A LADY'S TRAVELS ROUND THE WORLD.*

"I TELL Ion," said a Californian miner, "men is the queerest things in natur; beasts is nothing to them, earthquakes is nothing to them, you bet !" and Mrs. Bridges, after travelling round the world for about two years and a half, has arrived at the same opinion. That man is even more wonderful than Nature may be a common-place truth, but it is one that will be • Journal of a Lady's Trani% Round the World. By F. D. Bridges. With Mos- trations from Sketches by the Author. London : John Murray. 1883.

vividly felt by the reader who travels with this lady in Greece and Egypt, in British India and Thibet, in Burmah and Java, in China and Japan, to Vancouver's Island and across the States.

How much of actual novelty there is in this pleasantly- written journal we cannot pretend to say, but the writer is care- ful to avoid lingering too long in well-known places, and her experiences are related with vivacity and intelligence. The subject, it is evident, is inexhaustible, and every intelligent traveller surveys it with fresh eyes. Women, too, see many things that escape the less rapid perception of men, and they frequently surpass men in the happy art of telling what they know. The volume, let us say at once, is readable from the first page to the last, and if the use we make of it should serve to illustrate the interest of the narrative, it will be far from ex- hausting it. We need not linger with the traveller in Greece, where the women are said to be singularly unclassical in form and feature, nor in Egypt, where Mrs. Bridges managed

to visit the Great Pyramid, without the assistance of those "pestilential nuisances," the Pyramid Arabs ; so let us pass on to Hyderabad, where the Mohurram festival afforded a spectacle of Eastern magnificence. What is our poor City

show on the 9th of November, compared with the barbaric brilliancy of a scene like this ? -

"I fairly rubbed my eyes," says the writer, "and wondered whether we had got back to the days of Saladin, as these bands of Arab horsemen, on their prancing white horses, with generally the tail and legs stained purple, covered with gaudy trappings, rode by ; their riders, some in chain armour, some in English uniforms of the last century, some in Arab burnous, and some in Zouave dross; some with scimitars, some with guns, others with blunderbusses or long bamboo lances, every man in military costume it discretion, preceded by a band of musicians, resembling the Christy Minstrels in war. paint and feathers. Then came the infantry, chiefly in prodigious turbans, armed with very long guns, some in the old French uniform of the First Empire, and helmets of the Middle Ages. After them were led the stud of the chieftain and lastly, the chieftain himself, generally mounted on a splendid elephant, covered with trap- pings and silver ornaments. One of these grand amimals bad jewels on his head worth £20,000, and his owner, sitting on the crimson- velvet howdah, was a blaze of gold and precious stones."

Here Mrs. Bridges met a Mussulman lady, who, strange to say, had a governess, and was learning English. "I do read the Fifth Royal Reader,' " she said, " and I do make Berlin-wool work, and I do make the ' Return Galop ' on the piano for two hours every day ;" and she looked forward to the time when her husband would take her to Europe, "to see with my eyes which I am not allowed to do here." Then the travellers (Mrs. Bridges was accom- panied by her husband) breakfast with the Ameer-i-Kabyr, "a bundle of sky-blue moirt and diamonds, with a pink turban on the top," and inspect his Amazon guard, the only corps now existing in the country, " sturdy-looking little women, dressed as soldiers, some in brown holland turned up with scarlet, and others in native-police uniform," who presented arms and "marched in a very soldier-like manner." Leaving Hyderabad, where they had been entertained by Sir Saler Jung, "the one man in our nation," according to the intelligent lady who plays the "Return Galop," the caves of Ellora and Ajanta were visited, the shrines of the former being still much frequented, while the latter are deserted. " The birds built round the head of the great, calm Buddha, seated on the lotus in the pillared halls of the monasteries, and the wild bees hung their nests from the beautifully-decorated ceilings, and the jungle plants crept in, forming festoons over the fresco paint-

ings of Buddhist legend above the pillars." Of Ajanta, where not only the architectural progress, but the doctrinal develop- ment of Buddhism during 1,000 years can be traced, Mrs- Bridges writes with enthusiasm, observing that the caves are alone well worth a journey to India to see ; yet few Englishmen,

she adds, "take the trouble of turning a few miles out of the beaten track to visit them." By her Highness the Begum of Bhopal the travellers were received as guests, and on being escorted to the palace, a building "of the wedding-cake style of architecture," a line of very irregular cavalry was drawn up to receive them. The daughter of the Begum understood a little English, or the reception would have proved a dumb show. However, actions speak more than words, and the Begam showed her friendliness by sprinkling Mrs. Bridges with eau de Cologne and attar of roses, by throwing over her shoulders a garland of jessamine blossoms with tassels of crimson roses, and presenting her, after the ancient custom, with a preparation of betel-nut and spices wrapped in gold-leaf. Nor was this all. The Begum fed the travellers royally, and in one of her carriages, and guarded by her soldiers, they were able to visit the Buddhist Tope at Sanchi, " probably one of the oldest existing monuments in India." Excursions were also made on an elephant, but Mrs. Bridges found railway travelling preferable, though less romantic.

Some time was spent at Delhi, where, however, we must not linger, unless for a moment, to quote the following passage :— " It was pleasant to see by the fresh flowers laid on the grave of Khusree that a poet's memory was still green in the hearts of his countrymen, though 500 years have passed away since, lyre

in hand, he sang his still popular songs." Neither shall we halt with the writer in the Vale of Kashmir, where Adam is said to have found another Eden ; but "one thing is quite certain, the inhabitants of this Paradise very much resemble fallen angels,—nothing can surpass their capacity for dirt, lying, or cheating."

Taking boat from Kashmir, which was reached after a march of 170 miles, the writer landed at Srinagar, " a Venice built of wood," where the self-denying labours of two Missionaries receive a due meed of praise from their countrywoman :-

" They employ 1,400 coolies, at a very small sum, just enough to sustain life on, in useful works, such as repairing the tracks—there are no roads in Kashmir, the Native Government consider such things ridiculous and unnecessary—in spite of much secret opposition on the part of native officials. Of course, conversion is not attempted, to do so would be worse than useless ; but civilising influences, together with soap and water, are brought to bear on the 900 orphan or neglected children in the Mission school, rescued by the Missionaries from starvation."

In the Himalayas, Mrs. Bridges underwent no trifling fatigue, while climbing by slow degrees to the roof of the world, Leh, in Thibet, which was for a long time her resting-place, being nearly 12,000 feet above the sea. Her adventures in this abode of snow are graphically described. So, too, is the account of a Lama church, lately decorated with frescoes by artists from Lhassa, one of the few places in the world to which the traveller is unable to gain admission. A Mr. Manning, indeed, managed to enter the sacred city, more than a century ago, but no one, it is said, has since made the attempt successfully. The Thibetans are not clean people; indeed, they do not even wash their hands and faces, and " the babies are kept in a bag of dried manure, supposed to be warm and healthy for them." Yet they are not without some refinement of taste, and, like the Japanese, are passionately fond of flowers. " When there is nothing else to be had, the women wear bunches of grass and leaves behind their ears and over their foreheads." At Leh, husband and wife parted company for a time, Mr. Bridges starting on a long and perilous expedition to Yarkand, while the writer lived in a com- fortable bungalow, guarded by Sepoys. Some expeditions were made in the neighbourhood, and one chapter is devoted to an account of a religious festival held at a Lamasery, where the lady was housed under the same roof with 500 Lamas. The description of the ceremonies on this occasion shows that the devotion of the people is not always associated with reverence:—

"The personification of the sacred Trinity of Buddha,' the ' Law,' and the ' Church,' is the most popular representation, but all are sufficiently unlovely. The Deities, about half-a-dozen in number, personated by Lamas, eat on a raised bench just below us, choir-boys holding large silk umbrellas and sacred emblems over their heads, while attendant priests swung incense and rose-leaves in front of them, and the red-clothed, mitred choir chanted out prayers and invocations. But the Tartar love of fun showed itself in the pranks played on the Olympus bench of Deities, by two Lamas dressed up to represent mendicants or clowns. While the attendant priests' backs were turned, these wags played all sorts of tricks; pretending to pay homage to the gods, they made sly hits at their sacred noses, and otherwise molested them, till chased away by a lion-faced mask. The masks representing the dragsheds,' or gods who protect men from demons, were particularly hideous. Their countenances are supposed to be inflamed with rage and fury against the evil ones, and their wrath aggravated by tho many malicious tricks played upon them by the latter. At one time during the ceremony (considering that it was meant to symbolise a spiritual combat) the fight became extremely lively. The gods got knocked about in quite a surprising fashion, much to the delight of the spectators, who enjoyed it as London children do the fight between our old friend Punch and the bailiff."

Like most travellers, Mrs. Bridges is struck with the re- semblance between Lamaism and the ceremonial of the Romish Church, monasticism, vestments, holy water, relics, confession, rosaries being all in vogue among the Lamas. Bidding a sorrowful farewell to the good-natured, dirty- faced Tartars, to the jolly-looking Lamas, " to the pig-tails and praying-wheels, and the pleasant climate and grand snow mountains," the travellers descended into the Valley ot Kashmir, which is ruled, we are told, by one of the worst Governments in the world. We shall not follow this route in India, nor halt with them at Burmah or at the Straits Settle- ments, though the author has much to say that is interesting even of a place so well known as Singapore, where the tigers no longer eat a Chinaman a day, a " happy despatch " which was at one time looked upon as a matter of course. Of Java and the Culture system a short history is given, and Mrs. Bridges wishes that the material prosperity of that island could be secured also in Ireland and British India. The population is enormous, but there are no signs of poverty. " All look well fed, healthy, and happy; a careless, cheery, indolent, and good- tempered people, without arts, without religion, and almost without education or clothes, life comes to them very easily.

On the whole, we think them the stupidest and cheeriest race we have seen." The change was great from Batavia to Canton, the wealth and size of which surprised the travellers. " Except in Paris and London, we never saw such well-filled shops, and yet we had not seen a European face all day." The dark side of human life in Canton, the tortures in- flicted in the name of justice, the prisons in which men and women are done to death by the slowest and most ingenious processes of cruelty, of these nothing is said ; but we read that the Government shows a paternal regard for the national morals, that religious care is taken of the pigs, that Chinese ladies " get up " very well, that Chinese dentists extract teeth instantaneously and almost without I ain, and that Chinese mothers never kiss their babies, but only sniff at them in an uncomfortable manner.

If the writer seldom looks much below the surface, she has a ready apprehension of whatever is strange to Europeans. And there is always something new to be said about Japan, the next country visited by the travellers. It is true, as she observes, that Sir Rutherford Alcock's work on Japan is now ancient history, for in no part of the world have such rapid changes occurred. The old order has given place to the new; but how far the pro- gress is solid, and how Tar superficial, it is impossible to say. Mrs. Bridges spent four months in the country, and has many incidents of travel to relate. She had the good or bad fortune to feel the strange horrors of an earthquake, the severest shock that had been felt at Yokohama for five-and-twenty years. "What is one to do," she exclaims, "when, as an American friend says, the houses are waltzing round,' and one feels `just scared out of one's boots ?'" There are pleasanter experiences to record. Though the Japanese can be cruel enough, witness their treatment of native Christians ten or twelve years ago, the writer sees only the bright side of the national character, and observes that "it is delightful never seeing anything or anybody ill-treated." Top-spinning and kite-flying, once the national sports of the country, are now, it is said, like every- thing else that is " old," going out of fashion. Yet despite steam-engines, model training schools, electric bells, and many other innovations, "one never quite gets over the impression of being amongst dolls and living in a toy-house, so neat and natty is everything in Japan." How charming it all looks in a stranger's eye I yet we are reminded, while visiting a girls' school, that if anything goes wrong with them, they will fill their sleeves with stones, and throw themselves into the nearest pond. The Mikado's palace was visited, and its simplicity presented a striking contrast to the gaudy magnificence of European palaces. His bedroom " had absolutely no furniture, nothing but the finest bamboo matting on the floor and de- lightfully-painted storks on the door-panels." On the other hand, the pagodas and shrines blaze with crimson lacquer and gilding, and dragons with jewelled tails. Like Miss Bird, who was troubled by sight-seers day and night, Mrs. Bridges and her husband were objects of unceasing curiosity :—

" The people," she writes, "seemed to swarm round us, rushing on in front to secure good places for a stare, or diving down side streets to cut us off ; for half a mile ahead our road was lined with specta- tors, not in the least rude, not an unkind word or look,—only, wherever one turned hundreds of eyes were gazing, gazing with all their might. I came hack with a sort of hunted-animal feeling. But even in our tea-house rooms, if there was the slightest slit in the paper walls, there one was sure to see a pair of black, bead-like eyes gleaming down, to be supplemented by two small fingers making two more holes for another pair of inquiring eyes, till literally the paper walla, behind which you have taken refuge after the day's journey, seem to stare at you, and the crowded Soli- tude becomes insupportable."

The varnish of European civilisation has not as yet concealed the natural manners of the people. The necessity of privacy is unknown to them, neither do they always see the necessity of clothes. At a fashionable watering-place, the Aix-les-Bains of Japan, where the large tanks of warm mineral water are open to the street, Mrs. Bridges, while writing in her room, observes a lady and her child sitting down to cool on the door-step :-

" Neither of them has a scrap of clothing on, only some long tortoise-shell pins in the hair; and now I see she has slipped on her straw sandals, while a gentleman, also unclothed, has come up to talk to her and hang himself out to dry. It is really very startling at first Other people are sauntering up and down, as on the promenade at Homburg, but seem entirely comfortable with nothing whatever on."

Our "globe-trotters," to use the familiar Yankee phrase, visited British Columbia, and saw also some of the wonders of the States, including the Yosemite Valley, Salt Lake City, and Colorado. Mrs. Bridges was especially struck with the ugli- ness of the women at Utah. Polygamy is said to be a sore subject. "The young folks like marrying single, and feel bad when there is another wife now-a-days." At Leadville, Colorado, a two-year-old ,town of 20,000 inhabitants, the travellers were recommended to a hotel by a man proclaiming in a very decided manner,—" If any man says the 'Clarendon ain't a first-class house, I'll put a bullet through him." And here we must close Mrs. Bridges' volume, heartily thanking her for the entertain- ment provided. The illustrations of the book add considerably to its attractiveness.