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GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 AROUND THE WORLD 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2011 with funding froTn 
 The Library of Congress 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/glimpsesofunusuaOOrand 
 
AGRA, INDIA. 
 The Taj Mahal from the Gateway. 
 
GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 AROUND THE WORLD 
 
 BY 
 HOWARD S. F. RANDOLPH 
 
 Illustrated with Photographs 
 Taken by the Author 
 
 THE 
 
 STANHOPE-DODGE PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 Larchmont, New York 
 
 1913 
 

 Copyright. 1913, by 
 STANHOPE-DODGE COMPANY 
 
 J. F. TAPLEY CO. 
 NEW YORK 
 
 FEB 10 1914 
 
 ©CU362528 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I The United States .... i 
 
 II Across the Pacific .... 14 
 
 III Japan and Korea 19 
 
 IV China 46 
 
 V Manila 61 
 
 VI Singapore and Java ... 66 
 
 VII From Singapore to Calcutta . 75 
 
 VIII India . . . . . . . .79 
 
 IX Ceylon 100 
 
 X Egypt 106 
 
 XI Palestine and Syria . . .110 
 
 XII Constantinople and Greece . 121 
 
 XIII Italy and Sicily 128 
 
 Itinerary 134 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 The Taj Mahal . Frontispiece ^ 
 
 FACING 
 PAGE 
 
 Acoma 4^ 
 
 The Petrified Forests 6 v 
 
 Ruins of the Old Mission, San Juan Capistrano 10 iS 
 
 The Yosemite Falls 12 ^ 
 
 A Room in a Japanese House 24 -^ 
 
 The Principal Street, Ikao 28*^ 
 
 The Dai-butsu, Kamakura .] 
 
 A Diver, Enoshima I . . . 30 V 
 
 Waiting for the Emperor's Funeral! 
 
 The "Banqueting Hall," Seoul 44 
 
 A Street Scene, Mukden \ g 
 
 Residence of the American Consul, Mukden J 
 
 A Manchu 
 
 The Avenue of Animals at the Ming Tombs, 
 
 Nankow . 
 
 The Fallen Porker, Mukden 
 
 The Temple of Heaven, Peking .... 
 A Bronze Lion in the Llama Temple, Peking. 
 
 At a Railway Station, Peking 50 
 
 The Great Wall of China 52^ 
 
 Street Scenes, Manila 62 ^ 
 
 Washing Clothes, Java 
 
 At an Inland Station, Java 
 
 Rice Terraces, Java 
 
 The Fighting-Cocks of the Sultan of Djoja- 
 
 karta 
 
 48 
 
 ■^ 
 
 68 ^ 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 FACING 
 PAGE 
 
 Boro-boedoer, Java . J2 
 
 A Water Carrier, Penang 
 
 Workmen, Singapore . . 
 
 A Little Chinaman, Penang 
 
 "Baksheesh," Penang . 
 
 Temples and Shrines at the Base of the Shwe- 
 
 Dagon Pagoda, Rangoon 78 
 
 The Burning Ghat, Benares . . . . ' . . , 82 
 The Tomb of I'timad-ud-daulah, Agra . . 
 
 A Glimpse of the Taj 
 
 Marble Screen in the Tomb of Salim Chishti 
 
 Tomb of Salim Chishti, Fatehpur-Sikri 
 
 The "Saman Burg," Agra . . 
 
 Detail of the Carving on the Taj 
 
 Entrance to the "Saman Burg" 
 
 The Pearl Mosque, Agra 
 
 The Kutab Minar, Delhi . . 
 
 Praying to a Lingham, Tan j ore 94 
 
 "The Tank of the Golden Lilies," Madura 
 
 A Banyan Tree, Colombo 
 
 A Dagoba, Anurhadhapura ... ."1 
 A "Guardian Stone," Anurhadhapura J " 
 
 Abou-Simbel 108 
 
 A Street Scene, Jerusalem 112 
 
 The Courtyard of an Old House, Bethlehem . 114 
 
 An Old Archway, Damascus 118 
 
 "Selamlik." The Sultan, Mohammed V, Con- 
 stantinople 122 
 
 In the Colonnade of the Parthenon, Athens . 124 
 "Death" — in the Ruins of the Cathedral, Mes- 
 sina 130 
 
 76/ 
 
 </ 
 
 84 
 
 86 1/ 
 
 }. • 96 
 
 102 
 
Glimpses of the Unusual 
 
 Around the World 
 
 Chapter I 
 
 THE UNITED STATES 
 
 A trip around the world — it seems like a 
 stupendous undertaking before starting out. 
 On returning it seems but a simple jaunt after 
 all, with no cause to fuss and fume about it. 
 
 " Which place did you like best ? " is the 
 question immediately flung at you by every- 
 one you meet, with startling unanimity. 
 Then you must explain that each country has 
 its own attraction, its own peculiarities; just 
 as " there is one glory of the sun, and another 
 glory of the moon, and another glory of the 
 stars," so each country has its own glory, and 
 comparison is impossible. This little book is 
 an attempt to show something of the attrac- 
 tions of each of these countries, and to give 
 a few glimpses of the unusual things encoun- 
 tered. 
 
 The trip started calmly enough, with visits 
 to friends in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Chi- 
 i 
 
2 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 cago. Denver — after Chicago — seemed the 
 essence of all that was clean and quiet. Its 
 public and private buildings are unusually 
 beautiful, even though they have a " Wel- 
 come " arch that is about as sincere as a door- 
 mat with the same inscription. At Colorado 
 Springs it snowed for three hours — though 
 it was the middle of June. The " Garden of 
 the Gods " is beautiful, but much over-praised, 
 and the ascent of Pikes Peak at five dollars 
 a head is rather steep. Instead I went up to 
 Cripple Creek, lured on by a circular that said 
 " any attempt to reproduce in words the glory 
 of that scene must be tawdry vulgarity," and 
 then went on to prove the statement. Cripple 
 Creek itself is a squalid shanty-town, but has 
 a magnificent and extensive view of the 
 Rockies. At quaint Albuquerque an artist 
 spoke of Acoma, and persuaded me to visit it. 
 Acoma is an Indian pueblo about eighteen 
 miles from Laguna, a station beyond Albuquer- 
 que on the Santa Fe. Laguna itself is an 
 Indian pueblo, and the only room to be had 
 there is at a Mr. Marmon's, one of the few 
 white men of the town. The one train stop- 
 ping here arrived at eleven o'clock at night, 
 and at that hour Mr. Marmon was with diffi- 
 culty aroused. He provides a room only — 
 for meals one goes to an old freight car on a 
 switch, where an ex-waiter serves canned but- 
 ter, canned milk and other delectables. 
 
THE UNITED STATES 
 
 Marmon supplied a team and a driver — an 
 Indian, who proved at first rather uncommuni- 
 cative. We drove directly over the prairie, 
 with only the scantiest trace of a road. The 
 wonderful rock formations excelled those of 
 the " Garden of the Gods " in every way ex- 
 cept color, for here the rocks were white and 
 not red. 
 
 Before reaching Acoma we passed the " En- 
 chanted Mesa " — an oval-shaped rock of 
 enormous size, standing alone on the plain — 
 with sheer precipitous sides four hundred and 
 fifty feet high. On this mesa the pueblo of 
 Acoma was once supposed to have been sit- 
 uated. The tradition is that there was but 
 a single trail leading to the top, and that the 
 falling of a large mass of rock one day made 
 it impassable. All the inhabitants were at 
 work in the fields below, with the exception of 
 a few old women. They could not be rescued, 
 and have haunted the mesa ever since. 
 From this it gets its name, for the word trans- 
 lated " enchanted " would be more properly 
 rendered " haunted." Sturgis calls it the 
 grandest rock in America: it is certainly one 
 of the most impressive. 
 
 Acoma was plainly visible from the " En- 
 chanted Mesa," though three miles away; but 
 it was some time before the outlines of the 
 adobe buildings at the top of the three hun- 
 dred and fifty foot mesa could be discerned. 
 
4 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 Here a small Indian boy consented to act as 
 guide. His only English consisted of the 
 words " Gimme-mun," and this he was 
 promptly christened. He led the way up a 
 steep sandy trail, with most curious rock for- 
 mations on either side. At the base we 
 passed a natural corral with some Indians at 
 work, who strenuously objected to being 
 photographed. In some places the ascent was 
 difficult, as the trail led over the face of the 
 rock with but tiny ledges cut in for the feet. 
 Another trail has recently been made by 
 which horses can make the ascent. 
 
 The top of the mesa was surprisingly level. 
 Near by stands the cathedral, with walls sixty 
 feet high and ten feet thick. Every particle 
 of the material for this building had to be 
 brought up from the plains below, and it took 
 many years to build it. The dwellings, all of 
 adobe, were two or three stories high, the en- 
 trance being usually on the second floor, 
 reached by a ladder. On the exterior walls 
 hung meat and herbs. 
 
 A host of young girls and children brought 
 out specimens of their handiwork for sale — 
 mostly gaudily painted earthen dishes of 
 crude pattern. As a bribe to be allowed to 
 take photographs I bought several of these, 
 gave some cookies to the children, and took 
 out my camera — only to find on looking up 
 that I was absolutely alone! But I photo- 
 
THE UNITED STATES 
 
 graphed the buildings until stopped by an old 
 woman who asked me if I had a permit. 
 She said that one was absolutely necessary, 
 that I could procure it from her, and finally 
 brought the price down to seventy-five cents. 
 Rather than continue parleying, I paid her the 
 money, and took several more pictures. On 
 a rock in the distance I spied two* Indians ap- 
 proaching, and knew instinctively that they 
 wanted to speak to me. As they came nearer 
 I found that my suspicions were correct. Im- 
 mediately one of them — who later said that 
 he had been a student at Carlisle — assumed 
 an expression of great ferocity, and asked if 
 I had a permit to take photographs. I told 
 him of the incident with the Indian woman, 
 but asked what they cost and where they 
 could be procured. He answered that they 
 cost two dollars, and could be obtained from 
 the " Guv'nor," indicating the other man. 
 On discovering that he was the " Guv'nor " I 
 treated him with great deference, to mollify 
 him as much as possible. They seemed to be 
 puzzled by the fact that I had paid a woman 
 for the privilege, but " Gimme-mun " evi- 
 dently corroborated my statement, and finally 
 they agreed that if I paid one dollar and a 
 quarter more it would be all right. An old 
 man led me to his house to get the change. 
 The room was unusually large, about twenty- 
 five by forty feet. A very old Indian woman 
 
6 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 offered a chair, which, with a table covered 
 with a piece of oilcloth, a few dishes, and a 
 bed in a distant corner of the room completed 
 the furniture. Everything was immaculately 
 clean. 
 
 Having received my change, I asked if I 
 could continue photographing. But as I had 
 committed a grave crime by taking a pic- 
 ture without a permit in the first place, they 
 determined that I must expiate by paying an- 
 other dollar before taking more photographs. 
 Having all I wanted, I refused, and was led 
 politely to the top of the trail, and dismissed 
 with a " good-by." Surely we do not have 
 to leave our own country to experience all the 
 thrills of foreign travel, including even the 
 joy of " baksheesh " and " cumshaw." 
 
 Adamana is said to have been named after 
 the first settler and his wife. From here you 
 drive over the desert to the Petrified Forests. 
 These " forests " are various portions of the 
 neighboring plain on which the petrified re- 
 mains of primeval forests are found. Some 
 of the trees lie as they fell; one has a gully 
 underneath it, forming thereby a natural 
 bridge; but most of the trees have broken 
 into innumerable small pieces. The ground 
 is strewn with these fragments, with colors 
 of remarkable brilliancy, ranging from red, 
 yellow and brown to blue and gray. 
 
 The " hotel " was impossible ; so the trim 
 
% 
 
 THE PETRIFIED FORESTS, ARIZONA. 
 
 An Old Log. 
 
 The "Natural Bridge." 
 
THE UNITED STATES 
 
 little Fred Harvey hotel at Winslow seemed 
 especially inviting. On the way up to the 
 Grand Canyon the next day it was interest- 
 ing to watch the numerous rabbits and prairie 
 dogs so abundant in this section. 
 
 The " El Tovar " at the Grand Canyon is 
 another Fred Harvey hotel, well adapted to 
 its surroundings. It stands on the brink of 
 the Canyon, and commands a wonderful view. 
 Again description would be " tawdry vul- 
 garity " : a vast chasm thirteen miles wide 
 and hundreds of miles long, lined with mighty 
 cliffs and towering peaks of fantastic shapes 
 and magnificent coloring. Reds, yellows, 
 grays and buffs predominated in myriad com- 
 binations. It is a marvelous sight: truly 
 awful, magnificent, and wonderful; but there 
 was a lack to me — or in me — of something 
 that made it appealing. But I find very few 
 who share this feeling with me. 
 
 Four days gave many variations of early 
 morning and late afternoon light. The Bright 
 Angel trail down to the river is seven miles 
 long and descends in that distance nearly four 
 thousand five hundred feet. A large part of 
 the trail is on a narrow ledge less than three 
 feet wide, with an unsympathetic cliff on one 
 side and a yawning abyss on the other. The 
 donkeys, trained to keep near the edge when 
 ladened with goods, seem to delight in giving 
 their passengers heart-failure. The Colorado 
 
8 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 at the foot of the trail is a dirty brown river 
 of terrific current. On reaching the top in 
 the late afternoon I breathed a fervent 
 " Never again." A good walker, equal to the 
 distance and the steep climb, would not mind 
 the trip at all, but from the back of a donkey 
 it is certainly frightful. 
 
 One's first impression of California — in 
 July, at any rate — is of sand and burnt 
 brown grass. Bleakness and brownness 
 everywhere. The weather was downcast and 
 forbidding, and the temperature varied ap- 
 pallingly. Hot July weather in Los Angeles 
 was succeeded by welcome grate fires in Santa 
 Barbara, intense heat in Merced Valley, and 
 cold blustering winds in San Francisco. In 
 San Diego only did I enjoy weather comfort 
 — here climate and temperature were perfect. 
 
 The Californians who' write the various ad- 
 vertisements of all kinds are the happiest liars 
 I have ever encountered. The use of the com- 
 parative is unknown in description — every- 
 thing is in the superlative, regardless of truth 
 and probability. Our own Eastern ad writers 
 are fairly inventive, but these " Native Sons " 
 make them look like a kindergarten class. 
 
 Everything is the est in the zuorld: the 
 
 biggest, the old^, the best, or the high^; 
 so that you move along in a rarefied atmos- 
 phere of glory until you trip on some simple 
 
THE UNITED STATES 
 
 fact and come plunging back to Mother 
 Earth. 
 
 A passing mention only can be made of the 
 various places visited in my two weeks in 
 Southern California. Tabulated, they were: 
 
 — Santa Barbara, with its lovely old mission ; 
 Long Beach — a second Coney Island, as are 
 all the beaches near Los Angeles; Catalina 
 
 — with its glass bottom boats and submarine 
 gardens — great forests of gorgeous iodine 
 kelp waving in the watery breeze, with bril- 
 liantly colored fishes taking the place of birds ; 
 San Diego — with its beautiful harbor and 
 bright future ; Tia Juana — " Aunt Jane," a 
 straggling village just over the border in Mex- 
 ico ; Pasadena — a Ladies' Home Journal 
 ideal village of doll houses and preciseness ; 
 Venice — another beach, with an aquarium 
 containing the uncanniest water animals 
 imaginable : and the missions of San Luis Rey 
 and San Juan Capistrano. 
 
 These old missions are fascinating. San 
 Juan Capistrano charmed me most — old, fall- 
 ing into decay, it kindles as many memories as 
 a pressed rose. It breathes of dignity, of hos- 
 pitality, of purity, of calmness and devotion, 
 of high ideals and gallant chivalry. 
 
 There is little of it left : the ruins of a large 
 chapel, which fell during an earthquake about 
 a century ago ; four arches with the old bells ; 
 
io GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 a white arcade on the exterior; and a large 
 patio or court, filled with the remnants of an 
 old garden, and surrounded by a vine-clad 
 arcade — is about all that there is to be seen. 
 
 I wandered around the buildings for a 
 while, and then entered the patio through an 
 archway covered with climbing roses. There 
 I found a man painting. 
 
 " This is an ideal spot, isn't it? " I asked. 
 
 " Yes," he answered with a laugh, " but this 
 painting isn't." 
 
 He proved to be the resident priest, and was 
 as interesting as the buildings among which he 
 worked. He took me to the small chapel and 
 through other buildings of the mission. 
 Everything was falling into decay: but the 
 climbing vines and roses — the very unkempt- 
 ness, breathed a spirit of peace and calmness 
 seldom found in America, and which no 
 restoration could hope to preserve. 
 
 The Glenwood Mission Inn at Riverside is 
 modeled after these old missions, copying 
 something from each, and partaking of the 
 spirit of all. It is unique. The atmosphere 
 of the old missions is certainly preserved, 
 though modified and modernized. It must 
 approach the dream of the old Fathers them- 
 selves. It is furnished with exquisite taste, 
 and every detail is carefully carried out — for 
 instance, over the desk runs the legend, 
 
".T 
 
 
 SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CALIFORNIA. 
 Ruins of the Old Mission. 
 
THE UNITED STATES n 
 
 "Ye canna expect to be baith grand and comfortable," 
 while over the bell-boys' seat is, 
 
 "Rest is the sweet sauce after labor." 
 
 In the garden are exquisite semi-tropical 
 plants and trees, with a few tame parrots 
 strutting around. A loggia contains a won- 
 derful collection of old and historic bells. 
 
 But the chief glory of the house is the 
 music room. Built like a chapel, with a 
 fascinating cloistered walk around it, with 
 carved Gothic pews, and priceless decorations 
 from all parts of the world, it is the essence 
 of good taste and harmoniousness. It was 
 dusk as I entered. Someone was playing 
 " Traiimerei." The organ stopped, but from 
 a high distant bell tower came the same haunt- 
 ing refrain. 
 
 At Redlands an old driver asked — apropos 
 of my admiration of the pepper trees — if I 
 were a New Yorker. I admitted it, but could 
 not see the connection between the two sub- 
 jects ; so asked why he thought so. 
 
 " Oh," he said laconically, " all New York- 
 ers like the pepper trees." 
 
 Surely we are not alone in this apprecia- 
 tion! 
 
 At Merced it was necessary to change cars, 
 and wait two hours with the mercury at 109 . 
 
12 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 On the train to El Portal it reached 115 ! 
 The train followed the course of the Merced 
 River, which is in reality a good-sized brook, 
 but as it was the first river I had seen in Cali- 
 fornia that had any water in it at all I made 
 no complaint. 
 
 The Yosemite has all the charm and at- 
 traction which the Grand Canyon lacked. 
 Though not the torrents they were in May, 
 the waterfalls were still beautiful, and the 
 views of El Capitan and the Half Dome were 
 magnificent. No, even the Enchanted Mesa, 
 beautiful as it is, cannot rival these wonder- 
 ful rocks. 
 
 Another donkey-back excursion led past the 
 Vernal and Nevada Falls to Glacier Point, 
 with its marvelous view. Three thousand 
 feet directly below us was Camp Curry, and 
 we were surprised to see it in flames. From 
 our lofty seat we had an excellent view of the 
 efforts to extinguish the fire. Over seventy- 
 five tents were burned, and much other dam- 
 age done. 
 
 A day's coaching over the dustiest road 
 imaginable brought us to Wawona, and from 
 here we drove to the Big Trees. The oldest 
 and tallest tree — the " Grizzly Giant " — is 
 said to be eight thousand years old, though 
 John Muir doubts if any of the trees are over 
 five thousand years. It is three hundred and 
 twenty-seven feet tall, and one hundred and 
 
THE YOSEMITE, CALIFORNIA. 
 The Yosemite Falls. 
 
THE UNITED STATES 13 
 
 four feet in circumference at the base. But 
 these trees, while wonderfully majestic, are 
 so well proportioned, and so surrounded by 
 other vast trees, that it is absolutely im- 
 possible to get any real conception of their 
 enormous size. 
 
 Though tired by our trip of the day be- 
 fore, it was necessary for us to take the stage 
 for eleven hours, covering over fifty miles, to 
 reach El Portal and the sleeper to San Fran- 
 cisco. Never was a berth so comfortable. 
 
 Four days in San Francisco gave but little 
 time for sight-seeing, as it was necessary to 
 make final preparations for sailing. The trip 
 up Mt. Tamaplais was interesting, but not as 
 much so as the ruins of the old city hall, about 
 the only reminder of the earthquake left stand- 
 ing. 
 
 California has much that is beautiful, for 
 which superlatives are needed. But let us 
 hope that these " Native Sons " will learn to 
 discriminate. 
 
Chapter II 
 ACROSS THE PACIFIC 
 
 The six days on the "Korea" from San 
 Francisco to Honolulu passed very quickly. 
 There was much that was different from an 
 Atlantic liner — the waiters, for instance, were 
 all Chinese, and waited on the table in blue 
 or white pa jama-like suits, while the men who 
 wished to gamble did so playing fan-tan with 
 the Chinese of the steerage. 
 
 Among those whom later I grew to know 
 better were the Rev. and Mrs. George M. 
 Rowland, missionaries in Sapporo, Japan, and 
 Mrs. Keator and her family, of Philadelphia, 
 also making a trip around the world. 
 
 The Hawaiian Islands have been so ex- 
 tolled for their even climate that it was a real 
 shock to find the heat very intense. Later, of 
 course, I heard that it was an unprecedented 
 summer ! 
 
 August is not the best month to visit Hono- 
 lulu, for, aside from the heat, few of the 
 flowers and trees are in bloom; but enough 
 remained to indicate the variety and attrac- 
 tion of these tropical plants. Large Royal 
 Poinciana trees, a mass of scarlet blossoms, 
 14 
 
ACROSS THE PACIFIC 15 
 
 formed one of the landscape's most striking 
 features. 
 
 Honolulu itself is not a particularly beauti- 
 ful city, but its suburbs are delightful. 
 Waikiki, about three miles out, is an attrac- 
 tive residence section on the beach, with 
 Diamond Head, a picturesque mountain, in the 
 background. This beach is very famous, and 
 is almost ideal. The incline is so gradual that 
 one can walk out into the water for a long 
 distance — half a mile or over. This un- 
 usual feature is the cause of the long, high, 
 and regular breakers which enable the surf 
 board to be used successfully. This surf 
 board riding is fascinating to watch, and must 
 be wonderfully exciting — though few of 
 the passing tourists are able to master it. 
 The swimmers have a board about a foot and 
 a half wide and six to eight feet long, rounded 
 at one end, that they push ahead of them far 
 out to sea. They turn, and wait for a large 
 breaker. As it draws near they swim vio- 
 lently, and if they are successful are pushed 
 by the wave swiftly up to the beach without 
 further effort. Great dexterity is shown in 
 balancing ; some have all they can do to stand 
 upright on the board, while experts turn 
 somersaults, stand two on a board, or even 
 carry a boy on their shoulders. 
 
 A tenderfoot can get something of the 
 thrill of this experience by taking a ride in 
 
16 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 a surf-boat with five or six other passengers, 
 manned by two husky kanakas. As the wave 
 approaches everyone must paddle vigorously, 
 and if you are lucky enough to be caught by 
 the wave, the resultant ride is certainly ex- 
 hilarating. The beach would be absolutely 
 ideal for swimming, were it not for the coral, 
 which is very abundant and extremely sharp. 
 
 At Waikiki is the aquarium, with an eye- 
 opening display of tropical fish. One is con- 
 stantly reminded of the Irishman's first view 
 of the giraffe — " Begorry, there ain't no such 
 animal." 
 
 The Hawaiian language is unusually musi- 
 cal. Every vowel ends a syllable, and every 
 syllable is pronounced. The alphabet has only 
 twelve letters, but its variety does not seem 
 to be curtailed thereby. Some of the names 
 strike confusion to our palates at first — such 
 as Nuuanu Avenue and a fish at the aquarium 
 called the " Uu " — pronounced like the note 
 of a cuckoo! 
 
 The most wonderful feature of the islands 
 is the volcano of Mauna Loa. It has two 
 craters; one of which, Kilauea, is always ac- 
 tive. A night trip on a tiny boat from 
 Honolulu to Hilo, on the island of Hawaii, 
 followed by a thirty-mile auto trip on a good 
 road through luxurious tropical jungles, brings 
 you to the " Volcano House." The crater of 
 Kilauea lies before you — a vast expanse of 
 
ACROSS THE PACIFIC 17 
 
 dried lava eight miles in circumference, and 
 sunk six hundred feet below the level of the 
 surrounding ground. In its time this whole 
 area was a sea of molten lava, but now the 
 active part is confined to a huge hole, seven 
 miles from the hotel, called by the natives 
 " Halemaumau " — " The House of Everlast- 
 ing Fire." From the hotel this reminds one 
 of the guiding cloud of the Jews in the Wil- 
 derness — a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar 
 of fire by night. 
 
 Standing on the brink of Halemaumau after 
 nightfall, after the dense smoke becomes in- 
 visible — the impression of the lake of fire is 
 fascinating — almost hypnotizing. It is a 
 huge caldron of molten lava, splashing, hiss- 
 ing, always angry, incessantly moving, with 
 here a giant fountain of golden lava, and 
 there a towering black island beaten on all 
 sides until it cracks. But description can 
 give little idea of it. Seething, boiling, spout- 
 ing, snarling, it is always looking for a way of 
 escape like a caged lion. It is hell incarnate. 
 But with all its mighty power, its terrible feroc- 
 ity, its cruelty and hunger — it is neverthe- 
 less sublimely beautiful. The lava rises some- 
 times to within fifty feet of the surface, though 
 when I was there it was about four hundred 
 feet below. 
 
 The voyage from Honolulu to Yokohama 
 was uneventful. The boat, the " Shiny 
 
18 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 Maru," was a Japanese one, and was com- 
 fortable and well managed. The voyage 
 usually takes ten days, and is so scheduled, 
 but we fortunately made it in nine, not count- 
 ing August thirteenth, which was dropped in 
 crossing the date line. 
 
Chapter III 
 
 JAPAN AND KOREA 
 
 The " Shiny o Maru" arrived in Yokohama 
 on a boiling August day. The part of town 
 first seen is far from attractive, though of 
 course there is much to interest a new-comer 
 in the appearance of houses and people. A 
 jinrikisha ride through Theater Street in the 
 evening gave a typical Japanese picture. 
 Here were innumerable Japanese, the men 
 wearing a long plain kimono and wooden san- 
 dals, often with an American straw hat, 
 and sometimes carrying a cane. The women, 
 with their hair elaborately dressed, also wore 
 long kimonos, sometimes floral, but more often 
 plain, with beautiful obis or sashes. The 
 street is wide and is lined with theaters and 
 shops of all kinds. Above the shops hang 
 gaudily painted signs with large Japanese 
 characters. The shuffle of innumerable 
 wooden clogs on a hard dirt road produces 
 a sound quite distinct from any other, and 
 impossible to describe. It gives the final 
 realization to the fact that you are in a 
 foreign country. 
 
 The Rowlands asked me to go with them the 
 next day to Karuizawa — I did not need much 
 19 
 
20 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 persuasion. Karuizawa is a little resort 
 where many of the missionaries go for the 
 summer, on account of its cool climate. 
 Near it is the active volcano of Asama-yama 
 
 — of whose smoking top I caught but one 
 glimpse; so cloudy was it during my stay. 
 Here I met many of the missionaries, espe- 
 cially at a large Baptist picnic attended by 
 one hundred Baptists in all. 
 
 For several years I had been correspond- 
 ing with a Japanese boy named Toshio 
 Tanaka, who lived at Maebashi, not far from 
 Karuizawa. He had often asked me to visit 
 him, and now sent another invitation, which 
 
 — not without misgivings — I decided to ac- 
 cept. He was not at the station when I ar- 
 rived, for he had been out on the arrival of 
 my telegram, but his family sent a servant to 
 meet me. Through an interpreter he told me 
 I was to wait, and soon Toshio came rushing 
 up on his bicycle, panting and out of breath, 
 his kimono flapping behind him. At first we 
 had a little difficulty in understanding each 
 other, but we were soon ensconced in 
 jinrikishas and on our way to a Japanese 
 hotel. Maebashi is a real Japanese city — 
 Karuizawa and Yokohama are largely inhab- 
 ited by foreigners. But at Maebashi a for- 
 eigner is still something of a curiosity. The 
 houses were of one or two stories for the most 
 part, and the roofs were tiled. The main 
 
JAPAN AND KOREA 21 
 
 streets — on one of which ran a trolley line — 
 were wide, but the town was not attractive. 
 The hotel was Japanese, but had had a few for- 
 eign guests, and thought it knew exactly how 
 to serve them. As I was with a Japanese, 
 the son of one of the leading men of the town, 
 I had every attention. At the door I removed 
 my shoes, and shuffled up the stairs in 
 bath-room slippers. The room was on the 
 third floor, and was furnished with a low 
 table and a few pillows. The floor was cov- 
 ered with matting, and even slippers were 
 tabooed here. My ideas of Japanese etiquette 
 were rather vague, to say the least, in spite of 
 a little coaching from Mrs. Rowland; so with 
 lynx eyes I watched Toshio — to do as he did. 
 Later I discovered he was watching me rather 
 intently, and ever since I have been won- 
 dering if he were trying to imitate me. I 
 am afraid that I shocked him many times that 
 day — more especially by abruptness of man- 
 ner than by any real discourtesy, I hope. On 
 ordering tea a servant brought out from the 
 window seat a Satsuma tea set, later bring- 
 ing it back with a covered Satsuma bowl. 
 We drank our tea — oh, so slowly, but no 
 reference was made to the bowl. Once 
 Toshio left the room, and I looked in. It 
 contained cake, but he did not offer it for 
 some time. Then I took a piece in my chop 
 sticks and carried it directly to my mouth — 
 
22 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 a terrible breach of etiquette. Toshio said 
 " I am surprised to see you do so." 
 
 Then he ordered dinner. This was a long 
 and elaborate process. After endless bowing 
 and scraping the servants left, to reappear 
 later with the meal. It still remains the most 
 remarkable one of my life! First we had 
 Japanese pears and Japanese beer — the pears 
 tasting as much like apples as pears, or 
 rather tasting like a combination of the two. 
 Then two trays were brought in, each with 
 two dishes. One dish was a bowl of ice, 
 with a glass raft over it, on which rested a 
 few slices of raw fish. With the sauce pro- 
 vided it was, contrary to my expectations, de- 
 licious. In the other dish was ice cream, for- 
 tunately served with spoons. Toshio would 
 eat a little bit of the fish, wait a long time, 
 eat a little ice cream, and wait some more; 
 so I followed suit. These waits between 
 mouthfuls became interminable. If I had 
 been sure that he was living up to his Japa- 
 nese customs I would not have been uneasy, 
 but I was sure that he felt he was being very 
 American. I had a lusty appetite, and the 
 long waits between bites only served to whet 
 it constantly. 
 
 At length that course was finished. Two 
 more trays were brought in, this time with 
 fried brook trout and bamboo roots. After 
 this came another course; pressed chicken 
 
JAPAN AND KOREA 23 
 
 and some other dish — I have forgotten what. 
 Then came a large plate of bread, a bowl of 
 butter, mostly melted, and a large bottle. I 
 asked what was in it. Toshio — who had a 
 very direct way of looking at you, his eyes 
 wide open, his expression serious, almost 
 tragic — took up the bottle, smelled it solemnly, 
 set it down and said : " I think it is soup." 
 It was, but we did not indulge ! 
 
 Then we took jinrikishas to his house. 
 The grounds were large and contained sev- 
 eral buildings, the largest of which was the 
 residence itself. Toshio's room was on the 
 second floor of a separate building — this is 
 customary for an eldest son — and there I was 
 led. 
 
 In the middle of the room was a low table 
 on which was a brazier with a burning coal, 
 from which we lit our cigarettes. A Japa- 
 nese girl — about the homeliest that I saw in 
 Japan — came in bearing candies, and Toshio 
 told me that she was his servant. Later an- 
 other girl brought up a tray with tea. She 
 fell to the floor and kow-towed, but not until 
 she was leaving did Toshio mention the fact 
 that she was his sister. Later his mother 
 came up — here again I made a grave breach 
 of etiquette by rising. So later when his 
 father came up I was schooled to remain 
 seated and kow-tow. After the third time I 
 was quite ready to stop, but as the father 
 
24 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 showed no sign of weariness I must needs 
 continue, wondering which of us should stop 
 first. It was a very delicate point. 
 
 Toshio himself was about eighteen, short, 
 slight, frail, but very studious. His father 
 was short and stout, with an extremely pene- 
 trating eye. His mother was a refined Japa- 
 nese woman, with a bright intelligent face. 
 She was, in spite of her inability to speak Eng- 
 lish, very much the courteous hostess. 
 
 Later Toshio asked me if I would like to 
 take a bath. Knowing that the Japanese 
 bathe together, I asked if I might bathe with 
 him, not being at all certain of doing the 
 right thing if left to my own devices. He 
 seemed pleased, and led me to a small room 
 where we undressed, from which we entered 
 the bath-room adjoining. It was about eight 
 feet square, all of bamboo, with a tub in it 
 about three feet square and three feet deep. 
 The water in this tub was about 115 — that is 
 the usual temperature for Japanese baths. 
 We seated ourselves on tiny stools, and threw 
 buckets of this boiling water over ourselves. 
 Then he asked me to get in the tub — for- 
 tunately I am used to hot baths — and after 
 I came out he got in. Then he asked me if I 
 would like his servant to rub my back. Re- 
 membering the female he had called his serv- 
 ant I asked " Boy ? " He said it was ; so I 
 acquiesced. To my complete surprise the girl 
 
MAEBASHI, JAPAN. 
 A Room in a Japanese House. 
 
 Toshio Tanaka in his own room. 
 
JAPAN AND KOREA 25 
 
 entered and proceeded to rub my back vigor- 
 ously. The hot water and the vigorous rub- 
 bing relieved me of most of my cuticle, and 
 some of my skin. I turned to Toshio and 
 asked, " Am I very dirty ? " Again that almost 
 tragical expression, as he replied " Yes — 
 very ! " Later I found that " boy " was a gen- 
 eric name in Japanese English for " servant." 
 It was a very hot day, and I found it almost 
 impossible to dry myself. Toshio told me to 
 sit in the window to cool. When his sister 
 passed a little later I was hardly embarrassed 
 at all — I was getting acclimated ! 
 
 Toshio wanted to see me in Japanese 
 clothes, and brought out some of his father's. 
 The kimono was rather short, and not ex- 
 pansive enough, especially when I sat on the 
 floor. We went into the main room of the 
 house, made quite large by throwing back all 
 the shoji, and had more tea. My size seemed 
 to be a source of amazement. At one time 
 Mrs. Tanaka slapped her hip vigorously, and 
 said something in Japanese, which Toshio 
 translated : " My-e mother say — you have 
 very fine constitution." His father was so 
 impressed that he opened the shoji leading into 
 his office — he is a surgeon — so that he and 
 his two patients, sitting around a huge 
 brazier, could see me. Then he asked if he 
 might weigh me, and led me to a funny little 
 scale with a built-in chair on the platform. 
 
26 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 Toshio announced with evident satisfaction 
 that I weighed twenty-four pounds, but his 
 satisfaction was nothing compared to mine. 
 Needless to say the unit of measure was not 
 pounds. 
 
 We returned to Toshio's room after a while, 
 and another guest was announced by Toshio 
 in this remarkable manner : " An Indian 
 comes." I was prepared for most anything 
 but an Indian! He proved to be an East- 
 Indian from Malacca, who had lived in Paris, 
 London, New York, and nearly all the large 
 cities of the world. He spoke, besides his 
 own language, French, English, German, 
 Japanese, Chinese, Italian, and a little Turkish 
 and Russian, but his English was by no means 
 as good as Toshio's. He was short, with a 
 rat-like head and a stringy long beard of per- 
 haps a dozen hairs, and was dressed in Eng- 
 lish clothes. Later Toshio's entire family re- 
 turned to his room. When it was time for me 
 to change my clothes and go back to the 
 hotel, they showed no evidence of leaving, 
 and I was at a loss what to do, until the 
 " Indian," perceiving my difficulty, suggested 
 that all but Toshio should wait downstairs 
 until I was dressed! 
 
 At the hotel the manager had prepared an 
 American bed for me, much to my disgust, as 
 I should have preferred a Japanese quilt. 
 But I saw that I would give offense if I did 
 
JAPAN AND KOREA 27 
 
 not use the bed; so was led to another room 
 by the manager, followed by Toshio, the 
 " Indian," the wife of the manager, and most 
 of the servants. The bed was an iron one, 
 placed in the exact center of the room, with 
 a hideous and close mosquito net over it col- 
 ored purple and green. The sheet was a nar- 
 row and short piece of white crepe, the only 
 cover a quilt, though the night was stifling. 
 The pillow was a towel stuffed with hay — 
 later I took one of the beautiful soft cushions 
 off the floor in my room to use on my bed. 
 I felt the bed, nodded approval — which I did 
 not feel — and immediately everyone was in 
 smiles, as if a momentous question had been 
 solved. Then I made an appointment with 
 Toshio for the next morning at six-thirty, 
 and retired. 
 
 It was too cool without the quilt, and too 
 hot with it. After some hours I went to 
 sleep, to be awakened the next moment, it 
 seemed, by Toshio. It was five-thirty! He 
 said he had come early, as the car we wanted 
 to take, and which he thought left at seven- 
 thirty, really left at seven. I dressed, and 
 then he told me that the seven o'clock car 
 would make us wait an hour at the transfer 
 point; so that it would be better to wait for 
 the eight o'clock car after all ! 
 
 It was a dark, lowering day, and hot too. 
 We took the trolley to Ikao, where we met 
 
28 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 Miyakawa, a friend of Toshio's, who also 
 spoke English. 
 
 Ikao is a most interesting town, and is 
 famous for its sulphur baths. Its main street 
 is built on the side of a hill, and consists of 
 steps for nearly its whole length. The houses, 
 and their settings, are very picturesque. 
 We took a walk in the morning, and in the 
 afternoon started off for Haruna — for in an 
 unguarded moment I had said I wanted to 
 go there. A slow drizzling rain set in, that 
 dampened my enthusiasm and ardor greatly. 
 We climbed straight up a mountain side, and 
 the heat was intense. I tried to tell them 
 that it was useless to go to Haruna on 
 a day like this, that we wouldn't be able to 
 see anything when we got there. But they 
 were adamantine — I had said I wanted to 
 see it, and see it I must. If I had known the 
 distance I would have stopped then and there, 
 but they kept saying it was " only a little ways 
 further " or " very near," until we had actu- 
 ally walked the six miles to the lake. Of 
 course we could see nothing; so then we had 
 to turn around and walk back. But return- 
 ing was not quite so bad, as I really knew 
 how far I had to go, and most of the way was 
 down hill. 
 
 At Haruna were two hotels, each crowded 
 with guests from Ikao hotels. We met boys 
 running along the road carrying umbrellas to 
 
IKAO, JAPAN. 
 The Principal Street. 
 
JAPAN AND KOREA 29 
 
 them — imagine sending a boy six miles with 
 an umbrella — a paper one at that ! Some of 
 the more fortunate guests had hammock-like 
 chairs, carried by two coolies if the passenger 
 were Japanese, but by four to six if he were a 
 foreigner. The Japs looked very comfortable 
 all snuggled up in this hammock, but the 
 foreigners did not look so at all — elbows and 
 knees were particularly conspicuous. Per- 
 haps I was not so badly off after all. 
 
 The long trolley ride back to Maebashi in 
 wet clothes did not make for comfort either, 
 but one of those steaming hot baths in the 
 hotel tub made me at peace with the world 
 again. After dinner was served — in my 
 room, of course, as there is no public dining 
 room — I was very ready for bed. 
 
 After returning to Yokohama a proposed 
 trip with Toshio had to be canceled, for his 
 grandfather, as he wrote " has become sick, 
 and is going to danger." 
 
 A letter from Toshio to a friend in America 
 about my visit is too good not to give. Much 
 allowance must be made in it for " Japanese 
 politeness." Here is a portion of the letter: 
 
 " I had a very happy and good Summer vacation 
 last-year, because Mr. Howard, my intimate friend, 
 came over to our country, and kindly visited my 
 house. 
 
 "He is a fine gentleman indeed; his eyes are 
 large and clear, his nose is high and he has also a 
 
30 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 tender smile in his face, which he always gives us 
 when he speaks with us. He also speaks English 
 eloquently, and I was taught a great deal of English 
 languages while he was staying. Truely, I have never 
 met with such a fine foreign gentleman in our 
 country. My parents and Sister were very glad to 
 see him, and wished him to stay as long as he 
 could ; but unfortunately they can not speak English 
 nicely, they only talked with him in gesticulation. 
 If they only could speak English nicely, they would 
 be greatly pleased. We were very much surprised 
 to see Mr. Howard was accustomed to the Japanese 
 style very well. He knows well the Japanese polite- 
 ness, he takes Japanese food and also smokes Jap- 
 anese cigarettes. I haye once heard from our 
 English teacher that the people who live in your 
 country are all sociable men, truly I found it in Mr. 
 Howard. He is a very sociable man indeed, for 
 this was for the first time I met with him in my 
 life, but he talked with us as if he had known us 
 from a child. I like very much such a man. Oh! 
 what a happy Summer vacation I spent last year. 
 If I shall have the pleasure of seeing you in our 
 country this Summer, I shall be a very happy man 
 in the world." 
 
 The railway trip to Kamakura is through 
 very pretty country, the rice fields and ter- 
 races being especially attractive. At Kama- 
 kura is the Dai-butsu, or Great Buddha. 
 This marvelous bronze was cast about the 
 middle of the thirteenth century. It has none 
 of the exaggerations of so many of the other 
 Buddhas, though of course Oriental in char- 
 acter, and is really sublimely impressive. It 
 
JAPAN. 
 
 Two views of the Dai-butsu, or Great Buddha, at 
 
 Kamakura. 
 
 A Diver at Enoshima. 
 
 Waiting for the Emperor's Funeral. 
 
JAPAN AND KOREA 31 
 
 is almost fifty feet high, and is said to be the 
 largest piece of cast bronze in existence. In 
 its calm and dignity it cannot be surpassed : it 
 certainly typifies all that is best in the religion 
 it symbolizes. 
 
 At Enoshima a few miles away is a cave 
 highly revered by the Japanese, but of no 
 great interest to foreigners. The island is 
 attractive, though, and the fishermen and 
 divers, with their small bodies but magnificent 
 physiques, are well worth seeing. 
 
 The Rowlands had giyen me a cordial in- 
 vitation to visit them in Sapporo on the island 
 of Hokkaido — often called Yezo — just 
 north of Hondo, which is the largest and most 
 important island. Of course I accepted, but 
 on my way there made several stops. 
 
 My first was a short one at Tokyo, where 
 a long jinrikisha ride to the station from the 
 hotel at night, through the narrow back 
 streets, proved most interesting. The little 
 glimpses of the homes and shops passed at 
 this hour gave more of an insight into Japa- 
 nese life than much daytime wandering, when 
 the people were more confined to the labors 
 of the day. Tokyo is said to cover one hun- 
 dred square miles, and is the largest city of 
 the East. A ride at night helps to make one 
 realize its vast size. 
 
 Sendai was the next stop, from which I 
 visited Takayama and Matsushima. Taka- 
 
32 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 yama is a delightful cottage colony of 
 foreigners on the coast, amid picturesque sur- 
 roundings. It is six miles from the railway 
 station, and the charge for the jinrikisha ride 
 is thirty cents. A friend I expected to find 
 here was absent, and I was compelled to ac- 
 cept the hospitality of absolute strangers, but 
 old friends could not have been more cordial 
 or kindly. 
 
 Matsushima is one of the " San-kei " or 
 " Three Great Sights " of Japan. It is a 
 large bay studded with tiny islands of vol- 
 canic tufa of weird and fantastic shape, with 
 pines as weird and fantastic as the islands 
 themselves — a charming view — not unlike 
 parts of Lake George. It is a beautiful spot, 
 but too-enthusiastic tourists are often dis- 
 appointed here, having been led to expect 
 something very exceptional. One of the 
 islands approached by a bridge has little 
 shrines cut in the rock, and a path leading over 
 it in the picturesque way so dear to the heart 
 of the Japanese gardener. 
 
 The two-day trip from Sendai to Sapporo 
 was tiresome for the most part. The " ferry " 
 from Aomori to Hakodate takes four and a 
 half hours — the rest of the trip was by train. 
 
 Hokkaido is of course much farther north 
 than the rest of Japan and the climate is so 
 much the cooler. It is not unlike New Eng- 
 land in its trees, flowers and animal life, as 
 
JAPAN AND KOREA 33 
 
 well as in its climate. The Japanese have 
 only recently settled here in any great num- 
 bers, and the villages and the whole char- 
 acter of the country are by no means typical 
 of Japan. The houses, for instance, are quite 
 unlike the fragile houses further south, as 
 they have to be built very strong to resist the 
 biting cold and the snows of severe winters. 
 
 Sapporo, the capital of the island, is not 
 an old city, having been officially created in 
 1870. It is well laid out, with unusually wide 
 streets. On one of these streets I chanced on 
 some policemen, leading four prisoners, who 
 had inverted baskets over their heads to pre- 
 serve them from the ignomy and disgrace of 
 recognition. 
 
 Mr. Rowland was anxious that I should 
 see the Ainus, the aboriginal inhabitants of 
 Japan. They are found now only in a few 
 villages of Hokkaido, and are fast dying out: 
 a few years will probably find them extinct. 
 One of these villages is near Shiraoi. The 
 Ainu men are short, like the Japanese, but 
 more heavily built. Unlike the Japanese they 
 are extremely hairy, and, with their full 
 beards, are often very handsome. The 
 women are far from handsome, as they tattoo 
 the flesh for an inch around their mouths, ex- 
 tending it up on their cheeks like a mustache. 
 The effect is not very agreeable. Their 
 houses are built almost entirely of thatch. In 
 
34 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 several cases we saw large cages built outside 
 the house, with a young bear cub inside. 
 These are kept and fattened, to be later killed 
 for a feast of a semi-religious nature. 
 
 From Shiraoi we continued to the hot 
 springs of Nobori-betsu. This is a favorite 
 bathing resort of the Japanese. There are the 
 usual volcanic activities — a pool of boiling 
 mud, spouting geysers, boiling springs, and an 
 all-pervasive sulphur smell. The Japanese 
 stand under streams of this water, which is 
 actually boiling hot, and let it fall on their 
 bare backs — it is impossible to understand 
 how they can become so inured to it. 
 
 Returning, we stopped to visit a Japanese 
 preacher. The amount of kow-towing a 
 Japanese missionary has to do is beyond be- 
 lief. I have seen it kept up, slowly and de- 
 liberately, for ten minutes. Surely a strong 
 spine and tough knees must be one of the re- 
 quirements ! 
 
 The time at Sapporo passed pleasantly, and 
 all too quickly. Returning to the main island, 
 I stopped of! at Nikko, with its exquisite tem- 
 ples. It is in itself a beauty spot — its chief 
 glory, aside from the temples, being the mag- 
 nificent cryptomerias, huge trees of wonderful 
 proportions, on the order of our cedars. On 
 leaving Nikko a seven-mile jinrikisha ride is 
 taken down a cryptomeria avenue — it is one 
 of the most beautiful sights of Nikko. 
 
JAPAN AND KOREA 35 
 
 The temples have a setting of brilliant green, 
 broken by imposing flights of broad stone 
 stairs. Beside the temples there are numer- 
 ous lanterns, of bronze and stone; many ex- 
 quisite gateways with marvelous wood carv- 
 ings; toriis of wood and stone, and a pagoda. 
 The torii is the familiar Japanese gateway, 
 which is always placed in front of Shinto 
 temples. 
 
 The temples all through Japan are much 
 alike: a large space open on three sides, with 
 the altar or image in a shrine on the fourth 
 side. Those at Nikko are very large, and are 
 unusual in that some of them are covered with 
 red lacquer. It is always raining in Nikko, 
 which accounts for the beautiful shade of the 
 foliage. It also accounts for the fact that I 
 was unable to make the trip to Lake Chu- 
 zenji. 
 
 The funeral of the Emperor — who, by the 
 way, is never called the Mikado in Japan — 
 was held on the thirteenth of September at 
 Kyoto. Through the kindness of a friend I 
 went with a Toyko school. At noon, in full 
 evening dress, with a wide band of crepe 
 around my hat, I walked with the school to 
 the place designated for it on the line of march. 
 The funeral was to start at eight o'clock at 
 night, but it was necessary to come so early 
 to reserve our places. The route to be fol- 
 lowed by the cortege was lined with torches 
 
36 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 and with trees, from which long white 
 streamers were hung. The police had given 
 orders on every conceivable subject, from 
 what to wear and where to stand to when to 
 rise and what to eat ! One of the rules was 
 that each person should have a mourning 
 badge — many wore a little celluloid button 
 with a picture of a black bow ! I saw one 
 coolie stripped to the waist with a mourning 
 band around his arm ! The rules ran into such 
 detail as to make them ridiculous read- 
 ing, but they served the purpose : the arrange- 
 ments were admirable, and in spite of the 
 enormous crowds there was no accident. My 
 own costume was said to be absolutely obliga- 
 tory for a foreigner, but never again do I ex- 
 pect to wear evening dress in the daytime to a 
 funeral. 
 
 During the seven hours' wait there was 
 much to attract the attention and help pass 
 the time. At nightfall the torches were lit, 
 and cast a bright but flickering light over the 
 road. Shortly before eight the procession be- 
 gan to pass us, and exactly on the hour a gun 
 was fired, announcing that the cortege had left 
 the palace. The first part of the procession 
 consisted of soldiers and sailors, some of 
 them from foreign countries, who passed by 
 silently, with reversed arms. The road was 
 covered with tan bark, and the procession 
 passed almost without sound. The flickering 
 
JAPAN AND KOREA 37 
 
 lights, and the vast number of men with their 
 silent tread made an unusually impressive 
 ceremony even of this part of this strange 
 funeral. 
 
 Then came the Shinto priests in flowing 
 robes, carrying symbols, such as bows, quivers, 
 shields, gongs, and the like. Several bands 
 went by also, playing a dirge — adding to the 
 weird effect by some shrill Japanese musi- 
 cal instruments. Then came the catafalque, 
 drawn by five oxen. The oxen were so sur- 
 rounded by cow-herds that they could scarcely 
 be seen. The catafalque was a wooden two- 
 wheeled cart, not unlike an ice-wagon in ap- 
 pearance. It was decorated, but the light 
 was too dim to distinguish details. For an 
 hour and a half after the passing of the 
 catafalque the procession of soldiers con- 
 tinued. 
 
 On the way from Tokyo to Kyoto the train 
 passes close to Fuji-yama. The mountain is a 
 perfect cone, and is very beautiful — no won- 
 der the Japanese love it. On the way down 
 I amused myself with the Tokyo Puck. 
 It is a comic paper published by Japanese in 
 English. It had a remarkable editorial on 
 the Emperor's death. The spirit of the edi- 
 torial was sincere enough, but its expression 
 left much to be desired, and as for its use of 
 the " pnglirh " language — well, it speaks for 
 itself. The type was evidently pied, to add 
 
38 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 to the trouble. The following is an exact 
 copy : — 
 
 TOKYO PUCK 
 
 Tokyo, Ougust 20, 1912. 
 
 CHEER UP 
 
 Cheer up, friends ! True, our good and beloved 
 empe ov is gone. But he is happiev in yondev 
 ethersal height, at bast free from this awful heat 
 of earthly summev. Besides dead, he is aleie doing 
 an unexpected lot of good to the countug. 
 
 Behoed! thue is that interesting practical jokey 
 kno coming in all soberness to atteud the imperial 
 effect of his neutralising scheme of a few years ago. 
 Ond nothing short of the sad event could haye dene 
 that. In death he conguereth indeed! 
 
 Then there is a prowd prince of the pvoud hoase 
 of Hohenzollern to represesent his proudev brothev 
 in paying the last tribute to one who was once cari- 
 catured as the sove and spirit of yellow peril! Of 
 conse we mean it all will : this is ong mr pucki woy 
 of soy it. 
 
 Hey-ho ! Cheer up, lament not, f riwds ! Not down 
 hue in this mundane worM. Rut up obove he 
 shineth a light that illumines the hath of his eounty 
 forevev. Theongh his death the voored has bocome 
 more friendl to us. Even that young joiunal which, 
 printed in pnglirh is pubhshei to serve continental 
 pmposes, aud which calls reirlivg jafan indefeudeut 
 journalism is paiynig tributee to the dead Sovoreign, 
 thnikng it a good form! Of cowse it is not nwel 
 of a comfliment to be spokew of well by a mer- 
 cenwy sheet of the kind. But that a journal of the 
 kind should deem it proper seven to obseve good 
 form, is a most eloquent testimony that thereis some- 
 thing realy great and holy in his memory. Cheer up, 
 friends, a good understauding is coming. 
 
JAPAN AND KOREA 39 
 
 Three days after the funeral there was an- 
 other interesting ceremony in memory of the 
 Emperor, but this one was Buddhist. The 
 Nishi Hongwanji is a large Buddhist temple, 
 the lower floor opening on three sides on a 
 large porch. In the center of the fourth side 
 was the shrine, lit by numerous tiny lamps and 
 candles. On each side of the shrine were 
 rooms, the decorations of the wall being solid 
 gold relieved only by a brown kakemono and 
 a spray of pine. In the center of the build- 
 ing were four massive wooden pillars, sup- 
 porting the roof. By these sat some priests, 
 and the musicians. Behind, places were roped 
 off for schoolgirls and dignitaries, and behind 
 them again came the public. 
 
 The priests began to file into the rooms at 
 each side of the shrine. They were in gor- 
 geous robes of changeable colors. The first 
 had on a robe of salmon, red and gold. He 
 was followed by others in royal purples, 
 "greens, yellows and browns. They seated 
 themselves on the floor, facing the shrine. 
 The exquisite hues of their robes, with the 
 background of pure gold, gave a most won- 
 derful effect — it was as if a rare piece of 
 Satsuma had come to life. Then priests of 
 higher rank entered, who took seats nearer the 
 shrine. The service was intoned, the priests 
 rising and sitting often. At one time they 
 walked to and fro in front of the shrines 
 
40 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 carrying books from which hung three long 
 silk cords. They would tear out leaves — as 
 prayers — and cast them on the floor. At the 
 close of the service the various dignitaries 
 filed past, made their obeisance to the shrine, 
 and offered up incense. This service was far 
 more interesting and picturesque than the 
 funeral, though it lacked the eeriness given by 
 the night and the flickering torches. 
 
 There are many interesting buildings and 
 temples in Kyoto. The San-ju-san-gen-do is 
 unique. It is a temple to Kwannon, the god- 
 dess of mercy, and contains 33,333 images of 
 her. It is a low unimpressive building nearly 
 four hundred feet long. In it are one thou- 
 sand gilt statues of the goddess rising in five 
 tiers one behind the other. The effect is 
 startling, if not particularly artistic. In the 
 hands of the figures are numerous small 
 statues that make up the total number of 
 representations of the goddess. In another 
 building is a large Dai-butsu in wood. It 
 shows the head and shoulders only, and is re- 
 markable chiefly for size, being in no other 
 way comparable to the one at Kamakura. 
 The Yasaka Pagoda has five stories, but the 
 climb is worth while on account of the 
 splendid view of Kyoto to be seen from the 
 top. Near the temple of Kiyomizu is a small 
 shed covering a great many small stone images 
 
JAPAN AND KOREA 41 
 
 of Jizo, each with a colored cloth bib and a 
 pile of stones in its lap. Bereaved parents 
 place these rocks here, in order to lessen the 
 work of their children in the other world. 
 A blessing is invoked by taking a dipper of 
 water and splashing it all over the images, 
 and it is interesting to watch the people — old 
 and young, men, women and children — do 
 this. 
 
 From Kyoto to Miyajima the sleeper was 
 truly amazing. Its price in the first place 
 aroused my curiosity — what kind of a berth 
 could I get for thirty cents? It was like a 
 series of couches pushed end to end and run- 
 ning the length of the car. When lying down 
 your head was over the feet of the man be- 
 hind you, and in turn your feet were under 
 the head of the man ahead of you! There 
 was a row of these berths on each side of the 
 car, and above them rows of upper berths of 
 the same kind. The space allotted may have 
 been enough for the short Japanese, but for 
 a fairly tall American they were not alto- 
 gether satisfactory. By letting my feet drape 
 in the aisle I secured a good night's rest, in 
 spite of difficulties. 
 
 At Miyajima the object of most interest is 
 the elaborate torii. It is painted red, and at 
 high tide, when its base is covered by water, 
 is one of the most picturesque things to be 
 
42 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 seen in Japan. Near by is an interesting tem- 
 ple and a little park that contains many 
 doves, and a few tame deer. 
 
 Much has been said of Japanese cleanli- 
 ness. In person they are clean, but one has 
 only to ride in a second-class Japanese coach 
 to see how dirty they are in other ways. 
 Built-in spittoons are most conspicuous in the 
 center of the aisles, and form a constant 
 stumbling block. The Japanese put every- 
 thing on the floor of the train — bags and bun- 
 dles of all kinds, teapots, ashes, sandals, 
 fruit skins — everything, in fact, except their 
 feet. At each station a diminutive boy 
 comes in with a huge wet rag and washes off 
 the floor, leaving it a little less encumbered, 
 but decidedly moist and prone to gather dirt. 
 
 It was a particularly beautiful moonlight 
 night as I sailed from Shimonoseki. Lights 
 twinkled on the shore, and everything was 
 stilled. As the boat went on, a beautiful 
 Fuji-like mountain sailed underneath the half 
 moon. It was a fitting " sayonara " to Japan. 
 
 But though the night began so auspiciously 
 it did not continue so. The boat was small, 
 and the passage was rough. The name of the 
 boat — the ce Iki Maru " — was not exactly re- 
 assuring. All night long the boat tossed and 
 rolled. It kept me awake, and the words of 
 a half- forgotten song kept running through 
 my head : " I've got a motta, always merry 
 
JAPAN AND KOREA 43 
 
 and bright," — " Cheer up, Cuthbert, you'll 
 soon be dead " and the rest of the inanity, 
 over and over again — but it helped to pass 
 the time. 
 
 Leaving Fusan the next morning a long 
 train ride brought me to Seoul that night. 
 Korea is now called Cho-sen by the Japanese. 
 The Korean men dress in a long robe of stiff 
 thin material reaching to the knees, and fas- 
 tened by a large bow on the right breast. In 
 color it is usually white, but may be a pale 
 shade of pink, blue, or green. Under this is 
 a white shirt, and full white trousers gathered 
 at the ankles, with shoes of wood shaped like 
 a canoe. On their head they wear a hat of 
 stiff black cloth — the exact duplicate of wire 
 screening — with a wide brim of the same ma- 
 terial. A tiny pig-tail fastened into a knot 
 on top of their heads shows through the hat, 
 and the resemblance to a mouse in a trap is too 
 strong not to be noticed immediately. The 
 hat is held in place by two shoe strings that 
 tie under the chin, the ends falling to their 
 waist. Their beards are downy and meager, 
 and the hat strings make them look longer 
 than they really are. Add to this a pipe with 
 a stem a yard long, and you have the complete 
 picture of the Korean. 
 
 The women's costume is also odd. Their 
 dress is open horizontally in front, exposing 
 the breasts, and they wear long coats of 
 
44 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 bright colors, which — though they have 
 sleeves — are always worn over the head with 
 the arms flapping at the sides. One sees in- 
 numerable naked children with abdomens 
 that are almost spherical — caused by a dis- 
 ease, it is said, traceable to a rice diet. 
 
 At Seoul by far the most interesting things 
 were the natives themselves. They are ab- 
 solutely different from the Japanese, and are 
 a never- failing source of interest and amuse- 
 ment. No comic opera would dare bring out a 
 chorus dressed in real Korean clothes — they 
 would be hooted off the stage for being so un- 
 true and unrealistic! 
 
 The old North palace, which has not been 
 used since the queen was murdered there in 
 1895, is magnificent though falling into ruin. 
 The death of a member of the royal family al- 
 ways necessitated a new palace — the old one 
 was desecrated. Walking in a straight line 
 from the main gateway, one goes through 
 court and palace in endless succession. The 
 courts are stone paved, but have fallen into 
 such a ruinous state that in one of them they 
 were actually cutting the grass. Many of the 
 gateways are exceptionally beautiful — the 
 wood carving and tile work being particularly 
 attractive. At one side, surrounded by a moat 
 filled with pond lilies, stood a beautiful build- 
 ing called the " Banqueting Hall," but said to 
 have been a hall for ceremonial dancing. 
 
JAPAN AND KOREA 45 
 
 
 
 The tomb of the murdered queen lies outside 
 the town, and shows the arrangement typical 
 of Chinese tombs, with some interesting carved 
 stone figures. 
 
 The trip from Seoul to Mukden takes 
 seventeen hours. A fine new bridge crosses 
 the Yalu, which is the boundary line between 
 Korea and Manchuria. One wonders how 
 long it will be before the Japanese have 
 control of Manchuria also. 
 
Chapter IV 
 
 CHINA 
 
 On crossing the Yalu it becomes apparent at 
 once that you are in China, for all of the na- 
 tives are dressed in blue. This blue clothing 
 seems to be universal in China, though of 
 course it is much more prevalent in some parts 
 of the country than it is in others. 
 
 At Mukden it is necessary — in order to 
 visit the palace — to procure a pass from your 
 Consul. The American Consul lived in an 
 artistic old house — formerly a temple — with 
 much around that was quaint and curious. 
 The palace in itself was not particularly in- 
 teresting, but contained a marvelous collec- 
 tion of old porcelain, and some valuable old 
 embroideries. 
 
 Mukden is a dirty city, with two wide 
 streets meeting at right angles, a three-story 
 tower standing at the junction. The Man- 
 chus — for of course we are in Manchuria — 
 are fine specimens of manhood; big, husky 
 fellows entirely unlike the small Chinese of the 
 South. Once it was necessary to change a 
 film in my camera. I was immediately sur- 
 rounded by a large gaping crowd — perfectly 
 quiet, but tremendously interested. A uni- 
 46 
 
MUKDEN, MANCHURIA. 
 
 A Street Scene. 
 
 The Residence of the American Consul. 
 
CHINA 47 
 
 formed policeman came hustling importantly 
 up, but instead of dispersing the crowd he 
 joined it, taking advantage of his authority to 
 get a front place. To the passing tourist the 
 principal business here seems to be hog deal- 
 ing — never have I seen so many hogs. On 
 the streets are many butcher shops, and in 
 front of each lie a dozen or so fat porkers, 
 their feet tied together, awaiting their turn 
 for execution. Two Manchus were carrying 
 a dressed carcass down the street — some- 
 thing broke, and the body rolled through the 
 dirt of the street. It did not increase one's 
 appetite for pork. 
 
 The railway trip from Mukden to Peking 
 had to be broken at Shan-hai-kwan, unless 
 a special train is taken that runs only once a 
 week. At Shan-hai-kwan the Great Wall 
 meets the sea, but reference to this will be 
 made later. 
 
 As the train reached Peking late at night, 
 the magnificent wall and gateways made a 
 wonderful silhouette in the moonlight. The 
 walls of Peking are in some respects more 
 impressive than the Great Wall itself, as they 
 are considerably larger. The walls of the 
 Tartar City are thirteen miles long, while 
 those of the Chinese City, immediately to the 
 south, must be nearly half that length. 
 These walls are forty feet high, and are ex- 
 tremely well built. The road on the top is 
 
48 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 twenty feet wide, and from it splendid views of 
 the city can be obtained. 
 
 Peking is unattractive for the most part. 
 The main streets are very wide, but extremely 
 dusty and dirty. The Legation Quarter, 
 which has been enlarged since the Boxer re- 
 bellion, resembles in its architecture a Con- 
 tinental city, and is by far the handsomest part 
 of town — with the possible exception of the 
 Forbidden City, which few foreigners are al- 
 lowed to enter. 
 
 There are many ancient temples in Peking. 
 Some of them might be exceedingly beautiful, 
 but they are absolutely spoiled by the fact 
 that the surroundings are neglected and un- 
 cared for, and the temples themselves are 
 dilapidated and filthily dirty. The Chinese 
 will soon learn, as the Japanese already have, 
 that it will pay, from a purely utilitarian 
 standpoint, to take better care of their crum- 
 bling monuments, in the increased number of 
 tourists drawn thereby. 
 
 The Altar and Temple of Heaven are in 
 a large park-like enclosure in the Chinese 
 city. The Altar consists of three white marble 
 terraces, of which the lowest one is over two 
 hundred feet wide. The balustrades and 
 much of the stone work is beautifully carved. 
 The Temple of Heaven stands on a similar 
 series of terraces, and is a round building with 
 an ancient blue tiled roof. The interior is 
 
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CHINA 49 
 
 impressive, on account of its huge teak-wood 
 columns. 
 
 The Llama Temple is in the northern part 
 of the Tartar City. The Llamas are a sect 
 of Buddhist priests or monks, and wear the 
 same yellow robes that were later to be seen 
 in Burma and Ceylon. A service witnessed 
 here was not unlike the Buddhist ceremony 
 seen at Kyoto, though it was by no means so 
 elaborate or picturesque. The temple itself 
 was an old royal palace. Near by is the Tem- 
 ple of the Great Buddha. This dilapidated 
 and dirty building contains a figure of Buddha 
 in wood, gaudily painted, and is remarkable 
 for its height of seventy feet rather than for 
 any artistic value. The Temple of Confucius 
 is also near. In its Hall of Classics are copies 
 of the Chinese classics carved in stone, in 
 order to make sure of their preservation for 
 future generations. In the courtyard of the 
 temple is a pailow, a thin gateway of three 
 flat arches, of bright green and yellow tiles 
 contrasted with white marble, one of the most 
 beautiful of its kind in China. The Summer 
 Palace was unfortunately not open to visitors 
 during my brief stay in Peking. 
 
 The tombs of the Emperors of the Ming 
 dynasty — or the Ming Tombs, as they are 
 generally called — can be reached from Nan- 
 kow, a little north of Peking, by ponies, or in 
 a sedan chair. By pony the trip took six and 
 
50 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 a half hours. The trail led across land ap- 
 parently barren, but in reality producing quite 
 a little. Among other things I noticed corn, 
 peanuts, and persimmon trees. A large and 
 very beautifully carved white marble pailow 
 with five openings marked the beginning of 
 the " Holy Way," which continued over the 
 country for miles to the tombs. After the 
 pailow, but some distance beyond it, was a 
 monument to one of the Ming Emperors, a 
 building containing- a stone shaft resting on 
 the back of a gigantic stone tortoise. Im- 
 mediately after this came the avenue of an- 
 imals, in pairs, one on each side of the road, 
 the first pair kneeling and the second stand- 
 ing. They represented lions, rams, camels, 
 elephants, fabulous animals, and horses, all 
 carved from large blocks of stone. After 
 these came various officials and priests, all 
 standing, also carved from single blocks. The 
 " Holy Way " continued for some distance 
 beyond these, its outlines at times being 
 scarcely discernible. Here it would be 
 marked by a broken marble bridge — further 
 on by a piece of pavement, but finally no traces 
 of it remained. In the distance the tombs 
 could be seen, picturesquely situated at the 
 foot of the mountains. They were not very 
 near each other, and an inspection of them 
 all would take several days; so the tourist 
 must be content with inspecting one. The 
 
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 1-3 
 
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CHINA 51 
 
 Tomb of Yung-Loh is typical, and is one of 
 the largest and best preserved; and therefore 
 is the one usually visited. The principal pavil- 
 ion of this tomb was a huge hall two hundred 
 feet long and half as wide, with many solid 
 teak-wood pillars sixty feet high supporting 
 the roof. At the rear of this pavilion was a 
 large quadrangle, which led on the other side 
 to a passage opening on a terrace, said to be 
 directly above the real tomb, from which there 
 was an extensive view of the country just 
 passed through. 
 
 The Great Wall is reached from Nankow 
 by a railway which continues on to Kalgan. 
 But the wall can be seen in all its glory at 
 the Nankow Pass, near the station of Ching- 
 lung Chiao. The pass is in the heart of the 
 mountains, and is one of the main arteries 
 into Peking from Mongolia. At Kalgan is 
 another and outer wall, which is nearer the 
 boundary between the two countries. 
 
 Pictures of the Great Wall give little idea 
 of its impressiveness. Imagine a wall avera- 
 ging twenty-seven feet in height and thirty in 
 width, extending for two thousand five hun- 
 dred miles over the country — not passing 
 along the plains, but seeking the very hilliest 
 places. It is older than the Christian era. 
 Most of the wall near the Nankow pass is 
 in excellent condition. Starting at the gate- 
 way of the pass, the walls rise easily and 
 
52 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 gracefully in both directions, twisting, turning, 
 and disappearing, to reappear on a higher 
 crest, and again on a taller mountain behind, 
 as far as the eye can see. About every six 
 hundred yards there is a watch tower jutting 
 out from the wall, and relieving what might 
 be otherwise a monotonous line. An Ameri- 
 can army officer told me that the wall is re- 
 markable in that it always makes use of the 
 " military crest " — in other words that it 
 takes advantage of the formation of the 
 ground so that an attacking army must climb 
 a hill before reaching the wall itself. 
 
 At Shan-hai-kwan, mentioned before, the 
 wall was similar, but not so well preserved. 
 I had asked an Englishman there how the 
 Chinese guarded the wall, saying that they 
 must have had watchers in the towers, who 
 telephoned back to Peking at the approach of 
 the enemy. " Oh," he answered, " but they 
 didn't have telephones in those days." 
 
 A camel and donkey caravan passed through 
 the massive gateway. There was nothing 
 about it indicative of modern civilization: 
 caravans similar to it have been passing 
 through that gateway every day for two thou- 
 sand years ! 
 
 At the pass the foundations of the wall and 
 the first ten feet of the superstructure are of 
 large dressed granite blocks. Above these the 
 walls are made of sun-dried bricks, about four 
 
CHING-LUNG CHIAO, CHINA. 
 The Great Wall. 
 
CHINA 53 
 
 times the size of one of our bricks, and very 
 heavy. A Chinaman took three of these huge 
 bricks with him, saying he wanted them for 
 his garden in Canton. He was dressed in 
 European clothes, but his companion wore a 
 gorgeous costume of heavy brocaded silk. 
 The pa jama-like trousers were light lavender 
 in color, the coat a dark blue, and the sleeve- 
 less jacket over that a plum black. 
 
 At Peking and throughout the northern part 
 of China the pig-tail was very much in 
 evidence. At Shanghai it was rarer, and in 
 Hong Kong and Canton it had practically dis- 
 appeared. It is the symbol of the Manchu 
 dynasty, and the absence of it in the South 
 seems to show that the Republic is more 
 popular there than it is in the North. 
 
 The trip from Peking to Hankow by rail 
 is a fascinating one through the heart of 
 China. Strangely, the management of the 
 road is French — even the time-tables are 
 published in French. The trip takes forty 
 hours on a special train running once a week. 
 
 On arriving at Hankow I jumped in a rick- 
 shaw (resembling the Japanese jinrikisha, but 
 heavy and clumsy), and told the coolie to take 
 me to the Terminus Hotel. He looked blank, 
 but started off at full speed — running for at 
 least fifteen minutes. By this time I had be- 
 come fully convinced that he did not know 
 where I wanted to go, but as I knew of no 
 
54 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 way to tell him, I thought it best to let him 
 continue. Finally we stopped in front of a 
 fine white house set well back among the trees, 
 but without a sign of any kind. I felt sure 
 it was not the hotel, but approached a short 
 energetic young Englishman descending the 
 path, and said: 
 
 " Pardon me, but is this the Terminus 
 Hotel?" 
 
 It did not take long to see that I had made 
 a grievous mistake. * His eyes flashed, and he 
 drew himself up very dramatically and in- 
 dignantly exclaimed: 
 
 " No ! This is the British Consulate." 
 
 Not till I reached the hotel did I realize 
 the magnitude of my crime ! 
 
 A short stay here sufficed to see the Bund 
 — a street running along the edge of the Yang- 
 tse-kiang — and the other sights of the town. 
 Boarding a Chinese boat named the " Sui-wo," 
 we sailed down the river for two days to 
 Nanking. At Kiu-kiang the boat stopped for 
 four hours, giving a splendid chance to visit 
 this squalid Chinese town. A boy who spoke 
 English a little — a very little — constituted 
 himself my guide, and led me to some of the 
 temples. They were not interesting, but the 
 life of the people was very much so. Once, 
 in a street running between two high walls, 
 I almost stumbled on a leper. He had cast 
 himself on the ground in the narrowest part 
 
CHINA 55 
 
 of the street, and his great open sores, ter- 
 rible deformities, and whining pleas were all 
 equally horrible. 
 
 Continuing down the Yang-tse-kiang, it was 
 amusing to see the Chinese board our boat 
 from little craft waiting in the river, while we 
 were still in motion. The excitement ran high 
 at times, but large cargoes, both of passengers 
 and freight, were changed amidstream with- 
 out mishap. 
 
 The shore north of the river was a dull 
 flat plain as far as the eye could see — in 
 great contrast to the southern shore, which 
 was very mountainous, the mountains often 
 extending to the edge of the river. 
 
 At Nanking the carriage drivers have a bat- 
 tle over every passenger, and it was with dif- 
 ficulty I finally procured one and reached the 
 Bridge House Hotel. This little hotel, though 
 very unpretentious, was remarkably clean, and 
 the food good. 
 
 Nanking was formerly a huge city, with a 
 wall nearly as long as that of Peking. But 
 now the greater part of the ground within 
 the wall is farm land or forest. The little that 
 is left of the city is huddled at one end, about 
 five miles from the hotel. 
 
 Here the old examination halls are still 
 standing — they have been destroyed at Pe- 
 king and Canton — and I was very glad to get 
 a glimpse of them. It is only a matter of 
 
56 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 a short time before these will be destroyed 
 also. The halls consist of thousands of tiny 
 cells arranged in rows, with a large central 
 tower for watchers. The cells are only about 
 two feet square, and have two shelves, one 
 for a seat and the other for a desk. Twenty- 
 five thousand people could be examined at 
 once. It is said that they were sealed in these 
 tiny rooms for days, and if a death occurred 
 — as not infrequently happened — it was nec- 
 essary to break down the wall to remove the 
 body. 
 
 Walking on the old wall, I saw in the fields 
 below a boy in a filthy pool of water, hunting 
 for lotus root with his feet. On finding a 
 root he would dive down in this slimy water, 
 remain submerged for alarming periods at 
 times, and then would come up puffing and 
 blowing, the root in his hand. 
 
 Here also I met two soldiers, who led me, 
 though we could not communicate by speech, 
 through the fields to their camp. A sign near 
 it said: 
 
 " NO ADMITTANCE. HERE IS MAGAZINE." 
 
 but they led on ; so I followed. At the " maga- 
 zine " I met more soldiers who inspected me 
 carefully, examining my camera and clothes. 
 They offered me tea to drink, which I had to 
 accept, though it was far from tempting. To 
 
CHINA 57 
 
 be frank, I think I afforded them as much 
 amusement as they did me. 
 
 At Shanghai, though it is a beautiful city, 
 there is comparatively little for the tourist to 
 see, if he is looking for Chinese life and cus- 
 toms. But if one had to live in the East, 
 Shanghai must be very attractive. The best 
 English newspaper in the East is published 
 here, and you are in constant touch with 
 Europe and America. Shanghai has one 
 famous sight, though — the largest bar in the 
 world ! 
 
 The adjacent Chinese part of the city is 
 very interesting, and a trip through the streets 
 with their ivory, wood, and other shops is 
 well worth while. 
 
 Taking the " Bulow" to Hong Kong, in 
 three days we entered that beautiful harbor. 
 The city of Victoria — Hong Kong being 
 really the name of the island — rises from the 
 water's edge on terrace after terrace until the 
 famous " Peak " is reached. This peak, 
 though not very high, has a funicular road 
 leading to the top, and commands a splendid 
 view of the harbor and surroundings of Hong 
 Kong. In summer it is used as a place of 
 residence by the foreigners in Hong Kong. 
 
 Canton is a few hours' journey up the Pearl 
 River. It presents typical Chinese life — the 
 kind that you expected to see before you left 
 
58 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 home, and failed to find in Peking. Here is a 
 very kaleidoscope of colors. The streets are 
 narrow, with many steps : the houses are for 
 the most part two stories high, with forbid- 
 ding walls, but occasionally an open door gives 
 a vista of an attractive garden within. Most 
 of the streets are lined with tiny shops, which 
 sell almost everything. Great gaudy banners 
 of all colors, a foot wide and yards long, with 
 Chinese characters, hang from the upper 
 stories. On bright days the street is spotted 
 and flecked with sunshine, and the coloring is 
 fascinating. One sees all kinds of Chinese — 
 men in gorgeous robes, others in plain ones, 
 and coolies stripped to the waist, their brown 
 arms and necks glistening in the occasional 
 sunbeam. All are eager, all busy, all quick 
 without undue haste. Women there are too, 
 but by no means as many. I had expected a 
 gloomy, forbidding people of threatening as- 
 pect — instead I found a happy, smiling peo- 
 ple, content in their own way of life, but 
 mightily curious about yours. The narrow 
 streets and many steps prevent the use of car- 
 riages or even of rickshaws; so sedan chairs 
 carried by four to six coolies have to be used 
 if you do not care to walk. It was, to me, by 
 far the most fascinating of the Chinese cities. 
 The Shameen is the foreign residence sec- 
 tion of Canton. On an island connected with 
 the city by two guarded bridges rise foreign 
 
CHINA 59 
 
 buildings in a delightful setting of semi- 
 tropical trees and shrubs. The Bund here, 
 with its beautiful overhanging shade trees on 
 the water's edge, is most attractive. On the 
 side toward Canton is an " entanglement " of 
 barbed wire, and sand-bag barriers are in some 
 of the principal streets. They make one real- 
 ize that while all may seem peaceful and quiet, 
 the resident foreigners are always ready to be 
 on the defensive if necessary. On returning 
 a stop was made at the Portuguese settlement 
 of Macao. Won by the Portuguese while at 
 the height of their power, and commercially 
 still valuable, it has degenerated to a gambling 
 and opium den. The boat arrived at one 
 o'clock in the morning, and the Chinese 
 made a terrible noise while disembarking. 
 Thoroughly aroused, I could not get to sleep, 
 and finally decided to dress and visit the town, 
 though it was nearly three. Facing the boat 
 was a three-story building covered with elec- 
 tric lights, and there were many like it in other 
 streets. These were all gambling halls, and 
 it was interesting to watch the Chinese in 
 them. At Macao are opium factories also. 
 The drug has been excluded from China, but 
 the Chinese can come here and get it. 
 
 .Macao is beautifully situated, and in the 
 daytime has a quaint old-world charm, like a 
 breath from a fragrant garden. It is so ab- 
 solutely different from the Chinese cities you 
 
6o GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 have been visiting, that it is a great surprise. 
 It seems more as if you were in Portugal than 
 China, and the Portuguese policemen add to 
 the illusion. All that is left standing of the 
 old Cathedral is the facade, and a flight of 
 massive stone steps. This fagade shows an 
 incongruous combination of Renaissance archi- 
 tecture with Chinese symbols. But at night- 
 fall the charm of Macao is dissipated, and it 
 becomes again a den of gambling and vice. 
 Shopping in Hong Kong and Canton is a 
 great pleasure, but here is a timely word, 
 copied verbatim, from a guide book: 
 
 HINTS ON SELECTING AND PURCHASING 
 
 This is one of the most fascinating experiences of 
 the visitor to this City of curio shops where, owing 
 to the perfect novelty of the scene sudden flights of 
 reason are at times apt to leave fancy sole mistress of 
 the situation, and, through her inaptitude for the re- 
 sponsibilities, one discovers too late, how much bet- 
 ter bargains might have been made. 
 
Chapter V 
 
 MANILA 
 
 The Yellow Sea is one of the roughest bodies 
 of water on the globe, and the trip from Hong 
 Kong to Manila and back had long been 
 dreaded. I had to take a tiny boat — the 
 " Tean " ; on a large boat the trip is bad 
 enough — on a small one it is absolute misery. 
 
 A few hours before reaching Manila the 
 boat stopped at Merivales, to leave the steer- 
 age passengers. As there had been consider- 
 able cholera in China, they were compelled 
 to remain here a week before being allowed 
 to enter the islands. As soon as they landed 
 they and their belongings were fumigated, and 
 it was amusing to see the Chinese get back 
 into their clothes, their pig-tails untied and 
 hanging down their backs. 
 
 Manila is not an old Filipino village, but 
 was built by the Spaniards. The walls en- 
 close a space of about two square miles, and 
 this part of town is called " Intramuros," or 
 the walled city. The houses are well built, 
 and the streets clean. There are no less than 
 ten cathedrals here, all of them old, and some 
 quite beautiful. The wall has been broken 
 down in places, to make wider entrances to 
 61 
 
62 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 the town, and to admit trolleys. Formerly 
 there was a moat outside the walls, but this 
 has been filled in, and part of it made into a 
 broad boulevard. The walls, with an oc- 
 casional sentry box jutting out from them, are 
 very picturesque, and form one of the strik- 
 ing features of Manila. 
 
 Just outside the walls is the Luneta, a large 
 open parkway. Band concerts are given here 
 almost every evening at sunset, and great 
 crowds, composed of all classes, come here at 
 that time to hear the music and have a little 
 social intercourse after the heat of the day. 
 The new Manila hotel stands on one side of 
 the Luneta, and the Army and Navy Club on 
 the other. 
 
 From the Luneta a broad avenue lined with 
 beautiful trees leads past the walled city to 
 the Pasig River. On the other side of the 
 river is the distinctly business section of the 
 town. The river itself is filled with odd craft, 
 many of them being house boats, and each one 
 has a vociferous rooster on its roof. 
 
 The natives of Manila seem to have a large 
 percentage of Spanish blood. The girls have 
 pretty coloring, and wear brightly colored 
 waists of stiff grass cloth, with enormous 
 sleeves. The men wear a pa jama-like coat 
 that looks most cool and comfortable to the 
 collared foreigner. 
 
 The heat was intense in the daytime, but 
 
MANILA, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 
 Street Scenes. 
 
MANILA 63 
 
 after the extreme cold of Shanghai it was very 
 welcome. But it did not tend to make one 
 energetic; and as I had been traveling pretty 
 strenuously I decided to take matters more 
 easily here. 
 
 The main beast of burden is the carabao, 
 or water buffalo. They are large, lumbering 
 creatures and move slowly, but are everywhere 
 used. 
 
 It is very common here to see a man walk- 
 ing along the street carrying a rooster, for 
 cock-fighting is the great sport of the country. 
 The fights are held in round buildings of fair 
 size, with a small arena in the center, and 
 seats rising in circles around it. One section 
 of these seats is reserved for the Chinese. 
 Cruel-looking razor-edged blades are fastened 
 to the rooster's gaff, and after the bets are 
 placed the fight begins. While the waits be- 
 tween rounds are long, the rounds themselves 
 are usually short. They are over so quickly 
 that there is little pleasure in watching them, 
 for it seems more like a butcher shop than a 
 sport. But the natives show great enthusiasm. 
 
 One of the most interesting things in Manila 
 is a drill to be witnessed every day at Bilibid 
 Prison. In the center of the prison is a 
 covered stand, with the various buildings 
 radiating from it. All the prisoners — about 
 twenty-eight thousand when I was there — can 
 be seen from this stand at the time of the 
 
64 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 drill. To the music of a prison band — which 
 played remarkably well — they marched in 
 fours from their respective buildings. Sud- 
 denly the band played " The Star Spangled 
 Banner," and the entire body of men saluted 
 while the flag was being lowered. It was 
 strangely impressive. After the salute they 
 went through various calisthenic exercises, 
 and then formed again and marched past the 
 kitchen, each man receiving beef stew and a 
 mess of rice. 
 
 On Hallowe'en an all-night ceremony is 
 held at Paco cemetery. In this cemetery the 
 dead are not buried in the ground, but are 
 placed in niches in the thick double walls 
 which surround it. The relatives of the de- 
 ceased keep watch near the tomb all night. 
 Many and strange were the decorations. The 
 whole place was brilliantly lighted by elec- 
 tricity. But the ceremony seemed to be de- 
 generating into a holiday merry-making fes- 
 tival. 
 
 On the trip up the Pasig River and through 
 Lake Laguna to Los Banos one passes many 
 interesting native villages. The houses are 
 made of nipa, thatched, and many of them 
 stand on bamboo poles. At one village a boy 
 boarded the boat selling hard-boiled eggs. I 
 bought one, but I did not eat it. An unde- 
 veloped chicken had almost complete posses- 
 sion of the interior ! Later I learned that this 
 
MANILA 65 
 
 is called an " old egg," and is considered a 
 great delicacy by the Filipino. Los Banyos 
 is noted for its hot sulphur baths. 
 
 But no description of Manila would be com- 
 plete without a mention of its glorious sunsets. 
 Imagine yourself on the Luneta at sundown, 
 a gentle breeze coming in from the bay. In 
 the distance the band is playing. The sky is 
 a marvelous red that is reflected in the waters 
 of the bay. Toward the right and left distant 
 lofty palms are silhouetted against the bril- 
 liant coloring of the sky, while directly in front 
 may come a stray light from the island of 
 Corregidor. Slowly the red turns to a deep 
 orange, and then the sun sinks behind the 
 horizon in a burst of golden glory. Surely 
 these sunsets are the islands' greatest beauty. 
 
Chapter VI 
 
 SINGAPORE AND JAVA 
 
 It took four days on the " Prins Eitel" to 
 go from Hong Kong to Singapore. Here you 
 come in contact with a black race ; and dirty, 
 skinny, ugly people do they look at first, after 
 the clean, small, but well-proportioned Chinese. 
 Not that the Chinese are left behind now — on 
 the contrary, they are very much in evidence, 
 especially as rickshaw runners. But from 
 here on you see them in decreasing numbers, 
 and it is with regret that you see them pass. 
 
 The population of Singapore is very mixed. 
 Malays and Chinese predominate, but natives 
 from all parts of India, Ceylon, Java and Siam 
 are often seen. 
 
 Although Singapore is within two degrees 
 of the equator it is not so hot as might be 
 expected, and the climate varies little. In this 
 it has the advantage of the cities of India. 
 Its public buildings are substantial and im- 
 posing, and " Raffles Square " and other parts 
 of the city are attractive. The inevitable Eng- 
 lish botanical garden is present, but cannot 
 compare with the gardens of Java or Ceylon. 
 
 The carabao of Manila is here displaced by 
 the zebu, with its peculiar hump and twisted 
 66 
 
SINGAPORE AND JAVA 67 
 
 horns, which the natives often paint in bright 
 colors. 
 
 The market, with its native fruits and other 
 products, and its native salesmen was worth a 
 visit. In a big wicker basket I noticed a 
 chicken that was having a glorious time peck- 
 ing at all its mates. The owner noticed it too, 
 and nonchalantly lifted the chick from the 
 basket, broke its lower bill with his thumb, 
 and threw it back. 
 
 A short train trip through large rubber 
 plantations brings one to the little principality 
 of Johore, where one can visit the palace of the 
 reigning prince. He was educated abroad, 
 and his palace is a curious mixture of foreign 
 and native ideas. 
 
 At the hotels the beds are remarkable, in 
 that they have only a lower sheet, with no 
 cover of any kind, unless the " Dutch Wife " 
 can be so considered. It is a soft round 
 bolster-like object about four feet long, and 
 lies lengthwise on the bed, but the manner of 
 utilizing it is rather perplexing, and remains 
 ever a mystery to the tourist. The bath-room 
 has a huge jardiniere for a tub, about four feet 
 across and correspondingly deep, which is filled 
 with water. But do not make the mistake of 
 trying to get into it — you must simply splash 
 water from it over yourself with the aid of a 
 small tin bucket. 
 
 The " Reijniersz " — these Dutch names are 
 
68 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 almost as unpronounceable as the Russian — 
 took but two days to go from Singapore to 
 Tanjand-Priok, the port of Batavia in Java. 
 At Batavia the heat was intense, but further 
 back in the mountains it was very comfortable. 
 During the week I was in Java — and that is 
 by no means long enough for this interesting 
 island — it rained constantly for the first four 
 days, but by mistake gave three fairly clear 
 days after that. It always rains in Java — 
 not showers, but heavy downpours — except 
 perhaps during the month of May. 
 
 Batavia is divided into two parts. The 
 southern part is the business section, and the 
 northern part, called Weltvreden, is the resi- 
 dential section. Through the middle of the 
 city, on the main street, runs a canal, supposed 
 to resemble those of Holland — for Java, of 
 course, has long been under the control of 
 the Dutch. In these canals the natives bathe, 
 and wash their horses and their clothes. 
 Little one-horse carriages, in which the pas- 
 senger has to sit riding backward, abound. 
 They are easy to get in and out of, and are 
 cheap, even if they are not particularly com- 
 fortable. 
 
 Buitenzorg is a short train ride from 
 Weltvreden. Here are the famous botanical 
 gardens, said to be the finest in the world, 
 and especially noted for their collection of 
 orchids. The gardens were lovely, and the 
 
SINGAPORE AND JAVA 69 
 
 trees and tree-ferns magnificent, but apprecia- 
 tion was dulled by steady, heavy rain. Here 
 a boy brought me a leaf — I glanced at it but 
 saw nothing unusual. As he persisted I 
 looked at it again, and found that it was not 
 a leaf at all, but an insect — a perfect repro- 
 duction of a leaf. The hotel here is beauti- 
 fully situated on a cliff near the river, but we 
 had to take the view on faith, as it was com- 
 pletely hidden by the rain. 
 
 At luncheon they served a " rice table." 
 This is a dish famous in Java, and it con- 
 stitutes a whole meal. A deep soup plate is 
 placed in front of you, and then various edi- 
 bles are passed in bewildering succession. I 
 can by no means remember all the dishes — 
 there must have been over thirty — but some 
 of them were hash balls, preserves, poached 
 eggs, curry, jam, shrimps and other fish, 
 " Irish " stew, and chicken, fried, boiled and 
 fricasseed! The resultant concoction was re- 
 markable, but it was also very good. 
 
 At Garoet the bad weather continued, and 
 prevented me from taking the " Papandayan " 
 trip, the crater of one of the volcanoes with 
 which the island abounds. But I did not see 
 a single volcano while in Java, on account of 
 the low clouds. 
 
 At a native theater here the actors wore 
 huge masks much like the faces made fa- 
 miliar by their drawings and carvings. The 
 
70 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 " dancing " was mostly posturing, with 
 elaborate arm and finger motions, and a little 
 rather vulgar by-play among the clowns com- 
 pleted the performance. 
 
 While at Garoet a large market was held, 
 and it gave an unusual opportunity to study 
 the natives. The women wear sarongs, pieces 
 of cloth about three by eight feet, and sewed 
 together at the ends. These have elaborately 
 wrought designs, all done by hand, and are 
 dyed deep shades of brown, orange, and red, 
 and sometimes of blue. The men wear 
 sarongs that are not sewed together, and have 
 on their heads turbans made out of square 
 pieces of cloth of similar color and design. 
 It is interesting to see these sarongs being 
 designed. The women are artists, and draw 
 most elaborate designs free hand. 
 
 One of the native musical instruments is 
 made of bamboo, and is very crude. But as 
 played by a band of boys, each holding two 
 of these instruments of different sizes and 
 tones, the effect is quite musical, even if a 
 small one by itself does sound like a tinkling 
 ice-water pitcher. 
 
 At the hotel one of my eggs was bad — 
 there was no doubt about it. The manager 
 apologized for it afterwards, by saying : " I 
 am sorry that the egg was not very well." 
 
 The trip from Garoet to Djokjakarta took 
 all day. No trains travel at night in Java, and 
 
SINGAPORE AND JAVA 71 
 
 no matter in what part of the island you are 
 the train you must take starts at daybreak. 
 At one station it was necessary to add another 
 car to our train. They uncoupled the last 
 car, but no one had put on the brakes, and it 
 rolled down the track for three miles. It took 
 over an hour to get that wandering car back. 
 
 The most distinctive feature of the land- 
 scape are the rice fields. They extend in all 
 directions, not only in the valleys, but also 
 climbing the mountain in picturesque terraces, 
 some of which are only a foot or two wide. 
 Rice can only grow in water, and the sparkle 
 of the water, the new green shoots of the rice, 
 the extensive terraces, and the luxurious tropi- 
 cal jungles form the greater part of the beauty 
 of the scenery of the island. 
 
 Near Djokjakarta — or Dojkja, as it is 
 usually called — are the ruins of the temple 
 of Prambanan. The temples though small, 
 are distinctive, and are covered with carvings 
 that show a high degree of artistic ability. 
 
 Returning from Prambanan by auto, a 
 broken bridge halted us. We crossed it safely 
 on foot, and then had to go to a near-by house 
 to telephone for another vehicle. It proved 
 to be the home of a wealthy sugar planter, 
 who received us cordially. A servant brought 
 out cigars and refreshments, and kneeled to 
 each one of us as he offered them, as every 
 well-trained Javanese must. 
 
J2 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 The question of the treatment of the na- 
 tives by a conquering nation is too big to be 
 discussed here, but the Dutch seem to have 
 solved it successfully. The natives are well 
 treated and have a share in the government, 
 but are constantly reminded that they are an 
 inferior race, who must show obedience and 
 respect to their conquerors. The Far-East- 
 erners are much like children — where they 
 are kindly but firmly treated they show the 
 greatest respect for their " parents." The 
 policy of equality introduced by Americans in 
 the Philippines — although absolutely correct 
 according to American principles — is entirely 
 unfit for these people, as yet. Perhaps some 
 day they may " grow up," but they will surely 
 be spoilt children if present conditions con- 
 tinue. 
 
 The Sultan's palace at Djokja is disappoint- 
 ing, in that the beautiful native industries of 
 the island are largely ignored, and the rooms 
 are furnished with Early Victorian orna- 
 ments — perhaps of great value but certainly 
 of doubtful beauty. Some of the rooms of 
 the palace furnished throughout in native style 
 were attractive. The Sultan is extremely fond 
 of cock-fighting, and has about a hundred 
 game cocks. Each of these has its personal 
 attendant, and it is amusing to watch a lot of 
 self-important game cocks strutting around 
 
rt 
 
SINGAPORE AND JAVA 73 
 
 the grounds with a native boy following each 
 of them. 
 
 Boro-boedoer is a massive ruin near Djokja, 
 and the most interesting building on the island. 
 It was built in the eighth or ninth century, 
 when Java was under control of the Buddhists. 
 It covers as much ground as the Great 
 Pyramid of Gizeh. It is a low stepped 
 pyramid, the steps forming four or five wide 
 balconies extending on all sides of the struc- 
 ture. These are decorated with ornamental 
 balustrades : and the whole stonework — 
 almost every inch of it, is decorated in low 
 bas-reliefs depicting scenes from the life of 
 Buddha. The architecture and carvings show 
 the very advanced civilization of that day. 
 Surmounting the structure is a bell-shaped 
 dagoba that is surrounded by smaller dagobas 
 of heavy open stone work, in each of which 
 can be seen a statue of Buddha. On each side 
 of the structure is a stairway leading to the 
 top. The stone is a dark gray, adding to the 
 dignity and impressiveness of the building. 
 
 Returning to Djokja, I was attracted by a 
 large crowd on the street. Joining them, and 
 waiting for a long while, I was finally re- 
 warded by a view of a native wedding. It 
 was a long procession. The first carriage was 
 on the order of a victoria. It was gaily 
 decorated, and was drawn by four horses. In 
 
74 ' GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 the back sat the bride and groom, who did 
 not seem to feel any keen enjoyment over the 
 proceedings. The bride's neck, arms and 
 shoulders were bare, and were painted a bright 
 yellow. She had an elaborately bejeweled 
 headdress, with large earrings. The groom 
 was stripped to the waist, and all the exposed 
 flesh was painted a darker yellow. He had 
 elaborate earrings, and a gorgeous skirt. On 
 the seat facing them-sat an elderly woman with 
 two small children. The procession consisted 
 of thirty or more carriages, filled with guests 
 in their wedding finery. It kept passing up 
 and down the main street for some time. I 
 asked the object of this, and was told it was 
 simply to advertise the marriage. 
 
 A hasty trip back to Batavia, and then on 
 to Singapore again. Here I had to wait a few 
 days before leaving for the north — days 
 which I should rather have spent in Java, but 
 the sailing dates would not allow it. 
 
Chapter VII 
 
 FROM SINGAPORE TO CALCUTTA 
 
 The chief excitement of the trip from Singa- 
 pore to Rangoon on the " Torilla " was a 
 waterspout. Though far away, it could be 
 plainly seen, a long, bending, swerving line of 
 water joining sea and sky. 
 
 An unusually congenial crowd was on 
 board, and the time passed quickly. Among 
 others was a Mrs. Butler from Boston, and 
 her three daughters, who might have posed 
 for the originals of " Pitti-sing, Peep-bo, and 
 Yum-yum." Later I had the pleasure of 
 traveling with them all through northern 
 India, and my recollections of that country are 
 tinged with double enjoyment from this pleas- 
 ant companionship. 
 
 The stop of a morning at Penang allowed us 
 to see some of the sights there. First we 
 visited a large and beautifully situated 
 Chinese temple, cleaner and more beautiful 
 than any we had seen in China. It had nu- 
 merous courts, and a few large pools, some 
 of which contained sacred turtles, and others 
 sacred fish whose holiness did not seem to 
 affect their appetite. Next we went to the 
 botanical gardens, and these were quite at- 
 75 
 
76 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 tractive. A little path led off to a waterfall ; 
 here we had our first glimpse of wild monkeys. 
 On the fifth day the " Torilla " reached 
 Rangoon. Here, to my lasting regret, I had 
 but two days. 
 
 The Burmese people are most attractive. 
 The women, with their pretty, happy faces, 
 daintily colored dresses and absolute freedom, 
 remind one strongly of the Japanese. It is 
 amazing to see these dainty women smoking 
 huge black cigars. The Buddhist monk is 
 omnipresent, his orange toga making him con- 
 spicuous. 
 
 The Shwe-Dagon Pagoda is a bell-shaped 
 dagoba, and not a pagoda at all. It is three 
 hundred and seventy feet high, and rests on 
 a rectangular base almost half as high. It 
 is entirely covered with gold leaf, and this, 
 with its great height, makes it a conspicuous 
 and beautiful feature of the landscape. It is 
 the oldest and most venerated of the Buddhist 
 places of worship, and is the only one credited 
 with containing relics of Gautauma and three 
 of the Buddhas who preceded him. Around 
 its base, on the platform, are innumerable 
 small temples and shrines. A few of them are 
 studded with millions of small mirrors, with 
 columns treated in the same way, which re- 
 mind one of Coney Island. But others of 
 them are very beautiful, and show especial 
 excellence in their wood carvings. 
 
^LM 
 
 PENANG AND SINGAPORE. 
 A Water Carrier, with the Ever-present Standard Oil 
 Can. Penang. Workmen, Singapore. A Little 
 Chinaman at the Chinese Temple, Penang. "Bak- 
 sheesh," Penang. 
 
FROM SINGAPORE TO CALCUTTA 77 
 
 Seen from a distance, its base hidden by 
 trees, its golden spire glistening in the sun- 
 light and reflected in the waters of a little lake, 
 it is very picturesque. 
 
 Through an interpreter I spoke with sev- 
 eral of the yellow-robed monks. They asked 
 me many searching questions, but perhaps the 
 most astounding of all was a request to know 
 if the President of the United States was a 
 Buddhist. 
 
 At Insein — accent the first syllable, please 
 — is a Baptist missionary station, which has 
 two theological seminaries among other in- 
 dustries. One of these is for the Karens 
 alone, and had one hundred and forty-four 
 students registered. My visit there was all 
 too short. 
 
 Another boat, the " Aronda" had to be 
 taken from Rangoon to Singapore, and nearly 
 all of the " Torillds " passengers transferred 
 to it. By arising at five in the morning and 
 poring over numerous charts I at last found 
 the Southern Cross. It is a small but bril- 
 liant constellation ; in this latitude, of course, 
 very near the horizon. 
 
 The second day brought us to Calcutta. 
 Some of our congenial party were in haste, 
 and were anxious to go directly up to Darjeel- 
 ing, So thirteen of us decided to go to Dar- 
 jeeling that afternoon, though it left us but two 
 hours to get money and tickets, arrange about 
 
78 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 baggage, purchase the bedding necessary for 
 the trip, and catch a train at a station miles 
 across town. Naturally we saw little of Cal- 
 cutta on our arrival ! 
 
* 
 
 RANGOON, BURMA. 
 
 Temples and Shrines at the Base of the Shwe-Dagon 
 
 Pagoda. 
 
Chapter VIII 
 
 INDIA 
 
 Darjeeling is the summer resort of the 
 foreign residents of India. In December it is 
 bitingly cold. The hotel was frigid, and the 
 tiny grates seemed only to emphasize the cold- 
 ness. But all discomforts are forgotten after 
 your first glimpse of Kinchin junga. This 
 mountain, over five miles high, and the second 
 highest in the world, is but forty miles away, 
 and the view of it from Darjeeling is mag- 
 nificent. 
 
 Among the natives here are many Tibetans, 
 who resemble in color, size and high cheek 
 bone our own American Indian. It takes 
 three or four of them to pull or push the 
 rickshaws over the hilly paths, and the shorter 
 the time you have been there the more it 
 takes, for they have learned that the new- 
 comer is apt to be sympathetic. 
 
 One of the regular features of the hotel is 
 a Tibetan dance, given in the evening. The 
 chief dancer was a small boy of from twelve 
 to fifteen — and small for his age — who had 
 on a yellow dress and a clown mask. His 
 antics and caperings were really remarkably 
 clever and well done. The dance was a kind 
 79 
 
80 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 of parable, the diminutive dancer being at- 
 tacked by dragons and horsemen in grotesque 
 costumes. It did not seem possible that that 
 tiny child could remember all the work he had 
 to do. 
 
 It was far from easy to get up in the biting 
 cold the next morning at a quarter past three, 
 in order to go to Tiger Hill for the sunrise. 
 Never have I wanted to see a sunrise less. 
 But a party of us got started finally, some 
 walking, some riding, and others using the 
 sedan chair, carried by six or eight Tibetans. 
 For most of the six miles to Tiger Hill the 
 journey was in pitch darkness, over rough 
 winding paths, and it was certainly weird. 
 The coolies broke the monotony by singing 
 
 — one man singing a line and then all join- 
 ing in a chorus that sounded like " Hi — yi 
 
 — hi — alloy. Yi — hi — yi — alloy." Fi- 
 nally it grew lighter, and shortly after arriving 
 at Tiger Hill the sun rose. The view was 
 marvelous, extending in all directions, but it 
 was not for that alone we were here at this 
 hour. At sunrise the mists break, and there 
 is the possibility of seeing Mount Everest, 
 the highest mountain in the world, one hun- 
 dred and twenty-seven miles away. A loud 
 shout went up from the men as the clouds 
 parted, and in the dim distance, almost hidden 
 by intervening mountains, was a tiny cone 
 that we were told was Everest. From this 
 
INDIA 81 
 
 distance it was utterly unimpressive, and we 
 had to take consolation in the fact that we had 
 seen it. 
 
 Christmas week in Calcutta is the great 
 social season, and there was much to see and 
 do. Christmas day — which had been rather 
 dreaded — passed very delightfully, for al- 
 though one missed old friends and faces, and 
 the whole Christmas atmosphere, new friends 
 made it a day full of fun and merriment. 
 
 Just a word about traveling in India. The 
 distances are great, and most of the traveling 
 must be done at night. The sleeping cars 
 are divided into several compartments each 
 of which can accommodate four people. Each 
 compartment has its private lavatory — there 
 is no public passage. The trains are not as 
 clean as they might be. The berths are wide 
 and fairly comfortable. Of course you must 
 have your own bedding, and it is in the man- 
 agement of your baggage and this bedding 
 that a servant is really useful. It is perfectly 
 possible to go through India without a serv- 
 ant — don't let any Englishman convince you 
 to the contrary. A good servant is a great 
 convenience — a poor one is worse than use- 
 less. 
 
 At Benares there are a few temples and a 
 palace to be seen, but the trip on the Ganges 
 so far outweighs them in interest as to leave 
 them negligible. The native part of the town 
 
82 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 has narrow winding streets, and is indescrib- 
 ably dirty. The Ganges is lined on one side 
 with large buildings called ghats — though on 
 the opposite bank there is a sand waste, with- 
 out dwellings or verdure. The best way to see 
 these ghats is from the roof of a small house 
 boat, rowed slowly up and down the stream. 
 It is a wonderful picture. The ghats them- 
 selves are magnificent buildings, standing on 
 a broad base with steps leading directly into 
 the river. Countless natives, many of them 
 pilgrims to the sacred river from all parts of 
 India, in all imaginable garbs, stand on these 
 steps. Some are washing themselves in the 
 sacred waters, some are praying to the sun, 
 many are going through strange motions so 
 intent on their devotions as to be entirely 
 oblivious of their surroundings. Huge um- 
 brellas are everywhere, adding to the wonder- 
 ful effects of light and shade. Here is a holy 
 man, his body covered with ashes; here a 
 barber, sitting on his haunches, shaving his 
 customer in the middle of the street; here is 
 a snake charmer, with a basket full of rep- 
 tiles ; and here are washermen beating clothes 
 on the flat rocks, and laying the pieces al- 
 ready washed on the ground to dry in the 
 sun, until the whole shore around them is 
 covered. 
 
 The burning ghat is usually considered the 
 most interesting of all. Lucky indeed is the 
 
I— I & 
 
 Q 
 
 PS 
 
 H 
 
INDIA 83 
 
 Hindu who dies in Benares ; for then his ashes 
 can be thrown in the sacred water of the 
 Ganges. As our boat approached, the body 
 of a man — later we were told it was that of 
 a high priest — lay wrapped to the chin in 
 white, with flowers on his breast. He was 
 lying on a litter resting on the steps, with his 
 feet submerged in the sacred waters. A bar- 
 ber was shaving him, while attendants built 
 the pyre. When all was ready, the body was 
 lifted to the pyre, where a few simple cere- 
 monies took place. Then four pots of fire 
 were placed at each corner of the pyre, and 
 it was further ignited by long pieces of burn- 
 ing straw. Slowly it burned, but fiercely. 
 Later, when the fire burnt out, the ashes were 
 to be scattered over the Ganges. 
 
 While watching the funeral of the priest, 
 two other bodies arrived — one in a litter — 
 the other, that of a young girl entirely swathed 
 in red, lay in a small boat that was brought 
 noiselessly to the ghat — an Oriental Elaine. 
 
 Unlike most tourists we did not stop at 
 Cawnpore and Lucknow, with their memories 
 of the Mutiny, but continued direct to Agra. 
 Agra — the city of the Great Moguls — of 
 Akbar and of Shah Jehan. The Taj Mahal 
 is the undeniable queen of all India — perhaps 
 of the world. But one is dumbfounded at 
 the marvelous and exquisite beauty of the 
 other buildings of Agra — beauty which would 
 
84 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 be heralded as widely were it not for the pres- 
 ence of this overshadowing sister. 
 
 Of the Taj Mahal itself little need be said. 
 It is exquisite — it is perfect. At all times, 
 from all positions of vantage, it is the superb 
 mistress of Agra. There was one surprise, 
 and that was the absence of perforated marble 
 screen work. Of this the Taj has none — 
 save the screen in the interior around the 
 tomb. But this was no disappointment — the 
 building is too grandly conceived to need the 
 dainty fretwork of such screens. It is a 
 glorious monument to Love — would it be 
 irreverent to wonder if Shah Jehan thought 
 of it — not only as a monument to the woman 
 he loved — but also as a monument to himself 
 — to his own constancy and affection? 
 
 The tomb of I'timad-ud-daulah lies a little 
 north of Agra. He was a councilor of 
 Jahangir's, and the grandfather of the lady 
 of the Taj. Its beauty lies not so much in 
 its architecture and proportions as in the ex- 
 quisite daintiness of all its details. The en- 
 tire exterior is one mass of marble inlay, ex- 
 cept for the marble screens in the window 
 recesses. It has been called a huge jewel 
 casket — but surely that does not do it jus- 
 tice. It is a fairy palace, an expression of 
 delight, with no thought or suggestion of 
 death, but rather a hope of immortality far 
 removed from Nirvana. 
 
*^i 
 
 AGRA, INDIA. 
 
 The Tomb of I'timad-ud-daulah 
 Ayr , , A Glimpse of the Taj. 
 Marble Screen in the Tomb of Salim Chishti 
 Tomb of Salim Chishti, Fatehpur-Sikrf. ' 
 
INDIA 85 
 
 The massive castellated battlements of the 
 fort at Agra give no hint of the beauty of 
 some of the apartments within. So the 
 Pearl Mosque is something of a surprise, with 
 its large white marble court and its surround- 
 ing arches, but it is only the beginning. 
 There are many other beautiful buildings, 
 culminating in the magnificent Diwan-i-khas 
 and the Saman-burg. The Diwan-i-khas, or 
 private audience hall, is a one-story structure 
 of white marble, the fagade a row of Oriental 
 arches, delicately carved and ornamented with 
 elaborate inlays of semi-precious stones. The 
 Saman-burg, or Jesamine Burg, were the pri- 
 vate apartments of Shah Jehan's favorite wife, 
 the lady of the Taj. Would it be an exaggera- 
 tion to say that your most gorgeous imaginings 
 of the Arabian Nights could not exceed the 
 beauty of these rooms? A mere description 
 gives scant idea — what is it to say that there 
 is an octagonal room of white marble, with a 
 balcony on one side and an entrance porch 
 on the other, with every square inch of wall, 
 ceiling and floor carved or inlaid with precious 
 or semi-precious stones of every hue, the 
 whole making a paragon of light and shade, of 
 color and contrast, of grace and delicacy? It 
 is the dream of the dilettante, the exquisite, 
 the sensualist, the poet — perfectly realized 
 in marble. 
 
 After the beauties of these apartments the 
 
86 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 remaining buildings in the fort seem unin- 
 teresting. Built of red sandstone, with mag- 
 nificent carvings, they are a more masculine 
 expression of architecture, but they lack the 
 over-powering effect possessed by the other 
 buildings. 
 
 Akbar's Tomb at Secundra is another of the 
 mighty monuments of Agra. It has a beauti- 
 ful gateway, but the mass of the building itself 
 is not good. Its greatest beauty is its 
 perforated marble screen work. 
 
 At Fatehpur Sikri, twenty miles away, 
 stands the deserted city of Akbar. Built in 
 commemoration of a vow, he and his court 
 lived here for a few years but were compelled 
 to leave it by a pestilence — or perhaps by lack 
 of water. There are many buildings, all of 
 red sandstone, and covered with exquisite re- 
 liefs. The Dargah Mosque adjoins a large 
 quadrangle over three hundred by four hun- 
 dred feet in size. It is built entirely of red 
 sandstone, and in one corner stands the dargah 
 or tomb of Salim Chishti 'made entirely of 
 white marble, and containing more exquisite 
 marble screens, among the finest of all India. 
 Inside the tomb is a magnificent canopy, the 
 entire surface of which is inlaid with mother 
 of pearl. One of the gateways to the quad- 
 rangle is the " Gate of Victory," considered 
 the most impressive in India. It is necessary 
 to see it from a distance to get an idea of 
 

 _. : _ r _,., .. 
 
 ■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 *' 
 
 
 
 ■mmmm 
 
 mm. 
 
 
 
 
 AGRA, INDIA. 
 
 The "Saman-burg." 
 
 Detail of the Carving on the Exterior of the Taj 
 
 Mahal. 
 
 Entrance to the "Saman-burg." 
 
 The Pearl Mosque. 
 
INDIA 87 
 
 its majestic proportions and its dignity of 
 location. 
 
 Before leaving Agra I wanted a final look 
 at the Taj. Taking a dirty ferry across the 
 Jumna at sunset, the view of the Taj with its 
 reflection in the river was surpassingly beauti- 
 ful. 
 
 A little way up the river I noticed a light, 
 and asked my ferryman by gesticulation to 
 take me there. As I suspected, it proved to 
 be a Hindu burning ghat, with two pyres burn- 
 ing brightly. One of them was nearly burnt 
 out, but the other was only partly con- 
 sumed, and I examined it very closely. A 
 native, in perfect English, said: 
 
 " Haven't you ever seen a dead Hindu 
 body?" 
 
 Realizing that perhaps I had seemed dis- 
 respectful, I replied that I had, but was always 
 interested, and asked if it was a relative of 
 his. He replied that it was the wife of his 
 son, a boy of eighteen standing near. I asked 
 if there had been any children. He replied: 
 
 " No. I spent eleven hundred rupees 
 (about three hundred and fifty dollars) on 
 the wedding — this man here — her father — 
 he spent a lot of money too — and — no re- 
 sults." 
 
 Imagine standing on the bank of the Jumna, 
 the fairylike Taj seeming to float in the gather- 
 ing dusk, its image duplicated in the river. 
 
88 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 The solemn stillness of the twilight was 
 broken only by the crackling logs of the 
 funeral pyre, burning fiercely with its human 
 freight, and lighting up the earnest sober faces 
 of these Hindus; and you have a picture of 
 my farewell to Agra. 
 
 The royal apartments in the fort at Delhi 
 are second only to those of Agra, and many 
 consider them finer % They are perhaps a little 
 more refined, but in places began to show the 
 decadence of the style. A shallow channel 
 runs the entire length of all these apartments. 
 In olden days water used to run through this, 
 to keep the rooms as cool as possible. 
 
 The Jama Mas j id is the largest mosque in 
 India. It is a red sandstone building with 
 white marble trimmings, and is flanked by two 
 graceful minarets. It has three domes, also 
 of white marble. Before the mosque is a large 
 court surrounded by an arcade — mosque and 
 court being raised on a high platform in the 
 midst of the city, with imposing flights of 
 steps leading to them. 
 
 The Kutab Minar is one of the most beauti- 
 ful towers of victory in the world. In design 
 it is unique, in that it uses vertical flutings 
 that are semi-circular and angular. 
 
 There are many historic buildings to be 
 seen at Delhi, such as the tomb of Humayun, 
 which served later as the model for the Taj 
 Mahal, but there is not space to speak of them. 
 
DELHI, INDIA. 
 The Kutab Minar. 
 
INDIA 
 
 No trip to Delhi is complete, however, with- 
 out a visit to the Ridge, to see the site of so 
 many of the events of the Mutiny of 1857. 
 
 The main streets of Jaipur are very wide, 
 and all the houses are painted pink. The 
 street scenes are fascinating — the natives in 
 their dresses of brilliant reds, browns and yel- 
 lows. An occasional camel or elephant is 
 seen, and wild peacocks abound. Often you 
 would see two natives holding a strip of newly 
 dyed red cloth many yards long, waving it 
 back and forth to dry it more quickly. It is 
 certainly a city of much color. 
 
 Amber is a ruined and deserted city five 
 miles from Jaipur. Part of the trip can be 
 made on elephant back, if you so desire, but 
 it is not particularly to be desired. The situa- 
 tion of the deserted palace on the side of the 
 hill, with a little lake at its base, is very pic- 
 turesque. The rooms of the palace, while by 
 no means as handsome as the Mohammedan 
 palaces of Agra and Delhi, have still a great 
 deal of beauty, and much that is original in 
 decoration. 
 
 Another night journey brought us to 
 Abu Road. Having neglected to telegraph 
 ahead for tongas, we had great difficulty in 
 procuring any. While waiting I went to the 
 dining-room and asked for some soft boiled 
 eggs. The servant answered : 
 
 " Fried eggs ? " 
 
go GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 " No, no. Soft boiled, half boiled." 
 
 "Not fried?" 
 
 "No. Boiled/' 
 
 He was gone at least five minutes, and 
 then returned, saying: — 
 
 " Sahib have fried eggs ? " 
 
 " No, no, no. I want boiled eggs." 
 
 " No have boiled eggs — cook fried 'em." 
 
 I had fried eggs.. 
 
 The tongas, when they did arrive were 
 hailed with joy. But the long eighteen-mile 
 trip up the mountain to Mount Abu was to be 
 fraught with excitement. The man in charge 
 of the tonga line had been in charge for only 
 ten days, and the horses were for the most 
 part unbroken. As we got higher up on the 
 hill, with a steep descent on the side of the 
 road, one of the horses balked, and nearly 
 succeeded in spilling us over the edge of the 
 cliff. Then he dashed for the wall on the 
 other side. The driver, fortunately, was ex- 
 cellent, or there might have been a different 
 story to tell. At the next relay two miles fur- 
 ther up on the road we got other horses, fully 
 as unbroken, but not quite so demonstrative. 
 
 Mount Abu, like Darjeeling, is used as a 
 summer resort. It is delightfully situated, and 
 possesses a small lake, a rarity in India. But 
 the main interest here is centered in the Dil- 
 warra temples. These were built by the 
 Jains about the twelfth century, and are 
 
INDIA 91 
 
 among the oldest temples of India. The Jains 
 are an ancient but small sect of the Buddhists. 
 The temples are small, and wholly unimpres- 
 sive from the exterior. But on the inside 
 almost every square inch of the surface is 
 carved, and it is to the minuteness, delicacy, 
 and exquisiteness of these carvings that the 
 temples owe their reputation. They are 
 marvelously beautiful, and stand among the 
 most artistic buildings of India. 
 
 Ahmedabad had many beautiful buildings, 
 of graceful shape and delicate carving, 
 but as they are small and built of brown stone 
 they are by no means as impressive as many 
 of the other buildings of India. The city was 
 disgustingly dirty, and we tarried no longer 
 than necessary. The Sidi Said Mosque has 
 two beautiful perforated windows. They 
 were of stone — not of marble, and though 
 not as handsome as the marble ones already 
 seen, for pure beauty of pattern they were un- 
 rivaled. A drive to a near-by lake was of in- 
 terest, if only on account of the wild monkeys. 
 They surrounded the carriage — really, they 
 are much preferable behind bars. If we had 
 needed anything to complete our disgust with 
 Ahmedabad, it was provided by a visit to a 
 Hindu animal hospital. This was filthily 
 dirty, and filled with deformed and diseased 
 animals of every kind. A crying cat in a tiny 
 dirty cage called our attention to the fact that 
 
92 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 its mate in the same cage was dead : later we 
 discovered a dead hen in another small cage, 
 with a live one. The keepers of the gate were 
 rather surprised at our hasty departure, and 
 greatly grieved at the size of our baksheesh! 
 After that we couldn't quit Ahmedabad too 
 quickly. 
 
 Bombay formed a great contrast. It is a 
 beautiful city, with many large and imposing 
 if not attractive buildings. Here are the fa- 
 mous Parsee Towers of Silence. The Parsees 
 are descendants of the ancient Persian immi- 
 grants to this country. They are in advance 
 of the people of India in intelligence and in- 
 dustry, and are said to be greatly hated by 
 them. They do not believe in polluting any 
 of the elements — earth, air, water, or even 
 fire — with the bodies of their dead, and so 
 have devised these Towers of Silence. There 
 are five of them, the largest being twenty-five 
 feet high and nearly three hundred feet in cir- 
 cumference. A small model of one tower 
 can be inspected, for no one but certain 
 priests is allowed to enter the towers them- 
 selves. The interior is divided into three 
 concentric circles: the outside one for the 
 bodies of men, the middle one for women, and 
 the center one for children. The body is 
 placed here by the priests, and in a short time 
 every particle of flesh is torn from the bones 
 by the vultures, that are always sitting on 
 
INDIA 93 
 
 the top of the wall — more forbidding than 
 Poe's raven. The time taken to strip the 
 bodies is variously estimated from ten minutes 
 to three hours. After the bones are dried 
 they are thrown in a well in the center of the 
 tower. It seems horrible at first, but is it so 
 much more revolting than our own method 
 of burial? 
 
 From Bombay I went to Bangalore by way 
 of Poona, avoiding Madras. As far as 
 Poona the scenery was by far the prettiest 
 that I saw in India. But the rest of the two- 
 day trip was tedious. Bangalore is far south, 
 and the difference between the people here 
 and farther north was very marked. In fact 
 no two of the native cities of India are alike 
 — each has its own individuality. There was 
 nothing to detain me at Bangalore, so I con- 
 tinued to Trichinopoly, with its rock and its 
 temple. The temple was on much the same 
 plan as the one at Madura, to be mentioned 
 later. The rock is but a little over two hun- 
 dred feet high, but the plain surrounding it is 
 flat, making the view from the top very ex- 
 tensive. 
 
 The temple at Tanjore is slightly different 
 from the one at Madura, though modeled on 
 the same lines. The gopuram here is high 
 and very beautiful. This temple is remark- 
 able for its thousands of linghams, represent- 
 ing Shiva, and I was fortunate in getting a 
 
94 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 photograph of a woman praying to one of 
 them. There is also a beautiful little shrine 
 to a son of Shiva, and there is also an impos- 
 ing statue of the sacred bull of Shiva. As I 
 entered a boy was playing " My Country 'tis 
 of Thee " on a flute — shrilly and haltingly. 
 Germans, English and Americans compose 
 practically all the tourists that come to India ; 
 and this is a national tune of each of these 
 nations ; so the flutist can hardly make a mis- 
 take no matter who approaches. 
 
 The enclosure of the Great Temple at 
 Madura is very large, over eight hundred by 
 seven hundred feet. It has nine gopurams. 
 These gopurams are pyramidal towers over 
 gateways, and are crowded with sculpture; so 
 crowded, in fact, that the dignity and mass 
 of the gopurams themselves are lost in study- 
 ing the details. But in the moonlights the de- 
 tails are blotted out, and then, outlined against 
 the sky, they are amazing and impressive bits 
 of architecture. The four gopurams on the 
 outside walls are the largest — the highest one 
 is over a hundred and fifty feet. Nearly all 
 the temple grounds are open to inspection, 
 except the sanctuary itself. There are 
 courts and walls, temples and hallways with- 
 out number, where one can wander for hours. 
 One of the large corridors around the temple 
 is entirely of stone, the ceiling being supported 
 by elaborately carved brackets resting on large 
 
TANJORE, INDIA. 
 Praying to a Lingham. 
 
INDIA 95 
 
 weird horses, lions, and men, as caryatides. 
 One portion of it was infested with bats. 
 This hall was large, long and impressive, but 
 it was also dingy, smelly, and dirty. 
 
 Near one of the buildings I spied an ele- 
 phant. A small boy — he could not have 
 been over ten — took him in charge, and it was 
 certainly amusing to see him manage that huge 
 beast. He would strike him and beat him, and 
 push him out of the way, and then proceed 
 to clean the cage with his bare feet. He must 
 have been the son of the keeper, or the 
 elephant, I was told, would not have taken the 
 treatment so good-naturedly. 
 
 A hall near the temple, called Tirumala's 
 Choultry, had numerous natives sitting around 
 on the floor, sewing. Most of them were us- 
 ing little hand sewing machines — I counted 
 over a hundred of them. 
 
 In the evening I returned to the temple 
 again, and wandered by myself through those 
 strange halls. In the distance I heard the 
 noise of music, but paid no attention to it at 
 first. Then I heard a loud shout, and knew 
 that some ceremony must be in progress. I 
 hurried toward the noise, and found a vast 
 crowd in a lofty stone hall, lit by torches 
 carried by tiny naked children. In the center, 
 surrounded by priests, sat statues of the god 
 and goddess on the back of silver bulls. They 
 each had an attendant who fanned them con- 
 
96 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 stantly. A band was marching through the 
 hall, followed by priests carrying great red and 
 white umbrella-like canopies. Finally they 
 stopped in front of the statues, and as they 
 did so an instantaneous hush came over the 
 crowd. Suddenly came a weird sound, be- 
 ginning as a kind of groan, and ending as a 
 shout, and then all the people raised their 
 hands above their, heads, and many of them 
 threw themselves upon the stone floor. It 
 was an uncanny, mysterious sight. 
 
 " That's all," came a matter-of-fact voice by 
 my ear. The spell was broken. The voice 
 was that of one of the temple guards. But 
 he was wrong ; it was not all. The procession 
 formed again, the gods were raised from their 
 places and carried — much as the ark of the 
 covenant must have been carried — to their 
 place. And all the time their attendants kept 
 fanning them. The lights and shadows of the 
 flickering torches, the weird procession, made 
 up one of the most unusual sights of the whole 
 trip. 
 
 As I emerged through one of the gopurams, 
 I happened on another procession of an en- 
 tirely different character. It was a wedding 
 party. The bride and groom, gorgeously 
 dressed — the groom far more gorgeously 
 than the bride — sat in an open victoria, with 
 rows of candles in glass shields running along 
 each side. Four natives were carrying large 
 
MADURA, INDIA. 
 
 'The Tank of the Golden Lilies." 
 
 COLOMBO, CEYLON. 
 
 A Banyan Tree. 
 
INDIA 97 
 
 gas lamps with portable tanks, and they cast 
 a strong light over the scene. Before the car- 
 riage was the musician, and behind it came 
 the wedding guests on foot. As soon as I 
 appeared I seemed to divide attention with 
 the bride and groom. Not wishing to set up 
 a counter attraction, I tried to lose myself by 
 sitting down on a low step. But to no pur- 
 pose. I was immediately surrounded by at 
 least fifty peeping, smiling faces. Seeing that 
 I was causing more curiosity by sitting than I 
 did while standing, I rose and mingled with 
 the crowd again. The procession would move 
 about ten feet, and then stop, and wait for 
 ages before moving again. A man stepped up 
 to me and said " Marriage." A boy brought 
 me a tray bearing some leaves and nuts, some 
 white powder, and a bowl of brownish liquid. 
 Here was a dilemma for which I was entirely 
 unprepared. They were evidently being po- 
 lite and courteous, and were treating me 
 as a wedding guest. I was evidently expected 
 to do something, but I had not the slightest 
 idea what it was. I did not want to be dis- 
 courteous — I did want to be appreciative. 
 Just at this critical point up came a bright 
 smiling boy who spoke excellent English. He 
 said I was to dip my finger in the liquid and 
 rub it on my hands, then take some of the 
 nuts, dip them in the powder, and chew them. 
 With fear and trembling I acquiesced. The 
 
98 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 liquid was a sandal wood ointment, fragrant 
 and clean. So far, so good. The nuts looked 
 suspicious, but not until they were sprinkled 
 with the powder (said to have been lime) 
 and in my mouth did I realize what they were. 
 Then, although I had never tasted them, I 
 knew that they were betel nuts. These nuts 
 are chewed by the natives all through India 
 and in many other countries, to make their 
 mouths and lips red. It is not a beautiful 
 sight. It did not take me long to dispose of it 
 secretly, though I kept up the appearance of 
 chewing. Then I asked the boy why the pro- 
 cession moved so slowly. He answered: 
 " Because of the musician. He is the best one 
 in Madura." And he insisted that I should 
 hear him play. I was led to the piper at the 
 head of the procession, and a circle was imme- 
 diately formed around us. With a foreigner 
 for audience the piper fairly outdid himself. 
 He postured and danced, he rolled his eyes and 
 puffed his cheeks to unthinkable dimensions. 
 You can imagine my feelings: the bride and 
 groom sat deserted in their carriage, looking 
 extremely glum ; the musician making hideous 
 sounds: the crowd interested and amused. I 
 knew it was necessary for me to tip him, and 
 in giving him a rupee I probably paid as much 
 or more than did those who hired him. 
 Finally I said good night and left — but it was 
 useless — the whole procession followed. So 
 
INDIA 99 
 
 I had to stop again, and this time make my 
 good-night more definite, and at last escaped. 
 But that day at Madura was memorable. 
 
 Before taking the train for Tuticorin the 
 next morning, I had an opportunity to visit 
 the palace of Tirumala Nayak, now used for 
 public offices. Though built almost at the 
 same time as the temples, it in no way re- 
 sembles them. It seems like a much more 
 modern building. At Tuticorin it is neces- 
 sary to take a small tender seven miles down 
 the bay to board the boat for Ceylon, and 
 the trip is none too calm. 
 
 I had been over five weeks in India, and had 
 seen only a small portion of it, but the time 
 had come to depart. I left it with much re- 
 gret — it is a fascinating country. 
 
Chapter IX 
 
 CEYLON 
 
 The next morning the boat arrived at 
 Colombo. It is not an impressive port, 
 though it is one of the busiest in the world. 
 Colombo itself is a straggling town of little 
 beauty. Here again were rickshaws, and it 
 was good to see them, for these little vehicles 
 are very convenient. 
 
 Kandy is the capital of Ceylon, and the trip 
 by rail from Colombo almost rivals those of 
 Java in beauty. There are the same rice ter- 
 races and the same vegetation, and as the train 
 rises higher and higher you have similar ex- 
 tensive views of the island. Kandy is a little 
 mountain town around the edge of a small 
 but very pretty artificial lake, with exception- 
 ally lovely surroundings. The famous 
 " Temple of the Tooth " stands on the edge 
 of the lake, and is a pleasing though not im- 
 posing building. But there is nothing of great 
 beauty in it, and the " tooth " is not on exhibi- 
 tion. The original tooth, supposed to have 
 been one of Buddha's, was burnt by the 
 Portuguese in 1560, and shortly after a new 
 one, said to be over two inches long, was made 
 of ivory. 
 
 100 
 
CEYLON 101 
 
 On the other side of the lake is a Buddhist 
 monastery. This I visited to see if I could 
 purchase one of the costumes of the monks. 
 For again we are in Buddhist territory, and 
 the yellow-robed priests are seen everywhere. 
 They received me hospitably, secured an in- 
 terpreter, and I told them what I wanted. 
 They asked me why I wished it, and I an- 
 swered that it was to show the people in 
 America how the Buddhist monks dressed. 
 When they heard that they said they would 
 present it to me — I hardly knew whether to 
 accept it or not, but finally made things right 
 by leaving an offering before one of their 
 gods. The skirt is simply a square piece of 
 dark yellow cotton, which they wrap around 
 their waist. The other garment is much 
 larger, and is draped over the left shoulder, 
 leaving the right shoulder and arm bare. As 
 they are supposed to wear rags by the laws 
 of their creed, there are seams in this cloth, 
 but in reality it is all one piece. Later I wore 
 this at a fancy dress ball on the " Prinz 
 Ludwig," and a German asked me if I repre- 
 sented Caesar. 
 
 " No," I replied, "lama Buddhist monk." 
 
 " Ah — ah — Brutus ! " and he walked away 
 quite satisfied. 
 
 The Peradeniya Gardens are near Kandy, 
 and rank with the wonderful botanical gar- 
 dens of Buitenzorg, in Java. Of only one of 
 
102 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 the interesting things there can mention be 
 made. The Assam rubber tree has what 
 might be called " web-footed roots " — roots 
 that leave the trunk about three or four feet 
 from the ground, and extend in all directions 
 in inclined wavy lines for ten to twenty feet, 
 but which have a tissue of bark connecting 
 them with the ground the whole distance. 
 The gardens are infested with " Flying 
 Foxes " — large bats that at close range do re- 
 semble foxes. They do considerable damage, 
 and their repulsive appearance does not lend to 
 the beauty of the gardens. Efforts are being 
 made to get rid of them. 
 
 The deserted and almost forgotten city of 
 Anuradhapura lies in the northern part of the 
 island. Made the capital of Ceylon three cen- 
 turies before Christ, it reached its highest de- 
 velopment about the time of Christ, and was 
 finally deserted about the ninth century. It 
 covers an enormous amount of ground, and 
 extensive ruins abound for miles around. 
 The most imposing of the ruins are the old 
 dagobas. These dagobas, like the Shwa 
 Dagon Pagoda at Rangoon, are bell-shaped, 
 and are erected over some relic of Buddha or 
 one of his disciples. There are many of them 
 throughout Anuradhapura, and four of them 
 are of huge dimensions. The largest is the 
 Abhayagiriya — two hundred and thirty-seven 
 feet in diameter at the base, and about two 
 
CEYLON 103 
 
 hundred and sixty feet high. The structure is 
 solid, and made entirely of brick, the enormous 
 quantities of them which must have been used 
 is inconceivable. 
 
 Many of the ruins have been given fanciful 
 names, which have probably no connection 
 with the buildings themselves. The " Stone 
 Canoe," for instance, is a huge stone trough 
 which is said to have been filled with rice at 
 the time of special festivals, for the poorer pil- 
 grims. The " Elephant Stables " are the ruins 
 of a palace or temple of some kind — it is ex- 
 tremely improbable that they were ever used as 
 their name would indicate. Here they were 
 excavating, and about a month before had un- 
 covered a " Guardian Stone," one of the stones 
 set up at each side of the entrance to a temple. 
 This stone was regarded as quite a find, as it 
 was considerably more ornate than other 
 stones of similar character, and the modeling 
 of the figure and draperies was excellent. 
 It was lying on the ground, and was partially 
 filled with water; so that the photograph does 
 not do it full justice. While examining it there 
 was some excitement among the workmen, 
 and I heard a shrill plaintive cry. They had 
 captured a young and very small deer. 
 
 Nearly all these ruins lie in a dense forest, 
 and while driving through it one encounters 
 fragments of steps and balustrades and the 
 foundations of innumerable houses, temples 
 
104 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 and palaces. The " Brazen Palace " is a 
 forest of square stone pillars. There are six- 
 teen hundred of them, arranged in forty 
 parallel rows. These formed the foundation 
 of a nine-story building erected about one hun- 
 dred years before Christ. 
 
 Mention must also be made of the Sacred 
 Bo-Tree, supposed to be a branch of the 
 original Bo-Tree at'Gaya under which Buddha 
 taught. Some claim that it is probably the 
 oldest historical tree in existence, as it was 
 planted two hundred and forty years before 
 Christ, with records to prove it. 
 
 The method of transportation in Anurad- 
 hapura is not ideal. It consists of springless 
 carts drawn by bullocks, and is neither com- 
 fortable nor rapid. There is a single white 
 pony in town, but do not be disappointed if 
 you do not get him, for the bullocks are just 
 as fast, and they look stronger. While here 
 I saw several birds of paradise, but left them 
 to their own customs rather than ours. 
 
 It takes eleven days to go from Colombo to 
 Port Said. The " Prinz Ludwig " was 
 ladened with tourists, and so many of them 
 had been encountered already in other places 
 that when we all got aboard it seemed like one 
 large family. Games and sports were insti- 
 tuted immediately, and the days passed all too 
 quickly. One evening a " Bal Blanc " was 
 held, and another evening the fancy dress baU 
 
CEYLON 105 
 
 already alluded to. The boat stopped a few- 
 hours at Aden, but not long enough to allow 
 us to land. 
 
 By leaving the ship at Suez instead of Port 
 Said I gained a day in Cairo, but of course 
 missed the trip through the canal. I was not 
 sorry when I found that all those disembark- 
 ing at Port Said were routed out of their 
 rooms at midnight the next night, to ac- 
 commodate oncoming passengers. 
 
Chapter X 
 
 EGYPT 
 
 Of Egypt so much has been written, and so 
 many people have visited it, that little of it 
 comes under the head of the unusual, and 
 it would be out of place to give it more than 
 passing mention here. 
 
 Cairo is a fascinating city — a city of 
 mosque and minaret. The mosques are nu- 
 merous, and many of them are wonderful 
 buildings, with imposing interiors. But none 
 is quite as exquisite as some of the marble 
 ones in India. The pyramids have been re- 
 produced so often that when first seen they 
 look quite like old friends. The ascent was by 
 no means as difficult as I had anticipated, 
 though it was not easy. The passage to the 
 interior chambers was much more difficult, as 
 the floors were slippery and some of the 
 passages were very low, and very steep. The 
 Sphinx, at first sight, is a disappointment, as 
 it seems so small — it is hard to believe it is 
 seventy feet high. But as one becomes more 
 accustomed to it, its dignity, its unknown age 
 and unknown purpose, cause a feeling of ven- 
 eration for it that probably cannot be induced 
 by any other monument on earth. Involun- 
 106 
 
EGYPT 107 
 
 tarily you follow the gaze of those sightless 
 eyes which seem to have been searching the 
 plain for the last fifty-five centuries. 
 
 On the " Ludwig" I had joined the Keator 
 family, and at Cairo they were joined by the 
 two Misses Pierce from San Francisco. It is 
 only after having traveled alone for some 
 time that one appreciates to the full congenial 
 companions. 
 
 We took one of the Nile steamers, and 
 visited the temples of Denderah, Luxor, 
 Karnak, the Tombs of the Kings at Thebes, 
 and many other of the magnificent ruins of 
 ancient Egypt, on our way up the Nile to 
 Assouan. Undoubtedly the most impressive 
 building was the hypostyle hall of the Temple 
 of Karnak, with the marvelously preserved 
 sculptures and bas-reliefs of the Tombs of 
 the Kings standing second. 
 
 The dam at Assouan is a magnificent piece 
 of engineering, second only to the Panama 
 Canal. By it the waters of the Nile are con- 
 trolled so as to increase the fertility of the 
 country greatly. The poor little island of 
 Philae, formerly one of the beauty spots of 
 Egypt, is almost completely submerged by the 
 waters of the lake formed by the dam. Only 
 the tops of the pylons and of the " Bed of 
 Pharaoh " were visible — all the rest was sub- 
 merged. 
 
 One wonders who taught the natives here 
 
108 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 " Hip — hip — hurrah." Their version is ac- 
 cented slightly differently, and sounds not un- 
 like 
 
 "HIP — HIP — who-ry 
 
 HIP — HIP — who-ry 
 
 HIP — HIP — who-ry 
 
 Dank you, .dank you, dank you. 
 
 Berry good, berry nice." 
 
 They never seem to vary from this formula. 
 
 At Assouan we changed to another boat, 
 and continued on to Wadi-Halfa. There are 
 numerous small temples lining the bank of the 
 Nile in this part, but Abou-Simbel alone de- 
 serves mention. Though it prolongs one's 
 stay in Egypt a week to take the trip from 
 Assouan to Wadi-Halfa and back, it is well 
 worth while on account of this temple. 
 
 Abou-Simbel is the famous rock-hewn tem- 
 ple of Ramesesthe Great. Every part of it is 
 carved from the solid rock, and on that ac- 
 count alone would be interesting, but the ex- 
 cellence of the sculpture is so marked, and 
 the statues so impressive, that the temple ranks 
 with the Sphinx and the Pyramids in interest. 
 Cut in the wall of the cliff sit four gigantic 
 statues of Rameses, sixty-four feet high. Be- 
 tween the two central figures is the doorway 
 to the temple. This first leads to a large 
 chamber, the roof of which is supported by 
 eight square pillars, with statues of Osiris in 
 
ABOU-SIMBEL, EGYPT. 
 The Colossal Statues of Rameses the Great. 
 
 The entire temple is carved from the solid rock. 
 
EGYPT 109 
 
 front of each, all carved from the rock. Be- 
 yond this lie other chambers, and on the end 
 wall of the final one are the seated statues of 
 four gods, one of them no less than Rameses 
 himself. These statues, and the chambers 
 leading to them, face directly East, and though 
 they are one hundred and eighty-five feet from 
 the entrance, the sun shines full upon them 
 as it rises. It is a strange sight to see these 
 figures, which in the dim light of the torches 
 the day before could scarcely be distinguished, 
 glowing in the bright light of the rising sun. 
 One cannot help wondering of their thoughts, 
 their desires — but there they sit, solid, im- 
 movable, unscrutable. 
 
 Returning down the Nile there was little 
 excitement, unless being stuck in the mud for 
 twenty-eight hours might be so considered. 
 At first it was interesting, but it soon became 
 monotonous. 
 
 Cairo reached again, our last night there was 
 enlivened by a confetti carnival at Shepard's. 
 The garden back of the hotel was illuminated 
 by numerous Japanese lanterns, one tree be- 
 ing especially beautiful filled with great glow- 
 ing orange lanterns. Perhaps this was doubly 
 enjoyed, for it was like a breath of fresh air 
 after having prowled for so long among the 
 deserted haunts of the long-since dead. 
 
Chapter XI 
 
 PALESTINE AND SYRIA 
 
 Much has been written of the difficulties of 
 landing at Jaffa. If there is the slightest wind 
 blowing the sea becomes choppy; so much so 
 that it is almost impossible to get into the 
 small boats that bring you to the wharf. 
 The sailors are used to it, though, and manage 
 extremely well — but you must not object to 
 being treated much as if you were a bag of 
 salt. It is an amusing sight to see the pas- 
 sengers being placed in the small boats — it 
 is, at least, until your own turn comes. 
 
 At Jaffa the two buildings of historical in- 
 terest are the houses of Simon the Tanner and 
 of Dorcas. And right here, at the very out- 
 set of your trip, you come face to face with 
 the eternal question in Palestine, " Are these 
 places authentic?" In the vast number of 
 cases — almost without exception — there is 
 little reason to believe them so. At first this 
 constant doubt — or actual disbelief — pre- 
 vents any feeling of reverence or veneration. 
 But little by little you begin to realize that 
 you are in Palestine, that the towns and cities 
 are positively identified, and that if this par- 
 ticular spot is not the one it is said to be, the 
 no 
 
PALESTINE AND SYRIA m 
 
 actual one is near by, and would probably look 
 much the same. But stronger than all this, 
 the very respect and devotion bestowed on 
 these shrines by innumerable adoring pil- 
 grims for generations must have given the 
 spot some order of sanctity, some fragrance of 
 holiness, no matter whether it be the actual 
 place or not. When one sees a poor ragged 
 pilgrim who has perhaps walked for miles — 
 his clothing unkempt, his feet blistered — 
 kneel at one of these shrines, and with heaving 
 bosom and tears streaming down his face kiss 
 ecstatically some sacred stone, you realize that 
 he has gotten something that you in your dis- 
 belief can never get — that he has worshiped, 
 whereas you have criticised. Surely — surely, 
 you are on holy ground. 
 
 But at first you have to find comfort in the 
 hills — the eternal hills. They may have 
 changed a little, but the effect is the same as 
 it was nineteen hundred years ago. The 
 brooks followed the same course — the vil- 
 lages stood on the same ground. 
 
 It must be admitted that the first view of 
 Jerusalem is a disappointing one. The whole 
 city — walls, towers and buildings — looks so 
 new. Many of the buildings are new, and 
 they are the largest and most prominent ones, 
 but even in the old walls and houses the 
 stone has retained a new look that makes it 
 almost impossible to realize that they are an- 
 
ii2 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 cient. But soon you become accustomed to 
 this, and then little by little the city and your 
 preconceived ideas of it adjust themselves. 
 
 Jerusalem is a city of steps, of arches, and 
 of stairways. In every nook and cranny is 
 some unexpected little staircase filling in a 
 corner or clambering joyously to an upper 
 story with apparently no regard for the laws 
 of architecture. Open doorways give glimpses 
 of attractive little courtyards ; stone arches 
 across the street cast dark shadows that give 
 brilliant contrasts of light and shade. The 
 crowd in the street gives every variety of 
 dress and person — strong-faced Arabs — ro- 
 tund Turks — sleek Armenians — stately Be- 
 douins — and Jews of every kind. 
 
 But Jerusalem, which should be the very 
 holy of holies, a city of peace and love and 
 good-will, has become a very hotbed of 
 fanaticism, of hate, of intrigue, of war. And 
 here it is that the great and lasting disap- 
 pointment of Jerusalem comes in. Torn by 
 internal quarrels, each sect of so-called Chris- 
 tians striving, bickering, fighting and rioting 
 among themselves, it makes the very name 
 Christian a by-word and a stumbling block, 
 a cruel libel and an unholy joke. The 
 Mohammedan stands serene and aloof, look- 
 ing with sarcastic amusement and ill-concealed 
 disgust on the rivalries of the " Christians," 
 and sends his soldiers to keep the peace. And 
 
JERUSALEM, PALESTINE. 
 A Street Scene. 
 
PALESTINE AND SYRIA 113 
 
 for this Christ died! But perhaps even mis- 
 directed energy is better than absolute apathy ! 
 
 The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has a 
 monopoly of nearly all the historical places 
 in Jerusalem. It contains the stone of anoint- 
 ment, the column of flagellation, Calvary, the 
 Holy Sepulchre, the center of the world, the 
 grave of Adam, and even the spot from which 
 God took the dust to make Adam ! Architec- 
 turally the building is a jumble, though parts 
 of it are truly beautiful — but the inevitable 
 tawdry over-ornamentation successfully hides 
 everything artistic about the building. 
 
 After these meaningless and inartistic dec- 
 orations it is a pleasure — and a pain — to step 
 inside the Dome of the Rock. This Moham- 
 medan building is usually called the Mosque 
 of Omar, but it is not a mosque. The interior 
 is beautifully and tastefully decorated, and the 
 whole building has that atmosphere of holi- 
 ness and quiet sanctity one would like to see 
 at the Holy Sepulchre. The walls are covered 
 with beautiful mosaics — the floor is carpeted 
 with ancient rugs. The rock itself is sup- 
 posed to have been the scene of the sacrifice 
 of Isaac, and is as much revered by the Mo- 
 hammedans as by the Jews — in fact, Jeru- 
 salem ranks next to Mecca in the estimation 
 of the Moslem. 
 
 There are of course innumerable other? 
 places to visit in Jerusalem, but space cannot 
 
H4 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 be given to them. One — and this must suf- 
 fice — was the Jew's Wailing Place. It is 
 certainly an unusual sight to see the Jews here, 
 praying for the peace of Jerusalem and for 
 the restoration of the temple. Much of it 
 is formal, but once in a while you see a 
 mourner in a very agony of grief — were she 
 mourning for her own son her grief could 
 not be more real and acute. When you real- 
 ize that she is weeping over the destruction 
 of the temple thousands of years ago it makes 
 you wonder if she is one of a new seven thou- 
 sand who has not bowed the knee to Baal. 
 
 On Palm Sunday we attended an early 
 service at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 
 to see the ceremony of the blessing of the palm 
 by the Patriarch of the Roman Church. The 
 palms were blessed in the Sepulchre itself, 
 and then distributed by the Patriarch, each 
 recipient kneeling to him and kissing his ring. 
 All through the service the Greek Catholics 
 in another part of the building kept ringing 
 a bell, to disturb the Roman service as much 
 as possible. This is a fair example of the 
 constant petty bickerings between the sects. 
 
 But a more interesting ceremony was held 
 on Good Friday night. We were placed on 
 a high and frail balcony which was soon over- 
 crowded, and which seemed very dangerous. 
 It overlooked the " Stone of Unction " and 
 enabled us to see all the ceremony. The 
 
PALESTINE AND SYRIA 115 
 
 priests brought a figure of Christ nailed to 
 the cross, and held a service in the room said 
 to have been the site of Calvary. Then they 
 brought it to the Stone of Unction, where 
 they took it from the cross, laid it on the 
 stone, and anointed it. Later it was carried 
 in a sheet to the Holy Sepulchre. 
 
 From the Mount of Olives one has a 
 splendid view of Jerusalem and the surround- 
 ing country, extending on the other side to 
 the Dead Sea and the Jordan. The Garden 
 of Gethsemane is now under the care of the 
 Franciscans, and has a spirit of quiet and 
 reverence not possessed by the other holy 
 sites. 
 
 Bethlehem has many new buildings also. 
 In the basement of the Church of the Nativ- 
 ity lies the manger, lighted by hundreds of 
 tiny lamps. These are kept lighted by the 
 various sects, and each one takes jealous care 
 of their portion of the number. 
 
 On the way to Jericho we stopped at 
 Bethany, with its tomb of Lazarus, and at the 
 Inn of the Good Samaritan. The guides 
 solemnly asserted that this was the actual Inn, 
 ignoring the fact that the story itself was a 
 parable. Jericho is now but a tiny village of 
 mud houses. From here we visited the Dead 
 Sea and the Jordan, the latter at the supposed 
 place of Christ's baptism. 
 
 On Easter Monday morning we started on 
 
n6 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 our caravan trip through Palestine. There 
 were eight of us — the Keator party of five, 
 the two Misses Pierce, and myself. But our 
 caravan consisted of twenty men, including 
 the dragoman, fifteen horses, nineteen mules 
 and six donkeys. We had six tents — four 
 for sleeping, and a dining-room and kitchen. 
 The tents were large, and on the interior were 
 decorated with interesting designs of bril- 
 liantly colored cloth appliqued on. In effect 
 it was not unlike some of the American Indian 
 color work, though of course the designs were 
 oriental. 
 
 The country around Jerusalem is unusually 
 stony, but nevertheless wild flowers are abun- 
 dant. The Rose of Sharon — a low red 
 poppy-like flower — is perhaps the most strik- 
 ing. In one small patch not five feet square 
 I found no fewer than sixteen different 
 varieties of flowers. 
 
 Our course led us by many of the places 
 so often spoken of in Jewish history: Shi- 
 loh ; Jacob's Well ; Mounts Ebal and Gerizim ; 
 Nabulus, the ancient Shechem; Samaria; 
 Dothan; the Plain of Esdraelon; Nazareth; 
 Cana ; and the Sea of Galilee. 
 
 At Samaria our camp was pitched near the 
 remains of an ancient Roman basilica which 
 crowned the hill. The remains were scanty, 
 but included a broad flight of steps, a Roman 
 altar, and the foundation walls of a temple. 
 
PALESTINE AND SYRIA 117 
 
 Dothan is the reputed site of the pit in which 
 Joseph was placed by his brethren. The pit 
 is now a well, and though restricted, made a 
 very acceptable bathing place. Jenin, north 
 of Dothan, is quite a large village. It was 
 interesting to see the sheep and cattle being 
 driven home in exactly the same manner as 
 they have been for ages. Here our dragoman 
 thought it necessary to have an armed escort 
 for the day, for the feeling against the Turks 
 is very bitter, and the natives think that if 
 they could make trouble for some foreigner 
 it might mean foreign intervention, with pos- 
 sibilities of escaping from the hated yoke. 
 
 The journey across the Plain of Esdraelon 
 was interesting. On our right were the 
 mountains of Gilboa, where Saul and his sons 
 were slain, and the village of Endor, while 
 ahead of us rose a high hill with the village 
 of Nazareth perched almost at the top. At 
 Nazareth are many holy places — the most 
 authentic being the Virgin's Well. Our camp 
 was pitched in an olive orchard, and we 
 stayed here three days. 
 
 Then we continued to the Sea of Galilee, 
 pitching the camp just below Tiberias. Gali- 
 lee is a beautiful lake, with high mountains 
 all around it. Tiberias is a dirty city, but 
 has interesting and picturesque old Roman 
 walls. We took a boat across the lake to the 
 site of Capernaum, but rain and wind de- 
 
n8 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 tracted from the pleasure of the sail. All 
 that is left of Capernaum is the foundation of 
 the synagogue, and even this has not been 
 positively identified. 
 
 From here we journeyed on in the rain to 
 El Jauneh, a modern settlement of returned 
 Jews. The rain continued the next day, and 
 made it inadvisable — considering the condi- 
 tion of some of the donkeys — to proceed on 
 to Damascus ; so we returned to Tiberias and 
 took the train. A camping trip may have 
 its difficulties, but it certainly was one of the 
 most enjoyable features of the entire world 
 circle. 
 
 While waiting in our tents at El Jauneh 
 for the rains to pass, we heard uncouth noises, 
 and shots from near the camp. We were 
 told it was a Mohammedan wedding, and lost 
 no time in reaching it. The groom was on 
 horse back, dressed in a long black coat, with 
 a flowing purple headdress. In front of him 
 were about a score of his friends. They 
 formed a solid line, shoulder to shoulder, and 
 were dancing, singing, clapping their hands 
 and swaying their bodies all in unison. A 
 leader with two knives danced in front of 
 them, and led the responses. Behind the 
 groom came some women more circumspectly, 
 but the bride was conspicuous by her absence. 
 As we wished to see her we left the procession 
 
DAMASCUS, SYRIA. 
 An Old Archway. 
 
PALESTINE AND SYRIA 119 
 
 and were led to her house. The courtyard 
 was dirty and muddy in the extreme. The 
 house was made of wood and plaster, and 
 was both residence and stable combined, the 
 division between the two being simply a drop 
 of two or three feet in the floor. The 
 furnishings were an old table and chair, a 
 broken mirror and a candle. The bride was 
 dressed in brilliant magenta, her face covered. 
 For a fee she deigned to show it. I don't 
 know what the fee was, but it wasn't worth 
 it. We then returned to the groom's party 
 and watched the dancing. The piper piped 
 continuously, and by some means kept his 
 cheeks inflated to the full all the time. 
 
 Damascus is a fascinating city. The num- 
 ber of its imposing buildings is limited to a 
 few mosques — the main interest centering in 
 the street life. Many of the more important 
 streets are roofed, like the " Street called 
 Straight." I had always understood that this 
 street was extremely winding — but on the 
 contrary it is for a good part of its length 
 absolutely straight and quite broad. The 
 streets are lined with little shops, displaying 
 almost every conceivable kind of merchandise. 
 Silks and satins, gold and silver work, saddles, 
 copper, tobacco, brass, second-hand clothes, 
 steel arms, books, fruits and vegetables, are 
 only a few of the things to be seen. Though 
 
120 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 spoken of only in this short paragraph, 
 Damascus was one of the most interesting of 
 the Oriental cities visited. 
 
 Baalbek was a revelation. The remains of 
 the old temples here are magnificent. They 
 show a very late and often degenerate develop- 
 ment of Roman architecture, but are never- 
 theless very beautiful, both in mass and de- 
 tail. Of the enormous temple of Jupiter but 
 six huge columns, with a bit of the entabla- 
 ture, remain intact. The temple of Bacchus 
 is smaller and much better preserved. The 
 details of these buildings, though flamboyant 
 in the extreme, are beautifully carved. 
 
 As the train descends to Beyrout a mag- 
 nificent view is obtained of the harbor, with 
 its surrounding mountains. Beyrout itself 
 was by comparison with Damascus uninterest- 
 ing, but it was with real regret that we had 
 to leave it and the domains of Turkey in 
 Asia. 
 
Chapter XII 
 
 CONSTANTINOPLE AND GREECE 
 
 It was not without foreboding that we went 
 to Constantinople, for the Balkan War was 
 in full progress, and the country in a great 
 state of unrest. But finally we decided to 
 take the risk — though after we left Constan- 
 tinople we wondered if there had been any 
 risk at all. 
 
 Before reaching Smyrna the boat en- 
 countered a terrible storm. The wind was 
 blowing at ninety miles an hour, and it seemed 
 as if the little boat could hardly weather it. 
 It was not a consolation to be told that this 
 was " its last trip, anyhow." 
 
 A short stop at Smyrna, and we continued 
 on to Constantinople, passing through the 
 Dardanelles. On the way we passed several 
 Turkish gun-boats, which with the numerous 
 soldiers in Constantinople were about the only 
 reminders of the war that we saw in Turkey. 
 Both at Beyrout and Smyrna American men- 
 of-war were stationed. 
 
 Constantinople has often been called one of 
 
 the most beautiful cities of the world. Its 
 
 location at the junction of the Golden Horn 
 
 and the Bosphorus, is wonderful. And the 
 
 121 
 
122 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 city itself with its myriad domes and minarets 
 presents an outline to the sky that cannot be 
 equaled. 
 
 The mosques of Constantinople are as 
 marvelous as they are numerous. The oldest 
 and most important, historically, artistically, 
 and architecturally, is the Hagia Sophia, or 
 Church of the Divine Wisdom, usually called 
 Santa Sophia, though there was no saint of 
 that name. The proportions and details of 
 the interior are magnificent, but its unusual 
 dimensions are hard to realize. Much of the 
 interior is of dark gray stone, dingy and dusty, 
 and the effect is also spoiled by great Turkish 
 inscriptions; so that it is a disappointment to 
 many. Nearly all of the mosques have used 
 this building as a model, only differing from 
 it in minor details. One of the mosques is 
 lined for nearly its entire height with blue 
 tiles, giving a pleasing effect, even though 
 it is slightly reminiscent of a bath-room. 
 
 Another thing of exceptional beauty is 
 found in the museum. It is called the sarcoph- 
 agus of Alexander, although it was intended 
 for one of Alexander's friends, not for him- 
 self. The reliefs on the exterior are ex- 
 quisite specimens of Greek art. One side de- 
 picts a hunting scene, and has a portrait of 
 Alexander on horseback, from which it gets 
 its name. 
 
 On Friday, the Mohammedan sabbath, we 
 
CONSTANTINOPLE — GREECE 123 
 
 went to the " Selamlik," to see the Sultan, 
 Mohammed V, on his way to the mosque to 
 pray. There were many soldiers in the court- 
 yard through which the Sultan drove directly 
 to the mosque, but otherwise there was little 
 formality. 
 
 One of the most curious and unusual sights 
 of the whole trip was found here in Constan- 
 tinople, in the Dancing Dervishes. These are 
 a religious sect, and express their devotion by 
 strange dancing. The room was high, with 
 a round platform in the center. Opposite the 
 entrance sat the priest. On the floor were 
 perhaps fifteen devotees, most of them dressed 
 in white, though two were in green. Their 
 costume consisted of a fez, a loose jacket, 
 and a very full skirt, with baggy trousers 
 underneath. Their feet were bare. Each in 
 turn would bow to the priest, and then begin 
 whirling around in one spot, until all were 
 whirling in various parts of the room. They 
 held their arms out, with their heads thrown 
 to one side, and as they kept turning and turn- 
 ing their skirts would flare wide. Their faces 
 assumed an absorbed far-away expression, per- 
 haps meant to be ecstatic but really looking de- 
 cidedly sleepy. 
 
 The boat we took from Constantinople to 
 Pirseus, the port of Athens, was Russian, by 
 the euphonious name of " Tchikhatchoff." It 
 stopped a day in Smyrna, and allowed us a 
 
124 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 little time to see it. We drove through 
 various parts of the town, and through the 
 bazaars, and also went aboard the " Tennes- 
 see/' which had been stationed there for 
 some months. There were many reminders 
 of home on board, but the most unexpected 
 one, and therefore the one that gave us that 
 homesick feeling, was just a plain U. S. mail 
 box — it was one" of the best-looking things 
 seen on the trip ! 
 
 Athens is another city that has been so 
 often described as to need only a passing 
 word here. The Acropolis comes up to every 
 expectation — it is magnificent. The marble 
 is of beautiful color, and the buildings are so 
 perfect that one is lost in a maze of specula- 
 tion as to their real appearance in ancient 
 times. Why is it that all restorations look 
 heavy, solid, and distinctly out of the Greek 
 spirit? Does the mere addition of a roof to 
 the Parthenon, for instance, so change its 
 appearance that we cannot accept it as pre- 
 sented? In any case, we can depend that in 
 the olden days they were far more beautiful, 
 more wonderful. Greek taste was faultless, 
 and we must put our faith in that, and let our 
 modern scientific artists go on drawing their 
 stumpy Acropolises. 
 
 The Parthenon is small, compared to many 
 other ancient temples. The Propylaea is being 
 carefully restored, the stones, if perfect, being 
 
ATHENS, GREECE. 
 In the Colonnade of the Parthenon. 
 
CONSTANTINOPLE — GREECE 125 
 
 again placed in position, and if imperfect they 
 are replaced by correct copies. Perhaps some 
 day England will want to give back the Elgin 
 marbles to be placed in their old position: 
 the Greeks still feel their loss — they call it 
 by another name — keenly. In the small 
 Acropolis Museum are many relics, all of 
 which were found on the Acropolis. Perhaps 
 the most exquisite thing it contains is the 
 small bas-relief of Nike fastening her sandal, 
 from the balustrade of the temple of Nike 
 Apteros. The exquisite delicacy of the 
 molding of the body as seen through the 
 draperies, and the grace of the draperies them- 
 selves, makes this one of the most beautiful 
 sculptures left to us from antiquity. 
 
 There are many other interesting monu- 
 ments to be seen in Athens, of course. The 
 modern Stadion, on the site of the ancient 
 one, and using some of its stones, is well 
 worth a visit. One day we motored to Tatoi, 
 the summer residence of the late King 
 George. If any arguments are needed to 
 make you glad you are not a king, surely a 
 visit to almost any of the European royal 
 palaces would furnish it! The tomb of the 
 recently assassinated king was near by. The 
 coffin lay on the ground, covered only with 
 evergreens and flowers — a suitable memorial 
 is to be built later. On returning we stopped 
 to see the prisoners of war of high rank. 
 
126 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 They were lodged in what used to be a hotel, 
 and were allowed a great deal of freedom. 
 
 While at Athens news came that Scutari 
 had fallen, which caused quite a demonstra- 
 tion in the streets. 
 
 The Greek Easter fell a month after the 
 Roman one, and we were fortunate enough 
 to be in Athens at the time. Through a 
 friend we secured" a balcony facing the cathe- 
 dral — an ugly romanesque one - — to witness 
 the service held on the night before Easter. 
 From this balcony we could see every part 
 of the square. In the center a large stand had 
 been erected for the dignitaries. The king 
 usually attends this service, but on account of 
 the recent death of his father he did not ap- 
 pear. Around the platform stood two rows 
 of soldiers, and back of them the whole square 
 was filled with people. Exactly at midnight 
 the bells began ringing, and the high priest 
 appeared, clad in elaborately embroidered 
 robes, and the service began. The " Holy 
 Fire " was distributed to the crowds. Each 
 person had a candle, and when these were lit 
 the whole square was rilled with their soft 
 light, and the effect was marvelously beauti- 
 ful. It was a veritable glimpse of fairyland. 
 The voice of the intoning priest, the responses 
 of the choir, the mighty boom of near-by can- 
 non, sudden flashes of red and white lights, 
 the clanging of the bells, and the soft light of 
 
CONSTANTINOPLE — GREECE 127 
 
 the thousands of candles, made a memorable 
 mental picture. 
 
 On our way to Patras we stopped at the 
 ruins of Corinth. About all there is to be 
 seen are the three columns of one of the old 
 temples, and the medieval-looking ruins of 
 Aero-Corinth on the hill behind. 
 
 The boat for Italy stopped a few hours at 
 Corfu, enabling us to visit the " Achilleion," 
 built for the late Empress of Austria, and 
 now owned by the Kaiser. The palace was 
 disappointing, but the gardens were magnif- 
 icent — a wonderful mass of color. 
 
Chapter XIII 
 
 ITALY AND SICILY 
 
 Four o'clock in the morning is not a happy- 
 hour to embark from a vessel and go through 
 the customs, but so it happened at Brindisi. 
 The train ride to Naples consumed the rest 
 of the day. Distances may not be great 
 abroad, but it often takes a long time to travel 
 over them. 
 
 Who is it that having once visited Naples 
 and its environs does not long to return? 
 Two years before I had been there, and my 
 anticipation of seeing it again was keen. 
 Surely nowhere in the world are so many 
 beauty spots nestled away in such close prox- 
 imity to each other. 
 
 After a short visit in Naples, where I had 
 to bid my traveling companions farewell, I 
 visited Capri and its blue grotto, Sorrento, 
 Amalfi, Ravello, Cava and Paestum. Volumes 
 could be written on each of these places. 
 
 Everybody knows the marvelously beauti- 
 ful drive from Sorrento to Amalfi. But it is 
 not of the drive, but of the driver, that I am 
 going to speak. He proved so amusing that 
 I asked him to share the seat with me, so 
 that I could the better hear his stories. He 
 128 
 
ITALY AND SICILY 129 
 
 had a keen sense of humor and an inimitable 
 chuckle, that was in itself an irresistible in- 
 vitation to laughter. He was about twenty- 
 two; his name I have forgotten, but he angli- 
 cized it by " Chimmy." He had been in 
 America for several years, and had returned 
 to be a " sodj " in the Italian-Turkish war. 
 Here is one of his stories, as nearly as pos- 
 sible in his own words : — 
 
 " What you call dis to de hat — yes, de 
 brim. When I go to New York I have big 
 panama de Sorrent' — wid great big brim. 
 De style in Americ' dat year was for ver' 
 small brim, ver' small brim. I go to a place, 
 an' dere were t'ree girls at de next table. 
 One of de girls she say to me : — ' Oh, look 
 at de fell' wid de hat like de umberell ! Wat 
 you t'ink, it's going for to rain ? ' " 
 
 But perhaps his masterpiece was the story 
 of " Marie." He looked at me fixedly for a 
 minute, then said : — 
 
 " Not much peep' in Americ' wear mus- 
 tache, do dey? Well, when I go to Americ' 
 I have big mustache, oh, great big mustache. 
 I go to work at grocery store on Broadway, 
 'tween hundred an' nint' an' hundred an' 
 tent' street. Every day I go to big house, to 
 get de order. Oh, ver' rich peep' — dey give 
 me fift' cent every day — ver' rich peep'. 
 They have great big Irish cooking girl, you 
 know, great big Irish cooking girl. Her 
 
130 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 name — her name Marie. I no speak to 
 Marie de first day, but after a while we speak, 
 and one day I say to her — jes' for to fool — 
 I say to her — jes' for to fool — 'Marie, I 
 want you to marry me.' She say, ' Oh, no, 
 Chimmy, you Italian man, you no can be 
 trusted.' So I t'ink no more about it. But 
 two t'ree day later she say to me, ' Chimmy, 
 you must take off dat mustache.' ' For why 
 must I take off my mustache,' I say. She 
 say, ' Well, if you want to be my sweetheart, 
 you must take off dat mustache.' ' But,' 
 I say, ' if I take off my mustache, I have a lot 
 of odder mustache, I have to take off de 
 mustache all de time ! ' ' Oh, no,' she say, 
 " I t'ink you have only one mustache.' So I 
 tell her ' to-morrow, to-morrow,' but I never 
 take it off ! One day de mistress she say to 
 me, ' What does Marie say to you all de 
 time ? ' I say to her, ' Marie say I must take 
 off my mustache, so I can be her sweetheart 
 — but I rather lose my Marie than lose my 
 mustache, by Jesu ! ' 
 
 " Den I have to come back to It', to be 
 a sodj. I no tell Marie! I go down and 
 get my ticket for de boat goin' de next day, 
 den I go up and see Marie. ' Goo-by, Marie ' 
 I say, ' I see you to-morrow ' and all de time 
 I have de ticket in de pocket! I no tell her I 
 go back to It' : perhaps she take me to police 
 court — dey do dat in Americ' ! " 
 
MESSINA, SICILY. 
 
 'Death" — a Fallen Sculpture in the Ruins of the 
 
 Cathedral. 
 
ITALY AND SICILY 131 
 
 Just one more. I asked him to take me to 
 the Cappuchin Hotel at Amalfi. Evidently his 
 religion has departed, for he said : 
 
 " Monks ! Monks and priests bad men. 
 They say to rich woman, ' You leave me your 
 money, and you go to Paradiso — you go no 
 other place.' She leave them money, they eat, 
 get fat, have good time, and she no go to 
 Paradiso — for when person die — dat damn 
 end — w'at you t'ink ? " 
 
 Ravello is lovely. Back of Amalfi, and 
 much higher than it, it commands a more ex- 
 tensive view. The quaint houses and gardens 
 here are fascinating, and the whole place is 
 almost ideal. 
 
 From Paestum with its imposing ruins I 
 went direct to Sicily by train. Messina has 
 been little restored — one would almost think 
 the earthquake had happened the day before. 
 Much of the rubbish has been cleared away, 
 but few of the houses have been rebuilt. The 
 loss of life was frightful, about one hundred 
 thousand people — some say more. My guide 
 said he had lost sixteen of his own family, 
 including parents, wife, children, and the 
 family of his sister. Many of the buildings 
 and monuments of the Campo Santo were 
 injured, and one can hardly walk there with- 
 out stumbling every minute on the grave of 
 some victim of the disaster. 
 
 Another beauty spot of Italy is Taor- 
 
132 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 
 mina. Tired with travel, it was a pleasure to 
 rest here for a few days, even if some of the 
 sights of Sicily had to be lost thereby. A lit- 
 tle room — the only one on the top floor of 
 the tiny Hotel Belvidere, had a large balcony 
 and an extensive view of the bay, with Etna 
 in the background. By moonlight it was 
 glorious. 
 
 Palermo was a delightful city, full of life 
 and color. The wild flowers in and around 
 the town are especially beautiful. The three 
 architectural glories of Palermo are the Cathe- 
 dral, the Capella Palatina, and the Cathedral 
 of Monreale. This latter is large and spa- 
 cious, with two rows of towering columns. 
 Every inch of wall space above the columns 
 and the high marble wainscot is covered with 
 mosaic. The groundwork is gold, and the 
 figures are in brilliant colors. These, with 
 the white marble of the floor and wainscot, 
 make a color scheme of matchless beauty. 
 
 The Capella Palatina is a little chapel in 
 the Palace, built in 1132. It is a tiny room, 
 a replica in miniature of Monreale. The 
 mosaics are even more beautiful than those 
 of Monreale, and the color effects — well, you 
 feel as if you had penetrated into the heart 
 of a diamond. 
 
 And here my trip was ended, save for the 
 voyage home. 
 
 If there had been any tendency on my part 
 
ITALY AND SICILY 133 
 
 — and I was conscious of none — to feel 
 slightly better and more superior than other 
 folk on this mundane sphere in consequence 
 of having girdled it, it was effectually stopped 
 when I boarded the " Konig Albert.' 3 I had 
 crossed on her once before and had met Cap- 
 tain Feyen then. He asked me where I had 
 been, and naturally I replied that I was just 
 completing a trip around the world. His only 
 comment was : 
 
 " My, aren't you dizzy ? " 
 
 THE END 
 
ITINERARY. 
 
 As a guide to anyone contemplating a trip similar 
 to the one herein described, I append my itinerary. 
 It is by no means an ideal one, as unsympathetic 
 steamers, weather conditions, and other considera- 
 tions often determine the length of stay, rather 
 than personal inclination. 
 
 134 
 
1912 
 
 . May 23 Left New York. 
 
 May 23-June 24. .Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, 
 Denver, Colorado Springs, Al- 
 buquerque. 
 
 June 25 Acoma. 
 
 June 26 The Petrified Forests. 
 
 June 27-30 . ..Grand Canyon. 
 
 July 1-26 California. 
 
 July 26-Aug. 1 . . . " Korea." 
 
 Aug. 1-9 Hawaiian Islands. 
 
 Aug. 9-19 " Shiny Maru" 
 
 Aug. 19-Sept. 19. Japan. 
 
 Sept. 20-22 Korea. 
 
 Sept. 22-24 Manchuria. 
 
 Sept. 25-30 Peking and Environs. 
 
 Oct. 2pii Hankow, Nanking and Shanghai 
 
 Oct. 14-22 Hong Kong and Environs. 
 
 Oct. 25-Nov. 5 Manila. 
 
 Nov. 8-13 Hong Kong. 
 
 Nov. 17-21 ...... ..Singapore. 
 
 Nov. 23-30 Java. 
 
 Dec. 2-5 Singapore. 
 
 Dec. 7 Penang. 
 
 Dec. 10-12 Rangoon. 
 
 1913 
 Dec. 14- Jan. 16. ..Northern India. 
 
 Jan. 16-Jan. 22 Southern India. 
 
 Jan. 23-Feb. 2... Ceylon. 
 
 Feb. 2-12 " Prins Ludwig" 
 
 Feb. 12-Mar. 12. .Egypt. 
 
 Mar. 13-24 Jerusalem and Environs. 
 
 Mar. 24- Apr. 5 . . . Camping Trip through Palestine. 
 
 Apr. 5-12 Damascus, Baalbek, Beyrout. 
 
 Apr. 17-20 Constantinople. 
 
 Apr. 23-28 Athens and Environs. 
 
 Apr. 29 Corfu. 
 
 Apr. 30-May 10. ..Naples and Environs. 
 
 May 11-19 Sicily. 
 
 May 19-31 " Konig Albert." 
 
 May 31 Arrived New York. 
 
 135 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
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THE STANHOPE-DODGE PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 GLIMPSES OF THE UNUSUAL 
 AROUND THE WORLD 
 
 BY 
 
 HOWARD S. F. RANDOLPH 
 
 In "Glimpses of the Unusual" Mr. Randolph has given 
 an account of his trip around the world. As the title in- 
 dicates, he devotes most of his space to those things of 
 unusual interest. The trip covered a period of one year, 
 and his account of it, while necessarily much abbreviated 
 because of the wide field covered, gives all the salient fea- 
 tures of the journey, with many amusing encounters and 
 anecdotes beside. It is illustrated with photographs taken 
 by the author, which are remarkable for their clearness and 
 beauty. While not intended as a guide book, it will give a 
 great deal of information to anyone who is contemplating 
 a similar trip, and is, so far as we know, the only 
 illustrated book of its size that covers such a large field. 
 Its price is extremely low. 
 
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