ri 
 
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 For v^v4^. Jvn<MjtXAj- A CMaXo » 
 with compliments of 
 
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 Mrs. Francis, who contributed this volume 
 for he:." family and friends, died at her home in 
 Troy, N. Y. , Jan. 20, 1889. 
 
m 
 
 Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029836305 
 
ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
ACKOSS 
 THE MEKIDIANS 
 
 AND 
 
 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS 
 
 BY _< 
 
 HAEEIET E. FEANOIS 
 
 31llu0trateD 
 
 1887 
 
 3\ 
 
■3-r ii € 
 
 A 
 
 ^o-j 
 
TO 
 MY HUSBAND 
 
 JOHN M. FEANCIS, 
 
 WITH WHOM THE AUTHOE HAS SHABED 
 
 THE PLEASUEES OF HEE 
 
 TEAVELS. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 This compilation has heen made from a series of 
 rambling and hurriedly written letters addressed 
 to my daughter, Alice F. Havemeyer, and to my 
 son, Charles S. Francis, and which were not in- 
 tended for publication. This fact will explain 
 their fragmentary character and other deficien- 
 cies. I am only induced to publish the collection 
 as a souvenir for friends. My experiences in life 
 and travel in foreign countries embrace a space 
 of more than seven years, including four different 
 periods. Having only imperfect data of my first 
 journey to Europe, and not sufficient memoranda 
 of my two years' residence in Athens to render 
 complete the continuity of my letters, I have 
 only utilized those of more recent date. The 
 illustrations herein presented are from photo- 
 graphs obtained in the places where the originals 
 were taken. 
 
 H. E. F. 
 
 August, 1887. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 i. Boston, Denvee, Salt Lake City 1 
 
 ii. Ovee the Alkali Plains to San Feancisco — Aceoss 
 the Sieeea Nevada Mountains — Yosemite Val- 
 ley — EXCUESIONS IN THE VlOINITY OE SAN FeANCISCO. 7 
 
 hi. Voyage aceoss the Pacific Ocean 20 
 
 iv. Japan: Excuesions — Novel Sights — The People 
 
 — The Inland Sea 27 
 
 v. China: Chinese Customs — Cemeteeies— Shanghai . . 47 
 vi. Hong Kong — Canton — Sedan-chaies — Boat-life on 
 
 the Peael Rivee 56 
 
 vn. A Voyage from Hong Kong to Ceylon — A Ty- 
 phoon — Saigon — Singapoee 71 
 
 vhi. Point de Galle — Teopical Vegetation — Cueious 
 
 Scenes 79 
 
 ix. A Voyage to Calcutta — Glimpses at Madeas 
 — Native Nueses, called Amas — Going Ashoee 
 
 — Magicians 84 
 
 x. Calcutta — The Gaeden of Eden — The Geeat Ban- 
 yan Teee — Visit to a Zenana — Cashmeee Shawls. 89 
 
 XI 
 
Chapter Page 
 
 xi. Benares — The Mecca op Hindooism — Snake-charm- 
 ers — An Excursion on the Ganges Eiver — Bud- 
 dhist Temples 101 
 
 xn. Agra — The Taje-Mehalle 108 
 
 xiii. Delhi — Long Trains of Camels — The Manufacture 
 
 of India Shawls 115 
 
 xiv. Allahabad 123 
 
 xv. Allahabad to Bombay by Rail — Bombay — Funeral 
 
 Pyres 126 
 
 xvi. From Bombay to Suez — A Pleasant Sea Voyage . . 132 
 xvii. Cairo — Donkey Excursions — Palaces — A Visit to 
 the Princess Mansoor — Romantic Story of a 
 
 Little Egyptian Girl 136 
 
 xviii. Athens — Mars' Hill — Barbecues 152 
 
 xix. From Athens to Venice — Milan — An Excursion on 
 
 Lake Como 159 
 
 xx. Paris and London 164 
 
 xxi. Leave England — Voyage to New York — Resume of 
 
 a Year's Travel 167 
 
 PABT II. 
 
 i. Across the Atlantic on the Steamship Gallia . . . 173 
 
 ii. London — Paris — Madeid 177 
 
 hi. Lisbon and Some of Its Environs 182 
 
 iv. Cintra 194 
 
 v. Lisbon 200 
 
 vi. Cintra — The Palacio da Pena 206 
 
 vii. Lisbon — Abelheira — Thanksgiving Day 209 
 
 XIX 
 
Chapter Page 
 
 vih. Earthquake and Carnival in Lisbon 214 
 
 rx. Lisbon — Religious Peooessions 220 
 
 x. Oporto — The North op Portugal 224 
 
 xi. Braga — The Pilgrimage Chapels of the Church 
 
 op the Bom Jesus 228 
 
 xn. Adieu to Lisbon — Arrival in Hamburg 233 
 
 xin. Vienna — Eing Strasse — Court Balls 237 
 
 xiv. Vienna — "Coffees" — Flower Exhibition— Foot-wash- 
 ing Ceremony 249 
 
 xv. Vienna — Stadt Park — The Prater 254 
 
 xvi. Hungary — Budapest — National Exhibition . . . . 257 
 
 xvii. Bohemia — Carlsbad — Mineral Springs 263 
 
 xviii. Vienna — Birthdays — Departure from Vienna . . . 271 
 xrx. Hamburg — Lubeck — Niendorf — Anchovy Fishing . .273 
 
 xx. Bremen — The Rathhaus Keller 277 
 
 xxi. London — Exhibition of Machinery — A Troy Laundry 
 
 Machine — Hatfield House 288 
 
 xxn. Stratford-on-Avon — Shottery 294 
 
 XXin. PiAMSGATE — LONDON — WINDSOR CASTLE 297 
 
 yb 
 
ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 No. 
 
ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 From Boston to San Francisco. 
 
 Boston, June 17, 1875. To-day has been a field-day in 
 Boston. The centennial of the battle of Bunker Hill 
 has been most fittingly celebrated. The weather has been 
 perfect, fresh breezes from the sea and a partially obscured 
 sun modifying and making comfortable the summer heat. 
 Everybody was satisfied. Indeed, it has been the grandest 
 gala-day Boston has ever known. There were miles of mili- 
 tary in procession, the ceremonies were appropriate to the 
 day, and many distinguished guests from various parts of the 
 Union were present. You will have the details of the day's 
 events in to-morrow's journals, and better told by them than 
 by me. The celebration was well worthy the occasion, and 
 will be remembered many years by those who witnessed it. 
 You know when we left home on the 24th of May, three 
 weeks ago, we expected to sail for Europe two days there- 
 after ; but on our way to New York we changed our plans 
 very materially, and, as you have already heard, we have 
 decided to go to California, and we may extend our travels 
 
ACE08S THE MEEIDIANS. 
 
 to the westward until we shall have reached our starting- 
 point, Troy. My next letter will probably be written on the 
 wing somewhere between this point and San Francisco. 
 
 Denver, June 28, 1875. Our itinerary from Boston to 
 Denver is the following : We left Boston on the 18th 
 inst., New York on the 21st, Syracuse on the 22d, and Chicago 
 on the 25th, and arrived this morning in Denver by way of 
 Cheyenne. So far we have had a delightful journey, and 
 everything has been most comfortable, with the exception 
 of disturbed sleep the first night on the train. However, one 
 soon becomes accustomed to the constant jar and motion of 
 rail travel, and only a day or two is required for adaptation 
 to the new condition of things, and then one begins to write 
 letters, and drop postals along the route to friends at home. 
 The train stops three times a day for refreshments, allowing 
 twenty-five minutes for each meal, sufficient time to do 
 justice to the fare offered. The provisions are very good. 
 There is plenty of fresh milk, which the traveler prefers to 
 the tea or coffee provided at these stopping-places. The 
 first meal eaten after leaving Chicago is a sample of all the 
 rest until within a day's ride of San Francisco, when venders 
 of fresh fruit appear, making a welcome addition to the fare 
 after four days' repetition of the same menu. 
 
 Groing from Cheyenne to Denver, a distance of one hundred 
 and six miles, we crossed a part of the American desert. 
 On one long stretch of the way of fifty miles or more we 
 passed but one house, and that was occupied by railroad 
 employes. The land in this region is low, sandy, and barren. 
 From time to time we saw in the distance. " claim cabins," 
 
FROM BOSTON TO SAN FKANCISCO. 3 
 
 built on one-hundred-and-sixty-acre grants. After crossing 
 this arid part of the country, the land showed some signs of 
 vegetation, and we came upon thousands of cattle and many 
 antelopes feeding on little tufts of grass growing among the 
 rocks and on small spots of arable land. "We passed through 
 the valley of the Platte River, where also the soil is arid, 
 and but little vegetation is seen. Irrigation is necessary to 
 get a product from the soil. Denver is irrigated from the 
 Platte River, the water of which is conducted into the streets 
 by little channels along the curbstones. The city is built on 
 a range of bluffs five thousand two hundred and sixty-seven 
 feet above the sea, at the beginning of the foot-hills lead- 
 ing up to Pike's Peak. Denver has a population of four- 
 teen thousand, with flattering prospects of a rapid growth. 
 There is a canal or artificial river, one mile long, just outside 
 the city, called the " Inland Sea," where a pretty miniature 
 steamer makes frequent trips. The great altitude, and clear 
 dry atmosphere of Denver offer a very desirable climate to 
 a certain class of invalids. We have made an excursion to 
 Idaho Springs, forty miles from Denver, by a narrow-gauge 
 railroad running through Clear Creek Canon. The road was 
 built at a cost of $30,000 a mile. All along the canon we saw 
 Chinamen engaged in placer-mining, who were standing knee- 
 deep in water washing the sand carried there by mountain 
 torrents. The Chinamen are satisfied to work for one dollar 
 a day. A grain or particle of gold is worth one cent. If a 
 laborer finds one hundred particles, he is thought to have 
 done a good day's work. At the office of the mining com- 
 pany we saw a brick of pure silver worth $1100, and a lump 
 of refined gold valued at $1700. The scenery in the canon 
 is wonderfully wild and picturesque. There is here a con- 
 stant disclosure of such new phases of the earth's surface as 
 
4 ACKOSS THE MEKIDIANS. 
 
 I never dreamed existed. A long letter would not contain 
 an adequate description of all the things we saw on this 
 excursion. In two days we leave Denver to accomplish 
 another stretch on the California route, and without doubt 
 we shall see other points of interest of which to write you. 
 
 Salt Lake City, July 5, 1875. We made a detour of two 
 hours by rail from the direct California route to visit 
 the capital city of the Mormons. Somebody selected a rich 
 and arable tract of land when this site was chosen on which 
 to build a new Jerusalem. Salt Lake City nestles quietly in 
 a fertile valley at the base of a range of snow-capped mount- 
 ains. By irrigation the soil is rendered extremely pro- 
 ductive. Little purling rills of snow-water from the mount- 
 ains traverse the streets in all directions. We attended a 
 Sunday service at the Tabernacle yesterday. There were 
 present probably not less than five thousand people, this 
 number equaling the capacity of the building. Two-thirds 
 of the audience were women and children. Elder John 
 Taylor, one of the twelve apostles, delivered an impromptu 
 discourse. He took no text. He exhorted the people to be 
 faithful to the good cause which they had espoused, and 
 assured them that there were many evidences of the pros- 
 perity of the Mormon Zion in Utah and elsewhere. He 
 advised them to go on with the work more courageously 
 than ever. The sermon was short. Much of the service con- 
 sisted of congregational singing led by a choir of a hundred 
 voices, accompanied, if not by the largest, certainly by the 
 second largest organ in the country. The communion ser- 
 vice is celebrated every Sunday. The twelve apostles break 
 
FROM BOSTON TO SAN FRANCISCO. 5 
 
 the bread, and serve it with the water, the latter substi- 
 tuting wine. The water is dipped from two large casks 
 standing by the altar. The entire Mormon congregation, 
 including the children, partake of the communion. The 
 women, especially the elder ones, were attired in the oddest 
 styles of clothing imaginable, their dresses and bonnets 
 being exceedingly old-fashioned, to say the least, and repre- 
 senting the styles of many European countries, while some of 
 the younger women were gayly dressed in New York fashions, 
 although somewhat antiquated. The Mormons place great 
 stress on the rites of baptism and communion. They allow 
 themselves to be baptized frequently, and also baptize the 
 living for the dead. Under certain circumstances they per- 
 mit themselves to be "sealed" in matrimony to the dead, 
 in which case they do not marry with the living. Brigham 
 Young, the patriarch of the Mormons, has eighteen wives 
 (perhaps not all of them now in good standing with the 
 president), and forty-nine living children. "We were intro- 
 duced to several of his wives and children. One of his sons, 
 a fine and promising young man, has just graduated from 
 West Point. The Mormons are building a temple here, 
 which is to be their " Holy of Holies." It is of gray granite, 
 ninety-nine by one hundred and eighty-six feet. When 
 finished it will be a magnificent structure. The country 
 surrounding Salt Lake City is made very productive by irri- 
 gation, and is really a garden of wheat and of other grains. 
 
 Yesterday, the 4th of July, we made a very pleasant 
 excursion over the Utah Southern Railroad to York City, 
 seventy-five miles distant, by invitation of Brigham Young. 
 We were accompanied by several Mormon gentlemen, with 
 their wives and daughters. Elder Taylor, with three of his 
 wives, was among the number ; also President Young, with 
 
6 ACBOSS THE MEEEDIANS. 
 
 several of his wives, besides a number of the sons and 
 daughters of the different branches of the "Bee Hive." 
 The road runs through the valley of the River Jordan. The 
 country is barren for want of irrigation, but^will become 
 very productive when water shall have been procured. We 
 made some acquaintances among the Mormon women. They 
 appear satisfied in their homes, and believe there is a great 
 future for their sect. 
 
II 
 
 San Francisco and the Yosemite Valley. 
 
 San Fkancisco, July 9, 1875. At last, after being nearly 
 three weeks en route from New York, we have arrived 
 at the " Golden Grate City " on the Pacific coast, three thou- 
 sand three hundred miles from the metropolis on the Atlan- 
 tic coast. From Salt Lake City to San Francisco is a 
 journey of fifty hours, most of which time is occupied in 
 crossing the Alkah plains. We brought with us a good 
 outer coating of their burning dust, besides swallowing a 
 considerable quantity of it. But a bath, a good dinner, and 
 a night of refreshing sleep made us " as good as new." We 
 shall start in a few days for the Yosemite Valley, and shall 
 not attempt to "do " the city until our return. We find the 
 climate here bracing and refreshing ; the nights are cool, but 
 the air under the rays of the midday sun is hot. San 
 Francisco is more like a city of continental Europe than 
 London, and one hears more foreign dialects here than in 
 that great capital. 
 
 The scenery along the pass in the Sierra Nevadas, through 
 which the railroad runs, is majestic even to sublimity. For 
 hours we rode through natural openings in the mountains of 
 rocks utilized by the skillful engineer for the path of the 
 steam-horse, and in which the ravines between the mount- 
 ains are spanned by trestle-bridges. Sometimes we went 
 
8 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 curving around a rocky projection, on one side of which was 
 a precipice thousands of feet deep, on the other an acclivity 
 hundreds of feet high. Again we were shooting through a 
 narrow pass, the sides of which were far too high to get even 
 a glimpse of the s ummi ts of the rugged mountains. The 
 scenery at and near the Divide is grandly imposing ; there 
 were mountains of huge rocks, deep gorges, and eminences 
 of sharp, smoothly cut stone, variegated with all the colors 
 of the rainbow, seemingly the handiwork of a nation of 
 giants. Some of the peaks in the Sierras are ten thousand 
 feet high. Traveling for hours through such an inhospitable 
 country, we seemed to be daringly encroaching on Nature's 
 private domain. It is a wonderful work of bold engineer- 
 ing, this pathway of travel and commerce through the Sierra 
 Nevadas. An open platform car is attached to the train, 
 affording the traveler an unobstructed view of the pass. 
 Before reaching the Divide we passed through twenty miles 
 of snow-sheds. We had an artist on the train who was 
 almost beside himself in enthusiastic admiration of the 
 scenery. I must confess that I was likewise affected by the 
 sublime grandeur of these mighty works of Nature. At 
 last we came into the Sacramento Valley. Here we returned 
 to our easy-chairs in the inclosed car, remarking the con- 
 trast between the soft green grass of the Sacramento Valley 
 and the mighty rocks and mountains of the Sierras. 
 
 Y 
 
 -osemite Valley, July 16, 1875. Here we are in this most 
 wonderful mountain gorge, the Yosemite Valley, so 
 named by the Indians. It should be called the Valley of 
 "Wonders. We were six hours in traveling the distance of 
 
SAN FKANCISCO AND THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. 9 
 
 twenty-six miles from Clark's Station, over a road curving 
 along the sides of the mountains and zigzaging up and down 
 the hills. We are one hundred miles away from the railroad. 
 It is a fatiguing ride of two days to get into this valley. 
 From Merced, where we left the railroad for Clark's Station, 
 is a distance of seventy-five miles. We had seven relays of 
 horses, five in each team, to bring us — ten passengers — over 
 the road. We were twelve hours in accomplishing the dis- 
 tance. We entered the valley yesterday at noon from a high 
 point in a mountain gap opposite the El Capitan rock. I 
 find no fitting words to describe as I wish the scenery of this 
 wonderful valley, or what looks like a vast abyss. It is ten 
 miles long and one-and-a-half wide, the crystal-pure water 
 of the Merced River running through it. A delightful shade 
 of fine old trees and a lovely carpet of green grass border 
 the shores of the river. Just opposite our hotel, across the 
 river, are the Tosemite Falls, tumbling and foaming down a 
 precipice of two thousand six hundred and thirty-four feet. 
 The descent of water is only broken twice ; the first fall is 
 one thousand six hundred feet ; the second four hundred 
 and thirty-four feet ; and the last fall is six hundred feet. 
 The water at each leap gathers an increased momentum, and 
 finally plunges with much foaming and terrific roaring into 
 a basin, from which it quietly runs into the river. 
 
 This morning at six o'clock (all excursions here begin at 
 that hour, for a long day is required to make any one of 
 them) we went to see Mirror Lake. It is a beautiful sight 
 to see the reflection of the early morning sun in the water, 
 coming as it does over a cliff four thousand nine hundred 
 and ninety feet high. The lake is only a mile long and 
 about as broad, and forty-eight feet deep at its deepest part. 
 It is encircled by high mountains, and the water is so tran- 
 2 
 
10 ACKOSS THE MEKIDIANS. 
 
 quil and clear that the adjacent scenery is mirrored in it 
 with all the naturalness of the real. In the water on one 
 side of the lake the reflection of the mountain's rocky side 
 seems to picture a line of family washing hung out to dry, 
 and a washerwoman with arms akimbo standing near it. 
 Looking into the lake, you can see yourself as clearly 
 reflected as in the finest mirror. Excursions in the vicinity 
 are made on horseback. The women in Bloomer costume 
 ride astride for safety. The mountain roads are very precip- 
 itous in places, and one cannot be too careful while riding 
 along them. I have made only one horseback excursion, and 
 that was to the Maraposa grove of big trees near Clark's 
 Station ; an excursion very much like the ascent of Mowtan- 
 vert at Chamouni, which you will doubtless remember from 
 the extreme fatigue we all suffered in crossing the Mer 
 de Glace and the descent of the Mauvais Pas. Just think 
 of riding through the trunk of a tree, the opening in it hav- 
 ing been made by burning out the heart, and the tree still 
 standing, and the foliage just as green and fresh at its top 
 as ever it was ! There are in this grove of mammoth trees 
 one hundred and sixty measuring from sixteen to thirty-two 
 feet in diameter, and in height from two hundred and fifty 
 to three hundred feet. These monarchs of the forest are 
 red cedars. Many of the larger trees have sign-boards on 
 them bearing the names given them. For instance: In one 
 group stand the Fallen Monarch, the Grizzly Giant, the Twin 
 Brothers, the General Grant, and the Old Hooker. The 
 hotels in the valley are small two-story frame buildings with 
 cloth partitions, and are furnished only with the most indis- 
 pensable things. Milk, fruit, vegetables, fish, and eggs are 
 to be found here ; but flour, dried meats, and all other pro- 
 
SAN FBANCISCO AND THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. 11 
 
 visions come from San Francisco, and are " packed in " on 
 muleback. California ladies visiting the valley don the 
 Bloomer costume for convenience of climbing the mount- 
 ain paths, and for horseback riding. The service of the 
 hotels is done by Chinamen, even to performing the duties 
 of chambermaids and nurses. One day we went to the Cas- 
 cade Pall, Dr. and Mrs. W., of Syracuse, accompanying us. 
 The water descends by a series of falls or cascades over a 
 ledge of rocks three hundred feet high, the last fall having 
 a sheer descent of a hundred feet. The highest peak in this 
 range of mountains is called Cloud's Rest. It is seven thou- 
 sand feet above the valley, and almost vertical. The ascent 
 of it is one of the breakneck undertakings of the irrepres- 
 sible tourist. The Bridal Yeil Fall is the loveliest of water- 
 falls imaginable. It is within walking distance of the hotels, 
 and consequently is visited repeatedly during a sojourn of a 
 few days in the valley. The water of the Bridal Veil grace- 
 fully descends in one unbroken sheet over a rocky precipice 
 of nine hundred and forty feet. The Indians named the 
 fall Po-ho-no, meaning, in the Indian language, the Spirit of 
 the Evil Wind ; but this is a misnomer, evident from its 
 beauty. The white man has named it the Bridal Yeil, 
 because of the resemblance of the foamy fall to a bride's 
 veil. The water comes half-way down the distance smooth 
 as a sheet of glass; then it spreads out in a fan-like fall, 
 and descends about two hundred feet, when it assumes the 
 appearance of a white, flowing gossamer veil, which the 
 faintest zephyr can sway from side to side. Sometimes the 
 spray is thrown outward a long distance, but the water 
 never loses its compact and fabric-like appearance. Just 
 before falling into the basin the sunlight strikes upon the 
 
12 ACEOSS THE MEBIDIANS. 
 
 water and forms a beautiful and clearly denned rainbow 
 arching its prismatic colors across tbe sheet of water. 
 The Bridal Veil is constantly changing in its effects, and 
 under the light of a bright sun it is an entrancing spectacle. 
 The people of the valley are preparing to celebrate the 
 opening of the wagon road completed a month ago from 
 Clark's Station to the valley. They have erected an immense 
 canvas tent, and trimmed it with large boughs of evergreens. 
 All the mules are hard at work "packing in" provisions and 
 other necessaries for man and beast. The men of the valley 
 intend to go about an hour's ride out on the road to meet the 
 mountaineers, and escort them to town. Nearly one hun- 
 dred persons (this being the population within a radius of 
 thirty miles) are expected to join in the celebration, and the 
 people of the valley intend to give a warm welcome to their 
 mountain neighbors, and to take good care of them while 
 here. To tell of half the wonders of this undeveloped and 
 almost unknown corner of our continent would be impossible 
 within the space of my limited time. You must visit it and 
 see for yourself. The Yosemite Valley cannot be faithfully 
 described with pen or brush. An exact description of it 
 might be considered an exaggeration. Photographs give 
 only an inadequate representation of it, because of the im- 
 practicability of obtaining with a camera a true picture of 
 its grand features. The natural inaccessibility of this sub- 
 lime mountain chasm would seem to indicate that Mother 
 Nature never intended to reveal the secrets and beauties of 
 this secluded region. The entrance to the valley, even now, 
 in a carriage is a very fatiguing trip. The roads are fearfully 
 steep in places, and just wide enough for the wagon wheels 
 to keep in track, and only at certain points, called " dugouts," 
 can the stages pass each other. The drivers announce the 
 
SAN FBANCISCO AND THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. 13 
 
 approach to these turnouts by blowing a horn. They drive 
 down the mountains on a run with teams of five horses. 
 Sometimes there is not more than several inches of road 
 between the wheels and the edge of a precipice hundreds of 
 feet deep. Often I had not the nerve to look over the 
 precipice, and would close my eyes until I heard the passen- 
 gers exclaim, "Well, another narrow escape is over." And 
 yet they tell us no accident has happened on the road. How- 
 ever, they have had only one month's experience, and the best 
 drivers in the country are employed, some of them men 
 who had helped to build the road. Each stage has two 
 drivers. They say it is safer to go on a run down these 
 steep declivities than at a slower pace. 
 
 San Fbancisco, July 28, 1875. Here is an epitome of a 
 two days' visit at a mansion in Alamada, a few miles 
 from San Francisco : The estate comprises one hundred and 
 twenty acres, every rod of which is under the highest state 
 of cultivation possible. It contains a fine driving-park, acres 
 of flowers, an extensive, beautifully kept lawn shaded by 
 majestic old live oaks, and acres more of choicest fruit. 
 There are eight beautiful carriages and twelve fine blooded 
 horses at the service of the family. The house has a corps of 
 eighteen servants. Gas is made on the premises, and the 
 house and grounds are brilliantly illuminated. The property 
 extends to the San Francisco Bay, where one finds two beau- 
 tiful little gondolas, with gondoliers in picturesque costumes 
 ready to command. The main entrance-hall is eighteen by 
 forty feet. The second-story hall corresponds to the one on 
 the first story, and is used as a picture gallery. Into the third- 
 
14 ACEOSS THE MEEJDIANS. 
 
 floor hall open the bedrooms, the doors of which are faced 
 with mirrors, so that at first sight the hall appears like a 
 salon of mirrors rather than a serviceable bedroom corridor. 
 The halls are lighted by twenty large chandeliers. The 
 library, on the first floor, is much larger than the hall, and 
 contains three thousand five hundred carefully chosen books, 
 and is superbly furnished. The dining-room is a companion 
 room to the library. One end of this room is occupied by the 
 sideboard, having a mirror which extends to the ceiling and 
 is as wide as the sideboard. Two large rooms are appro- 
 priated to the amusement of billiards and bowling. The 
 drawing-room is not yet finished and exceeds all the other 
 rooms in size. The inside wood-work for the entire house 
 was made in New York, and is mostly of choice imported 
 woods. The furniture is made to match the wood- work of 
 "each room. To us were assigned two adjoining rooms of 
 immense proportions, so large indeed that I could almost 
 lose myself in serpentining around the massive furniture. 
 These rooms contained every convenience and luxury belong- 
 ing to bedrooms. The house service is performed by China- 
 men, who move noiselessly about the house in cork-bottomed 
 shoes, and present really a picturesque appearance in blue 
 silk or cotton blouse, the wearers having braids of plaited 
 hair reaching down to their heels. 
 
 The lady of the mansion is a Quakeress, a perfect mis- 
 tress of her house, and a most charming hostess. The 
 master is a highly cultivated and a most agreeable host. 
 . We saw bushels of choice fruit decaying upon the ground 
 untouched because it was a superfluity and could not be 
 used by the family. Nothing is sold from this place — would 
 a Californian king make a commerce of fruit ! This is one 
 of three equally magnificent estates which we have visited 
 since we came to San Francisco. 
 
SAN FRANCISCO AND THE* YOSEMITE VALLEY. 15 
 
 We are delighted with the Golden Grate City. The climate 
 is delightful; even the most sensitive constitution can find 
 here an agreeable atmosphere. One can dress thick or thin 
 in the house ; the only precaution necessary is to take a 
 wrap when going out to drive or walk. Even sealskin 
 jackets are not out of place on a July day at the approach 
 of evening, for with it comes the cool bracing sea air. They 
 say the summer breezes in San Francisco are more to be 
 feared than the winter rains. 
 
 There is almost a wasteful abundance of fruit in this city. 
 It is sold at a merely nominal price. Choice vegetables 
 and Oregon salmon are sold in the markets for trifling 
 sums in comparison with the prices paid for them in the 
 East. There are three crops of figs a year, and strawberries 
 are to be had every month in the year. The flower gardens 
 are in perpetual blossom from January to January. The 
 heliotrope and fuchsia grow luxuriously enough to shade 
 the windows and cover the verandas. However, it may be 
 remarked that we enjoy the flowers and eat the fruits at a 
 considerable expense, considering the distance and cost of 
 coming here! I find little or no difference in the prices of 
 dry goods here and in our Eastern cities. There is no 
 copper coin current here ; the smallest coin used is the silver 
 half-dime. About the lowest price for anything is a " bit," 
 equal to a New York shilling. 
 
 * 
 
 San Francisco, July 31, 1875. For the last two weeks we 
 have been constantly on the wing, visiting and sight- 
 seeing, and now I find it necessary " to put in " for a few 
 days of rest, letter-writing and general repairs We have 
 
16 ACKOSS THE MEEIDIANS. 
 
 made the inevitable drive to the Cliff House. It is a favorite 
 resort for pleasure-driving. A refreshing beverage and a 
 cool sea breeze may always be found at the Cliff. The house 
 is located on a ledge of rocks jutting out into the sea, where 
 there is a good view of the colony of seals, which have a 
 domain of their own a little distance out in the bay. On a 
 group of large rocks, rising high out of the water, scores of 
 seals, old and young, disport themselves Without fear of 
 molestation. The patriarch of the colony is called Ben 
 Butler. He answers readily to this appellation when a 
 piece of bread is thrown to him. It is really quite an infat- 
 uating amusement to watch the movements of the seals. 
 "We were as reluctant to leave the spot ( as children are to 
 go away from a cage of monkeys. Quite near the Cliff 
 House is the Lone Mountain Cemetery. The mountain is 
 isolated, looming up out of the sandy beach, whence its 
 name. Since it has been occupied as a cemetery every foot 
 of soil has been made fertile for the growth of plants and, 
 flowers by irrigation. Large trees are now perfectly " at 
 home" on the sandy sea-shore. With its mountain of 
 flowers the cemetery stands out in bold relief, the sea wash- 
 ing its base on one side. There is a magnificent park of 
 two thousand acres, fronting the sea with miles of fine 
 drives. By irrigation the beach along the main drive has 
 been rendered fertile for the growth of trees, shrubbery, and 
 the grass of lovely lawns. 
 
 "We dined the other day with a friend whose house is 
 a gem of art and beauty. The dining-room, especially, is 
 worthy a description. Its furniture and the flooring and 
 all the other wood- work are from foreign countries. To 
 particularize : The parquet floor, which is wrought out of 
 
SAN FBANCISCO AND THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. 17 
 
 a variety of woods in beautiful designs, the doors, the frieze, 
 and dados were made in Switzerland ; Italy contributed the 
 statuary, the paintings and the marble mantel-pieces ; the 
 table-service came from Dresden and Bohemia. Two Sevres 
 vases and several .bronze pieces were, brought from Paris. 
 The sideboard was manufactured in Hamburg. The din- 
 ing-table and chairs were imported from England. Every 
 article in this room is of foreign origin. It would seem that 
 sending to Europe for fine woods is like " taking coals to 
 Newcastle," for in California are to be found as finely grained 
 and richly colored woods as can be found in any country, 
 and skilled labor for wood- working can be obtained as read- 
 ily in America as in foreign countries. Nevertheless these 
 Californian Monte-Cristos must expend their money in 
 Europe ! 
 
 We have indeed much to boast of in our own country. 
 It has the largest trees, the largest cave, the largest cat- 
 aract, and the largest geyser spring in the world, and 
 now I hear it possesses the largest pearl ever found. Not 
 long ago, a poor Mexican fisherman, at a small seaport, 
 dredged up a large oyster, and, to his great astonishment, 
 found it contained a magnificent pearl. It is pure white, 
 oval in shape, more than an inch and a half long by about 
 one inch broad. Experts have pronounced it to be the finest 
 pearl ever discovered. The poor fisherman wants several 
 thousand pounds sterling for it. How much of this pearl 
 story is true I do not know, but it is widely circulated 
 here. 
 
 The Palace Hotel — another of America's wonders — is to 
 be opened in a month. It is a magnificent structure, built 
 at a cost of $4,000,000. It will lodge fifteen hundred persons 
 
18 AOEOSS THE MEEIDIANS. 
 
 and require a corps of three hundred and fifty servants. 
 There is to be a band of music in attendance at dinner and 
 in the evening. The building is seven stories high, and 
 occupies one square, consequently it has a frontage on four 
 streets, and an open court in the center, filled with plants 
 and flowers. Every window fronting on a street is a bay- 
 window. The fifth story is devoted entirely to suites of 
 rooms for families. There is an elevator at each street 
 entrance. The hotel is provided with every convenience 
 necessary for the use and comfort of its guests. 
 
 We are talking quite seriously of going to Japan in a few 
 weeks, but as yet we have not perfected a plan for this jour- 
 ney. I will write you more about it in another letter. 
 
 We have changed our quarters from the Grand Hotel to 
 the Lick House. The dining-hall in this house is something 
 unique and very fine. It is octagonal in form, and includes 
 in its height two stories of the house. It is lighted from 
 above through richly-colored glass. There is not a window 
 in the. room. There are four grand entrances to it. The 
 doors are massive and large and are made of choice Calif or- 
 nian woods. In the four corners are immense mirrors, and 
 in alternate panels are paintings in size corresponding to the 
 mirrors. The paintings are views of the Yosemite Valley 
 by the best American artists. The mirrors and paintings 
 are framed with rosewood, inlaid with rich gilt tracery. 
 There are eight Corinthian columns of wood, exquisitely 
 carved, supporting the glass ceiling, and four very large 
 glass chandeliers reflecting the colors of the rainbow through 
 hundreds of prisms. The tables seat four hundred guests. 
 The table appointments are very fine, and are in keeping 
 with the general features of the room. 
 
SAN FBANCISCO AND THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. 19 
 
 San Pbancisco, August 26, 1875. We have abandoned 
 and reconsidered more than once our trip to Japan, but 
 at last we have decided to undertake it and have taken pas- 
 sage in the China, leaving September 1st. It is a voyage of 
 four thousand eight hundred miles, and is made in the time 
 of twenty-four to thirty days. This is indeed a long sea 
 voyage and may lead to a continuation of our travels, even 
 to going around the world ! But are we not just as much in 
 the constant care of our Heavenly Father in China as in 
 our own home 1 ? And may we not trust ourselves to His 
 protecting care with the same confidence in one spot on the 
 earth as in another, far from home as well as at home ? So, 
 keeping this thought in mind, I shall leave the Pacific shore 
 with the hopeful assurance that we shall make the journey 
 across the Pacific Ocean in safety, and, after many thousand 
 miles by water and by land, may be spared to meet our 
 loved ones again after a long separation. I do not forget 
 that changes may take place among us in a year's time ; but, 
 whatever may happen, let us remember that (rod's decrees 
 are just and right. 
 
 We expect to meet with some interesting experiences, 
 the remembrance of which will be worth bringing home 
 with us. We are going over, to us, entirely new ground, 
 which is not so frequently traveled by the American tourist 
 as the well-beaten, old European routes. China seems a 
 long way off from home, but from this point it is reached 
 in a few weeks. 
 
Ill 
 
 Across the Pacific. 
 
 Septembee 12, 1875. On board the steamship China, two 
 thousand and thirty-six miles out from San Francisco. 
 We sailed on the 1st of September, and this is the first time 
 I have felt disposed to begin a home letter, — not on account 
 of mal de mer, which I have not suffered from, but, to make 
 a frank confession, I have had a little attack of mal du pays, 
 and to color a letter with such a sentiment does not, as 
 you know, read well at home. With twelve long days of 
 reflection on travel and other topics at sea, I have adapted 
 myself to the new situation, and at last have taken courage 
 and intend to improve this grand opportunity for traveling, 
 which is a chance of a life-time, and am now ready to begin 
 one of my "circular letters." I observe there is a general 
 movement in the cabin toward letter- writing, occasioned by 
 the report from the purser that we may meet an outward- 
 bound steamer any day, when we shall exchange mails. 
 
 Here we are out on the broad Pacific, not quite half-way 
 over the passage of four thousand eight hundred miles be- 
 tween America and Japan. Our ship is large and strong, 
 but not fast. The Pacific Mail Company allows only forty- 
 five tons of coal to be consumed a day, which is a short al- 
 
ACEOSS THE PACIFIC. 21 
 
 lowance for a great steamship like the China. The captain 
 tells us that it is not prudent to drive a steamer at her best 
 speed on the first half of a long voyage, so we accept the 
 motto of "slow and sure." At present we do not expect to 
 reach Yokohama before the 28th inst. The China is a side- 
 wheel steamer, and does not run as fast as a propeller. So 
 far, we have had fine weather, and I have been able to say 
 "present" at every meal, counting four a day, besides the 
 morning coffee. While we have had no wind of any con- 
 sequence, yet I observe, after an experience of crossing the 
 Atlantic four times, that the ocean swells on the Pacific 
 are heavier and longer than upon the Atlantic, and are not 
 less liable to render one seasick. We have only forty-five 
 cabin passengers, although there is accommodation for one 
 hundred and fifty-six. The state-rooms are comfortable in 
 size. We have two connected cabins, and have had the upper 
 berths removed, so that we each have a nice little bedroom. 
 Each cabin is furnished with a small chest of drawers, which 
 we find a very handy arrangement. The stewards and stew- 
 ardesses are Chinese. They are neat in appearance, and 
 move quietly about, seldom speaking. They keep the cabins 
 in good order. Upon the upper deck is the "social hall," 
 where there is a piano and a very well-stocked bookcase. 
 There the evenings are agreeably passed in chatting and 
 singing. The "Moody and Sankey" hymn-books are passed 
 around every evening, and singing some of the stirring songs 
 while away an hour or two after dinner. Among our pas- 
 sengers are a number of agreeable people, embracing several 
 naval officers, a dozen missionaries, Mr. Yano, the Japanese 
 charge d'affaires at Washington, and his wife, who are going 
 home on a conge, and six "globe-trotters," as travelers are 
 called who are making the tour around the world, including 
 
22 ACEOSS THE MEKIDIANS. 
 
 ourselves. There are two Englishmen on board, going to 
 China to have three months' shooting, and two Italians are 
 going to Japan to buy silk cocoons. There are also three 
 hundred Chinamen in the steerage, among whom are two 
 rich merchants of San Francisco, who prefer to live among 
 their own people rather than in the cabin with the "Melican" 
 men. The cuisine of the ship is equal to that of a Fifth 
 Avenue hotel, and the daily menu embraces a very satisfac- 
 tory variety of viands. Coffee or tea is served at seven a. m. 
 in the cabins, a good breakfast comes at nine o'clock, an ex- 
 cellent lunch is ready at one o'clock, and a fine dinner 
 follows at six p. m., and the cloth is laid for tea and cakes at 
 nine o'clock. We have had fresh celery every day. The 
 captain says he has "hanging gardens" outside the ship, 
 whence come the fresh vegetables ! "We have on board 
 beeves, sheep, chickens, pigeons, and pigs. A Japanese cow 
 furnishes milk for the captain's table. The cow is quite a 
 traveler, having made several voyages. 
 
 To-day, on the fourteenth day out, we are fifty miles from 
 the half-way point. So far, we have been "climbing up hill," 
 and as soon as we reach the "divide" we will begin going 
 down, and shall make better time then, as our ship is be- 
 coming daily lighter. The captain has just passed through 
 the cabin on his daily tour of inspection, and reports "all 
 well." Observing several passengers writing, he remarked: 
 "I suppose you are all writing books; something the Amer- 
 ican traveler is sure to do." 
 
 The fifteenth day out. During the last twenty-four hours 
 we have had delightful sailing, scarcely a ripple to be seen. 
 We seem to glide over the long swells as gracefully as a 
 floating swan. We have a full moon, which makes the 
 evenings on deck very enjoyable. Sou, our cabin steward, 
 
A0EO8S THE PACIFIC. 23 
 
 comes quietly every evening, at nine o'clock, to find us, and 
 to say, "Missee, tea is going." From this time forward, 
 until we reach Europe, the lunch is called "tiffin." 
 
 The bathing facilities on hoard are good. We enjoy very 
 much a cold sea-water bath in the morning. I imagine it 
 helps to resist seasickness. The two Chinese stewardesses 
 are so fat and their feet so cramped that they are of little or 
 no service to the ladies. Fortunately, the weather has been 
 so fine and the ship so steady that we have not required 
 their assistance. 
 
 The more we are informed concerning our contemplated 
 journeyings in the East, the more we are persuaded that we 
 have before us a very interesting and instructive tour. I 
 have greatly enjoyed reading Baron de Hubner's travels 
 around the world.* 
 
 September 16, 1875. "We crossed the one hundred and 
 eightieth meridian this morning about ten o'clock, and are 
 now two thousand eight hundred miles from America. 
 Naturally we have all looked for the exact spot where we will 
 drop the day out of our calendar time, and quit counting the 
 degrees of longitude from the west ! 
 
 The mathematical calculation of time has been the topic 
 of conversation for the last two days. The traveler, on his 
 first voyage across the Pacific, is not a little perplexed in 
 trying to comprehend this reckoning of time at sea. When 
 we think we understand it, we are still incapable to explain 
 it to one another or talk intelligently about it. However, we 
 
 * June, 1886. Since the date of this letter I have had the pleasure of 
 making the personal acquaintance of Baron de Hiibner, in Vienna, at a 
 dinner given by the German ambassador. He is an experienced traveler, 
 and a fine descriptive writer. 
 
24 ACE0S8 THE MEEIDIANS. 
 
 omit one day in our reckoning, that we may not be out of 
 time when we reach Japan. Starting with Greenwich time, 
 we are to-day just half-way around the world. The weather 
 is warm, and the ladies are in light-colored calico toilettes, — 
 calico being the most convenient fabric to wear on a long and 
 warm sea-voyage. O, for only one peep at you all to-day ! 
 
 September 18, 1875. It looks a little odd to see on the 
 ship's bulletin this morning the date of September 18th, 
 when yesterday was marked the 16th! The captain says we 
 will find the reckoning all right on arriving in Yokohama. 
 Crossing the one hundred and eightieth meridian is the 
 grand event of the voyage, and an extra-fine dinner is served. 
 To-day is Saturday, and the blue-bloused celestials are scrub- 
 bing and polishing up for Sunday. 
 
 September 19, 1875. "We have had the usual church serv- 
 ice read by the captain, and an interesting sermon by one 
 of the missionaries. The service was attended by two Prot- 
 estant Chinamen, who listened to the sermon with marked 
 attention. On Sunday mornings the crew is drilled for fire- 
 duty. The men are exercised to make them proficient in the 
 use of the means for extinguishing fire. 
 
 When the alarm is given, the hose is laid quickly through 
 the ship, attended with considerable excitement, and the 
 machinery is arranged with as much precision as if it were 
 for a fire. The exercise consumes a half hour. 
 
 "We are now nineteen days out, and have made two-thirds 
 of the voyage, and have to expect at least ten more days of 
 this sea-life. We are already tired of making the daily "con- 
 stitutional" on the hurricane-deck, and are now limiting it 
 to a lazy sauntering to the ship's bow to see the sunset. At 
 
ACEOSS THE PACIFIC. 25 
 
 the beginning of the voyage, we undertook to do very vigor- 
 ously a "constitutional" twice a day. The weather is very 
 warm, and we are now somewhat enervated, and are not 
 disposed to walk much for exercise. 
 
 September 22, 1875. We have made two hundred and 
 thirty-five miles in the last twenty-four hours, — the best 
 day's run so far during the voyage. 
 
 September 23, 1875. I had begun to think that perhaps 
 we had lost our way in this immense expanse of trackless 
 water, having met no sail of any kind since we left port, 
 more than three weeks ago, when about noon to-day the 
 joyful sound was heard in the cabin, "All hands on deck! 
 A ship is in sight ! " It was the Colorado, homeward bound, 
 and with her we exchanged mails. It becomes very monot- 
 onous to the eye to see nothing but sky and water for three 
 long weeks ! 
 
 September 24, 1875. The excitement of meeting the Col- 
 orado yesterday brightened the whole day. To-day we are 
 back again in the old do-nothing routine. We are getting 
 tired of one another's society, and are longing for a change 
 of scene. Twenty-four days of a quiet sea-voyage makes 
 one dull. After three weeks of constant intercourse with a 
 limited number of people, the stimulus of thought and con- 
 versation diminishes, and we move languidly about between 
 meals, with little or nothing to say. Nobody has any news. 
 We have already discussed almost everything and every- 
 body. One day is like another, barring bad weather. The 
 atmosphere is heavy and warm. There are indications of a 
 typhoon. During the night the ship was trimmed for a 
 
26 ACE08S THE MEKIDIANS. 
 
 sudden change of weather. We are told that at this season 
 of the year typhoons may be expected near the Japan coast. 
 
 September 25, 1875. This evening I can think of nothing 
 new of which to write. Everybody is warm, besides being 
 fatigued with the voyage. The air is sultry, and we are con- 
 scious that a great atmospheric change, is near at hand, and 
 consequently everybody is a little blue. The captain says he 
 has some spare coal, and that he will at once increase the 
 speed of the vessel. 
 
 September 26, 1875. Sunday morning. The weather is 
 warm and sultry again to-day. A light breeze, however, is 
 freshening, and with it our spirits are rising. We feel sure 
 we shall escape the threatened typhoon. We came in sight 
 of Cape King early this morning, and this brings us within 
 forty-five miles of Yokohama. Information is brought that 
 the Great Republic is coming down the bay, and we are to 
 send off another mail to her. We are glad to end our long 
 voyage of twenty-five days, although it has been a very fine 
 one, and we have made it in two days' less time than we 
 expected to do when starting. We have not had one bad day. 
 I have not had a symptom of seasickness, nor have we once 
 had the "fiddlers" on the table. Old Neptune has been 
 friendly all the way over. 
 
IV 
 
 Japan and the Inland Sea. 
 
 Yokohama, September 26, 1875, Sunday evening. Here we 
 are in Japan far away from home, and among people and 
 scenes entirely unlike anything we have yet beheld in all our 
 travels. We came into the harbor at 3:30 o'clock this after- 
 noon, and reached the Grand Hotel at about five o'clock. On 
 our arrival in the bay the ship was boarded by nearly naked 
 coolies who took us and our baggage off in sampans, or little 
 row-boats. After a hard pull of fifteen minutes in a pouring 
 rain, we landed on the bund, or dock, wet as rats, but glad 
 enough to touch terra firma once more. The boatmen pre- 
 sented a strange appearance to us. Their clothing was a 
 rich coating of tattoo, with only a loin-cloth about the body, 
 and a little square of straw matting fastened by a rope around 
 their necks hanging down their backs to keep off the rain. 
 They were barefooted and without hats or head-gear of any 
 kind. A little tuft of hair, combed to stand upright on the 
 top of the head, gave them a savage appearance not unlike 
 that of our Western Indians. The tattoo designs are gro- 
 tesque; dragons seem to be the favorite figures. The captain 
 of our sampan has a picture of the Mikado on his back. The 
 legs and arms of these people are generally marked with 
 
£8 ACBOSS THE MEKIDIANS. 
 
 serpents and favorite idols. The tattoo is of a blue color 
 with occasional sprinkles of a bright red. The coolies brought 
 us safely ashore. We shall be glad to sleep in a comfortable 
 bed once more. But we must not speak disdainfully of Old 
 Ocean. We have yet to ask many favors of the great sea 
 before we reach home again. 
 
 Yokohama, September 27, 1875. After " tiffin" at noon 
 to-day we started for a drive. Our vehicle was a, jinrick- 
 shaw, a two-wheeled cart, shaped like a child's hand-carriage, 
 with a canvas hood drawn half over it. The conveyance was 
 just large enough for one person to sit comfortably in. It was 
 moved by two tattooed coolies, one drawing and the other 
 pushing. Coolies employed in family service wear lose sacks, 
 which afford a more substantial covering than tattoo. The 
 passenger is protected from rain by oiled paper covering 
 the top of the vehicle, and inclosing the person as if in a bag. 
 Few horses are to be seen in the streets, and they are not for 
 hire. They belong to foreigners residing in the country. 
 Horses are required only for long journeys. We have an 
 American for guide and company. He is engaged in Yoko- 
 hama commercially in the curios business. He is coaching us 
 in Japanese manners and customs, and informing us respect- 
 ing the leading questions of the day. We comprehended many 
 things pretty well before we finished our first stroll about town. 
 We made the promenade of Honcho Dori — the Broadway of 
 Yokohama — and visited Shobey's silk-shop, the principal one 
 in the city, where we saw specimens of the best Japanese 
 garments and fabrics of silk, beautiful crepes of all colors 
 and gayly colored silk bed-quilts covered with hand-made 
 
O 
 
JAPAN AND THE INLAND SEA. 29 
 
 embroidery. We entered a lacquer-shop, and saw many 
 beautiful pieces of furniture, and rich bronzes with elaborate 
 gold and silver inlaid work. This bronze- work is a specialty of 
 the country, forming one of its chief industries. We went to 
 the "Bluffs," a high promontory overhanging Mississippy Bay 
 just beyond the crowded thoroughfares of the city. Here 
 foreigners and American missionaries live. We stopped at 
 a very attractive tea-house, and had a cup of tea, and a chat, 
 through our interpreter, with the tea-maid. The scenery is 
 picturesque, and the garden cultivation is perfect. We passed 
 fields of rice where the laborers, both men and women, were 
 almost naked ; the tattooed men wearing only loin-cloths, 
 and the women a short, scant skirt scarcely covering them 
 from the waist to the knees. They get eight cents a day for 
 their toil, and consider themselves fortunate in obtaining 
 steady work. We saw evergreen trees dwarfed in all shapes, 
 and lovely bamboo cottages with thatched roofs and small 
 green bushes growing here and there in the thatch, and little 
 tufts of grass cropping out under the eaves. The children 
 of the poor, from eight to ten years of age, are entirely naked, 
 and never have a thread of clothing on their bodies until they 
 are about twelve years of age. A Japanese is not allowed to 
 wear whiskers until hebecomes a grandfather; hence old bach- 
 elors can have no beard. The 'rickshaw coolies take a trotting 
 gait and keep it as long as they go. Sometimes they make 
 long leaps accompanied with a good-natured yell, both coolies 
 jumping together. This movement ends with a jerk, causing 
 not a pleasant sensation to the passenger. They get over 
 the ground as fast as horses. An active coolie can make 
 fifty or sixty miles a day and not feel fatigued. The waiters 
 at our hotel are scantily clothed. They wear a loose frock 
 coming just below the knees, but no shirt. Although their 
 
30 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 legs are bare, their stockingless feet are cased in toe-slippers. 
 All day there have been indications of a typhoon, and heavy 
 wooden bars have been placed in the rooms to fasten the 
 inside shutters should the wind rise. As a precautionary 
 measure the doors and windows will be barred to-night. 
 
 Yokohama, September 29, 1875. We did not have a 
 typhoon, but we did experience a terrible and raking 
 wind for a few hours, causing a heavy tide which inundated 
 the bund. We are told that we cannot escape the autumnal 
 typhoon, for if we do not get it here we shall strike it 
 elsewhere. 
 
 The common fruits include the persimmon, which is of the 
 size of a small tomato, similar to it in color and form, having 
 a flat black seed. This fruit is sweet and without character. 
 The grapes are small but fairly good. The pears look like 
 russet apples and are coarse in grain, juicy but rather taste- 
 less. There is an abundance of good figs. 
 
 A Japanese house merits description. It is constructed 
 on a bamboo frame. The roof and sides are thatched with 
 rice-straw. On this thatch small bushes and tufts of long 
 grass grow, sometimes nearly covering the roof and sides of 
 the building. The windows are sliding frames divided into 
 little squares, and are neatly covered with thin white paper, 
 which, of course, must be frequently renewed on account of 
 its exposure to rain, for even a slight rain striking on the 
 pasted paper unglases it immediately. These paper windows 
 admit a most agreeable light. The windows of the temples 
 are generally of paper. The partitions of the houses are 
 covered with paper, and are movable like screens ; they may 
 
JAPAN AND THE INLAND SEA. 31 
 
 be removed to make a large room. A rich merchant's house 
 is fashioned in this manner : The bamboo frame is sixteen 
 feet square and two stories high;- spaces of six feet inter- 
 vene between the joists. The building is divided into four 
 apartments of equal size ; both stories are alike. There is 
 no chimney. An aperture in the outer wall of the cooking 
 department permits the escape of smoke from a smaU char- 
 coal furnace used in cooking. Small porches, about two feet 
 wide, run along each story, on the front and rear. They 
 somewhat protect the paper windows from the rain. The 
 houses have gable roofs. In the city they are covered with 
 tile; in the country they are thatched with rice-straw. 
 The frame- work and doors are painted a dark gray or a bronze 
 color. The houses have little furniture besides the cooking 
 furnace and tea-kettle. The latter is always over the fire and 
 supplied with boiling water to make at any time a cup of 
 tea. The kettle stands close by the entrance-door to be con- 
 venient for serving the visitor with the enjoyable beverage. 
 The habatchi is a small bronze vessel containing hot ashes 
 and live coals for lighting the pipes for smoking. With 
 these two utensils, a few cups and saucers, a small clock 
 and a family idol the receiving-room is furnished, together 
 with a red-cushioned movable platform, high enough to 
 serve for a seat and sufficiently wide to be used by a num- 
 ber of persons sitting back to back placed in a convenient 
 part of the room. This serves to seat the family and visitors. 
 A small brick furnace is built up in the middle of the kitchen, 
 and a single cooking utensil is used for boiling rice and fish, 
 which are the staff of life for the Japanese. No spoons or 
 forks are required by the people when eating, for their expert 
 fingers serve them instead of the former. A small wooden 
 tub is made available for all necessary household purposes. 
 
32 AOEOSS THE MEKIDIANS. 
 
 The food is served in a large round metal vessel placed upon 
 a low table. The family sit around it, and each member 
 helps himself by sopping a piece of coarse bread in the 
 mixture, and so partakes of it. If the family has partly 
 adopted the European way of eating, each one is provided 
 with a small bowl, into which the food is poured. The 
 floors are covered with lined straw matting which is as soft 
 as an Axminster carpet. The Japanese sleep on cotton 
 mats laid upon the floor. In the morning the mats are 
 stowed away on a shelf or in a corner closet. For the privacy 
 of the different members of the family during the hours of 
 sleeping a number of paper partitions are arranged about 
 the rooms. The pillow is a small block of wood about one 
 foot long, five inches wide, and eight inches high. Upon 
 the five-inch side of the block is a slight concavity to fit the 
 head of the sleeper. A pillow filled with cut rice-straw and 
 covered with several sheets of rice-paper is used as a com- 
 fortable support for the head. Economical housewives 
 often have a little drawer fitted into this pillow-block to 
 serve as a receptacle for toilet articles. Dressing the hair 
 is the only part of the toilet of both men and women in 
 which special pride is taken. Professional hair-dressers are 
 employed. The Japanese dress their hair twice a week, and 
 they consequently devise a way for protecting the coiffure 
 intact while sleeping. The small pillow serves them admira- 
 bly. The head is raised sufficiently by it to keep the coiffure 
 free from disarrangement. (This pillow might not be very 
 acceptable in our country.) Even the coolies, who drag the 
 'rickshaws and wear only loin-cloths for " full dress," have 
 their hair nicely dressed and tied up in little knots on the 
 tops of their heads. There are perambulating barbers who 
 dress the hair of the coolies on the sidewalks. 
 
JAPAN AND THE INLAND SEA. 33 
 
 At night a large padded blouse, or sack coat tied in front, 
 having long sleeves, is the common sleeping-dress and cover- 
 ing for the night. A stationary tub, standing outside the 
 dwelling and filled with running water, serves the entire 
 family for daily ablutions. The better class of Japanese 
 appreciate a warm bath, and patronize the public baths. Not 
 a single piece of furniture considered by us essential in a 
 house is seen in a Japanese house. Chairs are no more 
 needed than tables. Everybody takes his bowl of rice or 
 cup of tea in hand and seats himself on the common sofa or 
 bench of the house. The cultivated classes eat with chop- 
 sticks. With them they are very expert in getting the boiled 
 rice from the bowl to the mouth. A Japanese of the common 
 class has but one suit of clothing, which is worn until it is 
 necessary to replace it with another. 
 
 Moving and traveling from one place to another are not to 
 be dreaded on account of the great quantity of baggage. 
 
 * 
 
 Yokohama, October 2, 1875. To save repetition and time, 
 please consider my letters during this journey as "cir- 
 cular," and send them around the home circle. 
 
 We are already booked for another voyage. We go on the 
 9th inst. to Shanghai by the Japanese steamer New York, 
 which is officered by Americans. It is a voyage of seven 
 days, partly through the Inland Sea, including two stoppages 
 of twenty-four hours each, one at Koby and the other at 
 Nagasaki. However, I must not anticipate, and hasten to 
 relate too much now, for I have more to tell you concerning 
 this country before we leave it. 
 
 In all Japanese cities, foreigners are not permitted to take 
 
34 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 up their residence in all parts of them, but only in certain 
 sections set apart for their occupation. The tea-houses 
 employ young and pretty little Japanese maids, with teeth 
 as white as pearls and complexions soft and peachy as pow- 
 der and rouge can make them. These girls wear bright- 
 colored loose silk sack dresses, with front a la V., some- 
 what open. Their hair is elaborately put up with brass pins 
 and rings. Their feet and legs are bare. They adorn them- 
 selves with many jade ornaments. The passer-by is induced 
 to stop for a cup of tea by the winning smiles and personal 
 attractions of the pretty tea-maids. The beauty of a Japanese 
 girl changes as soon as she is married. She then blackens 
 her teeth and neglects to make herself attractive, that she 
 may indicate to her husband that she is devoted and faithful 
 to him, and that she may be distinguished from unmarried 
 women. Girls and boys at the age of five years begin to be 
 nurses. The babies are strapped on the children's backs, and 
 are thus carried about while the mother is at her work. The 
 Japanese are fond of birds. We have seen some beautifully 
 colored birds, including white canaries which seemed to be 
 as much at home about the house as any members of the 
 family. 
 
 Hucksters carry through the streets, in their hands, tiny 
 stoves containing five coals, and uncooked fish and vege- 
 tables, and a frying-pan strapped to their shoulders. They 
 cook on the sidewalks, and quickly serve the food "piping" 
 hot to their customers. The coolies huddle around these 
 itinerant cooks in groups, and wait their turn for a meal. 
 The coolies never sleep or eat under a roof. They get their 
 food on the street, and with a mat and a cotton sack they 
 seek a night's shelter in some corner of a thoroughfare. A 
 little colony of them sleep under the veranda of our hotel. 
 
JAPAN AND THE INLAND SEA. 35 
 
 A Japanese mirror is a round plate of polished steel, with a 
 short handle. A lady making her toilet has one held before 
 her by her maid. The street-barber and hair-dresser in like 
 manner hold these mirrors for their customers. The cham- 
 ber-work in the hotels, as well as in private houses, is done 
 by young Japanese boys. They do it quietly and well. The 
 Japanese are a race of small but well-proportioned people; 
 hence the small houses. They have pleasant faces, and are 
 naturally polite. In movement they are not ungraceful. 
 They are called the "Parisians of the East." The trees and 
 plants are small in comparison with those of our country. 
 In artistic gardening and the cultivation of fruit, in this 
 country, everything is dwarfed. I have seen fruit-trees three 
 feet high, with their branches borne to the ground with fruit. 
 Evergreens are dwarfed to two feet in height, and trimmed 
 in a variety of shapes. A jinrickshaw, with two coolies, can 
 be obtained for a day for fifty cents. For this pay the coolies 
 will run all day, stopping twice or thrice to get a cup of tea, 
 or a cup of saki, or some boiled rice, or raw fish. Four 
 coolies will carry a person in a 'rickshaw or a palanquin sixty 
 miles in a day.- 
 
 We have seen the process of firing or curing tea for expor- 
 tation. In Yokohama there is one house which employs three 
 thousand men and women during the " curing " season, and 
 we had the good fortune to visit the place and observe the 
 process. The men at work wore only loin-cloths, and the 
 women short, scant skirts reaching from their waists to their 
 knees. The tea-firers are paid twenty-five cents for ten hours' 
 work. The firing is a simple process, and quickly done. The 
 tea is partially sun-dried at the time of picking. In this con- 
 dition it is fit for home consumption. The tea to be exported 
 is brought from the country to Yokohama and Tokio, where 
 
36 ACKOSS THE MEEIDIANS. 
 
 there are proper facilities for curing it. It is fired in small 
 sheet-iron pans arranged over a slow charcoal fire made of 
 two or three live coals. A brick furnace and a pan are as- 
 signed to each person. The pan contains three pounds of 
 tea, which must he kept constantly in motion by hand for 
 one hour. By stirring the tea with the bare hand there is 
 no danger of burning it, and thereby depriving the leaf of its 
 life. The pan must be cooled immediately when it becomes 
 too hot to be held in the hand. When cured the tea is thrown 
 into large sieves by which the broken leaves and dust are 
 sifted out. The tea is then placed in large bins, and when 
 sufficiently cooled and flavored it is ready for packing. The 
 dust of the dried tea-leaves is sent to the United States and 
 to other markets, where it is used for "doctoring" wines and 
 liquors. In Japan there is but one kind of tea grown, al- 
 though there are several grades of it. The choicest qualities 
 are not exported, but are kept for home consumption in the 
 families of the Mandarins. Tea of good quality can be bought 
 at prices varying from ten to sixty cents a pound, but the 
 best tea is sold for ten dollars a pound. This high-priced tea 
 is flavored with the tea-blossom, and the leaf is carefully 
 prepared by hand. 
 
 Another large industry of Japan is the manufacture of 
 lacquer ware, in which the Japanese excel the world. Lacquer 
 ware is made mostly for exportation. I have been in several 
 Japanese houses, and the only lacquer-work which I have 
 seen in them was a little cabinet for curios. The lacquer is a 
 thick liquid obtained from trees, which are tapped at certain 
 seasons of the year. It is of a resinous nature and of a light 
 color. It is reduced to the proper consistency by evaporation, 
 -and is afterward colored. This peculiar varnish is suscep- 
 tible of a very high polish, and endures a long time. In some 
 
JAPAN AND THE INLAND SEA. 37 
 
 of the temples we have seen lacquered flooring in front of the 
 idols, and in one we were told that the floor on which we 
 were walking had been used a hundred years. The lacquer 
 was quite fresh in color and little indented by use. Foreigners 
 cannot bear the unwholesome odors arising from the manu- 
 facture of the varnish. A great variety of lacquer-work is 
 offered for sale in all districts frequented by strangers. There 
 is a large exportation of it to foreign countries. Age improves 
 the lacquer-work. In the manufacture of bronze the Japanese 
 greatly excel. They make the finest bronze known to-day. 
 They have the art of inlaying gold, silver, and ivory in their 
 best bronze productions, thereby largely enhancing the beauty 
 and price of them. The finest bronze is of a light iron color. 
 I have seen a pair of small vases the price of which was 
 $1500, and they could not be bought for less. Some of the 
 costly bronzes now find their way out of the country, but in 
 earlier days only the daimios or princes possessed the best 
 which were made. 
 
 A day or two ago we made an excursion of twenty miles 
 on the Tokaido, the grand highway on the island of Japan. 
 This road is five hundred miles long and foUows the coast. 
 It is broader than Broadway, in New York City, and weU 
 macadamized. It is bordered on both sides along its entire 
 extent by little villages, and at frequent intervals by tea- 
 houses. We had the use of a pair of horses a part of the 
 way. Short detours in the country were made in jinrick- 
 shaws. The Japanese horses are obstinate animals. They 
 will not start until the betto, or leader, a man at the head of 
 each horse, jerks them smartly by their bits. The betto 
 then starts off on a run, yelling and pulling the animal after 
 him. When two or three minutes have been expended in 
 this kind of training, the animals go along well enough, 
 
38 ACEOSS THE MEEIDIANS. 
 
 and the bettos jump up on a little platform on the back of 
 the carriage. In going through villages, the bettos run at 
 the heads of the horses, jumping and yelling. This practice 
 seems to encourage the horses. We saw many Buddhist 
 shrines by the roadside. On one of our detours we visited 
 the famous Temple of Diabutsu. The description given us 
 of this mammoth idol by a Buddhist priest in attendance, and 
 who acted as guide is the following : Diabutsu, the colossal 
 bronze idol at Kamakura, is fifty feet high and eighty-seven 
 feet in circumference. The face is eight and a half feet long, 
 the eyes are three and a half feet wide, the ears six feet long, 
 the mouth is three feet wide and the nose four feet long. One 
 thumb, standing upright, is three and a half feet in circum- 
 ference. The knees are thirty-four feet in diameter. The 
 figure is that of a man in a sitting position with the legs turned 
 under the body a la turque Respecting the correctness of 
 the proportions of the figure I cannot vouch. Four of our 
 party stood in the palm of the hand of the gigantic idol. In 
 constructing it three hundred tons of the finest bronze were 
 used. Diabutsu is one hundred and fifty years old, and is 
 considered one of the most sacred idols in the country. 
 Near by Diabutsu we saw another idol, made of gilded 
 wood. Ifc is forty-three feet high, and represents a man in 
 a standing position. It was, as we were informed, erected 
 one thousand two hundred years - ago. An old woman served 
 as a guide. She blessed us for the fee of a few cash, or cop- 
 pers, we gave her, by rubbing her hands on the feet of the 
 idol, and then placed the palms on our foreheads. We went 
 a little farther in the interior and visited the Shinto Temple 
 filled with rich idols having numerous offerings on their 
 necks such as strings of cash and long silk ribbons on the 
 ends of which prayers were printed. Near the temple is a 
 
3 
 
 m 
 
 O 
 
 LU 
 
 _l 
 D- 
 
 X 
 
JAPAN AND THE INLAND SEA. 39 
 
 large brown inclosed stone, shaded by a japonica tree. The 
 stone is worshiped by barren women, and by men and 
 women in search of their affinities, or eligible mates in mar- 
 riage. All along our route we were saluted by naked chil- 
 dren, ranging from babies to children of ten and twelve years 
 of age who, after calling out o-h-i-o, the Japanese word for 
 "good-morning," turned somersaults by the dozen in the 
 road where the dust was deep. All this was done for a few 
 cash, or a half-dozen pennies for the crowd. A cash is the 
 least valuable coin in Japanese money, although it is not the 
 smallest. It is a piece of flat iron, circular or square, accord- 
 ing to its value, and about one inch in diameter and having 
 a hole in the center through which a cord is passed for the 
 convenience of carrying the coin on the neck or arm. Ten 
 cash equal one cent of our money. The naked little children 
 ran after us by the dozen, turning over and over in front of 
 us, and kicking up such a cloud of dust that we were glad 
 to buy them off with a few cash, which freed us from this 
 annoyance until we came to the next village, where the 
 performance was repeated, and more cash dispensed. How- 
 ever, the show continued the day long, and we were out of 
 pocket two hundred cash, equal to twenty cents — much sport 
 for little money. We had the famous mountain Fusiama, fifty 
 miles distant from Yokohama, in full sight all day. This 
 is the highest mountain in Japan. It is sacred in the eyes 
 of the Japanese. One frequently sees representations of the 
 mountain on the lacquer-work of their fans and bronzes. 
 On our excursion we observed everywhere the high cultiva- 
 tion of the country. Rice, sweet potatoes, and cotton seem 
 to be the principal products. The f oliage of the trees is very 
 luxuriant. The bamboo, the japonica, and a species of 
 palm bear rich brown green leaves tinged with scarlet. In 
 
40 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 the bright sunlight this gorgeous coloring seems to be that 
 of flowers. Little blue flowers frequently grow on the rice- 
 straw thatch of the cottages dotting the waysides. 
 
 Yokohama, October 7, 1875. Yesterday we attended an ele- 
 gant "tiffin" in the Hamagoten palace, one of the Mika- 
 do's palaces in Tokio. The breakfast, or lunch, was given by 
 Yoshimari Hatakagama, a member of the Japanese Cabinet, 
 in honor of Prof. M., the director of the Japanese College in 
 Tokio, and his wife. There were fifty guests. The hour was 
 three in the afternoon. There were eight ladies present, in- 
 cluding two charming and beautiful Japanese ladies, who 
 appeared in rich toilettes of their country. The cuisine and 
 service of the "tiffin" were French. The menu cards were 
 eight-inch squares of scarlet paper, with the menu in black 
 Japanese hieroglyphics. Surprising to relate, our "tiffin" 
 had a sudden and terrifying termination. With our dessert 
 came an earthquake! While coffee and fruits were being 
 served, a heavy rumbling noise was heard, and in a second 
 of time we were all rushing to the doors. I remember, in my 
 great fright, of seeing in one corner of the room the timbers 
 of the ceiling part, and in the twinkling of an eye come 
 together again, and the heavy bronze chandeliers swayed to 
 and fro, describing half circles. It seemed an age before we 
 got outside the building. One of our party seemed more 
 composed than the rest. Later, when an explanation was 
 asked, he said that he was suddenly reminded that twenty- 
 three years previous a terrible earthquake had occurred in 
 Tokio, destroying a large part of the city and many lives, 
 and that the palace in which we were had not been injured 
 
JAPAN AND THE INLAND SEA. 41 
 
 by it or by many other earthquakes. This recollection con- 
 tributed a sense of security which no other person enjoyed. 
 However, the excitement was of short duration. A second 
 lighter shock was felt, and then there were no other tremors. 
 We did not linger long over our coffee, and took an earlier 
 traia to Yokohama than we had intended to take. The 
 earthquake seemed to be the culmination of the typhoon 
 which had been impending ever since we arrived in Japan. 
 Fortunately, at the beginning of our visit we inspected the 
 grounds and the curious and dwarfed vegetation. We saw 
 the "fan chamber" of the palace. The room was about fifty 
 feet square. The only furniture in it was two magnificent 
 cabinets of lacquer- work and four large bronze vases. The 
 walls were covered with fans of every shape and design. 
 This palace is one of the oldest in Tokio. It is a one-story 
 building, as are all the palaces and the houses of foreign 
 residents and those of foreign legations. We returned to 
 Yokohama, twenty-six miles from Tokio, with fear and 
 trembling, apprehensive that a typhoon might follow. Our 
 fears were groundless, for we reached the city safely, and 
 learned that only a high wind had swept over it during 
 the afternoon. 
 
 The city of Tokio covers an area of territory nine miles 
 long and eight wide, one-eighth of which is occupied by 
 rivers, canals, and the moat surrounding the castle. There 
 are many large gardens in it. All the fine houses of foreign 
 residents have extensive grounds. There are also large un- 
 occupied areas of ground in different parts of the city. The 
 population is about 789,000. The houses are not built in 
 blocks, but apparently anywhere to suit the owners. The 
 streets are not parallel nor straight. They turn and form 
 sharp and round corners. In Tokio one sees more native 
 
42 ACEOSS THE MEK1DIANS. 
 
 manners and customs than in Yokohama, for it has not so 
 large a foreign population. It has little commerce. The 
 greater number of the foreign residents in Tokio belong to 
 the diplomatic corps. The "commercials" live in Yokohama. 
 There are many temples, idols, and shrines, but little or no 
 business is done in Tokio. 
 
 The Japanese will not attempt to save life. They think that 
 to rescue a person from death is thwarting the purpose of the 
 Higher Power, and that the rescued one can demand of the 
 rescuer life-long support. 
 
 On board the New York, bound for Shanghai, October 13, 
 1875. We are at anchor in Similasaki Bay at the entrance 
 to the Inland Sea, where we shall remain for the day. It 
 affords me great pleasure to write you from point to point, if 
 only to give you a faint idea of this singular and strange 
 country we are visiting. But at best I can only inadequately 
 describe it, for my letters concerning it must of necessity be 
 written late at night or early in the morning. I feel that I 
 ought to give you the opportunity to participate, even though 
 to a limited degree, in this very interesting journey. 
 
 We stopped twenty-four hours at Koby, and made an 
 excursion to Osaka, twenty miles inland, in 'rickshaws. 
 We traversed miles of narrow streets, some of them no wider 
 than our sidewalks, and lined on both sides with little four- 
 feet-front shops. We see no church spires in this country ; 
 religious congregations meet in unpretending buildings. 
 The Japanese are skilled in horticulture and in floriculture. 
 They dwarf forest trees to a foot in height, and yet the 
 trees retain all their native peculiarities. We saw a variety 
 of fruit-trees not more than two feet high, bearing fruit, but, 
 of course, diminished in size. We also saw dwarfed trees 
 
JAPAN AND THE INLAND SEA. 43 
 
 with their trunks the natural size and their branches trained 
 in most unusual shapes by having been subjected to bind- 
 ing and curling when young. A great variety of the cactus 
 plant is trained to grow in most curious forms. 
 
 We visited the principal temple, and saw a widow at the 
 funeral service of her deceased husband. She and the priest 
 were kneeling and praying before an idol. The priest held 
 in one hand a rope, and from time to time rung some doleful 
 sounds from a large bronze bell suspended over his head, In 
 his other hand he had small pieces of wood and paper in- 
 scribed with prayers. As he consecutively read the prayers, 
 he laid the pieces of wood and paper severally on the floor. 
 As each prayer was finished the mourning widow would 
 throw down several cash. The widow arose to leave, but the 
 priest rung the bell, and she again kneeled, and threw down 
 a few more cash. At last the service was finished. The 
 widow went away mournfully, and the priest turned to us 
 with a salutation and departed laughing. The houses in 
 Osaka are colored either white or black with prepared lime. 
 We stopped before the open door of a public bath-house, in 
 which we saw men, women, and children in a great vat of 
 cold water. The men were separated from the women by a 
 wooden fence not higher than their shoulders. The men 
 came to the door where we were standing to dry themselves 
 in the sun, wearing only their loin-cloths. The women 
 sought the sun by another door, and we saw them no 
 more. It was a strange sight to see men in the streets wear- 
 ing a blouse open in front, with only a rope girdle keeping it 
 close to, their waists, the skirt raised and tucked in the rope. 
 Clothing evidently is a burden to them. We came on board 
 our steamer before night, and started early the next morning 
 for the Inland Sea, through which the voyage to China, or at 
 
44 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 least a good part of it, is very enjoyable. With mountains 
 and valleys on both sides of the sea, and numerous large and 
 small islands in it, the scenery is picturesque. Beyond the 
 valleys we could see at times the open sea and on each side 
 of the channel both shores. The scenery combines that of 
 Lake George, the Grecian archipelago, and the Scottish lakes. 
 As all of these were familiar to us, we could make fair com- 
 parisons. There are large and small towns all along the 
 shores of the Inland Sea. With certain winds the passage 
 cannot be made on account of the rocks which jut far out 
 into the water. 
 
 October 14th. We were on deck early this morning to see 
 the sun rise, and the entrance to the channel, which is a 
 narrow pass just wide enough to admit the steamer. Coffee 
 and toast were served to us on deck. With the picturesque 
 shore for background, the steamer and the people on deck 
 formed an attractive tableau. The passengers grouped 
 around the simple repast at the bow, the half -naked Japanese 
 of the crew seated on coils of rope, the mountains dotted 
 with white temples and little villages, the rising sun suffusing 
 the sky with roseate hue and tinging the narrow channel 
 through which we were passing with a golden hue, all com- 
 bined to make the scene a memorable one. 
 
 Similasaki is a closed port to foreigners. They can only 
 enter it by permission of the Government. No steamers 
 except those in the Japanese service can anchor off this port. 
 There is only one house occupied by Europeans in this city 
 of a population of five hundred thousand. The building is a 
 telegraph station immediately within the city limits. Our 
 party of four and the captain, a Massachusetts man, are the 
 only Americans on board ; the others are Japanese. 
 
JAPAN AND THE INLAND SEA. 45 
 
 Nagasaki, October 15, 1875. We left Similasaki yesterday 
 and arrived here early this morning. The voyage from 
 Yokohama to Shanghai, including the stoppages at ports on 
 the way, occupies one week. We were only out of sight of 
 land for thirty hours, and that was when we were crossing 
 the Yellow Sea. It was a delightful voyage to make, ad- 
 vancing us on the grand tour twelve hundred miles. We 
 have a full moon, and enjoyed sitting on deck until a late 
 hour. We have had many opportunities for observing the 
 Japanese and the Chinese, both in high and low stations. 
 They are irrepressible travelers, like our people, and we meet 
 them everywhere. 
 
 Nagasaki is an open port, and we went ashore without 
 the delay of official formalities. One Japanese city is like 
 another. There is little or no variation of architecture, nor 
 in the street scenes. Nagasaki is noted for its shell-work 
 and the manufacture of porcelain. We visited a godown, and 
 saw a large collection of beautiful porcelain. A godown is a 
 storehouse where all fine goods are stored, and from which 
 they are taken in small quantities to meet the demands of 
 the retailers. The merchants have access to the godown at 
 all times. Groods of much value are placed in these store- 
 houses at night. The godowns are conspicuous buildings. 
 They are painted black, and rise above the low one-story 
 houses. A godown may be three or four stories, each one of 
 which is not more than six feet high. Small ladders sub- 
 stitute stairs. The porcelain is beautiful, and vies with 
 egg-shells in thinness. I saw lovely cups, clear white, with 
 handles having the colors of precious stones. This ware is 
 made largely for exportation. The scenery about the harbor 
 is very attractive. On the sides of the mountains are white- 
 washed temples. Little villages of bamboo houses are seen 
 
46 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 here and there embowered in the green and fresh foliage of 
 fine old trees. 
 
 Nagasaki is a station for foreign ships of war. The man- 
 ner of loading vessels with coal is rather primitive. The 
 coal is passed in small baskets along a line of men, women, 
 and children, each handler grunting as the baskets are trans- 
 ferred by him to the one next. Since the opening of the 
 ports of Japan to foreign vessels some of the barbarous cus- 
 toms of the people have been abandoned, among which is 
 harihari, although this frightful way of committing suicide 
 is still practiced occasionally in some parts of the interior. 
 Groing out of the Inland Sea we passed by the island of Pap- 
 penburg, where was enacted two hundred years ago that 
 dreadful tragedy of precipitating four thousand Christians 
 from the top of a large rock into the sea. The Roman 
 Catholic religion once had quite a foothold in this country, 
 causing jealousies to arise on the part of the Japanese. The 
 Grovernment undertook to suppress this religion, and made 
 prisoners of all the Christians, most of whom were natives, 
 and carried them to this island and then drove them over the 
 edge of the precipitous rock into the sea. Not one escaped. 
 
China and the Chinese. Shanghai. 
 
 Shanghai, China, October 18, 1875. We arrived here yester- 
 day, after a week of delightful voyaging, and have seen 
 many interesting things of which to write you if I only had 
 the time. We were a day and a half in crossing the Yellow 
 Sea. When we entered it some mare-tail clouds were in the 
 sky, and were the forerunner of a sharp wind which blew 
 for a few hours and somewhat delayed us. Our staunch 
 little ship, however, weathered the gale safely. The name, 
 Yellow Sea, is no misnomer. The waters are as yellow as 
 the sands on its coast. We ascended the Yangtsee Eiver 
 for about forty miles. Its shores are flat and uninteresting. 
 There is but little vegetation along the stream. Its banks 
 appear to be occupied by ranges of brick burial mounds. 
 On our arrival we learned that the only hotel for foreigners 
 was filled from cellar to garret. The captain of the New 
 York kindly invited us to remain on board during the 
 anchorage of the vessel in the harbor. We accepted the 
 invitation, which relieved us of much inconvenience, for we 
 expect to sail for Hong Kong the same day the vessel leaves 
 the harbor. To be on a fine ship cabled to a dock, with the 
 cabin service at our command, is certainly enjoyable. Scores 
 
48 ACKOSS THE MEKIDIANS. 
 
 of Chinese junks lie about us alive with women and children. 
 The smaller children are prevented from falling overboard 
 by being tied to ropes just long enough to let them crawl 
 the width of the junks. They look like great caterpillars as 
 they crawl about the boats. All the movements of the entire 
 family on these open, cabinless boats are observable to us. 
 Their occupants protect themselves from the rain and night 
 air by coverings of oiled paper and matting. Their cooking 
 utensils are a small charcoal furnace and a rice-pot. The 
 table appointments are a wooden bowl and chop-sticks for 
 the adults, the children using their fingers. It is amusing 
 to see these creatures eat their food. Their life is only one 
 remove from that of animals. The Chinese have perambu- 
 lating barbers and give careful attention to dressing the hair, 
 as do the Japanese. 
 
 This morning we attended religious services within the 
 city walls, conducted by Dr. Y., a missionary of twenty years' 
 residence here. There were about a hundred people present, 
 mostly natives, who appeared greatly interested. They all 
 joined in singing the hymns. As the Chinaman has no idea 
 of harmony, the singing was not so bad, although it seemed 
 to be done in as many different keys as there were singers. 
 At the close of the service, a decrepit old Chinaman exam- 
 ined five candidates for baptism, all women. When the 
 examination was finished, the pulpit was removed and a 
 baptistery was disclosed, in which the rite of baptism was 
 performed by the old Chinaman. Dr. Y. informed us that 
 he had sixty-five communicants after twenty years of labor, 
 but that he could not vouch for their Christian fidelity 
 were he to be asked to speak concerning it. 
 
 Shanghai is inclosed by a high wall, four miles in circum- 
 ference. The city has a population of five hundred thousand. 
 
CHINA AND THE CHINESE. SHANGHAI. 49 
 
 No foreigner is allowed to reside within its walls. Foreign- 
 ers occupy the "concession ground " outside the city. In 
 the concession a large number of residents are engaged in 
 various pursuits of trade and commerce. The streets of the 
 city are about ten feet wide, and are paved with large square 
 stones. These narrow thoroughfares are very dirty, and full 
 of disgusting sights and smells. There are no sidewalks. 
 The houses on the principal streets are used for shops. 
 There are no windows, on the first floors of the buildings. 
 The entire front is open during the day, and closed by heavy 
 lattice-work at night. The merchant lives in the second 
 story, which is only a loft, or rough shelter for the family. 
 The streets are shaded by large oiled-paper signs suspended 
 from the upper part of the houses and extended across the 
 street. These signs enumerate the articles on sale, with 
 their prices, and the particular inducements offered by the 
 different shop-keepers. The streets are filled with idlers. 
 The only conveyances are sedan-chairs carried by coolies. 
 In the European concession small ponies are employed for 
 transportation. The vehicles used are called "traps," a name 
 borrowed from the English. The favorite conveyance in 
 Shanghai is a wheelbarrow, with the wheel in its center and 
 on each side of it a seat. The vehicle is wheeled by a coolie. 
 "We have ridden in many kinds of carriages, but never until 
 now on a wheelbarrow. There is no particular quarter where 
 the rich merchants live. Their houses are interspersed with 
 those of the poor, and they live over their own shops in a 
 very humble way. They endeavor to conceal their riches, and 
 often bury their money in the ground in some spot known 
 only to themselves. If they did not do this, a large part of 
 their property would be demanded for tribute. When a rich 
 Chinaman is "tracked" by the Government, and his pos- 
 
50 AOEOSS THE MEEIDIANS. 
 
 sessions discovered, the greater part of his wealth is appro- 
 priated by it. "We have driven on the "Bubbling Well 
 Road," which derives its name from a boiling spring three 
 miles from the city, in the concession district. The road 
 is macadamized and is as smooth as a floor. There are 
 many beautiful villas along it occupied by foreigners. 
 
 Along the road are numerous burial mounds and small 
 cemeteries. The burial places are located according to the 
 edicts of the Feng-Shui, and which oftentimes greatly incon- 
 venience the foreign residents. The Feng-Shui, as I am 
 informed, is an authority permitting things to be done. For 
 instance, a house cannot be built, a flagpole raised, a wall 
 pulled down, the dead buried, — in fact, nothing can be done 
 without the consent of the Feng-Shui, whose decisions are 
 rendered at pleasure, or for a consideration. If a request is 
 made by a foreigner, the consideration is commensurate to 
 his apparent station and means. The request of a China- 
 man requires close investigation, in order to learn how 
 much he can pay for the license. For thirty years foreigners 
 have been trying to discover just what the Feng-Shui is, for 
 frequent collisions occur in their commercial interests, and 
 they wish to obtain some idea of this system of decree in 
 order to act intelligently, but all in vain. The decree is 
 only applicable to each individual case. The more intelli- 
 gent natives can only say it means wind and water, and 
 is so named because it is like the wind, for you cannot tell 
 whence it comes, and like water, for you cannot grasp it. 
 The Feng-Shui was established in the year 1200. Foreigners 
 experience much annoyance on account of this unreason- 
 able and whimsical use of authority. A man wishing to buy 
 a piece of land, or to establish himself in business, asks the 
 consent of the official at the "high court." If he does not 
 
CHINA AND THE CHINESE. SHANGHAI. 51 
 
 wish to grant the request, he simply bows politely and 
 declares on account of the Feng-Shui it is impossible. How- 
 ever, a second appeal, accompanied with an increased con- 
 sideration, is more graciously heard, and, after a private 
 consultation With another official, the request is granted. 
 Frequently the Feng-Shui permits burial mounds of natives 
 to be constructed in close proximity to the homes of 
 foreigners, and their only redress is to get permission to 
 build a high wall around their residences and gardens. The 
 little cemeteries are thickly scattered around these pretty 
 villas, often very near their entrances. The Feng-Shui is 
 very compliant, and may be induced to consent to almost 
 anything, but concessions are always to be paid for. A near 
 view of these burial mounds is not agreeable. Sometimes a 
 dead body in a box rests on the surface of the ground. The 
 box is covered with matting or straw, held down by stones 
 heaped on it. The lime thrown on the body quickly destroys 
 the odors, and decomposes the flesh and bones. If the body 
 is placed on a pile of stones or earth, without being inclosed 
 in a box, lime is thrown over the remains, and then only 
 matting or canvas is used as a covering, and this is held 
 down by stones or bricks. During our drive on the Bub- 
 bling Well Road we saw the bones of the dead projecting 
 from this insufficient covering. Such disgusting sights are 
 constantly seen in the suburbs of Shanghai, and the foreign 
 residents must endure them. There is no prospect of their 
 abolition, since the Feng-Shui permits them. Until foreign 
 influence began to prevail in China children were not buried. 
 They were simply thrown on some waste spot of ground and 
 covered with lime. Whatever was left undecomposed by 
 the lime was washed away by rain. Now they bury chil- 
 dren more decently. A large pit is dug, and covered with a 
 
52 AOEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 bamboo roof. The body is bound in matting or canvas, 
 and thrown into the pit, with lime enough to decompose 
 the corpse quickly. When one pit is filled another is dug. 
 We saw along the Bubbling Well Eoad what appeared to 
 be a family cemetery. In it were a double box, three single 
 and two diminutive boxes. The larger ones were partially 
 covered with brick, the smaller ones with matting. These 
 boxes were within two rods of the door of a pretty 
 villa. The custom of burying the boxes out of sight is 
 just being introduced in some parts of China. Were it 
 not for the use of lime, the Chinese mode of burying the 
 dead would cause pestilence to reign throughout the Empire. 
 
 Perhaps you will remember Mrs. Gr., your father's Welsh 
 cousin, whom we visited in Wales several years ago. She 
 used to go to sea occasionally with her husband, who was a 
 captain in the English merchant service. On a voyage she gave 
 birth to a daughter in the harbor of Shanghai. She named the 
 baby "Mary, the far East;" and on another voyage another 
 daughter was born at the Sandwich Islands. She named her 
 "Jane, the far West." Little did I dream when she told me 
 of these episodes in her life that I should ever see Shanghai. 
 Some day, perhaps, we may find ourselves at the Sandwich 
 Islands. A novel sight to us is that of men carrying fans, 
 which they use for sunshades when desirable. When the fan 
 is not in use it is placed at the back of the neck, under the 
 blouse, with one end projecting beyond the right ear. The 
 Chinamen know how to use the fan quite as coquettishly as 
 do our ladies at home. We do not see many women in the 
 streets. Now and then a sedan-chair goes by with the cur- 
 tains drawn down, causing us to imagine a woman to be 
 secluded by them. 
 
 The junks in the harbor are alive with women and 
 
CHINA AND THE CHINESE. SHANGHAI. 53 
 
 children who seem to he scarcely two removes from the 
 progenitors of Man, judging by the Darwin theory. These 
 hoat- women wear the merest apology for a dress. Their feet 
 grow to the natural size. Only the higher class of women 
 have cramped and distorted feet, causing them to walk with 
 great difficulty; the binding of the feet causes a gait similar 
 to walking on stilts. The social status of a Chinese woman 
 is determined somewhat by the size of her feet. If they have 
 been bound up and cramped at an early age, they indicate 
 that the woman is of high degree, and has never been com- 
 pelled to perform any manual labor. The women destined to 
 be children's nurses have feet about half the natural length, 
 and walk with an unsteady gait. The Chinese have not the 
 attractive faces and manners of the Japanese. The Japanese 
 look jolly and coquettish, while the Chinamen seem never to 
 smile. 
 
 In Shanghai the punishment for stealing is cruelly severe. 
 Your father was present the other day at the trial of a China- 
 man for stealing a few cash. The man was found guilty, 
 and sentenced to receive two hundred blows. The punish- 
 ment was at once administered. He was stripped bare and 
 laid upon the floor. A stout man gave him fifty blows with 
 a heavy piece of bamboo on the back and legs. A second 
 lickster gave him fifty more, a third fifty more, and finally 
 the fourth finished the two hundred. The man did not utter 
 a groan until the last fifty blows were commenced. Then the 
 judge cried out, " Harder! harder! " When all the blows had 
 been inflicted, the criminal's bleeding and swollen flesh was 
 dressed with salt and water. Then he was ordered to leave 
 the place. The only recourse for this suffering and bleeding 
 human being was to go into the streets and beg his living, or 
 to he down and die of starvation. 
 
54 ACKOSS THE MEKIDIANS. 
 
 Shanghai, October 21, 1875. This afternoon we shall go on 
 board the Geelong, of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam- 
 ship Company. The steamer leaves early to-morrow morn- 
 ing for Hong Kong. The voyage is made in three days. We 
 have enjoyed our week on board the New York, or the Tokio 
 Maru, as the ship is called in Japanese. A number of per- 
 sons residing in the city called upon us, and we had the 
 pleasure of forming some charming acquaintances there. 
 The chow-chow, the Japanese word for food, on shipboard 
 was good. Our little party of four has had a very happy stay 
 in the harbor of Shanghai. Many thanks to the captain 
 of the New York for his kindness. We have letters to mail 
 to you and others at home, but as the mail service is not 
 so reliable here as it is at Hong Kong, we shall send our 
 letters from there. 
 
 On board the Geelong, October 24, 1875. We left Shanghai 
 on the 22d inst. and are now within two hundred and fifty 
 miles of Hong Kong. We have had fine sailing so far, hav- 
 ing been favored by the north-west monsoon. Ourselves 
 and two friends from Syracuse, Dr. and Mrs. W., are the only 
 passengers. Each passenger has a cabin, which adds much 
 to our comfort in this tropical climate. The accommodations 
 for sea- water bathing are excellent. We have had our first 
 experience with punkas, or large fans. They are suspended 
 over the table in the cabin and make a dehghtful circulation 
 of air. They are operated by Hindoo boys sitting on the 
 floor, dressed in white linen blouses, nothing more. By pull- 
 ing the cords the fans are moved. When the boys become 
 tired with using their hands, they tie the cords to their big 
 toes, and, lying down upon the floor at full length, keep 
 the punkas flying by swinging their feet. If the punka- 
 
CHINA AND THE CHINESE. SHANGHAI. 55 
 
 boys chance to fall asleep, the stewards, by an impressive 
 movement of the foot, start them into a state of wakefulness, 
 and to a consciousness of their remissness, and the vibrations 
 of the punkas begin again. We have accomplished seven 
 thousand miles of our tour since leaving San Francisco, and 
 I have only been annoyed for a few hours with symptoms of 
 seasickness, but not to prevent my regular appearance at 
 meals. 
 
 One of the favorite vegetable preparations on the Gee- 
 long is a dish of hashed vegetables fried with salt pork. It 
 is called "bubble and squeak." It is a breakfast dish and 
 really is very palatable. We have an Austrahan cow on 
 board which supplies us with fresh milk. The captain and 
 the first officer are very companionable gentlemen. They 
 are at our service socially at dinner, and on deck in the even- 
 ing. The deck has been illuminated with Chinese lanterns 
 for two evenings. The warm weather and smooth sea have 
 made the evenings very enjoyable. On the first evening out 
 we instituted a story-telhng club, accompanied with singing. 
 The club met again this evening. We have taught the Eng- 
 lishmen something, and in turn we have learned much from 
 them. We have good roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and 
 plenty of fresh fruit. We find no fault with the chow-chow 
 on the Geelong. 
 
VI 
 
 Hong Kong and Canton. 
 
 Hong Kong, October 26, 1875. We arrived here yester- 
 day on schedule time, after a charming voyage of three 
 days, land being in sight most of the way. We were dread- 
 ing this part of our journey, for we had heard that the sea 
 was often very rough off the Chinese coast. We do not 
 want to anticipate what may be in store for us before we 
 finish our wanderings, so we only dream of fine weather and 
 smooth seas for the rest of the way. The English mail- 
 steamers from Bombay to China and Japan, on account of 
 the length of the voyage, carry considerable live stock, such as 
 beeves, sheep, chickens, and pigs, in order to have always on 
 hand fresh meat for the crew and passengers. We are com- 
 fortably housed at the Hdtel de 1' Univers, conducted on the 
 French system, with Chinese service. 
 
 We are now ten thousand miles from home, and I am 
 not convinced that "distance lends enchantment" to foreign 
 countries, for here, as elsewhere on the globe, we see 
 humanity struggling for life. The island of Hong Kong is a 
 British possession, and a British governor-general resides 
 on it. It is situated very much as the island of Syra, in 
 the Grecian archipelago — upon a series of eminences o ver- 
 se 
 
o 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 i 
 
HONG KONG AND CANTON. 57 
 
 looking the sea. Sedan-chairs are used for conveyances; 
 the streets are too steep for carriages. I have seen no horses 
 in the city. This morning we visited the public gardens, 
 in which we saw fine specimens of richly colored Oriental 
 shrubbery, flowers, fruits, and many varieties of spice-trees. 
 Exotics, cultivated so carefully in hot-houses in the United 
 States, grow here in rank luxuriance. Beautiful varieties of 
 orchids are quite common here. 
 
 Hong Kong is overlooked by Victoria Mountain rising 
 from the sea to the height of two thousand feet. The gov- 
 ernor and chief -justice have bungalows on the summit of the 
 mountain. The island is nine miles long and three wide. 
 The city is a free port. The population of Hong Kong is 
 one hundred and twenty-five thousand, including six thou- 
 sand English and one hundred and fifty Americans. 
 
 I will make this a "circular" letter and add another sheet 
 or two, hoping it will be worth the postage, as it goes around 
 the family circle. Thus far our travels have been replete 
 with pleasant incidents and striking novelties, and yet every 
 day we leave something undone. The opportunities of visiting 
 China are rare, and we want to get all the instruction and 
 profit possible while here. I find, however, that I rob myself 
 of many hours of sight-seeing in order to have our dear friends 
 at home enjoy with us our daily and most interesting experi- 
 ences. If you can follow us in our wanderings with some 
 interest, I shall count it no loss of time to describe them in 
 part. As I write always "on the wing," I have no time to 
 decorate my letters with the flower of rhetoric, or indulge 
 in much sentimentality. I can only tell the actualities of our 
 daily life. 
 
 The sedan-chair is a very convenient vehicle in which to 
 be carried. For a short excursion two coolies suffice, but for 
 
58 ACEOSS THE MEKIDIANS. 
 
 a half -day's drive four are needed. They start off at a pretty 
 fast gait and keep it steadily for hours. They keep step so 
 that the movement is a gentle swaying ; and not a jolting and 
 jerking one. If there are several chairs in the excursion the 
 coolies keep pretty close together, and the whole gang main- 
 tain the same step. This steady and regular tread sounds like 
 the cadenced footfall of a company of soldiers. The coolies 
 wear straw sandals tied on their feet and a loose smock-frock. 
 Their legs and arms are bare. Their noticeable "pig-tails "hang 
 half-way down to their heels. The coolies of China do not 
 tattoo ; they clothe themselves more than those of Japan. For a 
 day's excursion they carry a change of clothing. They per- 
 spire very freely on a warm day, and they change their blouses 
 from time to time, hanging the wet ones on the poles of the 
 sedan-chairs to dry. When they wish to change their blouses, 
 they set down the chair with its occupant, and in a second 
 they have accomplished their purpose. Then they take up 
 the chair and move on for another hour or two, when another 
 change of blouse takes place. They wear short breeches, and 
 can with propriety change their blouses in the presence of 
 their passengers. 
 
 The streets of Hong Kong are about twenty feet wide, and 
 are clean and smooth. They are steep in many places. Shops 
 jut out on the sides of the thoroughfares. One of the princi- 
 pal industries of Hong Kong is ivory-cutting. Every imagin- 
 able thing, ranging from a Chinese idol to a tooth-pick, is to 
 be found here in carved ivory. The ivory pagodas and card- 
 cases for exportation are really gems of beauty, exquisitely 
 fine and dainty. 
 
 We have had the pleasure of "tiffining" with our consul- 
 general, and also have dined with the English jurist, Chief- 
 Justice S., at his bungalow on Victoria Mountain. We 
 were a party of five, and our train, five chairs and twenty 
 
HONG KONG AND CANTON. 59 
 
 coolies, presented a very picturesque appearance while as- 
 cending the mountain. As we stopped now and then and 
 alighted to get views of the surrounding country, the 
 coolies threw themselves upon the grass by the wayside 
 to rest. We thought we had already seen the most wonder- 
 ful and beautiful scenery in the world, but we found here 
 views, if not surpassing all the others previously enjoyed by 
 us, at least as grand, although of a different type. From 
 this high point we saw spread out beneath us the Canton or 
 Pearl River, with scores of native villages scattered along 
 its banks ; pagodas with their red and gilded beUs ; white- 
 washed temples, their painted red pinnacles glistening in 
 the afternoon sunlight ; a wide expanse of sea ; and to the 
 northward, mountains looming along the horizon; Hong 
 Kong with its countless and unique buildings ; its narrow 
 and winding streets stretching far up the steep sides of 
 Victoria Mountain running into narrower mountain paths 
 covered with white sand ; the beautiful villas and gardens of 
 the English Colony nestling close to the sea-shore ; the ship- 
 ping in the harbor floating the flags of many nations, and 
 hundreds of sampans crowding the docks, and to crown this 
 expanse of view we had a most glorious sunset. All this 
 and more we beheld from an elevation of two thousand feet 
 above the sea. We admiringly gazed on the land and water 
 views until the sun went down behind the mountains, and 
 then we remembered we had an engagement at Sir John's 
 bungalow, where we were to dine. When we arrived there, 
 Lady 8. came down to the garden gate to welcome us. After 
 an evening of delightful conversation with our English 
 friend, never to be forgotten, we descended the mountain 
 by the light of the Chinese lanterns we had brought with 
 us, hanging from the poles of our sedan-chairs. The dark- 
 ness of the night was intense. At the start I was some- 
 
60 . ACBOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 what timid in going down this long and steep descent, 
 knowing that we could not keep together. I also remem- 
 bered that my coolies were the very last going up. I did 
 not want to be the last going down. However, I was 
 assured that the coolies were sure-footed and could be 
 trusted as well in the dark as in daylight. There was 
 nothing for me to do but to sit quietly, steady my nerves, 
 and resign myself to my fate gracefully. If our train was 
 picturesque going up the mountain, it was even more so 
 going down with our swinging gayly colored lanterns. The 
 thousands of lights in the city and on the water below us 
 greatly enhanced the attractiveness of the scene. I had occa- 
 sion at last to thank my slow- stepping coolies for being 
 behind the rest, for I had the train before me which with 
 its constant change of position was so engaging that I for- 
 got my previous fears. As we entered the streets at eleven 
 o'clock we did not enjoy so much the sounds of Hong Kong 
 by night as we had its sights by day. The street theaters 
 and concerts were at full tide, and their gongs and tam-tams 
 filled our ears with discordant sounds. We spent two hours 
 in ascending the mountain, but came down in half that time. 
 The coolies, like horses, travel rapidly homeward. They 
 galloped along a part of the way, but I cannot say that it is 
 a very agreeable motion with which to descend a hill in a 
 sedan-chair. 
 
 Chief -Justice 8. has a garden at his bungalow producing 
 fruits and vegetables all the year. The dinner-table was 
 beautifully decorated with a species of ground pine and lovely 
 wild-flowers, together with brilliantly colored berries. There 
 are a thousand things to write about, but we are limited in 
 time, and have yet many points to visit, and to make ready 
 to take the next steamer for Ceylon. 
 
HONG KONG AND CANTON. 61 
 
 Canton, October 31, 1875. We arrived here on the 28th 
 inst. on the steamer White Cloud. The passage up the 
 Pearl River from Hong Kong is made in seven hours. The 
 White Cloud is commanded by an American, although she 
 sails under British colors. There were scores of Chinese 
 on board who were locked in the hold and guarded by 
 armed police. The Chinese are so causelessly insurrec- 
 tionary that they are not privileged with the freedom of the 
 deck. There is a strict watch kept by the customs officials 
 for the surreptitious landing of opium at Canton. Notwith- 
 standing their watchfulness, small packages of the drug are 
 frequently thrown into the river below Canton, where smug- 
 glers are waiting in junks for the passing steamers on which 
 their accomplices are passengers. At designated places the 
 latter throw packages of opium overboard, to be taken from 
 the water by their confederates, who swim near the vessel. 
 I saw several packages thrown into the water, and remarked 
 how expert the swimmers were in catching them. 
 
 "When we reached Canton, Mr. GL, one of the members of 
 the house of Oliphant & Co., tea merchants, came to the 
 steamer, and conducted us to the residence of the company 
 on the island of Shamien. Besides rooms, we were assigned 
 a "Johnny," neatly dressed in a blue silk blouse and trousers, 
 wearing a pair of cork-soled slippers, who had a cue brill- 
 iantly oiled, which was almost long enough to reach the floor. 
 We were told that "Johnny" was wholly at our service, and 
 that we would find him a most efficient domestic. There 
 is no hotel in Canton suitable for Europeans, and conse- 
 quently the tea merchants kindly invite such visitors to 
 stay with them while sojourning in Canton. Tourists 
 visiting Canton are not so numerous that they weary their 
 entertainers. 
 
62 ACEOSS THE MEBIDIANS. 
 
 The scenery of the Pearl Kiver is tame and uninteresting, 
 save that of the rice-fields, banana-groves, pagodas, and a 
 luxuriant growth of cacti. The shores are flat. "We approached 
 Canton through a fleet of junks alive with women and chil- 
 dren. Thousands of human beings annually born on the craft 
 in the river spend their lives on board and never five ashore. 
 Generation after generation live in these floating homes, and 
 never know any other. If a junk becomes overpopulated with 
 children, the ordinary precautions for preventing their crawl- 
 ing overboard and dropping into the river are not exercised. 
 When one of the little unwished-for innocents falls into the 
 stream and is drowned, it is deemed to be the will of the 
 Higher Power, and the mothers are therefore comforted. 
 More care is taken of infant boys than of infant girls. Boys 
 are more useful than girls. If a Chinaman having two boys 
 and two girls is asked how many children he has, he will 
 answer two children and two " piecee girl." The idea sought 
 to be conveyed is that boys are worthy to be called children, 
 and that "piecee girl" designates the inferiority of girls. So 
 if girl babies are too abundant, it is not a difficult matter to 
 arrange that more boys than girls shall continue to be mem- 
 bers of the family circle. The daily life of this boat popula- 
 tion is always in view. When the concert and theater junks, 
 brilliantly lighted with lanterns, take convenient positions, 
 the people on the smaller junks propel their craft close to 
 them to witness the plays and to hear the music. When a 
 girl is married and taken by her husband to another boat 
 with her trousseau, consisting of a change of dress and a rice- 
 kettle, she perhaps will never leave it, except it be to visit 
 her friends. On the gayly flag-decorated junks, illuminated 
 by brightly colored lanterns and enlivened by the music of 
 the tam-tam, girls half-dressed or dressed only for exposition 
 
A STREET BARBER. 
 
HONG KONG AND CANTON. 63 
 
 are to be seen moving merrily about, and inviting their 
 "cousins" to come on board to visit them. 
 
 Canton has a population of one million, including the river 
 people. The Chinese wage a civil war in a very convenient 
 manner. Whatever may be the question of the war, when 
 the chow-chow gongs are beaten the combatants on both 
 sides at once suspend hostilities and appease their hunger. 
 When the meal is finished, the combat is resumed. Such 
 struggles are commonly settled by a committee from the Feng- 
 Shui, which is remunerated by the gift of some cash from 
 both parties. 
 
 Chinese servants wind their long braids of hair around 
 their heads when engaged at their work, but let them down 
 when they come before their superiors as a mark of respect. 
 
 The Chinese have not as fine taste in coloring or in invent- 
 ing as the Japanese. They value the jade-stone above every 
 other precious stone. Chinese officials in high places wear 
 a ring of white or green jade on the thumb. 
 
 In China the left of the host is the place of honor at the 
 dinner-table. 
 
 The Island of Shamien is about three thousand feet long 
 and one thousand wide. It is connected with the main-land 
 by a bridge. It is set apart for the residences of foreigners, 
 among whom are a number of consuls. On the island are 
 the English tea merchants' houses, church, and the European 
 club-house. The avenues on the island are mostly grass- 
 grown. The sidewalks are macadamized and shaded by 
 large trees, some of which are pink and white acacias, 
 which are now in full bloom. There are no horses in 
 Canton. Sedan-chairs substitute carriages. The house of 
 Messrs. Ohphant & Co. is a fine specimen of Oriental lux- 
 ury. It is two stories high and each is surrounded by a 
 
64 ACEOSS THE MEEIDIANS. 
 
 wide veranda. These verandas are furnished with com- 
 fortable bamboo chairs, sofas, and tables. Adjustable awn- 
 ings of matting exclude the strong sunlight. The rooms 
 in the second story are arranged in suites, embracing a sit- 
 ting-room, a bedroom, and a bath-room. There are movable 
 screens on the verandas so that the occupants of the dif- 
 ferent suites may use portions of them and be secluded 
 from their neighbors. The bath-tub is a large round stone 
 vessel having a faucet in the bottom through which the 
 water is drawn off. The vessel is filled with water in the 
 evening by coolies. The house and its appointments are all 
 Oriental. The commercial department is in the building. A 
 comprador, or book-keeper, serves as an interpreter between 
 the native and foreigner, when transacting business. The 
 house is finely shaded by large trees, many of them being 
 now in bloom and the resorts of chirping birds. The house- 
 work is done by Chinamen. There is not a woman in the 
 house, not even a housemaid. Our "Johnny" is always on 
 duty in the corridor. He has charge of our rooms, and does 
 the work as well as a maid. Our hosts, three in all, two 
 New Yorkers and one Englishman, are such excellent enter- 
 tainers that I do not feel myself at all de trop. 
 
 I have learned in Canton to distinguish between a fine and 
 a poor quality of tea. "We are served with tea for which 
 twenty dollars a pound was paid. The high price of the 
 fine teas is owing to the fact that only the last leaves which 
 open on a plant are used. They are carefully picked so 
 that the larger leaves on the lower part of the plant may not 
 be injured, which are picked later, when they are larger grown 
 and stronger, and of a ranker flavor. A plant yields only a 
 few delicate leaves, and to obtain a small quantity of them a 
 large field must be gleaned. These delicate leaves are sun- 
 
HONG KONG AND CANTON. 65 
 
 dried. After they have been cured they are flavored with 
 the tea-blossom. The tea is put in loose packages so that the 
 leaves may not be compressed and their tender folds broken. 
 When the tea is thus prepared, and is not subjected to a long 
 sea passage, it is quite a different article from the tea we get 
 at home. 
 
 I nowbegin to realize for the first time that we are indeed 
 far from home, nearly half-way around the world from Troy. 
 The very thought of the distance makes me homesick. 
 
 We have had a most enjoyable day of sight-seeing. We 
 made the tour in sedan-chairs. We visited a joss-house and 
 were shown the appointments of a Chinaman's Elysium. We 
 saw several Celestials lying in bunks with countenances as 
 blissful as if the devotees had never known anything but 
 infantile happiness. With dull, glassy eyes and sickly 
 smiles they saluted us as we passed by them. The odors 
 of the small and close chambers were so disgustingly disagree- 
 able that we did not tarry long in the building. We saw a 
 white marble pagoda with several tiers of gilded bells hang- 
 ing around the outside. It was richly ornamented within 
 with carved ivory and jade idols, and a large gilded dragon 
 on which was mounted the principal idol. A flour-mill ope- 
 rated by buffaloes, a silk-manufactory, and glass-blowing 
 attracted our attention- a part of the time. We were also 
 interested by a magician apparently creating birds out of 
 nothing and seemingly breathing them into life. We looked 
 at the Temple of Longevity, where liberal devotees are prom- 
 ised long life. We inspected a Chinese crematory. We saw 
 twelve fat hogs in a temple, where they are kept as sacred 
 animals. We went a few miles along the top of the wall 
 surrounding Canton. We met a wedding procession in one 
 of the streets. It was at least a half-mile long. The bride, 
 
66 ACEOSS THE MEKIDIANS. 
 
 in spangled and brightly colored attire, preceded the pro- 
 cession in a richly ornamented sedan-chair; a veil fringed 
 with seed pearls hung over her face. Pagodas with tink- 
 ling gilded hells, sedan-chairs containing large and small 
 boxes of goods, and others filled with pieces of red cotton 
 cloth and bright-colored silks, were carried by coolies. There 
 were idols covered with gilt and jade jewelry, a company of 
 little boys in fantastic dresses beating gongs and tam-tams ; 
 effigies of animals ornamented with gilt and red paper fig- 
 ures, and at the rear of the procession were the friends of 
 the families. Altogether it was a motley train. The bride- 
 groom was not in the procession. He awaited at his own 
 or his father's house the bride, whom he had not yet seen, 
 and whom he is bound to accept, as she had been selected 
 according to the decree of the Feng-Shui. The principal test 
 of the bridegroom's satisfaction is his admiration of the 
 bride's feet. If they be too large to accord with his ideas 
 of beauty and gentility he is disappointed, and he does not 
 conceal his unhappiness. Small feet do not affect marri- 
 ages among the lower classes, for the women belonging to 
 them must work, while those of the higher classes are only 
 considered to be household ornaments. We also visited 
 several shops where carved ivory and jade tr ink ets were 
 sold. We purchased a China tea-service for you and one 
 for ourselves. We saw many interesting features of Chinese 
 life, but I must not dwell too long on to-day's adventures. 
 
 I can now understand why such hot sauces as curry, 
 chutney, onion and red pepper are so universally used in 
 these tropical climates. They stimulate the appetite and 
 give tone to the stomach. The use of quinine is a necessity 
 until one becomes somewhat acclimated. A favorite drink 
 of European residents and tourists, called " pegs," is a mixt- 
 
HONG KONG AND CANTON. 67 
 
 ure of cognac and soda-water. It is exhilarating and is said 
 enables those who drink it to overcome the enervating effects 
 of the climate. 
 
 There are no street-lights in Canton. Lanterns are carried 
 by everybody going out in the evening ; if without a lantern, 
 one is liable to arrest. 
 
 Oyster shells are made available for temple windows. The 
 insides of the shells are peeled off and made almost as trans- 
 parent as glass. They admit a soft and agreeable light. The 
 vegetables here are not as savory as ours; their fiber is coarser 
 and their substance more watery. There is a great variety of 
 good fruit, such as I have never before seen. One of the 
 popular courses for a dinner is called " Bombay duck." It is 
 a small, strong fish, salted and dried, and served with curried 
 rice, boiled eggs, and cheese. It might not be an appetizing 
 dish at home, but here it is. There is one article of food 
 which we would not dare to order, unless upon the condition 
 that it should be a V European. It is eggs. A Chinaman desires 
 eggs to be buried six months in the ground before he will eat 
 them. 
 
 One day we dined with the United States Consul, Colonel 
 L. He lives in the only desirable district in Canton for the 
 residence of a foreigner, excepting the Island of Shamien, 
 which is just opposite it across the river. Standing by the 
 window overlooking the river, I saw a little wooden box con- 
 taining a naked infant floating down the stream. I cried, 
 "Why does not some one save that child'?" The answer 
 came, " Oh, it is only some ' piecee girl,' who was not wanted 
 in the family, and she has been committed to the river to 
 seek her fate." Although infanticide is a violation of Chinese 
 law, it is rarely if ever punished. Practically, it is no crime 
 to let babies drown if they fall overboard from a junk or a 
 
68 ACEOSS THE MEEIDIANS. 
 
 boat. No doubt the mother hopes by chance it may be saved 
 from such a fate. 
 
 Our host served us to-day at dinner with bird's-nest soup, 
 one of the most costly luxuries to be had in Canton; costly 
 because of the difficulty in procuring the nests. They are 
 found on precipitous rocks overhanging the sea, and are 
 obtained at no little risk of life. This so-called delicacy is 
 therefore rare. One nest must suffice for the course. I did 
 not find the soup palatable enough to make me desire any 
 one to hazard his life for a bird's nest for a table of mine. 
 The nest is prepared by soaking it in water, and carefully 
 separating the cream-colored glutinous substance from the 
 feathers, straw, and leaves composing the nest, which is cut 
 in small pieces and boiled in beef or chicken soup stock. 
 The substance is tough and tasteless. 
 
 A description of the house and garden of a rich Chinese 
 official may not be uninteresting to you. They are surrounded 
 by a high wall. A small door in the wall is the only entrance 
 to the grounds. We were conducted into a large hall open- 
 ing into a court-yard. From the ceiling of the hah were 
 suspended several large and handsome Chinese lanterns. The 
 host came to meet us, and invited us to a pavilion, and re- 
 quested us to take seats on a raised dais, covered with red 
 cloth, he taking a lower seat. Here tea and pipes of tobacco 
 were served us by the servants, who were in holiday dress. 
 After an interpreted chat, a walk in the garden followed. The 
 beautiful fountains containing gold-fish, the profusion of 
 flowers, the rare trees, the exquisite plants, exotic with us, the 
 grottoes and caverns connected by subterranean passages 
 lighted by Chinese lanterns were pleasurably inspected by us. 
 In the grottoes were a number of strange idols and some 
 marble tablets inscribed with wise sayings. On the summit 
 
HONG KONG AND CANTON. 69 
 
 of an artificial rock, sixty feet high, was a pavilion decorated 
 with, gorgeous lanterns and containing some choice specimens 
 of porcelain and bronzes. Here we saw dwarfed forest trees, 
 variously shaped, with tiny leaves. There was one trained in 
 the form of a Chinese junk ; another shaped like a pagoda, 
 with little gilded bells hanging from the branches, and another 
 like a dragon, with glass eyes. There were several formed as 
 bird-cages, in one of which were birds, who appeared per- 
 fectly at home in their foliage-embowered cages. Another 
 tree shaped as a man had a china plate on which the facial 
 features were painted. The hands and feet were represented 
 on other plates. Many other curious devices on the grow- 
 ing tree were shown us. The tree bore very small white 
 blossoms having three tiny petals. We had not the oppor- 
 tunity of dining in this house. A grand Chinese dinner, as 
 we are informed, is one of considerable formality. Etiquette 
 requires that each guest must endeavor to persuade the one 
 next him at table to be seated first. After some compli- 
 mentary deference and hesitation on the part of the guests, 
 they all sit down simultaneously. The dinner begins with 
 sweetmeats and condiments, each guest helping himself with 
 chopsticks from the dishes passed around. There are no 
 plates on the table. Then comes a course of dried melon-seeds, 
 the host serving them by the handful, and with them hot 
 wine made from rice. Bird's-nest soup follows, which is 
 drank from cups. No beef nor mutton is used by the Chinese, 
 because Confucius said that it was not proper to take the life 
 of an animal useful in agriculture. Pork, ham, fish, and 
 pigeon eggs form the chief part of the dinner. The host, to 
 honor a guest, selects some choice morsel and conveys it to 
 him on his chopsticks. The delicacy must on no account be 
 refused. Bowls of rice form the last course. Occasionally 
 
70 ACEOS8 THE MEBIDIANS. 
 
 between the courses tobacco-pipes are passed. Cups of choice 
 tea are then served. The honored guest is conducted to his 
 sedan-chair, and the host shaking his own hands bids him 
 good-bye. A dinner may continue three to four hours. 
 Chinese women never appear in the presence of foreigners. 
 They are secluded and treated as inferiors, even those among 
 the higher class. 
 
 The streets in Canton have some very significant names, 
 such as the following, which, when translated into Eng- 
 lish, mean, Longevity, Benevolence, Everlasting Love, One 
 Thousand Grandsons, Accumulated Blessings, Beposing 
 Dragons, Refreshing Breezes. The shops are also strangely 
 named. One is designated Never Ending Success, another 
 Heavenly Happiness, another Honest Gains, and another, 
 By Heaven Much Prospers. We passed by many eating- 
 houses where cats and rats were included in the fare. The 
 dressed animals were suspended at the doors of the restau- 
 rants to attract attention. Eggs with shells "black and 
 blue " with age were exposed among the edibles. 
 
 Hong Kong, November 1, 1875. We left Canton this 
 morning by the White Cloud and returned to Hong Kong. 
 We shall spend two or three days here in sight-seeing and 
 shopping. 
 
YII 
 
 A Sea Voyage, Including Short Sojourns at Saigon and 
 Singapore. A Typhoon. 
 
 On boaed the Ava, November 4, 1875. The steamer is 
 bound for Point de Gralle, one of the principal seaports 
 of the island of Ceylon, a voyage of about nine hundred and 
 fifty miles from Hong Kong, from which port we sailed 
 this morning. We will visit on the way Saigon, in Cochin 
 China, and Singapore. Dinner is over, and some of the 
 passengers have already retired to their cabins. To me it is a 
 very pleasant occupation to spend an hour in the evening in 
 describing to you some of the incidents of the Voyage, 
 although generally those of one day vary little from those 
 of the next in the ordinary routine of shipboard life, but 
 should I defer writing to you until I again set foot on terra 
 firma, it is quite probable that the sea-voyage occurrences 
 would be left out of my letters. 
 
 We started in a heavy north-east monsoon, and the steamer 
 has rolled and tossed fearfully about. At times the Ava 
 seems as if she was about to turn on her beam ends. After 
 getting pretty well out to sea "I went up on deck to make an 
 observation, remaining only long enough to make a full- 
 
72 ACROSS THE MEBIDIANS. 
 
 length, salaam. One of the officers assisted me to regain my 
 feet, and remarked politely in French that it was "a little 
 windy this morning." 
 
 November 5, 1875. We have had a heavy sea all night ; 
 the wind blew fearfully and tossed our ship like an egg- 
 shell. During the dinner to-day we shipped a sea which 
 broke through the hatchway, and flooded the cabin, setting 
 every movable thing in it afloat. However, we kept our 
 seats and held our feet above the water, which quickly ran 
 off through the scuppers. We have the prospect of another 
 rough night, but no one seems alarmed. We have struck the 
 shifting monsoon and we may expect rough weather until 
 we get to Saigon. We seem to ship all our big seas about 
 meal-times, which is quite unpleasant for the passengers. 
 To-day at lunch nearly all the food and dishes on the tables 
 were swept off by a tremendous "roller" coming over the 
 ship and rushing down the companionway like a miniature 
 Niagara. The officers say there is no danger, that the Ava 
 has weathered out many a storm as severe as this one. I 
 never saw such seas on the Atlantic. Sometimes it appears 
 that our ship will roll over, she careens so frightfully. We 
 move about with great difficulty, although the safest place is 
 one's berth. During all the incessant rolling and tossing of 
 the ship little seasickness has been experienced. I manage 
 to write this almost illegible letter by holding fast to the 
 table with one hand while moving the pen with the other. 
 In bad weather, if one is in the cabin, the most trifling things 
 often suffice to engage one's thoughts. We amuse ourselves 
 by transposing the letters of a word to discover how many 
 changes may be effected with them. The letters of the short 
 word " lodiana " can be transposed sixty-four times. This 
 
A SEA VOYAGE AND SHOET SOJOURNS. 73 
 
 slight occupation, I find,, is an agreeable pastime when every 
 other amusement is exhausted. 
 
 November 6, 1875. Yesterday old Neptune seemed in- 
 tent on baffling the skill of the navigators of the Ava in 
 keeping the vessel in her pathway. During the night the 
 wind increased to a hurricane; the rain descended in tor- 
 rents and the seas ran "mountain" high, lifting the ship, as 
 it seemed, out of the water and then dropping it down in 
 the trough of the sea. Occasionally the sound of crashing 
 crockery reached our ears. By midnight the waves were 
 dashing against the sides of the vessel with terrific force, and 
 from that time until four o'clock in the morning there was 
 no abatement of the wind. During the twelve hours of this 
 fearful gale several furled sails were torn from the yards, the 
 main-mast was snapped in two, and we lost a boat and the 
 double canvas deck awning. Several accidents occurred 
 among the officers and sailors, but nothing serious. 
 
 The officers came down frequently to consult the barom- 
 eter hanging near our cabin door. They waded about with 
 their feet bare and pants turned up to their knees. Seeing 
 them so often glancing at the barometer, I put on my night 
 wrapper and went out to learn something respecting the 
 storm. The only ligbt amidship was at our door. I must 
 confess I was too disquieted to remain in my berth. As long 
 as the mercury stood in the barometer between twenty- 
 eight and twenty-nine, — often nearer twenty-eight, — I knew 
 there was danger, and I wished to gather information re- 
 specting it from the remarks of the officers. We were then 
 off the Parcelle Islands and not far from the mouth of the 
 Saigon River. At dawn we had changed our course and not 
 long afterward were in the river and out of the sweep of 
 10 
 
74 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 the typhoon. On the following morning everybody was 
 jolly again, seemingly having already forgotten the last three 
 days of stormy weather. 
 
 * 
 
 Saigon, November 8, 1875. We are anchored near the 
 wharf, and a hotter place I never was in. The equatorial 
 heat is almost unendurable. We did not dare to leave the 
 ship to go ashore until this evening on account of the intense 
 heat, and then only for a short walk. On ascending the 
 river yesterday, the Ava turned a point of land too quickly 
 and thrust her prow into a jungle, the domain of not a few 
 crocodiles, tigers, monkeys and mosquitoes. The noise of the 
 escaping steam, no doubt, frightened away the larger animals, 
 but attracted a great number of monkeys, and they kept up 
 a constant chatter in the surrounding trees. However, we 
 were not spared from the painful stings of the mosquitoes, 
 and were delighted when the tide floated the steamer and 
 permitted us to proceed on our way up the river. The 
 atmosphere in the ship is very warm, but the punkas do 
 good service and keep us comfortable. 
 
 A French theatrical company returning to France came 
 on board to-day. Saigon is an attractive city with its pretty 
 houses shaded by awnings of matting. It has a population 
 of sixty thousand, and belongs to France. The natives are 
 called Anamites. They are small in stature and slower in 
 movement than snails. 
 
 November 10, 1875. We were glad enough to get away 
 from Saigon last night. During the night the ship was 
 trimmed for another storm, but the evidences of foul 
 
A SEA VOYAGE AND SHOET SOJOUENS. 75 
 
 weather were only those of a heavy rain accompanied, with 
 ten hours of continuous hghtning, and we are having fair 
 sailing. 
 
 + 
 
 Singapoee, November 11, 1875. We arrived here this after- 
 noon, and are seventy-five miles north of the equator. 
 We shall not cross it in going to Ceylon. Here the days and 
 nights are of equal duration. The sky is seldom clear. 
 Every day there is more or less rain falling. The sun heats 
 the moist air and makes it disagreeably vaporous. There is 
 much hghtning but little thunder in this locality. Fruits 
 and vegetables are always growing and maturing. Indig- 
 enous fruit forms a large part of the food of the people, and 
 the sea furnishes fish in abundance, hence it is no wonder 
 the natives are indolent. Why should they toil? They 
 require little or no clothing, and only bamboo huts in which 
 to sleep. 
 
 Singapore is an island twenty-four miles long and fourteen 
 wide. It is situated in the Straits of Malacca. It is a Brit- 
 ish province ruled by native princes acknowledging allegiance 
 to the English crown. It has a mixed population of one 
 hundred thousand, including fifty thousand Chinamen, ten 
 thousand Malays, five thousand Europeans and a few Amer- 
 icans. Here we ride in gharries, a little box of a wagon 
 drawn by two small ponies. The Malay coolies wear a 
 little more clothing than the Japanese. Besides the red loin- 
 cloths, they have narrow strips of white cotton cloth hang- 
 ing over their left shoulders. 
 
 Our hotel comprises several buildings two stories high 
 connected by covered corridors. It is well shaded by large 
 
76 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 trees and picturesquely environed by ornamental shrubbery 
 and flowering plants. The wide verandas are furnished with 
 bamboo chairs, settees and little tables where one may have 
 a refreshing beverage or a cup of tea. In the trees flit richly 
 plumaged birds, and among the bushes and flowers are 
 many brilliantly winged butterflies. In the rooms and on 
 the verandas are unnumbered insects, the pests of the tropics, 
 which partly rob one of pleasure and repose. In the same 
 inclosure with the hotel the Stars and Stripes designate the 
 residence of the American Consul. The only native women 
 seen on the streets are those of the lower classes. There is 
 very little distinguishable difference in the men and women's 
 dress among the natives. Both wear bracelets and anklets 
 either of jade, silver, or some cheaper metal, and ear-rings 
 and nose-rings of gold or silver. The men have a proud 
 bearing. They "tread the ground with an independent air as 
 if they owned it. Evidently the women are the meeker sex. 
 Formerly there were many tigers on the island, and until 
 recently on an average three persons were killed weekly by 
 them. Of late they have been vigorously hunted and large 
 numbers are annually slain. Monkeys, parrots and other 
 birds are carried about the streets by hucksters and are 
 offered for sale at very low prices. 
 
 Singapoee, November 12, 1875. This morning we arose 
 at five o'clock and after a cup of coffee went to visit the 
 Whampoo gardens. We started in a warm rain, but in an 
 hour the sky was clear. Mr. (Ah) Whampoo, a rich China- 
 man, welcomes cordially strangers who go to visit his gar- 
 dens. He speaks English very well. The grounds comprise 
 

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A SEA VOYAGE AND SHORT SOJOURNS. 77 
 
 an area of fifty acres, all under fine cultivation. Here 
 Chinese gardening may be seen in perfection. Its marked 
 feature is dwarfing trees in an infinite variety of shapes. A 
 certain evergreen is best suited for this purpose. The tree 
 has a small leaf like the box of our gardens, and a tiny white 
 flower not much larger than the head of a common pin. 
 These gardens contain every kind and color of tropical veg- 
 etation in the highest state of perfection, and also many trees 
 and plants from different parts of the world. Ah Whampoo 
 called our attention to some evergreens, flowering shrubs, 
 and fruit trees which had been sent him from America. We 
 saw the Victoria lily here in its perfect beauty. The leaf 
 of the plant is dark green veined with brown and red ; it is 
 from eighteen to twenty inches in diameter with its edge 
 turned up about two inches deep all round. The flower is a 
 pinkish white and lies partly on the leaf of the plant and 
 partly in the water. Each plant has one leaf and one flower. 
 The lily is called "La Belle." We saw some rare orchids and 
 many varieties of cacti with white, red, yellow and green 
 flowers. We saw a dwarfed growing evergreen shaped like 
 a coupe standing about three feet high and a horse at- 
 'tached. We also saw other trees growing in the shape of 
 pagodas, dogs, birds, men and women, and many other curi- 
 ous forms of growing trees. These trees are in full blossom 
 now. Chinese gardeners might become interesting novel 
 writers, for they certainly express much sentiment in the 
 attractive forms of ornamental trees. There were also in 
 the gardens cocoanut, nutmeg, and cinnamon trees, besides 
 the tea, coffee, and clove plants, and an interesting menagerie 
 of animals, fish, and birds. 
 
 In Singapore the European women wear white muslin 
 idresses; the gentlemen wear white linen. The Singalese, 
 
78 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 on the contrary, exhibit their shiny, iron-colored bodies and 
 jewelry in lieu of any adornment of clothing. At this point 
 we are about half-way on our tour around the world. Since 
 leaving home we have traveled on land and water about 
 fifteen thousand miles, including detours and excursions. 
 When it is noon with us it is midnight with you ! "We shall 
 be sailing toward home and yet as heretofore toward the 
 setting sun. 
 
 On board the Ava, November 12, 1875. We have resumed 
 again our shipboard life on the Ava, and are sailing through 
 the Straits of Malacca on our way to Point de Gralle. We 
 have an addition of twenty more to our number of passen- 
 gers. The weather is sultry, but the punkas and wind-sails 
 in our cabin windows make us quite comfortable. The pas- 
 sengers on board, accustomed to this tropical climate, dress 
 in light wash fabrics of varied colors, which gives a charm- 
 ingly fresh appearance on deck. 
 
VIII 
 
 Ceylon, Point de Galle and Some of its Curious Scenes. 
 
 Point de Galle, November 18, 1875. On our arrival here 
 at five o'clock last evening, we went ashore during a 
 thunder-storm, and our clothing was wet through and 
 through. On our way we passed near enough to the island of 
 Sumatra to see a Dutch encampment on it not far from the 
 coast. Point de Galle is also under British rule. The har- 
 bor boats are a curious-looking craft ; they are called " dug- 
 outs." They have out-riggers upon which the men sit ; in 
 appearance they are very much like ice-boats. These boats 
 convey fruits, provisions and small wares to the steamers 
 and vessels at anchor off the city. Passengers are carried to 
 and from the ships in small row-boats. Point de Galle has a 
 population of fifty thousand, of whom the greater number 
 are Malays and Chinese. There are but few shops here; 
 goods and wares are sold on the verandas of the hotels 
 and in little temporary booths erected near them. Gold 
 sovereigns have a good market here. The native jewelers 
 importune the stranger at every corner to sell them sov- 
 ereigns, which are made up into jewelry. These peripatetic 
 merchants are Malays. They speak a little " pigeon Eng- 
 lish," and are unrelenting in their solicitations, and will 
 
 79 
 
80 ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 follow a desired customer for days to induce him to buy 
 something. The jewel merchants dress very well when they 
 come to the hotels, but the traffickers in other articles wear 
 short white linen pantaloons and long frocks of colored silk 
 open in front to display a red waistcoat. Their costume is 
 finished with a bright scarf thrown over the left shoulder. 
 They generally go barefooted, but when they present them- 
 selves on the verandas they wear on their feet yellow toe- 
 slippers. If barefooted they are seen with jeweled (Man- 
 chester glass) rings on their toes. They wear finger-rings and 
 ear-rings, often having two rings in each ear — one at the top 
 and another at the bottom of the lobe. The ear jewels are 
 usually uncut rubies, sapphires, and pearls. Some of these 
 jewels are of considerable value. The merchants comb their 
 long, black, greased hair back from their foreheads and con- 
 fine it with handsome round shell combs, such as our little 
 girls at home wear. They make salaams with smiles and 
 compliments, whether you buy of them or not. Inasmuch 
 as the salaams cost nothing and may bring customers, the 
 merchants, therefore, are unsparingly polite. They bring 
 for sale some very pretty fabrics and curious embroideries, 
 but their principal wares are tortoise-shell work, gold and 
 silver jewelry, carved ivory trinkets, seed pearls, and finger- 
 rings set with uncut rubies, sapphires and emeralds. While 
 these dealers may have many real and beautiful gems, for 
 they are abundant in Ceylon, they have also excellent imita- 
 tions in Manchester glass which only a practiced eye can 
 detect and for which the sellers ask the price of the real 
 stones. If the customer detects the counterfeit, the mer- 
 chant politely explains that a mistake had been made in the 
 price marked. The jewel venders frequent the hotels the 
 day long and greatly annoy travelers. They solicit one by 
 
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CEYLON AND POINT DE GAIiLE. 81 
 
 saying, "Buy this, please, just to start some luck." If you 
 buy a trinket to get rid of one of them, you are likely to be 
 just as much importuned the next day by the same person. 
 Pine gems are found in Ceylon, but American and European 
 jewelers have their agents here to buy them as soon as 
 offered for sale, and hence it is that only the less perfect 
 ones are trafficked on the hotel verandas. Sometimes it may 
 happen that some really beautiful and valuable gems can be 
 obtained from these merchants. 
 
 November 19, 1875. We have strolled the streets, where 
 many novelties have interested us. The natives show more 
 fondness for jewelry than for clothing. Both men and 
 women are bejeweled from their heads to their feet, while 
 their bodies are only covered with a scant skirt of thin 
 muslin. All have their right shoulders and breasts exposed. 
 The children, until they reach the age of ten years, are as 
 nude as when they were born, if the bracelets and anklets 
 of glass or iron, and the bands of silver around their bodies 
 with tinkling little bells attached, are excepted. If too poor 
 to possess silver bands, they have red ribbons encircling their 
 bodies. The poorer people chew betel-nuts, which blacken 
 the teeth and thereby make their faces repulsive. They 
 know nothing of table etiquette, but eat in common from a 
 large wooden bowl. There are many cocoanut trees growing 
 in different parts of the city, and forests of cocoanut and 
 cinnamon trees in the suburbs. The cocoanut tree attains a 
 height from fifty to eighty feet ; not a knot nor a branch 
 is visible except at the very top, where is a tuft of leaves 
 beneath which the fruit is seen. A tree commonly bears a 
 dozen nuts. The coolies who climb the trees to get the nuts 
 are given one for the picking of the fruit on each tree, 
 li 
 
82 ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 Fresh cocoanuts are largely used for food among the natives. 
 The milk, before the meat has thickened, is deliriously cool 
 and very refreshing. To enjoy a cocoamit one should obtain 
 it at this stage of its growth. The milk is then of the con- 
 sistency and color of cream, and is eaten with a spoon. We 
 have seen acres of ground covered with split cocoanuts 
 which were exposed to the heat of the sun in order to obtain 
 the oil, which has a market value. The fiber of the shell of 
 the cocoanut is utilized in the manufacture of rope, mats, 
 and canvas. The United States Consular Agent, Mr. D., 
 whom we visited, has a beautiful villa nine miles distant 
 from the city, situated on a peninsula projecting into the 
 sea. The house is surrounded by a fine grove of cocoanut 
 and cinnamon trees and hedges of bananas, besides many 
 varieties of highly colored and curious flowers. 
 
 There is a species of palm growing in Ceylon which con- 
 tains in the hollow stem of its leaf a sweet, green, aromatic 
 water, which is cool and delicious to quench thirst. The 
 stem is tapped near its base ; from this incision more than one 
 cup of refreshing beverage is obtained. The incision grows 
 together quickly, and soon fills again with liquid. This palm- 
 water is very welcome to overland travelers. The tree is 
 called " the traveler's palm." It bears a thick green leaf, and 
 grows somewhat fan-shaped. 
 
 Besides the Mirsapore of the Peninsular & Oriental 
 Steamship Company, which arrived this morning, and in 
 which we shall take passage for Calcutta, two other steamers, 
 one bound to China and the other to Australia, are in this 
 port. The presence of so many travelers is attended with no 
 little excitement, increased, no doubt, by the short stay of 
 the strangers on shore, for the three steamers sail to-morrow. 
 The scenes on the hotel verandas are quite picturesque. 
 

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CEYLON AND POINT DB GALLE. 83 
 
 G-em and lace merchants, venders of all kinds of gold and 
 silver trinketry, dealers in ship-chairs, hawkers, of birds, 
 monkeys, and porcupines, peddlers of ivory idols, jade orna- 
 ments, and other articles have all been busy in displaying 
 and selling their goods. The veranda floors were strewn 
 with a collection of wares, giving them the appearance of a 
 great bazaar. The travelers contributed not a little to the 
 attractiveness of the exposition. The ladies attired in bright- 
 colored pongee and muslin dresses, with white straw sun-hats 
 wound around with gay scarfs ; and the men in white linen 
 clothing, wearing broad-brimmed, pith hats, trimmed with 
 white or blue muslin scarfs, grouped about the different dis- 
 plays of merchandise, are still pictured to our mind's eye, with 
 many other scenes in these distant lands never to be forgotten. 
 Ice is much wanted here. The machinery for making it is 
 unserviceable. There had been some hopes of obtaining a 
 supply from the recently arrived steamers. In the absence of 
 ice, we endeavor to assuage our thirst by drinking tea and 
 lemonade. The profuse use of condiments in our food greatly 
 augments our thirst. 
 
IX 
 
 A Voyage to Calcutta and a Short Sojourn 
 in the Harbor at Madras. 
 
 Novembee'21, 1875. We came on board the Mirzapore 
 last evening. In eight or ten days we shall reach 
 Calcutta. Among our passengers is a Malay ama, or nurse, 
 serving an English family. Her jewelry includes three rings 
 in each ear, a large gold ring in her nose, rings on each finger 
 and on the middle toes of her feet, two silver chains encir- 
 cling her neck, a half-dozen silver bangles on each arm, and 
 several silver anklets. She wears a scant petticoat just 
 reaching below her knees and a thin piece of muslin which 
 covers her shoulders and waist ; a long strip of white cloth, 
 a half-yard wide, bound with red calico, so adjusted that one 
 end of it drapes the head and the remainder girdles her 
 waist. Such is the toilet of a first-class native nurse. Eng- 
 lish families residing in India and in China generally send 
 their younger children to England to remain several years to 
 benefit them physically. A number of families arrange to 
 go together, and this happens to be the children's voyage. 
 We have on board a dozen children, and at Calcutta as many 
 more are to take passage. The ship goes to Southamp- 
 ton via the Suez Canal. There is also on board an Eng- 
 lish clergyman returning home for a vacation. We have a 
 short service of prayer every afternoon in the cabin, after 
 
 8 4 
 
A VOYAGE TO CALCUTTA. 85 
 
 which the ladies have tea on deck. The daily scenes of 
 family life on deck are quite home-like. Lessons in sew- 
 ing and reading are given to their children by the moth- 
 ers, and one is much interested in hstening to and observ- 
 ing them. I should like much to make the entire voyage 
 with this party. 
 
 November 24, 1875. Early this morning the anchor was 
 cast two miles off the city of Madras. The shore is rocky, 
 and no closer approach can be made with safety during the 
 prevailing high winds. Groing ashore is quite hazardous, 
 and I shall not attempt it during the thirty-six hours of our 
 anchorage here. A person going ashore is tied in an arm- 
 chair which is swung off by ropes to clear the ship and then 
 let down into a small boat which is constantly dancing up 
 and down on the waves and dashing against the side of the 
 ship. While suspended over the side of the vessel waiting 
 for a propitious wave to bring the little craft up to the right 
 point, the passenger himself can decide the moment to dis- 
 embark, and by a word or gesture a half-dozen of the boat- 
 men quickly with their iron hooks grapple the side of the 
 ship and steady the boat while others grasp the chair, from 
 which the passenger frees himself with a nervous haste, and 
 seats himself as best he can in the bottom of the canoe and 
 is rowed ashore. The waves rolled so fearfully high that 
 none of the passengers going farther attempted to make the 
 landing, nor did any of the officers go ashore. Only three 
 passengers landed, one of whom was a lady. The captain 
 says he cannot discharge that part of his cargo to be landed 
 at Madras, but must carry it to Calcutta, whence it will be 
 reshipped. The surf boats are very deep and made of bark 
 closely joined by bamboo splints. They resemble our Indian 
 
86 ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 canoes. It requires twelve men to manage a boat. How- 
 ever, in the face of all the danger, the hucksters of sandal- 
 wood fans, chains, boxes, seed-bags and native dress-stuffs, 
 and the snake and knife jugglers did not hesitate to come on 
 board. 
 
 The ladies are in showy toilets to-day. Their white 
 muslin dresses, pretty silk waist scarfs, white straw sun-hats 
 trimmed with bright ribbons and flowers, make them very 
 attractive. The gentlemen with their white linen suits and 
 pith hats wound around with blue scarfs do not dull the 
 picturesque effect of the thronged deck of the ship as it rides 
 at anchor here in the Bay of Bengal. The Hindoos who 
 come on board to sell their wares are ornate with bead 
 jewelry, and from their white turbans hang long ends of 
 ribbon. They wear only loin-cloths and little strips of white 
 muslin over their left shoulders. The clothing of the native 
 women consists of a strip of muslin partly covering their 
 bodies and flowing downward beneath the red cord tied 
 around their waists. A longer piece of muslin, falling over 
 their left shoulders, girdles their waists and is fastened to 
 the lower drapery with several pins. They make no little 
 display of silver and glass jewelry about their persons. 
 
 The United States Consul's flag was flying at half-mast, 
 betokening the death of Vice-President Wilson. The English 
 ladies dress for dinner on the Ava. They appear at six o'clock 
 in pretty toilets of muslins and ribbons — reminding us of 
 the summer toilets at Saratoga. Mr. P. P., the renowned 
 singer and composer of Sunday-school hymns, came on board 
 with his wife and three children. At Calcutta he will sing 
 seventy nights for the benefit of the Sunday-school Union of 
 England and America. We are much entertained by the ex- 
 pert swimmers and divers who come to the steamer and dis- 
 play their skill in the water. They climb to the top of the 
 
A VOYAGE TO CALCUTTA. 87 
 
 masts and jump into the water for the sixpences thrown there 
 by the people on board. They float about the vessel for hours, 
 anxiously watching the passengers, to catch the sixpences 
 cast overboard. These men and boys seemed to be as much 
 at home in the water as fishes. 
 
 Madras contains a half -million people. The city has an 
 area of nine or ten square miles. Viewed from the steamer, 
 it presents a fine appearance. A large part of the European 
 district is near the water, and we could see many beautiful 
 villas surrounded by extensive gardens, in which cocoanut 
 and mango trees are growing, and forests of large cacti in 
 blossom were seen in open places. 
 
 + 
 
 Sunday evening, November 28, 1875. Again I am sitting 
 at the cabin-table to devote another hour to my itinerary. 
 The captain read the Church service this morning, after which 
 he made his usual Sunday inspection of the ship, and subse- 
 quently of the officers and crew on deck. The sailors and 
 cooks are Hindoos ; the principal stewards are English, the 
 assistants are Hindoos; the two stewardesses are also Hindoos. 
 The crew at inspection appeared in short white trousers, long 
 white jackets, and white caps. All the men were barefooted. 
 The orders of the officers are given in English, which the 
 native sailors soon learn to understand. The weather is very 
 warm, although much cooler than it was several weeks ago. 
 We had a good passage across the Bay of Bengal, and are now 
 at anchor near the lighthouse, at the mouth of the Hoogley 
 River, one of the many mouths of the Granges. We are wait- 
 ing for to-morrow's tide, at noon, when we shall cross the bar. 
 Calcutta is ninety miles northward. Arriving there, we shall 
 have sailed eleven thousand five hundred miles since leaving 
 
88 ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 San Francisco on the 1st of September, and passed seventy- 
 two days on shipboard. I must confess that we are getting 
 somewhat tired of life at sea. Your father and I are slightly 
 infected by malaria. I imagine we have eaten too much 
 oleomargarine " butter " with our rolls and coffee. How else 
 could we have apparently fresh unsalted butter on a long 
 sea voyage *? 
 
 Calcutta is about four thousand three hundred miles from 
 Hong Kong ; another long stretch on our round tour. We 
 expect to travel about one thousand five hundred miles by 
 railroad in India. Physically, we shall no doubt be greatly 
 benefited by the change of conveyance, and -by the land 
 atmosphere, which at this season of the year is fresh and 
 invigorating. A month on land will be refreshing to us and 
 prepare us for our three-thousand-mile voyage from Bombay 
 to Suez. I congratulate myself that I have been less affected 
 by the fatigue of travel and the change of climate than the 
 other members of our party. I try to be courageous, and to 
 meet bravely the many discomforts and needs incident to so 
 long a journey. We are constantly interested in the new 
 experiences and novel sights, and scarcely have time to yield 
 to the necessary rest and repose that we may at times need. 
 Much to our regret, we parted at Point de Gralle with Dr. 
 and Mrs. W., our compagnons de voyage since July last. 
 After four months of companionship we were sorry that they 
 should decide to go direct from Point de Gralle to Bombay, 
 thereby depriving themselves of making an interesting torn 1 
 through India, and us of their company. Our experience 
 on board the Mirzapore was most agreeable; and we met 
 with some charming people. Captain P. is an old officer in 
 the English merchant and mail service, and is making his 
 last cruise before being retired. 
 
Calcutta, and Some of the Customs of the Country. 
 
 Calcutta, November 30, 1875. We are at the Great East- 
 ern Hotel, having arrived late yesterday. The United 
 States Consul, General L., met us at the wharf, bringing with 
 him a Hindoo servant named Boxoo, who is to be at our 
 service while traveling in this country. The river scenery as 
 we approached the city seemed like an extended garden of 
 tropical vegetation and fruits. A succession of pretty villas 
 gave a charming effect to the landscape. Calcutta is some- 
 what like a European city. The white, two-story houses 
 in the English district reminded us much of home. The 
 hotel is pleasantly situated in the English district and oppo- 
 site the grounds of the Viceroy's Palace. There are some 
 pretty little gardens in the vicinity. Ladies do not dine at 
 table d'hote, but in their own parlors. "We occupy a com- 
 fortable suite of rooms, adjoining the dining-room, consisting 
 of a large parlor and a large bedroom, connected with an 
 inclosed veranda at one end of which is a bath-room. We 
 have punkas swinging above our table in the parlor, and 
 also above our beds. Servants in the hall pull them by a 
 rope passing through a hole in the wall. There is a small 
 army of barefooted servants in the house. Each guest has 
 his own servant, and the proprietors of the hotel assign two 
 
 12 89 
 
90 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 or three more to him. It is odd to see a score or more of 
 these Hindoos lying on mats, one at each door along the 
 corridors. Besides wearing short breeches, which do not 
 extend to their knees, they wind a piece of white cloth 
 around their bodies, and, after twisting it around their thighs 
 and passing it over their left shoulders, they fasten it around 
 their waists, leaving their right shoulders and arms bare. 
 On their heads they wear white turbans. It is their duty to 
 be always at your door ready for service, excepting at the 
 hours when they are absent at dinner and supper. They 
 sleep On the mats without pillows ; their only covering the 
 clothes they wear. If you go to dine anywhere you take 
 your servant along to wait on you at table. In a well- 
 ordered household each member of it has two servants ; the 
 women and children one of each sex. Everything is done 
 by the servants. An American family living in Calcutta, 
 embracing four persons, has thirty servants, ten of whom 
 alternately pull the punkas. The servants do not eat in 
 the house in which they serve. They mess together in a 
 cabin outside the grounds and provide their own food. They 
 live principally on rice, fish, and fruit. When taking their 
 daily baths they wash their clothes and dry them in the sun. 
 The wages of house-servants is two annas a day, equal to 
 eight cents of our money. Our man, Boxoo, is paid four 
 annas, because he speaks a little English. 
 
 To-day we have been greatly delighted in receiving the first 
 letters from home which have reached us since leaving San 
 Francisco, three months ago. We have not received a copy 
 of a home paper of a later date than August 23d. It so hap- 
 pened that we sailed from each port before the arrival of the 
 American mail, and were disappointed to find that there was 
 nothing awaiting us when we reached the next one. Three 
 months is a long time to be without news from home. 
 
CALCUTTA AND SOME OP ITS CUSTOMS. 91 
 
 Calcutta, December 2, 1875. The weather here is like 
 that of June at home. Our hotel is peculiarly arranged. 
 The kitchen is opposite the dining-room, and looks like a 
 steamship's galley. It has no roof, and opens broadly upon 
 the grand corridor. There are shelves placed around the 
 three sides of the kitchen, under which the cooks and their 
 assistants shelter themselves from the sun and rain. The 
 range is in the center of the room beneath a canvas awning. 
 Great numbers of crows and other voracious birds gather 
 about the kitchen, eager to get any food they may obtain 
 either by gift or theft. They often enter the rooms and 
 carry off bright-colored ribbons and other brilliant-colored 
 articles. The crows have already robbed me of two neckties. 
 The strand is a beautiful promenade. It is finely shaded 
 by mango and banyan trees ; it is very wide and about a mile 
 and a half long. On one side of the strand is an extensive 
 park called the Garden of Eden. In it are many curious 
 pagodas and Indian structures, besides a great variety of 
 flowers. An excellent orchestra discourses there the latest 
 European music every evening between the hours of five and 
 seven. In Calcutta nurses are called ayahs, and are desig- 
 nated by no other name. Very few women are seen in the 
 streets. If a woman-servant is sent on an errand a man- 
 servant accompanies her. The common and cheap convey- 
 ance is the palanquin, or palhi. It is a long, covered, black 
 box, with an opening on each side. It is carried by four 
 coolies. One side of the palki is movable. In it the passen- 
 ger may recline, having his head supported by a high cushion. 
 I have seen ladies in palkis engaged in reading or knitting. 
 The ladies had lace veils thrown loosely over their heads. 
 The houses have no chimneys. The cooking is done in small 
 buildings outside the garden-walls, or in distant corners of 
 them. 
 
92 ACEOSS THE MEEIDIANS. 
 
 In Calcutta and throughout many parts of India, the peo- 
 ple are preparing to receive the Prince of Wales, who is 
 expected to arrive here on the 23d of December. We shall 
 not see the reception given him, as we do not intend to 
 remain in Calcutta until that time. A visitation of cholera 
 is feared on account of the massing of troops here and the 
 presence of a large number of people from the bordering 
 districts. 
 
 We have been much interested in visiting the markets in 
 these eastern countries. The market in Calcutta is particu- 
 larly attractive. It is in a spacious brick building, paved 
 with stone. It is admirably arranged, and is kept clean by 
 running water conducted by gutters through the building. 
 We saw a large display of fruits, flowers, vegetables, meats, 
 birds, fish, and a great variety of spices that are embraced 
 in curry powders. The condiments are neatly arranged in 
 little mounds on polished stone slabs. From each mound 
 the buyer selects the quantity of spice desired to be mixed 
 to form the desired sort of curry. Curry powders enter 
 largely into the cuisine of tropical countries. The market- 
 women sit a la turc on their tables with their wares in 
 front of them. They are be jeweled with gold, silver, and 
 glass ornaments, but thinly clad, having only a piece of 
 calico thrown around their loins. I saw on the arm of a 
 market-woman a gold filigree bangle not to be despised 
 by any lady. Some of the market-women had four and 
 five gold chains around their necks, although they were 
 nude down to their waists. These women invest all 
 their earnings in chains and rings and wear them con- 
 stantly. 
 
 The banana, as an article of food, has about the same 
 value here as the apple and potato have at home. The 
 
CALCUTTA AND SOME OF ITS CUSTOMS. 93 
 
 oranges are good ; rice is a common dish at the hotels, and 
 is much eaten by resident Europeans. There is always one 
 course of rice in some form served at dinner. 
 
 We tiffined yesterday at Mrs. McM.'s. The house in which 
 she lives is an oriental structure surrounded by a broad 
 veranda, shaded by awnings of matting. It is situated in a 
 grove of mango and banyan trees. They have thirteen horses 
 and a coolie to each horse. The family consists of four per- 
 sons, and each of them has two servants. There are eight 
 punka men and four bearers, men who serve at table and 
 take care of the drawing and dining rooms. There are three 
 grand pianos in the house. The mistress is supposed to 
 know nothing of the details of housekeeping. If she has 
 an order to give, or a question to ask, it is done through her 
 own servant. This is the custom among the foreign residents 
 here. The resident European ladies do not wear the cash- 
 mere shawl of the country, because it is so commonly worn 
 by the lower classes. These shawls are cream white and 
 have a narrow border. They are called the Umritzer shawl. 
 The merchants wear those of a texture which we at home 
 would not disdain tp possess. 
 
 There is a fine display of equipages and liveries by the 
 English residents, and also by the native princes. The foot- 
 men wear gay shawls, short white trousers, and jaunty white 
 turbans. 
 
 We attended one of Mr. P.'s Sunday-school praise and 
 prayer meetings. There were about one hundred natives 
 present, mostly women and children, many of whom took 
 part in the singing without any regard to time, tune, or the 
 pronunciation of the English words. Many of the hymns 
 seemed fa mili ar to them. The punkas in the building kept 
 us comfortable with the mercury at ninety degrees. The 
 
94 ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 audience of half-converted Hindoos appeared much inter- 
 ested in the service. 
 
 We have visited the Botanical Gardens, four miles from 
 the city, on the hanks of the Granges. The park contains 
 one hundred and fifty acres, and in it is the largest hanyan 
 tree in the world. Its trunk has a circumference of fifty 
 feet. The shoots, growing downward from the branches and 
 taking root in the ground, number more than two hundred. 
 The tree with its new stocks shades more than an acre of 
 ground. As soon as a shoot is rooted it begins to send out 
 new branches. At the time of the- great inundation of the 
 Granges, ten years ago, a large part of the park was washed 
 away, and scores of the stocks of the big banyan were up- 
 rooted and destroyed. These gardens contain all the choice 
 varieties of vegetation indigenous to the country. The sun- 
 flower is cultivated in the gardens with great care, and is 
 held in high repute. Here is a pagoda in which are hun- 
 dreds of serpents inclosed in cases faced with glass. The 
 reptiles were constantly writhing and winding around one 
 another. We saw a huge anaconda crawling out of his old 
 skin. 
 
 On our way to the Botanical Gardens, we saw some women, 
 almost naked, but with plenty of bangles, rings, and anklets, 
 preparing the manure of a barnyard for fuel for cooking. 
 This is done by making it into lumps and drying it in the 
 sun. We passed by the palace of King Oude, in which he 
 is held a prisoner by the English Government. He has 
 a yearly allowance from that Government of $150,000, but it 
 does not keep him free from debt. He was lately advised 
 to make $365 suffice for his daily needs. He has four hun- 
 dred retainers. 
 
 The " Black Hole," or the dungeon of Calcutta, exists no 
 
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CALCUTTA AND SOME OF ITS CUSTOMS. 95 
 
 longer. The spot is now occupied by one of the municipal 
 buildings. We have seen in the shops some magnificent 
 specimens of gold, silver, and glassware. The beaten gold 
 and silver work done by the Hindoos is exceedingly fine. 
 A few days ago I saw in a jewelry shop two rajahs, or Hin- 
 doo princes. One was dressed in blue velvet richly embroid- 
 ered with precious stones, and wore jewels of great value. 
 The other was clad in purple velvet embroidered with pearls, 
 and studded with costly gems. On his cap, or fez, was a 
 tassel of gold and pearls. With them was a boy dressed in 
 scarlet velvet adorned with precious stones. The rajahs are 
 buyers of the choicest of all the fabrics and gems brought 
 to Calcutta. I saw a beautiful yellow diamond as large as 
 a walnut in an aigrette for a rajah's cap. 
 
 Transportation is done by hand. Bight coolies will carry 
 a piano or anything of like weight on their heads, and trudge 
 along with it for hours without showing any sign of fatigue. 
 The streets in the English quarter are wide and well paved. 
 They are laid out at right angles, and kept clean. But, in 
 the native quarter, the reverse is the rule. The population 
 embraces forty-five thousand natives and seventeen thousand 
 Europeans. The government buildings are large and hand- 
 some. They are built of brick and concrete, are painted 
 white, and are surrounded by large parks and gardens. In 
 the parks adjoining the Viceroy's palace are many cattle 
 grazing. The Viceroy's palace is a magnificent structure, 
 two stories in height, and covering with the immediate gar- 
 dens several acres of land. In the confines of governmental 
 buildings are a beautiful church and residences of officials. 
 
 A few days ago I accompanied Miss H., one of the Eurasian 
 teachers attached to the American mission here, on her round 
 of visitation to the schools. We went to one where seventy- 
 
96 ACEOSS THE MEEIDIANS. 
 
 seven little girls were taught in the Bengalee language, by 
 two missionaries. The children were seated on the floor 
 on mats. They had but little clothing, but no lack of the 
 usual kinds of jewelry. All had nose-rings. At another 
 school, where thirty-four little girls were in attendance, and 
 the teacher was absent, a little girl nine years old was trying 
 to act as instructor. She was married, but had not yet left 
 her mother to live with her husband. These circumstances 
 had induced the children to appoint her teacher for the day. 
 She had a red mark on her forehead, indicating that she was 
 married. Her name was Pomegranite. She had an assistant, 
 younger than herself, called Lucky. The Hindoo children 
 memorize with great facility, but the women commit lessons 
 to memory with great difficulty. In the Bengalee language 
 there are forty-eight characters. At the home mission, at 
 the head of which is Miss B., there are twelve native 
 Eurasian women employed as teachers, whose duty it is to 
 visit some of the zenanas, — the women's quarters, — where 
 they are allowed to teach the women. (The Eurasians are 
 the offspring of an English father and a native mother.) 
 The teachers make daily visits to the schools from 11:30 
 a. m. to 4 : 30 p. m. I am told that only a few Hindoos entirely 
 abandon their own religion, although they gladly accept 
 religious instruction from the missionaries for personal edu- 
 cational advantages, and because they wish to learn some- 
 thing of the English language. Miss B. told me that the 
 missionaries did not expect to have very satisfactory results 
 from their teaching until the present generation of girls 
 should become grandmothers, for much of the good instruc- 
 tion is lost if the children are taken from the schools, as 
 it often happens, at twelve years of age. In one of the 
 zenanas, where the wife of the oldest son was receiving 
 
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CALCUTTA AND SOME OF ITS CUSTOMS. 97 
 
 instruction, a magnificent-looking woman passed through 
 the room, having only a piece of coarse canvas around her 
 loins. She went into an open court, and sat down upon the 
 stone pavement near the door of the room in which we were. 
 She was the mother, and at one time the head of the family, 
 but on the death of her husband she was compelled to re- 
 sign to her eldest son all right to that position, and ever after 
 to occupy the place of a menial in the household. Whatever 
 jewels she possessed, either by paternal dower or by gift from 
 her husband, she had made over to her eldest son. I under- 
 stand that this custom prevails among the Hindoos every- 
 where. However, if the widow possesses considerable intelli- 
 gence, she will be consulted upon all grave family matters. 
 
 There is an unusual excitement to-day in the streets among 
 the "sheeted" and "shawled" natives. The "Viceroy is ex- 
 pected to arrive at eight o'clock this evening, and they are 
 eager to see him and his retinue pass through the streets. 
 
 The shawl, cloth, and jewel merchants will bring to your 
 hotel quantities of their goods, and leave them for days in 
 your rooms that you may have time to make such selec- 
 tions of them as you may desire. The sellers spread them 
 on the floor for exhibition. We have had the floor of our 
 parlor strewed with jewelry and shawls for a whole day, and 
 it was only with much persuasion that we induced the 
 owners to remove them. They assume that if the goods are 
 left for a time with a desired customer that they will have 
 a better chance of selling them. 
 
 The dead are burned on funeral pyres. Your father wit- 
 nessed the burning of a number of bodies. He went into an 
 uncovered place surrounded by a wall eight feet high where 
 three pyres were blazing. They were superintended by some 
 coolies employed for that purpose. A charred corpse was 
 
 13 
 
98 ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 visible on one of the pyres. There was considerable smoke, 
 but no offensive odor. By and by the remains of a woman 
 were brought there. The husband of the deceased began at 
 once to bargain for the wood wanted for the pyre, quantities 
 of which were piled in different parts of the inclosure. When 
 purchased, the wood was laid together to the height of about 
 four feet on the stone nagging. The woman's body was 
 then carried to the spot on a board covered with coarse can- 
 vas and uncovered. The rings, anklets, and bangles of the 
 deceased were removed by the husband. A coolie anointed 
 the body with grease and then laid it upon the pyre. Some 
 fine wood was laid upon the remains, leaving the face ex- 
 posed. Then a Hindoo priest advanced, at whose .feet the 
 bereaved man threw a half-dozen copper pieces, worth a half 
 cent each. The priest demanded more, and they were im- 
 mediately contributed. Then a small basin containing rice 
 and millet seed mixed with goat's milk was brought and 
 handed to the husband, together with two small sticks of 
 sandal- wood. The priest blessed the articles, and then the 
 husband placed the two sticks at the sides of the face of the 
 dead woman and put some of the contents of the basin into her 
 mouth and on her neck. Then a lighted fagot was handed 
 him and more money demanded, until he emptied his bag. He 
 then went three times around the pyre, swinging the naming 
 fagot three times on each round, after which he set fire to the 
 wood, and soon it was brightly burning. However, he was 
 not permitted to leave the place until he had remunerated 
 the coolie who had assisted in the cremation. The poor 
 man had not another piece to give. There would have been 
 a scene had not the spectator called the poor man aside and 
 given him a few coppers which enabled bim to satisfy the 
 coolie. 
 
CALCUTTA AND SOME OF ITS CUSTOMS. 99 
 
 Girls are generally married by contract at the age of six 
 or seven, and remain with their mothers until they are ten 
 or twelve years old, when their husbands claim them. Mean- 
 while, the affianced seldom, if ever, meet until the hour of 
 the marriage ceremony. Only in rare cases, and under 
 peculiar circumstances, does the girl visit the family of her 
 future husband, and after marriage, seldom the home of her 
 parents. From the time the girl is engaged she wears a red 
 paint mark on her forehead to indicate she is betrothed. 
 The marriage ceremony is brief. It is only an exchange of 
 vows according to the contract. The groom goes to the 
 house of his bride in great pomp in a gilded peacock-shaped 
 chariot, drawn by four horses, and preceded by music. He 
 is followed by his retainers, or friends, and torch-light bearers. 
 A wedding always takes place at night. After the ceremony 
 the procession forms again and marches to the house of the 
 groom with the bride concealed in a closed palki, the husband 
 leading the way. Hindoo women sometimes become mothers 
 at the age of twelve years. Widows never remarry. They 
 are doomed to a life of slavery and degradation. Probably 
 this destiny induces them to throw themselves upon the 
 funeral pyres of their husbands ; the widows preferring 
 death rather than degradation. Since the English have 
 dominated in India, sutteeism, or the immolation of widows 
 on the funeral pyres of their dead husbands, is no longer 
 permitted. In some remote places, however, it is still prac- 
 ticed secretly. A certain stupefying drug, it is said, is 
 given to the widow before she is led to the funeral pile, to 
 make her insensible to the terrors of her self-sacrifice, and 
 at the last moment her friends push her into the fire. 
 An elder brother is not allowed to behold the wife of a 
 
100 ACEOSS THE MEBIDTANS. 
 
 younger brother, but a younger brother may see an older 
 brother's wife. Wives and children are not permitted to sit 
 at table with their husbands and fathers. The wife serves 
 the husband at his meals. Although he sits at a table to 
 eat, she partakes of food sitting on the floor. 
 
 We are getting ready to make a northern tour as far as 
 Agra and Delhi. We shall start on the 10th instant. We 
 have provided ourselves with bedding, which will be carried 
 in a large canvas bag. This provision is necessary, since the 
 hotels, or bungalows, in some parts of the interior, do not 
 supply bedding. 
 
XI 
 
 Benares, the Mecca of Hindooism. 
 
 Benaees, December 13, 1875. From Calcutta to Benares 
 in the mail train is a journey of eighteen hours. Our 
 quilts and pillows did not come amiss during the night. We 
 are at Clark's bungalow. Mr. Clark is an Englishman, born 
 in India, and his wife a Hindoo. We found our bedding 
 very necessary here. In the room assigned to us were two 
 bedsteads, with only a piece of canvas stretched across them. 
 It is expected that travelers will bring their own bed-clothes. 
 The cuisine is fair, and the quality of the provisions good. 
 
 Yesterday we devoted entirely to sight-seeing with Dras, a 
 Hindoo, as a valet de place and interpreter, and our own man, 
 Boxoo. In the streets of Benares we saw a more degraded 
 class of people than we had observed elsewhere. The people 
 were almost naked, and the children entirely so. The nude 
 bodies of little boys were encircled with strings of beads to 
 which bells were attached. The women decorate their arms 
 from their wrists to their elbows with glass bangles, and the 
 upper parts of their arms with bands from which hang tiny 
 silver bells. They wear nose-rings made of brass and as 
 large as small tea-plates. I have seen nose-rings of gold with 
 
102 ACEOS8 THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 two or three pearls attached. The nose-rings do not prevent 
 the introduction of food into the mouth, for they are large 
 and extend below the chins of the wearers. 
 
 The women make fuel from manure gathered in the streets, 
 and which they mix with fine-chopped straw and some other 
 substance. They form this into small blocks, and dry them 
 in the sun. This is the only fuel used in cooking. There 
 seems to be no more home-life among the poor here than 
 among animals. The commonest decencies of life are not 
 observed by them. They sleep by the roadsides on wooden 
 benches or in stationary bunks, and get their food as the 
 birds do, so far as I have observed. The roadside benches 
 and bunks are the only places which might be called their 
 homes. Here and there in the bunks we saw haggard-faced 
 old people looking as if they were about to die. Benares is 
 the home and center of Hindooism. 
 
 There are a thousand temples, large and small, in and near 
 the city. The golden temple is the most popular one of all. 
 Here the presiding idol is the god Shiva, heavily gilded. Near 
 by is the " Sacred Well of Knowledge," a small pool of dirty 
 water emitting bad odors. The worshipers dip the water and 
 throw it over their bodies with solemn ceremonies. In the 
 vicinity of the well is the temple of the " Sacred Cows." 
 On a marble platform about four feet from the ground three 
 sacred cows are kept fat and sleek. They are worshiped by 
 the Brahmin priests. 
 
 We visited the richest merchant in Benares, and found him 
 seated upon a red velvet cushion trimmed with gold fringe 
 and spangles. He made his salaam, and spoke good English, 
 inviting us to inspect his beautiful wares and cloths. He 
 made a sign, and a half-dozen servants disappeared and re- 
 turned quickly with velvets richly embroidered in gold, silver, 
 and seed-pearls. We informed him that we did not intend to 
 
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BENARES, THE MECCA OP HTNDOOISM. 103 
 
 make purchases, but only came to pay our compliments. He 
 replied that it was a pleasure to show his goods to Americans, 
 for their fame extended from the rising to the setting sun. He 
 offered us betel nuts and cardamom seeds, which we graciously 
 but sparingly accepted. 
 
 We noticed in the streets a queer little vehicle, called 
 " jingling Johnnie." It is a small open cart drawn by vicious 
 little ponies, caparisoned with gay trappings and strings of 
 brass bells. One can ride comfortably in it, if the ponies travel 
 uniformly. 
 
 In Benares caste distinctions strictly prevail. A Hindoo 
 would rather prefer the most menial service if it secured him 
 the caste of the Brahmins, by which he would be privileged 
 to wear the sacred cord of their order over his right shoulder, 
 than to belong to a lower caste with wealth at his command. 
 The Brahmins as a caste are born to the priesthood. They are 
 seen sitting in groups on mats, dressed in white cloth, hold- 
 ing books or rolls of parchment in their hands. The rajah, 
 the highest native governing power under the English Gov- 
 ernment, must defer to the Brahmin priests in secular as 
 well as in religious affairs. The Brahmins can " break bread " 
 only among themselves. They cannot even cook their food 
 in vessels owned by persons of another caste, nor partake of 
 food handled by them. I have heard there is a caste holding 
 itself so superior that it will not permit its daughters to 
 marry, and therefore does not allow them to live, although it 
 privileges its sons to wed women of another caste. These dis- 
 tinctions of caste not only affect detrimentally the general 
 elevation of the people, but check the efforts made for their 
 higher civilization. 
 
 We went to deliver a letter of introduction to Rajah Sambhu 
 Narayana Sinhar, but he was not at home. In an hour after- 
 ward he came in grand state to return our visit. He wore 
 
104 ACEOSS THE MEEIDIANS. 
 
 blue silk trousers, a pink silk frock, and yellow-toed slippers. 
 On his red fez was a cluster of precious stones. His servants, 
 a half-dozen, were gayly attired. His coach was red and 
 gilded, and the trappings of the horses were gorgeous. The 
 rajah speaks excellent English. He was educated at Queen's 
 College, in Benares. In speaking of the nobility of India, he 
 said the rajahs often had from two hundred to six hundred 
 servants and retainers. It is said that most of them serve 
 without compensation, and pretend to provide their own 
 food. However, it is admitted that they obtain rice and fish 
 from their masters' stores. The rajah proposed to place at 
 our service the next day one of his elephants fully equipped, 
 and a boat, and some of his servants to show us the city and 
 the sights on the Ganges. This offer we accepted. Soon 
 after his departure two servants returned with some flowers 
 and a basket of eatables, consisting of a large fish, fruit, vege- 
 tables, almonds, and taffy made of brown sugar. Formerly it 
 was the custom of the rajah to give to visitors bearing letters 
 of introduction cashmere shawls. 
 
 We went and saw the temple called the " Monkey Temple," 
 in which are five hundred monkeys. These a nim als are quite 
 tame, and crowd around visitors in great numbers. They are 
 very fond of millet seed, a supply of which is kept by a priest 
 from whom one can buy it at a small price. Some of the 
 mothers brought their babies to us in their arms, and looked 
 so piteously hungry that we expended a few more pice for 
 seed to appease their appetites. Dras, the interpreter, told us 
 that hundreds of years ago the King of Ceylon made war upon 
 the ruling prince living at Benares, who defended himself 
 with an army of monkeys and overcame his adversary. 
 Then the prince built a temple and dedicated it to the mon- 
 keys, and the Monkey Temple is still flourishing. 
 
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BENARES, THE MECCA OF HESTDOOISM. 105 
 
 The rajah's elephant, one of his half dozen, splendidly 
 equipped with a howdah, or saddle, covered with red velvet 
 fringed with gold and spangles, made his appearance accord- 
 ing to the rajah's promise. The mammoth creature kneeled 
 down, and by means of a ladder we mounted to the howdah. 
 Dras, Boxoo, and the rajah's servant seated themselves behind 
 us. The driver took his place astride the animal's neck. 
 From time to time the elephant turned his head to look at us, 
 as if he suspected that he was engaged in an unworthy serv- 
 ice, carrying foreigners on his back. However, he was not 
 refractory, and readily obeyed the spear of the mahout direct- 
 ing him. Although horses and donkeys here daily see ele- 
 phants on the roads, yet they always show signs of fright 
 when they come in their way. "We rode four miles, and were 
 two hours on the road. Several naked dead bodies were car- 
 ried by on a board to be burned, followed by coolies, bearing 
 on their heads the wood for the fires. 
 
 We had the rajah's boat for a half day on the G-anges. It 
 was a large flat one poled by four men. On our way to the 
 river a servant, dressed in white, walked behind us and held 
 over our heads a large white umbrella. He followed us so 
 closely that we never once lost the shade of the umbrella. 
 We went several miles on the river along the ghats and quays. 
 The ghats extend three miles along the busy portion of the 
 city. There are many temples and beautiful palaces built on 
 the ghats along the river, besides many mosques with gilded 
 domes and pretty min arets. These buildings are erected upon 
 vertical stone walls from one hundred to two hundred feet 
 high. There are stairways, one hundred and fifty feet wide, 
 descending to the water's edge — off which we saw men bath- 
 ing in the river. 
 
 "We saw wreaths of yellow flowers floating on the water, 
 
 14 
 
106 ACEOSS THE MEKIDIANS. 
 
 and were told that they had been placed on the boxes, which 
 had been consigned to the sacred waters of the Granges, con- 
 taining the ashes of the bodies burned on funeral pyres. This 
 is a custom observed only by the better classes of people. 
 Pilgrims come a great distance to worship on these ghats, and 
 to bathe in the river. There is a devout Hindoo in Madras 
 to whom a cask of the water of the Granges is sent weekly, 
 for he will not permit any other to be used under his roof. 
 
 The spectacle of the congregated worshipers and religious 
 devotions on the ghats along the Ganges at Benares, is sur- 
 prisingly interesting to all persons unacquainted with heathen 
 practices. We observed a man taken from his bath and laid 
 upon a platform, and subjected to such rough rubbing at the 
 hands of two men that the sufferer cried out in agony. He 
 went limping away after having given some pice to the two 
 severe manipulators. "We were told that was an act of penance. 
 A number of priests were anointing the bodies of men com- 
 ing from the river, for which holy unction the men paid a 
 few pice. We saw three funeral pyres smoking and burning 
 at different points on the ghats. 
 
 Dras informed us that praying-machines were dipped in 
 the water and swung over the heads of devotees with solemn 
 ceremony. We saw a dead body floating down the river with 
 yellow flowers around the neck. The dead bodies of children 
 of twelve years of age are taken to the middle of the river 
 and there sunk with stones fastened to them. Poor coolies 
 are similarly buried. The water from the Granges is drank 
 by the people as a sacred water ! 
 
 Several exhibitions have been given at our bungalow by 
 magicians and snake-charmers. They performed with a 
 score or more of horrible reptiles, ranging from the anaconda 
 to the poisonous cobra. We were so disgusted with the 
 
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BENARES, THE MECCA OE HINDOOISM. 107 
 
 snake exhibition that we willingly remunerated the charmers 
 a second time to get rid of them. We were so frequently 
 annoyed by these showmen that at last we begged our land- 
 lord not to allow any more to come on the veranda while we 
 were in the house. 
 
 Benares has a population of one hundred and fifty thou- 
 sand scattered over many miles of territory, the largest num- 
 ber being Hindoos, and the remainder chiefly Mohamme- 
 dans. The foreign population is small. We have read of 
 cities and towns in India being destroyed by inundations. 
 Such calamities can well happen. One must understand, 
 however, that the houses in those places were not strong, 
 substantial ones, but mud-built huts. The latter are not 
 intended to withstand the heavy rains of the country. As 
 soon as the weather permits others are constructed on the 
 former sites. The mud or plastic clay is prepared and 
 formed into blocks and dried in the sun. The walls of the 
 houses built with these blocks are not more than seven feet 
 in height. 
 
XII 
 
 Agra and the Taje. 
 
 Agea, December 15, 1875. We came by the nigbt train 
 J-A_ from Benares to this place, a journey of three hundred 
 and sixty-six miles. We are at Laurietz & Staten's bungalow, 
 the only hotel in Agra. Arriving at eleven o'clock in the 
 morning, we hurriedly breakfasted, and then undertook to 
 see the town. We are now in the heart of India. We came 
 here through a very fertile part of the country, where three 
 crops of rice, corn, and other products are gathered yearly. 
 The women here surpass all the others we have seen in this 
 country in wearing toe and nose jewelry. Every toe has its 
 ring, no matter how menial the position of the possessor. 
 
 There is a fruit here called the " custard apple," which is 
 delicious and refreshingly cool. The outside of the apple 
 is like that of a green pine cone, and the fruit is as large as 
 a small tea-cup. The pulp is of the consistency and color 
 of a soft and creamy custard, and its flavor like what I 
 imagine might be that of ambrosia. The guava grows in 
 perfection here ; it makes an excellent compote. 
 
 We have made this long journey in India especially to see 
 the " priceless pearl and India's pride," as is called the tomb, 
 
 108 
 
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 I 
 
 LLl 
 
AGBA AND THE TAJE. 109 
 
 or mausoleum, of Taje-Mehalle, the resting-place of the 
 favorite wife of Shah Jehan, Moomtas-i-Muhul, or " exalted 
 one of the Palace." Shah Jehan was the reigning monarch 
 in this part of India two hundred and fifty years ago. This 
 mausoleum is the central point of interest to the tourist in 
 Agra. Although there are in India other marble edifices of 
 wonderful structure inlaid with beautiful stones, neverthe- 
 less the Taje is the most beautiful building in India. In its 
 original splendor and glory the Taje must have been the 
 masterpiece of architecture of its time, as it is conceded to 
 be the most exquisitely beautiful building in existence at the 
 present day. It only retained its original splendor for a few 
 decades of years. A hostile neighbor, having heard of this 
 magnificent pile, made an armed incursion with a horde of 
 vandals, conquered the people, and despoiled the beautiful 
 mausoleum, taking from its marble walls many of the pre- 
 cious stones therein inlaid. They were dislodged with rough 
 instruments which left unsightly cavities. 
 
 The edifice stands on a foundation of red sandstone, twelve 
 feet above the ground. It is octagonal in form ; its archi- 
 tecture is pure Saracenic. The roof is seventy feet above the 
 foundation ; the dome is surmounted by a gilt crescent two 
 hundred and sixty feet from the ground. The dome was 
 originally covered with solid plates of gold. The walls, both 
 outside and inside, are inlaid with coral, amethyst, blood- 
 stone, mother-of-pearl, lapis lazuli, agates of rich colors, cor- 
 nelian in varied tints, jasper, and many beautiful stones 
 unknown in European countries, besides rare marbles and 
 richly gold-veined alabaster of Egypt. The more precious 
 stones were placed near the base of the structure, as the 
 defaced walls indicate. At the two entrances were massive 
 silver doors, studded with one thousand one hundred silver 
 
110 * ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 rupee-headed nails. The plunderers tore off all the gold and 
 silver, and, having melted them into ingots, carried -their rich 
 booty away with them. 
 
 This mausoleum was erected in 1600. Tavernier, the French 
 traveler, who saw the Taje building, tells us that twenty 
 thousand men were employed seventeen years in its construc- 
 tion. During the period of the building of the tomb there 
 was great mortality among the laborers, and the peasantry 
 cried out : 
 
 " Have mercy, God, on our distress, 
 For we die, too, with the princess." 
 
 In the mean time the shah died, and his remains were eventu- 
 ally placed by the side of the princess Moomtaz. The build- 
 ing is of pure white marble and to-day stands unimpaired by 
 time and weather. The cost of this building can be but in- 
 differently estimated. Most of the labor was done by slaves, 
 who received only a small allowance of provisions of rice, 
 corn, raw fish and wild fruit, and nothing for work. Much 
 of the material was contributed by neighboring tribes, and 
 for other portions of the materials levies were made upon 
 depending tribes. 
 
 Neither glass, wood, nor common metal was incorporated 
 in this building. The outside and inside have the same style 
 of ornamentation in inlaid work. Italian artisans were em- 
 ployed to design the inlaid work, which is as finely and beau- 
 tifully finished as Florentine mosaic work. The designs are 
 largely floral and scroll. 
 
 The arches over the doors and windows are decorated with 
 festoons of convolvuli in lapis lazuli, the leaves and vines in 
 blood-stone. There are chapters from the Koran inlaid with 
 black marble on the walls. The roses are designed in coral 
 
AGEA AND THE TAJE. Ill 
 
 and cornelian ; I counted in one rose eighty pieces of shaded 
 coral. The lilies are wrought in mother-of-pearl with stems 
 and leaves in blood-stone; the different flowers are repre- 
 sented in stones having the colors of the natural flowers. 
 
 The tomhs of the shah and his wife are in a crypt below 
 the floor. They are of white marble, richly decorated with 
 mosaic work. Originally there were diamonds, rubies, em- 
 eralds, and turquoises as large as English walnuts set in the 
 decorations, but nothing remains of this valuable inlaid work 
 except the leaves, vines, and tracery work which are in less 
 valuable stones. 
 
 Although the Taje is enchanting by moonlight, it is more 
 resplendent in the sunlight. When we first saw it at mid- 
 day it sparkled brilliantly as if its walls were studded with 
 colored diamonds. In the light of the early morning it is 
 tinged with a roseate color ; in the twilight it has a soft blue 
 shading of color. By an artificial illumination, as we saw it, 
 its varied beauties are still enhanced. The Taje maybe called 
 a living poem of wondrous beauty suggested by the " Tales 
 of the Arabian Nights. " Although the Jats, when they sacked 
 Agra two hundred years ago, intended, no doubt, to carry 
 off everything of value, they unwittingly left untold riches 
 behind them. 
 
 The palace of Akbar is another marvel of art in marble 
 and mosaic work. Words can scarcely convey to you any 
 adequate description of its unique architecture. Were I 
 to attempt to portray its magnificence, I am sure you would 
 say that I had imagined the structure. After wandering 
 through a number of its splendid marble halls we came into 
 an open court, paved with squares of black and white marble 
 reminding one of a chess-board. It was used by the Em- 
 peror Akbar for playing a game similar to that of backgam- 
 
112 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 mon called pucheese, or eastern backgammon. Instead of 
 using pieces of ivory to play the game, young girls of 
 the harem were substituted, who jumped from square to 
 square as the game required movement. These girls were 
 dressed in short skirts of colored tulle and richly adorned 
 with jewels. Near by this court was another covered with 
 matting where the women of the harem, entirely nude, played 
 "hide and seek," while the emperor sat on a golden seat 
 overlooking the court. In a corner of this court is a deep well 
 into which, it is said, the emperor threw the unfaithful of his 
 harem. 
 
 The royal bath-room in the palace is a strange and beau- 
 tiful apartment. It is about thirty feet square, and in the 
 center is the basin for bathing, occupying nearly all the 
 space. Several streams of water, heated by the warmth of the 
 sun, poured into the basin. The floor of the room is inlaid 
 with mosaic work, representing fish, reptiles, and other forms 
 of water life. The roof is rather low and arched ; the arches 
 centering above the basin are beautifully ornamented in mosaic 
 work. 
 
 It is said that Emperor Akbar was accustomed to stand at 
 the windows above the arches, from whence he could observe 
 the ladies of the harem while they were indulging in the 
 morning bath in the room below him. The mode of drying 
 themselves in those days required no towels. Tripping into 
 the sunlight flooding the adjoining marble corridor, they re- 
 mained for a short time, when they returned to robe them- 
 selves in their gauze garments. 
 
 " The most curious part of the palace," says Mr. Bayard Tay- 
 lor, " is the ' Palace of Glass,' which is an Oriental bath, the 
 chambers and passages whereof are adorned with thousands 
 of small mirrors, disposed in the most intricate designs. The 
 
AGEA AND THE TAJE. 113 
 
 water fell, in a broad sheet, into a marble pool over brilliant 
 lamps, and the fountains are so constructed as to be lighted 
 from within. Mimic cascades tumbled from the walls over 
 slabs of veined marble into basins so curiously carved that 
 the motion of the water produced the appearance of fish. 
 This bath must once have realized all the fabled splendors of 
 Arabian stories. The chambers of the sultanas and the open 
 court connecting them are filled with fountains." Here the 
 shah took frequent occasion of meeting his ladies in their 
 light gossamer draperies. 
 
 We passed through another marble court, and came to the 
 " Pearl mosque," so called on account of the purity and white- 
 ness of the marble. Its roof is formed by three domes, each 
 surmounted with a gilded crescent. In this mosque there are 
 no floral mosaics. One only sees Saracenic arches and archi- 
 tecture in the finest of polished white marble. There are no 
 mats on the floor to kneel upon. Six hundred people can 
 worship together in the mosque. 
 
 We visited this morning the English church mission, where 
 there are four hundred native orphans, among whom is a young 
 man, about twenty years of age, who was taken from a wolf's 
 den twelve years ago. He was discovered in company with 
 a she- wolf , and was creeping about on his hands and feet. 
 The animal apparently accepted the boy as her own progeny. 
 It is supposed the boy was carried off in infancy by the wolf, 
 and had been suckled and cared for by her. The boy is called 
 " Saturday," it being the name of the day on which he was 
 captured. At first he was wild and intractable, and howled 
 like a wolf, and appeared very unhappy away from the 
 mother- wolf, and would eat only raw meat. Gradually, and 
 by kind treatment, he was taught to stand upon his feet and 
 to walk, and even now he walks in the awkward way in which 
 
 15 
 
114 ACEOSS THE MEKIDIANS. 
 
 trained quadrupeds do on their hind feet. It has required 
 years of time and long-continued patience on the part of his 
 manager and instructor to teach him the few short words he 
 can now utter. Although he understands the commands given 
 him, still he makes known his wants "by signs and ejacula- 
 tions. He looks wild, and keeps his lower jaw in constant 
 motion. His face is not disagreeably ugly, although it is 
 marked with scars, prohahly from wounds made by the wolf. 
 He has become quite tame, and seems to he kindly disposed. 
 "We shall not linger longer in Agra, but depart to-morrow 
 for Delhi. 
 
XIII 
 
 Delhi. More Interesting Sights. 
 
 Delhi, December 18, 1875. "We have now reached our 
 extreme point in India. From this time our direction 
 leads homeward. Although the distance from Agra to this 
 city is only one hundred and thirteen miles, yet it took us 
 nine hours to make it. Rapid transit over these roads is 
 not known. The country along the route is uninteresting. 
 We saw several long trains of camels coming from the 
 interior districts, loaded with provisions and other products 
 needed by the troops and people collected to see and honor 
 the Prince of Wales. 
 
 On our arrival at Northbrook's bungalow we found a small 
 fire burning on the hearth, sufficient to give our plainly fur- 
 nished chamber a comfortable appearance. The blaze of a 
 few fagots in a fire-place in this country is more cheering in 
 appearance than warming in effect. This is the first fire we 
 have had in a room since last April, when we were at home. 
 The nights in this latitude are a little chilly, but the days 
 are quite warm. The bungalows here are without glass win- 
 dows. Blinds with immovable slats to admit light and pro- 
 tect the privacy of the rooms are all that is required in these 
 public houses. During the day everybody sits on the veran- 
 
 "5 
 
116 ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 das, or in the sitting-rooms with the entire front of the room 
 opening upon them. Above the outside doors of the bun- 
 galow are two small panes of glass, just sufficient to admit a 
 little light when the doors are closed, during the falling of 
 rain. 
 
 ' The principal point of interest in Delhi is the palace built 
 by Shah Jehan, at one time the great Mogul of Delhi, as 
 well as of Agra. Its architecture is Saracenic, and similar 
 to that of the palace and Taje at Agra. The grand Audience- 
 Hall, one hundred and ninety-two feet long by sixty wide, 
 is where the famous "Peacock throne" stood. This hall 
 remains intact in form and ornamentation, lacking only its 
 gorgeous peacock throne. The roof of the hall is supported 
 by marble columns richly decorated with precious stones. 
 There are small gutters or water-courses running along the 
 walls, which are overlaid with mosaics representing varieties 
 of water life, as in the palace at Agra. Through these water- 
 courses fresh water was admitted, which cooled somewhat 
 and freshened the atmosphere. The throne was of gold, and 
 in the form of a peacock with full-spread tail which formed 
 the back, the colors of a peacock being imitated by the vari- 
 ous colored precious stones. 
 
 "It is said that no pains or cost were spared to procure the 
 finest gems. This piece of work contained the richest col- 
 lection of fine jewels ever made. It was supported by six 
 high pillars or feet of massive gold and set with rubies, 
 emeralds, and diamonds. When the emperor sat upon his 
 throne he wore a turban of cloth of gold, having a bird like 
 a heron wrought upon it, whose feet were covered with 
 diamonds of large size, and one Oriental topaz that shone 
 like the sun was inserted in the front of the cap. It is said 
 the father of the emperor induced the manufacture of the 
 
7* ' 
 
DELHI. MORE INTERESTING SIGHTS. 117 
 
 throne, in order to display the wealth of precious stones that 
 had been amassed in the treasury by despoiling the ancient 
 patans and rajahs, and from the presents which the omrahs 
 were obliged to make yearly upon certain festival days. 
 
 A part of this throne is now in Persia. By what means 
 or at what date it was carried there, I cannot say.* It is 
 said that the shah who built the palace intended to have 
 had the veranda overlooking the River Jumna, which laves 
 the foundation of the palace, covered with a trellis of rubies 
 and emeralds to represent ripe and green grapes, but the 
 design proving too difficult to be elaborated, he was obliged 
 to abandon this marvelous project. The shah had a magnifi- 
 cent mosque erected in the name of his favorite daughter 
 Juhamura. She so loved her father that she shared his 
 captivity when he was deposed by a neighboring mogul. 
 
 The baths of the royal family are still in a good state of 
 preservation. The ornamentation is in mosaics, mostly of 
 coral, blood-stone, amethyst, and mother-of-pearl. The bath- 
 ing-basins are also beautiful works of art. As in the Taje 
 and palaces at Agra, the diamonds, rubies, and emeralds 
 decorating those in Delhi were cut from the walls by the 
 vandals who sacked Agra. Some of these cavities have been 
 recently filled with colored glass and composition, to restore 
 in part the brilliant effect of the original gems. The audience- 
 hall has, in this way, nearly regained its pristine appearance. 
 The renovation of the audience-hall has been undertaken in 
 
 * This throne with all its jewels is now in the possession of the Shah of 
 Persia, and stands in the grand audience-chamber of his palace in Teheran. 
 It has been described to me by the wife of the late United States minister 
 to Persia, Mrs. B., who spent several years at that court. She says its 
 value can scarcely be estimated, as many of the jewels are uncut. Although 
 the larger number of the stones are cut, it is the most brilliant combination 
 of jewels known. [July, 1885.] 
 
118 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 honor of the Prince of Wales, who will give audiences to the 
 native nobility and English officials. 
 
 The peacock throne was the chef-d'oeuvre of Shah Jehan's 
 magnificent and costly rule. It is to be remembered, how- 
 ever, that the wealth of the Indias — its precious stones — 
 was at the service of the ruling sovereign ; he had only to 
 command, and the sea and the rocks gave forth their hidden 
 treasures almost without price. 
 
 The harem of the palace is in keeping with the magnifi- 
 cence of its other chambers. At the great mosque within 
 the palace grounds we observed many men in the large bath- 
 ing court perfor ming their ablutions in the long marble 
 troughs preparatory to entering the mosques for devotional 
 exercise. To-day being Friday, the Mohammedan Sunday, 
 there is an opportunity for us to see the people engaged in 
 then* devotional duties in the mosques. The women do not 
 attend the services in the mosques. 
 
 We have seen more elephants and camels in the transport 
 service here than elsewhere. They convey families about in 
 the country, as the occasion occurs. We saw a train of four- 
 teen elephants loaded with corn-stalks coming into the mar- 
 ket-place. On our way here we passed by a train of five 
 hundred camels loaded with produce going to supply the 
 troops stationed along the line of the railroad. Camels are 
 used to draw carriages ; this is indeed a curious turnout. 
 
 The birds seem to be privileged to go wherever they please 
 in Delhi. They come into the house and alight upon the 
 punkas over the dining-table, and .hop down to partake of 
 anything they like. They are as tame as chickens. 
 
 Here the shawl and jewelry merchants do not give the 
 traveler an hour's rest. They insist on leaving quantities of 
 their wares upon the floor of your sitting-room, and even 
 
DELHI. MORE INTERESTING SIGHTS. 119 
 
 after one has made some purchases, they will bring more 
 goods and leave them heaped in the corners of the room. 
 The merchants wear magnificent gold chains and very fine 
 shawls. The poor women are drudges, and live by begging 
 in the streets. 
 
 The cashmere shawls so highly appreciated in America 
 and Europe come from the province of Cashmere, a moun- 
 tainous district in the north of India. The principal market 
 for the shawls is Serinagur, where the rajah, or governor, 
 imposes a tax on every shawl manufactured for sale, and not 
 a shawl can leave the province without his consent. They 
 are made in various provinces, and must be brought to Seri- 
 nagur for inspection and the payment of duty. From this 
 point they are transported on camels to the railroad, and 
 thence to Delhi, and finally to Calcutta, where the general 
 shipping market is found. There is a very good shawl, worn 
 by merchants and coachmen, made at Umritzur. A beauti- 
 ful shawl is manufactured at Rompore, called the Rompore 
 chudda, which is largely worn in America. It is worn here 
 by the better class of merchants. The finest shawls fall into 
 the hands of the rajahs, and only seldom, and at very high 
 prices, are they taken out of the country. 
 
 We call India shawls camel's-hair shawls, but this is a mis- 
 nomer. Shawls made of the hair of camels are coarse and 
 heavy, and are used by the soldiers for blankets. The wool 
 from which the fine shawls are made is from the Cashmere 
 goat of the Himalaya mountain districts. There are dif- 
 ferent qualities of this wool ; the finest is a downy growth on 
 the skin of the goat. From it are made those shawls of 
 fabulous prices, one of which cannot be bought from the 
 manufacturers for less than £150 sterling. I have seen a 
 Rompore chudda so fine in texture that the merchant passed 
 
120 ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 it half-way through a gold ring which he took from his fin- 
 ger, but it was not one of the choicest, although it was light 
 and gossamer-like in quality. 
 
 The shawls are made by the dozen, never singly, for the 
 reason that a number of persons are employed in their manu- 
 facture, each having a particular part of the shawl to make, 
 and he always works on that part. Each is skilled in his 
 special work. It sometimes requires a year for thirty men 
 to make a dozen shawls of a certain quality. The weaving 
 is done upon small hand-looms held upon the lap of the 
 operator. The patterns are traced upon cloth and so delin- 
 eated that the eye readily follows the colors and outlines. 
 When all the pieces composing the shawl are finished they 
 are put into the hands of tailors who join them neatly 
 together, strengthening and covering the seams with em- 
 broidery. If any of the designs are unfinished, they are 
 completed to perfect the entire pattern of the shawl. When 
 the shawl is finished it is washed and pressed, and then it is 
 ready for the market. Shawls are manufactured by men 
 whose sons are instructed to succeed them in the business. 
 The highest wages earned by the shawl-weavers is from six 
 to twelve cents a day, on which their families are supported. 
 The shawls which the rajahs wear are marvels of beauty, but 
 the women never possess any. The shawls worn by rajahs 
 often cost as much as $3000 of our money. 
 
 In India the waiters are called " bearers," a very appropri- 
 ate name for table- waiters. In one part of our bungalow is 
 a printing-office, where the "Delhi G-azette" is published semi- 
 weekly. It is managed by our landlord, an Englishman. 
 The steward is a Hindoo. 
 
 On our way to the Kutub Minar, eleven miles from the 
 city, we passed an encampment of thirty thousand English 
 
THE KUTUB MINAR, NEAR DELHI. 
 
DELHI. MOEE INTERESTING SIGHTS. 121 
 
 and native troops, who will escort the Prince of Wales into 
 the interior of the country. 
 
 We met scores of elephants and long trains of camels car- 
 rying provisions and forage to the military stations. The 
 camels travel slowly and never lose a chance to nip off green 
 twigs from the trees. It is odd enough to follow in the wake 
 of a camel train and see all the lower branches of the trees 
 stripped of their leaves. 
 
 We passed miles of ruins, where years ago had been cities. 
 
 The Kutub Minar is another of India's architectural glories. 
 It was built eight hundred years ago by a reigning emperor 
 for a favorite daughter, who had expressed a wish to have a 
 tower reaching near to heaven, on the top of which she might 
 say her prayers. The erection of the tower was begun, and it 
 required forty years to complete it. The devout girl, however, 
 died long before it was finished. When completed it was 
 three hundred feet high, but many years ago it was struck by 
 lightning, and about sixty feet of its height were toppled to 
 the ground. The base of the column is fifty feet in diameter, 
 and the top thirteen feet. The five cylinders of clustered 
 columns diminish in proportion to the diameter of the tower. 
 The entire Koran is engraved upon it. Around the Kutub 
 Minar are the ruins of a once-famous mosque and other 
 edifices. 
 
 Originally there was a corridor running around the mosque 
 supported by one thousand stone pillars, upon which much 
 of the traditional history of India was engraved. There yet 
 remain five hundred of these pillars. Along the frieze of 
 the columns are engraved family and national annals, tribal 
 laws, Mohammedan maxims, verses from the Koran, battle 
 and other scenes. The grounds are entered by four massive 
 metal gates. It is said they were sixty feet high and forty 
 
 16 
 
122 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 feet wide. The Kutub Minar is a masterpiece of man's handi- 
 work. 
 
 In an area of forty-five miles square are to be seen ruins 
 of palaces and mosques occupying the former sites of Delhi, 
 for the location of the city has been changed many times. In 
 olden times each succeeding emperor built a palace at some 
 distance, not far from that of his predecessor, and around the 
 new edifice the rajahs and nobles constructed their residences. 
 Oftentimes the city was sacked and destroyed by usurping 
 moguls, who would build anew beyond the ruins. In later 
 centuries Delhi has not changed its site, and is now a com- 
 pact and well-built city. 
 
 We returned home at the end of the day well satisfied with 
 our visit to the Kutub Minar, and our sight-seeing among the 
 ancient tombs and mosques, and the ruined palaces of the old 
 heathen emperors. 
 
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XIY 
 
 Allahabad. 
 
 Allahabad, December 20, 1875. We left Delhi at noon 
 yesterday", and arrived here at six o'clock this morning. 
 There is little or nothing of interest to be seen along the route 
 besides large bodies of English troops and long trains of ele- 
 phants and camels. We passed an English regiment which 
 had marched four hundred miles in five weeks and was 
 still advancing to meet the Prince of Wales. The soldiers 
 were footsore and weary, and were in want of food. Some 
 of the babus, or native railroad officials, along the route wore 
 beautiful cashmere shawls, although these men's legs were 
 bare to the thighs. 
 
 Our man Boxoo is loyal and serviceable, and in good spirits,- 
 expecting a pocketful of backsheesh at the termination of 
 his contract to take us to Bombay. He is always on hand at 
 every station to see if we want anything. He wears a very good 
 white Umritzur shawl, white cotton trousers, and white tur- 
 ban, and although barefooted he looks quite comme il faut 
 for a servant in this country. Although his shawl is very 
 much soiled, I should not disdain to wear it after a thorough 
 cleansing. 
 
 1 23 
 
124 ACEOSS THE MEBEDIANS. 
 
 We are at Laurie's bungalow, but only for the day; we 
 leave at midnight for Bombay, a journey of eight hundred 
 and fifty miles over a rough road, in the express mail train, 
 which will arrive there in three days. 
 
 Next to Benares, Allahabad is considered by the Hindoos 
 as the holiest city in existence. It is situated just at the 
 junction of the Jumna River with the Granges. The Hin- 
 doos believe that there is a third invisible and celestial river, 
 which flows direct from heaven and unites with these waters 
 at Allahabad. Pilgrims are visiting this place constantly. 
 On their arrival they have their bodies carefully shaved and 
 the hair thrown into the river. Their sacred writings prom- 
 ise that for every hair thus disposed a million of years is 
 assured the believer in paradise. 
 
 We have seen the fort built here about four hundred years 
 ago. The most interesting object at the fort is the banyan 
 tree, which is said to be fifteen hundred years old. It does 
 not cover so much space as the great banyan at Calcutta, be- 
 cause its stocks are cut off when they become too numerous 
 for the space in the court. The banyan is the principal shade 
 tree of Allahabad. 
 
 Early this morning we had to endure the irrepressible jug- 
 gler and snake-charmer. These showmen, swallowing fire and 
 . swords and making live birds out of nothing, are no longer in- 
 teresting to us. The bungalow is quite picturesque in its way. 
 Every room, including the kitchen, opens into a long and wide 
 corridor extending through the middle of the building, at one 
 end of which is a veranda inclosed with matting, and used 
 as a sitting-room by the guests. The guest, the half -naked 
 scullery-maid, the barefooted cook in his long white frock and 
 white paper cap, the trinket-peddler wrapped in his dirty 
 white shawl, pass and repass one another continually in the 
 corridor. 
 
ALLAHABAD. 125 
 
 Family carriages are drawn by camels, and although they 
 do not travel gracefully and swiftly, yet they are sure-footed 
 and tractable. 
 
 There are, without doubt, many points of interest here 
 worthy of a visit, but, as our time is limited by the sailing of 
 the steamer from Bombay, in which we shall go to Suez, we 
 prefer to spend the interval in Bombay. 
 
XV 
 
 Bombay. Motel Watson on the Esplanade. 
 
 Bombay, December 26, 1875. We arrived here on trie 22d 
 inst., after riding three days on a rough railroad. Within 
 eighty miles of Bombay the scenery is grand and somewhat 
 like that of the Sierra Nevadas in the Rocky Mountains. 
 This part of the road was bordered with hedges of wild cacti 
 in blossom. We passed a few small mud villages but no 
 town of any importance. The mountain district, a few 
 miles from the railroad, is the undisturbed home of tigers, 
 panthers, and leopards. At some of the stations on the road 
 the trees were alive with monkeys and birds of beautiful 
 plumage. The monkeys congregate in the trees nearest the 
 stations, and seem to be seriously observing the life about 
 them. 
 
 It is said that in the heart of the Bombay presidency, two 
 hundred miles west of Jubulpore, there is a vast region of 
 jungles and forests uninhabited by man, which has never 
 been reclaimed from the dominance of wild beasts. The dis- 
 trict contains choice woods and vast quantities of fruits. 
 We saw many kinds of tropical fruits growing uncultivated 
 along the road and in great profusion. 
 
 126 
 
BOMBAY AND HOTEL WATSON. 127 
 
 Here the climate is delightful. The days are like those of 
 our lovely June, and the nights are freshened by sea breezes. 
 Our hotel is pleasantly situated just off the beach of Bombay 
 Bay, and within sound of the surf dashing upon the rocks at 
 the entrance to the bay. "We have upon the second floor of 
 the hotel a wide veranda inclosed with curtains of matting 
 and a hedge of potted plants. A score or more of cages con- 
 taining singing birds are suspended from the roof of the 
 veranda. Here are rechning-chairs and pretty little bamboo 
 tables on which are placed flowers and books. The hotel 
 is a comfortable, homelike place, and enjoyable to us after 
 our long and weary journey. The house is built after the 
 English style. We get good roast beef, excellent bread, and 
 delicious fruits. The chamber work is well and quickly done 
 by bare-legged native men. "We have not had a woman for 
 chamberwork since the 1st of September. There are no 
 women servants in the hotels on this side of the globe. 
 Foreign ladies residing in India and China have ayahs, or 
 maids, who keep near their mistresses. Here scarcely a 
 woman, European or native, is seen walking on the streets. 
 
 The market house is the finest we have seen. It has a 
 beautiful park and flower garden. Rills of water in clean 
 stone gutters running through the building and crossing one 
 another at intervals contribute no little to the freshness of 
 the atmosphere. We saw many varieties of native vegetables 
 and fruits, and mounds of appetizing currie powders. The 
 nearly naked market women were gorgeous in neck chains 
 and other fashionable jewelry of the country. Several of 
 them had on their necks a half dozen long gold chains which 
 hung down to their waists. The Indian gold and silver work 
 is beautiful. It is made by the slow process of hand-beating; 
 consequently the designs are not as regular in shape as those 
 
128 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 formed by machinery. Neither is the burnishing so well done, 
 but it has a rich brilliancy. The women sit cross-legged 
 on low tables, with their wares attractively arranged before 
 them. Their faces are not unprepossessing, but on the con- 
 trary have a sympathetic expression. The market women 
 smilingly glanced at us while we were examining their goods 
 and buying some of their fruit. 
 
 The street-cars in Bombay have the name of " Jones & 
 Co., builders, West Troy." Every car that I see pass seems to 
 me a home-tie. It does not appear real that we are in India 
 with home-constructed cars passing our house every quarter 
 of an hour. 
 
 Bombay has a population of six hundred thousand, includ- 
 ing a very large English colony. About one-tenth of the in- 
 habitants are Parsees, many of whom are wealthy bankers 
 and rich merchants. They live in beautiful villas in the 
 suburbs, and carry on their business in a particular district 
 of the city. As seen in the streets, they dress in rich silks, 
 having pantaloons of red or orange satin and long frocks 
 of a differently colored silk. They wear high-pointed black 
 head-gear, gold neck-chains, and jeweled finger-rings. They 
 have a very dignified appearance, and look as if existence 
 was of serious importance to them. 
 
 In the streets little Parsee boys, richly dressed in velvets 
 and jewels, are seen accompanied by their fathers or in- 
 structors. The Parsees worship the sun as the source of 
 light, heat, and life, and the embodiment of divinity. They 
 live together in families, or groups of relations, often embrac- 
 ing as many as fifty persons. They do not bury their dead, 
 but place them on grated floors in towers about fifty feet 
 high, open at the top, called the " Towers of Silence." Under 
 the grated floors of the towers are beds of lime. Vultures fly 
 
BOMBAY AND HOTEL WATSON. 129 
 
 to the floors and devour the flesh of the dead. The bones fall 
 through the grating and are soon decomposed by the lime. 
 
 The Parsee is very rigid in his religious duties. He kneels 
 down just wherever he chances to be at sunset, and begins 
 his devotions. I believe the Parsees have no temple, but 
 worship always in the open air. I have daily observed a 
 Parsee enter at sunset a vacant lot opposite our hotel to 
 engage in his devotions. He first takes off an outer garment 
 and spreads it upon the ground, on which he kneels with his 
 face toward the setting sun. He then further disrobes him- 
 self until but one white undergarment remains upon his 
 body. He then bares his breast and sprinkles his head, 
 chest, arms, and hands three times with water from a small 
 basin at his side. Then he bows his head to the ground, and 
 after short intervals twice bows his head again as he had first 
 done. At last, having been engaged in his devotions for a 
 half hour, he rises, puts on his garments, and goes his way. 
 
 The haka carts, or "jingling johnnies," which I have 
 already mentioned, are queer-looking vehicles. Imagine a 
 two- wheeled, open, gayly painted cart, with seats for four 
 persons sitting sidewise and resting their feet on a little plat- 
 form over the wheels, drawn by two bullocks, or buffalo 
 cows. The driver sits on the tongue of the cart between 
 the animals, and drives with a rope fastened to their heads. 
 If more vigorous urging is needed to make the animals accel- 
 erate their speed than lashing them from time to time with 
 the rope, the driver jerks their tails, which causes the bul- 
 locks to canter. The ears and necks of the a nim als are gayly 
 decorated with bells and long red and yellow cotton streamers. 
 If a yoke of bullocks is attached to a very showy vehicle, 
 their tails are often dressed with streamers, bows, and tinsel 
 ornaments. 
 
 17 
 
130 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 The oaves of Elephanta, six miles distant on an island in 
 the bay, are usually visited by travelers, but I was not in- 
 clined to cross the bay when the water was rough and the caves 
 were dark and uninviting. I understand there are several 
 high chambers in them with wonderful stalactites and stalag- 
 mites to be seen. 
 
 Christmas passed as any other day. At dinner a fine plum- 
 pudding, all ablaze, was brought in for dessert. We were with 
 you in spirit; but no "Merry Christmas "-greetings were 
 audible. 
 
 Buffalo cow milk and butter are not relished by us, and 
 therefore very sparingly partaken of. 
 
 Jugglers and snake-charmers perform every day just before 
 dusk in the street before our hotel. Their entertainments 
 have become very dull to us. However, we did see an inex- 
 plicable trick the other day. Two large baskets were placed 
 upside down in the middle of the street. The juggler, with a 
 flourish of a long, narrow sword, ordered a naked little boy to 
 get under one of them. After another brandish of his sword, 
 he thrust it apparently through the basket under which we 
 had seen the boy go. Again waving his sword in the air, the 
 juggler raised the basket, but the boy was not there. He 
 raised the other basket, beneath which the little heathen 
 appeared. 
 
 The statistics of the population of India, given by an Eng- 
 lish official, are the following : In British India is a popula- 
 tion of about 260,000,000, including 180,000,000 Hindoos, 
 60,000,000 Mussulmans, 14,000,000 Aborigines, 4,000,000 
 Buddhists, 1,500,000 Asiatic Christians, Catholic and Prot- 
 estant, including the British soldiery, 180,000 Parsees, 
 100,000 Eurasians, 160,000 Europeans, 10,000 Jews, and 
 5,000 Armenians. 
 
BOMBAY AND HOTEL WATSON. 131 
 
 Although I have written you frequent and long letters in 
 these last months, I have not even mentioned many of the 
 novel and wonderful things we have seen and heard. With 
 little time to give to correspondence, I am compelled to write 
 hurriedly, and mostly in the evening after a day of fatiguing 
 sight-seeing. It has been my constant desire to have you 
 follow us with some interest, and therefore I have often 
 written you when I should have been in bed asleep. 
 
 We leave Bombay to-morrow for Suez and Cairo. 
 
XYI 
 
 From Bombay to Suez. 
 
 ON board the Bangalore, December 30, 1875. In the cooler 
 climate of Northern India, we have nearly recovered 
 from the deleterious effects of tropical heat, and now with 
 good care, which means taking daily generous doses of 
 quinine, we hope to get to Europe in good health. Although 
 both of us have suffered more or less from change of climate 
 and food, we do not regret the undertaking of this long 
 journey. We have not always found food to suit our taste, 
 the meats generally being tough and dry, the bread frequently 
 sour and gritty, the coffee execrable, the vegetables coarse 
 and rank, excepting potatoes, rice, and cauliflower. 
 
 Among all the fruits in India, there are only two or three 
 that we relished. They were generally too sweet and insipid. 
 Summer is the season in which the fruit of the country is 
 most highly enjoyed. It is not always prudent to drink the 
 water in these tropical countries, but we have found good 
 English beer and French claret wherever we have gone, and 
 a cup of good coffee or tea is prized by us at all times. One 
 naturally expects to get excellent coffee near Java and Mocha, 
 but we have not had it at the hotels or on shipboard. Coffee 
 and tea are properly made here only by European residents. In 
 
FROM BOMBAY TO SUEZ. 133 
 
 England an extract of coffee is made from the berry snipped 
 from this country, and which is sent to India and China for 
 the use of hotels and ships. 
 
 The Bangalore is a small ship, comfortable and clean. 
 There are twenty cabin passengers, including five children. 
 We have nice marble tubs in which to take our morning 
 sea- water baths. The punkas over the cabin tables are kept 
 in motion from early morning until midnight, and therefore 
 we do not suffer much from tropical heat. 
 
 New Year's Day, 1876. A " Happy New Year" to you all 
 from the Arabian Sea ! 
 
 But the new year, however, will have finished its second 
 month before you receive the salutation. We are enjoying 
 the charming weather, and are sailing with scarcely a ripple 
 on the water. The cabin steward has informed us that we 
 shall have a splendid plum-cake for dinner. We would pre- 
 fer some ice to all the plum-cakes in Christendom. The 
 want of ice has been one of the great discomforts of our 
 Indian tour. The food on the Bangalore is excellent, and 
 we are greatly benefited in health and strength by the 
 voyage. We have each lost more than twenty pounds in 
 weight during the last two months. 
 
 January 4, 1876. We are now in the Red Sea. Yesterday 
 we anchored for the day off Aden. It is a forlorn-looking 
 place, from our point of view. Just back of the coast there 
 are fifty thousand natives living among the rocks of that 
 sterile region. The few English officials stationed at Aden 
 reside on the beach. The principal products of the penin- 
 sula are coffee and ostrich feathers. The Mocha coffee, so 
 highly appreciated by us at home, is cultivated on the coast 
 
134 ACEOSS THE MEEIDIANS. 
 
 near Aden, but the best is from the country north of Mocha. 
 Ostrich farming is engaged in extensively by the people of 
 the peninsula. Some of the natives came on board with bags 
 of beautiful feathers, of which the ladies made purchases. 
 
 We were also visited by a number of jugglers and snake- 
 charmers. The most wonderful trick which the jugglers per- 
 formed was drawing pots of natural flowers from their long 
 flowing sleeves. The prestidigitators sit down upon the deck 
 and perform their feats of legerdemain with no other appara- 
 tus than a small canvas bag in which they carry their snakes. 
 
 A score of divers surrounded our ship and performed vari- 
 ous curious evolutions in the water. They would dive down 
 with both hands full of balls and return with the sixpence 
 previously thrown into the water between their teeth, show- 
 ing that they had picked it up without using their hands. 
 
 There was no inducement to go ashore, and we remained 
 on board to be entertained as mentioned. 
 
 In entering the Red Sea we passed through the narrow and 
 rocky channel called the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, Grate of 
 Tears, so named because of the many accidents which have 
 occurred there. Happily we sailed safely through the straits. 
 
 We have on board Mr. C, who crossed the Pacific with us. 
 Such unexpected reunions are some of the pleasant incidents 
 of travel. So far, I have recorded the time taken to travel, 
 and the distances between the places which we have visited. 
 These data I will show you on our return home. 
 
 January 8, 1876. We expect to arrive in Suez to-morrow. 
 Although the weather has been extremely warm, there have 
 been no storms to render the voyage through the Red Sea 
 otherwise unpleasant. Sometimes when the wind is with 
 the ship the steamers are obliged, on account of the intense 
 
FEOM BOMBAY TO SUEZ. 135 
 
 heat, to turn and retrace their way for hours in order to have 
 the benefit of the breeze and then return over the same track 
 at night. From Aden to Suez is a six days' voyage. 
 
 We have seen parts of the coast of Arabia, Abyssinia, and 
 Nubia. We passed Mecca at night. We had a distant view 
 of Mount Sinai ; it is three hundred miles from Suez. We 
 sailed by the place where the Israelites crossed the Red Sea 
 on dry land. This traditional spot is very near the head of 
 the Red Sea. There the water is shallow, and when certain 
 winds blow it is difficult to take steamers over the sand-bars. 
 
XVII 
 
 Cairo. The Land of the Pharaohs. 
 
 Cairo, January 26, 1876. Now we are in the land of the 
 Pharaohs. We arrived in Cairo on the 10th inst. From 
 Bombay to Suez is a voyage of three thousand miles. We 
 feel that we are again in a land of European civilization. We 
 find a most comfortable home at Shephard's Hotel, We have 
 a commodious room on the first floor with .the windows em- 
 bowered under vines and roses. From Suez, where we left the 
 steamer, to this city is a journey of nine hours. The road 
 passed through an edge of the Great Sahara Desert, running 
 for many miles over the sandy plain. We had in sight long 
 stretches of the Suez Canal. We ran along for miles in the 
 valley of the Nile; this is a rich and fertile tract of land, 
 which in comparison to the desert looks like ribbons of green 
 laid down upon either side of the river. 
 
 At last our home letters and papers have reached us, and 
 we have had a husy day perusing them. 
 
 A succession of agreeable incidents, including a reunion 
 with some friends, among whom were the W.'s, of Syracuse, 
 the continuance of fresh and invigorating hreezes, the com- 
 forts of a good hotel, and the consciousness of being near if 
 not among civilized people, have caused us to enjoy very much 
 
 136 
 
THE LAND OF THE PHARAOHS. 137 
 
 our two weeks' sojourn in Cairo. We have fully occupied 
 our time here in sight-seeing, and not until almost our last 
 day have I found time to give "you another chapter from my 
 itinerary. 
 
 In the garden of our hotel are several "beautiful pelicans as 
 tame as chickens, and in an inclosure at the rear of the house 
 there is an ostrich pen where are kept seven very large 
 ostriches, two of which are black with feathers as lustrous as 
 the finest satin. When I have proffered them bread from a 
 window ten feet from the ground they have stretched their 
 long necks, and taken it with great delight. Besides the 
 other attractions of our hotel, there is a number of German 
 girls composing an orchestra, who give dinner concerts twice 
 a week. 
 
 The street scenes in Cairo are unlike anything we have seen 
 elsewhere. Camels and donkeys are the common carriers of 
 burdens. Arabian horses are used for carriage service among 
 the nobility. Donkeys are more convenient for travelers 
 going to different parts of the city and making short excur- 
 sions in the suburbs. The unpaved roads are so heavy with 
 sand that it is difficult for horses to drag carriages along them. 
 
 It is the custom of tourists to ascend the Nile as far as the 
 first cataract, an, excursion of three weeks. Inasmuch as our 
 time is limited, we must omit going up the river. 
 
 I have had the pleasure of making a visit to the Khedive's 
 harem, where I went upon invitation of the Princess Mansoor, 
 the eldest daughter of the Khedive by his first wife, and the 
 only wife of Pasha Mansoor. The princess very graciously 
 received us — the wife of the American Consul and myself. 
 She speaks French and we were able to converse with her. 
 A lady of honor attended her. We were met at the entrance 
 of the palace garden by four handsome young Circassian 
 
 18 
 
138 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 slaves beautifully attired in bright, long-trained silk dresses, 
 wearing jaunty, gayly colored silk turbans, satin slippers, and 
 ricb jewelry. They grasped our hands, and conducted us, 
 each of us walking between two slaves, to the door of the 
 palace, where we were received by two Nubians, male slaves, 
 dressed in rich broadcloth, and four slave girls beautifully 
 arrayed in many colors. The girls laid aside our wraps 
 and then conducted us through a long and wide corridor 
 and up a magnificent marble staircase, a girl on each side 
 of us, who almost lifted us up the stairs as if to spare us 
 the effort of walking. 
 
 We were shown into a large and richly furnished waiting- 
 room, where we were received by the princess's lady of honor 
 and offered chibouks and coffee. The stems of the chibouks 
 were about six feet long, with mouth-pieces of amber and 
 bowls of gold, and were covered with gold and silver filigree 
 work. The mouth-pieces were encircled with diamonds, 
 rubies, and emeralds. Silver plates were placed upon the 
 floor at convenient distances to rest the bowls upon. We 
 admired the beautiful pipes, and regretted for the moment 
 that American ladies had not acquired the habit of smoking 
 tobacco, whereupon we were relieved of the jeweled pipes. 
 We were served with coffee, a la turque, in cup-holders stud- 
 ded with diamonds, which we knew better how to appreciate 
 than the chibouks. 
 
 Very soon six more pretty slaves, beautifully dressed and 
 richly jeweled, came to announce that the princess would 
 receive us. After passing through several magnificent rooms 
 followed by the train of girls, we reached the door of the 
 grand salon, where the princess, surrounded by a bevy of still 
 more richly attired slaves, advanced to meet us and led the 
 way to a large and luxurious divan on which we seated our- 
 
THE LAND 0E THE PHARAOHS. 139 
 
 selves. Chibouks were then brought to us again which we 
 held in our hands while the princess made graceful use of 
 hers. She kindly accepted our regrets for abstaining from 
 smoking, and said that she was really sorry that we could 
 not enjoy what to her was a great pleasure. The tobacco 
 was so highly perfumed that the tobacco odor was entirely 
 destroyed. Coffee was again served. Afterward the prin- 
 cess was handed a box on a golden salver, from which she 
 took a jeweled cigarette-holder, and having placed in it a 
 cigarette from a dainty little gold and silver tree standing 
 upon an ivory table near the divan, smoked the cigarette 
 as enjoyably as she had the chibouk. The salon was splen- 
 didly furnished and ornamented. The only picture in it 
 was a life-size portrait of the Khedive. 
 
 After chatting pleasantly for a half hour, the princess 
 having taken each by the hand, and walking between us, 
 conducted us to her beautiful boudoir. She called our atten- 
 tion to the arrangement of its furniture, entirely Oriental in 
 style, which she said she had designed. It was indeed ele- 
 gant, with its fine mirrors and antique furniture, partly cov- 
 ered with rich Persian fabrics embroidered with gold and sil- 
 ver. Baskets and mounds of artificial flowers were tastefully 
 disposed about the room. All the floral decorations in the 
 palace were of the finest French artificial flowers. She then 
 led us into her study, a real bijou of a room. Its walls were 
 faced with mirrors, and the ceiling was elaborately gilded, 
 light being admitted from the ceiling through stained glass, 
 for there were no windows in the room. In the center of the 
 room was a luxurious divan covered with crimson velvet 
 embroidered with gold, and pillows of the same material. 
 Near the divan was a gold and ivory table on which were 
 a chibouk and a golden tobacco-box. On another ivory table 
 
140 ACEOSS THE MEBIDIANS. 
 
 near it was a large salver of silver and gold on which were a 
 basin and ewer. It was the princess's toilet-table. Near at 
 hand was a towel of white silk embroidered with gold and 
 silver, and a vase of Bohemian glass containing perfumed 
 water. There were also ornaments of gold, silver, and ala- 
 baster in the room. 
 
 The princess took us each by the hand again and con- 
 ducted us to another beautiful room in which we were served 
 with a delicious cordial in golden cups, with napkins em- 
 broidered with gold thread. Here the princess gracefully 
 thanked us for the visit, and retired to her boudoir followed 
 by the attendants wbo had accompanied us through the 
 palace. We descended the staircase, supported on either side 
 by the same girls who had escorted us up the stairs, and 
 were attended to our carriage in the same manner as we were 
 met on our arrival. 
 
 There were twenty-five slaves in attendance during our 
 visit of two and a half hours. The princess has fifty Circas- 
 sian slaves at her command. Everywhere we went in the 
 palace the air was perfumed. The princess was more simply 
 dressed than her women. She wore a plain but elegant 
 dress of brown silk with trim m ings and ornaments of tor- 
 toise-shell elaborately carved, having on them a crown and 
 the letter "I." This letter is found on all the royal emblems, 
 it being the initial letter of the Khedive's name, " Ismail." 
 Princess Mansoor is a handsome blonde Circassian with 
 bright red hair. Her lady of honor is a French woman, a 
 brunette, whose hair is dyed red to please the princess. The 
 princess's mother is a beautiful blonde, who is even hand- 
 somer than her daughter. 
 
 The Grezeereh palace is the finest of all the palaces in Cairo. 
 It is the palace in which royal or distinguished guests are 
 
o 
 
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 CL 
 
 LU 
 
THE LAND OP THE PHARAOHS. 141 
 
 lodged. The Khedive occupies a luxurious bungalow in the 
 palace garden when there are guests at Grezeereh. The Prince 
 of Wales was lodged there when on his way to India. Em- 
 press Eugenie also occupied it at the time of the opening of 
 the Suez Canal. In it is a suite of four magnificent rooms 
 connected with an alabaster bath-room. These chambers are 
 tapestried with blue satin and gilt trimmings. The ceilings 
 are canopied with the same materials. Their decorations, as 
 well as the toilet porcelain ware, are blue and gilt. There are 
 also beautiful ornaments and pieces of furniture made of ala- 
 baster. In the salon are a pair of large Sevres vases on which 
 are painted the portraits of the French emperor and empress. 
 The lunch-room, although not large, is finely proportioned. 
 In each corner of it is an alabaster fountain, which, when 
 notable guests are entertained, spouts perfumed water. The 
 tables in it are of alabaster, and the draperies are of blue satin. 
 In the center of the room is a smaU fountain from which flows 
 at times burning kerosene oil to illuminate the apartment. 
 The salons are resplendent in their crimson and white velvet 
 and gold-embroidered white satin hangings and upholstering. 
 In one of them are two alabaster mantels inlaid with rare 
 stones supporting mirrors reaching to the ceiling, which are 
 framed in inlaid alabaster. The staircase is another attractive 
 work of art. It is of white marble and inlaid with choice 
 stones forming antique designs. 
 
 In the grand entrance hall is a bust of Benjamin Franklin, 
 mounted on an alabaster pedestal, surmounted with the form 
 of a boy holding a hghtning-rod upon which the electricity 
 has been caught and is being conducted away. This a beauti- 
 ful tribute to the memory of our own Franklin. It was pre- 
 sented to the Khedive by the King of Italy on the occasion of 
 the opening of the Suez Canal. 
 
142 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 There is an exquisite marble kiosk at one end of the veranda 
 of the palace in which there is a pretty breakfast-room. The 
 room is lined with mirrors and trimmed with artificial flowers. 
 In each corner are exquisite little alabaster fountains from 
 which flows perfumed water. The palace is surrounded by- 
 beautiful gardens, containing several fountains and some fine 
 old shade trees. 
 
 There is also the Shoobra palace, about an hour's ride from 
 Grezeereh, another wonder of Oriental architecture and splen- 
 dor. The avenue leading to the palace is three miles long, 
 and is bordered on both sides with acacia and sycamore 
 trees. It is the fashionable drive. There every afternoon 
 may be seen the finest turnouts of the foreign residents, the 
 Khedive's magnificent carriages, drawn by Arabian horses 
 with outriders in uniforms and decorations of blue and silver, 
 and crimson and gold, scores of donkeys in gilded trappings, 
 carrying Arab women closely veiled and riding astride, with 
 children running along behind to keep the animals in the 
 road. There also are to be seen long trains of camels loaded 
 with stone and produce, and now and then dromedaries gayly 
 caparisoned bearing riders in bright Oriental costumes. Such 
 a medley of curious street scenes cannot be found in any 
 other part of the world. 
 
 The palace is surrounded by beautiful gardens in which 
 are scores of orange and lemon trees bending under their 
 burdens of fruit. We had permission to pick some oranges, 
 which were delicious. The blood or red orange grows here 
 in perfection. We could not see the interior of the palace, 
 but we did see the kiosk and alabaster bath. The kiosk is 
 three hundred feet square, with an artificial lake in the center 
 from the midst of which rises a pavilion large enough to seat 
 thirty persons. In it are divans, cushions, plants, lamps 
 with magnificent glass shades, and a fountain of perfumed 
 
THE LAJSD OF THE PHAEAOHS. 143 
 
 water. The pavilion is reached by a little gondola. The 
 lake is encircled by a marble water-course upon which are 
 sculptured fish, reptiles, aquatic birds and animals. In each 
 corner of the kiosk are small boudoirs where the women of 
 the harem sip their coffee from tiny ornamented cups. These 
 rooms are upholstered with richly colored silks and velvets. 
 One of these boudoirs is most elegantly furnished, it having 
 been fitted for the viceroy, Mohammed Ah. The corridors 
 around the lake are supported by alabaster columns, and fur- 
 nished with fine mirrors and luxurious divans. They are 
 lighted by gas. The bath is a large room faced with alabaster ; 
 the bathing basin is also of alabaster. When in use the foun- 
 tain emits perfumed water. There are several small luxurious 
 coffee-rooms adjacent to the bath-room. 
 
 We have been to Heliopolis. It is an Arab town of mud 
 houses, six miles from Cairo. Here we saw the "Virgin's 
 tree " under which it is said Joseph and Mary with the infant 
 Jesus rested in their flight into Egypt. It is a fig-sycamore. 
 Its trunk is above twenty feet in diameter and the fohage of 
 its wide-spreading branches shades a large area of ground. 
 There is a high fence around the tree to protect it from the 
 insatiable memento-collecting tourists, who would have car- 
 ried it away in pieces long ago. 
 
 Near the tree is an obelisk covered with hieroglyphics. It 
 is said to be the oldest obelisk in Egypt. It is sixty-four feet 
 high. The companion to it disappeared long ago. They 
 stood at the entrance of a temple. All about this district 
 are fields of cactus bearing a fruit highly appreciated by the 
 natives. 
 
 The pyramids are the wonder of the world and the pride 
 of Egypt. The group of the largest, three in aU, is six miles 
 from Cairo. The sandy road is bordered with beautiful trees, 
 including many of the date palm, which afford a grateful 
 
144 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 shade. On our way to the pyramids we passed the Khedive's 
 new palace, which when finished will be one of the largest 
 and one of the most magnificent in existence. The grounds 
 are inclosed by fourteen miles of stone wall, ten feet high, 
 and have a frontage on the Nile of three and a half miles. 
 There is a group of three palaces connected by corridors 
 already finished, and others are building. A large reser- 
 voir provided with a steam pump supplies water for the 
 buildings and grounds. And we also passed by two impos- 
 ing buildings belonging to the Khedive's sons. 
 
 As we approached the pyramids they seemed to diminish 
 in size, as did Mont Blanc when we came near its base. The 
 pyramids are three immense piles of masonry. The largest 
 is the pyramid of Cheops. The great pyramid, or Cheops, is 
 supposed to have been built about three thousand five hun- 
 dred years b. c, and the smaller ones subsequently. It took 
 ten years to build the causeway on which the stones were 
 brought from the quarries along the Nile. It is said that 
 three hundred thousand men were twenty years building 
 Cheops. Each of its sides immediately above the sand meas- 
 ures seven hundred and sixty feet in width, but below the 
 sand its base must be of much larger dimensions. I do not 
 know that excavations to the foundation of the pyramid have 
 ever been made. 
 
 Cheops is 480 feet high. The highest structure in Europe 
 is the tower of the Strasburg Cathedral, the altitude of which 
 is. 461 feet. St. Peter's at Eome is 429 feet high, and St. 
 Paul's in London 404 feet. 
 
 The wonderful Sphinx stands a quarter of a mile from the 
 great pyramid. The face of the Sphinx bears a striking 
 resemblance to Greorge Washington's face as pictured. 
 
 The pyramids of Egypt were once one of the seven won- 
 
THE LAND OF THE PHARAOHS. 145 
 
 ders of the world. The other six were the hanging gardens 
 of Babylon, the tomb of Mausohis, King of Caria, the tem- 
 ple of Diana at Ephesus, the colossus of Rhodes (the site of 
 which we shall pass when leaving Alexandria), the statue of 
 Jupiter, of gold and ivory, at Olympia, and the palace of 
 Cyrus, cemented with gold. 
 
 Five miles beyond the pyramids are the ruins of the cele- 
 brated city of Memphis. Nothing remains of its former 
 grandeur and glory, except the prostrate statue of Rameses 
 the Great lying in a pit which is often filled with water from 
 the inundation of the Nile. From the high point where the 
 pyramids are, we overlooked many miles of the river and 
 its richly cultivated valley, where we saw i mm ense fields of 
 wheat and corn, and countless little mud-built villages of the 
 Arabs. 
 
 We have seen the great citadel of Cairo and the wonderful 
 alabaster mosque. If the latter is not the largest, it is by 
 far the richest mosque in the world. The mosque of Saint 
 Sophia in Constantinople is larger, but not so beautiful. 
 The two buildings stand upon a rocky eminence, six hundred 
 feet above the city, this particular location having been 
 chosen, it is alleged, because meat would keep sweet much 
 longer upon this high rocky ground than in any other part 
 of the city. The citadel was built in 1100, by Saladin. The 
 mosque is a modern structure. It was built by Mohammed 
 Ali, the grandfather of the present Khedive, and who has left 
 many magnificent monuments to mark his reign in Egypt. 
 The mosque is three hundred feet square. The outside is not 
 yet completed, but will be faced with blocks of alabaster, as 
 the interior. The alabaster used in the construction of these 
 buildings is a richly colored stone, hard as granite and of a 
 very fine grain, with layers of amber and wavy cream-colored 
 
 19 
 
146 ACE0S8 THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 lines running through, it. The alabaster takes a high polish 
 and looks like satin. The architecture of the mosque is 
 Oriental. The roof is supported by alabaster columns. The 
 floor is covered with costly Turkish carpets. The alabaster 
 galleries are one hundred feet above the floor. The mosque 
 is lighted by three rows of stained-glass windows, and in it 
 are hundreds of hanging glass lamps arranged in circles and 
 triangles. The gilded dome can be seen twenty miles away. 
 The court leading to the mosque is paved with alabaster, and 
 is surrounded by a corridor of the same. It is the only ala- 
 baster mosque in existence. 
 
 In the palace adjoining the mosque are an elaborate stair- 
 case and a bath chamber which are marvels of beauty. Close 
 by the river bank and not far from the citadel is a clump of 
 bulrushes and trees occupying the spot where it is said 
 Moses was hidden from the persecution of Pharoah. 
 
 We have visited Mrs. L.'s American Mission School for 
 Arab and Egyptian children, and have heard a very' remark- 
 able history of one of her little school-girls. It was from 
 this school that Maharajah Dhuleep Singh, whose name is 
 well known in England, took his wife. Rajah Dhuleep Singh 
 is one of the few Buddhists known to have forsaken the faith 
 of his people, and to have accepted the Christian religion. 
 He lives in grand state on a beautiful property not far from 
 London, and is a favored visitor with his wife at the English 
 Court. At the beginning of her career as a donkey-driver, 
 she and her donkey were frequently in the service of Mrs. 
 L. The latter became much interested in the little girl's wel- 
 fare, and obtained from her wretchedly poor mother the exclu- 
 sive privilege of taking care of her bright-faced child. 
 
 About ten years ago, said Mrs. L., Rajah Singh was pass- 
 ing through Cairo on his way to the home of his ancestors in 
 
THE LAND OF THE PHARAOHS. 147 
 
 India, when he heard of her mission school for native chil- 
 dren. He called upon Mrs. L. and asked permission to visit 
 it. The rajah was entirely unknown to Mrs. L., but she asked 
 him to accompany her to the school-room, where were sixteen 
 young Egyptian girls, barefooted, and almost without cloth- 
 ing, seated in a circle upon the floor, receiving instruction 
 from one a little older than themselves, who sat within the 
 circle. The rajah was at once captivated by the earnest 
 manner, and the large, speaking black eyes of the young 
 teacher, who kept her position on the floor, wondering why 
 her class was disturbed. After leaving the room the rajah 
 made some inquiries about the little teacher, and said to Mrs. 
 L. that he would bike to marry her. Mrs. L. expressed great 
 surprise, and replied that she had reclaimed her from a very 
 low life, and had educated her to a point where she was use- 
 ful as an assistant in the school, and therefore begged the 
 unknown suitor to make no further allusion to the subject. 
 The rajah thanked Mrs. L. for her kindness, and asked per- 
 mission to return the next day. 
 
 On the following day, at the appointed hour, the rajah 
 came again and presented his card and an autograph letter 
 from Queen Victoria. The rajah asked permission to visit 
 the school again, and on his departure renewed his request 
 to be permitted to make the little Egyptian teacher his wife, 
 giving as an excuse for his sudden falling in love with her 
 that the girl's eyes and earnest manner had captivated him, 
 and it was his strong desire to make her his wife. He said 
 he would place her under proper tuition and training imme- 
 diately after their marriage to fit her for a sphere of usefulness 
 which she could never otherwise have entered. He desired 
 Mrs. L. to communicate his proposition to the girl, to whom 
 he had not yet spoken, and said that he would call the next 
 
148 ACBOSS THE MEKIDIANS. 
 
 day for her decision. Accordingly, Mrs. L. made known the 
 wishes of the rajah to the girl, who was only fourteen years 
 old. 
 
 The innocent maiden did not understand one word of what 
 was meant by marriage, and entreated her kind guardian not 
 to send her away into slavery. She took hold of Mrs. L.'s 
 dress and began crying bitterly. She was pacified when told 
 that she should not go if she was not perfectly satisfied when 
 she understood what the rajah's proposition meant. The 
 rajah came the third time and showed letters to Mrs. L. 
 which fully satisfied her that he was all that he appeared to 
 be, and that his motives were pure and noble. He desired 
 permission to converse with the girl, which he was allowed 
 to do in the presence of Mrs. L. He addressed the girl in 
 Arabic, which was familiar to her. The interview greatly 
 terrified the young and timid creature, and she again begged 
 her foster-mother not to send her away into slavery, saying 
 that she could not five if she were sold to the man. She 
 begged with tears that she might stay and be permitted to 
 requite with service the kindness she had received at the 
 hands of Dr. and Mrs. L. 
 
 The rajah went away and was not discouraged in his suit. 
 He preferred the request that the girl should have a place in 
 the family and be taught European manners and be suitably 
 dressed at his expense. Until this time she had never sat at a 
 table to eat, but had taken her food sitting upon the floor or 
 under a tree in the garden. He informed Mrs. L. that on his 
 return to England he should claim the girl for his wife, if 
 there should be no objections raised at that time. The rajah's 
 wishes were followed with most satisfactory consequences. 
 The young girl began to comprehend her future destiny, and 
 to acquire the education planned for her, although she con- 
 tinually regretted the day the rajah saw her first. 
 
THE LAND OP THE PHAKAOHS. 149 
 
 The rajah, as arranged, informed Mrs. L. of the time of his 
 return from India, and requested her to get for his bride suit- 
 able clothing, if the girl was willing to become his wife. He 
 came at the promised time, and the girl was willing to go with 
 him. Her father, an Englishman, living in Alexandria, was 
 found and informed that his presence was desired that he 
 might give in marriage his unknown daughter. Her mother, 
 a poor Egyptian donkey-driver, living in a hovel built of mud, 
 was ignorant of the circumstances of the marriage. The 
 wedding was celebrated in Mrs. L.'s house, upon which oc- 
 casion the rajah gave Mrs. L. £1000 sterling to invest in 
 such way as she might think advisable to advance the Chris- 
 tian education of poor children in Cairo. Upon every anni- 
 versary of the marriage, which occurred ten years ago, the 
 sum of £1000 has been sent Mrs. L. by the rajah for the 
 mission work in Cairo. With this large yearly donation she 
 has built a church, a residence for herself, and a mission 
 school. 
 
 Dr. L. and his wife visited the rajah in England, and were 
 royally entertained by him and his wife. I have seen photo- 
 graphs of them and their three children. This event has had 
 a strange influence on some of the girls attending Mrs. L.'s 
 school, who imagine they may become wives of rajahs under 
 circumstances as romantic as those already narrated. 
 
 The rajah was true to his word. He placed his wife in a 
 separate apartment in his palace, and provided her with teach- 
 ers. At the end of two years she was presented at court, and 
 from that time forward a new life opened to her. The princess, 
 as she was called, shared her husband's position in society, 
 and became a benefactor of the poor and wretched.* 
 
 * July, 1886. I have heard that the rajah has abandoned his Christian 
 belief, and returned to India with his wife and children, and again professes 
 the faith of his ancestors. 
 
150 ACEOSS THE MEEIDIANS. 
 
 The bazars of Cairo are among the novel sights of the city. 
 There are miles of these little booths, each about ten feet 
 square. The proprietors are seen sitting a la turque on tables 
 with variously colored fabrics and beautiful embroideries, 
 boxes of amber Ornaments, and great quantities of gold and 
 silver filigree- work disposed around them. Grold and silver 
 jewelry is sold here by weight, the workmanship having only 
 a nominal value. 
 
 We have seen the howling dervishes, the most unprepos- 
 sessing persons I have ever beheld. By a gift of backsheesh 
 we obtained admission to one of their religious performances. 
 Thirty men took part in it. They began by advancing in a 
 semicircle in front of the Sheik, or chief, and having made 
 salaams, they moved backward and formed in a circle around 
 the chief, kneeling on blankets. After having bowed their 
 heads repeatedly to the floor, they began their devotions, 
 horrid tones from a number of discordant musical instru- 
 ments accompanying their movements. Rising, they again 
 lowly bowed their heads and then began with more rapid 
 movements, all moving together in unison and in time with 
 the music. As the music increased in rapidity of time and 
 became louder, the devotees increased the violence of their 
 movements, until their disheveled hair made them still more 
 hideous and their vociferations were intensified to an almost 
 deafening degree. After a time they began whirling, their 
 bodies spinning around like tops ; the faster the music the 
 quicker their motions and more piercing their shrieks. Sud- 
 denly the circle of whirling fanatics broke, and advancing 
 again in a semicircle before the Sheik, they made salaams 
 and put on the dirty robes they had cast off and fell down 
 on the floor exhausted. 
 On some of our excursions, we have had the pleasure of 
 
THE LAND OF THE PHARAOHS. 151 
 
 Judge and Mrs. B.'s company. Judge B. is one of the judges 
 of the International Supreme Court of Egypt, having been 
 appointed by the President of the United States. "We go to 
 Alexandria to-morrow. 
 
 A lexandeia, January 26, 1876. We arrived here last even- 
 -£a_ ing and shall remain only a day or two. In fact we have 
 " done " the place already. The principal objects of interest 
 here to the tourist are Cleopatra's Needles and Pompey's 
 Pillar. The Needles were brought from Heliopolis. They 
 were among the columns of the temple. One is still stand- 
 ing. It is seventy-one feet high. The other is sixty-six 
 feet high, and lies partly imbedded in the sand, having fallen 
 there ages ago.* 
 
 The obelisks are covered with hieroglyphics. One account 
 of the origin of the Needles mentions that they were erected 
 by Cleopatra to commemorate the birth of her son Csesarion. 
 Pompey's Pillar is a column ninety-eight feet high, and is 
 said to have been erected in the year 300 b. c, in honor 
 of the Emperor Diocletian. Alexandria is a busy commer- 
 cial city, not unlike one of Europe. 
 
 * June, 1886. The shorter obelisk was brought to New York about six 
 years ago and erected in Central Park. 
 
XVIII 
 
 Athens. 
 
 A thens, February 1, 1876. We had a pleasant voyage of 
 Jl\. three days from Alexandria to the Piraeus — the sea- 
 port of Athens. We saw the Island of Rhodes and the har- 
 bor where once stood the celebrated colossus. The captain 
 of our little Egyptian steamer, the ClarMe, has been engaged 
 to convey to Alexandria the family of the Khedive's brother 
 who has just died at Constantinople, leaving a family of five 
 hundred persons. The captain says two steamers will be 
 required for their transportation. 
 
 We are again in the classic city of Athens, and among 
 familiar faces and well-known localities. We intend to re- 
 main here long enough to refresh ourselves after our eight 
 months of fatiguing but very interesting journeyings. Many 
 of our colleagues are still here with whom we were formerly 
 associated. We were cordially greeted, too, by our old 
 friends of the missionary colony. Everybody affectionately 
 inquired after you and your little family. 
 
 A thens, February 28, 1876. Their majesties, the king and 
 ~£\- queen of Greece, received us a few days ago in a charm- 
 ingly informal manner. They engaged us for an hour in a 
 familiar conversation about America and our travels. On 
 
ATHENS. 153 
 
 the following day we dined at the palace in company with 
 the royal household. The king drank to your father's health, 
 and safe return to his native land. During the dinner the 
 four children were allowed to come to the table for a few 
 minutes that we might see how much they had grown in the 
 three years of our absence. The crown prince, Constantine, 
 stood between the king and queen ; the other children by the 
 ladies of honor. At a signal they severally came to us and 
 offered their hands, saying, " (rood-night," in English. As 
 remarked by Mme. T., the grand maitresse, it was a pretty 
 scene, and a mark of friendship. The queen was as gracious 
 and charming as ever. Her toilet was simple and elegant ; 
 it was made of pink and white satin, with coiffure of pink 
 and white camellias. A single cluster of diamonds was the 
 only decoration she wore. 
 
 The carnival is at its height. Masqueraders are seen 
 nightly on the streets. There are burlesque processions, 
 nonsensical spectacles in carriages, and even mothers parade 
 their little children fantastically dressed. 
 
 Perhaps you remember Mile. M., one of the assistant 
 teachers of. the ArsaMon, the normal school at Athens. She 
 has married a Greek with ten children ! 
 
 This is the season of flowers, and I am fully enjoying the 
 beauty and fragrance of the heliotropes. We have dined 
 with several old friends, and partaken of three open-air 
 breakfasts. We have been to a barbecue or picnic at Phale- 
 rum. A special train was placed at the service of the thirty- 
 three guests from Athens. It was given by Mr. P., the pres- 
 ident of the Athens and Piraeus railroad company. The 
 mayors and other high dignitaries of Athens and Piraeus 
 were there with their wives. The table was laid just on 
 the seashore close to the bathing ground under a pavilion 
 
 20 
 
154 ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 covered with evergreens, trailing vines, and flowers. Four 
 lambs were roasted whole in the rear of the pavilion, and 
 the coffee was made in large boilers close at hand. The 
 table was loaded with choice viands and wines. Music and 
 speeches in Greek and English enlivened the occasion. It 
 was a very enjoyable affair. 
 
 Mr. X. gave us a country barbecue a day or two ago. "We 
 were a party of a dozen old friends, all Greeks but ourselves. 
 After an hour's drive we arrived at the place, a beautiful 
 grove of wild orange-trees. The table was laid a la brigande, 
 as a country picnic table in Greece is called. It was a large 
 deal table placed under a fine old fig-tree, close by a group of 
 orange-trees, and overspread with tender twigs of evergreens. 
 All the provisions were placed on the table, and a large piece 
 of bread laid at each plate. The lamb was roasted on a spit 
 in front of the table. The delicious aroma of the boiling cof- 
 fee invitingly mingled with the savory smell of the roasting 
 lamb. The lamb was brought upon the table and broken into 
 pieces by the host. This mode of carving is very skillfully 
 accomplished by one who knows how to do it. I suppose the 
 lamb was disjointed before it was cooked, No knives or forks 
 are used at a barbecue ; fingers substitute them. I confess 
 that I never tasted sweeter or more savory meat than was 
 that lamb. We had, in addition, various gtycos, or sweet- 
 meats, including the rose-leaf glyco, and good bread, fine 
 oranges, and excellent native wines. We returned to the city 
 before nightfall, having fully enjoyed all the features. of the 
 varied pleasures of the day. 
 
 A barbecue is deemed a special compliment when it is given 
 to a visitor. The manner of roasting a lamb at a barbecue is 
 primitive. Two large stones are placed about four feet apart; 
 the lamb, pierced lengthwise by a long pointed stick, is placed 
 
ATHENS. 155 
 
 over a bed of live coals between the two stones. With fre- 
 quent turning and basting with oil and salt, the lamb is cooked 
 "to a turn." 
 
 The Patissia Road is as brilliant as we knew it three years 
 ago. The royal family drive along it every day, often alight- 
 ing from the carriage, the king and queen walking hand in 
 hand with the two eldest children. This avenue is frequented 
 by the nobility and fashionable people of the city. You re- 
 member the Greek ladies wear very gay colors for the prome- 
 nade. Sometimes the road is radiant with all the colors of 
 the rainbow. The king and queen, moving along in the crowd, 
 have a friendly greeting for every one. The fields of Phalerum, 
 as you have often seen them, are now carpeted with beautiful 
 scarlet anemones and brilliant red and white poppies. When 
 there, I never fail to carry home large bunches of these wild 
 flowers. The legation servant, Theocharis, whom you doubt- 
 less remember, has become a coachman. He informed us that 
 he had saved enough money while in our service to start him- 
 self in business with a coach and a pair of horses. He comes 
 to our rooms every morning to offer his services. 
 
 At a dinner at the English minister's your health and 
 happiness and that of your husband and children were drank 
 right heartily; your brother was also kindly spoken of, and 
 both were remembered at the dinner given by Dr. Schliemann. 
 The eminent archaeologist is as earnestly engaged as ever in 
 his excavations. He and Mrs. 8., who is as enthusiastic as 
 himself in the study of archaeology, have made some very 
 valuable discoveries at old Corinth and at Olympia. Ten 
 thousand francs were recently offered Dr. Schliemann for a 
 terra-cotta vase found by him many metres below the surface 
 of the ground at old Corinth. He sells none of his treasures. 
 
 The carnival ends to-day with the usual f^te at the columns 
 
156 AQEOSS THE MEBIDIAJSrS. 
 
 of Jupiter, which everybody attends ; many bring baskets of 
 provisions and remain all day. The peasantry in provincial 
 holiday costumes, the middle and poorer classes of Athens 
 less distinctively dressed, the men mostly wearing white fus- 
 tenellas, and the people of rank fashionably attired, highly 
 animate the picturesque scene. The most popular amuse- 
 ment at these out-of-door fetes is dancing. The dancers are 
 men, twelve or more of them gracefully moving in circles, 
 sometimes breaking the circles and forming themselves into 
 unique figures, then resuming again the first position to the 
 music of a flute or a shepherd's horn, and sometimes to the 
 rhythm of a song sung in a minor key; the chief dancer dis- 
 courses the music. As the dancers become fatigued they fall 
 out of the circle for a time, then take again their positions. 
 
 I have attended several of these fetes, and never saw any- 
 thing bordering on rudeness, notwithstanding the people drink 
 freely of their wines. They claim that they dance the same 
 dances which their forefathers danced a thousand years ago. 
 The queen and the ladies of the royal household don the 
 native costume on the national fete-days, and sometimes at- 
 tend the fetes as observers. The costume is very chaste and 
 pretty. It is composed of a white silk skirt and a blue velvet 
 jacket embroidered with gold thread. The bracelets, neck- 
 laces, and tiara are made of the gold coins of Greece. Many 
 of the peasant women wear beautiful gold ornaments — the 
 accumulations of generations. 
 
 The collection of a maiden's dower is begun while she is a 
 child, as was customary with the early Greek people. As soon 
 as the little girl is beyond the dangers of infancy the prudent 
 mother buys a wooden box, and begins to lay away some- 
 thing for her daughter's dower. Every year the sacred con- 
 tents of the box are increased by a contribution, if it be but 
 
ATHENS. 157 
 
 a small piece of home-made linen. You need not, however, 
 be told much of Athens and the Greeks, for you are already 
 well informed concerning them. Three years have made little 
 or no change in the appearance of the city and of the customs 
 of the people. 
 
 We have visited Tatoi, the king's country place, and by 
 permission explored the little palace there from top to bottom. 
 The family dining-room is an improvised pavilion in a shady 
 little nook, under a group of orange-trees now loaded with 
 fruit and blossoms, which is inclosed with a hedge of ever- 
 greens, vines, and cacti. Here the king and queen breakfast 
 and dine en Ute-d-tSte with their children. 
 
 There is no necessity to provide against rain in Greece 
 during the summer, for it seldom or never falls between the 
 months of May and October. At Tatoi there are lovely and 
 shaded walks in every direction bordered with beds of pink 
 and scarlet daisies. The queen's boudoir is furnished in pink 
 and white cretonne, with a corner hidden from view by a 
 screen of photographs which conceals her writing-desk and 
 a table of books. Here her majesty reads and writes. The 
 ladies of honor have rooms in small vine-covered cottages 
 near the royal villa. Tatoi is a charming rural retreat during 
 the hot months of summer. 
 
 One of the many interesting places in Athens is the 
 Areopagus, or Mars' Hill, the latter appellation having 
 been given, according to the traditional account, because 
 Mars was the first person tried here. He was accused of 
 murder. The tribunal consisted of two rough, flat stones 
 placed on the apex of the hill, one for the defendant and one 
 for the accuser. The temple of Mars stood close by the tri- 
 bunal. The ascent was made by steps cut in the rock, which 
 led from the base to the top of the hill. There were origi- 
 
158 ACROSS THE MEBEDIANS. 
 
 nally sixteen of them, but only a half dozen remain; the 
 others have crumbled and worn away. Parts of the tribunal 
 may still be seen. It is supposed that Mars' Hill formed a 
 part of the Acropolis and that at a very remote period it 
 was rent in twain by an earthquake. 
 
 In Acts xvii. mention is made of St. Paul preaching to 
 the curious and superstitious Athenians. The populace of 
 Athens, who went daily to the Agora, or market-place, which 
 was just at the foot of Mars' Hill, to learn the news of the 
 day, heard that a strange man had come among them who 
 pretended to have a new doctrine of religion, and that he had 
 asked permission of the city authorities to speak to the peo- 
 ple. The apostle said that he had observed altars erected to 
 Fame, Modesty, Energy, Persuasion, and Pity (the Athe- 
 nians alone of all the Greeks gave divine honors to Pity), 
 and that also he had seen an altar dedicated to the unknown 
 Grod at Phalerum, near the sea, and this altar he proposed to 
 dedicate anew to the God he came to preach. 
 
 Ancient Athens was the home of the world's civilization. 
 Laws of order, sobriety, and industry were first promulgated 
 in the city of Athens, the teachings and practice of which, 
 no doubt, were the starting point for European civilization. 
 The Greeks are a noble race, and they have whereof to be 
 proud. A long chapter would be necessary to describe this 
 renowned city with its ruins. But why repeat what you 
 already know as well as myself. 
 
 To-morrow we depart for Venice, a sea voyage of a thou- 
 sand miles. One of the inevitable and yet one of the most 
 disagreeable incidents of travel is that of parting with friends 
 one has made and enjoyed in the places visited. Being home- 
 ward bound, we do not wish to linger too long even among 
 good friends. 
 
I 
 
 -< 
 
XIX 
 
 From Athens to Venice, Milan and Lake Como. 
 
 On board the Lillebayo, March 31, 1876. We expect to 
 finish this quiet and pleasant voyage to-morrow. Our 
 steamer is small, slow, and not very comfortable. She is 
 making her last voyage before going into dry dock for re- 
 pairs. We are taking six days to accomplish a five days' 
 voyage. We and four other persons are the only passengers 
 aboard the vessel. After rounding Cape Matapan, the sec- 
 ond day out, we were informed that on the day before a 
 heavy gale had driven ashore a steamer, and that two pas- 
 sengers had been drowned. The water at the cape was not 
 very smooth for us, but we safely doubled it. We called at 
 Corfu and spent several hours on land. We got a good 
 dinner and visited some old friends. We also stopped at 
 Brindisi, where we passed a half -day in seeing the place, and 
 made a short excursion on the Appian Way, the famous 
 highway of early times, extending from Rome to this seaport. 
 
 Venice, April 7, 1876. We arrived at Venice on the first 
 day of the month. Sight-seeing hi this beautiful, 
 insular city is always interesting. Although described again 
 and again, the place still discloses some new and peculiar 
 
 '59 
 
160 ACEOSS -THE MEKIDIANS. 
 
 features of location, and preserves many unique curiosities 
 to interest strangers. The churches are rich in sculpture and 
 paintings by the old masters. The shops containing antiques 
 are very enticing and well supplied. Not a few old Venetian 
 families are willing to part with heirlooms for a satisfactory 
 compensation. The glass-mosaic shops are always attractive. 
 The doge's palace, with its Bridge of Sighs and Tintoretto's 
 great painting in the library hall, and Titian's Assumption 
 are objects of great interest. The king's palace on St. Mark's 
 Plaza, with its four hundred and forty-six rooms, may be 
 visited when his majesty is absent from the city. Venice, 
 built upon one hundred and seventeen islands and traversed 
 by one hundred and forty-seven canals, on which are thou- 
 sands of gondolas manned by gayly dressed and musical gon- 
 doliers, never fails to interest foreigners. We shall remain 
 here only a few days, for we explored Venice very thoroughly 
 two years ago. 
 
 — * 
 
 Milan, April 11, 1876. From Venice to Milan is a journey 
 of eight hours by rail, I might say through an almost 
 continuous mulberry grove. The valley of Lombardy, through 
 which we came, is a silk-growing region ; the principal tree is 
 the mulberry, which serves to feed the silk- worm, and at the 
 same time to support the grape-vines which festoon them- 
 selves from tree to tree. We had a distant view of the snow- 
 capped Pyrenees, and the air was so cold that we were glad 
 to accept the houillottes, or cans of hot water handed into the 
 cars at the stations. Beautiful villas are conspicuously situated 
 on the mountain-sides, and many hamlets picturesquely dis- 
 tributed along the valley. 
 
 The costumes of the peasantry are very pretty. The 
 
FKOM ATHENS TO LAKE COMO. 161 
 
 women wear bright skirts and black bodices over white 
 chemisettes with short full flowing sleeves. Jaunty straw 
 hats with long bright-blue ribbons or white coquettish tur- 
 bans adorn their heads. The men wear gay-colored sashes 
 around their waists, short black trousers, and open jackets, 
 and broad-brimmed white straw hats with long blue streamers. 
 Blue is the color of Lombardy. 
 
 The Milanese greatly enjoy yachting on an artificial lake 
 not far from the center of the city. In midwinter it serves 
 for a short time as a skating rink, and sometimes the water 
 is drawn off and then it becomes a horse-racing ground. 
 There is a beautiful park in Milan, embracing one hundred 
 and fifty acres of ground laid out in lawns and enchanting 
 miniature forests, plateaus of flowers, running streams of 
 water, artistic fountains, and many fine pieces of statuary. 
 
 The Campo Santo is one of the finest cemeteries in Europe. 
 It contains a greater wealth of statuary than any other open 
 place of sepulture in the world. 
 
 Milan has also a renowned picture gallery. The Marriage 
 of Mary and Joseph, by Raphael, is considered the most cele- 
 brated of its collection of paintings. The fresco of the 
 Lord's Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci, is still on the wall of 
 an old and neglected convent in the city, but it is very much 
 defaced by time, and parts of it are almost obliterated. 
 Artists are constantly making copies of this masterpiece of 
 frescoing. 
 
 We went to the cathedral on Palm Sunday, and received a 
 sprig of evergreen as we passed out of the church. The 
 cathedral is a wonderfully beautiful structure. Its roof is 
 supported by fifty-two columns thirty-six feet in circumfer- 
 ence. It has eight thousand life-size statues inside and out- 
 side, and above the roof rise ninety-eight Grothic turrets. 
 
 21 
 
162 ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 The paintings are covered during Holy Week ; nor are the 
 treasures, which are very rich, to be seen at this time. The 
 cathedral is next in size to St. Peter's at Rome. The exqui- 
 site architecture is not surpassed by that of any other cathe- 
 dral in the world. The building stands in the heart of the 
 city. 
 
 The old Lazaretto, once used for a plague hospital, is now 
 fitted as an apartment-house for the poor. There are one 
 thousand two-room apartments in it, each of which rents for 
 thirty francs a year. 
 
 We have visited Lake Como. It is richly entitled to all 
 the admiration bestowed upon it. We went as far as Bel- 
 lagio. The slopes of the mountain are dotted with vine- 
 yards, farmers' hamlets, and beautiful villas. I could not 
 restrain a sigh for " poor Carlotta," when passing her pretty 
 rural palace opposite Bellagio. Upon the mountain-sides are 
 many little cabins occupied by the families of the itinerant 
 hand-organ players, who go out into the world and wander 
 far and wide, even as far as our own country, with their 
 organs on their backs, returning to their homes about Christ- 
 mas-time with perhaps only a few hundred francs, after 
 many months of toil and hardship. In the mean time the 
 families work in the vineyards. 
 
 The boat life on Lake Como is extremely picturesque, with 
 its scores of pleasure gondolas ghding quietly over the water 
 freighted with the pretty Italian ladies dressed in bright-col- 
 ored costumes, wearing upon their heads the black lace man- 
 tillas held in place with coral pins, and the happy-looking 
 gondoliers with the black tarpaulin hats and long floating 
 blue ribbons, and voices keeping time to the movement of 
 the oars, — this, with the beautiful scenery on the shores of 
 Como, affords a charming picture to look at. 
 
FEOM ATHENS TO LAKE COMO. 163 
 
 Another phase of life is seen on Lake Como, and a very- 
 attractive picture too in its way: Along the shores are the 
 washerwomen at their tasks. They stand in the water with 
 skirts rolled up to the knees, wearing the indispensable black 
 bodice laced over white chemisettes, and with white turbans 
 trimmed with wide bows of gay ribbon they add not a little to 
 the gayety of the scenes on the lake. I am told that not 
 unfrequently the artist finds a worthy subject for his brush 
 among the washerwomen on Lake Como. 
 
 We shall go from here to Turin, where we intend to remain 
 only a day or two, and thence to Paris. 
 
XX 
 
 Paris and London. 
 
 Paeis, May 8, 1876. One day more of rail travel brings us 
 to the seaboard — our starting-point on the homeward 
 stretch. Coming from Turin the weather was cold and 
 dreary, and we were glad to accept again the bouillottes of hot 
 water. It was the keenest atmosphere we hare experienced 
 since leaving home, and we found cold and rainy weather in 
 Paris, when we arrived on the 14th of April. 
 
 The promenades and boulevards in Paris are not attractive 
 in inclement weather. An unclouded sky is necessary to 
 induce an afternoon drive in the Bois de Boulogne, an even- 
 ing saunter on the boulevards, or a visit to the brilliant 
 jewelry and picture shops. We shall remain here but a day 
 or two more ; we are already acquainted with many of the 
 chief attractions of this beautiful city, and, although the 
 treasures of its art galleries, its charming parks, the varied 
 features of its architecture, and a multitude of novel and 
 interesting entertainments invite frequent visits, we must 
 defer this pleasure until another time. 
 
 164 
 
PABIS AND LONDON. 165 
 
 Iondon, May 22, 1876. We came here on the 10th instant, 
 i by the Boulogne and Folkestone route. We were three 
 hours tossing across a distance of thirty miles. Long before 
 we had finished our rough voyage, nearly all the sea-sick pas- 
 sengers were lying full length on the deck. Some new and 
 beautiful seal-skin jackets and lovely traveling-dresses for 
 home wear in New York were neglectfully soiled. I was but 
 little indisposed, and by sitting down on the deck and hold- 
 ing fast to the rail of an iron-bound settee, escaped the plight 
 of the other ladies, although I was several times drenched by 
 the spray of the large waves washing over the sides of our 
 vessel. 
 
 We are again at the already well-known place, the Inns of 
 Court Hotel, in High Holborn street. We recognized some 
 fa miliar faces about the house, and found the same two 
 sisters on duty in the office who were there five years ago 
 when you were with us here. 
 
 We went down to the Greek legation, opposite the entrance 
 to Marlborough House, the Prince of Wales' town house, 
 to see the procession escorting the prince thither on his 
 return from India after an absence of seven months from 
 England. The prince, princess, and their two eldest children 
 were seated in a superb family carriage drawn by four black 
 horses heading the procession. In the next carriage were 
 the other children of the royal family. The military drew 
 up in line at the entrance to Marlborough House, and the 
 prince and his family entered unattended. 
 
 On the following Sunday I attended service at Westmin- 
 ster Abbey. The Prince and Princess of Wales and other 
 members of the royal family were present. The service was 
 one of thanksgiving for the safe return of the prince. Dean 
 Stanley officiated. 
 
166 ACROSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 We have heard Spurgeon preach again. Persons not 
 members of his church are admitted by tickets. A sixpence 
 was solicited at the door as a subscription to the college 
 fund. The church was crowded to its utmost capacity. The 
 distinguished divine preaches twice every Sunday to large 
 audiences. 
 
 To see London extensively requires months of time, and 
 as we have only a few days more for sight-seeing before the 
 sailing of the steamer in which we return home, we shall not 
 attempt any long excursions. 
 
 We have visited several places which the pen of Charles 
 Dickens has made familiar to his readers, and have been 
 several times to Drury Lane and Covent Garden theaters 
 where some of the great actors of Europe are playing. 
 
 You will remember that when we were on our way to San 
 Francisco from Boston, that at Syracuse Dr. and Mrs. W. 
 joined us, and continued with us across the Pacific, and jour- 
 neyed with us as far as Point de Gralle, where we parted from 
 them, they going direct to Bombay and we to Calcutta. We 
 met them again at Cairo and afterward overtook them in 
 London. We shall see them again at Liverpool, from which 
 port they sail one day later than we for New York, where it 
 is probable we shah meet them for the fourth time on the 
 circuit of our travels around the world. We go to Liverpool 
 to-morrow to take passage in the Spain, of the National Line, 
 which sails on the twenty-fourth day of this month for New 
 York, hoping to meet you all on the fourth day of June. 
 
XXI 
 
 Leave England. Resume of One Year's Travel. 
 
 Liverpool, May 23, 1876. But ten or eleven days separate 
 i us from New York : we are off for home to-morrow ! 
 We dined this evening with General and Mrs. F., who occupy 
 a charming villa in one of the beautiful parks adjacent to the 
 city. "We were highly gratified to find the United States 
 Consul so agreeably located and to be so cordially received by 
 our representative. 
 
 Liverpool is one of the great seaports of the world, and 
 famous for its extensive commerce and very large shipping 
 interests. 
 
 On board the Spain, June 4, 1876. We have passed Fire 
 Island lighthouse, and are almost within sight of the spires 
 and steeples of New York. After the several sea-voyage 
 descriptions given in my letters since leaving home on the 
 24th of May, 1875, there is nothing new to say in an ordinary 
 voyage across the Atlantic, so I will finish this long series 
 with the promised resume of our year's travel. We have 
 crossed all the meridians which geographically span the 
 globe, and have traveled, by land and by water, twenty-seven 
 thousand five hundred and seventy-one miles during an 
 absence from home of one year and twelve days. 
 
 167 
 
168 
 
 ACEOSS THE MERIDIANS. 
 
 RESUME. 
 
 We left Troy May 24, 1875, visiting New York, Fire 
 Island, and Boston before starting for San Francisco, 
 this being a preface of six hundred miles to our long journey. 
 The following memoranda, including six hundred miles 
 already mentioned, may serve you as an itinerary of our tour: 
 
 FROM 
 
 New York to San Francisco, by rail . . 
 
 Travels in California 
 
 San Francisco to Yokohama, by water . . . 
 
 Yokohama to Tokio and return, by rail . . . 
 
 Yokohama to Shanghai, by water 
 
 Shanghai to Hong Kong, by water .... 
 
 Hong Kong to Canton and return, by water . 
 
 Hong Kong to Point de G-alle, by water . . 
 
 Point de Galle to Calcutta, and from Bom- 
 bay to Suez, by water 
 
 Calcutta to Benares, by rail 
 
 Benares to Agra, by rail 
 
 Agra to Delhi, by rail 
 
 Delhi to Allahabad, and Allahabad to Bom- 
 bay, by rail 
 
 Suez to Cairo, by rail 
 
 Cairo to Alexandria, by rail 
 
 Alexandria to the Piraeus, the sea-port of 
 Athens, by water 
 
 MILES. 
 
 TIME. 
 
 3296 
 
 7 days 
 
 500 
 
 14 days 
 
 4800 
 
 25 days 
 
 60 
 
 6 hours 
 
 1200 
 
 7 days 
 
 850 
 
 3 days 
 
 180 
 
 12 hours 
 
 3061 
 
 14 days 
 
 4320 
 
 22 days 
 
 476 
 
 20 hours 
 
 366 
 
 17 hours 
 
 113 
 
 7 hours 
 
 1234 
 
 3 days 
 
 '225 
 
 8 hours 
 
 150 
 
 5 hours 
 
 550 
 
 3 days 
 
 COST OF 
 
 TWO 
 TICKETS. 
 
 $340.00 
 
 200.00 
 
 500 00 
 
 10.00 
 
 50.00 
 
 80.00 
 
 20.00 
 
 386.00 
 
 350-00 
 
 50.00 
 
 20.00 
 
 8-00 
 
 100.00 
 20.00 
 19.00 
 
 30.00 
 
RESUME. 
 
 169 
 
 FROM 
 
 Athens to Venice, by water . . . 
 
 Venice to Paris, by rail 
 
 Paris to London, by rail . . . 
 London to Liverpool, by rail . . 
 Liverpool to New York, by water 
 New York to Troy, by rail . . , 
 
 MILES. 
 
 TIME. 
 
 980 
 
 6 days 
 
 900 
 
 36 hours 
 
 250 
 
 9 hours 
 
 204 
 
 5 hours 
 
 3100 
 
 10 days 
 
 156 
 
 5 hours 
 
 COST OF 
 
 TWO 
 TICKETS. 
 
 $88.00 
 70.00 
 28.00 
 15.00 
 
 230.00 
 8.00 
 
 The time occupied in actual travel was one hundred and 
 eighteen days and ten hours, which included ninety days and 
 two hours at sea. Our entire traveling expenses, not includ- 
 ing hotel charges and carriage fares, amounted to $2622. 
 
 22 
 
II 
 
 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 Across the Atlantic. 
 
 July 19, 1882. On board the Gallia. My dear A. : At this 
 writing, five p. m., we are well out at sea, and already 
 the passengers are speculating on the time of the steamer's 
 arrival at Queenstown. It has been decided by the wise 
 ones in the cabin, who have crossed the Atlantic many times, 
 that we shall reach Liverpool on Friday, nine days hence. 
 
 We did indeed have a fine leave-taking this morning. I 
 observed that the Government cutter kept close alongside 
 until the Gallia increased her speed and we regretfully 
 parted from you. We have only one hundred and ninety 
 cabin passengers, and seventy-five steerage. This is a 
 small number of passengers, and therefore we expect to be 
 well cared for by the stewards. 
 
 Groing to our cabin, we found the seven elegant floral gifts 
 and three baskets of fruit which you, Mr. and Mrs. S., and 
 Mr. and Mrs. B. of Yonkers had so kindly left there for us, 
 besides two steamer-chairs with adjustable cushions. These 
 
 '73 
 
174 FEAGMENTAEY LETTEES. 
 
 tokens of your and our friends' affection enshrined the 
 givers more closely in our hearts. Bid you see the sailor 
 tie one of the largest bouquets given us to the stern railing 
 when we parted from your cutter ? When he had fastened 
 it there, the old tar sympathetically said to me, "Well, 
 m'um, it is rather hard to leave your relations behind." I 
 was in no mood to discuss the tender subject with him, and 
 only signified an affirmation with my tearful eyes. 
 
 Dinner has just been announced, but I care not for dinner 
 to-day. You see, I have commenced already my journal as 
 I promised to do. 
 
 July 20th. I must confess to having had twinges of mal 
 de mer to-day, but I am really ashamed to declare the fact, 
 for the sea is calm and the weather fine. The passengers 
 have already compared notes respecting the number of voy- 
 ages they have made. One's sea travels are, as you know, 
 after the time of the arrival of the vessel into port has been 
 settled, the next subject of conversation. This is the sixth 
 time your father and I have crossed the Atlantic. Besides 
 crossing the Pacific once, we have sailed on nearly all the 
 large seas. While we are not veterans at sea, we have had 
 some varied experiences of ocean travel. 
 
 Among the passengers with whom we have made ac- 
 quaintance are Governor and Mrs. B., and Mrs. H. and 
 daughter, of Hartford, Conn., and we have had our steam- 
 er-chairs placed together in a group, which means agreeable 
 companionship. 
 
 July 21st. This lovely day the Gallia plows the water 
 as steadily as a ferry-boat. The mercury is in the eighties 
 and the cabins are uncomfortably warm; but the cuisine 
 
ACEOSS THE ATLANTIC. 175 
 
 and the service are excellent, and we enjoy our morning 
 bath of cold sea- water. 
 
 July 22d. The weather to-day is delightful. Since yes- 
 terday noon we have run three hundred and forty-four 
 miles. We are now well on our way across. 
 
 July 23d. Sunday, The fine weather still continues. 
 With our last run of three hundred and forty-six miles 
 we are half-way to Liverpool. We passed the Banks yes- 
 terday without a glimmer of a fog, which, I am told, is 
 quite unusual at this time of the year. This morning the 
 Captain read the English Church service in the cabin, and 
 Dr. N., of the American Chapel in Rome delivered a short 
 and impressive sermon. 
 
 July 24th. We have on board a crew of one hundred and 
 seventy-eight men, including fifty-two sailors, forty-eight 
 firemen, and seventy-eight stewards, besides the officers of 
 the ship. Old Sam, one of the cabin stewards, has been 
 twenty-eight years in the service of the Cunard Steamship 
 Company. The average daily consumption of coal on the 
 Gallia is about one hundred tons. 
 
 July 26th. Our ship's log tells us we have made three 
 hundred and fifty-four miles in the last twenty-four hours. 
 With the freshening breeze the passengers on deck look a 
 little dull. 
 
 July 27th. At noon to-day we sighted the Irish coast. A 
 dense fog shortly afterward obscured the view of the Emer- 
 ald Isle. For some hours we have had a very rough sea, 
 
176 FEAGMENTAEY LETTEES. 
 
 but we are moving along now more steadily. We expect 
 to touch at Queenstown before night. 
 
 July 28th. The heavy fog of yesterday prevented our 
 going into Queenstown Harbor and our course was laid 
 direct for Liverpool. Many of the passengers have written 
 letters to-day, in order to send them by the first out-going 
 mail. 
 
 July 29th. At eight o'clock this morning we passed Hol- 
 lyhead light-house. The sight of green fields is most refresh- 
 ing after a nine days' sea voyage. We shall soon say 
 good-bye to pleasant acquaintances and go ashore early in 
 the afternoon. 
 
II 
 
 London, Paris, Madrid. 
 
 Iondon, July 30, 1882. We are again comfortably located 
 A at the old familiar place, the Inns of Court Hotel, look- 
 ing out upon Lincoln's Inn Fields. We find some familiar 
 faces about the hotel which we knew in 1876, when we 
 lodged here a few weeks during our sojourn in London after 
 our tour around the world. The United States Consul, 
 General M., and Mrs. M. came to greet us very soon after 
 our arrival. Toward evening we visited the Bush and Bull 
 Inn, about an hour's drive from our hotel. This inn is a 
 celebrated place. It was the resort of Coleridge, Keats, and 
 other contemporary English literati, where they enjoyed 
 their harmless carousals. The Bush and Bull was at that 
 time quite out of town and distant from any neigboring build- 
 ing. The famous tap-room is twenty feet square, and seven 
 feet high. The inn stands upon an eminence about four 
 hundred and fifty feet above old London. We found the 
 atmosphere clear and refreshing. Of course, we took a tank- 
 ard of beer in honor of old memories. 
 
 We started to go to Chiselhurst the other day, but were 
 driven home by an unexpected rain-storm. We went as far 
 as Greenwich in a boat, intending to finish the excursion in 
 a carriage. There we visited the celebrated restaurant, The 
 Ship, where the notables of London go for short outings 
 
 23 177 
 
178 FEAGMENTAEY LETTEES. 
 
 and for fish dinners. We went to look at the observatory, 
 from which longitude is reckoned, and where the measure- 
 ment of time is regulated for the English realm. Here I 
 realized more than ever before that we had really made 
 a journey around the world, when standing on the point 
 through which the imaginary line known as the meridian 
 of Greenwich passes, from which distance east and west and 
 the circumference of the globe are measured. When the 
 rain had ceased falling somewhat, we thought to venture 
 on the drive to Chiselhurst, but we were obliged to go to the 
 Blackheath village for a carriage. 
 
 We crossed the heath, more than a mile wide, on foot, but 
 before arriving on the other side of it, the rain came down 
 in torrents, and we were glad to seek the first shelter which 
 offered itself — this was a livery stable. We asked the favor 
 of going to the kitchen to dry our clothes. We found an old 
 man sitting in the chimney-corner warming his hands over 
 a shovelful of dimly burning coals. Seeing how wet we 
 were, he told the old woman sitting by his side to give us 
 " a drop of brandy to keep the cold off," which we accepted 
 very thankfully. No drive to Chiselhurst that day. 
 
 This kind old man told us something of his history while 
 we were standing with our backs toward the hot embers. 
 He said he was ninety-five years old, and had been at work, 
 from " boy to master," in that stable since 1806, and that he 
 was going to quit the business shortly, for he thought that 
 he was too old to pursue it any longer. The young men, he 
 also remarked, were getting the business away from him, 
 and that there was not much money in it nowadays. He 
 said Blackheath was an old settled place when he came 
 there to live, and that he had not seen many changes in it in 
 his time. 
 
LONDON, PAEI8, MADBID. ' 179 
 
 Iondon, August 7, 1882. To-day is Bank Holiday in 
 J London, when the city goes to the country, and the 
 country conies to the city. This holiday occurs three times 
 in the year. All business is suspended, and house service is 
 limited. The Inn Fields are swarming with young people 
 playing lawn tennis and croquet. London is indeed a large 
 city ; it covers one hundred and forty square miles of terri- 
 tory, including the large additions which have been made in 
 the last few decades. We go to Paris in two days. 
 
 Pabis, August 11, 1882. We are quartered again at the 
 Hotel Byron, on Rue Lafitte, where we spent some 
 weeks several years ago. Paris is not the Paris of olden 
 times under the Empire. I observe the streets are not as 
 well kept as formerly, although there are the usual glitter 
 and brilliancy in the shop windows. We shall not do much 
 sight-seeing this time. Your father intends going to Carls- 
 bad for three weeks to take the waters. I shall do some 
 shopping and enjoy drives in the Champs Elysees and the 
 Bois de Boulogne. 
 
 * 
 
 Hotel de Russie, Madrid, September 21, 1882. We left 
 Paris on the 18th inst., in the early morning, and 
 arrived at Bordeaux at six p. m., where we remained two days, 
 and then came direct to Madrid, a twenty-four-hours' journey. 
 Without our provision of bread, chicken, and wine, brought 
 from Bordeaux, we should have been quite hungry, for we 
 stopped on the way only once as long as twenty minutes, 
 though we made frequent stops of three to five minutes. 
 
180 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 Our train was not provided with a sleeping-car at the 
 Spanish frontier, as had heen promised, so we were obliged 
 to sit in our seats all night long very uncomfortably. At 
 dawn we came in sight of the church spires of Madrid. The 
 United States Minister, Mr. H., met us at the station, and 
 kindly conducted us to his hotel. 
 
 After -crossing the Spanish frontier at Irun, we came at 
 once to the foot-hills of the Pyrenees, along which the road 
 runs for some distance. We were ten hours in crossing the 
 mountains. We ran through thirty-three tunnels and many 
 mountain passes on trestle bridges. The scenery along the 
 passes is grand. The slopes of the mountains are covered 
 with corn-fields, vineyards, and groves of chestnut-trees. 
 The chestnut is used very largely for food by the people, 
 while the corn is fed to animals. After leaving the mount- 
 ains, we came into a rocky and jagged country with deep 
 and dark ravines and many winding streams. It is the most 
 uninviting country I have ever seen, and reminds one of the 
 scenes of some of the Spanish mountaineer stories which 
 
 * 
 
 horrify one with their frightful features. Here and there 
 the only inhabited place one sees in this dreary region is a 
 little hamlet with a half-dozen adobe houses and a church. 
 
 Madrid is one thousand feet above the sea, and about in 
 the center of Spain. On account of its high situation, the 
 city is exposed to very severe winds, which render the climate 
 extremely trying at certain seasons of the year. A short 
 distance from Madrid, on an elevation of ground, stands a 
 church, the site of which is said to be the exact central point 
 of Spain. The beautiful capital is environed by a barren 
 and rocky extent of country, and therefore provisions must 
 be brought from a distance, the transportation of which 
 increases the cost of hving. Spanish hotels are not as com- 
 
LONDON, PAEIS, MADRID. 181 
 
 fortable as others on the Continent. There is plenty of gilt 
 and stucco ornamentation on them, but it does not substi- 
 tute good beds and palatable food. The floors of our hotel 
 are of stone or tile; the walls are embellished with much 
 gilding, and the favorite color of the draperies is yellow. 
 There is a beautiful drive in the heart of the city, called the 
 Retiro, where may be seen magnificent turnouts and beauti- 
 ful women wearing mantillas on their heads instead of bon- 
 nets. However, I am told the mantilla is fast giving way 
 to the French hats. The palace has a preserve or hunting- 
 grounds eight to ten miles square, beginning at the gardens 
 of the palace. 
 
 We have only been able to catch a glimpse of the wonder- 
 ful works of art in the Madrid picture-gallery. It contains 
 one of the most valuable collections in the world. The mas- 
 terpieces of Murillo, Titian, Tintoretto, Velasquez, Raphael, 
 Rembrandt, Rubens, Yan Dyck, Teniers, Guido Reni and 
 other great painters are in it. But what can one accomplish 
 in five or six hours in studying these renowned masters *? 
 
Ill 
 
 Lisbon and Some of its Environs. 
 
 Lisbon, September 25, 1882. We left Madrid on the 23d 
 J inst., at nine o'clock in the morning, and arrived here on 
 the following morning at seven o'clock. "We traveled many 
 hours through olive groves, vineyards, and cork forests. We 
 ventured with the few Portuguese words at our command to 
 buy some fruit, nuts, and coffee en route. At the custom- 
 house on the frontier we again drew on our small vocab- 
 ulary of Portuguese, sufficient to comply with the formalities. 
 On our arrival at the Lisbon station we were met by a 
 representative from the American legation, who. escorted 
 us to the Hotel Braganza. Our rooms front the River Tagus 
 overlooking two parallel tiers of streets one above the other, 
 on which are houses four stories high. Lisbon is built up 
 and down on hills; often the ascents are very steep. In 
 fact the entire country is hilly ; I have heard it said that it 
 would be difficult to find one hundred rods of level road in 
 all Portugal. From our balcony we look to the mouth of the 
 river seven miles distant, and we have a good view of all the 
 shipping in the harbor, and a large expanse of the sea. The 
 climate is now delightful; the days are like those of June, 
 and with the evening come the sea breezes. I should like to 
 
 182 
 
o 
 
 m 
 05 
 
 O 
 CC 
 Q 
 
 s 
 o 
 o 
 
 lli 
 o 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 
 CC 
 0- 
 
LISBON AND SOME OP ITS ENVIRONS. 183 
 
 portray to you the mountain and marine views seen from our 
 windows ; perhaps I may find time later to describe them. 
 
 There are several large and beautiful pragas, or public 
 squares, in Lisbon. These squares occupy, one might almost 
 say, the only level ground in the city. They are well paved 
 and shaded by large trees, and surrounded by fine public or 
 private buildings; all contain monuments or fountains of 
 flowing water. The passeio publico, or public park, a large 
 open garden, ornate with fountains, statuary, flowers, and 
 fine old trees, offers a very attractive spot for an early morn- 
 ing walk. Another charming park is the aterro, a wide 
 promenade of at least one hundred feet, following along the 
 bank of the river looking to the open sea, and shaded by 
 several rows of well-grown trees. Here may frequently be 
 seen members of the royal family, either driving or walking. 
 Seats are conveniently arranged, which afford a resting- 
 place. 
 
 In the legation circle in the hotel is a babel of tongues. 
 The waiters speak French; the room-servants Portuguese; 
 the legation attaches, English; the consular clerk, Mr. de Z., 
 and his family, Hungarian, and we communicate with his 
 family in German. 
 
 Lisbon, September 30, 1882. I am informed that the 
 climate is very agreeable here in winter. The country and its 
 customs are attractive, and the fruits exceUent. The gardens, 
 houses, and streets in many places in the city overhang one 
 another. The hills are terraced, to render them suitable for 
 building upon, frequently the tops of houses support gardens 
 containing large trees. There are many uninclosed small 
 parks and pretty gardens full of flowers and blossoming trees. 
 There is a great abundance and variety of cacti growing along 
 
184 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 the country roads, and often we see long hedges of wild rose 
 geraniums in bloom, bordering them. The morning-glory is 
 in full bloom through the day, and the dahlia is seen in per- 
 fection. The time of flowers in Lisbon is winter. 
 
 Lisbon, October 22, 1882. We are settled for the winter 
 in a nice and comfortable hotel on the Rua do Alecrim, with 
 a charming little cacti jungle in full bloom across the street. 
 We have had our presentation to the queen, Dona Maria Pia, 
 and to the king, Dom Luiz. It occurred at the palace in 
 Cascaes on the sea-shore below the mouth of the river. The 
 occasion was the queen's birthday, when the king always 
 gives a ball at his summer palace. The etiquette reception 
 took place at two o'clock in the afternoon, and the ball at nine 
 o'clock in the evening. The queen was attended by a half- 
 dozen ladies of honor. Her toilette was simple and beautiful. 
 It was of white satin, brocaded with blue velvet, and diamond 
 ornaments. She received us very kindly, addressing us in 
 French. The king speaks English, and also the princes are at 
 home in the English language. The king has translated 
 several of Shakspere's plays into Portuguese. He is an 
 earnest student. 
 
 The ball was given in an improvised ball-room on a large 
 wide terrace, inclosed with red and white bunting, and deco- 
 rated with various national flags and stands of armor. From 
 the roof of the pavilion were suspended Chinese lanterns, bas- 
 kets of flowers, and trailing vines. The dancing-space was 
 encircled with pedestals draped with bright fabrics support- 
 ing urns of flowers, and twined with vines. Between the 
 pedestals were placed gilt sofas upholstered in yellow satin. 
 The parquet was covered with crimson velvet carpet, and 
 over a limited space in the center white linen was laid on 
 
LISBON AND SOME OF ITS ENVIEONS. 185 
 
 which to dance. The queen's toilette was of vermilion satin 
 with a tahlier of white silvered moire antique, and a silver 
 cord around the waist ending with silver tassels. The queen 
 is a beautiful blonde with luxuriant, light wavy hair and 
 soft brown eyes. The two princes, nineteen and seventeen 
 years of age, are also blondes with wavy hair and blue eyes. 
 The royal family opened the ball at 10:30 o'clock with the 
 Lancers. During the remainder of the evening the king 
 and queen passed the time in conversation with the guests. 
 The ball closed at four o'clock in the morning. 
 
 On this occasion we were presented to His Majesty Dom 
 Fernando, the father of the king, who honored us with an 
 agreeable conversation, and spoke very admiringly of his 
 American wife, the Countess Edla, who was not present at 
 the ball. 
 
 The other day we drove down to Das quinta das camelias 
 — translated into English it means the Camellia garden — to 
 pay a visit to the little Hungarian colony, Mr. de Z. and 
 family. This is a lovely little suburban residence amid a 
 luxuriance of camellias and roses, surrounded by blossoming 
 and fruit-bearing orange and lemon trees. The garden is 
 encircled with grape-vines clustered with ripe fruit. While 
 at the quinta, the daughter of Mr. de Z. was asked to enter- 
 tain us with some music on the piano. I was not a little 
 surprised when she played the Blumen Lied, or Flower Song, 
 the last composition I had played on my piano before leav- 
 ing home. 
 
 We have paid a visit to Mr. and Mrs. P. at their country 
 home, an hour's drive from Lisbon, called Das quinta da 
 mitra — mitra being the Portuguese word for miter.- This 
 palace was built about two hundred years ago for the Patri- 
 arch of Lisbon. This is one of the few palaces in the 
 
 24 
 
186 FRAGMENTABY LETTERS. 
 
 vicinity of Lisbon that withstood the dreadful earthquake 
 of one hundred and thirty years ago, which almost destroyed 
 Lisbon, and caused the death of sixty thousand people. 
 
 The building is of stone and concrete, two stories high ; 
 the wooden, G-othic ceilings in both stories are twenty feet 
 high. On each floor are ten large rooms. There is a chapel 
 just inside the entrance where daily services are held when 
 the family are at home. The kitchen and servants' rooms 
 are in separate buildings. The architecture is a composition 
 of the G-othic and Moorish styles. The first floor has a 
 dado of blue tiling, six feet high, in Moorish designs. They 
 are historical and legendary. The floors are of stone, as are 
 also the window-seats. The carriage entrance extends to 
 the foot of the grand stairway which leads directly to the 
 large reception hall. The furniture is old, having been made 
 on the grounds at the time the palace was built — each piece 
 for its place. 
 
 The patriarch's carriage is still in existence, but it has 
 been unserviceable for many years. It is a large vehicle, 
 double the size of a modern carriage, and required six 
 horses to draw it. It is richly decorated with solid silver, 
 and heavy gold plating. The body of the carriage swings 
 upon leather straps, the springs of olden times. The crimson 
 velvet lining is now in shreds. The outside painting is 
 yellow and black. 
 
 The patriarch's throne is still intact, but its crimson velvet 
 draperies will soon be no more ; they are hanging in tatters. 
 
 The walls of the kitchen, a very large room, with several 
 stone tables, and a half dozen small ranges in an enormous 
 fire-place, are covered with blue and white tiling on which 
 are numerous representations of things used for food. The 
 furniture of this quaint old kitchen is carved stone, there is 
 
LISBON AND SOME OF ITS ENVIBONS. 187 
 
 not a wooden piece in the room, and many of the cooking 
 utensils are of stone. The present family have improvised a 
 small kitchen in one corner of the room, and use only one of 
 the ranges. The kitchen remains as it was originally built 
 and furnished. The gardens comprise six acres of land, in 
 which there are fruit-trees, several fountains, and sum- 
 mer-houses overrun with tea-roses and heliotropes. On the 
 grounds is a Moorish well, used for irrigating the gardens, in 
 which it is said are the original wheels and buckets. 
 
 The present owner of this fine estate is an American who 
 came to Europe thirty-four years ago in an official capacity, 
 and has never returned to his native land. Madame P. is a 
 charming Spanish lady, and at one time was attached to the 
 Spanish court. Mr. P. has also another palace near the 
 mouth of the river called Pago d'Arkos. This too is a charm^ 
 ing quinta. The family make it a winter residence. The 
 house is a large old-fashioned Portuguese mansion, resting 
 against the base of a high hill. 
 
 There are corridors inside and wide verandas outside the 
 building. There are charming rose-bordered walks meander- 
 ing in every direction, and upon the highest elevation stands 
 a vine-covered tea-house. Prom this point of view one sees 
 Lisbon seated on its many hills, and a broad expanse of the 
 Atlantic. At Pago d'Arkos is a large terrace adjoining the 
 house, inclosed by roses, heliotrope, flowering vines, and sweet- 
 scented shrubbery. Here the family are served with tea at 
 four o'clock in the afternoon. Madame P. calls this quinta her 
 petits Pyrenees. There is a charming daughter in the family 
 who occupies some of her leisure time in photographing her 
 friends visiting her, and in taking views of the landscape, and 
 of some of the attractive water-craft lying at anchor at this 
 point. 
 
188 FEAGMENTABY LETTEKS. 
 
 Lisbon, November 5, 1882. On October 31st, at two o'clock 
 i p. m., on the occasion of the king's birthday, there was a 
 court reception at the Adjuda Palace in the city when the 
 king received the congratulations of the diplomatic corps and 
 nobility. The queen wore a train of sapphire velvet, bordered 
 with ermine, a white satin waist and petticoat, and jewels of 
 sapphire and diamonds. The ladies of honor, twenty in all, 
 wore the national gala costume, — white satin waists and pet- 
 ticoats, pale blue velvet trains, which they carried over their 
 left arms, and coiffures of blue feathers. The grande mai- 
 tresse is a lady of sixty years of age. It is her office to carry 
 the queen's train, walking behind her majesty. . In the even- 
 ing the opera Lucia di Lammermoor was performed in the 
 San Carlos Opera House; the royal family and court, the 
 diplomatic corps, and the nobility were present. The queen 
 wore a pearl satin toilet and diamond ornaments ; the court 
 was in grande tenue. 
 
 Lisbon, November 29, 1882. We have seen a bull-fight, 
 the last of the season. In the summer there is one every 
 Sunday. A Portuguese bull-fight of to-day is not the cruel 
 and brutalizing sport of former times, nor is it as repulsive 
 a spectacle to look upon as a Spanish bull-fight. The ring 
 is called a praga, and is like a large open circus-ring, with 
 two tiers of boxes, two hundred in all, extending half-way 
 around the circle. The royal box is handsomely furnished 
 with crimson velvet and gilt decorations. Opposite this box 
 is the grand entrance for the cavatteiros, or horsemen. On one 
 side of the royal box is the entrance and exit for the bulls. 
 There are always thirteen bulls brought out, coming in singly 
 one after the other. 
 
 The sport begins at five o'clock in the afternoon, when the 
 
LISBON AND SOME OF ITS ENVIKONS. 189 
 
 great heat of the day is over. In the morning of the day of 
 the fight the points of the horns of the bulls are crowned 
 with small gilded balls. The bulls are from five to seven 
 years old. Deadly weapons are no longer permitted to be 
 used by the matadors, or fighters. The weapons used are 
 slender wooden darts, two feet long, decorated with gay-col- 
 ored ribbons, and having iron bars at one end called farpas. 
 The cavalleiros are gentlemen well trained in horsemanship. 
 Sometimes the fidalgos, or noblemen, take part in the sport. 
 The cavalleiros wear a costume of the last century, — a broad- 
 tailed black velvet coat, knee-breeches, with high-topped 
 boots, cocked hats, and are mounted on splendid Arabian 
 horses. The bandarilheiros, or foot-fighters, wear richly 
 embroidered velvet jackets of various colors, knee-breeches, 
 white stockings, black velvet slippers with broad buckles, 
 and red silk sashes around their waists ending with gilt tas- 
 sels. The director of the entertainment sits under the royal 
 box, and gives his orders through a bugler standing by his 
 side. 
 
 The performance begins with the entrance of a half-dozen 
 cavalleiros splendidly mounted upon horses richly capari- 
 soned, who make the formal obeisance to the royal box and 
 spectators. After making some fine evolutions of old Spanish 
 horsemanship^ they retire. At a bugle-signal a bandarilheiro 
 takes his place at one of the side doors through which the 
 buUs enter, one at a time, he holding in each hand a dart, 
 which he thrusts skillfully and quickly into the sides of the 
 bull's neck as he runs into the ring. The bull, enraged by the 
 sting of the barb, seems to know upon whom he is to avenge 
 himself, and he plunges toward the young man in the bright 
 jacket, but misses him, for the bandarilheiro has already 
 jumped the partition wall and escaped, to appear at another 
 
190 FEAGMENTAEY LETTEES. 
 
 point. The bull is goaded on by more barbs thrust by other 
 assailants, and turns and plunges at those nearest him. 
 After the infuriated animal has eight or, ten darts dang- 
 ling from his neck, the tantalizers begin to shake large red 
 and yellow capes before him to allure him to attack them, 
 which he does, but they by dexterous movements make their 
 escape. 
 
 The mounted cavalleiros now come into the ring and take 
 part in barbing the bull with a weapon four feet long. They 
 must approach the bull near enough to place the dart in his 
 body and yet save their horses from being attacked. Great 
 excitement ensues, and no little skillful horsemanship is dis- 
 played. As the bulls become exhausted they are led out of 
 the ring, when the wounds are dressed with salt and vinegar. 
 The bulls are driven into town the night before the fight, 
 and returned to the country soon after the spectacle is over. 
 The sport lasts about two hours, and closes with a grand 
 entry of all the participants, who again bow to the royal 
 family and the audience, expressing thanks for the patron- 
 age. A bull-fight occurs every Sunday during the summer 
 in Lisbon. 
 
 A bull-fight in Spain is quite another kind of a spectacle, 
 resulting often in killing the bulls and horses. 
 
 Lisbon, December 4, 1882. The arrival in the harbor of 
 the American corvette Nipsic has caused a social flutter 
 in the limited circle of Americans in Lisbon. Yesterday we 
 lunched on board the vessel, while the ship's band played 
 our national airs, which we had not heard since the 4th of 
 July last. The Nipsic is a trim little ship, and we are proud 
 to see our flag floating in the harbor of the Tagus with the 
 flags of other nations. 
 
LISBON AND SOME OF ITS ENVIRONS. 191 
 
 Lisbon, December 26, 1882. Christmas Eve was a jolly 
 occasion at the American legation. The officers of the Nip- 
 sic, a few Americans, and a half-dozen Portuguese friends 
 joined us, and we had a very enjoyable evening; songs, 
 dancing, and animated conversation were followed by a good 
 supper and toasts to absent friends. 
 
 Lisbon, January 3, 1883. There was another court recep- 
 tion on New Year's Day at the Ajuda Palace. It was a con- 
 gratulatory occasion to the royal family. The court and 
 diplomatic corps were present en grande tenue. The court 
 and military uniforms, the rich diplomatic costumes, and 
 the toilettes of the ladies in court trains, with jewels spark- 
 ling in the sunlight, made a spectacle of no little magnifi- 
 cence. The queen was attired en manteau de cour of pale 
 blue velvet, embroidered with pearls, gold and silver beads, 
 and lined with ermine, worn over a waist and petticoat em- 
 broidered like the train. Her jewels were of several colors, 
 including a large cluster of various-colored gems upon her 
 left shoulder. Her toilet was superb. The Queen of Por- 
 tugal wears the royal attire with elegance and dignity. 
 
 I may here call to your remembrance the story of the 
 Crown Diamonds in the opera of that name by Auber, as 
 apropos to my brief mention of the queen's jewels. The 
 story is dated the year 1777, the scenes are laid in Portugal. 
 The opera is in three acts ; the first is located in the Estre- 
 madura Mountains ; the second in the Castle of the Duke de 
 Campo-Mayor, in Coimbra, and the third in the royal palace 
 in Lisbon. The story is the following : The young queen of 
 Portugal, still in her minority, is aware of the straitened cir- 
 cumstances of the kingdom, and resolves upon a way to save 
 her country, if not from bankruptcy, at least from new bur- 
 
192 FKAGMENTABY LETTEES. 
 
 dens. She hears of a man who has been sentenced to death 
 for coining false money. She has him secretly brought 
 before her and tells him she will spare his life if he will 
 make an imitation of the crown jewels, but to be done under 
 the strictest secrecy, and so perfectly done that the decep- 
 tion shall not be discovered. Thereupon the condemned 
 man collects his band of workmen and chooses for his 
 laboratory a deep cavern in the rocks of the Bstremadura 
 Mountains beneath an old hermitage. In the garb of a 
 gypsy girl, the young princess, from time to time, visits the 
 secluded cavern under the pretense of going to the chapel in 
 the hermitage, and carries to the counterfeiter the diamonds 
 of which he is to make the imitations. 
 
 In the mean time an accident happens to one of the fidal- 
 gos, or nobility, who chances to be traveling in that country 
 and has been thrown from his carriage and seriously hurt. 
 He is brought to the hermitage for rest. Accidentally he 
 falls through a trap-door into the cave where the men are at 
 work, and the princess, dressed like a gypsy woman, happens 
 to be at the time. The young nobleman is obliged to remain 
 some time in the cavern before he can be removed. He 
 becomes enamored of the pretty gypsy girl, who does not 
 repel his advances, for she knows full well with whom she is 
 in companionship. However, the time comes for them to 
 separate. He swears that he will not divulge what he has 
 seen in the cavern, and the gypsy gives him one of the real 
 jewels as a souvenir, and requests him never to part with it. 
 
 The false jewels are at last finished, and the chief of the 
 band with the gypsy girl starts for Lisbon. Meanwhile the 
 crown jewels are missed, and the country is filled with 
 armed police searching for them. The chief and the gypsy 
 are arrested on suspicion, and are taken to Coimbra, where 
 
LISBON AND SOME OF ITS ENVIRONS. 193 
 
 they are brought before the Minister of Justice. There the 
 nobleman meets the gypsy, for he too is under temporary 
 arrest, having been discovered wearing one of the lost gems 
 on his finger. He is greatly surprised to see her with the 
 chief of the band of supposed robbers, but through the 
 influence of the nobleman she and the counterfeiter obtain 
 their freedom. All hurry on to Lisbon to sue for mercy 
 before the queen, who has just been declared to have 
 attained her majority, and is soon to be crowned. 
 
 During this time, the real jewels have been sent to Europe 
 for sale, and the false ones have been substituted in their 
 place. 
 
 The young queen is crowned. On the day of her coronation 
 the denoument occurs, when the queen explains most sat- 
 isfactorily her plan for replenishing the treasury, and her 
 course is approved. The young fidalgo appears before the 
 queen to sue for pardon, and is surprised to discover that 
 she and the gypsy girl are the same person; and a second 
 and greater surprise awaits him when the queen chooses him 
 for her husband, and says, "All is well, nothing is false but 
 the jewels I wear, and this is for the good of the country." 
 
 25 
 
IV 
 
 Cintra. 
 
 C intra, January 5, 1883. We came here yesterday to 
 escape the noise and annoyance of the carnival at Lis- 
 bon, in which all classes participate. Last evening we saw 
 a really pretty carnival spectacle. About five o'clock in the 
 afternoon a group of eight little girls, from twelve to fourteen 
 years old, and as many country cavaliers, about twenty years 
 of age, formed themselves in a circle in front of our hotel, 
 with a band of country musicians. The group danced a 
 national dance lasting nearly an hour. The major domo of 
 the party was dressed as a warrior of the olden time, and 
 mounted on a gayly caparisoned white horse covered to his 
 feet with a white net. The group was escorted by four other 
 horsemen armed with paper weapons to protect the dancers 
 from intrusion by passers-by. 
 
 The little girls wore white dresses, pink sashes, pink slippers 
 with lacings of pink ribbons extending to the knees, veils of 
 silver-tissue paper attached to crowns of roses and silver 
 paper. They carried in their belts short paper swords, and 
 in their hands semicircular wreaths of flowers and ribbons 
 large enough to pass over their heads. The cavaliers wore 
 white shirts, pants with broad red stripes on the outer side of 
 them, red scarfs around their waists, red handkerchiefs about 
 
 194 
 
C1NTBA. 195 
 
 their necks, and Portuguese red and blue caps. They had 
 also wreaths in their hands. The movements and changes 
 of the dance were directed with a whistle by the major domo, 
 who stood at the head of his horse. There was the standard- 
 bearer with a flag, who took an important part in the dance. 
 The movements of the dancers were slow and well timed with 
 the music, and graceful beyond anything I have seen even 
 at a court ball. One of the changes was evidently a love 
 scene, during which the cavaliers pulled from their pock- 
 ets white handkerchiefs, and throwing them on the ground, 
 dropped each upon a knee, facing their partners, the couples 
 placing wreaths upon one another's necks and clasping hands. 
 Then they marched away two by two, and disappeared down 
 the road. They departed with a light dancing step timed to 
 the music. 
 
 We visited the beautiful quinta of Mr. C, an Englishman 
 from London, who has an income of half a million a year. 
 He comes to Cintra every six months to stay a few weeks. 
 The house is built after the plan of a Moorish palace. It is 
 the finest residence in Portugal, not excepting the king's 
 palaces. The architecture inside and outside is entirely 
 Moorish. The building is beautiful, with its marble halls, 
 fountains, sculptured columns and marble lattice-work. A 
 part of the furniture is the fine collection of Indian work 
 which was sent to London for exhibition some years ago. 
 For one table $5000 was paid, and all the other pieces were 
 purchased at high prices. There are rich Persian carpets, 
 rare curios from Japan and China, and some marble win- 
 dow screens from the harem of the palace in Agra, India. 
 There is also a collection of rare books, and many works of 
 art, bought at enormous prices. In fact everything about 
 this place is palatial. The house is built of white marble, 
 
196 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 situated in a large cork forest, and has close to the house 
 acres of ground laid out in gardens and orange and lemon 
 groves. Mr. C. claims to have trees and plants from every 
 part of the world. He employs fifty gardeners. 
 
 "We have been to Mafra, an insignificant little village in 
 which is the largest building in Portugal, an old convent 
 built one hundred and eighty years ago. From Cintra, seven- 
 teen miles distant, this building is plainly seen. This great 
 pile of marble and stone is 1150 feet long, 350 feet longer 
 than the Capitol at "Washington. It was built by King John 
 V- of Portugal, who made a vow that were a son born to 
 him he would build in the poorest part of the kingdom the 
 largest convent ever erected. The son was born, and the 
 convent was built. Thirteen years were spent in its erec- 
 tion. The building contains 866 rooms, 5000 doors, and 9 
 courts. Upon the roof 10,000 men may stand at one time. 
 When the basilica, or chapel, was consecrated, on the king's 
 birthday, he ordered refreshments to be given from the 
 kitchen to all who applied, and 9000 persons partook of his 
 hospitality that day. In the convent is a library of 30,000 
 books. 
 
 Cintra is a picturesque, rambling little town, apparently 
 dropped down upon the eastern slope of the serra, or mount- 
 ain, nestling among vine-covered trees, lovely gardens and 
 orange groves. It overlooks a plain between the mountain 
 and the sea six to eight miles in width, dotted with twenty- 
 three little villages and scores of vineyards, and includes a 
 fine view of the Atlantic ocean. 
 
 The steamers passing the mouth of the Tagus are plainly 
 seen from any part of the village. Cintra has a population 
 of six thousand. It is the only convenient Sunday outing 
 for the Lisbonese, a distance of seventeen miles over a fine 
 road with the sea in view nearly all the way. It is made 
 
CINTBA. 197 
 
 in two and a half hours. The village is built upon over- 
 hanging cragged rocks, and terraced plateaus seemingly cling- 
 ing to the sides of the mountains. The seaward slope of the 
 serra is laid out in quintas or spacious gardens in which 
 stand long-ago built villas, and there are frequent thickets 
 of fine old forest trees overhung with moss, ivy, and flower- 
 ing vines, interspersed with small groves of lemons and wild 
 oranges. Through these quintas are narrow donkey-paths 
 leading all over the mountains where one is sure to meet, any 
 day in the week, several excursions mounted on well-trained 
 donkeys. The principal highways are bordered with stone 
 walls six to eight feet high, many of which were built more 
 than two hundred years ago. In many places these walls 
 are entirely covered with running vines and tufts of wild 
 flowers. For long distances some of the roads are bordered 
 with wild rose geraniums which attain a size not seen even 
 in our conservatories at home. In whatever direction we 
 may go we have an extended view of the ocean. Southey, 
 the English poet, saw Cintra and said that it was " the most 
 blessed spot in the habitable world." 
 
 Our hotel is a curiosity in its way. It is kept by an Eng- 
 lish-Portuguese family. Only one room in the house is 
 carpeted, which is our sitting-room. We do not miss the 
 carpets, however, for the white and well-scrubbed floors are 
 very agreeable in this warm climate. The furniture has been 
 in service for the greater part of the past hundred years. It 
 was in this room that Byron wrote the lines in Childe 
 Harold's pilgrimage : 
 
 Lo ! Cintra's glorious Eden intervenes, 
 In variegated maze of mount and glen ; 
 Ah, me ! what hand can pencil, guide or pen, 
 To follow half on which the eye dilates ! 
 
198 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 Byron wrote his name with a diamond on a pane of glass 
 in the window which commands a view of the sea. The 
 autograph was coveted and asked for by every tourist 
 visiting the room, until a few years ago, when some "irre- 
 pressible " traveler took the pane of glass from the window 
 and departed with it, without even saying, " By your leave, 
 madam." 
 
 You enter this little inn by a door- way leading three or 
 four steps down into what appears to be the steward's room, 
 but which is in reality the provision room, and at the same 
 time the guest's sitting-room and also the office of the house. 
 The floor is frequently bespread with chickens, ducks, and 
 turkeys, which flutter, cackle, quack, and gobble in vain 
 attempts to release their legs from the cords which bind them 
 while the mistress of the inn and vender are earnestly bar- 
 gaining. There also baskets of eggs, fruit, and cheese remain 
 until their sale is completed. 
 
 This is a favorite place for the guests of the house to find 
 a comfortable chair after a fatiguing walk or donkey ride, 
 and to await the arrival of the mail-bag with letters. 
 
 There is no end of curious details which might be men- 
 tioned respecting the inn. The cuisine is fairly good ; the 
 chef cfwuvre of the kitchen is a pigeon pie. A good break- 
 fast and dinner may be had here every day. 
 
 The Portuguese mode of carrying baggage when one goes 
 to spend a few weeks in the country is novel, and convenient 
 to say the least. The people carry all their effects in large 
 calico bags. Two persons will each have two large bags. It 
 is surprising to see how neatly and compactly things may be 
 packed away in bags. This custom has its real merits. The 
 baggage can be handled most conveniently and occupies less 
 space in a room. 
 
CINTKA. 
 
 199 
 
 Cintra is the only convenient and agreeable summer resort 
 for the Lisbonese. Usually the diplomatic corps take quintas 
 in Cintra for six months in the year, where visiting is done 
 with much less f ormality than at the Capitol. Donkeys are 
 the ever-available animals on which to ride to picnics and to 
 places in the country. Ladies are transported by them to 
 afternoon teas, and the docile animals jog along at a lively 
 pace when urged thereto by the boys behind them with 
 switches. 
 
V 
 
 Lisbon. 
 
 Lisbon, February 23, 1883. I have seen the chapel of St. 
 A John the Baptist in the church of San Eoch. It is said 
 to be the richest cathedral chapel in precious stones, fine 
 marbles, and silver-work, outside of St. Peter's at Rome. It 
 is not more than sixteen feet square. In its construc- 
 tion malachite, alabaster, coral, amethyst, lapis lazuli, verde 
 antique, porphyry, and other valuable stones were used. 
 There are eight columns, fourteen feet high, of solid lapis 
 lazuli, and others of amethyst. The altar is made of coral, 
 malachite, and amethyst. The doors are antique bronze. 
 The candlesticks are solid silver heavily gilded. The two 
 largest are ten feet high. There are also three solid silver 
 lamps, each eight feet high, suspended from the ceiling. The 
 curtains or portieres are of cloth of gold, embroidered with 
 gold thread ; the embroidery was done in 1744, and is just as 
 fresh and bright as when new. The chapel was constructed 
 in Rome, consecrated by the pope, and then brought to Lis- 
 bon. To compensate the pope for his service, King John 
 gave him £10,000 sterling. 
 
 There are three small mosaic pictures the inlaying of which 
 required the labor of an artisan for fifteen years. The 
 
LISBON. 201 
 
 history of the building of the chapel is the following : King 
 John V- once asked to he shown the finest chapel in Lishon. 
 He was conducted to the chapel of St. John the Baptist. The 
 king said that inasmuch as it bore that name, he would 
 henceforward take it under his own care. He then began 
 its renovation and ornamentation, the expense of which 
 was not less than £200,000 sterling. 
 
 Lisbon, March 12, 1883. Yesterday we went on board the 
 OffiMfaH, the flag-ship of the English fleet of five large war- 
 vessels at anchor in the Tagus. We accepted the admiral's 
 invitation to take tea on board. It is the largest ship I ever 
 saw, except the Great Eastern. It has a tonnage of 11,000, 
 carries 1000 men, and has 5 masts. One walks a mile by 
 going seven times around the deck. We enjoyed the music 
 of the band, and were much pleased with the review of the 
 well-drilled marines. 
 
 You will doubtless smile when I tell you that I often see 
 your father's name in the Portuguese papers, printed "O 
 Senhor, John Maria Francis." Maria is a favorite middle 
 .name for men and women. 
 
 Think of the cheapness of flowers here. A large bunch of 
 roses sell for six cents, as many pansies for the same sum, 
 and heliotropes almost without price. Camellias grow on trees 
 as large as apple-trees, and are to be had for the picking. 
 A basket of thirty magnificent camellias embedded in fine 
 ferns was sent me by Senhora 8., a Brazilian lady. Figs and 
 oranges are obtainable in great quantities ; fine oranges can 
 be purchased from the street-venders for four hundred reis, 
 or forty cents, a hundred, and a peck of figs costs no more. 
 
 We made an excursion to Setubal, the fourth largest city in 
 Portugal, about three hours distant from Lisbon, to pay a 
 
 26 
 
202 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 visit to the United States vice-consul, a Portuguese-Irishman. 
 Mr. O'N. and his brother in Lisbon are vice-consuls for ten 
 countries. The vice-consul's costume is purely Portuguese. 
 It comprises a jacket of light-brown cloth braided with 
 black cord, with six large silver hooks, and dangling chains, 
 an open waistcoat, a half-dozen large gold shirt-buttons, a 
 long and heavy gold chain around the neck extending below 
 the waist, trousers to match the jacket, a black silk waist- 
 scarf, and a broad-brimmed black felt bat. with the edge 
 rolled up all around, and a black silk pompon upon one side. 
 We were met at the station by the vice-consul, who 
 escorted us to his quinta, where an elaborate breakfast was 
 spread. We had a charming little trip on bis steam yacht 
 on which lunch was served. We returned in the evening, 
 with gifts of oranges and flowers, delighted with our trip to 
 St. 'Ubes, as the sailors name Setubal. 
 
 Lisbon, March 15, 1883. There is a large kindergarten 
 school in Lisbon. The building is situated in the Estrella 
 Gfarden, one of the beautiful public parks of the city. Archi- 
 tecturally the structure is an ornament to the park. It has 
 accommodation for two hundred children, and is divided 
 into four rooms, with fifty chairs and tables in each room. 
 It is a free school, maintained by the municipality, and 
 is fitted with all requisite apparatus for oral instruction. 
 The children enter the rooms at ten o'clock in the morning, 
 two by two, singing with the accompaniment of a piano. 
 At three p. m. the servants or mothers come and take 
 the children home. Neither reading nor writing is taught. 
 Geography and physical history are taught in one room 
 by the aid of maps and globes ; in another, simple mathe- 
 matical instruction is given; in a third, singing and bot- 
 
LISBON. 203 
 
 any are taught, and in a fourth natural history and simple 
 philosophy. 
 
 I must tell you of a very practical method of serving light 
 suppers at soirees, called by foreigners "tooth-pick suppers." 
 The tooth-picks are made of orange- wood, which has a very 
 fine fiber of a creamy color and takes a high polish. They 
 are a trifle larger than the ordinary tooth-picks. One end of 
 the tooth-pick is ornamented by being feathered or cut into 
 some pretty design. With a little experience one can handle 
 them just as weU as forks, which they substitute. The 
 sandwiches, croquets, and sugared fruits, with an orna- 
 mented tooth-pick inserted in each one, nicely arranged on 
 trays, make a very effective display. 
 
 The manufacture of ordinary tooth-picks is one of the 
 industries of this country ; they are shipped in great quanti- 
 ties to different places in Europe and America. Not long 
 ago an order for a million was received from the United 
 States. 
 
 Lisbon, April 20, 1883. "The rose-leaf procession and 
 f&te of health,'.' took place to-day. The host was carried in 
 solemn procession, preceded by several bands of music and 
 followed by a decorous line of men and women. The host 
 was borne on a crimson velvet platform by priests, while 
 others following threw rose-leaves over it as they passed 
 through the streets. This fete celebrates the anniversary of 
 the day on which the dreadful plague of yellow fever of fifty 
 years ago ceased. The procession was a beautiful spectacle 
 and long to be remembered. 
 
 During the seven months of our residence in Lisbon, I 
 have not been a single day without flowers ; our salon has 
 been continually decorated with them. The balconies at 
 
204 FEAGMENTAEY LETTEE8. 
 
 our windows are always filled with flowering plants, and 
 have been during the winter; indeed they are really very 
 attractive little parterres. 
 
 The great social sensation of the season has just taken 
 place. It was a theatrical party given by the Duchess of P. 
 in her city palace. The representation was " the Marquise 
 de Yillemehr," a four-act play rendered in French. The 
 parts were taken by amateurs in the nobility circle. The 
 duchess had a pavilion erected in the garden adjoining the 
 dining-room of the palace into which it opened by several 
 windows extending from the floor to the ceiling, forming a 
 very good audience-room. A tier of boxes were raised oppo- 
 site the platform, and the remainder of the room was filled 
 with chairs. Upon the backs of the chairs bouquets were 
 attached for those occupying the seats behind them, which 
 were reserved until the end of the last act when a shower of 
 flowers fell upon the stage. During the entr'actes, confec- 
 tionery, tea, and iced beverages were served. After the 
 play more substantial refreshments were offered. Dancing 
 followed and continued until four o'clock in the morning, 
 when an elaborate supper appeared as if by magic in the 
 ball-room and salons. This transformation occurred at a 
 moment when all the guests were intently engaged by the 
 music of the orchestra, but which ceased at a given signal, 
 and the surprised party were invited to seat themselves at 
 the Ute-a-tete tables which had been quietly brought in. 
 The entertainment was a brilliant success. At five o'clock, 
 before the supper had ended, we went home in broad day- 
 light. 
 
 On another occasion the duchess gave a concert and ball, 
 having sent to Hungary for a Hungarian orchestra. This, 
 too, was a most charming entertainment. 
 
LISBON. 205 
 
 Lisbon, April 23, 1883. Yesterday we made a delightful 
 excursion to Sacavem, a little village of an hour's drive from 
 the city, to visit Mr. H.'s pottery and earthenware fabrica. 
 Our way led through orange and olive groves and wheat- 
 fields. There are one hundred and fifty men, women, and 
 children employed in this industry, the largest of its kind in 
 Portugal. We saw the process of making table-ware, begin- 
 ning with the mixture of the clay and ending with the deco- 
 ration and baking of the ware. After lunch had been served 
 in an adjoining building, we were invited into the large ware- 
 room, where a band of twenty musicians played some excel- 
 lent selections of old Portuguese music, ending with one of 
 our own national airs. The men handled their instruments 
 with ease and grace, notwithstanding they came , directly 
 from their work-benches, with their sleeves rolled up and 
 aprons turned back, and their faces and hands bearing traces 
 of the clay. His Majesty Dom Fernando and his wife, the 
 Countess Edla, paint very nicely on porcelain, which is baked 
 at this pottery. His Majesty Dom Fernando contributes 
 ten milreis a month to its music-fund. 
 
VI 
 
 Cintra. The Palacio da Pena. 
 
 Cintka, July 1, 1883. The summer is passing delightfully 
 in this interesting and picturesque place. The days are 
 very warm, but the nights are cooled by the sea-breezes. We 
 have the open sea in full view from our windows, and often 
 see steamers near the coast. I have already told you of the 
 comfort and simplicity of this little Portuguese inn in which 
 we are living. The entire value of the furniture in the house 
 with its thirty small bedrooms would not equal that of your 
 drawing-room. I do not believe there is a looking-glass in 
 the house more than two feet long. 
 
 A summons or call for servants, peculiar to this country 
 and observable everywhere, is given by clapping the hands 
 and making a hissing sound between the tongue and the 
 teeth. This summons substitutes the use of bells generally in 
 houses. The coachman heeds this call as well as the waiter 
 and housemaid. The gallegos, who are the water-carriers 
 and street-messengers, and who have their stands on the 
 street-corners, look anxiously at the windows and doors, 
 eager to hear the summons for their service. The passing 
 fruit and fish venders recognize the well-known call; in 
 fact, it pervades every branch of service in the country. 
 
THE PALACIO DA PENA. 207 
 
 After five o'clock in the afternoon scores of donkeys may- 
 be seen jogging along the dusty roads carrying on green, blue, 
 or crimson plush saddles ladies going to tea visits, or to make 
 calls of etiquette. The donkeys are driven by boys and 
 girls, who keep the animals in the road and from stopping 
 to nibble grass along the roadside by twisting their tails 
 opportunely. The ladies wear broad-brimmed sun-hats and 
 carry bright-colored umbrellas. This mode of going about is 
 very convenient and inexpensive. The services of a donkey 
 and a driver may be had for a milrei (equal in value to 
 one dollar in our money) a day, allowing the driver his 
 usual rations of bread and wine, and the donkey a few tufts 
 of thistles. 
 
 The Palacio da Pena, for many years the country-seat of 
 His Majesty Dom Fernando, overlooks Cintra from the high- 
 est peak of the serra, and is the most conspicuous object in 
 Cintra. This fine old castle was originally a convent built by 
 Dom Manuel for the monks of the Jeronymite Convent just 
 out of Lisbon, who often climbed to this high point before 
 the convent was built to see if he could discover anything 
 of the returning fleet of Vasco da Grama, who had been sent 
 out in the year 1497 on a cruise of discovery. And, in fact, 
 he was the first to descry, two years later, from this point 
 the returning ships of the fleet coming into the mouth of 
 the Tagus. The architecture of this castle is Norman 
 Gfothic. Fifty acres of the surrounding grounds are laid 
 out in gardens with fish-ponds and ornamental fountains, 
 including a forest of camellias of all colors which is the 
 particular pride of the royal owner. 
 
 [A hiatus in correspondence of more than three months 
 occurs between the dates of July 1 and October 17, 1883, the 
 
208 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 writer going to England to meet her daughter and family, 
 who had come from the United States to enjoy a family 
 reunion on English soil.] 
 
 Cintra, October 17, 1883. A year ago I wrote you about 
 the queen's ball at Cascaes ; yesterday was her birthday, and 
 its anniversary was again celebrated by a ball at the same 
 place. A description of the last one would only be a repeti- 
 tion of the account given of the former. 
 
 You must have arrived at New York yesterday. We talked 
 of you daily, while out at sea on the Oregon, and naturally 
 had some anxiety respecting you aboard the steamer making 
 her first voyage across the Atlantic. We expect to find the 
 announcement of the Oregon's arrival in the papers to-mor- 
 row, at the latest. 
 
VII 
 
 Lisbon. The quinta Abelheira. Thanksgiving Day. 
 
 Lisbon, November 18, 1883. Last week we passed several 
 i days at Abelheira, a very large and beautifully situated 
 quinta belonging to Col. C, a retired English army officer. 
 "We were most hospitably received and were delighted with 
 the attractive features of this charming English home. The 
 daily routine of its life is regulated to some extent by the 
 clock and bell of the inner court. Two bells, striking a half- 
 hour apart, announce breakfast and dinner. The early 
 coffee is served to guests in their own rooms. Two bells 
 striking five minutes apart designate the hour for morning 
 prayers, to which guests and their servants are invited. The 
 three lovely little children with their nurses and governesses 
 are called by a large bell to breakfast at 8 : 30 o'clock, and to 
 dinner at two o'clock. The elders of the family breakfast 
 at eleven o'clock, and dine at seven in the evening. At four 
 o'clock in the afternoon, tea, bread and butter are served 
 in one of the pavilions in the garden. At ten p. m. the outer 
 gates and house doors are closed for the night. 
 
 The estate embraces two hundred acres of land partly 
 covered with orange and olive groves. An ordinary crop 
 of oranges is worth $3000. There is a great variety of 
 tropical fruits grown on- the place. The house was built 
 for a convent one hundred and fifty years ago. It sur- 
 
 27 209 
 
210 FBAGMENTARY LETTEES. 
 
 rounds a quadrangular court. Upon one side is the chapel 
 as it was originally constructed. At certain times in the 
 year Roman Catholic Church services are permitted to be 
 held in it. The guest-chambers are on one side of the build- 
 ing, and the apartments on the two other sides are occupied 
 by the family. The grand dining-room is about sixty feet 
 long by twenty-five wide. It has a groined ceiling and is 
 furnished with massive old furniture, and a great deal of 
 silver plate. From it one passes to a beautiful lawn brilliant 
 with flowers and planted with many rare trees and blossom- 
 ing shrubs. The house is covered with climbing rose-bushes 
 in perpetual bloom, and other beautiful flowering vines. 
 For many months I have been the delighted recipient of 
 flowers sent me by Mrs. C. The house contains much of 
 the original furniture, which is very interesting to study. 
 This property, like that of many other of the old convents, 
 came into secular hands at the time of the partial disestab- 
 lishment of the Roman Catholic Church. 
 
 Lisbon, November 30. Yesterday was our national Thanks- 
 giving Day, which we celebrated by giving a breakfast to our 
 American friends and several English and Portuguese guests. 
 It has not been the custom of the American legation at Lis- 
 bon to observe the day, but we instituted a precedent last 
 year, and we hope it may be followed. "We were twenty-four 
 persons at table. Several poor American sailors, who had 
 evidently " lost their way " by their own misdeeds, were asked 
 by us to partake of a good, substantial dinner in the kitchen 
 of our hotel, and they undoubtedly felt more keenly than did 
 our guests the literal meaning of the word thanksgiving. 
 
 All being seated at the table, your father arose and read the 
 President's Thanksgiving Proclamation, and briefly explained 
 
LISBON. 211 
 
 its observance in our country. Suitable toasts were given 
 by two or three of our Portuguese friends, whicb were 
 felicitously responded to by some of the Americans. 
 
 The C.'s sent us from Abelheira a large quantity of tea- 
 roses, heliotropes, and geraniums to embellish our rooms and 
 table on Thanksgiving Day. 
 
 Lisbon, December 11, 1883. A cold wave from the north 
 has chilled the atmosphere for the past three days, and to-day 
 the mercury has fallen to 54° Fahrenheit. There being no 
 place for fire in our apartment, I asked our landlady how we 
 could keep warm. She answered : " Light your lamps and 
 gas ; put on your cloak and gloves, and if you are not then 
 warm enough, go out and take a long walk." 
 
 The little street children are objects of my sincere pity 
 these cold days. I see them running about the streets and 
 lanes with only the covering of a thin shirt, their legs and 
 arms being bare. Those of the higher classes are only clad 
 from their shoulders to their knees, their arms and legs also 
 being bare. The theory prevails here that the exposure of 
 the extremities toughens the child, provided the region of the 
 heart and stomach is covered with warm clothing ; that, they 
 say, is sufficient to insure health. However, on any day in 
 the year in the poor districts, may be seen children from a 
 few months old until they can walk, rolling about on the side- 
 walks with sometimes hardly as much as a thin shirt to cover 
 them, but whose sunny and dirty little faces indicate that this 
 exposure is no hardship to them. It is certain that the native 
 children endure well this treatment, for the Portuguese are 
 a hardy race. 
 
 Apropos to the little side- walk rollers just mentioned, they 
 become naturally the street gamin at a very early age, and in 
 
212 EBAGMENTAKY LETTERS. 
 
 many instances commence their vocation of begging as soon 
 as they can walk. A very amusing incident occurred the other 
 day as we were driving in the country. We stopped at a little 
 wine-shop to give the horses the expected rations of bread 
 soaked in wine, which they won't allow the coachman to for- 
 get, and while waiting, a jolly little brigade of almost naked 
 children, six and seven years old street beggars,- approached 
 the carriage and held out their dirty hands, asking for money. 
 We gave the usual negative shake of the head, but that did 
 not satisfy them. A little girl, with only a scrap of a petticoat 
 upon her, stepped nearer, and said in her native tongue, "You 
 say, sir, you have no money, but you have your mouth full of 
 gold, for I can see it when you laugh, and that is just as good 
 as money." The gentleman in question disclosed to the little 
 girl's view, while in conversation, the plate of gold upon which 
 some teeth were set. The money was forthcoming ; she did 
 not make a second appeal. The children all ran off together 
 to the master of the wine-shop to get the money divided 
 equally among them, this being the custom of the beggars in 
 this country. 
 
 Besides the cold wave we are also having the most wonder- 
 fully brilliant sunsets and sunrises ever seen here. For two 
 hours after sunset the reflected light tinges the heavens and 
 waters and everything between them with a bright red color, 
 which fades into a pale yellow. The sky before sunrise is 
 suffused with a deep red glow, which gradually pales into the 
 blue color of the firmament. We have read in the newspapers 
 that this unusual and long-continued brilliancy of the sky 
 before sunrise and after sunset has been visible in different 
 parts of the world. It has given rise to considerable specu- 
 lation, and many opinions have been advanced both by scien- 
 tific men and by superstitious persons. 
 
LISBON. 
 
 213 
 
 Among the agreeable English people who are met in the 
 diplomatic circle and in the society of the nobility in Lis- 
 bon, are Mr. B., the English consul at this capital, his wife, 
 daughter, and son. 
 
 Lisbon, December 16, 1883. The cold wave of last week 
 has disappeared, sparing our fruits and flowers from its icy 
 breath, and we are again enjoying the usual balmy atmos- 
 phere of this latitude. The brilliant skies at dawn and sun- 
 set still continue. 
 
 The Americans in Lisbon, although limited to the members 
 of a half-dozen families, include some most agreeable peo- 
 ple, among whom are Mr. and Mrs. A., for many years resi- 
 dents of this city, who give dehghtful dancing and musical 
 entertainments, and are well known for their gracious hospi- 
 tality to many of the officers of the American navy when their 
 vessels lay at anchor in the Tagus. Then we have the agree- 
 able society of Dr. and Mrs. A., who also have resided here for 
 many years, and who always have an open house and a warm 
 welcome for their friends. Mr. and Mrs. W. also receive with 
 a hearty cordiality all who are fortunate enough to be enter- 
 tained by them at their residence on Rua Nova de 8. Francisco 
 de Paulo. 
 
YIII 
 
 Earthquake and Carnival in Lisbon. 
 
 Lisbon, December 21, 1883. Yesterday the king held a 
 i court reception to present his oldest son, Dom Carlos, 
 prince hereditary, to the diplomatic corps, on his return from 
 a seven months' tour on the continent. The queen was not 
 present at the reception, nor did the ladies attend it. The 
 prince is a very cultivated young man of twenty years of 
 age. He speaks five languages. The people look upon the 
 young prince as their future king. 
 
 Mother Earth seemed to have a tremor of excitement on 
 the night of his return to Portugal ; there was a very per- 
 ceptible earthquake, the severest that has happened in the 
 past twenty-five years. I have only heard of two persons 
 in Lisbon sleeping through the excitement of the. night, His 
 Majesty Dom Fernando and your father. And I must con- 
 fess that I was awakened only by the last tremor. It oc- 
 curred about three o'clock in the morning, and lasted twelve 
 seconds. All that I heard of it was that which seemed to 
 me to be the rumbling of a heavily loaded cart passing along 
 the street. I thought it was strange for such a vehicle to be 
 on the street at night, although I had felt my little iron 
 bedstead swayed with the oscillation. However, I soon 
 
 «4 
 
EABTHQUAKE AND CABNIVAL IN LISBON. 215 
 
 forgot the disturbance and fell asleep again. In the morn- 
 ing papers we read of the earthquake, and only then were 
 we convinced that there had been one. During the day we 
 saw in many parts of the city evidences of its severity. 
 
 The shock was most perceptible at elevated places in the 
 city, particularly in the Buenos Ayres district, where wide 
 cracks were made in walls of houses, and in some instances 
 pieces of the ceilings had fallen. Many citizens remained 
 in the streets until the dawn of day expecting other shocks 
 to follow, but which fortunately did not. This earthquake 
 caused considerable alarm, for the dreadful disaster of 1755 
 has not been forgotten. A gentleman told us this morning 
 that his horses made so much disturbance in the stable 
 some time before the shock that the stableman went to see 
 what the matter was, but he was not long in perceiving the 
 cause, for the shock occurred while he was in the stable. It 
 is said that animals have a premonition of an earthquake 
 before it is felt by man. 
 
 This is the season of the turkey market. The turkeys are 
 driven in numbers of a hundred "bills" through the streets 
 by old women and barefooted children. At the well-known 
 cry of the venders, " Who wants to buy a turkey," cooks hurry 
 to the street to make selections, and ladies in carriages out 
 on the promenade order the turkey-drivers to pass their 
 houses and leave there so many " bills." After the day's 
 market is over, those not sold are herded in yards within the 
 city gates for the night, and another peregrination begins 
 the next day with additions to the flocks. 
 
 We are having lovely summer weather, and I am thinking 
 of my ice-surrounded friends, and the zero temperature at 
 home. If wishes had wings and prompt fulfillment you all 
 would be here with us in these bright and beautiful days ! 
 
216 PEAGMENTAEY LETTEES. 
 
 Lisbon, January 2, 1884. Yesterday the king held the 
 usual New Year's court reception at the Ajuda Palace. 
 The queen did not receive, and consequently ladies did not 
 attend it. 
 
 The winter until yesterday had been very dry, and fears 
 had been entertained that the crops would suffer. During 
 Christmas-week prayers for rain were daily offered in the 
 churches, and the drought has come to an end. At the 
 dawn of New Year's Day came a heavy rain-storm, sending 
 rivers of water rushing down the hills. The little cactus 
 jungle opposite our windows has gratefully received the rain 
 and the delicate chalices of the plants are brimming with 
 sparkling water, and numerous beautiful yellow and pink 
 buds have appeared on the green tips of the tender stems. 
 
 You cannot imagine the pleasure I derive from my little 
 gallery of home photographs, as they are grouped around on 
 my writing-table. When my eyes rest upon the well-known 
 faces before me I can scarcely realize that the distance of 
 four thousand miles separates me from the pictured persons. 
 
 Lisbon, February 27, 1884. The month of court mourning, 
 which occurred in the carnival season, is finished, and the 
 usual amusements and soirees have been resumed. Yesterday 
 the carnival ended. We passed the afternoon at the house 
 of a friend on the Chiado — the Broadway of Lisbon — where 
 we remained on the balcony three hours to observe the 
 closing scenes. Having seen something of carnival spectacles 
 in Athens, you will be able to appreciate an account of those 
 of the last day of this one. 
 
 Each successive year exhibits some new and pretty caprice, 
 while some of the old and absurd practices are repeated. 
 One of the absurd amusements this year was throwing flour 
 
EARTHQUAKE AND CARNIVAL IN LISBON. 217 
 
 at each, other ; those engaging in this sport protect their heads 
 with caps drawn tightly over them, don clothing which can 
 be washed, and remove the furniture to closed rooms. But 
 no one can avoid the play of the bisnagas, or small syringes, 
 through which is ejected perfumed water. Children fre- 
 quently salute their parents in the early morning with a 
 sprinkling from their bisnagas. 
 
 In the house opposite us there were a dozen men and 
 women covered with flour from their heads to their feet. 
 Long before six o'clock, the hour of terminating the carni- 
 val, these people were ghostly white and moved about in 
 clouds of flying flour. Small paper bags containing flour are 
 often thrown upon the people passing in the streets, and 
 others hurled across at those seated or standing at the win- 
 dows of the opposite houses. Persons thus assailed have 
 no other redress than that of return-peltings. Everything 
 is considered as " fair play " during the last day of carnival. 
 
 Small bags of beans and corn are thrown into carriages as 
 disguised acquaintances are discovered passing each other 
 in the streets. I saw a peck of beans showered upon the 
 crowd beneath the balcony of the house across the street. 
 Sacks of small squares of colored paper, cut very fine by 
 machinery, are often dropped upon the heads of the passers- 
 by, making as they flutter about pretty effects. Another 
 pretty spectacle are showers of silver and gilt tinsel paper, 
 cut in small pieces and sent down from the roofs of the 
 houses and which are wafted about on the Chiado in the 
 bright sunlight by the breezes and lighting here and there 
 upon the merry crowd below, like so many fallen gold and 
 silver stars. Nosegays with mottoes or billets doux hidden 
 in among the flowers are also thrown at recognized friends. 
 Another cunning device for carnival sport are small balls 
 
 28 
 
218 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 made of fine-cut white paper saturated with perfumed 
 water, and used as carnival missiles and hurled at each 
 other ; these balls explode as they strike, and the wet paper 
 flies apart and sticks fast on whomever it falls. 
 
 During the last three hours of the carnival everybody 
 gets wild with excitement, and consequently great liberty is 
 allowed. Nobody takes offense at anything, knowing well 
 that the only way to escape the inconveniences of carnival 
 sports is to remain at home. Naturally, however, every- 
 body wants to see the sport, and of course are assailed where- 
 ever they go. Not only do the people of the lower classes 
 participate in these contentions, but ladies and gentlemen 
 in the highest society disguise and mask themselves and 
 join the wild throng in the Chiado. Often entire families 
 give way to the carnival " craze," and go along the streets 
 hurling beans and corn at the persons in carriages and on 
 balconies. 
 
 The grand finale of the carnival is deferred until even- 
 ing, when the theaters become ball-rooms. San Carlos, the 
 royal opera house, has its parquet floored over, and there 
 dancing begins at nine o'clock, to end at midnight. Some- 
 times the members of the royal family engage in the amuse- 
 ment of the evening from the royal box ; and they too are 
 subject to the play of the bisnaga, without showing any 
 resentment, and pleasantly join in the general pelting of the 
 people about them. Attendants at these balls are masked 
 and wear dominos over the wash-toilets which are worn 
 on these occasions, and everybody is armed with bisnagas. 
 During the last three days of the carnival, I did not dare to 
 venture out in an open carriage. Even last Sunday, return- 
 ing from church, the carriage door was opened and a bis- 
 naga was fired at me. A little farther on and the carriage 
 
EAETHQUAKE AND CABNIVAL IN LISBON. 219 
 
 door was again opened, and a coil of muddy string was 
 thrown into my lap and quickly drawn out, leaving a dirty 
 track on my dress. This advantage is taken of carnages 
 when they are going up a hill and are moving slowly. And 
 this is called carnival sport! However, with the carnival 
 come certain advantages : the turkeys and birds have good 
 pickings in the streets for days afterward. 
 
 It is a puzzle to foreigners to learn the names most in 
 use of some of the streets in Lisbon, for many of them 
 are commonly called in conversation by an entirely differ- 
 ent name from those displayed on the sign-boards. For 
 instance, Bua Bella da Bainha, in English the Street of 
 the Beautiful Queen, is generally spoken of as Bua da 
 .Prata, Silver Street. Also some of the streets have very 
 long names : Bua da Porta do Carro do Hospital Beal de S. 
 Jose, Street of the Grate on the Square of the Royal Hos- 
 pital of Saint Joseph. Another long street name reads, 
 Bua de Santo Antonio da Praga do Convento do Coracdo de 
 Jesus, Street of Saint Antonio on the Square of the Con- 
 vent of the Heart of Jesus. Some of the significant names 
 read as follows : Bua das Janellas Verdes, Street of the 
 Green Blinds ; Bua da Madre de Deus, Street of the Mother 
 of Gfod ; Bua das Cebolas, Street of the Onions ; Bua das 
 hem Casados, Street of the Happy Married. While study- 
 ing the street names one acquires considerable knowledge 
 of the vernacular of the country. 
 
IX 
 
 Lisbon. Religious Processions. 
 
 Iisbon, April 6, 1884. Among the most striking sights 
 A in the streets of Lisbon were formerly the religious 
 processions, but since the partial disestablishment of the 
 Roman Catholic Church in Portugal they have become 
 greatly reduced in number, as well as in magnitude and 
 splendor. One of the chief processions nowadays is the 
 Corpus Christi procession. It represents our Savior on 
 his way to the crucifixion. There are six different figures 
 of Christ in wood, carried upon as many platforms, deco- 
 rated with artificial and natural flowers. Each platform 
 was borne by eight priests with uncovered heads preceded 
 by a little girl about eight years old, dressed to represent an 
 angel, who wore a light-blue dress, shoes of the same color, 
 and had two silver-paper wings attached to her shoulder, 
 and a wreath of white roses on her head. The first figure 
 of Christ was dressed in a long, flowing purple robe, repre- 
 senting him as a teacher. 
 
 The second was in a kneeling position and had a green 
 branch in its hand. The third figure had a heavy rope 
 around its waist The fourth was naked, and its feet and 
 hands were bound with ropes. The figure on the fifth plat- 
 
RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS. 221 
 
 form was bent and bore a heavy cross. The last figure 
 represented Christ nailed to the cross. Then followed the 
 figure of Mary the mother. Behind the figure on the cross 
 walked several men and women doing penance. They had 
 made vows that if certain prayers were answered, they 
 would go through the streets barefooted in the procession 
 and afterward dispense with shoes for a certain length of 
 time ; each having his or her own peculiar vow to fulfill. 
 
 Among the penitents was a woman dressed in a short, bright 
 purple dress, wearing a long black veil over her head and 
 face. She carried a crucifix in her hand, and walked solemnly 
 along with the other penitents. She was a lady of nobility, 
 and was fulfilling a vow made when her child was very sick. 
 I observed that her feet were white and looked very delicate. 
 That they were not accustomed to the hard pavement was 
 evident from her walking. There was a large military escort, 
 and thousands of people in the procession. For many years 
 this procession was abandoned, but some years ago a rich Bra- 
 zilian died and left among his bequests a sufficient amount 
 of money to a particular church to pay the expense of an 
 annual procession for a limited number of years. If the pro- 
 cession is not annually made, the money is thereafter to be 
 used for another purpose. The king and his ministers and 
 other high officials sometimes take part in the procession. 
 
 There is another procession in which the viaticum is carried 
 to the sick and dying. The priests and necessary attendants 
 are called together by the ringing of a bell at the church door. 
 A bare-headed priest carries the blessed sacrament under a 
 canopy preceded by other priests wearing scarlet capes and 
 bearing lighted candles. The approach of the procession is 
 announced by the ringing of a bell, at the sound of which 
 many of the passers-by kneel and uncover their heads until the 
 
222 FKAGMENTAKY LETTEKS. 
 
 procession has passed. If it takes place in the night, lighted 
 candles are often placed at the windows on the street 
 through which the procession is passing. The attendants 
 sing in a low chanting voice until they arrive at their des- 
 tination. I have sometimes met these processions when out 
 driving, and have frequently seen them passing our hotel at 
 night. 
 
 Lisbon, April 12, 1884. We have not been in a railroad 
 car since the 5th of last October, the day we separated in 
 London, you going to Liverpool to embark for New York, 
 and I to Southampton to embark for Lisbon. I have not 
 since seen a railroad, nor a car, nor even heard a locomotive 
 whistle ! However, we intend soon to go to Oporto by rail. 
 
 The Easter holidays have begun; to-day the streets are 
 alive with people, the women wearing new spring bonnets, 
 and the men the latest fashions of hats and neck-ties. To-mor- 
 row, Easter Sunday, is a grand church festival. The churches 
 are beautifully decorated with evergreens and flowers. A choir 
 of one hundred voices, male and female, has been practic- 
 ing for weeks in a building very near us, to sing to-morrow 
 in one of the large churches. A special dispensation was 
 obtained from the pope, permitting female voices to take 
 part in this Easter musical celebration. This is considered 
 as an extraordinary indulgence, for it will be the first time 
 that female voices will have been heard in the church choirs 
 of Lisbon. 
 
 Lisbon, April 27, 1884. We gave a dinner a few days since 
 to some of our colleagues, and to several members of the 
 king's cabinet and their wives. There were eighteen covers 
 and twelve courses. Our reception-room was beautifully 
 
KELIGIOUS PKOCESSIONS. 223 
 
 decorated. We had twenty-two different floral designs, includ- 
 ing three hundred and fifty roses and a score of calla-lilies, 
 besides many other flowers. Our salon is quite spacious, and I 
 arranged around the center-table the sofas and chairs in such 
 a manner that between them and the wall there was suffi- 
 cient space for a number of tables on which I placed the 
 floral decorations and jardinieres of trailing vines. The 
 dining-room, which adjoins the reception-room, was also 
 made very attractive with flowers and ferns. On the dining- 
 table were arranged very effectively pink and tea roses. 
 The flower-mottoes from New York came in time, and were 
 quite novel. 
 
 We are to have a Kermesse, or fair, in the Tapada, or royal 
 park, which is to be under the auspices of the queen. This 
 fair is for the benefit of the children's home and hospital. The 
 queen has accepted the presidency of the Kermesse Associa- 
 tion, and has kindly consented to preside in person in the 
 floral pavilion. A tent has been erected and elegantly fur- 
 nished and carpeted. In it the flowers are to be artistically 
 arranged, and Her Majesty will personally dispense the flow- 
 ers. It is generally understood by the members of the diplo- 
 matic corps that not less than £2 sterling will be offered for 
 a rose ! It is even whispered that gentlemen must not vent- 
 ure to attend the Kermesse with the expectation of spending 
 less than £5. The ladies of nobility have pavilions around 
 the floral tent, and will sell fancy and useful articles. It is 
 believed that $25,000 will be realized from the sales at the 
 Kermesse. 
 
Oporto. 
 
 Oporto, May 12, 1884. We have left Lisbon for the 
 summer, and only intend to stop there for a few days 
 on our return from Oporto before going to Cintra. We are 
 a party of four persons, including a jolly old Scotch gentle- 
 man, Mr. P., and Mr. W., of Lisbon. The distance between 
 the two capitals of Portugal, as Lisbon and Oporto are 
 called, is one hundred and eighty miles, but it requires 
 thirteen hours to accomplish the journey. The slow run- 
 ning-time and frequent stops make a long journey between 
 the two cities. The railroad passes through the finest 
 agricultural portion of the kingdom. We saw thousands 
 of men, women, and children laboring in the vineyards, rice 
 and other fields. In the vicinity of Oporto is the port-wine 
 district, where we saw the grape extensively cultivated. 
 
 At Coimbra, the university town of Portugal, about two 
 hours from Oporto, students were awaiting at the station 
 the arrival of friends. While at college, students do not 
 wear hats in winter or in summer. The uniform is a plain 
 black suit, comprising a long black frock-coat and a Spanish 
 cape having long tabs, one of which can be thrown over the 
 left shoulder, and the Other, in bad weather, over the head. 
 
opoeto. 225 
 
 The university is a wealthy and well-managed institution, 
 and has about one thousand students. 
 
 From Coimbra to Oporto the country is very picturesque. 
 The railroad crosses the rivers Minho and Douro, which run 
 through the most arable part of the country. There are 
 many hamlets along the route where the farmers live. At 
 this season of the year all the stout and able-bodied mem- 
 bers of these little communities are at work in the fields, 
 and only the old women and babies are seen about the doors 
 of their humble homes. 
 
 We are very comfortably located at the Grand Hotel 
 d'Oporto, the management of which is very efficient, and 
 the cuisine excellent. 
 
 Oporto has a population of 100,000, embracing a colony 
 of 100 English families and as many more Grerman. Oporto 
 is built on both banks of the Douro Rivet, three miles from 
 its mouth, and is more picturesquely situated than Lisbon. 
 The river is crossed by two fine bridges, and constantly 
 plying ferry-boats. Oporto would have been long ago a 
 rival of Lisbon had there not been such a perilous entrance 
 for large craft to the river. The city runs up and down 
 hills as does Lisbon. The houses are generally cased out- 
 side with tiles of Moorish patterns and bright colors. Every 
 window has its balcony, and the eaves project so far that 
 they really offer a protection from rain to the passer-by. 
 The entrances to the houses are low, dark, and disagreeable. 
 
 The Oportians are a more active people than the Lis- 
 bonese. They move quicker in the streets, and shop with 
 fewer compliments. One of the finest streets is occupied 
 almost entirely by the gold and silver trade. Beautiful 
 gold and silver filigree work is made there, which finds 
 ready sale in Lisbon. 
 
 29 
 
226 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 The women fish-venders are very good patrons of this 
 ornamental industry; they wear neck-chains, ear-rings, 
 finger-rings, and large "brooches, either of gold or silver, 
 while they are minus hats and shoes, and have barely length 
 enough of skirt to cover their knees. But with a gay scarf 
 around their waists, the fish-venders look quite bonny. 
 These women invest the most of their earnings in gold and 
 silver jewelry, which they buy by weight, a certain sum 
 being allowed for workmanship, and with a certificate of 
 value bearing the name of the seller, and stating how much 
 will be paid for it if returned within a certain time. The 
 buyer may wear the large ear-rings in her ears for years and 
 then return them at a fair price. The fish-venders wear the 
 longest chains, the heaviest finger-rings, and the most 
 elaborately wrought ear-rings that are seen in the streets 
 of Lisbon or Oporto. 
 
 In Oporto the carrying business is done by oxen driven 
 by old women and little girls, who walk by the heads of the 
 animals bare-footed and bare-headed, handling with dex- 
 terity the long switches with which they hasten the steps of 
 the slow-moving animals. And they too are good patrons 
 of the gold and silver smiths. We visited the City-hall, one 
 of the finest buildings in Portugal, and the pride of Oporto. 
 Its construction reminds one of the Alhambra at Grenada. 
 It is decorated in stucco-work after Moorish designs, and 
 is very rich in coloring. The interior work alone cost 
 $200,000. 
 
 A church stands near by bearing the inscription that 
 it was built one thousand years ago. The elaborate wood- 
 carvings in the church are bright with pure gold-foil. The 
 wood-work was regilded four hundred years ago, since 
 which time it has not been renewed ; still it looks as fresh 
 as if the gilding had been done a few years ago. 
 
opoeto. 227 
 
 Yesterday we lunched with the German consul, at his 
 country seat, called "Quinta Amarella" or yellow quinta, so 
 called from the color of the house and inclosing walls. It 
 was a family party, and so the children were introduced to 
 us at the lunch-table, eight in all, ranging in age from 
 a three-year-old miss to one of seventeen years. Ail the 
 members of the family speak German, French, English, 
 and Portuguese. The mother of this interesting family is 
 only thirty-seven years old. 
 
 In the suburbs of Oporto are many fine quintas and 
 pretty villas. The roses of Oporto are famous. Last year 
 when the king went to Madrid, he took as a present to 
 Queen Christina of Spain eight hundred roses, which 
 included three hundred varieties, all grown in Oporto. 
 
XI 
 
 Braga. The Pilgrimage Chapels of the Bom Jesus. 
 
 Beaga, May 15, 1884. I now write from the Grand Hotel 
 of the Grood Jesus of the Mountain, the Grand Hotel 
 do Bom Jesus do Monte, an old cathedral town of Portugal, 
 a summer resort in the mountains overlooking Braga. The 
 hotel derives its name from the church near it upon the 
 mountain. From Oporto to Braga is a distance of forty 
 miles, hut it takes three hours to make it. Arrived at 
 Braga, we were transferred to a tramway-car drawn by 
 horses, and passed through the town, when the horses were 
 detached from the car and a small locomotive was attached 
 to it, and we were taken two miles farther to the foot of 
 the mountain, when by another transfer we were placed on 
 board a cable elevator car, which took us almost perpen- 
 dicularly up twelve hundred feet to the hotel. 
 
 From Oporto to Braga the road runs through a valley 
 of vineyards and wild flowers. The wine made north of 
 Oporto is a sour white wine, called "vinho verde" the com- 
 mon wine of the country. It is furnished at the table as free 
 as water. The grapes growing south of Oporto make the best 
 port wine. The vines are trained on chestnut-trees, at the 
 foot of which the vines are planted, which in time over- 
 
 228 
 
BEAGA. 
 
 229 
 
 run their branches. The trees are planted so close together 
 that the vines hang between them in inter-twining festoons. 
 For miles one sees a continuous trellis of grape-vines. The 
 trees also produce abundant crops of chestnuts. The sight 
 of the miles and miles of chestnut-trees bearing their own 
 fruit and burdened with great clusters of purple grapes, is 
 indeed a novel one to foreigners. The grape is the prin- 
 cipal product of this district ; the olive does not grow here. 
 
 We find the Hotel do Bom Jesus much better kept than 
 country hotels in general in Portugal. The cuisine is fair, 
 and the uncarpeted bedrooms are clean and cozy. The beds, 
 however, are as hard as straw beds can be. Spring beds and 
 hair mattresses have not yet found their way into this part 
 of Portugal. The pillows are little cushions about twelve 
 inches square, one on a bed, and are about as thick as a 
 biscuit, and the pillow-cover as stiff as starch could make it. 
 These little pillows, xlainty to look at, are not very practical 
 for the inexperienced person, as I learned at the cost of a 
 disturbed night's rest. I awakened to find it had mysteri- 
 ously disappeared, and after searching for it I discovered it 
 on the floor at the side of the bed. The pillow was missed 
 again that night and was again found on the floor. On the 
 second night I pinned the pillow to the straw bed, and had 
 no repetition of the experiences of the previous night. 
 
 "We are furnished three good meals a day, the last one at 
 nine o'clock in the evening, which consists of hot bouillon, 
 hot milk, tea, bread and butter. There are pleasant walks 
 in every direction in which we can wander for hours under 
 the shade of the pink and white flowering chestnut and 
 acacia trees. Active preparations are making to celebrate 
 early in June the centennial anniversary of the Church of 
 the Bom Jesus. During the week of the celebration a fair 
 
230 FBAGMENTABY LETTEE8. 
 
 will be held which will afford the young people of the sur- 
 rounding country the opportunity for match-making and 
 getting married. 
 
 The hotel has been engaged for the week by the Bishop of 
 Braga and his neighboring clergymen. The corner-stone of 
 this church was laid June 1, 1784. Until the last fifteen 
 years this place on the mountain was occupied only as a 
 quiet retreat by a few priests, since which time, however, 
 two small hotels have been built, and the priests willingly 
 consented to share the enjoyment of it with the secular 
 world, and now it has become a popular Portuguese summer 
 resort. The tourist seldom visits it, for it is too far from the 
 general line of travel. 
 
 On Palm Sunday a pilgrimage is made to the church by 
 devotees from far and near. Sometimes penitents make 
 the ascent of the four hundred steps on their knees. This 
 church is a Mecca to many Portuguese. Upon both sides 
 of the stair- way, called the "Ascent to the Oood Jesus," at 
 short intervals are small stone chapels, about thirty feet 
 square, richly decorated inside and outside with sculptured 
 stone. Each one of the chapels contains from ten to twenty 
 biblical sculptured wooden figures, life-size and painted to 
 represent the supposed dress of Christ's time. The figures 
 are so arranged in the chapels as to represent the trial, 
 the judgment, the crucifixion, and the ascension of our 
 Savior. On stone tablets above the doors of the chapels 
 are inscriptions of quotations from the Bible, referring to 
 the representations within. Near the top of the stair-way, 
 and also at intervals, are nine platforms about thirty feet 
 square, each surmounted with three stone statues, larger 
 than life-size, of Old and New Testament worthies. Many 
 of the wooden figures were made in Rome, and others were 
 
BKAGA. 231 
 
 carved on the ground. Upon all the platforms are stone 
 fountains of running water engraved with Bible texts. 
 
 On the first platform at the beginning of the ascent is a 
 very large square stone fountain on which are cut represen- 
 tations of the instruments used in the scourging and cruci- 
 fixion of Christ. People may be seen at all times kneeling 
 before the chapels, which are always open. This stair-way 
 is a wonderful construction, and makes the place one of 
 peculiar distinction. Every year several solemn processions 
 ascend the mountain by the stair- way. 
 
 The Church of the Bom Jesus is really a rich cathedral, 
 beautiful in proportions, and costly in decorations. The 
 work of renovating its interior and of cleaning the statu- 
 ary is in progress. The entire ceiling is a bed of heavy gild- 
 ing, on which are represented sacred scenes in stucco-work 
 richly colored. The building is constructed of granite 
 quarried on the mountain, and also many of the statues 
 were made there. 
 
 There had been a very strong sentiment expressed on the 
 part of the Roman Catholic clergy against the innovation 
 caused by the erection of the two hotels and the presence 
 of irreligious visitors on this considered sacred mountain. 
 However, these objections have been overcome to a certain 
 extent by the increasing liberality of the Church in Portugal. 
 
 We have passed a most delightful week at this mountain 
 retreat. I have never met an American tourist who had 
 heard of this place. I was somewhat surprised to see on 
 the glass shade of one of the large lamps in the hotel sitting- 
 room, a pictorial view of the Hudson River at West Point, 
 one of the Buttermilk Falls at Catskill, and one of the 
 Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River, with the 
 respective names in the English text. 
 
232 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 Braga is situated near the base of the mountain of the 
 Bom Jesus, and is one of the oldest Portuguese cities of the 
 second order. It has a population of 16,000, among which 
 is a large number of priests. There are two large and well- 
 shaded parks in the city, and many public fountains. The 
 cathedral is a fine large building of the twelfth century. 
 It is a very pretty scene to look down upon Braga at night 
 from the elevation on which our hotel is situated, and 
 observe the thousands of ghmmering street-lights stretching 
 in long and devious lines through the town. Glimpses of 
 the sea, thirty miles away, are caught at different points on 
 the mountain. There is not a word of English spoken in 
 our hearing except by the members of out' own little party. 
 However, aided by gesticulations, we make, with our limited 
 knowledge of the Portuguese language, our wants and 
 thoughts intelligible to those unacquainted with our English. 
 
XII 
 
 Adieu to Lisbon. Arrival at Hamburg. 
 
 Lisbon, May 27th. "We returned to this city well satisfied 
 A and much enlightened by our fortnight's visit in the 
 north part of Portugal. The Kermesse took place during 
 our absence, and the fullest expectations of its projectors 
 were realized. About $30,000 were netted, and were placed 
 in the hands of the queen to dispose of. 
 
 The eighty days in all of court-mourning this season has 
 at last come to an end ; it has had a restraining effect upon 
 court and diplomatic society, and now as the warm season 
 has commenced the society people are preparing to go to the 
 country. Many families are going to Cintra, and we shall 
 soon follow. 
 
 [The letters written between the date of the last one of 
 May 29, 1884, and the following one were lost, hence the 
 noticeable break in the correspondence.] 
 
 Lisbon, August 23, 1884. "We shall soon take our depart- 
 ure from Lisbon, and proceed to the post of your father's 
 recently received appointment at Vienna. "We have been 
 staying a few days in Lisbon ; the heat here is intense dur- 
 ing the day, but with the sunset come the cooling breezes 
 from the sea, which make this semi-tropical temperature 
 30 ,„ 
 
234 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 endurable. "We have taken passage on the Brazilian steamer 
 Petropolis for Hamburg, which is expected to arrive here in 
 a day or two. A voyage of six or seven days and twenty- 
 two hours of railroad traveling will carry us to Vienna. 
 
 Your father's official duties as United States Minister 
 here have terminated. An audience with the king and 
 queen, last visits to our colleagues, and several dinners with 
 friends have occupied us during the few days. After some 
 good-byes to other friends, we shall embark for our new 
 destination, with many pleasant memories of the attract- 
 ive city and its cultivated and hospitable people. The 
 numerous souvenirs of our two-years' residence at the capi- 
 tal of Portugal, which we take with us, will always remind 
 us of the very enjoyable period of our life in this country. 
 
 There is a very interesting story respecting the founding 
 of Lisbon, which I must tell you before leaving the city, 
 although I do not vouch for its truth. It is related that 
 Ulysses, with a band of followers in his long wanderings on 
 the sea after the conquest of Troy, found his way into the 
 River Tagus, where he found the harbor so delightful and 
 welcome after his long and dangerous buffetings on the seas, 
 and the products along the shore so satisfying to his famish- 
 ing men, that he determined to trace out a city close by 
 the shore. This he did, and erected a temple to Minerva, 
 naming the new city Ulysippo. The intruding customs and 
 the overbearing manners of the Greeks at last drew upon 
 themselves the hostility of the natives, and Ulysses was com- 
 pelled to abandon the hope of making a permanent settle- 
 ment, and induced his men — many of whom were inclined 
 to join with the natives — to sail once more in search of 
 his beloved Island of Ithaca, hoping to meet again Penel- 
 ope and Telemachus, his wife and son. 
 
AEBIVAL AT HAMBTJKG. 235 
 
 ON board the PetropoUs, August 31, 1884. The steamer 
 arrived at Lisbon on time, and we embarked with bag 
 and baggage on the 25th inst. Until we had crossed the Bay 
 of Biscay, — old Neptune's domain,— a passage of three 
 days, I could not find on the ship a " level spot " on which to 
 write my name, much less to indite a letter. Now we are 
 in the English Channel, within two or three days of Ham- 
 burg, and are having smoother water and more agreeable 
 conditions of. life on shipboard. 
 
 The distance from Lisbon to Hamburg is 1350 miles. Our 
 steamer is a merchant vessel running from Hamburg to the 
 La Platte River in Brazil. It is a clean and comfortable 
 little ship, and has accommodation for sixteen cabin passen- 
 gers and two hundred steerage. We are but four passengers 
 in the cabin, a Swiss governess returning home on a three- 
 months' visit after seven years' residence at Rio Janeiro, a 
 Swiss merchant, and ourselves. The cargo is cork, hides, 
 and thirty thousand sacks of coffee. You can imagine that 
 in this warm climate the ship is thoroughly permeated with 
 bad odors. The disagreeable smells and the odor of fresh 
 paint cause us to remain on deck the greater part of the 
 twenty-four hours. A ship in this line makes four round 
 trips a year, counting eleven thousand miles each voyage. 
 The sea-route to the north of Europe is far more comfort- 
 able than to go by rail, with the Spanish, French, and 
 Austrian custom-houses to pass, and the annoyance of mak- 
 ing the necessary changes of money to pay incidentals and 
 eating en route. 
 
 September 2, 1884. Here we are in the River Elbe aground, 
 with the bow of our ship embedded in a sand-bar, and we 
 are within a half-hour's distance of Hamburg. We have 
 
236 FEAGMENTAEY LETTEES. 
 
 already been eighteen hours in this position, where we can 
 see the spires of the churches in the city. The removal aft 
 of the cargo is in progress, and we hope the vessel will he 
 sufficiently lightened to enable it to pass over the bar. How- 
 ever, the captain has sent to the harbor-master for a small 
 boat to take off the passengers, so there is some hope that 
 we may reach the city before night. We are just off the 
 beer-garden of Blankenese, a summer resort a few miles 
 distant from Hamburg, and within sound of the orchestral 
 music, which, while we do not hear it in its completeness, 
 comes to us in occasional strains, and helps us to while away 
 the tedious hours of waiting to be landed. 
 
 Hambueg, September 3, 1884. In coming into the dock 
 yesterday we saw the Holsatia and the Frisia, in which 
 steamers we crossed the Atlantic some years ago. "We are 
 at Strait's Hotel, a nice old-fashioned house, where we find 
 the United States consuls of Hamburg and Bremen are 
 living at present. The scenery of the Elbe, near Hamburg, 
 reminded me of that on the east bank of the Hudson at 
 Yonkers. The banks of the Elbe are terraced down to the 
 water-side, and are occupied by fine gardens and villas. 
 
 In the center of Hamburg is a small lake which is sur- 
 rounded by some of the largest hotels and many of the 
 finest residences in the city, besides several large cafes. 
 
 Hamburg is one of the handsome cities of northern Grer- 
 many, and we regret that our short stay will not permit us 
 to see much of it. 
 
XIII 
 
 Vienna. Ring Strasse. Court Balls. 
 
 Vienna, September 14, 1884. We had a pleasant journey 
 from Hamburg. " The weather was fine and we greatly 
 enjoyed the fresh landscape of this northern country after 
 seeing so recently the dry and arid fields of Portugal, as 
 they are at this season of the year. We occupy the apart- 
 ment of your father's predecessor, Judge T., and retain the 
 German servants. Fortunately my little knowledge of the 
 German language enables me to understand, and to be under- 
 stood, in the management of household affairs. Provided 
 with an English-German dictionary I get along very well. 
 
 Your father has had an audience with the Emperor of 
 Austria, Francis Joseph, and presented his letter of creden- 
 tials. The emperor received him most kindly, and recol- 
 lected having seen him eleven years ago in the palace of 
 Schonbrunn. At that time we were on our way home to the 
 United States from Athens, where your father was minister. 
 We had come by the way of Vienna to visit the Exposition. 
 The empress gives no special audiences. We shall be pre- 
 sented to her majesty on the occasion of the first court ball 
 in January. 
 
 837 
 
238 FEAGMENTAEY LETTEKS. 
 
 We have a charming apartment in a large building 
 situated on the corner of Lothringer Strasse and Canova- 
 gasse. It includes twenty-two rooms, of which there is a 
 continuous suite of six beautiful rooms overlooking Loth- 
 ringer Strasse on the River Wien. The banks of this river 
 are terraced down to the water, and are laid out in' public 
 gardens, small parks, and parterres of flowers. Two fine 
 stone bridges span the river in this part of the city. Across 
 the river are blocks of magnificent houses, two fine churches, 
 and the Swartzenberg Palace. We are vis-a-vis the Con- 
 servatory of Music, and very near the art gallery where 
 Marcott has his scores of paintings on exhibition. We are 
 not a minute's walk from the Ring Strasse, the grand 
 promenade of Vienna. 
 
 Vienna, September 21, 1884. We are now quite settled in 
 our new home, and have already commenced the round of 
 etiquette visits. We have had the pleasure of having Dr. 
 and Mrs. S., of Athens, and their daughter Andromache to 
 dine with us. He and his wife are still engaged in making 
 excavations in Greece, and also are occupied in writing a 
 work on their latest archaeological discoveries. You will 
 remember Andromache as a bright, black-eyed baby when 
 you were with us in Athens. She is now a beautiful and 
 interesting girl of fourteen years and is much devoted to 
 her studies. Her brother Agamemnon is not less studious. 
 The family, besides speaking daily four languages for the 
 practice, when at home converse in ancient Greek at the 
 table. They send you and C. very kind remembrances. 
 
 The popular evening entertainments just now are Strauss's 
 orchestra at the Folks Garten, and an occasional opera at 
 the Royal Opera House. The opera begins at seven and 
 
VIENNA. 239 
 
 closes at ten o'clock. Sensible hours ! We have dined at 
 Count de Y.'s, the dean of the ministers in the diplomatic 
 corps, at his villa about an hour's drive from the city. The 
 countess and her daughter speak English perfectly. 
 
 In another apartment in the same building with us lives 
 the minister of the Argentine Republic, South America. 
 Many mistakes occur in delivering messages, mail matter, 
 and telegrams to the two American ministers, which can 
 only be avoided by asking the question of the door-servant, 
 " Is it the North American or South American minister who 
 lives here ? " The kitchens of the two apartments face each 
 other in the court, and it happened one day that the house 
 service of the two legations got a little mixed ; the maid 
 of our house eloped with the butler of the Argentine 
 Republic ! 
 
 There is one peculiar custom prevailing here that we have 
 never met with elsewhere in our travels; that is, the pay- 
 ment of ten kreutzers — equal to four cents — to the house- 
 porter for opening the entrance door after ten o'clock at 
 night, at which hour the street-door is closed and locked. 
 This is the porter's perquisite. Two of our servants do not 
 sleep in the building, and when they are detained by us later 
 than ten o'clock, we are obliged to pay for their leaving our 
 door and the entrance to their own ; the sum amounts to 
 sixteen cents. And this occurs almost nightly. We occupy 
 the bel etage of the building, and to it from the street is a 
 flight of sixty-five steps. To descend and ascend several 
 times in an evening is no pastime for a servant. The 
 custom here is to send a servant to accompany a visitor to 
 the street-door to pay his exit in case the hour for closing 
 the door is passed, and also to avoid the mistake of the 
 porter collecting ten kreutzers from the out-going visitor 
 
240 FEAGMENTAEY LETTEES. 
 
 when it is intended that he shall not pay, as such exits are 
 generally charged to the apartment. 
 
 The King and Queen of Greece were in Vienna last week, 
 when your father had an audience with the king ; the queen 
 gave no audiences. 
 
 We expect to see many more Americans here than we saw 
 in Lisbon, for Vienna is quite on the line of continental tours. 
 
 Vienna, September 25, 1884. We dined yesterday with 
 Prince R., the German ambassador, and his wife at their villa, 
 six miles from the city. They are a charming family, and 
 received us most cordially. Before dinner, their two little 
 sons were brought in and introduced to the guests; the 
 family speak English fluently. 
 
 Vienna is a beautiful city; the architecture of its buildings 
 is more elaborate and imposing than that of Paris. There 
 are many magnificent palaces here occupied by branches of 
 the royal family. The Ring Strasse, three miles in length, 
 which extends around the old city, is the principal avenue, 
 and on it are some splendid public buildings, many blocks of 
 elegant apartment houses, the Polks Garten, the Stadt Park, 
 and other beautiful uninclosed parks and gardens. There are 
 six parallel rows of large chestnut-trees along this avenue. 
 There is a fine horseback track on one side of it, a wide car- 
 riage-way and two fine promenades, besides the sidewalks on 
 both sides. Also there are long stretches of green lawns with 
 numerous settees beneath the shade of the noble trees, and 
 many fine cafes and enticing flower-shops continue around 
 the entire circle of the Ring Strasse. This is one of the 
 most enjoyable city promenades in Europe. The daily move- 
 ment of regiments of military through it also adds much to 
 the animation. 
 
VIENNA. 241 
 
 There are about one hundred American families in the 
 city. They are mostly students in medicine and music. 
 There are a dozen ladies attending lectures at the hospital. 
 I am told that in this hospital are four thousand beds, and 
 that every facility is offered to the student for practice and 
 observation. 
 
 Col. W., the American consul-general at Vienna, and Mrs. 
 W. and their two lovely young daughters are a most agree- 
 able nucleus for many of the Americans. On Sunday evenings 
 visitors are invited to take part in the singing of hymns at 
 their house, a service which the family have been accustomed 
 to for many years during their residence abroad. After an 
 hour spent in singing, tea and pleasant conversation follow. 
 Mrs. W. is the daughter of the late Bishop S. of Philadelphia. 
 
 Vienna is celebrated for its beautiful leather- work. Leather 
 is manipulated here in every conceivable way, and manufact- 
 ured into countless useful and ornamental articles. Excel- 
 lent imitations of metals and fabrics are also made in 
 leather. There are not elsewhere in Europe such large 
 collections of fine glass and porcelain wares as are found in 
 Vienna. Bohemian glass and Hungarian porcelain are 
 highly prized in every part of Europe. The finest Sevres 
 wares may also be purchased here. 
 
 A complimentary greeting is in vogue here which I have 
 not seen practiced elsewhere. On entering a shop, the shop- 
 man ejaculates, Kiiss die Hand, or, I kiss your hand, and on 
 leaving he repeats the same. The servants also use the same 
 expression when they come into the presence of the master 
 or mistress of the house. Before retiring to their rooms at 
 night they observe this salutation. Hand-kissing in the 
 morning is never forgotten. The coachman gets down from 
 the box of the carriage to kiss the hand of the master and 
 
 31 
 
242 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 mistress, adding a hopeful word about the weather if it be 
 dark or rainy. The collecting-boy has the same hand-kissing 
 salutation when he is paid a bill at the door, and the house- 
 servants never forget it when they receive their monthly 
 wages. The Kellners, or waiters, at the restaurants always 
 have a polite salutation for those frequenting them. 
 Indeed, as soon as you enter Vienna, you become aware 
 that it is a place of extraordinary civilities. 
 
 Vienna, New Year's Evening, 1885. We had the pleasure 
 of receiving to-day about sixty visits from the Americans 
 sojourning in Vienna. I am wondering how you have 
 passed the day. It is now eight o'clock in the evening 
 here — our New Year's Day — and visits are over, and in 
 Yonkers it is about two in the afternoon, and your New 
 Year's visits are just commencing. 
 
 Christmas week passed very pleasantly with us. The 
 Christmas tree co-exists with the day in this country. 
 Every Grerman family must have one. The poorest will 
 have a Christmas tree, if it be but a branch of evergreen 
 decorated with a half-dozen wax tapers and a gay ribbon. 
 At the market-places, corners of the streets, and flower- 
 shops evergreens of all sizes and at all prices can be pur- 
 chased. 
 
 Here Christmas does not always mean an obligation of 
 gifts, but rather an occasion for a reunion of family and 
 friends. Don't let us abandon the Christmas tree in Amer- 
 ica, even if it is a borrowed idea. 
 
 The season of social gayeties has begun, and the carnival 
 is already under way. The carnival here is not what the 
 carnival is in the southern countries of Europe. The cli- 
 mate of the north does not permit of outdoor demonstra- 
 
VIENNA. 243 
 
 tions ; the entertainments are indoor merrymakings, festivi- 
 ties, and costume and masked balls. The first court-ball 
 will take place January 27th. Bach of the ambassadors 
 gives a grand ball during the season. 
 
 The winter climate in Vienna is by no means semi-trop- 
 ical; snow falls in considerable quantities, but it is not 
 allowed to stay on the ground. Hundreds of men, women, 
 and children are set to work to sweep it into piles as soon 
 as it falls, and hundreds of wagons are employed to carry 
 it off. 
 
 There is a fine rink here where skating is generally 
 indulged in. People of high rank enjoy the amusement. 
 A few evenings ago a beautiful skating fete by electric 
 light was given. Twelve pantomimic tableaux were pre- 
 sented on skates while the orchestra played selections 
 of livery music. During the evening a red-painted chariot, 
 drawn by six white horses, gayly caparisoned, repeat- 
 edly passed around the outer circle of the rink. After 
 the tableaux dancing was introduced and beautifully 
 executed upon skates. A platform was erected and 
 trimmed with crimson velvet and gilt decorations for the 
 royal family. A large and brilliantly illuminated cafe, with 
 dressing-rooms, was arranged for the skaters and spectators. 
 The price of admission was six florins, equal to $2.40. Ten 
 thousand tickets were sold. The Viennese are accomplished 
 skaters. Old and young enjoy alike the exhilarating ex- 
 ercise. 
 
 On Saturday last, by invitation of Prince R, the Ger- 
 man ambassador, we dined for the second time with him ; 
 on this occasion, at his city palace, the company was brill- 
 iant and the dinner magnificent. The piece de resistance 
 was a wild boar's head served on a large silver tray. Among 
 
244 FKAGMENTAEY LETTEBS. 
 
 the guests was Baron von H., a gentleman who has 
 traveled extensively and has written many valuable works 
 on his travels in foreign lands. The ornamental service of 
 the table was composed of seven superb pieces of Sevres 
 porcelain, a present from the Emperor Napoleon. The 
 designs of the service were hunting scenes; the porcelain 
 was cream white, mounted upon a base of rich black and 
 gold ornamentation. The meat service was of sterling sil- 
 ver. The other courses were served on rare and beautiful 
 porcelain. The court being in mourning, the ladies' toilets 
 were black, which gave a somewhat somber effect to the sur- 
 roundings. Thirty people seated around a table, and all 
 in black dress, present rather a solemn appearance, but 
 brilliant illumination and bright flowers relieved the scene. 
 The prince and the princess are artists, and spend much of 
 their leisure at their easels in painting and drawing. 
 
 Vienna, January 29, 1885. The first court-ball took place 
 in the palace last evening. About two thousand people were 
 present. "We were presented to the empress before the ball 
 began. The Empress of Austria is a charming woman, and 
 although she is a grandmother, does not appear to be more 
 than thirty years of age. It is said that the Empress Elizabeth 
 is the handsomest reigning sovereign. In figure she is tall, 
 graceful, and erect. She has the fresh coloring belonging to 
 health, large expressive dark eyes, and magnificent soft 
 brown hair. In manner she is affable and elegant. As a 
 friend she is sympathetic and kind. The emperor is a man 
 of genial manners, and has a pleasant word for everybody. 
 He is a hard-working man. I understand he rises at five 
 o'clock in the morning, and by nine o'clock he has already 
 ended his audience with his ministers. 
 
VIENNA. 245 
 
 The empress is a most accomplished equestrian. She has 
 in her stables five hundred white horses, the greater number 
 being carriage horses. 
 
 The empress's toilet at the ball was simple and yet rich and 
 beautiful. It was a composition of pearl-colored velvet and 
 satin, and jewels of rubies and diamonds. The Crown 
 Princess Stephanie is a charming young woman of twenty- 
 two years, a lovely blonde with sparkling blue eyes and 
 beautiful golden-brown hair. Her toilet was of white satin, 
 embroidered with silver thread. Her jewels were sapphires 
 and diamonds. 
 
 The ball-room is spacious and grand. It was brilliantly 
 illuminated with a double row of chandeliers, one above the 
 other, in which were burning hundreds of wax candles. At 
 one end of the room was a dais, or elevated platform, richly 
 upholstered with crimson velvet and gilt trimmings, which 
 the royal family occupied. Opposite the platform was a bal- 
 cony where Strauss's orchestra of fifty musicians, directed by 
 the famous composer, played delightful music. Around the 
 room was an elevated platform about ten feet wide, which 
 was filled with plants in blossom, and in beautiful foliage, 
 banked up fifteen feet high. The ladies' toilets were magnifi- 
 cent, generally of pearl, white, and delicate rose colors ; these 
 being the empress's favorite colors the ladies observe her 
 majesty's preference. There was a great variety and profusion 
 of magnificent jewels displayed that evening. The young 
 ladies observed strict simplicity in their toilets, which were 
 generally of delicate shades of tulle, with only few jewels, 
 but lovely ribbons and flowers for ornamentation. 
 
 With so much brilliancy and beauty combined with the 
 music, flowers, and the flashing jewels, and, in addition, the 
 diplomatic uniform of the different countries, richly embroid- 
 
246 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 ered with gold and silver thread, the Hungarian court-dress, 
 which is composed of velvet, fur, and precious stones, and 
 the Austrian court and military uniforms, — than which none 
 can be more brilliant, — it was indeed a fairy scene, and one 
 long to be remembered. Invitations to the court-balls are 
 given for nine o'clock. The dancing begins at ten, and at a 
 quarter of an hour before midnight, when the emperor and 
 empress leave the ball-room, the guests depart immediately. 
 
 Vienna, February 6, 1885. We dined at the palace yester- 
 day ; there were thirty persons at the table, including sev- 
 eral members of the diplomatic corps and their wives, the 
 ladies of honor, and members of the emperor's cabinet. The 
 emperor and empress were most courteous to their guests. 
 My seat was the third on the right of the emperor. The 
 hour for the dinner was six o'clock, and at eight o'clock 
 we were again -at home. Court and diplomatic dinners are 
 of short duration. To sit one hour and a quarter at table 
 at a grand dinner is considered comme ilfaut. Ten to twelve 
 courses, including coffee, are quickly served, so that no time 
 is lost in waiting. Very little time is devoted to conversa- 
 tion, and no speech-making or toast-drinking is indulged 
 in, and the guests depart in a half -hour after dinner, unless 
 a soiree follows. 
 
 The winter is breaking up and no one is sorry. The weather 
 has not been very frosty, but disagreeably cold and windy. 
 An Austrian told me the other day that on an average during 
 the year there are only forty days on which there is not a 
 stiff and sharp wind, and so far we cannot gainsay the infor- 
 mation. 
 
 Vienna, February 18, 1885. The second court-ball is over. 
 
VIENNA. 247 
 
 It was a finer fete and more exclusive in invitations than the 
 first ball. There were seven hundred and twenty guests in 
 attendance. The grand entree in the ball-room took place at 
 ten o'clock, and after two rounds of dancing, supper was 
 announced. The tables, seventy-two in all, were laid in a 
 half-dozen rooms, each table seating ten persons and presided 
 over by some representative of royalty or nobility. The em- 
 press left the ball-room before the supper was announced and 
 did not re-appear. Supper being over, the emperor and the 
 Crown Princess Stephanie led the way to the ball-room when 
 the cotillion was danced, and at twelve o'clock the royal 
 family left the ball-room and the company immediately dis- 
 persed. The floral decorations remained the same as at the 
 first ball. I never saw such magnificent toilets and profu- 
 sion of jewels as were there displayed. The Polish, Bohe- 
 mian, Croatian, and Hungarian costumes of the government 
 officials greatly enhanced the attractiveness of the spectacle. 
 I saw ladies wearing jeweled necklaces of not less than 
 seventy thousand dollars in value, and tiaras of diamonds 
 exceeding that sum, besides bracelets, buckles, and agraffes 
 of great beauty and cost. The bodice of one toilet was orna- 
 mented around the points with a dozen clusters of diamonds. 
 The empress's toilet was of cream-colored satin, embroidered 
 with gold; her jewels were emeralds and diamonds. The 
 crown princess's dress was of rose satin and velvet of same 
 color, brocaded with gold thread; her jewels were pearls and 
 diamonds. Many of the family jewels of the Viennese are of 
 almost priceless value, if reckoned by present prices. They 
 are, in many cases, heirlooms and the inheritance of several 
 . generations with additions in each decade, so that the original 
 cost of them is not to be compared with modern prices. In 
 olden times the diamond was not appreciated as in these days 
 
248 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 and had not the same value. Precious stones were then only 
 possessed by the families of royalty and of nobility, and the 
 demand for them was quite limited. In earlier days, some of 
 the old Austrian and Hungarian families had great posses- 
 sions, and they obtained every fine gem that became mer- 
 chantable in their countries. This is the explanation of the 
 enormous collection of jewels in these countries. A very 
 pretty and pleasing feature of the ball was the distribution 
 of beautiful bonbonnieres to the guests when they departed 
 from the ball-room. 
 
XIV 
 
 Vienna. Coffees. Mower Show. Foot -Washing. 
 
 Vienna, March 7, 1885. This is the time of the year 
 for "coffees" — especially a G-erman custom. They are 
 largely in vogue with the Viennese. The fashionable hour 
 for them is four o'clock in the afternoon. The ladies at- 
 tending them always bring their work-bags. The guests are 
 expected to arrive promptly at the hour named in the invi- 
 tation. They remove their hats and wraps, and pass an 
 hour in conversation and work until coffee is announced. 
 The guests are seated at table, which is prettily laid with 
 choice china, bonbons, and flowering plants sprinkled with 
 perfumed water. A delicious cup of coffee, a la Viennoise, 
 with thin slices of buttered bread, plain cakes, fruit- jellies, 
 and fruit-creams comprise the simple repast. Sometimes 
 there are readings, which occupy an hour very agreeably 
 before the coffee is announced. Very soon after the refresh-' 
 ments have been served the ladies separate, with the parting 
 words, auf wiedersehen, or au revoir. 
 
 Yesterday I visited an exhibition of spring flowers, where 
 there were four thousand beautiful hyacinths of every con- 
 ceivable color and shade, besides hundreds of pots of lilies 
 
 32 249 
 
250 FKAGMENTAEY LETTBBS. 
 
 of the valley, and as many more of jonquils and crocuses. 
 The pots containing the flowers were imbedded in soft green 
 moss, and arranged in a variety of forms. Some were placed 
 one above the other, to take the shape of pyramids ; others 
 were placed together to make the form of crosses, crowns, 
 circles, and other designs. . Each design was composed of 
 flowers of the same color. A flower show is held annually, 
 and is patronized by the royal family and nobility. 
 
 Vienna, April 2, 1885. To-day we witnessed the ceremony 
 of " foot-washing " at the palace. This is an old religious 
 custom, and has continued from time immemorial ; it has 
 been done in Vienna by all the reigning sovereigns. His 
 Majesty Francis Joseph has performed the rite for thirty- 
 six years. The foot-washing is done in the presence of the 
 court, the diplomatic corps and the nobility, and is attended 
 with as much pomp as any court ceremony. It is now only 
 observed in Austria and Spain. It was instituted by the 
 Church as an act of humiliation to be performed by sover- 
 eigns in the presence of their subjects, and to inculcate the 
 supremacy of the Church. This rite consists in the emperor 
 pouring a little water over the right foot of twelve old men, 
 and then wiping them, the empress doing the same to twelve 
 old women. The empress being absent from the city, con- 
 sequently the old women did not appear. The ceremony 
 took place at eleven o'clock in the morning, in the grand 
 ceremonial hall of the palace. A long table, at which the 
 twelve old men were to sit, was as handsomely laid as for a 
 dinner, near the entrance door. The emperor was assisted 
 by the crown prince and several archdukes. The old people 
 are selected from the poorest class, and of that class the 
 oldest are chosen. 
 
VIENNA. 251 
 
 This year the oldest man was ninety-three years old, two 
 were ninety-two, and five were eighty-eight years of age, 
 and the others younger. Of the women chosen, who did 
 not appear for the reason already given, there were eight 
 ninety years old, and all the others much younger. Although 
 they were not present they received the same apportioned 
 dinner and its belongings that the men received. The old 
 men were dressed in simple black, seventeenth century cos- 
 tume, and wore black silk stockings and wide, turned-down 
 white collars. They were led into the room by their rela- 
 tives and friends, and were placed in the seats by court 
 officials, the oldest having the head of the table, and each 
 one having the attendance of a special officer, the relatives 
 and friends standing behind them. The table was strewed 
 with rose-leaves, and beneath it were placed brown linen 
 cushions for the feet of the old men to rest upon. 
 
 At each plate were a loaf of bread, a napkin, knife, wooden 
 spoon and fork, a wooden vase filled with flowers, a large 
 white metal mug of wine, and a wooden tankard of beer. 
 The emperor, in full uniform, came, accompanied by his 
 court officials and assistants, and took his place at the head 
 of the table ; then followed twelve palace officials, in scarlet 
 and gold uniform, bearing black trays, each containing four 
 dishes of viands, and took their places opposite the old men, 
 who sat along one side of the long table. , The emperor 
 cleared the first tray and placed its dishes upon the table 
 before the old man who had the seat of honor. The crown 
 prince stood next and served the next old man in turn ; and 
 thus each of the old men was served in like manner by a 
 grand duke or some member of the Austrian nobility. After 
 the trays were emptied, which was quickly done, the palace 
 guard, in full uniform and wearing the bear-skin high hats. 
 
252 PEAGMENTAEY LETTEE8. 
 
 entered, bearing trays, on each of which were four dishes, 
 which were placed before the old men, as those of the first 
 course, and the third course followed quickly the second. 
 The fourth and last course was the dessert, which included 
 one dozen fine apples, a large piece of cheese, a sweet dish, 
 and a plate of shelled almonds. 
 
 When the dinner was ended, although not a morsel had 
 been eaten, the table was taken away, and each old man in 
 turn presented his right foot, which in the meantime had 
 been bared by his attending friend. Then a large golden 
 tray, a golden pitcher, and a large napkin were brought, and 
 the emperor knelt upon one knee, and poured a little water 
 over the old man's foot and wiped it, and in the same 
 way he washed and wiped one foot of the twelve old men. , 
 He did not rise to an upright position until he had concluded 
 the washing, he moving along the column upon one knee. 
 The emperor then arose from his kneeling posture, and the 
 grand chamberlain poured water over his hands, which the 
 emperor wiped with a dry napkin, and the ceremony was 
 finished. Then a court official brought in a large black tray, 
 with twelve small black bags, with a long black cord attached 
 to each bag, containing thirty silver florins, which the 
 emperor disposed of by placing a bag upon the neck of each 
 of the old men. This being done, the emperor, accompanied 
 by his assistants, left the hall. 
 
 During the ceremony a priest, with twenty assistants, 
 intoned a service and recitations from the gospels, describing 
 the washing of the feet of the disciples by Christ. The cere- 
 mony lasted a half hour. All the articles of food and the 
 plates placed before the old men, together with the foot- 
 cushions, were packed into baskets, and sent to their 
 homes. The tankards and mugs bore appropriate ihscrip- 
 
VIENNA. 253 
 
 tions with the date of the ceremony. The recipients are 
 permitted to sell their mugs and tankards. The mugs are 
 sold for twenty florins ; the tankards for less. Each old 
 man was escorted from the hall by a palace official and the 
 attending friend. 
 
 The grand master of ceremonies, Count H., a Hungarian 
 court official, wore a magnificent Magyar uniform of scarlet 
 and gold, with a white fur-lined dolman, and carried the 
 white and gold staff of office. The spectators came in plain 
 black morning dress, the ladies wearing black lace veils 
 over the head, and black gloves. This ceremony once seen 
 can never be forgotten. The crown princess with. several 
 grand duchesses looked down upon the scene from an upper 
 balcony. 
 
XV 
 
 Vienna. The Stadt Park. The Prater. 
 
 Vienna, April 27, 1885. Vienna is really lovely at this 
 writing. The pink and white blossoms of the chestnut- 
 trees are bursting into bloom, and the parks are already filled 
 with the fragrance of flowers. Our recent change of residence 
 brings us within two minutes' walk of the Cur Salon Cafe in 
 the Stadt Park, where we go daily for our morning coffee. 
 This is the finest park in Vienna. The cafe building is located 
 nearly in the center of the grounds, and is embowered by 
 beautiful flowering trees. This morning we took our coffee 
 in a bower of rose-buds just bursting into bloom, and near 
 a beautiful fountain. Here and there are lovely little nooks 
 sheltered by evergreens and pretty shrubbery; parterres of 
 flowers artistically arranged, summer-houses, shaded pavil- 
 ions, and settees and chairs are to be found everywhere. 
 There is also in the park a large astronomical clock, which 
 indicates the time at the different capitals in the world. The 
 Vienna dial displays the name of the month and its date, 
 and the name of the day of the week, also a 'barometer and a 
 thermometer. 
 
 Generally there are a thousand people in the park from 
 five o'clock in the afternoon until eight in the evening, tak- 
 
 *54 
 
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 If) 
 
 EC 
 
 o 
 
VIENNA. 255 
 
 ing their abend essen, or evening meal. On a fine Sunday 
 afternoon there will be at least fifteen hundred people 
 there. 
 
 The Prater — Vienna's famous park and promenade — is 
 also in its spring-time beauty. The grand central avenue, 
 the Noble Prater, as it is named, is three miles long, and is 
 as straight as an arrow and wide enough for six carriages to 
 go abreast. On one side of it is a tan-bark track for eques- 
 trians, and also a broad sidewalk. On the other side is a 
 wide avenue for pedestrians, shaded by six rows of fine old 
 chestnut-trees. Then there are dozens of cafes along the 
 avenue, where from this time until November may daily be 
 heard fine orchestral music. In one of the cafes is an 
 orchestra of twenty young women. The leader, a pretty 
 young woman, handles her baton with as much sang-froid 
 as Strauss. 
 
 The fashionable hours for the afternoon promenade are 
 from three o'clock until five o'clock. The evening prome- 
 nade is from six until eight o'clock. The Crown Princess 
 Stephanie, accompanied by a lady of honor, may be seen on 
 the promenade daily when in town ; she gracefully returns 
 the salutations of the people ; and when the little two-year- 
 old princess Elizabeth is riding on the avenue she throws 
 kisses on both sides of the drive as she goes by those who 
 recognize her. On a fine Sunday a thousand carriages may 
 be seen on the Prater, besides fifty thousand people roam- 
 ing around at pleasure through the park. 
 
 There is another avenue in the park called the Wurstel 
 Prater, distinguishable from the Noble Prater by the varied 
 amusements it affords. Here are to be seen scores of cafes 
 with fine orchestral music, merry-go-rounds, five-cent shows, 
 comic gymnastic performances, bowling and shooting alleys, 
 
256 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 May-pole dancing, and jugglers. There is also an attractive 
 Hungarian vine-covered cafe, where there is a band of gypsy 
 musicians. In the Wurstel Prater on a fine Sunday after- 
 noon, fifty thousand people may be seen in family groups 
 gathered around luncheons laid on the grass. 
 
 This park was originally a deer park and hunting-ground, 
 the private property of the royal family. In 1766 the 
 Emperor Joseph II. presented it to the inhabitants of 
 Vienna, who at once took kindly to it, and have made it in 
 course of time their own "People's Park." In Tall the surg- 
 ing mass of people in the Prater I have never heard any 
 rough talking, or seen anything approaching rudeness. The 
 Austrian people are well-behaved, and seem never to forget 
 their innate politeness. 
 
 About the Folks Garten, where one hears Strauss's unap- 
 proachable music, I need not tell you, for you have seen it 
 yourself. Here one finds always a charming entertainment. 
 The opera season was finished several weeks ago, but the 
 suburban cafes, with their fine music, offer an objective 
 point for many a country drive. 
 
XVI 
 
 Hungary. Budapest. 
 
 Budapest, May 3, 1885. This is our first outing since we 
 came to Vienna last September. We came here to 
 attend the opening of the first Hungarian national exposi- 
 tion. From Vienna it is a five hours' ride by rail, or twelve 
 hours by steamer on the Danube River. We have observed 
 extensive improvements in this city since we were here 
 twelve years ago. Andrassy Avenue, a splendid thorough- 
 fare two miles long, has been opened and improved in 
 ten years. On both sides of it are beautiful villas, palatial 
 residences, and fine public buildings. 
 
 Budapest is on the Danube, and embraces the municipali- 
 ties of Pest on one side of it, and Ofen on the opposite side. 
 The two cities were annexed in 1873, since which time the 
 greater number of improvements have been made. Budapest 
 is a city of street cafes. From early morning until midnight 
 they are patronized. From four o'clock in the afternoon 
 until nine in the evening they are enlivened with music. The 
 Hungarian music is of the weird and mournful character ; 
 it is called gypsy music. It is generally in the minor key 
 and played without notes. At our hotel we have two hours 
 of this music daily during the time dinner is served. 
 
 33 2S7 
 
258 FKAGMENTAEY LETTEBS. 
 
 The Hungarians are a more stirring people than the 
 Austrians. The Hungarian language is used in social and 
 business -relations more now than formerly. They - have 
 bright and keen faces which indicate great earnestness of 
 purpose. The exposition is the grandest affair that has 
 taken place here since the crowning of the king and queen 
 twenty years ago. The nobles, the aristocracy, and the 
 peasants are in their best attire these days. 
 
 The opening ceremony occurred yesterday in the park 
 where the exposition is held. Crown Prince Rudolph read 
 the opening speech in the Hungarian language, standing on 
 the platform of the royal pavilion. It was addressed to the 
 king, and announced the object of the exposition and its 
 importance to the people. The king replied in a few words, 
 using the same language, wishing much success to the enter- 
 prise, after which the king, with the Princess Stephanie on 
 his arm, followed by the Hungarian and Austrian ministries, 
 the diplomatic corps, and the nobility, made the tour of the 
 principal buildings. Opposite the royal pavilion was an 
 elevated platform furnished with cushioned chairs for the 
 ladies of the nobility and of the diplomatic corps. 
 
 The favorite Hungarian color is vermilion red ; this color 
 is worn for gentlemen's dress neckties. Several ladies of the 
 diplomatic corps wore toilets of that color, including hats 
 and parasols, in compliment to the occasion. All the bunt- 
 ing decorations of the grounds were of this color, which 
 made a striking and brilliant contrast with the green foliage 
 of the trees. The Hungarian nobles wore superb costumes 
 of velvets, furs, and gold embroideries, richly ornamented 
 with precious stones. I observed several costumes with 
 buttons of fine pearls, turquoises, carbuncles, and emeralds 
 set with diamonds. All the nobles wore upon their velvet or 
 
BUDAPEST. 259 
 
 fur caps aigrettes of feathers and precious stones. I saw an 
 aigrette of turquoises and diamonds as large as a tea-saucer ! 
 The costumes are of every bright color. 
 
 Imagine the spectacle of one hundred of these magnifi- 
 cent costumes and several hundred more of richly dressed 
 military officers moving about on the fresh green grass 
 under a forest of trees in spring verdure ! There were also 
 hundreds of ladies to be seen in brilliant toilets, and spark- 
 ling with diamonds in the bright sunlight. The waving 
 white plumes on the velvet caps of the aristocracy added 
 not" a little to the beautiful picture. The plain black suit of 
 the American minister was not left unmentioned by the 
 newspapers. I observed in a German journal this morning 
 a paragraph which stated that among the different uniforms 
 the extreme republican plainness of the American minister's 
 dress was conspicuous. 
 
 The procession, in which there were royal personages, 
 foreign notables, and persons of nobility, escorted by a fine 
 display of military, passed through the Andrassy Avenue to 
 the exposition grounds. The buildings along the avenue 
 were decorated with flags, rich tapestries, oriental fabrics, 
 shawls, velvet draperies, and Turkish carpets suspended from 
 the windows and balconies. 
 
 Our hotel is upon the Corso and faces the palace situated 
 on a high bluff on the opposite side of the river. While I am 
 writing by the balcony door, I have a fine view of the brilliant 
 illumination of the palace and also of the Corso, the grand 
 promenade of Budapest. This fine avenue — the Corso — 
 extends along the river bank for a half mile and is like a 
 continuous cafe, brilliantly illuminated, and animated by the 
 music of several bands. Many of the residents along the 
 Corso go into the cafes to take the after-dinner cup of coffee. 
 
260 PEAGMENTAEY LETTEES. 
 
 There is a ball at the palace this evening to which your 
 father has gone. While almost every house-top displayed a 
 flag to-day, not a color was to he seen on the palace. I am 
 told the Hungarians will not allow the Austrian flag to float 
 there, and hence the king does not permit the Hungarian flag 
 to be placed on the building. Tit for tat ! 
 
 The route from Vienna to Budapest is through the valley 
 of the Danube River, a rich agricultural country. The differ- 
 ent grains are already well advanced in growth, and the fruit- 
 trees are loaded with green fruit. The lilacs in this country 
 attain a luxuriance and beauty that I have not seen else- 
 where. The lilacs here are of three shades — purple, a delicate 
 peach blossom, and a very rich cream- white color. Along the 
 route we saw hedges of lilacs resembling ribbons of purple 
 satin laid upon the grass. 
 
 The Hungarian peasant costume is very picturesque. The 
 women wear bright-colored short skirts, reaching just below 
 their knees, black bodices with white sleeves, and chemi- 
 settes, high-topped boots, meeting their skirts, and bright 
 ribbons or handkerchiefs arranged jauntily upon their heads. 
 The men wear coarse white home-spun linen trousers, nearly 
 as wide as the women's skirts and just long enough to cover 
 their knees, gayly colored open jackets, with bright cords 
 dangling from the front lapels, black felt broad- brimmed 
 hats, with a little brown or green feather stuck in the band 
 on one side, and low shoes with large showy buckles. 
 
 The nurse-girls in Budapest, as in Vienna, are generally 
 Croatian women, and their costume is becoming and service- 
 able. They wear short skirts of bright colors, generally red, 
 with black bodices over white chemisettes and short flowing 
 sleeves, high-topped boots, made of fine leather, with high 
 heels ; their coiffure is a large double bow, made of bright 
 
BUDAPEST. 261 
 
 ribbon, eight or ten inches wide, having streamers extending 
 to the bottom of their skirts. You can imagine how bright 
 and cheerful the streets in Budapest look with these pretty 
 costumes thronging them. 
 
 Respecting the wines of Hungary, I may say that every- 
 body knows that the delicious Tokay is made in this country, 
 and that the vin ordinaire is excellent. There are many vari- 
 eties of good wines here, to be had at low prices. In the south 
 of Hungary the grape is a very important product. 
 
 From a high point near the palace, — Blocksberg, — five 
 miles distant is seen the valley from which the Hunyadi 
 bitter water is obtained. This water is exported to the 
 United States in great quantities, and it is also extensively 
 used in Europe. 
 
 Pest was built by the Bulgarians long before Ofen, where 
 the palace stands, and yet Pest has the appearance of a 
 modern town. It has been taken and destroyed several 
 times by the Turks, and rebuilt as many times by its own 
 people. It was almost ruined again by the terrible inun- 
 dation of 1838. In Ofen is the celebrated White Church, 
 built by St. Stephen in 1015. Pest and Ofen were incorpo- 
 rated into a municipality in 1873, under the name of Buda- 
 pest, since which time great improvements have been made, 
 especially in Pest, which is rapidly becoming one of the 
 beautiful cities of Europe. 
 
 While the better .class of Austrians are a handsome people, 
 the Hungarians have stronger and more marked features. 
 Their complexions are dark as those of Southern countries, 
 while the Austrians are of lighter complexions, like the 
 people of northern Europe. 
 
 The bath-house on the Margarethen Insel, not far from 
 Budapest, is perhaps the finest public bathing building in 
 
262 FBAGMENTAKY LETTEBS. 
 
 Europe. It is a stone structure, surrounded by stately old 
 trees and beautiful shrubbery and flowers. Tbe baths, 
 twenty in all, are of marble. The portieres and upholstery 
 are of crimson velvet. Luxurious lounges and easy-chairs 
 are found in the corridors and on the verandas, inviting rest 
 and repose after the bath, beside charming little nooks with 
 fountains and flowers, and a fine restaurant, which induce 
 a longer tarry on the grounds. The building was erected 
 by one of the nobles of Hungary and presented to Pest. 
 
XVII 
 
 Bohemia. Carlsbad. 
 
 Cablsbad, May 24, 1885. After a week's sojourn in Pest 
 we returned to Vienna, and arranged our affairs for a 
 trip to Carlsbad. From Vienna to this place is a railroad 
 ride of twelve hours. This was one of the most interesting 
 journeys we have ever made, at home or abroad. Every 
 mile of the way was novel to us, and the scenery very 
 engaging. Until we reached the Bohemian frontier the 
 country was a continuity of lowland, stretching along the 
 valley of the Danube; but it was not without many interest- 
 ing features. We passed by scores of neat-looking little 
 farmers' villages, and miles and miles of fruit orchards. For 
 miles along the route the fields of ripening grain to be seen 
 in the distance looked like measureless lengths of shaded 
 green ribbons laid out upon the ground, without a fence or 
 hedge to mar the beautiful delusion. Emerging from the 
 valley, we entered a rough, mountainous country, with great 
 forests of pine and many small lakes. We soon recognized 
 the fact that we were among the mountains of Bohemia. 
 
 We saw many bands of gypsies encamped, and others 
 moving along the route. The numerous little villages and 
 hamlets were pictures of quiet rural scenery. The villages 
 
 363 
 
264 FEAGMENTAHY LETTEES. 
 
 contain probably from thirty to forty one-story-high white- 
 washed houses, and a church, with its spire rising above the 
 embowering trees. A half-dozen low houses comprise a 
 hamlet where there may be seen a small church, or perhaps 
 a shrine instead. Each little house seemed imbedded in 
 rose-bushes and clumps of fruit-trees. Along the railroad 
 are many shrines containing statues of the Holy Family. 
 Here and there in the fields, and by the way-sides of the 
 country roads, small shrines are erected. 
 
 I should say that Bohemia produces fruit enough for all 
 Europe, judging from the many orchards we saw. The 
 highways are even shaded by apple, cherry, and plum 
 trees, which are now in full bloom. All along the railroad 
 are orchards with not a fence about them, nor is any sign 
 seen indicating " hands off." The fruit here is as plenty as 
 pine burrs in the Adirondacks. I don't believe the nomadic 
 Bohemian pays much for his fruit ! 
 
 Bohemia is wildly picturesque and full of scenic surprises 
 to the traveler. The constant change of scenery from 
 mountain to valley, and high ledges of rocks suddenly 
 appearing, and again fields of " ribbons " of grain with a 
 little hamlet apparently interspersed here and there, makes 
 an enchanting variety of landscape. To me it was like 
 passing through a picture gallery with a constant change of 
 subjects. 
 
 The women seem to do most of the farm- work. We saw 
 only a few men in the fields. In Europe the women and 
 children must do the planting and cultivating, and the 
 harvesting too, while the men are engaged in military 
 service. The grape is grown successfully in Bohemia, and 
 fine wines are made there. 
 
 Carlsbad is unlike any other place in the world that we 
 
CABLSBAD. 265 
 
 have seen in all our travels. Your father became quite 
 infatuated with Carlsbad when he first visited it, and is 
 even more enchanted now. He is delighted with the long 
 rambling walks over the mountains. Every one here soon 
 becomes a mountain ranger, for the inducement to much 
 walking, as a part of the scheme of cure, is most success- 
 fully effected. The ascents of the high peaks are made so 
 gradual, and the provision of frequent pavilions with com- 
 fortable seats where one can take rest, that one soon learns 
 walking is the thing to do. And, too, it affords the 
 opportunity of meeting friends, for nobody stays at home. 
 There are thirty miles of well-constructed walks traversing 
 the mountains and valleys in the vicinity of Carlsbad, and 
 occasionally a cafe where one can take rest and refresh- 
 ment. One meets here with constant surprises in the way 
 of comfortable accommodations and charming entertain- 
 ments. 
 
 Carlsbad has a population of 20,000 inhabitants. It is 
 situated in a basin encircled by mountains, and has a rapid 
 little stream coursing through the valley. Near this stream 
 of sweet water are several mineral springs bursting out of 
 the ground at intervals of one hundred to two hundred feet. 
 The water of some of these springs has a temperature of 
 almost boiling heat, while that of the others is tepid. There 
 are no cold mineral waters nearer than Montoni's Gressubler 
 spring, about two hours' drive from Carlsbad. In places 
 along the streets the pavements are quite warm from the 
 hot waters bubbling underneath them. 
 
 The most celebrated spring, the Sprudel, or Bubbling 
 Well, discharges a stream not less than five inches in 
 diameter, which is nearly at a boiling heat. The water is 
 so hot that the ladies handle the mugs containing it with 
 
 34 
 
266 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 napkins. It can only be taken into one's mouth by sips. 
 The 'Sprudel corridor is always filled with steam. The hot 
 water of this spring has been gushing from it for hundreds 
 of years, except at the time of the great earthquake in 
 Lisbon, a hundred and thirty years ago, when there was a 
 partial subsidence. However, it resumed its full force of 
 flow in the course of two or three days. 
 
 The Sprudel was accidentally discovered six hundred years 
 ago on the occasion of a deer-hunt. The animal, being closely 
 followed by some hunters, leaped from a high ledge of rocks 
 into this boiling spring, which was hidden by the under- 
 brush. The dead deer was found, as also was the source of 
 the Sprudel Spring. It is said that the hunter who drove the 
 deer off the rocks was Carl IV., hence the derivation of the 
 name Carlsbad, or Carl IY.'s bath. The Sprudel was a 
 resort for invalids long before the site of the town of Carls- 
 bad was built upon. In the early days of its discovery the 
 nobility came from far and near, and encamped near the 
 spring in order to drink the water. Now fifty thousand 
 people visit Carlsbad every summer. The first promenade 
 corridor was built in 1748. 
 
 In a corridor adjoining the Sprudel corridor is a Vienna 
 orchestra of twenty musicians, who discourse fine music 
 from six until eight o'clock in the morning, during the time 
 prescribed for the "cures" to drink the water. It was an odd 
 sight this morning to see thousands of people of all nation- 
 alities, each with a glass or china mug strapped over the 
 shoulder, walking through the long corridors of the Sprudel 
 Spring, sipping the hot water, and chatting as they strolled, 
 or sat and listened to the music, while sipping the morning 
 draught. An invalid is instructed by one of the physicians 
 how to take the water. The doctor first diagnoses his disease, 
 and tells him the quantity of water to be taken and at what 
 
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CAKLSBAD. 267 
 
 intervals. For instance, your father is instructed to go fast-, 
 ing to the Sprudel at seven o'clock in the morning. He is to 
 drink one cup of water, and then to stroll twenty minutes, 
 when he is to drink another cup and stroll again, and then 
 to drink a third cup about eight o'clock. Then we go to the 
 Swiss bakery, and get bread, or zwiebach, of a certain kind 
 eaten by the " cures," which is handed to us in a pink paper 
 bag, and we go thence to some cafe along the sidewalk 
 to a garden where coffee or tea and two boiled eggs can be 
 obtained, which, with our unbuttered bread, makes our 
 breakfast. 
 
 After an hour's rest everybody falls into a line and starts 
 for a walk to the mountains. Those who are not able to 
 walk can get a cart and donkey, the driver walking by the 
 side of the animal, and so the invalid is enabled to keep 
 alongside of the good walkers. People and donkeys reach 
 the heights by shaded paths, resting every few minutes until 
 they have arrived at the top of some high rocky cliff, where 
 one finds a pretty summer-house and a well-conducted cafe. 
 Fine views of the surrounding country are seen through the 
 clearings made in the intercepting woods. 
 
 One o'clock is the hour for dinner, which you may take 
 wherever you chance to be, for there are innumerable and 
 excellent restaurants to be found about Carlsbad, with about 
 the same bill of fare that is provided at the hotels. There is 
 but little choice in the cuisine ; it is nearly the same thing all 
 over Carlsbad, and only embraces a plain style of cooking. 
 In order to insure the proper food for the " cure," his doctor 
 will give him a written list of such articles of food as he 
 may eat. However, it matters very little what you may wish 
 to order, for there is only the prescribed menu to be found 
 at the hotels and restaurants. The fare is good in qual- 
 ity, plainly cooked, limited in variety, and ample enough in 
 
268 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 .quantity. After dinner another walk or donkey ride of two 
 hours for one's health is taken. Then one may go to some 
 garden cafe, and enjoy an hour of fine music. At seven 
 o'clock a supper of cold meat and bread, with tea or a pre- 
 scribed wine, is allowed. No butter is served to " cures," 
 except when ordered by the physicians. At nine o'clock, the 
 hour for retiring, a glass of cooled Sprudel, or the water of 
 some other spring, is drank. 
 
 No exception is made even for royalty in the early morn- 
 ing walk and taking the waters at the springs. The King 
 and Queen of Holland are now in Carlsbad and go daily at 
 seven o'clock to the spring for their two or three cups of 
 water. There are a half-dozen principal springs which vary 
 greatly in temperature and somewhat in mineral qualities. 
 At each spring are six or eight " dippers " — little girls, from 
 ten to twelve years old, dressed in rubber aprons — who fill 
 the cups and return them to the drinkers. Thousands upon 
 thousands of persons may be seen at the springs daily during 
 the morning hours, and it is a motley crowd as they pass 
 along in line, — the stout and the thin invalid, — all with their 
 mugs in hand or strapped over the shoulders, for each one 
 must wait his turn to get his cup filled. There are generally 
 two hundred people in line, or in the circle formed around 
 the spring. As fast as the cups are filled, the " cures " fall 
 out of line and stand on one side until they have drank their 
 portions, and others fall into their places. Sometimes I have 
 been seven minutes in line moving slowly along to get my 
 cup filled. As my prescription only calls for one mug of 
 water, I have a half -hour to spare, which I spend in the 
 Sprudel corridor and listen to the music. 
 
 All along the banks of the Eiver Tapell running through 
 the town, are attractive shops and bazars where are for sale 
 all kinds of small wares and Bohemian glass. Among these 
 
CAELSBAD. 269 
 
 shops is one called the "Yankee Notion Shop," where a great, 
 variety of small American wares may be found. Some of 
 these shops are no more than five feet wide, and just deep 
 enough for two people to sit behind a small counter, and a 
 narrow space for three or four shoppers in front of it. The 
 street running along the river is called Chestnut Alley ; it is 
 shaded by chestnut-trees a hundred years old, whose wide 
 reaching-out branches overhang many street cafes which are 
 established under them only for summer occupation. 
 
 We have two very comfortable rooms in Hotel Anger in 
 Chestnut Alley. We pay a rent of sixty-five florins a week 
 for the rooms, not including board. Every visitor remaining 
 more than a week in Carlsbad is required to pay a curtaxe of 
 fifteen florins for repairs to walks and for the music. A 
 hundred years ago the nobility paid a tax of two florins 
 weekly, and the poorer class paid one florin. The advance 
 in the rate of taxation is not very remarkable. 
 
 It is customary here to go in parties on afternoon walks, 
 and afterward to a garden or cafe, where the ladies, having 
 with them their inevitable work-bags, devote an hour or two 
 to embroidery or knitting, while the gentlemen indulge in a 
 cigar, all being seated around a large table ; at half -past six 
 o'clock the bags are closed and the members of the party 
 leisurely saunter along in the middle of the streets to their 
 respective homes. In certain thoroughfares, where the popu- 
 lar springs are, no carriages are allowed during the early 
 morning hours which are devoted to taking the waters, so 
 that the " cures " have the entire roadway for their " consti- 
 tutionals." On the other streets, where the large cafes are 
 situated, carriages are not allowed until the morning coffee 
 has been taken. 
 
 There is but little bathing recommended in the mineral 
 waters of Carlsbad ; indeed, many people are positively for- 
 
270 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 bidden to bathe in them. The especial medicinal bath 
 recommended for nervous derangement and rheumatic com- 
 plaints is the mud bath. This bath is a mixture of clay, 
 brought from Mariensbad, and hot Sprudel water. The clay- 
 is as black as peat, and is largely composed of iron, sulphur, 
 and salt. The facilities for furnishing the mud bath are 
 very perfect here. A mud bath is certainly not as agreeable 
 as one of pure water, for one has an aversion to an immer- 
 sion in dirty water. However, in many cases, it is a very 
 efficacious remedy for disease. Car-loads of the clay are daily 
 brought to Carlsbad during the summer. Generally sixty 
 pounds of the clay are mixed with hot Sprudel water, to the 
 consistency of a thick batter, the mass having a temperature 
 of 28° Reaumar. The patient remains twenty-five minutes 
 in the bath. After taking it, the attendant gives the patient 
 a clean-water bath. Not more than a half-dozen of these 
 baths are recommended to be taken ; one every alternate 
 day. 
 
 We have become somewhat accustomed to a sight which 
 is very novel to Americans. The erection of an opera-house 
 is in progress on the lot adjoining our hotel, and the brick 
 and mortar used in constructing the building are carried to 
 the masons by young women. They carry the hods with no 
 evident discomfort ; they ascend and descend the ladders 
 with as much ease as men. I have noticed among them a 
 very comely and bright-faced girl, to whom the masons are 
 particularly gallant, for while they permit the other women 
 to dump their own hods, there is always a mason ready to 
 dump hers. The girls wear short gray skirts and sleeveless 
 jackets, long red stockings and stout wooden shoes. They 
 seem perfectly happy in their work, if I judge rightly from 
 their frequent singing and chatting. 
 
XVIII 
 
 Vienna. Departure from the City. 
 
 Vienna, July 19, 1885. To-day is the anniversary of the 
 parting of three years ago, when the tug-boat with you 
 and your brother C. aboard left the Gallia, on which your 
 father and I were starting for Lisbon. I can still see the 
 little tug plowing its way back to the New York dock, with 
 C. half-way up the mast, where he had clambered that we 
 might see him wave to us his bat once more, and others 
 with umbrellas waving us a last good-bye. On the suc- 
 ceeding anniversaries of the day we were in Lisbon, and on 
 this, the third one, we are here, and still a long way from 
 home. 
 
 This is the birthday of the old porter of our house. He is 
 seventy-four years old. His good wife told me the other 
 day, probably with a view to obtain a little pour-boire, that 
 her Mann's fest tag would be to-day. I said it would be mine 
 also. She asked me how many years I counted. I told her. 
 Last evening she came into my room radiant with delight, 
 bringing a large cake all ablaze with many little candles. I 
 said : " Oh, meine Hebe frau, I do not count so many years as 
 are candles on the cake." " Ob, yes," she replied, " there is 
 not one too many." Indeed, she had made no miscount. 
 
272 FEAGMENTAEY LETTEES. 
 
 She placed the blazing cake on my table, expressing many 
 good sentiments in my favor, and told me to make a wish, 
 adding, " If every candle burns clean down, you will realize 
 your wish, and you will have good luck before you." In 
 about three minutes all of the candles burned to the end of 
 their wicks. I divided my cake with the old porter, and 
 gave him a little trink-geld, which he was to share with his 
 good frau. It seems that the old man has the idea that he 
 will die on his birthday, and to add to his conviction he had 
 an attack of illness early this morning. However, in the 
 evening he was at his post again, with an extra kiiss die 
 hand. 
 
 The time of our sailing for home is fixed for October 22d, 
 in the Bremen steamer Elbe. If your father is relieved from 
 his duties at this post by the beginning of August, we can 
 carry out our long-cherished plan of going to Norway and 
 Sweden. It will be too late to go as far as North Cape, as 
 we had purposed doing, but we can make a short trip in the 
 Scandinavian country. 
 
 Vienna, August 10, 1885. Our affairs are all arranged, the 
 last visits made, and we leave for Hamburg on the 15th inst. 
 Our short sojourn at this diplomatic post has been full of 
 interest and pleasant incidents, and we leave this beautiful 
 capital with many regrets. During the last few years we 
 have been three times in Vienna, and we observe that many 
 improvements have been made in the city since we first 
 visited it. I think it is by far the most beautiful of the 
 capital cities of Europe, not excepting Paris. The interest 
 taken by the Emperor Francis Joseph in its affairs and 
 growth greatly conduces to its rapid advancement in impor- 
 tance and attractiveness. 
 
XIX 
 
 Hamburg. Lubeck. Niendorf. 
 
 Hamburg, August 16, 1885. We are indeed homeward 
 bound! We left Vienna yesterday, and arrived here 
 early this evening. We are at Straits' Hotel, where we spent 
 a few days en route from Lisbon to Vienna. We learn that 
 it is too late in the season to make the Scandinavian trip. 
 The autumn rains have already commenced at the north, and 
 it would be folly for us to go there in the rainy season. 
 
 The Germans love flowers. Here, as in other German 
 cities and also in Vienna, the flower-shops are a prominent 
 feature of the principal streets. On the opposite side of the 
 street, vis-a-vis our windows, is a flower-shop in which the 
 arrangement of flowers and plants is changed every day. 
 The street is narrow at this point, so that I can count the 
 roses in the floral pieces. There is a large street-trade in 
 flowers in Hamburg. The flower- venders have stands at the 
 hotel entrances, and make beautiful bouquets at a moment's 
 notice. The flower-women come to town on foot early in 
 the morning from the near provinces, oftentimes a walk of 
 a dozen miles, and are ready with their fresh flowers for the 
 butlers of the large houses, and for the maids of the smaller 
 ones, who go to the flower-stands at an early hour in the 
 morning to make their daily purchases. 
 
 35 273 
 
274 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 The flower-women wear a peculiar costume, and speak a 
 distinct dialect, which is quite unlike the German language. 
 They wear yellow wide-hrimmed straw hats of the shape of 
 tea-saucers, and large Alsatian hows of stiff, black cambric, 
 with broad ends, on the back of their hats, short skirts 
 reaching just below their knees, black bodices, white 
 chemisette, with short, white sleeves. They wear wooden 
 shoes, long black stockings, and bright-colored garters. 
 These women cannot be called "pretty flower-girls," for 
 they are the old women who are physically unfitted by age 
 for any hard work. 
 
 The nurse-girls and house-maids of Hamburg have a pretty 
 and serviceable street-costume of their own. They wear 
 short skirts, half-high top boots, jaunty lace caps, beauti- 
 fully embroidered white aprons, and short puffed sleeves, 
 having their arms bare nearly to their shoulders. The little 
 children seen in the streets with bare necks, arms, and legs 
 look stout and healthy. 
 
 The most attractive objects in Hamburg are the ferry- 
 boats on the Alster, a little lake in the heart of the city. 
 These boats are gayly painted and move about very rapidly. 
 They substitute omnibuses in this part of the city. The 
 morning and evening boats are packed with passengers, and 
 remind one very much of the Brooklyn and Jersey City 
 ferry-boats. 
 
 * — 
 
 Niendoep, August 22, 1885. Here we find ourselves in a 
 very odd but enjoyable sea-shore resort on the Baltic 
 Sea. We are passing a few days in this out-of-the-way place 
 just to see a little of the life of a North Grerman bathing- 
 - place. Here also is the chief seat of the anchovy fisheries. 
 
NIENDOBF. 275 
 
 We came by way of Liibeck, a very interesting town, 
 thirty-nine miles from Hamburg, where we remained a day 
 or two. Liibeck is a type of an old German city where 
 notions of modern architecture are not at all accepted. 
 Everything about this part of the country has the appear- 
 ance, and I might say the odor, of oldness. We visited the 
 old Bathhaus, or town hall, which has been in public use for 
 six hundred years. From time to time repairs have been 
 made, but we have been told that some of the benches and 
 high-backed chairs have not been repaired for several hun- 
 dreds of years. The interior wood-work and the furniture 
 are of oak, black with age. In the assembly-room the 
 wainscoting is of oak four feet high above the backs of the 
 benches. On it are carved historical scenes. 
 
 Liibeck is situated just at the mouth of the River Trave, 
 from which ships and steamers going north depart daily. 
 Copenhagen is only one night's sail from Liibeck. From 
 Liibeck to Niendorf is an hour's ride by rail and a half-hour 
 by omnibus. I imagine very few American tourists seek 
 this curious place nestled between the mountains and the 
 Baltic Sea. The little village of a hundred houses stretches 
 along the shore for a distance of a mile and a half. The 
 promenade, called the Strand, is on a bluff overlooking the 
 beach, and where one can observe the bathers and enjoy the 
 wide sea view. Here we observe a style of architecture, 
 furniture, and cuisine peculiar to this place, and entirely 
 different to anything we have seen elsewhere in Germany. 
 The bedrooms have no superfluity of furniture — a narrow, 
 hard bed, a washbowl of the size of a quart basin, a pitcher 
 holding scarcely a pint of water, two small chairs, a looking- 
 glass not larger than a dinner-plate, and hung so high on the 
 wall that I can only get a glimpse of the top of my head. 
 
276 FEAGMENTAEY LETTEBS. 
 
 However, this equipment is quite sufficient for one's needs. 
 There is also a small towel with a loop by which to hang it 
 on a nail. 
 
 There is no lack of good provisions in this small gasthaus. 
 Four meals a day are served, — coffee, bread and butter, at 
 eight o'clock in the morning ; breakfast at 10 : 30, consisting 
 of boiled eggs, raw ham, bread, coffee, and milk ; dinner at 
 two p. m., and supper at 7:30 o'clock in the evening, consist- 
 ing of bread, coffee and tea, uncooked ham, and raw sausage. 
 The dinner-table seats twenty persons, and is not more than 
 two feet wide. The meal is placed upon the table and each 
 one helps himself. 
 
 The bathing here is fine ; the wheeled bath-houses, with 
 the occupants, are drawn into the water by stalwart men or 
 women, and drawn back when the bath is finished. 
 
 The anchovy fishing is just at its height. The men go out 
 two or three miles in small boats and empty the seines which 
 have been set there and which they reset. On the return 
 of the boats, women carry the anchovies in baskets to carts 
 drawn by oxen and driven by women to Liibeck, — a six-hours' 
 journey for an ox-team, — where the fish are prepared for 
 market. The anchovies are excellent pan-fish when cooked 
 fresh from the water. 
 
 In our party is an American lady who prides herself, with 
 good reason, on the peculiar Christian names of her family. 
 The family name is Love, and the Christian names of Beloved 
 and Virtuous have been handed in the family down for gen- 
 erations. Her own name is Hubertina. Her brother and 
 sister are respectively called Beloved Love and Virtuous 
 Love. But what's in a name ! 
 
XX 
 
 Bremen. The Rathhaus Keller. 
 
 Hillmajstn's Hotel, Bremen, August 30, 1885. From this 
 point we sail for Southampton in the steamer Ems. 
 From there we go to London for a few weeks. This will be 
 the first stage of our homeward voyage. Yesterday eighty 
 people left the hotel to sail for New York on the steamer 
 Fulda. We are pleasantly situated in two cozy rooms on the 
 second floor, leading out upon a little terrace bordered with 
 pots of flowering plants and covered with an awning, from 
 which we have a view of the park extending along the river 
 opposite the hotel. Yesterday morning, the once -a- week 
 orchestral concert, from seven to eight o'clock, at the park, 
 awakened us. We were ignorant of this custom and, of 
 course, greatly surprised to see an orchestra of twenty musi- 
 cians in the park at this early hour. This orchestra plays 
 every morning, at the same hour, at some one of the hotels, 
 for the purpose of entertaining the guests awaiting the sailing 
 of the steamers of the Bremen line for New York. The hotels 
 and the North German Lloyd Steamship Company share 
 the expense of these morning concerts with the municipality 
 of the city. 
 
 »77 
 
278 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 Bremen is a smaller city than Hamburg, but more attract- 
 ive as a place of residence. The moat which surrounded the 
 old city in early days has been widened, and a current of water 
 now circulates through it from the Weser River. The moat, 
 including the parks on both sides, is called the Stadt-Graben. 
 Upon both sides of the moat is a variety of fine old trees, 
 and many beautiful foliage plants and flowers. The city has 
 extended in its growth far outside the moat, where are situ- 
 ated the finest residences. There are many beautiful villas 
 and flower-gardens on the streets along the Stadt-Graben. 
 Many of the houses on this street have glass-inclosed corri- 
 dors on their fronts where grapes are grown. It is a pretty 
 sight, these corridors festooned with grape-vines loaded with 
 purple and white grapes. 
 
 We have visited the Rathhaus Keller, or town hall wine- 
 cellar. It is an historical and interesting old place. It was 
 established when the Rathhaus was built, in 1405, many 
 years before the discovery of America. In 1653 the city 
 authorities began to collect the best wines of the country, 
 which they stored in the cellar. There are four mammoth 
 casks of wine in the collection which have not been drawn 
 from in a hundred years. The largest of the four contains 
 thirty-six thousand bottles ; each of the other three holds 
 thirty thousand bottles. There are besides, in store, scores 
 of very large casks of choice wines. None but Rhine and 
 Mosel wines are in it. From a certain number of the large 
 casks a few bottles are drawn on rare occasions, then the 
 casks are filled up again with old wine, to remain undis- 
 turbed until another fitting occasion calls for another draw- 
 ing. In the Rathhaus Keller restaurant only wine, cold 
 meat, bread, and oysters from Hehgoland are to be obtained. 
 
 The cellar is spacious, and is divided into many compart- 
 
BKEMEN. 279 
 
 ments with vaulted roofs. The greater part of it is used for 
 storing wine, only a small portion being used as a restaurant. 
 In this cellar are several historic chambers, in which the 
 city council met in days of yore. One room, known as the 
 Sub-Bosa chamber, is about twelve feet square, and is with- 
 out seats. On the ceiling, over the center of the room, is a 
 large red rose four feet in diameter, surrounded with a 
 wreath of green leaves made of copper, and painted the nat- 
 ural color for rose and rose-leaves. From time to time this 
 copper rose is cleaned, or repainted, to keep it bright and 
 fresh in color. The members of the city council, in olden 
 times, used to descend to the Rose Keller from the council 
 chamber above when they had serious state questions to 
 discuss, which was done standing — the council-men never 
 allowing themselves to sit during the discussion in the rose 
 cellar. The deliberations of the council were never to be 
 disclosed, hence the term sub-rosa. 
 
 There is also another interesting chamber in the cellar, a 
 room where the council of twelve came to discuss questions 
 that must be settled unanimously. They sat around a small 
 table with only one bottle of wine for refreshment for all, 
 where they were kept until an agreement was arrived at. 
 
 The old cathedral, or dom, was founded nine hundred 
 years ago, and parts of the original structure still remain. 
 Bremen is largely a Protestant community. In the dom the 
 old Lutheran service is maintained. 
 
 The school boys and girls here, as in Hamburg, wear 
 knapsacks on their backs, in which they carry their school- 
 books, and canteens belted around their waists to hold their 
 lunch — a piece of meat and bread. We have not yet seen 
 any begging or any evidences of squalid poverty in Bremen. 
 
 Apropos to the mention of the Rathhaus Keller, I will 
 
280 PEAGMENTAEY LETTEES. 
 
 relate the following story, which was told to me in Grerman. 
 Shakspere onee said, according to my historian, "Good 
 wine is a good and sociable thing, and everybody can afford 
 for once to allow himself to be inspired by it." My story- 
 teller continued by saying, "So probably thought the hero 
 of the following story, as he descended the steps leading to 
 Rathhaus wine keller in Bremen." The story, as told by the 
 hero himself, runs about as follows : 
 
 "It was ten o'clock in the evening when I presented myself 
 at the door of this famous wine-cellar. 'A late hour for 
 admittance to this place,' said the porter at the door, 'for 
 it is about our closing time.' However, observing the name 
 of the manager of the wine-room on my card of permit to 
 enter at this hour, he hesitatingly opened the door a little 
 wider, and I went in, remarking, in the mean time, for me it 
 is never late before twelve o'clock, and after that hour it 
 is early enough in the day for anybody. The porter asked 
 if I expected any company, I replied no, and selecting one 
 of the arched halls of the underground rooms, I laid my hat 
 and cane upon the table, with the intention of carrying out 
 the proposition made to myself to have a little carouse all 
 alone. With one of the senator's permits in my pocket I 
 had the right to drink a glass from the wine in the Twelve 
 Apostles' cellar, from the wine in the Bacchus cellar, and 
 from tbat in the Rose cellar. I asked to be conducted at 
 the porter's earliest convenience to the Bacchus cellar; to 
 this the porter replied no, that was impossible. Said he, 
 ' To-day is the first day of September, Dame Rose's anni- 
 versary. To-night the Twelve Apostles, Bacchus, and Dame 
 Rose come down from their stony seats and hold high carni- 
 val from midnight till the dawn of day. No man would pre- 
 sume to remain here after midnight.' 
 
BEEMEN. 281 
 
 "I laughed at the good man's superstition, and replied that 
 I had heard of various kinds of ghosts, hut never had heard 
 of wine ghosts. Then I peremptorily said : ' Look again at 
 my permit from the senator, and in the name of the Council 
 Of Bremen I command you to open the Bacchus cellar.' We 
 went slowly along through several large and dark cellars, 
 with only the light of a lantern to guide us, and at last 
 reached the inner cellar, where a wooden figure of Bacchus 
 sat astride upon an immense wine-cask. ' Grood heavens ! ' 
 cried the old porter, ' don't you see how the old fellow rolls 
 his eyes and shakes his feet. He is getting ready to come 
 down. Let us be off.' ' Why, man, it is only the shadow 
 of our nickering candle - that gives you this impression,' 
 said I. We left the cellar, and the porter locked the big door 
 with nervous celerity, but not until I had had a glass of the 
 old Bacchus wine from the sample barrel. ' Here, old porter,' 
 said I, ' take a glass at my expense ; it will give you a little 
 courage.' ' Grod preserve me from drinking a drop of it this 
 night,' he exclaimed. 
 
 " We wandered on a little farther by the dim light of our 
 lantern and came to the Apostles' cellar. The rusty lock of 
 the great door gave an unearthly grating sound as the key 
 slowly turned in it. The door opened, creaking on its hinges, 
 and there stood the statues of the twelve apostles in their 
 garb of hewn-out stone up in the high niches in the wall, 
 and beneath them twelve great casks of wine. ' I must have 
 a glass of wine from this cellar to drink the health of these 
 antiques,' said I. The porter fairly trembled at my light 
 remark, and said, ' Good sir, don't you know you are tempt- 
 ing the devil ? This is the night when all the wine ghosts 
 come down from their places to have their yearly carousal. 
 It is now nearly midnight. I have never known of a man 
 
 36 
 
282 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 staying here until the stroke of twelve. I must go, and I 
 cannot answer for your safety if you persist in remaining 
 later.' ' But you cannot go until you have taken me to the 
 Rose cellar,' said I. We passed on quickly until we came 
 into the Sub-Rosa cellar. 'What a monster cask of wine,' 
 said I, ' and every glass of it is worth a gold piece! ' I read 
 upon it the date of 1615. ' Fill me a glass from the sample 
 cask quickly. I must drink old Dame Rose's health before 
 the clock strikes twelve, and then, good porter, you can go, 
 and I will stay in the Rose cellar for a little time.' ' Oh, no ! 
 this is impossible ; I should lose my place were I to leave 
 the door unlocked,' declared the old man. 
 
 " I followed in the wake of the lantern and went back to the 
 place where I had left my hat and cane. ' But before you go, 
 good man,' said I, ' give me a few bottles of the vintage of 
 1718.' He did as I requested, and said : ' I cannot leave 
 you all night alone in the cellar ; you will be frightened to 
 death with the doings among the ghosts.' 'You know,' I 
 said, ' I have permission to stay here, and I intend to remain. 
 So, good-night, my friend, and don't worry any more about 
 me. Lock the door and take the key with you, and I will 
 draw the inside bolt. I want no outsiders to-night. Leave 
 me a half dozen candles.' He complied, and went hesitat- 
 ingly toward the door, opened and closed it slowly to give 
 me time to change my intention if I wished to do so. He 
 called to me from outside the door and said : ' My friend, I 
 am sure I shall find you dead from fright when I return at 
 six o'clock in the morning.' I examined my quarters care- 
 fully and found no other door than the one through which 
 I had entered, and three bottles of real Johannes wine 
 marked 1718. 
 
 " I heard the dom clock strike twelve, and I had already 
 
BEEMEN. 283 
 
 drank my sixth glass of wine, when the thought occurred to 
 me that there was a time when wine would go to one's head, 
 and I was just wondering whether I could drink all the wine 
 in the three bottles, when I fancied that I heard a heavy- 
 door slowly opening on its rusty hinges, and in another 
 moment I was sure I heard the echoing sound of the heavy 
 tread of footsteps. I remembered that the outside door was 
 locked and that the porter had taken the key with him, and 
 that the bolt was drawn on the inside of the door of the 
 room in which I was. So I quieted myself with the thought 
 that there was no admittance under any circumstances to 
 the room this night. 
 
 "At this moment, and to my utter astonishment, the door 
 opened without being unlocked or unbolted, and I saw two 
 men standing in the door- way dressed in antique costume, 
 saluting each other. They advanced slowly into the room, 
 and taking off their swords and hats, hung them on large 
 hooks on the wall. They then seated themselves at the 
 table where I was, apparently not observing me. I was 
 about to speak, and make known my presence, when four 
 more unbidden guests entered the door, saying, ' Grood- 
 morning, gentlemen of the Rhine ; where is the old servant 
 Johannes? Is he still sleeping at his post?' 'Yes, he is 
 in the church-yard fast asleep. I'll just ring him up,' said 
 the man nearest me, who, taking up a huge bell, rang it loud 
 and long. The summons was quickly answered by a hollow- 
 eyed old man, who appeared at the door yawning and rubbing 
 his eyes, having a large basket filled with bottles on his arm. 
 'Hallo, old Johann, you are a sluggard this time ; step along 
 a little more lively,' said the man who had rung the bell. 
 The old servant Johannes, for it was he who answered the 
 summons of the bell, replied that he had forgotten it was 
 
284 FEAGMENTAKY LETTEBS. 
 
 the 1st of September ; that since they had pared anew the 
 church-yard he did not hear so well what was going on over 
 his head as formerly. 'But,' said he, 'where are the rest 
 of you ? You are only six, and old Dame Rose is not here 
 yet.' 'Well,' said the one called Judas, 'put down the bottles, 
 we must wet our lips ; give us the glasses and then go over 
 there,' pointing to the door, ' and call up the rest of our 
 number who are still sleeping in the wine-barrels.' 
 
 "At this moment a great commotion was heard outside the 
 door, and old Johannes cried out : ' Here comes Dame Rose 
 and her lover, the jolly old Bacchus.' What a sight ! There 
 was the wooden Bacchus, and the mammoth cask of wine 
 which I had seen in the Rose cellar, and which they called 
 Dame Rose, followed closely by six lively old fellows swing- 
 ing cocked hats in their hands. 'At last we are all here,' 
 said one of the party of stone statues, ' and as for Dame 
 Rose, she looks just as she did fifty years ago. But how is 
 this; we are thirteen at the table. Who is this stranger 
 among us ? How happens it that he is here V 
 
 " Aware that I was an unbidden guest among them, I at 
 once briefly explained my presence. I said that I was sim- 
 ply a Doctor of Philosophy, and that at present I was living 
 at the Hotel Frankfurt in Bremen. 'What brought you here 
 on this particular night, good sir?' inquired another. 'You 
 know you do not belong to the noble society of two hun- 
 dred years ago.' ' Of that,' I replied, ' I am perfectly well 
 aware, for I did not live two hundred years ago. Your 
 noble selves have come to me to-night ; I did not make the 
 trespass upon you. When I came I found no company. 
 The good porter locked the door and took the key with 
 him.' ' What,' asked Bacchus, ' are you doing in the 
 Rathhaus Keller at this late hour of the night % The world's 
 
BKEMEN. 285 
 
 people in Bremen are never out of their houses at midnight.' 
 ' Your excellency,' said I, ' there is good reason for my 
 being here. I am a friend of good old Rhein wine, and 
 obtained permission from one of the noble senators to come 
 here and get some to my taste; and I chose this night, 
 because I have read some very interesting stories about the 
 carousal held here on the night of the first of September by 
 some of the distinguished men of the olden time, and I 
 desired to make some scientific observations.' 'Ha! ha!' 
 laughed Bacchus, ' that is all well enough ; you shall have a 
 little dance with us to-night.' 
 
 " I now began to look around me and to observe the com- 
 pany. There were the stone statues of the twelve apostles 
 that I had seen standing in their niches as I passed through 
 the Apostles' cellar, Bacchus in his wooden body, and Dame 
 Rose. Her body, a great wine-cask, was standing upon two 
 tiny little feet near them, her coquettish face peeping out 
 from the upper end of the cask, with the copper rose of the 
 Sub-Rosa cellar hanging on the front of it. All were in a 
 jolly mood. They laughed and talked with each other in 
 unearthly tones. I judged from their conversation that they 
 were accustomed to have a reunion every year, and that they 
 had been meeting together in this way for two hundred years 
 or more. They told stories over their glasses of wine, kept 
 continually full by the old servant Johannes. The stories 
 related by them referred to historical and social events of 
 their times. One told how the members of the old Bremen 
 families used to come to the Rathhaus Keller at five o'clock 
 in the afternoon, grandmothers, wives and children included, 
 and remain until eight o'clock at night, when the cellar 
 would be closed. ' Yes,' said Dame Rose, ' those were good 
 old times, when we drank only pure Rhein wines ; we didn't 
 
286 FBAGMENTARY LETTEE8. 
 
 have this miserable stuff now called tea, coffee, and such 
 beverages as are drank nowadays.' 
 
 " The carousal was getting more lively, when suddenly a 
 new apparition made its appearance. AH voices were hushed. 
 Even Bacchus turned pale. The intruder took a seat by me. 
 I whispered to a ghost close by me and asked who this last 
 comer was. He replied, ' Do you not see it is the devil him- 
 self ? He always comes in at our anniversary meetings and 
 tries to disturb us.' A glass of wine was set before him. 
 After several olden-time songs had been sung at the request 
 of Dame Rose, she winked at me and said, ' Now, doctor, it 
 is your turn ; you must give us a song which has never been 
 sung before.' I attempted to excuse myself on the ground 
 that I could neither sing nor make verses. ' No excuses are 
 accepted here,' she said. ' You have come unbidden to us 
 to-night, and you must join us in all we do. Come, sir, we 
 are waiting for you.' Tremblingly I arose, and by some 
 happy inspiration the following words were put into my 
 mouth : 
 
 " ' On the beautiful Rhine where grows our vine, 
 There grows our golden luscious wine; 
 Yonder it grows on our German coast, 
 And gives us all the never-dying toast, 
 
 Rhein wine, Rhein wine, 
 
 Always in tune and in time.' 
 
 " The ghostly company laughed heartily, and Bacchus ex- 
 claimed, 'What a noble addition the doctor will be to our 
 choice spirits ; we all hope that he may join our merry circle 
 soon.' In my soul I could not agree with him, for I had 
 not yet seen enough of life. But, under the circumstances, 
 I did not wish to discuss the subject. 
 
BBEMEN. 287 
 
 " They now commenced to arrange for a dance. Bacchus 
 was the major-domo of the party. He called to me, and said : 
 ' Of course, doctor, you know music. We shall depend 
 on you to play for us. Get up on that cask of wine and 
 beat the drum to our dance.' I obeyed. A step-ladder was 
 necessary to aid me in reaching the top of the wine-cask. 
 When seated my head just touched the timbers forming the 
 ceiling of the arched room. All was proceeding. well, when 
 suddenly I saw the heavy beams over my head part, and I 
 with my drum flew like an arrow out in the open air. I said 
 to myself, ' G-ood-bye, good-bye to this life ; tbese accursed 
 ghosts have entered my name in their death-book.' 
 
 " The first sensation I experienced afterward was the touch 
 of the Rathhaus Keller porter on my shoulder. Hearing his 
 morning salutation and inquiry respecting my welfare,, I 
 began to rub my eyes, and getting up on my feet I found 
 that I bad become intoxicated, and had fallen from the 
 bench to the stone floor. As there was no evidence of my 
 having had company in the night, I concluded that my 
 solitary carousal was only a dream. I could not convince 
 myself that the stone statues had not come down from their 
 places — so strong Was the impression on my mind that the 
 night's adventure was a reality — until I made the round 
 of aU the cellars I had visited the night before, and saw for 
 myself that the stone figures were all in their places." 
 
XXI 
 
 London. Hatfield House. 
 
 rONDON, September 13, 1885. We had a delightful voyage 
 4 of twenty-eighth ours from Bremen to Southampton in 
 the steamship Ems. We came immediately here. The most 
 of our packages were shipped for New York from Hamburg 
 in a sailing vessel. The time taken by the modern large 
 steamships for crossing the Atlantic is much less than it 
 used to be in the slow, old-fashioned vessels, and we expect 
 to make a quick crossing in the Elbe, which sails on October 
 22d. We shall occupy ourselves till then with visiting and 
 sight-seeing. Almost every day we meet an old acquaintance 
 whom we invite to breakfast or dine with us. We are com- 
 fortably situated at the Army and Navy Hotel, where it is a 
 pleasure to receive friends. 
 
 Last evening we visited an exhibition of machinery called 
 the " Inventions." Although most of the machines were of 
 English manufacture, Troy had no little prominence in one 
 part of the building, where a number of red-cheeked English 
 girls were operating a laundering machine exhibited by' a 
 Troy firm. The united testimony of the girls was that the 
 machine " operated beautifully." The buildings and grounds 
 were illuminated by electric lights glowing in thousands of 
 
 288 
 
LONDON. 289 
 
 various-colored globes and lanterns. I never imagined such 
 brilliant effects could be produced artificially. We failed to 
 see the thousand interesting things in the buildings, for we 
 were entranced with the gardens and the fine music. 
 
 Godfrey's orchestra, which took so prominent a part in 
 the musical jubilee at Boston some years ago, gives a con- 
 cert here every night in alternation with another fine band. 
 At ten o'clock in the evening bells are rung in different parts 
 of the grounds, which is the signal for closing the exhibi- 
 tion for the evening. There is an underground passage 
 leading from the belt railway to the grand entrance of the 
 " Inventions." This passage is half a mile long and fifty feet 
 wide. It is brilliantly illuminated with electric fights. Last 
 evening the tunnel was thronged with people going and 
 returning from the exhibition. 
 
 While we were quietly taking our supper in a restaurant 
 near one of the music-stands last night, I observed in a mirror 
 opposite me several constellations of brilliant stars suddenly 
 reflected. At first I could not imagine the cause, but a 
 moment's thought disclosed the fact that the reflection came 
 from the numerous electric fights distributed about the 
 garden. 
 
 Albert Hall, which stands in these grounds, an immense 
 building with its long glass corridor, appeared under the 
 electric illumination as if every joint and beam was studded 
 with silver stars. 
 
 The Albert Monument in the center of the grounds was 
 beautifully festooned with red lights, and two music-kiosks 
 were closely dotted with glowing ruby fights. A multitude 
 of variously colored stars beamed in and about the exhibi- 
 tion buildings. The trunks and branches of the great elms 
 gleamed in an intensity of color; the water of the large 
 
 37 
 
290 FEAGMENTAEY LETTEES. 
 
 fountain in the center of the grounds, rising in great jets 
 and falling in sheets of spray, was effulgently iridescent. At 
 times the wind would catch up the sprays from the five 
 large jets and send them chasing each other for an instant, 
 then again the whole volume of water would rise to a great 
 height and fall into the hasin of the fountain like so many 
 colored gems sparkling in the strong light. Then a shifting 
 breeze would waft the waters upward in a solid column of 
 colored crystals apparently, and in an instant they would 
 settle in a circle around the fountain in umbrella form. 
 There was constant change of form and color produced on 
 the water giving a kaleidoscopic effect to the fountain of 
 spouting water. There were fifty thousand people in attend- 
 ance that evening. 
 
 We have been to see the Billingsgate fish-market, where 
 at a restaurant a well-cooked fish dinner may be had. Seated 
 at one of the little tables near a window, we looked directly 
 upon the Thames River, and saw the fish-boats delivering 
 their contents to the market-men. A fish dinner at Billings- 
 gate comprises five courses of fish, one course of roast beef, 
 bread, and a tankard of beer. 
 
 Now the sky is clear and blue, the air is balmy, and the 
 oft-repeated assertions that London is always enveloped in 
 fog, and that "nasty" weather is continuous, is not to be 
 accepted too literally. 
 
 London, September 14, 1885. I wrote you yesterday 
 briefly of the "Inventions" or machine exhibition. After 
 mailing my letter, Colonel McM. called to see us, and told us 
 of the grand reception given on the exhibition grounds by 
 Professor B., the chief of the staff of engineers in England. 
 He obtained the use of the exhibition buildings and grounds 
 
LONDON. 291 
 
 for an evening entertainment. He issued twelve thousand 
 invitations, and provided ample refreshments. Professor B. 
 and his wife, with a host of friends, received the guests. 
 The entire electric capacity on the grounds was used to 
 illuminate the place. The two orchestras discoursed their 
 best music, and thousands participated in the dancing. The 
 weather was favorable, and nothing happened to mar the 
 splendor and gayety of the scene. The entertainment, it is 
 said, cost $25,000. I know that grand entertainments are 
 given in America, but not many so extensively grand as this 
 one was. 
 
 London, September 22, 1885. Your welcomed letter of 
 August 30th and the entertaining and beautifully written 
 letters from Riette and John were duly received. I was 
 pleased to hear about your grandma's birthday party. In- 
 deed it must have been a most dehghful event, especially to 
 her, surrounded as she was on her eightieth birthday by 
 so many of her children, grandchildren, and great-grand- 
 children. 
 
 Last Saturday we went to Hatfield House, the country 
 seat of the Marquis of Salisbury, now Prime Minister of 
 England. It is about an hour's ride by rail from London. 
 The estate is in the very heart of England, and contains 
 twenty thousand acres, twelve thousand of which are in 
 parks and lawns. There are seven gate-keepers' lodges on 
 the grounds. Four hundred people are employed on the 
 estate, among whom are one hundred pensioners, who 
 receive a small weekly gratuity for doing nominal service. 
 The mansion is more than three hundred years old. It 
 contains thirty guest-chambers, among which are two suites 
 of rooms which have been occupied at various times by 
 
292 FRAGMENTARY LETTERS. 
 
 Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales. Also there are 
 rooms which were once occupied by Queen Anne and King 
 James. There is another apartment, where Lord Beacons- 
 field was "at home" occasionally. In Queen Elizabeth's 
 chamber are to be seen many relics of her time. The house 
 has one hundred available bedrooms and as many beds. 
 "When the family are at Hatfield forty house-servants are on 
 duty, and sixty horses are kept in the stables. The grand- 
 mother of the present marquis was burned to death about 
 fifty years ago, in one of the wings of the building. The 
 unfortunate woman had retired to her room for the purpose 
 of writing invitations for a ball, when it is supposed that 
 her cap caught fire, and she was too terrified to be able to 
 give an alarm. When discovered, she was dead. 
 
 This is one of the finest estates in England. In the 
 museum hall of the mansion may be seen Queen Elizabeth's 
 cradle, and the garden-hat she wore at the time she received 
 the news of her sister Mary's death, which made her Queen 
 of England. When the news was brought to her she was 
 seated under an oak-tree, engaged in reading. The old oak 
 is still alive. Among the treasures in the museum is a rosary 
 of uncut diamonds as large as filberts, and many other gems 
 of priceless value, because of their historic associations. 
 Many objects of interest are to be seen at Hatfield, of which 
 I have not time now to tell you. 
 
 London, September 24, 1885. We have visited the Kew 
 Gardens, making the trip by river steamer, a distance of 
 about one hour and a half from Westminster Bridge. There 
 are two hundred and fifty acres in these gardens, beautifully 
 laid out in lawns, parterres of flowers, and small artificial 
 lakes. There are several large conservatories of exotics, in 
 
LONDON. 293 
 
 which I saw some fine specimens of the pitcher-plant, which 
 grows in great abundance on the borders of some of the 
 Adirondack lakes. It is named the American water-lily. 
 
 I have also had a glimpse of the Kensington Gardens, but 
 I found my two and a half hours permitted me only a hur- 
 ried glance at the East Indian galleries and the rooms of the 
 Kensington home art-work. How many women of our land 
 would be glad to inspect these rooms, with their treasures of 
 female ingenuity — to see the fine painting on fabrics, the 
 richly colored embroideries on the most delicate textures, 
 and the curious inventions and devices to beautify homes 
 with small outlays of money. 
 
XXII 
 
 Stratford-on-Avon. Shottery. 
 
 London, October 1, 1885. Your letter from Bobinlawn 
 A found us engaged in a round of sight-seeing and visits 
 about this great city of the world. And also a letter from 
 Spring Villa was received at the same time, telling us of the 
 new house and other improvements. It will be a pleasure to 
 us to find both families nicely located in their new houses. 
 
 * 
 
 Stkatfokd-on-avon, October, 1885. We have visited the 
 renowned birthplace of Shakspere. It is a journey of 
 three hours by rail from London. There were extensive 
 parks, clumps of venerable oaks and elms, picturesque old 
 water-mills, quaint old villages with their gray stone churches, 
 little old-time thatched-roofed cottages with their moss- 
 covered walls, and much more of England's beautiful scenery 
 which appeared before us in panoramic view as we passed 
 along through the country. 
 
 We took lodgings for one night in the Shakspere Inn, 
 the identical tavern where the poet went daily for his cup of 
 sack. Time has, however, made its ravages in the old build- 
 ing. There have been some additions made to the old inn, 
 but in the general arrangement of the rooms we are told no 
 
STKATFOBD-ON-AVON. 295 
 
 change has taken place. .AH the rooms are named from the 
 poet's plays, each room having its name painted in black 
 letters over the doors. My room was the Romeo and Juliet 
 chamber; your father's, Timon of Athens; Mrs, McM., a 
 friend from London, who went with us, was lodged in All's 
 Well that Ends "Well ; another friend, Mr. T., occupied the 
 King Lear chamber. The coffee-room is called As You Like 
 It ; the family sitting-room is named the Merry Wives of 
 Windsor ; the tap-room has over the door, in black letters, 
 Measure for Measure. One bedroom is named the Desde- 
 mona chamber, and so on, until the forty rooms of the 
 house are all designated. 
 
 If we believe what is told us, the old house is still con- 
 ducted as it was in the great poet's time. The bedrooms 
 remain unchanged in size, and, judging from the appearance 
 of the furniture in the bedroom I occupied, there has been 
 but little change in it. I am sure a modern toilet of a lady 
 could not be made in one of these small bedrooms. The 
 window-panes are five by six inches, and are set in very 
 heavy sash. Everything about the house is marked by 
 antiquity. 
 
 Our friend, Mrs. McM., is said to be well read in English 
 history. She is certainly well informed respecting the history 
 of Shakspere and his times. Our witty Scotchman, Mr. T., 
 is not less versed in Shaksperian lore. We visited the house 
 in which the immortal poet was born. The old servant there 
 informed us that it " looks just as it did when baby William 
 lay there in his cradle." The house is now used as a museum 
 of Shakspere's relics. We went to the church where the 
 poet was baptized. On one of the pews is a metal plate on 
 which is engraved the name of the poet's father. 
 
 We also visited Shottery, the little farm-house in which 
 
296 FBAGMENTAEY LETTEES. 
 
 Ann Hathaway's parents lived, about a mile and a half from 
 the village, and where the young poet, unsuspecting his 
 future renown, made frequent excursions to pay court to his 
 Mistress Ann, whom he married ; his sweetheart being his 
 senior by several years. A descendant of the Hathaway 
 family — an old lady, far along in her seventies — occupies 
 the old house. She called our attention to the well, the iden- 
 tical one from which the family drew water in olden times. 
 " The well-sweep was renewed about a hundred years ago," 
 said the old lady. She showed us a few pieces of old delf 
 which was used by the family in the days when William was 
 accustomed often to sup there. In reply to the question if 
 one or two of these articles could be bought, the good old 
 lady said, " Not for any money." We sat upon the same 
 settle in the chimney-corner on which, it is related, the 
 young poet and Mistress Ann sat many a time, and where 
 he composed the f oUowing sonnet : 
 
 " Would you be taught, ye feathered throng, 
 With love's sweet notes to grace your song, 
 To pierce the heart with thrilling lay? 
 Listen to mine Ann Hathaway; 
 She hath a way to sing so clear, 
 Phoebus might wond'ring stop to hear; 
 To melt the sad, make blithe the gay, 
 And nature charm, Ann hath a way; 
 
 She hath a will, 
 
 She hath a way, 
 To breathe delight, Ann Hathaway." 
 
 I can accept the age of the old bench, for it has been 
 strengthened on all sides by bands of iron, and the back legs 
 are kept in place by a couple of thick hickory blocks. 
 
XXIII 
 
 Ramsgate. London. Windsor Castle. 
 
 Iondon, October 14, 1885. One week from to-morrow we 
 A shall sail for America. In the three and a half years of 
 our absence from home I have had no time to indulge in mal 
 de pays, until now, within a few days of home and friends, I 
 am experiencing my first home-sickness. 
 
 We have been to Ramsgate for a couple of days. This is 
 a delightful sea-shore resort for Londoners, one hundred 
 miles away from the city's fog and smoke. The Granville is 
 a magnificent hotel and outrivals many of our fine American 
 summer hotels. We have before us a broad expanse of ocean 
 view, and enjoy the sweet and balmy atmosphere. Here 
 excellent oysters and fish are served in all styles to please 
 the most fastidious palate. 
 
 We, with several other people, are the guests of Colonel 
 and Mrs. McM. of London. Our host, Colonel McM., now and 
 then makes an inimitable salad with the aid of each guest at 
 the table. Our hostess calls it an "amalgamation salad." 
 There must be eight persons at table, as there are eight differ- 
 ent articles used. To each one is given a component part of 
 the salad to prepare. The ingredients are boiled salt codfish, 
 boiled potatoes, fried bacon, cooked beets, a delicate prepara- 
 
 38 297 
 
298 FEAGMENTAEY LETTEES. 
 
 tion of uncooked onion, hard-boiled eggs, water-cresses, and 
 mayonnaise sauce. Each guest receives on a plate one of the 
 articles to be used in the salad, which is to be cut in small 
 pieces. To the hostess is given the mayonnaise sauce to make. 
 When all is ready the plates are sent to the host, who puts 
 the ingredients into the salad-bowl and mixes them well 
 together, and it is ready to be served. This novel manner of 
 making a salad is likely to lead to a general conversation on 
 the art of cooking. On this occasion some valuable hints 
 on the subject of cookery were introduced, and also several 
 practical experiences related, which afforded to the guests no 
 little entertainment as well as much information. 
 
 Ramsgate is a desirable resort for its fine sea-bathing. 
 Here every known kind of a sea-bath may be taken. Sea- 
 weed baths are recommended for general debility. This 
 bath is prepared with fresh sea-weed of a peculiar quality, 
 which is found on the rocks near Ramsgate, and sea-water. 
 The bath may be taken cold or warm. 
 
 Among the pleasant reunions with friends from the conti- 
 nent was that on the occasion of a dehghtful lunch party 
 given by Mrs. P., the wife of the English minister at Lisbon, 
 who is spending a few weeks in London. The wife of the 
 Swedish minister at the same court, Countess S., and other 
 charming people attended it. We enjoyed another agreeable 
 reunion with Lisbon friends, Mr. B., the English consul at 
 Lisbon, and his wife, who dined with us at our hotel. I had 
 also the pleasure of having Lady H., of London, of whom I 
 wrote you last summer at Cintra, where she spent some 
 time with friends, lunch with me. We have also received a 
 visit from Mr. T., who has been prime minister of Greece 
 for many years. You will remember Miss T., his sister, as 
 an acquaintance at Athens, when you were with us there. 
 
LONDON. 299 
 
 Mr. T. sends kind remembrances to you and your brother 
 C. ; also Mr. G., the Greek charge d'affaires at London, 
 desires to be remembered to you and C. 
 
 We visited the other day, for the first time, Windsor Cas- 
 tle, an hour's ride by rail from London. We were shown 
 the state apartments, Queen Victoria's drawing and dining 
 rooms, and the chambers just made ready for the Princess 
 Beatrice and Prince Henry of Battenburg. The latter suite 
 of rooms is called the " bridal apartment," and it is always 
 given to the last married-couple of the royal family. Noth- 
 ing more cozy and comfortable can be imagined than this 
 beautiful apartment. . The sitting-room is warm-looking and 
 cheerful in crimson velvet and gold decorations. The lovely 
 little morning-room is prettily fitted with pink and white 
 satin decorations. The stately bed-chamber is upholstered 
 in blue satin, with silver cord and tassel trimmings. The 
 pretty little dressing-rooms have pink and blue satin drape- 
 ries. The baths are marble. Prom the windows looking 
 eastward are seen vistas of stately old elms, and wide 
 stretches of green lawns, with here and there beds of bright 
 flowers ; and beyond one sees the noble forests of Windsor 
 Park, with countless sheep grazing quietly on its borders. 
 
 The castle covers twenty-two acres. It is, perhaps, the 
 largest stone palace in Europe. When the queen is at Wind- 
 sor, four hundred servants, including three chefs de cuisine, 
 are employed. Each chief cook has his own kitchen and 
 assistants. 
 
 One of the finest collections of Sevres and antique porce- 
 lain in the world is to be seen at Windsor Castle. It is 
 arranged in large ebony cabinets, lined with cream-colored 
 satin. There are forty-five of these cabinets in the differ- 
 ent drawing-rooms and in the portrait gallery. The queen's 
 
300 FKAGMENTAEY LETTEES. 
 
 drawing-rooms — four in all — have cabinets of choice por- 
 celain along the four sides of their walls. We were shown 
 the china pantry. This is a large room, with shelves from 
 floor to ceiling, filled with rich and costly old and new 
 china, much of which is in disuse, the modern china largely 
 substituting the antique. Of the porcelain in use there are 
 ten services of rich Sevres, each of which is sufficient for 
 one hundred and fifty covers. 
 
 In the banqueting-hall, adjoining the queen's apartments, 
 is a punch-bowl made of thirteen thousand ounces of pure 
 silver and heavily plated inside and outside with gold. This 
 punch-bowl has been used only once, and that was on the 
 day when the Prince of Wales was one year old. We spent 
 five hours wandering through this famous old castle. 
 
 I must not forget to mention that among the several 
 pianos we saw| at the castle, one was a " Chickering," of 
 American manufacture. 
 
 London, October 19, 1885. In three days more we shall be 
 on board tbe Elbe out at sea, plowing our way through the 
 deep waters, homeward bound. We shall go to Liverpool 
 to-morrow, when we shall have a day to spend in looking 
 about that great commercial city. I will send you, by the 
 outgoing mail to-morrow, a few lines. 
 
 In his great mercy, may God bless us all and keep us in 
 health to meet one another again in a few days at home.