Due West

CHAPTER I.. Page

PAGE Synopsis of the Journey.--Crossing the Continent.--A Great Midland City.--Utah and the Mormons.--The Sierra Nevada.--San Francisco.--A Herd of Sea-Lions.--Possibilities of California.--The Love of Flowers.--Public School System.--Excursion to the Yosemite.--An Indian Stronghold.--Description of the Valley.--Passage of the Mountains.--Caught in a Snow-Storm.--A Forest of Feathers.--The Mammoth Trees of California.--Passing the Golden Gate.--Voyage across the Pacific.--A Lost Day 1

CHAPTER II.

Landing in Japan.--Characteristic Street Scenes.--Native Bazars.--Women of Yokohama.--Excursion into the Country.--Visit to Kamakura.--Peculiar Scenes on the Road.--A Wonderful Bronze Statue.--Popular Religions of the Country.--The Hakone Pass.--A Youthful Mother.--Native Jugglers.--Temple of Shiba.--Review of the Soldiery.--Ludicrous Sights.--A Native Fair at Tokio.--A Poor Japanese Woman's Prayer 30

CHAPTER III.. Foreign Influence in Japan.--Progress of the People.--Traveling

Foreign Influence in Japan.--Progress of the People.--Traveling Inland.--Fertility of the Soil.--Grand Temples and Shrines at Nikko.--The Left-Handed Artist.--Japanese Art.--City of Kobé.--Kioto and its Temples.--Idol Worship.--Native Amusements.--Morals in Japan.--Lake Biwa.--Osaka on a Gala Day.--The Inland Sea.--Island of Pappenburg.--The Tarpeian Rock of Japan.--Nagasaki.--Girls Coaling a Ship.--National Products 55

CHAPTER IV.. Sail for Hong Kong.--Ocean Storms.--Sunset At Sea.--a

Sail for Hong Kong.--Ocean Storms.--Sunset at Sea.--A Water-Spout.--Arrival in China.--Typhoon Bay.--Manners and Customs.--In and about Hong Kong.--Public Buildings.--Voyage up the Pearl River.--City of Canton.--Strangest of Strange Cities.--Opium Dens.--Temple of Honan.--The Worship of Swine.--Praying with a Fan.--Local Peculiarities.--Half Round the World.--Singapore.--A Tiger Hunt.--Burial at Sea.--Penang.--The Wonderful Palm 81

CHAPTER V.. Sailing Due West.--the Indian Ocean.--Strange Sights At

Sailing Due West.--The Indian Ocean.--Strange Sights at Sea.--Island of Ceylon.--Singhalese Canoes.--Colombo.--A Land of Slaves.--Native Town.--Singhalese Women.--Fantastic Nurses.--Local Pictures.--Cinnamon Gardens.--Wild Elephants.--Lavishness of Tropical Nature.--Curious Birds and their Nests.--Ancient Kandy.--Temple of Maligawan.--Religious Ceremonies.--Life of the Natives.--Inland Scenery.--Fruits.--Precious Stones.--Coffee Plantations.--Great Antiquity of Ceylon 125

CHAPTER VI.. Arrival in India.--Tuticorin.--Madura.--Bungalows.--Reptiles

Arrival in India.--Tuticorin.--Madura.--Bungalows.--Reptiles and Insects.--Wonderful Pagoda.--Sacred Elephants.--Trichinopoly and its Temples.--Bishop Heber.--Native Silversmiths.--Tanjore.--The Rajah's Palace.--Pagoda and an Immense Stone Idol.--Southern India.--City of Madras.--Want of a Harbor.--In and about the Capital.--Voyage through the Bay of Bengal.--The Hoogly River.--Political Capital of India.--A Crazy King.--The Himalayas.--Sunset and Sunrise at Darjeeling 150

CHAPTER VII.. From Calcutta to Benares.--Miles of Poppy Fields.--Ruined

From Calcutta to Benares.--Miles of Poppy Fields.--Ruined Temples.--The Mecca of Hindostan.--Banks of the Sacred Ganges.--Idolatry at its Height.--Monkey Temple.--The Famous River Front of the Holy City.--Fanaticism.--Cremating the Dead.--A Pestilential City.--Visit to a Native Palace.--From Benares to Cawnpore.--A Beautiful Statue.--English Rule in India.--Delhi.--The Mogul Dynasty.--Lahore.--Umritsar.--Agra.-- The Taj Mahal.--Royal Palace and Fort.--The Famous Pearl Mosque 187

CHAPTER VIII.. From Agra to Jeypore.--an Independent Province.--a Unique

From Agra to Jeypore.--An Independent Province.--A Unique Indian City.--Wild Animals.--Elephant Traveling.--Trapping Tigers.--A Royal Palace.--The Harem.--Native Rule.--Wild Monkeys and Peacocks.--Long Journey across Country.--Bombay.--The Rival of Calcutta.--The Parsees.--Towers of Silence.--Feeding the Vultures.--A Remarkable Institution.--Island of Elephanta.--Street Jugglers.--Crossing the Sea of Arabia.--The Southern Cross.--Aden.--Passage up the Red Sea.--Landing at Suez.--Traveling in Egypt 223

CHAPTER IX.. Cairo and the Arabian Nights.--Street Scenes and Cries.--Camels

Cairo and the Arabian Nights.--Street Scenes and Cries.--Camels and Donkeys.--Turkish Bazars in Old Cairo.--Water-Carriers.--The Pyramids of Gizeh.--The Sphinx.--Interesting Visit to a Native House.--Mosque of Mehemet Ali.--The Rotten Row of Cairo.--The Khedive's Palace.--Egyptian Museum.--Mosque of Amer.--Whirling and Howling Dervishes.--Suez Canal.--Ismailia and Port Said.--Island of Malta.--City of Valetta.--Palace of the Knights.--Bird's-eye View 259

CHAPTER X.

Voyage through the Mediterranean.--Gibraltar on Sunday.--Beautiful Alameda.--Visit to the Famous Fortress.--Wild Monkeys.--Cannon and Flowers.--Tangier.--Morocco.--Straits of Gibraltar.--A Moorish City of To-day.--Local Scenes.--A Private Museum.--The Governor's Palace.--Rusty Keys.--The Typical Moor.--The Slave Market.--Oriental Tableaux.--Visit to Washington Mount.--A Cup of Moorish Coffee.--From Gibraltar to Malaga.--Spain.--The City of Raisins and Sweet Wine 288

CHAPTER XI.. From Malaga to Granada.--Military Escort--a Beautiful

From Malaga to Granada.--Military Escort--A Beautiful Valley.--A Dream Realized in the Alhambra.--The Moor in his Glory.--Tangible Poetry.--A Brief Legend.--The Generalife.--The Moor's Seat.--The Home of the Gypsies.--A Gold Bearing River.--A Beautiful Residence.--Early Home of the Ex-Empress Eugénie.--City of Granada.--Spanish Beggars.--The Remarkable Tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella.--French Vandals.--The Cathedral.--Precious Relic.--The Cartuja.--Love of Music 311

CHAPTER XII.. Granada to Cordova.--an Antique City.--the Guadalquivir.--Old

Granada to Cordova.--An Antique City.--The Guadalquivir.--Old Roman Bridge.--The Grand Mosque-Cathedral of Cordova.--Court of Orange-Trees.--Army of Beggars.--From Cordova to Madrid.--Local Characteristics of the Capital.--The Gate of the Sun.--The King and Queen in Public.--The Royal Palace.--Spanish Ladies and Gentlemen.--The Fan.--The Picture-Gallery of Madrid.--National Sport of the Bull-Fight.--Cowardice!--Interesting Visit to the City of Toledo.--The Escurial 331

CHAPTER XIII.. From Madrid to Burgos.--Through a Barren Country.--the

From Madrid to Burgos.--Through a Barren Country.--The Cathedral of Burgos.--Monastery of Miraflores.--Local Pictures.--A Spanish Inn.--Convent of Las Huelgas.--From Burgos to San Sebastian.--Northern Spain.--A Spanish Watering Place.--Bayonne.--Lower Pyrenees.--Biarritz.--A Basque Postilion.--A Pleasant Drive.--On Leaving Spain.--Sunday and Balloons at Bordeaux.--On to Paris.--Antwerp and its Art Treasures.--Embarking for America.--End of the Long Journey 365

DUE WEST.

CHAPTER I.

Synopsis of the Journey.--Crossing the Continent.--A Great Midland City.--Utah and the Mormons.--The Sierra Nevada.--San Francisco.--A Herd of Sea-Lions.--Possibilities of California.--The Love of Flowers.--Public School System.--Excursion to the Yosemite.--An Indian Stronghold.--Description of the Valley.--Passage of the Mountains.--Caught in a Snow-Storm.--A Forest of Feathers.--The Mammoth Trees of California.--Passing the Golden Gate.--Voyage across the Pacific.--A Lost Day.

On the morning of September 16, 1882, four individuals, two of whom were ladies and two gentlemen, comparative strangers to each other, met at the Fitchburg depot in Boston, drawn together by the common purpose of a trip round the world. Adding the conductor, Mr. Gno. Dattari, an intelligent and experienced courier, the little party numbered five persons. The latter individual is attached to the traveling agency of Thomas Cook & Son, London, the house undertaking, for the sum of two thousand dollars each, to pay all transportation and board bills in accordance with a very comprehensive itinerary. This embraced the passage across the continent of America and the Pacific Ocean to Japan, with a month of residence and travel in that country; thence to China and up the Pearl River to Canton; a week in Hong Kong; a thousand-mile voyage down the China Sea to the chief ports of the Malacca Straits; across the Indian Ocean to the Island of Ceylon, with a week for excursions therein; thence to India, with a liberal exploration of its principal cities, including a visit to the Himalayas in the extreme north; through the Sea of Arabia, the Straits of Babelmandeb, and the Red Sea to Egypt, Cairo, and Alexandria; through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean to Italy, Malta, Gibraltar, France, and England. A reasonable length of time was allowed for each section of the route, including a voyage across the Atlantic to the starting-point.

Any divergence from the prescribed route was to be at an additional charge, according to expenses incurred. The money was paid at the outset, and the agreement on both sides fulfilled to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. Thus much it has seemed well to premise for the information of the reader who proposes to follow our course due west, as presented in these pen-and-ink sketches of many lands. It should also be mentioned that the season of the year had been judiciously chosen, so as to bring us into each country at the most favorable period for its healthful and agreeable enjoyment, a calculation which is imperative for any one contemplating a journey of this character. Otherwise, the intense heat of the tropics, as well as the Arctic chills of the north, may render such a trip a hardship rather than a season of pleasure.

The first day's experience served to acquaint the little party with each other, and no possible association can effect this so rapidly as traveling together, where individuals necessarily become inseparable, and where fixed traits of character must inevitably exhibit themselves. Mr. M---- and his daughter, as also the author of these notes, were Bostonians; the fourth person being a Miss D----, of Yorkshire, England, who came hither to make the long circuit of the globe. Even American parlor-cars, which embrace as much of domestic comfort as is compatible with their legitimate purpose, could not prevent our being somewhat fatigued by an unbroken journey of over five hundred miles, when we reached Niagara Falls at two o'clock in the morning. And yet the day seemed short by reason of the varied and beautiful scenery of the Hoosac Tunnel route, particularly in the region of the Deerfield Valley, and also west of the Massachusetts state line. The abundant foliage was in its autumnal prime, not yet having been touched by the wand of the Frost King, while the teeming fields gave evidence both of fertility of soil and skilled cultivation. The neat farm-houses were ornamented by creeping vines, and tiny flower-gardens in their fronts. Tall conical haystacks flanked the spacious, well-filled barns; big yellow pumpkins dotted the half-cleared cornfields; and handsome groups of cattle quietly ruminated in the pastures. A picturesque line of beehives, half a dozen happy children at play before the house door, and the sturdy master of the thrifty scene, leaning over the fence to exchange pleasant words with a passing neighbor on horseback, were frequent rural pictures, which were afterwards contrasted with those of other countries.

A quiet Sabbath was passed at the Clifton House, on the Canada side, where an excellent opportunity is afforded for viewing the falls in their various aspects. It was a still, clear day, bright and sunny. A column of vapor rose many hundred feet above the falls, white as snow where it was absorbed into the skies, and iridescent at the base, which was wreathed in ceaseless rainbows. A practical eye could not fail to observe that a portion of the enormous force here running to waste has been utilized by means of a canal, dug from a point above the falls to a plateau two miles below them, whereby some large grist-mills and paper-manufacturing establishments are operated with never-failing power. The usual round of sightseeing was performed on the following day. When we remember that there is conclusive evidence of these falls having been at a former period fully six miles nearer to Lake Ontario, and consequently that there is a daily though infinitesimal wear going on, it leads one to speculate as to what will be the probable result when the great falls shall have receded so far as to open, at one terrific plunge, the eastern end of Lake Erie.

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