An Engineer's Holiday, or notes of a round trip from long 0º to 0º

Part II

— EAST SECOND EDITION LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, & CO., f, PATERNOSTER SQUARE (The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved.)

Preface

. A tour of the World makes many radical changes in those ideas about foreign countries which are insensibly gathered in the course of time from the reading of books and newspapers. I landed in America, a prospective admirer of its people and institutions, and left it, after five months' stay, charmed with the courteous kindness of its private citizens, astonished at the breadth and boldness of the national mind, and convinced that, so far as power and prosperity are concerned, the great republic is on its way to become the foremost nation of the modern world. But I looked for political enthusiasm, intellectual aspiration, and re publican simplicity of life among the people of the United States. I found politics a close profession, material well-being the goal of ambition, and luxury rampant among the rich.

I believed that the Japanese were, next to the white races, the most advanced people in the world, whose intelligent appreciation of a civilization higher than their own had led to the overthrow of a remotely ancient social and political system, too rigid for Western ideas of progress. I found them cultured, courteous, and charming ; but insincere and reactionary in policy, un-business-like and untrustworthy in affairs. I thought that the Chinese were a stationary people, prejudiced, dishonest if not vicious, and the slaves of a degrading form of self indulgence. I found them cold and ungenial, it is true, but acute and enterprising men of business ; industrious, orderly, and reliable workers ; economical and abstemious in their habits ; a real

PREFACE.

. VI benefit to the foreign countries where they settle ; but impover ished and hampered in their otherwise certain development at home by the tyranny of a corrupt and alien rule. I imagined that India was a rich extension of the British Empire, with more to give, whether of wealth or strength, to England than to gain from her. I found her the poorest country in the world, which, strain our strength as the task may, we are in honour bound to dower with security, peace, justice, and culture ; all the blessings, in fact, of civilized rule. These are my excuses for having thrown some private notes of travel over trodden ground into the form of a published book. I shall be glad if my readers find in the volumes themselves any other justification for their appearance. London, April 1882. CONTENTS.

PART I.

— West.

Chapter I

The Atlantic — New York. B FACE The Atlantic passage — Arrival in New York — Henry Hudson's third voyage — Aspect of the city — Business men — Up Town and Down Town — American luxury — Democracy in America and Europe — The churches of New York — The river ferries — High prices I

Chapter II

On the Railroad. The national system of travelling — The long car — Railway companies as advertisers — Speeds — Locomotive engines — Pullman cars — Sale of tickets — Yankee advertisers ... ... 10

Chapter III

Washington. "The City of Magnificent Distances" — North and South — The negro question — The Capitol — The House of Representatives — Debating — Politics and politicians — The Treasury — National banking — Forgeries — Patent laws and Patent Museums — Why American workmen are inventors — The Smithsonian Institution — Neglect of natural science in America — The department of Agriculture — The Potomac — Sliad fishing •-• ■■• CONTENTS. PAGE

Chapter IV

Philadelphia. Charles II. and William Penn— Independence Hall— The Declaration of Independence — The science of numbering streets and houses — Ameri can hotels — The Academy of Natural Sciences — The Academy of Arts — Science and Art in America — The old Philadelphia Hospital — American medical degrees — Chestnut Street — Philadelphians and New Yorkers ... ... ... ... ... ■■• 23

Chapter V

The Coal-Field of Pennsylvania. The Alleghanies — Geological structure — The coal-field — Bituminous and anthracitic coals — Mauch-Chunk — First discovery of coal — The Lehigh river — Early difficulties of navigation — The Gravity Railroad — Present condition of coal trade — The Switzerland of America — Coal-mining — Iron-smelting ... ... ... ... ... ... 31

Chapter VI

Across the Alleghanies. Pennsylvaniau farms — The Juniata Valley — Rural Huntingdon — A noisy Arcadia — Village life in America — Altoona — Workshops of the Penn sylvania Railroad — A conversazione under difficulties — American gal lantry — The passage of the Alleghanies — Cresson Springs — Agricul ture on the watershed — The old " Portage Railway " — A great geological section ... ... ... ... ... ... 36

Chapter VII

Pittsburg. The English and French in America in the eighteenth century — Fort Du Quesne — General Braddock's defeat — Pittsburg — The Monongahela and Alleghany rivers— "The Smoky City "—Iron and glass making — Manufacturing waste and economy — Bridge-building — Specialised manufacture — Blast furnaces — Protection — Municipal government — Bad roads — Coal for the South — A dirty night CONTENTS. IX

Chapter VIII

The Oil Regions of Pennsylvania. Mineral oil and the early settlers — First use of petroleum for illumination — Oil " struck " for the first time — The rush to the oil regions — The valley of the Alleghany river — The Alleghany Valley Railroad — Queer company — Odd names — Derricks — Oil wells — Well-sinking — "Spouters" — Discharging depots — Tank cars — Pipes — Natural gas — Fires — Oil City — Refining petroleum — Value of oil claims — Wells running dry — Storage tanks — Explosions — An industrial battle-field 49

Chapter IX

Odd Phases of Faith and Feeling. Lake Chautauqua — A deserted village — A sacred grove — In the Holy Land — The Sunday School Assembly — Instruction and amusement — A model of Palestine — The ark and Horeb — Life among the Metho dists — Pickerel fishing — Decoration Day — Jamestown — A little " brag," but no " bosh " ... ... ... 55

Chapter X

Niagara. The Falls of Niagara — The Niagara river— Queenstown Heights— How the Falls recede — Proof of their recession — Rate of recession — Behind the scenes — A swim in the rapids — Allen's canal — Utilization of Niagara Falls — Man versus the Falls — Glacial drift — Agassiz's con tinental ice-sheet — The retreat of the ice — Ice-marks — Erratics — Farming and fruit-growing — A Canadian vineyard — Drummondsville — An Indian reservation — Refinement among the redskins — An eth nological error ... 61

Chapter XI

On the Great Lakes. From the Falls to Buffalo — American lake steamers — The transport of grain from the north-west — Erie Canal — Welland Canal — Montreal versus New York — The war of 18 12 — A naval engagement on Erie — Lake Huron— Lumbering CONTENTS. X

Chapter XII

Mackinaw. B TAG. England and France in the north-west— Jesuit missions— Pere Marquette Dablon— Allouez— The discovery of the Mississippi— Joliet— Death of Marquette— Mackinaw— Indian half-breeds— The Chippeways— A backwoods practitioner — Mackinaw Fort — The massacre — " The British Landing "—Mr. Astor and the fur trade— The Mission House —Catholics at Mackinaw— Religious tolerance— Our yawl on the lake — Huron scenery ... ... ... ... •■■ ••• ••■ 7*

Chapter XIII

Chicago. Some American traits of character— The first settlement of Chicago— Its growth— The fire of 1871— Present aspect— The Middle States- Chicago their natural capital— The seamy side of the city— Hogs, grain, and lumber— The stockyards— The packing-houses— Pig-killing extraordinary — "Rendering" — Dr. Wolff— The abatement of a nuisance — A grain elevator — A party of Sioux — Base-ball — A great book store — Western impudence — Fire alarm and fire extinction — Teutonic Chicago — The plutocratic quarter — Raising the city — Moving houses ... ... ... ... 85

Chapter XIV

Ex Route for the Rocky Mountains. From Chicago to Cheyenne — Life in a Pullman car — International copy right — The Prairies — American agriculture — The homestead law — Peasant proprietors — No labourers — American agricultural competi tion — Land laws — The Missouri — Nebraska — Cattle-raising — The Plains — Prairie dogs — Sage brush — No game — The Railroad — Old emigrants' road — Prairie sunset — Thunderstorm — Mirage — " Eating stations "—Cheyenne — The Rocky Mountains in sight — Irrigation — Longmont — The " Colorado zephyr " 99

Chapter XV

In the Rocky Mountains — Estes Park. Physical sketch of the United States — The Cordilleras — The parks of Colorado — Staging in the mountains — Canons — Flumes — Structure of the Rocky Mountains — Weathered granite — Estes Park — Society CONTENTS. XI BH^TAGE in a solitude — The scenery — The climate — Electric sparks — The Black Canon — Long's Peak — "Good society" — Equality in the West — The dignity of labour — The earl's cottage — Our host's home — Hank Farrar, the hunter — English and American sportsmen — Stage-driving — Mountain roads — Sea or plain 1 .. no

Chapter XVI

Denver. The plains and the range — Transparent air — Coal-pits in the desert — The Colorado Central Railway — Armed passengers — A Hood in the Platte — Rain in Denver — The raison d'etre of Denver — Its first settle ment — Present aspect — No women — " Transients " — The Chinese — Public order — Highway robbery — A " social hop " — Flies — The English in Colorado — Senator Hill's smelting works 121

Chapter XVII

The Mining Camps of the Rocky Mountains. A mountain railroad — Clear Creek — Black Hawk — Central City ; a high town — The Cornish in Central — Discovery of silver in Colorado — Silver versus gold — Nature as a gold-digger — A gulch mine — Fissure vein mining — The gospel of gold — An electrical discharge — Idaho Springs — The " Beebee House " — A " Health-resort "—Vale tudinarians — Washed out — The "Great Ice Age" — Georgetown — Big boulders — The Ice Age again — Green Lake — A glorious view — Dinner at Denver — The balloon repaired ... ... ... ... 129

Chapter XVIII

Manitou — Pike's Peak. Another Health-resort — American ladies — Ascent of Pike's Peak — " Wouldn't take twenty dollars to walk it" — A half-way house — An invalid — The summit and meteorological station — The view — The "Fontaine qui bouille " — The process of cutting a canon — The "Garden of the Gods" — Monument Park — Strange wind-worn rocks 139

Chapter XIX

The Grand Canon of the Arkansas — Leadville. The Arkansas river — The " Mesas "—Canon City — The Grand Canon — The upper Arkansas Valley — Leadville — The Arkansas Valley CONTENTS. I PAGE Railroad— Mountain railroading— The discovery of silver-bearing carbonate of lead in the upper Arkansas valleys — The birth of Lead ville — Its rapid growth — A "hard " mining camp — Life in Leadville —On the Denver and South Park Railroad— Kenosha Summit— The highest railroad in North America — The Platte Canon ... ... 147

Chapter XX

Salt Lake City. Crossing the summit of the Rocky Mountains — The Laramie Plains — Cattle and game — Echo and Weber Canons — The Wahsatch range — The " Devil's Gate " — An old lake-bed — The City of the Saints — Fort Douglas — A powerful argument — Joe Smith and Mormonism — The Mormon exodus to the west under Brigham Young — The halt in Salt Lake Valley — The rise and progress of Young's com munity — What have the Mormons done ? — At the tabernacle — The Mormon theocracy — Polygamy — The future of Mormonism — Great Salt Lake ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 157

Chapter XXI

Lake Tahoe — Virginia City. The Great American Desert — Old lake-beds — The American Indians — The ascent of the Sierra Nevada— Carson City — The Washoe range — Timber Flumes — Hank Monk — Lake Tahoe — "Yank's Landing" — Campers — A ball at "Yank's" — Life at "Yank's" — Ascent of Teliae — Mount Davidson — Virginia City — A mountain railroad — Discovery of the Comstock Lode — The Bonanza mines— Excellent organization — A " Pan Mill " — The " Bonanza kings " 169

Chapter XXII

San Francisco. The Truckee River— Summit of the Sierra Nevada— Snow-sheds— Physical aspects of the Sierra Nevada— The central plain of Cali fornia—A great wheat-field— Californian farms— Mexican titles— A big ferry-boat — San Francisco — Fog — Cool weather— Buena Yerba— The native Californians— The first finding of gold— Marshall's saw-mill — The rush to the diggings — Growth of San Francisco Vigilance Committee— The aspect of the city— The Coast Range— CONTENTS. ______________________________________________________________________ PAGE Californian wine and fruit growing — Fruit-canning — The Cliff House — The Seal Rocks — The Pacific coast — Spiritualism in San Francisco — The Chinese — The Californians of to-day 181

Chapter XXIII

The Chinese in America — Chinatown. The Chinese in the United States — Chinatown, San Francisco — A pawnbroker's shop — Opium-smoking — Sam-Li's restaurant — A Chinese lodging-house — Prostitution — Joss-houses — The theatre — Character of the Chinese — The Chinese persecution — Mob violence and State injustice — Ostensible reasons for the persecution — "We are ruined by Chinese cheap labour" — The Burlinghame Treaty — Justice for the Chinese ... ... ... ... ... 197

Chapter XXIV

The " Big Trees " — Yosemite Valley. Dowd's discovery of the big trees — En route to the Calaveras Grove — The pine belt of the Sierra Nevada — The big trees — On the way to the Yosemite Valley — Washed out — Hydraulic mining — Deserted mining camps — Last sight of the big trees — The Yosemite Valley — Mountaineering in the High Sierra — The Sierra Nevada — Staging to Madera — San Francisco again — On board the Pacific mail-steamer — At sea 210

PART II.

— East.

Chapter I

The Pacific. A Pacific mail-steamer — A typhoon — Chinese sailors — Chinese pas sengers — Chinese students abroad — Feudal China — " The Incon sistencies of the American People" — The Gull of Tokio — "An intercepted letter" — Gulls — "I have lost a day" — "Japan is in sight!" CONTENTS. XIV

Chapter II

Yokohama— First Impressions. "The Land of the Rising Sun "—The settlement of Yokohama— The town— "The Bund"— "The Bluffs "—Jinrickishas— Our hosts— The native town— Street Scenes— Mississippi Bay— Cultivation— Rice-harvest— A lovely view— A native fair— " The Scotch ofthe East "—The Chinese question again— The Jap versus the Chinaman —Stagnant trade 238

Chapter III

A Japanese " At Home." Mr. Okowa— A Japanese railway— The wayside scenery— Our fellow-passengers— Intoning— The great clothes question— Jinrickisha-men — Mr. Okowa's paper-mill — A Japanese interior — A native dinner — Japanese society — A Japanese day — The position of women — Marriage ... ■•■ ••■ ■■• ■■■ 24**

Chapter IV

Enoshima — Kamakura — Daibutz. A carriage and pair — " Following the custom of the village " — Japanese houses — Japanese children — An accident — Naturalia non sunt turpia — A bad road — Men or children ? — Are they in earnest ? — Our first tea-house — Watering the horses — Katase — The route — The Island of Enoshima — Comfortable quarters — A fish dinner — Dressing under difficulties — The origin of Enoshima — Benten, the dragon-tamer — Old friends — How did we come here ? — Divers — Kamakura — The cockpit of Japan — The temple of Hachiman — Yoritomo's sword — Daibutz — A great casting — Shinto and Bhuddhism — Religion in Japan — "Miya" and "tera" — My kingdom for a chair ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 255

Chapter V

Tokio (Jeddo). The city of Tokio — The castle of the Shogun — The streets — Street scenes — Water files — The Yoshiwara — Prostitution in Japan — "Gueshas" — Singing and dancing — The Insetz Kioku — A scientific CONTENTS. XV H_^AGE welcome — A kite manufactory — Industrial reform in Japan — Tiffin at the German Legation — Art collecting — Shiba and Uyeno — The tombs of the Shoguns — Asakusa — A " matsuri " — Devotion — Wax works — Shooting galleries — The"Ameya" — Is Tokio a city ? ... 267

Chapter VI

Myanoshita — Hakone. Fish or flesh ? — The geology of Japan — The buggy again — From bad to worse roads — Japanese rivers — Floods — Take care of the planks, and let the piers take care of themselves — Odowara Bay — Tono sawa — Drawing lots for a job — A hill-side path — The tea-house at Myanoshita — Our handmaidens — "Not at all ! " — The Otomi-tonga Pass — Fusiyama — The flanks of a volcano — Snow — Snakes — Land crabs — Land-shells — A Japanese Buxton — Myanoshita village — Wood-turning — A modest retreat — A Japanese garden — A glorious view — Stone prayers — A Highland loch — Fusiyama again — The sulphur springs — Physical comfort — The new Joseph — Shampooing — A sorrowful " Saionara " ... 278

Chapter VII

Settlement Life and Views. American variety versus Japanese monotony — Yokohama races — The road — The course — The riders — Settlement life — A Japanese theatre — The stagnation of trade — Imports and exports — Smallness of native wants — Unbusiness-like character of the Japanese — Contrast with the Chinese — The opening of the country — W T hat the foreigner asks for — What the Japanese reply — A dead-lock — // faut g'une porte salt ouverte ou fertnee — What will the end be ? — Allies within the gates — Caste in Japan — The "samurai" — The farmers — The artisans — The traders — The coolies — Wanted : a public opinion — The Japanese Government — Renaissance or revolution ?... 286

Chapter VIII

A Trip to Nikko. The start — Kobe — The wayside scenery — Rice-harvesting — A hedge of camellias — Hoe versus plough — Agricultural animals and imple ments — Rice-stripping — Winnowing — The rice-pounder — Handi- CONTENTS. PAGE craft and pedicraft— The farmers of Japan— Tenure of land— Rents —Tenant right— The land-tax— La petite culture— Nakada— An avenue of cedars — Utsonomiya — An earthquake — Nikko — The volcanic range— The Nikko temples— A Japanese Pygmalion— Art in Japan— Architecture— Sculpture — Fainting— A good run— The snowy range — A cheap ride ... •■- 2 95

Chapter IX

Hiogo— Kioto — Nagasaki. Farewell, Yokohama ! — Kobe— Hiogo — The settlement — The Hiogo Kioto Railway — A sine farming country — Ploughs — Bullock -carts — Careful cultivation — Kioto — The city — Art treasures— Silk-weaving — Theatres— Jugglers — A magic lantern — The Oigawa rapids — A wild towing path— The "Light of Asia "—The Peninsular and Oriental ship Malacca— The Inland Sea— The Straits of Shimonoseki — Nagasaki — A dead port — Desima — A chapter in the history of Japanese Christianity — Japanese coal — The East versus the West ... 305

Chapter X

New Japan. Old Japan — The Mikado — The Shogun — The dual government — Four centuries of feudalism — New Japan — The arrival of Commodore Perry — Makes a treaty with the Shogun — Treaties made with the European Powers — Anger of the clans — Coalition of the clans — Attack on foreigners — The southern clans — Action of Aidzu — Bombardment of Kagoshima and Shimonoseki — The civil war begins — Defeat and death of the Shogun — Re-establishment of the Mikadonal power — The end of the Shogunate — Yokohama during the civil war — The hatred of foreigners — The abolition of the feudal system — The new constitution — An oligarchy and its difficulties — Rule or anarchy ? — The financial situation — A coming crisis — Three courses— Wanted : a public opinion — What will the end be ? 313

Chapter XI

Hongkong — Canton. England's outpost — Hongkong Harbour — Victoria — Society — "The good old times " — Commercial discontent — A protecting flag — The CONTENTS. XVII ___^iv_ Pearl river — Approach to Canton — A great fire — The river popula tion — A dangerous disembarkation — Shamien — Our hosts — Canton streets— Industries— Temples— The Bell of Canton— The Examina tion Hall — The water-clock — Tartar Canton — Chinese Canton — Chinese justice — The prisons — Men or beasts? — The execution ground — Chinese character — Chinese art — Civilization in China — A corrupt Government ... ... ... ... ... 323

Chapter XII

The Straits Settlements. Singapore — " Have a dive ?" — Tropical vegetation — A kind welcome — The Chinese in Singapore— The Tamils — The Malays — The markets — Athletics in the tropics — The botanical gardens — A dinner-party " Wallace's line "— Penang — The Rajah of Queda — Chinese coolies — Tobacco-planting — England's unconscious allies 332

Chapter XIII

Ceylon. Life on board the Teheran — Flying-fish — Salpæ — Galle Harbour — A motley crowd — Men or women ? — Cinghalese costumes — Handsome boys — The Afghans — The Moorman — The Dutch East India Com pany — En route for Colombo — Wayside scenes — Cocoa-nut palms — Trotting bullocks — "That my present !" — Coral bricks — Cabook — Colombo — Nuwara-Eliya — The Kandy railroad — ' ' Patenas " — Gampola — Rambodda — A European flora — Nuwara-Eliya — Ascent of Pederotallagalla — Tropical Forest — Elephants — Jungle life — Coffee cultivation — Hemileia vastatrix — Worn out — Cinchona — Liberian coffee — Peradeniya — Kandy — The Temple of Buddha's Tooth — Colombo — A pleasant dinner — Ceylon — The Portuguese — The Dutch — The English — British Rule — A colonial crisis ... ... 340

Chapter XIV

Madras — Calcutta. Christmas in the tropics — English Settlements in the East — Madras — The surfboat — A dilapidated town — the native town — Return tickets not available for this trip — The Southern Cross — Indian civil b PAGE v v i i i COArTENTS. servants— The pilot— The Hooghly navigation— " Pull baker, pull levil !"— The King of Oudh's palace— Calcutta— The Strand— The Meidan— The Citadel— The Mahratta Ditch— The Black Hole of Calcutta— The Hyde Park of Calcutta— The native town— The foundations of Manchester — Native merchants — John Chinaman again — The "mild Hindoo " — Servants and masters — Native dress — Calcutta races— Kflte at the Zoo— A brilliant crowd— Crows— Dinner in a " chummery " 354

Chapter XV

In the Himalayas. En route for Darjeeling — Crossing the holy river — A narrow-gauge line — "Snaky" work — A "sleeping-carriage" — The battle of the gauges — The Terai — First view of the Himalayas— The hill tram road—The jungle— Climbers— Orchids— Tree-ferns— A temperate flora — Kursiong — A " tonga " — Darjeeling — Sikkim — Drs. Campbell and Hooker — Hill races — In Mangolia — Buddhism in profundis — praying-wheels — The Bhotea porter — Native houses — A primitive spinning-wheel — The bazaar at Darjeeling — In the clouds — The snowy range — Kinchinjanga — Tea-planting — Cinchona-growing — Dear labour — Coolie immigration — China versus India as a tea grower ... ... ... ... ... ... 3°4

Chapter XVI

Benares. Indian servants — East Indian Railway — The Ganges Valley — "The Holy City" — Vedism — Old Buddhism — Buddhism — Puranism — Phallic worship — The bathing ghats — Temples — Idolatry — The streets — Brass-work — Merchants — Indian conjurers — The burning ghat — A funeral — Piety in high places — View of Benares 375

Chapter XVII

Lucknow — Cawnpore. The province of Oudh — "The City of Stucco Nightmares" — The Mutiny — Sir Henry Lawrence — Defence of the Residency — Cawn pore — Wheeler's entrenchment — Nana Sahilj — Colonel Havelock — The Well — The relief of Lucknow — The siege of Delhi — End of the Mutiny — The bazaar at Cawnpore — Indian manufactures ... ... CONTENTS. XIX

Chapter XVIII

Agra. _________________________________________________________________ gAGB The Moguls — Akbar — Shah Juhan — Aurungzebe — End of the Mogul rule — Agra Fort — Sikandra — The Palace of Akbar — The Moti Musjid — The Jehangir Mahal — The Taj Mahal — Pietra dura work — View from the Taj — In do-Saracenic architecture — The Pathan periods — The Mogul School — Futtehpore-Sikri — The decadence — Contemporary Hindoo art ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 395

Chapter XIX

Delhi. Shah Juhan — Juhanabad — Old Delhi — Fort Lalkot — Rajah Pithora — Afghan incursions — Mahomet Ghori's invasion of India — The Moguls — Sacking of Delhi — Modem Delhi — Vicissitudes — The Fort — The Palace — The Pearl Mosque — The "peacock throne" — The Jumma Musjid — Relics of the Prophet — The Chadni Chowk — The Cashmere Gate — A marriage procession — Street scenes — A Maho metan service — Old Delhi — Khootub's Column and Mosque — Pathan and Hindoo art — Timour the Tartar — Asoka's lat — A Buddhist monarch .. 40S

Chapter XX

Jeyi'ore — Bombay. The Rajpootana State Railway — Jeypore — The Palace — Street scenes —The "Light of Asia "—Indian art— The city of Amber— The Indian desert — Indian bridge-building — Camels — An Eastern Nevada — Monkeys on the line — Arrival at Bombay — The city and harbour — The Parsees — The Towers of Silence — The Caves of Elephanta — The Apollo Bunder 418

Chapter XXI

England and India. What has British rule done for India? — Physical changes — Com mercial development — Moral improvement — Poverty of India — The land question in Bengal — Checks on population — The pressure of CONTENTS. XX I I'AGE population on the soil— Rise of rents— The Rent Act of 1S59— The land question in Madias — Over-population — The remedies — A land law for Bengal — Indian finance — European government and Asiatic revenue — Cheap civilized rule — Representation — A great experiment ... ... ... ... ... ... •■■ ••• 427

Chapter XXII

Homeward Bound. The Peninsular and Oriental steam-ship Sumatra — The Milky Sea — Aden — " Have a dive ! " — Volcanic Hills — Artificial water — The Red Sea — Suez — From Suez to Cairo — The Nile inundation — Fertile Egypt — Cairo — Street scenes — The bazaars — Dogs — Tombs of the Mamelukes — Mosque of Sultan Hasan — Cairo University — Dancing dervishes — The Palace of Gezireh — " Improvement " in Egypt — The Fellahin — Agriculture — Stationary Egypt — The Pyramids of Ghizeh — " Hard work ! " — The Sphinx — The Temple of the Sphinx — Egyptian chronology — Boulak Museum — Ancient art — Ancient theology — Marriette Bey — Memphis — The Apis Tombs — The Tomb of Ti — A desert view — The Isthmus of Suez — Ancient canals — M. Lesseps' canal — Passage of the canal — Port Said — The Mediterranean — Malta — Gibraltar — The Holiday is over ... ... ... ...

PART I WEST AN ENGINEER'S HOLIDAY, OR NOTES OF

A ROUND TRIP FROM LONG. o° TO o°.

Chapter I. The Atlantic New York

April iy— May 4, 1880. The Atlantic was crowded with icebergs during the spring and early summer of 1880, but the prudent captain of our steamer the Algeria took us too far south to see them. We thus missed a spectacle which the steamship Belgenlatid enjoyed a month later, when in latitude 430 N, she passed two fleets of bergs — one on either side of the Newfoundland Banks — numbering together not less than a hundred, the largest of which was a mile long, and towered two hundred feet above the water. Any one who doubts the theory that climate is dependent on ocean currents should sail the North Atlantic. It is a witches' caldron where two immense streams of hot and cold water meet but do not mingle, though they are so closely appos^d that a ship may pass in her own length through temperatures differing by twenty degrees.

When the prevalent westerly wind shifts a few points to the south, it coincides with the Gulf Stream, and saturated with its warm vapours, prostrates the ship's passengers with the atmosphere of a hot-house. When, on the other hand, B it veers a little north, it brings the cold of the polar current over the starboard bow and sends every one hurrying below for ulsters. There is no equilibrium and consequently no peace in such a sea where a flat calm at breakfast, a gale at noon, and a halcyon sunset may all be expected. Thus a shift of the wind from south-west to north-west brought us on one occasion a succession of fog, warm sunshine, tropical rain, and heavy snow, within a few hours, while, to complete the meteorological variety, night dressed our yards and masts with St. Elmo's fire. The shining trail which streams from our screw is singularly sensitive to these changes : when the wind is warm the wake is brilliant with phosphorescent animals ; when cold there is hardly a sparkle.

Although the Algeria is a slow ship we make three hundred miles a day in favourable weather, but this is reduced to less than two hundred whenever there is much head wind. It does not pay to drive a vessel of this kind too hard ; you may burn the coal, but without getting a corresponding speed out of her. On the other hand, crack steamers like the Britannic can be advan tageously forced in the teeth of a gale, and this is why the " tubs " are not badly beaten in fine passages, though they may be four or five days longer than the clippers in crossing when the wind is adverse. The captain's cabin is socially a very agreeable resort, and illustrates the age we live in. Darwin's " Origin of Species " and Spencer's "Sociology" are on the book-shelves, while a recent French novel lies on the chart-table.