England to an Indian Eye, or English Pictures From an Indian Camera (Classic Reprint)

Angebote / Angebote:

Excerpt from England to an Indian Eye, or English Pictures From an Indian CameraAll was smooth sailing after this till we reached Aden, a dry and uninviting port quite in keeping with the parched deserts of the peninsula on which it stands. Our stay off Aden lasted but a few hours, and I was glad of that, for there was nothing to interest or amuse us here, save, perhaps, the aquatic antics of batches of Arab lads, who scrambled round the sides of the vessel, eager to dive after silver coins - they would have nothing to do with copper - fiung to them from deck. These wild sons of the desert seemed to be as much at home in the briny sea as on their own native sands. Sailing onwards, we entered the steamy waters of the Red Sea on the sixth day and, like everybody else who has passed that way, I found the atmosphere of these regions simply sti¿ing. Here I was struck by the large number of sailing craft of all kinds we daily encountered as we passed upwards, and I was surprised also to see the vast shoals of jelly-fish ¿oating around our bark on every side. By the way, it may be of interest to note, in passing, that the Straits of Babelmandeb, the entrance to the Red Sea, are protected by torpedoes in the most formidable manner imaginable, so that no vessel could enter this water-gate in time of war without running the risk of being blown to atoms by the bombs that are skilfully laid beneath the water, with electric connections on shore.Reaching Suez after ten days' sail from Bombay, I, for the first time, saw what electric lighting is like when displayed on a' Jame Male, for, on entering the Great Canal, theappliances for electric illumination, worked with a powerful battery, were brought on board, and our way through this famous sea-gate was brilliantly brightened with Nature's own beauteous lime light. At Port Said, where there is usually a stay of a few hours, I was glad to stretch my legs a bit on termfirmz once more. The port presents a picture of squalor and filth such as I should not care to set eyes on again in a hurry and I here saw also specimens of Turkish men and Turkish manners which did not impress me favour ably in the least degree. The Sultan's subjects here - more especially the officials among them - are anything but a credit, either to the Ottoman Empire, or to the Government of Egypt. By the way, I should here caution all concerned to be extremely wary of the so-called native guides, who, both here and at Brindisi, insist on pressing their services on the unsuspecting voyager at every turn their ways are evil, and their end is anything but peace.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.