feet in height, +and is topped with snow for a considerable portion of the winter. + + [Picture: Summit of Mount Wellington] + +Villages are very scarce on the road, and shops few, so the inhabitants +get most of their requirements from hawkers, who visit all parts of the +island with horses and vans, carrying all kinds of goods. We passed +several with their wares spread out on the ground. Our coachman told us +rather a good story of two of these “merchants,” as they are usually +called. These men travelled the road together as partners, having a +standing agreement between them that only one should get drunk at a time, +so that they were not unfrequently seen riding, one of them as drunk as a +lord or a fiddler, while the other was perfectly sober, but merry. One +day, however, they broke the rule, and both got drunk together, letting +their horse go just as it liked. Unhappily, as they were turning a +corner in the road, a coach came bowling along and ran into them, +breaking their van and many of their bones, besides spoiling most of +their stock-in-trade. The coachman could not tell us if the accident had +the effect of making the men teetotallers. + + [Picture: View in the Public Gardens, Hobart] + +Hobart (as Hobart Town is now called) is most beautifully situated, with +extensive public gardens, charmingly laid out, and having the advantage +of an abundance of water from the River Derwent. The Governor’s house is +admirably placed, commanding extensive views of river and mountain +scenery. The citizens are exceedingly hospitable, and we were not long +at the hotel before we were visited by a gentleman who informed us he had +entered our names on the books of the principal club, and also invited us +to a grand representation of “Martha.” There are many charming +excursions in the neighbourhood of Hobart. One of the most beautiful is +to New Norfolk, about two and a half hours’ steam up the Derwent river. +As we approach New Norfolk the river gets very narrow, and we pass +through a part called “Hell Gates,” having steep lofty cliffs on one +side, and a beautiful tongue of land with trees and lovely green grass on +the other. The name I thought particularly ill chosen. + +The village of New Norfolk is prettily situated among the hills, with the +lovely Derwentwater at its feet. Its principal industry is the growing +of hops. We went into the gardens, and saw the people busily picking the +hops, which were very fine. + +Another beautiful excursion is to Fern Tree Valley, a lovely spot with a +fine avenue of tree ferns, and with many immense gum trees in the +surrounding woods. + +There being no steamer to Sydney or Melbourne for a week, we drove over +the road to Launceston, 120 miles distant. Soon after leaving Hobart we +crossed the River Jordan, passed through Jericho, near to Jerusalem, +stopping at Bagdad for breakfast. + +Although February had just gone, the weather was still intensely hot. +The harvest was nearly over, and the wheat looked beautiful. I saw some +eight feet high, and a person told me he had frequently seen it grow as +high as ten feet. Lunching at Melton Mowbray, we came on to Oatlands, +driving the last few miles by moonlight, the night being very cool. + +At Oatlands is a large gaol, where in old times a number of England’s +sons were confined, many of them having been sent there for political +“offences,” which in our happier times have conducted the best of +Englishmen to the Council Board at Windsor. The gaol is now almost +untenanted. In passing along we saw the ruins of many of the miserable +old barracks, where the convicts used to live. Everything looks half +finished, and I have scarcely seen one window blind furnished with cords +for winding; they roll them up and pin them, consequently the blind is +full of pin holes. We stopped a night at the best hotel in Campbelltown, +a really well-appointed house; but on trying to open the front door, the +knob came off in my hand! We greatly enjoyed our three weeks’ stay in +Tasmania; in many respects it is more interesting than the mainland, +while the climate is much more agreeable to Englishmen. A pleasant +passage of twenty hours brought us to Melbourne again, and the weather +being still very hot, we decided to go on to Sydney by steamer. + + [Picture: Our Waiter at Campbelltown] + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +The run down Hobson’s Bay to Port Philip Heads takes about four hours, +and just inside the mouth of the harbour are two little watering-places, +much frequented by the citizens of Melbourne. + +Presently we come to a curious feature in the water. The currents of the +bay and those of the open sea meet, and produce at their junction the +phenomenon locally known as “The Rip.” All at once, as the steamer comes +out of the bay, we pass from smooth water into the regular waves of the +sea; there is almost a wall between, and as the vessel passes through it +a rushing sound is heard, the vessel instantly beginning to roll and +pitch. In rough weather passing through “The Rip” is quite exciting, the +water frequently rushing over the decks. + + [Picture: Sydney Harbour] + +After a voyage of a little more than two days, we arrived outside the +heads of Port Jackson or Sydney Harbour. Everyone has heard of the +extreme beauty of this glorious harbour; indeed if the visitor stays a +few days in the city he is likely to hear of it many times. The entrance +is about a mile in width, between bold cliffs 250 feet in height. It has +a coast line of more than 100 miles, and is full of beautiful creeks and +bays, with their banks finely wooded to the water’s edge, and having +numerous handsome villas picturesquely placed upon every point of +vantage, the city being situated at the head of the bay. The old town of +Sydney is very badly laid out, with narrow, crooked streets, while the +pavements and roads are most execrable, and the drainage and water supply +are as bad as they can well be. The public buildings, and the modern +portion of the city, are very fine, the post-office in particular being a +very handsome edifice, infinitely superior to the new post-office in +Birmingham; but then the citizens of Sydney built their own, while the +citizens of Birmingham were not consulted, and had to accept what the +London architect was graciously pleased to bestow. + +Next to the harbour, the public gardens of Sydney form its principal +attraction. The Botanical Gardens are exceedingly fine, and contain a +magnificent collection of almost every known tree that will stand the +climate. A special feature is the Norfolk Island pine, which grows to a +great height, perfectly straight, and with very regular branches. The +gardens are finely situated on undulating ground, sloping down to the +harbour, which is sufficiently deep 200 yards off to float men-of-war. +From these gardens a fine view of the Governor’s house and of other parts +of the city is obtained. There is also a beautiful view from the +Observatory Hill, which the Sydney people are justly proud of, for it can +scarcely be equalled in any other part of the world. The harbour, with +its numerous islands, lies spread out before the eyes, while the greatest +animation is given to the scene by the large number of little steamers, +yachts, and sail-boats continually flitting about, for the youth of +Sydney are truly British in their love of the water. While we were +admiring this panorama one morning, an old gentleman, observing we were +strangers, pointed out the various objects of interest. Presently one of +our party observing a strange cloud in the hitherto cloudless sky, called +the old man’s attention to it. At first he thought it was a bush fire +away to the south, but in a minute he said, “Come on, we had better get +under shelter, for it is a ‘southerly buster!’” + +A “southerly buster” is one of the institutions of Sydney, and is a +hurricane of wind: which comes up suddenly from the south, bringing +clouds of dust from the brickfields lying on that side of the city. We +had long been wishing to see a genuine example, and here it was with a +vengeance. In less time than it takes to describe, the whole city and +harbour were completely obscured by a tremendous cloud of dust, blown on +at a great pace, roaring like a furnace, and carrying before it sticks, +paper, and even small gravel, which strike with the force of hailstones. +During the twenty minutes which the hurricane lasts umbrellas are +perfectly useless, and every person and thing becomes completely covered +with dust. Having experienced the “buster” once, we have no desire for a +repetition. + +Sydney is fortunate in possessing almost inexhaustible supplies of +oysters, and the old gentleman referred to above told us they sometimes +grew on trees! There is a tree called the Mangrove, which grows very +plentifully on the banks of the Parramatta river; sometimes the water is +very high for days together, and the oyster spawn gets fixed in the mud +on the branches, and so they grow and are gathered in their season. + +One of the most delightful excursions from Sydney is to the top of the +Blue Mountains, where there are several villages and some exceedingly +fine and interesting scenery. The summit of the mountains is about +3,500ft. above sea-level, and is seventy miles from Sydney, being reached +by a picturesque zigzag railway. In the old convict days it was commonly +supposed by the prisoners that China lay on the other side of the Blue +Mountain range, and many of the wretched men lost their lives in the +jungle in trying to escape to the celestial country; one party succeeded +in getting to a considerable distance before the guard overtook them, and +one of them was found to have in his possession an engraving of a +compass, by which he expected to steer his way! + +The railway from Sydney passes many charming villages and extensive +orange groves, crossing the River Nepean by a handsome iron bridge. + +Some of the hotels on the mountain are of a very primitive character. +One of those in which we stayed was a single-storied building, with +bed-rooms opening into the yard. The house was built of planks, and the +partitions were not very thick. I found that the landlord was the +brother of an English tradesman with whom I do business. They had not +heard of one another for forty years, which was a suspicious +circumstance, considering the history of the colony. + + [Picture: Cottage at Mount Victoria] + +In the fireplace of our sitting room we found a “gin” set for rats, which +during the night were quite lively. One morning we observed that our +waiter seemed to be very anxious for us to finish our breakfast. +Presently he asked if we had finished with the coffee-pot, saying that +all the others had been sent to be mended, and as he had a rather +particular couple in the next room, he did not like to take in the coffee +in a tea-pot! + +At Mount Victoria, the highest village on the mountain, there are good +State schools, to which the children come for twenty-five miles round +from the villages along the railway. Both schools and railways in New +South Wales belong to the State, and the schoolchildren are allowed to +ride free by all trains. Even the goods trains have carriages attached +for the use of the children, and the school hours are arranged to enable +them to take advantage of the trains. Mount Victoria is a beautiful +village, where many of the wealthy citizens of Sydney have charming +residences. It has quite an alpine appearance with its wooden houses and +tree-clad hills. In the neighbourhood are many delightful places, to +which excursions are made; one of the most interesting is to a waterfall +called “Govett’s Leap.” The road is a very rough one, and goes through +the forest, in which are numbers of large ant-hills more than 5ft. in +height, and formed of clay, which has become so hard that a stick makes +no impression upon them. The entrances for the little creatures are very +narrow cracks, too narrow for any of their enemies to get through. +Sometimes, however, a creature called the “iguana” manages to make its +way inside, when he always clears the entire colony out. + + [Picture: The Weatherboard Falls] + +After a few miles’ drive along an almost level road, we come suddenly +upon the edge of a precipice nearly 1,000 feet deep, down which the +stream falls forming the waterfall. The “leap” is about 500 feet, and +almost all the water becomes spray before it reaches the bottom, its +appearance reminding us of the Staubbach Falls at Lauterbrunnen. + +From the precipice a fine view is obtained for many miles round. The +country is broken up into deep ravines or wide gullies, stretching as far +as the eye can reach, and all wooded, while, except the little waterfall, +not a drop of water is to be seen. + +On the other side of Mount Victoria, towards Bathurst, is another curious +zigzag railway, at the foot of which is the village of Lithgow, the seat +of iron and coal industries. At present the works are of a very +primitive character, but I have no doubt that at no distant date they +will assume important proportions. + + [Picture: Descent to Hartley Vale] + +Outside our hotel door the landlord kept his talking parrot, which was +always saying to the passers-by, “a bucket of beer, a bucket of beer.” +There was a retired missionary staying at the hotel with his wife, and +one day the old lady told me that she thought they might have taught the +poor thing something “more Christian.” + +One evening some drovers from Bathurst camped for the night near to the +hotel; they put their cattle into a field, and having taken their tents +from the packhorses, soon made themselves comfortable round their +camp-fires, the whole scene being very picturesque and gipsy-like. + +This used to be the old coach-road before the railway was opened, and +many a coach has been stopped and robbed by gangs of escaped convicts +called bushrangers. People were easily frightened in those days. A +woman coming out of a cottage at night has been known to stop a coach, +and snapping the spring of an old candlestick has ordered the passengers +to “bail up” and to throw the mail-bags out, which being done under +terror of the supposed pistol, she commanded them to drive on; the +coachman of course supposing there was a gang of ruffians lying in wait. + +Bushrangers are not yet a thing of the past, for while we were in Sydney +four were sentenced to death for the murder of a policeman, who was one +of a party sent in pursuit of the gang. + +Hard by our hotel is a solitary graveyard, where lie the bodies of many +convicts who died while confined in a neighbouring stockade in the old +transportation days. A more desolate and melancholy place it would be +impossible to imagine. Some of the public-houses have queer mottoes on +their sign boards. We observed three not far apart having these +inscriptions: “Labour in Vain,” “The Leisure Hour,” “The Rag and Famish.” +A favourite drink amongst the people is sarsaparilla, which is generally +mentioned on the sign along with the beer. + +There are two kinds of birds in the woods about Mount Victoria which make +a great noise at night; one is called the “Great Goat Sucker,” and +continually cries “more pork, more pork”; while the other, called the +“Laughing Jackass,” or the great kingfisher, makes night hideous by its +insane laughter; in the day-time, however, it performs a very useful +service, in waging perpetual war against the snakes. + + [Picture: The Laughing Jackass] + +The ants in Australia are rather formidable creatures. Some of them are +more than an inch in length, and one kind, called the “bull-dog,” is very +fierce, and will attack anything; he can run backwards or forwards with +equal facility, and never turns his back to the foe. Their hills are +very large, and a slight tap brings numbers of them out at once, and +unless you want to be well punished, you had better leave them quickly, +for their bite is something to be remembered. One morning while on a +walk we observed two boys “prodding” an ant-hill; but by the time we had +come up to them we found them otherwise engaged, for the “bulldogs” had +got up their clothes and were causing the boys to jump about as though +they were “possessed;” occasionally they would pause and rub their legs +with great devotion; and altogether it was apparent they felt their +position keenly. As we passed them they gave us a ghastly smile, and I +think they will let “sleeping bull-dogs lie” in the future. + + [Picture: The Author Sketching] + +During one of my visits to Sydney the political situation was this:—Two +questions were before the Parliament and country—viz., an Amended +Education Act, and an Excise Act, by which latter it was proposed to put +a tax upon colonial beer. + +“It happens that a vacancy has occurred in an important constituency, and +as these questions are greatly agitating the whole country, the election +is looked forward to with great interest as being a sort of test of the +public sentiment. The Government candidate of course supports the two +measures above referred to, while the opposition candidate is adverse to +both, the latter being the largest brewer in the Colony, (which of course +accounts for his opposing the excise duty on beer) and, what is not +unusual in the case of brewers, he is a decided Churchman, and supporter +of what he calls ‘religious education.’ The whole strength of the +clergy, publicans, bishops, loafers, avowed atheists, Roman Catholic +archbishop, priests, and Irish is most heartily with the Church-loving, +beer-brewing candidate, who is socially much liked, and very strong. His +opponent is supported by the whole Liberal party, by large numbers of the +Churchmen, and by a few Catholics. The Amended Education Act simply +provides that whereas at present State aid is given to denominational +schools it shall now be withdrawn. The Bible is not read in the schools, +but the lesson books of the Irish National Schools are used. Facilities +are offered to the various denominations to give religious instruction to +the children in the State schools. The bishop and clergy of the Church +of England and the Roman Catholic priests unite heartily with the beer +interest (as usual), the proposal to tax the beer coming in very +opportunely to enlist the sympathies and votes of the idle, drunken, +venal, and dissolute portion of the community. The bishop takes an +opportunity of stating publicly how much he is in favour of temperance, +and his clergy follow suit; the Catholic clergy do the same, and in the +evenings clergy of both religious denominations appear at public meetings +in support of the brewer! The publicans and their followers are relieved +from saying anything about the tax on beer by the existence of the +education question, which they heartily oppose, thus avoiding the subject +in which they have a selfish interest; so it comes to this—Bible says to +beer, ‘I’ll support you, although it is rather inconvenient, for am I not +pledged to temperance?’ Beer says to Bible, ‘I’ll support you with all +the strength of my lungs, rendered all the noisier by copious draughts of +untaxed beer; beer and Bible, Bible and beer for ever!’ + +“The Roman Catholic clergy anathematise Protestants of all kinds and +classes, including the Church of England, but the latter joins hands with +the Roman Catholics and the beer party to gain its ends, the said ends +being the same with both Churches—viz., the triumph of priestly rule and +domination.” + +The answer of the constituency, applauded throughout the length and +breadth of the land, was to return the Liberal candidate by a majority of +two to one. + +In reference to this election the _Sydney Morning Herald_ said—“Many of +the advocates for the extension and maintenance of the denominational +schools lay great stress upon the doctrine that it is not just to deny +denominational schools to those who prefer them—that if any citizen pays +the education tax he ought to have the sort of education provided for his +child that he most desires, and that it is a wrong-doing to his +conscience if this claim is not regarded. It is certainly somewhat +singular that the few advocates of this line of argument are to be found +in the ranks of the two great churches, which, having been national +churches, have, to say the least, not distinguished themselves by +defending the rights of conscience. In England the march of religious +liberty has done much to undo Church-inspired legislation against those +outside the pale of the Church; and that being achieved it sounds +strangely to hear the ‘conscience’ argument against a uniform treatment +of all citizens proceed from a quarter which has not been the home of the +rights of conscience.” + + [Picture: A Bullock Team on the Blue Mountains] + +Before leaving Sydney it may be well to describe an overland ride I made +from Sydney to Melbourne _viâ_ Wagga Wagga and Albury, at a time previous +to the completion of the through railway. + +Leaving Sydney by the Pullman train at six in the evening, Wagga Wagga is +reached about ten next morning: During the night we ascended 2,200ft. A +large extent of the country is cleared, and, being New Year’s Day, it was +rather strange to our English eyes to see the wheat cut and stacked, and +harvesting operations going on. + + [Picture: Bush Hut] + +The country through which our track passes is famous for its sheep runs +and for the high quality of the wool produced in it. Here and there in +the bush are occasional labourers’ cottages, wretched, uncomfortable +looking buildings, constructed of rough planks covered with bark. The +children we saw had a very uncared-for look. + +Wagga Wagga (pronounced Wogga Wogga) covers a large extent of ground, but +at present the number of houses is few, most of them, however, being well +built. From this place we hired a buggy and pair of horses to take us to +Albury, a distance of some seventy to eighty miles, the charge for which, +including the services of a smart, bright boy as driver, was £7. +Immediately on leaving Wagga we got into the “bush” country, and during +the afternoon passed some large stock “stations.” The land appears to be +much more fertile than in the neighbourhood of Sydney, with greater depth +of soil. We put up for the night at Jerra Jerra, a place consisting of +two or three wood shanties, one of them being the hotel, and left at 6.30 +next morning, taking breakfast at a somewhat larger group of wood huts +called Germanton. Every driver through the “bush” makes his own track +among the trees, and ours was no exception to the rule; he made long +detours at intervals, only coming out into the regular road when a creek +had to be crossed. We saw many pairs of large magpies, and some other +birds which the driver informed us build large mud nests. Then the Great +Ants, too, are very numerous, so that one dare not sit down anywhere to +rest. The flies are also a great pest, and as my companion said, “won’t +take a hint,” requiring to be toppled over before they will move. At +about seven a.m. we passed the Royal Mail bowling along amongst the +trees, our driver quickly making a fresh track to avoid the fearful dust +which it raised. The coach is a big lumbering machine, painted flaring +red, and drawn by six horses. It is licensed to carry sixty-five +passengers, who can only be got on to it by being packed like herrings in +a barrel. The weather being so hot and the dust so great, it must be +terrible to be cooped up in it with fat people and thin smokers and +others. The coaches are hung upon enormous leather “springs,” and they +need them, for the road is so rough, and the coachmen are so daring, that +the bumping and thumping are terrific. Each coach is fitted with four +large reflector lamps, three in front and one behind. + +While baiting the horses I had a chat with a farm labourer, who, like a +great many of the immigrants with whom I have spoken, was sighing for old +England again. He told me the ordinary farm labourer’s wages here are +12s. to 15s. a week with board, and that 20s. a week is considered +exceptionally good, while the great heat, dust, and reptiles are so +troublesome that most of the labourers wish they were well out of it. +This man told me his little terrier was killed by a snake a day or two +before; the poor creature swelled up and died in great agony in ten +minutes after being bitten; its death, however, was speedily avenged, his +master killing the snake shortly afterwards. The landlady said she was +in great terror of the snakes, which were very numerous. Near the run +was a large log, and it was well known that a big black snake had taken +up his abode there, for he was frequently seen to come out. In the +winter season the reptile would very soon have been despatched by the +same process adopted by the Chinaman when he wanted “roast pig,” but this +being summer, to fire the log meant to cause a general conflagration in +the bush. + +The power of endurance of Australian post-horses is something wonderful; +yesterday we travelled more than thirty-five miles after one o’clock, +over a rough bush road, or rather no road at all, bumping up and down in +a way that must be very trying to the poor animals, as the “path” is +never certain; and to-day we had to go nearly fifty miles more, the heat +being intense, and the track covered with dust nearly a foot thick. + + [Picture: An Up-Country Town] + +Our driver, a mere lad of thirteen years, drove on with the greatest +confidence, never having missed the way once, though there were no +direction posts, and we did not come across a person or house once in ten +miles, and were amongst the trees all the time. Towards evening the +horses got rather tired, and so did poor “Tommy,” the driver, who at +times had a quiet “weep” to himself, but at last we reached Albury, and +found our Melbourne friend awaiting us at the hotel. + +For hours before, we had in view a fine range of hills, enclosing a large +extent of country, including the valley along which the River Murray +runs. Here we got the blue, purple, and roseate tints on the mountains +to perfection, and as the sun was going down just as we entered the town +I thought I had rarely seen a more delightful picture. + +There is a thriving, well-to-do look about the place which is very +enlivening, the houses being well built, with wide verandahs projecting +from two storeys, the streets straight and wide, and planted on both +sides with acacias, poplars, and several varieties of pines, the whole +forming a veritable little paradise. + +This being the great centre of the wine-growing industry we were desirous +of visiting the vineyards and seeing the capacious cellars which are +formed in the hills, and for which the district is somewhat celebrated, +but our friend, being very anxious to get back to Melbourne, assured us +there was “nothing to see here,” and told us to wait till we got into +Victoria, and so hurried us off. + +We left Albury at 5.30 on the following morning, driving across the +Murray to the railway station at Wodonga, the first town on the Victorian +side, as Albury is the last on the New South Wales side, and the contrast +between the two is great indeed—just the difference between prosperity +and decay. New South Wales, with its Free Trade policy, is fitly +represented by bright and shining Albury, while Victoria may well read a +lesson from the decay and ruin into which Wodonga has fallen. I could +not help thinking that a dozen such contrasts along the frontiers of the +two States would do more than anything to settle the fate of Protection. +Even the omnibus driver was full of the subject, pointing out to us as we +rode along the difference between the two places. + +The railway ride to Melbourne occupies eight hours, although the distance +is only about 180 miles. On the way we passed through Euroa, the town +which was “stuck up,” _i.e._, plundered, by the notorious Kelly and his +gang. There were only four of these fellows in the gang, but such was +the terror they inspired that they were able to rob a whole town in broad +daylight, while a train was passing through the station close by the bank +from which they took a considerable amount of cash. Having done this, +they next ordered all the people into carts, and drove them some miles +out of the town, ordering them not to stir for four hours under pain of +death. Having secured their booty the scoundrels rode off, and for two +years succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the police, although the +Government offered a reward of £8,000 for their capture, alive or dead. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +Before leaving the subject of the Australian Colonies a few observations +on the state of the labour market, and upon the social condition of the +people, may be interesting. + +In most of the Australian colonies Free Trade practically prevails, the +exception being Victoria. In this colony the system of Protection is to +be found in its most pronounced form, almost every imported article of +manufacture being the subject of a heavy duty. + +The avowed object of this system is to encourage immigration by offering +a premium upon the manufacture of every article in considerable demand in +the Colony. I do not know how far this object has been attained as +concerns immigration, but it is an admitted fact, and one which is +causing Victorian politicians much anxiety, that the colony fails to +retain its population. One result about which there can be no question +is that this fiscal policy is concentrating the population about the +large towns, the city of Melbourne presenting the appearance of the chief +town of an old and populous State. A ride in any direction into the +country, however, soon discloses the real nakedness of the land as +regards inhabitants, the fact being that a very small proportion of the +immigrants ever get beyond the towns. An obvious consequence is that the +natural resources of the country are greatly neglected, and the evil of +this state of things will be apprehended when it is seen that the +manufacturing population is increasing in a vastly greater ratio than the +constituency upon which its trade depends. Under such conditions the +dangers of the situation are seriously augmented when depression of trade +occurs. Such a state of things arose before the building of the late +Exhibition in Melbourne. The building trade and the mechanical +industries in the city being in a stagnant state, large numbers of people +found themselves out of employment, their attitude causing the Government +some anxiety. The Exhibition was decided upon in the hope that its +erection would provide employment until trade should revive. I asked one +of the Commissioners of the Exhibition what would happen if trade did not +revive on the completion of the building? He replied, “Oh, they shall +take it down again, for it will be useless after the Exhibition is over.” +Surely a notable instance of the dog subsisting by eating its own tail. + +A natural result of all this is to produce in the minds of the working +classes a feeling that the Legislature ought to secure to them a constant +supply of work at high rates of wages, altogether leaving out of +consideration the inevitable effect of such a course in checking demand. +Naturally, each class expects to receive the benefit of this policy, and +it is not surprising that the example of the manufacturers in demanding +Protection should be followed, and even bettered, by the working men. + +A curious example of this occurred when I was in Australia. The streets +of Melbourne, being very wide and long, are peculiarly well adapted for +the introduction of tramways. A Bill was introduced into the House +authorising the construction of an experimental line, but it had to be +abandoned in consequence of the determined opposition of the cab drivers, +the majority of whom own the vehicles which they drive. These men +argued, naturally enough, that as manufacturing trades were protected +against foreigners, their business also should be protected against +competition in the only form in which it could arise. Doubtless this +resistance will eventually be overcome, but not without leaving a sense +of injustice. + +While each class seeks to have the benefit of Protection for its own +manufactures, it also seeks to obtain the benefits of Free Trade for the +raw material and smaller accessories used in their production. At the +time I am referring to, a Tariff Revision Commission was in session, and +representatives of the various manufacturing trades were examined with +the view of ascertaining whether any changes were desirable. In almost +every case extensive additions to the duty were demanded, eliciting from +some of the members of the Commission a reminder that on previous +occasions the representatives of protected industries declared they only +required the tax to be levied for a limited time in order to enable them +to establish their business. + +The Protectionist newspapers used every means to stir up the various +trades to avail themselves of the opportunity the Commission afforded of +making fresh claims. + +It so happens that most of the materials used for newspaper printing are +admitted duty free. The _Argus_, the leading journal in Victoria, and a +consistent advocate of Free Trade, took this opportunity of suggesting +that the proprietors of the Protectionist journals should prove the +sincerity of their expressed opinions by appearing before the Commission +and demanding the imposition of a tax upon newspaper materials in the +interests of “native industry.” Of course the suggestion was not +adopted, perhaps for this reason, also suggested by the _Argus_, that the +struggle for existence was already sufficiently severe. + +The operative printers also demanded of the Commission that printed books +should be more heavily taxed, one of their delegates remarking that +“there was sufficient talent in Victoria to produce their own books,” +while a manufacturer, with great candour, asked for a little increase +upon his special productions on the plea that his profit was not “quite +enough!” + +If profits are not enough prices are certainly sufficiently high, as the +following instance will abundantly show. At the close of 1882 one +hundred locomotives were required by the Government of Victoria, and +although the needs of the country were most urgent—complaints of the +inefficiency of the service coming in from all sides—the Protectionist +party in the House demanded that the whole number should be made in the +Colony, although there was only one firm who could undertake their +manufacture, and that firm was unable to deliver the first engine under a +period of ten months, and in addition to this, the total price demanded +for the contract was £66,000 more than the engines could have been +procured for without delay in England. It is admitted that the +locomotives made in the Colony are much inferior to those imported, while +in addition to the excess in first cost, the expense of maintaining the +colonial engines is vastly greater. I was assured by competent +authorities on the railways that the colonial engines are frequently +under repair, and that their life is much shorter than that of their +English rivals. The same evil principle is applied to the purchase of +the miscellaneous stores supplied to the railways, thereby greatly +enhancing the cost of working. Instances might be multiplied of the +mischievous effects of a vicious fiscal policy in a young and undeveloped +Colony. It is notorious that the great want of the Colonies is a larger +population, and the Government in various ways—notably by making grants +in aid of immigration—offer inducements to bring this result about. The +manufacturers also require a larger field for their productions; but the +working-class element is jealous of this very increase lest it should +subject labour to competition, unmindful of the fact that there is ample +room for an infinitely larger population. + +Neither the agricultural nor the mining industries of the Colony are +protected. As regards the former, public opinion would not permit the +taxation of food; whilst, in the latter case, the minerals raised are, +for the most part, exported, there being scarcely any demand for them in +the Colony. But, while these industries receive no benefit from the +fiscal policy of the Colony, they are heavily taxed in support of the +revenue, for not only are all the machinery and materials used in their +development subject to more than 25 per cent. import duty, but the cost +of labour is greatly enhanced by the high wages, which become necessary +when the purchasing power of money is diminished by Protection. Every +year witnesses a considerable expansion of the industries in question; +and every year the cry becomes louder against the injustice and +inequality of a system which places the natural resources of the country +under so great a disadvantage. In consequence of the urgency of these +complaints there is now some prospect of a reduction of the duty on +agricultural and mining machinery. + +I have met with men who were always ready to descant upon the advantages +of Protection, but who, almost in the same breath, have told me they have +never hesitated to evade the laws when they could do so to advantage, or +even to break them when it suited their convenience and they could do so +without much risk, justifying their conduct by saying that it was “quite +right to cheat the Government when they could, because the Government +were always ready to cheat them.” In order to circumvent the practices +of such men as these, the Legislature has been compelled to institute a +complicated system of accounts in connection with the importation of +goods, harassing in the last degree to those who have been accustomed to +do business in a country where trade is unshackled. + +In spite of the boasted advantages of Protection, it is evident that some +manufacturers are not happy under it, as is shown by the fact of my +having some time ago received from an important manufacturing firm in +Victoria an application for my business agency in the Colony. In their +application, the firm stated that the workpeople in the Colony were so +very independent and so uncertain that they (the firm in question) would +rather at any time sell imported articles at a smaller profit than +manufacture them in their own works. + +I have stated that the avowed objects of Protection were the attraction +of a larger population and the fostering of “native industry.” Now, with +these very objects in view, the public men of New South Wales have from +the first adopted and persisted in a policy diametrically opposed to that +which has for years past been in force in the neighbouring Colony of +Victoria. If the principles of Protection be sound, we should expect to +find in the Free Trade Colony of New South Wales a state of things even +much worse than I have shown to exist in Victoria. But what do we find? +A constantly increasing population; abundance of employment; a vast and +continually expanding railway system; shipping considerably greater than +that of the Port of London one hundred years ago; an import and export +trade greater than that of Great Britain at the same period; in short, +every evidence of great and enduring prosperity. + +As in America, “where acres are many and men are few,” the manufacture of +agricultural machinery has been brought to greater perfection than in +almost any other country, so in Australia the same conditions have +developed a flourishing manufacture of special machinery used in +mining—one of the staple industries of the country. A demand for this +improved machinery has recently sprung up in other countries, a +considerable order having been received from India by an Australian firm +while I was there. + +In Sydney—not in spite of, but because of, Free Trade—the largest +manufacturing concern in the Australian Colonies has grown up. The +founders of this large business had the sagacity at the outset to +recognise that there were certain articles which must of necessity be +better and more cheaply made in the Colony than they could be imported. +They put down steam saw-mills for supplying planking, which before had +been imported; they next proceeded to make such articles as +window-sashes, doors, frames, etc., for house-building, choosing such as +could be manufactured almost entirely by machinery, which they obtained +from England and America. By such natural means, and altogether free +from legislative interference, they have built up the enormous business +known as Hudson Brothers, Limited, railway rolling-stock manufacturers. +It is clear that with the most improved machinery, purchased in the +cheapest markets and imported duty free, and having inexhaustible +supplies of native timber, not only cheaper but much better adapted to +the climate than that hitherto imported, the opening for a perfectly +legitimate business presented itself; in fact, they created a genuine +“native industry.” But Messrs. Hudson, recognising, as already pointed +out, that other countries have also special advantages for the production +of certain articles, wisely abstain from attempting a hopeless +competition. For this reason they import such portions of the +rolling-stock as wheels, axles, springs, carriage-furniture, etc. + +The free importation of mining and agricultural machinery into New South +Wales has given these industries such a stimulus that they have been more +generally developed throughout that Colony than those of Victoria, +causing a continuous and increasing demand for labour. The immigration +into New South Wales is greatly in excess of that into Victoria; and, in +addition to this, large numbers of artisans and others are continually +crossing the border from the latter into the former Colony. In 1880, +forty-five thousand persons arrived in New South Wales from other than +Australian ports, and it is not too much to say that there is ample room +for four times their number every year. + +Until a few years since the great shipping companies had their repairing +yards and shops in Victoria, but the extremely high cost of everything +required by them compelled them at last to remove their establishments to +her Free Trade neighbour, thereby effecting a very considerable saving. +The same causes have doubtless been influential in securing to New South +Wales the remarkable development of its shipping interests during the +last generation. + +So little is known in England of what our friends in the Colonies are +doing, that probably many will be startled to learn that whereas in 1782 +the total imports and exports of Great Britain amounted in value to about +£23,850,000, in New South Wales, in 1881, the value was £27,650,000. + +During the last thirty years the shipping annually arriving in Sydney has +increased from 90 vessels, with a tonnage of 48,776, to 1,389 vessels, +with a tonnage of 973,425; and the clearances in the same period +increased from 47 vessels, with a tonnage of 24,081, to 1,322 vessels, +with a tonnage of 941,895. + +During the last ten years, too, the population of New South Wales has +increased 53 per cent., while that of Victoria has only increased 18 per +cent., and while the excess of immigration over emigration in the former +Colony has quadrupled, it has been almost stationary in the latter. + +During the same period the Customs revenue in Victoria, notwithstanding +the high tariff, has remained almost stationary; while in New South +Wales, with a low tariff and smaller population, it has increased nearly +one-half. The imports, too, have increased 80 per cent., against 17 per +cent. in Victoria, and the exports 94 per cent. against 28 per cent. + +These figures, taken from official papers in 1882, have never been dealt +with by Victorian Protectionists, but are full of meaning to all those +whom vested interests have not made blind. While it is true that +Australia presents, and will continue to present, a great field for the +surplus population of older countries, it is, in my opinion, a mistake to +suppose that the upper grades of English artisans improve their position +much by going there. Wages are higher it is true, and eight hours make +up a day’s work; animal food also is cheaper, but almost everything else +is dearer than in England—house-rents, indeed, enormously so. An artisan +who in Birmingham would be well housed for 5s. to 6s. a week would have +to pay £1 for much inferior accommodation; this remark applies generally +in Australia, the principal cause being the great lack of artisans in the +building trade. Many too, may consider the higher wages and shorter +hours of labour as not too great a compensation for the exhaustion +induced by the heat and dust of the climate and the annoyance from insect +life. But for unskilled labour and for skilled agricultural labour there +can be only one opinion,—viz., that the Colonies present a field where +sobriety and industry are certain to bring a reward such as is altogether +unattainable at home. + +The education of the people is admirably provided for by the Legislature, +every district being well supplied with first-rate schools, while the +means of intercommunication by rail, post, and telegraph are superior to +those of any country in the world, when the smallness of the population +and the immense distances to be covered are taken into consideration. + +In Australia, especially in the southern Colonies, there is happily no +native question to absorb the attention of the people and to upset the +calculations of financiers, consequently the colonists are able to devote +all their energy to opening up the natural resources of the country. At +the present time many millions of money are set aside for the +construction of new railways and for the supply and storage of water, and +when these are completed vast areas of agricultural land will be opened +sufficient to accommodate all the spare population of England for many +years to come. + +If “Young Australia,” like his cousin in America, has an unbounded +confidence in the future of his country, he has even more in himself, as +is well illustrated by the following story told me by an old resident. +In one of the cities a number of young men had established a Debating +Society, which met every Wednesday evening in a room in a narrow street. +On the other side of the street was a church where service was held at +the same time. The weather being hot the windows of both buildings were +usually open, and the important deliberations of the young men were much +interrupted by the preaching and singing in the church. With a +delightful unconsciousness of what in slang phrase is called “cheek,” +they instructed their secretary to write to the minister of the church, +requesting him to hold his service upon some other evening of the week! + +The people of Australia are possessed of vast energy and great +intelligence: and, having unlimited and well-grounded faith in their +capacity to conquer the many difficulties which lie before them, they +determined that their future career shall do no discredit to the great +country from which they have sprung, and of whose history they are so +proud. + + [Picture: The Duck-Billed Platypus (Ornithorhyncus paradoxus)] + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +We left Sydney in the first week in April, and although we had greatly +enjoyed the beautiful scenery of its fine harbour and the neighbouring +Blue Mountains, and had experienced the greatest kindness and hospitality +on every side, we were not sorry to depart. + +In the first place, we were homeward-bound, and I had recovered the +health, in search of which I had left home and friends, and the weather +had been so oppressively hot and the dust so troublesome, that we were +glad of the prospect of the abatement of the one and the total +disappearance of the other. + +For ten months the Colony had had no rain, and in the neighbourhood of +Sydney trees were dying by hundreds, and gardens which had been carefully +tended for fifteen or twenty years were nearly spoiled. The outlook for +agriculturists was dark indeed, very indifferent hay was selling for £10 +a ton, and the cattle were perishing for want of water. I saw a +statement in the paper that one farmer had already lost 45,000 sheep, and +if the drought lasted a few weeks longer he would lose 50,000 more. The +most inveterate grumbler at the moisture of the English climate would, if +here in Sydney, soon arrive at the conclusion that six months’ rain is to +be preferred to ten months’ drought and dust under a scorching sun. + +Some friends accompanied us on board our steamer, and observing that the +sky had become overcast with every prospect of a heavy downpour, I +endeavoured to persuade them to return to shore, but they said the sky +often looked overcast but soon became clear again, and that there would +be no rain; still I was not comfortable, and presently induced them to +go. Half-an-hour afterwards our time was up, the ship’s gun was fired, +and down came the rain in such torrents as made me very apprehensive for +the safety of my friends, lest their boat should be swamped. On arriving +at New York I found a letter from them informing me that the rain filled +the boat so fast that it was with some difficulty they could keep it +afloat. + +Our vessel was an exceedingly fine one, and was on her first voyage. Her +length was 400ft. and she was 40ft. wide across the saloon. The +appointments seemed to be all very good, although it soon appeared that +she was insufficiently supplied with stewards, the consequence being that +the meals were badly served. Everything, however, was done according to +rule, and it was curious to see the order in which the various dishes +were brought in. The chief steward rang a bell once, and the stewards +marched into the saloon in single file, dishes in hand; two rings, right +wheel; three times, place dishes on the table; and at the fourth ringing +of the bell, remove covers and march out with them. It looked like a +pantomime, and caused us considerable merriment. The head steward was a +negro, and it was curious to note how he lorded it over the white +stewards. + +A rough passage of four days brought us to the entrance of Auckland +harbour. The previous day it was very stormy, and an albatross which had +been following us for some time, frequently flying across the ship +between the masts, at length either flew, or was blown, against one of +the masts, and fell dead upon the deck. + +In approaching the town of Auckland a number of islands of curious shape, +surmounted with rocks bearing the appearance of castles are passed. +Auckland looks well from the harbour, which is a very fine one; behind +the town a mountain rises to a considerable altitude, greatly adding to +the picturesqueness of the view. + +Our ship was the largest that had ever been in the harbour, and we +expected soon to have a number of boats plying for hire, but none +appeared until half our limited time had expired, and consequently very +few passengers went ashore. We took a quantity of coal on board, the +quality of which was very bad, giving off volumes of the densest smoke. +It is much inferior to the New South Wales coal, which in its turn is not +equal to English. + +For the first ten days the Pacific greatly belied its name, being in a +state of great commotion the whole time; indeed, most of the way to San +Francisco the roll was very considerable. As we neared Kandavu, in the +Fiji Islands, the dreaded coral reefs began to come in sight. Some of +them stretch out for fifteen miles from the land, and are known to +approaching vessels by the white crests of the long lines of breakers. +Navigation is very dangerous, and the harbour of Kandavu is a very +difficult one to make. Just before entering we passed within fifty feet +of the masts of a sunken ship; but, having brought a native pilot from +Sydney, we got inside safely. The harbour is exceedingly beautiful. For +some distance from the water on each side the ground is covered with +cocoa-nut and bread-fruit trees, large ferns, and a great variety of +bright green foliage, while beyond is a range of hills of beautiful +shapes and well wooded. + +It being Sunday only two or three boats made their appearance, the +missionaries not permitting the natives to come out to trade or to +gratify their curiosity on that day. Knowing this we were not a little +amazed to receive a visit presently from the missionaries themselves, who +were rowed by eight very intelligent natives, having no clothing worthy +of mention. Some of our party taxed the missionaries with their lack of +consistency, and were answered that they came “by invitation.” The +natives have fine open faces, with good foreheads, bright and restless +eyes. They are of a dark chocolate or liver colour. Their hair is very +abundant, but they spoil it by putting quicklime upon it, turning it to a +dirty reddish brown. Their vivacity is astonishing. They laugh and +chatter in a ceaseless chorus, but their language is not musical. One +old fellow was particularly voluble; he was in a boat, and was giving +instructions to his crew in a fearfully loud voice, which sounded like +the slipping of a ship’s cable through the hawser-hole. + + [Picture: A Native of Fiji] + +It was great fun to watch the children diving for money. If you threw a +sixpence into the water they would go after it and catch it before it had +gone down many feet, quickly reappearing to ask—like Oliver Twist—for +more, and with a grin, disclosing teeth which made us envy them. + +Some of our fellow-passengers went ashore, and were much charmed with all +they saw. The little children very much delighted them by coming up and +putting their hands into those of their visitors, leading them off to +show them the bread-fruit and banana trees. + +Just as daylight was going our gun was fired, and with our pilot on board +we steamed out of the harbour, having the pilot’s boat in tow, manned +with as merry a crew as ever rowed a boat. The captain was very anxious +to get clear of the reefs before dusk, and so went at a pretty good +speed, and although the pilot-boat was half out of the water, and was +constantly being swamped, the crew laughed and shrieked with delight, +shouting and making curious noises like Christy Minstrels. + +Presently they commenced a song, one old fellow beating time with an +oar—but we preferred the shrieking. Soon the pilot clambered down the +ship’s side, and after giving him three cheers we set off at full speed. + +There are many sharks in these waters, but it is said they are not fond +of the dark skins. Whether that is so or not I do not know, but +certainly both boys and men disregard the presence of these monsters in +diving for money. + +The day after leaving Kandavu we passed through a beautiful group of +islands surrounded with coral reefs. We passed so close to two of these +islands that we were able to see the cocoa-nut trees quite distinctly, +the bright green vegetation rising just above the pure white surf, and +the whole surrounded by the glorious purple and azure of the ocean. +While passing one of the islands we saw a huge waterspout burst, and were +glad our ship was well out of it. + +Soon after leaving the Fiji Islands the crew were put through +fire-brigade practice. The bell was rung continuously, the whistles +blown, and the crew and stewards rushed to the fire-engines, and got out +the buckets and hose, and soon began playing over the ship, while the +first officer superintended the getting out and lowering of the boats. +As very few persons were warned of what was going to be done, there was +naturally great excitement amongst the passengers, one lady fainting in +the saloon, thinking the ship was really on fire. I was not impressed +with the smartness or efficiency of either officers or crew, and was +devoutly thankful that there was no need for their services; and yet I +often wondered there were no fires, there being so many kerosene lamps +all over the ship, to say nothing of the immense kitchen fires, where +twice in one morning I saw a regular burst of flame through an unskilful +cook overturning the fat in the absence of his chief. + +In going from England to Australia, and returning via the Pacific, and +across America, one day is gained, and in order to keep our calendar +right we had to “drop a day,” or when we arrived at Liverpool we should +be a day in advance of our home friends. This is done by having two days +of the same name and date in one week. It appears rather curious but is +plain enough, for our general course since leaving home was eastward, and +continued so until we reached home. Now, as in going east, four minutes +to each degree are gained (the reverse in going west), it follows that in +the 360 degrees into which the earth’s circumference is divided, a total +gain of 360 × 4 = 1,440 minutes, or 24 hours is made. + +Our doctor was somewhat of a curiosity. One evening he told me that one +of the passengers, who was suffering from an ailment of the eyes, had +declined his further services, preferring to pay one of the passengers +who was a medical man. He assured me he had no feeling about it, he was +quite above that sort of thing. “Our profession,” he said, “is one in +which we should always practice the virtue of charity in accordance with +the teaching of Christ, whose follower I trust I am.” But observing that +during the conversation he frequently swore, I gave him a hint about it. +“Ah,” said he, “you remind me of my little wife at home; whenever I swear +or consign any one to a warm place, she puts her finger up and says, ‘Ah, +don’t do that, you know you don’t mean it,’ which of course is perfectly +true, so there is no harm in it.” One of our doctors was re-named a +“compound-conceited-cuss-of-a-colonial-cockatoo-quack-of-a-doctor.” He +believed in the Australian “spread eagle”—in the cockatoo, that is—and +had visions of a time when England would be a “foreign” country. But he +was labouring under the impression that there were eight millions of +people in the Australian colonies, whereas there were not more than 2½ +millions of white, black, yellow, and brown. + +Life on shipboard is not more free from little personal difficulties than +on land: one of our colonial friends daily raised the susceptibilities of +his neighbours at the dinner table by emptying a favourite dish of fruit +into his pocket for home consumption; while just before reaching Honolulu +it was rumoured there was to be a duel as soon as we arrived at the +island. One of the English travellers had an objectionable habit of +turning the fruit over with his fingers at dessert, and picking out the +best. A colonial gentleman frequently rebuked him mildly for his breach +of good manners, telling him he should “touch and take”; and so it +resulted in a quarrel which it was said “blood alone can quell.” It is +satisfactory, however, to know that the deadly encounter did not come +off. + +Being told by the Captain that we might expect to land at Honolulu at 6 +p.m., the four o’clock dinner table was comparatively deserted, most of +the passengers preferring to reserve themselves for what the Yankees call +a “good square meal” on shore. We arrived off the entrance to the +harbour in good time, and made the usual signals for a pilot, but with no +result. After sunset, guns and rockets were fired, but no pilot +appearing, the Captain decided to run in without one. In consequence of +the delay it was ten o’clock before we landed, when we found the +islanders were _en fête_, and were informed that on such occasions the +pilots decline to go out for vessels. Just as we were about to land, one +of our passengers, in the darkness, fell overboard, but being a good +swimmer and a strong, fearless man, he managed to get aboard again, with +no worse result than a wetting. This gentleman had the reputation of +being somewhat of a sceptic, and that afternoon I had been discussing +with him the subject of a future state. When he was safe on deck again I +reminded him of our conversation, and asked what his thoughts were when +under the water in such a perilous situation. He replied, “I will tell +you exactly what I did think. When I fell overboard I had three +shillings in my hand, and my first thought when under water was as to +their safety; so, before doing anything else, I safely deposited them in +my pocket, and then proceeded to ‘go aloft.’” On landing we found +ourselves amongst a motley throng, whose faces, however, were too dark to +be seen, the majority dressed in light coloured raiment, and all +laughing, shouting, jabbering and shrieking in a ten times more lively +manner than a mob of gay Neapolitans on the arrival of a train at Naples. +We found the hotel about a mile from the landing place, and very much +enjoyed the walk along the wide unpaved streets, lined with houses of +various shapes and sizes, many with gardens around them. Myriads of +fire-flies lit up the darkness, and the air was laden with the perfume of +tropical flowers. On arriving at the hotel, we found it to be a +spacious, well-lighted building, with lofty reception rooms, through +which we wandered in quest of waiters to whom to give our orders for +supper, but no servant could we find, neither could we get any response +to the bells, which were vigorously rung by a hungry crowd. We made our +way to the office, and were there informed that we could get nothing to +eat till next morning, as the servants had “gone home,” and nothing was +served after nine o’clock. It was in vain we declared we were starving; +the only reply was that we could get what we liked to _drink_ at the bar. +A Yankee standing by, pitying our plight, said it was quite true we could +get nothing that night, but told us how we could be the first to be +served in the morning. He recommended us to order our breakfast at the +office before leaving, and to pay for it there and then, and to be at the +hotel again before seven o’clock next morning. This we did, and then +returned to the vessel, where we also were too late to obtain anything to +eat. In the morning we were early at the hotel (buying some delicious +strawberries on the way), and proceeding to the breakfast room, were +informed we could not obtain admission until seven o’clock. At the +appointed hour the folding doors were opened by two natives of the +“Flowery Land,” and we were soon seated at the tables, which were crowded +with a bountiful supply of most tempting viands, and quantities of +luscious fruit. + +As soon as all the seats were occupied the Celestial waiter closed the +door, and was most assiduous in seeing that his staff attended carefully +to the wants of his guests. Presently there were loud knockings at the +door, to which no attention whatever was vouchsafed by the smiling +Chinee; and when the knockings were varied by angry exclamations from our +friends outside, his face became blander still. It could not be said of +this “Heathen Chinee” that his “tricks they were vain,” for they were +only too effectual in keeping the hungry crowd at bay. When we had quite +finished (and I fear we were in no haste to depart), the doors were +opened to admit a further batch of impatient voyagers, and even then only +one half of the expectant throng could be admitted, the remainder being +advised to betake themselves to the restaurants in the town. We shall +not soon forget our experiences at the Honolulu Hotel, the landlord of +which is no less a personage than His Most Gracious Majesty the King of +the Hawaiian Islands. + +We occupied the remainder of the limited time at our disposal in walking +and driving around the town and neighbourhood. + +The date and other palms, india-rubber and cocoanut trees, tree ferns, +guavas, and other kinds of tropical vegetation flourish here in great +abundance. Flowers of the most brilliant colours grow everywhere, and +the houses of the better classes seem perfect little paradises, with +numerous jets of water flying. The grass is delightfully green and +beautiful, and great dragon-flies flit about in all directions. Here and +there we came across a group of little black-eyed, brown-faced, merry +children, looking shyly at the white strangers, and rushing wildly along +the streets. We also met numbers of natives on horseback, dressed in +splendid colours—red, blue, yellow, and green—all mixed, or in masses of +one or more of these delicate hues. “Will you ride,” said one. “Not +to-day,” I said, “perhaps to-morrow.” “That no good,” replied he, “for +steamer sails tomorrow!” and off he went at a gallop. They are sharp, +sprightly fellows, very handsome, wonderfully lithe and active, and have +dark, flashing eyes. + +The women of the labouring class are very stately looking, and walk with +a dignity and grace a duchess might envy. Their clothing is not of a +very extensive character, consisting apparently of one long loose robe, +gathered neatly around the neck and wrists, with gay-coloured ribbons, +and suggesting the idea that seven years would be an unnecessary time for +a Honolulu girl to be bound to learn dressmaking. + +Meeting a number of little girls returning from school, I tried to get +them to come and read to us out of their books. They were very shy, and +it was some time before they would venture near us. At last one of them +let me have her book, and I saw that her name was Emma—after the good +queen of that name, who visited England a few years since—so I said, +“Now, Emma, read us something, and I will give you this,” holding a new +threepenny piece before her. At once she came and read a page in the +true conventional schoolgirl monotone. The book was printed in Honolulu, +and was in the native language, which sounded sweet, and free from +harshness. She was a nice-looking little girl, quite a “brownie,” and +was much pleased with her threepenny-piece. The children were delighted +at seeing Queen Victoria’s face on the coin, and frequently repeated her +name. The race is fast dying out, and in a few generations will become +extinct. + +During the day we visited a school, and looked over the Parliament House, +which is a handsome building. The hall is very large and lofty, and so +also are the rooms, the walls and ceilings being lined with a smooth +white enamel. In connection with the House of Parliament there is a +tolerably good library, and the nucleus of a good museum, but the country +is very poor; indeed I am told it is almost bankrupt. On passing the +post-office it occurred to us to ask if there were any letters for us, +although we did not expect any, and putting our cards on the table we +said we supposed there were no letters for us. “Oh, but there are +though,” the clerk said, “and I am very glad to get rid of them,” +whereupon, to our intense delight, he produced a huge packet of letters +and papers. + +While driving into the country we passed many pretty villas, with gardens +full of splendid shrubs and flowers, and on to a native village. The +houses are made chiefly of large rushes, which grow here in great +abundance. There seem to be no chairs or seats in the houses, every one +squatting on the ground. We passed some native women carrying their +babies, and I asked if they would sell me one. “Yes, for a dollar,” one +replied; but when I said “Very well, then, bring it here,” she altered +her mind, which was a good thing for me, for I should not have known what +to do with a black baby. + + [Picture: Ruth, The King’s Sister (Died 1883)] + +The temperature of Honolulu ranges between 60° and 88°, and the islands +are always fanned by the N.E. trade winds, rendering them exceedingly +healthy. + +Our visit conveyed the impression to our minds that it would be +impossible to spend a month more delightfully than among the Hawaiian +group, and we bade adieu to Honolulu with the greatest regret. + +It was a beautiful moonlight evening when we left Honolulu for San +Francisco, and after many months’ travelling by land and sea, we began to +feel that we were at last really homeward bound, for would not our _next_ +voyage land us at Liverpool? While at Honolulu we received a very +considerable addition to our passenger list in the persons of a number of +Americans, of both sexes, some of them being gentlefolks and some of them +not. We also took on board three thousand bundles of bananas, which were +hung up in the netting all round the promenade deck. This was a most +unfair arrangement on the part of the captain, as not only were the seats +on this deck rendered unavailable, and a large portion of the space +occupied, but the ship became overrun with centipedes, some of them five +inches long, making it like Egypt during one of the plagues, “for they +were in all our quarters,” in our beds and in our clothes. Americans, as +a rule, are not good sailors. Hence it is that when commencing a voyage +they take it for granted that they are going to be ill, and make their +arrangements accordingly. My companions had been flattering themselves +that the spare berth in their cabin would remain empty to the end of the +voyage, but they were doomed to disappointment, for it was their bad +fortune to receive one of the most bilious-looking of the new arrivals. +On entering the cabin the first observation the Yankee made was, “Where +d’ye throw up?” The answer to which was, “We don’t ‘throw up’ at all. +We _go_ up and lean over the lee side.” The event proved the Yankee’s +apprehensions to be well founded. One party of Americans were returning +from a prolonged residence on one of the islands of the Pacific, where +they appeared to have acquired some of the native habits. One day these +people were taking their lunch on deck; it consisted of chicken and a +native dish called “POI.” The latter was a substance like bill-stickers’ +paste, and was contained in a large bowl. The company, which numbered +some five or six persons, men and women, sat upon the deck around the +bowl, and, having learned from their new acquaintances, the savages, to +do without spoons and separate dishes, helped themselves to the delicious +mixture by each dipping two fingers into the common bowl until it was +empty. They then attacked the chicken, and had evidently taken lessons +in carving from the same authorities, for they adopted the primitive plan +of pulling it to pieces. Of course these proceedings excited +considerable remark among the passengers, but the party seemed quite +insensible to observation. + +Another of our passengers was an American, named Steinberg, who had a +grievance against the British Government on account of an alleged outrage +on the part of an English man-of-war’s crew, in some dispute in the +Samoan Islands. He was nursing his wrath until he arrived at Washington, +when he certainly thought England’s fate would be settled, and that she +would be “chawed up catawampously.” This man was accompanied by a Yankee +journalist of a most anti-British type. He was a sallow-faced man with a +large square lower jaw, without any hair on his face, and with straight +lanky locks, and, moreover, was something under five feet high. He was +so thorough-going in his hatred of everything British that when “God save +the Queen” was sung at the close of a concert in the saloon, he got up +with much fuss and stalked out, followed by some half-dozen of his +countrymen. We called the fiery editor “Jefferson Brick,” after Martin +Chuzzlewit’s acquaintance. On one occasion I heard a friend of this +gentleman ask him if he had a chair on deck. He said he had not, as the +Britishers always brought a good supply. I took the hint, and determined +that, at any rate, he should not use mine. Soon afterwards it happened +that a sea, breaking over the deck, soaked the carpet seat of my chair, +which obliged me to place it in a sunny position that it might dry. +Presently I saw “Mr. Brick” deliberately fetch the chair, which was a +very comfortable one, and, taking it into the shade, settle down on it. +I went to him and remarked that the chair was quite wet. “I guess it’s +dry now,” said he, with the peculiar twang of a down-east Yankee. Seeing +that he failed to take the hint, I told him that the chair was mine and +that I would thank him to give it up. This he did, with a remark that he +“did not see what people who were always walking about wanted with chairs +at all.” + +We were not altogether without curious examples of our own countrymen as +fellow-passengers. One in particular, an Irish tradesman, from one of +the New Zealand ports, seemed determined to amuse and be amused. We +called our friend “Mister,” because he addressed everybody by that name. +It appears that “Mister” was too fond of liquor, and that he had to take +an occasional holiday, in order to give his friends an opportunity of +putting his affairs straight at home. I was told that he had a +flourishing business, which was managed by two able assistants, who +insisted upon his leaving them for twelve months in the interest of the +concern, under the penalty, if he returned, of their opening an +opposition shop. “Mister” told me he had been educated in four Colleges +in Ireland, which, doubtless, accounted for the remarkable absence of +knowledge he displayed. He frequently alarmed us by the disappearance of +the knife down his throat at the dinner table. One evening he +volunteered to read at one of the entertainments in the saloon, and +caused great amusement by the richness of his humour and of his +brogue—winding up his reading by the impromptu observation, “and shure it +is oi that am moighty dray.” We shall hear of “Mister” again when we get +to San Francisco. + +One of our passengers, who died during the voyage, had been suffering +greatly from severe pains in the head. He had been told by a lady that +sometimes great relief was obtained in such cases by rubbing brandy upon +the head. Soon after giving this advice the lady was walking down the +saloon where there were a number of passengers and stewards, when she was +astonished by hearing the poor invalid calling after her in the most +excited manner, and to the no small wonderment of the passengers, “Miss, +Miss, did you say brandy or whiskey?” On one occasion the doctor was +examining this patient, when the poor fellow appealed to him to do what +he could for him, saying, “Doctor, I should like to have one more chance, +do you see, and if you can put this old crazy machine together again and +make it run once more I shall take it—_as a personal favour_!” Before he +became dangerously ill the invalid was in the same cabin with one of my +friends, who one night was considerably disturbed by his dreadful +coughing, varied at intervals by strong language respecting the cough, +which, he declared, did not belong to him. “It’s not mine, I never had a +cough, it’s my head that’s wrong—this cough belongs to some other fellow; +what’s it bothering me for?” and when some ladies gently remonstrated +with him he said, “Look here, now, I guess it’s just as natural for me to +swear as it is for you to pray!” His end came suddenly at last, and in a +few hours after, in the early morning, his remains were + + “In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.” + +We sighted the entrance to the magnificent harbour of San Francisco at +daybreak on a beautiful morning at the end of April, and when we +approached it the sun had just risen, bathing the whole scene in a flood +of golden light, fully justifying its name, “The Golden Gate.” In a +short time the city came in view, reminding me very forcibly of +Sheffield, from the dense masses of smoke which hung over a large portion +of it, for San Francisco is an important manufacturing place. Soon we +were boarded by a motley crew, composed of Custom House officers, +hotel-touts, porters, agents for the railway, and a number of keen-eyed +gentry, desirous of earning a cent anyway, honest or otherwise. We had +decided upon going to the famous Palace Hotel, and having found the +agent, placed our luggage under his care, receiving checks for it, and, +locking our cabin, proceeded on shore, where we found the most sumptuous +omnibus we had ever seen waiting to convey passengers to the hotel. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +The Palace Hotel in San Francisco is quite a town in itself, containing +as it does over a thousand rooms, and with rarely less than a thousand +inhabitants, including servants, only a limited number of the latter, +however, living in the house. The establishment has its own gas-works, +four artesian wells, affording an abundant supply of the purest water; it +also possesses a thoroughly good fire-brigade, and an efficient system of +police. There are five hydraulic lifts for the conveyance of guests and +luggage to each floor of the house. The rooms on the ground floor are +25ft. high, and of corresponding size, the breakfast room being 110ft. by +53ft., the dining room 150ft. by 55ft., the walls being hung with +excellent copies of the best works of the great masters. The corridors +are lined and paved with white marble, and the grand staircase is of the +same material. + +The bedrooms are very large and airy, and they all have comfortable +dressing-rooms attached, with hot and cold water supply, and with a dozen +beautiful towels—a very refreshing sight to the voyager who has been +cooped up for the previous month in the limited space allotted to +passengers on an ocean steamer. The bedrooms have baths adjoining them, +each bath being arranged for two rooms; there is also a service-room on +each landing, where a dusky negro is always in attendance. Upon each +landing there is a tube for the conveyance of letters for the post direct +into the letter-box at the general office. There is also a pneumatic +despatch-tube for the conveyance of messages and parcels to and from any +point on the different floors. Upon the garden floor of the hotel there +is an arcade promenade 12ft. wide, with entrances to all the shops under +the hotel, upon the street level, each shop having a show window upon +this promenade. There are three inner courts, the centre one being +140ft. by 84ft., covered with glass of the same height as the roof of the +hotel. It has a carriage and promenade entrance from the street of 44ft. +in width, and a circular carriage way of 54ft. in diameter, which is +surrounded by a marble-tiled promenade and a tropical garden. The garden +is well supplied with exotic plants, statuary, and fountains. Around +this centre court and upon every storey there is an open gallery from +which all the bedrooms are entered, and from which they receive light and +fresh air. The dining rooms are fitted with a large number of small +tables for parties of from four to eight persons, an arrangement very +much superior to the long tables in most _salles à manger_. + +There are about four hundred waiters, one-fourth only being white men, +the rest negroes. The latter seem specially adapted for waiting, being +active and nimble, and seeming to anticipate every wish. They receive £1 +per week wages and their board, but lodge away from the house. A fresh +bill of fare is printed daily for each meal, and the variety of food is +very great, there being a choice of about seventy dishes at dinner. In +the kitchen are twenty-seven French cooks, besides assistants—a +sufficient guarantee for the excellent manner in which the food is +prepared. + +There is a splendid laundry in the house, where the washing is done by +fifty Chinese washer_men_, and certainly never was linen more exquisitely +got up than here. These Celestials are specially successful in all kinds +of starching requiring a smooth polished surface, such as shirt fronts. +The mode in which they apply the starch is quite novel, for having taken +a mouthful they blow it out on to the article in a continuous fine spray, +while their hands are occupied in ironing. + +The servants take their meals in _table d’hote_ fashion, being waited on +by a batch of their fellow servants, and everything is conducted with the +greatest possible regularity and order. I was much pleased to find that +all the gas and water fittings, also the hydraulic lifts and pumps, were +supplied by English makers, and were such as to command the admiration of +everybody. + +An American gentleman, hearing me speak of the hotel, asked me how I +liked it? I told him I was greatly delighted with it; that it was a +palace, indeed, in all its arrangements, but that in one respect I had +been not a little astonished at what I had seen there—the presence of the +extreme of civilisation face to face with a very close approach to +barbarism. “How is that,” said he. “Why,” I replied, “you are only +supplied with one knife and fork at meals; each guest has to dip his +fishy knife into the butter, and the same process has to be gone through +in taking salt and mustard; and seeing it is the fashion amongst the +American guests to put the knife into their mouths, the idea is not +pleasant.” + +I referred, too, to another peculiarity of the Americans arising, I +believe, from their extensive use of the Virginian weed in chewing, and I +said that the guests at the Palace Hotel, in passing through its marble +halls, had not the same excuse for their conduct that the old Greek +philosopher had when he was being shown over the palace by Crœsus, and +when he excused himself for an unparalleled act of rudeness by saying +“that such was the magnificence on every hand that the face of the king +was the meanest thing that presented itself,” for the proprietor of the +hotel had made the most ample provision for the national habit—a +provision which was, however, very generally disregarded. + +The city of San Francisco is exceedingly well situated, and possesses +many handsome streets, extensive hotels, and public buildings, but in +none of these respects, save only in hotels, is it equal to Melbourne, +though the evidences of great business activity and prosperity are much +greater in the former city. + +The day after I arrived at the hotel I was surprised at receiving the +following letter:—“Dear Tangye,—Should you wish to see me I am to be +found at the above address, or a letter addressed to me, Box 339, Post +Office, will reach me promptly. My wife is dead. A. J. C. Jarratt.” +The name was quite strange to me, so I decided _not_ to go, but to send a +friend. My friend found the address, which was a wretched room at the +top of a lofty pile of buildings, and after a few minutes’ conversation +with the man he saw there, was very glad to get into the street again, +not liking the aspect of things. The following day, whilst seated at +dinner with my friends, a waiter came to us and asked which was Dr. L—. +On being told, he said a messenger from the chief of police was in +waiting, wishing to see him. I looked at the doctor and asked him what +he had been doing. Having finished our dinner we adjourned to the office +and found the officer, who said his chief had received a telegram from a +man in some town a hundred miles inland requesting him to send “his +friend the Doctor” up to him as soon as possible. Of course my friend, +knowing nothing whatever of the man, declined to go up country. I +mentioned these polite attentions to a gentleman who was dining at the +same table, and who I found was the leading lawyer in the city. He told +me it was a favourite dodge with the sharpers, and that they sometimes +caught a “flat” in this way. On the arrival of ocean steamers it is the +custom to publish the names of the passengers in the evening papers, +which accounts for the familiarity of these fellows with the names of +strangers. We had many amusing chats with this lawyer. He remarked one +day that I must have met with a deal of “character” in travelling. +“Yes,” I said, “I had, both good and bad.” “Wa-a-l, I guess its better +to meet with a _bad_ character than none at all.” Speaking of the +neighbouring State of Nevada, which was still in a very unsettled +condition, he said a friend of his was Governor there, and that he “was +6ft. 6in. in height, and had a number three head and a number fifteen +foot, for,” said he, “I guess weight of foot is more important there than +weight of brain.” + +There are sharp men of business in the city who do not require offices in +which to carry on their business. If you are walking in the streets with +a friend, and, meeting someone else, stop for a chat, you will see a +’cute-looking fellow stop, and though he appears to be intent on +something on the opposite side of the street, you will note that he is +leaning his ear towards you, doubtless with the laudable intention of +gaining a little information. On one occasion we met one of these +individuals. He kept his ear open, and then struck in with “I guess you +are going through to England. I can put you up to the best way of doing +it and calculate I can save you from forty to fifty dollars on the job.” +We say we are much obliged, and will perhaps “call again.” Then as you +proceed along the streets attenuated fellows, with scanty, pointed beards +and Mother Shipton hats, accost you with “Going east, gentlemen? Guess +you’ll want to change some money. Come with me, gentlemen, and I’ll take +you to the right place.” “Thank you,” we say, “not to-day.” “Wa-a-l, +guess exchange will go against you to-morrow, gentlemen.” Observing on +the door of a very handsome house a brass name-plate with the name “Mrs. +Doctor Sanders,” our guide informed us that there were many lady doctors +in the city, and that they had very extensive practice. + +The Chinese are very numerous in San Francisco, there being more than +40,000 of them there. At the time of my visit, the feeling of the +rowdies ran very high against the Celestials, and threats of wholesale +massacre were freely used against them. John Chinaman is a most +industrious, frugal man, spending very little upon his living, and +nothing upon his pleasures, always excepting his infatuation for opium. +His needs being few, he can afford to work for very small pay, and thus +comes into competition with the white workman. This is the head and +front of his offending, but it is aggravated by the fact of his being +equally skilful as an artificer. While the artisans have their special +grievances about the Chinese, the wealthy classes have theirs also. It +is true “John” does his master’s work well and cheaply, but, as I have +said before, he is not a spending man; his sole object is to get what the +Yankees call “his little pile” as quickly as possible, and then return to +his native land. Nor is this surprising when we consider that every +Chinaman leaves his little “Min-ne” behind him when he quits the Flowery +Land, it being a very rare thing for a woman to leave China. + +The Chinese quarter is full of interest; the people swarm like bees, and +live in a frightfully overcrowded state. The butchers’ and barbers’ +shops are the most numerous and most interesting, the former being filled +with a quantity of dreadful-looking little portions of meat, but it would +puzzle the most learned to say from what animal they were cut. The +barbers’ shops are situated in the basements of the houses, with an open +front towards the street, and they are very numerous, for the Chinese are +close shavers. On looking down you may see a number of men seated in a +variety of positions, each one smoking a pipe of opium, while the barber +is occupied in shaving every portion of his head and face, excepting, of +course, his beloved pig-tail. The swell Chinee is very particular that +every hair shall be removed, and so clever do the operators become that, +by means of tiny razors, they can shave the inside of the nose. Some of +the pig-tails are of enormous length, and sometimes the white rowdies +attack the Chinese and cut their pig-tails off. + + [Picture: The Chinaman (from a sketch by the Author)] + +When a man has an especially fine one, he either rolls it up at the back +of his head and fastens it with hairpins, or else tucks it inside his +blouse. I noticed one of the latter in particular, a glimpse of which +would have delighted Darwin himself. The owner had evidently let down +his back hair before putting on his blouse, and consequently the +pig-tail, which disappeared at the back of the neck, emerged from under +the blouse and extended to his heels. + +Some of our party, wishing to explore the Chinese quarter by night, +engaged a detective to accompany them, it being unsafe to go unless so +escorted. The guide first took them over a lodging house, in which some +hundred Chinamen were stowed away, literally almost as thick as herrings +in a barrel. Not only was the floor thickly covered, but suspended above +it was a layer in hammocks, some smoking opium and others sleeping, none, +however, taking the slightest notice of the intruding party. + + [Picture: Little Min-ne] + +On visiting the Chinese theatre during the evening they found +preparations being made to celebrate a Celestial wedding. This decided +them to stay and see the ceremony, which was attended by a vast number of +Chinese, the theatre being crowded in every part. After the ceremony +most of the spectators formed in the procession, which escorted the happy +pair to their home. My friends also visited the Joss Houses and +inspected the queer-looking gods contained in them. + +While making some purchases in a Chinese shop it was necessary to give my +address. I wrote it out on a card thus—TANG-YE, upon which the Celestial +at once claimed me as a countryman of his. I disabused his mind of that +idea by putting my fingers to the outer corners of my eyes and pretending +to extend them in an upward direction, the absence of which peculiarity +showed conclusively that I was not of the true Mongol type. Curiously, +however, on afterwards consulting a gazetteer, I found that there is in +China a city named TANG-Y, containing over 30,000 inhabitants. + +The Chinese are accused of having brought with them a number of +objectionable practices, but to anyone possessing a knowledge of the +lower classes in American cities, it will not appear possible that the +Chinese can be very much worse than they. + +Most of the traffic in San Francisco is carried on by the tramways, and +it may not be out of place to put intending visitors on their guard with +respect to a little peculiarity in their management. It is advisable to +tender the exact fare if possible, for if you give a larger sum the +balance is returned to you, not in cash, but in tickets available for +future rides, which you may have no opportunity of taking. The hackney +carriages are very fine, being almost equal to English private carriages. +Most of those I saw were splendidly horsed with a pair of magnificent +animals, generally black. The lowest fare taken is ten shillings, but I +am bound to say you can have full value for your money in the time and +the accommodation given you. + +On Sunday morning the city presents a very lively aspect. The +fire-brigades and volunteers parade the streets, preceded by their bands, +and thousands of people go by tramway and other vehicles to see the +famous sea-lions at the entrance to the bay. From the grounds in front +of Cliff House they are seen on the rocks below in large numbers, +tumbling about and making a noise like the barking of dogs, but so loud +as to be heard from a distance of nearly a mile. + +The climate is a delightful one, the temperature being singularly +equable, ranging, as it does, in summer from 60° to 70°, and in winter +from 50° to 60° Fahr. Indeed the weather is so beautiful that one cannot +help referring to it frequently, but the invariable reply to any such +observation is, “Well, I guess we shall have three months just the same +right slick away.” + + [Picture: Seal Rocks, San Francisco] + +After nearly a fortnight’s stay at the Palace Hotel, enjoying its good +fare, we began to think it time to move eastward, as we were getting too +luxurious in our habits. My friend the lawyer, however, remarked that we +need have no fear on that account, as the fare on the Pacific Railway +would cure the severest attack of gout. Before leaving San Francisco we +met our old friend “Mister” twice. From a report in the newspapers we +learnt that he had been brought before the magistrates and fined for +carrying fire-arms in the streets. “Mister” told us the police had taken +all his money on the pretence of taking care of it for him. When we last +saw him he was leaning against a lamp-post, helplessly drunk. + + [Picture: The Last of “Mister”] + +The great excursion from San Francisco is of course to the Yosemite +Valley, but we were compelled to forego the pleasure of making it on +account of our visit being too early in the season. Some of our +fellow-voyagers from the Colonies ventured to go, but, unfortunately, +they met with a serious carriage accident, owing to the roughness of the +road, caused by the breaking up of the frost. + +In order to secure a good seat in the train going East, it is necessary +to make arrangements a few days before starting. Tickets can be obtained +at a score of places in the city, and should be got as soon as possible; +and in order to save all unnecessary trouble with the luggage during the +journey, sufficient for use in travelling should be separately packed, +and the remainder handed over to the Baggage Master, who has an office in +the hotel, and who will give checks in exchange, and undertake to deliver +it at any hotel or railway station in New York, or any other place in the +States that may be named. By attending to this overnight, immense +trouble is saved, for, if left until the morning of departure, each +traveller has to look after his own baggage amid a scene of the wildest +confusion, and quite unprotected from the terrible heat and dust. It was +with a sense of great relief that we began to move out of the station, +and to feel that at last we were fairly started on our ride across the +Rocky Mountains. The railway ride for the first two hundred and fifty +miles is a splendid one, through the magnificent Sacramento Valley, which +I should think is fifteen or twenty miles wide, and is most fertile. +Here corn is grown year after year without any manuring being required. +In many “cuttings” through which we passed the soil was twenty feet deep. +We passed fields hundreds of acres in extent, with nice houses, orchards, +and gardens, surrounded by fine oaks and elms, making the country look +like a park for a hundred miles. The corn, which in many places was over +ten feet high, was fast ripening, and its glorious golden colour was +often charmingly varied by immense patches of Marigold, Eschscholtzia, +Lupins, and another beautiful flower which we did not recognise, all in +full bloom. We also saw our old Tasmanian friend the Eucalyptus +(commonly called the Gum Tree), and many of the quaint Doré-like dead +Blue Gums, looking white and ghostly. + + [Picture: The Eucalyptus (from a sketch by the Author)] + +This is a magnificent State. A gentleman remarked to me that when the +richness of the soil is exhausted there remains untold mineral wealth +below. The people, too, are very energetic, and there is abundance of +capital; so much so that a moneylender travelling in our carriage +complained that it is difficult to get fifteen per cent. per annum now +when some twelve years ago he could easily obtain five per cent. per +month. + +Soon after leaving Sacramento the track ascends the mountains and passes +through the old gold-diggings so much spoken of thirty years ago. They +are visible all around for miles, and some are still being worked. All +the abandoned ones have been re-worked by the Chinese, who have got a +great deal out of them. By and by we stopped at a station where there +were several dreadful-looking Indians, some with their faces covered with +red ochre and with feathers in their hair; others dressed in scarlet +blankets, tall white hats, one-legged trousers and moccasins. They all +looked very grave and stolid. I did my best to make one old fellow laugh +as he stood on the platform with his arms folded, but his face was stony, +and he remained steadfast and unmoveable. Their hair is like whalebone, +matted and shaggy; their noses and mouths are broad, and the women look +uglier than the men. Several of the women were carrying their _papooses_ +(babies) suspended over their shoulders, with the legs swathed like +Neapolitan children. The only occupation of these degraded creatures is +begging and stealing. + +While we were passing through swampy tract the large bull-frogs were +giving a croaking concert in full chorus, and a rare noise they made. + +Soon we began to sight the snow mountains, and by nine o’clock we were +right amongst the pine forests and the snow, and very beautiful the scene +looked with the moon shining on it all. + +Life on board a “Pullman” train is almost more peculiar than life on +board ship. My party were fortunate enough to secure a cabin partitioned +off from the rest of the carriage; but the remainder of the sleeping +berths have no partitions, being separated merely by curtains. +Inexperienced travellers are apt to forget this, and sometimes cause much +amusement in consequence. One morning I heard a young lady complaining +to her mamma that she could not find her stockings, a remark eliciting +numerous offers of assistance from all parts of the carriage. A +neighbouring compartment was occupied by a lady and gentleman, the former +of whom was deaf, and with the peculiarity often observable in deaf +people, she imagined everyone else was deaf as well; the consequence +being that there were no secrets in that cabin. Every carriage has a +negro attendant, whose duty it is to make the beds and attend to the +lavatories, the ladies’ and gentlemen’s lavatories being at opposite ends +of the carriage. At half-past nine o’clock Sambo begins to prepare the +beds, and soon after ten almost everyone has retired, and, as fortunately +there are no decks to be paced, sleep soon comes to the weary. +Arrangements are made for three meals a day, the train stopping at +stations convenient for the purpose, and notice being given half-an-hour +before. Half-an-hour is allowed for each meal, the invariable charge +being one dollar. As the train stops a general stampede is made toward +the dining-room, the position of which is unmistakable, for at the door +stands a negro, with a face devoid of expression, vigorously sounding a +gong. As each person passes in he pays his dollar, and makes a rush to +the end of the room, where the cook is usually stationed. And now happy +is he who possesses the Yankee’s qualification for a good diner-out, for +unless he has a long arm, a quick eye, and a silent tongue, he is likely +to come off with much less than a dollar’s worth. The experienced +traveller, before sitting down, gathers all the dishes before him, within +arm’s length, and then proceeds to attack them _seriatim_, or sometimes +all at once. Indeed, I think a man of naturally generous disposition, +would be made utterly selfish by twelve months’ travelling on American +railroads. As soon as the half-hour has gone, the guard calls out with a +shrill, nasal, Yankee twang, “All aboard,” and we once more continue our +journey. + +Happening one day to say to a fellow-passenger that I was from +Birmingham, an American gentleman hearing me came across the carriage, +and, raising his hat, said: “I _must_ shake hands with a person coming +from the city which returns John Bright to Parliament.” + +The Pacific Railroad is a single track, and, although a wonderful +engineering work, is not by any means a substantial or +confidence-inspiring line, if judged by English standards. The rails are +old and worn, the bridges and viaducts very lightly constructed, and +almost always of wood. I observed in several cases that the carriages +were actually wider than the viaducts, many of which are open between the +rails. It is hardly to be wondered at that awful accidents sometimes +occur. The train in which we were travelling narrowly escaped falling +into a ravine 120 feet deep. One dark night, after we had all retired to +rest, we were awakened by continued whistling and ringing of bells. It +was in vain that we inquired of the guards and attendants as to what was +going on, for they, like their brethren all the world over, would give no +information. One thing, however, they could not hide from us, for we +found we were being taken across a viaduct one carriage at a time, and as +we crossed we could see lights moving about at a great depth below. On +arriving at Omaha, two days later, we found a full report of the +occurrence in the papers. It appears that the viaduct had been +discovered to be in an unsafe condition, some of its timbers having been +partially burnt, and it was a matter of discussion whether we should be +allowed to cross at all; it being ultimately determined, as I have said, +to take one car over at a time. Ours was the last train that went over, +for before daylight the whole structure had fallen with a tremendous +crash. The Indians were on the war-path at the time, and it was supposed +that the work of destruction was theirs. The railway here runs through +some of the most magnificent scenery in the world. Sometimes its course +lies through narrow valleys, or cañons, where there is just room for the +railway and the river, sometimes through immense pine forests, and then +again on a mere shelf cut in the face of the granite mountain, until the +point called “Cape Horn” is reached. This is the turning-point between +east and west, and soon afterwards the greatest elevation is attained, +8,200 feet. About sixty miles of the more exposed portion of the road is +covered with sheds, to protect it from the snow. This result, however, +is not attained without considerable discomfort to the passengers, as the +carriages become filled with smoke and dust while passing through. + +One of the passengers on our train was an old man who had not crossed the +country since he went out to the far west some twenty-six years +before—long before the railway had been thought of. The party with which +he then travelled was so large that it had to be split into detachments +for the convenience of pasturage. One night his section was attacked by +Indians, who killed several of the party and drove off most of the horses +and cattle. The old man had for many years been a trapper in the Indian +country and had invested his hard-won earnings in horses which he was +taking out west for the purpose of trade, and he was not disposed to lose +them all at one fell swoop without making a bold dash for their recovery. +His plan of operations was soon settled, and in the evening he set off in +pursuit with half-a-dozen picked men, each with his rifle and a good +store of ammunition. After some hours they came upon the scent of the +Indians, and moving cautiously forward amongst the scrub, presently saw +them around their fires busily engaged in dividing the spoils of the +morning. The trapper being a first-rate marksman, it was agreed he +should do all the firing, while the others loaded and handed up the +rifles as fast as required. Every shot told, and the redskins, judging +from the rapid firing that the whole party of white men were upon them, +made a regular stampede, leaving horses, and cattle, and other spoil +behind them. So, painfully marching on, they came at last to the Mormon +settlement and on to the Salt Lake City, where they were subjected to the +most cruel treatment at the hands of the “Saints.” These people told the +travellers it was impossible to get to California by the route they were +taking, as the country was swarming with hostile Indians, and they +undertook to show them a better way by which they would get there in +fifteen days. Many suspected treachery, and a consultation was held, +which came to no definite conclusion, except in the case of one man, who, +in the heat of debate, was shot dead. It was ultimately decided to adopt +the Mormon advice, and as the route did not admit of wagons, they tried +to sell them to the “Saints,” who, of course, would not buy, knowing they +would have them for nothing before long. Many of the travellers burnt +their wagons and harness rather than that the Mormons should have them, +but the majority abandoned theirs, and set out without them. Instead of +fifteen days the journey took thirty-nine, and only a few survived it, +most of the party dying by the way, either by the hand of the Indians or +from fatigue. + +For about a thousand miles the railway is open to the prairie, the +consequence being that frequent accidents occur through cattle straying +upon the track. I counted more than twenty carcases of these +unfortunates in one day, and on one occasion, while sitting on the steps +of the Pullman car, I felt a sudden check, and immediately after the body +of a cow flew past. The herds are looked after by men with lassoes, +riding very fleet horses. American railroads being much less protected +from stray animals than those in England, the locomotives are provided +with an apparatus called a “cow-catcher,” which consists of an iron +framework projecting in front and inclined downwards as near to the rails +as possible. The contrivance is successful in moving most living +obstacles from the track. For instance, when a cow gets between the +rails and sees the train approaching, it becomes dazed, and the iron +frame striking the lower portion of the legs takes it up readily. But +with a bull it is quite different: when his lordship sees his enemy +approaching he puts his chin down upon his fore-feet and waits the onset +with a confidence not by any means always misplaced, for in this position +his head and feet form a wedge which, becoming inserted beneath the iron +frame, frequently throws the engine back upon the train, causing serious +accidents. When at Ogden I saw the remains of a goods train which had +been wrecked in this way a week before, the engine drivers being killed, +also two stow-aways, or “dead-heads,” as the Yankees call them, who had +secreted themselves under one of the carriages. + + [Picture: Salt Lake] + +Waking one morning we found ourselves in a most awfully desolate country, +with scarcely a sign of vegetation—a veritable dry and thirsty land, +through which we travelled all day. Towards evening we came to the +alkali country, and the plains looked as though they were covered with +snow. This is a fearful place, where, before the construction of the +railway, many poor emigrants have lain down to die. Soon after, we +skirted the margin of the Great Salt Lake and entered Brigham Young’s +dominions, passing his first town, “Corinné.” This town was founded by +the Gentiles after Brigham turned them out of the Salt Lake City, but he +soon drove them farther off. + +We left the train at Odgen in order to pay a short visit to the Salt Lake +City, which is situated thirty-six miles off, and is approached by a +railway belonging to the Saints. For beauty of situation Salt Lake City +is almost unrivalled. It lies in a basin more than twenty miles in +diameter, and is surrounded by mountains, some of which are 12,000 feet +high, and most of them covered with perpetual snow. At the time of our +visit the fruit-trees were in full bloom, and, as each house is +surrounded by its garden, the city occupies a large extent of ground, +presenting a beautiful appearance from the United States camp, which +stands on an elevation commanding the whole city, about two miles off. A +portion of the old mud wall, about ten feet high, built by the Mormons to +resist the attack of the Indians, still remains standing. Several of the +houses are exceedingly well built, and the gardens kept in excellent +order; one in particular I was much struck with, and remarked to our +guide that it was the brightest and best kept place I had seen since +leaving England. He told me it belonged to an Englishman who had left +for his native country on the previous day. Curiously enough, when I +returned home, I found this man was a brother of my butcher, and was then +on a visit home. We observed two ladies sitting in the front of the +house engaged in needlework, and were told that they were the two wives +of the English Mormon. It was very noticeable that these ladies sat at a +considerable distance apart, cordiality (unless it be of hatred) not +being a characteristic of these Mormon wives in their relations with each +other. At the time of our visit the “Prophet” was down south, looking +out for a new location for the Saints, in view of the threatened +difficulties with the Central Government. We visited the Tabernacle, and +saw the preparations for the new temple, to which the deluded of all +nations continue to contribute, although it is exceedingly doubtful that +the building will be carried to completion. The man who showed us over +the Tabernacle used to work in a London factory; but he told us with a +curious twinkle in his eye that the “new job” paid him much the best. At +a short distance from the city there is a sulphur spring, of considerable +volume, proceeding from the side of the mountains; the temperature of the +water is such that eggs can be boiled in it. We slept at Ogden that +night in order to be in good time for securing places in the train going +east in the morning. When the hotel bill was presented I tendered +English gold in payment, having disposed of my U.S. currency. The +landlord refused to take it, saying, “He would not have the — British +gold.” I explained to him that I had no other money, but to no purpose, +so, as the train was almost due, I told him I would pay him when I came +that way again, but was not sure when that would be. He quietly said, “I +guess I’ll take your gold,” much to the amusement of the bystanders. At +the station here is a printed notice cautioning travellers to “BEWARE OF +BOGUS TICKET SELLERS.” + +For three days after leaving Ogden we travelled through the snow, passing +through a series of cañons or gorges, which narrow at the base until +there is just room for the brawling stream which runs along the bottom. +The railway in such cases is either excavated on one side of the gorge or +carried on trestles over the stream. The rocks on the mountain sides, +mostly of red sandstone, are very bold and of strange shapes. Amongst +them is a very weird-looking group called “The Witches.” Another group, +known as “The Buttes,” bears a most striking resemblance to a line of +strong fortifications commanding the valley. + + [Picture: Monument Rock] + +We saw these at sunset, and the effect of the evening light upon the red +sandstone was very fine. In the same neighbourhood is the celebrated +Devil’s Slide; it is formed by the earth being gradually washed away from +between two lines of vertical strata about 20ft. apart. It is some +hundreds of feet in length, and descends into the river. This valley was +the route taken by the Western Pioneers, and is marked here and there by +solitary graves with crosses at their heads. + + [Picture: The Devil’s Slide] + +The whole 8,000 feet descent from the summit to the eastern plains is +made in about four hours. The steam is turned off, the brakes turned on, +and down we go. As we were preparing to descend I remarked to the negro +attendant that I supposed we must trust the engineer now? “No, sah,” +said Sambo, “I guess we must trust de ole man up above,” pointing to the +skies. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +On reaching Chicago we left “the overland train,” with the object of +paying a short visit to Niagara. The last stage of our long ride was +from Omaha, during which we crossed the Missouri and Mississippi. There +being three competing lines to Chicago the pace became greatly +accelerated, so much so that during a considerable portion of the long +ride it was almost impossible to stand on one’s feet, and the country +being very dry, the train was enveloped in a cloud of dust almost the +whole of the way. We had, however, one compensation, for attached to the +train was a well-appointed dining-car, with first-rate cuisine. The +viands were of the choicest quality, and in great variety. Moreover, the +speed of the train was slackened during meals, an arrangement affording a +degree of comfort unknown on the Pacific Line. The bill of fare is a +curiosity in its way, being garnished with appetising mottoes and +sentiments, such as, “As you journey through life live by the way,” “Eat +and be satisfied,” and concluding with an expression of belief that +passengers would appreciate this new feature of “Life on the Road.” + +In going through Chicago we were much surprised by the fine and +substantial-looking buildings in every part of the city. There are fifty +to one hundred streets, any one of which is equal to the best in London; +indeed, it struck me as being more of a city than any place I had ever +been in. We observed a whole block of buildings, including a bank on the +ground floor, and offices above, being removed bodily without any +disturbance of the business operations going on in it. The water for the +city supply is taken from Lake Michigan through a pipe which extends two +miles into the lake. The capacity of the pumping engines is seventy-five +millions of gallons per day, the greatest demand being forty-five +millions. During the last few years there have been many disastrous +fires in Chicago, directly traceable to the general employment of timber +not only in buildings, but for the side walks and roadways. The broad +streets referred to above are, however, constructed of a fine +warm-coloured sandstone, and all the new streets are being made of the +same material. Nevertheless, a considerable number of timber houses +remain, constituting a standing danger to the city. While in Chicago I +found my passport useful. On going to the bank to get some money on my +Letter of Credit the manager told me they had not received a copy of my +signature from the bank in England, and that in its absence they could +not honour my draft. It was in vain that I showed him my watch and other +articles having my name engraved upon them. He looked at them as though +he thought there were various ways of getting possession of such +articles. I told him I regretted I had not been born with my name on my +person, but I was not accountable for the omission. I then thought of my +passport, and although he appeared to think that it was possible to +obtain possession of that improperly, he accepted it with the remark that +“even that is not conclusive,” for it should have had a description of my +person. We stayed at the Grand Pacific Hotel, which formed a great +contrast to the Palace Hotel at San Francisco, being uncomfortable and +badly administered. + +At Detroit we cross the frontier into Canada, travelling over the Great +Western Railway to Niagara. This line was constructed by English +contractors, and the superiority of the work is manifested in the smooth, +steady motion of the carriages. Compared with the lines we had +previously traversed this was most comfortable. We pass through London, +Paris, and other places with equally celebrated names, greatly enjoying +the forest scenery, numerous clearings and bright little homesteads +dotted over the country; and for the first time since leaving England +seeing lovely green fields such as we have at home. At Niagara we +stopped at the famous Clifton House, where we were joined by friends from +England. + +Our impressions of Niagara were those common to most visitors—first, a +feeling of disappointment, soon succeeded, however, by an ever-increasing +sense of the immensity and magnificence of the Falls, which grows upon +one the more one sees them. + +A sentiment of disgust, however, is inspired by the ruthless desecration +of the most beautiful spots by Yankee manufacturers, who have chosen such +picturesque positions for their smoky factories. + + [Picture: Under the Falls, Niagara] + +Another annoyance constantly experienced is from the peripatetic +photographer, who endeavours to persuade you that you are greater than +the “Falls.” The Falls, indeed, are made to seem a mere background to +your photograph, in which he is careful to show you nearest the camera, +and hence proportionately by far the most imposing object. + +To get into Canada we have to cross the suspension bridge. Going over +one day we purchased about £1 worth of photographs of Canadian scenery. +On returning with them we were accosted by the American customs officer, +who mulcted us in nearly twenty shillings duty. On entering his office +to obtain a receipt we observed a “six-shooter” at his right hand, +presumably for the purpose of persuasion. On leaving the place I met an +American policeman and told him what a shabby transaction it was for the +representatives of so great a country. He replied that he guessed the +officer must raise his salary. I refrain from any attempt to describe +the mighty Falls of Niagara. + +On our way to New York we travelled by railway to Albany, the capital of +the State of New York, passing through Syracuse, Rome, and Utica, along +the shores of Lake Ontario, although from the lowering of the ground and +the abundance of trees we were unable to see the lake; thence alongside +the Falls River, through very charmingly diversified country with +numerous valleys going up from the waterside, well-timbered, and here and +there a clearing with open green fields. The houses are in most cases +mean-looking plank erections, presenting a very weather-beaten +appearance, some painted a very dark red colour. In the evening we +reached Albany, an old Dutch town of over two hundred years, and very +Dutch-looking it is with its queer red-brick houses, wooden pavements, +and trees along the streets, and frequent peeps of the river here and +there. Amongst the finest public buildings are those devoted to the +national schools, a true gauge of the importance the citizens attach to +the education of the people. On our way to New York we had an +opportunity of taking a day’s sail on the River Hudson in one of the +celebrated American river-boats. Going on board we found ourselves on a +veritable floating palace. The steamer was a three-decker, two of the +decks being covered with splendid carpets, and fitted with arm-chairs of +a most comfortable pattern, and with velvet-covered ottomans and couches +in all directions. Taking up one of the books from the well-stocked +bookstall I saw it purported to be one of a series of standard works by +American authors, and on looking down the list I observed the names of +Tennyson, Barry Cornwall, and others. Our American cousins were always +great at annexation, and the only wonder is they do not call their mother +tongue the “American language.” + +The Americans seem anxious that everyone shall admit that the Hudson is +finer than any other river in the world. I have been down the Elbe, +through the Saxon Switzerland, also down the Danube and the Rhine. The +Hudson is far more beautiful than the Rhine. The banks are thickly +wooded, and the villages and country houses prettily situated. It is +true that the Hudson lacks the romantic associations of the Rhine, but +even in this respect it is not altogether wanting, for does it not +possess the Catskill Mountains, with their legend of Rip Van Winkle? But +I like the Danube best; its banks are loftier and more rugged, and are +covered with pines, and from its comparative narrowness one can see both +sides at once. Then again, the ancient towns and monasteries jutting out +on the spits of land are infinitely more interesting than the wooden +houses along the Hudson. Again, the Elbe, especially in the Saxon +Switzerland, is decidedly more beautiful than the Hudson; but for all +this the latter is a river of which a nation may well be proud, and we +greatly enjoyed our sail upon it. + + [Picture: The Pallisades, Hudson River] + +On a subsequent visit to the Hudson we landed at West Point, the seat of +the celebrated military academy founded by Washington, where there are +some hundreds of students. Our hotel was situated about two miles from +the academy, and overlooked the river from an eminence of about two +hundred feet. The river can be seen for some miles winding between steep +banks on both sides. The morning after our arrival was a Sunday, and the +church bells were ringing for service. There are two opposition churches +here, but I have reason to believe they are very charitable to one +another; at all events their respective bell-ringers do not believe in +the jarring of the sects, for I notice that first one rings out +one—two—three—four; then a decent pause, and his neighbour likewise rings +out one—two—three—four, and so the celestial harmonies are not disturbed. + +On the opposite bank of the river is a place historic in the annals of +the Revolution, for here it was that the American General Arnold was +stationed while he was carrying on his treasonable correspondence with +the ill-fated Major André. Arnold was sitting at breakfast with his +officers and some guests when word was brought him that André was +captured as a spy by the Americans. Knowing he would surely be +incriminated, Arnold pretended he was wanted below on urgent business, +and, going down to Beverley landing, he ordered his men to row him to the +British man-of-war lying in the river. Poor André, it will be +remembered, was hanged by order of Washington. His bust was placed in +Westminster Abbey; three times since then has it been mutilated by +miscreants. Walking through the village we observed a mean-looking +tumble-down tenement, with an equally mean-looking signboard stuck upon +it, bearing this inscription:—“John Scales, Justice of the Peace, Notary +Public.” His “Honour” was sitting inside, in his shirt-sleeves, with a +white apron on, while behind him on a shelf were a few old dry-as-dust +books, of the law I suppose. The whole place looked totally at variance +with our ideas of the majesty of the law; indeed it suggested that +“justice” could be had for the buying, and that no one was expected to +pay much regard to the decision of such a court. On returning to the +hotel I spoke of this functionary to the negro waiter, suggesting that he +_dealt_ in justice, “Yes, sah; I guess a dollar will go a long way with +him,” replied he. + + [Picture: John Scales, Justice of the Peace] + +Ascending the mountain we came across an old man at work on the roads. +He was a German, having come to America in 1841. He served in the +Mexican war, and one of his sons was killed in the war against the +Southern rebels. The old man said it was hard work mending roads, and +that the winters were very severe, “but,” said he, “it is a free country, +and that makes up for all. In Germany a man dares not open his mouth, +but here one can say what one likes.” + +Passing by a farmyard our curiosity was aroused by seeing the stock of +poultry secured by the leg to the fence. As we had often heard in our +travels in the States that this was “a great country,” we presume this +was an expedient adopted to prevent the fowls straying and being lost. +Of course, England being so small, such precautions are not necessary. + +We returned to New York in another of the celebrated river-boats. + +During my stay in the States there were two great subjects which +monopolised public attention. These were the Centennial Exhibition which +had just been opened: and the wave of corruption among officials and +others which was sweeping over the land. More space was occupied in the +Press by charges of malversation and fraud on the part of the officials, +from the President down to the lowest civil service clerks, and from them +through all grades of society, than with the Exhibition itself or with +any other subject, while the talk in the streets seemed to be about +nothing else. In alluding to the unlawful gains made in this way by many +prominent citizens, a New York paper made use of a sentiment of Mark +Twain to the effect that whereas in times past folks used to say “poor +but honest,” now-a-days when you see a rich man who has accumulated money +in a proper way it is said that he is “rich but honest.” + +I have travelled in many countries, but in almost everything have found +America twice as dear as any other country. The charges are simply +monstrous. Having to go from an hotel to the steam wharf, we were not +permitted to take our very modest amount of luggage in the omnibus with +us, although we had the vehicle all to ourselves; but the hotel people +insisted upon sending it in a special wagon, charging two dollars for +what a cabman in Birmingham would willingly have done for a shilling. On +board the steamer we were charged six shillings each for a plain dinner, +without wine, which in England would not have cost more than 1s. 6d. +Bound books are equally dear. Pocket volumes, containing not more than +one-sixth of the matter in a shilling volume of Chambers’ “Miscellany of +Entertaining Tracts,” were charged two shillings each. Most of the +newspapers, also, are very inferior to, yet much dearer than, the English +papers. Another form of extortion is to be found in the impossibility, +in many hotels, of obtaining information as to the sailing of +river-boats, departure of trains, etc., the only apparent explanation +being a desire to give “touts” and “loungers,” of whom there are many, +opportunities of extorting money. These fellows seem to know nothing +unless they can hear the dollars chink, or see the dirty greenbacks (and +some of them are very dirty). A fellow once gave me in change a dollar +note which was so filthy that scarcely a word was legible upon it. It +looked as though it might contain smallpox or typhoid, so I asked him to +wash it. He said he guessed he would—_for a dollar_. + +Against all this, I am bound to say that the charges made by the +steamboat companies and most of the railways are exceedingly moderate, +and their arrangements in connection with baggage most convenient. On +arriving at any of the large cities by river-boat, the agent of the +Luggage Express Company comes on board and takes possession of your +baggage, giving vouchers for it. He also undertakes to collect any +baggage you may have sent to the City Railway Station from distant parts +of the country, and very soon after you arrive at your hotel it is +brought to you. At the landing stages in such cities as New York there +are numbers of cabs, mostly driven by Irishmen, and when they find you +have disposed of your luggage and do not require their services, they +give vent to their disgust in no measured terms, and if the traveller is +a Britisher, he is soon reminded of the fact. + +The mode of dealing with baggage on the railway is almost equally +convenient. The following will give some idea of it. You are +travelling, say, from Aberdeen to Penzance, intending ultimately to +proceed by way of London to Dover, and do not require the bulk of your +luggage till you arrive at the latter place. On leaving Aberdeen, the +Baggage Master takes your superfluous luggage, putting brass labels upon +it, thus— + + ABERDEEN—DOVER. + 846. + +giving you corresponding labels, after which you have no further occasion +to trouble yourself in the matter until you get to Dover. + +We visited the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia for the purpose of +inspecting the various productions corresponding to our own, hoping, +indeed expecting, to find something which would repay us for coming. We +were, indeed, repaid, but in a sense totally opposed to what we expected, +for we found that so far from Americans being in advance of the English, +they were, in many cases, taking credit for so-called “improvements” +(claiming them as novelties), which we had been familiar with, and had +used in our own works many years before. They appear to be strangely +unaware of what has been done in European countries, and a single +instance will illustrate this. The machinery in the Exhibition was +driven by a single large steam-engine. The newspapers made a great deal +of this engine, declaring that it was the largest in the world, and that +it had been made in the smallest State—Rhode Island. An American +engineer with evident pride took us to see the big engine, which, after +all, had a cylinder of only 70in. diameter. We told him that +five-and-twenty years before a small engineering firm in Cornwall, +England, had made several engines with cylinders 144in. in diameter, and +which are yet at work. + +We were permitted to inspect some of the most important engineering +establishments, and found the tools of such an inferior character that +our only wonder was that they could produce either good or cheap work. +In most cases the floors of the workshops were inches deep in ferruginous +dust. Under such conditions every time a heavy casting is dropped on the +floor a cloud of dust must rise, and entering the bearings of the tools, +cut them up badly. We found many of the tools actually wedged up because +of this. + +An American manufacturer speaking to me of a visit he had paid to the +Exhibition in company with his foreman, told me how astonished the latter +was at the excellence of the European exhibits. He said he had no idea +they could make the things half so well, “for,” he said, “they are almost +as good as ours,” and, I added, “only one half the cost.” + +The agricultural machinery was exhibited in a separate building erected +specially for its reception, and here the Americans were unmistakably far +ahead of all competitors. + +At the time of our visit several consignments of calicoes had been made +to England and to various British markets, and sold at prices +considerably below what they could be produced at by English +manufacturers. This incursion occasioned great disquietude in England +until the cause was manifested—viz., overproduction. On this point I +read an article in a New York Protectionist paper intended as an answer +to the Free Trade argument, that Protection increased the price of goods. +The article stated that this was not so: and to prove its position said +that the tendency of Protection was to induce people to go into +manufacturing who know little or nothing of the processes they were +undertaking, but who fancy that with the tariff of from 40 per cent. to +80 per cent. upon foreign goods, there must necessarily be a sufficient +margin to compensate for mistakes caused by their inexperience. “And so +it happens,” continues the writer, “that there is great over-production, +ruinous competition among American manufacturers, frequent failures, and +consequently large stocks of goods are forced on the markets at a great +loss, the public getting cheap supplies in consequence.” Adam Smith +would scarcely have quoted this as one of the methods of adding to the +wealth of nations. But if the people at large obtain their cotton goods +cheaper through this system of over-production, it is clear that the +millowners are not the only sufferers, for it appears from a speech +delivered by Mr. Shearman of New York, at the Cobden Club dinner in the +present year (1883), that the wages of the factory operatives are twenty +per cent. less than in Lancashire, while their hours of labour are from +eighteen to twenty per cent. longer. + +During the late Fair Trade agitation its advocates were never tired of +telling the English working-classes that under Protection their brethren +in America were prospering in a remarkable degree, but in the speech to +which I have referred Mr. Shearman shows that the average wages in +protected trades are actually less than in 1860, the last year of +comparative Free Trade, and that while in the ten years previous, wages +were constantly increasing, during the succeeding twenty years +(1860–1880) there was no appreciable advance, while during the past three +years they have been steadily declining; so that here we have one of the +staple trades of the country requiring longer hours of labour from the +operatives, at considerably lower wages than for the same class in +England, while the cost of living is much higher than in this country, +and the climate much more trying from the extremes of heat and cold. + +Nor is this all, for the American operatives have very much less +relaxation than the same class in England, their holidays being very much +fewer. Last year my workpeople, in addition to fifty-two Saturday +afternoons, had nineteen whole days, although there was abundance of work +for them, and the necessities of the business only required six days +closing of the works. The English artisan loves to have a deal of +liberty, and his earnings enable him to indulge his desire in that +respect. + +As may be supposed, the ranks of the operatives in the cotton mills of +America receive no accession from England, but only from Germany and +Scandinavia, where wages are low, and the oppressive military systems +drive people from their native countries. + +During the last seven years of depression in trade in England it is well +known that, taken as a whole, the working classes have suffered +comparatively little, the loss falling mainly upon manufacturers, whose +profits have been greatly lessened. But how would the working-classes +have fared if, in addition to the loss of home trade involved in the +failure of the crops for so many years, the same causes were in operation +which make it impossible for America to have a great foreign trade? + +It is manifest that so long as Protection exists in the United States +exports must necessarily be confined almost entirely to such commodities +as other countries cannot produce. Until recently the home demand has +kept the manufacturers in the States well employed; but competition has +now become exceedingly fierce, and they are beginning to tread upon each +other’s heels. It is this state of things which is destined to exert the +most potent influence upon the fate of Protection. The very class which +has hitherto been loudest in demanding prohibitory duties upon imports, +will soon, from sheer necessity, be found demanding their removal. + +It is worthy of note, too, that while under Protection the earnings of +the producing class have been steadily declining, colossal fortunes, +amounting in one case to twenty or thirty millions sterling, have been +built up by individual monopolists. On the other hand, during the same +period and under Free Trade, there has been a wider distribution of +material comfort in England, and, as shown by the official returns, a +decided decrease in the number of millionaires. + +In passing through America on my return from Australia in 1876, I +expressed the opinion that Free Trade there would be by no means an +unmixed blessing for English manufacturers, for whereas at the present +time a vessel going to Australia from the United States with a cargo of +goods has to come back in ballast, doubling the cost of freight, under +Free Trade it would take back a cargo of wool, and the Americans would +consequently become our competitors both in buying and selling. + +With the single exception of having higher wages—and this advantage is +more than balanced by the extra cost of living—I have failed to find that +American artisans are in any way better off than the English, while, as I +have already shown, their hours of labour are longer and the effect of +the climate much more exhausting. + +A very striking feature to be met with in most American cities and towns +is the large number of tolerably respectable-looking men loafing about +and doing nothing. In England such men, only in shabbier dress, would be +called “cadgers.” I am told there are large numbers who prefer any +shifty mode of obtaining a living so long as they can wear a black coat +and avoid honest labour. In the villages along the banks of the Hudson I +saw more children without shoes and stockings than are to be met with in +any part of England in a similar area. They go to school shoeless, and a +woman told me that when shoes were put on their feet on Sundays they +complained loudly. A land of freedom for tongue and foot! + +During the Southern rebellion fears were expressed that the result of +emancipation would be to flood the markets of the North with negro +labour, but this does not appear to have been the case. As long as +slavery existed the North was attractive to the negro as the land of +freedom, but when freedom was proclaimed throughout the States the negro +naturally elected to remain where he had always been—the climate and +surroundings being well suited to him. The head waiter at our hotel at +West Point was a slave in Richmond until the middle of the war, when he +escaped to Washington. I asked him how he got there. “Oh, by the +underground railway,” said he. It took him a week to travel the hundred +miles, and he had many narrow escapes, but was fortunate enough to come +out all right and to get a situation to wait upon one of Abraham +Lincoln’s sons. He told me his owner, a lady, taught him to read and +write in face of the certainty of being sent to jail in case of being +discovered. His father was sold away down south sixteen years before, +but since that day they had again met at Richmond. “Well,” I said, +“neither Jeff. Davis nor any of his crew will ever play you such pranks +again.” “No Sir,” said he. + +The regulation of the liquor traffic in the American cities appears to +present as many difficulties as it does in England, especially as regards +the Sunday traffic. The Sunday before we left New York the police made a +raid upon the liquor dealers in the city, and arrested a number of them +for selling during prohibited hours. Their organs threatened all sorts +of reprisals at the coming election, and a meeting of the trade was +called to condemn the action of the authorities. Most of the +requisitionists—judging by their names—were either German or Irish. At +the time appointed some hundreds of liquor dealers assembled, and +presently a gentleman came on the platform and began to address them. +Soon, however, it began to dawn upon the trade that they had been +somewhat considerably sold, for the speaker gave them a regular teetotal +lecture, enlarging upon the evils the dealers were responsible for, and +warning them to forsake their wicked ways. The audience could not stand +this, and threatened the orator that if he didn’t “make tracks right +away” they would give him “something hot,” upon which he quietly retired, +having given them the first temperance lecture they had ever heard. + +Our visit to America was brought to a fitting termination by another +glorious excursion on the Hudson: after which it was with great pleasure +and satisfaction that we went on board one of the splendid White Star +Liners, soon to land again on the shores of dear old England. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +We arrived off Suez about four o’clock on the morning of the 1st of +March, having travelled from Australia in the magnificent steamship +“Orient.” After saying farewell to our friends, at seven o’clock we set +out for the shore, our boat being manned by a picturesque party of Arabs. +We had about four miles to go, the latter portion of the journey being +through water so shallow that the men had to propel the boat by nimbly +running forward and placing one end of the oar in the mud and pushing +against the other with the shoulder; singing a monotonous song all the +while. On arriving at our landing-place opposite the Custom House, a +motley crowd rushed forward, some dressed in night-shirts, some in +towels, others in their own black skins only. When we stopped, a score of +them dashed into the water and began to seize our luggage, seeing which +our boatmen called to us to beat them on the head with our umbrellas, and +to kick them off; but we managed to defend our property by loud words, +which broke no bones. Then we were carried ashore amidst such shrieking, +hustling, jostling, and shouting as I had never heard or seen before. +The luggage was set down in the middle of the square to await the arrival +of an official from the Custom House. + + [Picture: A Dragoman] + +After a very slight examination we were permitted to pass, and then began +another battle for the luggage; but we selected as our dragoman a tall, +stout fellow named Hassan, who quickly routed the others; and then a file +of these half-naked Arabs marched off to the hotel with the luggage on +their backs. The Suez Hotel is a very comfortable establishment, with +large, clean, and airy rooms, and bright and attentive native servants. + +After breakfast we went for a stroll through the town. The streets are +very narrow, and the tiny shops are filled with vegetables and other +garden produce, oils, simple metal wares, etc. In one street the Bedouin +Arabs have stalls for the sale of charcoal, brought by them from the +desert; a very sullen, repulsive set of fellows they appear to be. There +are few European buildings, and what there are were built for the French +officials during the construction of the Canal. These were all vacated +during the Franco-German war, and very few French have since returned, +consequently the houses are in a very dilapidated condition. + +Before leaving England we had arranged for a party of our friends to meet +us at Suez, and on returning from our stroll in the town, we walked for a +while in the large inner court of the hotel, when presently we saw our +friends entering, they having landed just three hours after our arrival +from Australia. + +After lunch, nine of us took donkeys and had a ride round the town and +neighbourhood. Not being assured of my riding ability, I asked my +companions to keep near me, which they promised to do, and which they +doubtless would have done if they could; but alas! their noble brutes +dashed off at full speed, and I was left alone. At every street corner +stood a mob of darkies shouting, laughing, and begging, and calling out +the names of the various donkeys, “Mrs. Langtry,” “Mrs. Cornwallis West” +(this was mine), “Mr. Spurgeon,” etc. On getting back to the hotel gates +there was a crowd of about fifty donkeys, all their fifty drivers wanting +us to engage them for our next ride, and it required a vigorous use of +Hassan’s stick to clear a passage for us. + +On the following morning we left for Cairo by train, and in due time +Hassan appeared with about a dozen men and a shaky old wagon to take our +luggage to the station, and truly it was a formidable lot—a lady and +gentleman from Australia having no less than nine trunks. + + [Picture: An Egyptian Donkey-Boy] + +At the hotel gate stood the usual fifty donkeys, their drivers all +shrieking out to you to take their donkeys. “My donkey good donkey, sah; +his name, Mrs. Langtry.” “‘Dis donkey, Sir Roggar (_sic_) Tichborne, +sah; he go gentle.” You have to push through the crowd of men and +animals as you best can. The never-ceasing word _backsheesh_, or its +abbreviation _’sheesh_, hissing in your ear all the way. On suddenly +turning a corner you may come upon a lot of children or grown-up people +engaged in play or other occupation, but they are always ready. Their +hands are immediately stretched out, and the cry is on their lips, +_’sheesh_! _’sheesh_! nor do they seem surprised if you fail to respond. +Sometimes I vary it by putting out my own hand, with temporary success as +far as checking their begging goes, but they are soon equal to the +occasion, and with mock gravity will offer a quarter piastre—about a +halfpenny—and then you laugh and they laugh. + +I had often read, that properly to understand Biblical allusions it is +necessary to travel in the East. This constant extending of the hand for +_backsheesh_ gave me an entirely new appreciation of the passage, +“Ethiopia shall yet stretch forth her hand.” + +After much excitement the train at last starts, and a mob accompanied it +as far as they can keep up by running, hoping against hope that you will +at length relent and throw them some money. Once I offered a beggar a +new penny, but he handed it back very gravely, saying “No good—piastre” +(meaning that he wanted a piastre); but I pretended to be offended, and +did not give him anything. + +Every little station on the road is infested with crowds of natives +hoping for _backsheesh_, and it is wonderful what vast numbers of people +there are who have nothing to do. At most stations you will see an +ill-favoured fellow with a goat-skin across his back, filled with water, +but I should have to be very thirsty indeed before I could drink from it. +An hour after leaving Suez we saw our old friend the s.s. Orient in the +Canal close alongside, having taken twenty-four hours to accomplish this +distance. + + [Picture: The S.S. “Orient.”] + +At Ismailia we stopped some time, and a lad wanted to clean my boots +which, however, did not require cleaning, so I told him to black the bare +feet of a brown boy who was standing by. This he proceeded to do in the +presence of a crowd of grinning spectators of all colours—yellow, brown, +coffee-coloured, and jet black. The lad whose feet were blacked seemed +to enjoy the fun very much, and when it was over appeared to think he was +entitled to a half piastre as well as the operator, so he got it. The +shoeblack then brought an ebony Nubian, whose skin was already a shining +black. He asked me if he might do his feet, but I made him understand it +was quite unnecessary. A grave-looking Turk observing the proceedings +gave a look which seemed to say, “Mad English again.” + +At Zagazig we stayed two hours for luncheon, and were much interested +with the infinite variety of costume and feature among the crowds +thronging the station. About half an hour before reaching Cairo, on +looking through the window, we had our first view of the Pyramids. On +our arrival at Cairo we were greeted with a chorus of the usual kind, but +having “wired” to the hotel a porter was awaiting us with an omnibus, and +we were soon comfortably located in the new Grand Hotel. + +A walk to the Nile Bridge gave us a good view of the river. The road to +the Pyramids passes for some distance through a fine avenue of trees, and +the river having encroached on the soil too near to the roots, we saw for +the first time a phase of Egyptian life which is not pleasant—viz., +forced labour. About 1,500 men were engaged in piling up earth against +the roots, forming a thick, deep embankment against the river. The soil +is carried in baskets, and from the elevation where we stood the men +looked like a swarm of ants. These men are provided by the Sheiks of the +villages on the demand of the Government, who pay nothing whatever for +the labour. The men receive neither wages nor food, but each village +looks after the families of its absentees, and attends to their work +until their return. The men certainly seemed to labour with a will. + +The Nile begins to rise about the end of June, reaching its greatest +height about the end of September, continuing for about fifteen days at +twenty-four feet above low-water level. If the rise be thirty feet great +damage is done, and if it fail to reach eighteen feet famine ensues. + +We rode for some distance along the valley of the Nile, which varies from +two to twelve miles in width. It is very fertile, the soil being more +than forty feet deep. It is only needful to sow the seed immediately +after the inundation, and in about four months the harvest is ready to be +gathered. The plough in use is a very primitive article; but the +looseness of the soil renders stronger ploughs unnecessary. In many +places as we went along we saw the natives irrigating by means of the +bucket and pole, with a counterbalance at the end (_shadouf_), raising +water from the Nile and sending it along the channels over the fields. +In one field we saw agriculture being carried on as Adam would have done +before the Fall, had it been necessary, the men being quite naked, and +digging the earth with their hands. + +Returning to the city we took a walk through old Cairo, along the narrow +streets, passing many little workshops where various trades were being +carried on, the owners appearing pleased at our noticing them at work. +In one place some men were grinding beans with a huge pestle and mortar, +and showed us some of the meal. In a secluded corner we saw about a +dozen old fellows in every variety of costume sitting on the ground +listening to a very animated story being told by one of the party. They +appeared to be greatly interested, every now and then lifting up their +hands in amazement. These professional story-tellers are a great +institution in Cairo. + +Passing down one of the narrow streets our attention was arrested by the +busy hum of children’s’ voices, which we found proceeded from an upper +room, the casement of which was open. Our guide told us it was a school, +and that the children were repeating passages from the Koran. + + [Picture: The Schoolmaster “Abroad”] + +One of our party, who had not forgotten the pranks of his boyhood, threw +a number of new threepenny pieces into the midst of the boys, causing +great excitement and confusion. Presently an old man, with a fringe of +white hair encircling his dark face, and wearing a huge pair of +brass-framed spectacles, appeared at the open window brandishing his cane +at us, but in a moment his whole attitude changed, and holding out his +hand he uttered the familiar cry of—_backsheesh_. + + [Picture: A “Peep”] + +Our walk took us through one of the bazaars, which consist of very narrow +lanes full of shops, with dealers in every variety of goods, most of +which are made in the open. We were particularly struck with the +beautiful embroideries of gold and silver thread, and the expeditious way +in which the workmen executed the various designs. All were very anxious +we should buy, and I overheard one old rascal offer our Coptic guide ten +per cent. commission on our purchases. We, however, made none. In +passing the carpet bazaar we saw an English party buying dingy carpets. + +The most interesting part of our day’s experiences was spent in the +manufacturing quarter. There are no large factories in Cairo, and I +question if more than half a dozen people are employed at any one place. +The work is carried on in the most primitive fashion in the little shops +facing the street. + + [Picture: “Bery Cheap, Sah!”] + +There can be but few secrets in the various trades, as the workshops are +all shallow, and open to the streets. All the jewellers are in one +street about 8ft. in width, each of them being provided with a safe, +obviously of English manufacture. I do not think, however, that the +bellows used by them were made in Birmingham, for it was curious to note +that they had no valves. At the end of the jewellers’ street sits an old +fellow like Abraham or Isaac, weighing precious metals in a pair of +evidently very accurate scales. This man acted as general weigher for +the trade, and his operations were carried on in the face of the public. +Leaving the bazaars we met a crowd of natives gesticulating, shouting, +and frolicking in a very excited manner. Standing aside to allow the +throng to pass, we found it was a bridal procession conducting a bride to +her husband’s home. A few tattered minstrels walked in front, making a +hideous noise on pipes and drums, while a gang of young men jumped and +danced about, and indulged in the wildest horse-play. The women were +ornamented with strips of gilt paper and coloured ribbons, and had their +cheeks thickly coated with rouge. The bride walked under a canopy +consisting of four poles covered with canvas and was quite enclosed. +Sometimes this portable tent would collapse upon the fair one, whose +struggles were prominently manifested by bulges in the canvas. The whole +party seemed to be making the most of the occasion. + +We next visited the mosque of Sultan Hassan, which was built in the 14th +century, at a cost of £600 per day for the three years it took to +complete. It is the finest mosque in Cairo. While standing beside the +Sultan’s tomb within the mosque our guide related its history. He said +that for three years the Sultan had been absent from Egypt on +pilgrimages, and that during his absence his Grand Vizier declared +himself Sultan. Hassan hearing of this returned to Cairo in the disguise +of a poor pilgrim, and finding that he had still many adherents he +consulted with some of the principal of them as to the best way of +regaining his rights. He first obtained permission to build this mosque, +and when it was finished his partisans assembled in the building in large +numbers. + + [Picture: The Mosque of Sultan Hassan] + +Hassan, still in the pilgrim’s habit, rose to preach to the people—this +was the preconcerted signal for a general massacre of the usurper and his +supporters; and thus Hassan recovered his throne. At the entrance to the +mosque our boots were covered with sandals, so that our feet might not +touch the holy floor; but custom does not demand the removal of the hat. +In the court-yard is a fountain where the faithful perform their +ablutions before prayer. In front of the niche looking towards Mecca +were about a dozen persons at their devotions. Just in advance of them +stood a mollah or priest, and as he bowed his head or kneeled they did +the same, concluding with chanting or singing a prayer. Whilst we were +looking around a little boy was following us, keeping a sharp look out +lest our slippers should come off, and if they showed any signs of coming +loose he at once brought up a man to fasten them. + +One of the sights of Cairo is the egg-hatching establishment. This +institution is rendered necessary, because the hens are too idle to hatch +their eggs in this country, consequently the operation has to be +artificially performed. The people bring their eggs to the hatching +place and receive one chicken for every two eggs. I observed the +Egyptian eggs are very small, due also to the laziness of the hens, +doubtless. + +We next visited the citadel and the mosque of Mohammed Ali, a magnificent +pile, built early in this century. In the courtyard of this place the +Mamelukes in 1811 were massacred by order of Mohammed Ali. Fearing their +power he invited them to the mosque, and closing the gates slaughtered +them all, save one who escaped by leaping with his horse from the +parapet. The horse was killed, but the rider was uninjured. About 450 +persons were here massacred, and 800 in other parts of the city. The +citadel commands a magnificent view of the city and surrounding country, +and every evening large parties of tourists assemble there to see the +sunset. + +The excursion to the Pyramids of Gizeh is now much more easily made since +Ismaïl completed the carriage road by way of compliment to our Royal +Princes on their visit. Our party was conveyed in carriages, while +donkeys had been previously sent forward for the use of the ladies. +While on the carriage-road the view of the Pyramids is altogether lost +till within a mile of the end of the journey, acacias having been thickly +planted on either side of the road. On leaving the carriages we were at +once surrounded by beggars, who continued to infest us all the time we +were in the neighbourhood. Some were loud, almost menacing in their +demands, others soft and insinuating. One kind, which I call the “quiet +devil” or “familiar,” creeps by your side, and whispers in your ear +confidentially that he is “a good man”; that the others are “bad men”; +that he will not bother you for anything; that you are “a good man”; that +he will “help you, and keep off the others.” But alas! he too is sure to +whisper in conclusion _backsheesh_. If the road is a little rough these +“good men” seem to fancy you cannot get on without help, so one on each +side puts a hand under your arm and half carries you along. It is quite +useless to protest; they look at you as though they would say, “poor man! +he thinks he can walk by himself; but we know better; he would fall at +once did we not hold him up.” And then, when we reach level ground +again, there is a universal chorus of—_’sheesh_, _backsheesh_. + + [Picture: Ascending the Great Pyramid] + +On arriving at the little house at the foot of the Pyramids our guide +Abaid summoned the Sheik of the village, who proceeded to detail two men +for each person who intended to make the ascent—ladies and fat men being +allotted four men each to help them up. The weather being extremely hot +my sister and I were content to see the rest of the party make the ascent +while we sat in a shady place at the base. A group of twenty Arabs of +the most patriarchal aspect squatted on the ground in front of us in a +half-circle; immediately our eyes fell upon any one of them he mutely +extended one hand—not so much to help us as to be helped—instantly +lowering it without complaint on our looking elsewhere. This would +become monotonous. I would occasionally show by my look that I was +annoyed, upon which the beggar would get a crack over his head from one +of his neighbours. + +The Great Pyramid of Cheops is 732ft. along the base line and 460ft. +high, covering an area of 536,000 square feet—about equal in extent to +Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London. Its height is about 60ft. higher than +the cross on St. Paul’s Cathedral. My wife managed the ascent very well, +and also went with the rest to explore the interior, and all seemed +greatly pleased with their exploits. A fee of two francs to the Sheik +and a franc a piece to the helpers is the regular charge for each person; +but even the Sheik is not above taking a little extra by way of +_backsheesh_. Our party were quite ready for their lunch, which Abaid +quickly spread out in the little house provided by the Government for the +accommodation of visitors. We were shown into a large room, and while at +table the doorways were filled with a hungry crowd, quarrelling, +laughing, and jostling each other. + + [Picture: View on the Nile] + +Some of the bolder spirits at length got into the room, but our guide +seizing his stick administered two or three heavy blows, and soon cleared +them out. It was wonderful to see how tamely big men will allow +themselves to be driven. Truly the stick is a great institution in +Egypt, although perhaps none but the ruling class would acquiesce in the +inscription found in one of the ancient tombs to the effect that “The +stick came down from heaven—a blessing from God.” + +Before sitting down to eat, a boy brought water that we might wash our +hands. The mode was certainly primitive. We had to hold our hands out +of the window while he poured water over them. A noisy crowd of Arabs +were sitting under another window, and a barber in the midst was +operating upon the head of one of them, and it was really wonderful how +cleverly he shaved, making a clean sweep of every lock and every hair. I +asked Abaid if the men were under a vow, but he said it was because +summer was coming on, and it would be cooler without hair. + + [Picture: The Sphinx] + +After a scene of great confusion in paying the various claimants, during +which the Sheik had to make a vigorous use of his long stick, we started +to see the Sphinx, which is about 500 yards off. Before leaving, I +called the Sheik and gave him two francs, that he might instruct his men +to keep the mob from us. This he accepted with great solemnity, and in +parting shook hands in a most impressive manner. + + [Picture: A Wash and a Shave] + +The Sphinx is cut out of the solid rock, and is about thirty feet from +the top of the head to the bottom of the chin, and about fourteen feet +across the face, the body being 140 feet long. I could see no beauty in +the face, the features being almost obliterated. + +Near the Sphinx is a fine underground temple formed of immense granite +blocks and polished alabaster. The pavement is of granite and is +perfectly smooth. Some of the finest statues at Bûlak were found in a +well adjoining this temple. + +Leaving our hotel at seven a.m., we started for Gizeh station _en route_ +for Sakkara, the railway taking us as far as Bedrashên. We had engaged +eleven donkeys for carrying our party and the food necessary for the +whole day’s refreshment. The confusion at Gizeh station in obtaining our +tickets and getting the donkeys into the train was something tremendous. +Fortunately, the morning was rather cool. + +On arriving at Bedrashên we had some difficulty in finding the right +donkeys, and I had great misgivings about the prospective five hours’ +ride; but at last we got fairly off, and by degrees my confidence +returned. We soon reached Mîtrahîneh, the site of ancient Memphis, now +only marked by a vast number of heaps and mounds of rubbish, under which +are doubtless buried many treasures of ancient Egyptian art. A number of +articles which have been recently dug out were shown in a rude enclosure; +one or two of the statues beautifully executed. Lying in a pool, face +downwards, is a statue of Ramses II. belonging to the British Museum, but +the authorities of that institution have not yet taken the trouble to +remove it. The statue is 50ft. long, and is of siliceous limestone, very +hard, and bearing a high polish. In one hand the figure holds a scroll +bearing his name, and at his side is his little daughter, reaching to his +knee. The face is still quite smooth, the features are sharply cut and +delicately finished, and the expression perfectly preserved, looking +really beautiful. Memphis was said by Herodotus to extend for six miles. +It was conquered in turns by Persians, Assyrians, and Romans, each of +whom did their share towards ruining it, and when at last the Mohammedans +conquered the country, its doom was sealed, and the stones of its palace +and temples taken away to build the new city of Cairo. The dykes being +no longer kept in repair, the overflow of the Nile gradually piled up the +mud year by year, and this, with the sand from the desert, has, in the +course of ages, made Memphis little more than a name. Memphis is called +in the Bible _Noph_, and in the time of the Patriarchs was the capital of +Lower Egypt; but the prophecy of Jeremiah, xlvi. 19, has been literally +fulfilled: “Noph shall be waste and desolate.” + +Leaving Memphis we go on to Sakkara, for thousands of years the ancient +Necropolis or burying-ground. In the centre stands the great Step +Pyramid, built in steps of comparatively small pieces of stone. It is +said to be not only the oldest pyramid, but also the most ancient +monument of any kind in the world. The cemetery is four and a half miles +long by an average of three-fourths of a mile in width, and being full of +holes it is necessary to be very careful in crossing it. The ground is +strewed with skulls and other human bones, some of the former being of +great thickness. Soon we reached the house of Mariette Bey, built for +his use when he was engaged in his explorations, and here, by his +permission, parties are at liberty to rest and take their lunch. + +The first object of interest is the Serapeum, or Apis Mausoleum. When +alive, the sacred bull was worshipped in a splendid temple at Memphis, +and lodged in an adjoining palace. When dead he was buried in this +mausoleum, in a vault excavated out of the solid rock, his body being +placed in a huge sarcophagus hewn out of a single piece of granite, and +hollowed into a regular square to receive the body. A cover, also of +granite, and weighing many tons, was then placed over it. The size of +the sarcophagus is 13ft. long, 7ft. 6in. wide, and 11ft. high. + +This mausoleum had for ages been known to exist somewhere, but no one +knew the locality. The ancient Strabo wrote, “There is also a serapeum +in a very sandy spot where drifts of sand are raised by the wind to such +a degree that we saw some sphinxes buried up to their heads, and others +half covered.” Mariette, recollecting this passage, observed in 1860 a +sphinx’s head appearing through the sand, and it at once occurred to him +that this must be the site of the avenue of which mention is made by +another ancient writer, so he commenced a clearing and laid bare 141 +sphinxes. To do this he had to make a cutting in the sand 70ft. deep; +but at length he was rewarded by discovering the entrance to the +mausoleum. + + [Picture: The Serapeum, Sakkara] + +There are several galleries for the different dynasties, but only one is +now shown, the interments in which date from 650 B.C. down to 50 B.C. +The galleries extend for 400 yards, and there are now twenty-four +sarcophagi in their places. Three of these are beautifully sculptured. +One of them is of polished granite, and although the engraving is only +1/16 in. deep, a mere scratch in the polish, it is as clear as when first +done, over 2,000 years ago, and so perfect is the stone that it rings +like a bell when struck. + +From the Serapeum we proceeded to examine one of the tombs, also +excavated by Mariette Bey. It is called the Tomb of Tih. Over the +doorways of these ancient tombs it was the custom to inscribe the name +and titles of the deceased, and also an invocation to the God of Tombs +(the tomb having been built during life by the person himself), with +these objects:— + +1st.—To accord to deceased propitious funeral-rites, and a good +burial-place after a long and happy life. + +2nd.—To be favourably disposed to deceased in his journey beyond the +tomb. + +3rd.—To secure to him, to all eternity, the proper payment of +funeral-offerings by his relations. + +A list of these offerings is carved upon the walls, which are covered +with sculptures representing the scenes in which the deceased had been +engaged during life, ending with a representation of the conveyance of +the mummy to the tomb. The tomb itself contains several apartments, in +which the relatives met upon certain anniversaries to present +votive-offerings, etc. + +We were astonished to see the perfect state of preservation in which the +tomb remains. The sculptures on the walls are as sharp and clear and the +colours apparently as bright as when laid on. Sand is a good +preservative when not in motion, and to this must the marvel be ascribed. +Over the door is the inscription giving Tih’s name, and stating that he +was a priest; and on the walls of the first chamber are representations +showing statues of Tih being embarked in boats and oxen being brought for +sacrifice, one of them being offered up. There is another showing Tih +with his wife and family watching his people at work in the farmyard. +Some of them are bringing sacks of grain for the poultry; others are +fattening the birds by making and forcing pellets of flour down their +throats. Behind this there is a view of the farm-buildings, the roofs +being supported on carved wooden pillars. + + [Picture: From the Tomb of Tih] + +In the middle there is a pool where ducks are swimming, while cattle are +seen pasturing in the fields around. Among the birds Tih kept are cranes +and pigeons, ducks and geese. He had also cattle of every size and kind, +including antelopes, gazelles, and wild goats. Then come the boats +filled with jars and bales transporting farm produce down the Nile. In +another place men are shown carrying fruits and vegetables, and pigeons +in cages. Farther on are seen men drawing statues enclosed in temples of +wood, half-a-dozen dragging with ropes, while one pours water on the road +to make it easier. In another room Till is shown as a sportsman in a +boat; in one hand he holds a decoy-bird, while with the other he hurls a +curved stick like an Australian boomerang. In the water are seen +crocodiles and hippopotami: a crocodile and hippopotamus are fighting, +the latter being evidently victorious; some of the servants are trying to +catch them, and the hippopotamus is just being hooked with a sort of +harpoon. (This scene recalls the verse in Job, “Canst thou draw out the +leviathan with a hook?”) Here again the fish are being drawn in nets +into the boats, while the work of the farm goes vigorously on. Cows are +seen crossing a ford and browsing in a field, while herdsmen are driving +a flock of goats. Oxen are ploughing just as we saw them in the fields +to-day, and with a very similar plough. The seed is being sown, corn +reaped, and men with three-pronged forks are gathering it into heaps +while the oxen are treading it out. In another place the corn is being +tied into sheaves, and donkeys are being brought up with much fuss and +use of the stick to take it to the granaries. Some of these scenes are +drawn with inimitable humour. Carpenters are engaged in making +furniture, and shipwrights in building boats, while Tih is always present +directing each operation. + +The Egyptians were said by Diodorus to call their houses hostelries, and +their tombs their everlasting homes. + +We now remounted our donkeys, and for an hour rode over the sandy desert +through dreadful mud villages, from which all the population turned out +as we passed, crying with all their might—_’sheesh_, _’sheesh_, +_backsheesh_, _’sheesh_, _’sheesh_. + +Passing several strings of camels—which I described as “camelcades,” +coining a word for the purpose—we soon regained the delightfully fertile +country which is watered by the Nile. For more than two hours we trotted +and galloped along through a very rich country, where hundreds of acres +of date-palms were growing—where the young corn was waving, and peas, +beans, and cucumbers in great luxuriance—no more dust nor sand, but a +pleasant breeze and bright sun, with nothing to mar the pleasure except +the sight of the wretched natives. Most of the children are absolutely +naked, while their parents’ clothes are of the most limited description. + + [Picture: A Camelcade (sketched by the Author)] + +We halted for lunch under some palm-trees by a branch of the Nile, and +then proceeded to the carriages, which we had ordered to meet us in the +Gizeh road. Some of us had to ride back into Cairo on our donkeys, and +on our way we passed the Khedive, who cordially acknowledged our +salutation. All our party agreed in saying that to-day’s excursion was +one of the most delightful we had ever had. + + [Picture: Prayers in the Desert] + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +Friday being the Mohammedan Sabbath we devoted this day to the Dancing +and Howling Dervishes, as they hold their principal _zikr_ or ceremonial +on that day. We first visited the convent of the dancing Dervishes and +witnessed one of their performances, and certainly a curious spectacle it +was. In the centre of the room a space of about 50ft. in diameter is +railed off, and about twenty solemn-looking men in hats like the tall +“tile” without brims are sitting opposite the door. They looked like a +lot of ancient “Friends” at the head of a meeting. In the gallery above +were some musicians, one of whom was playing a flute in a melancholy +manner, and another reciting a prayer. At a certain point the Dervishes +within the circle bow and rise, and taking off their outer garments begin +walking round the enclosure with solemn steps and slow, headed by the +Chief Priest or Sheik. On passing the carpet upon which the Sheik has +been sitting they turn and bow, and this is repeated two or three times; +then they go into the middle of the enclosure, spreading out their +garments like ladies in the old minuet; the music quickens, and they +begin to whirl around on one foot, occasionally touching the ground with +the other. The performers’ eyes are closed (or appear to be so), but +they keep on in perfect order—never touching one another—while the old +Priest walks about among them. Some of the more experienced Dervishes +can revolve fifty or sixty times a minute, keeping it up for nearly half +an hour. It was a curious proceeding altogether, and, for a wonder, no +_backsheesh_ was demanded, the Priests being supported by endowments and +occasional gifts from the Khedive. Mounting our donkeys we rode off to +the Howling Dervishes, where we found them in full howl. About twenty of +them were engaged in making the most hideous noise imaginable. These +fellows had their hair very long and shaggy, and threw it about their +heads in the wildest manner. Every time they raise their heads they +utter the word _HU_ (God alone), which sounds like the yell of a wild +beast, at times the excitement rising to such a height that some of them +would foam at the mouth and fall to the ground apparently in a fit. They +wound up their proceedings with a prolonged howl and a deep grunt. These +Dervishes, like their dancing brethren, are supported by Government +endowment. + +I have no doubt that when first instituted these “pious orgies” were +entered upon with a due sense of solemnity, and I believe in places +remote from the regular tourist route the religious feeling still +predominates, but the Howling and Dancing Dervishes in Cairo have long +since become one of the regular sights to which foreign visitors are +always taken. + +Upon the occasion of our visit there were several clergymen present, more +than one artist, and a number of ladies, amongst the latter being a +placid looking Quaker, who, with hands folded before her, was calmly +surveying the “creaturely activity” of the Howling enthusiasts. + +We afterwards paid a visit to Miss Whateley’s Schools, at the British +Mission. There are over 300 native children here, and we heard many of +them read in English and French, and also do some exercises in +translation. The girls were engaged in embroidering, reading, and +writing, and they sang two hymns in Arabic while we stayed. Then we saw +them muster for the recess, and a bright little fellow stepped out into +the middle of the hall and repeated the Lord’s Prayer, first in English +and then in Arabic, after which they went out in a most orderly manner. +Miss Whateley seems much encouraged at the result of her many years’ +labours; but I have no doubt she has had her times of discouragement. My +wife visited an Arab school in Syria, the superintendent of which told +her that after two years’ continuous labour amongst the people of his +district, the result was so unsatisfactory that he was greatly +discouraged and was inclined to abandon the mission. Calling the people +together he told them of his disappointment, and said that although he +had worked diligently amongst them for so long a time, they appeared to +be no better than before, and that he felt that he must leave them. The +people, who had received many benefits from him in various ways, began to +be seriously alarmed, and entreated him to try them yet again. One man +got up in the meeting and said, “Teacher, you must not go, you have made +us much better. When you came first there was a woman living near who +used to steal all the fowls in her neighbourhood, but now,” he said, +“_she only steals the eggs_.” The superintendent’s features somewhat +relaxed on hearing this, and the quick-witted Arabs immediately +perceiving their advantage, renewed their appeals, a woman rising and +saying, “Teacher, when you came first my neighbour’s son used to thrash +his mother every day, but since he has been at your school he only +thrashes her once a month.” The superintendent remained, and is well +satisfied with the progress which has since been made. + +In the afternoon we went for a drive in the Shubra Avenue, which is the +Rotten Row of Cairo. The custom is to drive quickly up one side, +returning slowly on the other, the drive occupying an hour. The Khedive +drove past us in his carriage, preceded by two magnificent fellows +(_sais_) whose duty it is to run in front of the carriage. They were +dressed in gorgeous gold tissue waistcoats, long white skirts, a silk +sash of many colours round the waist, a fez with long tassel, legs and +feet bare, and in the hand a handsome staff. These men run quite as fast +as the horses, keep up the pace for a couple of hours, and are employed +to clear the crowded streets for the carriages. This they do by shouting +loudly in a fine resonant voice, which is very effectual. The avenue was +crowded with carriages, some of them containing ladies of the harem. +Their carriages have windows all round. + + [Picture: A Runner, or Sais] + +Some of the ladies are shrouded as for burial; others leave only the eyes +uncovered, while some (the prettiest, presumably) wear only thin gauze +veils, through which their faces are plainly to be seen. All wear the +same languishing expression, and appear to be very fond of peeping at the +Europeans, and as we passed and repassed them they would recognise us +with a smile, and then, to save appearances, turn away. When we passed +the guard-house the soldiers turned out, thinking it was the Khedive’s +carriage, and drew up in saluting order. + + [Picture: In Shubra Avenue] + +They were greatly disgusted on discovering their mistake. At four +o’clock a general stampede of carriages, horsemen, runners, and +pedestrians takes place, and the road is soon quite deserted. + +One of the features of Cairene life is the universal use of donkeys by +all classes of the people; ancient women shrouded from head to foot in +black gauze, old men with long grey beards, and noses not much +shorter—their heads wrapped in turbans, and robes covering the donkeys’ +backs—jogging along, rubbing against the British tourist, the latter +looking anything but grave and serious on his Jerusalem pony. Our party +certainly did not look more _bizarre_ than others; but we should not feel +inclined to enter Birmingham in the same state as we often entered and +left Cairo. + + [Picture: Water Carriers] + +One morning we got up early for a donkey-ride across the Nile to see, +amongst other things, the garden and farm produce arrive from the country +round. Crossing the Nile we turned down a fine avenue of sycamores, two +or three miles long. The Khedive’s gardens lie on one side and the river +at the other. Moored to the river bank was an Englishman’s _dahabieh_ or +Nile boat. A party had just returned from the cataracts, and on the +upper deck we observed a dead crocodile. Riding by one palace towards +another, we passed a crowd of people on their way to market, with +bullocks, goats, camels laden with clover, women with the round cakes so +common here, and a great variety of other things. Presently we sighted +the Pyramids, one side lit up with the morning sun, while another was in +deep shadow. The Sphinx was also plainly to be seen. + +Leaving the Gizeh Road leading to the Pyramids we turned towards Cairo, +our donkeys instantly knowing that we were homeward-bound, and needing no +persuasion to gallop back to breakfast. On nearing the bridge we came +upon hosts of camels, donkeys, and oxen laden with produce, and being +assessed for the octroi or town-tax. The police were armed with long +spikes, which they pushed into the load to ascertain if anything else was +packed inside. It was an interesting scene—the busy crowd, the +magnificent river, and the brilliant morning sunshine making up a picture +not easily forgotten. + +One of the most interesting drives in the neighbourhood of Cairo is to +Heliopolis—part of the way lying through a fine avenue of acacias—and +passing the old camping ground used as a _rendezvous_ by the Mecca +pilgrims. It is the old caravan road, and stretches far away into the +desert, from which came to us a delightfully fresh breeze. We also +passed the Abbaseyeh Palace, built by Abbas Pasha, who, fearing +assassination, lived here in seclusion, keeping sentinels on the towers +to give warning of the approach of a mob, and dromedaries and fleet +horses always ready saddled for escape into the desert. He was, however, +murdered at last in spite of all his precautions. + + [Picture: The Tombs of the Khalifs] + +Along the road are some beautiful plantations of palms, oranges, and +lemons, castor-oil and other plants growing in the greatest luxuriance. +Heaps of oranges were lying on the ground. After driving through a fine +olive plantation we came out upon an extensive plain, where, in 1517, +Sultan Selim defeated the last of the Mameluke Dynasty, and made Egypt a +Turkish province. Here too, in 1800, the French defeated the Turks and +regained possession of Cairo. Our guide called a halt in order to show +us a fine old sycamore, called the virgin’s tree, under which Joseph and +Mary are said to have rested during their flight into Egypt. I asked +Abaid if he believed the story. Placing his hand upon his heart and +bowing his head, he replied, with something of the sententiousness of a +Dr. Johnson, “Sir, I am a Christian!” I felt inclined to tell him that I +also was a Christian, but that I did not believe it; but then why should +I disturb his honest belief? Soon the obelisk of Heliopolis came in +view, and we knew we were near it by the crowd of youngsters swarming +round the carriage. But I adopted my old plan of being the first to ask +for _backsheesh_, causing them to laugh so heartily that they could +hardly take up the cry. + +The obelisk is about 6ft. square at the base and about 68ft. high; it is +the oldest in Egypt, and was erected by the founder of the twelfth +dynasty. The inscriptions on its four sides give its history and the +account of its erection about 3,000 B.C. + + [Picture: A Street in Bûlak] + +Heliopolis was called Bethshemish by the Jews, and in Exodus is called +ON. It was here that Joseph married Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, +and where Moses became learned in the wisdom of the Egyptians. Here +Plato and Herodotus studied, and Josephus says—“The city was given to the +Children of Israel as their residence when they came down into Egypt.” +The obelisk, as we see it, was old when Abraham came into the country; +but, notwithstanding its venerable age and intensely interesting +associations, it has not been too sacred for tourists who have been +caught chipping pieces off the edges. + +After lunch we drove to Bûlak, an interesting suburb of Cairo. The +houses are very old, and the street-scenes very curious and thoroughly +Eastern in character. The large overhanging windows and casements +familiar in pictures are everywhere to be seen, and now and then a +glimpse of a female face is caught peeping furtively out at the +passers-by. The streets are very narrow, and the coachman yells and +shouts at the foot-passengers in his way, not scrupling to apply the whip +to quicken their movements. All this is taken patiently—far too much +so—and betrays the saddest side of Egyptian character, speaking volumes +for the way in which the people have been treated. + +Hard by was a curious sight. Standing against a wall, and raised above +the level of the street like another Simon Stylites, was a +strange-looking man, whose only raiment consisted of a sack, through a +hole in which one arm was thrust. In his hand he held a small instrument +like a garden-rake, with which he tortured his back, while his gaze +“seemed upon the future bent.” Some irreverent tourists looking on were +presently moved to laughter at the peculiar exhibition, upon which the +holy man gave them one glance of wonder and pity, and then resumed his +gaze into futurity. + + [Picture: A Holy Fakir] + +It being fair-day, there were a large number of booths, cheap theatres, +peep-shows, merry-go-rounds, etc., just as one sees in England. In +another place was a story-teller, surrounded by an appreciative audience, +who treated every “point” with loud laughter. It was curious to see how +earnest and interested they all were, and the dramatic manner in which +the story was told. + +The National Museum for Egyptian antiquities, founded by Mariette Bey, is +situated in Bûlak. Our time being short, we proposed paying it another +visit, which, however, we were unfortunately unable to do. Much of the +sculpture is really marvellous in its life-like character. One of the +most remarkable statues is of wood, and is said to be 4,000 years old. +It is admirably carved. There is also a large collection of jewellery, +beads, enamels, etc.; chess and draughtboards, an artist’s paint-box and +brushes, bread, eggs, fruit, pieces of well-made rope and thread; an axe +of gilt bronze, having a gilt cedar-wood handle; a gold boat with twelve +silver oarsmen, and many other curiosities. The museum is one of the +most interesting sights in Egypt, and will well repay many visits. + +In the evening some of our party took donkeys and a guide and returned to +Bûlak to see some of the shows, but the first they visited was of so +extraordinary a character they decided to see no more until their taste +was educated up or down to the present Egyptian standard. + +The railway journey from Cairo to Alexandria occupied about 6½ hours. +The line crosses the Delta of the Nile, the country being very flat all +the way. + +The soil here is extremely fertile, and it was very interesting to watch +the various agricultural operations as we rode along. We particularly +noticed the many modes in which water is supplied to the land. Alongside +the railway runs a stream issuing from the Nile, and the different +holdings of land are bordered with little streamlets in place of hedges. + + [Picture: A Wrecked Ship of the Desert] + +At the junction of these streamlets with the main stream may frequently +be seen a couple of men standing on either bank lifting water from the +river to the streamlets by means of a huge flat bowl, holding probably +eight to ten gallons. This vessel is lifted on either side by means of +two long handles diverging from each other, and it is surprising how +large a quantity of water can be thrown up by means of it in an hour. +The bowl is always in motion with a fine swing, and it is evident the men +are working on their own account. + +Every station at which we stopped is crowded with people selling oranges, +water, etc., and very clever they are at their business too, very +persuasive, and as quick as thought to see if you are inclined to buy. +The children are the merriest, liveliest things imaginable, with bright +eyes and shining white teeth. Here also may be seen numbers of beggars, +young and old, calling out eternal _backsheesh_. We saw some venerable +old fellows, bent nearly double with age, and with hair and whiskers +quite white, who entreated us piteously to help them, saying “Got no +mother, got no father, _backsheesh_!” Such orphans as these never +obtained our sympathy, although they afforded us great amusement. + +While in Cairo, news came of the dissolution of Parliament by Lord +Beaconsfield, and we hastened to Alexandria to take the steamer for Italy +on the following day; but on arriving we found the weather so excessively +rough that the steamers were detained: and, as there seemed no prospect +of getting off, we determined to proceed to Port Saïd, by way of +Ismailïa, in order to take the steamer sailing thence for Naples, hoping +on some future occasion to be able to see what is to be seen in +Alexandria. A day’s railway-ride brought us to Ismailïa, from which +place we took the evening mail-boat to Port Saïd. The night was very +cold, and after a seven hours’ trip on the Canal it was very pleasant to +find ourselves in the magnificent hotel built by Prince Henry of the +Netherlands, attached to the Dutch factory at Port Saïd. + +One of the Orient Steamers was due to sail on the following day, and we +expected to proceed to Naples in her, but after providing us with tickets +the agent sent us word that she had been detained a week and that we must +choose another vessel. There was no other way of escape than by taking +the P. and O. Steamer “Mongolia” to Malta, trusting to being able to find +a ready means of crossing to Naples from that place. Unfortunately a +heavy storm in the Mediterranean had the effect of delaying our arrival +in Malta some hours, and we had the mortification of seeing the Naples +steamer leaving the harbour as we were entering it. We arrived on Monday +and found there would not be another steamer until Thursday, and as the +Birmingham election was to take place on Wednesday in the following week +our chance of getting there seemed very doubtful. Leaving Malta, +however, on the Thursday, by dint of almost continual travelling night +and day, we arrived safely in Birmingham at half-past ten on the +Wednesday morning, and proceeded at once to register our votes for Bright +and Chamberlain, two of the three successful Liberal candidates. + + [Picture: Au Revoir] + + + + +CHAPTER XII. {226} + + + [Picture: In the Suez Canal] + +After a stormy passage through the Mediterranean we turned in towards +Port Saïd, and soon after sighting the handsome lighthouse took the +French pilot on board, anchoring broadside on to the main street of the +town and within fifty yards of the shore. A motley throng, in boats +quite as motley soon filled up the space between the ship and the shore, +and a wild jabber composed of a mixture of English, French, Italian, and +Arabic filled the air. Presently the usual tribe of pedlars came on +deck, and having spread out their wares invited the passengers to buy, +somewhat after the fashion of London tradesmen in Cheapside hundreds of +years ago with their cry of “What lack ye?” The inevitable Maltese with +his lace, the Greek money-changer walking about with his hands full of +silver offering to change, and astonishing the honest Britisher on his +first voyage by his liberality in proffering twenty shillings for a +sovereign—the rate of exchange, however, leaving him a very good profit. +Near him is a Hebrew, whom I remember having seen at Aden, the black +curls over his brow reminding one forcibly of Benjamin Disraeli. This +man keeps to his trade of dealer in ostrich feathers. + + [Picture: A Feather Merchant] + +Here also are gentlemen of the long robe—not lawyers, but Arabs, in ample +white night-shirts and turbans—offering to young ladies in the most +seductive tones, at two shillings each, coral necklaces, which can be +purchased in Birmingham at three shillings the dozen, while dealers in +photographs, melons, and oranges walk about always ready to take +one-fourth of what they ask for their wares. Parallel with us are the +quays, on which are crowds of people of all nationalities. The Custom +House in front is occupied by a company of English artillerymen, the +entrance being guarded by a British sentry, while overhead the Egyptian +flag is flying. Away to the left is the old Dutch hotel, recently bought +by the British Government, and now occupied by two hundred men of the +Royal Marine Light Infantry. + +Immediately in front of the ship is the main street of the town. It is +perfectly straight and about half a mile long, with a small public garden +near the end. In this street are a large number of _casinos_, where +music is dealt out at nights by bands of female performers, who are +called “Bohemiennes,” and where, we are assured, everything is properly +respectable—until eleven o’clock! Many of our lady passengers, in the +innocence of their hearts, looking forward to a pleasant concert during +the evening, are much shocked when they learn that the said concerts are +held in _casinos_. + +We landed at ten o’clock, and had a leisurely walk through the town and +halfway through the Arab quarter, but the smells were so offensive that +we turned back. A lot of young Arabs, however, urged us to go on +farther, for there was an Arab hanging, but as we did not think a dead +Arab would be likely to be a more agreeable sight than a living one we +declined. The culprit had been executed that morning for the murder of +his grand-daughter, nine months previously. An account of his crime was +written in Arabic and attached to his breast, and the large scissors with +which he committed the murder were suspended around his neck. Some of +the young Arabs were vexed with us because we would not give them +_backsheesh_, and began to be insulting, talking about Arabi, when +presently a smart youth of ten years old interfered, and, cuffing the +ears of the young monkeys, loudly proclaimed the prowess of the British. + +We went to look at the Dutch House where the Marines were quartered, and +a young officer, Lieutenant Cotter, kindly asked us to go over the +building. The rooms are very fine; but what a change in the scene since +we slept here for a night two-and-half years ago! Then the hotel was in +operation, and the rooms were furnished as elaborately as in the house of +an English gentleman. But everything had been taken away, and the +officers were sleeping on the marble floors, and the men on the floors of +the adjoining warehouses, where also the horses were stabled. Lieutenant +Cotter had made a bedstead for himself, and one of his men had made him a +bath, and these, with a chair, completed the furnishing of his room; his +wash-basin consisted of a large flower-pot, with a cork in the hole at +the bottom. The Marines arrived in Egypt a few days after Tel-el-Kebir, +and so saw no fighting; but they had to march over to Fort Gemileh, seven +miles away, and fully expected a very severe fight, as the fort is +heavily armed with modern guns, and was manned by Nubians, who are +reported to be excellent soldiers. Fortunately, however, there was no +need to fight, as the commander recognised that the war was over. + +At night a number of our passengers, of all classes, went ashore to +attend the concert, and one of them known as Cetewayo, _alias_ the Carrib +or the Pirate King, announced his intention of kicking up a great row at +the _casino_ (of course _after_ eleven o’clock), and he was as good as +his word, and others besides, several having to be locked up for the +night. We visited the soldiers in the barracks, and they were very glad +to have a chat. We sent them the newspapers we had brought from England; +with which they were greatly pleased. They told us the numbers, variety, +and voracity of the insects was something maddening; some being busy at +night, and others during the day, and that it was almost impossible to +keep oneself decent. Altogether Port Saïd must be a dreadful place for +Englishmen to live in; there was very little society, and I was told that +at the time there was only one unmarried lady left. + +The commanding officer of the Marines told us that the principal duty +they had to perform as “police” was to keep the English sailors and +visitors in order, almost all the drunkenness and trouble coming from +them—to our disgrace be it said. + +The land all along the coast lies very low, and is not seen until the +yellowish-green water near it is reached. The water is discoloured by +the mud of the Nile, one of the mouths of which (the Tanitic) is situated +a little to the west of Port Saïd. This ceaseless flow of mud was one of +the greatest difficulties experienced in making the Canal, and +necessitated important and expensive works to prevent its access to the +harbour. Lake Menzaleh is formed by this Nile mouth, and covers an area +of about 1,000 square miles. Good wildfowl shooting is to be had there, +and there are numbers of flamingos and other birds. Port Saïd, as is +well known, owes its origin to the Canal, and is situated on an island +separating Lake Menzaleh from the Mediterranean. The town was expected +by M. de Lesseps to progress very rapidly—indeed to rival Alexandria, but +it has not gone ahead so fast as he expected. At present there are about +12,000 people there, and I should say more than half are Europeans. The +town is built very regularly, and consists of rather temporary brick and +wooden houses. The making of the harbour was a very difficult work. It +occupies 570 acres, and is excavated to a depth of 26ft. Two massive +piers protect it, running out to the sea in a north-easterly direction +for about a mile and a half. At starting they are 1,440 yards apart, +narrowing to 770 yards, the navigable entrance being about 150 yards +wide. The piers are constructed of artificial stone, composed of seven +parts of sand from the desert, and of one part of hydraulic lime from +France. The concrete was mixed by machinery, and then poured into great +wooden moulds, where it remained for weeks, after which the wood was +taken away to allow of the blocks hardening. Each block weighed twenty +tons, and contained 13½ cubic yards; no fewer than 25,000 of these blocks +were used in constructing the breakwater. The lighthouse is a very +handsome structure, and is also formed of blocks of concrete; it is +164ft. high, and can be seen twenty-four miles away, being fitted with +the electric light. (_Baedeker_). + +At 4.30 p.m. our vessel started for the Canal, and having safely entered +it made fast for the night, as no travelling is allowed after sunset. +During the evening myriads of gnats and mosquitoes came on to the ship, +the electric light being absolutely dimmed by them in many places, and we +had good reason to expect a trying night from their presence. + +While our ship’s doctor and a party of friends were ashore at Port Saïd +they were greatly amused by the attention of a number of Arab lads who +followed them everywhere. During their walk in the native quarter the +party came upon a great crowd, and one of the young Arabs referring to +the man who had been hanged during the morning stated that the man was +not an Arab, but a Greek, and proceeded to explain the distinguishing +characteristics of the various nationalities represented at this +cosmopolitan port; he said— + +“The Greek, he bery bat man, he stab—so (with a vigorous motion as though +stabbing an opponent in the chest). + +“’gyptian, he bery goot man, he only slap, so. + +“English man, he bery goot man (striking an attitude); he say ‘Come on +and box.’ + +“English man—he bery goot man. + +“English man—he bery goot man. + +“Melikan man—he bery goot man. + +“Melikan man—he bery goot man. + +“’talian man—he bery bat man.” + +Ending with a very uncomplimentary allusion to our Irish fellow-subjects. + +What is wanted to make Port Saïd really prosperous is a railway from the +interior to bring the produce from the cotton and wheat fields, and then +the steamers which bring the coals could at once load up for home, saving +the necessity of going empty to Alexandria for their homeward freights. +Last year 540,000 tons of coal were sold at Port Saïd, and all the ships +which brought it had to go away empty. But so long as the Canal Company +are entitled to all the Customs dues at Port Saïd, it is not to be +expected that the Egyptian Government will favour the construction of +such a line. + +Some of our fellow-passengers were members of the Blue Ribbon Army, and +although they were by no means obtrusive in supporting their views, being +contented for the most part with wearing the “bit of blue”—others +resented this reasonable liberty, styling it an impertinence, and formed +themselves into an opposition Order, which they called the _Red_ Ribbon +Army, and they busied themselves in enlisting recruits. It was +noticeable that, with the exception of an old _roué_ or two, only young +men with small heads and long legs, who, if they ever indulged in +reading, confined their choice to books translated or adapted from the +French, composed the rank and file, the officers being older men, who +were not often seen out of the gambling or smoke-room. One of these +latter was called the “Spider,” because from an early hour in the morning +he sat in the smoke-room waiting to “play” with any who might choose to +try conclusions with him. + +The Patron and President of the Society was a noble lord, and certainly a +better choice could not have been made. Amongst the rules of the Society +were these:— + + Any member found without his red ribbon is to be fined in drinks all + round. + + Members are to be neither too drunk nor too sober. + + Members must never go to bed quite sober. + + Members must never refuse a drink. + +The President certainly set a fair example in his endeavour to perform +the duties of his office, and would never be mistaken for a member of the +Blue Ribbon Army, even if he did not wear the badge, for good wine had +marked him for its own. Under the fostering influence of such rules and +such a “noble” example, it is not to be wondered at that the Army showed +a blatant front to the enemy, and that their proceedings soon became +disorderly. At this juncture some good-natured moderate men joined the +Reds, with the view, it appears, of moderating their offensive tactics, +and the result was a manifesto which set forth, amongst other things—That +the Red Ribbon Army entertained no feelings of ill-will toward those who +did not agree with them, and invited all to join their ranks, and that +they assured abstainers that there was always iced water on the sideboard +of the smoke room for their convenience. One of the chiefs of the Reds +was a dark man, already referred to as Cetewayo, _alias_ the Carrib. I +one day heard this worthy call one of the Reds to account for appearing +without his badge, the defaulting member replying that he had “resigned.” +“That won’t do,” said the Carrib, “Once a member always a member; come +and pay up.” Yes, I thought, when the devil has once got his claws in a +man retreat is all but impossible. + +Every one of the young fellows who joined the Reds fell into the +“Spider’s” web, and were most of them eased of their spare cash through +the agency of a pack of cards. + +This “Spider” was one day on deck sitting by the side of one of my +friends who had just awaked from a doze, to whom he said, “You have had a +nap?” “Yes,” I said, “Mr. — takes his nap on deck in the face of day, +but you have yours in the dimness of the smoke-room” (alluding to the +game of “Nap”). “That’s true,” said he, “I like to play when the light +is somewhat dull. These fellows say I am always winning. Well, suppose +I am? They keep coming to me, and in Melbourne if they consult an expert +on any subject they have to pay two guineas, and I take no less.” “You +take no less, and don’t refuse more,” said I. “Exactly, that is just +it,” said the Spider, and he was said to have cleared out most of the +card-playing fraternity. Ultimately, the almost unvaried success of the +Spider caused a general feeling to be raised against him amongst the +gamblers; but as long as there still remained some who had not been +relieved of their money, and others whom the Spider had allowed to win +from him occasionally, this feeling did not exist to any great extent. +One evening, however, the Pirate charged the web-spinner with having +cheated him, and a general disturbance ensued, the Pirate assuring the +Spider that as soon as they quitted the ship he would soundly thrash him +with a whip, which he displayed, so we were in hopes of having a little +excitement on leaving the vessel. One result, however, was to +practically dissolve the Red Ribbon army, and the Carrib then came out in +a new character. At the fancy dress ball held on the promenade deck he +appeared in a dress suit, and was at once saluted with the cry, “Here’s a +lark, Cetewayo disguised as a _gentleman_!” + +The noble President of the Reds was somewhat of a curiosity in his way, a +very kind-hearted sympathetic man, as many a poor invalid in the second +and third classes could testify. The doctor told us of many instances of +his lordship’s kindness in visiting some of the sick third-class +passengers, and giving them dainties from his private stores; and I heard +one poor woman tell him she should never forget him for his goodness to +her husband. Some of our colonial passengers, wishing to make the most +of their unusual proximity to nobility, were too persevering in their +attentions to his lordship, and evidently bored him; but the tact with +which he “shunted” them, and the studied politeness of his language, did +not prevent onlookers detecting a silent “confound their impudence” +terminating each reply. + + [Picture: Cetewayo Disguised as a Gentleman] + +Once, in referring to the pertinacity of these people, he remarked to a +bystander, in a hissing tone, “One _must_ be civ-il.” The noble lord +took a great interest in everything pertaining to sailors; his regard for +them was evidently warm and genuine. While we were passing through the +Canal, coming to our anchorage for the night, we found the space at our +disposal was very limited, as the vessels were numerous, consequently our +men had to be very active in getting the ship into her berth. I was +standing by his lordship’s side, looking at the sailors running along the +sandbank, carrying the heavy cable as nimbly as though it was a fishing +line. Lord — was delighted, and, turning to me, and in his funny fashion +grasping his clothes in front of the place where his stomach should be, +exclaimed in tones of rapture, “Look at our _de-ah_ blue-jackets, look!” + +His lordship was very popular with the young men on board, but I hope he +did not often make such observations to them, as one young gentleman +informed me he had made to him, speaking of his past life. “I have +committed many sins in my time,” said his lordship, “and I hope to live +to commit many more.” + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +Returning from Australia we touched at Colombo, where my companion and a +friend paid an interesting visit to Arabi, who invited them to dine with +him. It soon became evident that intercourse would have to be conducted +through interpreters, as Arabi understood neither French nor English, and +his visitors were ignorant of Arabic. + +My friend was an invalid, and the first dish put on the table caused him +great anxiety, as it was one which his medical man had given him strict +orders to avoid. What was to be done? My companion explained to the +invalid that in the East no greater affront could be given to a host than +to decline to partake of what was offered, and so, not having provided +himself with Jack the Giant Killer’s device for disposing of surplus +food, he was fain to eat it, not without certain fearful forebodings. + +Arabi’s personal appearance had greatly altered, he having grown a beard +which was turning grey. At the table with him were his two sons, lads +apparently of ten and twelve years respectively. On his left sat Fehmi +Pasha, a man of very striking appearance with a face indicating +considerable intellectual power. Arabi desired to know what the English +thought of him, a question which my companion parried by saying the +English always respected a brave man. Rising to take leave of the host, +my companion patted the head of the eldest boy in a kindly manner. This +seemed to move Arabi in a singular way. He rose and said, in a sharp +tone of command, to his boys, “Salaam,” then, crossing the room and +placing his hand on my companion’s shoulder, said with some emotion, “Ah, +ah, good, good.” + +Proceeding on our voyage we called at Aden, a dreadful place, without a +single redeeming feature, in European eyes. Those of our countrymen who +are compelled to reside here in the service of the country are entitled +to the deepest sympathy of every Englishman. The possession of Aden is +of considerable importance to England and to India, both as a coaling +station and as a military post, although in the latter respect it is of +less importance than formerly. The islands commanding the channels at +the entrance to the Red Sea are after all the key to the position, one of +the most important being the Island of Perim, the acquisition of which +does more credit to the _’cuteness_ of the British commander at Aden than +to his sense of honour—that is, if the story told of him be true. It is +related that one evening, nearly forty years ago, two French war-ships +cast anchor before Aden, and the English governor with a laudable desire +to ascertain the object of their visit invited the commanders of the +ships to dinner. Unfortunately for France the officers were not +teetotallers, and the weather being hot and the British commander’s wine +strong, the gallant Frenchmen’s tongues were loosened, and the perfidious +Englishman ascertained that the mission with which his guests were +charged was no less than the occupation of the Island of Perim in the +name of Louis Philippe, King of the French! + + [Picture: Adenese Women] + +Without losing a moment the governor sent orders to the captain of the +English gunboat lying at Aden to proceed with all speed and in the +strictest secrecy to take possession of the island in the name of the +Queen! The sun had risen before the festivities at the governor’s +residence had ceased, and then with many bows his guests departed to +their ships, and shortly afterwards left Aden for their destination. On +arrival, their astonishment and mortification may be imagined when they +saw on the highest point on the island the British flag flying, and the +gunboat which they had seen at Aden on the previous day anchored close +inshore. The incident gave occasion for much tall talk at the time on +the part of the fiery French colonels, and, not without reason, I fear, +gave fresh life to the cry of “Perfidious Albion.” + +We arrived at Suez in the third week of February, and as soon as our +steamer stopped, our old dragoman Hassan came on board with a huge packet +of letters for us, and although he had only seen us once before, three +years ago, he not only remembered our names but came straight to us and +told us he had brought a boat for our use, and that bedrooms were engaged +for us at the hotel. We owed all this attention—which was most +seasonable, as I was still suffering from the effects of a malarious +fever contracted in Australia—to Messrs. Cook and Son, who had been +advised of my coming, and here I will say that in Egypt and Syria the +name of “Cook” is the talisman which solves all difficulties and robs +travelling of nearly all its inconveniences. + +On landing we were forcibly struck with the altered demeanour of the +people since our previous visit. On that occasion landing was effected +under the greatest difficulties. The people seemed to look upon us as +fair prey. It was almost impossible for us to keep our luggage together, +and the insolent threatening manner in which _backsheesh_ was demanded +was not a little disturbing to those who were visiting an eastern country +for the first time. But now all was changed; instead of idle excited +crowds loitering everywhere, everyone seemed to be engaged in some work, +_backsheesh_ was rarely asked for, and always in subdued tones, and one +refusal was enough. Even the donkey boys had been reached, for when +their proffered services were declined they went away with a “thank you.” + +The Suez Hotel is kept by an Englishman, and he informed us that during +the war he left it in charge of natives, and found everything safe and in +order on his return. + +On the following day we proceeded by railway to Cairo, _viâ_ Ismailia and +Tel-el-Kebir. At many of the stations British soldiers were on guard, a +part of their duty appearing to be the inspection of the natives’ +baggage; this was done amidst much good humour on both sides—indeed, all +through Egypt the British soldier seemed to be on the best possible terms +with the people, as indeed there is every reason why he should be, for it +is certain he has been the means of saving the people of Egypt from a +tyranny of the worst kind—the tyranny of rapacious pachas, civil and +military. With the usual exclusiveness of our nation, our party of four +had arranged to have the whole of the compartment of the railway-carriage +to ourselves. It is true we paid extra for the convenience, but at one +of the stations, the train being very crowded, two Frenchmen endeavoured +to enter, being prevented, however, by the Arab conductor. The +Frenchmen, with much gesticulation and great volubility, pointed out to +the Arab that there were only four persons in the carriage, whereas it +was constructed to take eight; the guard insisted that there were eight +persons in the compartment, although it was patent to all that there were +only four. “Four!” said the Frenchmen. “Eight!” returned the guard, +giving us a most wicked wink, which, however, failed to extort +_backsheesh_. Ultimately our would-be companions were safely bestowed +elsewhere. + +The railway passes by the field of Tel-el-Kebir, the entrenchments +stretching as far as the eye can reach. When my companion went over the +ground a few weeks after the battle it was covered with debris of every +kind, clothing, arms, ammunition, and other ghastly indications of a +battle-field. + +In one of the entrenchments my friend found a leaf torn from the New +Testament, while only a yard or two away was a leaf from the Koran, and +hard by he picked up a letter written in Arabic, addressed to a soldier +on the field, requesting him to authorise the writer to collect his rents +in Cairo. + +On reaching the station of Tel-el-Kebir we found a number of tourists who +had come up from Cairo to gather curiosities from the battle-field, but +since my friend’s visit in the autumn everything had been cleared off, +and the new comers were gathering pebbles (!) as mementoes of the famous +engagement. + +The little grave-yard in which the British troops are buried is situated +near to the station, and appeared to be kept in excellent order. + +In Cairo, as in Suez, the absence of the feverish excitement, latent +insolence, and spirit of unrest, so apparent during our last visit, was +very noticeable. There, too, _backsheesh_ was rarely demanded, and most +of the people seemed to have something to do. + +It was curious to see the English soldiers lounging about the town in all +directions. They seemed to be quite at home. One of them informed me he +had gone through the Transvaal campaign, but very much preferred the land +of Goshen! + +While we were in Cairo we often expressed our wonder that the city was +ever free from cholera or some other deadly epidemic. The sanitary +condition of the streets and public places was shocking in the extreme. + +Fronting the Opera House and the great hotels and Government offices are +the extensive Ezbekiyeh public gardens, enclosed with iron railings. +Around the outside is a very handsome paved footpath, which, although in +the very heart of the city, is in many places utterly impassable because +of the unspeakable horrors accumulated upon it. If the English +occupation of Egypt does nothing more than cause the towns of that +country to be properly cleansed, it will be the means of saving as many +lives every few years as were lost in the late campaign. + +There are two classes of people who undoubtedly view the British +occupation of Egypt with great and well-founded dislike—the military +party and the pachas. These classes have always played into each other’s +hands, and always at the expense of the down-trodden and patient +fellaheen—the backbone and mainstay of the country. For the latter class +the presence of the British army is an almost unmixed blessing. + +From time immemorial the desirability of connecting the Mediterranean and +Red Seas by a canal has been fully recognised; but the work does not +appear to have been attempted before the reign of Pharaoh Necho, who +undertook to construct a canal between the Nile and the Red Sea. In +carrying out this work 120,000 Egyptians perished, and before it was +completed the King abandoned it, having been informed by the Oracle that +the foreigners alone would profit by the work. Eventually the canal was +completed under the rule of Darius the Persian, and of the Ptolemies. + +The canal was carried through the lakes Balah and Menzaleh, another +branch being constructed to the Bitter Lakes, into which the fresh water +canal—watering the land of Goshen—emptied itself; but owing to the +constant state of war it fell into decay, and was abandoned. + +Many suggestions as to the reopening of the waterway have been made in +almost every generation since. Bonaparte, during his expedition to Egypt +in 1798, even caused the preliminary works to be undertaken. His chief +engineer surveyed the ground, but, owing to a serious miscalculation, +threw great doubt on the possibility of carrying out the work. He +estimated the level of the Red Sea to be nearly 33ft. higher than that of +the Mediterranean, an idea that Leibnitz ridiculed nearly a century +before. Vigorous protests against Lepère’s theory were not wanting, but +it was, nevertheless, sufficient to cause the abandonment of the scheme +until Monsieur Lesseps directed his attention to the matter. On his +appointment as an Attaché to the French Mission, Lesseps had to undergo a +lengthy quarantine at Alexandria; here he was supplied with books by his +Consul, among them being Lepère’s memoirs respecting the scheme for +connecting the two seas, the effect of which upon the young Frenchman’s +mind was never effaced. + +In 1847 a Commission of Engineers demonstrated the inaccuracy of Lepère’s +observations, and proved that the level of the two seas was practically +the same. In 1854 Lesseps having matured his plan laid it before the +Viceroy, who determined to carry it out. Palmerston, then premier, did +his utmost, from political motives, to thwart the enterprise; but early +in 1856 permission was given to commence the work. + +Considerable difficulty was experienced in raising the capital, but on +the 25th April, 1858, operations were actually begun. The Viceroy +undertook to pay many of the current expenses, and provided 25,000 +workmen, who were to be paid and fed by the Company at an inexpensive +rate, and were to be relieved every three months. In order to provide +these men with water 4,000 casks suitable for being carried on camels had +to be made, and 1,600 of these animals were daily employed in bringing +supplies, at a cost of £320 per day. + +At the end of December, 1863, the Fresh Water Canal was completed, by +which the Company was relieved of the enormous expense of supplying the +workmen with water. + +On the 18th March, 1869, the water of the Mediterranean was allowed to +flow into the nearly dry salt-incrusted basins of the Bitter Lakes, some +parts of which lay forty feet below the level of the Mediterranean, while +others required extensive dredging operations. The Bitter Lakes have +been identified with the Marah of the Bible (Exodus xv., 23—“And when +they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah for they +were bitter”). The captain of our vessel informed me that in these lakes +the saltness, and consequently the density, of the water is such as to +cause the vessel to rise five inches above the ordinary waterline. + +The cost of constructing the Canal amounted to about £19,000,000, more +than a third of which was contributed by the Khedive. The original +capital of the company in 400,000 shares amounted to £8,000,000, the +difference being raised by loans payable at fixed intervals, and adding +an annual burden to the scheme of £451,000. The festivities connected +with the opening of the Canal in 1869 cost the Khedive—that is to say the +taxpayer of Egypt—£14,200,000, or more than half the total capital! + +The great mercantile importance of the Canal is apparent from the +following data:—Between London and Bombay forty-four per cent. of the +distance is saved by through-going ships; between London and Hong Kong +twenty-eight per cent., and between Marseilles and Bombay fifty-nine per +cent. Over eighty per cent. of the trade passing through the Canal is +done in British vessels, and in 1875—or six years after the Canal was +opened—the English traffic was equal to twelve times that of the French. + +In 1870, 486 steamers, representing 493,911 tons, passed through the +canal, and in 1882 these figures had risen to 3,198 steamers with +7,125,000 tons. (_Baedeker_). + +From Port Saïd the Canal runs in a nearly straight line to Kantara (a +mere group of sheds), its course lying across the shallow lagoon-like +Lake Menzaleh, which has an average depth of only three feet. The +embankments are low, irregular sand-banks, formed of the dredged +material, and having at the margin of the water a coarse growth of +straggling sedgy-looking vegetation. After passing Kantara, the Balah +Lakes are reached, and the course is marked out in their open surface by +a double line of buoys. Then the most difficult portion of the original +work is reached—viz., the cutting of El Guisr, which is six miles long, +the depth from ground-level to surface of water being about forty-five +feet. This is by far the highest land in the Isthmus. Leaving the El +Guisr cutting, the open waters of Lake Timsah, (_Crocodile Lake_) are +reached, and far away across its blue mirror-like surface stretches the +double line of buoys, marking out the track. On the northern shore of +the lake, buried in a delightful mass of vegetation, lies the French town +of Ismailïa, once the great centre from which operations during the +construction of the Canal were conducted, and now one of the principal +stations whence its navigation is controlled by means of telegraph. Lake +Timsah has an area of some six or seven square miles, and the huge fleet +of war vessels, transports, and tenders which Lord Wolseley used as a +base for his operations in the late campaign lay there without +difficulty. From Lake Timsah the Suez Canal holds a roughly parallel +course with the Freshwater Canal and the Suez line of railway, and passes +through a long cutting into the Bitter Lakes, an extremely tame and +uninteresting sheet of water some fifteen miles long, with flat, low, +sandy banks, and thence into another long cutting—some twenty-six feet +deep at Shalouf—after which the flat sandy plains of Suez are traversed, +and the head of the gulf reached. + +The impression is general that the Suez Canal is cut through immense +deposits of sand, or sand and water, but this is quite erroneous. The +desert, it is true, is sandy and sterile, but the sand is quite +superficial, covering a gypseous clay, not at all difficult to work in. +From Balah to the Bitter Lakes there is fine muddy sand, with clay at +intervals, and at Serapeum a rocky barrier. From the Bitter Lakes to +Suez, however, there is a good clay, with limestone at Shalouf. The +sinuosities in the Canal are such as to render the passage of vessels +over 400 feet long somewhat difficult. It was expected that these curves +would prevent the washing away of the banks, but it is doubtful whether +they have at all contributed to the preservation of the sandy +embankments. Indeed, most of the predictions of the early destruction of +the Canal by the operation of natural causes have been proved to be as +ill-founded as such predictions generally are. The banks have no +ill-regulated propensity for crumbling away. The Canal is _not_ in +perpetual and imminent danger of being silted-up. The enormous and +costly dredging operations that were to swallow more than the revenue of +the undertaking are unknown, and the sole matter for regret is that the +Canal was not made as wide again as it is, for the accommodation of the +vast traffic it has created. Among the many confident prophesies made by +professional engineers of the day, one stands recorded in the technical +papers to the effect that every vessel must necessarily be towed through +the Canal, the explanation being that the regulation speed of five miles +per hour was not sufficient to afford steering “way”; hence, said the +prophet, the slightest wind across the line of the Canal must infallibly +blow ashore any vessel whose commander should have the temerity to +attempt to steam between the two seas. Experience, however, has shown +that the largest vessels are under perfect command when propelled by +their own engines. + +It is impossible for anyone to pass through the Canal without being +impressed with the urgent necessity for vastly increased accommodation +for the constantly augmenting traffic. The delays occasioned by the +difficulties in coaling, the blocks in the Canal—caused sometimes by the +enormous traffic, and sometimes by the sinking of a ship across the +narrow channel—are most vexatious. No less than five days elapsed +between the time of the arrival of our steamer at Port Saïd and of its +departure from Suez, a distance of less than one hundred miles. + +In every way it is most unfortunate for English commerce that—thanks to +the mulish obstinacy of Lord Palmerston—the management of the Canal +should have been thrown into the hands of Frenchmen; for, while according +the highest meed of praise to M. de Lesseps for his genius, tenacity of +purpose, and energy, in designing and carrying out such a vast +undertaking in the teeth of obstacles which would have daunted most men, +it is impossible to ignore the fact that, as compared with English +traffic-managers, the French officials responsible for the working of the +Canal are vastly inferior in capacity. The spirit of officialism as +displayed by a liberal use of red tape, and a certain non-elasticity in +carrying out the laws, so familiar to all travellers in France, exists in +an intensified form in the local management of the Canal. To the +ordinary traveller through the Canal, for example, it seems absurd that +vessels should be stopped for the night while some hours of light remain, +yet as soon as the sun goes down no further advance can be made. Again, +although daylight comes long before sunrise, it is forbidden to move till +the sun is up. Then again, experience shows that by the use of the +electric light the largest vessels can be handled with the utmost ease. +An electric light fixed in the foremast of a ship sweeps the Canal from +bank to bank, and for all practical purposes gives a light equal to that +of day; it seems strange, therefore, that vessels possessing such +appliances should not be permitted to proceed during the night. If one +ventures to make such a suggestion to a Canal official, he at once +replies that the rules laid down for the regulation of the traffic forbid +night passages, and if one further ventures to remind him that the said +rules were made before the introduction of electric lighting, he shrugs +his shoulders and plainly intimates that you have tried his patience long +enough. + +A little delegation of authority from the chief office to the pilot or +other Canal official on board the ships would at once result in a vast +diminution of delay, and consequently in an increase to the capability of +the Canal, but the genius of French administration appears to be opposed +to the granting of any latitude or freedom of action to inferior +officials, and so in the administration of the Canal everything is done +by the official at the chief office in Ismailïa, who transmits his orders +by telegraph. + +But, after all the practicable improvements in the navigation of the +present Canal have been made, the necessity for a new one will be no less +urgent, and it is especially unfortunate that the Conservative party +should have made negotiations with M. de Lesseps so difficult by openly +suggesting that we should use our accidental supremacy in Egypt to +advance the national interests, without regard to the rights possessed by +him. Whatever the actual status of M. de Lesseps, under his concession, +may be, it is clear that he has always considered he had a monopoly. At +the outset he endeavoured to enlist British sympathy and capital in his +undertaking by demonstrating that the bulk of the traffic must +necessarily come from English sources. Was it probable, therefore, he +would have spent the Company’s capital in making the Canal if, after +having demonstrated its success, an English company were at liberty to +make another, alongside, and take away four-fifths of its traffic? + +In business matters the French are proverbially short-sighted. They fail +to see that “three sixpences are better than one shilling,” and are +consequently unwilling to surrender present advantages without an +absolute certainty of an early and great benefit arising from their doing +so. They are much more truly a nation of retailers or shopkeepers than +the English are, notwithstanding Napoleon’s famous epithet. What is +wanted is a greater breadth of view in the administration of the Canal, +and it is in this respect that it is particularly unfortunate there is +not a larger English representation on the Board of Management. If we +had a representation equal to our share of the capital, the result would +soon be apparent in the adoption of a line of policy giving the utmost +facilities to the Canal’s customers, to the great advantage of both. + +The recent discussions upon the Suez Canal question cannot fail to be of +the greatest use to the Government when they reopen negotiations with M. +de Lesseps, and if the latter finds it impossible to make another canal +without a further concession of land, he may probably think it advisable +to conciliate his partner and chief customer by making greater +concessions in return for the influence of the British Government with +that of the Khedive and the Sultan on his behalf. + +But even if no further advantages for British commerce be obtained from +the Canal Company, this country occupies a unique position as regards +communication with the East. In less than fifteen years the whole of the +original cost of the British shares, both principal and interest, will +have been paid out of profits, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the +day will have to decide as to the destination of the revenue which the +shares produce. It appears to me that, after making provision for the +necessary expenses attending the administration of the property, it would +be both just and politic to return the balance to the owners of the ships +whose use of the Canal has been the means of creating the revenue. If +this course be adopted British commerce will be immensely benefited, for +our ships will be able to use the Canal at a little more than half the +expense falling upon those of other nations, and this great advantage +will have been obtained without having cost the British taxpayer a single +penny. The money will simply be returned into the hands which +contributed it, and the proposal, therefore, does not in any way partake +of the character of a bounty. + +What is known as the Dual Control was established in 1879. By it the +British and French Controllers-General were invested with considerable +powers over the administration of the finances, in addition to which the +Khedive undertook to assign a certain portion of the revenue for the +discharge of the national obligations. + +In the following year a Law of Liquidation, as drawn up by the +Commissioners appointed for the purpose, was issued with the agreement of +all the interested European Powers. + +In return for these concessions, the Foreign Bondholders made a +compromise with the Egyptian Government involving the surrender of a +considerable portion of their claims. This settlement, while relieving +the country from an enormous burden, placed it in a position to meet its +liabilities and to progress in the development of its resources, and, in +the language of Lord Granville in his despatch to Lord Dufferin, “it was +undoubtedly working well for the material prosperity of the country, and +promised to do so for the future;” and in a subsequent despatch the +Foreign Secretary declared that, through the action of the Control, great +advantages had been secured for the natives, such as “the spread of +education, the abolition of vexatious taxation, the establishment of the +land-tax on a regular and equitable basis, and the diminution of forced +labour.” + +Our dragoman, an intelligent Copt, fully corroborated Lord Granville’s +statement. He said that all that the Egyptian people required was +moderate taxation, certainty as to its amount and as to the time of its +collection, and such a military law as would relieve them from the +press-gang. He further said that before the institution of the Control, +whenever the Khedive wanted a new ironclad, or a new palace, or half a +dozen additional inmates for his harem, he ordered a new tax to be +levied; this tax was sold to some of the rapacious pachas about the +Palace, and resold by them to professional tax-gatherers. These wretches +committed the greatest atrocities upon the miserable fellaheen, exacting +the uttermost farthing under the threat, and often the actual +application, of torture; “but now,” said my informant, “although the +taxes are heavy, their amount is known, and they are collected in coin +after the harvest has been gathered.” + +The country was becoming very prosperous, and there was a surplus in the +Treasury when, in February, 1881, a military riot broke out, originating +in the arrest of certain Egyptian officers, among whom was the Colonel of +the 1st Regiment. The officers of this regiment broke into the Council +Room of the Ministry of War, ill-treated the Minister, and then, having +released the prisoners, proceeded to the Khedive’s Palace, followed by +the men of the regiment. In menacing tones they demanded the dismissal +of the Minister of War, and redress for their grievances. Arabi Bey was +one of the chief actors in this revolt. The Khedive was compelled to +submit, the mutinous colonels were reinstated, and tranquillity was +restored for the time. + +The army officers were not long, however, in showing what their principal +object was, for in a few weeks after the revolt, decrees were issued +increasing the pay of the army and navy to the extent of nearly £60,000 a +year. The Controllers-General had now become aware that everything was +at the disposal of the military party, and that the Minister could not +guarantee that the officers would not next day insist upon fresh +financial concessions. The next demand made by the colonels was that +nominations to vacant posts in regiments should rest with them, and this +was granted. The object of all this was clear enough—indeed, Arabi +declared at one of the meetings of the Commission that “he would not +yield unconditional obedience to the War Minister.” As time went on +fresh symptoms of disaffection broke out, all indicating the +determination of the military party to throw off all control and +restraint. In September the Ministry was dismissed at the instance of +these same men, who throughout the remainder of the year continued a +harassing series of turbulent outbreaks, gradually increasing in +audacity, and more and more trenching upon matters of administration. +They went so far as to demand an increase in the army, involving an +annual addition to the estimates of £280,000, although the Controllers +declared that not nearly half that amount was available. + +The principal figure in all these outbreaks was Arabi, who steadily kept +himself at the head of the disaffected party, and gradually increased his +influence. After being appointed Under Secretary of War, then Chief +Secretary, he was described by Sir E. Malet as having become “Arbiter of +the destinies of the country.” In March he was made Pasha, and the +Khedive was compelled to assent to a number of promotions by Arabi, who +insisted on dispensing with the examination required by law for officers. +In a word, the real power had become vested in the chiefs of the military +party, and the objects of those chiefs were showing themselves more and +more evidently to be, increase of the army, increase of pay and promotion +of a large number of officers to high military rank—the desire of all +such men in every country of the world. + +In the following month Arabi caused numerous arrests to be made among the +officers and soldiery in consequence of an alleged conspiracy to murder +him. Among the prisoners was the Minister of War, who had been dismissed +at the demand of the mutinous regiments in the previous February. The +prisoners were tried by a court-martial—irregularly constituted—and the +proceedings were kept secret, while no counsel were allowed for the +defence. It was generally believed that torture had been used to extort +confession. Forty officers were condemned to exile for life to the +farthest limits of the Soudan. The Khedive, with great courage, refused +to sanction the sentence, and issued a decree commuting it to simple +banishment from Egypt. + +In the meantime the excitement continued to increase, and the Governments +of France and England decided to send a naval force to Alexandria for the +protection of the interests of their subjects in Egypt. The combined +fleet arrived at Alexandria on the 20th of May. On June 11th the great +riot and massacre of Europeans took place, Arabi in the meanwhile +erecting new earthworks and strengthening the forts, in spite of his +repeated assurances to the contrary. On July 11th, the French fleet +having withdrawn, and twenty-four hours’ notice having expired, Admiral +Seymour opened fire on the forts, and after a few hours completely +silenced them; not, however, without his ships having suffered +considerably in the encounter. + +The above is a sketch of Arabi’s career from the time of his first coming +into public notice to the time when he became Dictator. He was at no +pains to conceal his character as a military adventurer, and every +successive step in his career proves him to have been no other. It is +true that during the last few weeks he appeared to carry the country with +him, which, however, is not difficult to account for, seeing that he was +“master of the legions,” and that detachments of the army had been sent +out into the highways and byways to compel men to come in at the point of +the bayonet. In ordinary times it is no uncommon thing to see a +chain-gang going through the streets of Egyptian towns composed, not of +criminals, but of unhappy wretches brought in by the press-gang for +service in the army, and should any of them falter in their steps through +weariness or despair, the heavy stick of the driver is always ready to +descend upon their shoulders. The only effect of the success of the +movement headed by Arabi would have been the perpetuation and extension +of this terrible state of things; and yet this is the man who has been +persistently held up to the admiration of the world as a pure-minded +patriot by a large section of what is called the Peace Party in England. +In the towns Arabi and his agents worked upon the cupidity of the lower +orders by telling them that he intended to drive the foreigners into the +sea, and that their property should be given over to a general loot. In +the country districts, where the fellaheen are ground down under the heel +of the usurer—always a foreigner, as the Koran forbids usury—Arabi +promised to cancel the village debts, and banish the usurers; {259a} +while in Upper Egypt, where usury is less common, he appealed to +Mohammedan fanaticism. But nowhere did he appeal to a national +sentiment, {259b} until, indeed, by various devices, he had become +absolute master of the country, when perhaps he thought he might say +_L’Etat, c’est moi_. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +A wretched journey of over eight hours by rail brought us to Alexandria +shortly before midnight. A fierce gale with rain prevailed during most +of the journey, and owing to the dilapidated condition of the carriage, +waterproofs were necessary to protect us from the rain, which, in spite +of closed windows, found access to every part of the compartment. The +line itself and the whole of the rolling stock, were in a miserable +condition of disrepair, and utterly unfit for traffic. + +The drive from the railway station to the Hotel Abbat gave us our first +glimpse of the ruin wrought by the rioters. The raging storm and +drenching sleet were singularly in accord with the scene of desolation +and misery on every hand. After the long and cold railway journey, and +the drive in the open vehicle from the station, we were in hopes of +finding comfortable quarters in the hotel, but the wretchedness +prevailing outside seemed to have penetrated into every corner of the +establishment. It was impossible to get anything hot to eat, and the +cold meats were most uninviting. The proprietor, expecting another train +in about an hour, deferred serving even this cold cheer until its +arrival. Meanwhile nothing remained for us but to try to warm ourselves +by pacing up and down the scantily-furnished _salle a manger_. + + [Picture: A Familiar Face] + +We were glad to get to bed notwithstanding that the carpets in the +bedrooms were flapping in the wind in the most vigorous manner during the +night. + +On rising next morning we found the storm had not abated, indeed it +continued with undiminished fury during the whole of our stay. Our time, +however, being limited, it was necessary to disregard the weather in +order to visit the scene of the recent operations and the ruins of the +city. On leaving the hotel our dragoman of three years ago, Kalifa, at +once recognised us, and under his guidance we made a tour of the +fortresses, going first to Ras-el-Tin. We found the palace of that name, +which forms the landward boundary of the fortress, still partially in +ruins and apparently deserted. One could not help feeling that the +architect, in selecting such a site for a royal residence, must have +regarded the possibility of an attack upon the fort from the sea as being +too remote to be taken into account. Some of the other forts had at one +time stood isolated from the town, but apparently it might be said of the +Alexandrians that + + “Exceeding peace had made them bold,” + +for the approaches to the forts had gradually been built upon until at +length some of the houses were even erected against the fortifications. +These were the houses which were destroyed during the bombardment, and +the ruin of which gave rise to the impression that the city itself had +been shelled. All the forts presented the same dismal aspect of ruin. +Shattered ramparts, battered casemates, huge holes in the walls of the +store-houses; the heavy Armstrong guns dismantled, some with the muzzle +pointed high up in the air, others lying on the ground; in all cases the +gun-carriages smashed and crushed into shapelessness; burst shells, and +heaps of stones and mortar lying everywhere; great deep pits in the +ground, showing where an “Inflexible” shell had burst. The buildings and +ramparts are of loosely-built stonework, hence wherever a shell struck, +it told with full and destructive effect. Here and there one could see +that a single shell had penetrated a rampart, scattered the earth, +upheaved a heavy Armstrong, and enveloped a casemate in a heap of +demolished masonry. In Fort Aïda an explosion, which wrecked the whole +place, occurred early in the action. In the whole of the forts there +were Armstrong guns of great calibre and of modern date. Their +appearance after the bombardment was most extraordinary: pieces knocked +out of the muzzles, huge slabs sheared out of their sides, and in many +cases the coils pitted with shot marks. In most places, and at Fort Meks +in particular, the muzzles were burst, but this was the work of the +landing parties shortly after the action. There can be no question that +the armament of these forts was of a very formidable character, and that +the condition of the fleet after the encounter might have been a very +serious one had the guns throughout been well handled. + +After leaving the Forts we went with a friend, long resident in +Alexandria, to Ramleh, the fashionable suburb of the city. The word +Ramleh means “sand,” and that being so it may be said that no place was +ever more appropriately named. It is a mere sand waste by the shore, and +its villas are separated by sand wastes. The effect is somewhat +Australian, and the use of verandahs and Venetian shutters helps the +suggestion. Our friend’s house was close to what is known as Gun Hill, +that is, where the 40-pounders were, and from his Egyptian roof he could +see Arabi’s advanced position and the whole of the British camp. At 4 +p.m. every day it was the custom to go and see the practice from Gun +Hill. Mr. A.’s house was open during the whole time, and he told us it +was for the most part more like a picnic than a campaign. The officers, +however, were frequently called from his billiard table by an alarm from +the camp, and on such occasions Mr. A. had an understanding with them +that should the English be driven in they were to warn him when +retreating past his house by firing a volley through his windows! There +were of course times of great anxiety notwithstanding the excitement and +interest. + +Mr. A. was in Alexandria during the massacre, and at the time of the +bombardment he was only away two days, being the first to return to his +house and live in it. While there, many of the neighbouring houses were +looted. His description of the daily shooting of looters reminded one of +the accounts of the latter days of the Paris Commune. Mr. A.’s garden is +ornamented with heavy English shells, which, he tells his visitors, fell +there—from a cart! + +During the afternoon we had a stroll through the European quarter of the +city, and were amazed at the destruction to be seen on every hand. The +rows of fine houses, the shops, the buildings of the Grand Square, the +Place Mohammed Ali, with its gardens, all a mass of unsightly ruins, from +which workmen were getting out the stones and stacking them up in long +rows on the footways. We had been pretty familiar with Alexandria, but +in the maze of ruined stonework we were completely at a loss and could +not find our way. Kalifa, however, came to our assistance, and guided by +him we took a drive through the native quarter, and soon perceived that, +though the destruction by incendiarism was unfortunately greatest in the +European quarter, the _petroleurs_ had not spared their fellows, for many +native houses were burned. The extent to which property was destroyed is +incredible. There must be several miles of streets in the sheerest ruin. +The poor shopkeepers of the Place Mohammed Ali now occupy temporary +wooden shanties, and the general aspect of this once gay and opulent +quarter is wretched in the extreme. + +We next day paid a visit to Fort Meks, but except that its armament was +somewhat heavier than that of its fellows, there were no new features to +be seen. The same desolate appearance of ruin and destruction—crippled +gun-carriages, burst guns, crumbling ramparts, and shell-ploughed ground. +This fort, from the accuracy of its gun practice, was the most +troublesome to the fleet. The five terrible “Armstrongs,” however, lay +burst and useless in the sand drifts, with the rude and forgotten graves +of the poor gunners round about them. + +A flood of misplaced eloquence has been expended in denouncing the +conduct of the British Government for having “bombarded and utterly +destroyed a defenceless commercial city,” and the statement has been +repeated so often as to be believed by many; but I will venture to say +that no one will for one moment believe it who has had the opportunity, +as I have, of being conducted over the city and the fortifications by an +intelligent gentleman, an old resident, who was present during the whole +of the operations, and who emphatically denies that the bombardment of +the forts caused any greater damage than I have described. The charge +has come mainly from the advocates of peace; but it is a misfortune that +such a sacred cause should be damaged by gross exaggerations, and by +statements which it is impossible to sustain. The cause of peace, like +the temperance cause, has suffered greatly by this habit of exaggeration. + +At the _table d’hote_ I sat by an English officer who had been in the +thick of the fight at Kassassin, and who had escaped unhurt; he did not +seem inclined to say much about his experiences on that terrible day, but +he entertained a great respect for the fighting capacity of the Egyptian +soldier when properly led. + +During the whole of our stay in Alexandria the weather continued to be +extremely boisterous and very cold, and we were glad to get on board the +P. and O. steamer for Brindisi. Some Anglo-Indians joined the vessel +here, and we had an opportunity of observing the way in which some of our +countrymen treat native races. + +A crowd of Arabs in boats were alongside, offering their wares to the +passengers as they stepped up the side of the ship. Amongst the rest +there was a man with his little daughter offering raw eggs, beads, +shells, etc. Two of the Anglo-Indians having bought a dozen of the eggs, +and having stationed themselves in a convenient position on deck, +proceeded to pelt the poor trader, completely spoiling his stock, and +covering him and his child with the contents of the missiles. During the +voyage these fellows also behaved in a brutal manner towards the native +stewards on board. It is not to be wondered at that men like these +object to judicial powers over Europeans being extended to natives, for +it is probable that under the operation of the Ilbert Bill they would +stand a fair chance of getting what they do not want—viz., justice. It +is not difficult to imagine how such men would act towards the natives if +they were a thousand miles away from a court having jurisdiction in cases +of violence on the part of Europeans against natives. + +Stay-at-home folks in England usually think of the Mediterranean as being +calm as a lake, bathed in sunlight, and blue as the famous grotto in the +Island of Capri; but such has not been my experience on the three +occasions upon which I have traversed its length. + +Once, however, as we were leaving Alexandria, a very beautiful phenomenon +presented itself. The waters of the harbour were of a dead pale +sea-green while outside the bar the Mediterranean was of an intense, +opalescent, turquoise-blue, so exquisitely beautiful that the attention +of the whole ship’s company was directed upon it. We presently crossed +the bar and dipped right into this extraordinary colour. The line of +demarcation was clear and sharp, and lay just outside the harbour. + +On reaching the open sea we encountered a furious gale, which continued +with varying intensity until our arrival off Brindisi four days +afterwards—twenty-four hours after time. The sea, which had been running +high during the whole voyage, made a clean breach of the bridge on the +last evening, necessitating the bringing of the vessel’s head to the wind +and “lying-to” for the night. + +On arrival off the entrance to the harbour no pilot was forthcoming, and +it began to be whispered that we should not be permitted to land without +undergoing quarantine; but happily our fears proved to be groundless, and +the captain having run up a signal informing the port authorities of his +intention to go in without a pilot, we were soon alongside, and on +European soil once again. + + [Picture: After the Battle: Up-Ended Guns] + + * * * * * + + THE END. + + + + +INDEX. + +Albatross, The 27 @115} +America (_see also_ United 135–178 +States) +America—Journey across from San 147 +Francisco + Albany 164 + — Schools at 165 + Alkali Plains, The 155 + American Language 165 + André, Major 167 + Appetising Mottoes and 160 +Sentiments + Arnold, General 167 + Bill of Fare, A Curious 160 + Blue Gum, The (_illus_) 148 + Brigham Young’s Dominions 155 + Bright, John 151 + Boats 165 + Bogus Ticket Sellers, Beware 157 +of + Buildings, Block of, Removed 161 +Bodily + Bull Frogs 149 + Buttes, The 158 + Cañons 152, 157 + Cape Horn 152 + Catskill Mountains 165 + Chicago 160, 161 + — Fires in 161 + — Streets in, Equal to Best in 161 +London + — Timber Houses still Numerous 161 + — Water Supply for 161 + Churches, Opposition 167 + Corinné 155 + Corn over Ten Feet High 147 + — without Manure 147 + Country like a Park 147 + Cow-Catcher, The 154 + Crash, A Tremendous 152 + Descent of 8,000 feet 159 + Detroit 162 + Devil’s Slide, The (_illus_) 159 + Dining Car, A Well-appointed 160 + Dollar will Go a Long Way 168 + Elevation, Greatest Attained 152 + English Gold Refused 157 + Eschscholtzias growing wild 147 + Eucalyptus, The (_illus_) 148 + Falls River 164 + Fields Hundreds of Acres in 147 +extent + Fires in Chicago 161 + Flowers, Immense patches of 147 + Free Country 169 + Gold-Diggings reworked by 149 +Chinese + — Track through 148 + Gum Tree, The (_illus_) 148 + Hotel, The Grand Pacific, 162 +Chicago + Hudson River 165, 167 + Identification a Difficult 161 +Task + I guess I’ll take your Gold 157 + Indians, Dreadful looking 149 + — on the War-Path 152 + John Scales, Justice of the 168 +Peace (_illus_) + Justice, A Dealer in 168 + Lake Ontario 164 + Language, American 164 + Life on the Road, A New 161 +Feature of + Lupins growing wild 147 + Marigolds, Patches of 147 + Military Academy, West Point 167 + Mineral Wealth, Untold 148 + Money-Lender complains 148 + Monument Rock (_illus_) 158 + Mormon Advice 154 + — Tabernacle Visited 157 + — Wives lack Cordiality 156 + Narrow Escape 151 + Night Attack on Indians 153 + Ogden 156, 157 + Omaha 160 + Pacific Railroad, A Single 151 +Track + Pallisades, The, Hudson River 166 +(_illus_) + Passport Found Useful 161 + Pine Forests 149 + Poultry Secured by the Leg 169 + Pullman Train, Life on Board 149 + Railway Covered with Sheds 152 + — on Trestles 157 + — Open to Prairie 154 + — Ride, a splendid one 177 + Red Sandstone Rocks 158 + Ride, A Long (Omaha to 160 +Chicago) + Rip van Winkle 165 + River Boats 165 + — Hudson 165, 167 + Rome 164 + Sacramento Valley 147 + Saints, Cruel Treatment by the 153 + Salt Lake City Beautifully 156 +Situated + — (_illus_) 155 + Sambo said “No Sah!” 159 + Schools, National, at Albany 165 + Snow Mountains 149 + — Travelling through 157 + Soil Twenty Feet Deep 147 + Steamers on the Rivers 165 + Streets in Chicago Equal to 161 +Best in London + Sulphur Spring 157 + Syracuse 164 + Taurus Meets the Train 154 + Tennyson Claimed as an 165 +American Author + Timber Houses still Numerous 161 +in Chicago + Train, The Last Over 152 + — The, Met by Taurus 154 + Trapper’s Story, The 153 + Turning Point between East and 152 +West + Utica 164 + Water Supply for Chicago 161 + West Point, on the Hudson 167 + Witches, The 158 +American Grievance 128 +— Passengers from Honolulu 127 +Americans not good Sailors 127 +Ascension, Island of (_illus_) 17 +Auckland 115 +Avoca (_illus_) 67 + Woolgrowers 67 +Australian Colonies (_see also_ 101 +Melbourne, Sydney, Victoria, +Tasmania, New South Wales) + Agricultural Labour, A Fine 111 +Field for + Artisans, Skilled 110 + Australia, People of, 112 +Described + — Young 111 + Climate Exhausting 110 + _Ornithorhynchus paradoxus_ 112 +(_illus_) + Drought, A Ten Months’ 113 + Education Amply Provided for 111 + Emigrate, Who should 110 + Free Trade 101 + Labour Market, State of 101 + — Unskilled, A Fine Field for 111 + Mining Machinery, Perfection 107 +of + Platypus, The Duck-billed 112 +(_illus_) + Population 120 + — Surplus, Great Field for 110 + Postal Arrangements 111 + Protection 101 + Railways 111 + Rent of Houses Enormously Dear 110 + Schools, First-rate 111 + Telegraphs 111 + Wages Higher, but Most Things 110 +Dearer, than in England +Baby Hippopotamus at Play 21 +(_illus_) +Ballarat 48 + Botanical Gardens 49 + Gold Mine 48 + — (_illus_) 49 + — Smallness of 49 + Gold Raised 49 + Lake Wendouree 49 +Bananas 127 +Bay of Biscay 5 +Betting on Board Ship 26 +Boat in a Squall off Plymouth 2 +Brandy or Whisky? 131 +Brummagem Shams, where 13 +manufactured +Burial at Sea 131 +Burying the Dead Horse (_illus_) 21 +Campbell Town 74 + Our Waiter at (_illus_) 79 +Canada 162 + American Customs Officer’s 164 +Equipment + Clifton House, Niagara 162 + Desecration, Ruthless 163 + Green Fields like those at 162 +Home + Great Western Railway 162 + London 162 + Niagara, Impressions of 164 + Paris 162 + Photographers 163 + Salary, Must Raise, I Guess 164 + Suspension Bridge at Niagara, 164 +Crossing +Centipedes, A Plague of 127 +Chair, Taking the 129 +Coral Reefs 116, 118 +Day Dropped 119 +Day Gained 119 +Duel, Rumours of 121 +Educated in Four Colleges 130 +Egypt 181–268 + Abaid 197 + Abbaseyeh Palace 216 + Abbas Pasha 216 + Abraham or Isaac, Old Fellow 191 +like + Aden, a Dreadful Place 239 + — Importance of 239 + Adenese Women (_illus_) 240 + Agricultural Operations 223 + Agriculture à la Adam 188 + Alexandria 260 + — in Ruins 264 + — not Bombarded 265 + — the Forts after Bombardment 262 + Anglo-Indians 266 + Apis Mausoleum, The 203 + Arab, A Discerning 232 + — An, Hanged 228 + — School in Syria 211 + Arabi, Appointed Under 256 +Secretary of War + — at Colombo 238 + — Bey 255 + — Causes Numerous Arrests 257 + — Erects New Earth-works 258 + — How he Recruited his Army 258 + — Made Pasha 257 + — Military Adventurer 258 + — Moved in a singular way 239 + — Principal Figure in 256 +Outbreaks + — Visit to 238 + Arabi’s Personal Appearance 239 + Arabs, Bedouin 183 + — How Kept in Order 181 + — Picturesque Party of 181 + Au Revoir (_illus_) 225 + Backsheesh 185, 190, 195, 197, 198, 207, + 210, 218, 224, 228, 241, 243 + — not demanded 210 + Balah, Lake of 245, 248 + Bazaars, In the 190 + Bedrashên 201 + Beggars 195 + Bellows, not made in 191 +Birmingham + Bery cheap, sah! (_illus_) 191 + Bethshemish (Heliopolis) 220 + Biblical Allusions, How to 185 +Understand + Biograph, A Graphic 206 + Bitter Lakes, The, Identified 246 +with Marah + — Saltness of 247 + Black Guard, A 242 + Blacking a Boy’s Bare Feet 186 + Blue Jackets, Look at our 237 +_de-ah_ + Blue Ribbon Army 233 + Boat or Dahabieh 215 + Boats, How Propelled 181 + Bohemiennes 228 + Bonaparte, Attempts to Reopen 245 +Suez Canal + Bond-holders, Foreign 254 + Bridal Party, A 192 + Brindisi 267 + British Canal Shares 253 +Profitable + — Mission, Schools at 211 + Bûlak, A Street in (_illus_) 219 + — Suburb of Cairo 220 + Bull, The Sacred 203 + Burying-ground 202 + Cairo 187, 188, 242 + — Sanitary Condition of, 244 +Shocking + — Trades of 188 + — Visit to, by Train 184 + Camelcade, A (_illus_) 208 + Camelcades 207 + Camels, Strings of 207 + Carriages, Ladies’ 212 + Casinos 228 + Cemetery, An Ancient 202 + Cetewayo, _alias_ The Carrib 229, 234 + — Disguised as a Gentleman 235, 236 +(_illus_) + Cheops, Great Pyramid of 197 + Children, Naked 208 + Christian, I am a 218 + Citadel, The 194 + City, A great 202 + Civ-il, One must be 236 + Colombo 238 + Colonels, The, Make further 256 +Demands + Concert, A Pleasant, Looked 228 +Forward to + Cook and Son 241 + — Name of, a Talisman 241 + Coptic Guide offered a 190 +Commission + Coral Necklaces 227 + Cotter, Lieutenant 229 + Court Martial, Irregular 257 + Crocodile 206 + — A dead 216 + — Lake 248 + Crowd, A Motley 181 + Custom-house Examination 182 + — occupied by English 227, 229 +Artillerymen + Dahabieh or Nile boat 215 + Dancers and Howlers 210 + Dervishes, The, Dancing and 209 +Howling + — The, Supported by Government 210 +Endowment + Desert, Prayers in the 209 +(_illus_) + Devils, Familiar 195 + Donkey Boy, An Egyptian 184 +(_illus_) + — My Donkey, good sah 184 + Donkey Ride 183 + — across the Nile 215 + Donkeys for Nine 183 + — Homeward Bound 216 + — Names of 183 + — Universal Use of 214 + Dragoman (_illus_) 182 + Drive to Heliopolis 216 + Dual Control, The 254 + Dutch Hotel occupied by Royal 228 +Marines + Egg-hatching Establishment 194 + Eggs, she only steals the Eggs 212 +now + Egypt, British Occupation of, 244 +how Beneficial + — by whom Disliked 244 + Egyptian Character, Saddest 220 +Side of + — People, Requirements of 255 + Electric Light, The, 231 + El Guisr, The Cutting of 248 + Embroidery 190 + End, The (_illus_) 268 + Englishman perfidious 240 + English Representation on 252 +Board of Management of Suez Canal +not large enough + Ethiopia shall yet Stretch 185 +Forth her Hand + European Buildings, Few 183 + Exclusiveness, British 242 + Excursion, A delightful 208 + Ezbekiyeh Public Gardens 244 + Face, A Familiar (_illus_) 261 + Fair-day, A 222 + Fakir, A Holy (_illus_) 220, 222 + Fehmi Pasha 239 + Fellaheen, The, ground down 259 + Fort Aïda 263 + — Meks 263, 265 + — Gemileh 229 + French, A Nation of Retailers 252 + — Fleet, The, Withdraws 258 + — The, outwitted 240 + Fresh-water Canal completed 246 + Friday, the Mohammedan Sabbath 209 + Gamblers on Board Ship 235 + Gentlemen of the Long Robe 227 + Gizeh, Pyramids of 195 + — Station 201 + Goshen, Land of 244 + — Land of, preferred 244 + Governor, A ’cute 239 + Graphic Biograph, A 206 + Graveyard at Tel-el-Kebir 243 + Greek Money-changer 226 + Gun Hill 263 + Hassan 182, 184, 241 + — Sultan 192 + — Disguised as a Pilgrim 192 + — How he Recovered his Throne 194 + Heliopolis (Bethshemish) 220 + — Drive to 216 + Hens, Laziness of 194 + Hippopotamus 206 + Homes, Everlasting 207 + Home to Vote 225 + Hostelries 207 + Hotel Abbat 260 + Howlers and Dancers 210 + Insects something Maddening 230 + Irrigation 223 + — Method of, Described 188 + Ismailïa 186, 248 + Jewellers 191 + — Weighing for 191 + Joseph and Mary’s Tree 218 + Kantara 247 + Khalifs, The Tombs of the 218 +(_illus_) + Khedive’s Gardens, The 215 + Khedive, The 208, 212 + — The, Compelled to submit 255 + Koran, The, in Competition 189 +with Threepenny Pieces + Labour, Forced, a Painful 187 +Sight + Lady, The Last Unmarried 230 + Lake Menzaleh 230, 247 + — Timsah 248 + Lakes, The Bitter 245, 249 + Law of Liquidation 254 + Lepère’s Theory 245 + — Proved Incorrect 245 + Lesseps, M., Detained at 245 +Alexandria + — Matures his Theory 246 + L’etat, c’est moi 259 + Leviathan, Job’s Reference to 207 + Lucullus 259 + Lily, Painting the 186 + Luggage, A Lady’s 184 + — How Treated 181 + Mameluke Dynasty, The Last of 218 + Mamelukes, Massacre of 194 + Manufacturing Quarter 191 + Mariette exhumes the Serapeum 203 + Marines 229 + — as Police 230 + Mausoleum, The Apis 203 + Mecca Pilgrims, Rendezvous of 216 + Mediterranean, The 267 + — Waters of, Flow into Bitter 246, 248 +Lakes + Member, Once a, always a 234 +Member + Memphis 202 + — Ancient, Site of 201 + — Little more than a Name 202 + Menzaleh, Lake of 245 + Military Riot 255 + Mitrahineh (site of Ancient 201 +Memphis) + Mohammed Ali, Mosque of 194 + Money-Changers’ Liberality 227 + Monument, Most Ancient in the 202 +World + Mosque of Sultan Hassan, Visit 194 +to + — The, of Sultan Hassan 193 +(_illus_) + Mother, Son thrashes her only 212 +once a month + Mud, Great Difficulty in 230 +Making Canal + Museum, The National, for 222 +Egyptian Antiquities + Mutinous Conduct 256 + Naval Force sent by France and 257 +England + — Arrival at Alexandria 257 + Nap on Deck 234 + Necropolis, Ancient 202 + Nile-boat, A 216 + Nile, The 187 + — Valley of 188 + — View on the (_illus_) 198 + Nobleman, The Languishing 184 + Noph (Memphis) 202 + Nubians Reported to be 229 +Excellent Soldiers + Obelisk, The Oldest in Egypt 218 + Octroi, or Town Tax 216 + On (Heliopolis) 220 + Orgies, Pious 210 + Orient, The Steamship 186 +(_illus_) + — a Magnificent Steamship 181 + Orphans, Venerable 224 + Palmerston, Lord, thwarts 246 +Lesseps + Palms, Oranges, and Lemons 218 + Patriarchal Group, A 197 + Pebbles as Mementoes of 243 +Tel-el-Kebir + Peep, A (_illus_) 190 + Penny, New, Refused 185 + People, Vast Numbers with 185 +Nothing to do + Perim, Island of, how acquired 239 + Pious Orgies 210 + Police, The, Armed with Long 216 +Spikes + Port Saïd 230, 247 + — a Dreadful Place to Live in 230 + — Harbour 231 + — Lighthouse 231 + — Railway wanted to 232 + Power vested in Military Party 257 + Prayers in the Desert 209 +(_illus_) + Predictions, Ill-founded 249 + President, The, of Red Ribbon 235 +Army + Pyramid, Ascending the Great 196 +(_illus_) + — The great Step 202 + — The Oldest 202 + Pyramids, Road to 187 + — The 216 + — The, First View of 187 + Quarantine 268 + Ramleh 263 + Ramses II, Statue of 202 + Ras-el-Tin 261 + Red Tape 250 + — Ribbon Army 233 + Rendezvous of Mecca Pilgrims 216 + Revoir, Au (_illus_) 225 + Riot and Massacre of Europeans 257 + Rotten Row of Cairo, The 212 + Runners or Saïs, The (_illus_) 212, 212 + Sabbath, the Mohammedan 209 + Safes, obviously of English 191 +Manufacture + Saïs, The 212 + Sacred Bull, Burying-place of 203 + Sakkara, To 201 + Sand, A good Preservative 205 + Sarcophagus, A huge 203 + School, An Arab, in Syria 211 + — Interrupted 189 + Schoolmaster’s, A, 211 +Disappointment + Schoolmaster, The, Abroad 189 +(_illus_) + — The, asks for Backsheesh 190 + Schools, Miss Whateley’s 211 + Sculpture, Life-like 222 + Selim, Sultan 218 + Serapeum, The (_illus_) 203, 204 + Seymour, Admiral, Opens Fire 258 +on Forts + Shalouf 248 + Shave, A, and a Wash (_illus_) 199, 199 + Ship of the Desert, A Wrecked 223 + Shoeblacks 186 + Shops Tiny 182 + Shubra Avenue, In (_illus_) 214 + — The 212 + Simon Stylites 220 + Soldier, British, in Egypt 242 + Soldiers, English, quite at 244 +home + — glad to have Newspapers 230 + Sphinx, The 216 + — The (_illus_) 199 + Spider, The 233, 234, 235 + Spider’s Web, The 234 + Statue, A, Four Thousand Years 222 +old + Stick, The Heaven-sent 198 + Story-teller, A 222 + Storytellers, Professional, at 188 +Cairo + Strabo, on the Serapeum 203 + Street in Bûlak (_illus_) 219 + Streets of Suez Narrow 182 + Suez 241, 248 + — Arrive off 181 + Suez Canal, A new Canal wanted 252 + — British Traffic through 247 + — Cost of Constructing 247 + — Does not silt up 249 + — Embankments of 247 + — Erroneous Impressions 249 + — Festivities on Opening 247 + — First Undertaken by Pharaoh 244 +Necho + — French Officials inferior in 250 +capacity + — French short-sighted in 252 +Business Matters + — In the (_illus_) 226 + — Lesseps’ Monopoly 252 + — Lesseps, M. de 250 + — Mercantile Importance of 247 + — Necessity of increased 250 +accommodation + — Operations begun 246 + — Palmerston, Lord, Obstinacy 250 +of + — Restrictions Absurd 251 + — Ships not allowed to move 251 +after Sun-down + — Sinuosities of 249 + — Steamers under perfect 250 +control + — Suggestion, A 253 + — How to deal with Profit 253 + — The 244 + Suez Hotel 182, 242 + — Streets of, Narrow 182 + Sultan, Selim 218 + Tel-el-Kebir 242, 243 + Temple, Underground 201 + Tih, The Tomb of 205 + Timsah, Lake, Lord Wolseley’s 248 +base of operations + Tomb of Tih (_illus_) 205, 206 + Tombs of the Khalifs (_illus_) 218 + Torture, A Novel Instrument of 220 + Town Tax, The, or the Octroi 216 + Treasures, Buried 201 + Tree, The Virgin’s 218 + Umbrellas, A New Use for 181 + Villages, Dreadful Mud 207 + Virgin’s Tree, The 218 + Wash, A, and a Shave (_illus_) 199, 201 + Wash Basin, An Impromptu 229 + Washing Hands, A Primitive 199 +Mode of + Water-carriers (_illus_) 215 + Weigher for the Trade 192 + Whateley’s, Miss, Schools 211 + What lack ye? 226 + Wild Fowl Shooting, Good 230 + Words which Broke no Bones 182 + Zagazig 187 +Equator, Heat at 24 +Faces too Dark to be Seen 122 +Falmouth 63 + Beach and Sands 71 + Burial-place (_illus_) 70 + Cockney Sportsman 71 + Der Dichter Spricht 65 + Epping Forest 67 + Hotel (_illus_) 69 + Land of Snakes 64 + Magpies 63 + River Esk 64 + Stoney Creek 64 +Fernshaw 53 + Hard Fare 53 + Pioneering 53 +Fiji Children ask for More 117 + — Islands 116 + — Native of (_illus_) 117 +Fingal 67 +Fire Brigade Practice 119 +Flying Fish 27 +Free Trade 99 +Gambling on Board Ship 26 +Golden Gate, The 131 +Gum Trees, A Forest of 51 +— (_illus_) 52, 53 +Habits of Islanders acquired 128 +Healesville 51 + A Soafler 51 + Hotel Accommodation 51, 56 + Remedy, a Sovereign 58 +Hobart Town 77 + Fern Tree Valley 78 + Harvest in February 78 + Jericho to Jerusalem, via 78 +Bagdad + New Norfolk 78 +Homeward Bound 127 +Honolulu, Arrival at 122 + Baby Sold for a Dollar 126 + Breakfast ordered Overnight 122 + Brownie, Quite a 125 + Chairs or Seats usually absent 126 + Children described 124 + Country very Poor 125 + Dragon-flies, numerous 124 + Dressmaking not a difficult 124 +Art + Faces too Dark to be Seen 122 + Fire-flies 122 + Flowers of the most brilliant 124 +colours + Grass green and beautiful 124 +Hawaiian Islands, King of, 123 +Landlord of Hotel + Healthiness of 127 + Heathen Chinee, his Tricks not 123 +in Vain + Hotel 122 + Houses made chiefly of Rushes 126 + Islanders _en fète_ 121 + Letters, Glad to be Rid of 125 + Library 125 + Museum 125 + Natives Dressed in Splendid 124 +Colours + Parliament House 125 + Passenger Overboard 121 + Perfume of Tropical Flowers 122 + Pilots Decline to go out for 121 +Vessels + Race fast dying out 125 + Ruth, the King’s Sister 127 +(_illus_) + Servants gone Home 122 + Squatting on Ground Prevailing 126 +Custom + Supper not to be had 122 + Temperature of 127 + Vegetation of 124 + Village, Native 126 + Villas Pretty and Numerous 126 + Waiters Celestial 123 + Water, Thoughts when Under 121 + Women’s Clothing, Scanty 124 + Women Stately Looking 124 +Honolulu, Hotel at 122 +Horse, Burying the Dead (_illus_) 21 +Hotel Experiences 67 +I guess the seat is dry now 129 +Irish Bulls, where manufactured 13 +Islanders _en fète_ 121 +Jefferson Brick, Junior 129 +Jerra Jerra 96 +Kandavu 115 +Knife Trick, The 130 +Life on Board Ship (see Ship—Life 3–39 +on Board) +Lyre Bird, The (_illus_) 59 +Launceston 61 + Bees in Mourning 62 + Cicadas 61 + Cora Linn 63 + Pomona’s Temple 62 + Snakes 61 + Tamar River 61 + Tasmanian Hospitality 62 + Tonsorial Palace 62 + Tree Locusts 61 +Marysville 56 + Stephenson Falls 56 +Meal, a good square one preferred 121 +on Shore +Melbourne (_see also_ Victoria) 39 + Berry Ministry, the 43 + Black Death at 40 + Black Spur Mountains 50 + — (_illus_) 56 + Building Trade at, Depressed, 102 +Results + Bush, The 50 + Description of 41 + Education 42 + Exhibition at, why decided on 102 + Happy Land 46 + Hobson’s Bay 39, 80 + Hot Winds 47 + Natural History Museum 42 + Old Debts, a New Way to Pay 45 + Overland from Sydney 94, 100 + Parliamentary Procedure 43 + Parliament, Houses of 45 + — Payment of Members of 44 + Protection 102 + Revisited 79 + Roads 50 + Sanitary Arrangements, 47 +Defective + Stage Coaches 50 + Streets wide and long 103 + Tall and Fat a street sweeper 48 + Tramways opposed by Cabmen 103 + Vineyards 50 + Yarra Yarra River 60 +Mister 130 +Moighty Dry 130 +Native Dish called Poi 128 +New South Wales (see also Sydney) 107 + Acres Many, Men Few 107 + Agricultural Machinery, 108 +Imported + Artisans Attracted from 109 +Victoria + Customs Revenue, Increase of 110 + Employment Abundant 107 + Exports, Increase of 110 + Free Trade Colony 107 + Hudson Bros, Limited 108 + Immigration Larger than in 109 +Victoria + Imports, Increase of 110 + Imports in 1782 and 1881 109 + Industry, A Native, Created 108 + Labour, Increasing Demand for 109 + Machinery, Agricultural and 108 +Mining, Imports of + — Mining, Demand for 107 + Manufacturing Concern, Largest 108 +in Colony + Men Few, Acres Many 107 + Mining Machinery, Imports of 108 + — Machinery, Perfection of 107 + Policy Opposite to that of 107 +Victoria + Population Attracted 109 + — Constantly Increasing 107 + — Increase of, in Ten Years 110 + — Room for More 109 + Prosperity, Evidences of 107 + Railway System, Vast and 107 +Expanding + Sawmills, Steam, at Sydney 108 + Shipping 107 + — Development of 109 + — During last Thirty Years 109 + — Repairing Yards Removed from 109 +Victoria + Timber, Native Better than 108 +Imported + Trade, Import and Export 107 + Victoria Contrasted with 107 +Oatlands 78 + The Gaol 79 +Pacific Ocean belies its Name 115 +Parson, The, Quite at Sea 16 + A Man of Peace now 30 + Colonists’ complain of 32 + Congregation, Secures a 16 + Drain Pipes, how they are made 30 + Mixes his Degrees 31 + Sermon on Geology 16 + Water Pumped from a Mine 16 +Twelve Miles Deep +Passenger, Death of 130 + — falls Overboard 121 +Personal Difficulties 120 + — Favour, As a 131 +Pilots Decline to go out for 121 +Vessels +Protection 39, 100 +Salt Water good for the “Spin-ial 7 +Orgins” +San Francisco 131 + Baggage Master 147 + Business Activity 138 + — Men, Sharp 140 + Carriages, Hackney 144 + Character, Bad Better than 139 +None + Chinaman, Am claimed as a 144 + Chinese Close Shavers 141 + Chinese Pigtails (_illus_) 142 + — Joss Houses Visited 143 + — Quarter Full of Interest 141 + — Numerous 140 + — Quarter Explored at Night 143 + — Theatre Visited 143 + — Washer_men_ 137 + — Wedding 143 + Civilisation and Barbarism 137 +Face to Face + Climate Delightful 145 + Correspondent, A Familiar 138 + Darwin would have been 142 +Delighted + Dodge, A Favourite 139 + Earning a Cent anyhow 132 + English Fittings 137 + Entrance to Harbour Sighted 131 + Fire Brigades 144 + Flats and Sharps 139 + Golden Gate, The 131 + Governor, Qualifications for a 140 +State + Habit, The National 138 + Hackney Carriages 144 + Heat and Dust Terrible 147 + I Guess you are Going to 140 +England + Jarrett, A. J. C. 138 + John Chinaman 141 + Knife and Fork, only One at 138 +Meals + Lady Doctors Numerous 140 + Luggage, Arrangements for, 147 +Excellent + Min-ne, Little 141 + Mister, Last of (_illus_) 146 + My Wife is Dead 138 + Pacific Seal 145 + Palace Hotel 135, 137 + Police, Messenger from Chief 139 +of + Sea-lions 145 + Seal Rocks (_illus_) 145 + Starching, a Fine Art 137 + Streets, Handsome 138 + Tang-y, A Chinese City 144 + Tang-ye, Proof of Celestial 144 +Origin + Temperature 145 + Tobacco Chewing and its 138 +Consequences + Tramways 144 + Volunteers 144 + Yosemite Valley 146 +San Francisco, Voyage to 113, 132 +Sharks 18, 30 + — don’t like Dark Skins 118 +Ship-Life on board 3 + Albatross 27 + Bay of Biscay, Nor’-wester in 6 + Bazaar 34 + Betting 26, 38 + Blatant Beast, The, fires a 25 +Revolver + Burying the Dead Horse 21 + Cabin’d, Cribb’d, Confin’d 3 + Cape Otway 38 + Captain not so fond of 12 +Progress as the Passengers + Captains, why they are Tories 13 + Cat Chase 26 + Collisions at Sea 29 + Colonial Statesman beaten but 39 +not vanquished + Concerts and Recitations 9 + Congregation, How to Secure a 16 + Consumptive Patients sent too 5 +late + Cross-signalling 35 + Danite Band, The 33 + Death and Burial at Sea 15 + Dolphins 27 + Dolphin, the “Classic” 28 +(_illus_) + Dramatic Performance 35 + Exhibition, Fine Art 35 + Fellow-passengers 4 + First Night on Board 3 + Flying Fish 27 + Gale off Cape Leeuwin 38 + Genial Captain (_illus_) 11 +advantageous + German Lady, old but lively 19 + Hobson’s Bay 39 + Illness of Passengers 14 + Incident in Cornwall recalled 24 + Ixion goes mad 14 + Letters Home 29 + Life Friendships formed 4 + Love your Enemies 17 + Melbourne, Arrive at 39 + Music not always harmonious 10 + Night-walkers a nuisance 9 + Nor’-wester in the Bay of 6 +Biscay + Parson Mixes his Degrees 31 + Pilot Fish 28 + Passengers paying their 30 +Footing + — divided into Sets 3 + Peal of Hand-bells 16 + Portuguese Man-of-War 28 + Private Convict System 4 + Quoits a selfish Game 9 + Rolling Forties 38 + Scarlet Lady 20 + Sea-sickness, Cure for 6 + Sermon on Geology 16 + Sharks 18, 30 + Ship in full Sail 29 + Short and Stout 25 + Soup too Salt 19 + Sports (_illus_) 8 + Spurgeon’s Evangelist 32 + Squall near Madeira 12 + Steward’s Life a hard one 7 + Tall and Fat 25 + Tristan d’Acunha 38 + Tropical Heat 8, 24 + Tropical Phosphorescence 33 + Newspaper 10 + Water Pumped from Twelve Miles 16 +Deep + Wild Spirits carry on 25 + Whale 30 +Ship’s Doctors 120 +Snakes 61, 64, 68, 72, 73, 74, 97 +Spurgeon’s Evangelist 32 +Steward, A Negro 115 +St Mary’s (_illus_) 68 +Supper, Too late for 123 +Sunday at the Fiji Islands 116 +Sydney (_see also_ New South 80 +Wales) + Ants 90 + Bail-up 89 + Bathurst 89 + Blue Mountains 84 + Botanical Gardens 82 + Bullock Team on Blue Mountains 94 +(_illus_) + Bush Hut (_illus_) 95 + Bushrangers 89 + Cottage, Mount Victoria 86 +(_illus_) + Education Act, The, Amended 92 + Excise Act 92 + Falls, The Weatherboard 87 +(_illus_) + Great Goat Sucker, The 90 + Harbour (_illus_) 80 + Hartley Vale, Descent to 88 +(_illus_) + Harvest on New Year’s Day 95 + Hotels, Primitive 84 + Laughing Jackass, The 90 +(_illus_) + Lithgow 88 + Manufacturing Concern, Largest 107 +in Colony + Oysters 83 + — on Trees 84 + Political Situation 92 + Saw Mills, Steam 108 + Sheep Runs 95 + Southerly Buster, A 83 +Sydney to Melbourne Overland 94, 100 + Albury 98 + Ants 96 + Axles, Imported 108 + Bush, The 96 + Carriage Furniture, Imported 108 + Drought of Ten Months’ 113 +duration + Endurance of Post-horses 98 + Euroa 100 + Free Trade at 108 + Germanton 96 + Hay, Price of 113 + Hudson Brothers (Limited) 108 + Industry, A Native, Created 108 + Jerra Jerra 96 + Kelly’s Exploits at Euroa 100 + Magpies, Large 96 + Railway Rolling Stock 108 +Manufacturers + Rain, Downpour of 114 + River Murray 99 + Royal Mail 96 + Sheep, Loss of 114 + Shipping during last thirty 109 +years + Sighing for Old England 97 + Snakes 97 + Springs, Imported 108 + Timber, Native Better than 108 +Imported + Tommy, a youthful Driver 98 + Town, An Up-country (_illus_) 98 + Vineyards 99 + Wagga Wagga 95, 96 + Wheels, Imported 108 + Wodonga 99 +Sydney to San Francisco 113, 132 +Tasmania 75 + Farms large in size 75 + Good Roads 75 + Hawkers 76 + Mount Wellington (_illus_) 76 + River Derwent 75 + The Rabbit and the Thistle 75 +Teneriffe (_illus_) 7 +Travelling by Rail and Ship 1 +compared +Tree Ferns 52, 56 +Tristan d’Acunha, Island of 36 +Tropical Heat 8, 24 + — Phosphorescence 33 +Tropics, In the (_illus_) 40 +Turtles 18 +United States 169 + Americans would Become our 176 +Competitors + Artisans (American) not Better 176 +Off than British + — Wages and Holidays 174 + Baggage Arrangements 171 +Convenient + — Described 171 + Books Dear 170 + Cabmen Disgusted 171 + Cadgers, In England such Men 176 +would be Called + Calicoes Consigned to England 173 + Charges Simply Monstrous 170 + Children without Shoes and 177 +Stockings + Climate more Trying than that 174 +of England + — of America Exhausting 176 + Competition Become Exceedingly 175 +Fierce + Considerably Sold 178 + Corruption among Officials 169 + Cotton Mill Operatives from 175 +Germany, etc. + Dear America 170 + Dinner, Charge for a Plain 170 + Engine, The Largest, in the 172 +World + Exhibition, The Centennial, 169, 171 +Philadelphia + Exports Limited by Protection 175 + Factory Operatives’ Wages 174 +Lower than in Lancashire + Fair Trade Agitation 174 + Fortunes, Colossal, Built up 176 +under Protection + Freedom for Tongue and Foot 177 + Free Trade and Wages 174 + — not an Unmixed Blessing 176 + — under, Wider Distribution of 176 +Material Comfort + Holidays Fewer than in England 174 + Hours of Labour Longer than in 176 +England + — Longer than in Lancashire 174 + Improvements (so-called) in 172 +Manufactures + Labour, Honest, Avoided 176 + Liquor Traffic Presents Many 177 +Difficulties + Living, Cost of, Higher than 174 +in England + Loafers Numerous 176 + Negro Labour does not Flood 177 +the Markets + Newspaper Inferior and Dear 170 + New York 169 + Officials, Corruption among 169 + Over-production 173 + Philadelphia 171 + Protection, An Argument for 173 + — and Wages 174 + — Doomed 175 + — Wages Steadily Declining 176 +under + Railway Charges Moderate 171 + Rich, but Honest 169 + Slave Experiences 177 + Something Hot 178 + Steamboat Charges Moderate 171 + Sunday Traffic Perplexing 177 + Teetotal Lecture, A Regular 178 + Temperance Lecture, The First, 178 +they had Heard + Tools, Inferior 172 + Wages Higher, but Balanced by 176 +Extra Cost of Living + — Higher, not a Full 176 +Equivalent + — Lower than in 1860 174 + — Steadily Declining under 176 +Protection + — with Free Trade and 174 +Protection +Victoria (_see also_ Melbourne) 101 + Agricultural Industries not 105 +Protected + — Heavily Taxed 105 + Artisans Attracted to New 109 +South Wales + Books, Can Produce Her Own 104 + Cabby Overrides the Tramway 103 + Country Districts Sparsely 101 +Populated + Customs, Revenue, Stationary 110 + Depression of Building Trade 102 +at Melbourne + Dog Subsisting on His Own Tail 102 + Duty on Imports Demanded 103 + Exhibition at Melbourne why 102 +Decided on + Exports, Increase of 110 + Fiscal Policy, Vicious 105 + Food, Taxation of, not 105 +Permitted + Free Trade—the _Argus_ 104 + — for Raw Materials 103 + Government, Quite Right to 106 +Cheat the + Immigration, Grants in Aid of 105 + Imported Manufactures Heavily 101 +Taxed + Imports, Increase of 110 + Laws, Evasion of, by 106 +Protectionists + Locomotives Costly 104 + — Required 104 + Manufacturer’s Profit not 104 +quite enough + Manufacturers Require Larger 105 +Field + Minerals, Home Demand for, 105 +Small + — Mainly Exported 105 + Mining Industries not 105 +Protected + — Machinery Heavily Taxed 105 + Native Industry, In Interests 104 +of + Natural Resources Neglected 102 + New South Wales, Contrasted 107 +with + Population Concentrated in 101 +Large Towns + — Increase of, in Ten Years 110 + — (Manufacturing) Growing 102 +Faster than its Customers + — not Retained 101 + — Larger, a Great Want 105 + — Room for Larger 105 + Prices sufficiently High 104 + Printed Books should be more 104 +Heavily Taxed + Printing Materials, Suggestion 104 +to Tax + Protected Industries for a 103 +Limited Time + — Manufacturers not Happy 106 + Protection Demanded by 102 +Manufacturers + — Effect on Money 106 + — in its most Pronounced Form 101 + Protectionist Newspapers 103 + Railway Stores 105 + Shipping—Repairing Yards 109 +Removed to New South Wales + Tramways Opposed by Cabmen 103 + Tariff Revision Committee 103 + Working Classes Jealous of 105 +Competition + Work, Legislature Expected to 102 +Supply + Workpeople very Independent 107 +Voyage, Author’s First, to 5 +Australia +Waterspout 119 +Water, Thoughts when Under 121 +White Squall, The 35 +Yankee Journalist described 129 +Yankee’s Inquiry 128 + +NOTES. + + +{226} In a former chapter I gave an account of a voyage to Australia by +way of the Cape of Good Hope. On a subsequent visit to the Colonies I +went by the Canal route, returning through Egypt overland. + +{259a} It is understood that the Khedive’s English financial adviser is +about to take in hand the case of the Fellaheen versus the Usurers. It +may aid him to know how a similar state of things in a neighbouring +country was dealt with about 2000 years ago. + + “Lucullus, Roman general, in his wars against Mithridates, having + occupied many cities in Asia which had long been a prey to + tax-farmers and usurers, undertook to relieve the people from the + extreme misery to which they had been reduced, and set about + redeeming the properties given as security to the rapacious + money-lenders. He first greatly reduced the rate of interest; + secondly, where the interest exceeded the principal he struck it off. + He then ordered that the creditor should receive the fourth part of + the debtor’s income, but if in making his claim any creditor had + added the interest to the principal, it was utterly disallowed. By + these means, in the, space of four years, all debts were paid, and + the lands returned to the rightful owners.”—_Plutarch’s Lives_. + +{259b} Report of Mr. Villiers Stuart, M.P., to Lord Dufferin on “The +Social and Economical Condition of the People.” + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REMINISCENCES OF TRAVEL IN +AUSTRALIA, AMERICA, AND EGYPT*** + + +******* This file should be named 41639-0.txt or 41639-0.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/1/6/3/41639 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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