Part 28

My Parsee friend will marry his son of fifteen to his bride of twelve in a few months. They cannot eat with us or drink out of the same vessel that we do. I accept civilities among the Parsees, but we eat at separate tables, and I have noticed among the most devoted a prayer murmured over me, and a glance of kindness. The Hindoos cannot assign any reason why the body should be burned, the Mahometan why it should be interred, nor the Parsee why it should be placed in a circular, high-walled, amphitheatrical cemetery, where the bodies of men, women, and children are placed in separate exposures for decay, and destruction by birds of prey; and they deny the assertion made by their enemies that the condition of future existence is denoted by the part of the body first attacked by the birds. I saw one public and one private cemetery of the kind on high hills; no one was permitted to enter. The position of Bombay, in Lat. 18° north, at nearly the head of the Indian Ocean, with a good harbor and sea-breezes, with its suburbs and fine dwellings, and forests of cocoa and date trees along good drives, makes it more agreeable and less hot than Calcutta. Within the inclosure of the old fortified town stands the arsenal, mint, cathedral, and other public edifices. I attended the cathedral last Sunday, but found few worshippers, although every appliance for comfort and ease. I counted fourteen long punkahs suspended from the ceiling, and as many men employed outside pulling the cords. Open rail pews, bamboo seats with arms, marble pavement, and a free circulation of air, but poor preaching and bad delivery, had driven the congregation away. The dock-yard here is the finest in the East, and is resorted to by all vessels for repairs; I noticed in it a frigate of the Imaum of Muscat, built of teak thirty years old. The mint for coining--the chief coins are rupees, nearly the size of half-dollars--is admirably well arranged, and would do credit to any country. They had nine presses at work, and were turning off one hundred and fifty thousand daily, out of the sycee silver, which comes from China, in payment for opium.

Having visited the hospital and benevolent institutions, to see what was doing for humanity in this part of the world, I was induced to visit the most extraordinary institution I had ever heard of: a hospital for diseased animals, established by the Parsees. I found there not only hundreds of horses, oxen, buffaloes, goats, and other cattle, but dogs and cats, which are never killed, but are allowed to enter the hospital gratis, and are kept until they recover or die. The great curiosity is the caves of elephants, on an island opposite Bombay. Taking supplies, we started early, in a covered boat; the tide being down, we were carried a long distance on men’s shoulders, to the shore, and around the mountain side through the trees to the bungalow of the Sepoy guard, and then entered the cave to see the Hindoo idols. The entrance is fifty-three feet wide, the height of the ceiling eighteen feet, and the depth one hundred and forty-three feet; it is nearly as wide as deep, and is supported by massive pillars, carved out of solid dark trap rock.

In the recess in the rear is seen a gigantic tri-formed god. Brahma is in the middle as creator, with placid face and jewelled cap. Vishnu, the presiding deity, is represented with a beautiful face, and with the sacred lotus flower in his hand. Siva, who fills up the other side of the tri-formed gods, holds a cobra serpent; he frowns, being the destroyer. From the chin to the crown of the head is six feet, the caps are three feet more. There are steps behind the bust where a Brahmin might have hidden for priestly imposition. The courts of death are at the right and left, as are also pilasters and figures fourteen feet high. There are various chambers and large colossal figures of divinities within the cave, which to me were interesting, being of a different style of sculpture from either the Egyptian or Chinese idols, and were once very beautiful, though they have been much defaced by the Portuguese in the early possession of the country. A few miles from town, on Malabar Point, is the place of pilgrimage for the Hindoos. It is a village with a community of some five hundred persons or more, subsisting upon charity. It is situated upon the side hill, inclosed by walls, and descending towards the ocean, with a water-tank, or large reservoir, some hundred feet long and square, and about twenty ghauts or stone platforms, to descend, and is surrounded with houses and temples. The front verandas are filled with bells of all sizes, and the idols of various deities. The half-naked priests, with painted faces and long hair and beards, were sitting in groups, quarrelling for the division of the spoils.

I had a good opportunity of seeing the mode of worship here, notwithstanding that the jealousy of the people allowed me to go no further than the threshold. One family came covered with jewelry, and had their own priest. Vessels filled with water were suspended over the stone of fertility, which constantly drips upon the flowers placed upon it; and the devotees touched each other’s hands, and went through various acts of devotion before the idols of the five different gods, while offerings were made.

LXX.

ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT, _Nov. 24, 1851_.

I have felt more like writing you since I left Bombay, where I confidently expected advices from friends, which I have been deprived of for some months; and having heard indirectly, without particulars, of the death of a beloved sister, I was anxious to arrive at this place, where I am put in possession of that which is so highly valued by the traveller--letters from home. From Bombay I embarked with the Achilles down the Indian Ocean to Aden, some one thousand six hundred and forty miles, situated near the entrance of the Straits of Babelmandel, and recognised in her an old acquaintance, having made a passage by her from Glasgow to Liverpool, some years since.

Aden is the coal depot of the Peninsular and Oriental Company’s line of steamers, and here we were obliged to wait during three days for the arrival of the steamer Erin, which replaced the Precursor, that had been caught in a violent hurricane and disabled, at the mouth of the river, below Calcutta. The Erin is the steamer that sunk the Pasha, by collision off the coast of Malabar, some time ago. I feel thankful in having escaped typhoons, hurricanes, and accidents, of which many have occurred while I have been in the East, and hope to be favored for the future in my peregrinations, until I once more return to my friends and native land. Aden is a strongly fortified place, called the “Gibraltar of the East.” It was constructed by the East India Company, in order to resist the encroachments of the Arabs, and is situated in a desert country, without a sign of vegetation, a portion of it being in an extinct volcano. It is one of the most disagreeable spots in the world for a long sojourn, with no attractions aside from the camp, and all necessaries come from abroad when the Arabs do not choose to supply them. The heat at times has been almost insupportable; the Red Sea is considered the Tophet of the East by travellers. Not unfrequently in summer, passengers become perfectly exhausted, and some sudden deaths occur. The shores in general are barren and arid, with high volcanic mountains at intervals, with exceptions, of course, as we sighted Mocha, which is forty miles above the entrance of the Straits, and is celebrated for its choice coffee. We passed the usual landing-place for Mahometans proceeding to Mecca. We had about forty passengers from Bombay, and northern India, mostly officers on leave, or retired pensioners; among the number were several ladies, and twelve children, going home to be educated, so we were not at a loss for juvenile music. We made the passage up the Red Sea in five days and a half, and found, as we advanced towards Suez, that the weather became cooler.

Mount Sinai and the localities designated as the spots where Moses and the Israelitish army crossed, were pointed out and commented upon. As we approached Suez the sea narrows, and a place some thirty miles below, where the water is thirty fathoms, or one hundred and eighty feet in depth, is said by the Arabs to be that where Moses crossed. It is twenty miles wide, and the rise and fall of tide is very small; so that the most sceptical must allow the crossing to be quite as miraculous as the sustaining of vast bodies of people in these arid plains and mountains for a long sojourn. The arrangements are now very perfect in crossing the isthmus, and it scarcely merits the name of desert in comparison with the fifteen days’ journey across the Arabian sands to Palestine, during my former travels in the East.

The Pasha deserves great credit for his transit accommodations. At Suez, a dirty village upon a sandy plain, is a large stone hotel, and in approaching the town a small steamer meets and conducts you to the wharf, where camels in large numbers are ready to convey luggage and cargo across to Cairo, a distance of eighty-five miles. They are started off, and passing us, we are sent in vans with two high wheels, and a double shaft for two horses or mules, with a pair of leaders. These vans contain six persons and their luggages, and are changed every five miles. There are four places for supplies on the desert, where most articles can be obtained desirable for comfort, including couches to repose upon during the halt. I found them so much improved since I was last in Egypt, that I was agreeably disappointed. The road is beaten by constant travel, except that there is heavy sand in some places. The greatest objections are the rays of the sun, and the fiery sand, which affect the eyes; but it is of short continuance, as we cross in sixteen hours. The supply of water, and, indeed, every trifling article, must be carried on the backs of camels. The transit across the isthmus and down the Nile from Grand Cairo to the canal at Atfeh to Alexandria, is in the Pasha’s name; and arrangements are being made for the construction of a railway between the first and last named cities.

At Grand Cairo I found that great changes had taken place since I last visited it, not only in the hotels, but in the general appearance of the city. The most beautiful edifice, or monument, is the new alabaster mosque, with its nobly gilded domes and interior decorations, its lofty minaret towering above the citadel, and inclosing a catafalque in one corner, with the remains of Mehemet Ali, who had massacred the Mamelukes at a spot hard by, one only escaping by a fearful leap, killing his horse under him. I once described to you my visit to, and reception by, this extraordinary man, whose remains I am now gazing upon, while a thousand reflections cross my mind. Turning my eyes from the spot, there stood in the distance the almost imperishable pyramids, and the Nile, flowing without change, bathing the land of Goshen as in days gone by. The bazaars were filled as usual with an immense multitude of men, veiled women, and children, and donkeys, and camels. The streets being very narrow, our carriage was preceded by a runner, cracking his heavy whip to clear the passages. I find small, but not uncomfortable steamers now coming from Cairo to Atfeh, the termination of the Mahmoud canal, making with the current some twelve miles per hour; also barges for passengers, towed by small steamers on the canal, with very fair living accommodations. Alexandria has become more like a European city; the suburbs near the banks of the canal are occupied with the residences of foreigners, and the vicinity of the Obelisk, or Cleopatra’s needle, and Pompey’s pillar, looks less deserted than formerly.

LXXI.

STEAMER SEVERN, ISLAND OF TENERIFFE, _Dec. 22, 1851_.

From Alexandria, Egypt, I embarked on board of the steamer for Malta, with the privilege of continuing to Gibraltar or Lisbon, to await the arrival of the steamer from England, on her way to South America. The weather was heavy and boisterous for the first two days, which caused some delay, and required four and a half days to make the passage of eight hundred miles to Malta.

Our leisure time was passed in rowing about the harbor, viewing the English fleet; and I amused myself in the Lazaretto in visiting my old quarters where I was confined in quarantine twenty-one days, coming from Egypt during the prevalence of the plague. The fortifications are very strong, and the island is an agreeable place for sojourn in the winter; the rides to the bay where St. Paul was shipwrecked and landed, and where a chapel is erected on the spot; the so called Grotto of Calypso; the Church of the Knights of St. John; the ancient catacombs; and the general drives and views, make it well worth tarrying at; but having been all over the ground, there was no incentive to remain, so we proceeded to Gibraltar, one thousand miles further, with beautifully fine weather, coasting along the bay of Tunis, with Sicily and Algiers in view, and then branched off to the opposite coast of Spain, passing close to the bay of Malaga, with white-capped mountains in the distance, and the famous quicksilver mines of Adva at their base, until we approached the frowning rock of Gibraltar.

Those of our passengers who had never passed along the Mediterranean, enjoyed all the sights and various changing views; I, however, could not feel the same interest, except in the way of reminiscences of past scenes. Gibraltar, as you are aware, is considered invulnerable; its strength surpasses any fortification in the world, and as long as Great Britain retains her present ascendency, it would be useless to attempt its capture, as starvation of the garrison would be the only successful artifice. We were informed here that the French had just bombarded Tangier, on the opposite coast of Morocco, and knocked down the town about the ears of the Moors. On the opposite side of the straits is Ceuta, a strongly garrisoned fortress belonging to the Spaniards; the straits here are seventy-two miles wide. The current was setting into them at the rate of two miles per hour, and always running in the same direction. The nearest point to the African coast is St. Cruzes, towards Tarifa Light, on the European side; it is seven miles wide.

Gibraltar is considerably improved, many new buildings having been erected, but its contraband trade with the south of Spain is now much reduced, and the people complain of hard times. Trafalgar Bay, famous for the victory and death of Lord Nelson, lies only a short distance north. I don’t recollect, while travelling in the beautiful country of Malaga, Grenada, Seville, and Cadiz, to have said anything of Portugal, to which my travels were also extended, at that time, but at the risk of repetition I must remark that Lisbon is prettily situated on the Douro, about twelve miles from its mouth, and were it not for the dark aspect of the city, the effect of climate upon the sandstone, it would show to great advantage, situated as it is upon an undulating surface, with portions of its pinnacles looking like a tower of stairs. It is much cleaner than formerly, filthy streets then being its chief characteristic. The trade of Portugal has declined, and the government and people have become more and more impoverished. They have had no rain since last May, and the country is suffering. Processions were being held from the churches to invoke the Virgin for refreshing and copious supplies of the vivifying element. One of the most extraordinary mosaic pictures of large size is the Annunciation of the angel to the Virgin Mary; it is here in one of the churches, and is said to have cost a million of dollars. The stone aqueduct which rests upon several ties of arches, and supplies the city with water, is considered a stupendous work; it is much shattered by a former earthquake. The promenades and gardens are tolerable, as are also the quays and public squares, but the port seems deserted by merchant vessels. A part of the English fleet lay in the river, and among the number was one which, although small in comparison with the other craft, had given evidence of her sailing qualities to the world, and all eyes were directed to her. It was the little, low, raking-masted yacht, America.

I found myself once again on board the ship Severn, having made a passage with her in the West Indies, under the same commander, three years since. We had a mixed company of passengers, consisting of duchesses, countesses, not forgetting Lady Wortley, who visited the United States some time since, military and civil officers, South American Spaniards, Portuguese Brazilians, Frenchmen, Germans, and English, some twenty of whom we left at Madeira for the benefit of their health; the rest will continue to Teneriffe, Cape de Verde, Pernambuco, Bahia, Rio Janeiro, &c., where we land and take supplies of coal. The rigid formality of strict English society is confounded with the life and liberty of the different races thrown together, and five languages are continually heard at table.

Madeira is a pretty and picturesque island. Its vineyards, which are its only resource, have acquired for it a lasting name; its climate is renowned, and is much resorted to, particularly by English invalids, the number of whom amounts ordinarily to about three hundred, who are a source of great profit to the poor people, subjected to Portuguese rule. The harbor of Funchal is an open roadstead, and as there was a heavy rolling sea the night before our arrival, the landing was bad, especially for ladies, but once ashore, horses and palanquins were at command. The latter are so unlike the conveyances that bear the same name in the East Indies, that I must describe them. They are in the form of colossal shoes with the front part cut or pared down one-half, the heel being a support for the back, as you sit upon cushions with head erect; they are supported by rods attached to the pole, each end of which rests on the shoulders of a man, and in that way you are carried up and down hill, having a sort of top to protect you from the sun’s rays.

Madeira lies two days south from Lisbon, and Teneriffe one day and a half from Madeira. There are nine islands in the group; the people are generally poor. The chief town is Santa Cruz; it is pretty well built, and streets are clean; wine is its chief means of support. There are some fine views all through the islands; the peak of Teneriffe is the most remarkable, towering some twelve thousand feet high, and covered with snow.

1852.

LXXII.

BAHIA, BRAZIL, _Jan. 2, 1852_.

From the island of Teneriffe, on the opposite side of the Atlantic, we proceeded south to the Cape Verde islands, and stopped one day to receive coal at St. Vincent, but had difficulty in getting a supply, as fever and starvation had destroyed one hundred and fifty out of the small population of six hundred, and laborers were procured from the island of St. Antonio, and fed and kept by the English consul, who is the agent of the Cape of Good Hope Steam Company. Several coal-vessels were waiting impatiently to be discharged. A small American whaler had lost her mate, and five of her crew, and the captain was not expected to survive. We were besieged for medicines, which we gave as liberally as we could, and also landed the contributions of flour, corn, &c., from Madeira. Our passengers were much alarmed, particularly the Brazilians, who imagined that they inhaled the pestilence with every breath, and brought forth large supplies of cologne and volatile salts. The purser, doctor, and myself were the only persons who landed, and we found the people dying from sheer exhaustion; many would not take the medicines which we offered them. Such squalid wretchedness I hope never to witness again. We had constant trade-winds from the N.E. for some days, with warm, delightful weather, and when we crossed the line, the sailors, not having forgotten the former visits of Neptune, amused themselves and the passengers, by dressing in couples, one on all fours under a sack, imitating a donkey, with long ears and false tail, mounted by a third, and beaten with sticks by the whole cavalcade.

The following day these jolly fellows listened with attention to the prayers and services of the Church of England, which were read by the officers. The first land we sighted towards the American coast, was the island of Fernando Norona, some three degrees south of the mouth of the river Amazon; we ran close under the rocky shore. It is used by the Brazilians for transportation of prisoners, and rarely visited. Whaling vessels sometimes touch, and for supplies of cattle and vegetables. The scenery of the island appeared enchanting. We arrived at Pernambuco, Lat. 8° south, sixteen hundred miles from Cape Verde, in advance of the usual time, which gave us a good opportunity of seeing the city, and riding several miles in the country. The view from the steamer, the natural reef of coral rocks, fifteen miles in length, forming the harbor; the town of Olinda on the hill to the north, with its white houses amid groves of green cocoa-nut trees, strike the beholder as exceedingly beautiful, and I found the town more cleanly than I expected, as the Brazilians, like their predecessors, the Portuguese, are renowned for filth. The city is prettily situated on three islands connected by bridges; it has some nine thousand population, one-third whites and two-thirds slaves; the buildings are high and well-constructed, but the interiors are poorly furnished; the narrow streets are offensive, but those of tolerable width are in better order. We found immense numbers of mules and horses, which come long distances from the interior, laden with cotton and sugar. The foreign population is small, some five hundred in all, French, English, and Germans; the latter predominate in the Brazils, as several colonies of them have been formed under the auspices of government. Of Americans there are only eight or ten; their numbers are usually small, but they are to be found at all commercial points of importance, and to them we are indebted for the great luxury of ice, which the people here had been deprived of for a long time; we could also obtain supplies of fruit.