THE CONFERENCE ON THE PROMENADE
The promenade did not wholly change its name after it became Conference
Hall, and had been enlarged and improved. It was as popular a resort as
it had ever been when the ship was under way and there was anything to
be seen. The place was occupied when the ship hauled out of the basin in
the early morning of January 19; for the passengers had all asked to be
called at five o'clock.
It seemed a little strange to go to sea without the Maud astern, and
with the principal members of her ship's company seated with the others
on the promenade. The commander had engaged a pilot for the whole length
of the Red Sea; for it is full of rocks and reefs, making the navigation
difficult and dangerous, though it has been thoroughly surveyed, and the
chart is speckled with small islands and coral reefs.
"I could give you the Arabic names of some of the surroundings as we
proceed," said the captain, who had taken a position where he could
observe the movements of the vessel, and it enabled him to look into the
pilot-house through the after windows when he desired to do so.
"Please don't, Captain Ringgold!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave. "It makes my
jaws ache even to hear them."
"But there are some things which have no other names, and they must
sometimes be used. That buoy on the starboard has no English name; but
it is of no consequence, and I will not try to speak it. On the opposite
shore is the Gebel Ataka, which you have noticed before. By this time
you have learned that gebel is a mountain, and _jebel_, as you will find
it on your map of the Peninsula of Sinai, means the same thing. _Ras_ is
a cape. Formerly I knew many more words than now; for it is very easy to
forget a foreign language."
"There is a lightship on the starboard," said Louis, who was seated
between his mother and Miss Blanche.
"That is the Zenobia, on Newport Rock," added the captain. "Now look to
the shore on the left, which is called Abu Darraj. Perhaps you had
better write it down and remember it; for the people in this vicinity
believe the Israelites crossed the Red Sea where the ship is at this
moment. The water was formerly very shallow here, and a passage for
vessels had to be dredged through it. Napoleon and some of his generals
were here, and tried to cross over on horseback; but the sea served him
as it did Pharaoh and his army; the wind changed, and the tide rolled in
so that he was compelled to retreat."
There was nothing more to be explained, and the commander went to the
pilot-house; but the air was delightfully pleasant, and the sun rising
over the mountains of the peninsula was a beautiful sight. The ladies
were in raptures, and some of the gentlemen shared the enthusiasm. The
boys left their seats, and walked about the upper deck. Then Miss
Blanche thought she had better walk for a time before breakfast, and
very soon the whole party were occupied in the same manner. The
commander had appointed a conference at nine o'clock, and several
interesting subjects were to be considered.
Captain Ringgold was not disposed to drive his ship at her best speed,
which was over sixteen knots an hour; but he had instructed Mr. Shafter,
the chief engineer, to give her about fourteen knots, for she was more
comfortable at this rate than when forced to do her utmost, to say
nothing of the saving of coal. At this rate she would arrive at Bombay
in ten days, including a stop of one day at Aden. In this time he
expected to accomplish a great deal in the school of the conference.
The weather was fortunately all that could be desired, though the Red
Sea sometimes behaves very badly; and at the time appointed the members
of the party were all in their places on the promenade. The little
table, with its vase of flowers brought from the gardens of the
Terreplein, was in position. Mr. Woolridge was one of the first to take
his arm-chair. He had at first been rather indifferent in regard to the
instruction element of the ship, but had become quite interested since
he had been called to the platform as a speaker.
The commander was the first to take the platform; and he appeared with a
rose in the lappel of his coat, which probably would not have been there
if Mrs. Belgrave had not placed it there. She was very fond of flowers,
and had arranged quite a collection of potted plants, as well as filled
all the vases on board with cut flowers from the village.
"The subject first in order seems to be the Red Sea; and we have not yet
spoken of it in detail, though we have had considerable to say about it.
I shall purposely omit some things which will be explained when we come
to them. I am glad to see that you have brought your diaries or
note-books with you, as I suggested, and you can write down the names of
notable sights and the figures I shall give. I wish to say that I have
always prepared myself for these occasions, and do not talk to you at
random.
"The Red Sea is an arm of the Indian Ocean, with the Gulf of Aden, about
800 miles long, as a connection between them. The Persian Gulf, with the
Gulf of Oman, forms a similar body of water, and they will probably
render the same service to England and India that the Red Sea does at
the present time. Arabia lies between them. The sea on which we are now
sailing is 1,200 miles long."
"Badaeker gives the length as 1,400 miles," said Louis.
"He gives it in English miles," replied the commander. "A degree of a
great circle is 69.07 English, or statute miles as we call them, or 60
geographical sea miles or knots. This distinction has been fully
explained to you before. For ordinary purposes the number of sea miles
is to the number of statute miles in the ratio of six to seven. In other
words, there will be six-sevenths as many knots as statute miles, and
conversely, seven-sixths as many statute as sea miles. Six-sevenths of
1,400 is 1,200; and thus we agree.
"The Red Sea varies in width from 100 to 200 miles, and in the broadest
part it is 205 sea miles. We are still in the Gulf of Suez, and shall be
till about five this afternoon. On the African side you will see
mountains all the way to the strait, with only sand between them and the
water. There is nothing that can be called a town between Suez and
Koser, over 300 statute miles. All around the sea are coral-reefs; and
we shall pass a lighthouse on one right in the middle of it. Not a
single river flows into the Red Sea, for there are no rains in Egypt;
and if there were on either side, the desert would absorb all the water.
"This sea has the reputation of being a hot region. The thermometer
ranges from 70° to 94°, and sometimes the mercury mounts to over 100°,
always in the daytime, and it may fall to the freezing point at night,
though rarely. As on the Nile, the rule is hot days and cool nights,
though you may find some of the latter uncomfortable farther south, for
the water has shown a temperature of 100°.
"The water is somewhat salter than the ocean, because no rivers empty
into it, and because of excessive evaporation. It has been said by some
scientists that, if the Red Sea were entirely enclosed, it would become
a solid body of salt in less than two thousand years. I suppose they
mean that all the fluid would evaporate, and the salt in it would remain
at the bottom. We will not worry about it.
"The average depth of this sea is 2,250 feet, and the greatest 7,200. I
have nothing more to say about it; but while I am up I will say a few
words about the new route to India of which I have spoken before. The
Gulf of Iskanderun, sometimes called Scanderoon, is the north-east
corner of the Mediterranean. Its eastern shore is within a hundred miles
of the headwaters of the Euphrates River, which is navigable for small
craft to Bir. Sixty years ago some preferred it to the Suez route. A
grant of money was made by Parliament, two iron steamers of small size
were put into the river; and though one of them was sunk, the other went
through to the Persian Gulf.
"It was shown that this route was about a thousand miles less in
distance than any other to Kurrachee, the nearest port in India. But
political influences were at work against it, first from Egypt, and then
from some of the Powers, in the belief that it would give England an
advantage in the affairs of Asia, and the scheme was dropped. Now we
will take a walk of half an hour about the ship; for school-children
need rest and recreation.
"But I wish to remind you again that you are now near the ancient world;
for Arabia is in sight all the time, and Assyria, Babylonia, Syria are
beyond it. The professor will have the floor after the intermission."
During the recess the party walked about the deck and observed the
mountains, which were still in sight on both sides. Four bells, or ten
o'clock, was the signal for them to come together again. Whatever might
be anticipated farther south, the air was soft and pleasant, and not
over warm, about 70° in the shade.
"My excellent friend, Mr. Woolridge, has just reminded me of the promise
made by the commander that certain ancient travellers over the world
should be taken up, as we have frequent occasion to quote them,"
Professor Giroud began. "There are only three of them of any especial
note, the first of whom is Herodotus, 'the Father of History,' as he is
often called, and was worthy of the title.
"He was born about 485 years before the time of Christ, at
Helicarnassus, a Greek colony of Asia. This was about the time the
Persians were invading Greece. When this city obtained its freedom,
there was a dispute about the method of government, in which he was
involved, and which caused him to leave his native place. For the
ancient time, over two thousand years ago, when they had no railroads
and steamboats, his travels are remarkable for their extent. He went all
over Asia Minor and Greece proper, as well as the islands of the Ægean
Sea. He visited Macedonia, Thrace, and the coasts of the Black Sea.
"What was more remarkable, he penetrated to the Persian Empire and
Babylon, and toured Egypt more thoroughly than most modern travellers.
Then he extended his wanderings to Sicily and lower Italy. He was alive
at the first of the Peloponnesian War; but what became of him, when or
where he died, is not known.
"He spent the greater part of his life in travel, though not for
pleasure, but in acquiring knowledge which he intended to make useful to
the world. He was the most eminent geographer of his time, and he may
father that science as appropriately as that of history. But he treated
many other branches of knowledge, like the races of men and their
peculiarities, mythology, archæology, and, in fact, everything that came
within the range of his observation. He was a man of a high order of
intellect, a philosopher in his criticism of governments. Modern
scholars are greatly indebted to him, and his works are still extant. He
did not have the highest style of composition; but he was an honest man,
and he wrote as he talked. You can understand the frequent references to
him in modern books of travel.
"Not as favorable a notice can be given of Strabo, who was an ancient
geographer. He was born about sixty-four years before Christ, at Amasia
in Pontus."
"Where was that?" asked the magnate, who was taking the deepest interest
in the exercise.
"It is a name given to a country in the north-eastern corner of Asia
Minor, on the Black Sea, the ancient name of which was Pontus Euxinus,
or Euxine Sea, from which it got its name. His mother was of Greek
descent, and nothing is known of his father. I suppose you all know what
strabismus means."
"I am sure I don't," replied Mrs. Blossom; and probably she was the only
one who could answer in the negative.
"In plain terms, it means cross-eyed; and doubtless Strabo obtained his
name from having this defect in his eyes. Whether any of his family were
called so before him is not known. He studied with various learned men
in Greece, Rome, and Alexandria. It does not appear that he had any
occupation, but devoted all his time to study and travel. He wrote
forty-seven books, and those on geography were very valuable; for he
wrote from his own observation, though sometimes he is very full, at
others very meagre. He is regarded as by no means the equal of
Herodotus.
"The third of whom I am to speak is Diodorus Siculus."
"You have put a tail on his name, Professor," added the magnate.
"That is as much a part of his name as the rest of it, as used by
scholars. It means that he was born in Sicily. Very little is known
about him beyond what he told himself. He lived in the time of Julius
Cæsar and Augustus, and for a long time in Rome. He travelled in Europe
and Asia for material. He wrote a history of the world from the creation
to the time of Julius Cæsar. Some of the volumes are lost, and some of
them are still read.
"Diodorus was deficient in the qualifications of a historian; and about
all that is valuable in his writings is the mass of facts he gives, from
which he was not competent to make the proper deductions. The material
he gathered is valuable; but the thirty years he spent in the
composition of his works have not purchased for him the literary
reputation of Herodotus, or even of Strabo."
"I am very much obliged to you for your lecture, and I hope others
besides myself have profited by it," said Mr. Woolridge.
The professor bowed, and took some manuscript from his pocket.