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A TREASURY OF THOUGHT. An Encyclopaedia of Quotations from
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HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO., Publishers,
Boston and New York.
DUE WEST
OR
ROUND THE WORLD IN TEN MONTHS
BY
MATURIN M. BALLOU
Plus je vis I'^tranger, plus j'aimai ma patrie-
De Belloy
SEVENTH EDITION
BOSTON
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
New York: 11 East Seventeenth Street
1890
e^;//
Copyright, 1884,
Bt MATURIN M. BALLOU.
All rights reserved.
•> u <
r^'ST/-/^
2V Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A.
Electrotyped and Printed by H. 0. Houghton & Company.
■>
^ / rather would entreat thy company
^ To see the wonders of the world abroad,
^ Than, living dully sluggardized at home,
Wear out thy youth with shapeless idleness. —
Two Gentlemen of Verona.
PREFACE.
To circumnavigate the globe in our day is only
a question of time and money, the facilities being
ample, and the inducements abundant. Intelligently
and successfully to consummate such a purpose is an
education in itself. The tourist will find all previous
study enhanced in value by ocular demonstration,
which imparts life and warmth to the cold facts of
the chroniclers, besides which a vast store-house of
positive information is created which time cannot
exhaust. Perhaps the majority of travelers see only
that which comes clearly before them ; but this they
do most faithfully, being possessed of a stronger
sense of duty than of imagination. The clear, direct
vision of such people has its merit. There are others
who both see and feel, to whom the simplest object
in its suggestiveness may be full of beauty. It is
the latter who pluck delightful mysteries out of
travel ; and who, after viewing nature, it may be in
her calmest moods, bring away with them upon the
tablets of memory a Claude Lorraine. The eyes will
operate automaticall}^ but it is of little avail unless
one exercises the observing power ; then they become
luminous. You will find poetry nowhere unless you
viu PREFACE.
bring some with you, says Joubert. If the author
succeeds in imparting to the reader but a share of
the great and varied pleasure he realized in the
ten months of travel herein recorded, his object in
transcribing these experiences will have been fully
consummated. M. M. B.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAOE
Synopsis of the Journey. — Crossing the Conrinent. — A Great
Midland City. — Utah and the Mormons. — The Sierra Ne-
vada. — San Francisco. — A Herd of Sea-Lions. — Possibili-
ties of California, — The Love of Flowers. — Public School
System. — Excursion to the Yosemite. — An Indian Strong-
hold. — Description of the Valley. — Passage of the Moun-
tains.— Caught in a Snow-Storm. — A Forest of Feathers. —
The Mammoth Trees of California. — Passing the Golden Gate.
— Voyage across the Pacific. — A Lost Day .... 1
CHAPTER II.
Landing in Japan. — Characteristic Street Scenes. — Native Ba-
zars. — "Women of Yokohama. — Excursion into the Country.
— Visit to Kamakura. — Peculiar Scenes on the Road. — A
"Wonderful Bronze Statue. — Popular Religions of the Coun-
try. — The Hakone Pass. — A Youthful ^Mother. — Native
Jugglers. — Temple of Shiba. — Review of the Soldiery. —
Ludicrous Sights. — A Native Fair at Tokio. — A Poor Japa-
nese "Woman's Prayer 30
CHAPTER III.
Foreign Influence in Japan. — Progress of the People. — Travel-
ing Inland. — Fertility of the Soil. — Grand Temples and
Shrines at Nikko. — The Left-Handed Artist. — Japanese Art.
— City of Kobe. — Kioto and its Temples. — Idol \Yorship.
— Native Amusements, — Morals in Japan. — Lake Biwa. —
Osaka on a Gala Day, — The Inland Sea. — Island of Pappen-
burg. — The Tarpeian Rock of Japan. — Nagasaki. — Girls
Coaling a Ship. — National Products 55
CONTENTS,
CHAPTER IV.
PAOI
Sail for Ilong Kong. — Ocean Storms. — Sunset at Sea. — A
Water-Spout. — Arrival in China. — Tvphon Bay. — Manners
and Customs. — In and about Hong Kong. — Public Build-
ings. — Voyage up the Pearl Biver. — City of Canton. —
Strangest of Strange Cities. — Opium Dens. — Temple of
Honan. — The Worship of Swine. — Praying with a Fan. —
Local Peculiarities. — Half Round the World. — Singapore. —
A Tiger Hunt. — Burial at Sea. — Peuang. — The Wonderful
Palm 81
CHAPTER V.
Sailing Due West. — The Indian Ocean. — Strange Sights at
Sea. — Island of Ceylon. — Singhalese Canoes. — Colombo. —
A Land of Slaves. — Native Town. — Singhalese Women. —
Fantastic Nurses. — Local Pictures. — Cinnamon Gardens. —
Wild Elephants. — Lavishness of Tropical Nature. — Curious
Birds and their Nests. — Ancient Kandy. — Temple of Mali-
gawan. — Religious Ceremonies. — Life of the Natives. — In-
land Scenery. — Fruits. — Precious Stones. — Coffee Planta-
tions.— Great Antiquity of Ceylon 125
CHAPTER VI.
Arrival in India. — Tnticorin. — jNIadura. — Bungalows. — Rep-
tiles and Insects. — Wonderful Pagoda. — Sacred Elephants.
— Trichinopoly and its Temples. — Bishop Heber. — Native
Silversmiths. — Tanjore. — The Rajah's Palace. — Pagoda and
an Immense Stone Idol. — Southern India. — City of Madras.
— Want of a Harbor. — In and about the Capital. — Voyage
through the Bay of Bengal. — The Iloogly River. — Political
Capital of India. — A Crazy King. — The Himalayas. — Sun-
set and Sunrise at Darjceliug 150
CHAPTER VII.
From Calcutta to Benares. — Miles of Poppy Fields. — Ruined
Temples. — The Mecca of Hindostan. — Banks of the Sacred
Ganges. — Idolatry at its Height. — Monkey Temple. — The
Famous River Front of the Holy City. — Fanaticism. — Cre-
mating the Dead. — A Pestilential City. — Visit to a Native
CONTENTS. xi
PA6S
Palace. — From Benares to Cawnpore. — A Beautiful Statue.
— English Kule in India. — Delhi, — The Mogul Dynasty.
— Lahore. — Umritsar. — Agra. — The Taj Mahal. — Royal
Palace and Fort. — The Famous Pearl Mosque . . .187
CHAPTER VIIL
From Agra to Jeypore. — An Independent Province. — A Unique
Indian City. — Wild Animals. — Elephant Traveling. — Trap-
ping Tigers. — A Royal Palace. — The Harem. — Native Rule.
— Wild Monkeys and Peacocks. — Long Journey across Coun-
try. — Bombay. — The Rival of Calcutta. — The Parsees. —
Towers of Silence. — Feeding the Vultures. — A Remarkable
Institution. — Island of Elephanta. — Street Jugglers. — Cross-
ing the Sea of Arabia. — The Southern Cross. — Aden. —
Passage up the Red Sea. — Landing at Suez. — Traveling in
Egypt 223
CHAPTER IX.
Cairo and the Arabian Nights. — Street Scenes and Cries —
Camels and Donkeys. — Turkish Bazars in Old Cairo. —
Water-Carriers. — The Pyramids of Gizeh. — The Sphinx. —
Interesting Visit to a Native House. — Mosque of Mehemet
Ali. — The Rotten Row of Cairo. — The Khedive's Palace. —
Egyptian Museum. — Mosque of Amer. — Whirling and
Howling Dervishes. — Suez Canal. — Ismailia and Port Said.
— Island of Malta. — City of Valetta. — Palace of the Knights.
— Bird's-eye View 259
CHAPTER X.
Voyage through the Mediterranean. — Gibraltar on Sunday. —
Beautiful Alameda. — Visit to the Famous Fortress. — Wild
Monkeys. — Cannon and Flowers. — Tangier. — Morocco. —
Straits of Gibraltar. — A Moorish City of To-day. — Local
Scenes. — A Private Museum. — The Governor's Palace. —
Rusty Keys.— The Typical Moor. — The Slave Market.—
Oriental Tableaux. — Visit to Washington Mount. — A Cup
of Moorish Coffee. — From Gibraltar to Malaga. — Spain. —
The City of Raisins and Sweet Wine 288
xii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XL
PAQl
From Malaga to Granada. — Military Escort. — A Beautiful
Valley. — A Dream Realized in the Alhambra. — The Moor
in his Glory. — Tangible Poetry. — A Brief Legend. — The
Generalife. — The Moor's Seat. — The Home of the Gypsies.
— A Gold Bearing River. — A Beautiful Residence. — Early
Home of the Ex-Empress Eugenie. — City of Granada. —
Spanish Beggars. — The Remarkable Tomb of Ferdinand and
Isabella. — French Vandals. — The Cathedral. — Precious
Relic. — The Cartuja. — Love of Music 311
CHAPTER XII.
Granada to Cordova. — An Antique City. — The Guadalquivir.
— Old Roman Bridge. — The Grand Mosque-Cathedral of
Cordova. — Court of Orange-Trees. — Army of Beggars. —
From Cordova to Madrid. — Local Characteristics of the Capi-
tal. — The Gate of the Sun. — The King and Queen in Public.
— The Royal Palace. — Spanish Ladies and Gentlemen. —
The Fan. — The Picture-Gallery of Madrid. — National Sport
of the Bull-Fight. — Cowardice! — Interesting Visit to the
City of Toledo. — The Escurial 331
CHAPTER Xia
From Madrid to Burgos. — Through a Barren Country. — The
Cathedral of Burgos. — Monastery of Miraflores. — Local Pic-
tures. — A Spanish Inn. — Convent of Las Huelgas. — From
Burgos to San Sebastian. — Northern Spain. — A Spanish
"Watering Place. — Bayonne. — Lower Pyrenees. — Biarritz. —
A Basque Postilion. — A Pleasant Drive. — On Leaving Spain.
— Sunday and Balloons at Bordeaux. — On to Paris. — Ant-
werp and its Art Treasures. — Embarking for America. — End
of the Long Journey 365
DUE WEST,
CHAPTER I.
Synopsis of the Journey. — Crossing the Continent. — A Great Mid-
land City. — Utah and the Mormons. — The Sierra Nevada. — San
Francisco. — A Herd of Sea-Lions. — Possibilities of California. —
The Love of Flowers. — Public School System. — Excursion to the
Yoseraite. — An Indian Stronghold. — Description of the Valley. —
Passage of the Mountains. —Caught in a Snow-Storm. — A Forest
of Feathers. The Mammoth Trees of California. — Passing the
Golden Gate. — Voyage across the Pacific. — A Lost Day.
On the morning of September 16, 1882, four in-
dividuals, two of whom were ladies and two gentle-
men, comparative strangers to each other, met at the
Fitchburg depot in Boston, drawn together by the
common purpose of a trip round the world. Adding
the conductor, Mr. Gno. Dattari, an intelligent and
experienced courier, the little party numbered five
persons. The latter individual is attached to the
traveling agency of Thomas Cook & Son, London,
the house undertaking, for the sum of two thousand
dollars each, to pay all transportation and board bills
in accordance with a very comprehensive itinerary.
This embraced the passage across the continent of
America and the Pacific Ocean to Japan, with a
month of residence and travel in that country ; thence
to China and up the Pearl River to Canton ; a week
in Hong Kong; a thousand-mile voyage down the
2 DUE WEST,
China Sea to the chief ports of the Malacca Straits •,
across the Indian Ocean to the Island of Ceylon,
with a week for excursions therein ; thence to India,
with a liberal exploration of its principal cities, in-
cluding a visit to the Himalayas in the extreme
north ; through the Sea of Arabia, the Straits of
Babel mandeb, and the Red Sea to Egypt, Cairo, and
Alexandria ; through the Suez Canal and the Med-
iterranean to Italy, Malta, Gibraltar, France, and
England. A reasonable length of time was allowed
for each section of the route, including a voyage
across the Atlantic to the starting-point.
Any divergence from the prescribed route was to
be at an additional charge, according to expenses in-
curred. The money was paid at the outset, and the
agreement on both sides fulfilled to the entire satis-
faction of all concerned. Thus much it has seemed
well to premise for the information of the reader
who proposes to follow our course due west, as pre-
sented in these pen-and-ink sketches of many lands.
It should also be mentioned that the season of the
year had been judiciously chosen, so as to bring us
into each country at the most favorable period for
its healthful and agreeable enjoyment, a calculation
which is imperative for any one contemplating a
journey of this character. Otherwise, the intense
heat of the tropics, as well as the Arctic chills of the
north, may render such a trip a hardship rather than
a season of pleasure.
The first day's experience served to acquaint the
little party with each other, and no possible associa-
tion can effect this so rapidly as traveling together,
where individuals necessarily become inseparable,
and where fixed traits of character must inevitably
RURAL MASSACHUSETTS. 3
exhibit themselves. Mr. ]\I and his daughter, as
also the author of these notes, were Bostonians ; the
fourth person being a Miss D— , of Yorkshire, Eng-
land, who came hither to make the long circuit of
the globe. Even American parlor-cars, which em-
brace as much of domestic comfort as is compatible
with their legitimate purpose, could not prevent our
being somewhat fatigued by an unbroken journey of
over five hundred miles, when we reached Niagara
Falls at two o'clock in the morning. And yet the
day seemed short by reason of the varied and beauti-
ful scenery of the Hoosac Tunnel route, particularly
in the region of the Deerfield Valley, and also west
of the Massachusetts state line. The abundant foli-
age was in its autumnal prime, not yet having been
touched by the wand of the Frost King, while the
teeming fields gave evidence both of fertility of soil
and skilled cultivation. The neat farm-houses were
ornamented by creeping vines, and tiny flower-gar-
dens in their fronts. Tall conical haystacks flanked
the spacious, well-filled barns ; big yellow pumpkins
dotted the half -cleared cornfields; and handsome
groups of cattle quietly ruminated in the pastures.
A picturesque line of beehives, half a dozen happy
children at play before the house door, and the
sturdy master of the thrifty scene, leaning over the
fence to exchange pleasant words with a passing
neighbor on horseback, were frequent rural pictures,
which were afterwards contrasted with those of other
countries.
A quiet Sabbath was passed at the Clifton House,
on the Canada side, where an excellent opportunity
is afforded for viewing the falls in their various as-
pects. It was a still, clear day, bright and sunny.
4 DUE WEST.
A colamn of vapor rose many hundred feet above the
falls, white as snow where it was absorbed into the
skies, and iridescent at the base, which was wreathed
in ceaseless rainbows. A practical eye could not fail
to observe that a portion of the enormous force here
running to waste has been utilized by means of a
canal, dug from a point above the falls to a plateau
two miles below them, whereby some large grist-mills
and paper-manufacturing establishments are operated
with never-failing power. The usual round of sight-
seeing was performed on the following day. When
we remember that there is conclusive evidence of
these falls having been at a former period fully six
miles nearer to Lake Ontario, and consequently that
there is a daily though infinitesimal wear going on,
it leads one to speculate as to what will be the prob-
able result when the great falls shall have receded
so far as to open, at one terrific plunge, the eastern
end of Lake Erie.
Another day and night in the cars over the Great
Western and Michigan Railroad brought us to Chi-
cago. Fifty years ago only a scattered tribe of the
Pottawatomies inhabited this spot on the shore of
Lake Michigan, where is now located the most im-
portant capital of the Northwestern States. The com-
mercial growth of Chicago is the natural sequence of
its situation at the head of the great chain of lakes,
which form a medium of unequaled inland naviga-
tion, supplemented by a railroad system of nearly a
score of trunk lines which centre within its limits. A
drive about the town served to impress us with a due
appreciation of its business enter|)rise and rapid
growth in all the departments of education and of
art, which characterize a prosperous American ^onv
SALT LAKE CITY. 5
munity ; especially was a spirit of intense activity
observable, entering into every element of trade and
business. The private houses of wealthy merchants
adorn the environs, while Lincoln and South Park,
lying on either side of the city, rival anything of
the kind in Europe or America. Chicago is the nat-
ural centre of the grain trade of our continent, and
we had almost said of the food-supply of the world,
a statement exemplified in the fact that, during the
last year, one hundred and fifty millions of bushels of
grain passed through its elevators.
The next objective point was Salt Lake City, the
distance being over sixteen hundred miles, to ac-
complish which we passed four days and nights in
sleeping-cars. Two days' rest at this point afforded
an opportunity to look about us, and to gather some
information touching the singular people who make
it their home. The capital of Utah, so well chosen
for its special purpose, was an unbroken wilderness
forty years ago, but can now boast a population of
twenty-five thousand. Under the hands of its pres-
ent occupants, the whole surrounding valley has
been cultivated to a degree of fertility scarcely
equaled by the same number of square miles on the
continent. The city proper is laid out in broad
streets intersecting each other at right angles, and
which are bordered with cottonwood trees, forming a
pleasant shade ; while in every gutter a stream of
water runs swiftly along, with a rippling sound, fresh
from the neighboring mountains. Great attention
has evidently been paid to sanitary matters, and
ever}' thing looks neat and clean. The visible marvel
of the city is the great Mormon temple, or Taber-
nacle, a building capable of holding and seating over
6 DUE WEST.
twelve thousand people, the roof of which is self-
supporting, and is believed to be the largest one of
its character extant. The acoustic properties of this
immense structure are also remarkably perfect, which
was proven to us by some curious experiments. As
to general effect, however, there is no more archi-
tectural character to the Mormon Tabernacle than to
a prairie dog's hole. Its roof resembles nothing so
much as a huge metallic dish cover, forming an awk-
ward and prominent feature of the city.
It is not within our province to discuss in detail the
peculiar and abhorrent domestic life of this people,
no visible evidence of which meets the eye of the
casual visitor ; though in scanning the features of the
large audience assembled in the Tabernacle on Sun-
da}^ the obvious want of intelligence in the faces of
the women, comjoared with the men, was certainly
striking. One seemed also to read a spirit of dis-
content or of calloused resignation in some of the
better female countenances. Of the thrift, industry,
and material success of this community there can be
but one opinion. An important statistical item occurs
to us in this connection which is highly significant.
It appears that while Colorado and Kansas spend
each one dollar and a tenth, and Nebraska two
dollars and a tenth per head on the education of
their school population, Utah expends but nine-
tenths of a dollar for the same purpose. Upon in-
quiry it was discovered that polygamy did not at
first form any part of the faith of Mormonism. The
originator of the creed, Joseph Smith, never pro-
mulgated such doctrine, and possessed but one wife.
The '' celestial marriage " humbug was first preached
by Brigham Young, in 1852, when he produced a doc-
MORMONISM. 7
ument bearing the above title, pretending that it was
revealed to Joseph Smith a year before his death.
Smith's widow and son, both surviving, pronounced
this to be a falsehood, a pure invention, but Young
was too strongly seated in his chair of authority
not to be able to carry his point. This "revela-
tion " was incorporated into the Mormon faith by a
meeting of the assembled deacons of the church, and
has since become its most prominent feature. Mor-
mon missionaries seek proselytes mostly in Brittany,
Scandinavia, Denmark, and Wales, addressing them-
selves to the most ignorant classes. These poor, half-
starved creatures are helped pecuniarily to emigrate,
believing that they are coming to a land flowing
with milk and honey. In most cases any change
with them would be for the better; and so the ranks
of Mormonism are numerically recruited, not from
any religious impulse in the new disciples, but
through the simple desire to better their physical
condition in life. No portrait of Mormonism will
prove to be a true likeness which does not depict its
twofold features, its iniquity and its thrift. The
conclusion forces itself upon the visitor that railroads
and contact with the world will gradually obliterate
the institution of polygamy.
Two days and one night of additional travel
brought us to San Francisco, a distance of six hun-
dred miles. We passed through the grandest por-
tion of the Sierra Nevada Mountains between mid-
night and dawn, but the moon was near its f idl, and
the sky radiant with starlight; so that, by placing
seats upon the platform of the cars, a fine view of this
remarkable passage was obtained, characterized by
deep canons, wild gorges, lofty wooded peaks, and
8 DUE WEST,
precipitous declivities, under a most impressive as-
pect. A few specimens of native Indians were seen
at Salt Lake City, wlio had come in from the hills
to purchase trifles ; but after leaving Ogden more or
less of the Shoshones and Piute tribes were to be
seen lounging in picturesque groups at nearly every
railroad station. A few also traveled with us short
distances in the baggage car, which is made free to
them. The men were dirty, uncouth specimens of
humanity, besmeared with yellow ochre and vermil-
ion, dressed in red blankets, and bearing a hatchet in
their hands, their only visible weapon. The women
were dressed in tawdry colors, — striped government
blankets and red flannel leggins, with a profusion of
colored beads about their necks, and cheap jewelry on
fingers and wrists; each one with an infant strapped
in a flat basket to her back. They did not beg
ostensibly, but were ready to receive trinkets, to-
bacco, pennies, or food. The women were very un-
cleanly in their appearance, their coarse long hair
entirely uncared for, but they were good-natured and
smiling, vvdiile the men wore a morose and frowning
expression upon their countenances. War, whiskey,
and exposure are gradually but surely blotting out
the aborigines.
We were thus, without any special haste, but twelve
days in crossing the American continent, from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, on about the fortieth parallel
of latitude, the trip having afforded us much quiet
enjoyment and a great variety of bold and beautiful
scenery, too near home and too familiar to our readers
to dilate upon in these pages.
San Francisco, with its population of three hundred
thousand, is a city of great commercial wealth, much
TRADE IN CALIFORNIA. 9
architectural pretension, and progressive ideas, afford-
ing the traveler the best and cheapest hotel accom-
modations in the world. As is well known, it owes
its early impetus to the discovery of gold in 1848,
but the product of the precious metal has long since
been exceeded more than tenfold in intrinsic value
by the agricultural development of the great Pacific
region, which finds its shipping point through the
Golden Gate. Though California still produces and
sends out into the world at large an average of two
millions of gold each month, still the shining ore is
but a secondary consideration in her productiveness,
and is also surpassed b}^ her export of wine and fruit.
Men who came here with the gold fever, between
twenty and thirty years ago, gradually recovered
from their unwholesome Aladdin-like dreams, and
settled down to reap from agriculture and legitimate
business surer and more permanent fortunes. The
population which sought its gains in wild and lawless
adventure, characterized by all the objectionable
features of rude pioneer life, has gradually given
place to one of a more stable nature, governed by a
respect for the laws and the wise conventionalities
of society. There lies a brilliant future before this
section of the country, which in grand possibilities
defies calculation ; it has passed through its baptism
of fire, and, let it be hoped, has burned out the dross
which is incident to the too rapid growth of large
communities.
The territorial importance of California will be
most readily presented by a statement of the facts
that, if it lay on the Atlantic shore, it would extend
from Massachusetts to South Carolina ; that it is
about five times as large as the combined New Eng-
10 DUE WEST.
land States; and that it absolutely teems with gar-
dens, vineyards, orange, apple, pear, and peach or-
chards, and vast grain fields. Tiie climate presents
most of the advantages of the tropics, with few of tlie
drawbacks. Hot-houses for delicate plants are hardly
needed in winter, and the fan-palm flourishes as it
does at Singapore.
A visit to that part of San Francisco known as
China Town revealed the fact that twenty thousand
Chinese were here living in tenements which would
be insuihcient for three or four thousand Ameiicans.
They are clearly actuated by the same purpose as
that indicated by the motto of the home Spaniard
who leaves Madrid for Cuba : " Seven j^ears of starva-
tion and a fortune." The Chinaman hoards nearly
all he receives, and in four or five years can return to
his native land with a sum of money which, to him,
is an assured independence. They are extremely un-
popular with the citizens of all classes, and not with-
out some good reasons, being naturally a filthy race,
and in many ways sj^ecially offensive. It must not
be understood that there are only Chinese washer-
men, laborers, and artisans in the city ; there are also
responsible merchants, brokers, and manufacturers
belonging to that nationality, wielding considerable
influence, both nmong their own people and the citi-
zens at large. Ever}^ street in China Town has its
joss-house or temple, and however low these Mongols
are as a race, they never fail to give heed to their
professed religion and its various forms. It is also a
fact that crime is less frequent in China Town than
it is in other parts of the city ; and drunkenness, ex-
cept insensibility from opium, is scarcely known
amonor the Chinese in California.
THE CLIFF HOUSE. 11
Driving in and about the city, one is impressed by
the manifest love of flowers exhibited in the front
yards of the dweiling-houses, and in the pleasant gar-
dens attached to suburban viUas, as well as b}^ the
blooming plants dis[)layed on the window-sills of the
homes of all classes. The admirably chosen spot for
a cemetery, on tlie rising ground behind the city, is
also finely ornamented with choice trees and flower-
ing shrubs, among which are pines, cypresses, Aus-
tralian gum trees (evergreen), mimosas, and many
other blooming plants, well arranged for good effect.
The scarlet geranium here grows six and eight feet
high, producing with its brilliant bloom a dazzling
effect. The same drive which conducts to the ceme-
tery, a little further on brought us to a most delight-
ful public garden and park combined. Here were
broad roads, as smooth and perfect as roads can be
made ; footpaths leading into inviting groves, beauti-
ful lawns relieved by groups of graceful trees, lakes,
and fountains, with several laige ornamental con-
servatories for the most delicate exotics. The whole
formed an exposition of landscape gardening of which
any city might be proud.
A couple of miles beyond this noble park brought
us to the Cliff House, a favorite resort of the peo-
ple, situated on a high bluff of the Pacific coast and
affoi'ding an ocean view only limited b}^ the powers
of the human vision. Looking due west, no land in-
tervenes between this shore and the far-off coast of
Japan, a distance of five thousand miles, which we
were destined soon to traverse. Two hundred yards
off the shore, just opposite the Cliff, a large rock rises
from the sea some hundred feet or more, upon which
scores of sea-lions come out of the water at all hours
12 DUE WEST.
of the day to sun themselves, affording a very pecu-
liar and amusing sight. They are of all sizes, weigh-
ing from fifty to one thousand pounds, some of tlie
old ones even exceeding this estimate, yet possessing
a muscular power which enables them easily to climb
the rough side of the precipitous rock. The half
roar, half bark of the herd comes with harsh discord-
ance upon the ear of the listener at the Cliff. Tlie
law of the State protects these sea-lions from all sorts
of molestation ; so here they quarrel atnong them-
selves furiously, suckle their young, tumble into the
sea, and thrive and multiply.
In many respects San Francisco resembles a New
England capital, — a very natural result when we
remember that a large percentage of her people aro
natives of these Eastern States. She has copied th3
Boston school system almost exactly, and there are
few of our oldest cities so well organized in this de-
partment of progress, though the city is but little
over twenty years of age, dating from the time whon
she first came prominently into public notice. Girls
and boys are not onh^ afforded the most excellent
educational advantages, but a spirit of emulation is
successfully fostered among them, especially encour-
aging to the observant visitor. There is a high
school for boys and one for girls, also a Normal school
for the education of teachers. San Francisco has
from the outset established a fixed reputation, by
employing and liberally compensating the best pul-
pit talent to be had in the country.
Finding that the steamship in which we were to
sail for Japan would be detained for the period of
ten days, it was resolved to improve the time by a
visit to the Yosemite Valley, involving a journey, in
EX ROUTE EOR YO SEMITE. 13
the round trip, of over six hundred miles, ;i large por-
tion of which is performed by coach. Tlie time,
trouble, and expense were, however, abundantly re-
paid by the experience gained among the wonderful
developments of nature, as exhibited in Alpine
scenery and the grandeur of forests which produce
giant trees over three hundred feet in height and
forty iu diameter, and which are proven to be over
thirteen centuries old. The cars took us to Madeira,
fi frontier station to which the broad grain fields of
California already extend. Fioui here, early next
niornincr, we took a four-horse covered waggon to
(■oarse Gold Gulch to dine, and here we passed the
pight on our return, it being a ranch kept by a
worthy German family. Though the accommoda-
tions were rather crude, ample satisfaction Avas as-
sured by the cheerful service rendered and the clean-
liness which characterized ever^^thing.
We reached Clark's Hotel, located at the foot of
the mountains where the abrupt ascent begins, on the
evening of the second day after leaving San Fran-
cisco. Early the next morning the journey w-as re-
newed, six horses now taking the place of four, which
number, with frequent changes, had been quite suffi-
cient on the previous day. The driver who now
took us in charge was a large, fine specimen of the
mulatto race, and certainly a very excellent whip,
steady, and as strong as a Hercules. There are feAV
positions which require more skill and vigilance than
to safely drive a team of six horses and a coach full
of passengers by the precipitous, winding road over
the mountains intervening between Clark's and the
level of the valley, to enter which a rise of over
seven thousand feet must bo achieved. Scarcely had
14 DUE WEST.
we fairly commenced the upward climb, when it was
observed that we had left all signs of human habita-
tion behind; and soon even fences disa{)peared, except
about the coach company's ranches, where we stopped
to change horses, in groves of sugar pine and yellow
pine trees of great size and beauty. Here we were
literally surrounded by Nature, which some quaint
wiiter denominates God's Old Testament.
An austere and almost mournful air of lonelin<'ss
surrounded us, as we crept higher and higher towards
that ethereal blue canopy which hung over the loftiest
peaks. All was silence save the rumbling noise of
our conveyance ; and when, as was the case at a sud-
den anorle of the windinf]r road, a laro-e black b-ar
was seen coolly sitting on his haunches, with listless
hanging paws, looking at the stage and its contents,
it did not seem at all strange, but quite in keeping
with the solitary surroundings, though some of our
horses did exhibit a little restlessness. The pistol-
like crack of the driver's whip was an intimation to
Bruin which he understood, for he slowly dropped
into the thick brush and rolled awkwardly away from
the roadside. The eye was never weary in detecting
the natural architecture of the mountain acclivities,
which, in the constantly varying scenery, formed am-
phitheatres like old Roman circuses, and now square
battlemented crags, like crumbling castles on the
Rhine, and again a deep, shady ravine of unknown
depth, where lonely mist-wreaths rested like snow-
drifts. In the far background were cliffs like ori-
ental minarets, and balled rocks capped like the dome
of St. Peter's.
There were often seen nestling beside the road,
struggling for a precarious existence, frail wild flowers
BEAUTIES OF YOSEMITE. 15
of delicate sliades, surrounded by vigorous ferns and
creeping vines, showing that Nature has her poetic
moods even among these deserted regions. Now we
came upon a crystal stream of water, winding and
fretting over a narrow bed of rocks on tlie mountain
side, sparkling in the sunshine, as it formed tiny cas-
cades, until presently it lost itself by an artificial
culvert under the roadway ; but even then it could
be heard leaping and tumbling down the deep abyss
on the other side. The horses were familiar with the
road, and had confidence in the stout hand that guided
them, or they would not have gone on at such a quiet,
unconcerned, uniform gait, close beside abrupt gorges
that would have destroyed us all as instantly as a
stroke of. lightning, were the wheels to diverge but a
few inches from the track.
It was interesting to observe the species of trees
which characterized the several elevations. At one
thousand feet nut pines and oaks mingled gracefully
together, but at another thousand gradually disap-
peared, giving place to the lofty yellow pines, added
to which the sugar pine was found at three thousand
feet, that in turn dying out at seven thousand feet.
Next came the spruce, superbly developed, growing
to a height of two hundred feet ; then the white pine,
the silver fir, and the arbor vitte, all thriving luxuri-
ously after their kind. Birds almost entirely disap-
peared at these altitudes, preferring the more genial
warmth and life of the plains; but now and then an
eagle, with broad spread pinions, swooped gracefully
from the top of some lonely pine, and sailed, without
a flutter of his wings, far away across the depth of
the valley, and was soon lost to sight by the winding
of the gorge. Even the presence of this proud and
16 DUE WEST.
peculiar bird but emphasized the loneliness of these
silent heights.
After hours of upward struggle the crowning point
was reached. The driver remarked, with a Huurish
of his whip: "It's all down hill from here;" soon
after which we emerged from the forest road and
came to the open plateau known to tourists as Inspi-
ration Point. Here the first comprehensive view of
the valley is obtained. We paused briefly to behold
and to realize, as far as possible, such a scene as
might never again be afforded us. Though we were
now at an elevation of over seven thousand feet above
the plains, the Yosemite Valley itself, from this point,
was but about three thousand five hundred feet be-
low us, into which we gazed with uninterrupted view.
Running nearly due east and west, it looked small
and circumscribed from this great height, but was
really a gorge of about eight miles in length by two
miles in width. On either side rose vertical cliffs of
granite, varying from four to five thousand feet in
height, the lofty gorges here and there discharging
waterfalls of transparent beauty.
The precipitous mountains which wall in the val-
ley are composed of seventeen distinctive formations,
the loftiest of which is Mount Starr King, 5,600 feet
in height; but the Three Brothers, w^ith an average
height of less than 4,000 feet, and Sentinel Dome,
4,500 feet, are quite as prominent, so far as the ordi-
nary power of vision goes ; while El Capitan, which is
but 3,300 feet high, seems, from its special position,
more striking and effective than the other three.
From the gorges above and between the precipitous
cliffs, eleven falls, of greater or less magnitude, come
tumbling into the valley, the loftiest of which is Sen.
THE FALLS. 17
tinel Fall, 3,000 feet high. To our taste, the fall
known as the Bridal Veil was the finest of them all
in effect, though but a little over 600 feet in height,
or say four times as high as Niagara. The lofty
Yosemite Fall, over 2,600 feet, can be seen from the
piazza of the hotel to good effect, where one can sit
and watch the current of air, which sweeps up the
valley, play fantastic tricks with the broad glittering
sheet of flying water. No pen can adequately de-
scribe this scene, and no American who can possibly
do so should fail to visit the spot. The abundant
moisture of the locality and the vertical rays of the
sun carpet the valley with a bright and uniform
verdure, through the midst of which winds the swift
flowing Merced River, altogether forming a scene of
most entrancing beaut3^
It was not until so late as 1851 that the feet of a
white man ever trod the valley, which for years had
proven the secure hiding-place of marauding Indians.
In their early battles with the savages, the whites
were often nonplussed by the sudden disappearance
of their foes, who left no trace behind them, on which
occasions, as was afterwards discovered, they fled to
the nearly inaccessible Yosemite Valley. Betrayed
at last by a treacherous Indian, the tribe was here
surprised and nearly all destroyed; the few remain-
ing warriors were only too glad to make terms at any
sacrifice. The name Yosemite, in the native tongue,
signifies " Great Grizzly Bear." There are few resi-
dents in the valley, except those connected with the
stages that run hither during the summer months,
and with the hotel kept for the accommodation of
visitors. The vegetation is remaikable for its pro-
fuseness and almost tropical luxuriance. A few
2
18 DUE WEST.
domestic cattle find rich browsing and good winter
quarters, but provisions must be laid in before the
fall is over, the place being inaccessible in winter.
Our last view, on leaving the valley, was at the
sheet of water already mentioned as tlie Bridal Veil,
falling from such an immense height that it becomes
in its course gauze-like, almost as thin as lace in
appearance, notwithstanding its large body, which
is evident enough when it reaches the rocky bed and
joins the Merced, not far away. Around the base
of the cliffs, promoted by the constant moisture,
there was an abundant growth of vegetation and es-
pecially of ferns, of such size and variety as is seldom
seen out of the tropics. An encampment of native
Indians was located on the river's bank, under the
shade of a grove of trees, adding to the picturesque-
ness of the scene during our visit. The fish and
forest game close at hand afforded these aborigines
ample food, besides which they had stored for winter
use the acorn crop about them, which when ground
makes good bread. They were sad looking creatures,
far worse than the Spanish gypsies we afterwards
saw in Andalusia. The Merced River, which winds
through the valley, rises some twenty miles away
towards the north, fed by the Yosemite Fall, a cata-
ract unsurpassed in height by any other upon the
globe. The vertical height of the fall is set down
at 2,550 feet, though it is not composed of one per-
pendicular sheet of water. The reader will remem-
ber that the lands coming under the general terra
of the Yosemite Valley have been ceded by the Na-
tional Government to the State of California, to be
kept in its present wild and natural condition for
all time. It must not be considered anticipatory,
CAUGHT IN A SNOW-STORM. 19
in the course of these notes, to say that in no other
part of the world have we seen the natural beauty
and grandeur of the Yosemite Valley surpassed.
When we commenced our return from the valley,
early in the morning, heavy clouds hung over the
mountain tops, but there was no other indication of
bad weather ; so we started off and struggled upwards
with a stout team of six horses, the gentlemen walk-
ing to lighten the load and expedite the ascent. At
tlie close of the first hour's progress a chilliness in
the atmosphere called for extra clothing for those
who remained in the coach, and presently a thin
mist enshrouded us, cutting off all distant view. Up,
up we plodded, steadily but slowly, until the mist
turned to rain and then to hail, sharp and cutting.
By the time we had reached Inspiration Point we
were in tlie midst of a lively snow-storm. This was
not only disagreeable, but dangerous, as it rendered
the road slippery and obliterated the wheel tracks ;
unless these were carefully adhered to, we might at
any moment be launched into the ever-threatening
abyss. It was late in the season to attempt the pas-
sage, and our party was cautioned as to the risk
which was connected with the expedition. The reg-
ular stages having been taken off for the season, ours
was an extra, improvised for the occasion. Suddenly
it began to grow lighter ; the dark clouds, like the
Arabs, folded their tents, and silently stole away.
The sun, the warm, bright, morning sun, shone forth
in marvelous splendor.
What a scene then burst upon our vision !
Pine, and fir, and tall spruce, every tree and shrub,
in place of leaves, had assumed a dress of milk white
feathers. How dazzling it was. The eye could
20 DUE WEST,
hardly bear the strong reflected light. A forest of
feathers ! We had never seen this effect in such
perfection before. And now the sun, kissing these
feathery sprays with warmth and burning ardor,
made them blush rosy red, like the cheeks of a young
maiden pressed by amorous lips. The feathery robe
of the branches was as frail as false modesty, and
melted away like good resolutions under strong temp-
tation, so that in half an hour the snow had entirely
disappeared wherever the sun had discovered and
visited it. The deep green of the uncovered foliage
only sparkled with the dewy moisture that was left,
as though dropping tears of shame at being thus de-
lAided of their gauzy veil. Never shall we forget
the varied and beautiful appearance of the foliage
un:i:er these rapid changes. It was like a theatrical
exhibition, where a nearly transparent scene dissolves
before the eyes of the audience. The sky, before so
dark and brooding, was now all smiles ; the sun, after
its dalliance with the foliage, seemed to have taken
new life; and the atmosphere even became clear and
transparent, as it had hardly been when we came up
the other side of the mountain to enter the valley.
For a brief time the views were grand and far-
reaching as we sped rapidly on our way, descending
towards the plain. Undoubtedly it was safe enough,
since accidents seldom happen ; but it looked a little
careless, to one not accustomed to the road, to come
down its narrow winding course, just clearing such
frightful chasms, drawn by a team of six horses at
the full gallop. By degrees the weather changed
again into a sombre mood ; the clouds gathered in
rinse array, and began to pelt us, first with hailstones,
but, having apparently soon exhausted the supply,
THE BIG TREES OF CALIFORNIA. 21
were content to soak ns with a deluge of water. But
we only laughed at this, for had we not accomplished
the Yosemite in spite of prognostications to the con-
trary, and the assurance that it was too late in the
season to attempt it? We were rejoiced now that
we had not heeded the stories about people who had,
in former seasons, been " snowed in " for weeks. It
was nearly night when we reached Clark's, and we
were in just the condition to appreciate the big fire-
place of the sitting-room piled with unsawed cord-
wood, by which we dried our dripping clothes and
reliearsed our experiences.
It not only rained that night, but it poured so that
on the following morning, when we started for the
Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, twelve miles off our
regular route, the query arose whether a boat or a
wheeled vehicle was the best conveyance for the pur-
pose. We will not attempt to give a detailed ac-
count of what has been so often and so well described.
Suffice it to say we visited the locality famous for its
forest monarchs, in a quiet glade, thousands of feet
up the slopes of the Sierra, and viewed those mar-
vels with none the less interest because we were al-
ready familiar with their actual measurement. Our
entire team, stage, driver, passengers, and horses,
passed through the upright hollow trunk of one of
the mammoth trees, which, though sufficiently de-
cayed to admit of this, was still possessed of such vi-
tality as to cause it to bear leaves to the topmost
branches, three hundred feet above the ground. Our
attention was called to the curious fact, that although
these are the largest known trees in the world, yet
their cones are no bifjorer than walnuts, and their
seeds hardly a quarter of an inch in length. There
22 DUE WE.^T.
are trees lying upon tlie ground in tlie iinmediate
neigliborliood, thrown down by tempests, which are
bi'lieved to have been growing on the spot long before
Christ first came upon earth, and others which are
satisfactorily proven to have had thirteen hundred
vears' growth, by tlieir clearly defined annual rings.
How immense must have been the power required to
uproot the huge trunks that lie here and there, like
pi-ostrate giants fallen in a confused fight. There
are others, white with age, and bearing no leaves, but
which still firmly retain their upriglit position, with
outstretched skeleton arms defying the tempest.
We embarked on board the steamship Belgic, of
the Occidental and Oriental line, from San Francisco,
October 10, in a heavy rain storm, amid the usual
bustle and commotion attendant upon the departure
of a large passenger ship for a long voyage. Every-
thing looked very cold, very dreary, and very damp,
causing our spirits to partake of tlie same nature,
when we realized that for three weeks or more this
was to be our floating home. With space so circum-
scribed, ventilation was inadequate, and the cook's
galley pungent. Finally the United States mail was
passed on deck, the last loiterer was on board, the
gangway was hauled on to the wharf by the steve-
dores ; the engine gave three distressing whistles, not
clear and sliarp, but asthmatic ones, as though not
having clearly made up its mind to whistle at all;
the pilot took his station on the bridge, and the screw
began to revolve. The bow-line was let go, so that
the ship might swing by her stern hawser well clear
of the wharf, then the order to let go the stern line
was shouted, and we had literally bidden good-by to
America for many a long month.
PASSING THE GOLDEX GATE. 23
Presently, when we passed through the narrow
Btrait known as the Golden Gate, and laid our course
westward, we began to realize that live thousand miles
of ocean flowed between us and the shore towards
which we were steering. One is apt to have some
serious reflections on such an occasion. What lay
before us in the many thousand miles of land and
ocean travel? What perils and experiences were to
be encountered ? Who could say that we should all,
or indeed any of us, live to return to our several
homes? At San Francisco our company was aug-
mented by the addition of an Englishman, Mr. D ,
of London, a stranger to us, but who came thither to
join the party, making our number six in all.
Hundreds of large white sea-gulls hovered over and
about the ship, as we lay our course due west. The
harbor of San Francisco swarms with these marine
birds, and a score of them followed the ship after the
pilot left us. As we were watching them, an officer
of the Belgic remarked : " They will follow us across
the Pacific;" and certainly that number of sea-gulls
actually appeared to do so, though whetlier they were
always the same birds, it would be impossible to say.
The flight of a sea-gull at times exceeds twenty miles
an hour, while the Belgic, at her maximum speed,
scarcely exceeded half that ; and thus these swift-
winged creatures often flew far ahead of the ship,
but soon settled back again to watch our wake, from
whence they got their food supply.
There were twenty-five cabin passengers, and about
three hundred Chinese in the steerage. The latter
were returning home after some years of labor and
saving in this country, for few if any of them emi-
grate except with a fixed purpose of returning to the
24 DUi: WEST.
Celestiiil Empire sooner or later. The purser of the
ship informed us tliat there was not one of them
who had not at least a thousand dollars in specie with
him, and many had three times that amount, which
would be sufficient to support them for life and with-
out labor in their native land. The same authority
assured us that it did not cost over ten cents a day
each to feed these men, they being quite content with
boiled rice, three times a da}^ seasoned with a little
dried fish or curry. Their passage money costs them
forty-five dollars each, including food, so there is a
liberal margin for profit to the ship. A careful esti-
mate was made which showed that these passengers
were taking out of the country over half a million of
dollars in specie, though they had landed on our shores
without a dollar in their pockets, and the number re-
turning by the Belgic was below the general aver-
age. This proved the complaint of the people of San
Francisco to be correct so far as figures went, name-
ly, that the Chinese came to take away what thej^
earned, and that they do not spend any of their wages
in this countr}', living on almost nothing and hoard-
ing what they receive. Still, there is another side to
this case. We must remember that they leave be-
hind them the result of their labor at least, which in
fact represents just so much capital. It is Chinese
labor which has built the railroads of California, dug
her canals, forwarded her [)ublic works, erected the
houses of San Francisco, discharged and loaded her
shipping, until she has grown up to her present high
position in the political and commercial world.
Six of our cabin passengers were missionaries, four
ladies and two gentlemen, bound to Japan and China;
the rest were travelers intent upon business or pleas-
A LEVIATHAN OF THE DEEP. 25
ure. Of these some were seriously prostrated b}- sea-
sickness, and especially tlie ladies; but this iinally
passed away, the greatest sufferers being exempt from
it daring the last half of the voyage. The inevitable
monotony of our daily life was somewhat oppressive,
tliere being few events to vary it. Occasionally a
whale was sighted, throwing up a small column of
water, as it rose at intervals to the surface, and thus
marking its course, leading the passengers to some
discussion as to the nature of this monster of the
deep, whether it was properly a fish at all. A
whale can be as surely drowned in the water as a
man, but this cannot be said of a fish. A whale dif-
fers also in many other respects from the finny tribe
proper. They bring forth living young, they breathe
atmospheric air through their lungs, in place of water
through the gills, having a double heart and warm
blood, like land animals. Their blow-holes on the
top of the head answer to the nostrils of terrestrial
animals. Many of these simple facts were quite new
to some of our intelligent companions.
Flying-fish were frequently seen, queer little crea-
tures with the nature of a fish and the ambition of a
bird. Dolphins sometimes played round the ship for
hours together, and a few hideous man-eating sharks
kept in our wake day after day, as if they hoped for
a stray victim to tumble from the decks and appease
their cannibal appetites. The sea-gulls, already men-
tioned, with tireless pinions followed the ship thou-
sands of miles to pick up the refuse from the cook's
galle)", — the mystery being how they could sustain
sncli continuous flight, for thougli they were seen to
light upon the water it was but for a moment, and
they did not fail to keep up with the Belgic in her
26 DUE WEST.
steady headway. Save the objects named there was
nothing to engage the eye except the endless expanse
of waters, which seemed to typify infinite space. Our
course did not he in the track of commerce, nor did
we sight ship or land from the hour we sank the
shores of America until just three weeks later, when
the picturesque coast-line of Japan appeared upon
the horizon. It was a voyage of storms and cahns
combined, sometimes the ocean for days being like a
small inland lake, and then again in its rage tossing
our ship about as though she were a mere fishing
skiff, — the waves often making a clean breach over
the hull, thoroughly drenching everything and every-
body who happened to be on deck.
Persons who have only witnessed a storm in nar-
row seas, or near the coast, would be surprised to
realize the difference in the waves on the broad Pa-
cific. The short, chopping sea is changed into long,
heavy swells, covering the expanse of waters with vast
parallels separated by deep valleys, the distance from
crest to crest being from one hundred and fifty to
two hundred feet, when a heavy gale prevails. The
height of the waves is measured from the trough to
the crest, and is of course conjecture, but in a contin-
uous storm which we realized on board the Belgic
was certainly some thirty feet. One aspect was to
us an unsolved problem : the storm being on our star-
board quarter was so nearly aft as to give us some
idea of the velocity of the waves, which was clearly
much greater than that of the ship's progress, and
yet they increased the speed of the Belgic scarcely at
all. That is to say, these waves exercised little if
any propelling force, but seemed to pass under our
keel, causing the hull to pitch and roll so that it was
INCIDENTS OF A SEA VOYAGE. 27
quite impossible to stand without holding on to some
substantial fixture. Old George Herbert, in his
quaint way, advises people to praise the sea, but to
keep on dry land.
Life on shipboard, as has been intimated, becomes
a little trying after a week or ten days' experience.
Tedium and monotony have a tendency to bring out
the less amiable characteristics of passengers who
are thus crowded together under peculiar circum-
stances. Even the most equable disposition is lia-
ble sometimes to exhibit weakness. Where there are
many passengers thorough agreement becomes hardly
possible. Hasty confidences and abrupt prejudices
are both the outgrowth of such enforced association.
Reading is a great and intelligent resort at sea, but
do not let the student flatter himself that he will find
time and opportunity for study. Sea-life is antago-
nistic to such an idea, and the best resolves in that
direction will end in idleness and disappointment.
The crew, the waiters, and the cooks of the Belgic
were all Chinamen, and it must be admitted that in
each capacity the service rendered was excellent. It
seems to be generally acknowledged that when a
Chinaman knows what is required of him, he will
faithfully perform the duty, and, entirely unlike most
emplo^^ees, does not need the watchful eye of a
master constantly over him. The ship was well of-
ficered bv Eno^lishmen, was scrupulouslv neat and
clean ; there was no loud talk or reiterated orders in
its management ; the effective arm of discipline was
felt but not seen. To observe the Chinese passengers
was a source of some amusement. In fine weather
they crowded the forward and lower deck aft, not be-
ing permitted to infringe upon the cabin-passengers'
28 DUE WEST.
deck. They squatted in picturesque groups round
the hatchways much of the time, phiying cards and
dominoes for very small stakes of money. John is
by nature a gambler, and cannot resist its fascination.
The dull noxious smell that permeated their quarters
at all times, in spite of enforced ventilation and the
well-observed rules of the ship, was often wafted un-
pleasantly towards our cabins and deck, telling a
significant story of the opium-pipe, and a certain un-
cleanliness of person peculiar to Africans and Mon-
golians. AVhen the sea became rough and the ship
labored with the storm, a visible anxiety was de-
picted on the Mongol faces as they gathered in groups
and gave up all attempts at amusement. On such
occasions the}^ prepared pieces of joss-paper, bearing
some Chinese characters, and cast them overboard to
appease the presumed anger of the special gods who
control the sea.
As we were losing one hour in each fifteen degrees
of our course, or, to state it perhaps more clearly, in
each thousand miles of progress westward, when half
round the world from Greenwich twelve hours would
be lost. It is therefore customary to drop a day in
mid-ocean, w^iich we did on crossing the hundred
and eis^htietli deojree of lonf]^itude west and east of
Greenwich. When the traveler shall have reached
Greenwich again on this course, the remaining twelve
hours will be exhausted, and his time will agree with
that of the starting-point. During the voyage two of
the Chinese passengers died, and were embalmed by
the surgeon of the ship. It is a conviction of these
people that their soul cannot rest in peace unless
their ashes be buried in their native land. When a
Chinaman dies in a foreign country, sooner or later
LANDING AT YOKOHAMA. 29
his remains are carried home for interment. If only
the bones are left, they are finally dug up and thus
disposed of by surviving friends. This sort of cargo
has formed no small source of profit to ships sail-
ing west from San Francisco, bones and bodies being
shipped like merchandise.
As we crept slowly at half speed into the harbor of
Yokohama, among the merchant shipping, surrounded
by a myriad of little shore-boats, steering in and out
through the Russian, English, and Japanese men-of-
war, the twilight was gradually approaching ; and
when we rounded to, three hundred yards from the
shore, under the lee of the United States sloop-of-war
Richmond and let go our anchor, she fired her even-
ing gun. At the same moment her band, in recogni-
tion of the flag that floated from our topmast head, as
we carried the American mail, poured forth the strains
of the '^Star-Spangled Banner" with a thrilling spirit
which caused a quick and hearty cheer fore and aft
the Belgic. Perhaps it is necessary for one to be
thousands of miles from home, and to have just ar-
rived in a foreign port from a long sea voyage, to
fully appreciate this little incident.
CHAPTER II.
Landing in Japan. — Characteristic Street Scenes. — Native Bazars.
— Women of Yokohama. — Excursion into the Country. — Visit
to Kamakura. — Peculiar Scenes on the Road. — A Wonderful
Bronze Statue. — Popular Keligions of the Country. — The Ilako-
ne Pass. — A Youthful Mother. — Native Jugj^lers. — Temple of
Shiba. — Review of the Soldiery. — Ludicrous Sights. — A Native
Fair at Tokio. — A Poor Japanese Woman's Prayer.
Passengers arriving at Yokoliama are obliged to
land in small boats, as there are no wharfs ; and ves-
sels, on account of shallow water, anchor half a mile
off shore. A small steam-tug came for us, and we
found very comfortable quarters at the Windsor Ho-
tel, kept by an American, — a large, well-or<ianized
establishment. The housemaids were little Japanese
men dressed in black tights, but very quick, intelli-
gent, and desirous to please. The servants all spoke
English ; indeed it is the commercial language of the
world, and there are few ports open to commerce
where it does not form the basis of all business trans-
actions. French is the polite or court language of
man}^ countries, and with these two tongues at com-
mand, one can get along easily in nearly any popu-
lous region of the globe.
When Commodore Perry, in 1854, cast anchor
wnth his little fleet of American men-of-war in the
harbor of Yokohama, it was scarcely more than a
fishing village, but the population to-day must exceed
a hundred and thirty thousand. The space formerly
covered by rice fields and vegetable gardens is now
CHARACTERISTICS OF YOKOHAMA. 31
laid out in well-built, wide thorongbfares, smootbly
macadamized and faultlessly clean and neat. Tbe
town extends along tbe sbore, wbich is level, but is
backed by a balf-moon of low, well-wooded bills,
among wbicli are tbe private dwellings of tbe foreign
residents, built after tbe European style, on tbe loca-
tion known as tbe Bluff. Tbe two principal botels,
tbe club-bouses, and some consular business residences,
are located on tbe water-front, a wide tborougbfare
known as tbe Bund. A deep, broad canal surrounds
tbe city, passing by tbe large warebouses and con-
necting witb tbe bay at eacb end, is crossed in its
course by balf a dozen bandsome bridges.
Ascending tbe bluff one gets a fine and extended
view, embracing tbe city on one side and Jeddo Bay
on tbe otber, witb a foreground composed of tbe bar-
bor of Yokohama, wbere more or less sbipping, rep-
resenting foreign nations, is always to be seen. In
the distant west, over seventy miles awa}^ tbe white,
cloud-like cone of Fujiyama can be clearly discerned,
wbile close at band are the charming, villa-like resi-
dences of the European settlers. Towards Mississippi
Bay, as it is called, numerous native gardens are to
be seen, witb cultivated fields of millet, cotton, rice,
and buckwheat. On getting nearer to tbem, one
discovers sweet potatoes, egg-plants, Mud a queer veg-
etable called tbe daicum, of whicb great use is made
by tbe people. It resembles an elongated turnip, is
about as large round as one's wrist, and milk white.
On tbe path leading round tbe base of the bluff
were many pretty wild -flowers, among which tbe
blooming trefoil and tbe harebell were seen inter-
mingled witb a large and bandsome species of daisy.
Tbe starwort, a great favorite witb the Japanese, was
32 DUE WEST.
met in abundance. It will be remembered that this
flower forms part of the Mikado's arms. It was No-
vember, but the winter sleep of the flowers is brief
here, and there are said to be no days in the year
when a pretty bouquet may not be gathered in the
open air. Ferns burst forth in abundance about the
bluif, and so great is the variety, that of this special
plant, one is constantly tempted to form a collection.
Here and there among the undergrowth were patches
of soft, pea-green moss, of a velvety texture, that no
cunning of the loom can equal.
There is a smart, business-like aspect to every-
thing in Yokohama; the impression upon the stranger
is that he is in a wide-awake community. The first
business of a traveler upon arriving in a new country
is not to look up its history, nor to study its geog-
raphy or political economy. He should be at least
grounded in these already; he follows his natural in-
stincts, guided by curiosity, shrewdly watching the
out-door life about him, the dress of the people, the
architecture of the houses, modes of conveyance, me-
chanical operations, the fruits, flowers, and shop-win-
dows, and especially the manners of the women, their
status as it regards treatment, occupation, and the
respect accorded to them. Nothing is so sure a key-
note or test of civilization and progress as this. We
do not look to see women receive, even in Europe, much
less in the East, such chivalric deference and respect
HS are shown to them in America, but tlie nearer any
people imitate us in this respect, the more advanced
will they be found in the other refined amenities of
social life.
In this commercial capital of Japan everything
struck us as curious, every fresh step afforded in-
THE HOMES OF JAPAN. 38
creased novelty, every new sight was a revelation,
while all about us were tangible representations of
the impossible pictures of the cheap fans, the lac-
quered ware of commerce, and the school books. Tlie
partial nudity of men, women, and children, the ex-
tremely shnple architecture of the dwelling-houses,
the vegetation, the extraordinary salutations between
the common people who met each other upon the
streets, tlie trading booths or bazars, and the queer,
toy -like articles which filled them, children Hying
kites in the shape of hideous yellow monsters, each
subject became a fresh study. Men propelling vehi-
cles like horses between the shafts, and trotting off at
a six-mile pony gait while drawing after them one or
two persons with ease, was at first a singular aspect
to a stranger. So were the naked coolies, by fours,
bearing heavy loads of merchandise swung from their
shoulders upon stout bamboo poles, while they
shouted a measured chant by which to keep step. No
beggars were seen on the public streets, the people
without exception seeming neat and clean in their
remarkably scanty covering.
The houses were special examples of neatness and
of toy- like size, being seldom more than twenty feet
square. All persons, foreigners or natives, took off
their shoes before entering upon their delicately lac-
quered or polished floors. This we not only did out
of respect to the universal custom of the country,
but because one did not feel like treading upon those
floors with nailed heels or soiled leather soles. The
conviction was forced upon us that such universal
neatness and cleanliness must extend even to the
moral character of the people. A spirit of gentle-
ness, industry, and thrift was observable everywhere,
34 DUE WEST.
imparting an Arcadian atmosphere. We saw at first
no domestic animals except a tailless cat, witli an at-
tempt at that appendage, wliich was a decided and
ignominious failure. These creatures were frequently
tied to the house door like a dog, but for what pur-
pose wlio can say ? A cat confined after that fash-
ion elsewhere would strangle itself directly. Later
on we saw specimens of the curious lap-dogs of the
country, so diminutive as to be quite remarkable,
and which were highly prized, though one could see
no beauty or attraction in their snub noses and big,
bulging eyes. Great care is taken in the breeding
of these oddities, which at their perfection are thor-
oughly useless. Some dwarfing process is employed,
as they do not exceed ten inches in length when full
grown.
Cows' milk is unknown among the natives, though
the universal drink is tea without sugar, and by no
means strong. The general food is rice and vegeta-
bles seasoned with dried fish, but no meats. Some
domestic fowls were seen, not in abundance, and the
eggs are used for domestic purposes. Doubtless the
fowls are also eaten, but the average Japanese is sat-
isfied with rice and vegetables, adding the inevitable
cup of tea three or four times a day. Women carry
their children lashed to their backs like American
Indians, and thus encumbered perform field labor or
domestic work, without seeming in the least to real-
ize their double task. The elder children carry the
younger ones in the same manner, going about their
play with a load on their backs that would stagger a
Yankee child. This we found to be a universal cus-
tom both in town and country, while the great mul-
tiplicity of young children was a constant subject of
JAPANESE CUSTOMS. 35
surprise. The married women shave off their eye-
brows and blacken their teeth as evidences of wife-
hood, the effect being hideous, which indeed is the
wife's professed object ; and, hke the ancient Grecian
ladies, they count their age from the time of mar-
riage, not from the time of birth. The ideas of stran-
gers as to the proprieties are sometimes severely out-
raged; but habit and custom make law, and men and
women bathe promiscuously in the public baths, —
notwithstanding which there is a spirit of delicacy
and good breeding among them, in itself a species of
Christianity. Windows are glazed with rice paper in
place of glass, and the light is really but little im-
peded, though one cannot see through the paper, all
of which circumstances fix themselves on the memory.
The pictures and authorities relative to Japanese
life which one has accepted as authentic have not
quite prepared the traveler for the facts and experi-
ences which crowd upon him, when among this very
interesting race. The actual embodiment of the peo-
ple, their manners and customs, together with the
local surroundings, are all so different from the pre-
conceived ideal, that everything comes with the force
of a surprise. Figure, physiognomy, costume, nu-
dity,— one is not quite prepared for anything ; all is
like a fresh revelation. Once brought face to face
with Japanese life, our fabric of anticipation tum-
bles to pieces like a house of cards. Everything is
unique. There is no criterion for comparison. Noth-
ing but personal observation quite reconciles one
with the manners and customs of a race, powerfully
individualized by the isolation of centuries. The
generally accepted idea that the Japanese resemble
the Chinese in their lives and habits is entirely erro-
36 DUE WEST.
neous, the marked differences between them extend
into all the relations of life. Especiall}^ is this tlie
case as to courtesy and civility, qualities which cost
nothing, but which buy everything.
A visit to the curiosity bazars, or curio-shops, as
they are called, is one of the first excursions of tlie
newly-arrived tourist. The Japanese have quickly
discovered to what European and American tastes
run, and they can manufacture antiquities as rapidly
as purchasers can be found. In the line of antique
bronzes they especially excel ; and as to old china,
from four to five centuries of age, it is now turned
out by the wheelbarrow load daily at Yokohama,
from half-a-dozen establishments. Of course there
are some genuine pieces, though rare, and the prices
charged for such are almost prohibitory. Well made,
substantial lacquered ware takes the place of nearly
all other for domestic utensils. China and glass are
far too brittle and perishable for common use among
the people. When strangers appear, the china is
produced, and the universal tea served in it.
There are two streets in Yokohama known as
Honcho-dori and Benten-dori, where the stranger will
find an extensive collection of bricabrac, as well as
other fine goods. It is amusing to examine the old
spears, swords, daggers, bronzes, and astoundingly
ugly carved idols. There are stores also devoted to
lacquer, china, porcelain, and satsuma ware, not an-
cient, but choice, elegant and new patterns, far more
desirable to our taste than the cracked and awkward
specimens held at prices equal to their weight in
gold. The former speak for themselves, the latter
can be and are constantly imitated. The reason that
so many swords and daggers are for sale, and at prices
TRICKS OF TRADE. 37
for which it would be impossible to manufacture
them, is because the army has discarded the native
weapons and adopted European arms. So the jank-
dealers and curio-shops have the former supply of the
arm}^ The Japanese sword is remarkably well tem-
pered, and will cut through a copper penny without
turning its keen edge, this being the usual test of its
quality. In these streets there are also some fine silk
and lace stores, with many choice articles of ladies'
weai*, embracing very fine specimens of native silk
industry. The Japanese trader has got the trick of
asking twice as much as he is willing finally to take
for his goods, but there are also some of these estab-
lishments where the one price system is honestly
observed. As a rule, however, all through the cities,
the price at first asked for an article need not be
taken by the purchaser as any real criterion of its
value. Strangers would do well to engage the ser-
vices of a resident whom they can trust, when they
go upon a shopping expedition ; otherwise the result
of their bargains will probably be anything but satis-
factory, when the goods are received at home and
prices considered. All buying and selling in the East
seems to be a sort of warfare, where each party en-
deavors to take advantage of the other. In China
it is much more so than in Japan. Main Street, as
the name indicates, is the principal thoroughfare,
quite Europeanized, mostly improved for stores and
offices, and containing at the northwest end the
town hall, telegraph and post offices.
A ride in a jinrikisha, a small man-propelled chaise,
afforded us other agreeable surprises. The loveli-
ness of the hills and valleys, so delicate and diminu-
tive compared with our late Yosemite experience,
38 DUE WEST.
seemed more like fairy land than reality, making one
crave the pencil of an artist to depict tliem. In little
plots adjo.ning the small, frail native houses, various
cultivated flowers were observed, among which chrys-
anthemums and occasionally roses Avere to be seen ;
also a species of fuchsia, bearing a bell-like blue and
scarlet flower. The foliage of the trees, and espe-
cially of the feathery bamboo groves, was very beau-
tiful, while the speciuiens of the various pines, yews,
and arbor vita? were many of them odd and new to
us. The leaves and minor branches of the pines
seemed to emulate the alphabetical characters of the
Japanese language, growing u]^, down, and inward,
after their own eccentric will. The tea fields, mostly
located upon side hills with favorable exposures, were
in fall bloom, looking as though there had been a
fall of snow, and the flakes still rested on the delicate
tips and branches. Far away and all around were
yellow rice fields, heavy with the milk-white grain,
the broad acres undulating gracefully beneath the
pressure of the passing breezes. The abundant wild
flowers were vivid in color and fantastic in shape,
nearly all unknown to us, save now and then an
azalea, an iris, or some single-leaved representative
of the rose family.
In the houses which we entered — all are open;
there are no fastenings upon dwelling-houses in Ja-
pan — we found neither chairs nor tables, the people
all sitting, eating, and sleeping upon the floors, which
were as neat and clean as a newly-laid table-cloth.
The humility and deference of all classes was quite
disconcerting, for when we entered or departed from
a house, the host, hostess, and children bowed their
heads until their foreheads touched the floor. Jap-
THE WOMEN OF JAPAN. 39
anese women, both in features and general appear-
ance, are far fr(jm prepossessing, but we were told
there were marked exceptions among the people of
rank. The exclusiveness and debased condition of
the sex produces a shyness and diffidence ver}^ pi'^j-
udicial to their appreciation by strangers. The eyes
of the women, though elongated, are not nearl}^ so
much so as those of the Chinese, the features being
more open in expression, and devoid of a certain cun-
ning almost always observable in the face of a Chi-
nese woman.
Japanese women give the greatest attention to
dressing their ebon-black hair. None are so poor or
humble as to forget this inexpensive ornamentation.
Nature has endowed them with a profusion of cover-
ing for the head, and they wear no other. It is not
very fine, to be sure, but always black as ink, long
and heavy, and when arranged in their peculiar style,
with broad-spread puffs, like old-fashioned bow-knots,
it forms a very striking exhibition of head-gear, shin-
ing with oil and sparkling with flashy hair-pins.
When once disposed to the wearer's satisfaction, the
hair is not disturbed for several days, and is almost
the onlv evidence of personal vanity which they ex-
hibit, as they v/ear no other ornaments in the form
of jewelrv. The pillow of which they make use at
night, when sleeping, is calculated to preserve the
well-greased and plastered tresses in good order, being
nothing more nor less than a curved piece of wood
upon which the neck rests rather than the head, and
frightfully suggestive of an execution block.
Here and there, upon the roadside, shrines and
holy niches were often observed, approached gen-
erally by a flight of stone steps, on a hill-side, looking
40 DUE WEST.
ver}^ old and moss-grown. Upon these were placed
consecrated idols, or religious emblems of peculiar
character, calculated in our uninitiated eyes to pro-
voke mirth rather than reverence. The principal
object was usually a sitting figure in stone, wood, or
metal, gilded, and more remarkable for contortion of
features, multiplicity of arms, and obesity of body,
than for any other characteristic, visible or symbol-
ieal. Fertility of soil was manifest everywhere, each
square foot of earth bearing its tribute of rice, millet,
or vegetables, the rice crop predominating. The fer-
tilizing process is strictly observed and appreciated
here, being the enrichment of the soil almost univer-
sally applied in liquid form.
A trip to Kamakura, fifteen or eighteen miles from
Yokohama, and near where is located the wonderful
statue of Dai-Butsu, was one affording much satisfac-
tion. We traveled by jinrikishas, the men drawing
us thither, one passenger in each vehicle, in thi'ee
hours and a half, and back again towards night in the
same length of time. The road is mostly located
along the sea-coast, or rather in sight of it, so that in
many places the ocean comes in to give additional
interest and beauty to the scenery of green valleys,
well-wooded hills, and richly tilled land, Fujiyama,
the one volcanic mountain of Japan, nearl}^ always in
sight. Rarely is sucdi rich and varied vegetation to
be seen, combined with beautiful outlines of hill-side
and mountain top, here covered with an infinite va-
riety of firs. The ancient town of Kamakura was
once the political capital of the country, but is now
composed of only a few straggling tea-houses or small
inns, and half a dozen native dwellings. Here is the
famous and deeply interesting Shinto temple of
JAPANESE SUPERSTITION. 41
Hacbiraaii, one of the deified heroes of Japan. Some
of the trees which chister about it are a thousand
vears old ; while within the structure are historical
emblems, rich, rare, and equally old, composed of war-
like implements, sovereign's gifts, ecclesiastical relics,
bronzes of priceless value, and the like. Time con-
secrates ; and what is gray with age becomes relig-
ious, says Schiller. The temple is built upon a lofty
plateau, reached by climbing many broad stone steps,
slippery, moss-grown, and of centuries in age. Here
was pointed out a fine, lofty specimen of the un:ibrt^lla
tree, of the pine family, with broad leaves of a deep
green. The general form w^as conical, with branches
and leaves so dense as to hide the stem.
Less than two miles from this temple is situated
the great Buddha image, composed of gold, silver,
and copper, forming a bronze figure of great size,
nearly sixty feet in height, w^ithin which a hundred
persons may stand together, the interior being fitted
as a small chapel. A vast number of little scraps of
paper, bearing Japanese characters, fluttered from
the interior walls of the image, plastered tliere by
pious pilgiims as prayers to the presiding^ deity. As
the door was opened iov us to enter and was closed
again, these scraps rustled in the agitated atmosphere
like an army of wliite bats, producing a. puzzling ef-
fect until our eyes became accustomed to the dim
light, and the cause was apparent.
This famous and sacred figure is certainly as re-
markable as the Sphinx, which so gloomily presides
over thf^ sandy desert lying at the feet of tlie great
Pyramids. As a work of art, perhaps its oidy merit
consists in the culm dignity of expression and repose
of features which are so colossal. It is many centu-
42 DUE WEST.
ries old, — certainly six liundied years ; and how such
an enormous amount of bronze metal was ever cast,
or how set up in such perfect shape when finished, no
one can say. We are told that it was formerly cov-
ered by a temple, long since mouldered to dust; but
it is certainly none the less effective and impressive,
as it now sits surrounded by the natural scenery and
the thick woods. Were not the groves God's first
temples? Guide-books have not yet invaded the far
East, or we should be told how many square inches
of bronze is contained in the Dai-Butsu figure, and
how mau}^ ounces it weighs ; statistics concerning
which we felt a most sublime indifference, while Ave
gazed upon its combined and wonderful effect.
The glorious old temple of Hachiman, already
spoken of, is a sort of Japanese Mecca for pilgrims
from all parts of the countr}^ ; though when we were
there, wandering among its lofty and sacred groves,
wending our way over its well-worn stone steps and
causeways, by its lotus-ponds and heavy-eaved shrines,
there were no other visitors. A strangely solemn
silence impressed us, until our very voices seemed to
be echoed back with a mysterious significance. The
shaded and pleasant paths are kept in perfect order,
swept clear of every falling leaf or broken twig,
showing that care and a sense of responsibility is
not wanting. Although these temples are built of
wood, so carefully have they been kept, they apjiear
as fresh and bright to-day as though a single dec-
ade only had passed since they were finished, in-
stead of a thousand years. A large body of priests
reside upon the spot, and are in constant attendance,
supported by the offerings of the semi-annual pil-
grims who come from the south in large bodies, as
RELIGION IN JAPAN. 43
well as by the contributions of devout visitors from
neigliboring cities.
It is well to mention in this connection that the
prevailing religions of Japan are Shinto and Bud-
dhism, each, however, being sub-divided into many-
sects. The Shinto may be said to be indigenous to the
country, and is also the official religion, being largely
a form of hero worship ; successful warriors are can-
onized as martyrs are in the Roman Catholic church.
The Buddhist faith is borrowed from the Chinese,
and was introduced about the sixth century. There
may be any diversity of creeds among a people, ex-
tending even to idolatry. Creeds never came from
heaven, but morality is the same in Christian or hea-
then lands, because it is of God. It is singular that
two nations located so near to each other, both of
Asiatic race, and with so many important features
in common, should have for tvro thousand years main-
tained a policy of entire isolation towards each other,
though tliey are now good friends as well as neigh-
bors. This is more remarkable w^hen we remember
that a thousand years before the Japanese borrowed
from China their written characters, religion, and
philoso])hy. As to the language of Japan, it is com-
posed, as popularly written, of the Chinese and Jap-
anese combined, — the fifty Chinese characters being
so intimately interwoven with the original Japanese
as to form a medley of the two. Modern authors
freely use both in the same sentences, and indeed the
characters of both languages often appear in the same
line.
It is rather deductions than detail which we pro-
pose to record in these pages, and though many ex-
cursions were made, a minute description of them
44 DUE WEST.
would prove tedious. Places were pointed out to us
here and there, where large and populous cities once
stood in eligible spots, but where no ruins marked
the place. A dead and buried city in Europe, or
even in India, leaves rude but almost indestructible
remains to mark where great communities once built
temples and monuments, an<l lived and thrived, like
tliose examples of mutability, Memphis, Paestum,
Cuma3, or Dellii, but not so in Japan. At first it
seemed strange that a locality where half a million of
people had made their homes within the period of a
century should now present the aspect only of fertile
fields of grain. But when it is remembered of what
ephemeral material the natives build their dwellings,
namely, of light, thin wood and paper, utter disap-
pearance ceases to be a surprise. It is a curious fact
that this people, contemporary with Greece and
Rome at their zenith, who have only reared cities of
wood and temples of lacquer, have outlived the clas-
sic nations whose half -ruined monuments are our
choicest models. The Hellenic and Latin races have
passed away, but Japan still remains without a dy-
nastic change and with an inviolate country.
One of our excursions carried us to the Hakone
Pass. Miyanoshita is a little hamlet, lost as it were
among the hills, yet famous for its beautiful scenery
and natural hot-baths, accessible only by a difficult
mountain-pass which, liaving become belated, we as-
cended by torch-light. It proved to be quite a climb,
especially under the adverse circumstances of a heavy
rain, which impeded the narrow path with miniature
torrents ; but with the advent of a clear, bright morn-
ing which followed, we looked back upon the long,
laborious, and even painful struggle up the steep and
MIYANOSHITA. 45
narrow defile, as a mere episode to lieigbten after en-
joj^ment, and so it seems now in the memory. Happy
the provision of nature wliicli leads us to recall more
vividly the sunsliine than the shadows of our expe-
rience !
Miyanoshita is a very lovely spot, a picture of com-
plete isolation and repose. Here a good hotel, al-
most American in its excellence and comfort, is to be
found, replete with cleanliness, and surrounded by
ornamental grounds after the Japanese style. There
were rockeries, over which tumbled mountain rivu-
lets ; ponds with gigantic gold and silver fish, which
seemed to be always hungry and inclined to breed
a famine by eating any amount of bread ; pretty
miniature bridges spanned water-ways and formed
foot-paths about the grounds. There were novel
flowering plants, and some remarkable specimens of
dwarf trees, over which the natives expend endless
care and labor, together with examples of curious
variegated leaves, one of which had zigzag golden
stripes upon a dark green base. This hotel among
the mountains was two stories high, an unusual thing
for a Japanese house ; but it had only rice-paper win-
dows, and thin sliding panels in place of doors or
partitions. If desired, a whole story could be thrown
into one apartment, or subdivided at pleasure into
pozy little sleeping-rooms. All material, all food, was
brought hither up that pitiless path on the backs of
mountaineers. People who do not feel able, or who
are not inclined to go up the pass on foot, are car-
ried up in kagos, as was the case with two of our
little party. The kago is a sort of palanquin borne
on the shoulders of four stout men, the path being
impracticable even for mules; but were it less steep
and wider, the Japanese have no mules.
46 DUE WEST.
When we came down that five-mile reach by day-
light, we saw and realized all tlie beauties w'liich had
been hidden from us under tlie inky cloak of night
during the toiling ascent. The scenery was lovely,
sometimes grand, often fantastic ; and for the first
time we heard the clear ringing notes of the lit-
tle Japanese nightingale. Watching the exquisitely
feathered bamboos in green clusters, camellias on trees
thirty feet high, the tall, slim, but graceful pines, the
rocks fringed with lichens and mosses, mingled with
the rarest of ferns, fresh and bright after the rain,
kept the eye busy with delight. Now and then we
gathered the delicate maiden-hair ferns for a back-
ing, and made bouquets from the white, blue, and
pink wild flowers that bloomed by the wayside.
They were not fragrant, though among them were
blue-eyed violets, but they were beautiful as they
were frail. Deep gorges lined the way, here and
there relieved by sunny slopes of soft, bright green ;
while the music of a tumbling cascade, hidden by
the dense wood, occasionally fell upon the ear. The
sweet morning air was both a physical and mental
tonic. All was so enjoyable, so inspiring, that the
ladies broke forth in carols like the very birds among
the branches.
After reaching the foot of the mountain we found
our jinrikisha men, each with his little chaise, ready
to trot off for Yokohama, about thirty-five miles dis-
tant. Along the road, as we progressed, evidences
met the eye of fine agricultural results ; the fields
and meadows were cultivated to the highest point, en-
tirely by hand. No plows are used ; every foot of
the soil is spaded by men and women. We were
told that it was rather late in the season for the cot-
A YOUTHFUL MOTHER. 47
ton to remain iinharvestecl, but tlie thrifty fields
showed us an abundant crop of tlie yellow-wliite
vegetable fleece, in little balls like Marshal Niel roses.
The absence of domestic cattle was conspicuous. A
few cows and sheep, browsing here and there, would
have completed a delightful picture of rural life.
Occasionally, when the men stopped at a wayside
tea-house for a cup of their simple beverage, the only
stimulant or refreshment they desired, we walked on
in advance of them, observing the snowy head of
Fujiyama, the pride of Japan, and which every na-
tive artist is sure to introduce into his pictures, no
matter where located.
As we passed near a humble cottage, a youthful
mother was observed at play with her little nude,
brown baby. It lay upon its back on the green
sward with wild flowers clutched in either tiny fist,
itself only a blossom of humanity, crowing and laugh-
ing at its mother's pranks, as she kneeled over it.
It was difficult to sa-y which exhibited the more
pleasure in the occupation. The Japanese become
mothers frequently at fourteen, and here was one
who was certainly no older, as brown and nearly
as naked as her baby. We had surprised her at
this maternal game, and she rose to her feet fold-
ing her hands before her, while looking half abashed
at the passing strangers. It was a pretty tableau.
As we dashed over the smooth road at a lively
pace the glowing sunset painted scarlet the white
turbaned head of the distant mountain, while it
bronzed and gilded the clouds in the west. Opal
fires burned all over the sky, as the twilight threw
its amber hues about us, and presently the men
halted, each taking out a funny little painted paper
48 DUE WEST.
lantern from iindor the seat, and lighted a candle
inside of it, which they hung on the end of the shafts.
We went on then along the narrow way in a pro-
cession of six jiniikishas, the men on tlie full jump;
for the approaching lights of the city inspired them
to extra exertion, and they shouted cries of encour-
agement and emulation to each other, and pressed
forward with increased speed. Altogether it was a
very characteristic scene, as we rolled into Yoko-
hama at a mad gallop tliat niglit, returning from
the Hakone Pass.
As a rule, one has little patience with the foreign
jugglers who annoy and importune travelers to wit-
ness performances of snake-charming, sleight of hand,
and deceptive tricks generally, to the sound of a fife
and drum, but we witnessed one exhibition at Yo-
kohama in the open air, which was remarkable, not
for any mysteiy jibout it, but as show'ing to what
degree of adroitness and skill the human hands may
be trained by patient practice. The performer was
a middle-aged man who had just closed a series of
the stereotyped tricks before the British Consulate.
It was a new exhibition to us, though one that is
well known, and which we saw indifferently imitated
afterw^ards in China. As has been said it w^as out-
of-doors, but the air was perfectly still. The per-
former took a sheet of thin white paper, and tearing
it so as to obtain two small square bits, each an inch
and a half in size, he rapidly twisted them so as to
rudely represent butteiflies, and tossed them into the
air. Instantly drawing a fan from his girdle and
spreading it, he kept them suspended by its action in
so remarkable a manner that it seemed as though
they must possess individual vitality. They were not
TOKIO. 49
permitted to separate any great distance from each
other, but the delicate force of the fan was so scien-
tifically applied as to guide them sometimes from,
and sometiuies towards each otlier, now fluttering
ah)ft as though pursuing some object, then turning
together as in a loving embrace, and again separat-
ino", so that it was a marvel how the same hand could
impart the dual motion. Presently they were made
to light upon an object close at hand, the arm of one
of the group of spectators, then dexterously to rise
again. But, most difficult of all, they would rest for
an instant on the tip of the fan itself, until promptly
aided by the performer's breath, the bits of paper
were again launched into the air to go on with their
gvrations. The adroit performer never for one mo-
ment took his eyes off the artificial insects : it would
have broken the charm at once. In using the fan,
the juggler seemed scarcely to exert the muscles of
the arm at all. The effort came from the wrist, as
an adroit swordsman handles his weapon. Years of
patient practice must have been required to enable
that man to impart vitality to bits of paper in such
an extraordinary manner.
Tokio, the political capital of Japan, is situated
about twent}^ miles from Yokohama, and November
3d, being the Mikado's birthday, we went thitlier to
see him review the local troops. A large field near
the citadel was chosen for the display, and all Tokio
turned out to witness it, forming: a.bout as concrjom-
erate a mass of humanity as can be conceived of ;
brilliant in its array of brightly dressed and painted
women, not ladies, for Tokio, like Paris, has its demi-
monde. The number of babies present was amazing.
There were young mothers with their infants strapped
60 DUE WEST.
to their backs, and old women with their grand-
children fastened to theirs. Each young boy and
girl of nine or ten years had a baby brother or sister
secured to his or her back, and there were men with
babies in their arms, though this is unusual in Japan.
The infantry among the spectators outnumbered the
infantry in the field. No matter where one goes,
on the coast or inland, the extraordinary number of
young children forms a marked feature.
There were about five thousand men in line, repre-
senting the several arms of the service, all dressed in
European costume, and raostl}' officered by foreigners.
The Mikado reviewed the troops on horseback in due
form, and made a very good appearance accompanied
by a well-appointed suite. The military display, be-
ing conducted upon imported ideas, was very like
such a ceremony in America, save that the cavalry
was small in numbers, riding upon the merest carica-
tures of horses, — ponies about the size of Newfound-
land dogs ; but what they lacked in size they made up
in viciousness, so that it was about all the gallant cav-
alry could do to keep in their saddles. Indeed, many
of them came to grief, spread out like galvanized bull-
frogs upon the greensward, while their liorses scam-
pered off the field.
Tokio must contain over half a million of people.
There is said to be over a million, but this may be
doubted, though geographically it covers more ground
than London. It is well laid out, with broad streets
and good roads, and has a thorough police arrange-
ment, having adopted numerous European and Amer-
ican ideas. The city is intersected by many canals
and river courses, one bridge especially attracting our
attention, the Bridge of Japan, which is to this coun-
THE TEMPLE OF SHIBA. 61
try what the golden mile-stone was in the Forum at
Rome: all distances tliroughout the empire are meas-
ured from it. The review having taken place in the
early morning, we had a large portion of the day to
visit places of interest in the town. Among these
WHS the renowned temple of Shiba, which is over six
centuries in age, composed of numerous kiosk-like
buildings, looking more like immense lacquered jewel
cases than anything else. There are many broad
walks and courts, and stone pillars for lanterns, lofty
trees and sacred tombs, for here lie buried most of
the by-gone Tycoons. The temple portion of this
vast space contains a great amount of gold, silver,
bronze, and carved articles, the intrinsic value of
which aggregates millions of dollars. Where could
such an accumulation of wealth come from? History
knows nothing of the importation of the precious
metals, though it is true they are found in more or
less abundance all over the country. Copper of the
best and purest quality is a native product, the ex-
portation of which is prohibited, and mining for the
precious metals is carried on to but a very limited
extent. The temple of Shiba is located near the
centre of the population, occupying many acres of
ground, walled in and shaded by a thick growth of
trees, whose branches are black with thousands of
undisturbed rooks and pigeons. The principal char-
acteristic of the architecture is its boldness of relief,
overhanging roofs, heavy brackets and carvings. The
doors aie of bronze, in bas-relief.
After visiting the temple of Shiba we took jinriki-
•has to that section of the suburbs known as Atago-
Yama, a hill from which we were promised a fine view
of the city.. Here a steep flight of a hundred stone
6*2 DUE WEST.
steps were ascended, which led to the summit, where
were found some tea -booths, tended by fancifully
dressed Japanese girls, and a small temple with sa-
cred birds and horses. The temple required a strong
effort of the imagination to invest it with the least
interest, but the view from this point was fine. A
couple of miles southeasterly was the broad, glisten-
ing Bay of Tokio, and round the other points of the
compass was the imperial city itself, covering a plain
of some eight miles square, divided by water-ways,
bridges, and clumps of graceful trees, looming con-
spicuously above the low dwellings. The whole was
as level as a checker-board, but yet there was relief
to the picture in the fine open gardens, the high,
peaked gable roofs of the temples, and the broad,
white roadways.
At a subsequent visit to the city we attended a
fair held in the grounds surrounding one of the many
temples of Tokio, giving it a half-secular, half-relig-
ious character ; but the whole exhibition, as to any
coherent purpose, was quite incomprehensible to a for-
eigner. Enormous paper lanterns covered with blue
and yellow dragons, and other impossible creatures,
with small bodies and big heads, hung over the
grounds in all directions. We were told that these
would be lighted at night, and glaring fire would be
seen coming out of the eyes of these dragons ! The
temple was gaudily decorated for the occasion with
bold and vulgar caricatures, mingled most incongru-
ously, the sacred with the profane. The priests were
propitiating the idols inside the temple with drums,
fifes, and horns, while the pleasure and trading booths
were doing a thriving business outside. The confu-
sion was very great all over the crowded inclosure.
SIGHTS AT THE FAIR. 6S
Old and young men were flying kites, some were
shooting at a mark with bows and arrows, and some
were beatins: tom-toms vif^orouslv.
There was a show of wax figures in one of the
booths, illustrating a terrible murder, and another of
figures constructed of flowers, similar to immortelles.
These last w^ere certainly curious, and with swords
and spears placed in their hands were supposed to
represent warriors of the bravest type. Japanese art
has much of the Chinese element in it, and is apt to
culminate in dragons with half human countenances.
There were a number of these graceful beings in the
show. There were also inclosui-es where dwarf trees
in pots were exhibited, some actually bewaring natural
sized fruit, like a baby with a man's hat on its head ;
beside these were singular specimens of blooming
plants. In another inclosure were strange birds :
green pigeons, Chinese pheasants, and parrots that
looked artificially painted, so very odd was their
plumage. There were cakes, candy, and fruit for
sale, and men, women, and children devouring them.
In another department near at hand, there was ex-
hibited china ware and Japanese toys and curiosities,
and our party " invested." The guide could not
make us understand what all this meant, but it was
a '' fair," that was plain enough, and he gave it the
English name. The natives were very much in ear-
nest, and worked hard to achieve a good time. At
such an exhibition and miscellaneous out-door gath-
ering nearly anywhere else there would have been
sure to be many individuals present more or less
under the influence of spirituous liquors, and a squad
of policemen would naturally be in attendance.
Here there was not the least evidence of inebriety
54 DUE WEST.
or of quarrelsomeness, and certainly no police were
present. There was a child-like satisfaction depicted
on tlie faces of the crowd, showing that the people
were very easil}^ controlled and amused.
As we stood watching this gay and singular scene,
a sad-faced Japanese woman, of a youthful figure,
passed up to the temple, without heeding any one
of the crowd about her, and pinned a small scrap of
paper on one side of tiie altar, among many other
similar tokens. Then we wondered what her prayer
might be, as she retired quietly from the spot. Was
it a petition for forgiveness of sins, or asking conso-
lation for some great bereavement ? Be it what it
might, tendered sincerely, though in that blind and
simple form, it doubtless won as certain response as
the formal devotion of the most j^i'onounced Chris-
tian.
CHAPTER Iir.
Foreign Influence in Japan. — Progress of the People. — Traveling
Inland. — Fertility of the Soil. — Grand Temples and Shrines at
Nikko — The Left-Handed Artist. — Japanese Art — City of Kobe'.
— Kioto and its Temples. — Idol Worship. — Native AmusenK-nts.
— Morals in Japan — Lake Biwa. — Osaka on a Gala Day. —
The Inland Sea. —Island of Pappenburg. — The Tarpeian Rock of
Japan. — Nagasaki. — Girls Coaling a Ship. —National Products.
Realizing the obtuseness of the Japanese in all
matters relating to religion, it seenis strange that the
national government permits our missionaries, and
those from other Christian countries, such free scope,
even employing them to educate classes in English,
formed of the young men of the country. Some writ-
ers have lately spoken of an organized persecution
of Christians as existing in Japan to-day. This we
cannot absolutely controvert, but it was a subject of
inquiry with us in different sections of the country,
and an entirely different conclusion was the result of
all we could learn. There can be no doubt that an
inclination to conform to the American model in gov-
ernment and habits of life is rapidly growing in Ja-
pan. Every returning youth wdio has been educated
in the United States, or even in Europe, where many
are sent for tlie purpose, becomes on his return an
active agent to this end.
It is especially observed that these youths come
back wearing the American costume, and they con-
tinue to do so, rather priding themselves upon it as a
50 DUE WEST.
mark of self-respect and distinction. A very earnest
desire to acquire the Eiiglisli language is evinced by
the middling chisses especially in the sea-ports. Yet
it is an open question with not a few intelligent peo-
ple of Yokohama, where we heard the subject freely
discussed, whether foreign commeice and foreign in-
tercourse, all things considered, have been of any real
advantage thus far to Ja])an. Tiade has broken in
upon the quiet habits of a people who were living in
great simplicity, and has excited desires and artificial
wants heretofore unknown to them. It has made the
cost of living much greater, and a spirit of uniest uni-
versal, Tv^ithout elevating or improving the people to
any appreciable extent. All this in a certain degree
is undoubtedly true. At present the conmion classes
are satisfied with the most moderate compensation
for their services, and living, lodging, and transpor-
tation are cheap enougli. As the Japanese become
better acquainted with foreign taste and extravagance
they will undoubtedly become contaminated and
grow extortionate.
A ])leasant excursion of a Imndred miles inland,
with Nikko as the objective point, enabled us to get
some idea of posting with Japanese ponies, which are
the most nervous and vicious little creatures of their
species upon the face of the globe. One little rogue
required six men to harness him, and then was
dragged forward by his mate for a long distance.
The driver, however, finally got the animal into a
run, and kept him at that pace until the close of the
stage, and another change took place. The fact is,
a horse, on the dead run, has not much time to be
vicious, but is obliged to go straight ahead by the
simple force of circumstances.
A NIGHT AT UTSONOMIGA. 57
Two thirds of the national road between Tokio
and Nikko is lined on either side by large and ancient
cedars, so thickly set thnt both body and roots, iu
many instances, have mingled and become one. These
trees, completely overarching the narrow road, form
a welcome shade, and are also very ornamental, with
their straight shafts and thick foliage. The first half
of the distance to Nikko is perfectly level, in fact one
vast rice field. The journey was divided by stopping
at Utsonomiga, where we passed the night in a na-
tive tea-house. Our sleeping arrangements w^ere very
simple. A Japanese bed consists of a thin cotton
mattress spread upon the floor, and a similar article
with big sleeves for the arms, which forms the cover-
ing. The pillow is a block of wood, for which the
experienced traveler usually substitutes his valise.
There is not much privacy afforded by the paper
screens which divide the several apartments, and
■which prove to be no obstacle to conversation, if one
desires a colloquy with his neighbor. Our night-lamp
was a floating wick, in a cup of cocoanut oil, placed
in a square paper lantern on legs. The morning
toilet was made at a basin of water in the open court-
yard. There are no chairs, tables, or wash-stands,
unless you improvise them. However, we had a very
good night's rest, and started off bright and early in
the morning for Nikko.
One is impressed with the manifest fertility of the
soil and the high cultivation it receives at the hands
of the farmers; and this must be characteristic of a
country which, as is shown by government statistics,
with but eleven millions of acres under cultivation,
feeds and clothes thirty-five millions of people ; be-
sides there are twenty-five million pounds of tea,
68 DUE WEST.
three million pounds of raw silk, and thirty -five
million pounds of rice exported annually. The
population must constantly be on the increase. All
along this finely shaded road neat farm-houses were
to be seen, but no domestic cattle. Ro\vs of tea-
houses were frequently in sight, extending occasion-
ally into a village or town of considerable dimen-
sions, and filled with an active population. The
tea-houses, as well as the shops and dwelling-houses,
were all open, exposing each domestic arrangement
to the public. The floors of these country houses
are slightly raised from the ground, say one step, and
covered with neat straw carpeting, upon which the
family and visitors " squat " and take their refresh-
ments.
The people in the places through which we passed
were a little curious at our appearance, but offered no
real annoyance. Many were engaged in mechanical
pursuits, but were working after what appeared a
most awkward fashion, their tools being simple and
of little variety ; while as to machinery wherewith to
facilitate hand-labor, the Japanese seem to have no
more idea of it than does a South Sea Islander.
Many of the people make the raising of silk-worms
and silk 'Winding a source of livelihood. In the rear
of some houses were seen little mulberry orchards,
and spread out by the roadside, upon mats, were
thousands of cocoons in the warm sunshine. Women
were frequently seen outside the houses spinning the
silk and winding the thread. Though silk raising is
so large and important an industry in Japan, the
winding of \hQ material is still performed in the most
laborious and primitive manner. Grain was being
winnowed, as we drove along, by the simple process
TEMPERANCE IN JAPAN. 59
of passing it from hand to hand, this being done by
the women, who also separated the rice from the
stalks, drawing it by the handful through fixed up-
right wooden teeth, placed close together. Nothing
could be more primitive.
We had read of Japanese intemperance in the use
of saki, a spirit distilled from rice ; but during the
time we were in the country, one person only was
seen under the influence of intoxication, and who was
observed on the road during this trip inland. Intem-
perance cannot be common among the populace, or it
would be more obvious. One may see more drunk-
enness among the common people of American cities-
in ten minutes than in ten weeks in Japan. Grapes
are raised to some extent, but no wine is made from
them, or at least not in any large quantity.
The city of Nikko is at present a place of not more
than five hundred houses, all of which are located
upon one broad thoroughfare, thatched with rice
straw, and built of the frailest material. We were
told that about a century ago a hundred thousand
people dwelt here, but a fire swept their homes away
in a single night, leaving only ashes to mark the spot.
There is no foundation or cellar to a Japanese dwell-
ing. The temples in this vicinity are isolated from
the dwellings, a river running between, and are won-
derful in architecture, size, and costliness. They are
many hundred years of age, and contain, among other
curious ornaments, statues of grotesque shapes in
bronze, of priceless value, mammoth bronze figures
of birds of the stork species, etc., life-like in charac-
ter, and of exquisite finish. There are also many
emblems and idols in golJ, silver, and gilded wood.
Some of the bronzes are known to be over a thousand
60 DUE WEST.
years old, and we were assured that none of such val-
uable composition lias been used for centuries. All
ancient Japanese bronze has in it a large percentage
of gold and silver.
Before the door, just over the entrance to these
temi)les, there is fastened a gong, and above it hangs
a metallic hammer, depending from which is a rope.
When a priest, or native of the people, comes hither
to pray, he pulls the rope vigorously, and thus pro-
duces a series of strokes upon the gong that might
wake the dead. This is to call the attention of the
Deity, and lead him to give ear to the petition about
to be offered ! Enormous bells of exquisite purity of
sound, hung a few feet from the ground in the area
before the temples, are rung at stated periods by the
use of a battering ram of wood, suspended near them,
causing the huge monsters to give out soft, mufHed,
though deep and far-reaching notes, that float off
among the mountain passes, and come back again
from Echo's lips, with startling distinctness. Several
priests, clad in long, yellow robes, were seen actively
employed, chanting, praying, and performing inex-
plicable ceremonies. One had a lot of little pine
chips by his side, and was busy in alternateh^ feeding
a small fire upon a stone slab and beating a tom-tom.
This, as our guide informed us, was to propitiate the
god of fire, and to avert all possible catastrophes from
that much dreaded source. When we passed out of
the grounds, some hours later, this priest was still
busy with his chips and the noisy tom-tom, though
there was no audience present except our little party.
Before another shrine, not far away, was a dancing
priestess, clothed in a fantastic manner, the onl}/
woman devotee whom we chanced to see in Japan.
THE LEFT-HANDED ARTIST. 61
She held out a lacquered salver for money, pre-
sumedly for religious purposes, and on receiving the
same she commenced a series of gyrations worthy of
the whirling dervishes of Cairo. It was impossible
not to recall De Foe's couplet as applied to this witch-
like creature : —
" God never had a house of prayer
But Satau had a chapel there."
If she had been young and pretty one might have
endured the farce, but the woman was positively hid-
eous, old, and wrinkled. Another priest, hard by, was
seen to be writing prayers upon bits of paper, in an-
ticipation of future demand, suited to all sorts of
cases; and to be sold to visiting penitents, who would
pin or paste them up in the teuiples as already de-
scribed, and where the gods could peruse them at
their leisure. The wood-carvings, representing vines,
flowers, birds, and beasts, which formed a part of the
elaborate ornamentation of the temples, could not be
surpassed in Europe or America, and were as fresh
and bright as though but just finished by the artist.
Our guide told us that the carvings of these tem-
ples were executed by a man whose facility was con-
sidered miraculous, and whose whole life was devoted
to this object. He was known as the Left-Handed'
Artist, having but partial use of the right hand, and
being also a dwarf. It seems, according to the leg-
end, that, while this artist was working at the orna-
mentation of the temples at Nikko, he saw and fell
in love with a very beautiful Japanese girl resident
in the city ; but she would have nothing to do with
him on account of his deformity of person. In vain
was his genius, in vain his tender pleadings ; she w;is
inflexible , so that at last, quite heartbroken, the poor
62 DUE WEST.
sculptor went back to Tukio, his native place, where
he carved an image of his beloved in wood, life-size,
which, when finished, was so perfect and beautiful
that the gods endowed it with life, and the sculptor
lived with it as his wife in the enjoyment of mutual
love all the rest of his life. A classic fable of similar
import will occur to the reader. Is there anything
new under the sun ?
The temples, shrines, and tombs of Nikko, in such
perfect preservation, are to the writer's mind the
most remarkable in the world. Their complete isola-
tion, far away from any populous neighborhood ; the
solemn silence w^hich surrounds them at all times,
shaded by a grove of lofty cedars surpassed only in
size and height by the giants of the Yosemite, all
tend to make them singularl}^ impressive. The ap-
proach to the site is by a wide flight of many stone
steps, black and moss-grown with the rains and dews
of centuries, forming a grand example of ancient ma-
sonr}^, the large, uniform granite blocks so laid and
bonded that, after resting there for ages, a knife-
blade could not be introduced between the joints.
On careful examination it appeared that no compo-
sition either of cement or mortar had ever been em-
ployed in this masonry, the builders confining them-
selves to proper foundation and perfect matching to-
gether of the stones. At Tokio, the Shiba temple,
curious, strange, and interesting as it was, lost ef-
fect by the neighborhood of the busy throng always
at hand. To enter the Shiba temple was like visit-
ing a grand museum of specialties, while these lonely
Xikko shrines at once command the visitor's half un-
willing reverence.
Our tea-house at Nikko was a duplicate of that at
JAPANESE NOVELTIES. 63
Utsonomiga. In the garden was the usual ornamen-
tation so much affected by the people here, consist-
ing of rockeries, little mounds of bamboo or dwarf
pines, together with small plots of flowering shrubs,
and little ponds of gold and silver fish. These fishes
attracted notice as being quite different from^any
with which we were acquainted. They were a small
species, not more than three inches long, and generally
smaller than that; but they were supplied with a
double complement of tail, and had large protruding
eyes like a King Charles spaniel, and pug noses like
a fashionable bull pup. They were ludicrous little
fellows, so curious withal, that at great trouble and
care a few were brought home by one of our party ;
not all of those selected, however, survived the exi-
gencies of the long journey.
On this posting trip, both going to and coming
from Nikko, we observed upon the road, in the sev-
eral villages and posting stations, many curious
things. Women seemed to perform the most of the
out -door work, ditching and laboring in the rice
swamps, with infants lashed to their backs. AViien
they were met taking articles to market, upon the
little country ponies, they rode astride, man fashion.
Hens were seen with hair in place of feathers, hens
as small as domestic pigeons, hens wdth plumes on
their heads like militia captains, and hens with bare
crowns like shaven priests. There were also green
pigeons and speckled crows, tame as domestic fowls,
among which was seen that anomaly, a white crow.
At the tea-house where we stopped for the night,
our passports, specially granted, were taken by the
local cfl&cials and returned to us in the morning.
The passport was rather a curious document, and dis-
64 DUE WEST.
claimed all responsibility on the part of the Mikado
and his government should the holder be murdered
by the way, from whatever cause. In short, we were
permitted to travel inland, but at our own peril. It
is still looked upon by many as somewhat risky to
travel away from the populous centres, but we met
■with no special trouble.
The natives upon the route were inclined to be a
little curious as to the ladies' bonnets and dresses, nor
were they quite satisfied without using some familiar-
ity about the gentlemen's attire; but they seemed to
be of a soft and pliant mould, easily managed by ex-
ercisinfr a little finesse. It was curious to observe
how entirely opposite to our own methods were many
of theirs. At the post stations the horses were placed
and tied in their stalls with their heads to the pas-
sage-way, and their tails where we place their heads.
Thus they are fed and kept. In place of iron shoes
the Japanese pony is shod with close-braided rice
straw. Carpenters, in using the fore- plane, draw it
towards them instead of pushing it from them. It is
the same in using the saw, the teeth of which are set
accordingly. So the tailor sews from him, not to-
wards his body, and holds his thread with his toes.
They have no chimneys to the houses, the smoke find-
ing its way out at the doors and windows, though
brasiers are used instead of fireplaces, and in hot
weather are placed outside the dwelling for cooking
purposes. The men shave their heads just where
the Chinese do not, making a bald spot on the top ;
and so we might go on specifying peculiarities, show-
ing that the Japanese are our antipodes not only
geographically but also in manners and customs.
As regards Japanese art, of which every one has
JAPANESE ART. Q^
seen such laughable specimens, it must ^^et be ad.
mitted that there is a certain artistic element extant
among the people ; otherwise we should not have the
thousand and one beautifully finished articles which
are produced by them, exhibiting exquisite finish and
perfection of detail. Of perspective they have no idea
whatever ; half-tones and the play of light and shade
they do not understand ; there is no distinction of dis-
tances. Their figures are good, delicately executed,
and their choice of colors admirable. In profile work
or bas relief the}^ get on very well, where there is
no perspective required, but in grouping they pile
houses on the sea and mountains on the house-
tops. At caricature they greatly excel, indeed they
scarcely attempt to represent the human face and fig-
ure in any other light. In place of entertaining any
idea of what is lovely in our species, they look only at
the human face and form from the ludicrous side, and
this they render by giving it ideal ugliness, or by
exaggerating the grosser characteristics. The Japa-
nese artist knowing nothing of anatomy as a science,
m its connection with art, nor even attempting the
simplest principle of foreshortening, we can only
fairly judge as to his success in what he practices.
It will be curious to watch the progress of the Japa-
nese, and see their first attempts in perspective draw-
ing. So intelligent and imitative a race will not
fail to acquire this simple principle of art and nature ;
the only mystery seems to be how it has so long
escaped them.
Architecture can hardly be said to exist in Japan,
though we have used the term. The houses of the
prince and the cobbler are the same, consisting of a
one-story building composed of a few upright posts,
b
^G DUE WEST.
perhaps of bamboo, and a heavy thatched roof. The
outer walls are mere slidmg doors or shutters, wJiile
the interior is divided by screens or shding parti-
tions. The man of means uses finer material and
polished wood, with better painted screens; that is all.
Prince and peasant use rice-paper in place of glass,
and a portable brasier to warm the hands and feet
and to cook with ; there are no fireplaces in tlie
country, except in European houses. The pagodas and
temples at Xikko and elsewhere are of the typical
Chinese stamp, and as lar as architectural design is
concerned are all alike, and all built of wood. When
speaking of the fine and durable masonry, reference
was had to the lofty inclosing walls, causeways, and
steps which lead up to the broad ground and tombs
at Nikko.
We took passage from Yokohama for Kobe in the
English mail steamship Sumatra, of the P. and O.
line, which, after two days' pleasant voyage, landed
us at the northern entrance to the Inland Sea of
Japan. Kobe is of some commercial importance,
quite Europeanized, but of very little interest to the
traveler, gaining its business as the sea-port for the
imperial city of Osaka, with which it is connected
by the river Yedo. After looking about us here
for a day, visiting some lofty and pretty falls in
the neighborhood, and some curious Buddhist shrines
in a strove back of the town, the cars Avere taken
for Kioto, sixty miles inland, where we arrived in
the afternoon and found a good native public house,
the ]\Iasuyama Hotel, situated on a hill-side com-
pletely overlooking the town. Here we had beds,
wash-stands, chairs, and the ordinary comforts of
civilization. Kioto has a population of over three
THE TEMPLES OF KIOTO. 67
hundred thousand, and, as we were told, once num-
bered two million of inhabitants, which one can
easily credit, since it was in the past the political
capital of the country and sole residence of the em-
perors ; but now the Mikado lives permanently at
Tokio.
Kioto is called the City of Temples, and we cer-
tainly visited so many that only a confused memory
of them in the aggregate is retained. They were
by no means equal in grandeur, ornamentation, ar-
chitecture, or age to those of Nikko, Kamakura, or
Tokio. More religious pretentiousness was obvious
here, — more people were congregated before the
images, engaged in acts of devotion. It might be
added, if there was any chastening influence in the
ceremonies, they were more needed at Kioto than at
any other place, perhaps, in the whole country, judg-
ing from only too obvious circumstances. The Japa-
nese character presents as much unlikeness to the
Oriental as to the European type, and is comparable
only to itself. In nothing is this more apparent
than in the fact that a people who are so intelligent,
who can reason calmly and cogentl}^ on nearly any
other subject, should be so obtuse in religious mat-
ters. A Japanese believes the little caricature in
ivory or wood, which has perhaps been manufac-
tured under his own eye, or even by his own hands,
is sacred, and will address his prayers to it with a
solemn conviction of its powers to respond. Than this
idolatry cannot further go. His most revered gods
are effigies of renowned warriors and successful gen-
erals. African fetich is no blinder than such baseless
adoration performed by an intelligent people. Some
of the indigenous animals, such as foxes, badgers, and
68 DUE WEST.
snakes, are protected with superstitious reverence, if
not absolutely worshiped. At Tokio we saw ponies
that w^ere held sacred, dedicated in some way to the
use of the church, kept in idleness, and reverenced by
both priests and people, being fed on the fat of the
land, like sacred bulls at Benares.
At the Kioto temples it was observable that fully
a score of priests were kept busy writing brief prayers
upon slips of paper at the solicitation of devotees,
doubtless suited to their supposed necessities. These
scraps the recipients pressed to their lips, foreheads,
and breasts, then pinned or pasted them up in the
temples among thousands of similar offerings. One
of these temples, we were told by our guide, con-
tained over thirt}^ thousand idols, and as far as a
casual glance could take in the confused mass of them
ranged close to each other, the aggregate number may
be correct. These idols were three feet high, repre-
senting some approach to the human figure, each pos-
sessing many arms and hands. They were carved
from solid blocks of wood, and very heavily gilded,
presenting a most gaudy and toy - like appearance.
While we stood within this temple some women came
in, prostrated themselves before the glittering toys
for a few moments, and then passed out, making room
for others ; but we saw no men at devotion in this
temple of many tliousand idols.
The streets of Kioto were thronored with mounte-
banks, peep-shows, performing acrobats, and conju-
rers. Sleek and pampered priests in yellow robes
were met at every turn, a class who exercise a certain
influence over the people through their superstition,
but who command no personal respect. We were
told that they are a profligate set, like too many of
AMUSEMENTS OF KIOTO. 69
their class elsewhere, and enjoyed a certain immunity
from the laws. Before the temples was seen in one
or two instances a theatrical performance in progress,
which seemed rather incongruous, but upon inquiry
this was found to be designed to appease the special
gods of the temple, — to entertain and amuse them !
so that tliey would grant favors to the people. The
exhibition consisted of dancing and posturing by pro-
fessionals of both sexes, accompanied by the noise of
tom - toms, wdiistles, gongs, bells, and fifes. There
was no attempt at time or harmony, as far as could
be discovered, the end and aim being apparently to
make all the noise possible.
Amusements are not lacking at Kioto, as there are
numerous theatres where farce, tragedy, and comedy
are duly represented after the crude fashion of the
country. These theatres open at early morning and
the play lasts until midnight, with the briefest inter-
missions. The spectators bring their food with them ;
so that eating, drinking, and smoking are going on all
the while during the performance. At some of these
theatres women only perform, at others only men, but
in no instance do the two sexes mingle in these public
exhibitions. The mechanical arrangements are of
the most primitive character, such as would not sat-
isfy children in America, but the pantomime is very
good. As to speaking characters, they are very sel-
dom attempted. The price of admission is about
five cents of our currency, and from six hundred to
a thousand persons often gather at these theatres.
Music (it is called by that name) and posturing fill
up the intervals. To an American observer the
whole exhibition seems cruder than a Comanche war-
dance.
70 ' DUE WEST.
Singing and posturing girls are liere let out in
groups, lis in other Japanese cities, to entertain for-
eigners or natives jit their meals ; but the performances
and the purpose are highly objectionable, morality
in this latitude being much like that of the average
European capitals, that is, at a very low ebb, as
viewed from our stand-point. There are also public
exhibitions of acrobats in wrestling, fencing, and the
like, while others are devoted entirely to sleight-of-
hand tricks, very good of their kind.
The porcelain manufactories of Kioto were found
interesting, — everything being done, however, by the
patient and slow process of hand labor, with the crud-
est of tools. The same remark applies to the silk man-
ufactories, where the weaving is performed in a labo-
rious manner, each small hand -loom requiring two
persons to operate it. The goods thus produced are
really fine, but could not be sold in the present mar-
kets of the world except that Japanese labor is held
at starvation prices. The average pay of the weavers
is less than thirty cents per day, and the boy helpers,
who work the shuttles, receive but twelve. The vari-
ous manufactories of paper here and elsewhere in the
country form one of its most extended industries, the
basis of the material being the bark of certain trees ;
indeed, one is on this account designated as the paper-
tree, and, being a species of the mulberry, it serves a
double purpose, — its leaves feeding the little insect
which is so important a factor in Japanese products.
It must not be supposed that the large amount of
paper which is produced indicates its consumption for
printing purposes : the demand for that species of the
article is very limited, but the general uses to which
the manufactured paper are put in Ja[)an is infinite.
LAKE BIWA. 71
A very superior grade of oil paper is manufactured
which is suitable even for clothing, and is so used. It
lias been mentioned how universally a certain grade
is used in place of glass ; paper is also employed for
partitions of rooms in place of lath and plaster ; for
fans, an immense amount is required ; also, for cases
and boxes, for twine, letter- bags, purses, umbrellas,
and many other articles.
The largest lake in Japan is that of Biwa, a very
fine sheet of water, nearly fifty miles long, but rather
narrow, probably not exceeding an average width of
more than ten miles. It is situated about eight miles
from Kioto, and thither we went in jinrikishas. It
was anciently the summer resort of the Mikados, and
is a very beautiful lake, abounding in fish, a most im-
portant matter to the neighborhood, as rice and fish
are the chief diet in Japan. There are many pleas-
ure-houses, so-called, along its banks, where the visitor
is entertained with fish fresh from the water, cooked
in a great variety of ways. On the north and west
side the lake is hemmed in, like a Scotch loch, by lofty
hills, but on the other sides by pleasant, highly culti-
vated lands, slightly undulating, and ornamented with
pretty little hamlets, and tea-houses for visitors who
sail upon the lake for pleasure. Our jinrikisha men
took us there in less than an hour and a half, but as
the road rises towards Kioto we were fully two hours
in returning. On this occasion women harnessed
tandem, with men, to some jinrikishas were met, and
they trotted off quite as easily at a pony gait as did
the men, but it is gratifying to say that it was the
only time we saw women so employed.
We returned to Kobe by way of Osaka, a city
nearly as large as Kioto, and much more of a business
72 DUE WEST.
and manufacturing centre. The national mint is lo-
cated here, with some other large government works.
The ancient fort overlooking tlie town is of great
interest, and is still fortilled, affording barracks for a
couple of regiments of the regular army. It is a re-
markably substantial structure; many of the stones
of which it is composed are so large that it is a
wonder how they could ever have been transported
intact from the quarry. Osaka has rivers and canals
running through it much like Amsterdam, though not
so numerous, and has been appropriately called the
Venice of Japan. It is not Europeanized like Kobe or
Yokohama ; it is purely Japanese in all respects, and
possesses a considerable commerce. The day of our
arrival was a festal one, being consecrated to the god of
tlie waters ; wherefore large boats gayly decked with
flags and party-colored streamers, containing crowds
of gayly dressed men in harlequin style, were rowing
in long processions through the water-ways of the
city and under the many high-arched bridges. On
tlie decks of the boats the people were dancing and
singing (howling), to the notes of an indescribable
instrument, which could give a Scotch bag-pipe liberal
odds and then surpass it in its most hideous discord-
ance. Music is not a strong point with the Chinese
or Japanese ; if they have any actual melody in their
compositions, no foreign ear can detect it. At one
of the public performances at Kobe it seemed that
the notes were produced by a file and rusty saw.
We embarked at Kobe November 26th, on the
Japanese steamship Niigata Marti, officered by Euro-
peans, but manned by natives, bound for Nagasaki,
Rear the soutliernmost point of Japan, and to reach
which we sailed the whole length of the famous and
BEAUTIES OF THE INLAND SEA. 73
beautiful Inland Sea. It Tvas a most enchanting
voyage of two days and two nights, among innumer-
able islands and grotesquely formed hills, which were
covered with foliage and verdure to the very water's
edge. Many of these islands were inhabited, and
cultivated on their abrupt sides in terraces, like vine-_
yards on the Rhine, displaying great care and taste.
The aspect of the conical islands, bluffs, headlands,
and inlets recalled the St. Lawrence River in Canada,
presenting narrow and winding passages, losing tliem-
selves in creeks and bays after a most curious fash-
ion, while little brown hamlets here and there fringed
the coast hne. At night, the scene changing con-
stantly was enhanced in beauty by the clearness of
the atmosphere and the brightness of the moon. We
slept scarcely at all on board the Xiigata Marii ; it
seemed almost sacrilege to miss an hour of the beau-
ful flying panorama which was being so silently
spread before our vision.
The sea was one sheet of rippling silver ; the stars,
partially eclipsed by the moon, " silver empress of the
night," were nevertheless bright and sparkling with
diamond lustre. All was still, for though we eagerly
watched, we rarely spoke ; silence became eloquent
on such an occasion. Now and then the deep, hoarse
voice of the captain from the forecastle of the steamer
floated aft: "Port your helm," "Starbord," "Steady."
ii\ this intricate navigation the captain leaves the
bridge to the officer of the watch, and temporarily
takes the post of the forward lookout. Now we run
close in under some towering headland, now sheer off
from a green isle so near that none but an experi-
enced pilot would dare to hug the shore so closely.
At many points the sea seemed to be completely land-
74 DUE WEST.
locked, like the Lakes of Killariiey, framed in by lofty
bills. Too much had not been promised us in this
special voyage through the Inland Sea. For once,
fruition was confirmation. We could have sailed on
and on, over those still, deep waters and among those
fair^^-like isles, for weeks unwearied, and when at last
we anchored in the snug harbor of Nagasaki the voy-
age had been only too brief.
A sad interest attaches to the small but lofty
island of Pappenburg, which stands like a sentinel
guarding the entrance to the harbor of Nagasaki. It
is the Tarpeian Rock of the far East. During the per-
secution of the Christians in the seventeenth cen-
tury, the steep cliff, which forms the seaward side of
the island, was an execution point, and from here men
and women who declined to abjure their faith were
cast headlong on to the sea-washed rocks far below.
The present verdure and beauty which so character-
ize the spot are in strong contrast with the sad his-
tory of the place ; nor could we gaze upon its pre-
cipitous side, as we steamed slowly by, without a
shudder at the tragedies once enacted there.
Nagasaki was found to be a thrifty commercial
city of about a hundred thousand inhabitants, with
a fine harbor, the entrance being as narrow as that
of Havana ; but once inside, the combined fleets of
the world might find good anchorage under the
shadow of the lofty hills which surround its deep,
clear waters. The extreme length of the harbor
must be about four miles, by two in width. Tall,
dark pines and a verdant undergrowth mark the deep
ravines and sloping hill-sides, upon which European
dwellings may be seen overlooking the bay, inter-
spersed with a few Buddhist temples. During a de«
PRODUCTS OF NAGASAKI. 75
lightfiil afternoon stroll and climb among these hills,
we came upon many wild flowers, shaded by oaks
and camphor-trees of great size and beautiful foliage,
with occasional specimens of the Japan wax-tree.
Still farther up, the hills were covered with dark,
moss-crowned grave-stones, bearing curious charac-
ters and marking the sleeping-place of bygone gen-
erations, the unbroken quiet of this city of the dead,
contrasting with the hum of feverish life that came
up from the busy town.
Nagasaki is quaint even for a Japanese city, its
clean, broad streets ornamented by growing palms,
pomegranates, and bamboo-trees, while each shop is
a little museum in itself. Like Osaka, it is thor-
oughly Japanese in its appearance, as well as in
the manners and customs of its thrift}^ inhabitants.
Here, and throughout the entire country, one feels
impressed with the evident peace, plenty, and content.
As to the products of this locality, they are mostly
figured porcelain, embroidered silks, japaned goods,
ebony and shell finely carved and manufactured into
ornaments. Every little low house has a shop in
front, and is, as usual, quite open to the street ; but
small as these houses are, room is nearly always
found in the rear or side for a little flower-garden,
fifteen or twenty feet square, where dwarf trees
flourish amid little hillocks of turf, and ferns, and
small tubs of gold fish. Azaleas, laurels, and tiny
clumps of bamboos are the most common plants to
be seen.
This indicates a pure and simple taste in the people,
yet there is a system of social debasement through-
out Japan, which was liere so obvious that it cannot
be passed without notice. It is no worse, perhaps,
76 DUE WEST.
than ill Vienna or Paris, where the law affords it
certain sanction ; but when realized in connection
with the quiet, peaceful aspect of Japanese domestic
life, the contrast renders the S3^stem more repulsive
than it appears elsewhere. The young women in
these public establishments are really slaves, as much
as Circassian girls sold into Turkish harems, or at
Moorish Tangier. In Japan they are also sold, while
yet children, by their parents, for this purpose, and for
a period of ten years. At the close of their term such
women are not considered disgraced, and are eligible
for marriage, frequently being sought by desirable
husbands, and rearing respectable families. The Jap-
anese are not immaculate, and primitive innocence
does not exist among them. Virtue in v/omen before
marriage is held rather lightly, but afterwards they
must be spotless, otherwise the penalty is death.
As regards the flora of Japan we learned some in-
teresting facts. Though the country is densely pop-
ulated for its number of square miles, the forest area
is four times more extensive than that portion brought
under cultivation. Botanists declare its vegetation to
be the richest, as well as the most varied, of any por-
tion of the globe. The cultivation of the soil is skill-
fully and thoroughly sj^stematized, the greatest possi-
ble results being obtained from a given area. This is
partly due to a system of thorough enrichment, applied
in the form of liquid manure, and entirely by hand.
Its flora is spontaneous and magnificent, repaying
the least attention by a development and profuseness
of yield that is surprising. Next in importance to
the product of rice, whicli is the staple food of the
people, comes that of the mulberry and tea-plants, one
species of the former not only feeding the silk-worm,
THE HARBOR OF NAGASAKI. 77
but also, as has been mentioned, affording the fibre of
^yhich paper is made, as well as cordage and dress
material. In usefulness the bamboo is most remark-
able, growing to a height of fifty or sixty feet, and en-
tering into the construction of house-frames, screens,
mats, pipes, and sails. The umbrella-pine grows to a
height of a hundred feet, with dense foliage, and the
cedars reach two hundred feet, with a girth of twenty,
which is, however, far exceeded by the noble cam-
phor-trees. The camphor of commerce is extracted
from the stem and roots, cut into small pieces, by a
simple process of decoction.
As at San Francisco, there is an abundance of birds
hovering constantly about the harbor of Nagasaki, not
sea-gulls, but a brown fishing-hawk, which here seems
to take the place of the gull, swooping down upon its
finny prey after the same fashion, and uttering a wild,
shrill cry when doing so. Another peculiarity about
this feathery fisherman is that he affects the rigging
of ships lying at anchor, and roosts in the shrouds or
on the spars, which a sea-gull or other ocean bird is
rarely known to do. TJiis harbor, in its sheltered
character, resembles a Swiss or Scotch lake, many of
its peculiarities being identical with them:. The hills
spring from the very water's edge, and the pine is
the prevailing tree ; the principal difference being an
inclination liere to more tropical verdure than in the
localities referred to. The bay is nearly land-locked,
and while a pretty heavy gale may be blowing just
outside, the surface of the harbor would be scarcely
ruffled.
The ship took in coal here after a style quite Japa-
nese. Large flat boats came alongside, each laden
with many tons of coal from a native mine near at
78 DUE WEST.
hand ; and a broad pcg-t-liole being opened near the
ship's coal bunks, a line of Japanese girls and boys,
each not more than twelve or tliirteen years of age,
was formed upon a gangway reaching from the bunks
down the ship's side to the coal barge. Along this
line of girls and boys were rapidly passed baskets of
coal, which might weigh from sixty to eighty pounds
eacli, so fast as to form one continuous stream of the
article discharging on board. The empty baskets
were passed back into the coaling barge by a line of
younger girls at another port-hole, being refilled by
a third gang in the boat. The line of full coal baskets
would not be broken once in an hour, until the barge
was emptied and another hauled alongside to be sim-
ilarly discharged. It was remarkable how quickly
the ship took on board her necessary supply of fuel
in this manner, and how steadily those young be-
grimed children w^orked all day. The local agent
told us they were paid for the ten or twelve horns'
work fifteen cents each. Their boiled rice and dried
fish would cost them four or five cents for the day,
and so they would be able to save ten cents. Cloth-
inn: does not enter into cost when it is not w^orn, and
these little imps were as nearly naked as was possible.
They stopped work for about twenty-five minutes at
meridian, and were served each with a bowl of rice
and fish, which they dispatched with chopsticks, then
drank a lacquered bowl of hot tea.
An extremely interesting month had been passed
in the country which we were now about to leave be-
hind us, and should have been glad to tarry longer
in, but our arrangements, to a certain extent, w^ere
imperative, and so w^e prepared to sail southward,
through the long reach of the China Sea. Some re-
JAPANESE INTELLIGENCE. 79
flections, the result of oar late experience, were forced
upon us at this juncture, relative to the people whose
brief acquaintance we had made.
The natural intelligence of the Japanese has no
superior among any race, however much it may be
perverted, or have lain dormant for want of stimu-
lus. There is evidence sufficient of this in the fact
that the young men of Japan, who are sent to this
country for educational purposes, so frequently win
academic prizes and honors over our native schol-
ars. This, too,, notwithstanding the disadvantages
under which a foreigner must be placed. Instances
of the brio^htness of their natural intellig^ence have
been so numerous in our colleges and educational in-
stitutions as to cause public remark. It is therefore
safe to say that the mental capacit}^ of the Japa-
nese youth is certainly equal to those of our own in
the same class of society. Ko sooner have they been
fairly introduced to American and European civiliza-
tion than they have taken a stride, of four or five
centuries at a single leap, from feudalism in its most
ultra form to constitutional government. When an
American squadron opened the port of Yokohama, in
1853, to the commerce of the world, it also opened
that hermetically sealed land to the introduction of
progressive ideas ; and though, unfortunateh% the
elements of civilization which are most readih' as-
simihitecl are not always the most beneficial, still, tlie
result, taken as a whole, has been worthy of the ad-
miration of the world at large.
When we speak of the progress of the Japanese
as a nation, we must not forget that the national
records of the country date from nearly seven hun-
dred years before the time of Christ on earth, and
80 DUE WEST.
that a regular succession of jMikados, in lineal de-
scent from the foiinders of their dynasty and race,
has since that remote date been carefully preserved.
Taking the Western Powers as a model, the Japa-
nese have not failed to emulate them in nearly all the
prominent features of civilization, promptly furnish-
ing themselves with rifled cannon and torpedo boats,
witli newspapers and a national debt. As we have
remarked, the army and civil officers have long since
adopted the American costume. The railroad and
the telegraph, too much of an innovation for the
more pretentious Chinese, are quite domesticated in
Japan. But still it is really to be hoped that the
progressive spirit, so apparent in the policy of the
Mikado and his advisers, may not quite obliterate all
traces of the antique and picturesque customs of a
country so peculiar and original.
CHAPTER IV.
Sail for Hong Kong. — Ocean Storms. — Sunset at Sea. — A AYater-
Spout. — Arrival in China. — Typliou Bay. — Manners and Cus-
toms. — In and about Hong Kong. — Public Buildings- — Voyage
up the Pearl Kiver. — City of Canton. — Strangest of Strange
Cities. — Opium Dens. — Temple of Honan. — The Worship of
Swine. — Praying with a Fan. — Local Peculiarities. — Half Round
the World. — Singapore. — A Tiger Hunt. — Burial at Sea. —
Penang. — The Wonderful Palm.
We sailed from Nagasaki earlj^ on the morning of
November 29th, in the same steamsliip, the Niigata
Marii, which had brought us from Kobe, being now
bound for Hong Kong, through the Yellow and
China Seas, a distance of eleven hundred miles.
These are proverbially rough waters, and they fully
sustained their reputation for the first two days of
the voyage. The marvel seemed rather to be that
more ships were not lost here, than that so many
were. It is really little better than a vast graveyard
for commerce. Our staunch iron hull was tossed
about like a featlier in the wind, causing us to realize
that there is something awfully grand in these ocean
storms, uncomfortable as they are.
Our crew was composed of Japanese, and excellent
sailors they are, quiet, obedient, and untiring. Sea
life is very similar in nearly all latitudes, and affords
but few incidents worthy of recording. An old sea-
captain told the author, some years since, that the
finest sunsets he had ever seen were in these waters,
off the coast of Cochin China, and that it was a pecul-
82 DUE WEST.
ijirity of the region ; or, to use liis own words, " First,
we would have a typhoon that shivered our sails into
threads, and then a sunset that looked like a scene
in a theatre." Allowance was made in this instance
for a fancied charm brought about by the great con-
trast of a raging storm followed by a serene night-
fall. It seemed as though we had witnessed as fine
exhibitions of Nature in this line, both in Europe
and America, as could be enjoyed, but an agreeable
surprise was in store for us.
We had crossed the southern portion of the Yel-
low Sea, and having run down the Corean Straits,
with the Loo-Choo Islands under our lee, were sail-
ing southward upon the China Sea. It was the 2d of
December, and we too were now off the coast of Co-
chin China. Never before had any of our little party
witnessed such a gorgeous array of cloud and color
effect ; nor was the display fleeting. The peculiar
aspect lasted for half an hour or more, full of change
to be sure, like opal hues, hovering and evanescent,
but not obliterated. The transparent clouds that
hung above the western horizon, as dainty in form
and texture as a butterfly's wings, were tinted with
turquoise blue. Immediately over the section where
the sun had so lately disappeared, the gradations
of color were multiform and brilliant, fading into
each other's embrace. Close to the water line, where
sky and ocean mingled, there was a mound of quiv-
ering flame that seemed like burning lava pouring
from some volcanic source. This lavish display of
iris hues was softly reflected by the vapory tissue
of clouds that hung over the opposite expanse ; the
shades changing to ruby and sapphire tints alter-
nated, until the east almost rivaled the west in the
LANDING AT HONG KONG. 83
gorgeousness of its robes. In the mean time the sea,
now wonderfully calm, expanding into infinite space,
reproduced upon i^s shimmerin;^ surface, as in a mir-
ror, this magic array of color permeated by the amber
twilight. Gradually the curtain of night dropped
over the scene, but tiiere still lingered a long crimson
line on the distant horizon where the sun had sunk
into the sea. The most careless eye on board the ship
watched the constantly changing effects with bated
breath. Nature revels in beauty, and does her work
with a lavish hand in the far East. It has been our
lot to see the sun set in many lands and on many
seas, but never before in such gorgeous splendor.
Just at night, December 4th, we arrived below
Hong Kong, dropping anchor in Typhon Bay, where,
among the dark shadows of the cliff-like shore, we
watched the stars overhead and th(^ long bright wake
cast by the light-house, counted the small dancing
lights in the native settlements on the shore, and won-
dered what Hong Kong was like.
With the early morning light we steamed up to
the magnificent harbor, surrounded by a range of
lofty hills, i-endering it a shelter and affording depth
of water sufficient for any known tonnage. Its exten-
sive area was well covered with ships of war and mer-
chantmen, bearing the (lags of all nations, among
which the Stars and Stripes gladdened our eyes.
Hong Kong signifies ''good harbor" in Chinese, and
the name is well applied. This is the most easterly
possession of Great Britain, which she has taken care
CO render very strong in a military point of view, and
vhere a large number of troops are constantly kept.
The Scarlet uniforms of the garrison form a striking
feature of the busy streets, at all hours of the day.
84 DUE WEST.
The bouses in the European section of the city are
large and handsome structures, mostly of stone, rising
tier upon tier from the main street to a height of some
hundreds of feet on the face of the hill immediately
back of the town. On and about the lofty Victoria
Peak are many charming bungalows, with attractive
surroundings, and a noble prospect of the harbor and
country. The streets appropriated to the occupancy
of tlie Europeans are spacious and clean, but the
Chinese portion of Hong Kong is quite characteristic
of the race, — very crowded and very dirty, seeming
to invite all sorts of epidemic diseases ; and conse-
quently the mortality is very great and sweeping at
times, promoted by ignorance and excess among
strangers and seamen.
One soon learns to detect an opium-eating people,
and here we found examples all about us in every
relation of life. It is a vice nearly always pursued
in secret, but its traces upon the heavy, bleared eye
and sallow features are plain and disfiguring enough.
The disgraceful trade in the fatal drug, forced upon
Cliina by the English at the point of the bayonet,
flourishes and increases, forming the heaviest item of
import. It seems almost incredible that a people can
long exist and 'consume such large quantities of this
active poison. Other forms of stimulants are seldom
resorted to by the natives, and an intoxicated person
is scarcely, if ever, met with among the Chinese popu-
lation. As to Europi^ans, it is the same here as it is
Nn India, the habit of drinking freely of spirituous
liquors is universal, and one half the invalidism which
is attributed to climate should be ascribed to indul-
gence in hard drinking.
The streets of Hong Kong afford strange local pic-
IDEAL JOHN CHINAMAN. 85
tares. The shoemaker industriously plies his trade
in the open thoroughfare ; cooking goes on in the
gutters beside the sidewalks filling the atmosphere
with greasy odors ; the itinerant peddler, with a
wooden box hung from his neck, disposes of food
made from mysterious sources ; the street barber is
seen actively employed out of doors; the milkman
drives his goats to the customer's door and there
milks the required quantity ; the Chinese themselves
ignore the article altogether. The universal fan is
carried by men, not by women, and wdien the owner
is not using it, he thrusts it in the back of his neck
with the handle protruding. Sedan chairs are rush-
ing hither and thither, borne upon men's shoulders,
transporting both natives and Europeans on business
errands. Here, as in southern Italy, one observes a
propensity to eat, sleep, live, and die in the streets,
exhibited by the mass of the population.
Imagine a short, slouchy figure, with sloping eyes,
a yellow complexion, features characterized by a sort
of low cunning, a shaved head with a pigtail, clad in
a loose cloth blouse, half shirt and half jacket, con-
tinuations not exactly pants nor yet a petticoat, and
shoes thick-soled and shearing upwards like a ^Tadras
surf-boat, and you have John Chinaman as he ap-
pears at home. The portrait is universal. One Chi-
naman is as like another as two peas, — a uniformity
often leading to ludicrous mistakes. John eats prin-
cipally rice. It is in fact the basis of all his dishes,
which are varied by the addition of dried fish and
vegetables, adding occasionally such portions of ani-
mals as are usually thrown away by civilized people.
Rats, cats, and dogs are not declined by his omnivo-
rous appetite, and he is charged with craving nearly
86 DUE WEST.
all sorts of vermin, such as snakes, slugs, scorpion's
eggs, and caterpillars, which he complacently adds to
his stews. Without the physical strength or size of
Europeans, he makes up in industry what he lacks
in muscle; and as liis food costs about one fifth the
sum which we generally calculate necessary for a com-
mon laborer, he can work much cheaper, and still lay
up money from his wages.
Certain peculiarities challenge our observation.
The Chinese mariner's compass does not point to
the north pole, but to the south ; that is, the index
is placed on the opposite end of the needle. When
Chinamen meet each other in the street, instead of
mutually grasping hands, they shake their own hands.
The men wear skirts and the women wear pants.
The men wear their hair as long as it will grow, the
women bind theirs up as snug as possible. The dress-
makers are not women, but men. The spoken lan-
guage is never written, and the written language is
never spoken. In reading a book the Chinaman be-
gins at the end and reads backwards ; all notes in the
books appear at the top of the page in place of the
bottom, as w^ith us. White is the mourning color,
not black ; surnames precede the given names ; ves-
sels are launched sideways, not endways; in mount-
ing a horse the Chinese do so from the off-side. At
dinner we commence the meal with soup and fish,
they reverse the order and begin with the dessert.
Grown up men fly kites, and boys look on admiringly;
our bridesmaids are young and dressed in white, theirs
are old women clad in black ; and so on.
From its special position in the East, Hong Kong
is the resort of all sorts of people, from all quarters
of the globe. England is of course the most strongly
TRADE AND ITS ODDITIES. 87
represented. There are comparatively very few
Americans, but plenty of French and Germans, the
latter mostly Jews and money lenders. There are
numbers of East Indians, Italians, Portuguese, and
Spaniards, with here and there a Parsee, making
altogether a population which reminds one of Mar-
seilles in its conglomerate character. These several
races, mingling with the Chinese, make up an hicon-
gruous community. An early morning visit to th(?
water front of the city affords much amusement,
especially at the hour when the market boats arrive
from the country, and from along shore, with fish
and vegetables. Here the people swarm like ants
or bees more than like human beings, all eager for
business, all crowding and talking at the same time,
and creating a confusion that would seem to defeat
its own object, namely, to buy and to sell. The
vegetables are various and good ; the variety of fruit
limited and poor in flavor ; but the fish are abundant
and various in shape, size, and colors. Nine tenths
of the business on the river front is done by women,
and nearly all have an infant strapped to their backs,
while they carry heavy burdens in their hands, or
are engaged in rowing or sculling their boats. They
carry on trade, make change, clean fish, and the like,
quite oblivious of the infants at their backs. Babies
thus managed are often shaken about most unmerci-
fully, and among Europeans would assert themselves
by the loudest screeching ; but who ever heard a
Chinese or Japanese baby cry ?
The environs of Hong Kong are extremely inter-
esting, and the roads are kept in most admirable con-
dition. The jinrikisha is the common mode of con-
veyance, though the palanquin is perhaps nearly as
88 DUE WEST.
much used. The introduction of the former vehicle
into both China and Japan is of quite recent date.
We enjoyed several expeditions in the suburbs by
both means of transportation, the charges being
extremely moderate. The Japanese jinrikisha men
seemed lighter, yet more muscular, than do their Chi-
nese brethren when between tlie shafts ; and the lat-
ter, after a few miles, exhibited symptoms of fatigue,
whereas, on a long thirty-five mile trip, this was never
observed in a Japanese : either he was superior in
pluck or muscles, or both, to John Chinaman.
The English burial-ground, located about three
miles from the town, is a very beautiful cemetery,
and is to Hong Kong what Mount Auburn is to Bos-
ton, — not quite so extensive, but superior in its col-
lection of flowers and trees, which must have been
gathered and naturalized here at a great cost. Tlie
varieties of the cactus family are remarkable in num-
bers and mode of training. The same may be said
of the camphor-tree, the aloes, tall and graceful
cypresses, mingling with which are Cape jasnnines,
hydrangeas, magnolias, and the scarlet geranium, tall
and hedge-like, backed by white, variegated, and scar-
let camellias. Everything indicated a semi-tropical
climate. These Chinese gardeners exhibit great skill
and genius in the cultivation of all plants, and land-
scape gardening is carried far beyond our ideas of
the art in America. Some flowering shrubs, on close
examination, proved to be old friends, but so trained
and developed as to be hardly recognizable. We ob-
served a curious mode of grafting plants so as to
cause several species to blossom on the same branch,
thus forming, as it were, a growing bouquet. The
samples of dwarf trees were also very singular, — a lit-
THE SIKHS, 89
tie orange-tree, for instance, bearing an orange weigh-
ing more than itself, and lemons so arranged as to
grow by grafting in and with an orange. It was an
agreeable sight to see choice bouquets for sale on the
public streets, containing a great variety of flowers
arranged with gen nine taste, a little too formal and
stiff to meet our fancy, but yet finding ready cus-
tomers at reasonable prices. In Madrid, Florence, or
Paris, it is sunny-faced girls who offer these fragrant
emblems to the passer-by ; but at Hong Kong it is
done with less effect by almond-eyed men and ragged
bo3's. The city is so far Europeanized as to be less
typical of Chinese manners and customs than are
cities further inland; but revelations come upon us
with less of a shock when mingled, as they are here,
with more civilized methods.
The policemen of Hong Kong are Sikhs, whom the
English government have imported from India for
this special service. These officers are under excellent
discipline. They are tall, dark, and heavily bearded
men, presenting cpiite a striking appearance in their
semi -military uniforms. Of course they have no
sympathv with the Chinese, who cower under the
police batons, which are ruthlessly nsed when deemed
necessary. Society in the city is entirely English, and,
to use an expressive word, is ''fast." Balls, races,
regattas, and fetes of all kinds follow each other with
ceaseless energy. The gayety of domestic and social
life, and the luxurious mode of living generally, ex-
ceed that of any European colony we have chanced
to meet with. Club life, evening entertainments, and
late hours, are the characteristics of Hong Kong ; the
serious affairs of life seem to have been left at home
in far-off England, — an inevitable result where the
90 DUE WEST.
military element enters so largely into the commu-
nity.
It was represented to us, and so appeared upon ob-
servation, that the well known practice of compress-
ing the feet of the females from their birth was a
gradually declining custom. Some few middle-aged
w^omen were met with in the streets whose feet had
been thus treated in infancy, and who hobbled about
with much difficulty, but no young girls were to be
seen thus hampered. When this hideous deformity
has been adopted, the knee and ankle joints do not
bend at all in walking ; all movement is from the
thigh joints, a mincing gait is imparted, and the arms
swing from side to side, the whole body being at all
times liable to topple over. A traveler is not com-
petent, however, to speak of the higher classes of
women, as no access is afforded to domestic life in
wealthy families. Only women of the common class
appear indiscriminately in public. Oriental exclusive-
ness wrapping itself about the sex in China nearly as
rigidly as in Egypt. If women go abroad at all, it is
in curtained palanquins, quite hidden from the public
eye, or at most only partially visible through semi-
transparent veils of gauze. Anywhere east of Italy
woman is a toy or a slave.
The European portion of Hong Kong consists al-
most entirely of one broad avenue, called Victoria
Road, which is the Broadway or Washington Street
of the city, and which runs parallel with the shore
front, from which it is separated by a single block.
This thoroughfare is well paved, and is mostly lined
with attractive stores, hotels, and club-houses, with a
few dwellings intermixed. The intersecting streets
are in many cases so steep as to be ascended by broad
THE PEARL RIVER. 91
stone steps, like portions of Naples and Rome. After
leaving the Victoria Road, one plunges immediately
into Chinese life among narrow lanes and crowded,
dirty abodes, like China Town at San Francisco, such
dwellings as are only to be found in the midst of a
miserable and degraded condition of humanity. The
river or harbor front is lined with loft}^ European
warehouses, and some good residences, — half devoted
to business, however, the locality being mostly given
up to the requirements of commerce. It will be re-
membered that Hong Kong is an island, nearly forty
miles in circumference, consisting of a cluster of hills
rising almost to the dignity of mountains. The gray
granite, of which the island is mostly composed, af-
fords an excellent material for building purposes, and
is largely employed for that object. Xearly all the
public buildings are constructed of this granite, which
presents a fine appearance, and affords good oppor-
tunity for architectural display.
The side-wheel steamer Han Kow was taken for
a passage up the Pearl River to Canton, the commer-
cial capital of China, situated a little less than one
hundred miles from Hons^ Konoj. The steamer had
some two or three hundred Chinese passengers, who
were partitioned otf in a part of the vessel by them-
selves, and securely locked, away from the European
passengers. In tlie cabin, ranged about the foremast,
were a dozen loaded repeating arms, rifles, and pistols
for the use of the whites, in case the Chinese should
rise and attempt an act of piracy by taking the ship.
This has more than once been done upon the Pearl
River, and the steamboat comjmny now goes prepared
to visit condign punishment upon such offenders.
In passing up the river, on board the Han Kow,
92 DUE WEST.
a fine view was afforded of the farming and vegeta-
tion of the country. Banana, orange, sugar-cane, and
tea culture, in their various stages, were in distinct
view, the steamer at times nearly grazing the right
or left bank, and being obliged to move slowly on
account of shallow water in the winding channel.
Strange birds, brilliant flowers, and remarkable trees
trained to grow in the shape of men and animals,
were seen bordering the plantations. Great fertil-
ity of soil, however it might be induced, was man-
ifested on all hands, and the vegetation exhibited
tropical luxuriance. The number of small fishing-
boats upon the river was quite marked, showing from
whence came a large percentage of the daily food of
the humbler classes. These boats seemed to be almost
entirely rowed and managed by women, always with
the inevitable baby at their backs, sometimes sleep-
ing, sometimes gazing vacantly about, but always
quiet and contented.
The river is nearly two miles broad on an average,
sometimes opening into bays of considerable size, six
or eight miles across, and thus forming a water-way
of immense importance in a country where railroads
are unknown. The canals and rivers of China are her
great dependence, her inland highways or roads being
unworthy of the name, — exhibiting one of the most
])rominent features of the lack of national enterprise.
China looks to the past, not to the future. Some ad-
vance has been forced upon her in the art of war.
She no longer fights with fans, gongs, and fire-crack-
ers, but " shoots bullets every time," as the French
found to their most serious cost ver}' lately. The re-
moteness of the country from the centres of civiliza-
tion, the exclusivcness of the government, the almost
CAXTOX. 93
incomprehensible character of the spoken language,
— entirel}" different from the written tongue, — has
always excited curiosit}^, and thrown a halo of ro-
mance over everything Chinese. This false glamour,
however, disappears, like dew before the sun, by per-
sonal observation, and is superseded by something
like a sense of contempt. The missionaries of sci-
ence, commerce, and of religion have done much
within the last twenty years to dispel the extravagant
ideas entertained of the Celestial Empire, and have
shown us that the race is b}^ no means celestial, but a
people very much like the rest of the Eastern nations,
certainly no more civilized.
Canton is the strangest of all strange cities, and
perhaps the most representative one in China. Willi
a population of a million and a half, it has not a
street within its walls over eight feet wide. Horses
and vehicles are unknown. Even the useful and com-
fortable jinrikisha could not be used here, where
everything to be moved must be transported on hu-
man shoulders. The city extends to about a distance
of four miles on the banks of the Pearl River, and
fully a hundred thousand people live in boats along
the river front. The families occupying these sam-
pans will average at least four individuals ; a man and
wife with two children, — frequently there are half a
dozen of the latter. These boats are about twenty
feet long and five wide. But a small portion of the
after part has au}^ covering, and the cooking is done
in the bow. Here the family live, — cook, eat, and
sleep, knowing no other home. The youngest chil-
dren are often seen tied to tlie thwarts, and if they
tumble overboard they are easily pulh'd back again.
There are hundreds of temples distributed over the
94 DUE WEST.
city, many of wliich were visited and found to be
crowded with idols and idlers, though we never saw
a Chinaman praying in them. The corner of nearly
every street, as well as numerous stores and dwelling-
houses, have each an idol and small shrine on which
incense is kept burning all the time, and every day
of the year. The whole city is permeated with the
smell of this highly scented incense, and though used
in such small individual quantities the consumption
in the aggregate must be very large. Of the nume-
rous temples and pagodas in Canton probably the
most famous is that of the Temple of the Five Hun-
dred Gods, containing that number of gilded statues
of Buddhist sages, apostles, and deified warriors.
The expressions on the features of this large number
of statues were remarkable in the fact that they all
differed essentially from each other ; otherwise they
were exceedingly commonplace.
Every sort of manufacture or business is performed
in the most primitive manner by hand, machinery of
any sort being scarcely known ; but personal service
or labor is so cheap that it even competes with ma-
chinery. One is surprised as to how such a crowded
community can exist in such an inconsiderable space;
whole families live and sleep in a single small room.
The Chinese, in point of domestic comfort and clean-
iiness, are a century behind the Japanese ; and this
remark will apply as well to nearly all the relations
of life. There is less of nudit}'- here than in the
latter country ; but, so far as one can judge by brief
observation and inquiry, morality is at a lower gauge
in China than in Japan. It is dcnibtless as true here
as elsewhere, that " one touch of nature makes the
whole world kin," but you lack the touch of nature.
OPIUM AND ITS EFFECTS. 95
With the Japanese the traveler feels himself sympa-
thizing. He goes among them freely, he enters their
houses and drhiks tea with them, but not so with the
Chinese ; here we realize no sense of affiliation, but
rather one of repulsion. The universal amusement
is that of gambling, and the means whereby the peo-
ple gratify this passion are endless. Dominos, and
several similar games, are most popular in connection
witli cards, the latter game, however, differing very
materially from our own. The Chinese cards num-
ber a hundred to the pac-k. Cock fighting is univer-
sal, and is as much of a national game as at ^Manilla.
Our guide, who was an intelligent and high-caste
native, took us into one of the opium dens, to be
found in nearly every street of Canton, and where we
saw the victims of the terrible indulo^ence in the sev-
eral stages of debasement. A number of the smokers
appeared to be men of average health and strength,
but all had tlie dull, vacant e3e and attenuated forms
of the victims of this insidious habit. It was curious
to hear the guide stoutly defend the use of the opium
pipe. He declared that it lengthened, not shortened,
life ; besides whicli he insisted that with opium one
lived a double life, and therefore he lived twice as
long as he would do without it. " Europeans get
drunk," said he, '' and have nasty headaclie ; China-
man smokes opium, enjoys paradise on earth, but has
no headache." Of course one cannot argue Avith an
opium consumer to any good effect. The habit once
acquired is never successfully abandoned, There is
always some hope of reform for a drunkard, but for
an opium-eater, never. No statistics of a reliable
character as to the quantity of the deadly drug which
is consumed in China can be obtained, but the aggre-
96 DUE WEST.
gate amount, large as it is known to be, is yet increas-
ing. All the opium which can be obtained from
India is consumed here, beside that which is raised in
China ; the former by the wealthier classes, the latter
by the poor, — the liome product being cheaper and
much inferior in quality.
The temples generally seemed to abound with
votive offerings ; but the one aim, so far as we could
understand, was to appease the wrath of malignant
deities. These gods, it would appear, are largely
composed of departed ancestors, and the power of such
spirits for mischief is the most prominent article of
Chinese faith. In one temple was observed the her-
metically sealed coffin of some lately defunct citizen,
beside whose casket an abundant meal of cooked rice
and vegetables w^as conspicuous!}^ placed. This prep-
aration of food for the dead and buried is not, how-
ever, an exclusive Chinese idea. We have also seen
food placed by the side of newly-made Italian graves
at Genoa and Pisa, and our Western Indians bury
arms, clothing, and dried meats with the bodies of de-
ceased warriors. It is known that reverence for par'
ents is the leading moral precept of Chinese faith,
and more than that, it is lived up to upon earth by
all classes, and when tliese parents die they are ad-
dressed spiritually and reverentially as guardians.
At the entrance of the temples there are always two
large, gilded wooden figures or idols, considered as a
sort of presiding guard over the place.
We visited the Temple of Honan, a place of great
sanctity to the natives. The service is conducted
by a college of Buddhist priests resident within its
walls. The institution consists of a group of shrines
or demi-temples dedicated to special gods, and stand-
CHINESE IDOLATRY. 97
ing within enclosed courts, shaded by trees of great
height, size, and age, the grounds covering many acres.
At the main entrance are placed, as usual, two hid-
eous idols of colossal size, figures halt' animal and half
human in design, with strangely distorted counte-
nances. Here the shaven-headed priests were busy
performing rites and chanting before burning incense
and lighted candles, after the Roman Catholic style.
Within an enclosure were a number of sacred hogs,
wallowing in filth like any other swine. Some lively
Chinese boys mounted the largest of these, and ex-
tracting a few of the '' sacred " bristles offered them
to us for pennies. Upon our inquiring as to the final
disposition of these animals, our guide, himself a re-
markably dignified native, with "millicms" of self-
conceit, admitted that the fattest of the lot would
probably be eaten in due season. We shall often
have occasion, in these notes, to see how low poor
humanity in its blindness can descend, groveling after
strange gods. When trying to analyze the frame of
mind which probably actuated these people in mak-
ing sacred objects of swine, the thought suggested it-
self that after all it might be an instinctive groping
of ignorance after light and truth. Crude, and even
disgusting as it appears to an intelligent Christian,
it has its palliating features. The Parsee worships
fire, the Japanese bows before foxes and snakes, the
Hindu deifies cows and monkeys. Why should not
the Chinese have their swine as objects of venera-
tion ? There are certain forms of what is called
Christian worship which are by no means above com-
parison with even Chinese extravagance.
Within the walls of this Temple of Honan was a
spacious and curious garden, where the dwarf trees
98 DUE WEST.
and flowering shrubs were ingeniously trimmed to
make them grow in the forms of various animals ; and
here was a large pond of the sacred lotus in bloom,
the thin, soft, white velvety leaves displaying every
line and vein in their foimation. The fi'agrance was
very delicate. In the poetical language of the East
the lotus is called the " goddess " as we call the rose
the " queen " of flowers. We were here shown the
cremating ovens in which the bodies of the departed
priests are disposed of, and also the crude cells and
the large refectory of the order. But somehow these
priests, who pretend to lead such lives of self-denial,
are wonderfully round and unctuous in personal ap-
pearance. Our visit to the Temple of Honan was a
very curious and not uninteresting experience, made
up of a strange conglomerate of swine, priests, fat
idols, flower gardens, human roasting ovens, and pond
lilies.
All over Canton may be seen lofty towers, square
in form, which dominate the town. Our guide called
these warehouses, or storehouses for the safe keeping
of goods, they being both fire-proof and thief-proof.
But further inquir^^ proved them to be a series of
pawnbroker's establishments. In summer the aver-
age Chinaman pawns his winter clothing, and other
articles not in actual use, thus enablincj him to em-
ploy more capital in his business, whatever it may
be. When the cold weather comes he redeems his
needed clothing, and the same with other articles.
So universal is this practice that hundreds of these
tower-like pawning places are required to meet the
demands of the citizens. As these establishments
are supposed to be fire-proof, the}^ do certainly jifford
a place of safety for valuable articles not in use, the
CRIMINAL PUNISHMENT. 99
owner paying storage in the form of interest for the
money loaned, the goods being security.
The dwelling-house and pleasure-grounds of the
late Poon-tin-qua, a distinguished and rich China-
man, were visited, and proved to be typical of all
Chinese pictures. Here were airy summer-houses,
pavilions, bridges, rockeries, and ornamental sheets of
water, as we see these things represented on lacquered
ware, decorated China dishes, and fans. It was really
very curious and amusing, and showed much of Inx-
urious life. — even a private theatre being contained
in the establishment. Though all seem to be deserted
now and somewhat neglected, still the garden showed
us roses, camellias, azaleas, lilies, and green shrubs
trained in the usual grotesque manner, not forgetting
the dwarf trees, which seem to give this people great
satisfaction when successfully cultivated.
As regards the punishment of crime in Canton,
one would look in vain for justice, but there is plenty
of cruelty. We visited the execution yard, a circum-
scribed space in the very heart of the citj. Here,
our guide told us, twenty condemned prisoners were
executed weekly, by decapitation, each Friday being
devoted to clearing the docket. The executioner
takes off a head with one stroke of the sword, and
the guide said he had witnessed the decapitation of
eleven heads in seven minutes. Through a grating
in the wall of the yard, an open area was seen where
a crowd of manacled prisoners were sitting upon the
ground, no shelter being afforded them night or day.
The place was more filthy than a cattle-pen, — so
offensive that we remained but a few moments. It
is doubtful if anywhere else in the world such bar-
barous carnage and cruelty exists, under the guise of
legal punishment.
100 DUE WEST.
Mucli has been said nboufc the wonderful Water-
clock of Canton, but it is actually a very simple and
crude mode of measuring time, which any smart
Yankee school-boy would improve upon. It consists
of four tubs of water, located one above the other on
a wooden frame, each dripping slowly into the one
below it, the last being furnished with a float, the
rise of which is measured on a graduated scale, indi-
cating units of time ; and such is the famous Water-
clock of Canton. We were not disposed to walk any
more than was necessary in the public streets, where
the foulest odors assailed us at every step, and dis-
gusting sights met the eye in the form of diseased
individuals of the most loathsome type. The stranger
is jostled by staggering coolies, with buckets of the
vilest contents, or importuned for alms by beggars
who thrust their deformed limbs into his very face.
It is but natural to fear contagion of some sort
from contact with such creatures, and yet the crowd
is so dense that it is impossible to entirely avoid
them. Underfoot the streets are wet, muddy, tortu-
ous, and slippery, so that one comes from them with
a feeling that a hot bath is an immediate necessity.
Why some deadly pestilence does not at once break
out and sweep away the people is a mystery. We
know that the Ghetto at Rome, which forms the
most filthy part of the Eternal City, was entirely
spared when the rest of the place was decimated
by cholera ; but Canton generally is far dirtier than
the Roman Ghetto.
As we found it almost impossible to traverse the
streets of Canton on foot, we were carried, each per-
son, in a palanquin, upon the shoulders of four coolies.
These vehicles can make their way through the nar-
NARROW LANES OF CANTON. 101
row streets, but cannot turn round in them without
going to some open space where several streets meet.
The bearers trudge along, keeping step with each
other, and uttering a loud, peculiar cry to clear the
way, reminding one of the gondoliers on the canals of
Venice. People were obliged to step into shops and
doorways, or flatten themselves against buildings, in
order to make room for us to pass in the palanquins,
but the}^ did so with a good grace and took it quite
as a matter of course. Whenever we stopped for a
trifling purchase or to visit some point of interest, a
small crowd was sure to collect. The narrow lanes
are lined in many sections by stores containing very
attractive goods, curiosities, silks, fine China ware,
ivory, scented woods, mother-of-pearl and carved tor-
toise shell, all goods of native manufacture. The re-
markable patience and imitative skill of the Chinese
enables them to produce very choice goods in these
lines of art. The shops being all open in front, the
entire contents can be seen by the passers-by. Many
of these passages are covered over at the top by
matting, which effectually excludes the sun, and, in-
deed, much other light, so that they often have a
sombre and dreary appearance.
It was interesting to watch the operation of the
primitive hand-loom in which is woven the favorite
Canton siik. The fabric is beautiful and expensive,
being sold by the pound in place of by the yard, as
with us. Men and boys only engage in silk weav-
ing. Women assume the heavier and more exposed
branches of labor, and of out-door-life, besides lugging
their infants. Some of the lofty and utterly useless
pagodas, which are over twelve hundred years old,
are quite unique in architecture and oinamentatioa
102 DUE WEST.
One was visited which was nine stories high, measur-
ing in a vertical line about two hundred feet. Ob-
serving a woman at one of the shrines fanning an
idol, the guide was asked for an explanation. He
said that the woman would presently take this fan
home with which to fan some sick person, and from
this process would hope for miraculous intervention
in behalf of the suffering one. *' And do you believe
there is any efficacy in such a proceeding ?" we asked.
'' You would call it the result of credulity and imagi-
nation," was his intelligent reply, *' but I have seen
some wonderful cures brought about after this man-
ner. Do not people, who call themselves Christians,
believe in prayer?" ''Most certainly," we replied.
" Well," continued the guide, '' this is simply Chinese
prayer." After this explanation, the queer proceed-
ing of fanning an idol seemed less strange. That was
certainly a good answer, — calling it Chinese prayer.
Undoubtedly our type of features is repulsive to
the average Chinaman, certainly his is very much so
to us. One looked in vain among the smooth chins,
shaved heads, and almond eyes of the crowd for signs
of intellicrence and manliness. There are no tokens
of humor or cheerfidness to be seen, but in its place
there is plenty of cunning, slyness, and deceit, if there
is any truth in physiognomy. The men look like
women and the women like children, except tliat
their features are so hard and forbidding. The bet-
ter classes wear a supercilious expression of features
that makes the toes of one's boots tingle ; and yet in
all the shops there is a cringing assiduity to get all
the silver and pennies from the outside barbarians
that is possible. In the streets there was a most un-
mistakable surliness exhibited that would have broken
PHILANTHROPY IN CHINA. 103
into forcible demonstration as we passed through them
only for the instinctive cowardice of the Asiatics. It is
quite impossible to express what a strange sea of life
these narrow Canton streets exhibited, as we floated
through them in palanquins upon the shoulders of the
coolies. Their filth dominated all other characteris-
tics, and forced upon the memory Charles Lamb's
remark to his friend, when he said : " Martin, if
dirt was trumps, what a hand you would hold."
Philanthropic societies are numerous in the cities
of China, hardly exceeded in variety and excellence
of design by those of Europe and America. These
embrace well-organized orphan asylCims, institutions
for the relief of indigent widows with families, homes
for the aged and infirm, public hospitals, and free
schools in nearly every district. As with ourselves,
some of these are purely governmental charities,
others are supported by liberal endowments left by
deceased citizens. Depots for the distribution of med-
icines to the poor are numerous, and others exist for
distributing clothing to the needy. One organiza-
tion was mentioned to us which supplied coffins to the
poor, and bore the expenses of burial. Among the
dense population of the country there must be ample
occasion for the exercise of such charities. It must
be remembered that these societies and organizations
are not copied from European or American models ;
they have existed here from time immemorial.
Philologists have vainly endeavored to trace any
affinity between the Chinese language and that of
other nations, ancient or modern. It is unique, — an
original tongue, and, wliat is equally remarkable, no
other nation, except the neighboring Japanese, have
ever borrowed from it, or amalgamated any of its
104 DUE WEST.
elements with their own. It must have risen in its
written form from tlie untutored efforts of a primitive
people. Like the Egyptian tongue, it was at first
probably composed of hieroglyphics, whicli, in the
course of time, became symbolic as they stand to-day.
The foreign population of Canton, American, Eng-
lish, French, etc., live upon a spacious and beautiful
island by themselves. The island is connected with
the city proper by a stone bridge having iron gates,
through which no native is permitted to pass unless in
the domestic employment of the residents, and then
they are obliged to show their written permits each
time to the guard on duty at the gate of the bridge.
All of the foreign consuls with their families reside
here i>i elegant quarters, surrounding their European
style of dwellings with fine gardens, trees, and pleas-
ant walks, and here they extend to travelers hospi-
tality only too open-handed and generous. They are
completely isolated from the outer world sociMlly, and
intelligent visitors from abroad are cordially welcomed
by them.
An inexhaustible agricultural capacity remains un-
improved in China, and the same may be said of her
rich store of mineral wealth, which, under American
enterprise and facilities, Avould soon revolutionize the
country in its products and exports. Save the dis-
tricts whicli are traversed by the canals, the present
means of communication between different parts of
the country are scarcely superior to those of Central
Africa. The so-called national roads are nearly im-
passable. No other country in the world would be
so surely and rapidly benefited by a thorough system
of railroads as would China. Gold and silver are
found in nearly every province of the Empire, the
COAL, AND ITS SUPPLY. 105
former being still procured by the most primitive
processes, such as washing the river sands by hand,
which are recharged by the freshets from the moun-
tains, — a mode that would satisfy oidy Chinese labor.
Coal is the most widespi-ead, most valuable, and most
accessible of all the buried treasures. If the twelve
thousand miles of coal-fields have made Great Britain
the workshop of the world, wliat may not be antici-
pated from the four hundred thousand square miles
of Chinese coal-helds, which are capable of supplying
the whole world, at the present rate of consumption,
for thousands of years ?
The depressing monotony in the customs, habits, and
ideas of the Chinese, as contrasted with their neigh-
bors, the Japanese, forces itself upon the notice of the
traveler. There is no variety among the race, either
in manners, dress, or architecture ; one section of the
country seems precisely like another, so far as the
people are concerned, however widely divided, and all
follow one model. There is no individualit3^ They
look to the past not to the future. There is no such
possibility as a nation's standing still ; it either retro-
grades or progresses. China, whose people do every-
thing in a left-handed manner, advances like a crab,
backwards. It would seem as if she must eventually
dry up and die of old age ; and yet, within the limits
of the Chinese Empire is probably comprised one
fourth of the human race. Strive as much as we
may to be fair and liberal, it is yet impossible to
disguise our strong dislike to the people whom we
were now about to leave. A sense of relief on de-
parting from pestilential Canton was inevitable, and
there was little to attract us longer at Hong Kong,
to which city we returned in the steamship Powan.
1C6 DUE WEST.
It is not wise to shut our eyes to facts which have
passed into history, or be too strongly influenced by
personal prejudice. Tlie Chinese have long been a
cultured, reading people. Their veritable records
take them back to the days of Abraham. Five hun-
dred years before the art of printing was known to
Europe, books were multiplied by movable types ir
China, and her annals thereby preserved. Whatever
of ignorance may attach to the people as it regards
matters extraneous to their empire, the detailed and
accurate knowledge of their own country and its
statistics is evident enough from the elaborate printed
works in the native tongue. Every province has its
separate history in print, specifying its productions,
a brief record of its eminent men, and of all matters
of local importance. Reliable maps of every section
of the country are extant. The civil code of laws is
annually published and corrected. In the depart-
ments of science relating to geography and astron-
omy^, they have long been well advanced. A certain
amount of education is universal, eight tenths of the
people being able to read and write. The estimate
in which letters are held is clear, from the fact that
learnincr forms the verv threshold that leads to fame,
honor, and official position. Competitive examina-
tion is tiie mode by which office is disposed of, tliose
who hold the highest standard of scholarship bearing
off the palm. The art of printing has been referred
to as having its origin in China. In two other im-
portant discoveries this nation long precedes Europe ;
namely, in the use of gunpowder and the magnetic
compass, the knowledge of which traveled slowly
westward throuo^h the channels of Oriental com-
merce, by way of Asia Elinor or the Red Sea. It is
FAREWELL TO CHINA. 107
only just and fair for us to look on both sides of the
subject.
On the night of December 11th, being the day pre-
vious to tliat of our departure from Hong Kong, a
slight shock of earthquake was experienced, recalling
a similar event at Yokohama ; but as these are not
of uncommon occurrence in either place, little was
thought or said about the matter. We embarked
on the P. and O. steamship, Brindisi, for Singapore,
by the way of the China Sea and the Gulf of Siam.
The northeast monsoon favored us, as we rushed like
a race-horse over the turbulent sea, with a followinor
gale, — the threatening waves appearing as if they
would certainly engulf us if they could catch up with
the stern of the ship. The Philippine Islands were
given a wide berth, as we steered southward towards
the equator. The cholera was raging among the
group ; and in illustration of the fact that misfortunes
never come as single spies, but in battalions, Manilla,
the capital, had just been nearly destroyed by a ty-
phoon. Leaving Borneo on our port bow as we neared
the equatorial line, the ship was steered due west for
the mouth of the Straits lying between the Malay
Peninsula and the Island of Sumatra.
While running off the Gulf of Siam we got our
first view of a veritable water-spout. It was from
four to five miles off our starboard bow, but quite as
near as we desired it to be. It seems that both
atmospheric and aquatic currents meet here : from
the China Sea northward, from the Malacca Straits
southward, and from the Pacific Ocean eastward,
mingling at the entrance of the Gulf of Siam, causing
at times a confus'on of the elements. At least tliis
was the captain's theory, and it seems that he had
108 DUE WEST.
more than once met with water-spouts at this point.
They are nothing more or less than a nuniature
cyclone, an eddying of the wind rotating with such
velocity as to suck up a column of water from the
sea to a height of one or two hundred feet. This
column of water appears to be largest at the top and
bottom and visibly contracted at the middle. If it
were to fall foul of a ship and break, it would wreck
and submerge her as surely as though she were run
down by an iceberg. Modern science shows that
all storms are cyclonic, that is, are circular eddies of
wind of greater or less dl;i meter.
No two geographers seem to agree as to what con-
stitutes the Malay Archipelago, but the five islands
nearest to the Peninsula should undoubtedly be thus
classified ; namely, Singapore, Penang, Borneo, Suma-
tra, and Java, — the latter containing more volcanoes,
active and extinct, than an}^ other known district
of equal extent. If the reader will glance at a map
of the Eastern Hemisphere, it will be observed that
many islands dot the equatorial region between Asia
and Australia. Some maps include New Guinea in
the Malay group, though it is situated far to the
eastward, and forms so independent a region, being
larger than Great Britain. Bying in the very lap
of the tropics, the climate is more uniformly hot
and moist than in any other part of the globe,* and
teems with productions in the animal and vegetable
kingdoms elsewhere unknown. The most precious
spices, the richest fruits, the gaudiest feathered birds,
are here seen at home ; while man is represented by
a race quite distinctive and peculiar, whose type will
be looked for in vain beyond the limits of this re-
gion. Climate, vegetation, and animated life are all
HALF ROUND THE WORLD. 109
specially equatorial. The elephant, rhinoceros, tapir,
and the man-like orang-outang are all indigenous. It
was quite natural to reflect upon these well-known
facts as we came down the China Sea and crossed
the broad Gulf of Siam.
On the loth of December, at noon, latitude 9° 1^
longitude 108° 57', we found ourselves just half round
the world from our starting-point, Boston. The
capital of Massachusetts was exactly beneath us on
the opposite side of the globe, a physical fact some-
what difficult to realize.
We landed, December 17th, at Singapore, the most
southerly point of Asia, located at the mouth of the
Malacca Straits, about eighty miles north of the
equator, being the capital of the Straits Settlements.
It is the stopping-place of nearly all ocean travel to
and from the East, not only for the landing and tak-
ing in of other cargo, but as a necessary coaling sta-
tion, wliether coming round the Cape of Good Hope,
or from Suez and India by the Red Sea route. Sing-
apore is an island lying just off the peninsula sepa-
ration from the main -land by a strait scarcely a
quarter of a mile across. It is some thirty miles
long and half as broad, containing over two hundred
square miles, and supporting a population of a hun-
dred thousand, more or less. The entrance to the
harbor was very picturesque as we sailed between
the low lying islands grouped about it, fanned by a
soft welcome morning breeze, before the burning sun
had asserted its power. An aspect of tropical luxuri-
ance and languor reigned everywhere, — the palm
and cocoanut-trees looming above all the rest of the
vegetation. About the ship floated tropical seaweed
of brilliant colors, while the long snow-white beach
no DUE WEST.
contrasted strongly witli the dark green, glossy foliage
behind it. It was easy to divine the products of tl>e
island from the nature of the merchandise piled upon
the \vharf for shipment, consisting of tapioca, cocoa-
nut oil, gambia, tin, indigo, tiger skins, coral, gutta-
percha, hides, gums, and camphor, some of which
our ship was destined to take westward. The tin, in
heavy pigs, was especially noticeable as to weight and
quantity.
The surface of the island is undulating and densely
wooded ; in fact consists of a multitude of small hills
not exceeding three or four hundred feet in height,
while the jungle comes down close to the shore. The
great enemy which the natives have to contend
against is wild beasts, — tigers proving very fatal
all the year round. There is no winter, summer, or
autumn here, but a perpetual spring, with a temper-
ature almost unvarying; new leaves always swelling
from the buds, flowers always in bloom, the sun ris-
ins: and settinor within five minutes of six o'clock
during the entire year. Singapore is considered to
be a very healthy place, and gets a soft breeze most
of the day from across the Bay of Bengal, laden with
fragrant sweetness from the spice-bearing fields of
Ceylon, while upon its own soil every flower and
blossom known to the Orient affords beauty to the
eye and delight to the senses. The trees here w^ould
have seemed enormous had we not so lately come from
California. One observes the great abundance of the
rattan-palm, which forms picturesque groups of green
foliage quite distinctive from the other surroundings.
It seemed rather enervating with the thermometer
at 90° in the shade, these December days, but the
residents did not complain. There are some draw-
INSECT LIFE OF SINGAPORE. Ill
backs to be considered, as well as the floral beauty
and spice-laden air. Were this not the case it would
be celestial not terrestial. The number of dangerous
snakes, scorpions, mammoth spiders, lizards, mosqui-
toes, and all sorts of vermin is legion. Naturalists
come from all parts of Europe to gather and form col-
lections of butterflies, beetles, birds, reptiles, various
insects, and shells. The great green-winged Orni-
thoptera, the prince of the butterfly tribe, abounds
here. One enthusiastic naturalist, a German, boasted
that he had obtained within a month over three hun-
dred distinct and remarkable species of beetles, within
a couple of miles of the hotel veranda where we stood.
The steamboat landing is some three miles from
the centre of Singapore, and we drove thither drawn
by a little horse which could hardly have performed
the task had the road not been an excellent one and
as level as a parlor floor. The wayside was bordered
by hedges of green and growing rattans uniformly
clipped, and forming a continuous wall, which, here
and there, threw out a graceful feathery bit of foliage.
Over the hedge occasionally bent tall and handsome
palm-trees of various species, often laden with co-
coanuts, or other fruit of the palm family, and occa-
sionally whole groves of bananas were in sight. We
passed many Chinamen, and many Chinese shops,
showing them to be the dominating race, always
moving promptly as if bent on some fixed purpose ;
while the natives, seen now and then on the road, were
listless and objectless in their appearance, — true chil-
dren of the equatorial region. The former were bent
on accumulating the means to return to their native
land in independence; the latter were utterly heedless
of the morrow.
112 DUE WEST.
The lociil pictures, ms usual in oacli new place, are
interesting and impressive: small hump-backed oxen
driven singly to harness and at a lively trot; little
diminutive horses, even smaller than those of Japan,
yet drawing heavy-loaded vehicles ; an almost naked
population, and those wearing clothes at all affect-
ing the brightest possible colors. Scarlet turbans
and white skirts, red shawls bound round the head,
yellow sashes confining one thickness of narrow cot-
ton cloth about the body, give bits of color every-
where. Peddlers roam the streets selling water, sonp,
fruit, and a jelly, made from seaweed, called agar-
agar. These articles are cried, each after its own
peculiar name, and customers are not wanting ; little
groups of Chinese and natives often surround the
peddler and partake of his wares. Houses are built
high up in the air upon stilts, a common practice for
various reasons, not the least of which is protection
against the much dreaded tigers, snakes, and other
dangerous creatures. Tigers are said to devour three
hundred of the inhabitants annually; that is nearly
one a day out of a population of a hundred thousand,
which is the aggregate of the whole island. The
number of victims is set even higher than this, and is
mostly made up from those working on the plantations.
The jungle is very dense and difficult to penetrate.
English sportsmen come hither, in large numbers, to
seek this royal game. It would seem strange at first
thought that an island like Singapore could not be
cleared of this terrible pest, and so we remarked.
'' Ah," replied a resident, " you forget that we draw
an unlimited supply from the main-land. Tigers
swim across the narrow straits continually, and not
until the land is cleared from jungle will our island
MARKET WOMEN OF SIXGAPORE. 113
be free from tliem." The natives dig pits as traps
for the tigers, similar to the manner of catching them
in India, except that at Singapore a series of sharp,
upright stakes were introduced, upon which the ani-
mals fell and were fatally wounded. This, however,
has been forbidden since an English hunter fell into
a trap and was empaled upon them.
The vegetable and fruit market at Singapore af-
fords an amusing scene in the early moining. In
fact a traveler soon learns that it is a resort not to be
neglected in any new city ; affording, as it invariably
does, strongly characteristic local pictures, and for the
time drawing together representatives from nearly
all classes of the community, — master, mistress, and
servant. The variety of fruit is here much greater
than iu Japan or China ; and there are one or two
species, such as the delicious mangosteen, — the se-
ductive apple of the East, — which are found indige-
nous in no other country. The vegetables are abun-
dant, and the native women, who transact the market
business, know how to arrange them with an eye to
good effect, just as they show an artistic fancy in the
mingled colors of the few clothes they wear.
The cocoanuts ripening in big clusters on the lofty
trees, and many other fruits produced by the family
of the palm, are inviting and handsome to look upon,
especially when hanging in clusters forty or fifty feet
skyward. We had often read of the fan-palm, but
they are much more curious to see than to read about,
being here presented in their most thriving aspect.
The California specimens are quite meagre and un-
satisfactory in comparison with those grown so near
the equator. Here the tree springs up in the exact
shape of an outspread feather-fan, as though it were
114 DUE WEST.
artificially trained, and readies the height of thirty
or fort}' feet, making a very distinctive feature of the
scenery. Fruit is always cheap in these regions, and
forms a very hirge portion of the native subsistence ;
but it was a surprise to us in paying for a dozen large,
ripe, and luscious pine-apples to find that the price
was but sixpence. It was amusing to watch the itin-
erant cooks, who wear a yoke over their necks, with
a cooking ap[)aratus on one end and a little table to
balance it on the other, serving meals of rice and fish
to coolies and boatmen for a couple of pennies each.
Money has here, as in most Eastern countries, a larger
purchasing power than it has with us of the West.
Laborers at Singapore get twelve and fifteen cents a
day for work on the wharves, and less inland ; but
the cost of living to these people is proportionally
insignificant. They can go into the jungle and get a
dinner of fruit at any time, and no one will interfere
with them.
A visit to the Botanical Garden, located a couple
of miles from the town, afforded us much pleasure,
and, as a complete collection of tropical trees and
plants, exceeded, in extent and variety, all previous
experience. Though this entire region is a garden,
it has been deemed well to gather close together all
possible representatives of the trees, fruits, and flow-
ers, and to surround them with all the beauties of
landscape gardening. Here, nourished by abundant
heat and moisture, thrive the bread-fruit-tree, palms,
dates, figs, and mangoes, raangosteens, and creepers
of infinite variety. For the first time we saw speci-
mens of the acacia flamboyante, a large tree with
broad leaves of delicate green, throwing out from its
topmost boughs clusters of scarlet flowers with yellow
CIVILIZATION IN SINGAPORE. 115
centres like militai\y plumes. The floral display was
very beautiful, and the plants must have enjoyed the
care of the best trained skill to produce such perfec-
tion. One portion of the garden contained large
bushes of stephanotis and alamanda in full bloom,
and close by was a glorious display of the Egyptian
lotus in flower. Upon a small artificial lake was a
grand flourishing plant of the Victoria Regia, with
leaves that would support a small child upon the sur-
face of the water. There was an extensive aviary in
the grounds, with beautiful specimens of the argus
pheasant, lyre-bird, parrots of many species, and doves
with strangely gaudy plumage, as thougli they had
barely escaped being parrots. The little scarlet larie,
a native here, chattered like a magpie. It w^as cer-
tainly an unexpected pleasure to find an excellent
museum, a public library, a Protestant cathedral, a
large hospital, schools, and several benevolent insti-
tutions, as well as the fine garden referred to, in this
capital of the Malay coast. It will be remembered
that Singapore belongs to the English, having been
purchased by them so long ago as 1819 from the Sul-
tan of Johore, Malay Peninsula ; wise forethought,
showing its importance as a port of call between
England and India. The city is divided into the
Chinese, !Malay, and European quarters, w^ith a pop-
ulation of sixty thousand, and is elaborately fortified.
A moment's thouorht will recall to the reader's mind
a fact which is of interest in this connection. Eng-
land has established and maintains a line of outposts
from the Mediterranean to the far East, commencing
at Gibraltar, thence to Malta, Aden, Ceylon, Penang,
Singapore, and Hong Kong, thus completely dominat-
ing the south of Asia, and giving her a clear road to
116 DUE WEST.
India, besides making her power always realized and
respected in the East.
There is no disguising tlie fact that the Chinese, at-
tracted to Singapore by its freedom from commercial
restrictions, and its advantages of positi(m, have con-
tributed very largely to make it what it is, the most
prosperous settlement in the East. It literally swarms
with pigtails, the Chinese composing nearly half of
the population. We cannot afford to ignore the com-
mercial value of this race, however much we may dis-
like them personally. Oi)ium dens are conspicuous
here, over the doors of which is printed in English,
" Licensed Opium Shops.'' It seems that these Mon-
golians cannot or will not do without the subtle drug,
while there are many people who do not use the ar-
ticle, but who contend that it is not injurious except
when taken to excess. An intelligent resident, how-
ever, admitted that opium was in one way or another
the cause of most of the crime among the class who
habitually use it. It is the Chinaman's one luxury,
his one extravagance; he will stint himself in food,
clothinor, amusements, evervthinoj else, to add to his
hoard of dollars ; but this fascinating, artificial stimu-
lant and narcotic combined he will not deny himself.
An Englishman, who joined the ship at Singapore,
related a tifrer adventure, which had occurred here
not long previous to our visit. There was ample evi-
dence that one of these much-dreaded creatures had
made his lair not far away from the town. Our in-
formant had come hither with a friend on a hunt-
ing excursion, and resolved, if possible, to secure the
creature's hide. Three or four days before a native
woman had disappeared fiom the suburbs, and it was
resolved to take advantai^je of the trail which was made
A TIGER HUNT. 117
on this occasion to track the beast throngli the jangle.
The sportsmen, with six native beaters, easily fol-
lowed the track, the animars fore paws evidently
sinking heavily into the ground with the weight of
the body he carried. A full mile was passed before
the path became so dense as to cause delay, and the
track was quite clear. Here and there branches
showed a lock of the woman's hair, where her head
had come in contact with some thorny bushes in pass-
ing. Once the tiger had evidently laid the body
down, and here were finger-marks in the soil, show-
ing that life still existed in the poor victim.
The slight clothing she wore had been found at the
commencement of the trail, where a disturbance of
the ground indicated some sort of struggle. At the
end of the second mile the tracks grew every moment
more distinct, and the party moved with increased
caution. An experienced beater was now sent in ad-
vance with only his broad, unsheathed knife for self-
protection. Stillness reigned for some time, as the
party thus advanced. The animal had scented danger,
and, contrary to the usual habits of these creatures on
such occasions, instead of retreating farther into the
jungle, he came boldly towards the attacking party.
Had this been anticipated, greater caution would have
been observed. Suddenly there came a crashing
sound, and a scream rang through the jungle. The
head beater was borne to the ground by the wjiole
weight of the tiger, who had sprung upon him. The
man had stood at the moment in a partial opening,
so that man and beast were now in full sight. One
of the hunters instantly leveled his rifle, and with
deliberate aim sent a ball through the tiger's brain,
causing him to straighten out at once, quite dead.
118 DUE WllST.
The mail was stunned and seven^ly woimdcMl, but
he was not bitten, ami was able to struggle to his
feet, pointing cxultingly to the knife, showing that he
had buried the blade to the hilt in the tiger's chest,
notwithstanding the suddenness of the attack. The
natives generally are poor hunters, lacking courage
and coolness, both of which qualities this man clearly
evinced. A hundred yards further into the jungle
from the spot where this struggle took place was
found the monster's lair. It was a small open space,
surrounded by a thick undergrowth, whither he had
brought his victims, fidly three miles from the near-
est village. Only the bones of the poor woman were
found ; what the tiger had not eaten other beasts and
birds had consumed. Heaps of bones testified to the
havoc the animal had made. A number of bangles,
arm-rings, nose and ear ornaments, were picked up,
such as only women wear, showing that a number of
his victims had been of that sex. The beater was
well enough to walk back to the village, after a short
time, and became quite a hero in consequence of the
adventure. The carcass was brought to town, and
proved to be that of a very large and old tiger. The
fact of his coming towards the hunters instead of re-
tiring, as is their habit when pursued by numbers,
showed that he was an unusually dangerous animal.
A two days' voyage through what seemed to us
like a sea of phosphorescence, every splash and ripple
producing liquid gems, brought us to Penang, the
most northerly sea-port of the Malacca Straits, sit-
uated at the point where they open into the Indian
Ocean, and just one hundred miles from the island
of Sumatra across the mouth of the Straits. The
approach to the island by water afforded a fine pic-
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF PENANG. 119
ture. AVell-wooded liills of vivid greenness rise above
the sea all about the town. These liills grow more
or less lofty as they recede inland, until they culmi-
nate in three mountain peaks. Penang, like Singa-
pore, is an island some thirteen miles long by ten in
width, and is separated from the main-land of the
Peninsula by a narrow belt of sea not more than
three miles in width, giving it a position of great
commercial importance. It resembles Singapore in
many respects, and is almost identical with it so far
as it relates to its general products and vegetation ;
the season, likewise, is one long, unvarying summer.
The areea palm, known as the Penang-tree, is the
source of the betel-nut, and, as it abounds on the
island, has given it the name it bears. The town
and its immediate suburbs cover about a square mile,
through which one broad main street runs, inter-
sected by lesser thoroughfares at right angles. A
drive about the place gave us an idea that it is a
thrifty town, but not nearly so populous or business-
like as Singapore. It was also observable here
that the Chinese element predominated. The main
street referred to is lined with open bazars and shops,
mostly kept by Chinamen. The front of the dwell-
ings being all open, gives the passer-by a full idea
of all that is going on in each household. Shrines
were nearly always to be seen in some nook or corner
of each dwelling, before which incense was burning,
and generally a couple of candles also, very much as
at Canton. The shrine-room seemed also to be the
eating, sleeping, and living room.
The natives are lithe in figure, with but slight
muscular development, and are yet quite strong,
appearing at all times as nearly naked as would be
120 DUE WEST.
permitted among white people. They give up nearly
all brunches of occupation, trade, and industries to
the Chinamen, and content themselves with lying all
day in the sun, eating bananas and other cheap fruits,
and chewing betel-nuts. Some of them make good
sailors, taken away from their home and put under
discipline. The P. & O. Steamship Company, as well
as many others, often recruit their crews here. Is it
because surrounding nature is so bountiful, so lovely,
so prolific in spontaneous food, that these, her chil-
dren, are lazy, dirty, and heedless ? Does it require
a cold, unpropitious climate, a sterile soil and rude
surroundings, to awaken human energy and put man
at his best? There is compensation always. With
luxury comes enervation, effort is superfluous ; while
with frugality and labor we have strength, accom-
panied with development of mind and body. The
former produces slaves, the latter heroes.
Humanity and the lower grades of animal life seem
here to change places. While the birds and butter-
flies are in perfect harmony with the loveliness of na-
ture about them, while the flowers are glorious in
beauty and in fragrance, man alone seems out of tune
and out of place. Indolent, dirty, unclad, he adds
nothing to the beauty or perfection of the surround-
ings, does nothing to adapt and improve such wealth
of possibilities as nature spreads broadcast only in
these regions. The home of the Malay is not so
clean as that of the ants, or the birds, or the bees ; the
burrowing animals are much neater. He does little
for himself, nothing for others, the sensuous life he
leads poisoning his nature. Virtue and vice have no
special meaning to him. There is no sear and yellow
leaf at Penang, or anywhere on the coast of the
NATIVE WOMEX OF PENANG. 121
Straits. Fruits and flowers are perennial : if a leaf
falls, another springs into life on the vacant stem ; if
fruit is plucked, a blossom follows and another clus-
ter ripens ; nature is inexhaustible. Unlike most
tropical regions, neither Penang nor Singapore are
troubled with malarial fevers, and probably no spot
on earth can be found better adapted to the wants
of primitive man.
The native women are graceful and almost pretty,
slight in figure, and very fond of ornament. Indeed
both sexes pierce their ears, noses, and lips, through
which to thrust silver, brass, and gold rings, also
covering their ankles and arms with metallic rings,
the number only limited by their means. In the im-
mediate neighborhood of the town are some English
plantations and neat cottages, with inclosures of flow-
ers and orchards of fruit trees ; while still farther
back are large gardens of bread-fruit, nutmegs, cinna-
mon, pepper, and other spices. Plantations of sugar-
cane, tobacco, and coffee are also numerous, the soil
being pronounced to be extremely fertile. We were
told that nothing had to be wrung from the earth
here, but, as Douglas Jerrold said of Australia, "just
tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest."
Here is the very paradise of brilliant birds, with
feathers " too utterly gaudy," while Flora revels in
wild luxuriance. The delicate little sensitive plant
here grows in a wild state, equally tremulous and
subsiding at human touch, as with us. Lilies are in
wonderful variety, and such ferns, and such butter-
flies! These latter almost as big as humming-birds
and as swift of wing.
Penang is the headquarters of the cocoanut-tree,
the prolific character of which is here simply won-
122 DUE WEST.
derful. IIow these trees manage to keep an upright
position, witli sucli heavy loads in tlieir tufted tops,
is a never-ending marvel. This tree is always in
bearing at Penang, giving annually several voluntary
crops, and receiving no artificial cultivation. Of the
liberal gifts vehich Providence has bestowed upon the
tropics, the cocoanut-tree is perhaps the most valu-
able. The Asiatic poets celebrate in verse the three
hundred and sixty uses to which the trunk, the
branches, the leaves, the fruit, and the juice are ap-
plied. In Penang a certain number of these trees
are not permitted to bear fruit ; the embryo bud, from
which the blossoms and nuts would spring, is tied up
to prevent its expansion, and a small incision then
being made at the end, there oozes in gentle drops a
cool, pleasant liquor called sarce or toddy, which is
the pabn-wine of the poet. This, when first drawn,
is cooling and wholesome, but when fermented and
distilled produces a strong, intoxicating spirit. In
fruits, the banana is perhaps the next most valuable
of the products of this region. We were told that
between twenty and thirty distinct species of the
fruit flourished within a radius of a dozen miles of
the town, all wholesome and palatable. The atten-
tion of planters is being diverted from spice culture
to that of fruit raising, the latter requiring so much
less attention, and not being liable to blight of any
sort.
In the brief stay which we made at Singapore and
Penang, it is hardly to be supposed that any very re-
liable judgment could be formed as to the character-
istics of the common people ; but with observation,
fortified by intelligent inquiry, certain deductions
were natural. The Malay seems to be a careless,
THE MALAY KINGDOM. 123
happy-go-lucky race, the merest children of nature,
with no thouirht of the morrow. The Eujjlish first,
and then the Chinese, dominate the masses. When
they have no money, and. hick for food, they will
work; but onl}' empty pockets and gnawing stomachs
will induce them to labor. All life seems more or
less torpid and listless in the tropics. As has been
intimated, the morals of these people of the Straits
will not bear writino^ about : the marrias^e rite has
little force among them, and domesticity is not un-
derstood. They are more nearly Mohammedan than
aught else, and its forms are somewhat preserved,
but the faith of Mecca has only a slight hold upon
them. There are intelligent and cultivated Malays,
those of Sumatra, Borneo, and Java are notably so ;
but we have been speaking of the masses. Penang
originally belonged to the Malay kingdom, but, about
the year 1786, was given to an English sea-captain
as a marriage portion with the King of Keddah's
daughter, and by him transferred to the East India
Company. When Captain Francis Light received
it with his dusky bride, it was the wild home of a
few Malay fishermen and their families; to-da}' it
has about a hundred thousand population.
The constant changes of climate, in so prolonged
a journey as that to which these notes relate, must
naturally somewhat try one's physical endurance, and
also demands more than ordinary'' care in the preser-
vation of health. Regularit}^ of habits, abstemious-
ness, and no careless exposure will, as a ride, insure
the same immunity from sickness that ma}^ be rea-
sonably expected at home, though this result cannot
always be counted upon. The sturdiest and most
healthy-appearing individual of our little party was
124 DUE WEST.
Mr. D , who was in the prime of life and manly
vigor when he joined us at San Francisco; but while
the rest of us enjoyed good health from the begin-
ning to the end of the journey, he lost health and
strength gradually from the time we left China.
Though receiving the most unremitting attention,
both professional and friendly, he was conscious by
the time we reached Singapore that he could not
long survive. He passed away on the night of De-
cember 21st, and was buried next day at sea, with
the usual solemn ceremony. It was a wild, stormy
day, when the body was committed to the deep, caus-
ing the scene to be all the more impressive from the
attendant rage of the elements.
CHAPTER V.
Sailing Dae West. — The Indian Ocean. — Strange Sights at Sea. —
Island of Ceylon. — Singhalese Canoes. — Colombo. — A Laud of
Slaves. — Native Town. — Singhalese Women. — Fantastic Nurses.
— Local Pictures. — Cinnamon Gardens. — Wild Elephants. — Lav-
ishness of Tropical Nature. — Curious Birds and their Ne.sts. —
Ancient Kandy. — Temple of Maligawan. — Religious Ceremonies.
— Life of the Natives. — Inland Scenery. — Fruits. — Precious
Stones. — Coffee Plantations. — Great Antiquity of Ceylon.
After leaving Penang our course lay due west
across the Indian Ocean, on a line of about the tenth
degree of north latitude ; the objective point being
the island of Ceylon. We sighted the Andaman
Islands as we passed, more than one of which has
the reputation of being inhabited by cannibals ; and
as a matter of course some of the passengers became
witty over the second-hand jokes about roasted mis-
sionar}^ The rains which we encountered in this
equatorial region were so profuse, and yielded such a
marvelous downpour of water as to almost deluge us,
and set the inside of the good steamship Brindisi
afloat. But the air was soft and balmy, the nights
gloriously serene and bright, so that it was even
more refreshing, more restful than slumber, to lie
awake upon tlie quarter-deck, and gazing idly among
the clustering stars, to build castles in the limpid
atmosphere while watching the fleecy clouds floating
across the gleaming planets, as a lovely woman's veil
covers her luminous eyes for an instant only to vivify
their splendor.
126 DUE WES7\
In the daytime large sea-turtles came to the sur-
face of the water to sun themselves, stretching their
awkward necks to get sight of our hull. Big schools
of dolphins played their gambols about the ship, dart-
ing bodily out of the water, and pitching in again
head foremost, no doubt liolding their breath w^hen
submerged in atmospheric air, as a diver does when
he plunges into the sea. Flying-fish w^ere so numer-
ous as to cease to be a curiosity, often skimming on
board in their awkward attempts at aerial navigation,
and being caught by the crew. As it is known tliat
a light will attract these delicate little sea-moths at
night, sailors sometimes extend a bit of canvas on a
pole from a forward port, in the shape of a scoop,
and placing a lantern above it, gather quite a mess
of them in a brief time. One morning the cook
brought himself into special notice b}^ giving us a
fry of the self - immolated creatures. Large water-
snakes appeared at the surface now and again, rais-
ing their slimy hea"ds a couple of feet or more above
the waves. These have been known to board sailing
ships by means of a stray rope left dragging in the
water, or through an open port near the surface of
the sea. But they would hardly attempt such feats
with a swift gliding steamer, even if a trailing rope
were to offer them the chance. Now and then the
ship would sail for an hour or more through a pro-
lific drift of that queer, indolent bit of animal life,
the jelly-fish. How these waters teemed with life !
Every school-boy knows that the ocean covers three
quarters of the globe, but how few realize that it
represents more of organic life than does the land.
It is a world in itself, immense and mighty, affording
a home for countless and manifold forms of life. We
ox THE INDIAN OCEAN. 127
are indebted to it for every drop of water distributed
over our bills, plains, and valleys, for from the ocean
it has arisen by evaporation to return again through
myriads of channels. It is a misnomer to speak of
the sea as a desert waste : it is teeming with inex-
haustible animal and vegetable life. A German
scientist has, with unwearied industr}^ secured and
classified over five hundred distinct species of fishes
from this very division of the Indian Ocean ; many
of which are characterized by colors as gay and va-
rious as those of tropical birds and flowers. Mirage
played us strange tricks, in the way of optical delu-
sion, in these regions. We seemed constantly to be
approaching land that was never reached, and which,
after assuminG: the undulatins^ shore-lines of a well-
defined coast, at the moment when we should fairly
make it, faded into thin air. Sometimes at night the
marvelous phosphorescence of the sea was fascinat-
ing to behold, the crest of each wave and ripple be-
came a small cascade of fire, and the motion of the
ship through her native element seemed as though
sailing through flames. The scientific methods of ac-
counting for this effect are familiar, but hardly sat-
isfactory to those who have watched this phenome-
non in both hemispheres. We began, nevertheless,
to experience somewdiat of the monotony of sea life,
although the most was made of trivial occurrences ;
for out of the hundred days which we had been
traveling since leaving Boston, nearly fifty had been
passed upon various seas and oceans.
The voyage from Penang to Ceylon covers a dis-
tance of about thirteen hundred miles. We sighted
the island on Sunda3% December 24th, and landed at
Colombo on the following day, which was Christmas.
128 DUE WEST.
When we rounded the seawiird end of the substantial
breakwater now building, over which the lofty waves
were making a clean breach, five of the large and
noble steamships of the P. and O. line were seen
moored in the harbor, making this a port of call on
theii- way to or from India, China, or Australia. As
the anchor-chain rattled through the hawser-hole, and
the Briiidisi felt the restraint of her land-tackle, we
were sui-rounded by half a hundred native boats, most
of which were Singhalese canoes, of such odd con-
struction as to merit a special description. They are
peculiar to these seas, being designed to enable the
occupant to venture out, however rough the water
may chance to be, and the surf is always raging in
these open roadsteads. The canoe consists of the
trunk of a tree hollowed out, some twenty feet in
length, having long planks fastened lengthwise so as
to form the sides or gunwales of the boat, wliich is
two feet and a half deep and two feet wide. An out-
rigger, consisting of a log of wood about one third
the size of the canoe, is fastened alongside at a dis-
tance of some six or eight feet, by two arched poles
of well-seasoned bamboo. This outrigger prevents
aiiy possibility of upsetting the boat; but without it
so narrow a craft could not remain upright even in
the calmest sea. The natives face any weather in
tliese little vessels.
There was a pretense made of examining our bag-
gage by the custom-house officers, but this was sim-
ply for form's sake, and then the trunks were put
into a two- wheeled canvas-covered cart, drawn l>y a
couple of milk-white oxen, and we walked beside
them a short distance to tlie hotel. It was observed
that the driver of the bullocks had no whip, and the
HOTEL LIFE AT COLOMBO, 129
circumstance was set down in favor of humanity;
but it soon appeared that the fellow had a resort of
another sort whereby to urge on his cattle, namely,
he twisted their tails, compared to which whipping
would have been to them a luxury. As we at once
objected to the tail-twisting operation, the native gave
it up and behaved himself with humanity. The sun,
meantime, was doing its best to roast us, and we were
only too happy to get under the shelter of the hotel
piazza. We were waited upon with prompt regard
to our necessities, and assigned to comfortable apart-
ments. The rooms were divided by partitions which
did not reach to the ceiling, the upper portion being
left open for ventilation ; a style of building peculiar
to the climate, but not calculated to afford much more
privacy than the Japan paper partitions in the tea-
houses. But the hotel at Colombo was a very good
one in all of its belongings, and the table excellent.
While we sat at our meals, in the spacious dining-
hall, long lines of punkas, or suspended fans, were
worked by pulleys running outside, so that during
these hours we were comfortable, notwithstanding
the heat.
This island, situated just off the southern point of
India, stands in the same relation to it that Mad-
agascar does to Africa, and is very ancient in its his-
torical associations, iiaving been in the prime of its
glory four hundred years before the coming of Christ,
and how far back of that period its history extends
is only problematical. It is separated from the con-
tinent by a strait called the Gulf of Manar, and is
about the size of Massachusetts ; containing, also,
nearly the same aggregate population. It is believed
to be the Ophir of the Hebrews, abounding as it does,
130 DUE WEST.
to-day, in precious stones, such as rubies, sapphires,
amethysts, garnets, and various mineral wealtli. It
is also, taken as a whole, one of the most beautiful
regions of the world ; the very gem of the equatorial
region.
The English government have here large and ad-
mirably arranged barracks, suitable for the housing
of a small army, the troops numbering at this writ-
ing between three and four thousand ; but more than
double that number can be provided for in the broad,
open buildings, specially adapted to the service and
the climate. The object is undoubtedly to maintain
at this point a militar}^ depot, with which to supply
troops in an emergency to India or elsewhere in the
East. But it should be remembered that Ceylon,
though a British colon}^ is quite separate from that
of India, so near at hand. It is presided over by a
governor, appointed by the Queen of England, an
executive council of five, and a legislative council of
fifteen. Foi" the first time since landing in the East,
we saw no Chinese. They ceased at Penang; for
Chinamen, like some species of birds, move in flocks ;
they never straggle. There is here a sprinkling of
Nubians, but the general population is Singhalese,
with whom are seen mingled Arabs, Javanese, Af-
ghans, Kaffirs, and Syrian Jews, these last with their
hair in ringlets like young school-girls. The sub-
jugated appearance of the common people is disa-
greeably apparent. In Japan, the submissiveness
and humility of the population is voluntary, for they
are a free and independent race after all ; but here
the natives are the merest slaves, realizing their hum-
ble status only too plainly. They call all white peo-
ple " master " when addressing them : " Yes, master,"
BLACK TOWX, COLO}JJW. 131
or "No, master," " Will master have this or that?"
They would not dare to resent it if they were knocked
down by a white man. The English government
provides means for the education of the rising gener-
ation in the form of free schools ; and the Englisli
language is very generally spoken by the common
people. This is wise, for even in her colonial posses-
sions she must multiply schools, or prisons will mul-
tiply themselves.
The police arrangements of Colombo are excellent.
Notwithstanding the singular variety of nationalities,
one sees no outbreaks ; there is no visible impropriety
of conduct, no contention or intoxication, quiet and
repose reign everywhere. Though the ancient Pet-
tah, or Black Town, inhabited solely by the natives,
is not a very attractive place to visit, and though it
is characterized by dirt and squalor, still it is quiet
and orderl}^ presenting many objects of interest as
illustrating the domestic life of the Singhalese. The
same indolence and want of physical energy is ob-
servable among them as was noted in the Malays at
Penang and Singapore. Man is but a plant of a
higher order. In tlie tropics he is born of fruitful
stock and of delicate fibre ; in the north his nature
partakes of the hardihood of the oak and cedar.
The thermometer indicated about 90° in the shade
during the week we remained at Ceylon, rendering
it absolute^ necessary to avoid the sun. Only the
thinnest of clothing is bearable, and one half envied
the nudit}^ of the natives who could be no more
thinly clad unless they took off their bronzed skins.
We made our home in Colombo at the Grand Ori-
ental Hotel, kept by an Englishman. The servants
were natives, but well-trained, and all spoke English.
132 DUE WEST.
Each wore a white turban and a single white cotton
garment, cut like a gentleman's dressing-gown, ex-
tending below tlie knee, and confined at the waist by
a sash, thus being decentl}^ clothed. It was curious
to sit on the piazza and watch the out-door scenes as
they presented themselves to the eye. The women
were strange objects, with silver and brass jewelry
stuck through the tops and bottoms of their ears,
through their nostrils and lips, their toes being cov-
ered with small silver coins attached to rings, and
their ankles, fingers, and wrists similarly covered, but
with scarcely any clothing upon their bodies. Both
men and women frequently have their arms, legs, and
bodies tattooed w^ith red and black ink, representing
grotesque figures and strange devices, — these picto-
rial illustrations on their copper-colored skins remind-
ing one of illumined text on vellum. Like most East-
ern nations, they do not sit down when fatigued, but
squat on their heels to rest themselves, or when eat-
ing,— a position which no person not accustomed to
it can assume for one instant without pain. The men
wear tlieir hair done up in a singular mannei', combed
back from the forehead and held in place by a circu-
lar shell comb, giving them an especially effeminate
appearance ; but the women wear nothing of the comb
kind in their hair, their abundant braids being well
plaited and confined by long metallic pins with mam-
moth heads. Some of the women are pretty, and
would be almost handsome, if their ears and lips and
noses were not so distorted ; as it is, they have fine
upright figures, and the dignified walk that so dis-
tinguishes their Egyptian sisters.
These women are very generally employed as
nurses by the English officers' wives, and children
SINGHALESE NURSES. 133
seem to take very kindly to them, their nature being
gentle and affectionate. But these nurses seem to
form a class by themselves, and the taste for cheap
jewelry could hardly be carried to a greater extent
than it is with them. They are got up in the "loud-
est" style; after the idea of the Roman women sim-
ilarly employed, or those one meets with children in
the gardens of the Louvre at Paris, or the Prado at
Madrid. The Singhalese nurses wear a white linen
chemise covering the body, except the breast, to the
knee, with a blue cut-away velvet jacket, covered
with silver braid and buttons, open in front, a scarlet
sash gathering the chemise at the waist. The legs
and feet are bare, the ankles and toes covered with
rings, and the ears heavy, weighed down, and de-
formed with them. These, like their sisters of the
masses, often have their nostrils and lower lips perfo-
rated by metallic hoops of brass or silver, and some-
times of gold ; to which is often added a necklace of
bright sea-shells mixed with shark's teeth, completing
the oddest outfit that can well be conceived of for a
human being. Savagery tinctured with civilization.
The native children of six, eight, and ten, were sub-
jects of particular interest, the boys especially, who
were remarkably handsome, clean-limbed, with skins
sliining like satin, and brown as hazel nuts. These
boys and girls have large, brilliant, and intensely
black eyes, with a promise of good intelligence, but
their possibilities remain unfulfilled amid such asso-
ciations as they are born to. They soon subside into
languid, sensuous creatures.
As we sat shaded by the broad piazza in the mid-
day, tlie native jugglers and snake-charmers would
come, and, squatting in the blazing sun, beg us to
131 DUE WEST.
give heed to their tricks. They are singularly clever,
these Indian mountebanks, especially in sleight of
hand tricks. The serpents which they handle with
such freedom are of the deadly cobra species, fatally
poisonous when their fangs penetrate the flesh,
though doubtless when exhibited in this manner they
have been deprived of their natural means of de-
fense. True to their native instinct, liowever, these
cobras were more than once seen to strike at the bare
arms and legs of the performers. Rooks, of which
there were thousands about the house, flew in and
out at the open doors and windows, after their own
free will, lighting confidently on the back of one's
chair and trying the texture of his coat with their
sharp bills. No one molests them here or makes
them afraid. They are far tamer than are domestic
fowls in America, for they are never killed and
eaten like hens and chickens. A Singhalese's re-
ligion will not permit him to kill anything, except
wild beasts in self-defense. The vegetation is what
might be expected within so few miles of the equator :
beautiful and prolific in the extreme. The cinnamon
fields are so thrifty as to form a wilderness of green,
though growing but four or five feet in height, and a
drive through them was like a poetical inspiration.
The cinnamon bush is a species of laurel, and
bears a white, scentless flower, which is succeeded by
a small, oblong berry, scarcely as large as a pea. The
spice of commerce is the inner bark of the shrub, the
branches of which are cut and peeled twice in the
course of the year, — say about Christmas and mid-
summer. The plantations resemble a thick, tangled
copse, without any regularity, and require no cultiva-
tion, after being once set out ; though by close trim-
PRODUCTS OF CEYLON. 135
ming the strength is thrown downward, and the shrub
is thought to render a better crop. The raising of
the spice was once a government nionopoly, but all
restrictions are now removed, and the plantations near
to Colombo are private property. In driving through
them — for they are miles in extent, and are poetically
called cinnamon gardens — we tried in vain to detect
the perfume derived from cinnamon ; far too decided
and pungent to be mistaken for aught else. It is not
the bloom nor the berry which throws off this scent,
but the wounded bark in process of being gathered at
the semi-annual harvest. These cinnamon fields were
very sweet and fragrant ; there was the perfume of
flowers in the air, but not even poetical license could
attribute it to tlie cinnamon.
Tlie wide-spread coffee plantations were much more
attractive to the eye, the cultivation of which forms
one of the principal industries of the island, supple-
mented by the raising and exporting of rice, tea, co-
coanuts, pine-apples, plumbago, and precious stones.
Ceylon, at one time, almost rivaled Java in the pro-
duction of coffee ; statistics showing that her export
of the berry reached the large amount of a million
hundred-weight per annum, before it was suddenly
checked by the leaf disease, which has impoverished
so many of tlie local planters. Among its wild ani-
mals are elephants, deer, monkeys, bears, and pan-
thers,— fine specimens of which are preserved in
the excellent museum near Colombo. Pearl oysters
abound on the coast, and some superb specimens of
this beautiful jewel have been found here, while no
shore is richer in the variety and quality of its finny
tribe. Game birds, especially of aquatic sorts, prevail.
Specimens of the ebony, satin-wood, and celamen-
136 DUE WEST.
dcir-trees were met with, the latter the most highl^^
prized of all cabinet woods, growing in wild luxuri-
ance, surrounded by palms, bamboos, fragrant bal-
sams, tall ferns, and the india-rubber-tree, large and
lofty, with a majority of its anaconda-like roots lying
above the surface of the ground. Here and there we
came upon dark, shady pools, covered with the bloom-
ing lotus, like our pond -lilies, except that they are
much larger. The floral display was fascinating.
Nature seemed to revel in blossoms of various, and, to
us, unknown species. While some large and brilliant
flowers bloomed on trees, others, very lovely and
sweet, caught the eye among the prolific under-
growth. Vivid colors flashed before the observer,
caused by the blue and scarlet plumage of the feath-
ered tribe among the branches of the trees, some with
pleasant trilling voices, and others uttering harsh,
shrill, unfamiliar cries. The variety of birds was a
very marked feature of this tropical region. The
keen voice of the Ceylon thrush rang in our ears like
the scream of a young child. Man}^ other smaller
birds were seen in rainbow feathers ; and a sparrow,
like his English brother, except that the Ceylon
species wear a white shirt bosom.
The difference between a tropical forest and that
of our temperate zone, which at once challenges the
notice of the traveler, is that trees of the same fam-
ilies do not characterize any particular spot. We
have pine forests, oak forests, cedar, birch, and maple
woods, and the like ; but a tropical forest contains
specimens of the most widely different classes, with
every possible variety of family ; and the same may
be said of the countless climbing plants which cling
to the vertical trunks. The various kinds of the
TROPICAL LUXURIANCE. 137
palm are sure to assert their predominance every-
where in the wooded districts and jungles of the trop-
ics, yielding an abundance of their valuable fruits.
But at the north, to see a peach or apple-tree bearing
fruit in a pine grove, or fruitful cherry and pear-trees
among a forest of oaks, would cause surprise. It is,
after all, only a peculiarity born of the wonderful
vegetable productiveness of the equatorial region,
which (jives birth to fruits and flowers wherever there
is space to nourish their roots, and where moisture
and heat have no other outlet whereon to expend
their fructifying powers. The bread-fruit-tree is es-
pecially interesting, with its deeply serrated, feathery
leaves, and its melon -shaped fruit, weigliing from
three to four pounds. This the natives prepare for
eating in many ways, and as the tree bears fruit con-
tinually for nine months of the year, it forms a most
important food supply. Two or three trees will sup-
port a hearty man, and half a dozen, well cared for,
will sustain a small family, a portion of the fruit be-
ing dried and kept for the non-producing months.
The tree grows to nearly fifty feet in height, and only
requires a little attention, — no more than that marvel
of productiveness, the banana.
Here we saw, for the first time, the cardamom and
pepper bushes full of fruit, and the kitool-palm yield-
ing its harvest of sugar, todd}^ and sago. The usual
pests of the tropics Avere not wanting to balance all
these pleasant sights. Beetles, dragon-flies, cock-chaf-
ers, locusts, wasps, and vicious spiders, were visible
everywhere ; while the omnipresent mosquito was
ever looking out for a victim. The curious nest
of the tailor- bird, which sews leaves together and
builds a dainty nest inside of them, was pointed out
138 DUE WEST.
to us, and specimens of the weaver bird's nest, with
entrance tubes over two feet in length. Tliere were
also pendent nests built by a species of wasp in the
trees, which indicated a nefarious desi<:jn to infrinoje
upon bird architecture. The peacock is found wild
here in all its wealth of mottled, feathery splendor.
Storks, ibises, and herons flew up from the lagoons,
and the cooing of the gentle wood-pigeon reached the
ear during the quieter moments. The woods, and in-
deed all out-doors at Ceylon, seemed like a conserva-
tory of exotic birds and flowers.
There is a well-equipped railroad extending from
Colombo northward to the small but ancient city of
Kandy, running thus about seventy-five miles into the
very heart of the ancient native kingdom, and giv-
ing the traveler an excellent opportunity to view the
inland scenery, which, at many points, is grand and
imposing. Kandy is perched in a basin of the moun-
tains, two thousand feet above the level of the sea,
surrounded by thickly wooded hills ; beyond which are
broad plains and thick jungles, which are very rarely
penetrated, and which have not been explored, prob-
abl}^, for centuries. Here wild elephants are to be
met with in herds. It will be remembered, that they
are indigenous to Ceylon, and from here Hindostan
was supplied in the centuries that are gone, when the
huge animal was employed in such large numbers
during the Mogul reign. In those days there were
elephant fights, when these animals, like gladiators
at Rome, were trained to single combats, or duels,
for the pleasure of cruel masters ; and such was their
spirit that one or both were always sacrificed on such
occasions. We afterwards saw, in India, the arenas
where these gladiatorial contests took place, one of
NATIVE HAUNTS OF THE ELEPHANT. 139
which was located in the fort at Agra. A well-
known peculiarity of this animal is the fact that it is
almost impossible to breed from them in a domestic
condition, thus rendering it necessar}- to replenish the
ranks from the jungle. In their wild state elephants
are a prolific animal ; otherwise Ceylon would long
since have been cleared of them, since thousands have
been imported from here into India within the last
fifty years. The Ceylon elephants prefer the low
lying forests, but do not confine themselves to them,
ran^inor the hills to a height of six or seven thousand
feet, where the nights must be frosty and rather se-
vere. Their principal food is the leafage and young
shoots of various trees, the wild fig being a favorite.
There are other trees of which they eat the bark, and
the young roots of the bamboo form a large source
of their food supply. Rice is, however, their favorite
article of food, and they often devastate whole plan-
tations in a single night. It is fortunate that the
slightest fence will keep them away from any spot so
protected : a single blow of their trunks would de-
stroy a bamboo fence, but they never attempt it.
Some idea, of which we can know nothing, possesses
them as it regards these frail fences. The male ele-
phant in Ceylon gets its full size at about twenty-two
years, and is then about twelve feet in height. We
were told that they averaged about a hundred years
of life, but in India a much longer period is given
them by general calculation.
It has been found necessary to protect them by
special law in Ceylon, as European sportsmen camo
hither in such numbers after the large game, that
they threatened their extinction. There is now,
therefore, a fine of five hundred pounds imposed by
140 DUE WEST.
government, as a penalty for killing an elephant ;
but some rich English sportsmen kill their elephant
and pay the fine. It will be remembered that the
Duke of Edinburgh visited the island a few years
since to participate in an elephant hunt, when great
preparations were made for him, and good success,
from a sportsman's point of view, was achieved. This
style of hunting involves considerable risk, and native
beaters are liable to lose their lives in the business.
The animals found on the island seem to be quite a
distinctive breed from any other known race, and
are noted for their intelligence, as well as for their
docility, after proper domestication. They are not so
large as those of Africa, but seem to be more highly
prized in India. The exportation, as we learned, still
goes on in behalf of the English government, sixteen
hundred animals having thus been disposed of in the
five years ending in 1862, and about the same number
in the intervening time up to January, 1883, all of
which went to India.
The principal object of interest at Kandy is the re-
nowned and ancient temple of Maligawa, where the
sacred tooth of Buddha has been preserved for more
than fifteen hundred years. It is an indescribable old
shrine of irregular, low architecture, black and grimy
with " the sacred rust of twice ten hundred years,"
surrounded by a walled court and small stone apart-
ments. It is surmounted by a tower, manifestly Eu-
ropean in design, and which tells its own story as
a modern addition. It is massive and uncouth, so
as hardly to admit of classification ; though it must
once have been the central object of worship to a very
large population, and is held so sacred that the king
and priests of Burmah and Siam still send valuable
A FILTHY OLD TEMPLE. 141
presents to it aimually. A sacred bo-tree was pointed
out to us in the grounds near the temple, believed to
be the oldest historical tree in the world. It is nearly
allied to the banyan species, and its record has been
carefully kept since three hundred years previous to
the Christian era. The temple, though wearing a
most deserted and neglected aspect, is still in charge
of a few yellow-robed priests, who keep up an appear-
ance daily of regular services, such as they are, and
more heathenish ones were never witnessed. The
ceremonies during our brief visit consisted of gro-
tesque dancing, beating of drums, and blowing upon
a shrill fife before a rude altar, upon which incense
was burning. There was also marching, by these
musicians, around the altar, led by a dirty, blear-eyed
priest. The scene was strongly suggestive of a pow-
wow as performed by the Digger Indians of Califor-
nia. So great was the din, we were quite willing to
take for granted the presence, in another part of the
temple, of tlie tooth of Buddha, without personal in-
spection, and hastened to get away from the annoy-
ance as soon as possible. As we came out of the
reeking, stuffy, infected building, we expanded our
lungs and umbrellas at one and the same time, for it
was " raining cats and dogs" just at that time, and
when it rains near the equator it does so in earnest ;
umbrellas become a fallacy : nothing less than an
india-rubber coat is of any avail. What an exhibi-
tion of mummery it was in that time-begrimed tem-
ple ! Ceylon is the classic ground of Buddhism, as
its ruined temples and monuments prove, — a faith
which still prevails so generally throughout Burmah,
China, and Japan.
The house at which we stopped in Kandy, the only
142 DUi-: ]Vi:sr.
one designed for the accommodation of travelers, is
called the Queen's Hotel, quite pretentious, quite
expensive, and very poor, especially as it regards
the table. One would think a plenty of fruit, at
least, might be afforded where it only costs the time
and trouble of gathering, but we were obliged to
seek such cheap luxuries of the intinerant outsiders.
There was a liberal abundance, however, in the insec-
tivorous department. Centipides and other noxious
creatures abounded in the sleeping-rooms. Fire-flies
floated about them in such force at night as to con-
test the illuminating power with the primitive liglit
supplied to guests, by means of a small cork with a
bit of cotton wicking floating upon a shallow dish of
cocoanut oil. We will not dilate upon the still more
offensive insects which disputed our sleeping accom-
modations with us, but did protest when the rain
came pouring through the roof and ceiling upon us in
bed. A large tub was brought in, the bed removed
to another corner ; and we fell asleep, lulled by the
dull sound of dropping water, to awake next morning
and find the tub overflowing.
We drove through the very extensive and well-
arranged Botanical Garden of Kandy, designed as a
sort of experimental nursery for the introduction of
such plants as are not indigenous to the island, but
which might prove to be of value to the planters
could they be acclimated. The selection of various
trees and plants is very extensive, and mingled with
those of native origin, together forming a collection
of remarkable interest. We were told that the gar-
den had been organized for some sixty years, and
it is, undoubtedly, the finest in tlie East, next to that
of Calcutta. It covers a hundred and fifty acres of
THE FLYING FOX. 143
well economized land. There was one fine group,
we had almost said grove, of bamboos to be seen
here, the stems being considerably over a hundred
feet high, and from eight to ten inches in diame-
ter, — a native of the spot. The rapidity of growtli
which characterizes these grasses — for that is their
family — is almost incredible. The large cluster
here spoken of was less than ninety days old, and, the
superintendent told us, increased twelve inches a day
by actual measurement ! We had read of plants
growing at such speed in the tropics as to be visible
to the watcher, and this group of bamboos was in-
creasing at the rate of half an inch each hour. Ifc
being observed that the atmosphere was impregnated
with a delicate flavor of vanilla, inquiry was made for
the cause, and the plant was pointed out to us grow-
ing in thrifty abundance close at hand. Nowhere
had we previously seen such extraordinary exuber-
ance and variety of tropical vegetation combined.
Some of the palms were of stupendous size and
height, while there appeared to be a spirit of emula-
tion between talipots, palmyras, date-palms and fan-
palms, as to which should develop into the finest spec-
imen of its class. There were plenty of fl\'ing foxes
in these grounds, and some remarkable specimens of
the jungle-rope creepers, or elephant-creepers, as they
are more generally called here, which clasp the trees
to which they attach themselves as if with the pur-
pose of their destruction, which they often succeed
in producing by their anaconda-like-hug. The flying
foxes, as wms explained to us, are a great annoyance,
and destructive to fruit and blossoms, always attack-
ing the choicest specimeiis. They move in flocks or
herds of hundreds from one place to another, as the
144 DUE WEST.
most desirable food tempts tliem. Tlie natives never
toiu'li them, but hunters from Europe have cooked
and eaten them, pronouncing the flesh ahnost the
same as that of the hare, with simihir game-like flavor.
It is not safe to walk much in the more moist portions
of the garden as there is an abundance of snakes, and
especially of one poisonous kind which is the terror
of the natives.
On the passage from and back to Colombo, the
scenery was grand, and a source of great pleasure, for
our appreciation in this line was becoming somewhat
trained. So abrupt was the rising grade of the road
on the portion approaching Kandy, that even our
small train of two passenger cars required two engines
to enable it to surmount the hills. The road wound
about the mountain in rather startling proximity to
the deep gorges and precipitous cliffs ; but, as re-
marked above, giving us glimpses of scenery worthy
of the Yosemite in the opposite hemisphere. At the
several small stations where we made a brief halt,
girls and boys brought to the windows of the cars
yellow bunches of freshly picked, ripe bananas, very
choice and appetizing, the price of which was six
pennies for a bunch of twelve or fifteen, and so we
])artook of the fat of the land. New England fruits,
as a rule, are more satisfactory^ to us than those of
any other country, delicious as we sometimes find
them in the tropics ; but an exception may be safely
made in favor of freshly picked, ripe, luscious ba-
nanas and pine-apples. Green cocoanuts, which the
natives much affect, were offered to us, but having a
decided preference for ripe fruit, these were respect-
fully but firmly declined.
The common people along the route live in the
RARE GEMS. 145
very simplest and frailest of huts, made of bamboo
frames with walls of mud, the roofs consisting of a
thatching of large palm leaves ingeniously combined,
one layer upon another, so as to effectually exclude
even equatorial rains. The overlapping eaves come
■within a couple of feet of the ground, the huts being
one story high. They have no chimneys nor windows.
The door, always open, admits all the required light,
and there is no cold to be feared in Ceylon. What-
ever of cooking the people do, and it is very little, is
accomplished out of doors. Many of the small haui-
lets througli which we passed were embedded in low-
lying, thickly-shaded woods, showing the salubrity
of the climate, since in some countries such a location
would prove to be the very hot-bed of jungle fever.
Here the natives work in the rice - fields and the
swamps at all seasons of the year, and seem to be
perfectly healthy ; but we were told that when Eu-
ropeans attempt it they die off by scores. Quite a
large number of Singhalese are employed b}^ dealers
at Colombo to hunt the beds of small streams, and to
dig in the mountains in search of gems, such as sap-
phires, cat's- eyes, moon-stones, topazes, and rubies,
which, after being cut, are sold to European and'
American travelers, and also exported to the Paiis
and London jewelers. A large proportion of the
finest precious stones in the market come from this
island.
The pools in the low grounds here and there were
rendered beautiful and fragrant by the lotus in full
bloom, bearing flowers eight inches in diameter, rival-
ing the magnolias, which were plenty enough, but
which seemed by no means superior to our northern
specimens. Does this proud representative of Flora's
10
146 DUE WEST,
kingdom, like huraaiiit}', require a northern and in-
vigorating atmosphere to inspire its greatest fragrance
and best qualities? Coffee plantations are most nu-
merous inland, though they have lately developed a
serious blight which has reduced the production at
least fifty per cent., causing many to abandon the
cultivation of the berry. It is not, like the cinnamon,
indigenous to Ceylon, but was introduced here from
the main-land. Unless this serious scourge can be
overcome, coffee, as an export from the island, will
very soon cease. The kind best known and mostly
grown here is the " Arab," which thrives at an ele-
vation of three or four thousand feet. It is bush-
like in form, and trimmed to within three feet of the
ground, both for the purpose of throwing down the
strength of the growth into the berry, and for the
convenience of picking. There are other sorts of
coffee raised, but this has formed the staple of the
island. Experiments are being tried with several
other kinds just now, cuttings growing with good
promise in nurseries, which were brought from the
West Indies and South America. Curious facts sug-
gest themselves in this connection. The gni pe-vines
of France, which have developed blight, transferred to
California, take on fresh life and flourish. Those of
the latter State, which show symptoms of exhausted
life, renew their productiveness when in the soil of
Europe. The same result relating to coffee is hoped
for in Ceylon : with an exchange of seed, plentiful
crops are confidently anticipated, a matter in which
commerce is much interested.
Realizing that the coffee crop is still in an exper-
imental condition, some of the planters are giving
their attention to the cinchona, which thrives greatly
PRODUCTS OF CEYLON. 147
at Cejdon, even flourishing at elevations where coffee
naturally dies out. The seeds of the cinchona are
planted in nurseries, and when six months old are
transplanted into prepared fields, where the}' make
rapid growth. They do not begin to yield until the
tree is eight years old. The earnestness with wliich
the planters have generally adopted this idea must,
if successful, as it seems sure to be, lead to very de-
cided results when the crop becomes available for the
markets of the world.
Banana groves and orchards bending under the
weight of the rich nutritious fruit, tall cocoanut-
trees with half a ton of ripening nuts in ever}^ tuft
top, ant-hills nearly as high as native houses, rippling
cascades, small rivers winding through the green
valleys, tall flamingoes presiding over tiny lakes, and
flowers of every hue and shape, together with birds
such as one gazes at with curiosit}^ in northern mu-
seums, all crowded upon our vision on this trip in-
land. No one should fail to visit Kandy who lands
at Colombo, there is so much to see and to marvel
at. Ceylon is a very Gan-Eden, the fairest known
example of tropical luxuriance in all its natural fea-
tures, its vegetable and animal kingdoms, its fruits,
flowers, and scenery. In point of location the island
is also greatly favored. It is fortunatel}" situated
outside the region of the cyclones, so frequent at cer-
tain seasons in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian
Ocean, as well as being free from the hurricanes of
the Mauritius Sea, and the volcanic disturbances of
the Eastern Archipelago. Snow is absolutely un-
known. The exhibition of zodiacal light is not un-
\;ommon, and mirage in its many singular and inter-
esting aspects is frequent ; while the effulgence of the
moon and stars of this latitude, — a constantly re-
148 DUE WEST.
ciining hymn written in light, — will render the most
prosy individual enthusiastic, keeping the heart con-
stantly awake to love and beaut3%
Ceylon is also much richer than is generally real-
ized in its prehistoric monuments, — ancient Hindoo
and Buddhist temples, and ruins of lofty pagodas
from three to four hundred feet in height, dating
many centuries previous to the appearance of Christ
upon earth. What an unexplored field remains for
the antiquarian, not quite untrodden, but still unde-
veloped ! There is every evidence to show that there
once existed upon this island a great and powerful
empire ; the gigantic remains of palaces and temples
at once suggest the fact. There are also ruins to be
seen of a most elaborate system of irrigation, which
must have covered the country from Adam's Peak to
Galle, like a net-work, with most perfect means to
this end, so excellent as to be the marvel of modern
engineers. Their completeness, intelligent purpose,
and extent are marvelous. But no one can say, or
reasonably surmise, what caused the ruin and deca-
dence of the ancient capitals, which, like those about
Delhi, have crumbled away, leaving only a blank me-
morial of their existence. What could have swept
from the globe a population of millions, and left us
no clearer record of their once lii::jiilv civilized occu-
pancy? The carved pillars, ornamental fragments
of temples, and stone slabs skillfully wrought, which
are scattered through the jungle, and in some in-
stances overgrown by dense forests, attest both ma-
terial greatness and far-reaching antiquity. It would
seem as though nature had tried to cover up the
many wrinkles of age with blooming vegetation.
There are no legends even extant relating to the ear-
liest of these remains. Pagstum, Memphis, and Cumae
INSTINCTIVE CRAVING OF HUMANITY. 149
reach far back into the dim past, though here the an-
tiquarian is able to light us with the lamp of his
knowledge ; but as to the forest-covered remains of
Ceylon, all is a blank, skeletons of the dead and
buried past, mementos of a race who trod this beau-
tiful island perhaps before the Pyramids or the
Sphinx existed.
At Singapore, Penang, and Colombo it was observed
that the common classes were incessantly chewing the
betel-nut, which gives to their teeth and lips a color
as if bathed in fresh blood. It is a well-known and
long-established practice. The men carry the means
about them at all times, and taking a piece of the
nut, enclose it in a leaf of the same tree, adding a
small quantity of quicklime ; folding these together
they chew them vigorously, one quid lasting for
twenty-five minutes or half an hour, being at times
permitted to rest between the gum and the cheek,
as seamen masticate a quid of tobacco. The nut is
known to be a powerful tonic, but onl}^ a small por-
tion of the juice is swallowed. The habit is univer-
sal among the lower classes of Asiatics. In the south-
ern districts of India, pepper and cardamom seeds are
added to the quid, and it is then considered to be a
partial preventive against malarial influences. Un-
less it produced some agreeable stimulating effect its
use w^ould not be so common. Wherever we go,
among civilized or savage races, upon islands or upon
continents, in the chilly North, or the languid, melt-
ing South, we find man resorting to some stimulant
other than natural food and drink. It seems to be
an instinctive craving exhibited and satisfied as surely
in the wilds of Africa, or the South Sea Islands, as
by the opium-consuming Chinese, or the brandy-drink-
ing Anglo-Saxons.
CHAPTER VI.
Arrival in India. — Tuticorin. — Madura. — Bungalows. — Reptiles
and Insects. — Wonderful Pagoda. — Sacred Elephants. — Trichi-
nopoly and its Temples. — Bishop Heber. — Native Silversmiths.
— Tanjore. — The Kajah's Palace, — Pagoda and an Immense
Stone Idol. — Southern India. — City of Madras. — Want of a Har-
bor. — In and al)Out the Capital. — Voyage through the Bay of
Bengal. — The Hoogly Eiver. — Political Capital of India. — A
Crazy King. — The Himalayas. — Sunset and Sunrise at Darjceling.
We took passage in the British mail steamship
Kebela from Colombo to Tuticorin, the extreme
point of southern India, once famous for its pearl
fisheries ; but now as forsaken and sleepy a spot as
can be found on any sea-coast. The distance from
Colombo is less than two hundred miles through the
Straits of Manar, and we landed on tlie following
day, after a stormy passage, during which tlie rain
came down with tropical profuseness. Ceylon, at
harvest time on the plantations, imports laborers from
the southern provinces of India, who are very glad
thus to earn a small sum of money, a commodity of
which they see little enough at home. Seven or
eight hundred of these laborers, having fulfilled their
object at the island, were returning to the main-land,
and literally crowded the lower deck of the Kebela
fore and aft. They formed rather picturesque groups
as they reclined or stood in their rags, nakedness, and
high colors combined.
When we got up the anchor in the harbor of Co-
lombo, it seemed to be pleasant enough, but scarcely
TUTICORIN. 151
were we outside of the breakwater before the steamer
began to roll and pitch like an awkward mule under
the tickling application of the spur. Too much ac-
customed to the roughness of the sea to heed this,
we were nevertheless ver}^ sorry for these exposed
deck-passengers, few of whom escaped seasickness.
Crowded together as they were during the copious
rainfall, their sufferings that afternoon and night were
pitiable. There were some families with women and
children, and such shelter as a canvas awning could
aiford was kindly arranged for them. When we an-
chored in shoal water off the coast next morning, and
the big flat-boats came to take them ashore, they had
hardly strength and spirit sufficient to tumble into
these craft, no doubt promising themselves, as usual,
never, never again to quit the dry land. The water
being very shallow, the Kebela anchored five miles
from shore, making it necessary for us to take a small
steam-launch to land at the little toy pier built on
the beach. Our miniature vessel was tossed about
like a bit of cork on the waves, but we had long since
come to regard a wetting by salt-water as a trifling
matter.
Tuticorin is a quaint old place of very little im*
portance, dingy and dilapidated. It is represented
to have twenty thousand inhabitants, but one would
not have set the figure at more than half that num-
ber. There is still something done here in the peail
fisheries, though the most active stations are situated
some thirty miles up the coast. We here got our
first view of a new race of people, the East Indian
proper, in his native land. It was easy to detect spe-
cial differences in the race from the people left but a
short day's sail behind us. They were tall and erect
152 DUE WEST.
in figure, sqiuire shouldered, and broad chested. Their
complexions were lighter, features clearer cut, and
they were a more active race. They had not full
lips or flat noses like the Singhalese and Malays; so
that although there was a similarity between them,
yet there was a strong difference when one came to
sum up the characteristics of each.
The architecture of the town is peculiar, and the
few old public buildings odd in the extreme. Tu-
ticorin sends some cotton, rice, and cocoanuts to mar-
ket, but its business must be very limited. An hour's
walk took us all over the town without discovering
any object of special interest. Being connected by
rail with northern India, it' there were depth of water
sufficient for steamers to make a landing here, witli-
out lying five miles off shore, Tuticorin would cer-
tainly become an important Indian port. It was
New Year's Day when we landed, and was apparently
being celebrated in an humble way by the few people
whom we saw. The children were displaying toys,
playing games, and some bore flowers aloft arranged
upon poles as wreaths and hoops. Itinerant peddlers
were disposing of sweetmeats to eager boys and girls.
Both the articles sold and the money which was paid
for them looked new and strange. Some young maid-
ens, in half -civilized attire, disj^layed high-colored
garments and small scarlet kerchiefs on their heads.
The passion for, and habit of wearing cheap jewehy,
had been imported even here, and some of the extrav-
agances of Colombo were copied by the women in or-
namentation of ears, nose, and lips. Little babies
were thus bedecked, and the tender ears of some con-
sequently hung distorted and stretched three inches
downward, both the upper rim and the lobe of the
VERMIN IN INDIA. 153
infant's ear being perforated with rings. Brass ban-
gles on arms, wrists, and ankles were the rule, some
of the men also wearing them. Here, on the main-
land, the tattooing of the body seemed to have ceased,
and the shining, naked skin of the men and women
looked clean and healthy.
In the afternoon of the day on which we landed,
the cars of the South Indian Railway were taken to
Madura, one hundred miles northward, where we
arrived late in the evening, and took lodging in a
government bungalow, unfurnished, except by a few
temporar}^ articles improvised for the occasion, our
meals being served at the raih'oad station not far
away. The bungalow was in the midst of a grove of
cocoanut palms which loomed high above our heads,
laden with masses of the large brown fruit. It was
dark and shady even at noonday. Close by was
an ancient stone well, baths, and irrigating means,
showing that where the jnngle now is had formerly
been a cultivated field with crops of grain. Native
shanties were located all about the neighborhood, the
people living mostly out of doors, gypsy fashion. It
would be too hot to cook or to eat within these low-
roofed mud walls. We found that flies, mosquitoes,
and scorpions were inclined to dispute the possession
of the bungalow with us ; and ugly looking snakes
were seen in such pi-oximity to the low piazza as to
suggest their uninvited entrance by doors or windows.
India swarms with vermin, especially in the jungle.
We did not fail to examine our shoes before putting
them on in the morning, lest the scorpions should
have established a squatter's right therein. Flying
foxes were seen upon the rrees, sometimes hang-
ing motionless by the feet, at others swinging to and
154 DUE WEST.
fro with a steady sweep. Ants were now and then
<>bserved moving over the ground in columns a foot
wide and three or four yards long, evidently with a
well defined [)urp()se. In the morning light, after the
sun had risen, clouds of butterflies, many-colored, sun-
shine - loving creatures, large and small, in infinite
variety, flitted about the bungalow, some with such
gaudy spread, of wing as to tempt pursuit — but with-
out a proper net they are difficult to secure. Large
brown, bronze, and yellow beetles walked through the
short grass with the coolness and gait of young poul-
try. Occasionally a chameleon turned up its singu-
larly bright eye, as though to take cognizance of our
presence. The redundancy of insect and reptile life
is wonderful in southern India. The railroad stations
and the road itself, admirably constructed and very
f.iirly equipped, ai'e the only evidences of European
possession to be seen between Tuticorin and Tan-
jore, a distance of four hundred and fifty miles. The
road passes through a generally well cultivated region
where thrifty fields of wheat, barley, and sugar-cane
were to be seen, with here and there broad fields of
intensely yellow mustard, but the appearance of the
people and their mud huts indicated abject poverty.
The principal attraction to the traveler in Madura,
which contains some fifty thousand inhabitants, is a
remarkable and ancient pagoda, supported by two
thousand stone columns. It was dedicated to Parvati,
wife of Shiva, and is one of the largest and finest
monuments of Hindoo art in existence, covering in
all its divisions, courts, shrines, colonnades, and tanks
twentv acres of ground. It has nine lofty tower-
like gates of entrance and exit, each one of which
has the effect of forming an individual pagoda. In
THE TEMPLE OF SHIVA. 155
the central area of the temple is what is known as
the Tank of the Golden Lotus, being a large body of
water covering a couple of acres of ground, leading
into which are broad stone steps on all sides, where
the people of both sexes were bathing for religious
purification ; an idea not hardly compatible with the
filthy condition of the water itself, wliich was nearly
covered with a green slime. The temple contains
many living sacred elephants, deified bulls and cows,
enshrined idols, and, to us, meaningless ornamenta-
tions, too varied and numerous for description. Our
local guide stated the probable cost at a figure so
high we refrain from recording it. The elephants
rivaled the beggars in their importunities, being
accustomed to receive unlimited delicacies from visit-
ors, such as sweetmeats, cakes, candies, and the like,
of which these creatures are immoderately fond.
One peculiarity of this temple was that it seemed to
serve a double purpose, being dedicated to trade and
religion. Within its walls we found established a
large number of trading booths, forming a sort of
bazar or fair, where were exhibited dry goods, toys,
domestic utensils, jewelry ; in short, all sorts of fancy
articles. Madura is famous for producing high-col-
ored napkins, small shawls and table-cloths, all on
fire with color, and here they were displayed in
strong kaleidoscopic effect. We thought it must be
the occasion of some special charitable fair, after the
practice of religious societies in more modern coun-
tries ; but were informed that these merchants were
engaged in their regular vocation, and were perma-
nent fixtures in the temple. The natives crowded
about these small bazars, and seemed to freely invest
the few coppers they had. We were followed about
156 DUE WEST.
the courts, chapels, and departments of the immense
structure by a motley and curious crowd, the girls and
women satisfied to watch and stare at us ; but the
boys had imported a London and Dublin idea : turn-
ing cart-wheels, somersaults, and walking all about
us on their hands, with feet in the air, to attract at-
tention and elicit pennies. One little fellow gyrated
about in a most marvelous style, keeping so persist-
ently topsy-turvy as to grow bkck in the face, and we
finally paid him to keep right side uppeimost. Beg-
ging is reduced to a science in India, and our little
party were beset, as by an army with banners.
Half a mile from this grand pagoda is situated
Timal Xaik's Tank, so named after the munificent
rajah who built it. He reigned at Madura from 1621
to 1657, building palaces and temples by the score.
The so called tank is an artificial lake extending
over six or eight acres, with a temple in its centre,
very picturesque in effect, and approached only by
boats. Timal Naik's palace was also visited, built
some three hundred years ago, of granite, and a very
remarkable piece of solid architecture it is for India
to have produced, in that section, and at that epoch.
The principal hall of this royal residence has over a
hundi'cd stone pillars supporting it. AVe were shown
a grand Saracenic hall, with a noble dome nearly a
hundred feet across, called the Hall of Justice. The
whole of this grand palace is now being thoroughly
restored, after having been ])ermitted for half a cen-
tury and more to fall into partial decay. We must
not forget to mention the banqueting hall of the pal-
ace ; nothing finer of this character exists in mod-
ern architecture. The whole was a surprise and
delight, as we had not even read or heard of this
Indian palace.
ROCK OF TRICIIIXOPOLY. 157
Another hundred miles northward by rail brought
us to the city of Trichinopoly, where we were quar-
tered at a government bungalow, as at Madura, tak-
ing our meals at the dining-room of the railroad sta-
tion, and were most agreeably disappointed with both
tlie service and the provisions. Surely some profes-
sional cook had dropped out of tlie skies and settled
here. The food was prepared and served as deli-
cately as at a Parisian cafe. The variety of fruit
and pastry was a temptation to the most satiated
appetite. Everything was neat and clean, the linen
faultless, and the glass and china were of the choicest.
We often recalled, when putting up with indifferent
service and deprivations elsewhere, the admirable en-
tertainment which we experienced so unexpectedly
at this point. Here the famous Rock of Trichinopoly,
from five to six hundred hundred feet high, crested
with the Temple of Ganesa, w^as ascended, and a
group of pagodas visited of the most lofty and strik-
ing character, similar in extent and general design
to those already spoken of. It is not long since, at
the assembling of a thousand and more pilgrims upon
this lofty and exposed Rock of Trichinopoly, a panic
ensued from some unknown cause, when fully half of
these pilgrims lost their lives by being crowded off
and falling over the rocky precipice, a distance of
five hundred feet. There is no protection to the nar-
row^, winding path by which the apex is reached, and
some nerve is required to accomplish the ascent.
The view from this eminence is exceptionally fine.
The native town far below us looked as though it
had been shaken up and dropped there in confusion
by some convulsion of nature. There is no regularity
in the laying out of the place -it is a confused mass
l'")8 DUE WEST.
of buildings, narrow paths, crooked roads, and low-
built mud cabins. We visited what is called the
silversmith's quarter, but it was utterly unlike what
such a locality would be elsewhere, composed of one-
story mud cabins, in narrow filthy lanes full of chick-
ens, mangy dogs, cats, and quarrelsome children. No
one but a native would suspect these hovels to con-
tain choice and finely wrought silver ornameuts, aud
that the entire manufacture was performed upon the
spot. These workmen, nevertheless, have a reputa-
tion for the excellence and originality of their prod-
uct, which extends beyond the borders of India.
Boxes were produced from odd corners, which were
full of exquisite silver work, forming such articles
as bracelets, necklaces, rings, pins, belts, etc., from
which our party made selections. Trichinopoly is
also famous for the manufacture of cigars, called che-
roots, exported to all parts of India and the East, and
which keep employed the busy fingers of a large num-
ber of the men and women of the town. In passing
the open doors of the dwellings, cabins, or huts, young
girls and boys were seen rolling up the cheroots, sit-
ting cross-legged beside low benches. The man-
ufacture of cutlery is also a specialty here, and the
place has some sixty thousand population. It will
be remembered that the remains of Bishop Heber
were buried at Trichinopoly, where he w-as drowned
while bathing, in the year 182G. Here also occurred
some fierce struggles between the French and Eng-
lish for the sovereignty of southern India.
Two hundred miles of night travel by rail brought
us to Tanjore, a large fortified cit}^ where we were
again quartered in a government bungalow, there
being no hotel designed to accommodate travelers.
CAR OF JUGGERNAUT. 159
The palace of tlie late Rajah, an ancient building
with lofty towers, and still occupied by the ex-queen,
was quite interesting. We were permitted to exam-
ine its internal economy, and found by the library
that her husband was a man of cultivation and taste,
especially well read in the classics, and a good lin-
guist. His bookcases showed several thousands of
good and well-thumbed books in English, French,
Latin, and Greek.
Here we saw a large gilded car of Juggernaut, the
Indian idol, which makes its annual passage to and
from the temple when the idol takes its yearly airing,
and is drawn by thousands of worshipers, who have
come from afar to assist at the strange and senseless
festival. Pilgrims, delirious with fanaticism, do some-
times throw themselves under the ponderous wheels
and perish there, but the stories current among writ-
ers upon the subject as to the large number of these
victims are much exaggerated. This self-immolation,
like that of the burning of widows upon their hus-
band's funeral pyres, has latterly been suppressed.
Between 1815 and 1826, fifteen thousand widows
thus perished in India ! We were told that in some
native provinces the practice was even now secretl}?-
followed to some extent, but this is doubtful.
The grand pagoda of Tan j ore has been rendered
familiar to us by engravings and is truly remarkable,
being esteemed the finest specimen in India of pagoda
construction. It is fourteen stories high, and in the
absence of figures we should say was over two hun-
dred feet from the base to the top, and about eighty
feet square at the ground. Among its other strange
idols and emblems it contains, in the area before the
main temple, in a demi-pagoda, the gigantic figure of
160 DUE WEST.
a reclining bull, hewn from ;i single mammoth block
of black granite, and supposed to be of great antiq-
uity. It stands witliin an open sj^ace, raised some
twelve feet above the surrounding court, upon a gran-
ite plinth of the same color, but how it could have
been raised there intact is a marvel.
All of these structures are kindi-ed in design, re-
producing here at Tanjore the spirit and many of the
same figures which were seen at Madura and Trichi-
nopoly. As they are the temples of the same idola-
trous race this is natural. All are many centuries
in age, and are characterized by grotesqueness, las-
civiousness, caricature, and infinite detail of finish.
Though they are outrageously gaudy in colors, yet
are they on so grand and costly a scale as to create
amazement rather than disgust. It would seem that
a people equal to such efforts must have been capa-
ble of something far better. In all grosser forms
of superstition and idolatrj^, carnal and material ele-
ments seem to be essential to bind and attract the
ignorant; and this was undoubtedly the governing
policy of a religion embodying emblems so outra-
geous to Christian sensibility. This grand pagoda
at Tanjore, taken as a whole, was the most remark-
able religious monument we saw in India. The city
has, as prominent local industries, the manufacture of
silk, cotton, and muslins. It is also surrounded by
vast rice-fields the product of which it largely ex-
ports to the north. Another day upon the cars
traveling due north brought us to Madras, where we
found a good hotel and excellent accommodations, to
which we were in a frame of bod}^ and mind to do
ample justice.
In traveling through southern India to this point,
AXCIENT TEMPLES. 161
we observed frequently on the route of the railroad
strange monuments and many ruins of temples, pa-
godas, and odd structures of stone, manifestly serv-
ing in b^^-gone ages some religious purpose. Now
and again in open fields, or more generally by small
groves of trees, there were mammoth stone elephants,
horses, bulls and cows, more or less crumbled and
decayed by the wear of centuries, but evidently ob-
jects of worship by the people who constructed them,
being still held too sacred to be meddled with by the
ignorant and superstitious natives, whose mud hovels
cluster about them. At several points, away from
any present villages or hamlets, large irregular circles
of heavy, unwrought stones were observed in open
fields, or near to some mounds of grass grown earth,
perhaps covering the remains of former shrines.
These seemed of the same character and called to
mind the ancient debris which still exists at Stone-
henge, and undoubtedly marked the spot of ancient
sacrifice. Large flocks of goats tended by herds-
men were distributed over the plains, and so level is
the country that the eye could make out these groups
for miles away on either side of the track. Well
cultivated plantations of sugar-cane, plantains, rice,
wheat, and orchards of fruit were constantly coming
into view from the cars. The olden style of irriga-
tion was going on by means of the shaduf, worked
by hand, the same as was done in the East four
thousand years ago; while the very plow, rude and
inetiicient, which is used upon these plains to-day, is
after the fashion belonging to the same period. In-
deed, except that the railroad runs through southern
India, there seems to have been no progress there for
thousands of years. A lethargy of the most hopeless
11
1G2 T>UE WEST.
character appears to possess tlie people. Their mud
cabhis are not suitable covering for human beings, and
are distanced in neatness by the colossal ant-hills of
wooded districts. Such a degraded state of human-
ity can hardly be found elsewhere among semi-civil-
ized races. The women seemed to be worn down
by hardships, and were pitiable to look upon ; but the
men were of dark hue, straight in figure, always thin
in flesh, and remarkably like our American Indians.
Nudity is the rule among them, clothing the excep-
tion. It seems like a strange assertion, but it is a
fact, two thirds of the human family go naked in tlie
nineteenth century.
Madras is situated on the open Bay of Bengal,
without even the pretense of a harbor, though a
grand stone breakwater, like that at Ceylon, is in
course of construction. It is after the plan which
was adopted by De Lesseps at Port Said, forming the
Mediterranean entrance of the Suez Canal. The ma-
terial which is being employed for the purpose is
also the same, and is composed of a conglomerate of
small stones and cement in the form of large cubes.
The Prince of Wales, when on his visit to India some
five or six years since, laid the foundation stone of
this structure, but though it is so much needed it
seemed to us to grow very slowly. No more unpro-
tected spot could be found on the surf-beaten shore
of the Coromandel coast, so completely is it exposed
to the ivwy of the northeast monsoons. It is singu-
lar that it was ever selected for a commercial port,
being inaccessible to sailing vessels from October to
January, and yet it was the first capital of the
British possessions in India. Such a surf is nearly
always to be found on the shore that nothing but the
FORT GEORGE. 163
peculhir boats of the natives can pass it, and in foul
weather it is in vain for even them to attempt it.
Nevertheless along this inhospitable shore, for a dis-
tance of several miles, there extends a thriving,
finely laid out city, with a population of nearly half a
million.
Madras is spread out over a very large territory,
with broad open fields and squares, some designed
for drill grounds, some for games of ball, some purely
as ornamental, with choice trees and shrubs. An
abundant and handsome growth of trees all about
the city, lining the thoroughfares and beautifying the
open squares, testifies to the judicious attention given
by the authorities to this species of ornamental and
grateful shade, necessary in so warm a climate. We
remember especially a fine and quite remarkable ave-
nue of banyan- trees on what is called the Mowbray
Avenue. The wide streets are admirably kept, being
carefully macadamized, over which carriage wheels
glide with noiseless motion. This description ap-
plies, however, only to the European portion of the
town, with its fine public buildings, consisting of
many literary and scientific institutions, as well as
educational and charitable ones. The native portion
ot" Madras is contracted, mean, and dirty in the ex-
treme, the common people showing a degree of in-
digence and indifference to decency which is abso-
lutely appalling to witness in so large a community,
but it was quite in accordance with what we had ob-
served farther south. The elaborate' English fort is
one of the strongest and best constructed fortifica-
tions in the East, forming a most prominent feature
of the city, and crowning a moderate rise of ground
contiguous to the shore with its attractive surround-
1G4 DUE WEST.
ings, wliite walls, graceful though war-like buildings,
flower plats, and green, slo})ing banks. Fort George
was the oricjinal name of Madras. The noble \\^\\t-
house is within the gmunds, — a lofty structure con-
siderably over a hundred feet in height, and visible
nearly twenty miles at sea. Near this spot, along
the coast to the nortlnvard, are tlie rock-cut temples
of Mahabalihuram, rendered familiar by Southey's
charming poetry.
At night we were lulled to sleep by the hoarse,
sullen roar of the restless waters. By day it was
curious to watch the long surf-washed beach, directly
in front of our hotel, and to see the fishermen strug-
gle with the waves in their frail, but well adapted
native boats, called catamarans. These are con-
structed of three pieces of timber, ten or twelve feet
long, tied securely together with cocoanut fibre ; the
middle one being longer than the others, and curved
upwards at each end. Two men generally go to-
gether, and force them through the water with short
paddles used alternately on either side. We saw
them repeatedly washed off by the surf ; but as they
are naked and good swimmers, they either reach the
boat again, or, if driven away from it by the sea and
undertow, regain the shore. Sometimes only one is
waslied off, but not unfrequently both are compelled
to swim baik to the shore where the frail boat itself
is soon after thrown high upon the beach by the
power of the waves. We were told that it was a
very rare circumstance for one of these Madras boat-
men to lose his life by drowning, as they become such
expert swimmers.
A peculiar boat is also used between the wharves
and the shij^ping, which come to anchor some dis«
SURF-BOATS OF MADRAS. 165
tance off shore, landing passengers or taking them
from the shore to the ship. Even where these boats
are used, partially protected by the half-completed
breakwater, no common boat would answer the pur-
pose, or would stand the strain. The surf runs high
even here, though not so fiercely as on the open
beach. The Madras boat is large and light, con-
structed of thin planks sewed together with hide
thongs, and caulked with cocoanut fibre. No nails
enter into its construction, nor would answer the
purpose, which the yielding thongs only are fitted for.
Each of these boats is propelled by at least eight
rowers, who use an oar shaped like a spoon, being a
strong elastic pole with a flat, rounded end, securely
laslied to it b}^ hide thongs. The men pull regularly
until they get into the surf, and then they work like
mad, and the light boat is landed bigh and dry on the
shelving sands.
Along the shore of the business section, the broad
street is lined with lofty commercial warehouses,
custom house, hongs and godowns, and we observed
considerable building in progress just at this point.
The submerged breakwater should be brought up to
its proper height before anything else is attempted
in or near the bay. Anchorage is very precarious,
large steamers being compelled to keep up steam to
ease any strain which may come upon their land
tackle. One large iron vessel lay a wreck upon the
beach, and was sold at auction, to be broken up,
while we were there. She was loaded with coal for
the dt^pot of the P. and O. line.
In driving and strolling about the city we noted
many local pictures. Groups of professional dancing
girls are to be seen in all of the cities of India, gen-
166 DUE WEST.
erally attached to some temple, as no religious cere-
mony or gala day is considered complete without
them; and indeed the same may be said of any large
private entertainment, as guests never dance in the
East, pieferring to hire such work done for them.
These dancers are accompanied by a musical instru-
ment very much like a guitar, and sometimes by tam-
bourines and fifes. Many of the girls are delicate
and graceful both in form and manner. Those who
adopt the calling consecrate themselves to it by some
religious ceremony, and ever after are connected with
the temples. They preserve decency and propriety
in their public performances, which is curious to wit-
ness; their ankles being covered with silver bells and
their wrists and arms similarly decked. Their effort
appears to be that the bells should be so agitated as
to ring in harmony with the instruments ; but the
fact is there is no harmony about either. These girls
depend more in their performance upon pantomime,
expression of features, pose of body, and graceful
post u rings, than upon an 3^ great exertion of muscle.
In their peculiar performance there is no exposure
of the person, as in the Parisian style of dancing,
only half clad as they are. These Indian girls en-
deavor to tell a story by their dance : to express love,
hope, tenderness, jealousy, and other passions, all of
which are so well portrayed, as a rule, that one can
easily follow their pantomime. When idle, they
sometimes perform as itinerants in the streets and
squares, as was the case when we chanced to see a
small group at Madras. Positive information regard-
ing them is not to be obtained, but enougli was heard
to satisfy us that they constitute a priestly harem.
After passing a very pleasant week in Madras, we
MOTHER CAREY'S CHICKENS. 167
sailed at duyligbt, on the lltli of January, in the
P. and O. steamship Teheran, for Calcutta, through
the Bay of Bengal, a five days' voyage. Soon after
leaving the roadstead of Madras there was pointed
out to us on the port bow the low lying coast of
Orissa, India, where the famine of 1866 carried off
one million of souls. As we drew northward a de-
cided difference in the temperature was realized, and
was most agreeable ; the thermometer showing 70°
at Calcutta, in place of 90° at Madras, so that por-
tions of clothing, discarded when we landed at Ce}^-
lon, were now resumed. Since entering these south-
ern waters we had remarked the entire absence of
sea-gulls, so ever-present on the Atlantic and North
Pacific ; but the abundance of Mother Carey's Chick-
ens, as the little petrel is called, made up for the
absence of the larger birds. It is swallow-like in
both its appearance and manner of flight, and though
web-footed is rarely seen to light on the water. It
flies very close to the surface of the sea, frequently
dipping for food ; but never quite losing its power of
wing, or at least so it appeared to us. Sailors, who
are a proverbially superstitious race, seriously object
to passengers at sea who attempt to catch the petrel
with hooks baited with food and floated on the water,
or by any other means, contending that ill-luck will
follow their capture.
The ocean currents along the coast of Coromandel
are marked and curious, requiring special care in nav-
igation. Unless observations can be had by aid of
the sun at noon-day, no ship is sure of her position ;
dead reckoning will not answer here. We were re-
minded in these waters of other currents: the Gulf
Stream, for instance, on our own shore, finds its rise
168 DUE WEST.
in tlie tropics, say in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of
Mexico, moves nortlieast along the American coast,
gets a cant on the banks of Newfoundhind, and after
crossing the Atlantic, spends its force on the shores
of Western Europe. Tlie Japan Current, as it is
called by seamen, originates in the Indian Ocean,
moves northward along the eastern shore of Asia, and
is divided by the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska
Peninsula, one branch going to the Arctic Ocean, and
the other along the west coast of America into the
South Pacific. These details become ver}^ interesting
to the traveler when passing long weeks upon the
ocean, observing htnv the vessel in which he sails is
either favored or retarded by these known forces.
Our course was due north until we anchored at the
mouth of the Hoogl}^ River to await a favorable tide,
finally arriving at Calcutta on the evening of the 15th
of January. The intricate navigation of the Hoogly,
with its treacherous sands and ever-shifting shoals, is
conducted by a pilot s^^stem especially organized by
government, and is composed exclusively of English-
men. No vessel can hope to ascend the river safely
without being in charge of one of these pilots. We
saw a large iron steamship, which was a quarter of a
mile ahead of the Teheran, in her attempt to make
the mouth of the Hoogly, caught b}^ an adverse cur-
rent, through what seemed to be a very trifling mis-
calculation, and she was cast aground as quickly as
though blown on a lee shore by a tornado. We
passed her as we went in, with both her anchors out,
adopting various nautical expedients to get afloat.
As the accident occurred on a rising tide, we have
no doubt that she finally got free from her danger-
ous position.
AN INTERESTING CITY. 169
Calcutta is the political capital of India, but since
the opening of the Suez Canal, Bombay rivals it in
all commercial respects. It was rather surprising to
find so poor a hotel as the '-' Great Eastern " proved
to be. It is calculated to receive within its walls at
least one hundred to one hundred and fifty guests,
and yet does not present the ordinary domestic com-
forts to be found in an American country tavern. A
good hotel is a prime necessity to any citj^, and is of
more importance to the interests of the inhabitants
at large, and to its trades-people especially, than is
generally re^ilized. We were told by our banker and
others that the complaint in this matter was so gen-
eral that a company was forming to give to the city a
first-class hotel on the American system, a consum-
mation devoutly to be wished. At present tourists
visiting Calcutta would be prompted, as we were, to
abbreviate their stay in the city, solely for want of
a good temporary home.
Calcutta is a ver^^ interesting city, very Indian,
notwithstanding so many Europeans live here and it
has so long been under English rule ; but it is by no
means entitled to the name so often given to it, the
"City of Palaces." It is quite modern, having no
remains of antiquity in or about it, and in 1686 was
but a mud village. As seen from the Hoogly when
one first lands, it has a strong array of fine public
buildings ; but a passage of a few rods, diverging
from the main thoroughfare, brings the visitor upon
the dirty streets, the mean and narrow houses, and
general filth of the native population. The city is
strongly individualized, and it may be remarked that
of all the capitals thus far visited no two are alike, or
strongly resemble each other All differ radically in
170 DUE WEST.
manners and customs, modes of conve3'ance, dress,
architecture, and local Cf)lor. We visited some of the
palaces of the native princes, which show in what ex-
travagant style they formerly lived, until compelled
to come under English control. Many of these struc-
tures were partially denuded, and none pretended to
be kept up to their former standard.
The National Museum is an institution of great
importance, rich in its various specimens of Hindoo
curiosities, and also in the possession of an extensive
zoological and mineralogical collection, the whole con-
tained in a noble building of modern construction.
The city has also a number of literary, scientific, and
charitable institutions, libraries, social and political
clubs, hospitals, and the like. The Government
House is a fine specimen of architecture, and is built
around an open square ornamented like a garden, but
really little less than a citadel if necessity should re-
quire it to assume that form. Owing to the nature
of England's possession here. Government House is
under semi - military organization, always ready to
meet a popular uprising, and containing powerful
means of defense. The zoological garden is almost
a rival to that of London, and in some respects is
superior to it. The botanical garden, located about
three miles from the city proper, is equally rem;irka-
ble for its size and comprehensive character. The
good taste and appreciation which has gathered here
so large and complete a public garden is worthy of
all praise.
In this garden there is an enormous ban van-tree,
one of the largest in the world, and the original of
the picture of the school-books. The leaves are very
similar to those of the poplar, and are four or five
A BOTANICAL GARDEN. 171
inches long. Its age is incalculable, being a tree of
very slow growth, and continually multiplying it-
self, so that it may be said to live forever. There is
one remarkable avenue of Palmyra palms in these
grounds, which we have never seen excelled in
beauty of effect even in the plantation avenues of
Cuba, where the family of the palm form the pride
of the coffee planters. Here was also to be seen
specimens of the sacred bo-tree and the camphor-tree
of great size ; one large conservatory was devoted
solely to the cultivation of ferns, which the gardener
said contained twenty thousand varieties, from the
size of an infant's hand to tall trees.
The various shades of green in this conservatory
were no less remarkable than the wonderful variety
of form, all being arranged in the most effective man-
ner. The tall tree ferns seemed ready to burst through
the glass roof, and were ornamented with little hang-
ing baskets on their branches, containing choice and
delicate specimens, while at their base was a rockery
over which played a tiny fountain, causing the ex-
quisitely pinnated feathery fronds of the ferns to
tremble incessantly. In another part was a little
patch of mossy meadow, and again there were decay-
ing logs out of which sprang various ferns in wild
luxuriance, as one has seen them in deeply-shaded,
low-lying woods. The maiden-hair fern was here
seen ranging from leaves as large as one's thumb-nail
to a species with leaves the size of pin-heads. There
was a charming harmony in the whole arrangement ;
nothing seemed abrupt, each effect blended gracefully
with those surrounding it, like well-balanced colors in
an oil painting.
The King of Oude's palace, on the opposite side
172 DUE WEST.
of the river, will well pay the traveler for a visit.
The old king has a reputation of being a little out of
his head, or, as the Scotch say, has a bee in his bon-
net ; at any rate, he is very queer, very fat, and very
independent, with his allowance of half a million dol-
lars per annum from the English government who de-
throned him, at which time he was King of Oude, one
of the richest provinces of India, Lucknow being the
capital. He is said to be still a rebel at heart, and
was a strong supporter of the mutiny. He is really
a sort of state's prisoner in his own palace at Garden
Reach, as the place is called, where he has a whole
menagerie of animals, and is especially fond of tigers,
of which he keeps over twenty in stout cages. He
has also a large and remarkable collection of snakes,
all Indian, and " millions " of pigeons. He pays fab-
ulous prices for any bird or animal to which he takes
a fancy, and is, of course, duly victimized by cunning
dealers. He is a fanatic in religious observances, and
confines himself within the palace walls, from one
year's end to another, with his tigers, snakes, pigeons,
priests, and women. He permits tourists to visit his
grounds, but w^ill himself see no one. It would not
seem that he owes any affection to the English, who,
under some specious pretense, seized liis private prop-
erty, including his valuable jewels, and sold them
for the benefit of Queen Victoria's treasury. As was
said by the British press at the time, tlie English
liad no more right to those precious stones and pri-
vate property than they had to the crown diamonds
of Russia.
The government fortifications here will interest
travelers, as they are remarkable for completeness,
and presenting the advanced ideas in the line which
CREMATION AT CALCUTTA. 173
they represent. But we were most entertained and
longest occnpied in Calcutta by the native bazars,
which, as usual, gave one a special insight into the
character of the people, their tastes and occupations.
An hour was passed of quite an impressive character
at a large building inclosing a high-walled area on
the banks of the river, known as the Burning Ghat,
where the ceremony of cremating the dead is going
on at all hours of the day and night. Seven corpses
were brought in and placed upon the pyres, built
up of unsawed cord wood in cob style, raised to the
height of four feet, the fire being applied to a small
handful of specially combustible material at the bot-
tom. The whole was so prepared as to ignite rap-
idly, and in a very few moments after the torch was
applied to it, the pile was wreathed in the devouring
element. Tlie atmosphere was impregnated with of-
fensive odors, and one was fain to get on the wind-
v/ard side of tlie smoking mass. The Ghat was open
to the sky, so that the ventilation was all that could
be obtained. The bodies thus treated are entirely
consumed in about three hours, during which the wood
requires partial renewal, and all palpable signs having
disappeared the ashes are solemnly cast into the sa-
cred river close at hand, tlie Hoogly being one of the
outlets of the Ganws. When tirst brousrht to tlie
Ghat, a very simple and brief ceremony is held over
each body, and then a member of the family of
mourners which attend the burning applies the torch
to the pyre. The custom is that this service should
be performed by the oldest son of the deceased, if
there be such a representative. The first time we
witnessed such a scene was at the Calcutta Ghat, but
our after experience, as to the disposal of the dead,
174 DUE WEST.
was still more strange, as we shall have occasion to
record in these notes. Close by this Burning Ghat,
along the river front, there are a number of sheds,
wuth only partial shelter from the street, where poor
dying Hindoos are brought to breathe their last, be-
lieving that if they pass away close to the sacred
water, their spirits will be instantly wafted to regions
of bliss. Here they are attended by persons Avho
make a business of it; and it was intimated to us
that they often hasten the demise of the sufferers by
convenient means. Human life is held of very little
account among these people, whose blind faith bridges
the gulf of death, and who were at one time so prone
to suicide, by drowning in the Ganges, as to require
strict police surveillance on the part of the English to
prevent it.
At the close of each day, about an hour before sun-
set, all fashionable Calcutta turns out in state for a
drive on the Maidan, — the Hindoostani name for es-
planade, — a broad and finely macadamized roadway,
extending along the river's bank, by the fort, the
open cricket grounds, the parade, and the gardens,
arranojed as a circular course of a mile or more in ex-
tent, which would be perfection had it only a proper
complement of shade trees. It is really a most de-
lightful resort after the trying heat of the day, when
the cooling influence of the twilight commences ; in
sliort it is tlie Indian Hyde Park, or Bengal Champs
Elysees. The variety, elegance, and costliness of the
equipages in grand livery that crowd the Maidan dur-
ing the fashionable hour was a surprise, the whole
scene enlivened by the brilliant dresses of the ladies,
tl;e dashing costumes, and gold lace of the nabobs,
the quaint Oriental dress of their barefooted attend-
THE MAIDAS OF CALCUTTA. 175
ants, and the spirited music of the military band.
The variety of nationality present was infinite ; the
participants in varied dress were Parsees, Hindoos,
MussLilmans, English, Egyptians, with a sprinkling
of French and Italians. The twilight hour is brief;
the crowd dashed round the long course in the live-
liest manner, until the amber shades deepened, and
then a hundred electric lights of great power, shielded
by ground-glass globes, flashed upon the scene, rival-
ing in effect the broadest daylight. Then the occu-
p mts of the open vehicles and the equestrians gath-
ered about the Eden Gardens, where the music-stand
is phiced, and in ranks eight or ten lines deep, listened
to the popular airs so finely rendered, or chatted gayly
with each other during the intervals of the music.
These Eden Gardens, always open to the public, with
their tropical vegetation, picturesque temples, sum-
mer-houses, and refreshing ornamental waters, are a
delightful resort in the after-part of the day, when
their inviting shade can be best appreciated. The
Cascine at Florence, the Pincio at Rome, the Chiaja
of Naples, the Prado of Madrid, none of these can
compare in point of gayety, variety, and attractive-
ness with the Maidan of this Indian capital.
It would seem that Calcutta ought to be a healthy
city, but, as it regards English residents, it cannot be
said to be so. A peculiarity in this connection was
explained to us by an officer of the civil service, long
resident in the East. Both himself and wife were
our companions on board the Kashgar, on the voy-
age from Bombay to Suez, the gentleman being on
leave of absence for a brief month's stay in England,
where mother and father were going to meet their
three children. It seems that pure blooded European
17G Dii: \vi:sr.
children, even if born in India, me unable to strug-
gle successfully against the enervating effects of its
climate, and this ap^^lies not alone to Calcutta, but
to all parts of the country. Until their sixth year,
children apparently retain their health and the ruddy
color of the race, but, soon after that age, they grow
pale and wan, the listlessness of a premature decay
setting in, or some mysterious blight steals over them.
Thus, without the symptoms of any fixed disease,
they droop and pine, like exotic plants. Nothing but
a return to England, the home of their race, will re-
store them. The utmost care is of no avail. Even
removing them to higher table-lands in the hill coun-
try has no saving effect. An English gentleman and
his wife, who had long resided at Lahore, told us the
same ; they being also separated from their children,
who had been born in India, but necessarily sent
home to Engrjand to restore their fadin": health. This
singular peculiarity is so well known, that its fatal
results are now promptly guai'ded against by the one
and only resort, — of parents and children submitting
to separation.
The city is said to contain a million of inhabitants,
but this seemed an excessive computation. The frail
character of the native houses, in the section of Cal-
cutta occupied by Indians, may be judged of by the
fact that the cj^clone, which visited the place the year
after that of the famine at Orissa, destroyed over
thirty thousand of their houses ; and, three years
later, in 1870, another cyclone was equally destruc-
tive among these dwellings. The Hoogly River is
visited, during the monsoons, about the last of April,
by a tidal wave, which dashes up from the sea at a
speed of twenty miles an hour, causing much destruc-
.4 MOUNTAIN BAILROAD. 177
tion. Ships lying off the city often part their cables,
and are driven on shore; while many small craft,
along the eighty miles of river course, are not unfre-
quenily destroyed altogether.
Taking tlie cars of the Eastern Bengal Railway,
we started for Darjeeling, in the extreme north of
India, a distance of about four hundred miles from
Calcutta. At Damookdea the Ganges was crossed,
and the journey resumed by the North Bengal State
Railway. At Siliguri the Xarrow Gauge Himalayan
Railway was taken, by which to ascend the moun-
tains, and a wonderful piece of engineering it was
found to be, doubling upon itself frequently in a dis-
tance of two hundred feet ; in one place tlie train
passing over a bridge which it had passed under a
few minutes before. The railroad running up Mount
Washington, in Xew Hampshire, though more pre-
cipitous, is less remarkable. The wild, extensive
scenery on the route was a constant remiuder of the
Sierra Nevada mountains, through which we had
passed by moonlight, in far-off America. As we
progressed upwards, flocks of Tibet goats began to
appear, and a liardier race of men and women than
those we had left below on the plains of Hindostan.
The road was being much improved, and laborers
were busy all day along the route, consisting of men
and women and young girls, all performing the same
style of labor, with shovel and pick, each carrying
a small basket of earth and stone on his or her back.
Amoncr these laborers three distinct nationalities
were observable, marked by dress, physiognomy, and
figure. They were people from Tibet, Nepal, and
Cashmere, which border on this part of northern
India, and are separated from it by the Himalayan
12
178 T)UE WEST.
Range. These mingled races formed picturesque
groups, the men armed with long, sword-like knives
and other weapons, after the fashion of their native
lands. Some of the young women were quite pretty,
though a little masculine and sturdy in figure, appear-
ing very much like their sisters of Alpine Switzer-
land. At the noon hour, they gathered in groups
near the doors of their shanties on the abrupt hill-
sides ; where, throwing themselves on the ground, they
partook of their coarse, midday meal, quite in gypsy
style, about a smoking iron pot, suspended over a fire
by a tripod. They watched us curiousl}^ for the
passing cars formed the one daily event, connecting
them with the far-away populous cities of the plains,
places of which they only knew by report. Our
train consisted of two cars only, a first and a second
class ; but the engine, built especially for this service,
puffed and snorted like mad, wdth the wildest vigor,
in its struggle to surmount the steep grade, seeming
to be vastly refreshed by a few moments' rest at the
frequent watering-places. These consisted of a wooden
trough running out of the hill-side, and supplied by
one of the thousand tiny brooks that burst out every-
where. At these the thirsty little engine drank co-
piously, and often ; until finally, after many hours, we
rounded a high projecting cliff, and in a moment after
reached the little station of Darjeeling, which signi-
fies *' Up in the Clouds."
We arrived early in the afternoon, and fortunately
on a clear day, so we anticijDated having the rare
pleasure of witnessing the sunset upon the loftiest
range of snow-clad mountains on the globe. As we
rounded the bluff already" spoken of, there burst upon
our sight, for a few moments, a complete view of the
KINCHINJUNGA. 179
raijge, lying under a clear sky and warm glow of sun-
light, so entrancing as almost to take away one's
breath. The imagination had never before depicted
anything so grand and inspiring. Our little party
could only point at it, and look into each other's eyes.
Words would have jarred like a discord upon the ear.
What the Bernese Oberland range is to the Alps,
this Kinchin junga group is to the sky-reaching Him-
alayas. The former, however, are but pygmies com-
pared with these giants at Darjeeling. One gazes in
amazement at the peaks, and almost doubts that they
belong to the earth upon which he stands. Visitors
from a distance are often compelled to depart in dis-
appointment after waiting for days to obtain a fair
view of the range. We had reason for gratitude in
having reached this elevated spot at so propitious a
season.
We ascended the nearest hill soon after arriving at
the hotel, and, looking across the intervening valley,
could count twelve peaks, the lowest of which was
over twent}^ thousand feet in height, and the highest
over twenty-eight thousand, upon which rested eleven
thousand feet of perpetual snow, — the snow line be-
ing distinctly marked from east to west, as far as the
eye could reach. There can be no animal life in that
Arctic region, no pulsations of vitality. Only the
snow an<l ice rest there in endless sleep, cold, pitiless,
and solemn. The sun was slowly declining in the
west, faintly burnishing a few silvery, transparent
clouds, while it touched the pearl-white tops of the
Himalayas with ruby tints, and cast a glow of min-
gled gold and purple down the sides most exposed to
its rays. Every hue of the rainbow seemed to hang
over the range, through which gleamed the snowy
180 DUE WEST.
robe in wliicli the peaks and sides were clad. The
top of KiiK'hinjunga, the loftiest of them all, tower-
ing three thousand feet above its fellows, as it ra-
diated the glory of the sunset, made one hesitate
whether it was indeed a mountain top or a fleecy
cloud far up in the sky. As we watched with quick-
ened pulse, the sunset glow, like a lingering kiss, hung
over the grand, white-turbaned peaks for a moment,
as though unwilling to say good night, and then it sud-
denly vanished. The cool, dewy shadows gathered
on the brow of Kinchin junga like parting tears, and
night closed swiftly over the deep intervening valley,
shutting out the loveliness of the vision, but leaving
its impress glowingly fixed upon the memory forever.
The Himalayas — meaning in Sanskrit the Halls
of Snow — form the northern boundary of India, and
shut out the countrj^ from the rest of Asia. Tibet,
which lies just over the range from whence we
viewed it and the wild region between, is virtually
impassable for travel ; and yet bold parties of traders
from time to time, wrapped in sheep-skins, force their
way over the passes at an elevation of eighteen thou-
sand feet. It is a hazardous thing to do, and the
bones of worn-out mules mark the frozen way, telling
of suffering and abandonment. The little Yak cow,
whose bushy tail is manufactured into lace, has been
found to be the best and most enduring animal to
depend upon when such journeys are made. She will
patiently toil up the steep gorges with a heavy load
on her back, and will drop in her very tracks before
she shows any stubbornness or want of courage.
Sheep are also used at times to carry bags of borax
to market near the plains, where they are shorn of
their fleece, and return to the mountains laden with
MOUNT EVEREST. 181
8;ilt. The culminating point of the range, and the
highest peak in the world, is Mount Everest, a little
more than twenty-nine thousand feet above the level
of the sea ; but it is rarely visible from Darjeeling.
In an unsuccessful attempt to ascend Kinchinjanga
not long since, an English physician very nearly lost
his life, and was obliged to submit to the partial am-
putation of his feet. He still resides in the neigh-
borhood in government employment.
The sunset view, alread}^ spoken of, had fully re-
paid us for the four hundred miles journey due north.
On the following morning we rose betimes to see the
meeting between the god of day and those white-
robed sentinels of time. We hardly dared to hope
for a clear atmosphere. Only the stars, perhaps a
little weary with night-watching, were visible now.
A fine sunrise to follow so beautiful a sunset would
be almost too good fortune. The air was sharp and
frosty, but we cared naught for the cold, now at
freezing-point, as we were between seven and eight
thousand feet above the level of the plains. Our
anticipations were sufficiently exhilarating to keep us
warm. First came a delicate gray tinge in the leaden
sky as the morning seemed to partially awake from
its slumber, and gradually a fitful light beamed out
of the east, as the stars grew paler and paler. Ob-
jects about us became more distinct, until presently
the white peaks came into view one after another.
Then the veil of night was slowly removed, as Aurora
extinguished the last of those flickering lamps, and
the soft amber light touched the brow of each peak,
causing it to blush like a beautiful maiden aroused
from sleep, at sight of one beloved. After the first
salutation the rays became bolder, more ardent, and
182 DUE WEST.
poiirod their depth of siiffron hues all over the range,
which now blushed and glowed like mountains of
opals, flashing and burning in the glad, glorious sun-
light. Dazzling to look upon, it grew yet stronger
every moment, until the mountains and valleys were
flooded in an atmosphere of azure and gold, and every
outline was filled in by the clear, fresh light of the
dawn, completing for us an experience never to be
forgotten, the loveliness of which neither tongue nor
pen can adequately express.
It was not without an effort that one could descend
from such elevating and inspiring delights to more
material things, but over the coffee local matters of
interest were discussed with our host. It appears
that Darjeeling is becoming the centre of a great tea-
jn-oducing district, and that India bids fair to rival
China in a product which has seemed, from time im-
memorial, to belong to the latter country exclusively.
English capitalists are buying up the land wholesale;
and their agents, employing skilled labor, have al-
ready extensive tea plantations in full process of
profitable yielding, and sending tea annually to mar-
ket. At first it seemed strange to us to see the tea-
plant flourishing at such altitudes, covering large
reaches of the mountain sides ; but the fact came to
mind that the latitude of Darjeeling is about that of
Florida and the West Indies, which solved the appar-
ent incongruity. As to the product of these tea-fields,
one could realize no difference in its flavor from that
of the Chinese leaf. AVe were told that it brought a
higher price in the European markets, being known
as Assam tea. Cinchona was also being raised in
the district to a considerable extent, and it was b&
lieved was specially adapted to the locality.
BUDDHIST PRAYERS. 183
We ascended a high hill overlooking the valley
and town of Darjeeling, and found upon its crest a
sacred stone, where Buddliists had lately sacrificed
some object which left the stains of blood, and where
incense had recentl}^ been burned. It was in a prim-
itive temple constructed of stones and stunted trees,
surrounded by growing bushes. The neighboring
branches of the trees were decked here and there
witli bits of red and blue cloth, which the guide ex-
plained as being Buddhist prayers. On some bits of
paper adhering to the stones there were written char-
acters which we could not understand, but which
doubtless were invocations addressed to a superior
power. From this elevation we enjoyed extensive
and still different views of the Himalayas, and their
diadems of frosted silver flaked with gold, while close
at hand w'ere seen the hundreds of thrifty tea planta-
tions decking the sloping hill-sides. There are no
roads at these extreme heights ; it is all climbing to
reach them, and the path so narrow that visitors ad-
vance only in single file.
Darjeeling is what is called in India a sanitarium;
that is, a resort for Europeans from the plains during
that portion of the year when it is too hot to reside
in the cities. There is a fixed population of over
three thousand. The viceroy's summer quarters are
elegant and spacious, and there are churches, schools,
and a club -room, with hospitals and barracks for
army invalids. We saw groups of natives from the
neighboring countries, lingering about the depot,
quite willing to trade, and offering us their pray-
ing machines for filthy lucre. Some of these ma-
chines were of finely wrought silver and were expen-
sive. In the centre of the town there is an open
184 DUI^ ]VKST.
space devoted daily to an out-door bazar, where the
itinerant traders spread a mat upon the ground and
cover it with the articles which they wish to dispose
of, seating themselves cross-legged on the ground by
the side of their wares. Here we saw displayed cop-
per coins from the neighboring countries, sweetmeats,
fruit, beans, rice, betel-nuts, candles, baskets, and toys,
besides heaps of various grains. Near the hotel there
was an insignificant temple, at the entrance of which
a hideous old woman was turning a big cylinder with
a crank ; a church praying machine. She seemed to
have taken a contract to pray for the whole district,
she worked so vigorously.
Some of the people in and about the neighborhood
are of singular interest. One tribe was pointed out as
belonging to the Sikkim race, known as Lepchas, who
believe in spirits good and bad, but celebrate no re-
ligious rites. There were specimens of the Limboos,
who are Buddhists, and whose out-door temple on the
hill-top we had chanced upon. Again there were peo-
ple known as Moormis, of large stature and originally
from Tibet. The Nepal and Cashmere people were
small in size, compared to Europeans, but of hardy
frames and stout limbs. These latter are very indus-
trious and thrifty. There was some building of stone
houses going on at Darjeeling, and some road making
in the town ; and it was observed that all carrying of
stone, mortar, or other material, was performed by
Cashmere or Nepal girls and women, who carry bas-
kets of stone on their backs heavy enough to stagger
an average American laborer. But these women,
under such harsh usage, must become prematurely
old.
After considerable hill climbing and exploration ol
THE FLORA OF THE MOUNTAINS. 185
the vicinity we started on our return to Calcutta, and
having become acquainted with the grandeur of the
scenery as a whole, were better prepared for closer
observation in detail. It was all the way down hill
now, and our spirited little engine, like a horse under
similar circumstances, had more use for the breeching
than the traces. However, the speed was a very
lively one, and to the uninitiated appeared almost
reckless. The pure white magnolia was found to be
abundant on the mountain, blooming profusely at
over seven thousand feet above the plains. Amid
many other flowering trees, unknown to us, the mag-
nolia was most prominent. The wild and abundant
growth of the rhododendrons, which here become a
forest tree, mingled with a handsome species of cedar,
which rose in dark and stately groups, was a marked
feature of the woods. The general luxuriance of
the vegetation was conspicuous, thickly clothing the
branches of the trees with mosses, ferns, and flowering
creepers or orchids. Here we saw for the first time
the cotton-tree, with red blossom, and wliich yields
a coarse material for native use. A species of lotus
was seen, called here '* The Queen of the Forest." It
belongs to the magnolia family, and the leaves are
used by the common people in place of tea. Many
bright and exquisitely delicate ferns sprang up among
the undergi-Qwth and about the watering stations.
Brilliant little butterflies floated in the sunshine
everywhere, and contrasted with the repulsive whip-
snakes lianging here and there from the branches of
the trees. Veoetable and animal life seemed sincru-
larly abundant in these hills, so far above the plains
of Hindostan towards which we were hastening.
The language of the masses is rather mixed, being
186 DUE WEST.
composed of Bengali, Hindi, and Nepalese, though
English is almost universally understood, even by
the liumbler classes. We found a very comfortable
hotel at Darjeeling, but discovered that the Hindoo
milkman knows the trick of judiciously watering liis
merchandise. The fruits upon the table were ba-
nanas, pine-apples, guavas, and oranges. Wild -ani-
mals are abundant in the hills, including the much-
dreaded tiger, which does not confine his operations to
the plains. At one of the stations on the mountain
railroad, Avhere we stopped for refreshments, a story
of the most tragic character was told us of tw^o chil-
dren carried off and eaten by tigers the previous
night. The demoralized condition of one of the poor
families bore witness to the truth of the report. We
listened to the very harrowing detail of the event,
but will not weary tlie reader with it. The half-
howl, half -bark of the jackals at night frequently
awoke us. They carry off young kids in these re-
gions, and do not hesitate to attack small dogs, but
keep a wholesome distance from human beings.
One day and night upon the route — there are no
sleeping-cars, so we did without them — brought us
back to Calcutta, extremely gratified with our ex-
cursion to the Himalayas, and more than ever im-
pressed with the distinctive character of each new
locality. There are no two rivers alike, no two
mountain ranges precisely similar, no two races of
people that quite resemble each other. There is al-
ways some marked distinction to fix the new ex-
perience on the mind. Were this not the case, con-
fusion would be the natural result of ten months of
such varied travel as these notes are designed to
record.
CHAPTER VII.
From Calcutta to Benares. — Miles of Poppy Fields. — Ruined Tem-
ples.— The Mecca of Hindostan. — Bauks of the Sacred Ganges.
— Idolatry at its Height. — Monkey Temple. — The Famous River
Front of the Holy City. — Fanaticism. — Cremating the Dead —
A Pestilential City. — Visit to a Native Palace. — From Benares
to Cawnpore. — A Beautiful Statue. — English Rule in India. —
Delhi. — The Mogul Dynasty. — Lahore. — Umritsar. — Agra. —
The Taj Mahal. — Royal Palace and Fort. — The Famous Pearl
Mosque.
Calcutta is not a city calculated to detain the
traveler more than four days, so we promptly got
our bacr^aore too-ether to start for the next obiective
point, which was Benares, the holy city of the Hin-
doos, to reach wdiich five hundred miles of central
India must be traversed by rail. The route, how-
ever, lay through an extremely interesting region of
country, where, notwithstanding it was still Janu-
ar}', everything was green, and both planting and
harvesting were iu progress. The people appeared to
be wretchedly poor, living in the most primitive mud
cabins thatched with straw. Such squalor and pov-
erty could be found nowhere else outside of Ireland,
and yet we were passing through a famous agricul-
tural district, which ought to support thrifty farm-
houses and smiling villages. It abounded in rice,
wheat, sugar - cane, and vast poppy fields, — treach-
erously beautiful, — from which the opium of com-
merce is derived. The presence of such abundance
made the contrast in the condition of the peasantry
a,ll the more ])uzzling.
188 DUE WEST.
This part of India has ever been noted for the ex-
cellence and prolific yield of its sugar crops. From
here, also, indigr) and saltpetre are exported in large
quantities. No tea-gardens were seen, — these were
left behind in the hills, — nor had we met with coffee
plantations since leaving Ceylon. All along the route
we saw fruit trees in considerable variety, of such as
are indigenous to central India; among these were
recognized tlie lofty and handsome tamarinds, al-
monds, mangoes, oranges, and limes, interspersed
Avith which was the graceful palm, laden with cocoa-
nuts, and other products of the palm family. Tem-
ples centuries in age and in utter ruin came into
view now and again, as they had done in the south,
between Tuticorin and Madras, and here, as there,
they were frequently adjacent to a cluster of low mud
hovels. From the branches of the trees flitted birds
of such fantastic shapes and plumage as to cause ex-
clamations of surprise. Occasional specimens of the
bird of paradise were seen, Avith its long and grace-
ful tail-feathers glistening in the sun, presenting an
array of bright colors never seen in confinement.
The tall flamingos, in their bridal plumage, just
touched with scarlet on either wing, like soldiers'
epaulets, floated along the shores of the numerous
ponds, scarcely clearing the ground, or they stood
lazily by the bank upon one awkward leg. Parrots
glanced across the vision in the bright noontide, in
carnival costume ; and buff-colored doves, with white
rings about their necks, coquetted lovingly in cou-
ples. Of song birds there were but few, though the
clear notes of the little Indian thrush now and then
fell pleasantly on the ear.
As we progressed on oui- way, we picked up here
OPPOSITION TO RAILROADS. 189
and there, at various stations, third cLiss passengers
in considerable numbers, consisting oftentimes of
whole families, in singular variety of dress, ''undress,'*
and rags, bound for Benares. They were packed
in the rude cars devoted to that class, like cattle,
and there they slept and ate upon the rough pine
boarding. The roads of India carry these devout
people at a most trifling charge, aggregating but
about a half penny per mile. And yet we were told
that it paid the companies very well, besides making
good friends of the natives, who were originally op-
posed to the laying of railroad tracks ; indeed, so bit-
ter and superstitious were they, that for a long time
it was necessary to guard the track by a military
force, especially in these very districts of central
India. It was amusing to watch tlie expression upon
the countenances of some of these pilgrinis, who stood
on the platform of the depot, watching the hissing
steam as it came from the engine. In their intense
ignorance and superstition they believe that it con-
tains a " fire-devil," and that it is bribed to do tlie
required work of transportation by frequent drinks
of water at the various stations ! It was difficult for
the more intelligent to suppress their prejudices
against the introduction of the railroad into India
when it was first begun ; but the ignorant, supersti-
tious masses are still believers in the supernatural
character of the iron horse. No amount of explana-
tion can disabuse their minds of the impression ; they
only shake their heads ; but getting into the third
class compartments avail themselves of the facilities
all the same, even when bent, as they all are who
travel, upon some devout pilgrimage.
Benares, the first large city on th' united Ganges
190 DUE WEST.
and Jumna, may be called the citadel of Hindooism,
containing about one hundred and fifty thousand
fixed inhabitants, and nearly as many more of floating
population, composed of pilgrims, constantly coming
and going. What Jerusalem is to the Jew, Rome
to the Latin, Mecca to the Mohammedan, Benares is
to the Hindoo. It is supposed by many to be the old-
est known habitation of man in the world. Twenty-
five centuries ago when Rome was unknown and
Athens was in its j^outh, Benares was already famous.
It is supported by the influx of rich and poor pil-
grims from all parts of the country, whose presence
gives its local trade an impetus, at certain seasons
of great amount, and more or less at all times. The
city is situated on the left bank of the sacred Ganges,
to bathe in which insures to the devout Hindoo for-
giveness of all sins, and an easy passport to the regions
of the blessed. In entering the ancient capital we
crossed the Ganges on a bridge of boats very similar
to that at Cologne on the Rhine. As we drove
through the streets troops of pilgrims, pitiable to be-
hold, foot-sore and weary, were met coming from the
Punjab a thousand miles away, simply to bow down
before the local idols and to dip their bodies in the
holy river. Faith must be very vigorous in these
uneducated creatures to induce such sacrifice to ful-
fill its requirements ; like superstition elsewhere, it is
ever strongest in the ignorant.
These pilgrims are not all beggars or in rags. Xow
and then a gaudily dressed rajah may be seen, with
a long line of attendants, wending his steps towards
the river's front. Infirm old men and little children,
crazy looking fakirs and comely 3'ouths, boys and
girls, people of all ages and bolh sexes, were repre-
MONKEY WORSHIPERS. 191
sented in the motley groups who went for moral pu-
rification to these muddy waters. Tliere is a singu-
lar mingling of races also, for these people do not by
any means speak one tongue. They are from the ex-
treme north and the extreme south of India, while the
half- starved vagrants of central India could not make
themselves understood by either. A common purpose
moves them, but they cannot express themselves in a
common language. Pilgrims are here from Tibet and
Cashmere, the far-off Himalayan country as well as
from Tuticorin on the Indian Ocean. Numberless
idols and symbols of the most vulgar and loathsome
character abound all over the town, and along the
river's front, before which men and women bow down
in silent devotion. Idolatry is but the synonym of
impurity, and is here seen in its most repulsive form.
The delusion, however, is perfect, and these poor
creatures are, beyond a doubt, terribly in earnest.
The people grovel in this idolatrous spirit, animals
forming the principal subjects of worship, — such as
bulls, snakes, monkeys, and pigeons. One of the pe-
culiar temples of the city is devoted solely to the wor-
ship of monkeys, where hundreds of these mischievous
animals find a luxurious home, no one ever interfer-
ing with their whims, except to feed and to pet them.
This temple contains a singular altar, before which
devotional rites are performed by believing visitors,
who also bring food offerings for the monkeys. One
of the animals during our visit was misbehaving him-
self, considering that he was a veritable god : rolling,
tossing about, and holding on to his stomach with both
paws, while he cast his eyes in an agonized manner
upwards, and howled dolefully. In plain English his
godship had eaten too many bon-bons and sweet-
192 DUE WEST.
meats, and was paying the penalt}^ from which even
sacred monkeys are not exempt. Another, evidently
the mother of twins, ran about with one under each
arm, now and then stopping at convenient pLaces to
nurse them after a fashion kidicrously human. Ad-
joinnig the temple is a large water tank in which the
monkeys are fond of bathing, their pranks in tlie
water affording much amusement.
It is difficult to realize the mental degradation of
a people controlled by a frame of mind leading them
to worship these creatures ; and it is equally ludicrous
to recall the fact, in this connection, that the Japa-
nese eat them. The hollow trunk of a venerable tam-
arind-tree was shown where all the baby monkeys are
born. About the doors of this temple sat women
with baskets of yellow marigold blossoms, to sell to
native visitors for decorating purposes at the altar.
Great use is made of this flower, which seems to be
raised in large quantities for this object. Once or
twice we saw these women sell a handful for a half-
penny ; but it must be a sorry trade whereby to earn
a living. Pigeons swarm in and about Benares enjoy-
ing a superstitious veneration and protection ; while
sacred bulls obstruct the passages, and the narrow,
nauseous, over-crowded streets, rendering them too
lilthy for foot passage. Everything appears to be in
a state of chronic decay ; and as the city flourished
twelve hundred years before Christ, — indeed may be
said to have been at the zenith of its glory at that
period, — it is not surprising that it should be in a
tumble-down condition in our day. This very dilap-
idation, however, renders the river front one of the
most picturesque sights imaginable. Being a British
possession, there is a European quarter of the town,
THE SACRED RIVER. 193
quite modern in aspect, ornamented with large and
fine public structures, churches, post-office, and gov-
ernment buildings, besides some charming private res-
idences or bungalows. But the native portion, always
crowded with sacred animals, beggars, curs, and filth
of every sort, seemed a very hot-bed for pestilence. In
most of the native huts the light of the sun can never
penetrate, and compared to them underground dun-
geons would be desirable residences. Our local guide
told us there were over two thousand public temples
and shrines in Benares, and he might have added in
every stage of dirt, decomposition, and ruin. The
sights to be witnessed in them were most repulsive,
and yet there were some sincere votaries there. There
were rogues also, a fact proven by the circumstance
that the guide, native and resident here, had his
pocket picked before the altar while explaining mat-
ters to our party.
As a fine characteristic view of the city is to be
obtained from the river front, a boat was taken, with
half a dozen oarsmen, to pull along the ghats, or
flights of broad stone steps, descending to the river
from the shattered old palaces, prostrate temples, and
half-sunken quays, which extend in a continuous line
for more than two miles along the Ganges. Here
hundreds, nay thousands of people of both sexes and
of all conditions, are to be seen at an}^ hour of the day
dipping and washing in the sacred waters ; which
ceremony to them is tangible prayer. Here was a
small group gathered about a delicate invalid, who
lay upon a litter, brought to the spot that she might
be bathed in these waters, which it was hoped would
make her whole. Here still another collection sur-
rounded the fading and flickering lamp of life that
13
194 DUE WEST.
burned dimly in the breast of age, come to die by the
healing river. And close at hand, beneath that sheet,
\vas the cold clay of one already departed, now to be
consumed upon the funeral pyre and his ashes cast into
the Ganges. What a picture of life and death, what
a practical comment upon ]joor humanity I On these
ghats the Hindoos pass their happiest hours, notwith-
standing these sad episodes ; couiing from the con-
fined, dirty, unwholesome streets in which they sleep
and eat, to pray and bathe, as well as to breathe the
fresh air and to bask in the sun. The hideous fakirs
make their fixed lodging-places here, living entirely
in the open air, in all their revolting personal de-
formity, diseased and filthy. Their distorted limbs
fixed in every conceivable attitude of penance, their
faces besmeared with white clay, and their long hair
matted and clotted with dirt. There are pious fools
enough to kneel before them, and to give them food
and money, by which they are supported in their
crazy self-immolation.
It was observed that some of the women took into
the river with them short garlands of yellow and
white flowers, which they seemed to count over like a
Roman Catholic kneeling with her beads, and finally
to break them in pieces and cast them upon the sur-
face of the river, watching them borne away upon the
tide. Each one was provided also with a small brass
jar in which to carry away a portion of the sacred wa-
ter, after having completed their baths, and washed
their clothes therein. The people have no hesitation
in drinking this water in which so many have bathed,
nor in carrjdng it home for cooking purposes. Yet
they must have, like ourselves, seen the ashes of the
cremat'.'d corpses cast into it, and have observed the
LEGITIMATE BUSINESS OF BENARES. 195
frequent dead bodies floating therein. One would
think a single glance at the yellow, filthy hue of the
water would be sufficient to debar its use ; but the
yei-y name of the Ganges sanctifies everything with
these mentally blind creatures. Sometimes, though
this is not a frequent occurrence, a crocodile takes
awa}^ a bather; but such persons are rather envied
than regretted, since to die in those waters is in
their estimation simply to be at once wafted to the
elysian fields of paradise.
All this fanaticism, mad zeal, and credulous idol-
atry could not alune sustain and support a city like
Benares, though it attracts millions of pilgrims an-
nually. There must be some reasonable nucleus
to form about, some occupation and industry with
the semblance of common sense, something besides
priestly art and cunning. Therefore, looking about
us we find in her bazars the skilled product of real
artisans, in the form of brass ware of such admirable
iinish as to monopolize the markets of the world in
this line. And again, there is produced in her dark
alleys and dirty lanes an article of silver gilt em-
broidery of unequaled excellence. Specimens of these
remarkable local products are sure to be brought
away by appreciative travelers, while the local de-
mand from rich natives is very large in the aggre-
gate. So there are many homes in this strange, idol-
atrous, dirty, Indian Mecca, which are supported,
after all, by legitimate industry.
A bird's-eye view of the city and its environs was
enjoyed by ascending to the top of the lofty minaret
crowning the great iMosque of Aurungzebe, so high,
Ihat not a street or roadway coidd be detected by the
^ye in all the densely populated city. The town be-
196 DUE WEST.
low appeared like one dense mass of houses, recalling
the view of Milan from the pinnacle of its famous
cathedral ; but the streets of Benares are so narrow
that it is hardly surprising to find them undistin-
guishable from so great a height. The palace of the
Maharajah of Vizianagram was also visited, a well-
appointed and elegant residence, where were to be seen
some fine engravings upon the walls, representing
American historical scenes, and especially an admira-
ble portrait of Washington. An ancient observatory
was of more than ordinary interest to us, erected by
a famous Hindoo patron of science, Rajah Manu.
Though now quite neglected and in partial ruins, a
sun-dial, a zodiac, meridian line, and astronomical ap-
pliances are still distinctl}^ traced upon heavy stones,
arranged for celestial obsei'vations. This proves that
astronomy was well advanced at Benares hundreds of
years before Galileo was born, and it will be remem-
bered that the astronomers of India first settled the
fact of the rotation of the earth. The Man-Mundil,
as this observatory is called, forms a most important
historic link between the days of the Pharaohs and
the nineteenth century.
Here, as in many other Eastern cities, we found
men, women, and children lying down and sleeping
in the streets and on the roadways, wherever fatigue
overcame them, — all places were the same to them,
vast numbers knowing no other home than the ground
upon which they stood. And here, as in Calcutta,
we saw the bodies of the dead being cremated in pub-
lic, in the open air, along the river's bank, the pyres
being prepared as already described. On one of the
bodies brought to the funereal pile, covered with a
plain sheet, it was observed that Qowers had been
INFANTICIDE AT THE GANGES. 197
strewn, and pale, white rose-buds were in the folded
hands. It was the body of a young girl, thus decked
by loving hands for her bridal of death, a token of
affection and tenderness no one could fail to respect.
Five or six women followed, with downcast eyes, the
four men who bore the body upon a stretcher, the
sad and simple cortege of one who had doubtless been
well beloved, " too early fitted for a better state."
Something held us riveted to the spot, though we
knew very well what must follow. After a few mo-
ments the red, scorching flames wound themselves
gluttonously about that youthful figure, as though
reveling in tlieir victim, and quickly all was black-
ness and smouldering ashes.
To such extremes do the pilgrims who visit Bena-
res often carry their religious fanaticism, that it has
been found necessary by the English government to
organize a police system to prevent their deliberately
drowning themselves in the sacred waters, actuated
by a firm belief that their souls will be at once wafted
to paradise. Women are especially prone to the
crime of infanticide, imagining that they can do noth-
ing better for their female children than to intrust
them to tlie bosom of the Ganges, which will bear
them safely to the ocean of eternity. Poor crea-
tures ! From their stand-point of poverty, with its
endless deprivjitions and hardships, and the hopeless
condition of their sex in the East, who can be sur-
prised at the conclusion they adopt ?
Jackals are the night scavengers of Indian cities,
and no sooner have the inhabitants retired to rest
than their hideous half-bark, half-wailing notes jar
upon the ear. Even in Calcutta, a large and popu-
lous city, one is not exempt from their bowlings, but
198 DUE WEST.
in Benares they are a recognized institution, and are
molested by no one. These creatures voraciously gob-
ble up everything tliat is left exposed, good or bad,
— vermin, decayed food, offal, every refuse, — thus
rendering a certain necessary service in a climate s(.
hot as that of India. The natives are not permitted
to keep any sort of firearms, so they could not vslioof
the jackals if they desired to do so ; }>ut animal life
is held sacred by them, and no native will spill blood
except in self-defense. They seem to have no ciav-
ing for animal food, supporting their bodies almost
entirely upon rice. It may also be that a fellow feel-
ing makes them kind, for they live, eat, and sleep
more like wild animals than like human beings, un-
housed and unclothed. The degraded condition of
eight tenths of the population of India is almost
incredible. Slaves to ignorance, slaves to idolatry,
the}^ are also political slaves ; nor is there, so far as
we can see, any better prospect for them in the near
future.
Cawnpore is situated on the Ganges, about two
hundred and twenty miles west of Benares, and was
reached by cars over the Oude and Rohilkund Rail-
way, the characteristics of the route being very sim-
ilar to that fr )m Calcutta to Benares. Almost the
sole interest of this locality to the tourist is created
by its connection with the mutin}^ of 1857, and the
several fine monuments which commemorate the
prominent features of that event. It is true that the
interest in scenes where great crimes have been per-
petrated is, more or less, of a morbid character. Mr.
Lee, who was a subordinate officer in the English
army at that memorable period, now owns and keeps,
with his famil}', the principal hotel, acting a'.so as ixn
THE INDIAN MUTINY. 199
efficient guide to visiting parties. He points out the
various places of special interest, giving vivid and elo-
quent descriptions of the sad events, in which he was
himself an actor. There is something very impressive
in Marochetti's noble monument over the spot which
was, at the time of the mutiny, a capacious well, and
into which the women and children of the English
prisoners, living and dead, were cast, by order of that
inhuman wretch, Nana Sahib. It forms a beautiful
white marble figure of an angel, with folded wings
and palm-laden hands, the eyes cast downward upon
the now covered well. The ground surrounding the
spot is inclosed by an iron rail, and beautified with
lovely flowers, carefuU}^ tended. Already familiar
with the detail of the tragic deeds enacted in this
place, the locality was necessarily impressive, and
notably that of the Suttee-chowra Ghat, where the
final scene of the Cawnpore massacre took place.
It was a sombre, cloudy day, and some rain fell
while we were driving about the extensive grounds
of the English cantonment. The influence of the
sad story which these monuments commemorate, the
funereal aspect of the spot, tlie gloomy, leaden, weep-
ing sky above us, all served to heighten the effect of
the dark stor^^ of crime and blood which our guide
rehearsed to us. In its palmy days, before the mu-
tiny, two cavalry regiments and three of infantry
were stationed here. To use the words of Mr. Lee :
"The place was full of officers' wives, children, and
pretty women. Private theatricals were given twice
weekl}^, balls as often, and picnics and dinners con-
stantly." It must have been a round of holidays
which the English residents enjoyed, while they vied
with each other in their mutual hospitalities. Alas!
200 DUE WEST.
what a volcano they were sleeping upon ; and when
it burst and the hidden fire poured forth, what rivers
of blood were shed from the veins of the innocent
and helpless victims !
We refer to events only too well known to the
world, and which do not require any rehearsal in these
pages. A very complete system of barracks is estab-
lished here by the English government, and the thi-ee
arms of the service are fully represented by well or-
ganized European troops. The cantonment extends
some five or six miles along the river, the whole as
level as a billiard-table. The present masters of the
country learned too bitter a lesson from the natives
to ever again trust them with any military power.
Formerly the English army in India was composed of
as man}^ or more, native troops than of those purely
English, and they were drilled and taught in the use
of all arms. Now the native regiments which are
organized are scattered about the country and placed
on outpost duty, or colonial service elsewhere, but
only as infantry; they will not again be intrusted
with artillery. They are looked upon as performing
the police duty of the army rather than as constitut-
ing a regular portion of its active force. Without
actual figures to depend upon, we should say that the
English troops in India to day must aggregate be-
tween forty and fifty thousand of all arms. When
we realize the awful cruelty and blood-thirstiness of
the natives in the rebellion of 1857, their diabolical
and deliberate murder of innocent women and chil-
dren, under the most revolting circumstances, we can-
not look upon them as a people striking for liberty,
or worthy of it, but as a base, degraded, ignorant, and
fanatical race, utterly unfit for self-government. lu
CITY OF DELHI. 201
this light English rule in India is according to the
eternal fitness of things.
One day was sufficient for us to see and understand
the subjects of interest at Cawnpore, and we took
passage by the East Indian Railway for Delhi, a dis-
tance of less than three hundred miles, over a very
level and rather monotonous stretch of country. This
city, which is located on the Jumna, also played a
most important part in the great mutiny, the events
of which are too fresh in the memory of the world to
require special mention ; but aside from these associ-
ations it has many and grand monuments to engage
the attention of the traveler, connecting the ages far
back of the Christian era with to-day, it having been
for centuries the proudest capital of the Mogul Em-
pire. Within a circle of twenty miles about the
present city, one dynasty after another has established
its capital, ruled in splendor, and passed away. In-
stead of occupying the same site, each has founded a
new city, leaving the old to crumble into dust, scat-
tering their debris over the plain, and telling of the
mutability of human temples. All this ground is now
abandoned to an army of foxes, jackals, and owls.
Could this archaeological soil be plowed up, and its
ancient monuments, palaces, tombs, and mosques ex-
humed, like the dwellings of Pompeii, what might
not be revealed of the hidden past ?
One monument which was visited in the environs
has thus far defied the destructive fingers of time:
the Katub Minar stood alone in the midst of ruins,
the loftiest single column in the world, but of which
there is no satisfactory record. It is not inappropri-
ately considered one of the wonders of India, and who-
ever erected it achieved an architectural triumph of
202 DUE WEST.
gracefulness and strengtli. It is built of red stone,
elaborately finished in the form of a minaret, meas-
uring about fifty feet in diameter at the base, and
ten at the top, and is divided into five distinct parts
or stories, one above another, each fitted with ai;
outer gallej-y and adorned with colossal inscriptions in
bold relief. The whole exterior is fluted from the
bottom to the top, narrowing gradually as it ascends,
and affording a good view of the present Delhi,
twelve miles away, while it overlooks that broad re-
gion of dead and buried cities. Though the Katub
Minar has stood for so many centuries, not the least
crack in the masonry can be discovered, either inside
or out. This singular tower, the original purpose of
which can only be conjectured, stands near two courts
of an ancient Hindoo temple, which are suiTounded
by ruins of cloisters. In the middle of the area, be-
tween the two lines of cloisters, stands a tall iri)n
pillar with a Sanskrit inscription signifying so long
as it remains the power of the Hindoos has not de-
parted.
There is a legend which our local guide related to
us, that the Mohammedans tried to destroy this col-
umn by digging it up, but were unable to find the
bottom of it after working many days. They finally
gave up the attempt in superstitious dread, for the
Hindoos declare that it extends down to the earth's
centre. We visited other temples and tombs, but the
Katub Minar rivaled them all in interest. Among
the branches of the trees, as we drove back to Delhi,
we observed both wild monkeys and apes, the latter
species being the first we had seen in India. Many
birds were noticed, and whole flocks of pea -green
paroquets, tiny things with mottled plumage, circled
CASHMERE SHAWLS IN DELHI. LOG
about the trees and chirped incessantly. On inquiry
it was learned that nowhere in all India exists so
much bitterness towards the English rule as is secretly
indulged in here. That the populace should not be
well-disposed towards their present masters is not to
be wondered at ; and if this community were not com-
pletely disarmed, and watchfully kept so, there would
likely occur outbreaks among them of a serious char-
acter. As none but Europeans are permitted to own
firearms, the game hereabouts has greatly multiplied,
and some of the best bird-shooting in India goes beg-
ging on the plains about Delhi. Standing at the door
of our bungalow in the early morning, it was really
wonderful to see the number of crows that flew up
from their roosting-places in the neighboring wood,
and passed overhead dispersing in various directions ;
but they, as well as the jackals, are the permitted
scavengers of the land, and no one thinks of molest-
ing them.
The present city, now in its turn declining, has
been a most gorgeous capital, and has twelve forti-
tified gates in good preservation. Its principal streets
are broad and full of busy life, exhibiting representa-
tives of all the various Asiatic races. Members of
our part}^ wished to purchase a memento of Delhi,
and what was there better suited to the purpose than
those fine hand-woven Cashmere shawls of many firm
but delicate colors, so exquisitely finished ? You do
not find these hundred-guinea articles displayed in
open bazars, but must follow your guide under a
broad archway, up steep, narrow, winding steps into
the dealer's private house and shop combined. A
chair is placed for each visitor, while the proprietor
sits down upon a bit of Turkish carpet, cross-legged.
204 DUE WEST.
A few formal words of welcome pass, then at a sign
an attendant brings out from some mysterious corner
a few shawls. The cunning Hindoo is studying you
with his deep-set lustrous eyes. Not an expression
of your face escapes him. He observes what pleases
you best, and whether you can appreciate quality as
well as looks. More shawls are ordered out from
their cases, perhaps of a better grade, while your cus-
tom is all the while being quietly but shrewdly an-
gled for, as a disciple of Izaak Walton would play
with his game. You are gradually led from one
piece of goods to another ; your guage as to price is
adroitly discoveied ; and finally, with consummate
judgment, a certain article, characterized by fineness,
beauty, and quality, is placed before you. The mo-
ment your eyes rest upon it you are charmed. The
shrewd old merchant has mentally taken your meas-
ure for this myriad-threaded beauty, and you are cap-
tivated. The price is named. '' Too much," say you.
But you are told that this establishment is conducted
on the fixed -price principle; if cheaper goods are
desired, there are those first shown to you. Why
struggle ? You are literally caught, and may as well
surrender. So this exquisite article from far-off
Cashmere is folded up and intrusted to the guide.
The gold is counted, and yon receive a salaam, as you
depart, which might have been accorded to the Queen
of Sheba.
In the broad main thoroughfare of Delhi, — the
Chandni Chowk, — one constantly meets ponderous
elephants, solemn and awkward camels, fine Arabian
horses, and the diminutive toy-like pony of Cashmere.
Daily marriage processions of the most fantastic de-
scription crowd the passage-way, w^ith the animals
A BETROrilAL PROCESSWX. 205
just named, caparisoned in the most gaud}^ and harle-
quin style, accompanied by unskilled musicians, whose
qualifications evidently consist in being able to make
the greatest amount of noise upon a drum, fife, or horn,
which are the three instruments that are employed
on these occasions. Some of the white horses in
these processions are partially painted sky-blue, some
saffron -yellow. In the ranks are covered bullock
carts with peep-holes, in which ride the women of the
harem. Mingled with these are men bearing banners
with Hindoo mottoes and ludicrous characters, half
human and half animal, painted thereon. This was
called a marriage procession, but upon inquiry it was
found to be only a betrothal of children too young to
marry. The boy, bridegroom in embryo, appeared
upon an elephant, and was dressed like a circus-rider;
but the future bride, probably a little girl of six or
eight years, did not appear. She remained at home,
to be called upon by this motley crowd, when a brief
ceremony would take place, presents be exchanged,
and the farce would then be ended.
A visit to the palace of the late King of Delhi was
full of interest, exhibiting evidences of elegance and
splendor almost beyond belief. Here are still to be
seen the remains of that famous Peacock Throne, the
marvel of the world when the Mogul dynasty was at
its zenith, — a throne of solid gold, six feet long and
four feet broad, surmounted by a gold canopy sup-
ported by twelve pillars composed of the same pre-
cious metal. The back of the throne was so made as
to represent a peacock with expanded tail, the natu-
ral colors of which were exactly imitated with rubies,
sapphires, diamonds, and other precious stones, the ag-
gregabnl value of (he whole being over tliirtv millions
206 DUE WEST.
of dollars. And this was not an isolated case, an ex-
ception, but only an example of the lavish expendi-
tures of the Mogul emperors. They used choice stones,
gems, gold, and silver, with precious marbles, in mo-
saic work, as freely as modern rulers employ bricks
and mortar. Their revenues were practically unlim-
ited, and their expenditures were of the same char-
acter. The country was one of the richest in the
world, but the wealth was in the hands of the few,
and the poor were all the poorer in proportion, being
taxed to the extremest possible point, and compelled
to give free labor to all such enterprises, as the rul-
ing power might dictate.
The Grand Mosque at Delhi is one of the best
preserved and most remarkable of her monuments.
It has three domes of noble proportions, a hundred
and fifty feet in height, surrounded by minarets, the
whole structure standing upon an elevated platform
accessible by broad marble steps. It is known as the
Jumna jNIusjid, and is conceded to be the finest of
which Islamism can boast, owing its construction to
that grand builder of tombs, palaces, and mosques,
Shah-Jehan, — the creator of the Taj, that poem in
marble at Agra, the glory and pride of India. The
Jumna Musjid is built principally of red stone, but
is freely inlaid with white marble, and as a whole is
very impressive and Oriental in feeling.
The Hindoos claim for their country even a greater
antiquity than do the Chinese, but there is probably
nothing authentic relating to the early history of
this people prior to the time of Alexander the Great,
say four hundred years before Christ. Of one thing
we are positive, that the reign of the Mogul emper-
ors exceeded in splendor all that the world has ever
PERPETUAL SUMMER. 207
seen outside of Hindostan. Indeed, it was their great
wealth, so lavishly displayed, which first challenged
European cupidity. We have said the Delhi of to-day
is in its turn declining. It has never recovered from
the blow it received a century since, inflicted by Na-
dir Shah, who pillaged the city and carried away, in
gold and precious stones, treasures estimated at over
a hundred million sterling ! Among his prizes on
that occasion was the famous Koh-i-noor diamond,
since " appropriated " by the English ; and which to-
day forms a part of Queen Victoria's crown jewels.
It will not do to analyze too closely by what means
this was brought about. What a romantic history
would the true story of that " Mountain of Light "
prove, could it be honestly written.
Nature does not exhibit the usual dividing lines
in this region as regards the seasons of the years.
Flowers are always in bloom in the open fields and
gardens, trees ever putting forth their leaves, and
perpetual youth is evinced by the entire vegetable
kingdom. No winter, spring, or autumn is known
to the Indian calendar, the year being divided only
into hot, rain}^ and temperate seasons. Though it
was the last of January while we were in Delhi, only
summer clothing was worn ; outside garments were
not thought of, the thermometer ranging about 68°.
Such temperature admits of a series of crops tri-annu-
all}^ if the husbandman chooses thus to time his plant-
ing and harvesting, — which processes indeed appear
to be going on all the year round. The women were
seemingly of rather a coarser type than those we had
lately met, and were found working much in the fields,
as well as performing a large share of the out-door
labor. There is a new canal, with locks, etc., now
208 DUE WEST.
ill course of construction in the environs of Delhi,
where men, women, and boys were seen employed
in about equal numbers, aggregating some hundreds,
carrying dirt and bricks in baskets upon their backs,
as well as digging, shoveling, and performing similar
work. The guide informed us that the men received
as wages twelve cents, the women ten, and the boys
eight cents per day of ten hours. We must, however,
again refer to the fact that the purchasing power of
these sums is much greater than with us, say at least
treble; still they are terribly low wages. Perhaps
there is no better criterion of judgment as to the
true domestic condition of aii}' people, than the cur-
rent value at which a man's labor is estimated. As
to the common class of women in India, kept as all
are in the most absolute subjection and ignorance, a
more hopeless state than theirs cannot be conceived
of. They are divided into two classes, the favored
and the humble. The former are treated as toys, the
latter as slaves.
The last journey from Cawnpore to Delhi was
made by night, so again we were obliged to take the
cars on the Scinde, Punjab, and Delhi road for Lahore
at nine o'clock P. M., crossing the Jumna almost im-
mediately after starting. The distance from Delhi
to Lahore is about three hundred and fifty miles.
Ti-aveling, even by rail, in India is still accomplished
on primitive principles, and mostly in the hours of
the niglit. Such bedding as one indulges in must be
taken along with the other personal baggage. A
pillow and blanket are absolute necessities, and any-
thing beyond these two domestic articles is consid-
ered a luxur3^ With even these slight accompa-
niments and plenty of fatigue, one is apt to fall
''ZAMAZAMAH." 209
asleejD and make the best of it, whether upon the
stone floor of a bungalow or in an upright position
in the oscillating cars. Lahore is the capital of the
Punjab, being one of the most ancient and famous
cities of the country, and was flourishing and popu-
lous at the time of Alexander's invasion. Here are
the headquarters of a large division of British troops,
the I'ed coats besprinkling every street and roadway.
Its history is interwoven with every Mohammedan
dynasty of northern India, having been founded al-
most two thousand years ago.
There is a museum of special local interest where
are gathered and well classified specimens of the nat-
ural products, industries, native gems, minerals, ani-
mals, and birds throughout the Punjab, well worth a
few hours of examination and study. Opposite the
museum building there was observed, in the centre
of an open plot of ground, a large, long cannon
mounted, and of Indian manufacture, over a century
in nge. It was used by Ahmed Shah in the battle
of Paniput and is famous among the populace by
the name of '' Zamazamah." There are also mosques,
mausoleums, and forts to be visited, all attractive,
with some curious ruins of old palaces and Hindoo
temples, to all of which we paid clue attention, but
a detailed account of which would hardly interest
the general reader. In the better part of the town
the streets are broad and lined by two-story houses —
a style not very common in India. From the orna-
mental balconies, and projecting windows framed in
lattice - work, the women of the harems looked out
upon us, Avitli their -faces partially covered, but yet
taking care to exhibit a profusion of jewelr^^ having
three or four large loops of gold in each ear, as well
14
210 DUE WEST,
as nose-rings, outdoing in glitter their sisters of Pe-
nang.
The few women to be met with in the streets had
their bare feet thrust into the tiniest of pink kid
slippers, far too small for them, their ankles covered
witli broad gold rings, five or six deep, coming up to
the calf. Their bare arms showed the wrists covered
with bracelets of gold and silver alternately^ nearly
to the elbow ; and above the elbow was a bi-oad gold
band. Some of them were so covered with rings,
bracelets, bangles, and necklaces as to amount to itin-
erant jeweh-y bazars. The etiquette of these women,
some of whom were scarcely out of their teens, ap-
peared to be, in the first place, to cover the face above
tlie chin, except the eyes, and then to expose as much
of their bodies as could effectively bear jewelr\', in-
cluding necklaces of either imitation or real stones
hanging down over the bosom. Add to the whole
a reckless disregard for natural delicacy, and you
have a Lahore belle of to-day as she appears on the
street. We saw nowhere else in India such freedom
and publicity permitted to inmates of the harem.
Girls are frequently married here at twelve years, and
tlie number of wives a man may possess, in any part
of India, is only limited by his purse.
Elephants of greater size than the famous Jumbo,
and also camels, enter into common, every-day use
here as do donkeys and horses in European cities ; but
such horses as one sees at Lahore are generally very
fine creatures, of the true Arab breed, with faces al-
most human in intelligence. These animals are at the
same time high-spirited and gentle, with forms that
are the very ideal of equine gi'ace and beauty. Round
bodies, arching necks, small heads and limbs, large
LAHORE. 211
•
eyes and nostrils, with full mane and tail. Lahore
is a place of more than usual interest to the traveler,
as exhibiting much of the peculiar and inner life of
India. We were particularly attracted by public
and, private flower-gardens, fruit orchards, and orna-
mental trees, disposed in such an excellent manner
as to give the general effect of a finely and naturally-
wooded country ; and yet we were told that before
tlie English took possession and built up the Euro-
pean quarter, Lahore was only a city surrounded by
sterile fields, and absolutely Avithout a tree, orna-
mental or otherwise, within its extended borders.
The orchards and gardens referred to are those of
European residents. Among the exotics we observed
the Australian gum-tree and the Chinese tallow-tree,
large and thrifty in both instances. Lahore was also
the only place in Lidia where we saw mulberry-tree
orchards. Like Delhi, the city presents many evi-
dences of its former splendor, with ruins still archi-
tecturally grand and beautiful, though rapidly moul-
dering to dust.
We heard of excellent educational results growing
out of missionary efforts at Lahore, and it is really
in this direction that the most good will be accom-
plished. As regards religious converts, they are few
nnd far between, and of very little account when
apparently made ; but in cultivating the intelligence
of the people, a great and good work is being per-
formed, one which must eventually shake the fabric
of heathen mythology to its very centre. An idola-
trous people must come from the ranks of ignorance,
— from a priest-ridden race. When the Hindoo is
capable of thinking and reasoning for himself, he no
longer believes in the idol-gods of his fathers. The
212 DUE WEST.
preaching of this or that special faith is of little
avail, and to us seems to be the least of all mission-
ary work. The true object is comprised in the sin-
gle effort of enlightenment. Education is the great
Christianizer for India. People of culture will not
bow down before graven images, nor worship bulls
and monkeys.
Umritsar, the sacred city of the Sikhs, our next
stopping-place, is less than forty miles from Lahore,
and is a walled city of nearly two hundred thousand
inhabitants, composed mostly '>f Sikhs, Hindoos, Mo-
hammedans, and Cashmiris. The pi'incipal attraction
of the city to strangers is the famous Golden Temple,
so called because the cupola is covered with a thin
layer of the precious metal, having the same effect as
that of the dome of the Invalides at Paris, or that of
the Boston State House. Five hundred priests are
attached to this temple, and are constantly perform-
ing ceremonies, which, to an uninitiated person, seem
like utter nonsense, and want of purpose. By the
side of the temple is a very large tank covering three
acres or more of ground, supplied by neighboring
springs ; and though it is constantly bathed in by
thousands of pilgrims, and has no visible outlet, was
still clear and sweet, which fact the natives attribute
to some miraculous intervention. This lake is called
Amrita Saras, or the Fountain of Immortality, hence
the name of the city. There are other mosques and
public gardens of interest, and the traveler should not
forget to visit one or more of the shawl manufacto-
ries, where the famous Indian article is woven by
hand in a most primitive loom worked by two per-
sons. Another specialty is the manufacture of per-
forated ivory goods, which are brought to great per-
fection and are in quick demand for foreign markets.
AN ACCIDENT, 213
As we passed through an open square near the
Golden Temple a dry goods auction was in progress,
for the disposal of under-clothing, which seemed like
sending warming-pans to the West Indies, since no
native weare such articles. A Jew was the auctioneer,
and was evidently selling at very low prices to get
rid of the goods, for the poor people purchased and
handed them about as curiosities. The scene oc-
curred on the high stone steps leading up to a temple,
and among the crowd a little girl of four or five years
was thrown down the steps, cutting a- severe gash on
her forehead. With the usual dullness of ignorance,
a crowd gathered about the now insensible child,
frightened at the sight of blood, while the mother
stood inert, where the child lay upon the ground, her
own agonized features and clasped hands forming a
picture of despair. No experienced traveler will be
without sticking-plaster, and for us to pick up the
child, wash out the wound, draw the lips carefully
together and secure them, binding up the bruised
head in a handkerchief, was the work of only a few
moments. We were amply compensated by the re-
viving smile of the little sufferer; but it was impos-
sible to prevent the grateful mother from lying prone
upon the ground and kissing our feet.
From Umritsar to Agra is four hundred and fifty
miles. One night and day of uninterrupted travel
brought us to its interesting borders, where we found
a large and well-conducted hotel — one of the best we
had chanced upon in the country. This journey was
through the plains of middle India, and afforded
some attractive and quite varied scenery, including
large sugar plantations in full stalk, thrifty mango
groves, tall palm-trees, orange-trees with their golden
214 DUE WEST.
fruit, and far -reaching, graceful fields of waving
grain, mingled with thrifty patches of the castor bean.
These objects were interspersed with groups of cattle
and goats tended by herdsmen, wlio often stood lean-
ing on long poles in picturesque attitudes, wrapped
about in flowing, sheet-like robes of white cotton, re-
lieved by a scarlet belt and yellow turban. These
men and their surroundings formed just such figures
as a painter w^ould delight to throw into a picture,
with the animals feeding in the background. Now
and again a group of minarets, with a central dome,
would come into view on the horizon, breaking the
deep blue of the sky wdth their dark shadows ; or a
ruined temple w^as seen close at hand, charred and
crumbled by the wear of the elements for centuries.
India abounds in these forsaken and half-decayed
shrines, once, no doubt, centres of busy life and re-
ligious ceremonials. Tall cranes, pelicans, ibises, and
other large water-birds rose occasionally from the
ponds, and fanned themselves slowly away. On por-
tions of the road the telegraph wdres, running paral-
lel witli the track, were covered with tiny birds of
indigo-blue, decked with long slim tail-feathers. As
we passed, they would rise in clouds, circle about for
a moment, and again settle upon the wires where
they had been roosting. Little clusters of rice-birds,
scarcely larger than butterflies, floated like colored
vapor over the fields, glistening in the warm sun-
light. Wild peacocks w^ere seen feeding near the
rails, but not in populous districts. In the early gray
of the morning, more than once on the lonely plains,
a tall, gaunt wolf was observed coolly watching the
passing train, or loping swiftly away. Camels were
seen in long strings, with their loads protruding on
CITY OF AGRA. 215
either side, slowly moving over the country roads ;
while an occasional elephant, with half a dozen peo-
ple upon its capacious back, served to vary the ever-
changing panorama.
Our course was nearly due south, so that we felt
an increased rise in the temperature from hour to
hour. As before remarked, it was a surprise to see
how many of the poor people availed themselves of
the railroad. The third class cars were thronged
with them going to Benares, or some other holy place,
on religious pilgrimages ; which, indeed, appears to
be the one absorbing idea of their lives. It was not
unusual to see two hundred of these pilgrims, com-
posed of both sexes and of all ages, enter the cars
from some small station. Though these people wear
the scantiest of clothing, yet they affect strong con-
trasts in colors, which will give picturesqueness even
to rags. The third class cars of an Indian railroad are
little better than our cattle cars in America ; and
these natives were hustled into them and locked up,
much after the style of loading live stock in Illinois.
Agra, wdiich, like Delhi, stands not on the Ganges,
but on its great tributary, the Jumna, is an impor-
tant city, fully as populous as Lahore ; and though
its history is rather vague, still there are tangible evi-
dences carrying it back more than a thousand years,
while some authorities claim for it a much greater
antiquity. Its modern history is interwoven with
the great mutiny, and our local guide wearied us by
expatiating volubly upon the subject. To all who
come hither, the first great object of interest will be
the Taj Mahal, or tomb of the wife of Emperor
Shah-Jehan, the most interesting building in India,
and perhaps the most beautiful in the world. A tomb
216 DUE WEST.
in this countr}^ means a magnificent structure of mar-
ble, with domes and minarets, the walls inlaid with
precious stones, and the whole surrounded by gar-
dens, fountains, and artificial lakes, covering from ten
to twenty acres. Cheap as labor is in India, the Taj
must have cost some fifteen millions of dollars, and
was seventeen years in building. The ]\Iogul Em-
peror resolved to erect the most superb monument
ever reared to commemorate a woman's name, and
he certainly succeeded, for in his effort Mohammedan
architecture reached its acme. The mausoleum is
situated in a spacious garden, the equal of which can
hardly be found elsewhere, beautiful to the eye, and
delightful to the senses with fragrant flowers, exotic
and indigenous, of every hue, and in endless vari-
ety, embracing acres of roses, " each cup a pulpit,
every leaf a book." These are softly shaded by
trees scarcely less beautiful than themselves. The
whole scene is reflected in lakes of clearest water,
from which scores of fountains throw up pearly
jets in the dazzling sunshine the livelong day and
through the still watches of the night. This grand
structure, with the ripeness of centuries upon it, is
no ruin; there is no neglect in or about the Taj and
its gardens. All is fresh, fragrant, and perfect as at
the hour when it was completed.
The edifice, which is of white marble, a material
retaining its snow-like purity for centuries in this
climate, is embellished with domes, colonnades, tow-
ers, and all the pomp, finish, and lavishness of Eastern
architecture. It stands upon a stone platform of the
same material, from three to four hundred feet square,
to reach the surface of which one ascends about
twenty steps. On the back of this platform runs a
THE GEM OF INDIA, 217
marble balustrade overlooking the Jumna. On each
corner of the terrace is a marble minaret about a
hundred and forty feet in heiglit, of fine proportions,
like four sentinels placed there to guard the mauso-
leum, which forms the centre of the platform. Two
mosques, built of red sandstone, stand between these
minarets, one on the east and one on the west side.
The height of the Taj from the base to the top of
the dome must be very nearly or quite three hundred
feet. The principal dome in itself is eighty feet high,
and of such exquisite form and harmony is the whole,
that it seems almost to float in the atmosphere.
Agate, sapphire, jasper, and other precious stones are
wrought into flowers, and inlaid upon the polished
marble, the work having employed the best artists for
years. In the centre of the edifice, beneath the glo-
rious dome, are two sarcophagi covering the resting-
place of the emperor and his wife, whose bodies are
in the vault below\ How appropriate the inscription
at the threshold : '' To the ^Memory of an Undying
Love." On the surrounding grounds are the fragrant
blossoms of nature ; within are flower - wreaths of
mosaic blooming in jasper, carnelian, and lapis-lazuli,
fresh and bright as when they came from the artist's
hand centuries ago. As we stood beneath the arched
roof of the cupola, beside the pure white tombs of
glistening marble, a verse from Longfellow's " Psalm
of Life" was repeated in a low tone of voice. In-
stantly there rolled through the dimly-lighted vault
above a soft and solemn repetition, which sounded as
though voices were repeating the psalm in the skies,
with such music and pathos as to dim our eyes with
tears. The delicate echo beneath the dome of the
Taj, just above where sleep the royal ashes, is one of
its most remarkable and thrilling mysteries.
218 DUE WEST.
This superb exposition of architectural perfection
was visited first in the glow of sunrise, again in the
golden haze of sunset, and once under the fiery bhize
of midday. It is only beneath an intensely blue
sky that one can realize the full and exquisite effect
of pure white rnarble. Nothing finer or more lovely
in architecture exists than this faultless monument,
this ideal of Saracenic art, in all its rich harmony,
erected by an Indian emperor to the memory of his
favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, which signifies the
" Chosen of the Palace." The Taj leaves an un-
dying impression of beauty on all beholders, and
certainly in this instance beauty outvalues utility.
Shakespeare might well have written of sermons in
stones had he seen the Taj. The marble and red
sandstone came from Rajpootana, the diamonds and
jaspers from the Punjab, the carnelians and agates
from Tibet, the corals from Arabia, the sapphires and
other precious stones from Ceylon, and the genius
that combined them all came from Heaven. Mad-
ame de Stael never saw this gem of India, and yet
she said that architecture was frozen music. Emer-
son would have called it a blossoming in stone.
The Palace of Akbar is within the famous fort of
Agra, a couple of miles from the Taj, the other side
of the Jumna, a structure of such magnitude as to
form almost a city within itself, measuring two miles
around its walls. These walls, over fifty feet in
height, are of red sandstone, with towers at intervals,
and a deep moat. It is situated on tlie banks of the
river, with which its vaults have an underground com-
munication. We were shown one dark and gloomy
cellar far below the level of the fort, known as the
execution room, where the criminals, condemned in
THE GROTTO OF GLASS. 219
the Judgment Hall above, received their punishment.
The headsman's block was still there, and certain
dark stains were pointed out to us by means of the
candle carried by the guide, which told their own
story. In the centre of this dreary vault was a well
whose water was level with the river, into which it
opened some twenty feet from the surface, and into
which the decapitated bodies of the criminals were
cast and left to float away with the ebb and flow of
the Jumna's tide. The bed of the river showed that
at certain seasons it must be at least half a mile in
width, but it was a meagre stream when we crossed
it that bright and sunny February day.
The royal apartments within the palace are being
restored at present, and many skilled workmen were
busy upon the frescoes, inlaid stone work, and deli-
cate marble ornamentations, while we were there.
The Grotto of Glass, as the principal bath - room
designed for the use of the harem is called, was a
curious and luxurious marble room, with inviting
pure white marble tanks large enough to swim in,
and surrounded by tiny glass mirrors let into the
walls at such angles as to reflect a figure myriads of
times, quite distracting to look upon. All depart-
ments of this remarkable royal residence are ex-
quisitely finished, showing no less of refined, artistic
taste, than of lavish expenditure. The courts, cham-
bers, boudoirs, fountains, pavilions, reception halls,
throne room, all are of marble and mosaic, with beau-
tiful inlaid work everywhere. Many of the floors
represented delicate vines and blooming flowers in
precious stones, like the modern Florentine mosaic
work one sees in such perfection wronglit upon tables
at the shops that line the Arno in Florence. The
220 DUE WEST.
Jewel Chamber, and the suite of apartments for-
merly devoted to the use of the harem, were curiously
screened hy a lattice work of white marble, lace-like
in effect, and a cariosity in itself. Delicate carving
could hardly be carried to more minute finish in ala-
baster. The marble niches and pockets, for hold-
ing the jewelry of the fair occupants, were so ar-
ranged that none but a delicate arm could reach the
treasures ; a man's hand and wrist would be too large;
while the stone pockets, being curved at the bottom,
required the long sensitive fingers of the owner's hand
to extract what they contained.
These apartments all overlooked, by means of ex-
quisite little marble balconies, the grand valley of
the Jumna, through which the river may be traced
for miles ; while on the opposite shore there lies the
glorious Taj, with its snow-white domes and mina-
rets looming above the lovely setting of cypresses,
and the luxurious vegetation of its surrounding gar-
dens. Within the fort is also the Pearl Mosque, the
rival of the little royal temple of similar character
which we had seen at Delhi. The front of this Moli
Musjed is supported by marble pillars, and is sur-
mounted by three beautiful marble domes, of such
perfection and loveliness of outline as to be the puz-
zle of modern architects, just as our best sculptors are
nonplused before the Venus of j\lilo, and some other
examples of Greek art; they may imitate, but they
cannot hope to equal them. "Indeed," said a well-
known artist to us in the gallery of the Louvre, in
presence of this marvelous creation, " the sculptor
himself, were he living, could not repeat his work.
It was a ray of inspiration caught from Heaven."
So we thought of the Moli Musjed.
SECUNDRA. 221
The Tomb of Akbar at Seciindra was visited, a
few miles from Agra. It is situated, like most other
Mogul buildings of the same period, in a large in-
closure laid out as a beautiful garden, with fountains,
lakes, statuary, tamarind-trees, oranges, lemons, among
the most fragrant flowers. It was a glorious day on
which we drove out to Secundra, the air was musical
with the merry notes of the rainos, in their dusky
red plumage, the little chirping bee-eaters, hoopoes,
and blue-jays. Some little girls freely plucked tlie
abundant rose-buds, pinks, lemon verbenas, and ge-
raniums, bringing them to us for pennies, instigated
by the gardeners, who looked on approvingly. This
magnificent tomb would be a seven days' wonder in
itself, were it not so near that greater charm and
marvel of loveliness, the Taj. It was from this grand
architectural structure that the Koh-i-noor was taken.
The spacious grounds form one of tlie finest parks in
India, art having seconded the kindly purpose of na-
ture in a favored spot where vegetation is as various
as it is luxuriant and beautiful.
Our hotel at Agra was one of the most comfortable
and American -like which can be found in India.
The scene on the broad piazza, all day long, was cu-
rious and interesting, forming a sort of open bazar,
where ever}^ establishment in the place had a rep-
resentative and samples of its goods. All tourists
are presumed to have come to purchase, and im-
portunity is a part of the natives' business. Pho-
tographs, models of the Taj, precious stones, san-
dal-wood boxes, mosaics, and swords, the variety is
infinite, the patience of the dealers equally inexhaus-
tible. Nothing but absolute force could drive them
aw^ay, and no one uses that. If you utterly decline
222 DUE WEST.
to purchase anything, they fold their hands and wait.
The most curious part of tlie business, if you pur-
chase at all, is the elastic character of the prices,
since no one pretends to pay that which is first
charged, the dealer does not expect it, and the run-
ning fire of barter, chaflfing, and cheapening is most
laughable. The vendor begins by asking at least
double what lie will finally offer his goods for, and in
the end probably gets twice their intrinsic value. If
one of the natives were to offer his articles at a fixed
and reasonable valuation, he would be mobbed on the
spot by his companions. Dickering is the poetry of
trade to a Hindoo.
CHAPTER YIII.
From Agra to Jeypore. — An Independent Province. — A Unique In-
dian Citj. — Wild Animals. — Elephant Traveling. — Trapping
Tigers. — A Royal Palace. — The Harem. — Native Rule. — Wild
Monkeys and Peacocks. — Long Journey across Country. — Bom-
bay. — The Rival of Calcutta. — The Parsees. — Towers of Silence.
— Feeding the Vultures. — A Remarkable Institution. — Island of
Elephanta. — Street Jugglers. — Crossing the Sea of Arabia. —
The Southern Cross. — Aden. — Passage up the Red Sea. —
Landing at Suez. — Traveling in Egypt.
If the reader will consult the map of India it will
be seen that few regions in the world present such an
array of remarkable cities as have sprung up and
flourished in the Ganges-Jumna valley, of which we
are now writing. Here we have Agra, Delhi, Cawn-
pore, Lucknow, Allahabad, Benares, Mirzapur, Pat-
na, Decca, and Murshedabad. What historic associ-
ations arise at the bare mention of these Indian cities,
each one of which affords a record reaching so far
down the corridors of the past as to fascinate the
archaeologist b}^ its very mystery.
We left Agra regretfully ; one would like more
time to examine and become familiar with all its
monuments, and yet they seem as deeply impressed
upon the memory as though we had known them for
years, and had lived long in their midst. The Raj-
pootana State Railway was taken for Jeypore, sit-
uated a hundred and fifty miles from Agra, and
justly reputed to be the finest native city in the
country : in many respects it is unique. The route
224 IWE WEST.
thither lay through a very level country of great fer-
tility, showing fine crops of cereals, with frequent
and vivid fields of yellow mustard in full bloom.
Jeypore is the capital of the territory belonging to
the Maharajah Mardozing, whose independent pos-
sessions are just about the size of the State of Mas-
sachusetts, the British not having " annexed " this
special territory. The prince is a middle-aged, affa-
ble, and intelligent person, very courteous to stran-
gers, but especially so to Americans, concerning whose
government he is quite inquisitive. He is a man
of more than ordinary culture, has traveled much, is
exceedingly progressive in his ideas, and seems to
command the respect of the English, and of all who
are brought within his circle.
Jevpore is well fortified, and the prince keeps up a
modest military organization. In driving about the
city we observed long rows of dwelling-houses, rose-
tinted, with pretty verandas and latticed windows,
besides numerous large and well - arranged public
structures devoted to educational purposes ; some for
teaching music, others devoted to the fine arts, and
some to the primary branches of education, such as
arithmetic, geography, etc. We were told that sev-
eral able foreign teachers were in the Maharajah's
employment, the schools all being free. Among tliQ
public buildings we noticed the palace, half a mile
long, and eight stories high, well divided into courts,
gardens, and public halls. In one of the latter was
being held an extensive fair of Indian goods and
manufactures, which for variety, comprehensiveness,
richness of the articles, and judicious arrangement,
would have done credit to any European cit3^ We
noticed a public mint, an observatory, a hospital,
JEYPORE. 225
and a large arsenal. All these, as Nvell as a very-
con sideiable number of the dwelling-houses, bore a
certain conspicuous mark, showing them to belong
to the Maharajah. He is much more western than
eastern in his ideas ; more read}^ to expend his larp-e
revenue for the public good than to build Peacock
Thrones, which at the same time excite the marvel
and cupidity of the world ; and so this very present-
able city, in the heart of India, is a mixture of Ori-
entalism and European innovation, the streets even
being lighted by gas. Though, to speak honestly,
this last fact seemed a trifle out of place ; wild mon-
keys and crocodiles in the environs, and gaslights in
the streets !
Jeypore is a beautiful little city, and ancient withal,
though there are no ruins here ; everything gives evi-
dence of present prosperity, peace, and abundance.
The houses are painted in a toy-like manner, but are
neat and pretty. Queer little canvas-covered, two-
wheeled carts, their tops shaped like half an ogg.
shell, and drawn by a single bullock, trot about the
streets in a very lively fashion, some of them closely
curtained containing women of the harem, but ont^
sees few women except of the humble class ; Oriental
exclusion is observed here. Under this prince's seem-
ingly wise rule the population exhibit a marked and
favorable contrast to that of India generally, over
which the authority of Great Britain extends. There
are no mud cabins, no visible want. We did not see
a beggar in all Jeypore. The people are decentl}'
clothed, and well-lodged in nice-looking houses, most
of which are two stories high. The streets are excep-
tionally broad and neatly kept, being regular!}^ sprin-
kled by coolies to lay the dust, though in a primitive
15
226 DUE WEST.
manner. These fellows carry goat skins, filled with
water, fastened to their backs, witli the neck com-
ing forward under the right arm, and by swinging
the nozzle from side to side the street gets a uniform
wetting. This same mode is adopted even in so large
a city as Calcutta, where a Yankee watering-cart
would supersede the services of twenty-five coolies
who are thus employed. Many fountains ornament
the streets of Jeypore, placed in the centres of open
squares. The expression upon the faces of the peo-
ple is that of smiling content ; in short, an air of
thrift pervades everything. All this was in such de-
cided contrast to those portions of the country which
we had visited as to make a strong impression, and
lead to some deductions not entirely favorable to
English rule in India.
In speaking of this subject to an intelligent Eno;-
lish resident, he replied that we had seen an excep-
tional specimen of the native control in this instance ;
and that other regions of India, were we to visit
them, would present a very different state of affairs,
all of which may be true. We ventured however,
for the sake of argument, to question the justice of
the tenure by which England held possession of
India, and were promptly answered: "We conquered
this territory from the Mohammedan invaders, who
were ruling it with a rod of iron. Our coming has
been and is a deliverance. We did not even over-
throw the Mohammedan Empire. That was done by
the Mahrattas, under French officers, from whom, in
1803, we rescued the Emperor, whose descendants we
have ever since pensioned. None of the princes and
sultans whom we have deposed were hereditary sov-
ereigns. They were actually rebellious viceroys and
TRAPPING TIGERS. 227
governors who had assumed their position during the
confusion of the times. In short, that our rule is
a blessing to India, to-day, does not admit of an
argument." We frankly acknowledged very modi-
lied feelings upon the subject since arriving in the
country.
Wild animals are abundant in the neighborhood,
the tiger especially being hunted and feared, and not
without abundant reason ; for here, as at Singapore,
men, women, and children are daily sacrificed to their
rapacious appetites in some part of the district. It
is said to be a fact that these animals, in their wild
state, having once tasted human flesh, will be satis-
fied with no other food : but will leave the antelope
and smaller game, known to be comparatively plenty
in the neighborhood of the jungle, and lie in wait
for days to capture human prey, even stealing at
night within the precincts of the villages, and among
the native huts. They exhibit great cunning in their
attacks, rarely showing themselves when there is
more than one person present, and never doing so
where tliere are numbers, except wlien driven in the
hunt. Instinct teaches them that one individual
may be overcome, but that two or three are capable
of victoriously defending themselves. The natives
set ingenious traps for the tigers, and many are cap-
tured, for which they receive a bounty. The usual
trap is formed by digging a well in the earth, ten
feet square and fifteen feet or more in depth, wider at
tlie bottom than the top. This is ingeniously covered
with light branches and leaves, and located in the
path where a tiger has been tracked. For some
'•eason tliis animal, having once passed througli a
iungle, will ever after follow as nearly as possible his
228 DUE WEST.
own foot-prints, and can tlius easil}^ be led into ii
pitfall of the character we have described. Having
once got into this well he cannot possibly get out,
and here he is permitted to become so nearly starved
as to deprive him of all powers of resistance, in
which condition he is secured. A little food and wa-
ter soon restores him to his normal condition, when
he finds himself a prisoner in a stout cage, behind
strong iron bars. For a few days after his capture
the animal's rage knows no bounds, and his struggles
to free himself are ceaseless, sometimes even ending
in self-inflicted death by dashing himself head fore-
most upon the bars. If not an old animal, he, how-
ever, generally subsides into sullen acceptance of the
situation after a day or two.
We were shown half a dozen lately taken and
confined separately in strong cages in one of the open
squares of the city. Two of them had a very bad
record, and w^ere real man-eaters, having a score or
more of coolies charged to their account. These
were all condemned to be killed, as they proved to be
too old to sell for exhibition in the European mar-
kets, but the young ones are often thus disposed of.
A tiger, one or even two years old, can be tamed and
rendered quite docile for menagerie purposes; but
when taken wild at an age exceeding these figures
they are never quite safe. Those which we saw in
the square at Jeypore were splendid specimens of
their race, full of fire and rage, chafing at their im-
prisonment, and springing violently against the iron
bars of their cages at every one who approached
them. They were quite unlike the poor beasts of
the menageries, who have had all their spirit and
savage instincts subdued by confinement.
SUMMER PALACE OF AM BAR. 229
Having obtained the necessary permit to visit the
royal summer palace of Ambar, a few miles from the
city walls, among the picturesque hills, elephants,
belonging to the Maharajah were sent for us, and we
mounted them, the animals kneeling at the word of
command for us to do so. Our party, six in number,
was divided so that four persons, including the driver,
rode on each elephant. They were large and docile
creatures, being respectively sevent}- and ninety years
of age. Their shuffling, flat-footed tread is peculiar,
but not very unpleasant, except when the driver
hurries the animals ; but even then the gait is not
nearly so trying to the rider as is that of the camel,
which is only comparable to a Cunarder pitching in
a head sea. The elephants seem to be very easily
controlled by the driver, who, however, is armed with
a steel-pointed weapon which he resorts to freely rf
his directions are not obeyed, and the animal evi-
dently stands in mortal dread of the instrument. All
classes of the people ride upon the camel here, from
the prince to the peddler ; but the elephant is only
in common use among the nabobs and members of
the royal household, officers of state, and the like.
It costs as much to keep and support an elephant as
it does to maintain eight horses or ten camels, the
latter animal thriving on cheap food.
A visit to the summer palace was very interesting,
the local guide pointing out every object of note, and
explaining all clearly. That part of the spacious
buildings reserved for the harem was simply perfec-
tion, in point of luxury, as conceived from an Ori-
ental stand-point. The audience rooms, the throne
room, the domestic living rooms, and the various of-
fices of the palace, were large and admirably ar-
230 DUE WEST.
ranged, furnislied in the Eastern fashion. The white
marble work was everywhere exquisite in its finish,
and, wherever it was possible, superseded the use
of wood. The windows, opening from all the gen-
eral apartments, afforded views across the hills, val-
leys, and lakes of the city of Jeypore, two or three
leagues away. The group of the harem apartments,
as usual, all opened inward, upon an area where
grew orange, lemon, and fig-trees, full of fruit, also
pomegranates and trailing vines, gracefully arranged.
There were many varieties of flowers in bloom be-
sides roses, which we strongly suspected came from
afar. They were too familiar, those tea, damask,
Jaqueminot, Marshal Mel, and moss roses. The in-
digenous ones were not nearly so full in leaf or pure
in color, nor so fragrant or beautiful. The spacious
marble bath was also in an open area, or court, shut'
in from all eyes save those of the denizens them-
selves, and of such depth and size as to admit of
swimming. This tiny lake was bordered by thick
growing myrtles, and a shrub with a dagger -like
leaf, bearing a trumpet -shaped flower, snow white,
but unknown to us, seemingly of the convolvulus
genus. The dark winding labyrinths and passages
from one part of the Ambar Palace to another were
utterly confusing, and of a nature designed to mys-
tify any one but an habitue. When the palace has
its summer complement of residents, servants and
all, it must contain some three hundred souls, besides
the soldiery, who occupy the barracks outside to
guard the entrances. It is a fort as well as a palace,
and so arranged as to form a citadel capable of sus-
taining a siege, if necessary ; while its lofty and com-
manding situation is such, that it could not be taken
RIDING ON ELEPHANTS. 231
by an attacking force without great loss of life on
their part. We were shown in the basement a sin-
gular shrine or temple, before which was a large, flat
stone, where daily sacrifices of a sheep or goat is
made by the priests. In the olden time human sac-
rifices took place on the stone, according to the guide.
Fresh signs showed that the ceremony of blood spill-
ing had lately taken place, and, on inquiry, we were
told that the carcass was given as food to the poor,
which was certainly one feature of the practice quite
commendable.
When at last we mounted the elephants to again
return to the city, it was past meridian, but so pow-
erful was the heat of the sun that we could hardly
have sustained it without the protection of umbrellas,
and thought if this was winter weather in India what
must midsummer be ? Thougrh so much further north
of the equator than Ceylon, the heat seemed nearly
as great, and even more insupportable. There was a
certain moisture and softness about the liigh temper-
ature at Colombo, which we had experienced a month
before ; while here there was a dry, burning directness
of the sun's power which was absolutely withering.
As we passed over the road, swayed hither and thither
upon the backs of the huge animals, it was amusing
to watch the gambols of the wild monkeys in the
trees, and to observe the flocks of wild peacocks in
the open fields, both monkeys and peacocks being
held sacred. There were tall cranes wading on the
edges of the ponds, with other queer -legged, odd
water-fowls strutting through the mud. The croco-
diles were seen sunning themselves on the river's
bank, watching for an Indian child or dog to devour.
Fancy colored parrots were plenty ; and when we
232 DUE WEST,
got within the city gates, we met sucli dense flocks
of tame pigeons, of various colors, as could not be
equaled elsewhere. They were of several species,
well-defined : fan-tailed, bloaters, divers, etc., some
pure white, some mottled, and some as blue as the
sky. Like those at Venice, they are protected by
law. Indeed all animal life is spared, from religious
convictions, except such as is brought to the altar.
We finally got safely back to our quarters, at the
Kaiser-i-Hind Hotel, far too well pleased with our
trip to Ambar to cavil at a most indifferent dinner.
There are many native princes who govern states
in India, as is the case at Jeypore ; but they do so
under sufferance, as it were, acknowledging their
" subordinate dependence " to the British govern-
ment. They form a body of feudatory rulers, pos-
sessing revenue and armies of their own. There is
always a British "Resident" at their courts, who acts
us an adviser, as it is termed, but who is, in plain
English, a sort of acknowledged and permitted spy.
These princes are not allowed to make war upon each
other, or to form alliances with foreign states ; and,
upon the whole, all things considered, it is perhaps
the best possible arrangement for the princes and for
their subjects. England does not hesitate to inter-
fere if a prince is guilty of any decided mismanage-
ment, protecting the weak, and imposing peace. We
were informed that the power of life and death, in
single cases, rests with the Maharajah of Jeypore, as
w^ell as with the rest of the native rulers. Thus one
third of India, embracing a population of between
-fifty and sixty millions of people, is still under na-
tive rule.
From Jeypore to Bombay is a distance of seven
POPPY FIELDS OF SOUTHERN INDIA. 233
Imndred miles, a journey which we were three clays
ami niglits in performing. Most of the route lay
through a sparsely-populated country, very similar in
character to the sections already described, — the
greater part of India being an immense plain. It
was curious on this route to observe that all the rail-
road station-houses were built with white domes like
mosques, a fancy which was also carried into practice
upon many of the better class of village houses ; the
effect, however, was far from pleasing to the eye.
Now and then a few antelopes were seen ; they would
gaze fixedly at the train for a moment, then turn and
spriug away in immense bounds. Now a lynx and
now a fox would put in an appearance in the early
morning, in the lonel}^ district through which we
passed, generally at a wholesome distance fmm the
cars. We were up and watchful ; there is not much
sleep to be obtained on the cars in India; besides, one
does not wish to lose the crisp freshness of the dawn.
Before the sun fairly rises the temperature was a little
chilly, but directly its power was felt, and it got fairly
started upon its diurnal path, there was a change of
thirty or forty degrees, and then — it is impossible
to describe how the golden sunlight flooded the
plains. Small game of various species was frequentlv
seen in the fields and hedges ; kingfishers, kites, and
hawks put in an appearance, and a tall bird standing
four feet high was pointed out to us, called a sarus,
gray in color, and of the stork family. The pretty
Indian blue jay seemed omnipresent.
As we got further southward we came upon the
great P''>p[>y fields, cultivated for opium, which formed
a remarkable feature in the landscape. They were
scarlet in color, mingled occasionally with pink. In
234 DUE WEST.
other parts of the country we had seen the beautiful,
though baleful, fields of poppies, dressed in bridal
white. The effect of either is very fine w^hen the
eye measures the singular display b}^ miles in extent,
the rich, glutinous flowers nodding gracefully in the
gentle breeze. We were told that from six to seven
hundred thousand acres of land, mostly in the valle}^
of the Ganges, were devoted to the poppy culture. A
large share of these opium farms, as they may be
called, belong to the English government, and are
cultivated b}^ their agents. Those which are con-
ducted on private account are very heavily taxed, and
are carried on in the interest of the Parsee merchants
of Bombay, who control a large share of the opium
trade, handling not only their own product, but also
that of the government.
Oftentimes, near these gorgeous poppy fields were
broad ripening acres of grain, which would have been
denuded of their valuable property by the great flocks
of birds floating hither and thither, were it not that
precautions were taken to drive them away. A tall
platform is raised upon poles in the centre of the field,
with a slight straw shelter over it, upon which a
young lad or girl is stationed, who thus overlooks the
whole. The}^ have no fire-arms, but are supplied with
a simple sling and a few stones ; should a bird be seen
too close to the precious grain, an unerring stone will
find him, and his body becomes a warning for his com-
panions. The monkeys, who abound in southern In-
dia, are not so easily got rid of. Birds will not fly
after dark, nor much before the sun rises in the morn-
ing; but the monkeys raid the fruit and vegetable
fields by night, and are capable of organizing a de-
scent upon some promising point with all the fore-
THE PARSEES OF BOMBAY. 235
thought of human thieves. Besides which, birds, as a
rule, will take only such food as they can eat, but the
Indian monkeys appropriate whatever they can hiy
their paws upon, having a special regard for light
domestic articles, with which they have a fancy for
decking the tops of the highest trees.
While Calcutta is the governmental or political
capital of India, Bombay is its commercial metropo-
lis ; and an obvious sense of rivalry exists between
the two places. The opening of communication with
England by the Red Sea route has given the Jatter
cit}^ a great business impetus, and it is growing rap-
idly, possessing more elements of future greatness
than any other city in Asia. It forms the western
gateway to India, is entirely modern, and three quar-
ters European. The Parsees, Hindoos, and Mussul-
mans make up the other quarter of the fixed popula-
tion, while the floating populace represents nearly
every x^siatic people. These two principal cities are
located on the opposite sides of the peninsula, Cal-
cutta being on the Bay of Bengal and Bombay on the
Sea of Arabia. The Parsees number over a hundred
thousand, and represent a large portion of the wealth
of the city, being also by far the most intelligent
and enterprising natives of India. They sympathize
entirely with the English government, which gives
them freedom of opinion and protection for life and
property, neither of which could be assured under
native auspices. They keep entirely aloof, socially,
from other races, and strictly preserve their well-de-
hned individuality. Their dress is peculiar, partly
Oriental, partly European, and they are still like
their fathers, after thousands of years, the consistent
followers of Zoroaster,
236 DUE WEST.
The Parsees settled here more than eight centuries
ago, after their expulsion from Persia. Their temples
contain no images, nothing but the altar bearing the
sacred fire, which their fathers brought with them
when they landed here so long ago, and which has
never for one instant been extinguished. They wor-
ship the sun as the representative of God, and fire in
all its forms, as well as the ocean, which w^ould seem
to be an antagonistic agent ; but as their religion
recognizes one Good and one Evil Principle, who are
ever contending for the mastery of the universe, per-
haps these emblems are no paradox. One of the first
places we visited in Bombay was Malabar Hill, a
lofty piece of ground just outside of the city, upon
the apex of which are the five famous *' Towers of
Silence," constituting the cemetery of the Parsees.
Beautiful gardens, kept ever in bloom and loveliness
by the most assiduous care, surround these towers,
which are the subjects of such sad associations. The
oldest of these structures is between two and three
centuries in age, and one is solely designed for the
bodies of criminals whose bones are not permitted to
mingle with those of the just. When a death occurs
among the Parsees, the body is brought here to a
small temple, containing the sacred fire, within the
grounds. Here a certain formula is gone through
with, and a solemn chant without words is performed
by the assembled mourners. Presently the corpse is
carried upon a stretcher through a door of one of the
towers, and is placed upon a grating raised a few feet
from the ground, where it is completely exposed.
The bearers instantly retire, the door is closed and
locked. These towers are open at the top, on the
cornice of which hundreds of vultures are always
THE '^ TOWERS OF SILENCE.'' 237
waiting in full view of every one, and as soon as the
body is left they swoop down to their awful meal,
eagerly tearing and devouring the flesh, absolutely
picking it clean from the bones, which fall into a
space below in an indiscriminate mass, to be decom-
posed by time and the elements. The hideous de-
tail of the scene is not visible to the spectators, but
the reappearance of these terrible birds of prey upon
the walls, an hour later, in a gorged condition, is only
too significant of what has transpired within the silent
and gloomy inclosure.
During a subsequent early-morning walk the writer
observed a funeral procession on its way towards INIal-
abar Hill, and followed it to the Towers. For a mo-
ment after arriving there the face of the corpse was
exposed, showing the marble features of a young girl
of some fifteen years, wearing upon her pale lace
an expression of seraphic loveliness. The body w:is
covered with a snow-white sheet, exhibiting the out-
line of a beautiful, budding form suddenly snatched
from life. Over and around the body were white
buds and half-blown pale flowers, indicative of youth,
recalling to mind a similar experience on the banks
of the Ganges. There was no apparent want of sen-
timent and tenderness here. As soon as the brief
ceremony was over the beautiful remains, loveh^ even
in death, were deposited in the nearest tower, the
door was closed and the bearers retired. Down
swooped the ravenous birds to their terrible banquet,
as we turned away with a shudder. The devouring
flames that wreathed about the child-corpse at Ben-
ares did not seem to us so shocking as this.
Seeing an intelligent Parsee, who had evidently
been watching us, we asked: "How can you recon-
238 DUE WEST.
cile to your feelings such disposal as that of the re-
mains of a tenderly beloved child ? " " What do you
do with your dead ? " he asked. " We bury them in
the earth." " Yes," he continued, " for the worms to
eat. And if there is death at sea you sink the body
in the ocean to be consumed by the sharks. We pre-
fer to give our dead to the birds of the air." We
were certainly answered, though not convinced, as to
the propriety of the awful scene just enacted. Per-
haps, after all, it makes but little difference what be-
comes of these tenements of clay. The Parsee feeds
the vultures with his dead, the devout Hindoo burns
the body, and the professed Christian gives his to the
worms and to the sharks. Still as we came down
Malabar Hill that morning, and saw the hideous car-
rion birds, gorged and sleepy, roosting upon the walls
of the cemetery, a sense of nausea came over us quite
uncontrollable.
Bombay is made up of fine public buildings, sump-
tuous bungalows, and low hovels, not absolutely com-
bined, each class being found in clusters about its
special locality, but all going to make up the aggre-
gate figure of the population. That the numbers
should reach the round total of a million of people
was a surprise. In the European cities we see the
palace and the hovel, wealth and poverty, every-
where jostling each other. In Florence, Rome, or
Naples a half-starved cobbler's stall may nestle be-
neath a palace, or a vendor of roast chestnuts may
have established himself there. In Bombay a sense
of propriety and fitness has assorted and adjusted
these matters. Still poverty and riches are never far
apart in the world, even as joy and grief are inevita-
ble neighbors. There cannot be strong light without
BEAUTIFUL ESVIROXS. 239
shade near at hand. Excellent order and neatness
are maintained, and well-disciplined policemen are
seen at every corner. The municipality is partly
elective and partl}^ nominative, the majority of the
officials being of native birth, and so far as a casual
visitor may judge, affairs are managed economically
and judiciously. In the neighborhood of Elphinstone
Circle and the Esplanade, the city will compare fa-
vorably with any modern European capital, both in
the size and style of the public and private buildings,
as well as in the broad, liberal squares and thorough-
fares, ornamented with statuary and fountains.
A drive in the environs of Bombay, around the
base of Malabar Hill and along the picturesque shore
of the Arabian Sea, is an experience never to be for-
gotten by one who has enjoyed its pleasure. It will
be sure to recall to the traveler the almost unrivaled
environs of Genoa, with those windincr, rock-cut roads
overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Here the roads
are admirable, cool, and half-embowered in foliage,
amid which the crimson sagittaria, flaunting its fiery
leaves and ponderous blossoms everywhere, meets the
eye. About the fine villas, which are set back a short
distance from the road, delightful gardens were to be
seen of choice flowers, tastefully arranged, compris-
ing an abundance of tropical plants, tall palms lining
the drive-way up to the houses where the merchant
princes dwell. The broad public roads were lined
with oleanders, magnolias, laburnums, jasmines, or-
ange and lemon-trees ; and there were honeysuckles,
white, scarlet, yellow ; and tiger-lilies of marvelous
size, each leaf looking as if it were a butterfly, and
the whole flower forming a group of them lit upon a
stem. Urns, from which drooped variegated flowers,
240 DUE WEST.
relieved by wreathing smilax, ornamented the posts
of gates, and lined the smooth, white graveled paths
about the verandas of these surburban palaces in
miniature. Tlie flora of our best kept green-houses
here bloomed out of doors in wild luxuriance, but not
a familiar tree was to be seen. In ])lace of elms, ma-
ples, pines, and oaks, there were tall, slender palms,
fig-trees, mangoes, and whole groves of bananas
bending under the weight of the long, finger-like
fruit. Verily, these Parsees, in spite of their bigotry
and their adherence to ancient superstitions, know
how to make their homes beautiful.
There was one institution visited in Bomba}^ which
is, so far as we know, unique, commending itself how-
ever, to every philanthropist, namely. An Asylum
for Aged and Decrepit Animals. Here were found
birds and beasts suffering under various afflictions,
carefully tended and nursed as human beings are in
a well-regulated hospital. The origin of the estab-
lishment was due to a philanthropic native who some
years ago left a large sum of money, on his decease,
for this purpose, so thoroughly in accordance witli his
religious convictions. Within the last ten years sev-
eral liberal endowments have been added, all by
natives, until the institution is now self-supporting.
We were told of a new bequest, just added, which
would enable the trustees to enlarge certain premises.
Liberal visitors are also frequently inclined to leave
a few dollars to encourage so worthy an institution.
Bullocks, cows, dogs, and cats, otherwise homeless,
here find good care, food, and shelter. The yard and
buildings cover about two acres of ground, where the
animals are only so far confined as to insure their
own comfort and safety. Xono of them are evei
HOSPITAL FOR IXVALID ANIMALS. 241
killed, but are well cared for until Nature herself
closes the scene for them. One horse, which we no-
ticed, was swung by bell}^ straps so that his hind feet
were quite off the floor ; a case, as was explained,
where one of his hind legs had been broken, but
which had now so nearly healed that the animal
would be able to stand once more upon his feet —
not to work, but to live out his alloted days in peace.
In America, or indeed nearly anywhere else, a horse
with a broken leg is at once deprived of life. All
through the East, but especially in India, there is, as
a rule, a kind consideration for animals that is in
marked contrast to the treatment they so often re-
ceive in what we term more civilized countries. Un-
der the plea of humanity we take the life of most ailing
animals in the Western world, but not so in Bombay.
Horses, donkeys, cows, cats, dogs, and monkeys, sick
or injured by accident, will be at once taken into
this establishment, on application, and kindly cared
for, free of all expense, until natural death ensues.
A visit to the Island of Elephanta, in the outer
harbor of Bombay, situated about ten miles from the
city, will afford all strangers much gratification. A
small excursion steamer, tug-boat size, was chartered
for our purpose, and with a favoring current took us
down to the island in an hour, but was twice as long
in working her way back against the tide. It was
quite a picnic affair, our refreshments being taken
with us from the hotel, and a nice table spread on
board the little boat, where we lunched with that best
of sauce, a good appetite. This famous island is
about six miles in circumference, covered with a thick
undergrowtli of bushes and some fine specimens of
tropical trees. It derives its name from a colossal
16
242 DUE WEST.
shone elephant wliicli once stood near the present
Lmding, and formed a conspicuous object visible far
away. This monument was thrown down many-
years ago by some convulsion of nature, and now lies
overgrown by vines and bushes, hidden beneatli tam-
arind and banana-trees. As the shore is shelving,
the depth of water will not permit boats to approach
very near; so that the landing is made over a series
of large, deeiD-sunken stepping-stones, rather slippery
and dangerous for one without a cool head. After
having landed there is still nearly a thousand irregu-
lar steps to ascend before reaching the plateau, where
the mouth of the f anions temple is entered.
We found this cave temple with its front half hid-
den by a wild growth of luxuriant vines and foliage.
The cavity is hewn out of the solid rock, extending
nearly two hundred feet directly into the hill-side.
It was strange and incongruons in aspect, — a sort
of conglomeration of sensualism, religious ideas, and
Buddhist idols. Most of the school geographies of
our childhood depict this entrance of the Cave of Ele-
phanta, supported by carved pillars, hewm out of the
rock just where they stand, part and parcel of it.
The roof is supported by many carved pillars, also
similarly hewn out of the native stone. Some of
them have been willfully broken, others have mould-
ered away from atmospheric exposure. The Portu-
guese in their day, as we were told by the custodian,
— a superannuated non-commissioned officer of the
English army, — planted cannon before the cave and
destroj^ed many of the pillars, as well as the heathen
emblems, by round shot. One sees here the singular
phenomenon of hanging pillars, the capitals only ex-
tant ; but as the whole is carved out of the same huge
FAMOUS ROCK CAVES. 243
rock all parts are equally self-supporting. There are
many well-executed figures in bas-relief, more or less
decayed and broken, which is not surprising when we
remember that the antiquarians trace them back with
certainty for some fifteen centuries, and some give
their origin to a period nearly ten centuries earlier.
Though embodying so much that is curious and
suggestive as these rock-cave temples do, presenting
such an aggregate of patient labor, the world will
probably remain ever ignorant of their true history.
An American traveler, Avhom w^e met in Bombay, had
made these Buddliist temples a special study, and had
just returned from a visit to those interesting antiq-
uities, the Caves of Ellora, some two hundred miles
fi'om Bombay, consisting of several lofty apartuients
ornamented in a similar manner to those at Elephanta:
in bas-relief. He also mentioned another excavated
temple of the same character at Carlee, between Bom-
bay and Puna, which in many respects resembled a
Gothic church, having a vaulted roof and colonnades
running on eitlier side, like aisles. He wa,s disposed
to give the origin of them, as well as of those in the
harbor of Bombay, to a period prior to the Christian
era. However strange and historically interesting
these excavated temples may be to the observant
traveler, he will look in vain among the carvings and
basso-relievi for any just proportions of form or ex-
pression of features. There is a lack of anything
like artistic genius evinced, no correctness of anatom-
ical proportions even attempted. The figures doubt-
less were sufficiently typical to answer their original
purpose, but are as crude as Chinese idols. When
the Prince of Wales was in Bombay he visited the
spot and a sort of barbecue was given to him within
244 DUE WEST.
the cave, upon which the stony eyes of the idols must
have looked down in amazement.
Elephanta is also unique in the production of a
species of beetle remarkable for variety of colors and
ornamentation of body. We had seen numerous
specimens of this insect in southern India and at
Singapore, some of which were an inch long, but
these of Elephanta w^ere not remarkable for size.
They were hardly larger than one's little finger nail,
but of such brilliancy of color, red, blue, yellow, and
pink, as to cause them to resemble precious stones
rather than insects. Some were a complete represen-
tative of the opal, with all its radiating fire. Some
were spotted like butterflies, others like the expanded
tail of the peacock, and again some had half circles
of alternate colors like the eyes in a pearl oyster.
We were told that only upon this island were such
specimens to be found. Children gathered them, and
filled little wooden boxes with various specimens,
which they sold for a trifle. The harbor of Bombay
is a spacious and excellent one. The old fortifica-
tions have gone mostly to decay, but two floating
monitors, the Abyssinia and the Magdala, now form
the principal defense of the port. The city, unlike
most commercial ports, is not situated on a river, but
is one of a cluster of islands connected with the main-
land b}^ causeways and railroad viaducts, turning it
into a peninsula.
The fish-market is remarkable here for the variety
and excellence of the finny tribe offered for sale.
The fish-market of Havana has ever been famous for
the size, color, and shapes of the specimens it shows
upon its broad marble tables, but Bombay rivals the
Cuban capital in this respect. Fish forms a large
LOVE OF ORXAMEXTS. 245
portion of the substantial sastenance of the common
people. The fish-women, those who sell the article
in the market, are curious, swarthy creatures, covered
with bangles on wrists, ankles, arms, ears, and noses.
An East Indian woman seems to find vast satisfac-
tion in this style of disfigurement. To see and to
eat prawns in their perfection, three or four inches
long, one must visit Bombay, where they create hand-
some bits of scarlet color piled up amid the silver
and gold scaled fishes upon the white marble. The
fruit -market is equally remarkable for variety and
lusciousness. Mandarins, oranges, lemons, mangoes,
grapes, bananas, cocoanuts, rose-apples, and vegetables
too numerous to mention, load the tempting coun-
ters. ' One of the dealers, a young woman who would
have been pretty if not so bedecked, had perforated
each side of her nostrils and wore in the holes small
gilt buttons, — this in addition to bangles innumer-
able, and ornaments dragging her ears quite out of
shape. Her swarthy brown limbs were covered to
above the calf with rings of silver and gilt, and her
arms were similarly decked. Part of her bosom was
tattooed with blue and red ink. This woman pressed
a mango upon us at a trifling cost, but not having
been educated up to liking this fruit, it was bestowed
upon the first child we met. Tiie Indian mango
tastes like turpentine and musk mixed, only more so.
The last scene witnessed at Bombay, as we were
waiting on the pier for the steam-launch which was
to take us cm board the P. and O. steamship Kashgar,
was the performance of some street jugglers. We had
seen miiny such exhibitions at Delhi, Agra, Madras,
and Benares, but these fellows seemed to be more
expert in their tricks, and yet not superior or even
246 DVE WEST.
equal to manj' prestidigitateurs whom we have seen in
America. Tlie doings of these Indian jugglers are
more curious in the stories of travelers than when
witnessed upon the spot. The so -often -described
trick of making a dwarf mango -tree grow up from
the seed before one's eyes to a condition of fruit-
bearing, in an incredibly short period of time, is ver}^
common with them, but is really the merest sleight-
of-hand affair, by no means the best of their perform-
ances. A Signor Blitz or Hermann would put the
most expert of these Indian jugglers to shame in
his own art. The performers on this occasion were
particularly expert in swallowing knife blades, and
thrusting swords down their throats ; but it was
difficult to get up much enthusiasm among the idle
crowd that gathered upon the pier to watch tliem,
and the few pennies which the performers realized
could hardly be remunerative.
We prepared for our departure from India with
feelings of regret at not being able longer to study
its visible history, and to travel longer within its
borders. Nearly a month and a half had passed
since we landed in the country of the Hindoo and
the Mohammedan, the land of palms and palaces, of
pagodas and temples. Its remarkable scenes and
monuments will never be forgotten, and with Japan
will ever share our warmest interest. There are
some memories which, like wine, grow mellow and
bweet by time, no distance being able to obliterate
them, nor any after-experience to lessen their charm.
India has a record running back through thousands
of 3^ears and remotest dynasties, captivating the fancy
wdth numberless ruins, wdiich, while attesting the
splendor of their prime, form also the only record of
FAREWELL TO INDIA. 247
their history. The mosaic character of its popula-
tion, the peculiarities of its animal kingdom, the
luxuriance of its vegetation, the dazzling beauty of
its birds and flowers, all crowd upon the memory in
charming kaleidoscopic combinations. There ran be
no doubt of the early grandeur and high civilization
of India. To the intellectual eminence of her peo-
ple we owe the germs of science, philosophy, law, and
astronomy. Her most perfect of all tongues, the San-
skrit, has been the parent of nearly all others ; and
now that her lustre has faded away, and her chil-
dren fallen into a condition of sloth and superstition,
still let us do her historic justice ; nor should we
neglect to heed the lesson she so clearly presents,
namely, that nations, like human beings, are subject
to the unvarying laws of mutability.
We embarked from Bombay, February 9th, on
board the P. and O. steamship Kashgar for Suez, a
voyage of three thousand miles across the Sea of
Arabia and the Indian Ocean, through the Straits
of Babelmandeb and the entire length of the Red
Sea. The most southerly point of the voyage took
us within fourteen degrees of the equator, and con-
sequently into an extremely warm temperature. As
the ship's cabin proved to be almost insupportable
on account of the heat, we passed a large portion of
the nights, as well as the days, upon deck, making
acquaintance with the stars, looking down from their
serene and silent spaces, the new moon, and tlie
Southern Cross, all of which Avere wonderfully bright
in the clear, dry atmosphere. As we approach the
equatorial region one cannot but admire the increas-
ing and wondrous beauty of the southern skies, where
new and striking constellations greet the observer.
248 DUE WEST.
The Southern Cross, above all other groupings, in-
terests the beholder, and lie ceases to wonder at the
reverence with which the inhabitants of the low lat-
itudes regard it. xVs an accurate measurer of time,
it is also valued by the mariner in the southern hem-
isphere, who is nightly called to watch on deck, and
who thus becomes familiar with the glowing orbs re-
vealed by the surrounding darkness. As a Christian
emblem all southern nations bow before this constel-
lation which is denied to northern eyes.
Bishop F , of the Methodist Episcopal Church
of Massachusetts, was a passenger on board the Kash-
gar, bound to Egypt, and on Sunday, February 11th,
after the captain had read the usual services, he was
invited to address the passengers ; this he did in an
eloquent and impressive discourse. It was a calm,
beautiful Sabbath, a sweet tranquillity enshrouding
everything. The ship glided over the gently throb-
bing breast of the Arabian Sea Avith scarcely per-
ceptible motion ; and when night came, the stillness
yet unbroken, save by the pulsation of the great mo-
tive power hidden in the dark hull of the Kashgar,
the bishop delivered a lecture on astronomy. He
stood on the quarter-deck, bare-headed, his snow-white
hair crowning a brow i^adiant with intellect, while
the attentive passengers were seated around, and over
his head glowed the wondrous orbs of which he dis-
coursed. Naturally eloquent, the speaker seemed
inspired by the peculiar surroundings, as he pointed
out and dilated upon the glorious constellations and
planets blazing in the blue vault above us. He ex-
plained the immensity of these individual worlds, the
harmonious sj^stem which science shows to exist in
their several spheres, the almost incalculable distance
ADEN. 249
between them, as related to each other and as it re-
garded this earth. Tlie sun, the moon, and the rota-
tion of tlie globe, all were learnedly expatiated upon,
and yet in language so eloquent and simple as to
inform the least intelligent of his listeners. Finally,
in his peroration, in touchingly beautiful language,
he ascribed the power, the glory, and the harmony
of all to that Almighty Being who is the Parent of
our race.
The good ship held steadily on her southwest
course, day after day, lightly fanned by the northeast
monsoon tow-ards the mouth of the Red Sea. Our
time was passed in reading aloud to each other, and
in rehearsing the experience of the last six months.
We were very dreamy, very idle, but it was sacred
idleness, full of pleasant thoughts, and half-w^aking
visions induced by tropical languor, full of gratitude
for life and being amid such tranquillity, and beneath
skies so glowing with beauty and loveliness. At the
end of the sixth day we cast anchor at the island, or
rather peninsula, of Aden, a rocky, isolated spot held
by English troops, to command the entrance to the
Red Sea, — very properly called the Gibraltar of the
Indian Ocean. Like that famous promontory it was
originally little more than a barren rock, — pumice-
stone and lava, — which has been improved into a
picturesque and habitable place, bristling with one
hundred British cannon of heavy calibre. It is a
spot much dreaded by sailors, the straits being half
closed by sunken rocks, besides which the shore is
considered the most unhealthy yet selected by civil-
ized man as a residence.
The tow^n of Aden lies some distance from the
shore where the landing is made, in the ver^' centre
250 DUE WEST.
of an extinct volcano, the sides of which have fallen
in and form its foundation, affording, as may reason-
ably be supposed, an opportunity for yet another ca-
lamity like that which so lately visited Ischia, and
which swallowed up Casamicciohi. As we ^^assed in
from the open sea to the harbor of Aden, the tall
masts of a steamship, wrecked here very lately, were
still visible above the long, heavy swell of the ocean.
The name of these straits, Babehnandeb, given to
them by the Arabs, signifies the '' Gate of Tears,"
because of the number of vessels which have been
wrecked in an attempt to pass through them ; and
the title is no less applicable to our time than when
they were first named. There is a saying among sea-
men, that for six months of the year no vessel under
canvas can enter the Red Sea, and, for the other six
months, no sailing vessel can get out. This refers to
the regularity with which the winds blow here, for
six months together. Aden lies within the rainless
zone, so that its inhabitants see no rain-fall sometimes
for two or three years together, depending for their
water on wells, tanks, and condensers. The remains
of an ancient and magnificent system of reservoirs,
antedating the Christian era, and hewn out of the
solid rock, have been discovered, whereby the early
inhabitants were accustomed to lay in a supply of the
aqueous fluid when it did rain, which would last them
for a long period of months. Following out the orig-
inal idea, these stone reservoirs have been thoroughly
repaired, and the present inhabitants now lay up water
in large quantities when the welcome rain visits them.
As we lay at anchor just off the shore at Aden, the
ship was surrounded by a score of small boats, dug^
out canoes, in which were boys as black as Nubians,
ABOARD THE KASHGAR. 251
with shining white teeth and curly heads, watching
us with bright, expressive eyes. Such heads of hair
we never clianced to meet with before. Evidently
dyed red by some means, the hair is twisted into ver-
tical curls of oddest appearance. The little fellows,
each in his own canoe, viiried in age from ten to fif-
teen years. By eloquent gestures and the use of a
few English words, they begged the passengers on
board the Kasligar to throw small coin into the sea,
for which they would dive in water that was at least
seven fathoms deep, that is, say forty feet. The in-
stant a piece of money was thrown, every canoe was
emptied, and twenty human beings disappeared from
sight like a flash. Down, down go the divers to the
very bottom, and there struggle together for the trifle,
some one of the throng being sure to rise to the sur-
face with the coin displayed between his teeth. They
struggle, wrestle, and fight beneath the surface, and
when the water is clear can be seen, like the amphib-
ious creatures which these shore-born tribes really
are ; nothing but otters and seals could be keener
sighted or more expert in the water.
Quite a number of natives came on board the ship
with curiosities to sell, such as choice shells, toys,
leopard skins, and ostrich feathers. There are plenty
of these birds running wild but a httle way inland,
and some are kept in domestic confinement on ac-
count of the feathers which they yield ; but the tame
birds do not develop such fine plumage as do the
wild ones. The ladies purchased choice specimens
of these elegant ornaments at prices ridiculously low
compared with tlie charge for such in Europe or
America. The men who sold these feathers differed
from the other natives, and were evidently Syrian
252 DUE WEST.
Jews, queer looking fellows, small in stature, dark
as Arabs, and with their hair diessed in cork-screw
curls. These small traders commenced by demand-
ing guineas for their feathers, and ended by taking
sliillings. Notwithstanding the barren aspect of the
surronnding country, Aden manages to do something
in the wa}^ of exports. Coffee is produced, not far
inland, as well as honey, wax, and gums, with some
spices, which are shipped to Europe.
It was just about twilight when we got up the
anchor, and steamed away from Aden ; and as the
evening set in a bevy of birds were singularly at-
tracted to the Kashgar. They were qnite as nuich
land as water-birds, and were fully twice as large as
robins, of a mingled white and slate color. So per-
sistent were these birds, and being perhaps a little
confused by the surrounding dnrkness, together with
the blinding lights of the ship, that they permitted
themselves to be caught and handled. When thrown
into the air they immediately returned, to light on
the bulwarks, shrouds, deck, or awnings, in fact, any-
where affording foothold. Scores of them roosted all
night on the Kashgar ; but with the first break of
morning light they shook their feathers briskly for
a moment, uttered a few harsh, croaking notes, as a
sort of rough thanks for their night's lodging, and
sailed away to the Abyssinian shore.
The general appearance of Aden from the sea,
though picturesque, is not inviting, giving one an
idea of great barrenness. The mountains and rocks
have a peaked aspect, like a spear pointed at one, as
much as to say '^ Better keep off." People who land
for the first time, however, ai-e agreeably disappointed
by finding that every opportunity for encouraging
EXTERIXG THE llhlD SEA. 258
vegetation and imparting its cheerful effect to the
rocky soil has been duly improved. When we bid
Aden good-by in the after-glow of sunset, the sea on
the harbor side was of a deep azure, while in the di-
rection of the ocean it stretched away to the hcjrizon
in a soft, pale green. Th's effect, added to the lin-
gering orange hue in the west, Mnd the sober gray
of the rocky promontory itself, made uj) a pleasing
variety of color.
Our course was now nearly north, leaving^ behind
us the island of Prim as well as Aden, the former
beini; also a British strongrhold at the mouth of this
inland sea, close to the Arabian coast, and less than
ten miles from the African shore, which facts will
show the reader how narrow is the southern entrance
of the Red Sea. The bold headlands of Abyssinia
were long visible on our port side, while on the star-
board we had a distant view of Arabia with the Lib-
yan range of mountains in the background, forming
the boundar}^ of the desert of the same name. Jed-
dah, the sea-port of Mecca, tlie resort of all pious
Mohammedans, and Mocha, with its bright sunlit
minarets, the place so suggestive of good coffee, were
to be seen in the distance. In coasting along the
shores of Nubia, the dense air from off the land was
like a sirocco, suffocatingly hot, the effect being more
enervating than that of any previous experience of
the journey. Here the water was observed to be
much Salter to the taste than that of the open sea, a
fact easily accounted for, as it is subject to the fierce
tropical sun, and the consequent rapid evaporation
leaves the saline property in aggregated proportions
at the surface. This is a phenomenon generally ob-
servable in land-locked arms of the ocean similarly
254 DUE WEST.
situated: the Persian Gulf being another instance.
The free circulation of ocean-currents, as well as the
heavy rain-falls of other tropical regions, renders the
conditions more uniform. As we sailed through the
Gulf of Suez we had the shores of Egypt on both
sides of us. The last day on board the Kashgar was
cliaracterized by one of those blazing sunsets that set
everything aglow, making it appear as though tlie
world had taken fire at the horizon and was actually
burning up.
Before arriving at Aden it was discovered that one
of the foremast hands of the ship was quite ill with
small-pox, a very annoying thing to happen under
the circumstances. There were some thirty or forty
cabin passengers on board, and of course serious fears
as to contaoion were entertained. Our small party,
having already run the gauntlet of both cholera and
small-pox, took the matter very quietly, though we
had before us a five or six days' voyage to consum-
mate before we could liope to land. The sick man
was placed in one of the large life-boats on the port
bow, which had a broad canvas nicely rigged over
it, and in this small, improvised hospital was per-
sonally attended by the ship's doctor alone, who in
turn isolated himself from the passengers. It was
feared that we might be quarantined upon arriving
at Suez ; but either by management or accident we
arrived late at night and got moored at the dock be-
fore any questions were asked. Selfishness and grav-
itation are both immutable. We are quite satisfied
to look out for the interests of number one, and must
confess that we know not to this day whether the
poor fellow, who lay so sick in the port boat, lived or
died.
FRESH-WATER SAILORS. 255
A modest effort to ascertain why this great arm
of the Indian Ocean is called the Red Sea was not
crowned with success. The Black Sea is not black,
the Blue Danube is not blue, the Red Sea is not red.
It extends between Africa and Arabia nearly fifteen
hundred miles, and in the broadest part is not over
two hundred miles across, gradually contracting at
each end. Portions of it are a thousand fathoms
deep, but the shores on either side are lined witli a
net-work of coral reefs and sunken rocks extending
well out from the coast. It was observed that the
Kashgar for the most part kept nearly in the middle
of the sea. Small Arabian vessels hug the shore, as
their captains are familiar with the soundings and
can safely do so, and yet they never navigate by
night nor go out of port when the weather is in the
least threatening. They make no attempt to cross the
sea except in settled weather, and are what we should
call fresh -water sailors, only venturing out when a
naked candle will burn on the forecastle. European
sailing vessels rarely attempt to navigate the Red
Sea ; it is too intricate, and the chances too haz-
ardous for anything but steam power to encounter.
Tlie color of the sea, so far from being red, is deeply
blue, and where it becomes shoal changes to a pale
green; but the color of all large expanses of water is
constantly changing from various causes. The re-
flection of the clouds will turn its blue to a dark in-
digo tint, and even to inky blackness. Experienced
seamen, foremast hands, who have no access to the
charts, will tell by the color of the water, after a
long voyage, that the land is near at hand ; the clear
transparent blue becomes an olive green, and as the
water grows more shallow it grows also lighter.
256 DUE WEST.
LaiiJiiig at Suez ear]\^ in tlie morning we strolled
about the town, wliit-li presented hardly a feature of
local interest, except tliat it was Suez and unlike
any other phice one had ever seen. The landscape,
if worthy of the name, consisted of far-reaching sand
and water; nf)t a single tree or sign of vegetation
was visible. All was waste and barrenness. The hot
sun permeating the atmosphere caused a shimmering
in the air, the tremulous effect of which was tryinor to
the eyes, and deceptive almost like a mirage. It was
a relief even when a tall awkward necked camel came
between one and the line of vision. A characteristic
scene emphasized the surrounding desolation, on a
neighboring sand-hill, where a flock of vultures were
feeding upon the carcass of a mule. Disturbed for a
moment they rose lazily, and circling about the spot
settled again to their carrion feast. Though there
has been a settlement here for five centuries, the
place has only sprung into commercial importance
since the completion of M. de Lesseps' great enter-
prise of wedding the Mediterranean and Red Seas.
There was a noticeable mingling of nationalities as
forming the rather incongruous community. We
counted half a dozen insignificant mosques, and vis-
ited the Arabian bazars, but saw nothing of interest
save a few corals and some handsome shells from the
neighboring sea. The people themselves were more
attractive and curious than the goods they displayed.
Sailors were lounging about the bar-rooms in large
numbers, and the sale of cheap liquors appeared to
be the one prevailing business of Suez. The floating
population was composed of Arabs, Maltese, Greeks,
and Italians. Some of the first-named race were no-
ticeable as nervous, sinewy, broad-chested fellows,
ZAGAZIG. 257
with narrow tbighs and well-shaped limbs, like a Mo-
hawk Indian. Ever34hing appeared poverty-stricken,
and it was a relief when the time came for us to take
our seats in the dilapidated ears and leave the place.
Zagazig was reached the same afternoon, and
though not so populous a place as Suez was much
more alive and thrifty. This settlement is also an
outgrowth of M. de Lesseps' enterprise, but it does not
present any aspect of its mushroom growth, giving
one the impression of a place well selected as a set-
tlement, and which had increased slowly and per-
manentl}^. We were now bound directly to Cairo,
which is situated nearly two hundred miles from
Suez. The first twenty or thirty miles of the route
was through a level desert of sand, scorched, silent,
and deserted, devoid of even a spear of grass or a sin-
gle tree, the yellow soil quivering in the heated air.
Mile after mile was passed without meeting one re-
deeming feature. It was desolation personified. At
last we came gradually upon a gently undulating and
beautiful district of country, enriched by the annual
deposits of the Nile, where careful, intelligent culti-
vation produced its natural results. Here we began
to see small herds of brown buffaloes, and peasants
plying the irrigating buckets of the shadoof. Every-
thing seemed verdant and thriving. Perhaps the
great contrast between the sterile desert so lately
crossed and the aspect which now greeted us made
this really fertile region appear doubly so. Not since
the plains of middle India had we seen anything
forming so fine a rural picture as this. Though it
was only the last of February the clover fields were
being mowed, and a second crop would follow ; the
barley and wheat were nearly ready for the sickle,
17
258 DUE WEST.
while the peas and beans, botli in full blossom, were
picturesque and fragrant. As we progressed through
this attractive region the pastures became alive with
sheep, goats, many camels, and some dromedaries.
On our way we made a brief stop at the late san-
guine field of Tell-el-Keber, where the English and
Turks fought the closing battle of the late campaign
in Egypt. The sandy plain was still strewn with the
debris of hastily deserted camps, and not far away
was that significant spot which war leaves always in
its track, — an humble cemeter}^ marked by many
small white stones, showing the last resting-places of
men unknown to fame, but to whom life was undoubt-
edly as sweet as it is to those whose graves the world
honors with monumental shafts.
While we were approaching Cairo, and were yet
two or three leagues away, the dim outline of the
everlasting pyramids could be seen, through the shim-
mering haze, softly limned against the evening sky,
firing the imagination, and causing an involuntary
and quicker pulsation of the heart. It was impossible
not to recall the glowing words of the Humpback in
the Thousand and One Nights, as we saw the pyra-
mids and glistening minarets coming into view : " Pie
who hath not seen Cairo hath not seen the world : its
soil is gold ; its Nile is a Avonder ; its women are like
the black -eyed virgins of Paradise; its houses are
palaces, and its air is soft, — its odor surpassing tlmt
of aloes-wood and cheering the heart; and how can
Cairo be otherwise when it is the Mother of the
World?"
CHAPTER IX.
Cairo and the Arabian Nights. — Street Scenes and Cries- — Camels
and Donkeys. — Turkish Bazars in Old Cairo. — Water-Carriers,
— The Pyramids of Gizeh. — The Sphinx. — Interesting Visit to a
Native House. — Mosque of Mehemet Ali. — The Rotten Row
of Cairo. — The Khedive's Palace. — Egyptian Museum. — Mosque
of Amer. — Whirling and Howling Dervishes. — Suez Canal. —
Ismailia and Port Said. — Island of Malta. — City of Valetta. —
Palace of the Knights. — Bird's-eye View.
Cairo is nearly the size of Boston, having a pop-
ulation of about four hundred thousand. It forms a
strange medley of human life, — a raany-hued crowd
constantly pouring through its thoroughfares, dirty
lanes, and narrow streets, in picturesque confusion.
On one side the observer is jostled by a liveried ser-
vant all silver braid and bright buttons, and on the
other by an Arab in loose white robe and scarlet tur-
ban ; now by a woman with her face half-concealed be-
neath her yasmak, and now by one scarce clothed at
all; by jaunty Greeks in theatrical costume, and cun-
ning Jews with keen, searching eves ; by tempting
flower-girls, and by shriveled old crones who impor-
tune for alms ; by Franks, Turks, and Levantines ; by
loaded donkeys and lazy, mournful-looking camels —
a motley group. The water-carrier, with his goat-
skin filled and swung across his back, divides the
way with the itinerant cook and his portable kitchen.
In short, it is the ideal city of the Arabian Xights.
The Esbekyeh is the Broadway of Cairo, and its con-
trast to the mass of narrow lanes and passages where
260 DUE WEST.
the iKitive bazars are located, as well as the dingy
houses of the populace, only adds to its brilliancy.
Like Paris, it is a city of cafes. During the even-
ing and far into the night, crowds of individuals of
every nationality are seen seated in groups before
them in the open air, drinking every sort of known
liquid, but coffee taking precedence of all others. In
picturesqueness of costume, the Turk leads the world.
There is none of the buttcmed-up aspect of Europeans
about him. His graceful turban and flowing robes
are worthy of the classic antique, while the lich con-
trast of colors which he alwa}S wears adds finish to
the general effect. As he sits cross-legged before his
open bazar, smoking his long pipe, he looks very wise,
learned, and sedate, though in point of fact, as has
been shrewdh^ said, there are doubtless more brains
under the straw hat of a Yankee peddler than under
three average turbans. The dark, narrow lanes and
endless zigzag alleys had an indescribable interest,
with tlieir accumulated dirt of neglect and dust of a
land wheie rain is so seldom known. One looks up
in passing at those overhanging balconies, imagining
the fate of the harem-secluded women behind them,
occasionally catching stolen glances from curious eyes
peering betw-een the lattices. What a life is theirs I
Education is unknown among the Egyptian women.
They have no mental resort. Life, intellectually, is
to them a blank. There was a mingled atmospheric
flavor impregnating everything with an incense-like
odor, thoroughly Oriental. One half expected to meet
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, as we still look for
Antonio and the Jew on the Rialto at Venice. The
whole city, with myriads of drawbacks, was yet very
sunny, very interesting, very attractive. The dreams
STREET SCENES OF CAIRO. 261
of childhood, with those veracious Arabian stories
and pictures, were constantly before the mind's ej^e,
in all their extravagant absurdities, stimulating the
imagination to leap from fancy to fancy as it achieved
grotesque impossibilities, and peopled the present
scene as in the days of Haroun Alraschid.
Camels and donkeys were in endless numbers ; the
latter, small creatures carrying enormous loads, and
often having big, lazy men on their backs, — so im-
measurably disproportioned to the animals as to
seem liable to break their tiny limbs like pipe stems.
Of course the fable, wdierein the old man was told it
was more fitting that he should carry his ass than
that his ass should carry him, occurred to us. Scores
of Egyptian porters, bent half double, carried on
their backs loads that would stagger a brewer's horse.
Women who rode their ponies and donkeys astride,
man-fashion, were \^t very careful to cover their
faces from view, their eyes gleaming out of peep-holes
like those of a cat in the dark. Others, again, jostled
you in the street with little naked children straddling
one slioulder, and holding on by both hands to the
mother's head. People riding upon donkeys — used
in place of cabs here — require a boy to follow be-
hind them with a stick to belabor the poor creatures ;
otherwise, being so trained, they will not move a step
forward. Those who drive through the streets in
carriages have a runner to precede them, gorgeously
dressed, and carrying a long white wand in his hand,
who is constantly crying to clear the way. These
runners go as fast as a horse ordinarily trots, and
seem never to tire. The common people lie down on
the sidewalk, beside the road, in nooks and corners,
anywhere in the open air, to sleep oft" their fatigue like
262 DUE WEST.
a dog. Speaking of dogs : here, as in Constantino-
ple, their name is legion, and they appear to have no
special masters, shrinking away into holes or behind
bales of goods during the day, and coming forth by
niorht to seek for food from the debris of the streets,
like jackals in India or crows in Ceylon. Every pub-
lic square has its fountain, and there are two hundred
in Cairo, where the domestic portion of the households
come to obtain water. The young girls carry water
gracefully poised in jars upon their heads, display-
ing forms and gait of faultless beauty. Some of these
girls scrupulously screen their faces from the public
eye; others roguishly remove the yasmak when a
European smiles at them, and tinkle their silver
bracelets as full of roguery as a Viennese.
What a motley aspect these Cairo bazars present !
This old Turk, with flowing caftan and white turban,
from his dingy quarters dispenses delicious odors,
curious pastes and essences, with kohl for the eyes
and henna for the fingers. Another has piles of san-
dal-wood fans, beads, and cheap jewelry of silver
and gilt ; now we come upon a low platform spread
with Syrian crapes of all colors, hues, and patterns,
to satisfy the gaudy taste of the slaves of the harem
and the negresses of the Soudan'; here are sweet-
meats, dates stuffed with almonds and honey and
sugar, combined in a tempting mixture, with added
coloring matter ; again we have pipes of all shapes
and sizes, with delicate stems of nicely wrought am-
ber, and stores of trinkets from Stamboul ; here are
red and yellow slippers of kid and satin, some elabor-
ately wrought in silver and gilt, and all turned up at
the toes. The narrow way is crowded with white
and red turbans, women with fruit in baskets upon
THE ISLAND OF RODA. 263
their heads, strong and wiry Bedouins leading their
horses and taking count of everything with their
sharp black eyes. They are the veritable sons of the
desert. Nile boatmen, Abyssinian slaves, and lazy
Egyptians, with Greeks, Italians, and Maltese, make
up the jostling crowd of the bazars ; and amid all
this one feels inquisitive as to Avhere Aladdin's uncle
may be just now, with his new lamps to exchange
for old ones.
Your local guide will suggest a short excursion to
the Island of Roda, and it is best to go there : if you
do not, some one will tell you that it was a great
omission ; that you will never know Avhat you have
missed, and so forth ! It is reached b}^ a ferry-boat
at a fee of a few pennies. Here the gardener points
out the identical spot where Moses was rescued by
the king's daughter ! Here is to be seen the Nil-
ometer, a square well connected with the Nile, hav-
ing: in its centre an octagconal column on which is
inscribed Arabian measures. The flora of the island
was interesting, showing a large array of palms,
oranges, lemons, bananas, date, and fig-trees. Here
also was pointed out to us the henna plant, which we
had not before seen, and from whence comes the
dj^e with which the Eastern women tint their fingers,
nails, and the palms of their hands. The plant is
seen here in the form of a well-trimmed dwarf bush,
but it grows more like a tree in its natural state.
The street cries of Cairo are unique. At the early
break of the day, or rather at the moment of sunrise,
tlie muezzin is heard : *' To prayers, to prayers, O
ye believers ! " Mustapha translated for us. Here
was a seller of peas, crying : " O parched peas.
Nuts of love ! " He was a rough fellow but had a
264 DUE WEST.
mellow voice. All these itiiK^-ants qualify, or recom-
mend their goods by added words ; tlius a girl, with
cut up sugar-cane in a basket upon her head, cried:
*' Sugar-canes; white sugar-canes," though the article
was black and blue. The water-carrier, with a full
skin slung over his shoulder, sliouted : " God's gift,
limpid water ! " A long bearded Copt cried : '' O
figs ; O believers, figs ! " and so on. When the crowd
is dense in the narrow streets lined by the bazars,
the donkey-boy shouts : *' O woman, to the left ! " or if
some peddler of goods be in the way, he or she is des-
ignated by the article on sale, as : *' O oranges, to the
right I " or " O eggs, out of the way ! " This, which
sounds so odd, is meant in good faith, and answers
the desired purpose. No one calls out in Arabic, ad-
dressing another, without prefixing some expletive.
Thus the dealer of sweetmeats drawls out : *' In the
name of the Prophet, comfits." Even the beggar
says: " O Christian, backsheesh ! " as he leans upon
a crutch and extends his trembling hand. If you re-
spond, all is well; if not, your ears will be assailed by
a jumble of Arabic, which, if your guide faithfully
translates to you, will probably be found to signify a
hearty Avish that Allah may roast your grandfather.
The pyramids of Gizeh are situated about ten
miles from Cairo, and after crossing the Kile by a
remarkable iron bridge, guarded at either end b}'
two bronze lions, are reached by a straight level road
lined with well-trimmed trees. This road terminates
at a rocky plateau which serves to give these wonder-
ful structures an elevated site, as well as to form a
natural foundation for the enormous weight of solid
stone to be supported. There is always an impop
tuning group of Arabs here, who live upon the gra
PYRAMIDS OF GIZEH. 265
tuities obtained from visitors, and they are so persist-
ent as to lead many people to employ tliem solely for
the purpose of ending their annoyance. These hang-
ers-on assist people to ascend and descend the pyra-
mids for a fixed sum, or for a few shillings will run
up and down them like monkeys. On the way be-
tween Cairo and the pyramids, through the long alley
of acacias, we passed hundreds of camels bound to the
city, laden with green fodder, and newly cut clover,
for stable use in town. They do not employ carts;
the backs of camels and donkeys supersede the use
of wheels.
Nothing new can be written about these monu-
ments. Famous and hoary, doting with age, the
pyramids were disappointing to us, — not as to size,
fur they are immense. Every one is familiar with
the marvelous statistics relating to them. But what
do they really amount to? They simply show, stand-
ing there upon the border of the desert, a vast ag-
gregate of labor performed by compulsion, and only
exhibit the supreme folly of the monarchs who tlius
vainly strove to erect monuments which should defy
all time and perpetuate their fame. Symbols of an-
cient tyranny and injustice, tears, and death. To-
day not even the names of their founders are known.
There are plausible suppositions enough about them,
each investigator and writer upon the subject hav-
ing plenty of argument to support his special C(mvic-
tions and theory ; but so far as the simple truth is
concerned the history of Cheops is much better stand-
ing as a blank than resting amid a confusion of very
thin speculations. There is no genius evinced in the
design or execution of the pyramids. Neither art,
taste, nor religion arj in any way subserved by these
26G DUE WEST.
unequaled follies. Nothing could be ruder : there is
no architectural excellence exhibited in them ; they
are merely enormous piles of stone ; that is absolutely
all. Some pronounce them marvelous evidences of
ancient greatness and power. True ; but if it were
desirable, we could build loftier and larger ones in
our day. As they are surely over four thousand
years old we admit that they are venerable, and they
enjoy a certain consideration on that account. In
the religious instinct which led the Buddhists to
build, at such enormous expense of time and mone}^
those cave temples of Elephanta, Ellora, and Carlee ;
in the idolatrous Hindoo temples of Madura, Tan-
jore, and Tiichinopol}'^, the shrines of Ceylon, the
pagodas of China, and the rich temples of Nikko,
one detects an underlying and elevating sentiment, a
grand and reverential idea, in which there may be
more of truth and acceptable veneration than we can
appreciate ; but in the pyramids we have no expres-
sion of devotion ; only an embodiment of personal
vanity, which hesitated at nothing for its gratifica-
tion, and which has only proved a total failure.
The immensity of the desert landscape, and the
absence of any object for comparison, make these
three pyramids seem smaller than they are, but the
actual height of the largest, that of Cheops, is nearly
five hundred feet, and it looks to be of that height
when one is far away from its base. The fixed object
of the pyramids is still a subject of learned discus-
sion, as well as by whom they were built. The the-
ory that they are royal tombs is generally accepted ;
and yet have not the mummies of bulls and other
animals been found in them ? All record relating to
Cheops is at least very questionable ; thus history
THE SPHINX. 267
fades into fable, and is clouded witli doubt. Bunsen
cLdms for Egypt nearly seven thousand years of civ-
ilization and prosperity before the building of these
monstrous moimments. We do not often pause to
consider how little real history there is. Conjecture
is not history. If contemporary record so often be-
lies itself, what ought we to consider of that which
comes througli the shadowy distance of ages ? It
will be remembered that a mummy of a human be-
ing, taken from the smallest of the three pyramids,
that of Myceninus, is to be seen in the British Mu-
seum. The familiar story of the beautiful Egyptian
princess, who is said to have erected this pyramid
with the fortunes of her many lovers, will occur to
the reader. A volume of legendary matter could be
filled relative to these structures, which are called
pyramids of Gizeh, after the crumbled city which once
stood so near to them.
Not many hundred feet from the pyramids, on a
somewhat lower plain, stands that colossal mystery,
the Sphiiix. The Arabs call it '* The Father of Ter-
ror," and it certainly has a most weird, unworldly-
look. Its body, and most of the head, is hewn out
of the solid rock where it stands, the upper portion
forming the head and bust of a human being, to
which is added the paws and body of an animal.
The great size of the figure will be realized when we
recall the fact that the face is thirty feet long and
half as wide. The body is in a reclining, or rather
a sitting posture, with the paws extended forward
some fifty feet or more. This strange figure is be-
lieved to be of much greater antiquity than the pyra-
mids, but no one knows how oM it is. Notwithstand-
ing its mutilated condition, showing the furrows of
268 DUE WEST.
time, the features have still a sad, tranquil expression,
the whole reminding us, in its apparent purpose, of
the great bronze image Dai - Butsu at Kamakura,
though it is some five thousand years older, at least,
than the Japanese figure. There is also the founda-
tion of an ancient temple near at hand, the upper
portion of the structure having long since crumbled
to dust. This is supposed to have been in some way
connected with the great statue, half animal and half
human in form. Ages ago, from a sanctuary between
the lion-like paws of the spliinx, sacrifices were un-
doubtedly offered, as archseologists believe, of human
beings, to the divinity it was designed to represent.
Here, for five or six thousand years, more or less,
this strange figure has remained unchanged in the
midst of change, through ancient Ethiopian dynas-
ties, mediaBval battles, and pestilences ; even to our
da}^ calm, unalterable, crumbling in parts, but still
bodily extant, and doubtless the oldest known object
erected by the hand of man.
In a visit to the house of our guide in Cairo, an
intelligent Turk, who wore the full traditional cos-
tume of his people, and was a person of some note,
though not above receiving eight francs per day for
his services, it was interesting to observe the domestic
arrangements, which he assured us were similar to
those of most of his neighbors. The rooms were of
various heights, and irregular in formation, requir-
ing one to constantly ascend or descend a couple of
steps in passing from one room to another, no two be-
ing of the same height, — a most incongruous arrange-
ment, the object of which was not apparent. The
placing of the windows in the dwelling also struck us
as being very odd, until the explanation that the de-
EDUCATION IN CAIRO. 269
sign was to prevent being overlooked by one's neigh-
bors. The guide touched a secret spring and showed
a door, where we should not have supposed one to
exist, leading into a dark, descending passage to the
rear and outside of the house. This, he explained,
was designed to afford an escape in case of emer-
gency, and was only known to the builder and him-
self. " All houses in Cairo have some such passages,"
he remarked. A few minutes later, in a dark corner,
a secret door was caused to open, half the size of the
first, and to which he pointed mysteriously. " And
what is this for ? " we asked. " It is to hide treasures
in, and to secrete one's self in haste, when desirable,"
he replied. One would suppose that the universality
of these architectural secrets would rob them of all
security or usefulness. There was one portion of the
house not open to us, which was, as may be supposed,
the apartments occupied by Mustapha's wives, of
whom he acknowledged to have four behind the lat-
ticed blinds of the overhanging balcony.
Although there are plenty of schools in Cairo, such
as they are, only boys are taught to read and write
in them. Girls, even among the wealthy classes, are
not taught, as a rule, the simplest rudiments of ed-
ucation. They, however, acquire some accomplish-
ments of a domestic character, — such as sewing, em-
broidery,— and often play upon some simple musical
instrument of a string character. We saw in Mus-
tapha's house a mandolin which was evidently used
by the women of the harem.
Tiie ]\Iosque of Mehemet Ali, with its tapering
minarets overlooking all Cairo, was found to be quite
a modern edifice, scarcely more thiin half a century
in nge, but it is a very remarkable and beautiful
270 DUE WEST.
structure, and of great cost. The spacious building is
lined throughout with Oriental alabaster, and the
exterior is of the same costly finish. There is the
sarcophagus of Mehemet Ali, the most enlightened
of modern Egyptian rulers, before which lamps are
burning perpetually. The interior of this mosque in
its combined effect seemed to be the most effective,
architecturally, of any temple of the sort which we
had visited. There is a height, breadth, and sol-
emn dignity in its aspect, which earnestly impresses
one. The exterior is much less striking, but yet ad-
mirably balanced and harmonized. The lofty situa-
tion of the mosque commands one of the most inter-
esting views that can well be conceived of. The cit}^
with its countless minarets and domed mosques, its
public buildings and tree-adorned squares, its section
of mud-colored houses and terraced roofs, lies in the
form of a crescent at the visitor's feet, while the
plains of Lower Egypt stretch far away in all direc-
tions. The tombs of the INIemlooks lie close at hand,
full of suggestiveness, as also does the lonely column
of Heliopolis, four thousand years old, marking the
site of the famous " Cit}^ of the Sun." Bej^ond and
towards the sea is the land of Goshen, where the
sons of Jacob fed their flocks. A little more west-
erly in the mysterious Nile is seen the well-wooded
island of Roda, quietly nestling in the broad bosom
of the river. The grand Aqueduct, with its high
arches reaching for miles, reminds one of the Cam-
pagna at Rome ; while beyond loom up the time-
defying pyramids, the horizon ending at the borders
of the great Libyan Desert. Far away to the south-
west a forest of palms dimly marks the site of dead
and buried Memphis, where Joseph interpreted a
THE SHOOBRA PALACE. 271
monarch's dream. Twiliglit was approaching when
we were there The half-suppressed hum of a dense
Eastern population came up from tlie busy, low-lying
city, and a strange, sensuous flavor of sandal-wood,
musk, and attar of roses floated upon the golden
haze of the sunset, indelibly fixing the Oriental scene
on the memor3\
A visit to the Shoobra Palace, in the environs of
Cairo, took us over a fine road and through a shady
avenue of sycamores and lebbec-trees, the latter re-
markable for its umbrageous character. This is the
favorite drive of the citizens at twilight, where every
known modern style of carriage may be met, from
the Khedive's equipages, four-in-hand, and those of
the ladies of his harem, to the single English gig or
dog-cart. There are also the light American trotting
wagons, elegant European barouches, mingled with
equestrians upon spirited Arab horses ; also people
mounted upon nice donkeys, — for some of these ani-
mals are highly bred. Again, richly caparisoned cam-
els from the Khedive's stables occasionally heighten
the Eastern aspect of the scene, which recalled the
Maidan of Calcutta most vividly. The roadway is
not devoid of pedestrians, who come to see and to be
seen. In short, the Shoobra Road is the Rotten Row
of Cairo. Even here fashion steps in after her arbi-
trary manner, and establishes Friday and Sunday
afternoons as the " swell " days for riding or driving
on the avenue. But we started for the Khedive's
Palace, and have stopped to gossip by the way.
The Summer Palace at Shoobra is surrounded by
beautiful gardens, to visit which a permit is required
from city officials ; but not being thus prepared, a
Kttle silver was found to be equally effective with the
272 DUE WEST.
obliging custodian. The apartments of the palace
are numerous and elegantly furnished, in a mixed
Turkish and European style, witli divans, lounges,
chairs, tables of inlaid marble, and massive curtains
mingled with silk and satin hangings. The grand
drawing-room was furnished in gold and white satin;
the ladies' parlor in green satin and silver ; each an-
teroom in different colors; all gorgeous, and a little
fantastic. Tlie great number of mirrors was almost
confusing ; and French clocks, two in some rooms,
stared at one from all directions. The mirrors pro-
duced a serious danger by their reflected perspective,
and one was liable to walk boldly into them. In the
centre of the palace was an area open to the sky, upon
which doors and windows faced, after the Moorish
style, as at Cordova and Toledo, in the centre of which
was' an artificial lake formed by a huge marble basin,
the whole surrounded by corridors of white marble.
Here were placed divans, lounges, and luxurious
chairs, besides many choice plants in richly orna-
mented porcelain vases, evidently forming the domes-
tic lounging place of the famil3^ We observed an
American piano in a cozy little room opening upon
this corridor, and a billiard-table in another. In the
extensive grounds surrounding the palace, landscape-
gardening and modern floral effects have been finely
carried out by a skilled foreigner, who had been im-
ported for this special purjjose from Versailles. The
variety of fruit was really remarkable, embracing
orange, lemon, banana, fig, peach, and pear-trees,
and a great variety of choice flowers were in their
glory. The peach-trees, — it was late in Februar}'',
— well -divided about the long, broad paths, Avere
in full splendor of blossom, dotting the whole view
THE CAIRO MUSEUM. 273
with huge clusters of pink flowers dehghtful to the
eye. The walks were clean, niceh' cared for, and the
shrubbery admirably trimmed, though there was no
attempt at Chinese grotesqiieness in shape and figures.
Nature was permitted to follow her own sweet will as
to form and luxuriousness of growth, filling the air with
a mingled j^erfume of roses, heliotrope, and lemon-
Teibena. As we left the gi'ounds each was presented
with a bouquet by the disinterested (?) gardener.
The exhibition of Egyptian antiquities in the Cairo
Museum is the most extensive and complete collec-
tion in existence, affording historic data of priceless
value to the antiquarian. Here we have tangible his-
tory taking us back four thousand five hundred years
before the coming of Christ, representing not only
the art and culture, but also the religion of those re-
mote periods, even to the days of Mene^, the first
recorded king. A wooden statue over four thousand
years old, recovered from Memphis, launches one's
imaginaticm upon a busy train of thought. Here
were curious tables, papyrus, bronze images, mum-
mies, sculptures from stone, objects relating to do-
mestic life, arms, rings, combs, vases, and many other
articles which were in use four thousand years ago.
By the Boulak Museum it is easily proved that the
glory of Eg3^ptian art belonged to the age of Cheops,
its decadence to that of Rameses H. The collection,
as we have intimated, throws a light upon Egyptian
life and history for nearly five thousand years before
the Christian era, but it is only a dim light. There
can be but little consecutive reading of these isolated
mementos. They afford us information as to gener-
alities only, yet add link after link to a chain connect-
ing those long past centuries with the present time.
18
274 DUE WEST.
The Mosque of Amer, some twelve centuries in
age, tiiough little more than a ruin, is still of consid-
erable interest to tlie traveler. One enters the walls
of an oblong court, the east end being formed of a
gallery with columns inclosing the sanctuary. The
north and south sides are inclosed by piazzas with
many noble columns. There are two hundred and
fifty of these, formed of single stones of granite and
porphyr}^, which are known to have come from Mem-
phis and Heliopolis. The whole deserted temple con-
stitutes the most important monument of Arabian
architecture in Cairo. Seen as it was in the dull
gray of early morning, before the sun had fairly
lighted the well-preserved minarets, it presented a
solemn picture of faded glory. It is quite as much
in their suggestiveness as in what they exhibit to the
eye, that these decaying monuments interest and in-
struct us. The mosque was erected by the general
whose name it bears, and was one of the few that
escaped, five centuries later, the fire by which the
Saracens burned Cairo to prevent its falling into the
hands of the invading Christians.
Let us not forget to mention a brief visit to those
strange fanatics, the whirling dervishes, in witness-
ing whose singular movements one is at a loss
whether to sigh or to laugh. To the young the per-
formance suggests that of the circus, and until wea-
ried of the monotony of it, is perhaps as amusing ;
but to the more thoughtful observer it is melancholy
to see men so debase themselves. The ring in which
these people whirl about was full of deluded men, on
the day of our visit, self-proclaimed disciples. About
twenty of them commenced at a signal to turn rap-
idly about on their heels and toes, without a mo-
EGYPTIAN FANATICS. 275
merit's pause, for a period of some thirty or forty
minutes, to the monotonous notes of a fife and a sort
of Cliinese tora-torn, until finally their brains became
addled, and they fell to the ground in a species of
trance, their active devotion being supposed to have
thus successfully terminated. Tlu howling dervishes,
seen in another temple, form a different branch of
a similar style of worship or fanaticism ; if possible,
still more senseless than that already described. The
bodily motion of the howlers is different, and is ac-
companied by a hoarse, disagreeable howling, like
that of a pack of half-starved wolves, except that it
is done to a certain musical accompaniment, enabling
the participants to keep time, both as to the motion
of the body and the hideous noise which they make.
The motion is that of throwing the head and upjDer
portion of the body forward, and bringing it back
with a sudden jerk, which would, under ordinary cir-
cumstances, break a man's neck, but these creatures
are used to it. The dervishes w^ear their hair long,
which adds to their crazy appearance, by covering
their faces with it during the jerking process, the
liair flying back and forth with each movement.
What the ecstatic point is in this ridiculous perform-
ance was not apparent, and they did not tumble down
overcome by unconsciousness. It is supposed that
all travelers visit them, but we came away more pun-
ished than entertained or interested in the senseless
exhibition.
A week was all too brief a period to pass in the
Queen City of the East, but at its close we started
Dy rail for Ismailia, the little town which is located
exactly midway on the great canal between the two
seas, at the Bitter Lakes, through which the canal
276 DUE V/EST.
runs. It is a pretty and attractive place of four or
five tliousand inhabitants, and is a creation of the
last sixteen years. Here we observed gardens filled
with flowers and fruit trees ; vegetation being in its
most verdant dress, promoted by irrigation from the
neighboring fresh-water canal. Tlie place has broad
macadamized streets, and a capacious central square
ornamented with large and thrifty trees. It was
here that the representatives of all nations met on the
t ccasion of the inauguration ceremony on the com-
pletion of De Lesseps' grand canal. We took a small
mail steamer at Ismailia through the v/estern half of
the canal to Port Said, which is the ^Mediterranean
terminus of the great artificial river. It was a night
tiip, but had it been b}^ daylight would have afforded
us no views. We passed onward between two lofty
hills of sand, the sky only visible overhead, and no
vegetation whatever in sight ; no birds, no animals,
nothing to vary the monotony, but an occasional
dredging machine, when we stopped at what are
called watering-stations. The reader needs hardly
to be told that this successful enterprise of cutting a
canal across the Isthmus of Suez has proved a vast
and increasins: advanta<2je to the commerce of the
world. Large as it is, and under the best of manan^e-
ment, it has already proved insufficient for the busi-
ness which it has ci'eated, rendering a second parallel
water-way imperatively necessary, plans for which
are now under consideration. At present, so large is
the demand upon its facilities that " blocks " and se-
rious delays are of daily occurrence. That there will
be ample and remunerative business for two canals
is easily demonstrable by the statistics of the original
company, which show a most remarkable annual in*
BARRENNESS OF EGYPT. 277
crease. It is a singular fact worthy of mention, that,
-with all our modern improvements and progressive
ideas, the Egyptians were centuries before us in tliis
plan of shortening the path of commerce between the
East and the West, or, in other words, of connecting
the Red Sea with that of the Mediterranean across
the Isthmus and through the Gulf of Suez.
Government engineers determined the difference of
level between the two seas by careful processes, and
the investigation showed that there was hardly a
perceptible variation between the Mediterranean and
the arm of the Indian Ocean formed by the Red
Sea. The same fact has been scientifically settled
regarding the Isthmus of Panama; while measure-
ments along the Pyrenees have established the same
level between the waters of the Mediterranean and
the Bay of Biscay. The traveler in navigating these
several waters cannot but realize an interest in such
important physica.1 facts.
The only business of Port Said is that connected
directly or indirectly with the transshipment of ves-
sels to and from the Red Sea by way of Suez. The
town contains nothing of interest, and is a mere
smdy plain. The languages spoken are French and
Arabic. There are, counting the floating population,
some eight thousand people here, not more, com-
posed of every possible nationality ; while the social
status is at as low an ebb as it can possibly be. The
region is perfectly barren, — like Egypt nearly every-
where away from the valley of the Nile, which en-
riches an extent of ten or twelve miles on either side
of its course by the annual overflow, to an amount
hardly to be realized without witnessing its effect.
The question often suggested itself as to how camels,
278 DUE WEST.
donkeys, and goats could pick up sufficient nourish-
ment, outside of this fertile belt, to sustain life.
Through that part of the desert which we passed in
coming from Suez one looked in vain for any contin-
uous sign of vegetation. A peculiarity of the land
is the entire absence of woods and forests ; hence
also the absence of wild beasts, only hyenas, jackals,
and wolves being found. Here and there, at long
intervals, an oasis was observed like a smile break-
ing over the arid face of nature upon which a settled
gloom rested nearly all the while. Once or twice
there was seen a cluster of solitary palms by a rude
stone wall, hedged in by a little patch of green earth,
about which a few camels and goats were quenching
their thirst or cropping the scanty herbage. Some
Arabs, in picturesque costumes, lingered hard b}^
The tents, pitched in the background, were of the
same low, fiat-topped, coarse camel's hair construc-
tion as these desert tribes have used for thousands
of years. Such groups formed true Egyptian pic-
tures, which are so often seen delineated on canvas.
Egypt has only her ruins, her antiquity, her Bib-
lical associations to give her interest with the world
at large. Japan is infinitely to be preferred in any
light of contemplation ; China, even, rivals her in all
natural advantages ; and India is much more invit-
ing. In looking at Egypt we must forget her pres-
ent and recall her past. The real Egypt is not the
vast territory which we shall find laid down by the
geographers, reaching to the Indian Ocean, the Red
Sea, and embracing equatorial regions ; it is and was,
even in the days of the Pharaohs and Ptolomies, the
valley of the Nile, from the First Cataract to the
Mediterranean Sea, hemmed in by the Libyan and
THE HISTORIC EGYPTIAN. 279
Arabian deserts. From hence came to tlie rest of
the world so much of art, science, and pliilosophy ;
and here were built those time-defying monuments
which to-day challenge the wonder of the w^orld.
The native Egyptian, the fellah, he who tills the
soil, who cultivates by irrigation and gathers the rich
crops of the valley, is of a fine and industrious race,
well-built, broad-chested, and always of lithe frame,
altogether a fine looking and vigorous figure. He
has a manly, oval face, a broad brow, and a bronzed
complexion, with brilliant eyes, fine teeth, and nat-
urally luxuriant beard. He is the same figure his
ancestors were six thousand years ago, as represented
on the tombs and temples of Thebes, and on the
slabs of Gizeh in the Museum at Cairo. He still
performs his work in the nineteenth century just as
he did before the days of Moses, scattering tlie seed
and working the shadoof. He is little seen in the
cities ; his place is in the field ; there he lives and
thrives. Though his native land has found such
various masters in Greek and Roman, Arab and
Turk, he has never lost his individualit3\ He has
ever been, and is to-day, the same historic Egyptian.
If he were a horse in place of a man, we should say
of him that he was of a pure, uncontaminated breed.
The women when young are very handsome, beauty
being the first present Nature gives them and the
first she takes awa}^ They are exquisite in form,
and with a most graceful gait, common to nearly all
Eastern women, who, from childhood, carry jars of
water upon their heads, thus inducing the perfec-
tion of carriage. It made us feel almost angry to see
them tattooed, their nostrils and ears pierced with
rings, and awkwardly bedecked with cheap jewelry,
280 DUE WEST.
like their cruder sisters of the Malay Archipelago.
These women are frequently mothers at the age of
fourteen, and work as industriously in the field as at
the domestic hearth. The words *' domestic hearth"
are used in a conventional mannei*, as their houses
generall}^ consist of one room, devoid of windows, and
a door so low as to render it necessary to stoop in
order to enter. This door is the only piece of wood
in the structure, which is composed of sun-dried clay.
These dens, so utterly unfit for human beings, are
dark and dirty, but the people live and sleep much
in the open air. Such abodes are the natural out-
growth of degradation and ignorance.
We waited four days at Port Said for the arrival
of the P. and O. steamship Rome, as she was detained
by one of the numerous "blocks'' in the canal, but
finally embarked on her for Malta and Gibraltar.
The Rome is a five thousand -ton ship, and the fa-
vorite of this company's extensive fleet. Four days'
sail, covering about a thousand miles, over the er-
ratic waters of the Mediterranean, now calm and now
enraged, brought us in sight of Malta. The city of
Valetta lies immediately on the shore ; and when we
dropped anchor in the snug little harbor, we were
surrounded by lofty forts, frowning batteries, and
high stone buildings of various sorts. There are two
liaibors, in fact, known as Quarantine Harbor and
Great Harbor. The Rome lay in the former. The
island is about twenty miles long and half as wide,
and had a place in historical record nearly three thou-
sand years ago. We were not prepared, upon land-
ing, to find so large and fine a city, numbering, as
Valetta does, at least a hundred and fifty thousand
inh:ibitants. The houses are all large stone struc-
ISLAND OF MALTA. 281
tures, many of which are architecturally noticeable ;
fronting thoroughfares of good width, well-paved, and
in fine order, an aspect of cleanliness and fresh nass
pervading everything.
Few countries have known so many changes among
their rulers as has this Mediterranean island. Phoeni-
cians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Goths, and
Arabs succeeded each other before our era, followed
by German, French, Spanish, and English rulers.
During the sovereignty of the Grand Masters it suf-
fered the curse of the Inquisition, until the Kniglits
were deposed by the French, and that hateful and
bloody agent of the Romish Church was expelled.
Not more heterogeneous are the nationalities under
which the island has been held than is the character
of its dialects ; indeed, we have never seen written
Maltese, which, as spoken by the populace, is a mix-
ture of Arabic and Eastern dialects. Italian, French,
and English are equally in use, but the latter, being
now the official tongue, takes precedence among the
educated classes.
The garrison is formed of some three or four thou-
sand British troops. Many of the streets run up the
steep hill-side on which the town stands, and are
flanked b}^ broad stone steps for foot passengers, the
/roadway being quite inaccessible for vehicles. The
principal thorouglifare is the Strada Reale, nearly a
mile long, flanked by fine and attractive stores, shops
displaying choice fancy goods, jewelry, silks, and
laces ; also by dwelling-houses and hotels ; in short,
forming a busy and handsome boulevard. All the
dwelling-houses over the stores are ornamented by
pleasant iron balconies, where the residents can sit
and enjoy the cool evening breezes after the hot days
282 DUE WEST.
that linger about Malta nearly all the ^^ear round.
It was observed that the town was lighted by a com-
plete gas system. There is a large and imposing
stone opera house, of fine architectural aspect, orna-
mented with Corinthian columns, a wide portico, and
broad steps leading up to the same. A visit to the
Church of St. John was very interesting. It was
built a little over three hundred years since by the
Knights, wlio lavished large sums of money upon its
erection and elaborate ornamentation. Statuary and
paintings of rare merit abound within its walls, and
gold and silver ornaments render the altar a work of
great aggregate value. The entire roof of the church,
which is divided into zones, is admirably painted by
figures of such proportions as to look of life size from
the floor, representing prominent Scriptural scenes.
The excellence, finish, and naturalness of the figures
challenged special attention ; it was difficult not to
believe them to be in bas-relief. On inquiring as
to their authorship, we were told that they were the
work of Mattia Preli, an enthusiastic artist, who
spent his life in this adornment, refusing all remuner-
ation for his labor, content to live frugally that he
might thus exemplify his art and his devotion. He
certainly excelled any artist with whom we are ac-
quainted in causing figures painted on a flat surface
to appear to the spectator far below them to stand
out with statuesque effect. In this Church of St.
John, the Knights seemed to have vied with each
other in adding to its ornaments and its treasures,
so that the rich marbles, bas-reliefs, and mosaics are
almost confusing in their abundance. The floor is
closely ornamented with inlaid marble slabs, which
cover the tombs of the most distinguished Knights of
the order of St. John.
FRUITS OF MALTA. 283
The famous Dome of Mosta, a hamlet some three
or four miles from Valetta, was pointed out to us. It
seems curious that this village church shoulJ be
crowned by a dome larger than that of the Pantheon
or St. Peter's, but such is the fact. It is built of the
yellow stone of which the whole island consists. AVe
did not visit Mosta, but were told that it was a
small and miserable place. The story of the church
is this : An ancient edifice of the same character
stood upon the spot, but a new one of larger dimen-
sions was needed to accommodate the people. It was
essential that it should be on the same site, but the
old one could not be removed until the new one was
ready. To meet this difficulty the modern structure
was built over the old one, and so this remarkable
dome was erected without scaffolding within. Its
proportions did not seem particularly fine, but the
size is most remarkable. It may be mentioned, how-
ever, that Malta lias some ten or more beautifully-
formed domes, looming up into the azure which hangs
over the Mediterranean.
We were told that snow is not known in Malta,
but that ice sometimes forms during the coldest nights
of winter, though only in thin layers, the climate ap-
pearing to be very similar to that of southern Italy.
It was early in March, but the trees were in full
bloom, and a pleasant appreciation has led the citi-
zens to plant and cultivate fruit trees and flowers in
abundance. Among the fragrant blossoms, quick to
catch the eye, were those of the peach, pear, orange,
and apple. Indeed, Valetta seemed to be clothed in
blossoms, and in the case of the orange-trees the ripe
fruit was also to be seen in rich yellow plumpness.
There must be a prevailing refinement of taste in this
284 DUE WEST.
island city, otherwise the abundance of flowers offered
on the Strada Reale would not find purchasers. Sev-
eral kiosks were observed erected alonor the main
thoroughfare, whose occupants were busy making up
button-hole bouquets, as well as arranging larger ones
in picturesque combinations. There is a place near
the harbor named Casal Attand, that is, the " Village
of Roses." Casal, in Maltese, signifies village ; and
there is also Casal Luca, the '* Village of Poplars ; "
and still another, Casal Zebbug, the " Villacje of
Olives." A simple but very appropriate system of
nomenclature.
There are three islands in the Malta group : Malta,
Gozo, and Comino, the two latter being so small as
to be of comparatively little importance, and the cir-
cumference of the whole, judging by the scale of the
maps, must be less than a hundred miles. The trade
of the place is small, though it exports some fruits,
olives, and laces, the latter a specialty. Visitors al-
ways leave more or less money in exchange for small
mementos of the island, and thus aid in the support
of the various fancy goods stores, photograph, and
jewelry shops on the Strada Reale. The Palace of
the Grand Knights of Malta, whose interesting story
has so long entered into history and romance, is the
most inviting object to the traveler, — in its associa-
tions quite as interesting as any modern palace. One
enters the lofty corridors with a throng of historical
recollections crowding upon the memor3\ It is a
large stone building, rather imposing in its exterior,
and within is divided into roomy vestibules, pict-
ure-galleries, banqueting hall, hall of justice, hall of
council, chapel, and several other state apartments.
The council chamber is hung in Gobelin tapestry of
ARMORY OF THE KNIGHTS. 285
great original cost and beauty, imported from France
nearly three centuries ago. These remarkable hang-
ings are crowded with colossal figures representing
scenes in India, Africa, Europe, and America, in tlie
latter of which were some manifest crudities. The
whole is in a singularly good state of preservation,
both as regards color and texture.
The Armory of the Knights is a large hall in the
same building, wherein is preserved the armor and
weapons as worn by them in actual service, besides
specimens of guns and cannon of very peculiar mech-
anism. Here, too, is an interesting series of por-
traits, representing the various Grand Masters of the
order of St. John. Some of the fire-arms challenge
attention, from the fact that they so closely resemble
designs and samples to be seen in Venice, showing
thnt the principle of the modern revolver was born
and partially carried out centuries before the ingeni-
ous American, Colonel Colt, perfected a weapon which
has since become universal. The same remark will
apply to the principle of breech -loading fire-arms,
examples of which may here be seen three hundred
years old. One ver}^ singular cannon was observed,
aetuiilh^ made from closely woven rope, so strong and
compact as to be capable of bearing a discharge with
gunpowder, and which had once seen service in bat-
tle. The rusty old lances, broken spears, and dimmed
sword-blades, hanging on the walls, shadowed by the
tattered remnants of battle-flags bearing the bloody
marks of contests in which they had taken part, were
silent but suggestive tokens of the Crusades. There
are many relics preserved in this liall besides the
weapons and armor, consisting of written documents
and illumined books ; indeed, the place is a veritable
28b' DUE WEST,
museum in itself, though containing nothing except
such mementos as reLite to the history of this most
ancient and long- sustained order of Knights of the
Church. This hall is sure to remind the visitor of tho
Tower of London.
We strolled through the elaborate divisions of Fort
St. Angelo, which has existed as a fortification for
a thousand years, and from its overhanging battle-
ments obtained a pleasing and comprehensive view
of the island and its surroundings. JNIalta, like Gib-
raltar and Aden, is principally important as a for-
tified station, and fi-om this occupation derives its
main support. The system of armament and the
garrison here maintained are complete and effective.
The lofty fort upon which we stood is very command-
ing, in a military point of view, as well as affording
a grand prospect. Valetta lay far below us, with
its white buildings and thrifty, business-like aspect,
its many blossoming trees giving bits of delicate
color here and there. Both harbors, with their
crowded shipping and many stately warehouses, were
in view. In Great Harbor there floated three frown-
ing, black -hulled, iron -clad monsters, whose open
ports and protruding cannon showed their warlike
purpose. At intervals the strains of a marine band
came from on board one of them.
The blue Meditenanean stretched far away to the
horizon, dotted here and there by the picturesque
maritime rig of these waters, its placid surface, now
serene and quiet, radiating the afternoon light like a
liquid sapphire. A myriad of row-boats shot hither
and thither over the waters of the inner harbor,
painted and emblazoned after the gaudy jNIaltese
fashion. One or two long lines of dark, curling
AGAIN AT SEA. 287
smoke floating among the distant clouds, pointed out
the course of the continental steam-packets bound
east or west. The atmosphere was soft and summer-
like. The hum of the busy town, far below ns, came
up on the air like the drone of insects, mingled with
the soft chimes from the Church of St. John. It
must have been some fete-day in Malta, as other bells
joined in the chorus, which floated with mellow ca-
dence on the atmosphere. We had observed the ]Mal-
tese women in church costume, making them look like
a bevy of nuns, hastening through the streets during
the da}^ and doubtless it was some special occasion
which drew them, with their prayer-books, to the sev-
eral altars. Is it not noticeable everywhere that it
is the women who respond to these church require-
ments, while the men coolly smoke their cigars, or
gossip about business on the Exchange?
From our lofty perch on the battlements of Fort
St. Angelo, we saw the signal for sailing displayed
by the Rome, and knew that it was time for us to
hasten on board, and so turned our faces towards the
landing-place. For a few shillings, flowers enough
to beautif}^ our cabins were purchased on the way,
forming a floral displa}^ as pleasing to the eye as
it was grateful b}^ its perfume. Flowers, " the air-
woven children of light," are always beautiful, but
especially so at sea, — no greater contrast being pos-
sible than that between these winsome blossoms and
the cold, fretful element which surrounds the ocp.an-
bound ship.
CHAPTER X.
Voyage through the Mediterranean. — Gibraltar on Sunday. — Beau-
tiful Alameda. — Visit to the Famous Fortress. — Wild Monkeys.
— Cannon and Flowers. — Tangier. — Morocco. — Straits of Gib-
raltar. — A Moorish City of To-day. — Local Scenes. — A Private
Museum — The Governor's Palace. — Eusty Keys. — The Typical
Moor. — The Slave Market. — Oriental Tableaux. — Visit to Wash-
ington Mount. — A Cup of Moorish Coffee. — From Gibraltar to
Malaga. — Spain. — The City of Raisins and Sweet Wine.
The sonorous puff of the steam-winch told iis that
the anchor had ah^eady parted from its hold of the
land, the ship glided slowly through the deep waters
like a huge sea-mo uster, the tremulous vibration of
the hull caused by the regular pluuge of the screw
was resumed, and we laid our course once more west-
ward. A gale of wind welcomed us back to the sea^
and the heavy weather forced tlie ship on a southerly
course. In our passage from jNIalta to Gibraltar, a
distance of about a thousand miles, we sighted the
shores of Africa, the headlands of Tripoli, and the
coast of Morocco, reaching our port of destination at
last, prepared to testify to the treacherous and rest-
less nature of this great inland sea.
We landed at Gibraltar on Sunday, March 11th,
and in our walk from the shore to the quaint old tav-
ern known as the King's Arms, — combining much
comfort with its dinginess, — we found the day was
but partially observed as one of rest. The stores were
mostly open, and the numerous bar-rooms noticeably
so, after the usual stylo in Roman Catholic countries.
PEOPLE OF GIBRALTAR. 289
The first impression was, that we were within the
precincts of a large fort or mihtary cantonment,
every other person being in uniform, while sentries
and cannon were as plenty as at Woolwich or West
Point. England here supports a garrison of from
four to six thousand men at a vast expense, but it is
undoubtedly quite necessary for her to do so, as it is
also important to keep a well-organized garrison at
Aden, Prim, Singapore, and Ceylon. The highway
to her possessions in India is too important to trust
in other hands. Hence her late demonstration in
Egypt, and the favor with which government looks
upon the proposed new canal, to be constructed
nearly parallel with that now existing, and which
will be virtuall}^ an English enterprise, in spite of M.
de Lesseps' ingenious devices and finesse.
The people of Gibraltar are of a mixed nationality ;
those of Penang and Singapore are scarcely more so.
Here we have English, Portuguese, Moors, Spaniards,
Italians, with some Maltese. The occupation of these
people is almost entirely that of sailors, and after
deducting the garrison, they form three fourths of
the population. They are of rather a quarrelsome
disposition, especially as the large number of bar-
rooms is a constant temptation to drink ; but the po-
lice arrangements are excellent, and all are kept in
due subjection by the ready arm of discipline. The
place is virtually under martial law at all times, and
in dealing with the class of humanity which naturally
congregates here, this system has special advantages.
There is no compounding of felony, no compromising
with crime. If the laws are outraged, the offender
knows he will be instantly arrested and punished,
without any fear of popular sympathy. It is not the
19
290 DUE WEST.
severity, so much as the certainty of punishment,
which causes the reckless and abandoned element of
society to respect good and wholesome laws. Pun-
ishment of crime is swift and sure at Gibraltar.
The military, warlike aspect of everything is par-
tially relieved by a very spacious public garden and
promenade combined, located at that portion of the
place known as Europa Point, just outside the gates
of the city proper on the seaward side. These gar-
dens being upon a sloping hill -side are terraced, or
divided into three plains, about which are planted,
with regularity, a variety of fine and thrifty trees, as
well as many beautiful flowers, the whole forming
a charming Alameda. The broad graveled paths are
bordered by sweet-scented geraniums, the scarlet and
pink growing wild ; verbenas, coronella, and roses of
many species, mingle artistically with the statues
and fountains interspersed about the grounds. To
all of this, just across a stretch of blue water, Africa
forms a background. The military band plays here
once or tw^ice each week, adding to the natural at-
tractions of the spot ; but there is such an almost en-
tire absence of social life, or refined society at the
rock, that we imagine few people, except children
and nurses, improve the advantages of the Alameda.
A walk through the principal street, known as Wa-
terport Street, lined with low drinking places, tav-
erns, or lodging-houses, junk stores, and cigar shops,
would not lead one to expect the population to be
of the sort to appreciate good music, or to enjoy a
quiet promenade in well-kept grounds. Of course
there are exceptions to this deduction, and there are
a few delightful people, appreciative and cultured,
at Gibraltar ; but it must seem like being buried
THE FORTIFICATIONS AT GIBRALTAR. 291
alive to make one's residence in such an unattractive
place.
Through the kind assistance of the American Con-
sul we obtained a speciid permit to visit the fortifi-
cations, particularly of that portion which forms the
lofty and impregnable citadel. It is difficult to de-
cide in this most remarkable fortress whether nature
or art has done the most to render it what it seems
absolutely to be, impregnable, — the strongest citadel
in the world. The improvements in modern gunnery
have lately caused important additions and altera-
tions to be made. A hundred-ton gun was landed
fresh from England while we w^ere at the rock. One
natural cave which was visited, in the system of forti-
fied apartments, with port-holes commanding a broad
sweep, was large enough to contain a regiment of sol-
diers ; and the entire rock, fifteen hundred feet high,
seems honey-combed with small connected caves, sup-
plied with cannon commanding all approaches, by
land or sea. We asked the officer who accompanied
us how it would be possible for men to work these
heavy guns in such circumscribed space as character-
ized many of the galleries. " Why ? " he asked in
turn. " Because," we added, " of the concussion, re-
verberation, and the density of accumulated smoke."
He smiled, and replied : " There is something in
that ! " The fact is, the deafening reechoing of
sound would prove fatal to gunners in a very short
time, if suffocation itself did not ensue. We were
told that all recently constructed batteries at the
rock are left open to the sky, which w^ould seem
to indicate that the government engineers recognize
ihese simple facts.
The largest cave, called St. Michaers, is eleven
292 DUE WEST.
hundred feet above tlie sea level, with lofty halls
sixty feet high and two or three hundred feet long.
Here many fossil human remains have been found
from time to time. The fortress is constantly so
provisioned with stores, and such arrangements are
perfected for a water supply, that with but a few
days', nay, possibly a few hour's notice, it could be
put in a condition to withstand a year's siege. Don-
keys were employed to ascend the steep and winding
path which leads to the top of the lookout station,
for it is a tedious climb. Wherever soil 'could get
holding place upon the face of the cliff, wild flowers
had burst forth and were thriving after their own
lovely fashion. Here were daturas and daphnes
mingled with heliotrope ; the latter so overgrown as
to be a small tree rather than a shrub. Stooping
down to gather some of these, we looked into a can-
non's mouth, a screened battery, — screened by helio-
trope and blooming heath ! Further up we came
upon the face of the rock looking towards the south-
east, where the wild monkeys claim undisputed pos-
session : their home for centuries past. They are
quite a recognized institution here, though they must
be satisfied with very frugal fare, the stunted vegeta-
tion affording but small variety. It may be doubted
if they are very gentle or amiable creatures ; for when
it was discovered that they were becoming gradually
extinct a few years ago, some were imported from
Africa to recruit their numbers ; but no sooner were
the foreigners let loose near the spot, than the Gib-
raltar monkeys resisted the intrusion, and soon killed
every one of the new-comers.
On the north side of the rock we visited some half-
artificial, half -natural galleries, from whence scores
OLD MOORISH CASTLE. 293
of grim muzzled guns of heavy calibre command the
Neutral Ground, which, so far as England controls it,
is also entirely undermined, ready to be sprung upon
the approach of an enemy on the land side. On our
Avinding way to the summit, or signal station, we
often found the path lined with asphodel and palnii-
tos, while at the ver^^ top, where the signal sergeant
has a small house, was a pretty sheltered garden of
pansies, tulips, pinks, and roses, daintily arranged by
some woman's hand. The remarkable view from this
elevation was of vast extent, and truly magnificent ;
especially to seaward, where the straits were plenti-
fully sprinkled with the white wings of commerce, full-
rigged ships assuming the proportions of sea-gulls, and
steamers only visible by the dark line of smoke trail-
ing in their wake. At the foot of the rock, on the
Spanish side, lay the town, a thick mass of yellow,
white, and red houses ; and nestling near the shore
was quite a fleet of shipping, looking like maritime
toys. The mountain ranges of Ceuta and Andalusia,
on opposite continents, were mingled with soft, over-
shadowing clouds, while over our heads was a glori-
ous dome of turquoise blue such as no temple reared
by man could imitate.
One of the few fragments of antiquity, which meets
the eye of tlie tourist at Gibraltar, is the remains of
the ancient Moorish castle located on the west side,
about half way up the steep acclivity of the fortifica-
tions. A crumbling wall extends, after a crooked
fashion, down from the main structure towards the
shore. AV^here everything else is so trim and orderly,
this famous remnant of the barbaric ages seems
strangely out of place ; but it would be a positive
sacrilege to remove it. It has stood some stout blows
294 DUE WEST.
and lie;ivy shot in its day, and they have left their
deep indentures on the moss-grown, crumbling stones.
The Moors held sovereignty over the Rock for more
than seven hundred years, and the old tower stands
there as a sort of black-letter record of these a<zes.
The merciless finger of Time has been more fatal to
it than shot and shell.
We embarked on the small coasting steamer Leon
Beige for a passage across the Straits of Gibraltar,
which separate Europe from Africa, landing at Tan-
gier, Morocco, the distance being some seventy or
eighty miles. The sea is always rough between the
two continents, quite as much so as in the channel
between France and England. Our little craft was
neither very steady nor very dry under the experience.
As we drew away from the Spanish shore, the long
range of Andalusian mountains stood out, compact
and clear, with their snow-white summits sparkling
in the bright morning sun. On the lowlands, sloping
to the water's edge, the fields were robed in a soft
green attire, and dotted with herds of goats and cat-
tle. Old stone watch-towers lined the shore at regu-
lar intervals, and coast-guard houses sheltering squads
of soldiers, for this region is famous as the resort of
smugglers. On the opposite coast of Africa the
Ceuta range grew ewerj moment more distinct; the
loftiest peaks were also mantled with snow, like the
white flowing drapery of the Bedouins. Still further
on, dazzlingly white hamlets enlivened the Morocco
shore, with deep green tropical verdure in the back-
ground, while Ceuta attracted more than ordinary
interest. It is a Spanish penal colony, surrounded
by jealous, warlike Moors, slave-traders and smug-
glers. If we are to believe the stories told by our
TANGIER. 295
captain, it must be one of the most dangerous and
uncivilized spots on the face of the globe.
Tangier stands on the western shore of a shallow
bay, upon a sloping hill -side, but is not at all im-
pressive as one approaches it. The windowless houses
rise like cubical blocks of masonry one above an-
other dominated b}^ a few square towers which crown
the several mosques, while here and there a consular
flag floats lazily upon the air from a lofty pole. The
rude zigzag wall which surrounds the city is seen
stretching about it, and this is pierced by three
gates which are carefully closed at night.
Cairo is Oriental, but Tangier is much more so.
Here we seem at one step to have passed from mod-
ern civilization into barbarism. There is no Euro-
pean quarter in Tangier ; every evidence of the prox-
imit}' of the opposite continent disappears ; the dis-
tance might be immeasurable. It is Moorish from
one end to the other ; the very atmosphere and pre-
vailing odors announce it. It has little, narrow,
dirty, twisted streets, through which no vehicle could
pass, and only accessible for donkeys, camels, and foot
passengers ; there is no such thing as a wheeled ve-
hicle in the place. The w^omen veiled, but scantily
clad in some thin wdiite texture, move about like un-
easy spirits, while one meets constantly an humbler
class, clad in a short blue cotton skirt, with little
naked brown babies astride of one shoulder. The
men, with scarlet turbans and striped robes, lounge
about with their bare heels sticking out of yellow
slippers. There is no spirit of hospitality here, no
welcome to be read in those frowning bearded faces.
Strangers are not liked, and are only tolerated for the
sht'kels that can be extracted or robbed from them-
296 DUE WEST.
Now we meet a wild, tawny Arab, a straggling son
of the desert, his striped abba, or white bournoiis,
lianging in graceful folds about his straight figure ;
and now a Nubian with only a waistcloth. Jews witli
dark blue caftans and red sashes ; and Jewesses in
bright purple silk, with uncovered, handsome faces.
Here and there is seen a Maltese or Portu^juese sailor,
hiding on account of some crime by which he has
outraged the laws on the opposite continent. The
Jews, though numerous, are hated and oppressed, be-
ing the descendants of those exiled from Europe in
the Middle Ages. The variety of races which one
meets in these contracted passage-ways is curious,
represented by faces yellow, bronze, white, and black.
Add to all the crowd of donkey-boys, camels, goats,
and street peddlers, crying, bleating, blusteriug, and
bravinor, and you have a modern Babel of siixhts and
sounds such as greet the stranger in the strei-'ts of
this Moorish capital.
After strolling for a while through the steep,
ill -paved lanes, which were a perfect exposition of
crookedness, we were brought by our guide to the
house of the Belgian Consul, a curious structure in
the Moorish style, more of a museum than a dwell-
ing-house. Here the resident official, who has long
filled the post, has gathered about him a collection
of articles, antique and modern ; but all representa-
tive of Morocco and its surrounding countries. The
collection was of warlike arms of all sorts, domestic
implements, armor, dress ornaments of both sexes,
saddlery, pipes, rude native pictures, precious stones,
and the like ; the whole forming a special historical
record which would be highly valuable in any Eu-
ropean centre. It is surprising, when one indulges
GOVERNOR'S PALACE AT TANGIER. 297
in a specialt}^ what a valuable collection can be
gathered, and of what general interest it is sure to
prove. From this (3riental museum we were taken
to the Governor's Palace, where we met his Excel-
lency, sitting cross-legged on the floor of a small
court, at the entrance of the ancient and dilapidated
structure. He was surrounded b}^ a dozen most ras-
cally-looking be-turbaned councillors, who, after we
had been shown over the palace, were none of them
above taking a shilling fee. The building was very
queerly cut up, with tiled roofs at all sorts of angles,
bay windows, projecting apartments, as though hung
in air, and ample space for the harem, with its bath-
rooms, reception rooms, and many cozy nooks and
corners whose use was quite past finding out. Be-
sides there were ugly dungeons in the basement, en-
tirely underground, like those of the Doge's Palace
at Venice ; and in strong contrast to which there
were courts of greener}^, where the thick, glossy
leaves of the orange-trees set off the fragrant blos-
soms in a most artistic manner, and where the rank,
neglected, undergrowth but half hid what must in
former times have been a beautiful flower garden.
There was still a heavy myrtle border, and here and
there a sweet little flower struggling for existence.
The denizens of the harem must once have tended
and petted these flowers ; but the cold, stone-latticed
apartments were all vacant now, the floors damp and
slippery with moss and dirt. Desolation was clearly
written upon the walls.
This Governor's Palace is anything but a palace
now. A portion of the building was improved as
a dwellinor for his Excellencv, who sat soberlv and
silently discussing his long-stemmed pipe with Orien-
298 DUE WEST.
till indidereiice, as we came througli the outer coui-t
on our departure. In visiting the several divisions of
the palace, there had been found one section where
the keys were missing, and this led to some delay
while the custodian tried to procure them, the door
being finally forced open by a slight physical effort.
On coming out a number of rusty keys were observed
upon the wall, causing us to remark that the missing
one might be among them ; whereupon the guide told
us that these were of a different character, — keys
brought from Spain when the Moors were expelled
thence, and now held sacred as heir-looms. This was
only a casual remark, but yet one which came back
to us with special emphasis, as will by and by be
explained.
As we were about to mount our donkeys a dig-
nified individual took the guide, with whom he was
evidently acquainted, one side for a moment. He
would have been noticeable anywhere as a man of
character, a typical Moor. Mixed as the population
of Tangier is, still one easily individualizes the sev-
eral races, and above all cannot fail to admire the
noble, manly specimens of Moorish blood. They are
naturally broad, yet light, with figures faultlessly
straight without stiffness ; the arms are set well back
and are carried with peculiar grace, while a general
dignity of bearing is always observable. The eyes
are large and receding, the nose aquiline, features
regular, with a rather large mouth and brilliantly
fine teeth. We could not but look critically at the
Moor who was engaged for the moment with our
guide, for he was a good representative of that proud
race which in its glory built palaces like the Alham-
bra, and such mosques as that at Cordova.
SLAVE-TRADE IX MOROCCO. 299
Our leisure moments here were passed in stroll-
ing through the queer native bazars ; examining the
mosques, from the towers of which at sunset we heard
tlie Muezzin call to prayer ; and in visiting the slave
market, just outside of the city walls, where business
is prosecuted though not so extensively as heretofore.
These slaves are mostly prisoners of war, sold by na-
tive chieftains in Guinea to Morocco merchants, who
drive them, chained together in long strings, from
market to market until disposed of for the harems or
as laborers. The sales take place always on the
Sabbath, regarded as a sort of holiday. The aver-
age price of the women and girls is from fifty to
sixty dollars, according to age and good looks. The
men vary much in price, frequently selling at much
lower figures, according to the demand for labor.
About the large open space near the slave mart were
congregated groups of camels and their Bedouin
ow^ners, who had just arrived from the interior, bring-
ing native goods, with dried fruits, to market, form-
ing an assembly such as can onl}^ be found on the
borders of the desert, and which, indeed, would be
utterly out of place except beneath the glow and
shimmer of an African sun.
There were men, women, children, and animals,
each little group a family, picturesque in their squa-
lor and their coarseness. Their brown, flat tents were
of the same shape and material as those we had seen
between Suez and Ismailia. Naked children and half-
clad mothers peeped at us out of their canvas homes,
or raised their heads above the awkward saddles and
trappings of the kneeling camels, behind which they
reposed. The docile, uncouth, bufi^- colored beasts
were soberly chewing their cuds, and resting after
300 DUE WEST.
their long and weary journey. It was a striking
scene, wliicli an artist would have traveled far to
sketch, lying under a warm, haz3% atmospheric cover-
ing, so peculiar to Egypt and Africa, with the rough,
red stone walls of the city for a background, and the
arched ^Moorish gateway at the side. Here and there
w^ere to be seen dapple-gray horses of unmistakable
Arab breed, animals which any rich European would
have been proud to own. In one instance, seeing a
fine full-bred mare and her foal lying down amid a
family group, the children absolutely between the
mother's legs, who was untethered, and the colt also
extended on the ground with them, at our request
the guide asked of the sober old Arab, who sat cross-
legged, smoking by the entrance of the tent, what he
would sell us the horse and colt for. '* Tell your
chief," was his answer, '' there is not enough money
coined to purchase them." This was a good and in-
dependent response. '^ But," added the guide, ''he
will sell you his wife, or any of the children ! " We
were contented with purchasing some fresh dates
from an itinerant, who cried them in good, sonorous
Arabic, " O dates, in the name of the Prophet! " and
got most iniquitously cheated, both in quality and in
price, according to the guide.
At sunrise, on the morning following our arrival,
mules were ready at the door, and we started off,
laughing merrily over the crude saddlery and other
untoward fittings of the animals. Ladies' side-sad-
dles are yet a myth in Morocco. We were bound
for Washington Mount, a league or two outside the
city walls, where the American Minister, several for-
eign consuls, and a few rich merchants of European
birth make their homes, in handsome modern villas,
BEAUTIES OF SCENERY. 801
surroLinded by perennial gardens and orchards. The
vegetation was often so rank as to overhang the
narrow and steep roads up which we wended our way.
They were so thick witli agave and prickly pear, that
we could hardly keep upright in the saddle. The tre-
foil, honeysuckle, myrtle, and white convolvulus grew
in rank profusion, with occasional pale j)ink, single-
leaved roses. Over the hedges in the private grounds,
thougli it was early in ]\Iarch, we saw the orange-trees
and pomegranates, the former laden with laige, yel-
low fruit, and the latter blushing crimson w-itli flow-
ers among companion palms, figs, and olives. . On the
wav through the meadow, before comings to the as-
cent, the ground was enameled with a pale blue daisy,
which the guide told us was perennial here. After
an hour's ride, emerging upon the high, open plateau,
there burst upon our eyes a most enchanting view.
The far-reaching waters of the Mediterranean seemed
to surround the land upon which we were. Looking
off towards the Spanish coast, a few white sails inter-
vened to give character to the maritime scene; while
a large steamship was making the passage of the
straits, leaving behind her a long line of dense smoke.
How suggestive was that expanse of Avaters, the most
interesting of all known seas: its shores hallowed by
associations connected with the entire progress of civ-
ilization ; the cradle, as it has been aptly called, of
the human race, the battle-field of the world, and
still the connecting link between Europe, Asia, and
Africa.
All around us, upon the sloping hill - side, were
delightful villas, painted in bright colors, and half
buried in thrifty foliage, each located in an atmos-
phere redolent of fruits and flowers ; its front ever
302 DUE WEST.
open to that glorious sea-view. The broad piazzas
of these smiling homes were hung ^vith hammocks,
telling of luxurious out - door life. Family groups
could be seen taking their morning coffee on the ve-
randas ; and the voices of many children rang out
clear and bird-like, floating up to the eyrie where we
were perched. Down towards the shore lay brown,
dingy, dirty Tangier, with its mud -colored groups
of tiled roofs, its teeming population, its mouldy ohl
walls and arched gates, and its minarets, square and
dominant. On our way back, we again passed
through the slave market, and saw a freshly arrived
caravan pitching their tents after a long and weary
journey. A snake-charmer was busy amusing an
idle group of boys and girls in one of the small
squares, and a group of dancing girls, with tambour-
ines and castanets, looked wistfuU}^ at us, hoping to
get an audience; but our yet unhonored breakfast
awaited us, and the mountain excursion had imparted
healthful appetites.
It was quite the thing to patronize one of the little
dingy cafes, and so we patiently endured the punish-
ment of drinking an egg-shell cup of a muddy com-
pound called coffee, but nothing short of compulsion
would have induced a repetition of the same. A dose
of senna would have been ambrosia compared to it.
In passing through a narrow court we saw a group of
children sitting cross-legged, in a circle, on the flcjor
of an open house, with books in their hands, presided
over by a sage -looking Moorish party, with long,
snow-white beard, and deep -set dark eyes that
seemed to burn like gas jets. The guide explained
that it was a native school ; and the children, who
were all talking aloud at the same time, in a drawl-
DOMESTIC AND STREET SCENES. 303
ing, sing-song tone, swaying back and forth inces-
santly, were learning their lessons. When we in-
quired what special branch was being taught them,
he answered : " The Koian ; they learn it from
the beginning to the end." ''And is' that all tlie
instruction imparted to them ? " we asked. " Of
course," he replied ; " what else do they require in
Morocco ? "
The houses were more like toys than dwelling-
places, tiiey were so very small, rarely of more than
one stor}', the walls whitewashed to such a degree as
to be almost blinding. Now and then the monotony
was broken by an arabesque window, but, as a rule,
there were none opening outward ; like all Moorish
houses, they had a small inner court upon which doors
and windows opened, thus avoiding being overlooked,
and promoting the spclnsion of the harem, which
seems to be the first and foremost idea of the Eastern
people. Nearly the last sound that greeted our ears
tis we walked down over the irregular pavements,
and through the narrow^ lanes towards the pier from
whence we were to embark, was the rude music of
the snake-charmer; and the last impressive sight
was that of a public story-teller, in one of the lit-
tle squares, in earnest gesticulation, as with a high-
pitched, shrill voice he related to a group of women,
who were squatted in their white haiks, and men of
the desert in their hooded gehabs, what the guide
told us was a chapter from the " Thousand and One
Nights !" We embarked once more on board the lit-
tle Leon Beige for Gibraltar, well pleased with our
brief visit to the curious Moorish capital.
The Sultan of Morocco is supreme, and holds the
lives and fortunes of his subjects at his will. He
304 DUE WEST.
is judge and executor of laws whicli emanate solely
from himself. Taxation is so licavy as to amount to
prohibition in many departments of enterprise. All
exportation is hampered, agriculture heavily loaded
with taxation, and only so far pursued as to supply
the barest necessities of life. Manufacture is where
it was centuries ago, and is performed with the same
primitive tools. The printing - press is unknown.
There are no books ; the language itself is such a
mixture of tongues and so corrupted as to have hardly
a distinctive existence. The power of the sultan sucks
the life-blood out of the people, who obey the local
sheikhs; above them are the cadis, controlling prov-
inces ; and still higher the pashas, who are account-
able only to the sultan. And yet the Berbers, so-
called, who form the basis of the native population,
outnumbering the Moors, Arabs, Jews, and Negroes,
and who live mostly in the nearly inaccessible moun-
tains of the Atlas, are so independent, savage, and
turbulent, as to nearly defy the imperial authority,
yielding only so far to its control as they deem ad-
vantageous to themselves. The Arabs occupy the
plains and are nomadic ; the Moors possess the wealth
of the land and control most branches of trade,
making their homes in the cities, and are the direct
descendants of the Moors of Spain. Strange there
should be such a spirit of detestation existing to-
wards every idea associated with civilized and Chris-
tian life, but so it is at Tangier.
From Gibraltar to Malaga by sea is less than a
hundred miles eastward along the coast. We em-
barked on board the Ens^lish steamer Cadiz. For-
tunately the tiip is a short one, for the boat was
filthy, and had just been transporting cattle from
ARRIVAL AT MALAGA. 305
England to the Rock. The water was rough enoiigli
to make the few passengers, except ourselves, quite
seasick ; which, in the contracted accommodations of
the Cadiz, made matters far from agreeable. To
add to the discomfort there was a steady down-pour
.of rain during the trip; but we were no strangers
to such contingencies, and made the best of it. The
irregular Spanish coast was in sight through a veil of
mist nearly all the way until we lauded, after a slight
skirmish with the custom-bouse officers, at Malaga,
March 15th. It is commercially one of the most im-
portant cities of Spain, and was once the capital of
an independent state, with plenty of ancient lore
hanging about it, as it was a large and prosperous
Phoenician capital centuries before Christ. The older
portions of the city have all the Moorish peculiarities
of construction, — narrow streets, narrow passages,
small barred windows, and heavy doors; but the more
modern part of IMalaga is characterized by broad,
straight thoroughfares, and elegantly built houses.
This is especially the case with the Alameda, which
has a central walk lined on either side with handsome
almond-trees, edged by plats of flowers, and green
shrubs intermingled, besides which there are statues
and a fountain of an elaborate character at the end
of the walk. On either side of this promenade is a
good roadway, flanked with houses of pleasing archi-
tectural effect, lofty and well relieved.
There are several fine open squares in Malaga, some
of which contain statues and ornamental trees and
flowers. The discovery, not long since, of Roman an-
tiquities in the environs has created a warm interest
among archaeologists. The trade of the city in wine,
dried and gieen fruit, is large ; and we were told
20
806 DUE WEST.
that nearly nine tenths of the forty thonsand butts of
sweet wine, sold here for foreign use aunuall}', were
exported to the United States. On the wliole, we
were agreeably disMppi)inted at the thrifty and busi-
ness-like aspect of the city. There are no picture-
galleries or art treasures to examine; but the people
of new localities are always an interesting study, and
the shops were decidedly the best we had seen since
we left America, 'inhere is a grand cathedral, which
is considered almost the only place worth exhibiting
to strangers. It is of rather modern date, having
been commenced in 1528, and is of mixed style, it3
fagade constituting almost its only feature of remark-
able beauty.
The old Moorish castle, crowning the seaward
heights, has been couTerted into a modern fortress,
and is w^ell worth visiting for the superb view to bo
obtained from the battlements. lew people now
come to Malaga except for a special purpose. In a
sanitary point of view, as a resort for consumptives,
it has long enjoyed a reputation which it certainly
does not merit to-day, whatever it may have done in
the past. First, it is much too cold and damp for
delicate lungs. Again, it has not one comfort or
social attraction to interest the visitor in search of
health. Moreover, its sewerage is shamefully defec-
tive. Indeed, in the older parts of the town, the sur-
face gutters receive and convey all the accumulated
filth, so that the atmosphere is most unfavorably in-
fluenced. The published mortuary statistics have
been unfairly given, as the mortality is larger in per*
centage than in any other part of Spain, which, as a
rule, is far from possessing a healthy climate. We
doubt if physicians any longer advise their patients
A SPAXISH BULL-RING. 307
to resort tbither, certainly they would not do so if
possessed of personal experience of the place.
The present population is a little over a hundred
and twenty thousand, and is made up of a commu-
nity of more than average respectability, though it
would appear that there is an unreasonable, percen-
tage of beggars to be met with. In and about the
cathedral of Santa Barbara the visitor finds this nui-
sance extremely annoying. Malaga has one of tlie
largest bull-rings to be found in Spain. We were
shown all over its various offices with evident pride
on the part of the custodian. All contingencies,
are here provided for. One apartment, with the
necessary appliances, is arranged as a surgery, so
that if the picadors, chulos, or matadores (bull-
fighters) be any of them seriously wounded, the sur-
geon, who is always in attendance, can at once pro-
ceed to business. Another large apartment is fitted
up as a Roman Catholic chapel. If any of the bull-
fighters are fatally injured and about to die, here
the priest, as regular an attendant as the surgeon,
can administer the last rite, shrive the sufferer of all
sin, and start him on his triumphant way to other,
and, it is to be hoped, happier hunting-grounds. At
the bull-ring the populace, to the number of from
fourteen to fifteen thousand, assemble nearly every
Sabbath during the season, to witness this most cruel
of all sports. No seat is left unoccupied, and, as we
were informed, the day before the exhibition tickets
are nearly always sold at a premium. The devotion
of the Spaniards to this national sport is universal,
from the grandee to the peasant. More than once
has the attempt been made by the throne to bring
the cruel business into disrepute, but it has been
308 DUE WEST.
found unavailing. The taste is too deeply rooted in
the masses of tlie pooplo. We were told subsequently,
at Madrid, that ;in attempt to suppress tlie bull-figlits
in Spain wouUl be more likely to lead to a revolution
tlian would the most stringent political measure that
could be named. The cry of the mob is " Bread and
bulls," which is very significant to those who have
studied Spanish character.
The English cemetery, laid out upon a terraced
hill-side just out of the city borders and overlooking
the harbor, is a very interesting resort, admirably
kept and appropriately ornamented with choice trees,
shrubs, and flowers, tropically luxuriant from its
southern exposure. In the squares, streets, and mar-
ket places of ]\Ialaga, women sat each morning weav-
ing fresli-cut flowers, fragrant clusters of rose-buds,
mignonette, pansies, violets, and geraniums, pretty
little clusters of wdiich they sold for about one shil-
ling, and found ready purchasers. One may be sure
there is always a refined element in the locality,
whether otherwise visible or not, where such an ap-
preciation as this is manifested. The bull-fight may
thrive ; the populace ma}^ be, as they often are in
Malaga, riotous and mischievous ; education may be
at a very low ebb, art almost entirely neglected ; but
where a love of nature, as evinced in the appreciation
of beautiful flo^vers, is to be found, there is still ex-
tant on the popular heart the half-effaced image of
its ]\laker.
The Spanish heart is by no means all bad. That
the bull-fight fosters a sp)irit of cruelty among the
masses no one can doubt, and that cruelty is a char-
acteristic of the Catalan race is also only too well
known. No other people would tolerate such cruelty;
ANCIENT GLORY OF SPAIN. 309
and that it is a disgrace to the nineteenth century
every intelligent person outside of Spain will admit.
It is a very interesting fact, but seldom realized,
that Spain in the time of Julius Csesar contained
nearly eighty millions of inhabitants, but to-day it
has less than eighteen millions. In glancing at the
map it will be perceived that Spain is a very large
country, comprising nearly the whole of the southern
peninsula of Europe (Portugal being confined to a
small space), and extending north and south over six
hundred miles. It is about double the size of Great
Britain, and is rich in every known mineral, though
she is poor enough in the necessary energy and en-
terprise requisite to improve her extraordinary possi-
bilities. In many sections of the country great nat-
ural fertility is apparent, but nature has to perform
the lion's share of the work. We were told by intel-
ligent residents that many parts of Andalusia, for
instance, could not be exceeded for rural beauty and
fertility in any part of Europe, though we saw no
satisfactor}^ evidence of this ; indeed, what we did
see led to a contrary conclusion. In the environs of
Malaga and the southern province generally, there
are orange, lemon, and olive groves miles in extent;
and the Moors had a poetical saying that this favored
region was dropped from paradise, but there is more
of poetry than truth in the legend. What is re-
quired is good cultivation and skilled agricultural
enterprise. These would develop a different condi-
tion of affairs, and give to legitimate enterprise a rich
reward. The sugar-cane, the grape-vine, the fig-tree,
and the productive olive, mingling with the myrtle
and the laurel, gratify the eye in and about the im-
mediate district of Malaga ; but as one advances in-
310 DUE WEST.
land, the products become natural or wild, cultivation
primitive and only partial ; grain fields are sparse,
and one is often led to draw disparaging contrasts
between this country and those of more ambitious
and industrious agricultural nations.
While the more practical traveler is filled with a
sense of disappointment at the paucity of thrift and
vegetation, the poet and the artist will still find
enough to delight the eye and fire the imagination
in Spain. The ever transparent atmosphere, and the
lovely cloud effects that prevail, are accompaniments
which will hallow the desolate sierras for the artist
at all seasons. The poet has only to wander among
the former haunts of the exiled Moors, and view the
crumbling monuments of his luxurious and artistic
taste, to be equally absorbed and inspired.
CHAPTER XL
From Malaga to Granada. — Military Escort. — A Beautiful Valley.
— A Dream Realized in the Alhambra. — The Moor in his Glory.
— Tangible Poetry. — A Brief Legend. — The Generalife. —
The Moor's Seat. — The Home of the Gypsies. — A Gold Bearing
River. — A Beautiful Residence. — Early Home o' the Ex-Empress
Eugenie. — City of Granada. — Spanish Beggars. — The Remark-
able Tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella. — French Vandals. — The
Cathedral. — Precious Relic. — The Cartuja. — Love of Music.
The distance from Malaga to Granada is about
seventy miles, but in Spanish style it requires eight
or nine hours to accomplish it. Needless delay is the
rule here, and forms a national infirmity ; but in the
present instance we did not feel in special haste, nor
regret the snail's pace at which the cars were run, as
the road lay mostly through a very beautiful valley,
lined on either side by high hills extending back un-
til they terminated in lofty, snow-clad ranges. The
contrast between these ice - crowned elevations not
very far away, and the orchards of oranges and lem-
ons in full bearing so near to us, was certainly strik-
ing. The dull, dusty green of the olive orchards, of
which there were more than of all other trees com-
bined, gave a rather sombre appearance to many
miles of the route; but the cheerful light verdure
of the occasional grain fields and pastures afforded
relief to the eye.
There were but few people to be seen, quite unlike
European agricultural districts generall}^ where hu-
man life is ever so conspicuous. The cultivated spots
312 DUE WEST.
seemed to be very far away from the hamlets whence
the owners must come for field labor. It w^as obvi-
ous that for some strong reason the populace, sparse
at best, herd togetlu-r. There were no isolated farm-
houses or huts. The cultivators must ride or walk
long distances to reach the field of labor. Perhaps
mutual protection, as in the olden time, was the in-
ducing cause of the country people thus keeping to-
gether, and the necessity of congregating for mutual
support in an exigency has by no means entirely
ceased. Now and then the cars would dart suddenly
into a dark tunnel, when we skirted the mountain
sides, to emerge again upon a scene of redoubled sun-
light, for a moment quite tantalizing to the vision, re-
minding one forcibly of some Swiss and Italian roads
where car-lamps are burned all day. As occasional
bands of brigands appear, and, stopping the trains,
rob the passengers, government kindly complimented
us with an escort of a dozen soldiers, and we were
told that these redoubtable warriors now accompany
each train, besides which two or three good-looking
high privates, in neat uniforms, were observed at each
of the stations where we stopped, marching up and
down before the train and eying the passengers, as
though they half suspected us of being banditti in
disguise. It is clear that the administration is en-
deavoring to render traveling safe throughout the
country, and if they would only render it comfortable
and expeditious at the same time, the reform would
commend itself to universal approval. Punctuality is
not a Spanish word, being neither practiced nor un-
derstood from Malaga to Burgos. You take your
seat trustingly for some objective point, but when
you will reach it is a profound and subtle mystery
which time alono can solve.
GRAXAD.l, PAST AND PRESENT. 313
Peih.tps no one ever read Washington Irving's de-
Fcriptioii of the Alhambra without experiencing an
aident desire to visit Granada. Although that ex-
quisite pen-portrait reads more like romance than
veritable histor}^ yet it is minutely correct and abso-
lutely literal, teeming with local color and atmos-
pheric effect like the canvas of a Claude Lorraine or
a Bierstadt. As we approached the ancient city, all
early recollections of the glowing text were revived ;
nor had months of constant travel rendered us so
blase but that an eager anticipation thrilled every
nerve. The train crept slowly along in the twilight
with provoking deliberation, until we were finally de-
posited in the depot of the gray old capital, so inti-
mately connected with the most romantic chapters of
Spanish history. How vividly the days of Ferdinand
and Isabella flashed before the mind's eye, mingled
with which was the abortive career of Charles V.
Here set the sun of ^Moorish glory. This was Gra-
nada, and here, close at hand, was that embodiment
of poetry, the Alhambra.
The city once contained over half a million of peo-
ple, but to-day it has scarcely sixty thousand, — like
everything else material in Spain, growing smaller by
degrees and beautifully less. After leaving the cen-
tre of the town, we drove some distance until the
ground began to rise sharpl}^ and we passed through
a dense grove of tall elms planted many years ago by
the Duke of Wellington. These trees have grown in
such a rank, wild fashion, hung with ivy from the
highest branches to the low interlacing stems, as to
recall a Singapore jungle or the densel}^ wooded dis-
trict near Jeyi)ore, in India. The trees have never
been trimmed or thinned out since they were planted,
314 DUE WEST.
and cannot, therefore, become individually grand, but
the}^ appear all the more natural for this seeming
neglect. Presently the hotel, named the Washington
Irving, was reached, an extremely neat and comfort-
able establishment. It was necessary to suppress our
ardor and impatience, as night had settled down over
Granada ; and there being no moon, nothing could be
seen to advantage outside of the house. We retired
early, more fatigued by the slow, dragging railroad
journey of seventy miles than after accomplishing
the same distance over the primitive roads of Califor-
nia, behind four dashing horses in a jolting stage, be-
tween Madeira and Coarse Gold Gulch.
It is not for us to describe in detail so well-known
a monument as this royal palace of the Moors, those
regal sovereigns who had not only a love for the
beautiful in art, but also the means of indulging it.
With all preconceived ideas it was still a revelation,
and, next to the Taj at Agra, the most poetical em-
bodiment of architecture we had ever seen. Surprises
met us at every turn within its enchanting precincts.
The names of its various halls and courts, the Hall of
Justice, Court of Blessings, Hall of the Abencerrages,
Court of the Lions, Hall of the Two Sisters, etc., were
all familiar, but only so in pictured dreams. Here
was the tangible reality ; it was no disillusion. As we
passed from court to court, from hall to hall, linger-
ing here and there, how the very atmosphere teemed
with historical reminiscences of that most romantic
period of histor}^, the mediaeval days, when the Moors
lield regal court and lorded it in Andalusia. A lurk-
ing sympathy stole over us for that exiled people who
could render life such a terrestrial paradise. Sur-
rounded by fruit, flowers, and dark-eyed houris, the
MOORISH ARCHITECTURE. 315
Mohammedan but typified his idea of a higher
heaven. In the Alhambra he might have closed liis
eyes to the outer world, and fancied that he was al-
ready in that sensuous and perpetual home which the
Arabian poets so glowingly describe. It is difficult
to realize that the Moors possessed such admirable
architectural skill, and produced such splendid pal-
aces, centuries upon centuries ago; and quite as re-
markable that Time, the great iconoclast, should have
spared for our admiration such delicate, lace-like carv-
ings and such brilliant mosaics. Magnificence with
them was an art in itself, and, combined with beauty,
was one of their highest aims. Minuteness of finish
and perfection of detail were lavished with Oriental
profuseness. If we carefully examine the fret- work
upon the walls of the various corridors and apart-
ments, it becomes evident that it represents flowers
and geometrical lines, though at a casual glance it
has rather a confused appearance. The various
spaces are filled with lines from the Koran ; the words
"There is no conqueror but God" occurring many
hundred times in tlie various parts of the structure,
in the delicately lined work over the horse-shoe
arches, upon the plainer side walls and over latticed
jalousies, and along the architraves.
Out of a gracefully arched window, with stucco
work framing it about like curtains of crystallized
lace, from whence the beauties of the harem must
have often gazed upon the court below, we looked
upon a setting of leafy verdure in white marble, sur-
I'ounded by fountains, like an emerald set in diamonds
upon a lady's hand. We looked from the boudoir of
the Sultana, the Chosen of the Karem. Here were
thriving orange and fig-trees mingled with glistening,
816 DUE WEST.
dark-leaved myrtles, which were bordered by an edg-
ing of box so lii^h and stoat of limb that the main
stems were more like trees than shrubs. The guide
told us they were centuries old. Here were also
clusters of hawthorn in blossom, and little patches
of blue star-like flowers looking up from the ground
like human eyes, as though having liardly the courage
to assert themselves amid the more pretentious bloom.
The sun lay warm and lovingly in this fragrant area
of the grand old palace, and the air was very soft and
sweet. It was the same scene which had gladdened
witching eyes centuries ago, when the notes of the
lute mingled with the careless, happy voices of the
beauties of the harem.
The guide had twice to summon us before we left
the spot. Then we climbed up the winding, marl)le
steps, lighted here and there by little loop-hole win-
dows, to a balcony that commanded a view far and
near over the village-dotted plain of Granada, backed
by the snowy summits of the Sierra Nevada. The
city, in all its brown, turreted, and tiled confusion of
buildings, lay in the foreground. The Darro and the
Xenil, joined together, were seen winding their sil-
very w^ay through the verdant fields, where broad
patches of yellow grain added a thrifty aspect to
the view. Quaint little hamlets clustered together ;
mulberry and olive groves, a tall hay-stack here and
there, and groups of domestic cattle, enlivened the
whole. It was an exceptional picture for Spain, and
would convey the idea of a well-cultivated and thriv-
ing agricultural country ; but it was natural irriga-
tion, not the hand of industrious labor, which was
here so agreeably rej^resented.
One never wearied in wandering about the courts
THE ALHAMBRA. 317
and luxurious apartments ; luxurious, not because of
their furniture, for there was none : but because of
what they suggested, for the possibilities the}^ pre-
sented, and the exquisite architectural workmanship
displayed in each detail, and everywhere. It was
like enchantment verified. Nothing seemed too ex-
travagant to the imafjination thus stimulated. If we
had suddenly come upon a throng of the dark-eyed
favorites of the harem diaphonously clad, on their
way to the marble baths, with Nubian slaves perfum-
ing their way by burning incense, it would not have
seemed to us at all strange.
Alhambra signifies " Red Castle," and the vermil-
ion-tinted structure, with its outlying towers, was
thus appropriately named. In the days of its glory
it was halt palace, half fortress ; indeed, a city within
itself, capable of accommodating quite an army, and
containing within its w^alls an immense cistern as
a water suppl}^ armories, store-houses, foundries, and
every appliance of a large military cantonment. A
considerable portion of the far - reaching walls are
still extant, as Avell as the outlying towers ; and all
are remarkable for the excellent engineering skill
displayed in their construction. Under good gener-
alship, and properly manned, the place must have
been impregnable to attack with such arms as were
in use at the period of its completion. For a long
time after the expulsion of the Moors, the Castilian
monarchs made it their royal residence, and held high
and regal court within its splendid walls ; but they
finally deserted it, and left desolate those nnequaled
halls and courts. The place was next infested by a
lawless community of contrabandists and banditti,
who made it, for a long period, their headquarters,
318 DUE WEST.
whence to sally forth and lay the neighboring plains
under contribution, on the principle that might makes
right. Tlien came the French as conquerors, who ex-
pelled the lawless intruders, perhaps themselves quite
as deserving of the title; but they did a good work
by clearing what had become an Augean stable of
its worst tilth, and partially restoring the choicest
■work of the Moorish builders. To-day the Spanish
government guards with jealous care a monumental
treasure which cannot be equaled in historic interest
elsewhere in the kingdom.
Visiting the Court of the Lions on the last day of
our stay at Granada, watching its beautiftd shadows,
columns, and fret-work, with its mammoth vase of
Oriental alabaster fed by water brought from the
mountains through the old INloorish aqueduct, it
seemed as if so much of tangible poetry could no-
where else be found. Over a hundred light and
graceful columns of marble surround this one court,
supporting arches of perfect loveliness, and a ]Moor-
ish arcade of aerial lightness and beauty. The rich
stucco and the arabesque decorations of the inner
walls and ceilings, finished in gold and blue, the orig-
inal colors still there after centuries of exposure, to-
gether form perhaps the gem of the Alhambra. Yet
one hesitates to pronounce any one hall, chamber, or
court as excelling another where all are so transcen-
dently beautiful. The characteristic embodiment of
the architecture seemed to be its perfect harmony
throughout. There are no jarring elements, no false
notes, in the marvelous anthem which it articulates.
It does not impress one as representing power or
grandeur, but rather sensuousness and human love.
The inspiration it imparts to the thoughtful beholder
A LOVER'S REVENGE. 319
is less of awe than of tenderness, and exquisite poet-
ical delight, causing one, as he gazes upon its accu-
mulated loveliness, almost to tremble with excess of
gratification.
Many of the outlying towers of the main structure,
now partly isolated by the crumbling of the connect-
ing walls and passages, are well worth attention.
We visited them with great satisfaction, but they
have been too often described to require special men-
tion here. The guide related a legend connected
with one of them which was new to us. It related
to that known as La Cautiva, the inner walls of
which are famous for their Moorish tracery. Here,
it seems, a lovely Christian maiden was imprisoned,
whom Yousuf I., then reigning monarch, desired to
add to his harem. In vain were her pleadings, and
lier assurance that she was the affianced bride of a
noble knight. The king still importuned the maiden,
though fruitlesslyo She would not for one moment
listen to his suit. Finally, pressed to the last ex-
treme of resistance, she sought protection in death,
and threw herself from the lofty battlements of the
tower upon the jagged rocks at its base. Here her
mangled body was found by her knightly lover, who
liad come, but too late, with a band of daring follow-
ers, to rescue his beloved. His revenge was swift
and terrible. In the little mosque hard by Yousuf
I. paid the penalty for his persecution of the gentle
maiden, for there he was killed by the disconsolate
knight while he was kneeling in prayer.
Crossing the glen beyond the tower of La Cautiva
and ascending the hill beyond we came upon what is
called the Generalife, the summer palace of the Al-
hambra, with which, in the olden time, it was con-
320 DUE WEST.
nected by an underground passage, wliich is still
traceable tlioiigli filled in by decay and debris. This
structure has been scarcely less noted than the main
edifice, but one is rather disappointed at its simplic-
ity and want of finish as compared with the Alliam-
bra itself. The view from it is so fine that one feels
amply repaid for the visit, though probably but a
very small portion of the original structure remains,
since it is now nothing more or less than a moderate-
sized white villa, located in a wilderness of laurel,
myrtle, and cypresses. Through its court-yards and
gardens rushes a branch of the gold - bearing river,
the Darro, spending itself in scores of fountains, tiny
falls, cascades, and lakes. The grounds are full of
venerable cypresses of great age and beauty, the only
ones we had seen in Spain except in the English
burial-ground at Malaga. Nor had we observed any
elms except those of the grove planted by Wellington.
The gardens of the Generalife form its principal at-
traction, and the number of exotic trees and plants
gathered here is remarkable. The place is now
owned and cared for by the Genoese family of Gri-
nialdi, who keep a few people on the premises to pro
tect the property and cultivate the gardens. We were
told the owner had never visited Granada. Passing
through a small rear door of the Generalife, the guide
conducted us by a steep path to what is called the
Moor's Seat, the apex of the neighboring heights, and
between which and the mountain range of snow-clad
peaks lies the heavily-wooded valley of the Darro on
one side, and on the other the wide-spread vega of
Granada. The view includes some fifteen villages,
dotting plains more fertile than any other we had
seen in the country. The atmosphere was clear, ren-
THE GENERALIFE. 321
dering the comprehensive view very fine, taking in
as its foreground both the Alhambra and the Gener-
alife. The visit to the Moor's Seat was not hurried.
Time was taken to impress the outspread picture it
afforded lastingly on the memory, for we could not
reasonably expect to ever behold it again.
After coming down we leviewed the picture gal-
lery of the Generalife, though hardly a "gallery,"
made up as it is of a series of daubs representing
the kings and queens of Spain, with other members
of the royal family, of some possible historic inter-
est, but otherwise not worth the canvas on which
they are painted. The guide was well supplied with
legends about the Generalife as to the Sultana Zo-
raya and her guilty Abencerrage lover, and so forth ;
but we had listened to one about the tower not far
away, and had so much occupation for the eyes that
the ears were permitted to rest. All show places,
and especially royal palaces, have their romantic leg-
ends : what would guides and guide-books otherwise
amount to ? But without exception let it be under-
stood, these stories are a tissue of nonsense, founded
on a modicum of truth. Take as a fair example the
universally accepted Byronic legends of the Bridge
of Sighs at Venice, which Mr. Howells so quietly
but thoroughly explodes by adducing the simplest
historical facts.
Between the Alhambra and the Generalife, but not
in a direct line, were located the headquarters of the
g3^psies of Spain, some four or five thousand of whom
live in the rock caves adjoining the city, where the
valley of the Darro affords a warm, sunny shelter.
Holes excavated in the sloping mountain side form
the homes of this singular and strongly individualized
21
322 DUE WEST.
people, where they have liad a recognized habita-
tion for centuries. They are just the same renegade
race that are found in other parts of Europe and the
British Isles: picturesque in their rags, lawless in the
extreme, and living almost entirely in the open air.
In the faces of the men, who are as coarse and uncul-
tured as men can possibly be, there was expressed
much of the same savage instinct that marked the
features of those captured tigers exhibited at Jey-
pore. They are lazy and reckless, but fiery if roused
to ancrer. Terrible domestic tragedies sometimes oc-
cur among them, as the guide explained to us. They
observe certain principles of what has been termed
"wild justice," having their king or queen as the case
may be, and to such self-elected control only do they
yield obedience. The men, like the women, affect
gaudy colors, and both toss their loose, ragged gar-
ments about them after a graceful style all their own.
The bronzed features, profuse black hair, and very
dark eyes of these gypsies, often render them strik-
ingly handsome ; and when this dangerous heritage
falls to the share of the young women, it often leads
to experiences too tragic to record. Many of the
men wear embroidered velvet jackets, with hanging
silver buttons, like a Basque postilion, and add a scar-
let sash about the waist, the legs being bound up in
sheep's skins with fancy-colored ribbons, and the feet
covered with crude sandals, — altogether quite a the-
atrical costume.
Gypsies worship high colors and cheap jewelry, and
would spend their last farthing for either, though the
question of whence the next meal was to come from
might be an unsolved problem. They roam idly about
the grounds of the Alhambra, but are not permitted
THE GYPSIES OF GRAXADA. 323
to enter its walls, and no exterior picture of the struc-
ture would be true which did not introduce one or
more of them in the foreground. Strangers generally
visit their quarters in the valley, and for their en-
tertainment they dance, tell fortunes, play tricks,
and, if possible, steal fi'om them. Indeed it is hardly
safe, without an experienced guide, to go among them.
Their domestic life is represented to be of so objec-
tionable a character that it will not bear discussing.
Gypsies will not work unless driven to do so by ab-
solute want, but necessity sometimes compels them ;
and so occasionally they may be found manipulating
the waters of the swift-running Darro for gold, which
is often found in paying quantities. There is a local
jeweler within the precincts of the Alliambra who
makes the gold from this stream into mementos,
which are a favorite investment with visitors, in the
form of pins and brooches. The river Darro rises
in a rocky gorge of the neighboring mountains, and
comes tumbling down the valley within a stone's-
throw of the gypsies' cave-dwellings, thence flows
through the town, and is joined by the Xenil on the
plain of Granada.
Close by the Alhambra, indeed almost within the
walls, we visited the delightful villa of Madame Cal-
deron de la Barca, who was once a resident of Boston,
and who was well known and highly esteemed by our
best people. This fine estate was presented to her,
for valuable services, by the Spanish government.
It is remarkable for its spacious and beautifully ar-
ranged grounds, combining ornamentation and use-
fulness in a striking degree, and extending over
some twenty acres of ground. Here are vineyards,
fruit orchards, choice flower gardens, trees of various
324 DUE WEST.
tropical species, among which we saw dates, cocoa-
nuts, and figs, in thrifty condition, besides orchards
of pears, pkims, peaches, and apricots. Miniature
waterfalls, lakes, and rivers, shaded walks, aviaries,
and many other attractions showed a lavish expendi-
ture in beautifying the place. The villa itself was
closed, Madame Calderon being absent in England.
At the keeper's lodge we found a Spanish family who
carried on a large dairy, the cattle on the estate being
of the choicest breed, and their management a favor-
ite idea with the mistress of the estate. Butter of
good quality is scarce in Spain. That which was here
produced found a ready market at the Washington
Irving Hotel.
In strolling about the town many spacious squares
were seen, old palaces, houses in ruins, and deserted
convents, all in apparent keeping with the general
aspect of this faded and fading old city. We were
taken by our intelligent guide to several notable
localities, and among them to the humble dwelling-
house where the ex-empress Eugenie was born, and
where her childhood was passed. A conspicuous
tablet set in the facade of the house makes formal
mention of the circumstance, observing which it was
natural to recall, in one comprehensive thought, the
strange, romantic, and tragic story of the now childless
mother and unhonored widow of Chisellmrst. There
would have been no Franco - Prussian War but for
her reckless machinations ; the Prince Imperial would
not, in consequence of reverses thereby induced, have
gone to Zululand to throw away his life ; the m-ap of
Europe would not have been changed by the division
of Alsace-Lorraine ; and there would probably have
been no Republic in France to-day.
STREETS OF GRANADA. 325
There are some very odd and ver}' ancient stone
fountains in the cit}", supported b}^ grotesque animals
and impossible fishes, erected far back in the regal
days of Ferdinand and Isabella. The sort of fancy
■which could have induced these unartistic designs
it is difficult to conceive of ; they only require a
dragon's head on a human body to make them quite
Cliinese. The little, narrow, winding streets recalled
the older portions of Genoa and Marseilles ; yet peo-
ple live in them, do business there, go shopping, and
generally transact the usual affairs of town life,
though the space between the buildings which line
these passages is not sufficient to allow two donkeys
to pass each other with loads on their backs. Now
one comes upon a broken stone bridge spanning the
Darro on a single broad arch of great sweep, under
which the noisy river rushes turaultuously down hill,
and wonders how long the toppling houses, which
overhang the rapids, will maintain their equilibrium.
The ruthless fincjer of Time seems to have touched
everything, neglect being only too manifest every-
wliere ; and yet no fagade is so crumbled as not to
sustain a flower - bedecked balcony. If the houses
are inhabited, they bristle all over their whitewashed
fronts with clusters of green and blossoming flowers,
strongly relieved by the snowy background. The
cloth doors of the Catholic churches swing invitingly
at the touch, and over the door you are informed in
good plain Spanish that plenary indulgences are
retailed within. Shovel - hatted priests in goodly
numbers dods:e out and in, but there seem to be
few customers from among the people. Persons,
whom by their dress and appearance one would sup-
pose to be in comfortable circumstances, come boldly
326 DUE WEST.
up to tourists and ask for a few cents, seeming to
have no feelings of pride or delicacy. Travelers
are looked upon as fair game in Spain ; and still one
is lather nonplused to be importuned for coppers by
well-dressed strangers, and is apt to conclude that
sturdy beggars can bear stout denials. Now we come
upon the ruins t)f a square stone tower, which an-
ciently formed a portion of the public baths ; and
here an old Arabian gate, arch and battlement still
standing. Near the Alameda another is seen, and
gardens, once connected by a subterranean passage
with the distant Alhambra, away on the hill. Here
an arch and there a crumbling column, all souvenirs
of the exiled Moor.
We visited the Royal Chapel which adjoins the
Cathedral, where the magnificent tomb of Ferdinand
and Isabella is the chief object of interest. The effi-
gies of the two lie side by side, hewn from the marble
in life-like proportions, and rest upon a lofty sarcoph-
agus in front of the great altar. Close by these is
a similar tomb in white marble, representing, in the
same position and style, Joanna and her husband,
Philip of Burgundy. In the vault below were seen
the four coffins containing the several bodies of the
royal dead, the lenden covering to one of which had
been pried off by French bayonets in search of treas-
ures supposed to have been buried with the body.
But this sacrilegious injury to the casket has been
carefully repaired. Close at hand, in a corner of this
vault, was seen the metallic coffin which contains the
remains of Prince Miguel of Portugal, — the little
fellow who was thrown from his pony while riding
in the streets of Granada and killed. Had this boy
lived to grow to man's estate, he would doubtless
THE ROYAL CHAPEL. 327
have united and reigned over both Spain and Por-
tugal. The cathedral, which adjoins the chapel, is
one of the glories of Spain, so to speak, and is a very-
grand and noble structure, full of superb workman-
ship, art treasures in oil paintings, and sculpture ;
among which are examples from Alonzo Cano and
Torrigiano. The architectural effect of the interior
is harmonious and beautiful, and was the work, or
rather design, of Diego de Siloe, whose father was a
famous sculptor, and, if we mistake not, was the au-
thor of that marvelous alabaster tomb at the convent
of Mirafiores, in Burgos. This cathedral was finished
three hundred and sixty odd years ago, a year after
the death of Ferdinand, who survived Isabella some
twelve years.
In the sacristy we were shown portraits of Philip
and Joanna, and, in one of the chapels, admirable
pictures of Ferdinand and Isabella. The relics in
the sacristy are of special interest. Here we saw the
golden crown of Isabella, and, above all in interest,
the precious box of pure gold from which she sold
her jewels, to purchase an outfit to enable Columbus
to sail on his first voyage to the new world. The box
is exquisitely engraved, and has a few precious stones
inlaid upon it : we see no such engraving nowadays.
It was very heavy, as pure ore always is, and was
some twelve inches long, half as wide, and about
five inches in depth. It was impossible not to feel
a thrill of emotion upon taking in one's hand this
sacred relic. We were also shown the state sword
of Ferdinand, and the royal sceptre carried by Isa-
bella. Everything relating to this '* queen of earthly
queens" is of vital interest, and especially so to
Americans. It was she ^\hom Bacon described as
828 DUE WEST.
"an honor to her sex and the corner-stone of the
greatness of Spain." We were reminded, while look-
ing upon these precious objects belonging to the
king and queen, of the Bridge of Pinos, which was
pointed out to us on the previous day as the spot
from whence Columbus, quite discouraged and broken-
hearted, was recalled by Isabella, after having been
denied and dismissed, as both supposed, for the last
time. It was at this bridge that the messenger of the
relenting queen overtook the great Pilot, and bronght
him back to arrange the expedition which resulted
in the discovery of America. We had previously seen
in the Alhambra the Hall of the Ambassadors, where
the queen gave audience to Columbus, and now the
jewel-box served more strongly to emphasize the his-
torical association.
A visit in the environs of the city to a place bear-
ing the Moorish name of Hinadamar should not be
forgotten, nor should any traveler who finds himself
in Granada neglect to go there. Here we were shown
through the convent known as the Cartuja, which
has been virtually abandoned since monastic rule in
Spain was deposed. It is now in charge of civil
oflScers of the government, and one service is held
each week in the chapel. It is really wonderful in
the minuteness and splendid finish of its ornamenta-
tion. Here is seen an endless amount of jasper, mar-
ble, ivory, ebony, and tortoise-shell, in the form of
carved and inlaid work, curious beyond description.
Most of these ornamentations, as well as the paint-
ings, were the work of brothers of the order, who
must have spent half a life-time in their consumma-
tion. The cloisters are surrounded by a wretched
series of life-size paintings in fresco of the mystic
A CARTHUSIAN CONVENT. 329
type, also the work of brothers attached to the con-
vent, representing Carthusians tormented by tlie Eng-
lish in the time of Henry VIII. But here nnd there
was seen the work of an artistic hand shining out
conspicuously above its surroundings. Appaiently
hanging high up on the bare wall of the sacristy
is a large wooden cross, of such statuesque effect,
so perfectly foreshortened and shaded, that it was
difficult to believe it to be a painting, however care-
fully examined from the floor. The old sacristan told
us that it was painted by a brother of the order
named Juan Sanchez Cotan, who certainly had a
painter's genius and a master's skill with the brush.
Alonzo Cano has here one or two remarkable stat-
uettes in marble, though we think of him rather as a
painter than a sculptor. Some of the large pieces of
variegated marble which form the base work, fonts,
and tables of the chapel, are beautiful examples of
the natural stone as quarried in the neighboring moun-
tains. Indeed, larger, or finer agates cannot be found
in Europe than those which ornament the Cartuja.
In the natural veins of the large marbles the guide
takes pleasure in suggesting likenesses to various ob-
jects, which, when once mentioned, easily form them-
selves to the imagination, as a wayward fancy some-
times depicts forms in the fleeting clouds at twilight.
There is a dearth of song-birds in Granada. We
heard of, but not from, the nightingales in the sacred
precincts of the Alhambra. Perhaps it was not the
favored season, however, for this purpose. The peo-
ple themselves are naturally musical and music-loving.
Even the street-cries uttered by youthful and middle-
aged vendors are rendered in such harmonious notes
as to strike the ear agreeably. This was noticed in
830 DUE WEST.
Malaga, and also claimed our attention here. On the
road one not infrequently meets some roughly-dressed
muleteer at the head of his string of heavily-laden
animals, caroling forth luscious notes in a fine tenor
voice which a Brignoli might envy. A taste for
music is born in the people, few of whom are too
poor to own and play upon a guitar or some musical
instrument. The only difference between Spain and
Italy in this respect is that here one does not recog-
nize the music, while in Italy we usually hear the
strains of some familiar opera.
CHAPTER XII.
Granada to Cordova. — An Antique City. — The Guadalquivir. —
Old Roman Bridge. — The Grand ]\[osque-Cathedral of Cordova.
— Court of Orange-Trees. — Army of Beggars. — From Cordova
to ^ladrid. — Local Characteristics of the Capital. — The Gate of
the Sun. — The King and Queen in Public. — The Royal Palace,
— Spani.sh Ladies and Gentlemen. — The Fan. — The Picture-
Gallery of Madrid. — National Sport of the Bull-Fight. — Coward-
ice ! — Interesting Visit to the City of Toledo. — The Escurial.
The journey from Granada to Cordova covers a
distance of about a hundred, and twenty-five miles,
and passes through a comparatively well-cultivated
and interesting country, where the vine, the orange,
and the lemon, togetlier with the universal olive, are
abundant and thrifty. The oil extracted from the
latter product forms a large source of profit to the
southern and middle provinces of Spain. The road,
soon after starting, lay through a succession of valleys
and lofty hills, rendering the construction of many
tunnels and viaducts necessary. Occasionally we
came out of one of these tunnels upon a broad prairie-
like plain, where flocks of goats, sheep, and horned
cattle, tended by herdsmen, were struggling to get a
scanty subsistence from very unj)romising fields. Nofc
infrequently there came into view a pretty white
hamlet of a score of dwellings, dominated by a rude
castellated structure, and a square - towered church
surmounted by a cross. Here and there were crumb-
ling strongholds, monuments of the days when the
Moors held sway over the land.
66:1 DUE WEST.
At last we reached Cordova, where it seemed that
something untoward must surely liappen, as we were
driven through the narrow, deserted, cobble -stoned
streets in a hotel omnibus, the hubs of the wheels
scraping the stone buildings on either side alternately.
Nobody but Moors would have constructed such lanes
and called them streets, though doubtless they aimed
to exclude the intense heat of the sun's rays. Tlie
neatly white -washed houses, like those in Havana,
have the lower windows all barred with iron, as if
they were so many prisons, and fitted to keep people
in or out, as the occupants might desire. Looking
about us curiously it Avas natural to recall the slum-
ber of Rip Van Winkle, and to wonder seriously if
the place was destined ever to wake up. How any
shops afford their proprietors a subsistence here is
a marvel. The few to be seen had but one shutter
down, the rest being rusty with disuse. There were
a plenty of broad -brimmed hats with priests under
them, a sure crop in Spain, but scarcely a citizen
was to be seen, or aught else to be noticed, except a
few rusty towers and antique fountains. Everything
seemed impregnated with decay, more desolate than
an actual ruin, because of its moth - eaten vitality,
which left nothing to hope for. Plainly the only life
in Cordova is that imported by curious travelers
from abroad, who make pilgrimages hither to see its
few historic monuments, and to behold a Hercula-
neum above ground.
We looked about us for specimens of the famous
breed of Cordova horses, of whom poets have sung
and kings were covetous. There were a few animals
to be seen with fine manes and tails, with arching
necks and lustrous coats, but their forms would not
AN AXCIEXT CITY. 333
compare with some neglected creatures whose blood
showed through dirt and hard usage, at the Slave
Market in Tangier. There may have been noble
ancestors to these Cordova animals a thousand years
ago, but they must have been crossed with mongrel
races too many times to show good traces to-dav.
This is one of the most ancient cities in the coun-
try, having been the capital of Moorish Spain a thou-
sand years ago. The walls which still surround it
are flanked by octagonal and square towers of Sar-
acenic origin. From the ninth to the twelfth cen-
tury it boasted a million inhabitants, and we read of
its public library which contained six hundred thou-
sand volumes. The present population cannot exceed
forty or fifty thousand. Is it possible that this was
once the largest city in the western world, — once the
centre of European civilization ? So at least history
informs us. Not even one foundation of its three
hundred mosques can be found to-day. Seneca and
Lucan were born here before the time of Chiist, and
the guide rehearsed with voluble facility some other
high-sounding names of historic fame who were na-
tives of the place, but who were quite unfamiliar
to us. When we pointed, however, to the broad,
pale-yellow river crossed by tlie old Roman bridge,
and asked its name, he replied; " The Guadalquivir,"
and the name rang softly on the ear like a strain of
half-forgotten music. The old stone bridge, with its
broad, irregular arches, was an object of much inter-
est, and is, undoubtedly, with its two flanking towers,
the oldest visible object in Coi'dova, thougli it was an
important city in Cresar's time. Tlie bridge is about
the sixteenth of a mile in length, and after two thou-
sand years of battling with the elements is firm and
334 DUE WEST.
substantial still. Roinans, ]\Ioors, and Spaniards have
fiercely battled at its entrances, the tide of victory
and of defeat sweeping again and again across its
roadway, which has many times been made slippery
with human blood. How often has it witnessed
royal pageants, ecclesiastical parades, murderous per-
sonal conflicts, and how often been the rendezvous
of lovers and of whispering groups of conspirators.
Here have been enacted many vivid scenes in the
long line of centuries. What a volume might that
old bridge furnish of history and of romance ! Dur-
ing our brief stay this spot was a favorite resort, usu-
ally supplementing our visits to the cathedral, which
is near at hand. Leaning over its stone barriers, we
watched the rapid stream which doubtless flows on
just as it has done for twenty centuries. Palaces
temples, towers, and shrines crumble, nations rise
and fall, but the Guadalquivir still flows on. Just
below the bridge, perhaps fifty yards awaj^ are the
ruins of an ancient Moorish grist-mill of stone, form-
ing a strikingly picturesque object, in its shattered
condition, amid the foaming rapids.
We visited a museum of antiquities, but it was
in a dark, inappropriate building, gloomy and cob-
webby, smothered in dust and obscurity ; so out of
the way, indeed, that it was diflficult to find, and our
guide was obliged to inquire where the institution
was ! The traveler may conscientious! 3^ omit a visit
to the blind alley which contains the Museum of
Antiquities at Cordova. The guide, by the way, we
found much more intent upon selling us Spanish lace
than anxious to impart desirable local information.
To be a good guide, as Izaak Walton says of anglers
and poets, a man must be born so.
MOSQUE-CATHEDRAL OF CORDOVA. 335
The one great and nearly unrivaled interest of
Cordova is its cathedral, an architectural wonder,
erected some sixteen centuries since, and hallowed
by age and historical associations. Beautiful are its
still remaining thousand and one interior supporting
columns, composed of porphyr}^, jasper, granite, ala-
baster, verd-antique, and marble of various colors.
Think of that vandal Charles V. destroying two
hundred of them : he who was capable of tearing
down a portion of the Alhambra to make room for
his barrack of a palace ! Each of the columns up-
holds a small pilaster, and between them is a horse-
shoe arch, no two columns being precisely alike, —
as they came from Greece, Rome, Constantinople,
Damascus, Africa, and some are said to have come
from the Temple at Jerusalem, as also from Paestum
and Cumse. All the then known world was put
under contribution to furnish this wonderful temple.
The great mosque was changed into a cathedral
after the expulsion of the Arabs ; but a large por-
tion of the interior is untouched, and remains as it
was when the caliphs worshiped here. We felt op-
pressed by a sensation of gloom wandering amid the
dark forest of pillars. It is, and alwaj^s will be, a
mosque, as characteristic and typical as the most
marked shrine in the East. The Holy of Holies, as
sacred to the Spanish Arabians as Mecca to those of
the East, has been preserved intact, and is by far the
most interesting portion of the structure. Here all
the original lace -like ornamentation is entirely un-
disturbed, and looks as though it were a hall taken
bodily out of the Alhambra. The Moslem pilgrims
from far and near came to this spot, and walked
seven times round it, the marble pavement being
336 DUE WEST.
visibly worn by the bare knees of devout Mussul-
mans.
Just outside of this large alcove, wliich is very
similar to a side chapel in a modern cathedral, there
was pointed out to us the finest pi^^ce of mosaic in
the world. It originally came from Constantinople,
and was the gift of the Emperor Rom anus II. It
contains, in accordance with the Moslem faith, no
representation of any living thing ; but is perfection
in its graceful vines, leaves, and scroll work. The
deep glowing colors, crimson and green dominating,
are as bright to-day as when it first came, perhaps
two thousand years ago, from the artist's hand. It
recalled the contemporary productions exhumed at
Pompeii, and now to be seen in the Museum at Na-
ples. These latter however, as we remember them,
are neither so large nor so choice as this master-
piece in the Cordova Mosque. The cathedral, as a
whole, has been pronounced by experienced travelers
to be the greatest architectural curiosity in Europe.
It is a strange conglomerate and jumble of incongru-
ities, half -Christian, half - Saracenic, reminding one
strongly of the Church of St. Mark at Venice, — hav-
ing, like that remarkable structure, borrowed many
of its columns and ornaments from the far East. In-
side and out it is gloomy, massive, and frowning,
forming the most remarkable link between the re-
mote past and the present existing in Spain. It ap-
pears to be nearly as large upon the ground as St.
Peter's at Rome, and contains fifty separate chapels
within its capacious walls. It has, in its passage
througli the several dynasties of Roman, Moorish,
and Spanish rule, received distinctive architectural
marks from each. Its large, cool court of orange-
BESIEGED BY BEGGARS. 337
trees, centuries old; its battlemented wall and huge
gateway ; its famous fountains and its mingled palms
and tall cypresses, all combine to perfect a picture
suo'o'estive of the dead and buried races connected
with its history.
This famous court-yard is of scarcely less interest
than the interior of the great Cathedral-Mosque itself.
It has at each end a colonnade of marble pillars sup-
porting circular arches, and the grounds are broad
and spacious. Here a battalion of professional beg-
gars were drawn up in battle array as we entered,
numbering fifty or sixty of both sexes, and of all
ages. The poor creatures formed both a pitiable
and a picturesque group, composed of the lame, the
halt, and the blind. On the greensward just back
of them, nnder the shade of the dark-leaved orange-
trees, played troops of careless children, who had
been sent here by their parents to beg, but had for-
gotten their vocation. Sitting on the stone bench,
which surrounds the outside walls of the mosque,
were little groups of hale and hearty men, playing
cards and smoking ; while others, stretched at full
length upon the ground, slept just where the dancing
sunlight pierced the leaves and branches of the trees
and mottled their faces with its shimmering rays.
Idleness is the general business of Cordova. What
a strange, weird aspect the deep shades assumed be-
neath the graceful palms and slender cypresses. The
Babel of pleading tongues from the beggars, the
merry voices of the laughing children, the angry dis-
pute of some card players, and the cool business-like
aspect of the priests shuffling about the corridors,
while a little confusing was still impressive.
The best dwelling-houses in Cordova are built upon
22
338 DUE WEST.
the Moorish model ; that is, they liave a central oourt
or garden, visible from the stieet entrance, which is
adorned with trees, flowers, and fountains, usually
guarded by an iron gate and an inner glass door.
Tlie domestic life of the family centres here, where
in summer a broad canvas is drawn over the top,
and the meals are taken underneath in the open air.
AVe saw, late in March, orange and lemon - trees
blooming in these areas, as well as Bengal monthly
and common white roses, tea-roses, verbenas, tiger-
lilies, carnations, and scarlet geraniums. Neither the
palm nor the orange will grow without shelter in this
part of Spain, — the north winds being too cold and
piercing, — except by artificial culture. Spain is al-
most a treeless country, her immense olive orchards
serving but partially to redeem the barren aspect
of the southern and middle districts. In the orange
court of the Grand Mosque, the lofty old Moorish
wall forms a protecting screen. The Alameda of
Cordova must be quite denuded of foliage in winter,
exposed as it is to the north winds and frosty nights.
It is a short but very broad thoroughfare, with a
tree -lined promenade through its centre, like that
at iMalaga, but it seemed singularly out of place in
a city so utterly void of life and animation.
Spain is a country of beggars, but in this ancient
town one is actually beset by them. Travelers,
stopping at the same hotel with us, abbreviated their
stay in the city on account of this great annoyance.
As far as one can judge, these people have no press-
ing reason for begging. It has become a habit, and
strangers are importuned as a matter of course. Can-
not the priests do something to mitigate this great
evil ? In Spain evidence is not lacking to show that
WEALTH OF THE CHURCHES. 339
the Roman Catholic faith inspires deep religious sen-
timent, but without religious principle. The more
blindly iguorant the masses of the people are, the
greater is the influence of the priesthood. Not one
uf the famous Spanish cathedrals but has within its
vaults so-called sacred treasures of great amount, in
gold and silver plate and other material, the intrinsic
value of which in each instance laro^e, beinf^ aGr2;re-
gated, would furnish a sum nearly large enough to
liquidate the national debt. At Toledo, for instance,
the mantle called the Robe of the Virgin is covered
wiih precious stones, so large and choice that its
value has been estimated at a million of Spanish dol-
lars; and this is but one item of value stored in that
rich church. So at Malaga, Seville, Cordova, and
Burgos, not to name other places of which we can
speak with less personal knowledge, each is a small
Golconda of riches, yet the common people starve.
A horde of priests, altogether out of proportion to
the necessities of the case from any point of view,
are kept up, the most useless of non-producers, and
whence comes their support but from this very pov-
erty-burdened mass of the common people? When
Philip II. was told of the destruction of the great
Spanish Armada, which had cost a hundred million
ducats, he only said : " I thank God for having given
me the means of bearing such a loss without embar-
rassment, and power to fit out another fleet of equal
size I " And yet there were starving millions in Spain
at that time as there are to-day.
From Cordova to Madrid is nearly three hundred
miles, the first half of which distance we passed over
in the daytime, lightening the journey by enjoyment
of the pleasing scenery and local peculiarities. Though
340 DUE WEST.
it was quite earl}^ in the spring, still the fields were
verdant and full of j^roniise. More than once a gypsy
camp was passed by the side of some cross-road, pre-
senting the usual domestic group, mingled with ani-
mals, covered carts, lazy men stretched on the green-
sward, and busy women cooking the evening meal.
Long strings of mules, with wide -spread panniers,
came winding across the plain, sometimes in charge
of a woman clad in gaudy colors, while her lazy hus-
band thrummed a guitar, lying across one of the
mules. Towards evening groups of peasants, male
and female, with farming tools in their hands, were
seen wending their steps towards some hamlet after
the day's labor. Arched stone bridges, old and moss-
grown, came into view, spanning small water-courses,
on their way from the mountains to join more pre-
tentious streams. Elevated spots often showed the
ruins of the old stone towers, once a part of some
feudal stronghold, but the eye sought in vain for
well-wooded slopes or thrifty groves ; and yet, strange
to say, the song-birds which we had missed further
south, in Andalusia and at Granada, put in an ap-
pearance as we came north, cheering us with their
soft trilling notes in the amber sunshine that radi-
ated about the small railroad stations. Some of thece
depots were rendered attractive and pretty by nicely
arranged flower-beds and a few trees, imparting a
home-like appearance. The ever-varying scenery kept
mind and eyes bus}^, until by and by Night dropped
her mantle over the face of nature, and with the dark-
ness came a cool and nipping air. Then followed
two hundred miles of tedious night travel, with no
convenience for sleeping, except such as one could
obtain sitting bolt upright, so that when daylight
THE SPANISH CAPITAL. 341
and Madrid arrived together, we were ready to wel-
come the 111 both.
Why Charles Y. should have made his capital on
the spot now occupied b}^ Madrid it is difficult to un-
derstand— though writers suppose a half a dozen
reasons — except that it is the geographical centre
of Spain. Eight or nine hundred years ago it was a
fortified outpost of Toledo, " imperial " Toledo. It
is hemmed in on all sides by arid plains, and has an
adjacent river, so-called, but which in America would
be known as a dry gulch. If there is any special
benefit to be derived from a waterless river, we have
yet to learn its character. Like the Arno at Flor-
ence, it is troubled with a chronic thirst; in short,
the Manzanares has the form of a river without the
circulation. In the days of Charles II. its dry bed
was turned into a sort of race-course and drive-way,
but since the completion of the Prado it has been
abandoned for even this purpose. Though Madrid is
situated between two and three thousand feet above
the level of the sea, it does not seem to possess the
advantages usually following such a position, the cli-
mate being scorchingly hot in summer and piercingly
cold in winter. Thus, in point of climate and loca-
tion, the Spanish capital seems to be a mistake.
As Madrid was built when the age of cathedrals
had passed, it has none within its borders, though
there is no lack of modern churches ; but it is a large
and fine city, with some four hundred thousand in-
habitants. It is not noticeable, like Genoa, Rome,
and Florence, for palaces and ancient monuments ;
but it is well laid out ; the streets are broad and nicely
paved ; while numerous squares ornament the city,
filled with attractive shrubbery, fountains, and stat-
342 DUE WEST.
ues. Among the latter we recall those of Murillo,
Philip III., Cervantes, Lopez de Vega, Philip V.,
Calderon, and others. The finest statue in tlie city,
to our taste, is tliat of Phihp IV., representing the
monarch as on horseback, the animal in a praneing
position, — a wonderfully life-like bronze, designed by
Velasquez and cast by Pietro Tacca at Florence. It
forms the centre of the Plaza del Oriente, directly in
front of the Yoy•^l palace, from which it is separated,
however, by a broad thoroughfare. According to
history, Galileo showed how the true balance of the
horse could be sustained in its remarkable position,
the wdiole weight of rider and animal resting on the
bind legs. On the Prado, the grand public drive of
the citizens, there are fine marble statues and groups,
combined with fountains, representative of Neptune,
Apollo, and Cybele.
The Puerto del Sol is the Place del 'Opera of Mad-
rid, always full of sparkle, life, and color, radiating
from which there are a dozen large streets with two
or three broad boulevards. Here all the lines of
tramways meet and diverge, and the congregated
fashionable idlers of the town hold high carnival daily
and nightly. Our windows overlooked the Puerto
del Sol (the Gate of the Sun), where the whirl of car-
riages, the rush of pedestrians, the passing of military
bands with marching regiments, equestrians; priests
decked out in church paraphernalia, preceded by smok-
ing incense, burning candles, etc., bound to some
death-bed ; itinerant peddlers, and news-vendors, each
hastening on some individual purpose, made the plaza
a scene of incessant movement from early morning
until midnight. Like Paris and Vienna, Madrid does
not seem to awake until evening, and the tide of
SPANISH AQUEDUCTS. 343
life becomes the most active under the glare of gas-
lights which are as numerous at midnight as the
fireflies tliat float over a sugar plantation. The flue
shops surrounding this brilliant square, which is the
real geographical heart of Madrid, are more Parisian
than Spanish. The large plate-glass windows present
a tempting array of jewelry, laces, silver-ware and
rich fancy goods, in a style and of a quality tliat
would do no discredit to the Rue de la Paix or the
Boulevard des Italiens. Indeed, it is mostly French
people who keep these shops, and there is a manifest
tendency of the upper classes to adopt French man-
ners, customs, and language. Paris serves as a model
to Madrid in all matters relating to fashionable life.
There is a large fountain and mammoth basin of
water in the centre of the square, a stream being
forced to a height of fifty or sixty feet, in a graceful
column, night and day, the effect of which is height-
ened by the brilliant array of gas-lights. The side-
walks are here at least forty feet wide, upon which,
in business hours, many merchants are accustomed to
meet for the discussing of affairs, and to gossip be-
fore the several hotels which front on the plaza.
Speaking of the fountain in the Puerto del Sol re-
calls the fact that the citizens owe it to the energy
and skill of foreign engineers that they enjoy the lux-
ury of an ample supply of good water; and foreign
engineers are doing or have done the same thing for
other Spanish cities, though, in fact, only restoring the
ancient supplies first constructed by the quick-witted
Moors, and wantonly permitted to crumble into ruin
by the Spaniards. They are not sufficiently enter-
prising or progressive to originate any such scheme
for the public good. They even dislike the railroads.
344 DUE WEST.
thongh thoy are compelled to use tliom; dislike them
because they force them to observe puuctuality, the
native instinct being of the Chinese school, retrospec-
tive and retrograding. Everytliing is exotic in Mad-
rid ; notliing is produced in or near the city which
its daily consumption demands. Strawberries, butter,
cheese, fruits, meats, each comes from some special
region far away to this human hive located in the
desert. The city adds to its other drawbacks that of
being very unwholesome as a residence, and would
die out from natural causes if its ^^op^^hition were
not constantly renewed from the several provinces.
There is a native proverb to the effect that so subtle
is the air of Madrid, it kills a man but does not put
out a candle. Why it is so unhealthy a place, es-
pecially for strangers, it is impossible to say. The
same extreme difference between the sunshine and
the shade is here realized which one experiences at
Nice, Mentone, and Naples. The air seemed pure
and clear enough during our two weeks' stay, but
every one admitted its very unwholesome character.
When the breeze swept down from the snowy Gua-
darrama, it cut like a knife, but that was a condition
of temperature w^hich one could guard against, not an
atmospheric impurity. If iMadrid were surrounded
by and ornamented with trees, like Wiesbaden or
Baden-Baden, it might prove a favorable sanitary
measure, besides adding so much to its beauty. In
Paris, Rome, or Venice, fires are not common in do-
mestic living rooms, except in extremes of weather ;
but at Madrid, if the day is cool and damp, the cheer-
ful, warmth-diffusing fire is lighted and regarded as
a necessity.
The king and queen of Spain passed through the
THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD. 345
Puerto del Sol in an open carriage nearly every after-
noon during our stay, attended by half a dozen out-
riders, and drawn by four superb liorses ; for Alfonso's
royal stable, as we can testify, is justly celebrated.
The king rides with his hat in his hand in response
to the ceaseless recognitions of respect by the peo-
ple, who, however, never cheer him, and yet lie ap-
pears to be fairly popular with the masses. He has
seemed thus far to follow rather than to lead public
sentiment, perhaps realizing the precarious nature of
his seat upon the throne; remembering that the na-
tion has a rather erratic manner of changing its rulers
when displeased with them. He is quite youthful in
appearance. The queen, though b}^ no means hand-
some, has a pleasing face, and is represented to be
of a very amiable character. It will be remembered
that his first wife, Mercedes, died while yet a bride,
at the age of eighteen, much regretted and much be-
loved. Alfonso has, in a few public instances, shown
a progressive and enlightened spirit; but were he to
permit himself to be demonstrative in this direction,
he v/ould not be supported either by his councillors
or the public, who are imbued with the true Castilian
dormancy even in this nineteenth century. He has
undertaken, out of his private purse, to restore many
decaying monuments of the country, and is notice-
ably spending money freely for this purpose, not only
in Cordova, but also at Toledo, ^Madrid, and Burgos.
On the occasions when the king and queen drove
out, the royal carriage was generally attended by a
second, in which was ex-empress Isabella, at the time
on a visit to the royal palace, though she makes her
home at present in Paris. She is fat, dowdy, and vul-
gar in appearance, with features indicative of sensu-
346 DUE WEST.
ousness and indulgence in coarse appetites. The last
time we saw her was in the Puerto del Sol, as she
rode in a carriage behind the royal vehicle, with a
lady companion by her side, to whom she was talking
very earnestly, accompanying her words with the
most energetic and emphatic gesticulation of the right
forefinger. The more we heard of this woman, the
less we could respect her ; and yet we were told by
intelligent natives that she is to-day very popular in
Madrid, much more so than in other parts of the
country. If this is true, it is only a reflection upon
the moral instincts of the people themselves. The
royal palace is located upon a sliglatly rising site, and
is so isolated as to give full effect to its fine archi-
tecture and excellent general design. It is the only
building of a remarkable character, architecturally,
in the city ; which, for a European capital, is in this
respect very ordinary and plain. The Madrid palace
is undoubtedly the Lirgest and finest in Europe, and
belongs to the Tuscan style. It cost between five
and six millions of dollars a hundred years ago. The
base is granite, but the upper portion is built of a fine
•white stone, closely resembling marble. The royal
family being at Iiome, as well as the ex-queen being
there, we could not visit the palace, but w^ere told
of its interior magnificence, by those familiar with it.
It contains a rich chapel, library, and theatre, with a
remarkably beautiful collection of tapestries. The
throne room is said to be gorgeous and its ornaments
of lavish cost. In the absence of the royal occupants,
strangers are admitted under proper auspices.
The Prado is to Madrid what the Champs Elys^es
and the Bois de Boulogne are to Paris, — a splendid
avenue, through the centre of which runs a continu*
OUr-DOOR AMUSEMENTS. 347
ons walk and garden, with elaborate stone fountains,
Bomewhat similar to the Unter den Linden of Berlin,
or Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, save that it is
more extensive than either. The Prado nearly joins
the Public Garden on the borders of the city, in
which there are also fine carriage drives, roadways
for equestrians, many delightful shaded walks, and
paths lined with flowers, myrtles, groves, and sweet-
leaved hedges, intermingled with fountains, lakes,
arbors, refreshment houses, etc. On Sundays and
fete days these grounds are thronged with citizens
and their families for out -door enjoyment, riding,
and driving. Here also several military bands are
distributed, adding to the accumulated attractions.
There is a certain dignity and appearance of refine-
ment observable among the gentlemen one meets on
the Prado and in the streets, but we look in vain for
the traditional sombrero, which has been superseded
by the conventional stove-pipe hat ; while the grace-
ful Spanish cloak has given way to the stiff Euro-
pean body overcoat. The Spanish ladies, with their
large black eyes and dark olive complexions, are gen-
erally quite handsome, but they rouge, and powder,
and paint their faces in a lavish manner. Indeed,
they seem to go further in this direction than do the
Parisians, obviously penciling eyes and eyebrows, —
an addition which their brunette complexion requires
least of all. With the public actress this resort is
admissible, where effects are necessary to be pio-
duced for distant spectators in large audiences ; but
in daily life even custom does not rob it of its inev-
itable aspect of vulgarit}'. True, all nations resort
to such artifices, more or less, especially in southern
Europe. The Chinese ladies carry the practice of
348 DUE WEST.
painting tlieii* faces so far as to amount to caricature;
and if the Japanese ladies do not so generally follow
the example, they do blacken their teeth, which one
must confess is more objectionable still. In these
faithfid notes it must be admitted that even the Jap-
anese ladies paint cheeks and lips with sucli a tinge
of vermilion as is thought to be becoming, and en-
amel their faces and necks. This, however, it must
be remembered is before marriage. After that rela-
tionship has taken place, as has before been inti-
mated, it becomes the ridiculous practice of every
Japanese wife to render herself as unattractive as
possible, forgetting that she is thus liable to become
as disagreeable in the eyes of her husband as in those
of other people.
The Spanish lady, like her Japanese sister, is a
great devotee to the fan, and neither are ever seen
abroad in full dress without this conspicuous accom-
paniment. The importance of this article of female
requirement is fully recognized at Madrid, wheie
many stores are devoted solely to its manufacture
and sale; while artists give much time and genius
to their elaborate ornamentation, the prices ranging
from a few shillings to ten doubloons. The indis-
pensable veil, covering more or less head, neck, and
face, would prove but a poor substitute for the dainty
French bonnet on the Parisian boulevards ; but in
Castilian atmosphere it is as appropriate and becom-
ing as the florid-colored ])lnraage of birds in the trop-
ics. There is a certain harmony between the dark,
smooth skin, the glossy raven hair, the long, dark
lashes, the blue veins of the temples, and the na-
tional head-dress of the Spanish ladies, which gratifies
the artistic eye. Ah ! if the mind in those lovely
THE MUSEO. 349
women were but as noble as their faces ! Unfortu-
n;itely, perhaps, their very beauty makes their defects
the more conspicuous. Ermine must be spotless.
In her splendid art collection of the Museo, the
city has a treasure only equaled by the Louvre at
Paris and the galleries at Florence. To artists, it is
the one attraction of Madrid, and is principally com-
posed of works by the Spanish masters, though also
containing many other gems. Here we find forty-
four examples of Murillo, sixty-four from Velasquez,
sixty by Rubens, twenty-five from Paul Veronese,
thivty-four from Tintoretto, and many from Andrea
del Sarto, Titian, Vandyke, Goya, Ribera, and others
of similar artistic fame, in such profusion as to be
a constant source of surprise to the stranger. Here
one is sure to meet, daily, intelligent Americans,
French, Italians, and English, but very rarely Span-
iards. It is believed that Murillo appears at his best
in this collection. Being a native of Seville, he is
in a measure seen at home ; and artists declare that
his work shows more of light, power, and expression
here than anywhere outside of the Museo. So we
go to Antwerp to appreciate Rubens, though we find
him so ably and fully represented elsewhere. Velas-
quez cannot be fairly judged outside the ]\Iadrid
gallery. He also was at home here, and his paintings
are not only the most numerous, but are decidedly his
best. The arrangement of the pictures of the IMuseo
is severely criticised ; some of the best are hung too
high, while those one does not care to study, or
scarcely to see at all, have been accorded the best
lines in the gallery. There seems to be no system
observed ; the hangings are frequently altered, and
the printed catalogue is thus rendered of very little
3.30 DUE WEST.
use. The building itself is a large and admirable
structure, well adapted to the purpose, quite worthy
to contain the choice art treasures beneath its roof.
When the French were masters in Spain they proved
to be terrible inconot-lasts, leaving marks of their
devastation nearly everywhere in one form or another.
Not content with stealing many unequaled works of
art of priceless value, they often wantonly destroyed
what it was impossible to carry away. In the tomb
of Ferdinand and Isabella, at Granada, it will be re-
membered they pried open the royal coffins iii search
of treasure. At Seville they broke open the coffin
of Murillo, and scattered his ashes to the wind. Mar-
shal Soult treated the ashes of Cervantes in a similar
manner. "War desecrates all things, human and di-
vine ; but sometimes becomes a Nemesis, dispensing
poetical justice, as when Waterloo caused the return
to Spain of a portion of her despoiled art-treasures.
The bull-fight is very properly called the national
sport of Spain, and, we are sorry to add, is typical of
the natural cruelty of her people. It was the open-
ing exhibition of the season which was advertised to
take place during the first week of our stay in tlie
city, and it was announced for Sunday afternoon, the
day usually selected for these occasions ; but as it
proved to be rainy it was postponed to the following
Thursday. The bull-ring of the capital is said to con-
tain seating capacity for eighteen thousand persons ;
and yet such was the demand for tickets of admission,
that it was a work of some hours to procure them at
all, and only consummated finally at a considerable
premium. Our seats were near to those of the royal
party, consisting of the king, queen, and ex-queen
Isabella, with a number of ladies and gentlemen of
THE BULL-FIG UT. 361
the household. The easy and graceful manners of
the queen were in strong contrast to the arrogant
and vulgar style of Isabella, whose character is so
dark a stain upon Spanish royalty. Every seat of
the large circular theatre was occupied. Open to the
sky, it was not unlike what the Coliseum of Rome
must have been in its glory, and held an audience, we
should judge, of over seventeen thousand. Nearly all
classes were represented, for a Spaniard must be poor
indeed who cannot find a dollar to pay his way into
the bull-ring. The better seats were occupied by
ladies and gentlemen, the lower priced ones by the
masses, — both sexes being fully represented in each
class of seats. Those located on the east and southerly
sides are covered to protect the grandees, while the
masses sitting in the sun hold fans or paper screens
before their eyes.
There was a cold, murderous, business-like aspect
to all the arrangements, and everything, however
repulsive to strangers, was taken by the audience
at large quite as a matter of course. The immense
crowd were not very noisy or demonstrative, content-
ing themselves with smoking and chatting together.
It was curious and interesting, while waiting for the
commencement of tlie performance, to study the fea-
tures of the audience, and watch their earnest ges-
ticulations ; for the Spaniards, like the Italians, talk
with their whole bodies, — hands, arms, head, trunk,
and all. The ladies, as usual, were each supplied
with that prime necessity, a fan ; and it is astonishing
what a weapon of coquetry it becomes in the delicate
hands of a Spanish beauty. Its coy archness is be-
yond comparison, guided by the pliant wrist of the
owner, concealing or revealing her eloquent glances
352 DUE WEST.
iinJ features. With her veil and her fan, a Spanish
woman is armed cap-d-jne, and in Cupid's warfare
becomes irresistible.
The author had seen the cruelty of the bull-ring
exhibited years ago in the Spanish West Indies, yet
to visit Madrid, the headquarters of all things Span-
ish, and not to witness the national sport, would have
been a serious omission ; and therefore, suppressing a
strong sense of distaste, the exhibition was attended.
The hateful cruelty of the bull- ring has been too
often and too graphically described to require from
us the unwelcome task. Suffice it to say we saw six
powerful and courageous bulls killed, who, in their
brave self-defense, diseniboweled and killed thirteen
horses. No man was seriously injured, though sev-
eral were dismounted, and others run over by the
enraged bulls in headlong career across the arena.
The picadores were mounted on poor hacks, since the
fate of the horse that entered the ring was as certain
as that of the bull himself. The banderilleros and
chulos, who took part in the combat on foot, Avere
fine looking, active young fellows ; and the mata-
dores, who performed the final act of killing the bull
siuixle- handed, were as a rule older and more ex-
perienced men. It must be a practiced hand that
gives the last thrust to the many-times wounded and
nearly exhausted creature, who will always fight to
the very last gasp.
The matadore is regarded as quite a hero by the
masses of the people, receiving a princely remunera-
tion for his services. He holds his head very high
amono: his associates. One of these matadores was
long the disgraceful favorite of Queen Isabella. We
came away from this exhibition more than ever con-
CRUELTY AXD COWARDICE. 353
vincecl of tlie cowardly character of the game. The
requisite, on the part of the much lauded bull-fighter,
is not courage but cunning. He knows full well
when the bull is so nearly exhausted as to render his
final attack upon him quite safe. A dozen against
one, twelve armed men against one animal, who has
the protection only of his horns and his stout courage.
The death of the bull is sure from the moment he en-
ters the ring, but the professional fighters are rarely
Imrt, though often very much frightened. Another
most shameful part of the game is the introduction
of poor, broken-down horses, who have yet strength
and spirit enough to faithfully obey their rider, and
so rush forward regardless of the horns of the bull,
which will surely disembowel and lay them dead
upon the field. The matadore who finally faces the
bull single-handed, to give him the coup-de-grace with
his Toledo blade, does not do so until the animal has
struggled with his other tormentors nearly to the last
gasp, is weak from the loss of blood, and his strength
exiiausted by a long and gallant fight, so that he al-
ready staggers and is nearly blind with accumulated
ton lien ts. The poor creature is but a sorr}^ victim for
the fresh, well-armed, practiced butcher, who comes
to give him the finishing stroke. We would empha-
size the remark that the whole game of the bull-ring
is, on the part of the chulos, picadores, and matadores,
a shameful exhibition not only of the most disgrace-
ful cruelty but also of consummate cowardice.
Black is the almost universal color worn by ladies
and gentlemen in public. Parisian fashions as to
cut and material are very generally adopted ; and, as
has been intimated, the French model is paramount
in all things. A business resident remarked to us
23
354 DUE WEST.
that the French langu;\ge was becoming so universal
that it absohitely threatened to supersede the native
tongue. Bonnets are worn in walking and driving ;
but at the bull-figlit, the concert-room, and the the-
atre the national lace liead- dress is still tenaciously
and becomingly adhered to. In manners the better
class of Spaniards are extremely courteous, and al-
ways profuse in their offers of services, though it is
hardly to be expected that their generosity will be
put to the test. Gentlemen will smoke in the ladies'
faces in the street, the corridors, cafes, cars, any-
where, apparently not being able to comprehend that
it may be offensive. Even in the dining-rooms of
the hotels, the cigar or cigarette is freely lighted,
and smoked with the coffee w^hile ladies are present.
In short, tobacco seems to be a necessity to the aver-
age Spaniard, both sleeping and waking, for they
smoke in bed also. Perhaps this apparent obtuse-
ness on the part of gentlemen arises from the well-
known fact that many of the ladies themselves in-
dulge in the cigarette, though rarely in public. The
writer has more than once seen the practice as ex-
hibited in popular cafes whither both sexes resorted.
At the bull-ring many of the common class of women
had cigarettes between their lips.
Sunda}^ is an acknowledged gala-day in Madrid,
though the attendance upon early mass is very gen-
eral, especially among tlie women. It is here, as at
Paris and other European capitals, the chosen day
for military parades, horse-races, and the bull-fight.
Most of the shops are open and realize a profitable
business, and especially is this the case with those
devoted to the sale of cigars, liquors, fancy goods,
and the cafes ; with them it is the busiest day of the
SCENES ON THE PR A DO. 355
whole week. The lottery ticket vendor makes a
double day's work on this occasion, and the itinerant
gamblers, with portable stands, have crowds about
their tables wherever they locate. The flower-girls,
with dainty little baskets, rich in color and captivat-
ing in fragrance, press buttonhole bouquets on the
{)edestrians, and, shall we whisper it ? make appoint-
ments with susceptible cavaliers ; while men peram-
bulate the streets with bon-bons displayed upon cases
Ining from their necks ; in short, Sunday is made a
fete day, when grandees and beggars complacently
come forth like marching regiments into the Puerto
del Sol. The Prado and public gardens are thronged
with gayly- dressed people, children, and nurses, —
the costume of the latter got up in the most theatrical
style, with broad red or blue ribbons hanging down
behind from their snow-white caps, and sweeping the
ver}^ ground at their heels. No one stays within
doors on Sunday in Madrid, and all Europe loves the
out-door sunshine.
We have said that the Spanish capital was defi-
cient in buildings of architectural pretension. This
is quite true ; but the country is rich in tlie character
of her monuments, possessing one order of architec-
ture elsewhere little known. Our guide called it very
appropriately the Morisco style, which has grown out
of the combination of Moorish and Christian art.
The former attained, during the Middle Ages, as
great importance in Spain as in the East. This is,
perhaps, more clearly manifested in Andalusia than
elsewhere ; here its harmony is presented in many
brilliant examples and combinations. The greatest
wealth of the country is to bo found in its historic
monuments, its well-defined Roman period being es-
356 DUE WEST.
pecially rich in arcbitectunil remains ; and, as to
cathedrals, nowhere else are they to be found so
richly and superbly endowed.
The cars took us to Toledo, a distance of about
forty miles, in an hour and a half, landing us in a
strange, old place, the very embodiment of antiquity,
and the capital of Gothic Spain. Here let us drop U
hint gained by experience. If the reader makes the
excursion to Toledo from Madrid, he will most prob-
ably start early in the morning and get back late at
night, as one day in the place will afford all the time
absolutely necessary to visit and enjoy its most nota-
ble objects. A prepared luncheon basket should be
taken from Madrid. This will obviate the necessity
of encountering the dirt, unsavory food, and extor-
tion of the fifth-rate hotels of Toledo. It has been
said that banditti have been suppressed in Spain ;
perhaps so, on the public roads. It may be they
have gone into the hotel business, as a safer and less
conspicuous mode of robbing travelers. At Toledo
the rule of the Moor is seen in foot-prints no time
can obliterate, and to visit which is like the reali-
zation of a mediseval dream. The sombre streets are
strangely winding, irregular, and steep ; the reason
for constructing them thus was, doubtless, that they
might be the more easily defended when attacked by
a foreign enemy. In the days of her prime, Toledo
saw many battles, both inside and outside of her
gates. One can touch the houses of these streets on
both sides at the same time, by merely extending the
arms.
There are scores of deserted buildings locked up,
tlie h'Mivy g.ites studded with great, protruding, iron-
headed nails, while the lower windows are closely
A DILAPIDATED CITY. 367
iron -grated. These houses have paved entrances,
leading to open areas, or courts, with galleries around
them, upon which the various rooms open. The gal-
leries are of carved and latticed wood, generally in
good preservation, but the main structure is of stone,
most substantially built, everything testifying to their
Moorish origin. Some of these houses, once palaces,
are now used for storage purposes ; some for business
warehouses, manufactories, and carpenters' shops.
One would suppose, in such a dull, sleepy, dormant
place, that the streets would be grass-grown ; but
there is no grass. Yet between the loosely-fitting
slabs of stone pavement, here and there, little fresh
flowers, of some unknown species, struggled up into
a pale, fragile existence, with stems white in place of
green, showing the absence of sunlight, so necessary
to both human and vegetable life. They had no fra-
grance, these stray children from Flora's kingdom,
but looked very much like forget-me-nots, reminding
one of the little flower which sprung up through the
hard pavement of Picciola's prison. Dilapidation is
written everywhere in this Oriental atmosphere. The
Moors of Morocco still believe that they will yet be
restored to the Spanish home of their ancestors, and
the keys of these Toledo houses have been handed
down from generation to generation as emblems of
their rights, tokens which were pointed out to us at
Tangier ; but not, until we had visited Toledo, was
the idea which they involved fully appreciated. One
cannot but realize a certain respect for the Moors,
while wandering among these scenes of the long-bur-
ied past. Whatever may have been their failings,
they must have contrasted favorably with the present
occupants, who seem strangely out of place. In those
358 DUE WEST.
ancient clays the city contained a quarter of a million
of inhabitants; to-d;iy it lias barely fifteen thousand.
The river Tagus almost surrounds Toledo, and is not,
like the Manzanares, merely a dry ditch, but a full,
rapid, rushing river.
The cathedral at Toledo is its most prominent ob-
ject of interest, and has a deservedly high fame ;
while clustering about it, in the very heart of the old
place, are many churches, convents, and palaces, —
though a large share of them are untenanted, and as
silent as the tomb. But before entering the cathe-
dral we visited the Alcazar, formerly a royal palace
of Charles V., and now the West Point of Spain,
where her sons are educated for the army. Under
the Moors, ten centuries ago, it was a fortress, then a
palace, now an academy, capable of accommodating
six hundred pupils. The view from the Alcazar,
which dominates the entire city, is vast and impres-
sive, the building itself being also the first object
seen from a distance when one is approaching Toledo.
It is upon a bleak height. As you come out of the
broad portals of the Alcazar (Al-casa-zar, the czar's
house), you walk to the edge of the precipitous rock
upon which it stands, and contemplate the view across
the far-reaching plain, gloomy and desolate, while at
the base of the rock rushes past the rapid Tagus.
This whole valley, now so dead and silent, once
teemed with a dense population, and sent forth ar-
mies, and fought great battles, in the days of the
Goths. The cathedral is visited by architects from
all parts of Europe and America, solely as a profes-
sional study. It is a remarkably fine sample of the
Gothic order, which Coleridge called petrified relig-
ion, and exhibits in all its parts that great achieve-
A GOTHIC CATHEDRAL. 359
ment of the art, entire harmony of design and exe-
cution ; while the richness of its ornamentation and
its artistic wealth, not to mention, in detail, its gold
and silver plate, make it the rival of most other ca-
thedrals in the world, with the possible exception of
that at Burgos. Its size is vast, with a tower reach-
ing three hundred feet heavenward, and the interior
having five great naves, divided by over eighty lofty
columns. It is said to contain more stained -glass
windows than any other cathedral that was ever built.
The effect of the clear morning light, as imparted to
the interior through this great surface of delicately-
tinted glass, is remarkably beautiful. The high altar,
a marvel of splendid workmanship and minute detail,
is yet a little confusing, from the myriads of statues,
groups, emblems, columns, gilding, and ornaments
generally ; but it seems to be the purpose of most of
these Roman Catholic churches to turn the altars into
a species of museum. Guides are always plentifully
supplied with marvelous legends for travelers; and
ours, on this occasion, simply bristled all over wdth
them as regarded this church. One of these, which
he persisted in pouring into our unbelieving ears, was
to the effect that, when the cathedral was completed
and dedicated, so perfect was it found to be that the
Virgin descended bodily to visit it, and to express, by
her presence, her entire satisfaction I
Toledo stands there upon the boldest promontory
of the Tagus, — a dead and virtually deserted city.
Coveted by various conquerors, she has been ^be-
sieged more than twenty times ; so that the river be-
neath the w^alls has often flowed red with human
gore, where it is spanned by the graceful bridge of
Alcantara. Phoenicians, Romans, Goths, Moors, and
360 DUE WEST.
Christians, all have fought for and have possessed, for
a greater or less period, the castle-crowned city. Its
story is written in letters scarlet with blood and
dark with misery; illustrating Irving's idea that his-
tory is but a kind of Newgate calendar, a register of
the crimes and miseries that man has inflicted on his
fellow-man. Only the skeleton of a once great and
thriving capital remains. It has no commerce and
but one industry, — the manufacture of. arms and
sword-blades, — which gives occupation to a couple of
hundred souls, hardly more. The coming and going
of visitors from other lands gives it a little flutter of
daily life, like a fitful candle blazing up for a moment
and then dying down in the socket, making darkness
only the more visible by contrast. The once cele-
brated sword factory was found to be of little inter-
est, though we were told that better blades are manu-
factured here to-day than in olden time, when it won
such repute in this special line. So well are these
blades tempered, that it is possible to bend them like
a watch spring without breaking them. In looking
at the present condition of this once famous seat of
industry and power, recalling her arts, manufactures,
and commerce, it must be remembered that outside
of the immediate walls, which form the citadel, as it
were, of a large and extended population, were over
forty thriving towns and villages, located in the val-
ley of the Tagus, under the shadow of her wing.
These communities and their homes have all disap-
peared,— pastures and fields of grain covering their
dust from the eyes of the curious traveler. The nar-
row, silent, doleful streets of the old city, with its
overhanging roofs and yawning arches,. leave a sad
memory on the brain, as we turn away from its
crumbling walls and antique Moorish gates.
THE EIGHTH WONDER. 361
An excursion of thirty-five miles, to a station of
the same name, took us from Madiid to the Escurial,
which the Spaniards in their egotism call the eighth
wonder of the world. This vast pile of buildhigs,
composed entirely of granite, and as uniform as a
military barrack, is nearly a mile in circumference, —
tomb, palace, cathedral, monaster}^, one and all com-
bined. The wilderness selected as the site of the
structure shows about as little reason as does that of
the locality of Madrid ; utter barrenness and want of
human or vegetable life are its most prominent char-
acteristics. Here, however, are congregated a vast
number of curious and interesting objects, while
the place is redolent of vivid historical associations.
One of the first objects shown us here was the tomb
of Mercedes, the child -wife of the present king;
also, in a deep octagonal vault, the sepulchres of some
thirty royal individuals, kings and mothers of kings.
Among them were Philip II., Philip V., Ferdinand
VI., Charles V., etc. The niche occupied by Philip
IV. attracted special notice from the fact that the
eccentric monarch, during his life-time, often seated
himself here to listen to mass, an idea more singu-
lar than reverential. The coffin of Charles V. was
opened so late as 1871, during the visit of the Em-
peror of Brazil, when the face of the corpse was
found to be entire, — eyebrows, hair, and all, though
black and shriveled. The last burial here was that
of Ferdinand VII. This octagon vault is called the
Pantheon of the Escurial; but it is nothing more
than a theatrical show room : nothing could be more
inappropriate. While we were in Madrid, ex-queen
Isabella visited the vault, — her own last resting-
place being already designated herein, — and caused
362 DUE WEST.
mass to be performed while she kneeled among the
coffins, as Philip IV. was accustomed to do. She
does this once a year, at the hour of midnight, but
why that period is chosen we do not know.
A room adjoining the church, close beside the
altar, is shown to the visitor, where that prince of
bigots, Philip II., passed the last days and hours of
his life. It is a scantily furnished apartment, with
no upholster}^, hard chairs, and bare wooden tables ;
with a globe, scales, compasses, and a few rude do-
mestic articles, writing material, half a dozen maps,
and three or four small cabinet pictures on the walls,
forming the entire inventory. A large chair in which
he sat, and the coarse hard bed on which he slept and
died, are also seen in a little adjoining room scarcely
ten feet square. It was here that he received with
such apparent indifference the intelligence of the de-
struction of the Spanish Armada, which had cost over
a hundred million ducats and twenty years of use-
less labor. Everything is left as it was at the time
of his death. A sliding panel was so arranged in
the little sleeping-room that the king could sit or lie
there, when too ill to do otherwise, and yet attend
upon the performance of public mass. With this
door put aside, the king lay here on that September
Sabbath day, in the year of our Lord, 1598, — after
having just ordered a white satin lining for his
bronze coffin, — grasping the crucifix which his fa-
ther, Charles V., held when dying, and with eyes
fixed upon the high altar, attended by his confessor
and children, the worn-out monarch breathed his last.
Little as we sympathized with the character of the
royal occupant, there was yet something touching in
the stern simplicity with which he surrounded, his
THE ESCUPdAL. 363
own domestic life. Self-abnegation must have been
with him a ruling principle. The cell of a Francis-
can monk could not have been more severely simple
and plain than that small living and sleeping apart-
ment.
A few statistics, as rattled off' by our guide, will
give the reader some idea of the vastness of the Es-
curial. There are sixteen open courts within its outer
walls, eighty staircases, twelve thousand doors (?),
and some three thousand windows. There are over
forty altars. The main church is as large as most
European cathedrals, being three hundred feet long,
over two hundred wide, and three hundred and twenty
feet high. \ye know of no cathedral in Italy so elab-
orately and beautifully finished, and yet this was only
a part of the princely household of Philip II. The
Escurial is now only a show place, so to speak, of no
present use except as a historical link and a tomb.
There are a few, very few, fine paintings left within
its walls, most of those which originally hung here
having been very properly removed to the ]\Iuseo at
^ladrid. In the refectory will be noticed a choice
painting by Titian, of which we are a little surprised
that no more has been said, for it is a remarkable
painting. On the same wall are two or three can-
vases by Velasquez, but none by other artists of re-
pute. On the walls of a large hall, called by the
guide the Hall of Battles, is painted a most crude and
inartistic series of pictures, only worthy of a Chinese
artist, representing a series of battles supposed to de-
pict Spanish conquests.
AVe were also shown, preserved here, a large and
useless library, kept in a noble hall over two hundred
feet long and fifty or sixty wide, the books being all
364 DUE WEST.
arranged with tlieir backs to the wall, so that even
the titles cannot be read, — a plan which one would
say must be the device of some madman. The book-
cases are made of ebony, cedar, orange, and other
choice woods, and contain some sixty thousand vol-
umes. What possible historic wealth may here lie
concealed, — what noble thoughts and minds em-
balmed ! In the domestic or Sw^elling portion of the
Escurial the apartments are very finely inlaid with
various woods on the doors, dado, and on the floors ;
besides which they contain some delicate antique fur-
niture of great beauty, finished mostly in various pat-
terns of inlaid woods. A few cabinet pictures are
seen upon the walls, and one or two large hall-like
apartments are hung with tapestr}^, which, although
centuries old, is perfect in texture and the freshness
of the colors. It might have come from the Gobe-
lins' factory during this present year of our Lord,
and it could not be brighter or more perfect.
The grounds surrounding the structure are laid out,
on the south side, in pleasant gardens, where foun-
tains, flowers, and a few inferior marble statues serve
for external finish. On the outside, high up above
the dome, is seen the famous plate of gold, an inch
thick, containing some ten square feet of surface,
and forming a monument of the bravado and extrav-
agance of Philip II., who put it there in reply to
the assertion of his enemies that he had financially
ruined himself in building so costly a palace. We
may expect one of these days to hear of its having
been taken down and coined into shining doubloons.
CHAPTER XIII.
From Madrid to Burgos. — Through a Barren Country. — The Cathe-
dral of Burgos. — Monastery of Miraflores. — Local Pictures. — A
Spanish Inn. — Convent of Los Huelgas. — From Burgos to San
Sebastian. — Northern Spain. — A Spanish Watering Place, — Bay-
onne. — Lower Pyrenees. — Biarritz. — A Basque Postilion. — A
Pleasant Drive. — On Leaving Spain. — Sunday and Balloons at
Bordeaux. — On to Paris. — Antwerp and its Art Treasures. —
Embarking for America. — End of the Long Journey.
Feom Madrid nortliward to Burgos is a little less
than two hundred miles, yet a whole day was con-
sumed in the transit by rail. The general aspect of
the country was that of undulating plains, barren and
arid, without trees, houses, or signs of animal life,
sometimes for long and weary distances. Now and
then a small herd of goats, and here and there a hut,
or a group of miserable hovels, worthy of India,
came into view, followed by a hilly, half-mountainous
district, but yet solitary as a desert. Regarding nat-
ural beauty of scenery, Spain, as a whole, offers less
atti-action than any other European country. Its
vegetation, except in the southern provinces, is of the
sterile class ; its trees, sparse, of poor development,
and circumscribed in variety. Even the grass is
stunted and yellow. Such a condition of vegetable
life accounts for the absence of singing-birds, or, in-
deed, of any birds at all, in whole districts of the
country. The traveler must be content with his»
torical monuments, which are numerous and striking,
and with the strange records attached to many of
366 DUE WEST,
them. Antiquity consecrates many things which in
their prune must have been intolerable. The sight
of old sleepy cities, ancient churches, cathedrals, and
deserted convents, must often compensate for an in-
different supper and a hard bed.
Since the days of Ferdinand and Isabella, Spain
has emulated China in her stand- still policy. Per-
haps these facts are very generally realized, and hence
so few people, comparativel}^, visit the country, but it
is a serious mistake for those who can afford the time
and money not to do so. There is quite enough legit-
imate attraction to repay any intelligent person for
all the annoyances and trouble which are necessarily
encountered. It was past midnight when we arrived
at the railroad station at Burgos, where, having tel-
egraphed from Madrid, a very dirty omnibus was in
waitinsc to take us to the hotel. How that vehicle
did smell of garlic, stale tobacco, and accumulated
filth, to which the odor of an ill-trimmed kerosene
lamp added its pungent flavor. But we were soon
set down before the hotel, where there was not a
light to be seen, every one, servants and all, being
sound asleep. An entrance being finally achieved,
the baggage was passed in, and rooms assigned to us.
As hunger is the best sauce for supper, so fatigue
makes even indifferent lodgings acceptable; and we
were soon half -dreaming of the familiar legends
and history of Burgos, — how centuries ago a knight
of Castile, Diego Porcelos, had a lovely daughter,
named Sulla Bella, whom he gave as a bride to a Ger-
man cavalier, and together they founded this place
and fortified it. They called it Burg, a fcjrtified
place, hence Burgos. We thought of the Cid and
his gallant war-horse, Bavei^a ; of Edward I., of the
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BURGOS. 367
richly endowed cathedral, and the old monastery where
rest Juan II. and Isabella of Portugal, in their ala-
baster tomb. But gradually these visions faded,
growing less and less distinct, until entire forgetfal-
ness settled over our roving thoughts.
The first impression of Burgos upon the stranger
is that of quaintness. It is a damp, cold, dead-and-
alive place, with but three monuments really worthy
of note ; namely, the unrivaled cathedral, its Cartu-
jan monastery, and its convent of Huelgas ; and yet
there is a tinge of the Gotho-Castilian period about
its musty old streets and archways scarcely equaled
elsewhere in Spain, and which one would not like to
have missed. The most amusing experience possible,
on arriving in such a place, is to start off in the early
morning without any fixed purpose as to destination,
and wander through unknown streets, lanes, and arch-
ways, coming out upon a broad square — the Plaza
Mayor, for instance — containing a poor bronze statue
of Charles III. ; thence to another with a tall stone
fountain in the centre, where a motley group of
women and young girls are filling their jars with
water; and again through a dull dark lane, coming
upon the lofty gate of Santa Maria, erected by Charles
v., and ornamented with statues of the Cid, Fer-
nando Gonzales, and the Emperor ; thence on once
more to some other square, which proves to be full of
busy groups of men, women, and donkeys, gathered
about piles of produce. Ah ! this is the vegetable
market, always a favorite morning resort in every
new locality. Plow animated are the eager sellers
and buyers, expending marvelous force over transac-
tions involving half a dozen onions or a few knock-
kneed turnips. What a study do their bright ex-
368 DUE WEST.
pressive faces afford, how gay the varied colors of dress
and vegetation, how ringing the Babel of tongues, the
braying of donkeys, the cackle of ducks and hens in
their coops. All ways are new, and many local pe-
culiarities strike the eye, until presently, by some in-
stinct, one comes out again at the starting-point.
Our stopping place at Burgos was the Fonda de
Rafaela, a hotel with a good name, but with regard
to the food supplied to the guests the less said the
better. There was one peculiarity of this Spanish inn
which was too constantly present not to impress us,
namely, the extraordinary character and variety of
" smells," which were quite overpowering. The prin-
cipal stench arose from bad drainage, besides which
there was a universal mustiness. But one should not
be too fastidious. Comfort is best promoted by
avoiding a spirit of captiousness in traveling, not only
in Spain, but upon life's entire journey. Opposite
the Fonda de Rafaela was a long line of infantry
barracks, and, consequently, we had plenty of the sort
of music — fife and drum — which naturally accom-
panies military drill and company movements. There
seems to be, not only here but all through the south-
ern cities, an effort made to keep up the discipline
and standard of the armj^ as well as its numbers; but
it was observable that most of the private soldiers,
especially in Madrid, were merely boys of sixteen or
seventeen years of age. Burgos, like Cordova, is
overrun with priests and beggars, who go as natur-
ally together as cause and effect.
The cathedral, which the Emperor Charles V. said
ought to be placed under a glass, would alone be suffi.
cient to render the town famous, in spite of its dull-
ness and desolation, being one of the largest, finest,
THE CATHEDRAL OF BURGOS. 369
and most richly endowed of all the Spanish churches.
Neither that of Toledo or Granada will compare with
it in splendor or elaborate finish ; and when we re-
membei' how much Spain surpasses Italy, as re-
gards her cathedrals, the force of this remark will be
realized. The lofty structure, like that at Antwei-p,
is packed behind a cluster of inferior buildings, so as
to seriously detract f mm its external effect ; though
on the opposite side of the river Arlanzon a favor-
able view is obtained of its graceful, open -worked
spires, so light and symmetrical, " spires whose silent
fingers point to heaven," and its lofty, coi-rugated
roof. The columns and high arches of the interior
are a maze of architectural beauty, in pure Gothic.
In all these Spanish cathedrals the choir completely
blocks up the centre of the interior, so that no com-
prehensive general view can be had; an incongruous
architectural arrangement which is found nowhere
else, and which as nearly ruins the effect of the To-
ledo, Cordova, and Granada cathedrals as it is possi-
ble to do. Above the space between the altar and
the clioir rises a cupola, which, in elaborate ornamen-
tation of bas-reliefs, statues, small columns, arches,
and sculpture, exceeds anything of the sort we can
recall «-lsewhere. The hundred and more carved
stalls of the choir are in choice walnut, and are a
great curiosity as an example of wood-carving, pre-
senting human figures, vines, fantastic animals, and
foliage, exquisitely delineated. The several chapels
are as large as ordinary churches, while in the centre
of each lies buried a bishop or a prince. The great
number of statues and paintings, scattered through
the interior of the cathedral, are almost as confusing
as the pinnacled roof of that at Milan, whose beauty
24
370 DUE WEST.
disappears amid accumulation, and one is liable to
come away more wearied than satisfied. In the sac-
risty the attendant showed us many curious relics of
great intrinsic value, but which were priceless, in his
estimation, from their presumed associations. The
well-known carving of Christ on the Cross was shown
to us, Avhich devout believers are told was carved
by Nicodemus just after he had buried the Saviour.
The credulous sacristan, unless his face deceived us,
believed that this effigy perspires every Frid.iy ; that
it actually bleeds at certain times ; and that it has
performed miracles. The beard and hair are the
natural article, and so are the brows and eyelashes,
giving a disagreeable effect to the image.
The monastery of INliraflores, a rich and prosperous
establishment before the suppression of religious com-
munities in Spain, is now quite deserted, but of con-
siderable interest as containing the famous tomb of
Juan II. and Isabella of Portugal. The old Gothic
clnipel has, in the singularly elaborate and minutely
sculptured sarcophagus standing before the altar, a
grand example of delicate and artistic workman-
ship in alabaster. The two representative figures are
raised about six feet above the floor of the chapel, on
a pedestal of the same substance, — pure white ala-
baster,— the whole being ornamented with figures of
saints, angels, birds, fruits, and graceful vines. The
supports of the corners of the octagon base are six-
teen lions, two at each angle, all executed with in-
finite perfection of detail. The remarkable imitation
of embroidered lace upon the reclining figures, with
the indented cushions and robes, are admirable. We
were glad to learn the sculptor's name, Gil de Siloe.
Sad and solemn was the atmosphere surrounding the
COXVEXr OF LAS HUELGAS. 371
old monastery, now in charge of two or three aged
brothers of the Carthusian order, who pointed out, as
we passed into the open air, among the rank weeds,
shaded by sombre cypresses, the graves of some four
hundred of their departed brothers, whose bodies lay
there without a stone or name to mark their last rest-
ing-phice. Thus these men had lived humble and
forgotten, and so they sleep, ••' after life's fitful fever,"
among the weeds.
From this interesting spot we drove to the con-
vent known as Las Huelgas, founded by the wife
of Alonzo VIII., daughter of Henry II., and sister
of Richard Coeur de Lion. This large establishment,
situated on the other side of the x\rlanzon, and nearer
to the city than Miraflores, is reached by a pleasant
avenue of trees, and is surrounded by well-laid out
gardens. Though it is a nunnery, and has its body
of completely isolated, self-immolated nuns, still there
is not the dead and forgotten aspect about it which
so characterized the old monastery we had just left.
To gain entrance here, the devotee must bring with
her a dowry, and also be born of noble blood. It was
within these walls that Eugenie, after losing husband
and son, at first contemplated a lasting seclusion ; but
she was not quite prepared, it seems, to give up the
allurements of the outside world. The church at-
tached to the convent is of more than ordinary inter-
est, and contains some relics highly prized by the de-
vout and credulous. The visitor, on being shown
about the church, will be likely to observe an image
of Christ in a petticoat, which is rather a caricature.
The sacristan stopped us before a small gj-ated open-
ing, exhibiting the altar of the nunnery, where one
of the devotees, in her nun's dress, was to be seen
372 DUE WEST.
kneeling before the shrine, apparently engaged in
prayer. Presently the kneeling figure rose slowly
to her feet, walked across the dimly-lighted chapel,
and disappeared. The exhibition was so timely, and
the visitors to the church were brought to the spot
in such a business-like fashion, to sa}^ nothing of the
pose and manner of the nun, that one could not but
feel that the little tableau was gotten up for the spe-
cial effect it might have upon strangers.
In the small railroad depot of Burgos, while the
slow purgatory of being served with tickets was en-
dured, a traveler found fault in good Saxon English
as to the stnpidit}^ of such delay about trifles, and
also complained of having been robbed of some small
article of luggage. Another Englishman, particularly
disposed to palliate matters, said there must be some
mistake about it ; he had been here before, and the
people of Burgos were proverbially honest. V)\ and
by a great excitement was apparent on the platform,
when it came to light that the apologist and indorser
of the good people here was declaring that a leather
strap had been purloined from his trunk, between the
hotel and the depot, and the contents of his hat-box
abstracted. What was to be done ? The engine was
screeching forth the starting signal with unwonted
vigor, and there was no time to be lost. He who had
spoken so favorably of the local population a few mo-
ments before, was now red in the face with anger
and improper language. He had barely time to get
into his seat before the train moved onward, and
doubtless left his trust in humanity behind him with
the stolen property. It was only an instance of mis-
placed confidence ; and thus we bid farewell to the
sleepy but picturesque old city.
PANORAMIC SCENERY. 373
From Burgos to San Sebastian, still northward, is
a hundred and fifty miles by rail, but Spanish dis-
patch requires ten hours for the trip. It was a beau-
tiful, soft, sunny day, full of the spirit and promise
of early spring. The fruit trees were in blossom, the
green fields strewn with wild flowers ; flocks of graz-
ing sheep were constantly in sight, and men and
women busy with field labor, the red petticoats and
■white caps of the latter forming charming bits of color
against the green background. Sparkling water-
courses, with here and there a fall giving power to
some rickety old stone mill, added variety to the
shifting scenery. On the not far-off hills were veri-
table castles, border fortresses in ruins, whose gray,
moss-covered towers had borne witness to the con-
flicts of armor-clad warriors in the days of Castilian
knighthood and glory. What enchantment hangs
about these rude battlements, " rich with the spoils
of time ! " In looking back upon the ancient dsijs it
is fortunate that the mellowing influence of time dims
the vision, and we see down the long vista of years
as through a softening twilight, else we should behold
such harshness as would arouse more of ire than of
admiration. The olden time, like the landscape, ap-
pears best in the purple distance.
The general aspect of the country, since we left
Malaga in the extreme south, had been rather disap-
pointing, and the rural appearance on this beautiful
trip from Burgos to San Sebastian was therefore ap-
preciated. It should be called the garden of Spain,
the well- watered plains and valleys being spread with
carpets of exquisite verdure. In the far distance one
could detect snow-clad mountains, which, in fact, were
not out of sight during the entire trip. Thousands
374 DUE WEST.
of acres were covered by the vine, already well ad-
vanced, and from tlie product of which comes the
sherry wine of commerce. The vineyards were in-
terspersed with fields of ripening grain. Wheat and
wine ! Or, as the Spaniards say : " The staff of life
and life itself." It was impossible not to feel a sense
of elation at the delightful scenery and the genial
atmosphere on this early April day. Nature seemed
to be in her merriest mood, clotliing everything in
poetical attire, rendering beautiful the little gray
hamlets on the hill-sides, dominated by square bell-
towers, about which the red-tiled cottages clustered.
Outside of these were family groups sitting in the
warm sunshine, some sewing, some spinning, while
children tumbled and played in the inviting grass.
We had seen nothing like this for many a day — cer-
tainly not in Spain. Presently we came up to the
loft}^ snow-capped mountains, which had for a while
ranged just ahead of us, when one of them seemed
suddenly to open a wide mouth at its base as if to
swallow the train. In it rushed puffing and snorting
through a dark tunnel nearly a mile long, until at last
we emerged on the opposite side of the mountain into
a scene of great beaut}^ overlooking a valley worthy
of Japan. Far up towards the blue sky was the snow
under which we had been hidden in the darkness of
the tunnel, while in this lower range we were sur-
rounded with verdure and bloom. Here were grace-
ful trees, smiling bits of landscape, flocks of sheep,
tumbling cascades, so grouped and mingled as to
seem like a theatrical effect rather than nature.
We came into San Sebastian in the early twilight ;
a somewhat famous watering-place on the boisterous
Bay of Biscay, drawing its patronage largely from
SAN SEBASTIAN-. 375
Madrid, though of late both English and Americans
have resorted thither. It is a small city, but the
thriftiest and most business-like to be found in Spain
when its size is considered. The place was entirely
destroj-ed by fire when captured from the French by
the English, — a piece of sanguinary work which cost
the latter five thousand men. It was on this occa-
sion that AVellington is reported to have said: " The
next dreadful thing to a battle lost is a battle won."
The dwellings are modern and handsome, the streets
broad and well paved, the squares ornamented by
shrubbery and fountains, and the drives in the en-
virons and on the beach are very inviting. In short
San Sebastian is a model watering-place for summer
resort with several good hotels. It will be remem-
bered that Wellington fought some severe battles in
this vicinity in 1813. On the way from Burgos the
battle-field of Vittoria was pointed out, where the
French army was thoroughly routed. The Spanish
government has made a miniature Gibraltar of San
Sebastian. Overlooking the harbor is a lofty for-
tification which commands the town and all of its ap-
proaches. From the fort, which costs a good climb
to reach, a very fine view is obtained of a broad ex-
tent of country. Whole blocks of new buildings
were in course of construction, and San Sebastian
seemed to be preparing for a large summer business.
Seen from a short distance, as one approaches in the
cars, the grouping of the town, with the lofty and
frowning fortification, its neat white dwellings and
undulating surface, makes a pleasing picture, stand-
ing out in bold relief against the blue sky hanging
over the Bay of Biscay.
Our next stopping-place after leaving San Sebas-
376 DUE WEST.
tian was Bayonne, — that is "The Good Port," —
about forty miles further towards the French fron-
tier. It is a city of some thirty thousand inhabit-
ants, located at the junction of the Adour and Kive
rivers, in the Lower Pyrenees. Here, again, the cathe-
dral forms nearly the only attraction to strangers ;
though very plain, and with little architectural pre-
tension, still it is gray, old, and crumbling, plainly
telling the story of its age. The city has consider-
able commerce by the river, both in steam and sail-
ing vessels, and exports a very respectable amount
of domestic products. Most continental cities have
their Jews' quarter, — the Ghetto, as it is called ;
but in Bayonne the race is especially represented by
the descendants of those who escaped death at the
hands of the Inquisition, in the time of Philip II.
They form fully one third of the population, judging
from appearances ; and though not characterized by
neatness or cleanliness, their quarter is the home of
numerous rich men. They have retained their old
Spanish and Portuguese names and fortunes. Many
of the Jewish capitalists of London, Paris, and Havre,
are from Bayonne. There is a decided difference in
the manners and the dress of the people from those of
Spain generally, being more like those of the Basque
Provinces, to which it belongs geographically.
Here one sees the palace where Catherine de Med-
ici and the Duke of Alba planned the terrible mas-
sacre of the Huguenots. In and about the city some
very pleasant drives may be enjoyed. A large, well-
shaded public garden commences just at the city
gates and extends along the left bank of the Adour.
It will occur to the reader that the familiar military
weapon, the bayonet, got its name from Bayonne,
BAYONNE. 377
having been invented, or rather discovered, here. It
seems that a Basque regiment, during an engage-
ment with the Spaniards near this spot, had entirely-
exhausted their ammunition ; but fixing their long
knives in the muzzles of their guns, they thus suc-
cessfully charged on and defeated the enemy. The
legend is mentioned, as every one must listen to it
from the local guides, though — between ourselves —
it is a most gross anachronism.
We have not yet come to a conclusion as to what
language our landlord spoke. He certainly under-
stood French, though lie did not attempt to express
himself in it. It was not Spanish, that we know ;
therefore it must have been Basque, the language
which Noah received from Adam, if we are to believe
the residents of Bayonne. An out-door fair was vis-
ited, upon an open square lying between the hotel
and the harbor, where the gay colors, shooting-booths,
hurdy-gurdies, drums, fifes, flags, and games, together
with a wax exhibition, representing a terrible mur-
der and an assassin committing the deed with a
poker painted red hot, all served to remind us of a
similar occasion at Tokio, in far-off Japan. Striking
scenic effects came in here and there, the distant
summits of the Pyrenees being visible beyond the
mountains of Navarre.
A drive of five miles from Bayonne took us to Biar-
ritz, situated a little southwest of the old city, at the
lower part of the Bay of Biscay, being the Newport
of southern France. Our postilion was gotten up
after the Basque fashion of his tribe, in a most fan-
tastic short jacket of scarlet, with little abbreviated
tails, silver laced all over, and with a marvelous com-
plement of hanging buttons. He wore a stove-pipe
378 DUE WEST.
hat with a flashing cockado, and flourished a long
wliip that would liave answered for a Kaflir cattle-
driver. The horses — large fine specimens of the Nor-
man breed — were harnessed three abreast, and dec-
orated with many bells, while their headstalls were
heavy with scarlet woolen tassels, and ornamented
with large silver-plated buckles. The vehicle was a
roomy, old-fashioned barouche, comfortable, but about
as ancient as the cathedral. Altogether we looked with
such unfeigned amazement at the landlord, when this
queer outfit drove to the door, that he, native and to
the manner born, could not suppress a broad smile.
It answered our purpose, however, and as the popu-
lace was evidently accustomed to such florid display,
we did not anticipate being mobbed ; but during the
entire trip that harlequin of a driver, who was as
sober as a mute at a funeral, shared our admiration
with the pleasing and varied scenery. He was a
thorough native. It would have been of no use to
attempt to talk with him, for the foreigner who can
speak the Basque tongue has yet to be discovered.
Biarritz, which is in the department of the Basses-
Pyrenees, yet a long way from the mountain range,
was unknown to fame until Eugenie, empress of the
French, built a grand villa here, and made it her
summer resort; being, however, over five hundred
miles from the French capital, it never became very
popular with the Parisians. The emperor and em-
press resorted thither annually, and, laying aside the
dignity of state, were seen daily indulging in sea-
bathing. The building of the Villa Eugenie made
the fortune of Biai-ritz. The climate is particularly
dry and warm, proving, if we may believe common
report, excellent for invalids. The hot days of sum.
BIARRITZ. 379
mer are tempered by a sea-breeze, wliicli blows with
great regularity inland during the day. The town is
elevated, being seated upon a bluff of the coast, and
has tw^o small bays strewn with curiously honey-
combed rocks, worn into the oddest of shapes by the
fierce beating of the surf for ages. Art has aided na-
ture in the grotesque arrangement of these rocks, so
as to form arches and caves of all conceivable shapes.
It must present a splendid sight here in a stormy
day, when the surf breaks over the huge rocks and
rushes wildly through these cavernous passages. Such
a battle between the sea and the shore would be
grand to witness. The beach shelves gently, and is
firm and smooth, so that it is particularly well adapted
for bathing.
Biarritz being in nearly the same latitude as Nice
and Mentone, one looks for similar foliage and vege-
tation, but there are no palms, aloes, oranges, or trees
of tbat class here. The place lacks the shelter of
the Maritime Alps, which the two resorts just men-
tioned enjoy ; but bright, sunny Biarritz will long
live in the memory of the little party whom the
Basque postilion drove thither and back. The late
imperial residence, the Villa Eugenie, is now im-
proved as a fashionable summer hotel. The drive
from Bayonne to Biarritz can be made by one road,
and the return accomplished by another. On the
way back we passed through two or three miles of
thick, sweet-scented pine forest, still and shady under
the afternoon sun, except for the drowsy hum of in-
sects, and the pleasant carol of birds. Here and
there were open glades where the sun lay upon little
beds of blue flowers of unknown name, but very like
the gentian ; and there were also the wild daphne
380 DUE WEST.
and scarlet anemones. The lofty trees located on
both sides of the road had been tapped for their sap,
and little wooden spouts were conducting the gluti-
nous deposit into small earthen jars hung on the per-
pendicular trunks, — reminding one of the mode of
" milking" the toddy palms in India and Ceylon, by
which ingenious means the natives obtain a liquor
which, when fermented, is as strong as the best
Scotch or Irish whiskey.
Our journey through Spain proved to be one of
great and lasting interest, although it was mingled
with a sense of disappointment, not as to its historic
interest, nor its unrivaled monuments '' mellowed by
the stealing hours of time ;" but we missed the bright
sunny fields of France, we found none of the soft
loveliness of the Italian climate or vegetation, and
were ever contrasting its treeless surface with well-
wooded Belgium and Switzerland. When gazing
upon its stunted shrubbery and dry yellow grass, it
was natural to recall the lovely valleys and plains of
Japan, and even the closely-cultivated fields of China,
where every square foot of soil contiguous to popu-
lous districts is made to produce its quota towards the
support of man. The pleasant oases to be found
here and there, the exceptional bits of verdant fields
and fertile districts which we have described, only
prove what the country iu the possession of an enter-
prising race might be made to produce. Now it is
little more than a land of sun and blue skies. The
Spanish people seem to be imbued with all the list-
Jessness of those of the tropics, though not by the
same enervating influence. Nature is willing to meet
men more than half wny, even in Spain, but will not
pour out there her products with the lavishness which
BORDEA UX. 381
characterizes her in the low latitudes. The country
is not composed of desolate sierras by any means, but
its neglected possibilities are yet in such strong con-
trast to the most of continental Europe as to lead
the tourist to very decided conclusions. The beau-
tifully shaded avenue at Burgos along the Arlanzon,
and the road to Miraflores forming a charming Ala-
meda, show very plainly what can be done by plant-
ing a few hundred suitable trees to beautify the en-
virons of a half -ruined, mouldering, mediaeval city.
It is to be hoped that those who planted these luxu-
riant trees may have lived to enjoy their grace and
beauty. Under Ferdinand and Isabella, Spain was
a great and thriving nation, almost beyond precedent.
Her colonial possessions rivaled those of the entire
world ; but her glory has vanished, and her deca-
dence has been so rapid as to be phenomenal, until
she is now so humbled there are very few to do her
honor.
The distance from Bayonne to Bordeaux is one
hundred and twenty-five miles, a dull and uninterest-
ing journey, the route lying through what seemed an
interminable pine forest, so that it was a decided re-
lief when the spires of this French capital came into
view. Bordeaux was found to be a much larger and
finer city than we had realized. The topographical
formation is that of a crescent along the shore of the
Garonne, which here forms a broad and navigable
harbor, though it is located some sixty miles from the
sea. There were many Roman antiquities and an-
cient monuments to be seen, all interesting, venera-
ble with the wear and tear of eighteen centuries.
The public buildings, commanding in their architec-
tural character, were found to be adorned with ad-
882 DUE WEST.
mirable sculpture and some fine paintings. The
ancient part of the town has narrow and crooked
streets, but the modern portion is open, air}^ and
has good architectural display. The Grand Theatre
is remarkably effective with its noble Ionic columns,
built a little more than a century since b}^ Louis XVI.
Bordeaux is connected by canal with the Mediterra-
nean and has considerable commerce, especially in
the importation of American whiske}^ which is sent
back to the United States and exported elsewhere as
good Bordeaux brandy, after being carefully doctored.
The Sabbath was passed here, but its observance or
non-observance is like that common in Continental
cities. It is a mere day of recreation, the Roman
Catholic element attending mass, and devoting the
balance of the da}^ to amusement. There were per-
formances at all of the theatres, the stores and shops
were generally open, and very large fine shops they
are. In the afternoon two balloons were sent up
from the Champ de Mars: one a mammoth in size,
containing half a dozen persons; the other smaller,
containing but one person to manage it — a lady.
There were at least fifty thousand people in the great
square to witness the ascension, — a very orderly and
well-dressed throng. A military band played during
the inflating process, and the promenaders and loung-
ers presented a gay concourse.
There was an unmistakable aspect of business
prosperity about the streets of the city. Everybody
seemed active and engaged in some purj^ose. There
were few loungers, and, we must make a note of it,
no beggars. It was observable that the large Nor-
man horses used in the working teams were sleek and
fat, splendid creatures ; such as Rosa Bonheur repre-
FROM BORDEAUX TO PARIS. 383
sents in her famous picture of the Horse Fair. What
a contrast these noble, well-kept animals presented to
the poor, half-starved creatures to be met with in the
East, and, indeed, in only too many of the European
cities, — RoQie, Florence, Antwerp, and Madrid. We
are now approaching such familiar ground that the
reader will hardly expect more of us than to specify
the closing rout^ of our long journey.
From Bordeaux to Paris is about four hundred
miles. As we left the former city the road passed
through miles upon miles of thriving vineyards, those
nearest to the city producing the brands of claret best
known in the American market. The route generally
all the way to Paris was through a charming and
highly cultivated country, vastly different from north-
ern and central Spain. The well - prepared fields
were green with the spring grains and varied crops,
showing high cultivation. Sheep in large flocks,
tended by shepherdesses with tall white Norman caps,
and picturesque, high-colored dresses, enlivened the
landscape. These industrious women were knitting
or spinning in the field. Others were driving oxen,
while men held the plow. Gangs of men and women
together were working in long rows, pre])aring the
ground for seed or planting ; and all seemed cheerful,
decent, and happy. The small railroad stations re-
called those of India between Tuticorin and Madras,
where the surroundings were beautified by fragrant
flower-gardens, — their bland, odorous breath acting
like a charm upon the senses, amid the noise and
bustle of arrival and departure. Now and again, as
we progressed, the pointed architecture of some pic-
turesque chateau would present itself among the clus-
tering trees with its bright, verdant lawns and neat
384 DUE WEST.
outljang dependencies ; and so we sped on, until, in
the early evening, we glided into the station at Paris.
There was a clear sky, a young moon, and a full
display of the starry hosts, on the night of our arrival
in this the gayest capital of the world. Four hun-
dred miles of unbroken travel that day, so far from
satiating, only served to whet the appetite for obser-
vation. Ten years had passed since the writer had
trod those familiar boulevards ; and now hastening to
the Place de la Madeleine we renewed acquaintance
with the noble church which ornaments the square,
the purest and grandest specimen of architecture, of
its class, extant. Thence passing a few seeps onward,
the brilliantly - lighted Place de la Concorde was
reached, that spot so emblazoned in blood upon the
pages of history. How the music of the fountains
mingled with the hum of the noisy throng that filled
the streets ! What associations crowded upon the
mind as we stood there at the base of the grand old
obelisk of Luxor, looming up from the centre of the
grounds. In front was the long, broad, flashing road-
w^ay of the Champs Elysees. one blaze of light and
busy life; for Paris does not awake until after dark.
Far away the Arc de Triomphe is just discerned
where commences the Bois de Boulogne. On the
left, across the Seine, is outlined against the sky the
twin towers of St. Clotilde, witli tlie glittering dome
of the Invalides ; and to the eastward are seen the
dual towers of Notre Dame. The brain is stimu-
lated as by wine, till one grows dizzy. Proceeding
throufjh the Rue Rivoli we turn towards our hotel
by the Place Vendome, looking once more upon that
vast and beautiful monument, the finest modern col-
umn in existence, and then to bed — not to sleep, but
ANTWERP. 385
to revel in the intoxication of that bltfcer-sweet —
memory !
After a few weeks passed in Paris, the journey
homeward was renewed by way of Antwerp, a city
which' owes its attraction ahnost solely to the fact
that here are to be seen so many masterpieces of
painting. The great influence of Rubens can hardly
be appreciated without a visit to the Flemish capital,
where he lived and died, and wdiere his ashes rest in
the Church of St. Jacques. This is considered the
finest church in Antwerp, remarkable for the number
and richness of its private chapels. Here are the
burial-places of the noble and wealthy families of
the past, and among them that of the Rubens family,
which is situated just back of the high altar. Above
the tomb is a large painting by this famous master,
intended to represent a Holy Family, and the picture
is in a degree typical of the idea. But its object is
also well understood as being to perpetuate a series
of likenesses of the Rubens family ; namely, of him-
self, his two wives, his daughter, his father, and
grandfather. The painting is incongruous, and in
bad taste, being quite open also to criticism in its
drawing and grouping. The whole production ap-
pears like a forced and uncongenial effort. Vandj^ke
and Teniers were also natives of this citj^ where
their best works still remain, and where the State
has erected fitting monuments to their memory. Jor-
deans, the younger Teniers, and Denis Calvart, the
master of Guido Reni, were natives here.
The famous cathedral, more picturesque and re-
markable for its exterior than interior, is of the
pointed style, and of about a century in age. Did
it not contain Rubens' world-renowned pictures, the
25
386 DUE WEST.
Descent from the Cross, tlie Elevation of tlio Cross,
and the Assumption, few people would care to visit
it. A gorgeous church ceremony was in progress
when we first entered the churcli : some one of the
three hundred and sixty-five saints receiving an an-
nual recognition on the occasion of his birthday. A
score of priests were marching about the body of the
cliurch at the head of a long procession of boys, with
silk banners and burning candles, chanting all the
while to an organ accompaniment. On the borders
of this procession the people knelt and seemed duly
impressed.
The patter of wooden shoes upon the streets is al-
most deafening to strangers, men, women, and chil-
dren adding to the din. Probably it is found to be
cheaper to take a block of wood and hew out a pair
of shoes from it, fit to wear, than to adopt a more civ-
ilized mode of shoeing the people ; but these heavy
clogs give to the inliabitants an awkward gait. In
all of the older portions of the town, the houses have
a queer way of standing with their gable ends to the
street, just as they are addicted to doing at Amster-
dam and Hamburg, showing it to be a Dutch pro-
clivity. Dogs are universally used here for light
vehicles in place of donkeys, — one or more being
attached to each vehicle adapted to the transjDorta-
tion of milk or bread and other light articles. These
are attended by boys or women. Beggars there are
none, to the credit of the city be it said ; nor is one
importuned by hackmen or other public servants ;
all are ready to serve you, but none to annoy you.
Antwerp has some fine broad squares, avenues, public
gardens, and noble trees.
Belgium is a nation of blondes, in strong contrast
HOME AT LAST. 387
with its near neighbor, France, where the brunettes
reign supreme. It is siiigidar that there sliould be
such a marked difference in communities, differences
as definite as geograpliical boundaries, and seeniiniJjly
governed b}^ rules quite as arbitrar3\ Wh}^ should :i
people's hair, eyes, and complexion be dark or light,
simply because an imaginary line divides them terri-
torially ? No one for a moment mistakes a German
for a Frenchman, an Antwerp lady for a Parisian.
The very animals seem to partake of these local char-
acteristics, while the manners and customs are equally
individualized. The French women of all classes put
on their attire with a dainty grace that contrasts
strongly with the careless, though cleanly costume of
their sisters over the border. ^Esthetic taste, indeed,
would seem almost out of place displayed upon the
square, solidly-built women of Flanders. Is it imag-
ination, or can one really trace somewhat of the same
idea in Flora's kingdom? The Dutch roses, tulips,
and other flowers, like the naval architecture of the
Low Countries, have a certain breadth of beam and
bluntness of prow that makes them differ from the
same fragrant family of France. Has any learned
essayist ever attempted to draw philosophical deduc-
tions from these aspects of the vegetable world, ao
showing local kinship to humanity?
Embarking from Antwerp, July 14th, on board
the Steamship Waesland, of the Red Star Line, New
York was reached after a voyage of twelve days,
July 24th, and Boston by the Shore Line the same
evening, coming in at the opposite side of the city
whence we started a little more than ten months pre-
vious ; having thus, in a journey of about forty thou-
sand miles, completed a circuit of the globe.
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