The passengers on our steamer were mostly English, with a few East Indians, and Americans.  You cannot board a steamer in any part of the world nowadays without finding some of your fellow countrymen.  They are becoming the greatest travelers of any nation and are penetrating to uttermost parts of the earth.  Many of the English passengers were army officers returning to India from furloughs or going out for service, and officers’ families who had been spending the hot months in England.  We had lots of lords and sirs and lady dowagers, generals, colonels and officers of lesser rank, and the usual number of brides and bridegrooms, on their wedding tours; others were officials of the government in India, who had been home to be married.  And we had several young women who were going out to be married.  Their lovers were not able to leave their business to make the long voyage, and were waiting for them in Bombay, Calcutta or in some of the other cities.  But perhaps the largest contingent were “civil servants,” as employes of the government are called, who had been home on leave.  The climate of India is very trying to white people, and, recognizing that fact, the government gives its officials six months’ leave with full pay or twelve months’ leave with half pay every five years.  In that way an official who has served five consecutive years in India can spend the sixth year in England or anywhere else he likes.

We had several notable natives, including Judge Nayar, a judicial magistrate at Madras who has gained eminence at the Indian bar and was received with honors in England.  He is a Parsee, a member of that remarkable race which is descended from the Persian fire worshipers.  He dresses and talks and acts exactly like an ordinary English barrister.  There were three brothers in the attractive native dress, Mohammedans, sons of Adamjee Peerbhoy, one of the largest cotton manufacturers and wealthiest men in India, who employs more than 15,000 operatives in his mills and furnished the canvas for the tents and the khaki for the uniforms of the British soldiers during the South African war.  These young gentlemen had been making a tour of Europe, combining business with pleasure, and had inspected nearly all the great cotton mills in England and on the continent, picking up points for their own improvement.  They are intelligent and enterprising men and their reputation for integrity, ability and loyalty to the British government has frequently been recognized in a conspicuous manner.

Our most notable shipmate was the Right Honorable Lord Lamington, recently governor of one of the Australian provinces, on his way to assume similar responsibility at Bombay, which is considered a more responsible post.  He is a youngish looking, handsome man, and might easily be mistaken for Governor Myron T. Herrick of Ohio.  One night at dinner his lordship was toasted by an Indian prince we had on board, and made a pleasant reply, although it was plain to see that he was not an orator.  Captain Preston, the commander of the ship, who was afterward called upon, made a much more brilliant speech.