VOYAGE TO ALGERIA. 151 



dently ' the hero of Kars ' had fallen upon quarters 

 after his own heart. He appeared full of good nature, 

 and engaged us on the spot to dine with him that day. 



We sought the town-major for a pass to visit the 

 lines. While awaiting his arrival I purchased a stock 

 of white glass bottles, with a view to experiments on 

 the colour of the sea. Mr. Huggins and myself, who 

 wished to see the rock, were taken by Captain Salmond 

 to the library, where a model of Gibraltar is kept, and 

 where we had a useful preliminary lesson. At the 

 library we met Colonel Maberly, a courteous and kindly 

 man, who gave us good advice regarding our excursion. 

 He sent an orderly with us to the entrance of the lines. 

 The orderly handed us over to an intelligent Irishman, 

 who was directed to show us everything that we de- 

 sired to see, and to hide nothing from us. We took 

 the ' upper line/ traversed the galleries hewn through 

 the limestone; looked through the embrasures, which 

 opened like doors in the precipice, towards the hills of 

 Spain; reached St. George's hall, and went still higher, 

 emerging on the summit of one of the noblest cliffs I 

 have ever seen. 



Beyond were the Spanish lines, marked by a line of 

 white sentry-boxes; nearer were the English lines, less 

 conspicuously indicated; and between both was the 

 neutral ground. Behind the Spanish lines rose the 

 conical hill called the Queen of Spain's Chair. The 

 general aspect of the mainland from the rock is bold 

 and rugged. Doubling back from the galleries, we 

 struck upwards towards the crest, reached the Signal 

 Station, where we indulged in ' shandy-gaff ' and bread 

 and cheese. Thence to O'Hara's Tower, the highest 

 point of the rock. It was built by a former Governor, 

 who, forgetful of the laws of terrestrial curvature, 

 thought he might look from the tower into the port of 

 11 



