LONDON, AND VOYAGE TO SINGAPORE 333 



of my journey as they appeared to me at the time they 

 occurred ; and first as to my fellow-passengers : — 



" Our company consists of a few officers and about twenty 

 cadets for India, three or four Scotch clerks for Calcutta, the 

 same number of business men for Australia, a Government 

 interpreter and two or three others for China ; a Frenchman ; 

 a Portuguese officer for Goa, with whom I converse; three 

 Spaniards for the Philippines, very grave ; a gentleman and 

 two ladies, Dutch, going to Batavia ; and some English officers 

 for Alexandria. At Gibraltar we were quarantined for fear 

 of cholera, then rather prevalent in England, and all com- 

 munication with the ship was by means of tongs and a basin 

 of water, the latter to drop the money in. We had a morn- 

 ing at Malta, and went on shore from 6 a. m. to 9 a. m., walked 

 through the narrow streets, visited the market to hear the 

 Maltese language, admired the beggar boys and girls, strolled 

 through the Cathedral of St. John, gorgeous with marbles 

 and gold and the tombs of the knights. A clergyman came 

 on board here going to Jerusalem, and a namesake of my 

 own to Bombay. The latter has a neat figure, sharp face, 

 and looks highly respectable, not at all like me ! I have 

 found no acquaintance on board who exactly suits me. One 

 of my cabin mates is going to Australia, and reads ' How 

 to make Money ' — seems to be always thinking of it, and is 

 very dull and unsociable. The other is one of the Indian 

 cadets, very aristocratic, great in dressing-case and jewellery, 

 takes an hour to dress, and persistently studies the Hindo- 

 stanee grammar. The Frenchman, the Portuguese, and the 

 Scotchman I find the most amusing; there is also a little fat 

 Navy lieutenant, who is fond of practical jokes, and has 

 started a Monte Table." 



"Steamer Bengal,, Red Sea,, March 26. 



"Of all the eventful days in my life (so far), my first in 

 Alexandria was (in some respects) the most exciting. Ima- 

 gine my feeling when, coming out of the hotel (to which 

 we had been conveyed in an omnibus) with the intention of 

 taking a quiet stroll through the city, I suddenly found 



