244 SIR VICTOR BROOKE CHAP. 



afternoon, and have the drawing-room compartment to 

 ourselves. This is Thursday, and we arrive/ at San 

 Francisco on Saturday at 7.45 A.M., so it is only two 

 nights and one day. There is a dining-car attached 

 to the train, so the food is not bad at all. This is a 

 capital hotel ; all nigger servants, and very good they 

 are. I have a photo of it ; in fact, I shall have such 

 a photo book, or books, as you never saw before. It 

 will really be a grand book. All the scenery is mag- 

 nificent, one noble mountain after another. The two 

 best we pass now on our way south are Mount Hood, 

 about 13,000, and Mount Shasta, over 14,000. I have 

 photos of all these, and photos of all the finest parts 

 of the Canadian Pacific. I have also a great collection 

 of photos of Indians, braves, medicine men, etc. It is 

 warm weather, but not a bit hot, thermometer only 

 about 65 degrees ; but I fancy it will be hotter farther 

 south. I find these western Americans are much the 

 stamp of Irish squireens. They are, in comparison to 

 the eastern Yankees, very slow of comprehension ; in 

 fact, decidedly stupid people, and their roughness of 

 manner arises chiefly from rank ignorance. One finds 

 oneself treating them all as an embryonic people in a 

 state of childhood. We were lucky enough to see 

 Schaefer, the champion American billiard player, last 

 night. He played grandly. The game was in a huge 

 wooden barrack called the pavilion, and the company, 

 a rough-looking lot, was most orderly. We enjoyed it 

 very much. At San Francisco I hope very much to 

 see some of their trotting races. This is, of course, 

 an absolutely American institution, and is really 

 wonderful. The best time so far on record is a mile 

 in two minutes eight seconds ! as fast as an ordinary 

 train. It is really marvellous. What a lot I shall 

 have to tell you ! " 



