ROUND THE WORLD

BY ANDREW CARNEGIE

PREFACE

It seems almost unnecessary to say that "Round the World, " like"An American Four-in-Hand in Britain, " was originally printed forprivate circulation. My publishers having asked permission to giveit to the public, I have been induced to undertake the slightrevision, and to make some additions necessary to fit the originalfor general circulation, not so much by the favorable receptionaccorded to the "Four-in-Hand" in England as well as in America, nor even by the flattering words of the critics who have dealt sokindly with it, but chiefly because of many valued letters whichentire strangers have been so extremely good as to take thetrouble to write to me, and which indeed are still coming almostdaily. Some of these are from invalids who thank me for making thedays during which they read the book pass more brightly thanbefore. Can any knowledge be sweeter to one than this? Theseletters are precious to me, and it is their writers who are mainlyresponsible for this second volume, especially since some who havethus written have asked where it could be obtained and I have nocopies to send to them, which it would have given me a rarepleasure to be able to do. 

I hope they will like it as they did the other. Some friendsconsider it better; others prefer the "Four-in-Hand. " I think themdifferent. While coaching I was more joyously happy; during thejourney round the World I was gaining more knowledge; but if myreaders like me half as well in the latter as in the former mood, I shall have only too much cause to subscribe myself with sincerethanks, Most gratefully, THE AUTHOR. 

 "Think on thy friends when thou haply see'st Some rare, noteworthy object in thy travels, Wish them partakers of thy happiness. "

ROUND THE WORLD. 

NEW YORK, Saturday, October 12, 1878. 

Bang! click! the desk closes, the key turns, and good-bye for ayear to my wards--that goodly cluster over which I have watchedwith parental solicitude for many a day; their several cribs fullof records and labelled Union Iron Mills, Lucy Furnaces, KeystoneBridge Works, Union Forge, Cokevale Works, and last, but notleast, that infant Hercules, the Edgar Thomson Steel RailWorks--good lusty bairns all, and well calculated to survive inThe struggle for existence--great things are expected of them inThe future, but for the present I bid them farewell; I'm off fora holiday, and the rise and fall of iron and steel "affecteth menot. "

Years ago, Vandy, Harry, and I, standing in the very bottom of thecrater of Mount Vesuvius, where we had roasted eggs and drank tothe success of our next trip, resolved that some day, instead ofturning back as we had then to do, we would make a tour round theBall. My first return to Scotland and journey through Europe wasan epoch in my life, I had so early in my days determined to doit; to-day another epoch comes--our tour fulfils another youthfulaspiration. There is a sense of supreme satisfaction in carryingout these early dreams which I think nothing else can give, it issuch a triumph to realize one's castles in the air. Other dreamsremain, which in good time also _must_ come to pass; fornothing can defeat these early inborn hopes, if one lives, and ifdeath comes there is, until the latest day, the exaltation whichcomes from victory if one but continues true to his guiding starand manfully struggles on. 

And now what to take for the long weary hours! for travellers knowthat sight-seeing is hard work, and that the ocean wave may becomemonotonous. I cannot carry a whole library with me. Yes, even thiscan be done; mother's thoughtfulness solves the problem, for shegives me Shakespeare, in thirteen small handy volumes. Come, then, my Shakespeare, you alone of all the mighty past shall be my solecompanion. I seek none else; there is no want when you are near, no mood when you are not welcome--a library indeed, and I lookforward with great pleasure to many hours' communion with you onlonely seas--a lover might as well sigh for more than hisaffianced as I for any but you. A twitch of conscience here. Youploughman bard, who are so much to me, are you then forgotten? No, no, Robin, no need of taking you in my trunk; I have you in myheart, from "A man's a man for a that" to "My Nannie's awa'. "

 * * * * *

PITTSBURGH, Thursday, October 17. 

What is this? A telegram! "Belgic sails from San Francisco 24thinstead of 28th. " Can we make it? Yes, travelling direct and viaOmaha, and not seeing Denver as intended. All right! through wego, and here we are at St. Louis Friday morning, and off for Omahato catch the Saturday morning train for San Francisco. If we missbut one connection we shall reach San Francisco too late. But wesha'n't. Having courted the fickle goddess assiduously, andsecured her smiles, we are not going to lose faith in her now, come what may. See if our good fortune doesn't carry us through!

 * * * * *

OMAHA, Saturday, October 19. 

All aboard for "Frisco!"

A train of three Pullmans, all well filled--but what is this shiftmade for, at the last moment, when we thought we were off? Anothercar to be attached, carrying to the Pacific coast Rarus andSweetzer, the fastest trotter and pacer, respectively, in theworld. How we advance! Shades of Flora Temple and "2. 40 on theplank road!" That was the cry when first I took to horses--thatis, to owning them. At a much earlier age I was stealing a ride onevery thing within reach that had four legs and could go. Onetakes to horseflesh by inheritance. Rarus now goes in 2. 13-1/4, and Ten Broeck beats Lexington's best time many seconds. I saw himdo it. And so in this fast age, second by second, we gain upon oldFather Time. Even since this was written more than another secondhas been knocked off. America leads the world in trotters, andwill probable do so in running horses as well, when we begin todevelop them in earnest. Our soft roads are favorable for speed;the English roads would ruin a fast horse. 

We traverse all day a vast prairie watered by the Platte. Nothingcould be finer: such fields of corn standing ungathered, suchherds of cattle grazing at will! It is a superb day, and therusset-brown mantle in which Nature arrays herself in the autumnnever showed to better advantage; but in all directions we see theprairies on fire. Farmers burn them over as the easiest mode ofgetting rid of the rank weeds and undergrowth; but it seems adangerous practice. They plough a strip twenty to thirty feet inwidth around their houses, barns, hay-stacks, etc. , and dependupon the flames not overleaping this barrier. 

Third night out, and we are less fatigued than at the beginning. The first night upon a sleeping-car is the most fatiguing. Eachsuccessive one is less wearisome, and ere the fifth or sixth comesyou really rest well. So much for custom!

 * * * * *

SUNDAY, October 20. 

All day long we have been passing through the grazing plains ofNebraska. Endless herds of cattle untrammelled by fences; thelandscape a brown sea as far as the eye can reach; a rude hut nowand then for a shelter to the shepherds. No wonder we export beef, for it is fed here for nothing. Horses and cattle thrive on the richgrasses as if fed on oats; no flies, no mosquitoes, nothing todisturb or annoy, while the pellucid streams which run through theranches furnish the best of water. There can be no question that ourexport trade is still in its infancy. The business is now fullyorganized, and is subject to well-known rules. At Sherman we saw thelarge show-bills of the Wyoming County Cattle Raisers' Association, offering heavy rewards for offenders against these rules, and theCheyenne _Herald_ is filled with advertisements of the various"marks" adopted by different owners. Large profits have been made inthe trade--the best assurance that it will grow--but from all I cangather it seems doubtful whether the experiment of exporting cattlealive will succeed. 

We saw numerous herds of antelope to-day, but they graze among thecattle, and are altogether too finely civilized to meet our idea of"chasing the antelope over the plain;" one might as well chase asheep. As night approaches we get higher and higher up the far-famedRocky Mountains, and before dark reach the most elevated point, atSherman, eight thousand feet above tide. But our preconceivednotions of the Rocky Mountains, derived from pictures of Fremont _ala_ Napoleon crossing the Alps, have received a rude shock; we onlyclimb high plains--not a tree, nor a peak, nor a ravine; when at thetop we are but on level ground--a brown prairie, "only this, andnothing more. "

 * * * * *

TUESDAY, October 22. 

Desolation! In the great desert! It extends southward to Mexicoand northward to British Columbia, and is five hundred miles inwidth. Rivers traverse it only to lose themselves in its sands, there being no known outlet for the waters of this vast basin. What caverns must exist below capable of receiving them! andwhither do they finally go?

At the station we begin to meet a mixture of Chinese andIndians--Shoshones, Piutes, and Winnemuccas. The Chinamen are atwork on the line, and appear to be very expert. At Ogden we getsome honey grapes--the sweetest I ever tasted. It is midnightbefore we are out of the desert. 

We are up early to see the Sierras. My first glimpse was of aravine resembling very much the Alleghany Gap belowBennington--going to bed in a desert and awaking to such a viewwas a delightful surprise indeed. We are now running down thewestern slope two hundred and twenty-five miles from SanFrancisco, with mines on both sides, and numerous flumes whichtell of busy times. Halloa! what's this? Dutch Flat. Shades ofBret Harte, true child of genius, what a pity you ever forsookthese scenes to dwindle in the foreign air of the Atlantic coast!A whispering pine of the Sierras transplanted to Fifth Avenue!How could it grow? Although it shows some faint signs of life, how sickly are the leaves! As for fruit, there is none. Americahad in Bret Harte its most distinctively national poet. Hisreputation in Europe proved his originality. The fact is, American poets have been only English "with a difference. "Tennyson might have written the "Psalm of Life, " Browning"Thanatopsis, " but who could have written "Her Letter, " or "Flynnof Virginia, " or "Jim, " or "Chiquita"? An American, flesh andbone, and none other. If the East would only discard him, asEdinburgh society did his greater prototype, he might be forcedto return to his "native heath" in poverty, and rise again as thefirst truly American poet. But poets, and indeed great artists asa class, seem to yield their best only under pressure. The grapemust be crushed if we would have wine. Give a poet "society" athis feet and he sings no more, or sings as Tennyson has beensinging of late years--fit strains to prepare us for the disgracehe has brought upon the poet's calling. Poor, weak, silly old man!Forgive him, however, for what he has done when truly the poet. Hewas noble then and didn't know it; now he is a sham noble and_knows_ it. Punishment enough that he stands no more upon themountain heights o'ertopping the petty ambitions of English life, "With his garlands And his singing robes about him. "

His poet's robes, alas! are gone. Room, now, for the masqueraderdisguised as a British peer! Place, next the last great vulgarbrewer or unprincipled political trimmer in that motley assembly, the House of Lords!

The weather is superb, the sky cloudless; the train stops to allowus to see the celebrated Cape Horn; the railroad skirts the edgeof the mountain, and we stand upon a precipice two thousand feethigh, smaller mountains enclosing the plain below, and theAmerican River running at our feet. It is very fine, indeed, butthe grandeur between Pack Saddle and San Francisco, with theexception of the entrance to Weber Canon and a few miles in thevicinity, is all here; as a whole, the scenery on the PacificRailroad is disappointing to one familiar with the Alleghanies. 

At Colfax, two hundred miles from San Francisco, we stop forbreakfast and have our first experience of fresh California grapesand salmon; the former black Hamburgs not to be excelled by thebest hot-house grapes of England; and what a bagful for a quarter!We tried the native white wine at dinner, and found it a fairSauterne. With such grapes and climate, it must surely be only aquestion of a few years before the true American wine makes itsappearance, and then what shall we have to import? Silks andwoollens are going, watches and jewelry have already gone, and inthis connection I think I may venture to say good-bye to foreigniron and steel; cotton goods went long ago. Now if wines, andespecially champagne--that creature of fashion--should go, whatshall we have to tax? What if America, which has given to mankindso many political lessons, should be destined to show a governmentliving up to the very highest dictate of political economy, viz. , supported by direct taxation! No, there remain our home products, whiskey and tobacco; let us be satisfied to do the next best thingand make these pay the entire cost of government. The day is notfar distant when out of these two so-called luxuries we shallcollect all our taxes; and those virtuous citizens who use neithershall escape scot-free. Although these sentences were writtenyears ago, now since we approach the threshold of fulfilment I amnot sure that upon the whole the total abolition of the internalrevenue system is not preferable. We should thus dispense withfour thousand officials. In government, the fewer the better. 

No greater contrast can be imagined than that from the barrendesert to the fertile plains below; oleanders and geraniums greetus with their welcome smiles; grapes, pears, peaches, all inprofusion; we are indeed in the Italy of America at last, andSacramento is reached by half-past ten. Since the great floodwhich almost ruined it some years ago, extensive dykes have beenbuilt, walling in the city, which so far have proved a sufficientbarrier against the rapid swellings of the American River, thatpours down its torrents from the mountains; but if Sacramento benow secure against flood, it is certainly vulnerable to theattacks of the not less terrible demon of fire. Such a mass ofcombustible material piled together and called a city I never sawbefore: it is a tinder-box, and we are to hear of its destructionsome day. Prepare for an extra: "Great fire in Sacramento; thecity in ashes;" but then, don't let us call it accidental. 

What a valley we rush through for the hundred miles which separateSacramento from San Francisco! It is about sixty miles wide, and aslevel as a billiard-table. Here are the famous wheat fields: as faras the eye can reach on either side we see nothing but the goldenstraw standing, minus the heads of wheat which have been cut off, the straw being left to be burned down as a fertilizer. Fancy aWestern prairie, substitute golden grain for corn, and you havebefore you the California harvest; for four hundred miles thisvalley extends, and it is wheat from one end to the other--nothingbut wheat. Granted sufficient rain in the rainy season--that is, from November till February--and the husbandman seeks nothing more;Nature does all the rest, and a bountiful harvest is a certainty. Insome years there is a scarcity of rain, but to provide against eventhis sole remaining contingency the rivers have but to be properlyused for irrigation; with this done, the wheat crop of the Pacificcoast will outstrip in value, year after year, all the gold andsilver that can be mined. Douglas Jerrold's famous saying applies tono other land so well as to this, for it indeed needs only "to betickled with a hoe to smile with a harvest. "

We reached Oakland, the Jersey City of San Francisco, on time tothe minute; the ferry-boat starts, and there lies before us theNew York of the Pacific: but instead of the bright sparkling citywe had pictured, sinking to rest with its tall spires suffused bythe glories of the setting sun, imagine our surprise when not evenour own smoky Pittsburgh could boast a denser canopy of smoke. Afriend who had kindly met us upon arrival at Oakland tried toexplain that this was not all smoke; it was mostly fog, and apeculiar wind which sometimes had this effect; but we couldscarcely be mistaken upon that point. No, no, Mr. O'B. , you mayknow all about "Frisco, " the Chinese, the mines, and the Yosemite, but do allow me to know something about smoke. We reached ourhotel, from the seven days' trip, and, after a bath and a gooddinner with agreeable company, were shown as much of the city asit was possible to see before the "wee short hour ayont thetwal'. "

 * * * * *

PALACE HOTEL, SAN FRANCISCO, Wednesday Evening, October 23. 

A palace truly! Where shall we find its equal? Windsor Hotel, good-bye! you must yield the palm to your great Western rival, asfar as structure goes, though in all other respects you may keepthe foremost place. There is no other hotel building in the worldequal to this. The court of the Grand at Paris is poor compared tothat of the Palace. Its general effect at night, when brilliantlylighted, is superb; its furniture, rooms and appointments are allfine, but then it tells you all over it was built to "whip allcreation, " and the millions of its lucky owner enabled him totriumph. It is as much in place in San Francisco as the Taj wouldbe in Sligo; but then your California operator, when he has made a"pile, " goes in for a hotel, just as in New York one takes to amarble palace or a grand railway depot, or in Cincinnati to amusic hall, or in Pittsburgh to building a church or anotherrolling mill. Every community has its social idiosyncrasies, butit struck us as rather an amusing coincidence that while we hadrecently greeted no less a man than Potter Palmer, Esq. , behindthe counter in Chicago as "mine host of the Garter, " we should sosoon have found ourselves in the keeping of Senator Sharon, lesseeof the Palace. These hotels do not impress one as being quitesuitable monuments for one who naturally considers his laborsabout over when he builds, as they are apt apparently to proverather lively for comfort to the owners, and we have decided whenour building time comes that it shall not be in the hotel line. Wegot to bed at last, but who could sleep after such a day--aftersuch a week! The ceaseless motion, with the click, click, click ofthe wheels--our sweet lullaby apparently this had become--waswanting; and then the telegrams from home, which bade us Godspeed, the warm, balmy air of Italy, when we had left winter behind--allthis drove sleep away; and when drowsiness came, what apparitionsof Japanese, Chinese, Indians, elephants, camels, josses! passedthrough our brain in endless procession. We were at the GoldenGate; we had just reached the edge of the Pacific Ocean, andbefore us lay

 . . . "the wealth of Ormus and of Ind, Or where the gorgeous East, with richest hand, Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold. 

To every blink the livelong night there came this refrain, whichseemed to close each scene of Oriental magnificence that hauntedthe imagination:

 "And our gude ship sails ye morn, And our gude ship sails ye morn. "

Do what I would, the words of the old Scotch ballad would notdown. Sleep! who could sleep in such an hour? Dead must be the manwhose pulse beats not quicker, and whose enthusiasm is notenkindled when for the first time he is privileged to whisper tohimself, The East! the East!

 "And our gude ship sails ye morn. "

 * * * * *

HARBOR OF SAN FRANCISCO, Thursday, October 24. 

At last! noon, 24th, and there she lies--the Belgic at her dock!What a crowd! but not of us; eight hundred Chinamen are to returnto the Flowery Land. One looks like another; but how quiet theyare! Are they happy? overjoyed at being homeward bound? We cannotjudge. Those sphinx-like, copper-colored faces tell us no tales. We had asked a question last night by telegraph, and here is thereply brought to us on the deck. It ends with a tender good-bye. How near and yet how far! but even if the message had sought usout at the Antipodes, its power to warm the heart with the senseof the near presence and companionship of those we love would onlyhave been enhanced. In this we seem almost to have reached thedream of the Swedish seer, who tells us that thought bringspresence, annihilating space in heaven. 

We start promptly at noon. Our ship is deeply laden with flour, which China needs in consequence of the famine prevailing in itsnorthern provinces, not owing to a failure of the rice, as I hadunderstood, but of the millet, which is used by the poor insteadof rice. Some writers estimate that five millions of people mustdie from starvation before the next crop can be gathered; but thisseems incredible. And now America comes to the rescue, so that atthis moment, while from its Eastern shores it pours forth itsinexhaustible stores to feed Europe, it sends from the West of itssurplus to the older races of the far East. Thus from all sides, fabled Ceres as she is, she scatters to all peoples from the hornof plenty. Favored land, may you prove worthy of all yourblessings and show to the world that after ages of wars andconquests there comes at last to the troubled earth the gloriousreign of peace. But no new steel cruisers, no standing army. Theseare the devil's tools in monarchies; the Republic's weapons arethe ploughshare and the pruning hook. 

For three hundred miles the Pacific is never pacific. Coast windscreate a swell, and our first two nights at sea were trying to badsailors, but the motion was to me so soft after our long railwayride that I seemed to be resting on air cushions. It was moredelightful to be awake and enjoy the sense of perfect rest than tosleep, tired as we were; so we lay literally

 "Rocked in the cradle of the rude imperious surge, "

and enjoyed it. 

To some of my talented New York friends who are touched withBuddhism just now and much puzzled to describe, and I judge evento imagine, their heaven, I confidently recommend a week'scontinuous jar upon a rough railway as the surest preparation forattaining a just conception of Nirvana, where perfect rest is heldthe greatest possible bliss. Lying, as I did apparently, upon aircushions, and rocked so softly on the waves, I had not a wish;desire was gone; I was content; every particle of my weary bodyseemed bathed in delight. Here was the delicious sense of rest weare promised in Nirvana. The third day out we are beyond theinfluence of the coast, and begin our first experience of thePacific Ocean. So far it is simply perfect; we are on the idealsummer sea. What hours for lovers, these superb nights! they woulddevelop rapidly, I'm sure, under such skyey influences. Thetemperature is genial, balmy breezes blow, there is no feeling ofchilliness; the sea, bathed in silver, glistens in the moonlight;we sit under awnings and glide through the water. The lonelinessof this great ocean I find very impressive--so different from theAtlantic pathway--we are so terribly alone, a speck in theuniverse; the sky seems to enclose us in a huge inverted bowl, andwe are only groping about, as it were, to find a way out; it isequidistant all around us; nothing but clouds and water. But as wesail westward we have every night a magnificent picture. I havenever seen such resplendent sunsets as these: we seem nightly tobe just approaching the gates of Enchanted Land; through theclouds, in beautiful perspective, shine the gardens of theHesperides, and imagination readily creates fairy lands beyond, peopled with spirits and fays. It is not so much the gorgeousnessof the colors as their variety which gives these sunsets acharacter of their own; one can find anything he chooses in theirinfinite depths. Turner must have seen such in his mind's eye. "Inever saw such sunsets as these you paint, " said the critic of hisstyle. "No; don't you wish you could?" was the reply. But I thinkeven a prosaic critic would feel that these Pacific pictures havea spiritual sense beyond the letter, unless, indeed, he wereWordsworth's friend, to whom

 "A primrose by a river's brim A yellow primrose was to him, And it was nothing more. "

He, of course, is hopeless. 

 * * * * *

THURSDAY, October 31. 

We have been a week at sea. Can it be only seven days since wewaved adieu to bright eyes on the pier? We begin to feel at homeon the ship. The passengers are now known to each other, andhereafter the days, will slip by faster. I went down with thedoctor and Vandy to see the Chinamen to-day. What a sight! Piledin narrow cots three tiers deep, with passages between the rowsscarcely wide enough for one to walk, from end to end of the shipthese poor wretches lie in an atmosphere so stifling that I had torush up to the deck for air. So far three have died, and two havebecome crazy. My foolish curiosity has made the voyage lesssatisfactory, for I cannot forget the danger of disease breakingout among this horde, nor can I drive the yellow, stupid-lookingfaces out of mind. The night of the day in which I had gone belowwe were playing a rubber of whist in the cabin when the port-holeat my head was pushed open, and a voice in broken English shouted, "Crazee manee; he makee firee, firee!" I jumped round and saw aChinaman. Such an expression--Shakespeare alone has described it--

 "And with a look so piteous in purport, As if he had been loosed out of hell To speak of horrors. "

Fire! that epitome of all that is appalling at sea, the dangereach one instinctively dreads, but no one mentions. One ran oneway and one another. The doctor (a real canny Scot, who sings "MyNannie's awa'" like Wilson) was over the rail and down the hold ina moment. I ran to Captain Meyer's room on the upper deck androused him. He too was down and in the hold like a flash--bravefellows that they are, these "true British sailors. " I waited theresult, knowing that if fire had really started, a generalstampede of Chinamen would soon come from the hatches; but all wasstill. How long those few moments seemed! In a short time thecaptain returned, looking, in his night-clothes, like a ghost. Oneof the crazy men had broken loose from his chains, and theChinamen were panic-stricken. The watchman wanted the moststartling alarm, and found it, undoubtedly, in that word fire. Itis all over; but when he next has to sound an alarm let him "takeany form but that. "

We have a reverend missionary and wife, with two young ladymissionaries in embryo, who are on their way to begin their laborsamong the Chinese. They are busily engaged learning the language. Poor girls! what a life they have before them! But apart from allquestion of its true usefulness, they have the grand thought tosustain them, and ennoble their lives, that they go at the call ofwhat seems to them their duty. We watch the Chinese eating andlaugh at their chopsticks, but we forget that one reason why JohnChinaman prides himself upon being at the pinnacle of civilizationis that he uses these very chopsticks. (None of the races of Asia, and until recently he knew no other, have ever got beyondchopsticks, the use of which was first taught China, while mostof them don't even have them yet. ) Let us not forget that ourancestors were using their fingers--barbarians that theywere--when the Chinese had risen, centuries before, to therefinement of these sticks, for the fork is only about threehundred years old. Shakespeare probably, Spenser certainly, hadonly a knife at his girdle to carve the meat he ate, the fingersbeing important auxiliaries. We must be modest upon this chopstickquestion. It costs the ship eleven cents (5-1/2 d. ) per day a headto feed these people, and this pays for a wholesome diet in greatabundance, much beyond what they are accustomed to. 

While on the subject of the Chinaman I may note that of course wedid not get through California without hearing the Chinese problemwarmly discussed. It is the burning question just now upon thePacific coast, but it seems to me our Californians' fears are, asColonel Diehl would put it, "slightly previous. " There are onlyabout 130, 000 Chinese in America, and great numbers are returningas the result of hard times, and I fear harder treatment. There isno indication that we are to be overrun by them, and until theychange their religious ideas and come to California to marry, settle, die, and be buried there, it is preposterous to believethere is any thing in the agitation against them beyond the usualprejudice of the ignorant races next to them in the social scale. 

I met the owner of a quicksilver mine, whose remarks shed a floodof light upon the matter. The mine yields a lean ore, and did notpay when worked by white labor costing $2 to $2. 50 per day. Hecontracted with a Chinaman to furnish 170 men at one-half theserates. They work well, doing as much per man as the white man cando in this climate. He has no trouble with them--no fights, nosprees, no strikes. The difference in the cost enables him to workat a profit a mine which otherwise would be idle; and to such astalk against Chinese labor in the neighborhood, he replies, "Verywell, drive it off if you please, but the mine stops if you do. "The benefit to the district of having a mine actively at work hasso far insured protection. This is the whole story. Our freeAmerican citizen from Tipperary and the restless rowdy of homegrowth find a rival beating them in the race, and instead oftaking the lesson to heart and practising the virtues which causethe Chinaman to excel, they mount the rostrum and proclaim thatthis is a "white man's country, " and "down with the nigger and theHeathen Chinee, " and "three cheers for whiskey and a free fight!"The Chinese question has not reached a stage requiringlegislation, nor, if let alone, will it do so for centuries tocome--and not then unless the Chinese change their religiousideas, which they have not done for thousands of years, and arenot likely to do in our time. 

 * * * * *

FRIDAY, November 1

We saw flying-fishes to-day for the first time. The captain hadbeen telling us as we approached the 3Oth degree of latitude thatwe should see these curiosities, and, sure enough, while standingon the bridge this morning, looking toward the bow, I saw threeobjects rise out of the water and fly from us. One seemed as largeas a herring, the others were like humming-birds. They have muchlarger wings than I had supposed, and shine brightly in the sun asthey fly. We have on board a gentleman connected with the DutchGovernment, who visits their out-of-the-way possessions in theMalay Archipelago. He has been where a white man never wasbefore--in the interior of New Guinea--and has seen strangethings. He tells us that the birds of paradise take seven years todevelop. The first year male and female are alike, but year afteryear the male acquires brighter feathers, until it becomes thesuperb bird we know. Some one remarked that it is just the reversewith the birds of paradise in man's creation. Here our Eve puts ongayer plumage year after year until finally she develops into astill more superb bird, while the male remains the samesober-suited fowl he was at first; but this was from a bachelor, I think. 

We are in a new world, and the talk is all of people and islands andanimals we never heard of. Do you know, for instance, that such apotentate as the Sultan of Terantor exists? and, ambitious rulerthat he is, that he now claims tribute from the whole of New Guinea?Then, again, let me tell you that the Sultan of Burnei gets $6, 000per year tribute from Setwanak, and, like a grasping tyrant, demandsmore; hence the wars which rage in that quarter of the globe. TheSetwanaks have appealed to the "God of Battles, " and are no doubtshouting on all hands that "Resistance to tyrants is obedience toGod;" and "Millions for defence; not a cent for tribute. " Look outfor their forthcoming declaration of independence; and why shouldn'tthey have their "_Whereases_" as well as your even Christian? Theonly trouble is that when monarchs fight nothing is settled as arule; what one loses to-day, he tries to win back to-morrow, and sothe masses are kept in a state of perpetual war, or preparation forwar, equally expensive. If Herbert Spencer had never formulatedanything but the law underlying these sad contentions between manand man, he would have deserved to rank as one of our greatestbenefactors. "When power is arbitrarily held by chief or king, themilitary spirit is developed, and wars of conquest and dynastiesensue; and just in proportion as power is obtained by the people, the industrial type is developed and peace ensues. " Therefore thegreatest thinker of the age is a republican. I quote from memory, but the substance is there, and it is because this law is true thatthere is hope for the future of the world, for everywhere the peopleare marching to political power. England is yet the world's greatestoffender, because she is still ruled by the few, her boastedrepresentative system being only a sham. When the masses do reallygovern, England will be pacific and make friends throughout theworld instead of enemies, "and sing the songs of peace to all herneighbors. "

The Dutch have 35, 000, 000 under their sway in Java and the otherMalay Islands; as many as Great Britain has within her borders. The world gets most of its spices and its coffee from thesepeople. So the Dutch are not to be credited only with having takenHolland, you see. 

Another Chinaman is reported gone to-day: all have to be embalmed, of course, and the doctor gets as his fee $12. 50 for each corpse. He complained to me the other day that these people would not takehis medicines, and, Scotchman--like, didn't see the point Imade--that they might naturally hesitate to swallow the potions ofone whose highest reward arose from a fatal result. The HeathenChinee is not a fool. The coffins of the dead on the wheel-housebegin to make quite a show; they are covered with canvas, but onewill sometimes see the pile. Not one of these men could ever havebeen induced to leave his home without satisfactory assurance thatin case of death his remains would be carried back and carefullyburied in the spot where he first drew breath. I remember readingin MacLeod's "Highland Parish" that so strongly implanted is thissentiment in the Highlanders that even a wife who marries out ofher clan is brought home at her death and buried among her ownkith and kin. I confess to a strange sympathy with this feelingmyself. It seems to agree with the eternal fitness of things, thatwhere we first saw day we should rest after the race is run. Yes, the old song is right:

 "Wherever we wander in life's stormy ways May our paths lead to home ere the close of our days, And our evening of life in serenity close In the Isle where the bones of our Fathers repose. "

One of our company has kindly shown me "some things in waves"which I have always passed over before. Hereafter they will have anew interest and a new beauty for me. I now watch by the hour forsome rare effect and colors to which I was before stone-blind. Some of the rarest jewels are rated by comparison with the emeraldand aqua-marine tints shown by the pure waves of the ocean. Thanks, my fellow-traveller, for a new sense awakened. 

The albatrosses, which follow us in large numbers, are a source ofpleasure. These are not the sacred birds of the Ancient Mariner, but are of the same species. They excel all other birds, I think, in power and gracefulness of flight. It is rather a glide than afly, as they appear scarcely ever to flap their wings, but sail onas it were "by the sole act of their unlorded will. " No wondersuch woe befell the Ancient Mariner through killing one. They aretoo grand to destroy. Last evening I had a treat in seeing thesebirds gathering for the night on the waters in the hollow of adeep wave. A dozen were already in the nest as our ship sweptpast, and others were coming every moment from all directions tothe fold; probably thirty birds would thus nestle together throughthe long night in the middle of this waste of waters. I was gladfor their sakes, poor wanderers, that their lonely lives werebrightened at night by the companionship of their fellows. 

Our second Sunday at sea. As I write, the bell tolls for church. Our missionary will have a small congregation, for there are onlytwenty-two passengers. I trust he will be moved to speak to us, away in mid-ocean, of the great works of the Unknown, the mightydeep, the universe, the stars, at which we nightly wonder, and notdrag us down to the level of dogmas we can know nothing of, andabout which we care less. The sermon is over. Pshaw! He spent themorning attempting to prove to us that the wine Christ made at themarriage feast was not fermented, as if it mattered, or as if thiscould ever be known! and I was in the mood to preach such amagnificent sermon myself, too, if I had had his place. No; Ishall never forgive him--never!

It is an even chance that this missionary will one day inflictsuch frivolous stuff upon the heathen as part of the divinemessage; for of the majesty, the sweetness, and the reformingpower of Christ's teaching and character, he seems to have not thefaintest conception. To the enquiry one constantly hears in theEast, why churches send forth as missionaries such inferior men asthey generally do, whose task is to eradicate error and planttruth--there is this to be said: churches must take the bestmaterial at their disposal, and men who have the ability toinfluence their fellows through the pulpit find their best andhighest work at home. This leaves the incapables for foreignservice. The other class from which missionaries must be drawn arethe over-zealous, who have plenty of enthusiastic emotionalfervor, but combined in most cases with narrow, dogmaticviews--the very kind of men to irritate the people to whom theyare sent, and the least likely to win their hearts or reach theirunderstanding. There are notable exceptions, able men who still goat duty's call; but such generally see that they can be ill sparedfrom more pressing home work. 

 * * * * *

MONDAY, November 4. 

Our course is the southerly one, 5, 120 miles to Yokohama, somefive hundred miles farther than that of the great circle; but forthe increased distance we have full compensation in the delightfulweather and calm seas we experience. The water is about 72 deg. , theair 73 deg. , so that it is genial on deck. We are really in summerweather--something so different from Atlantic sailing that I getaccustomed to it with difficulty. Last night at ten o'clock wepassed the half-way point ten days and eight hours out. Thecaptain showed us his chart to-day, and it was reassuring to seethat to-morrow we shall pass within 120 miles of land--the MidwayIslands. Upon one of this coral group the Pacific Mail Company hasdeposited 3, 000 tons of coal and a large amount of mess pork as areserve supply in case any steamer should be disabled. We passedthe Sandwich Islands, not more than 450 miles to the southward, when one quarter of the way over, and the Bonin Islands occupyabout the same relative position in our course to the eastward, sothat the immense distance between San Francisco and Yokohama isfinely provided for in case of accident. You have but to sailsouthward and find a port of refuge. Indeed, there is along thisentire parallel of latitude a new strip of land under process ofmanufacture. A good chart shows islands dotting the South PacificOcean, all of coral formation; these millions of toilers are hardat work, and it is only a question of time when our posterity willrun by rail from the Sandwich to the Philippine Islands, alwaysprovided that the work of these little builders is not interferedwith by forces which destroy. Thus the grand, never-ending work ofcreation goes on, cycle upon cycle, revealing new wonders at everyturn and knowing no rest or pause. 

Gone, November 5th, 1878, a _dies non_, which never was born. Lost, strayed, or stolen--a rare diadem, composed of twenty-fourprecious gems--some diamonds bright, some rubies rare, some jet asblack as night. It was to have been displayed at midnight to anadmiring few who nightly gaze upon the stars, but when looked forit was nowhere to be found. A well-known party, familiarly knownas Old Sol, is thought to be concerned in the matter, but chieflyis suspected a notorious thief who has stolen many preciousjewels--Old Father Time. Oh! many an hour has that thief stolen, but this gobbling up of a whole day and night at one fell swoopseems out of all reason. Yet he has done it! We have no 5th ofNovember. An amusing story is told of some clergymen returning toAmerica, in which case a day is gained, and it is necessary tohave two days of the same date instead of omitting one, as in ourcase. The line was crossed on Sunday, and the captain, neverthinking, called out to the chief officer to make another Sundayto-morrow. One of the clergymen was Scotch, and Presbyterian atthat. "Mak a Sawbath--mak the holy Sawbath; ma conscience!" Theorder had been given, however, and two Sundays were observed; butour scandalized friend could never be reconciled to the captainwho had presumed to have a holy Sabbath of his "ain making. "

 * * * * *

THURSDAY, November 7. 

These nights were not made for sleep, nor these days either, forthat matter; but of all the nights I have ever seen I think thisone excels. The moon is overhead and at the full, casting hermellow light around, suffusing with a soft glory the heavensabove, and lending to the dancing, foaming waves a silveryshimmer. Jupiter is on the western horizon, fading out of sight, but how lustrous! Lyra, Arcturus, Aldebaran, seem of giganticsize. All sails are set, and a fair, balmy wind from the sweetsouth makes the Belgic glide through the rushing waters. We areonly twenty miles from the Morrell Islands. How I long for adeckful of my friends to exult with me in this delight! Nothingbut Byron's lines will do it justice. They are too long to quotehere, but here are a few lines, which I must repeat:

 . . . . "for the night Hath been to me a more familiar face Than that of man; and in her starry shade Of dim and solitary loveliness I learned the language of another world. "

One does feel in such moments, when beauty and sublimity are sooverpoweringly displayed, that there are worlds and life beyondour ken, or should be such, for this short day on earth surelyshould be but the foretaste of a sublime existence which suchmoods indicate as our congenial home. 

 * * * * *

FRIDAY, November 8. 

I know I went to bed some time early this morning, but afterreading last night's effusion in the cold, sober light of day, itstrikes me I must have been rather enthusiastic. However, as Iintend these notes to be an honest record of my feelings, I shallnot attempt to modify the outburst. I know I recited poetry allthe evening as I trod the deck, and therefore was in the mood foranything. The captain told me to-night that in all his voyages atthis season he had never had one so fine as this. Of course hehadn't. Just our luck, you see. He never had one who enjoyed atrip more--that he is free to confess. I fairly revel in the sea, and pity poor Vandy, who is never quite up to the mark onshipboard. Some far-away ancestor, some good Scotch "deil macare, " who took to smuggling instead of the more fashionableoccupation of cattle-stealing, for most of the carles

 "Found the meat that made their broth In England and in Scotland both, "

must have implanted in the Carnegies the instinct of the salmonfor the sea. I should have been a sailor bold, and sailed the"sawt, sawt faeme, " a pirate with a pirate's bride captured _viet armis_, and all the rest of it. 

I am up late again to-night, but, fortunately, there wasn't a soulon deck to hear me trying to sing

 "Up, up with the flag; let it wave o'er the sea, I'm afloat, I'm afloat, and the Rover is free!"

The officer on the bridge halloaed to me once, and asked if Iwanted any thing; but I forgave him. He could only hear my roaringat his distance; had I been nearer, the melody would no doubt havereached his ears, and he would have known I was singing a tune. Still I thought it politic to affect not having heard him, andquietly stepped down to bed. I shall avoid friend Ryan in themorning, as it would be embarrassing to be asked, especiallybefore the young ladies, who or what I was howling at last night. Some people have no tact, and he might be one of these and fail tocomprehend. With the exception of the officers, our crew, sailors, stewards, and all, are Chinese, and in all and each of thesecapacities they excel. They stand the heat of the furnaces betterthan any other people, and as stewards are models. 

 * * * * *

SUNDAY, November 10. 

Our third Sunday at sea. The past week has been unbroken sunshine, moonlight, and smooth seas. So far not a ship has been seen. Ihave read carefully eleven of Shakespeare's plays during the sparehours of the voyage, and have enjoyed those most with which I wasleast familiar, while some passages in even the best known Iwonder greatly at not having long ere this committed to memory, tolive there with the rest, and come at my call to minister to me. They are such gems. I have them now, and feel as if I have madenew friends, whose angel visits will do me good in days and nightsto come. Byron affected to disparage the master, but I note twoother gems, beside many I knew of before, for which he standsindebted. The idea in his celebrated lines in "Mazeppa"--

 "Methought that mist of dawning gray Would never dapple into day"--

is from _Two Gentlemen of Verona_, and the "Bright, particular star" from _All's Well that Ends Well_. But ofcourse I do not intend any reflection upon Byron. Such was, andis, the all-pervading, transcendent nature of Shakespeare'sgenius; it was, and is, and shall be for ages yet to come, simplyimpossible for any writer to avoid drawing from that fountain, forevery thing has its "environment, " and Shakespeare is theenvironment of all English-speaking men. 

 * * * * *

WEDNESDAY, November 13. 

Four hundred and fifty miles from land! To-day we have had theonly taste of Neptune's power he has favored us with: it began toblow at midnight, and today we have a grand sea. I have just comefrom the deck after witnessing the Pacific in its fury, and no onewould believe that one ocean could differ as much from another asthis does from the Atlantic. The waves here move in immensemasses. It is an acre of water in motion, as one solid lump, instead of a few feet square dashed into foam. One saysinstinctively, "What care these roarers for the name of king?"

I have noticed that even in the smallest waves cast aside by theship formations are different from those of other seas. It ismidnight, and we are only 125 miles from Japan. Not a passengerexcept myself on deck, but I cannot sleep. Vandy would be with me, I know, poor fellow, were he able to crawl, but the storm hassettled him for the present. How strange that none feel sufficientinterest to stay awake and watch with me! They would be amplyrepaid. The phosphorescent sea shows forth its wonders now--notalone in the myriads of small stars of light, which please you inthe Atlantic, but at every turn of the foam dashed from the bowand sides of the ship masses of glittering phosphorescence aslarge as my travelling cap. What creatures these must be which canemit light in such clusters! I leave the deck with the cheery"All's well!" ringing in my ears as the ship dances before thewind which brings to a close our long flight across the Pacific. How we have longed for this last night, and yet how often in afterlife are we to sigh for a return to the glorious nights we havelived at sea! Where we have

 "Mingled with the universe to feel What we can ne'er express, Nor cannot all conceal. "

Good-night, my band of dear, dear friends, now in the midst ofyour daily toil--for it is yet day with you--racking your brainsthat the holiday wanderer may revel as he is now doing. In theearnest hope that the day may not be far distant when to you maycome similar enjoyment when he is the toiler, he goes at last tobed. 

 * * * * *

FRIDAY, November 15. 

Land ahoy! The islands of Japan are in sight, and the entrance tothe bay is reached at 4 P. M. The sail up this bay is never to beforgotten. The sun set as we entered, and then came such a sky asItaly cannot rival. I have seen it pictured as deluging Egypt withits glory, but this we have yet to see. Fusiyama itself shoneforth under its rays, its very summit clear, more than 14, 000 feetabove us. The clouds in large masses lay east and west of thepeak, but cowering far below, as if not one speck dared to rise toits crown. It stood alone in solitary grandeur, by far the mostimpressive mountain I have yet seen; for mountains, as a rule, aredisappointing, the height being generally attained by gradations. It is only to Fusiyama, and such as it, that rise alone in oneunbroken pyramid, that one can apply Schiller's grand line, "Ye are the things which tower, "

Fusiyama _towers_ beyond any crag or peak I know of; and I donot wonder that in early days the Japanese made the home of theirgods upon its crest. 

It was nine o'clock when the anchor dropped, and in a few minutesafter small boats crowded alongside to take us ashore. Until youare rowed in a sampan in style, never flatter yourself you haveknown the grotesque in the way of transportation. Fancy a large, wide canoe, with a small cabin in the stern, the deck in frontlower than the sides, and on this four creatures, resemblingnothing on earth so much as the demons in the _Black Crook_, minus most of the covering. They stand two on each side, but notin a line, and each works a long oar scull-fashion, accompanyingeach stroke with shouts such as we never heard before; the lastone steers as well as sculls with his oar, and thus we gopropelled by these yelling devils, who apparently work themselvesinto a state of fearful excitement. We land finally, pass theCustom House without examination, and with sea-legs which are farfrom steady reach our hotel. A bite of supper--but what fearfulcreatures again to bow and wait on us! More demons. We laugh everyminute at some funny performance, and wonder where we can be; buthow surprisingly good every thing is which we eat or drink on landafter twenty-two days at sea!

 * * * * *

TUESDAY, November 19. 

We have been three days in Japan, and all we can tell you is thatwe are powerless to convey more than the faintest idea of thatwhich meets us at every turn. Had we to return to-morrow, weshould still feel that we had been fully compensated for ourjourney. Though we have seen most of the strange and novel whichEurope has to show, a few hours' stroll in Yokohama or Tokio hasrevealed to us more of the unexpected than all we ever sawelsewhere. No country I have visited till now has proved asstrange as I had imagined it; the contrary obtains here. All is sofar beyond what I had pictured it that I am constantly regrettingso few of my friends will probably ever visit Japan to see andenjoy for themselves. Let me try to describe a walk. We are at thehotel door, having received the repeated bows, almost to theground, of numerous demons. A dozen big fellows rush up, eachbetween the shafts of his "ginrikshaw" like a cab-horse, andinvite us to enter, just as cabmen do elsewhere. But look at theircostume, or shall I rather say want of costume? No shoes, unless amat of straw secured with straw strings twisted around and betweenthe big toe and the next one may be called a shoe; legs and bodybare, except a narrow strip of rag around the loins; and such ahat! it is either of some dark material, as big as the head of abarrel (I do not exaggerate), to shelter them from sun and rain, or a light straw flat of equal size. These are the Bettoes, whowill run and draw you eighteen miles in three hours and a quarter, this being the distance and time by "ginrikshaw" to Tokio. Wedecline their proffers and walk on. What is this? A man on stilts!His shoes are composed of a flat wooden sole about a quarter of aninch thick, on which the foot rests, elevated upon two similarpieces of board, about four inches high, placed crosswise. Aboutthree inches apart. On the edges of these cross-pieces he strutsalong. A second has solid wooden pieces of equal height, a thirdhas flat straw shoes, a fourth has none. Look out behind! What isthis noise? "Hulda, hulda, hulda!" shouted in our ears. We lookaround, and four coolies, as naked as Adam, one at each corner ofa four-wheel truck, pushing a load of iron and relievingthemselves at every step by those unearthly groans. Never have weseen that indispensable commodity transported in that fashionbefore. But look there! A fishmonger comes with a basket swingingon each end of a bamboo pole carried over the shoulder--all singleloads are so carried--and yonder goes a water-carrier, carryinghis stoups in the same manner, while over his shoulders he hasflung a coat that would make the reputation of a clown in thecircus. The dress of the women is not so varied, but their paintedlips and whitened necks, and, in the case of the married women, their blackened teeth, afford us much cause for staring, althoughI cannot bear to look upon these hideous-looking wretches whenthey smile; I have to turn my eyes away. How women can be inducedto make such disgusting frights of themselves I cannot conceive, but Fashion--Fashion does anything. The appearance of the childrenis comical in the extreme. They are so thickly padded with dressupon dress as to give them the look of little fat Esquimaux. Thewomen invariably carry them on their backs, Indian fashion. Hereare two Japs meeting in the middle of the street. They bow threetimes, each inclination lower and more profound than the precedingone, infinite care being taken to drop the proper number of inchesbefitting their respective ranks, and then shake their own handsin token of their joy. We soon reach the region of the shops. These are small booths, and squat on the floor sit four or fivemen and women around a brazier, warming their hands while theysmoke. All the shops are of wood, but a small part is constructedof mud, and is said to be fire-proof. In this the valuables areinstantly thrown when one of the very frequent fires occurs. Thefloors are matted, and kept scrupulously clean. No one thinks ofentering without first taking his shoes off. The shop floors areraised about eighteen inches above the street, and on the edgespurchasers sit sidewise and make their bargains. The entire streetis a pavement, as no horses are to be provided for. We visited thetea factories at Yokohama. Japan has become of late years anexporter of tea to America, no less than five thousand tons beingshipped last year. Tea when first gathered is tasteless, but afterbeing exposed to the sun it ferments like hay. It is then curled, twisted, baked, and brought to the dealers, who again pick it overcarefully and roll it into the form in which it reaches us. We sawmany hundreds of women and girls in the establishment of Messrs. Walsh, Hall & Co. Rolling rapidly about with their hands aquantity of the leaves in large round pots under which a smallcharcoal fire was burning. And now, for the benefit of my ladyfriends, let me explain that the difference between black andgreen tea is simply this: the former is allowed to cure or fermentin the sun about fifty minutes longer than the latter, and duringthis extra fifty minutes certain elements pass off which arethought to affect the nervous system; hence green tea has agreater effect upon weak nerves than the black, but you see thesame leaf makes either kind, as the owner elects. But here comesin a strange prejudice. Green tea of the natural color could notbe sold in the American market. No, we insist upon having a"prettier green, " and we are accommodated, of course. What can adealer do but meet the imperious demands of his patrons? Therequired color is obtained by adulterating the pure tea with amixture of indigo and gypsum, which the most conscientious dealersare compelled to do. But we saw used in one case Prussian blue, which is poisonous--this, however, was not in Messrs. Walsh, Hall& Co. 's--and I was told that ultramarine is sometimes resorted to. These more pernicious substances produce even a "prettier green"than the indigo and gypsum, and secure the preference of ignorantpeople. Moral--Stick to black tea and escape poison. For all ofwhich information, and many kind attentions, I have to thank Mr. Walsh, our banker. 

One hears very often in Japan during the night a long, plaintivekind of whistle, which, upon inquiry, I found proceeded from blindmen or women, called shampooers, who are employed to rub or pinchthose suffering from pain, and who cure restlessness by the samemeans. It is a favorite cure of the Japanese, and some foreignerstell us they have employed it with success. I suppose, thisclimate being productive of rheumatism and kindred pains, thepeople are prone to fly to anything that secures temporary relief;but it is a new idea, this, of being pinched to sleep. 

We live well at the hotels here. Japan abounds in fish and game ingreat variety. Woodcock, snipe, hares, and venison are cheap, andall of excellent quality. The beef and mutton are also good, asare the vegetables. Turnips, radishes and carrots are enormous, owing, I suppose to the depth and fineness of the soil. Vandymeasured some of each, and reports: "Radishes, eighteen inches, and beautifully white; carrots, twenty inches, and splendid. "

 * * * * *

WEDNESDAY, November 20. 

We started this morning from Yokohama for Tokio, the great city ofthe Empire, which contains 1, 030, 000 inhabitants, according to acensus taken last year. Until within a few years past Japan hadtwo rulers--the Mikado, or spiritual, and the Tycoon, or secularruler, although, strictly speaking, the former was theoreticallythe supreme ruler, the latter obtaining his power through marriagewith the family of the former. The seat of the Mikado was atKioto, a fine city near the centre of the island, while the Tycoonresided at Tokio, or Yeddo, as it was then called. The Mikado wasinvisible, being the veritable veiled prophet, none but aprivileged few being ever permitted to gaze upon his divineperson. A few years ago it was decided to combine the two powers, and make Yeddo the only capital. The Mikado was carried to Yeddoclosely veiled, in triumphal procession, and the vast crowds, assembled at every point to see the cavalcade, prostratedthemselves, and remained with eyes bent upon the ground as thesacred car approached. An eye-witness describing the entry intoTokio says that few dared to look up as the Presence passed. Lately, the same Mikado has made a royal progress through thecountry, meeting the principal men in each district, andtravelling in view of the entire population, so rapidly havemanners changed in Japan. When the Mikado was elevated to supremepower, the feudal system, which had existed up to that time, wasabolished, and we now see no more of the Samuri, or two-swordedmen, or of the Daimios, the petty princes who formerly promenadedthe streets in gorgeous dresses, accompanied by their militaryretainers. The soldiers, sailors, policemen, and all the officialclasses are dressed in European style. It is the reigning fashionto be European, and even furniture after our patterns is cominginto use. It is the same with food. The hotel where we arerejoices in a French cook, expressly imported, and every night wehave parties of wealthy Japanese dining at this Tokio Delmonico's. Last night we had a party of the most celebrated actors enjoying adinner to commemorate the successful completion of a new piecewhich had enjoyed a great run. I amused myself trying to selectthe Montagu, Gilbert, Becket, and Booth of the party, andsucceeded well, as I afterward heard. Actors are held inestimation in Tokio, and these attracted great attention as theydined. Matters are much as with us, I fancy. Our interpreter, inhis broken English, told us in regard to the two young lovers, "Very high thought by much high ladies--oh, very high!" I do notthink European dress improves the appearance of the Japanesegentlemen; they are very short, and--I regret to reportit--generally quite crooked in the legs, and their own flowingcostumes render them dignified and graceful. Indeed, after aresidence in the East for a while one agrees with the opinion hehears often expressed there that our costume is the mostunpicturesque dress in the world. 

We were fortunate in having as shipmates Captain Totaki, of thenavy, and a young lady, Mlle. Rio, who had been in America severalyears, and had acquired an English education. They wereexcessively kind to us during our entire stay, and much of thepleasure derived is due to them. The captain gave us one eveningan entertainment at a fashionable tea-house, and introduced us tothe celebrated singing and dancing girls of Japan, of whom allhave heard. We were shown into a large room, the floor of whichwas covered with bamboo matting laid upon some soft substance. Ofcourse our shoes were laid aside at the door of the house. Therewere neither chairs nor furniture of any kind, but subsequentlychairs were found for us. The salutations on the part of thenumerous women servants were most profound, each prostratingherself to the floor, and touching the mat with her forehead everytime she entered or left the apartment. Velvet mats were carriedinto the room by a servant and placed around a brazier ofcharcoal. In a few minutes servant after servant entered, prostrating herself to the ground, and placing before us someJapanese delicacy. One served soup in small lacquer bowls, anotherfish, a third cakes, a fourth tea in very tiny cups, and othersvarious things, and finally saki, the wine of the country, wasproduced, served in small cups like the tea. Then came the girls. Seven approached, each carrying a musical instrument of queerconstruction. They bowed profoundly, but I noticed did not touchthe mat with their foreheads, their rank being much superior tothat of the servants, and began to play and sing. 

No entertainment is complete without a troop of these Gahazigirls, and such entertainments form about the only socialamusement of the Japanese. And now for the music. Pleaseunderstand that the Japanese scale is not like ours, and nothinglike melody to our ears can be produced by it. They have a fulltone between each first and second note, and a semitone betweeneach third and fourth, and yet the same feelings are awakened inthem by their music as in us by ours, so that harmony itself issimply a matter of education after all, and the glorious FifthSymphony itself, "Lohengrin, " or "Scots wha hae, " played or sungas I have heard them, would convey no more meaning to these peoplethan so much rattling of cross-bones; but imagine the FifthSymphony on any scale but ours! I cannot reconcile myself to theidea that we have not the only scale for such a theme; but one hasto learn that there are different ways for every thing, and no onewho knows much will assume that he has the best. Owing to thechange of the scale, I suppose I missed the sentiment of everypiece performed. When I thought they were giving us a wail for thedead it turned out to be a warm welcome, and an assurance on thepart of those pretty maidens of their happiness in being permittedthe great honor of performing before such illustrious visitors. Our companion, Mile. Rio, took one of the instruments and playedand sang a piece for us, but I was not more fortunate in my guesswith her. It was a wedding chorus, which I was willing to wagerwas the Japanese "Miserere"; but this error may have itssignificance after all. To us, in short, the music was execrable. A falsetto, and a grinding, singsong falsetto at that--the mostdisagreeable sound I ever heard in music--is very common, andhighly esteemed. The instruments resemble banjos, and there is aharsh kind of drum accompaniment; but there is one larger stringinstrument, the Japanese piano, upon which much older women play, the younger girls not being sufficiently skilled to perform uponit. 

After a few songs had been sung, several of the girls laid downtheir banjos, and after obeisance prepared to dance. Instead ofbeing a sprightly performance to, lively music, "first ae capersyne anither, " Japanese dancing is a very stately and measuredperformance, the body instead of the feet being most brought intorequisition. With the aid of the indispensable fan the girlssucceed in depicting many different emotions, and all withexquisite grace. It is the very poetry of motion. Each danceillustrates a story, and is as well known by name as is the"Highland Fling" or the "Sailor's Hornpipe. " Here there was nodifficulty in following the story. Unlike music, acting is auniversal language, and in its domain "one touch of nature makesthe whole world kin. " There are no different scales for theexpression of feeling. Love, in some of its manifold forms, as wasto have been expected, is the theme of most of these dances. Iredeemed my reputation here as a guesser, I think. I could give avery fair report to Mlle. Rio of most that took place in thedances, and we enjoyed this portion of the entertainment highly. To a Japanese, how stupid our people must appear whirling round aroom until fatigued or dizzy, all for the fun of the thing!

The dresses of the girls were of the richest and most fashionabledescription, the quietness of the colors surprising us, and theirmanners those of high-born women. Indeed, they set the fashions, and are the best educated and most accomplished of their sex. These girls are sent for to furnish entertainment for an eveningjust as we would engage a band for a party. They are said to behighly respectable as a class, invariably reside with theirparents, who educate them at great expense, and often make, wewere told, very favorable marriages. The contrast between them andtheir less accomplished sisters is so great as to strike even us, who have been here only a few days, and must be held ignorant ofstyle. 

The most wonderful sights of Tokio are the temples and the famoustombs of the Tycoons. There is much similarity in the latter, butthat of the sixth Tycoon, at Shibba, is by far the mostmagnificent. It has been rendered familiar by photographs andengravings, and at any rate no description would convey a justidea of it. It is gorgeous in color, and the extreme delicacy ofthe gold is surprising; upon it, too, are found the finest knownspecimens of the old lacquer. But these tombs totally failed toimpress me with any feeling akin to reverence; indeed, nothing inJapan seems calculated to do so--the odor of the toyshop pervadeseverything, even their temples. As for their religious belief, itis hard to tell what it is, or whether they have any. One thing issure, the educated classes have discarded the faith of themultitude, if they ever really entertained it, and no longerworship the gods of old. The ignorant classes, however, are seenpouring into the temples with their modest offerings, and askingfor prayers in their behalf. It is in Japan as it was inGreece--one religion for the masses, and another, or rather nonein the ordinary sense, for the educated few. 

As in Catholic countries, some shrines are esteemed more thanothers. The Temple of the Foxes is the most popular in the Empire. It is adorned with statues of Master Reynard in various postures. His votaries are numerous, for the sagacity of the fox has passedinto a proverb, and these people hope by prayers and gifts to movethe fox-god to bestow upon them the shrewdness of the symbol. Thefox may be justly rated as the most successful preacher in Japan:he draws better than any other, and his congregation is thelargest; but he has a rival not without pretensions in thefavorite goddess "Emma. " We found her to be a large, very fatwoman, sitting in Japanese style, and surrounded by images ofchildren. Babies cluster like cherubs around the principal figure, while an attendant sells for a cent apiece ugly painted ones madeout of clay, many of which have been placed by worshippers beforethe goddess. As we approached, a young woman--married, for herteeth were black, and respectably but not richly dressed--was onher knees before the goddess so earnestly engaged in prayer thatshe appeared wholly unconscious of our presence. There was nomistaking that this was sincere devotion--a lifting up of the soulto some power considered higher than itself. I became most anxiousto know what sorrow could so move her, and our interpreterafterward told us that she asked but one gift from the goddess. Itwas the prayer of old that a man-child should be born to her; and, poor woman! when one knows what her life must be in this countryshould this prayer remain unanswered, it saddens one to think ofit. A living death; another installed in her place; all that womanholds dear trembling in the balance. How I pitied her! I also sawmen praying before other idols and working themselves into a stateof frenzy. Indeed I saw so much in the temples to make me unhappythat I wished I had never visited any of them. It gives one suchdesponding hopes of our race, of its present and of its future, when so many are so bound down to the lowest form of superstition. 

At one of the principal Shinto temples I saw the sacred dance withwhich that great god is propitiated. In a booth two stories high, in front of the temple, was a small stage upon which sat three oldpriests. One beat a drum, the second played a flute, while thethird fingered a guitar. To this music a very pretty youngdaughter of a priest, gorgeously arrayed in sacred robes, posturedwith a fan, keeping time to the music. This was all. But, like thetom-tom beating of the Buddhist which we heard at the same momentfrom an opposite temple, the dance is thought to dispose the godsto receive favorably the gifts and prayers of the devotees. We sawat the same temple a large wooden figure which is reputed able tocure all manner of diseases. So much and so hard had this figurebeen rubbed by the poor sufferers that the nose is no longerthere; the face is literally rubbed smooth. The ears are gone, andit is only a question of time when all traces of human form willhave vanished. It reminded us of the toe of St. Peter, in thecathedral at Rome, which has been worn smooth by the osculationsof devout Christians. 

Japan is rapidly adopting the manners and customs of Europeancivilization. There is at present a cry for representativegovernment, and one need not be surprised to hear by and by of theParliament of Japan. War-ships are building at the arsenal, whichare not only constructed but designed by native genius. A standingarmy of about 50, 000 men is maintained. Gas has been introduced insome places, and railroads and telegraphs are in operation; and, not to be behind their neighbors, a public debt and irredeemablecurrency (based upon the property of the nation, of course, ) havebeen created. The currency is now at 22 per cent. Discount ascompared with gold, and further depreciation is apprehended. (Ithas since reached 50 per cent. Discount. ) It is modelled on ourAmerican paper money, and is actually printed in New York. Let ushope that Japan may soon be able to follow the Republic farther bymaking it convertible--as good as gold. Notwithstanding its wide"base"--in short, our greenbackers' "base"--it doesn't seem towork here any better than at home. 

Art in Japan is utilitarian; in no other country are articles ofcommon use so artistic. The furniture of a Japanese house isscanty. We see no walls hung with pictures with showy gilt frames, no portieres or curtains, none of the sofas, chairs, tables, brackets, chandeliers, etc. , which give our rooms so crowded anappearance. The bareness of the rooms strikes one at once uponentering, but when one examines the utensils in daily use even bythe poorer classes he sees that they are of uncommon beauty. Surely this is of more moment than to have art confined to thefew, both as to articles and to persons. In Japan, art may be saidto be democratic; all classes are brought under its sway. 

One thing must be said, however, about art throughout the East, inChina and in India as well as in Japan: up to this time it hasbeen content to remain solely decorative. The higher creative andimaginative power has yet to be reached. Why this should be so isan interesting question, and I resolve to read up the authoritieswhen opportunity offers and see how they account for it. May notthe poverty of the East have much to do with it? So very few arerich; indeed, scarcely any are opulent in our sense, six thousanddollars (L1, 200) a year being considered a fortune in Japan, I amtold, and very few, even of the higher classes, possess as much. In China and India it is much the same, a few rajahs in the lattercountry excepted. 

The start which religion gave to art in Europe is wanting in theEast, for the temples are mean and destitute of costly works. Richcommercial and manufacturing classes do not exist in the East--aswealth does not run into "pockets" as it does in Europe--especiallyin England--and in America. I fear, therefore, that art in the Eastwill not advance much beyond the decorative stage for centuriesto come. 

 * * * * *

SATURDAY, November 23. 

Vandy and I walked to-day through the principal street of Tokiofrom end to end, a distance of three miles. It is a fine, broadavenue, crowded with people and vehicles drawn or pushed by men. There is also a line of small one-horse wagons running asomnibuses on the street--novel feature, unknown anywhere else inthe Empire. Our appearance attracted such crowds whenever westopped at a shop, that the police had to drive the gazers away. The city is built upon a plain, and supplied with water by wellsonly. Fires are of frequent occurrence. Japanese cities are suchpiles of combustible material that I wonder they exist at all. Butfires are little used--only a brazier of charcoal now and then forcooking purposes; and as most of the people eat at cook-shops, there is never any fire at all in many of the houses. Long laddersare erected as fire-towers, and upon these watchmen sit throughthe night to give the alarm. It is only by tearing down or blowingup surrounding houses that the progress of a fire can generally bestayed. There is no such thing as insurance in Japan, the risksbeing much too great. 

The Japanese go to the theatre early in the morning and remainuntil five o'clock in the evening. Doors open at five A. M. , butthe rich classes do not appear before six or seven o'clock, atwhich hour the performance begins. Breakfast is served in thetheatre about noon. The audience smoke, eat, sip tea, and enjoythemselves as they choose. No seats are provided, but a small matis put down for each person as he enters, and beside it a boxfilled with sand, in the middle of which are two pieces of glowingcharcoal, at which pipes are lighted. Ladies, as well asgentlemen, be it remembered, invariably smoke in Japan. Every onecarries a small pipe with a long stem, and a tobacco-pouchattached to it. At short intervals a little tobacco is put intothe pipe--just enough to give two whirls of smoke--after which thetobacco is knocked out and the pipe again replenished. In no casehave I ever seen more than two very small whiffs taken at onetime. Even young ladies smoke in this manner, and to one whodetests tobacco, as I instinctively do, it may be imagined thishabit did not add to their attractiveness. A sweetheart whodefiled her lips with tobacco! "Phew!" Neither is it considereddisrespectful in any degree to begin smoking in the presence ofothers. Deferential as the singing girls were, when at leisurethey lighted their pipes as a matter of course, wholly unconsciousthat they were taking a liberty. 

The marriage ceremony differs greatly from ours. The priests havenothing to do with it, nor is there any religious ceremony. Theparents of a young man select a proper wife for him when he isabout twenty years of age, and manage the whole affair. Theyconsult the young lady's parents, and if the match is asatisfactory one to them, writings are exchanged between theparents of the young couple, the day is appointed, and the brideand groom drink saki from the same cup; feasting and rejoicingsfollow, sometimes continued for several days if the parents arewealthy, and the marriage is consummated. In all cases the bridegoes to reside with the husband's parents, to whom, much more thanto the husband, it is necessary she should continue to besatisfactory. Very often three generations live together, and anamount of deference is paid to the oldest such as we have noconception of. 

The custom of blacking the teeth by married women, is the mostrevolting practice I have yet seen. I have been in the houses offine people of Japan, and seen women, otherwise good-looking, whohad only to open their lips to convert themselves into objects ofdisgust. I rejoice, therefore, to hear that fashion is setting inagainst this abomination, and that some of the more recent brideshave refused to conform to the custom. 

One readily gets used to anything, earthquakes included, and Japanhas many of these unruly visitors. One night we had three shocksat Tokio, one sufficiently strong to wake me from sleep. My bedshook violently, and the house threatened to fall upon us. Thesame night we had a large fire in the city, and a hundred shrill, tinkling bells, like so many cows in the woods, were rung to givethe alarm. The clapping of the night watchmen about our streetassured me, however, that it was all right with us, and I laystill. The night watchmen here use two small square pieces of hardwood which they strike frequently against each other as they gothe rounds as their "All's well" signal; but I think strangers, asa rule, fail to appreciate the point in being awakened every nowand then simply to be assured that there is not the slightestoccasion for their being awake at all. 

 * * * * *

MONDAY, November 25. 

To-day we took a small steamer and visited the arsenal upon theinvitation of our friend Captain Totaki, Mlle. Rio being of theparty. It is finely situated on the bay about fifteen miles belowYokohama, and is quite extensive, having good shops filled withmodern tools. Several ships have already been built here, and twomen-of-war are now upon the stocks--another evidence of so-calledcivilization. Japan, you see, is ambitious. All the officials, foremen, and mechanics, are natives, and these have proved theirability in every department. The wages paid surprise us. Allbranches are about upon an equality. Painters, moulders, blacksmiths, carpenters, machinists, all get the samecompensation--from 25 to 40 cents per day, according to theirrespective value as workmen; common labor, outside, 18 cents; shoplabor, inside, 25 cents; foreman of department, $80 per month. Work, nine hours per day, every tenth day being a day of restcorresponding to our Sunday. In addition to the two men-of-war underconstruction, the machinery for which is all designed andmanufactured here, the Emperor is having built for his private use alarge side-wheel yacht, which promises to be magnificent. Howeverpoor a nation may be, or however depreciated its currency, if it setup an emperor, king, or queen, improper personal expenditureinevitably follows. Even as good a woman as Queen Victoria, probablythe most respectable woman who ever occupied a throne--such acharacter as one would not hesitate to introduce to his familycircle, which is saying much for a monarch--will squander thirtythousand pounds per annum of the people's money on a private yachtwhich she has used but a few times, and which is one of three sheinsists upon keeping at the State's expense. It is the old story:make any human being believe he is _born_ to position and he becomesarbitrary and inconsiderate of those who have exalted him. Servesthe foolish ones right, I suppose is the proper verdict. But one isnot indignant at the worship of their emperor by the Japanese: he isa real ruler, has power, and stands firmly upon divine right. TheJapanese are yet children politically; but the English should be outof their swaddling-clothes, surely. 

The captain being high in command, and this being his first visitto the arsenal since his return from a tour round the world, hewas received by the officials with manifestations of delight. Wehad another opportunity of seeing the bowing practice in itsfullest development. The various foremen as they approached bowedthree times almost to the ground, and in some cases they wentfirst upon their knees and struck the floor three times with theirforeheads. We were afterward informed that only a few years agothese would have added to the obeisance by extending the arms totheir full length and placing the palms of the hands flat upon theground; now this is omitted, and I have no doubt, as intelligencespreads, less and less of this deference will be exacted. But upto this date it may safely be said Japan is in the condition ofSir Pertinax MacSycophant, who, it will be remembered, admittedthat his success came from "booing. " He "never could stand strechtin the presence of a great man;" no more can a Japanese. 

My writing has just been interrupted by another earthquake shock. My chair began to tremble, then the house; I could not write, andlooking up I saw Vandy standing in amazement. For a few moments itseemed as if we were rocking to pieces, and that the end of allthings had come. I shall never forget the sensation. The motion ofa ship rolling at sea transferred to land, where you have thesolid earth and heavy stone walls surrounding and threatening tofall upon you, is far from agreeable; but it passed away, and oldMother Earth became steady once more. 

The way to buy in Japan is not by visiting the shops, for therenothing is displayed, and a stranger has infinite difficulty inlearning where certain articles are to be found; but just intimateto your "boy" what you wish, and at your door in a few minutesstand not one or two merchants, but five or six, all bowing as youpass in or out, and awaiting master's pleasure to examine theirwares. They leave any articles you may wish to decide upon, andthe result is that one's rooms become perfect bazaars. The mostunpleasant feature connected with purchasing is that everything isa matter of bargain. A price is named, and you are expected tomake an offer. Vandy is a great success at this game, and seems toenjoy it. I am strictly prohibited from interfering, and so escapeall trouble. It is always comforting to know that one's interestsare in much abler hands than his own, and I always have thispleasure when Vandy is about. 

Wherever we go, Fusiyama looks down upon us. What a beautiful coneit is, and how grandly it pierces the heavens, its summit cladwith perpetual snow! No wonder that the Japanese represent it onso many of their articles. Thousands of pilgrims flock to itannually from all parts of the Empire, for it is their sacredmount and the gods reward such as worship at this shrine. It wasonce an active volcano; but there has been no eruption since about1700, when ashes were thrown from it into Yeddo, sixty miles away. The crater is nearly five hundred feet deep. Fusiyama stands aloneamong mountains, a vast pyramid rising as Cheops does from theplain, no "rascally comparative" near to dispute its sway. 

 * * * * *

WEDNESDAY, November 27. 

We sail to-day for Shanghai, leaving Yokohama with sincere regret;nor shall we soon forget the good, kind faces of those who have doneso much to make our visit to Japan an agreeable one. Had it beenpossible to remain until Saturday I should have been greatly temptedto do so to accept an invitation received to respond to a toast atSt. Andrew's banquet. It would surely have stirred me to hold forthon Scotland's glory to my fellow-countrymen in Japan; but this hadto be foregone. At Kiobe the steamer lay for twenty-four hours, andthis enabled us to run up by rail to Kioto, the former residence ofthe Mikado, reputed to be the Paris of Japan. The city itselfdeserves this reputation about as well as Cincinnati does that ofour American Paris, which I see some one has called it. Kioto isonly a mass of poor one-story buildings, but its situation isbeautiful, and cannot probably be equalled elsewhere in the Empire, and this one can justly say of Cincinnati as well, while the beautyof Paris is of the city and not at all rural. There are more prettytoy villas embowered in trees upon the little hills about Kioto thanwe saw in all other parts of Japan. The temples at Kioto are muchinferior to those at Shibba. Our journey enabled us to see aboutseventy miles of the interior, and we were again impressed by theevidences on every hand of a teeming population. Gangs of men andwomen were everywhere at work upon small patches of ground, six orseven persons being busily engaged sometimes on less than one acre. It is not farming; there is in Japan scarcely such a thing asfarming in our sense; it is a system of gardening such as we see inthe neighborhood of large cities. Compared with that prevalentthroughout the whole country, I have seen nothing equal to it inthoroughness, not even in Belgium. 

We are upon the old steamer Costa Rica, now belonging to theJapanese Company, which recently purchased this and other boats fromthe Pacific Mail Company. Among our cargo is a large lot of liveturkeys which some pushing Jap is taking over to Shanghai forChristmas; and listen, you favored souls who revel in the famousbird at a dollar a head, your fellow countrymen in China have to payten dollars for their Christmas turkey. It is said the Chineseclimate is too damp for the noble bird; but it flourishes in Japan. I wish the exporter who thus develops the resources of his countrymuch profit on his venture. But it strikes me that, instead of theeagle, the more useful gobbler has superior claims to be voted thenational bird of America. "A turkey for a dollar!" repeated theshipper as I told him our price; "a turkey for a dollar--what acountry!" The climate of Northern China is not favorable forEuropeans, and many take a run over to Japan to recuperate, a factwhich argues much for the future of Japan. Although our ship belongsto the Japanese, the servants are generally Chinamen, and the agentexplains this by informing us that while the former do very welluntil they arrive at the age of manhood, they then begin to developmore ambitious ideas and cannot be managed, while with the Chinese a"boy" (a servant throughout the East is called "boy") is always aboy, and is constantly on the watch to serve his master. Again, theJaps are pugnacious, a race of little game-cocks, always in for afight, especially with a Chinaman. The captain told us the other daya great big Chinaman had complained to him that one of the Japs hadabused him. Upon calling up the belligerent, he proved to be such asmall specimen that the captain asked the sufferer why he hadn'tpicked him up and thrown him overboard. The complaint was dismissed:served the big fellow right. But some missionary should expound thecivilized doctrine to him, per revised edition, which reads: "Whensmitten on the one cheek, turn to the smiter the other also, but ifhe smites you on that, _go for him_. " To-morrow is to be one of thegreat days of our trip, for we shall enter the famous inland sea ofJapan at daybreak. Will it be fine to-morrow? is the question withall on board. The signs are earnestly discussed. The sun setsfavorably, and I quote Shakespeare to them, which settles thequestion:

 "The weary sun hath made a golden set, And by the bright track of his fiery car Gives token of a goodly day to-morrow. "

Let to-morrow be fair, whatever we may miss hereafter. This is theuniversal sentiment. 

 * * * * *

SATURDAY, November 30. 

What a day this has been! Many a rich experience which seemedgrand enough never to fade from the memory may pass into oblivion, but no mortal can ever sail through the inland sea of Japan on afine day and cease to remember it till the day he dies. Itdeserves its reputation as the most beautiful voyage in the world;at least I cannot conceive how, taking the elements of earth, water and sky, anything more exquisitely beautiful could beproduced from them. Entering the narrow sea at sunrise, we sailfor three hundred and fifty miles through three thousand prettyislands, "Which seem to stand To sentinel enchanted land. "

These divide the water, making, not one but a dozen pretty lakes inview at once. It is the Lakes of Killarney, or the English or Scotchlakes, multiplied a hundred-fold; but instead of the islands andmountains being in pasture, they are cultivated to their very tops, terraced in every form, in order to utilize every rod of ground. Onthe shores cluster villages, nestling in sheltered nooks, while thewater swarms with the sails of tiny fishing boats, giving a sense ofwarm, happy life throughout. These sail-boats add greatly to thebeauty of the scene. I counted at one time from the bow of oursteamer, without looking back, ninety-seven sails glistening in thesun, while on the hills were seen everywhere gangs of people at workupon their little farm-gardens. It is a panorama of busy, crowdedlife, but life under most beautiful surroundings, from beginning toend, and we all vote that never before have we, in a like space oftime, seen so much of fairy-land as upon this ever-memorable day. Webegin to understand how the thirty odd millions of the Japaneseexist upon so small an area. The rivers and seas abound in fish; thehills and valleys under irrigation and constant labor grow theirrice, millet, and vegetables. A few dollars per year supply all theclothing needed, and a few dollars build their light wooden houses. Thus they have everything they need, or consider necessary, and arehappy as the day is long, certain of one established fact in nature, to wit, that there is no place like Japan; and no doubt they dailyand hourly thank their stars that their lines have fallen inpleasant places, and pity us--slaves to imaginary wants--who denyourselves the present happiness they consider it wisdom to enjoy, invain hopes of banquetting to surfeit at some future time, whichalways comes too late. 

On emerging from this fairy scene, we encountered a gale upon theChina Sea, which lasted for the few hours we were upon it beforereaching Nagasaki, the last port of Japan. Here, two hundred yearsago, the Dutch secured a small island, from which they traded withJapan long before any other nation was permitted to do so. TheCatholics also had their headquarters here. They were sosuccessful in converting the natives that the government becamealarmed, and several thousand Christians were driven to the islandand all massacred. This was in the sixteenth century; but it isonly a few years ago that seven thousand native Catholics werebanished from this region. To-day all is changed. These fugitiveshave been permitted to return, and there is entire freedom ofreligious worship. Last month a return was made of professingChristians (Catholics) in this district, and thirty-five thousandwere reported. Protestants are very few indeed. 

As far as I saw in the East, here is the only real andconsiderable advance made toward christianizing a people. At otherstations throughout my journey I saw only a few ignorant nativeswho professed Christianity--sometimes a dozen or two, rarelymore. European residents invariably told me that these were thedependants or servants of foreigners who held their places mainlybecause of their conversion to the new faith. If dismissed, theyrelapsed. One can readily see that the lowest and mostunscrupulous would be the first to fall before the almostirresistible temptation, for a means of comfortable livelihoodseems the one serious concern of life in all the East to a degreedifficult for us in America, at least, to imagine. 

I remember the dear, kind Catholic Bishop of Canton telling mewith such delicious simplicity that every workman engaged inbuilding the Cathedral--a work of many years and yetunfinished--had by the grace of God been converted to Holy MotherChurch. The hotel-keeper told me afterward this so-calledconversion was a source of much amusement among the natives. Well, be it so. I believe, myself, that the holy father is the victim ofmisplaced confidence. But here in Nagasaki nothing like this canbe said. Thirty-five thousand professing Christians in a districtwhere there are not a hundred foreign Christian families, if halfso many, and where to be a Christian is to declare one's self ofthe minority and so out of fashion, surely this does prove thatthe Church has succeeded, and justifies it in hoping that ere longthis part of Japan at least will one day enter the fold. 

One great reason for this undoubted success is probably thatneither the Government nor the people have the slightest objectionto missionaries, for their own religion sets but lightly on theJapanese. With the Chinaman it is totally different. His ownreligion is sacred to him, a vital force, and his gods must not bedefamed. He stands by his faith like a Covenanter. It touches themost sacred feelings of his nature, and is everything to him. Mrs. D. O. Hill's celebrated statue of Livingstone in Prince's Gardens, Edinburgh, therefore, represents too truly the attitude of ourmissionaries in the flowery land as well as in other so-calledheathen lands: the Bible in one hand and the pistol in the other. In Japan the pistol is wholly unnecessary. The man of Japanregards missionaries as harmless curiosities, and if not disposedto trouble himself about their new ideas, he has not the leastobjection to their being expounded. 

There is now no established religion in Japan, Buddhism havingbeen abolished in 1874. The temples and priesthood are maintainedby voluntary contributions. The poor laws are simple: governmentgives nine bushels of rice to every person over seventy or underfifteen years of age, who cannot work, and the same to foundlingsunder thirteen. Out of the total population of thirty-sixmillions, there are only ten thousand and fifty paupers, and ofthese more than a thousand are at Tokio in the workhouse. 

 * * * * *

HARBOR OF NAGASAKI, MONDAY, December 2. 

Vandy and I were off early this morning for the shore, and did notreturn to the ship until late in the afternoon, having walked overthe high hills and down into the valleys beyond. We had a realtramp in the country. It is here just as elsewhere, terrace uponterrace, every foot of ground under cultivation; water carried bymen in pails, or on the backs of oxen, to the highest peaks, whichit is impossible to irrigate, and every single plant, be it rice, millet, turnip, cabbage, or carrot, watered daily. What goodMother Earth can be induced to yield under such attention is amarvel. The bountiful earth has another meaning when you see whatshe can be made to bring forth. Although we are in December, thesun shines bright, and it is quite warm. I sat down several timesunder the hedge-rows, and heard the constant hum of insect lifearound me. Butterflies flitted about, the bees gathered honey, andall looked and felt like a day in June. The houses of the peoplewhich we saw were poor, and the total absence of glass causes themto look like deserted hovels; but closer inspection showed finemats on the floors, and everything scrupulously clean. I countedupon one hillside forty-seven terraces from the bottom to the top. These are divided vertically, so that I think twenty-five feetsquare would be about the average size of each patch; and as thedivision of terraces is made to suit the ground, and hence veryirregularly, the appearance of a hillside in Japan is somethinglike that of a bed-quilt of irregular pieces. The terrace-wallsare overgrown with vines, ferns, etc. , so that they appear likelow green hedges: and this adds much to the beauty of thelandscape. No wonder the cultivators of these lovely spots neverdream of leaving them. Animal food is not half as important to theJapanese as the supply of fish--indeed the former is said to becomparatively little used, while fish of some kind or in some formis ever present at meals. The favorite fish is the _tai_, which is red when taken from streams with sandy bottoms, but blackwhen caught at the mouths of the same streams, where the dark soilof the sea begins. A curious parallel case is seen in the blackand red pines of this country: in sandy soils they grow red, whilein the softer black soil they are dark. Transplant the twovarieties and they change color. The same law, you see, with fishand plant. We are all creatures of our environment. Therefore letus choose our companions and surroundings well. To know the bestthat has been said and done in the world is no doubt much; to beplanted and to grow among those who have done the greatest workand who live up to the best standard in our day and generation issurely equally important. 

We had an alarm of fire oft the Belgic in mid-ocean, but thismorning we had the real article. I had just parted from thecaptain at the stern of the ship, intending to go ashore, when, walking forward, I saw dense volumes of smoke issuing from thewalking-beam pit, and in a few moments I heard the cry of firefrom below. All was in a bustle at once, but the crew got finelyto work. Fortunately, although there was no steam in the mainboilers, the small donkey boiler was full, and the pumps were putto work. Meanwhile boats from the various men-of-war in the harborwith hand fire-engines came to our assistance. The steamer is anold wooden craft, and I knew her cargo was combustible. Were thesmoke ever to give place to flame, panic was sure to ensue, andnot one of the small native boats that had until now beenclustering around us could then be induced to approach; indeed, they had already all rowed off. There was one lady on board, Mrs. McK. , a veritable Princess of Thule from the Island of Lewes, andI decided that she had better be taken off with her sick child atonce; so, bribing a greedy native by the immense reward of a wholedollar (a large fee here, small as it seems at home) to comealongside, I grasped the baby and followed the mother down thegangway, and remained at a safe distance until the danger wasover. A few minutes more, and the Costa Rica would have followedher sister ship, the America, which some years ago took fire undersimilar circumstances in the harbor of Yokohama, and wascompletely destroyed. Fortunately we are about done with woodensteamships; otherwise they should not be permitted to run aspassenger vessels. 

The post-office department of Japan is of recent origin, havingbeen established in 1871; yet in 1881, after only ten years'growth, it carried ninety-five millions of letters, newspapers, books, etc. Thirty millions of these were post-cards. Threemillions of telegrams were also transmitted in that year. Perhapsno statement will give one a clearer idea than this of the rapidprogress of this strange country in the ways of the West. 

Japan has only two short lines of railway for thirty-six millionsof people--a population nearly equal to that of Great Britain: oneeighteen miles from Yokohama to Tokio, the other seventy milesfrom Hiogo to Kioto. This seems a scanty allowance; neverthelessit is not probable that more than a few hundred miles of rail willbe built for centuries. The habits and poverty of the people, andin many districts the topography of the country, are such as torender railways unsuitable. The main highways are, however, keptin admirable order. I was amused with the classification of these. Those of the first class are such as lead from the capital to thetreaty ports; of the second class those lines leading to thenational shrines. Commerce has thus usurped the first place. Boththe first and the second class roads are maintained by the GeneralGovernment as being national affairs. Various grades of roadsfollow, some being maintained by large districts; others, of localimportance, by taxes upon a smaller area; but all under the strictsupervision of central officials at Tokio. 

Not the least surprising feature in the revolution going forwardso peacefully in Japan is the prompt adoption of the newspaper asone of the essentials of life. A few years ago the officialGazette, read only by officials and containing nothing of generalinterest, was the only publication in the Empire; to-day severalhundred newspapers are published, many of them daily. A censorshipof the press still exists, however, and leads to the usual mode ofevasion. Pungent political articles are conveyed under cover ofcriticisms ostensibly upon the blunders of lands not soenlightened as Japan. Here is a specimen: "In America during theCivil War paper currency was issued and made legal tender. Atevery successive issue the premium rose higher and higher till thecurrency was not worth more than a third of its face. The SouthernStates followed in the same path, but they kept on till theirissues were found to be good for about one purpose only--to linetrunks withal--such fools these Americans be. Happy Japan! blessedwith rulers of preeminent ability, who keep the finances of ourland in such creditable form. "

The fact was that Japanese currency was then at 22 per cent, discount and rapidly declining in value under successive issues, just as it had done in America. Such articles are no doubt farmore effective than open, undisguised assaults could possibly be, for the cleverness of the evasion gives additional zest to theattack. The Press is a hard dog to muzzle, and, like dogs ingeneral, only vicious when muzzled. The Japanese will soon find itsafer to "let Truth and Error grapple" in the full face of day, for they are not slow to learn. 

 * * * * *

TUESDAY, December 3. 

The turbulent China Sea has passed into a proverb. The Channelpassage in a gale, I suppose, comes nearest to it. We started tocross this sea at daylight, and surely we have reason to begrateful. It is as smooth as a mirror, the winds are hushed, andas I write the shores of Japan fade peacefully from view. I cannothelp thinking how improbable that I shall ever see them again;but, however that may be, farewell for the present to Japan. Takea stranger's best wishes for your future. 

Our cargo shows something of the resources of the country. Itamounts to eight hundred tons, comprising seaweed--a special kindof which the Chinese are fond--ginseng, camphor, timber, isinglass, Japan piece-goods, ingot copper, etc. Every week thisline takes to China a similar cargo, and the trade is rapidlyextending. This steamship company is worth noting as an evidenceof what Japanese enterprise is doing. The principal owner, theCommodore Garrison of Japan, had a small beginning, but now runssome thirty-seven steamers between the various Japanese ports. Under the management of Mr. Krebs, a remarkable Dane, this companybeat off the Pacific Mail Company from the China trade, andactually purchased their ships. There are many things found onthese vessels which our Atlantic companies might imitate withadvantage. 

I believe I mentioned that Japan, not to be behind her Westernneighbors, had created a public debt, which now amounts to about$300, 000, 000, but $250, 000, 000 of this was used in payment of thetwo hundred and sixty-six daimios and their numerous retainers, when government took over the land to itself. Each of thesepotentates had vested rights in a certain proportion of the yieldof the soil of his district, and this was commuted by thegovernment into so much in its bonds, a fixed land tax beingsubstituted for the irregular exactions of former landlords. Onevery side I hear that this has greatly improved the condition ofthe population--made the people more contented, and at the sametime vastly augmented the products of the soil. Not less thanthree millions of the population shared in this operation. 

The nationalization of the land is under discussion in England, and it is conceded that some change has to be made. Here is Japanproving the results of nationalization, while Denmark shows whatprivate ownership of small pieces of land can do under a system ofcumulative taxation in proportion to the size of the estate held. One of these two systems is likely to prevail in England some day. Meanwhile, here is food for thought for the British tax-payer: outof seventy-five million yens (L15, 000, 000) of revenue raised byJapan, forty-three million comes from the land tax. The tax onalcoholic liquors yields about seventeen millions more. 

Since my visit to Japan an imperial decree has been published, promising that a national assembly shall meet in 1890; so we havethe foundations of representative government almost at hand. Surely no other nation ever abandoned its traditions and embracedso rapidly those of a civilization of an opposite character. Thisis not development under the law of slow evolution; it seems morelike a case of spontaneous generation. Presto, change! and herebefore our very eyes is presented the strange spectacle of themost curious, backward, feudalistic Eastern nation turning into aWestern one of the most advanced type. 

That Japan will succeed in her effort to establish a centralgovernment, under something like our ideas of freedom and law, andthat she has such resources as will enable her to maintain it andeducate her people, I am glad to be able to say I believe; butmuch remains to be done requiring in the race the exercise ofsolid qualities, the possession of which I find some Europeansdisposed to deny them. They have travelled, perhaps, quite fastenough, and I look for a temporary triumph of the moreconservative party. But the seed is sown, and Japan will move, upon the whole, in the direction of progress. And so, once more, farewell, Japan; and China, now almost within sight, all hail!

 * * * * *

CHINA. 

In one respect at least pilgrims from other lands must bow to theempire we are about to visit. It is the oldest form of civilizedgovernment on earth. While the English monarchy boasts itsuninterrupted course of eight hundred years, and America has justcelebrated its first century of existence, this remarkable peoplelive under a government which has been substantially unchanged forfour thousand long years. The first authenticated dynasty datesfrom 2345 B. C. , and what is now China has been under one centralgovernment for nearly two thousand five hundred years. Even thePapacy, the most venerable of existing Western institutions, isyoung compared to this. There was something in the reply of themandarin to the boast of one of our people as to the superiorityof our system: "Wait until it is tried!" To a Chinaman a thousandyears or so seems too short to prove anything. Theirs alone hasstood the test of ages. That the Chinese are a great race goeswithout saying. Four hundred millions (nearly one-third of thehuman race) existing for thousands of years under one unchanginggovernment, riding out the storms which have overwhelmed all othernations; nay, even absorbing into themselves the Tartar hordes, who came as conquerors, and making them Chinese against theirwill. Such a record tells a story indeed! At a date so remote thatEgypt and Assyria were the great Western powers, when Athens andTroy had just been founded, and Rome was not even thought of, these people were governed much as they are now, and since A. D. 67have published a daily Peking _Gazette_, of which (thanks toour intelligent "host of the Garter, " Mr. Janssen) we have secureda copy. We are all but of yesterday compared to the HeathenChinee, and it is impossible to sit down and scribble glibly ofsuch a people. In Japan there is no record. It is a new raceappearing almost for the first time among civilized nations. Ithas given the world nothing, but how widely different here! It isto China the world owes the compass, gunpowder, porcelain, andeven the art of printing, and to her also alone the spectacle of apeople ruled by a code of laws and morals embracing the mostminute particulars, written two thousand four hundred years ago, and taught to this day in the schools as the rules of life. It isan old and true saying that almost any system of religion wouldmake one good enough if it were properly obeyed; certainly that ofConfucius would do so. I have been deeply impressed with hisgreatness and purity. Dr. Davis writes in his work on China:"Confucius embodied in sententious maxims the first principles ofmorals and of government, and the purity and excellence of some ofhis precepts will bear comparison with even those of the Gospel. "In Thornton's History of China I find this noteworthy passage: "Itmay excite surprise, and even incredulity, to state that thegolden rule of our Saviour had been inculcated by Confucius fivecenturies before almost in the same words. " If any of my readerswish a rare treat, I advise him to add at least the first volumeof the Rev. Dr. Legge's Life of Confucius to his libraryimmediately, and let him not entertain the idea that the sage wasa heathen or an unbeliever; far, very far from that, for one ofhis most memorable passages explains that all worship belongs toShangti (the Supreme Ruler); no matter what forms or symbols areused, the great God alone being the only true object of worship. But I must resist this fit of Confucianism, reserving, however, the privilege of regaling you with more of it by and bye, forreally it is too good not to be scattered among you. Meanwhile, remember well what Matthew Arnold says:

 "Children of men! the unseen Power, whose eye For ever doth accompany mankind, Hath look'd on no religion scornfully That men did ever find. 

 Which has not taught weak wills how much they can? Which has not fall'n on the dry heart like rain? Which has not cried to sunk, self-weary man: _Thou must be born again!_"

 * * * * *

THURSDAY, December 5. 

We reached Shanghai Thursday morning, and found excellentaccommodations at the Astor House, in the American settlement. TheChinese Government has set apart for the accommodation offoreigners a strip of land, about six miles long and one milewide, fronting the river. This is divided among the English, French, and Americans. During the Taeping rebellion a few yearsago, thousands of natives flocked into this territory and found arefuge under the foreign flags, and today it contains more thanseventy thousand Chinese, who do most of the retail business ofthe city. The foreign population does not exceed two thousand. Thestreets are broad, and as well cared for as in an English town, and it is lighted with gas, has a fine steam fire organization, and is thoroughly drained. It is here the natives of this districtare learning their first lesson of Western civilization, and atlength some impression has been made upon this hitherto immovablemass and it begins to move. Mandarins come from the country toenjoy a drive in the streets, for, let it not be forgotten, thereis not a street or road in the region, outside of the reservation, in which a horse can travel; only footpaths, where a wheelbarrowpushed by a man is the only possible vehicle. Now several wealthyChinese have set up their carriages, and may frequently be seendriving; and I learn from many that when any are compelled tovisit their former residences elsewhere, they return to Shanghaideclaring that they could not live any longer in the old style. But think of one-third of the race living at this late day withouta mile of railroad or of telegraph, or even of macadamized roads!Communication in China is solely by means of the rivers, canals, and small branches which have been led from the main channels toevery acre of ground for irrigating purposes, and by narrowfootpaths between the fields. But some of us will live to see thischanged. I saw in a newspaper an official notice permitting thefirst telegraph line to be built. True, it is to be only a fewmiles in length, extending from the sea to the port of Peking(Tien-Tsin), but this is of course only a beginning. The questionof railroads is more serious, and what think you is the oneobstacle to their introduction? Graves--the "tombs of ourancestors. " China is one vast cemetery. Go where you will, in anydirection, the mounds of the dead intrude themselves upon you atevery step. There are no cemeteries or places set apart for burialpurposes; on the contrary, the Chinaman seems to prefer having hisdead buried on his own land, and as near to him as practicable. Inthis neighborhood their mode of sepulture is revolting. Thecoffins are not put into a grave at all, but are laid directly onthe surface of the ground and covered with but a few inches ofearth; and it is not at all uncommon for them to be whollyexposed, simply laid out in the fields, and so close to theroadside--I mean to the main roads built by Europeans near theirsettlements--that you can almost touch them with the end of yourwalking-stick as you pass. The stench from such coffins became sooffensive last year at the rifle range that the Europeanauthorities had to enter complaint to the Chinese Mandarin. I was, like all others, at first much shocked at the sight of theseevidences of mortality. One day I stood and counted a hundred andthirty-four different mounds and exposed coffins within sight. Iam glad to say that in other parts of China this custom does notprevail, the dead being buried in graves, and walls built abovethem in the shape of a horseshoe. As is well known, the Chineseworship their ancestors, and believe that much of their happinessdepends upon the respect shown to those to whom they owe theirlives. Cases have been known where successive afflictions havebeen attributed to some defect in the resting-places of the dead;their ancestors, "after life's fitful fever, " were not sleepingwell, and at great expense the bones have been removed to anotherplace; but it is an extreme case when they venture to disturb thedead. Every true son of the Empire of the Sun echoes the anathemaof Shakespeare, "And curst be he who moves my bones. "

One special feature of the Flowery Land is, I think, therepugnance of the people to debt, or to credits in any form. As Ihave remarked, they have no banks of issue; no promises to pay forthe Celestials; they deal only in the coin itself. All debts mustbe paid at the beginning of each year. The Chinaman who does notsettle every account and enter upon the new year without anobligation is accounted either very unfortunate or very regardlessof the duties of life. This aversion to debt, perhaps, accountsfor the fact that these four hundred millions of people had not apenny of national debt until four years ago. But they have justmade a loan of $12, 000, 000, I believe, the first ever made byChina in all its thousands of years' history. This may be taken, perhaps, as another proof that the empire is influenced by Westernideas, but one cannot help regretting that her long reign offreedom from debt should at last be stained, even for so paltry anamount. If I were a Chinese statesman, I would never rest untilthe last farthing of this debt was paid off. The fashion nowadaysin America is to urge that it is paying off its debt much toofast. I am sorry for this. What an example to all lands we shallgive when the last bond of the nation is cancelled at Washingtonamid public rejoicings! A republic's part is to give less advancednations, still under the influence of feudal institutions, suchlessons as this will be. Do not let us, however, underrateEngland's part in. Such a work. She has reduced her public debtwonderfully, and the next twenty years is to see seventy millionssterling more extinguished, unless legislation now existing forthis end is interfered with. 

The general government of China is a very economical one, itstotal revenue being only about $125, 000, 000 (L25, 000, 000). Of this$15, 000, 000 is spent upon the army, a sum which for 400, 000, 000people compares very favorably with that expended by othernations. China has outgrown the so-called heroic age, in whichEngland still dwells, and has little need of armies. A governmentnot worth thirty cents (fifteen pence) per year for eachinhabitant, which is the cost in China, is not worth having. 

 * * * * *

FRIDAY, December 6. 

In our stroll to-day Vandy and I came upon one of the gates of theold city, of which there are six in a wall three miles incircumference, and entered. It contains 300, 000 people. We walkedsome distance through its filthy, narrow alleys, and saw the poorwretches in their dens working at all kinds of trades, from theforging of iron to the production of Joss-money, but thevillainous smells soon overpowered me, and I had to get Vandy toescort me out. He can go through anything of this kind withoutflinching, and means to return; but I have seen enough of it, andam sorry that human beings have to exist under such conditions. The Chinese have no coined currency except a small bronze pieceworth one-tenth of a cent, called "cash. " It has a hole in thecentre, and when a native goes to market he puts several lots ofthem on strings, fifty or a hundred on each string, and throwsthem round his neck; think of it, one thousand pieces, ten stringsof one hundred each, to make a dollar! Sometimes they are carriedin the market-basket. In larger operations Mexican and Americandollars are used, but away from the coast people decline to takeeven these, insisting upon silver cast in the form of a horseshoeand called "sice. " This silver is hoarded here, and also in India, and were it not for this its value would probably fall to a pointwhich would rule it out of the list of precious metals. The evilsof a silver currency are obvious to all here. Its value haschanged three times in one day since we have been in the country. Business is seriously disturbed, and suffers from this cause, andit is to such a plight that our misled silverites at home wouldreduce us!

 * * * * *

SATURDAY, December 7. 

To-day we walked through the fish and vegetable markets. It wasfunny to see the people making their purchases. Each one carries asmall stick with a weight attached to it. This serves as aweighing-beam, and every fowl, fish, and vegetable is carefullyweighed by the customer. No cheating of a brother Celestial by theseller. We pass now and then a shop where nothing is dealt in butJoss-money; hundreds in every place are engaged in itsmanufacture. It is made out of thin gold and silver paper, in thehorseshoe ingot form of genuine "sice. " I bought a box containingeight pieces for thirty cents. Some of it also is made inimitation of silver dollars. This bogus money is laid upon thealtars of the temples as offerings to the gods, who are supposedto find as much use for it as if it were genuine; and no doubtthis is the case. It would therefore be a great pity, says theHeathen Chinee, to waste the real article, although I doubt notthe priests would infinitely prefer it. 

We attended a "paper-hunt" in the afternoon. Between forty andfifty riders, all Europeans, on small horses, started acrosscountry, the route having been previously laid down by means ofsmall pieces of white paper scattered at every point where one ofthe innumerable little creeks was to be crossed. The finish was arare sight. The banks of the creeks were very muddy, falls werenumerous, and several of the riders came in besmirched from headto foot. Europeans take to horses here, and a race-course ismaintained. The animals are a small breed from the north, whichare now known as Shanghai ponies. I do not think I could enjoy thesport of paper-hunting here. The exposed coffins and graves onehas to gallop over from end to end of the hunt are not calculatedto enhance one's pleasure; but perhaps one would in time get usedeven to them, though I doubt it. 

It was sad to see the roadway which had been prepared for therailroad from Woosung, at the mouth of the river, to this city, adistance of about twelve miles. The rails had actually been laidin some places when a decree from Peking ordered their removal. Nobetter location in the empire could have been found to prove theadvantages of railway travel, and I believe, if it had beenfinished, the Chinese would have quickly appreciated the benefitsto be derived from it. Britain will some day find in China itsbest field for railway enterprise. By the time we next visitShanghai we expect to see not only the rails restored to thisline, but also many other miles in successful operation. 

 * * * * *

MONDAY, December 9. 

We visited the ship-yard of Messrs. Boyd & Co. , and found none butnative workmen employed. Blacksmiths receive about five dollarsper week, machinists six dollars; carpenters, sixty to sixty-fivecents per day. But this concern pays high wages, and requires itsmen to equal Europeans, which I am told they do. Common gang laboris contracted for with a head man, who engages to supply day byday the number of coolies wanted at twenty cents a day per man. Mr. Grant, the senior partner, told me he was buying Belgian ironin large lots, assorted sizes, for L4 10s. Per gross ton--justabout one cent per pound; ship plates at L6, equal to $29 pergross ton, free on ship at Antwerp. Such figures prove theseverity of the struggle for existence among the ironmanufacturers of Europe. 

The servants at the hotel pay a contractor two dollars per monthfor food, they not being permitted to eat anything at the hotel. Acoolie's board costs about five cents per day. For this he gets anabundance of coarse rice and cabbage spiced with pieces of driedfish and pickles, and upon such a diet lives from year to year. Clothing is estimated at two to three dollars per year. This isthe country of low prices, where one eschews luxuries and comesdown to first principles. Cab fare is five cents per mile forginrikshaws, which have been introduced from Japan, and aregenerally used in Shanghai. At Tokio I remember cab fare was evencheaper. We paid only eight cents per hour for a man and hiscarriage, or seventy-five cents for the entire day. Europeansociety here is quite extensive, and very pleasant and hospitable. We are indebted to kind friends for numerous attentions. AsGeneral Bailey, our worthy Consul-General, is a public official, Imay be permitted to express to him my special thanks. He wasunremitting in his efforts to render our visit agreeable. It isfrom such men that America is to draw its trained diplomatistswhen Civil-Service Reform has done its needed work. 

We attended last night a very good amateur theatrical performance. Shanghai society was present in force, and in full evening dress. The preponderance of fine-looking young men, and the almost totalabsence of young ladies, was most marked. The number of marriedladies was not great. In answer to my inquiry where the youngladies were, I was informed that there were but few in town. Onewas pointed out, but as she was engaged she scarcely counted. Ifladies will only be contented with unremitting attentions from acrowd of handsome beaux, this is their paradise; but, as our ladyfriend explained, none of these fine fellows can afford to marry:they are clerks and assistants in the European houses, thepartners of which unfortunately are married already. I think itbut fair to mention this for the benefit of any of my fair youngfriends who might otherwise think of visiting the East. Theabsence of young ladies renders the taking of female parts by theopposite sex a necessity. A splendid "singing chambermaid" of thiskind, dressed and looking the part to perfection, but with a deepbass voice, caused peals of laughter every time he spoke. Duringthe evening there was a song cleverly introduced and sung by abrawny Scot--a parody upon "May I like a soldier fall, " beginning, "Oh! may I like a Scotchman fall Upon St. Andrew's Day. "

It appears the Scotch residents had just been celebrating thatmemorable night, having brought up from Hong Kong no less apersonage than the head piper of the Highlander Regiment to gracethe festival. But the pipes proved too much for the moreenthusiastic of the party, and capturing the piper about threeo'clock in the morning, they compelled him to march at their headplaying through the town. It may be readily surmised that

 "If no fou, they just had plenty. "

As long, however, as the martial strains continued, they managed, arm and arm, to keep upright and together, but, unfortunately, from some cause or other not clearly explained, at the turn of thestreet Donald himself lost his footing, the bagpipes ceased, andthen, surging one against the other, without the music to keepthem in step, the mass was laid low, yelling to the last, however, the "March of the Cameron Men. " "Oh, what a fall was there, mycountrymen!" The Central Hotel was fortunately not far off, and bythe aid of wheelbarrows they were safely conveyed thither andtaken care of until morning. Ah, well, let the censorious takenote. This is not the first time, as the world knows, when thesound of the pibroch has kept Scotchmen shoulder to shoulder, "onestepping where the other fell, " when upon them lay the issue ofthe fight; nor shall it be the last. Burke pardoned something tothe spirit of liberty, and shall we do less to the august shade ofSt. Andrew? Heaven forbid!

While bemoaning the absence of foreign young ladies here and inJapan, I may as well tell those at home something of the marriagecustoms of the East, for Japan, China, and India all have much incommon here. First and foremost, then, please understand that thecouple about to be married have nothing whatever to do with theaffair. The match has been made by the parents, and as a ruleneither has seen the other until after the contract has beenclosed; and in many cases it is thought advisable that they shouldmeet for the first time when the ceremony begins. It is consideredone of the most important duties of a mother to select a wife foreach of her sons as he arrives at maturity, as a failure to dothis might involve the fearful catastrophe of a break in theworship of the family's ancestors, and indeed of her own and herhusband's ashes, for there might be no men to perform the sacredrites over them. The parents of the young men take the initiative, but how to propose is said to be even more embarrassing than itwould be to the son himself, as a refusal implies that the lady'sparents consider the proposal much beneath them. There exists, therefore, a class of "marriage brokers, " who keep themselvesinformed of the eligible sons and daughters in their circle, andcan sound the parents, name the _dot_ to be given orrequired, and suggest and finally bring about a satisfactoryalliance without wounding the family pride upon either side. TheChinese are very superstitious, and no union takes place withoutthe astrologer's sanction. He must consult the stars and see thatthere is proper conjunction. If all is favorable, the marriagetakes place. 

But now, my lady friends, don't imagine that the happy pair set upa separate establishment, as you expect to do when you marry. No;the wife goes in every case to reside with her mother-in-law, towhom, as also to her husband's father, she renders implicitobedience. This obedience to parents is the most conspicuous dutyin their religion. Should the daughter-in-law be disrespectful, even, to her husband's parents, these would be upheld in puttingher away, even against the wish of her husband; and unless the sonhappened to have an independent income or means of support, whichis very rarely the case, his parents would select for him anotherwife who knew her duty better. The deference exacted and bestowednot only by children but by grown men and women to their parents, is wholly inconceivable by Americans; but, remember, theirreligion teaches them that those from whom they derive existenceare entitled to their worship. No priest is required at amarriage. The ceremony always takes place at the man's house, thebride coming from her parents in grand procession through thestreets in a sedan chair with its blinds closely drawn, thepresents being ostentatiously displayed by men carrying them infront. We saw several of these processions. I cannot give a titheof all the customs observed; they would fill pages. But one issignificant; the bride is required to kneel before the husband'sfamily tablet, and to worship his ancestors, her own being fromthat moment apparently of no account to her, and her father givesher, as his parting injunction, the command to yield hereafter toher new parents the obedience and reverence hitherto his due. 

When the entire day has been spent in the ceremonies required, dinner for the couple is announced, and they are left alone witheach other for the first time in their lives; but she may notpartake one morsel of the feast, and, harder still, perhaps, notone syllable must she speak. Etiquette demands that she "sit insilence, grave and dignified, " and she cannot break fast upon herwedding day. The woman's chief study is a book giving minuteinstructions for her guidance through life. In this are prescribedthe three great duties of woman: 1, obedience when a child to herparents; 2, obedience when a wife to her husband; 3, obediencewhen a widow to her eldest son. The government of man is thussecured for the weaker vessel from the cradle to the grave. NoEastern man could be made to believe that the influence of themasculine intellect is not absolutely essential for the well-beingof the female; and so it undoubtedly will be in the East as longas woman is uneducated. It is in America we find woman in herhighest development, higher even than the English standard, simplybecause in the best circles she receives an education nearer tothat of man than is given her elsewhere. 

By many such curious customs is secured the entire absorption ofthe woman, her total eclipse as a separate individuality; there isnothing left of her as far as law and usage can destroy herrights. This is the Eastern idea. But she has her triumph later. As a wife she knows there is little for her. Divorce is almostsure unless she bear a son; but when, in the language ofScripture, "a man-child is born"--presto change! she is a mother, supreme, invested with a halo of sanctity which secures rank andreverence from all. She becomes by this the equal of her lord, andmust be worshipped like him, and jointly with him, by succeedinggenerations, for Confucius enjoins upon every son the erection ofthe family tablets, to father and mother alike. Nor is her ruleconfined to her own children, but, as before stated, to theirchildren as well to the latest day of her life, and the older shebecomes the more she is reverenced as being nearer to heaven, dearer to the gods; and it is considered of much moment to anyfamily to be able to boast a great-great-grandmother living. 

Do not mourn too much over the sad fate of a young Chinamancompelled to marry one whom he has never seen, for indeed thereseems little difference between the young ladies of China. Thousandsof years of seclusion, of unvarying customs, have at last mouldedwomen into the same form, mentally and physically, and anything likeindividuality can exist only to a small degree, and in exceptionalnatures. They are as like as peas, and one may as well marry one asanother. If the husband has not the joys of love, neither has he theanxieties pertaining to that super-sensitive condition; for she isnot to be his constant companion, nor his companion at all if he hasnot drawn a prize. 

The position of woman would seem, therefore, to be almost entirelydifferent from what it is with us: in youth she is nothing there, in old age everything; with us it is the opposite. The "just mean"between the two would probably yield better results than either. In China a man may marry more than one woman, but the first onlyis recognized as his legal wife; all others are her servants, andbound to wait upon and obey her; and should there be children, these are considered as children of the legal wife only, and it isher they must worship, and not their real mother. Among the masseswives are invariably bought from the parents, about ninety dollarsbeing a fair market price among poor people. This sum is supposedto recompense them for the outlay involved in rearing the younggirl. But this custom is valuable in this, that the possession ofso large a sum by a young workingman is the best possibleguarantee that the son-in-law has acquired steady habits, and iscompetent to provide for his family. If a test of this naturecould be applied with us, I think paterfamilias would not regardit as the worst of institutions. These Chinese have ideas that aresometimes worth thinking over. 

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FRIDAY, December 13. 

Our intended trip up the Yang-tse has been interfered with by astorm of rain and dense fog, but the days never seem long. We geta little time to read up. Our book-table shows seven importantworks on China and its people--all interesting. To-day is markedby a notable invitation to dinner extended to us through GeneralBailey. We are to have the honor--one not often bestowed uponglobe trotters--of dining with the Mandarin. 

The dinner lasted more than three hours, and was composed of Idon't know how many courses. I depended upon Vandy to keep count, but he found so much to wonder at that he lost the run when in theteens. From birds'-nest soup, which, by the way, is insipid, toshark's fin and bamboo shoots in rapid succession, we had it all. I thought each course would surely be the last; but finally we didget to sweet dishes, and I knew we were approaching the end. Thencame the bowl of rice and tea, which are supposed to be able toneutralize the mess which has gone before. Our host pressed all todrink frequently of a celebrated native wine, the champagne ofChina, grown in his district, of the quality of which he seemedvery proud. Whenever he showed the bottom of his cup, guests wereexpected to empty and replenish theirs. I did the best I could, both as to tasting the compounds and drinking the wine, but I fearI was voted not a great success in either. The natives were quitehilarious, and smoked at intervals during the feast. They playedthe ancient game of digits like Romans, and also a Japanese gamewith the hands and arms, the loser in every case being compelledto drain his cup. When tea was served, the Mandarin, through hisinterpreter, addressed General Bailey, as the principal dignitarypresent, thanking him for the great honor conferred upon hishumble self by those present having condescended to sit at histable. The general's reply was equally polite and very happy, andappeared to please our host greatly, who then hoped that theillustrious travellers from America would be pleased with Chinaand return safely to their great country from their journey roundthe world, adding that, having now got the telegraph, America andChina and all countries were brought nearer to one another, andwould know each other better. I replied that this was happilytrue, and ventured to express the belief that as we knew eachother better we should also like each other more, and that as we, and all modern nations, had learned so much from his country inthe past, I hoped that in return we might be able, to some extentat least, to repay that debt by perhaps, showing China some thingswhich she could adopt with advantage. To this sentiment there wasa most cordial response. 

Before rising from table the photograph of the host was presentedto each guest. I requested that his autograph be put upon ours, that we could insert it in our albums among the eminent men wemet. He replied that he must then go at the very end, because hehad not on his Mandarin hat. But I asked the interpreter to assurehim that we in America did not care about the hat; "it was thehead that was in it" which had raised him so high. This appearedto please the company inordinately, and we got the autograph, andso ended our first, and, in all probability, our last, Mandarindinner. Vandy ate and drank of everything offered him, and thismorning, when I fully expected him to be as sick as a dog, andwith a head like to split, he surprised me by reporting himself asall right, and telling me that in some respects Mandarin cookingbeats the world. I should mention that the politeness of our hostwas overpowering. The first course he served himself to eachguest, his servants following him round the table and handing himthe dishes ("and I myself shall be your servant, sir, says goodUncle Toby"), and upon entering, as well as upon retiring, hestood in the open court outside of his threshold to welcome and tobid farewell. The shaking of one's own hands instead of graspingthose of your friends is soon learned; but what a world ofpleasure the Chinaman misses by his mode!

Of course we saw none of the ladies of the household, nor werethey inquired for or referred to by any of us. If a Chinesegentleman were asked how many children he had, he would probablynot count the girls at all, but at all events he would distinguishthus: two children and a _girl_. When a boy is born thefather is overwhelmed with congratulations, presents are sent, andrejoicing takes place. If the little stranger happen to be a girl, the event is hushed up. No reference is ever made to the greatmisfortune which has befallen the expectant father. Friends areapprised of the result by advertisements carried through thestreets. Yellow strips of paper are used if the child is a boy;_any other color_ means a girl. Among the poorer classes girlbabies are frequently drowned. Some estimate that in the Shanghaidistrict one-third are so destroyed; the excuse given by theparents is that they cannot afford to rear a girl. Men monopolizemost of the occupations here, and a woman can earn little ornothing; besides, a husband for every girl must be provided uponsome terms. After a certain age an unmarried woman is regarded asdisreputable, entailing something of disgrace upon her family; andso China lacks that most useful, and, as far as my experiencegoes, most unjustly maligned class--old maids. 

A universal sameness prevails in China which soon becomesmonotonous. One street looks precisely like another. If a travellerwere set down in any city of China, he would be at a loss to tellwhere he was. It might be Shanghai, Canton, or Peking. There are thesame rows of one-story, or, at most, one-and-a-half-story huts, without the slightest attempt at ornament or variety. There are nogrand mansions scattered throughout the land, no city halls, colleges or commercial exchanges, as with us, but one dead flatlevel of low structures wherever you go. Probably the exactions towhich wealth is subject here has much to do with this; all areconcerned to hide their resources, but I am told the Chineseeducated mind has really reached the stage in which ostentatiousdisplay is regarded with contempt. It seeks escape from ceremony andshow, in sweet simplicity of living, as most truly great men havedone and are doing more and more. 

Life "_en grand seigneur_" has never been the foible of therich American, but as the seigneur is a species of recent growthand has not yet had time to blossom into flower and show us justto what his nature turns, we must watch his movements hereafterwith interest. So far, he seems endued with quiet tastes, as faras personal parade is concerned. A few have built grand mansions, but still live plainly in the matter of retinue and ceremonial. 

Even in England one notes nowadays a general expression ofdisappointment at the result of living up to one's rank, accordingto the old standard. It is not altogether from lack of means tomaintain great style, although this is the real reason with themajority, perhaps, who have abandoned former habits. Another causeis operating, even with such as are wealthy: the squire or hislordship is not the all in all of his district any more; and he iseducated now, in many cases, to enjoy intellectual pleasures, which he finds incompatible with so much society and numerousestablishments with their endless staffs of servants to maintain. Many of the stately homes of England, therefore, are for rent, andtheir owners live more within themselves and in simpler mannerthan before. 

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SHANGHAI, Saturday, December 14. 

We leave for Hong Kong, eight hundred miles south, by the mailsteamer which sails at daylight. Our usual good fortune attendsus. The monsoon blew us to port one night sooner than we expected. A night saved was quite an object, as the Geelong is a smallcraft, and her rocking means something. Vandy was very ill, but Imanaged to report regularly at table as usual. We slept on shoreTuesday night, and the morning revealed one of the prettiestplaces we have ever seen in the East. Hong Kong is an island abouttwenty, six miles in circumference, situated one mile from themainland of China, and just at the mouth of the river leading toCanton. There is scarcely an acre of level ground upon it exceptone little spot which does duty as a race-course, and is not leveleither by any means. A narrow strip fronting the water is occupiedby the city of Victoria, which extends about three miles, but backof this the ground rises rapidly, and houses cluster upon thesteep sides of the mountain. Nevertheless, public gardens havebeen laid out with exquisite taste and skill upon the hillside, and excellent walks reach to the very top of the peak, more thaneighteen hundred feet high. So closely does this crag overhang thetown below that a stone could be dropped into the settlement fromits crest. 

It is the thing in Hong Kong to do the Peak, and we did it, butnot in a manner very creditable to our staying powers, I fear. Thefact is, we had been tossed for sortie days upon a small ship. Itwas exceedingly warm. I We were very tired (conscience suggestedanother word for tired); in short, there were a dozenreasons--good, bad, and indifferent--why two strong, lusty fellowsshould, under the circumstances, be carried up instead ofattacking the Peak on foot; and so each of us, in a sedan chair, borne by four strong coolies, managed to get to the top and enjoythe splendid view, coming down in the same novel manner. It wassurprising, after we had returned, to find how decided amisunderstanding had arisen between us on the subject. I had notpressed walking up on Vandy's account, while he had only deniedhimself that wished-for pleasure in deference to my supposedinability. You see, had this point been made clearer before westarted, we might have had the walk after all. As it is, thecredit of both is fairly maintained, and I do think that neitherof us regrets the unfortunate misunderstanding; one gets so lazyin these latitudes!

More than a hundred thousand Chinese have come from the main landto reside in Hong Kong and enjoy the benefits of British rule, andthe population, which in 1841 was only five thousand, is now ahundred and forty thousand. So the good work of reforming Chinagoes forward by the surest of all means, good example. It is atsuch points as Hong Kong--one of the keys of the world--thatEngland does her real work and lifts up mankind. 

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THURSDAY, December 19. 

We took the steamer for the Paris of the East, far-famed Canton, distant ninety-five miles. The steamer is just an American riverboat, and we enjoyed the trip very highly. And here let me notetwo strange customs which prevail in China. First, your passagemoney generally embraces all the liquor, beer, or wine you chooseto consume on the trip. Such was the case to-day, and passengerswere free to call for anything they wished to drink at any time(champagne excepted). The other custom is universal. There is nocoin in circulation but silver, and it is so heavy that Europeanshave adopted the habit of carrying none, giving for any debtincurred I. O. U. 's, called "chits, " which are sent in at the endof each month for payment; a vicious custom, which leads todeplorable excesses, especially in drinking and in gambling. Mendrink and gamble more freely when immediate payment is notrequired, or when the chances of a lucky turn may recoup theirlosses; besides, many who have no means to pay incur debts. Indeed, so many cases of this kind have happened since "hard timesset in" that I am encouraged to hope the end of "chits"approaches. The rule at the clubs now is that no chits can begiven beyond a trifling amount each month, and that they must bepromptly redeemed. Canton was reached by four in the afternoon, and such a swarm of small boats as surrounded us was never seenelsewhere. When we were a full mile from the wharf I saw the massbegin to stir, and such a stir! and almost all rowed by women, yelling and striving, and dashing one boat against another, intheir efforts to be first. One of the most active scrambled up theguards and reached us on the upper deck almost before the boat hadstopped, and secured us as her spoil. How she and a young girlhandled our trunks, carrying them over intervening boats and thencoming back for us, giving us her hand to convey us to her craft!No mistaking her business capacity, nor her ability to cope withthe strongest and most active man and capture two passengers tohis one. John is no match for a Canton boatwoman on water, whatever he may be on land. 

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CANTON, Friday, December 20. 

We have just returned from our first stroll through the narrow, crowded alleys of Canton. Pictures and descriptions had prepared usfor what we were to see, but, as is usual in the East, we knewnothing until we had seen for ourselves. In most cases the more onereads or hears about a certain locality the more confused he is whenhe visits it. He was a traveller who first said, "The eye and theear are close together, but what a distance between hearing andseeing!" This recurs to me constantly. But to revert to Canton. Wedecided to walk instead of following the custom of Europeans, whogenerally take sedan chairs and dash through, seeing nothing indetail. We cross the river by one of the innumerable boats rowed bywomen, and are in the city. For five hours we are guided throughstreets varying from six to ten feet in width through one continuousmass of Chinamen. As for Chinawomen, they are rarely or never seen. A few men are in silks; numbers of coolies, with loads, are almostnaked, but more, of a slightly higher order, are in rags; for theChinese, unlike their scrupulously clean brethren of Japan, appearto pile on one tattered, greasy cloth rag over another until theyare a bundle of filth, against which you fear at every step lest youmay be pushed. The shops or booths on each side of the narrowstreets are resplendent just now, preparatory to the New-Yearcelebrations, and those which make temple decorations a specialtyare brilliant in the extreme. As every shop, house or boat containsan altar, which, as well as those in the public temples, must befreshly decorated at the beginning of every year, the extent of thistrade is surprising, and all that tinsel can do with the mostgorgeous coloring imaginable is seen in this branch to perfection. One thing appears very strange: even in the principal streetsvarious manufactures are carried on, the workmen being so close thatyou can touch them from the pavement with your cane. We saw to-dayglass-making in a space not more than fifteen feet square, iron-forging and shaping, cloth-weaving, the making of coffins (suchmassive affairs these are, too, in China!), of Joss-sticks andJoss-money, firecrackers, and many other articles. The front part ofthe building is usually occupied by the shop for the sale of theproduct, the ornamental shrine serving as a kind of screen to shutoff the manufacturing department; but by stepping behind you seecrowds of almost nude workmen, hard at work, making by hand with theaid of the rudest appliances almost every article known. The wagesof a tradesman--a carpenter, for instance--is fifteen cents per day;in addition the master has to give him three times per day his rice, etc. , estimated to cost six to eight cents more. The workmen are fedby the employer, and allowed to sleep in and about the premisessomewhere or somehow. We saw freely exposed for sale dogs, rats, andmice, all nicely dressed and hanging upon spits to tempt the hungrypassers-by, while above a large pot from which the steam was issuingwas a card, which, being translated by our guide, read, "A big blackcat within; ready soon. " The dogs which are eaten are fed especiallyfor the purpose, and are hung up in state with labels setting forththeir superior merits. As far as I should have known, they mighthave passed for delicious young roasting pigs, delicate enough inflavor to have satisfied gentle Elia himself. 

Our guide, in answer to numerous questions upon the subject, informed us that some of his countrymen had acquired a taste fordogs, while others had succumbed to the sweeter attractions ofcats; others again found rats their favorite morsel, but in allcases these penchants are indulged in on the sly. Upon no accountwould a Chinaman think of taking either of these peculiardelicacies home, for it appears that mesdames, much to theircredit, have serious objections to their use. They draw the linehere, and the husband must confine the indulgence of his uncannylongings to restaurants, and say nothing about it, or his ladyfriends might mark him as one of whom "'twas said he ate strangeflesh. " Contrary to the statement of travellers, I find this foodis not confined to the poorer classes. The price of it is aboutthe same as that of pork, and far beyond that of hare or deer. Howstrange these people are! The price of a black dog or cat is fullydouble that of a white one, the superstition being that the formermakes blood much faster than the other, while rats are supposed tomake the hair grow. 

We returned to our hotel in time for luncheon, and in the afternooncalled upon Captain Lincoln, the United States Consul, to whomGeneral Bailey had given us letters which secured us a cordialreception. The European settlement at Canton is very pretty, withits broad, well-shaded avenues, exquisite flower-garden, andlawn-tennis and croquet grounds. Its club-house is a gem, comprisinga small theatre, billiard-room and bowling- alley--everythingcomplete. The colonel took us for a stroll about the settlement, andpressed us to join a party he was just about taking over the riverto visit the best flower-gardens of the city. We could not declinesuch a treat, and this gave us the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Lincoln, who is so well known in China as to be regarded somewhat in thelight of an historical character. Her collection of teapots promisesto render her famous. She boasts already of more than two hundred, no two alike in form, and the record grows day by day; and themelancholy feature is that there is no end for the passion save indeath, a mania for "a bit of the blue" ranking first in the list ofdiseases for which materia medico, boasts no antidote. 

Almost everything seems to have been tried in China during itsthousands of years of national life. We read for instance that inA. D. 841 the emperor, seeing the evils of monasteries andnunneries, suddenly closed them all and sent the inmates back totheir families. So far, perhaps, so good; but he also shut up allthe temples and told the priests to turn their faces in thedirection from which they came. He was far too "thorough, " andwhen the next emperor was so favored by heaven as to become thediscoverer of a veritable bone of Buddha and brought it to thecapital with many solemn ceremonies, the people were quite readyfor the inevitable reaction, and Buddhism was again restored. Thisis a comparatively modern instance. Away back two hundred and moreyears B. C. , we find the famous builder of the Great Wallattempting an impossible task with no better result. He was agreat reformer--indeed the first universal emperor of all existingChina, which was consolidated by his genius. The privilegedclasses, of course, opposed his reforms and gave him much troubleby holding up to the admiration of the people the feudal times ofthe past, and extolling the heroes of those days to thedisadvantage of those of the present. At last the emperor resolvedto break with the past altogether, and ordered that all booksshould be burned except such as referred to his own reign, thatall who even spoke of other books should be put to death; thatthose who spoke of the past as superior to the present should beput to death, and their relatives as well. Soon after this order, more than four hundred who had disobeyed it were ordered to beexecuted. Even the books of Confucius were not exempt; indeedthese were chief offenders, for the sage was remarkable for suchworship of the past as has scarcely a precedent in history. 

Of course such an order could not be carried out. The condemnedbooks were secreted and all the more venerated from the dangerswhich surrounded their possession. To-day we are thankful that somany books exist telling truthfully of the past--those good oldtimes which were very bad times indeed. The history of the pastshould be studied carefully that we may learn not what to copy, but what to avoid. Let all the records be preserved. 

I take it that to many blessings for which we have to thank theHeathen Chinee may be added our axiom: "Resistance to tyrants isobedience to God. " The Emperor of China is in theory the mostabsolute of rulers, and holds in his hands the power of life anddeath--"whom he wills he slays, and whom he wills he keeps alive. "So runs the edict. It is the duty of the subject to renderimplicit obedience. But here follows another duty no lessimperative: He is bound to resist the emperor's authority if he"ceases to be a minister of God for the good of his people. "Confucius distinctly teaches "the sacred right of rebellion, " andthe next highest authority, Mencius, puts it in even strongerterms. This seems a striking anomaly, for the whole theory ofgovernment to-day, as thousands of years ago, is the patriarchalone: as the emperor is the Son of Heaven, so his people are thesons of the emperor, and he alone can intercede between hischildren and heaven. It is his prayers and sacrifices to whichsupreme importance is attached. Notwithstanding all this, as wehave seen, the Chinaman believes it to be his duty to dethrone abad emperor and even to put him to death. You see, my friends, aChinese emperor can do wrong, which follows from his having powerdirect from heaven to do anything; therefore the right todecapitate him upon occasion must be reserved to the people. It isonly in England that the doctrine that the king can do no wrongcan safely be accepted. It is quite true there, for theseIslanders have so managed matters as not to allow that ornamentalappendage to do anything beyond opening fancy bazaars or layingfoundation stones, where even an hereditary monarch cannot go veryfar astray. 

On the 8th day of the 12th month, in the reign of Man-Ti, A. D. 593, occurred one of the most remarkable events in the history ofour race. An edict was issued that the various texts then incirculation should be collected and engraved on wood, to beprinted and published. Here began the art of printing, but it wasnot till a blacksmith named Pe-Ching, three or four hundred yearslater, invented movable types that the astounding possibilities ofthe invention were seen. Off hats to the memory of that learnedblacksmith! Tall oaks from little acorns grow; but surely neverbefore nor since has the world seen such stupendous results fromso small a change as that of substituting little pieces of wood, each with one character upon it, for larger pieces which containedmany. That blacksmith has revolutionized the world. I shall neverpass one of the craft again without honoring him as distantlyrelated to Pe-Ching by virtue of his calling. Vulcan has done muchin the past in his smithy, forging the thunderbolts of war, butput all such weapons together and I will back the movable types ofPe-Ching for victory. 

China carries the principle of home rule to a greater extent eventhan the United States do, for each province not only manages itsown local affairs and levies its own taxes, but also supports itsonly army and navy. This would seem fatal to the organization ofsolid, vital forces; but as the Chinese have passed farther beyondthe barbarous thirst for so-called "glory" (disgrace, rather) thanwestern nations, it is not essential that either army or navyshould be efficient. Indeed, the less so the better. 

I trust, however, the Chinese cannot rob the Republic of thecredit of having the poorest navy and smallest army among thenations, for this I consider perhaps the foremost evidence thatAmerica gives to the world that she is worthy to lead our race tonobler issues than those which have so largely occupied it in thepast. 

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SATURDAY, December 21. 

To-day has been devoted, like yesterday, to Canton sights; but aswe had several distant places to visit, we took sedan chairs, andwent shouting along, four coolies each, Indian file, through thetown, forming quite a cavalcade, with our guide in front. It wasthe same interminable maze of narrow, crowded thorough-fares, crammed with human beings, that we had seen for the first timeyesterday. A great commotion was seen ahead at one place, out ofwhich emerged several men in crimson robes, bearing banners, clearing the way and shouting out the name and dignities of amandarin who was approaching. An ornamented chair, borne aloft, came into view, on which his lordship, an official of the third orfourth button, sat in state, followed by two servants on ponies, the only species of horseflesh we have seen in Canton. It is withconsiderable difficulty that even these small animals get through, and their use is confined to escorting high officials. 

At almost every corner we pass crowds of poor wretches gambling invarious modes, from fantan down to dice and dominoes. Childrenparticipate, and stake their "cash" with the elders; indeed, ayoung Celestial rarely spends his stray coppers in candy withouttossing with the stall-keeper, double or quits; the little scampsbegin early, and at every counter we noticed the dice lying readyto facilitate the operation. Is it any wonder that the vice ofgambling seems inherent in the Chinese character? We saw rather afunny illustration of this practice, at which we couldn't helplaughing. A class of venders keep a large pot boiling on thepavement in some partially secluded place, in which is anassortment of odds and ends. Such a mess of tidbits--pieces ofliver, chicken, kidneys, beef, almost every conceivable thing!These the owner stirs up, taking care, I thought, to bring thelargest bits adroitly to the surface. You should see the longingfaces of the hungry beggars around. One risks a cash (one-tenth ofa cent), a rattle of the dice--the customer has won. The fork ishanded to him, and he has two dabs in the pot. What a prize! Downgo the _bonnes bouches_ one after the other, and back goesthe fork to the pot-boiler, who again uses it to stir up in thepot prizes to tempt the lucky owner of funds sufficient for theindulgence of this piece of extravagance. I really believe thepoor, miserable, hungry wretches lounging around the pot derivedsatisfaction from the odor emitted. And as the lucky gamestergobbled his prizes, I imagined every one around involuntarily wentthrough the motion of smacking his lips, as if he shared in theinward satisfaction of his lucky neighbor. Vandy almostoverwhelmed one of these people by handing him a cash to try hisfortune; but he thinks his man was too hungry to risk the dice, and took the sure thing. He probably considered one bite in themouth worth two in the pot; but he wasn't a representativeChinaman by any means. 

At one point our guide in advance called a halt, and upon ourdismounting he led us into a walled enclosure, and startled uswith the information that we were in the execution grounds. Hepointed out spots still damp with the blood of criminals, severaljars containing the heads of victims, the protruding hair mattedwith the lime used to decompose the flesh more rapidly, and a rudecross still remaining upon which a woman had recently beencrucified and cut to pieces while alive. Her crime was the gravestknown to Chinese law: she had murdered her husband. Poor wretch!probably he had not illy deserved his fate were the whole storyknown, for the provocation which would nerve a woman in China torise against her husband and owner must be beyond human endurance. Instead of this spot being set apart and shunned by man, woman andchild, as defiled by the horrors enacted within its walls, thearea was filled with large clay jars, used as stoves, the productof a manufactory adjoining, set out there in rows to dry. Menmoved in and around them unconcernedly, and at the entrance andwithin the enclosure there was a temporary fantan gambling shop, composed of bamboo poles and mats, in full operation, surroundedby crowds of people. Of a surety the Heathen Chinee is peculiar. The grounds are of course cleared of everything upon "executiondays, " and I suppose the swarming masses of Canton see no reasonwhy even this acre of notorious ground should be permitted to lieuseless several days in succession. There is nothing which is notput to use in China. 

Our next visit was more to our taste; it was to the place of theliterary examinations, which are held every third year. Here thegrounds are kept in good order, and exclusively devoted to thisnoble use. It is well known that each province in China has publicexaminations for its students. Those who are successful becomeeligible for the higher examinations, which are held at Canton andat two or three of the other great cities. Candidates who pass atthese are permitted to enter for the final struggle at Peking, where success brings rank, honor, and fortune. At Canton the tenacres of grounds are covered with long rows of brick sheds, divided into stalls about six by four feet, with neither door norwindow, and open at the back; a narrow footway permits entrance, and a blank wall forms the front of the succeeding row, and so on. The stalls contain no furniture, but a board extending from thefront, half the length of the stall, and working backward andforward in grooves in the wall, is used as a seat; a smaller onehigher up at the foot of the stall makes a writing-table, andthese combined made a bed. A small lamp is furnished, and theaspirant remains for three days and nights writing upon subjectsgiven to him after he has entered the stall. No chance forcramming here. Out of ten thousand six hundred who competed lastyear, only eighty-two were found worthy to appear at Peking. Ibelieve only a certain number can succeed throughout the wholeEmpire, and the standard is, therefore, kept very high. 

Amid much which causes one to mourn for the backwardness of thiscountry, here is the bright jewel in her crown. China is, as faras I know, the only nation which has advanced beyond the so-calledheroic age when the soldier claims precedence. England and Americamust be content to claim that

 "Peace hath her victories No less renowned than war, "

while here the triumphs of peace are held in chief esteem. Nogeneral, no conqueror, be his victories what they may, can ever inChina attain the highest rank. That is held only by successfulscholars who have shown the possession of literary talent. Whenthe news reaches a town or village that a townsman has beenvictorious at Peking, a general rejoicing takes place, andtriumphal arches are built in his honor to witness for centurieshow deeply they appreciate the honor conferred upon the town bytheir illustrious fellow-citizen. Upon his return the wholepopulation turns out to meet and welcome him, and his careerinspires other young men to emulate his virtues. Henceforth hislife is one of honor, for from this class the rulers of China aretaken. These are the Mandarins, and there is no other aristocracyin China. Nor are his honors hereditary. His sons, if they wouldbe ennobled, must outstrip their fellows in knowledge, as theirfather did before them. An aristocracy founded upon learning, andcomposed of those who know the most, is an institution with whichwe have no serious quarrel. It is claims from birth which make myblood boil. These are an insult to every commoner, and we must notrest until every trace of hereditary privilege is swept from theearth. Neither king, queen, prince, nor lord should live in ournative isle to insult us if I had my way--and my way may come ereI depart if I get the three score and ten allotted to mortals bythe psalmist. 

Our trip to-day had another surprise for us. We were taken to thecity court and prison. A poor naked wretch was on his knees as weentered, his back a mass of blood caused by the blows justinflicted with the bamboo which an officer, standing close behind, still held over the victim, ready to use again at a word from thejudge. What a quivering, miserable spectacle the culprit was! As Iwrite this I can see him tremble. His reputed crime was stealing, but he had denied it, and the judge, not getting satisfactoryanswers to his questions, had ordered the bamboo to be applied. Another poor soul sat under torture, laced by ropes against alarge flat board in some diabolical manner so that his featureswere distorted by pain, while at a short distance from the doormany hardened-looking criminals, all chained to large balls ofiron, awaited trial and sentence. The most enlightened of thejudges here still urge that it would be impossible to administerjustice without torture or physical punishment in order to forcereplies from the accused. If you can compel a culprit to answerevery question which a trained examiner is allowed to put, it isnot difficult to convict the guilty. With us we forego thatadvantage by requiring no man to convict himself. Here he has toprove his innocence in a measure; at least he must tell a straightstory; and this he would never do, it is said, in China, unless hewere held in fear of bodily chastisement or torture. It is aneffectual mode of getting answers, as I can testify. The judgeasks a question which goes to the very root of the matter. Thewretch hesitates an instant. I thought I could see from hissupplicating gesture that he felt the true answer would expose hisguilt. "Bamboo, attend--ready!" Another instant, and the blowdescends, the trembling man stammers out his reply, and hissentence is pronounced. Another, who has been cleverly allowed towitness the manner in which recusant parties are dealt with, isdragged before the judge, his back bared, and he falls on hisknees to make answer. No skilful lawyers here to defend and throwaround the prisoner the safeguards of the law; but neither isthere any upon the side of the prosecution. The accused has onlyto satisfy the judge by giving a true account of himself and hisdoings. I should say an innocent man would prefer this mode, aguilty one detest it; and this seems a strong argument in itsfavor. 

My room fronts on the river, and is upon the second story of thisstrange little hotel. This gives me fine views of the unceasingtraffic of the stream, but it is not without its disadvantages asa place of rest at night. The Chinese gods, or devils rather, havea strong fondness for fire-crackers, and these are set off at allhours of the night by the more devout of the boat-women rightunder my windows. I waken with a start every now and then, as anunusally large bunch is fired. It occurred to me last night thatsome of the extra fees bestowed upon our woman and her brightlittle sister may be responsible for part of this species ofdevotion. It is very likely that some part of their extra earningsis considered due to their gods. I write this at nine in themorning, and there are two boats busily engaged in their prayersjust now, one battery of crackers responding to the other. Onewould almost think a naval war upon a small scale was raging. Imust plead ignorance till now of this strange manner ofpropitiating the supernatural powers. If I ever read of it, it haspassed away and been forgotten, like a thousand things one readsof. Another custom which interferes with slumber is the noise madeby the night watchman, who walks backward and forward beating atenor gong with a hard stick. One, two, three, slowly, followed bytwo quick taps, is the signal that all is well. Extraordinaryprecautions have to be taken in the cities against theft. Almostevery block has its watchman, and gates short distances apart areshut at nine o'clock, after which only those known personally tohim are allowed to pass. One provision struck me as putting aneffectual check upon mischief of all kinds: no one is allowed towalk after night without carrying a lantern, and one founddisregarding this law would be held "suspect. " Our landlord toldme that the watchman would be sternly dealt with if a robberyoccurred, as he is held responsible for the safety of his block. 

The boat population of Canton is famous as being something unique, but it exceeds all ideas I had formed of it. It is said that threehundred thousand people live in boats ranging from the size of askiff to that of a yawl. I have seen a family of six huddledtogether in one of the former size, but these were the poorest ofthe poor. The usual passenger boat is twenty feet long by four anda half wide--the size of the hotel boats we use. We got into onethis morning, and as the crackers were going off from numerousboats on all sides, our woman explained that the unusuallyvigorous fusilade was owing to this being "Joss day. " "All peoplego Jossee Temple this day. " "Do you go?" "No; have got Jossee hereon boatee. " "Where? Show us. " With that one of the girls at thestern pushed aside two small sliding-doors in the extreme end ofthe boat, and revealed a little shrine with a lamp ever burning, and Joss sticks in the incense bowl. The entire family burst intolaughter at our surprise, evidently tickled with the idea that itwas a decidedly cute thing to have their Joss cooped up "Jack-in-the-box" style. Yesterday the Emperor, at Peking, after fastingall the previous day, would ascend into the Temple of Heaven, accompanied by two thousand of his highest officials, and worship, while his subjects celebrate the event by this fire-crackercarnival. 

I was curious to see how a small yawl could be the residence of afamily, and examined several of them. The centre of the extremestern is occupied by the Joss temple, on either side of whichsmall dishes, cans, etc. , are arranged; then comes an open spaceextending across the boat, about four feet long, over which isthrown a light board about six inches wide, upon which stands thewoman who sculls and steers the craft. A permanent bamboo roof isbuilt over about the next six feet of the boat, and around thewalls are hung a few ornaments, generally old-fashioned plates andcheap prints from the English illustrated papers, while on a shelfare those indispensable articles, the smoking pipes of thefamily--large and curious affairs, with richly ornamented squarebrass bowls about four and one-half by two inches in size. A tinychina tea-set and various little "curios" are found in the bestboats. The next portion, where passengers sit, has nicelycushioned seats running across the boat, and on each side as well, and is also covered by the roof. Next to the bow is a platformthree feet deep, upon which stands the second woman, who rows orpoles the boat, as may be necessary. Under her feet is thekitchen, and she has only to lift a board to show a small squarecovered with clay, upon which a fire can be built. Pots and pansare seen snugly stowed away around this, so that, by means ofmovable platforms, trap-doors, etc. , the entire boat is renderedavailable to its very keel. At night, when the business ofcarrying passengers is over, all the boards are made into a fineflush deck, which is divided, in a very few minutes, into sleepingapartments by means of bamboo poles and mats; and so it comes topass that what I was before disposed to believe almost impossibleis accomplished with a degree of comfort quite surprising. Theseboat people live for less than ten cents a day. Rent there isnone; food costs about five cents per day for each person;clothing does not cost two. From the child of eight to the great-grandmother, all do something. When not otherwise engaged, theysew, make Joss-sticks, slit bamboo, or do something or other, thebaby being strapped on the mother's back that her capacity forwork may not be interfered with; and her stepping backward andforward as she sculls must be a soothing lullaby, for we haven'theard a child crying yet in China. Upon such boats as I have hereattempted to describe, and many far smaller and destitute ofornament, millions of the people of China live, move, and havetheir being. Children-are born, old men die, upon them, and manythousands of their occupants have never slept a night upon shore. 

I was surprised to hear that there is no theatre at Canton. Thegovernment had some time ago to prohibit night performances, asthey were constantly the scenes of disorder. The only amusement isfurnished upon large gayly decorated boats, where feasts aregiven, at which girls belonging to the boats appear and sing. Wesaw one of these, but it was a poor performance compared with ourexperience in Japan. 

 * * * * *

SUNDAY, December 22. 

We allowed our guide to leave us for to-day, and strolled aboutalone. In the early part of our walk we heard music--a harmoniumand a well-known old hymn tune--and on entering a building foundRev. Dr. Hopper preaching in Chinese. We had entered at the wrongdoor, and were among the women, who are separated from the men bya high, solid wall; but Mrs. Hopper rose and conducted us to theother side, and after service the Doctor came and greeted uscordially. We spent an hour in their house, and were surprised tohear that both were old Pittsburghers. There were at church thatmorning about thirty Chinamen, all of the poorer classes, principally servants and dependents of Europeans. In the afternoonwe stumbled upon the large Catholic cathedral, which is now almostready for use. It is a magnificent granite structure, threehundred feet long and eighty-eight feet wide. If anything canimpress the Chinese mind it must be grand mass in such a temple, with its vaulted roof, stained windows, the swelling organ, andall the "pride, pomp, and circumstance" of Catholic worship. As westood admiring, the saintly bishop approached and greeted us withexquisite grace. He could not speak English, but. His French wasthe easiest to understand of any I ever listened to, and my littleknowledge of the language enabled us to carry on an interestingconversation. When I told him I had been in St. Peter's at Rome, and had seen the Pope when the assembled thousands fell prostratebefore him as he advanced up the aisle, carried upon hispalanquin, he seemed much affected, and pressed us to visit hisquarters, apologizing, as he showed us into a poor one-storybuilding, for the poverty of his apartments, but adding that thetrue _pretre Catholique_ must needs dwell in poverty amongthe poor of the earth. I asked if he did not expect to return toFrance to die; but, laying his hand upon his heart, he answeredthat he must not allow himself to think of France, since it hadpleased God to place him here. For thirty years he had laboredamong these people, and among them he must die; it was the will ofGod. There were only a table and a few chairs in this bishop'spalace, not even a mat or carpet on the floor; but he ordered aservant to bring wine, of which he only tasted, while we drank"_sa sante_. " He subsequently took us to the orphanage, wherewe saw eighty boys being educated. About an equal number of littlegirls are in a separate building. If the Chinese are ever to bereformed, this is the way to do it--get control of the young, andteach them. As for the older generation, I fear it is too late todo much with it. There are in and around Canton about fivethousand Chinese Catholics, mostly recruited, I understand, fromamong the young, taken by these sagacious workers into theirschools and orphanages and other institutions, and educated asChristians from their youth up. 

When I told the good Bishop we spent our summers at Cresson, verynear Loretto, and often drove to Count Gallitzin's tomb, hegrasped my hand and gave me his benediction. Oh, blessed man! agrand Catholic, Father Gallitzin!

Every one has heard of the great wall of China, which stretchesacross the northern frontier from the sea to the westernmostprovince, a distance of twelve to fifteen hundred miles. It isfifteen to thirty feet high, with brick towers about forty feethigh at intervals along the whole route. This gigantic work wasbegun in the third century before Christ by one of the greatestrulers of men the world has ever seen, the Emperor Che Hwang, whohoped that it would prove an insuperable barrier to the inroads ofthe Tartar hordes. But a still greater warrior than he; GenghisKhan, leader of the Mongols, showed in 1212 that it could beovercome. To this day the Chinese dynasty is Tartar, but the fourhundred millions of people remain the same, having assimilated theforeign element. The Tartars are fast becoming Chinese, although adifference between the races is still clearly discernible. TheHeathen Chinee changes not. The Jews and the Scotch are perhapsthe races in Europe who preserve their types with the greatesttenacity, but compared with the Chinese they must be consideredplasticity itself. Apart from their overwhelming numbers, which, being of one unvarying type throughout, constitute a mass uponwhich it is almost impossible to make much impression, one seeshow climate and conditions of life in China operate to bring tothe Chinese type all foreign elements, and to retain them there. Mrs. McC. Has just been explaining to me to-day how much troubleshe has to keep her children, for instance, from becoming youngCelestials. They are of pure Scotch parentage upon both sides, yetare constantly alarming their fond mother by developing tasteswholly opposed to hers in food, dress, habits, manners, language, everything. It is just the same in India: the child of foreignparents there must be taken home for years before he is seven oreight years old, or he becomes a Hindoo. We have just suchdifferences at home in a less degree. If two brothers leave Bostonwith their families, one for New Orleans, another for Chicago, thedifferences in their grandchildren will be very noticeable. Thedream of some dreamer, that Englishmen can be grown in Hindostanor Australia, or even in America (or in Ireland, for that matter), will be rudely dispelled by a few weeks' residence in China orIndia. The opening gowan transplanted from its Scottish glen losesits modest charm and grows rank upon the prairies of the West evenin its second year. The shamrock pines away in exile beyond theborders of its own Emerald Isle. Man, the most delicately touchedof all to fine issues, is also the creature of his surroundings, even to a greater degree. 

 * * * * *

MONDAY, December 23. 

Now for a frank confession. Like Mark Twain's preacher with thecar rhyme, "I have got it, got it bad"--the "curio" malady in oneof its most virulent types. Ever since we were dropped upon thatuncanny land of Japan the symptoms of forthcoming disorder havenot been wanting. I had to succumb occasionally, but rallied intime to preserve a tolerably clean bill of health. But if I haveone weakness more than another, it is for the harmony of sweetsounds, and this the tempter knew right well. I met my fate in thefamous Temple of Hoonan, in which is the most celebrated "gong" inChina. I struck it, and listened. For more than one full minute, Ibelieve, that bowl was a quivering mass of delicious sound. Ithought it would never cease to vibrate. In Japan I had countedone that sounded fifty seconds, and its music rang in my ears fordays. I asked "Ah-Cum" why the temple would not sell this gong andbuy another far cheaper; for my opinion is, and my experience too, that there is nothing in China that money will not buy. However, this was an exception. Well, does the priest know where there areany temple gongs that can be bought? Yes, three that belonged to atemple destroyed by the rebels some years ago, and which werestill in the hands of curio dealers. The address was obtained, andoff we set to see them. I wish I could describe the places wevisited in our search, the collections of curios we saw! Noantiquary outside of Canton ever saw a tithe of the strange oldthings we examined. One might stumble upon a magic mirror, or anAladdin's lamp, in some of these recesses, and scarcely wonder atit; all is so strange. But to the gongs. There is a little bit ofhistory connected with one of them which is significant. We foundwe had to get from one of the priests a certain ticket before thearticle could be delivered. I thought a moment, and then:

 "Oh, my prophetic soul, _my uncle_!"

It was even so. The priest had seen "his uncle, " the curio dealer, and in some moment of want or dire temptation had pledged the gongof the temple for an advance. I got those which had a fairer record, and told our guide I wanted the other if he could get it; but thiswas impossible. Judge of my surprise, however, when the identicalgong reached me at Hong Kong. I have it, with the pawn markfortunately only partially obliterated, but so that the name of theguilty priest is no longer legible. Ah-Cum must have bargained forthat ticket, the rogue, knowing I would pay the price; but really, had that gong reached me while in Canton, and had it been possiblefor me to return it to the right temple, I should not have thought, under the circumstances, of carrying it off. It seems as if I werein some degree a receiver of stolen goods; but as it only came to meafter we had reached Hong Kong, and I knew neither priest nortemple, what could I do but decide to hold it myself until claimedby the rightful owners? Therefore, my friends, one and all of you, please take notice: whatever you may take a fancy to among mycurios, don't ask me for that gong. I don't feel my title quite asclear as I could wish it, but I shall ease my conscience by agreeingwith myself to act as temporary custodian--only that and nothingmore. There are others beside temples' gongs, and I have to confessto several (genuine "sous chows, " all of them). Indeed to-day wasthe curio day throughout. I cannot give even a partial record of thespoils as our procession marched hotelward in the evening. I burstinto loud laughter as I eyed our party. In the advance was Ah-Cum, the guide, bearing aloft a fearful idol, "the ugliest I could findin China, " this being Sister Lucy's characteristic commission; Vandyfollowed with his pockets stuffed with "birds'-nests, ""Joss-sticks, " "temple money, " and etceteras too numerous tomention; then came two coolies, one after the other, naked as Adamafter he donned the fig-leaf, carrying the gongs, while I brought upthe rear with fans, vials, ivory carvings, and what-not. I cannottell what part of this maze of shops we had been in, but the curioshops were so far from our hotel that not a man about them knewwhere it was, although there is but one European hotel in the city, consequently the coolies had to follow us. Vandy has just reportedthat it will take nine boxes to hold our spoils from here. Iexclaim, Vandy, for goodness' sake let us get out of thisimmediately and try to regain our good, hard common sense, and besound, practical men once more. Give me a _Pittsburgh Commercial_and let me see the price of pig metal, and what is said of steelrails and coke and manufactured iron, and all the rest of it; andthat monthly report of the Lucy Furnaces and of the Edgar Thomson, both the largest upon record. Thanks! Ah! now I feel better. How isit with thee, my friend? Fortunately Vandy felt the necessity forkeeping an eye upon me, and he never was in such danger himself. Butif any one can pass through Canton and escape a touch of theToodleian malady, which prompts one to buy everything one sees, Iwarrant him sound to the core. 

 * * * * *

HONG KONG, Christmas Eve. 

We returned this afternoon from Canton. After retiring I heard awell-known sound--the ubiquitous mosquito. It was rather odd to becompelled to rise and ring for our "boy" to put up mosquito-barson Christmas evening, but it had to be done. We talked till lateof home, and speculated upon what our friends would all be aboutaway up there almost above our heads--"topside, " as John Chinamanalways expresses it. So far we have only one paper from home; noletters, these having been missed at Shanghai. The news of thetriumph of hard money views rejoiced us greatly, as proving oncemore that in grave emergencies the good sense of the people ofAmerica can always be depended upon. One has only to visit theEast to see what evils the silver basis entails upon a nation. 

The economy practised in China is striking. A sweet potato is soldin halves, or even in quarters, if required; ferriage across theriver in a boat--a stream as wide as the Ohio at Pittsburgh--costsone-fifth of a cent, and you can engage an entire boat foryourself for a cent, if you wish to be extravagant; poultry issold by the piece, as we sell a sheep, the wings, breast, legs, all having their price, and even the very feet of a chicken beingsold for soup. Common iron nails are laid out in lots of six each;these have been used and used again, no one knows how often; wesee the people at work straightening old nails at every turn. Youcan buy one-tenth of a cent's worth (1 cash) of either fish, soup, or rice. Verily things are down to a fine point here!

In one of our strolls we came upon a string of ten blind beggarswandering through the narrow, crowded street, the hands of eachupon the shoulders of the one in advance, the leader beating withhis cane upon the stone pavement, and all beseeching alms. It wasa strange sight. The Chinese Government gives to every blindperson a small monthly pittance, and well-dressed passers, Iobserved, generally bestowed a cash upon the gang. 

I have not said much about the temples of Canton or of China, asthey are poor affairs compared with those of Japan; besides, onebecomes sated with temples which are for the most part copies ofone another; the pagodas are much more picturesque at a distancethan when closely inspected. The Chinese actually prefer all theirplaces to smack of age, and repair them reluctantly, so that allhave a dilapidated air, which gives a very unfavorable impressionto a stranger. At best, China has nothing whatever to boast of inthe way of architecture. We did not see a structure of any kindwhich would attract a moment's notice, a few pagodas and temples, perhaps, excepted; but even these are poor and mean affairs. 

The only temple worthy of mention I saw in any part of China isthat of the Sages. In it we were shown tolerably good busts offive hundred of the most famous characters known to Chinesehistory--all the writers, statesmen, and rulers who havedistinguished themselves for thousands of years. Among them, curiously enough, Marco Polo has by some means found a place. Compared with the hideous monsters worshipped in other temples, Iregarded this deification of the illustrious dead with sinceresatisfaction. No man can erect a house superior to what his rankor station in life justifies. A public officer prescribes thelimit of expenditure, after investigating the affairs of theintending builder, as every one in China tries to conceal hiswealth, fearing unjust exactions by the State. It is easy to seewhy no palaces are forthcoming. This is not "liberty;" but Isuspect several of my friends who have erected palatial structuresof late years have seen reason to wish that such a safeguard hadexisted when they began to build. 

 * * * * *

CHRISTMAS DAY. 

Yesterday's papers announced that the Hallelujah Chorus was to beperformed in the English Cathedral this morning at eight o'clock. I had been so long out of the region of music that I rose earlyand went to church. The Japanese and Chinese music grated so on myears, I longed to hear an organ once more. I enjoyed the servicevery much. The music was well performed, and as for the sermon--Ihad to be back for breakfast, you know. It was specially pleasingto see at church the detachment of British soldiers, the more soas they were Highlanders. My heart will warm to the tartan. Onestrange feature I shall not soon forget. Several soldiers, intheir scarlet uniforms, sang in the choir. I scarcely ever seesoldiers without being saddened by the thought that thecivilization of the race is yet little better than a name when somuch must still be done to teach millions of men the surest way todestroy their fellows; but I take hope from this omen--thesemighty men of war engaged this morning chanting the seraphicstrains which proclaim the coming of the better day when thereshall reign "on earth peace, good-will toward men. "

Whatever old China may be doing, young China is progressing, for Isaw in the park this morning several youthful Celestials, withtheir pigtails securely tied and out of the way, hard at cricketand baseball. Nor were they "duffers" either, although our weeWillie and his nine could no doubt, in the way of a "friendly"inning or two, show the lads a sweet thing, especially in the"underthrow, " for which my little nephew, I hear, is famous. 

We are all creatures of prejudice, of course, but I could not helpbeing somewhat shocked on Sunday, as I strolled about theCathedral, to see some thirty odd sedan chairs on the one side, and I suppose as many on the other, each with two, three, and somewith four coolies in gorgeous liveries in attendance, all waitingthe closing of prayers, lying in the shade, and some of themimproving the opportunity to enjoy a quiet gamble with dice thisfine Sunday morning. It did not seem to me to be quite consistentfor some of my Scotch friends who stand so stoutly for Sabbathobservance to keep so many human beings on duty, say three for onewho worshipped, just to save them from walking a few short squaresto and from church, for the town is small and compact. But customhas much to do with one's prejudices, for, after all, how is thisworse than to roll in one's carriage to our Fifth Avenue temples?Yet this never struck me as so much out of the way before, and Ithink, unless the future Mrs. C. Seriously objects, we shall walkto church as a rule--when we go. Really, three men kept at workthat one may pray seems just a shade out of proportion. 

I astonished Vandy this morning by getting up early; but I did notcare to explain the reason for this phenomenon, which was that Ihad to catch the Canton boat to send a note back to Ah-Cum askinghim to get me certain additional curios after all. While at CantonI had manfully resisted the temptation, but the thought of leavingChina without the treasures proved overwhelming, and now my onlyfear is lest Ah-Cum should fail me. I confessed to Vandy, after wehad had a glass of good wine at tiffin, and I shall not soonforget his quiet smile. "You've got it bad, haven't you?" 'Twasall he said, but you should have heard the touch of infinite pityin his tone. Yes, I have got it bad, I know, but to-morrow weshall escape from this old curiosity shop forever. 

The fire-bell rang just after we retired, and from eleven o'clockuntil now (two this afternoon--fifteen hours) a disastrousconflagration has raged, often threatening to consume the entiresettlement; indeed, nothing could have saved it but the splendidconduct of the 74th Highlanders. They were everywhere, and foughtthe fire the whole night long. The singers of the morning were theintrepid firemen of that tempestuous night. It was only by blowingup row after row of buildings that the flames were confined to onedistrict. I saw the brave fellows march into the buildings uponthe edge of the swirling flames to lay the fuse. A moment aftertheir return the bugle would sound; then came the explosion, andthe men were off to another building to repeat the work. All wasdone by bugle call, with military precision. Ten thousand timesmore "glory" in this march to save than in all the charge atBalaklava. Had equal pluck been shown on the field of battle, theflag of that splendid regiment would have blazoned with anotherwar-cry. Let them place this record on their banners, instead ofthe name of a city destroyed: December 25th, 1878. Hong Kong_Saved!_ They have no prouder triumph to commemorate, even intheir glorious history. 

I have not yet mentioned that slavery, in its mildest form, existsin China; but the children of a slave are free, and custom, whichis all-powerful there, requires a master to give up his servant ifthe latter can repay the amount originally paid for him; and thosewho own a woman-servant are expected to provide a husband for herwhen she becomes of age. The purchase of boys and girls is, as arule, confined to those who wish in this way to be provided withservants who shall become part of the household and can be reliedupon. In no case can a master or mistress require a slave toengage in any disreputable calling unless the purpose for whichthe sale is made is clearly set forth, in which event the cost isfully doubled. Without special provisions in the bill of sale, itis understood that the servant is to perform a servant's ordinaryduties and to be fairly treated, and to be required to do no wrongthing. 

The firing of firecrackers caused me to speak to our boatman oneday, as I was annoyed by the noise, having always had a dislikefor sudden explosions. "Why don't you worship something good andbeautiful, " I said; "some god that would detest such things asfirecrackers?" "So we do, " said he, "in our hearts, but this isnot worship; it is sacrifice to the bad gods, so they will bepleased and do one no harm. " "But won't the good god be displeasedand do you harm?" "No, the good god would never harm any one. " Hiswords were, as near as I can recollect them, "He no do badee; nocan; always likee he; much goodee; by-by kill bad Jossee may be;"and so they go, good lord, good devil; no saying into whose handsone may fall, as the sailor had it. I gave it up, as the businesswoman came on board and took command, the husband going off to hiswork elsewhere. This woman Susan--Black-eyed Susan, as we havedubbed her--and her bright young sister-in-law continue tointerest us more and more, they are such active, intelligentwomen. The girl is ornamented with bangles and heavy anklets, andher earrings are of blue-bird feathers; her hair is banged, andeverything about her evinces the care of really good, respectablepeople. I told Susan if I were a boatman I should try hard to savemoney enough to buy her sister-in-law, and asked her price. "Nosellee you; sellee goodee Chinaman two hundred dollars. " This wassaid as a great boast, as the ordinary price for one in herstation is only ninety dollars. Our guide turned up his lip inscorn and whispered to me, "She talkee with mouthee too muchee;ninety dollar plenty. " Perhaps he had his eye upon the maid forhis son. If so, I put in a good word for her, telling him I wasreputed one of the best judges of young ladies in America, that Icould tell their qualities at a glance, and that it was certainshe would make an excellent wife; and, what I thought would weighas much with him, I added that for a business woman who couldplease travellers and get lots of money I did not believe she hadher equal in Canton. One always likes to help on a match when hecan, and something may come of this; who knows?

I wish to bear my testimony to the grand work which is goingforward at various places in China by means of the medicaldepartments of missions. There are fourteen hospitals of this kindin the country, and patients from all parts flock to them. Indiseases of the eye unusual success seems to have been achieved, and stories are told of mandarins almost blind who have beenrestored to sight; and in dealing with cutaneous disorders, whichare very common, the doctors have also done wonders. A smallmission hospital established in the Island of Formosa only a fewyears ago has already treated ten thousand patients, and I aminformed that the Canton establishment numbers its beneficiariesby the hundred thousand. Whatever objection the people make tomissionaries, doctors are ever welcome, and regarded asbenefactors. Nor must we forget that the entire credit of thisindisputably grand work is wholly due to those who consider it asacred duty to endeavor to force their religious views upon theconsideration of the Chinese. One can hardly find terms strongenough to speak fitly of the good missions are performing in thisdepartment of their labors; and while upon this subject we shouldremember that it is also to missionaries alone we owe almost allwe know of China and its literature. Even Confucius was given tothe world in English by a missionary. I take special pleasure insaying all I justly can for those who are so universally decriedthroughout the East. With scarcely an exception--indeed I do notremember one--every European or American engaged in the Eastspeaks disparagingly of missionaries and their labors. I believe, myself, that trying to force religious views upon those who onlytolerate them because the cannon stands behind ready to supportthe preaching is not the better way, and that many more convertswould be made by "the word spoken in season" by ministers of theEuropean congregations now scattered throughout the East, and bydoctors and others with whom the natives are daily brought incontact, if the paid propaganda were withdrawn; but this shouldnot prevent us from crediting the missionaries with the collateraladvantages which are now flowing from another branch of theirefforts. They are on the right track now; the M. D. Is the bestpioneer of the D. D. There is another powerful lever at work in the_Herald_, a weekly paper published in Shanghai anddistributed throughout the Empire. It is obtaining an immensecirculation. It gives each week an epitome of the most importantevents occurring in every country, and America, I saw, headed thelist. A Mr. Allen, formerly connected with missions, is thepublisher, and he is probably doing more to revolutionize Chinathan all others combined. 

China, as everybody knows, grows a great deal of tea, but few areaware how great a proportion of this indispensable article sheproduces, and how much of it she uses herself. Here are thefigures I see printed: Total production of the world, 1, 300, 000net tons; China's portion, 1, 150, 000 tons, being about nine timesmore than all the world beside. But what is more wonderful is thatChina uses 1, 000, 000 tons per annum, and exports only 150, 000tons. But every one in China, upon all occasions, partakes of thecup which cheers and does not inebriate. Neither sugar nor creamis used in it; a little tea is placed in the cup and boiling waterpoured over it and it is drunk immediately. The strength of thetea is drawn in a few moments after the water is poured upon it. The coloring matter leaves it later. It is therefore a greatmistake to use a teapot and allow tea to remain in it, and equallyto use either sugar or cream--at least such is the verdict ofthose here who should know best. We quite agreed with them, andrecommend our readers to try the Chinese plan, always providedthey are so fortunate as to have a good sound article of pleasantflavor. With most of the tea found in England, and especially sowith that generally used in America, the sugar and cream are nodoubt necessary to drown the "twang. " A Chinaman would put thispractice on a par with putting sugar in Chateau Lafitte. Tea isthe wine of the Celestial. A mandarin will "talk" it to you as agourmet talks wine with us; dilate upon its quality and flavor, for the grades are innumerable, and taste and sip and sip andtaste as your winebibber does--and smack his lips too. We are toldof teas so delicate in flavor that fifty miles of transportationspoils them. 

It is popularly supposed that a small-footed woman must be one ofrank, but this is an error. It is a matter of family ambition, even among the poor, to have in the family at least one suchdeformity. Gentlemen marry only small-footed women, and theirchild might make a good match. If large-footed, this would beimpossible; but such hopes are sometimes doomed to disappointment, or after marriage reverses may ensue; and so it happens that manysmall feet stamp about in poverty and try to eke out a livingunder disadvantages from which their less genteel neighbors arefree. The most remarkable feature in the streets is the totalabsence of women of any class except such as drudge alongside ofmen, and even these are not numerous, for man appears tomonopolize most of the work, at least in the cities. Occasionallywe pass a sedan chair, or one passes us, closely covered up, whichno doubt contains a lady of position compelled to visit sometemple or relative; but I do not recall seeing in China any womanin a costume above that of the working classes, so jealously doChinamen sentence their ladies to seclusion. A curiousillustration of this occurred on our passage out. On our ship wasone of the leading Chinese merchants of San Francisco with hiswife. Rather than have her seen, even among the few cabinpassengers, he engaged a portion of the steerage, had it closelyboarded up and confined her in it, and she was never seen by anyof us during the entire voyage. He and she took their mealstogether in the box. It was said that now and then at night shewas carried secretly on deck for a breath of air; of course withher small feet she could not walk. 

The steerage had to be fumigated at intervals and every soul wasordered on deck before the process began. This necessity hadevidently not been taken into account by the exclusives, and muchdifficulty did our good doctor encounter with them. The husbanddeclared that rather than be exposed to the gaze of the crowd, hiswife would run the risk of being fumigated to death. The operationwas postponed until a small cabin could be provided and the veiledbeauty taken secretly to it. 

A Chinese woman in China would hold it disgraceful to expose herface to a strange man. Queen Victoria, sober, sage matron and pinkof propriety as she is reputed, would not consider a lady properlydressed for her levee--where the more strange men to gaze thebetter--who did not expose her face and neck and shoulders to fullview. Education, my boy, education! all things right and allthings wrong within a very wide range of affairs. Chinese womenpinch the feet, ours pinch the waist, and each pities the otherfor their woeful lack of knowledge and their wickedness in marringGod's image--and for their bad taste, which is, I fear, equallyheinous to the female mind. 

Our visit to the Celestial Empire is now at an end. We sail atnoon by the French mail steamer Pie Ho for Singapore, fourteenhundred miles south. The more we see of China the greater itgrows. A country much larger than the United States, with eighttimes the population, and not one mile of telegraph or railroad init, in many districts not even one mile of public road broadenough for anything wider than a wheelbarrow--and yet a readingand writing people, a race of acknowledged mental power, with aform of settled government the oldest in the world--howinconsistent all this seems to us! But the reason for thisparadoxical condition of affairs is, I think, that the unequalledresources of the country, which give to the people every necessaryof life and almost every luxury, encouraged them in early days toeschew intercourse with the poorer lands around them, and thentheir superiority as a race to all their neighbors led them quitejustifiably to conclude that all beyond were outside barbarians. They rested content with the advanced position attained, and aseach successive generation copied the past, change became foreignto their whole nature, and in this path they have stubbornlypersisted until the once inferior races of the West have faroutstripped them. Among these outside barbarians must be rankedour noble selves, for it isn't one thousand years, let alone two, since our ancestors were running about dressed in skins and eatingraw flesh--perhaps eating each other, as some allege--as ignorantof their A B C's as of the theory of evolution or the nebularhypothesis, when these Chinese were printing books and sailingships by the compass. If my English readers will not be toogreatly startled at the illustration, I will suggest that theconduct of China and its results suggest a danger for them whichtheir statesmen should not be slow to perceive and remedy. Englandonce stood as much in advance of other Western nations as Chinadid in comparison with other lands, and she has apparently restedtill now with equal complacency in the belief of her superiority. It is fast passing away. The English-speaking race throughout theworld no longer looks to the parent land for political guidance, for instance, where Britain once reigned supreme. What English-speaking community would now study her antiquated politicaldevices, her throne, her church and state, her primogeniture andentail, her hereditary chamber, unequal representation, or lack ofrepresentation rather, except that they might surely learn how toavoid them! Over the day when all English-speaking people turnedinstinctively to my native land for political example "Ichabod"must be written. They now look elsewhere, follow other ideals, andhave adopted other ideas of government and the rights of man. 

It is not too late yet, however, for England to regain her properplace in the race if she will only wake up, rub her dear old eyes, and see what the youngsters are about. "There is life in the olddog yet. " The world is not done with the glorious little island, nor the island done with the world either. But no nation canindulge in a very long sleep in these days of progress the worldover. England must remember, "_To have done_, is to hang Quite out of fashion, like a rusty mail In monumental mockery. "

Recent events have undoubtedly awakened the foremost minds ofChina to the fact that they have been asleep, not twenty yearsonly like our Rip, but twenty generations. They have recentlybegun to build steamships, a line of telegraph is authorized, postage stamps are being printed, and, best of all, for ourcomfort, at the principal cities there is generally at least onedealer who adheres to fixed prices for his goods. A daily paper isnow published in Chinese at Shanghai, and the English school thereis well patronized. All these things convince me that at lastWestern civilization is making an impression. The inert massbegins to move, and China will march forward ere long. The mostconvincing proof of this is found, perhaps, in the fact that thegovernment appropriated in 1872 nearly two millions of dollars tomaintain a hundred and fifty students in the United States. Theseare to be educated in our colleges and afterward employedofficially at home. No action could prove more conclusively thatChina is at last awakening from her long centuries of repose. 

But without railroads the material resources of the country cannever be thoroughly developed. I fear this will be among the lastfeatures of our civilization which China will adopt, although themost important for her progress, because, as before mentioned, arailway cannot be built without desecrating graves by thethousand, and this every true Chinaman would view with horror. Ourguide, although a remarkably intelligent man, and favorable toimprovements of all kinds, took his stand here, inflexiblyopposing the introduction of railways. No matter what materialadvantages might accrue, nor how much money he might be offered, no earthly consideration would induce him to disturb hisancestors, who have lain in one place in uninterrupted successionfor nearly seven hundred years. If my friends Messrs. Garrison, Field and Pullman, who have so skilfully managed to give uselevated railroads without disturbing proprietary rights below, wish to enhance their fame, let them ask a concession in theCelestial Empire for railroads "topside, " guaranteed to dodgeevery grave, and I do not doubt their success. Such inbornsuperstition as is here depicted dies hard, but it must pass awaywith the spread of knowledge; it will, however, take time. Nevertheless, China has a great future before it, as it has had agreat past, and instead of having passed her climacteric, Ipredict that she is destined to reach a position of paramountimportance in the Eastern world. 

 * * * * *

TUESDAY, December 26. 

The Pie Ho is a magnificent ship, and we are delighted at gettingunder the auspices of a French cook once more, after theexperiences we have had in Chinese cookery. No doubt about thepreeminence of the French in regard to human food. Whoever sendsthe raw material, the French send the cooks. The _tabled'hote_, now common in England at the hotels, and the Frenchservice found in private houses, all so very different from thepractice even since I began to revisit England, show how rapidlythe world is bowing to the French cuisine. 

We are scudding along before the monsoon, the temperature that ofJune, an agreeable change from Hong Kong, where the nights have beenchilly. We are out of the region of cold weather now for theremainder of our travels. We reached Saigon, the capital of theFrench settlement in Cochin China, at six this morning, aftersailing forty miles up a branch of the Cambodia. Lower Cochin Chinabelongs to France, and is under the rule of a colonial governor, French troops being scattered through the provinces. It is alow-lying district, celebrated only for growing more rice than anyother part of the world. Our ship took on large quantities of it forFrance, but this is exceptional, the scarcity of freights beingeverywhere so great that steamers are glad to get anything to carry. The Saigonites are the lowest specimens of humanity we have yetseen--miserable, sickly-looking creatures, and without the faintestregard for cleanliness. Their long, coarse black hair hangs overtheir shoulders in thick, tangled masses which apparently have neverknown a comb. Every one chews the betel-nut without intermission, young and old alike, and this so discolors the teeth and mouth as torender them extremely disgusting. We drove about the town for a fewhours, but it was so hot we were compelled to return to the ship. This is the God-forsaken-looking region about which France is nowdisputing with China. I cannot but wish that every deputy had beenwith me during the few days of my visit, that he might see what kindof a land and what sort of human beings his country expected toderive credit from by superintending. 

What I have said previous to the foregoing paragraph was written onthe spot, and therefore I cannot be accused of being prejudiced by therecent action of France, which has caused me, as its well-wisher, much sincere regret. Any power acquired by France over this portionof the world can be but illusory--wholly so. The importance even ofSaigon is so small that it offers no inducement to any of theregular steamers to call as they pass. The French line alone visitsit under a subvention from the home government. A few poor Frenchpeople manage to exist after a fashion by trading with the ignorantnatives, and a few soldiers and a ship- of-war give some semblanceof French authority. But just as certain as the sun shines, shouldany considerable commerce arise in Cochin China, the English willabsorb nine-tenths of it, and this by a law from which there is noescape. 

When the French people forced the government to withdraw fromEgypt they gave us reason to hope that Herbert Spencer's law, which creates pacific principles in proportion that power is heldby the masses, had received a significant vindication. Let us hopethe republican element will ere long put its veto upon foolishinterference in Tonquin. 

The night we spent at Saigon the French governor gave a grandball, five hundred invitations; but out of all this number howmany ladies, think you? Society here musters but thirty-five, mammas and grandmammas included, and only three young ladies. Think of it, ye belles of Cresson, Newport and Saratoga (Cressonfirst, Mr. Printer, is quite correct)! fifteen officers indazzling uniforms for every lady!

We have on board several English merchants and one American, whoare taking a run home for a visit. The latter regrets that hiscountrymen should be induced to drink green tea abominations, andI console him by stating that a reform is surely near at hand. These gentlemen agree that the American cotton goods are takingthe market and driving the adulterated English goods out. Thetrade is increasing so fast that it was welcome intelligence forthem to be advised by the last mail that another large mill inMassachusetts was being altered to make exclusively Chinese goods. I congratulate my friend Edward Atkinson upon this result. But isthis new business to be permanent? I think not. The day is fardistant, I hope, when either labor or capital in America will haveto be content with the return obtained in a populous country likeBritain; and unless we have superior natural advantages we cannothope to compete with her. In cotton manufacture for the East wehave not any advantage, as I find that the cheapest way ofreaching China from New York is to ship via London. England canbring the raw cotton from New Orleans or New York, and send themanufactured goods to market for certainly not more than the costof transportation from the American mills to market, and thereforeEngland can retain that trade whenever she adopts the latestimprovements in mode of manufacture; and this she is as certain todo as the sun shines, and probably to improve upon them. 

 * * * * *

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 1879. 

The clock strikes twelve. Good-bye, 1878; and you, 1879, all hail!Be as kind to us as the departed, and we shall in turn bless yourmemory. This midnight hour of all the hours of the year is reputedthe best for framing good resolutions, but somehow those I havetried at this season hitherto have not been exceptionallyfortunate in bearing good fruit. However, I have never "resolved"on a New-Year's night before while suffering from heat andmosquitoes. I conclude to hazard one, so here goes antipodalresolution No. I. See what you are good for. I record it that itmay be the more deeply impressed upon my mind, and, if a failure, that it may in print sternly stare me in the face, and not "downat my bidding. "

To-day we make our first acquaintance with punkas. They extendthroughout the cabin, ominous of hot weather, which I detest;Vandy, on the other hand, revels in it, and it is his turn now. Vandy handed me today a string of Cambodia money, sixty pieces, which cost only two cents, showing to what fractions they reduceexchanges in Cochin China. I have been careful to collect coins inevery place visited. Sock No. 1 is now full, and I have had tostart bag No. 2. I have some rare specimens; of Japan the set iscomplete, from the gold cobang, worth $115, oblong, five incheslong by about three wide, down to the smallest copper piece. Ihave some Chinese coins shaped like a St. Andrew's cross, datingbefore Christ. The mania for coin collecting is another inherenttendency the presence of which has probably never been suspectedin my disposition. But collecting the coin of the realm, when onethinks of it, isn't at all foreign to my tastes. The form ofmanifestation is different, that's all--old coin for new--the"ruling love, " to use a Swedenborgianism, being the same; and theruling love must be acted out, so Aunt tells me, even in heaven. "Oh!" said L. , when she heard this, "I wonder what they'll get forMr. ----to do in the other world; there are no dollars and centsthere; but there will be the _golden harps_ for him to trimand weigh. " So he would still handle the siller, and be in hiselement. Some time afterward, when this was recalled to L. , shedeclared that it was impossible that she could have said it. "Mr. ----trim and weigh! He would never be satisfied unless he were_boiling it down solid_. "

 * * * * *

SINGAPORE, Saturday, January 4. 

We reached Singapore at dusk. The drive through the town was acurious one. Nowhere else can such a mixture of races be seen, andeach nationality was enjoying itself in its own peculiarfashion--all except the Chinese, who were, as usual, hard at workin their little dens. No recreation for this people. Work, work, work! They never play, never smile, but plod away, from earlymorning until late at night. The Chinaman's objection to givinghis creditor in New York a note was because it "walkee, walkeealle timee; walkee, walkee, no sleepee. " They seem to me toemulate these objectionable obligations. 

We saw in Singapore our first lot of Hindoos, moving about thestreets like ghosts, wrapped in webs of thin white cotton cloth, which scissors, needle, or thread have never defiled. The clothmust remain just as it came from the loom; no hat, no shoes, theirforeheads chalked, or painted in red with the stamp of the godthey worship and the caste to which they belong. They are a small, slight race, with fine, delicate features. 

I went out for a stroll before retiring, and hearing a great noiseup the street, followed and came up with a Hindoo procession. Thegod was being paraded through the Hindoo portion of the town amidthe beating of drums and blowing of squeaking trumpets. The idolwas seated in a finely decorated temple upon wheels, drawn bydevotees, many of whom danced wildly around, while others boretorches aloft, making altogether a very gorgeous display. Priestsstood at each side performing mysterious rites as the cortegeproceeded. It was my first sight of an idolatrous procession, andit made a deep impression upon me, carrying me back to Sunday-school days, and the terrible car of Juggernaut and all itshorrors. 

I have had many experiences in beds, from the generous feathercover of the Germans to the canopy of state couch of England, butto-night my couch was minus covering of any kind. Calling toVandy, I found he was in the same predicament. Each had instead along, stiff bolster lying lengthwise in the middle of themattress, the use of which neither of us could make out. We soondiscovered that there was no need of covering at the Equator; butthis bolster must have some use, if we could only find it. Uponinquiring next day we ascertained that it is composed of a kind ofpith which has the property of keeping cool in the hottestweather, and that it is the greatest relief at night to cultivatethe closest possible acquaintance with this strange bed-fellow; infact, in Singapore, "no family should be without it. "

The island of Singapore, which is included in the British StraitsSettlements, is nearly seventy miles in circumference, with apopulation of about one hundred thousand, one-half of which isChinese, the remainder Malays, Klings, Javanese, Hindoos, andevery other Eastern race under the sun, I believe, and a fewEuropeans. Here the "survival of the fittest" is being fought outunder the protection of the British flag, which insures peace andorder wherever it floats. In this struggle we have no hesitationin backing the Heathen Chinee against the field. Permanentoccupation by any Western race is of course out of the question. An Englishman would inevitably cease to be an Englishman in a few, a very few, generations, and it is therefore only a question oftime when the Chinese will drive every other race to the wall. Norace can possibly stand against them anywhere in the East. 

On Sunday, Major Studer, United States Consul, and hisaccomplished daughter, drove us to the house and gardens of theleading Chinese merchant of this region, Mr. Wampoo, who receivedand entertained us with great cordiality. His residence isextensive and filled in every part with curios; but his gardensare most celebrated, and far surpass anything of the kind we haveyet seen. His collection of Victoria Regia plants is said to bethe best in the world. Unfortunately none were in bloom, but aflower was due, I understood, in about ten years! The kind oldgentleman invited us back to see it, and we accepted; but sincewriting this we have heard, alas! that he has ceased to play hispart upon earth. 

The newspapers here sometimes give strange local items. Here isone from yesterday's _Times_:

"Tigers must be increasing on the island; a fine big male one wascaught in a pit on Christmas eve at the water-works. " The fellowwas probably on the track of a Christmas dinner, and ventured tothe very suburbs of the town. 

We were driven one day, by the major and Miss Studer, some ten ortwelve miles in the interior, passing through groves of cocoa andbetel-nut trees, both in full bearing, to a tapioca plantation, where we saw many trees and plants new to us--the fan and sagopalms and many other varieties, bananas, nutmeg trees, breadfruit, durion, gutta-percha trees and others. We also saw theindigo plant under cultivation, and passed through fields of thesensitive plant as we walked about, while pine-apples wereeverywhere. We are in a new world of vegetation here, within adegree of the Equator; but, rich as it is, there is still afeeling of disappointment because it is all green--no bright hues, no coloring, such as gives Florida its charm, or lends to anAmerican forest in autumn its unrivalled glory! It is alwayssummer, and the moisture of the tropics keeps everything green. There is another cause of disappointment to one accustomed to theprimeval forest and its majestic trees. These monarchs cannotdevelop themselves in the tropics, and in their stead we have onlyunderbrush, the "jungle" of the tiger, which does not at all comeup to one's expectations. 

About one thousand men and women are employed upon this tapiocaplantation. Married Hindoos get twenty cents per day, but thegreater number are Javanese unmarried men, who get only sixteencents; both find themselves. The Javanese are Mohammedans fromJava _en route_ to Mecca as a religious duty. They come hereand work and save for two years to get sufficient to pay theirpassage and return to this point, when they work a year more forfunds to carry them home. How vital is the creed which brings itsadherents to such sacrifice! This drive gave us an excellentopportunity of seeing just how the people live in the country. Dress is confined to the rag worn about the loins, except that thewomen wear in addition a small cloth over their shoulders. Thechildren wear nothing whatever, but we saw none that were notornamented by cheap jewelry in the most extraordinary manner. 

The subject of clothes, as we all know from the days of "SartorResartus, " lies very closely at the roots of civilization. I thinkevery thoughtful person must admit that here the Heathen Chineeshows that he has reached the best solution of that annoyingquestion. The every-day dress of the Chinaman is to-day just whatit was thousands of years ago. As there is no going out or comingin of fashion, he wears his clothes till they can be worn nolonger. The heavy-overcoats which distress Americans and are aweight even to the Englishman, our celestial friend escapes byhaving three or four light coats all of one pattern and weight. Itis a one, two, or a three-coat day, according to temperature. Again and above all he escapes the horrid starch entirely, neithershirts nor collars nor cuffs, sometimes like thin sheets of iron, irritating his skin. 

Vandy and I seriously resolved to-day that we would never againtolerate a starched thing about us; no matter what others did, wewould discard the vile custom and be free. In revising this I ambound to admit our weakness: neither Vandy nor I have been strongenough to contend against our mothers. I don't know exactly whatVandy's experience was, but I know he fell soon after our return. For my part I fought it out awhile and tried many ways to win; butmy flannel and frieze underwear which I brought from China soonbecame unwearable, I was informed, from shrinkage, then they hadbroken into holes, and so on. They were finally missed from mywardrobe, and I compromised by stipulating that I should return tothe shirt and collars and cuffs, and agreed they might be all purewhite--provided that little or no starch should be used--this isan improvement, but linen is the most uncomfortable materialknown, used as we use it. 

Vandy and I when in the East reduced the time for bathing anddressing in the morning to seven minutes. Of course, we have longsince given up the folly of shaving. How one envies the man of theEast who has but four articles to slip on, and no pins required:socks and low shoes (no lacing), one; breeches, two; undershirt, three; coat, four; and there he is, ready for breakfast. The coatbuttons close to the chin, and has a small upright collar, and awatch-pocket outside; no cuffs, collars or neckties. Why does notsome born reformer of our sex devote his life to giving his fellowman such additional happiness in life? Hundreds waste theirenergies upon objects which, if accomplished, would not be half asfruitful. 

Here is a description of a woman's jewelry, as taken from life byVandy: lobes of ears pierced with holes large enough to allowone's thumb to be inserted; above these holes two small gold-colorrivets in each ear; in each nostril two gold pendants, inserted byscrewing in; through the centre of the nose a large silver ring;on each wrist four bracelets; higher up the arm more rings; aroundher neck a necklace; around each ankle a large silver ring; andaround her big toe and the next, on both feet, were rings. Thesmallest children wore many similar jewels. Upon these every pennythey can save is squandered, and to secure them they are contentto live on a little boiled rice and fish--a bamboo hut of oneapartment their only home, and a piece of cotton cloth theirwardrobe. 

We had the pleasure of meeting, at Major Studer's, Mr. Hornaday, ayoung gentleman who travels for Professor Ward, of Rochester, NewYork, whose museum is well known the world over. Mr. Hornaday'sdepartment is to keep the Professor's collections complete, and ifthere be a rare bird, beast, or reptile on the globe, he is bound tocapture specimens. He had just returned from spending four monthsamong the savages of Borneo, where alone a supply of orang-outangscould be obtained. He returned with forty-two of these links, shotmostly by himself. He came one day upon two very young ones, andthese he has brought here alive. They are suggestively human intheir ways, and two better-behaved, more affectionate babies arerarely to be met with. Let no anti-Darwinian study youngorang-outangs if he wishes to retain his present notions. Themuseum, Mr. Hornaday is advised, is now short of dugongs, and he isoff for Australia next steamer to lay in a supply. The recital ofhis adventures is extremely interesting, and I predict that some daya book from him will have a great run. 

What an interest is awakened by one who is able to tell stories ofhis own experience! No wonder that Othello won Desdemona with therecital of his adventures. He was the hero who had been the actorin all the scenes he depicted. Listening to Mr. Hornaday was asource of rare pleasure to-night. His chief regret is that hemissed, during his visit to Borneo, the largest mias ever seen onthe island. The natives discovered a troop, all of which made offexcept the leader. He showed fight, but soon ran up a high tree, from which the native weapons were unable to dislodge him. He wasbeyond their reach and there he sat. It was resolved to cut downthe tree and capture him as he fell; but as soon as they came toclose quarters with the monster, he proved so powerful, fierce, and courageous that the natives ran away and he got off. 

Mr. Hornaday reached the spot just too late. "Why didn't you sendfor me? Didn't you know my rifle would have reached him?" heasked. They gave him no reason for their conduct, but he suspectedthat they feared he would not have paid them had he made thecapture. Mr. Hornaday is confident this mias exceeded the heightstated by Wallace as the maximum. 

Mr. Hornaday was more successful with the largest tiger shot inIndia for years. He was out after cheetahs, and having no moreexpectation of meeting with the nobler game than of encountering alion, had not his tiger rifle with him. On coming to the banks ofa small stream he was greatly surprised to see a tiger's freshfootmarks--a big foot, too. Making a sign to his attendants tostand motionless, he glanced up the stream, then down, and saw, not far from him, leisurely strolling along the edge of the creek, seeking a convenient ford, the largest tiger he had ever laid eyesupon, although he had shot many. "Shall I shoot with this gun?" hethought. "If I miss he will certainly be upon us. He will attackone of my colored attendants first, anyhow, and I'll get a chanceto reload. I'll do it!" A moment after, the monster, having founda ford to his liking, turned his head and looked cautiously downstream before entering the water. Finding all quiet in thatdirection, he turned to glance up stream. For this moment Mr. Hornaday had waited. There is one spot only to hit a tiger--rightbetween the eyes. He fired and the beast fell. No other shot wasfired, for holes spoil a skin. The animal writhed for severalhours, no one daring to approach him, until he finally sankexhausted upon the sand. I think it was fifteen pounds Mr. Hornaday received from Government for this exploit. I have securedthe skin of this very beast, properly preserved, full head, openmouth, glaring eyeballs, and all, and I am ready to match tigerskins with any one. 

In the absence of other commercial intelligence, I may quote themarket in Mr. Hornaday's line: Tigers are still reported "lively;"orang-outangs "looking up;" pythons show but little animation atthis season of the year; proboscis monkeys, on the other hand, continue scarce; there is quite a run on lions, and kangaroos arejumped at with avidity; elephants heavy; birds of paradisedrooping; crocodiles are snapped up as offered, while dugongsbring large prices. What is pig metal to this?

The climate of Singapore, as of all places so near the Equator, would be intolerable but for the dense clouds which obscure thesun and save us from its fierce rays; but occasionally it breaksthrough for a few minutes, and we are in a bath of perspirationbefore we know it. No one can estimate the difference in the powerof the sun here as compared with it in New York. Straw hats affordno protection whatever; we are compelled to wear thick whitehelmets of pith, and use a white umbrella lined with green cloth, and yet can walk only a few steps when the sun is not hid withoutfeeling that we must seek the shade. The horses are unable to gomore than ten miles in twenty-four hours, and our carriage andpair are hired with the understanding that this is not to beexceeded. Nothing could exist near the line if the intense heatdid not cause evaporation upon a gigantic scale. The clouds soformed are driven upward by the streams of colder air from bothsides, condensation then takes place, and showers fall every fewhours in the region of Singapore. 

One is not only in a new earth here, but he has a new sky as well. As the tropics have nothing to compare with our more brilliantcolors in the vegetable world, so the southern sky has no stars toequal ours. Indeed, with the exception of the four in the SouthernCross, two in the Centaur, and two or three others, there is nostar of the first magnitude to be seen, and the constellations arepoor compared with those of our splendid northern skies. Shakespeare's

 ". . . Inlaid with patines of bright gold, "

must seem hyperbole to the Australian. I saw the Southern Crossmany nights while at sea, and it is certainly very fine, as far asfour stars can make a cross; for, as usual, much is left to theimagination. It is really not a cross at all. These long oceantrips furnish the best opportunity for observing the stars, and Ihave rubbed up my early knowledge on the subject so far as to beable to point out all the constellations and many of the principalstars; but away down here the North Star even is not to be seen, and we have to steer by Orion's belt if the compass varies. 

 * * * * *

TUESDAY, January 14. 

We left Singapore to-day at three P. M. By the English mail steamerTeheran, parting with very sincere regret from Major and MissStuder, to whom we had been so much indebted for our week'shappiness. These partings from kind friends on our way round theworld are the sad incidents of the trip. People are so kind, andthey do so much to render our stay agreeable, that we becomewarmly attached, and have many excursions planned, when somemorning up goes the flag, boom goes the signal gun, "Mail steamerarrived!" all aboard at sunset! and farewell, friends! We see themlinger on the pier as we sail away, good-byes are waved, and wefade from each other's sight; but it will be long ere many facesvanish from our memory. 

While still gazing Singaporeward I am recalled to the stern dutiesof life. These two baby orang-outangs I told you of are going to anaturalist in Madras. What a present! and Vandy and I havepromised to do what we can in the way of attendance upon them. Thebutcher comes to ask me when they are to be fed, and how, andwhat. This is a poser. I am not up in the management of orang-outangs, but Vandy has skill in almost everything of this kind; atleast he is safer than I, there being a good deal of the incipientdoctor about Vandy, and I search for him in this emergency. Thefact is, while I have had varied experiences in the matter ofdelicate charges of many kinds, these have generally been of ourown species--a youngster to be taken home to his parents, adowager lady afraid of the cars--even a blushing damsel to betransported across the Atlantic to the arms of her _fiance_has been entrusted to me before this, but this charge is decidedlyout of my line. These fearfully human-looking, human-acting brutesfurnish much amusement to the passengers; but at first every ladywhom we took forward to watch them was compelled to run awaylaughing and exclaiming, "Oh, they are so much like babies! It'sjust horrid to see these nasty, hairy things carry on so!"Confirmation strong, I suppose, of our kinship, so do riot let usneglect our poor relations even if the connection be somewhatremote. Bananas are their favorite delicacy, but this morning noteven that fruit could tempt them. I gave one to the smaller of thetwo, but it would not take it. Then I tried the larger one. Hetook it in his paw, peeled it at one end and put it to his lips, then looking up at me with a sad, puzzled expression, dropped hisprize, and resting his head on his paw laid slowly down on thestraw, telling us all as plainly as could be that he was sea-sick. Such was indeed the case; but in a few hours the sea fell and hewas as sprightly as ever. Monkeys move spasmodically, by jerks asit were; not so these dignified, stately creatures: they are asdeliberate in all their actions as staid, sober people. One day apassenger had offered a banana to the little one, but as it putforth its paw, withdrew it. The wee thing stood this severaltimes, and at last laid down on its face and cried like a child--awicked cry; nor would it be comforted, the banana when offeredbeing petulantly rejected. They are much too human. 

We called at Penang, an island on the western shore of thePeninsula, also belonging to Great Britain, and had time to drivearound the settlement. The place is not to be compared toSingapore in size, but vegetation is even more luxuriant. It wasvery hot, and we envied the governor his residence on a mountainpeak eighteen hundred feet above the sea, where, it was reported, fires are actually required at some seasons night and morning. Penang exports large quantities of tin, and we took on a lot forNew York. This valuable production seems about the only metalAmerica has now to import, but some lucky explorer is no doubtdestined to find it in immense quantities by and by. Having goteverything else, it doesn't stand to reason that America shouldnot be favored with this also. Nothing unusual occurred upon ourrun across the Bay of Bengal. Even Vandy enjoyed the sea voyagethis time; something he had never before done in his life, norever done since. It was smooth and quiet steaming all the way toCeylon. I had been humming "Greenland's Icy Mountains" for severaldays previously, about all that I knew of Ceylon's isle beingcontained in one of the verses of that hymn, which I used to singat missionary meetings, when a minister who had seen the heathenwas stared at as a prodigy. 

And indeed the "spicy breezes blew soft o'er Ceylon's isle" as weapproached it in the moonlight. We found Galle quite a pretty, quaint little port, and remained there one night, taking the coachnext morning for Colombo, the capital. The drive of sixty miles tothe railway which extends to Colombo, seventeen miles beyond, isone of the best treats we have yet had. The road is equal to oneof our best park avenues, as indeed are all the roads we saw inCeylon; from end to end it skirts the rocky shores, passingthrough groves of cocoa and betel-nut trees, and dotted on eachside by the huts of natives at work at some branch of the cocoanutbusiness. Every part of the nut is utilized; ropes and mats aremade from the covering of the shell, oil from the kernel, and themilk is drank fresh at every meal. These trees do not thriveexcept near the coast, the salt air laden with moisture beingessential for their growth, but they grow quite down to the edgeof the sea. The natives have been attracted to this main road, andfrom Galle to Colombo it is almost one continuous village; thereis no prettier sea-shore in the world, nor a more beautiful surf. Every few miles we come upon large numbers of fishermen drawing intheir nets, which are excessively long and take in several acresof sea in their sweep. An artist who would come to Ceylon anddevote himself to depicting "the fishers of Ceylon's isle" (howwell that sounds! and a good title is half the battle) would makea reputation and a fortune. I am quite sure there is no morepicturesque sight than the drawing of their nets, several hundredmen being engaged in the labor, while the beach is alive withwomen and children in bright colors anxiously watching the result. 

The dress of the Ceylonese women is really pretty: a skirt closelyfitting the figure, and a tight jacket over the shoulders--all offine, pure white cotton cloth or muslin and quite plain, withneither frill, tuck, flounce, nor anything of the kind. Necklacesand ear-rings are worn, but I am glad to say the nose in Ceylonseems to be preserved from the indignity of rings. The men's dressis rather scanty, their weakness being a large tortoise-shellcomb, which every one wears; it reaches from ear to ear, and thehair is combed straight back and confined by it. Women are deniedthis crowning ornament, and must content themselves with a pin inthe hair, the head of which, however, is highly ornamented. TheBuddhist priests form a strange contrast in their dress, whichconsists of a yellow plaid, generally of silk, wrapped around thebody and over the shoulders. 

I asked our Ceylonese guide to-day whether he had ever heard ofour most popular missionary hymn. "Here is the verse, " I said, "about your beautiful isle ":

 "What though the spicy breezes Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle, Though every prospect pleases, And only man is vile! In vain with lavish kindness, The gifts of God are strewn; The heathen, in his blindness, Bows down to wood and stone. "

"What do you think of that description?" I asked. He said hethought "the writer was a fool, " and asked if any one in mycountry believed that there was a man, woman, or child in Ceylonwho did not know better than to bow down to any power but God. "Yes, " I said, "I once believed it myself, and millions believe itto-day, and good boys and girls with us save their pennies to sendmissionaries to tell these heathen who worship idols how verywrong and foolish it is to do so, and how very angry the true Godis to have anything worshipped but himself. " He said ours must bea very curious country, and he should like to visit it and seesuch queer people. I gave him my address and promised, if he wouldcome to see me, to take him to a great missionary meeting where hewould see the best and most religious people, all greatlyconcerned about the idolaters of Ceylon. 

The truth is there is scarcely in all the world a human being solow in the scale as not to know that the object he sees is onlythe symbol of the invisible power. What the cross is to theChristian the idol is to the other, and it is nothing more. Theworship of both is to the Unknown beyond. I did my best to soothethe wounded spirit of our guide by explaining the necessities ofpoetic license. Still he would have it that Bishop Heber hadwronged his beloved Ceylon and did not know what he was writingabout. 

The religion of Ceylon is Buddhism; indeed it is now the moststrictly Buddhist country in the world. One condition of thecession of the sovereignty to Great Britain was that this religionshould be held inviolable with its rights and privileges, itsmonasteries and temples and all pertaining thereto. In thelanguage of the greatest European authority, "although governmentsupport is no longer given to it, its pure and simple doctrineslive in the hearts of the people and are the noblest monument toits founder Gautama Buddha. The taking of the meanest life isstrictly forbidden, and falsehood, intemperance, dishonesty, anger, pride, and covetousness are denounced as incompatible withBuddhism, which enjoins the practice of chastity, gratitude, contentment, moderation, forgiveness of injuries, patience, andcheerfulness. " The priests of Buddha are regularly ordained andsworn to celibacy, and they are required to meet each other everyfourteen days for purposes of mutual confession. The lowest casteis eligible to the priesthood, as with the Christian religion. 

Ceylon is somewhat smaller than Ireland, and the population is alittle less than three millions, but it is rapidly increasing, asare its exports and imports. Of all the places we visited it seemsto have suffered least from the wave of depression which hasrecently swept over the world. This is undoubtedly owing to thefact that the spicy isle enjoys somewhat of a monopoly in coffeeand some of the spices, cinnamon especially. Java coffee isgenerally used, I think, in America, but in Ceylon it is deemed aninferior article; Mocha, in Arabia, furnishes the best, but muchcalled Mocha is really grown here. In the coffee plantations menare paid eighteen cents per day; women, fourteen cents. A diseaseakin to that which attacked the vines in France some years ago hasraged among the plants for two years past; it promises this yearto be less destructive, although no effectual cure has yet beendiscovered. We met several coffee planters, generally young, pushing Englishmen who either own the estates, or are related tothose who do. They lead a pleasant life in Ceylon, the climatebeing good most of the year, and those who are contented declarethat a European can live there and enjoy as good health as athome. If the weather prove too warm in the summer there are themountains to run to. Scientific cultivation of coffee began inCeylon as late as 1824, and public attention was not directed toit until 1834--only fifty years ago--yet to-day there are morethan twelve hundred coffee plantations, and the amount of coffeeexported exceeds twenty millions of dollars per annum. Teacultivation has been introduced recently, and the quality is saidto be excellent. There cannot be any doubt of this, because itfinds a ready market here. None has been exported. If it were nota remarkably good article the foreign would be preferred, as weall know a domestic article has a world of prejudice to overcomeat first. I shall watch the Ceylon tea question with interest, andhope that at some not distant day the production of tea leaf mayrival that of the coffee bean. 

I have no intention to enter into any politicalquestion--certainly not into the merits of Free Trade vs. Protection; but I must own I was surprised to find that one-fifthof the total revenue of the island is derived from taxes upon thedaily food of the people, two-thirds of this from a tax uponimported rice, and the other third from native grain. 

Ceylon teaches many lessons. The liquor traffic, for instance, ismanaged throughout the entire island as a governmental monopoly. Distillation is restricted to a few specified distillers who cansell their product at wholesale in open market, but the right toretail is restricted to certain taverns, which are rented year byyear to the highest bidders, subject to stringent conditions. Purearrack only can be sold at fixed prices, and lessees are held tostrict account for drunkenness and disturbances. The liquormonopoly yields L170, 000, or about one-seventh of the wholerevenue, which in 1873 was L1, 241, 558 ($6, 200, 000); about tenshillings per head, as against England's two pounds and more. 

The main roads of Ceylon are equal to those of Central Park; sothey should be, for their cost has exceeded L2, 000 per mile. Tenthousand dollars!--we could almost build a railway in the West forthis. However, it is not as much as it costs in Britain to get theright to begin to spend money on a railway; so we mustcongratulate the Ceylonese upon getting a splendid return fortheir investment. During our brief sojourn in the island (alas!all too short as I write these pages) we travelled over every mileof railway there. This sounds large to one who judges of a railwaysystem by that of the United States--a hundred and twenty thousandmiles; there were then only about a hundred miles in allCeylon--two short lines. To-day there are doubtless a hundred andFifty miles in operation, as the line under construction betweenColombo and Galle was expected to be opened in two years more. This brings Japan and Ceylon about even upon the railway question, though the population of Ceylon is only about one-twelfth that ofJapan. 

 * * * * *

KANDY. 

A railway has been built from Colombo, the shipping port, throughthe mountains to the coffee-growing districts, a distance ofseventy miles, and this enabled us to visit Kandy, more than 1, 600feet above the sea, and the summer capital to which the governmentrepairs in hot weather. It is a beautiful little town, and gave usthe first breath of air with "ozone" in it that we had enjoyedsince we were on the Sierras. Our hotel fronts upon the square, and is opposite the Buddhist Temple, celebrated as the receptacleof that precious relic, "the sacred tooth of Buddha. " A formerking of Ceylon is reputed to have paid an immense sum for thismemento of the departed. We were too near the temple for comfort. The tomtom has to be beaten five times each day, and as one ofthese is at sunrise, I had occasion to wish the priest and toothboth far enough away. I wonder the Europeans don't indict thistomtoming at unseasonable hours as a nuisance. 

The Botanical Gardens here are rivalled in the tropics by those inJava only, and upon seeing the display of luxuriant vegetation, wefully understood how it had acquired its celebrity; but still allis green. The great variety of palms, the bread-fruit, banyan, jack-fruit, and others sustain this reputation. The chocolate treewas the most curious to us; it has recently been introduced in theisland, and promises to add one more to the list of luxuries forwhich Ceylon is famous. A fine evidence of the intelligence of theCeylon planters is seen in the fact that the association employs achemist to investigate and report upon the different soils andwhat they are capable of producing; under his supervision variousarticles are always under trial. Recently Liberian coffee has beenfound to thrive in low latitudes unsuited for the Arabian variety, which requires a higher district, thus rendering available forthis plant a large area, which has hitherto been necessarilydevoted to less profitable uses. Nothing nowadays can bethoroughly developed without the chemist's aid, and the day is notfar distant when our farming will be conducted under hisinstructions as completely as our steel manufacture is now. 

Ceylon is noted for its pearl fisheries and its supply of rubies, sapphires, and cats'-eyes as much as for its spices; and from thehour the traveller lands until the steamer carries him off he isbeset with dealers offering precious stones, worth hundreds ofdollars in London or New York, for a few rupees; but those whopurchase no doubt find their fate in the story of the innocent whobought his gold cheap. The government keeps the pearl fisherygrounds under proper regulations, and allows divers one half ofall they find, the other half going to the State Treasury. I wastold the value of the pearls found last year amounted to $400, 000, but the production seems to be falling off. In 1798 the fisherywas rented for L142, 000 ($710, 000). Now the government has to workit and the net proceeds have never exceeded L87, 000 in any year, and have fallen as low as L7, 200. 

The government employed a naturalist to study the habits of thepearl oyster. He labored for five years, but this time scientificinvestigation seems to have failed and we know but little moreabout the subject than before. Some genius will come, however, tosolve all questions. Science may be rebuffed twenty times, but itnever rests until the truth is known. This much is certain, thatthese precious oysters leave their usual beds for years together. There was no fishery once for twenty-seven years, from 1768 to1796, and once before then it failed for about fourteen years. When they do visit pretty Ceylon, their main residence is upon thenorthwestern coast, sixteen to twenty miles from shore. It isbelieved that the oyster reaches maturity in its seventh year, when the pearl attains full size and lustre. If the oyster be notsecured then, it soon dies and we lose our pearl. Consider thenumber of these jewels which fade away to their original elementsin the depths of ocean: for one we get, a million decomposed. 

Did the poet know how true his words were when he said:

 "Full many a gem of purest ray serene The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear. "

The government brings the oysters to the beach and sells them tothe highest bidders in lots of one thousand. Can you conceive of aprettier game of chance than this! Imagine the natives at workopening the rough shells, expecting at every turn to find a pearlworth a fortune!

The pearl fishers descend six to eight fathoms forty or fiftytimes a day, and can remain under water from a minute to a minuteand a half. So much for practice. In the course of a million orhundred million years, more or less, each successive generationpursuing this calling, under the law of inherited tendencies, these people might well return to the amphibious state and give usan illustration of evolution, backward. 

The pearl oyster is a large, round bivalve, sometimes twelveinches in diameter. If Thackeray felt, as he said when he firsttried a Rockaway, as if he were swallowing a baby, what would havebeen his impressions if he had tickled his throat with one ofthese monsters? Sometimes a dozen, or even twenty pearls, are saidto have been found in a single oyster. I remember hearing in Chinathat a fresh water mollusc is made to grow pearls by theintroduction of foreign bodies within the shell. These produceirritation which the shell fish seeks to allay by depositingaround them a layer of pearly matter, and thus pearls are formed. It is a fact that the celebrated Linnaeus was paid $2, 500 by theSwedish Government for a plan he discovered for doing a similarthing with the oyster. He bored through the shell and depositedsand particles, between it and the mantle of fine tissues. It wasnot a success; but some day the race will produce pearls fromcultivated oyster beds as we now get our eggs from chickens; thatis, provided the coming man is not to regard jewelry of all kindsas barbaric--"_barbaric_ pearls and gold" are Milton's verywords, and great poets are prophets. The tendency is certainly inthat direction. The more ignorant the natives, the more ornamentaljewelry is worn, even if it be immense, heavy glass bracelets fromBirmingham. Already one says, how simple, how grandly simple shewas, with her hair plain, her ears unpierced, her head and neckwithout a single ornament, save only a rosebud in the hair. Jewelsare to women what wine is to man--not recommended till afterforty; and a poor help at any age. 

 * * * * *

COLOMBO, Tuesday, January 21. 

Ceylon was originally settled in 1517 by the Portuguese, whoobtained the right to erect a small factory at Colombo forpurposes of trade. This soon grew into a fort, and naturally thewhole west coast became theirs. The Dutch drove them out a hundredand fifty years later, to be in turn expelled by the English afterthey had occupied the island for just about the same period. Aswith all their colonies, the Dutch left their impress upon Ceylon. New industries were introduced, great public works constructed, and, better than all, the education of the people was well caredfor. The trade with Holland became a source of much profit. England has been master since 1796, nearly ninety years now, andcertainly the work she has to show for the less than a century ismarvellous indeed. 

The people are not yet done rejoicing at the restoration of theirancient village institutions, which took place in 1871. Europeanshad rudely swept these away and substituted courts after their ownfashion. After many years trial, they were seen to be unsuited forthe country, and the ancient village tribunals were reestablished, as I have said, a few years ago. It will not do to conclude, asmany do, that India, Ceylon, and other of the Eastern lands, areleft almost bare of just laws and fair administration, for nothingcould be farther from the truth. The village elders, chosen by thepeople of Ceylon, for instance, administer laws which are theoutgrowth of centuries, and as such are far better adapted to thereal conditions which exist than any other system of laws, nomatter how perfect, which have been found suitable in other landsunder conditions wholly unlike. Here in this charming island, asindeed throughout all India, villages, or groups of villages, areauthorized to frame rules having the force of laws, and whichnatives construe and administer. 

I am amused at the ignorance of the average Englishman or Americanupon Eastern affairs. He is always amazed when I tell him that sofar as representative institutions are concerned, there is not avillage in India which is not farther advanced in this departmentof politics than any rural constituency in Britain. The Americancounty, village, district and township system is of course moreperfect than any other with which I am acquainted, but the Englishis really about the most backward. The experiment in Ceylon ofrestoring the native system has been an unequivocal success, evenbeyond the expectations of its warmest advocates, and in additionto the advantages flowing from the native courts, it is found thatthe village committees are beginning to repair and restore theancient tanks and other irrigation works, which, under the curseof centralized and foreign authority had been allowed to fall intodisuse. 

The new blood of home rule in local affairs has aroused localpatriotism and established numerous bodies throughout the country, each a centre from which good influences radiate, organizationsinto which good impulses flow, to crystallize into works of publicutility, while at the same time an _esprit de corps_ iscreated which must tell more and more. Wait till this plan istried in England and Scotland, and, above all, in unhappy Ireland!I shall never despair of Ireland until at least a generation hashad such local institutions as we find in Ceylon's Isle. If thatpeople cannot develop under self-government, they deserve to fallaway and give place to a better race; but they will not fail. 

Caste exists in Ceylon, although it is not so strictly preservedas in India. Still, every calling is a caste, down to thescavenger. The several castes do not intermarry, nor is itpracticable for one who has reaped great wealth and has naturaltastes and abilities above his caste, to do in this small islandwhat is readily done in India, viz. , emigrate and set up insuperior style in some other part of the crowded empire. Thewealthiest native in Ceylon to-day is a fisherman, and yet hecannot gain admittance to the society of poorer natives about himof higher caste. If he were in India, and socially ambitious, hewould change his residence. I was told by several Europeans thatthe bonds of caste in India are slowly weakening, and that when awealthy stranger comes to a district it is held wise not toinquire too curiously concerning his birth. 

Of all the castes, the tiller of the soil stands at the head inCeylon; even the skilled worker in iron is away below him. Therural laborer with us must be taught to hold his head up. He is A1in Ceylon. 

The position held by Ceylon in ancient days as the great granaryof Southern Asia explains the precedence accorded to agriculturalpursuits. Under native rule the whole island was brought underirrigation by means of artificial lakes, constructed by damsacross ravines, many of them of great extent--one, still existing, is twenty miles in circumference--but the system has been allowedto fall into decay. I am glad to know that government has resolvedto undertake the work of repair. Proper sluices are to be suppliedto all the village tanks, and the embankments are to be raised andstrengthened through the labor of the village communities. We mayyet live to see the fertility of the country restored to that ofits pristine days. 

We saw the new breakwater which government is constructing here atgreat expense. When finished it is proposed that the Indiansteamers shall call here instead of at Galle, the harbor of whichis dangerous. This may be a decided improvement upon the whole, but the tourist who does not see pretty Galle and enjoy the longday's drive through the island to Colombo will miss much. 

Iron ore exists in Ceylon in vast deposits and is remarkably pure, rivalling the best Swedish grades. It has been worked from remotetimes, and native articles of iron are preferred even to-day toany that can be imported. If cost of transportation is to keepgrowing less and less, it is not beyond the range of possibilitythat some day Britain may import some of this unrivalled stone forspecial uses. There are also quicksilver mines, and lead, tin, andmanganese are found to some extent. 

 * * * * *

GALLE, Wednesday, January 22. 

We reached here last night upon our return, stopping one night atColombo. Future travellers will soon miss one of the rarest treatsin Ceylon. The railway will soon be completed from Colombo toGalle, and the days of coaching cease forever. We congratulateourselves that our visit was before this passed away, as we knowof no drive equal to that we have now enjoyed twice, and the lasttime even more than the first. 

During our trip down yesterday I counted within forty miles elevenschools filled with young Cingalese. English is generally taughtin them, and although attendance is not compulsory, greatinducements are held out to parents to send their children. Theadvantages of knowing the English language are so decided that Iam told parents generally are most anxious to have their childrentaught. The school-houses are simple affairs, consisting only ofwhite plastered walls about five feet high, with spaces forentrance. On this wall rest the slight wooden standards whichsupport thereof of palm-leaves, so that all is open to our view aswe drive past. The attention paid to this vital subject, evidencesof which are seen everywhere, is what most delights us. In 1874there were 1, 468 public schools on the island, attended by 66, 385scholars. 

We were equally delighted to see numerous medical dispensaries, where the afflicted natives can obtain advice and medicine free ofcharge. On several huts we saw large placards denoting thepresence of contagious disease within. It is a great work that isgoing forward here under English rule. By such means Englandproves her ability to govern, and best confirms her sway againstdomestic revolt or foreign intrigues. The blessings of goodgovernment, the education of the people, and careful attention totheir health and comfort--these will be found the most effectiveweapons with which to combat mutiny within, or Russian or anyother aggression from abroad. From all we saw in Ceylon we areprepared to put it forth as the best example of English governmentin the world, England herself not excepted. 

 * * * * *

SATURDAY, January 25. 

At ten tonight we sailed for Madras and Calcutta by the Englishmail steamer Hindostan, and were lighted out of the intricateharbor by flaming torches displayed by lines of natives stationedat the buoys. 

"Flashes of flambeaux looked Like Demons guarding the river ofdeath. "

The last sight of Ceylon's isle revealed the fine spires of theCatholic Cathedral, which tower above the pretty harbor of Galle. 

 * * * * *

INDIA. 

MADRAS, Tuesday, January 28. 

We arose to find ourselves at anchor in the open sea oppositeMadras. There is not a harbor upon the whole western coast ofHindostan. Government is engaged in constructing one, but it isslow work, as the immense blocks of concrete used can be handledand laid only in smooth seas, which seldom occur. Sometimes themail steamers find it impossible to land passengers or cargo, andare compelled to carry both to Calcutta. The surf often sweepsover the top of the iron pier, which is certainly twenty feethigh. Passengers are taken ashore in native boats twenty feet longand five feet deep. Across the boat, on small round poles, sit tenrowers, five on each side; another man steers, and in the bowstand two boys prepared to bail out the water which sweeps in aswe plunge through the surf. Fortunately the sea was unusuallycalm, and we had no difficulty in reaching dry land. When the surfis too strong for even these boats to encounter, nativescommunicate with ships by tying together three small logs, uponwhich they manage to sit and paddle about, carrying letters inbags fastened upon their heads. As the solid logs cannot sink, they are safe as long as they can cling to them, and an upset isto them an occurrence of little consequence. We saw many of thesecurious contrivances, but one must have a good deal of theamphibious in his nature, or full faith that he was not born to bedrowned, to trust himself upon them through the Madras surf. 

India at last! How strange everything looks! Brahmans, Cullreesand Banians, devotees of the three different gods, with foreheadsmarked to denote their status, the white sandal-wood paste uponthe Brahman's brow. Our first glimpse of caste, of which these arethe three main divisions, to one of which all persons must belongor be of the lowest order, the residuum, who are coolies. Thereare many subdivisions of these, and indeed every trade or callingconstitutes a different order, the members of which do notintermarry, or associate, or even eat with one another. Generations pursuing the same calling, and only marrying withinthemselves, acquire a peculiar appearance, and this effectuallycreates a caste. Carpenters, masons, merchants, each are distinct, and the occupation of a man can readily be known by his dress ormanner. 

Caste! what is caste? whence did it spring? and what are itseffects today in India? Whatever story I tell about its origin, some great authority will flatly contradict it. The beginning ofcaste, like that of most existing institutions, is lost inobscurity; but the most likely guess to my mind is that whichfounds caste upon this natural train of reasoning. 

Before men travelled much, when the race were serfs and all theirneeds were supplied by those immediately about them, it was almostinevitable that the son should be put to his father's handicraft. He could be of service there at a much earlier age than if he hadto go to a stranger. Besides, he had a chance from his infancy tobecome familiar with the work, and again, his father's reputationwould serve a purpose. Therefore, successive generations remainedbakers, smiths, carpenters, agriculturists, laborers, andeventually this developed special aptitudes under the law ofinherited tendencies and each occupation became a caste. 

Those who were in the highest employments being the best educated, they soon took measures to secure their privileges, and in thepast ages nothing could rivet the chains so effectually as thesanction of the gods. Therefore, we need not be surprised that ingood time a revelation came to this effect: "When man was dividedhow many did they make him? What was his mouth? What his arms?What his legs and feet? Brahma was his mouth, Kshatriya his arms, Vaisya his thighs, and Sudra his feet. "

This gives four grand divisions for the race, and their dutiestoward the State and to each other are clearly defined by the partof the "Grand Man" or "God" from which they sprang. The followingare a few of the principal items of the code which regulates theseclasses: To the first, or Brahman, belongs the religiousdepartment--he studies and expounds the sacred books, officiatesat sacrifices, and is the recipient of the "presents" offered tothe gods. These are modern clergymen. To the second, orKshatriyas, are given the war department, force, and criminaljustice. These are our human butchers, the military class, who areyet not ashamed of the "profession of arms. " To the third, orVaisyas, belong commerce and agriculture, and to the poor fourthestate, or Sudras, are left the mechanical arts and service to theother castes. The first three alone wear the sacred thread. 

The Brahman is entitled by primogeniture to the whole universe. Hemay seize the goods of a Sudra, and whatever, beyond a certainamount, the latter acquires by labor or succession. If he slandersany of the other castes he pays only nominal fines graduatedaccording to classes. Whatever crime he may commit his personalproperty cannot be injured, but whoever strikes a Brahman evenwith a blade of grass becomes an inferior quadruped for twenty-onegenerations. He is the physician for men's bodies as well as fortheir souls. 

The one duty of the Sudra is to serve all the three superiorcastes "without depreciating their worth. " In administering oaths, a Brahman swears only by his veracity--"his honor as a gentleman. "A Kshatriya swears by his weapons, a Vaisya by his cattle, whilethe poor Sudra has to swear by all the most frightful penalties ofperjury. 

A curious survival of this same idea lingers in England, where thetheory is that all men are equal before the law. Neverthelessmembers of the Royal Family are still released from the suspicionthat they would not tell the truth unless they took an oath to doso. They are not required to take an oath before testifying incourt. But imagine Herbert Spencer and the average Prince givingevidence; whose word would go the farther the wide world over? Yetthe former would be insulted by being compelled to swear, whilethe latter would be allowed to testify upon the "honor of aprince, " a very scanty foundation as princes have ever been andmust ever be. History seems to teach us that it has been difficultto get this class to keep the oaths they did take. If I were an M. P. , I would move that this be changed. The Brahman, notwithstanding his superior station, is nevertheless held to bemuch more liable to pollution than the lower orders, and istherefore required to bathe more frequently, and to be much morewatchful against the tempter. Our Brahmans at home might take alesson from this. A high authority has told us that

 "Life can be lived well, Even in a palace. "

But Burns has the truth:

 "And certes in fair Virtue's heavenly road The cottage leaves the palace far behind. "

I have given you the ideal of caste and its laws. Theiradministration is a far different matter. It is no longer possiblefor Brahmans to enforce strictly their claims. Caste crumbles awaybefore the progress of the age. Your railway is a "sure destroyer"of all branches of inequality among men. The Press a stillgreater; but ages will pass ere we have among the two hundred andfifty millions of Hindostan anything approaching that degree ofequality and intermarriage of classes which even Englandpossesses, to say nothing of America. The marvel is that castetook such root throughout India apparently in opposition to theteachings of Gautama Buddha. But it is scarcely less strange thanthat the fighting Christian nations found their system upon theteachings of the Prince of Peace. 

Here is the true doctrine of the Eastern Christ: As the fourrivers which fall into the Ganges lose their names as soon as theymingle their waters with the holy river, so all who believe inBuddha cease to be Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras. Thesame doctrine is beautifully expressed in the "Light of Asia. "Buddha asks for a drink of milk from a shepherd. 

 "'Ah, my Lord, I cannot give thee, ' quoth the lad; 'thou seest I am a Sudra, and my touch defiles!' Then the world-honored spoke: 'Pity and need Make all flesh kin. There is no caste in blood, Which runneth of one hue, nor caste in tears, Which trickle salt with all; neither comes man To birth with tilka-mark stamped on the brow, Nor sacred thread on neck. Who doeth right deeds Is twice-born, and who doeth ill deeds vile. Give me to drink, _my brother_. '"

Our friend in Madras gave us a rare treat by driving us out to seethe celebrated Madras tigers, for nowhere else in the world aresuch tigers kept as here, and indeed I go so far as to declarethat until one has seen these grand animals he has no adequateidea of what a tiger is. All that I have seen hitherto--and I donot forget the "Zoo" in London--are but tame mockeries of thegenuine monster. I walked up to a large cage, but was startled bysuch a fright. A tiger was in an instant flat against the cage, and between me and it were only a few small iron rods whichrattled like reeds as he struck them. I thought the whole cage wasin pieces, and that beast upon me. Such glaring eyes, burning likeimmense topazes in his head! and then when he found himself unableto get at his prey, such a yell! but I was many feet from him erethis came, I assure you. He had sprung from the back of his cageagainst the bars, a distance of at least fifteen or eighteen feet, the moment he saw me, and no doubt hurt himself as he dashedagainst them. The keeper told us this one had only been caught afew months ago. His stripes were glossy black, and his coat notthat sickly tawny color we are so familiar with, but a light fierybrown. Compared with the tiger, it is impossible but that even thenoblest lion must seem tame and inert. We took no interest in thelions, although there were some fine specimens. In the evening weenjoyed hearing the Governor's band performing on the beach andseeing Madras society congregated there, and for the first timesince we left America saw full-sized horses again. Severalgentlemen were riding animals that would pass muster in CentralPark. Thus far we have found only little ponies in use. 

Our races have never been brought face to face with famine, but inIndia the masses are always upon the brink of starvation; a littletoo much, or too little, rain during the monsoon, and the lives ofmillions are endangered. The miserable wretches--mereskeletons--we saw to-day sitting on the dusty road sidesbeseeching passers-by for a pittance, are traces which stillremain of the terrible famine of the years 1876 and 1877. Both themonsoons of the former year failed, and the season of 1877 waslittle better, although the government spent more than elevenmillions sterling ($55, 000, 000) in strenuous efforts to supplyenough food to render existence possible. More than five millionhuman beings, more than the entire population of the State ofPennsylvania--far more than that of Scotland--were sacrificed fromwant and disease resulting from the famine of these two years. There is no doubt about the correctness of this startlingstatement, for it is founded upon the increased death rate in theafflicted districts. 

It was while the shadow of this calamity, unparalleled since thebeginning of British rule in India, was over the land that themost gorgeous "durbar" ever held in India was ordered for thepurpose of gratifying a whim of Queen Victoria, who had inducedLord Beaconsfield to have her proclaimed Empress of India, or, asis far more probable, which he had instigated her to accept. Thenatives who spoke of this to us were outraged at the act, andquoted it as proof that their lives and sufferings were held asnothing by England. This does England gross injustice, for, as Iwas able to tell them, English opinion was itself averse to givingthe Queen a title in India which they could not be induced totolerate at home, and only acquiesced because Victoria had reallydone so much that was good during her long reign that they did notwish to deny her what she had unfortunately set her heart upon;and then after all the poor Queen probably did not know about thefamine. Her books show that her interest in life is confinedstrictly to the petty details of her household and narrow circleof satellites. 

Today our Sunday-school recollections were again aroused by asight of the terrible car of Juggernaut. It is really an immenseaffair, elaborately carved in bold relief, and on the top is aplatform for the priests. I should say the car is twenty-five feethigh and about eight by twelve at the base; it has six wheels, four outside and two in the centre, the former nine feet indiameter and the latter six, all of solid wood clamped togetherwith iron bands, and all at least two feet in width of tread. Sucha mass, drawn through the streets by elephants and accompanied byexcited devotees, its hundred bells jangling as it rolled alongwhere there was not another vehicle of any kind with which tocompare it, or a house more than one small story high, must haveappeared to the ignorant natives something akin to thesupernatural; and I can now well understand how wretches, workingthemselves into a state of frenzy, should have felt impelled todash under its wheels. It is still paraded upon certain festivaldays, invariably surrounded, however, by policemen, who keep thenatives clear of the wheels, for even to-day, if they were notprevented, its victims would be as numerous as ever. Imagine, ifyou can, with what feelings we stood and gazed upon this car, which has crushed under its ponderous wheels religious enthusiastsby the thousand, and which still retains its fascination over menanxious to be allowed the glory of such self-immolation, at thesupposed call of God, who would be a fiend if he desired suchsacrifice. 

We left Madras on Wednesday morning, and had a fine smooth sailacross the Bay of Bengal to Calcutta, the City of Palaces andcentre of the British power in India. Coming up the river we passthe shipping in review, and never before have we seen so manylarge, magnificent sailing ships in one port, not even inLiverpool or London. The trade requires large clippers, and thesesplendid vessels lie four and five deep for two miles along theriver, all in fine trim, flags flying, and looking their best. Wepass the palace of the old King of Oude, who was brought here whendeposed for his misdeeds. He is allowed a pension of $50, 000 permonth, which seems a great waste of money, as it is mostlysquandered by the old reprobate. His collection of birds andbeasts is a wonderful one, for he pays any price for animals; lastmonth he paid $12, 500 for two grand tigers, but they escaped a fewdays afterward and swam across the river. 

The first queer thing that strikes you at your hotel is that twonatives take you in custody without even saying "by your leave, "and never while you are in Calcutta will you be able to get out ofsight of one or the other of these officers. One attends in personto your room, brings you your tea and toast at six, prepares yourbath, takes your shoes to the proper "caste" man below (hewouldn't black them for the world, bless you!), and plays thevalet while you dress. At night you find him stretched out acrossyour door, like a dog on the watch, and there he lies all night, subject to master's call. I hurt my man's feelings one night bygently stepping over his prostrate form and getting into my roomand going to bed without his aid. I turned the key when I gotinside, and not many moments after I heard him move. Missing thekey, he suspected something was wrong, and tried the door severaltimes; but as he met with no response he finally gave it over, andlay down to sleep. The other attendant is our waiter at table andout-door servant. You find these people curled up and lying atevery step through the halls, and are in constant danger ofstumbling over them. Every guest generally has two, although thehotel professes to keep an efficient staff of its own. We hearamusing stories told of servants in India, their duties being sostrictly defined by caste that one must be kept for every triflingduty. Our friend the Major tells us, for instance, that upon arecent occasion his wife wished to send a note to him at the Fort, a very short distance from his residence. The proper messengerhappening to have been sent elsewhere, she asked the coachman toplease take it to master, but he explained how impossible it wouldbe for him to comply, much as he wished to do so. Persuasion wasuseless; but madame thought of a remedy--order the carriage. Thegrooms prepare and harness the horses, the coachman mounts the boxand appears at the door. "Now drive to master's, and, attendant, deliver this note. " All right. This brought it within the sphereof his caste. He is bound to obey all orders connected with thecarriage. Incidents of this nature are too numerous to recount. Itis in India that political economists can best study the divisionof labor in its most advanced stage of development. My friend Mrs. K. Kindly gave me her list of servants and their various duties, They numbered twenty-two, although Mr. K. 's establishment is amoderate one. 

We find the Zoological Gardens very interesting. Here we saw forthe first time monkeys running about unfettered among the trees, and a lion chained to a dog-kennel doing watch duty like amastiff. We also saw an entire house devoted to the display ofpheasants. These birds make a fine collection, for there arenumerous varieties, and some exceedingly beautiful. There are heretwo full-grown orang-outangs and one child, the former even morehuman than the pets we had recently been in charge of. The hugecrocodile in a large pond failed to make his appearance yesterday, and while we were there five natives with long poles and two in asmall boat were detailed to stir him up and see what was thematter. It was amusing to see these naked attendants as they wadedin a few feet and poked about, ready to jump back at everymovement of the water, and sometimes frightened at each other'sstrokes; but all will agree with me that this business of stirringup crocodiles at twenty cents per day yields no fair compensationfor the risks involved. There are good tigers here also, buthaving seen the tiger of the world at Madras, all others are butshadows. It is the same now with peacocks, which in theselatitudes are far superior to those with us, but the peacock is atSaigon, in Cochin China, and we never see one without saying, oneto the other, "How poor!" We are in a few days to see the Taj, andI suppose it will be the same as to buildings hereafter. EvenWalter Scott's monument at Edinburgh--my favorite piece of stoneand lime--must be surpassed by this marvel of perfection. 

I have been considering whether it is more productive of pleasurereally to have seen or heard the admitted best of everything, beyond which you can never expect to go, and as compared withwhich you must actually hereafter be content invariably to meetthe inferior, or whether one had better, for the retention offuture interest in things, not see the very topmost and unrivalledof each. I have met people whose ears, for instance, were socultivated as to render it painful for them to listen even to thegrandest music if indifferently performed; some who had"atmosphere" and "chiaro-oscuro" so fully developed that copies ofeven the "Madonna di San Sisto" were only daubs offensive to theeye; others who, having seen Macready in Macbeth, find the tragedystale in others' hands. Now I don't believe this ensues where thelove of the art itself is genuine; and I rejoice to say thathaving once listened to an oratorio at the Handel Festival withfour thousand selected performers, that oratorio becomes forever asource of exquisite enjoyment, performed where or how it may be. If poorly done, the mind floats up toward the region, if it doesnot attain quite the same height, where it soared at the perfectrecital; the distinct images there seen, which Confucius justlygives music the power of creating, come vividly again as the notesswell forth. The priests who call are different, indeed, but thegods who respond are one and the same. So having seen Janauschekin Lady Macbeth, all other Lady Macbeths participate in herquality. Having almost worshipped Raphael's Madonna, all otherMadonnas have a touch of her power. It is of the very essence ofgenius that it educates one to find beauty and harmony wherebefore he would only have trodden over barren sands, and thegrand and poor performances of any masterpiece are not a contrastto the truly receptive, but are as steps leading from the lowestto the highest in the same temple. Because one has beenawe-stricken by Niagara's torrent, are the other waterfalls of theworld to be uninteresting? No; to the man whose soul has reallybeen impressed, every tiny stream that tumbles down in foam isrelated to the greater wonder, partaking to some extent of itsbeauty and grandeur. Having seen the Himalayas, are the moremodest but not less dear Alleghanies to lose their charm andpower? Never! Let me go forward, then, and revel withoutmisgivings in the highest of human and divine creations, as I maybe privileged to see or hear or know them. I do not fear that Ishall ever become a member of the extensive band we meet in ourtravels who have become incapable of enjoying anything but thebest. 

We paid a visit to the river one morning to see the Hindoosperforming the sacred rite of bathing, which their religioncommands. Crowds of men and women enter the water promiscuouslyand pray together. What a mercy that Brahma thought of elevating, personal cleanliness to the rank of the virtues! What thousandsare saved every year in consequence! What this crowded hive ofhuman beings in hot India would become without this custom it isfearful to contemplate. I find our friends all regretting thatMohammed was less imperative upon this point. His followers takerather to sprinkling than immersion, for dipping hands and feet inwater is held by them as quite sufficient, and both are notequally efficacious as purifiers in the tropics, however they maybe as religious ceremonies. 

A Boston clipper ship was being unloaded of its cargo of WenhamIce as we strolled along the wharf in the warm early morning. Thegreat blocks were carried upon the heads of the naked Sudras, oneat a time, and even at this early hour the ice was melting fast, the drops of cool water forming tiny rills on the soiled, darkskins of the carriers, who no doubt enjoyed the rare luxury ofsomething really cold. The exportation of ice to the East was agreat Boston industry at that time; today it is wholly gone, theartificial being now made and sold at every centre for one-thirdthe price commanded by the natural product. A slight improvementin the mode of manufacture, and, presto! here at the Equator, where the temperature is always at our summer heat, we make ice bythe ton and are able to sell it at prices which the poorestpopulation in the world can readily pay. Where are we going tostop in the domain of invention?

One day we visited the temple sacred to the bloody goddess "Kali, "from whom Calcutta derives its name. She took her rise, as many godshave done, from her insatiable thirst for human blood. One powerfulgiant alone was able for many years to withstand her arts, he beingsecretly informed by a spirit that when she pursued he had only tostand in water, and if one drop of his blood was spilled, othergiants would spring forth and devour "Kali" herself. This secret shedivined, however, and one day attacked him even in the water, strangling him and sucking every drop of his blood without spillingone. But her tongue grew so large and red that she was neverafterward able to get it back into her mouth, and now she standsfixed in this temple, her big red tongue hanging out, a mostrevolting sight. So powerful is she esteemed that pilgrims to hershrine, who have spent months in coming hundreds of miles bymeasuring their bodies upon the dusty ground, are sometimes seenpassing through the by-lanes of Calcutta. Lying flat, they marktheir length, rise, and lie down again at this mark, and go on thisway, never leaving the path day or night, and begging food and waterenough to sustain them as they proceed. I was told of one man whotravelled eight hundred miles in this manner. Imagine the strengthof the superstition which can so blind its dupes. But even this isnothing compared with the self-inflicted torture practised by many"who seek to merit heaven by making earth a hell. " It is not rarefor fakirs to stand in postures that cripple them for life. Oneelects to stand on one foot until it becomes impossible for him everto put the other to the ground. Another determines to raise his armsto heaven, never taking them down. In a short time, afterexcruciating pain, the joints stiffen so as to render any changeimpossible, and the arms shrivel until little but bone is left. Somelet their nails grow into their flesh and through their hands. Theforms of these penances are innumerable, and those who undergo themare regarded as holy men and are worshipped and supported by theirless religious fellows. Kali must still have her blood, and hundredsof kids, goats, buffaloes, and other animals are sacrificed daily ather shrine. We saw the bloody work going forward. Crowds ofpilgrims, numbering at least three hundred during our short stay, came in bands from the country to propitiate the goddess. Each onepresents an offering as the idol is shown. It is the most disgustingobject I have ever seen, and a sight of it would, I am sure, frighten children into crying. The business is skilfully managed. Asmall dark hall, capable of holding about twenty-five worshippers, occupies the space before the idol. This is filled with people andthe doors closed; then, amid the murmurs of priests and beating ofgongs, two sliding-doors are drawn aside, and the horribleshe-demon, with swollen blood-red tongue, comes into view for amoment only, and the gifts are thrown at her. The crowd is excitedby fear and awe, but ere the figure can be closely scrutinized thedoors close, and the poor ignorant wretches seem stupefied with whathas been revealed. They pass slowly out, looking as if they had beenalmost blinded with a glimpse of the forbidden mysteries, andanother batch crowds in to be similarly worked upon. We saw otherforms and figures of worship too gross to speak of. Nothing yet seencan be called idolatry when compared with this, and I felt likegiving up all hope of improvement in these people; but then when onesees the extent and character of the superstitions of the East hecannot help having doubts of the advancement or elevation of thespecies. There is, however, this consoling knowledge, that theworshippers, such young girls and boys as we saw today excepted, know that Kali is but the symbol of power, not the power itself. Around this fact the forces able to overthrow superstition may beevolved hereafter. The germ is there. 

The hundreds of young, pretty, innocent children whom we sawbrought to-day to witness such rites by kind, dutiful, religiousparents--the most conscientious and most respectable of the nativerace--were dressed with as much care and pride as a correspondingnumber of young Christians would be when taken to the rite ofconfirmation. How could I be otherwise than sad and murmur, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do. " Thus far is plainsailing, for every one will agree with me; but when I denounced tothe priests the pools of clotted blood as offensive, even tocoarse men, and wholly unfit as a satisfactory offering to anypower to whom we can ascribe the name of God, they retorted bysaying this is also part of the Christian system: the God ofAbraham demands his sacrifice of blood also. It is in vain tointimate that this day is past and that our Father in heaven nolonger takes delight in the blood of rams or of bullocks. I shallnever forget the malicious inquiry: "Does your God _change_, then?" "No, certainly not; but our conceptions of him change yearby year as we gain knowledge. " They smile, and I am troubled. Letus pause and reflect before we rashly assail any form of religionuntil we know that what we have to offer in its place is reallyfree from the errors we mourn over in others. In the progress ofthe race such dreadful conceptions of God must apparently existfor a time. Has not Herbert Spencer himself assured us that, "Speaking generally, the religion current in each age and among each people has been as near an approximation to the truth as it was then and there possible for men to receive. "

I needed all this from the philosopher to restrain my indignationat first and afterward to mitigate my sorrow. Even this was notquite sufficient, but how much an anecdote will sometimes do, andthis one the philosopher above quoted told me himself. At times, when disposed to take gloomy views of man's advance, and sickenedby certain of his still barbarous beliefs and acts, he had foundrelief in the story Emerson tells of himself when in similarmoods. After attending a meeting--perhaps the one where he washissed from the platform for denouncing human slavery--he walkedhome burning with indignation; but entering his grounds, andwandering among the green grass and the flowers, silently growingin the cool moonlight, he looked up at the big trees and the bigtrees looking down upon him seemed to say: "What! _so hot, mylittle sir!_" Yes, we must upon our "distemper sprinkle coolpatience. " If all is not well, yet all is coming well. In thisfaith we find peace. The endless progress of the race is assurednow that evolution has come with its message and shed light wherebefore there was darkness, reassuring those who thought and whotherefore doubted most. 

General Litchfield, United States Consul, fortunately accompaniedus upon this visit, and he knew two of the officiating priests, who spoke English perfectly. These escorted us round and told usabout everything. The history of these two natives is mostsuggestive. They were educated by the government in one of itscolleges, and very soon saw the falsity of their religious tenets, but failing to get suitable employment, they had to return totheir families, who owned a share in the Kali Temple, which isstill profitable property, held like any other building. Therevenues are now divided among a hundred priests, and maintainthese and their families, all of whom are of the same family. Should another son marry he becomes entitled to a certain share, and so on. They carry this imposture on simply as a matter ofbusiness, and laughed at us when we said they knew it was allhumbug. If it be true that no religion can long retain vital forceafter its priests know it to be false, then there is hope for thespeedy fall of idolatry in India; but I fear there will be no lackof men who will, like these hypocrites, continue to preach whatthey know better than to believe, as long as rich livings are atstake. 

In one of our drives General Litchfield pointed out the housewhere Macaulay wrote some of his essays while here laying thefoundations of the law code which has proved such a boon to India. I see one great tribute paid to this monument of his genius: thecodification of the law in England is urged forward by pointing tothe indisputable success of the Indian code. 

India has also great capabilities in regard to another article ofthe largest consumption--tea. In this it is not improbable shewill some day rival even China. We have been travelling for some days with a gentleman largelyinterested in its cultivation in the Assam district, and learnfrom him that the tea grown there commands a higher price than theChinese article. It also prospers in several other parts of India, and the amount grown is increasing rapidly. The total export in1878 was 34, 000, 000 pounds, while last year, 1883, it reached, itis stated, 57, 000, 000 pounds, a large increase, while the teaculture in China is about at a stand-still, the amount exported toEngland in 1868, L11, 000, 000, exceeding that in any year since. India, therefore gains rapidly upon China, and prophets are notwanting who assert that as India was the original home of theplant (as some authorities claim), so India is going to furnishthe world in future most of its tea. This may all be true and yetthe amount grown in India be a bagatelle to the product of China, which consumes at home about nine times the amount exported. Indian tea is pure, while that raised by both the Japanese andChinese is adulterated. It is also much stronger. I advise all togive the Indian tea a fair trial. 

India, you see, has great possibilities. She is distanced incotton, is a good second in wheat, and has a place in the race fortea, with odds in her favor in the latter as far as export goes. Ithink this describes her situation fairly. 

There are very few really successful equestrian statues in theworld, but Calcutta boasts one of these--Noble's statue ofGeneral Outram. The artist has taken a bold departure, and insteadof the traditional eagle glance of the hero, the general isrepresented as just checking his impetuous speed and casting alook behind; the body turned round, and one hand resting on thehorse's flank, while the other reins in the horse; his head bare, as if in the attack he had outrun his troops, lost his helmet, andwas stopping a moment for them to overtake him. I liked thisstatue much, and wished that some others of which I wot partook ofits merits. 

We attended the Viceroy's ball on Wednesday evening, and enjoyed thebrilliant scene. The uniforms of British officers as well as those ofthe Civil Service are gorgeous, and set off a ball-room effectively. We saw more ladies here than upon all other occasions combinedduring our travels, and their general appearance was certainlybetter than elsewhere, showing the climate to be less severe uponthem. Lord Lytton is a small man of unimposing appearance, andentirely destitute of style, but the Commander-in-Chief, GeneralHaines, seems every inch a soldier, as do many of his subordinateofficers. Native princes were formerly invited to these balls, andtheir presence, attended by their suites in Oriental costumes, addedmuch to the brilliancy of the scene, but it was found desirable todiscontinue the practice; they could not partake of Europeanrefreshments nor understand the appearance of women in public, andespecially their dancing, nor, I fancy, could they look withbecoming gravity upon dignitaries so engaged, as they employ peopleto do their dancing. I confess it struck me as bordering upon thefarcical to see Lord Lytton, charged with the government of morethan two hundred millions, and General Haines, Commander-in-Chief, with an active campaign on his hands, Sir Thomas Wade, Her Majesty'sAmbassador to China, and the Lieutenant-General, all in uniform, andthe two former in knee- breeches, "all of ye olden time, " doing"forward four and turn your partner" in the same quadrille. ImaginePresident Lincoln, Secretaries Seward and Stanton, and General Grantso engaged. 

The Viceroy of India has certainly to do his part in the way ofceremonial. Flaming handbills of an English circus announce thatthe performances are under his direct patronage. "Victoria, theEmpress of the Arena, " is to-night to perform her unparalleledfeats in the ring in the presence of His Excellency. This was theonly tribute we saw paid in India to Her Majesty's spick-and-spanbrand-new title of Empress. We attended the performance, which wasreally creditable, but the natives sat unmoved throughout everyscene; so different from the conduct of the Japanese, who screamwith delight like children under similar circumstances. TheIndians seem to take their pleasures sadly, like ourselves. 

We did not fail to visit the famous banyan tree of Calcutta, byfar the largest in the world. Vandy and I started and paced itaround until we met, counting three hundred and thirteen steps, or, say, three hundred yards; the main trunk is probably aboutthirty feet in circumference, but from each main branch roots havedescended to the earth and become supporters of these branches, allowing them to extend still farther. In this way a branch mayhave in its course three or four supporters at intervals of twentyor thirty feet; the leaves are thick, and much resemble those ofthe rubber tree in size and character. 

We see numerous native barbers engaged in shaving the people. Victim and operator squat down in a corner on their "hunkers, "facing each other, and the operation then begins, the utensilsbeing laid out upon a rag on the ground. It seems the mostunnatural posture in the world for shaving or hair-dressing, butas it is the custom there must be some advantages in it which wecannot even guess. 

One morning we drove to the burning ghat, and from personalexamination of cremation, I am able to express my preference forChristian burial. The business of burning the dead--for in India itis a business like any other, and belongs to a low caste--is carriedon in the most heartless manner. A building is erected upon theriver-bank, about a hundred feet in length and twenty-five feet inwidth, and open on the side toward the river. The dead are broughtthere upon stretchers wrapped in a little cloth, and are firstshaved by the attendants, who open the mouth and pour down a vial ofthe water of the sacred Ganges. The body is then bent into a sittingposture, carried out to the middle of the building, and wood builtaround it. We saw the embers of several piles which had just donetheir work, and one pile blazing, through the interstices of whichparts of the body were plainly visible. It was all horrible to me asconducted here, but I can conceive of the grand funeral piles of thehigh priests being made most impressive; and so I am told they are, but the cremation of the poor lacks every element of this nature. Myheart bled for a poor widow whose husband had just been taken to thepile. She was of a very low caste, but her grief was heartrending;not loud, but I thought I could taste the saltness of her tears, they seemed so bitter; but she has this consolation to comfort herafter the outburst, that she insured the eternal happiness of hermate by having his ashes mingled with the sacred river of God. Noone will touch or associate with the caste who dress and burn thedead, nor could any one be induced, save one branch of this caste, to furnish the fire which lights the funeral pile, for whichsometimes large sums are exacted, in case the relatives of the deadare wealthy. 

The absence of women, other than coolies, which has struck useverywhere in the East, is if anything even more marked in India, where, so far, we have scarcely seen one woman of high caste. TheMohammedans do not permit their ladies ever to leave the house, and upon rare occasions, when temples must be visited, they areclosely concealed from view and driven in a close carriage orcarried in a sedan chair. The Hindoos are not quite so strict, andwe have seen a few in secluded streets going a few steps, butclosely muffled up and with faces covered. 

Do you remember with what laughter the sun-spot theory wasreceived? At least I know I laughed when I first heard of it--buthere in India, where the rainfall is the prime condition ofexistence to millions and the sun is much more powerful than withus, the Meteorological Department has just reported that there isapparently a sure connection between the rainfall and itsdistribution and the spots upon the sun. When these spots are atthe minimum there is a tendency to prolonged excessive pressureover the land and an unusual amount and irregular distribution ofrain. 

 "There is blood upon the moon, "

still stands as a poetic expression; but "there are great spotsupon the sun" must pass as presaging famine. There seems to havebeen an element of truth after all in "the signs of the heavens"of the astrologer, only the great law which governs them wasunknown. 

 * * * * *

THURSDAY, February 6. 

We left Calcutta for the Hindoo Mecca, Benares, tonight, and hadour first experience of Indian railway travel, which proved to bevery comfortable. We had all to ourselves a first-class carriagecompartment containing two sofas lengthwise of the car and oneacross; above these were three upper berths, to be let down, ifnecessary, and used as beds. A smaller compartment containeddressing-room, etc. , for all of which there is no extra charge. Evidently there is no field here for my enterprising friend Mr. Pullman. Our route lay through the opium-growing district, and thewhite poppies were just beginning to bloom. I did not know beforethat only the white variety is grown, but, curiously enough, thered flower is not nearly so productive. This set us to thinkingthat there may, after all, be something in the Chinaman'spreference for a black dog to one of another color. By all meanslet us have the two kinds analyzed and see whether the blood bejust the same. The opium question has given rise to much angrydiscussion upon which we do not propose to pass an opinion. Myreaders may safely assume, I think, that the difficulties weencounter in restraining or abolishing the use of liquor amongourselves, also surround the opium question in the East. It istheir liquor. China grows most of what she consumes, and I believewould grow it all if the Indian drug was not admitted. Itsexclusion by the Chinese would not therefore seriously lessen itsuse. Still it places England in a false position before the worldto enforce its admission by treaty stipulations. The sum involvedto the Indian revenue exceeds seven millions sterling per annum($35, 000, 000); that is the net yearly profit made out of thegrowth of the poppy. It would not all be lost, and perhaps not beseriously reduced, were China free to exclude it, for largequantities would be smuggled in, and the people would have it. Iwish England's hands were entirely free from all stain inconnection with this business. China should not be compelled byEngland to admit a drug which is considered pernicious. 

The total exports this year were ninety-one thousand chests, valued at thirteen millions sterling, most of it to China. Thegrowing of the poppy is a government monopoly in the Bengalprovince (Calcutta). Each year government enters into contractswith cultivators to devote so many acres to its cultivation--anadvance upon the expected crops is made and final settlements atthe end of the season according to amount and quality produced. The drug is extracted at two government factories. In the otherdistrict, the produce of which passes through the Bombaypresidency, the cultivation of the plant is free, but a duty iscollected upon the opium. 

We are in the dry season, and where not irrigated the vast plainsof India are parched. The soil is a light brown clay, and turnsreadily to fine dust, which seems to blow over everything and makeall of one hue. Even the scanty muslin clothing of the peoplebecomes of this dusty color. The houses are only mud huts onestory high and roofed with coarse straw; an opening in one sideserves as a door, but with this exception the hovel is closed;neither window nor chimney appears, and when fires are made thesmoke escapes through all parts of the roof, and when the roof iscloser than usual, through the door. This dusty, dirty mud colorof soil, streets, houses, dress, and people gives one animpression of a more squalid poverty even than that of theovercrowded Chinese in Shanghai. These latter have more clothingand no dust, and their dirtiness seems a less objectionable formof dirt. 

One remarkable difference between these people and the Chinese isthat we never see the former eating, while the latter eatfrequently. I am told that the Indians have but two meals aday--at noon and at eight in the evening, with a bite early in themorning. As is well known, the Hindoos are strict vegetarians, neither meat, fish, poultry, nor even eggs being allowed. Theresult of a vegetable diet, if they are to be taken as a fairexample, is not such as to favor its general adoption. TheMohammedans, on the other hand, eat everything but pork; like theJews, they forbid this one article, and I am informed that theMohammedans are a far sturdier race than their neighbors theHindoos; but they should be superior, as the advance fromHindooism, with its numerous gods and idolatrous worship, toMohammedanism with its one god is an immense one. The claims whichMohammed has upon the gratitude of mankind rest upon a solidbasis, for he it was who proclaimed to the East that there is butone God, and announced himself as his prophet only, instead ofdemanding that he himself should be worshipped as divine; but heperformed another great service, for he abolished the abominablesystem of caste, and thus it comes that the most popular religionin existence hails all its disciples, from the peasant to theSultan, as of one brotherhood, as Christianity does with hers. There are nearly fifty millions of Mohammedans among the twohundred and fifty millions of India's population, and it is tothem we must chiefly look for the regeneration of the nativeraces. 

As we pass through the country we are surprised at the crowds ofgayly-dressed natives waiting at the crossings to pass the line, and at the stations to take the trains. All the colors of therainbow are to be seen in their wraps. It is the season ofidleness just now, their two months of rest in the country, andthe entire population seem to be running about in holiday attire, forming a striking contrast to their fellows in the towns, who sitin their hovels hard at work, one crowding another in his seat. Before England established free dispensaries for these masses therate of mortality must have been something incredible; even now itis very high, although last year in the two provinces alone nofewer than eleven hundred thousand patients were treated orprescribed for by these institutions, which we rejoice to seescattered throughout the country wherever we go. Nor in all herillustrious record do we know a brighter page than that whichchronicles the rise and progress of these truly Englishorganizations. 

Manufactures in India are not profitable at present: during thescarcity of cotton, owing to the American war, large quantitieswere grown here and fortunes made in the business; eventuallycotton mills were built in Bombay and jute mills in Calcutta, which prospered for a time, but now that America, under the systemof free labor, has demonstrated her ability to supply cheaper andbetter cotton than India, these enterprises languish. I countedthirty-eight spinning and weaving companies in Bombay, and twenty-one cotton-press companies; the shares of which were quoted in themarket, and found that on an average these would not command to-dayone-half the actual capital paid in. It is much the same with theseven Calcutta jute companies. Cotton, both as to growth andmanufacture, in India, I believe has no future, save one contingentupon the interruption of the American supply, of which there doesnot appear much danger. But it must be borne in mind that the fallin the value of silver so far is a direct gain to native productions. The planter and manufacturer alike pay in the debased currency andsell the product as far as it is exported for gold, upon which theyrealize a handsome premium. America needs a continuance of low ratesfor transportation to counterbalance this advantage of her Indianrival. 

 * * * * *

BENARES, Saturday, February 8. 

We started from our hotel early this morning to see the Hindoosbathing in the sacred waters of the Ganges. Benares is to thepious Hindoo all that Mecca is to the good son of the Prophet, andmuch more beside, and he esteems himself happy if it is vouchsafedhim to die in sight of this stream and this city. Pilgrims flockhere from all parts of India, and thousands are carried from longdistances, while dying, that their eyes may behold, ere theyclose, the holy city of God. At the junction yesterday, six milesout, we came upon our first band of pilgrims, for they nowpatronize the rail freely, men and women, each with the inevitablebundle of rags which serves as his bed _en route_ and as achange of clothing, to be blessed by washing in the Ganges. Itrequires about a month to worship at every temple and do all thatthe priests persuade these pilgrims to be essential for theirsalvation, every ceremony, of course, producing revenue for thisclass. Each Rajah of India has his temple upon the bank of theriver, and it is these handsome structures, situated on the cliffwhich overhangs the river, that give to Benares its unparalleledbeauty. In each temple a priest is maintained who prays constantlyand bathes every morning as a substitute for his master, theRajah, but the latter comes in person also for one month each yearto perform the sacred rites. We were fortunate this morning inseeing the Rajah of Nepaul at his devotions. He has a smallcovered boat of his own, and we found him on his knees, in frontof it, gazing upon the sun, as we pulled slowly past in our boat, his staff standing behind him in reverential attitudes. For onefull month this intelligent ruler, who speaks English fluently andis well informed of the views Europeans hold of his religiousideas, will nevertheless work hard, visiting daily the temples, going through various exercises, and bathing every morning in theGanges. One other Rajah is here, and others are shortly to comeand do likewise. It seems so strange that these men still remainslaves to such superstitions; but how few among ourselves succeedin rising beyond what we happen to have been taught in ourchildhood! It is very different, I am told, with those who havereceived English ideas in their youth at the government colleges. They make quick work of the Hindoo idols; but so far every onehere agrees with the Rev. Dr. Field when he says: "It needs verylittle learning to convince the Hindoo that his sacred books are amass of fable. But this does not make him a Christian. It onlylands him in infidelity, and leaves him there. " The_Encyclopedia Britannica_ says that "the progress ofProtestant missions amounts at present to almost nothing. " In Dr. Mullen's report, down to 1871, the "whole force of Englishmissionaries--579, and of native preachers, 1, 993--had produced anative Christian population of only 280, 600. There was probably amuch larger number in the south of India about the middle of theeighteenth century. " I heard everywhere corroborations of thisstatement. 

The wife of the Rajah, we heard, had yesterday performed the mostsacred of all the ceremonies under conditions of considerablepopular excitement. The sacred well, the stairs leading from it tothe river, and the bathing place at the river, were all coveredin; the crowd could only see the sedan chair which carried thequeen to the well, but the spectacle attracted great numbers. Thiswell is simply a trench about twenty-five feet long and not morethan three feet wide, but it must be thirty feet below thesurface. Broad steps lead to it from all sides. In this well everyHindoo of good caste is permitted to wash, and there are alwaysmany in it. The water is foul and offensive, yet such is itsreputed sanctity that no sin can be committed so heinous that itcannot be washed away by it. The ceremony, fortunately, isincomplete until one, rising from its stench, walks to the purewater of the Ganges and bathes there. I think the ceremony musttypify man before purification, foul with sin, and then cleansedby bathing in the pure Jordan afterward; but no one could give meany information upon this point. At all events it was into thissink that the Rajah's wife bravely immersed herself yesterday, andit is here, too, the Rajah himself must come before heleaves--poor man!

The place where the dead are burned was pointed out as we driftedpast in our boat, but it was then unoccupied. As we returned, however, one body was in the hands of the attendants, who hadtaken it into the river and were just in the act of pouring thesacred water down the throat preparatory to the final scene. Onewoman alone sat on the shore weeping, and two small children ather side seemed not to understand why. It was still early morning, and all was quiet. Our guide pointed out some who were evidentlyfriends, in conversation with men on a parapet above. They werebargaining for the sacred fire to light the funeral pile. Government prohibits the burning of the forlorn widow with herhusband's body, as was formerly the custom, but it is said manywidows wish this privilege even yet, nor can I blame them much. I'm sure I don't see why, beyond the mere instinct of self-preservation, they should have a wish to live on. Those educatedpeople among us who commit suicide have prospects before themwhich might be called blissful compared with what confronts poorwidows in India. 

We visited the principal temples and shrines in succession, but I donot propose to rehearse their names and special virtues. There is agreat sameness about them, but the Monkey Temple differs from theothers in having several hundred monkeys running over it in everydirection. Like the rest, this is owned by a number of people, andits shares are marketable property. Dr. Lazarus, the chief of themedical department, tells us that the "river people, " a termembracing those who own the temples on the stream--just as we wouldsay the "steel rail" or the "pig metal" people at home--are verymuch depressed, complaining bitterly that the revenues have fallenaway. One owner in the Monkey Temple, probably the most prosperousof all, had some time ago asked what this trouble meant. He wasadvised to sell his monkey stock as soon as possible, but up to thepresent day he has found no one willing to invest in the property. One of the high priests of another sacred shrine said to myinformant that he had seen in his day three ages--one of gold, oneof silver, and now he had reached the age of copper, and was onlythankful when he saw a few pieces of that. "The people still come asof old, to worship, which costs nothing, " he said, "but they don'tpay the gods more than a pittance. I wonder what we are coming to?"While great allowance has to be made for the changed condition ofaffairs throughout the world, which has seriously affected therevenues of religious establishments everywhere, and which India hashad to share, aggravated by the loss of her cotton industry, stillit can hardly be doubted that Hindooism as a vital force iscrumbling slowly to pieces, and that the priests are losing theirsway over the masses. Caste also goes slowly with the tide ofchange, and Brahmans are now occasionally found taking employmentbelow that of their caste; and while a high-caste Hindoo some yearsago would have considered himself defiled if even the garments of alow-caste person touched him, he now rushes into the same railwaycompartment among the general crowd and struggles for a seat withvarious castes, and says nothing about it. One stand the Englishhome Government took, in deference to English ideas as opposed tothose of the Anglo-Indian authorities, which alone dooms caste, sooner or later, to extinction: it would not permit differentclasses on the railways to be established for Hindoos orMohammedans, or for castes of the former. Many residents in Indiafeared that this would prevent the natives from using the lines, butthe result has wonderfully belied these fears and vindicated thesagacity of those who ventured to inaugurate this system; and nowone sees Hindoos and Mohammedans, high caste and low caste, jostlingeach other in their efforts to get desirable seats in thethird-class compartments, where, by the way, they travel for lessper mile than anywhere else in the world, third-class fares in Indiabeing uniformly one-half of a cent per mile. First-class fares, withsuch sleeping-car luxuries as I have before described included, arejust about our rates with sleeping-cars not included--viz. , threecents per mile. 

While Hindooism is thus passing away, but little progress is madewith Islam. The fifty millions of Mohammedans stand to-day wherethey have stood for ages, and cry from their mosques morning andnight, "There is but one God, and Mohammed is his prophet. " Noidols, no drunkenness, no caste. The contrast between their faithand that of Christians is therefore much less marked, and ourguide says to us, with evident pride, "Hindoos believe many gods, worship idols. _I believe like you_, one God, no idols. "

India is thus in a state of transition, her caste and religionboth passing away. The work before this generation and probablythe next is to pull down and destroy. It will remain for those whocome after to begin the more difficult labor of building up. 

We met at Benares strings of water-carriers, carrying brassvessels on each end of a pole borne over the shoulder. These comehere for hundreds of miles on foot, and take back to theircustomers in the country the sacred water of the blessed river. Itis a regular business, and furnishes employment for thousands ofmen. Upon no account must this water be carried by railway anddeprived of its healing powers by being handled by unbelievers. Itmust be carried by Hindoos of the proper caste on foot, or it hasno virtue. 

Science invades everything nowadays, and the officials haverecently had the water of one of the sacred wells analyzed by achemist--audacious dog of an infidel--and here he comes with hisCO2 and all the virtue of this water of life is gone. It is foundunfit for human use, and the well is ordered to be closed. Thechemist, in the eyes of the ignorant natives, has sacrificedspiritual for physical health; preferred the welfare of theirbodies to that of their souls, as is the custom with these wickedscientists. 

We pass booths in which native jewellers sit hard at workfashioning rings, brooches, and other articles of personaladornment. Their dexterity is marvellous; without elaborateappliances of any kind, with only a small blow pipe and a few rudetools, they will take a gold coin from you and before your eyesshape it into any form selected. But it is said they must have amodel to copy from; no original design emanates from them. Thebooths, or little shops, are curious affairs. They are built ofmud, with neither window nor door, the floor on which the artisanssit being about four feet above the narrow street level. 

I never was more thoroughly impressed with the position of theEuropean of India than to-day when pushing through the crowded, narrow lanes of Benares. Our native guide went before us carryinga whip which he cracked and brandished among the crowd, callingout "Sahib! Sahib!" and the people, casting one glance behind, atonce hurried out of our way, making a clear track for our augustperson supposed to represent the conquering race. The respectfulsalaams, as we caught the eye of one native after another, theirdeferential, not to say obsequious, attitude as we passed--allthis tells its story. That "all men are born free and equal" willnot enter the Hindoo mind for centuries--not till England hasbrought it up to the standard of self-government, which it isgradually doing, however, by its schools and colleges. 

Benares has been famous for centuries for its manufacture of goldand silver embroideries. I remember that Macaulay speaks of themin his essay on Warren Hastings as decorating alike the court ofVersailles and the halls of St. James. We went to the nativevillage and saw the work carried on. How such exquisite fabricscome from the antiquated looms situated in mud hovels it is hardto understand, but they do. We saw one man who had no less thanthirty-three different tiny spools to work from in a piece notmore than a yard wide. All of these he had in turn to introduce inthe web, and pass through a greater or lesser number of threads, the one starting in where the other left the woof, before onesingle thread was complete from end to end of the warp and couldbe driven into the pattern. The people of Benares also excel asworkers in brass. 

To-day we had a unique experience indeed, being carried throughthe principal streets of Benares on State elephants, kindlyprovided for us by the Rajah of Benares. Mr. H. , of New York, whomwe have met on his way round the world, and Vandy and I were theriders. We were driven to the palace, and found there two hugeanimals, gayly caparisoned, awaiting our arrival, surrounded byservants in resplendent liveries. The elephants very kindly gotupon their knees, which rendered a short ladder only necessary forus to mount by. The motion is decidedly peculiar, and, until onebecomes used to it, I should think very fatiguing; but we enjoyedour elephant ride greatly, and the Rajah has our hearty thanks. 

We are in the land of the cheapest labor in the world. It isdoubtful if men can be found anywhere else to do a day's work foras little as they are paid in India. Railway laborers and cooliesof all kinds receive only four rupees per month, and findthemselves; these are worth just now forty cents each, or, say, $1. 60 (6s. 6d. ) in gold for a month's service. Uponthis a man has to exist. Is it any wonder that the masses areconstantly upon the verge of starvation? Women earn much less, andof course every member of a family has to work and earn something. The common food is a pulse called gran; the better class indulgein a pea called daahl. Anything beyond a vegetable diet is notdreamed of. 

Before leaving Benares I must speak again of the scene at theriver, which far excels any representation I have seen of it orany description I have read. Photographs cannot be made to conveya just idea of its picturesque beauty, because the view isenlivened by such masses and combinations of color as Turner alonecould do justice to. Indeed, my first thought as I saw thethousands on the ascending banks--one tier of resting-places aboveanother, culminating in the grand temples' towering at thetops--was that I had seen something akin to this in a dazzlingpicture somewhere. Need I say that it is in the Turner Galleryalone where such color can be seen? He should have painted the"Hindoo Bathers at Benares, " and given the world one more gemrevealing what he alone, in his generation, fully saw in themind's eye, "the light which never shone on sea or shore. " We havevoted this scene at Benares the finest sight we have yetwitnessed. 

 * * * * *

LUCKNOW, Tuesday, February 11. 

We reached Lucknow at night. The moon was not yet shining, but thestars shed their peaceful halo around this spot, to which the eyesof the civilized world were so long directed during the dark daysof the mutiny. At the hotel upon arrival a lady's voice was heardsinging the universal refrain which nearest touches all Englishhearts in India and expresses the ever dominant longing, "Home, Sweet, Sweet Home. "

There is no trace here of the massacres which have made thisregion memorable. But is the past to be repeated? Who can assureus that these bronzed figures which surround us by millions maynot again in some mad moment catch the fever of revolt? This isthe anxious question which I find intruding itself upon me everyhour. Truly it is a dangerous game, this, to undertake thepermanent subjection of a conquered race; and I do not believethat after General Grant sees India he will regret that thefoolish Santo Domingo craze passed away. If America can learn onelesson from England, it is the folly of conquest, where conquestinvolves the government of an alien race. 

Our first visit was to the ruins of the Residency, where for sixlong months Sir Henry Lawrence and his devoted band were shut upand surrounded by fifty thousand armed rebels. The grounds, whichI should say are about thirty acres in extent, were fortunatelyencompassed by an earthen rampart six feet in height. You need notbe told of the heroic resistance of the two regiments of Britishsoldiers and one of natives, nor of the famous rescue. Hour afterhour, day after day, week after week, and month after month, thethree hundred women and children, shut in a cellar under ground, watched and prayed for the sound of Have-lock's bugles, but itcame not. Hope, wearied out at last, had almost given place todespair. Through the day the attacks of the infuriated mob couldbe seen and repelled, but who was to answer that when darknessfell the wall was not to be pierced at some weak point of theextended line? One officer in command of a critical pointfailing--not to do his duty, there was never a fear of that--butfailing to judge correctly of what the occasion demanded, and thestruggle was over. Death was the last of the fears of these poorwomen night after night as the days rolled slowly away. One nightthere was graver silence than usual in the room; all weredespondent, and lay resigned to their seemingly impending fate. Norescue came, nor any tidings of relief. In the darkness onepiercing scream was heard from the narrow window. A Highland nursehad clambered up to gaze through the bars and strain her ears oncemore. The cooling breeze of night blew in her face and wafted suchmusic as she could not stay to hear. One spring to the ground, aclapping of hands above the head, and such a shriek as appalledher sisters who clustered round; but all she could say between thesobs was: "The slogan--the slogan!" But few knew what the sloganwas. "Didna ye hear--didna ye hear?" cried the demented girl, andthen listening one moment, that she might not be deceived, shemuttered, "It's the Macgregors gathering, the grandest o' thema', " and fell senseless to the ground. Truly, my lassie, the"grandest o' them a', " for never came such strains before tomortal ears. And so Jessie of Lucknow takes her place in historyas one of the finest themes for painter, dramatist, poet orhistorian henceforth and forever. I have been hesitating whetherthe next paragraph in my note-book should go down here or beomitted. Probably it would be in better taste if quietly ignored, but then it would be so finely natural if put in. Well, I shall benatural or nothing, and recount that I could not help rejoicingthat Jessie was Scotch, and that Scotchmen first broke the rebels'lines and reached the fort, and that the bagpipes led the way. That's all. I feel better now that this is also set down. 

Lucknow, so rich in historical associations, is poverty itself ingenuine architectural attractions, magnificent as it appears at adistance. It is a modern capital. About a century ago a king ofOude, in a moment of caprice, I suppose, determined to remove hiscapital from Fyzabad to Lucknow. Palaces on a great scale werehastily erected of common bricks and covered with white plaster. These look very fine at a distance, but closer inspection revealsthe sham, and one is provoked because his admiration has beenunworthily excited. Several other kings followed and carried onthis imposture, each building his palace and tomb in thisuntruthful way. What could we expect from kings content to lie insuch tombs but lives of disgusting dissipation? A simple marbleslab were surely better than these pretentious lies: anything soit be genuine. However, retribution came, and the dynasty isextinct, the present king living as a prisoner in Calcutta. 

The bazaars of Lucknow are well worth seeing, with their nativejewellers, brass-workers, and other artificers, working in spacesnot more than six feet square. We begin to see persons and modeswhich remind us of scriptural expressions--the water-carrier withthe goat-skin filled, "the hewers of wood and drawers of water, "the latter usually working in gangs of five. An earthen incline isbuilt, leading up to the top of the wall which surrounds the well;the well-rope passes over the shoulders of the drawers, and inmarching down the incline they raise the bucket. We came to-dayupon a lot of women grinding the coarse daahl. Two work at eachmill, sitting opposite one another, pushing around the upper stoneby means of upright handles fastened into it. 

 "And two women shall be grinding at the mill, and one shall be taken and the other left, "

saith the Scriptures of old, but our coming revised and correctededition, I could not help hoping to-day, as I saw this picture forthe first time, will note an error, or at least intimate a doubtof the correct translation of this passage; or, if not, the agemay require some commentator "more powerful than the rest" toconsole us with the hope that while at the first call one wasindeed left, there would be a second, yea, and a third, a seventh, and a seventy times seventh call, in one of which even she wouldparticipate. 

We have been this afternoon among the tombs of heroes--Lawrenceand Havelock, Banks and McNeil, Hodson and Arthur--men who fell inthe days of the mutiny. Lawrence's tomb is most touching from itssimplicity--a short record, no eulogy, only

 "Here lies Henry Lawrence, Who tried to do his duty. "

"I have tried to do my duty, " he said, as he breathed his last, and this is all his tomb has to say of him; but isn't it enough?

One day in our drive we came upon our first elephant and our firstcamel camp, hundreds of the latter and nearly two hundred of theformer being attached to the transportation department of thearmy. They are said to perform work which could never be done byother animals in this climate. Bullocks are the third class usedas carriers; these are taught to trot, and do trot well. Iremember one day in Ceylon one of them in a hackery gave us in themail coach quite a spirited race for a short distance, but it wasonly to-day that I learned that camels are also so trained andused as mail or despatch bearers where speed is necessary, and thegait of a really good trained camel is said to be quite easy. Ifdevelopment goes forward in this line, our posterity may be usingthe camel in trotting matches with the horse. He would possess theadvantage over that favorite animal which the Chinaman has overthe European; he could go longer between drinks, and that countsfor much. 

The quarters for troops at Lucknow are models; the officers'quarters are surrounded and in some cases almost embowered byvines and flowers; lawn-tennis courts, cricket grounds, ballcourts, and a gymnasium are provided for the private soldiers, andare finer than we have seen elsewhere, and serve to make Lucknow, with its beautiful gardens and long shady avenues, the one reallypretty rural spot we have seen in India. 

 * * * * *

WEDNESDAY, February 12. 

We are on our way to Agra by rail, and expect to arrive in time todrive out and see the Taj by moonlight. I have been reading morecarefully than before some descriptions of it, and keep wonderingwhether this gem of the world is to prove a disappointment or not. Most things which have been heralded like the Taj fail to fulfilexpectations at first, and how can stone and lime be so formed asto justify such fulsome praises as have been bestowed upon thistomb? One writer, for instance, exclaims, "There is no mystery, nosense of partial failure about the Taj. A thing of perfect beautyand of absolute finish in every detail, it might pass for the workof genii, who knew naught of the weakness and ills with whichmankind were afflicted. " The exact and prosaic Bernier had toexpress doubts whether "I may not be somewhat infected with'Indianisme, ' but I must needs say I believe it ought to bereckoned amongst the wonders of the world. " Bayard Taylor exhaustseulogy upon the Pearl Mosque, calling it "a sanctuary so pure andstainless, revealing so exalted a spirit of worship, that I felthumbled as a Christian that our noble religion had never inspiredits architects to surpass this temple to God and Mohammed;" butwhen he comes to the Taj itself he is lost in rapture. There isnothing, however, which the critics--those men who have failed inliterature and art--will not venture to attack, and I thought itadvisable to tone down my expectations by taking a dose of carpingcriticism. Unfortunately for me, however, when I had got fairly inwith a writer who assures me "the design is weak and feeble, " the"shadows are much too thin, " this misleader left me in a worsecondition than ever, for succumbing at last to the sweetoverpowering charms of the structure as a whole, and apparentlyashamed of himself for ever having dared to say one word againstits perfections, he adds--just after he had bravely done the"design" and the "shadows"--"but the Taj is like a lovely woman:abuse her as you please, the moment you come into her presence yousubmit to her fascinations. " Pretty criticism this for one whowishes the faults of this beauty clearly set forth! I put thislover of the Taj aside at once and try another writer, who doesindeed give me a page of preventive, well suited to one in mycondition, but upon turning over the page he too falls sadly away, for here is his last line:

 "The rare genius of the calm building finds its way unchallenged to the heart. "

Well, then, gentlemen, if all this be so, what's the use of yourpetty criticism? If this marvel, before whose spell all men, evenyou yourselves, must bow, has a "rigidity of outline, " an "air oflittleness and luxury, " a "poverty of relief, " and if "the inlaidwork has been vulgarly employed, " and the patterns are "meagre inthe extreme, " wasn't it the highest aim that its builder couldprobably have had in view, to entrance the world and give to it athing of beauty which is indeed a joy forever? and doesn't the Tajdo this so far beyond all other human structures that no onethinks of naming another in comparison? And should not thisincontrovertible fact teach you a lesson--just a little bit ofmodesty? No, gentlemen; it isn't the Taj that must be changed, either in its outline or shadows, to conform to your canons ofcriticism, but your canons of art that must be changed to embracethe Taj, or rather to set it apart, as a stroke of originalgenius, and consequently above and beyond the domain of criticism;for criticism, like science, works solidly only upon what isabsolutely known, formulating its fixed decrees upon the past. Allgreat geniuses have encountered the critics of their day. HowShakespeare violated the unities! and didn't Napoleon win battleswhich he should have lost? Let these people then be silent, andknow that when a transcendent exhibition of original genius winssuccess beyond the reach of measurement by their plumb and lineand square and compass, the higher law governing the seemingmiracle will be duly revealed: and the Taj is just such a miracle, from all I can learn of its power. 

The evidences of the intense summer heat are seen everywhere. Therailway carriages have false tops, leaving an air space of a footbetween the roof and the cover. Awnings cover the windows outside, and there are posted up directions for the use of the coolingapparatus applied to each first-class compartment; the frames forpunkas are seen in the railway waiting-rooms, and we notice in thearmy regulations that during the hot season soldiers are requiredto stay in-doors between the hours of eleven and three. We aretold of revolving fans being used to cool rooms, and that it isvery common to fill doors and windows with thick mats of scentedgrass, which are kept constantly wet; the wind, passing throughthese, is cooled to about ninety degrees, and large banana leavesfurnish a cool bed in extreme cases, from all of which, "GoodLord, deliver us!" We thank our stars every day that we are doingIndia when the heat, though great at midday, is not unbearable. Weare five hundred and fifty miles north of Calcutta, and find thetemperature much cooler. The people look stronger, and necessarilywear more clothing, which means that another piece of coarsebagging is wrapped around their shoulders. We are at the besthotel in Agra, and I notice as remarkable, in the printed list ofprices, that a man to pull the punka in one's bedroom all night can be obtained for the sum of three annas, or sixcents in silver. Washing costs two cents per piece, but whilethese strike us as cheap, the next item tells us that each guestduring the hot season is chargeable with twenty cents per day forice used at table etc. It is very sparingly used, but yet thelittle bit of ice you see costs as much as the labor of three menall night. All the employees of the railways in India are requiredto join the volunteer forces, and to drill under the supervisionof regular army officers, appointed by the government for thispurpose. An excellent auxiliary force numbering many thousands isthus secured at trifling expense. One significant announcementposted at stations attracted my attention, and gave me an insightinto one department in which India is in advance of us. Thisplacard set forth that certain employees having been found underthe influence of liquor while on duty, the district court hadsentenced them to six months' imprisonment. This betokens adecided step forward, I take it, and one which it would beadvisable for us to follow. A captain, pilot, engineer, railwayconductor, or any one directly charged with the care of humanlives convicted of being drunk while on duty should be held guiltyof a criminal offence and punished by the State. 

I have been admiring all through India three magnificent vines, now in full bloom. One, the Begonia, resembles our honeysuckle, but the flower is larger and hangs in large clusters; the second, called the Bouganviella, is purple in color and like our morning-glory, and the two are often seen climbing together up tall treesalmost to their very tops, covering them with a mass of flowers. The third favorite, Poinsetta, is a leaf of rich magenta color. These three are the special glories of India. Some of our ownflowers do tolerably well in this region, and the inherent love ofthe English for flowers and plants is seen in the numerous prettyplots and gardens. 

Life in India is only rendered tolerable by the opportunity peoplehave to enjoy things which would be beyond their reach at homewithout fortunes. All residences have grounds connected with them, more or less extensive, and laid out in fine gardens. Lawn-tennisand croquet grounds are the rule. Horses and carriages, or atleast a vehicle of some kind, are indispensable, and no one whostrolls around the European quarters in early morning and sees thelarge staff of servants lounging about the spacious verandas, awaiting the call of "Sahib" or "Mem Sahiba, " can be at a loss toaccount for the disappointment often experienced by those who, after years of longing, at last go home to enjoy themselves intheir fancied Elysium. Alas! ten times the sum that supports themhere in style would not suffice in England. Here Sahib awakes anddrawls out, "Qui hi" (you of my people who are in waiting). Thereis a stir among several servants who have lain the whole nightlong at his door, to be in readiness, and the moaning reply comes, "S-a-h-i-b, " and he is surrounded by those who minister to hisslightest wish all day, leaving him again at night only to repeatthe performance on the morrow. When he drives his gig to town oneservant stands at his back to wait upon him, and Madame appears inthe afternoon upon the Mall in her grand equipage, two on the boxand two standing behind, as if she were a duchess. As a Europeanwalks the streets he is salaamed by every native he chances tolook at. He moves about, one of a superior race and rank. As heapproaches a crowd, to look at a passing sight, a clear lane ismade for him; and if he steps into the post-office to ask forletters, the natives instinctively fall back until Sahib isserved. All this spoils a man for residence at home, where "oneman is as good as another and a good deal better, " unless atremendous fortune is at one's back to purchase precedence, whichnowadays is scarcely obtainable at any price even in England wheretraces of by-gone days linger longest: and so it falls out thatmany who have prayed for long years for the day to come for theirreturn to England, find the coveted change but Dead Sea fruit whenit is gained at last. A few even return to the land they had solong prayed to be allowed to leave, and take up their final abodeamong the hills. For these people I cannot help feeling deeplysorry. It is impossible that their lives can be full and rich tooverflowing here. A tone of sadness, of vain regret, must pervadethe mind. The prize so ardently struggled for has been foundunsatisfactory, and at best their lives must draw to a closetinged by a sense of partial failure. 

How many human beings can the land maintain to the square mile?About three hundred and fifty in Europe say the authorities, provided the soil is fertile and climate good. This is close uponthe English and Belgian standard; but some parts of India arecursed with more than double this number; indeed one district hasnearly eight hundred to the square mile. This seems to be thelimit even for India, as population does not increase beyond it, and female infanticide begins to protrude its monstrous formwhenever population becomes so dense. In the Punjaub, forinstance, the males exceed the females sixteen per cent. --afearful revelation; but it is just the same in many parts ofChina. All authorities agree that male children are tenderly caredfor, and even desired. This is especially so in China, for nogreater evil can befall a Chinaman than the absence of sons tokeep unbroken the worship. Of ancestors. Death is nothing if hepasses away with dutiful sons around his bedside ready to performthe sacred rites. To die without these is to send his soul forth awanderer without claims upon his gods. The commercial aspect, however, has mostly to do with the question in India. Where isfood for the little mouths, to come from, and how can a girl bereared by a family who live from day to day upon the brink ofstarvation, even when every member labors like a slave?

One morning we drove to the jail--one of the sights of India--andwere fortunate in meeting the Inspector-General, Mr. Walker, anauthority on all matters relating to prison discipline, and Dr. Tyler, the Chief for Agra. These officials kindly conducted usthrough the vast establishment. The prison labor is not, asgenerally with us, contracted out--a vicious plan whichnecessitates the intercourse of outsiders with the criminals andinvariably leads to bad results. Here the prisoners deal with nonebut their keepers; but what pleased me most was the admirablesystem of rewards and promotions for good conduct which has beenestablished. Marks are given and worn upon the clothes whichshorten one's sentence from one day up to several, and it ispossible for a prisoner in this way to acquire marks enough totake as much as one tenth from his imprisonment. The best behavedof all can rise to the position of wardens. Several hundreds havereached this prize, and are distinguished by better clothing, andalso by ornamental badges. These wardens are placed over the othermalefactors, and there is no difficulty experienced in enforcingthe strictest discipline through them. Foremen of shops and of thevarious departments are all appointed from among the prisonersthemselves, and, with the exception of the one in charge of thecomplicated machinery, there are no others employed in suchcapacities. The armed guards are, however, not of this class. Inordinary years the cost of maintenance per person is one rupee amonth (40 cents gold); clothing 75 cents a year, including cost ofsupervision and all expenses of the jail department; prisoners inIndia thus cost only about $14 per year each. This prisonmaintains itself by the labor of its inmates, and last year showedan actual profit of about $40, 000. Twenty-three hundred prisonerswere confined within its walls when we were there. The totalnumber of inmates of the jail in this and the Northwest Provinceis just now 39, 000; but last year, owing to the famine, the numberrose to 42, 000. This seems a great number, but I am informed that, taking the population into account, it is not quite up to theaverage in England. We saw the prisoners working the celebratedAgra jail carpets and rugs, for which there is such demand thatorders given to-day cannot be filled for many months. A newbuilding has just been erected and filled with looms to increasethe supply. Native dyes and materials alone are used, and one canthus rest assured that a carpet obtained here is genuinethroughout. France takes the finest qualities, and we saw some sofine that the day's task of men sitting as close as they could theentire width of the web was only one inch per day. These carpets, which are really works of art, cost here $10 gold per square yard, and certainly not less than double that when retailed in Paris. Ofthe inmates about one hundred were women, their special crimebeing that of child-stealing, which is very common in India, theornaments worn by the little ones being a strong temptation. Wesaw two young lads sentenced for life for this crime. They hadstolen and robbed a child, and afterward thrown the body into awell. We left Messrs. Walker and Tyler strongly imbued with thefeeling that we had seen the model prison of the world in Agrajail. 

India gives us valuable hints upon the land question. There is noprivate tenure; at least it is not general, for when one speaks ofa continent with two hundred and fifty millions of peoplepossessed of different customs it is unsafe to say that anythingdoes not exist. Speaking generally, the land of India belongs tovillage communities in which every family has its right. The Statefirst taxes a certain portion of the produce. Akbar the firstMogul fixed it at one-third of the gross amount, which the headman of each village was required first to set apart forgovernment. The remainder was divided among the community. Foruntold generations these village communities have preserved intacttheir traditions, which neither anarchy nor conquest haveabolished. Unfortunately the English in the early days weredisposed to introduce their system of landlord and tenant, and inthe Bengal province this has led to infinite trouble. Men hadarisen there who undertook the collection of the land tax of adistrict and paid the government an agreed-upon sum. They were infact contractors (Zemindars); this was certainly the easiest modefor the British Government to obtain the revenue, but inrecognizing these contractors it raised them virtually to theposition of landlord. The poor cultivator could not reach thegovernment at all. He was in the power of the Zemindar, who alonedealt with the authorities. As was to have been expected, theresult was just as it has been found in Ireland. The Zemindarssqueezed every penny out of the poor farmer which he could be madeto yield, until finally the government was compelled to embarkupon that perilous sea, land legislation, tenant rights, judicialrents, and all the rest of it. 

In the Bombay presidency, however, wiser councils have prevailed. The cultivator deals directly with the government; has a lease asit were subject to revaluation every thirty years. In time thepoor cultivator will no doubt rise to the advantages of thissystem by a process of natural selection. It was certain that manyunfit occupiers would be found, and this has been the case so far. The plan is bound, however, to develop and sustain the mostcompetent, and this means that it is the right plan. The landyields the government twenty-two millions sterling per annum($110, 000, 000). Had the land owners of England not releasedthemselves while acting as M. P. 's of the tax under which tillthen land was held by them, England would be in position to-day toremit many taxes which bear heavily upon the people. 

We had a talk to-day with an officer of the forest department ofIndia, which vainly strives to save the forests from wanderingtribes who practice nomadic agriculture, reaping indeed where theysow, but rarely sowing twice in the same place, which is thedifficulty. These tribes inhabit the hills of India, and dependfor food solely upon crops grown in the forests. They make aclearing by burning the timber and scatter the seed, rarely takingthe trouble to turn up the soil, although some tribes scratch thesurface with sticks. The virgin soil yields forty and fifty fold ofrice as a first crop. This is gathered and off go the gypsies toanother locality for next season. The destruction of timber uponthese small clearings is nothing, as our friend explained, comparedto that caused by the spread of the fires. The government imposesheavy penalties upon these nomads, if discovered, but vast, tractsremain where no restraint is possible. He was on his way to solitudeamong the hills, which he preferred to even the plains with theircrowds. But England, England some day! was his dream. Ah, poorfellow! the chances are that he will fall and lie in his Indianforest; or, sadder yet, should fortune reach him and he realize hisdream, that he would find life in England intolerable and return todie here a disappointed man. We have met several such, and for noclass am I so profoundly sorry. Never to realize one's life dream isbad enough, but to have it sent you and then find it naught--thatseems to me the keenest thrust which can enter the soul of man. 

Among the attractions of Agra are the palaces and tombs of theGreat Moguls, and we have been busy visiting them day after day. This was the capital during the most brilliant period of thatextraordinary family's reign. The founder, Baber, lies buried atCabool, which was the chief place before the invaders penetratedfarther south. Six of these Moguls reigned, and no dynasty inhistory has six consecutive names of equal power to boast. Hereditary genius has strong support in the careers of theseillustrious men; besides this, Baber was a lineal descendant ofTamerlane himself, on his father's side, and of a scarcely lessable Tartar leader on his mother's side. So much for blood. 

The greatest of the six was Akbar, who proved to be that rarecombination, soldier and statesman in one. He, Mohammedan bybirth, dared to marry a Hindoo princess as an example for hispeople to follow, but which, unfortunately, they have failed todo. It is strange to remember that the Moguls were seated on theirthrones only three hundred years ago, Akbar being contemporaneouswith Henry VIII. , and ruling India when Shakespeare was still onearth. 

Six successive generations of great men, like the Great Moguls, cannot be matched, I think, elsewhere; but it would not be fair toattribute this unbroken line altogether to the doctrine ofhereditary genius. Much lies in the fact that upon each of theserulers in turn, depended the maintenance and success of hisempire. The Moguls were real powers, indeed the only powers, andnot only reigned but governed. Had the doctrine of the divineright of kings been overthrown in India during the reign of eventhe ablest of the six, and the heir to the throne been debarredthe exercise of power; taught from his infancy that his role wasto be wholly ornamental, a sham king whose chief end and use wasthe opening of fancy bazaars or the laying of foundation stones, he too would have developed into something suited for the purposein view, just as heirs apparent have done elsewhere. It was thecontinual exercise of high functions which made the race great andkept it so. To _play_ the part of king when one knows himselfthe political valet of his prime minister, would soon have takenmanhood out of Akbar himself, if we can imagine such a man willingto play the part. 

I am not going to give a catalogue of what is to be seen in Agra, having no notion of writing a guide-book or of filling notes withlong passages from such sources, as I see many writers have done;but I must speak of three or four structures which have pleased memost. 

The "Fort" is a most impressive pile of masonry, a Warwick Castleupon a large scale, the ramparts being one and a quarter miles incircumference. This was Akbar's principal palace, or rather seriesof palaces, for it embraces the Pearl Mosque, Public AudienceHall, and Jessamine Tower, all of which are within its walls. 

The tomb of her father, built by that rare woman, Noor Mahal, shewho sleeps in the Taj, is a marble structure of exquisiteproportions, and quite unlike others because of the great numberand extent of the perforated screens of marble of which it isprincipally composed. Up to the time we had seen this I think Iliked it the best of any; but then Noor Mahal had built it for herfather, and I was predisposed to like this proof of her filialdevotion. 

There is one romantic and perfect love story concerning her in theannals of the Moguls. Akbar's son, the future ruler, felldesperately in love with a young lady, but for reasons of stateshe was not eligible, and the emperor quietly provided a husbandfor her in the person of one of his generals. The young heir onlyknew that she was married and he condemned to take to wife thewoman provided for him. Two years after he had become emperor thehusband of his first love died, and although she was then amiddle-aged woman, he, the emperor, sought her out and not onlymarried her (she could have been his slave), but raised her to thethrone with himself, stamping her image with his own upon the coinof the realm. Such an unbounded influence did this capable andhigh-spirited woman acquire over not only her devoted husband butthe circle of the court, that she became the constant adviser inall important affairs; and that she might not be less thoroughlyfeminine, I am glad to see it recorded that she introducedimproved modes of dress and manners among her ladies. The emperortold his priests one day that until he had married this paragon hehad not known what marriage meant. But her grandest achievement isyet to be told. The emperor had previously been dissolute, probably from his first pure dream of love having been so cruellydispelled--who knows?--but Noor Mahal lifted him into higherregions, and made him a better man. She loved him fervently, and, on more than one occasion, when the emperor was attacked, sheimperilled her own life to save his. As they grew old they becamemore and more to each other, and at her death was it any wonderthe emperor ordered that a tomb should rise excelling all previoustombs as much, if possible, as Noor Mahal excelled all otherwomen? This tomb, the Taj Mahal (Diadem Tomb), is said to havecost more than two millions sterling, which is equal to anexpenditure of fifty millions of dollars with us to-day. Truly acostly monument, you say. No doubt, but if it has given to mankindone proof that the loftiest ideal can be wrought out and realizedin practice, the Taj would be cheap even if its erection hademptied the Comstock lode; and there are men--wise men too--whoaffirm that it performs this miracle and inspires them with thepleasing hope that in the far ages yet to come the real and theideal may grow closer together. The emperor built no tomb forhimself, as was customary, but as the kind fates decreed, he wasplaced side by side with her who had been to him so much, and theyrest together, under the noblest canopy ever made by human hands. Taking into account the degraded position accorded to women, andremembering to what Noor Mahal raised herself, I think she must beallowed to rank as the greatest woman who ever reigned, andperhaps the greatest who ever lived, for no one has climbed fromsuch a depth to such a height as she, as far as I know. Assumingthat Cleopatra was all that Shakespeare has made her for us, ahuman being of whom it could be truly said

 "Age cannot wither nor custom stale her infinite variety, "

yet the Egyptian was born to the purple, a queen recognized by hernation, and entitled to rule from the first. What was thisgeneral's daughter in India? A woman, to begin with, which inIndia meant an inferior being, and yet she rose to equality withthe Mogul and was consulted upon affairs of state--not simplybecause she was, in a bad sense, the ruler's favorite, but by theinherent force of her own abilities. 

Akbar's Tomb amazes one by its gigantic size, which dwarfs allother tombs. The amount of inlaid work, composed of jasper, carnelian, and other precious stones, seen at every step, inclinesone to believe that it cost the fabulous sum stated. It should beremembered that it was the custom among these monarchs always toerect during their lives a palace in which great ceremonies tookplace while they lived, and which became their tomb at theirdeath. A similar custom prevailed in Egypt, where each ruler begana pyramid when he began his reign. It was in this way that so manysplendid structures were built. Akbar did not live to see thisvast building completed, but his son carried on the work. Thestern simplicity of Akbar's tomb, which is in the centre of thebuilding and under ground, pleased me. It is a plain solid blockof marble, without one word upon it, or mark of any kind; as if itwould say to all time, What need to tell the world that the greatAkbar lies here?

Speaking generally, the palaces and tombs of Agra are far finerthan I had imagined them to be, and the relief experienced ingetting away from the plaster shams of Lucknow--cheapmagnificence, to genuine grandeur at Agra--can be easily imagined. 

Our train having been delayed in reaching Agra, we had arrived toolate to visit the Taj by moonlight; and in deference to the strongremonstrance of every one we have met here, we have not yetattempted to see the wonder. "Oh! don't think, please don't thinkof seeing the Taj until the very last, because, if you do, everything else will seem so coarse, " has been in substance theexclamation of every friend. But now we are through with all else, and we start, two o'clock P. M. , February 14th, 1879. Vandy hasjust come to announce that our carriage is ready. Good-bye! Am Ito be disappointed? Of course I am. I have made up my mind tothat, and having just had tiffin, and drank a whole pint of bitterbeer, I feel myself quite competent to criticise the Taj with thebest of them, and especially well fitted just now to stand nononsense. We met an American who was travelling as a matter ofduty, and had found, as far as travel was concerned, I suspect, that he belonged to the class represented by the grumbler inparadise, whose "halo didn't fit his head exactly. " He had foundnothing in India, he said, but a lot of rubbish, but checkedhimself at once, "except the Taj. Now that building--thatis--perfectly satisfactory, " as if he had ordered a suit ofclothes from his tailor and had nothing to find fault with. On theother hand, I have just come across a statement "that stern men, overpowered by the sight of it, have been known to burst intotears. " It is this miracle of inanimate matter we are now to see. But here comes Vandy again. "Come on, Andrew; carriage waiting. "I'm off--particulars in our next. 

 * * * * *

FRIDAY NIGHT, February 14. 

We have seen it, but I am without the slightest desire to burstinto rapturous adjectives. Do not expect me to attempt adescription of it, or to try to express my feelings. There aresome subjects too sacred for analysis, or even for words, and Inow know that there is a human structure so exquisitely fine, orunearthly, as to lift it into this holy domain. Let me say littleabout it; only tell you that, lingering until the sun went down, we turned in the noble gateway which forms a frame through whichyou see the Taj in the distance, with only the blue sky in thebackground, around and above it, and there took our last fond sadfarewell, as the shades of night were wrapping the lovely jewel intheir embrace, as if it were a charge too sweetly precious not tobe safely enveloped in night's black mantle, till it could againshine forth at the dawn in all its beauty to adorn the earth. Fullin its face we gazed. How kindly it seemed to look upon us! And asone parts for the last time from one whose eye glistens at hisglance, we turned never to look upon the Taj again, hiding oureyes as the carriage rolled away, lest by any mischance a partialview should intrude to mar the perfect image our mind has graspedto tarry with us forever. We had been so deliciously sad, and atthe same time so thrillingly but yet so solemnly happy for hours, and now came pain alone, the inevitable finale to all our joys onearth--the parting forever. But till the day I die, amid mountainstreams or moonlight strolls in the forest, wherever and wheneverthe mood comes, when all that is most sacred, most elevated, andmost pure recur to shed their radiance upon the tranquil mind, there will be found among my treasures the memory of that lovelycharm--the Taj. 

We had engaged to meet some friends at the club as we drovehomeward, but was it any wonder that neither of us remembered thisuntil the stoppage of the carriage at our hotel awoke us from ourreveries! What was to be done? Vandy's reply expressed ourcondition exactly: "Go out to enjoy myself when I feel that I wantto go and put on mourning! I couldn't do it. " And we didn't. Ourfriends will please accept this intimation. 

In reading these pages at home so long after the visit one canbring one's self to be a little prosaic in regard to this marvel, and tell his readers just what the Taj is. As before stated, it isthe structure erected by the Emperor Jehanghir in memory of thatparagon Noor Mahal. That a tomb should be erected at all for awoman in India is of itself significant, to begin with, and theRoman Emperor who put his horse's head upon the coin and who issupposed to have consulted him in political affairs did not take amuch wider departure from custom than did this true lover when heput upon the coin a woman's image with his own. 

The Taj is built of a light creamy marble, so that it does notchill one as pure cold white marble does. It is warm andsympathetic as a woman. One great critic has finely called the Taja feminine structure. There is nothing masculine about it, sayshe; its charms are all feminine. This creamy marble is inlaid withfine black marble lines, the entire Koran in Arabic letters, it issaid, being thus interwoven. 

The following description is condensed from Fergusson: Theenclosure, which includes an inner and an outer court, the wholeabout a fifth of a mile wide, extends along the banks of the JumnaRiver one-third of a mile. The principal gateway, opening into theinner court, is a hundred and forty feet high by a hundred and tenfeet wide. The mausoleum stands in the centre of a raised marbleplatform, eighteen feet high, and exactly three hundred andthirteen feet square. At each angle of this terrace rises aminaret, a hundred and thirty-three feet high, and of exquisiteproportions, "more beautiful, perhaps, " says Ferguson, "than anyother in India. " The mausoleum itself is a square of one hundredand eighty-six feet, with the corners cut off to the extent ofabout thirty-four feet. In the centre is the principal dome, fifty-eight feet in diameter, and eighty feet high, and at eachangle is a smaller dome surmounting a two-story apartment, abouttwenty-seven feet in diameter. 

The light to the central apartment is admitted through doublescreens of white marble trellis-work of the most exquisitedesigns. In any climate but that of India this would producedarkness within, but here, in a building constructed wholly ofwhite marble, it serves to temper the glare of the blinding light. No words can express the chastened beauty of that dim religiouslight, the unearthly effect of the subdued sunshine, sparkling nowand then upon the brilliant stones of which the graceful mosaics, vines and flowers are composed. Twenty thousand workmen are saidto have been employed upon this marvel for twenty-two years. Iwould think the time and labor and money bestowed upon it wellspent had it been twenty times--aye, a hundred times--as great. There is no price too dear to pay for perfection. 

The mosaics of the interior are exquisitely graceful. Flowers andfruits are represented by precious stones, formerly genuinestones, but these having been stolen by the Jats and others, havebeen replaced by glass, colored to represent the originals. In thecentre of the dome lie Noor Mahal and Jehanghir side by side, thisbeing, I believe, the only instance where any emperor of India hascondescended to be buried by the side of a woman. The sweetestecho in the known world answers a call at the side of this tomb. Of course the architect could not have had this attraction in viewwhen he planned the structure, and the natives who throng thisunique gem of architecture do well to ascribe this apparent voicefrom heaven to the continual presence and approval of the goodgods who like to linger over the tomb of true lovers. 

The guide steps forward without a word of warning and raises thecry, "Great is God, and Mohammed is his prophet! Allah! Allah!" Atfirst three distinct musical notes are heard in the echo; I meandifferent notes upon the musical scale, as distinct from eachother as "do, sol, do. " These reverberate round the dome andascend until they reach the smaller dome, where they reunite andescape from the temple as one tone. Some readers may recall theecho in the baptistery at Pisa, as we did when we heard this newdelight in the Taj, but that echo compares with this, well, say asthe Taj compares to Milan Cathedral--and now I repent me forcomparing the Taj to any other material structure. It is notproper to do so. We shall say as the piano compares with theorgan. 

If I am ever sentenced to hard labor for life for some unlawfuloutburst of my wild republicanism, I will make one request as Ithrow myself upon the mercy of the court: Let me be transported toIndia, and allowed to perform my daily task in beautifying andpreserving the Taj. This would be a labor of love, and I shouldnot be unhappy with my idol to worship, doing my part to hand itdown untarnished to future generations. 

The Taj is really a very large temple, yet such is its grace, itsexquisite proportions, its unapproachable charm--it never occursto the beholder that it is of such great size. It is neither bignor little, nor heavy nor light--it is simply perfect. You can'ttell why it is perfect, and you don't want to. You stand and lookat the gem through the great gateway which serves as a frame forthe picture, for the Taj is directly in front of the arch, probably five hundred yards distant. A narrow walk, lined on bothsides with the choicest Indian plants, leads to it, but it is manyminutes before you can be induced to advance. Never before haveyou gazed upon stone and lime which you deemed worthy of beingcalled beautiful. All you have seen becomes mean, coarse, material; this alone is entirely worthy. There is grace and beautybrought down to us from above, the realization of the ideal; itreally seems an inspiration. Vandy and I separated instinctivelywithout a word. You want to be with the Taj alone, for it leadsyou captive and invites to secret communion. I wandered aroundmany hours, gazing at every turn, deliciously, not joyously happy;there was no disposition to croon over a melody, nor any bracingquality in my thoughts--not a trace of the heroic--but I wasfilled with happiness which seemed to fall upon me gently as thesnow-flakes fall, as the zephyr comes when laden with sweet odors. I sat down at length in the garden in full view of the Taj, buthad not rested long before an Englishman approached, and somethingin our faces telling that we were both in the blissful state andthe worshipful mood, he came and sat down quietly, withoutspeaking a word, but with a slight and slow nod of recognition, and broke out without one word of introduction--partly as iftalking to himself--as follows:

"I stayed away from this in England as long as I could. It is sevenyears since I was here before. I have been here for two weekswandering about the grounds; I must tear myself away to-morrow andmy great grief is, that I know that I cannot take and carry with mea perfect image--of _that_--and so I may have to return again. " Isaid that my feeling was the reverse, for I felt that its imagecould never leave me. He envied me that, he said. I have oftenregretted that I did not get the name and address of this worthydevotee, but under the spell of the spirit neither he nor I caredmuch for other companionship; but should this ever meet his eyesurely he will address me and perhaps we may shake hands in silenceover the memory of our idol. 

It began to grow dark at length, and I thought of finding Vandy totell him--for no apology seemed necessary--that I could notpossibly resist the spell which had carried me away even from himall the afternoon. I was at once relieved, for I found him in thearchway. He was first to speak. "A. C. , " he said, "I'm very sorry. I know I ought to have looked for you long ago, but really I couldnot leave this spot. Look! there is no place like this. " So it wasall right. When one is called upward by the spirit, even thedearest of humanity must be left behind. But Vandy was in theright place certainly for one to take his farewell. If ever aninanimate object spoke to man, the Taj did to me when I saidfarewell; the tear was not alone in the eye of the beholder as hetook his last fond look, for that spiritual face of the Taj seemedto beam kindly in return. It said--yes, smile, reader, if youwill--I know it said, "This is not farewell, for we understandeach other. " There never is a farewell between souls completelysympathetic. They live forever in the bonds of a sacred friendshipwhich separation cannot break. 

 * * * * *

DELHI, Sunday, February 16. 

Delhi at last--he Rome of Asia! Baber established his capital inAgra, a hundred and forty miles south, and therefore farther intoIndia, but his son Humayun returned to Delhi because the summerheats of Agra were found to be insupportable. But it had beforebeen the principal seat of the Pathans or Afghan kings, and, backof them, of several Hindoo dynasties. There are ruins of palacesand forts here dating to one hundred years before Christ, and foreighteen hundred years we have the ruins of the structures of thekings of Delhi and their most noted subordinates, comprising primeministers, favorite slaves, barbers, architects, etc. For elevenmiles along the Imperial Way, on both sides, these ruins stretch, ending in the Kuttub Minar, the glory of Delhi, as the Taj is ofAgra. This is a tower standing alone, two hundred and forty feetin height, fifty feet in diameter at the base, and tapering tonine feet at the top. But pictures and photographs have made allfamiliar with this superb monument. It and the tomb of Humayun, father of the great Akbar, alone remain vividly impressed upon mymemory. A ruin now and then is acceptable, but eleven miles ofthem in one or two days are rather embarrassing, and it isimpossible to examine them in detail and retain interest in thework; besides this, a great similarity pervades the mass. It seemsto me the entire population must have been oppressed to the lastdegree, and every surplus penny secured in some way to be expendedin the erection and maintenance of these palaces, and for thesupport of the classes who occupied them. 

One most important department of government in the management of aconquered race is that of its police and intelligence bureau, andthis is admirably administered in India. A special department wasorganized years ago, and specially gifted officers of the armyplaced at its head. To the present chief, Major Henderson, whoseface we see in all the photographs of the Prince of Wales's party, we are deeply indebted for Indian items. This department hasalmost succeeded in stamping out the Thugs, and it is very seldomthat murders are now committed by these religious fanatics. Theirgoddess Kali demanded blood, but she was fastidious; nothing buthuman blood would meet her tastes, and so her devotees strangledand waylaid and shot the victims marked out for sacrifice. SomeThugs confessed to between seventy and eighty murders, and one tothe incredible number of one hundred and ninety-two (what saintsthey would make!). The members of the sect-were classified intospies, stranglers, and grave-diggers, the spies being in the firststage and not ranking with the two more advanced degrees. Assumingusually the garb of merchants or pilgrims, they often craved theprotection of their intended victims. Their favorite instrumentfor strangulation was a handkerchief, in the use of which theywere most expert. The secret that these wretches were linkedtogether as a religious fraternity, bound by all the hopes offuture bliss and the terrors of eternal damnation as theysatisfied or failed to satisfy the craving of their horrible godsfor human blood, was not discovered until about a half centuryago. The government purchased the secret with the names andaddress of every member and relative of a member of the sect, arrested them all in 1837 and colonized them at Jubbulpore, wherethey were taught trades. Their names and those of theirdescendants remain on the list of persons suspect, and shouldThugism ever show its head again, the presence of any member nearthe scene of the offence would be held almost conclusive evidenceagainst him. 

The Major's department has on its records the names anddescriptions of more than four thousand of these people, and alsoof nearly nine thousand professional gang robbers. Murder has beendone when the booty did not exceed six cents. But the systematic hunting down of these dangerous classes is fast ridding India ofthis curse. If a man will murder another for a sixpence he can beinduced to betray his fellow-murderers for a moderate sum. Is itnot a blessing for the race that evil disintegrates? Only for goodends can men permanently combine; then no feared betrayal worksdismay. As great movements, whether for good or evil, require manysupporters, society has its safe-guard; nothing really good can bedestroyed by conspirators. 

The fort at Delhi resembles in its general features that of Agra, but is famous as having been the receptacle of the Peacock Throne, which was valued by a French jeweller at not less than sixmillions sterling, say thirty millions of dollars. On such aprecious pedestal as this the Moguls sat and ruled this land. Thethrone was plundered of its jewels by the Persians, but its frameis still shown in the local museum. The fort remains in anunusually good state of preservation, making it by far the mostsatisfactory specimen of the gorgeous residences of the Mogulsthat we have seen. The walls are of marble, inlaid in the interiorwith genuine precious stones of various colors worked into theforms of vines and flowers for a height of about six feet. Thefloors are similarly decorated. The upper portions of the wallshave the same patterns, but these are painted, not inlaid. Everypart is gilded in the most elaborate manner, and, in short, herealone of all places that I have seen, one could fancy himselfwandering through the resplendent wonders of the Arabian Nights. 

Of course we did not neglect the many places rendered historicalby the mutiny. These are seen upon every side in this district, but none was more interesting to me than the Cashmere Gate. Therebels held the fort, and it was determined to assault it. Here isthe record of the men who volunteered to lay the train to theGate:

"Salkfied laid his bags, but was shot through the arm and leg, andfell back on the bridge, handing the portfire to Sergeant Burgess, _bidding him light the fuse_. Burgess was instantly shot deadin the attempt. Sergeant Carmichael then advanced, took up theportfire, and succeeded in the attempt, but immediately fellmortally wounded. Sergeant Smith, seeing him fall, advanced at arun, but finding that the fuse was already burning, threw himselfinto the ditch. "

The age of miracles is admittedly past, but it is certain that theage of heroes existed in 1857. 

The finest mosque in Delhi, and one of the finest in the world, isthe Jumma Musjid. We happened to visit it just as the priests werecalling the faithful to prayer, which they do by ascending to thefoot of the minarets and turning toward Mecca and there chantingthe call. Numerous worshippers came, and having washed in thepool, went to the Mosque and began their worship on their knees. Our guide was a Mohammedan, and I asked him what a good man isrequired to do daily in the way of external worship. Here is theprogramme as he gave it to me: Five times each day he washes handsand feet and prays; first in the morning when he rises, and thenat one, four, after sunset, and before he goes to bed, repeatingthe prayer to Allah and some words from the Koran, and touchingthe ground with his forehead no less than thirty-eight timesduring the day. This must be done every day, Saturday and Sundayalike. The prayers are simple exclamations reciting the greatnessof God and the insignificance of his servants, and _ask fornothing_. How very close to their daily lives must thisconstant appeal at short intervals, through each day, bring theUnknown, unless, as is said to be the case, it becomes a morematter of form, familiarity breeding contempt. 

 * * * * *

SAUGOR, GREAT PENINSULAR RAILWAY, February 19. 

We are now _en route_ to Bombay from Delhi, a distance ofabout thirteen hundred miles. We have been two nights in oursleeping-car, and shall spend the night on the line and reachBombay in the morning. General Grant just passed us going towardCalcutta, but there was no chance for us to get at him to shakehands in India. This is the Pacific Railway of India, connectingCalcutta and all the eastern portion with the western coast, uponwhich Bombay is situated. The time between Calcutta and Englandhas been shortened almost a whole week by its construction. Therailways of India, of which there are at present about ninethousand miles in operation, were principally constructed under aguarantee of five per cent, by the Indian Government, and some ofthem yield more than that already. In a short time there will benone that will remain a charge upon the revenues. The governmentretained the right, at intervals of twenty or twenty-five years, to acquire possession and ownership of these lines upon certainterms, and at no distant day will enjoy large revenues from itsrailway property. If the days of guarantees and subsidies be nothopelessly gone with us, here is an idea worth considering by ourgovernment. Fancy what the ownership of the Union and CentralPacific lines would mean as recompense for the amounts advanced. 

The government has established several model farms in differentprovinces, for the purpose of testing articles thought suitablefor cultivation in India, and of diffusing among the nativesimproved methods of agriculture. Such farms under able scientificmanagement must eventually bring to the country what it is bestcalculated to produce. The success attendant upon the growth of asubstitute for cinchona is significant. India must have quinine inlarge quantities as a preventive of malaria. Experiments provethat while the genuine article does not thrive here, a kindredspecies, possessing nearly the same properties, although to a lessdegree, will grow well. This has been cultivated in largequantities, and I notice that the medical chief orders it to beused in all dispensaries where quinine has hitherto been required, although the medical officers are permitted in extreme cases toorder the dearer drug. 

We are now traversing a level plain, and as this region wasblessed with rain in season, it seems much more fertile than someother portions of the country; but the poorest harvests I ever sawin any part of America would be rated as abundant here. We haveseen everywhere herds of buffaloes, bullocks, and sheep grazing infields which seemed to us entirely destitute of everything; not agreen leaf of any kind to be seen, and we could not understand howanimals could even get a mouthful of food in the brown parchedlands. But I am told they do nibble away at the short stalks androots of corn or sugar-cane left in the ground when the crop wascut, and in this way manage to eke out a scanty existence. Theyare at best little but skin and bone. When it is merely a questionof keeping life in the body, man and beast alike prove that butlittle is required. 

While everything about us partakes of a dusty clayey hue, we mustnot forget that we see the plains of India in the winter. Let theblessed Monsoon burst, and these fields, now so parched and dead, are covered at once "as if the earth had given a subterraneanbirth to heaven. " As Roderick Dhu's host rose up at the blast ofhis bugle, vegetation springs forth, and the land we now wonder atis no longer barren, but teems with tropical luxuriance. Then comethe snakes and insects to poison and annoy. Last year, sixteenthousand seven hundred and seventy human beings were reportedkilled by snakes, while eight hundred and nineteen only werekilled by tigers. 

One has difficulty in imagining such a change in any land as isimplied by these startling figures, for to-day as we travel not afly nor insect of any kind is to be seen. If it were not for theintense heat, which I know I could not endure, I should like tospend a summer in India, snakes notwithstanding, just to see socomplete a reversal of conditions, for no matter what reflectionmay do to tell, as we see India only under winter conditions, weshall always have a bias to rate it as the miserable, barren landit appears to us. Travellers should be on their guard against thistendency, for it leads to many false conclusions. If both sides ofa question need to be considered, all seasons of a country must beexperienced before a true judgment can be passed upon it. This isespecially true of India, where the change is, as it were, fromlife to death. 

We see wood-gatherers entering the cities, each with a bundle ofsticks, or twigs rather, on his head, the result of the day'sgathering--scarcely one of the sticks thicker than one's finger, and the great bulk of the bundle composed of mere switches, soclosely is everything shaven in crowded Hindostan. To-day we stoodand looked at a native who had led his goat into the country topick up a meal. He bent the boughs of small trees one afteranother so that the goat could strip them of their leaves. Thepoor skeleton was ravenous. Nothing goes to waste in India, noranywhere in the East. Garbage and sewage have value, and all isswept clean and kept clean in every hole and corner inconsequence. This simplifies life very much. Our elaborate systemof underground pipes, our sewers, drains, and modern conveniencesof all kinds, and our sanitary arrangements which are of suchprime importance to health, and to which we are fortunately givingso much more attention--these the East wholly escapes. We have tocure; they have prevention. Human labor at four or five cents perday (2 to 2 1/2d. ) changes the conditions of existence. It pays todo so many things which, under our rates for labor, cannot bethought of. I have mentioned that in Japan the refuse of all kindsfrom a residence is not only taken away at any hours each day onefixes, but a small sum is actually paid for it, which the servantsof the establishment consider a perquisite. 

 * * * * *

BOMBAY, Thursday, February 20. 

We reached this city on time this morning, feeling not in theleast fatigued by our three nights in the train. In the evening wewere fortunate enough to stroll down to the pier, where the bandwas playing. Nowhere have we seen so varied a concourse of people. The drive at Calcutta has long been noted as excelling any otherscene in the gorgeousness of its oriental coloring, but this ofthe pier at Bombay surpasses by far what we saw there. Calcuttacan boast no wealthy native Parsees, who attend here in largenumbers in fine equipages with servants in livery. The Parseeladies especially are resplendent in jewels and color; and therich turbaned Mohammedan adds to the variety. The assemblage movedto and fro among the carriages and along the edges of the broadpier chatting gayly, while the music seemed to set everything inmotion. Native boatmen in their picturesque garbs passed now andthen plying their trade, carrying a Sahib's portmanteau or alady's bundle. I sat down and imagined myself in the midst of allthat I had seen of pretty seaports in grand opera, the ship scenein L'Africaine, the landing of Desdemona in the Isle of Cyprus, the fishermen in Masaniello, and I thought I had never seenanything of this description so pleasing. I lost Vandy in thecrowd, and sat drinking it all in till dark. Certainly among thefine things in the East is to be ranked the music upon the ApolloBunder, Bombay. 

 * * * * *

FRIDAY, February 21. 

We rose early, and were off before breakfast for a drive to the"Tower of Silence. " This is the mountain top where the Parseesgive their dead to be torn by the vultures. We shudder atcremation, but the sacred fire of the funeral pile as it flames toheaven has something awe-inspiring about it. Man sprung from thedust mingles at last with the purer element of fire, and "vanishesinto air, into thin air, " leaving no trace behind. Butdeliberately to throw our dead out to be torn in pieces anddevoured by vultures--who can endure the thought! And yet many ofthe inhabitants here would be most unhappy if denied theconsolation of believing that their bodies were to be served inthis manner. Nor are these poor and ignorant; on the contrary, next to the English they are the best educated and the principalmerchants in the city. It is simply that they have been taught intheir youth that the earth must not be defiled by contact with thedead. They cannot bury, therefore, neither can they burn, becausefire, one of the elements, is sacred; neither can they cast theirdead into the sea, for it, too, is holy. There seems to them noway but this--of getting the birds of the air to come and take theflesh. We were received at the foot of the mound by a Parseeguide, who conducted us through every part. The towers, of whichthere are five, are approached by long flights of easy stairs. Weentered a door at the top, and the first objects which struck oureyes were the vultures. They sat motionless, as close together aspossible, on top of the wall of the round tower, with their tailstoward us and their beaks toward the centre of the tower where thebodies are placed. The wall is about twenty feet high and fiftyfeet in diameter. There did not appear to be room for one morebird upon it, every inch of it being occupied, their bodies almosttouching each other. What a revolting coping they formed to theotherwise plain round wall. More birds were perched on trees, andon the other towers; and indeed everywhere we looked thesedisgusting objects met our view. At ten o'clock every morning thedead are taken from the dead-house, rich and poor alike beingpreviously divested of clothing; and were we to revisit the spotat that hour, we are told the quiet stillness which pervaded thegrove would be found no longer. We inwardly congratulatedourselves that the dreaded heat of a Bombay sun had sent us tothis place at so early an hour--ere the repast began--and rapidlywithdrew. It isn't much, yet I would not be robbed of it--such adisposition of our dead as would still render it possible for usto say with Laertes:

 "_Lay her i' the earth_; And from her fair and unpolluted flesh May violets spring. "

Hard times are everywhere, and produce some strange changes. TheBanyan caste of Suerah has just resolved to abolish caste dinnersafter funerals, but if a wealthy Hindoo still wishes to indulge inthese affairs he is permitted to do so after one year has elapsed. I fear many of the dear departed will never be honored by thefeast after this interval. At marriages hereafter only one feastis to be given, instead of four, which were formerly consideredthe thing. Retrenchment is the word even where caste customs oflong standing are involved. 

I note that yesterday a native was fined ten rupees for driving alame horse. What a singular race he must think these English!Before their day he could have done what he liked with horse orservant, male or female, "because he bought them, " and now hecan't even be the judge when to use his horse. The more I see ofthe thoroughness of the English Government in the East--itsattention to the minutest details, the exceptional ability of itsofficials as evinced in the excellence of the courts, jails, hospitals, dispensaries, schools, roads, railways, canals, etc. , --the more I am amazed. I had before no idea of what wasimplied by the government of India. It would have been madness forany other people than the English to undertake it. Not that wehave not in America a class of men of equal organizing power, butthese have careers at home open to them, and could not be inducedto leave their own land. Even if this were not so, Americarequires an improved civil service to bring its ablest menforward. I am sure no such body of officials exists as thatcomprising the civil service of India, whether judged by itspurity or its ability. 

The British army has been reformed of late years in India to adegree beyond popular knowledge of the subject. Every one agreesin attributing the spread of the great mutiny to the fact thatthere were at two or three critical points superannuated veterans, unable to take before it was too late the most obvious measuresfor its suppression. In short, it was here just as it was inWashington when the Civil War began. I remember seeing GeneralScott, the commander-in-chief, when Bull Run was lost, carried orassisted from his carriage across the pavement to his office, hebeing too old and infirm to walk. There were others scarcely lessfeeble in charge of departments. It was just so in India; but nowmark the change. No man can retain the command of a regiment inthe British army more than five years, nor can generals servelonger. These officers retire on pensions, and the next inseniority takes his turn, always provided he passes successfullythe most searching examination at each successive promotion. I wastold that upon a recent examination only two officers out ofthirteen passed. No favoritism is shown, and I have met young menrelated to the highest officials to whom it has been kindlyintimated that another career than the army had better be sought. I have met many officers, and the impression made upon me is anexceedingly favorable one. I do not believe that in case of warnow the blunder of those in command would have to be atoned for bythe superior fighting qualities of the rank and file, as wasnotoriously the case during the Crimean War. The promotion ofGeneral Wolseley means business. The Duke of Cambridge, because heis a royal duke, is allowed to reign, but Wolseley is to govern. 

I was struck with the full length portraits of the real man andthe sham in last year's Royal Academy. General Winfield Scott inall his glory was not more brilliant than the duke, military hatin hand with its white waving plumes, booted and spurred, hisbreast a mass of decorations, "Old Fuss and Feathers" over again. Beside him was a man in plain attire, about as ornamental asGeneral Grant; but this was the man of war, one of those very rarecharacters who does what there is to do--in Egypt as inAbyssinia--and never fails. 

Bombay and Calcutta are again rivals for supremacy. Bombay Island, upon which Bombay City stands, another of the keys of the world, was given to Britain by Portugal as part of the dower of Catherineof Braganza when she married Charles II. Think of a woman givinganything for the privilege of marrying such a wretch! but solittle was it esteemed that the government gave it in 1688 to theEast India Company for a rental of L10 per annum. It wassubsequently made the principal seat of their power, but it had noaccess to the interior, and Calcutta, which stands at the mouth ofa river system of inland transportation rivalled only by that ofour smoky Pittsburgh, soon eclipsed it. There was no chance forBombay against this natural advantage, and she had to succumb; butnow, since railways have penetrated the interior, and especiallysince the opening of the Suez Canal route has brought Bombay sovery much nearer to Europe, the struggle for supremacy has begunanew. The European traffic now goes mainly to her, and Calcuttagets her portion by rail through her ancient rival. In 1872 theexports and imports of Bombay were L50, 000, 000, and those ofCalcutta L54, 000, 000; so you see it is not going to be a walk overfor Calcutta, though her population still exceeds that of herchallenger by about a hundred thousand. It is water _vs_. Rail on a large scale, and the result will be looked for withinterest. I think the former capital, once dethroned, willeventually regain the crown; but there is plenty of room for both, and the rivalry between them should be a generous one. 

Bombay is by far the finest city in the East, but it has beeninflated more than any other, and is now undergoing severecontraction. Its public buildings would do credit to any Europeancapital. Government concluded to sell the land fronting on the bay, which had been used as the site of an antiquated fort, and such wasthe rage for speculation at the time that five million dollars'worth of land was disposed of and enough retained to give Bombay abeautiful little park and a long drive along the beach. Governmenttook the money and erected on part of the land retained themagnificent buildings referred to. We met one gentleman who hadbought one hundred thousand dollars' worth of the new lots, forwhich he admitted he could not get today more than twenty thousanddollars. But Bombay is only learning the universal lesson which theworld seems to need to have repeated every ten or twelve years. Itis fortunate that this city is our last in India, because it so farexcels any other. Nowhere else is such oriental richness to be seen. The colors of the masses as they move rapidly to and fro remind youof the combinations of the kaleidoscope. The native women of thelowest order work in gangs, and it is their dress which chieflybrightens the scene. A dark-green tight-fitting jacket, a magentamantle festooned about the body and legs in some very gracefulmanner and reaching to the knees, the feet and legs bare to theknees, a purple veil on the head but thrown back over theshoulders--this is the dress as well as I can describe it. The habitof carrying loads upon the head makes them as straight as arrows, and as they march along with majestic stride they completely eclipsethe poor-looking male, who seems to have had his manhood ground outof him by generations of oppression, while his companion has passedthrough subjugation without losing her personal dignity. 

It seems homelike to see street railways, of which there areseveral prosperous lines here. For this enterprise an Americangentleman has to be thanked. All classes ride together, and castein Bombay gets serious knocks in consequence. From Bombay as acentre civilization is destined to radiate. A palpable breach hasalready been made in the solid walls which have hitherto shutIndia from the entrance of new ideas, and through this gate theassaulting columns must eventually gain possession; but it willnot be within the span of men now living, nor for severalgenerations to come. The Sailors' Home and the hospitals of thecity are highly creditable, and among the charitable institutionsI must not forget the Hindoo hospital for wretched animals, wheresome of each kind are tenderly cared for, to signify the reverencepaid by this sect to all kinds of life, for the meanest form issacred to them. We had a curious illustration of this while inBenares examining the richest specimens of the delicateembroideries for which that city is celebrated. A little nastyintruder showed itself on one of the finest, and a gentleman withus involuntarily reached forth to kill it, but the three Hindooscaught his arm at once, and exhibited great anxiety to save theinsect. One of them did get it, and taking it to the window set itat liberty. It was Uncle Toby and the troublesome fly over again, as immortalized by the genius of Sterne: "Get thee gone, poordevil! there is room enough in the world for thee and for me, "quoth Uncle Toby. And does not Cowper say--

 "I would not enter on my list of friends (Though graced with polish'd manners and fine sense, Yet wanting sensibility) the man Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm. "

Well, these Hindoos wouldn't do it either. Let them be creditedaccordingly, heathen though they be. 

It begins to grow too hot here; I could not live one season inIndia--that I am convinced of. The tropical sun has no mercy, piercing through thick pith helmet, white umbrella, and drivingone into the house. We are to leave none too soon. This evening wewere surprised to see, as we strolled along the beach, moreParsees than ever before, and more Parsee ladies richly dressed;all seemed wending their way to the sea. It was the first of thenew moon, a period sacred to these worshippers of the elements;and here on the shores of the ocean, as the sun was sinking in thesea, and the slender silver thread of the crescent moon wasfaintly shining in the horizon, they congregated to perform theirreligious rites. Fire was there in its grandest form--the sun--andwater in the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean outstretched beforethem. The earth was under their feet, and wafted across the seathe air came laden with the perfumes of "Araby the Blest. " Surelyno time nor place could be more fitly chosen than this for liftingup the soul to the realms beyond sense. I could not butparticipate with these worshippers in what was so grandlybeautiful. There was no music save the solemn moan of the waves asthey broke into foam on the beach, "With their ain eerie croon Working their appointed work, And never, never done. "

But where shall we find so mighty an organ, or so grand an anthem?How inexpressibly sublime the scene appeared to me, and howinsignificant and unworthy of the Unknown seemed even ourcathedrals, "made with human hands, " when compared to this lookingup through Nature unto Nature's God! I stood and drank in theserene happiness which seemed to fill the air. I have seen manymodes and forms of worship, some disgusting, others saddening, afew elevating when the organ pealed forth its tones, but all poorin comparison to this. Nor do I ever expect in all my life towitness a religious ceremony which will so powerfully affect me asthat of the Parsees on the beach at Bombay. While I gazed upon thescene I stood conscious only that I was privileged to catch aglimpse of something that was not of the earth, but, as Isauntered homeward, Wordsworth's lines came to me as the fittestexpression of my feelings. The passage is too long to quote atlength; besides I have to confess I cannot at this moment recallit all. But he tells first how in his youth Nature was all in allto him, "nor needed a moral sense unborrowed from the eye, " butlater the inner light came; and hear him in his maturer years:

 "For I have learned To look on Nature, not as in the hour Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes The still, sad music of humanity, Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power To chasten and subdue. And I have felt A Presence that disturbs me with the joy Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime Of something far more deeply interfused, Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, And the round ocean and the living air, And the blue sky, and in the mind of man; A motion and a spirit, that impels All thinking things, all objects of all thought, And rolls through all things. "

"The still sad music of humanity!"--it was that I heard soundingin the prayers of those devout Parsees and in the moan of thatmighty sea. Sweet, refreshing it was, though tinged with sadness, as all our more precious musings must be, "since all we know is, nothing can be known. "

In one of my strolls along the beach I met a Parsee gentleman whospoke excellent English. From him I learned that the disciples ofZoroaster number only about two hundred thousand, and of those nofewer than fifty thousand are in Bombay. They were driven fromPersia by the Mohammedans and settled here, where they haveprospered. 

They do not intermarry with other sects, believe in one God, andworship the sun, moon, earth, and stars only as being the visibleangels of God, as he termed them. In themselves these are nothing, but are the best steps by which we can ascend to God. Good men willbe happy forever; bad men will be unhappy for a long time afterdeath, and very bad men will be severely punished. But I wasdelighted to be assured that no one will be punished forever, alllife being sacred to God because he made it, and all life musteventually be purified, return to its Maker, and be merged in Him. Parsees cannot burn the dead, because fire should not be prostitutedto so vile a use. They cannot bury, because the earth should not bedesecrated with the dead, neither should the sea; and therefore Godhas provided vultures, which cannot be defiled, to absorb the fleshof the dead. I said to him that the mere thought of violence offeredto our dead caused us to shudder. "Then what do you think of theworms?" he asked. This was certainly an effective estoppel. "Itcomes to this, " he continued, "a question of birds or worms. " "Youare right" (I had to admit it), I said; "after all, it's not worthdisputing about. " When I had asked him a great many questions, Isuppose he thought turn-about was fair play, and he began tocross-examine me upon many points of Christian doctrine, which I didmy best to put in the proper form. We finally agreed that no goodmen or good women of any form of religion would be eternallymiserable, and upon this platform we said good-bye and parted. 

On looking around, I saw that we had become the centre of quite acircle of Parsees, Hindoos, and Mohammedans, who had beenattracted by our conversation, their earnest bronze faces, surmounted by the flaming red turbans, so very close to mine, forming with the gorgeous colors of their flowing robes, a pictureI shall not soon forget. They opened a way of egress, and Sahibpassed out of the throng amid their salaams, evidently an objectof intense curiosity. 

Our excursion to the Caves of Elephanta was very enjoyable. Theyare decidedly worth seeing. Here is the strongest contrast to thegrand open-air worship of the Parsees, for the Hindoos sought tohide their worship in caves which shut out the light of day, andto seek their gods in the dark recesses. The carved figures andcolumns of the Temple are fine, the principal idol being of greatsize--a huge representation of the Hindoo Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, which make the three-headed god. The effect ofsuch a monster, seen dimly by the lighted torch, upon ignorantnatures, could not but be overpowering. When examined closelythere is nothing repulsive in the faces; on the contrary, theexpression of all three is rather pleasing than otherwise, likethat of Buddha. It is evident that the gods of the Hindoos aregood natured, kind, and disposed to forgiveness. 

 * * * * *

BOMBAY, Monday, February 24. 

We sailed at six in the evening by the splendid Peninsula andOriental mail steamer Pekin. The city was bathed in the rays of abrilliant sunset as we steamed slowly out of the harbor, and webade farewell to India when it looked the fairest. 

And now for something on the great Indian Question, for it wouldnever do for a traveller to visit India and not to have hisdecided opinion upon matters and things there, and his clearly-defined policy embracing the management of the most intricateproblems involved in the government of two hundred and fiftymillions of the most ignorant races known, and all founded upon afew weeks' hurried travel among them. There is, however, a muchmore extensive class who are even more presumptuous, for they havejust as complete a policy upon this subject, although they havenever seen India at all. 

The vast country we know as India, then, is held and governed, notas one country, but district by district. One province, forinstance, has a native ruler with whom England has nothingwhatever to do except that, by right of treaty, she sends apolitical agent to his court, supported in some cases, and inothers not, by a certain number of soldiers. This Resident isexpected to confer with and advise the Rajah, and keep him and hisofficials from outrageous courses. Especially are they preventedfrom warring upon neighboring States. In extreme cases, whencounsel and remonstrance avail not, the government has had eitherto depose the ruling Rajah and substitute another, as in therecent affair of the Rajah of Baroda, or to confiscate theprovince and merge it in the Empire, as in the case of the King ofOude. But what must be borne in mind is that no two native rulersgovern alike. Laws and customs prevailing in one province areunknown in another. Land is held by one tenure in one place, andby an entirely different system in another. India is therefore notone nation, but a vast conglomeration of different races andprincipalities, each independent of the other, differing as muchas France does from Germany, and much more than England does fromAmerica. Add to this the fact that the people of any one districtare not a homogeneous community, but subdivided into distinctcastes, which refuse to intermarry or even to eat with oneanother, and a faint idea of the magnitude of the Indian questionwill begin to dawn upon one. 

It is this mass which England has to rule and keep firmly in orderwith her sixty thousand troops, and which constitutes thegovernment of India the most difficult problem with which, Ibelieve, statesmen have to deal. The amount of knowledge, statesmanship, tact, temper, patience and resource absolutely putin requisition by the men who rule India equals, I feel sure, thatrequired for the government of the whole of civilized Europecombined; for it is always easy to govern a homogeneous people, the rulers being of the people themselves, and having the good oftheir respective countries at heart. It seems to me that anunnecessary element of danger arises from the fact that theseRajahs are permitted to maintain no fewer than three hundredthousand native troops, mainly to swell their importance. Thequestion of enforcing reductions in these armaments is now underconsideration, I observe, but I should decidedly say with Hamlet. 

 "Oh! reform it altogether. "

I would not allow a Rajah to keep more than one hundred armedtroops, except as a body-guard, beyond the number actuallyrequired to enforce order. Upon this point I have decided views. 

The existence of Rajahs is perhaps a necessary evil. They aremaintained in consequence of a well-grounded reluctance on thepart of the government to assume the task of governing moreterritory. It is to be regretted that it has been necessary toextend the sway so far already; nevertheless, the day will comewhen the petty courts must be swept away, as they have been inJapan and Germany, and the whole country given the benefits ofuniform rule. It is estimated that the Rajahs tax the people to anextent equal to the revenues of the government--about $300, 000, 000per annum: of this much is squandered in upholding their state--agrievous exaction from so poor a country. This will soon be one ofthe burning questions of India. 

The Rajah of Jeypoor draws from the people $6, 000, 000 per annum, and one or two others exceed this sum. Poor fellow! the other dayhe had to marry his tenth wife--a sister of two of his previouswives, for whom no suitable husband could be found. There were buttwo families in the realm, I believe, of the proper rank, andneither happened just then to have a nice young man on hand. Thedisgrace of having an unmarried woman in the family was not to beborne, and the old Rajah had to husband her, as he had her othersister some time ago. Although so well provided with wives, he hasnever been blessed with an heir, and at his death his first wifewill adopt a son, who will be his successor. 

What do I think of India? is asked me every day; but I feel thatone accustomed to the exceptional fertility and advantages ofAmerica--a land so wonderfully endowed that it seems to me moreand more the special favorite of fortune--is very apt to underrateIndia. We saw it after two years of bad harvests, and a third mostunpromising one coming on. Judged from what I saw, I can only saythat I, as a lover of England, find it impossible to repress thewish that springs up at every turn, Would she were safely andhonorably out of it! Retiring now is out of the question; she hasabolished the native system in large districts, and must perforcecontinue the glorious task of giving to these millions theblessings of order. 

Her withdrawal would be the signal for internecine strife, andsuch a saturnalia of blood and rapine as the world has neverknown; but were the question whether Britain should to-day acceptIndia as a gift, and I had the privilege of replying, then, "Declined with thanks;" and yet it is the fashion just now to callIndia "the brightest jewel in the crown. " The glitter of thatjewel may be red again some day. I have heard only two reasonsadvanced in favor of India as an English possession. The first is, it furnishes official station and employment for a large numberwho would otherwise have no field; but I think there is yet plentyof unoccupied territory in which these gentlemen can find work ifthey can hold their own in the struggle for existence. Besides, the official class requires less protection, not greater, than ithas hitherto been favored with, if the true interest of England isto be considered. 

The second reason is a commercial one, and it is pointed out thatthe trade of England is thereby extended; to which it may be saidin reply that the occupation of foreign countries and thesubjugation of foreign races are in no measure required by thedemands of trade. The possession of small islands at proper pointssecures all this. Hong Kong and a small strip at Shanghai and oneor two other ports, afford all the facilities required for Englandto obtain the trade. Penang on the west of the Malay Peninsula, Singapore at the south end, do the same. All of these have theprecious silver thread surrounding them, and can be held easily byBritannia against the world without and native races strugglingwithin for independence, as they are bound to do some day. 

There is another view to be taken of this question by a well-wisher of Britain which cannot be ignored. She, the mother ofnations and champion of oppressed nationalities, necessarilyoccupies a false position in India; there she must assume the_role_ of the conqueror. I do not speak of this to disapproveof it, or even of the Press Laws recently adopted; to avert stillgreater evils she is compelled to go to any length. Nevertheless, it is a false position; the stars in their courses fight againstit, and sooner or later England will retire from it. In short, thepole-star of Indian policy is to bend every energy to the sowingof seed which will produce a native class capable at first ofparticipating in the government, and which will eventually becomesuch as can be trusted with entire control, so that England maystand to India as she stands to-day to Canada and Australia. Thereis one course for England, and one only, and this let her adoptspeedily. Let her call around her Indian government the best menof India, explain to them her aim and end, show them how noble heraspirations are; point to Canada and Australia as proofs of hercolonial system, and say, To this condition we hope to bring yourcountry. Can you resist our appeal to come and help us?

Since all this was written the Ilbert bill question has arisen. Itwill be understood at once that such a measure is believed by meto be emphatically a step not only in the right direction, but inthe only direction, if grave dangers are to be avoided in India. Let me tell my English readers that, travelling as I did, anAmerican, and not, in Indian parlance, as one of the governingclass--one of the usurpers--I had many opportunities of hearingeducated natives speak the thoughts of their hearts, which to anEnglishman's ears would have been treason. Such trustworthyindications of the forces moving under the crust should beconsidered as invaluable by the rulers of India. While, therefore, educated natives give assent to the claims made for English rule, that it keeps order and enforces justice as far as its courts canreach, they are yet antagonistic to it. It is the old story: Youhave taught people to read, and placed before them as types ofhighest excellence our rebels, Cromwell, Hampden, Sidney, Russell, Washington, Franklin. In so far as a native Indian dwellscontentedly while his country is ruled by a foreign race, by justso much do we despise him in our heart, for loyalty to Englandmeans treachery to his country, and one cannot depend upontraitors. 

If India were told that the chief delight of England was not tohold dependencies but to bring forth nations competent to governthemselves--a much grander mission--and were England slowly, butsteadily to introduce, little by little, the native element ingovernment whenever practicable--and that it is practicable to doso in every department to a greater or less degree I amconvinced--then I should feel that sufficient pressure had beenrelieved to give hope that peace would reign there. The greatestdanger England will have to contend with in every measure takentoward this great end will be the violent opposition of the Anglo-Indian. It will be difficult to carry reform against the advice ofThe only class which seems competent to advise, viz. , suchEnglishmen as have had experience of India. I hold such to beTotally incompetent as a class to take proper views of Indianproblems--such men as Sir Richard Temple are the exception. Hisarticles upon India seem to me most salutary and to denote astatesmanlike grasp of a subject of paramount importance toEngland. The reason why the Englishman in India is likely to beentirely wrong in his views of Indian government is because hesits on the safety valve of the terrible boiler. He hears everynow and then the sharp rush of the confined steam, which startlesthe ear as it passes. When it is proposed to relieve the pressureand allow more steam to escape he is frightened, and protests thathis position would thereby become unendurable. 

But we who stand afar off and know the play of the forces in thatboiler, as I know them from sources sealed to him, see that thesteam must be allowed vent in constantly increasing volume if aterrible catastrophe is to be averted. John Bright, of all Englishpublic men of the first rank, seems to me to understand the Indianproblem best; hence the interest he takes in it--an interest whichevery public man would share did he realize the situation Englandoccupies in Hindostan. 

I have before referred to the fact that the Anglo-Indianauthorities protested against railway travel being conductedwithout special reference to caste, and that they were overruledby the Home Government. The result is that more impression hasbeen made upon caste, and is made daily and hourly, by the rush ofevery grade to get the best seats in the same carriage, than byall other influences combined. The Home Office judged more wiselythan those who were too close to the problem to get a clear view;and so it must be in every measure calculated to elevate thepeople of India to a higher stage of civilization. In my opinionEngland can scarcely move too rapidly in the imperative task ofattaching able natives, as these arise, to her side, and givingthem power--at least the danger is that she will move too slowlyrather than too fast. 

The business of colonizing, as a whole, does not appear to me topay. As a mission there is none so noble or to be compared withit, next to governing well at home; but beyond this England'sshare of the material good looks small. If the colony is rich andprosperous it sets up for itself; if weak and unsuccessful, itbecomes a Natal, and calls upon the generous-hearted mother forassistance. The gain to the colonies is obvious; nothing could befiner for them; and if it be clearly understood that Englandelects to play the tender nurse and receive her reward in theconsciousness of doing good--all right. Let her continue! But ifit be thought that these dependencies enhance her own power andpromote her prosperity, the sooner the books are balanced thebetter. Only one prayer, May heaven keep America from thecolonizing craze! Cuba! Santo Domingo! avaunt, and quit our sight!

From another point of view one keeps inquiring whether all theadvantages flowing from the introduction of English ideas, as faras these can really be introduced in the government of subjectraces--whether, after all, the result is, upon the whole, for thereal permanent good of these inferior races. To the uninformedman, who has never been beyond his own island, it seems fanciful, perhaps, to raise this question. English civilization, freedom, civil and religious liberty, order, law, Christianity--these notbeneficial, think you! Softly, my friend, softly. These may begrowths admirable for English-speaking people who can assimilatethem, but yet unsuitable for the Hottentot. You press man's foodupon babes to their injury, may be. The true evolutionist mustregard these attempts with sorrow. 

Speaking broadly, I do not believe that it is in the power ofEngland--and of course much less of any other country--to conferupon another race benefits which are not more than cancelled bythe evil which usually follows from her interference. Rob even thelowest people in development today of the necessity of governingthemselves, take this responsibility away from them, asinterference does take it away, and the natural growth of thatpeople is not only checked, but it is diverted into channelsforeign to it. 

If colonization can follow occupation it is a different matter--the interference is temporary, and Australians, Canadians andAmericans soon come forth and govern themselves, the native-bornsoon grow patriotic, and work out their own destiny. In suchcases England's share is her glory, a glory of which no othernation partakes, for she alone is the grand old mother of nations, God bless her! It is different with India. No one pretends thatOur race can ever obtain a foothold there. Conquerors the Englishare, and conquerors they must remain as long as they remain atall, which I ardently trust may not be long; not longer than thenatives are willing to accept the task of self-government. Meanwhile surely no further rash responsibilities should be takenupon herself by England. She can do most good by example. Thelittle islands of Hong Kong and Singapore, and the other StraitsSettlements, Shanghai, and even Ceylon, which is not toobig--these teach the races of the East what western civilizationmeans, and serve as models to which they can move with suchdifferentiation as circumstances require and without losing theinestimable advantages of thinking and acting for themselves. EvenChristianity will make more progress from such examples than ifthrough the efforts of a paid propaganda we try to _force_ itupon people. Rob them of this freedom to act, to accept, and toreject, and all that England can give in return will not atone forthe injury she inflicts. A nation should have much to offer inexchange, more than I see that any nation has, which stifles inthe breast of the most ignorant people in the world the sacredgerm of self-development. 

The total acreage under wheat in India is not much, if any, lessthan that of the United States, and the average yield about thesame--thirteen bushels per acre. The quality is excellent. Americacannot afford to ignore this potential rival. The cheaper labor ofIndia is quite an element in her favor, but cheap labor is notalways cheap. One educated Minnesotan, with his machinery, mustcount for many spindle-shanked Hindoos with their wooden rakes. India's remoteness from Europe and the lack of inlandtransportation facilities, give America the vantage-ground. Thepresent low price of wheat in Liverpool today, however, warns ourwestern friends that there are other great sources of supply. Until 1873, only ten years ago, an export duty was laid uponIndian wheat. The amount exported in that year was valued at onlyL167, 000; last year, 1882, the exports were L8, 869, 000($45, 000, 000), more than one-third as much as the United Statesexported in that year ($112, 000, 000), to which, however, should beadded $35, 000, 000 worth of wheat flour exported, making the totalUnited States export $157, 000, 000. It must be remembered thatIndia has scarcely yet entered the race with us for the supremacyin this department, for while we have 110, 000 miles of railwaywith 55, 000, 000 of people, she has 250, 000, 000 of people with only10, 000 miles of rail. This may seem alarming to the untravelledYankee, but let him possess his soul in patience. It is a verysafe wager that notwithstanding this seemingly uncalled-fordisparity in railway facilities, the American railway system isstill to increase at a far greater ratio than the Indian. Lastyear only three hundred and eighty-seven miles of line were builtin India as against our six thousand, and even my friend, WilliamFowler, M. P. , in his most interesting article in the_Fortnightly Review_ for February, 1884, "India, Her Wheat, and Her Railways, " to which I beg to refer such of my readers asare specially interested in this subject--even he only suggeststhat twelve hundred miles should be built every year in India; tosecure which he urges the government to give a guarantee upon$50, 000, 000 per year, in order to obtain the necessary capital, which he admits cannot be obtained otherwise. This the governmentis not likely to do until the people rule England and sweep awaythe privileged classes, who live mainly through wars, and would berelegated to obscurity were the resources of England once spentfor peaceful development, as those of Republican America are. Friend Fowler will get a vote to add millions to England's burdenby an Afghan or Zulu war, or even to squander her means uponworthless members of a more than useless royal family and itsdependents of the court long before he will get a pound for hisIndian railways. The Republic will hold control of the world'swheat market for a hundred years and more, but prices must rulelower in consequence of India. Beyond that let posterity wrestlewith the question. 

As to cotton, of which America holds a firmer grasp upon theworld's supply than it appears she does of wheat, India is not animpossible second if from any cause the American supply wereforced to extreme prices. During the civil war in the UnitedStates, cotton cultivation in India, as I have before said, reached an extraordinary development. In 1866 the exports amountedto thirty-seven millions of pounds sterling, $185, 000, 000; now theaverage has fallen to about $40, 000, 000 per year. If the staplewere equal to the American, India would be formidable as a rival, but it is not, and consequently the growth of cotton in the Southseems sure to increase as rapidly as ever. 

After six days' delightful sail we had our first glimpse of Arabiathis morning, and are now skirting the Arabian coast. Aden wasreached Sunday morning, and we drove out to the native town andsaw the tanks said to have been constructed thousands of yearsago. It rains only once in every year or two, and a supply ofwater is obtained by storing the torrents which then flow from thehills. A more desolate desert than that which surrounds the citysurely does not exist. Aden itself illustrates how the whirligigof time revolves. Before the discovery of the passage round theCape of Good Hope it was the chief entrepot for the trade betweenEurope and Asia. It fell into insignificance when the stream oftraffic left for the new route around the Cape of Good Hope; butnow the Suez Canal, which restores the original route via the RedSea, to its former supremacy, once more raises Aden to her formercommanding position. The population, which in 1839 had dwindled tofewer than a thousand, now numbers nearly thirty thousand. 

Aden is just one of those natural keys of the world which Englandshould hold, and I doubt not will hold to the last. The townstands upon a narrow peninsula composed of desolate volcanicrocks, five miles long from east to west, and three from north tosouth, connected with the main land by a neck of flat sandy groundonly a few feet high. The town itself is surrounded by precipitousrocks, which really make it a natural fortress impregnable againstattack. All that I urge against conquest in general isinapplicable here, and I say let England guard such spots. As longas she does she is mistress of the sea. Her influence at suchpoints is always for good. The thirty thousand natives of Aden, for instance, may now be considered subjects of Britain by theirown act. They have flocked to the town attracted by the advantagesto be derived from a residence there, just as the Chinese havedone at Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. There is no coercion inthe matter. One foreigner electing to come under the British flagis worth ten thousand held down by force, whether considered as anelement of strength to the Empire, or as conducive to its glory. 

This is the market of the world for ostrich feathers. We sawdroves of the birds wandering about Aden and its suburbs at homein the sand. The natives keep ostriches as their chief dependence, and we are besieged at every turn with offers of rarefeathers--feathers--feathers--nothing but feathers. 

Our trip on the Pekin was the most delightful we ever had at sea;even Vandy was well, and gained by the journey. We had veryagreeable company on board, and were especially fortunate in ourneighbors, Mr. , Mrs. , and Miss G. , of Edinburgh, at table. Theship was crowded with officers and officers' wives and childrenreturning from India to England, for children must be taken homeout of the climate of India. Nothing can exceed the discipline andgeneral management of the Peninsula and Oriental ships. Promotionfrom the ranks is the rule, and they certainly are served by aclass of men which it would be difficult to equal elsewhere. TheCunard line is probably the only counterpart of the Peninsula andOriental line in existence. 

This was our first experience of life upon a vessel crowded withvarious ranks of English people. On the Atlantic our steameracquaintances are with few exceptions Americans. The contrast isgreat in one respect: the tendency of the English passengers is toform themselves into a great number of small cliques. No doubtthis tendency prevails to some extent upon the Atlantic also, butthen congenial tastes and education form the divisions there andevery one is in his proper sphere. Upon the Pekin we found thatrank and position formed a strong element in the case--regardlessof merit. Vandy and I being republicans, not caring a rap abouteither birth or position, and without social status in England, seemed to be the only cosmopolitans on board. From the major-general and family down to the clerk of a mercantile house and hisnice wife and children, we had the free run of the ship. But whenwe met intelligent and interesting people in one or the othergrade, and proposed to make them known to others, as, had bothparties been Americans, would have given much pleasure, and fromwhose acquaintance mutual benefit would have resulted, we foundthat the miserable barriers of artificial distinction stood in theway. 

I wished two young ladies to know each other, for they were akinin education, manners, feelings, and accomplishments, and onemorning I said to the one who surely was not the less desirableacquaintance: "You and Miss----should know each other; would younot like to make her acquaintance? If so, I shall ask her, and Iam sure she would be pleased to make yours. Both will be thegainers. "

"Mr. Carnegie, excuse me, but she is a major-general's daughter, the advance must come from her. If she ever expresses a wish toknow me, then you come to me and I'll tell you. This is the properthing, you know. "

Happy American young ladies, into whose pretty heads the thoughtwould never enter that another would be so silly as to stand uponposition, and if by any chance it did momentarily arise, it wouldbe scouted as inconsistent with one's own self-respect as a woman. England will never be truly homogeneous till throne andaristocracy give place to the higher republican form. 

India claims many victims. We had yesterday a young man near uswho had been in India only a short time, and who was returninginvalided. Poor fellow! He lay in the hatchway in his easy-chairfrom morning until night, gazing wistfully over the sea toward hisbeloved England. There he would soon get well. Only last night asI passed to bed I stopped to encourage him, telling him how finelywe were dancing along homeward. At dawn I heard the pulsations ofthe engine cease for a few moments only, but in those moments hehad been cast into the sea. Scarcely any one knew of his deathexcept the doctor and a few of the crew; not a soul on board knewanything of him; he was an entire stranger to all. But think ofthe mother and sisters who were to meet him on arrival and conveyhim "to the green lanes of Surrey!" See them hastening on boardand casting anxious glances around! No one will know them, butevery one will suspect who they are, and what their errand, andinstinctively avoid them--for who would be the messenger to strikea mother down with a word? The death and burial were sad--sadenough; but the real tragedy is yet to be played in Southampton, when the living are to envy the fate of the dead, who, "afterlife's fitful fever, " sleeps so well in the depths of the IndianOcean. 

 * * * * *

SUEZ, Friday, February 28. 

We reached Suez at six o'clock in the morning, and anchored withinthe bay. An enterprising sailboat captain came alongside andoffered to take us across the bay to the town in time to catch theonly train leaving for Cairo for twenty-four hours. It was twolong hours' sail, but the breeze was strong, and Vandy and Iresolved to try it, bargaining with the captain, however, upon thebasis of no train no pay. The few passengers on deck at that earlyhour gathered to give the adventurers a farewell cheer, and wewere off. We made it just in time, and grasping a bottle of wineand some bread at the station--for we had had no breakfast--westarted for Cairo. 

The railway runs parallel to the Suez Canal, which, by the way, was a canal in the days of the Pharaohs, but, of course, muchsmaller and only used for irrigation. We saw the top-masts ofseveral steamers above the sandy banks as they crawled slowlythrough the desert. How great the traffic already is and with whatstrides it grows is well known. Its capacity can at any time bedoubled by lighting it with electricity, but at present vesselsare compelled by rule to lie still after sunset. All is deadthrough the night. In a few years this will be changed; and indeedthe canal must be widened ere long and made a double trackthroughout to accommodate the continual stream of ships plyingbetween the East and the West. At present it is just like one ofour single-track railways with sidings or passing places. Thedistance from end to end is only about a hundred miles, but shipssometimes take three and even four days to squeeze through. Thismust be remedied. Twenty-four hours seems to be about the propertime-table. When past Ismailia, the line leaves the canal and runswestward through the land of Goshen. After the parched plains ofIndia, it was refreshing once more to look upon "deep wavingfields and pastures green. " We were within the regions watered bythe Nile, and the harvests resembled those of the carse of Gowrie. 

We reached Cairo on time, and our first inquiries were about ourfriends, Mr. H. , Miss N. , and party, who were expected there fromtheir three months' excursion upon the Nile. Fortunately, we foundtheir dalbeah anchored in the stream, and we drove to it withoutdelay. Sure enough, as we reached the bank, there lay the Nubia, that little gem, with the Stars and Stripes floating above her. Wewere rowed on board only to find that our friends were in thecity. However, we made ourselves at home in the charming saloon, and awaited their return. Unfortunately, some sailor on shore hadtold them of two strangers going aboard, and there was not theentire surprise we had intended; but if there was no surprisethere was no lack of cordial welcome, and we realized to thefullest extent what a world of meaning lies in the quaint simile, "as the face of a friend in a far-off country. "

This reunion at Cairo was one of the fine incidents of our tour. Many months ago we had parted from Mr. H. And family, and half injest appointed Cairo as our next meeting-place. They went in onedirection, we in another, and without special reference to eachother's movements it had so turned out that we caught them here. It was a narrow hit, however, as they were to leave next day forAlexandria; and had we remained on the Pekin, as all the otherpassengers did, and not undertaken the sail across the bay, weshould have missed them. We grasped hands once more and sat downto dinner, the Nile gurgling past, the Pyramids with their fortycenturies looking down upon us, and here was one more happy banddrawing more closely to each other since separated from friends athome, enacting over again such scenes as the famous river haswitnessed upon its bosom for thousands of years--one generationgoing and another coming, but the mysterious Nile remaining towelcome each succeeding host; and thus, "Thro' plots and counterplots-- Thro' gain and loss--thro' glory and disgrace-- . . . Still the holy stream Of human happiness glides on!"

Today sight-seeing was subordinated to the rare pleasure ofenjoying the company of our friends, but we all drove throughCairo streets and saw one memorable sight--the great college ofIslam, where more than ten thousand students are constantly underpreparation as priests of the Prophet. We saw them in hundredssitting on their mats in the extensive open courts, all busilyengaged in learning to recite the Koran to masters, or listeningto professors who expounded it. Their intense earnestness soonimpresses you. From this centre radiate every year thousands ofthese propagandists, scattering themselves over Arabia and to thefarthest boundaries of Islam, and even beyond, warring uponidolatry and proclaiming the unity of God. No one can fail, Ithink, to receive from such a visit as we paid a much higherestimate of the vitality of Mohammedanism, and, having seen whatit has to supplant, we cannot refrain from wishing thesemissionaries God-speed. The race rises step by step, never byleaps and bounds. Upon this point I am much impressed by aparagraph from a lecture delivered by Marcus Dodd, D. D. , at thePresbyterian College, London, which seems to me to take a widerand sounder view than one usually finds from such a source, and istherefore specially pleasing. He says: "The great lesson incomparative religion which we learn from the connection of Judaismand Christianity is that men are not always ripe for the highestreligion; that there is a fulness of time which it may take fourthousand years to produce. The Mosaic religion, imperfect as itwas, compared with Christianity, was better for Israel during itsperiod and preparation than the religion of Christ would havebeen. " Then, referring to the Mohammedan religion, he says: "It isnot denied that this religion did at once effect reforms whichChristianity had failed to effect. It accomplished more for Arabiain a few years than Christianity had accomplished for centuries. It abolished at a stroke the idolatry which Christianity hadfought in vain. " It is to such men as Mr. Dodd that we are to lookto keep religion abreast of the age. 

Max Mueller says: "In one sense every religion was a true religion, being the only religion which was possible at the time, which wascompatible with the language, the thoughts, and the sentiments ofeach generation, which was appropriate to the age of the world. "The Brahman has found the same truth. "Men of an enlightenedunderstanding well know, " says he, "that the Supreme has impartedto each nation the doctrine most suitable for it, and He, therefore, beholds with satisfaction the various ways in which Heis worshipped. " In other words, religion is the highest expressionof which a people is capable. There is no reason why we should nottry to prepare a people for a better one, but note this, _theymust be prepared_. To _force_ new religions upon any raceis a sad mistake. In a late address on missionary methods inIndia, Rev. Phillips Brooks said: "That which makes peopledistrust foreign missions is the testimony that the Europeans inIndia will not trust the Christianized Indian. It is not strangethat some poor creature should bring discredit on the religion heprofesses. He worships in strange houses and in a strange way. Hekneels in American-style churches and is taught by men full ofAmerican ideas. Christianity will never be the religion of Indiauntil it comes there imbued with the spirit of the day. In timethere must come forth an Indian Christianity, rich, full of powerand goodness. The missionaries want this, and are perfectly awareit must come. The influence that now goes to India carries with itthe curse as well as the blessing. Let the divisions of churchcreeds be kept at home, and _let the Indian religion bedeveloped from within_. "

We visited several mosques, but they are such poor affairscompared to those of India that we took little interest in them. While the other countries we have thus far visited have allappeared stranger than expected, this is not so with Egypt. Everything seems to be just as I had imagined it. We know too muchabout the land of the Pharaohs to be taken thoroughly by surprise. Perhaps there is something in our having seen so much that ourperceptions are no longer as keen as when we landed in Japan. Theappetite for sight-seeing becomes sated, like any other, and Ifear we are not as impressionable as before. So we decide not tovisit Turkey and Greece upon this trip but to take these whenfresh. The crowds of squalid wretches who surround us at everyturn, clamoring for backsheesh; the mud hovels in which theymanage to live, and the coarse food upon which they exist; themass of greasy, unwashed rags which hang loosely upon them--suchthings no longer excite our wonder, or even our pity. We have seenso much of such misery before that I fear we begin to growcallous. 

Cairo, as a city, is most picturesque, with its commandingcitadel, and its hundreds of mosques with their slender spires andconspicuous minarets; while surrounding all this in the desert liethe ruins of older cities and of tombs and temples innumerable. The Desert of Sahara reaches to the very gates of the city on theeast. The city lies between that and the Nile; then comes a narrowstrip of green about ten miles in width, and after that theboundless Libyan Desert. The Pyramids stand upon the very edge ofthis desert, so that it is sand, sand, sand! everywhere around thecity of the Caliphs, save and except this little green borderalong the Nile. But indeed the whole of Egypt is only a narrowgreen ribbon stretching along the river for some six hundredmiles, and widening at the delta, where the waters divide andreach the sea by various channels. All the rest is sand. Egypt hasnot more cultivable soil than Belgium, and would not make a fairsized State with us. 

The Khedive Ismail was determined to make Cairo a miniature Paris, and we see much that recalls Paris to us. The new boulevards, theopera-house, circus, cafes, new hotel--all show how much hasalready been done in this direction; but he is in hard straitsjust now, and the cry there, as elsewhere, is for retrenchment andreform. The new streets are Parisian, but it is in the old, narrowstreets of the city that one sees oriental life distinctivelyEgyptian in its character. Indeed these are sights of Cairo whichI enjoy most. Muffled ladies pass by, resembling nothing I canthink of so much as big black bats as they sit man-fashion ontheir donkeys, wrapped in black silk cloaks; men in gorgeoussilks, also on donkeys, ride along, while laden camels and assescarrying large panniers of clover slowly pick their way throughthe crowd. Harem ladies, too (there is the weight which pullsEgypt down), roll slowly by in their covered carriages, precededby the running Lyces. I never saw such a miscellaneous throng inany street before. 

The great event of a visit to Cairo is Pyramid Day. The Pyramidsare eight miles distant, and an early start has to be made toinsure a return in season. Yesterday was our day. These wonders donot impress one at first--few really stupendous works ever do; andeven when at their base you think but meanly of their magnitude, so much so that you never hesitate as to whether you will ascendCheops, the largest. Three Arabs, whose duty it is to assist you, are at once assigned to you by the Sheikh; two of these take yourhands, while the third stands behind to "boost" you up at themoment the others pull. It is a hard climb even when so assisted, and many who start are fain to content themselves with getting upone third the distance. I think I rested three times in making theascent, and each time I found my feeling of disappointment growingbeautifully less; while by the time the shout came from my Arabsannouncing that they were on the top stone, I was filled withrespectful admiration for Cheops, I assure you, and whatever onemay say about the equator, I feel sure no one will ever hear mespeak disrespectfully of the Pyramids. 

They are without doubt the greatest masses ever built by man. Cheops is four hundred and fifty feet high, and covers thirteenacres at the base, tapering to the top, which is only about thirtyfeet square, where one false step would be certain death, as, contrary to my opinion at first, I saw that one in falling couldnot possibly rest on any of the layers of projecting stone. I donot like high places, and I felt, while on the top, I would give ahandsome sum just to be safe on level ground again. But I gotdown, or rather was taken down by my three attendants, withoutmuch difficulty, and after luncheon we went into the centre of thepile--a work of considerable trouble--and saw the sarcophagus. Attempts have been made to invest the Pyramids with somemysterious meaning, but, I take it, there will be no more of this, since an explanation is now given which meets every objection. They are simply the tombs of various kings, and differ in sizebecause the kings ruled for different periods of time. The mode ofprocedure was this: When a king came to the throne he began tobuild his tomb; perhaps this was an excellent way of keepingbefore him the fact that he also must surely die, and that erelong; successive courses of stone were built around the pile, onecourse per year, and when the king died the building ceased, hissuccessor taking care to finish the course under progress at thedeath of his predecessor; hence the great size of Cheops, for themonarch who constructed it reigned forty-two years and built hisforty-two courses. This Pyramid is either sixty-five hundred orfive thousand years old, according as you decide for one oranother mode of computation. Either date will, however, entitle itto the honors of a hoary old age. The old Arabian proverb, "Thatall things fear Time, but Time fears the Pyramids, " holds good nolonger, for "the tooth of Time" is slowly but surelydisintegrating even these masses. The entire finishing course ofhuge stone blocks, from top to bottom of Cheops, has alreadycrumbled away, and lies in dust at the base. This is also the casewith the second in size, except that a portion still clings aroundits top; this will fall some day, and leave it stripped like itsgreater neighbor. 

Our Arab guide told us, as he pointed to the numerous monogramscarved on the top of Cheops, that a lover who cuts the initials ofhis adored there, and calls upon Allah to prosper his suit, iscertain to win her. Would you believe it, soon after this I sawVandy secretly carving away. 

The Sphinx--the mysterious Sphinx--which has baffled allinquisitive inquirers for centuries without number, stands in thesand only a. Short distance from Cheops. Imagine, if you can, withwhat feelings one gazes upon it. It is as old as the Pyramids, perhaps older, and there it still looks out upon the green andfertile banks of the Nile with the Libyan Desert behind. Itscountenance has the same benignant cast, but it tells neither ofsorrow nor of anger, neither of triumph nor of defeat. It tellsyou of no human passion, and yet seems to tell you of all--_theend of all_--and yet it is not a sad face. It is every thingand yet nothing. I never was so utterly unable to vivify an imagewith at least some imaginings. It could be made one thing oranother, but no sooner had I thought it indicated one sentimentthan a second look made the idea seem absurd. Like so manycountless thousands before me, I gave it up. You cannot extractanything from that face. I thought the lesson might be in itsposition, and I pleased myself with drawing one from that. Therethis mystery stands, gazing only upon what is rich and fertile andinstinct with life, the life-giving Nile rolling before it, andthe fields of golden grain in view. Its back turned resolutely tothe dreary sandy waste of death behind; and so it said to me asplainly as if it could speak, This is your lesson: let the deadpast bury its dead; look forward only upon that which has life andgrows steadily towards perfection. It is upon the bright things oflife we must fix our gaze if we would be of use in our day andgeneration. 

When in Alexandria we visited with deep interest the site of thefamous Alexandrian Library, in which lay stored the most precioustreasures of the world. Had it escaped destruction, how manyquestions which have vexed scholars would never have arisen, andhow much ground which it has been necessary for genius toreconquer would have come to us as our heritage!

The Cleopatra's Needle now in New York, the counterpart of the onein London, was still in Alexandria when we were there. Seventeenhundred years before Christ this huge monolith, which is cut outof solid rock, was erected at Heliopolis, and it was transportedthence several hundred miles to its present site. It measuressixty-eight feet in height, and is not less than eight feet squareat its base--one solid shaft of granite; but this is exceeded bythe one still at Thebes, which is a hundred feet high. It struckme as a notable coincidence that the ingenious Frenchman who firstproved the truth of the supposed hieroglyphic alphabet should havedone so by assuming that the name repeated so frequently upon acertain stone extolling the virtues of Ptolemy Soter, must be thatof the famous Cleopatra, and so it proved. Thus this extraordinarywoman, who filled the world with her name during her life, and forcenturies after, once more renews her tenure by linking herselfwith the world's history two thousand years after her death. 

The museum in Cairo is said to comprise more Egyptian antiquitiesthan are possessed in the world besides. It is filled withmummies, sarcophagi, jewelry, coins and statues, one wooden statueshown being no less than four thousand six hundred years old. Anything less than five thousand years of age one gets to considerrather too modern to suit his taste. Upon some of the lids of thetombs the inscriptions are as fresh as if cut yesterday. Egyptfurnishes the earliest records of our race, because the dry sandsof the desert on each side of the Nile, blowing over the cities ofthe past until these were completely buried, hermetically sealedthem, and this preserved them from decay, and would have done sofor ages yet to come. Is it any wonder that this narrow strip, filled with buried cities, should have given rise to a body of menwho devote themselves to the search for rich spoils of the pastand to deciphering the inscriptions? You meet occasionally anEgyptologist, and seem to know him instinctively. 

But grand as is Egypt's past, and varied as her fortunes havebeen, it may surely be said that never during all her misfortuneshas she occupied a position as deplorable as that which saddensthe traveller of today. If any one wants to see what personal rulein its fullest development is capable of producing, let him visitEgypt. The condition of its finances is notorious, but we did notexpect to witness such convincing proofs of insolvency. 

The Khedive has been maintaining a standing army of sixty thousandmen, but it has not been paid for more than two years. Retrenchment having been insisted upon by England and France, itwas resolved to reduce the force to some eight thousand, andorders of dismissal were accordingly issued. But about two hundredofficers who were in Cairo and had not yet been paid, entered thePrime Minister's chambers a few days before our arrival in thecity, clamoring for their dues, and refused to leave until paid. Some slight violence was even used toward that functionary, andthe English agent, who came manfully to his assistance, wasroughly pushed about. It was finally arranged to pay all dismissedsoldiers two months of their arrears. The train upon which wetravelled from Cairo carried many of these men to their homes. While the army is not paid, we see on every hand unmistakableproofs of the Khedive's reckless personal extravagance. Here lieshis grand steam yacht rotting in the harbor. In the station wenoticed the imperial cars stowed away; on the river his largesummer boat; and every other remarkably fine house in Cairo seemedto be one or another of the Khedive's palaces or harems. The mandoes not seem to have had the faintest idea of what was due to hiscountry, or, even worse, what was due to himself. But take thegreatest and best man in the world, surround him by people whoassure him morn, noon and night that he differs from other men, and has a born right to their obedience--make a khedive, or czar, or king out of him--if kind nature has not made a fool of him atthe start, men will do it, and if he has brains, brutality willsoon be added to his folly. If he hasn't brains, then he becomesthe fool pure and simple. George Washington himself would havebeen spoiled by royal notions in less than six months--good as hewas and sound republican to boot. 

One becomes indignant with a people so supine as to endure suchwaste and oppression. Everything is taxed, and the masses of thepeople are ground down to the lowest stage compatible with mereanimal existence. England and France have been compelled recentlyto take strong measures in order to prevent impending ruin. TheKhedive not long since dismissed the only one of his ministers whoseemed to comprehend the state of affairs, but I see the faintremonstrance of these powers has sufficed to reinstate him; inother words, the Khedive has been told he is a figure-head, toreign, not to govern, and we may hope for an improvement inconsequence. The population is only five millions, and it isestimated that at least two millions more could be supported bythe country; so it seems that only good government is required torestore Egypt to prosperity. 

The tenure of land is an important question just now, and men'sminds are disposed to give the subject consideration. Mr. George'sexciting book has attracted surprising attention. "Thou shalt notsell the land of the Lord thy God for ever, " seems likely to provecorrect. Egypt has a land history of much significance. Ancientlythe land was the property of the priests, and of the king and themilitary class. Although there were no castes, still the fact thatthe son usually followed his father's occupation, served thepurpose of caste. Even Joseph did not purchase the land of thepriests when he bought all the rest. Before the time of MehemetAli, say up to about a hundred years ago, a kind of feudal systemprevailed, but by the massacre of the Mamelukes the feudal systemwas destroyed. Mehemet Ali seized almost all the landed property, and gave the owners pensions for life. There is scarcely such athing as private tenure of land now in Egypt. 

This little bit of cultivated land has actually borrowed in thelast fifteen years no less than L80, 000, 000 sterling($400, 000, 000). Twelve hundred miles of railway have been built, and numerous canals, harbors, and lighthouses constructed; but theamount spent in useful works bears but a small proportion to thatsquandered. The greatest item of all, however, is the discountpaid upon the five successive loans by which funds were obtained. None of these loans cost less than 12 per cent, per annum, whilethe one for railways cost 26 per cent, per annum. These rates, Ibelieve, are calculated upon the issue prices; what commissionsthe bankers received is unknown. A report upon the finances statesthat the Government received only about one-half the amount of theloans. 

I have referred to the discontent which had shown itself in thearmy during our stay in Cairo. How rapidly events have travelledsince then! The rise of a popular leader, Arabi, who possessed theconfidence, or at least, who was accepted by the people as theironly instrument of reform, --effectually put down by the EnglishGovernment, which surely was misled by its agents in Egypt. 

Now that England has been so foolish as to interfere, but twocourses are open. She must either rule Egypt as she does India, or, what would be infinitely better both for Egypt and forEngland, retire, and allow the people of Egypt to undertake themanagement of their own affairs. This would be unfortunate for thebondholders, no doubt, but it would sooner or later secure forEgypt those institutions for which she is suited. I am convincedthat England is to see the day, and that ere long, when she willbitterly repent ever having thrown her power in the scale againstmen who revolted at a state of affairs against which revolt wasmeritorious, and gave to the world the best proof that sufficientsound timber existed in Egypt to form the nucleus of firm nationalinstitutions. England's position in Egypt is all wrong. She of allnations should know that there are stages in the life of nationswhere oppression can be overthrown only by violent means. Ah! JohnBright proved himself here once more the true statesman. Had hisadvice been followed, how different might have been the result!But ere the Egyptian question is settled we may see strangerevents still than those which have surprised us. 

The cry from the moment you set foot in Egypt until the steamersails is "Backsheesh! Backsheesh!" Give! give! give! Crowdssurround you at every place, and from child to withered eld it isan incessant chorus. If one is weak enough to give a piastre he isdone for; the crowd increases, and the roars of the beggars withit. There is no place in Egypt which can be enjoyed, owing to thisnuisance; even on the top of the Pyramid the evil is unabated. Travellers must be to blame for such an annoyance. For our part weresolved never to give anything to a beggar, and adhered strictlyto the rule, which preserved us from many a fierce attack; but theobjects begging were sometimes piteous-looking enough to hauntone. 

The surest means of obtaining a livelihood as a beggar in Egypt isto feign idiocy, which, I am told, is frequently done. Idiots areregarded as saints, and are never restricted in their movements, maniacs alone being confined, and they are often met with in thestreets. My Swedenborgian friends might account for the absence ofsense being held proof positive of the saintly character by urgingthat idiots were certainly free from one of the worst evils ofthis generation denounced by the Swedish Seer as "self-derivedintelligence. "

The never ending work of creation is finely illustrated in theremarkable depression of the northern shore of Egypt, which iscontinually going on, notwithstanding the vast deposits from themany mouths of the Nile annually discharged upon it, while on thesouthern shore, near Suez, a contrary phenomenon is observable. The consequence of this movement is seen in the ruins of places onthe Mediterranean shore, and the drying up of large portions ofthe Gulf of Suez. Indeed the bed of the Red Sea may be traced formiles north of the town of Suez, which is now at the head of thegulf, and places far north of the town were on the coast inhistoric times. An equally remarkable change is observable in thelevel of the Nile. Two thousand years B. C. It is found that atSemneh the mean height of the famous river was twenty-three feetgreater than it is to-day. Imagine what results would flow from achange of the level of the Mississippi twenty-three feet higher orlower than now! It would change the continent. While suchstartling changes are found right under our own eyes, surely we donot require the "doctrine of catastrophes" to explain the creationof this little ball--the earth! The silent, irresistible, unchanging laws of Nature suffice. 

We arrived too late to get a run up the Nile, as the boats hadceased to ply for the season. There remained but Cairo andAlexandria to visit, and a few days spent at each place exhauststhe sights; but we concluded that nothing could be more enjoyablethan a three-months' sail upon the Nile, in one's own boat, breathing the remarkably pure and dry air as it comes from thedesert, moving day by day from one to another scene of the farpast, and at night enjoying the unequalled sunsets, when it seems, as some one has beautifully said, that "the day was slowly dyingof its own glory. " This is the trip of trips for an invalid, orfor one overtaxed by work or oppressed with sorrow; and for abridal tour--to give the lovers plenty of time and opportunity tobecome thoroughly acquainted with each other--it can be highlyrecommended. 

The rapid rise of our western rivers is very different from thegradual swelling of the Nile, which begins at Khartoum, at thejunction of the White and Blue Niles, as early as April each year, but which is not felt at Cairo until after the summer solstice, while the greatest height is not reached till autumn. A good floodgives a rise of forty feet at the first cataract, and abouttwenty-five at Cairo; a scanty rise is when only between eighteenor twenty feet occurs at Cairo. The inundation is good if it isbetween twenty-four and twenty-seven feet; if beyond the latter itbecomes a destructive flood. Upon such a narrow margin--the riseof a few feet more or less in the Nile--depends the entire crop ofEgypt! Once for a period of seven years (A. D. 457-464), the risefailed and seven years of famine ensued. A great engineering work, designed to regulate the inundation by means of a _barrage_across both branches of the river below Cairo, was begun someyears ago, but, I believe, has been abandoned. When Egypt reachesgood government from within herself, not through foreigners, oneof its first works should be to complete the barrage. Surpluswater will then be allowed free escape, and inundations prevented. When the flow is scanty, egress at the river mouths will beretarded, and thus Egypt will be secured regular harvests. Wewatch men at work everywhere raising water from narrow ditches tohigher levels, that all parts may be irrigated from the fruitfulNile. We could get no estimate of the amount of water which oneman can raise in a day; but when human labor is so cheap, weguessed that it was, upon the whole, an economical mode. At allevents a complete revolution in the management of land, andprobably of its tenure, must precede the general use of machineryfor this purpose. The "shadoof" of today is the same in form asthat used by the ancient Egyptians. Two columns of mud, or brick, erected at the side of the ditch, support a beam of wood, acrosswhich is a pole with a weight at one end, and a rude wooden bowl-shaped bucket, suspended by a stick, at the other. A man standsunder the bucket and pulls it down into the water. The weighthelps him to push it up to the ditch above, where it is emptied. The operation is very quickly performed, and the bucket keptconstantly going. It would be hard to beat these ancient Egyptianshadoofs by any device requiring human labor where the amount ofwater required is small. Water-wheels, driven by bullocks or cows, and sometimes by one animal only, are sometimes used. There isalso a double shadoof worked by two men, and even steam pumps areused in extreme cases where the volume of water desired isunusually large. Steam, no doubt, is ultimately to drive out theshadoof, ancient as it is. We had a strange meeting at Cairo uponentering the breakfast-room the morning after our arrival. Whomshould we be placed opposite to but my friend the Rev. Mr. D. , ofDunfermline, my aunty's minister, nae less! He was _en route_to the Holy Land with his father-in-law; but we had several daystogether at Cairo, and talked upon many subjects, from theology totown affairs. I had received a telegram the day of his departurewhich told me my mother was to sail from New York that very day tojoin me in Scotland, as had been arranged, and we drank her healthand wished her _bon voyage_ in good style. 

Before bidding farewell to the East, I wish to indulge in just afew general reflections. Life there lacks two of its mostimportant elements--the want of intelligent and refined women asthe companion of man, and a Sunday. It has been a strangeexperience to me to be for several months without the society ofsome of this class of women--sometimes many weeks without evenspeaking to one, and often a whole week without even seeing theface of an educated woman. And, bachelor as I am, let me confesswhat a miserable, dark, dreary, and insipid life this would bewithout their constant companionship! This brings everything thatis good in its train, everything that is bright and elevating. Icannot satisfy myself as to what the man of the East has tostruggle for, since he has dethroned woman and practically lefther out of his life. To see a wealthy Chinaman driving along inhis carriage alone was pitiable. His efforts had been successful, but for what? There was no joy in his world. The very soul ofEuropean civilization, its crown and special glory, lies in theelevation of woman to her present position (she will rise evenhigher yet with the coming years), and this favor she has repaid athousand-fold by making herself the fountain of all that is bestin man. In life, without her there is nothing. Much as the lot ofwoman in the East is to be deplored, that of man is still moredeplorable. The revenge she takes is terrible, for she drags downwith her, in her debasement, the higher life of man. I had notedthe absence of music as one great want. Not an opera nor aconcert--not even a hand-organ. Scarcely a sweet sound in all ourjourney. When we found an English church or a regimental band, werejoiced. I went to hear the organ upon every occasion, and wasseldom absent when the band played; but were women there as withus, wouldn't music spring forth also! so that even this want I amdisposed to attribute to the first cause. 

The absence of a regularly recurring day of rest ranks next inimportance, I believe, in the list of causes which keep the Eastdown in the scale of nations. With few exceptions, the race isdoomed to a life of unremitting toil--from morning till night, andevery day without respite; for festival and fete days recurring atlong, irregular intervals are no substitute for the one regularday to which labor looks forward with us. The prospect of one dayof rest frequently intervening gives a toiler something bright tolook forward to, without which his life must stretch before him asone unceasing, unvarying drag. In this one blessed day his slaveryceases, the shackles fall. He is no longer a brute--fed andclothed solely because of his physical powers, his capacity tobear burdens--but a higher being, with tastes, pleasures, friends. Life becomes worth living. The man puts on his best clothes--andthere is much in this--the woman gives her cottage an extrabrushing up. Something extra is prepared for dinner--there is agreat deal in this, too--and, in short, the day is marked by ahundred little differences from those of labor--a stroll in thefields, a visit to relatives, or a meeting with neighbors atchurch, all in their best; and then the swelling organ and thechoir--these things lie closely at the root of all improvements;and if ever the race is to be lifted to a higher platform--and whoshall dare doubt it?--the weekly day of rest will prove itself anagency in the good work only second to the elevation of woman. 

The best mode of improving its most precious hours for the toilingmasses is therefore a question of infinite moment, apartaltogether from the question of its divine character, and viewedonly as a human enactment of the highest wisdom. It would seemclear that to make this only respite from manual labor a dayexclusively set apart for the mournful duty of bemoaning ourmanifold shortcomings--which must at best give rise to gloomythoughts--would defeat the purposes I have indicated. I want acompromise--church service in the morning, with a sermon "leaningto the side of mercy, " as Sidney Smith suggested, which meant thatit should not exceed twenty minutes, for, as one wit says, "aminister who can't strike ile in twenty minutes should quit_boring_"--and then the fields and streams for the toilerswho are cooped up in factories and workshops all the week long, ora visit to picture galleries, museums, or to musical concerts of ahigh order in huge centres--for in London and a village it is notthe same question at all--to anything that would tend to brightentheir existence. I am now convinced that there is an importantchange to be made in the mode of keeping our Sundays--thecessation of labor, as far as it is possible, to remain a cardinalpoint, but better facilities to be provided for cultivating thehigher tastes of our poor workers, that the day may be to themindeed "the golden jewel which clasps the circle of the week. "

One more observation upon the East and I am done: the work thatEngland is doing there. You know that she has in one way oranother obtained the keys to the East. Some islands she owns; somesmall strips of the mainland she also has acquired and governs; atShanghai, Hong Kong, and other points in China; at Singapore, Penang, Ceylon, Aden, Malta, and indeed all through our journey, we stand now and then on British soil. And wherever the meteorflag floats, there you find order, freedom, schools, churches, dispensaries, clean streets, hospitals, newspapers, justice; andunder that flag you will find thousands of Chinamen and Malays, Indians, Cingalese, Arabs--indeed men of all races--settled andenjoying the blessings of good government. No revolution there, noslavery, no arbitrary arrest, nor forced levy. As a native lawyerin India said to me--he talked freely because of our Americanlook--"There is between natives under English rule perfectjustice; but, " he added, "every one must behave himself. There isno war nor plundering when one settles under them, for theseEnglish _won't stand any nonsense, and they will havepeace_. "

England, therefore, has planted throughout the East small modelsof perfectly governed little States, enjoying all the blessings ofthe highest civilization. Daily and hourly these teach theirlesson to the native races, and when they do acquire thislesson--and who that believes in the progress of mankind can doubtbut the day must come?--they will look westward with gratefulhearts and say, "All this we owe to thee, noble England!"

But while this is true, there is another phase of England's workto which I have referred in my remarks upon India. The source ofEngland's good work springs from example. It is where the nativeraces are drawn to her standard, as at the many points named, where their freedom is not destroyed, that great results can alonebe looked for. This is the very reverse of England's position inIndia. She stands there as the destroyer of native institutions, and forces her views upon an unwilling people wholly unprepared toreceive them, instead of resting, as at Hong Kong, Singapore, Aden, and such places, saying to the natives, "Come, try oursystem, and, if you like it, remain and share its benefits. "Nothing but good can result from the latter, and nothing reallygood can flow from the former; the injury done must more thanabsorb any temporary gains. Force is no remedy; and some of theseyears, unless the ablest natives are induced to participate in thegovernment of India, and soon allowed the chief control, Englandwill rise to a rude awakening. 

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ALEXANDRIA, Friday, March 14. 

Off at nine this morning for Naples, taking Sicily _enroute_. The voyage was a smooth one, and we landed at Cataniaupon the morning of the fourth day. As we stepped ashore we feltin a moment that we were once more within the bounds ofcivilization. What a difference between this and the East! Andthere frowned Mount Etna, ten thousand feet above the sea level, thirty miles distant, and yet seemingly so near we thought that wecould almost walk over to its base after breakfast. We ascended asmall hill in the centre of the city--which, by the way, has apopulation of a hundred thousand--and there lay Sicily spread outbefore us in all its wondrous beauty. Lemon and orange groves infull bearing, and fields of vines just budding; and in the townclean paved streets and pavements, which are unknown in the East;people with shoes and stockings on; statues and fountains, and agood old cathedral; harps and violins, and the chime of churchgoing bells. Ah! Western civilization is not a mistake, nor amyth, nor a thing of doubtful value, as we can testify. At leastso thought two happy travellers in Sicily that bright balmymorning, as they felt how blessed a thing it was to be once morein a civilized country. 

The pretty island of Sicily (Sechelia, as the Italians pronounceit) contains nearly three millions of people--nearly as many asScotland--and supports them almost entirely by the produce of theland, for manufactures are little known. The olive and the vineare everywhere, and the crops of oranges and lemons go to mostparts of the world. An English gentleman told us he had boughtoranges in the season for one cent per dozen. There is one item ofexport of rather peculiar character--sulphur--which is obtainedfrom the volcano. We saw it drawn through the streets in largeblocks. 

Only two hundred years ago an eruption of Mount Etna took place, and 27, 000 people were buried by the lava. We saw where the streamhad rushed down from the crater through part of the town, and farinto the sea--almost a mile in width, and thirty miles from itssource, bearing destruction to everything in its course, and yetto-day fine new houses stand upon the cold lava, and away up andalong the sides of the volcano for miles are to be seen cottagesclustering thickly together, the inmates busily engaged incultivating their vineyards. It was only a few days ago--themonster gave a warning and shook these houses; but they still "situnder their vine and sing the merry songs of peace to all theirneighbors"--these merry, light-hearted Sicilians!--as if they hadMount Etna under perfect control. 

The railway skirts the shores of the island for its entirelength--some fifty miles--and a more beautiful ride is not to beseen in all the world. It is a succession of fine old castles, inperfect ruin, upon every petty promontory, and we go throughnothing but orange and lemon groves and vineyards. We pass at thebase of Mount Etna; but although all was smiling in the valleysbelow, its top was enveloped in dark clouds and busy with thethunder and the storm. 

Messina is a very quaint Italian city. The funeral services of adistinguished lady were in progress when we stepped into thecathedral, which was illuminated with hundreds of candles--I thinkI might say almost a thousand--the interior being one mass oflight, which shone with strange effect upon the rich black velvetwith which the walls were draped. A lady in our party counted thecarriages as they passed, and told us there were fifty-three, mostof which would compare favorably with those of New York or London. This will give you some idea of the richness of Messina, which wehad thought to be an unimportant town. 

The Sicilians are strict Roman Catholics and completely under thedominion of that faith. There is scarcely a trace of dissent to befound. When we were about to sail from Messina for Naples a priestwalked upon the deck and collected contributions from the devoutpassengers, for which in return he was expected to give to ourgood ship the august protection of Holy Mother Church. We noticedthat all the passengers contributed and received his blessing withmuch solemnity. Faith is still there. They were going tosea--probably a first experience to most if not all of them, andwere naturally apprehensive. Should we have a stormy night, nodoubt, notwithstanding their bargain with the priest, some willresolve with good Dame Partington that under like circumstancesif ever she set her foot on dry land she would never again trustherself "so far out of the reach of Providence. " But my motherremembers well that when a member of the congregation was about tostart from Dunfermline to London, a rare event in those days, though not so very long ago, that his safety was always prayed forin church. I mentioned this to Vandy when he was deploring theignorance and, as he thought, the impiety of the Sicilians. We arenot entirely free from superstition ourselves, and were in thelast generation where the Sicilians are in this. 

The scene in "The Tempest, " the enchanted isle, must have been inthe neighborhood of Sechelia, and surely no fitter region in allthe world could be found; indeed I found sweet Sechelia soenchanting that I voted it the very spot, and selected myProspero's Cave on the glittering shore within sight of MountEtna. 

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BAY OF NAPLES, Thursday, March 20. 

Early morning! Yes, my dear friends, it is round. Here standsMount Vesuvius in full view this morning, making for itself purewhite clouds of steam, which float in the otherwise clear, cloudless sky of Italy. No entering the crater now as we didbefore, for the volcano is no longer at rest. Vandy and I shakehands and recall our pledge made in the crater years ago, and say, "Well, that is now fulfilled, and may life only have for us in itsunknown future another such five months of unalloyed happiness(save where the dark shades of death among friends at home havesaddened the hours) as those we have been so privileged to enjoy. "

It is well never to be without something to look forward to, andspeculate upon; and by a happy chance Vandy and I have hit uponour next excursion, when we shall have earned another vacation byuseful work. The very thought of it already brings us pleasure. And so, all hail, sunny Italia! What a picture this Bay of Naplesis! We sail past our former haunts, Capri and Sorrento, and aresoon in our hotel at Naples, where we are delighted to rejoin ourfriends. 

From this time forth it is impossible but that a change must occurin the character of these notes. There is a first time toeverything, and it is first impressions which I have endeavoredhonestly to convey; but my first impressions of Europe wereobtained years ago. The gloss and enthusiasm of novelty arewanting. The sober second thought is proverbial; but there is asober second sight as well, and it is this I am about to take. Besides this, Europe is more familiar to everybody than the East. Many know it through personal experience, and I shall thereforecontent myself with giving the salient features of our homewardprogress from this point. 

We find Naples, Sorrento, Capri, and all the pretty spots aroundthe bay much improved since our last visit. The people seem to usto be remarkably fine-looking, but perhaps this is mainly owing tothe miserable races we have been seeing lately. The museum whichcontains the principal treasures found at Pompeii and Herculaneumis greatly improved, and one has no difficulty now in determiningjust how the people of those cities lived. There are even modelsof the houses shown. The frescoes and sculptures are far finerthan I had remembered them, and indeed there are so many articlesof furniture and domestic utensils that one cannot help admittingthat those who argue that man travels in a circle just as theworld goes round, and never advances, have some ground for theirtheory in these remarkable productions of the first century. Weare in the land of music, sure enough!--Here is the list of operasto be performed to-night, apart from numerous dramaticperformances: "Norma, " "Sonnambula, " "La Belle Helene, " "Martha. "You will please take it for granted that our nights here, with fewexceptions, will be spent hearing one or another opera, for of allthe pleasures of civilized society which we have missed most inour travels, we rank first after the absence of refined women thetotal absence of music. We hunger for sweet sounds. 

We were fortunate this time in getting into the Blue Grotto--thesea being quite smooth. The reflections upon the rocky roof werenot as fine as we expected; but Miss N. Pronounced the water "theprettiest blue that ever was, " and she is an authority upon color. While at Capri we ascended to the villa of Tiberius, on the edgeof a perpendicular cliff nearly two thousand feet high. It wasfrom this rock that ruler was wont to throw his victims into thesea. He found they never troubled him again. And now I write amidthe orange groves of Sorrento, where we have been spending a fewdays. 

We have just finished, in company with our friends, a three-days'excursion to Paestum, embracing the famous drive along the coast toAmalfi. Certainly I know nothing of the kind in the world equal tothis road in grandeur, and if any of you ever visit Naples I adviseyou to let nothing interfere with your going to Amalfi. At Sorrentowe joined our friends, Mr. H. And party, and our Windsor Hoteldelegation was further and happily augmented by Mr. And Mrs. I. Andfamily. Can you wonder that our daily excursions were delightful?

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ROME, March 26. 

Rome once more! What a change! A miniature Paris has been added toold Rome since we first saw it, and even old Rome itself ismodernized completely. Much of the picturesque is lost, but welllost, since it brings us clean streets, improved dwellings, andall the accompaniments of progress; but, notwithstanding its nowgreater likeness to modern cities, it is not with these Rome vies. Her empire is not of to-day, but over the mighty past she aloneholds undisputed sway, and the spirit of ages gone still infusesitself into everything in Rome. I thought even modern structureswere unlike their fellows elsewhere, as if the mere fact that theystood in Rome invested them with a peculiar halo of classicdignity and importance. Then Rome still has to boast of so many ofthe best things which the world has to show. No other cathedral isso grand as St. Peter's nor so beautiful as St. Paul's; no other"bit of color" is equal to the Transfiguration; no other heroicstatue is to be compared with the Augustus; nowhere else is sosweet a girl-face as the Cenci; no other group is to be named withthe Laocoon, no other fresco with the Aurora; and where is thereanother Moses, or Apollo Belvedere, or Antinous, or where is therevocal music so heavenly as that of the Pope's choir? Nowhere. Andso it comes that the world still flocks to Rome, and must continueits pilgrimage hither to this Mecca for a thousand years to come;and artists by the score, day after day, multiply copies of thesewonders of art, the recognized "best" in their various classeswhich man has yet brought forth. All these works, and othersunmentioned, I returned to with enhanced pleasure. They all seemedgreater and finer to me than when I saw them before. I had notforgotten them, while the mass of mediocre works had left notrace. 

It is thus that the true fire of genius vindicates its right toimmortality. Generations may come and go, fashions and tastes maychange, but "a thing of beauty" remains "a joy forever. " While thestatues and pictures of Rome, therefore, gave me far greaterpleasure than before, I have to confess that the historicalassociations gave me much less. When in Rome before I wasoverflowing with Shakespeare, Byron and Macaulay, and would wanderaway alone and recite to myself on the appropriate sites thepassages connected with them. This time I fear our friends provedtoo congenial. We dwelt too much in the happy present to giveourselves up to the historical past; but I do not think one getsthe sweetest juices out of Rome unless he gives way to themelancholy vein now and then, and "stalks apart in joylessreverie. "

Another reason for the difference suggests itself. One fresh fromEgypt, where he has been digging among the five thousand yearsB. C. , and lost in amazement at what the race was even thenproducing, must experience some difficulty in getting up arespectable amount of enthusiasm for structures so recent as thetime of Christ; the "rascally comparative" intrudes to chill itwith its cold breath. 

There is a third reason, perhaps--and reasons do seem as plenty asblackberries, now that I begin to write them down--we are so nearhome the echoes of business affairs begin to sound in our ears. Wesnuff the battle as it were afar off. It is impossible to becomeso entirely absorbed in the story of the Cenci as to prevent themorning's telegram from home intruding, and so it came about thatthis time we did less moralizing than before. We were fortunate inbeing in Rome during Easter Week, which gave us an opportunity tohear the best music; and certainly there is no choir for vocalmusic which can rank with that of the Pope. It is the only choir Iever heard which I felt the finest organ would spoil. It producesa strange and powerful effect, the music itself seeming to be of apeculiar order unlike any other. One of our young ladies, describing her feelings to a friend, said that at one time shefelt she was really in heaven; but when the "Miserere" brokeforth, she knew she was only a poor sinner struggling to getthere. 

We visited, with our friends, the various studios. In paintingthere does not appear to be a high standard of excellence. TheRoman school does not stand well, but in statuary it is better. Ayoung American artist, Mr. Harnisch, seemed to me to be doing themost creditable work. His busts have already given him reputation, and he has a figure now in plaster, "Antigone, " which I rate asthe best classical statue in process of completion which we saw. This young artist is not probably as good a manager as some of hismore pretentious countrymen, and, I fear, we are to wait some timebefore a Congressional committee can be induced to give him acommission; but in the opinion of real Italian sculptors he is anartist. There are those who have "adorned" our public edificeswith huge works to whom certainly no one outside of America wouldapply the name. We shall hear of Mr. Harnisch by-and-by; he isyoung, and can wait. I was highly gratified at making theacquaintance of Dr. Smiles, author of "Self-Help, " and thatfavorite of mine, "The Scotch Naturalist, " and other valued works. He is a most delightful companion and a true Scotchman, and hadn'twe "a canny day thegether" at Tivoli! Through him I met Mr. William Black, who is a small, young man, with a face that lightsup, and eyes that sparkle through his spectacles. Mr. Petty, R. A. , and he were doing Italy together, and no doubt we are to seetraces of their travels in their respective lines ere long. 

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FLORENCE, Wednesday, April 9. 

We spent a few days in Florence, but it rained almost continually, as indeed it has done all winter. This has been the mostdisagreeable season ever known in Italy, we hear from everyquarter. Sight-seeing requires sunshine: but we nevertheless didthe galleries, and were delighted with the masterpieces for whichthe city is famed. The statuary, however, is much inferior to thatof Rome. In the way of painting I was most interested in comparingthe numerous Madonnas of Raphael, and seeing how he, at last, reached "the face of all the world" in the San Sisto. He seems tohave held as loyally as a true knight to his first love. HisMadonnas have all the same type of face. You could never hesitateabout their authorship. Emphatically they are one and all"Raphael's Madonnas, " and very much alike--even the one which theGrand Duke loved so fondly as to take it about with him whereverhe travelled is only a little sweeter than the rest. It is astrange fact that it was not by painting Madonnas at all themaster obtained his inspiration. He painted the portrait of alady, which is still seen in the Pitti Palace, from whose face hedrew the lacking halo of awe and sublimity. He idealized thiswoman's face, and the San Sisto came to satisfy all one canimagine about the Madonna. But the face of Christ! Who shall paintit satisfactorily? No one. This is something beyond the region ofart. A divine-human face cannot be depicted, and all the efforts Ihave seen are not only failures which one can lament, but many arecaricatures at which one becomes indignant. I was greatly pleasedthat a true artist, Leonardo da Vinci, realized this, and paintedhis Christ with averted head. Every great painter in older timesseems to have thought it incumbent upon him to paint a Christ, andconsequently you meet them everywhere. As for the "Fathers"(_i. E. _, Jehovah) one sees, these seem to me positivelysacrilegious. I wonder the arms of the men who ventured upon suchsacred ground did not wither at their sides. To paint old men withtremendous white flowing beards--a cross between Santa Claus andBluebeard--and call them God! Here is materialism for you with avengeance. These audacious men forgot that _He_ was not seenin the whirlwind, neither in the storm, but never seen at all;only _heard in the still_, small voice. 

Of course I visited Mrs. Browning's grave in Florence. I had themelancholy satisfaction of hearing, from one who knew herintimately, many details concerning her life here. Mr. Browningleft Florence the day after she died, leaving the house, hisbooks, papers, and even unfinished letters, as they were when hewas called to her bedside the night before, and has neverreturned; nor has he ever been known to mention her name, or torefer to the blow which left him alone in the world. He seems tohave been worthy even of a love like hers. We stayed over two daysat Milan to see friends, and while there ascended to see once morethe celebrated cathedral. It is finer--I do not say grander--butmuch finer, especially as seen from the roof, than any otherbuilding in Europe. 

From Milan we went to Turin, and spent a day there, as we hadnever seen that city. It is prettily situated, very clean, withregular streets, but without any special objects of interest. Thesplendid view of the snow-clad Alps, and the fertile valley of thePo, as seen from the monastery, fully repaid us for the day givento Turin. We leave Italy in the morning. It is impossible not tolike the country and to be deeply interested in its future. Whileit has made considerable progress since the genius of Cavour madeit once more a nation, still its path is just now beset withdangers. A standing army of six hundred thousand and all theconcomitants of royalty to maintain, and a large national debtupon which interest has to be paid--these require severetaxation, and even with this the revenues show a deficit. Thatlast resort, paper currency, has been sought, and now thecirculating medium--although "based on the entire property of thenation, " as our demagogues phrase it--is at a discount of ten percent. , which threatens to increase. 

But the chief trouble arises from the religious difficulty--thatsad legacy from the past, of which, fortunately, a new land likeAmerica knows nothing. The Pope and all strict Catholics standcoldly aloof from the government, ready to give trouble wheneveropportunity offers. But I have faith in Italy. She will conquerher enemies, and once again be a great power worthy of herglorious past. All her troubles, however, are not to seek. 

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PARIS, Thursday, May 1. 

Now comes somewhat of a return to the more prosaic side of life. We made an excursion to the famous iron and steel works of theSchneider Company at Creuzot. What a concern this is, and howsmall we all are upon the other side of the Atlantic! Fifteenthousand five hundred men are employed here. We saw fifteen steamhammers in one shop. The mill for rolling only is 1, 500 by 350feet, filled with trains. The giant, however, is the 80-ton steamhammer, with its huge appliances. Masses of steel 35 tons inweight are handled as readily as we move a rail ingot. One ingotof steel weighing 120 tons was shown to us. This monster hammer isrequired only for armor plate and guns--war material. The happierdemands of peaceful industry are met with ordinary machinery. Longmay it be, therefore, before America can boast an engine of evenhalf the size. Our visit to Creuzot was both interesting andinstructive. Mr. Schneider and his officers were most cordial andattentive to us. 

We spend a few days in Paris, which shows even more than the othercities we have revisited the march of improvement. It is fartherbeyond competition in its line than it ever was. I appreciate itsattractions more than I have done upon previous visits; but onemust be exceptionally strong who can persist in leading an earnestand useful life here, where so much exists to persuade one thatafter all amusement is the principal thing to be sought for. Mostof the American residents seem to me to sink naturally to thelevel of thinking most--or certainly talking most--of the newestopera, or even the best ballet, or where is to be found the best_table d'hote_; but, after all, what can a man do who leaveshis own country, and the duties incumbent upon him there, tobecome a man about town here, with no work in the world to do. Good Americans come here when they die, it is said. I think itwould be well for most of them if they did postpone their journeyuntil then. 

As we have travelled through France bands of the "Reserves" havebeen constantly seen repairing to their camps. Every Frenchmannow, without exception, must serve as a soldier and drill at leastone month every year. No substitutes are allowed. Soldiers!soldiers everywhere! Not a petty town at which we have stayed overnight but has its barracks--its troops who parade its streetsevery morning. The entire male population is being trained so asmost skilfully to murder, upon the first favorable opportunity, such of their fellow-Christians who may happen to be calledGermans, while in Germany a similar state of affairs is renderednecessary to prevent the success of their "brothers'" intention. You see there was a frontier that was not "scientific, " and it was"rectified" a few years ago; but these rectifications, of allthings in the world, never remain rectified, and so we are toawake some fine morning to find the "civilized" Christian (!)nations (save the mark!) nobly engaged in butchering each other, even if this is the nineteenth century and we all worship Christand have the same Father in heaven. That thoughtful educatedpeople, even in England and America, can still deliberately send ason "to the army, " to be taught the butchering trade, his victimsbeing human, always saddens me when I think of it. The progress ofthe world has not only been slow but small, till the profession ofarms, as it is called, is held to be unfit except for men ofbrutal natures. 

In Italy it is much the same. She has 600, 000 men under arms, andis drilling others, while Russia has just ordered an addition toher hosts exceeding five-fold the entire American army. England'swar expenditure this year exceeds that of only five years ago by$30, 000, 000, which is more than America spends for her armyaltogether. And so the whole of Europe is armed and arming, as ifconscious that a storm is about to burst, or at least that such astupendous drain upon her productive resources has to be enduredto insure safety. Happy America! she alone seems to occupy aposition free from grave and imminent dangers. 

 * * * * *

LONDON. 

Our next step brought us to monster London, where we attended theinteresting meeting of the British Iron and Steel Institute, andbeing called upon as the only representative of American iron andsteel manufacturers present, I had to venture a few remarks. Whatever England may be justly chargeable with in the past for herneglect of scientific methods and the improvements of the day, itis evident she now occupies the van in this respect. 

No one could be present at these meetings without being impressedwith the amount and thoroughness of the scientific knowledge nowengaged in the iron and steel manufacture of Great Britain. Notless remarkable seemed to me the willingness upon the part of allto report and explain every advance made in the various processesto their fellows. The old idea of trade secrets seems thoroughlyexploded, and a free interchange of practice and theory is nowseen to be the best for all. I cannot but believe that had themanufacturers of America adopted this policy years ago, manymillions squandered in the erection of works at unsuitablelocations would have been saved. It struck me as strange that noless a personage than Earl Granville, who has had charge of herMajesty's foreign affairs and been leader in the House of Lords, should have been in attendance and participated in these meetings. The company also had the attendance of two dukes; but these wereLord Granville's compeers only in title. All of the three, however, rightfully claim to rank with us as iron-masters. TheBessemer medal was presented this year to Peter Cooper, of NewYork, much to the honor of the donors, I think. 

For one shilling, any one curious to know something of the sightsof this London, can do so by purchasing a good-sizedvolume--Dickens's London. A look at it will soon satisfy one howtrue it is that compared to London all other cities are butvillages. It will very soon count four millions of people underits sway. Every year one hundred thousand are added to the mass, and not even depressed times seem to limit this increase. Thereason for this is patent; there is everything here that there iselsewhere, and much that can be found nowhere else; in everydepartment of life, for earnest work in any special line, or foramusement--for sight-seeing, study, or fashion--it is here thatthe very best of everything is concentrated; the very cream of allthe world is here, because no other place is large enough or richenough to support it. To know the best that has been said and donein the world of the past is no doubt much, as Matthew Arnold says, but there is also much in seeing and living where the best ofto-day is said and done, and if possible in the company of thosewho have said or done any of the best things in any line. Lifewith godlike men on earth must be the best preparative forcompanionship hereafter. This is possible in Britain only inLondon, for the celebrities and their works are centred here. Anunusually large proportion of the population is of the wealthyclasses, for the height of the average Briton's ambition is, inaddition to the essential estate in the country, to be inpossession of a mansion in London. After these are acquired, andhis wife and daughters have been presented at court, any after-successes may be regarded as details which ornament the solidedifice of position attained; and truly, as far as I have seenhuman life in any part of the world, I know of no state which initself seems capable of affording so much pleasure--were happinessdependent upon external circumstances--as that which rewardssuccessful Britons when with their usual good sense they retirefrom business. 

If the owner of a large estate in Britain with its hundreds ofpeople, who are as it were, under his care, its pretty quaintvillages and honeysuckled cottages, its running brooks, its hedge-rows and green fields, all giving him scope for change andimprovement--if such a man is not happy and does not enjoy life, let him seek for some more favorable conditions in some otherplanet than this, say I. I must not attempt to follow our stepsthrough England and Scotland, nor to tell you of the cordialwelcomes and thousand kind attentions bestowed upon us. We spent avery, very happy month among dear kind friends, and never enjoyedMerrie England more. My mother and Miss F. Joined us in London, and took care of us until we sailed for New York, which we did bythe new Cunard steamer Gallia, June 14th, reaching New York on the24th, exactly eight months from the day we sailed out of theGolden Gate. And now, June 25th, I write these lines at Cresson, on the crest of the Alleghanies, having reached our starting pointand earned our right to fellowship with the favored fraternity ofglobe-trotters. 

The voyage round the world should be made sailing westward fromLondon or New York, as this gives the traveller the prevailingwinds in his favor; at least after he reaches New York, for theAtlantic is never quite blessed with steady winds from the west. The trade-winds waft the traveller on his way when he goes towardthe west; should he take the contrary direction and start viaEngland to the East, he must experience many rough days and nightsupon the sea. We saw the steamers from England battling againstthe monsoon, which only served to push us steadily and smoothlyon. Let all my readers make due note of this--westward, noteastward. Another even greater advantage, at least to those who, like myself, are affected by heat, is obtained by taking thewestward course: the various countries can be visited in monthsduring which no extreme heat is possible. The best time to startfrom San Francisco is early in September, so that Japan is reachedabout the first of October, which is a delightful month in thatpretty toy-land, neither too hot nor too cold. A month will enablethe tourist to see all that is specially interesting--Yokohama, Yeddo, Kiobe, Kioto, Osaka, Nagasaki, and some of the notableinland sights. This brings him to China (Shanghai) the middle ofNovember. After a few days there, a trip up the Yangtse, on one ofthe excellent American style of river boats, some six hundredmiles to Hang-Kow, should not be missed, as one gets by this thebest possible look at the Chinese at home. Hong Kong, the nextstage, is reached, say early in December. Here you do Canton, Macao, and other interesting points, and reach Singapore, almostat the equator, and eat your Christmas dinner directly below yourfriends at home. If the reports from Java are favorable, atempting excursion to that interesting island can be made fromSingapore; but when we were at Singapore Europeans were beingbrought there from Java, and hurried north to cool places as theonly cure for maladies contracted in that island. Therefore weabandoned our intended trip thither. 

The traveller can decide whether to take steamer from Singaporevia Bankok, Siam, and do that coast of Asia, and reach Calcuttafrom the west, or to follow our course via Ceylon. If he hasplenty of time, the former may enable him to see more of India;but our experience was that there is more to see by any route thancan be properly taken in upon one journey. If the wanderer followus to Ceylon, we advise him to cross from Colombo to SouthernIndia by steamer to Philipopolis, and go up through Southern Indiaby land to Madras, as this will give him an opportunity to see thestrange architecture and many customs peculiar to that region. Wedid the principal sights of India, but we advise any of ourreaders who make the journey, instead of returning from Delhi aswe did, to go further north to Amritsir, and as far toward Caboolas the rail may extend. Simla upon the hills should also bevisited. We often regret that we had not a week or two more tospend in India. We were rather late in the season, and Bombay wasgetting hot--indeed, it is always rather hot anywhere at theequator--but with the exception of a few hours at midday no greatinconvenience was found, and the nights and the mornings werepleasant. 

By the time the traveller has reached Egypt, and seen Alexandriaand Cairo, he will be disposed, if our condition be any guide, torest and be thankful, consigning any further extended travels tosome future time when he has fully digested what he has gatheredin his wanderings, and is fresh. When he touches pretty Catania, on his way west, he will feel for the first time that he is oncemore, as it were, at home among his own kith and kin, and has beenquite long enough among strangers. Going round the world yieldsone exquisite pleasure which cannot be experienced upon any othertour. Our way over the long seas has not to be retraced. Thefarther we go, the nearer we come to home; every day's journeyaway from those we love, is also one day's step nearer to them. Ithink, also, that no amount of travel in detached portions of theworld enables one to contemplate the world and the human race as awhole. One must traverse the ball round and round to arrive at abroad, liberal, correct estimate of humanity--its work, its aims, its destiny. 

Go, therefore, my friends--all you who are so situated as to beable to avail yourselves of this privilege--go and see foryourselves how greatly we are bound by prejudices, how checkeredand uncertain are many of our own advances, how very nearly all isbalanced. No nation has all that is best, neither is any bereft ofsome advantages, and no nation, or tribe, or people is so unhappythat it would be willing to exchange its condition for that of anyother. See, also, that in every society there are many individualsdistinguished for traits of character which place them upon a parwith the best and highest we know at home, and that such areeverywhere regarded with esteem, and held up as models for lowerand baser natures to emulate. 

The traveller will not see in all his wanderings so much abject, repulsive misery among human beings in the most heathen lands, asthat which startles him in his civilized Christian home, fornowhere are the extremes of wealth and poverty so painfullypresented. He will learn, too, if he be observant, that verylittle is required after all to make mankind happy, and that theprizes of life worth contending for are, generally speaking, within the reach of the great mass. 

Did you ever sum up these prizes and think how very little themillionaire has beyond the peasant, and how very often hisadditions tend not to happiness but to misery! What constitutesthe choice food of the world? Plain beef, common vegetables andbread, and the best of all fruits--the apple; the only nectarbubbles from the brook without money and without price. All thatour race eats or drinks beyond this range must be inferior, if notpositively injurious. Dress--what man, or rather what womanwears--is less and less comfortable in proportion to its frillsand its cost, and no jewel is so refined as the simple flower inthe hair, which the village maid has for the plucking. All thatwomen overload themselves with beyond this range is a source ofunhappiness. To be the most simply attired is to be the mostelegantly dressed. So much for true health and happiness in allthat we eat, and drink, and wear. 

If we extend the inquiry to the luxuries and adornments of life, is there any music--which of course comes first--comparable ingrandeur to that of the wave, stirring the soul with its mightyorgan tones as it breaks upon the beach, or any so exquisitelyfine as that of the murmuring brook which sings its song foreverto every listener upon its banks, while above birds warble and thezephyr plays its divine accompaniment among the trees! We spendfortunes for picture-galleries, but what are the tiny paintedcopies compared to the great originals, the mountains, the glens, the streams and waterfalls, the fertile fields, the breezy downs, the silver sea! These are the gems of the universal gallery, thecommon heritage of man, the property of the humblest who has eyesto see, and as free as the air we breathe. We have ourconservatories and spend our thousands upon orchids, but which ofnature's smiles ranks with the rose and the mignonette, the daisyand the bluebell, and the sweet forget-me-not blooming for allearth's children, and which grow upon the window-sill of theartisan and which the laborer blesses at his cottage door!

If we go higher still in the scale, we find that the companionshipof the gods is not denied to the steady wage-receiving man, forShakespeare and our Burns and our Scott can be had for sixpenceper volume. In this blessed age in which we are privileged to liveeven the immortals are cheap and visit the toiler. We see the richrolling over the land in their carriages, but blessed beyond theseis the man who strolls along the hedge-rows. The connoisseur inhis gallery misses the health-giving breeze which brings happinessto the devotee who seeks the original afield. The lady in heroverheated conservatory knows nothing of the joyous rapture of hermore fortunate sister who gathers the spoils of the glen. Ah, myfriends, ponder well over this truth: the more one dwells withher, the more one draws from her, the closer one creeps to herbosom, the sweeter is nature's kiss. From man's neglect of her formeaner substitutes come most of the disappointment and unhappinessof life. The masses of mankind are happy all round the worldbecause their pleasures are drawn so largely from sources whichlie open to all. The rich are not to be envied, for truly "thereis no purchase in money" of any real happiness. When used for ourown gratification, it injures us; when used ostentatiously, itbrings care; when hoarded, it narrows the soul. Nature has notprovided a means by which any man can use riches for selfishpurposes without suffering therefrom. There is only one source oftrue blessedness in wealth, and that comes from giving it away forends that tend to elevate our brothers and enable them to share itwith us. Nature is gloriously communistic after all, God blessher! and sees that a pretty fair division is made, let man hoardas he may. The secret of happiness is renunciation. 

Another advantage to be derived from a journey round the world is, I think, that the sense of the brotherhood of man, the unity ofthe race, is very greatly strengthened thereby, for one sees thatthe virtues are the same in all lands, and produce their goodfruits, and render their possessors blessed in Benares and Kiotoas in London or New York; that the vices, too, are akin, and alsothat the motives which govern men and their actions and aims arevery much the same the world over. In their trials and sufferings, as in their triumphs and rejoicings, men do not differ, and so theheart swells and the sympathies extend, and we embrace all men inour thoughts, leaving not one outside the range of our solicitudeand wishing every one well. The Japanese, Chinese, Cingalese, Indians, Egyptians, all have been made our friends throughindividuals of each race of whom we have heard much that was goodand noble, pure lives, high aims, good deeds, and how can we, therefore, any longer dwell apart, believing our own land or ourown people in any respect the chosen of God! No, no; we know nowin a sense much more vivid than before that all the children ofthe earth dwell under the reign of the same divine law, and thatfor each and every one that law evolves through all the ages, thehigher from the lower, the good from evil, slowly but surelyseparating the dross from the pure gold, disintegrating what ispernicious, consolidating what is beneficial to the race, so thatthe feeling that formerly told us that we alone had special carebestowed upon us gives place to the knowledge that every one inhis day and generation, wherever found, receives the truth bestfitted for his elevation from that state to the next higher, andso

 "Ilka blade of grass keps its ain drap o' dew, "

and grows its own fruit after its kind. For these and many otherreasons, let all thoughtful souls follow my example and visittheir brethren from one land to another till the circle iscomplete. 

The unprecedented advance made by western nations in the past andpresent generations, upon which we continually plume ourselves, isshared by the world in general. Wherever we have been, one story metus. Everywhere there is progress, not only material but intellectualas well, and rapid progress too. The oldest inhabitant has alwayshis comparison to offer between the days of his youth and theadvantages possessed by the youth of to-day. Matters are not as theywere. We saw no race which had retrograded, if we except Egypt, which is now in a transitional state, and will ultimately prove noexception to the rule. The whole world moves, and moves in the rightdirection--upward and onward--the things that are better than thosethat have been and those to come to be better than those of to-day. The law of evolution--the higher from the lower--is not discreditedby a voyage round the world and the knowledge of what is transpiringfrom New York round to New York again gives us joy this morning aswe sum it all up. 

The trip has been without a single unpleasant incident. We have notmissed one connection, nor ever been beyond the reach of all thecomforts of life, nor have we had one unhappy or even lonely hour. Every day has brought something new or interesting. And sitting herein our quiet mountain home this morning, I feel that there isscarcely a prize that could be offered for which I would exchangethe knowledge obtained and the memories of things seen during mytrip. One of the great pleasures of travel in the East is theunbounded hospitality--excessive kindness--everywhere met with. Willthe numerous kind friends to whom we are so deeply indebted--a hostfar too great to name--please accept this general acknowledgment asat least a slight evidence that their goodness to us is notunappreciated? At every stage of our travels I have been struck withthe cheering thought, that notwithstanding the indisputable factthat a vast amount of misery seems inseparable from human life, still the general condition of mankind is a happy one. Even theHindoo in India, or the Malay in the Archipelago--and these seem toexist under the worst conditions--each of these constantly seescause to bless his good fortune and render thanks--sincere, heartfelt thanks--to a kind Providence for casting his life inpleasant places, and not in damp, foggy England, or amid Americanfrosts and snows. We have their sincere sympathy, I assure you. Noris patriotism a peculiarly western virtue. No matter who or what heis, the man of the East in his heart exalts his own country and hisown race, and esteems them specially favored of the gods. And indeedit is with nations as with individuals: as none are entirely good, so none are entirely bad. The unseen power is at work in all lands, evolving the higher from the lower and steadily improving all, sothe traveller finds much to commend in every country, and seeingthis he grows tolerant and liberal, and able more heartily to singwith Burns--

 "Then let us pray that come it may-- As come it will, for a' that-- That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth, May bear the gree, for a' that; For a' that, and a' that, It's coming yet, for a'that, That man to man, the warld o'er Shall brothers be, for a' that. "

In which hope, nay, in the confident and inspiring belief in thesure coming of the day of the Brotherhood of Man, I lay down mypen and bring to a close this record of my tour round the world.