Chapter 23 of A Voyage in the Sunbeam by Anna Brassi. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Dovey Cross, Taos, New Mexico. Canton and Macau to Singapore. I remember the black warves and the slips and the sea tides tossing free and Spanish sailors with bearded lips and the beauty and mystery of the ship and the magic of the sea. Saturday, March 3rd. After our long day yesterday, I did not feel capable of acceding to our guide's proposition of being ready at half past six for further explorations before breakfast. Besides, I wanted to see Tom off by the nine o'clock boat to Hong Kong whether he is obliged to return in order to keep various engagements. The rest of our party have been persuaded to stay and see a little more of Canton and to go with some friends to a picnic in the white cloud mountains. A man brought home today some carved tortoise shell brushes Tom has given me with my name carved on them in Chinese. It was no good writing it down for the engraver's guidance and after hearing it several times he wrote down two characters but as the R is always a great difficulty with the Chinese I much doubt whether the name is really spelt rightly. It was a most lovely day and after some little delay we started about eleven o'clock, a party of seventeen in chairs. There were five ladies and twelve gentlemen, a most unusual proportion for Canton. A few weeks ago they wanted to get up a fancy ball but there were only five available ladies to be found in the city. At present one or two more are staying here on a visit and it is hoped that another ball may be arranged during this week which may boast of at least ten ladies. We made quite a procession with all the servants, bearers, etc. and excited much commotion in the narrow streets where everybody had to make room and squeeze up to the side as best they could. Men ran before to clear the way for us shouting yet we were more than an hour going right across the city. On our way we passed through the egg market saw the pork fat market and the polterers and fowlers shops. We managed to visit several shops for the sale of real Chinese furniture. It is very handsome but curious in form and unless it is specially ordered is made only for native use. Every Chinese reception room is furnished in precisely the same manner with very stiff high arm chairs arranged in two rows. A small four-legged square table stands between every two chairs a larger table in the center and at the end an enormous sofa big enough for six or eight people to lie full length across. The sofa and all the chairs have marble seats and backs and the tops of the tables are also made of marble or a sort of soap stone on which may be distinguished natural landscapes slightly assisted by art. In the bird market I saw numbers of little birds for sale for the Chinese are very fond of pets and often take their birds out in a cage with them when they go for a walk just as we should be accompanied by a dog.  I saw this done several times. Our road next led us through part of the butcher's quarter where rats were hung up by their tails and what looked very like skinned cats and dogs dangled beside them. Whole cages full of these animals were exposed for sale alive. Some travelers deny that the Chinese eat cats and dogs and rats but there can be no question that they do so though they may be the food only of the lower classes nor do puppy dogs appear on the tables of the rich except on one particular day in the year when to eat them is supposed to bring good luck. We passed a restaurant where I was shown the Bill Affair in Chinese of which this is a translation Bill Affair for the day one tail of black dog's flesh eight cash one tail weight of black dog's fat three candorings of silver one large basin of black cat's flesh one hundred cash one small basin of black cat's flesh fifty cash one large bottle of common wine thirty two cash one small bottle of common wine sixteen cash one large bottle of dark rice wine sixty eight cash one small basin of cat's flesh thirty four cash one large bottle of plum wine sixty eight cash one small bottle of plum wine thirty four cash one large basin of dog's flesh sixty eight cash one small bottle of pear wine thirty four cash one large bottle of Timpson wine ninety six cash one small bottle of Timpson wine forty eight cash one basin of kanji three cash one small plate of pickles three cash one small saucer of ketchup or vinegar three cash one pair of black cat's eyes three candorings of silver the fish here as at Hong Kong are almost always kept alive in large tubs of water with a fountain playing over them they even keep some sea fish alive in salt water here in China that they excel in rearing fish in large quantities at Fu Chao, cormorant fishing may be seen to great perfection and it is said to be a very amusing sight at last the city gates were reached and we once more found ourselves outside the walls and able to breathe again here a halt was made and several of the party got out of their chairs and walked and we were able to chat whilst we winded our way by a narrow path between gardens and graveyards in fact the whole of the white cloud mountain is one vast cemetery it is the Chinese holy of holies wither their bodies are sent not only from all parts of China but from all parts of the world frequently a ship load of fifteen hundred or sixteen hundred bodies arrives in one day the steamboat company charges forty dollars for the passage of a really live Chinaman against one hundred sixty dollars for the carriage of a dead celestial the friends of the deceased often keep the bodies and coffins above ground for several years until the priests announce that they have discovered a lucky day and a lucky spot for the interment this does not generally happen until he the priest finds he can extract no more money by divination and that no more funeral feasts will be given by the friends we pass through what they call the city of the dead where thousands of coffins waiting for interment were lying above the ground the coffins are large and massive but very plain resembling the hollowed out trunk of a tree the greatest compliment a Chinese can pay his older relatives is to make them a present of four handsome longevity boards for their coffins outside the city of the dead there are chunks of a large burying place coffin makers and stone carvers all living in dirty little cottages surrounded by pigs ducks and young children leaving the cemetery in cottages behind a two short drive brought us to a lovely valley where we were to lunch at the temple of Sanchu in one of its fairest gorges the meal was spread in a large hall in a most luxurious manner and as the wind changed almost immediately and it came on to rain we felt ourselves fortunate indeed in having reached shelter we had plenty of wraps and the bearers ran us down the hill again very quickly so that we suffered no discomfort by the time the city walls were reached the rain had ceased and a glorious red sunset glowed over the roofs glinting through the holes in the mats and lighting up all the vermilion boards and gold characters with which the houses and shops are decorated the shadowy streets were now full of incense or rather just stick smoke for every house and every shop has a large altar inside and a small one without before which just sticks are burnt more or less all day long the streets seemed more crowded even than usual each of our bearers struck out a line of his and it was not until we reached Chameen that we all met again some of the ladies had been rather frightened at finding themselves alone in the dark crowded city we were only just in time to dress and go to dinner after which we examined an interesting collection chiefly of coins in process of formation for the French exhibition they are carefully arranged and will be most valuable and interesting when complete the knife and fork all the coins are particularly curious and rare some of them being worth as much as $5,000 each as curiosities all the coins have holes in the center for convenience of carriage Sunday March 4th there is a fine cathedral at Chameen in which the services are beautifully performed a lady kindly lent us her houseboat and after service we rode across to Fa T to see the gardens of Canton they are laid out on an island a very short way up the river the gardens are very wonderful and contain plants cut into all sorts of shapes such as men, birds, beasts, fishes, boats, houses, furniture et cetera some are full sized others only in miniature but almost all must have required considerable time and patience to reach their present growth for their ages from 10 to 150 years there are other plants not so elaborately trained but the effect of the whole is rather too formal to be pretty I managed to bring home some euphorbias cut into the form of junks and some banyan trees 100 and 150 years old I believe they are the first that have ever reached England alive and have flourished not far from Fa T are the duck hatching establishments and still further up the river are the ducks some pans where the crowds of ducks are reared they are sent out every morning to get their own living and return at night until they learn to obey their keepers call quickly the last duck is always whipped I am told it is most ridiculous to see the hurry of the last half dozen birds of a flock of some thousands of ducks I was most anxious to see them but it is not the right time of year now the young ducks are only just beginning to hatch and the old ones are not numerous and are mostly laying there was no time to go and see the temple of Honan for we were more anxious to avail ourselves of a chance of visiting some interesting places in the Chinese city we went through a street consisting entirely of fruiterers shops to which the name of Kualorn or fruit market is applied in this market which is of great extent there is for sale at all seasons of the year an almost countless variety of fruit a silkworm establishment was pointed out to us in the distance but we did not go over it as we had seen many before and it is not the best season of the year the silkworms are most carefully tended the people who look after them being obliged to change their clothes before entering the rooms where they are kept and to perform all sorts of superstitious ceremonies at every stage of the insects growth no one at all ailing or deformed is allowed to approach a building where they are kept the worms are supposed to be very nervous and are guarded from everything that can possibly frighten them as well as from all changes of temperature or disturbances of the atmosphere, thunder and lightning they are supposed specially to dread and great pains are taken to shelter them by artificial means and keep them from all knowledge of the storm the next place we visited was a bird's nest soup shop street where we went into one of the best and most extensive establishments there were three or four well dressed assistants behind the counter all busily occupied in sorting and packing bird's nests some of the best were as white as snow and were worth two dollars each while a light brown one was worth only one dollar and the black dirty ones full of feathers and moss could be purchased at the rate of a quarter dollar certainly the Chinese seem an exception to the rule laid down by some writers that no people can flourish who do not rest every seventh day in many ways they are an abnormal people one striking point in their condition being the state of dirt and filth in which they not only exist but increase and multiply the children look healthy and happy too in spite of these apparent drawbacks and notwithstanding the fact that in many cases their poor little feet must be cruelly tortured by the practice of bandaging them tightly to make them small when we got back to Shamin there was time for a stroll along the Bund it is very pleasant for the river runs close under the parapet and its surface is always covered with junks, sampans and boats and ships going swiftly up or down with a strong tide the walk is shaded with trees and seats stand at intervals all along it an agreeable saunter was followed by a quiet pleasant little dinner and though we have been here only a few days we feel quite sorry that this is to be our last night in Canton so kind has everybody been to us Monday March 5th I was awake and writing from half past four this morning but before I got up a woman who comes here every day to work brought me some small ordinary shoes which I had purchased as curiosities and took the opportunity of showing me her feet it really made me shudder to look at them so deformed and cramped up were they and as far as I could make out she must have suffered greatly in the process of reducing them to their present diminutive size she took off her own shoes and taught her about the room in those she had brought and then asked me to show her one of mine having most minutely examined it she observed with a melancholy shake of the head miss issy foot much more good do much walkie walkie mine much bad no good for walkie having said farewell to our kind hostess we went off in the house boat to the steamer there was a great crowd on the lower deck at least 900 Chinamen to struggle through in order to reach the European quarters we found other friends on board who had come to see us off a few minutes before nine o'clock the bell rang as a signal for our friends departure and we steamed ahead among such a crowd of sampans and junks that it was more like moving through a town than along a river no accident however occurred though one junk and one sampan had the very narrowest escape the voyage down took much longer than our voyage up on account of the tide being against us and in consequence we did not reach Hong Kong until three thirty p.m. when the gig with the children was soon alongside we got off as soon as we could for we expected some friends to afternoon tea on board the yacht there was just time to dress before the visitors arrived and by half past six at least 200 had come at one time quite a flotilla of boats lay around us looking very pretty with all their flags flying I think the people enjoyed it very much it was something new and we only wanted a band to enliven the proceedings Tuesday, March 6th the little girls and I went ashore at seven thirty to collect all our purchases with the help of a friend we glanced at the museum too which contains some curious specimens of Chinese and Japanese arms and armor and the various productions of the two countries besides many strange things from the Philippine and other islands I was specially interested in the corals and shells there were splendid conch shells from Manila and a magnificent group of Venus flower baskets dredged from some enormous depth near Manila there were also good specimens of reptiles of all sorts and of the carved bird's heads for which Canton is famous they look very like amber and are quite as transparent being carved to a great depth I believe the bird is a kind of two can or hornbill but the people here call it a crane it was now time to say goodbye to Hong Kong and our kind friends for we had to go on board the flying cloud which starts from a cow at two o'clock precisely and our passages had been taken in her Tom could not go with us as he had fixed tonight for the dinner at which the Chinese gentleman proposed to entertain him but he came to see us off we went out of the harbor by a different way and passed along a different side of the island of Hong Kong but the scenery was not particularly interesting off Chu Long a heavy ground swell called Pong Chaohai made us roll about most unpleasantly in bad weather or with a top heavy ship this passage could not be attempted sometimes there are very heavy fogs and always strong currents so that the short voyage of 42 miles is not absolutely free from danger the town of Macau is situated on a peninsula at the end of the island of the same name it was the first foreign settlement in China belonging to the Portuguese and was once a fine handsome town with splendid buildings unfortunately Macau lies in the track of the typhoons which at times sweep over it with a resist less force shattering and smashing everything in the water these constantly recurring storms and the establishment of other ports have resulted in driving many people away from the place and the abolition of the Cooley traffic has also tended to diminish the number of traders now the town has a desolate deserted appearance and the principal revenue of the government is derived from the numerous gambling houses we landed at the pier soon after in the peninsula through the town to the praia on the other side here we found a large unoccupied mansion situated in a garden overlooking the sea and having delivered our Chinese letters were received with the greatest civility and attention by the compradour and the servants who had been left in charge of our friend's house the rooms upstairs to which we were at once shown were lofty and spacious opening into a big house each room had a mosquito room inside it made of wire gauze and wood like a gigantic meat safe and capable of containing besides a large double bed a chair and a table so that its occupant is in a position to read and write in peace even after dark this was the first time we had seen one of these contrivances by the direction of the compradour the house chairs were prepared for an expedition around the town while our things were being unpacked and the necessary arrangements made for our comfort Macau is a thoroughly Portuguese looking town the house is being painted blue, green, red, yellow and all sorts of colors it is well garrisoned and one meets soldiers in every direction we passed the fort and went up to the lighthouse which commands a fine view over land and sea returning home by a different way through the town again which we entered just as the cathedral bell and the bells of all the churches were peeling the Ave Maria on our return we found a fire lighted and everything illuminated and by half past eight we had a capital impromptu dinner served Chinese Tommy, who waited on us had decorated the table most tastefully with flowers Macau is a favorite resort for the European residents of Hong Kong who were addicted to gambling the gentleman of our party went to observe the proceedings but tonight there were only a few natives playing at Phantan a game which though a great favorite with the natives appears very stupid to a European the croupier takes a handful of copper cash and throws it upon the table he then with chopsticks counts the coins by force the betting being upon the possible number of the remainder take a handful and you only have one, two, three, or four to back no colors or combinations as at Rouge & Noir or Tren Aquaran at Macau the sleep-disturbing watchmen unlike those of Canton come round every hour and beat two sharp taps on a drum at intervals of half a minute compelling you to listen against your will until the sound dies away in the distance for a brief interval Wednesday, March 7th we started soon after 10 o'clock on another exploring expedition going first in chairs through the town and across the peninsula to where we left the steamer yesterday here we embarked chairs, bearers, and doll in a junk evidently cleaned up for the occasion for it was in beautiful order and mats were spread under an awning upon deck all along beneath the deck was a cabin between two and three feet high which contained the altar, the kitchen and the sleeping and living apartments of the family there was also a dear little baby two months old which seemed to take life very quietly while its mother assisted its grandfather to row we soon reached the island of Choxing Toon and disembarked at a small pier near a village which looked more like sandpans pulled up on the shore than huts or cottages the children and I rode in chairs and walked first over a plain covered with scrubby palms then through miles of well cultivated plots of vegetable ground till we reached a temple built at the entrance to the valley for which we were bound thence the path wound beside the stream flowing from the mountains above and the vegetation became extremely luxuriant and beautiful presently we came to a spot where a stone bridge spanned the torrent with a temple on one side and a house on the other it was apparently a particularly holy place for our men had all brought quantities of just sticks and sacred paper with them to burn there was a sort of eating house close by where they remained whilst we climbed higher up to get a view the path was well made and evidently much used judging from the large number of natural temples we found adapted and decorated among the rocks as usual our descent took a fair and we soon found ourselves on board the junk on our way back to Macau beating across the harbor just before tiffin the yacht made her appearance causing great excitement in the minds of the natives the gig was soon lowered and came as close as she could there was not water enough for her to come within four miles of the shore but we went out to meet her occupants Tom who was one of them looked so ill and miserable that I felt quite alarmed for a few minutes till the doctor comforted me by assurances that it was only the effect of the Chinese dinner last night an explanation I had no difficulty in accepting as the correct one after perusing the bill of fare in their desire to do him honour and to give him pleasure his hosts had provided the rarest delicacies and of course he felt obliged to taste them all some of the dishes were excellent but many of them were rather trying to a European digestion especially the fungus and lichen one sort had been grown on ice in the Antarctic sea the whale's sinews came from the Arctic Ocean the shark's fins from the South Sea islands and the bird's nests were of a quality to be found only in one particular cave in one particular island to drink they had champagne and English glasses and a rock and Chinese glasses the whole dinner was eaten with chopsticks the spoons were allowed for the soup after dinner there were some good speeches the chief host expressing his deep regret that their manners and customs did not permit them to ask ladies as they were particularly anxious to invite me and had only abandoned the idea of doing so after considerable discussion I append the bill of fare March 6th 1877 bill of fare four courses of small bowls one to each guest viz bird's nest soup pigeon's eggs ice fungus said to grow in ice shark's fins chopped eight large bowls viz stewed shark's fins fine shellfish Mandarin bird's nest Canton fish maw fish brain meatballs with rock fungus pigeon's stewed with Y. Sean a strengthening herb stewed mushroom four dishes viz sliced ham roast mutton fowls roast sucking pig one large dish viz boiled rockfish eight small bowls viz stewed pig's palate minced quails stewed fungus another description news of the whalefish rolled roast fowl sliced teals stewed duck's paw peas stewed we went all around the town and then to see the ruins of the cathedral and the traces of the destruction caused by the typhoon in 1874 next we paid a visit to the Garden of Camelaine where he wrote his poems in exile footnote just to Camelaine, a celebrated Portuguese poet born about 1520 fought against the Moors and in India but was often in trouble and was frequently banished or imprisoned during his exile in Macau he wrote his great poem The Luciads in which he celebrates the principal events in Portuguese history and footnote the Garden now belongs to a most courteous old Portuguese with whom I managed by the aid of a mixture of Spanish and French to hold a conversation the place where Camelaine's monument is erected commands however an extensive prospect but we had already seen it and as Tom was anxious to get clear of the islands before dark we were obliged to hasten away on reaching the yacht after some delay in embarking we slipped our anchor as quickly as possible and soon found ourselves in a nasty rolling sea which sent me to bed at once after Tom though he felt so ill that he could hardly hold his head up was however obliged to remain on deck watching until nearly daylight for rocks and islands abound in these seas and no one on board could undertake the pilotage except himself Thursday March 8th when I went on deck at half past six o'clock there was nothing to be seen but a lead in sky a cold gray rolling sea and two fishing junks in the far distance or did the weather improve all day Friday March 9th everybody began to settle down to the usual sea occupations there was a general haircutting all round one of the sailors being a capital barber and there is never time to attend to this matter when ashore the wind was high and baffling all day at night the great bear and the southern cross shown out with rivaling brilliancy on either hand an old friend and a new Saturday March 10th a fine day with a light fair breeze past the island of Hainan belonging to China situated at the entrance of the Gulf of Tanquan which though very barren looking supports a population of 150,000 repacked the curiosities and purchases from Canton and Hong Kong and made up our accounts about noon we passed a tall bamboo sticking straight up out of the water and wondered if it were the top mast of some unfortunate junk sunk on the Paranella Shoal there were many flying fish about and the sunset was lovely Sunday March 11th we feel that we are going south rapidly for the heat increases day by day the services were held on deck at 11 and 4 about 5 o'clock I heard cries of a turtle on the starboard bow I rushed out to see what it was and the men climbed into the rigging to obtain a better view of the object it proved to be a large piece of wood partially submerged apparently about 20 or 30 feet long the exposed part was covered with barnacles and seaweed and there was a large iron ring attached to one end we were sailing too fast to stop or I should have liked to have sent a boat to examine this relic of the sea more closely these waves and strays always set me thinking and wondering and speculating as to what they were originally once they came and all about them till Tom declares I weave a complete legend for every bit of wood we meet floating about Tuesday March 13th about 2 30 a.m the main peak halyards were carried away soon after we jibbed and for 2 or 3 hours in the most unpleasant manner at daybreak we made the island of Pula La Pada or Shu Island situated on the coast of Cochin China looking snowy white in the early morning light the day was certainly warm though we were gliding on steadily and pleasantly before the northeast monsoon Wednesday March 14th the monsoon sends us along at the rate of from 6 to 7 knots an hour without the slightest trouble or inconvenience there is an unexpected current though which sets us about 25 miles daily to the westward notwithstanding the fact that a southerly current is marked on the chart March 16th there was a general scribble going on all over the ship in preparation for the post tomorrow as we hope to make Singapore tonight or very early in the morning about noon Pulo hour was seen on our starboard bow in the afternoon being so near the straits the funnel was raised and steam got up at midnight we made the Homburg light and shortly afterwards passed a large steamer staring north it was a glorious night though very hot below and I spent most of it on deck with Tom observing the land as we slowly steamed ahead half speed End of Chapter 23 Chapter 24 of A Voyage in the Sunbeam by Anna Brassie this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Davy Cross, Taos, New Mexico Singapore betwixt them lawns or level downs and flocks grazing the tender herb were interposed or palmy hillock or the flowery lap of some irrigous valley spread her store flowers of all hues and without thorn the rose Saturday March 17 we were off Singapore during the night at 5 a.m. the pilot came on board and took us into Tangong Pagar to coal alongside the wharf we left the ship as soon as possible and in about an hour we had taken 43 tons of coal on board and nearly 20 tons of water the work was rapidly performed by Cool Easts it was a great disappointment to be told by the Harbour Master that the Governor of the Straits Settlement and Lady Jevoix were to leave at 11 o'clock for Jehoeur we determined to go straight to the Government House and make a morning call at the unearthly hour of 8 a.m. the drive from the wharf was full of beauty, novelty and interest we had not landed so near the line before and the most tropical of tropical plants, trees, flowers and ferns were here to be seen growing by the roadside on every bank and dust heap the natives, malays are a fine looking copper coloured race wearing bright coloured serongs and turbans there are many Indians too from Madras, almost black and swathed in the most graceful white muslin garments when they are not too hard at work to wear anything at all the young women are very good looking they wear not only one but several rings and metal ornaments in their noses and a perfusion of metal bangles on their arms and legs which jingle and jangle as they move the town of Singapore itself is not imposing it's streets or rather roads of wooden huts and stone houses being mixed together indiscriminately Government House is on the outskirts of the city in the midst of a beautiful park which is kept still in order, the green turf being closely mown and dotted with tropical trees and bushes the house itself is large and handsome and contains splendid suites of lofty rooms shaded by wide verandas full of ferns and palms looking deliciously green and cool we found the Governor and his family did not start until 1130 and they kindly begged us to return to breakfast at half past nine before finally leaving Sir William Gervois sent for the Colonial Secretary and asked him to look after us in his absence he turned out to be an old school fellow and college friend of Tom's at Rugby and Oxford so the meeting was a very pleasant one as soon as the Governor and his suite had set off for Jehoir we went down into the hot dusty town to get our letters, parcels and papers and to look at the shops there are not many Malay specialties to be bought here most of the curiosities come from India, China and Japan with the exception of birds of paradise from New Guinea and beautiful bright birds of all colors and sizes from the various islands in the Malay archipelago the northeast monsoon still blows fresh and strong but it was nevertheless terribly hot in the streets and we were very glad to return to the cool shady rooms at Government House and we thoroughly appreciated the delights of the punka there are very few European servants here and they all have their own peons to wait on them and carry an umbrella over them when they drive the carriage or go for a walk on their own account even the private soldier in Singapore has a punka pulled over his bed at night it is quite a sight to meet all the coolies leaving barracks at 5am when they have done punka pulling and Douglas called to take us for a drive we went first to the botanical gardens and saw sego palms and all sorts of tropical produce flourishing in perfection there were many beautiful birds and beasts Argus pheasants lyrebirds cuckoos, doves and pigeons more like parrots than doves in the gorgeous metallic luster of their plumage the cages were large and the enclosures in front full of caped jasmine bushes covered with buds for the birds to peck at and eat from the gardens we went for a drive through the pretty villas that surround Singapore in every direction every house outside the town is built on a separate little hill in order to catch every breath of fresh air there is generally rather a long drive up to the houses and the public roads run along the valleys between them it was now dark and we returned to Tdine Government House Sunday March 18 at 6 o'clock this morning Maybell and I went ashore with the steward and the compradour to the market it is a nice clean octagonal building well supplied with vegetables and curious fruits the latter are mostly brought from the other islands as this is the worst season of the year in Singapore for fruit I do not quite understand why this should be for as it is only a degree above the line there is very little variation in the seasons here the sun always rises and sets at 6 o'clock all the year round for months they have a northeast monsoon and then for months together a southwest monsoon we tasted many fruits new to us delicious mangosteins lacquers and other fruits whose names I could not ascertain lastly we tried a durian the east as it is called by people who live here and having got over the first horror of the onion-like odor we found it by no means bad the fish market is the cleanest and best arranged and sweetest smelling that I ever went through it is situated on a sort of open platform under a thick thatched roof built out over the sea so that all the refuse is easily disposed of and washed away by the tide from the platform on which it stands two long jetties run some distance out into the sea so that large fishing boats can come along the side and discharge their cargoes from the deep at the door of the market with scarcely any exposure to the rays of the tropical sun the poultry market is a curious place on account of the intense heat everything is brought alive to the market and the quacking cackling gobbling and crowing that go on are really marvelous the whole street is alive with birds and baskets, cages and coops, or tied by the leg and thrown down anyhow there were curious pheasants and jungle fowl from paroch doves, pigeons, quails besides cockatoos, parrots parakeets and lorries they are all very tame and very cheap and some of the scarlet lorries looking like a flame of fire chatter in the most amusing way I have a cage full of tiny parrots not bigger than bullfinches of a dark green color with dark red throats and blue heads yellow marks on the back and red and yellow tails having bought these everybody seemed to think that I wanted an unlimited supply of birds and soon we were surrounded by a chattering crowd all with parrots in their hands and on their shoulders it was a very amusing sight though rather noisy and the competition reduced the prices very much parakeets ranged from 12 to 30 cents apiece talking parrots and cockatoos from 1 to 5 dollars at last the vendors became so energetic that I was glad to get into the gari again and drive away to a flower shop where we bought some gardenias for one penny a dozen beautifully fresh and fragrant but with painfully short stalks towards the end of the southwest monsoon little native open boats arrive from the islands 1500 to 3000 miles to the southward of Singapore each has one little tripod mast the whole family live on board the sides of the boat cannot be seen for the multitudes of cockatoos parrots, parakeets and birds of all sorts fastened on little perches with very short strings attached to them the decks are covered with sandalwood the holds are full of rice, shells, feathers and south sea pearl shells with this cargo they creep from island to island and from creek to creek before the monsoon till they reach their destination they stay a month or six weeks change their goods for iron, nails a certain amount of pale green or indian red thread for weaving and some pieces of Manchester cotton they then go back with the northeast monsoon selling their goods at the various islands on their homeward route there are many Dutch ports nearer than Singapore but they are over-regulated and preference is given to the free English port where the simple natives can do as they like so long as they do not transgress the laws as we were going on board we met the Maharaja of Jehoir's servant just going off with invitations to dinner, lunch and breakfast for the next two days for all our party and with all sorts of kind propositions for shooting and other amusements some of our friends came off before luncheon to see the yacht and we returned with them to Tiffin at Government House at four o'clock the carriage came round to take us to Jehoir we wished goodbye to Singapore and all our kind friends and started on a lovely drive through the tropical scenery there is a capital road 15 miles in length across the island and our little ponies rattled along at a good pace there was a pleasant breeze there was no mist, no sun and a stream ran the whole way by the side of the road the Akashia flamboyant that splendid tree which came originally from Rangoon and Samatra was planted alongside the road and produced a most charming effect it is a large tree with large leaves of the most delicate green on its topmost bow grow gorgeous clusters of scarlet flowers with yellow centers and the effect of these scarlet plumes tossing in the air is truly beautiful as we were driving along we aspired a splendid butterfly with wings about 10 inches long Mr. Bingham jumped out of the carriage and knocked it down with his hat but it was so like the color of leaves and grass than in the twilight nobody could distinguish it and to our great disappointment we could not find it we were equally unsuccessful in our attempted capture of a water snake a couple of feet long we threw sticks and stones and our sigh waded into the stream but all to no purpose it glided away into some safe little hole under the bank we reached the seashore about six o'clock and found the Maharaja's steam launch waiting to convey us across the straits to the mainland these straits used to be the old route to Singapore and are somewhat intricate Tom engaged a very good pilot to bring the yacht round but at the last moment thought to bring her himself the result being that he arrived rather late for dinner the Maharaja and most of the party were out shooting when we arrived but Sir William Jervois met us and showed us round the place and also arranged about rooms for us to dress in Jehoir is a charming place the straits are so narrow and full of bends that they look more like a peaceful river or inland lake in the heart of a tropical forest of the mighty ocean as we approached we had observed a good deal of smoke rising from the jungle and as the shades of evening closed over the scene we could see the lurid glare of two extensive fires we sat down 30 to dinner at 8 o'clock there were the Maharaja's brothers the Prime Minister, Harkim or Judge and several other Malay chiefs the governor of the straits settlements his family in suite were two people from Singapore the dinner was cooked and served in European style the table decorated with gold and silver eperns full of flowers on velvet stands and with heaps of small cut flower glasses full of jasmine we were waited on by the Malay servants of the establishment dressed in grey and yellow and by the governor's madras servants in white and scarlet the Maharaja and his native guests were all in English evening dress with white waistcoats bright turbans and sarongs the room was large and open on all sides and the fresh evening breeze in addition to the numerous punkas made it delightfully cool the Maharaja is a strict Muhammadan himself and drinks nothing but water I spent three hours during which the dinner lasted in very pleasant conversation with my two neighbors we returned on board soon after 11 o'clock Monday, March 19th Maybell and I went ashore at 6 o'clock for a drive it was a glorious morning with a delightfully cool breeze and the excursion was most enjoyable we drove first through the old town of Johor once of considerable importance and still a place of trade for opium, indigo, pepper and other tropical products nutmeg and maize used to be the great articles of export but laterally the growth has failed and instead of the groves we had expected to see there were only solitary trees after leaving the town we went along a good road for some distance with cottages and clearings on either side until we came to a pepper and gambier plantation the two crops are cultivated together and both are grown on the edge of the jungle for the sake of the wood which is burned in the preparation of the gambier I confess that I had never heard of the latter substance before but I find that it is largely exported to Europe where it is occasionally employed for giving weight to silks and for tanning purposes the pepper garden we saw was many acres in extent some of the trees in the forest close by are very fine especially the camphor wood and the great red, purple and copper colored oleanders grow in clumps 20 and 30 feet in height the orchids with which all the trees were covered hanging down in long tassels of lovely colors or spread out like great spotted butterflies and insects were most lovely of all by far the most abundant was the white felinopsis with great drooping sprays of pure white waxy blossoms some delicately streaked with crimson others with yellow it was a genuine jungle and we were told that it is the resort of numerous tigers and elephants and that snakes abound on our way back through the town we stopped to see the process of opium making this drug is brought from India in an almost raw state rolled up in balls about the size of billiard balls and wrapped in its own leaves here it is boiled down several times refined and prepared for smoking the traffic in it forms a very profitable monopoly which is shared in Singapore between the English government and the Maharaja of Johor we also saw indigo growing the dye is prepared very much in the same way as the gambir that grown here is not so good as that which comes from India and it is therefore not much exported though it is used by the innumerable Chinese in the Malay Peninsula to dye all their clothes or invariably of some deep shade of blue we saw sago palms growing but the mill was not working so that we could not see the process of manufacture but it seems to be very similar to the preparation of tapioca which we had seen in Brazil on our passage through the town we went to look at a large gambling establishment of course no one was playing so early in the morning but in the evening it is always densely crowded to the proprietor I could not manage to make out exactly from the description what the game they play is like but it was not Phantan we now left the carriage and strolled to see the people the shops and the market I bought all sorts of common curiosities little articles of everyday life some of which will be sure to amuse and interest my English friends among my purchases were a wooden pillow some joss candles a wooden fiddle and a few preserved eggs which they say are over a hundred years old the eggs are certainly nasty enough for anything still it seems strange that so thrifty a people as the Chinese should allow so much capital to lie dormant literally buried in the earth at half past nine o'clock the Maharaja with the governor and all his guests came on board his highness inspected the yacht with his wholeness and interest though his Mohammedan ideas about women were considerably troubled when he was told that I had had a great deal to do with the designing and arrangement of the interior at half past eleven the party left and an hour afterwards we went to make our adieu to the Maharaja on our departure the Maharaja ordered twenty Coolies to accompany us laden with fragrant tropical plants he also gave me some splendid silk sarongs grown, made, and woven in his kingdom a pair of tusks of an elephant shot within a mile of the house besides a live little beast not an alligator and not an armadillo or a lizard in fact I do not know what it is it clings round my arm just like a bracelet and it was sent as a present by the ex-sultan of Jehoir having said farewell to our kind host and other friends we pushed off from the shore and left on board the yacht the anchor was up and by five o'clock a bend in the straits hid hospitable and pleasant Jehoir from our view and all we could see was the special steamer on her way back to Singapore with the Maharaja's guests on board at tenjour we dropped our funny little pilot and proceeded on our course towards Penang the straits are quite lovely and fully repaid the trouble and time involved in the detour made to visit them the sun set and the young moon arose over as lovely a tropical scene as you can possibly imagine Tuesday March 20th at five thirty when we were called the doctor came and announced that he had something very important to communicate to us this proved to be that one of our men was suffering from smallpox and not from rheumatic fever as had been supposed my first thought was that Muriel had been with the doctor to see him yesterday evening my next that many men had been sleeping in the same part of the vessel with him my third that for his greater comfort he had been each day in our part of the ship and my fourth what was to be done now after a short consultation Tom decided to alter our course for Malacca where we arrived at half past nine the doctor at once went on shore in a native prahu to make the best arrangements he could under the circumstances he was fortunate enough to find doctor Simon nephew of the celebrated surgeon of the same name installed as head physician at the civil hospital here he came off at once with the hospital boat and having visited the invalid declared his illness to be a very mild case of smallpox he had brought off some live with him and recommended us all to be revaccinated he had also brought sundry disinfectants and gave instructions about fumigating and disinfecting the not all the men were called upon the quarter deck and addressed by Tom and we were surprised to find what a large proportion of them objected to the operation of vaccination at last however the prejudices of all of them except two were overcome one of the latter had promised his grandfather that he would never be vaccinated under any circumstances while another would consent to be inoculated but would not be vaccinated we had consulted our own medical man before leaving England and knew that for ourselves the operation was not necessary but we nevertheless underwent it while the doctor was on shore we had been surrounded by boats bringing monkeys, birds for tan and malacca canes, fruit, rice etc to sell and as I did not care to go ashore thinking there might be some bother about quarantine we made bargains over the side of the yacht with the traders the result being that seven monkeys about 50 birds of sorts and innumerable bundles of canes were added to the stock on board in the meantime Dr. Simon had removed our invalid to the hospital Malacca looks exceedingly pretty from the sea it is a regular Malay village consisting of huts built on piles close to the water overshadowed by cocoa palms and other forms of tropical vegetation Mount Ophia rises in the distance behind there are many green islands too in the harbor by one o'clock we were again under way and once more en route for Penang Wednesday, March 21st during the night we had heavy thunderstorms about 11 a.m. we passed a piece of driftwood with a bird perched on top presenting a most curious effect several of the men on board mistook it a blackfin of a large shark about 5 p.m. we made the island of Penang after sunset it became very hazy and we crept slowly up afraid of injuring the numerous steak nets that are set about the strait most promiscuously and without any lights to mark their position before midnight we had dropped our anchor Thursday, March 22nd at 5 a.m. when we were called the whole sky was overcast with a lurid glare the atmosphere was thick as if with the fumes of some vast conflagration as the sun rose in raging fierceness the sky cleared and became of a deep clear transparent blue the island of Penang is very beautiful especially in the early morning light it was fortunate we did not try to come in last night as we could now see that we must inevitably have run through some of the innumerable steak nets I mentioned as we approached Georgetown the capital of the province we passed many steamers and sailing ships and anchor in the roads a pilot offered his services but Tom declined them with thanks and soon afterwards skillfully brought us up close in shore in the crowded roadstead the harbour master sent off as did also the mail master but no board of health officials appeared so after some delay the doctor went on shore to find him promising shortly to return he did not however reappear and after waiting a couple of hours we landed without opposition we packed off all the servants for a run on shore and had all the fires put out in order to cool the ship our first inquiry was for a hotel where we could breakfast and we were recommended to go to the Hotel de la Rope our demands for breakfast were met at first with the reply it was too late and that we must wait till one o'clock tiffin but a little persuasion induced the manager to find some cold meat, eggs, and lemonade we afterwards drove out to one or two shops but anything so hopeless as the store is here I never saw not a single curiosity could we find not even a bird we drove round the town and out to the governor's house he was away but we were most kindly received by mrs. Anson and his daughter we were recommended by them to make an expedition to the bungalow at the top of the hill in about an hour and a half always ascending we reached the governor's bungalow situated in a charming spot where the difference of 10 degrees in the temperature caused by being 1500 feet higher up is a great boon after tiffin and arrest at the hotel a carriage came to take us to the foot of the hill about four miles from the town we went first to the large jesuit establishment where some most benevolent old priests were teaching a large number of mele boys reading writing and geography then we went a little further and in a small wooden house under the cocoa trees at last found some of the little hummingbirds for which the mele archipelago is famous they glistened with a marvelous metallic luster all over their bodies instead of only in patches as one sees upon those in South America and the West Indies the drive was intensely tropical in character until we reached the waterfall where we left the carriage and got into chairs each carried by six coolies the scenery all about the waterfall is lovely and a large stream of sparkling cool clear water tumbling over the rocks was most refreshing to look at many people who have business in Panang live up here riding up and down morning and evening for the sake of the cool refreshing night air one of the most curious things in vegetation which strikes our English eyes is the extraordinary abundance of the sensitive plant it is interwoven with all the grass and grows thickly in all the hedgerows in the neatly kept turf round the government bungalow its long creeping prickly stems, akashia-like leaves and little fluffy mauve balls of flowers are so numerous that walking up and down the croquet lawn it appears to be bowing before you for the delicate plants are sensible of even an approaching footstep and shut up and hide their tiny leaves among the grass long before you really reach them from the top of the hill you can see 90 miles in the clear atmosphere far away across the straits of paraque to the mainland we cannot stay long and we're carried down the hill backwards as our bearers were afraid of our tumbling out of the chairs if we traveled forwards the tropical vegetation is even more striking here but alas it is already losing its novelty to us those were indeed pleasant days when everything was new and strange it seems now almost as if years not months had gone past since we first entered these latitudes we found the carriage waiting for us when we arrived at the bottom of the hill about seven o'clock and it was not long before we reached the town the glow worms and fireflies were numerous the natives were cooking their evening meal on the ground beneath the tall palm trees as we passed with the glare of the fires lighting up the picturesque cuts their dark figures relieved by their white and scarlet turbans and waste cloth the whole scene put us very much in mind of the old familiar pictures of India the live figures of the natives looking like beautiful bronze statues the rough country carts drawn by buffaloes without harness but dragging by their hump and driven by black-skinned natives armed with a long goad we went straight to the jetty and found to our surprise that in the roads there was quite a breeze blowing and a very strong tide running against it which made the sea almost rough Mrs. and Miss Anson Mr. Talbot and other friends dined with us at eleven they landed and we weighed anchor and were soon gliding through the straits of Malacca shaping for Achim head en route to Gal it seems strange that an important English settlement like Penang where so many large steamers and ships are constantly calling should be without lights or quarantine laws we afterwards learned on shore that the local government had already surveyed and fixed a place for two leading lights the reason why no health officers came off to us this morning was probably that smallpox and cholera both being prevalent in the town they thought that the fewer questions they asked and the less they saw of incoming vessels the better Friday, March 23 a broiling day everybody panting, parrots and parakeets dying we passed a large bark with every sail set although it was a flat calm which made us rejoice in the possession of steam power several people on board are very unwell and the engineer is really ill it is depressing to speculate what would become of us if anything went wrong in the engine room department and if we should be reduced to sail power alone in this region of calmness at last even I know what it is to be too hot and I'm quite knocked up with my short experience Saturday, March 24 another flat calm the after-forecastle having been batted down and fumigated for the last 72 hours was today opened and its contents brought up on deck some to be thrown overboard and others to be washed with carbolic acid I never saw such quantities of things as were turned out they covered the whole deck and it seemed as if their cubic capacity must be far greater than that of the place in which they had been stowed besides the beds and tables of eight men there were 48 birds, four monkeys two cockatoos and a tortoise besides Japanese cabinets and boxes of clothes books, china, coral, shells and all sorts of imaginable and unimaginable things one poor tortoise had been killed and bleached white by the chlorine gas Sunday, March 25 hotter than ever it was quite impossible to have service either on deck or below we always observed Sunday by showing a little extra attention to dress and as far as the gentlemen are concerned a little more care in the matter of shaving on other days I fear our toilettes would hardly pass muster in civilized society Tom set the example of leaving off collars, coats and waistcoats so shirts and trousers are now the order of the day the children wear grass clothed pinafores and very little else, no shoes or stockings Manila or Chinese slippers being worn by those who dislike bare feet I find my Tahitian and Hawaiian dresses invaluable they are really cool, loose and comfortable and I scarcely ever wear anything else we passed a large steamer about 7.30 a.m. and in the afternoon altered our course to speak the Middlesex of London bound to the channel for orders we had quite a long conversation with the captain and parted with mutual good wishes for a pleasant voyage it was a lovely moonlit night but very hot though we found a delightful sleeping place beneath the awning on deck Monday, March 26th the sun appeared to rise even fiercer and hotter than ever this morning I have been very anxious for the last few days about baby who has been cutting some teeth and has suffered from a rash Muriel has been bitten all over by mosquitoes and Maybell has also suffered from heat rash just now every little ailment suggests smallpox to our minds about noon when in latitude 6.25 north and in longitude 88.25 east we began to encounter a great deal of driftwood many large trees, branches, plants, leaves nautilus shells, backbones of cuttlefish and in addition large quantities of yellow spawn evidently deposited by some fish of large size the spawn appeared to be of a very solid consistent character like large yellow grapes connected together in a sort of gelatinous mass it formed a continuous wide yellow streak perhaps half a mile in length and with the bits of wood and branches sticking up in its midst at intervals it would not have required a very lively imagination to fashion it at a little distance into a sea serpent where does all this debris come from? was the question asked by everybody out of the Bay of Bengal probably judging from the direction of the current we wondered if it could possibly be the remains of some of the trees uprooted by the last great cyclone at 1.30 p.m. a man cried out from the rigging boat on the starboard bow a cry that produced great excitement immediately our course was altered and telescopes and glasses brought to bear upon the object in question everyone on board except our old sailing master said it was a native boat some even said that they could see a man on board waving something Powell alone declared it to be the root of a palm from the Bay of Bengal and he proved right a very large root it was with one single stem and a few leaves hanging down which had exactly the appearance of broken masts tattered sails and torn rigging we went close alongside to have a good look at it the water was as clear as crystal and beneath the surface were hundreds of beautifully colored fish greedily devouring something I suppose small insects or fish entangled among the roots Tuesday March 27th it requires a great effort to do anything except before sunrise or after sunset owing to the intense heat and when one is not feeling well it makes exertion at night the heat below is simply unbearable the cabins are deserted and all mattresses are brought up on deck End of Chapter 24 Chapter 25 of A Voyage in the Sunbeam by Anna Brassie this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Dovey Cross, Taos, New Mexico Ceylon thus was this place a happy rural seat of various views groves whose rich trees wept odorous gums and balm others whose fruit burnished with golden rind hung amiable Hesperian fables true Wednesday March 28th at midnight the wind was slightly ahead and we could distinctly smell the fragrant breezes and spicy odors of Ceylon we made the eastern side of the island at daylight and coasted along its palm-fringed shores all day I had been very unwell for some days past but this delightful indication of our near-approach to the land seemed to do me good at once if only the interior is as beautiful as what we can see from the deck of the yacht my expectations will be fully realized, brilliant as they are as the sun set the beauty of the scene from the deck of the yacht seemed to increase we proceeded slowly and at about nine o'clock were in the roads of Gal and could see the ships at anchor Tom did not like to venture further in the dark without a pilot and accordingly told the signalman to make signals for one but being impatient he sent up a rocket besides burning blue lights a mistake which had the effect of bringing the first officer of the P and O steamship, Puna on board who thought perhaps we had got a ground or were in trouble of some sort he also informed us that pilots never came off after dark and kindly offered to show us a good anchorage for the night Thursday, March 29th the pilot came off early and soon after six we dropped anchor in Gal Harbor the entrance is fine and the bay one of the most beautiful in the world the picturesque town with its old buildings white surf dashing in among the splendid cocoa trees which grow down to the water's edge combined to make up a charming picture we went on board the Puna to breakfast as arranged and afterwards all over the ship which is in splendid order thence we went ashore to the Oriental Company's hotel a most comfortable building with a large shady veranda which today was crowded by passengers from the Puna at Tiffin there was a great crowd and we met some old friends at three o'clock we returned to the yacht to show her to the captain of the Puna and some of his friends and an hour later we started in two carriages for a drive to Guakwala a hill commanding a splendid view the drive was delightful and the vegetation more beautiful than any we have seen since leaving Tahiti but it would have been more enjoyable if we had not been so pestered by boys selling flowers and bunches of mace in various stages of development it certainly is very pretty when the peach-like fruit is half open and shows the network of scarlet mace surrounding the brown nutmeg within from Guakwala the view is lovely over patty fields, jungle and virgin forest up to the hills close by and to the mountains beyond there is a small refreshment room at the top of the hill kept by a nice little mulatto woman and her husband here we drank lemonade, ate mangoes and watched the sun gradually declining but we were obliged to leave before it had set as we wanted to visit the cinnamon gardens on our way back the prettiest thing in the whole scene was the river running through the middle of the landscape and the white-winged scarlet-bodied cranes desporting themselves along the banks among the dark green foliage and light green shoots of the crimson-tipped cinnamon trees we had a glorious drive home along the seashore under coconut trees among which the fireflies flitted and through which we could see the red and purple afterglow of the sunset Ceylon is, as everyone knows, celebrated for its real gems and almost as much for the wonderful imitations offered for sale by the natives some are made in Birmingham and exported but many are made here and in India and are far better in appearance than ours or even those of Paris more than once in the course of our drive the Dominican Indians produced from their waist-cloths rubies, sapphires, and emeralds for which they asked from one to four thousand rubies and gratefully took four pence after a long run with the carriage and much vestiferation and gesticulation after top-to-oat dinner at the hotel we went off to the yacht in a pilot boat the buoys were all illuminated and boats with four or five men in them provided with torches were in readiness to show us the right way out by ten o'clock we were outside the harbor and on our way to Colombo Friday, March 30th it rained heavily during the night and we were obliged to sleep in the deckhouse instead of on deck at daylight all was again bright and beautiful and the coconut-clad coast of Ceylon looked most fascinating in the early morning light about ten o'clock we dropped our anchor in the harbor at Colombo which was crowded with shipping 175,000 coolies have been landed here within the last two or three months consequently labor is very cheap this year in the coffee plantations the instant we anchored we were of course surrounded by boats selling every possible commodity and curiosity carved ebony, ivory, sandalwood and models of the curious boats in use here these boats are very long and narrow with an enormous outrigger and large sail and when it is very rough nearly the whole crew of the boat go out one by one and sit on the outrigger to keep it in the water from which springs the singlies saying one man, two men, four men, breeze the heat was intense though there was a pleasant breeze under the awning on deck we therefore amused ourselves by looking over the side and bargaining with the natives until our letters which we had sent for arrived about one o'clock we went to shore countering on our way some exceedingly dreadful smells wafted from ships laden with guano, bones and other odiferous cargos the inner boat harbor is unsavory and unwholesome to the last degree and is just now crowded with many natives of various castes from the south of India Colombo is rather a European looking town with fine buildings and many open green spaces where there were actually soldiers playing cricket with great energy under the fierce rays of the midday sun we went at once to a hotel unrested loitering after Tiffin in the veranda which was as usual crowded with sellers of all sorts of Indian things most of the day was spent in driving about and having made our arrangements for an early start tomorrow we then walked down to the harbor getting drenched on our way by a tremendous thunderstorm Saturday March 31st up early and after rather a scramble we went to shore at seven o'clock just in time to start by the first train to Khande there was not much time to spare and we therefore had to pay sovereigns for our tickets instead of changing them for rupees thereby receiving only ten instead of eleven and a half the current rate of exchange that day it seemed rather sharp practice on the part of the railway company alias the government to take sovereigns in at the window at ten rupees and sell them at the door for eleven and a half to speculators waiting ready and eager to clutch and sell them again at an infinitesimally small profit the line to Khande is always described as one of the most beautiful railways in the world and it certainly deserves the character the first part of the journey is across jungle and through plains then one goes climbing up and up looking down on all the beauties of tropical vegetation to distant mountains shimmering in the glare and haze of the burning sun the carriages were well ventilated and provided with double roofs and were really tolerably cool about nine o'clock we reached Ambipusa and the scenery increased in beauty from this point a couple of hours later we reached Paradinaya the junction for Gampola here most of the passengers got out bound for Nerela Elia the centurium of Ceylon seven thousand feet above the sea soon after leaving the station we passed the Satinwood Bridge here we had a glimpse of the botanical garden at Khande and soon afterwards reached the station we were at once rushed at by two telegraph boys each with a telegram of hospitable invitation whilst a third friend met us with his carriage and asked us to go at once to his house a few miles out of Khande we hesitated to avail ourselves of his kind offer as we were such a large party but he insisted and at once set off to make things ready for us whilst we went to breakfast and rest at a noisy, dirty and uncomfortable hotel it was too hot to do anything except to sit in the veranda and watch planter after planter come in for an iced drink at the bar the town is quite full for Easter partly for the amusements and partly for the church services for on many of the coffee estates there is no church within a reasonable distance about four o'clock the carriage came round for us and having dispatched the luggage in Agari we drove round the lovely lake and so out to Peridunaya where our friend lives close to the botanic gardens many of the huts and cottages by the roadside have smallpox written upon them in large letters in three languages English, Sanskrit and singleese a very sensible precaution for the natives are seldom vaccinated and this terrible disease is a real scourge amongst them having reached the charming bungalow it was a real luxury to lounge in a comfortable, easy chair in a deep cool veranda and to inhale the fragrance of the flowers whilst lazily watching the setting of the sun directly at dipped below the horizon glowworms and fireflies came out bright and numerous as though the stars had come down to tread or rather fly a fairy dance among the branches of the tall palm trees high overhead our rooms were most comfortable and the baths delicious after dinner we all adjourned once more to the veranda to watch the dancing fireflies the lightning and the heavy thunder clouds and enjoy the cool evening breeze you in England who have never been in the tropics cannot appreciate the intense delight of that sensation then we went to bed and passed a most luxurious night of cool and comfortable sleep not tossing restlessly about as we had been doing for some time past Sunday April 1st I awoke before daylight our bed faced the windows which were wide open without blinds curtains or shutters and I lay and watch to the light gradually creeping over the trees landscape and garden and the sun rising glorious from behind the distant mountains shining brightly into the garden drawing out a thousand fresh fragrances from every leaf and flower by seven o'clock we found ourselves enjoying an early tea within the pretty bungalow in the center of the botanic gardens and thoroughly appreciating delicious fresh butter and cream the first we have tasted for ages we went for the most delightful stroll afterwards and saw for the first time many botanical curiosities and several familiar old friends growing in greater luxuriance than our eyes are even yet accustomed to the groups of palms were most beautiful I never saw anything finer than the talipat palm and the areca with the beetle vine climbing around it besides splendid specimens of the kittool or jaggery palm then there was the palmyra which to the inhabitant of the north of Ceylon is what the coconut is to the inhabitant of the south food, clothing and lodging the pitcher plants and the rare scarlet amherstia looked lovely as did also the great groups of yellow and green stemmed bamboos there were magnolias, shatex, hibiscus the almost two fragrant yellow flowered shampak sacred to Hindu mythology nutmeg and cinnamon trees, tea and coffee and every other conceivable plant and tree growing in the wildest luxuriance through the center of the gardens flows the river and the whole 140 acres are laid out so like an English park that were it not for the unfamiliar foliage you might fancy yourself at home we drove back to our hosts to breakfast and directly afterwards started in two carriages to go to church at Khandi the church is a fine large building lofty and cool and well ventilated this being Easter Sunday it was lavishly decorated with palms and flowers the service was well performed and the singing was excellent the sparrows flew in and out by the open doors and windows one of the birds was building a nest in a corner and during the service she added to it a marabette feather, a scrap of lace and an end of pink ribbon it will be a curious nest when finished if she adds at this rate to her miscellaneous collection after church we walked to the government house Sir William Gregory is unfortunately for us away in Australia and will not return till just after our departure the entrance to it was gay with gorgeous scarlet lilies brought over by some former governor from South America it is a very fine house but unfinished we wandered through the banquet halls deserted and then sat a little while in the broad cool airy veranda looking into the beautiful garden and on to the mountain beyond at half past eleven it was time to leave this delightfully cool retired spot and to drive to a very pleasant luncheon served on a polished round walnut wood table without any tablecloth a novel and pretty plan in so hot a climate as soon as it became sufficiently cool we went on round the upper lake and to the hills above once we looked down upon Condi one of the most charmingly placed cities in the world as we came back we stopped for a few minutes at the court a very fair specimen of florid Hindu architecture where the judges sit and justice of all kinds is administered and where the Prince of Wales held the installation of the Order of St. Michael and St. George during his visit we also looked in at some of the bazaars to examine the brass chatties and straw work then came another delicious rest in the veranda flowers until it was time for dinner such flowers as they are the Cape Jessamines are in full beauty just now and our host breaks off for us great branches laden with the fragrant bloom Monday April 2nd before breakfast I took a stroll all around the place with our host to look at his numerous pets which includes spotted deer, monkeys and all sorts of other creatures we also went to the stables and saw first the horses and the horsekeepers with their pretty Indian wives and children then we wandered down to the bamboo-fringed shores of the river which rises in the mountains here and flows right through the island to Trinchamale at 11 o'clock Tom and I said goodbye to the rest of the party and went by train to Gumpola to take the coach to Nerera, Ilaia where we were to stay with an old friend we went only a dozen miles in the train and then returned out into what is called a coach but is really a very small, rough wagonette capable of holding six people with tolerable comfort but into which seven, eight and even nine were crammed by the time the vehicle was fully laden we found there was positively no room for even the one box into which Tom's things and my own had all been packed so we had to take out indispensable necessaries and tie them up in a bundle like true sailors out for a holiday leaving our box behind in charge of the station master until our return the first part of the drive was not very interesting the road passing only through patty fields and endless tea and coffee plantations we reached Pusallawa about two o'clock where we found a rough and ready sort of breakfast awaiting us thence we had a steep climb through some of the finest coffee estates in Ceylon belonging to the Rothschilds until we reached Rangebody here there was another delay of half an hour but although we were anxious to get on to arrive in time for dinner it was impossible to regret stopping amidst this lovely scenery the house which serves as a resting place is a wretched affair but the view from the veranda in front is superb a large river falls headlong over the steep wall of rock forming three splendid waterfalls which uniting and rushing under a fine one arched bridge complete this scene of beauty and grandeur we were due at Nerera Ilaia at six but we had only one pair of horses to drag our heavy load up the steep mountain road and the poor creatures jibbed, kicked over the traces broke them three times and more than once were so near going over the edge of the precipice that I jumped out and the other passengers, all gentlemen, walked the whole of that stage the next was no better, the fresh pair of horses jibbing and kicking worse than ever at last one kicked himself free of all the harness and fell on his back in a deep ditch if it had not been so tiresome it really would have been very laughable especially as everybody was more or less afraid of the poor horses heels and did not in the least know how to extricate him in this dilemma our hunting experiences came in usefully four with the aid of a trace instead of a stirrup leather passed round his neck half a dozen men managed to haul the horse onto his legs again but the pitchy darkness rendered the repair of damages an exceedingly difficult task the horses moreover even when once more in their proper position declined to move but the gentlemen pushed and the drivers flogged and shouted and very slowly and with many stops we ultimately reached the end of that stage here we found a young horse who had no idea at all of harness so after a vain attempt to utilize his services another was sent for thus causing further delay it was now nine o'clock and we were all utterly exhausted we managed to procure from a cottage some new laid eggs and cold spring water and these eaten raw with a little brandy from a hunting flask seemed to refresh us all there was again a difficulty in starting but once fairly underway the road was not so steep and the horses went better I was now so tired and had grown so accustomed to hare breath escapes that however near we went to the edge of the precipice I did not feel capable of jumping out but sat still and watched listlessly wondering whether we should really go over or not after many delays we reached headquarter house where the warmth of the welcome our old friend gave us soon made us forget how tired we were they had waited dinner until half past seven and had then given us up there were blazing wood fires both in the drawing room and in our bedroom and in five minutes a most welcome dinner was put before us afterwards we could have stayed and chatted till midnight but we were promptly sent off to bed and desired to reserve the rest of our news until morning Tuesday April 3 at ten o'clock breakfast afforded us ample opportunity for a delicious rest and letter writing beforehand afterwards we strolled round the garden full of English flowers, roses, carnations, mignonette and sweet peas Tom and the gentlemen went for a walk whilst we ladies rested and chatted and wrote letters after lunch we all started a large party to go to the athletic sports on the race course where an impromptu sort of grandstand had been erected literally a stand for there were no seats there were a great many people and the regimental band played very well to us it appeared a warm damp day although the weather was much cooler than any we have felt lately this is the week of the year and everybody is here from all parts of the island people who have been long resident in the tropics seemed to find it very cold for the men wore great coats and ulsters and many of the ladies velvet and sables or seal skin jackets on the way back from the sports we drove round to see something of the settlement it cannot be called a town although there are a good many people and houses no two are within half a mile of one another there are two packs of hounds kept here one to hunt the big elk the other a pack of harriers the land leeches which abound in this neighborhood are a great plague to horses, men and hounds it rained last night and I was specially cautioned not to go on the grass or to pick flowers as these horrid creatures fix on one's ankle or arm without the slightest warning I have only seen one I am thankful to say and have escaped a bite but everybody seems to dread and dislike them after dinner we went to a very pleasant ball given by the jinkana club at the barracks the room was prettily decorated with the racing jackets and caps of the riders and the races and with scarlet wreaths of geranium and hibiscus mangled with lycopodium ferns and sela genella we did not remain very late at the ball as we had to make an early start next morning but the drive home in the moonlight was almost as pleasant as any part of the entertainment Wednesday April 4th we were called at four o'clock and breakfast did at five everybody appearing either in dressing gowns or in habits to see us set off they all tried to persuade us to stay for the meat of the hounds at the house today another ball tonight and more races and another ball tomorrow but we are homeward bound and must hurry on this is a lovely morning and we waited with great patience at the post house for at least an hour and a half and watched the hounds come out meet, find and hunt a hare up and down and across the valley with merry ringing notes that made us long to be on horseback we saw all the race horses returning from their morning gallop and were enlightened by the size as to their names and respective owners there were several people a great deal of luggage and last not least, Her Majesty's males all waiting like us for the coach about a quarter to seven a message arrived to the effect that the horses would not come up the hill they had been jibbing for more than an hour so would we kindly go down to the coach a swarm of coolies immediately appeared from some mysterious hiding place and conveyed us all bag and baggage down the hill and packed us into the coach even this concession on our part induced the horses to make up their minds to move for at least another quarter of an hour then we had to stop at the hotel to pick up somebody else but at last we had fairly started eleven people in all some inside and some perched on a box behind the horses were worse than ever tired to death poor things and as one lady passenger was very nervous and insisted on walking up all the aclivities we were obliged to make up our pace down the hills and we looked lovely by daylight and the wildflowers were splendid especially the white de turra and scarlet rhododendron trees which were literally covered with bloom by daylight the appearance of the horses was really pitiable in the extreme worn out half starved wretches covered with wounds and sores from collars and harness and with traces of injuries they inflicted on themselves in their struggles to get free we no longer wondered at their reluctance to start it really made one quite sick to think even of the state they were in if some of the permanent officials were to devote a portion of their time to endeavors to introduce American coaches and to ameliorate the condition of the horses on this road they would indeed confer a boon on their countrymen the coachman who was as black as jet and who wore very little clothing was a curious specimen of his class and appeared by no means skilled in his craft he drove the whole way down the steep zigzag road with a loose rain at every turn the horses went close to the precipice but were turned in the very nick of time by a little black boy who jumped down from behind and pulled them round by their traces without touching the bridle we stopped at rang body for breakfast and again at pusillawa this seemed a bad arrangement for we were already late as having to be unmercifully flogged in order to enable us to catch the train at ganpola, failing which the coach proprietors would have had to pay a very heavy penalty from ganpola we soon arrived at para denia where we met mr freer who was going down to colombo tom had decided previously to go straight on so as to have the yacht quite ready for an early start tomorrow I in the meantime went to our former hosts for one night to pick up maybell and the waves and strays of luggage on my way from the station to the house going over the satinwood bridge from which there is a lovely view of the peacock mountain I saw an Englishman whom we had observed before washing stones in the bed of the river for gens he has obtained some rubies and sapphires though only of small size and I suppose he will go on washing forever hoping to find something larger and more valuable on one part of the coast of the island near monagon the sands on the side of one of the rivers are formed of rubies sapphires, garments and other precious stones washed down by the current but they are all ground to pieces in the process not one being left as big as a pin's head the effect in the sunlight when this sand is wet with the waves is something dazzling and proves that the accounts of my favorite zinbad are not so fabulous as we prosaic mortals try to make out the island must be rich in gems for they seem to be picked up with hardly any trouble at Nura Eliah it is a favorite amusement for picnic parties to go out gym hunting and frequently they meet with very large and valuable stones by the riverside or near deserted pits, large garments, cinnamon stone, splendid cat's eyes, amethysts matura diamonds, moonstone aquamarine, tourmaline rubies and sapphires on my arrival at the house I found that Mabel had just returned with some friends who had kindly taken charge of her during our absence and that a very old friend had arrived almost directly we left on Monday and had departed early this morning to climb Adam's Peak the ascent of which is a long and tedious affair but it cannot be difficult as thousands of aged and infirm pilgrims go every year to worship at the Buddhist or Muhammadon temples at the summit. The giant footprint has been reverenced alike by both religions from the earliest ages. Its existence is differently accounted for however by the two sects. The Buddhists say that it is the footprint of Buddha and that an account of its origin was written in 300 or 400 years BC. The Muhammadons say that it is the first step Adam took when driven out of paradise. They do not quarrel about it however but live very happily close beside one another in their respective temples on the very small summit of the mountain. The iron chains, still used by the pilgrims and visitors to assist them up, the last weary flight of steps are said to have been placed there in the time of Alexander the Great and are mentioned by successive historians. After lunch I went to rest, thoroughly tired out with the hard work of the last two days whilst the gentleman went into the city to see Buddha's tooth and a brahmin temple. Just before sunset we went to have a last look at those lovely botanical gardens. They were more beautiful than ever in the afternoon light and I saw many things which had escaped my notice before. I have made acquaintance with the taste of all sorts of new fruits while here more than in our former journey but this is to be explained by the proximity of the botanical gardens. I expected to travel in fruit all through the tropics but except at Tahiti we have not done so at all. There is one great merit in tropical fruit which is that however hot the sun may be, when plucked from the tree it is always icy cold. If left for a few minutes however it becomes as hot as the surrounding atmosphere and the charm is gone. On my return when I went to dress for dinner I found on my table a nasty looking black beast about six inches long. It looked very formidable in the half light like a scorpion or centipede.  There are a great many venomous snakes in Ceylon but they always get out of the way as fast as they can and never bite Europeans. All the roofs of the thatched bungalows swarm with rats and in every house is kept a rat snake which kills and eats these rats. I more than once heard a great scuffle going on over my bedroom which generally ended in a little squeak indicating that the snake had killed and was about to eat his prey.  If I had not been previously assured that he was perfectly harmless it would have been a rather alarming dark and even as it was I must confess that for a moment I did feel rather frightened as I watched him spying about darting his forked tongue in and out and looking quite ready for a spring in my face. Thursday April 5th another early start by the 7 o'clock train to Colombo. We were very sorry to say goodbye to our kind host and when we took our departure we were quite laden with flowers, good wishes and friends in England. It was a rather hot journey down and the train seemed full but the scenery was lovely. As we approached Colombo the heat became greater and in the town itself it was almost insupportable. We breakfasted at the hotel in the fort where we were joined by Tom. There is one very curious thing about the hotels here. The sitting rooms are all two stories high with pointed raftered roofs. The bedrooms are only screened off together and from the central room by partitions 8 or 10 feet high so that you can hear everything going on from end to end of the building. I am not at all sure that the larger amount of ventilation secured by this plan compensates for the extra amount of noise and want of privacy especially when as was the case today there is a crying baby who refuses to be pacified in one of the rooms a poor little girl ill with whooping cough and another noisy people who are making themselves both unhappy and cross over some lost keys and a third. While we were at breakfast the crows were most amusing and impertinent. Every door and window was open and they were perched on the top of the punca or on the iron crossbars supporting the roof watching their opportunity to pounce down and carry off the bits left on our plates. They did not seem to mind the waiters a bit and with their heads cocked on one side looked as drool and saucy as possible. People tell you all sorts of funny stories about them but though they are very entertaining to watch and apparently perfectly tame it appears to be impossible to capture one alive. By the time breakfast was over we found that the sunbeam was already underway and steaming about the anchorage so it was not long before we were once more on board. Going out of the harbor we passed a large steamer whose passengers and crew cheered us and waved their handkerchiefs until we were out of sight and with that pleasant homely sound ringing in our ears we bade a last farewell to Colombo and started on another stage of our homeward voyage. The heat was intense and there was a roll outside which at once made me feel very uncomfortable. There was no wind all the afternoon and the sun sank into the sea glorious and golden as we took our last look at the lovely island of Ceylon the land of spice and fragrance and beauty. End of chapter 25