e summit of the rock were mounted cannons of the largest
calibre, which, if required, could hurl projectiles to the far side of
the strait, a distance of twelve miles.

On one of the highest points of the rock stands the Signal Tower. To
this tower the officers of the Moltke had signaled the news of our
arrival when the steamer entered the harbor, and before we had stirred
from our berths, that information had been flashed over the cable to
London and New York. On the following morning our friends at home read
in the shipping news of their daily paper, the following item:

"Arrived out; Feb. 15, Gibraltar, Moltke, from New York."

As we started ashore on the lighters at the early hour appointed, we
realized that we should have to take in a great deal in a very little
while. We entered the city of Gibraltar by a tunnel-like entrance
through walls of great thickness. The gateway was closely guarded by
sentinels, who demanded the passes with which we had been furnished and
who told us that these would be good only until sunset, for at the
firing of the evening gun each day the gates are closed and the passes
then are useless.

[Illustration: WE DESCENDED A LONG LADDER OF FIFTY STEPS.]

The markets near the gates, where many kinds of fruits, vegetables, and
fish, unlike those seen in our home markets, were offered for sale,
first attracted our attention. Here customers carrying oddly shaped
baskets were bargaining with Moorish fishermen, Jewish peddlers, and
Spanish marketmen. Each dealer, with gesticulations and loud voice,
appeared to be asserting the superiority of his own wares. There was a
confusion of tongues. Only the pigs tied to stakes squealed, and the
chickens in wicker crates crowed, in strains familiar to our ears. The
streets through which we proceeded were clean but narrow. The sidewalks
were only wide enough for two people to walk side by side. The buildings
were constructed of gray limestone similar to that of which the great
Rock is composed.

The presence of an army in this stronghold was indicated by the large
number of soldiers we met. An officer whom we questioned kindly told us
that the garrison consisted of about six thousand men, and that
provisions sufficient to feed that number for five years in case of
siege were at all times kept in storage. He advised us to visit the
"Lower Galleries" of the fortifications on the heights and obtain the
view from that point, and then to attend the afternoo