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6
EL CAPITAN, YO SEMITE. P. 94.
3,300 feet from valley. Frontispiece.
JOURNAL OF A TOUR
hi
IN THE
UNITED STATES, CANADA
AND
MEXICO
BY
WINEFRED, LADY HOWARD OF GLOSSOP
ILLUSTRATED
LONDON
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY, LIMITED
i&t. JBtmstau's Hputtsr
Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, lE.C.
1897
CHISWICK PRESS i—CHAKLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO.
TOOKS COl'RT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.
2DeDfcateD
TO
THE LADY ADELIZA MANNERS.
May, 1897.
The
Can
Niaj
Chic
Roy
Utal
Calil
CONTENTS.
Chapter I.
PAGE
The " Lucania "—Arrival in America— New York— Hudson
River— Albany— Saratojra Springs— Lakes George and
Champla,in — Railway travelling 1
Chapter II.
Canada— Quebec— Montmorenci Falls— Montreal— Ottawa—
Rideau Hall — Toronto 10
Chapter Hi.
Niagarfv I7
Chapter IV.
Chicago— Denver— Colorado Springs— Manitou— Pike's Peak
— Garden of the Gods— Cheyenne Canon .... 27
Chapter V.
Royal Gorge of the Arkansas— Leadville—Glenwood Springs
—into Utah 40
Chapter VI.
Utah— Salt Lake City— Salt Lake— Park City— Ontario
Silver mines — Mormon Sunday service — Fort Douglas —
Ogden— Over the Sierra 47
Chapter VII.
California— San Francisco— Monterev— Del Monte . . 62
vm
CONTEN IS.
Chapter VIII
San Jo«c— Mount Hamilton— Lick Observatory— Santa Cruz
Redwood J{i«^ Trees
I'AOB
68
Chapter IX.
Raymond — Awaunee — Wawona — Yo Semite — Inspiration
" Point 81
Chapter X.
Yo Semite Valley — Mariposa Bi?; Trees — Fresno
89
Chapter XI.
Los Angeles— Santa Monica —Pasadena — Echo Mountain —
San Diego— El Paso del Norte
101
1
Chapter XII.
Mexico — Chihuahua — Bnll-Hght — Zaciitecas — Aguas-cali-
entes— Tajo di Nochistonga—Silao— Valley of Mexico . 112
Chapter XIII.
Mexico City — Chinampas — Museo Nacional — San Carlos —
Chapoltepec — " Arbol de la Noche triste" — Guadalupe-
Hidalgo 127
■I
Chapter XIV.
Puebla de los Angeles — Jalapa — Vera Cruz
Chapter XV.
152
Paso del Macho — Cordoba — Fortin — Barranca de Metlac —
Orizaba — Esperanza — Puebla — Cliolula .... 165
Chapter XVI.
Museo Nacional — Aztec Calendar — Palemke Cross — Indian
Paintings — Texcoco— Netzahualcoyotl . . . .176
CONTENTS.
IX
Chaptkr XVIT.
Academy of San Carlos— Sor Juana Iiioh <le la Cruz — Tula—
Queretaro— Guadalajara
Chapter XVI II.
Guadalajara— Juanacatlan — " Barranca" — Hospital vie San
Belen — Hospicio — San Pedro Thuiueitatiue — Tanipico —
Eagle Pass
Chapter XIX.
San Antonio — New Orleans — Florida — Jacksonville — Pablo
Beach — St. Augustine — Fort Mai ion ....
Chapter XX.
Florida — Indian River— Lake Worth — Winter Park — Tampa
Bay — St. Peterslmrgh — Tarjion Sjtrings — Silver Springs
— Uklawaha River — Palatka
Chapter XXI.
St. Augustine — Museum — Ponce de Loon and Alcazar Hotels
— Anastasia Island — Scmth Beach— Savannah — Charles-
ton— Fort Sumter— Columhia — Mount Airy .
Chapter XXII.
Toccoa — Tallulah Falls— Toccoa Falls — Biltmore .
Chapter XXIII.
Biltmore, North Carolina — Kenihvorth Inn — Biltmore House
— Asheville — Hot Springs — Mount Rich — Roanoke
Chapter XXIV.
The Natural Bridge of Virginia — Luray — Caverns of Luray —
Shenandoah Valley
Chapter XXV.
Washington (District of Cohuubia) — Corcoran Gallery of Art
—Smithsonian Institution — National Mixseum —Capitol
— Mount Vernon
PAGE
198
213
227
236
258
270
278
294
308
CONTENTS.
Chaptkr XXVI.
Baltimore — Pealuxly Institute — Druid Hill I'ark — Phila-
delphia-Independence Hall— We«t Fairniount Park—
Atlantic City— Lakewood
Chaptku XXVII.
New York— Metropolitan Museum of Art— Lenox Library
-Museum of Natural History— I'rivate coUectiona
(HAl'TEU XXV J [I.
Boston— Trinity Church -Museum of Fine Arts— Plymouth
Rock
Chapter XXIX.
Boston— The Common— No\vp(»rt, Rhode Island— Cliff Walk
—New York— The " Umbria"— Eastward ho !
I'AUB
317
327
336
347
!|<I
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGB
Kl Capital!, Yo Semite Frontispkvv
Uanteii of the Gotls 26
Koyal (Jor<,'e 28
Type of rte Tiidian 31
Clieyenne Falls 40
Kio Grande Canon 42
Teiuiile 49
Saltair Bathing IJeach *. . 51
Talteinacle 68
Capitol Sacriniento 60
Yo Semite Falls 64
Sea-Lions on Seal-Kock — 'Frisco 64
Calendar Stone .74
Sentinel Rock, Yo Semite 80
Mariposa JJij^ Trees 98
Glacier Point, Yo Semite 110
Cathedral San Luis-Potosi 112
Uio Encarnacion — Mexico . . . ... . 122
Cathedral— Mexico City . . . 126
Cypresses — Chapoltepec 138
Crater of Popocatepetl 148
I'yramids of Snn and Moon — San Juan de Teotihuacan . 164
Pyramid of Cholula 164
" Pyramid of the Sun ; and Road of Death" — San Juan de
Teotihuacan . . . 174
Palemke Cross 184
Tampico, Mexico , 200
Cathedral — CJuadalajara 204
El Salto del Abra 226
On Way to Tampico 242
Xll
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
II
Yo Semite, " Virgin Tears " .
The Tliree Brothers — Yo Semite
Residence at San Francisco
" Dragon," Luray .
Aguas Calientes — Mexico
*' Pluto's Chasm," Luray Caves
Cave Dwellings — Arizona
Moctezunia's Tree, Chapoltepec
PAUE
268
280
292
304
316
326
334
346
PAGE
268
280
292
304
316
326
334
346
JOURNAL OF A TOUR IN THE UNITED
STATES, CANADA, AND MEXICO.
CHAPTER I.
The "Liicania"— Arrival in America— New York— Hudson
River— Albany— Saratoga Springs— Lakes George and Champlain
— Railway travelling.
LAST autumn,^ having a little time to spare, and
greatly desiring to see " that which licks creation,"
my brother Gr. and I suddenly made up our minds to cross
the " Herring Pond," for the purpose of seeing, some por-
tion at least, of the vast Continent of America.
So we took our places in the great Cunard Liner " Lu-
cauia," and on September 22nd, met at Liverpool, and at
4 p.m. proceeded on board, by tug.
It was a quiet, gray afternoon, and as we neared the
great ship it was astonishing to see how small she looked ;
Ave had pictured to ourseives something so very much
bigger, and could scarcely believe in her 12,950 tons!
However, once on board, one began to realize her huge size,
and to admire her euormous engiues and decks, and the
splendour, rather, perhaps, than comfort, of her state
saloons. The drawing-room was provided, not only with a
1 This was written in 1895.
B
Ui^lTED STATES.
HI
grand pianoforte, but also a fine organ, upon both of which,
during the voyage, divers amateurs discoursed sounds
sweet, or otherwise. They also sang, and occasionally
recited.
My " state-room " was airily situated on the " deck-
promenade," with a delightful bath-room just opposite.
These cabins on the *' promenade deck " are considered
the best, and are all that is nice as long as the weather is
fine ; but, one rough day, when the Atlantic rollers hap-
pened to be splashing in full swing across the entrance to
them, I tried in vain to dodge " between waves," and
reached the haven drenched ! So, unless you Tcnow that
the weather will be calm throughout, and no encroaching
waves washing the deck, I think the state-rooms on the
saloon-floor preferable, as they are always accessible, what-
ever the weather. It is true, it is possible to get to the
deck-cabins by another way ; but it is such a tortuous, hot
and roundabout route, that, except in the case of being
battened down, one hasn't the patience to try it.
We had started, a well-filled shipload, at about 4.30 p.m.,
with a calm and quiet run to Queenstown, where we arrived
on Sunday morning, staying just long enough to take in
mails and passengers, after which, in perfectly quiet and
sunshiny weather, we left the harbour with its bright
green hills, and steamed out more and more rapidly, into
the wide ocean.
Soon all land was left behind ; and on we rushed, entirely
alone on the pathless sea. So smoothly does the great
ship move, that it is not till night sets in, and you pace
up and down watching the gleam of the electric light on
the swirling, madding water, that you realize, with a sensa-
tion of awe, the wild pace through the waves at which you
are rushing, on and on, into the darkness.
t
,i5
•4
II
•i
NEW YORK.
3
In the daytime, you recline dreaming and reading ou
your chaise-longue, and only feel the beauty and boundless
rest of the glittering, sunlit sea. Once or twice it curled
up with displeasure ; and one day our foghorn blew fear-
ful blasts unceasingly ; but on the whole the voyage was
delightful and passed like a dream, out of which, at 7. p.m^
on Friday 28th, we awoke to find ourselves at New York. •
No tug this side the Pond, but straight to the landing-
stage, and into the custom-house, where oiu' boxes somcr
how having got mixed, we were kept hours and hours ;
but when at last found there was no trouble at all, and
without even looking into them the amiable officials, on
our simple declaration of "nothing to declare," chalked
them, and we passed out with them safely to the " Broad-
way Hotel," to which we had been advised to go, as being
in the centre of all the traffic of cars and elevated railways
— which would facilitate the hasty scamper we proposed
making over New York, before starting north-eastward.
One thing had surprised me before leaving the ship. I
had expected to see, instantly on arrival, troops of " Inter-
viewers," prowling in search of " strangers," to inquire their
" opinion of America," before they had landed.
None such appeared, rather to my disappointment, for
one likes to see the " Institutions " of a country ; but we
heard afterwards that several had been waiting, but quite
absorbed in trying to secure the first news of a member of
the "Four- Hundred" ('lite of New York, who had come over
for the facilities of American divorce.
Later on, we had superabundant experience of " Inter-
viewers ! "
We found the Broadway quite comfortable, cuisine
good, and the waiters attentive, all negro, and rather pic-
turesque ; one of whom, who particularly waited on us, was
■a
4 UNITED STATES.
a perfect Adonis, " black but beautiful," and always stood,
between whiles of serving, in the most elegant and aesthetic
of attitudes, smiling sweetly ujjon us.
The next morning, Saturday 29th, was perfectly lovely
and very hot ; we devoted it to making a survey of the
city from the elevated railway which circles it entirely, and
occupies almost every othei street — as much to the dis-
figurement of the town as to the convenience of the pas-
senger, who, seated aloft, in the cool of the air, enjoys
a bird's-eye view of the place.
In addition to the elevated railways, every street is
crammed with electric-cars and " horse-stages ; " there are
cabs too, which you see standing in long rows, but nobody
ever seems to use them ; for not two steps will they go
without the payment of 2^ dollars (10 shillings).
Up the famous Fifth Avenue you pi'ogress in what is
called a " stage," a ramshackle old contrivance, not worthy
to be named in the same century with the yet not ideal
London 'bus. It is untidy and crowded. When all the
sitting room is occupied, people still keep crowding in, one
on the top of the other, and standing all along the narrow
space between, till you absolutely suffocate and scramble
out as best you can, and walk on for perhaps a quarter of
an hour before another " stage " comes lumbering by,
possibly as crowded as before.
These " stages " show a touching belief in the honesty
of the passengers, who each deposit a '• dime " (ten cents)
in a pocket placed for the purpose — or not, as they
please ; there being no conductor or anybody to see that
they do.
As we proposed to see the museums and picture galleries
thoroughlv on our return, we only glanced at the outsides
of the various buildings, and spent some time arranging at
%
ALBANY.
" Cook's " the details and railway coupons for our pro-
posed travels.
On Sunday we went to the high mass at St. Patrick's
Cathedral, which is considered a very fine structure; and
it is fine, but it somehow looks, like so much of modern
Gothic, as if it had been put into a mould and " turned
out " very correctly.
It is, however, by far the most striking and important
church in the city, and. was crowded, although the music
was indifferent.
In the afternoon we went by rail to Brooklyn, and drove
over Grreenwood cemetery, very fine and well kept, and
from which there are extensive views, enhanced that even-
ing by a gorgeous crimson sunset.
We returned by ferry-boat, and next morning, October
1st, started at 9 a.m. in the swift and comfortable river-
boat up the Hudson. The weather was perfect ; the sun
hot, and the sky a cloudless Italian blue, reflecting the
loveliest colour into the sparkling river ; the trees and
shrubs beginning to assume their autumnal reds and golds,
picturesque banks and a delicious fresh breeze, as far as
Albany, the capital of New York State ; where we arrived
towards sunset, just in time to fly up the handsome State
Street, on the highest point of which commandingly stands
the magnificent, new and still unfinished Capitol, in the
French renaissance style, the interior of which, from the
designs of H. H. Richardson (the architect of most of the
finest buildings in the United States) is Cyclopean in bulk
and superb in effect. The most gorgeous marbles and
onyxes, finely carved huge staircases and marble-arched
chambers, which we only had time to run hurriedly
through before flying off by train to Saratoga Springs,
which we reached at 9 p.m., and left the following morning
6
UNITED STATES.
at 9.30, after having spent two or three hours walking from
spring to spring — one more celebrated for cures than
another — tasting the water of each, all very nice and
refreshing, and all the streets delightfully shaded by very
fine trees.
We continued our way north by steamer, up Lake
George (so called after George III.), 33 miles long by about
3^ wide, bordered on both sides by ]jrettily shaped and
wooded mountains ; the boat winding in the midst of more
than 200 lovely little islets, covered with trees and orna-
mental shrubs and flowery gardens and some little villas,
which, on a small scale, comforted us for not having, later
on, seen the " Thousand Isles " in the St. Lawrence.
After leaving Lake George and traversing the short
space of land between the two, we embarked on a lai'ger
steamer, up the much grander and wider Lake Champ-
lain, 120 miles long, with an occasional breadth of 12.
Lovely peeps of the Adirondack and Green Mountains,
passing the picturesque ruins of Fort Ticonderoga, notable
for the famous exploits of Colonel Allen of Vermont and
his " Green Mountain boys," in 1775 ; and, previously,
for many fights during the wars with the French, especially
for the unsuccessful attack upon it made by General
Abercrombie in 1758, which cost the lives of 2,000 men and
of the young and gallant Lord Howe, second in command ; a
model to all, and whose loss was a great blow to our forces
• — but of which we gained final possession a year later.
From Lake Champlain we proceeded by train, and had
our first experience of American " sleepers " and cars,
vaunted by natives as the " perfection of travelling com-
fort; " although all who can afford it take care never to
enter them, but have private " cars " of their own, con-
taining dining, drawing, and bedrooms — roomy and com-
SLKEPERS.
fortable, with kitclieu-cars attached — the whole forming a
little separate train, which is shunted or tacked on to the
ordinary cars as required ; so that they travel in their own
" home," as it were, and know nothing of the discomforts
of ordinary travellers.
Never later than 10 p.m., and often earlier, the negro
who acts as " porter " to the " sleeper" puts on his white
cotton garments, in which he looks very neat, and comes up
to you with the usual grin on his shining face, " it 's time
to fix up for the night ! " In vain you remonstrate and
explain that you cannot possibly go to bed at such a pre-
posterously early hour. He only grins the move and
repeats, " I guess it 's time," and before you know where
you are down comes the upper berth upon your head, and
as you would have to sit half doubled up, you are com-
pelled to allow the bed to be made up and the curtains
closelv drawn ; after which some man or woman mounts
up into the berth above you, and others into the ones
opposite, with only a narrow gangway between, with the
temperature up to any height (always kept uj), by com-
mand of the authorities, to not less than 75^ Fahr.). You
then pass through a long night of suffocation, not to say
asphyxiation. Happy for you if you are able to persuade
the porter to open your window.
Luckily, each lower berth has its window ; not so for-
tunate the unhappy tenant of the upper berth, where there
is none.
But often you ask in vain. The other passengers
" scent " the night air, and call the conductor to insist on
its being instantlv shut out.
In desperation you fling open a part of your thick
curtains, which, as often as he periodically passes through,
the porter carefully re- closes.
8
UNITED SrATES.
How one longs for an English first-class compartment,
or even second or third ! At earliest dawn you fly to be
first in the one very tiny apartment in which ladies can
make some slight sort of toilette, whilst the men have one
to themselves at the other end of the car.
In short, no words can describe the discomfort and
suffocating di'sagrrmenfs of the " sleepers ; " and, to avoid
them, we several times preferred to sit up in the crowded
long cars, where, at any rate, you can read, the lights not
being ruthlessly veiled ; or look at the passing scenery, as
well as starlight or moonlight will allow. But we found
that, although this might be done with some sort of com-
fort (comparatively) up to midnight — almost invariably,
after that hour, two or three of the long cars were dropped
at some station, and the whole of their occupants turned
into the one or two cars left on the train. Every kind of
being comes tumbling in ; six or more seat themselves,
somehow, where there is only room for four ; heathen
Chinees, negroes, Yankees of least refined type, who all
proceed to smoke, etc.' Every window is shut, the atmo-
sphere becomes that of an inferno, and in desperation you
make a rush to find the conductor, to beg him, " at the
eleventh hour," to find you, after all, a berth in the dis-
agreeable but comparatively preferable " sleeper;" to which
he answers reproachfully that he guesses there 's no room
there now, but goes to see, usually with the result that a
berth is found unoccupied, or some good-natured man
gives up his in your favour, and there you take refuge,
gasping with heat, for the remainder of the night.
It really is sometimes exasperating to hear the " comfort
of American railway travelling " extolled, as if there were
nothing comparable to it in the whole civilized world !
for, be it understood, there is but one " class," and the
KAILWAYS.
9
" sleepers ; " so that, either one or the other, you must go
in, or you must undertake the very considerable expense
of hiring a " car " to yourself.
It is true that on some lines there are " coloured cars,"
resei'ved entirely for tlie " coloured " travellers ; and woe
to you if, by mistake, seeing a quite empty one, you estab-
lish yourself in it ; the outraged black conductor comes to
you with an injured and majestic air: " Ma'am, you must
just get out of this ; this car is for the coloured ladies and
gentlemen. White men and women go there ! " scornfully
pointing to the adjoining car.
In the daytime, when the trains are not crowded, you
can make yourself quite happy in the long cars, in which
the seats are ordinarily of green or red velvet, and not
uncomfortable, and plenty of windows on each side, through
which the views are well seen ; but nothing can accustom
one to the inexcusable and painful want of cleanliness
caused by the inordinate use of tobacco, and the repulsive-
ness of the precautionary measures necessitated thereby.
It is everywhere more or less the same — museums,
churches, picture-galleries, all !
It is the great, and one, drawback to travel or residence
in America.
In less "advanced " Mexico, on the other hand, here is
nothing of the kind.
10
CHAPTER II.
Canada — Quebec — Montiuorenci Falls — Montreal — Ottav.a-
Rideaii Hall — Toronto.
AT 6.30 a.m., on October 3rd, we found ourselves at
Quebec, and drove straight to the sumptuous chateau
rather than hotel of " Fronteuac," magnificently situated
on the top of a perjiendicular precipice, the citadel to the
right, and the grand St. Lawrence in front, with its further
picturesque shore, beyond which again it winds in divers
wide channels to the ocean.
We looked down upon the almost perpendicular path
up which Wolfe's twenty-four volunteers silently scrambled
during the night of September 12th, 1759, driving oft" the
French guard at the top ; whilst the remainder of the
English troops stealthily followed in their footsteps, hold-
ing on by the scanty bushes till they were all drawn uj) on
the Heights of Abraham, where, next morning, the great
battle was fought in which Wolfe was struck down at the
moment the French were flying — his last words : " Now,
God be praised, I die in peace ! " whilst his antagonist,
Montcalm, mortally wounded at the same moment, was
carried into Quebec rejoicing that he " should not live to
see its surrender," which took place on the 18th, after his
death.
It is sad to remember that the very next year saw the
defeat of our forces on these same j^lains of Abraham by
QUEBEC.
11
10,000 Frenchmen, followed bv the siege of Quebec, saved,
happily, from capitulation by the timely arrival of the
British fleet.
In the governor's garden stands the monument erected
in 1827 to the rival commanders, Wolfe and Montcalm —
giving equal honour to both ; an equality, however, not
altogether deserved by the French General, whose fame
had been, two years previously, indelibly tarnished by
his non-prevention, if not encouragement, of the savage
treachery of his Indian allies, after the British surrender
of Fort William-Henry on Lake George — who, notwith-
standing his solemn guarantee of life and safe retreat to
the garrison (which included great numbers of women
and children), were not hindered from falling mercilessly
upon the refugees, massacring the greater number, and
carrying the remainder into slaveiy and torture.
The fort had been previously greatly weakened by the
withdrawal, by order of Lord Loudoun, at that time
Geueral-in-Command, of large numbers of the garrison,
for the prosecution of his unsuccessful siege of Louisburg.
■ To return to the " Frontenac," most comfortable and
•luxurious, excellent French cuisine, and the waiters all
French — as indeed seems to be the whole town.
The grand Citadel, which we were shown over by an
amiable and very smart (French) artilleryman, commands
su})erb views ; thence to the Houses of Parliament, very
•fine, inside and out ; French is mostly spoken, the greater
niunber of the Ministry as well as of the members, being
of that nationality.
It makes one rather wonder what would happen if war
should ever unfortunately break out between the two
nations !
After an excellent di'jeiiner, we started in a queer sort
12
CANADA.
of little halt'-eovered curt, with a capital trotting pony, iu
lovely sunshine, to see the Montmorency Falls ; but long
before we reached them clouds had gathered, and in the
midst of a terrific downpour of rain we arrived at the
little inn, from which a pretty path through flowery woods
leads to the Falls. We started to walk in the drenching
rain and deep mud, a short distance to the summit, from
which you descend j)erpcndicularly by slippery wooden
steps, and are rewarded by a magnificent cotip-iVoeil — a
grand sheet of foamy water, plunging from a height of
265 feet, with a width of 150, bordered on each side by
cliffs of rugged deep-red rock, their summits crowned with
graceful trees brilliant with autumnal gold.
After revelling in the beauty of it as well as the jjitiless
rain would allow, vnd made the best of our way back to
the little inn, where the French landlady kindly dried our
wet things, after which, much regretting the impossibility
of attempting the further scramble to the ** natural steps "
higher up the river, we returned the ten miles' drive to
Quebec, where, in defiance of the still pelting rain, we
wandered into various churches, all remarkable here for
their bright tin-covered roofs and spires, giving much the
appearance of silver ; and into several shops, principally of
very fine furs and Canadian curiosities.
We likewise drove, the rain slightly abating, beyond the
Heights of Abraham, to various parks and villas, all fine
and well-kept, with beautiful trees and lovely views of the
rivers and distant country.
We dined late at the " Frontenac," and afterwards started
by train in the " sleeper " again to Montreal. It was
pleasant to remember that Quebec had been once honoured
by the presence of o\ir glorious Nelson, then a very young
man, on the point of marrying a young Canadian lady, and
MONTREAL.
13
[>ony, m
l)iit long
d in tlie
1 at the
ry woods
renchiug
lit, from
wooden
(Vceil — a
V\\r\\t of
side by
jed with
pitiless
back to
•ied our
ssibility
'■ steps "
irive to
ain, we
lere for
ueh the
pally of
)nd the
all fine
of the
started
It was
noured
young
ly, and
retiring from the Navy, which, happily, he was dissuaded
from doing.
The weather at Quebec had been fresh, not to say cokl,
but during the night the rain cleared, and the day broke
lovely and hot, with a cloudless sky. At 6.30 a.m. we
reached Montreal, and drove straight through fin«' wide
streets charmingly Vjordered with trees and handsome
houses — the beautifully- wooded Mount Royal (from which
the city takes its name) towering grandly in the back-
ground ; past cathedrals and churches, with their glittering
tinned spires, to the fine Hotel Windsor, in the great
galleries and dining-hall and *' parlours " of which huge
Christmas fires were blazing, in spite of the thermometer
at 80' !
An excellent breakfast, in stifling heat, after which we
sallied forth to see the imposing Court-House and City-
Hall, and the principal churches, in one of which a jtiano
did duty for organ; in another, an "elevator" saved you
the fatigue of walking up to the top of one of its great
towers; and a third was labelled all over "Church to
let ! "
The residences are substantially and handsomely built,
each with its pretty garden, rising in terraces towards the
lovely Mount Royal Park, through which an excellent
road winds up terraces to the summit of the Mount (900
feet), from which the view is one of the most beautiful in
the world.
We stood on a raised platform overlooking the loveliest
green turf, the entire hill one mass of the most graceful
trees gorgeous with every conceivable hue of pure gold and
scarlet, delicate rose-pinks, greens and green-golds, looking
down upon the descending terraces to the admirably laid-
ont city, with its great domed cathedral, dominating it as
14
CANADA.
St. Peter's dominates Rome ; spires aud towers aad tree-
fiinii;ed streets, all seated on a green island, encircled, as
it were, by a silvery snake — the grand St. Lawrence and
Ottawa rivers, winding and shining through plains of the
vividest verdure, stretching away to the furthest horizon,
in which rise faint, distant hills of niistv blue — the whole
lovely scene bathed in sleepy golden sunshine, sublimely
reposeful !
But inexorable Time forced us away, and we made the
round of the Mount through the lovely, gorgeously tinted
woods back to the city, passing, amongst other pleasant
villas, the unpi'etending red-brick house taken for the
winter months by the Yi-^eroy, but not yet occupied.
With great regret we left this charming city, nearly as
French as Quebec, and full of every mark of prosperity.
We arrived late the same evening ac Ottawa, the capital
of Canada although vastly inferior in almost every respect
— except that it is English and not li^rench — to both
Quebec and Monti'eal ; and proceeded, for the night, to the
principal hotel, " Russell House," sufficiently good and
comfortable, but on a very different scale from the splendid
hotels at the two former cities.
It is excellently situated, just opposite the magnificent
group of Parliament Houses and other government build-
ings, all finely massed together on high ground command-
ing the river Ottawa.
The next morning, Avliich was again fine and warm, we
started early on a voyage of discovery through the city,
and, it being too early to find the Parliament Houses
open, proceeded by tram as far as the entrance to the
grounds of Rideau Hall : a very small, unpretentious,
and plainly-built house, with no good rece]>tion rooms,
and altogether, we thought, quite unworthy to be the
OTTAWA.
15
lad tree-
ireled, as
ence and
IS of the
horizon,
be whole
Libliniely
nade the
y tinted
pleasant
for the
1.
?arly as
eritj.
capital
respect
o both
, to the
)d and
>lendid
lificeut
build-
mand-
m, we
' city,
ouses
o the
tious,
ooms,
the
chief residence of the representative of the Queen in
Canada.
It is surrounded by a small, and not particularly orna-
mental garden, and woods containing no fine timbe'\
There are pretty vistas, and a skating-pond and toboggan-
slide — gay sights, we were told, in the winter ; the house
was being repaired, in the absence of its occupier at
Winnipeg, and seemed in son^'^vhat dilapidated condition.
Each succeeding governor brings his own decorations —
ta}iestry, pictures, etc., and carries them away with him at
the termination of his appointment. After seeing the rather
pretty Rideau falls, we trammed back to the city, and saw
the Ohaudicre falls and lumber dei)artment ; went over the
exteriorly-fine and imposing Gothic Parliament Houses,
built of a beautiful ci'eam-coloured sandstone, diversified
with deep red — the whole presenting a rich effect of colour,
enhanced by the beautiful green lawns in the midst of
which it stands. A fine library adjoins, containing 20,000
volumes.
Next we visited the Geological Museum, containing,
among many other interesting objects, a huge meteoric
stone, 25 per cent, nickel, which, before being cut, weighed
300 lb. The Cathedral of Notre Dame, with two fine
towers, 200 feet high, but poor interior with the exception
of a fine reredos ; and various other sights.
The next day ^October 6th) we left Ottawa by the 6 a.m
train to Prescott and Kingston, whence we had intended
going by boat to Toronto, but found it would start too, late,
so took the next train and arrived there at 9 ]>.m., and
stayed the night at the Queen's Hotel, only very so-so;
baths exorbitantly dear, whereas at Ottawa they were had
for nothing. This hotel is certainly not worthy of so
phenomenally a rising city, scarcely below Chicago in
•
"1^
16
CANADA.
I'll
commercial importance ; from its advantageous position
on the north-west shore of Lake Ontario, gathering to
itself the entire trade of north-west Canada, whilst in full
communication with the American frontier on tlie southern
side of the Lake.
October 7th being Sunday, we went to the early service
at St. Michael's Cathedral, possessed of a lovely spire, but
a somewhat gaudy interior, in which we heard charming
hymn-singing by the school children, accompanied by an
excellent organ.
We had been told that in the *' Queen City," as Toronto
is designated, Sunday was so strictly kept that there
would be some difficulty in getting about — all locomotion
by trams or cabs being tabooed. However, we managed
to get a carriage, which took us to Victoria Park, and one
of the great lumber yards, crammed with huge stacks of
fresh -smelling planks cut to various sizes, the produce of
the great forests of Ontario, Avith a charming foreground
of broad river and sand, beyond which, fringed with
masses of tall trees of brilliant gold, towf -ed the enormous
and picturesque pile of municijjal and parliamentary
buildings, and the magnificent University of Toronto,
with its superb central tower and many turrets, and
Observatory, School of Science, Library, etc. ; all of
which we visited and greatly admired, as well as the too
short time we had to spare allowed. The whole city is
exceedingly well built of very handsome material ; and its
society, in refinement and cultivation of literature and
science, is said to equal, if not surpass, its Ameri(;an rival,
Boston — called by some the Florence, by others the Athens,
of the New World.
In the afternoon we left for Niagara, which we reached
a little before sunset.
position
lering to
st iu full
southern
■■.:*
17
ly service
ipire, but
sharmiug
id by an
Toronto
at there
3omotion
managed
and one
stacks of
oduce of
•eground
?d with
lormous
nentary
brouto,
ts, and
all of
the too
city is
and its
e and
n rival,
Athens,
cached
CHAPTER III.
Niagara.
WE lodged on the Canadian side, at the " Clifton
House " hotel. It immediately faces the American
Fall, and has a lovely view of the more distant Canadian
Horseshoe Fall.
We were sorry to hear that English travellers mostly go
to the hotels on the American side, across the river — un-
patriotic of them and unwise ; for the Canadian is by far
the more impressive side to stay on.
The American Prospect Park side is within a few
;{| minutes' walk of scenes beautiful and magnificent beyond
f description : you are close to the American rapids above
the American Fall, and not very far from the Canadian
ra])ids.
But from the Canadian side you have before you, full
in face, the entire panorama of all the falls, the Horse-
shoe, the Central, and the American. And you are
within only five minutes' walk of the Great Iron Bridge,
suspended at a giddy height above the boiling, seething,
whirling waters below the American Fall, crossing over
them to the American side, and along which, filled with
awe and a sensation of terror, drenched with the spray, and
deafened with the roar, you creep or drive nervously
across — to find yourself at once in Prospect Park.
c
18
CANADA.
This we did not do till the following morning.
The day was too far spent when we arrived to do more
than wander to and fro, in the drenching spray, the long
space between Fall and Fall. The American Fall, exactly
in front of the hotel, was all radiant with rainbows,
bewilderingly magnificent, and is the higher of the two,
167 feet, 1,060 feet wide. But we passed on to the
infinitely greater glories of the Horseshoe, before the
majesty of which one stands absolutely stricken dumb
with awe, and spellbound.
No words can ever describe the glory of this Fall. The
terrific sense of tremendous force and might !
The huge, perpetual, never-ending wave, 158 feet high,
and more than 3,000 wide, a mighty, ever-rushing wave
no ocean can ever equal, curling downward, gleams of
gold and blue and emerald green, transfused with light,
as the water comes falling, falling for ever; ever-rising
clouds of spray, drifted hither and thither by the wind,
breaking into loveliest fouuttiins of showery rainbow ; or
carried by the breeze, in snowy spirals, far, far up into the
sky; or hovering over the falls, like spirits of the mist.
Then the thundering, appalling, ceaseless sound, with
never one moment of rest for ever !
After supper we came out again, by a glorious moonlight,
to wander along, past the American, towards the sounding
Horseshoe Fall ; grand, beautiful, and majestically mys-
terious in the glittering moonbeams, with its drifting
clouds of snowy spray for ever rolling heavenwards.
Next morning early, in lovely and brilliant sunshine, we
drove over the Suspension Bridge, 250 yards below the
Falls, to the American side, into Prospect Park, twelve
acres beautifully laid out with shrubs and trees and turfy
lawns to the river's edge. You drive round and about to
THE FALLS.
19
do more
the lon^
, exactly
ainbows,
the two,
I to the
fore the
n dumb
,11. The
Bet high,
Qg wave
earns of
th light,
er-rising
le wind.
Low ; or
iuto the
le mist,
d, with
onlight,
ounding
ly mys-
driftiug
line, we
ow the
twelve
id turfy
bout to
admire the various lovely points of view; then walk to
Prospect Point, on the very brink of the American Fall,
where, protected by a stone balustrade, you take your first
terrific impression of the perpendicular mass of raging
water madly dashing into the abyss beneath, shining and
glittering in the sun, and rising in wreaths of misty rain-
bows. Half deafened by the magnificent cannonade of
waters you tear yourself away and cross the Groat Island
bridge, 300 feet long, suspended over the giddy rush and
swirl of the American rapids capering and dancing along
in graceful, sportive, sea-like billows, as far as the eye can
reach. You linger on the centre of the bridge, dazed and
fascinated, the swaying structure trembling and writhing
in the ceaseless mighty impact of the rushing under-current,
the surface waves still playing and dancing, throwing up
their spray in fountains of diamonds, as they bound and
curvet along !
On the farther side of the bridge you pass, midst lovely
shrubs, to a point overlooking the central Fall, the beauty
and glory of which defies description. You are deafened
yet fascinated; rainbowy clouds and showers flit round
you, and the dancing billows, having danced to the edge
full of life and joy, take one sudden despairing ])lunge
into the seething abyss below, with wild sounds of mingled
thunder and shrieking wailing ; whirling currents and
rushes of air fighting rushes of water — a pandemonium of
mad rush and sound !
This is, perhaps, from above, the grandest and loveliest
view of all ; but leave it at last one must, and you pro-
ceed to drive or walk all over the Goat Island, throusrh its
groves of trees and park-like expanse till, at the farther
end you pass, by bridges, from lovely rocky wooded isle
to isle — the " three sisters " and " little brother ; " and
''<R^
It
20
CANADA.
crossing between, suddenly come upon the sight of sights,
the indescribably superb, gigantic, towering flow of the
glorious Canadian rapids ! they come with a mountainous,
swirling, tumultuous rush, compressed into the rocky
narrows. Looking up the river you see a wide far-spreading
expanse of apparent sea, with long unbroken lines of foam-
ing giant waves, stretching from distant shore to shore, away
into dim unfathomed distance — ^line after line of breaking
foam. Nearer and nearer the billows roll, till, close before
you, they rise and gather and swirl into one gigantic jjurple-
blue, compressed, mad, furious rushing wave, and plunge
between the narrowing rocks with appalling deafening roar,
and not-to-be-resisted upward dash of foam, with a velocity
of thirty miles an hour, plunging, bolting, past you, behind
you, out of sight, till, with wild thundering yell of fury,
they reach their fate, the Fall.
And this goes on for ever !
Here I stayed for hours, seated on a rock by the side,
just above the mad maniacal swirl of current and whirlpool
— endeavouring — alas how vainly ! to fasten its fugitive
yet ever renewed life and storm on paper.
After a long time, giddy with the glamour and clang and
roar and ever swiftly-passing swirling rush, and the awful
solitude, I fled — as if pursued by demons of the deep — and
made the best of my way back across Groat Island and Pro-
spect Park, and over the suspension bridge to Clifton
House — at 4.30 p.m. — long after the luncheon had been
put away and the cooks retired, and no possibility of even
a cup of tea, which is the case nearly all over America, and
is really a quite reasonable arrangement. However, the
sight I had seen was well worth a fast ; and re-donning my
mackintosh, for at Niagara you must always be cased in
waterproof, I set off to walk by the grand Queen Victoria-
V
LOUETTO ACADEMY.
21
of sights,
w of the
ntainous,
lie rocky
spreading'
of foani-
ore, away
breaking
se before
e purple-
1 plunge
ling roar,
1, velocity
1, behind
of fury,
the side,
/^hirlpool
fugitive
ang and
le awful
ep — and
Lud Pro-
Clifton
ad been
of even
'ica, and
ver, the
iiiug my
L'ased in
^ictoria-
Niagara-Falls-Park, skirting alongside the river to the
Horseshoe Fall, through lovely groves of waving trees and
greenest turf — nearly drowned in spray in passing — to the
magnificent Loretto Academy, superbly situated in gay
shrubberies on the highest ground, just above the Horse-
shoe, commanding the whole bird's-eye view of the Falls,
with their drifting clouds of mist ; the Goat and Sister
Islands, the lovely curve of wooded shore, and vast width
of river sweeping majestically round ; and the shining,
tossing, green-blue waves of shallow rapids in front ; the
whole glorious view flaming in the fiery red-gold light of
the setting sun, the over-arching sky one glow of scarlet
and orange, crimson-pink and delicate green-blue, and the
loveliest fleecy cloudlets, half spray, half cloud, of rainbow
hue.
This Academy educates a great number of young ladies
(200 to 300 at a time) belonging to the best families,
Canadian and American. The establishment is Catholic,
but such is the extreme toleration in religious matters,
that more than two-thirds of the pupils belong to other
denominations, intrusted, with perfect confidence, to the
nuns.
The Lady Superior, attended by several very charming
American nuns, kindly showed me over the whole of the
huge and splendid building, full of every modern comfort
and educational appliance ; and finally into the immense
and very handsome " general schoolroom," where the whole
of the young ladies were assembled, who, as we entered,
struck up " God save the Queen," which they sang charm-
ingly in chorus, in compliment to England and the Queen-
Empress, who is held here in great veneration. The
Lady Superior conducted me to a sort of throne, on which
she and I took our seats, the nuns seated round ; whilst the
22
CANADA.
pupils recited poems in various languages, and peiformed
on the harp, violin, and piano, singing hymns and songs,
and bringing specimens of their drawings, paintings, and
embroideries to be admired — an admiration there was no
need to simulate, for mauy were quite admirable.
These young ladies were not attired in uniform, but in
neat skirts and blouses, as plain or ornamented as each
pleased ; some, perhaps, unnecessarily smart, which gave the
Lady Superior occasion to say to them, in a little parting
speech, that she wished they would adopt the sensible and
wholesome English fashion of plain serge and mackintosh
(an attire, to say the truth, of which I felt a little ashamed
in that very smart assemblage ; but nothing else is possible
in that spray-besprinkled region).
After a few words of appreciation and thanks on my
part, we descended from our throne, and proceeded, amidst
profound curtsies on the part of the pupils, to which we
responded by equally polite bows, to the charming guest-
rooms, where the kind Lady Superior insisted on my par-
taking of some most excellent wine of their own making
and lovely cakes of their own baking. They then showed
me a monthly magazine called " The Niagara Rainbow,'*
entirely and very cleverly written by the pupils, which is
now regularly sent to me, of course. After a while I took
my leave, and, to the astonishment of the nuns (for Ameri-
cans rarely walk more than they can help), proceeded to
walk back to the hotel — a lovely and delicious walk skirt-
ing the falls and river, for which my mackintosh became
very requisite. Everywhere a gentle rain rains on you,
and often not gently. Indeed, as you near the Fall, sudden
tremendous cataracts of spray nearly take you off your feet ;
the thundering, awe-inspiring, never-ceasing cannonade
of weird sound turning you cold with nervous dread ; the
%
WHIRLPOOL.
23
eiformed
^^^1
id songs,
;ug8, and
e was no
n, but in
^ijH
as each
gave the
i parting
lible and
ckiutosh
ishanied
possible
on my
, amidst
;'
hich we
^ guest-
my par-
making
showed
inbow,"
s^hich is
' I took
Ameri-
3ded to
j: skirt-
aecame
n you,
sudden
r feet ;
aonade
d; the
cold mystery of the moon adding to the creejty terrors
of the ghostly shriekings and bowlings of the water-
spirits.
Next morning (October 9th) we started early by electric
tram to see the Whirlpool Rapids, about a mile below
the susi>ension bridge, to which you descend in an almost
perpendicularly-inclined railway car, straight down from
the high banks to the level of the river, at this point so
narrowed (to a width of 300 feet) that the tumultuous and
rushing waters are forced up in the centre to a height of
30 feet, all broken into giant waves of emerald-green, tear-
ing along with a trelnendous impetus and might that fills
you with terrified awe !
And this was the spot chosen by Captain Webb to
attempt to swim across, as if any feeble human strength
could withstand that mad, resistless rush ! Naturally he
was caught in the vortex, and rushed, a corpse, into the
feai'ful whirlpool beyond, and tosced and whirled for days
in its awful gyrating depths, before floating, unrecognizable,
away. Here, also, on a rope of hemp thrown from cliff to
cliff Blondin dared to cross — successfully ! and some have
safely floated down in cylinders.
Once more we mounted the cliff, and pursued our way
till just above the Whirlpool, caused by the sudden rect-
angular bend in the cliffs, a fearful and giddy sight ! that
gives some sort of idea of what that terrible maelstrom
must be in the far-off northern seas.
Beyond the Whirlj^ool, after at last emerging from its
giddy, maniacal, gyrating depths, as if tired out by the
fearful, ceaseless tumult, the river seems to collajjse ex-
hausted, and, almost calmly, its energy all dead, pursues
its Avay to the Lake Ontario.
We returned, and after securing luncheon, proceeded to
24
CANADA.
the Horseshoe Fall, to view its wonders from below and
beneath.
I confess to some trepidation and hesitation before allow-
ing myself to be dressed in the queer costume necessitated
by the terrific shower-bath to which we were about to be
subjected ; and, listening with awe to the ceaseless, deafen-
ing *' thunder of waters," got into the elevator which takes
you down from Table Eock to the abyss below.
You emerge in a dizzying and terrific babel of sound on
a mass of slippery rocks, over which flights of still more
slippery steps conduct you to the very foot of the Falls,
drenched and drowned in spray.
Scarcely able to see or breathe, with the help of the
guide we climbed, and slipj^ed, and staggered, as best we
could, into the hollowed-out rock at the back of the wild
seething mass of green waters — the " Cave of the Winds,"
wbere, as well as the awful rushes of blinding spray and
wind will let you — clinging to the slippery, rocky wall, you
stand on a narrow ledge face to face with the terrible,
stupendous power and might of resistless water and air !
Green thundering masses ceaselessly crashing on to the
rocks below with sounds as of great guns, and blasts of
horns, and deep notes as it were of an organ, reverberating
and wailing and shrieking, and drenching torrents of sj^ray
and spirals and violent rushes of air hurled into your face
as if from a catapult. The appalling, terrific sense of
awful, chaotic, fateful force, and the marvellous, glorious
beauty of it ! The emerald-green flood, and floods of foam,
tinted with sunshine, falling and falling for ever !
Enough to say, that after a time, and an experience for
which we must be for ever tlie infinitely richer, we found
ourselves in the upper world again, our guide imploring to
be allowed to photograph us in the draggled hideousness
CAVE OF TIIK WINDS.
26
of our attire. Needless to sav I declined, as did G., and
havinif speedily got rid of our mackintosh im^umbrances and
resumed our own garments, requested our aggrieved guide
to take us to the " Burning Spring," close by. You enter
a walled, roofed-in, windowless space, in the centre of which
you sfee a dark, bubbling pool of water encompassed with
stone. The door is carefully shut, and all is dark. Suddenly
a rising, bubbling fountain ascends, a torch is lit and applied,
and the fountain bursts into flame and jets of fire, which
sparkle and rage and spread till, what with the burning
heat and the sickening fumes of the sulphureted hydrogen
gas, you are choked and scorched, and make a rush for the
door.
After all these overpowering sensations I was glad to go
quietly back, and try to sketch the, alas! unsketchable; and
G. started oft' to compare the " Cave of the Winds " under
the American Fall with the Canadian, much, he thought,
to the advantage of the latter. That night it rained, but
we went out all the same after supper, for the rain of
the clouds or the rain of the Falls seemed to make little
dift'erence.
The next morning, G. went for a trip below and round
about the Falls in the little steamer " Maid of the Mist,"
but was so blinded and drowned and drenched by the
spray that he saw nothing, and came back nearly deaf and
blind. • '
I, meantime, went across to the American side and spent
a delicious, enchanting day, wandering over the islands,
and to Porter's Bluff at the extremity of Goat Island,
where you stand exactly over the near edge of the glorious
Horseshoe Fall. Indescribably magnificent is this view !
You look from a high summit of rock, over rich masses
of gold-tinted, graceful trees, fringing down the steep
26
CANADA.
sides, to the edge of the vast width of water, stretching
away to the Canadian shore — near which, over rocky
sliallows, the river tosses and tumbles in glittering rapids
to the niighly edge of the Fall.
But on tills side, here beneath you, there is no turmoil of
rapid or rush. All is tranquil and calm, for the smooth
waters are here fathoms deep, and majestically How, with a
fateful and strong, but reposeful current, till they grace-
fully arrive at the brink : over which, with a mighty sound
as of deep-toned thunder, without haste or pause, they curl
and glide their glassy green depths, with a serene and
glorious majesty — their fall into the abyss soon shrouded
and lost in ever-ascending and wreathing clouds of misty
spray, whirling and rising till lost in the sky.
It was here that the Indians were wont every second
year to send, crowned with roses, and paddling her flower-
wreathed canoe, over the glassy flood into the abyss, the
most beautiful maid of their tribe, in tribute to the dread
spectral phantoms and spirits of the Mist.
You can follow, if you wish, a path thickly shaded Avith
trees, down steps cut in the rock, to Terrajiin Point, a
rocky, slippery ledge on the very brink of the curling green
roll. I did ; and then, wet and dizzy and deafened ex-
ceedingly, returned to the Blulf above, where you can sit
and sketch — if it were possible ! the ever- varying, mar-
vellous, sunlit, glorious tints of exquisite blue and green and
amber on that wondrous edge ! all the while drenched in
never-ceasing, up-rising fountains of spray. I stayed till
the declining sun warned to fly — reaching the other side
just in time for, alas, the 6 p.m. departing train.
I
trt'tcliing
er rocky
IK raj)id8
iirmoil of
smooth
tv, with a
L'V grace-
t.V sound
hey curl
t'ue and
hroiuled
of misty
second
' flower-
yss, the
e dread
ed with
'oint, a
g green
tied ex-
can sit
;•, mar-
ten and
lied in
^ed till
er side
o
X
Q
I I
27
CHAPTER IV.
Chicago— Denver — Colorado Springs — Manitou — Pike's Peak —
Garden of tlie Gods— Cheyenne Canon.
OUR line skirted the shores of Lake Erie to Buffalo,
where we changed trains, and tra veiling all night,
reached Chicago in the morning, just before daybreak,
October 11th. We went for breakfast to the magnificent
Auditorium Hotel, entirely built of huge cyclopean blocks
of rough-hewn as well as polished granite ; the massive
entrance formed of gigantic columns of polished pink granite,
the interior resembling a sort of huge Egyptian palace. Im-
mediately afterwards we proceeded in trams and electric
cars from end to end of this wonderful emporium of com-
merce, and visited several of the immense jjarks situated
on the sea-like shore of the grand Lake Michigan, with
great rolling, attacking waves, only kept in check by enor-
mously strong sea-walls of rough-hewn granite.
Chicago, I need not say, is built on a gigantic scale —
huge, cyclopean, portentous — and sixty years ago con-
sisted of a \iV:\e village with less than one hundred inhabit-
ant ! Now, the towering buildings " scrape the sky " —
some very handsome, and all imposing, from their bulk and
extent, and the solid, massive granite of which they are
built. The parks, especially Lincoln Park, are of vast
extent and beautifully kept ; long rows of brilliant flower-
beds, conservatories, fountains, statues, and monuments,
28
UNITED STATES.
m
particularly the magnificently placed, superbly colossal,
monumental building in memory of Abraham Lincoln.
It was too far to go to the site of the " World's Fair "
of the previous year, nor would it have been worth while,
most of the great exhibition buildings having been pulled
down ; nor did I care to see the Union Stockyards, which
live pigs enter at one end as pi^-, and come out in five
minutes at the piher as sausages. So I wandered con.
tentedly over the gardens and parks, all admirably well-
kept, and after seeing the City Hall, and som.^ of the
principal buildings and residences, returned to the " Audi-
torium," which has a great theatre attached to it, for
supper, before starting Westward ho !
All night long our train rattled along at headlong speed,
rocking and swaying, till half the passengers felt sea-sick,
and the wonder is that it kej^t hold of the rails at all.
Luckily, on these long journeys to the Far West, pas-
sengers, except in the " sleepers," are rare and few, so
that we were able, to our great joy, to i-emain the whole
night in the ordinary car and keep the windows open, and
I spent much of it looking out at the moonlit passing scene
— past plains and prairies with no sign of human life. The
sun rose in a cloudless sky and saw us rushing, rushing,
past tow^s and rich farming lands, through boundless
plains of rolling grass — a sea of waving golden verdure,
wild, solitary, and beautiful ; through the Indian reser-
vation, where, however, we saw no Indians nor living crea-
ture— on and on, everywhere a sea of green ; here and there
troops of horses and cattle quietly feeding, oc(!asionally
a mounted cowboy keeping watch — far and far between, a
stockaded ranche.
On we sped, all through that day, having good meals
" aboard ; " on through the night, at last the rosy dawn
colossal,
icoln.
d's Fair "
•th while,
3U pulled
Is, which
it in five
■red con.
bly weK-
c" of the
" Audi-
3 it, for
\g speed,
sea-sick,
s at all.
st, pas-
few, so
e whole
'en, and
g scene
The
ushiug,
undless
erdure,
reser-
g crea-
d there
ion ally
s^eeu, a
meals
dawn
ROYAL GORGE. P. 40.
Mi
liri
iW
M'
DENVER.
29
glorifying the distant first view of the snow-peaked Rocky-
Mountains.
We had been due at Denver before 6 a.m. ; but all
at once, long before daylight, we came to a sudden stand-
still, which roused up the amiable conductor who was
comfortably reclining on two chair-benches in our car.
After a short time he returned and resumed his comfort-
able pose, saying it was only the engine-wheels which had
caught fire, but that they had been fixed up with grease
and we should now move on. This we presently did, but
only at a creeping pace, and even so had to stop several
times to again put out the fire. It was particularly annoy-
ing for us, as we had hoped to catch the early train at
Denver to Georgetown and the famous " Loop," which
makes a round through some of the finest scenery of the
Rockies. Despairingly, we watched our watches galloping
on whilst the train broke into a sort of gentle trot, which
at last landed us at Denver City, just twenty minutes after
the " Loop " train was timed to start ! It was the more
trying, as the sky was so exquisitely clear and cloudless
that we should have seen the views, near and far, to the
utmost perfection ; and the next day being Sunday, no
train would be going up the " Loop " — so we had to give it
up, and content ourselves with exploring the beauties of
Denver.
In the extraordinarily clear atmosphere of Colorado the
innumerable serrated snowy peaks of the lovely Rocky
chain, fifteen miles distant, stood out brightly distinct,
softening, as the day advanced, into the loveliest cerulean
mists and shadows.
The "Queen City of the Plains" is one of the most
wonderful examples of American growth and " push."
Not thirty years ago it consisted merely of a small and
30
UNITED STATES.
■ii j
straggling mining camp ; now it is *a wide-spreading and
magnificent city, with grand public buildings, including a
superb court-house seated on the high " Capitol " hill ;
loDg streets of immense width, delightfully shaded with
cotton-wood and pepper trees, every street to the west
ending in exquisite vistas of the blue Rockies ; theatres,
opera-house, numerous costly churches, a " city park " of
immense extent, containing lakes, conservatories, and a
zoological garden — in short, a miracle of enterprise and
rapid growth ! We had an excellent dinner in the great
elevated dining saloon of the principal hotel, which shows,
from its many windows, a beautiful view of the snow-clad
range ; after which we flew down to the depot (" station "
in America means the "lock-up," or "police office"), just
in time for the 3 p.m. train to Colorado Sjjrings, where
we arrived at 6 p.m., after a lovely journey through richest
plains of that exquisitely brilliant emerald-green "Alfalfa"
grass, apon which are reared such magnificent herds of
cattle and horses ; at first running parallel with the rocky
range, Titian-blue, snow-crowned ; then rising high to the
" Divide," amid pine-clad heights and rocky, fantastic
crags ; down again, hills on one side, boundless prairie on
the other; sparkling streams, with feathery banks of
graceful cotton-trees of the most dazzling golden hue, till
we stopped at Colorado S^jrings, framed in autumnal gold,
the great blue snow-peaked hills beyond.
We left the train, and crossed to another little railroad
that takes you, in a few minutes, to the charming little
crag-perched hamlet of Manitou, seated at a height of
5,000 feet, where are the famous and delicious effervescing
soda springs, as well as irou ones ; Colorado Springs, de-
spite its name, possessing none.
The sun was setting in a blaze of golden glory as we
MAyrrou,
81
ding and
eluding a
ol" hill;
ded with
the west
theatres,
park " of
s, and a
rise and
;he great
h shows,
iow-clad
station "
' "), just
s, where
1 richest
\.lfalfa "
lerds of
le rocky
to the
mtastic
lirie on
uks of
lue, till
il gold,
lilroad
little
ht of
escing
rs, de-
as we
walked from the depot to " Barker House," a most com-
fortable and charming little hotel, with wide flowery
verandas and sparkling fountains, and baths attached to
every bedroom. After a nice supper, we wandered out into
the lovely moonlight, softly shining on the rippling foun-
tains and the shimmering trees, and casting mysterious
gleams on the high white peak, one of the highest of the
Eockies, well known as " Pike's Peak."
The next morning the sun rose, as ever in happy
m^^
'' ^^^^^^^Bv
r
L J
M
B^
TYPE OF UTE INDIAN.
Colorado, in a sky of cloudless a7Aire, and after a visit to
the various garden-inclosed springs, and breakfast, we pro-
ceeded, the day being Sunday, to a little chapel picturesquely
perched on a moss-grown crag, midst pine-clad heights.
After an early luncheon, we drove in a little open four-
wheeled carriage, with no top or awning happily (for these
tops terribly obstruct the views), with two sleek and some-
what too-lively horses, well held in hand, however, and ex-
cellently driven by an equally lively Texan ex-cowboy, who
entei'tained us with terrific stories of his long-ago en-
counters with buffaloes, snakes, and Indians, to the " Ute
<^#
82
UNITED STATES.
pass," once the great highway of the Ute Indians, as they
swept down on the war-path to fight the neighbouring
rival tribes, or to hunt the great herds of buffalo on the
broad prairie below.
The road consists mostly of boulders and holes, mended
here and there, in the worst places, with branches and
trunks of trees, over which you go bounding and bumping,
winding in steep sharp curves, skirting the serpentine
course of the little foaming and fussing " Fontaine-qui'
houille,'^ so named by the French missionaries who, more
than two hundred years ago, discovered this lovely haunt
of Indian braves.
Higher and higher, through a wilderness of rocks and
peaks and glorious pines ; high above the brawling brook,
which the road overhangs, on perpendicular masses of pink
and white granite, too narrow for more than one vehicle ;
so if two chance to meet, generally at full gallop, one has to
back till it finds a space wide enough for the other to pass.
At last you come to the lovely " rainbow falls," where
the rushing, roaring little " Fontaine-qui-houille " tosses
itself headlong down for 100 feet. Near by are the " Manitou
grand caverns," in the enormous natural " opera house" of
which, with strange simulation of boxes and galleries,
hangs suspended the " grand organ " of tubular stalactites,
emitting, when struck, two octaves of silvery, perfect,
musical sound. A " cave of the winds " is also hollowed
by nature in the " amphitheatre," a huge circle of tower-
ing precipices of granite and sandstone of gorgeously varie-
gated hue, the road being ascended through the grand
Williams' canon.
After a fearful and break-neck gallop down the tortuous
passes, the ex-cowboy shouting with laughter, and flourish-
ing his whip the more as he saw how little I liked it, we
MANITOU,
33
were dropped at the Iron Springs, where, after a " five
o'clock tea " of chalybeate water, we saw a splendid collec-
tion of minerals found in the Rockies, the beauty and in-
terest of which kept us till after dark, when we walked
back to our comfortable hotel for supper.
Next morning (October 15th) the same exquisite deep
blue, cloudless sky and delicious sunshine prepared us for
a day of enchantment.
At 8 a.m. we found ourselves, with about thirty
others, at the Eagleman's Caiion, near the iron springs,
ready to take our places in the little cog-wheel train, con-
sisting of one long car with seats for fifty, the sides and
front and back consisting almost entirely of glass, pushed
up (from behind) the steep nine miles of track to the top
of Pike's Peak by the enormously powerful little engine,
or " locomotive " as they call it, with its extraordinarily
(Complicated machinery of ninety separate cogs, with which
it clutches hold of the steeply-inclined rack-rails. Extra-
ordinary precautions have been taken to insure the safety
of the line. The rack-rails are all constructed of the best
Bessemer steel, each rail set into three die-forged chairs,
the bolts of which are so made as to allow for the natural
expansion and contraction of the metals. One hundred
and forty- six anchors ai'e fixed in the solid rock, to which
the rack-rails are firmly bolted, to prevent any possibility
of slipping, and the car provided with a system of tremend-
ously powerful brakes.
Gr. and I had been so fortunate as to have the front
seats reserved for us, so, with nothing between us and the
scenery but plate glass, at first thrown open, we had,
during the whole ascent and descent, a perfectly un-
obstructed view.
You start with a feeling of awed expectancy, to be more
D
84
UNITKD STATES.
Hi
till »- justified by the mingled beauty and stupendous
grandeur of the ascent.
At first, huge sloping hills clothed to the summit with
superb forests of fir and pine ; a lovely, brawling, amber-
coloured brook following the line of the track into a
desolate region of hanging rocks, stupendous masses and
columns of pink granite, of every fantastic shajie, poised
on end and balanced, as it were, on a point, ready to fall
and overwhelm you !
Then, grand pines again, succeeded by narrowing passes,
edged by mighty cliffs of red granite rising perpendicularly
into the blue sky ; then through a stretch of hill-encom-
passed, green, flowery plain, with groves of pines, and
delicate asj^en, sheets of feathery gold ; the Lion's Gulch,
a mighty, towering conglomeration of pyramids, towers,
and castles of granite, its base sentinelled by single rows of
giant pines. Ever ascending, we rise to a barren region of
great, wild, desolate yellow sandstone hills where trees no
longer grow ; up and up, the atmosphere growing colder and
more icy, the rarefied air beginning to tell on many of the
company, some even staying behind at the " halfway house."
We reach the snow line and enter upon a vast exjmnse
of dazzling snowfields and glittering peaks ; up the steepest
gradient of the ascent, and at the end of the second hour
attain the summit, • ■ ' '
' Here we alight ; one or two fainting dead away, unable
to bear the rarefaction of the air. Fortunately there was
a doctor among the passengers who at once attended to
them.
An excellent aid to mountain-climbing is the " Ery-
throxylon Coca" (of Peru), a few leaves of which, taken
occasionally during high ascents, entirely nullify the ill
effects of rarefaction. Thev also remove sensations of
tm
PIKK'S PKAK.
85
:upeudous
nmit with
ig, amber-
)lc into a
asses and
pe, jioiseJ
idv to fall
Qg passes,
Qdicularlj
ill-encom-
ines, and
I's Gulch,
Is, towers,
le rows of
region of
e trees no
•older and
ny of the
ly house."
t expanse
e steepest
ond hour
y, unable
there was
ended tc
le " Ery-
ch, taken
y the ill
itions of
fatigue aud breathlessness in difficult climbing, and
mitigate hunger and thirst.
Coca is invariably used in this way, in the Andes, by
South American Indians, and enables them easily to
endure the bitter cold and rarefied air at the greatest
heights to which it is possible to ascend.
It acts also as a real food and drink, and is so easily
carried, five or six small leaves being enough for a day,
that travellers, and particularly mountain-climbers would
do well to provide themselves with this easily-carried and
most efficient specific. - ■ . .
To return to Pike's Peak, 14,147 feet high. After
leaving the car, we climbed to the highest point of the
group of deep-red rocks, from which the winds had blown
all the snow. A hut-like little inn stands here ; now,
unluckily, closed for the winter, and a small meteorological
station, generally lived in all the year round.
The whole panoi'ama indescribably grand. The fantastic
foreground of vivid crimson rocks ; the glittering snow-
fields shining and sparkling in the radiant sunshine,
shadowed here and there, in their depths, by fugitive
sunlit vapoury mists of the heavenliest blue, deepening to
purple ; range upon range of vast mountain chains of
loveliest form ; and, towering high above all, the wild
serrated ridge of the exquisite, for ever ice-bound Saugre
de Cristo, in the dimmest distance, stretching from far
north to south, one long, unending, wind-blown, up-
tossed sea wave as it were, frozen for ever to icy stone !
To the west, great, desolate, up-heaved, violent red and
yellow rock-masses, the lower rich wooded hills entirely
hidden ; whilst, deep down below, one vast, sunny plain of
waving golden prairie stretches far as eye can reach, into
vaguest, far-off, mysterious, misty light.
36
rNlTEl) STATE?!!.
Too soon, alu , the short hour of stay rolk'd by, ami
dowu again wu had to go ; this time the engine in front,
regulating and suj)i)orting the downward motion — so that
we still had our unobstructed view of the glorious beauty
of each passing scene — soon to be left to a winter of un-
disturbed repose broken only by wild harmonies of the
winds and storms.
A week later the ^" 'u would run no more till June.
By a little past .'^e were home again at the hotel,
and after a hurried refection found our attentive ex-cow-
boy waiting with his little four-wheeled gig and his frisky
horses to take us the lovely drive to the " Garden of the
Gods."
It is, indeed, a garden ideally fit for the gods ! a perfect
dream of poetic beauty !
You drive on to great emerald-green stretches of flower-
strewn exquisite turf, fringed and grouped with lovely
masses of pepper and cotton trees, their delicate feathery
foliage of every brilliant hue from purest gold to orange,
scarlet, and that exq ""-iite vieux-rose only to be seen in the
New World Fall, w so deliciously contrasts, yet blends
with every other tint- nd here and there groups of solemn
pines.
To the eastward the garden is guarded, by the sun-
bathed giant hills, veiled in vapoury mists, of that glorious
deep-toned blue that Titian loved and painted, crowned by
the icy peaks and glittering snow-heights on which we had
stood, entranced, in the morning.
Facing this vision of sunny, dreamy, radiant beauty,
the lovely Pleasaunce is jealously shut in at the back, and
around, by cyclopean walls of flaming scarlet sandstone,
massed into towering, castellated bastions, loopholed and
moated I At only one point at this end may the garden be
I
E t
"'H
OAUUKN OF TIIK (;OI)S.
87
ed bv, and
le ill fn»ut,
)n — HO that
OU8 beaut V
liter of uii-
iiies of the
1 June,
the hotel,
ive ex-cow-
1 his frisky
•den of the
I :
a perfect
3 of flower-
vith lovely
ie feathery
to orange,
seen in the
yet blends
of solemn
the sun-
it glorious
rowned by
oh we liad
it beauty,
back, and
iiandstone,
holed and
garden be
entered, at the " Gateway of the Gods," flanked by giant
crimson towers, and having in its centre a portentous
scarlet erection — sentinels of pine l)eyond.
Within the garden (500 acres in extent) rise in all direc-
tions, in violent contrast to the vivid green of the undu-
lating, tlowery, mossy turf, scarlet, ]>ink, and crimson
shapes, eccentric and startling beyond measure. Titanic
giants ; huge coils of knotted snakes, lions, camels, colossal
toads ! Pinnacled spires, tapering 300 or 400 feel uj) into
the pure blue sky till they seem of the veritable sharpness
of needles.
Ruined cathedrals, Egyptian temples supported on
massive crimson columns ; every strange eccentric form,
weather and water worn, all flaming in vividest scarlet and
every shade of crimson, glowing and flashing in the radiant
rose- gold of the declining sun ; a world's marvel of colour,
gorgeous, dazzling, yet infinitely harmonious ! a true poet's
dream, in which we lingered till passing time forced us on,
and we drove through the wide entrance of the " gateway,"
looking back on the brilliant wonderland and passing into
the l)oundless prairie with its waving, shimmering, feathery
golden grass, where, of old, the great herds of buffalo fed
luid rushed — now silent, the mighty beasts extinct.
Outside the garden, in the prairie, is a curious " village
of prairie dogs," full of the burrows of these inoffensive
little pretty creatures that play all day and sleep all night,
and are popularly believed to live in their burrows in hap]>y
family harmony with rattlesnakes and owls ! a delusion
that has probably arisen, as says Mr. W. G. Smith, the
great Colorado naturalist, from the fact that rattlesnakes
often take possession of the comfortable burrows of the
dogs, driving thorn away ; and the owls haunt any newly
turned earth, in the search for mice and such " small deer."
38
UNITED STATES.
I
•I
\t\
ilM
a- ■
Skirting the prairie we passed into a wooded park sur-
ronndod by huge terraces of snow-white sandstone — silvery
white pinnacles rising high iiito the blue sky, the scarlet
" garden" walls and sun-bathed azure mountains beyond.
Here, embosomed in lovely trees, midst which rise
gigantic snow-white rocky freaks of nature, stands a charm-
ing flower- wreathed villa, the home of the engineering
architect of the great Rio Grande Line.
We drove, still skirting the prairie, on high terraces of
sandstone, alternately dazzling white and brilliant rose
pink, the great plain stretching away in boundless golden
green grassy waves, and so, winding and turning and ever
wonderingly admiring, we wended our way once more to
ci'ag-perched Manitou — '* Great Spirit " — so named by the
Indians, who in days of yore flocked to the medicinal
springs, provided, as they fondly believed, for the cure of
all their ills, by their father, the Great Spirit.
At 6 a.m., October 16th, we left, with what deep regret f
this lovely many-fountained Manitou, and drove, under the
care of our Texan cowboy, to Cheyenne Canon, a distance
of ten miles through the prairie, skirting the base of the
mountains, the sky clear and blue as always in happy
Colorado; the sun bright and hot, the air exhilarating,
trees vdth their dazzling autumnal tints relieved by deep-
toned firs, till we turned a sudden curve into the mountains,
under deep shade of huge pines, side by side with an amber
creek, gaily . leaping towards us over crimson boulders.
Soon we came to giant vertical Avails of red rock, the deep
tree-shade becoming almost gloom and darkness, and at
last stopped where the gay river had just taken three
terrific leaps down three separate ledges of crimson granite ;
we sprang from our machine and climbed to the foot of the
Falls, and up steps to a higher level where, turning a b :id
■ft
CHEYENNE CANON.
39
i park siir-
Qe — silvery
the scarlet
IS beyond,
which rise
Is a charni-
^ngiueeriiig
terraces of
lliaiit rose
ess golden
g and ever
;e more to
ned by the
medicinal
he cure of
iep regret f
under the
a distance
ase of the
in hajipy
liilarating,
1 by deep-
lountains,
an amber
boulders.
, the deep
5S, and at
ken three
u granite ;
oot of the
ug a b' ad
in the cliffs, we found that the lively creek had already
achieved four splendid bounding leaps from red ridge to
ridge. I tried to sketch but it was time to hurry away to
catch the 10.30 train to Leadville. So back we drove into
welcome sunsnine once moi*e, tlirough exquisite meadows
and golden tree groves, by a different and still more lovely
route, to Colorado Springs, arriving not long before the
tolling bell warned of the departing train.
I like these American train-bells, with their pleasant
deep-toned clang ; no horrible whistlings or ear-piercing
slirieks, but a quiet majestic toll, as the stately locomotive
comes and goes.
No one should leave the lovely Colorado state without tes-
tifying to its marvellous climate ; dry, clera', exhilarating,
bracing, buoyant and invigorating, and joy-giving beyond
description. For asthma or consumption, or melancholia,
it is a resurrection. The beauty of the sky far surpasses
that of Italy, the sun for ever seems to shine, and the
country is absolutely free from malaria or unhealthy
.apours of any sort ; to which must be added the innumer-
able curative and revivifying mineral springs.
Summer and winter it is always enchanting and health-
giving to live in, and the beauty of its exquisite scenery is
only equalled by its salubrity.
40
i-t
CHAPTER V.
" Royal Gorge " of the Arkansas— Leadville—Glenwood Springs
-into Utah.
,/ .;
FROM Colorado Springs we started ou a further voyage
of enchantmeut, the most wonderful part of which
was the (happily) slow progress through the ftir-famed
" Royal Gorge, in which the train, between huge over-
hanging precipitous walls of granite, follows the rushing
course of the Arkansas river for eight miles, through bends
and curves so narrow at times, that the track has had to
be hung by iron girders wedged and ^xed into the solid
rock, actually suspended over the foaming, raging torrent.
Here f nd there are l^reaks in the mighty rucky walls, and
loveliest glimpses of distant snowpeaks and smiling valleys ;
and when we emerge out of the dark and frowning gloom
and appalling grandeur of thv3 Gorge, three huge, stupend-
ous " sugar-loaf " peaks and distant snowy vistas, thick
groves of solemn pines and golden jjoplars, and deep flowery
meadows, still watered by the rushing river, delight our
eyes.
Too short a glimpse of glorious beauty is given at the
lovely Parkdale and Cotopaxi depots.
At lieautiful Salida, with its stupendous views of the
Sangro <le Cristo range, those who are going up the famous
Marshall Pass " connect " with another train of the line.
But we, somewhat foolishly, instead of " stopping oft'" for
!|i
oil Springs
er voyage
of which
ar-famed
ige over-
j rushing
gh bends
IS had to
the soHd
^ torrent,
^alls, and
!^ valleys ;
ig gloom
stiipend-
as, thick
p flowery
ight our
n at the
s of the
' famous
the line,
oft'" for
CHKVKNNE FALLS. P. 38.
• I ii! i
i !
, , _ . J
r
f
i
i|
i:
'^
-m
GRANDE CANON.
41
this further " rouud " experience whereby we should have
seen the Gunnison river, with its magnificent Black Canon
and Curricauti Needle, pressed on ; rising higher and
higher through splendid scenery, till, up in the snow
region, we found ourselves at 7 p.m. at Leadville — 10,000
feet above the sea — the principal city of the great silver
and gold mining centre, one of the highest dwelling spots
in the world.
The atmosphere was rarefied and icy cold, and through
deep snow we walked, a short distance from the depot, in
the fast gathering gloom, lo a comfortable little hotel, the
" Vendome."
At about 4 a.m. we struggled out again with lanterns
through the snow lo the dej^ot, the white mountains
around looming mysteriously in the darkness, the first
slight streaks of rosy light just beginning to faintly
ghmmer in the east. At five our locomotive tolled its bell
and away we went in the rosy dawn, through a glorious
panorama of snow clad mountains, past the Mountain of
the Holy Cross, on which, towards the summit, formed
by two huge ravines crossing each other nearly rectan-
gularly, filled with snow that never melts, a Latin Cross of
perfect symmetry for ever shines. On we pass, into the
depths between the pine-crowned rocky heights of the
icaiion formed by the Eagle river, wli^.j. nerched at the
giddy, perpendicular height of more than 2,000 feet on
the very edge of the precipice, you catch sight of Gilman-
jtown, the home of the miners of the Battle Mountain
[gold mine. On through the magnificent Grande Canon
fin which, i)arallel with the train, rushes the snow-fed Rio
Grande, hemmed in by huge disjointed masses of castel-
■lated rock ; towers, giant columns, bastions, every fantastic
shape of gorgeous-hued sandstone rock, turning the scarlet
■
ri
42
rMTKD STATES.
<t » .i
i t I 1\
P
aM
.:i
'lit.
" Flamin^'o lieadlaud " into a still more wonderful region
of turreted towers and spires, minarets, and strange
statuesque and animal forms, all aflame in scarlet and
crimson, recalling the wonders of Manitoii, till a long dark
timnel shuts out the dazzling scene, and amidst the clang-
ing of the bell we emerge and stop at one of the most
bewitching places in all America — Glenwood Springs.
Here we alighted, and at once walked to the Colorado
Hotel, across the suspension bridge over the foaming Rio,
where, in the narrow vale, it is joined by the Roaring
Fork.
On the fui'ther side a charming series of green lawns,
rising in terraced slopes bordered by delicate poplars with
feathery foliage of vivid gold and pink, dazzling to the eye.
On these brilliant and admirably kept terraced lawns,
like glassy mirrors, lie iiiarble-edged pools of that ex-
quisitely lovely tint of mingled ean de Nil and vivid
tui'quoise blue, slightly opaque, that characterizes sulphur
springs. In the centre the lovely waters rise in misty
fountains, falling in showers of sparkling sapphires, and
now and then a greeny, steaming mist gathers along the
surface as the boiling sul})hui'ous springs bubble up from
the depths below.
Masses of brilliant flowers, and on the highest of this
wide flight of successive terraced lawns stands an inviting
and most charming hotel, wnth wide verandas almost
hidden in roses and jasmine, fragrant and lovely, filled
with every variety of luxurious reclining and rocking-
chairs, with a background of precipitous, richly-wooded
mountains, above which shine the snow-heights, and over
all the heavenly Colorado sky.
We soon found ourselves comfortably established in tliis
inviting " home," where we proposed to spend one happy
■'I
'4
"fill region
d strauge
carlet and
I long dark
the clang-
' the most
rings,
e Colorado
aming Rio,
le Roaring
•een lawns,
aplars Avith
to the ove,
.ced lawns,
»f that ex-
and vivid
5es sulphur
i in misty
hires, and
along the
e up from
est of this
iin inviting
as almost
voly, filled
rocking-
ily-wooded
i, and over
luid in tliis
one happy
o
.V.
U
ill I
ill
m
(iLE.NWOOD SPRINfiS.
4a
day of rest. First, a visit to the delicious baths at the
foot of the terraced j^arden, where lies an iniineuse pool of
lovely stoainini; turquoise, iu which, half shrouded and
veiled by hot vajtoury mist curling along the surface,
disport themselves swimmers, Avho come swiftly sliding
30 feet down a steep toboggan into the hot and bubbling
waters, and float and swim for hours.
G. soon joined them, whilst I went to the bath-house, a
huge contiguous building, in which each bather has his
own marble compai'tment, 10 or more feet square, with a
shelving marble floor, in which you float in the greeny-
blue water, always freshly bubbling iu and flowing out at
varying depths of from 4 to 10 feet.
After an excellent di'jenner G. went for a clin)b, and I
sat out iu the sunny garden for the delightful luxury of
a whole afternoon of quiet sketching and reading, listening
to dreamy strains of Choinu and Schubert wafted from the
hotel above, mingling with the music of the breeze in the
golden poplars, and the more distant murmur of the
rivers.
While sketching I became suddenly aware of the pre-
sence behind me of a pretty little boy whom I had seen
chasing the brilliant butterflies among the flower-beds.
For some time he silentlv watched mv sketch, so at last I
asked him to sit down and whether he cared for painting ?
to which he answered, " Oh yes, ma'am, I'm always paint-
ing the skies and the hills, and when I'm big I'm to be a
painter." We had a long talk, and seeing how tiny he
was I was quite astounded at his asking whether I had
been in Italy, and which of the splendid painters there I
liked best? and how he longed to go to Rome and that his
parents had promised to take him there, and what colours
and paints I liked best to use? and all sorts of extra-
ilf.
I
m
ilffi'H •
44
UNITED STATES.
ordinary questions and remarks. He looked like a cliild
of six ; but I began to think he must be a kind of dwarf
and much older than he looked, and asked him how old he
was, " Not quite eight, ma'am," he replied. All the
American children, however tinv, alwavs call vou '* ma'am "
or " sir" most respectfully.
At last his mother came and claimed him, but he begged
to be allowed to stay with me till his tea-time, to which she
consented, so we stayed on till sunset chatting, and then he
went to his tea; and after G. and I had dined, and liad
come into the charming hall full of luxurious rocking-chairs,
to read and listen to the German musicians who had been
playing their Chopin so bea itifully, and whose whole time,
morning, noon, and night seemed to be spent in playing,
what should I see but my infant prodigy, sidling up across
the chairs to plant himself in a huge one next mine, in
which he proceeded to rock himself vigorously up and
down,
I wonder if this taste for rocking-chairs will ever intro-
duce itself into England ? All over America they seem
universal and indispensable. Even the most sumptuous
drawing-room chairs ar'^ made to rock ; and it is the
funniest thing to see, in the evenings, a circle of gorgeously-
dressed people all talking and rocking with the greatest
energy, like so many children !
The next morning at six, I wandered into the garden
to the lovely turquoise sulphur waters, for an hour of
sketching before breakfast ; when, what again should I
see, coming singing and hopping along, but my little boy-
painter ! I was charmed to see him and to listen again to
his funny and extraordinary precocity. I told him I should
expect to hear of him, in the coming years, as a famous
paiilter of pictures of his beautiful country ; and after
I' !
f;Li:NwooD.
4»
ike a child
1 of dwarf
how old he
All the
I "ma'am"
; he begged
which she
nd theu he
1, and had
ing-c'hairs,
3 had been
i^hole time,
II playing,
: up across
t mine, in
y up and
Bver iutro-
they seem
iumptuous
it is the
orgeously-
e greatest
le garden
I hour of
should I
little boy-
II again to
n 1 should
a famous
and after
breakfast we said good-bye, and parted, the best of friends ;
|G. and I having to run to the depot to catch the 1>.30
1 train.
This was not the first time I had noticed the strange
'jirecocity of American children. They seem everywhere to
be extraordinarily shrewd and old for their age, and as
a rule, to be on a footing of complete equality with their
]iiirent8, and i'> consecpience to treat them with very little
deference or respect, taking the initiative in everything, in
the ealmest way. The parents on the other hand, seem to
take it all as a matter of course, and only laugh and smile,
as if proud of the honour of being the hapi>y possessors of
such " smart " and " cunning," if irreverent and impertinent
children; and sjjoil them and give them their own way in
everything, with the result I'uat " enfanis terribles " of an
aggravated type abound. This, however, was far from
being the case with my dear little friend at Glenwood, who
was as nice and well-behaved as he was clever.
We left Glenwood Springs with great regret ; it is a
lovely and charming resting-place, 5,000 feet above the sea,
and a most convenient centre and starting point to all the
finest points in the Eockies.
We might, of course, have stayed longer, and seen more
of these beautiful mountains, but, in travelling, one seems,
I think, to be, as it Avere, possessed by some force urging
one on, lest some spoke should get thrown into the wheel
of one's itinerary ; and one says to one's self, I shall return
some day, and stay a week here, and a month there, and
thoroughly examine all that is to be seen : this is only
a sort of skeleton-tour, and ther.; are such innumerable
places and things in the world to be seen, and so much to
\ be done, and life so short I
Well, on we went, through charming valleys, along the
<:ii
h
46
UNITED STATES.
lovely course of the Rio Grande, ]>ast the " Grande" junc-
tion, where various branches of this line converge, and tiic
fruit is considered the finest in the West. Then, for more
than one hundred miles, through limitless wavy undulations
of bare and dusty desert (the *' Colorado").
Strange and curious miniature cliffs and formations,
and in the dim distance, great glistening white alkaline
patches and white hills, and clouds of penetrating dust
that nearly choke you ; beginning the ascent of the Wah-
sacht, an outlying si)ur of the Rockies. Clay cliffs of a
sky-blue colour contrasting vividly with towering scarlet
sandstone castellated crags ; through " Castle Canon,"
grand in its huge domes and towers, almost closed at the
end by the superb overhanging, huge crimson pillars called
" Castle Gate," sentinelled by grand pines ; and rising con-
stantly, '• Soldier-Summit," 7,465 feet, is attained, from
which we descend through a succession of canons till the
green, park-like, beautifully fertile, and admirably cul-
tivated valley of Utah, with its wide fresh-water lake,
bordered by flourishing Mormon cities, comes into view;
limited in the east by the snow-peaked Wahsacht, in the
west by the bai'e and gleaming 0(iuiiTh range, in the south
by the richly wooded and snow-crowned Mount Nebo,
whilst, in the almost too-dim distance, far away beyond
Salt Lake City, might be seen, faintly glimmering- in the
fading light, the great Salt Lake.
'%■
.1:'
\m
47
-ndo" June.
^i\ and flic
n. for in ore
mduliitious
fovniations.
te alkiiliuf
•ating dust
f the Wall,
cliffs of a
ini< scarlet
1' Canon,"
osed at the
liars called
rising con-
iued, from
ons till the
irably ciil-
vater lake,
into view ;
cht, in the
I the south
Lint Nebo,
iiy beyond
•ing- in the
CHAPTER VT.
tall— Salt Lake City— Salt Lake-1'ark ("ity— Ontario Silver
mincH — Mormon Sunday service— Fort Douglas- ()},'(lon— Over
the Sierra.
BY time we reached Salt Lake City it was ])itch dark, so
we went straight to the Knutsford Hotel (tolerably
comfortable), and the next morning (October 19th) started
early on foot, as we were " located " at quite a short dis-
tance from Temple Square, to see as much as " Gentiles "
arc allowed to see, of the great Mormon buildings. The
itrccts are all of uniform and immense width, 132 feet,
jflelightfully shaded by every kind of temperate fruit and
powering and ornamental tree, and are all at right angles
to each other, ending in lovely deep blue, snow-crowned,
jpauuntain vistas.
}^ Every house, except in the more commercial streets,
ftands detached, surroiuided by a well-dressed garden full
of bright, sweet-scented Howers and fruit trees, whilst many
%^i the larger residences dominate over quite a little j)ark of
J^l^'ii" own, full of choice shrubs and trees intermixed with
iorgeous flower beds.
'^ The "Bee-hive" home of Brigham Young, who, after
(the murder of "Joseph Smith the Seer" at Nauvoo, led
.'the persecuted " Latter-day Saints " out of Illinois into
rthe " promised holy Ziou," is not so much of a palace as
one would have expected. It was not even large enough
■It
I -I
ii i^^j
m\
h -i[ \
48
UNITED STATES.
to loilj^e all his nineteen " earthly " wives (hundreds wore
'* sealed " to him for Eteruitv ) ; consequently he estab-
lished the remainder in comfortable little flower-embowered
homes which he built for them in the vicinity, A certain
amount of stpaivation between these luihapi^y women was
probably desirable, if not necessary ; for the text of one,
amou*^st many, of his sermons runs that he " was sick of
the everlastin<j whiniu<j;s of many of the women of tliis
territory, who say they are miserable and wading throui,'h
a perfect flood of tears." He continues that he " is going
to give them till the 6th of October next for reflection,"
and " my wives have got to do one of the two things :
either round up their shoulders to endure the afflictions of
this world and live their religion, or they may leave, for I
will not have them whining about me. I will go into
heaven alone rather than have scratching and fighting
around me."
This degraded condition of things is now, nominally at
least, at an end, the United States law having declared
against it with severe penalties. But it being one of the
chief articles of the Mormon creed that a man's " hap])iness
and glory hereafter " will be strictly proportional to the
number of wives he has had here below, they must either
renounce this leading dogma or continue its practice in
secret, which we were told they did.
One may hope that the Mormon doctrine of " atone-
ment for sin," inexorably enforced by Brigham Young and
preached and justified in his sermons, may now have be-
come a dead letter. But no Gentile knows, except by
hearsav, what rites or ceremonies are enacted within the
massive walls of the huge towei'ing " Temple,'' into which
he may never set foot — revelation of the secrets of which
entails penalty of death.
SALT LAKE CITY.
49
mndreds were
tly he ostab.
er-embowerod
;y. A certain
)y women was
3 text of one,
" was sick of
'Omeii of this
uliiig throutfh
he " is going
3r reflection,"
^, two things;
3 afflictious of
ly leave, for I
will fjfo into
and fighting
nominally at
ring declared
ig one of the
s " hap])iness
tioiial to the
r must either
s ])ractice in
e of " atone-
n Young and
low have be-
^s, except by
d within the
,'' into which
ets of which
M Happily "Gentile" opinion can now make itself heard
(irtirougly and numerically outside, for half the population
of the city is now alicu and bitterly opposed to Mormon
doctrine and rites.
We wandered around the outside of this i)orteutous and
huge white gi-inite fortress of a temple, imposing and
magnificent as seen from a distance, less handsome when
TKMPLE.
looked at close, but absolutely original in architecture,
and resembling no other building in the world; where
marriages are " sealed," some for " time " and some for
"eternity," and some for both; and the "saints" receive
baptism by immersion, and vicarious " baptism for the
dead" — one of the most cherished and vital Mormon
tenets being *' redemption beyond the grave ; " and every
faint takes an oath to avenge the murder of Jose})h Smith
the Seer.
UNITED STATES.
I
till I
■if :
J|:
■ 1
, i
i
\l\
■ i *
. ...a *
Tlie Temple is surrounded by gardens beautifully laid
out from the designs of Brigliam Young, who although
originally a bricklayer by trade, and illiterate, seems to
have had much sense of artistic beauty.
We next went to the Tabernacle, guided by a venerable
and benevolent-looking Elder, with a long snow-white
beard, who lost no opportunity of zealously crying up the
excellence of his faith, which, he said, he was convinced, if
duly expounded unto us and explained, we should inevit-
ably embrace.
This huge and ungainly building of elliptic form, entered
by twenty doors, supports, on forty-four massive sandstone
pillars a huge wooden roof shaj^ed in imitation of the
shell of a turtle, and seats comfortably 9,000 persons,
several additional thousands finding standing room on
important occasions. At one end of the ellipse a huge
orchestral platform accommodates the ecclesiastical au-
thorities, elders, and singers ; opposed, at the other end,
by an equally huge and very magnificent organ, built in
the city. The whole of the flat central floor is covered
with seats, and raised galleries of seats encircle the sides.
Concerts are sometimes held here, the Mormons having
had the privilege
of listening on
one occasion lo the
enchanting singing of Adelina Patti and other celebrities.
As we proposed to assist at the weekly Mormon service
— to which all Gentiles are most politely invited — on the
following Sunday afternoon, we declined the offer of our
amiable Elder to fetch the organist to play for us, and
instead, went to see the Assembly Hall close by, with its
fine tower surmounted by the colossal angel " Moroni,"
who appeared in unromantic English Manchester to Joseph
Smith the Seer, and announced to him where he should
find the ancient " Book of Mormon " wherewith to supple-
GREAT SALT LAKE.
51
itifully laid
o although
3, seems to
a venerable
snow-white
ying up the
onvinced, if
ould inevit-
rm, entered
e sandstone
tiou of the
)0 persons,
g room on
pse a huge
iastical an-
other end,
m, built in
' is covered
e the sides,
ons havintj
sion 1 o the
celebrities,
mon service
:ed — on the
)fEer of our
for us, and
by, with its
" Moroni,"
3r to Joseph
? he should
li to supple-
ment the Bible, of which it is a very poor sort of imitation.
This hall accommodates about 3,000 persons.
We next visited the "Zion Co-op.," an enormous build-
ing, interesting as the "first co-operative store" set up in
the world, invented and established by Brighara Young in
1868, and since largely copied in both hemispheres.
The finest hospital in Utah (of which there are three,
admirably appointed, in Salt Lake City) is St. Mary's
Hospital, managed by the Catholic sisters of the Holy
'h
II
■.*•.'*-
SALTAIR BATHING BEACU.
Cross, into which Gentiles and Mormons are received
(indiscriminately.
After a hurried luncheon at our hotel we started, in
heavenly weather, by a little branch-line train to Saltair
bathing beach, on the shore of Great Salt Lake, a distance of
fifteen miles, through gardens and orchards full of lovely
fruit-laden trees of every temperate description, and vine-
yards, on to a wide expanse of desolate salt-plain, masses and
sheaves of salt, shining in the bright sunshine like burn-
•ished silver, gathered together for removal, to be shipped
-and conveyed to the ore-smelters of Utah, Idaho, Montana,
and Colorado for fluxing, the whole ground one sparkling
52
UNITKD STATES.
1 '
I I
sheet of salt, contrasting, with marvellous brilliancy, the
exquisite greens of the lake, varying from the loveliest
emerald and chrysoprase to rippling shades of eaii de Nil
and turquoise blue, a soft breeze tossing the lovely curves
of the little delicate translucent waves in shining spray on
to the silvery sands.
Eighty miles of greeny-bluey salt water, covered with
little foamy breakers, stretched far away into the clear
horizon, with here aiid there groups of islets of the deepest
ultramarine blue, bordered on one side by the absolutely
bare, splendidly articulated (like the fine skeleton of a
mountain), dazzlingly yellow and white, serrated " Oquirrh"
range, beneath which shining lines of brilliant salt led, in
gentle terraces, to the green dancing waves of the lake.
On the other side, thirty to fifty miles across, the deep-
blue Wahsacht hills, with shining snow-peaks.
It is a marvellously beautiful scene, but much spoilt for
picturesque effect, however useful and agreeable in other
ways, by the huge wooden pier leading out into the lake to
the enormous bathing establishment, standing up like an
island, with its countless bath compartments, to which a
perfect labyrinth of galleries conduct ; the whole building
brilliantly lighted at night by electricity ; tier upon tier of
promenades ; a gigantic hall, with airy open sides, in which
concerts and balls are given ; a great luncheon pavilion ;
an enormous swimming-bath for those who dare not ven-
ture into the exquisitely inviting waters of the lake ; and,
finally, galleries leading to wide staircases down to plat-
forms, and toboggans, for those who have the courage for
a slide, or a plunge into these salubrious and curative,
pure salt, green, shimmering waves, in which, as in the
Syrian Dead Sea, it is not possible to sink. You can sit
on it with the greatest ease, occasional horizontal move-
rilliaucy, the
the loveliest
if eau de Nil
lovely curves
ling spray on
:;overed with
ito the clear
•f the deepest
le absolutely
keleton of a
!d"Oquirrh"
t salt led, in
of the lake.
ss, the deep-
i.
ich spoilt for
ible in other
:.o the lake to
ig up like an
to which a
3ole building
upon tier of
des, in which
!on pavilion ;
lare not ven-
le lake ; and,
3wn to plat-
B courage for
md curative,
h, as in the
You can sit
sontal move-
CJllEAT 8Ai;r LMiE.
)euts of the hands being all that
59
to maintain
necessary
"^our position ! Great care has to be taken to keep the
water from entering eyes, nose, or mouth.
Far beyond the end of the Oquirrh range, in the green-
,blue watery distance, we seemed to see, mysteriously de-
. fined against the glowing western sky, white misty forms
<)f phantom spires, shining like spears of silver in the
radiance of the nearly setting sun. I sketched, as usual,
and we filled little bottles with water from the lake. It
tasted not in the least bitter, but simply salt, the purest,
intensest salt. Many weeks afterwards the liquid in my
•little bottle had entirely evaporated, leaving a thick residue
of the purest, whitest salt.
/ Four forms of life abound in the lake, the most iuiport-
iftnt of which is a diminutive shrimp, Arsenia fertilis,
Hbout the size of a mosquito.
', These tiny crustaceans frequent the surface, being rarely
iound at a depth of more than two feet. In fine summer
-weather they cover the shores, but rain drives them into
the lake, where they congregate in such vast numbers as
jCo tint the surface of the water. When caught in quan-
tities, and well washed with fresh water, and cooked in
fresh butter with a little pepper, they are said to form a
perfectly delicious delicacy ! They feed upon marine algae
and the larvse of flies, that abound near the shore. No
fish are to be found in the lake, the concentrated brine of
.which never freezes, even during frost many degrees below
'fcei'O.
Too soon the train returned and took us back to the city,
jind after leaving it we went by electric car to the Wahsacht
.side of the lake, along which a short trip took us to the hot
-sulphur springs, in which I had a delicious dip inside the
bathing-house, and G-. in the great open-air hot swimming
^1
111
54
UNITJiD STATES.
pool outside. As we came out the sun had sunk in golden
splendour into the green waves in the far west, and we re-
turned to the city, seeing in the car an exquisitely lovely
girl, with her satchel of books, returning from the high
school near the baths with a troop of merry companions, a
really perfect beauty, with a strangely subtle and lovely
expression like Mona Lisa's. The only perfect beauty we
came across in all America.
The next day, Saturday, we started early by a little
branch and exceedingly unsafe miner's railway to Park
City, the great mining camp, up into the snowy heights of
the Wahsacht mountains, to visit the great Ontario silver
mines.
After a precipitous ascent, wooded banks at first, then
absolutely bare and barren hills and crags, except here and
there a grassy " gulch ; " wabbling from side to side where
the water-rained banks had given way, sometimes leaning
at an angle almost too sharp for recovery ; they sr.y scarcely
a day passes without some mishap, but the miners are too
reckless to care. In about two hours we arrived at Park
City, 7,000 feet high, perched on a small sandy tableland,
half surrounded by desolate snow-clad heights. It consists
of one long wide street, with one or two little inns, at one
of which we ate a hurried collation, very nicely served by
the handsome and cheery landlady, whilst a sort of open
brake was getting ready to take us up to the mines. 1\
was bitterly cold, and an icy half-gale was blowing up
dark threatening clouds, which, by time we started, were
coming down in heavy flakes of snow.
All along the street, on both sides, stretched closely-
built one-storied houses, several little churches of various
denominations (very few, if any. Mormons here), a little
theatre, much frequented by the miners, several large
PARK CITY.
M
sitely lovely
iin the high
impanious, a
} and lovely
•t beauty we
by a little
i^ay to Park
y heights of
intario silver
i,t first, then
ept here and
0 side where
mes leaning
sr.y scarcely
iners are too
ved at Park
.y tableland,
It consists
inns, at one
ly served by
sort of open
mines. It
blowing up
tarted, were
hed closelv-
s of various
re), a little
veral large
ptores, where the prices were very high — in one of them I
lad to give three dollars for a little woollen shawl that
would have cost half-a-crown in England— a number of
restaurants, and a hospital, much wanted for the frequent
accidents ; the whole little city overspread with an air of
the utterest cold and desolation. Winter or summer the
gun scarcely ever shines, bitter winds are always blowing,
hail and sleet for ever fall, and in the winter the little city
is half buried in snow. Then the miners can no longer
come down from the heights where the mines are worked,
and have to lodge in little wooden houses built closely
together, near the long tunnel through which, in bad
weather, they walk, protected from the deep snow, to the
higher shafts.
Yet, in spite of all this desolation, there seemed a kind
of cheery, brave, make-the-best-of-it expression on the
faces of the rough and roughly-clad, yet by no means
" ruffianly " toilers in this wild and bleak and lonely out-
of-the-world spot. Most of them seemed quite " jolly ; "
and there was a good band and orchestra, and a large room
where concerts are given, and sometimes, good theatrical
companies passing through Salt Lake City take pity on the
miners, and come up by the ricketty railway, and give them
a good performance. All the population seemed to be on
terms of "jollity" with each other. There seemed to be
something in this rough and wildly-primitive life, perched
up so far away from civilization, that seemed to draw the
dwellers together, and warm their sympathies towards each
other, keeping some degree of warmth, at least, in their
licarts, to keep out, as it were, the forlorn and dreary,
desolate cold without.
They burn cheerful wood-fires, supplied by the immense,
though stunted, forests of the lower range.
1 ••
t
H
U .
;i!
M
ii "
£6
UNITED STATES.
We started from Park City iu driving suow, the icy
wind blowing in bitter blasts ; but we had a cheery driver,
and two well-fed, strong horses took us up the sloshy and
stony trail of five miles of constant steep ascent, occasion-
ally through deep drifts of snow, very quickly.
Or. had a letter of introduction to Mr. Scarum, the head
manager, who most kindly and amiably took us himself all
over the mines ; Mr. Murdock, the chief engineer, con-
sidered the best mining engineer in all the West, showing
us and explaining the enormous and complicated water-
wheel, which sets in motion the whole of the machinery of
the mines, and that of the numberless galleries and cham-
bers in which the silver ore, in its raw state, undergoes
many washings, and wonderful processes, before it can he
sent down into the world in the shape of bullion. I was
greatly interested to find that Mr. Murdock was a native
of Old Cumnock in Scotland, where his family had flourishtd
for generations, and where he had himself lived till the age
of twelve, retaining, as most Scotchmen seem to do, a
loving recollection of the " old country," and its belong-
ings ; and was most anxious that I should tell him of the
present state of the family of the proprietor. We after-
wards saw the very nice little house in this queer little
mining camp, when he lives with his American wife and
childi'en.
From these heights, the views are exceedingly fine of the
wide snowy mountain ranges and the fertile plains beneath.
Another young and very " rollicking " member of the
stafE of engineers much amused us by constantly repeating
that for his part, he was a " true-born Briton," that 's what
he was, and that 's what he would always be ; they wanted
him to become an American, but no power on earth should
tempt him to be ever anything but a true-born Briton !
ONTARIO SILVER MINKS.
57
low, the icy
leerv driver,
slosliy and
it, occasion-
in, the head
8 himself all
gineer, con-
st, showing
;ated water-
lachinery of
; and chani-
undergoes
>re it can be
lion. I was
vas a native
id flourished
1 till the age
m to do, a
L its belong-
l him of the
We after-
queer little
an wife and
y fine of the
ins beneath,
nber of the
ly repeating
that 's what
bhey wanted
'arth should
)rn Briton !
He seemed exceedingly " jolly," besides being, as Mr. Mur-
docktold us, the skilfullest engineer and most popular man
in the hills. He reminded us of the " Pinafore " man, who
" in spite of all temptation to change his nation remained
an Englishman ! "
We saw the miners all coming up for their dinners from
the depths below, twenty at a time, standing all close
together, on two square platforms suspended one on the
top of the other, on which they were raised and lowered.
They were mostly young and very fine looking men ;
many of them not the least one's idea of rough miners.
Mr. Scarum explained that great numbers of them were
men of good family, who, from one cause or another, had
come down in the world, some temporarily, and some per-
manently. He had had many "lords," he said; they went
among their comrades merely by their christian names
with some qualification attached, such as "Jumping Joe,"
" Gruzzling Jack," etc., but he himself was aware, and k^pt
a list, of their true patronymics ; they would come, he said,
to work for a short or longer time, and often, as soon as
they had eai'ned a small sum, would go and spend it in the
cities, or speculate in land, and frequently, before long,
return to make a fresh little " pile ; " we should be sur-
prised, he added, if we could hear the names of several
■who were working at that moment. Many of them cer-
tainly had the appearance and manners of gentlemen, in
€pite of their rough miner's life and garb.
G. was lowered down into the mines a great depth, and
walked miles underground, whilst I Avalked about above,
.examining the various departments.
After a most interesting time, we drove back to Park
City in pelting snow, and thence returned, as we came, by
.train, experiencing narrow escapes of capsizing in two
^t
P '!!
68
INITKl) STAT lis.
or three places, where the very unsafe fouudatious had still
further subsided siuce inurniug.
The next day being Sunday (October 2l8t) we went to
the early service at the Cathedral ; this turned out to be
a tiny chapel, which also did duty as school. It was
filled with very smartly-dressed people, who all sang,
somewhat out of tune. This had been the first non-
Mormon church built in Utah after its settlement by the
TABERNACLE.
> I
I
I
Mormons, and to which Brigham Young had subscribed
500 dollars. Afterwards we walked and sketched, return-
ing to the hotel for an early luncheon before starting for
the 2 p.m. one and only weekly service at the Tabernacle.
There was a crowded congregation of about equal num-
bers of men and women, through which we were conducted,
by a most polite official, to comfortable seats not far from
the platform, where sat the various dignitaries and elders.
The organ pealed forth magnificently, and several hymns,
MOUMONS.
59
18 had still
vo wont to
out to be
I. It was
all sanfj,
first uon-
itnt by the
subscribed
led, returii-
itarting for
tabernacle,
equal num-
conducted,
ot far from
and elders,
eral hymns,
i
'^^B. little in the "Salvation" style, were thundered forth
' from at least 8,000 throats, all in unison and perfectly good
.tune — the eft'eet exceedingly ^rand.
After that, first one, then another occupant of the plat-
form uprose and discoursed a few words of extempore
prayer or exhortation, then sat down again ; and an mi-
happy member of the congregation, who had prepared for
no such thing, was solemnly invited to mount the plat-
form and i)reaeh a sermon to the assembled " Saints."
Evidently in a state of great perturbation, and most desirous
to decline the invitation, but aj>parently not daring to
refuse, he obeyed, and after a great deal of hesitation, said
in a lachrymose and ""iplaining voice, " Well, he did
think it was hard, f r ^ - ?lieved it was the practice of the
Mormon Church a^^ ior all other Churches carefully
chose and trained thei.'preaehers — that an unimportant and
■^unpretending member of the congregation, who came to
;| the Tabernacle solely for the purpose of being himself
,:^ instructed, should be set up on high on Zion to teach the
'; assembled saints that which he did not understand him-
self ; anyway, not as a preacher should ; and it was harder
J. still on those before him to be called upon to listen to one
1 so unlearned as himself ; and he did think it was not for
■Jt the good, or for the credit of the latter-day saints that
{| their doctrines should be set forth by any chance member,
:■ as devoid of eloquence as of knowledge. He guessed this
I was not the way to raise the Mormon faith in the eves
of Gentile strangers. All other Churches set forth their
, best and most learned men to preach — only the Mormons
y^ had this foolish custom."
J This, repeated over and over again in varied words,
formed the gist of his " sermon," for half an hour at least,
- till an impatient Elder sprang up and said he guessed they'd
I:
ill
v<\>
i
\i\
i; !
\ ,
60
UNITED STATES.
heard enough of that ; he hadn't much to say himself, but
he would just iufonu the Geutiles present that the special
feature of the Mormon faith which set it on high above all
others, was its glorious doctrine of •' Redempticm after
death," and " Vicarious Baptism of tliedeaJ," by which it
was enabled to circumvent the ])owers of darkness.
Upon this text he harped and shrieked and gesticulated
till, happily, the grand organ suddenly pealed forth once
more one or two magnificent ftigues, splendidly played,
after which an anthem well sung by the choir on the plat-
form, and a kind of blessing dispensed by the high priest,
brought the proceedings to an end, and the vast crowd dis-
persed, and we gladly set out in the lovely sunshine and
breezy air, through orcdiards and gardens, for the grand
view of city, lake, and mountains to be seen from the heights
of Fort Douglas, beautifully laid out with gardens and
shrubberies, and garrisoned by United States troops.
Then to the Sulphur Springs and a walk on the glittering
salt-marsh, a superb sunset lighting up the vast expanse
of shining water and silver sand, and back to the hotel for
a late dinner, after which, at midnight, to the depot for the
long railway trip to San Francisco.
There can be no doubt that the Mormons have done
great things for the cultivation and embellishment of Utah,
and that as farmers they are excelled by none. Their
barley, for brewing purposes, is the finest in the world ; their
beet sugar is considei'ed the very best ; cotton, tobacco, and
wheat are grown in immense quantity, and the alfalfa
crops are unsurpassed. The " alfalfa " (lucerne) strikes its
roots so deep into the soil that it can withstand great
severity of drought, and produces from three to four cro})S
annually, and all cattle, including horses, eat it with delight
and with the best result.
hiinsolf, hut
t the special
:h above all
iiptiou after
•y which it
uess. '
gesticulated
I forth once
idly played,
on the plat-
hifjh priest,
"it crowd dis-
II u shine and
)r the grand
n the heights
gardens and
tates troops,
he glittering
vast expanse
the hotel for
depot for the
IS have done
nent of Utah,
none. Their
! world ; their
tobacco, and
:l the alfalfa
le) strikes its
hstaud great
to four cro])s
t with deliy;lit
u
p
J
h
ill
il
h>
1 If
. p
CALIFORNIA.
61
It was a pity to miss, iu the darkuess, the fine views
aloug the salt lake, but time pressed ; at Ogdeu we changed
trains, and had to fly from one car to another, which we
only did just as the bell was beginning to toll. Happily,
in America, the " baggage " looks after itself, and always
safely turns up at its destination.
When the day dawned we found ourselves in the
"American desert," a desolate and arid stretch of sand,
the dust of which nearly chokes you, but which only re-
quires irrigation to be made fertile, as proved by numerous
" oases" producing fine crops.
On we went, all through Monday, having meals on board,
Over grand mountains, through snow-sheds guarding the
line against avalanches, with lovely glimpses of far-away
hill and dale, past several towns and, at most of the depots,
gaw our first sight of Indians, with long lank hair and
hideous features, most unattractive ; with their squaws
ftnd papooses — the dregs of tL? once noble " braves."
Through cafions with rushing rivers, alkali plains with no
vegetation except sage brush ; over the ridge, at last, of the
Sierra Nevada into California ; on and on, all Monday night,
and in the early dawn of Tuesday found ourselves speeding
through an enchanted garden ! lovely orange groves and
yeses and great palms ; past Sacramento City, across the
gtraits of Carquinez, crossed by means of the entire train —
divided into two portions, side by side — being shipped on
to the liugest ferry-boat in the world; past "the great
university of California," to Oakland Mole, stretching a
lile and a half into the lovely bay of San Francisco, with
bs picturesque islands and far-famed Golden Gate into
the Pacific Ocean.
■■(.u
ii(
i~r
62
Hill
iir
] ihttlii
m.
CHAPTER VII.
California — San Francisco — Monterey — T)q\ Monte.
AT the Mole we left the train and steamed across, iu a
luxurious ferry-boat, the four miles to " 'Frisco," as
they call the city, to save time, where we landed and drove
as fast as we could to the Falace Hotel, comfortable and
mau^nificent, where we had breakfast, and then flew out on
a tour of discovery.
By cable car, up and down almost perpendicular streets,
all bordered by lovely palms, eucalyptus, and locust trees ;
every house with its wide veranda covfre'3 with fragrant
creepers in bloom, all basking in the j^oldeu sunshine ; to
the exquisitely-kept Golden-gate Park with 'ts grand con-
servatories and lovely views, covei'ing an area of more
than 1,000 acres, admirably laid out with greenest turf and
planted with every descrij^tion of rare and beautiful shrub
and tree and gorgeous flower beds.
As soon as we could tear ourselves from the loveliness
and innun^erable walks and points of interest in the Park.
we went on by the Ocean-beach Railway, to the magnificent
Sutro Heights, crowned with enchanting gardens and
shrubberies, overhanging the wide ocean, with its glorious
lines of huge breaking waves thundering against the " Seal
rocks" ai)d beetling clitt's far below.
A handsome villa stands high in the grounds, wreathed
with briJliaut flowers and creepers. The garden is simidy
;mi' '
(I
SAX FRANCISCO.
63
Monte.
i across, iu a
" 'Frisco," as
Led and drove
ifortable and
u flew out on
icular streets,
locust trees ;
vitli fragrant
sunshine ; to
ts grand con-
irea of more
nest turf and
autiful shrub
the loveliness
b in the Park,
e magnificent
gardens and
h its glorious
nst the " Seal
ids, wreathed
den is sinii>ly
an Eden ! every imaginable delicate and lovely fern, bamboo
and palm, flowers of every hue and fragrance, flowering
and sweet-scented shrubs, mandarin and lemon trees with
their charming pale-green foliage — over it all the deei^
blue sky and vivid golden sunshine. No plague of flies,
but ])right- winged butterflies and " murmur of innumerable
bees " and fairy humming-birds. Verily an earthly para-
dise !
After simply revelling in all this enchanting beauty,
inexorably -passing Time forced us away, and we descended
to the Cliff-House, halfway below, whence you look upon
the rocky islets on which for ever disjjort themselves
hundreds of sea-lions, whose safety is insured by law,
and whose loud and croaking voices never for an instant
cease from troubling the harmony of the deej) thunder of
the waves.
On we went, to the gigantic sea-bathing establishment ;
a liuge crystal palace built by the owner of the Sutro
Heights, where the enormous Mammoth Swimming-
bath is surrounded by miles of beautiful marble pro-
menades (all under glass) bordered by masses of huge
palms and exotics; concerts are given, and thousands of
listeners have the additional pleasure and amusement of
■watching the gambols of the bathers and swimmers.
After climbing to the top of a flowery hill whence the
beauty of the whole surrounding country and ocean is
magnificently seen, we entered once more the prosaic rail-
way-ear, which was to take us back to the city, bv the
clilVs overhanging the south side of the Golden Gate,
a series of splendid views of the hny and mountainous
coast beyond, all " golden " in the rays of the setting
^un.
By time we had reached the hotel, darkness had ^ ent
in,
^f
¥
rmmmmmm
-^
ilii'
I
li
64
UNITED STATES.
'I i
and the streets and shops were brilliantly lighted liy
electricity.
After dinner G. joined an American friend in a visit to
Chinatown, the sights and odours of which had been
described to me as so very far from celestial that I, perhaps
foolishly — for one generally regrets afterwards not having
seen all the sights — declined to accompany them, and
spent my evening in reading and watching the " guests "
in the great " parlor," and being interviewed by no less
than three newspaper repoi-ters. one of them a magnificently
dressed young lady, who entertained me for quite half an
hour with all the news of the city and histories of all its
magnates.
Next morning by 6 a.m. we were out in the fruit market
and the great Fruit-store, filled with every imaginable
variety of fruit, bottled and tinned for exportation, and
visited several very fine shops ; then to Nob Hill, where
the " Nobs " have built themselves magnificent houses of
wood as being better calculated than brick or stone for
resistance to the frequent earthquakes; and who delight
in spending huge sums, not only on themselves and their
own abodes, but also on the beautifying of their city, of
which they are enormously proud, as they well may be:
and on the erection of splendid buildings for purposes of
art and science, education and charity.
After seeing as much as possible of this most interest-
ing and most beautiful city, we returned to the hotel
to collect our baggage, and at 2 p.m. started by the
South Pacific line for the much-famed Del Monte, near
Monterey (the ancient Spanish capital of California)
through continuous lovely orange groves, gardens, and
orchards ; the horizon bordered by the far-away Diablo
and Santa Cruz mountains ; past the hot sulphur springs
ii
DEL MONTE.
65
liglited liy
in a visit to
ti had been
it I, perhaps
3 not having
them, and
16 " guests "
I by no less
lagnificently
[uite half an
ies of all its
fruit market
imaginable
rtation, and
Hill, where
it houses of
or stone for
who delight
es and their
iheir city, of
ell may be;
purposes of
ost interest-
.0 the hotel
rted by the
Monte, near
California)
gardens, and
iway Diablo
phur springs
and mud baths of Santa Margherita, and groups of beautiful
trees.
About two hours later we stopped at the depot at Del
llonte, and walked up an avenue of flowers bordered by
loveliest turf, amidst magnificent specimeu:^' of the lovely
iilonterey pines, and cypresses, cedars, and ilexes, a few
minutes' walk to the immense and splendid and most com-
fortable hotel " Del Monte.'*
It stands in its own park of 20,000 acres, exquisitely
laid out in green terraces leading to a charming little lake,
ifcnd lawns, and gardens of the most dazzling beauty of gay
flowers and sparkling fountains, in one part of which you
can study all the strange growths and plants of Arizona
and new and old Mexico.
j;. Tlie entire hotel is embowered in sweetest heliotrope,
l^ses, and jasmine, and brilliant flower beds are ranged in
^ont and around. In short, an ideal temporary home ;
%nd that evening and the following day sky and sun were
i^lorioiis beyond words ; and in addition, the infinite charm
of the sandy ocean beach, only divided from the hotel by
l|alf a mile of slight hills, clothed with Monterey pines,
^ which the thundering boom of the up-rolling surf of
the unquiet Pacific never ceases reverberating for one
inonient. One longs to be there, and early next morning
I flew to respond to the irresistible call of the sounding
yaves.
■' Steep pine and cedar-clad banks led to undulating
ndy-grassy dunes, at the feet of which an interminable
e of golden sand stretched on either hand to the distant
0dges of the bay, the whole softly bathed in glowing sun-
ihine— not a breath of wind ; yet, in one long, vast,
tinbroken line, majestically following one after another, a
IJtever-ceasing succession of the most superb and gigantic-
F
m
w
Mil
:h',v>;1
/f«
ill
i.
' i
1
h!
! !
Mil
m
66
UNITED STATES.
allv iiiouutainous waves I ever saw or could have dreamt
of, each in one long, slightly quivering but unbroken,
green translucent mass, upreared to an incredible height,
curling into crystallized emerald, and melting into clouds
of divinest foam, out of which Aphrodite herself should
have arisen, falling and rising with a rhythmical, deep-
toned, thunderous cadence, as from hidden depths of some
mammoth organ !
I tried to sketch, and in three minutes was drenched in
the clouds of spray, ice-cold, despite the hot sun ; but, wet
or dry, nothing could have torn me away till the tide
turned and the glorious waves grew less and retreated;
and I wandered back through the wood to the hotel, just
before the hour of three had closed the dining room.
The remainder of the day I passed in delicious wander-
ings in the lovely groiuids, and sketching in the Arizona
Garden, where, as the sun sank iii a flood of glory, I
suddenlv discovered that mv clothes and sketch book, and
the marble bench ^ gat on, and the ground and trees and
planes all round wore saturated and streaming with water!
The most extraordinary dew I could ever have dreamt of,
and icy-cold.
The sudden, extraordinary alternations of heat and cold
on this coast are certainly trying. You glow in burning
sunishine and steaming hot air, and suddenly an ice-cold
mist creeps up from the sea and blots out the sun, and
you congeal into a (so to speak) pillar of ice.
That night a sad thing haj^pened. A millionaire wliu
had just arrived with his wife and son, a fine healthy-
looking man, still quite young, and whom we had remarked
at dinner as being particularly lively and "jolly," and
thoroughly enjoying the c'elicacies of the menu, was found
dead ic. his bed next morning. Evervone was startled and
MONTEREY.
67
have dreamt
)ut unbroken,
edible lieip^ht,
ig into clouds
berself should
thmical, deep,
epths of some
18 drenched in
sun ; but, wet
! till the tide
i,nd retreated;
the hotel, just
ig room,
icious wander-
in the Arizona
od of glory, I
etch book, and
and trees and
ng with water!
ave dreamt of,
E heat and cold
low in luiruing
(nly an ice-cold
it the sun, and
e.
nillionaire who
a fine heaitliy-
e had remarked
d "jolly," and
lenu, was found
ras startled and
gliDtked, and there was quite a gloom in consequence all the
next day, and the negro " helps," who are superstitiously
afraid of the dead, could be scarcely got to do anything.
That morning broke with a sea-fog so densely pene-
trating and veiling everything, that one could only wtiuder
out in a mackintosh, hoping that as time advanced the
weather might clear, and the temperature, which had
become icy, might rise. So, with sketch book in case, I
proceeded (G. having started to walk the famous seventeen
miles coast drive) in the electric car to Monterey, about a
mile and a half distant, and then walked along the bend
in the coast to the great cypress grove. It was bitterly
CoM aud drenchingly damp ; but lo, after an hour of per-
severing tramp, in the twinkling of an eye, the fog rolled
off, the sky turned blue, and a glorious sun shone forth.
All was bright and delicious, and I sat sketching to my
heart's content. I walked on afterwards some way, but it
was too late to attempt the whole seventeen miles, so I
strolled back into the little old town of Monterey, looked at
the picturesque old Spanish mission, examined the gigantic
batliiug establishment and apparatus on the shore, and
sauntered back in evening sunshine on the firm golden
sands, watching the splendid rollers that, in that bay, by
some configuration of its floor or peculiar sweep of the
sea, seem to roll up more gigantically aud majestically
than anywhere I have ever been.
G. returned enchanted with the seventeen miles ; aud that
night, at " dead of night," the poor millionaire was taken
away to rest in his prepared mausoleum at San Francisco ;
and the following morning the coloured " gentlemen " had
entirely recovered their spirits.
■■-'■•"^•'"
'f?'
,-*■
m
I I
t .: . !
ill '1:1
:t il
68
CHAPTER VIII.
San J()H(! — Mount Hamilton— Lick Observatory — Santa Crnz—
Redwood Hiy Trees,
WE decided, instead of fjoing straight to Berenda
en route to the Yo Semite, to " stop-off " at San
Jose, and make a voyage of homage to the gi'eat 36-incli
refractor at Mount Hamilton, which is shown to visitors
every day except Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m.
To-day, being Saturday, is the day on which the poor
professors are compelled, by law, to devote themselves for
three hours, from 7 p.m. till 10, to showing and explain-
ing the telescopes and the stars to any kind of mob of
tourists, learned or unlearned (mostly the latter) that
chooses to present itself ; and this, every Saturday through-
out the year ! Delightful for tourists, but what a loss for
science ! and trial, and mental wear and tear for the pro-
fessors, who know that, whilst they are making the Ob-
servatory and themselves agreeable, the one moment, per-
haps, for some vital observation is passing, and may not
return for years, perhaps, or during a lifetime ! However,
as a Yankee said to me when I ventured to make these
reflections, "Well, I guess it's what they're paid for, so
they've just got to do it." And certainly I ought not to
complain, for it gave us the happy opportunity of a
supremely interesting experience.
Ililii)
MOUNT HAMILTON.
69
-Santa Cniz—
: to Berouda
>.oft' " at San
I Teat 36- inch
m to visitors
n 10 a.m. to
lich the poor
lemselves for
and explain-
d of mol) of
latter) that
•day through-
lat a loss fur
for the pro-
ving the Ob-
moment, per-
and may not
! However,
0 make these
paid for, so
ought not to
rtuuity of a
#
We telegraphed to the Hotel Veudome at San Jose
|o send a carriage to meet us at the San Jose de])ot to
li,- lake us straight to Mount Hamilton, and accordingly,
jfrhen we arrived at about 4 p.m., we found an open four-
f heeled gig, with a pair of good strong grays, waiting to
,ke us up at once.
They had telegraphed to the Observatory that we were
coming, and at ouce we started, full gallop; our driver, a
young and smart and very loquacious man, somewhat
jf^isque, entertained us with anecdotes of all the professors
^nd their discoveries, and of the countless sightseers he
liad taken up (he being the son of one of the heads of the
l^ach-agency firm). Suddenly lie turned round and said,
A^Do you think I'm a gentleman? " Of course we said,
1^ Oh yes." " Well, a lady I took up yesterday told me I
'Iras not! Fancy that! me not a gentleman! me! me
|ia, ha ! " This he kept repeating and interlarding between
^|iis anecdotes the whole way : " I guess I'm more of a
gentleman than she of a lady ! "
The drive is a perfectly lovely one. For the first few
liles the road lies through an exquisitely cultivated
illey; then begins the loLg but easy ascent of the foot-
"l^ills of Mount Hamilton, the road being wide and ex-
•iellent the whole way.
"I From " Graud-view-house " the wdiole of the Santa Clara
JTallev, called the " Garden of California," is seen, with
ifer-away border of blue mountains, the air fresh and
|ielightfully exhilarating, the sky a cloudless blue, and the
%hole lovely scene lit up by the vividly rosy rays of the
Reclining sun.
i| Then up hill and down dale, till, just as the sun had
pet, we reached Smith's Creek Canon, when; we were to
)eud the night after our return from the " Lick," and
■^1
•'iii
70
UNirKD SrATlCP.
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Avliore we now stopped to cluiu^e horses and dine. This
latter ceremony we would gladly have dispensed with, tor
time was passing, and we were most anxious to get on;
but our driver had his dinner to get too (at our table—
invariably in America, on these sort of exjieditions, you
find yourself, at meals, vis-a-vis with your driver), luul
was resolved not to be hurried ; so, as we could not ^'et
on without him, we dined also, and patiently awaited his
good pleasure.
At last we started, this time in the dark, but with a
gloriously clear and " star-spangled " sky, dimly perceiving
steep precipices beneath, as we wound round and round
the here and there beautifully-wooded heights, and canio
suddenly nearly into collision with one of the descendini;
*' stages " coming galloj^iug down as fast as its six horses
could drag it.
This formidable obstacle narrowly but safely passed,
not without some strength of diction on the part of our
" gentleman," we found ourselves, at about 8.30, nearini;
the summit, 4,210 feet high, and presently stopping befori
a huge pile of buildings, flanked by the mighty doim
covering the great " Lick " refracting telescope, the then
largest in the world, but now surpassed by the still
grander " Yerkes " 40-incli refractor, established in a
superb observatory built expressly for it, just across tlio
border-line of Wisconsin, at an altitude of 150 feet above
Lake Geneva, 75 miles distant from Chicago, to whicli
city it will be considered to belong.
These monster instruments quite cast the refractors of
Europe into the shade, the largest of which is one of
30 inches at Pulkowa in Russia, Greenwich possessing
one of 28 inches. But there is some idea of constructing
one in Paris for the French Exhibition of 1900, surpassing
(1 dine. This
used witli, for
us to get on;
,t our tal)lo—
[)editiou8, ymi
L' driver), nuil
could not >,a't
ly awaited his
k, but -with a
mly perceiving
nd and round
lits, and canio
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its six horses
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ust across tlio
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THI-: LICK.
71
e refractors oi
liieh is one of
ich possessiiii;
)f constructiuit
)00, surpassiiii;'
In size those of America. But, with every inc?'ease in
diameter, the enormous difficulties to be overcome in cast-
ing the lenses increase and accumulate. Three years of
failure after failure went by before M. Fiel's workshops in
Paris were able to prodiu'c the great circular lenses, 36
inches in diaujcter, for the Lick refracting telescope; and
M. Mautois of Paris, who cast the 40-inch lenses for the
•' Ycrkes " refractor, is said to doubt the possibility of
constructing still larger ones in time for the twentieth
century e.\hil)ition.
We were shown into a comfortable parlour, cheerfully
liglifcd u}) by a bright log fire, very comforting this
bittt'rly cold night; and a fcAV minutes later were most
kindly welcomed by Professor Campbell, whose turn it
was that night to preside over the great Lick telescope, to
which he at once introduced us. It is placed in a huge
building with a dome 75 feet in diameter, opening and
shutting to show as much or as little of the sky as required
%itli the most perfect ease. The great 36-inch refractor,
j;with 56-foot tube, and of enormous weight, is equally
easily manipulated. Exactly under it, and forming actually
part of the iron foundation pier on which the huge tele-
8co[)e is balanced, is the sarcophagus of Mr. Lick, a
millionaire mferchant of San Francisco, who desired that
this great monument of science, presented by him to his
country, should also be his own actual tomb. So there
he lies, for ever, as he trusts, to be identified with his
•gift.
Professor Campbell said he was sorry he was unable
.]fco-night to ask us to choose any j^articular star for in-
•spection, the refractor being pointed, as for the last several
months, for observation of the planet Mars, which was
How the object of their most impcu'tant investigations.
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This I was delighted to hear, as it was just Mars that I
wished to talk about and see distinctly.
In the early part of that autumn I had had the great
pleasure of meeting, at a Scotch country-house, the cele-
brated Dr. Huggius and his learned and accomplished wife ;
who, as well as the whole company, ht^d been much exer-
cised in mind by a cablegram from New York announcing
the discovery by the professors of the Lick Observatory of
positive proof of complete absence of atmosphere in Mars.
This seemed so wild an assertion, in view of the distinct
evidence on Mars of polar snows, waxing and waning with
the changing seasons, spectroscopic evidence, etc., that my
astronomical friends came to the conclusion that there
must be some mistake in the report, since, however possibly
attenuated, some sort of atmosjjhere there must be.
Consequently I had been most anxious to bring the con-
versation round to Mars, and to hear, from the professors
themselves, the truth or otherwise of the reported dictum.
However, the first thing to do, without loss of precious
time, was to examine the magnificent telescope, and listen
to Professor Campbell's kind and minute explanation of its
component parts ; the movable floor which winds up and
down, etc. ; and the next to mount up on to the movable
kind of wheeled ladder on which one adjusts one's seat to
the requisite height for observation. It takes some little
time before the eye gets accustomed : when mine did, I had
a grand sight of the beautiful planet, tjiOn situated in
Taurus, with its circular polar snows, and strange " bottle "
seas and continents, and the much-discussed lines that are
called " canals." Neither, alas, of the satellites could I see ;
these two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos by name, have
only been lately discovered (in 1877, by Professor Hall of
Washington, D. C), and make a complete revolution round
lik(
he
THE GREAT REFRACTOR.
78
^■■J
their primary in seven hours one, and thirty hours the
other.
Just after I had resigned my place to G., Professor Bar-
nard came in, and although the closing hour (10 p.m.) was
Hearing, he most kindly said he did not in the least mind
going on after the time, and that he would l)e most de-
lighted to show us as much of the starry heavens as we
liked to see, in the smaller telescope, over which that night
he held sway.
So when G. had seen enough of Mars (I think he did
see one of the satellites), we took leave of Professor Camp-
bell, who could scarcely disguise the joy with which he saw
us preparing to depart and leave him in happy possession
of his instrument ; the more so as he had some particularly
intricate calculations to verify, and the short moment that
night for doing so was at hand. I could see that he was
nervously agitated, and no wonder ; but his manner was
patience and kindness itself.
Professor Barnard, who was delighted to hear from me
recent good accounts of his friends. Dr. and Mrs. Huggins,
conducted us to the second-sized domed-room, where the
smaller telescope was placed ; and showed us, first of all,
Jupiter (then situated in Gemini), of whom he did the
honours with pride, having himself discovtrod a small fifth
satellite some time previously, in addition to the four
known to the astronomical world ever since Galileo dis-
covered them in 1610 by means of the first astronomical
telescope ever brought into practical use, although invented
some years previously, by whom is not known for certain.
The " belts " of the giant planet-suu I could well discern
tho little (new) moon took some searching, and fearing to
trespass on the professor's time, I proposed to give it up.
But, no ; Mr. Barnard was kindlv determined that both G.
74
UNITED STATES.
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and I should see his discovery, aud did not allow either of
us to pass on to other objects t'U we had "spotted" the
little satellite distinctly.
We also looked at Aldebaran, Betelgeux, the Pleiades,
the beautiful Capella, and several others of the most in-
teresting stars in the neighbourhood, and at Neptune, that
far-away planet, revolving round the sun at the enormous
distance of 2,700 millions of miles — the most distant, as
at present known, of our system, although it is suspected
that another, circulating still further in space, may yet be
to be found.
It was now, alas ! long past ten ; but our amiable pro-
fessor would not hear of our hurrying off straight, and in-
sisted on our returning to warm ourselves (we were all
quite frozen) at the comfortable parlour fire before leaving.
Here we had a most agreeable and interesting talk, in the
course of which the problem of the cablegram was solved,
and we understood that although it was true there had
been some idea at the Observatory that the atmosphere
round Mars was of so extremely attenuated a character as
to practi<;ally amount to none, or next to none, most of
the professors had been of a contrary opinion ; and that
the report of the supposed discovery had been greatly
exaggerated.
Professor Holden is the head of the Lick Observatory,
but was entertaining a dinner party, so we did not see
him.
With much gratitude for his kindness, we then took
leave of Professor Barnard (who has since been transferred
to the " Yerkes " Observatory, as head professor) and pro-
ceeded to our carriage, the horses of which were tied up in
a sheltered corner of the great building. Poor things,
they must have been quite frozen, and showed their joy at
litl
CALENDAR STONE. P. I 7 7.
U I
I
smith's creek.
76
being released by a series of capers and jumps as we
went tearing down the hill, at the imminent risk of our
necks.
It was grievous not to have seen the grand view from
the summit by daylight, but, as we proposed spending the
remainder of the night at Smith's Creek, we should see the
rest of the descent next morning.
It was the most exquisitely clear night, and fortunately
moonless, and I, for one, was much too full of the glamour
of the stars to sleep, so I sat up in my neat little room
watching their beauty as they passed slowly on in their
majestic nightly circle around the Pole ; and at the first
tinge of dawn was ready to run down and examine the
charming canon, with its rushing creek and lovely trees,
and then to eat an excellent breakfast kindly prepared for
us, and one or two other tourists, at that eai'ly liour ; at
which, I may remark, we ate the only good and well-
flavoured peaches we ever tasted in California — where
peaches are superb to look at, enormous in size, exquisite
in bloom and colour, and you think what a feast you are
going to have ! Alas for the sad disillusion ! Utterly
tasteless and fla\ourle8s, without a particle of juice or
sweetness, you might just as well eat wool, which, in fact,
their interior exactly resembles. We tried them over and
over again, all over California, invariably with the same
result. The only thing they are good for is bottling (and
even in tarts I doubt whether they would be much worth
eating) and for dessert *' ornaments." For the latter pur-
pose they are unapproachable, but Avoe to such as are tempted
by their beauty to taste them !
However, the proverbial " exception to every rule " was
found here, grown on Mount Hamilton alone— and there,
only on one small patch of ground of a peculiar soil. This
•■ h>
V
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liiiiili
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KIP III
W I'HiiiMlh
76
UNITED STATES.
was one of the attractions of this most charmingly attract-
ive spot !
At 7.30 a.m. we started, at a good pace ; twenty-seven
miles of most enchanting drive, back to San Jose, one of
the very loveliest of our tour. Through pastoral scenes of
the most exquisite beauty ; past ravines thickly banked with
vines and flowering shrubs and graceful trees ; sui)erb views
of the Sierra Nevada and other mountain ranges ; distant
vistas of plains covered with orange groves stretching
away to the far Pacific ; and, lighting it all, the glorious
Californian sun and sky !
From San Jose we started at 10.30 a.m. by train for
Santa Cruz, a pleasant and picturesque little seaside resort
on the Pacific, so blue and tempting that G. could not
resist a dip. Many miles of the route thither, bordered by
vast orchards of gigantic orange trees, one golden mass of
fruit, led through forests of the Redwood Big Trees, far,
far more beautiful and striking than even the giant
" Sequoias " we were soon to see near the Yo Semite !
We hurried away, at about noon, from Santa Cruz,
intending to give ourselves as many hours as possible for
walking back the five miles through the Redwood forests
to the " Big Trees " depot, in the famous " G-rove " itself.
At first we followed the road that skirts the canon of the
Santa Cruz river, through a wooded ravine. This, after a
time, led down a steep descent to the river, to a ford,
across it, to the opposite side — a ford impossible for us,
pedestrians ! So we j^atiently retraced our steps till we
met a higher road, which we followed till it came to an
end, at a small depot of the railway we had come by.
We asked whether there was no road further along that
side? "No," was the answer, "but you can walk along
the railway track ! "
SANTA CRUZ.
77
" But shan't we meet a train ? " I said.
" No," he answered, ** the last, till the late night one,
has passed."
So, seeing no other means, we proceeded along the
track. This was easy enough for a mile or two, and the
views from this elevation were charming, the trees be-
coming more and more high and grand, with a lovely
undergrowth of flowering shrubs and plants. But at
last we came to where the valley widened out and the
track divided into two separate lines, the more apparently-
imjtortant of which stretched in a long semicircular
curve, about half a mile in length, on trestles about thirty
feet high, with (as is always the case in America) no side-
edgiug, or banister, or protection of any sort or kind —
merely the one line of rails supported on narrow cross-logs
placed on the top of the frail-looking trestles ; showing
plainly, between their wide openings, the green vale thirty
feet beneath, and the rushing river further on !
I tried walking along this for a few yards and then
gave it up ; the dizzy height and the utter sense of in-
security made it absolutely imi^ossible ; besides, the
nervous feeling that, perhaps, although no " lojifular "
train was due, a " special " might, by some possibility,
suddenly come tearing along ! I crept back, supported by
holding the end of G.'s umbrella, till we had reached terra
firma.
Then came the point : should we retrace our steps ? or,
should we follow the branch railway-track, which went
straight on, and looked grass-grown and disused — and
where would it take us to ? and how should we cross the
wide river ? However, the only alternative being to retrace
our steps to Santa Cruz, we decided to take our chance of
this track.
^ IT
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78
UNITED STATKS.
For 8ome distance we went on swimmingly till, what
was ray dismay to find that it passed, for a space of about
fifty yards, over a deep ravine on trestles as hijjfh, and as
gapingly open to the depths below, as the former !
This time, however, the transit being much shorter, and
there being no other possible way of escape, except return-
ing, I summoned all my courage, and taking tight hold
of G.'s umbrella, he walking first, after superhuman efforts
to conquer giddiness, to our joy v-e found ourselves, some-
how, safe and sound on the other side.
Then joyfully we sped along, till we found ourselves just
opposite the magnificent grove inclosing the " Big Trees "
depot.
But, alas ! there was still the wide, rushing, foaming
river to be crossed ! and how was it to be done ? Bridge
there was none, for road there was none. Impossible to
ford ! After looking in every direction for help and find-
ing none, at some little distance further up the river, at
last, we espied a means of transit — but, what a means !
The river was wide, and there we saw, slung across at a
height of about fifteen feet, fixed from high bank to bank,
a narrow footway consisting of long, thin, single, narrow
planks, attached to each other end by end, with a single
rope, of tolerable thickness, stretched as a kind of banister,
at a height of about five feet above the plank bridge, but
unconnected with it, attached to two *' big trees," opposite
each other, on each bank of the river !
I must say I simply gasped with terror at the sight I
It made one giddy even to look at it, and how would it
ever be possible to even make the attempt ? It seemed not
only absolute madness to try, but also a physical im-
possibility !
However, there seemed absolutely nothing else to be
lll.i
REDWOOD bk; theks.
79
Jqi^p — no other possibility of getting across ! The railway
trestlc-hriilge seemed to fade into a joke in comparison
with this frail and terrific foot-bridge — but we couldn't go
back. So at last I said we would try ! So we did. No
sooner had G. walked on to the plank before me, I holding
his hand and the rope and following close behind, than the
frail single planking began to bounce violently up and
down, although we crept along as slowly and carefully as
possible ! More dead than alive, I managed to creep
dizzily along, with the helj) of G. and the rope, which
itself swung up and down, till about halfway, when I
said, " I can't go any further ! " Simply, it was impossible !
the great height, the deep rushing water below, the .hin,
narrow crazy plank, its dancing, dizzying motion. It was
absolutely terrific ! and by Avay of reassuring, G. ventured
to laugh, and said he thought the plank was giving way,
and would break under our weight ! This really was a
little too much, with merely this wretched plank between
ourselves and drowning ! so I sternly said, " Go on ! "
and we accordingly moved on, and somehow or other, I
don't know how, managed to find ourselves safe on the
further bank. Joy ! joy ! that fearful obstacle passed !
Now nothing to do but to delight and revel in the marvel,
the wonder, of these most extraordinarv trees ! The first
sight of them, for the giants we had seen in the forest as
we came along were mere pigmies com])ared with these,
simply takes your breath away ! It feels like an incredible
dream ! and this variety of the " Sequoia " (Sequoia semper -
virens) is as beautiful as it is indescribably grand. The
foliage is a glossy dark green, very like that of the yew in
colour and form ; the bark is a beautiful rich deej) red, as
also is the wood, and each tree consists of one magnificent
huge central trunk, with immense and most picturesque
w
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80
I'MTED STATES.
red guarlod roots, out of which spring', all round tlie
parent tree, ten or twelve younger ynialler trees ; that is,
smaller as far as diameter of trunk j^oes, but in height
these graceful and numerous tjff-shoots, as it were, from
the roots, soar up into the sky two or three hundred feet,
nearly as high as the central parent giant, which varies in
diameter from fifteen to thirty feet.
No words can express the beauty, the magnificent
grandeur, of this glorious grove ! Every single tree in it
is a giant, and a giant with its attendant family of young
giants, each separate tree consisting of a group of from
twelve to fifteen. One of the central parent trees that we
measured had a circumference of seventy feet, and others
are still larger. Hours and hours one could spend, wander-
ing from tree to tree, or rather, from tree- group to tree-
gi'oup, through endless groves ! Nothing more beautiful or
more wonderful could be imagined !
Too soon came the hour for departure : the train arrived
towards sunset, the red-gold sun shining through those
glorious groves, and we returned, in the fading light, to
San Jose, where we spent the night at the good and
comfortable Vendome Hotel, situated in a beautiful
wilderness of trees and flowers.
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I
SENTINEL ROCK, YO SEMITE.
3,065 feet from valley.
P. 91.
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:l III 11 •lii;.
■<':: i
81
CHAPTER IX.
Raymond — Awaunee — Wawona — Yo Semite — Inspiration
Point.
^y EXT morning (October 29th) we started by train at
^ 8 a.m., through lovely and fruitful country, to
Berenda, where we changed trains, and waited two rather
weary hours, for there was nothing to be seen but a few
little houses and a grassy plain ; with, in the distance, the
fine lines of the Sierra Nevada to redeem it. After this
tiresome wait, we went on to Eaymond, where we spent the
night at a clean, but not very comfortable, hotel.
We had been told that it was getting too late in the year to
attempt the Yo Semite, which is supposed to become inac-
cessible to tourists on account of the snow, the stages
ceasing to run, for the winter, after November 1. But, of
course, we were determined to try, and on this 30th Octo-
ber morning the sky was cloudless, the air balmy, and the
sun, if anything, too hot.
At 6 a.m. we mounted the high, unwieldly " stage " with
char-a-banc seats, Gr. in front with the driver, one Tom,
a very lively young man, who was, we were told, the
cleverest and safest driver in the whole Sieri'a. Here it is
difficult to be the " best," for all the drivers are quite first-
rate — very careful, really ; but to the inexperienced, or
nervous, eye of the " driven," frightfully reckless in their
headlong career !
a
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,jiii"
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82
UNITED STATES.
Our fellow passengers consisted of a lady of handsome
and imposing presence from San Francisco, nre Washburn ,
a family having extensive ramifications in these parts, and
appearing to sway the " stages " and routes to the Yo
Semite, and most of the hotels.
She and I occupied the seat behind the driver and G.,
and on the seat behind us was placed the doctor of this
district, cousin to the lady. Much political discussion
between this personage and Tom enlivened the way. The
municipal elections were about to take place, and the
doctor, who was a strong democrat, and besides went in
for absolute state autonomy and federal secession, or, as
an alternative, the division of the states into two great
republics, East and West, with the Mississippi for bound-
ary, was by way of canvassing the hills in favour of his
views, and was, anyhow, determined that the driver Tom,
who seemed to favour republican views, should be gathered
into the fold.
Seeing that the latter after a time turned restive, and
said he couldn't drive and talk too, the doctor devoted his
eloquence to G. and me, and made, for our information, a
scathing exposition of the " frightful corruption " in every
department of the Calif ornian state — that justice was not
to be had, every judge and every lawyer being to be bought,
and no cause, however transparently just, able to be gained
without the help of bribery. This the lady entirely corro-
borated, but both seemed to think it rather a matter for a
joke than otherwise ; and were under the impression that
it was much the same all the world over, and was a thinsf
to be as merrily as possible endured, being impossible and
hopeless of cure.
They next inveighed strongly against all monopolies,
especially against the great railway companies — the South
t: -K
TALK.
83
Pacific Company in particular — by which, they said, the
whole country was held in bondage, and which appears to
be an egregious hete noire to every Calif ornian not connected
with it.
This seemed to us a great mistake on their part, for most
of the development and prosperity of California appears to
be owing to this and other companies ; the facilities for
travel in every direction, the magnificent hotels, attracting
visitors from all parts, the opening out of the beauty of
the country, the vast bathing establishments, and the rapid
rise of towns on every picturesque spot — in short, they
seemed to us great public benefactors. But no ; the pre-
vailing idea seems to be that they are tyrannical oppressors,
riding rough-shod over the public, giving nobody and
n<)thing a chance against the weight of their influence and
vast accumulated capital.
The doctor and the lady took a kindly interest in the
" old country," but were possessed with the belief that the
present would be the last reign of monarchy in England,
which, after its close, would turn into a republic. It was
useless to argue to the contrary. It was an idee fixe in
tlieir heads, arid seems to be equally so all over America !
They all stick to it, with the assurance that they hive
"private information" of the highest authority to that
effect.
For some miles we passed through lovely green, park-
like scenery, with charming clumps of gorgeously-tinted
trees and flowering shrubs ; manzanita, with its bright red
trunks and branches, dogwood, and the beautiful, but
deadly, " poison-oak." a touch of which may very seriously
poison you. Everywhere grand extensive views. The road
was somewhat dusty, but in very g'^>od order, and our four
strong horses dragged us along at a good pace.
.4'M
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! Iff 111
iii ;
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84
UNITED STATES.
After a time the scene became wilder and still more
grand, the hills hif^her, and the road edging deep pre-
cipitous descents, with sharp and dangerous turns ; four-
teen miles to Grub Gulch, a small mining camp, where
we changed horses, and immediately proceeded.
Finer and finer became the scenery ; grand chains of
deep blue mountains, exquisitely wooded at the base;
smiling valleys, watered by shining streams ; and for
many miles the view of a raised " flume," a kind of aque-
duct, down which float great trunks of trees, closely push-
ing each other along, and thus conveyed through the
mountains to the nearest depot.
Here the roads are less good, and the jolting became
tromendous as on we went, at a swinging trot, over plank
bridges of the frailest appearance, which creaked ominously
beneath our weight, sharp turns, and deep declivities, down
and round which Tom invariably urged his horses to a
gallop ; but in the delicious sunshine and loveliness it was
all an absolute delight, the terror, perhaps, enhancing the
charm. At one point, however, terror obtained the mastery;
for, coming round a sharp point overhanging a precipice of
over a thousand feet, whaf. should we see but a huge wagon
obstructing the way !
It seemed impossible for the two lumbering vehicles to
pass each other, but Tom said he guessed we must try. I
declined to remain on the coach during the operation, and
indeed Tom proposed that we should all get down. So the
lady from 'Frisco and I quickly betook ourselves to a safe
position on a high jutting rock, where, however, she bade
me beware of rattlesnakes, flat, sunny rocks being their
special haunt and delight, the more so if there are roots
and fallen trunks of trees near. The sun was pouring its
lovely, but very hot, beams upon us, and I prepared to put
AWAUNEE.
85
up my umbrella, but this my friend would by no means
allow, for she said there was just one thing the horses in
these parts could not abide, and would not stand, and that
was an open umbrella — it made them mad, and they would
infallibly make a rush and bite us. This seemed to me too
ridiculous, but she stuck to it, so, for the sake of peace, I
closed my umbrella, and, broiling, watched the denouement
of wagon V. coach.
After some parleying, the wagon refusing to move from
its coign of 'vantage on the safe side of the road, Tom had
led our horses and stage to the very verge of the precipice,
a foot or so below which was a narrow ledge of rock, from
Avhich the rocky wall made one perpendicular line sheer
into the dizzy depths below. On this ledge G. and the
doctor proceeded to stand, whilst Tom backed the coach
till its right-side wheels actually overhung the edge, they
all supporting them, till the wagon had slowly lumbered
by ! after which the stage was quickly pulled forward
on to the road, we all re-mounted, and went gaily rum-
bling on.
The trail now led through endless forests of magnificent
pines of many varieties, and at about 1 p.m. we reached
the lovely little valley of Awaunee, surrounded by wooded
hills, where a charming little inn was prepared with an
excellent luncheon, cooked and served by a Chinaman ;
after which a fresh team took us through dense forest,
with occasional vistas of superb mountain chains, scram-
bling up steep ascents and galloping down, just " shaving"
sharp corners over ricketty bridges, waterfalls, and preci-
pices, through never-ending masses of grander and grander
trees — here and there one of the famous Sequoia gigantea
stupendous giants, but nothing to those we were to see
later on; many varieties of splendid pines with varied
■I *
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86
UNITED STATES.
foliage, aud many deciduous trees clothed in autumnal
scarlet and gold. Suddenly we heard shouts and yells,
and presently, along the winding road in the distance we
caught sight of two figures on horseback coming madly
tearing along as if jjursued by wild Indians, but who
turned out to be only ladies from the neighbouring hotel
airing their half-wild "bronchos," a la garron, in divided
skirts, which the lady from 'Frisco told me was now the
universal fashion all over the west, and especially Cali-
fornia, being thought much safer. Such a thing as a side-
saddle, she said, was now never to be seen. Half an hour
later, after passing a colossal and superb "yellow pine,"
we saw the not unwelcome sight of our resting-place for
the night, the Wawona hotel, in the heart of the forest,
with fountains aud gardens, belonging to Mrs. Washburn,
the mother of our fellow traveller.
It was cold at that high elevation, 6,500 feet, and the
grand log-fires in an open hall aud the two comfortable
parlours were by no means to be despised. After supper
we were introduced to Mr. Hill, whose pretty aud accom-
plished daughter had married Mr. Washburn yt7s, and who
is considered one of the finest landscape-painters in the
West, and especially noted for his fine pictures of the Yo
Semite. The whole family were very proud of his having
been sent for, some years previously, by Princess Louise
and Lord Lome, to show them his paintings at Del Monte,
Monterey, where he remained as their guest for several
days, and had a delightful time. He offered to show us
his studio in a charming little house just across the
garden, where we saw not only many excellent paintings,
but also quantities of curiosities of the neighbourhood —
two huge stuffed bears, the " grizzly " and the " black " —
specimens of the two kinds that infest these forests ;
WAWONA.
87
. » ■:■!'
skins and rattles of rattlesnakes, trophies of the Yo Semite
Valley, where, he said, whilst painting in the wilder parts,
ho had often seen numbers of these hideous reptiles
basking in the sun, curled up on the rocks ; but of which
he felt not the slightest fear, being always provided with
a Viottle of whisky, said to be an infallible antidote to the
snake poison, provided the whole contents of a bottle can
1)6 instantly swallowed; the smallest^ interval of delay is
fatal, and no cauterization or other treatment is of the
slightest avail. Fortunately, however, this snake rarely
attacks unless trodden upon, or otherwise provoked, and,
if you only understand the knack, it is easy to disable it
by the slightest cut across the back of the neck with a
switch. They are gruesome creatures to look at, and their
universal presence all over America is a great drawback to
the charm of the country.
Mrs. Washburn mere, who is most agreeable and highly
cultivated, entertained me, after our return from the
studio, with many legendary stories of these wilds, which
she has woven into pretty poems, published in San Fran-
cisco, of which she kindly gave me copies.
Next morning, at 6 a.m., we started, in a much lighter
and more comfortable machine, there being no passengers
besides ourselves, with only one pair of horses, driven by
another of the family clan who, in years gone by, had
been one of the best drivers of the mail-stages across the
prairies, in the days when scarcely a journey was got
through without an attack by Indians.
When the trains first began to run, the Indians deter-
mined to put a stop to them ; and, having made choice
of a wild and desolate spot, heaped up a vast barri-
cade of trunks of trees over the track, behind which
they hid in great force to await the arrival of the one
88
UNITED STATES.
U :
> I
■1 !
daily train. In due time they saw it approaching in the
distance at full speed, till stopped by the sight of the
obstacle.
Instantly they rushed from their hiding-place, yelling
their war-whoop, and flew to attack, confident of victory ;
but were terribly "sold" by the engine-driver's calmly
reversing and steaming away, in a moment, out of
pursuit.
This so astonished them, having imagined that the train
could only go forward, that they never attacked another.
The road from Wawona continues through the same
magnificent forests, opening out occasionally into exquisite
vistas of blue mountain, fading into dim distance ; similar
sharp turns and crazy bridges ; ups and downs, but always
gradually rising, till, about noon, having reached a high
eminence, and turned a sharp corner, we suddenly came
upon Inspiration Point, our first sight of the wondrous
Yo Semite Valley, stretched out beneath us, thousands of
feet below, like an emerald- green lake, land-locked.
1 ;
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89
II'- iU
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CHAPTEE X.
Yo Semite Valley — Mariposa Big Trees— Fresno.
ON" every side, far as eye can reach, distant ridge nj^on
ridge and icy snowfield ; high snow-peaks and
gigantic bluffs of granite so silvery- white as to give the
effect of snow, or purest Carrara marble.
luiniediately, and perpendicularly beneath you, deep
down 5,000 feet below, hemmed in on all sides by stupend-
ous vertical walls of frowning white granite crags, lies
softly nestling an enchanted valley, narrow and long, shnt
in, in the opposite blue distance, by the misty, snow-clad
" Cloud's rest ; " shining fields of snow carrying the eye
into the far-away, dim mystery of the horizon.
In the heart of the valley, in deep sunshiny meadows,
curving and winding like a serpent of silver, flows the
shining Merced river ; the bases of the snowy cliffs
fringed with dark, sole inn pines and feathery poplars of
brilliant gold.
Down to this haven of sunny rest the track is danger-
ous, and the whole steep, winding way overhangs fearful
precipices ; but fear is hushed in the absorption of the
wondrous and ever-increasing beauty.
At last the vale is reached, and looking upward you
reahze the tremendous and dizzy height of these vertical
granite walls, dazzlingly white and smooth in parts, and
f \-^i'V
90
UNITED STATES.
: !1 I
rough and rugged iu others. Here and there huge,
detached masses, like Titans turned to stone ; " cathedral
spires " piercing to the skies ; the entire valley one lovely,
happy garden, cradled in crags. Groves of dark titanic
pines, and the tender grace of delicate shrubs, and giaceful
trees softly waving their lovely foliage of every imaginable
tint of green-gold, scarlet and pink, relieving and illii.
minating with a triumphant glory of dazzling colour the
sternness of the unbending craggy heights ; the whole
exquisite scene steeped and bathed in the golden haze of
the glowing, radiant noontide.
Soon we pass the misty Bi'idal Veil, shedding its exquisite
rainbowy fountains vaguely into the " happy valley," trans-
parent mists of loveliest blue rising to shadow and veil
the gaunt protecting walls.
Sweet scents of aromatic shrubs, flowers, and vines fill
the air with a pensive joy ; but no words can ever hope to
give the faintest notion of the subtle and transcendent
beauty and magic charm of this ideal valley of valleys;
the sudden *' transfigurations " of divinely-glorious effects
of light and colour, and mysterious blue depths of deep
shadowy shade ; magic reflections and cadences of melody,
and sighings and soughings of the zephyrs in the deep
verdure of majestic pines ; and never-ceasing aerial music
of innumerable sounding falls and fountains that for ever
pour their sparkling showers of sapphires and diamonds
into the green vale ; and the stately river, clear as crystal,
reflecting and repeating each indescribable beauty and glory
of the magic scene ! Loveliness and music too divine and
ethereally spiritualized for the clumsy instrument of human
speech. . . .
" Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean,
Tears from the depth of some divine despair . . ."
GLACIER POINT.
91
The winter that would bind the valley iu its maj^ie of
frost aud ice for seven long mouths, was nearly though
invisil»ly approaching ; and its only dwellings, besides a
few Indian wigwams — three or four small hotels, were all
closed with the exception of one, the Sentinel, standing iu
imiguificent groves of majestic aromatic pines, shadowed
by the huge, towering mass of the Sentinel Rock, the
grandest, to ray mind, in the whole valley.
Here we alighted, and after a hasty refection, the land-
lady kindly arrayed me in her absurd balloon-shaped
divided skirt, equijjped in which, I mounted the " little
mule Joe," having previously declined the services of a fat
chestnut pony, recommended as the " gem " of the valley
ponies. The guide, no other than our worthy driver from
Wawona, mounted a huge snow-white steed, and G-.
walked. Up a steep and stony trail, first through lovely
wooded banks, then open masses of azaleas and fragrant
shrubs, till we emerged on bare granite, reaching to the
summit of Glacier Point, an altitude of about 4,000 feet
above the valley, which itself lies 5,000 above the sea, and
there dismounted.
The view magnificent and of immense extent, fraught,
so it seemed to me, with a sensation of immense sadness
aud desolation. The vale below smiling as ever, but you
are not so much looking at the valley now as at the range
upon range of snowy space above, and you shiver with the
cold as you look at those distant, solemn, severe, and
frozen realms of an ice-bound world ; field upon field of
icy suow, sublime iu its desolate grandeur, but cold as the
grave ; fraught with solemn and ghostly fascination, as is
the cold mystery of death !
Beautiful and grand the views as we descended ; some-
what alarming, too, for my " little mule Joe " had a faucv
i '
92
UNITKD STA'IKS.
'I /
i \
for just " shaving " the jirecipicos, and tho extreme steep,
ness of the trail was far more apparent in tlu^ deseent. So
I soon found it much pleasanter to walk, leaving,? Joe to
'* gang his ain gait" — one sees and enjoys so much better
walking. A steep and stony path over craggy boulders
took us to an overhanging rock, deep down be.ieath wliit;h
we saw tlie lovely Vernal Falls, which rise in distant snow-
fields and descend in joy to the happy valley, singing
aud dancing in rainbowy streams and clouds of misty
foam, their emerald-green, ice-born, crystal waters gather-
ing into the valley as the river Merced.
The sun had set in a dazzling flood of crimson and gold
long before we readied the valley, but the glorious (-all.
forniau after-glow, vivid and beautiful as that of Egypt,
still bathed in rose-red radiance the snow-white " dome "
and "half-dome," till, in gathering shades of night, and
deep shadows of giant pines, and a sudden change of
atmosphere from summer warmth to ai'ctic cold, a mile
or two of springy turf brought us home to the Sentinel
hotel.
An hour or two later the moon sailed radiantly into the
starry sky, above the snowy mysterious heights ; white
vapoury mists, and a new, strange, and ghostly beauty
seemed to creep into the valley.
The night was icy-cold, a difference of 40 degrees be-
tween night and day !
At 7 next morning (November 1st) we drove in bitter,
freezing cold, the valley in sleep and shade, to the "mirror-
lake," an exquisitely lovely three miles' distance ; the entire
length of the valley is only eight miles, and one mile aud
a half its extremest breadth.
The lake reflected, like a mirror of glass, the graiul-
dome and half-dome, and the great overhanging cliffs
YO SEMITi:.
98
with tlu'ir lovely friage of graceful trees, dazzling in
autiininal gold and rose-pinks, the slumberous valley
wholly deep in transparent shade: whilst the yet invisible
sun was slowly rising in red glory behind the mountains.
At last one single, dazzling beaui of suulight struck the
glassy surface, and instantaneously, in the very twinkle of
au eve, the mirror was blurred, the whole lovely reflection
clean swept away, and in place of the subtly-reflecting
glass, sunny rippling wavelets sparkle and dance. The
next instant the valley was flooded in golden sunshine,
uud from arctic frost we were plunged into summer
warmth.
The extraordinary rapidity of these sudden changes and
effects of shade and light is simply magical.
Warmed and cheered we left this wonderful scene of
euohantment, and slowly returned to breakfast at our inn,
after which G. set off for the difficult climb to the top of
Ea;j;le Peak, whilst I spent the most enchanting of days
wandering in the happy valley, treasuring in memory one
exquisite scene after another, and the magic effects of
glorious I'glit, and shade, and sound not to be heard or
seen elsewhere.
To my mind, incomparably the finest effects of the
beauty and glory of the Yo Semite are seen from within.
The views from the surrounding summits are impressively
grand, and infinitely well worth climbing up to — many
times, if you have a month or two to remain ; but, if only
a short time, it should almost all be given to the inde-
scribably beautiful and unique poetry of the valley. The
mountain-top views may be seen, with more or less of a
difference, elsewhere ; but the valley is a valley unique
aud alone in all the wide world, a joy and a glory that,
like Niagara, must be seen to be believed.
94
UNITED STATES.
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These two — Yo Semite and NiaLjara — " see them and
die ' " In an ecstasy of enchantment, one stands beneath
the wondrous Yo Semite Falls, the highest in the known
world, 2,600 feet. They leap into the valley from near
the summit of Eagle's Nest, first m one unbroken fall of
1,500 feet, then in a series of loveliest ripplino^ dancing
cascades for dOO feet, then a final perpendiculai fall of
400 feet, shrouded and veiled in misty clouds of glittering
spray midst waving foliage of loveliest groves.
But the valley is full of exquisite falls, brightening and
glistening over its mountain barriers ; full, everywhere, of
unimagined beauty ; a joy of joys to have seen and for
ever remember! Sii.;l\ts did I see during that long, de-
licious day, visions and dreams of beauty and glory scarcely
to be thought of as realities !
An ice-cold, frost-bound night again, and glorious
warmth and joy with sunrise, and one more delicious
morning in the wondrous hapjw valley.
Bvit, alas ! '* toid passe,'' though here, never " tout lasse,'"
and at 1 p.m. the small "stage" was ready to convey us
back to Wawona.
In tears we left the happy valley, lingering long at many
points — the Bridal Veil, which Indians will never pass
near, for in it, tliey say, dwells moaning for ever the sad
ghost of the maiden-flower of their tribe, lured by the
spirit of the falls to leap into the abyss, where sorrow
awaits all that linger in passing ; past El Capitan, on
whose snow-white gigantic precipitous mass is seen the
colossal lineaments of a long-ago Indian chief, gone for
ever to seek for the loved vision of a pale-faced silver- robed
augel one moment seen in the valley, the next flown for
ever, on snow-white wings, beyond human keu into the
blue empyrean. Winding slowly up the precipitous track,
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YO SEMITE FALLS. P. 94.
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MARIPOSA BIG TREES.
95
lingering long at Inspiration Point, our last look ; and
the valley passed, like a dream, out of sight.
We had lingered so long that the sun had set, and
darkness covered the forests long before we reached the
" Big Tree." The cold once more became bitter, and the
dark night made the sharp turns, and yawning precipices,
and narrow track between giant trees as we tore along at
full gallop anything but safe ; and we were not sorry to
reach at last the comfortable warmth and shelter of
Wawona.
Next morning, once more warmth and superb weather ;
and we started early, taking pi'ovisions for selves and
driver, to spend a long day in the midst of the Mariposa
Big Trees. The track is, literally, only a " track," not a
road ; and the ruts, and deep sand, and great holes over
which we banged and bumped at full gallop in a crazy
little springless cart are not to be described.
The whole country is one immense primaeval forest, in
which the Sequoia gigantea, these stupendous, gigantic,
mammoth trees of old, seem to ask the companionship of
mighty megatheriums and mastodons and other giant
forest-roamers of yore.
The " grizzly giant," the mightiest of these aged won-
ders, still puts forth, from the gnarled branches that
crown his hoary head, bright, fresh green foliage. Five
thousand vears and more he is known to have existed, and
who shall say how many more aeons his green old age may
last?
I need not describe what is so well known, the diameters
and circumferences of these inconceivably enormous trees
(of which the seed-cone is the tiniest of almost any of the
fir tribe). Few of them reach a less altitude than 300
feet, or a girth of less than 80 to 90 feet. It takes hours
.■'•■-!■
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96
UNITED STATES.
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to adequately see even a few of them, or to realize their
enormous and unapproachable superiority in size to anv-
thing called a tree in the Old World. Some stand in
glorious groups, others pose singly amidst their " pigmy "
brethren, that in Europe would themselves be giants.
They are clothed with a deep red bark utterly unlike all
bark we know of, about two inches deep, a thick depth of
innumerable soft velvety fibres, like a deep, soft brush.
The wood is a beautiful red, and takes an exquisite polish.
The foliage somewhat resembles that of the yew, but is of
a brighter green. They stand up, straight as arrows, one
huge, gigantic, red, furrowed, soft, fibrous-barked trunk,
tapering as they reach their summit — strange " survivals "
of those long bygone ages in which " there were giants ! "
Many of their branches are fringed with a delicate
golden moss, lovely against the soft bark of rich red ; and
their huge bulk mostly emerges from the sandy and mossy
earth like giant Doric pillars, with no outward sign of
root. They are, perhaps, more actually stupendously
startling in their noble giant unity than their brethren
of Santa Cruz, the exquisitely beautiful as well as grand
Sequoia sempervirens, but, in beauty and picturesque effect,
inferior — if one may use such a word in speaking of such
m arvels.
We walked and urove, for miles and miles, all day long,
up and up into these endless Sequoia forests, giant after
giant, glorious grove after grove, many, alas ! scorched and
blasted by frequent forest fires ; many monsters prostrate
on the ground, lying in all their unutterably vast and
huge bulk as they fell.
Sketching, and measuring, and wondering, till the scarlet
rays of the setting sun, gloriously lighting up the deep red
giants, warned us that we were many miles distant from
I.-
STUDIO,
97
the sheltering inn, and that, with the shades of night,
many " grizzlies " might be roaming their evening " walks
abroad."
So we simply galloped home — jolts, and jerks, and
bounds, such as no tongue can utter. I clutched G.'s
arm, as well as the little rail round the seat, like " grim
death," and even so, with difficulty resisted being hurled
a thousand times into space !
Long after dark we arrived at our Wawona home,
where a good supper renewed our strength sufficiently to
enable us to step across the garden to pay a farewell visit
to Mr. Hill, and to see again, after having seen ^hem in
their glorious reality, his portrayals of the divine Yo
Semite.
He congratulated us on having seen the valley during
the "fall" of the year, in his opinion the most beautiful
season for seeing it. Indeed, as we saw, it could not be
surpassed; yet I long to see it again, one day, in the
heavenliness of its divine spring beauty !
And all those forests are one mass of azaleas in June,
one blaze of colour and sweetness !
We returned to the warm and cozy parlour, where our
poetic hostess entertained me with many legends and
poetic traditions ; whilst sweet sounds of music and song
echoed from the further parlour.
More " guests " had arrived ; and my friend, the lady
from 'Frisco, came to me with an important air: " Do you
see that queerly-dressed young man ? you wouldn't guess
it, but it's th3 Earl of ! " So it was ; but the next
morning, at cock-crow, he started on foot for the Yo
Semite, regardless of the prognostications of our hosts that
snow was imminent, and he would lose his way in deep
drifts, and should he ever arrive alive, he would be in-
M ,■<!;
98
UiNITED STATES.
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fallibly snowed iip in the valley for the whole of the long
■winter. A worse fate might befall a man ! But I believe,
although snow did come, he managed to get away in due
time.
That morning (Sunday, November 4th) we were to
return to Raymond, en route to South California; but,
during the previous evening, G. was told such tales of
numerous bears, " grizzly " and " black," seen lately tramp-
ing through the forests, that he could not resist the hope
of shooting at least one ; so stayed on one day longer. I
•was, however, possessed with the longing for orange and
palm groves, and in addition, somewhat fearful of what the
drive back would be should the predicted snow come down,
of which there was considerable probability in great black
masses of gathering cloud, so decided to start as arranged,
leaving G. to follow on Monday.
So, at 7 a.m., I took leave of our amiable hostess, and
set out in a charming little kind of victoria, with no " box,"
drawn by two diminutive ponies. '
The weather, apart from the threatening clouds in the
horizon, was, in the sunshine, warm and lovely as ever, and
the comfortable little carriage — *' wagon," they call it —
valiantly dragged along by the good little ponies, was most
enjoyable through all the grand and lovely scenery. The
only contretempB was the coming frequently into collision
with immense and never-ending herds of cattle and horses
being driven by cowboys down from the now snowy moun-
tains where they pasture in the summer, to the warmer
plains for the winter — and which rather frightened and
annoyed the ponies. ■- -
One tiny little calf stupidly managed to run under the
pole to which the ponies were harnessed, and struggled
there, unable to get out. My driver, who had appeared
lie long
believe,
in due
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FRESNO.
99
till now quiet and taciturn, made no attempt to stop or to
disengage the unhappy calf, but contented himself with
luirliug at the poor little animal the most extraordinary
string of maledictions and anathemas. At last it managed
to ( rawl out, seemingly unhurt, from its dangerous position,
but the anathemas went on for quite twenty minutes,
apparently till the end of the repertory was reached — after
which, gloomy silence.
I stopped at a hut to buy some seed of the " Sequoia."
which, grown in England (where, however, for some reason
thev don't look at all the same), is called " Wellingtonia."
Not to be outdone, the Americans at once christened theirs
" Washingtonia," but finally decided to give them the name
of a bygone chief of the Yo Semite Indians, " Sequoia,"
by which they are now known.
At Awaunee, the little carriage and ponies were left
behind, and after the excellent Chinese luncheon that that
charming little inn always provides, a loquacious old man
drove me, in a high gig, the remainder of the lovely way to
Kaymond, which we reached just before sunset, at about
5 30.
There I found our baggage, which we had left, with the
exception of a couple of small bags, at the not very delect-
able hotel, where I stayed the night, as before ; and next
morning started by train, at 8 a.m.
Fortunately, this time, my train passed through dreary .
Bereuda without changing, straight on to Fresno, through
a lovely country of vines and orchards, and rich corn-land,
the Sierra Nevada fading into blue distance.
Fresno, the head centre of the great vineyard section of
California, is a well-built and very flourishing little city,
with broad, tree-shaded streets, and a pi-etty park, in which
stands a very grand city hall. I spent the time most
w.
in IP
: 11,
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UNITKD .SIAIKS.
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agreeably in visiting several of the celebrated vineyards iu
the neighbourhood, iu which are raised vast quantities of
grapes dried as raisins for exportation ; and walking about
in the park and gardens, till alarming sounds of cannon-
ading and firing of musketry terrified me into making the
best of my way, through excited crowds, back to the com-
fortable little inn at tho depot, where I was informed that
the row was not dangerous, but only in honour of the
municipal elections which were to take place next day.
Fresno is the '• dinner depot," with an excellent and very
large restaurant, to which the principal inhabitants of the
city seem " ahonnes " for their meals. Every table simply
groaned under the weight of grapes — huge, enormous
bunches, perfectly delicious in flavour, unlike some varieties
of Californian grapes.
The object being to advertise the vine-growing capacity
of the country, every passenger was pressed to eat as many
grapes as possible, gratis ; and when I left I was presented
with a huge basket, almost too heavy to carry, full of this
delicious fruit.
This country is admirably irrigated, with water conveyed
in canals fmm the inexhaustible supply in the mountains.
I went on by the 6 p.m. train, so fearfully crowded that
I was compelled to take refuge in my pet abhorrence, the
" sleeper," and at 7.30 next morning arrived at Los Angeles,
thi'ough exquisite groves of oranges and lemons, peaches
and mulberries — great quantities of the latter for the pur-
poses of silkworm culture, which is now one of the most
lucrative industries of California.
101
CHAPTER XL
Los Angeles— Santa Monica — PaHadena — Echo Mountain— San
Diego— El I'aso del Norte.
I WENT straight to the Hotel Westminster, large and
exceedingly comfortable, for breakfast, after which
I proceeded to reconnoitre the town. Wide shady streets,
tine stone buildings, and a series of the most charming
wooden villas, each rejoicing in the loveliest of gardens full
of palm trees, bananas, delicate-green lemon trees (omnge
trees are thought too common for these dainty gardens),
myrtles, roses, and masses of brilliant and gorgeous flowers
— a sky of deepest blue, and a sun simply an ecstasy to feel !
The city is surrounded by interminable groves of huge
orange trees, laid out in long rows, one sunshiny mass of
golden fruit — in the distance lovely lines of deep blue hills.
It boasts six beautiful parks and two theatres.
After luncheon I went by train to Santa Monica, the
whole way through a valley of the most exquisite gardens
aud groves of every imaginable fruit tree, all so covered
aad loaded with fruit that one wondered how the branches
could sustain such weight, especially the enormous " grape-
fruit," or pomelo, of which you often see from forty to
tifty hanging on one small delicate-looking branch. Spark-
ling streams irrigate this lovely valley, which is bordered
bv low, but most graceful hills.
In less than an hour the blue Pacific came into sight,
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and we arrived at the pretty little sea-bathing town of
Santa Monica, picturesquely perched on cliffs with bril-
liant gardens, and in front the wondei'ful golden sands that
everywhere stretch along this coast, up which come rolling
emerald- green waves breaking into lovely clouds of snowy
foam. Sea-bathing here, as everywhere in these favoured
climes, goes on the whole year round.
The train runs on straight for a mile or two, on to a
huge " mole " which projects a long distance into the
sea, whence daily steamers start for various points of the
coast. After an hour's enjoyment of the s'mny sea and
delicious breeze, I returned by train to Santa Monica, where
it was enchanting to wander along the sands, hard and
firm as a board, picking up exquisite shells and watching
the great shining green waves. But all at once, without
the slightest warning, waves, sea, and cliffs were absolutely
obliterated from sight by the densest and wettest of sea-
fogs.
I always carry a waterproof which also does duty as
dust-cloak, else I should have l *n w^t through ! I hurried
up to the charming Httle notel on the top of the cliff as
well as I could, for sight of it cohere was none. All was
shrouded in mist, with a sudden fall of temperature.
When I reached the summit of the not high cliff, lo I
there was warmth, and brilliant sunshine, and clear blue
sky all over the land, whilst sea, and the sky above it, were
absolutely blotted out by denee, rolling clouds of vapour !
I was told that consumption, resulting from neglected
colds, was very prevalent here, and no wonder, with these
sudden and violent changes of temperature ; one moment
you are inhaling the warmest and driest of airs, the next
the coldest and dampest of vapours !
I never heard anywhere such incessant and racking
PASADIONA.
103
coughing as everywhere in the trains? and hotels of
California !
As a rule, however, these sea-fogs do not penetrate far
into the country, but rest mostly on the sea-board.
My train reached Los Angeles a little after sunset, the
whole landscape and sky glowing and flaming in a mar-
vellous afterglow, which reminded me of the exquisite
sunset effects at Athens, and all over the plains of Attica,
where they are so infinitely more beautiful and brilliant
than in any other part of Greece.
Next morning, cloudless sunshine. G. arrived by the
early train, his extra day at Wawona not having gifted him
with the proud possession of a bearskin, no " grizzly " or
other monster liaving been encountered. He went off to
look at some fruit-farms, and I by train, a short distance,
to the far-famed Pasadena, through one vast orange and
lemon garden, rising gradually to a height of 800 feet, on
which lies the rich valley of San Gabriel, where the orange
trees grow to a phenomenal height, and their fruit is of
exquisite flavour.
Beyond this lovely and fruitful valley rises the grand
Sierra Madre and the peaks of San Bernardino and San
Jacinto, clad in dazzling snow.
The magnificent Raymond Hotel at Pasadena was closed
for the winter, but I was able to see its beautiful and
extensive and admirably laid-out grounds, surrounded by
glorious views, — the blue Pacific in the distance.
The town t Pasadena is full of gay villas embowered in
flowers, handsome public buildings, and an interesting
museum. Beautiful woods of eucalyptus, cork, and pepper
trees, olive and indiarubber, fan and date palms, fruit
trees of all description, and flowers of brilliant hues.
Whole tracts are covered with the golden Californian
'
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poppy, and a large og"!^rich farm fiill of these queer, un-
gainly birds, is most successful and valuable.
At 2 p.m. I went on from Pasadena, by ordinary train,
as far as Altadena, passing through glorious orange and
lemon groves, which here culminate in magnificent luxuri-
ance. At the little flowery station of Altadei.". you change
into the electric cars of the Mount Lowe Railway, and
rise rapidly into wilder but not less charming scenery.
Sweet-scented groves, the orange trees simply gigantic in
size, delicious vine-clad ravines with brawling brooklets
tumbling in sparkling cascades, every inch of ground
covered with the dazzling golden poppy, till Rubio Cafion
is reached, at an altitude of 2,200 feet.
Its steep sides are covered with splendid pine and
eucalyptus trees, through which a shining waterfall comes
splashing and glittering, in the checkered sunlight, to
wheio a pretty little inn stands on the platform, where
you leave the electric car, and see before you, rising
straight up the apparently perpendicular mountain, the
impossible-looking Great Cable Incline, with its two queer-
shaped lumpy cars, which swing each other up and down,
a nearly vertical height of 1,300 feet to the summit
of Echo Mountain, which stands at an altitude of 3,500
feet.
In a few minutes we were all seated (about twelve can
go up at once) in the open car, beginning our upward
ascent, our strong cables drawn slowly up by those attached
to the descending car, the downward action of which drew
us up. I must admit that the sensation of climbing up
this almost perpendicular precipice of 1,300 feet is not
entirely unmixed. The motion is perfectly smooth and
easy, but the strong cables groan and creak with a crunch-
ing noise, and make you realize your utter dependence on
ECHO MOUNTAIN,
105
their strength, for should, by chance, the strain of the great
weight they drag cause them to suaj), down you woukl
pknige, with fea.rful impetus, into the giddy depths below !
But the views are superb !
After a " nerve-test " oi: about ten minutes, the summit
is reached, and you find yourself on a narrow platform, one
shining mass of the most gorgeous flowers ; a charming
little hotel almost hidden in blossoming creepers, where it
would be delightful to spend a week exploring the exquisite
mouutain scenery. Close by stands an observatory, con-
taining a 16-inch refractor and two smaller telescopes, and
beyond it an establishment of cages, in which terrible
creatures of the mountains are kept. Many hideous
varieties of live rattlesnakes and other rej)tiles, a huge
black bear living in a sort of sunk well, which deliberately
and noiselessly climbs up to where you stand, and could
without much difficulty take hold of you, or get away
himself, which the keeper told me he had done twice
already ; numbers of frightful and ferocious-looking tiger-
cats, glaring and hissing and snarling at you, and other
horrors from which you are g^. d to turn to look at the
magnificent panomma before you.
At the back, great mountain peaks, snow-clad and
glittering ; all round you the dazzling flower beds ; in
front, the steep and yawning precipice ; grand trees beyond,
and the glorious valley, emerald- green and golden with
fruit-laden orange groves, shining mists floating here and
there over its beauty, stretching far a.vay to the golden
sands of the distant ocean studded with lovely blue islets,
ull glowing in the dreamy noontide sunshine, a scene of
])t.'rfectly enchanting beauty !
I made a little sketch, and then started, on a stout pony,
to ride up, through indescribably beautiful scenery, to the
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UNITED STATES.
summit of Mount Lowe, a height of 6,000 feet. From
this point the view is infinitely grand ! Fourteen snow-clad
ranges of exquisite form are seen towering one above
another, humming birds hum around, sipping the fragrant
honey from a carpet of flowers, sparkling waterfalls and
brooks refresh the air, and swarming bees, the honey of
which IS exquisite.
The bridle-path is ingeniously arranged in the form of
an 8, so that you are all the time passing through new
ground, and the return is through shady woods of pine
and oak, carpeted with flowers of the sweetest fragrance
all the way back to Echo Mountain, so-called from its
extraordinary acoustic effects, just in time for the last
evening trip of the Cable Incline down to Rubio Caiion,
the whole superb panorama illuminated by a glorious
sunset, and a still more wonderful afterglow, scarcely faded
when I reached Los Angeles.
The following morning (November 8th) Gr. started early
to make, by train, the round of the famous Eiverside,
" claimed," as the Americans say, to be the finest fruit-
growing tract of land in the world. But I preferred the
expedition to San Diego, renowned as the loveliest seaside
resort in all the west.
T started early also, by another railway, a journey of
about five hours, through the usual Californian succes-
sion of Gardens of Paradise, — the horizon, on one side,
bounded by the gleaming suowfields and peaks and blue-
shadowed foothills of the lovely Sierra Madre, and on the
other by the sparkling, deep blue ocean. The train passes
not very far from the charming home of Madame Modjeska,
whose histrionic powers were much admired in London
many years ago, and who now resides always in this
beautiful " Garden of Eden."
SAN DIIiGO.
107
Her picturesque, castellated, flower-embosomed house,
jjerched high on a craggy rock surrounded at its base
with small forests of trees in all the gorgeous tints of
the Fall, overlooks miles upon miles of orange and palm
irroves, as far as the yellow sands of the ocean, the
opposite horizon bounded in the transparent far-away
distance by the blue Sierra — a home of ideal poetry !
After the first hour through these exquisite regions,
the track reaches the sea, and curving round, for the
remainder < the way skirts the sunlit waves from lovely
pastoral heights of the vividest emerald green. Then
descending, crosses the broad San Gabriel river, passing
romantic hamlets nestling in happy groves and gardens,
feathering down the opening in the green hills to the
sunny waves dancing merrily up the strand.
Santa Pc Springs, a delicious village ! On we go, across
the river Santa Anna, richly fringed with orange groves,
till, at last, the prosperous and important city of San
Diego is reached. There the line terminates, a ferry-boat
waiting to cross the grand harbour, second only to that of
San Frisco, to the outer arm of the bav, formed bv a long
tongue of land called Corouado Beach.
This is what I had come to see — the attractive boast of
San Diego, and all California.
It is, to my mind, almost, if not quite, of its kind, the
most delicious spot on earth — a dreamland of poetic
delight ! ' ;
Leaving the ferry-boat, you mount into a carriage or an
electric car, and you find yourself speeding along a flat
peninsula, through a quadruple avenue of the most mag-
nificent and graceful date and sago palms, on a broad and
admirably kept road, edged with loveliest turf and flower-
beds of dazzling hue ; and on each side, beyond the ['alms.
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UNITED STATES.
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an exquisite fringe of tall golden poplars, locust trees and
eucalyptus, sheltering a heavenly wilderness of scented
mandarin-orange and lemon trees, bananas and bamboos,
every imaginable d-licious fruit tree, and sweet and bril-
liant flowering shrub and plant — in short, a veritable
Garden of Paradise !
Here the sun for ever shines, and the air is always
balmy and scented with million scents of flowers, and no
sea-fog ever dims the radiance of the waves !
For several miles through all this beauty you advance,
till you reach the most exquisitely situated hotel in the
world !
It stands embowered in the heavenliest of gardens ; the
walls and broad glassy verandas almost hidden by the
vast clinging masses of roses of every delicate and brilliant
hue, heliotrope, jasmine, of a fragrance and beauty beyond
words ! — the whole, a sort of gigantic presentment of glass
and flowers. You pass round to the opposite side of the
hotel, and find yourself suddenly face to face with the
Grand Pacific, rolling its emerald-green crystal waves in
snow-white foam masses up the gold-amber, shell-strewn
Coronado Beach, from which you are only divided by a
wide marble terrace on to which the flowery verandas
open, and from which wide flights of marble stairs lead
down to the sunny sands stretching far to i-ight and
left.
It is a vision of delicious flowery, reposeful peace and
beauty ! and though sea-fogs may sometimes be seen
floating in the distance far out at sea, they never come
near this enchanted spot, where blissful sunshine and
perpetual summer reign.
Alas for fleeting time! Soon I had to return to the
ferry across the bay to meet the homeward train — the
LOS ANGELKS,
109
green-blue foaming billows, as we skirted the sands, in-
describably lovely in sunset and fiery afterglow.
Just before daybreak next morning (November 0th) we
left Los Angeles, by the South Pacific line, for El Paso,
passing through the lovely " riverside " country, con-
sidered, par excellence, the garden of California — but all
California is one wide " Garden of the Hesperides ! "
Through lovely woods gorgeously tinted, grand chains of
mountains running parallel on each side of the valley ; by
degrees the land becoming arid, still in California, but
where no irrigation is.
Cactus, of varied kinds, some gigantically tall, of every
eccentric shape, covered with fruit and flower, mingled
with yuccas cf immense height.
On, into still more arid land, cactus only, and yellow
mountains completely bare, glowing like burnished copper
iu the fiery sun. Scorching dust- waves, choking and pene-
trating— still California. The track descends to a depth of
20 feet below sea-level ; and for 150 miles we speed
through the burning Colorado desert, a vast deep basin,
265 feet below sea-level in its deepest parts, supposed to
have once formed part of the Gulf of California, and to
have gradually dried up, leaving immense deposits of salt,
glittering like silver and diamonds iu the burning sun-
shine, relieved here and there by yuccas and cacti, many of
them rising to a height of 40 feet.
The sun shines down into this deep and arid depres-
sion with a fiery glow, the dust rising in clouds. Here
and there an oasis. Palm Springs, the loveliest of them,
revels iu the green shade of exquisite groves of date-
]jalnis, the only natui'al growth of this variety in Cali-
fornia. Near Saiton, at the lowest depth (265 feet below
sea) a lake 30 miles long by 10 wide, and only 4 feet
110
UNITED STATES.
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deep, has been formed by the river Colorado, so lately as
1891. What a paradise for skaters ! were it not in torrid
zone ! Soon after, at a depth of 220 feet, we pass
Volcano Springs, admirably curative, and begin to rise
till Flowing Well, 5 feet above sea.
Soon the great "Colorado" river is reached and crossed,
its banks beautifully fertile and fringed with golden
poplars, forming the eastern boundary of California, where
we looked on last (I trust not for ever !) on that lovely
land, where, the whole year round, you can eat freshly-
gathered oranges, lemons, limes, strawberries, guavas ;
and for a lesser portion, innumerable other delicious
fruits ! The town of Yimia, said to be the hottest iu
America, rises on the further bank of the Colorado, and
we now found ourselves in the strange and arid, but most
picturesque and interesting state of Arizona, in which are
to be seen many " world's wonders," the extraordinary
Petrified Forest, the trees of which hide behind their
stony bark, instead of wood, wonderful deposits of crystal-
line amethyst, jasper and cornelian ! Many sections of
these petrified trunks, exquisitely polished, and looking
like slices from fairy trees of precious stone, I saw later iu
museums, where other marvels of Arizona dazzle the be-
holder with their beauty ; the cave-dwellings also, and
wonderful remains of prehistoric cities.
In the sandy wastes mirages are of frequent occurrence ;
all is arid sand, but full of sti'ange, uncanny growths of
gigantic, ecceniric cacti ; great, bare, sun-baked parallel
chains of finely peaked hills.
When night came on, we were so lucky as to be almost
alone, and consequently able to remain in the ordinary car
all night. In the dim light of the stars we could see the
strange vegetation seeming to loom to the skies ! In the
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GLACIER POINT, YO SEMITE. P. 7 1.
■ 3,201 feet from valley.
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EL PASO.
Ill
morning we stopped for breakfast at a depot restaurant,
then ou again, through a boundless stretch of bare, undu-
lating country, majestic in its desohition, the soil a rich
red-purple ; with, in the far distant horizon, a superbly
shaped, pyramid-like, snow-peaked mountain rising over
10,000 feet from the plain.
For hours it remained in sight, dominating the plain, till,
after a long time, we reached the wide Rio Grande, its
course marked by waving lines of gold-foliaged trees, and
crossed into Texas, the state of greatest extent in the whole
Union, covering an expanse greater than that of France.
We were, however, at present, to see but little of it, for
we had reached El Paso, where we left the Southern Pacific
line, and, crossing the short distance to El Paso del Norte,
found ourselves in Mexico.
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9
CHAPTER XII.
Mexico— riiihuahua — Hnll-fijj;ht— Zacatdcns — A},'ua8 Calieiites
— Tajo (li Nochistonga — Silao — Valley - ' xico.
THE hour was 2 p.m. (Saturtuiv, Novemher 10th) a
gloriously beautiful day ; a pretty little ** puehla "
(village) aud the Custom-house, where we fouud our
luggage already deposited for examinatiou. Here we met
with the greatest possible civility. The Mexicau-Spanish
officials were politeness itself — Spanish the only language
spoken.
I was shown into a separate hall, where a very smartly-
dressed lady presided over the examination of women's
boxes, no man being admitted.
In answer to her polite inquiri*
" to declare." She just glanced a
a thing, and with the politest bow a^
thing "passed." I found that G.
I said I had nothing
' top without moving
smile, chalked cverv-
s men-examiners had
been equally complaisant, so we got away in about two
minutes, and had two hours to walk about and make our
first delightful acquaintance with things Mexican.
At once the extraordinary difference between the two
countries strikes the stranger. It is as if one were trans-
ported into a distant laud, the whole look of everything is
different. The houses are altogether different, mostly built
of adobe, aud flat-roofed ; whilst the churches everywhere,
however small, present the solid fortress-like appearance
tl.at you see in Spain.
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MEXICANS.
113
Tlu' population is picturesque ; even the loafers at the
" estac'iou " have all the picturesque grace that delights oue
ill the Spanish peasantry — handsome, dark-eyed men
dressed in short open jackets and gay waistbands of bright-
coloured stuff, or embroidered leather, and tight, much-
deeorated, leather leg-coverings, the whole surmounted by
the huge and most artistic " sombrero," — a straw hat, with
innuense brim and enormously high peak, often gaily em-
broidered and decorated; but, whether plain or not, the most
chaniiiug and becoming of headgear, and the best adapted
for the hot sun of these regions.
The women, in dark plain skirts, just avoiding the ground,
with lace mantillas, or black or coloured shawls, of fine
texture, gracefully draped over their heads and shoulders ;
sounds of guitars ; an atmosphere of romance ; the grand
Spanish language, spoken here with the doucereux softness
of Italian, rather than Spanish pronunciation — so infinitely
soothing after Yankee-Euglish !
Everywhere refined politeness and courtesy ; for, even
the Mexican who, on provocation of hunger and want, and
meeting you in a solitary place, would not for a moment
hesitate at such a trifle as cutting your throat to possess
himself of your supposed money-bags — would treat you,
till the last tragic moment, with the most polite and
respectful deference.
No longer rush and turmoil, and everlasting " dollar-
talk," but calm, quiet, and repose, where time is of no
account, and you may live and let live, and dream through
the livelong day !
At 5 p.m. " aboard " the Mexican-Central, the leading
line in Mexico, admirably managed by an English com-
pany.
F re we found, for the first time on the American
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114
MEXICO.
continent, first and second class, besides the ** Pullman
sleepers."
The first class is a car constructed on the same princijile
as the A-merican "all-class" — a gangway between arm-
chair or sofa-seats, but very much shorter and more com-
fortable, and, of course, more select.
We gladly settled ourselves in our comfortable " first
class," without fear of beinr; forced, by unpleasant crusli
or company, into the sleeper.
At 4 p.m. we start, from a height we have been
gradually ascending, of m "^rly 3,000 feet, having left the
arid zone behind. Extensive ranches on grassy lands
excellent for the rearing of cattle and horses, of which vast
herds are seen peacefully grazing ; here and there pic-
turesquely-dressed cowboys, mounted on handsome, well-
fed horses, which they dominate from their high Mexican
saddles, armed with gigantic spurs, are seen wanacring
about. Immense flocks of goats quietly browze the deep
rich grass, principal providers of milk in Mexico.
A lovely sunset closed the day, but not in the least like
the Californian, being followed by no gorgeous " after- |
glow." Indeed, " afterglow," in the sense of those that so
marvellously illuminate the skies of California, we never
saw in Mexico, where the skies and sunsets are more like
those of the clearest and loveliest of English summer days;
the air pure and balmy, and delightfully exhilarating, but
nowhere extreme heat, in spite of the brilliant sun, except
in the narrow coast-bands of " tierra caliente " (hot
land).
The line continues, gently rising, through boundless
fertile [)laius, but darkness soon followed the sunset, aud
we saw little more in the dim starlight, besides being nn^re
or less asleep, till the early morning light showed agaiul
CHIHUAHUA.
115
ullman
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being wore
)wed again
much the same kind of country, with graceful blue hill
ranges in the distance on either side, as, towards 7 a.m.,
we reached Chihuahua, the chief city of the Mexican State
of that name.
It was a lovely cloudless morning, the " Sabbath morn-
ing," and we at once betook ourselves to the " casa Robin-
son," to make something more of a " Sunday toilette," and
to breakfast.
The " casa " is a large and airy whitewashed house, with,
as iu all Mexican dwellings, a central " patio " (court),
planted with oleanders and orange trees, into which the
various rooms open. Of coarse, after the wonderful hotels
of the United States, the Mexican " fondas," like those of
Spain, fall sho^*". ; but the rooms all shone with clean fresh
whitewash, and an entire absence of disagreeable insect
life ; the wooden floors were jDcrfectly well scrubbed ; here
aud there rocked a chair, and the food was quite clean and
eatable — the bread aud chocolate, as in Spain, superlatively
good.
After breakfast we walked through very clean streets of
whitewashed flat-roofed houses, shaded by rows of poplars,
to the cathedral, for the high mass, where we saw a most
l»ioturesque crowd, the same sort of gaily-dressed men with
their " rebosos " (toga-like mantles) and pretty children and
women, gracefully dressed in shawls or mantillas, that you
see in Spain ; the same absence of seats of any Icind, the
same scrupulous and perfect cleanliness, the same antique-
sounding, cracked organs, and short Spanish sermon. The
cathedral itself is spacious and picturescpie ; it was built
during the Spanish occupaticm, at the beginning of the last
tontury, at a cost of 800,000 dollars, raised by a tax on the
[ueighliouring Santa Eulalia silver mines.
After mass, we wandered in the lovely sunshine, through
i !'■.
^^^^^m^^^m
110
MEXICO.
'T'r
the prettily-situated city, with its fine park and gardens,
full of oranges and myrtles, roses and palms, bordered
with fine eucalyptus and many other trees — to the mineral
baths, and a grand Spanish aqueduct, more than 200 yours
old, just outside the city walls, with lovely views, and the
Guadalupe shrine.
Then we returned in delicious, but not too hot, sunshine
to the " casa," where we dined — the usual kind of lesser
Mexican food, which, however, I thought superior to the
Spanish of the same grade, being happily innocent of
garlic; after which, having arrayed myself in a black
lace mantilla and fan " a la espanola," we proceeded
through the charming and extensive park to the Plaza
de Toros, where a " funcion " takes j^lace every Sunday
afternoon. - '■.
This we thought a quite necessary experience — a com-
parison of Mexican bull-fights with Spanish — not that we
expected to enjoy ourselves, but wished to see the appear-
ance and behaviour of a great po]>ular Mexican gatheriutr.
At 4.30 p.m. the great gates of the amphitheatre opened,
and we at once went up to our reserved places, in the Rail-
lery in which the elite of Chihuahua disports itself on com-
fortable chairs, overlooking the tiers of benches, all round
the arena, on which the populace sat, dressed in its best,
very gay and lively.
An excellent military band played stirring music, and
t'le numerous company of picadores on their doomeJ
blindfolded horses, bandarillcros, toreadores, lasso-meu iu
case of accident, and also to drag away the victims, with
their team of six splendidly-caparisoned, prancing horses,
and finally, two celebrated matadores, who only appear iu
the arena when the coiqy-de -grace is required — all dressed
in their gay and most picturesque bull-fighter's costume-
.1 ]• ■■■:!
FUNCIOX.
117
inaivhed, to the aecompauiment of spirited music, into the
arena, and three times round it, vociferously cheered by the
crowded assembly, after which the matadores retired, and
proceedings began.
Six superb bulls performed one after another, and
evoked marvellous feats of most graceful agility on the
part of the men. Were it not for the hideous and entirely
inniecessary cruelty to the horses of the picadores, placed to
await the first attack of each bull, and against which the
first rush is invariably made, tossing them high into the air,
the unhappy riders barely, and not always, escaping the
liorus, horses and men rolling over in one indistinguishable
heap on the sand ; and were the bulls always finally spared,
instead of only occasionally, the exhibition might be an in-
teresting one, of immense skill, courage, and graceful agility
on the part of the men, and of wild ferocity and brute
strength on that of the bulls.
But, unfortunately, the populace is content with nothing
less than the slaughter of the greater part of the bulls,
which it demands with fury, as well as the wanton and
entirely superfluous sacrifice of the horses ; and only with
difficulty is persuaded to spare some particularly grand
and " bravo " toro, to '* fight another day."
On this occasion, of the six bulls, three magnificent and
tremendously-ferocious ones were let off with life, after
having done tremendous execution. The sun had set
before all was over, and, in the gloaming, a playful young
bull with "tipped" horns was let into the arena for the
amusement of the gamins of the assemblage, who all
jumped into the arena and played at bull-fighting for
half an hour, many of them being rolled over and tossed,
ami, I should think, micomfortably l)ruised, amid the
deafening plaudits of the grown-up audience, which, how-
!il 1-1 II
118
MEXICO.
ever, at one moment, nearly took to Hight in a panic, the
lively young bull, in one bound, having nearly cleared the
palisade, just dragged back in time by a lasso.
By a brilliant moonlight, glittering on the many foun-
tains in the park and streets, we walked back to the Casa,
passing the monument raised to the memory of Hidali,^),
the " patriot-priest " and " Father of Mexican Independ-
ence," and his colleague, Allende, who were, together, shot
on this spot in 1811, after fighting one year, with varying
success, against Spanish rule.
The next morning, at 7.30, we rejoined the Mexican
Central, and passing the fine mountain. El Corouel,
across several charming valleys Avell watered by fine rivers,
one or two of which we crossed, past the famous hot-sprini^s
of Santa Kosalia, to Yimenez about midday, where a really
excellent dinner was provided, and quite half an hour to
eat it in, delicious fruits included.
On we go, through cotton lands so rich and fertile that
the plants only have to be renewed every four years, the
bordering hills full of inexhaustible silver mines ; towards
sunset stopping at Torreon for an appetizing suj^per ; on,
through the night, rising up a mountainous track, till, at
nine next morning, we stop at an altitude of 8,000 feet, at
the curious and jiicturesque city of Zacatecas — seated on
the hills, surrounded by still higher hills — a vast array of
fiat-roofed, eastern-looking houses and domed buildings,
situation and aspect of the city being thought to strouglv
resemble that of Jerusalem.
This is the great silver-mining centre, and contains a
large and prosperous mining population ; also many tine
public buildings, a domed cathedral built in 1612, with a
rich facade, and a charming "alameda" (promenade) with
fountains and flowers, and lovely foliaged plants.
ZACATECAS.
119
After looking at these things, including a curious and
pioturesque market-place full of gorgeous fruit, we walked
up a st«?ep, rocky path, a good climb, up to the Bufa, a
hxi^e rocky mass of porphyry, overhanging the city, on
nearly the top of which, is perched, at a height of 800 feet
above the town, a pretty little chapel, " Los Remedios,"
much frequented by pilgrims.
The view from the patio of this chapel is magnificent —
grand, but bare, silver mountains, and far-distant stretches
of fertile plains, in which seven great cities may be dis-
tinctly seen. All the water for Zacatecas is carried to the
houses by water-carriers, most picturesque figures, with
their huge water-jars slung to their backs, and each
driving before him his burro (donkey) similarly laden.
We descended by another side, a much easier way, a
broad road, by which we soon arrived at our hotel, the
" Zacatt'cano," of very grand and imposing appearance,
once a monastery, with wide, high flights of stone stair-
oases, and grand arched cloisters above, surroimding the
four sides of a beautiful patio, into which open large, and
airy, and very clean bedrooms.
We had a hurried luncheon in the ancient monks'
refectory, a huge and very handsome apartment, opening,
with fine open-air arches, into the cloister, itself open to
tlie air.
Inunediately after, we proceeded in cars propelled down-
hill by their own momentum, six miles to the little town
of Guadalupe, a team of six stout mules quietly trotting
alontf the road beside us bv themselves : when thev reach
Guadalupe, their harness, which had been conveyed in the
oar. is placed upon them. They are fastened to the cars,
and draw them back up the steep hill to Zacatecas, and
so ou, backwards and forwards, the whole livelong day.
Br'?
it
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If I
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120
MEXICO.
till aftor dark, with iievei* a moinent's rest. How they
manage to keep so fat and well one can't think ! but they
seemed in the best of condition, and I may here remark
that the Mexicans appear to take great care of their beasts,
feed them well, and hardly ever seem to beat or ill-treat
them. They scold them, and call them " names " in a
threatening voice to any extent, but happily words break
no bones !
The church of the Guadalupe, an imposing structure,
with a his?h dome covered with brilliant yellow tiles, stands
charmingly in a lovely garden, one mass of roses, and
bordered with orange trees and high poplars and euca-
lyptus. The interior is much decorated, and seems to be
always crowded with pilgrims. Attached to this fine old
church, dating back to the Conquest, is a smaller " capilla"
(chapel), erected a few years ago at an immense cost by a
lady of the neighbourhood. The altar is one mass of solid
silver, with gold decorations, the altar-steps and walls
decorated with the beautiful Mexican onvx ; the altar-rails
of solid silver, lighted by the stained-glass windows of a
high dome richly adorned in mosaic and paintings ; the
floor of the most costly Mexican woods, inlaid and highly
polished.
Near the church is a gallery of art, interesting as repre-
senting Mexican personages and saints by native artists,
but of little value as works of art.
Everything in a state of the most absolute cleanliness
and order.
We returned in the car, this time drawn merrily uj) the
steej* incline by the six sturdy mules, gay with embroidered
trappings, and jangling innumerable bells, whi(di served
to drown the anathemas with which the driver egged them
on, back to Zacatecas, where, after sunset, we returned to
II ■
AGUAS CALIKNTFS.
121
our fortress-like monastic " Fonda," where the supper was
more abundant than nice.
The moonlight was lovely in the cloisters and patio, but
the air seemed redolent of ghostly monks and the op-
pression of a kind of churchyard, despite the plentiful
circulatiou of cold night air, through the large unglazed
windows and arches.
And I was not son'y to leave it next morning, and to
walk, in the bright sunshine, to the estacion, whence the
;t a.m. train carried us — grand views of the jiicturesque
citv and fine panorama of mountains, as we passed over
the great silver-mines — into a series of the most exquisitely
fertile and admirably-cultivated, well-watered valleys, ever
bordered towards the far horizon, on each side, by the
beautiful, parallel blue ranges of ramifications of the
great Sierra Mad re.
Wo were told that several Englishmen had bought and
cultivated extensive tracts of this rich and beautiful valley
— within the tropic of Cancer, but on so high a level —
everywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 feet above sea, that the heat
is never extreme, sunstrokes are absolutely unknown, and
the delicious and exhilarating climate reminds one, in the
loveliness of its brilliant cloud-laud and delicate blue skies,
of the more perfect of our summer days in England.
The train stops for dinner (a very good one) at Aguas
Calieutes, which, as its name implies, contains innumer-
able hot springs, of the most curative description. The
hot mineral water bubbles up in every direction, and
Hows, iu steaming streams, along the sides of the streets,
forming here and there into pools, where the graceful
Mexican women and children may be seen washing their
clothes.
A very fine bathing establishment,- thickly embowered
il
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,
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122
MEXICO.
in fraj^raut orange groves, where hot mineral springs flow
in and out of marble baths and reservoirs, forming hirj^e
pools in the great marble patio, where, shadowed by lovely
trees up which creep masses of sweet roses and jasmine,
you may bathe in the open air all the year round ; pre-
senting irresistible temptation to the dusty wayfarer.
Bright and flowery gardens, teeming with birds, of soni?
as sweet as their ]>lunuige is bright, abound (^n all sides,
the pretty little church almost hidden V>y giant palms and
l)ananas. We were told that there were here at least
three very good hotels, much frequented by the fashion-
able senoras of Mexico city, who find the hot springs very
beautifying to the complexion.
Here the country is all one admirably cultivated plain
of extraordinary fertility, irrigated by means of aqueducts ;
with, in the distance, only one set of hills, fantastically
shaped, visible.
Far away, across these green sunny plains, frequently
appears the mirage of a suuny lake ; but, as fresh water
abounds, it is not here the cruelly- fieluding vision that
mocks the thirsty traveller in the desert.
There are no deserts in Mexico, everywhere fertility and
cultivation ; even in the more arid soil high up in plateaux
among the mountains, endless rows of the many varieties of
the great national, indigenous, aloe-like plant, the agave, are
cultivated, furnishing bread, fruit, drink, clothing, cordage,
writing-material, and many other necessaries and luxuries,
to the inhabitants, now, as when Cortes led into this
wonderful land his little band of adventurers.
About an hour after leaving Aguas Calientes we went
across one of those terrific high trestle-bridges, just the
mere unprotected track, with no attempt whatever at
balustrade, of great length and extreme height, over
KB flow
^ large
' lovt'ly
18111 i lie,
1; pre.
sr.
of song
11 sides,
luis and
lit least
fasliiou-
ugs very
:ed plain
ueducts ;
tastically
•eqvieutly
;sli water
31011 tbat
,ility and
plateaux
lirieties of
V!4ave,are
I, cordage,
luxuries,
iuto this
we went
I just the
latever at
rht, over
••o
■A
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hlO KNCAUNACION.
123
rivers or ravines, which so frequoutly furnish you with a
innuvaig quart-d'heure in Mexico, and, indeed, all over the
Anii'riiau continent.
Tlu' train is compelled, by law, as well as necessity, to
creep so slowly over them that you have full time and
opportiuiity for realizing the fearful height at which you
are, all unprotected, winding, or i)a8sing, as it were,
through the air ! You feel like Blondin on his aerial rope,
miuus his mng-fmid ; and the relief with which you once
more find yourself on terra firma !
This particular specimen of the teri'ible trestle-bridges
crosses the Rio Encarnacion, with its reservoir, at the dizzy
hei^'ht of 150 feet, from which you scarcely dare to look
down into the watery dejiths below ! It is, besides, of great
length — a magnificent engineering triumph and splendid
feather in the cap of the English engineer who made it,
but not good for nerves !
On we go, this formidable obstacle passed, through
La^os, a prosperous manufacturing town of 40,000 in-
habitants, into a valley famous, even in Mexico, for its
marvellous fertility, to Loon, which boasts 100,000 dwellers,
all devoted to the manufacture of the lovely, soft Mexican
leather, in which men and horses and all are clothed, with
exquisite embroideries of gold and silver.
At the station lovely specimens are held up by pic-
turesquely-attired men and women ; and huge sombreros
are oft'ered for sale — some for a dollar, some for twentv or
thirty dollars. They try to persuade you to buy with the
most insinuating smiles, but are much too polite to press
you if they see that you are disinclined. Their soft voices
and courteous manners are so charming that it would be
too unkind to refuse, and one always ends by buying some
little trifle. " . '
iti
124
Micxiro.
III
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Theu on, throu^Mi this wonderful valley of sVip;o,r-Cciue8
and other trojiical productions, to Silao, at al)out sunset,
where is an excellent railwav restaurant and a eharniin<r
little hotel close by, eniljowered in lovely trees and floweriui,'
creepers, with deli<,'htf al rooms on the ground flour,
furnished with lari^e windows from ceiling to floor, ojn'u-
injj^ into the flowery veranda, where we stayed the ni<fht,
so as to see the remainder of the enchanting country
between this and Mexico city by daylight.
Next morning (November loth), after fortifying our-
selves with a good breakfast at the excellent restaurant
(for the hotel is only for lodging), we started at 8 a.m.
and sped through gk)rious valleys encon.ipassed by grandly-
formed hills ; passing, amongst others, the famous Straw-
berry Station, Ira])uato, where ripe fresh strawberries are
to be had the whole year round.
Directly the train stops the usual picturesque Mexican
venders appear, their arms fidl of large baskets l)rimniini:
over with delicious and wry large strawberries, which you
buy for twenty-five cents, and regale yourscdf joyfully with
as on you go through a i)aradise of a valley, occasionall}
passing some magnificent castellated luuaenda, the (country
habitation of some great proprietor, stopping at Salamanca,
where the natives again appear, this time sj)ecially laden
with groat picturesque jars full of " pukjuc," which ihey
offer with persuasive smiles to the vinjero in small, very
clean, shining glasses. Woe to you if, unable to resist,
you accei>t a dose of this sweet and sickening liqiior ! It is
the national drink, distilled from the leaves of the nst'ful
agave, and is, I believe, (piite wholesome, but certainly an
"a('([uired" taste, if ever, for strangers! It looks like
milk, and has a most disagreeable sickly taste, but the
natives delight in it, and make, from the same source, the
'lAJO DE NOCIIIS TONGO.
125
au'iivc. that variety of it called " niaguey," a spirituous
liquor i-alled " Mescal," uiade from its roots, which is uot
at all Inid, aud very revivina; I'fter fatigue.
Still ou we go, riiiiug through lovely cultivation, past
QiRTi'taro, where the natives ]»reseut you with countless
opals to buy for a mere song, the neighbouring mines
simply teeming with them ; but tlie prejudice against them
for their proverbial ill-luck prevents many from succumb-
ing. We bought none, although offered almost a handful
for a dollar.
Then past a glorious grove of palms, bananas, and
mangoes, the air redolent of the scent of orange and lemon
blossom, to the magniticeut aqueduct supported by suj)erb
stone jners 90 feet high, iind'M' whicii the train [»asses, —
the biggest cotton mills in America seen in the plain — ou
to San Juan del Rio, at an elevation of nearly 7,000 feet,
grand mountains, their sides cultivated to a great height,
delicious valleys nestling between, and little villages
dominated by fine haciendas. Still rising, higher and
liigher, with lovely vales below, till the highest point,
8,138 feet, is reached at Marqucz, through rows and nuisses
of agaves and yuccas and cacti, then descending a
thousand feet or so to Tula, the ancient capital of the
wonderful Toltec civilization, situated in the loveliest
valley imaginalde, gorgeous with Howers ami excpiisite
t'oliiigcd trees glistening in the golden sunshine ; tlu'ough
which we s])eed, coming into sight of the " Tajo de Nixdiis
tongo," a huge canal begun by the Spaniards in 1(507,
from 200 to (500 feet wid«-. and nearly 200 feet deep, for the
purpose of draining the great lakes in tlie valh y of Mexico.
It was never finished, but there seems now sonu' pros|>ect
of its ci)ntirua(i«)n. at a j)roposed cost of eight million
dollars.
126
MEXICO.
1 !'
A little further on we see one of the most interesting
sights in the world, the hic^h-placed Valley of Mexico,
with its distant ranges of hills and its two gigantic
sentinels, rose-red in the last rays of the setting sun — the
steep, pyramid-like Popocatepetl (" Hill that smokes ")
rearing its sharp cone of snow, 17,780 feet into the blue,
rose-flaked sky ; and Ixtaccihuatl (" the white woman ")
about 16,000 feet in height, but broader in shape, crested,
as it were, with a snow-white woman's form resting on its
for ever cloud-wreathed summit.
O
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12;
CHAPTER XIII.
Mexico City — Chinanipas — Museo Nacional— Saii Carlos — Clia-
poltepec—" Arbol de la Noche triste"— Guadalupe-Hidalgo.
IN Mexico city ! The suu had set and the rapid twilight
ahnost giveu place to the shades of night as we
entered where once had stood Teuochtitlan !
In the semi-darkness, what visions arose of lake-en-
compassed city and palaces, hanging gardens and teocallis
and pomp of Moctezuma, dim patriotic shades of the great
Cuitlahuac and no less heroic Cuahtemoc ; Cortes, the
glories of his triumphant entry, and the horrors of his
" Noche triste ! " All these chequered things that the
" Cactus growing out of the rock " had seen, and of which
we should see the site to-morrow.
Meantime, we see the towers of the great cathedral
proudly rising towards the stars on the very site of the
mighty Aztec temple — concealing beneath its huge founda-
tions what unknown buried treasures !
Lovely groves of palm and orange trees, and solemn
cypress shade its massive walls, as they stretch across one
whole side of the Plaza Mavor. It was closed for the night,
but soon the electric lights by which the city is well lighted
brought into commanding prominence its grand and im-
posing mass, whilst we wandered round admiring.
Then to our hotel, not far, the " Jardiu," large and
admirably clean, surrounding, on three sides, with wide
: I
^■'t ;
128
MEXICO.
rf
ijiiiili
,, filii
verandas ou each floor, the loveliest patio, full of iriaut
jtalms and bananas, orange trees, golden with fruit aud
fragrant with flowers, and tall poinsettia trees, dazzliiii; in
their masses of scarlet leaves.
The rooms on the first floor where we had chosen ours
were very large and airy, and each opened thi'ough its own
ante-chamber, on to the wide veranda overlooking tlu'
sweet-scented garden.
There was no super-abundance, but suflicieucy of furni.
ture, spotlessly-clean wooden floors ; and, if you pleased,
you could receive your friends in your ante-room, if you
preferred it to the public "parlour " round the corner of the
veranda, furnished with gilt mirrors and velvet-covered
sofas and chairs and a grand piano — the whole as often as
not kept locked, but ojiened at the request of any " guest."
Excellent baths are on the ground floor.
All meals are taken at the restaurant attached to one
side of the garden, open the whole day, from 5.30 a.m. tu
about 11 p.m., and entirely separate from the hotel— a
great convenience, as meals can be had at any hour, or
elsewhere if preferred.
This convenience was its only redeeming quality, for the
food was below par and the general service left much to be
desired ; but there was a delightful old French waiter who
took the most kindly interest in us, and did his " possible"
to provide us with everything of the best, such as the
" best " was.
After supper the moon had risen and was shining ex-
quisitely into our patio, already illumined by the electric
light.
Next morning (November 16th) we breakfasted at (130
and walked immediately afterwards to the Plaza Mayor.
which we had dimly seen the previous evening. It is a very
iii
z^^^w^.
MEXICO CITY.
121)
fine square, of great size, the centre of all the principal
" callt's " (streets), with a charming garden, the Zocohi,
well laid out with walks and ornamental trees and excel-
lent turf, and flower-beds and seats in the centre ; one side
of tlie square entirely occupied by lovely groves, from which
rises the grand imposing mass of the huge fortress-like
cathedral, with a fa9ade of 425 feet, a height of 180, and a
leugtli of 200 feet, consecrated in 1573. Two massive
towers, 218 feet high, were added at the west end later, and
were not completed till 1731. Several lesser tower-like
projections, and two grand domes rising above capillas :
the roof itself rising here and there into irregular, dome-
likf projections, with the vastly solid and picturesque effect
that is seen in all the great cathedrals of Mexico, and so
many of those of Spain.
The massive walls are much sculptured, in the elaborately
florid style of the later and inferior Spanish renaissance ;
but the general effect of the whole gigantic pile is exceed-
ingly fine and imposing, towering high above all the sur-
rounding buildings, and forming a magnificent centre
to the city : the beautiful trees and gardens that surround
it adding immense charm to its general appearance. At
the east end the cathedral is joined by the Sagrario, in
which marriages and baptisms take place. It adds largely
to the great mass of building, but its walls are decorated
iu the most debased " churriguresque " style.
Another entire side of the plaza is occupied by the
imuieuse Palacio Nacional, 675 feet long, the city resid-
euce of the President of the Republic, which also includes
most of the government offices. The whole of the side
opjiosite to it is taken up by shops of various kinds,
especially booksellers', interrupted by openings for two or
three callcs, and the City Hall.
;-:< 1T
i;^o
MEXICO.
iiiif!
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I
I
Opposite the cathedral the principal street, Callc de
Sau Francisco, leads to the Alameda, a beech- shaded
promenade with pretty gardens, in close proximity to tiie
magnificent Paseo de la Keforma, where the l)eauty aud
fashion of the city disports itself on horseback and in
carriages (unfortunately almost invariably closed) everv
afternoon from 4 till sunset, with the addition, on Sundays,
of a " church parade," from noon till 1 p.m.
We wandered about, viewing the exterior of the cathedral
from various points of view, till 10 o'clock, at which hour
the Museo Nacional is to be s jen till twelve.
It is situated at the back of the Palacio Nacional, and is
a large handsome building into which you enter through a
great archway and hall, leading into an exquisite patio
beautifully laid out with geometrically-shaped flower beds
full of the loveliest and most brilliant flowers, and masses
of rose trees and dwarf mandarins, all one sheet of
bloom ; the air filled with their delicious fragrance and the
murmur of fountains of the clearest and most sparkliui,'
water, the hot sunshine tempered by giant palms, and two
still more gigantic Poinsettia trees, dazzlingly resplendent
in their superb scarlet foliage. You walk across the lovely
garden, and enter through a wide archway into the huge
oblong hall in which stand the wondrous monuments
of Aztec civilization, and also those of its unparalleled
brutality.
As this was only the first of many visits we made to this
wonderful museo, I reserve to a later period the description
of these stone records of the Aztec race, which for only
three centuries occupied the Mexican plateau and the
neighbouring provinces of the land of Auahuac, following, at
an interval of a century, in the track of an infinitely more
civilized predecessor, that mysterious Toltec ("Builder")
VIGA.
131
rate, whose origin, and subsequent migrations, are lost
in clini obscurity, whose works are seen in the gigantic
ruins of Tuhi, Palemke, Mithi, and other half -buried cities ;
aud whose worship of the " Unknown God " on grand
pvnunids crowned with soaring Teocallis — the stately
Hnes of which the Aztecs initiated — was celebrated with
sacrifices of only incense, fruits and flowers.
The Museo closed at 12, and we returned to our hotel-
vostaurant for a hurried luncheon, after which we proceeded
by t'lectric car to the Viga canal, and at Embarcadero, in
a distant suburb, we embarked on a broad canoe, its seats
shaded by canvas awning, propelled in gondola fashion, by
a i)icturesque native, who enlivened us with very good and
most sentimental singing of Spanish ballads, interrupting
himself to point out the various points of view, most
amiably.
I may here remark that neither here, nor anywhere in
all our travels through Mexico, did we ever encounter the
evil odours that in so many of the most interesting countries
of the Old World quite mar one's enjoyment. All Mexican
cities, towns, churches, public buildings, and houses gener-
ally, are extraordinarily remarkable for cleanliness, order,
aud airiness.
The day was warm and deliciously sunshiny, and it was
pleasant gliding gently up the canal, between thick rows of
tine poplars and other deciduous trees, not in the least
tropical, but such as you might see in England. Indeed,
all over the immediate neighbourhood of the city of
Mexico, the vegetation gives no hint whatever of its situa-
tion within the Tropics. Its cultivated and sheltered
gardens are adorned with fine palms, bananas, bamboos,
and other products of warm latitudes, but the altitude
(7,4:00 feet) is too great for the spontaneous aud natural
132
MKXiro.
'
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fiilMii
I
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growth of the plants of even the second division of Mexiaiu
climate — the**tierra templada " (temperate laud). This
highly-placed valley forms i)ai't of the " tierra fria " (told
land) — •' cold," however, only comjiaratively speaking.
The sun is hot, and for ever shining in the loveliest
of tender blue skies. The so-called *' winter climate," be-
ginning with November and continuing till June, is abso-
lutely perfect. You revel in delicious, hot, but not too liot,
sunshine ; occasional lovely, fleecy cloudlets float in the
transjHirent blue ; and you breathe an air divinely soothiug,
yet exhilai'ating.
As we glided along between sun-chequered foliage, we
descried blue distant mountains, and the two superb snow-
crowned volcanoes, Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihualt, risiug
from one of the ramitications of the Sierra Madre, itself
a continuation of the mighty range of the great Cor-
dilleras, which, rising in Patagonia, form, under the
names of Andes, Sierra Madre, and Rocky Mountains, the
one continuous western backljone of South and North
America.
Ixtaccihualt is now thought to be extinct ; but Popo-
catepetl, and the much grander Pico de Orizaba (not
visible here) evince constant signs of fiery life in ever-
fresh deposits of sulphur crystals on the inner sides of
their snow-clad craters.
The two first (known) ascents of Popocatepetl were
made by adventurous cavaliers of the army of Cortes, to
the astonished admiration of his Tlascalan allies, who
declared that none could ascend the great Volcan and
live. At the time of the first ascent, continuous fire aud
smoke from the crater made it impossible to reach the
ui>per edge ; but two years later Montano and four
comrades successfully reached the very edge — the fire
f'HlNAMPA.S.
m
lioiu^' tomjiorarily at rest — and looked down an abyss of
over 1,000 feet, in the fiery deiitlis of which they saw
liinilK'nt flames and ascending' clouds of vapourous sulphur.
Nevertheless, Montafto had himself lowered seyeral times
in a l»asket into this fearful pit to a depth of 400 feet, till
he had ^'athered enough crystallized suljthur for the
manufacture of the amount of gunpowder required by
Cortes.
No wonder that the " Conquistador," in his letter de-
srril>ing the adventure to the Emi)eror Charles V., laconic-
ally remarks that '• it might be mort. venient, and on
the whole cheaper, to have his g ,'r sent to him
reaily-made from Spain."
From that time no ascent was made of the ** Hill-that-
sniokes" till the present century, when it was twice
ascended ; and from the topmost peak no crater of any
kind could be discerned on the neighbouring and less
elevated Ixtaccihualt, contrary to tradition, which had
always described the " White Woman " as a volcano.
To retui'n to our Viga canal. For two miles we floated
ou till we reached the " Chinampas " of Santa Anita, or
"floating gardens," which, in Aztec days, they un-
doubtedly were. To-day they merely float on swampy
ground, divided by little canals, into gardens covered with
roses and other gay flowers and vegetables.
We were taken all over these little gardens by a fine-
looking "mestizo" with a guitar, who afterwards accom-
panied us in our canoe, and sang with a beautiful tenor
voice aud intense sentiment, many charming Spanish and
Mexican songs, to its accompaniment.
He also showed us the picturesque " hacienda" — which
all strangers are taken to see — of Don Juan de Corona, a
famous defunct Toreador, who was as noted for his great
m
N.N
134
MKxrro.
J
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charity as for his uurivallotl skill in the " Funciones," and
e8tal)lisheJ aud endowed an excellent school for orphiins,
which still remains as he left it. The hacienda is full
of trophies of Don Juan, and relics of the War of
Independence.
When we returned to the canal we found our canoe sur-
rounded by a number of others, which had arrived moan-
time, full of vegetables and fruits of f^lowin<]j colour,
l)addled by pretty Mexican a /omen in their <];raceful li^'ht
blue drajjeries, and men in white cotton and great som-
breros. The reflection of all this gay scene and colour iu
the blue sunlit water was quite charming.
The canal continues for 5 miles to the Lake
Xochimitlicho.
After our return to the " Embarcadcro," we started liy
tram to Guadalupe-Hidalgo, about two miles north of tlie
city, with lovely views all the way of the great volcanoes,
now rosy in the setting sunrays.
At the foot of beautiful hilh stands the domed and
many-towered imposing church of Guadalupe, in com-
memoration of which so many Guadalupe churches and
chapels are to be seen all over Mexico.
The legend tells that, iu the year 1531, a poor Mexicau
slave, Juan Diego by name, whilst tending his goats on the
mountain beneath which stands the present church, was
one day surprised by the sudden vision of a beautiful lady
clad in raiment white as sno-w', who bade him climb to the
high rocks above, and gather for her the lovely flowers he
would find growing there. Although he knew that no
flowers could bloom on so stony a spot, he obeyed, and to
his glad surprise found great masses of the sweetest and
loveliest roses and lilies ; he joyfully gathered as man/ as
his tilma could hold, and quickly returned to where the
OrADAMIMMIinALGO.
135
shilling' vision awaited hiin. She took the flowers, ami
sweetly smiling tipon him, vauished from sight; and what
was the poor man's joy to see imprinted on the poor and
course texture of liis tilma (mantle) a perfect inuij<e of the
heavenly countenance of the white-robed vanished vision !
He flew with his tilma and his wonderful story to the
l)ish(»|), who refused to believe till he had himself climbed
to the rocky waste and seen the flowers of paradise bloom-
in^'. Then he caused the present church to be built, and
a {,'olden shrine enriched with gems for the poor slave's
tilnui. with its indelible print of the heavenly vision, where
it has been ever since the object of countless pilgrimages
from all parts of Mexico, in memory of the event by which
such celestial favour was shown to the poor, oppressed,
down-trodden Mexican nation.
I think most will agree of this graceful legend, that
" se non c vero, c ben trovato ! "
The view from the higher hill, where a small capilla was
Ituilt to commemorate the rocky ground blooming with
flowers, is magnificent, especially at this hour of sunset.
The great church was closed for repairs, only the chapel,
iu which is enshrined the tilma, open ; but daylight was
passing, and the lamps too dim to see it distinctly.
We returned to the city in the gloaming ; the high
white cone of Popocatepetl still shining in the last red
rays, and spent an hour wandering among the bookshops,
seeking in vain to find, in Spanish or any other language,
books descriptive of Mexican antiquities.
At last, iu a small curiosity shop, I found an instructive
little book on the subject by an eminent Mexican anti-
quarian. The shop also contained charming specimens of
Mexican feather and picture work, most delicate and
lovely, for which, alas, must have been slaughtered in-
•
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136
MEXICO.
numerable mimbers of those exquisite and divioe little
birds of the *' hummin*^ " tribe, whose delicate and dainty
loveliness no words can describe. Tiny feathered em-
bodiments of fire and sunshine, they seem too spiritualized
for this Wurk-a-day ^Yorld, and only fit for Paradise or
Fairyland.
The Atzec dream of highest bliss hereafter was to lie
turned into a bird of this, or the exquisite "Quetzal"
kind, and to flit for ever in cloudless sunshine from fragrant
flower to flower.
Next morning we had intended going again to the
Museo, but iinding it closed on Saturdays, went on to the
San Carlos Museum of Fine Arts.
Here there is a fine collection of Flemish and Spanish
paintings, but we were, naturally, more interested in seeing
the native art, so devoted our time to the numerous excel-
lent Mexican painters, old and modern. Amongst these
we saw man^'^ admirable works — a perfectly lovely Sauta
Cecilia, Santa Anna and others, by Balthazar de Echave.
one of their earliest and finest painters ; several sacred
subjects, admirably treated by Juarez (called the Raffaelle
of Mexico) except that his draperies are sometimes a little
wooden ; also successful in the same ge7ire, Miguel Cabrera,
S. Pirra, Bibiesea, Sagrado, and others.
Fine historical paintings, on a large scale, by Ramirez,
a modern painter, specially his " Youth of Isabella Cato-
lica," "Visit of Cortes to Moctezuma," "Torture of
Cuahtemoc," a striking picture, in which the heroic and
last Emperor of the Aztecs is represented seated in
presence of Cortes, with his feet bound over a brazier of
burning coals, in the act of sternly saying to the Kiu^ »'
Tacuba, his kinsman, similarly bound, who, tortured beyond
endi ranee, looks imploringly at him as if to beg for leave
iii:
U
SAN CARLOS.
137
to put an end to the torture by revealing the secret of tJie
hicldou treasure :
" And am I, perchance, on a bed of roses ? "
This indomitable fortitude had, at least, the effect of
shaming the conqueror into ordering his release, and that
of his kinsman, from the horrors of the torturing burning
coals, whicii had already nearly destroyed their feet ; and,
for a time, the noble iJuahtemoc was treated by Cortes
vrith kindness and magnanimity.
To return, however, to " San Carlos." We next admired
two grand paintings by F. Parra, of " Las Casas protect-
ing the Indios," and "Galileo;" S. Pirra's "Othello
smothering Desdemona," and " Hagar and Ishmael ; "
Juan Cordero's " Columbus befoi'e Ferdinand and Isabella; "
several very fine paintings by Jose Obregon, e&^.ecially his
beautiful " Christopher Columbus," " Episodio de la Con-
quista," and many others.
Landscape is less affected by Mexican painters, but we
saw a few fine mountain and lake views of the neighbour-
hood of Puebla and other places.
The wide and lofty galleries in which these pictures are
hung are extremely well-lighted and handsomely decorated.
They close at noon, so we proposed retuniiug another
day, and proceeded to au excellent restaurant, " La Con-
cordia," in the Callc San Francisco close b", to which we
had been directed by a friend, for luncheon ; after which,
bv tram, to the beautiful and famous Chapoltepec, anciently
the favourite residence of Moctezunia II.
The tram goes through shady avenues in the midst of
lovely ijreen meadows for about two miles, till the beauti-
ful nark of Chapoltepec ("hill of the grasshopper") is
reacht'l, full of magnificent cypresses, said to be from
138
MEXICO.
■■':i!
four to five thousand years old, and other grand trees,
surrounding, and rising to the summit of the high, rocky
eminence on which is situated the castle of Chapoltopec,
huilt by the early Spanish viceroys on the site of the palace
of Moi'tezunia.
The public garden at the foot of the hill is charniini;ly
laic! out with fountains and flower-beds, all kept in perfect
order, and is shaded by magnificent cedars and cypresses,
froir. every branch of which hang suspended delicate
draperies of a soft, silvery-grey moss.
On the right side of the gai'den stand great monoliths,
^arved with strange Aztec figures and hieroglyphs, beyond
which rises tlie wide and steep road, guarded by perpen-
dicular rocks on the left and splendid trees on the right,
reaching down the steep hillside to the lovely park l>elow.
One giant tree stands majestically out among the rest.
halfway up, a venerable cypivss, shining as one mas., o)
p>endeut silver in its hoary robe of gray moss. This is the
tree under which Moctezuma is said to have wept and
bewailed the terrible incuV)us of white strangers he was
])owerless to eject.
The road rises steeper and steep'n' as it winds up the
great island-like hill, till it reaches the fortified terraces
on the summit of the commanding height, in front of the
wide buildings which comprise the castellated palace uud
military college. From the lower garden, to the left, rises
a short pathway uji steep stone staircases, straight to the
grand, terraced front of the castle, up which I went (this
way being much snorter and very picturesque, reserving
the long winding road for my return), and soon f >und
myself under the great fortified wall of the terrace, to the
top of which I ascended by a flight of stone ste]>s.
On reaching the terrace I saw several carriages waiting.
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CHAPOLTEPKC.
139
auil a number of soldiers, fine-lookino' men in smart uni-
forms standing about, outside the great iron gates leading
into the inner terrace, and lovely fountaiued court oi
orange trees immediately overlooked l»y the castle. I
askt'd the sentinel at the gate whether I might enter this
iuuer court to make a sketch ? He answered, most politely,
that the public were not admitted, but that as I was
" estranjc'ra " (foreigner) he Avould go and ask the officer
on duty.
A minute or two later two or three much-decorated
officers made their apjiearance in exceedingly smart uni-
forms, and with a series of the most polite bows and
smiles said that " la senora was most welcome to enter
into the court and see all over it, and make sketches until
sunset, when the gates had to be closed."
So, with many thanks, I walked in, and oh ! the view
from the terraced and f ouutained irarden ! No words cm
describe its marvels of beauty ! You look from the height
on to loveliest masses of exquisite foliage, shelving down to
the glorious valley beneath, richly fertile, dotted with small
expanses of blue mirror-like water fringed with delicate
golden poplars, stretching, on all sides, far away into the
shadowy blue distance of a superb amphitheatre of moun-
tains, the sharp wliite cone of Popocatepetl rising straight
into the azAire sky, whilst, to his left, reposing as ever
nudor shining wreaths of misty clouds, towers the silvery
mass of the white Ixtaccihualt. In front of these a chain
of gracefully-sha}>ed little foot-hills of an exquisite melting
tiUYjuoise-blue, and, to left and right, wild spurs of the
serrated Sierra, a dream divine of glory and poetic peace
aud beauty ! •
What must be the inspiring effect upon those who
dwell on these heights, and see ever before them these
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140
MEXICO.
silvery eternal hills, everlastiugly still, yet changing with
every lovely shadow, guarding the reposeful valley beneath !
It is a scene to dwell in one's dreams, an impossible
one to give any true idea of on paper, yet I ventured to
trv.
It was sad to be every now and then interrupted by the
courtesy of the amiable officers, wishing to know if I
required anything, and asking to be allowed to see the
progress of my sketch.
At sunset — oh its unspeakable glory ! I came away,
down by the long, slowly-winding carriage road, lingering
to take in the view opposite to the one above, and every
gorgeous tree, towering among them Moctezuma's tree;
how ghostly it looked in its hoary mantle of silvery moss,
as the shades of evening gathered over it ! Down to the
lower garden, and into the unpoetical tram, and so back
to the Plaza Mayor, where electric lights and rising moon
lighted the huge cathedral pile, into some shops, and home
to the Jardin,
Next morning (Sunday, November 18th) we breakfasted
before seven, and then by tram to the cemetery of Scan
Fernando, surrounded by high stone walls, to which are
attached wide stone cloisters, and a handsome gateway.
The cemetery is admirably well kept, and is Hdorned
with beautiful orange-trees and high palms, and lovely
flowering creepers festooned over most of the tombs. Many
of the monuments are very fine, especially that of the
patriot chief Guerrera, taken prisoner and shot during the
war of Independence ; but the central and most beautiful
point of interest is the magnificent mausoleum erected to
the memory of Juarez, of Indio-Mexican parentage, the
restorer of the Kepublic after the French invasion aut^ the
short and calamitous reign of the Emperor Maximilian.
■i:
SAN FERNANDO.
141
The marble sarcophagus, iu which repose his reinaius, is
artistically and beautifully sculptured ; and his recumbent
marble effigy, peacefully reclining in the arms of " la
Patria" — a female figure of the greatest beauty, iu an
attitude of still-powerful strength resting in death — is
adniiral)ly portrayed by a native sculj^tor, who has executed
the whole beautiful white marble group with extreme
power combined with the utmost refinement and artistic
feeling.
The love with which the Mexicans regard the memory of
this artificer of their independence is shown by the in-
uumerable trophies and flags and wreaths of immortelles,
aud daily fresh flowers, Avith which the mausoleum and
marble s])aces round the tomb are covered.
Juarez has been much blamed for the implacability with
which he ruthlesslv insisted on the execution of the sentence
of death, pronounced by council of war, upon his prisoner,
the Emj)eror Maximilian : but it must be remembered that
the same rigour had been observed by the enemy in the case
ot' innumerable guerilla-chiefs and leaders of the Republi-
cans, and that he wished to prove to the nations of Eurojie
the determination of Mexico to govern itself, and to resist,
to the last extremity, any European attemi)t to place upon
it a yoke or a ruler.
After this we returned to the Plaza, in time for the 9 a.m.
high mass at the cathedral. It was the first time we had
seen the interior, which is imposing as to size and bulk,
179 feet in height. The roof is supi)orted by ninety c[uad-
ruple columns, each 35 feet in circumference. The " coro,"
as in almost all Spanish churches, is i)laced in the centre,
the stalls richly carved and inlaid with beautiful woods ;
two rows of aisles on each side and a number of chapels,
several of which contain paintings by distinguished native
'H
142
MEXICO.
ir
lll^ii
!IIWIP>
artists ; the interior of the great dome, finely decorated
and painted, but the altars and general ornamentation are
in bad style and very unworthy of the stately edifice.
The congregation, which was large and very picturesque,
stood, or knelt, or sat on the ground ; and joined fervently
rather than melodiously in the chanting, which was accom-
panied by two of those rather cracked, old-world-sounding
organs which, I think, have such a melancholy poetic charm,
and with which one is so familiar in Spain.
An eloquent Spanish sermon was ])reached by a vener-
able-looking Franciscan, towards the end of which, all at
once, through the wide-oj^en doors, came loud sounds of
festivity and military bands.
As soon as the service was over I ran out into the Plaza.
with the rest of the congregation, to see what it was all
about. It was the funniest sight ! the arrival in the city,
from neighbouring ranchos, of the eight " bravo toi'os,"
intended for the "funcion " of the afternoon.
One or two of the less precious of the bulls were allowed
to walk ; but two or three very magnificent ones, specially
chosen from famous haciendas, the owners of which vie
with each other as to who shall provide the finest and most
ferocious beasts (which they do without payment), were
far too highly valued to be brought into the city in auy
other way than mounted on triumphal cars.
These cars were gaily decorated with the national colours,
white and red, and were furnished with poles to which
drapery was gracefully attached, garlanded with roses.
with an opening in front, through which the head of the
liull, profusely wreathed with jasmine and crowned witli
roses, looked gravely forth, with fiery eyes and thrcateuiug
horns — the rest of his person hidden in the thick folds of
drapery— from his chariot of triumph, upon the vociferatinff
PALACIO NACIONAL.
143
aud cheering mob. Of course he was chained in, but no
fastenings could be seen — only the splendid head, with its
trcnieudous horns, and the giant neck with its necklace of
flowers.
Several cars conveyed these formidable monsters slowly
across the plaza, preceded and followed by military bands,
playing gay and spirited marches ; all the toreros, with
the exception of the great " Espadas," marching behind,
the immense crowd shrieking, whistling, ap]>lauding, in a
delirious phrensy of delight.
The " bravo toros " seemed thoroughly to enjoy their
triumphal j^rogress, and little guessed it led to extinction ;
for few of them ever return.
The whole city seemed to have turned out, and endless
crowds crossed the jjlaza.
After this quaint and funny sight, with, however, its
element of danger, we went to the Museo Nacioual, which
opens on Sundays, as on other days, at 10 ; and at
12, when it closed, returned to the Plaza to visit the
Palacio Nacional, the whole of which we were able to
see, tht President being in residence at Chapoltepec.
This huge quadrilateral building encloses the usual fine
patio, of great extent. The Hall of Ambassadors is a long
and very fine gallery, containing a number of most inter-
estiut,' portraits ; Columbus, Cortes, Alvarado, .Juarez,
Morelos, Guerrero, Hidalgo ; the emperors Iturbide and
Maximilian ; the more important of the Sj^auish Viceroys
(sixty-two of whom flourished within the 300 years of the
Spanish domination), and many other celebrities, including
several of the kings of Spain, and the present successful
and admirable president, Porfirio-Diaz. The government
offiees and reception rooms are also fine and handsomely
decorated.
■m
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144
MKXICO.
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Next we visited the Horticultural Gardeu, inolost'd
withiu tlie precincts, full of rare aud most interesting
flowers aud ])lauts and trees, some unique, aud many of
them of j^reat medicinal and other value ; among the most
curious of which, a high, bushy tree, excessively rare, aud
to be found nowhere in the world but Mexico, covered with
flowers exactly resembling a miniature human hand— a
number of these strange blooms the amial>le official in
charge kindly gave me, with a lovely bouquet of flowers
and sprigs of the rarer trees.
After again hurriedly enjoying the excellent Mexican
cuisine of the "Concordia" close by, we started from the
Plaza by electric car, to Popotla, some little distance out-
side the city, to see the ** arbol de la noclie triste," a famous
old cypress tree, under which Cortes is said to have rested
and wept, after his disastrous retreat from the then islaud-
city of Tenochtitlan (the ancient name of the city ot
Mexico) on the terrible night remembered ever after as
the " noche triste" (sorrowful night), after many days'
fighting and prodigies of valour on the part of the
Spaniards and their allies the Tlascalans, as well as on that
of the justly-enraged Mexicans, who had risen to aveuge
the treacherous aud atrocious massacre of their principal
nobles, at a feast, by Pedro de Alvarado during a tem-
porary absence of the general at the coast, aud who returned,
a few days after, to find the city which he had left peaceful
and quiet, in a state of violent commotion and war. Cortex
had at last found it necessary to endeavour to evacuate the
city, during the night of July 1st, 1520, hoping that,
according to their custom, the Aztecs would wait for day-
light before resuming hostilities.
In this expectation he found himself, however, mistaken ;
for his stealthv advance, under cover of darkness, did not
NOCIIK THISIK.
145
escaj)e the vipfilance of the priests watching from tlie
summit of the great Teocalli ; and soon the dismal and
i'iu-ri'ai'hing sound of tlie great war-drum, hung up on
liii,'h to be sounded by them only on occasions of fateful
import, roused the Aztec warriors from their short repose.
Under the determined and valiant lead of their new and
heroic emperor, Cuitlahuac — who, a few days before, had
been elected to the throne of his pusillanimous brother,
Mocte/uma, wounded to death by his own people during
his efforts at mediation, on the high turret of the i)alace —
the Indians rushed to the attack, fighting like tigers, and
tlisjiutiug every inch of the nari'ow two miles of broken-up
causeway, which, with two other dykes formed the only
exits from the city across the shallow lake Texcoco, by
which at that period it was entirely surrounded.
In these fatal gaps in the causeway — whence the draw-
l)ri(li,'es had been removed by order of Cuitlahuac, and for
wliioh Lopez, the chief Spanish shipwright had, in the
haste of departure, only provided one portable bridge, which
it was found impossible to move from the first gap — the
whole of the artillery and baggage, and immense masses of
gold, treasure, and ammunition and horses and men found
a yawning grave, fi'om which many ill-fated Spaniards
were rescued by the Indians, in their swarming canoes,
only to be reserved for the more terrible fate of propitiatory
saeritice to their god of war, Huitzilopochtli.
Still is shown, now dry land, the spot called Salto de
Alvarado, where that warrior — to whose treacherous cruelty
all this disastrous fighting was owing — in desperation
planting his lance on the seething mass of dead bodies and
treasure and struggling men beneath, leapt across the
fearful chasm from the causewav to the land bevond ; a
superhuman leap, which even in that fearful moment
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146
MEXICO.
forced the admiration of his foes, exclaiming to each other,
" This is truly the Tonatiuh— the child of the Sun ! " a
name which had been given to him by them in admiration
for his golden-haired beauty and charming manners aud
smiling countenance, which formed the outer mask of a
heart capable of the most atrocious aud rapacious cruelty,
coujiled with extraordinary daring and resourceful courage
and enterprise.
With his small force nearly destroyed, the whole of his
treasure lost, thousands of his faithful Tlascalan allies
slaughtered or drowned, well might Cort«is weep ! but never
for an instant lost heart or courage.
Fortunately for his ultimate success his faithful inter-
preter, the beautiful Malintzi, after baptism styled Dona
Marina, daughter of a Mexican cacique, sold by her cruel
stepmother to a Tabascan chief, who presented her, with
other slaves, to Cortes, and without whom communication
with the Aztecs would have been impossible, for she had
quickly learnt to speak Spanish, had been safely brought
through the carnage under the care of her faithful
Tlascalan guard, and Martin Lopez, the shipwright, who
was to construct the brigantines by which the lake could
be commanded, was safe, and the more important captains
were yet alive. *
Through unhearl -of perils, and efforts, and adventures,
the indomitable energy and perseverance of Cortt i, iu one
short year, carried him triumphantly through every diffi-
culty in Mexico, and from outside it, aud on August 13th.
1521, he saw himself in final and triumphant possession of
the ruined remains of the famine and pestilence-strickeu.
once beautiful city of Tenochtitlan,
Well had it been for his fame had he not stained aud
shadowed it by subsequent cruel aud unworthy treatment
I*^
CUAHTEMOC.
147
)tlier,
a
ration
8 and
c of a
rtielty,
ourage
I of Ws
1 allies
it never
il inter-
id Dona
ler cruel
ler, witli
mication
she had
brouglit
faithful
ght, who
ike could
captains
I ventures,
|i 1, in cue
j^ery tliffi-
rust 13tb.
Isession of
.stricken.
laiued aud
1 treatment
of the great and noble Cuahtemoc, who having succeeded
to his uncle, the brave Emperor Cuitlahuac — whose heroic
reign of only eighty days had been cut short by small-
pox, a malady till then unknown in Mexico — had valiantly
(lone all that was possible during the protracted siege to
save his nation and beautiful city from the assault of
invaders so superior in weapons and engines of war,
haughtily rejecting the many overtures for surrender, on
honourable terms, made to him by the conqueror, till,
in the end, made prisoner in the act of escaping, in a canoe,
across the lake, with his principal caciques and his wife, the
beautiful Princess Tociuehpo, daughter of Moctezuma II.,
and taken into the presence of the conqueror, with the
noblest and most dignified bearing gave up his sword,
saying, " I have done all that I could to defend myself
and my people. I am now reduced to these straits. You
will deal with me, Malintzin, as you list." Then poinding
to the dagger worn by Cortes, added, " Better despatch me
with this and rid me of life at once ! " Cortes replied
with kindness, expressing admiration for his courage and
the splendid defence he had made, assuring him of every
consideratiou and honour due to his rank and bravery :
and for a time he was treated with all regard and respect,
gaining the affection of his captors by his mild and
dignified bearing and the charm of his beauty and
fascinating manners, in which he more than equalled
Moct^zuuia, who, during his long sojourn in the Spanish
tamp, had won, by his affability and generosity, the liking
and sympathy of all.
Alas ! that the otherwise great " Conquistador " should
have later allowed the cupidity of his followers, and their
threats and insinuations against himself, to influence him
so far as to give up into their cruel hands his noble
'i^ii
•^ -i>
ii||#i^
148
MEXICO.
captive, to torture till he should reveal the place of couceal-
ment of the supposed imperial treasure. And that to this
indelible blot on his escutcheon he should ve added the
yet more heinous stain, during a subsequ* at disastrous
expedition to Honduras, of condemning to the disgraceful
death of a felon — on the plea of meditated treachery, of
which the evidence was of the flimsiest — the last and
noblest of the line of Aztec emperors, whose sad death,
hanged to the branch of a ceiba tree, even his own soldiers
— as Bei'ual Diaz, who was present, relates — considered
the " unjust and useless sacrifice of the most glorious
trophy of his victories."
The last words of Cuahtemoc to Cortes — " Why do you
slay me so unjustly ? God will demand it of you ! " —
enlisted as much sympathy in the eye-witnesses as did
those of his friend and kinsman, the king or cacique of
Tacuba, who having previously been the sharer of his
tortui'e on the brazier of hot coals now was his companion
in death, " desiring nothing better than to die with his
lord."
Cuahtemoc, at the time of his death, was aged only
twenty-six, and was of so fair a complexion that he might
have been taken for a Spaniard. He had some time
previously been baptized, in company with his wife and
principal caciques, and they were considered, according
to Diaz, " for Indians, very good Christians."
The youthful and lovely Princess Tocinchpo, after the
sad and untimely death of her husband, was united in
marriage, successively, to no less than four noble Castilian
cavaliers, all of whom she survived, and whose descendants,
to the present day, count it an honour to claim for ances-
tress the beautiful and favourite daughter of Moctezuniall.
Another noble Spanish family, extinct within this century,
uceal-
,0 this
ed the
,stvoU8
faceful
lery, of
st and
death,
soldiers
isidered
glorious
do you
fOVi 1 —
1 as did
.cique of
r of his
»inpaiiion
1 with his
red only
he
might
)me time
wife and
according
after the
united in
astihan
sceudants,
for ances-
te/AinuiII'
is century,
a.
<
o
a,
O
X
H
<
u
r'
it
ARBOL DE LA NOCHE TRISTE.
149
the Counts de Montezuma, derived descent from the third
of Moctezuma's daughters.
It is said that the ** Great Captain " suffered much
remorse for this raijust execution, which is probably true,
for he was — unlike many of his companions and contem-
poraries— only cruel when he judged that political or other
reasons made it requisite, and was not only a poet, but
a man of gi'eat refinement of character and mind, and of
extreme courtesy and charm of manner, and always most
feeling and charitable to the poor.
To return to our tree — the " Arbol de la noche triste,"
under which Cortes wept and rested with the miserable
remnant of his bra.ve cavaliers and allies, after the terrible
nocturnal retreat — it is a venerable old cypress, now sur-
rounded by an iron railing, to protect it from veneration,
as well as from attack. Some years ago it was deliberately
set on fire by a patriotic descendant of the Aztecs, to mark
his detestation of Spanish memories. Its trunk bears
much trace of the flames, but its hoary head is still
(•rowued with verdure.
It is situated a short distance beyond the further end of
the still discernible Aztec dyke of Tlacoj^an, the scene of
the terrible struggle of the " Noche triste."
After reposing a few minutes in the warm sunshine,
under the scanty shade of the " Arbol," we took the
shortest way to the magnificent Paseo de la Reforma,
which stretches from the Alameda, in one long, broad
promenade, bordered by double avenues of superb ceiba,
cypress, and pepper trees, two miles, as far as Chapol-
tepec.
At intervals, the promenade widens into grand circles,
400 feet in diameter, called " glorietas," centred bv
i 1)
160
MEXICO.
granite and marble monuments and statues, the finest a
huge teocalli-lilce pile, on the summit of which stands
an imposing statue of the great and unfortunate Cuali-
temoe, in an attitude full of spirit and energy, lance in
hand.
The centre of another "glorieta" is adorned by au
equestrian statue of Charles IV. of Spain, said to be thf-
hugest in the world. Another of Juarez, and mau)r
others.
Handsome stone and marble seats abound, where the
passers-by, when tired of promenading under the lovely
trees, may sit and watch the picturesque horsemen in their
gay and elegant Mexican attire, and their gorgeously-
caparisoned horses, and the equipages, mostly closed, in
which the fashionable ladies of Mexico, who are said to be
remarkable for beauty, j^arade up and down from 4 or 5 till
sunset. The horses are exceedingly handsome, and display
their beautiful manes and tails undocked — unlike the
hideous and ghastly fashion of London and New York.
where most horses have no tail at all left to speak of.
They derive descent from the beautiful Andalusian steeds
brought over by the conquerors, so many of which are
renowned in story, specially the chestnut " Metilia " of
Sandoval, almost rivalling in doughty achievements the
famous " Babieca " of ^^he Cid.
Till the arrival of Cortes, no horses had ever been seen iu
Mexico, consequently they greatly contributed to the awe
he inspired.
From between the lovely foliage all along this charming
Paseo may be seen the great Volcans, looking like giant
sentinel-guardians of the vale, themselves guarded by blue
shadowy chains of lese^r hills.
A friend joined us, and we walked up and down for
MKXICO CITY.
151
some time — a delightful walk — and then back through the
^'av Alameda and the well-lighted calles to the Plaza Mayor,
and 80 home.
Next morning (November 19th) we had intended going
by the 6 a.m. train to Jalapa, but just missed it.
J >
f ';■• ]
F' , ^
ii^i '
152
CHAPTER XIV.
Puebla de los Angeles — Jalapa — Vera Cruz.
THERE being uo other morniug train we changed our
plans, and after spending the intermediate time
visiting again the Museo (an inexhaustible interest) and
various other public buildings and churches, took the
4 p.m. train to Puebla de los Angeles, which we reached
after a charming journey through lovely country, moun-
tainous but beautifully cultivated ; immense tracts of
maguey, maiz, cotton, and alfalfa, with its vividly-rich
green ; and, all the way, exquisite views of the great
Volcans, the ancient city of Tlascala in the distance, the
capital of the gallant little independent Republic, so famous
in the history of the conquest for the determined resistance
made by its brave warriors under Xicotencatl to the
advance of Cortes from Vera Cruz ; afterwards assenting to
his proposals for peace and alliance, moved by hereditary
rivalry and hatred of the Aztecs, and by their valour
and numbers aiding materially in the conquest of Tenoch-
titlan.
One could fancy what must have been the dazzling effect,
in the brilliant sunshine, of these barbaric but goz'geous
warriors, clad in chain-armour of gold or silver, covering
their inner, padded, cotton-quilted shirt, so excellent for
defence, and adopted by the conquerors ; their shoulders
covered with mantles of exquisite feather-work, their heads
PUKBLA DK LOS ANGELES.
153
adoruod with ^'orgeous plumes, their faces masked with
representatious of birds or wild animals ; their shining
spears and glittering shields, and brandishing staffs
shaped liked quadruple scythes, with formidable blades of
tt'tzli (obsidian) sharpened to an edge nearly as trenchant
as steel.
It was dark when we reached Puebla, the second citv in
Mexico for size, but the first for beauty, which stands at an
elevation of 7,200 feet ; and proceeded by electric car
through wide streets, well-lighted by electricity, to the
hotel " Jardin," situated within five minutes' walk of the
principal plaza, in which stand all the chief edifices,
including the cathedral.
This hotel, which boasts a small garden with fine palms,
we found most comfortable (with the exception of some
difficulty as to baths), and much better furnished than the
"Jardin" of Mexico city — in fact, quite gorgeously so —
with an excellent restaurant attached, good cuisine, and
everything as clean and neat as possible ; the manager a
Frenchman.
After a very good supper, we walked, by brilliant moon-
hght helped by electric light, to the lovely j^laza, in which
an excellent military baud plays every evening for two
hours.
It was enchanting! The whole centre occupied by a
beautifully laid-out gai'den, balmy with the fragrance of
orange and lemon trees ; grand palms and bananas, and
bamboos waving in the soft breeze, brilliant flower-beds
surrouuding numerous fountains, clear as ci'ystal, playing
into marble basins filled with gold fish and lovely blooming
aquatic plants ; the beautiful and infinitely picturesque
tiled domes of the great cathedral shining above the rich
foliage.
hi
'til i 1— »i
^^n
1 tif
iifi'.
; 111!'
r
154
MEXICO.
The whole city seemed assombleJ ; sehoras of Spanish
descent, gracefully draped in their white, or black, hue
mantillas, escorted l>y attendant cavaliers in gay Mexicun
attire — many of them wrapped in scarlet mraprs (toga-likf
cloaks) promenading, or sitting on the numerous scuts
listening to the inspiriting and charming music.
Great numbers too of the mixed races, and crowds of
" Indios," as the pure Mexican and other aboriginal nufs
are termed ; picturesque-looking men, and ])retty, brilliant-
eyed women, most gracefully draped in light blue cotton
shawls, most becoming to their dark complexions. Amuu^
the " Indios " there are many other types, some purely
Tartar and Mongolian,
All these various races seem to delight in music, and
wherever bands play crowds do congregate, promenading or
sitting ; but one side of the plaza seemed sacred to the per-
ambulations of the " upper" jieople.
Numbers of brilliantly lighted shops, of which one whole
side of the square consists, tempt the promenader, as veil
as outdoor stalls, covered with delightful old Spanish
books and innumerable charming little ornaments and
models of Aztec monuments, made of the lovely Mexican
onyxes and marbles, which ruu all along the fronts of the
shops, a broad stoneway between, shaded with gay canvas
awnmgs.
Wandering amidst these pretty and fascinating things a
charming hour may be spent, listening the while to
the melodious music. It ceased at 10 p.m., and we re-
turned to oiiv fov da.
Next morning, as soon as it was light, we flew to see, in
the sunshine, this most charming of cities ; the air baluiv
and scent-laden, and the plaza, Avith its trees, flowers, aud
sparkling waters, more lovely than even by moonlight.
Spanish
}k, laoe
Mexican
oga-like
js seats
•owds of
iial vai't's
brilliaut-
le cotton
Aiiioug
le puvt'ly
Luaic, aiul
naming or
DO the per-
one whole
ler, as well
Spanisli
leuts ami
Mexican
nts of the
av canvas
1
g things a
while to
nd we re-
■v to see, in
air lialuiy
niowers. ami
y.
y.
y,
y.
•^ mx »v
,!
i 1
ii
Anoelos
«PHi
CA'l'HEDKAL.
155
The exterior of the cathedral, esi)ec;ially as seen from
the phiza, which it grandly dominates, is the most pic-
turesque imaginable, one massive, and many lesser, domes,
of most graceful form, all covered with fluted tiles, golJ-
coU)ured, or of lovely shades of amber aud greenish-blue ;
grand and massive towers, and fine facades, in the best
style of the earliest Spanish renaissance, majestically
reared on beautiful green lawns, considerably elevated
above the level of the plaza, to which descend several
flights of broad stone steps, the whole surrounded by
(Xceedingly handsome wrought-iron railings, picked out
with gold, of great height, the several entrances guarded
bv magnificent iron gates wrought in with fine gilt orna-
mentation, each side of each gateway guarded by exqui-
sitely wrought gilt angels, smaller gilt angels surmounting
the high railings at short equal distances the whole way
round, their golden pinions gracefully outspread ; the
effect quite charming.
This beautiful cathedral was begun in 1550, soon after
the building of the city, the site of which was chostn by
the Spaniards for its beauty and salubrity, no previous
town or buildings having preceded it.
Tradition relates that as the cathedral builders worked,
choirs of snow-white angels could be daily seen hovering
iu the skies high above the rising walls, waving their
silvery wings, and cheering on the workers with celestial
(hantings ; and that, in memory of these angelic favours,
the eity received the name of Puebla de los Angeles.
But tingels of another kind must have interfered with
the work during the nights, for a whole century elapsed
before the beautiful cathedral stood sufficiently near com-
pletion to be consecrated to " la Santisima Reiua de los
Angeles," on April 18th, 1649 !
156
MEXICO.
'^ ■:':•'.}
in
The interior is one dazzling dream of beauty and mag-
nificence, precious marbles, precious stones, immense slabs
of the exquisite pearly and opalescent onyx of Mexico,
silver and gold in masses and sheets, yet nothing garish in
the slightest degree, all resplendently fresh and spotlessly
clean, the interior of the domes admirably decorated with
paintings by native artists.
The retablo of the high altar at the east end of the
cruciform building is of admirably sculptured onyx ; the
altar-rails and huge candelabra of solid silver, and beau-
tiful silver angels stand on each side watching over the
altar with outspread silver wings of exquisite workman-
ship.
The central altar, under the great dome, and its massive
tabernacle are marvels of beauty and lavish magnificence,
wrought with precious onyx and ivory, inlaid with in-
numerable turquoises, emeralds, sapphires, and other gems.
The coro, according to Spanish custom in the centre of the
nave, is of admirable beauty and elegance, exquisitely
carved stalls, inlaid with precious woods and ivory of love-
liest design, the sides of the whole surmounted by a
delicately wrought, graceful balustrade, entirely overlaid
with the purest gold.
The exquisitely fresh brilliancy of the gold and gilding
everywhere is simply dazzling, although more than 200
years old.
Above the onyx and marble walls of the coro, opening
with cedar doors elaborately carved and gilt, are placed
two organs entirely covered with pure gold, so gracefully
built and proportioned that the effect is of the most
perfect elegance and simplicity.
The wide aisles on each side of the coro are paved with
precious marbles and inlaid coloured tiles, geometrically
SACRISTIA.
157
d mag-
36 slabs
Mexico,
tirisli in
totlessly
;ed with
a of the
lyx ; the
ad beau-
over the
'orknian-
3 massive
•nificeuce,
with in-
her gems,
.tre of the
xquisitely
y of love-
ted by a
overlaid
id gilding
thau 200
), opening
ire placed
Igracefnlly
the most
laved with
Inietrically
arranged. Exquisitely decorated capillas of uniforri srize
extend along the whole length of each aisle, from which
they are divided by uniform, delicately wrought, gilt gates,
of immense height, and the whole width of each chapel,
but light and graceful beyond words ! the connecting walls
being of spotless white marble, and the lovely creamy
opalescent Mexican onyx.
The roof is elaborately carved and gilt, and innumerable
angels of exquisite grace look down from the cornices with
outspread wings of flaming gold.
The general effect of the whole is the most radiantly
brilliant that can be conceived — dazzlingly beautiful — the
extraordinarily lavish display of gold and gilding all in
most perfect taste, and producing no sensation whatever
of the slightest excess. A sort of earthly realization of
" Jerusalem the golden ! " There are beautiful paintings
in addition.
The sacristy is the most gorgeous and splendid (as far
as I have seen) in the world. An enormous, nearly square
apartment of great height, lighted from a high dome
admirably painted and gilt ; a great altar of massive
onyx, ornamented with lovely angels of silver and gold ;
great tables of onyx and ebony ; the walls of elaborately
carved, deliciously sweet cedar wood, picked out with gold
in the carvings. On three sides immense and magnificent
paintings of scenes of the conquest. The floor of precious
marbles ; prie-dieus and seats of gold, and richly em-
broidered Genoese velvet — in short, the most superb
adjunct to a magnificent cathedral that it is possible to
imagme.
Sehoras are, by rights, not admitted into the sacristy,
but the amiable sacristan, in consideration of my being
estranjem, and, still more, inglesa catolica, which mightily
I
i
'^
El-
Ml
it
U*"^
%r
H-r.
158
MEXICO.
astonished and pleased him, allowed me a few minutes'
inspection.
The same wonderful order and spotless cleanliness veign
here (where we also saw soni'^ wonderful old Spanish em-
broidered vestments) as in the cathedral. You can never
by any chance, at any hour, enter without seeing from
twenty to thirty men busily employed sweeping up every
speck of dust, dusting with light feather brushes every-
thing from roof to floor, polishing with soft leather the
gilt railings and gmtings, organs and balustrades, every-
thing, in short !
Not only is the beauty of this exquisite cathedral a joy
and a wonder, but also the admirable and loving care taken
of it..
A high mass is sung every morning at nine, so we were
fortunate enough to hear the grand organs, both exceed-
ingly melodious and sonorous, the singing beautiful ; and
after mass there was a curious and interesting ceremony of
confirmation, by the bishop, of innumerable babies, carried
in the arms of their proud mothers into the wide gang-
way, with low, carved, cedar-gilt railing, leading from the
coro to the sanctuary under the dome, the while the organs
played soft and solemn music, and none of the babies
cried !
After several delightful hours spent examining and
admiring this wonderful interior, we proceeded outside, to
mount up to the top of one of the massive towers to the
beautiful, many-domed roof, whence the view is gloriously
magnificent.
The lovely palms and trees of the plaza beneath ; the
beautiful city, of which the cathedral forms the heart, with
its innumerable fortress-like churches and convents with
domes of brilliant coloured tiles flashing in the sunlight;
JALAPA.
159
the Alameda, with its shady avenues along the shining
river Atoyac ; fine public buildings, each with its patio of
flowers and palms, the rich vega all round; on one side
the beautiful mountain called " Malinche," in memory of
the Indian name of Dona Marina, variously styled
"Maliuche" and "Malintzi," and the distant pyramids of
Cholula. On another side the superb snow-cone of
Popocatepetl, rising high into the blue sky, a sky of that
exquisitely limpid, soft blue peculiar to Mexico ; and the
mysterious Ixtaccihuatl, as ever, shrouded in misty,
shining cloud.
The roof of the cathedral is exquisitely picturesque, with
its numerous domes covered with lovely fluted, coloured
tiles, and the quaint inequalities and stone terraces at
various heights, and sculptured stone and marble balust-
rades.
At last we were obliged to fly to catch the 2 p.m. train
to Jalapa by Inter-oceanic line.
The whole route was delightful, admirably cultivated,
and more and more grand as we entered the great range of
high mountains ; tremendous precipices, with gor^eously
wooded valleys deep down beneath ; superb effects of mist
and cloud, mysteriously veiling, then revealing, the sub-
limely glorious views.
The sun had set before we arrived at this incomparably
charming little mountain town, perched at a height of
4,300 feet, surrounded by the loveliest and richest meadows
and exquisite woods, above which towers the indescribable
glory and beauty of the Pico de Orizaba, dwarfing the
memory of the great Popocatepetl into the veriest in-
significance !
But all this we only dimly saw as we walked, in the deep
gloamiug, up the steep streets past the lovely Alameda, on a
l(T(H
r!ll!:i
160
MEXICO.
high eminence commanding all the unutterable suiTouudiuf;
glories, the usual military band playing in the midst of
glittering fountains and sweetest flowers, and where the
Jalapan women, famed for their surpassing beauty and
grace, draped in their delicate lace mantillas, pose to be
admired, on to a very good little clean and new hotel, also
perched on a crag, with a flat roof to which you ascend to
see a view that, as the moon rises, simply holds you
speechless with the glory of its divine and transcendent
beauty !
At Mexico city we had been warned against "Vera Cruz
as a hotbed of yellow fever, but were most anxious, if
possible, to go there ; and, by good luck, had met in the
train a Mexican doctor who assured me that it was quite
safe, the epidemic, which had raged in the spring, having
passed away from Vera Cruz since the beginning of
summer, spreading upward into the mountainous country,
to which it rarely climbs, in the direction of Cordoba and
Fortin.
Very many days one ought to spend at this most en-
chanting Jalapa (where, by the way, " jalap " is made
from an indigenous plant, and largely exported to Europe),
healthy and lovely, where yellow fever never comes, the
favourite summer resort from all parts of Mexico, and the
valued refuge of dwellers in " tierra caliente."
But, alas ! our time was limited, and a few hours only,
next morning, were we able, by rising before dawn, to give
to the marvellous beauty of this enchanted spot, and
having decided to go to Vera Cruz, we had to take the
only morning train.
No words can describe the super)) and unutterably
impressive grandeur and beauty of the scenery between
Jalapa and Vera Cruz ! Never for a moment is the sight
TIERKA CALIENTE.
161
lidst i)i
lere tbe
uty and
se to be
)tel, also
„scend to
:>lds you
iscendent
'era Cruz
nxious, if
let in the
was quite
ag, haviut;
;inning of
18 country,
)rdoba and
most en-
is made
[o Europe) >
Icomes, tbe
jco, and tk
lours only.
Iwn.togive
spot, and
to talce the
muttorably
|ry IjetAveeu
lis tlie sigbt
lost of the snow-crowned Orizaba, which, as the track
winds to the plain, presents itself in varied aspects, one
more gloriously beautiful and magnificent than another.
Through glittering forests of palm, baraina, coffee,
india-rubber, bamboo, hibiscus one mass of pink and
scarlet blossom, pomegranate, and giant mahogany, fes-
tooned and garlanded with exquisite varieties of orchid
and golden alamanda, dazzling in radiant sunlight and
heavy with perfume.
We had now descended into the " tierra caliente " (hot
laud), and the atmosphere became every moment hotter and
damper, and the vegetation denser. Butterflies of every
brilliant hue, but mostly golden-yellow, and delicate hum-
ming-birds, like flashes of coloured light, darted among the
flowers, from which they suck the honey like bees. The trees
became simply one matted coverlet of flowers, their prevalent
colours golden-yellow, white, and various lovely shades of
blue, rarely reds or pinks ; the butterflies the same, but the
humming-birds affect every conceivable delicate and
gorgeous tint, all, as it were, illuminated and on fire !
Occasionally we passed a small clearance in the dense
juugle for a conical Indian hut, picturesquesly roofed with
banana and palm leaves, or maguey and ])lantain. At last
we reached the flat coast land : miles and miles of dense,
steaniiug jungle, vaporous clouds of bluish mist lightly
hovering in the fiery sunshine ; here and there large spaces
cleared for ranchos and stockaded gardens, till, after five
hours of the enchantment of a magic dream, we reached
the partly grassy, partly sandy, semicircular plain stretch-
iug to the sparkling waters of the Grulf, and flat sandy
shore on which is seated Vera Cruz, " Queen City of the
Crulf," a few miles distant from the site of the landing of.
Cortes, where he intrenched his camp and founded the
M
162
MEXICO.
11 -\'
l!
Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, afterwards abandoned for the
present city of Vera Cruz.
I may say here that I entirely differ from the unfavour-
able opinion generally expressed by books and travellers
in regai'd to this little town.
There are parts of it delightfully picturesque — its in-
comparable alameda, with superb avenue of most graceful
cocoa palms, under which you rest on marble seats, listen-
ing to the dreamy, musical splash of the lovely central
flower- wreathed fountain, the blue shining sea beyond ;
numerous quaint mosque-like buildings, domed with fluted
red-tiled roofs ; fragrant groves of lemon and orange and
citron trees, with here and there brilliant gardens full of
tropical trees and plants, and fountains rising high.
Then the charming plaza, famous for magnificent old
Indian laurels and sago and date palms, shading the pic-
turesque old cathedral. All this I thought quite charm-
ing, and with a distinctive character of its own; and the
delicious hot sun, not at all too hot, for it was tempered bv
a delightful breeze, and the shining sea-waves musically
breaking on the gold-amber sands.
The hour of our arrival being 1 p.m., we first ran to the
Hotel Mexicano, close to the plaza, to take rooms. The
sea looked exquisitely tempting, but we were assured that
a single sea-bath here was inevitably followed by yellow
fever ! the only safe way being to take no less than three
baths, at intervals of two or three hours, after which you
might consider yourself acclimatized and in a state to
bathe ad libitum .
This (whether true or not) being impracticable, we had
some tea and eggs instead, and hurried out to the jdaza,
where we sat in the shade listening to the gentle mur-nur
of the sunlit fountain rising and falling in its wide marble
^ 'lil".':*.. . ,
'If "
VERA CRUZ.
163
ir the
,vour-
rellers
cent old
the pic-
e charm-
and the
tpered by
Lusically
basin, brilliant flowers all round, and delicate scents of
lemon and orange blossom, till the sacristan had finished
his siesta and was disposed to show us the old cathedral
and other buildings of which he kept the keys, and the
absurd tomb in which General Santa Anna (afterwards
President) ordered one of his legs to be buried with pomp
aud military honours, after it had been shot off during
au engagement with the French near Vera Cruz.
Then to the sands, where troops were being manoeuvred ;
to a fine hospital into which an old fortress had been
turned, standing on grassy mounds airily overlooking the
sea ; and various churches with flowery patios ; and an
extensive park planted with graceful pepper trees.
In addition to prettier birds, the streets are full of
scavengers, in the shape of small black vultures, that walk
about, picking up everything and keeping them in a state
of perfect cleanliness. When their apjoetites are moment-
arily satisfied, they sit in rows on the housetops, their eyes
glaring in their hideous featherless heads.
The remainder of the evening I spent in the lovely
Alameda, lingering till the sun had set, and the soft
radiance of the moon and, finally, the electric light had
illuminated its lovely palms and sparkling fountains.
Then liack to the hotel, which is certainly r tt charming,
aud the main reason, probably, why people decry the
charms of Vera Cruz.
Afterwards we heard that the Mexican Railway Com-
pany possessed a very neat little inn in the plaza, to
which wo ought to have gone. However, the " Mexicano,"
with its large airy restaurant, gave more opportunity for
insiifht into the manners and customs of the upper class of
natives, who seemed to congregate there for all their meals,
aud whose talk it was amusing to listen to.
IMIf
Mllfl
H,
n ] 'ii
164
MEXICO.
The atmosphere by night felt much hotter and more
oppressive than by day, the breeze having dropped, and
clouds of mosquitoes floated in through the open windows.
Tliese pests we only saw in tlie "tierra caliente," never
in any other part of Mexico, and we found that they could
be effectually kept at bay by the use of Calvert's " Anti-
mosquito Soap," a real specific, as we invariably after-
wards found ; they might, and did, buzz round, but never
bit.
I::
ro
-^
za
?
aiK
I)la
and
stea
to i
moi
tren
the
T
—at
— cr(
trest
llloiu
in hn
delici
iu sti
flo\rei
coloiii
hue o
Hj)itoi
Hiilt:
165
CHAPTER XV.
I'aso dA Macho — Conloba — Fortin — Barranca de Mdtlac — Ori-
zaba— Esperanza — I'uebla — C'holula.
NEXT morning (November 22ud) we started from the
„ Mexicauo Railway estacion at 6.30 a.m. by a serene
and lovely sunrise. A short distance of sandy and grassy
plain, after which (as from Jalapa) many miles of jungle
and the wondrous vegetation, flowers, and birds of the
steaming "tierra caliente;" slowly and gradually rising
to a height of 1,500 feet at Paso del Macho, where the
mountainous glories of the ascent begin, and where the
trt'mendously powerful " Fairlie " engine is substituted for
the ordinary locomotive.
The train winds in endless curves, up the steep gradient
— at a foot's pace, luckily, so that there is time to see well
— crossing wild gorges on curved bridges supported by
trestles at fearful and dizzy heights, the slopes of the
mountains covered with glorious vegetation ; giant ma-
hogany, zapote, rosewood, and cedar trees almost smothered
ill brilliant festooned masses of orchids, the air heavy with
delicious aroma and perfume ; the mountain-chains rising
in stupendous masses above all this glory of foliage and
flowers. Divine little humming-birds darting a>bout, like
coloured flashes of flame ! bigger birds, feathered in every
hue of the rainbow ; over the Atoyac river, with its pre-
cipitous falls shaded with exquisite verdure ; stopping fi'om
166
MEXICO.
;'S.
time to time at little stations filleti with picturesque groups
of Mexican women in their graceful blue draperies, carry-
ing baskets brimming over with every variety of gorgeous
and delicious fruit, which they offer for a few cents, with
sof^j and caressing little cries of " Nifio ! ninia ! " to attract
attention — oranges, citrons, pineapples, bananas, pome-
granates, grapes, figs, mango-manilla, and many other
tempting and exquisite fruits that we had never before
seen or heard of — also pulque, which did not tempt. On,
through fields of sugar-cane, dazzlingly light-green ;
tobacco, plantains, coffee and pineapple plantations ; across
the Rio Seco, on another of those fearful, unprotected
bridges, till we reach the charming little Ciudad of Cor-
doba, where, not only wonderful fruits, but also the most
exquisite flowers, were offered by the usual crowd of
picturesque natives ; great bouquets of the most magnifi-
cent gardenias for two cents, lovely roses, orchids, jasmine,
every kind of delicious flower; but here, alas, just where
there was most temptation, we could take nothing for fear
of the terrible " vomito " (yellow fever) which, like small-
pox, seems — unknown in these climes till then — to have
followed in the wake of white men.
So, mindful of the warning of the friendly doctor,
we closed our windows and sat patiently in the train till,
in due time, it moved on.
For some time we had been coming into full sight of the
great Pico de Orizaba (18,250 feet high, the highest of the
North American mountains), towering its radiant dome of
silver high into the soft blue skies, held up aloft, as it
were, by riiighty walls of rock, giant precipices, and chains
of peaked massive mountains : soft, deep blue, vapoiirv
mists playing and floating over their rugged crags, and the
steaming forests of tropical vegetation beneath.
)ups
irrv-
jeous
witli
btrat't
:>ome-
otlier
before
. On,
green ;
across
otected
of Cor-
le most
owd of
nagnifi-
jasmine,
3t where
for fear
;e small-
BAUUANCA BE Ml^TLAC.
167
Through rich meadows and gardens, with here and there
an Indian hut, or rancho ; slowly creeping along, winding
aud curving, till we reach the absolutely superb point of
view of lovely Fortin, where, alas, contrary to custom, the
terrible ** vomito" was rife, and we fancied that a sort of
sickly sweetness seemed to mingle with the heavy fragrance
of the scented air.
Again we closed car windows, and resisted, of course,
fruits and flowers as tempting as those of Cordoba.
We soon moved on, the scene everv moment more inex-
pressibly beautiful ; but the track risky and dangerous,
along narrow rocky ledges with not an inch to spare, edging
frightful precipices; across long, unprotected trestle-bridges
with the sensation of a tight rope in the air, till we come
to the famous and truly awful Barranca de Metlac, across
which, over the broad, glistening river Metlac deep down
below, the track describes a horse-shoe on a bridge 100
feet high, of 9 spans on a curve of 323 feet radius —
along the dizzy and unprotected summit of which the train
carefully creeps at the slowest of snail's pace — the slim
aud slender supports of the nari'ow erection swaying
and vibrating visibly under the strain of its heavy weight :
a real mauvais quart-dlieure for persons with or without
nerves ! At last it is past, and on we go, winding like a
snake up the steep barranca ; silvery cascades and crystal
streams on every side, shaded by delicate ferns, lovely
foliage and flowery creepers ; till we find ourselves on the
summit of the gorge, in a fairy valley of dazzling green
—its exquisite verdure and idyllic lovel:"ness the more
lovely for the wild ranges of beetling crag and huge pre-
cipitous mountain that encircle it — its northern rocky mass
towering to the heavens, crowned by that mighty silver
'lome whose far-off, mysterious, radiant beauty seemed
... .*■ .
n *■
168
MEXICO.
like some vague distant dreamy presentment of the long ago
visioned " Great White Throne."
In this lovely and peaceful valley, in sunny, flowery
meadowland, nestles the little town of Orizaha at the foot
of the stupendous crags alove which sits enthroned the in-
comparable and solitary majesty of that glorious " Shining
One " — as the Greeks named their unrivalled Hill. Tropical
trees shade its streets and plazas, and we hear its church-
bells musically chiming and re-echoing amid the hills.
The churches jsre venerable memorials of Spanish rule,
and are said to be beaiitiful and to contain many paintings
by the famous Mexican painter, Barranco, a native of this
inspiring and wondrous spot.
We longed to see it all, but the train only waited au
hour, the station nearly a mile from the city, and it was
deemed imprudent to stay there the night, only eleven miles
beyond the actual yellow fever centre. .So we walked
about, seeing all we could from various points of view;
and, to our exceeding regret, put off to some problematical
future day a further insighu into this realm of unutterably
glorious beauty.
The clanging bell of the locomotive recalled us to the
train, which we had to run to catch, and on we went ; soon
reaching the barranca of the " Inferniello," in the yawning
depths of which the Rio Blanco calmly pursues its tranquil
flow, unmindful of the overhanging, huge, and menacinr
crags, over which wond<rful feats of engineering lead to
the valley called "la Joya" (jewel), a wide expanse of
smiling pastoral beauty, infinitely lovely, dominated on
one side by the ever supremely-glorious " Shining Oue ; "
the bases of the lower ranges fringed with noble pines and
cedars, and, in the opposing distance, blue shadowy ridges
and dense, richly tinted forests.
CUMBRES.
169
igago
aited au
d it was
?en miles
Q walked
of view;
dematical
utterably
On we pass, rising out of the valley, higher and higher,
the vegetation no longer tropical ; but the fruits of the
" tierra caliente" still presented with those of the "tierra
templada," at the picturesque little red-roofed town of
Maltrata, from whence the steepness of the ascent is such,
that sixteen miles of snake-like curves are requirr to reach
Boca del Monte, only 2,000 feet exactly above. Through
tuuuels cut in the solid rock, across more fearful bridges,
till Esperanza is reached, 7,980 feet above sea, where the
monster *' Fairlie '' engine, having completed its arduous
climb is detached and left to take the next train down,
au ordinary locomotive substituted for it, whilst the pas-
sengers eat an excellent luncheon at the railway restaurant,
the tables simply groaning under great dishes filled with
every sort of delicious fruit.
We were now on the high plateau overlooking the far-
famed " Cumbres," from which descend the magnificent
natural terraces to the flat land coasting the gulf — up which
we have just so laboriously climbed ; and as we speed along,
on more or less level ground, we still see in the distance
that radiant mighty dome of silver, shining for ever, alone
and unrivalled.
We pass, for a time, through a sandy region, almost
hidden for the clouds of choking dust which penetrate
into every nook and cranny — happily, not for long — then
endless plantations in circular rows of immense agaves,
the beautiful Sierra Malinche taking curiously different
shapes as we wind past it, and come into sight of the
familiar Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl, looking strangely
mean and small, possessed as we were, eyes heart and
soul, by the unutterably impressive and mysterious
splendour of the mighty Pico de Orizaba.
At Apizaco we changed trains, and took a branch line
iT
1 ilH
n
II
B'i
■11:
W I
M|^B ' t ' '
B ' im
I^^BHimffii
|li ; 1 V'J i
LWjW W^nH ii
PfJ
hhIi
11' 1
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il f
11 HP
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91 'it
m
1
170
MEXICO.
to Puebla de los Angeles, where we arrived towards sunset,
at once hastening to the plaza for an evening view of the
great cathedral and its lovely shining aisles illuminated
by the red-gold rays of the netting sun ; its peaceful beauty
in perfect tune and harmony with the haunting vision of
that white, ethereal, ever " Shining One." . . .
When the cathedral had closed after sunset, we walked
to the opposite side of the plaza, at which we had been
told we should find an "excellent American" hotel, and
thought we would try it. It did not look particularly
inviting, but we asked to see rooms, and were requested to
go up in the " elevator," the only one we ever saw in
Mexico.
We entered, and saw the oddest thing of the kind
imaginable ! It consisted of a small room, with tables and
chairs. With infinite difficulty and strain the whole con-
struction began moving bodily up with loud groanings and
creakings by the strangest kind of laboured wheel machinery,
at such a pace that it took exactly twenty minutes to rise
one story.
Of course, having once started, it was impossible to get
out, but when it did stop we said " Never again ! " and got
down again as fast as we could by the only staircase— a
quoer sort of ladder that could only be reached by creeping
along a narrow ledge with a banister a foot high over-
hanging the patio — almost more alarming than the bridges
across the barrancas !
The worthy Spanish proprietor, who was quite shocked
at our not appreciating his famous " elevator," assured
us that we should find excellent rooms at the hotel
" Francia," next door, also under his management.
So we went to look, and found it quite nice and com-
fortable, and so much nearer the cathedral, just openiug
REC^UIEM.
171
e walked
tiad been
otel, and
rticularly
guested to
er saw in
the kind
tables and
N\\o\e con-
mings and
machinery,
iites to rise
on to the plaza, that we preferred it to the more distant,
if more magnificent, Hotel Jardin.
Next morning, before seven, after a good breakfast at
the restaurant attached to the " Francia," G. went to
Cholula, and I to the lovely cathedral to revel again in
its j)eerless beauties, and was so fortunate as to come in
for a very impressive Requiem high mass, beautifully
sung, and the two organs, very fine instruments, admirably
played, the whole effect grand and harmonious. That
infinitely soothing and inspiring cry — so often repeated —
rising so magnificently above the wailings of human loss
and woe like the poet's cry of hope, " Non omnis moriar,"
" Non morietur in seternum ! "
After it was all over, at about 8.30, I went up the
tower again to the top of the roof, which is so wonderfully
picturesque, to make a few sketches of its richly-coloured
domes and vaultings, and of bits of the exquisitely lovely
scenery all round, requesting the good old sacristan to
come back and let me out by the tower, the door of which
lie said he had to lock, at 11.30, which he amiably pro-
mised to do.
The weather was, as usual, lovely, and the time passed
like a dream, till I suddenly discovered that the three
hours had long gone by, and no sacristan to be seen !
The door at the top of the winding staircase above the
[great clockworks in the tower — the only outlet — was
securely locked, so there was nothing for it but to exercise
patience and wait — a thing not very difficult to do in such
[euchautiug surroundings !
So I calmly proceeded with my sketches till the now
|vertical, tropical sun forced me to put up my umbrella.
Hour after hour passed, and nobody came. At last,
rvlien I was beginning to think myself comjjletely for-
172
MliXICO.
gotten, and to see visions of a bleached skeleton found
after many years, the ponderous key turned, and out came
the sacristan, all smiles and amiability, calmly asking' was
I ready to come down, it being now past " las tn's / " and
when I reproachfully assured him that I had said, '• a las
once y medio" (11.30) he only smiled benignly and shook
his head.
However, down we went, the huge clock clanging half-
past three, deafening us as we passed under its vast
machinery and great bells.
The " Francia " being so conveniently near, and the
restaurant of course always open, I ran in for a cup of tea,
and then out again to visit many interesting and much-
decorated churches, particularly that of San Francisco,
built for the Indians and always full of dusky worship-
pers ; the Dominican monastery — its church one mass of
gilding and carvings, with a fine cloister ; — the Car-
melite, containing two Murillos ; and " Nuestra Senora de
Guadalupe," more modern, with a fa9ade covered witli
coloured plaques and two lovely towers, and a portico of
white marble, the effect of which is peculiar, but extremelv
harmonious and good. It stands on a high terrace, com-
manding a magnificent view.
I also visited several fine hospitals, spotlessly clean and
well kept.
The streets, and the whole city, are extraordinarily clean;
and never, there, or anywhere, do you come across anything
like malodours.
In the evening again to the plaza, rummaging among the
book-booths for old Spanish authors and Mexican- SpaDish
literature, of which there is much that is interesting.
Next morning I went early, by rail eight miles, to Choluln.
a small and very picturesque ciudad of 5,000 inhabitants, I
CIIOLULA.
173
)n found
o\it came
ikin^' was
•8?" and
d, " (t hi
ind shook
Sing
half-
r its vast
, and the
cup of tea,
Eind much.
Francisco,
y worship-
Qe mass of
-the Car-
a Senora de
ivered witli
I portico of
Lt extremely
irrace, com-
y clean ami
liarilv clean;
bss any
thing
b among tk
Ican-Spanisli
[esting.
|s,toCliolula.
inhabitants, i
ancieutly the " Holy City " of theAztecs, but built by long-
previous races ; described by Cortes as full of magnificent
teocallis and palaces, and no less than 20,000 houses sub-
stantially built of stone within the city walls, and as many
without.
It was dedicated to Quetzalcoatl (jjlumed serpent), god
of the air, and representative of the planet Venus, whose
black statue, resplendent with gold and jewels, and de-
corated with two crosses, stood enshrined in the magnificent
teocalli erected on the broad platform of the prehistoric
Mound — still the great object of archaeological, as in those
days of religious, pilgrimage — built in the form of a
truncated pyramid.
The enormous square base — 1,423 feet in length (double
that of the great Pyramid of Ghizeh) covered a space of
44 acres, and was built in four diminishing terraces, the
uppermost platform measuring more than one acre — its
square sides each 165 feet long ; it was anciently sur-
mounted by the great teocalli dedicated to the god of air —
destroyed and replaced, after the conquest, by the still
extant church of " la Virgen de los Remedios" — the front
of which commands a superb view of the rich plain and the
great volcanoes, including the glory of Orizaba.
The terraces of this famous pyramid are now so over-
grown with vegetation as to be almost obliterated, but
here and there can be distinguished ; and a stone-paved
i winding road to the summit discovers, in its cuttings,
alternate strata of clay and brick ; but whether the interior
of the mound was natural, or wholly artificial, is not
I known.
The Pyramids of the " Sun " and " Moon " at San Juan
Ide Teotihuacan, •' City of the Gods," although smaller than
[the famous one of Cholula, are equally interesting, and
Pi,
m''
!.P; ' 'I
D.tf '■'
Hi
174
MEXICO.
were deemed by Von Humboldt to have been of entirely
artificial construction, consisting of blocks of basalt and
trachyte, and to show traces of one or more inner chambers,
like the pyramids of Ghizeli.
±n invii gcucioii uuUu u-iiu aspcct Von Humboldt thought
them analogous to those near Sakhara, in Egyjjt, and to
the Temple of Belus at Babylon. Twenty-five smaller
pyramids surround the two greater ones, which are led up
to by what was called the "Road of Death," each side of
which teems with ruins of pyramidal buildings beheved to
have been used as dwellings for the living as well as for
the dead.
The Pyramid of the Sun was about 760 feet square at
the base, and 216 feet high, built in three lessening square
terraces, the highest 75 feet square, crowned with a colossal
statue of the sun. Here the kings of the neighbouring
states came to be crowned. Immense quantities of little
terra cotta heads, of Chinese, Assyrian, and Ethiopian type
have been, and still are, found in the immediate vicinity.
The Conquistadores are silent as to these pyramids,
although they marched past them on the " Noche triste,"
and the battle of Otumba, a week later, was fought in full
view of them.
Dim tradition, at the date of the Conquest, alleged that
in long-previous ages a great and benevolent being, of white
complexion and long black hair and beard, had wandereJ
into the midst of the barbarian dwellers, and had spent
twenty years in teaching them the arts of agriculture auJ
civilization, and in instituting Monotheism, and religious |
sacrifices of only fruits and flowers ; after which he had I
wandered forth towards the east and disappeared beyoiiJ
the sea, after promising that one day men of his race should
return and reign over the land of Anahuac.
entirely
.salt and
hanibers,
t thought
>t, and to
e smaller
ire led up
,cli side oi
jelieved to
veil as for
; square at
ling square
ti a colossal
iighlwurint;
ies of little
liopian type
[,e vicinity.
pyramids,
,che triste,"
Lglit in full
alleged that
[ng, of white
id wandered
.had spent
[iculture aui |
Ind religious
Vich he had
fared beyond
race should
X.
u
H
O
H
Q
<
— ^
Q
O
a
'y.
y.
U
If.
X
H
u.
O
<
Pi
p
god
hull
huii;
theii
feast
Tv
extai:
Co
the 0
he see
the c(
many
Aft(
- whi(
certain
aooii b
Ql'irrZALCOATL.
175
His memory was doified inuler the name of Quetzalcoatl,
god of the air, and honoured by the Aztecs with the hideous
huniau sacrifices he had abhorred and forbidden ; 6,000
human victims being annually sacrificed at his shrine, and
their ghastly remains served iip for food at the religious
feasts of the worshipjiers.
Two other pyramids, of similar form and structure, are
extant in Cholula, both very much smaller.
Cortt's, writing to Charles V., distinguishes this city as
the only one in Mexico where " troops of beggars were to
be seen, remin<ling him of his native Spain," resulting from
the constant pilgrimages, the expenses of which reduced
inauy of the pilgrims to a state of beggary.
After returning to Puebla, one more visit to the cathedral
—which dwells in memory as one of the loveliest on earth :
certainly in point of decoration. Then, in the late after-
noon back to Mexico city, to the Hotel Jardin.
I
1 t
:^ll
176
fl
Ml:
lllliil'i;;
CHAPTER XVI.
Museo Nacional — Aztec Calemlar — Palenike Cross — Indian
Paintings — Texcoco— Netzahualcoyotl.
NEXT morning (Sunday, November 25th) to the hipli
mass at the cathedral — how |)oor it looked after the
exquisite lines and decoration of that of Puebla ! Then at
10 till 12, a final visit to the National Museuju, before
quitting which I must mention a few of its principal
contents.
The most remarkable of these monuments is the gigantic
one known as the " Aztec Calendar Stone," or, " Rock of
the Sun " — a marvellous proof and record of the astro-
nomical knowledge of this strangely civilized yet barbariau
nation.
Its completion and inauguration dates from the Aztec
year, *' Two House," 1481 a.d.
It was then set up as a " Sacrificial Stone " by the
reigning king, Axayacatl, in pursuance of his vow to erect
monuments of beauty for the decoration of the great
Teocalli, the biiilding of which he had completed a few-
years previously in honour of the god of war, Huitzilo-
pochtli.
He ordered (so says the historian, Tezozomoc, a son cf the
Emperor Cuitlahuac) in the year " Twelve Rabbit " (1478
A.D.) a great rock to be torn from the mountain of Coyoacau
and conveyed to the city of Tenochtitlau, there to be
CALENDAR STONE.
177
— IniUftu
the liigli
after tlie
Then at
ni, before
priucipal
16 gigantic
«• Bock oi
the astro-
barbarian
the Aztec
by the
>w to erect
the great
eted a few
k Huitzilo-
L son c'f tiic
Jit " (1478
If Coyoacau
Vere to be
sctil])ture(l into an image of the sun surrounded with their
zcxhacal signs. »
The huge block was dragged along wooden rollers hy
5,000 men, but on reaching the bridge of Xoloc, across
the lake Texeoco, to the city, its enormous weight broke
through, and it fell into the lake, whence no niau dared
drag it.
Upon which the king, being wroth, ordered a second
rook to be brought, and having immensely strengthened
the bridge, it was conveyed safely across and placed in the
bauds of the sculptors, who in three years had completed
its decoration ; after which it was placed in the Teocalli,
and its dedication celebrated with magnificent ceremonies
and frightful sacrifices, in the presence of all the kiugs of
the neighbouring countries. King Axayacatl inaugurating
the event by himself tearing out the hearts <«f fifty-two of
the principal captives — 728 in number, colh - ed for the
sacrifice — offering them, still palpitating, to i, Sun, then
casting them into the great sculptured vases placed at the
feet of the god of war, leaving the remainder of the victims
to be similarly dealt with by the thirteen priests in
succession.
After which, according to invariable custom, several
great anthropophagic feasts were held, at which Axayacatl,
in his devout zeal, ate the flesh and drank the blood
of the sacrificed to such excess that he shortly afterwards
died of the surfeit.
The Aztecs, it may be here remarked, are not to be
classed exactly on a par with ordinary cannibals, their
feasts of human flesh having been entirely of a religious
character and restricted to consumption of victims offered
ou the sacrificial stone. And it is said of Moctezuma II.,
ill proof of his superior civilization, that he could only
MNil
m
.111
;?
i'i , I
1^
I
178
MEXICO.
eat flesh of this description after it had been very nicely
cooked.
Soon after the Conquest, the first Archbishop of Mexico,
Zumarraga, caused many of 3 Aztec monuments and
idols to be broken into pieces, and the rest to be buried
underground, lest the sight of them should encourage the
aborigines in resistance to Christianity.
It is believed that many of these important monuments
still lie buried in the depths beneath the plaza and
cathedral, awaiting some future systematic search.
Strange to say, tliis sacrificial " Calendar Stone " is not
described or mentioned by any of the original " Conquista-
dores," and therefore may possibly have been buried out
of sight bv the Aztecs themselves, as well as their treasure,
during the final siege.
Be that as it may, it somehow cropped up, by earthquake
or otherwise, in 1551 to the great disedification of the then
Archbishop, Montufar, who looked upon it as a work of
the de. ". and speedily had it re-buried, after which it was
forgotten, and its final restoration to the light of day
effected as late as 1790, when it was discovered whilst
levelling the Plaza Mayor, and, by permission of the
viceroy, at once built — as an ornamentand valuable curiosity
— into the base of the south-western tower of the cathedral,
whei'e it remained exposed to sight, and also to the
elements, till removed to the Museo Nacional in 1885.
This huge monolith is called the " Aztec Clock " by the
Indians, as the aborigines of all America were termed l\v
their old-world conquerors and the earlier discoverers, whi>
for many years remained under the impression that they
had reached the eastern extremitv of the continent of A^'.a
or its adjacent islands — the rich "spice isles" of India
being the constant object of their search.
'i * 1
AZTEC ASTROLOGERS.
179
nicely
[exk'O,
ts and
buried
ige the
Luments
iza and
. " is not
)nq\iista-
iritd out
treasure,
irtbquake
i the theu
a, work of
Inch it was
bt of day
>red whilst
^on of the
[e cviriosity
cathedral
.so to tbe
1885.
|ch"i^y^^^
termed l^y
Iverers, who
lu that tbey
^ent of h^
" of I^*-^'^
Columbus himself lived and died in this erroneous
belief.
To return to the great " Calendar Stone." It consists
of a nearly circular mass of fine-grained basalt, 11 feet
8 inches in diameter, weighing, according to the calculation
of Von Humboldt, 24,400 kilograms, elaborately and
beautifully carved, with a central image of " Tonatiuh "
(the Sun) surrounded by symbolical representations of the
chief facts of their ancient calendar and cycles of time ;
the dates of the vernnl and autumnal equinoxes, the
summer and winter solstices, the apparent movements of
the sun and of the planet Venus, the meridian of Tenoch-
titlau, east and west lines representing the tropics of Cancer
and Capricorn, and many historic dates.
From time immemorial, the Aztec civil year had con-
sisted of eighteen months of twenty days each, each month
divided into four weeks of five days each, a total of
360 dajii, the last day of each week being market day —
an arrangement of time slightly superior to that of the
ancient Roman Calendar, which gave 355 days to its year,
with an occasional intercalary month, producing, like the
Egyptian year of 365 days, the utmost confusion in all
agricultural and other arrangements.
In the year " One Flint " (29 b.c.) the Aztec astrologers
assembled to reform their calendar, in their ancient city
of Huehuetapallan, " old Earth-paint" — the site of which
is a mys'.tery — supposed by some antiquarians to have been
the huge mass of shapeless ruins still to be seen at Casas-
Grandes at the junction of the rivers Gila and Colorado in
Arizona, and by others, somewhere in the great Mound
Region of the Valley of the Mississip])i.
The continuation of the migratory movement of the
Aztecs southward of this city — wherever may have been
180
MEXICO.
; I
its exact site — took place in the year 231 a.d., as recorded
on the Calendar Stone.
To return to the astronomical seance in Huehuetapallan,
presided by the chief astrologer Cipax, in whose honour
the first day of each Ui?Mth was named "Cipatetli," " dawn "
— tlie Aztec savants corrected their ancient calendar by
making their first intercalation ol five days at the end of
each year — their year beginning on March 1st, and their
day at 6 a.m.
These intercalary days, February 24th to 28th inclusive,
were considered unlucky and " useless," and w^ere ordered
to be spent in sacrifice, fasting and prayer.
This reformation took place almost contemporaneously
with that of the ancient Roman Calendar by Julius
Caesar (46 b.c), who, aided by the Egyptian astronomer
Sosigenes, introduced the correction now known as a
leap year in eveiy fourth,, termed " bissextile," the
sixth day before the Kalends of March being reckoned
twice.
The " Tropical " year, however, owing to the Precession,
cr retrograde movement, of the Equinoxes, only amounts
to 365 davs, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 49'7 seconds of mean
solar time : about 20 minutes less than the " Sidereal "
year ; consequently, the Julian reckoning of 365 days,
6 hours — a yearly excess of about 11 minutes — produced
an error of one day too many in every 134 years ; wliieli,
by the year 1900, will have amounted to 13 days, and
which, in 1582, had reached the sum of 10 days : corrected
in that year by Pope Gregory XIII., who suppressed the
superfluous 10 days by decreeing that October 5tli, 1582,
should be reckoned as the 15th, at the same time providing
against the recurrence of future error by an elaborate re-
arrangement of leap years.
Tl
fifty,
each ;
of foi
" Hon
tinguii
niug ^s
winnu
the ;^r^
heiuir
'm
i^r.
AZTEC CYCLES.
181
>rded
allan,
OUOUT
awn "
lar by
eud of
{ their
This " New Style " having been enacted by Pa])al Bull,
was " severely ignored " by the newly Protestant countries
of Europe which, one would have thought, might have
sufficiently vindicated their independence of the Papacy by
choosing some other month of that, or the following year,
for the suppression of the supernumerary days, following
the example of France, which decreed them to be abolished
iu the following December 10th to 20th, 1582.
Our country, " as every schoolboy knows," remained
obdurate till the vear 1752, when "New Style" was
adopted by special Act of Parliament, supjiressing the
eleven days (to which the error had by that time amounted)
by enacting that September 3rd of that year should be
reckoned as the 14th, a decree much resented in London by
the people, who assembled " in their thousan<is " and
mobbed the ministry with threats and cries of *' Give us
back our eleven days ! "' by the same Act, the 1st day of
the year being transferred from March 25th to January 1st.
To-day, the Julian " Old Style " continues to be observed
by the Bussiau and Greek nations only — a piece of be-
nighted foolishness that causes themselves and others much
inconvenience.
The Aztecs measured time by " cycles," each comprising
fifty-two years, divided into four quarters of thirteen years
each ; and their system of numbers was based upon multiples
of four.
The names of the years were "Rabbit," " Reed," " Flint,"
" House " — constantly repeated in the same order, each dis-
tinguished by a separate accompaniment of dots — begin-
ning with one dot, and ending with thirteen — the 1st series
commeucing with " 1 Rabbit;" the 2nd with " 1 Reed; "
the 8rd " 1 Flint ; " and the 4th " 1 House "—each year
being thus clearly designated ; and the cycles were distin-
mir^-nA^'
-
liy'' '11
1 1 I IB
, i.,;
It'
I'R' t'
1
I Pi!-*
U'J
3
j|
I'!
182
MEXICO.
guished by hieroglyphical signs of " sheafs " or " bundles"
of reeds, tied together.
The priests had a secret and sacred calendar of their
own, consisting of a year of 260 days, divided into 20
months of 13 days each, based upon the api)arent move-
ments of the planet Venus, vrhich was identified, in their
worship, with the god of air, Quetzalcoatl ; by which they
regulated fasts and festivals, and astrological calculations.
The last day of each grand cycle was spent in fear and
lamentation, in expectation of the possible end of the world,
the death of the Sun, and extinction of the human race —
already, as they believed, four times destroyed and e-
stored — but doomed to irrevocable destruction by a fifth
catastrophe.
So the sacred fire in the Teocallis, and every house, was
let die out, and furniture, utensils and clothes destroyed, as
of no further use.
Three hours before midnight, the priests led a huge pro-
cession to the hill of Huixachtla, six miles south of
Tenochtitlan, on the summit of which, at the moment the
Pleiades touched their zenith, new fire was kindled on the
breast of a chosen prisoner of war — upon the flaming up of
which, in sight of the entire valley, feasts and rejoicings
inaugurated a new cycle of life.
Their last celebration of this rite took place in the year
1507 A.D., three years later than the landing in Cuba, from
Spain, of the future extinguisher of their liberties.
In the year 1454 a.d., the Aztec astrologers met once
more to reform their calendar ; and particularly to transfer
the first day of each cycle from " 1 Rabbit " to " 2 Reed,"
the former being condemned owing to the occurrence of
great droughts and famines during a series of year? Iv^gun
under that symbol, as chronicled on a basaltic cylinder in
¥^
idles"
: tlieir
ato 20
move-
u their
ih they
lations.
ear an^l
e world,
Q racp—
and e-
y a titth
)use, "was
iroyed, as
huge pro-
soutli of
nnent tlie
ed on tlie
[ling up of
Irejoiciugs
AZTEC SClliNCE.
183
the Museo, carved in the form of a bundle of reeds, 33
in number, representing the 33 cycles then elapsed since the
foundation of Huehuetlapallan.
In the course of their calculations for computing these
corrections as far back as the first of these cycles, the
astronomers discovered that they had gained 13 days
upon the " tropical " year ; and, to correct the error, did,
in 1474, what Gregory XIII. did in 1582, namely, sup-
pressed the excess.
And to prevent future error, enacted the simple and
efficacious expedient of the addition of 25 days to every 104
years.
And 104 comprising two of their cycles, they added
13 days to the 1st cycle, and 12 to the 2nd, and so on.
The result being an adjustment of time so accurately per-
fect, that more than 5,000 years would have to elapse
hefore the necessity for a fresh suppression of one entire
day — an extraordinary proof of the astronomical know-
ledge and dexterity of the Aztecs, who, as far as is known,
worked without astronomical instruments, yet calculated a
result so greatly superior to that of the one hundred and
eight years later " Gregorian reformation," which admits
of the error of one entire day in a period of nearly 4,000
years. The Aztec calendar, in some respects, bears a
striking resemblance to that of the Chinese, and some other
Asiatic nations ; and the " Sacred Calendar " of the priests
presented correspondences with the Sothic or dog-star period
of the Egyptians and Persians.
The collection in the Museum is as remarkable for
objects of extraordinary beauty and artistic refinement,
as for others of the extremest barbarity and most grotesque
liidoousness.
Foremost among the latter, is the gigantic '• Woman-
■r?'
p.
t
184
MEXICO.
serpent," " Citruecoatl," popularly named "Coatlicue," a
monolith measuring 8 feet high, with a diameter of 5 feot,
representing " Mother Earth and Water " — the head that
of a huge snake twining round the woman's form, which is
clothed in a loathsome tangle of snakes, decorated with
tassels and feathers. She has many hands and a death's
head between. The back of this monster is thought to
represent Teoyaotlatohua, the " god of violent death,"
equally adorned with snakes, skulls, and many hands.
Two statues of the goddess of death are equally frightful
— one, a woman draped with snakes, her head a skull,
inlaid with magnificent turquoises, sapphires and emeralds ;
great claws for hands with which she is clutching at her
victims ; the other, a woman with a scalped head, the skull
bare, also clutching the air with great claws. Next to her
are two grotesquely hideous " waxing " and " waning "
moons, with eyes surrounded by huge black circles and
enormous tusks for teeth : and the almost identical repre-
sentation of the son of the moon " Tlaloc," god of the rain,
thunder and lightning — an important deity, at whose
shrine infants and children were, many times a year, sacri-
ficed with the usual horrible ceremony.
The terrible god of war, Huitzilopochtli, to whom were
offered such countless human victims, on the other hand, is
represented by a far less repulsive effigy. Around him are
placed innumerable huge receptacles, elaborately and beauti-
fully carved, for human hearts ; and immense vases, into
which the blood of the victims poured from a deep channel
cut in the sacrificial stone, and which was produced at the
ensuing feasts to be quaffed as nectar.
If any captive had given proof of extraordinary valour,
he was given a chance for his life by being allowed to
encounter — armed only with one short sword — one after
:ue," a
5 feet,
Ld that
'hich is
id with
death's
ight to
death,"
ids.
rightful
a skull,
neralds ;
y at her
the skull
xt to her
waning "
rcles and
L?al repre-
the rain,
,t whose
ar, sacri-
lom were
[r hand, is
|d him are
id beauti-
jases, into
Ip channel
zed at the
ry valour,
lUowed to
tone after
>
PALEMKE CROSS. P. 1 89.
■
a
h
si
w
wi
de
aw
ofi
obs
I
fori;
tige
exce
simi'
coliii
atlau
umd;
Til
form
featl](
On,
mirab
"Tott
of the
Inn
touiar^
(lurinir
iieads
exquisi
and be
triant s
MONUMENTS.
186
another, seven better-armed gladiators, himself further
handicapped by being tied by one leg to the *' gladiatorial
stoue." In the tilmost impossible event of victory over the
whole seven, he was given his life and liberty, and loaded
with gifts and honours; but if worsted, instantly dragged,
dead or alive, to the sacrificial stone, where the priests
awaited to tear out his heart.
Frequently these unhappy victims (almost always
prisoners of war) were subjected to the cruellest refinements
of torture before suffering the inevitable final death by the
obsidian knife of the jiriests.
To come to more agreeable objects : several fine statues,
forming one block with their pedestals : " Chac-mol," the
tiger-king (thought by many to be the Mexican Bacchus)
exceedingly fine in form, features, and pose ; others nearly
similar, the " indio triste " of black basalt ; gigantic
columns from Tula, the Toltec capital, colossal legs of
atlautes, and monolithic columns decorated with carvings
much in the style of those on Celtic crosses.
Three representations of Quetzaleoatl, God of air, in the
form of colossal coiled serpents, exquisitely decorated with
feathers and leaves of maiz.
One exceedingly beautiful colossal head of diorite, ad-
mirably decorated and superb in pose, is supposed to be
" Totec," their grandest and most revered personification
of the Sun.
Innumerable stone masks, with which it was cus-
tomary for the priests to cover the faces of the idols
during a king's illness. Many sculptured priestesses, their
heads exceedingly fine, with elaborate headdresses and
exquisitely plaited hair, much in the style of the curious
and beautiful archaic statues in the Athenian Acropolis.
Griant serpents' heads abound, said to have formed part of
iii it
■■|'H
ai.iiii
¥til
If ^1
186
MliXICO.
the ancient " snake- wall " which surrounded the primitive
Teocalli.
The "Goddess of Water" forms one side of a huge
monolithic column of trachyte, called the " Fainting-
stone," said to be possessed of the strange ])ower of
causing anyone sitting or reclining on it, to instantane-
ously faint ! The " Goddess of Music " is carved on jade
of the most exquisite dee^) green colour, and presides over
innumerable instruments of music, including clay whistles,
each sounding one note of a different pitch, and each re-
producing the exact note of some bird. Flutes of baked
clay, bells, conch-shells, by which the priests sounded the
hours, and variously shaped drums, one huge one of which,
called Huehuetl, is the renowned war-drum of the great
Teocalli — the deep and dismal, far-reaching tones of which
struck such awe into the hearts of the Spaniards on the
terrible " noche triste."
Numerous bas-reliefs show the favourite Aztec game of
ball, which was played with such ardour that, iu the
excitement of the contest, the players — who were allowed
to receive and throw the ball only with the elbow, shoulder,
and hip — frequently staked their wives and slaves on the
result.
Huge stone disks for the game had a small hole in the
centre, through which, if any player was so skilful as to
propel the ball, he won, not only the game, but also all the
clothes of all the spectators !
The funeral candelabra and cinerary urns are verv
finely formed and ornamented, as also is the immense
collection from all parts of the Republic of pottery and
Yases, painted in brilliant colours, still perfectly fresh, the
graceful Greek key-pattern being very frequent.
Innumerable small heads and figures, some of them
RACES IN ANAHUAC.
187
imitive
a huge
iiiiting-
awer oi
tantaue-
on jade
ides over
whistles,
each re-
of halved
inded the
of which,
the great
3 of whicli
:ds on the
jc game of
,at, iu the
■re aUowed
, shoulder,
,ve8 ou tlw
lovely, and almost worthy of Taua^ra, exquisitely carved
in jade, onyx, and other precious materials, as well as terra
cotta.
Many idols, objects, and small heads are of distinctly
Chinese and Tartar type, especially those from Yucatan,
one of which represents a Buddliist trinity, and another
an Indian temple.
The " Naliuatl," or Mexican language, spoken by the
seven tribes of the Aztec nation which successively migrated
into the land of Analiuac, is almost identical with that of
the Esquimaux ; but the dialects of their predecessors, the
])reliistoric races, of which the most remarkable were the
Toltocas, Almicas, Xicalancas, Mayas, and Othomis, point
to an Asiatic origin, especially the latter, which is mono-
svlhibic, and contains innumerable words absolutely
identical in form and meaning with the Chinese.
The monuments also of some of these races, as well as
their manners and customs, present an extraordinary
resemblance and affinity to those of China, India, and
Assyria, and also of Egypt.
At the present day many faces of the Mongolian type
are to be met with in all parts of Mexico among the
"Indies."
The Aztecs were remarkable for their wonderful skill in
gold and silver ornaments, and jewellery, and in cutting
and polishing the innumerable turquoises, sapphires, opals,
emeralds, and other precious stones abounding in their
hills. Two of the early historians of the Conquest,
Clavigei'o and Torquemada, assert that they were able to
mould a fish with half the scales gold and half silver,
and single pieces half gold and half silver — arts long
lost.
They wore gold and silver earrings, nose- rings, necklaces
P'
Mi
ly,.
1(1.!
I' ''
188
MEXICO.
and Imiceleta, annlots and anklets, while tho nobles were
entitled to lip*ring8 in addition.
Commercial transaetions were mostly paid in kind, but
tribnte was also paid by means of little bells and hatchets
of copper, and a kind of money was used in some parts.
*' Zapotec " money, from Oaxaea, was made of thin
sheets of copper, in the shape of a miniature meat-chopper,
and thin copper anchors and coins shaped like a T were
used in ' t })rovinces.
One y interesting object is the shield of Mocte-
zuma II., which, after his tragic death, was presented by
Cortes to the Emperor Charles V., who placed it in his
palace at Vienna, where it remained till 1863, when the
Emperor Franz Josef of Austria, gave it to his brother
Maximilian, by whom it was brought back to its ancient
home in Mexico.
Several strange "yokes" of polished stone or Uiorite
of huge size and weight, are termed by some antiquarians
" yokes of sacrifice," which they opine to have been used
by the priests for asphyxiating, and so minimizing the
agony the victims stretched on the stone of sacrifice.
But I 'c they must be mistaken, for the Indian paint-
ings repi^sent merely a kind of very thick rope held iu
one hand tightly round the neck by a priest, which would
have been impossible in the case of these heavy and bulky
stone " yokes."
The most remarkable of all the monuments after the
" calendar stone " is the famous " Palemke cross," brought
from the wonderful " city of the priests " of that name, the
" sacred city " of the Quiche empire, of which the emperor
was always a priest.
This wonderful city of the dead (built in the fifth
century a.d.) lies in the midst of great tangled masses of
rALKMKK CROSS.
189
' t
lea were
in«l, ^mt
liatchotB
I»art8.
of thin
chopiHT,
a T were
,f Moctc-
iented \>y
it in bis
wlieu the
is brother
its aueient
or diorite
itiiiuarians
I been used
mizing the
sacrifice,
liiau paint-
held ia
•li wouUl
aud bulky
)e
I it-
after the
3," brought
t name, the
lie emperor
the fifth
I masses d
gmii flower-garlanded trees in the heart of the tropical
fon'sts of Yucatan. Its ruins are of gigantic pro{)ortion8 ;
huge terraces of cut stone, and grand solid stoue and
nuirl)le edifices which, unlike A.7,tec one-storied houses,
reached the height of three ; the whole of the colossal
walls oruamented with bas-reliefs of massive figures,
hieroglyphs and tracery of great beauty and refinement.
At the period of the Conquest this ruined city stood in
the forest in the same state as to-day.
Three great sculptured marble slabs, each 6 feet 4 inches
in height, 4 feet wide and (3 inches thick, forming one
taMeau, stood above the altar of the " Temple of the
Cross."
One has been left there, one has been removed to the
Smithsonian Institute at Washington, and the third is the
one in this Museo. Its marble is of the finest grain, and
of a lovely pale gold colour, somewhat resembling that of
tlie sun-dyed Parthenon.
In nearly the centre of it is sculptured an elaborate and
most beautiful cross of Latin form, on the right side of
which (as seen by the spectator) a priest stands erect,
nearly life size, offering an infant to the cross, his lips
open in prayer.
Above the cross is the Quetzal (green-feathered bird),
representing the God of air symbolized by the planet
Venus as " star of the morning," a skull beneath being
supposed to represent the same planet as " star of the
evening," and various astronomical signs and hieroglyphics
to which the key has not yet been found, above and on
each side of the cross.
A plaster cast of the whole monument — of which this
slab is only a third part — stands near, aud displays a
human figure, on the opposite side of the cross, symbolizing
190
MEXICO.
ill
the sun. The features and headdress of both figures are
strikingly Assyrian, and the style of the whole, although
su]>ericr in refinement of execution, recalls the bus-reliefs
of Nineveh discovered by Layard.
The Museo contains many other prehistoric representa-
tions of crosses, some remarkably beautiful, and one the
arms of which terminate in snakes' heads.
When the Spaniard3 found so universally established,
the sign and worship of the " cross," they imagined that
some Christian missionary must, at some period, have
penetrated these regions, and many of the early historians
thought themselves justified in identifying with tlie
Apostle St. Thomas, the legendary Quetzalcoatl, the vener-
able white-skinned, bearded man, whose mysterious arriAul
and beneficent stay in the land, and shadowy passing away,
with the promise of r J ture return, had remained so
strongly impressed on th ^ national faith, and had helped
so materially in the Conquest.
But all over the world, in the dim shades of remotest
antiquity, the symbol of the " cross " or geometrical sign
of " right angles," had been known and worshipped.
. And all the world over, the mysterious " sign " has
for ever shone, for all peoples, in the sky — the brilliant
glory of the " Southern Cross " in one hemisphere, and
the scarcely less beautiful " Cross in the Swan " in the
other.
May not these radiant starry crosses have been the
original cause of the universal adoption of the symbol, or
" sign V "
The Indian paintings, or " maps," as they are oalkl
form an important, and deeply interesting, item oi" the
Museo.
The Aztecs had no alphabet, and their historical records
AZTEC HIEROGLYPHICS.
191
ures are
Llthougli
tS-reliefs
presenta-
one the
tablished,
ined that
iod, have
historians
with the
the veiier-
3US arvi\al
,sing away,
mained so
had helped
)f remotest
etrical sign
nped.
sign
" has
he briUiaut
sphere, and
an in
the
been the
symbol, or
are oalh--,
item 01 the
rical records
and writings on every subject were painted in hiero-
gly]>hics, inferior to those of Egypt, inasmuch that they
were ideograph and not phonetic, except in an infinitesim-
ally small degree, in very rare instances, where symbols
are thought to have been used as representations of
sound.
On the other hand, Egyptian hieroglyphics are far from
being all, or even in a majority, phonetic. Champollion
allows a very small proportion.
The art of picture-writing was taught by the priests in
colleges, and was so intricate and difficult to decipher, that
the guild of painters, necessary for the interpretation of
documents, was treated with higher consideration than
almost any other.
The material for paintings was prepared from the fibres
of the agave, and cotton-cloth and tanned skins were also
used. The colours employed were few but vivid, and
almost indelible.
In addition to pictures, they used conventional signs
having little or no resemblance to the idea expressed.
These writings were not intended for works of art, but
merely as means of record and communicatior.
The city of Mexico was represented by a nopal-cactus
growing from a rock, and recalled the legend of the first
coming of the wanderers, led by their chief, the high priest
Teuoch, when they saw, on the Fliore of the Lake Texcoco,
poised upon a nopal growing out of a rock, an eagle from
whose talons hung suspended a snake.
Ciiapoltepec was designated by a " grasshopper ou a
hill." '^
A curious and beautiful collection of drawings and
paintings has been preserved in Tlaxcala, copiies of which,
and some originals, are to be seen in the Museo, con-
f r 1
■'i
I '!<
I 111
It, I
|i
192
MEXICO.
temporaneous with the Conquest, every important episode
of which is admirably portrayed, by Tlaxcahin artists,
accompanied by hieroglyphical descriptions. The later
conquest of Guatemala by Pedro de Alvarado (the " Toua-
tiuh ") and the expeditions of Nuiio de Gusman into
Jalisco and Sinaloa, are also carefully chronicled.
Some of these paintings recall Japanese art. One loug
strip of paintings on maguey gives the entire chronology of
the Kings of Mexico and Texcoco. There are numerous
otliers of the greatest interest, including an Indian map of
the ancient Tenochtitlan.
A curious painting represents an order of nobles called
Eagles," specially dedicated to the sun, who held festivals
of their own, at which they danced, dressed as eagles, and
sent a yearly " messenger to the sun," selected for his
beauty one year before, during which he was treatea with
divine honours, and entertained with feasts, music and
luxury of every kind, till the fatal day o:' which he was
conducted in triumphal procession to the summit of
the great Teocalli, where, after delivering the " message of
greeting " sent by tho " Eagles " to the sun, he was seized
by the priests and sacrificed with the usual ceremouv,
often preceded by some hours of exquisite torture.
His flesh was subsequently eaten, and his skin made
into garments for the priests.
Many of the ordinary victims were also utilized in this
way.
A few of the Aztec manuscripts are treasured in various
European public libraries. One of the most imj)ortant—
as far as throwing light on the ancient Mexican customs—
suddenly turned up, with several other specimens of
])icture-writing, in the Bodleian Library, after a mysterious
disappearance of more tlian a century, and is known as the
MAPS.
193
episode
artists,
he later
j"Tona.
lan into
One long
uology of
luuierous
m map of
)les called
d festivals
agles, and
?d for bis
eatea with
music and
ich he was
summit of
message of
was seized
ceremony,
" Mendoza Codex," the original (of which it is a copy)
having been primarily sent from Mexico to Charles V. by
the first Viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, Conde de
Tendilla (1535).
Avery beautiful and brilliantly-coloured "map" is in
Rome, known as the " Borgian," but by far the most
interesting of all is the " Dresden Codex," inlinitely
su[)erior to all the extant rest indelicacy and refinement of
execution, many of the hieroglyphical symbols of which
are thought to be phonetic rather than ideographic. The
material is a fine preparation of the agave, and nothing is
known of its history except that it was bought at Vienna
in 1739, for the Dresden Library.
From its vast superiority, many archaeologists believe it
to be a relic of the earlier and far higher Toltec civilization,
many MSS. of which are known to have been preserved at
Texcoco, where the national archives were also stored ; and
whence the Archbishop Zumarraga, the destroyer of so
mauy Aztec memorials, caused them to be brought, and
with those found in Mexico city, to be piled on to a huge
"mouutainous" (as it was described) bonfire in the
market place, consisting entirely of MSS., and there reduced
to a cinder !
The Aztecs possessed academies, in which the arts and
sciences were taught, and also a literature, which, how-
ever, was less cultivated by them than by the Acolhuan
branch of the Aztec nation, established in the city of
Texcoco, built on the eastern side of the Lake Texcoco,
opposite Tenochtitlan ; and which was raised to the highest
point of glory and prosperity by the great Netzaliual-
ooyotl, who not only greatly enlarged his dominions and
lieautilied his city with magnificent teocallis irA pal&ces,
gardens and monuments, but was also devoted to science,
o
"" ;i:'«,»
i
ill
J
A
II
194
MEXICO.
l)hilosophy, and literature, and was himself an admirable
poet.
Some of his poems, which had, happily, escaped the
flames to which Aztec records of all kinds were, as soon as
found, consigned in the early days of the Conquest, were
preserved and translated into Spanish by the royal Aztec
historian Ixtlilxochitl, and are full of melody and melan-
choly philosophiziugs and musings.
A strange resemblance of some of his poems to those of
his unknown contemporary in the Old World, the unhapjw
French poet, Villon, has been often remarked, especially to
the one in which the latter evokes the memory of the illus-
trious dead, with the constant refrain, " Mais on est le
preux Charlemagne ? " ending with that oft-quoted line so
full of melancholy grace and indefinable charm, " Maisoii
sont les neiges d'Autau ? "
In the same vein, the king of Texcoco, in one of the
verses of a long poem :
" If I should question where is the might of the ouee
mighty Achalchicilitlamextzin, early leader of shadowy Tol-
tecs ? or where the strength of Necuxecmexmitl, strongest
of men and pious worshipper of the eternal gods ? . . .
"It I should ask you where, the once incomparable
beauty of the divinely-glorious empress, Xinuhtzatl ? . . .
"All for evermore have passed and vanished, like the
fugitive mist on the high white cone of the Hill-that-
smokes, that one moment floats in the golden sun-haze,
and the next drifts far away out of thought or human ken,
into blue fathomless depths of air. . . .
" All things of earth soon cease to be, like flowering
blossoms only gathered to be tossed away, their radiance
faded, their fragrance wasted, to be seen and known of
the world no more — dust unto dust for evermore ! "
NETZA H UALCOYOTL.
195
miracle
ped the
\ soon as
jst, were
ral Aztec
i melaa-
, those oi
unbapiw
pecially to
: the illus-
on est le
ted line so
" Maisou
one
of tlie
of the ouce
ladowy Tol-
1, strongest
Is? . . •
[comparable
Itzatl V . • ■
jd, like tbo
Hill-that-
l\ sun-baze,
|mman ken,
[e flowering
ixv radiance
h known of
Ire I
It must be admitted that Aztec names are not easy to
iu('*n'])orate into poetry !
Tliis enhghteued poet-king was possessed of too much
wisdom to retain faith in his country's idols, and from an
early period of his reign abolished the hideous rites of
human sacrifice and feasts. His early youth had been
spent in perils and vicissitudes of all kinds, the throne
having been usurped during his childhood ; but the bulk
of his people had remained faithful, and no reward or tor-
ture had been able to induce his betrayal. After re-con-
quering his throne, he lived renoAvued and respected, only
one stain resting on his fame.
It was customary for the kings of Texcoco to have only
one " lawful wife," a royal princess, whose eldest son suc-
ceeded to the throne. For many years, in consequence of
an early disappointment, Netzahualcoyotl had remained
unmarried. After he had reached middle age, he was
magnificently entertained, during a royal progress, by a
great cacique, who, to add to the honours of his reception,
took the unusual step of causing the Mexican nectar at the
banquets to be served to the king by his betrothed, a beau-
tiful maiden of the royal house of Mexico, whose grace
and charm fo fascinated the guest, that, to secure her love-
liness for himself, he ordered the cacique t^ take command
of a difficult expedition, giving at the sa. ae time secret
orders that he should be encouraged to place himself where
death should be inevitable, explaining that his extinction
was necessary in punishment of secret treason, but that, in
consideration of past services, public arraignment and dis-
grace were to be avoided.
Tile uufortunate cacique, who is said to have guessed
the real motive of the king, obeyed, and naturally never
returned, and the lovely princess was free to marry his
I
I). ■■ 1
m ]
196
MEXICO.
rival ; but such was the regard of this new David for
appearances and due decorum, that he contented himself
with sending messages of the deepest condolence to the
fair Hebe, and allowed a short period of mourning to
elapse before inviting her to a grand festival, at which lie
even pretended to be beholding her for the first time, and
to be suddenly entranced by her beauty !
The wedding was soon afterwards celebrated with magni-
ficent pomp and rejoicings, the religious ceremonies being
enacted with sacrifices of only fragrant incense, fruits, aud
flowers, and all went merrily, although the king is said to
have written several poems full of remorseful regret for
the means by which he had attained to happiness. The
native historians, in recording the story, unite in severely
blaming the king ; but admit that it was the one and only
shadow on an otherwise blameless and glorious life.
The king so far extended his conquests and influence,
and lived in such magnificence, that he came to be re-
cognized as the head of the triple alliance of Texcoco,
Mexico, and Tlacopan, and assumed the title of emperor.
For many years the beautiful empress gave him no
children, which the priests incessantly assured him was the
punishment for having abolished the worship of the gods
and human sacrifices ; till at last he imfortuuately yielded,
and a hecatomb of human victims disgraced his greater
enlightenment. The desired event not resulting, however,
once more, and for ever, he ordained the final abolition of
idols and human sacrifices ; and in honour of the "unknown
God " fasted and prayed for forty days, after which it was
intimated to him in vision that his petition was granted ;
in thanksgiving for which he built a magnificent pyra-
midal temple, surmounted by a tower of nine stories,
which he dedicated to the " Unknown and invisible Gvd—
TtlXCOCO.
197
vid for
himself
to the
iiing to
^hieh he
me, and
h maiiui-
Les I'eiug
•uits, and
is said to
•egret for
ess. The
a severely
e and ouly
ife.
influence,
to be ve-
|f Texeoco,
emperor,
him 110
im was the
ji the gods
;ly yielded,
[lis greater
;, however,
bbolition of
"unhnovfn
iiichitAvas
s granted;
icent pyra-
[ne stories,
bble G-d-
the Cause of causes " — of Avhom he allowed no image, and
to whom he commanded that no sacrifice, save flowers and
iuoense, should be in future ever oft'ered.
Many charming stories are told of his benevolence and
charity to the poor, and just and merciful yet strict rule,
and of his wonderful poems, and skill in astronomy, and
the ])oetic loveliness of his gardens, and the magnificent
buildings Avith which he embellished the city. And after
a glorious reign of forty -two years, he 7)eacefully died,
surrounded by his family and nobles, at the age of seventy-
two ; after having placed the royal robes upon his little
son, Netzahuitpilli, aged eight years, the only child of the
beautiful emi)ress, who already gave promise of the great
qualities Avhich afterwards made him, in many respects, a
worthy successor to his illustrious father.
Kill
I
198
lit
If
li-Pi;
CHAPTEE XVII.
Academy of San Carlos— Sor Juana Inds de la Cruz— Tula—
Queretaro — CJ uadalaj ara .
TO returu to the Miiseo — it would Le impossible to
enumerate all its abounding interest, or the numer-
ous records in stone of landmarks in the shadowy history
of the ancient dwellers in Anahuac, who, like the wander-
ing Hyksos of Egypt, left in their v/ake huge pyramids ;
and the more modern traditions of Aztec tribes. Tmie
pressed, and the Museo closed, and we proceeded to pay a
final visit to the Academy of San Carlos.
Amongst the Mexican portraits there, one notices a very
beautiful one of a very extraordinary and interesting
woman, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz.
She was born, in 1651, of noble Sj^anish and Mexican
parentage, and fi'om her parlipst childhood exhibited a
passionate love of learning. At the age of three she had
surreptitiously learnt to read and write, and at eight had
written her first poem ; at nine she had mastered five in-
struments of music, and Latin and Greek ; and at fifteen had
ripened into such a prodigy of knowledge, and beauty, and
science, that the fame of it rang through all Mexico, reach-
ing the vice-regal throne, then occupied by the Marque's de
Mancera, who, wishing to attach so brilliant a star to his
court, appointed her lady-in-waiting to his wife.
Here the learned and beautiful damsel remained for two
HOll JUAXA INES DE LA CRUZ.
191)
-Tula-
Bible to
nuiner-
history
wauder-
ramitls ;
1. Time
to pay a
as a very
eresting
Mexican
libited a
she had
ight had
d five in-
'teeu had
.uty, and
;o, reach-
,rqiu's de
,ar to his
years, the idol of the court, and the inseparable friend of
the vice-queen.
She received many brilliant offers of marriage, but, wish-
ing to devote her whole life to the jiursuit of science and
knowledge, and imagining that in the cloister alone she
would find leisure and quiet — at the age of seventeen, in
the flower of her beauty — joined the order of Carmelites,
which, however, she found too severe, and soon left for the
couvont of San Jeronimo, where she took the vows and
remained till the end of her life.
Here, although strictly joining in all the church offices,
she seems to have been allowed ample leisure for studies
and compositions, writing innumerable poems, which were
fiublished in the outer world, under the name of " The
Tenth Muse — the Nun of Mexico," and read with aviditv
and admiration by the friends she had quitted, and which
are still much admired, in spite of not having altogether
eseapeei the " gongorismo " and " culteranismo " by which
Spanish literature during the last third of the seventeenth
century was debased ; cultivating her musical talents ;
studying philosophy, theology, metaphysics, mathematics,
and astronomy — even entering into religious controversies
with bishops and priests, undeterred by fear of the Inqui-
sition.
She was loaded by her friends with gifts of musical and
scientific instruments, and books to the amount of more
than 4,000 volumes ; becoming more and more famous, no
stranger of distinction ever passing through Mexico without
paying his homage to the Monastic " Tenth Muse," and
wondering at the extraordinary brilliancy of her genius and
learning.
In her fortieth year, however, admonished by the Bishop
of Puebla, she, after some remonstrance, renounced her
200
MEXICO.
life of science, and, having caused all her books and iustni-
nients of music to he sold for the benefit of the poor, de-
voted herself entirely to the ordinary duties of a nun.
This, for her, martyrdom of intellectual inaction did not
long endure ; for a fever having broken out in the convent
cut short her life at the age of forty-two, the last days ^f
which she had devoted to nursing her stricken sisters.
Many other interesting personalities adorn the history of
Mexican litei'atui'e, most of whose poems and pi'ose are
devoted to the description of the beauties of their exquisite
scenerv, and the romantic incidents of their historv. ,
After the San Carlos had closed, and a hurried (h'jeunerat
the " Concordia," we flew by tram to Tacubaya, a charming
suburl>, famous in the history of the Conquest, now full of
fine villas surrounded by lovely gardens and magnificent
trees; finally to Chapoltepec, for one more afternoon in
the lovely terraced garden of the castle, where the ofKoers
of the guard again amiably gave me leave to finish my
previous sketch of the glorious view — so iucom])arably tlif
finest of the " Hill that smokes," and the beautiful shining,
mist-wreathrd " White woman," looking at which those
musical lines of Shelley's,
" Arctluisa arose
From her couch of .snows," ct scq.,
seem to run in one's head — till sunset, when, alas ! with a
regretful farewell to this heavenliest of views, heavenlier
than ever in the rose tints of evening — I descended the
" Hill of the Grasshopper," by the long, winding road, the
great moss-laden cypresses solemnly looming like veiled
spectres in the shades of parting day, and returned to the
city by the beautiful Paseo de la Reforma ; at the further
end of which, that grand monument, shaped after the ancient
iustru-
or, <le-
11.
ilkl not
•ouveut
lays of
SI'S.
storv of
rose are
■xquisito
f.
jenuenii
harming
w full oi
,guifioent
rwKou iu
16 ofHoers
tiuisli iny
rably tlit-
sliiuiug,
h tlu^sf
s ! with a
leavenlier
mded the
road. the
[ke veiled
led to the
le further
TAMPICO, MEXICO. P. 2 2 2.
ifiii:-
M
" i
if
dH^^K
'A
^^HI^^^B'
■^^;
f hB^
ir
t f ll^H^^H
Bi'
J^^I^^H
H
1
J
t(
' 'H
III
Yi
w
wx '^
In
' I ' j.
1 m
y" I ;■
1
:i ■ :
1 n
ai
cl
gr
cu
bo
us
tro
tlu
fac
of
wit
dav
18b'
Eiii
Mir
aud
and
tlie
It
iu^h
settii
Oi
TULA.
201
todoallis, stands with such imposing effect, crowned by the
statciv and energetic figure of the great Cuuhtenioc.
Next morning (November 26th) we regretfully left
Mexico city, and started early by the Central Mexican
[o Tula, the ancient Toltec capital, in which are many traces
and remains of teocallie and palaces, but from which the
j<riucii)al monoliths and monuments have been transferred
to the Museo Nacional. It is a picturesquely-situated
Ittle ciudad with grand views and lovely vegetation. At
-i ,>.m. we reached Queretaro, which has a very fine ap[>ear-
ance from the estaciou — its many towers and domed
churches surrounded by fortified walls, rocky crags, and.
groves of beautiful trees ; beyond which a fertile and wel'-
cultivated plain stretches away to the distant horizon,
bounded by graceful ranges of l)lue hills.
Here we alighted, and at once engaged a guide to take
us through flowery meadows, fringed with lovely i)epper
trees, to a breezy moorland two miles outside tlie city walls,
the " cerro de las campanas " — where, on an eminence
facing the city, and the wide j^lain with its distant boundary
of blue mountains — three monoliths, standing upright
within a foot of each other, mark the spot where, at early
dawn of a lovely sunshiny summer morning — June 19th,
1867, by decree of the Indian Juarez, the unfortunate
Emperor Maximilian and his two faithful generals,
Miramon aud Mejia, took their stand — facing the sunrise,
aud their captor, General Eseobedo : his victorious troojjs,
and the neighbouring populace, gathered round to witness
the volley, twice repeated, before the emperor fell dead.
It is a sad and melancholy spot, but beautiful exceed-
ingly, as we saw it in the gleaming radiance of the nearly
setting sun.
Our guide had been present on that sal summer morn-
I!
■ !• iii:-!.
h !.
III
' i
r !
'1;
■«■■■■
2oJ
MEXICO.
ing, and described how the army had marched with music
and great pomp t(^ the place of execution, followed by tlie
entire population of the city, the emperor being conveyed
in a cab from the Convent of the Capuchins, accompa.uiod
by his chaplain and another priest, Canonigo Rodriguez,,
still living at the Collegio of Querctaro.
We walked back to the citv, and visited the Governor's
house where the trial took place, and saw many relics of
the ill-fated emperor — among thein the coffin, much stained,
in which his remains were placed after death to be conveyed
back to the city.
How many times, and how tragically, the House of ^Taps-
burg has testified, in the person of its noblest members to
the vanity of human grandeur !
Then to the Convent of the Capuchins in the near neigh-
bourhood, now used as a private house, the occupiers of
which most kiudlv received us, in the room in which the
imprisoned emperor spent his last days in the interval
between his condemnation and execution — submitting to
his hard fate with the utmost dignity, and courage, and
resignation. ' •
This, the only room assigned to the imperial captive, for
every purpose, is a nice-sized, <'heerful apartment, with a
high and wide window reaching to the floor, opening on to
a small balcony, now filled with flowers. But this cheerful
window was then mostly covered with great bars obstruct-
ing both light and air, and he was never for a moment left
without a guard.
After a long and most interesting conversation with our
hospitable host and hostess, reviving these sad memories,
we sallied forth— it being now dark — no great distance,
through the unevenly paved streets to the hotel of the
Central Mexican Railway, a large and rambling building
(.HERETARO.
203
music
by tlie
iveyed
pa.uiod
rigaea,
ernor's
jlics of
itaiuetl,
iiiveyed
f "laps-
ibers to
r neigh -
piers of
iiich the
interval
ttiug to
j,ge, and
)tive, for
, with a
nu' on to
cheerfnl
bstrnct-
neut left
with our
lemories,
distance,
with huge covered gateway and open patio, which probably
had once been a monastery. •
It was j^etting late, so we at once had supper at the very
indifferent restaurant attached, and after reading till the
lights were put o\it, wore conducted by the i)roprietor, a very
jHilite old Spaniard, to o\ir rooms on the ground floor.
Aline was a huge apartment, probably the ancien'-
chapter-room, with enormous windows down to the floor,
opening on to the street, which it would have been pleasant
to keep open but for the fear of thieves or passing cats
and dogs. So I was left shut up in this hot and ghostly
prison-like chamber, and as we were to leave at 4 a.m.,
sat up writing and reading as well as one tallow candle
allowed.
Suddenly, in the silence, there was a frightful noise,
something violently rattling and rushing across the room.
I thought it must be an army of rats, and flew into the patio
to hammer and bang with my umbrella at G.'s room for
helji ; he came, and the host also flew to the rescue, stoutly
[irotesting against the iiossibility of rats, but admitting
that of scorpions, which, he said, always made that kind of
tlanping, rattling noise with their tails, and there were
^.luty about.
This being l»y nv means reassuring, I insisted on a
search being made, but nothing was found except huge
holes in the floor, which we covered over with basins and
boxes, and I wr.s giveii an extra candle and left " sitting
alone with Fear I "
A disagreeable companion, and great was my joy when
4 o'clock struck, and a cab, which we had ordered over
uight, called to take ns in the pitch dark, bumping along
the boulder-paved streets, to the estacion of the Central
M»'xican, en route for Guadalajara, and soon we had left
fl
If
§
K
.1
204
MEXICO.
this melauclioly city, fraught with such tragic inemories of
cai»ituhitiou and death. We were told here, aud indeed,
heard it spoken of as an undoubted fact all over Mexico,
that the lamentable illness of the Empress Charlotte,
after her return to Europe in 1867, had been caused bv
poison.
There exists in Mexico, as well as in some other parts of
the world, a certain shrub inexpedient to name, the root of
which, ground into a fine solul)le powder, can be eusily
mixed with food and drink, and is almost impossible of
detection. For the first few davs it seems to work
insidiously, without visible or outward sign except a
certain restless, nervous agitation, followed before loui,',
however, by a vague malaise and inability to sleep, com-
bined with feverish and morbid anxiety of mind, culmin-
ating, after a while, in constant worrying suspicion of
poison and fear of assassination. The memory fails, all
kinds of illusions and delusions arise, the brain beconios
more and more darkly clouded, till the intellect gives \\\.i\
aud a state of complete insanity results, in which the
unhappy victim may live a vegetating life for an inde-
finitely longer or shorter period, but for ever hopelessly aud
irretrievably alienated in mind.
After the withdrawal from Mexico oi the French troops,
through the influence of the United States some months
before the final catastrophe, the Empress Charlotte, a
beautiful woman of extraordinary energy and resourceful
courage, had volunteered to undertake a mission to Eun)jje
in the hope of obtaining help in money and troops, and
especially to remonstrate with Napoleon III. on his deser-
tion of her husband's cause, trusting to bring about a
change in his policy ; and it is affirmed — whether truly or
not — that, fearing the ]>ossible success of her appeals, au
i.
fies of
Lidoed,
[exioo,
bvlotte,
sell by
>arts of
root of
? easily
sible oi
o work
xcei»t a
,re louii,
3p, com-
culuiiii-
picion of
fails, all
becomes
rives Avay
Uieb tlio
au iiule-
essly ami
I'll trooi>s,
uu»utlis
lavlotto, a
hsouvi'oful
[o Europe
)ops, ainl
liis dosor-
about a
truly or
[)peals, au
o
1
ili'
l!^
I
I
'|V.
11]
R
El
he
an
mi
brt
hei
utt
leas
rise
StO]
c]eli(
year
one
or tl
ally
CO
of
th
e c
W
exqiii
euien
the 1
iunm
ill tht
the Pi
altar;
We
?reat
awav
JALI8C0.
205
Indian woman who had access to the kitchen of the
imperial household, was commissioned, by certain of the
Rej^ublican leaders, to mix in coffee prepai'ed for the
Empress, poison ground from this deadly root, a few
hours befoi'e she sailed — in apparently perfect health
and reviving hope, not doubting the success of her
mission.
The sad sequel is but too well known ; the heart-
breaking chill and disrespect of her reception at Paris,
her futile efforts elsewhere, and the gradual then swift and
utter over-clouding of her brilliant mind, saving her at
least the pain of the tragedy of Querctaro.
We moved rapidly along in the dawn and lovely sun-
rise till we arrived, at 9.30, at Irapuato, where the train
stopped half an hour for an excellent breakfast with
delicious strawberries (which are here served fresh all the
year round) at the railway restaurant. At these meals
one generally has for vis-a-vis one's railway " conductor,"
or the engine-driver — a decided advantage, as they gener-
ally take their time and save one the trouble and anxiety
of constant rushes to see that the train is not off directly
the ding-dong begins to clang.
We resumed our journey by a branch line, entering the
exquisitely fertile province of Jalisco, through the lovely
omerald-green valley watered by the broad Rio de Lerma,
the longest and most important in Mexico, receiving
iu numerable tributaries dui'ing its progress, from its rise
in the mountains near Toluca, through Lake Chapala, to
the Pacific near San Bias, nowhere navigable, being full of
cataracts and rapids.
We proceed through gently undulating ground, the
great mountains left behind, but to right and left, far
awav delicatelv-blue graceful hills ; 161 miles, scheduled
'II
is
ii » i-ii
r I
J
w s
206
MEXICO,
to be accomplished in eight hours, but something or otlier
happened to the engine and vre wei*e two hours late in
arriving (at 5.30) at the bright and charming and ex-
quisitely fresh and clean City of Guadalajara, the
Mexican Florence, and capital of the state of Jalisco.
The conquest of this beautiful province was effected l)y
the infamous Nufio de Gusmau, president of the first
"Audiencia" — a kind of small senate by which Mexico
was ruled — to the exclusion of the Conquistadores (1528-
1531), and during the existence of which, his rapacity and
barbarous cruelties, including the causeless burning of the
King Caltszonzin in Michiocau, became so notorious tliat.
after suspending him by the second " Audiencia," the
Emperor Charles Y. decided to place the government for
the future in the hands of vicerovs, the first of whom, Dou
Autonio de Mendoza, Conde de Tendilla, governed from
1535 to 1550 with the utmost rectitude and wisdom;
redressing the grievances of the natives, establishiui,'
colleges and hospitals, developing the vast mineral
treasures of the mountains, and, amongst other benefits,
establishing a printing-press in Mexico city, the first in
the New World. During his reign, the great " Protector
of the Indians," Fray Bartholomc de Las Casas, arrived
from Spain, and devoted his zealous energies to fearlessh"
shielding the Mexicans from the cruelty of their conquerors
and redressing their wrongs.
Of the sixty-one Spanish viceroys, from 1550 to 1821,
many highly distinguished themselves by the great ability
and justice with which they governed, protecting the ill-
treated Indians, developing the rich mineral and agri-
cultural resources of the country ; building magnificent
cathedrals and churches, hospitals and convents, establish-
ing colleges and factories, executing great and useful
r other
late in
.ud ex-
•a, the
0.
icted by
he first
Mexico
s (1528-
city and
ig of the
)us that,
cia," the
inent for
lom, Don
aed from
■wisdom ;
ablishiuy;
mineral
benefits,
e first in
Protector
Is, arrived
Ifearlessly
)nquerors
to 1821,
lat ability
the ill-
laid aijri-
ignifieeut
jstablish-
kl useful
M'ADII.-AD-JARA.
207
public works such as roads, canals, and aqueducts ; and
generally extending the commerce and prosperity of this
charming and beautiful country, which, in its actual
prosperous Republican form, certainly has no reason to be
ungrateful for the everywhere-to-be-seen benefits of the
Spanish period of rule.
On arriving at Guadalajara, a corruption of the more
musical Arabic "Wadil-ad-jara" (Stony River), we walked
at once to the lovely " plaza de Armas," in which a military
band was playing ; one side of it filled by the cathedral,
the grand exterior of which, with its lofty and massive
towers and great central golden-tiled dome and many
picturesquely irregular smaller ones, is most original and
beautiful.
It was too late to see the interior, which was closed, so
we walked round examining the beautiful exterior; then
round the plaza with its many fountains and brilliant
flower beds and rows of orange, lemon, and citron trees,
and grand palms and exotic shrubs, listening to the charm-
ing music and watching the promenading citizens, poor
and rich, in their gay and picturesque attire — the air
balmy and warm, redolent of delicious perfume.
We looked into several rich and brilliantly-lighted shops
at the further end of the plaza, passing, on its opposite
side, the huge and handsome block of buildings constitut-
ing the palacio del Gobierno, to our hotel, just round the
corner, the " Gran Humboldt," most comfortable, airy, and
clean ; all the bedrooms on the first floor opening on to
a charming wide cloister-like brick terrace full of flowers
and plants in tubs.
It is entirely open on the four inner sides overlooking
the central patio, which is of course open to the sky, and in
which a fountain of many jets sprinkles and refreshes
'r-r-'-
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208
MEXICO.
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44
great orange and palm trees ; roses and jasmine and flower-
ing creepers twining round and up the supports and balus-
trades of the brick terrace, which is covered with little
round tables gaily decked with flowers, where one takes one's
meals alfresco.
Next morning (November 28th) we breakfasted at six,
and then hastened to the cathedral, the erection of which
was begun in 1561, and, like that of Puebla, occupied a cen-
tury. The interior, although not comparable to that of
Puebla, is exceedingly beautiful, of great height and
expanse, lovely and graceful lines ; the decoration entirely
white and gold respleudently fresh and clean, but. perhajts,
almost too glaringly light, and a little wanting in the mys-
tery and solemnity produced by shadow : more one's idea
of a hall of justice (the original purpose of the "basilica")
than of a church. It consists of an apse and high, lofty
dome and three naves, 256 feet long, and 108 high, the
central of which was originally occupied — as customary in
Spanish churches — by the coro ; but in 1827 the architect
Gutierrez, by permission of the chapter, removed it from
the nave and placed it at the back of the high altar, which
stands under the great central dome, thus leaving the
whole nave fi'ee, and the entire perspective open to view.
An imposing and majestic efl.'ect is produced by thirty
massive columns, of which sixteen are especially grand,
each composed of four huge Doric pillars grouped into one,
but their capitals overhung with beautifully sculptured
palm branches and leaves, giving the impression of a grove
of petrified palm trees.
Most unfortunately these grand and beautiful columns
of fine-grained stone have been painted to imitate marble.
At the upper end of the nave are two fine stained glass
windows from Paris. It seems a pity that their own excel-
CATIIKDUAL.
209
flower-
[ balus-
,h little
:e8 one's
I at six,
,f -whiili
^d a fou-
that of
ght aiul
t entirely
, perba^s,
the mvs-
)ne's itloa
basilica")
ligh. lofty
high, the
itotnary in
architect
A it from
[tar, which
aviug the
Q to "vi^"^-
by thirty
|lly grand,
t\ into one,
icnlptnred
of a grove
[l columns
Ite marble.
lined glas*
)wn excel-
lent artists should be so little employed by the Mexicans.
The high altar stands on a vast platform reached by a wide
flight of steps and balustrades of white marble, handsomely
decorated with gilt bronze ornaments from Milan. The
massive tabernacle, also of white marble, with finely -
wrought doors of gilt bronze surmounted by an elaborately
carved and gilt baldechino. At the four corners stand
magnificent statues of the four Evangelists in white Carrara
marble of Genoese workmanship, behind which the coro
stretches as far as the east end wall, its high panelling and
stalls excpiisitely carved and inlaid with precious woods and
ivory, superb examples of Spanish-Flemish art, recalling,
and almost rivalling, the wonderful wood-carving and
inlaying in the coros of the glorious cathedrals of Burgos
and Toledo, the work of the famous Felipe Vigarui (de
Borgona). Above are four I'ichly-coloured A-indows, and
the great dome is harmoniously painted and gilt. The two
outer naves contain each five capillas gorgeously decorated,
of which the ** Lady-chapel " contains an admii'able coj^y
of the Tamous " Last Supper " by Titian, in the Escorial —
au important portion of which was so barbarously cut off
by order of Philip II., because too large for its destined
position in the refectory of that palatial monastery — in
spite of the tears and remonstrances of the court i)ainter
El Mudo, who had been a favourite pupil of Titian, and
who implored in vain to be allowed to paint, unpaid, a
copy of it, minus the superfluous portion, for the refectory,
in six months, if only the grand original might be saved
eutire, and placed elsewhere.
In a tribune, above the great entrance, is placed a
mai,nnficent and exceedingly melodious organ, expressly
manufactured in 1880 in Paris, at the cost of 60,000
dollars, the only one in Mexico that contains the entire
i|
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210
MKXICO.
series of pedal keys, with a smaller oue for the core, both
richly decorated in white and gold.
The ** Treasure of treasures," however, and looked upon
by the chai)ter of the cathedral, and all Guadalajara, as
" the aj^ple of their eye," is the exquisitely-beautiful
" Assumption " by Murillo, treasured in the grand Sacristia,
where the precious church-plate and superb old vestments
are carefully kept.
It was taken from the Escorial, for which it was origin-
ally painted, and given to tht- cathedral of Guadalajara, by
the King Carlos IV., in gratitude for large sums of money
supplied to him by the chapter during the Napoleonic
invasion of Spain ; and was hiduGw away for ten years ]>y
the chapter during the French invasion of Mexico in 1860
— the French general having offered to buy it for 40,000
dollars, a proposal rejected with indignant scorn by the
worthy canons — Avho fearing, however, lest it should suffer a
repetition of the fate of the beautiful (but not so beautiful)
" Assumption " carried by force from Spain by Marshal
Soult — from whose heirs it was bought by the trustees of
the Louvre — determined to keep it in safe hiding till after
the departure of the rapacious art -grabbers: when it was
brought back in triumph and replaced in the Sacristia of
the cathedral, where it now hangs, magnificently framed,
high up to be well out of reach of possible injury, and care-
fully veiled when not required to be seen.
It is, indeed, a vision passing the beauty of earth ! the
softly tender and subtle colour, radiant yet subdued, the
exquisite white robe, whiter than the driven snoAv, and
floating mantle of deep heavenly blue ; the delicate loveli-
ness of the upturned radiant face, illumined in glory from
above — a saint's and poet's dream, of unimagined grace
and spotless lovely innocence, divinely beautiful ! infant
PALACIO ni:i, GOBDiRNO.
211
, both
. upon
iva, as
lutiful
Ljristia,
tineuts
origiu-
java, by
' uiouey
poleouic
ears by
in I860
:r 40,000
1 by the
1 suffer a
>eautiful)
I Marshal
ustees of
ill after
n it was
cristia of
framed.
and care-
angels floating in the golden clouds, laden with flowers of
Paradise and palm-branches as they rise in the shining
light — an ethereal, wondrous dream, such as only Murilio,
ill moments of ecstasy, has ever been able to depict.
We saw also here marvellous specimens of medioeval
embroidered vestments, in the most perfect state of preser-
vation as to colour and texture. We were here, as at
Piiobla, struck by the extraordinary care taken of every-
thing, the scrupulous and radiant cleanliness, never a speck
of dust to be seen, the candlesticks and ornaments all per-
fectly straight and symmetrically arranged — in short, every-
thing in tbo most perfect order.
The ■vic'^ in the roof of the cathedral, and the roofing
itself, - oite ; it takes many hours to walk all over it
and adm""*e its many brilliantly-tiled domes, its Loml)ardo-
(rothic towers (three times thrown down by earthquakes
and three times rebuilt) nud turrets, and balustrades, and
irrt'L^ular roofing, forming the most artistic and picturesque
assemblage and whole imaginable, with lovely points of
view, and from whicli vou look down on the beautifullv
laid-out city beneath, with its flowery plazas and fragrant
groves and palm trees, and innumerable churches and
hospitals and fine buildings, encircled by lovely green
waves of meadowland fading away into distant graceful
hills of the loveliest and most delicate turquoise-blue.
The magnificent Palacio del Gobierno, occupying one
whole side of the beautiful Plaza de Armas, dates from the
same i)eriod as the cathedral, and is notable for having been
the scene of the first attempt to form an independent
government by Hidalgo, the " patriot-priest," in 1810, and
whence he sallied forth, in January, 1811, at the head
of 100,000 men in the hope of destroying the royalists
under Calleja — by whom, however, lie was defeated, and
6
>'
1^
212
MK-MCO.
foroecl to fly to Zaeatcras, and thtMiee retreating nortliwanl,
was taken prisoner throuj,'ii the treachery of one of his
chiefs, and, with several of his adherents, shot at Chihuahiui
the foHowing Jniy.
This pahu'io was also the scene of the imprisonment, in
1858, and condemnation to death of Don Benito Juarez,
when he and several of his generals were being nnirched
into the square to he shot, at the very moment of the
opportune arrival of General Landa, which saved them
from death, and enabled Juarez to finally establish the
Republic, of which he became the first ju'esideut in 18(^1,
retaining that dignity till his death in 1872.
Guadalajara contains several exceedingly fine churches,
among which San Jose is pre-eminent in magnificence
of decoration and gilding. Its situation, too, is most
charming, presiding, as it were, over the loveliest of plazas,
niany-fountained and gorgeous with flowers and fragrant
groves.
San Francisco is another interesting and much de-
eorated church, attended almost entirely by Indios, for
whom the services are 8i:)ecially adapt(cl. Its exterior is
exceedingly grand and imposing, with two magnificent
towers. Foremost among the jiublic buildings is the
Teatro degollado, said to be the finest and largest theatre
in all Mexico.
213
CHAPTER XVIII.
( Jiiadalajara— Juanacatlan— Harranca — Hospital de San Belen
— HoHpicio— San Pedro Tlaquepatiiie — Tanipico — Eagle Pass.
IN the early afternoon we went by train about half an
hour's distance to El Castillo, where a little branch-
line, for electric cars, runs to the famous falls of Juant«-
catlau, the Nia^nira of Mexico, formed by the great Rio
de Lerma after it has received the waters of many tribu-
taries, and has passed throuo;h and emerged from the great
Lake Chapala.
An enormous flour-mill that looks half fortress, half
monastery, stands on the left bank of the Rio just below
tht' falls, and several terraces at different heights, well
protected by brick balustrades, have been added for the
convenience of sightseers, from which the falls can be seen
at ditt'erent angles and points of view.
The scene is oue of the extremest beauty. First there
is the intoxicating environment of tropical sunshine, gild-
iw'j;, warming, and illuminating. Above the falls the
broad river calmly glides, dotted with little islands bril-
liantly verdant with sugar-canes and tobacco, through
sweet and flowerv meadow-land rising on one side into
gently luidulating hills veiled and shadowed in loveliest
blue mist, till it reaches in its tranquil flow a rocky, abso-
lutely j)erpendicular descent of 70 feet, over which its huge
and miglitv volume of greeny- vellowv sheenv water seems
i
hi
mi
'■ r-
^\
214
MEXICO.
to fall with perfectly calm nonchalance in oue thick creaiuv,
golden-browuy sunlit mass, 600 feet wide.
Only as it touches the depths of the abyss does it seem
to develop energy. It then gives forth a sound as of
thunder, and great clouds of snowy spray rise in all di-
rections, drenching the spectator, and, to more purpose,
the great masses of rock on the further side, on which
grows an indescribably lovely, soft, golden-green velvety
moss, bathed in this perpetual warm vapour of water, of
so dazzling a tint of emerald that no art can give the
slightest idea of it, in addition to which it is every moment
lighted and re-lighted by the evanescent but continually
recurring iridescence of the most exquisite series of raiu-
bows in the glowing afternoon sun.
I stayed in this enchanting spot the whole afternoou ;
the other visitors returned to Guadalajara, and G. went
for a walk up the river, whilst I remained sketching,
as well as the drenching spray would allow, from the
lowest terrace, quite at the foot of the falls, when suddenly
down came a huge brick within an inch of me and my
sketch, from the top wall of the mill. I jumped up, and
just caught sight of a boy in the act of throwing another.
So I flew up the steps to the upper terrace, to complain to
the miller, whom I found lazily standing in his jjicturescjue
huge sombrero, talking to an Indian on a burro (donkey).
He listened most politely, and said of course it was only
an accident, but he would go and look after the boy ; so I
began another sketch from the upper terrace, thinking it
as well to be out of the boy's reach. Biit whether it was
pure mischief, as in Greece, and even many parts of Spain,
where the boys invariably throw stones at you for fun, or
whether he had designs on the senora estraujcra's purse,
remains a mystery.
' v*
JLANACATL.VN.
215
Anyhow, I saw no more of him, and went on painting
till sunset, when G-. returned, and the electric car arrived
for its last trip that day, and we mounted into it. only
just in time to escape a tremendous thunder-storm, which
showed us how it can rain in the tropics. The thunder
never ceased reverberating, but with an absence of the
sudden, violent, startling claps to which we are accustomed
in England ; the lightning incredibly vivid and brilliant,
the forked and sheet flashes absolutely incessant. Bv time
we had reached Castillo the rain had ceased, but the mag-
nificent albeit terrific lightning continued far into the night.
Next morning (November 29th) we started at seven by
tram for a long day in the country, and in about an hour
arrived at a pictui*esque little village where we found
biu'ros and a guide waiting to take us to the famous
Barranca. My burro was a pretty little animal, but the
riding-gear the ve^ ," acme of discomfort. It consisted
of a sort of hard pillion, with two crossed sticks in front
to hold on by — an aggravation of Grreek experience — and
a rope round the neck of the burro wherewith to guide
him, which one could only do by half throttling him. The
guide was a picturesque native who spoke a little Spanish,
hut so mixed np with Mexican patois that we could only
converse with difficulty.
We started in delicious suusnine, as usual through
lovely green meadows, on to soon wilder ground, dotted
with many arom; tic shrubs, and carpets of flowers, on to a
moorland towards graceful blue hills, till ^e I'eached the
head of the Barranca, when we began to descend steep
iiud stony paths, winding into the loveliest ravine, down
the centre of which a babbling brook danced in snowy
cascades. As we descended, more and more tropical
became the vegetation ; palms, bananas, orange and lemon
n
; ■
\
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IL
i
216
MEXICO.
i
trees, plantains, sugar-canes, coffee and mango trees — in
short, we found ourselves once more in delicious "tierra
caliente." The heat increased as we descended and the
day advanced, but much of the path is shaded by ex-
uberant vegetation and magnificent trees, and cooled by
clear bubbling springs, which, before long, had fed the
brook into a fussy little river, tumbling its crystal waters
from rock to rock, till at last it sank to rest in a shining
lake below — surrounded by plantations of the exquisite
light-green sugar-cane, and the rich deep-green of coffee-
its blue wavelets reflecting the lovely sky.
Here was a valley full of enchanting tropical trees and
shrubs, and on one side a charming hacienda with a flowery
garden, from which oranges, sweet -limes, mangoes, and
delicious figs were produced for our delectation.
After reposing ourselves and burros for some time in
the noontide heat under the delightful shade, and wander-
ing among the magnificent trees nud divine vegetation, we
retraced our steps up the zig zag ]>ath in the lengthenini;^
shadows of the late afternoon ; suddenly, at one of the
sharp turns, stumbling nearly on to the top of an enormo'is
rattle-snake coiled up in a sunny corner of the i)ath. We
ha]>pened to be walking at the moment to rest the burros,
and needless to say how, with one bound and shriek, we
fled out of the way of the hideous rei^tile ! The guide,
leading the burros, gave himself up for lost, but got round
the corner safely.
The sun had set before we reached the end of our
delightful expedition at the village, where we were quite
sorry to take leave of our good little sure-footed burros
and the picturesque guide, and after being refreshed tit
the little "fonda" with a small half-glass of "mescal"
(distilled like "pulque" from the agave), which the inn-
HOSPITAL
217
keeper assured it was our duty to taste once at least, and
which we found not at all bad — very strong, and exceed-
ingly and agreeably reviving after the considerable fatigues
of the day ; we re-entered the tram, and returned to the
city, in time, after a hasty supjier, to hear the band play,
and rummage the boolcsho]>s in the lovely Plaza de las
Armas.
We were assured that it was de riguenr to see the cele-
brated Guadalupe church, seven or eight miles distant ;
so next morning the early dawn saw us seated, breakfast-
less, at 6 a.m., in an electric car, shivering with cold, till
the sun had risen sufficiently to warm the atmosphere,
when it became at once deliciously hot.
On arriving we found a broad expanse of enclosure
covered with beautiful green turf, surrounded by massive
iron and gilt railings and handsome gateways, the great
church rising in the centre. It is imposing from its size,
and has two lofty and handsome towers, and a fine yellow-
tiled dome ; but the interior is disappointing, and only
remarkaVde, as are all the churches in Mexico, for its
extraordinary cleanliness, and the freshness of its gilding
and decoration, and the extreme order in which everything
is kept.
We returned by the same tram-car to the city, and
after a welcome breakfast at the Gran Humboldt, hurried
out to visit the magnificent Hospital de San Bck'n,
built in the latter half of the eighteenth century by the
saintly and admii'able Bishop of Guadalajara, Fray Antonio
Alcalde, to whom so many of the great institutions of this
citv. both of charitv and education are due, including the
university and numerous colleges for all classes, tlie mag-
nificent public library, and many churches, notably that of
Guadalupe.
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218
MEXICO.
The hospital is gigantic in size, and stands i .ost impos-
ingly on elevated ground in one of the finest suburbs — a
huge, as it were, castellated mass of towers and turrets
and domes — eccentric, but picturesque.
Its dedication is inscribed over the great door of the
chief entrance : " Fray Antonio Alcalde a la humanidad
doliente."
The various departments radiate from an immense
rotondo in the centre of the buildings, in every corner of
which you come upon patios, of various sizes, all full of
exquisite flowers and palms, orange, lemon, and citron
trees and fountains, making delightful and healthful vistas
for the sick dwellers.
The corridors leading to the various departments, the
men occupying one side, and the women and children the
other, are of lofty height and great breadth ; and the
dormitories and sitting-rooms for the sick, containing
accommodation for 800, are of equally large dimensions,
with high aii'l wide airy windows, everywhere letting in
light and sunshine.
One large patio is devoted to the vegetables and medi-
cinal herbs and plants required for this huge establish-
ment, in which there is a chemical laboratory in which all
the medicines are fabricated and compounded.
Also a spacious f mphitheatre for surgical cases, and a
numerous staff of physicians and surgeons.
Everything is radiant with cleanliness and order, and
the poor sink people, with many of whom I conversed,
seemed to highly appreciate the comforts of this admirable
institution. The kitchen department, in Avhich great
numbers of cooks and scullions are employed, is of great
size and convenience. «
There is a church attached and an observatory above,
HOSPICIO.
219
furnished with excellent telescopes and all the latest
scientific instruments, from which a splendid view is to be
had. At a further end quite apart, and entirely divided
iuid separate from the sick people, is a department for
lunatics, with a larj^e sunny patio full of fruits and flowers
and trees, in which they seemed to disport themselves
(piite happily, looked after, apparently, in their patio,
where we saw them, by the smer amon<^ themselves ; but,
I j>resume, the keepers occasionally look in. The more
(dangerous lunatics are phiced in a separate department,
aud are quite out of sight and hearing of the c^uiet mono-
maniacs and other harmless cases, with several of whom I
spoke quite pleasantly.
It takes hours to see the whole, and we were most kindly
taken over it all by one of the principal officials. It is
impossible to imagine any better conducted or more orderly
establishment; and the sunny and chai'ming patios, with
their fountains and flowers and sweet-scented groves, must
lie a great sanitary help, as well as source of cheerfulness
to the patients.
After leaving the hospital we proceeded by tram to
another gigantic building, exceedingly handsome archi-
tecturally, begun in 1803 by Gutierrez, aud completed in
18-10 by Manuel Gromez Ibarra, both distinguished Mexican
architects, pai'ticulariy the latter.
In this enormous hospicio, the cost of which was de-
frayed by Bishop de Cabaiias, are sheltered, in various
departments, all admirably arranged and kept in the most
perfect order and cleanliness, orphans to the uumoer of
l.O'M), incurables, foundlings, and disabled and aged
poor.
A-lmost at the entrance is i lovely patio, full of exquisite
trees and aromatic shrubs, fountains, and great beds of
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220
MKXICO.
brilliaut flowers, on oue side of which stands the church of
the hospicio, of exquisite architecture, crowned by tlie
most graceful of cupohis. The centre of the edifice is
occupied by an ideal patio, full of the rarest and most
exquisite flowers and trees, refreshed by the loveliest
fountain. This is the largest and most beautiful of the
twenty-three patios which intersect, with sunshine and
delicious flowery shade and songs of birds, the various
portions of this enormous building.
The interior of the church, lighted by its graceful dome,
is exceedingly beautiful and radiant with decoration and
gilding.
Some of the apartments are of gigantic dimensions.
One is full of musical instruments, including a very fine
grand pianoforte ; another is furnished with globes and
maps and scientific instruments, testifying to the advancfcl
education given to these poor children ; a third is set apart
for drawing and ]>aintiug, even photography is taught,
and lithography, mathematics, French, and English, in
addition to various useful arts and trades — a curriculum
not to be surpassed by even a London School Board !
Daily lessons are also given in household work and
economy, and in cookery in an immense kitchen furnislicil
with all modern appliances, procured from tlie United
States.
As one walks through the streets of this beautiful city,
nothing is more striking than the love of flowers disi)layed
by the dwellers. Every window and balcony is a garden,
and you see, through the usually wide open door, the
invariable "patio," the centre of every house, howe\er
humble, which, whether little or big, proudly displays its
glossy and carefully tended orange and lemon -tree, :nnl
palm and brilliaut flowers. In the better class of houses
Mi!
SAN LriS-POTOSI,
221
these trees and Howers stand in great vases or pots of the
litautiful ware of San Pedro, with always a marble basin,
from which rises a clear sj)arliliug fountain.
There is a Imge penitentiary or prison at one end of the
citv, which is said to be admirably conducted, but time
failed to go over it.
At a distance of five miles is the little town of San Pedro
Tla(|ue]>aqne, where the pottery and terra-cotta works, for
which Guadalajara is famous, are carried on, the neigh-
bourhood abounding in clays of the finest description.
Towards evening, with great regret, we left this charm-
ing and fascinating city for Irajiuato, the " strawberry
station," where we ate strawberries and changed trains ;
and travelling through the night, found ourselves at San
Luis-Potosi in time to have a good breakfast at the
station restaurant, before leaving by the (3.30 a.m. train to
Tainpico.
The beauty of the whole of this journey to Tampico is
so indescribably glorious, that it seems to defy descrijition,
and is, at the same time, absolutely unique and entirely
different from every other part of Mexico.
No stranger should omit this wonderful experience.
From San Luis-Potosi, which stands in a fertile valley
().118 feet above the sea, surrounded by mountains teem-
iuji; with richest mineral treasure, the line descends by
natiu'al terraces, over canons and rushing streams, to the
grand valley of San Ysidro — the mountain sides clothed
with dense forest dazzlingly green. At Cardenas, at
noon, the train stops twenty minutes for the despatch of
luncheon at the excellent railway restaurant, and then pro-
ceeds, abruptly descending into a lovely valley, from which
!t enters the magnificent canon of Tamasopo, through
which the train creepingly descends, at a foot's pace, along
i
I
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III m
m
222
MEXICO.
a mere shelf in the side of the perpendicuhir mouutuin.
overhanging — with, as it were, nothing between — a deep-
down terrific precipice, in the depths of which may be dis-
cerned the silvery river bordered with richest tropic vege-
tation.
At the end of the caiion — reached after marvellous
engineering ronnd frightful curves in the rocky ledge, and
through several short tunnels, you emerge into a valley so
entrancingly beautiful that words fail to describe it !
It is surrounded by superb mountains — no snow rests on
them, but the rich, dense, gloriously- green tropical vegeta-
tion covers them, altogether and absolutely, to their very
summits. It is a miracle of green beauty ; the whole valky
is equally, densely, emerald-green, except where a few clear-
ances have been made for plantations of sugar-cane, pine-
ap])les, or coffee shrubs — for here we are again in "tierra
caliente " — and the track runs through one exquisite
tangled mass of flowers and cree])ing, gorgeous orchids,
beggaring description ; where the dainty humming-bird,
with its tiuv feathers of coloured fire, and flving insects
of brilliant hues, dart in and out like ravs of sunshine!
Here is to be seen, in absolute perfection, the bamboo. It
grows to an immeasurable height, in glorious waving
masses, of a delicacy and a grace and beauty of tender
foliage simply indescribable ! Many are the varieties of
grand palm and giant trees overhung with gorgeous
flowers, but these infinitely and exquisitely graceful and
su])erb bamboos are sights never to be forgotten.
Breathless with delight, on we speed, till the train again
stops twenty minutes at Eascon for dinner, cbout midday;
after which we enter another caiion — Abra de Caballeros
— through and down which we, happily, creep to El Salto
del Abra, where the scene is i)erfectly divine.
TAMPICO.
223
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midday :
tJaballeros
El Salto
The same densely-green, forest-crowned mountains sur-
round us — one fairy-like, emerald-green mass of exquisite
foliage, through which the crystal-green water of the
Abra rushes, at El Salto falling and plunging in a series
of cascades 300 feet high, in thick masses of radiantly
white, as it were, flakes of snow ! dee]) pools between each
leap, indescribable effects of ])ure, transparent emerald and
turquoise ! Anything more transcendently and perfectly
beautiful could not be dreamed.
Then comes the Boca del Abra (mouth of the moun-
tain creek), where the river disappears in a tangled mass
of gorgeous vegetation, to find its way into the broad plain,
ahuost equally emerald, of which we now come into sight,
stretching far away beyond the immense masses of vivid-
green forest — from above wliicli we overlook it — to a
sliining streak of sparkling silver in the far horizon, where
lie the bright waters of the Gulf in which the Abra finds
its rest.
A sublimely glorious sight ! On Ave pass, through the
primeval forest, till night, alas ! comes on, and lambent
mists, sucked up by the torrid sun and now let loose,
spread in vapoury clouds, and rest, like ghostly shrouds, on
the mighty trees, and the moon rises in silver glory.
Not till 9.30 do we reach Tampico, on the wide river
Panuco, rising between river and lake, the sea seven miles
distant, but the river so deep and broad that the ships sail
ui> to its quays, and its ]xirts and docks are crammed with
steamboats and merchandise ; and many lines of steamers
make communication with New York, New Orleans, Cuba,
and various ports in Europe.
Here we are again, as at Vera Cruz, in the lowest zone of
"tierra caliente," and the heat is great. A nice little
comfortable clean inn, where, after wandering in the moon-
224
Mi:xico.
I' !
M
lils'ht, we 8i»eiul the short remainder of the ni^ht, brilliant
fireflies darting amid the densely- foliaged trees, and eloiids
of mos(iuitoe8, which, however, we keep at bay with the
afore-mentioned " anti-mosquito soap."
Up again at 4 a.m. to see what we can of the town,
which contains some j^icturesque buildings and churches,
and a very charming plaza shaded by huge and most
lovelv trees, and full of flowers and fountains.
We breakfasted at 5.30 at the little restaurant near our
Fonda, where you only lodge, and then walked on the
quay by the broad river Panuco, into which a tributary
runs close by the town. The stone quays are very hand-
some, and many are the ships, and steamers, and pleasure-
boats. '
The broad lake gleams beyond, amidst gorgeous vegeta-
tion, and as we puffed away, some time after six, a glorious
sunrise and cloudless sky reflected in the glassy waters of
placid lake and river, we grieved at leaving so soon this
dreamy alluring spot.
We now saw what it was too dark to more than guess at
last night — tlie smiling plain through which we sped ; before
long rising again into primeval forest, teeming with giant
trees of the most gloi'ious beauty, the boundless sunny plain
beneath, deeper and deeper into forest ; trees upon trees,
far as the eye can reach, a mine of gold in wood ! Moun-
tains clothed to their very tops, miles upon miles of inter-
minable flower-clothed, endless groves of untold value !
And the glorious bamboo groups, and matted flowery
undergrowth, under which many a gruesome creature
doubtless lurked. On, midst all these glories. Again,
the glittering wonders of the beautiful Salto del Abra,
»-,Miere there are also cavernous grottoes of green limjiiJ
water covering strange growths and shapes, deep in the
TO ea(;lk pass.
225
mountain side, hidden by giant trees, and of course unseen
from the train.
On, through the scenes which had so entranced us
yesterday, which, seen the reverse way, appeared, if pos-
sil)le, even more magnificently grand and beautiful ; the
lUiirvellous, dazzling verdure glistening like a fairyland.
After a day of utterest delight and joy in memory for
ever, we found ourselves once more high u\) in the uu)un-
taius in " tierra fria " long after sunset, at San Luis-Potosi,
where an excellent dinner awaited us at the railway
restaurant. On, in the semi-darkness of moonlight to
Ciiicalote, where, at midnight, we changed trains and lines,
going on immediately to Pacheca, where the train stopped
for an early and very good breakfast. Then on again,
through fine and fertile country between grand chains of
Sierras ; next, for a short space, through sandy, dusty
lands, more or less arid, the vegetation consisting of yuccas
and enormous cacti of startling shapes, very subject to
gales and violent sandstorms and sand-spouts exactly
resembling water-spouts ; fine peaked mountains in the
distance, till we reached Torreon at 2.30 p.m., where we
left the Mexican Central, and after dining at the excel-
lent railway restaurant, proceeded north-eastward by the
Mexican International, and could have wept to think that
we were, alas ! speeding away out of lovely, romantic,
fascinating Mexico !
Ai/ de mi ! as the soft Spanish sighs.
The line gradually descended froui i.ae high Mexican
tablelands and ran through admirably cultivated plains
till darkness overshronded the scene.
All night we sped along, early dawn revealing fertile,
highly cultivated country, alternating with stretches
covered with indigenous sub-tropical vegetation, with occa-
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MEXICO.
sional ranches and herds of cattle and horses ; and crossing
over the fine Eio Grande, which forms the boundary
between the two Republics, by the usual kind of unprotected
iron bridge, 310 yards long, we arrived at Eagle Pass, on
its American bank, where we stopped at the customs for
examination of baggage.
This satisfactorily over, we continued our journey into
Texas, realizing by many signs that we were once more in
Yankeeland !
On, through perfectly flat stretches of prairie and more
or less cultivated plain, arriving at noon (December 4th)
at San Antonio, where we spent the remainder of the day.
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227
CHAPTER XIX.
San Antonio — Florida — Jacksonville — Pablo Beach — St. Augus-
tine— Fort Marion.
THE Americans are very proud of the city of San
Antonio, as being one of their oldest, dating from
about 1690, when it was built by the Spaniards : Texas at
that period having belonged to Mexico, under the rule of
Spain.
It still retains many of its Spanish features— -the plaza, de
Alamo being surrounded by the principal buildings,
amongst which the Spanish fortress-church of the Alamo
is the great point of interest. In 1836 lihis fortified church
was besieged l»y the Mexicans under General Santa Anna,
Texas having declared for independence ; and after twelve
days of gallant resistance was carried by assault, and the
whole of the little American garrison of 165 men, under
Crockett, ruthlessly slaughtered. " Remember Alamo "
became the American cry — fully avenged during the
Mexican War.
The plaza is adorned with fine groves of Alamo trees
(cotton- wood), an opera house and the Federal Building.
The San Antonio river winds in and out through the city,
and the Plaza de las Yslas is prettily decorated with groves
of orange trees, and the Plaza de Armas contains a fine
city hall, and the cathedral, of somewhat imposing exterior
but very poor interior.
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228
UNITED STATES.
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The climate is thought to be exceedingly agreeable and
equable, and much recommended for consLniptives. Tliere
are pleasant drives in various directions outside the town,
especially those leading to the interesting old (for U.S.A.
i.e. dating from about 1731) Spanish "missions," two or
three of which are extremely picturesque, mostly built of
adobe, and in the usual solid castellated style with hand-
some cloisters, planted round with beautiful groves of
trees and gardens.
It was a lovely day, and very pleasant wandering among
these Spanish memories, and the extensive parks and the
green banks of the lazily-flowing river, and then to a more
distant moorland where, we wei'e told, we should find a
lovely lake, which, after a long, long walk, turned out to
be a very tiny one — a mere pond, in fact — but the whole
scene pretty in the sunset rays.
Returning to the town we had supper at a good hotel in
the Plaza de Alamo, after which we returned to the
" depot," as it must now be called, and started at 9 p.m.
for New Orleans, which we reached the following evening
at 9 p.m., after a twenty-four hours' journey, via Houston,
through perfectly flat, fertile, grazing, and cultivated
country. Not far from San Antonio lies the gigantic
ranch belonging to Mrs. King, occupying 700,000 acres
of magnificent grazing land (more than 1,000 square
miles) stocked with more than 100,000 cattle and horses.
This is the biggest ranch owned by one person in all
the States, and the proprietress superintends it entirely
herself.
It had been dark for some time before we reached New
Orleans, so we went straight to the hotel, the " St. Charles,"
from the roof of which is a splendid view of the city and
the windings of the mighty Mississippi, with its thick and
NEW ORLEANS.
229
muddy waters, due to its junction with the turbid Missouri,
not far from St. Louis, and next morning (December 6th)
were ready to start at 5 a.m. to see as much of the city as
possible duriug the few hours of our stay. Many of the
streets are broad and well shaded with beautiful trees, and
many lovely lemon and orange groves and gardens full of
bright flowers adorn the squares. The Cathedral of St.
Louis is imposing, and many of the public and other
buildings are handsome, but the city did not strike us as
an agreeable or healthy place to live in, most of it standing
below the level of the river at high water, and having to
be protected by an embankment fourteen feet high and
fifteen wide, which does not always prevent its being nearly
swamped.
It is curious to think of this city and the whole State of
Louisiana, at that time of such gigantic extent — now
divided into twelve great states and territories — sold to
the United States by Napoleon I., in 1803, for fifteen
million dollars !
One quarter of the city remains entirely French, and
1 rides itself on the great beauty and grace of its fair Creole
inhabitants. A certain amount of dark Spanish beauty is
also to be seen, but the painful negro race predominates
over these and other European settlers.
There are no parks to speak of, but the cemeteries are
exceedingly fine and extensive, full of handsome monuments
shaded by huge and magnificent magnolias and live oaks,
and grand avenues of venerable cypresses with their hoary
covering of gray Spanish moss.
At 11.30 a.m. we resumed our journey, beginning with a
mauvaAs quart -d'heure crossing, on the usual trestle- bridge
without protection, over a broad " mouth " of the Missis-
sippi. The track runs refreshingly and delightfully close
230
UNITED STATES.
>>?!!?-,';#
to the blue waters of the Gulf (of Mexico) dotted here
with many pretty little islands, passing through a small
piece of the State of Alabama to Pensacola (Florida) with
a fine harbour, just after passing which we had a truly
awful experience, crossing over Escambia Bay on a terribly
high unprotected trestle -bridge three miles long ! which
gave one the creeps ; and soon after, another, almost as
long, over the Appalachicola river, the Appalachicola
depot being likewise raised bodily on high trestles above
the river.
On for hours, through absolutely flat but richly fertile
and well cultivated cotton land, till darkness supervened,
and the long cars became so crowded and disagreeable that
I changed into the abhorred " sleeper," in which for once
and only once I was able to persuade the conductor and
negro porter to allow me to sit up all night in my com-
partment, instead of having it made up into a bed and the
upper berth pulled down over it.
We travelled all through the night and, unluckily,
during the darkness, passed Tallahassee, the capital of
Florida, which is said to be charmingly situated on a hill
280 feet high — the only hill in Florida that can be called
such — embowered in beautiful groves and gardens.
As soon as it was light we found ourselves speeding
through flat country presenting the features mostly found
in Florida, i.e., more or less dense and fine forests of pine
and fir, sprinkled with wild orange and fig trees, and
luxuriant undergrowth of brilliantly-green palmetto ; here
and there clearings for settlers, and ranches planted with
orange groves one mass of golden fruit, and many other
varieties of fruit trees.
At 8 a.m. (December 7th) we reached Jacksonville, the
most important city, commercially, of Florida, large and
PABl-0 BEACH.
281
,('.;
•well built, wide streets and squares, beautifully shaded
with orange and other trees.
After hurriedly breakfasting at a restaurant, G. went on
by train to St. Augustine, whilst I hurried down to the
ferry-boat across the wide Matanza river — starting on its
further side at once, by the Jacksonville and Atlantic
railroad, to Pablo Beach — one of the most charming sea-
side nooks I know. The train runs across the island,
through seventeen miles of the sunniest and most de-
lightful forest of tall pines, with a luxuriant undergrowth
of palmetto and wild fruit trees, cleared at rare intervals
for plantations of orange, lemon, fig, and pomegranate —
wild roses and flowering creepers abounding.
Within a mile or two of tlie sea the forest has been
cleared, but the dense and brilliantly-green mass of
palmetto still decks the open space, though which the train
runs to the very edge of th3 moderate cliff overhanging
the sparkling blue Atlantic ocean, with magnificent sands,
ideal for bathing, stretching away to right and left into
far distance.
These sands are delightful for walking, riding, or
driving — the heaviest wagon makes no mark — and many
are the delicate and lovely shells to be found. The cliff's
ai*e of richly-coloured yellow, pink, and red sandstone,
crowned with the vividly-green palmetto.
I thought it an enchanting spot — at any rate for one
day — and more than one day it is, at present, impossible
to spend there ; for no sooner rises, with American quick-
ness, a fine hotel, than comes the iricendiarv and burns it
down. Two hotels which I was told were worthy to com-
pare with the best had been burnt, one after another,
within the previous year ; and so surely does this happen,
not only here but in many other resorts, that the insurance
1 ', '
232
UNITED STATES.
companies, in places where for some reason new hotels
seem not to be desired, decline any longer to effect insur-
ance, the fire-doom being next to a certainty.
Many of the well-to-do of Jacksonville have charming
villas here, built (as is often the case in America) several
feet above the ground, resting on short square pillars of
brick or stone, the air circulating freely beneath — a good
way of keeping houses dry.
The villas themselves are mostly of wood with wide
verandas covered with gay creepers and plants in pots,
roses twining round the supporting pillars. These flowery
verandas are all over Florida the great ornament of the
houses, and are furnished with comfortable rocking-chairs,
much used by the dwellers.
I spent a long delightful day here wandering about
revelling in sunshine, and had an excellent tea at a charm-
ing little cottage, one mass of creepers and flowers, close
to the sea, to which day ""isitors were directed ; after
which, late la xik,' afternoon, the train returned to the
ferry, where I wandered about for some time amidst
charming villas and gardens and orange groves of great
size, grand pines and giant cypresses with their drapery of
Spanish moss, before re-crossing the ferry into Jackson-
ville ; whence at 8 p.m. I started by train for St. Augustine,
arriving at 10 p.m., and joined G. at the Cordoba
Hotel, in the grand plaza, which is beautifully laid out
with lawns, fountains, and palms, orange and lemon trees,
and beds of dazzling flowers ; one whole side occupied by
the huge and magnificent hotel " Ponce de Leon," and
another by the almost equally splendid " Alcazar " —
neither of these yet open for the winter — and other fine
buildings and villas embowered in flowers and gardens.
In short, nothing of its kind could be finer or more gay
^fr
Ty
>;•>
FLORIDA.
288
than this plaza, brilliant electric light and an exquisite
moon shining upon its fountains and rich vegetation, and
still more lovely next morning in brilliant suushine and
radiant blue sky. The " Cordoba," too, is excellent and
very handsome.
We breakfasted at G.30 and then walked into the plaza
and beyond it to Fort Marion, fine and extensive fortifica-
tions, guarded from inroad of water by j* strong sea-wall,
the whole built of "coquina" — a curious stone found in
quarries on the beach, consisting entirely of miuute
portions of shells crushed into one solid mass — fronting
the sparkling narrow arm of sea which divides the main-
land from the wooded island of Anastasia.
The view from the high ramparts of Fort Marion (which
took a century to build, and was begun by the Spaniards in
1656) is very pleasing. "We were shown over the fort by
a charming old soldier who, in his own person, constitutes
the entire garrison, and who had seen much service, and
had written an excellent little abridged history of Florida
entitled " Ponce de Leon land " in remembrance of the ill-
fated discoverer of this flowery land, who — seven years
before Cortes set foot in Mexico — in the loveliness of its
flowery spring tide, landed here on April 3rd, 1512, that
day being Easter Sunday — in Spanish the feast of " Pascua
Florida" — to commemorate which he gave the land the
name of Florida.
He was a Spanish cavalier of great note and fame but
stricken in years — by reason of which his beautiful and
youthful betrothed in Spain refused to become his bride
till ho should present himself before her made young
again ; and there being in those days current a wide-
spread legend of a distant land beyond seas in which,
deep in forest shade, lay a " fountain of eternal spring,"
.V *
284
UNITED SIATES.
r
bathing in which, the most aged would at once renew his
youth — on this quest he sailed and touched at many points
of Hispaniola and Cuba, seeking in vain the fabled fount-
ain ; and putting to sea again came upon this unknown,
fragrant flowery land. In vain he tried the waters of every
ei)ring he came to, and on a second voyage, to make a further
search, was attacked by Indians, and being wounded was
carried to Cuba and there expiri^<3.
Since his time this smiling land has been the theatre of
almost perpetual war and massacre.
In 1528 Panfilio Narvaez took formal possession in the
name of Spain, and soon after, being blown out to sea
whilst in a small boat and never more heard of, his
followers were attacked by Indians, and with difficulty
made their way to the newly conquered Spanish settle-
ments in Mexico.
The renowned De Soto in 1537 tried in vain to effect a
settlement ; and next came a colony of French Huguenots
in 1564 under Eibaut and Laudonniere, who settled
on the S. John's river, but were eventually ruthlessly
massacred and their settlement destroyed by the Spanish
Adelantado, Mcnendez, sent by Philip II, to rescue his
dominion out of the hands of heretics (although at the
time at peace with the French king, Charles IX.). A
retaliatory massacre of Spaniards by a French armament
fitted out privately by De Gourges followed ; and in 1586
Sir Francis Drake, returning from South America, landed
on Anastasia Island, and finding the fort of St. Augustine
on the opposite mainland deserted — during a temporary
absence of Menendez who had newly built it — took pes-
session of .£2,000 left in the treasury chest, and after
burning the adjacent houses to avenge the death of one of
his men, sailed away.
'^-u
ST. AUGUSTINE.
235
St. Augustiue was rebuilt by Mcuendei,, who also estab-
lished missions in many parts of Florida, most of which
were destroyed by the Indians; succeeding missionaries,
however, making many converts among them.
After innumerable vicissitudes, in which the English and
French played the most important part — during the course
of which Florida was ceded to England (in 1763), and
restored by her to Spain (1783) — the Spanish standard at
Fort Marion was finally lowered to make place for that of
the Stars and Stripes, in 1821. Since which, till quite recent
years, the chronicles of Florida record one succession of
murders, desultory fighting, and massacres by the Seminole
and Apache Indians, in which the valiant chiefs, Osceola
and " Wild Cat " played a prominent part. As late as
1886, sevonty-six of the latest Indian captives were im-
prisoned in Fort Marion, where Serjeant Brown, who had
been in charge of them, says they behaved on the whole
very well, and were eventually released and sent out of
Florida into northern states.
The Museum, and other sights of St. Augustine, we
postponed till after our return, having decided to start at
ouce on a tour through Florida.
So we left our heavy baggage at the " Cordoba " and
hastened to the station to catch the 11.30 a.m. train
southward.
236
CHAPTER XX.
Florida — Indian River— Lake Worth — "Winter Park—Tauipa
Bay — St. Petersburj^h — Tarpon Springs — Silver Springs — Okla-
•Nvaha iiiver — Palatka.
AT first the line turns inland, as far as Palatka, on the
S. John's river, then outward again till it touches
the coast at Ormoud — a very attractive sea resort. The
aspect of the country is everywhere much the same. Pine
forests, with occasional clearings for ranches surrounded by
orange plantations, a soil of silvery, very fine white sand,
densely covered with palmetto and wild orange trees. It
is bright and pretty, but after a time becomes a little mono-
tonous, except in the richer districts, where you simply
revel in gorgeous fruit-land, and fancy yourself transported
into the golden garden of the Ilesperides.
At Ormond begins the Indian River, so called, which
is really not a river at nil, but merely a still, motionless, salt-
water lagoon, lying parallel with the ocean, with which it
is connected by one or two narrow inlets, and from which
it is divided by a nf tow strip of land, for a distance of
218 miles, its breadth varying from about 100 yards to
6 miles.
It is a dreamy, sheeny expanse of oily water, taking
beautiful reflections of exquisite shades of blue ; and its
banks are mostly clothed with rich vegetation — grand
palms and magnolias, giant yuccas, fig trees, vines, and
INDIAN RIVER.
237
vast groves of orange trees, one glowing mass of golden,
delicious i'riiit. In some parts, forests of grand pine, and
huge cypresses overhung with their usual drapery of
Spanish moss ; with dense undergrowth of palmetto, con-
cealing under its bright green foliage savages, such as wild
cats of hideous strength and ferocity, scorjnons, " rattle "
and innumerable other venomous snakes, and giant centi-
pedes horrible to behold and deadly to feel, which every-
where abound in the wilder parts, where pumas and bears
may occasionally be also seen. Nowhere are more deadly
reptiles and insects found than in this bland and smiling
Florida.
From Orniond the train runs the whole way close to
the edge of the flat western shore of the river, passing
many prosperous little towns ; the oily water taking ex-
quisite tints of rose and scarlet as the sun sank low — its
setting followed by a marvellous afterglow of vividest
orange and ci'imson — fading suddenly into semi-darkness.
At 10 p.m. we reached, in brilliant moonlight. Lake Worth,
at the southern extremity of the river, where the train
stops within a few yards of the immense and magnificent
Hotel Poinciana, fronting the shining lake, and sur-
rounded by exquisite terraced gardens and superb avenues
and groves of graceful cocoa-palm, and every variety of
•exotic shrub and tree and brilliant flower.
Next day was a dream of tranquil, delicious beauty
— the charm of charms, to wander away to eastward,
tnrough groves of lemon and palm, and great aromatic
shady trees, over a sandy path matted w'th flowers, guided
and drawn by the ever-alluring song of the sea, only one
little quarter of a mile away.
You rise up a slight incline and find yourself — joy ! face
to face with the shining waves of ocean rising and falling —
238
UNITED STATES.
long shimmering lines of glassy green, breaking in sound-
ing, deep-toned music into sheets of creamy snow-foam on.
the silvery, shell-strewn glistening strand.
The poetic charm of this ocean- view is — as is, alas ! in-
evitable— marred by the " useful," in the shape of a huge
building containing sea-baths of every description, concert-
rooms, great swimming-pools in which swimmers, clad in
gay costumes, may disport themselves to the sound of
music ; in short, all the usual gigantic paraphernalia of
American bathing establishments.
A sloping path leads down to the sands, wonderful as all
Florida sands are, where you can wander, picking up
pearly shells, close to the splash and music of the glittering
waves, and forget that such things as fellow creatures exist,
and bask and revel in the beauty and joy of the, alas ! too
fugitive present.
In this true home for the " Lotus-eaters," we rested —
only one whole day ! Then on, on !
December 10th. Seven a.m. saw us seated in the train,
retracing our steps as far as Titusville. This — such is the
irony of life ! — quite the least interesting spot on the whole
river, with a more than indifferent hotel, was, unluckily,
the only place possible to stop at the following night, so as
to " connect " with the inconvenient branching-off line ; so
here we had to waste the whole afternoon, wandering,
ankle-deep in white sand, along the banks of the lagoon,
prettily wooded I admit, with pines and very tall and
curious tree-yuccas. Walking, almost everywhere in Florida
is very fatiguing, by reason of this deep universal white
sand ; which, contrary to what one would expect, is the
most fertile of soils, and will grow any and every grain,
vegetable, and fruit. In what are called the " hammock "
lands, the sand is mixed with richer soil, in which the
in-
e train,
1 is the
whole
uckily,
so as
ine; so
dering,
agoon,
ill and
lorida
1 -white
is the
grain,
mock "
ich the
WINTER PARK.
239
orange, and most tropical plants, especially delight, but is
too rich for the lemon, which affects the lighter sand.
Next morning we started by the earliest train (at 8 :w.m.),
quitting the banks of the dreamy, sleepy, Indian river,
through the usual stretches of pine, palmetto, and orange
groves, stopping for an hour at midday at the flourishing
little town of Sanford, embowered in immense magnolias,
and orange trees of course. A good little hotel here, where
we had luncheon, and at 2 p.m. proceeded by train, an
hour's journey, to Winter Park.
Here the orange groves are perfectly superb— giant trees
simply weighed down with fruiu ; huge grape-fruit (pomelo)
trees, of which the fruit looks like golden cannon-balls,
thousands ripe on each tree. Pomegranates, Japanese per-
simmons (a beautiful scarlet fruit), tamarinds, figs, man-
goes, pintee (Chinese peach), kumguats, a delicious little
fruit looking like a tiny orange, but belonging t<» the citrus
family — in short, there is simply no end to the exquisite
^ruit plantations, all carefully placed at the right distance
and watered and kept in the most admirable order, all the
houses pretty and neat, each with its veranda embowered
in brilliant flowers, inviting repose with its numerous rock-
ing-chairs, and each with its surrounding fragrant and
lovely garden.
In this land of innumerable lakes, Winter Park of course
is not without; and the pretty white-sanded shores that
surround its pond are fragrant with exquisite lemon groves.
In bathing in this and other lakes in Florida the risk has
to be run of swarming insects, very minute, which burrow
in the feet or legs of the bather, and there lay their eggs,
with most unpleasant results, for it is almost impossible
to extract them.
After wandering for a long time in this true garden of
s ^rn
iv ,j . ','>"•:
240
UNITED STATES.
the Hesperides, we went to the Hotel Rogers, a charm-
ing httle house — one mass of jasmine and roses, daturas, and
bignonjas. A delightful wide balcony above, into which
the bedrooms open, as well as below, full of flowers and
rocking-chairs. A lovely garden all roi md, and indescribablv
beautiful and magnificent orange trees, literally covered
with fruit in all stages of size and colour, from the most
delicate shades of green and pale yellow to deep gold, the
ecent of the flowers too delicious for words.
After dark, and we had returned from the most en-
chanting walk through this wonderful fruit-land, a violent
thunder-storm came on, torrents of rain refreshing the
beautiful trees, and still more bringing out their exquisite
fragrance.
Next morning the clouds had cleared, and the sky was
blue and serene as ever, and the time passed rapidly and
delightfully, wandering amid these endless groves of trees,
as striking for their lofty and beautiful forms as for their
incredible wealth of fruit ; passing, among many fine villas,
the huge Seminole Hotel, not yet open for the winter;
sketching and visiting with our kind and hospitable land-
lady, Mrs. Rogers, her superb plantations of fruit trees.
She has also the most lovely garden, full of rare and
exquisite flowers and plants, which she cultivates con amove
and the greatest skill and success, having originally planted
or grafted every single tree hei'self, all the time refreshing
me with specimens of her choicest and most exquisite fruit :
the guava being one of the most delicious to eat fresh,
although it is mostly made into jelly and preserves.
One whole side of her hotel was shaded by a sj^leudid
specimen of the "royal Poinciana," a most graceful aud
lovely tree with immense spreading branches of delicate
bright green foliage, something lietween that of the mimosa
TAMPA BAY.
241
liavm-
is, and
which
rs and
dbably
covered
e most
)ld, the
ost en-
violent
ing the
xquisite
sky was
idly and
of trees,
for their
36 villas,
winter ;
>le land-
trees,
•are and
m amore
planted
^freshing
[te fruit :
,t fresh,
isplendid
3ful and
delicate
mimosa
and a sensitive plant. It bears masses of red or yellow
flowers and huge seed-pods. Mrs. Rogers showed me a
number of the lovely Bermuda " shell-plant " covered with
delicate and most fragrant white and pink flowers, a night-
blooming jessamine with exquisitely sweet white flowers of
very large size, bignonias of every colour, mangoes, per-
simmons, tamarinds, bananas, roses without end, all the
while loading me with densely-laden branches which, in
spite of my entreaties, she ruthlessly tore from her most
beautiful trees — sweet-lemons, so deliciously refreshing,
oranges, lemons, grape-fruit, the delicious little kumguat,
with which she filled my pockets and every nook and
cranny in my boxes and bags.
With great regret we tore ourselves from this veritable
garden of Eden, and at 6 p.m. walked to the depot, dense
masses of inky cloud heralding another storm, which, just
as we entered under shelter, came down in violent torrents
amidst deafening claps of thunder and incessant lightning,
magnificent biit terrific.
At 10 p.m. we reached Tampa Bay, every moment
vividly lighted up by the lightning, which continued to
superbly illumine the sky the whole night. Fortunately
the train, as it were, drives up to the door of the great
hotel, so we merely had to alight and run in, to find our-
selves in a sort of Aladdin's palace.
It accommodates with comfort 1,000 persons. Lofty
and wide galleries rather than corridors, richly carpeted,
the sides lined with rows of magnificent vases of every
description of china and majolica, and superb cloisonne
from China and Japan, holding the loveliest exotic plants
and immense palms, tree-ferns and bamboos. The suites
of " parlours," exquisitely decorated and furnished ; price-
Jess French fipeciraens, several of which had belonged to
B
242
UNITED STATES.
Marie Antoinette ; tapestry and paintings, wonderful col-
lections of old china, and choicest old Venetian glass — in
short, a luxury and lavish magnificence that would be
incredible were it not for the fact that Mrs. Plant, the
wife of the millionaire head of the great " Plant line " of
railroads and steamers to which this palatial hotel belongs,
looks upon it as her " country-house," and Iip'j furnished
and decorated it with all the splendid and beautiful things
that she has collected from all over the world.
She looks upon the " parlours " as her own particular
" salons," in which she receives her friends, graciously
allowing the " guests " of the hotel to make use of them,
whether she is "at home " or not.
The entire hotel is a kind of apotheosis of luxury and
comfort, including the cookery, and not forgetting the
admirable musicians, who, either in the garden or the
great hall, are perpetually discoursing sweet strains of
Schubert and Chopin, Schumann and Wagner.
Next morning (December 14th) a cloudless sky and
radiant sunshine revealed fresh beauties. The whole im-
mense frontage of the hotel is occupied by a wide, raised
stone veranda one mass of the most exquisite flowering
creepers, gorgeous yellow alamandas. Cape Jasmine, Mar-
shal-Niel roses, and every description of beautiful flower-
ing shrub in the broad flower-bed that borders it, of which
the hibiscus are especially beautiful, one mass of bloom,
vivid scarlet and delicate rose-pink, and the " royal Poiu-
cianas," of magnificent size and graceful beauty. From
this immense veranda grand flights of steps descend into
the garden and shrubberies, which are on the same gigantic
and superb scale as the hotel, exquisitely laid out with
fountains surrounded by beds of the rarest and most
brilliant and beautiful flowers — every imaginable flower-
I col-
g — in
Id be
t, the
ie"of
longs,
aished
things
tieular
ciously
: them,
iry and
ing the
or the
rains of
sky and
hole im-
e, raised
owering
, Mar-
flower-
of which
bloom,
al Poin-
From
end into
gigantic
oat with
jid most
e flower-
le
N
M
o
u
H
O
H
>
O
1
u I
PORT TAMPA.
248
ing shrub and plant — all carefully labelled with their
botanical as well as more ordinary namet . and the original
habitat of each.
Many fine specimens of that peculiar and magnificently^
graceful bamboo that we had so much admired in the
Mexican •' tierra caliente " near Tampico.
The lovely mango, with its delicately-tinted flowers and
delicious fruit, and innumerable beautiful Japanese trees,
including the familiar pei'simmon.
In short, no words can give any idea of the gorgeous
beauty of this immense and ideal garden — it was perfect
joy to spend hour after hour in the glowing sunshine,
wandering, like the bee, from flower to flower, in this
lovely fragrant paradise.
I never left it the whole delightful day, sketching and
admiring. Many butterflies and gorgeous birds and bees
flit about and suck the honey from the scented flowers the
Uvelong day.
Once or twice the balmy, poetic stillness was broken by
a number of parrots that had been taught to laugh, not
talk. One would hear a gentle cachinnation at intervals ;
then little bursts of laughter quite gentle, then a little
louder, louder still, and louder, ending in a shout. A
pause ; then, as if the joke was really quite too i uch, loud
bursts witliout ceasing, winding up into wild and perfectly
maniacal shrieks and yells of laughter — all in the most
absolutely natural manner.
That night we had intended going to Port Tampa to
catch the steamer to Key West en route to Cuba, but found
at the last moment that we had been misinformed as to
the fare, and consequently should have to wait till a further
supply could reach us from Charleston. This would have
made such a delay, that with great regret (still more
244
UNITED STATES,
I' I
m-f-i-i
s 3 _ J.
r
Is > u. 1'*
II.-.
accentuated now) we gave up this trip, and decided to
stay one day longer at this fascinating hotel, which I spent
again in its garden of delight, basking in sunshine and
sketching some of the rarer and more curious plants and
flowers ; and, towards sunset, .ioundering through the deep
white sand of the roads, past many charming villas and
gardens and orange groves, down to the bay, which here
is much .shut in, with flat banks, uninteresting except for
the beautiful orange groves ; indeed, the whole interest
and charm of Tampa Bay lies in its wonderful hotel
and still more wonderful surroundings.
There is excellent fishing in the bay, and equally good
quail and wild-duck shooting in neighbouring marshes ;
and G. had good sport on his way to Port Tanijia, to which
he walked with his gun, leaving me to join him by the
10 p.m. train.
For some reason not explained this train was three hours
late ; but, as it *• drives up " to the back door, one could
await its arrival with equanimity, comfortably seated
reading in a luxurious rocking-chair in the great hall. At
1 a.m. we heard the clang of its tardy bell, and it just
gave time for the hotel passengers to jump in, and on we
went to Port Tampa, which was reached in less than half
an hour, the train passing on to the furthest end of the
immensely long pier, at the extremity of which is perched
the charming little " Tampa Port Inn," surrounded by
water on every side but one, in which you may fancy your-
self " aboard " ship.
It belongs, of course, to the " Plant line," and is most
comfortable. At 6 a.m., by a heavenly sunrise, we had an
excellent breakfast in the delightfu' airy " diniug-
parlour," the sides entirely of- glass, the sea-breeze wafted
refreshingly through the wide open windows ; after which
led to
[ spent
ae and
its and
tie deep
las and
ch here
;ept for
interest
il hotel
lly good
fiarshes ;
bo which
1 by the
fee hours
iiie could
ly seated
lall. At
.d it just
d on we
han half
d of the
perched
mded by
^cy your-
is most
|e had au
diniug-
je wafted
Iter which
ST. PKTERSBCRGII.
245
we merely had to walk to another part of the pier, and get
into the large, comfortable ferry-boat to cross over the bay
to St. Petersburgh.
The captain was most amiable, but much shocked at my
saying how delightful it was to be on the sea once more !
" Oh my ! this isn't the sea, it 's only the bay ! " " Oh yes,
but so pleasant to seo the sea beyond the bay." " Oh my,
no ! that isn't the sea, it 's only the gulf, and 'way beyond
that we call it the ocean. I guess we haven't anything so
small as ' seas ' here ! "
It took us about an hour to get across this narrow
arm of the bay, its flat shores fringed with pines and
orange trees, and the unvarying accompaniment of inter-
minable hard silver sands : splendid for cycling, but that
fashion had not yet penetrated. At St. Petersburgh we
left the ferry-boat, and landed on the furthest extremity
of a pier 2 miles long, along which the trains run to meet
the steamers, but, unluckily, not the ferry-boat ; so, not
caring to wait at the little waiting-room for a couple of
hours till the next train should arrive, we proceeded to
walk along the railway track. It was most unpleasant.
The narrow pier stands on high trestles, at a giddy height
above the dancing water, which you see sparkling
ominously beneath you between the beams, which seem
to sway from side to side — no banister, of course, or pro-
tection of any sort or kind — not being intended for pedes-
trians, and probably very rarely used by such, for the
Americans never walk a yard if they can help it.
Ifc really was a " service of danger ! " and I thought it
one of the most trying of our numerous " nerve-tests."
Halfway there is a supplementary platform adjoining,
for a large swimming establishment, which was a great
relief, making a break and pause in our giddy career, the
W.
~i\
■HI
-■4
k
246
UNITED STATKS.
horrible monotony of which did not seem the easier, how-
ever, afterwards. At last, to my joy, we landed on terra
jirma, and having several hours to wait I wandered along
tlie white sandy shore, so firm and ])lea8aut to walk on,
with a background of beautiful pines and live oak, inter-
spersed with wild orange and palmetto, twined with roses
and pretty creepers for a long way; then climbed up the
low bank and walked back through charming woods, occa-
sional villas, surrounded by gardens and groves; varying
the scene — the soil, the usual loose white sand, so heavy to
walk on. The sun was hot and delicious, and the aroma
of the wild oranges and many other sweet-scented plants a
joy, as I strolled back to the city, a very flourishing com-
mercial one, and went to the Hotel Detroit, close to the
other end of the pier, where I found G., who had been
bathing ; and we had tea, and saw some wonderful shell-
work by the daughter of the house — tables most beauti-
fully inlaid with every variety of shell, their colours and
forms admirably harmonized — real works of art, and most
ingenious ; the whole of it her own design and handy-
•work. She was also a poetess, and very pretty and
refined.
We went on by train in the later afternoon, travelling
through much the same scenery as usual, to Tarpon
•Springs, where we arrived late by the loveliest moonlight.
•We walked through exquisite lemon groves, past pretty
•little villas, each with its flowery veranda and cosy
rocking-chairs and charming garden, along a wide road
of deep sand to the Tarjwn Springs Hotel, where we
found supper waiting, and everything very nice and com-
fortable.
December 16. Again a heavenly morning ! We break-
fasted at 6.30, and then ran out to explore. Tarpon
TAHPOX SPUINGS.
247
, liow-
i terra
along
ilk on,
, inter-
h roses
up the
8, occa-
vavying
leavy to
5 aroma
plants a
ng com-
3 to the
lad teen
[ul shell-
t beauti-
ours and
ind most
d handy-
etty and
travelling
Tarpon
loonlight.
Lst pretty
md cosy
ride road
rhere we
land com-
'e break-
Tarpuu
Sprinf?8 is certainly one of tho most enchanting spots in all
Florida. From the house-tops the waters of the Gulf (of
Mexico) can be seen, glittering and sparkling, only a mile
and a half distant. Close to the hotel lie the Springs.
They consist of a series of little lakes of the loveliest
turquoise-blue, bordered with the mossiest and greenest of
turf, planted above with delicious fruit trees and brilliant
flowers.
Admirably kept little white sand walks follow the in-
tricacies of these translucent green-blue pools, in which
every tree and flower is mirrored.
Beyond these charming " springs " you come upon a
lovely flowery common, with superb groups of gigantic
Italian-looking "umbrella" pines, while in the distance
glitter the waters of the gulf.
A great river winds through this flowery sunny plain,
lazily flowing with many a serpentine bend and curve,
maddening who seeks a quick way to the sea.
It is the most poetically charming of scenes ! Then we
wandered away on the opposite side, beyond the little town,
into aromatic pine-woods along a broad green drive, half
moss, half delicate grass, where, more than once, the vivid,
golden-green carpet gave token of swamp, and we had to
find a way round, deep in the thick palmetto and shrub —
in mortal terror lest. we should tread on a rattlesnake, or,
perhaps, even more horrible puff-adder, or other of the
hideous reptiles that fair Florida nurses in her tangled
jungles !
However, we saw nothing more deadly than butterflies,
and a quantity of squirrels with very fine tails.
Here the ground is not so flat, and, after some time,
rising up a gentle eminence, almost to be called a tiny
lull, where the wooded ground undulates prettily, we
f
248
UNITED STATES.
\V^- '-^y ^-'^^u
found ourselves overlooking a wide blue like, stretching to
distant right and left, its distant^o^posite banks clothed
with densely-wooded forest.
It sparkled and gleamed through masses of pine and
live oak and. arbutus, just suflBciently cleared to give space
for a very small and very commonplacfc villa, with nothing
pretty about it — not an orange grove or fruit tree within
sight — with only an ugly, straight veranda in front, un-
adorned with a single creeper or liower, and not the
Blightest attempt at a garden — with nothing, in short, to
attest its habitat in flowery Florida — for here the ground
was sandy and bare, not even palmetto, only the bare
trees rising out of the wilderness, the one desolate spot
in a neighbourhood flowing with milk and honey w
This, we were surprised to find, was the " Florida
home " of the late Duke of ^^utherland. The lake it com-
mands (the only prettiness of its view) bears the uu-
poetical name of Butler. It msy, possibly, contain fish,
a meagre attraction.
Having satisfied our curiosity, we were glad to retrace
our steps into more attractive land; and, having again
successfully braved the hidden dangers of t'le jungle to
avoid being stuck in the swamps, we found ourselves just
in time for a good little dinner of roast beef a,nd plum-
pudding, in honour of old England. At these smaller
towns " dinner " is in the middle of the day, and supper
at night.
After dinner I wandered about, sketch-book in hand,
among the gard«^ns and the lovely " springs," which are
also of great medicinal fame ; along shadowy green lanes
bordered by oleanders, superb palms, and magnolias — on
to the breezy common, one mass of brilliant wild flowers,
under grand groups of giant pines — a dreamy dolce far
f^:'
ling to
lothed
le and
e space
lothing
witbia
Qt, un-
lot the
hort, to
ground
be bare
a,te spot
' Florida
3 it com-
the un-
.ain fish,
retrace
ig again
|ungle to
lives just
d plum-
smaller
id supper
im hand,
thich are
jen lanes
lolias — on
flowers,
\dolce f(ir
OCALA.
249
niente, till long past sunset and gorgeous afterglow ; and
home by moonlii,'ht, just before supper was put away.
G. had spent an instructive afternoon with a pleasant
young American, partner of a company which has the
monopoly of the great sponge fisheries in this sea.
Next day we had to leave this most attractive and
charming little town ; so I was ready at 4 a.m., long before
dawn, to i*ur: out anc finish, as soon as it should be light
enough, a sketch in the spri.ig gardens.
A glorious sunrise brought joy and warmth after the
sharp cold of the ni^^ht, and at 6.30 a rush to the Florida
Central to catch the 7 o'clock train to Ocala, which we
reached at 11 a.m., through dense groves of superb orange
and lemon, with an occasional pine-wood.
The orange groves of Ocala are famous for the enoiinous
quantity of fruit exported ; and magnificent palms and
magnolias glorify its villas and streets.
Here we engaged a nice little open carriage, with a good
strong horse, driven by a smiling negro (the black coach-
men are all excellent "whips," and very kind to their
horses) to take us to Silver Springs, six miles off, to
which, he said, he knew a short cut through the woods,
by which he took us, winding in the deep sand in and out
among the trees where track there was none, often
tumbling into holes but managing not to upset us, and
finally depositing us safely at the door of a little villa
where a Miss Gordon-Richards takes in travellers — three
fine hotels in succession having been " marked for his
own" by the usual incendiary and burnt co the ground,
one after another, as soon as ready for the reception of
guests.
Miss Gordon-Richards gave us luncheon, and explained
that she was nearly related to the great General Gordon, of
m
"••iiil rill-,::
250
UNITED STATES.
m
;jJU
whom she was naturally exceedingly proud, and especially
of being thought very like him in face and character.
A Scotch lady, also a cousin, keeps house with her,
and they seem to reign over the tiny hamlet of Silver
Springs, which presents no special beauty except some
fine india-rubber trees, till, after following a path for
a short distance through the rather uninteresting wood,
you come, suddenly, upon a revelation.
The far-famed Silver Springs ! the " fountain of eternal
youth," sought for, >' .r and wide, in vain, by the unhappy
Ponce de Leon !
These Springs, said to have been the fabled, " youth-re-
newing fountain " of Indian tradition are unutterably beau-
tiful ! a large and wide nearly circular basin, several acres
in extent, is surrounded by low white rocks covered with
lichen and moss of a deep rich velvety green, beyond which
rise brilliant masses of feathery poplars of every shade of
vivid gold and tender rose ; and a background of tall
shadowy cypresses, all closely veiled and shrouded in
silvery moss, endless rows of spjctral phantoms guarding
the wells ; the water itself, a miracle of beauty — smooth as
a polished mirror, clear as crystal, its glassy, sheeny sur-
face ever-changing from subtle tint to tint — tints for which
there are no words ; so delicately and insensibly, like strains
of music almost too fine for human ear, playing from
etherealized greens of every exquisite shade to gold, with
heavenly notes of bright bl le, and glittering silver, and
rich, broad bands of glorious purple, shading to crimson
and orange ; and all this radiant sumptuousness of crystal
unutterable colour so infinitely and luminously transparent,
that, from the edge of the rocks, you gaze down, sixty feet
deep, and see distinctly, through tremulously waving rays
of light, the silvery sandy floor covered with little pearly
SILVER SPRINGS.
251
)ecially
r.
th her,
Silver
)t some
►ath for
g wood,
; eternal
inhappy
routb-re-
bly beau-
ral acres
jred •with
»nd which
shade of
d of tall
fouded in
guarding
smooth as
leeny sur-
f or which
Lke strains
ing from
jold, with
iilver, and
L crimson
of crystal
mspareut,
sixty feet
;viug rays
itle pearly
shells, and myriads of darting fishes, and green-gold deli-
cate waving grasses — all weaving and blending into more
and more exquisite harmonies of prismatic lovely colour
and shine.
It seems a desecration, but you get into a little boat, and
glide over the wonderful expanse, and see Jie silvery
fountains bubbling up, and at the centre, gaze down
fathomless depths, into a fearful chasm betwixt two snow-
white chains of rock, rifted violently asunder, so limpidly
clear the crystal element, that you feel the boat should sink
down, and down, there being, apparently, nothing tangible
for it to float on !
Several times a week, rushes into this ideal fairy-pool, a
fussing little steamer of strange unwieldy shape, beating
and stirring the silver surface with noisy, irreverent screw ;
and a mill dares to make us-^ of the glassy water, and pro-
fane swimmers plunge into its ice-cold depths — but nothing
makes less the ever-serene and pellucid beauty of this
marvellous magic mirror.
I sat on a rock at the edge till dark, trying to sketch some
faint and humble reminiscence, and the moon arose,
gleaming mysteriously on the ghostly trees around, and
cold mists floated vaguely, and I fled to Miss Gordon's
villa to supper, after which she conducted us to a second
villa she possesses a few yards off, where she gave us rooms
for the night.
Next morning she gave us an early breakfast at the
other villa, after which she accompanied us to the Springs,
and we glided about in a boat, rowed by the miller's son,
out of the magic crystal circle, round a hidden bend, into
the wide silvery river, unseen before, which carries away in
a transparent crystal stream the ever-rising fountains of the
Silver Springs.
252
UNITED STATES.
ifiniim
m
The banks are lovely — tall flowering reeds of vividest
green, innumerable palms and the high ghostly background
of dense, veiled, moss-draped cypresses.
Gliding and sketching in the gc Iden sunshine, each arrow
of light revealing some new and lovelier symphony of
colour, the morning passed ; and we returned for luncheon,
and then to the pier to await the arrival of the fussy
steamboat which was to take us away from this wondrous
dream of enchantment.
At 3 p.m. its ungainly form noisily fussed in, and
we took leave of our amiable hostess and stepped on
board, and soon started down the river, which for eight
miles glides along as clear and crystal as at its parent
Springs.
There it joins the turbid Oklawaha, and for a time, its
limpid lovely waters hold their own, but gradually, alas I
become merged in the muddy current of that dweller in
swamps.
The 160 miles' run of the Okiawaha ("dark crooked
water") is diflQ.cult to describe. Parts of it are extra-
ordinarily beautiful — the giant palms and palmettos and
vividly-green vegetation being, in many parts, magnificently
luxuriant. Everywhere it is weird and strange, and en-
tirely different from every other river in the world, except
one or two in Florida, which in some minor degree
resemble it. It passes through dense forests of live oak
and cypress ; some bends of the river are exquisite pictures,
thickly massed with white water-lilies, and beautiful bright
green reedy grasses on the banks.
Here and there a log seems to float along which is really
an alligator. Huge and horrid snakes may be seen twining
and curling in the swampy grasses, and the gigantic
cypresses are all shrouded in ghostly hangings of gray
OKLAWAHA RIVER.
253
V' .\t
adest
round
arrow
>ny of
cheon,
fussy
ndrous
a, and
ped on
r eight
parent
ime, its
V, alasl
reller in
[crooked
eitra-
tos and
ficently
and en-
except
degree
ive oak
pictures,
1 bright
is really
twining
gigantic
of gray
moss, the live oaks similarly veiled, giving a mournful,
funereal look to the scene.
In some parts the river widens, wreathed again with
lilies and lovely aquatic plants. At others it narrows till
there is scarcely room for the little steamer to pass, its
sides bumping heavily against first on one side then the
other, its passengers nearly swept off its decks by thick
overhanging palms and palmettos, which brush across
one's face and nearly drag one off one's chair.
Wild tiger-cats and ounces may be seen creeping
stealthily up the great cypresses where they arch over and
overhang the dark river, and you feel as if they might
pounce down and claw you up into the trees ; pumas, also,
we were told, abound.
Sometimes for many miles there are no banks at all;
the bed of the river being merely tracked by cypresses,
in one great lake of wooded dismal swamp as far as the
eye can reach ; their swollen trunks bulging out enormously
and most ungracefully, and unwholesomely, as if afl&icted
with dropsy, for a distance of several feet before trunk and
roots are merged in the horrid muddy water.
Here and there we pass a raft, paddled along by a sickly-
looking man carrying lumber (wood) ; and occasional
" stations " are passed, with small spaces cleared for great
stacks of lumber, and a wooden house built upon piles,
with a few offices for the post, etc., occupied by some wood-
man— ghastly-looking places where malaria and ague reign.
For the first time for many months, as we struggled
along, the sun enshrouded itself in clouds, and the previous
delicious warmth changed to a raw cold : consequently, we
missed much of the beauty of this spectral river, which
consists so greatly in shade and shine and varying lights
and reflections. As the night came on a bitterly-cold raw
i!
254.
UNITED STATES.
wind blew in our faces, and G. and most of the passengers
(of whom there were few) retired to the shelter of their
warm and neat little cabins after supper ; and I, therefore,
the only occupant of the deck, had my rocking-chair to
myself, icy-cold, but nothing in the world would have
induced me to miss one moment of the marvellous interest
of the weird night-journey. So there I sat, the whole
night, shivering but happy, and thought with scorn of the
silly comfort- seekers in the cabins.
As soon as it was dark, huge pine torches were lighted
and threw a lurid resinous glare on the river and wonderful
vegetation. It so happened that during the night we
passed through by far the finest groves. Out of the swamps,
and where magnificent and gigantic palms cast the loveliest
shadows, great magnolia trees, live oaks and giant cypresses
in their hoary shrouds of moss, looming forth in uncanny
shapes like shadowy spectres, wild vines wreathing and
creeping over the trees, hanging in long tangles, catching
one in the face ; creepy rustlings among the overhanging
branches, with an occasional rush of a wild cat pursuing
its prey, enormous, many-headed tree-yuccas nodding
above, as we pursued the narrow water-lane, rubbing against
iLeir trunks and roots, winding and turning, through such
constant, narrow twisting bends, that no care on the part
of the steersman could prevent banging up against the
banks in turning — the boat swinging and staggering, and
rocking and listing as if about to capsize (which it has
been several times known to do), sharp ends of thick
branches once or twice ramming holes into its tough wooden
sides ; great bushy palms and palmettos brushing over the
deck, nearly sweeping it clear of its contents and solitaiy
occupier, and what an awful s|)ot to be upset or drowned
in ! thick muddy swampy water, and crocodile jaws ready
DARK-CROOKED-WATER.
255
ngers
their
■efore,
air to
have
aterest
whole
of the
lighted
iderful
yht we
wamps,
oveliest
rpresses
mcanuy
mg and
•atching
hanging
ursuing
lodding
against
rh such
he part
iust the
g, and
it has
thick
wooden
over the
solitary
drowned
Bvs ready
int
3f
to save one from a watery grave ! the weird and splendid
effects of the ruddy glare of the torches on the illumined
surroundings, in short, a scene of grand and picturesque,
yet gruesome beauty, and of excitement and risk and hair-
breadth escapes, absolutely unique !
The captain told us that the sense of responsibility and
anxiety, and the difficulties and dangers of these innumer-
able sharp turnings and windings in the narrow river (I
think he said there were 470 in the 135 miles !) are such
that the pilots never get accustomed to these risky night-
journeys, and after two years, at the most, of this dangerous
night-work, completely lose their nerve, and are absolutely
worn out. The steering apparatus is tremendously power-
ful, and largely provided with brakes of enormous strength,
to prevent the little lumpy boat from being banged to
pieces, or upset, in the sharp and short and narrow twist-
in gs of this well-named " dark crooked water,"
With the dawn, the clouds rolled off, and though the
icy blasts of wind continued, by degrees the sun thawed
and cheered and warmed the atmosphere, and the lights
and reflections became very lovely at times.
Through dismal cypress-swamps we passed into drier
spaces covered with luxuriant vegetation, and many scarlet
flamingoes and snow-white herons brightened the banks,
fishing fortheir early breakfast, anda hideous creature called
a water-turkey — more snake than bird, consisting mostly
of a neck, wriggling and twisting like a snake's, with a
venomous-looking flat viper-like head — huge turtles, and
many beautiful golden orioles and other birds of gorgeous
plumage.
Our boat carried the mails, so we stopped at various
landings to throw down mail-bags and parcels, and to take
iu the same.
ii
256
UNITED STATES.
i I ;
^"■m':y
At 8 a.m. a nice hot breakfast was -very comforting and
made us eoon feel like giants refreshed ; and gradually the
"crooked river" widened, there were fewer bangs and
bumps against the banks, and where there were none and
merely bulging trees, how the steersman was able to find
his way passes comprehension ! However, through some
lovely wider stretches the " dark crooked water " now took
us, and before long emerged into civilization, flowing into
the broad and straight St. John's, up which we steamed
more rapidly, its flat banks covered with graceful cotton-
trees, magnolias and palms, and innumerable orange
groves golden with fruit, till about noon, when our quaint
little humpy-bumpy boat, having gallantly performed its
duty, landed us at Palatka, a lovely little town full of
superb orange and lemon groves, each tree of gigantic
size, simply dazzling with, as it were, showers and cascades
of fruit ! enormous magnolias and brilliant flowers.
The air continued somewhat sharj), but the sunshine
was bright and hot as ever, and we spent thre*^ delightful
hours peregrinating this charming little city and its
glorious orchards all along the green banks of the sparkling,
blue St. John's.
At 3.30 p.m. our train started for St. Augustine, and we
began by crossing the St. John's river, here two miles
wide, to East Palatka on its opposite bank, on a high and
narrow trestle-bridge, of course without protection of any
sort or kind, which seemed to sway and tremble and shake
in the strong though quiet current of the wide and mighty
river. We crept along at the usual foot's pace, the train
rolling from side to side like a ship, and twenty minutes of
this entertainment passed before we were safely landed on
the opposite side ; and I thought it quite the most alarming
experience we ever had ! One felt that, if the current
PALATKA.
257
ng and
illy the
gs and
)ne and
to find
;li some
ow took
ing into
steamed
cotton-
orange
ir quaint
rmed its
a full of
gigantic
[ cascades
rs.
sunshine
ielightful
and its
sparkling,
e, and we
bwo miles
high and
Ion of any
Lud shake
id mighty
the train
linutes of
handed on
alarming
ie current
should wax only a little stronger, or the wind should blow,
or the slightest contretemps occur, the train would in-
evitably capsize off the unprotected track into the yawning
flood beneath !
It is really a quite awful test of nerve, and I don't feel
to wish to go over it again !
It was a relief to touch solid earth, but the crossing is
an experience you don't at once get over ! On we went,
through admirable fruit-land, after having paused a short
time at East Palatka, then pines and palmetto, and at
4.30 p.m. reached St. Augustine — in time to walk about the
environing country, which is not interesting, and the sand
terribly deep and fatiguing, till, about 8 p.m., we reached
the splendid plaza with its glittering fountains, and
returned to our comfortable and excellent hotel, the
" Cordoba."
>,ni' ■;«■
''i';*il■.-•3^
I i "■' : ' ' •
258
CHAPTER XXI
St. Augustine— Museum — Ponce de L«5on and Alcazar Hotels—
Anastasia Island — South Beach — Savannah — Charleston — Fort
Sumter— Columbia — Mount Airy.
THE following morning (December 20tli) brilliant sun-
shine, but £v certain raw sharpness in the air. We
were ready at 7.30 to begin siglit-seeing, commencing with
Fort Marion and the adjacent museum, which contains
many interesting historical relics, implements of Indian
warfare, and a good geological and mineralogical collection.
Wandering again round the picturesque ramparts, towers,
and bastions of Fort Marion and renewing acquaintance
with our friend, the one-man garrison, we strolled back
through the prettily planted Alameda to the central plaza,
where, at eleven, we were to be shown over the famous
Ponce de Leon Hotel, which opens for the winter season
in January.
It is certainly an Jiotel de luxe, the great central hall or
rotunda, and huge dining-room 150 feet long, 90 wide, and
parlours, all exceedingly gorgeous and elaborately decorated
with marbles, wood-carvings, and paintings interesting as
being descriptive of episodes in the stormy history of
Florida ; but, on the whole, I thought it rather ponderous,
and not to compare in chann and cheerfulness with one
or two others we had seen elsewhere.
However, it is very splendid, and the surrounding
SOUTH BEACH.
269
Hotels—
on— Fort
,ant sun-
tir. We
ing witli
contains
,f Indian
!ollection.
D8, towers,
luaintauce
llled back
ral i)laza,
le famous
|er season
ral hall or
wide, and
decorated
jrestiug as
listory of
[)onderous,
with one
Irrounding
gardens very charming, and the exterior is extremely
imposing. Next, we were taken over the Alcazar Hotel
op])osite, which likewise opens in January ; very fine,
aud boasts splendid sulphur baths, including a huge
swimming-bath and a great hall, in which most tilings,
including jewellery, can be bought, at somewhat exorbitant
prices, and a museum of natural science.
After thiswe returned to our own comfortable "Cordoba"
aud had luncheon, after which we hurried to the pier on
the central wharf just outside the Plaza de la Constitucion,
leading from the grand sea-wall, built of coquina, which
extends along the whole sea-front of the city — just in time
to catch the ferry-boat which crosses, several times a day,
over the narrow arm of sea dividing the mainland tronx
Anastaaia Island.
We soon lauded on the island, where a small train waits
to convey passengers to the South Beach, on the further,
ocean side.
The track runs over low sandy hills densely covered
with palmetto scrub and a few stunted pines and live oak.
There are one or two good little inns at South Beach, the
snow-white sands of which are delightful for bathing or
any other purpose, and are covered with lovely shells of
very delicate colouring.
The ocean was magnificent ; a strong sea breeze stirred
up great rolling waves which came thundei'ing up the sandy
beach, clouds of salt spray drenching the air and us.
It was charming ! As soon as we could tear ourselves
away from the beloved sea, after a long walk on the sands,
we climbed up quite a. little " mountain "—so unaccustomed
is one in Florida to anything in the shape of a hill — on the
top of which stands a grand and imposing lighthouse. I
hadn't the energy, but G. mounted to its exceeding high
OM
r:
'M
ii::-]
260
UNITKI) STATES.
.ill' ' ■■■ '■
top, aud reported a magnificent view of sea and land, and
the two fine rivers, Matanzas aud San Sebastian, and a
bird's-eye view of the city. On our way back we made a
drtour to see the famous coquina quarries, which provided
material for all the older jjarts of the city. This curious
shell-stone is very ornamental, especially when combined
with polished granite.
We returned by the last ferry-boat, aud walked back
through the brilliantly-lighted streets, in which are several
good shops.
Next morning (December 21 st) we were to separate — Or.
being obliged to return to England, and I wishing to stay
on to see more of the New World^so he started by the
7 am. train to Fernandina, another much frequented
sea resort thirty miles north-east of Jacksonville, and I
stayed one day longer at St. Augustine, sketching various
points of interest. The gardens of the " Zobaida Villa "
are quite exquisite, but itself is built in rather poor
" Moorish."
On the whole we agreed that St. Augustine, but for its
splendid hotels and plaza, is not a particularly attractive
place, and in fact would be dull for any length of time,
and cannot compare with many other of the Florida
resorts. The environs are flat, with* no beauty of vegeta-
tion, and the sand so heavy and deep that it is impossible
to walk any distance, and nothing to walk to, aud no
drives. One would be always pining for wings to fly to
the south-beach, its greatest point of attraction.
I left it next morning, with complete equanimity, for
Fernandina. At Jacksonville the train has to cross the
fearsome S. John's river by an iron bridge 1,320 feet long,
and when we reached the middle we suddenly came to a
standstill, and there remained ;plante for twenty minutes,
JACKSONVILLE.
2C1
I, and
and a
lade a
Dvided
urious
abined
a back
several
ate — Or.
to stay
I by the
qiieuted
e, and I
r various
a Villa"
[ler poor
it for its
Mractive
of time,
Florida
if vegeta-
inpossible
and no
to fly to
[mity, for
Ici'oss the
Ifeet long,
:;ame to a
minutes,
a portion of the bridge havinjj^ been raised for some ships
to pass down the river seaward.
In consequence I missed the train to Fernandina, so
spent the time as best I could, sketching some very fine
and very old live oaks of enormous size and palms in the
park, and took tea at the huge St. James's Hotel before
joiniug the 4.15 ]).m. train to Savannah.
I left sunny Florida with much regret. There is such
a reposeful charm in its heautiful orange groves and
exquisite orchards and flowers and deep blue skies and
golden sunshine and crystal springs, and far-spreading
pine-forests, girded round by silvery sands and sparkling
"waves ; but the charm, although extreme, is a dreamy and
sleepy and perhaps slightly enervatintr and monotonous
one, and has none of the soul-stirring l-^initv of Mexico,
with its glorious mountains and divine " tier- ,, >;aliente" and
beautiful cities, the glamour of which was ' too strongly
upon us, perhaps, to allow us to appreciate, quite as highly
as it deserves, the tranquil beauty of this wonderful fruit-
land.
The train sped along flat cultivation and pine woods
and plains covered with "Spanish bayonet" {yueca Jila-
mentoaa) and cacti, and an hour or so after sunset reached
Savannah (Forest City), full of trees and fine parks
adorned with semi-tropical flowering shrubs and plants.
This I only saw vaguely by the electric light during the
two or three hours of my stay, having decided to push on
by the night train to Charleston.
When I got into the long car it was so hot and crowded
that I requested the conductor to get me a berth in the
"sleeper;" but, unluckily, it was already full to over-
flowing, so nolens volens I had to remain where I was, and
to take the only vacant seat, one in the centre of the car,
I--;
lilNI
|i;|;.w;,;,'i
262
UNITED STATES.
almost on top of the stove, which, it being a pai'tieularly
warm night, was of conrse one mass of burning coals, which
threw out a heat simply stifling. Nevertheless, there I had
to sit nearly ail night, absolutely roasted, the negro porter
constantly adding more and more fuel. It was useless to
appeal to the conductor ; he only shrugged his shoulders
and said with a supercilious smile, " I guess it's warm." It
would certainly have been a case of asphyxiation had it
not been for a good-natured American who kindly begged
me to take his seat, at some distance from this terrible
stove, and placed himself quite happily in mine. All
Americans seem to be absolute Salamanders, revelling and
delighting in airless stifling heat, killing to a Britisher.
At last, at 4.30 a.m., this truly awful journey came to
an end, and as I joyfully got out of the train who should
I see but G., who had '^hanged his programme and spent
the previous day at Savannah, and had travelled in the
same train without knc ■'ing I was in it. So we pro-
ceeded together to the Charleston Hotel, very large and
fine and co.. ^ortrsble ; had breakfast, and the day being
Sunday (December 23rd) explored the neighbouring
streets and squares till it was time to go to the high mass
at the " cathedral " — a moderate sized church with a good
organ and crowded congregation.
After this we had to tram to the dejDot to claim my
trunks, of which I had lost the " checks," and for which I
had to buv fresh ones at the cost of a dollar each ; the
amiable official jiolitely assuring me that if the original
checks should ever turn up the price of these should be
retui'ned.
Needless to say they never re-appeared.
After this a pleasant walk round part of the city and
the river docks to White Point Gardens, prettily planted
CHARLESTON.
263
ularly
I had
porter
jless to
)ulder8
m." It
had it
begged
terrible
e. AH
ing and
shcr.
came to
» should
id spent
1 in the
we pro-
,rge and
ly being
ibouring
crh mass
1 a good
laim my
which I
ach; the
original
lould be
city and
planted
with live oaks and flowering shruls, open on two sides to
the harbour, with a broad terrace walk raised upon the
fine stone embankment
Its east end is the " Battery," a grand esplanade 500
yards long, which commands a magnificent view of the
extensive harbour and shipping, and the opposite " South
Battery," and Forts Sumter and Moultrie and sundry
small islands — the scene of the first conflict of the Federals
and Confederates (March 4th, 1861).
South Carolina (so-called after Charles II.) which, even
so far back as 1832, had declared for complete independ-
ence and autonomy of each separate state, was the first, in
virtue of the " States' -rights doctrine," to pass an ordinance
of secession on December 20th, 1860, an example which
was followed by the six other " Cotton States " in the
following February.
Meantime Charleston harbour was held for the union by
Major Anderson, in command of a small garrison in Fort
Moultrie, which, deeming of insufficient strength, he
secretly evacuated during a dark night, and established
himself in the stronger Fort Sumter. After the inaugu-
ration of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency of the
United States (Jeft'erson Davis having been previously
elected to that of the "Confederate States"), active
measures were taken to re-enforce the garrison of Fort
Sumter ; but the Federal ships having been storm-stayed
outside the harbour bar, the Confederates took the initia-
tive and at once bombarded the fort, which, after being
nearly destroyed, was surrendered by Anderson. En-
couraged by this success, four more states joined the
Confederacy, and the terrible four years' Civil War began.
We were unable to visit Fort Sumter, the gi*eat " lion "
of Charleston, the little harbour steamer not running on
I;:
a"''
I'l ■ 7'
ll' ' ''
I •
»l
264
UNITED STATES.
( I! F^
Sundays, and a sailing boat would have taken too long ;
so I remained sketching on the " Battery " whilst G. went
for a long walk with the British Consul.
In the afternoon there was the Magnolia Cemetery to
visit, admirably kept, and full of lovely magnolias and
azaleas, and grand live -aks funereally hung with gray
Spanish moss.
All the residence houses are provided with verandas
and balconies wreathed in flowering creepers, and mostly
surrounded with ornamental gardens.
We returned to the hotel for dinner at seven, after
which the British Consul joined us in the " parlour," and
we had a pleasant talk till it was time for Or. to leave for
the depot to catch the 10 p.m. train to Richmond, en route
to New York.
Next morning, December .14th, I started early to see
the famous Gardens of Magnolia on the river Ashley,
which in the spring must be perfectly lovely ; full of the
most superb tree azaleas, many of them 30 feet high, and
huge japonicas and magnolias. Then back to the city, down
Meeting Street, in which are the principal churches —
the public buildings being mostly in the prettily-planted
square close by, the centre of which is occupied by a
statue of William Pitt (afterwards Earl of Chatham),
erected in 1770, in gratitude for his great services to
America in driving the French out of Canada, and his
constant efforts and protestations, after his resignation of
ofiice in 1761, against the arbitrary policy of George III.
towards colonial America ; and in particular the repeal of
the obnoxious Stamp Act in 1766 through his influence —
as well as his eloquent and untiring denunciations, after
his final resignation in 1768, of the aggi'avated persistence
in that fatal policy.
COLUMBIA.
265
> long;
1-. went
;tery to
ias and
th gray
erandas
mostly
;n, after
ur," and
leave for
, en route
ly to see
Ashley,
ill of the
high, and
dty, down
lurches —
,y-planted
•ied by a
Ihatham),
['i-vices to
and his
;nation of
lorge Ill-
repeal of
.fluence —
^ons, after
•ersisteuce
There is also here a fine moimmeut with a touching
commemoration of the " flower of the youth of the city,"
who fought so bravely, and fell in such numbers, in the
sad and terrible Civil War of '61 -'65.
In the afternoon I started for Columbia, the track
running through perfectly flat forests of pine. The train
was late and it was nearly 11 p.m. before I readied the
comfortable and charming little Jerome Hotel. Next
morning (Christmas Day) was perfectly lovely though cold,
and after early church I had a delightful walk over this
pretty little town (the capital of South Carolina) which
contains many handsome buildings and is beautifully
situated on high ground above the Congaree river, its
streets shaded by beautiful pines, and delightful villas
standing in fine pine groves all along Arsenal Hill,
which commands a splendid view of the far-spreading
pine-clad valley beneath. The beautiful Sidney Park,
stretching along the declivities of the heights, is full of
magnificent pines and shrubs, and many rare varieties of
fir, and charming green walks and drives, the soil every-
where a '^eep rich red.
At noon I left by train, through the fine wooded
country called Pine-Barrows, gradually rising ti'l at
Seneca, where I changed trains, we stood at a height of
900 feet. Here we crossed the river Savannah and entered
Georgia. The counti-y becomes more and more beautiful,
rising into great hills, clothed to their summits with mag-
nificent pine-woods, intersected with pastoral valleys ; till
the short day came to an end, and at 7.30, in the darkness,
I reached my destination, Mount Airy.
The Mount Airy Hotel overlooks, from a slight eleva-
tion, the depot. I got out of the train, and found the
manager of the hotel waiting for any i)ossible " guest " —
t.*
266
UNITED STATES.
t ...
i:r
Wf
11 .
i'
m ■
7|l;
t
but what were my feelings when he informed me that the
hotel was closed for the winter, with the exception of two
or three small rooms left open, in case any commercial
traveller should happen to pass !
However, whilst we were talking, the train had gone on,
so there I was plantee, and nothing to be done but to make
the best of it !
The atmosphere in these heights had completely changed,
and a bitterly cold wind was blowing — the ground covered
with snow. We walked up a flight of wooden steps i c
few yards to the hotel, an immense building, but all shut
up, and I was shown into the only bedroom to be had, on
the ground floor.
The wife of the manager was out at a Christmas ])arty,
and the few negro helps kept in the winter, likewise merry-
making ; and to add to my discomfiture, the manager said
he feared there was nothing to eat, everything left from
the Christmas dinner having been taken to furnish forth
the school feast !
Meantime no fire was possible in my icy-cold bedroom,
there being no fireplace; but the manager kindly offered
to light one in the bedroom next door, which could not be
used as such, the whole of the window having been broken.
In the tiny dining-parlour (the only "parlour" not shut
up) there was a stove ; and, after a long time, an egg and
some tea were produced, and shortly afterwards the land-
lady returned, and was most kind, and insisted on my
spending the remainder of the evening in her own warm
little room. The night was fearfully cold, and to make
matters worse, all my warm things and wraps had been
left, as not likely to be requn-ed, at New York !
The next morning the pitcher (as jugs are called) con-
tained nothing but ice. All the pitchers and basins in
that the
n of two
mmercial
. gone on,
t to make
rchange<l,
id covered
steps t e
it all shut
be had, on
mas ])arty,
,'ise merry-
mager said
r left from
rnish forth
d bedroom,
dly offered
ould not be
een broken,
not shut
an egg and
,s the land-
ted on my
own warm
id to make
)s had been
called) con-
d basins in
MOUNT AIRY.
267
these parts are of tin, the ice being fatal to china or earthen-
ware.
Any ablutions were impossible ; one could just rub one's
liands on the ice by way of washing them, frost-bite being
the result —and I felt myself rapidly freezing into an icicle,
till a black " lady help " brought me a little warm
water.
A hot breakfast was very revivifying, and the sun shone
brightly, although an icy wind cut one in two ; so my
hosts proposed to take me to the top of an adjacent moun-
tain a little more than 2,000 feet high, from which a grand
view would be had.
The snow was quite frozen, so, although slippery, it was
not heavy walking, and the dense pine forest, with which
the whole of these hills are covered, a little bit checked the
icy force of the bitter wind, and their aroma was delightful.
The climb was easy and very enjoyable, and the view from
a high wooden platform, which we mounted up, at the top
of the high hill, quite magnificent — vast ridge upon ridge
of pine-clothed hills, and blue billowy valleys, giving so
much the impression of a heaving sea that it is called the
" Ocean-view," stretching all round, into far-avray, shadowy
blue distance, bounded by the exquisite branch I'auge of the
Alleghany Mountains called Blue Ridge, from its lovely
colour.
The wind blew fearfully, and our high wooden belvedere
shook and swayed as if every moment it would be blown
into space, and we were glad to climb down into the com-
j)arative shelter of the pine woods, through which there
were charming green walks in every direction.
We passed several delightful villas situated on the tops
of the rolling hills, surrounded by gardens, all shut up for
the winter ; but the climate, although so cold, is considered
•J
M
Ilw ■
268
UNITED STATES.
iri I't
[■'5
most salubrious for consumptives, the fragrant pine woods
much contributing.
I had intended going on that evening to Toccoa, having
expected some circular notes to arrive that morning ; l)ut
as no " mail " (as they call " letters ") came for me, it was
necessary to stay on another day, in this freezingly-cold
hotel. However, Mrs. Bacon, my young hostess, was kind-
ness itself, and in addition a very cultivated woman, ex-
ceedingly well-read and very accomplished. So the evening
passed most j^leasantly, rocking on rocking-chairs in her
little warm cozy room, talking.
She told, me many amusing stories of the negro popula
tion, whose vanity and good opinion of themselves an
quite extraordinary. They greatly outnumber the whites,
and are intelligent to a certain extent ; learning readily
within limits, and having much ready wit, and many good
qualities, as well as bad, and great good humour ; but they
never seem able to get beyond a certain point, and to
remain always mentally in a state of childhood. Negro
tramps, to be met with, since the Emancipation, in great
numbers here, are held in great terror, and " lynch law "
not unfrequently prevails. That night was colder than
ever, and next morning all sunshine had disappeared aud
great flakes of snow were falling from inky clouds, aud
thick drifts had accumulated during the night — so we had
to take refuge in rocking-chairs and talk, round the bright
log fire — here nothing but wood is burned, of which there
are inexhaustible supplies.
The snow cleared off in the afternoon, fortunately for luy
hostess, who had a school tea-party, at which I assisted,
of white boys aud girls — no blacks, of course, the colours
being rigidly separated. The children were charming, all
so polite and well-behaved, and they sang charmiugly
iue woods
ja, having
nmg
but
me, it was
^iugly-cokl
was Iviud-
v^oman, ex-
\ie evening
airs in lier
gro popula
nselves arc
the whites,
ling readily
many good
ir ; but they
)int, and to
ood. Negro
ion, in great
lynch law"
colder than
,ppeared and
clouds, and
, — so we had
.d the bright
which there
Lately for my
l\x I assisted,
;, the colours
Icharming, all
[t charmingly
I
,• '■■■ t
VO SEMITE, "virgin TEARS."
i^ 93-
3,ooo feet from valley.
1^'
FTFT
~~. ; ' ,
i '■•■n
j'. ;.;■. ,
i y^''
rv-- ■:,
K '■*■' ■
f- ■' '
r'-, '
l;M
TOCCOA.
269
Christinas carols and glees (Mrs. Bacon accompanying
them on her harmonium and piano), and recited, and did
gymnastic exercises, and we all told stories, after which
they wei'e plentifully regaled with cakes and buns, plum-
pudding and tea.
The circular notes arrived that evening, so, after spend-
ing some hours in pleasant talk with Mrs. B., I prepared
towards midnight to go down to the depot — so conveniently
near, escorted by Mr. B. and a handy little negro boy
carrying a lantern.
The train soon came in, and at 4 a.m. stopped at Toccoa
(Georgia) and I walked the short distance to the delight-
fully warm and comfortable little " All-the-year-round "
Hotel Simpson. But even here, in the bedrooms, the
water soon turned to a mass of ice in the tin pitchers,
although the negress help, who was also " cook-lady," had
instantly lighted a cheerful wood-fire in mine.
t
270
CHAPTER XXII.
Toccoa — Tallulah Falls— Toccoa Falls— Biltinore.
DECEMBER 28th: the sun rose in a blue cloudless
sky, with the thermometer one degree below zero ;
and when, whilst enjoying an excellent Scotch break-
fast (my hosts were proud of their Scotch highland descent),
I intimated my desire to be furnished with a machine
to drive to the famous Tallulah Falls, my kind hostesses
and their brother, the Reverend Mr. Simpson, declared
that it was quite impossible — the distance was seven-
teen miles, the ground covered with snow and ice, and I
should certainly be frozen ew route. However, having
come so far expressly to see the Tallulah Falls, in addition
to the local ones of Toccoa, I insisted, and accordingly
a nice little light sort of gig with a very strong and hand-
some little horse and the most experienced white driver in
Toccoa, came to the door at 11, and making the most
of my few wraps, we started.
The road passed through very pretty, well-wooded, hilly
country, all in the less high portion of the lovely Blue
Ridge, and the good little horse trotted along valiantly
through the deep but hardened snow ; before long, how-
ever, we came to a " creek," but more resembling a river,
flowing with a rapid current across the road — the strong
flow in the centre kept it free, but the shallower sides were
TALLULAII FALLS.
271
lore.
le cloudless
jelow zero ;
)tch break -
nddesceut),
a machine
id hostesses
m, declared
was seven-
d ice, aiid I
iver, having
in addition
accordingly
g aud hand-
lite driver in
ig the most
svooded, hilly
lovely Blue
ug valiantly
e long, how-
bling a river,
—the strong
er sides were
thickly coated with slippery ice, which broke imdei our
weight, and when we emerged, again plunging into ice on
the further side, it was a relief to find that the poor little
horse was not cut or scratched by the shar^) jagged edges
of the broken ice.
On we went, merrily, but in less than a mile, that creek
again crossed the road, this time shallower and nearly a)i
ice. Seven or eight times during the seventeen miles' drive,
did we have to face that wretched creek, always mor^? or
less deep and frozen, but the good little horse mana'.;ed so
cleverly that he never slipped down and only had one
small scratch, rather than cut, when we arrived.
The cold all the way was terrific, and became more and
more intense, as towards 3 p.m. ^^e reached T'allulah, and
drove straight to the Cliff House, with an attractive ex-
terior, which they had assured me at Toccoa was open the
" whole year round." This, unfortunately, turned out to
be that which was not ; but we were told to go on to the
Hotel Robinson, which we did, and found it still more
shut up ! This was despairing, but the driver said he
knew of a very good villa belonging to the doctor, where
" guests " were often received. So thither we drove, and
were informed by the lady in possession, who, with her
daughter rented the house, and with whom the doctor
lodged, that everything was in confusion, repairs and
additions being eti train, but that if I did not object to a
half-finished room without a fireplace, we could be taken
in, horse and all, for the night.
It sounded rather cold, with the thermometer well below
zero, but there being nothing else to be done, we alighted,
and I was glad to think of the poor little horse lodged
in a warm stable.
This villa was charmingly situated on the peak of a
272
UNITED STATKS.
:
pine- "lad hill, overlooking the wooded ravine where rolled
the famous Falls.
The landlady ^<ave nie allot cup of coffee, and a ^uide to
conduct me along a wi.iding, zig-zag i)ath down the steep
ravine, so slippery with ice like glass, that it was almost
impossible to keep one's footing. The cold was something
too frightful — feet and hands benumbed and almost frost-
bitten. '
Neve !ss it was much more than well worth being
frozen in jming to see. The vine-dad ravine with its solemn
pine trees and dense undergrowth of azalea, which must lie
exquisite in spring ; the magnificent series of falls, some
distance from each other — a tremendous body of water
plunging, with a thundering sound, over huge and craggy
masses of dark precipitous rock, enormous icicles of spiral
and strange forms hanging over the dark waters, adding to
their beauty. To reach one set of the Falls, one has to
creep along a narrow plank jiathway for several hundred
yards, suspended at a good height along one side of the
rushing torrent. This, coated over with frozen snow and
slipper =", was not easy ; but with the help of an alpen-
stock he guide, I managed to creej) along it without
tumbling into the giddy depths of the thundering falls
below.
It was grand — the roaring, rushing, foaming torrents of
angry water. The splendid ilexes and great pines, the
glittering icicles, all lighted by a vividly radiant, orange-red
sunset !
But, having to creep up the steep paths all the way back,
on account of the slippery ice (oh for an alpine ice-axe !),
the cold was something too bitter, and I re-entered the
villa simply an automaton of ice !
There was a good, big wood-fire in the parlour, but the
I
TALIALAII.
273
re
rolled
, guide to
the 8teep
18 almost
lomethiny
lost frost-
irth l)ein<;
its solemn
;li must lie
[alls, some
' of water
aid craggy
38 of spiral
s, adding to
one has to
al hundred
side of the
1 snow and
an alpen-
it without
ering falls
torrents of
pines, the
orange-red
leway back,
le ice-axe!),
entered the
,x\r, but the
draughts were something frightful, the greater part of the
house being in the hands of the carjienters. Into one of
the new rooms I was shown, up a snovy staircase still oj)en
to the sky, my wii^dow8 only partly glazed. Even hot
water almost instantly turned to ice! At supper, which
was soon ready, the doctor and a lodger, an old colonel
who hatl been eleven years American consul in Holland,
appeared. Both had travelled nearly all over the world ;
and after supper, sitting round a big pine-log fire, the
evening passed pleasantly, talking.
With the uninviting prospect ujistairs, I took care not to
let the conversation flag, so as to sjiend as much of the
night as possible near a fire ; but when 1 a.m. struck, it was
imi)ossible to resist the invitation of the hostess to go up
aloft, and uj) I had to go — the frightful cold of that night
no words can describe ! but it passed, as all things will,
and as soon as it was light I scrambled down the half-
finished staircase, on which fresh snow had fallen, to the
kitchen, where there was already a fire, and tried to thaw.
I must add that my hostess had most kindly done her
utmost to make my room comfortable, and it was not her
fault that an unbidden guest had arrived whilst the house
was still en Vair !
Soon some hot coffee was ready, and, quite revived, I
walked down again to the splendid Falls, by a brilliant
sunrise. In summer and spring they must be perfectly
lovely, the banks one mass of azaleas of every hue, but
mostly of that deliciously sweet variety known as the
vollow " honevsuckle." The Falls are entirely distinct,
and six in number — one more grand and beautiful than
another.
The sky was radiantly blue, and the hoar frost, on every
tree and shrub, sparkled like diamond dust in the brilliant
T
II
P'l
J'
Bi'^
m I"
I'll-
t\
$
^r'
274
UNITED S'l'ATES.
sunrays, and the great icicles shone, and the waters foamed
and roai'ed, and the wonderful beauty of it all far more
than made up for the extremity of cold.
At 10 a.m. we started on the return journey, the little
horse like a giant refreshed dragged us rapidly along,
through all the frozen windings of the horrid creek and
the ice-sheeted road, till, about four miles before the end
of the journey, we made a slight drtonr, to see the Toccoa
Falls from above. I had to leave the road and walk
a short distance, under grand pines, on a snowy and icy
pathway a^ong the here almost flat banks of the Toccoa
river, its exquisitely clear and partly ice-sheeted water
gliding calmly and peacefully along, breaking into musical
little bubbling waves over the moss-grown icy boulders,
with no hurry or fuss, till it reaches the sheer vertical
precipice of 185 feet, over whidi there is nothing for it but
to precipitate itself — but witli the most deliberately gentle
and graceful of leaps, on to a dazzling bed of snowy icicles
below. , ■ .
Above the steep precipice towered huge pines, their
bright velvety green foliage besprinkled with frozen sno\\
— sparkling wreaths of diamonds and rubies too lovely for
words !
But on we had to go, reaching the little town of Toccoa
at 2 in the afternoon, in good time for a cup of tea, my
hosts surprised to see me alive, and still more astonisheil
when I announced my intention of immediately starting
off again to see the Toccoa Falls from below.
After some remonstrance they allowed me to have a fresh
horse and driver, a negro this time — my American driver
having had quite enough of it, as well as the poor deiir
good little horse. This time my horse was a huge black
one. Four miles of hilly woodland, through several more
TOCCOA FALLS.
275
foamed
ar more
\\e little
y along,
reek and
! the end
le Toccoa
uid walk
y and icy
he Toccoa
sted water
to musical
boulders,
er vertical
.r for it but
it«ly gentle
uowy icicles
;)ines, tlu'ir
I'ozen sno^v
,o lovely for
m of Toccoa
of tea, my
astonislunl
tely starting
L have a fresh
lerican drivt-r
lie poor de:iv
huge hlaclv
I several more
frozen creeks, in which the big horse, less clever than the
little one, managed to scratch and cut himself (not seriously,
happily) till the road ends, and I got out to walk, or
rather scramble, along a jtath over great bounders covered
with green-gold lichens and moss, the ground one sheet of
snow-ice, shadowed by solemn ilexes and j>ines, skirting the
river, till I reached a quite open space with semicircular
background of vertical cliffs, 185 feet liigh, pine-crowned,
glistening with huge, pendent, fantastic icicles — the Falls
in the centre gracefully floating rather than falling in
loveliest fairy-like clouds and wreaths of niistv foam
down the shining ice-wall on to a dazzling snow-}.eap of
frosted silver : then winding their way into deep emerald-
green whirling pools hemmed round by green- gold velvety
rocks ice-bound — the whole glittering magical scene
lighted into a glory of radiance by the scarlet and gohl
of sunset !
The cold was intense, and at last, rapidly turning into a
pillar of ice, I tore myself away, and we drove back to the
Hotel Simpson, where I spent a very pleasant evening
in the warm little cosy parlour with my kind and agreeaVde
hosts, who were glad to hear news of the " old country," and
ni return told me many most interesting stories and episodes
of the terrible civil war, from the ruin of which these once
rich and beautiful Southern states are only beginning to
recover — mai:y of the best families irretrievably ruined.
As to the Slavery question, the general opinion in the
South seems to be that the Federal Government was
entirely in the riglit to abolish an institution open to such
great abuse ; but what appears to rankle indelibly is that,
before " going in for Abolition," the slave-holding states
of the North — so spy the Southerners — instead of fi'eeing
their slaves, got rid of them by selling them to the highest
S^H'*-
l
■*,;■
276
UNITED STATES.
V
J*'
1|
bidders ; after which they were quite ready to declare for
" Negro freedom," " without compensation !"
Next morning (December 30th) I started early for one
more view of the infinite loveliness of the Toccoa Falls.
Fresh rime covered the deep greenery of the great pines
and ilexes, and a fresh powdering of frozen snow had
draped them with a delicate fretwork of ice-flowers, spark-
ling in the brilliant sunshine ; and the lovely falls fell,
shining and snowy and graceful as ever, to their glittering
ice-bed of frozen driven snow, into the emerald-green pools
of the half-frozen river beyond.
^ t last it was time to hurry back to the Hotel Simpson,
where, after an excellent refection, I took leave of my
amiable hosts, and hurried to the depot only just in time
for the 12,30 train to Spartenburg, where I changed i.'nes,
and proceeded straight north into the heart of the beauti-
ful Blue E/idge — the loveliest of the Alleghanies.
We had now reached the high plateau of western North
Carolina, bounded on one side by the Great Smoky Moun-
tains, and to the east by the Blue Ridge, intersected
by lovely valleys formed by the numerous spurs of both
ranges.
We sped on through a magnificent panorama of craggy
rocks, splendid pines, foaming torrents, and broad rivers
nearly ice-bound, till a dazzling crimson sunset was
followed by darkness ; and at 7 p.m. the tolling of the
locomotive's bell announced its arrival at Biltmore, the
end of my day's journey, where a smart 'bus was waiting
tc convey " guests " to the Kenilworth Inn ; and in a
few minutes we were plunging through the icy snow, and
crossing a handsome bridge over a frozen river into the
lovely park and extensive grounds of the inn.
The road winds steeply up the high and beautifully-
|ir
"-Tte
KE NIL WORTH INN.
277
.are for
Eor one
'alls.
a,t pines
ow had
s, sparlv-
alls fell,
;littering
een pools
Simpson,
re of my
5t in time
ged I'.nes,
iie beauti-
ern North
^ty Monn-
ntersected
of both
of craggy
oad rivers
unset was
ing of the
tmore, the
ras waiting
and in a
snow, and
■er into the
wooded hill on which stands — commanding a magnificent
panorama of snow-clad mountains — the exteriorly-jiic-
turesque, as well as interiorly charming and delightfully
comfortable Kenilworth Inn.
The inn stands alone, like a grand country house, in its
lovely grounds and park, two miles from Asheville, the
nearest town.
After my late " arctic " experiences, it was real joy to
find myself once more in a warm and luxuriously-furnished
bedroom, with bath and the electric light, and where water
did not instantly congeal into ice !
From my windows I could see a distant chain of lonely,
desolate, snow-clad mountains, cold, white, and wintry,
their snow-peaks shining like ice-phantoms in the pale
light of the moon, their sides one silverv sheet of frozen
snow
It was nice to go down to the comfortable dining-room,
where an excellent supper awaited, and then to the beauti-
ful warm parlours, where classical music was being admir-
ably played by a German orchestra.
How egoistical all this sounds ! But how can one help
liking to be comfortable ?
lib'"
^)e
autifuUy-
278
CHAPTER XXIII.
Biltmore, Nortli Carolina— Biltmore House — Asheville — Hot
Springs — Mount Iticli— Roanoke.
THE weather next morning was heavenly ! Brilliant
sunlight shining on the radiant snowlielcls of those
distant hills, and the whole grand expanse of hill and dale
shrouded in snow.
I began a sketch from my windows, and after a twelve
o'clock drjenner, went in a charming little victoria with two
pretty ponies, driven by a magnificent negro, for un
enchanting drive to see the " great sight " of the neigh-
bourhood, Biltmore House.
The ponies trotted merrily down the steep and slippery
zig-zag road, through the fragrant pine wood to the nearly
ice-bound river below, across the bridge, making straight
for the snowy spectres of my last night's view — their de-
solate snowfields sparkling and glittering in the sunlight,
the cold intense, but most exhilarating ! The road more
and more icy and slippery as we rose into the snowy hearts
of the hills, passing lovely sheltered hollows and planta-
tions of every variety of rare and beautiful fir and pine.
For miles through the admirably-kept estate of Biltmore,
which looks like one vast pleasure-ground — a picturesque
occasional cottige and trim little garden.
At last the mountains opened into a vast expanse of
smiling valley bathed in sunshine, itself exquisitely undu-
BILTMOllE.
27y
iUe— Hot
Brilliant
of those
and dale
a twelve
^ith two
>, for an
,he neigh-
cl slippery
he nearly
q: straiglit
their de-
sunlight,
oad move
wy hearts
d planta-
and pine.
Biltmore.
icturesque
?xpanse of
Itely undu-
lating, and wo reached the extraordinarily grand and heau-
tiful site on which Mr. George Vanderbilt has built his
magnificent country house.
It is a site perfect and unique in its delicate and in
finitely poetic beauty. The entire environings — especially
as seen from the j^oint of view of a graceful white marble
kiosk at the further extremity of the beautiful green lawn
adjoining the chateau — indescribably lovely and superbly
stately.
It is a place where only old-world minuets should be
danced and poetry spoken ! No profane noises should l)e
allowed to mar the infinite sense of sublime, reposeful
l)eace, and dreamy, poetic harmony !
You see before you a sunshiny arcadian valley, serene
and smiling, of grand and majestic width and limitless
length ; its far western horizon guarded by endless l)lue
lovely chains of hills and snow-crowned peaks, stretching
from far south to north, as far as eye can reach, into
dimmest distance, melting and vanishing into misty,
vapoury, vague mystery that might be sunlit sea or sky.
Eastward rise beautifully wooded hills, and in the far
north, snowy peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains, the
sun -bathed valley restfully shining between in the golden
light.
The house itself is an immense and handsome cas' ellated
palace. Its west front stands sheer up on the very edge of
a high, bold, rocky bluff, rising perpendicularly, with very
fine effect, from the green vale. On the entrance side,
facing east, a wide terrace stretches to the foot of a high,
white marble wall and sculptured balustrade, in front of
which a triple fountain plays out of excpiisitely carved
white mai'ble basins, on each side of which grand flights
of wide white marble steps ascend to a beautiful terraced
t:
ill! '5 f-
t
|BP^'^'
280
UNITED STATES.
Italian garden, beyond which a gentle acclivity of ex-
quisitely green turf, worthy of England, leads to the
wooded heights above.
The vista from this terrace, of chateau, valley, and
distant hills, is superb, but the loveliest point of view is
the one I have already described.
A carriage- drive, of course, leads to the grand entrance,
and, must I add ? a railroad ! Of course, in America, to
be quite " up to date," a millionaire must have his private
railroad driving up to his door ; but might it not be the
hack-door, not the front ?
There, in full view of the house, in close proximity
to it, stood the huge and, no doubt, as far as possible,
ornamented, but, necessarily, not ornamental, private
railway-car of the proprietor ! Very handy, no doubt ; but
a little destructive of the delicate poetry of this most
infinitely poetic place.
I should have placed it Avell out of sight, which could
have been so easily done, close by.
There are endless tempting walks on the beautifully
wooded hills, and I flew from point to point to see as
much as possible, and back to the lawn, and down more
white marble flights, to secluded white marble cloisters
and lovely gardens and shrubberies admirably and most
tastefully laid out by an English landscape-gardener;
immense masses of azaleas which, in spring, must be one
blaze of colour ; down a series of green terraces and grand
flights of steps to a charming kitchen garden, and huge
conservatories and hothouses, endless lovely walks and
drives, and lakes and fountains ; in short, a fairy dream of
enchantment ! and when finished, will be the most perfectly
complete and charming thing of its kind imaginable.
Inexorable Time pressed, and I hastened back to tb.''
mUtim
of ex-
to the
ey, and
' view is
mtrauce,
lerica, to
s private
)t ))e tlie
jroximity
possible,
, private
nibt; but
this most
lieh could
)eautifully
to see as
own more
|e cloisters
and most
o-ardener ;
,ust be one
land grand
and huge
kvallis and
dream of
;t perfectly
[able.
,ek to the
X
Wi
l< ^H
;:.:i
l^^^^^^H
S.'i
■Ji'
w J^^^^^^^^^^^B
ilfp
.1'
^^^^^^HH^^^ J ; ' ' " -
BILTMORE HOUSE.
281
house, still unfinished, and full of seaft'oldinj,' and work-
men. The overseer (for whom I had an order) kindly
showed me as much of it as was possible. Its centre is
occupied by a mai^nificent winter garden roofed with glass,
communicating with fine suites of apartments, including
an immense ball-room, and giant circular staircase of white
marble.
But, far beyond and above all that is here made " by
hands," is the incomparable beauty and grandeur of the
natural site!
The sky was all red and gold in the west, and the sun
not far from setting, so it became necessary to take leave
of this most fascinating and indescribably beautiful spot ;
.and my half-frozen ponies were glad to trot rapidly away,
by another route, through the lovely grounds and parks,
planted with rarest and choicest trees and shrubs ; by the
terraced banks of the Swannanoa river, calmly gliding
along under a thick coivting of ice ; coming, round a wooded
curve suddenly upon a splendid view of the castle, rising
boldly above the huge rocky bluif ; through more woods,
past an immense dairy establishment for supplying the
house, a huge building raised on piles, which accommodates,
the driver said, 100 cows during the winter, with every
sort of dairy convenience, and lodging for the attendants.
One or two " model cottages " we passed, and finally, as
darkness was setting in, reached the main railroad with
which Mr. Vanderbilt's private track is connected, and
then, skirting the French Broad river, crossed it over
the bridge at the depot, and so back to Kenilworth Inn,
quite frostbitten and frozen — a trifling penalty for so
enchanting an expedition !
Next day the cold waxed still more intense, but the sun
shone brilliantly, and I sketched (from the house — im-
i'
fe||
't
ill
r
ii .','
iJ82
UNITED STAT lis.
possible to have done so out of doors) and then went for a
long, ieily-cold, but beautiful ramble up into the hills ; and
in the evening had the great pleasure of making acquaint-
ance with Miss A'Becket, one of the finest landscape-
painters in America, who kindly invited me to look at her
beautiful paintings (of which she had an immense collec-
tion) in the delightful " Sun-parlour " which she per-
manently retains as " studio." She has studios also at
New York and other cities. She had studied in France
under Daubigny (the only puj^il he ever consented to have)
in the ideas and traditions of the Barbazon school, of which
her style, although very original, presents many of the
characteristics, especially those of Diaz, whose grand forest
scenes and sky-effects hers greatly resemble. Many of
her b'>^+ works are in private collections in New York and
Boston, and other U.S. cities.
' I spent two delightful hours next morning in her " Sun-
l>arlour " — a large circular room almost entirely of glass,
so bright and sunny that no fire was needed — and in the
afternoon walked over the hills through charming woods to
Asheville, a rice town, with plenty of good shoi)s, and one
enormous, grand hotel, "Battery Park," splendidly situated
on a hill above, and slightly outside, the town, command-
ing glorious views of the Great Smoky Mountains and the
Blue Ridge, and Mounts Mitchell and Pisgah, both (3,0(.)0
feet high, with lovely valleys between.
On the whole, this view is grander and more striking
than that from the " Kenilworth ; " but the inn I consider
infinitely preferable in point of internal arrangements and
privacy, away from towns, and with all the advantage of
a " country house," in the centre of enchanting walks and
drives.
The Battery Park, too, is full of consumptives — the
If-
HOT SPRIN(;S.
283
n\t fov a
ills; and
tequaiut-
Ludscape-
ok at lier
ise coUec-
sUe per-
)8 also at
in France
d to liave)
1, of wliich
iiiiy of the
i-and forest
Many of
V York and
, lier " San-
ely of glass,
pand in the
no- woods to
)ps,
and one
tdl situated
, comniantl-
lius and the
Loth 6.000
lore striking
[ill I consider
bements and
,dvantage of
walks and
[uptiv
es
— the
high and dry situation and bright skies and sunshine
being, in spite of the extreme cold, very curative of that
malady — so prevalent in America, favoured, no doubt, by
the unwholesome and excessive steam, as well as fire, heat
kept up in every house, hotel, and train.
I walked back in the freezing twilight and ice-cold bitter
wind, and was only too glad of the, perhaps, " unwhole-
some " warmth of the Inn ; the evening jdeasantly diversi-
fied by music and art talk with my new friend. Miss
A'Becket.
Next morning (January 2ud) was again perfectly lovely,
and immediately after breakfast Miss A'Becket came with
me for a drive in the nice little victoria. She, of course,
knew the countr\ l;y heart, and directed the driver to the
loveliest points of view, round the Sunset Drive, the scenery
of which is exquisitely beautiful.
The steep roads were rather dangerously slippery, snow
everywhere and sheets of ice in places ; but the little ponies
trotted along quite nimbly, and the glorious sunshine and
exhilarating air and enchanting views made the whole
drive a perfect delight.
It was sad to have to leave this most chai'ming country ;
but it was time to continue my jnlgrimage ; and with
great regret I took leave of lovely Biltmore, and of my
kind friend Miss A'Becket, who amiably accompanied me
to the station, and waited till my train started at 4 p.m.
for Hot Springs, North Carolina.
The whole way was lovely, through wooded ravines
skirting the rocky bed of the wide French Broad. Such
a pity not to have left it its poetical Indian name of
"Minnehaha" (Laughing Water).
The Indians were very fond of this expressive name,
and gave it to many of their rivers and waterfalls.
284
UNITED SIATES.
rr'i 1
I'
At 6 p.m. the train stopped at the depot iu the lovely
little valley of Hot Spring's, eiu'onipassed by moimtaius,
and through which the French Broad majestically Hows,
reinforced hy many mountain torrents and brooks.
I left the train, and crossing a wide bridge, over a
tributary which here joins the Minnehaha, walked the
short distance, all within its grounds, to the delightful
Moiuitain Park Hotel.
I was given a charming room up in a high tower with
wide windows opening on to a balcony with lovely views.
This hotel is the perfection of comfort, cuisine all that can
be wished, and possessed of a splendid establishment of
hot sulphur baths ; but the attraction of all others, to my
mind, is that it stands within, literally, five minutes of
climbs up into the loveliest mountains, where paths and
walks in every direction take you into the most exquisite
scenery, through pine forests of a wonderful fragrance,
reminding me of the exquisite pine woods of Tatoi, in
Greece.
My first morning (January 4th) was brilliantly lovely
and so very much milder, that it was possible to think i)f
sketching. So after breakfast, at seven, I sallied forth
armed with sketch-book and alpenstock, to explore the
deliv,'ious pine-clad heights. Three minutes take one to
the fine wide bridge over the French Broad, two or three
minutes more, along a carriage road skirting the banks,
to a road leading straight up the hill. I followed this
yellowish-red sandy road through masses of splendid
rhododendrons and azaleas under grand pines of the vividest
velvety green, crossing a habbling mountain-stream which
comes tumbling in pretty cascades over rocks covered with
velvety golden moss ; steadily ascending, and winding two
or three times round the circular mountain called Round
ROUND TOP.
285
le lovely
.)UUtlUU8,
lly flows,
}, over a
aUa>a the
Lleliglitful
ower with
relv views.
II that can
shmeut oi
lers, to my
luimites of
paths and
st exquisite
. fra^raiu'O,
,f Tatoi, in
mtly lovely
to think of
allied forth
explore the
ake one to
wo or three
the banks,
hUowed this
of splendid
the vividest
ream whi*-h
covered with
winding two
lallcd Eonud
Toj», clothed with pines and rhododendrons to its very
summit ; deep ravines around, and steep mountains rising
on every side covered with glorious pines ; the different
points of view, as one went along, all one more lovely than
another !
From the summit a superb view of the green valley of
Hot Springs below, mountains of the bluest blue risint;
range upon range beyond, and the beautiful 8hinin^' river
curving and flowing through the bright green sunny
meadows ; for here there was no snow, all was j^reen and
suminerv, and the arctic weather and snows of vesterdav,
at a distance of only thirty miles, seemed like a dream.
I chose at last a lovely spot for a sketch, and sat there
hai>pily painting, basking in delicious sunshine, the air
almost heavy with aromatic pine-fragrance, till late in the
afternoon, and then returned by the sinuous curves of a
sandy path, in time to have a delightful hot sulphur bath
in the great bath house, one minute's walk from the hotel.
Each ])ath is about 10 to 12 feet square, usually from
6 to 6 deep, the water steaming with natural heat, slightly
opaque, of the usual, turquoise greeny colour.
You can, if you i>lease, and of course invalids do, consult
the doctor resident in the hotel, a young German who
divides his year between Carlsbad in the summer and Hot
Springs in the winter, before drinking the waters and
taking the baths; but for mere pleasuiv baths this would
have been quite a work of supererogation.
Next day the weather was still more perfect and sum-
mery, so I started immediately after 7 o'clock breakfast,
provided with biscuits and sketch-book to make, with the
help of a map, the ascent of the great Mount Rich, 7,000
feet high, in the same direction but far beyond the Round
Top. .
,
►
m;
'
"lip:
Bill! '
-^^F
f li-:'
286
UNITED STATES.
Auytliiug more enchantiugly lovely could not be ima-
giued! the heavenly weather, the delicious ]>ine-fratfrance,
the exquisite mountain views, as I rose hii,'her and higher,
and wound by a green mossy pathway uj) the hills, sto])-
ping once or twice to make hurried sketi^hes of irresistibly
lovely points, till I reached a wide bridle-path leading
in two directions, and took the wrong one, which led into
Tennessee. •
It was alluring ; the views into the green valleys of
Tennessee quite lovely, but at last I found by certain land-
marks on consulting the map, that it was taking me away
from Mount Rich, so, to save time, left the ro^ 1 and
climbed what I imagined would be a short cut to my
destination.
Like the proverbial " short cut " it turned out lo be the
" longest way round," and most arduous climbing, with the
fear of coming upon rattlesnakes — the weather having been
all the winter quite warm ";!ough here to keep th'>n)
awake.
When I reached the top of a high hill, there was a deep
ravine to descend and climb up the opposite side, and so ad
irifinitnm — till at last I had the joy of standing on the very
summit of the beautiful Mount Rich, from which the
]ianorama is perfectly gk)rious ! You look over seven
States, ridge upon ridge of endless ranges of the loveliest
blue, here and there snow-dad. Towards Tennessee and
Kentucky the mountains shelving down, jiine-clad, into
green valleys stretching mistily away into dim hori/Am —
the most wonderful lights and shades and blue vapoiuT
mists — a sky sur})as8ing that of Italy, and a glory of sun-
shine, toiiching the rich green of the pines with gold, and
the distant snowfields with a lovely unearthly radiance !
Mount Ricii itself is clothed with pines and deciduous
MOUKT UICII.
287
be ima-
ragraiK^'G.
id higher,
ills, stop-
rresistibly
,li leading
h led iuto
valleys of
H'taiu laiuV
g me away
! \\\A ami
cut to my
at lo be the
ug, with the
having been
keep th-ni
■was a Jeep
,le, and so ad
on the very
1 which the
over seven
\\\G loveliest
'unessee and
ue-clad, into
ui hon7A-)n—
|l>lue vapo\ivy
kdory of siui-
itli gold, anil
radiance !
id deciduous
trees to its very highest point, the ground covered with
deep mossy turf ; but wide si)ace8 have been cleared to
admit oi uninterrupted vistas.
I hurriedly tried to gather nito my sketch-book some
faint reminiscence of this incomparable panorama ; "lud
then, alas, it was time to descend.
This time I followed a tolerably distinct sort of sheep-
walk, which led to the most gloriously beautiful pMie
grove I have ever seen or could imagine ! Hundreds of
luxuriant pines oi the most exquisitely beautiful form and
foliage, grouped, by uature, in graceful masses that no art
could equal, on golden nwssy undulating turf, the pymmidal
backgroimd of Mount Rich rising boldly into the blue sky.
The path led winding through the loveliest grcups of
this indescribably beautifid pine-gai'den. and then opened
to fields and a cottage, in front of which a boy with
a shepherd's crook superintended an immense herd of very
small black pigs.
This I knew from the map to be the terminus of
the biidle-road from Hot Springs, and accordingly found it
close by, and followed it down a steep declivity, so thickly
wooded that Mount Rich was soon lost to view ; a steep
" g-neh " to the left, down Avhich roared a torrent at
the foot of a mountain rising steeply beyond, cleared here
and there, always in its steepest parts, for tobacco ])lanta-
tions.
The tobacco of theso hills is looked upon as excessively
choice, and is the most lucrative produce of this district —
the steeper the hill-side the better it grows.
The wide bridle-])ath was now all i)lain sailing, but as a
creek had chosen it for its bed, and meandered backwards
and forwards iu>on it, it was very wet walking, and so deep
occasionallv that one had to bound from stone to stone to
IF
I
28S
UNITED STATES.
avoid wading knee-deej). As the path advanced the trees
opened out to a series of the most heavenly vieAvs — an
artist's Paradise ! and always the delicious perfume of the
pines and the glory of the setting sun !
I reached the hotel just before dark in time for a visit to
the sulphur bath before supper.
Some ladies, and a young couple from Boston who occu-
pied the same table with me, were all mightily impi'essed
by my long climb, which they looked upon as an unheard-
of feat — most Americans being much too lazy to walk, in
fact considering it a waste of energy, especially up hill —
and assured me they would all go up, on donkeys, the first
fine day.
The following morning was again warm and summery,
and I spent a delightful day wandering among the pine-
clad mountains on the opposite side of the valley. But the
Round Top side is the lovelier by far.
I began to think I should never be able to tear myself
away from all this enchantment !
But, alas, the next day (January 9th) a change had come
over the " spirit of its dream," the hill-tops were wreathed
in cloud and a fine rain was pouring c'own.
There was nothing for it but to take refuge in the
steaming sulphur batiis ; the rain turned to torrents, and
then to snow, and finally, towards 3 p.m., cleared suffi-
ciently to make possible a scrambling walk, in deep snow,
to the beautiful Spring Creek Falls ; very difficult to
reach, the " creek " having turned to a raging torrent,
and so deeply overflowed its rocky banks that it was often
necessary to scramble some way up, over crags and trees, to
avoid being drowned.
The temperature had rapidly fallen, and next mornint,'
hills, valleys, and all were one sheet of sparkling snow ! a
SULPHUR SPRINGS.
289
aie trees
ewB- — an
le of the
a visit to
jvlio occu-
impvessed
uulieai'd-
0 waliv, in
up liiU—
s, the first
, summery,
r the pine-
But the
V.
self
tear my
ge had come
■ve wreathed
hvj^e in the
Lvrents, and
lleared sufti-
deep snow,
difficult to
[ring torrent,
it was often
and trees, to
lext morning
ling snow 1 a
sharp frost, and the air bitterly cold in spite of a brilliant
sun ; but it all looked so exquisitely beautiful, with the
bluest of skies above, that I decided to go up the hills,
if possible to the top of Mount Rich, to compare the snow
effects with the previous summery ones.
But just as I had crossed the bridge, heavy clouds rolled
up and thick flakes of snow soon blotted out the surround-
ings, so back I had to go to the usual refuge of the sulphur
baths.
But this time, for some reason which nobody seemed to
understand, the flooded state of the river had caused the
water to rise in the baths to a depth of 7 or 8 feet,
and looked rather alarming ! However, it was not impos-
sible, there being ropes to hold on by, and a narrow stone
staircase for descending into the bath.
The snow storm continued, and I began to think of
departing, but it cleared in the afternoon, and I tried
to get as far as the famous Paint Rock along the beau-
tiful road skirting and partly overhanging the swollen
river ; after two or three miles, however, arriving at a curve
where the whole road was deeply submerged, and ])anked
by high perpendicular rock, so had to turn back.
Next morning, however (January lltli), the sun was once
more visible in cloudless blue sky, the snow all frozen hard ;
so directly after early breakfast I started, duly provided
with " crackers," as they call biscuits, in hopes of being
able, with the help of my strong alpenstock, to get to the
top of Mount Rich.
The whole landscape was dazzlingly white, the trees and
shrubs covered with the loveliest minute icicles and snow-
flowers, and although the road, in places, was deep in
frozen snow, melting where the sun reached it, and the
zig-zag path of the creek over the bridle-road was mostly
u
li^iiiijji ft-
290
UiMTED STATES.
coated with ice, there was no particular difficulty till I
reached the cottage wliei*e the pigs herded.
There the bridle-road ends, and the rough path begins.
As I emerged from the thick, dark shade of the wood
into this open space, the steep, upright cone of Mount Rich
suddenly came into sight, the most absolutely glorious and
fairy-like scene I ever beheld !
The mountain seemed, as it were, transfigured into a
radiant glory simply divine. Shining frozen snow, like
burnished silver, covered the ground — my beautiful pine
grove, as well as the whole of the graceful leafless trees
reaching to the highest summit, all one shining, dazzling
fretwork of frosted snow, delicate icicles, ropes and wreaths
of fairy diamonds, emeralds, rubies.
The incredible, unearthly shine and radiance of it all !
the deep blue of the cloudless sky, contrasted into a kind
of burnished ultramarine-indigo, a sight to hold one spell-
bound, wrapt in speechless ecstasy, a dream divine of joy
and beauty — indeed, a "joy for ever ! "
Nothing could surpass this sight divine ! but, after a
time, I longed to see it all from the top, so, excelsior ! all
trace of the path obliterated by snow. Still, I could guess
pretty well, the general direction, at any rate.
The snow was deep, the frozen surface sometimes bear-
ing and sometimes letting one down, sharp ice cutting
one's boots ; on the steeper and rockier j^arts sheets of
slippery ice, on which it was impossible to obtain a foot-
ing, though I tried to make the sharp point of the alpen-
stock do duty for an ice-axf ; and where the snow looked
safe, one suddenly felt it slipping and rapidly carryiug
one down with it over the slippery ice beneath. Then,
in the beat of the sun-rays, the lovely fretwork of frozen
snow and icicles constantly melting, dripped in streams of
SNOW EFFECTS.
291
y till 1
begins,
he wood
ant Ricli
•ious and
;d into a
now, lil^e
tiful pine
[less trees
r, dazzling
id wreaths
of it all 1
nto a kind
I one spell-
vine of joy
mt, after a
celsiorl all
could guess
itimes bear-
ice cutting
:s sheets of
tain a foot-
the alpen-
|snow looked
Uy carrying
Ltb. Then,
Irk of frozen
In streams of
water or fell in sharp masses with great thumps on one's
head.
In short, it was not easy, but infinitely well worth in-
comparably greater labour to see the sight that I saw at
the top.
It is no use to attempt to describe the indescribable,
and at last I tore myself from that unutterable present-
ment of divine glory and beauty, and clambered down
again, and reached the cottage, where I found the pigs
assembled in force — a quite alarming black regiment —
which, probably put out by the difficulty of finding food
under the snow-wreaths, seemed inclined to show fight
when I meekly endeavoured to find a path through their
serried phalanx.
Luckily, the herd-boy was not far off, or I think I
should have had to make a detour; for creatures whose
favourite food is the rattlesnake are not to be faced with-
out thinking twice.
The rest of the way on the bridle-path and road was only
slippery and sloshy where the sun's rays shone ; so, stopping
occasionally to take mental photographs of the wondrous
views in their shining garb of silver, I reached the hotel
just as the last scarlet rays of sunset were paling to rose-
pink on the white surrounding world, and once more pro-
ceeded to the sulphur baths, which had now reached a
depth of about 12 feet.
At supper my Bostonian friends seemed quite awe-
struck when they had heard where I had been, and quite
enthousiasm/' when I described the snow marvels, but I
don't think they ever went !
January 1 2tli. Four degrees below zero, a pelting snow-
storm. The water had now risen so high at the baths
that the whole building was overflowed — still rising rajjidly
292
UNITED STATKS.
— SO the whole thing had to be shut up, and, for all I
know, may have been bodily carried away, as the river
rose all day, and in the afternoon the snowstorm was still
ra^iug.
It was, perhaps, as well for me that my last pair of
boots had come to the last stage of grief, and that the
sweet little village of Hot Springs contained no boot or
" rubber " shops, or I might have been there still. It is one
of those fascinating haunts that one could linger at for ever.
But now it was good-bye; and at 4 p.m., escorted by
the German doctor — who had been singing charmingly in
tlie great ball-room songs of Wagner and Schumann all
the morniag, accompanied on the grand piano by the Bos-
tonian ladies — and the huge negro porter groaning and
staggering under the weight of my light little " grip-
sacks" (as the Americans call travelling bags), I waded
through the heavy snowstorm the very little distance
across the garden to the depot, where the train shortly
arrived, and conveyed me to Morris Town, reached at
7 p.m., where I had the pleasure of waiting in the
draughtiest and iciest of waiting rooms, the thermometer
having dropped to 12 degrees below zero, till a branch-
train came in at 11.45 p.m. and further conveyed me in a
suffocating " sleeper " which was taken off at ten next
morning, all changing into an ordinary car, to Roanoke,
where, for some occult reason, the " connecting " locomotive
did not put in an appearance till two and a half hours
after its time. Consequently it was too late to go on to
Natural Bridge ; so, instead, I walked up 200 or 300
yards to the imposing and most comfortable Eoanokt;
Hotel, my heavy baggage having been "checked" straight
to Washington.
An excellent luncheon was ew train of being eaten in a
^ s»^,
3r all I
le river
^as still
pair of
that the
boot or
It is one
; for ever,
jorted by
aiingly in
inuinn all
f the Bos-
ming and
:le "gvip-
^ I waded
e distance
an shortly
reached at
ug in the
Lermometev
a branch -
id. me in a
,t ten next
Koanoke,
locomotive
half hours
o go on to
;00 or 300
|le Eoanoke
l1" straight
eaten in a
o
u
y,
-r.
■•r.
y.
' v]
I
::f
ROANOKE.
293
fine dining-parlour, aud after it was over the amiable
landlady, Mrs. Campbell, ottered to show me the principal
Roanoke lions.
It was a brilliantly sunshiny day, but with the thermo-
meter at 12 degrees below zero, and the ground one white
sheet of snow aud ice, land no boots to speak of to wear, a
walk which otherwise would have been delightful, in tine
hilly scenery, became a more than doubtful pleasure ; and
the day being, unfortunately, Sunday, it was tantalizing
to pass two or three huge " boot and rubber stores," not
able to enter in.
The town stands high, skirted by the fine Roanoke
river and the Blue Ridge Mountains, which just here rise
in somewhat mound-like shape, grassy and green (where
not covei'ed with snow) but destitute of trees. The views
are grand and expansive, and there are curious fountains
and springs of unknown depth, one of which, high up in
the hills, Mrs Campbell was anxious I should see ; and I
should have liked it too, but after wading knee-deep for
more than an hour in half -frozen snow, in the bitterest of
cutting winds, hands and feet literally turned to ice, my
curiosity and courage failed, and I begged to return to the
warm comforts of the hotel, where we arrived just as the
snow-hills turned scarlet at sunset.
Next morning, which was beautifully sunshiny but
equally freezing, my one longing was to fly to the boot-
stoi'e for new boots and '• arctics " (snow-boots). I found
an excellent pair of strong triple-soled boots, not remark-
able for elegance, although pui-porting to be " Parisian ; "
but, alas ! no " arctics." " Rubbers" {i.e., goloshes) were
to be had in plenty, so I invested in a pair, which stood
me in good stead during the icy remainder of my pere-
jjjrinations.
:. I "t
4
294
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Natural Bridge of Virginia — Luray — Caverna of Luray—
Shenandoah Valley.
AT 11 a.m. my train startuu for Natural Bridj?e,
through the charming scenery of the valley of Vir-
ginia, watered by several fine rivers, arriving at noon at
the neat little depot, one sheet of ice — my new " rubbers "
quite invaluable on the slippery ground.
A sort of pony-carriage with a strong, imj^atient pony,
with difficulty held in check by an important-looking black
coachman, was waiting to take me to the Pavilion Hotel,
Natural Bridge, about three miles distant.
In the lovely brilliant sunshine and radiant blue sky,
one almost forgot the intensity of the frost — here 13 de-
grees below zero ! and the pony merrily trotted, jangling
his bells, through the deep snow, and plunged, as if he
liked it, into a wide frozen creek, the ice bearing at first,
then breaking under our weight, into deep water. We
soon scrambled out, our valiant pony breaking into a
gallop, and in less than half an hour reached the summit
of a small plateau fringed with fine and choice trees,
on which stood the two or three hotels, and one beautiful
villa surrounded by gardens, which constitute the " town "
of Natural Bridge.
In every direction, lovely views of the distant peaks and
NATUUAL BiumJi:.
295
f Luray—
[ Bridge,
IV of Vir-
t uoon at
rubbers "
ient pony,
king black
ion Hotel,
blue sky,
lere 13 de-
, jangling
a, as if be
or at first,
ater. We
ng into a
he summit
loice trees,
beautiful
lie "town"
1
peaks
and
domes of the Blue Ridge and riehly-fertile, wooded valleys
— but where was the Natural Bridge ? No trace or in-
dication of it could be seen, although I had been told to
look for it within two minutes' walk of the hotel ! I de-
posited my things and had a cup of tea at the Pavilion,
where, in answer to my anxious inquiries, I was assured
that the Bridge was there ; I should find it close by, and
had only to follow the road.
So I set out to find it.
I " followed the road " up a broad wooded slope, no
bridge anywhere !
O: d on, through deep snow, wondering at the native
ide • " close by " — along the road, till, at last, I met
a „ A horseback and inquired for the bridge. He said,
•* 01. my ! you've gone miles out of your way ! Turn back
till you see a little house with a wide gate, through which
you must go, and follow the path."
So back I turned, till, after a long time, I saw the
objects described, and entered into a sort of snowy park,
trying to find the " path " in the deep snow. There seemed
to be some sort of track, and frozen footsteps here and
there ; so I followed on to a wide steep expanse, with the
beautiful Blue Ridge beyond — all one sheet of dazzling
snow, looking like burnished silver where the snow had
melted into sheets of pure ice.
I concluded that the " bridge " must be under the further
side of this steep acclivity, and proceeded to climb up it,
as best I could, over the frozen snow, which often gave
way and dropped me into a depth of one or two feet.
With the greatest difiiculty I reached, at last, the steep
and absolutely glassy summit, on which stood an observa-
tory, up which I climbed, not easily, for the whole of the
steps and all were entirely covered with transparent ice, ou
m
• ^'M
IN
fl
:<-r;
296
UMTI:D (SIATES.
which only my trusty " rubbers " enabled me to keep any
kind of footing.
No " bridge " anywhere ! ',
But a view indescribably beautiful ! A imnorama of
magnificent mountain ranges, all one unbroken sheet of
radiant frozen snow, rose-scarlet in the marvellous red
light of the nearly setting sun !
In the intense and bitter cold I had been gradually
turning into an icicle, and was almost too benumbed to get
safely down the slippery steps, and retrace my way on the
glassy surface of the hill ; and this time, was not provided
with my trusty alpenstock — only an umbrella.
However, somehow or other, with immense difficulty,
sliding and stumbling, I at last reached the gate which had
beguiled me — much to my advantage, for otherwise I
might never have seen the glorious " sunset view " from
Mount Jefferson, as I afterAvards discovered its name to
be.
Now all was plain sailing and I followed the road
homeward, shadowed by magnificent trees, till just as I
reached the height above the little plateau, I met a lady,
with the loveliest pale-gold hair, walking with a little boy,
and begged her to tell me tvhere this famous bridge could
possibly be ? She said, " Oh, just right away here," and
kindly turned back to a gate close by, through which she
conducted me, along an almost impossible path, knee-deep
in snow, tumbling over rocks slippery with ice, to a ridge
protected by au iron rail overhanging a stony pei*pendicular
precipice 300 feet deep — and lo ! there just across to the
left, was the wonderful Natural Bridge, over-arching the
rocky ravine, in the depths of which flowed the half ice-
bound Cedar Creek.
A stupendously grand and impressive sight ! these huge
PL'LPIT HOCK.
297
ep any
a ma of
hc'C't of
0U8 rod
radually
;d to got
,y on the
provided
lifficulty,
rhich had
lerwise I
sw" from
I name to
1 the road
ust as I
et a lady,
Uttle boy,
ge could
eve," and
which she
knee-deep
o a ridge
lendicular
'OSS to the
•ching the
half ice-
ihese huge
vertical walls of rock, held together and bridged over by a
gigantic monolith of horizontal limestone 90 feet in span,
40 feet deep, and 100 feet wide, slightly slanting, and
crowned by the loveliest fringe of graceful trees !
The highway passes over this huge monolithic arch, and
no wonder that I had actually (irossed over it without know-
ing it, for the wide road is thickly bordered by trees which
shut out all suspicion of the marvel beneath.
The rock from which we looked, and which is remark-
able for a natural seat and table, is called the Pulpit
Rock, a site, indeed, sublime for a *' Sermon in Stones ! "
The whole included in the lovely private grounds of the
villa l)elonging to the widow of Colonel Parsons, who,
some months previously, had been shot by a railway con-
ductor to whose conduct he had taken exception.
These shrubl)eries are beautifully planted with grand
catalpa and tulip trees, the ubiquitous magnolia, and lovely
Virginian cedars. The charming villa stands in the midst,
with a lofty campanile and observatory, and wide verandas
and balconies half hidden in creepers and flowering shrubs.
It was now closed — Mrs. Parsons and her daughters pre-
ferring to spend the cold winter months in apartments in
the Pavilion.
My kind guide next showed me the way to a small lodge
on the opposite edge of the plateau, through which one
had to pass en roiite to the ravine under the bridge ; and
beyond which, a steep declivity led, by a flight of rustic
steps, skirting the edge of a wide and shallow creek, tum-
bling in sparkling, half-frozen cascades down an interminable
series of wide and shallow natural steps in the rocky
descent, covered with ice and icicles, and overshadowed by
magnificent arbor-vitae trees, of untold age.
When I had accomplished the descent — difficult on the
\^^
298
UNITED STATES.
slippery ice, the snowy path took a sharp turn to the right,
following the course of the beautiful Cedar Creek, so named
because of the grand and stately virginian cedars which
cover the high steep banks of the ravine.
Stumbling in the deep frozen snow coming round the
bend, suddenly I found myself face to face with this inde-
scribably astounding and wonderful work of nature, in all
the intense impressiveness of its superb and magnificent
grandeur !
It is a sight the wonder of which grows and grows as
you look ! The ponderous, massive, red-gray rocky giant
walls, held joined on high by that mighty vit most grace-
ful span, overhanging the tremendous tunnel, " not made
by hands," through the towering cliff.
The green waters of the creek flowed calmly on, half
veiled in ice, round and about the craggy boulders moss-
grown with yellow lichen ; and the rocky narrow path, one
sheet of ice, hugging the vertical right-hand wall, led
through the ice-girded bridge to where, beyond it, under
the Pulpit Rock, you look back on its stupendous form,
and the cedar-crowned ravine beyf»nd.
It would be impossible to imagine anything more mag-
nificently grand than this portentous and wondrous monu-
ment of the gradual and insidious, disintegrating power
and might, in long course of ages, of a stream of water !
Twilight was rapidly turning to gloom and darkness,
deepening and enhancing the overwhelming grandeur of
the giant bridge ; and in the deep snow, and icy slipperi-
ness, I struggled back to the hotel ; where, soon after, I
sat down to supper, in company with three or four ladies,
one of whom turned out to be my kind guide with the ex-
quisite pale-gold hair. We soon renewed acquaintance,
and I found that she was the eldest, lately married, daughter
NA.TURAL BIUDCM:.
299
} riglit,
named
which
md the
js iiide-
e, in all
Tuificent
n'ows as
ky giant
st grace-
aot made
on, half
ers moss-
path, one
wall, led
I it, under
ous form,
nore niag-
ous monu-
ing power
f water 1
darkness,
andeur of
y slipperi-
on after, I
our ladies,
lith the «^x-
uaintance,
d, daughter
of Mrs. Parsons ; she gave me the kindest invitation to sit
afterwards in her mother's comfortable parlour, which was
a great boon, and I si)ent the evening in pleasant talk with
her and her sisters, and a Philadelphian lady, the mother of
the little boy I had met with her, and who, although oidy
five years old, seemed to be, like most American children,
*' quite the master," and phenomenally i)recocious.
My bedroom was freezingly cold, but a fine, turbaned
negress brought me a good supply of pine-logs, and
smilingly made up the fire.
Next morning (January IStli) dark heavy clouds, already
falling in thick snow over the mountains, seemed to threaten
a deep fall, and fearing to be snowed up, I decided to
leave by the afternoon train to Luray.
And meantime, hurried down again to the glorious
Natural Bridge — a sight, I think, one of the very grandest
and most impressive in all America.
Then to see another marvel — a wide fissure in a deep
cave, down which you look, and see and hear a roaring
violent rush of water — the " lost river," a subterranean
torrent, of which this is the only known gh'mpse.
At last it was time to return to the Pavilion, where
I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Mrs.
Parsons, on whose property all these wonders occur, and
to which, at all times, she allows access to f.ie public.
In summer it must be one of the most fascinating
places in the world to stop at, for, in addition to these
marvels, there are mountains to be explored and ascended,
and walks, and rides, and drives in all directions, in
the loveliest scenerv, which in winter are of course in-
accessible.
After a late luncheon, it was time to start ; the little
carriage with the strong pony came to the door, and away
i! i
•ii*';
1
300
UNITED STATES.
we trotted through the snow and icy creek, thick flakes
beginning to fall.
The train was due at 4 p.m., and came "on time"
(punctually), and proceeded at full speed through the
lovely Shenandoah Valley, now veiled in snow, as well as
its guardian ranges, its rivers sheeted with ice. It was
sad to think of the terrible and ghastly scenes of wounds
and death this peaceful vale had witnessed — the early
Confederate successes under Johnston, and " Stonewall
Jackson" who came to so sad an end in the early days
of the war, shot by mistake by his own men ; and the still
greater successes of the Federals under Sheridan at Cedar
Creek and elsewhere, towards the close of this frightfully
destructive, fratricidal Avar, in which the hideous loss of
life, especially of young life — for the flower of the gallant
youth of the country had everywhere volunteered en masse
— exceeded all previous records of carnage, scarcely except-
ing the Napoleonic wars !
At about 6 p.m. we reached Luray, a pretty miniature
city perched on a height, from Avhich it looks across the
Lnenandoah Valley to exquisite distant views of the Blue
Ridge ; hs streets beautifully shaded, and many gardens,
and boasting some very powerful mineral springs a little
way off ; but its incomparable pride the famous wonderful
caves.
These caverns were originally discovered in 1795 by
Ruffin, a celebrated hunter, who was shortlv afterwards
killed, fighting against Indians ; and no further exjjlora-
tion was made till 1825, Avhen a party of explorers from
Luray, after much search, succeeded in finding an opening,
through which they made their way for a distance of half
a mile, seeing many wonders, of which they published an
account.
LURAY.
301
; flakes
time"
gh the
well as
It was
wounds
16 early
tonewall
rly days
the still
at Cedar
ightfully
8 loss of
,6 gallant
en masse
[y except-
ainiature
cross the
he Blue
gardens,
s a little
vouderful
1795 by
fterwards
explora-
Brers from
opening,
e of half
lished an
From that time, strange to say, no further attempt at
discovery was made ; curiosity was, apparently, satisfied,
and the story of the wonderful caverns, as years rolled by,
came to he treated as a mei'e legendary myth. At last, in
1878, one Stebbins, a photographer of Luray, began a
systematic search for the lost cave, and, in conjunction
with friends, whilst jirospecting the traditionary '* conical
hill," discovered a large hole, through which a strong
current was blowing from the interior. They set to work
with i^ickaxes, and an opening was made into the hollow
ground, into the depths of which one of rhe party had the
courage to have himself let down by a rope, armed with a
supply of candles.
He found himself in a narrow rift, through a hole at the
end of which he crawled a long way, emerging at last into
the marvels of the " Entrance Hall." His friends, alarmed
at his long absence, descended to his relief, and his courage
was rewarded by his name (Campbell) being given to one
of the grandest halls of the cave.
From the depot, I proceeded to the Mansion Inn,
very warm and comfortable ; and early next morning
started, in a pelting snowstorm and icy blasts of wind, in
a four-wheeled sort of trap with a hood, through snow so
deep that the two strong horses required to drag us
struggled and plunged in the deep drifts till they nearly
upset us. However, although frozen and one mass of snow,
we at last reached the conical hill, and alighted at the little
house built up against a rocky dome at the top, where you
take off your wraps and put on a waterproof (if you have
had the wisdom to bring one), the resident guide lights
seven or eight caudles, securely lixed upon small trays pro-
tected on one side from draughts, one of which he gives
you to carry, himself armed with another, in addition to
If
if'
ii:.
i '
302
UNITED STATES.
plentiful coils of magnesium light ; he then opens a door,
and, lo ! there you are in the cave, descending a steep,
slippery staircase, till you reach, at a considerable depth,
what is called the " entrance hall."
The temperature here, and in the whole of the caverns,
remains always at from 54 to 58 deg. Fahr. The venti-
lation is said to be everywhere perfect, although there are
moments, in the narrower and more intricate jsarts, when
one feels, or perhaps imagines, a suffocating sense of weight
and oppression.
In summer the caverns are lighted by electricity, but in
winter the few and rare visitors have to be content with
tallow candles and magnesium lights.
At once you feel plunged into a new and strange
" Wonderland ! "
At first, in the awful darkness just made visible by the
seven or eight candles, one is only dimly aware of a
gigantic column of ghastly white, reaching from floor to
ceiling, shining and dripping, with curious incrustations.
But eyes soon get accustomed, and everything becomes
distinct, and you pass through the great entrance, prepared
to enter, with due awe and reverence for Nature's mighty
handiwork, into the range upon range of vast halls, gardens,
fountains, lakes, and fearful abysses, all encompassed and
teeming with strange shapes and fantastic growths, pass-
ing all imagination, and battling description !
The beginning of the slow growth of the linger of these
formations carries you back to a period millions of years
ago ; the " blue limestone " dolomite, which constitutes
this hill, belongs to the middle period of the Lower
Silurian ; and here is found a strange formation, unknown
elsewhere, to which the name " heJictite " has been given
— neither stalactite nor stalagmite — but extending hori-
■- ---t- -^-JB-Tt IL--'.
tl t .V
a door,
a, steep,
} depth,
caverns,
le venti-
ihere are
ts, when
»f weight
,y, but in
tent with
L strange
ale by the
are of a
n floor to
'ustations.
' becomes
prepared
s mighty
gardens,
assed and
hs, pass-
of these
of years
onstitutes
he Lower
unknown
)een given
aing hori-
PLUTO S CHASM,
303
zontally, without support, to a distance of four or five
inches, after which it grows in various snaky and contorted
forms, mostly upward ard scarcely ever downward.
No gypsum occurs in this cave.
One very cui'ious helictite formation is an admirably-
shaped small pink stone hand with perfectly-formed
fingers, extending horizontally, without support, from a
mass of translucent alabaster drapery.
At one point you come +o a terrific abyss, 70 feet deep
and 500 long, i-alled Pluto's chasm, at t)ie further end
of which, in black darkness, enhanced by surrounding
shining giant draperies, hangs suspended — its point of
suspension invisible — a stalactite ghostly form with
threatening arm extended, a really startling presentment
of a spook !
Then the Fish-market, in which thousands of per-
fectly-formed fishes, with parted tails, hang suspended in
thick, yet absolutely distinct masses, even scaly and
coloured as they should be, wet and glossy (as if just
caught) by the actioii of the ever-trickling water. A
*' frozen fountain," of which the exquisite upward and
falling jets glitter like drops of water turned to diamonds,
many " frozen cascades," and a gorgeous one of shining
chalcedony. An absolutely perfect " scaly dragon " twisted
rouncl the delicate spirals of, as it wei'e, some lovely frag-
ment broken from the groining of a Grothic church.
A huge stone basket of exijuisitely-grouped marbled
fruits, perfect in form and bloom, and a basket of flowers,
equally beautiful.
A " cathedral," with stately columns covered with ex-
quisite tracery, in which an " organ," with innumerable
translucent pipes, gives forth grandly deep and sonorous
perfect harmonics when gently struck.
is^•^
\%.
' 41
p
t
I
I
DRAGOX," LURAY CAVES.
CAVES OF LIT HAY.
306
The lovely " gnome's pavilion," covered with fairy-like
tracery in dazzliugly-white crystals.
The " Saracen's" and " Stonewall's" tents — marvellous
both, one in yellow, the other snowy white.
A inerniaid, simply perfect !
A " vegetable garden," stocked with every imaginable
vegetable ; a " theatre," with a stage, on which spectral
actors stand turned to stone; a "giant's hall," where
everything is on a gigantic scale, with stalagmitic pyra-
midal columns of stupendous size and dazzling ornamenta-
tion, on the floor of which may be seen the print of a
mocassined foot.
A huge " tower of Babel," and a " leaning one of Pisa,"
of marvellous beautv and finish, snow^v white! " Botrvoids,"
bunches of grapes, very beautiful, resulting from the be-
sprinkling of fine spray.
An " Angel's wing," of colossal size, every feather stand-
ing out separately in delicate fretwork of dazzling snow-
whiteness.
" Titania's veil," an exquisitely-beautiful, almost trans-
parent mass of most delicate drapei'v. Draperies ef every
size and hue and texture, most of them musically resonant.
A " wet blanket," that you can scarcely believe is not the
real thiug !
An exquisite " crystal spring," in a huge marble basin
raised some feet from the floor, inside and out one serried
brilliant mass of the loveliest shining crystals of lime — a
circular canopy of translucent stalactites suspended over
it from above.
" Alcinda's Spring, ' a large ornamented shallow basin,
lined with brilliant crystals, on the summit of a stony
bank, brimful of transparent sparkling water, which
flows into a series of basins, symmetrically placed by
t',5
I <
':" ^-m
111;
306
UNITED STATES.
nature on the flescendiug slope, gracefully decreasing: in
size.
Lions, elephants, birds, statuary in admirable groups and
single figures, cannon-balls, a bird's nest, with three per-
fect white eggs ! (cave-pearls). Sixteen alabaster scarves,
hanging all of a row, of the loveliest textures, folds, and
colours ! Then the magnificent " ball-room," in which the
good i^eople of the neighbourhood come to be married, the
wedding breakfast laid out in an adjoining hall.
'* Hades," a region of crystal lakes, encrusted with
exquisite formations, full of pellucid water, over-arched by
magnificent stalactites.
" Campbell's hall," and many other superb halls ; and a
fallen monster column, weighing 170 tons, which scientists
say, judging by the overlying stalactitic masses, must have
lain there over 4,000 years — seven millions of years con-
sumed in its formation !
All these marvels, for ever in a never-resting state of
slow growth, and decay, and re-formation !
In short, no words can give the faintest notion of the
incredible wonders of these enchanted caverns, unrivalled
in the whole known world, and far surpassing in interest,
of every kind, the great " Mammoth cave " of Kentucky,
(jigautic in size and extent but almost bare.
Hour after hour passed, but when at last we returned
to the light of day, I felt that I had seen only an in-
finitesimal portion of the wonders below. Many grand
caverns, including the "crystal room," so called because
studded with innumerable clusters of large transparent
hexagonal crystals, were inaccessible to me, being to be
reached only by crawling twenty or thirty feet on all
fours, along a low, narrow passage in the rock, deep in
waterv mud.
SHENANDOAH JUNCTION.
307
sing lu
ups aiul
ree pev-
scarves,
>lcls, and
hich the
•ried, the
ted with
ivched by
Is ; and a
scientists
must have
years con-
ig state of
1
Aon of the
xmrivalled
iu interest,
Kentucl<y,
je returned
)uly an in-
:any grand
^ed because
Ibransparent
|ieing to be
feet on all
Lk, deep in
In the little house above, I chose a few specimens of
divers of the formations, some almost rivalling in beauty
the lovely Mexican onyx ; and then plunged oice more
through snowdrifts and snowstorm back to the Mansion
Inu, where a good dinner was not to be despised — im-
mediately after which I had to hurry off to catch the
5.30 p.in. train to Shenandoah junction, where we arrived
two hours later in raging wind and snow. The connecting
train to Washington, D. C, was not due till 9.40, so two
hours had to be spent, as best one might, in a wretched
waiting-room, containing two or three wooden benches
without backs, already occupied by negresses, and a huge
stove, giving out such stifling heat, that I was compelled
to take refuge in the snow outside, returning for a minute
or two when absolutely frost-bitten. It is really out-
rageous that there should be no better accommodation at
a junction station where so much waiting has to be done.
All American depots are lamentably deficient in this respect,
and this is another of the serious dt'sagnhnents of
American travel. Add to which, at junctions, five or six
trains often stand all of a row, in and out of which you
have to thread your way with barely room to walk between,
at the imminent risk of being crushed or run over.
li iii:
•-Mi
308
CHAPTER XXV.
Washint^'ton (District of Colunihia) — Corcoran Gallery of Art —
SinitliMoniiin Institution — National Museum — Capitol — Mount
Vernon.
AT last, far from "on time," the train-bell began to
clang, and about 1 a.m. we readied Washington, and
the 'bus of the " Arlington " rapidly conveyed me to that
excellent hotel, where my baggage was safely awaiting.
January 17. Brilliant sunshine and blue sky, and a mere
powdering of snow, the air quite mild — a most welcome
change ; and joyfully I j^roceeded, after an excellent early
breakfast, to look rouud the immediate neighbourhood.
The "Arlington" is situated within two minutes' walk
of the beautiful square in which the " executive mansion
of the President of the United States," commonly called the
White House, stands in a charming small park full of
trees and flower-beds, on a height commanding a grand
distant view of the gigantic " monument," fine public
buildings forming two sides of the square. Then, at
9 a.m., to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, close by, which
includes a grand collection of bronzes by A. L. Barye, a
room full of casts from the antique, the " Greek Slave," a
lovely white marble statue by Hiram Powers ; and in the
picture gallery many tine examples of the Barbazon and
other French schools, and manv oriental vases of great
value.
WASHINGTON.
309
ry of Art—
,ol_- Mount
I began to
ngtou, autl
me to tbat
waiting,
and a mere
)st welcome
■ellent early
ourliood.
iiiutes' walk
ive mansion
ily called the
,avk fnll of
.ug a grand
fine publir
Then, at
•e by, which
L. Barye, a
;ek Slave," a
and in the
;arbazon and
ases of great
I returned to the h()tel for hiucheon, and then hurried
to the Smithsonian Institution, at a considerabh' distance,
between the monument and the capitol. This handsome
pih^ of many-towered, red-stone buiklings, stands finely on
a hill in a beautiful ]iark laid out with fine trees and
gardens, and was named after its founder, an English Mr.
Smithson, who had never visited America.
Its varied collections are full of interest, especially the
archaeological — its relics of prehistoric Indian races and
models of strange '* mounds," amougst them the extra-
ordinary " ser])ent-mound." in Adams County, Ohio,
1,000 feet long and 5 feet high, its wide open jaw inclosing
a giant egg, its tail three times coiled ; and the ancient
" clitt'-dwellings " in Arizona and New Mexico. A charm-
ing collection of stuffed birds, particularly of that heavenly
denizen of American woods, the fairy humming-bird.
After the Smithsonian had closed, at about 4 i).m., I
walked through gardens and beautiful ])ark-like grounds,
to the majestic, snow-white capitol, golden in the sunset
light, built upon the edge of a precipitous hill, from which
it magnificently dominates the city. It consists of two
wings of white marble, and a centre of stone painted white,
but which is to be eventually cased in white marble, sur-
mounted by a fine dome, on the summit of which stands a
colossal figure of Liberty.
A grand marble terrace, ascended from below by wide
and imposing flights of marble steps, extends, guarded by
a marble balustrade, along the whole front of the classic
building, commanding a superb "■•'" "w of the city and the
noble monument to George Washington on its opposite
rival hill ; and the winding waters of the wide Potomac,
dividing the litth; neutral District of Columbia from the
green lands of Virginia, stretching far away into the
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horizon — in the furthest distance, the Blue Eidge, dimly
discernible — the sun just setting opposite in crimson and
gold. No hour could have been more perfect for this
beautiful sight !
I walked down the marble steps into the park, up the
oi^posite hill past the museum, to the high eminence,
clothed in beautiful turf, on the highest point of which
stands the infinitely grand and beautiful obelisk of white
marble, 555 feet high — the highest and most imposing
monument in the world — erected to the memory of the
heroic and good George Washington, finished only eleven
years ago ! The surrounding views are superbly exten-
sive ; the air bracing and most exhili.rating, rapidly turning
colder, and that night it froze so sharply that the next
morning the Potomac was dotted all over with ice-floes
rapidly solidifying into sheets of ice.
Just below the obelisk the wide road encircles a beautiful
round green expanse of turf, across which I saved much
time by walking — which, however, " Keep Off the grass ! "
in large letters, on various small posts, peremptorily
forbade.
Had I been politely " requested" I might have listened,
but a " command " I thought might be disregarded ; and
safely accomplished the transit, in the face of an astonished
park-keeper, who, however, made no rem rk — continuing
through the beautiful park all the way to the \^Tiite
Lodge, and so home to the " Arlington " — a most delightful
walk !
The next morning I had set aside for the pilgrimage to
Mount Vernon, the ancestral home of Washington.
The weather, alas ! had completely changed ; an icy wind
was blowing, snow had fallen during the night, and heavy
clouds seemed gathering for more.
„■ " 'C'
I* ."►
It
T'T:
MOUNT VERNON.
311
e, dimly
Lson and
for this
J, up the
smiueuee,
of which
of white
imposing
ry of the
aly eleven
ily exten-
ly turning
: the next
h ice-floes
a, beautiful
IV ed much
le grass '. "
remi^torily
re listened,
Lvded; and
astonished
continaing
the White
delightful
rrimage to
ton.
m icy v(rind
and heavy
At 8 a.m. the hotel 'bus takes its " guests " to the wharf
on the Potomac, whence the strong little river steamer
starts.
We were soou o£E ; the wind blew in sharp and icy gusts
up the river, which was coated with ice-floes and solid ice,
through which we crunched with a grinding noise, our
speed much retarded thereby.
At first the banks are flat, here and there prettily
fringed with poplars ; after a time rising into rocky bluffs,
densely crowned with shrubs and trees ; the river beautiful
in its majestic width, and its strong, but quiet onward
flow. One or two fortified sites are passed, including
Fort Monroe, commemorating that president of whose
"doctrine" (much exaggerated) we hear so much, and a
small town or two ; fifteen miles we steam to Mount
Vernon, the banks rising to the imposing height of
200 feet, the beautiful forest of trees making them appear
still higher. At last we reach the little pier, with some
difficulty grinding through the here thick and solid ice,
and land.
The boat steamed up ibe river, and the pilgrims walk
up the sandy shore, to well-kept gravel walks winding up
through charming woods, passing a plain brick inclosure
on higher ground, in which, protected by a handsome iron
grated railing, stand, side by side in full view, the two
sarcophagi in which George Washington and his wife
Martha lie buried.
A little higher up, the trees open out on the summit of
the wooded bluff into a wide expanse of grassy lawn,
fringed with lovely evergreens and deciduous 'trees not yet
quite denuded of their autumnal gold. Under a splendid
sycamore a bench, from which a grand and charming view
of quiet repose — the broad winding river with its calm
li
i
312
UNITED STATES.
$>?'
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ji
h.i '
lil
•Kii .'
majestic flow, and far-reaching lauds green and wooded,
beyond. At this moment the sun deigned to shine and
smile on the poetic scene, the favourite one of the hero,
who was wont to spend here many peaceful hours, after the
long turmoil of his stormy life, during the two years
that yet remained to him after he had taken his final leave
of the madding world, refusing to be elected a third time
to the Presidency of the Eepublic his strong arm had
created.
Straight across the lawn stands the ancestral wooden
mansion with extensive buildings at the back, where the
negro slaves resided, also the horses ; George Washington
having been the younger son of a wealthy planter pos-
sessed of a large landed estate.
The house has the usual veranda, covered with the
lovely '* Virginian creeper," and contains many rooms, none
large. Touching it is to see how, after the final establish-
ment of Independence, each of the original thirteen states
vied with one another in newly re-furnishing each a room
with the best of their then scanty produce and wares, for
the beloved and heroic " Father of their country."
Everything remains, or has been replaced, just as it was
on December 14th, 1799 — the day on which he peacefully
passed to his rest — his devoted wife Martha surviving him
till 1801.
The house is full of interesting portraits of himself and
wife and friends — Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton,
La Fayette, Thomas Jefferson, Adams, Hopkins the first
commander of the Am^'-'can navy, and innumerable other
interesting personalities -and contains many personal and
other relics.
The whole, including the immediately surrounding 200
acres, has been bought by the Mount Vernon Ladies'
T'i>.;,
SMITIISOXIAN.
313
wooded,
nine and
:he hero,
after the
wo years
nal leave
tiird time
arm had
,1 wooden
vhere the
ashington
inter pos-
with the
oms, none
establish-
teen states
ih a room
wares, for
as it was
peacefully
iving him
mself and
Hamilton,
s the first
ible other
rsonal and
nding 200
n Ladies'
Association, and is all kept in beautiful order in national
remembrance of the great founder of the United States.
It is curious to think that in the first ministry of his
first presidency, the leaders of both political parties were
included. Thomas Jefferson, author of that noblest and
most touching of documents, the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, and head of the Uepublicau party (now called
Democratic) ; and Alexander Hamilton, the leader, con-
jointly with Washington himself, of the Federalist party
(now called Re]>ublican), who, after a brilliant military
career during the War of Independence, became a still
more distinguished lawyer and statesman. He drew up
the articles of the Federal Constitution, and prevailed
upon congress to adopt the debts incurred by the nation
for the conduct of the war, and established a national
bank. Many ornamental trees have been planted in the
grounds by distinguished visitors — one, I think, by the
Prince of Wales.
The icy wind every moment increased in violence, cutting^
into one's very bones, snow beginning to fall, and every
pilgrim, however great his enthusiasm, wished that the
whistle of the returning steamer would make itself heard.
Two hours was the allotted time, but nearly four passed
before we saw it slowly ploughing its way through the
momentarily thickening ice. It was joy to get on board
into its comfortable, but of course over-heated, saloon.
Luncheon was to be had below, but I had wisely come
provided with "crackers."
At last, at 3 p.m. instead of 1.30, struggling through
the ice-crust, we reached the wharf, where the Arlington
'bus was waiting for its guests.
The short remainder of the afternoon I spent at the
Smithsonian, revelling in the bird collection, especially
'5
ii±
11
mi
ml:
m
^H
m
Hh
m^
«Tpif5-5n
r^
|! i
k ^..
!i
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V
314
UNITED STATES.
that of that most exquisite of fairy beings, the humming
bird, the exclusive possession of which may well make
America boast ; the " Coquettes " with their tiny breasts
of living flame, and their dainty, fairy, nodding head
])lume8 ; the " Sappho-comet " with long double-tail
feathers of indescribable delicacy of finish, the whole tiny
bird resplendent in burnished gold with little peacock
spots. The endless variety of them — " sunbeams," evening
and morning " rainbows," " sylphs," " magnificents,"
" angels " — all dreams of incredible beauty.
Endless other varities of beautiful birds, and some
hideous, especially one disgusting " hornbill," monstrous
bird with huge red snout instead of beak.
Next morning (January 19tli), although very cold, was
j:;erfectly love;ly, and as early as possible I went to the
Treasury and the Navy Museum ; then, as soon as it
opened, to the National Museum, close to the Smithsonian.
One of its great attractions is the splendid collection of
stuffed buffaloes and other animals, extinct and extant,
peculiar to America. All these creatures, as well as the
birds, are admirably stuffed, far better than in England :
or, perhajjs, it may be that the extreme dryness of the
atmosphere, aided by the extreme warmth of the museums,
keeps the fur and feathers in a crisper and more glossy
and better state of preservation.
The ethnological department is also fascinating; and
many are the wonderful minerals and shells — and one
monster I must not omit — an extraordinary fish, 50 feet
long, hung up between floor and ceiling, shaped like a
shark, with two gigantic feelers or suckers (like those of
an octopus) and seven huge sharp bony swords proceeding
from its mouth.
Long before I had seen the half of the sections, I had
CAPITOL.
315
to hurry off to the capitol, having an engagement to be
shown over the interior.
The entrance, which is ascended by a flight of white
marble stairs, faces to the east, the city, in the beginning,
having been intended to extend in that direction ; the
citizens, however, were of another mind, and scattered to
the sunnier west, in which I think they did wisely. So
the great edifice, on its entrance side, only fronts a few
scattered villas and buildings, including a magnificent
public library, not yet completed, groups of statuary and
trees. The capitol is entered through huge handsome
bronze doors, elaborately commemorating in bas-relief
episodes in the life of Columbus.
The great Rotunda under the central dome is exceed-
ingly fire, decorated with effective paintings of the great
events of American history — four of the eight by Trumbull.
Next is the National Hall of Statuary, to which each
State is invited to contribute marble statues of two of its
shinier lights.
The next point of interest was the Senate, a semi-
circular apartment of no especial dignity or magnificence,
in which the senators sit in semicircular rows in arm-
chairs, strange to say not " rocking," each with its desk
complete.
Numerous boys stand at the back awaiting orders, which
are given by means of loud clappings of hands, some-
what distracting, one would imagine, to the orator of the
moment.
Ladies are allowed to walk in and out and to occupy
armchairs in the back circle, where the senators come and
talk to them, making a babel of sound.
The next departure was to the much handsomer House
of Representatives, quite empty, having just adjourned.
I If'
ji
1.
316
UNITKD STATES.
On through eudless more or less haudsome galleries and
divers committee and private rooms — one of them much
gilt and decorated, set apart for the President.
Then to the upper story, ascended by two grand stair •
cases, adorned with historical paintings of great size ;
lofty corridors leading to committee rooms. Finally, to the
top of the dome, from which a magnificent bird's-eye view of
the city and its surroundings. Down again, pausing a few
moments on the way, to listen to various curious acoustic
effects in the rotunda, and so out.
My next peregrination was through many fine streets
to the charming Connecticut Avenue, beginning with a
pretty circular garden, and bordered on each side by some
of the handsomest residences, including some of the foreign
embassies, among them the British, where I ]>roposed to
call. It is a spacious, sufficiently handsome, red-brick
building, standing in something of a garden in the broad
initial part of the avenue.
On the way back I visited several fine stores brilliantly
lighted up, and so home to the hotel. This, to my great
regret, was my last evening in this beautiful city ; so the
following morning (January 20th), after a very earjy
breakfast, I went for a last stroll past the charming
White House to the grand monument, so magnificently
situated, hurrying back to catch the 8.30 train, reaching
Baltimore at 10 a.m.
eries and
mi ni^H'h
lul stair-
eat size ;
ly, to the
ve view of
dng a few
9 acoustic
ne streets
ig with a
le by some
the foreign
roposed to
, red-brick
the broad
, brilliantly
my great
tv ; so the
very early
charming
uificently
reaching
li
n,
o
y.
r.
3
m
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317
111
CHAPTER XXVI.
Baltimore — Peabody Institute — Diuid Hill Park — Phila-
delphia—Indepeiulence Hall— West Fairmotmt Park — Atlantic
City — Lakewood.
THE weather was very cold but brilliantly sunny, and
the day being Sunday, after leaving my things at
the " Hotel Rennert," well situated and large, but in-
different, particularly as to cuisine, I strolled up the un-
dulating streets, a short distance, to the central point of
the city. Mount Vernon Place, occupying high ground, the
highest point of it dominated by a column 130 feet high,
on which stands a colossal statue of George Washington.
The little square is charmingly laid out, and surrounded
by handsome buildings. A few steps further took me to
the cathedral, an imposing domed edifice, less interesting
interiorly, just in time for High Mass, after which I
looked into several churches in the neighbourhood, in
particular, the extremely handsome Gothic Methodist-
Episcopal church, where an eloquent funeral sermon was
being preached in honour of the obsequies of an unhappy
young coui^le in the city, possessed, said the preacher, of
every earthly good, whose house had taken fire one night
in the previous week, the husband so devoted to his wife
that he refused to allow her to be saved from the flames
by anyone but himself, and leaping with her into the street
beneath, both were killed.
^4 ,r
'• ■■ 'U,
818
UNITED STATES.
I returned to the hotel for hmcheon, and afterwards
" rode " in a tramcar to the entrance of the beautiful
Druid-hill Park, 700 acres in extent, laid out with end-
less drives and walks, high hills and charming dales, the
whole full of magnificent trees and one extensive lake,
besides the city waterworks.
It was pleasant, in spite of the bitter cold, walking all
over the park, the views in all directions, in a quiet way
quite beautiful, although the trees were mostly, of course,
quite leafless. There is also on one of the park hills a
delightful conservatory and hothouses full of beautiful
flowers and exotic plants. It came on to snow during the
night, and next morning the houses were all roofed in white,
the streets to match, a disagreeable frozen rain falling.
Luckily it was not far to Mount Vernon Place, of which
nearly one whole side is occupied by the Peabody Insti-
tute, founded by the same Mr. Peabody to whom London
is so much beholden, and which contains many fine American
paintings and casts. Then to the opposite side of the
" Place " to see Mr. Walters' world-famous collection of
pictures and art objects ; but, alas ! found it closed, the
respected owner having died suddenly a day or two before.
I had hoped to see the Franciscan convent containing
an orphanage and industrial schools for black babies and
children, but was unfortunately unable to find the address ;
so, instead, went to see the splendid and admirably- kept
John Hopkins Hospital, founded and endowed by the
same Mr. Hopkins who likewise presented this, his native
city, with the John Hopkins University.
The society of Baltimore is considered the most refined
and literary in the United States, with the exception of
that of Boston. Jerome Buonaparte, brother of Napo-
leon I., resided here for some ti,me, having married Miss
ft i ." :_^
w
I'NITKD STATES NAVY.
81 i)
terwards
3eautiful
ith end-
ales, the
ive lake.
Iking all
juiet way
»f course,
■k hills a
beautiful
uring the
[ in white,
tiling,
of which
)dy Insti-
n London
American
lie of the
lection of
losed, the
wo before.
;ontaining
jabies and
address ;
ably-kept
by the
lis native
|)st refined
peption of
of Napo-
Iried Miss
Patterson of this city, before being made king of West-
phalia. This slice of Virginia, constituting the state of
Maryland (so called in honour of Queen Henrietta Maria),
had been originally granted by Charles I. to George
Calvert, created Lord Baltimore, who had been Secretary
of State during the reign of James I. His death having
occurred before setting out for his new colony, the latter
was re-granted to his son, the second Lord Baltimore, with
greatly increased and almost regal j)owers. He, as well as
his father, had embraced Catholicism, and detesting the
persecuting mania of that era, determined to build up his
new colony on a basis of absolute freedom of conscience,
and enacted a law that in his province of Maryland no
persecution or coercion on religious grounds should ever be
tolerated.
This enlightened and admirable rule, in the narrow and
persecuting spirit of that age r. as not iiiways practically
carried out, but it remained fixed as a leading principle,
and was equally enacted by William Penn in Peunsyl-
vania ; and, at the present day, for absolute toleration and
religious equality, and absence of bigotry, the United States
stands unrivalled in the world ; the repressive measures
against the Mormons being based on grounds not religious,
but simply social and moral.
Baltimore has always been famous for the building of
ships since the first rise of the United States navy in 1801,
for the prosecution of the war with Tripoli, in which
Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, then a mere youth, performed
such marvels of daring. Also, in 1815, against the Bey
of Algiers, who was forced by the same brilliant officer, in
command of the Mediterranean- American squadron, to
sign the treaty by which the States exempted themselves
from payment of tribute to the pirates of Africa.
nP"'
H
t:
'm
Ui
Jl - • i
■ r
fill''!-,
't
m
N< - It.
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320
UNITED STATES.
In the war with Great Britain iu 1812, of which Decatur
was again the naval hero, private vessels were everywhere
built and fitted as privateers, amongst which the " raking "
•' Baltimore clippers " became unrivalled for speed, and the
magnificent way they were manned, and manoeuvred, and
fought. Such, in those. days, was the desperate courage
and emulation of epch officer and man, that, iu boarding
the ships of the enemy, they would pull each other back
and down, so anxious was each to be first !
Id the afternoon I left for Philadelphia, in driving sleet
and snow, which I found in still greater force in the
" Quaker city," and proceeded to the Stratford Hotel, fairly
comfortable, but with a more than indifferent, and very
expensive, restaurant attached.
It is conveniently and centrally situated in Walnut
Street, all the best streets being named after trees. The
manager kindly presented me with a nice little guide-book
of the city, most convenient for carrying about, contain-
ing, amidst other useful information, a long list of " Things
Wherein We are First," prominent among them being
" Morality." Other items were, " the first experimental
railroad track," 1809, " the first lightning-rod used in the
world, 1752," set up by Benjamin Franklin. "First
mariner's quadrant," invented by Godfrey, 1780. " First
medical school in United States," 1751. " First paper-
mill in America," 1690. " First , ianoforte in U.S.," 1775,
J. Behrent. "First hospital in America," 1757. "First
vessel moved by steam in the world," 178o. And I think
I may add almost, if not quite, " First in extremity of
(!old," for a more icy and bitterly-])enetrating wind than
blew through those spacious streets I think I never
felt.
It was too late that afternoon to do much more than
PHILADELPHIA.
821
just reconnoitre the immediate neighbourhood — as far as
the great central City Hall Square, where stands the gigantic
granite and white marble new City Hall, covering an area
of 4| acres, an exceedingly imposing pile ; its giant tower,
when completed, will soar to a height of 510 feet, and
support on its summit a colossus, 37 feet high, represent-
ing William Penn. This tower commands a grand bird's-
eye view of this great city, which covers an area of twenty-
nine miles, and is situated between the rivers Schuitkyll
and Delaware, founded 216 years ago by William Penn,
son of the admiral of that name celebrated in the wars
between Engh'.nd and the Dutch, and who, having been
expelled from the university of Oxford for resistance to
certain religious innovations, completed his studies at
Paris, and soon after joined the Society of Friends, in
consequence of which he was turned out of his home ; and
after much preaching of his doctrines, and persecution in
result, was finally put in possession of this portion of
New Jersey by Charles II., in payment of a debt owing to
the admiral, in honour of whom it was named Penn-
sylvania.
The site for the city was purchased by Penn from the
local Indians, with whom he made a solemn treaty of
friendship, in ratification of which they presented him
with an embroidered Wampum belt ; i nd this treaty was
faithfully observec" by both parties as long as Penn lived.
January 22nd. The first and greatest point of interep'
is, of course, the famous ludepeudence Hall, in Chestnut
Street, in which sat the Continenttil Congress during
the war of the Revolutio'i, and, in which, on July 4th,
1776, that most magnificent and pathetic of documents,
the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas
Jefferson, was unanimously adopted by Congress.
rt'lst
ii
i;
322
UNITED STATES.
1>. >» i
:
i
The Hall is unpretending^ outside and in, and of small
size. On a slig-litly raised platform stands the table on
which the Declaration was signed, with the chairman's arm-
chair decorated with an effigy of the rising sun. On the
wall hangs the famous original " Eattlesnake flag " of the
Union, on which is pictured a triply-coiled rattlesnake,
with the defiant motto " Don't tread on me ! " also the
" Liberty " and " Pine-tree " flags of the Revolution.
Near the table is the great " Libei'ty bell," originally
cast in England, but expressly re-cast in Philadelphia, for
the honour of ringing the first peal in celebration of
the Declaration, In 1835 a huge crack became visible,
and it has only been rung once or twice since, and now is a
relic, for ever silent.
The walls are covered with portraits of the signatories of
the Declaration, foremost in interest among them being
that of its composer, Thomas Jefferson, third President
of the United States, remarkable for its noble beauty and
dignity ; that of Benjamin Franklin, the great scientist,
equally great in politics and philanthropy ; and the
beautiful countenance, full of genius and energy, of
Alexander Hamilton, the great framer of the Constitution,
of whom Talleyrand said that he was not surpassed even by
Napoleon I, in statesman-like genius and force of judgment
and character. His life came too soon to an end, in a duel
forced upon him by Aaron Burr, on political grounds,
in 1804.
The National Museum of the Hall contains many most
interesting autographs, letters, and relics, and on the
outside front sta?ids a fine statue of Washington.
The Drexell Institute, close by, consists of a fine library
and exceedingly interesting museum, containing very
valuable collections of textiles, ceramics, carvings, etc. -
I? T
yil i
■■'■«!' I
QUAKER CITY.
823
)f small
iable on
n's arm-
On the
" of the
tlesnake,
also the
m.
)riginally
Iphia, for
ration of
,e visible,
1 now is a
latories of
lem being
President
)eauty and
scientist,
and the
juergy, of
ustitution,
,ed even by
judgment
, in a duel
grounds,
In any most
lid on the
1.
ine libvaiy
Innig very
\b, etc. -
Next the Carpenter's Hall, also in Chestnut Street,
full of interesting memorials of the Revolution, and
in which the first Continental Congress assembled in
1774.
Then to the Academy of Fine Arts, in whiih the
galleries are exceedingly fine and well-decorated, and con-
tain 1 permanent and valuable (;ollection of paintings, many
of those by American artists, of great merit. Another very
charming exhibition of paintings in oil and water-colour, I
saw at Earle's art store. After which there was the
Academy of Natural S(!iences to be seen, which contains
most interesting collections.
The enormous Hails of Post, too, are worth seeing,
and contain many memories of the sad civil war; and
before returning to the hotel I went over the brilliantly-
lighted interior of the huge City Hall, not yet decorated.
When at last I reached the " Stratford," towards supper
time, there were no less than three gentlemen of the
Philadelphia press, all waiting to " ask my opinion " of
"Our City, Our Country, and Our Institutions r " and
" was I only globe-trotting ? or had I come for some
reason ? and, if so, what reason ? "
The really childish naivete of the curiosity of these
interviewers is quite amusing ! So I dismissed them with
one word of " immense admiration for the beauties of
America," and they went away in very good humour, and I
was told my " notices " in next day's pajiers were very
" favovirable," but hadn't time to read them.
Next morning was beautifully bright but bitterly cold,
and I betook myself by electric car to West Fairmont Park,
of enormous extent, covering a space of 8,000 acres, con-
taining 50 miles of drives, and 100 miles of charmingly
diversified walks and bridle-paths ! It boasts also a magni-
'm
324
uniti:d states.
v (
1,1
".r
r
ficent horticultural establishment with a fine collection of
exotics, and all the useful and medicinal plants of the
Continent ; and well laid out gardens outside ; but the
chief interest is the Pennsylvania Museum, built for the
Great Centennial Exhibition in 1876, and retained as
" Memoi'ial." It teems with interesting objects of art and
manufacture, and an excellent small collection of paintings,
mostly French. Everywhere in the United States one finds
the highest appreciation of French art of all kind, and in
all the great towns are to be seen chefs-d'oeuvre of the great
French painters.
There is a fine zoological garden near, and one of the
prinr ipal sights is the not distant Laurel Hill Cemetery,
beautifully planted, with fine vistas, and many monu-
ments— among them, one to Sir Walter Scott, and " Old
Mortality."
After this the electric car swiftly conveyed me to the
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, where I saw, amongst
many interesting things, the famous Wampum belt, pre-
sented by the Indians to Penn, an " unwritten treaty "
faithfully observed by both sides.
Franklin's printing press is here, and many of the early
publications of the Independence.
" Chestnut " and " Walnut " anj^ most of the " Tree
Streets " are full of handsome residences, one or two of
them containing very good collections of paintings and
works of art, ancient and modern.
Most of the best private collections pride themselves, as
they well may, on the possession of some of those ex-
quisitely beautiful terra-cotta statuettes from Tanagra,
unequalled in the whole ancient art world for grace and
charm.
One of the most interesting of the institutions is that for
stiou of
of the
but the
for the
ined as
art and
lintings,
>ue finds
I, and in
the great
le of the
) e meter y.
y monu-
ind
.^i
Old
[le to the
, amongst
belt, pre-
treaty "
the early
\\e "Tree
)r two of
tings and
J selves, as
those ex-
Tanagra,
^race and
is that for
ATLANTIC CITY.
325
the deaf and dumb, in which marvels of education have
been successfully achieved.
After this I just had time to run through the Wagner
Free Institute of Science before starting, at 5 p.m., for
Atlantic City, the Margate of America, a distance of
about 90 miles. It is immensely resorted to by the Phila-
delphians for sea-bathing, and has a fine sandy beach,
and good hotels overlooking the ocean, which rolls up
grandly.
Several miles of raised wooden walks were delightfully
sunny, although the icy wind was blowing with ferocity.
I found the Traymore Hotel very comfortable, and left
the next day, at 2.15 p.m., for another of the famous winter
resorts, Lakewood, New Jersey, where I arrived after
dark and drove straight to the charming Laurel-iu-the-
Pines, situated, as its name implies, in beautiful and
fragi'ant pine forests, stretching for miles and miles in all
directions, with, just in front, a lovely lake of great extent,
now frozen and covered with gay figures skating by electric
light.
The cuisine was excellent, and the dining-parlour admir-
ably served by a number of white parlour maids dressed
in snowy white. The reception parlours are large and
quite charming, and the usual good music and, generally,
dancing every evening. The entire hotel is surrounded by
magnificent glass corridors forming a series of sunny,
delightful winter gardens, in which it was pleasant to sit
and read in comfortable rocking-chairs, and forget the
bitter outside wind.
Here I lingered three or four days, a terrible waste of
time when there was still so much to see !
The weather here, in the midst of these vast pine woods,
was comparatively mild when I arrived ; but it soon turned
'•I
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326
UNITED STATES.
to snow and extreme cold, in which I departed on January
30th at 10.50 a.m., reaching Jersey city at about noon,
crossing over in the huge ferry-boat to Now York, driving
straight to the Netherlands Hotel, Fifth Avenue, Fifty-
ninth Street, where my heavy luggage had preceded me,
also the baggage originally left before we started.
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CHAPTER XXVII.
New York — Metropolitan Museum of Art — Lenox Library—
Museum of Natural History — Private collections.
THE " Netherlands " is magnificent and most comfort-
able, and charmingly and most conveniently situated,
overlooking the beautiful Central Park, in which are
placed the principal museums ; and the prices quite
moderate.
Streets, park, and all were deeply enveloped in snow and
the wind was sharp and bitter, but the air dry and exhilar-
ating, and the following morning the sun shone brightly,
and instantly after breakfast a majestic negro in gorgeous
livery, who acted with magnificent dignity as porter,
stopped the Fifth Avenue stage, into which I mounted,
and in a few minutes was deposited at one of the entrances
into the Central Park, where a road, well cleared of
snow, led in two minutes to the Metropolitan Museum of
Art, unpretending without, but full of priceless treasures
within.
The unrivalled treasure of this museum is the Cesuola
Collection of Cypriote Antiquities — the finest in the world
of Phoenician ; and including Greek, Assyrian and archaic
G-reek art, and magnificent specimens of ancient sarco-
phagi. This collection also includes wonderful ancient
terra-cotta statuettes and pottery, and an exquisitely
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328
UNITED STATES.
beautiful collection of ancient glass — Egyptian, Phcenician,
Greek, and Roman, of admirable form and the loveliest
iridescence — in short, an inexhaustible feast of beauty au'^
interest, to which one returns with always increasiuLC
delight.
There are, in addition to the Cesnola, many other fine
collections of antiquities, including iridescent glass, and a
perfectly exquisite one of terra-cotta statuettes from
Tauagra, miracles of grace and beauty.
The gallery of modern sculpture contains many beautiful
statues ; one especially interesting, of Napoleon I., by
Cariova ; and many halls are filled with fine casts of
statuary and monuments.
The picture galleries on the upper floor include excellent
examples of the old masters and modern. Especially
valuable is the French modern, amongst which towers
Rosa Bonheur's magnificent " Horse Fair," a glorious
piece of colour, form and movement, and light and shade,
of which the small replica in the London National Gallery
gives scant idea. You seem to hear the very ring of the
horses' hoofs as they trot to the show ! Many more of her
smaller paintings are here, exhibiting the various phases
of her wonderful genius; lovely, sunlit, mossy dells and
breezy hills, where browse admirably-painted cattle and
sheep, the character of the animals portrayed with such
delicately accurate observant knowledge ; and several
charming scenes in Fontainebleau and other forests.
Many fine cattle scenes also, by her brother, Auguste
Bonheur.
Bastien Le Page's " Jeanne d'Arc," in which the heroic
peasant-girl, a tall, somewhat gaunt figure with mysti
face, stands in her father's orchard garden, listening in
wrapt ecstasy to the mysterious "Voices," strange visions
NEW YORK.
32y
icenicuui,
loveliest
auty au'"*
icreasinij
)thev fine
88, and a
tea from
beautiful
an I., by
casts of
! excellent
Especially
ch towers
, glorious
Lud shade,
al Gallery
ing of the
ore of her
us phases
dells and
attle and
ith such
several
forests.
Auguste
he heroic
til myst
tening in
^e visions
motioning vaguely to her from above. It is an ex<;eedingly
beautiful and impressive picture, full of poetry, tlie master-
piece of the young i)ainter, who so early passed away
before his prime, and whose memory calls to mind the
young artist friend, Marie Bashkirtseff, also, nearly at
the same moment, so sadly claimed by death, iu her rising
dawn of genius.
There are many exquisite Meissoniers, in particular his
superb " Friedland," representing his beloved hero, the
great Napoleon, at the highest point of glory. Many
enchanting Corots ; and many other beautiful examples of
French schools, and some excellent English j)aintings.
A magnificent and huge painting by Bierstadt of Lake
Bonner, California ; one of his many admirable portrayals
of the glorious scenery of the Far West.
The American antiquities on this floor are of the greatest
interest, and there is a wonderful collection of Chinese art
and porcelain of marvellous delicacy, transparency, and
colouring.
When the Museum closed, which it does rather early in
the afternoon, I had time for a long walk over the Park,
which consists of miniature hills and dales all charmingly
laid out with lakes and fountains and cascades, and endless
walks and drives : the highest point dominated by the
beautiful rose-coloured obelisk, 69 feet high — " Cleopatra's
Needle " — with inscriptions by Thothmes III., by whom it
was originally erected at Heliopolis, and three centuries
later additionally inscribed by Rameses II. (circa 1200 b.c).
Its rose-colour was deepened to crimson by the rays of a
gorgeous sunset, intensified by the shining white of the
unbroken snow, with which park and trees were densely
veiled, lovely pendent icicles and frozen wreaths of snow
covering every branch.
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The next few days were entirely devoted to the Museum
of Art and the Lenox Library (in the Fifth Avenue, close
to my hotel) in which the upper storey is f^iven to paint-
ingH and j)ortrait8, and the j^'round floor to a wonderful
collection of rare books and illuminated MSS.,with excjuiHite
medicBval miniature paintinj^s of untold value and beauty.
Many early printed bibles, amonj^ them the famous
" Mazarin Bible," printed in 1455 by Gutenburjif and Fust ;
maps and charts used by Columbus and other early dis-
coverers, all of fascinating interest.
February 4th. 1 was invited to see art collections in
several private houses, at one of which I was to see two
beautiful paintings by my friend at Biltmoi'e, Miss
A'Becket, and a collection of exquisite Tanajjjra etatuettes,
and Greek and Roman iridescent glass. On February 5th
I went, for the first time, to the Museum of Natural
History, a pleasant, though, as usual, bitterly cold, walk
of about twentv minutes across Central Park, at the
opposite side of which it is situated, in Eighth Avenue,
Eighty-first Street. It is a huge and handsome building,
a feast of instruction, but, like the Museum of Art, only
a fragment, as it were, of what the edifice will be when
completed.
The bird collection, although not so large as that of
Philadelphia, is even more beautiful.
Unutterable gems of humming-birds, especially its
heavenly "Coquette" tribe; and marvellous " Trogons,"
only fit for Paradise ! The birds yclept of " Paradise " not
for a moment comparable to them.
The beauty of these Trogous passes description ! There
was one in particular before which one stood sim2)ly
fascinated ! The most exquisitely-delicate rose-pink breast,
the back and wings transmuted, as it were, and iridesciug
(
1
! Museum
uue, close
i to paiut-
woiidevful
I exquisite
id beauty,
e famous
and Fust ;
early dis-
lectioiis iu
to see two
lore, Miss
etatuettes,
hruary 5th
of Natural
cold, walk
rk, at the
Ai Avenue,
e building,
f Art, only
be wheu
as that of
»ecially its
Trogons,"
adise" not
an ! There
od simply
nnk breast,
iridesciui;
MUSEUMS.
R31
into an indescribable golden-j?reen ; the feathers of a
texture of delicate and marvellous beauty tiiat is not to
be seen in any other tribe or family of birds in the world ;
a perfectly unique texture, something between the silkiest
and softest of feather material, and delicate feathery fern,
Homothiug too dainty and beautiful for words, of the most
exquisite, soft velvety bloom and gloss ; others of every
variety of rainbow hue, — inconceivably beautiful ! Another
variiity of Trogon, the Quetzals, arrayed in the same
divinely-lovely feather texture and colouring, with the
proud addition of long, graceful sweeping tails, consisting
only of three lovely single feathers, each a perfect master-
piece !
The " Pitta " tribe is another American one of great
beauty.
The buffaloes and moose here are superb ; the antelopes
ranging down to little dainty creatures, tinier than any
tiny lap-dog.
The monkeys are immensely numerous, including many
gigantic specimens of those painful atrocities, chimpanzees,
ourang-outangs, and gorillas. The insect collection includes
terrible creeping things, large and small.
A hideous collection of snakes, and snakes' eggs, so
absolutely like hens' eggs, that I was not surprised at a
horrible story I was told, of a quantity of eggs brought
into his mother's cottage by a little boy one day from
outside, and placed by her in a nest in a warm corner of
the kitchen to be sat upon by her only hen ; and some time
after, one morning, there was her hen lying dead, and
instead of young chickens, a living, writhing brood of deadly
rattlesnakes !
February 6th. I came again for a long day at the Natural
History Museum, and looked through the exquisite collec-
:.,;.!
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332
UNITED STATES,
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tion of sh'^lls and fossils, among which an antediluvian
bird nearly twice as tall as a giraffe ; and a portion of a
" sea-serpent " (Mosa Saurus Maximus) which, like the
Liodon and Clidastes, disported itself in cretaceous seas.
Numerous beautifully formed " stone lilies," commoi in
the Paleozoic era.
In the mineral department, Arizona stands pre-eminent,
providing specimens of its marvellous "Petrified forest of
agatized trees," Chalcedony Park, Apache County. Trunks
of huge trees consisting entirely of one vast and beautiful
deposit of agate, amethyst, chalcedony, etc., mineralized
by means of hot springs, holding silica in solution, which is
supposed to have replaced the woouy matter as it gradually
became removed by decay. These sections of tree-trunks
have been beautifully polished.
From the copper-mines of Arizona there are specimens
of the most exquisite beauty — stalactites perfectly trans-
lucent of the most wonderful tints of delicate sea-green and
rose-pink and blue. Blocks of aragonite of various shades of
loveliest blue ; and exquisite crystals of light blue azonite
and superb blocks of magnificently-coloured Malachite.
The lower ground-floor is occupied by the Jessop Col-
lection of North American Woods, each specimen being
illustrated by a photograph of its living parent tree, and
its hai^itat, and paintings of its flowers and fruit.
The day had been brilliantly sunny but freezingly cold ;
between 3 and 4 p.m., whilst in the uj^per galleries, there
v*as a sudden stampede of the few persons present to the
window, where there was evidenilj something curious to
look at ; so I followed, and we saw an absolutely perfect
[)ar-helion, four perfect images of the sun, encircling it in
the form of a cross, each surrounded by a wide and
brilliant halo of radiance.
1.
cold;
, there
to the
ious to
perfect
g it iu
e aud
BLIZZARD.
333
It was a most beautiful slight — a very common one in
Arctic regions — but, the Curator said, of extraordinary
rarity at New York, only one having been previously
recorded, at a time of extreme cold.
The mock suns retained their brilliancy till the sun dis-
appeared, when they vanished also.
As I walked home through the park, the beauty of the
scene was quite indescribable, the gloriously brilliant
scarlet rays of sunset illuminating the glittering frozen
snow and icicles with which every tree and shrub was
covered ; but the cold was biting beyond .vords.
During the night a snowstorm came on with a violent
gale, and next morning (February 7th) the snow was
drifting in all directions, and only one or two walks were
being kept cleared ; so I found some difficulty in finding
my way across to the Museum of Natural History, and
the cold was more intense than ever, even when the wind
dropi)ed. I returned to the hotel at midday, as I was
engaged to go in the afternoon, by appointment, with an
American friend, to see Mr. Havemeyer's wonderful col-
lection of Eembrandts.
The house, not large, was furnished in yellow and gold ;
the art treasures all exquisite, including some of the loveliest
Tanagra statuettes I had yet seen, and beautiful bronzes,
and many gems of paintings ; in one room, nine or more
magnificent Rembrandts, placed side by side, the most
exquisite of which was the famous " Doreur," and a won-
derful old woman.
Afterwards we visited one or two studios, and saw some
interesting jmintings.
That night the snowstorm and gale returned with re-
doubled fury — this time a recognized "blizzard." In the
morning (February 8th) it was in full force, a hurricane
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334
UNITED STATES.
blowing, and, although the suow only occasionally fell, it
was being violently whirled and tossed by the gale in such
dense clouds of fine, minute frozen particles, that no
windows or anything could keep it out ; and out of doors
(where only necessity dragged anyone) the sensation, as
it penetrated eyes, nose, ears, everything, was of absolute
suffocation.
It looked almost impossible to face, but having an
engagement to see Mrs. W. H. Vanderlult's beautiful art
collection, I felt compelled to make the attempt.
No cabs were to be had, but happily it was not far off,
so wrapping a shawl over my hat and face, somehow, with
the help of my cicerone, almost choked by the fine snow
which penetrated through shawl and all, and nearly blown
away by the fearful gusts, we at last managed to get
*here.
I was well rewarded by the art-feast I found there.
First and foremost Turner's exquisitely lovely " Fountain
of Indolence," which has never been engraved ; nin^^ or ten
admirable Meissoniers ; three of Millet's most poetical and
lovely works, the " Sower," '' Shepherd," and " Water-
Carrier," now priceless, and for which he himself received
such miserable pittances ; de Neuville's " Le Bourget,"
Roybet's " Musical Party," several good paintings by
Baron Leys, of whom Alma Tadema was a pupil ; and
many other beautiful paintings and objects of art.
The drawing-room is very magnificent, but the picture
gallery scarcely light enough.
The next day the blizzard continued, but tha hurricane
of wind a trifle less ; so I managed to struggle out and
spent the morning at the New York Historical Society,
containing interesting Assyrian and Egyptian collections,
the latter including three mummies of the '* Sacred Bull ; "
■'1 .."■■■
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in such
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of doors
ition, as
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it far off,
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Fountain
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etical and
' Water-
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ourget,"
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pil ; and
[e picture
hurricane
out and
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NEW YORK.
335
many portraits also of great interest. And in the after,
noon there were several private collections to be visited by
dml^s '°*' """"^ '''"'' ^""'"^^ ^'"'"'^ P^^^*^"^' ^* ^^ ^'^
February 10th was Sunday. The bliz.ard slightly
abating, I succeeded in struggling out to St. Patrick's
Ca«.edral not very far in Fifth Avenue, and the Museum
ot Art in the afternoon.
At 11 p.m I left by train for Boston, where I arrived at
6.30 a.m. on Monday, driving straight-deep snow everv-
where-to the Brunswick Hotel, delightfully situated at
the orner of Copley Square, in which all the art interest of
isoston is centred.
■■'4
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336
CHAPTEE XXVIII.
Boston — Trinity Church — Museum of Fine Arts — Plymouth
Rock.
THE "Brunswick" is large and comfortable, and the
parlours and corridors adorned with excellent paint-
ings by American artists, placed there on view for sale.
After breakfasting I walked, in icily cold, but quite clear
weather, to the Museum of Natural History, close by,
where the bird collection seemed poor after the magnificent
one of New York, the feathers rather ptuffed and untidy ;
but, 671 revanche, a splendid show of American serpents,
one huge rattlesnake from the south as thick and long as a
boa-constrictor. Among the fossils was a gigantically
colossal armadillo. Post - Tertiary period, from South
America.
The cold in this museum passed all words ! Either the
warming apparatus had gone wrong, or there was none,
which might (if ordinarily the case) possibly account for
the untidy condition of the birds.
I next visited the famous Trinity Church in Copley
Square — the great pride of Boston, designed by H. H.
Richardson — a very peculiar, but exceedingly grand and
imposing edifice. It is being elaborately decorated, and
contains several most beautiful stained-glass windows,
designed by Burne-jones and executed by Morris, the
colouring of which is quite exquisite. Another beautiful
^r-'?
.o
BOSTON.
337
Plymouth
, and the
nt paint-
i' sale,
uite clear
close by,
ignificeut
I uutidy ;
serpents,
long as a
autically
South
ither the
vas none,
count for
u Copley
H. H.
and and
ited, and
windows,
3rris, the
beautiful
and immense window, a " symphony in greens and blues,"
exceedingly effective and reposeful in colour to eye and
mind, is by La Farge. The whole of the scheme of interior
decoration is also by La Farge.
The exterior is exceedingly picturesque and striking,
and will be still more so when the towers of the original
design are added. The effect of the dominating massive
tower at the centre, 210 feet high, is grand and imposing,
and the whole forms a most original and harmonious
structure.
A graceful piece of sentiment has been worked into the
beautiful open cloister, connecting the church with a small
chaj)el outside, by the careful insertion into its ornamental
tracery of a lovely fragment of old Gothic sculpture, taken
from the ancient church of St. Botolph at Boston in the
" old country " beyond seas.
The interior of Trinity struck me, at first, as more
original and eccentric than beautiful, and as more suited
to a great concert or oratorio hall than to a church.
But after a time it grows upon one, and the impression
of majestic grandeur deepens, to some extent, to one befit-
ting a church. The organ is exceedingly fine, and was
being beautifully played once or twice during visits I
made, at intervals, to the church, always with an increasing
sense of its beauty.
The grand new Public Library forms a fitting south
side to Copley Square, elaborately decorated, and possessed
of a charming central court, where readers may take their
books into the open air.
The Museum of Fine Arts also rises up in this square ;
and there I gladly spent the remainder of the day,
seeing, first, the collection of pictures, ancient and
modern, of which the crowning glory is •' The Adoration,"
z
M
n'M
338
U>'ITED STATES.
In
by Tintoretto, divinely beautiful ; " A Virgin and Child,"
by Sasso Ferrato, also infinitely lovely ; and one Titian, a
beautiful " Magdalen," of which there are said to be
forty-three replicas (so-called) in various parts of the
world !
The French schools are, as everywhere in America,
admirably represented. Many Meissoniers, Fromentius,
Daubignys, Diaz, etc. ; a magnificent wood-scene on a
large scale by Troyon, and one of like size by Corot ; a
wonderfully beautiful miniature of Napoleon I., of large
size, by F. Millet ; several very decorative large pictures
by Puvis de Chavannes ; and a replica of " The Sower," by
Millet, which I had seen at Mrs. W. H. Vanderbilt's.
This one I thought the finer of the two, richer and deeper
in colouring ; it is also slightly larger and more detailed.
An interesting, huge picture, by Copley, represents a
family group, consisting of himself, his wife and children
(one of whom became, in after life, celebrated as Lord
Lyndhurst), and his wife's father, named Clark, a merchant
of Boston, whose ships, laden with tea from England,
became the theatre of the famous " Boston tea-party,"
having been boarded on their arrival in the port of Boston
by fifty patriots, disguised as Mohawks, who calmly pro-
ceeded to empty the contents of the whole consignment
into the sea, the Americans having decided to receive no
tea from England, and consequently to drink none (they
made tea of herbs, etc., instead), till the obnoxious tax
upon it should be removed — "no taxation without repre-
sentation " being the cry ; and the abhorrent Stamj) Act,
and many other taxes having been already (in 1766) re-
pealed, in response to popular clamour.
The closing of Boston port by the British Government,
in castigation for this " tea-party," till payment should be
MUSKUMS.
339
Child,"
?itian, a
L to be
of the
LTTierica,
nentius,
;ie on a
^orot ; a
of large
pictures
wer," by
lerbilt's.
d deeper
(tailed,
eseiits a
children
as Lord
nerchant
England,
party,"
Boston
nily pro-
lignment
ceive no
ne (they
ions tax
it repre-
nip Act,
766) re-
nuiment,
ould be
made for the wasted tea, was the last immediate of the
many causes of the calling together of the first Con-
tinental Congress in 1774, followed, the next year (April,
1775), by the first fights of the Revolution — the battles of
Lexington and Bunker Hill, both in the near neighbour-
hood of Boston ; the first being claimed as a victory, and
the second as a " moral " one, by the Americans.
The companion picture to this was painted by Copley
from the story of an American fellow-passenger to England,
named Watson, who told him that, in his boyhood, he had
been one day bathing ofE-ship, when he suddenly became
aware of a rapidly-advancing gigantic shark, and as he
swam, with mad shrieks for help, wildly flying for his life,
he felt the yawning jaws close upon his leg, and the next
moment he faintly saw them re-opening to take in the rest
of him, when, at that very instant, a harpoon, hurled with
tremendous force from a neighbouring boat, sent the huge
brute with a rush to the bottom, and saved his life. This
Watson, thus deprived of one leg, afterwards became Lord
Mayor of London, and died a governor of the Bank of
England.
After the accomplishment of the Independence, Copley
left America for ever, and settled with his family in
England.
One room is devoted to a curious and weird, but very
fine collection of Blake's drawings — illustrations of Milton
and Dante, etc. — and contains also a very interesting por-
trait of Shakespeare, painted on a panel of the woodwork
of the Old Globe Tavern in London, and Albrecht Diirer's
curious and impressive picture of " Death and the Knight
riding together."
Among the American paintings is a most lovely and
poetical sea-piece called " The Lair of the Sea-Serpent,"
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340
UMTEI) SlAlli!?.
and mauy excellout and most interesting portraits, includ-
ing several by Morse, the inventor of the electric telegraph
(1835), and Fnlton, the builder of the first practical steam-
boat (1807). Among thoni fine portraits of Patrick Henry
and James Otis, brilliant lawyers and orators — leaders of
the agitation for the repeal of the Stamj) Act— the latter,
a Bostonian, the originator of the cry *' No taxation with-
out representation ; " and the former famous for his great
speech in reprobation of that tax, ending with : " Csesar
had his Brutus, Charles I. his Cromwell, and George III."
— interrupted by loud cries of " Treason ! " from his oppo-
nents— he calmly added, "may profit by their example— and
if that is treason, make the most of it ! "
A char iiing portrait, also, of the handsome La Fayette,
who, in 1777, at the age of nineteen, left his great position
in France to volunteer his services and his fortune in aid of
American liberty, greatly distinguishing himself in many
fights, promoted by Washington to the rank of major-
general, and ridiculed by Cornwallis as the " little boy,"
who, however, greatly contributed to the former's final
fiasco.
In after years American Congress, mindful of his great
services in their hour of need, voted him a presentation of
200,000 dollars and a township of land.
Interesting portraits, too, of mauy gallant sailors, the
first commanders of the little navy : Stephen Decatur, whose
daring exploits read like brilliant romances ; Captain Law-
rence, mortally wounded in desperate fight, whose last
words, as he was carried below dying, "Don't give up the
ship ! " became the battle-cry of the U.S. Navy — recalling
our immortal Nelson's " England expects every man to do
his duty ! " or, as he is said to have given the order for the
signal, " England confides that every man will do his
ts, includ-
; telegraph
ical steaiii-
fick Henry
-leaders of
- the latter,
Eition with-
>r his great
ti : •' Csesar
eorge III."
1 his oppo-
imple— and
La Fayette,
eat position
ne in aid of
elf in many
c of major-
little boy,"
•mer's final
f his great
sentation of
sailors, the
atur, whose
ptain Law-
whose last
•ive up the
— recalling
man to do
rder for the
ill do his
MISEUMS.
341
duty ! " — Paul H. Jones, Commodore Perry, ami many
others, one braver and more dariug than another which,
in short, may be said of every man of their magnificent
little first, short-lived navy — for it was put an end to —
actually 8old — when the Republican jjarty of that day (or
'• radical-democratic," as opposed to the early Federal,
accused by the former of being " aristocratic " and
" monarchical " in its tendency) came into power in 1800 —
an example that the miserable and contemptible " little
Englanders " of to-day would wish to emulate ! — but which
uprose a,gain during the war of 1812, and performed pro-
digies of successful valour.
In this war the "Privateers" did immense execution,
and the Mother-Country was compelled, temporarily, to
yield the palm of success to her brave and adventurous
American sons, seasoned and ])ractised in constant feats of
daring by their never-ending struggles and encounters
with the savage aborigines.
The boast of this museum is its superb and immense
collection of Japanese curios, including magnificent porce-
lain and enamels — one very ancient blue enamel Japanese
vase, covered with small holes and scratches, into which
solid gold has been beaten, and wonderful Chinese porce-
lain of the most extraordinary delicacy and beauty — to
which many great halls and galleries are devoted.
The collection of casts from the antique is extremely
fine and complete ; among them a lovely one of the fasci-
nating " Faun" of the Capitoline Museum — the "Marble
Faun " of Nathaniel Hawthorne's exquisite and most poetic
romance, " Transformation."
The halls devoted to antiquities contain several mar-
vellously beautiful Etruscan sarcophagi, worthy of Greek
art, two of them especially lovely, recumbent figures, and
842
UNlTIiD STATES.
; I
allegorical, admirably sculptured bas-reliefs on the sides,
found at Vulci in Central Italy in 1845, many Egyptian
remains, and some perfect statuettes from Tanagra.
Next day (February r2th) 1 spent entirely again at
the Museum of Fine Arts ; and after it closed, to the
Art Club, where I found nothing very particular ; then
to several churches, and through some of the jirincipal
residence streets, in one of the finest of which, Beacon
Street, I saw the pleasant home, covered with " Boston
ivy " (which we call Ampelopeis Veifchii), in which Oliver
Wendell Holmes lived and died.
February 13th. — I set out early ou a pilgrimage — the
most deeply interesting of all my experiences in the States
— to Plymouth Rock.
I reached Plymouth at 10 a.m. (by train).
Snow was thickly falling, and the thermometer stood
many degrees below zero ; an icy wind blew in violent
gusts, cutting to the very bone, but I was glad. It was
exactly the icy, wild, desolate, wintry kind of weather that
alone could harmonize with the memories of this sad vet
glorious spot.
I walked first, or rather climbed, in deep snow and over
slippery sheets of ice, to the summit of the ancient Burial
Hill, crowded with leafless trees, from which you com-
mand the bay, bounded to the east by the elbow-shaped
Cape Cod — a shivering, ice-cold, desolate, and dreary
prospect !
How well and feelingly I could picture to myself that sad
and miserable, but most memorable day, December 20th,
1620, when, in the brave search for a home and land of
religious freedom, in similar snow and ice and cutting
blasts, without home, without shelter, with scanty food
and scanty clothing, in momentary fear of attack by fierce
Jl
I'l.YMorill UOf'K.
343
and warlike sava^'os, half their lumibors U'ft lu'hiiul iu their
temponiry home at Leydeii, these unhappy ]>ilj;rim8,
sick with the long, cold, stormy mouths at sea, crowded in
that poor little vessel, the humble " Maytlower," seeing
before them only the shelterless and desolate shore, all ice
and snow and bitter wind, were landed, one by one, on the
little *' Rock " beneath.
They had wished to laud on the banks of the Hudson
River, but their eai)tain, driven by storm from his reckon-
ing, brought them to Cape Cod, and skirting the shores of
the cheerless bay, they fixed to land on a spot slightly pro-
tected by the projecting Cape, marked " Plymouth " on a
map laid down by the renowned Captain John Smith, six
years before, when he sailed past on his pioneering voyage
along the coast, in the little open pinnace " Discovery," of
only twenty tons, which had sailed across the broad
Atlantic.
With sad and shrinking hearts but noble and steadfast
courage, the little band of 100 souls, self-exiled for con-
science sake, faced the bitter cold and snow, and ice-clad
inhosjiitable shore, and under the brave leadership of
their captain, Myles Staudish, and their pastor, Brewster,
raised a few tents and huts in which they gathered the few
uteusils and scanty, humble pieces of home furniture the
little " Mayflower " had beeu able to hold ; and on a spot
cleared of its Indian dwellers by a pestilence some years
before, in faith and hope, ])rei»ared to live through the icy,
ghastly winter.
What wouder that before three mouths had passed
forty-four had died, rapidly followed by many more ; or
that, befoi'e the first year was out, the high windy hill on
which I stood had become more covered with sad graves
than there remained mourners below !
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1>'ITED STATES.
f '■'»» 1
They built a square house on the top of a hill, on which
they placed their little store of cannon, and which served
for 23rayer-meetings, to which they were summoned by
beat of drum ; and by slow degrees a little town sprang up,
surrounded, for protection against Indian attack, by a
rough stockade.
And a little while after the first spring and summer
sunshine had come to cheer, a plumed Indian, to their
surprise, suddenly stalked into their little town, saying, in
English, " Welcome, Englishmen ! "
This friendly being, Samobet by name, told how he had
learnt a little English from the settlers at Jamestown, and
went on his way, leaving with them a " brave " called
Squanto, who had once been kidnapped and carried to
England, and consequently speaking English, was able
to teach them many things, and to plant Indian corn, and
to fertilize the ground as the Indians did h\ first burying
fish.
Still they snlfertd great pr"'«tions, and the winters often
found them with little to oat and drink but shell-fish and
water, before partakmg of which their pastor, Brewster,
would smilingly and cheerfully give " grateful thanks that
they were permitted to taste of the abundance of the seas,
and of the treasures hidden in the sands ! "
By slow degrees they were joined by some of the friends
they had left at Leyden, and other emigrants, and pros-
pered ; but not till, in 1624, the land had been parcelled
out into small lots to each settler — the first basis of settle-
ment having been " all things in common," and " no in-
dividual property ; " food and clothing from a common
store, for which a daily task was exacted, given out daily
to all alike.
This communistic system had also been tried at the
PILGRIM U\LL
345
somewhat earlier Virginian settlement of Jamestown, and
had, naturally, eqnally broken down and been discarded.
After a long pause on the top of the windy hill, I
climbed down, sliding and slipping, to the snowy road
below that led to the small and solitary granite rock on
which the 2)ilgrims first set foot on that bitter December
day. It is reverently railed ronnd, and shadowed and
sheltered from the stormy elements by a sculptured granite
canopy.
It is difficult to realize, for the sea has receded ma^iy
hundred yards, and the stepping-stone of the landing of
tiie " Pilgrim Fathers " stands now encompassed with
fields, green in summer, and the sands of the sea seem
quite far off.
Plymouth is now beautifully planted with fine trees and
shady avenues, an^^. in summer must be lovely ; but I saw
it as they did, ice-bo; ud, and half buried in snow, and
could try to realize, in some faint, far-off way, what they,
the poor, sad pilgrims, must have felt, all unj^rotected in
that bitter wintry icy blast, forlorn and alone in the wide,
cold world !
Through a great avenue of double rows of wide- spread-
ing beautifvd trees I walked through the deep snow
some distance to Pilgrim Hall, where are religiously kept
many relics of the pilgrims, many pieces of their humble
furniture, and many most interesting records. A model
of the little " Mayflower," and the sword of Myles Staudish,
and large paintings, representing the sad " parting of the
pilgrims " from the half of their numbers temporarily left
}>ohind at Leyden with their j)astor, Robinson, most of
whom would never meet again ; and of the procession of
the pilgrims, in their new home beyond the seas, to the
joyful wedding of John Alden with Priscilla, the Puritan
■:f
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346
UNITED STATES.
tiS-l
maiden, the fair bride liorne in triumph on a flower-
crowned white ox ; the story of which has been so melodi-
ously told by the poet proud of his descent from the
Puritan Pilgrims.
A fine portrait of Edward Winslow, first governor of the
colony, one of the " Mayflower " band, and many other most
interesting portraits and paintings, all showu to me by a
lineal descendant of John Alden and Priscilla, who, as
soems fitting, has charge of the Hall. It was pleasant tu
hear that Myles Standish was eventually consoled by
another fair Puritan maiden for the loss of Priscilla, and
that he and she are rej^reseuted by many descendants at
Plymouth.
After thii? I climbed, knee-deep in frozen snow, and
over sheets of glistening ice, high up to where, on a com-
manding eminence, stands the grand monument to the
" Pilgrim Fathers," a massive pedestal of granite 45 feet
high, surrounded by stately marble statues of Freedom,
Morality, Education, and Law ; anr] high above the
pedestal towers a colossal figure of Faith.
The view from the high terrace on which it stands is
grand and extensive. Cape Cod Bay lies mapped out, with
the mighty ocean beyond, and on shore the humble, never-
to-be-forgotten " Rock." The icy wind had risen to a hurri-
cane, and whirlwinds of snow en wreathed and almost veiled
the monument. . . .
This was my last sight of Plymouth ; this, as it were,
little mustard seed, sown in grief and privation, struggle
and sorrow, that in less than three hundred years has
spread to such vast and gigantic results !
Well may the New Englanders pride themselves on this
pure and noble beginning of their race ! And much the
Puritan element has done for their greatness.
£|1
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347
CHAPTER XXIX.
B -ton — The Common— Newport, Rhode Island — Clift' Walk-
Ne\. York— The " Umbria "—Eastward ho !
I REACHED Boston, after my return from Plymouth,
towards sunset, and drove straight to Trinity Church,
and watched the scarlet and crimson sun-rays flashing and
shining through the beautiful windows, the fine organ
playing a grand and melodious symphony for some
visitors ; and it was all a beautiful and harmonious ending
to a day of abiding and deepest interest.
On my return to the hotel there was a transition to
things frivolous and mundane, in the shape of a very
smart and gorgeously dressed lady-interviewer, who had
been waiting for me, on and off, all day ! So, of course,
we had to have a talk, and she told mc much that was
interesting about Boston.
Next morning, February 14tli, was perfectly lovely and
slightly milder. At 7 a.m. I ran out for a delightful
walk through the great length of the magnificent Com-
monwealth Avenue, 240 feet wide, shaded by double rows
of beautiful trees, with many handsome i*esidences, leading,
straight as an arrow, to the famous " Common" — the object
of passionate attachment to Bostoniaus — a lovely park,
charmingly diversified Avith flower-beds, trees and foun-
tains, monuments and statues, and delightful promenades,
bordered bv ornamental shrubs, Ihrongh which I walked
348
UNITED STATES,
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to its furthest extremity, sloping up to the fine Beacon
Hill, on which stands imposingly the huge State House,
■with wide portiro and massive golden dome, from which a
grand view commands the city and its labyrinth of waters,
sea and river.
After this I just had time to drive quickly across to
South. Boston, to see the famous and most interesting
Perkins Institute for the Blind, in which several cases
of deaf-mutes also blind, have been treated with the
greatest success. Many years of elaborate and patient
education having produced in these sad cases — happily
rare — extraordinarily brilliant results, the most remarkable
being that of the long-ago, well-known Laura Bridgman.
There was not, unfortunately, time to see the famous
Harvard University and other objects of interest at Cam-
bridge— particularly the house so long inhabited by Long-
fellow, and in which he died in 1882 — as I had to hurry
back to catch the train to Newport, quitting tlie beautiful
capital of Massachusetts, the cherished home of Prescott,
Emerson, Bancroft, Ticknor, and so many other great names
in poetry, science, general learning and philanthropy.
This city in its earlier days — unlike those of Maryland,
Pennsylvania, and other States — was for a time the seat of
rigid Calvinism, coercing to the utmost all in its power
who opposed its stern and narrow dogmas ; extending its
despotism even into private and domestic life, regulating
dress, forbidding mothers to kiss their children, or anyone
to sit in Boston Common, or to walk in the streets except
on the way to church on Sundays^ or beer to be brewed on
Saturdays lest it should "work" on the sabbath! All
this seems to have been, naturally, followed by a complete
reaction, and Boston is now as tolerant as the rest, and
more latitudinarian and rationalistic than any — uni-
k"- i ,'
%i * . ^ f
t -f.
NKWPORT.
349
tarianism claiming incomparably the gr'^ater number of
adherents.
After a short journey through undulating country, with
occasional woods, I arrived at niv destination, in brilliant
sunshine, a cloudless deep-blue sky, the air sharp and icy,
at about noon.
This was my last day but one in America, and a most
enjoyable one.
Newport (Rhode Island), as everyone knows, is the
Trouville of the States, the summer resort of the fine fieur
of American " Society people," who have erected a series
of the most charming villas, many of them gorgeous
palaces, which they affectedly call " cottages," and where
the elaborate bathing establishmeuts and beaches neces-
sitate innumerable changes of equally elaborate French
toilettes and bathing costumes, and where the fashionable
belles of the " Four Hundred " vie with each other as to
who shall wear the extremest number of Parisian " con-
fections " of the costliest and most ravishing description.
Of late years they have taken to initiating the idle day
with a gallop of several miles — complexion and eyes being
found to be brightened thereby — after which they bathe,
lunch, drive, and drink tea and play games at each
other's "cottages," re-assembling at gorgeous dinner
parties ; after which they dance all night, in wondo^rf ul
ball dresses, decked and crowned with diamonds and every
priceless jewel.
This 1 did not see, for it was the winter season, when all
is shut up ; but I walked, or rather climbed and slid along
the Cliif Walk — one of the most charming in the world —
although at the moment very difficult, for, where it was
not deep snow, it was one sheet of ice, many parts almost
imi^assable.
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350
UNITED STATES.
The Cliff Walk follows the iuterstices, first, of the little
bay, theu of the opeu oceau, looking dowu upou graud
rocks over which to-day the shining blue waves rolled and
dashed and broke into lovely fountains of spray. To the
right of the walk lies the loveliest and most beautifully
kept of green lawns, from which, here and there, the snow
had melted, revealing the rich emerald-green mossy turf
beneath, stretching along in soft and gentle undulations
for three unbroken delightful miles along the jagged edge of
the cliff. At a distance of about 200 or 300 yards from the
walk, on the further side of the lovely green lawn, the
whole way along, just far enough away from each other
for perfect privacy, stand the beautiful and gorgeous
" cottages " — many of them surrounded by charming
gardens and shrubberies, without walls, or hedges, or rail-
ings, or obstruction of any kind, open to the admiring view
of the humblest passer-by — all commanding exquisite sea
views ; many of them of fantastic but picturesque arcthi-
tecture, the very picture of comfort and sea-side ease ;
others almost too magnificent ; for instance, Mrs. W. H.
Vanderbilt's superb and immense white marble ])alace
which, with its garden full of high trees, is carefully hidden
from the gaze of the curious by a surrounding high white
marble wall, the one exception to the general rule, and
which must also greatly obstruct its own view of the sea,
particularly as it stands slightly in a hollow ; altogether I
liked it much the least of them all despite its magnificence.
It seemed to have none of the charmingly easy, friendly,
and hospitable look of the others.
The two furthermost villas at what is called the Land's
End, I thought the most enchanting of all, both as to
situation and general charm ; great chasms in the rock in
front, through which the waves roar and rush, rising into
wm^
'^.iK
f'LIFF WALK.
351
I
niaj^nificeut jots aud fountains of spray, the lovely ^vet'U
lawn above, and the wild waves on every side hut one, an
enormous expanse of ocean gloriously grand.
When I reached this ])oint the sun was dipi)ing nearer
and nearer to its sea bath, in one of the most gorgeously
brilliant skies of rose, scarlet and gold I ever lieheld.
At Bailey's Beach, a charming little sandy bay, with
huge rows of bathing houses, the magnificent cottages
come to an end, and the famous Ocean Drive begins.
Here I took a carriage aud drove several miles along this
grand and most charming sea drive, but time failed to go
the whole ten miles of its length, the long stretch of
picturesque cliff aud dancing wave gloriously beautiful in
the wonderful after-glow, fascinating beyond words.
In everv direction there are drives. I returned by
Bellevue Avenue, delightful trees and gardens, giving
the back view of the " cottages " and their carriage
entrances. Then to Truro Park, an Italian look about its
high round-topped pine trees, looming dark and mag-
nificent against the still crimson sky, to the Round Tower,
which some say was built by Norse vikings in the eleventh
century, and others, less romantic, by a certain Governor
Arnold in the seventeenth.
When the glow quite faded away and it became too
dark to see anything more, I retreated to the shelter of the
Ferry Hotel, the only one open in winter, conveniently
close to the dock where, at 9 p.m., I had to embark for
New York.
No doubt during its gay season Newport may look more
alive, but I am glad to have seen it in all its natural
loveliness on an ideally beautiful day, undistractedby the
"madding crowd."
At 9 p.m. I left this fascinating sea-city, only so sorry
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UNITED STATES.
that the wintry season made it impossible to visit its
fashionable rival, Bar Harbour, much further north, in
Maine, all its hotels being closed till the spring, and the
whole place and bay more or less ice-bound.
The little steamer was warm and comfortable, and for
me the night passed pleasantly and rajiidly, reading and
writing, in the well-furnished saloon, and arranging my
later notes and diaries, the records of my delightful tour
in this wonderful land — so full of beauties and marvels of
every kind ; in which the English traveller invariably
everywhere meets with the utmost cordiality and kindness,
where one feels so completely at home, and which, with
unimportant excejjtion, I am convinced is most friendly,
and at heart glad and proud of its kinship to the great
Empire of the Isles beyond seas, and which one leaves
with so much regret, and feelings of deej) symj)athy and
admiration for the young kindred nation which, through
peril and struggle in the beginning, and long after the
beginning, has laboured so strenuously and achieved so
much ; and which — whatever may be the revers de la
mt'daille — undoubtedly has in its hands a great and mag-
nificent future.
At about 7 a.m. we disembarked at New York, and I
"rode" for once in a quite empty Fifth Avenue stage,
to the Netherlands Hotel.
There I breakfasted, then in a Fifth Avenue stage
again for a farewell few hours at the Museum of Art ;
back again in the " stage," then with a friend by api>oint-
ment to see Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt's great white marble
mansion close by, newly built, and the onl; really fine
house in New York, handsomely furnished and admirably
lighted on a new system of electric lighting, very effective,
especially in the fine ball-room.
KASTWAUD ho!
353
I!
) visit its
north, in
^, and the
e, and for
ading and
,u^;ing uiy
htful tour
marvels of
invariably
I kindness,
liich, with
t friendly,
) the great
one leaves
ipathy and
h, through
1 after the
chieved so
vers de la
and mag-
|ork, and I
iuue stage,
hiue stage
n of Art ;
ky appoint-
[ite marble
really fine
[admirably
effective.
The entrance hall I thought particularly nice, entirely
of white marble, with a very lovely staircase.
Among the not very numerous pictures, three exquisite
Turners, and a most lovely Constable — green sunny downs
and sea, with far distant exquisite line of light infinitely
poetic.
There was not much besides, except very good portraits
of the family, then absent in Europe, and no great quantity
of works or objects of art. When we had seen enough,
iny cicerone took me to see several good collections in
other private houses, and to the Woman's Art Club,
where I only saw one really good painting, and that was
by my friend Miss A'Becket.
Back to the hotel — in such freezing weather ! — in time for
supper, after which a final packing up ; and next morning
(February 16th), at 9 a.m., adieu to America, with deep
regret ; not, I trust, forever, but
" If forever, fare thee well ! "
On board the " Umbria " (Cuuard Line) the docks full of
ice-floes, continually being broken up, every steamer and
vessel rigged and coated in glittering ice and icicles, like
so many phantom-ships.
The weather was fine, but bitterly cold. A kind friond
had presented me with a basketful of the loveliest and
sweetest roses, with which I decorated and made fragrant
my " state-room " for the whole return voyage. At 11 a.m.
we weighed anchor, and steamed past the colossal statue
of Liberty, crunching through the ice, out of the harbour,
with a fresh breeze past Sandy Hook, and on, till the New
World gradually faded from our sight.
I liked the *' Umbria " exceedingly, compact and most
comfortable ; a steady, first-rate sea-boat, the quality of
A A
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354
UNITED HTATKS.
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whicli was well tested, for, after a while, the stormy wine's
liegau to blow, and we had ragiujjf seas and wild gales
ending in a hurricane, during A^hieh wo were battened
down the greater part of a day and night.
For several days I found myself almost the sole occupant
of the dining-saloon, nearly the whole of the unhai)py pas-
sengers being confined to their " state-rooms."
I had a delightful cabin ' state-room " as it is the
etiquette to call it) on the saiv ^n floor, in the airiest part of
the ship, where, even when battened down, it was possible
to breathe in ease and comfort, whilst the saloons were all
unbearably hot and stifling.
We had no fogs, and as we came within distant sight of
the green shores of Erin were signalled to the assistance
of a ship apparently in distress, and after steaming eight
knots out of our way, found that she was quite indignant
at being supposed to require help, and only wanted a tug
to tow her to Queenstown, which we amiably ordered for
her on our arrival there, a lit+'e " off time " in consequence
of this delay, and also the ■ 'ous wild head-winds ; but,
a few hours, sooner or lal. emed very immaterial (at
least to me), and, quite soon enough, we found ourselves
hugging the shores of old England, passing the pictviresque
headlands of Wales ; and, in calm, but bitterly cold and
snowy weather (in raid Atlantic the temperature had
greatly risen,) steamed into the Mersey, where the trans-
ferring tug awaited us, and at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb-
ruary 23rd, were landed at the dock-side, after a cold
and drizzling experience, standing on the wet deck of the
tug whilst ail the luggage from the " Umbria " was being
trans-shipped.
First to the Custom House, which gave me little trouble,
for after a mere pretence of being "examined," my boxes
IFIK " OLD COUNTRY."
356
oriny wiiK's
wild fjfalcH,
re battened
)lc occupant
diappy pas-
as it is the
'iest part of
^as possible
)U8 were all
were kindly '♦ passed," and I soon found myself, with them,
at the warm and comfortable Loudon and North Western
Hotel, where an excellent supper awaited the seafarers,
and where I sat, over a delightful lire, till it was time to
start by the midnight train for London, arriving at about
7 a.m. on Sunday morning, as the melancholy gas-lamps
were "paling their ineffectual fires" in a mild sort of
edition of the tierce " blizzard " of New York.
mt sight of
J assistance
miug eight
i indignant
mted a tug
ordered for
onsequence
mids; but,
iiaterial (at
i ourselves
3icturesque
y cold and
rature had
the trans-
irday, Feb-
ter a cold
eck of the
was being
THE END,
tie trouble,
' my boxes
CHISWJCK PRESS :-CHAUI,ES WHITTINOHAM AND CO
TOOK.J COIRT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.
■ IS ••
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St. t)uNs tan's IIousk, FeIier Lane,
London, E.G. August, 1S95.
Select List of Books
in all Departments of
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PUBLISHED BY
Sainp6on llow, flDar^tou t^ (Tontpan^, 1^
AAROX, Dr. E. M., The
Butterfly hunters in the Cariblees,
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ABBEY, C. J., ncUiiMu
Thought in Old English Verne, 5s.
and PAKSONS, Quid
Life, from drawings ; motive by
Anstin Dobson, 31s. 6d.
ABERDEEN", Eaul of. Soe
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ABNEY, Capt., Colour Vision,
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Instruction in Photoyraphy,
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T/iehes, G:U.
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and CUNNINGHAM,
Pioneers of the Alps, now ecl.21.'>'.
About Some Felloics, by "an
Eton boy," 2s,6ti. ; uow otlifc. 3s.
ADAM, G. M., An A/goiiquin
Maicten, 5s.
Sir J. A. MacdonaltVs Life,
16s.
ADAMS, CuAiiLE.s K., Ilidori-
cal Literature, 12s. (id.
Al NSLI K, P., Priceless Orchid,
now ('(!., 3s. (hI. nud 2s. (id.
AlTKl-JN, K. Memorials of
ALBERT,* PiuNCK. Sco Iky. S.
ALCOTT, L. U.,Ju's Boiis, 5^.
— — Comic Tragedies, G.'*.
Life, Letters and J oiirnah,
by Ednah D. Choiioy, Hs, ; 'A.<. (\d.
See also '• Low's Standard Serioa
for f J iris " and Rose Library.
ALDKN, W. L. Soc Low'h
Standard Scries of Girls' Hooks.
ALFORD, Lady jMauian,
Needlework as Art, 21s. ; 1. p.
84s.
ALGl^'R, J. G., Englishmen iri
the Fniich Uevolniiuu, 7s. (hi.
(llimp^'cs of the French
Revolution, 6.s.
Auiafeur Angler in Dove Dale,
by E. II., I*. 6(/., Is.
American Catalogue of Books,
188()-5)4, each ITj-s. aJid IS.','.
A^rICIS, E. i)K, Heart, ;U (jd.
AMPHLETT, F. II., Loiver and
Ml Thames, Is.
AN 1) KRS EN, 1 I.e., Fairy 7V//r.s',
ilii'.st.by Scandinavian arli.sts, (J.s.
ANDERSON, W., Pictorial
Arh iif J'ipan, i parts, l(!Hs.
Angler's strange Ex/terienrett, by
(jotuwold lays, new oclit., 3s. Oii,
1 1
lit
Hi
if .
f
I wis
||;
• If '
M'
J;:,:-
4'f'
.'4|;
'' ' ; '.
}ii'
'.a
\'\
A Select List of Books
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Opera Glass, 8th edit., 3s.
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AKCHER, F., Hoio to write a
Good Play, backram, 6s.
AIIDEN, J., TrimnjjU of
Theresa, 21s.
ARLOT'S Coach Pahitinr/, trom
the French by A. A. Fesquet, 6».
APtMSTRONG, South Pacific
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Englishwomen in Greece, Gs.
ARMYTAGE, Hon. Mrs., IFa^v
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Art of the World, 2b2s. iieit.
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■ J. K., Kangaroo and
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Artistic Japan, volf3. I. -VI..
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Artists at Home, photos, 426".
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See Great Artists.
ATT WELL, Italian Masters,
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Ornamental Arts of Japan,
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Foreign Competitors, Is.
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R. HiNDLB, Organist and
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BALDWIN, James, Storg of
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Sto7-g of Poland, illust. Gs.
Story of the Golden Age,
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Barhiyjm Painters. See Great
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BARLOW, Alfred, Weaving
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P. ^Y.,Kiipara, NewZ.,G8.
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BARR, Amelia E., Preacher's
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I lower of Gala Water ,
58.
G. A., Out-
I all Stylet,
^rigitta (B.
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Tauchnitz),
Eljie's Visit
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Preacher'a
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BASSETT, Legends of the Sea
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be valier and Puritan SongB.
Words of Wellington.
Johnson's Sasselas.
Hazlitt's Round Table.
Browne's llcligio Medici.
Ballad Stories of the AlFections, by
Robert Buchanan.
Coleridge's Christabel, &o.
Chesterfield's Letters.
Essays in Mosaic, by Ballantyno.
My Uncle Toby.
Rochefoucauld, Reh">ctiong.
Socrates, Memoirs fn.." Xenophon.
Prince Albert's Golden I'lccopts.
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Ministers.
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BEATTIE, T , Pamhaniso, 6.s\
BEAUGRAND, Young Natu-
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• Hon. H. J., Oheah, Witch.
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Witch's Legacy, 2s. Gd.
Gold Coast Geography.
L, Little Sisier to the
Wilderness, 3s. Gd.
Love Affairs of an
Old
Maid, 3s. 67.
B ENTHALL, J., Hebrew Poets,
ICs. Gd.
Berlioz, Life of, Ids. 6d,
BERRY, C. A. Seo Preacher?.
BIART, Lucien. Seo Low's
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Outlines of Roman History, 2s. Gd.
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h
11
A Select List of Books
p>
■ff
BLACK, AViLLiAM. Sec Low's
Stiuidard Novels.
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Historit of Horse liacing
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BLACKIUIRX, C. F., Cata-
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Rambles in Books, cr. 8vo.
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IL, Art in the Mountains,
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Artidic Travel, 7s. Gd.
Breton Folk, n. e., 10a*. Qd.
BLACKMOKE,R.r»., Qeorgics
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See also Low's Standard Novels.
BLAIKIE, How to get Strong,
new edit. 5s.
Sound Bodies for our Boys
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Boa8,Textbookof Zoology. 2 vols.
Bohhij, a Story, by Vesper, Is.
V>0CK,TemplesSfEUphants,2\s.
Bonaparte, Decline and fall of,
by Wolaeley, 3s. Qd.
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Colonies, Is. each j 1 vol.
5s.
Daily Life of the Tas-
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First Twenty Years of
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IrisJb Druids, Gs.
Last of the Tasmanians,\Gs.
Port Philip, 21s.
llomance <f\Vool Trade, Gs.
Lost Tasnianian Race, 4,s-.
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1 .
Lenten Meditations, tSer. I.
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TeJider Grass for Lambs,
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BOULTON, N. W. Rebellions,
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Snalce Dance of Arizona,
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BOWEN, F., Modern Philo-
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BOWER, G. S., and WEBB,
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12s. 6d.
BOYESEN, H. IL, Agai7tst
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History of Noncay, 7s. Gd.
Modern Vikings, 3s. 6d.
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BRACE, C. L., Life, 8.^. 6^:.
BRADSHAW, New Zealand
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BRISSE, Menus and Recipes,
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of Arizona,
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Seo Low's
dern Pliilo-
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Metaphysics,
[L, Against
Iso 3*. 6(Z.
'^f7.'^, 3s. Qd.
7s. 6d. each.
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^ew Zealand
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7idles, 3r>s.
fates, 25s.
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5s.
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Life of an
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L., TnujeU,
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RouEUT. See Lov 'a
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BROWNE, Lennox, and
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BULKELEY, Owen T., Lesser
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BUNYAN. See Low's Stan-
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BURDETT-COUTTS, Brook-
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Baroness, WomaJi^s Mis-
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BURTON, AV. K., Works on
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BUTLER, Col. Siu W. F.,
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BUXTON, Etuel 'M. Wilmot,
Wee Folk, 5s.
BYNNER. See Low's Stan-
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CABLE, G. W., See Low's
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Illustrated Games of
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New Games of Patience,
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CAHUN. See Low's Standard
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CALUECOTT, Randolph,
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Sketches, pict. bds. 2s. Gd.
CALL, Annie Payson, Poioer
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As a Matter of Course,
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CALLAN, H., U.A., Wander-
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CALVERT, Edward {artist).
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Cambridge Trifles, 2s. Gd.
Cambridge Staircase, 2s. Gd.
CA^IPBELL, Lady Colin,
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CANTERBURY, Archbishop.
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Capitals of the World, plato.s
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City Ballads, Is.
City Ijegends-, Is.
City Festivals, \s.
Farm Ballads, \s. ")
Farm Festivals, \ s. > o ^j'
L' arm Legends, is. j
Poems, 6 vols, in case, 85.
See also Rose Library. •
CARLYLE, T., Convereatiom
with, 6*.
") 1 vol.,
j 2s. 6tf.
Is-
a
\ I-
-I
-TTTr
II
i':f
'i ,
ll' ■
ill
1,1 <■ ' HI 't
^ ■■■:' , : ,
■■■■ "■ ' ' ' ' :. .'
A Select List of Books
CAKMICHAEL, H. Seo Low's
Standard Novels.
CARNEGIE, Andrew, Ameri-
can Four-hi-hand in Britain,
lOs. 6cl. ; also Is.
Tmimphant Democracy,
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CAROVl^j Story without an
End, illust. by E. V. B., 7s. Qd.
CARPENTER. See Preachers.
CARSON, H. L., Supreme
Court of U.S. 84s.
CAVE, Picturesque Ceylon,
2 vols., 21s. and 28s. nett.
Celebrated Racehorses, fac-sim.
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CELi:&RE. See Low's Stan-
dard Books.
Changed Cross, &c., poems, 2s.6d.
Chant-book Companion to the
Common Prayer, 2s. ; organ ed. is.
CilAPIN, Mountaineering in
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CHAPLIN, J. G., Bookkeeping,
2s. &d.
CHARLES, J. F. See Play.
time Library.
CHARLEY, SIR W., Crusade
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CRkTTOCK, Notes on Etching,
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CHENEY, A. ii., Fishing with
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CHERUBINL See Great
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Choice Editions of choice hooks,
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Bloomfield's Farmer's Boy.
Campbell's Pleasures of Hope.
Coleridge's Ancient Mariner.
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Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield.
Gray's Elegy in a Churchyard.
Keat,3' Eve of St. Agnes.
Choice Editions — continued.
Milton's Allegro.
Poetry of Nature, by H. Weir.
Rogers' Pleasures of Memory.
Shakespeare's Songs and Sonnets.
Tennyson's May Queen.
Wordsworth's Pastoral Poems.
Chopin, Life of, 10s. Gd.
CHRISTIAN, S., Lydia, 2s. Qd.
Sarah, 2». Qd.
Two Mistakes, 3,s'. Qd.
CHURCH, W. C, Life of
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CHURCHILL, Lord Ran-
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CLARK, A., Woe to the Con.
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■ Mrs. K. M., Southern
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Persephone, Poems, 5b.
CLARKE,Percy, ThreeDiggers,
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Claude le Lorraiyi. See Great
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CLIVE BAYLY, Vignettes
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COCHRAN, W., Pen and
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COLLINGWOOD, H. See
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COLLYER, RouEUT, Tilings
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CONDER, J.,Floivers of Japan
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Lawlscape Gardening in
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CONYBEARE, E., School
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CORREGGIO. See Great
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lued.
leir.
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Sonnets.
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!. 6d.
Life of
D RaN-
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Southern
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reeJDir/gerSf
; 6s.
See Groat
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Pell and
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H. See
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IS, 5s.
\s of Japan
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lee Great
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COWEN, Joseph, il/.P., Life
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COWPER, F., Hunting of the
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COX, David. See Great Artists.
J. CiiAiiLES, Gardens of
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COZZENS, F., American
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S. W. See Low's Stan-
dard Books.
CRADDOCK. See Low's
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CRAIG, W. 11., Dr. JoJinson
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CRAIK, 1)., Millwright and
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CROCKER, Education of the
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CROKER, :Mu.s. B. M. See
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CROSLAND, j\rii.s. Newton,
Landmarks of a Literary Life,
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CROUCH, A. P., Glimpses of
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CRUIKSIIANK, G. See
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CUDWORTIT, W., Abraham
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CUMBERLAND, Stuart.
See Low's Standard Novels.
CUNDALL, J., Shalcespeare,
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History of Wood Engrav-
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CURTIS, C. B., Velazquez and
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CUNNINGHAM & ABNEY,
Fioneers of the Alps, 21s.
Aimer's Fuhrerluch, 30s.
GUSHING, W., Anoni/ms, 2
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GUSHING, W., Liitials and
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CUTCLIPFE, H. C, Trout
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DALY, Mrs. Dominic, Digging,
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D'ANVERS, N., Architecture
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Elementary Art, Archi-
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DAUDET, Alpiionsr, Port
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DAVIES,C.,Mo(?em Whist, is.
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DAVIS, C. T., Manufacture of
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DELLA ROBBIA. See Great
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DEMAGE, G., Plunge info
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DERRY (B. of). See Proaclicrs.
DE WINT. See Great Artists.
DIGGLE, J. W., Bishop Era-
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Sermons for Daily Life,i)s.
t; ■
r
It
w
8
A Select List of Bool s
■n
DIRUF, 0., Kissiufjen, 5e. and
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DOBSON, Austin, IIu(/arth,
illust. 24s. J 1. paper 52s. Gd. ; new
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DOU, Peerage, Baronetage,
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DODGE, Mils., Hans Brinker.
See Low's Standard Books.
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Great Cryptogram, Bacon's
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miniscences, by Blanche Roose-
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and Western India, 2 vols., 42s.
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Low's Standard Books.
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• Last Vendee, 7s.
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Dlirer. See Great Artists.
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M. B., Dream of Millions,
eye. Is.
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^p
lO
A Select List of Books
... !
'#
^M
'i, •
■ii^
■T
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1 V
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litod by J.
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ics.
ters.
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appi) Ihcnt-
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s Readers^.
w's StaiK-l.
liter, illust.
I Artists.
E. Sc.o
\Congoland,
Uio original
Hutl],5i:
Buclilu'im
|e),3s. Gil.
yShe Stoops
liu Dobson,
|y, 8k.
Editioas.
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II
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Great Musician-^, liiotjraphies,
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GUILLl'-^. Instruciiun and
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12
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GUYON, Madame, Life, 6».
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liiverside Naturalist, lis.
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HANCOCK, 11, Meclianics, 6s.
HANDEL. See G. Musicians.
HANDS, T., Numerical Exer-
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Handy Guide to Dry-Jly Flshirig,
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Handy Guide Book to Japanese
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HARKUT. See Low's Stand.
Novels.
HARRIS, J., Evening Tales, 6.s\
W. B., Land of an
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HARRISON, Mary, Modern
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HATTON. See Low's Standard
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Text Books and Great Artists.
IlEARN, L., You7na, 5j.
HEATH, Gertrude, Tell us
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HERNDON, VV. H , Life of A.
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Historic Bindings in the Bod-
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HODDER, E., History of
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HOEY, Mrs. Cashel. Seo
Low's Standard Novels.
HOFFER, Caoutchouc ^ Gutta
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HOFFMAN, C, Papet- Making,
100s.
In all Deparhnents of Literature,
13
isicians.
d Ser.
io Illus.
irtiats.
'Veil UA
tuckport,
. Gil.oach.
le Low's
yfl.
0 Low's
ye.
liana J^v.
Afe of A.
•y Edited
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n, 10s. G(L
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Gram-
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ic Pkijsi-
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ihe liod-
plntca,
nd 425.
story of
,21s.
PL. Seo
).
it, 12.9. OiZ.
'Mahingt
y
HOGARTH. Soo Gr. Artists,
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IIOLIJKIN. Sue Great Artists,
HOLDER, Ckaiiles F., Iimry
King, 8s. Vul. 5 new cd. 3.f. 0'/.
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HOrjJN(i.SHEAD, J., My
Life Time. 2 vols., 21 «.
HOLMAN, T., Life in the
lioijdl Navij, Is.
Salt Varus, new ed., Is.
H0L1\[KS, 0. Wki.dkf.l, liefore
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Guiu'ilidn Avoelf 2g. and
2s. Gd.
Oner the Tea Cup)*, Gj».
Inm Gate, t£r., Poems, G.s".
Z.rt.:/Zea/,hulidiiy vol., \2a.
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Mortal Antipalhi/, 8.^. Gd.,
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Our Hundred Dai/s in
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- Poetical Wor/tS, new edit.,
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WorliS, proso, 10 vols, ;
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See also Low's Standard
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Homer, Iliad, translated by A.
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Horace in Latin, wiUi Smart's
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HOWARD, Blanche \V., Tony
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— — See also Low's Standard
Novels.
lU)Wh:LLS,\V.Ti.(rndimjvered
('(inntrii, 3s. Gil. and ]s.
IIOWORTH, Siu 11. H., G'/acm/
Niijhtmare Jjf the Flood, 2 vols., 30y.
■ Mammoth and ihe Flood,
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HUGHKS, Hugh Piucf:. Seo
Preac'iers,
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HUGO'S Notre. IJaw,e, lO.s-. Gd.
HUME, Fkuou.s, Creature of
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IIUMFREV, Maiuax, Ohddric
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HUiXTINGDON, The Squires
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HYDE, A Hundred Years by
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Ifymnal Companion to the
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H
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— — Prisoner of War, 5».
Kinff Edward and Neu
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Sideliffhftt on the Stuart,^,
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INGLIS, Hon, James, Om/^cw
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Sport and WorJc on the
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Te7it Life in Tiger Land,
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IRVING, W., Little Britain,
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JALKSOISr, Lowis, Ten Cen-
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JAMES, German Dictionary,
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Japanese Books, untearablc,
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JEFEERIES, P!.:xxaRd, Ama-
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JEFFERSON, R. L., A Wheel
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JOHNSTON-LAVIS, II. J.,
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JOTNVILLE. See Bayard Ser.
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English Student's French
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First Lessons in Conversa-
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Mark Tillotson.
*Black (William) Adventures
in
Thule.
«_
*.
*.
#_
*..
♦_
*_
#.
*.
*.
* ,
*
— The Bonutiful Wretch.
— Daughter of Ucth.
— Donald Ross of Hcimra.
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* Strange Adventures of a
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* Strange Adventures of a
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* Sunrise.
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In all Departments of Literattiie.
'7
fTravel—
IverCongo,
dbo.
bho Falcon :
nerica in a
so 3s, (id,
niso of tho
i.
Fonnd Liv-
Ten Years'
iiii'a Camp,
jaration.
Is, Lihrarij
ro price is
ilao popular
I *), small
3s. 6'2.
ventures in
etch.
L'imra.
Piccadilly,
umes.
a.
,re.
Sweetheart.
iratna.
)lin Lof^an.
Rojston !
ires of a
ires of a
Lmd's Stand. Novels — confiiiued,
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Wolfenberg.
* Yolande.
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■ Clara Vaiighan.
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* Mary Anerley.
PerlycrosB.
* Spriughaven.
* Tommy Upmorc.
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Byuner, Agnes Surriago.
Begum's Daughter.
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John March, Southerner.
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* Three Recruits.
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♦Hoey(Mrs. CaRhcl)Golden Sorrow.
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•— Gates of Dawn.
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• Stephen Archer, &o.
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* Frozen Pirate.
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t8
A Select List of Books
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*Vane, From thf* Dead.
Polish Conspiracy.
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Warner,LittleJourney in theWorld .
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Woolson (Constance F.) Anne.
" East Angels.
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Signer Lippo.
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Forde, Subaltern, &c.
■ Trotter : a Poena Mystery.
Hewitt, Oriel Penhaligon.
Uolman, Life in the Royal Navy.
Salt Yarns.
Hume (F.), Creature of the Night.
Chinese Jar.
Ignotus ; Visitors* Book.
Layard, His Golf Madness.
Married by Proxy.
Rux, Roughing it after Gold.
Through the Mill.
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Ainslie, Priceless Orchid.
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Gold Seekers, a sequel.
Butler (Col. Sir Wm.) Red Cloud.
Cahnn (Leon) Captain Mago.
— — Blue Banner.
O^li^re, Exploits of the Doctor.
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Collingwood,Underthe Meteor Flag
Voyage of the Aiirora.
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Conquest of the Moon.
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Mael, P., Under the Sea to the
Pole.
Malan (A. N.) Cobbler of Corni-
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Muller, Noble Words and Deeds.
Norway (G.) How Martin Drako
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Perelaer, The Three Deserters.
Reed (Talbot Baines) Roger Tngle-
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Sir Ludar,
Reid (Mayno) Strange Adventures.
for Boys —
iMoteorFIag
rora,
3U3 Country.
inker.
Ua Countrv.
Equator.
;'os.Biantzau.
io the Wilds.
)uth Grange.
' Mutiny,
of Horse.
■a.
lel.
fo House.
via, Story of
Cinf^dom.
iushrangois.
ieu Burton,
luoee.
3.
le.
^on.
[oon.
ifc.
;ian.
liny Oanoe.
,liic.
olden Age.
Sea to the
of Corni-
g Gruiiuds.
id Deeds,
•tin Drake
sertore.
oger Tngle-
.dventures.
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19
Loto's Stand, Boohs for Boys —
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Van llaro, Life of a Showman.
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Cuisar Cascabel.
■ Family without a Name.
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Alcott (L. M.) A Rose in Bloom.
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Eight Cousins, illust.
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Shawl Straps.
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Spinning-Wheel Stories.
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Work and Beginning Again, ill.
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Trying to Find P]arope.
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De Witt (Madame) An Only Sister.
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Sandeau (Jules) Seagull Rock.
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Gliost in the Mill, &o.
Minister's Wooing.
My Wife and L
• Wo and our Neighbours,
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MAC KEN N A, Brave Men in
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MACKENZIE, Sir Morell,
Fatal Illness of Frederick the
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A Select List of Books
MACMASTER. Seo Low's
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Hints on Suov Photo-
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MEISSONIER. See
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^lELBfiuRNE, Lord
Prime Ministers.
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a's " Com-
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loat Fitih-
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IE, Love's
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,i>:m, j\'ine
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laical (/eo-
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Reader
Reader
CO Great
UD. See
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•2s. 0(1.
nhorough,
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en.
"ixplorcrs.
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)/ Business,
In all Departments of Literature.
21
MENDELSSOHN. Famihj,
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MERIWETHER, Lee, MeM-
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Ogawa, part i., 21s. nett.
MITCHELL, D.G.(Ik. ]\rarvcl)
Unglish Lands, Letters and Kinys,
2 vols. 6s. each.
Writings, new edit, per
vol. 5s.
MITFORD, J., Letters, 3s. Gd.
Miss, Our Village, illus. 5.s'.
MODY, Mrs., German Litera-
ture, outlines, Is.
MOFFATT, W., La^id and
MOINET. See Preachers.
MOLLETT. See Great Artists.
MOLONEY, J. A., With Cap-
tain Stairs to Katangd, 8s. Gd.
MONKHOUSE. SeeG. Artists.
Montaigne's Essays, revised by
J. Hain Friswell, 2s. Gd.
MONTBARD (G.), A77io7ig the
Mnnrs, 16s. ; ed. de Luxe, 63s.
MOORE, J.M., New Zealand for
Emigrant, Inval%d,and Tourist, 5.i.
MORLEY, Henry, English
Literature in the Reign of Victoria,
2s. Gd.
MORSE, E. ii.fJapafiese Homes,
new edit. 10s. Gd.
I^[ORTEN,H., Hospital Life, 1 .>*.
Illnesses tj* Accidents, 2s. 6d.
& GETHEN, Tales of the
Children's Ward, 3s. Gd.
MORTIMER, J., Chess Player's
Pocket-Book, new edit. Is.
MOSS, E. J., Great South Sea,
Atolls and Islands, 8s. Gd.
MOTTI, PiETRO, Elementary
Russian Grammar, 2s. Gd.
Russian Conversation
Grammar, 5». ; Key, 2s.
MOULE, H.C.G. SeePreacher.s.
MOUTON, E., Adventures of a
Breton Jioj/, f^s.
MOXLY, West India Sana-
toriiiin ; Barbados, 3s. Gd.
^lOZART. Sec Gr. Musicians.
MULERTT, IL, Gold Fish
Cidture. 5s.
MULLER,E. See Low's Stand-
ard Books.
MULLIN, J. P., Moulding and
Pattern Making, 12s. 6(/.
MULREADY'. See Gt. Artists.
MURDOCH, Ayame Sa7i, a Ja-
panese Romance, 30s. nott.
MURILLO. See Great Artists.
MURPHY, Bei/ond the Ice,
from Farleigh's Diary, 3s. Gd.
MUSGRAVE, Mrs. See Low's
Standard Novels.
My Comforter, tj-c, Religious
Poems, 2s. Gd.
Najpoleon I, See Bayard Series,
22
A Select List of Books
Napoleon I., Decline and Fall of.
See Wolseley.
NELSON", WoLFKED, Panamay
the Canal, «&o., (5*.
Nelt^on'sWordsandDecd, 3.s. Gd.
NETHKRCOTE, Futchle!/
Hunt, 8s. Gd.
Neio Zealand, chroraos, hy Bivr-
raud, text by Travers, 1()8»'.
NICHOLS, W. L., Qiiantoch<,
G*. ; large paper, 10.-\ Qd.
NIC0L8, A., Salmonidce, 5s.
Nineteenili Centziri/, a ^Monthly
Review, 2s. 6(L per No.
NLSBET, Hume, Li/a and
Nature Studies, illustrated. Gs.
N I V E N, R. , /I n(/h'r's Lexicon, 6g.
NORMAN, C. B., Corsairs of
France, 18s.
NOKMAN, J. H., Monetary
Systems of the World, lO.s-. Gd.
licady Beckonev of Foreifpi
and Colonial F.xclianffes, ?,s. Gif.
NORWAY, 50 photo<,M-!ivures
by Paul Laiige, text by E. J.
Goodman, 52s. Gd. nott.
S., How Martin Drake,
5s. and 2s. Gd.
NOTTAGE, C. G., In Search
of a Climate, illust. 25s.
Nugenfs French Dictionanj, Zs.
O'BRIEN, Fifty Year^ of Con-
cession to Ireland, 2 vols. 32.'?.
OGAWA, O pen-Air lAfe in
Japan, 15s. nett ; Out of doors Life
in Japan, I2s. nett.
OGDEN, J., Fly-tying, 2s. M.
Ohnoalder^s Ten Years' Cap-
tivity ; MaJidi's Camp, 6s. & 2s. Gd.
Orient IJne Gvide, fourth edit,
by W. J. Loftie, 3s. Gd.
OKTOLT, Evening Talcs, done
into English by J, C. Harris, Gs.
ORVIS, C. F., Fly Fishing,
with coloured plates, 12s. Gd,
OSBORN, H. S., Prospector's
Ouido, 8s. Gd.
OTTO, E., Fre7ich and Oerman
Grammars, ^c. List on applica-
tion.
Our Little Ones in Heaven, 5».
Out of Doors Life in Japan,
Burton's photos. See O^awn.
Out of School at Eton, 'Is. 6d.
OVERBECK. Sec Great Artists.
OWEN, Marine Insurance, 15*.
PAGE, T. N., Marse Chan,
illust. Gs.
Meh Lady, a Story of Old
Virginian Life, illus. Gs.
PALAZ, A., Industrial Photo-
metry, 12s. Gd.
PALGRAVE, R. F. D. Chair-
man's Handbook, 12th edit. 2s.
Oliver CromtceV, lOs. Gd.
PALLISER, Mns. Bury, China
Collector's Companion, 5s.
History of Lace, w . ed . 2 l.s\
V AKVO"^, Homes of Taste,2s.M
PARKE, T. H., Emin Pasha
Belief Expcditi'^n, 2ls.
Health in Africa, hs.
PARKER, E. H.', Chinese Ac-
count of the Opium War, Is. Gd.
J., Tliermo Dynamics,
lOs. Gd.
PARKS, Leiqhton, Winning
of the Soul, ,5'c., sormons, 3s. Gd.
Parliamentary Pictures and
Personalities (from the Graphic),
illust., 5s. ; od. do lase, 21s. nett.
PATTERSON, CAPT., Naci-
gator's Pocket Book, 5s.
FE ACU, Amiah of Swainswick,
near Bath, 10s. GJ.
Peel. See Prime Ministers.
PELLESCHI, G., Gran C/iaco
of the Arijentine Republic, 8s. Gd.
P.EMBERTON, C, Tyrol,] s.id.
1
Prospedur^s
nd Oermm
t on npplica-
leaven, 58.
in Japan,
je Oi?awn.
n, 2s. G<f.
reat Artists.
urancp., 15*.
irse Ohaiif
tory of 01(1
. fis.
U'ial Photo.
. D. Chair.
h edit. 2s.
'1% lOs. Gd.
Jury, China
•n, 5s.
?, ii.ed. 2l.s*.
Taste,2sM
hnin Pttidia
s.
ica, hs.
!hinese Ac-
'ar. Is. 6il.
Dynamics,
Winning
one, 3s. 6cL
iwes and
le Graphic),
, 21s. nett.
T., A^'aci-
^icainswick,
inisters.
an Chaco
hlic, 8s. Gd.
'yrol,\sAd.
In all Departments of Literature.
23
PENDLETON, L. Soo Low's
Standard Novels.
PEN^^ELL, FiMnr] Tackle, 2;;.
Sporting Fish, I5s, & 'M)s.
Penny Postage Jubilee, Is.
Pensions for all at Sidij, 6c/.
I'JCRL, JJ., Venice, <28«.
PHELPS, E. S., Struggle for
Lnmortaliin, 5s.
Samukl, Life, liy W. ^I.
Pheliis & Forbi's-Uobcrtsuiij 12s.
PHILBEICK, F. A., and
WESTOBY, Post ar,d Telegraph
Stamps, 10s. fid.
PIIILLIMORE, C. M, Italian
Literature, new. edit. 3s. fitJ.
See alsoGt. Artists, Fra An.
PHILLIPS, L. P., Dictionary
of Ijio'jraphical Reference, u.o. 2.')s.
E., How to Become a Jour-
nalint, 2s. fitZ.
W., Law of Insurance, 2
vols. 73s. Gd.
PHILPOT, 11. J., Diaheles, 5s.
Diet 'Fahlci, \s. each.
PICKAKD, S. F., Whittier's
Life, 2 vols., 18s.
PIJiRCE, Memoir of C. Sum-
ner, 2 vols., 36s.
Playtime Library, 2s. Gd. each.
Charles, Where is Fairy Land ?
HumphreyB, Little Britons.
Huntingdon, Squire's Nieces.
PLUNKETT (solid geometry)
Orthographic Projection, 2s. Gd.
POE, E. A., Haven, ill. by G.
Dore, 63s.
Poems of the Inner Life, 6s.
Poetry of the Anti- Jacob ln,1s. Gd.
POPE, W. H., Fly Fisher's
Register, 'is.
F. L., Electric Telegraph,
12s. 6d.
PORCHER, A., Juvenile
French Plays, with Notes, Is.
PORTER,NoATr, JAt'»»fn>,8.s.G(?.
Portraits of Racehorses, 4 vols,
12Gs.
POSSELT, Structure of Fibres,
Yarns ami Falric/>, 03s.
Textile Design, illust. 28.-'.
POTTER, F. S., Walter Gaydon,
5s.
POYNTER. Sco illustratea
Text Books.
Preachers of the Age, Zs. Gd. en.
Living Tiioology, by His Grace the
Archbishop of Cantorbnry.
The Couquoring Christ, by Rev. A.
Maclaren.
Verhur.T, Crucis, by tho Brhup of
Dorry.
Ethical Christianity, by Hugh P
Hughes.
Knowlodgo of God, by tho Bisliop
of Wakefield.
Light and Peace, by H. R. Reynolds.
Journey of Life, by W. J. Kno\«
Little.
Messages to tho Multitude, by
C. H. Spurgcon.
Christ is All, by II. C. G. Moule,M. A.
Plain Words on Groat Themes, by
J. 0. Dykes.
Children of God, by E. A. Stuart.
Christ in the Centuries, by A, M.
Faix'bairn.
Agoniee Christi, by Dr. Lefroy.
The Transfigured Sackcloth, by W.
L. Watkinson.
The Gospel of Work, by the Bishop
of Winchester.
Vision and Duty, by C. A. Berry.
The Burning Bush ; Sermons, by
the Bishop of lliimn.
Good Cheer of Jeaus Christ, by C.
Moinet, M.A.
A Cup of Cold Water, by J. 3Iorlaia
Jones.
The Kelii;iou of the Son of Man, by
E. J. Gongh; M.A.
PRICE, Arcfio Ocean to Yclloio
Sea, illust., now ed., 73. 6rf.
24
A Select List of Books
i
I' ,
Prime Ministers, a surics of
political biograpliioH, edited by
Stuart J. lloid, 3s. Gci. each.
Earl of Bcaconsfiuhl, by J. Anthony
Froudc.
Viscount Molbournp, by Honry
Dunckloy (" Vera.\i").
Sir Robert Peel, bv Justin
McCartby.
Viscount Palmcrston, by tbo Mar-
quis of Lome.
Lord Joba llussoll, by Stunrt J.
Ileid.
IUK'ht Hon. W. E. Gladstono, by
(}. VV. E. Uussoll.
Earl of Aberdeen, by Baron Stan-
more.
JIarqnis of Salisbury, by U. D.
Traill.
Earl of Derby, by G. Saintsbury.
*^* An edition, limited to 250 cojiics,
medium 8vn, half vellum, cloth
sides, gilt top, 9 vols. it. 4s, nett.
Prince Mcu^kilqf. See Lo\v'.s
Standard Novels.
Prince of lYiir.^ery Playmatefi,
new edit. 2.«. GcZ.
PKITT, T. N., North Countr;/
Flies, coloured plates, lO.s. (id.
PuhlisJier's Circular, wcokly,
licZ.
Pnrcell. >Soc Groaf, ]\rusician.«!.
PYLE, Howard, llahin Hood,
10s. 6c7.
QUILTER, UAnn\',Giotfo,Life,
iS'c. 15s. See also Great Artists.
RAFTER & BAKER, Sewoffe
Disposal, 24s.
RAIFE, R., Sheik's White
Slave, Gs.
RAPHAEL. See Great Artiste.
REDFORl), Sculpture. See
Illustrated Textbooks.
REDGRAVE, Century of Eng-
lish Painters, new ed. , 7s. GcZ.
REED, T. B. See Low's St.Bks.
REID, Mayne, Captain. See
Low's Standard Books.
REID,StuautJ. Roe Prime Mill.
Itemarkahle liinitinfiA in Brititfh
iluseum ; 73s. G(/. and 63s.
R KM BRANDT. See Gr. Artists.
RKYNOLDS. See Gr. Artists.
REM US AT, MADAME DE,
Memoirs, 7». Gi7.
Hknry R. Soo Preachers.
RICHARDS,J.W., ^/wmmmrn,
now edit. 21s.
RTCIITER, Italian Art in the
Natii lal GaUenj, 42s.
Sec also Great Artisth,
IflDDELL, mis. J. H. See
Low's Standard Novels.
R IPON, Br. OF. See Prcacliers.
RIVIERE, J., Recollect ionn,
3s. 6(1.
ROBERTS, Lord, Pise of
Wellington, 3s. Gif.
"\V., Englii^h Poolvelliny,
earlier bistory, 3s. 67.
ROBERTSON, Dr. Al, Fra
I'aolo Sarpi, 6s.
Count Campello, 5.s\
ROBIDA, A., Toilette, coloured
plates, 7*. Gd. ; new od. 3s. Gd.
ROBINSON, H. P., Work.<^ on
I'hofoivi'aphy. List on application.
ROBINSON, Phil., Noah'A
Ark, n. ed. 3s. Gd.
Sinners ij* Sainti\ \0s. 6'^?.;
new ed. 3s. Gd,
Soo also Low's Stan. Ser.
Ser J., Wealth and Hi
Sources, 5s.
J. R , Princely Chandos,
illust., 12s. Gd.
Last Earls of Parri/more,
12s. Gd,
" Old Q." 7s. 6d. and 2 la.
" Romeo " Coatcs, 7s, 6d.
ROCKSTRO, History of Music,
new ed. 14s.
RODRIGUES,7'a?2ama (7aw.,5«.
/;/ all Dcparlnicnls of Literature,
25
irrinioMin.
'.< in British
111 63/».
s Gr. Artists.
Gr. Artists.
ATklE DB,
0 Preachers.
AUuninium,
Art in the
If,
, Artists.
J. H. Sco
vels.
joPreaclicrs.
lecoUectionx,
>, ItitiO, of
Booh'oMin'jj
M.
R. Al, Fra
lo, 5s.
He, coloured
od. 3s. G(i.
, Works oil
application.
I-., Noah^s
fi/..', lO."?. 6(1;
Stan. Ser.
h and its
ly ChandoSf
Barrymoref
M. and 2 Is.
te»^ Is. 6d.
iry o/MusiCy
xma, Can. ,68,
ROE, E. P. Sco Low's St. Ser.
ROLFE, PonLpeii, n. cd., 7s. Gd.,
with Photos, 14ii.
ROMNEY. See Grout Artists.
ROOPEK, G., Thames and
Tweed, 2». VhI.
ROSE, J., Mechanical Drawintj
Self. Taught, 16s.
Key to Knyines^ 8^•. Gd.
Practical Machinist, new
ed. 12s. Qd.
Steam Enr/ines,
Steam Boilers,
Hose Lihrari/. Per
.1
^"11.
Is.
udIobb the price is given.
Alcott (L. M.) Eight Couaina, 2,-».
Jack and Jill, 2«.
Jimmy's cruise in the Fina.
fore, 2.S. ; cloth, 3s. (id.
Little Women.
Little Women Wedded j Nos.
4 and 5 in 1 vol. cloth, 3s. Gd.
' Little Slen, 2s. ; cl. gt.|33. fid.
Old-fashioned Girls, 2s.; cloth,
3«. (k/.
Rose in Bloom, 2s. ; cl. 3s. Gd.
Silver Pitchers.
— — Under the Lilacs, 2s.; cl.3s.()(Z.
Work, 2 vols, in 1, cloth, 3s.6iZ.
Stowo (Mrs.) Pearl of (hr's Island.
Minister's Wooing.
We and Our Neighbours, 2s.
My Wife and I, 2s.
Dred, 2s. ; cl. gt., 3s. 6(/.
Dodge (Mrs.) Uans Bririker, Is.;
cloth, 5s. ; 3s. Gd. ; 2s. Gil.
Holmes, Guardian Angel, cloth, 2s.
Carleton (W.) City Ballads, 2 vols.
in 1, cloth gilt, 2s. Gd.
— — - Legends, 2 vols, in 1, cloth
gilt, 2s. Gd.
Farm Ballads, Gd. and 9cZ. ; 3
vols, in 1, cloth gilt, 3s. Gd.
Farm Festivals, 3 vols, in 1,
cloth gilt, 3s. Gd.
- — Farm Legends, 3 vols, in 1,
cloth gilt, 3s. Gd.
Biart, Bernagius' Clients, 2 vols.
HowoUd, Undiaoovered Country.
Rose Library — Continued.
Clay (C. M.) Haby Rue.
Story of Ileloti Troy.
Whitney, Hitherto, 2 vols. 3s. Gd.
Fawcett (E.) Gentleman of Loiauro.
Butler, Nothing to Wear.
ROSSETTI. See Wood.
ROSSINI, Ac. Sec Great Mas.
Rothschilds, by J. Reeves, 7j<. Gd.
Roughimj it aj'ter Gold, by Rux,
new edit. Is.
R0USSEL]<:T. Sco Low's
Sla^idard Books.
Royal Naval Exhihi! ion, illus.lrf.
RUBENS. See Great Artists.
RUSS ELL, G.W. i:.,Gladstone.
See Primo Ministers.
II., Ridn of Soudan, 2]s.
W. Clark, Mrs. Dines'
Jeiucfs, cloth, 2s. 6</., boards, 2s.
Nelson's Words and Deeds,
3s. Gd.
Sailor's Lanyuaye, 3tf. Gd.
— — See also Low's Standard
Novels.
W. Howard, l^rince of
Wales' Tour, ill. 52s. Gd.
Russia's March towards India,
by an Indian Officer, 2 vols., 168.
Rnsnian Art, lOf),-*.
St. Duiistun's Library, 3s. Gd.
each.
1. A Little Sister to the Wilder-
ness, by L. B«ll.
2. Corona of tho Nantahnlas, by
L. Pendleton.
3. Two Mistakes, by Sydney Chris-
tian,
4. Love AlTairs of an Old Maid,
by L. Bell.
Saints and their Symbols, 3s. Gd.
SAINTSBURY, 'G., Earl of
Derby. See Prime Ministers.
SALISBURY, Lord. See Primo
Ministers.
SAMUELS. See Low's Stan-
dard Series.
26
A Select List of Books
i
SAMUELSON, James, Greece,
her Condilinn avd Progress, 5.s.
SANBORN, KATE, A Trnlh-
Jul Woman in S. Califcrnia, Ss. (5 1,
HA^J^Ali^, German Primer, Is.
8ANDLANDS, How to Develop
Vocal Power, Is,
SXUEBfEuropeanCommcrceyiis.
Italian Grammar (Koy,
2s.), Za.
SpanUh Dialogue.^, 2,< Gd.
Spanish Grammar (Koy,
2.',-.), 5s.
Spanish Rnwler, 3«. GtZ.
SCIIAACK, ^««^*c////, 10.!.
SCUKKKR, Euay^ in '^mjli^lt
Literature, by G. Saiutsbury, (is.
SCHILLER'S Prosa, 2s. U.
SCHUBKRT. See Groat :^rus.
SCHUMANN. See Croat i\Ius.
SCHWAB, Age of the Horse
ascertained by the tcetli, 2.s, GtZ.
SCnVVEINFURTH, Heart of
Africa, 2 voIh., 3s. Gd. each.
Scientijlc IJducalion of Dogs, Gs.
SCOTT, Leader, licnaissance
of Art in Italy, 31s. Gd.
Soe also Great Artists and
Ulust. Text Books.
Sin GiLBEKT,
Aufohio-
Oraphy, 18s.
Scribners Magazine, monthly,
Is. ; half-yearly volumea, 8s. Gd.
Sea Stories. Sec Russoil in
Low's StaiuTard Novels.
SENIOR, \V., I^enr and Far, 2s.
Waterside Sketches, Is.
SEVERN, Joseph, Life, Letters,
and Fricndsldijs, by Sharp, 21s.
Shadoio of the Rock, 2s. Qd.
SHAFTESBURY. SccEnrrlisli
Philosophers.
SHAKESPEARE, cd. by R. G.
White, 3 vols. 36s. ; 1. paper, 63*.
AnnaU ; Life ^* Work, 2s.
SHAKESPEARE, Hamlet.
1603, 7s. fiJ.
Heroines, by living paint-
ers, 10.J.-,'.
Home a7id Haunts of, 315a
" Macheth, uilli ctching.s,
105s. aud 52s. Gd.
Songs and Sonnets. Soo
Choice Editions.
SHALER, N. S., The U.S. of
America, 36s.
SHEPHERD, British School
of Palntina, 2nd edit. Zs. and Is.
SIl KRMAN, Genl... Letter8,\(js.
SHU.MWAY, Tuberculosis,
3.1. Gd. nott.
SIDNEY, Siu PuiMP, Area-
dia, new ed., Gs.
STMSON, Ecuador and the
Puiiuuainn' lUvcr, 8s. Gd.
SKOTTOWE, Hanoverian
Kings, noAv edit, 3?. Gd.
SLOANE, T. 0., HomeEx2)eri^
mcnts in Science, Gs.
SLOANE, W. M., French War
and the Revolution, 7s. Gd.
SMITH, Charles W., Theories
ami Remedies for Depression in
Trade, cj'c, 2s.
Commercial Gamhling the
Cause of Depression, 3s. Gd.
G., Afisyria, l^s.
Chaldean Account of
Qenc.sis, new edit, by Saj'co, 18s.
— — Sydney, Life, 21s.
■T.Ahheeto'S, lieminiscences
by Sir J. B. Wilmot, 2s.Gd. and 2s.
T. RoGEii. See Illustrated
Text Books.
^— "W". A., Sliepherd Smith,
the Univcrsalist, 8s. Gd.
HAMILTON, and LE-
GEOS' French Dictionary, 2 volfl.
16s., 21s., aud 22s.
SMITT, Prop,, Scandinavian
Fishes, 2 Parts, 252s. uott.
Hamlet.
iiig piiint-
/«o/, 315«
etchings,
incis. Soo
'he U.S. of
ink School
5s. find Is.
''.etturSjlGs.
uherculoHs,
LIP, Area-
and the
fid.
Uanoveriaii
id.
)me Ex})eri-
1
'ench War
GJ.
,, Theories
epression in
imhling the
Gel.
onnt of
Sayco, 1&.
Is.
ninisconces
.Gci. ancl28.
^UustiatcJ
nl Smith,
\
and LE-
lary, 2 vola.
ndinavian
uelt.
In all Department's of Literature.
27
SNOWDEN (J. K.). Tale» of
the Yorkshire Wvldx, '6s. 6d.
SOMERSET, Our Villaf/e Lif;
with colonred plates, Gs.
SPIERS, French Dictionary,
new ed., 2 vols. 18.'<., half bound,
21s.
SPRY. See Lo\v\s Staiulnrd
Library of Travel.
SPURGEON, C. H. See
PrcaohcrB.
STANLEY, II. M., Conuo, new
ed., 2 vols., 21.S.
Coomass{e&Mar/d(da,Si!.6(l.
Earit/ Travels, 2 vols.,
12*. Gd.
Emilias Rescue, !.•?.
In Darkest Africa, 2 vols.,
42s.; new edit. 1 vol. 10s. 6rf.
Afy Dark Comjjanions and
iheir Strange Stories, illus. 7s. 6d.
See also Low's Standard
Library and Low's Stand. Books.
START, Exercises in Mensura-
tion, 8d.
STEPHENS. See Great Artists.
STERNE. See Bayard Series.
STERRY, J. AsnnY, Cucumber
Chronicles, 5s.
STEUART, J. A., Ldters to
Living Authors, new edit. 2s. 6d. ;
edit, de luxe, 10s. (yd.
See also Low's Standard
STEVENI(W. B.). Throurjh
Famine-Stricken Russia, 3s. 6d,
STEVENS, J. W., Leather
Manufacture, illust. 18s.
STEWART, DuGALo, Outlines
of Moral Philosophy, 'Ss. Gd.
STOCKTON, F. R., Ardis
Claverden, 6s.
Clods of Rondaine, 7s. 6d.
Mrs. Leeks, Is.
The Dusantes, a sequel
to Mrs, Leeks, Is.
STOCKTON, F. R., PersomiW/
Conducted {lour in Europe), illuBt.
7s. (id.
Rudder Orayigers Abroad ,
2s. Od.
Schooner Merry Chanter^
2s. 0'/. and Is.
Sijuirrel Inn, illust. 6*.
Story of Viteau, bs., 'Ss.Cnl.
Three Burglars, 2s. & 1.?.
See also Low's Stanilard
Novels.
STODDARD, W. O., Beyond
the liockiis, 7s. Cnl,
STOKER, Bram, Under the
Sunset, Christmas Stories, 6-%
Snake's Pass, 3s. Gd.
STORER, F. Ii;, Agriculture
and Chemistry, 2 vols., 25s.
Stories from Scribner. illu.''t.,
G vols., transparent wrapper.
Is. 6f?. each; cloth, top gilt, 2s.
each.
1. Of New York. |4. Of the Sea.
2. Of the Railway. 5. Of the Army.
3. Of the South. 6. Of Italy.
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