Kitabı oku: «The Overland Guide-book», sayfa 3

TO BOMBAY

The responsibility of this journey is divided, being firstly in the hands of the Peninsular and Oriental Company; secondly, of the Egyptian Oriental Transit Company; and, lastly, of the East India Company. Forethought and precaution are therefore recommended in making the arrangements necessary to secure the passage to Bombay throughout, with as little inconvenience and as much comfort as can be experienced under the circumstances above stated.

The Peninsular and Oriental Company allow a limited number of passengers to book for Aden, on the 20th of each month, and, when this can be effected, it is decidedly the most comfortable and least expensive mode of reaching Bombay. The East India Company's frigates, that convey the mid-monthly mail from Aden to Bombay, afford good accommodation for a few persons; and the run is only one of ten days' endurance.

The Peninsular and Oriental Company, under no circumstances, book the whole way to Bombay. Passengers wishing to adopt that course, and having fixed the date of their departure, should make immediate application to James Barber and Co., whose circular will be found at the end of this book, and whose advice and assistance will always be found useful to the Overland traveller.

Passengers who cannot adopt the first part of this route, so far as Aden, in the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamers, will find the following directions serve them in the time of need.

The Company's steamers for Malta and Constantinople start from Southampton on the 29th of every month, at 1·30 P.M. (when the 29th falls on a Sunday, the steamer leaves at nine o'clock on the morning of the 30th), arriving at Malta about the 10th of the month.

Passengers for Alexandria and Bombay are conveyed from Malta to Alexandria by one of Her Majesty's steamers, leaving Malta, on the arrival there, from Marseilles, of the London mail of the 7th of the month.

On their arrival at Alexandria, the same means of travelling are provided for passengers, as described in a previous part of this work; but the passenger, in this case, having only hitherto paid for his sea-journey to Malta £27 10s. – a further sum of £12 10s. has to be paid for passage from Malta to Alexandria, and then he has to make his arrangement with the Egyptian Transit Company, in order that he may reach Suez in time to embark in the East India Company's steamer at that port, which conveys the mail to Bombay.

The Transit Company have established the following rates: —

Two cwt. of baggage is allowed at the £12 rate, and one cwt. for all below it, and 16s. per cwt. is charged for any excess on that weight.

Provisions are liberally supplied on the journey; but hotel expenses at Alexandria, Cairo and Suez, as well as wines, beer and spirits, are not included in the sum charged by the Transit Company. The following may be considered a fair estimate of the cost of the trip: —

This amount will vary, of course, according to the mode of living and views of the passenger, but 15s. per day may be taken as a fair average for living, and 5s. additional, well managed, will pay the expense of seeing the sights of interest in or about Cairo, if a prolonged stay be contemplated or practicable.

Arrived at Suez, the passenger will have to secure his accommodation to Bombay, according to the regulations in the following pages.

East India Company's rules for the engagement of passages and accommodation of passengers in the Government steam-packets between Bombay and Suez.

Application for passage is to be made at the office of the master-attendant in Bombay, and at other ports to the commander.

Passengers are to be divided into two classes, viz.: —

First class, who sit at the commander's table and are entitled to all the privileges of the quarter-deck.

Second-class, who are not entitled to walk aft of the paddle-boxes, who berth forward, and either arrange for their own provision, or mess with the warrant-officers or engineers.

Every passenger of the first class shall pay the following sum, as table-money, for the voyage from Bombay to Suez, or from Suez to Bombay, viz.: —

It is to be understood that, for the above sums, the passengers are to be provided with a plain, substantial table; but no person is entitled to more than one pint of wine and one bottle of beer per diem. Cabin passengers have the first choice of seats at the table, and, after them, the saloon passengers, in preference to those on the deck, whose priority will be arranged according to their standing on the passage-list. The seats will be arranged by the commander, and, once taken, they cannot be changed without his permission during the voyage.

In addition to the table-money, the following sums will be charged for the accommodation engaged by first-class passengers, viz.: —

Every second class passenger shall pay Rs. 150.

For each European servant 50 Rs. must be paid as subsistence-money, and 50 Rs. as passage-money; for native servants the charge will be one-half the rate for a European; but none are to be considered and taken as servants unless they actually accompany their masters or mistresses.

A passenger who has engaged a cabin may make what arrangement he likes for its occupation; he may either keep it entirely to himself, or admit to share it with any one that he pleases, provided only that the name of the person so admitted (if an adult) have been previously on one of the lists, and subject to the following restrictions, viz.: —

A treble cabin cannot be appropriated to the accommodation of more than —

Four ladies.

Three gentlemen.

Six children.

One lady and four children.

Two ladies and three children.

Three ladies and two children.

One gentlemen and three children.

Two gentlemen and two children.

A lady and her husband, with two children.

A double cabin cannot be appropriated to more than —

Three ladies.

Two gentlemen.

Four children.

A lady and three children.

Two ladies and two children.

A gentleman with two children.

A lady and her husband, with one child.

A single cabin cannot be appropriated to more than —

Two ladies.

One gentleman.

Three children.

One lady and two children.

Passengers in a steamer that may from accident or other cause be obliged to return to port, will be entitled to the refund of the amount that has been paid, deducting therefrom a sum for the table allowance of the commander, according to the number of days that the vessel may have been at sea, calculating the average time occupied in a voyage to or from Suez to be eighteen days, and Aden ten days.

For the convenience of passengers from the Red Sea to India, the commanders of the Honourable Company's packets are authorised to receive payment of passage-money at Suez, or any port between Suez and Bombay, in sovereigns, Spanish dollars or German crowns, at the following rates of exchange, viz.: —

Each cabin-passenger may, if he pleases, put all his baggage into his cabin. The saloon and deck-passengers will be allowed to keep one box or bag above. The rest of the baggage is to be in the baggage-room, and passengers will be allowed access to it twice a week, on a day and hour fixed by the commander, who will appoint a person to have charge of the baggage.

Any applicant may be refused a passage without any cause being assigned, either by the authorities at Bombay or by the commander of the vessel when away from Bombay; but a report of the rejection is to be communicated to Government.

All persons who take passage, either themselves or through their agents, will be considered as thereby binding themselves to comply with these rules, which will be shown by the master-attendant or by the commander of the vessel to parties who engage a passage.

ROUTE VIÂ FRANCE, GERMANY OR ITALY

An impression is abroad that parties leaving England for India may travel through France, Germany or Italy, embarking for Alexandria at either Marseilles, Trieste, or Naples, at as reasonable a cost, and with as little trouble as if they had taken their passage in the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamers from Southampton.⁹That such routes have their advantages, in the information and experience which travelling on the continent imparts to the intelligent, no one can deny; but that they are, in other respects, less troublesome or more economical than the sea-trip cannot by experience be maintained. In truth, no person can even compute with accuracy the actual expense of a land-journey; for, though the charges for posting by diligence, eil-wagon, vetturino, or rail, may be easily ascertained, it is impossible to estimate probable hotel charges, the extortions of gendarmerie, custom-house officers, passport employés, &c., or to foretell what detentions may take place en route; detentions which, if for only one hour beyond the time for the departure of the steamer, involve a prolonged stay of another month. We, therefore, feel justified in discarding all minute particulars respecting the routes we have indicated, simply mentioning that parties who do not seek the accommodation of the Peninsular and Oriental Company's boats until they reach Malta or Alexandria, will have to pay (rateably) a higher sum for their passage to Ceylon, Madras or Calcutta, than would be charged them, were they to embark, in the first instance, at Southampton. We may add, however, that should any parties, in the face of the difficulties and objections, still prefer proceeding by the continental route, they will do well to limit their luggage to the least possible supply, and always refer, before deciding on the trip, to parties in London, who can give them the latest and fullest information on the subject.

THE HOMEWARD PASSAGE

To the "homeward bound" who engages his passage in the Peninsular Company's steamer right through to England, we may address the following information: —

We will suppose him to be at Calcutta, or the provinces under the Bengal Presidency. Having made up his mind to proceed to England, and settled the period of his departure, he addresses the Agent of the Company in Calcutta, requesting him to secure a passage in the steamer appointed to proceed to Suez in the month he may have selected. The advertisements published in the Calcutta papers will indicate the arrangements made for the departure of the steamers, and the plans which the Company's agents can supply will assist the intending passenger to select a cabin. The prices of accommodation which we have given in pounds sterling do not vary in India. The conversion of pounds sterling into rupees at the current exchange of the day will at once give the amount.

If the party be bent upon making a prolonged stay in Egypt, it will only be necessary to engage a passage to Suez, taking a certificate from the captain that the voyage has been made in one of the Peninsular and Oriental Company's vessels, in order to ensure a passage from Alexandria to Southampton, at some future period, in one of the vessels of the same establishment, by paying the amount (exclusive of desert transit) that would have been exacted in Calcutta for the entire passage. If, however, the traveller, after remaining in Egypt, purpose visiting the Continent of Europe prior to his return to England, he need not trouble himself about the certificate.

Having engaged his passage, the homeward-bound will next think of his equipment for the trip. What we have said on this subject, in the instructions to outward-bound passengers, will equally apply to him. No cabin furniture whatever is required, nor will anything be needed in addition to the ample wardrobe which a resident in India generally possesses, beyond a couple of blouses, or light jean shooting-coats, and a sola hat.

Should the traveller be resident at Madras, or under the Fort St. George government, he should address his application to the Oriental Company's agent at the Presidency, who will give him all necessary information as to the time when the steamer may be expected at Madras. He will be required to be perfectly ready to start, as the stay of the vessel in the Madras roads seldom exceeds the few hours requisite in coaling.

Officers on the Bombay establishment will, it is presumed, for the most part, leave their own Presidency in the East-India Company's steamers, the regulations regarding which will be found in a preceding page.

The accommodation of the government boats terminating at Suez, the Bombay officer will be thrown upon his own resources for the remainder of his trip. He will accordingly do wisely, if he wish to get rapidly to England, to address himself a month before-hand to the agent of the Peninsular and Oriental Company in Egypt, to book him a passage thence to Southampton, and to arrange for his transit across the desert.¹⁰

Officers on sick-leave or furlough very frequently arrive without certain necessary documents, and are consequently subject to great inconvenience and expense. They should be provided with —

Certificate of length of service.

Certificate of being allowed a furlough.

Certificate of date to which pay has been issued.

If from Bengal, a certificate from the pilot in duplicate of the date of the ships leaving the Sandheads; and, if it be intended to claim income-allowance from the military fund, a certificate from the secretary to the fund of being entitled to such an allowance.

The voyage from India to Suez, as far as the attractions of the intermediate ports are concerned, presents very few charms for the traveller; and, even if they were numerous, the stay at each place is so brief, that there is scarcely any opportunity of enjoying them; but every change is acceptable to the landsman confined for several days on shipboard, more particularly if the scenes he beholds have a dash of novelty in them. Arrived at Madras, therefore (we speak now to the Bengal officer), he will pull ashore in one of the Mussoolah boats, whose peculiar construction and safe navi gation through the surf that perpetually rolls upon the shore at that port has always been a subject of surprise to the novice. If he have a friend at the Presidency, he will probably get the use of a carriage for the day, if not, he will be able to hire a "shigram" (palanquin carriage), or a "a bandy" (gig), and drive to all the most striking parts in the town. The Mount-road, with its numerous European shops, and monument to Sir Thomas Munro, the fort and the arsenal, the college, the public stables, the government house, the Athenæum library, the Black town, &c., will furnish subjects of inspection enough to occupy a few hours very pleasantly.

Ceylon. – The next point on the route has its attractions for the Madras, as well as the Bengal, officer. An idea of these may be gathered from the following lively and intelligent description of a visit to Point de Galle, the coaling port, derived from "The Monthly Times," and written by a gentleman who had touched there in the "Hindostan," on his way to England: —

"On the seventh day, including our twenty-four hours' detention at Madras, after leaving the Sandheads, we found ourselves, in the morning, approaching the beautiful Island of Ceylon, and anchored about noon in Point de Galle harbour. The entrance to the harbour was pretty enough – low rocks, over which the waves were beating and bounding, extended to the left, and a point of land seemed to jut out prominently to them, on which is built the Dutch fort of olden days, and which still retains its characteristic look of Dutch solidity and unavailing massiveness. There is no appearance of town from the ship; and very few habitations visible, or indications of much cultivation. The old Dutch church forms the principal object in the fort. You know I had letters from a family long resident at Galle. I proposed to see them on the following morning, but they would not hear of my remaining on board; so I landed in the afternoon, and soon found all was kindness and hospitality on the part of my new Cingalese acquaintances. The residence was formerly the old Government House, in the days of the Dutch. It was a large, roomy, substantial building; the doors were lofty, and the walls panelled in stucco, and painted with white and ochre; the fittings-up and furniture were plain, but substantially made, of carved ebony and satin-wood.

"On the following day, after a most gloriously comfortable night's rest in a very clean bed and cool, capacious room, we started, after breakfast, in a small palkee-garree and pony, always easily obtainable on hire, to visit a country-house on a hill about three miles from the fort. The drive was through a beautiful and open, well-shaded road, with frequent interspersings of small cleared patches of rice and other cultivation. The road itself was narrow, with ditches on either side, but well metalled with broken granite. The comfortable houses of the burghers rose occasionally by the road side, on little shady eminences, here and there, and seemed neat and peculiarly cozy. They were chiefly oblong, tiled buildings, with a verandah to the front. These burghers are descendants either from the former Dutch or Portuguese possessors of this coast; and many that I saw were not a little darkened in their descent. On reaching the hill, which we had to walk up, I found the sun sadly oppressive; but we were amply repaid for the ascent, for the view from it was superb. The sea was visible, and almost everywhere open to us along the horizon, through the different hills; and every here and there, in our vicinity and below us, were beautiful valleys and richly cleared spots, with well-defined roads running through them, and occasionally cottages and huts dotted in every direction; the grand distant mountains forming afar a tall and varied background.

"I returned to the ship, after dinner, in the evening, much gratified with my visit. The mode of living at Ceylon is more English, in all respects, than at Calcutta; the table more simple – the servants fewer – and the whole character of domestic economy less Oriental than we are accustomed to on the Indian Continent; but the scenery of the island itself is far from partaking of this un-Oriental appearance; it realises, in everything, all we fancy and read of in descriptions of tropical islands. The closeness and abundance of the vegetation, the variety of Eastern jungle trees, the palm-like characteristic towering of the cocoa and beetle-nut tree, everywhere prominent in the luxuriant woods around you, all tend to give to Ceylon a picturesque and Eastern style of beauty, very different from the low plains and unvaried flatness of the country in Bengal.

"The dresses of the natives are different from Bengal; men wear combs like the women of other countries, and have a loose cloth round their legs, vastly resembling a petticoat. Their language is the Cingalese; an open and gentle sort of well-vowelled dialect, which sounds prettily and euphoniously enough, like the Malayan language.

"Trade altogether is not very extensive in Ceylon. At Galle there are but three or four merchants, forming the entire mercantile community of the place. At Columbo there are, perhaps, twenty merchants and agents, and there is a Ceylon bank. The local trade is confined to three articles, viz., coffee, cocoa-nut oil, and cinnamon, though a few folks are beginning to turn their attention to sugar. Coffee is reared in plantations on the higher lands, and in chosen spots in the interior. Some of the plantations have done well, and, after the third year, are described as having paid more with the one season's produce than all the preceding and preliminary outlay and price of block put together. Several concerns, however, are losing, the soil being unsuitable; the present low prices for Ceylon coffee, in England, must utterly ruin them. It has been proved, that the only chance of success is with clearances on the forest and large tree lands: the plant thrives in these, though it takes three years to bear, and attains maturity only after the fifth year; it is expected to last ten years. Like all other concerns, those under proprietors themselves fare the best, and are easily distinguishable from those superintended by agents; but all managers live very uncomfortably. The superintendents get about 150 rupees per month, which is little enough, for supplies of the commonest necessity reach only from Kandy, or from a distance, and they are frequently without supplies at all, subsisting then on rice and the poorest produce of the villages around them. The Ceylon coffee itself ranks next to Mocha in the English markets; but recent prices must be insufficient to meet the charges of production. It is planted much in the same manner as with tea in Assam. After clearance, they set the plants at certain distances, when they grow to about the same height as the tea-tree. After blossoming and ripening, and before falling, the fruit is gathered; when there is a simple process, by some wheels and cheap machinery, to clear the berry from the pulp and skin.

"There are cinnamon gardens, near Galle, but they are not pleasing to look at, and assuredly there is no spicy and aromatic odour on the breeze, as the poets would fain establish in reference to this island, the famed Taprobane of old! When you bruise a twig or shoot of the cinnamon-tree and break off a small bit of the bark, the scent of the cinnamon is powerful and pleasant. The cocoa-nut oil is expressed much in the same manner as in Bengal, but it surprised me that, for domestic use at Galle, it was so expensive; they asked sixpence for two quart bottles of it, or, at this rate, about five rupees and more per maund. I should have expected it to be cheaper in Ceylon.

"The Rifle corps seemed to be a fine, well-disciplined body of men, chiefly Malays or their descendants. The regiment is officered like the line, and the dress, appointments, setting up and look of the soldiers were excellent.

"The salaries and receipts of the public functionaries and others in Ceylon are not quite so good as under the Company, but the habits of living, as I have before remarked, are more economical, and, I dare say, there is more money comparatively saved in Ceylon, than in the Company's wider and more imperial territories."

The new arrival at Ceylon is sorely beset by pedlars, who tempt him to invest a small portion of his capital in ivory snuff-boxes and knife-handles, tortoise-shell combs, card-racks, &c. A very few of these articles, purchased at a third of the price asked for them, may prove acceptable to friends in England, but we would recommend the Ceylon visitor to abstain from too large an indulgence in his generous inclinations, for ivory pays a heavy duty in England, and, after all, the articles brought home may be procured in England at as cheap a rate.

After leaving Ceylon and passing through the Maldive islands, which, though very low and level, are green and picturesque, no object of interest presents itself until the port of Aden is reached.

Quitting Aden, the shores of the Red Sea are frequently seen, but rarely approached during the upward voyage. In six days Suez is reached, and, as soon as boats can come off to the steamer, the passengers are landed and almost immediately conveyed by van (see previous details on this head) across the desert.

The town of Suez offers no kind of inducement to prolong one's stay. Small, dirty and destitute of any architectural beauties or antique remains, it exhibits the worst specimen of a Mahomedan city in the whole Ottoman empire.

Arrived at Suez, it will be for the passenger who has not contracted for the entire trip home, to select his own method of getting to Cairo. The vans of the Transit Company offer unquestionably the most convenient and expeditious mode of carrying the traveller across the desert; but there are not wanting persons who prefer the romance and independence of a tedious trip on the back of a horse, donkey or camel. If there were any objects of interest worthy of an occasional halt in the desert, the inconvenience of this slow progress would have its counterpoise; but when we assure the traveller that there is not one single fragment of antique remains, one solitary picturesque spot, nay, nothing, beyond one tree, seven station-houses, and a multitude of rat-holes and camel-skeletons, to diversify the broad, glaring, sandy waste, he will not hesitate about the prudence of paying his £12 – the whole cost of transit to Alexandria – or £9 to Cairo only, and joining the bulk of his fellow-travellers in the omnibuses.

From Cairo a freer choice is left to the traveller. If he prefer lingering in Egypt, he will find in a visit to the cataracts, the temples of Luxor, Carnac, &c., enough to engage his attention for an indefinite number of weeks. On these points, however, we have supplied information among the "Miscellaneous" matter at the close of this volume.

The route from Cairo to Alexandria, merely reversing the order of the trip, is described in a foregoing part of this volume. Arrived at Alexandria – provided the passenger has not booked himself in India for the entire transit to Southampton – it often becomes a question which route shall be taken to accomplish the remainder of the journey. The taste, inclinations or curiosity of some will lead them to Constantinople, to Syria, the Holy Land, the Grecian Archipelago; others may feel disposed to embark for Trieste, in order to visit Venice, northern Italy and Germany. Many chalk out for themselves a trip to Naples, Rome, Florence, Switzerland, &c., previously purifying themselves of the bugbear plague at Malta; and some few embark in the French steamer and make their way to Marseilles, there to serve quarantine, preparatory to a tour through France.

If it were as much our province to advise as it is our purpose to inform, we would suggest, as the result of the information imparted to us by many travellers, that it is, on many accounts, most desirable that persons from India should come straight to England, in the first instance, thence betaking themselves to the continent of Europe, if so inclined. The chief reasons for this proceeding are – the entire avoidance of the quarantines, which are often irksome and always expensive; the gratification of the natural affections by the earliest possible meeting with relatives and friends; the facility of obtaining information respecting the most attractive routes, and introductions to families on the Continent; the opportunity of selecting a companion from old fellow-soldiers, fellow-officials or Indian friends similarly bent upon a pleasurable excursion.

But these arguments may weigh as a feather against the determination to visit the interesting portions of Europe and Asia we have indicated, preparatory to placing foot in England. It is difficult to eradicate from any Anglo-Indians the notion that it is better to arrive cleansed of Indian rust and polished by a tour through civilised lands, or more prudent "to see the world" while you are in it, than to trust to the chance of quitting England when you have just tasted its infinite pleasures.

For the consideration of such reasoners, therefore, we submit some information respecting quarantines, the rules of which, however, are very changeable.

A passage to Malta from Alexandria may be procured in the "Peninsular and Oriental Company's" boats for £12 10s. The French steamers charge £10, but this does not include the table, wines, &c., which are paid for separately to the restaurateur on board. The trip in the English steamer occupies four days. The French vessel goes first to Syra, to meet the Constantinople boat, and this occupies seven days. Arrived at Malta, intimation is given by the captain of the number of persons who meditate remaining there, and accommodation is accordingly provided for them in the lazaretto. Their stay will depend upon the nature of the bill of health carried by the vessel; it is not, however, at any time, less than twelve days, and may extend to twenty.

The regulations to be observed in the lazaretto are given on the following page.

GENERAL REGULATIONS

To be observed by all Persons performing Quarantine in the Lazaretto of Malta

I

All passengers, on landing, are to give their names to the captain of the lazaretto, which are to be entered in the registry of the office.

II

The captain of the lazaretto will assign apartments for passengers, and each passenger will be provided with two chairs, a table, and a wooden bedstead, for which no charges are made; but any damage done by the passengers to the apartments or furniture is to be made good by them before pratique.

III

Passengers are not to be permitted to enter other apartments; nor can they be allowed to receive visitors, except at the parlatorio of the lazaretto, and that only during office-hours; nor are they to trespass the limits assigned to them by the captain of the lazaretto.

IV

Passengers must pay a strict attention to all the instructions they may receive from the captain of the lazaretto and from the health guardians, and particularly in every point that regards their baggage, clothes, &c., being properly aired and handled during the period of their quarantine; and their quarantine will only commence to reckon from the day on which all their baggage, clothes, &c., have been duly opened and handled.

V

All letters and parcels, or other effects brought by passengers, must be given up, in order that they may be fumigated or depurated separately from them, as the occasion may require.

VI

All cases of sickness must be reported immediately to the cap tain of the lazaretto, and all persons sick are to be visited immediately by the physician to the lazaretto, after which official visit, passengers are at liberty to avail themselves of any medical attendance they think proper.

VII

Passengers are to pay the Government fee for the guardians employed to attend them, for the number of days of their quarantine, at the following rates, viz.: – at 1s. 3d. per day for the guardian who attends one passenger, and at 2s. 6d. per day for each guardian who attends more than one passenger. They are to victual the guardian or guardians during their quarantine, or to pay to each guardian an allowance of 7d. per day in lieu thereof. It is to be clearly understood that the guardians are employed solely for quarantine purposes, and they are strictly prohibited to interfere in any other service whilst they attend passengers.

VIII

The office hours at the lazaretto are from 8 A.M. to 12, and from 2 P.M. to 5 daily; and all letters sent to the fumigating-room before 9 A.M. daily, will be delivered in Valetta at 10, and those sent before 3 will be delivered in Valetta at 4 P.M. by the letter messenger, who is entitled to receive from the passengers a penny for each note, parcel, or letter, as a remuneration for his trouble and boat-hire.

IX

A daily report of all circumstances is to be made by the captain of the lazaretto to the superintendent of quarantine and marine police.

N.B. A trattoria has been established at the lazaretto for the convenience of passengers who wish to avail themselves of it, from whence they can be supplied with dinners, wines, &c., &c., in their own apartments.

Beds complete and other articles of furniture, if required, can also be hired from a person appointed to provide them.

A note of charges for the trattoria, and for the hire of furniture, will be furnished to the passengers, on their applying for it.

Of the manner in which the time may be passed in a lazaretto, the following graphic sketch by Mr. Stocqueler, which appeared some time since in the "Asiatic Journal," will convey no imperfect idea: —