chapter iin which phileas fogg and passepartout accept each other, the one as master, theother as man mr. phileas fogg lived, in 1872, at no. 7,saville row, burlington gardens, the house in which sheridan died in 1814. he was one of the most noticeable membersof the reform club, though he seemed always to avoid attracting attention; anenigmatical personage, about whom little was known, except that he was a polishedman of the world. people said that he resembled byron--atleast that his head was byronic; but he was a bearded, tranquil byron, who might liveon a thousand years without growing old.
certainly an englishman, it was moredoubtful whether phileas fogg was a londoner. he was never seen on 'change, nor at thebank, nor in the counting-rooms of the "city"; no ships ever came into londondocks of which he was the owner; he had no public employment; he had never been entered at any of the inns of court, eitherat the temple, or lincoln's inn, or gray's inn; nor had his voice ever resounded inthe court of chancery, or in the exchequer, or the queen's bench, or the ecclesiasticalcourts. he certainly was not a manufacturer; norwas he a merchant or a gentleman farmer.
his name was strange to the scientific andlearned societies, and he never was known to take part in the sage deliberations ofthe royal institution or the london institution, the artisan's association, orthe institution of arts and sciences. he belonged, in fact, to none of thenumerous societies which swarm in the english capital, from the harmonic to thatof the entomologists, founded mainly for the purpose of abolishing perniciousinsects. phileas fogg was a member of the reform,and that was all. the way in which he got admission to thisexclusive club was simple enough. he was recommended by the barings, withwhom he had an open credit.
his cheques were regularly paid at sightfrom his account current, which was always flush.was phileas fogg rich? undoubtedly. but those who knew him best could notimagine how he had made his fortune, and mr. fogg was the last person to whom toapply for the information. he was not lavish, nor, on the contrary,avaricious; for, whenever he knew that money was needed for a noble, useful, orbenevolent purpose, he supplied it quietly and sometimes anonymously. he was, in short, the least communicativeof men.
he talked very little, and seemed all themore mysterious for his taciturn manner. his daily habits were quite open toobservation; but whatever he did was so exactly the same thing that he had alwaysdone before, that the wits of the curious were fairly puzzled. had he travelled?it was likely, for no one seemed to know the world more familiarly; there was nospot so secluded that he did not appear to have an intimate acquaintance with it. he often corrected, with a few clear words,the thousand conjectures advanced by members of the club as to lost and unheard-of travellers, pointing out the true
probabilities, and seeming as if gifted with a sort of second sight, so often didevents justify his predictions. he must have travelled everywhere, at leastin the spirit. it was at least certain that phileas fogghad not absented himself from london for many years. those who were honoured by a betteracquaintance with him than the rest, declared that nobody could pretend to haveever seen him anywhere else. his sole pastimes were reading the papersand playing whist. he often won at this game, which, as asilent one, harmonised with his nature; but
his winnings never went into his purse,being reserved as a fund for his charities. mr. fogg played, not to win, but for thesake of playing. the game was in his eyes a contest, astruggle with a difficulty, yet a motionless, unwearying struggle, congenialto his tastes. phileas fogg was not known to have eitherwife or children, which may happen to the most honest people; either relatives ornear friends, which is certainly more unusual. he lived alone in his house in saville row,whither none penetrated. a single domestic sufficed to serve him.
he breakfasted and dined at the club, athours mathematically fixed, in the same room, at the same table, never taking hismeals with other members, much less bringing a guest with him; and went home at exactly midnight, only to retire at once tobed. he never used the cosy chambers which thereform provides for its favoured members. he passed ten hours out of the twenty-fourin saville row, either in sleeping or making his toilet. when he chose to take a walk it was with aregular step in the entrance hall with its mosaic flooring, or in the circular gallerywith its dome supported by twenty red
porphyry ionic columns, and illumined byblue painted windows. when he breakfasted or dined all theresources of the club--its kitchens and pantries, its buttery and dairy--aided tocrowd his table with their most succulent stores; he was served by the gravest waiters, in dress coats, and shoes withswan-skin soles, who proffered the viands in special porcelain, and on the finestlinen; club decanters, of a lost mould, contained his sherry, his port, and his cinnamon-spiced claret; while his beverageswere refreshingly cooled with ice, brought at great cost from the american lakes.
if to live in this style is to beeccentric, it must be confessed that there is something good in eccentricity.the mansion in saville row, though not sumptuous, was exceedingly comfortable. the habits of its occupant were such as todemand but little from the sole domestic, but phileas fogg required him to be almostsuperhumanly prompt and regular. on this very 2nd of october he haddismissed james forster, because that luckless youth had brought him shaving-water at eighty-four degrees fahrenheit instead of eighty-six; and he was awaiting his successor, who was due at the housebetween eleven and half-past.
phileas fogg was seated squarely in hisarmchair, his feet close together like those of a grenadier on parade, his handsresting on his knees, his body straight, his head erect; he was steadily watching a complicated clock which indicated thehours, the minutes, the seconds, the days, the months, and the years. at exactly half-past eleven mr. fogg would,according to his daily habit, quit saville row, and repair to the reform. a rap at this moment sounded on the door ofthe cosy apartment where phileas fogg was seated, and james forster, the dismissedservant, appeared.
"the new servant," said he. a young man of thirty advanced and bowed."you are a frenchman, i believe," asked phileas fogg, "and your name is john?" "jean, if monsieur pleases," replied thenewcomer, "jean passepartout, a surname which has clung to me because i have anatural aptness for going out of one business into another. i believe i'm honest, monsieur, but, to beoutspoken, i've had several trades. i've been an itinerant singer, a circus-rider, when i used to vault like leotard, and dance on a rope like blondin.
then i got to be a professor of gymnastics,so as to make better use of my talents; and then i was a sergeant fireman at paris, andassisted at many a big fire. but i quitted france five years ago, and,wishing to taste the sweets of domestic life, took service as a valet here inengland. finding myself out of place, and hearingthat monsieur phileas fogg was the most exact and settled gentleman in the unitedkingdom, i have come to monsieur in the hope of living with him a tranquil life, and forgetting even the name ofpassepartout." "passepartout suits me," responded mr.fogg.
"you are well recommended to me; i hear agood report of you. you know my conditions?""yes, monsieur." "good! what time is it?""twenty-two minutes after eleven," returned passepartout, drawing an enormous silverwatch from the depths of his pocket. "you are too slow," said mr. fogg. "pardon me, monsieur, it is impossible--""you are four minutes too slow. no matter; it's enough to mention theerror. now from this moment, twenty-nine minutesafter eleven, a.m., this wednesday, 2nd
october, you are in my service." phileas fogg got up, took his hat in hisleft hand, put it on his head with an automatic motion, and went off without aword. passepartout heard the street door shutonce; it was his new master going out. he heard it shut again; it was hispredecessor, james forster, departing in his turn. passepartout remained alone in the house insaville row. > chapter iiin which passepartout is convinced that he
has at last found his ideal "faith," muttered passepartout, somewhatflurried, "i've seen people at madame tussaud's as lively as my new master!" madame tussaud's "people," let it be said,are of wax, and are much visited in london; speech is all that is wanting to make themhuman. during his brief interview with mr. fogg,passepartout had been carefully observing him. he appeared to be a man about forty yearsof age, with fine, handsome features, and a tall, well-shaped figure; his hair andwhiskers were light, his forehead compact
and unwrinkled, his face rather pale, histeeth magnificent. his countenance possessed in the highestdegree what physiognomists call "repose in action," a quality of those who act ratherthan talk. calm and phlegmatic, with a clear eye, mr.fogg seemed a perfect type of that english composure which angelica kauffmann has soskilfully represented on canvas. seen in the various phases of his dailylife, he gave the idea of being perfectly well-balanced, as exactly regulated as aleroy chronometer. phileas fogg was, indeed, exactitudepersonified, and this was betrayed even in the expression of his very hands and feet;for in men, as well as in animals, the
limbs themselves are expressive of thepassions. he was so exact that he was never in ahurry, was always ready, and was economical alike of his steps and his motions. he never took one step too many, and alwayswent to his destination by the shortest cut; he made no superfluous gestures, andwas never seen to be moved or agitated. he was the most deliberate person in theworld, yet always reached his destination at the exact moment. he lived alone, and, so to speak, outsideof every social relation; and as he knew that in this world account must be taken offriction, and that friction retards, he
never rubbed against anybody. as for passepartout, he was a true parisianof paris. since he had abandoned his own country forengland, taking service as a valet, he had in vain searched for a master after his ownheart. passepartout was by no means one of thosepert dunces depicted by moliere with a bold gaze and a nose held high in the air; hewas an honest fellow, with a pleasant face, lips a trifle protruding, soft-mannered and serviceable, with a good round head, suchas one likes to see on the shoulders of a friend.
his eyes were blue, his complexionrubicund, his figure almost portly and well-built, his body muscular, and hisphysical powers fully developed by the exercises of his younger days. his brown hair was somewhat tumbled; for,while the ancient sculptors are said to have known eighteen methods of arrangingminerva's tresses, passepartout was familiar with but one of dressing his own: three strokes of a large-tooth combcompleted his toilet. it would be rash to predict howpassepartout's lively nature would agree with mr. fogg.
it was impossible to tell whether the newservant would turn out as absolutely methodical as his master required;experience alone could solve the question. passepartout had been a sort of vagrant inhis early years, and now yearned for repose; but so far he had failed to findit, though he had already served in ten english houses. but he could not take root in any of these;with chagrin, he found his masters invariably whimsical and irregular,constantly running about the country, or on the look-out for adventure. his last master, young lord longferry,member of parliament, after passing his
nights in the haymarket taverns, was toooften brought home in the morning on policemen's shoulders. passepartout, desirous of respecting thegentleman whom he served, ventured a mild remonstrance on such conduct; which, beingill-received, he took his leave. hearing that mr. phileas fogg was lookingfor a servant, and that his life was one of unbroken regularity, that he neithertravelled nor stayed from home overnight, he felt sure that this would be the placehe was after. he presented himself, and was accepted, ashas been seen. at half-past eleven, then, passepartoutfound himself alone in the house in saville
row.he begun its inspection without delay, scouring it from cellar to garret. so clean, well-arranged, solemn a mansionpleased him; it seemed to him like a snail's shell, lighted and warmed by gas,which sufficed for both these purposes. when passepartout reached the second storyhe recognised at once the room which he was to inhabit, and he was well satisfied withit. electric bells and speaking-tubes affordedcommunication with the lower stories; while on the mantel stood an electric clock,precisely like that in mr. fogg's bedchamber, both beating the same second atthe same instant.
"that's good, that'll do," saidpassepartout to himself. he suddenly observed, hung over the clock,a card which, upon inspection, proved to be a programme of the daily routine of thehouse. it comprised all that was required of theservant, from eight in the morning, exactly at which hour phileas fogg rose, till half-past eleven, when he left the house for the reform club--all the details of service, the tea and toast at twenty-three minutespast eight, the shaving-water at thirty- seven minutes past nine, and the toilet attwenty minutes before ten. everything was regulated and foreseen thatwas to be done from half-past eleven a.m.
till midnight, the hour at which themethodical gentleman retired. mr. fogg's wardrobe was amply supplied andin the best taste. each pair of trousers, coat, and vest borea number, indicating the time of year and season at which they were in turn to belaid out for wearing; and the same system was applied to the master's shoes. in short, the house in saville row, whichmust have been a very temple of disorder and unrest under the illustrious butdissipated sheridan, was cosiness, comfort, and method idealised. there was no study, nor were there books,which would have been quite useless to mr.
fogg; for at the reform two libraries, oneof general literature and the other of law and politics, were at his service. a moderate-sized safe stood in his bedroom,constructed so as to defy fire as well as burglars; but passepartout found neitherarms nor hunting weapons anywhere; everything betrayed the most tranquil andpeaceable habits. having scrutinised the house from top tobottom, he rubbed his hands, a broad smile overspread his features, and he saidjoyfully, "this is just what i wanted! ah, we shall get on together, mr. fogg andi! what a domestic and regular gentleman!a real machine; well, i don't mind serving
a machine." chapter iiiin which a conversation takes place which seems likely to cost phileas fogg dear phileas fogg, having shut the door of hishouse at half-past eleven, and having put his right foot before his left five hundredand seventy-five times, and his left foot before his right five hundred and seventy- six times, reached the reform club, animposing edifice in pall mall, which could not have cost less than three millions. he repaired at once to the dining-room, thenine windows of which open upon a tasteful
garden, where the trees were already gildedwith an autumn colouring; and took his place at the habitual table, the cover ofwhich had already been laid for him. his breakfast consisted of a side-dish, abroiled fish with reading sauce, a scarlet slice of roast beef garnished withmushrooms, a rhubarb and gooseberry tart, and a morsel of cheshire cheese, the whole being washed down with several cups of tea,for which the reform is famous. he rose at thirteen minutes to one, anddirected his steps towards the large hall, a sumptuous apartment adorned withlavishly-framed paintings. a flunkey handed him an uncut times, whichhe proceeded to cut with a skill which
betrayed familiarity with this delicateoperation. the perusal of this paper absorbed phileasfogg until a quarter before four, whilst the standard, his next task, occupied himtill the dinner hour. dinner passed as breakfast had done, andmr. fogg re-appeared in the reading-room and sat down to the pall mall at twentyminutes before six. half an hour later several members of thereform came in and drew up to the fireplace, where a coal fire was steadilyburning. they were mr. fogg's usual partners atwhist: andrew stuart, an engineer; john sullivan and samuel fallentin, bankers;thomas flanagan, a brewer; and gauthier
ralph, one of the directors of the bank of england--all rich and highly respectablepersonages, even in a club which comprises the princes of english trade and finance."well, ralph," said thomas flanagan, "what about that robbery?" "oh," replied stuart, "the bank will losethe money." "on the contrary," broke in ralph, "i hopewe may put our hands on the robber. skilful detectives have been sent to allthe principal ports of america and the continent, and he'll be a clever fellow ifhe slips through their fingers." "but have you got the robber'sdescription?" asked stuart.
"in the first place, he is no robber atall," returned ralph, positively. "what! a fellow who makes off with fifty-five thousand pounds, no robber?" "no.""perhaps he's a manufacturer, then." "the daily telegraph says that he is agentleman." it was phileas fogg, whose head now emergedfrom behind his newspapers, who made this remark. he bowed to his friends, and entered intothe conversation. the affair which formed its subject, andwhich was town talk, had occurred three days before at the bank of england.
a package of banknotes, to the value offifty-five thousand pounds, had been taken from the principal cashier's table, thatfunctionary being at the moment engaged in registering the receipt of three shillingsand sixpence. of course, he could not have his eyeseverywhere. let it be observed that the bank of englandreposes a touching confidence in the honesty of the public. there are neither guards nor gratings toprotect its treasures; gold, silver, banknotes are freely exposed, at the mercyof the first comer. a keen observer of english customs relatesthat, being in one of the rooms of the bank
one day, he had the curiosity to examine agold ingot weighing some seven or eight pounds. he took it up, scrutinised it, passed it tohis neighbour, he to the next man, and so on until the ingot, going from hand tohand, was transferred to the end of a dark entry; nor did it return to its place forhalf an hour. meanwhile, the cashier had not so much asraised his head. but in the present instance things had notgone so smoothly. the package of notes not being found whenfive o'clock sounded from the ponderous clock in the "drawing office," the amountwas passed to the account of profit and
loss. as soon as the robbery was discovered,picked detectives hastened off to liverpool, glasgow, havre, suez, brindisi,new york, and other ports, inspired by the proffered reward of two thousand pounds, and five per cent. on the sum that might berecovered. detectives were also charged with narrowlywatching those who arrived at or left london by rail, and a judicial examinationwas at once entered upon. there were real grounds for supposing, asthe daily telegraph said, that the thief did not belong to a professional band.
on the day of the robbery a well-dressedgentleman of polished manners, and with a well-to-do air, had been observed going toand fro in the paying room where the crime was committed. a description of him was easily procuredand sent to the detectives; and some hopeful spirits, of whom ralph was one, didnot despair of his apprehension. the papers and clubs were full of theaffair, and everywhere people were discussing the probabilities of asuccessful pursuit; and the reform club was especially agitated, several of its membersbeing bank officials. ralph would not concede that the work ofthe detectives was likely to be in vain,
for he thought that the prize offered wouldgreatly stimulate their zeal and activity. but stuart was far from sharing thisconfidence; and, as they placed themselves at the whist-table, they continued to arguethe matter. stuart and flanagan played together, whilephileas fogg had fallentin for his partner. as the game proceeded the conversationceased, excepting between the rubbers, when it revived again. "i maintain," said stuart, "that thechances are in favour of the thief, who must be a shrewd fellow.""well, but where can he fly to?" asked ralph.
"no country is safe for him.""pshaw!" "where could he go, then?""oh, i don't know that. the world is big enough." "it was once," said phileas fogg, in a lowtone. "cut, sir," he added, handing the cards tothomas flanagan. the discussion fell during the rubber,after which stuart took up its thread. "what do you mean by `once'?has the world grown smaller?" "certainly," returned ralph. "i agree with mr. fogg.the world has grown smaller, since a man
can now go round it ten times more quicklythan a hundred years ago. and that is why the search for this thiefwill be more likely to succeed." "and also why the thief can get away moreeasily." "be so good as to play, mr. stuart," saidphileas fogg. but the incredulous stuart was notconvinced, and when the hand was finished, said eagerly: "you have a strange way,ralph, of proving that the world has grown smaller. so, because you can go round it in threemonths--" "in eighty days," interrupted phileas fogg."that is true, gentlemen," added john
sullivan. "only eighty days, now that the sectionbetween rothal and allahabad, on the great indian peninsula railway, has been opened. here is the estimate made by the dailytelegraph: from london to suez via mont cenis andbrindisi, by rail and steamboats...7 days from suez to bombay, by steamer.....13 days from bombay to calcutta, by rail.....3 daysfrom calcutta to hong kong, by steamer........................13 daysfrom hong kong to yokohama (japan), by steamer................6 days
from yokohama to san francisco,by steamer........................22 days from san francisco to new york,by rail............................7 days from new york to london, bysteamer and rail...................9 days ------total..........................80 days" "yes, in eighty days!" exclaimed stuart,who in his excitement made a false deal. "but that doesn't take into account badweather, contrary winds, shipwrecks, railway accidents, and so on." "all included," returned phileas fogg,continuing to play despite the discussion.
"but suppose the hindoos or indians pull upthe rails," replied stuart; "suppose they stop the trains, pillage the luggage-vans,and scalp the passengers!" "all included," calmly retorted fogg;adding, as he threw down the cards, "two trumps." stuart, whose turn it was to deal, gatheredthem up, and went on: "you are right, theoretically, mr. fogg, but practically--""practically also, mr. stuart." "i'd like to see you do it in eighty days." "it depends on you.shall we go?" "heaven preserve me!
but i would wager four thousand pounds thatsuch a journey, made under these conditions, is impossible.""quite possible, on the contrary," returned mr. fogg. "well, make it, then!""the journey round the world in eighty days?""yes." "i should like nothing better." "when?""at once. only i warn you that i shall do it at yourexpense." "it's absurd!" cried stuart, who wasbeginning to be annoyed at the persistency
of his friend."come, let's go on with the game." "deal over again, then," said phileas fogg. "there's a false deal."stuart took up the pack with a feverish hand; then suddenly put them down again."well, mr. fogg," said he, "it shall be so: i will wager the four thousand on it." "calm yourself, my dear stuart," saidfallentin. "it's only a joke.""when i say i'll wager," returned stuart, "i mean it." "all right," said mr. fogg; and, turning tothe others, he continued: "i have a deposit
of twenty thousand at baring's which i willwillingly risk upon it." "twenty thousand pounds!" cried sullivan. "twenty thousand pounds, which you wouldlose by a single accidental delay!" "the unforeseen does not exist," quietlyreplied phileas fogg. "but, mr. fogg, eighty days are only theestimate of the least possible time in which the journey can be made.""a well-used minimum suffices for everything." "but, in order not to exceed it, you mustjump mathematically from the trains upon the steamers, and from the steamers uponthe trains again."
"i will jump--mathematically." "you are joking.""a true englishman doesn't joke when he is talking about so serious a thing as awager," replied phileas fogg, solemnly. "i will bet twenty thousand pounds againstanyone who wishes that i will make the tour of the world in eighty days or less; innineteen hundred and twenty hours, or a hundred and fifteen thousand two hundredminutes. do you accept?""we accept," replied messrs. stuart, fallentin, sullivan, flanagan, andralph, after consulting each other. "good," said mr. fogg."the train leaves for dover at a quarter
before nine. i will take it.""this very evening?" asked stuart. "this very evening," returned phileas fogg. he took out and consulted a pocket almanac,and added, "as today is wednesday, the 2nd of october, i shall be due in london inthis very room of the reform club, on saturday, the 21st of december, at a quarter before nine p.m.; or else thetwenty thousand pounds, now deposited in my name at baring's, will belong to you, infact and in right, gentlemen. here is a cheque for the amount."
a memorandum of the wager was at once drawnup and signed by the six parties, during which phileas fogg preserved a stoicalcomposure. he certainly did not bet to win, and hadonly staked the twenty thousand pounds, half of his fortune, because he foresawthat he might have to expend the other half to carry out this difficult, not to sayunattainable, project. as for his antagonists, they seemed muchagitated; not so much by the value of their stake, as because they had some scruplesabout betting under conditions so difficult to their friend. the clock struck seven, and the partyoffered to suspend the game so that mr.
fogg might make his preparations fordeparture. "i am quite ready now," was his tranquilresponse. "diamonds are trumps: be so good as toplay, gentlemen." chapter ivin which phileas fogg astounds passepartout, his servant having won twenty guineas at whist, andtaken leave of his friends, phileas fogg, at twenty-five minutes past seven, left thereform club. passepartout, who had conscientiouslystudied the programme of his duties, was more than surprised to see his masterguilty of the inexactness of appearing at
this unaccustomed hour; for, according to rule, he was not due in saville row untilprecisely midnight. mr. fogg repaired to his bedroom, andcalled out, "passepartout!" passepartout did not reply. it could not be he who was called; it wasnot the right hour. "passepartout!" repeated mr. fogg, withoutraising his voice. passepartout made his appearance. "i've called you twice," observed hismaster. "but it is not midnight," responded theother, showing his watch.
"i know it; i don't blame you. we start for dover and calais in tenminutes." a puzzled grin overspread passepartout'sround face; clearly he had not comprehended his master. "monsieur is going to leave home?""yes," returned phileas fogg. "we are going round the world." passepartout opened wide his eyes, raisedhis eyebrows, held up his hands, and seemed about to collapse, so overcome was he withstupefied astonishment. "round the world!" he murmured.
"in eighty days," responded mr. fogg."so we haven't a moment to lose." "but the trunks?" gasped passepartout,unconsciously swaying his head from right to left. "we'll have no trunks; only a carpet-bag,with two shirts and three pairs of stockings for me, and the same for you.we'll buy our clothes on the way. bring down my mackintosh and traveling-cloak, and some stout shoes, though we shall do little walking.make haste!" passepartout tried to reply, but could not. he went out, mounted to his own room, fellinto a chair, and muttered: "that's good,
that is!and i, who wanted to remain quiet!" he mechanically set about making thepreparations for departure. around the world in eighty days!was his master a fool? no. was this a joke, then? they were going to dover; good!to calais; good again! after all, passepartout, who had been awayfrom france five years, would not be sorry to set foot on his native soil again. perhaps they would go as far as paris, andit would do his eyes good to see paris once more.
but surely a gentleman so chary of hissteps would stop there; no doubt--but, then, it was none the less true that he wasgoing away, this so domestic person hitherto! by eight o'clock passepartout had packedthe modest carpet-bag, containing the wardrobes of his master and himself; then,still troubled in mind, he carefully shut the door of his room, and descended to mr.fogg. mr. fogg was quite ready. under his arm might have been observed ared-bound copy of bradshaw's continental railway steam transit and general guide,with its timetables showing the arrival and
departure of steamers and railways. he took the carpet-bag, opened it, andslipped into it a goodly roll of bank of england notes, which would pass wherever hemight go. "you have forgotten nothing?" asked he. "nothing, monsieur.""my mackintosh and cloak?" "here they are.""good! take this carpet-bag," handing it topassepartout. "take good care of it, for there are twentythousand pounds in it." passepartout nearly dropped the bag, as ifthe twenty thousand pounds were in gold,
and weighed him down. master and man then descended, the street-door was double-locked, and at the end of saville row they took a cab and droverapidly to charing cross. the cab stopped before the railway stationat twenty minutes past eight. passepartout jumped off the box andfollowed his master, who, after paying the cabman, was about to enter the station,when a poor beggar-woman, with a child in her arms, her naked feet smeared with mud, her head covered with a wretched bonnet,from which hung a tattered feather, and her shoulders shrouded in a ragged shawl,approached, and mournfully asked for alms.
mr. fogg took out the twenty guineas he hadjust won at whist, and handed them to the beggar, saying, "here, my good woman.i'm glad that i met you;" and passed on. passepartout had a moist sensation aboutthe eyes; his master's action touched his susceptible heart. two first-class tickets for paris havingbeen speedily purchased, mr. fogg was crossing the station to the train, when heperceived his five friends of the reform. "well, gentlemen," said he, "i'm off, yousee; and, if you will examine my passport when i get back, you will be able to judgewhether i have accomplished the journey agreed upon."
"oh, that would be quite unnecessary, mr.fogg," said ralph politely. "we will trust your word, as a gentleman ofhonour." "you do not forget when you are due inlondon again?" asked stuart. "in eighty days; on saturday, the 21st ofdecember, 1872, at a quarter before nine p.m. good-bye, gentlemen." phileas fogg and his servant seatedthemselves in a first-class carriage at twenty minutes before nine; five minuteslater the whistle screamed, and the train slowly glided out of the station.
the night was dark, and a fine, steady rainwas falling. phileas fogg, snugly ensconced in hiscorner, did not open his lips. passepartout, not yet recovered from hisstupefaction, clung mechanically to the carpet-bag, with its enormous treasure. just as the train was whirling throughsydenham, passepartout suddenly uttered a cry of despair."what's the matter?" asked mr. fogg. "alas! in my hurry--i--i forgot--""what?" "to turn off the gas in my room!""very well, young man," returned mr. fogg,
coolly; "it will burn--at your expense." chapter vin which a new species of funds, unknown to the moneyed men, appears on 'change phileas fogg rightly suspected that hisdeparture from london would create a lively sensation at the west end. the news of the bet spread through thereform club, and afforded an exciting topic of conversation to its members.from the club it soon got into the papers throughout england. the boasted "tour of the world" was talkedabout, disputed, argued with as much warmth
as if the subject were another alabamaclaim. some took sides with phileas fogg, but thelarge majority shook their heads and declared against him; it was absurd,impossible, they declared, that the tour of the world could be made, except theoretically and on paper, in this minimumof time, and with the existing means of travelling. the times, standard, morning post, anddaily news, and twenty other highly respectable newspapers scouted mr. fogg'sproject as madness; the daily telegraph alone hesitatingly supported him.
people in general thought him a lunatic,and blamed his reform club friends for having accepted a wager which betrayed themental aberration of its proposer. articles no less passionate than logicalappeared on the question, for geography is one of the pet subjects of the english; andthe columns devoted to phileas fogg's venture were eagerly devoured by allclasses of readers. at first some rash individuals, principallyof the gentler sex, espoused his cause, which became still more popular when theillustrated london news came out with his portrait, copied from a photograph in thereform club. a few readers of the daily telegraph evendared to say, "why not, after all?
stranger things have come to pass." at last a long article appeared, on the 7thof october, in the bulletin of the royal geographical society, which treated thequestion from every point of view, and demonstrated the utter folly of theenterprise. everything, it said, was against thetravellers, every obstacle imposed alike by man and by nature. a miraculous agreement of the times ofdeparture and arrival, which was impossible, was absolutely necessary to hissuccess. he might, perhaps, reckon on the arrival oftrains at the designated hours, in europe,
where the distances were relativelymoderate; but when he calculated upon crossing india in three days, and the united states in seven, could he relybeyond misgiving upon accomplishing his task? there were accidents to machinery, theliability of trains to run off the line, collisions, bad weather, the blocking up bysnow--were not all these against phileas fogg? would he not find himself, when travellingby steamer in winter, at the mercy of the winds and fogs?is it uncommon for the best ocean steamers
to be two or three days behind time? but a single delay would suffice to fatallybreak the chain of communication; should phileas fogg once miss, even by an hour; asteamer, he would have to wait for the next, and that would irrevocably render hisattempt vain. this article made a great deal of noise,and, being copied into all the papers, seriously depressed the advocates of therash tourist. everybody knows that england is the worldof betting men, who are of a higher class than mere gamblers; to bet is in theenglish temperament. not only the members of the reform, but thegeneral public, made heavy wagers for or
against phileas fogg, who was set down inthe betting books as if he were a race- horse. bonds were issued, and made theirappearance on 'change; "phileas fogg bonds" were offered at par or at a premium, and agreat business was done in them. but five days after the article in thebulletin of the geographical society appeared, the demand began to subside:"phileas fogg" declined. they were offered by packages, at first offive, then of ten, until at last nobody would take less than twenty, fifty, ahundred! lord albemarle, an elderly paralyticgentleman, was now the only advocate of
phileas fogg left. this noble lord, who was fastened to hischair, would have given his fortune to be able to make the tour of the world, if ittook ten years; and he bet five thousand pounds on phileas fogg. when the folly as well as the uselessnessof the adventure was pointed out to him, he contented himself with replying, "if thething is feasible, the first to do it ought to be an englishman." the fogg party dwindled more and more,everybody was going against him, and the bets stood a hundred and fifty and twohundred to one; and a week after his
departure an incident occurred whichdeprived him of backers at any price. the commissioner of police was sitting inhis office at nine o'clock one evening, when the following telegraphic dispatch wasput into his hands: suez to london. rowan, commissioner of police, scotlandyard: i've found the bank robber, phileas fogg.send with out delay warrant of arrest to bombay. fix, detective.the effect of this dispatch was instantaneous.the polished gentleman disappeared to give
place to the bank robber. his photograph, which was hung with thoseof the rest of the members at the reform club, was minutely examined, and itbetrayed, feature by feature, the description of the robber which had beenprovided to the police. the mysterious habits of phileas fogg wererecalled; his solitary ways, his sudden departure; and it seemed clear that, inundertaking a tour round the world on the pretext of a wager, he had had no other end in view than to elude the detectives, andthrow them off his track. chapter viin which fix, the detective, betrays a very
natural impatience the circumstances under which thistelegraphic dispatch about phileas fogg was sent were as follows: the steamer mongolia, belonging to thepeninsular and oriental company, built of iron, of two thousand eight hundred tonsburden, and five hundred horse-power, was due at eleven o'clock a.m. on wednesday,the 9th of october, at suez. the mongolia plied regularly betweenbrindisi and bombay via the suez canal, and was one of the fastest steamers belongingto the company, always making more than ten knots an hour between brindisi and suez,
and nine and a half between suez andbombay. two men were promenading up and down thewharves, among the crowd of natives and strangers who were sojourning at this oncestraggling village--now, thanks to the enterprise of m. lesseps, a fast-growingtown. one was the british consul at suez, who,despite the prophecies of the english government, and the unfavourablepredictions of stephenson, was in the habit of seeing, from his office window, english ships daily passing to and fro on the greatcanal, by which the old roundabout route from england to india by the cape of goodhope was abridged by at least a half.
the other was a small, slight-builtpersonage, with a nervous, intelligent face, and bright eyes peering out fromunder eyebrows which he was incessantly twitching. he was just now manifesting unmistakablesigns of impatience, nervously pacing up and down, and unable to stand still for amoment. this was fix, one of the detectives who hadbeen dispatched from england in search of the bank robber; it was his task tonarrowly watch every passenger who arrived at suez, and to follow up all who seemed to be suspicious characters, or bore aresemblance to the description of the
criminal, which he had received two daysbefore from the police headquarters at london. the detective was evidently inspired by thehope of obtaining the splendid reward which would be the prize of success, and awaitedwith a feverish impatience, easy to understand, the arrival of the steamermongolia. "so you say, consul," asked he for thetwentieth time, "that this steamer is never behind time?" "no, mr. fix," replied the consul."she was bespoken yesterday at port said, and the rest of the way is of no account tosuch a craft.
i repeat that the mongolia has been inadvance of the time required by the company's regulations, and gained the prizeawarded for excess of speed." "does she come directly from brindisi?" "directly from brindisi; she takes on theindian mails there, and she left there saturday at five p.m.have patience, mr. fix; she will not be late. but really, i don't see how, from thedescription you have, you will be able to recognise your man, even if he is on boardthe mongolia." "a man rather feels the presence of thesefellows, consul, than recognises them.
you must have a scent for them, and a scentis like a sixth sense which combines hearing, seeing, and smelling. i've arrested more than one of thesegentlemen in my time, and, if my thief is on board, i'll answer for it; he'll notslip through my fingers." "i hope so, mr. fix, for it was a heavyrobbery." "a magnificent robbery, consul; fifty-fivethousand pounds! we don't often have such windfalls. burglars are getting to be so contemptiblenowadays! a fellow gets hung for a handful ofshillings!"
"mr. fix," said the consul, "i like yourway of talking, and hope you'll succeed; but i fear you will find it far from easy. don't you see, the description which youhave there has a singular resemblance to an honest man?" "consul," remarked the detective,dogmatically, "great robbers always resemble honest folks. fellows who have rascally faces have onlyone course to take, and that is to remain honest; otherwise they would be arrestedoff-hand. the artistic thing is, to unmask honestcountenances; it's no light task, i admit,
but a real art."mr. fix evidently was not wanting in a tinge of self-conceit. little by little the scene on the quaybecame more animated; sailors of various nations, merchants, ship-brokers, porters,fellahs, bustled to and fro as if the steamer were immediately expected. the weather was clear, and slightly chilly.the minarets of the town loomed above the houses in the pale rays of the sun.a jetty pier, some two thousand yards along, extended into the roadstead. a number of fishing-smacks and coastingboats, some retaining the fantastic fashion
of ancient galleys, were discernible on thered sea. as he passed among the busy crowd, fix,according to habit, scrutinised the passers-by with a keen, rapid glance.it was now half-past ten. "the steamer doesn't come!" he exclaimed,as the port clock struck. "she can't be far off now," returned hiscompanion. "how long will she stop at suez?" "four hours; long enough to get in hercoal. it is thirteen hundred and ten miles fromsuez to aden, at the other end of the red sea, and she has to take in a fresh coalsupply."
"and does she go from suez directly tobombay?" "without putting in anywhere.""good!" said fix. "if the robber is on board he will no doubtget off at suez, so as to reach the dutch or french colonies in asia by some otherroute. he ought to know that he would not be safean hour in india, which is english soil." "unless," objected the consul, "he isexceptionally shrewd. an english criminal, you know, is alwaysbetter concealed in london than anywhere else." this observation furnished the detectivefood for thought, and meanwhile the consul
went away to his office. fix, left alone, was more impatient thanever, having a presentiment that the robber was on board the mongolia. if he had indeed left london intending toreach the new world, he would naturally take the route via india, which was lesswatched and more difficult to watch than that of the atlantic. but fix's reflections were soon interruptedby a succession of sharp whistles, which announced the arrival of the mongolia. the porters and fellahs rushed down thequay, and a dozen boats pushed off from the
shore to go and meet the steamer. soon her gigantic hull appeared passingalong between the banks, and eleven o'clock struck as she anchored in the road. she brought an unusual number ofpassengers, some of whom remained on deck to scan the picturesque panorama of thetown, while the greater part disembarked in the boats, and landed on the quay. fix took up a position, and carefullyexamined each face and figure which made its appearance. presently one of the passengers, aftervigorously pushing his way through the
importunate crowd of porters, came up tohim and politely asked if he could point out the english consulate, at the same time showing a passport which he wished to havevisaed. fix instinctively took the passport, andwith a rapid glance read the description of its bearer. an involuntary motion of surprise nearlyescaped him, for the description in the passport was identical with that of thebank robber which he had received from scotland yard. "is this your passport?" asked he."no, it's my master's."
"and your master is--""he stayed on board." "but he must go to the consul's in person,so as to establish his identity." "oh, is that necessary?""quite indispensable." "and where is the consulate?" "there, on the corner of the square," saidfix, pointing to a house two hundred steps off."i'll go and fetch my master, who won't be much pleased, however, to be disturbed." the passenger bowed to fix, and returned tothe steamer. chapter viiwhich once more demonstrates the
uselessness of passports as aids todetectives the detective passed down the quay, andrapidly made his way to the consul's office, where he was at once admitted tothe presence of that official. "consul," said he, without preamble, "ihave strong reasons for believing that my man is a passenger on the mongolia."and he narrated what had just passed concerning the passport. "well, mr. fix," replied the consul, "ishall not be sorry to see the rascal's face; but perhaps he won't come here--thatis, if he is the person you suppose him to be.
a robber doesn't quite like to leave tracesof his flight behind him; and, besides, he is not obliged to have his passportcountersigned." "if he is as shrewd as i think he is,consul, he will come." "to have his passport visaed?" "yes. passports are only good for annoyinghonest folks, and aiding in the flight of rogues. i assure you it will be quite the thing forhim to do; but i hope you will not visa the passport.""why not? if the passport is genuine i have no rightto refuse."
"still, i must keep this man here until ican get a warrant to arrest him from london." "ah, that's your look-out.but i cannot--" the consul did not finish his sentence, foras he spoke a knock was heard at the door, and two strangers entered, one of whom wasthe servant whom fix had met on the quay. the other, who was his master, held out hispassport with the request that the consul would do him the favour to visa it. the consul took the document and carefullyread it, whilst fix observed, or rather devoured, the stranger with his eyes from acorner of the room.
"you are mr. phileas fogg?" said theconsul, after reading the passport. "i am.""and this man is your servant?" "he is: a frenchman, named passepartout." "you are from london?""yes." "and you are going--""to bombay." "very good, sir. you know that a visa is useless, and thatno passport is required?" "i know it, sir," replied phileas fogg;"but i wish to prove, by your visa, that i came by suez."
"very well, sir."the consul proceeded to sign and date the passport, after which he added his officialseal. mr. fogg paid the customary fee, coldlybowed, and went out, followed by his servant."well?" queried the detective. "well, he looks and acts like a perfectlyhonest man," replied the consul. "possibly; but that is not the question. do you think, consul, that this phlegmaticgentleman resembles, feature by feature, the robber whose description i havereceived?" "i concede that; but then, you know, alldescriptions--"
"i'll make certain of it," interrupted fix. "the servant seems to me less mysteriousthan the master; besides, he's a frenchman, and can't help talking.excuse me for a little while, consul." fix started off in search of passepartout. meanwhile mr. fogg, after leaving theconsulate, repaired to the quay, gave some orders to passepartout, went off to themongolia in a boat, and descended to his cabin. he took up his note-book, which containedthe following memoranda: "left london, wednesday, october 2nd, at8.45 p.m.
"reached paris, thursday, october 3rd, at7.20 a.m. "left paris, thursday, at 8.40 a.m."reached turin by mont cenis, friday, october 4th, at 6.35 a.m. "left turin, friday, at 7.20 a.m."arrived at brindisi, saturday, october 5th, at 4 p.m."sailed on the mongolia, saturday, at 5 "reached suez, wednesday, october 9th, at11 a.m. "total of hours spent, 158+; or, in days,six days and a half." these dates were inscribed in an itinerarydivided into columns, indicating the month, the day of the month, and the day for thestipulated and actual arrivals at each
principal point paris, brindisi, suez, bombay, calcutta, singapore, hong kong,yokohama, san francisco, new york, and london--from the 2nd of october to the 21stof december; and giving a space for setting down the gain made or the loss suffered onarrival at each locality. this methodical record thus contained anaccount of everything needed, and mr. fogg always knew whether he was behind-hand orin advance of his time. on this friday, october 9th, he noted hisarrival at suez, and observed that he had as yet neither gained nor lost. he sat down quietly to breakfast in hiscabin, never once thinking of inspecting
the town, being one of those englishmen whoare wont to see foreign countries through the eyes of their domestics. chapter viiiin which passepartout talks rather more, perhaps, than is prudent fix soon rejoined passepartout, who waslounging and looking about on the quay, as if he did not feel that he, at least, wasobliged not to see anything. "well, my friend," said the detective,coming up with him, "is your passport visaed?""ah, it's you, is it, monsieur?" responded passepartout.
"thanks, yes, the passport is all right.""and you are looking about you?" "yes; but we travel so fast that i seem tobe journeying in a dream. so this is suez?" "yes.""in egypt?" "certainly, in egypt.""and in africa?" "in africa." "in africa!" repeated passepartout. "just think, monsieur, i had no idea thatwe should go farther than paris; and all that i saw of paris was between twentyminutes past seven and twenty minutes
before nine in the morning, between the northern and the lyons stations, throughthe windows of a car, and in a driving rain! how i regret not having seen once more perela chaise and the circus in the champs elysees!""you are in a great hurry, then?" "i am not, but my master is. by the way, i must buy some shoes andshirts. we came away without trunks, only with acarpet-bag." "i will show you an excellent shop forgetting what you want."
"really, monsieur, you are very kind."and they walked off together, passepartout chatting volubly as they went along. "above all," said he; "don't let me losethe steamer." "you have plenty of time; it's only twelveo'clock." passepartout pulled out his big watch. "twelve!" he exclaimed; "why, it's onlyeight minutes before ten." "your watch is slow.""my watch? a family watch, monsieur, which has comedown from my great-grandfather! it doesn't vary five minutes in the year.it's a perfect chronometer, look you."
"i see how it is," said fix. "you have kept london time, which is twohours behind that of suez. you ought to regulate your watch at noon ineach country." "i regulate my watch? never!""well, then, it will not agree with the sun.""so much the worse for the sun, monsieur. the sun will be wrong, then!" and the worthy fellow returned the watch toits fob with a defiant gesture. after a few minutes silence, fix resumed:"you left london hastily, then?"
"i rather think so! last friday at eight o'clock in theevening, monsieur fogg came home from his club, and three-quarters of an hourafterwards we were off." "but where is your master going?" "always straight ahead.he is going round the world." "round the world?" cried fix."yes, and in eighty days! he says it is on a wager; but, between us,i don't believe a word of it. that wouldn't be common sense.there's something else in the wind." "ah! mr. fogg is a character, is he?"
"i should say he was.""is he rich?" "no doubt, for he is carrying an enormoussum in brand new banknotes with him. and he doesn't spare the money on the way,either: he has offered a large reward to the engineer of the mongolia if he gets usto bombay well in advance of time." "and you have known your master a longtime?" "why, no; i entered his service the veryday we left london." the effect of these replies upon thealready suspicious and excited detective may be imagined. the hasty departure from london soon afterthe robbery; the large sum carried by mr.
fogg; his eagerness to reach distantcountries; the pretext of an eccentric and foolhardy bet--all confirmed fix in histheory. he continued to pump poor passepartout, andlearned that he really knew little or nothing of his master, who lived a solitaryexistence in london, was said to be rich, though no one knew whence came his riches, and was mysterious and impenetrable in hisaffairs and habits. fix felt sure that phileas fogg would notland at suez, but was really going on to "is bombay far from here?" askedpassepartout. "pretty far.it is a ten days' voyage by sea."
"and in what country is bombay?" "india.""in asia?" "certainly.""the deuce! i was going to tell you there's one thingthat worries me--my burner!" "what burner?" "my gas-burner, which i forgot to turn off,and which is at this moment burning at my expense. i have calculated, monsieur, that i losetwo shillings every four and twenty hours, exactly sixpence more than i earn; and youwill understand that the longer our
journey--" did fix pay any attention to passepartout'strouble about the gas? it is not probable.he was not listening, but was cogitating a project. passepartout and he had now reached theshop, where fix left his companion to make his purchases, after recommending him notto miss the steamer, and hurried back to the consulate. now that he was fully convinced, fix hadquite recovered his equanimity. "consul," said he, "i have no longer anydoubt.
i have spotted my man. he passes himself off as an odd stick whois going round the world in eighty days." "then he's a sharp fellow," returned theconsul, "and counts on returning to london after putting the police of the twocountries off his track." "we'll see about that," replied fix. "but are you not mistaken?""i am not mistaken." "why was this robber so anxious to prove,by the visa, that he had passed through suez?" "why? i have no idea; but listen to me."he reported in a few words the most
important parts of his conversation withpassepartout. "in short," said the consul, "appearancesare wholly against this man. and what are you going to do?" "send a dispatch to london for a warrant ofarrest to be dispatched instantly to bombay, take passage on board the mongolia,follow my rogue to india, and there, on english ground, arrest him politely, with my warrant in my hand, and my hand on hisshoulder." having uttered these words with a cool,careless air, the detective took leave of the consul, and repaired to the telegraphoffice, whence he sent the dispatch which
we have seen to the london police office. a quarter of an hour later found fix, witha small bag in his hand, proceeding on board the mongolia; and, ere many momentslonger, the noble steamer rode out at full steam upon the waters of the red sea. chapter ixin which the red sea and the indian ocean prove propitious to the designs of phileasfogg the distance between suez and aden isprecisely thirteen hundred and ten miles, and the regulations of the company allowthe steamers one hundred and thirty-eight hours in which to traverse it.
the mongolia, thanks to the vigorousexertions of the engineer, seemed likely, so rapid was her speed, to reach herdestination considerably within that time. the greater part of the passengers frombrindisi were bound for india some for bombay, others for calcutta by way ofbombay, the nearest route thither, now that a railway crosses the indian peninsula. among the passengers was a number ofofficials and military officers of various grades, the latter being either attached tothe regular british forces or commanding the sepoy troops, and receiving high salaries ever since the central governmenthas assumed the powers of the east india
company: for the sub-lieutenants get 280pounds, brigadiers, 2,400 pounds, and generals of divisions, 4,000 pounds. what with the military men, a number ofrich young englishmen on their travels, and the hospitable efforts of the purser, thetime passed quickly on the mongolia. the best of fare was spread upon the cabintables at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the eight o'clock supper, and the ladiesscrupulously changed their toilets twice a day; and the hours were whirled away, when the sea was tranquil, with music, dancing,and games. but the red sea is full of caprice, andoften boisterous, like most long and narrow
gulfs. when the wind came from the african orasian coast the mongolia, with her long hull, rolled fearfully. then the ladies speedily disappeared below;the pianos were silent; singing and dancing suddenly ceased. yet the good ship ploughed straight on,unretarded by wind or wave, towards the straits of bab-el-mandeb.what was phileas fogg doing all this time? it might be thought that, in his anxiety,he would be constantly watching the changes of the wind, the disorderly raging of thebillows--every chance, in short, which
might force the mongolia to slacken herspeed, and thus interrupt his journey. but, if he thought of these possibilities,he did not betray the fact by any outward sign. always the same impassible member of thereform club, whom no incident could surprise, as unvarying as the ship'schronometers, and seldom having the curiosity even to go upon the deck, he passed through the memorable scenes of thered sea with cold indifference; did not care to recognise the historic towns andvillages which, along its borders, raised their picturesque outlines against the sky;
and betrayed no fear of the dangers of thearabic gulf, which the old historians always spoke of with horror, and upon whichthe ancient navigators never ventured without propitiating the gods by amplesacrifices. how did this eccentric personage pass histime on the mongolia? he made his four hearty meals every day,regardless of the most persistent rolling and pitching on the part of the steamer;and he played whist indefatigably, for he had found partners as enthusiastic in thegame as himself. a tax-collector, on the way to his post atgoa; the rev. decimus smith, returning to his parish at bombay; and a brigadier-general of the english army, who was about
to rejoin his brigade at benares, made up the party, and, with mr. fogg, played whistby the hour together in absorbing silence. as for passepartout, he, too, had escapedsea-sickness, and took his meals conscientiously in the forward cabin. he rather enjoyed the voyage, for he waswell fed and well lodged, took a great interest in the scenes through which theywere passing, and consoled himself with the delusion that his master's whim would endat bombay. he was pleased, on the day after leavingsuez, to find on deck the obliging person with whom he had walked and chatted on thequays.
"if i am not mistaken," said he,approaching this person, with his most amiable smile, "you are the gentleman whoso kindly volunteered to guide me at suez?" "ah! i quite recognise you. you are the servant of the strangeenglishman--" "just so, monsieur--""fix." "monsieur fix," resumed passepartout, "i'mcharmed to find you on board. where are you bound?""like you, to bombay." "that's capital! have you made this trip before?""several times.
i am one of the agents of the peninsularcompany." "then you know india?" "why yes," replied fix, who spokecautiously. "a curious place, this india?""oh, very curious. mosques, minarets, temples, fakirs,pagodas, tigers, snakes, elephants! i hope you will have ample time to see thesights." "i hope so, monsieur fix. you see, a man of sound sense ought not tospend his life jumping from a steamer upon a railway train, and from a railway trainupon a steamer again, pretending to make
the tour of the world in eighty days! no; all these gymnastics, you may be sure,will cease at bombay." "and mr. fogg is getting on well?" askedfix, in the most natural tone in the world. "quite well, and i too. i eat like a famished ogre; it's the seaair." "but i never see your master on deck.""never; he hasn't the least curiosity." "do you know, mr. passepartout, that thispretended tour in eighty days may conceal some secret errand--perhaps a diplomaticmission?" "faith, monsieur fix, i assure you i knownothing about it, nor would i give half a
crown to find out." after this meeting, passepartout and fixgot into the habit of chatting together, the latter making it a point to gain theworthy man's confidence. he frequently offered him a glass ofwhiskey or pale ale in the steamer bar- room, which passepartout never failed toaccept with graceful alacrity, mentally pronouncing fix the best of good fellows. meanwhile the mongolia was pushing forwardrapidly; on the 13th, mocha, surrounded by its ruined walls whereon date-trees weregrowing, was sighted, and on the mountains beyond were espied vast coffee-fields.
passepartout was ravished to behold thiscelebrated place, and thought that, with its circular walls and dismantled fort, itlooked like an immense coffee-cup and saucer. the following night they passed through thestrait of bab-el-mandeb, which means in arabic the bridge of tears, and the nextday they put in at steamer point, north- west of aden harbour, to take in coal. this matter of fuelling steamers is aserious one at such distances from the coal-mines; it costs the peninsular companysome eight hundred thousand pounds a year. in these distant seas, coal is worth threeor four pounds sterling a ton.
the mongolia had still sixteen hundred andfifty miles to traverse before reaching bombay, and was obliged to remain fourhours at steamer point to coal up. but this delay, as it was foreseen, did notaffect phileas fogg's programme; besides, the mongolia, instead of reaching aden onthe morning of the 15th, when she was due, arrived there on the evening of the 14th, again of fifteen hours. mr. fogg and his servant went ashore ataden to have the passport again visaed; fix, unobserved, followed them. the visa procured, mr. fogg returned onboard to resume his former habits; while passepartout, according to custom,sauntered about among the mixed population
of somalis, banyans, parsees, jews, arabs, and europeans who comprise the twenty-fivethousand inhabitants of aden. he gazed with wonder upon thefortifications which make this place the gibraltar of the indian ocean, and the vastcisterns where the english engineers were still at work, two thousand years after theengineers of solomon. "very curious, very curious," saidpassepartout to himself, on returning to the steamer. "i see that it is by no means useless totravel, if a man wants to see something new."
at six p.m. the mongolia slowly moved outof the roadstead, and was soon once more on the indian ocean. she had a hundred and sixty-eight hours inwhich to reach bombay, and the sea was favourable, the wind being in the north-west, and all sails aiding the engine. the steamer rolled but little, the ladies,in fresh toilets, reappeared on deck, and the singing and dancing were resumed. the trip was being accomplished mostsuccessfully, and passepartout was enchanted with the congenial companionwhich chance had secured him in the person of the delightful fix.
on sunday, october 20th, towards noon, theycame in sight of the indian coast: two hours later the pilot came on board. a range of hills lay against the sky in thehorizon, and soon the rows of palms which adorn bombay came distinctly into view. the steamer entered the road formed by theislands in the bay, and at half-past four she hauled up at the quays of bombay. phileas fogg was in the act of finishingthe thirty-third rubber of the voyage, and his partner and himself having, by a boldstroke, captured all thirteen of the tricks, concluded this fine campaign with abrilliant victory.
the mongolia was due at bombay on the 22nd;she arrived on the 20th. this was a gain to phileas fogg of two dayssince his departure from london, and he calmly entered the fact in the itinerary,in the column of gains. chapter xin which passepartout is only too glad to get off with the loss of his shoes everybody knows that the great reversedtriangle of land, with its base in the north and its apex in the south, which iscalled india, embraces fourteen hundred thousand square miles, upon which is spread unequally a population of one hundred andeighty millions of souls.
the british crown exercises a real anddespotic dominion over the larger portion of this vast country, and has a governor-general stationed at calcutta, governors at madras, bombay, and in bengal, and alieutenant-governor at agra. but british india, properly so called, onlyembraces seven hundred thousand square miles, and a population of from one hundredto one hundred and ten millions of inhabitants. a considerable portion of india is stillfree from british authority; and there are certain ferocious rajahs in the interiorwho are absolutely independent. the celebrated east india company was all-powerful from 1756, when the english first
gained a foothold on the spot where nowstands the city of madras, down to the time of the great sepoy insurrection. it gradually annexed province afterprovince, purchasing them of the native chiefs, whom it seldom paid, and appointedthe governor-general and his subordinates, civil and military. but the east india company has now passedaway, leaving the british possessions in india directly under the control of thecrown. the aspect of the country, as well as themanners and distinctions of race, is daily changing.
formerly one was obliged to travel in indiaby the old cumbrous methods of going on foot or on horseback, in palanquins orunwieldy coaches; now fast steamboats ply on the indus and the ganges, and a great railway, with branch lines joining the mainline at many points on its route, traverses the peninsula from bombay to calcutta inthree days. this railway does not run in a direct lineacross india. the distance between bombay and calcutta,as the bird flies, is only from one thousand to eleven hundred miles; but thedeflections of the road increase this distance by more than a third.
the general route of the great indianpeninsula railway is as follows: leaving bombay, it passes through salcette,crossing to the continent opposite tannah, goes over the chain of the western ghauts, runs thence north-east as far asburhampoor, skirts the nearly independent territory of bundelcund, ascends toallahabad, turns thence eastwardly, meeting the ganges at benares, then departs from the river a little, and, descending south-eastward by burdivan and the french town of chandernagor, has its terminus at calcutta. the passengers of the mongolia went ashoreat half-past four p.m.; at exactly eight
the train would start for calcutta. mr. fogg, after bidding good-bye to hiswhist partners, left the steamer, gave his servant several errands to do, urged itupon him to be at the station promptly at eight, and, with his regular step, which beat to the second, like an astronomicalclock, directed his steps to the passport office. as for the wonders of bombay its famouscity hall, its splendid library, its forts and docks, its bazaars, mosques,synagogues, its armenian churches, and the noble pagoda on malabar hill, with its two
polygonal towers--he cared not a straw tosee them. he would not deign to examine even themasterpieces of elephanta, or the mysterious hypogea, concealed south-eastfrom the docks, or those fine remains of buddhist architecture, the kanheriangrottoes of the island of salcette. having transacted his business at thepassport office, phileas fogg repaired quietly to the railway station, where heordered dinner. among the dishes served up to him, thelandlord especially recommended a certain giblet of "native rabbit," on which heprided himself. mr. fogg accordingly tasted the dish, but,despite its spiced sauce, found it far from
palatable. he rang for the landlord, and, on hisappearance, said, fixing his clear eyes upon him, "is this rabbit, sir?""yes, my lord," the rogue boldly replied, "rabbit from the jungles." "and this rabbit did not mew when he waskilled?" "mew, my lord!what, a rabbit mew! i swear to you--" "be so good, landlord, as not to swear, butremember this: cats were formerly considered, in india, as sacred animals.that was a good time."
"for the cats, my lord?" "perhaps for the travellers as well!"after which mr. fogg quietly continued his dinner. fix had gone on shore shortly after mr.fogg, and his first destination was the headquarters of the bombay police. he made himself known as a londondetective, told his business at bombay, and the position of affairs relative to thesupposed robber, and nervously asked if a warrant had arrived from london. it had not reached the office; indeed,there had not yet been time for it to
arrive. fix was sorely disappointed, and tried toobtain an order of arrest from the director of the bombay police. this the director refused, as the matterconcerned the london office, which alone could legally deliver the warrant. fix did not insist, and was fain to resignhimself to await the arrival of the important document; but he was determinednot to lose sight of the mysterious rogue as long as he stayed in bombay. he did not doubt for a moment, any morethan passepartout, that phileas fogg would
remain there, at least until it was timefor the warrant to arrive. passepartout, however, had no sooner heardhis master's orders on leaving the mongolia than he saw at once that they were to leavebombay as they had done suez and paris, and that the journey would be extended at least as far as calcutta, and perhaps beyond thatplace. he began to ask himself if this bet thatmr. fogg talked about was not really in good earnest, and whether his fate was notin truth forcing him, despite his love of repose, around the world in eighty days! having purchased the usual quota of shirtsand shoes, he took a leisurely promenade
about the streets, where crowds of peopleof many nationalities--europeans, persians with pointed caps, banyas with round turbans, sindes with square bonnets,parsees with black mitres, and long-robed armenians--were collected.it happened to be the day of a parsee festival. these descendants of the sect of zoroaster--the most thrifty, civilised, intelligent, and austere of the east indians, among whomare counted the richest native merchants of bombay--were celebrating a sort of religious carnival, with processions andshows, in the midst of which indian
dancing-girls, clothed in rose-colouredgauze, looped up with gold and silver, danced airily, but with perfect modesty, to the sound of viols and the clanging oftambourines. it is needless to say that passepartoutwatched these curious ceremonies with staring eyes and gaping mouth, and that hiscountenance was that of the greenest booby imaginable. unhappily for his master, as well ashimself, his curiosity drew him unconsciously farther off than he intendedto go. at last, having seen the parsee carnivalwind away in the distance, he was turning
his steps towards the station, when hehappened to espy the splendid pagoda on malabar hill, and was seized with anirresistible desire to see its interior. he was quite ignorant that it is forbiddento christians to enter certain indian temples, and that even the faithful mustnot go in without first leaving their shoes outside the door. it may be said here that the wise policy ofthe british government severely punishes a disregard of the practices of the nativereligions. passepartout, however, thinking no harm,went in like a simple tourist, and was soon lost in admiration of the splendid brahminornamentation which everywhere met his
eyes, when of a sudden he found himselfsprawling on the sacred flagging. he looked up to behold three enragedpriests, who forthwith fell upon him; tore off his shoes, and began to beat him withloud, savage exclamations. the agile frenchman was soon upon his feetagain, and lost no time in knocking down two of his long-gowned adversaries with hisfists and a vigorous application of his toes; then, rushing out of the pagoda as fast as his legs could carry him, he soonescaped the third priest by mingling with the crowd in the streets. at five minutes before eight, passepartout,hatless, shoeless, and having in the
squabble lost his package of shirts andshoes, rushed breathlessly into the station. fix, who had followed mr. fogg to thestation, and saw that he was really going to leave bombay, was there, upon theplatform. he had resolved to follow the supposedrobber to calcutta, and farther, if necessary. passepartout did not observe the detective,who stood in an obscure corner; but fix heard him relate his adventures in a fewwords to mr. fogg. "i hope that this will not happen again,"said phileas fogg coldly, as he got into
the train.poor passepartout, quite crestfallen, followed his master without a word. fix was on the point of entering anothercarriage, when an idea struck him which induced him to alter his plan."no, i'll stay," muttered he. "an offence has been committed on indiansoil. i've got my man." just then the locomotive gave a sharpscreech, and the train passed out into the darkness of the night. chapter xiin which phileas fogg secures a curious
means of conveyance at a fabulous price the train had started punctually.among the passengers were a number of officers, government officials, and opiumand indigo merchants, whose business called them to the eastern coast. passepartout rode in the same carriage withhis master, and a third passenger occupied a seat opposite to them. this was sir francis cromarty, one of mr.fogg's whist partners on the mongolia, now on his way to join his corps at benares. sir francis was a tall, fair man of fifty,who had greatly distinguished himself in
the last sepoy revolt. he made india his home, only paying briefvisits to england at rare intervals; and was almost as familiar as a native with thecustoms, history, and character of india and its people. but phileas fogg, who was not travelling,but only describing a circumference, took no pains to inquire into these subjects; hewas a solid body, traversing an orbit around the terrestrial globe, according tothe laws of rational mechanics. he was at this moment calculating in hismind the number of hours spent since his departure from london, and, had it been inhis nature to make a useless demonstration,
would have rubbed his hands forsatisfaction. sir francis cromarty had observed theoddity of his travelling companion-- although the only opportunity he had forstudying him had been while he was dealing the cards, and between two rubbers--and questioned himself whether a human heartreally beat beneath this cold exterior, and whether phileas fogg had any sense of thebeauties of nature. the brigadier-general was free to mentallyconfess that, of all the eccentric persons he had ever met, none was comparable tothis product of the exact sciences. phileas fogg had not concealed from sirfrancis his design of going round the
world, nor the circumstances under which heset out; and the general only saw in the wager a useless eccentricity and a lack ofsound common sense. in the way this strange gentleman was goingon, he would leave the world without having done any good to himself or anybody else. an hour after leaving bombay the train hadpassed the viaducts and the island of salcette, and had got into the opencountry. at callyan they reached the junction of thebranch line which descends towards south- eastern india by kandallah and pounah; and,passing pauwell, they entered the defiles of the mountains, with their basalt bases,
and their summits crowned with thick andverdant forests. phileas fogg and sir francis cromartyexchanged a few words from time to time, and now sir francis, reviving theconversation, observed, "some years ago, mr. fogg, you would have met with a delay at this point which would probably havelost you your wager." "how so, sir francis?" "because the railway stopped at the base ofthese mountains, which the passengers were obliged to cross in palanquins or on poniesto kandallah, on the other side." "such a delay would not have deranged myplans in the least," said mr. fogg.
"i have constantly foreseen the likelihoodof certain obstacles." "but, mr. fogg," pursued sir francis, "yourun the risk of having some difficulty about this worthy fellow's adventure at thepagoda." passepartout, his feet comfortably wrappedin his travelling-blanket, was sound asleep and did not dream that anybody was talkingabout him. "the government is very severe upon thatkind of offence. it takes particular care that the religiouscustoms of the indians should be respected, and if your servant were caught--" "very well, sir francis," replied mr. fogg;"if he had been caught he would have been
condemned and punished, and then would havequietly returned to europe. i don't see how this affair could havedelayed his master." the conversation fell again. during the night the train left themountains behind, and passed nassik, and the next day proceeded over the flat, well-cultivated country of the khandeish, with its straggling villages, above which rosethe minarets of the pagodas. this fertile territory is watered bynumerous small rivers and limpid streams, mostly tributaries of the godavery. passepartout, on waking and looking out,could not realise that he was actually
crossing india in a railway train. the locomotive, guided by an englishengineer and fed with english coal, threw out its smoke upon cotton, coffee, nutmeg,clove, and pepper plantations, while the steam curled in spirals around groups of palm-trees, in the midst of which were seenpicturesque bungalows, viharis (sort of abandoned monasteries), and marvelloustemples enriched by the exhaustless ornamentation of indian architecture. then they came upon vast tracts extendingto the horizon, with jungles inhabited by snakes and tigers, which fled at the noiseof the train; succeeded by forests
penetrated by the railway, and still haunted by elephants which, with pensiveeyes, gazed at the train as it passed. the travellers crossed, beyond milligaum,the fatal country so often stained with blood by the sectaries of the goddess kali. not far off rose ellora, with its gracefulpagodas, and the famous aurungabad, capital of the ferocious aureng-zeb, now the chieftown of one of the detached provinces of the kingdom of the nizam. it was thereabouts that feringhea, thethuggee chief, king of the stranglers, held his sway.
these ruffians, united by a secret bond,strangled victims of every age in honour of the goddess death, without ever sheddingblood; there was a period when this part of the country could scarcely be travelled over without corpses being found in everydirection. the english government has succeeded ingreatly diminishing these murders, though the thuggees still exist, and pursue theexercise of their horrible rites. at half-past twelve the train stopped atburhampoor where passepartout was able to purchase some indian slippers, ornamentedwith false pearls, in which, with evident vanity, he proceeded to encase his feet.
the travellers made a hasty breakfast andstarted off for assurghur, after skirting for a little the banks of the small rivertapty, which empties into the gulf of cambray, near surat. passepartout was now plunged into absorbingreverie. up to his arrival at bombay, he hadentertained hopes that their journey would end there; but, now that they were plainlywhirling across india at full speed, a sudden change had come over the spirit ofhis dreams. his old vagabond nature returned to him;the fantastic ideas of his youth once more took possession of him.
he came to regard his master's project asintended in good earnest, believed in the reality of the bet, and therefore in thetour of the world and the necessity of making it without fail within thedesignated period. already he began to worry about possibledelays, and accidents which might happen on the way. he recognised himself as being personallyinterested in the wager, and trembled at the thought that he might have been themeans of losing it by his unpardonable folly of the night before. being much less cool-headed than mr. fogg,he was much more restless, counting and
recounting the days passed over, utteringmaledictions when the train stopped, and accusing it of sluggishness, and mentally blaming mr. fogg for not having bribed theengineer. the worthy fellow was ignorant that, whileit was possible by such means to hasten the rate of a steamer, it could not be done onthe railway. the train entered the defiles of thesutpour mountains, which separate the khandeish from bundelcund, towards evening. the next day sir francis cromarty askedpassepartout what time it was; to which, on consulting his watch, he replied that itwas three in the morning.
this famous timepiece, always regulated onthe greenwich meridian, which was now some seventy-seven degrees westward, was atleast four hours slow. sir francis corrected passepartout's time,whereupon the latter made the same remark that he had done to fix; and upon thegeneral insisting that the watch should be regulated in each new meridian, since he was constantly going eastward, that is inthe face of the sun, and therefore the days were shorter by four minutes for eachdegree gone over, passepartout obstinately refused to alter his watch, which he keptat london time. it was an innocent delusion which couldharm no one.
the train stopped, at eight o'clock, in themidst of a glade some fifteen miles beyond rothal, where there were several bungalows,and workmen's cabins. the conductor, passing along the carriages,shouted, "passengers will get out here!" phileas fogg looked at sir francis cromartyfor an explanation; but the general could not tell what meant a halt in the midst ofthis forest of dates and acacias. passepartout, not less surprised, rushedout and speedily returned, crying: "monsieur, no more railway!""what do you mean?" asked sir francis. "i mean to say that the train isn't goingon." the general at once stepped out, whilephileas fogg calmly followed him, and they
proceeded together to the conductor. "where are we?" asked sir francis."at the hamlet of kholby." "do we stop here?""certainly. the railway isn't finished." "what! not finished?""no. there's still a matter of fifty miles to be laid from here to allahabad, wherethe line begins again." "but the papers announced the opening ofthe railway throughout." "what would you have, officer?the papers were mistaken." "yet you sell tickets from bombay tocalcutta," retorted sir francis, who was
growing warm. "no doubt," replied the conductor; "but thepassengers know that they must provide means of transportation for themselves fromkholby to allahabad." sir francis was furious. passepartout would willingly have knockedthe conductor down, and did not dare to look at his master. "sir francis," said mr. fogg quietly, "wewill, if you please, look about for some means of conveyance to allahabad.""mr. fogg, this is a delay greatly to your disadvantage."
"no, sir francis; it was foreseen.""what! you knew that the way--" "not at all; but i knew that some obstacleor other would sooner or later arise on my route.nothing, therefore, is lost. i have two days, which i have alreadygained, to sacrifice. a steamer leaves calcutta for hong kong atnoon, on the 25th. this is the 22nd, and we shall reachcalcutta in time." there was nothing to say to so confident aresponse. it was but too true that the railway cameto a termination at this point.
the papers were like some watches, whichhave a way of getting too fast, and had been premature in their announcement of thecompletion of the line. the greater part of the travellers wereaware of this interruption, and, leaving the train, they began to engage suchvehicles as the village could provide four- wheeled palkigharis, waggons drawn by zebus, carriages that looked likeperambulating pagodas, palanquins, ponies, and what not. mr. fogg and sir francis cromarty, aftersearching the village from end to end, came back without having found anything."i shall go afoot," said phileas fogg.
passepartout, who had now rejoined hismaster, made a wry grimace, as he thought of his magnificent, but too frail indianshoes. happily he too had been looking about him,and, after a moment's hesitation, said, "monsieur, i think i have found a means ofconveyance." "what?" "an elephant!an elephant that belongs to an indian who lives but a hundred steps from here.""let's go and see the elephant," replied they soon reached a small hut, near which,enclosed within some high palings, was the animal in question.
an indian came out of the hut, and, attheir request, conducted them within the enclosure. the elephant, which its owner had reared,not for a beast of burden, but for warlike purposes, was half domesticated. the indian had begun already, by oftenirritating him, and feeding him every three months on sugar and butter, to impart tohim a ferocity not in his nature, this method being often employed by those whotrain the indian elephants for battle. happily, however, for mr. fogg, theanimal's instruction in this direction had not gone far, and the elephant stillpreserved his natural gentleness.
kiouni--this was the name of the beast--could doubtless travel rapidly for a long time, and, in default of any other means ofconveyance, mr. fogg resolved to hire him. but elephants are far from cheap in india,where they are becoming scarce, the males, which alone are suitable for circus shows,are much sought, especially as but few of them are domesticated. when therefore mr. fogg proposed to theindian to hire kiouni, he refused point- blank. mr. fogg persisted, offering the excessivesum of ten pounds an hour for the loan of the beast to allahabad.refused.
twenty pounds? refused also.forty pounds? still refused.passepartout jumped at each advance; but the indian declined to be tempted. yet the offer was an alluring one, for,supposing it took the elephant fifteen hours to reach allahabad, his owner wouldreceive no less than six hundred pounds sterling. phileas fogg, without getting in the leastflurried, then proposed to purchase the animal outright, and at first offered athousand pounds for him.
the indian, perhaps thinking he was goingto make a great bargain, still refused. sir francis cromarty took mr. fogg aside,and begged him to reflect before he went any further; to which that gentlemanreplied that he was not in the habit of acting rashly, that a bet of twenty thousand pounds was at stake, that theelephant was absolutely necessary to him, and that he would secure him if he had topay twenty times his value. returning to the indian, whose small, sharpeyes, glistening with avarice, betrayed that with him it was only a question of howgreat a price he could obtain. mr. fogg offered first twelve hundred, thenfifteen hundred, eighteen hundred, two
thousand pounds.passepartout, usually so rubicund, was fairly white with suspense. at two thousand pounds the indian yielded."what a price, good heavens!" cried passepartout, "for an elephant."it only remained now to find a guide, which was comparatively easy. a young parsee, with an intelligent face,offered his services, which mr. fogg accepted, promising so generous a reward asto materially stimulate his zeal. the elephant was led out and equipped. the parsee, who was an accomplishedelephant driver, covered his back with a
sort of saddle-cloth, and attached to eachof his flanks some curiously uncomfortable howdahs. phileas fogg paid the indian with somebanknotes which he extracted from the famous carpet-bag, a proceeding that seemedto deprive poor passepartout of his vitals. then he offered to carry sir francis toallahabad, which the brigadier gratefully accepted, as one traveller the more wouldnot be likely to fatigue the gigantic beast. provisions were purchased at kholby, and,while sir francis and mr. fogg took the howdahs on either side, passepartout gotastride the saddle-cloth between them.
the parsee perched himself on theelephant's neck, and at nine o'clock they set out from the village, the animalmarching off through the dense forest of palms by the shortest cut. chapter xiiin which phileas fogg and his companions venture across the indian forests, and whatensued in order to shorten the journey, the guidepassed to the left of the line where the railway was still in process of beingbuilt. this line, owing to the capricious turningsof the vindhia mountains, did not pursue a straight course.
the parsee, who was quite familiar with theroads and paths in the district, declared that they would gain twenty miles bystriking directly through the forest. phileas fogg and sir francis cromarty,plunged to the neck in the peculiar howdahs provided for them, were horribly jostled bythe swift trotting of the elephant, spurred on as he was by the skilful parsee; but they endured the discomfort with truebritish phlegm, talking little, and scarcely able to catch a glimpse of eachother. as for passepartout, who was mounted on thebeast's back, and received the direct force of each concussion as he trod along, he wasvery careful, in accordance with his
master's advice, to keep his tongue from between his teeth, as it would otherwisehave been bitten off short. the worthy fellow bounced from theelephant's neck to his rump, and vaulted like a clown on a spring-board; yet helaughed in the midst of his bouncing, and from time to time took a piece of sugar out of his pocket, and inserted it in kiouni'strunk, who received it without in the least slackening his regular trot. after two hours the guide stopped theelephant, and gave him an hour for rest, during which kiouni, after quenching histhirst at a neighbouring spring, set to
devouring the branches and shrubs roundabout him. neither sir francis nor mr. fogg regrettedthe delay, and both descended with a feeling of relief. "why, he's made of iron!" exclaimed thegeneral, gazing admiringly on kiouni. "of forged iron," replied passepartout, ashe set about preparing a hasty breakfast. at noon the parsee gave the signal ofdeparture. the country soon presented a very savageaspect. copses of dates and dwarf-palms succeededthe dense forests; then vast, dry plains, dotted with scanty shrubs, and sown withgreat blocks of syenite.
all this portion of bundelcund, which islittle frequented by travellers, is inhabited by a fanatical population,hardened in the most horrible practices of the hindoo faith. the english have not been able to securecomplete dominion over this territory, which is subjected to the influence ofrajahs, whom it is almost impossible to reach in their inaccessible mountainfastnesses. the travellers several times saw bands offerocious indians, who, when they perceived the elephant striding across-country, madeangry and threatening motions. the parsee avoided them as much aspossible.
few animals were observed on the route;even the monkeys hurried from their path with contortions and grimaces whichconvulsed passepartout with laughter. in the midst of his gaiety, however, onethought troubled the worthy servant. what would mr. fogg do with the elephantwhen he got to allahabad? would he carry him on with him? impossible!the cost of transporting him would make him ruinously expensive.would he sell him, or set him free? the estimable beast certainly deserved someconsideration. should mr. fogg choose to make him,passepartout, a present of kiouni, he would
be very much embarrassed; and thesethoughts did not cease worrying him for a long time. the principal chain of the vindhias wascrossed by eight in the evening, and another halt was made on the northernslope, in a ruined bungalow. they had gone nearly twenty-five miles thatday, and an equal distance still separated them from the station of allahabad.the night was cold. the parsee lit a fire in the bungalow witha few dry branches, and the warmth was very grateful, provisions purchased at kholbysufficed for supper, and the travellers ate ravenously.
the conversation, beginning with a fewdisconnected phrases, soon gave place to loud and steady snores. the guide watched kiouni, who sleptstanding, bolstering himself against the trunk of a large tree. nothing occurred during the night todisturb the slumberers, although occasional growls front panthers and chatterings ofmonkeys broke the silence; the more formidable beasts made no cries or hostile demonstration against the occupants of thebungalow. sir francis slept heavily, like an honestsoldier overcome with fatigue.
passepartout was wrapped in uneasy dreamsof the bouncing of the day before. as for mr. fogg, he slumbered as peacefullyas if he had been in his serene mansion in saville row. the journey was resumed at six in themorning; the guide hoped to reach allahabad by evening. in that case, mr. fogg would only lose apart of the forty-eight hours saved since the beginning of the tour. kiouni, resuming his rapid gait, soondescended the lower spurs of the vindhias, and towards noon they passed by the villageof kallenger, on the cani, one of the
branches of the ganges. the guide avoided inhabited places,thinking it safer to keep the open country, which lies along the first depressions ofthe basin of the great river. allahabad was now only twelve miles to thenorth-east. they stopped under a clump of bananas, thefruit of which, as healthy as bread and as succulent as cream, was amply partaken ofand appreciated. at two o'clock the guide entered a thickforest which extended several miles; he preferred to travel under cover of thewoods. they had not as yet had any unpleasantencounters, and the journey seemed on the
point of being successfully accomplished,when the elephant, becoming restless, suddenly stopped. it was then four o'clock."what's the matter?" asked sir francis, putting out his head. "i don't know, officer," replied theparsee, listening attentively to a confused murmur which came through the thickbranches. the murmur soon became more distinct; itnow seemed like a distant concert of human voices accompanied by brass instruments.passepartout was all eyes and ears. mr. fogg patiently waited without a word.
the parsee jumped to the ground, fastenedthe elephant to a tree, and plunged into the thicket.he soon returned, saying: "a procession of brahmins is coming thisway. we must prevent their seeing us, ifpossible." the guide unloosed the elephant and led himinto a thicket, at the same time asking the travellers not to stir. he held himself ready to bestride theanimal at a moment's notice, should flight become necessary; but he evidently thoughtthat the procession of the faithful would pass without perceiving them amid the thick
foliage, in which they were whollyconcealed. the discordant tones of the voices andinstruments drew nearer, and now droning songs mingled with the sound of thetambourines and cymbals. the head of the procession soon appearedbeneath the trees, a hundred paces away; and the strange figures who performed thereligious ceremony were easily distinguished through the branches. first came the priests, with mitres ontheir heads, and clothed in long lace robes. they were surrounded by men, women, andchildren, who sang a kind of lugubrious
psalm, interrupted at regular intervals bythe tambourines and cymbals; while behind them was drawn a car with large wheels, the spokes of which represented serpentsentwined with each other. upon the car, which was drawn by fourrichly caparisoned zebus, stood a hideous statue with four arms, the body coloured adull red, with haggard eyes, dishevelled hair, protruding tongue, and lips tintedwith betel. it stood upright upon the figure of aprostrate and headless giant. sir francis, recognising the statue,whispered, "the goddess kali; the goddess of love and death."
"of death, perhaps," muttered backpassepartout, "but of love--that ugly old hag?never!" the parsee made a motion to keep silence. a group of old fakirs were capering andmaking a wild ado round the statue; these were striped with ochre, and covered withcuts whence their blood issued drop by drop--stupid fanatics, who, in the great indian ceremonies, still throw themselvesunder the wheels of juggernaut. some brahmins, clad in all thesumptuousness of oriental apparel, and leading a woman who faltered at every step,followed.
this woman was young, and as fair as aeuropean. her head and neck, shoulders, ears, arms,hands, and toes were loaded down with jewels and gems with bracelets, earrings,and rings; while a tunic bordered with gold, and covered with a light muslin robe,betrayed the outline of her form. the guards who followed the young womanpresented a violent contrast to her, armed as they were with naked sabres hung attheir waists, and long damascened pistols, and bearing a corpse on a palanquin. it was the body of an old man, gorgeouslyarrayed in the habiliments of a rajah, wearing, as in life, a turban embroideredwith pearls, a robe of tissue of silk and
gold, a scarf of cashmere sewed with diamonds, and the magnificent weapons of ahindoo prince. next came the musicians and a rearguard ofcapering fakirs, whose cries sometimes drowned the noise of the instruments; theseclosed the procession. sir francis watched the procession with asad countenance, and, turning to the guide, said, "a suttee."the parsee nodded, and put his finger to his lips. the procession slowly wound under thetrees, and soon its last ranks disappeared in the depths of the wood.
the songs gradually died away; occasionallycries were heard in the distance, until at last all was silence again. phileas fogg had heard what sir francissaid, and, as soon as the procession had disappeared, asked: "what is a suttee?""a suttee," returned the general, "is a human sacrifice, but a voluntary one. the woman you have just seen will be burnedto-morrow at the dawn of day." "oh, the scoundrels!" cried passepartout,who could not repress his indignation. "and the corpse?" asked mr. fogg. "is that of the prince, her husband," saidthe guide; "an independent rajah of
bundelcund." "is it possible," resumed phileas fogg, hisvoice betraying not the least emotion, "that these barbarous customs still existin india, and that the english have been unable to put a stop to them?" "these sacrifices do not occur in thelarger portion of india," replied sir francis; "but we have no power over thesesavage territories, and especially here in bundelcund. the whole district north of the vindhias isthe theatre of incessant murders and pillage.""the poor wretch!" exclaimed passepartout,
"to be burned alive!" "yes," returned sir francis, "burned alive.and, if she were not, you cannot conceive what treatment she would be obliged tosubmit to from her relatives. they would shave off her hair, feed her ona scanty allowance of rice, treat her with contempt; she would be looked upon as anunclean creature, and would die in some corner, like a scurvy dog. the prospect of so frightful an existencedrives these poor creatures to the sacrifice much more than love or religiousfanaticism. sometimes, however, the sacrifice is reallyvoluntary, and it requires the active
interference of the government to preventit. several years ago, when i was living atbombay, a young widow asked permission of the governor to be burned along with herhusband's body; but, as you may imagine, he refused. the woman left the town, took refuge withan independent rajah, and there carried out her self-devoted purpose." while sir francis was speaking, the guideshook his head several times, and now said: "the sacrifice which will take place to-morrow at dawn is not a voluntary one." "how do you know?"
"everybody knows about this affair inbundelcund." "but the wretched creature did not seem tobe making any resistance," observed sir francis. "that was because they had intoxicated herwith fumes of hemp and opium." "but where are they taking her?""to the pagoda of pillaji, two miles from here; she will pass the night there." "and the sacrifice will take place--""to-morrow, at the first light of dawn." the guide now led the elephant out of thethicket, and leaped upon his neck. just at the moment that he was about tourge kiouni forward with a peculiar
whistle, mr. fogg stopped him, and, turningto sir francis cromarty, said, "suppose we save this woman." "save the woman, mr. fogg!""i have yet twelve hours to spare; i can devote them to that.""why, you are a man of heart!" "sometimes," replied phileas fogg, quietly;"when i have the time." chapter xiiiin which passepartout receives a new proof that fortune favors the brave the project was a bold one, full ofdifficulty, perhaps impracticable. mr. fogg was going to risk life, or atleast liberty, and therefore the success of
his tour. but he did not hesitate, and he found insir francis cromarty an enthusiastic ally. as for passepartout, he was ready foranything that might be proposed. his master's idea charmed him; he perceiveda heart, a soul, under that icy exterior. he began to love phileas fogg.there remained the guide: what course would he adopt? would he not take part with the indians?in default of his assistance, it was necessary to be assured of his neutrality.sir francis frankly put the question to "officers," replied the guide, "i am aparsee, and this woman is a parsee.
command me as you will.""excellent!" said mr. fogg. "however," resumed the guide, "it iscertain, not only that we shall risk our lives, but horrible tortures, if we aretaken." "that is foreseen," replied mr. fogg. "i think we must wait till night beforeacting." "i think so," said the guide. the worthy indian then gave some account ofthe victim, who, he said, was a celebrated beauty of the parsee race, and the daughterof a wealthy bombay merchant. she had received a thoroughly englisheducation in that city, and, from her
manners and intelligence, would be thoughtan european. her name was aouda. left an orphan, she was married against herwill to the old rajah of bundelcund; and, knowing the fate that awaited her, sheescaped, was retaken, and devoted by the rajah's relatives, who had an interest in her death, to the sacrifice from which itseemed she could not escape. the parsee's narrative only confirmed mr.fogg and his companions in their generous design. it was decided that the guide should directthe elephant towards the pagoda of pillaji,
which he accordingly approached as quicklyas possible. they halted, half an hour afterwards, in acopse, some five hundred feet from the pagoda, where they were well concealed; butthey could hear the groans and cries of the fakirs distinctly. they then discussed the means of getting atthe victim. the guide was familiar with the pagoda ofpillaji, in which, as he declared, the young woman was imprisoned. could they enter any of its doors while thewhole party of indians was plunged in a drunken sleep, or was it safer to attemptto make a hole in the walls?
this could only be determined at the momentand the place themselves; but it was certain that the abduction must be madethat night, and not when, at break of day, the victim was led to her funeral pyre. then no human intervention could save her.as soon as night fell, about six o'clock, they decided to make a reconnaissancearound the pagoda. the cries of the fakirs were just ceasing;the indians were in the act of plunging themselves into the drunkenness caused byliquid opium mingled with hemp, and it might be possible to slip between them tothe temple itself. the parsee, leading the others, noiselesslycrept through the wood, and in ten minutes
they found themselves on the banks of asmall stream, whence, by the light of the rosin torches, they perceived a pyre of wood, on the top of which lay the embalmedbody of the rajah, which was to be burned with his wife. the pagoda, whose minarets loomed above thetrees in the deepening dusk, stood a hundred steps away."come!" whispered the guide. he slipped more cautiously than everthrough the brush, followed by his companions; the silence around was onlybroken by the low murmuring of the wind among the branches.
soon the parsee stopped on the borders ofthe glade, which was lit up by the torches. the ground was covered by groups of theindians, motionless in their drunken sleep; it seemed a battlefield strewn with thedead. men, women, and children lay together. in the background, among the trees, thepagoda of pillaji loomed distinctly. much to the guide's disappointment, theguards of the rajah, lighted by torches, were watching at the doors and marching toand fro with naked sabres; probably the priests, too, were watching within. the parsee, now convinced that it wasimpossible to force an entrance to the
temple, advanced no farther, but led hiscompanions back again. phileas fogg and sir francis cromarty alsosaw that nothing could be attempted in that direction.they stopped, and engaged in a whispered colloquy. "it is only eight now," said the brigadier,"and these guards may also go to sleep." "it is not impossible," returned theparsee. they lay down at the foot of a tree, andwaited. the time seemed long; the guide ever andanon left them to take an observation on the edge of the wood, but the guardswatched steadily by the glare of the
torches, and a dim light crept through thewindows of the pagoda. they waited till midnight; but no changetook place among the guards, and it became apparent that their yielding to sleep couldnot be counted on. the other plan must be carried out; anopening in the walls of the pagoda must be made. it remained to ascertain whether thepriests were watching by the side of their victim as assiduously as were the soldiersat the door. after a last consultation, the guideannounced that he was ready for the attempt, and advanced, followed by theothers.
they took a roundabout way, so as to get atthe pagoda on the rear. they reached the walls about half-pasttwelve, without having met anyone; here there was no guard, nor were there eitherwindows or doors. the night was dark. the moon, on the wane, scarcely left thehorizon, and was covered with heavy clouds; the height of the trees deepened thedarkness. it was not enough to reach the walls; anopening in them must be accomplished, and to attain this purpose the party only hadtheir pocket-knives. happily the temple walls were built ofbrick and wood, which could be penetrated
with little difficulty; after one brick hadbeen taken out, the rest would yield easily. they set noiselessly to work, and theparsee on one side and passepartout on the other began to loosen the bricks so as tomake an aperture two feet wide. they were getting on rapidly, when suddenlya cry was heard in the interior of the temple, followed almost instantly by othercries replying from the outside. passepartout and the guide stopped. had they been heard?was the alarm being given? common prudence urged them to retire, andthey did so, followed by phileas fogg and
sir francis. they again hid themselves in the wood, andwaited till the disturbance, whatever it might be, ceased, holding themselves readyto resume their attempt without delay. but, awkwardly enough, the guards nowappeared at the rear of the temple, and there installed themselves, in readiness toprevent a surprise. it would be difficult to describe thedisappointment of the party, thus interrupted in their work.they could not now reach the victim; how, then, could they save her? sir francis shook his fists, passepartoutwas beside himself, and the guide gnashed
his teeth with rage.the tranquil fogg waited, without betraying any emotion. "we have nothing to do but to go away,"whispered sir francis. "nothing but to go away," echoed the guide."stop," said fogg. "i am only due at allahabad tomorrow beforenoon." "but what can you hope to do?" asked sirfrancis. "in a few hours it will be daylight, and--" "the chance which now seems lost maypresent itself at the last moment." sir francis would have liked to readphileas fogg's eyes.
what was this cool englishman thinking of? was he planning to make a rush for theyoung woman at the very moment of the sacrifice, and boldly snatch her from herexecutioners? this would be utter folly, and it was hardto admit that fogg was such a fool. sir francis consented, however, to remainto the end of this terrible drama. the guide led them to the rear of theglade, where they were able to observe the sleeping groups. meanwhile passepartout, who had perchedhimself on the lower branches of a tree, was resolving an idea which had at firststruck him like a flash, and which was now
firmly lodged in his brain. he had commenced by saying to himself,"what folly!" and then he repeated, "why not, after all?it's a chance perhaps the only one; and with such sots!" thinking thus, he slipped, with thesuppleness of a serpent, to the lowest branches, the ends of which bent almost tothe ground. the hours passed, and the lighter shadesnow announced the approach of day, though it was not yet light.this was the moment. the slumbering multitude became animated,the tambourines sounded, songs and cries
arose; the hour of the sacrifice had come. the doors of the pagoda swung open, and abright light escaped from its interior, in the midst of which mr. fogg and sir francisespied the victim. she seemed, having shaken off the stupor ofintoxication, to be striving to escape from her executioner. sir francis's heart throbbed; and,convulsively seizing mr. fogg's hand, found in it an open knife.just at this moment the crowd began to move. the young woman had again fallen into astupor caused by the fumes of hemp, and
passed among the fakirs, who escorted herwith their wild, religious cries. phileas fogg and his companions, minglingin the rear ranks of the crowd, followed; and in two minutes they reached the banksof the stream, and stopped fifty paces from the pyre, upon which still lay the rajah'scorpse. in the semi-obscurity they saw the victim,quite senseless, stretched out beside her husband's body. then a torch was brought, and the wood,heavily soaked with oil, instantly took fire. at this moment sir francis and the guideseized phileas fogg, who, in an instant of
mad generosity, was about to rush upon thepyre. but he had quickly pushed them aside, whenthe whole scene suddenly changed. a cry of terror arose.the whole multitude prostrated themselves, terror-stricken, on the ground. the old rajah was not dead, then, since herose of a sudden, like a spectre, took up his wife in his arms, and descended fromthe pyre in the midst of the clouds of smoke, which only heightened his ghostlyappearance. fakirs and soldiers and priests, seizedwith instant terror, lay there, with their faces on the ground, not daring to lifttheir eyes and behold such a prodigy.
the inanimate victim was borne along by thevigorous arms which supported her, and which she did not seem in the least toburden. mr. fogg and sir francis stood erect, theparsee bowed his head, and passepartout was, no doubt, scarcely less stupefied. the resuscitated rajah approached sirfrancis and mr. fogg, and, in an abrupt tone, said, "let us be off!" it was passepartout himself, who hadslipped upon the pyre in the midst of the smoke and, profiting by the stilloverhanging darkness, had delivered the young woman from death!
it was passepartout who, playing his partwith a happy audacity, had passed through the crowd amid the general terror. a moment after all four of the party haddisappeared in the woods, and the elephant was bearing them away at a rapid pace. but the cries and noise, and a ball whichwhizzed through phileas fogg's hat, apprised them that the trick had beendiscovered. the old rajah's body, indeed, now appearedupon the burning pyre; and the priests, recovered from their terror, perceived thatan abduction had taken place. they hastened into the forest, followed bythe soldiers, who fired a volley after the
fugitives; but the latter rapidly increasedthe distance between them, and ere long found themselves beyond the reach of thebullets and arrows. chapter xivin which phileas fogg descends the whole length of the beautiful valley of theganges without ever thinking of seeing it the rash exploit had been accomplished; andfor an hour passepartout laughed gaily at his success. sir francis pressed the worthy fellow'shand, and his master said, "well done!" which, from him, was high commendation; towhich passepartout replied that all the credit of the affair belonged to mr. fogg.
as for him, he had only been struck with a"queer" idea; and he laughed to think that for a few moments he, passepartout, the ex-gymnast, ex-sergeant fireman, had been the spouse of a charming woman, a venerable,embalmed rajah! as for the young indian woman, she had beenunconscious throughout of what was passing, and now, wrapped up in a travelling-blanket, was reposing in one of the the elephant, thanks to the skilfulguidance of the parsee, was advancing rapidly through the still darksome forest,and, an hour after leaving the pagoda, had crossed a vast plain. they made a halt at seven o'clock, theyoung woman being still in a state of
complete prostration. the guide made her drink a little brandyand water, but the drowsiness which stupefied her could not yet be shaken off. sir francis, who was familiar with theeffects of the intoxication produced by the fumes of hemp, reassured his companions onher account. but he was more disturbed at the prospectof her future fate. he told phileas fogg that, should aoudaremain in india, she would inevitably fall again into the hands of her executioners. these fanatics were scattered throughoutthe county, and would, despite the english
police, recover their victim at madras,bombay, or calcutta. she would only be safe by quitting indiafor ever. phileas fogg replied that he would reflectupon the matter. the station at allahabad was reached aboutten o'clock, and, the interrupted line of railway being resumed, would enable them toreach calcutta in less than twenty-four hours. phileas fogg would thus be able to arrivein time to take the steamer which left calcutta the next day, october 25th, atnoon, for hong kong. the young woman was placed in one of thewaiting-rooms of the station, whilst
passepartout was charged with purchasingfor her various articles of toilet, a dress, shawl, and some furs; for which hismaster gave him unlimited credit. passepartout started off forthwith, andfound himself in the streets of allahabad, that is, the city of god, one of the mostvenerated in india, being built at the junction of the two sacred rivers, ganges and jumna, the waters of which attractpilgrims from every part of the peninsula. the ganges, according to the legends of theramayana, rises in heaven, whence, owing to brahma's agency, it descends to the earth. passepartout made it a point, as he madehis purchases, to take a good look at the
city. it was formerly defended by a noble fort,which has since become a state prison; its commerce has dwindled away, andpassepartout in vain looked about him for such a bazaar as he used to frequent inregent street. at last he came upon an elderly, crustyjew, who sold second-hand articles, and from whom he purchased a dress of scotchstuff, a large mantle, and a fine otter- skin pelisse, for which he did not hesitateto pay seventy-five pounds. he then returned triumphantly to thestation. the influence to which the priests ofpillaji had subjected aouda began gradually
to yield, and she became more herself, sothat her fine eyes resumed all their soft indian expression. when the poet-king, ucaf uddaul, celebratesthe charms of the queen of ahmehnagara, he speaks thus: "her shining tresses, divided in two parts,encircle the harmonious contour of her white and delicate cheeks, brilliant intheir glow and freshness. her ebony brows have the form and charm ofthe bow of kama, the god of love, and beneath her long silken lashes the purestreflections and a celestial light swim, as in the sacred lakes of himalaya, in theblack pupils of her great clear eyes.
her teeth, fine, equal, and white, glitterbetween her smiling lips like dewdrops in a passion-flower's half-enveloped breast. her delicately formed ears, her vermilionhands, her little feet, curved and tender as the lotus-bud, glitter with thebrilliancy of the loveliest pearls of ceylon, the most dazzling diamonds ofgolconda. her narrow and supple waist, which a handmay clasp around, sets forth the outline of her rounded figure and the beauty of herbosom, where youth in its flower displays the wealth of its treasures; and beneath the silken folds of her tunic she seems tohave been modelled in pure silver by the
godlike hand of vicvarcarma, the immortalsculptor." it is enough to say, without applying thispoetical rhapsody to aouda, that she was a charming woman, in all the europeanacceptation of the phrase. she spoke english with great purity, andthe guide had not exaggerated in saying that the young parsee had been transformedby her bringing up. the train was about to start fromallahabad, and mr. fogg proceeded to pay the guide the price agreed upon for hisservice, and not a farthing more; which astonished passepartout, who remembered all that his master owed to the guide'sdevotion.
he had, indeed, risked his life in theadventure at pillaji, and, if he should be caught afterwards by the indians, he wouldwith difficulty escape their vengeance. kiouni, also, must be disposed of. what should be done with the elephant,which had been so dearly purchased? phileas fogg had already determined thisquestion. "parsee," said he to the guide, "you havebeen serviceable and devoted. i have paid for your service, but not foryour devotion. would you like to have this elephant? he is yours."the guide's eyes glistened.
"your honour is giving me a fortune!" criedhe. "take him, guide," returned mr. fogg, "andi shall still be your debtor." "good!" exclaimed passepartout."take him, friend. kiouni is a brave and faithful beast." and, going up to the elephant, he gave himseveral lumps of sugar, saying, "here, kiouni, here, here." the elephant grunted out his satisfaction,and, clasping passepartout around the waist with his trunk, lifted him as high as hishead. passepartout, not in the least alarmed,caressed the animal, which replaced him
gently on the ground. soon after, phileas fogg, sir franciscromarty, and passepartout, installed in a carriage with aouda, who had the best seat,were whirling at full speed towards benares. it was a run of eighty miles, and wasaccomplished in two hours. during the journey, the young woman fullyrecovered her senses. what was her astonishment to find herselfin this carriage, on the railway, dressed in european habiliments, and withtravellers who were quite strangers to her! her companions first set about fullyreviving her with a little liquor, and then
sir francis narrated to her what hadpassed, dwelling upon the courage with which phileas fogg had not hesitated to risk his life to save her, and recountingthe happy sequel of the venture, the result of passepartout's rash idea. mr. fogg said nothing; while passepartout,abashed, kept repeating that "it wasn't worth telling." aouda pathetically thanked her deliverers,rather with tears than words; her fine eyes interpreted her gratitude better than herlips. then, as her thoughts strayed back to thescene of the sacrifice, and recalled the
dangers which still menaced her, sheshuddered with terror. phileas fogg understood what was passing inaouda's mind, and offered, in order to reassure her, to escort her to hong kong,where she might remain safely until the affair was hushed up--an offer which sheeagerly and gratefully accepted. she had, it seems, a parsee relation, whowas one of the principal merchants of hong kong, which is wholly an english city,though on an island on the chinese coast. at half-past twelve the train stopped atbenares. the brahmin legends assert that this cityis built on the site of the ancient casi, which, like mahomet's tomb, was oncesuspended between heaven and earth; though
the benares of to-day, which the orientalists call the athens of india,stands quite unpoetically on the solid earth, passepartout caught glimpses of itsbrick houses and clay huts, giving an aspect of desolation to the place, as thetrain entered it. benares was sir francis cromarty'sdestination, the troops he was rejoining being encamped some miles northward of thecity. he bade adieu to phileas fogg, wishing himall success, and expressing the hope that he would come that way again in a lessoriginal but more profitable fashion. mr. fogg lightly pressed him by the hand.
the parting of aouda, who did not forgetwhat she owed to sir francis, betrayed more warmth; and, as for passepartout, hereceived a hearty shake of the hand from the gallant general. the railway, on leaving benares, passed fora while along the valley of the ganges. through the windows of their carriage thetravellers had glimpses of the diversified landscape of behar, with its mountainsclothed in verdure, its fields of barley, wheat, and corn, its jungles peopled with green alligators, its neat villages, andits still thickly-leaved forests. elephants were bathing in the waters of thesacred river, and groups of indians,
despite the advanced season and chilly air,were performing solemnly their pious ablutions. these were fervent brahmins, the bitterestfoes of buddhism, their deities being vishnu, the solar god, shiva, the divineimpersonation of natural forces, and brahma, the supreme ruler of priests andlegislators. what would these divinities think of india,anglicised as it is to-day, with steamers whistling and scudding along the ganges,frightening the gulls which float upon its surface, the turtles swarming along its banks, and the faithful dwelling upon itsborders?
the panorama passed before their eyes likea flash, save when the steam concealed it fitfully from the view; the travellerscould scarcely discern the fort of chupenie, twenty miles south-westward from benares, the ancient stronghold of therajahs of behar; or ghazipur and its famous rose-water factories; or the tomb of lordcornwallis, rising on the left bank of the ganges; the fortified town of buxar, or patna, a large manufacturing and trading-place, where is held the principal opium market of india; or monghir, a more thaneuropean town, for it is as english as manchester or birmingham, with its iron
foundries, edgetool factories, and highchimneys puffing clouds of black smoke heavenward. night came on; the train passed on at fullspeed, in the midst of the roaring of the tigers, bears, and wolves which fled beforethe locomotive; and the marvels of bengal, golconda ruined gour, murshedabad, the ancient capital, burdwan, hugly, and thefrench town of chandernagor, where passepartout would have been proud to seehis country's flag flying, were hidden from their view in the darkness. calcutta was reached at seven in themorning, and the packet left for hong kong
at noon; so that phileas fogg had fivehours before him. according to his journal, he was due atcalcutta on the 25th of october, and that was the exact date of his actual arrival.he was therefore neither behind-hand nor ahead of time. the two days gained between london andbombay had been lost, as has been seen, in the journey across india.but it is not to be supposed that phileas fogg regretted them.
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