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:--
"Upwards of 140 passengers left Alexandria in the _Oriental_, at
the end of May, for some fifty had joined it from Bombay; amongst
the latter were several heroes of Meanee and Hyderabad--fine young
soldiers, who were covered with honourable scars received in the
desperate engagements between Sir C. Napier and the Belochees. Never,
perhaps, was a vessel freighted with so many who had distinguished
themselves in conflict with the enemies of their country. Not less than
twenty-six officers, who had seen service in Afghanistan, China and
Scinde, paced the deck every day, and described the scenes which their
own prowess and that of their comrades had, for the previous three or
four years, rendered memorable in the history of British India. But
of this large number of homeward-bound passengers, only three (one
having two ladies in his family), quitted the _Oriental_ at Malta.
Those who _wished_ to prosecute the rest of their journey by land had
either failed to make the necessary provision,[11] or shuddered at
the prospect of twenty days' imprisonment in the lazaretto. Moreover,
they flattered themselves with the belief, that they would be enabled
to make the tour of the Continent when they had exhausted the various
pleasures of glorious England. And so they steamed away to Southampton,
leaving the few above alluded to--the writer of this among them--in the
lazaretto, under suspicion of the crime of being afflicted with the
plague.
[Footnote 11: Eighty pounds will carry a man through Italy,
Switzerland, and France, with comfort, allowing for several days' stay
at each place of interest.]
"Meanwhile, let me assure the traveller from India, that even a three
weeks' incarceration in the Malta lazaretto is not intolerable, if,
which is generally the case with the imprisoned, he is lucky enough to
have one or two pleasant and intelligent companions. I have before me,
at this moment, a memorandum, written after twelve days' of captivity,
and, as it may serve to re-assure future prisoners, by conveying some
idea of the scenes, impressions, and occupations which diversify
existence in the durance they are compelled to support, I here
transcribe it:--
"'Let me survey my prison, and its _agrémens_. I am lodged in two
commodious apartments, overlooking the quarantine bay. I look out
of the southern window of my verandah, and have the waters of the
Mediterranean forty feet only below me. Opposite, at the distance
of about 300 yards, and divided from me by these waters and the
quarantine harbour, are the ramparts of the fortifications, surmounted
by windmills, flag-staves, and a small Roman Catholic chapel. To the
right is the termination of the bay, where a dozen of Greek, Austrian,
and English brigs and barques lie in quarantine, sufficiently near to
allow me to observe the operations on board. Behind all these, a little
more to the south-eastward, is part of the suburbs of La Valetta, the
evening promenade, gardens, hills, &c. To my left, is the entrance to
the bay, overlooked on one side by part of the city of La Valetta, and
on the other side by Fort Manvel, now used as a part of the lazaretto.
This view greets me whenever I stand in the verandah, a recreation to
which one is often tempted by the clearness, coolness, and crispness
of the air, the beauty of the sky, and the rich blue of the water.
Well, this of itself is something. Then, for moving sights, we have
occasionally the arrival or departure of a steamer from Alexandria, or
Greece, or the coast of Spain; of vessels from Tripoli, and Smyrna,
and Syra; of speronaros from Sicily or the Italian coast; or we see a
vessel released from quarantine, working her way out of the harbour.
Early in the morning, four times in the week, the bell of the little
chapel, on the summit of a rock opposite the lazaretto, tolls to
prayers. The chapel is not more than twenty feet in breadth, and the
same in depth. The altar occupies the back or southern side, and
exactly faces us. The bell ceases, the priest dons his canonicals,
and the matin mass commences, the responses being audibly chanted or
muttered by the crews of Maltese and Italian vessels, who are either
quartered in apartments beneath us, or employed on board the vessels.
The door of the chapel closes, and the work or pastime of the day
commences.
"'Ha! there's a splash!--a sailor in quarantine has stripped himself,
and plunged into the water beneath his prison-door. Another and another
follow him! How admirably they swim! the ease of the water-fowl, and
the rapidity of the fish. See! one of them dives! How long he remains
under water! Will he drown?--will he not be suffocated? not a bit of
it; he rises to the surface, bearing in his hands some of the black,
starry, thorny members of the crustaceous tribe. He has a knife in his
right hand, which I did not observe before, and which he evidently took
with him to dislodge the fish from their location in the rocky depths.
Splash! and the strong swimmer is again twenty feet below the surface.
Again, he rises--and again descends--and behold! he has accumulated
a perfect breakfast of shell-fish! Meanwhile, the others breast the
waves, diving, floating, playing, and rejoicing in all the muscular
strength which the noble, healthful, and refreshing science calls into
action. Well, a walk will do no harm--the verandah is sixty paces long,
and forty or fifty turns will give one an appetite for breakfast. A.
and B. have abundance of conversation for the promenade, and when we
have exhausted the pleasures of memory, we can turn to the pleasures
of hope, and debate the possibility of an abatement of the quarantine
or, at any rate, discuss the respective advantages and pleasures of
going to Syra, to Naples, or Marseilles. We are tired now, and it is
time to dress. Breakfast is ready--can anything be more satisfactory,
or anything more tempting and wholesome? There are coffee and tea,
and three times as many rolls as we can eat! The eggs are as large
as the finest production of the English barn-door hen, and boiled to
the _exact_ point--half a minute less, and the albumen would not have
coagulated; half a minute more, and they would have been as hard as a
stone. And _there's_ a delicious dish of strawberries, brought only
yesterday from the coast of Sicily, and plucked but an hour before
their embarkation! And flowers too:--
'The captive soothers of a captive's hours.
"'Carlo, best of servitors, knows my _penchant_, and decks the table
with the rose, the pink, the carnation, and the fragrant thyme.
"'Breakfast over, Mr. Cassolani is announced. He is the captain of the
lazaretto; a courteous, intelligent old gentleman, of very correct
notions and kind disposition. He is come to give us a list of the
passengers who have just arrived at Marseilles, and to ask us to
subscribe a trifle for a poor widow, whose husband, a guardiano of the
lazaretto, died of apoplexy the day of our arrival. We have dropped
our mites for the widow's benefit, and Cassolani condescends to pick
them up, though he will not receive them from our hands. This painfully
reminds us that we are prisoners on the suspicion of the crime of
plague--_gens suspects_. People 'in _pratique_,' as freedom from the
lazaretto is called, will 'walk with us, talk with us, buy with us,
sell with us--but they will not eat with us, drink with us,' nor
pollute themselves by touching our persons or our clothes. Cassolani
carries a stick, to keep us at a respectful distance, and there is a
soldier of the 42nd Highlanders on the opposite ramparts, prepared
to send a bullet through us, if we attempt to go abroad until we are
fairly cleansed of the foul imputation.
"'Cassolani departs, and S. and I go to chess. From chess we fly to
books. It is three o'clock, and dinner is announced. For economy and
society's sake, we have made a _table d'hôte_, and the whole party dine
together. It is true that B. looks suspiciously at one dish, and C.
distrusts another; but, nevertheless, the whole style of the thing is
good and clean, comprising the English and French _modes de cuisine_ as
well as could be desired. There is, for example, soup _à la Julienne_,
and a dish of mackerel; roast beef _à l'Anglais_ (the beef comes to
Malta from Tunis, and, after serving quarantine, is fattened for the
table); a _fricandeau_ of sweetbread in a well-flavoured sauce; a
stewed breast of mutton, mashed potatoes, a maccaroni, peas or French
beans, or artichokes, an apricot tart, cheese, and a salad. Oranges,
cherries, and strawberries compose our dessert, and we drink a pint of
Marsala. What more would a man have?
"'The sun declines, and the Maltese world emerges from its confinement.
The telescopes now come into play, and we direct our views to the part
of the town where the sempstresses congregate, and gaze out of the
balcony windows, to catch the evening breeze, or anything else that may
be passing. The fall of night brings with it tea and candles, and then
books, draughts, chess, and--to bed!'
"Of the other _agrémens_ of the lazaretto there remains nothing to
notice, if I except the numerous boats which are continually coming and
going across the harbour, often laden with females, who, in their black
mantillas, with sparkling black eyes, and hair _à la Madonna_, resemble
Spanish women.
"The expense of living in the Malta lazaretto is about eleven shillings
_per diem_, as thus:--
s. d.
Breakfast 1 8
Dinner 3 0
A bottle of Marsala 1 3
Hire of Furniture 0 8
Servants' Wages (including diet) 2 3
The Guardian (ditto) 1 10
--------
10 8
"This can be increased, if necessary, by a more abundant dinner, tea,
or coffee in the evening, spirituous liquors, and a greater quantity
of furniture; but it cannot be diminished. Washing costs about one
shilling per dozen pieces, and sevenpence _per diem_ for the diet of
the _blanchisseuse_, who must come into the lazaretto to perform her
functions. A capital circulating library keeps the incarcerated well
supplied with books (at one penny per volume per day), and _Galignani's
Messenger_, and the Maltese papers can also be had on application to
Mr. Mure's establishment."
Emerging from the lazaretto, the traveller is recommended to pass a few
days in inspecting the town and the surrounding country (_vide_ page
11), and then to repack his luggage, dispatching such as he may not
require on his homeward trip direct from Malta, consigned to the care
of his agent in London, with instructions as to the disposal of the
same.
Those travellers who prefer visiting France _viâ_ Marseilles, will find
the lazaretto there, comparatively speaking, a sort of purgatory. We
subjoin the regulations as published by the French authorities:--
WITH UNCLEAN BILL OF HEALTH.
ART. 1. French Post-office Packets.--19 days after debarking
effects and passengers.
Passengers by these boats and their baggage.--17 days after landing at
the lazaret; 14 days only when the baggage shall have been _plombé_
at the consulate of France at the port of embarking, and that this
operation be legally certified.
ART. 2. French or foreign men-of-war.--17 days after the
landing of passengers and their baggage.
Passengers on board these vessels.--17 days without _spoglio_, 14 days
with _spoglio_.
ART. 3. Vessels with pilgrims.--25 days.
Pilgrims.--25 days after landing.
ART. 4. Every other description of sailing-vessel or
steam-boat.--21 days after landing suspected articles.
Passengers by these vessels.--17 days without _spoglio_, 14 days with
_spoglio_. Merchandise.--21 days after landing at the lazaret.
WITH DOUBTFUL BILLS OF HEALTH.
ART. 1. French post-office packets.--15 days after debarking
effects and passengers.
Passengers by these boats and their baggage.--14 days after landing;
12 days only when the baggage shall have been _plombé_ at the
consulate of France at the point of embarking, and that this operation
be legally certified.
ART. 2.--French or foreign men-of-war.--14 days after the
landing of passengers and their baggage. Without passengers, 12 days.
Passengers on board these vessels.--14 days after landing without
_spoglio_, and 12 days with _spoglio_.
ART. 3. Vessels with pilgrims.--20 days.
Pilgrims.--20 days after landing at the lazaret.
ART. 4. Every other description of sailing vessel or
steam-boat.--15 days after landing suspected articles.
Passengers by these vessels.--14 days without _spoglio_, after landing
at the lazaret; 12 days with _spoglio_.
Suspected goods.--15 days after landing at the lazaret.
WITH CLEAN BILLS OF HEALTH.
ART. 1. French post-office packets.--12 days after debarking
effects at the lazaret.
Passengers by these boats and their baggage.--9 days after landing,
and their baggage exposed to the air.
ART. 2. French or foreign men-of-war.--9 days, with or
without passengers.
Passengers on board these vessels.--9 days after landing, and their
baggage exposed to the air.
ART. 3. Every other description of vessel or steam-boat.--12
days after landing suspected goods.
Passengers by these vessels.--9 days.
Suspected merchandise.--12 days after landing at the lazaret.
Of the Syra (Athens) quarantine, it is enough to say that it is more
commodious and agreeable than the same establishment at Marseilles, and
not so convenient as the one at Malta.
The Syra lazaretto is, according to the report of the latest visitors,
exceedingly commodious and clean, and facing, as it does, the sea,
where there are continual breezes, it is infinitely cooler than the
city of Athens. The charges of the Trattoria are not greater than
those at Malta (about eleven shillings per diem), and the detention
in quarantine never exceeds seventeen days, and when a clean bill of
health is brought by the French steamer from Alexandria, the duration
of the imprisonment is very much less.
THE VOYAGE TO SOUTHAMPTON.
Quarantine, on arrival in England, being done away with (unless some
special cause arise on the voyage home to render precaution necessary),
the direct route is greatly to be preferred; and the ease and comfort
which it offers as contrasted with the annoyances of continental
travelling needs no comment.
On reaching Southampton, the steamer goes into dock; the whole of
the luggage is forthwith conveyed to the dock warehouse, and the
examination commences with that of the first person on the list.
Passengers are not required to attend in person when their luggage
is examined. Those who desire to leave Southampton _by train
immediately upon arrival_, or who do not wish to subject themselves
to the annoyance of being kept in the docks waiting their turn, are
recommended to deposit their keys (including name and address) with Mr.
Hill's clerk,[12] giving him, at the same time, a list of the packages,
distinguishing such as contain articles subject to duty. For want of
proper arrangement on the part of the passenger, we have known three
hours pass in the examination of one gentleman's baggage, with upwards
of eighty of his fellow-travellers anxiously waiting for their turn.
This arises, in the first place, from the large quantity of luggage
which many bring; and, in the second, from the want of system in
packing, distinguishing that which is immediately requisite from that
which is unnecessary.
[Footnote 12: Mr. Hill is the Southampton Custom-house agent of the
"Peninsular and Oriental Company."]
As passengers will be required to keep pace with the mails in either
route, unless they arrange for a fortnight's stay in Egypt, the system
of having a larger quantity of luggage than is actually necessary
cannot be too much deprecated.
The traveller is also apt to mix "duty goods" with personal luggage,
in anticipation of their escaping notice. This is a "forlorn hope,"
and leads invariably to the most rigid scrutiny of every package,
thereby causing great delay. If the goods be such as trinkets, Bombay
work-boxes, Dacca or Cuttack silver, China or India filligree packed
in cotton, a still greater commotion arises at the custom-house, and
we are not quite sure whether the circumstance does not render the
articles liable to seizure and confiscation, under the quarantine laws.
The better plan by far, whether the traveller attend the examination
of his luggage or not, is to separate all goods liable to duty, and
put them in a case or trunk, with an inventory of its contents, and
the value of each article separately stated,[13] and then leave them
in charge of Mr. Hill, with instructions to forward them without
delay. They can, of course, be examined at once; but we think it
unfair to subject others to the inconvenience and loss of time that
must consequently ensue. If the plan here recommended be followed, we
venture to submit that it would be satisfactory to all parties.
[Footnote 13: Government have the option of accepting your valuation.
If they disapprove the estimate of the proprietor, they are empowered
to seize the goods, but, in that case, must pay ten per cent. advance
on your valuation.]
A general tariff of East India fabrics will be found in the Appendix
but it is not generally known that all British manufactures
that have been exported, and purchased out of Great Britain, are
subject to a duty if re-imported. Being private property, however,
they are generally released on petition to the Board of Customs, the
petition being accompanied by a solemn declaration made by the owner
before a magistrate, that the claim set forth in the petition is true.
The reason assigned for this law is, that it protects and promotes
English manufacture, by preventing a return of goods to the country
that have once been exported for sale.
Parties who, from necessity or choice, bring servants from India,
have too frequently so indefinite an agreement, that disputes and
unpleasantnesses in settling with them frequently arise. We, therefore,
earnestly recommend passengers to endeavour to do without personal
servants, if possible; but if it be impracticable to dispense with
them, we would suggest that the engagement should specify whether
services cease on arrival,--if the servants are to be returned to India
at the expense of the employer and--whether it shall be _viâ_ the Cape
or Overland. The agreement should likewise state the allowance that
will be made for board-wages. Sixteen shillings per week is the sum
charged at the lodging-houses for this class.
Persons arriving from India, particularly families, incur great
expense by proceeding, on their arrival, direct to hotels or to
furnished lodgings. In most cases they would do better by resorting
to a boarding-house. There are many suitable establishments of this
nature throughout England, where comfortable accommodation is afforded
at a moderate charge. A letter of inquiry, written on the passage
from Alexandria to Malta, and dispatched _viâ_ Marseilles, would be
answered, and wait the writer's arrival at Southampton.
EXPENSE.
We must not omit to advert to the total expense of an Overland journey,
for it is an important question to all who _must_ go to India. We think
it will be found, on a fair calculation, that this is, by no means, so
much in excess of the cost round the Cape of Good Hope as people are
led to imagine.
Independently of the cost, there are other important points worthy
of consideration, which are frequently forgotten by those who suffer
themselves to be engrossed by the mere pecuniary view of the question.
For example, there is an amazing difference in the _time_ consumed in
the two routes. Proceeding Overland, there will be two months gained
which may be either passed at home, or, if the attractions of England
have ceased, can be employed in anticipating the stipulated period of
a return to, or arrival in India. In the latter case--for we presume
the traveller to be in the East India Company's service--the Indian pay
will be received two months sooner, and what is of greater moment, by
far, two months' time is gained in "actual service," a consideration
which, at some future day, may be of the last importance to the civil
or military officer.
If to these advantages we add the difference in the cost of the
equipment for a six weeks' and a four months' trip; the knowledge
acquired by witnessing variety of scenery and diversity of manners;
the effect on the health and spirits of perpetual change; the slight
risk of delays from accidental want of water and provisions, damage in
gales of wind, and other casualties which often drive sailing vessels
into intermediate ports and prolong their voyage, there can, we should
think, be no difference of opinion as to the superior claims of the
Overland Route.
As the nature of the currency with which the traveller should supply
himself is a question of great importance, we consider it within our
province to remark, that sovereigns are, by far, the best coin that
can be carried, for purposes of general supply. Letters of credit may
be obtained, however, to be used in the event of accident rendering
additional funds necessary; but it is prudent to endeavour to avoid a
resort to them, for the exchange and commission on advances made upon
such letters of credit, subject the drawer to considerable loss, an
observation that applies particularly to Egypt. At Ceylon the sovereign
is at a premium, frequently fetching twenty-one shillings.
* * * * *
MISCELLANEOUS.
For the information of such travellers as purpose varying their
journey, by visiting the various places which occur _en route_, we
subjoin the following particulars:--
_England to Gibraltar, by the Peninsular Steamers, calling at Vigo,
Oporto, Lisbon and Cadiz._--These steamers start from Southampton
on the 7th, 17th, and 27th of every month, at 3 o'clock in the
afternoon. They proceed, in the first instance, to Vigo, to land the
mails for that part of Spain, affording to the traveller a view of
the magnificent scenery of Vigo Bay and the Bayona Islands. Thence
the steamer proceeds close along the coast, which presents a splendid
panoramic view of "mount and dale," with numerous towns and villages
interspersed, until she arrives off Oporto, where she stops to land
mails and passengers, but does not enter the port. The passengers,
however, will have a good view of the Fortress of San Joa da Foz, the
Convent of the Sierra at Villa Nova, &c., so celebrated in the war
between Don Pedro and Don Miguel; also the city of Oporto, which looks
very picturesque from the sea. Leaving Oporto, she holds her course on
for Lisbon, and, passing the Burlings Rocks, and Rock of Lisbon, will
enter the Tagus generally on the fourth day from leaving Southampton.
_Lisbon, &c._--The view of Lisbon, on entering the Tagus, is beautiful
beyond description. The steamer usually remains here a day, before
starting again on her passage southward for Cadiz and Gibraltar, and
this will enable travellers to take a cursory view of the Lusitanian
capital; but it is recommended that they should, if time permits,
stop ten days here, proceeding to Cadiz or Gibraltar by the following
steamer.
There are very good hotels now at Lisbon, and the town is greatly
improved in cleanliness, no longer deserving the character for filth,
&c., bestowed upon it by Lord Byron and others. Among the various
interesting excursions which may be made in the neighbourhood of
Lisbon, of course the spot where
"Cintra's glorious Eden intervenes,
In variegated maze of mount and glen,"
will not be forgotten, and will amply repay the trouble of a visit.
From Lisbon to Cadiz the passage is made, in ordinary circumstances, in
about twenty-six to thirty hours, and from Cadiz to Gibraltar in about
eight hours.