A trip around the world

Preface

These papers were first printed in the " Leominster Daily Enterprise." At the request of many who read them, I have endeavored to put them in more compact and attractive form. I have made no pretense of literary excellence, or of a deep insight into the history, religion, nature, or habits of the people of the countries through which I have traveled. It would take years of observation and studv to attain to that, and volumes to record the results. I have endeavored to give only a very imperfect pen-and-ink sketch of what I saw, heard, and felt.

If there are any who have the patience to follow me around the world, from Leominster to Leominster, and if I shall afford them but a small part of the benefit, instruction, and pleasure that the trip has afforded me, then I shall have been amply repaid for the writing.

Nahum Harwood.

CONTEXTS

I. England i

II, France 13

III. Italy 25

IV, Egypt 47

V. India 62

VI. Ceylon and Singapore .... 87

VII. China 103

IX. The Pacific Ocean and Honolulu . .150

X. The Home Stretch 160

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

A Japanese Farmer .... Frontispiece

Gondola, Venice 26

Small Canal, Venice 28 -

Bridge of Sighs, Venice 32

Dying Gladiator 42

Sakkiyah (Water-wheel), Egypt . . . . 50 -

The Great Pyramid and Sphinx . . . 54

Arab Boy and Donkey 58

Native Hut, Bombay 64

Bullock Cart, Bombay 68

Bullock Team, Bombay 72

Burning Ghat, Benares 76

Great Banyan Tree, Calcutta . . . . 80

Abdul . 84

Tree Ferns, Kandy, Ceylon . . . . 90 • Elephant and Keeper, Ceylon . . . .94.

Botanical Gardens, Kandy, Ceylon . . . 98

Sedan Chair, Hong Kong 108

Arched Bridge, Japan 122

Great Bell, Nara, Japan 130

jlnrikishas and cherry blossoms, yokohama park 138

One of the Parks, Kyoto 148 -

A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD CHAPTER I

As the four tugs fastened on to the huge steamer Ivernia like wasps, and, turning her, slowly steamed down Boston harbor, the last thing we could distinguish among our friends at the end of the wharf, as the dresses and waving handkerchiefs faded into one indistinct mass, was the red dress of Rena. Arrived at Queenstown, Sunday morning at 2 a. m., we saw only the " lighter " taking off passengers, baggage, and mail. Arrived at the landing in Liverpool, Sunday, October 2 7, 1 901, we met Cook's man, who had our trunks inspected, secured a hack, and went with us to the Adelphi Hotel, where he met us again Monday morning, checked our trunks to London, gave us tickets to that city via Chester, Leamington, and Oxford, and in other ways proved of great assistance. Took a car on an elevated road Monday afternoon, and rode the whole length of the great Liverpool docks and back to the end of the road ; then took seats on top of an electric car and rode to the Adelphi Hotel, going through some of the principal streets of Liverpool. At the hotel I first saw a head porter in full uniform ; he wore a dress-suit trimmed with heavy gold lace and brass buttons, a red vest, and yellow tights. I was frightened, for I thought I beheld a real live duke, — the Duke of Adelphi (Hotel). I made a low bow, and then asked if that was the Duke of Adelphi. " No," replied my informant, " that is the head porter of the hotel, and you must give him two shillings when you leave."

Left Liverpool at 4 p. m., October 28, and after an hour's ride arrived at Chester. Went to Westminster Hotel, an old-fashioned, quaint place, fire burning in the open fireplaces in many of the rooms, and everything neat and food good. Tuesday we walked around the " old wall " and went into the Chester Cathedral. It is a magnificent and interesting structure, built in 968. Saw the King Charles Tower on the " old wall," where he stood and witnessed the defeat of his army. There is a piece of the " old wall " built by the Romans. Rode out to Eaton Hall, the country seat of the Duke of Westminster, covering five miles square. We rode for a distance of two and a half miles, and came to the residence and a magnificent set of buildings, including a chapel, stables, and agent's and private secretary's residences. In the park were thousands of deer, pheasants, rabbits, and squirrels, all tame. We rode up to the costly gilded gates, where only royalty are admitted. We could not go over the residence, as the duke (a young man of twenty-three) was residing there at the time. Most of the fifteen thousand acres of this vast estate is leased to farmers, who live in small stone or brick houses on the land, making most of it productive, and leaving only a small part for animals, hunting, and lawns.

On our return to Chester we saw the old house once occupied by Lord Derby ; also an old house which was the only one spared by the plague, and is called "God's Providence House," this name being across the front in large letters. Chester Cathedral contains some magnificent stained glass and the finest carved woodwork in England. Chester Castle is one of the sights, and is beautifully situated on the River Dee.

We left for Leamington on the 3 p. m. train, and stopped at the Bath Hotel, which is old fashioned and quaint, like the Westminster at Chester. Have not seen a wooden building yet, all of them being constructed of brick or stone. All the farms are like gardens.

On Wednesday, October 30, we rode two miles in the train to Warwick Castle, a magnificent and extensive building, surrounded by a moat, inclosing a square of 304 acres; there is a fine clock tower. The guard at the gate showed us around, inside and out. The gallery of paintings is beyond price, — some by Rubens, Rembrandt, Reynolds. There are two portraits of the present Countess of Warwick, a beautiful woman of about thirty-five ; portraits of the ancestors of the Earl of Warwick; of past kings, by great painters; one of Queen Elizabeth and the original bed used by her. There is also a cast from the face of Oliver Cromwell made after his death. The present earl and his family were occupying a part of the huge building, which contains some forty-five rooms. The guard opened the door, and we had a peep into one of the rooms used and could hear the family moving around. One room contained nothing but ancient armor. The castle overlooks the river, and the views in all directions are charming. From Warwick we took a train for St ratio rdon-Avon, arriving at 1 1 a. m. Here we inspected Shakespeare's birthplace, and saw the record of his birth and the first volume of his plays ever printed, the room where he was born, his father's room, where he dealt in wool, and his garden, where are now growing all the plants and flowers mentioned in his plays. Then we went to the church where he is buried, and saw the records of his marriage and death. It is the same old church that Shakespeare attended, but a far better and costlier one than Leominster can boast. We saw the White Horse Inn, where he had meals and drank ale. To be in the same room and garden where he played when a boy, to sit in the same church, and to gaze on the same scenery — the hills and valleys and the river Avon — is wonderfully impressive. The walls and ceilings in the room where the great writer was born are completely covered with signatures, and the glass in the windows is scratched with diamonds, — Walter Scott, Byron, Tennyson, Irving, and many others equally distinguished, from all parts of the world. A shilling apiece was charged, which in time must have amounted to thousands of dollars. This is not allowed now. Notices are posted that no tips be given. We told the voluble guides that we were anxious to give them dollars and dollars, but we could not break the rules. There seemed to be a pained and disappointed look upon their faces.

A few miles from Leamington is the town of Leominster, which I greatly wanted to see, but time would not admit of our visiting that town with its familiar sounding name.

Leaving Leamington at 5.30 p.m., Wednesday, October 30, we arrived at Oxford about 6 o'clock. The ticket we purchased in Liverpool seems a regular pass to everywhere, as it has already taken us to Chester, Leamington, Stratford-on-Avon, and Oxford, all off the regular line, and will yet carry us to London. At Oxford we put up at the Mitre Hotel, which is old-fashioned, irregular, cosy, comfortable, and neat, the same as all the hotels we have stopped at so far. It was built in the year 1400, and has large beams across the ceilings. During our stay in this town we visited nearly all the colleges and many other points of interest. We went over New College, built in the fourteenth century; Trinity College and the Lime Walk; Magdalen College and the Addison Walk; Christ Cathedral, founded in 730; the large dining-hall in Christ Church, containing portraits of some of the celebrated men who have been students of this college, including Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey, and hundreds of others, — life-size. At Keble College we saw Hunt's famous painting, " The Light of the World," which represents a figure of Christ holding a lantern. At Exeter College we saw the Gobelin tapestry, 8x12 feet, with a life-size picture of Mary and the Christ-child ; it is of priceless value.

Friday, November 1, we took the train leaving Oxford at 1040 a. m., and at the station saw the Duchess of Marlboro (Consuelo Vanderbilt), who rode in the next compartment to us. She was very tall and slender, about twenty-three years old, and had a good, clear complexion and a sort of " don't care " expression. The guard said that she would sit down on a barrel or anywhere. She wore a Rembrandt hat, carried herself gracefully, and, being so tall, rather queenly. We arrived in the great city of London at 12.30 o'clock, and were driven a distance of two miles to the Cranston Waverly Hotel, Southampton Row. On the following day we rode in a bus to old London Bridge, walked across and back, and then went all over the famous Tower of London, which was built by William the Conqueror ; saw the crown jewels, including all the crowns, solid gold staves, etc. In order to reach the Tower we had to cross the old moat, 100 feet wide, which was once filled with water. There were soldiers, guards, and warders everywhere, dressed in uniforms according to the styles worn ten centuries ago. We first came to the Bloody Tower, where the two young princes were murdered by Richard III, and the stairway under which they were buried ; the torture-room came next, well filled with various instruments for inflicting pain, — the block and axe used to behead Lady Jane Grey, Queen Anne Boleyn, Cromwell (not Oliver), and many hundreds of others who met their death in this way. The Tower was erected in 1079, an d its walls are from 10 to 15 feet thick. It covers many acres, and consists of long blocks of stone buildings, connected at the corners by towers, each having many portholes to shoot from. It has been used as a palace and a prison, and Queen Elizabeth was confined there once for a short time.

We went to the Bank of England, commonly called " The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street," a long, low stone building, and the money centre of the world ; then to St. Paul's Cathedral in the heart of the city, — beautiful and magnificent, especially the dome, — in which are many statues in memory of some of the soldiers, sailors, and statesmen of Great Britain, — Nelson, Wellington, Gordon, etc. The architectural work was done by Christopher Wren in 1675, and it ranks next to St. Peter's at Rome.

Sunday, November 3, we passed at Hyde Park and the Kensington Gardens, the former containing 388 acres in the heart of London. We walked down the famous drive, Rotten Row. Inside the park and near the entrance were many speakers haranguing the different crowds on religion, temperance, politics, and other subjects. The fog was very thick that day, and, mixed with the smoke, made it at times impossible to distinguish objects more than fifty feet away. It gets into the houses, makes the eyes smart like smoke, fills the lungs and nose, interferes with business, and is very disagreeable. The papers say that that evening the people went about with lanterns. No money, office, or kingly station would induce me to live here if this state of fog were prevalent.

November 4. We walked to the British Museum, and passed three hours in looking over this immense affair. It would take a volume to enumerate the world-famous treasures of priceless value which it contains. Out of the thousands I will mention but two : In the Etruscan room was the mummy of a young woman. The body was wrapped in cloth bandages, and strips of cloth were fastened with gold-headed nails ; the feet were encased in gold shoes ; — all this like an ordinary mummy, but on the face was a portrait, finely colored and life-like, painted in encaustic on panel, of a beautiful young lady, with fine features, beautiful nose, and full red lips, dark, round, pretty eyes, dark, arched eyebrows, and hair worn pompadour style. If the young women of three or four thousand years ago were anything like her, they must have been strikingly beautiful, and equal to anything of to-day in intelligence or beauty. Also in this room were portraits and medallions, engraved or cut on precious stones, — one of Emperor Augustus, with eyes cut out of sardonyx, a beautiful thing, 5x3 inches, with a band of precious stones around the head, and the finest face of a man I ever saw. The stones were so cut that the coloring in them gave the proper coloring to the face.

Leaving the museum, we enjoyed a cab ride for the next two hours, passing during that time Somerset House, Houses of Parliament, Marlborough House, where the king is now living, io A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD

and Buckingham Palace, which is being fitted up for the future residence of the king. We also passed St. James's Palace and Park, and went to Westminster Abbey, immense and grand, filled with the monuments of past royalty, including Alfred the Great, historians, philosophers, actors. The only bust of an American I saw was that of Longfellow. There were marble statues of Dickens, Tennyson, Garrick, Gladstone and wife, and thousands of others. In going around through the different inclosures and chapels, filled with costly sculptures and figures, — life-size, — intended to show the features of the ones long ago buried here, all silent and intimating only death, one is filled with sadness and longs to go out into the open day and sunlight; but, alas! it is not possible in such a suicidal fog and smoke as London is having to-day.

Tuesday we saw the " Old Bailey " court-house, where so many celebrated criminals have been tried in olden times. It is still used, and in connection with it is Newgate prison, where at present there is but one prisoner, and he will be hanged in two weeks. We passed through St. John's Gate, an archway over a street, and a part of the original wall of the city.

Wednesday, November 6. We hunted around and found the original of Dickens's " Old Curiosity Shop," which we entered and there bought

ENGLAND n some souvenirs. The neighborhood is rich in old houses, law offices, and streets connected with the famous English writer and mentioned in his novels. The original " Bleak House " is some distance away, overlooking the Thames. Dickens, when a boy, was employed not far from this spot, making bootblacking, and his father was the original " Micawber," always in debt and often in jail, but always hopeful and looking forward to better times, which never came. A Mr. Poole now carries on a waste-paper business in this old shop, and incidentally sells souvenirs and trinkets, from whom I purchased a picture of the place. His daughter, who lives with him, might well be " Little Nell " back to life. From here we went down to have a closer view of the Parliament Houses, which are very extensive, with many fine towers, but the buildings as a whole are not equal to the Capitol at Washington, lacking its grandeur and noble proportions, and its grand dome. We passed by Trafalgar Square, where is the finest of the many monuments erected to the memory of Admiral Nelson, along the Thames embankment, bordered on one side by many fine residences, hotels, and club-houses, and along Regent Street, which is one of the most popular shopping-places.

Friday, after taking lunch with some friends, we walked about the city, seeing Guildhall, the residence of the lord mayor, and a small church designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and called a finer piece of architecture than St. Paul's, which he wanted built on the same plans as this one, but there was not money enough to do it.

Chapter II France

Saturday, November 9. We left in the forenoon at 10 o'clock for Paris, arriving at 7 p. m. I was slightly ill during the next few days, and was visited Tuesday by a French doctor, who could speak a little English, and who left some medicine for me to take. He came again Wednesday, and when I paid him for his two visits, his bill, which was eight dollars, started my pulse and the coating from my tongue, and gave my system a much-needed shock.

Friday I took a cab and visited the following places : The Bourse (the stock exchange), the financial centre of France ; the Grand Opera House ; the Louvre Picture Gallery ; what is left of the Bastile, the old French prison, which was demolished by the revolutionists; the Palais Royal ; the equestrian statue of Joan of Arc, in one of the principal squares ; the Tuileries ; the Place Vendome, with its high column; the Theatre Francais ; and Napoleon's tomb, if tomb it can be called, the most magnificent and royal sepulchre that money could build. A large courtyard with buildings on each side, containi 4 A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD

ing historical paintings and statues, leads to the principal building, into which we entered with uncovered heads. On each side of the lofty hall are the torn and battle-scarred flags of Napoleon's wars, covering the walls high up. Back of this a golden light from the stained glass dome above lights up the spot beneath which the bones of France's adored hero lie. We do not look directly at the tomb itself, only upon a flood of golden light that seems ever to play around and above the hallowed spot ; it is the perfection of art. From here we go to the Arc de Triomphe in the Champs filysees, by the river Seine. This is a glorious monument of military achievements, a magnificent structure in every sense of the word, covered with beautiful designs in bronze. Then we visited the Eiffel Tower, a stupendous structure, finely situated, which does not look more than twice as high as the Washington monument. Across the Seine there are several fine bridges; one finished in 1900 is a fine piece of work, being ornamented at each end with magnificent bronze figures. The broad boulevards on each side of the Seine are like parks, and far better than the lonely parks of London. They are seven hundred feet wide, or over, and are full of life and moving humanity, and fine equipages. Sunday, November 17. Went to the Louvre Gallery, where room after room, halls, and galleries are filled with priceless paintings. We spent three hours there, with a guide named Louis Pons, a Frenchman, who spoke English and several other languages, and was a very intelligent and interesting man. This gallery is one of the world's greatest treasure-houses of ancient art. There are paintings by Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, Correggio, Velasquez, etc. ; also the original Venus de Milo, the model of all artists for female beauty, part of the arms of which are gone; and though since it was dug up on the island of Milo, Greece, the best sculptors have tried to replace them, they cannot do it, and have them compare at all with the rest of the statue. Here also is the original Gladiator, found in Greece, which is the ideal of manly strength and beauty, — full of nerve and muscle, and having a graceful poise. There was part of a fresco by Michael Angelo, removed from Rome. I saw the wonderful Regent diamond, belonging to the French nation and valued at two million dollars ; went into the room where Napoleon married Maria Louisa, saw Marie Antoinette's bed, and a number of rooms furnished with the furniture of different epochs, — Francis I, and Louis XIV, XV, and XVI.

Paris is a beautiful city, full of life, sunshine, paintings, statues, art, grand boulevards, and apparently a very happy people. In one of the principal squares was a large bronze statue of George Washington. I walked up one thoroughfare, part way, which is one of the finest shopping avenues in the city, and includes the Boulevards de la Madeleine, des Capucines, des Italiens, Montmartre, Poissonniere, Bonne-Nouvelle, St. Denis, and St. Martin, — all these being one street with different names. I walked for over an hour up one side and back on the other. The sidewalks are 30 to 33 feet wide, with rows of large trees on the outside of each, which in the summer must completely shade the walks. In many places one half the sidewalk is taken up with small tables and chairs, used in eating and drinking. We did not go far enough to see the end of the street, but as far as we did go, from the Place de l'Opera, it was lined with large retail stores of jewelry, furs, silks, glass, etc. ; the finest street for stores I ever saw. Broadway, New York, does not compare with it, or any street in London. It has extremely wide sidewalks, lined with a continuous row of large, flourishing trees. The fine show of goods in the windows, its brilliant appearance under electric and gas light, distinguish this boulevard from any other I have ever seen.

Tuesday, the 19th. Went to Notre Dame Cathedral, the Notre Dame of the world, with its two square towers, fine stained glass windows, its fluted columns, and massive arches of stone. The dining-room at Pension Glatz, where we take our meals, was once a part of the residence of Victor Hugo.

Wednesday, November 20. We concluded our visit in Paris and left on the 9.30 a. m. train for Marseilles, which we reached after a ride of thirteen hours through the wine and sugar district where the champagne is made. The ride was full of interest to us, — the quaint old villages, the houses all of stone, with roofs of brick, or tiled, or covered with flat stones. In the compartment with us on the train there were only an old lady and her German maid, and by means of a tag on a package we found, after they had left the train, that the old lady was the Countess Polignon. She could speak some English, and was very pleasant, giving us the London " Graphic " to read, while I returned the favor with the Paris edition of the New York " Herald." In the next compartment was an American lady, Mrs. Washburn (and her French maid), with whom I accidentally scraped an acquaintance. I was endeavoring to make a fruit vender understand that I wanted some grapes, and she translated my speech into French and I obtained the fruit. She also helped us to procure coffee in the same way, and advised us not to stop at Lyons, but to continue through to Marseilles, where she recommended a hotel that was near the station. Following her to the hotel, we found it quite crowded and impossible for us to get rooms ; but Mrs. Washburn had telegraphed ahead for two rooms, for herself and maid, and she volunteered to give one of them up to us. H. and I thought she was very kind.

We left Marseilles Thursday morning at 10 o'clock for Nice, and as it happened we had the same compartment in the car on the train with Mrs. Washburn. She is about forty-five years old, and is a niece of the late Hon. Edward Avery of Boston. Her home is in New York, and she has spent fourteen winters in the Riviera, crossing the Atlantic twenty-seven times. When in New York she lives on Fifth Avenue. She has given us some very good advice about Italy, as to our purchases, where to stop, and what to see, and her advice as to this hotel at Nice, the Beau Rivage, turned out to be good.

The best part of our journey seems to have just commenced. We reached Nice after a ride of four and one half hours, and such a ride, — mountains to the west, glimpses of the Mediterranean to the east, while at our feet on each side were vineyards and groves of oranges, figs, olives, etc., villages and chateaux. It was a wonderful two hundred miles of lovely scenery.

We arrived at Nice at 2.20 p. m., and went to the Hotel Beau Rivage, on the Quai du Midi. It is the best one we have stopped at yet ; clean, good cooking; rates $2.30 per day; magnificent location ; room 18 x 20 feet, 18 feet high, two beds, thick, nice carpet; elevator, electric lights, and first-class in every way. After lunch we took a look. The Quai du Midi is a promenade, three miles long, one hundred feet wide, and on the edge of the sea. The sidewalk on the grand promenade is fifty feet wide and made of cement stone. In all directions, a delightful view is obtained of city, mountains, and sea. It seems to H. and me like a bit of paradise after being lost in London fog, cooped up in a pension in Paris, and jostled in the hubbub of great cities with the danger of crossing the streets, — it is so quiet, so calm, in the interesting city, with the gentle sea at our feet.

Saturday, November 23, we rode to Mentone, going by way of the hills and mountains, and coming back by the sea. There were five in the party — two Germans, two Americans, and one Englishman — and a French driver. I never expect to see anything again that will equal this drive. Going, we rose to an elevation of fifteen hundred feet above the sea, and such magnificent views ! Glimpses of blue sea on the right, on the left the snow-clad Alps, under our feet the picturesque cottages and vineyards of the peasants. The road is finely built, as smooth and hard as marble, and no state road in our own country compares with it. On the downhill side the walls are of cut stone laid in cement. We rode around precipices of rock rising vertically over our heads a thousand feet or more. We arrived at Mentone at 12.30, after a ride of three and one-half hours, and after lunch we strolled around among the quaint old places in the town, and walked the entire length of the stone wall inclosing and forming the harbor.

Mentone is beautifully situated near the gentle blue sea, and is sheltered from north and west winds by high hills and mountains directly back of the town. We started on our return trip at about 2.30 o'clock, taking the road that follows the windings of the sea and not far above it, — the same magnificently built road, passing through tunnels in the rock like a railroad. We passed through Monte Carlo, and reached Nice at 5.30 o'clock. The distance was twenty-three miles going and seventeen miles returning, and such a forty miles of scenery! There is no match for it on this earth. The cost of the trip was two dollars each. The Riviera is a strip bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, two hundred miles long, and is the great winter resort of Europe. The best part of this — the very cream — is the twenty miles from Nice to Monte Carlo and Mentone.

The road rises to an elevation of fifteen hundred feet, and was built by Napoleon.

November 25. Left Hotel Beau Rivage, Nice, at 10 a. m. for Monte Carlo. Bill for four days, including wine and water and conveyance to and from depot, $10.25 each. Arrived at Monte Carlo at 1 1 a. m., and went to the Windsor Hotel, which was recommended to us by Mrs. Washburn, and found it, if anything, much better than she said. We have a large room on the second floor, with frescoed ceiling, two clothes-presses, two large mirrors, easy chair, lounge, marble mantel and fireplace, large French clock, thick carpet, and two windows that open out on the veranda, from which we can look out over a garden of oranges, palms, and flowers, to the sea. We are well up, overlooking the lower village and casino, while the street runs up towards a high mountain of rock. The place is one of beautiful hotels, with lawns and gardens filled with palms and tropical trees. The streets are as clean as a marble floor, and it seems the ideal place to live in during the winter. We took a look at the Casino, which is a beautiful building overlooking the sea, which is of the most varied colors from dark blue to pea green. We had the best meal at lunch since leaving home. After dinner we sat in the parlor, and Mrs. Washburn introduced us to a countess who was of the court of Eugenie, a fine old lady, with a beautiful face, who could talk English. Her name was Comtesse M. de Seilern.