present before parting with him. The same remarks apply to a lady's ayah. Madras ayahs though expensive are considered the best. If the traveller has friends "up country," it is well to write beforehand and ask them to engage a servant for him, and to send him to meet his master at the port of arrival. "Up-country" servants are often cheaper and more reliable than those to be met with on the coast. HOTELS He who expects to find good hotels in India, up to the European standard of excellence, will be disappointed. At the best they are At all the chief towns large airy rooms can be procured, properly waited upon unless he brings a He should give notice beforehand of his are often crowded in the tourist season. DAK BUNGALOWS indifferent. With regard to dak bungalows (travellers' rest-houses established by Government), it is advisable, if possible, to make some inquiries beforehand as to their accommodation. In some cases the keeper in charge has facilities for procuring food, in others the traveller has to bring provisions with him, and in some D.Bs. there are neither servants nor provisions. Rooms cannot be retained beforehand-the first comer has the preference. After occupying a D.B. for twenty-four hours the traveller must give place, if necessary, to the next comer. REST-HOUSES The Rest-House of Ceylon is more like an hotel than the Dak Bungalow in India, in that it is more frequently furnished with bedding and linen, and food is generally provided. FOOD As a rule, the food in India is not good. The meat, with exception of buffaloes' hump, is lean and tough, and the fowls are skinny and small. Bread is fairly good; but milk and butter it is usually well to avoid, owing to the promiscuous manner in which the cows feed. Typhoid fever, which of late years has been considerably on the increase, is thought by some authorities to be spread by the milk, which, as is well known, is very sensitive to contagion. It is necessary for every traveller to be provided with a Tiffin-basket, which should contain some simple fittings, and always kept furnished with potted meats, biscuits, some good spirit and soda-water, which is good and cheap in India; added to this an Etna will be found a great convenience. SPORT No attempt is here made to give advice to sportsmen, though some sporting localities have been indicated. The equipment for these amusements vary from day to day, and each man must best know his own wants. Large-game shooting is a very expensive amusement and takes time. It is very doubtful if any one unacquainted with India would succeed, unless he had introductions to men who would put him in the way of making a fair start. Small-game shooting, with an occasional shot at an antelope, is an easier matter. Such sport could often be got at very small cost by spending a night or two at some wayside railway station not near a cantonment where there is a waiting-room or a travellers' bungalow. Near cantonments the ground is always too much shot over to afford good sport. Firearms are subject to a heavy duty when brought into the country. Books A traveller who would appreciate what he sees on his journey and enjoy it in an intelligent manner must have some books of reference, and yet how few carry even one. 1 The three 1 following will well repay their cost:— (a) The Indian Empire, its People, History, and Products, by Sir W. W. Hunter (Trübner & Co.) (b) History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, by James Fergusson (John Murray). (c) A Glossary of Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, by Sir Henry Yule and Arthur C. Burnell (John Murray). Besides the above, it is most desirable for a stranger to India to have a simple guide to the language, this he will find in How to Speak Hindustani, by E. Rogers, 1s. (Allen & Co.) The following books will also be found both interesting and instructive: Asiatic Studies, by Sir Alfred Lyall, 1 vol.; Industrial Arts of India, by Sir George Birdwood (Chapman); Archeol. Surv. of West of India, by James Burgess (Trübner); A Short History of India, by Talboys Wheeler, 1 vol.; A History of the Indian Mutiny, by Home; Ancient and Mediaval India, by Mrs. Manning, 2 vols.; Indian Wisdom, by Sir Monier Williams, 1 vol.; Séta, Tara, Tippoo Sultaun, and A Noble Queen, by Meadows Taylor. Intending visitors to Ceylon are strongly recommended to study the account of that island by Sir J. Emerson Tennent, K.C.S., LL.D., 2 vols., 8vo (Longman), 1859. It has never yet been superseded. Sir Monier Williams's Buddhism, 1 vol., 8vo (Murray), 1889. THE PRESERVATION OF ANCIENT MONUMENTS The striking architectural monuments of India-Hindu and The titles of the first two books state fairly their contents. Fergusson's illustrations alone are invaluable to a traveller. In Yule's Glossary there is a wealth of learning the title-page alone would not lead an inquirer to ext and it opens up glimpses of the lives led by our European predecessors East which cannot fail to attract any one who follows in their footstep Mohammedan-must largely attract the attention of the tourist, and the means, or rather want of means, taken for their preservation must be a subject of frequent remark. Partly under outside pressure, Government has made various attempts at conservation, but being carried out through the engineering staff of the Public Works Department,—the officers of which have not necessarily any intimate knowledge of architecture, their work has too frequently been seriously injurious to the monuments to be repaired. Lamentable examples of this mischievous policy are numerous. What has been wanted is the guidance of the trained architect who would strictly confine himself to the work of preservation and eschew everything of the nature of restoration, which some engineers have been too fond of. Were this done in connection with the Archæological Survey, the monuments of India might be rationally conserved at a minimum of outlay. The Government of India carried on for many years an Archæological Survey, altogether dissociated from any conservation of the architectural monuments, with which it concerned itself little, if at all, but rather with the identification of ancient sites, coins, dates, and relics of long-forgotten times, interesting chiefly to the savant. A few years ago a change in this respect was attempted, and a careful survey of the monumental remains at Jaunpur, Badaun, Fatehpur-Sikri, etc., was begun; but the surveys were again reduced in 1889, and only one architectural assistant and a few native draftsmen were retained in Upper India. Were this department officered by competent architects in the Panjab, Bengal, and Rajputana, who could authoritatively advise Government on questions of conservation, the safety of the monuments would be insured, as well as the survey. In Southern and Western India, if we except Bijapur, which seems to have been wholly handed over to the P. W. engineer, the monuments have generally been treated with consideration, but many have been too much neglected. VOYAGE FROM ENGLAND TO PORT SAID, AND THROUGH THE SUEZ CANAL TO ADEN, Galle, and Bombay It is not possible to make any general recommendation as to the line of steamers by which a traveller should engage his passage to India— each of the well-established lines has its special advantages; they differ in their ports of departure, their ports of destination, and the places they call at on the way. The cost of the passage varies considerably. Particular communities and professions patronise certain lines, most persons desiring to travel in ships in they are likely to find themselves amongst genial ling traveller cannot do better than apply to Son for advice. Their knowledge of the em to give practical assistance, and to select companio Messrs. various 1 Their London offices are a ship suitable for each class of applicant. The comfort of the voyage depends much on the choice of the ship, and the cabin. The largest ships, as having less motion and more room on deck, are usually preferable to smaller ones. The cabin should be as near the centre of the ship as possible. In going through the Red Sea to India the cabins on the port side are the best, as they do not get heated by the afternoon sun. On the return voyage the cabins on the starboard side are better, but the difference is not material. On going on board it is well to secure a seat at table at once, with friends, or in whatever place is most desired, as after the first day at sea, when seats have been arranged, it is difficult to make a change; the best seats are allotted to the first occupants, or to those who first place their cards there. It is usual to give at least 10s. as a fee to the cabin steward, and 10s. to the one who waits on you at table. The doctor also is fee'd by those who put themselves under his care. Going by sea from England, through the Bay of Biscay, the saving in point of money, as compared with the expense of the overland route across the Continent of Europe is about £15. It involves much less trouble, and little or no risk of losing baggage. To those who have not before seen Gibraltar, Malta, and the Suez Canal, the voyage is not without objects of interest. Between the Channel and these places there is seldom much to be seen. The first place sighted is generally Cape La Hague, or Hogue, on the E. coast of Cotentin in France, off which, on the 19th of May 1692 Admiral Russell, afterwards Earl of Oxford, defeated De Tourville, and sunk or burned 16 French men-of-war. Then Cape Finisterre (finis terræ), a promontory on the W. coast of Galicia in Spain, and in N. lat. 42° 54′, and W. long. 9° 20′, will probably be seen, off which Anson defeated the French fleet in 1747. The next land sighted will be, perhaps, Cape Roca, near Lisbon, and then Cape St. Vincent in N. lat. 37° 3′, W. long. 8°59', at the S.W. corner of the Portuguese province Algarve, off which Sir G. Rodney, on the 16th January 1780 defeated the Spanish fleet, and Sir J. Jervis won his earldom on the 14th of February 1797, and Nelson the Bath, after taking the S. Josef and the S. Nicholas of 112 guns each. This cape has a fort upon it, and the white cliffs, 150 feet high, are honeycombed by the waves, which break with great violence upon them. Just before entering the Straits of Gibraltar, Cape Trafalgar will also probably be seen in N. lat. 36° 9', W. long. 6° 1′, immortalised by Nelson's victory of the 21st of October 1805. Gibraltar comes next in sight, and the distances between England and it and the remaining halting-places will be seen in the following table extracted from the pocket-book published the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. This book, costing only 2s., cannot be too highly recommended to all trav from England passing through the Suez Canal. TABLE OF DISTANCES BETWEEN THE VARIOUS PORTS ACCORDING TO THE ROUTES TAKEN BY THE STEAMERS OF THE PENINSULAR AND ORIENTAL STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY 3215 3382 3501 3570 3325 2271 1508 1290 1110 1390 1325 1200 930 155 Port Said 3258 3425 3544 3613 3368 2314 1551 1333 1153 1433 1368 1243 973 198 43 Ismailia 610 4777 4896 4965 4720 3666 2903 2685 2505 2785 2720 2595 2325 1550 1395 1352 Aden 5274 6441 6560 6629 6384 5330 4567 4349 4169 4449 4384 4259 3989 3214 3059 3016 1664 Bombay 5703 6870 6989 7058 6813 5759 4996 4778 4598 4878 4813 4688 4418 3643 3488 3445 2093 875 Colombo 313 7480 7599 7668 7423 6369 5606 5388 5208 5488 5423 5298 5028 4253 4098 4055 2703 1485 610 Madras 3083 8250 8369 8438 8193 7139 6376 6158 5978 6258 6193 6068 5798 5023 4868 4825 3473 2255 1380 770 Calcutta 1 7967 8134 8253 8322 8077 7023 6260 6042 5862 6142 6077 5952 5682 4907 4752 4709 3357 2139 1264 2 Omitting Madras. 1 Calling at Madras. = Gibraltar was reckoned as one of the Pillars of Hercules, the other being Abyla, now Apes' Hill. Gibraltar was taken from the Spaniards in 711 A.D. by Tarik ibn Zayad, from whom it was called Jabal al Tarik Gibraltar; and it was retaken 1309; and not finally wrested from the Moors till 1503. In 1704 it was taken by the English and sustained many sieges by French and Spaniards between 1704 and 1779, when they commenced the memorable siege which lasted 4 years, and ended by the repulse of the combined fleets of France and Spain by Calcutta 2 |