Travels in Europe, Egypt, Arabia, Petraea, Palestine and Syria

Front matter

T E A V E L S IN EUROPE, EGYPT, ARABIA PETRÆA, PALESTINE AND SYRIA. BY THE Rev. EUGENE YETEOMILE, D.D., APOSTOLIC MISSIONARY, CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY; MEMBER OF THE NEW-ENGLAND HISTORIC-GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY ; OF THE NUMISMATIC ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA, PA. ; OF THE YORK INSTITUTE, ETC, ETC. IN TWO VOL UME S. VOL. I. NEW YORK: D. & J. SADLIER & CO., 31 BARCLAY STREET. MONTREAL : — COK. NOTRE DAME & ST. FRANCIS XAVIER STS. 1871. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, BY D. & J. SADLIER & COMPANY, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at AVashington. TO HIS MOST ILLUSTRIOUS AND MOST REVEREaVD E1TI_.Ea.CE, THE LORD ALEXANDER BARNABO, CARDINAL OF THE ORDER OF PRIESTS OF THE SACRED COLLEGE, PREFECT OF THE CONGREGATION DE Propaganda Fide, WHICH IS SO SUCCESSFULLY EXTENDED BY HIS EMINENT VIRTUES INTO THE MOST DISTANT REGIONS OF THE EARTH, <!._._ 33 oo fe, AS A TOKEN OF FRIENDSHIP AND ESTEEM, IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BT ONE OF HIS MISSIONARIES, THE AUTHOR.

CHAPTEE I. CROSSING THE OCEAN. Departure from Maine, 17 ; Canada, 18 ; Quebec, 18 ; Hon. D'Arcy McGee, 19 ; Canadians, 19 ; St. Lawrence, 22 : Gulf of St. Lawrence, 23 ; Anticosti, 27 ; Steamer North American aground, 27 ; Newfoundland, 29 ; Labrador, 29 ; Icebergs, 29 ; Straits of Belle Isle, 31 ; Belle Isle, 31 ; Ocean, 32 ; Sighting the Coast of Ireland, 32 ; Lough Foyle, 34 ; Tender to Londonderry, 34 ; Giant's Causeway, 35 ; Isle of Man, 36 ; Landing at Liverpool, 37. CHAPTEE n. ENGLAND, SCOTLAND AND IRELAND. Liverpool, 38 ; The Great Eastern, 39 ; Railways in England, 40 ; Bolton, 41 ; Canon Carter, 43 ; Manchester, 44 ; Tork, 45 ; Cathedral, 46 ; Scotland, 48 ; Berwick, 48 ; Edinburgh, 49 ; Loss of my baggage, 49 ; Edinburgh Castle, 50 ; Calton Hill, 51 ; Palace and Abbey of Holyrood, 51 ; Mary Stewart, 52 ; Rizzio, 53 ; John Knox, 54 ; Execution of Mary, 55 ; Sir Walter Scott, 56 ; Glasgow, 57 ; The Venerable Bishop of Glasgow, 57 ; The Clyde, 58 ; Ireland, 59; Belfast, 59; Downpatrick, 63; St. Patrick's Grave, 63; Armagh, 64 ; Dublin, 66 ; Galway, 67 ; KUlarney, 67 ; Cork, 68 ; England again, 69 ; Wales, 70 ; Bristol, 71 ; London, 72 ; St. Paul'3, 74 ; Westminster, 77 ; Tower of London, 79.

CHAPTEE m. FRANCE. Departure from England, 82 ; Steamer between New Haven and Dieppe, 82 ; France, 82 ; Dieppe, 83 ; Normandy, 84 ; Rouen, 85 ; (5. Nantes, 86 ; Paris, 86 ; Church of St. Sulpice, 88 ; Application to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith to assist the Indian Missions of the Etchemin Tribes, 89 ; Father Nycolin, 93 ; The Exhibition, 97 ; Notre Dame, 100 ; The Louvre and Tuileries, 101 ; Hotel des Invalides, 103 ; La Madeleine, 104. CHAPTEE IV. BELGIUM, HOLLAND, PRUSSIA. Departure from France, 106 ; Compiegne, 106 ; Cambray, 106 ; Belgium, 107; Brussels, 108; Cathedral, 109 ; Antwerp, 110; Cathedral, 110 ; Holland, 111 ; Dutch Custom House, 111 ; The Scheldt, 115: Dutch manners, 115; Rotterdam, 118; The Hague, 119 ; Leyden, 120 ; Haarlem, 121 ; Amsterdam, 121 ; Utrecht, 123 ; Prussia, 123 ; Berg and Cleves, 123 ; Diisseldorf, 124 ; Cologne, 125 ; Cathedral, 125 ; St. Ursula and Companions, 126.

Preface

. The appearance of a book of travels in the present state of the world, in which the most distant parts are brought comparatively close together by the application of steam and elec tricity, and continually visited by numerous trav elers, is somewhat hazardous ; and the reflection that this subject has been so brilliantly handled by many writers of eminence, seems to call for some explanation of the motives by which I was actuated in penning these pages. It has repeatedly been observed that the Cath olics of this country are fond of reading, and of becoming acquainted with the manners and customs of other nations, but that thev have no books of travel other than those written by Protestant tourists, who frequently misrepresent, perhaps unintentionally, the real customs of Catholic countries, and sneer at the practices, manners, religion, etc., of Catholic nations.

Their narra tives entirely suppress or barely mention the beauty, progress, civilization, and philanthropy which the Catholic religion develops, and the good which it operates throughout the world. The preeminence which Catholic nations hold over Protestant and heathen countries is entirely over-

PREFACE.

. looked by them ; and they even fail to notice that the best monuments of art and science, now exist ing in Protestant lands, owe their origin, or exist ence, to the influence of the Catholic religion in the days previous to the apostacy of those countries from that faith. With regard to visitors to the East, who have been of late very numerous, the less they say concerning the sacred places of the Holy Land, the greater service they will render to the cause of knoAvledge and religion. Tourists to the East have lately assumed a certain air of skepti cism and intelligent contempt ; they know and think little of monuments erected by the piety and zeal of Christians, upon those holy sites which owe their celebrity to the Mystery of the Incarnation — a dogma tacitly withdrawn from the creed of modern Protestantism.

They speak of the Oriental Schismatic Kites as they would of so many different Protestant sects, — nay, they have even asserted that the Eastern Schismatics admit Protestants to their communion, and ad minister to them the Blessed Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. When traveling in the East, I made a special investigation of this subject, and found that these tourists had fallen into a great error, unavoidable perhaps, to travelers not properly acquainted with Oriental theology and the ceremonies of the East ern ritual. It was not the consecrated bread which was given or offered them, but simply blessed bread. According to some Oriental lit-

PREFACE.

. urgies, a number of small loaves of bread are blessed by the officiating priest at the commencement of Mass ; after having been ble.ssed, one or more of these loaves, according to the number of communicants, if there be any, isreserved to be consecrated at the Mass ; the rest are laid aside in some part of the Sanctuary, away from the altar, that they may be distributed after Mass to all present, a portion being kept for those Avho majr come during the week. This blessed bread was offered to me also, but I, of course, refused it. The consecrated bread is given only to the clerk, and to those who are strictly communicants, immediately after the communion of the celebrant. The blessed bread is distributed after the Mass by the same celebrant, but he is first dis robed of the sacred vestments of the altar.

Circumstances beyond mjT control compelled me, upon several occasions, to alter the original plan of my journey, which was one more of duty than of mere recreation. The cholera in Europe, the banditti in Southern Italy, the lack of a trusty companion in Egypt, the necessity of a caravan in Arabia, my illness in Jerusalem, together with the limited time allowed for absence from my mission among the Etchemin Indians, hindered me from visiting several localities marked down in the original plan of my route. In the Holy Land there are many places to which Indulgences, either plenary or partial, are attached, and they are gained by honoring the places, and saying there one "Pater" and an

PREFACE.

. "Ave." I have been particular to notice them in my travels. In these pages will be found, for the most part, the record of my own observations. I have sim ply and candidly expressed the impressions and feelings I experienced in traveling ; but in my statistics, and in speaking of the Oriental rites, I have made use also of the authority of others, and have been careful to balance and weigh their testimony. It would be tedious to enumerate the authors whose works I have consulted, and from which I have derived assistance ; once for all, I here make my acknowledgments for their aid. As I have had occasion, in this book, to treat of relig ious matters, and, especially, in opposition to the Gallican opinions, which I hold to be erroneous and tainted with heresy, I submit its every word and thought, without any reservation, to the infallible authority of the Church. E. Y. Eastport, Sybayk Indian Mission, St. Francis Xavier's Day, 1869. TRAVELS IN EUROPE, EGYPT, ARABIA PETRÆA, etc.

Chapter I. Crossing The Ocean

DEPARTURE FROM MAINE — CAKADA — QUEBEC — HON. D'ARCY MC- GEE — CANADIANS — ST. LAWRENCE — GULP OP ST. LAWRENCE — ANTICOSTI — STEAMER " NORTH AMERICA " AGROUND — NEW- FOUNDLAND — LABRADOR— ICEBERGS — STRAITS OF BELLE ISLE — BELLEISLE — OCEAN — SIGHTING THE COAST OF IRELAND — LOUGH FOYLE — TENDER TO LONDONDERRY — GIANT'S CAUSEWAY — ISLE OF MAN — LANDING AT LIVERPOOL. It is surprising that, notwithstanding the progress, commerce, and enterprise of the Americans, they have no line of steamers across the Atlan tic, but depend upon foreign steamships. Being much subject to sea-sickness, I selected from the many European lines that of the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company, because, for the first eight hundred miles, we would sail over a land-locked river and gulf, besides enjoying the grandest of North American scenery.

Before my departure, I visited the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and Lewis Island Indians, who gave me several messages for the Holy Father, and begged his benediction. They requested me to remember them in the big wigwam of prayer of St. Peter, in Rome, and at the holy places of Palestine. These good souls could not realize the remoteness of those localities, nor the immensity of the ocean, and asked me if there were Indians there, and if they could cross the ocean in a large canoe, and similar questions. Giving them my blessing, I left them, to see them again in one year, should such be the will of the Great Spirit. On the 19th of July, 1867, I left Biddeford and Portland by railway for Quebec. Nothing worthy of note occurred on the Avay to Canada. At the frontier only one trunk was opened, and nothing disturbed.

We crossed the St. Lawrence early in the morning of the next day. Quebec, the capital of Lower Canada, is the best fortified city in America. It was settled by the French in 1608, but its name is of Indian origin, Kebeke (it becomes narrow). The river St. Lawrence, which is twelve miles wide above the city, narrows, as its waters contract, to a mile in breadth by Cape Diamond, on Avhich is built the strongest citadel in America. It is a very peculiar city, compactly built of stone, its princi pal portions surrounded by walls and gates ; and its populous streets narrow and winding. It ex hibits in its environs the beauty of an European capital, but although in the same latitude with the finest parts of Europe it endures in Avinter the cold of Siberia, the thermometer falling to forty degrees (Fahrenheit) beloAV zero, Avhile its HON. D'ARCY McGEE. 19 summers are very warm, rising to one hundred degrees.

In the midst of a great continent, its beautiful, safe and spacious harbor, about four hundred miles from the ocean, shows fleets of foreign vessels. The soil is fertile and well culti vated, and it enjoys an extensive commerce, prin cipalty with England. Its exports are three times greater than its imports, showing that Canada, of which Quebec is the seaport, produces more than she needs, and the exchange is nearly always in her favor. For this reason it was that the la mented Hon. D'Arcy McGee,* the learned and true Irish patriot, tried to draw the emigration of his countrymen to Canada. Quebec was sur rendered to the English by the French, from whom it was captured in 1763 ; in 1775 it was unsuccessfully attacked by Americans from the United Colonies, under Gen. Montgomery, who fell there with some seven hundred of his men.

Nine-tenths of the Canadians, not only of the city of Quebec, but of all LoAver Canada, are Catho lics, descendants, for the most part, of the French, and retain the religion, the politeness, upright ness, and easy manners of their forefathers ; they are good Catholics, refined, and intelligent, and * Hon. D'Arcy McGee, a learned and distinguished member of the Canadian Parliament, was assassinated in Ottawa, Upper Canada, while opening the door of his house on his return from Parliament, on the night of April 6-7, 1868. His assassin, James P. AVhalen, a member of the Fenian Brotherhood, was tried, and hung in the same city, Feb. 11, 1869. The loss of the life of the assassin, AA'halen, was no loss to society, and a thousand such lives are not worth the life of one D'Arcy McGee. their devotional practices, whether in the church or in their private families, are a matter of astonishment to Americans traveling in Lower Canada.

In the United States, the Canadians are, as a general thing, accused of lukewarmness, of aban donment of their religion, and of a want of liberality in providing for the support of their religion and their clergy. But these accusations are unjust and untrue. That there are individu als of this description is undeniable ; but they are the exception, and cannot be taken as sam ples of the Canadian people ; exceptions of this kind are found, more or less, among the emigrants of every nation. These charges come from New England and the north-western border of New York State, where the Catholics are mostly Irish, with language and customs different from those of the Canadians. Manjr practices of the Irish are national, unknown to the Canadians, who have also their national customs, unknown to the Irish.

They are accustomed to live in parishes, where provision is made for the support of the church and the clergy ; they pay a tithe of what they raise ; they are accustomed to a strict ob servance of the ceremonies of the Church, to the solemn administration of the sacraments, to a frequent ringing of bells, to devout processions, to solemn funerals, consisting, not in a long line of carriages and single teams, as is unfortunately the case in many parts of the United States, not withstanding the efforts of many zealous mission aries to prevent it, but solemnized in the church, CANADIANS. 21 with a solemn Mass of Requiem, a funeral sermon and service, low Mass, etc., according to the custom of Catholic countries, like Canada ; they are accustomed to canonical law, and to the fixed rules by which the Catholic Church is governed ; they abominate profane music in the church, and are scandalized to see the church turned, so to speak, into a theatre or public hall.

Upon emigrating to the United States, not un derstanding the English language, they see different customs, regulations not in accordance with the canon law, but accommodated to circum stances ; they naturally wonder at it ; they see unaccustomed collections, apart from the pew rents, fees, etc., taken up in the churches, and can neither understand nor habituate themselves to the practice ; on this account they are accused of lukeAvarmness and lack of religion. For nearly fifteen years I have had many Canadians in my missions — sometimes they have formed the princi pal portion of my congregation — and when I have explained to them the difference between their own country and this, they understood, and cheerfully submitted to the regulations and prac tices obtaining here, and I have found them as pious, zealous, and liberal as any other Catholics.

They possess many good qualities : they are so ber ; do not open grog-shops in their settlements ; and are not led by demagogues, as are the people of some other countries, unfortunately ; nor do they join secret societies, of which they have a horror. They take good care of their families, instruct their children, assemble their family together, and say with them their evening prayers, and every evening recite their beads ; parents and children perform the month of May devotions together, and great pains are taken to prepare their children for first communion, etc. Where there are Catholic schools, they always send their children to be educated in them in preference to the godless schools of America ; and to these things is mainly due the control which the parents retain, even after their children's marriage, over them ; they watch the company kept by their children ; parents are, in reality, masters in the house, and do not keep simply a boarding-house, in and out of which the children can come and go at their pleasure, without permission or notice, appearing to be, in reality, the masters ; as too often happens, unhap pily, in this country.

Several clergymen have remarked that the Canadians have been and still are neglected in this country, but that they are, by far, more susceptible of an ascetic life than are the people of some other nations. In Quebec, I purchased some articles and a bed for a sick girl returning to Ireland, and on Saturday, July 20th, embarked on board the fine steamer Hibernian, belonging to the Montreal Steamship Company, and under command of Cap tain Brown. I had one of the best state-rooms. At 10 a.m. we sailed for Liverpool, and com menced to descend the great St. Lawrence, one of the largest rivers in the world, and the outlet of ST. LAWRENCE. 23 the great lakes, Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario. The St. Lawrence is known by dif ferent names in different parts of its course ; between Lakes Superior and Huron it is called St. Mary's or the Narrows ; between Lakes Hu ron and St. Clair, the St. Clair ; between Lakes St. Clair and Erie, the Detroit; between Lakes Erie and Ontario, the Niagara ; and from the sea to Lake Ontario, the St. Latvrence.

Sometimes the part betAveen Montreal and Ontario is called Cateraqui, or Lroquois. It is navigable for ships of the line to Quebec, and for vessels of 600 tons to Montreal, and there have been instances of vessels sailing from the lakes by the St. LaAvrence to Europe. Its breadth, between Montreal and Quebec, is from half a mile to four miles ; below Quebec it gradually widens, and when it enters the Gulf it attains a breadth of over a hun dred miles, as between Cape Rosier aud the Mingan settlement on the Labrador coast ; its rapids are avoided by a canal. The scenery from Quebec to the Gulf is grand! The city of Quebec presents itself in groups as in an amphi theatre, surrounded by the grandest of North American scenery, and, as the steamer rapidly descended the river, we saw the shores lined with beautiful villages and well-cultivated farms.

We passed in sight of the silvery Montmorency Falls on the northern shore, and though we had a strong wind ahead, the Hibernian, moved by steam and the current, made her way calmly, majestically, and rapidly, among the many charming and finely cultivated islands. The travel er's delighted attention is attracted by the numerous villages, built, as a general thing, around a handsome stone church, Avhile houses and farms, standing apart, studding both banks of the river, imprint upon his mind an unfading impression of the garden of the scenic St. Lawrence. I felt little of that loneliness experienced by most travelers when, setting out for a year's journey in far distant lands, they leave behind them their native land, their relatives, and friends, and generally all that they possess. These dear objects, coming before their memory, cast a gloom upon the soul — a gloom that cannot be dissipated, however beautiful the scenery sur rounding them.

But this was not my case ; it is true I had left behind me many friends, the mem ory of whom enabled me to realize these feelings of loneliness and sadness ; the retreating shores of the St. Lawrence made me recollect that I Avas to wander on a year's pilgrimage, but this thought was counterbalanced by the pleasure I expected in visiting my native land, my beautiful Italy ; Gallipolis, the home of my boyhood ; my loved and loving relatives, and the dear friends whom for twenty-four years I had not seen. The idea of a journey to Egypt revived my drooping spir its. A journey to Egypt ! A visit and pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to pay a tribute in person to the spot whereon Our Saviour was born — where He suffered, died, and was buried! The prospect of realizing a desire I had cherished in ST. LAWRENCE. my soul from my very infancy, so cheered my heart, that I felt, nothing this world could inflict, could be so hard that it would not be well repaid by the joy I should derive from my journey.

The signal for luncheon was given, and I felt quite capable of enjoying it. The commander of the Hibernian, Captain Brown, was a thorough gentleman, Avith genial manners ; in general, all the officers, and even the crew of the vessel, were of a good and pleasant disposition. There were about eighty first-class passengers, the gentlemen sociable and gentlemanly in appearance, the la dies amiable and agreeable, and many times in my sea-sickness I received kind assistance from English ladies. My state-room companion was Mr. James E. McFarland, connected with the delegation of Mr. Slidell, Commissioner from the South to Paris ; he was a learned and accomplished gentleman, and I feel happy to have made his acquaintance. There were also four Indians, one man and three women, belonging to the tribe of St. Francis, Canada, on their way to Paris, where they were to join others of their tribe, who had been hired by a gentleman for the Paris Ex hibition, which had opened on the 1st of May in the same year.

They belonged to the same nation with my Indians ; they knew me, and I understood their language ; they had with them some of my Indian prayer-books, the Alnambat Uli Awikhigan (Indian Good Book), Avhich I arranged and had printed for my own Indians. Above all, I must not fail to mention a seacaptain from Norway,' whose ship had been wrecked on the northern shore of the St. Law rence, while on the way to Quebec. He showed me the place, asserting that it was all the fault of the pilot — whom he had taken on board after entering the mouth of the river ; no lives were lost, but otherwise nothing was Asaved. He had with him the insurance money and other funds obtained at Quebec, and was now on his way to Liverpool to purchase another ship. He was a most cheerful man, the very life of the pas sengers.

He told me he had made considerable money during the Crimean War, as his ship had been chartered by France to transport ammuni tion to the Black Sea. In the evening we passed the mouth of the romantic river, Saguenay, but I felt sea-sick as we approached the Tadoussac settlement, and retired without taking supper. The pilot left us in the night, on the southern shore, and despatches that all was right were telegraphed to Quebec. July 21, Sunday. — The morning was bright and beautiful. I took breakfast in bed, and got up when the bell rang for prayers, which were recited in the cabin by the captain, for the first class passengers, who sang several hymns. Had I not been sea-sick, I should have gone among the steerage passengers to say the beads with the Catholics, whose number, however, was not great ; as it was, I remained in my state-room.

When prayers were ended, I went on deck, and was surprised at the wild scenery presented by those " NORTH AMERICAN " AGROUND. 27 hyperborean regions of LoAver Canada, Rimouski, and Gaspe ; high and rugged mountains, some covered with primitive forests, others barren and hoary, lifted their summits to heaven. At noon we were off Mount Louis River in Gaspe, two hundred and seventy -seven miles from Que bec. I could perceive a few scanty settlements, Avhich must have been made, however, by fisher men, for the soil did not seem to be fit for agricul ture. The steamer did not take the Labrador coast, but went between Gaspe and Anticosti, a wild, barren, rocky island in the Gulf of St. Lawr ence. As we passed, towards evening, at a safe distance from its rock}- shores, Ave saw, as the captain was about going by, the steamer North American, Avhich had run aground on the rocks off the southern coast of the island ; we passed and signaled her at about two o'clock in the morning, but receiving no reply, the Hiber nian, steamed down the Gulf towards Newfound land.

The North American belonged to the same line, and had started two weeks before us for Liverpool, but on a foggy night, in rounding the south-eastern coast of Anticosti, had grounded so fast upon the rocks that the passengers were forced to land upon the shore of that barre^n island. A sailing vessel was hurried to the near est telegraphic station of LoAver Canada, and a telegram sent to Quebec ; the Company immediately dispatched their steamer St. George, which was all ready to sail for Glasgow — she belonging to that line — to their assistance. She reached the North American, received her passengers and freight, and sailed with them for Liver pool. The passengers intending to sail by the St. George, who remained in Quebec, were kept there at the Company's expense, until an other vessel could be got ready to replace the St. George.

I afterwards learned that the North American, much disabled, was got off several weeks after, and was taken first to St. John's, N. B., and afterwards to Liverpool for repairs. 22f?, Monday. — We were in the middle of the Gulf, the sea quite rough on account of the many currents, running in different directions, and I was sick and in bed most of the da}r. We were in latitude 49° 35', longitude 60° 02'. On that day we had traveled two hundred and thirty nine miles. In conversation with the Norwegian sea-captain, T learned that we should be likely, the next day, to encounter icebergs, which are frequently met in this latitude, coming from the Straits of Belle Isle. I was much pleased, *and said I hoped I should see some of them, having never met any in my life. The captain replied that he would rather not meet them, being much afraid of them.

"Well," I returned, "I would like to see just one." But the experienced old sea captain always replied : "I would rather not." Towards evening we could see the coast of New foundland, discovered by the Italian, Sebastian Cabot, born in Bristol, England, and son of John Cabot, of Yenice. 23a_", Tuesday. — I arose quite early to enjoy the LABRADOR — ICEBERGS. 29 view of the coasts of Newfoundland and Labra dor, as we approached the Straits of Belle Isle ; the sea was smooth, and the atmosphere — a rare thing in that neighborhood, which is nearly al ways foul with fog — was quite clear. I had a long talk, walking on deck, with the captain, Avho was surprised to see me there at that hour. We passed close to the shore of Newfoundland, the north and north-western coasts of which are low, barren, sandy, and destitute of animal or vegeta ble life.

It presented the appearance ofa desert, except that a few fishermen's shanties could be seen at long intervals, on the shore ; but even these appeared to be deserted, or, at least, unoc cupied at present. I do not recollect having seen a house, or hut even, on the north of that island. As we neared the Straits of Belle Isle the sea was smooth, the weather calm and clear, but very cold, not only on account of the high latitude we had reached, and the neighborhood of Labrador, whose unexplored and inhospitable coasts and islands were visible at a great distance, but also on account of the icebergs which were really in our vicinity, and of which we were much afraid. I was obliged to put on winter clothes in order to remain on deck, as were also the other passen gers. Our fears were soon realized.

We per ceived what appeared to be a number of sails, near the south-east coast of Labrador, advancing rapidly towards us. I was attentively gazing at them when a voice ran through the steamer : Ice bergs ! The officers put themselves on the " lookout." We counted eighteen of them, all in sight at once, increasing in size, and changing in shape in a marvelous manner. In some respects, I was glad of the opportunity of seeing them, but I began to realize the danger of their presence. I went to my state-room to call Mr. MacFarland, as I had promised in case any icebergs were in sight, as he had never seen one. He was still in bed, but soon appeared on deck. We now found ourselves surrounded by ghostly mountains of ice, some appearing about to dash against our steamer, Avhich had slacked her speed, the better to avoid the threatened encounter by changing her direction.