Around the World on a Bicycle. " From Teheran to
Yokohama." By Thomas Stevens. (Sampson Low and Co.)—This is the second part of a very entertaining record of travel. As a matter of fact, Mr. Stevens's bicycling circumitineration—if the word may be allowed—had very considerable gaps in it. He made his way, indeed, from Teheran through Persia. This is the most enter- taining part of his narrative. But when he got near to Afghanistan, he was stopped, taken to Herat under the care of an escort, and sent back to Persia. He was thus compelled to make his way on by more commonplace methods of travel. Railway and steamer took him to India, by way of Batoum and the overland route. In India he mounted the wheel again, and had some very pleasant experiences. But a journey of this kind from India to China was, as he says, not to be thought of. And, indeed, when he had got to Canton by steamer, be found that the Celestial Land was not suitable for his purpose. He had a brief experience of cycling, but found it not only disagreeable, but perilous. Japan, on the other hand, was far more pleasant. Here he felt himself at home, reaching Yokohama in safety. From Yokohama a steamer con- veyed him to San Francisco, from which he had started about two years and a half before. A very readable volume this, and not without its utility. Mr. Stevens has something to say about the Russians in Persia and the neighbouring countries that is well worth reading. His peculiar way of travelling gave him oppor- tunities of seeing things that those who move in more formal ways do not always see.
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