第34章

Ishallnotspeakoftherailway，foritislikeanyotherrailway——Ishallonlysaythatthefueltheyuseforthelocomotiveiscomposedofmummiesthreethousandyearsold，purchasedbythetonorbythegraveyardforthatpurpose，andthatsometimesonehearstheprofaneengineercalloutpettishly，"D——ntheseplebeians，theydon\'tburnworthacent——passoutaKing;"*Ishallnottellofthegroupsofmudconesstucklikewasps\'

nestsuponathousandmoundsabovehighwater—markthelengthandbreadthofEgypt——villagesofthelowerclasses;Ishallnotspeakoftheboundlesssweepoflevelplain，greenwithluxuriantgrain，thatgladdenstheeyeasfarasitcanpiercethroughthesoft，richatmosphereofEgypt;IshallnotspeakofthevisionofthePyramidsseenatadistanceoffiveandtwentymiles，forthepictureistooetherealtobelimnedbyanuninspiredpen;Ishallnottellofthecrowdsofduskywomenwhoflockedtothecarswhentheystoppedamomentatastation，tosellusadrinkofwateroraruddy，juicypomegranate;Ishallnottellofthemotleymultitudesandwildcostumesthatgracedafairwefoundinfullblastatanotherbarbarousstation;Ishallnottellhowwefeastedonfreshdatesandenjoyedthepleasantlandscapeallthroughtheflyingjourney;norhowwethunderedintoAlexandria，atlast，swarmedoutofthecars，rowedaboardtheship，leftacomradebehind，（whowastoreturntoEurope，thencehome，）raisedtheanchor，andturnedourbowshomewardfinallyandforeverfromthelongvoyage;norhow，asthemellowsunwentdownupontheoldestlandonearth，JackandMoultassembledinsolemnstateinthesmoking—roomandmournedoverthelostcomradethewholenightlong，andwouldnotbecomforted。

Ishallnotspeakawordofanyofthesethings，orwritealine。Theyshallbeasasealedbook。Idonotknowwhatasealedbookis，becauseIneversawone，butasealedbookistheexpressiontouseinthisconnection，becauseitispopular。*Statedtomeforafact。IonlytellitasIgotit。Iamwillingtobelieveit。Icanbelieveanything。Weweregladtohaveseenthelandwhichwasthemotherofcivilization——whichtaughtGreeceherletters，andthroughGreeceRome，andthroughRometheworld;thelandwhichcouldhavehumanizedandcivilizedthehaplesschildrenofIsrael，butallowedthemtodepartoutofherborderslittlebetterthansavages。Weweregladtohaveseenthatlandwhichhadanenlightenedreligionwithfutureeternalrewardsandpunishmentinit，whileevenIsrael\'sreligioncontainednopromiseofahereafter。WeweregladtohaveseenthatlandwhichhadglassthreethousandyearsbeforeEnglandhadit，andcouldpaintuponitasnoneofuscanpaintnow;thatlandwhichknew，threethousandyearsago，wellnighallofmedicineandsurgerywhichsciencehasdiscoveredlately;whichhadallthosecurioussurgicalinstrumentswhichsciencehasinventedrecently;whichhadinhighexcellenceathousandluxuriesandnecessitiesofanadvancedcivilizationwhichwehavegraduallycontrivedandaccumulatedinmoderntimesandclaimedasthingsthatwerenewunderthesun;thathadpaperuntoldcenturiesbeforewedreamptofit——andwaterfallsbeforeourwomenthoughtofthem;thathadaperfectsystemofcommonschoolssolongbeforeweboastedofourachievementsinthatdirectionthatitseemsforeverandforeverago;thatsoembalmedthedeadthatfleshwasmadealmostimmortal——whichwecannotdo;thatbuilttempleswhichmockatdestroyingtimeandsmilegrimlyuponourlaudedlittleprodigiesofarchitecture;thatoldlandthatknewallwhichweknownow，perchance，andmore;thatwalkedinthebroadhighwayofcivilizationinthegraydawnofcreation，agesandagesbeforewewereborn;thatlefttheimpressofexalted，cultivatedMindupontheeternalfrontoftheSphynxtoconfoundallscofferswho，whenallherotherproofshadpassedaway，mightseektopersuadetheworldthatimperialEgypt，inthedaysofherhighrenown，hadgropedindarkness。

Chapter59

Wewereatseanow，foraverylongvoyage——weweretopassthroughtheentirelengthoftheLevant;throughtheentirelengthoftheMediterraneanproper，also，andthencrossthefullwidthoftheAtlantic——avoyageofseveralweeks。Wenaturallysettleddownintoaveryslow，stay—at—homemanneroflife，andresolvedtobequiet，exemplarypeople，androamnomorefortwentyorthirtydays。Nomore，atleast，thanfromstemtosternoftheship。Itwasaverycomfortableprospect，though，forweweretiredandneededalongrest。

Wewerealllazyandsatisfied，now，asthemeagerentriesinmynote—book（thatsureindex，tome，ofmycondition，）prove。Whatastupidthinganote—bookgetstobeatsea，anyway。Pleaseobservethestyle:"Sunday——Services，asusual，atfourbells。Servicesatnight，also。Nocards。"Monday——Beautifulday，butrainedhard。ThecattlepurchasedatAlexandriaforbeefoughttobeshingled。Orelsefattened。

Thewaterstandsindeeppuddlesinthedepressionsforwardoftheiraftershoulders。Alsohereandthereallovertheirbacks。Itiswelltheyarenotcows——itwouldsoakinandruinthemilk。Thepoordevileagle*fromSyrialooksmiserableanddroopyintherain，perchedontheforwardcapstan。

Heappearstohavehisownopinionofaseavoyage，andifitwereputintolanguageandthelanguagesolidified，itwouldprobablyessentiallydamthewidestriverintheworld。*AfterwardspresentedtotheCentralPark。"Tuesday——SomewhereintheneighborhoodoftheislandofMalta。Cannotstopthere。Cholera。Weatherverystormy。Manypassengersseasickandinvisible。"Wednesday——Weatherstillverysavage。Stormblewtwolandbirdstosea，andtheycameonboard。Ahawkwasblownoff，also。

Hecircledroundandroundtheship，wantingtolight，butafraidofthepeople。Hewassotired，though，thathehadtolight，atlast，orperish。

Hestoppedintheforetop，repeatedly，andwasasoftenblownawaybythewind。AtlastHarrycaughthim。Seafullofflying—fish。Theyriseinflocksofthreehundredandflashalongabovethetopsofthewavesadistanceoftwoorthreehundredfeet，thenfallanddisappear。"Thursday——AnchoredoffAlgiers，Africa。Beautifulcity，beautifulgreenhillylandscapebehindit。Staidhalfadayandleft。Notpermittedtoland，thoughweshowedacleanbillofhealth。TheywereafraidofEgyptianplagueandcholera。"Friday——Morning，dominoes。Afternoon，dominoes。Evening，promenadingthedeck。Afterwards，charades。"Saturday——Morning，dominoes。Afternoon，dominoes。Evening，promenadingthedecks。Afterwards，dominoes。"Sunday——Morningservice，fourbells。Eveningservice，eightbells。Monotonytillmidnight。——Whereupon，dominoes。"Monday——Morning，dominoes。Afternoon，dominoes。Evening，promenadingthedecks。Afterward，charadesandalecturefromDr。C。Dominoes。"Nodate——AnchoredoffthepicturesquecityofCagliari，Sardinia。Staidtillmidnight，butnotpermittedtolandbytheseinfamousforeigners。Theysmellinodorously——theydonotwash——theydarenotriskcholera。"Thursday——AnchoredoffthebeautifulcathedralcityofMalaga，Spain。——Wentashoreinthecaptain\'sboat——notashore，either，fortheywouldnotletusland。Quarantine。Shippedmynewspapercorrespondence，whichtheytookwithtongs，dippeditinseawater，clippeditfullofholes，andthenfumigateditwithvillainousvaporstillitsmeltlikeaSpaniard。InquiredaboutchancestoruntoblockadeandvisittheAlhambraatGranada。Toorisky——theymighthangabody。Setsail——middleofafternoon。"Andsoon，andsoon，andsoforth，forseveraldays。Finally，anchoredoffGibraltar，whichlooksfamiliarandhome—like。"ItremindsmeofthejournalIopenedwiththeNewYear，once，whenIwasaboyandaconfidingandawillingpreytothoseimpossibleschemesofreformwhichwell—meaningoldmaidsandgrandmotherssetforthefeetofunwaryyouthsatthatseasonoftheyear——settingoversizedtasksforthem，which，necessarilyfailing，asinfalliblyweakentheboy\'sstrengthofwill，diminishshhisconfidenceinhimselfandinjurehischancesofsuccessinlife。Pleaseacceptofanextract:"Monday——Gotup，washed，wenttobed。

"Tuesday——Gotup，washed，wenttobed。

"Wednesday——Gotup，washed，wenttobed。

"Thursday——Gotup，washed，wenttobed。

"Friday——Gotup，washed，wenttobed。

"NextFriday——Gotup，washed，wenttobed。

"Fridayfortnight——Gotup，washed，wenttobed。

"Followingmonth——Gotup，washed，wenttobed。"Istopped，then，discouraged。Startlingeventsappearedtobetoorare，inmycareer，torenderadiarynecessary。Istillreflectwithpride，however，thatevenatthatearlyageIwashedwhenIgotup。Thatjournalfinishedme。Ineverhavehadthenervetokeeponesince。Mylossofconfidenceinmyselfinthatlinewaspermanent。

TheshiphadtostayaweekormoreatGibraltartotakeincoalforthehomevoyage。

Itwouldbeverytiresomestayinghere，andsofourofusranthequarantineblockadeandspentsevendelightfuldaysinSeville，Cordova，Cadiz，andwanderingthroughthepleasantruralsceneryofAndalusia，thegardenofOldSpain。TheexperiencesofthatcheeryweekweretoovariedandnumerousforashortchapterandIhavenotroomforalongone。ThereforeIshallleavethemallout。

Chapter60

Tenoreleveno\'clockfounduscomingdowntobreakfastonemorninginCadiz。Theytoldustheshiphadbeenlyingatanchorintheharbortwoorthreehours。Itwastimeforustobestirourselves。Theshipcouldwaitonlyalittlewhilebecauseofthequarantine。Weweresoononboard，andwithinthehourthewhitecityandthepleasantshoresofSpainsankdownbehindthewavesandpassedoutofsight。Wehadseennolandfadefromviewsoregretfully。

IthadlongagobeendecidedinanoisypublicmeetinginthemaincabinthatwecouldnotgotoLisbon，becausewemustsurelybequarantinedthere。

Wedideverythingbymass—meeting，inthegoodoldnationalway，fromswappingoffoneempireforanotherontheprogrammeofthevoyagedowntocomplainingofthecookeryandthescarcityofnapkins。Iamreminded，now，ofoneofthesecomplaintsofthecookerymadebyapassenger。Thecoffeehadbeensteadilygrowingmoreandmoreexecrableforthespaceofthreeweeks，tillatlastithadceasedtobecoffeealtogetherandhadassumedthenatureofmerediscoloredwater——sothispersonsaid。Hesaiditwassoweakthatitwastransparentaninchindeptharoundtheedgeofthecup。Asheapproachedthetableonemorninghesawthetransparentedge——bymeansofhisextraordinaryvisionlongbeforehegottohisseat。

Hewentbackandcomplainedinahigh—handedwaytoCapt。Duncan。Hesaidthecoffeewasdisgraceful。TheCaptainshowedhis。Itseemedtolerablygood。Theincipientmutineerwasmoreoutragedthanever，then，atwhathedenouncedasthepartialityshownthecaptain\'stableovertheothertablesintheship。Heflourishedbackandgothiscupandsetitdowntriumphantly，andsaid:

"Justtrythatmixtureonce，CaptainDuncan。"

Hesmeltit——tastedit——smiledbenignantly——thensaid:

"Itisinferior——forcoffee——butitisprettyfairtea。"

Thehumbledmutineersmeltit，tastedit，andreturnedtohisseat。

Hehadmadeanegregiousassofhimselfbeforethewholeship。Hediditnomore。Afterthathetookthingsastheycame。Thatwasme。

Theold—fashionedship—lifehadreturned，nowthatwewerenolongerinsightofland。Fordaysanddaysitcontinuedjustthesame，onedaybeingexactlylikeanother，and，tome，everyoneofthempleasant。AtlastweanchoredintheopenroadsteadofFunchal，inthebeautifulislandswecalltheMadeiras。

Themountainslookedsurpassinglylovely，cladastheywereinliving，green;ribbedwithlavaridges;fleckedwithwhitecottages;rivenbydeepchasmspurplewithshade;thegreatslopesdashedwithsunshineandmottledwithshadowsflungfromthedriftingsquadronsofthesky，andthesuperbpicturefitlycrownedbytoweringpeakswhosefrontsweresweptbythetrailingfringesoftheclouds。

Butwecouldnotland。Westaidalldayandlooked，weabusedthemanwhoinventedquaran