|
1861. TIENTSIN - CHEFOO—NAGASAKI—DEVONPORT
Fraternity of
beggars—Relief fund—A Buddhist nunnery—A Buddhist temple— Ancestral
worship—A pantheistic mosque—A Chinese dinner—An opium den— A missionary
plan—Postal arrangements—Remittances—Vegetation—Birds—Mr. Bruce proceeds
to Pekin—Camp formed—The Spirit of Fire—French "ideas" —"Sheep grows its
own wool"—Taipings—Sir John Mitchell—Sickness among troops—Emperor
dies—Trip to Chefoo—Town and vicinity—Taoist temple— Resume duty—The
force breaking up—Nagasaki—Places visited—Embark - Homeward
bound—Aden—Cairo and Alexandria—Death of Prince Consort - Devonport.
THE Fraternity of Beggars
constitutes one of the institutions peculiar to Tientsin, the numbers of
mendicants to be met with being very great indeed, comprising old and
young, fat and lean, the healthy, the deformed, and the diseased. One
particular class are to be seen almost devoid of clothing on the upper
part of their persons, even in the coldest weather, when the thermometer
ranges from zero to a few degrees above, the use of thick clothing and
furs by most people considered indispensable; yet that their health in
no way suffered from such exposure was evident by their appearance.
Another notable class represent to some degree the order Flagellants,
their appeals for charity emphasized by a series of self-inflicted blows
on their bodies by means of a piece of wood or a brick-bat. These
several classes live in communities, one of which I visited. In a
wretched hut, in coldest winter, destitute of fire, thirty-five men, all
in a state of nudity, were huddled together, having a cubic space per
head of 57 feet. The atmosphere was foul and offensive, the inmates for
the most part strong, and to all appearance healthy. Here, as in China
generally, the rule that once a beggar, always a beggar," has few, if
indeed any, exceptions.
An attempt was made to
relieve some of the poverty and distress which were so prominently
before our eyes. For this purpose a fund was established, a sum of eight
hundred dollars being collected among the officers of the force; the
subject was brought to the notice of the Chinese officials and wealthier
classes in the city, the result being that they not only refused to aid
the work, but opposed it in various ways. Finally, notices were issued
that the sum collected would be distributed at the house used as a
"church" by our troops; a guard of soldiers was mounted to preserve
order, and at the hour appointed seven thousand applicants for relief
had collected. Unhappily the crush speedily became greater than the
guard was capable of resisting; in the pressure of the crowd a number of
persons, chiefly women and children, were trodden under foot, several
crushed to death, and of those less severely injured fifteen were
carried into hospital.
As winter advanced,
sickness among our troops increased to such a degree that various yamens
or other buildings had in succession to be hired for that purpose. On
such occasions, in addition to the officers specially concerned in
making the selection, some representative city (Chinese) officials, the
whole party under the protection of our own military police, made an
inspection of the buildings most suitable for our purpose, after which
an application was duly made for the particular one fixed upon. On an
occasion of this kind, Captain C. E. Gordon, R.E., who shortly
afterwards was to become so prominent a character in Chinese, and
subsequently in Egyptian, war-history, formed, as usual, one of the
party alluded to. In the course of our excursion we came to what from
the outside appeared to be an eligible enclosure for our purpose. A
series of loud knocks at the outer door brought to it a neatly attired
and rather good-looking boy, as we at first supposed, whose manner of
receiving us was the very reverse of polite, He was quickly brushed
aside; our party was in act of entering, when our Chinese escort
intimated the fact —up till that moment unexpressed—that we were forcing
our way into a Buddhist nunnery, against the expressed objection of a
nun. Our regret was real; explanations were exchanged; we were informed
that the community within adopted male costume as an indication that
they not only renounced the world, but with it the emblems of their sex.
We were "received" by the Lady Superior, tea and cakes offered to and
partaken of by us; we were then permitted to visit the "private chapel,"
and finally we parted from the religleuses on the best of terms.
Needless to say, their establishment from that time forward was by us
held sacred.
A visit was made to "The
Temple of Future Punishments." hat temple comprises a series of
buildings, the entrance to the general enclosure in which they are
situated having on either side a stone figure of a dog, probably the
Buddhistic ideal Cerberus. Within the several buildings well-executed
clay figures represented the subjects of departed spirits, undergoing
all the forms and degrees of punishment to which evil Buddhists were
condemned, the whole reminding us, on the one hand, of those described
in "The Vision of Meerza," and, on the other, of illustrations contained
in at least one publication by the Roman Catholic Church. Among the
various forms of punishment so illustrated was that of crucifixion;
another illustration included the humpless bullock, as if relating to
the worship of Isis and Osiris; a third presented the rites of the
Indian Chukkur Poojah, and so on.
On visiting an old
Buddhist temple on the left bank of the Peiho, our reception by the
priests belonging to it was most friendly and hospitable. On the
principal shrine were the orthodox representations of "the three Buddhas,"—namely,
past, present, and to come. In other portions of the same sacred edifice
were figures, doubtless of saints; before each a joss stick smouldered,
while our venerable entertainers talked and smiled, even in presence of
their gods. This portion of our visit over, we were invited by the
priest to enter the house of one of the brethren. Having done so, tea in
small cups, and cakes, steamed instead of baked, were served to us.
Arrived at a
dwelling-house, in which various members of the family were engaged in
the ceremonies connected with ancestral worship, we were permitted to be
spectators of that ritual. A small shrine, erected for the occasion, had
upon it two figures, probably Confucian, for they were without any
characteristics of Buddhism. It was further decorated with flags and
other ornaments. Offerings of apples were arranged upon the shrine; a
vessel containing joss sticks, otherwise incense rods, one of which was
taken by each worshipper in his turn and lighted; there were also piles
of tinsel paper, from which pieces were successively taken and set on
fire, the belief of the worshippers, all of whom were grave and orderly
in demeanour, that messages were by that means conveyed to their
departed relatives. But there were no women present at the ceremony. On
either side of an enclosed passage, communicating with the ancestral
hall, a series of tablets, roughly estimated at two hundred, were
arranged, the impression conveyed to us being that each ancestor has his
particular day on which his worship is celebrated.
We were at first
unprepared, on visiting a principal mosque, to learn that several others
of less magnitude existed for the considerable Mahomedan population in
the city. The mosque alluded to was to a great extent Chinese in
external style, but within had all the usual characteristics of such
edifices; superadded to these, however, there was, on the middle of the
floor, a tablet of Confucius, around which was entwined in bold relief
the Taoist dragon. The rnoolahs were Chinese in feature and costume, and
wore the Mongolian queue or pigtail. As we entered we found them deeply
engaged in the study of the Koran, written in Arabic, which language
they spoke fluently.
Having had the honour of
being invited to dinner by a Chinese gentleman, the occasion was taken
advantage of to observe the phase of native life so presented. As guest
of the evening, I was received with much ceremony by Chang, for such was
the name of the host; there was much bowing, "chin-chin "-ing, and
hand-shaking, each person for himself shaking his own hands as he held
them clasped upon his breast. Then followed a respectful inquiry as to
my honourable years,— otherwise, how old I was,—and it by a desire to be
informed as to how many children had the honour to call me father, a bow
and expressive gesture indicating that sons only were to be counted in
the enumeration. All this took place in an outer apartment; the party
was then invited to proceed to the dining-hall, separated from that in
which we at first stood by a series of apartments, all handsomely
furnished and ornamented. In each corner of these rooms stood an
ornamental lantern, having in it a red-coloured taper, in token of
rejoicing; on the wall directly facing the door, a tablet upon which, in
Chinese characters, was the moral maxim, "Not to covet is a virtue,"
otherwise a compressed epitome of the tenth commandment. In the
dining-room we took the chairs assigned to us. On the table, arranged
with much taste, were dishes containing fruit, fresh and preserved; a
dish on which were some neatly cut slices of what looked like ham; on
another a pyramid of eggs that had been first boiled hard, then
permitted to remain buried in the ground for a year. These delicacies
partaken of (and the eggs referred to were by no means nasty), our host
filled the tiny cup at the side of each guest with hot sham-shu,-----i.e.,
a spirit distilled from millet,—bowed to each of us in succession, and
returned to his seat. The course which followed was mainly composed of
the root of water lily (Mlumbum); it again by one of sharks' fins; then
olives preserved in syrup, or perhaps rather jujubes 1 more fruits of
sorts, variously preserved; seaweed, sea-slugs, and other delicacies.
Although chop-sticks were arranged for each of us, knives, forks, and
spoons—all of silver, but the last-named of Chinese pattern—were also
placed for our use. Several courses of this kind having succeeded each
other, the more material part of the banquet was introduced, in the
shape of portions of fowl and duck, served la Russe; then a repetition
of preserves as before; winding up with a portion of rice—the sign that
dinner was over. Dessert was laid in another room; thither we repaired,
and with toasts, talk, and a good deal of festivity the evening passed
away.
A visit to an "opium
den," and inquiries to which that visit led, induced me to make, at the
time, an entry in my diary thus: "I have witnessed much wretchedness and
want among the victims of this vice (namely, opium-smoking); but neither
in a greater degree nor among so large a proportion of the people as are
debased in the United Kingdom through the evil consequences of
indulgence in spirits." The institution of such establishments was at
the time looked upon as among the first fruits arising from the treaty,
in accordance with which Tientsin, as a port, has been opened to foreign
shipping.
The visit alluded to was
made in company with an American missionary. His plan for obtaining
influence over the frequenters of such places was to point out to them
the evils present and prospective of the vice in which they were
indulging, and so endeavour to wean them from it. By seeking for, and
assisting in various ways, outcasts and the neglected,—by reconciling,
when possible, those between whom misunderstandings had arisen, and in
other kindred methods of proceeding, rather than in direct attempts at
religious conversion, he had succeeded in making for himself a sphere of
great usefulness and influence.
The postal arrangements
in connection with our portion of the force were so imperfect that only
by means of Chinese messengers employed at high rates of pay,, which had
to be made up at our individual cost, our letters were conveyed to
Chefoo, to be put on board a steamer. The French, on the other hand, had
with them two officers from the Post Office in Paris, under them a party
of sailors, for the purpose, without expense to individuals, of keeping
up postal communication between Tientsin and the same port.
With regard also to the
transmission of family remittances, a similar contrast existed; it was
impossible for us to send such remittances otherwise than through a bank
or mercantile house in Hong-Kong, at the same time that the greatest
difficulty and inconvenience existed in sending money to that island.
The French, on the contrary, have with them special officers sent from
the Paris Treasury for the purpose of transacting business of this kind.
If, therefore, our arrangements are in most respects superior to those
of our allies, these are examples of the few in reference to which we
are comparatively at a disadvantage.
In the early days of
April a great advance was apparent in the aspect of vegetation; long red
catkins of poplar trees hung pendulous to a length of several inches;
plants, numerous in their variety, rapidly came into blossom, many being
species familiar to us in England, the progress made by all of them
astonishing. Vines that had been buried deep in long trenches, and so
protected against the cold of winter, were disinterred, laid along the
surface of the ground as if to dry, then secured upon trellis-work
erected for the purpose, after which the succession of bud, leaf,
flower, and fruit was very rapid. In the near vicinity of irrigation
canals, peach trees presented lovely displays of pink blossom; at
intervals the "white cloud" of cherry flowers gave contrast to the
whole.
From this point onwards
interest increased in observing the successive aspects of Nature. On
March 17 temperature was sufficiently mild to bring into activity a few
winged insects; a perceptible change in the aspect of the fields was
apparent; tender shoots of green cereal leaves were rising from the
ground, and tree buds began to manifest coming activity. Migratory birds
were now in flight northward in their course, wild swans being the first
to start on such a journey, and to suffer at the hands of the snarer.
Early in April the swallow, so well known in England, made its
appearance; and thenceforward, with White's "Selborne" in hand, note was
taken of the order in which various species made their appearance—an
order which coincided to a remarkable degree with what happens at home.
The departure of Mr.
Bruce to take up his position as British Representative at Pekin marked
the opening of a new era in the relations between our own and the
Imperial Governments. The Emperor was still at Jehol, whither he had
fled on the approach to his capital of the allied army; it was known
that his chief adviser, the Prince Tsai, was inimical to foreigners;
that the details of government were conducted by Prince Kung in
conjunction with the Manchu Prince Wan siang; moreover, that the Taiping
rebels were carrying their conquest rapidly northward, and so
threatening the existence of the reigning dynasty; hence it was that our
force was held ready prepared for eventualities. Happily the reception
accorded to the British Minister, if not all that could be desired, was
not of a kind to call for actual protest.
By way of occupation to
our soldiers a camp was pitched and temporarily occupied by them at a
little distance from the city; parades and drills became frequent, the
general routine of duty much like that in an English garrison. Men who
had suffered in health during the winter, and those time expired, were
got ready for dispatch homewards, being conveyed by military train
waggons to Taku, and thence by steamer to Hong-Kong en route. Of
time-expired men the greater number were in the best of health and
vigour, inured to military life, and in all respects desirable as
soldiers, so that their departure was a serious loss to the efficiency
of our force.
With a view to facilitate
access to the recently established camp, the somewhat forcible measure
was taken of cutting through the city wall. That an objection should be
raised by the citizens was a matter of course; a deputation accordingly
waited upon our Brigadier to protest against the dilapidation, the
reason assigned by them being that "the Spirit of Fire" enters from the
south, and danger to the city was thus to be apprehended.
Intercommunication
between the French and British officers was friendly, if not exactly
intimate, the former being invited to entertainments of different kinds
given by the latter. On one such occasion conversation turned upon the
nature of the influence being exerted upon the Chinese mind by our
presence respectively: "Yes," observed our neighbour, "we have a great
mission to perform : you to benefit them by your commerce; we (the
French) by our ideas." One morning news reached us that a considerable
portion of the French contingent had been dispatched for service in
Saigon.
On the subject of
commerce the Chinese had already their own views in relation to the
indemnity to be paid to "the Barbarian." Double import duty was imposed
on all foreign goods landed at the port; one moiety to be paid before
leaving the ship, the other prior to actual landing. By this simple
method, according to the expression used, "the sheep would grow its own
wool." Not that the price to the Chinese receiver would increase; the
dues must fall upon the exporter.
Meanwhile the Taipings
were steadily advancing in their progress of devastation and murder; the
atrocities reported as committed by them horrible in their details.
Towards the end of April, Admiral Hope and Brigadier Staveley proceeded
to Pekin, at the request of Prince Kung, who desired to consult with
them relative to a plan initiated by himself, of dispatching a body of
British troops to aid the Imperial forces against the rebels in
question. The circumstance sufficed to put all concerned on the qui
vive; our field arrangements were overhauled and seen to; all
preparations made for contingencies. Shortly afterwards news spread that
a considerable body of Tartar cavalry had been sent from Tientsin
against them; that the British were to be withdrawn from Canton, and
thus a force 2,000 strong left available for service against the rebels.
Our Ambassador, finding
it well to consult personally the general officer commanding the troops
in China respecting the somewhat important question at this juncture, of
retaining our force intact or diminishing it, that officer was summoned
to the capital. It was while he was en rozete towards Pekin that I had
the pleasure of making his acquaintance, and of adverting to an incident
already mentioned with reference to the battle of Maharajpore. In the
interval of seventeen years which has meanwhile elapsed, Captain
Mitchell, of the 6th Foot, had become Major-General Sir John Mitchell,
K.C.B. I asked him whether he had ever received the watch sent to him
from the field by request of General Churchill. He seemed surprised to
learn that I had been the sender; and taking it from his watch-pocket
exclaimed, as he showed it to me: "There it is, and it goes as well as
ever." The expletives which accompanied the action are here omitted.
As in the severity of
winter the health of the troops suffered greatly, so it did, though in a
different way, when late in July and early in August summer heat was at
its highest. During the latter period heat apoplexy, cholera, and a very
virulent form of small-pox prevailed to such an extent and with such
mortality that a veritable panic spread among them. Fortunately these
terrible maladies continued but for a short time, a change to temperate
in the state of the atmosphere seeming to put a sudden and complete
check to them. While they continued they affected only the foreigner;
the Chinese enjoyed their ordinary health; but they deviated altogether
from the method, so general in India, of protecting their heads from the
heat of the sun by means of thick turbans; on the contrary, they freely
exposed themselves to the fiercest sun with no covering whatever on
their shaven heads. According to them, the cause of this sudden outbreak
of illness was the comet. An immense and brilliant comet had shortly
previous appeared in the heavens—a strikingly grand object to gaze at,
and wonder; but in the eyes of many a portent of evil.
Various rumours
circulated with reference to the state of health of the Emperor : that
he was ill; that he was in perfect health; that he was dead; that he had
been murdered; that he was neither, and so on. After a time authentic
news of his death was received; that, as expressed by the Chinese, "he
had ascended upon the dragon to be a guest on high"; that his son
Chesiang had been named as his successor, under the name or title of,
Tung-che, or "Felicitous omen," otherwise "Union of law and order"; that
a Board of Regency had been appointed for the conduct of government;
that its chief members, including the Empress-Dowager, were persons of
anti-foreign proclivities, the Prince Kung retaining his position as a
kind of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. At the date of his
succession the young Emperor was no more than eight years of age; but a
truly Chinese method of adding to them was adopted: his Council bestowed
upon him three years—namely, one from heaven, one from earth, and one
from themselves; his age, moreover, was calculated as having been nine
months at the date of his birth.
A trip to Chefoo having
been arranged, in company with our Brigadier-General, Sir Charles
Staveley, I proceeded by H.M. gunboat Woodcock to Taku; thence by H.M.S.
Simoom. Like many others at Tientsin we had suffered considerably in
health, first from the great cold of winter, then from the no less
trying heat of summer, with the outbreak of epidemic disease already
mentioned. Soon, however, the open sea, with its clear air, added to
complete relief from official responsibilities and duties, had an effect
for good upon us. But we were not a little surprised to observe that
while those actually ill among the ship's company amounted to the large
proportion of 15 per cent., those who remained "efficient" were pale and
sickly, a circumstance attributed by their officers to their exposure to
land-winds, while cruising or at anchor in the Gulf of Fe chili.
Arrived at Chefoo, we
landed by a roughly-built jetty, on which in large letters was painted
the word Odins, thus indicating the crew by whom the work had recently
been effected. We were hospitably received by Mr. Morrison, the Consul,
son of the eminent Chinese scholar. He having provided us with horses,
we were speedily away, enjoying a ride through a tract of country
remarkable for its loveliness; the open spaces covered with brilliant
flowers, while along each side of narrow thoroughfares fruit trees at
short intervals afforded us the treat of being able to stand up in our
stirrups and pluck ripening pears as we proceeded. A second ride took us
to the highest point of a range of low hills that separates the town
from the inland ,districts. Thence we looked down upon a richly
cultivated valley, along which ran a stream of considerable size, itself
dotted with clumps of wood, in which were seen villages and isolated
houses of agriculturists; the sides of the valley formed for the most
part of gneiss-like hills, torn at intervals into deep and rugged
ravines. In the distance inland the view was bounded by a serrated line
of mountain peaks.
A visit to a Taoist
temple was an interesting episode in an otherwise enjoyable excursion.
The priest, apparently over seventy years of age, received us
graciously; he "chin-chinned," shook hands—with himself, after the
national custom; felt our arms, our legs, our feet; examined our
saddles, girths, and bridles; inquired our several ages, proffered us
glasses of water, patted the necks of our steeds; as we rode away, chin-
chinned and shook hands with himself as on our arrival. His temple,
situated on the summit of a small hill, was erected in honour of the
North star. Near it stood two marble monuments in memory of ladies who,
though left widows while yet young, refused to re-marry; at a little
distance was a graveyard, the headstones in which were by no means very
different in style from what may be seen at home. The faces of adjoining
hills present a succession of terraces bearing abundant crops, and
watered by levadas, as may be seen on the island of Madeira.
A few days most
pleasantly spent, and with health considerably improved, we proceeded on
our return journey; first by the French steamer Feilung, or Flying
Dragon, to the mouth of the Peiho, thence by the French gunboat l'Etoile
to Tientsin to resume official duties.
Great was the pleasure
with which, early in August, we received intimation that our "army of
occupation" was to be gradually broken up, the regiments and batteries
composing it to be disposed of between England, India, and the south of
China; great the satisfaction personally with which I received the
welcome information that my connection therewith would cease. Towards
the end of September embarkation began, detachments taken on board
flats, and these towed down the river by gunboats, each party while
marching from barracks being escorted by a band, to the strains of
which—"Auld Lang Syne" and "The Old Folks at Home"—they went cheerily on
board, and away from what to most of us had been a station devoid of
attraction. In this way did the second 6oth embark for England, having
during its ten years of foreign service buried 300 of its members, 94 of
whom in China during the past eighteen months. This is but an example of
what "service" meant in the days referred to.
Next came my own turn to
embark. Gladly did I proceed by H.M. gunboat Slaney to the Vu/can at
anchor off Taku, embarking Indian troops. Captain Strode, in command,
having received orders to proceed in the first instance to Nagasaki, an
unexpected opportunity thus offered of seeing that port and city in
Japan. The arm of the sea by which the harbour is approached extends
inland to a distance of six miles, with a breadth of nearly two. On
either side rises a range of hills interrupted by valleys, the whole
covered with rich forest, or with cultivated fields, a succession of
batteries being so placed as to command the channel. To the south of us
rose the island of Pappenberg; the cliffs, 800 to 900 feet in height,
are those over which, A.D. 1622, the Roman Catholic "Christians" were
hurled. We next arrived at Desima, now grown into a large town, but to
which locality in former times the Dutch traders were confined by gates
and narrow ways, though now containing various houses built and in
course of erection according to European models.
Among the places visited
was the steam factory. There, under the direction of Dutch engineers,
Japanese workmen were actively employed in the manufacture of machinery.
In an adjoining dock a small steamer was having placed in her engines,
that had been thus made and turned out; while in the harbour lay moored
a steamer, the Scotland, manned entirely by Japanese officers and
sailors. The town of Nagasaki was clean and tidy; very different in
these respects from that whence we had arrived. There appeared to be at
least some agreeable aspects of domestic life, inasmuch as men and women
were seen partaking of their meals together; the people were polite and
civil to us foreigners, and to myself, personally, the proprietors of a
shop which I entered to purchase various articles were so civil as to
take me through several parts of their dwelling-house, then into a
neatly arranged garden attached thereto, and in parting to beg my
acceptance of a packet of their tea, I having presented to some of the
younger members a few new silver coins, to be made by them into studs.
All the while we were being carefully watched by officials, though we
were ignorant of the fact. [How little at that time did we anticipate
the amazing strides Japan was to take during the succeeding
five-and-thirty years!]
Arrived at Hong-Kong, my
stay of a few days there was made the more pleasant by the receipt of
orders to proceed to England by the first available opportunity, added
to hospitable civility by friends whose acquaintance I had made while
stationed there the previous year. Preparations for continuing my
journey were speedily made; on November 15 I was on board the P. and O.
steamer Emezi, from over the stern of which, without a tinge of regret,
I waved what I hoped, and proved to be a final adieu to China.
Our journey was thence
along the same track, but in a reverse direction to that over which I
had passed twenty months previous. Arrived at Galle, we had, as before,
to tranship, this time to the Sun/a, by which we traversed the Indian
Ocean. The season of the year permitting us to "explore" some of the
sights of Aden, we took advantage of the opportunity afforded by the
brief delay of our ship at the anchorage. Driving through the narrow cut
in the hard lava rock,—that had in distant time formed the wall of an
active volcano,—we were at the cantonments, situated in the ancient
crater; thence to the reservoirs, originally erected in the face of
perpendicular rock, their design and construction due to Persian
engineers, dating from A.D. 600. Our drive was next through a narrow
gorge, opening towards the south, admitting the only breeze that can
directly reach cantonments. From its outer limit a view was obtained of
the open sea, and of the small island upon which, according to Arab
tradition, Cain was forced to reside alter his murder of Abel.
Continuing our excursion, we arrived at the fortification known as "The
Turkish Wall," that protects and defends the isthmus connecting "the
rock" with the mainland. The shops on the beach were visited, and
purchases made at some of them; among such purchases, ostrich feathers,
here so common as to be used to decorate the heads of donkeys driven by
Arab boys.
The people met with
comprised Parsees, Somalis, Jews, and Egyptians. The Jews and Egyptians
said to be descendants of those who fled to Egypt on the invasion of
Palestine and Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar the Somalis supposed to be
descended from former Abyssinian possessors of "Yemen," or that part of
Arabia to which Aden belongs, or rather did belong. Other historical
items relating to Aden include its early importance as an entrej5ôt of
commerce between the Roman Empire and the East; in recent times the
capture of the position by the British in January, 1839, it being the
first military conquest effected in the reign of Her Majesty Queen
Victoria.
To most of us the news we
received on arriving at Suez was a surprise; namely, that which speedily
became known as the Trent affair. Some particulars reached us also
regarding the action present and intended of the English Government and
War Office, the immediate effect being to lead us to anticipate active
service within a very short time. Here we were quickly landed,
distributed in railway carriages, and so sent on to Cairo, at which
place another brief detention awaited us. I accordingly reverted under
the guidance of my former dragoman, Hadji Selim, to the excursions
previously interrupted by my departure eastward; visiting, among other
places of interest, the ancient Coptic Church, erected, according to
tradition, upon the cave in which, during their flight into Egypt, Mary
and the infant Saviour took shelter one night. Thence, continuing our
railway journey, we reached Alexandria, arriving there in a storm of
such violence that to embark was impossible; consequently another halt
was unavoidable. I took advantage of the occasion, in defiance of wind
and rain, to visit some of the places of historical interest pertaining
to this very interesting city, including the site of the ancient Pharos,
Pompey's Pillar, and "Cleopatra's" Needle, the latter prostrate in and
almost covered by the sand; also, what was indicated as "St. Mark's
pulpit." Time did not admit of a visit to the ruined aqueduct, of which,
however, we obtained a glance while nearing the city.
Here the unexpected news
reached us that the Prince Consort had succumbed to fever; that national
sympathy was felt for the Queen under her bereavement, as well as sorrow
and regret at the event, more particularly at a time when political
matters throughout Europe, and in reference to America, were in a very
disturbed condition.
From Alexandria the
journey was performed by the Ceylon, comfortably, and without adventure.
At Malta we learned that the American Congress had expressed approval of
the Southern minister being captured on board a British steamer that
troops were being prepared in England for immediate embarkation; that
war appeared imminent and inevitable. On reaching Gibraltar we found in
the bay the Mediterranean fleet, in which it was said all necessary
preparations were being made for active service. Our entrance to the Bay
of Biscay was duly announced by the ship's band with the well-known air
so called. Warlike news greeted us on arrival at Southampton. Then
followed, in quick succession, disembarkation, personal report at
Headquarters, London, appointment to Devonport, and happy reunion to
wife and children there. |
