The Argosy — page 220: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Cruise of the Reserve Squadron. 203 eastern aspect, suggestive of the voluptuousness of the Arabian Nights. All we wanted to complete the impression was the Princess Scheharazade, to tell us tales and to beguile the dusty journey with her dulcet tones and witching beauty ; or Aladdin’s Lamp to supply our needs, simple or capricious; or the trees around to be hung with jewels, demanding to be gathered and appropriated. The dust referred to was, indeed, our only drawback to complete enjoyment ; that, and the blacks from the engine. We all reached Santiago a combination of sweeps and millers. Our own compart- ment was full, but, from the Defence, contained only Pyramid, Oxford, and myself. Next to Pyramid, Oxford was perhaps the finest fellow in the Fleet. (He, by the way, was sent out to Egypt on our return to England, went through the war, and took part in every engagement. Recently, when out in Malta, I found that he had touched there on his way back to England, bronzed, almost blackened by the sun, be- yond recognition. ) It was hard for all to reach Santiago shorn of some portion of their just due of personal appearance ; but hardest for those who had a great deal of appearance to care about. ‘Thus Pyramid, once on the platform of Santiago, endeavoured to persuade the station-master to run a special train at once back to Carril. Butit was only a single line, and that official with a thousand regrets protested that it was impossible. ‘The obstruction to the ordinary traffic would be dis- astrous. The line of rail on approaching Santiago is a marvel of ingenuity, and seems almost to describe a circle, producing an effect that makes you begin to think yourself really and truly in the land of wonders and Eastern magic. You see the town on the heights on the one hand, its heavy cathedral towers standing out magnificently against a background of pure blue sky. ‘Too weighty for the rest of the building, here nothing but the grandeur of these towers is apparent. Groves, gardens and palm trees adorn the landscape. On the other hand you perceive the great building and extensive walls of a convent rising in the midst of a depression. The next moment, surprised and bewildered you find that town and convent and different sur- rounding features have changed places; right has become left and left right. The train, sweeping round imperceptibly, has given rise to the transformation. Thus it happened that we found ourselves on the platform at Santiago feeling very much as if we had been turned upside down. The approach to the town is striking. It lies on the slope of the hill and crowns the summit. White, cool-looking houses with their green shutters jealously closed, are surrounded by gardens and a wealth of flowers and vegetation undreamed of in sterner climes. The double geranium, especially, grows here like a weed, its hues strangely beautiful and brilliant; the palm tree raises its head, and the euca- lyptus throws out its healing virtue. Tall grasses wave and rustle and EORnniclooks (CO) mn