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[Illustration: The White Terrace, Hot Lakes, New Zealand.

    _Frontispiece._     Page 119.]


FORTY THOUSAND MILES OVER LAND AND WATER

The Journal of a Tour Through the British Empire and America

by

MRS. HOWARD VINCENT

With Numerous Illustrations

Third and Cheaper Edition.







London:
Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington,
Crown Buildings, 188, Fleet Street.
1886.
[All rights reserved.]

London:
Printed by Gilbert and Rivington, Limited,
St. John's Square.




    TO

    OUR FRIENDS,

    THE CHILDREN OF THE METROPOLITAN AND CITY POLICE
    ORPHANAGE,

    This Journal is Dedicated

    BY

    THEIR CONSTANT WELL-WISHERS.




PREFACE.


My husband, during his six years' tenure of the office of Director of
Criminal Investigations, took the greatest interest in the Metropolitan
and City Police Orphanage.

In taking leave of his young friends he promised to keep for their
benefit a record of our travels through the British Empire and America.

I have endeavoured to the best of my power to relieve him of this task.

It is but a simple Journal of what we saw and did.

But if the Police will accept it, as a further proof of our admiration
and respect for them as a body, then I feel sure that others who may be
kind enough to read it will be lenient towards the shortcomings of a
first publication.

    ETHEL GWENDOLINE VINCENT.

    1, GROSVENOR SQUARE, LONDON.




CONTENTS.


                                                        PAGE

    CHAPTER I.

    ACROSS THE ATLANTIC                                    1

    CHAPTER II.

    NEW YORK, HUDSON RIVER, AND NIAGARA FALLS              4


    CHAPTER III.

    THE DOMINION OF CANADA                                17


    CHAPTER IV.

    THE AMERICAN LAKES, AND THE CENTRES OF LEARNING,
    FASHION, AND GOVERNMENT                               26


    CHAPTER V.

    TO THE FAR WEST                                       43


    CHAPTER VI.

    SAN FRANCISCO AND THE YOSEMITE VALLEY                 66


    CHAPTER VII.

    ACROSS THE PACIFIC                                    88


    CHAPTER VIII.

    COACHING THROUGH THE NORTH ISLAND OF NEW
    ZEALAND; ITS HOT LAKES AND GEYSERS                   102


    CHAPTER IX.

    THE SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND; ITS ALPS AND
    MOUNTAIN LAKES                                       146


    CHAPTER X.

    AUSTRALIA--TASMANIA, AND VICTORIA                    161


    CHAPTER XI.

    AUSTRALIA--NEW SOUTH WALES, AND QUEENSLAND           181


    CHAPTER XII.

    WITHIN THE BARRIER REEF, THROUGH TORRES
    STRAITS TO BATAVIA                                   200


    CHAPTER XIII.

    NETHERLANDS INDIA                                    212


    CHAPTER XIV.

    THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS                              235


    CHAPTER XV.

    THE METROPOLIS OF INDIA AND ITS HIMALAYAN
    SANATORIUM                                           250


    CHAPTER XVI.

    THE SHRINES OF THE HINDU FAITH                       274


    CHAPTER XVII.

    THE SCENES OF THE INDIAN MUTINY                      287


    CHAPTER XVIII.

    THE CITIES OF THE GREAT MOGUL                        304


    CHAPTER XIX.

    GWALIOR AND RAJPUTANA                                332


    CHAPTER XX.

    THE HOME OF THE PARSEES                              352


    CHAPTER XXI.

    THROUGH EGYPT--HOMEWARDS                             361




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.


                                                                PAGE
    The White Terrace, Hot Lakes, New Zealand          _Frontispiece_

    Route Map                                         _to face_    1

    "That horrible fog-horn!"                                      1

    Elevated-Railway, New York                                     6

    Parliament Buildings, Ottawa                      _to face_   22

    The Capitol, Washington                                       40

    The Royal Gorge of the Arkansas                   _to face_   58

    The Sentinel, Yosemite Valley                        "        77

    The Cathedral Spires, Yosemite Valley                         79

    Big Tree, California                                          83

    Maori Chieftain                                              110

    Tuhuatahi Geyser, New Zealand                                128

    Lake Wakitipu, New Zealand                                   157

    Government House, Melbourne                       _to face_  165

    Sydney Harbour                                       "       182

    Govett's Leap, Blue Mountains                                191

    Zig-zag on Railway, Blue Mountains                _to face_  192

    Banyan Trees, Buitenzorg, Java                       "       227

    Traveller's Palm, Singapore                          "       236

    Jinricksha                                                   249

    The Hooghley, Calcutta                            _to face_  251

    The Darjeeling and Himalayan Railway                 "       263

    Benares Bathing Ghât                                 "       276

    The Residency, Lucknow                                       288

    The Imambara, Lucknow                             _to face_  291

    The Taj Mahal, Agra                                  "       312

    Column, Kutub Minar, Delhi                           "       329

    The Caves of Elephanta, Bombay                       "       356

    Cairene Woman                                                372

    The Sphinx                                        _to face_  377

[Illustration: ROUTE MAP TO "FORTY THOUSAND MILES OVER LAND AND WATER" BY
MRS. HOWARD VINCENT.

    _Route marked thus_ ----]




FORTY THOUSAND MILES OVER LAND AND WATER.




CHAPTER I.

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.

[Illustration]

Lat. 43° 15´ N., Long. 50° 12´ W. All is intensely quiet. The revolution
even of the screw has ceased. We are wrapped in a fog so dense that we
feel almost unable to breathe.

We shudder as we look at the white pall drawn closely around us. The
decks and rigging are dripping, and everything on board is saturated
with moisture. We feel strangely alone. When hark! A discordant screech,
a hideous howl belches forth into the still air, to be immediately
smothered and lost in the fog. It is the warning cry of the fog-horn.

[Illustration: "That horrible fog-horn!"]

We are on board the White Star steamer _Germanic_, in mid-Atlantic, not
far off the great ice-banks of Newfoundland.

It was on Wednesday, the 2nd of July, that we left London, and embarked
from Liverpool on the 3rd.

I need not describe the previous bustle of preparation, the farewells to
be gone through for a long absence of nine months, the little crowd of
kind friends who came to see us off at Euston, nor our embarkation and
our last view of England.

I remember how dull and gloomy that first evening on board closed in, and
how a slight feeling of depression was not absent from us.

The next morning we were anchoring in Queenstown Harbour, and whilst
waiting for the arrival of the mails in the afternoon we went by train to
Cork.

The mails were on board the _Germanic_ by four o'clock. We weighed
anchor, and our voyage to America had commenced. The often advertised
quick passages across the Atlantic are only reckoned to and from
Queenstown. The sea-sick traveller hardly sees the point of this
computation of time, for the coasts of "ould Ireland" are as stormy and
of as much account as the remainder of the passage.

And now we have settled down into the usual idle life on board ship, a
life where eating and drinking plays the most important part. There is
a superfluity of concerts and literary entertainments, the proceeds in
one instance being devoted to the aid of a poor electrical engineer who
has had his arm fearfully torn in the machinery, and whose life was only
saved by the presence of mind of a comrade in cutting the strap.

Fine weather again at last, for we are past the banks so prolific in
storms and fog. The story goes that a certain captain much harassed by
the questioning of a passenger, who asked him "if it was always rough
here?" replied, "How should I know, sir? I don't live here."

We are nearing America, and may hope to land to-morrow.

The advent of the pilot is always an exciting event. There was a lottery
for his number and much betting upon the foot with which he would first
step on deck.

A boat came in sight early in the afternoon. There was general
excitement. But the captain refused this pilot as he had previously
nearly lost one of the company's ships. At this he stood up in his dinghy
and fiercely denounced us as we swept onwards, little heeding.

Another pilot came on board soon afterwards, but the news and papers he
brought us were very stale. These pilots have a very hard life; working
in firms of two or three, they often go out 500 miles in their cutters,
and lie about for days waiting to pick up vessels coming into port. The
fee varies according to the draught of the ship, but often exceeds 30_l._

At two o'clock a white line of surf is seen on the horizon. Land we know
is behind, and great is the joy of all on board.

We watched and waited till behind the white line appears a dark one,
which grew and grew, until Long Island and Fire Island lighthouse are
plainly visible.

Three hours more and we see the beautiful Highlands of the Navesink on
the New Jersey shore; then the long sandy plain with the lighthouse which
marks the entrance--and we cross the bar of Sandy Hook. As we do so the
sunset gun goes off, and tells us that we must pass yet another night on
board, for it closes the day of the officer of health.

We pass the quarantine station, a white house on a lonely rock--then
entering the Narrows, anchor in the dusk off lovely Statten Island.

The lights of Manhattan and New Brighton beach twinkle in the darkness.
Steamers with flashing signals ply swiftly backwards and forwards. A line
of electricity marks the beautiful span of Brooklyn Bridge, and over
all a storm is gathering, making the surrounding hills resound with the
cannon of its thunder and the sky bright with sheets of lightning.

And so we pass the night, within sight of the lights of New York, with
pleasurable excitement looking forward to our first impressions on the
morrow.

_Sunday, July 13th._--By six o'clock all is life on board the _Germanic_,
for a great steamer takes some time getting under weigh. Breakfast is a
general scramble, interspersed with declarations to the revenue officials
who are sitting in the saloon.

We pass the Old Fort on Governor's Island, now the military station, in
our upward progress, see the round tower of Castle Garden, the emigrants'
depôt, and by eight o'clock are safely moored alongside the company's
pier.

On the wharf are presently to be seen passengers sitting forlorn on their
trunks, awaiting the terrible inspection of the custom-house officer. The
one detailed to us showed signs of becoming offensive, being unwilling
to believe the statement that a dress some six months' old was not
being taken round the world for sale; but on making representations to
his superior we were able to throw the things back into the boxes and
"Express" them to the hotel.




CHAPTER II.

NEW YORK, HUDSON RIVER, AND NIAGARA FALLS.


As we drove over the rough streets of New York in the early hours of
Sunday morning, it appeared as a city of the dead. There was no sign
of life as our horses toiled along Broadway and up Fifth Avenue to the
Buckingham Hotel, where we had secured rooms.

This hotel, though comfortable, had the disadvantage of being too far up
town for short sojourners, but it has the merit of being conducted on the
European system--that is, the rooms and meals are charged for separately.
The American plan is to make an inclusive charge of from four to five
dollars a day, and it is often troublesome only being able to have meals
in the dining-room between certain hours. Besides, it is pleasant to
be able to visit the restaurants of New York, which are admirable, and
equal, if not superior to those of Paris. Delmonico's, where we dined one
evening, is particularly excellent.

We were glad when eleven o'clock came and we could go to St. Thomas'
Church, close by. It is one of the most frequented of the many beautiful
churches of all denominations in New York, and of very fine interior
proportions. Upon the dark oak carving is reflected in many hues the rich
stained glass. The service was rendered according to the ritual of the
English Church, which is followed by the Episcopal Church of America.
They succeed in America in uniting a non-ceremonial service with a bright
and hearty one. We listened to a very powerful sermon on St. Paul on the
Hill of Mars, in which the eloquent preacher boldly declared that the
political honesty of the Athenians 2000 years ago was superior to that of
the United States of to-day.

On our way back we went into the Roman Catholic Cathedral, which was
just opposite to our windows at the "Buckingham," a very large marble
building, but still unfinished.

We found four reporters waiting at the hotel to "interview" my husband.
He had eluded them on the landing-stage, but they would take no denial
here, and we were much harassed by others in the course of the day.

Our luggage arrived at noon. It is almost a necessity to employ the
Express Company for the conveyance of "baggage" throughout America, as
the hackney carriages and hotel omnibuses are not prepared to take it.
The charges are very high, and it is often extremely inconvenient having
to wait two, three, or even four hours for it, after arrival in a town.

The geography of New York is exceedingly simple, and is followed in
nearly every American city. "Avenues" traverse the length of the town,
which are called first, second, or third avenues, and the "streets" which
intersect them are also numbered consecutively, so that you have--Third
Street, Fifth Avenue, and know that it is the third street from the
commencement of Fifth Avenue.

The houses are built in blocks, and for the most part in the upper
portion of New York, of dark red sandstone.

There are ample means of cheap locomotion by two "elevated" railways,
and innumerable tramways. Each of the former runs the whole length of
the city, a distance of ten miles. They were built by rival companies
who afterwards amalgamated. A double line is laid upon iron piers in the
centre of the street on a level with the third stories of the houses on
each side. One wonders how the necessary powers to build such a line were
obtained, but in "free" America, vested interests and damage to property
are not taken into account, when financiers have a scheme to carry out.

It is said that the value of the surrounding houses has been increased
rather than otherwise by the proximity of the Elevated: more curiously,
the tram lines running below it, and which were formerly insolvent, are
now paying well.

The uniform fare is ten cents, except after four o'clock on Sundays, when
it is reduced to five cents, the same as the fare of the "trams." The
train consists of an engine and four light coaches, all of one class,
and fitted with comfortable cane seats. They succeed each other every
five minutes. A conductor is on the platform of every carriage, and opens
the iron gate at the end as soon as the train stops. There is a marked
absence of all confusion and haste, partly attributable to there being
no collection of tickets, which are dropped into a box on the platform
immediately after purchase.

Cabs are few in number and very expensive. They charge four and a half
dollars, or nearly 1_l._, from the quay to the hotels, without luggage,
and one dollar a mile, or a dollar and a half per hour.

[Illustration: Elevated Railway, New York.]

Independently of these exorbitant prices, driving is very unpleasant
from the streets being paved with blocks of granite, and being kept in
shocking repair.

It is alleged that the extremes of climate prevent the use of any other
material, but there is probably more truth in the statement that the
money voted by municipal councils for their paving finds its way into
other channels. Washington and Boston were the only towns we afterwards
saw with good pavements, without ruts or holes. Above the thoroughfares
is a rose of telegraph and telephone wires, and poles and standards
abound in the streets. At nearly every house there is a telephone to put
the inmates in connection with some place of business or some relative.

In the afternoon we went to Trinity Church, which may be called the
cathedral of New York. The service was just ending, and the choir were
filing out of the chancel under a blaze of golden glory from the sun
shining through the east end window, singing the hymn, "Angels of Jesus,
Angels of Light, Singing to welcome the pilgrims of the night."

The voices grew fainter and fainter, and finally died away on the
breathless stillness of the air. Then the huge organ, blown by
electricity, pealed forth, and the spell was broken.

Mr. Vanderbilt, Mr. Astor, and the Stewart family live in gorgeous
palaces, and one is struck how even this Republic cannot prevent a
monopoly of property and an accumulation of wealth. Mr. Vanderbilt has
three