Well, it will be a new life, a new revelation for you. You think this hot; why, it is only 140. I sit for hours in this at 180 degrees, read, write, and sip sherbet I undertake to say that any invalid, no matter what his ailment or his age, put in here for a couple of hours at 180 degrees, he would leave all his maladies in the bath, and come out fresh as a youth. Now you will try it?" 66 No, I thank you." "To please me?” I of the room, and a procession such as was seldom s en in the West, appeared. It was headed by Mr and Mrs Urquhart, in turbans and large white sheets, fringed with gold embroidery, thrown over them. They were followed by three or four young men in similar costumes, only not quite s magnifient. These, I learnt subsequently, were the private secretaries; then followed a large retinue of servants, some still in a very moist conditi n. No word was spoken. Urquhart saluted me in Eastern fashion, said in a solemn voice, Breakfast will be ready in an hour." and the pageant passed on. This delay brought it to half-past 11. I had plenty of time to admire the beauiful furniture of the rooms, mostly of Eastern production, When my host and hostess returned they were in ordinary dress. At length, to my great relief, breakfast was announced, and I found myself recalling my young life in Syria. Except that we were given knives and forks, we might have been eat ing in an Eastern bazaar. After breakfast the bath mystery was cleared up, for through the folding doors I was shown into a beautifully furnished boudoir. This led at once into a room lined with white marble, inlaid with gold work Here were seats with embroidered cushious, there were tables covered with goblets such as Benvenuto of Mr Urquhart were bound to Cellini would not have despised. go through this process of puriI may say that this description fiction. Seeing that I had no was the result of subs queni ob faith in his virtues of the bath, servation; for when first the heavy we passed from the bath to the crimson velvet portieres, which garen. separate it from the boudoir, were drawn aside, I was complete ly overe me by a rush of hot air. "I forgot," said Urquhart, who observed my astonishinen', "yu are not accustomed to a Turkish bath." "I never have even heard of it." "Not even to please you. am glad to have seen it, for it recalls my early Eastern travel, and certainly seems the perfection of luxury." Then we passed on to what my guide called the cooling room. This really was delightful -a gentle warm h of temperature, divans placed all around it, »mbermouthed pipes inviting the bather to soothe his nerves. In a these rooms there was a subdued light, such light as hat c_nceals the grace which it reveals. It was admirable in the combination of richness and good taste. I could well picture the Sybarite existence of the man of deep and earnest thought dreaming his dreams in such an epicurean calm; for silence was written up in large letters. So here the recluse or student might indulge the dolce far niente; and it was evident that all who came within the influence Here was seen another proof of his wonderful energy and thought. From far and wide visitors who knew nothing of Mr Urquhart and his eccentricities, or, as his disciples called them, his mysterious qu lilies, came To see his strawber.ies; they were excep tional in size and flavour. This result was achieved by digging trenches six feet deep, filling in four feet of any refuse, even deal leaves, decayed branch-s, then covering this with two feet of soil, and between the rows of plants placing sla's so as to preserve the heat engendered by the decayed substance. The effect was remarkable, although it must be said that others have tried a similar process in other parts, and the result has not been equally satisfactory; but his attention to gardening proved the remarkable versatility of mind of my entertainer, and walks, shrubberies, and flower-beds were all kept in perfection of or ler. Here we strolled, and Urquhart gave me most interesting information on the Eastern question, which was shortly to be discussed in the House of ComHis knowledge of treaties, of all matters connected with the influence of Russia in the East, was very great, and his remarks were interspersed with amusing anecdotes. I listened with rapt attention, as if I were a disciple of h's school. Now and then I ventured a remark; but before my sentence was concluded, he would stop me with "I know what you are about to say, but first let me tell you par parenthese, so and so." In vain did I try to edge in an observation on went my host in one roll of interesting matter, clothed in eloquent language. At la-t my attention was exhausted, and I suggested an adjournment. mons. "We have had a delightful talk," said Urquhart, "and really it is refreshing to find any one so well informed on these questions. I agree with most of your views." As I had not had the opportunity of expressing any opinions. Mr Urquhart's imagination must have been very vivid. The dinuer was in the same oriental style as the breakfast. While we were at table a secretary announced the arrival of a deputation from one of the Foreign Affairs Committees. 66 How long have they been here?" "Two hours." "Have you shown them all over the grounds?" We have shown them everything, sir." "Well I shall not be ready to receive them for nearly two hours more. Is the bath well heated?” "160 degrees, sir." "Put them into the bath!" And so, to their astonishment, these political pilgrims, who had never heard of a Turkish bath, found themselves suddenly plunged into an atmosphere of torrid intensity; nor less must they have been surprised at the evidence of Sybarite luxury in the life of the preacher of the new dispensation. When Mr Urquhart was ready for the interview, we assembled in the large hall; the deputation was courteously wel con.ed by Eastern observancesfor one of Urquhart's creeds was that hand-shaking was one of the results of a degraded civilisation. After the question was asked on what particular subject they required information, Mr. Urquhart led forth with a knowledge and volubility which was in ro degree diminished by his morning's exertions. Treaty after treaty was quoted with an amount of detail perfectly astounding, denunciations against Palmerston rolled forth in unlimited flow. "What,' he asked, "must be the errors and weaknesses of a nation when a traitor like Lord Palmerston is enthroned in the highest place, and governs this great people?" Unfortunately for the perfect harmony of the interview, one of the deputation ventured to remark, "There is one point you have mentioned, Mr Urquhart, on which I presume to differ from you." "What!" shrieked out Urquhart, amid responsive groans of indignation on the part of the establishment—"What! do I hear you differ from me? Why, sir, you come to learn here, to have your contemptible ignorance enlightened, to sit at my feet and listen; and you differ from me! Are you mad?" and so saying he rushed at the trembling culprit, seized him by the collar, shook him, while the three friends tried to assist him, and adjured Urquhart to forgive the outrage. "He never meant this, Mr Urquhart; he only asked for a little more information." At last the great man was appeased, and quiet restored, The lecture continued to a late hour. When I was shown to my bedroom I found a bedstead and blankets, but no sheets and pillows. "Is this my bed?" I asked. "Of course," was the reply; "what is the matter with it? for my surprise was apparent. Why, there are no sheets or pillows "Sheets and pillows! Well, my dear fellow, I am disappointed in you. I was just congratulating mys If, after all you said this morning, on having at last found in the younger generation a man who was superior to the contemptible ideas of what is called civilisation. Sheets and pillows! Why, sir,”—and here his voice rose to the oratorical pitch-"do you imagine our forefathers in the days of England's greatness, before men like Palmerston were permitted to drag on a guilty existence,-do you suppose they cared for sheets and pillows? It is this miserable contemptible luxury that is the ruin of England. Sheets and pillows! Well, I did not expect this of you. Our bed is on the floor with blankets; our children's the floor without blankets. . . . However, as my guest, you shall have sheets." And then there was a great disturbance in the household. At last sheets were brought, but they must have been taken direct from the water-tub, for they were so wet that Mr Urquhart had his own way, and I had to roll the blankets round me and wait for day. P. What connection was there between civilisation, Turkish baths, and Palmerston's supposed Russian intrigues? A. Urquhart's theory was, that a nation must be in the last state of decline to admit of the existence, much less of the rule, of such a "criminal" as he styled Lord Palmerston,-rather a farfetched conclusion, even if his premises were correct. But Urquhart did not care for logic, he demanded faith, what, as I have said, the 'Spectator' styled the "faith as it is in Urquhart," one article of which was that only those have enlightened minds who have clean bodies-hence the introduction of the Turkish baths. found devoted adherents amongst the ablest men. Monteith of Carstairs, one of those who at Cambridge were styled the Twelve Apostles (amongst whom were Tennyson, Hallam, all men of distingui-hed ability), entirely believed in him as the Saviour of Society. He P. Was the Monteith you speak of the son of Monteith of Carstairs, who received Sir Robert Peel in 1835 in Glasgow? A. Yes; it was on the occasion of Sir Robert's election as Lord Rector of the University. I can remember the sensation Sir Robert created when he visited Glasgow. A grand banquet was given him, the Urquhart influence, and was one of the most considerable of his disciples. Urquhart never moved without a tribe of secretaries and clerks. His correspondence was enormous. I have always been surprised that some portion of it has not been published; it would throw light on a great many diplomatic negotiations. P. I can well imagine his papers to be of great interest. And now you must let me say that you have told me a great deal which interests me. If you will allow me to publish what I recollect of your reminiscences, they will prove far more acceptable to the public than any historic essay. And why should you not continue these recollections of the past in a future number of 'Maga,' if we find that my readers sympathise with my view? A. Willingly. I will find the memories of the past if you find the readers. B VOL. CXLVII.-NO. DCCCXCI. A GLIMPSE OF LAKE NYASSA. THE latest extension of British enterprise in Africa, and its acknowledgment by the Imperial Government by the grant of a charter to the British South African Company, has once more directed public attention to the regions of the Zambesi, and awakened an interest in that country and its inhabitants. At present the energies of the promoters are mainly engrossed in dealing with the territories more specifically named in their charter lying to the south of the Zambesi; and the proposed amalgamation of the African Lakes Company, Limited, on the river Shire and on Lake Nyassa, with the new chartered company, has not as yet been definitely completed. This northern country of Nyassaland has for many years been the sphere of missionary effort by three or four different missions, each holding several stations, in addition to which there are several small trading depots of the Lakes Company, who have done something towards developing the trade of the country by placing steamers both on the lake and the rivers. It has, moreover, recently been the scene of an effort-still continued, though little supported-to check the aggression of the slave-traders who infest this country, from which, indeed, the main bulk of slaves for the plantations of Pemba and the coast, and for export, are drawn. Those who are anxious to see the long neglect of years atoned for in such fashion as shall benefit Africa, and who have interests in its development above and apart from the price of shares in each new company, whose talisman and watchword is Gold,-to these, this country north of the Zambesi, whose fate still hangs in the balance, will offer more points of interest than any other in Africa. I conclude that all who have an interest in their fellow-countrymen who have for years, and with the most splendid results, been endeavouring to do good to this country, have already read what has recently been written on the general aspects of the subject. Let me now attempt to describe to you more particularly what sort of a place Lake Nyassa is, and what sort of people live there. We will travel there together in imagination for a brief half-hour. Hurriedly we pass over the four or five days' boat journey up the Kwakwa river, from our starting-point on the coast at Quillimane, for this is not "a time to memory dear." The Yet it has its fascinations. trees on either bank drooping into the silent river, great-limbed acacias with their feathery foliage and sweet-scented yellow blossoms, and large fig-trees festooned with giant creepers; the glorious, though perhaps for you too powerful, sunshine; the cherry and incessant boatmen's song as they dip their paddles simultaneously to the cadence; the lovely-tinted reed-warblers and gay butterflies; and soaring above all the great fish-eagle with his weird cry, more weird and striking even than the lion's roar,all these are new to us and charm us. But as evening falls, the curse of the Kwakwa, the myriads on myriads of mosquitoes, come forth - a misty army athirst for blood and we are only too glad to light a fire of green wood and sit in the bliuding smoke, though it |