The business of sight-seeing began early the next morning with a visit to the esplanade, which may be called a park, though it contains a variety of buildings besides Fort William, which is half a mile in diameter. The enclosure is a mile and three-quarters in length by about one mile in depth from the river. The Government House occupies a position next to it, and they passed it as they entered.

"Whose statue is that—the Duke of Wellington?" asked Louis, as he walked on one side of Sir Modava, with his mother on the other side.

"Not at all; most of our streets and buildings are named after persons noted in the history of India," replied the Indian gentleman, laughing. "That is the statue of Lord William Cavendish Bentinck, the first governor-general of India; and many important events dated from his time, for he suppressed the suttee and thugging."

"Thugging?" repeated the lady interrogatively.

"You have not been told about it; but I will give you its history when we have time, for here are the Eden Gardens," replied Sir Modava.

"Not the Garden of Eden?" suggested Mrs. Belgrave.

"Only named for it; but it is a very beautiful garden in English style, though the trees and plants are, of course, different. It has water enough for variety; and there is no difficulty at all in getting it, for the city is hardly above the river at high tide. All there is of the fort you can see from here."

"But what are those things over the other side of the park?"

"They are all tanks; and, of course, they are to hold water. Each of them has its name, generally Indian. Now we will walk across to the Chowringhee Road, where the finest private residences of the city are situated. On our left is the Government House, which we passed when we came in. It is a fine building, and it has a large garden of its own."

"But what is it for?" asked the lady.

"It is the residence of the governor-general, generally called the viceroy; and he has his offices there. Now, if you look beyond Fort William, you will see the race-course."

"I don't care for that," replied Mrs. Belgrave, whose memories of the sport were anything but pleasant.

"Near it is the presidency jail, and there are two hospitals farther along."

The party walked along the road to view the residences of the nabobs, and returned to the hotel, where they seated themselves on the large veranda overlooking the street. The first thing Louis did was to look at a thermometer he discovered on a post.

"How hot is it, Louis?" asked his mother.

"It isn't hot at all; it is only 70 deg.."

"The glass varies here from 52 deg. to 100 deg.; but we don't get the latter figure except in summer," added Sir Modava.

"But you have awful cyclones here, an English lady told me last night," said Mrs. Belgrave.

"We do; but we never have them at this season of the year; they come in May, September, and October, and sometimes in November the belated ones. In 1867 we had one in the latter month which destroyed thirty thousand native houses; but you know they are built of bamboos and such stuff, and it does not take much of a breeze to demolish them. Another in June, 1870, did nearly as much damage."

"I should think the bore would make mischief here," suggested Louis.

"The monsoons here begin in July, and during their time the bore is the most mischievous. The big wave comes up the river at the rate of twenty miles an hour. All boats run for the middle of the river, where the billow does not break against the shore. Ships often part their cables, and knock themselves to pieces against the walls. Sometimes the bore is twelve feet high, though not much more than half that generally."

"What are the prices at a hotel like this one, Lord Tremlyn?" asked Dr. Hawkes.

"Here is the list of prices," replied his lordship, handing him a card taken from the wall.

"Coffee at six in the morning, breakfast a la fourchette at nine, tiffin at one, and dinner at seven. Price, Rs. six per day," the doctor read. "I suppose Rs. means rupees; and that makes it about twelve English shillings, or three dollars a day, which is not high."

"There are no extras except for wines, liquors, and beer, which none of your people use," added the viscount. "But you have to pay for your own attendance; and your servant's pay is from eight to ten rupees a month, or about a pound."

"Cheap enough!" exclaimed the surgeon. "I have to pay my waiter at home six pounds a month."

"Now, what is there to be seen in Calcutta?" asked the commander after breakfast.

"If you wish to see mosques, temples, pagodas"—the viscount began.

"We do not," interposed the captain. "At first those were very interesting; but we have seen enough of them."

"I supposed so," added Lord Tremlyn. "I have ordered carriages, and to-day we will take a general view of the city."

This plan was agreeable to the party, and it was carried out. From the hotel they proceeded to the river. There was a crowd of shipping at anchor, and at the landing-stages and jetties. Among them Louis was the first to discover the Guardian-Mother. She was in the middle of the river, off Fort William. Half a mile below her they saw the Blanche. At the request of the commander, the carriages went down to the fort, where the passengers all alighted, and gathered together on the shore. The gentlemen cheered, and the ladies waved their handkerchiefs.

"I see that Mr. Boulong has painted the ship, and she looks as taut and snug as a man-of-war," said the commander, who was evidently glad to see his vessel.

"They are lowering the boats," added Louis; and in a few minutes the barge and first cutter came up to the shore.

There was a general handshaking with the first officer, in command, and the boys extended this courtesy to all the crews of the boats, going on board of them for a few minutes. It was a happy meeting; but it could not be long continued, and the carriages drove off again.

As he was about to take his place in the landau, Mr. Boulong informed the commander that he had received a visit from Captain Mazagan. He wanted to see Captain Ringgold, but did not state his business. The first officer could not tell whether the visitor knew the Blanche was in the river, for he had not mentioned her. With the statement that the party would go on board in two or three days, they parted, and the boats returned to the ship. The commander had something to think of now; but he came to the conclusion that the reprobate was not aware of the presence of the Blanche or her owner.

The carriages followed the shore road till they came to the upper end of the city, and then turned into the first of the long streets with several names in different parts, which extends entirely through the town. Near the esplanade they found the finest shops, and the ladies went into some of them to see the goods. Then they struck the Circular Road, and drove entirely around the city.

"This reminds me of Moscow, in some parts, where palaces and shanties are side by side in the same street," said Captain Ringgold. "There does not seem to be any aristocratic section, unless that by the esplanade is such."

They saw plenty of mosques, temples, and churches, some of the latter very fine. They believed they had taken in the whole city. After dinner Lord Tremlyn invited them to an excursion on board of a steam-yacht the next day, the use of which was tendered to him by a high official.



CHAPTER XXXV

A SUCCESSFUL HUNT IN THE SUNDERBUNDS

A breakfast at six o'clock was provided the following morning for the tourists, and they came down from their chambers prepared for the aquatic excursion, which was to include something more than sight-seeing, for the gentlemen and the boys were directed to take their rifles along. Mr. Boulong had called upon the commander the evening before, and he had been invited to join the party; but he had excused himself, and suggested that Mr. Gaskette would enjoy it more than he should, and he was asked to go.

By half-past six the party were on The Strand, as the road in the esplanade bordering the river is called. The second officer of the ship was there; and he was not only a sailor and an artist, but he had the reputation of being a dead shot. The company embarked on the steam-yacht, which was large enough to make voyages to Madras and Ceylon. The excursion was not intended as a mere shooting-party, Lord Tremlyn explained, but to enable the company to obtain a better view of Calcutta than they could get in any other manner.

From the river a full view was obtained of the multitude of columns, belfries, and cupolas, as well as of the Government House, the Town Hall, and the line of magnificent houses beyond the esplanade. Along the shore The Strand, as it is called the whole length of the city, the jetties, and the landing-stages were crowded with men; for, where labor is so cheap, work is not done by small forces of men. There are several lines of steamers running between London, Southampton, and Liverpool to this port; and they were constantly arriving and departing.

"You don't see such a variety of races here as you did in Bombay," said Lord Tremlyn as he was pointing out the sights to be seen. "You observe some Chinamen and Burmese; but most of the laborers are of the low class of natives, Bengalese, and they are very sorry specimens of the Hindus."

"But what are the merchants and shopkeepers?" asked Captain Ringgold.

"They are Baboos, which is a name given to the Bengalese. The better class of them, in contact with the English, realize that education is a power; and they have labored for years to improve their countrymen. They have established schools and colleges, and when young natives applied for government situations the authorities felt obliged to admit them. To-day you will find many natives acting as clerks in the post-office, railway, and telegraph-offices, as well as in the courts in minor capacities.

"In fact, there has been a social revolution in progress here for half a century or more, and its effects may be seen now. The government has modified the lot of woman to some extent, as you have learned. The Hindu law weighed terribly upon her. When a woman lost her husband, custom required that she should be sent back to her own family. Her relatives shaved off her hair, dressed her in the coarsest clothing, and compelled her to do the severest drudgery of the household. She is forbidden to marry again, and is treated as though she was responsible for becoming a widow. The reforming of this evil is in progress; but the people are baked into their prejudices and superstitions of forty centuries, and it is worse than pulling their teeth to interfere with them.

"One of the favorite divinities of the natives here is Kali, the wife of Siva, the goddess of murder. Her worship is odious and disgusting; for her altars were formerly sprinkled with human blood, and the idols were surrounded with dead bodies and skulls. Their great festival is the Churuk-Pooja, which is still celebrated, though the government has forbidden all its brutal features. You have all seen a 'merry-go-round' machine in which children ride in a circle on wooden horses.

"An apparatus like this, but without the wooden steeds, was used by these fanatics. At the end of the four arms hung ropes with sharp hooks at the end, on which were hung up the devotees, as the butcher does his meats in his shop; and the machine was revolved rapidly till the hooks pulled out, and the victim dropped upon the ground, fainting or dead. At the present time the festival is attended by Baboos of the best class; but it amounts simply to an athletic exhibition with music. The government and the reformers have brought about this change of performance."

"Do the English attend such shows?" asked Dr. Hawkes.

"Sometimes, from curiosity. But they are here just about what they are in London, and their habits are much the same," replied the viscount. "The river here is about a mile wide. Formerly we could not have come as far as we have without seeing hundreds of corpses floating on the surface. Natives who were too poor to pay the bill for the funeral pyre threw the bodies of their friends into the river. Of course this was a menace to the health of the city; and the practice was forbidden by the government, which built an immense tower, wherein is kept a fire constantly burning, in which the bodies of the poor are consumed without expense."

"See that big bird on the shore!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave. "I saw several of them yesterday, and I meant to ask what it was."

"That is the arghilah, generally called the adjutant," replied Sir Modava. "He is the licensed scavenger of Calcutta, for it is forbidden by law to kill or molest him. You see him walking about in a crowd with as much dignity and gravity as though he were a big banker; and he is also seen perched upon the walls and buildings. They have an enormous bill, as you observe. A friend of mine had a tame one; and one day when the table was ready for dinner he took a chicken from the dish and swallowed it whole. He has a searching eye, and discovers a hidden bit of meat, a dead cat or other animal, and bolts it in the twinkling of an eye."

The steamer continued on her course down the river, and in less than four hours arrived at Diamond Harbor. It contained a fort, a signal-station, and a telegraph-office, though there is nothing in the shape of a village. The East India Company's ships made this their port; but the improvement of the navigation of the river enables all the steamers to go up to the city, to which their arrival is telegraphed.

The extensive territory included in the delta of the Ganges is called the Sunderbunds, and is about equal to the State of Massachusetts in size. It is a muddy region, cut up by a network of streams; and it is full of swamps, morasses, and mud-holes. Nearest to the sea is a belt of land, forming a wide extent of jungle, with a dense undergrowth of tropical plants and verdure; for it is in the Torrid Zone, which the tourists entered about forty miles north of Calcutta. This jungle was the objective point of the hunters of the party.

The captain of the steam-yacht took the company on board through a number of the lagoons and cutoffs to enable them to see the wild character of the scenery. Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan were kept busy explaining the trees, plants, crocodiles, storks, and other animals.

At a pleasant basin, dinner was served on board, and it was quite as good as they would have obtained at the Great Eastern; for just now the party were government guests, and the officials could not do enough for a person of Lord Tremlyn's influence in England. After the meal the hunters prepared themselves for the sport in which they were to engage. Mrs. Belgrave warned her son to be very careful, and Mrs. Blossom did as much for Felix.

The steamer started into a cut-off leading through to the Bay of Bengal, the polite captain explained. It was full of game of all sorts, including the wild buffalo, rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, wild hog, deer, and the trees and bushes were as full of monkeys as they could swarm. It was agreed among the hunters that none of the latter should be shot, for they were harmless animals.

"Captain, dear, are there any schnakes forninst the joongle?" asked the Milesian, who was much exhilarated at the prospect of the sport, and easily slipped into the vernacular of his mother.

"Plinty av thim, Musther McGavonty," replied Captain O'Flaherty, with a broad grin on his honest face. "They air as thidck as broken heads at a Donnybrook fair."

"Faix, ye's air a brither o' moine!" exclaimed Felix, grasping the hand of the captain.

"Air ye's from the County Carhk?"

"Oi'm from the county and parish of Kilkenny; or mi mudther was, thou' she's dead now, long loife to her! Wud I foind ary cobry in here?"

"All you'll want uv 'em; and pythons too."

"What is a poithon?" asked Felix.

"A big schnake; a boa, or loike him."

"Is it the bore that runs up the river to Calcutty?"

"Not the same boa," laughed the captain. "But you speak English, for I have heard you do it; and I have about forgotten my native brogue."

"If the boa is a snake, he is the fellow I want to see," replied Felix.

"There's one of them now!" exclaimed Captain O'Flaherty, pointing to one wreathed around a bush.

The young hunter brought his rifle to his shoulder, and fired before the captain had time to say anything more. The python began to writhe and wriggle in the bush, and Felix fired again. Then he dropped off into the water. The rest of the company had been aft with the ladies, but they all rushed forward at the report of the rifle. The captain stated what the hunter had done, as he rang to stop and back the boat. They saw the bamboo on which the serpent had been, but the game could not be seen. They wondered what had become of him.

The rest of the hunters began to shoot ducks, herons, and other water-fowls. As fast as a bird dropped into the bayou he disappeared, and not one of them could be recovered. Captain Ringgold wondered what became of them, and the Indian gentlemen only laughed at his perplexity.

"But what becomes of them, for they do not sink?" demanded the commander.

"You shall see," replied Sir Modava. "Don't shoot the adjutants; but there is a long-legged heron. I will bring him down, for he waits very patiently to be shot. Now watch the water when he comes down."

The bird dropped the moment he fired, and the instant he touched the water a pair of jaws closed upon him, and drew him under water. The company were astonished, and looked for an explanation.

"I never counted the crocodiles in this river; but I should guess there were at least a million of them, and they steal your game as fast as you bring it down," said Sir Modava.

The ladies were interested; and another bird was shot, to enable them to see the operation of the saurians. The python was about ten feet long, and he must have been a meal for one of them. The cranes, herons, and storks were numerous; but the party decided to kill no more of them, for they held still, as though they were all ready to be shot; and there was no sport in such game.

The boat continued on its course for half an hour longer, and then came up to a sort of stockade, extending out into the water, and near it were a couple of bamboo huts. This wild region is sparsely peopled with Hindus, who are obliged to keep guard over themselves and their families all the time, and are occasionally the victims of the ferocious monsters of the jungle and of the water.

"What is that stockade for?" asked the commander, as soon as the steamer was moored to the shore.

"The Hindus are a cleanly people, as required by their religion," replied Captain O'Flaherty in the hearing of all the party. "That stockade contains a big trough for washing their scanty clothing. It reaches into the water, so that they can fill their washtub without going out of it."

"I don't see why?" asked Mrs. Woolridge.

"If they went to the border of the stream to dip up water the crocodiles would pick them up as fast as they did so," added the captain; and all the ladies shuddered, and wanted to get out of such a horrible place.

"But the hunters are to land here; and they will find all the heavy game they can dispose of, for there have been no hunters here yet this season to scare them off. You will find the biggest tigers of India here, gentlemen."

The hunters went on shore, and as they passed down the gangway they saw a couple of the crocodiles in the water. Louis put a bullet into the eye of one, and Mr. Woolridge served the other in the same way; but all of them thought saurians were mean game. Near the huts they found two men, and Sir Modava had a talk with them, which no one else could understand; but he employed them to guide the party and show them their traps.

"The wife of one of these men was devoured by a crocodile a year ago, and the daughter of the other, a child of six, had been borne off by a tiger," he explained, as they proceeded after the two men.

They soon came to the traps. The tigers were exceedingly numerous on all the islands formed by the cut-offs, and swam without difficulty from one to another. The first trap they saw was a broad trench, the bottom and sides armed with stakes of the hardest wood, sharpened to a wicked point. A roaring sound attracted the visitors to another of the same kind, in which a monstrous tiger was floundering about, trying to escape the points that pierced him. He was suffering fearfully; and Captain Ringgold shot him at once, though the Hindus were delighted by his torture.

Another kind of trap was more ingenious. It was on the plan of the twitch-up snare, common in New England. A young tree, very strong and flexible, is bent down till the upper end touches the ground. To this extremity is attached a stout cord, and fastened to a stake in the ground. A slip-noose is so arranged that the tiger thrusts his head through it in order to reach the meat with which the cord holding the tree is baited. As the animal pulls the cord he casts off the line holding the tree in its bent position. The slip-noose is tightened around his neck, the tree flies up into the air, carrying the tiger with it. Everything about the trap is made very strong, and there the savage marauder hangs till he chokes to death.



The party moved on, and they had not gone ten rods before a cobra elevated his head. Felix claimed the right to fire first, and he killed him with one ball. A large python was Scott's first prize; and, after a long walk, they came to a nest of tigers, as it seemed, for there were not less than five of them drinking at a brook. It appeared to be the only place in the vicinity where fresh water could be obtained. The first of the tigers was killed by Louis with a single shot, for he put the ball through the eye of the beast.

Captain Ringgold brought down another with three shots from his repeating rifle. Felix did not care for tigers; he was looking for snakes, and they came to the brook to drink. In a couple of hours he had half a dozen of his favorite game. He declared that he was following the blessed example of St. Patrick, and if he did not die too soon he would rid the world of all the snakes in it.

The five tigers lay dead by the brook; and, taking the advice of the coolies, the hunters returned into a thicket, where Felix killed another python. The party could see the brook. A pair of timid deer came next to drink; but they fled at the approach of what seemed to be a family of leopards, for two of them were evidently cubs. They were all shot; but the repeated reports of the rifles had probably scared off others, and no more beasts of any kind came.

"These men say you have killed more tigers and leopards than any party of hunters who ever came here," said Sir Modava, who carried a rifle, but had not fired it once; and Lord Tremlyn's weapon had not been discharged; for both preferred to leave the game for their friends.

It was a great hunt, and the Americans were correspondingly proud of their success. Louis and Felix had been trained in a shooting-gallery, and neither of them missed his aim; but the shooting had all been at short range. With the help of two coolies, all the game was carried to the steamer, where it was exhibited to the rest of the company. The tigers were all skinned by the coolies and the crew of the steamer, as were the leopards; but after Mrs. Blossom and the others had seen the snakes, they were fed out to the crocodiles. The coolies were abundantly rewarded, and seemed to worship their visitors. They presented to them four mango fish, golden-yellow in color, and exquisite in flavor.

The steamer cast off her fasts, and headed for Calcutta; but it was late, and the fish presented, which abound in the markets of the city, were the burden of a fine supper they ate on the way.



CHAPTER XXXVI

THE PARTING FESTIVITIES ON THE HOOGLY

While the hunters were so successfully bagging the big game of the jungle, Captain O'Flaherty had taken the party who had remained on board the steamer on an excursion through some of the waterways of the Sunderbunds, so that they were not wearied by waiting for those more actively employed. The united party had thoroughly enjoyed the day, even into the evening. The skins of the tigers and leopards were sent to an expert, to be prepared for future preservation when the time should admit.

At the hotel the wonderful success of the hunters was the theme of the other guests; but the place was regarded as a dangerous one, though that would not deter Englishmen from visiting it if it were not so difficult of access, for a government steam-yacht was not available for many parties. The next morning the tourists were taken to the Botanical Garden, a short distance above the city, which is said to be the finest as well as the most spacious in the world.

It was not an affair of greenhouses, like most of such places they had seen; for they were superfluous in the Torrid Zone, and all the plants grew in the open air. The ladies and most of the gentlemen were greatly interested in the plants and flowers, and the whole forenoon was agreeably passed in viewing them. Uncle Moses insisted that the baobab and the Indian banyan were literally the "biggest things" there; for the trunk of the former was ten feet in diameter, while the latter covered half a square mile of ground. The latter had been considerably damaged by a cyclone.

At the end of a week in Calcutta, every day of which had been occupied to the pleasure and instruction of the tourists, Captain Ringgold insisted that they must remain no longer. It was the middle of March, and the hot weather was coming on, and the company must return to the Guardian-Mother on the following morning. It was not an unpleasant announcement, as they had all become greatly attached to the steamer, for they had always been exceedingly happy on board of her.

"It is time for me to settle up our accounts, Lord Tremlyn," said the commander, as they were seated on the veranda after the intended departure had been announced.

"That time has not come, Captain Ringgold; and it never will come," replied his lordship very decidedly. "I thought we had disposed of that question once for all at Bombay. You and your party have been our guests from the moment we landed. Sir Modava and I have done our best, in the time allotted to us, to make you acquainted with India, and to make the time pass pleasantly with you. As far as we had influence, we have used it to promote the objects of your visit."

"You have done a hundred times more than we had any right to expect, and certainly we should not have asked for what you have given us; but it seems to be no more than right that we should pay our own expenses, and we shall be just as grateful to you for the vast service you have rendered us."

"What we have done does not extinguish a tithe of our obligations to you and your ship's company. Any money allusion grieves me, and the very thought of being paid almost breaks the heart of Sir Modava. I beg you not to allude to the matter again. Now, my dear Captain Ringgold," continued his lordship, taking what looked like a picture-frame from a table near him, "I ask the privilege of presenting to you this testimonial of the gratitude of the three cabin survivors of the wreck of the Travancore, which I will ask you to hang up in the cabin of the Guardian-Mother."

The commander took the frame, in which was a printed testimonial, containing a full account of the rescue of the survivors of the wreck, with a concluding paragraph, expressive of the obligations of the principal persons rescued, to the captain and his ship's company for their noble and successful exertions in saving them and all the people on board. It had the autographs of Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan at the foot of the printed statement. It was on parchment, printed in plain, clear type, and the frame was as elegant as money could buy.

"I accept this as the property of the ship, and to me personally nothing could be more valued," replied the commander, extending his thanks at considerable length; but he said nothing more about payment, though he could not help thinking that their elegant and bountiful hospitality had cost the viscount and the Indian gentleman several thousand pounds.

"But we do not separate just yet; and I have another favor to ask of you, Captain Ringgold, which is that you will give us a passage to Colombo," added Lord Tremlyn.

"For myself and my party, we shall all be delighted to have you remain with us indefinitely," replied the commander, taking his lordship's hand. "I extend to you, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan a cordial invitation to complete with us our voyage around the world; and we will endeavor to be as hospitable to you in the United States as you have been to us in India."

"Nothing would afford me so great a pleasure," replied Lord Tremlyn; "but it would be quite impossible for me to accept the invitation, for I must return to England, and report upon my mission to India."

Sir Modava and Dr. Ferrolan also declined, for reasons given. The company had called upon some of the officials of the government and officers of the army, at the request of his lordship, and most of them made parting calls the next forenoon; and the viceroy sent his private secretary, with the best wishes of his Excellency for a prosperous voyage, to them. After tiffin they all went on board, where their baggage had been sent before, the Italian band playing all the time on Captain O'Flaherty's steamer, which put them on board.

General Noury had sent word to Captain Sharp that he should continue with the party to Colombo, and that he could proceed at once to that port. In fact, he liked the company of the party on board of the Guardian-Mother so well that he was not inclined to part with them at present.

The passengers took possession of their staterooms, and there was still one left for the general, and the band was quartered in the library. The hour for sailing had been fixed at three o'clock; and just before that time the Cherub, Captain O'Flaherty, appeared, having on board a regimental band and the friends of Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava, and Dr. Ferrolan, who extended to them the compliment of an escort, and, incidentally, to the commander and his passengers.

About half an hour before the time for sailing a shore boat came up to the gangway, and a well-dressed gentleman with a swarthy face ascended the steps. He asked to see Captain Ringgold, and he was called down from the upper deck. It was Mazagan.

"I have called, Captain, to remind you that our account has not yet been settled," said the villanous Moor. "I have another to add to it, for the destruction of the Fatime, his Highness the Pacha Ali-Noury's steam-yacht, which he authorizes me to collect."

"Does he, indeed?" replied the captain, laughing; for, having the "weather gauge" of the rascal, he was disposed to treat the matter very lightly.

"I have the account in the handwriting of his Highness," added Mazagan, as he presented a paper written in good English.

"Very well; but I prefer to settle the account with his Highness himself," added the commander, as he touched an electric bell, which brought Sparks to the boudoir into which they had gone. "Ask the general to come here," he said in a low tone to the steward.

"But I do not choose to wait a year or two for a settlement," protested the visitor.

"You need not wait five minutes," added Captain Ringgold.

The Moor began to go over his story again, but it was interrupted by the entrance of General Noury. Mazagan looked at him, and seemed to be unable to believe the evidence of his own eyes. The commander stated the case to him.

"Is this account in your handwriting, General?" he asked.

"Certainly not," replied the Pacha. "We have discussed this matter fully, and I have no claim whatever against you; neither has this man. I settled all my accounts with him; and I have his receipt in full, signed by him, and witnessed by Captain Sharp and his wife. He is a swindler and a villain; and if I ever catch him in Morocco he shall have the bowstring!"

The general denounced him in the severest manner, and then asked the commander to send him out of the ship. Knott was at the gangway, the pirate was turned over to him, and hustled down the steps into his boat. The general expressed his regret that the captain had been annoyed by the villain again, and was confident he would never see or hear from him again; and he never did.

Promptly at the hour set the Guardian-Mother got under way, and the Cherub's band played its liveliest airs. When it stopped to rest, the Italian band played, and thus the music was kept up for three hours, when the steamers were at Diamond Harbor. Here they came alongside each other, and all the company on board the Cherub were invited to a collation on board of the Guardian-Mother, at which Captain Ringgold presided, and many speeches were made by the residents of Calcutta, and by the passengers on board.

The ship's company on each vessel were not left out in the cold; for, while their officers were at the collation, Baldy Bickling, the second cook, regaled them from the abundant stores provided for the occasion, of which notice had been given to Mr. Melanchthon Sage, the chief steward, the day before. At this point adieus were exchanged, the Guardian-Mother went to sea, and the Cherub returned to Calcutta. The passengers were tired out and retired early.

It was an easy run, from Diamond Harbor to Madras in two days and a half, for the Guardian-Mother. The weather was favorable, and the tourists used their time in getting rested. The social occasions, the playing of the band, and the singing in the music-room, made plenty of variety. But the commander did not lose sight of what he regarded as one of the principal objects of the long voyage, the instruction of the young people, and incidentally of the elder ones.

On the forenoon of the second day out the passengers were called together in Conference Hall, and they were glad to assemble there again. The temperature was moderate, the sea was in its most cheerful mood, and, after their long stay on shore, they were glad to be out of sight of land again. Mr. Gaskette had been busy during the vacation the ship's company had obtained at Bombay and Calcutta; had made several new maps, one of which was the shores of the Bay and Sea of Bengal from Calcutta to the southern point of Ceylon; and he had enlarged a small map of Ceylon, to be used when the ship arrived at Colombo, or sooner. It was Sir Modava who mounted the platform for this occasion; and he was received with the heartiest applause, for he had become even more popular than at first.

"I am to tell you something, not much, about Madras, where we shall arrive about this time day after to-morrow," the Hindu gentleman began; and the usual smile which had fascinated all the ladies was on his face. "Madras is the third city in population of India, or next to Bombay, with 452,518 souls, by the census published last year. It is on the Coromandel coast, which is nearly the whole of the Madras Presidency. It is nearly the entire western shore of the Sea of Bengal, including the bay, as the northern part of it is called in modern times. There is scarcely a single safe harbor for large vessels.

"I suppose you have often heard the expression, 'in the Carnatic,' for it is memorable as the scene of the struggle in the last century between England and France for the supremacy of India. Though there is no state with that name, nearly the whole coast region south of the Godavery River retains this name. In fact, there is no little confusion of names in many parts of India. The country near the Arabian Sea still receives the designation of the Deccan, from the Kistna River to the Gulf of Cambay on the north. But this name does not belong to a political division," continued the speaker, pointing out every location and river he named.

"Madras extends along the shore nine miles, and is thus exposed to the fury of the sea for this distance; for it is not on a river, like Calcutta, or a sheltered bay, like Bombay. Formerly, on the approach of a cyclone, vessels lying in the roadstead, as the only harbor it had, which was no harbor, had to put to sea to avoid being driven on the shore. Decidedly it was a very inconvenient place to build a city; but the town formerly consisted of a number of villages, which have been united, after the fashion of some of your American cities.

"An attempt has been in progress the last twenty years to make a harbor in the shape of an enclosure of strong walls, about half a mile square. It was seriously damaged by a cyclone a dozen years ago; but they are still at work upon it, though it is said to be doubtful whether or not it will ever be safe for ships in a violent storm. There is always a heavy surf rolling in on this coast, even in what the commander would call a smooth sea."

"Then how shall we get ashore there?" inquired Mrs. Belgrave.

"The natives construct a boat, which is a sort of raft of planks, tied together with ropes, called a masulah, which passes through the surf very well in ordinary weather; but no boat could live in a cyclone in a sea there, for the waves are fourteen feet high."

"I should like to try it with the second cutter, so far as the waves are concerned; but bumping on the bottom might spoil the attempt," said Mr. Gaskette, who was standing by his map.

"It would not be prudent in a cyclone, and I trust you will have no occasion to try the experiment," added Sir Modava. "But cyclones are rare here, except from the last of May and into June, and in October, November, and early in December; so that the port is not liable to more than two storms a year. The average rainfall is forty-nine inches, falling on ninety-five days; but in seventy-four years, ending two years ago, it varied from a foot and a half to seven feet and four inches. It is dry here some years, and rather damp when they get eighty-eight inches.

"Going to Madras in March, the temperature of the place is of no consequence to you, except as a matter of curiosity, being in the Torrid Zone. It will be from 76 deg. to 88 deg. while you are here. The average temperature for the year is 82 deg.; in the hot months it rises to over 100 deg.; the highest in twenty-seven years was 113 deg., and the lowest 57.6 deg.. A sea-breeze often sets in about noon, lasting till sunset, greatly modifying the heat. I think I need say no more about the city till we get there."

This talk was followed by a concert by the band. The ship sped on her course, though something to instruct and amuse was going on all the time. At the time set Madras was in sight, and a little later the surf was seen rolling in on the shore. The depth is shallow near the land, which causes the water to break. The Guardian-Mother was anchored in the deep water, and Lord Tremlyn invited the party to proceed to the apartments at the Royal Hotel which he had bespoken for them. The commander made no further objections to the matter of expense, and the invitation was promptly accepted. A number of the masulah-boats, not the rafts, were engaged to land them. They were much like any other boat, though they were paddled, and not rowed. They saw the catamarans, constructed as the Hindu gentleman had described, paddled on the waves by a single man, wearing a sugar-loaf hat.

The masulah-boats went to the shore very comfortably, and carriages were in waiting for the party on the beach near where they landed. As they passed through the streets everything seemed to be very much as it was in Calcutta; and they saw similar palanquins, bullock-carts, and elephants. The Malabar Hindu was not very different from those of other sections of the country, though he had some peculiarities of costume.

When they reached the hotel, which was a very comfortable one, in English style, it was two hours to tiffin, and most of the party preferred to pass the time in the parlor. The live boys could not keep still, and they went out for a walk. The sights were not novel enough to hold them; and when a driver of a bullock-cart salaamed to them, and pointed to his vehicle, Felix suggested that they should take a ride. Of course, they could not speak a word of the language; and, however it may have been with other conductors of vehicles, this one did not know a word of English.

"Mavalipoor?" interrogated the driver, when the "Big Four" had seated themselves in the corners of the vehicle, which had a body like an omnibus for four, with a top like the dome of a small temple. They had no idea what the word or sentence used by the driver had been, but supposed it was something worth seeing in the town. Two palanquins went by them at full tilt, and they saw what was to be seen in the street. They went on several miles, till they appeared to be leaving the city behind them, and they thought it was time to call a halt. They talked vigorously to the cartman, and all of them pointed back to the city, and yelled "Madras!"

"Mavalipoor!" screamed the driver, pointing with equal energy in the direction the cart was headed. But the fellow would not stop, and the lively boys all leaped out of the cart to the ground. He would not go on without them; but fortunately a gentleman in English costume came along on horseback. The quartet touched their hats to him, and he stopped his steed. Louis stated that they wished to go to the Royal Hotel.

"The hotel is not in this direction," replied the horseman with much suavity. But at this moment the driver had something to say, and delivered himself with energy. "He says you engaged him to take you to Mavalipoor," the rider explained. Louis stated their position, that when the cartman said "Mavalipoor" they had assented, without knowing what he meant.

"You can make it all right with the man by giving him a rupee when he leaves you at your hotel," replied the gentleman, laughing heartily at the mistake, and then informed them that there were some Hindu temples at Mavalipoor, more than thirty miles distant, that were visited by strangers. He then ordered the driver to convey his fare to the Royal Hotel, in a very peremptory manner, and the man obeyed. Thanking the gentleman for his kindness, they parted. The cartman was in a hurry now, and he urged his humpbacked bullocks into a lively trot.

At the door the boys gave the driver two rupees, and the fellow salaamed as though he had received a guinea. There are plenty of landaus in Madras at three rupees a day; and the dak, as the cart is called, and palanquins are becoming things of the past. Tiffin was ready; and a line of carriages was at the door waiting for the tourists when they had disposed of the lunch, and they seated themselves for a drive.

"I warn you," said Sir Modava, as the carriages drove off, "that you will find little here to interest you, after visiting, as you have, the principal cities of India."

"We are about tired of sight-seeing," added Mrs. Belgrave rather languidly; and this was about the situation of most of the party.

They passed the People's Park, an inviting enclosure, with ponds and pleasant walks, to the Black Town, which contains the homes of the natives, though there are plenty of shops; and it is crossed by several good avenues. They came to a street like that called The Strand in Calcutta, and they drove the whole length of it. They passed into Fort St. George, which seemed to be a city of itself. Leaving it, they crossed the little river that meanders through the town, and flows into the ocean at this point.

On this shore road were the principal public buildings of the city, and near the end of it was St. Thomas's Cathedral. This is said to be the site where the apostle of this name, "Doubting Thomas," was martyred. Early tradition buried him in Edessa, in Mesopotamia, but a later account sent him to India; but this is something for learned doctors to discuss. At St. George's Cathedral the party entered to see the statue, made by Chantrey, of Bishop Heber, who looks gently and tenderly upon a native convert at his feet.

They rode all over the town, and found several ponds, called tanks; and the great fort is washed on one side by the river. The second day the party were driven into the suburbs. At a rocky point on the river they found a party of half-naked men washing sheets and pillow-cases. The ladies were interested, and the carriages stopped to enable them to see the operation. They had something like washboards, laid on the bank of the stream, which they were hammering with all their might with the sheets, standing in the shallow water as they did so. Mrs. Blossom declared they must tear them all to pieces, and she was quite indignant at the way it was done.

Another day finished Madras; and, though there was little to see, compared with the places they had visited before, Mrs. Belgrave declared they had had a good time. On the morning following they went on board of the Guardian-Mother, and she sailed for Ceylon.



CHAPTER XXXVII

THE FAREWELL TO CEYLON AND INDIA

If the tourists had been in a safe place they would have been glad to see a cyclone on the shore of Madras, on Napier bridge for instance; and it would have been a grand spectacle to observe the great billows rolling in on the beach, breaking at a distance of a thousand feet from the land. But they had all seen great waves, and they were not anxious to see them here. At her ordinary speed, the Guardian-Mother would arrive at Colombo at one o'clock the next day. The weather was fine, and the passengers assembled in Conference Hall to talk with the three experts on board about the various places they had visited in India.

Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava were full of information, which they adorned with stories from history and mythology. The good people from Von Blonk Park were sorry they had not seen the Temple and Car of Juggernaut, though they had been fully described to them. They had visited the missions in Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras, as well as wherever they had found them elsewhere. They were much interested in them, and regretted that they had not been able to devote more time to them.

The next forenoon, with the northern shore of Ceylon in sight from the deck, Lord Tremlyn went upon the rostrum, with the map of the island, and a portion of the main shore included, on the frame. Though the ship was in ten degrees of north latitude, the weather was delightful and the sea was smooth. The thermometer stood at 70 deg., and the ladies declared that the temperature was just right.

"You know the location of the island on the southeast of India, and it takes in about four degrees of latitude and two of longitude, without going into the matter too finely, with an area of twenty-four thousand seven hundred and two square miles; about the size of your State of West Virginia, I find, or as large as three or four of your New England States. Perhaps the most lovely scenery in the whole world is to be found in this island. The Greeks and Romans visited it, and it is mentioned in 'The Arabian Nights,' under the name of Serendib.

"The mountains are near the southern part, and the highest one is Mount Pedrotallagalla,—don't forget the name, my young friends,—eight thousand two hundred and sixty feet high. In your visit to Ceylon you will go to Candy, which will please those with a sweet tooth better than Kandy, as it is often spelled. Many precious stones are found in Ceylon; and the pearl fishery is a very important source of wealth, though its value is variable in different years. In six years only out of the last thirty have the fisheries been productive, and in the other twenty-four they yielded hardly anything. In those six years, the largest yield, in 1881, was not quite sixty thousand pounds, while the smallest noted was ten thousand pounds.

"The fisheries are under government regulation. An official announces when the work is permitted, and then it lasts only from four to six weeks. Thirteen men and ten divers are generally the crew of each boat, five of the latter going down into the water while the other five rest. Each diver has a stone, weighing forty pounds, attached to a line long enough to reach the bottom, with a loop near the weight, into which he puts his foot. The water varies in depth from fifty-four to seventy-eight feet. They work quickly; for a minute is the usual time they remain in the water, though some can stand it twenty seconds longer.

"One would suppose that the sharks, which abound in these waters, would make it dangerous business; but very few accidents occur, for the commotion about the boats seems to scare them away. When the diver gives the signal he is hauled up, with his bag of oysters, as rapidly as possible. But the ladies know more about pearls than I do, and I will say no more about them.

"There are many rivers in Ceylon, rising in the high land, and flowing into the sea; but none of them are as long as the Mississippi. The climate of the island is simply magnificent; the average heat in Colombo on the high lands never exceeds 70 deg.. I shall permit you to describe the flowers after you have seen them; but the vegetation generally of the island is exceedingly luxuriant. In regard to animals, the tiger does not reside in Ceylon. The elephant, generally without any tusks, is the chief ruler in the forests here. The bear and the leopard are found. There is no end of monkeys. There are sixteen kinds of bats here, and all your base-ball clubs could be supplied from the stock; and there is a flying fox, which might amuse you if you could catch one. He is a sort of bat; and the more of them you shoot, the better the farmer will be pleased, for they feed on his fruit. Plenty of birds of all sorts are found in the island. The crocodile is the biggest reptile found in Ceylon."

"But the snakes, your lordship?" suggested Felix.

"There are a few poisonous snakes; and the two worst are the cobra and the ticpolonga, the latter a sort of viper; and the former is an old friend of yours, Mr. McGavonty. The people are called Singhalese, but more generally Cingalese, and are believed to be the descendants of immigrants from the region of the Ganges. There are other races here, as the Malabars. The religion of Ceylon is the Buddhist, and it has a very strong hold upon the natives here as well as in Burma.

"Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, is said to have visited Ceylon three times, and to have preached his doctrines here. His sacred footstep on Adam's Peak, 7,420 feet high, the second highest elevation in the island, is still adored by the people. But the most sacred relic here is the tooth of Gautama, kept in an elegant shrine and carefully guarded at Candy. But it is said to be well known that the Portuguese destroyed the original; and the substitute is a discolored bit of ivory, without the least resemblance to a human tooth. There are many temples, sacred caverns, some of them sculptured like those near Bombay.

"There is something like ancient history in connection with Ceylon, dating back to 543 B.C.; but it would be hardly edifying to follow it. It has also a Portuguese, a Dutch, and a British period; and it was finally annexed to the British crown by the Treaty of Amiens, in 1802.

"Thirty years ago coffee was the principal commercial production of the island; but a kind of fungus attacked the leaves of the trees, and within ten years the planters were obliged to abandon its cultivation to a great extent, though it is still raised. Cacao, which is the name of the chocolate-tree, while cocoa is the name of the product, is cultivated to a considerable extent; so are cinchona, cardamoms, and various spices; though Bishop Heber's lines—

'What though the spicy breezes Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle,'

are not applicable to the island as formerly.

"It has become evident in very recent years that Ceylon might become a great tea-growing region, and the planters are now largely engaged in its culture. A dozen years ago only 3,515 pounds were raised; ten years later over 12,000,000 pounds of tea was the crop; and this year it is still greater. The population in 1891 was 3,008,466. It has a governor, who rules with an executive council of five, of which the officer in command of the troops is one."

"Can your lordship tell me the salary of the governor-general of India?" asked Captain Ringgold.

"I figured it up at one time in your money, and forgot to mention it. If I remember rightly, it was $125,400; and that of the governor of Ceylon is $20,000," replied Lord Tremlyn. "The former gets two and a half times the salary of your President. I have nothing more to say of the island, but after a concert by the band, Sir Modava will tell you something about the principal towns;" and as he retired the audience separated, for it was to be a promenade concert.

"I was asked just now by Mrs. Blossom about missions here in Ceylon," said the Hindu gentleman as he took the stand. "The English Baptists sent missionaries here eighty years ago; the Methodists a year later; the Americans three years later; and the Church of England five years after. A great deal of Christian teaching has been done in Ceylon, though I am not able just now to give you statistically the results of missionary work; but it has included the establishment of schools, female seminaries, and even collegiate institutions, carried on by the missionaries, outside of the government system of education.

"Point de Galle, at the south-western extremity of the island, is a town of forty-seven thousand inhabitants, and has a good harbor in a sheltered bay. It was formerly the principal coaling and shipping station in this part of India; but all this has gone to Colombo. The Orient line of steamers, whose principal business is with Australia, sends some of its ships here; and most steamers of the Peninsular and Oriental line, called the 'P. & O.' for short, touch here. A great deal of freight had to be reshipped at Point de Galle for various ports of India.

"The name was given to the place by the Portuguese, and its meaning is doubtful. Galles is the French of Wales, and La Nouvelle Galles is New South Wales; without the final s, the word means an oak-apple, in French. As I heard one of the 'Big Four' say this morning, 'You pay your money and take your choice,' as to the signification of the word. At any rate, the importance of the place is gone, and Colombo has captured its business and its prominence.

"Colombo is the capital of Ceylon. It is about seventy miles from Point de Galle, on the south-west coast of the island. It has a population of almost 127,000, which has been increased at the expense of Galle, as we generally call it to economize our breath. It is located on a peninsula, with the sea on three sides of it, with a lake and moat on the land side. By the way, Mr. Woolridge, do you happen to remember the Italian name of Christopher Columbus, whose discovery of America you are to celebrate at Chicago this year?"

"Cristoforo Colombo," replied Morris promptly. "I read it on his monument at Genoa last summer."

"Quite right, my young friend; and that is where the capital of Ceylon obtained its name, which the Portuguese gave it, in honor of the great discoverer, only twenty-five years after the great event of his life. The buildings are about the same as you will observe in all British colonial towns, and I need not mention them. You will ride out to Lake Colombo, and visit the cinnamon gardens there. The breakwater, which has been the making of the city, cost L600,000; for it is an entirely safe harbor, with every facility for landing and embarking passengers and goods. I believe nothing is left to you but to see what his lordship and I have described."

Sir Modava retired from the stand; and the band started into an overture, which was hardly finished before the bell for lunch sounded. Before the collation was finished the ship had taken a pilot, and in due time the Guardian-Mother came to anchor at her last port in India proper. As the ship came into the harbor she passed abreast of the Blanche, and was greeted with three cheers, which were promptly and vigorously returned.

Accommodations had been bespoken by Lord Tremlyn, and early in the afternoon the party were quartered in the Elphinstone. Carriages were obtained, and before night they had visited the principal parts of the town, and even the cinnamon gardens, in which they were greatly interested; and some of the ladies told what it was good for, both as a spice and a medicine.

"I suppose you know all about cinnamon, Mrs. Belgrave," said Sir Modava, as they were looking at the trees.

"I only know enough about it to put it in my apple-pies when I make them."

"This island produces the finest article in the world. It is a very old spice, mentioned in the Old Testament, though I forget the name by which it is there called," added the Indian gentleman.

"But I did not suppose it grew on a tree; I had an idea it was a root."

"No; it is the inner bark of the trees before you. They are from twenty to thirty feet high, and are sometimes a foot and a half through. But the cultivated plant is not allowed to grow more than ten feet high. The leaves average five inches long, and taste more like cloves than cinnamon. There are two crops a year in Ceylon, the first in March, the last in November. The bark is taken off with considerable labor and care, and when it dries it curls up as you find your stick cinnamon."

"I used ground cinnamon," added the lady.

"It is the same thing, passed through the mill. Cassia is another species of cinnamon, and its oil is often substituted for the true oil; and very likely you buy it ground for the real thing."

The experts explained some other plants, especially cinchona, one of the most valuable medicinal plants, from which Peruvian bark, quinine, and other drugs are made, in which the three doctors were much interested. The company returned to the hotel; and after dinner the Italian band gave a concert on the veranda, as they had done in every city where the tourists remained overnight, which called forth repeated rounds of applause from the citizens of Colombo.

The next morning the travellers proceeded by railroad to Kandy, which Sir Modava insisted was the right way to spell it. The route was mostly through an elevated region, and when they reached the place at noon they had attained an elevation of 1,665 feet above the sea. They remained at Kandy three days, and were sorry the commander would not allow them to stay longer, for it was the most delightful region they had yet visited. They were in sight of the lofty mountains of the island before mentioned.

They found here the remains of ancient temples from one hundred and fifty to four hundred feet high; and one of them was built to contain the shrine of Gautama's tooth, and another for his collar-bone, both of which the English believe are frauds. Another was the Brazen Palace, nine stories high, and supported on sixteen hundred pillars. But most of the party took no interest in these structures, they had seen so many more that were larger, grander, and finer. They saw here the sacred Bo-tree, of which they had before been informed.

With great regret they left Kandy, and were soon in Colombo again. The Guardian-Mother was announced to sail the next day early in the afternoon. The time for parting with Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava Rao, and Dr. Ferrolan had nearly arrived. The hosts of the party had provided a grand dinner for the last one. The governor and a number of officials, the American consul, and others had been invited.

Lord Tremlyn presided with Captain Ringgold on his right; and after the fine dinner had been disposed of the commander was the person called upon to respond to the first toast, "The Guardian-Mother and her Passengers." The name announced was received with the most tremendous applause, and "For he's a jolly good fellow!" was sung by Englishmen, assisted by the Americans, including the ladies.

Captain Ringgold began his speech, for which he had prepared himself, and reviewed the incidents which had occurred since the survivors of the Travancore had been taken from their perilous position. He set forth the obligations to which his passengers and himself were under to the distinguished gentlemen who had conducted them through India. He was frequently interrupted by hearty applause, and his speech was as eloquent as it was sensible; and it was worthy a Senator in Congress.

Lord Tremlyn was equally eloquent in the acknowledgment of his obligations, and those of his friends, to the noble commander and his ship's company; and possibly he was a little extravagant in some things that he said, but that was excusable on such an occasion. The next person presented was Mr. Louis Belgrave, who declared that he represented the "Big Four," which puzzled the strangers, though he explained the term and where it came from. The boys had been happy all the time. They admired and loved the noble gentlemen under whose guidance they had had six weeks of the best time in all their lives. When he said what he had to say, he approached the chairman with a large and handsome frame in his hand, containing a testimonial from the passengers, attested by the autographs of all, which he presented to Lord Tremlyn, with the best wishes of all the signers, who had profited so extensively from their kindness, for the health, happiness, and length of days of the trio.

This ceremony, not set down in the programme, brought forth rapturous applause and ringing cheers. The band played, and everybody seemed to be enjoying the happiest moment of his life. All the principal personages at the table made speeches, of which the Indian reporters, if any were present, have not given in their reports. It was a remarkably joyous occasion, and it was two o'clock in the morning when the banquet-hall was cleared.

All the forenoon was spent in exchanging the parting greetings. Both Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava invited any or all of the party who might be in India or in England to visit them; and the commander and Mrs. Belgrave, as well as the others, extended similar invitations to the three gentlemen. After tiffin, when the party started for the steamer that was to convey them to the two ships, it seemed as though all the citizens of Colombo, with their ladies, had gathered to assist in the parting benedictions. The military band alternated with the Italian, cheers without number rent the air, and the party had all they could do to return the salutes, and answer all the kindly words spoken to them by entire strangers.

The steamer cast off her fasts, and then the din was greater than ever. The guests at the banquet went off to the ships, from the smoke-stacks of which the black smoke was pouring out, as if to emphasize the reality of the departure. All manner of courtesies were exchanged, but finally the passengers were all on board of the Blanche and Guardian-Mother. A salute was fired from the heaviest guns on both vessels, the screws began to turn, the final words were shouted, and the steamers stood to the southward.

It required some time to digest the sights the voyagers had seen in India; but when, a few days later, the Nickobar Islands were reported off the port bow, the "Big Four" began to think and wonder what new and strange climes they were to visit. They were inclined to believe they had seen everything that was worth seeing in the civilized world, and they had some decided views of their own in regard to the future. They were eager to engage for a time in something more stirring than gazing at palaces, churches, temples, and other wonders of the great cities; and they were not diffident in the expression of their wishes when the commander called a meeting in Conference Hall to consider what ports the Guardian-Mother should visit next, as well as to inform the tourists in regard to the islands in the immediate vicinity. Those who are interested in the decision of the company, and in the events which followed in consequence of it, are referred to the next volume of the series: "HALF ROUND THE WORLD; OR, SOME ADVENTURES AMONG THE UNCIVILIZED."

THE END