your
stock of patience."

"The city must be 'done' by walking, must it?" asked the commander.

"Whew!" whistled Dr. Hawkes; and the sibilation was repeated by Uncle
Moses, for each of them weighed over two hundred and a quarter.

"If the ship were here I would lend you the barge with eight rowers, to
enable you to see the sights from the river," suggested Captain Ringgold.

"A steam-launch shall be provided for all the company, and our obese
friends shall be provided with stuffed chairs, for the survey of the river
scenes; but carriages can be used in some parts of the city, though what
you will desire to see can best be observed from the river; and we can land
when you wish to see interiors," added Lord Tremlyn.

This interruption was heartily applauded by the Cupids, as the fat
gentlemen had been called in Cairo, assisted by all the others.

"The famous Monkey Temple is just out of the city, and that can be reached
by carriages," continued Sir Modava. "There are fourteen hundred and fifty
Hindu temples, pagodas, and shrines, and two hundred and seventy-two
Mohammedan mosques, so that our good friend, General Noury, need not
neglect his devotions."

"The good Mussulman never does that, whether there be a mosque at hand or
not, for he says his prayers at the proper time, wherever he may be,"
replied the general.

"I know that some of your people are better Christians than some who bear
the name," replied the Hindu gentleman politely. "Benares is so holy, and
the Ganges is so holy, that hundreds of thousands visit it as the
Mussulmans visit Mecca. Men of wealth, and those who have the means without
being rich, come to this city when they feel that they have been seized
with a malady likely to prove fatal; for to die here with the Hindu is a
passport to eternal happiness. But I am talking too long, though there is
much more that might be said; but perhaps it could be better said on board
of that launch my friend mentions, and in sight of the temples, towers, and
other objects of interest."

In the middle of the afternoon the train arrived at its destination; and
the party proceeded in carriages to the western suburb, the location of the
cantonment, or English quarter of the city.

CHAPTER XXXIII

A STEAMER TRIP UP AND DOWN THE GANGES

Clarke's Hotel, at Secrole, received the tourists, and everything was in
readiness for them when they arrived. Lo