to Australia is as follows, whether you go by the Cape or Canal,
bearing in mind the southern seas are cold, and that 10 days by the
Cape route sees you through the tropics. A regulation sized box is
only allowed in the cabin, together with a bonnet box; but luggage
marked “Wanted on the voyage” is brought up from the hold once a
week. Old underclothing is best to wear, for when soiled it is
dropped overboard, and saves washing. On arrival in a country where
labour is dear, and also as the trunks from the hold are packed and
unpacked in public, it is pleasanter to be rid of soiled linen. Take
7-8 weeks’ change of everything. The voyage is 6 weeks as a rule.
Friends will supply you with old underclothing, if you ask. Take 4
doz. paper cuffs and collars; you will need a clean one a day. Buy
a few dozen cheap pocket handkerchiefs to ensure having enough. No
washing whatever is done on board. At Ceylon, the natives come out
for clothes, but as steamers’ sailings are irregular, you may leave
your belongings behind. Frilling becomes limp, but have a few dozen
yards to freshen up a dress. Have warm flannels; a pair of mittens
are a boon, keeping your hands cosy while your fingers are free to
work. Tennis shoes are not elegant, but comfortable, and, when decks
are slippery with wet, they are invaluable. Avoid high heels, for the
ship’s rolling is apt to make walking unsafe. Have besides tennis
shoes a pair of bath slippers, house shoes, a pair of strong walking
shoes, and a pair of boots to land in. Remember a wave may sneak in
at an open port and invade a cabin, so have bags for boots hung high,
bags for brush, comb, scent, and all toilette requisites, and a few
pouches for ribbons, cuffs, handkerchiefs, to avoid opening your
box when you want any trifle; a hanging pincushion, and a few large
linen bags to slip things into when rough, for it is objectionable
to wake and find your clothes about the floor. The stewards act as
housemaids, come in to shut ports, clean out cabins, carry water,
so a lady should have things specially tidy. Have a hat capable of
keeping firmly on the head in wind, a shady one for the tropics,
though it really matters little, the decks being covered with awning,
and keep your hat for landing strapped up high above invading waves
in the cabin. A cabin’s furniture consists only of bunks, basin
stands, mirrors, a shelf for the water bottle, each berth a rack,
such as are in railway carriages, useful to hold books, workbox, &c.;
but do not in calm weather pile it too high, for when you run into
rolling seas of course the things slip out. You may be in a cabin
with three other ladies; space is very limited, trunks are thrust
below the bunks, and at most two pegs apiece allowed to hang dresses
on; but for the bags mentioned, take a few thin tacks and put them
up yourself. Only keep out the dress you wish to change and your
dressing gown, for, if you hang out more, the cabin, even if you have
the luck to have only one fellow-traveller in with you, gets stuffed
up, and you blush for its untidiness when you learn the captain
inspects every cabin at 11 A.M. daily.
Take a few pairs of old scissors, a few penny button hooks, and hang
one of each up by the mirror to have handy, and keep the others
stored in your cabin box for fear of losing or mislaying the two out
for use. Take plenty of pins and thread and needles, and an extra
pair or two of stay busks. To break one in mid ocean is a misfortune,
unless you have others get-at-able to remedy the evil.
Take some cotton and also some woollen stockings, and do not forget
a hot water bottle. The bed-room steward will readily get it filled,
and, if it is cold, the bottle will be a great comfort. Have an
ulster, a muffler, and a light shawl: the last to throw over your
head, mantilla fashion, when sitting on deck during the delightful
balmy evenings one enjoys on board. Have one warm dress, one cotton,
either one grenadine made with high bodice, or an old silk for
dinner. You hardly _dress_ for that meal, but change your gown to
a slightly smarter one, and a little addition of lace to any old
afternoon costume is sufficient: also take a few flowers to vary it.
On the tray of your cabin box keep another smarter dress to land in
and to wear on Sundays, for a little variety is grateful to all.
Let the warm dress and your dinner one, if you are economical, be
old, and keep your new toilettes for Australia. Dresses get stickily
salt on board, lose their freshness, and, as most folks wear their
second best when travelling by sea, as long as you are tidy, neat,
and clean, you need not trouble about a little shabbiness. One print,
even by the Red Sea route, is quite sufficient, unless you are a
very careless person, and cannot keep a cotton dress clean for two
weeks. Put a silk costume in at the top of “Wanted on voyage trunk”
to get out easily, for perhaps you may wish to be extra smart at a
ship concert; and have packed on the top of that box also a cotton,
for fear of soiling the other, your relays of underlinen, a few extra
books and music to relieve the monotony of the ones in your cabin. Do
not take more than what I have advised, or you will hamper up what
is your bedroom for the time, and make it a sore vexation to your
steward and uncomfortable for yourself. When you see the officers in
white flannel trousers, take out your cotton dress. When they put
on white hats and duck suits, lay away your thick dress and your
ulster and rug. When you see them back to navy-blue attire, put away
your cotton dress and take to your warm clothes. You can rely on
the official sense to guide you aright. Have a neat dressing gown,
as you may have to pass the saloon on your way to a bath. Do not
forget a supply of hairpins. You will find a thick dress, a print,
an evening dress all-sufficient, with underclothes and collars for
a week or two, hats, boots, &c. These will fill up your cabin box;
but keep room for a few books, although there is a library on board.
You can lend your stock, and vary the ship’s literature. Of course,
take a piece of work, but you will not do much after the first
week. When you know your fellow-passengers, you will help them all
day at doing nothing, for sea voyaging is idle and frivolous. Take
music if you play, and have a store in the “wanted” trunk, for your
fellow-passengers will get tired of your songs if you have but 3 or
4. If you paint, have your materials handy to illuminate a concert
programme, for you must try and be ready to assist amusements, unless
you wish to be killed with _ennui_. Take some tea (though on the
Orient line they supply it freely), and a teapot, and a few cups.
You can get hot water from your steward, and do not need a kettle.
Afternoon tea-parties on board are pleasant as on shore, and it is
well to have the means of entertaining. If you are to be at sea on
Christmas Day take some cards. Your neighbours will thank you when
they find a greeting on their breakfast plates. Take some mimic note
paper and envelopes for invitations to tea, &c., as all these little
odds and ends to amuse others are sure to help you to enjoy seafaring.
Fancy balls are a common form of fun on Australian steamers; and,
if you are taking a fancy dress out with you, put it in the “Wanted
box,” and, if not, exert your ingenuity. Take some games with you in
your cabin box--cards, chess, backgammon, dominoes. You can get them
all in mimic sets.
If you are going to Australia to live, look well on the map as to
your future colony, and, as you are near the equator, prepare for
heat. Western and South Australia, Queensland, and New South Wales,
are all very warm, especially during 3 months in the year; but also
bear in mind in the bush servants are scarce, and do not have your
cotton dresses too elaborate, for fear you may have to wash them
yourself. There is winter too in Australia, and at first you think it
like our May at home, but after a year you will suffer from the least
cold keenly, so have some warm clothes, and over all the colonies it
is dusty, therefore do not forget a dust cloak. Victoria is not quite
so warm, nor Tasmania, as the northern colonies. The South Island of
New Zealand is like home, with a vastly improved climate, and clothes
for there identical with England. North Island is hotter, but never
so warm as Australia. If you are going to live in a town you will
need the same sort and amount of dress as in England. Clothes are not
much dearer. Frilling, gloves, and small items are, however, more
expensive, and bear in mind people in the antipodes are very smartly
dressed, so have a few well-made things in preference to many dowdy
ones. If you are to live on a station, or in the bush, as the country
is called, you will not need evening or garden-party dresses--only a
couple of cotton dresses, a grey summer bège, a warm dress of tweed,
a commoner one for the morning and a better one for afternoon wear, a
habit, ulster, dust cloak, garden hat, and gloves; a hat to drive to
the township in, and one thoroughly good costume, bonnet, and mantle,
all well-made of some handsome material for a marriage, a race
meeting, the show, or any such event as comes to relieve bush life’s
quiet routine.
India.--To have a reasonable outfit, and often renewed, is far better
economy, and is also much pleasanter, than taking very many things
at once, as in this way one does not so soon tire of one’s wardrobe;
and new things can be had out from home of a later fashion. For a
life to be spent in the plains of India, 2 doz. of each article of
underlinen would be an ample allowance; while for those who can go
to the cool climate of the hills 1½ doz. would be quite sufficient.
A good supply of dark-coloured finest cotton stockings (say 1½
doz.), and ½ doz. black spun silk stockings, should also be taken.
½ doz. fine flannel jerseys (flannel is by far the safest wear in
India) and 4 flannel petticoats would be a very fair quantity, and
1 doz. white petticoats, with one or two pretty-coloured warmer
ones for the cold weather, will always be found quite sufficient.
Much embroidery or lace on one’s clothes is a great mistake, as the
“dhobees” (washermen) beat them to pieces in no time. Also ½ doz.
high petticoat bodices, and ½ doz. embroidered low ones to wear with
thin dresses. Avoid having the petticoat skirt and bodice in one, as
very often in the hot weather one is glad to change the bodice when
it is quite unnecessary to change the skirt also; so little walking
is done in the hot weather that the skirt remains clean for some
time, and, as the “dhobees” beat one’s clothes most unmercifully
in washing them, it is a consideration not to have them undergo
this process oftener than is necessary. Collars, cuffs, ties, neck
ribbons, pocket handkerchiefs, should be taken _ad lib._, also one or
two pretty fichus, with materials to make others from them, as these
things are very expensive in India, and do not spoil by keeping if
put carefully away and looked at occasionally. It is much better to
have boots and shoes out as you require them. The best plan is to
have 2 pairs pretty walking boots and 3 or 4 of house shoes out at a
time. The Chinamen in Calcutta can copy boots and shoes remarkably
well, and even up-country “maachees” (shoemakers) can make them up
pretty well from a pattern; but the leather never lasts long, nor
do they keep in shape. In the hills it is absolutely necessary to
have good strong English walking boots, with very thick soles and
moderately high heels--not very high ones, as they are apt to make
one fall, and the sharp stones and rocky ground grind them down at
once. To have a number of dresses is a great mistake; a handsome,
well-made black silk is indispensable, and the most useful thing
a lady can have; this, with a pretty visiting dress and (say) 2
cashmeres, or some such material, is ample for the cold weather.
These, with the exception of the visiting dress, should be a walking
length. A warm coat is also necessary, as it is very cold for about
2½ months; a thick “burruk” coat, trimmed with fur, is not at all too
much, and very comfortable wear; also a lighter coat for the hills,
or when the mornings and evenings are chilly. A well-fitting ulster
is a necessity for the hills, and if waterproof so much the better,
but it should be made of a light material. Of course, some people
go out much more than others do; but a handsome dinner dress (a
black satin, with jet trimmings, &c., is very useful), one for small
parties, and 2 pretty ball dresses, will be ample for any one. Of
course to those who live in Calcutta or Simla more dresses would be
necessary, as there is so much more gaiety there; but in up-country
stations this is a very good allowance, and more than the quantity
named would only get old-fashioned and be very much in the way. Shoes
to match, and silk stockings also, should be taken. Some sort of
opera cloak is necessary; a black cashmere dolman, lined with thin
silk, is the nicest, and, if sent to Delhi to be embroidered in gold
or silver thread, or in coloured silk in what is called the “enamel”
or the “peacock” pattern (both very handsome), it would be lovely,
always look well, and last for years. This embroidery is not very
expensive. Silk gloves for India are the nicest things that were ever
invented, as they do not spot and spoil as kid, nor get hard in rainy
weather; it is best to have a good many pairs, as they wear out so
soon, and they are very dear out here. Bonnets are very seldom worn,
but some ladies like them for visiting and for going to church. Hats
are much pleasanter wear, and, as a rule, more becoming; 2 pretty
hats are ample, with a plainer one with no feathers (except perhaps
a wing or a hackle one) for dull rainy days, or for travelling. Hats
and bonnets can so easily come out by P. and O. parcel post that it
is much nicer to have a few, and have them yearly, when one gets the
latest fashions. A well-made habit should of course be taken; a good
native “dirzi” (tailor) could easily copy in cloth or any thinner
material for daily wear, as habits do not last long, and are such
expensive things to buy. For the hills, the fewer clothes one has
the better, as fish, insects, and the damp destroy them; and in the
rains nothing very good should be worn. A pretty cashmere dress is
by far the most useful. For hot weather in the plains, it is nice
to have a foulard silk or Cora silk dress for the rains, as muslins
and such things get very limp there and look untidy. Coloured prints
and muslins are very pretty and tempting, but they are not the best
wear for India, as, with the constant washing and the heat, they soon
lose their colours and get washed out, and look far from fresh and
nice; thin white materials (not piqués and such stuffs, which are
the hottest wear possible), prettily made, with coloured ribbon bows
down the front, &c., are the nicest. In the house, pretty morning
dresses made like tea gowns are by far the most comfortable wear;
it is a good plan to bring one pretty, nicely fitting one out, and
also to bring the materials and trimmings for ½ doz. others, as then
the native tailors can copy them beautifully at a small cost. These
dresses, worn with different coloured ribbons, always look nice for
the house, and are so much cooler than tight-fitting dresses. Pretty
self-coloured muslins, worn over batiste slips of the same colour,
are always nice for garden parties and visiting; and now hats are
so often made of the same material as the dress, it is easy to have
a variety of them, and they always look dressy, and are very light.
Cottons, tapes, needles, buttons of all sorts, elastic, ribbon,
wire, &c., should be taken in large quantities; but keep them under
lock and key, or they disappear most mysteriously. A good supply of
paper and envelopes also is necessary. Rooms in India are so bare
and colourless, that one wants many bright little things to make
them look home-like and cheerful. No one would regret bringing out
some pretty inexpensive chromo-lithographs in nice frames; they need
not all be framed (though all should be mounted), as the “mistris”
(carpenters) can make the Oxford frames very neatly and cheaply from
a pattern, and glasses can also be got out here in some places; these
always make the room look pretty, and hide the walls which, not being
papered, but only coloured plaster, are by no means the prettiest
part of an Indian drawing room. Also bring a good many yards of
coloured cretonne; black cretonne, with gold-coloured pattern on
it, is nice, and does not fade as some of those with light grounds
do; but it is well to include a few yards of different patterns of
cretonne, as it is pretty to have the chairs not all the same, and
makes the room look brighter. Over-mantels would be charming and
uncommon; brackets for the walls, and pretty china wall baskets, also
wall mirrors, would be found great additions to the look of a room,
and would always be eagerly bought up if one was leaving a station,
as it is almost impossible to get such things, except perhaps in
Calcutta, where they are fearfully dear. By all means take glass and
crockery out; it is twice or three times as expensive in Calcutta
as at home; and if one trusts to station auctions, one is sure to
get imperfect and shabby sets of things, and very often has to pay
heavily for them. Electro-plate must, of course, be taken, also
knives; and any pretty little ornament one can find for the table is
nice, and makes it look bright. A few pudding moulds and any small
things of this kind are very useful, and not always to be picked up
up-country. Window curtains should certainly be taken, especially
écru-coloured ones, but if white are preferred, it is a good plan
to have several pieces of pretty pale-coloured cheap tarlatans to
line them with; this always looks nice. Curtain cords should also be
taken; some dozens of pretty brass-headed nails would be found very
useful; also some yards of different coloured Utrecht velvets to
cover small tables, and fringe to edge them with; by going to Maple’s
or some such shop during the selling-off time remnants of these
things can be got at a very moderate price. A few pretty-coloured
tablecloths should certainly be included. For those who care for
fancy work, all the materials must be taken, as it is not always easy
or possible to get them in India, and even when one can they are
very expensive. Table linen, &c., must be taken, of course; at the
various jails in India, and also in Dinapore, the natives make very
fair towels, bath sheets, tablecloths, &c., but they are not nearly
as nice as English ones, nor do they last as long. As for having
boxes out by steamer, there seems to be quite a risk in doing so
now-a-days; it may be found that on arrival the tin has been neatly
cut open, everything taken out, and the boxes filled up with straw
and bricks, to make them weigh heavily. It is always most difficult
to get any compensation from the ship’s company, and is never done
without endless correspondence and delay. It is safer to have things
out by P. and O. parcel post, but they allow only small boxes, so but
few things can come at a time; these parcels are under the charge of
Government from the time they leave till the time they are delivered,
so they are perfectly safe.
New Zealand.--In a lonely country district much toilette would not be
required. In or near any of the principal towns there is a good deal
of gaiety--small and large dances--constant tennis parties for about
7 months in the year, small dinners, luncheons, &c. Any clothes taken
should be well made and fashionable, as very many of the ladies there
now get their things from England every 6 weeks or so, from the best
dressmakers in London. If a lady intends riding, a well cut habit
should be taken. Very heavy furs, such as a sealskin jacket, are
hardly required in the north island, down south it might be useful.
More summer clothes than winter ones are wanted, as the summer season
lasts long, although rarely if ever so hot as in London sometimes.
It will be well to remember that life in New Zealand, except in one
or two remote places, is simply English life, with a bright blue
sky and pleasant climate. New Zealand is as large as Great Britain,
so of course the climate varies with the situation, warmer in the
north island, cooler in the south, although the extremes of heat and
cold are not nearly so great as from North of Scotland to the South
of England. Of course the outfit for the voyage depends much on the
proposed route, whether across America, or by the Suez line, or by
direct steam, New Zealand line (easiest and most comfortable of all),
or by sailing vessel, a route avoided now by all except those ordered
a long sea voyage for their health. In almost any case there is both
hot and cold weather. Old underlinen that you can throw away is
best, as the sea air ruins good linen. A little change for dinner is
needed, but elaborate dressing on the voyage is quite out of taste.
North America.--The outfit a young man requires depends upon the
occupation he intends taking up. If he looks forward to employment in
a town, he should take a supply of good clothing, such as a gentleman
would wear at home, adding 2 or 3 quite cool suits for summer wear.
All gentlemen’s clothing, from hats to boots, from coats to vests, is
inferior and very costly. Really superior cloth materials are not to
be got at any price, nor are flannel shirts that will wash well. If
the young man is going to a stock ranche, one good suit for winter,
and another for summer, to wear on an occasional visit to town, are
sufficient: he will never use them on the ranche, and stockmen’s
clothing here is reasonable in price, and made to stand such wear and
tear as no one in England has any idea of, even with school-boys.
A close fitting, very warm jacket, or extremely thick warm kind of
jersey to go on, either of them, under stockman’s jacket, would be
invaluable. The rapid fall of temperature, in a few hours, from
70°-80° down to below freezing, accompanied by piercing wind, causes
the cold to be felt intensely. The country has greatly changed
during the past few years. In organised counties, carrying concealed
firearms is prohibited by law. Many do carry them, but they are
always liable to have them seized, and to be fined $25 in addition.
Some stockmen on the ranges carry six-shooters and Winchester
rifles, which are much better for their need than any English rifle.
Ammunition for most of the English rifles is not to be obtained. The
American six-shooter is much cheaper, and more suitable than the
English. For steady men, careful not to get mixed up with gamblers
and the rowdy element, Texas is as safe as England. Those who do
associate with such classes hold their lives at risk.
West Indies.--(_a_) The best time for going out to the West Indies
is November, after the rains; our winter is their cool season; the
hot weather begins towards the end of April. For the voyage take for
the first half of the time a serge dress, warm hat, cloaks, wraps,
indiarubber-soled shoes. No one dresses for dinner on board the
mail packets. The cabins are small. A bag with many pockets to hold
all the odds and ends, is a comfort. An overland trunk to go under
the berth, a tin bonnet box, and a travelling bag for the cabin,
and tin-lined or tin cases for the hold. For the latter half of the
voyage, you want a large shady hat and dark cotton dresses, glauntlet
gloves, and gauze veils. It is very hot in Kingston; you would wear
the same as in summer here, not linen collars or cuffs, lace, which
washes easily is best; flannel underclothing, large boots, shoes,
and gloves, and a good-sized parasol. People who travel in the
island find a solar topee a comfort. A riding habit of thin cloth
is necessary, and a low hat, no one wears a high one. A large loose
skirt to wear over your dress on the hills is a comfort when you go
out to dinner, which you must do on horseback; a low black dress
is desirable. There are several parties in the course of the year,
lawn-tennis parties, &c.