From
Australia I Went To Aden (The Inland Town) And Up The Red Sea To Suez,
Returning To Australia, And Thence To England.
Since I commenced
business in England, in 1859, I went in 1862 to St. Thomas' in the West
Indies,
Thence to Aspinwall, across the Isthmus to Panama, thence to
Acapulco in Mexico, on to San Francisco in California, and thence to
Vancouver Island, returning by the same route as far as Aspinwall,
whence I went to New York. In 1865 I went on business to Russia.
Arriving at the ancient city of Pskov, I proceeded across country to the
estate of my client, the Count Bogouschefsky, at one time private
Secretary to the Emperor Nicholas (grandfather of the present Czar).
Some of these travels were attended with a good deal of adventure; but
my recent journey from England to California and back, 13,774 miles, in
six weeks (including all stoppages), was all work, for my time was
occupied continuously in reading up the country, learning from old
settlers, and making notes of what I saw, some of which I have found
room for in the following pages.
On November 22nd, 1890, I was at work in my office in Lincoln's Inn
Fields, whence a cab depositing me at Euston, the 10.10 express train
soon ran me down to Liverpool (201 miles), whence a steam "tender" took
me from the landing-stage to the Cunard steamship "Etruria," some two
miles off, where I was soon comfortably located in my "state room" (No.
42).
It was nearly 5 o'clock before we got away, and the next day found us at
Queenstown Harbour, where we lost considerable time in waiting for the
mail. At length the mail, which was a heavy one, was safely on board,
and off we went, head on to the Atlantic. During that night of the 23rd
we experienced a heavy gale; big seas broke over the forecastle, and
flooded the decks below, through the ventilators. The A.B.'s declined
venturing on the forecastle to unship these great ventilators, and so
the engines had to be slowed down, and the ship stopped; the ventilators
were then unshipped, and we proceeded. The night was a bad one, and the
next morning we had not got through it, and as a consequence the decks
were like lagoons; but presently we had run through it, or it had run
away from us, or had expended its energy, and we were in comparatively
smooth waters, and had a comfortable run to New York. Nothing of
particular interest occurred during the passage. I sought and found the
old American settlers amongst the passengers, and obtained from them all
the information I could of the country, and especially the State to
which I was going. I read "General" Booth's "Darkest England," and wrote
a review of it, which duly appeared in the "Land Roll."
The "Etruria" is a fine ship. She has a commodious saloon, music and
reading room, plenty of deck space for exercise, comfortable cabins,
bath rooms, etc.
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