will be Thursday or Friday before we
reach Suez; but it may possibly change to-night, and it looks now as
if it were breaking.

[Illustration: Beating up the Red Sea.]

_Wednesday, April 25th_.--At last the gale _has_ broken. There was not
much wind when I went on deck at 4 a.m., and by seven o'clock it was
so nearly calm, that the funnel could be raised and fires lighted, and
we were soon steaming straight for our destination. We could not see
Mount Sinai on account of the mist, but made out the place where the
Israelites are said to have crossed the Red Sea, and by four o'clock
the town of Suez lay right ahead. The shores are very barren, not a
blade of grass nor a scrap of vegetation being visible. Nothing is to
be seen save mountain peaks, rocks, stones, and sand. But even this
barren scene has a special beauty of its own, particularly at sunrise
and sunset. The shapes of mountain and rock are alike striking, the
sharp shadows are lovely, and the contrast of reds, yellows, and
browns, with the bright blue sea and crisp white waves, is very
beautiful. Even when the sun has set, and the rich tints have faded
away, the full moon adds another charm to the landscape.

This afternoon, as we were steaming up towards Suez, I had a chat with
Mahomet, one of our Indian firemen, who was fringing a piece of muslin
for a turban. I asked him if it was English. 'No, Missy; no
English--Switzerland; English no good; all gum and sticky stuff; make
fingers dirty; all wash out; leave nothing.' In the South Sea and
Sandwich Islands, and in the Malay Peninsula, the natives make the
same complaints as to the Manchester cottons. At Hongkong some of the
large shops had fifty expensive English ships' compasses on hand; they
were all quite unsaleable owing to the liquid having gone bad, in
consequence of its not having been properly prepared. Some American
compasses of the same quality were in good order and not in the least
affected by the climate. It will be a bad day when the confidence in
England's honesty as a nation throughout the world, and consequently
her well-earned supremacy in commerce, have passed away. The burden,
unfortunately, will not fall on the heads of the offenders alone, but,
as usual, the innocent will suffer with and for the guilty.

After four o'clock we came near two steamers lying at anchor, and were
shortly afterwards boarded by the captain of the port, the health
officer, and sundry other functionaries. After