-26-


     "My mackintosh and cloak?" 

     "Here they are." 

     "Good! Take this carpet-bag," handing it to Passepartout. "Take good care of it, for there are twenty thousand pounds in it." 

     Passepartout nearly dropped the bag, as if the twenty thousand pounds were in gold, and weighed him down. 

     Master and man then descended, the street-door was double-locked, and at the end of Saville Row they took a cab and drove rapidly to Charing Cross. The cab stopped before the railway station at twenty minutes past eight. Passepartout jumped off the box and followed his master, who, after paying the cabman, was about to enter the station, when a poor beggar-woman, with a child in her arms, her naked feet smeared with mud, her head covered with a wretched bonnet, from which hung a tattered feather, and her shoulders shrouded in a ragged shawl, approached, and mournfully asked for alms. 

     Mr. Fogg took out the twenty guineas he had just won at whist, and handed them to the beggar, saying, "Here, my good woman. I'm glad that I met you"; and passed on. 

     Passepartout had a moist sensation about the eyes; his master's action touched his susceptible heart. 

     Two first-class tickets for Paris having been speedily 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-27-

purchased, Mr. Fogg was crossing the station to the train, when he perceived his five friends of the Reform. 

     "Well, gentlemen," said he, "I'm off, you see; and, if you will examine my passport when I get back, you will be able to judge whether I have accomplished the journey agreed upon." 

     "Oh, that would be quite unnecessary, Mr. Fogg," said Ralph politely. "We will trust your word, as a gentleman of honour." 

     "You do not forget when you are due in London again?" asked Stuart. 

     "In eighty days; on Saturday, the 21st of December, 1872, at a quarter before nine p.m. Good-bye, gentlemen." 

     Phileas Fogg and his servant seated themselves in a first-class carriage at twenty minutes before nine; five minutes later the whistle screamed, and the train slowly glided out of the station. 

     The night was dark, and a fine, steady rain was falling. Phileas Fogg, snugly ensconced in his corner, did not open his lips. Passepartout, not yet recovered from his stupefaction, clung mechanically to the carpet-bag, with its enormous treasure. 

     Just as the train was whirling through Sydenham, Passepartout suddenly uttered a cry of despair. 

     "What's the matter?" asked Mr. Fogg.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-28-


     "Alas! In my hurry -- I -- I forgot -- " 

     "What?" 

     "To turn off the gas in my room!" 

     "Very well, young man," returned Mr. Fogg, coolly; "it will burn -- at your expense." 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-29-


IN WHICH A NEW SPECIES OF FUNDS, UNKNOWN TO THE MONEYED MEN, APPEARS ON 'CHANGE
     Phileas Fogg rightly suspected that his departure from London would create a lively sensation at the West End. The news of the bet spread through the Reform Club, and afforded an exciting topic of conversation to its members. From the club it soon got into the papers throughout England. The boasted "tour of the world" was talked about, disputed, argued with as much warmth as if the subject were another Alabama claim. Some took sides with Phileas Fogg, but the large majority shook their heads and declared against him; it was absurd, impossible, they declared, that the tour of the world could be made, except theoretically and on paper, in this minimum of time, and with the existing means of travelling. The Times, Standard, Morning Post, and Daily News, and twenty other highly respectable newspapers scouted 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-30-

Mr. Fogg's project as madness; the Daily Telegraph alone hesitatingly supported him. People in general thought him a lunatic, and blamed his Reform Club friends for having accepted a wager which betrayed the mental aberration of its proposer. 

     Articles no less passionate than logical appeared on the question, for geography is one of the pet subjects of the English; and the columns devoted to Phileas Fogg's venture were eagerly devoured by all classes of readers. At first some rash individuals, principally of the gentler sex, espoused his cause, which became still more popular when the Illustrated London News came out with his portrait, copied from a photograph in the Reform Club. A few readers of the Daily Telegraph even dared to say, "Why not, after all? Stranger things have come to pass." 

     At last a long article appeared, on the 7th of October, in the bulletin of the Royal Geographical Society, which treated the question from every point of view, and demonstrated the utter folly of the enterprise. 

     Everything, it said, was against the travellers, every obstacle imposed alike by man and by nature. A miraculous agreement of the times of departure and arrival, which was impossible, was absolutely necessary to his success. He might, perhaps, reckon on the arrival of trains at the designated hours, in Europe, where the distances 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-31-

were relatively moderate; but when he calculated upon crossing India in three days, and the United States in seven, could he rely beyond misgiving upon accomplishing his task? There were accidents to machinery, the liability of trains to run off the line, collisions, bad weather, the blocking up by snow -- were not all these against Phileas Fogg? Would he not find himself, when travelling by steamer in winter, at the mercy of the winds and fogs? Is it uncommon for the best ocean steamers to be two or three days behind time? But a single delay would suffice to fatally break the chain of communication; should Phileas Fogg once miss, even by an hour; a steamer, he would have to wait for the next, and that would irrevocably render his attempt vain. 

     This article made a great deal of noise, and, being copied into all the papers, seriously depressed the advocates of the rash tourist. 

     Everybody knows that England is the world of betting men, who are of a higher class than mere gamblers; to bet is in the English temperament. Not only the members of the Reform, but the general public, made heavy wagers for or against Phileas Fogg, who was set down in the betting books as if he were a race-horse. Bonds were issued, and made their appearance on 'Change; "Phileas Fogg bonds" were offered at par or at a premium, and a great business was done in them. But five days after the article in the 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-32-

bulletin of the Geographical Society appeared, the demand began to subside: "Phileas Fogg" declined. They were offered by packages, at first of five, then of ten, until at last nobody would take less than twenty, fifty, a hundred! 

     Lord Albemarle, an elderly paralytic gentleman, was now the only advocate of Phileas Fogg left. This noble lord, who was fastened to his chair, would have given his fortune to be able to make the tour of the world, if it took ten years ; and he bet five thousand pounds on Phileas Fogg. When the folly as well as the uselessness of the adventure was pointed out to him, he contented himself with replying, "If the thing is feasible, the first to do it ought to be an Englishman." 

     The Fogg party dwindled more and more, everybody was going against him, and the bets stood a hundred and fifty and two hundred to one; and a week after his departure an incident occurred which deprived him of backers at any price. 

     The commissioner of police was sitting in his office at nine o'clock one evening, when the following telegraphic dispatch was put into his hands: Suez to London.
Rowan, Commissioner of Police, Scotland Yard:
I've found the bank robber, Phileas Fogg. Send with out delay warrant of arrest to Bombay. Fix, Detective.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-33-


     The effect of this dispatch was instantaneous. The polished gentleman disappeared to give place to the bank robber. His photograph, which was hung with those of the rest of the members at the Reform Club, was minutely examined, and it betrayed, feature by feature, the description of the robber which had been provided to the police. The mysterious habits of Phileas Fogg were recalled; his solitary ways, his sudden departure; and it seemed clear that, in undertaking a tour round the world on the pretext of a wager, he had had no other end in view than to elude the detectives, and throw them off his track. 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-34-


IN WHICH FIX, THE DETECTIVE, BETRAYS A VERY NATURAL IMPATIENCE
     The circumstances under which this telegraphic dispatch about Phileas Fogg was sent were as follows: 

     The steamer Mongolia, belonging to the Peninsular and Oriental Company, built of iron, of two thousand eight hundred tons burden, and five hundred horse-power, was due at eleven o'clock a.m. on Wednesday, the 9th of October, at Suez. The Mongolia plied regularly between Brindisi and Bombay via the Suez Canal, and was one of the fastest steamers belonging to the company, always making more than ten knots an hour between Brindisi and Suez, and nine and a half between Suez and Bombay. 

     Two men were promenading up and down the wharves, among the crowd of natives and strangers who were sojourning at this once straggling village -- now, thanks to 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-35-





the enterprise of M. Lesseps, a fast-growing town. One was the British consul at Suez, who, despite the prophecies of the English Government, and the unfavourable predictions of Stephenson, was in the habit of seeing, from his office window, English ships daily passing to and fro on the great canal, by which the old roundabout route from England to India by the Cape of Good Hope was abridged by at least a half. The other was a small, slight-built personage, with a nervous, intelligent face, and bright eyes peering out from under eyebrows which he was incessantly twitching. He was just now manifesting unmistakable signs of impatience, nervously pacing up and down, and unable to stand still for a moment. This was Fix, one of the detectives who had been dispatched from England in search of the bank robber; it was his task to narrowly watch every passenger who arrived at Suez, and to follow up all who seemed to be suspicious characters, or bore a resemblance to the description of the criminal, which he had received two days before from the police headquarters at London. The detective was evidently inspired by the hope of obtaining the splendid reward which would be the prize of success, and awaited with a feverish impatience, easy to understand, the arrival of the steamer Mongolia. 

     "So you say, consul," asked he for the twentieth time, "that this steamer is never behind time?" 

     "No, Mr. Fix," replied the consul. "She was bespoken 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-36-

yesterday at Port Said, and the rest of the way is of no account to such a craft. I repeat that the Mongolia has been in advance of the time required by the company's regulations, and gained the prize awarded for excess of speed." 

     "Does she come directly from Brindisi?" 

     "Directly from Brindisi; she takes on the Indian mails there, and she left there Saturday at five p.m. Have patience, Mr. Fix; she will not be late. But really, I don't see how, from the description you have, you will be able to recognise your man, even if he is on board the Mongolia." 

     "A man rather feels the presence of these fellows, consul, than recognises them. You must have a scent for them, and a scent is like a sixth sense which combines hearing, seeing, and smelling. I've arrested more than one of these gentlemen in my time, and, if my thief is on board, I'll answer for it; he'll not slip through my fingers." 

     "I hope so, Mr. Fix, for it was a heavy robbery." 

     "A magnificent robbery, consul; fifty-five thousand pounds! We don't often have such windfalls. Burglars are getting to be so contemptible nowadays! A fellow gets hung for a handful of shillings!" 

     "Mr. Fix," said the consul, "I like your way of talking, and hope you'll succeed; but I fear you will find it far from easy. Don't you see, the description which you have there has a singular resemblance to an honest man?" 

     "Consul," remarked the detective, dogmatically, "great 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-37-

robbers always resemble honest folks. Fellows who have rascally faces have only one course to take, and that is to remain honest; otherwise they would be arrested off-hand. The artistic thing is, to unmask honest countenances; it's no light task, I admit, but a real art." 

     Mr. Fix evidently was not wanting in a tinge of self-conceit. 

     Little by little the scene on the quay became more animated; sailors of various nations, merchants, ship-brokers, porters, fellahs, bustled to and fro as if the steamer were immediately expected. The weather was clear, and slightly chilly. The minarets of the town loomed above the houses in the pale rays of the sun. A jetty pier, some two thousand yards along, extended into the roadstead. A number of fishing-smacks and coasting boats, some retaining the fantastic fashion of ancient galleys, were discernible on the Red Sea. 

     As he passed among the busy crowd, Fix, according to habit, scrutinised the passers-by with a keen, rapid glance. 

     It was now half-past ten. 

     "The steamer doesn't come!" he exclaimed, as the port clock struck. 

     "She can't be far off now," returned his companion. 

     "How long will she stop at Suez?" 

     "Four hours; long enough to get in her coal. It is 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-38-

thirteen hundred and ten miles from Suez to Aden, at the other end of the Red Sea, and she has to take in a fresh coal supply." 

     "And does she go from Suez directly to Bombay?" 

     "Without putting in anywhere." 

     "Good!" said Fix. "If the robber is on board he will no doubt get off at Suez, so as to reach the Dutch or French colonies in Asia by some other route. He ought to know that he would not be safe an hour in India, which is English soil." 

     "Unless," objected the consul, "he is exceptionally shrewd. An English criminal, you know, is always better concealed in London than anywhere else." 

     This observation furnished the detective food for thought, and meanwhile the consul went away to his office. Fix, left alone, was more impatient than ever, having a presentiment that the robber was on board the Mongolia. If he had indeed left London intending to reach the New World, he would naturally take the route via India, which was less watched and more difficult to watch than that of the Atlantic. But Fix's reflections were soon interrupted by a succession of sharp whistles, which announced the arrival of the Mongolia. The porters and fellahs rushed down the quay, and a dozen boats pushed off from the shore to go and meet the steamer. Soon her gigantic hull appeared passing along between the banks, and eleven o'clock struck as she 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-39-

anchored in the road. She brought an unusual number of passengers, some of whom remained on deck to scan the picturesque panorama of the town, while the greater part disembarked in the boats, and landed on the quay. 

     Fix took up a position, and carefully examined each face and figure which made its appearance. Presently one of the passengers, after vigorously pushing his way through the importunate crowd of porters, came up to him and politely asked if he could point out the English consulate, at the same time showing a passport which he wished to have visaed. Fix instinctively took the passport, and with a rapid glance read the description of its bearer. An involuntary motion of surprise nearly escaped him, for the description in the passport was identical with that of the bank robber which he had received from Scotland Yard. 

     "Is this your passport?" asked he. 

     "No, it's my master's." 

     "And your master is -- " 

     "He stayed on board." 

     "But he must go to the consul's in person, so as to establish his identity." 

     "Oh, is that necessary?" 

     "Quite indispensable." 

     "And where is the consulate?"


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-40-


     "There, on the corner of the square," said Fix, pointing to a house two hundred steps off. 

     "I'll go and fetch my master, who won't be much pleased, however, to be disturbed." 

     The passenger bowed to Fix, and returned to the steamer. 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-41-


WHICH ONCE MORE DEMONSTRATES THE USELESSNESS OF PASSPORTS AS AIDS TO DETECTIVES
     The detective passed down the quay, and rapidly made his way to the consul's office, where he was at once admitted to the presence of that official. 

     "Consul," said he, without preamble, "I have strong reasons for believing that my man is a passenger on the Mongolia." And he narrated what had just passed concerning the passport. 

     "Well, Mr. Fix," replied the consul, "I shall not be sorry to see the rascal's face; but perhaps he won't come here -- that is, if he is the person you suppose him to be. A robber doesn't quite like to leave traces of his flight behind him; and, besides, he is not obliged to have his passport countersigned." 

     "If he is as shrewd as I think he is, consul, he will 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-42-

come." 

     "To have his passport visaed?" 

     "Yes. Passports are only good for annoying honest folks, and aiding in the flight of rogues. I assure you it will be quite the thing for him to do; but I hope you will not visa the passport." 

     "Why not? If the passport is genuine I have no right to refuse." 

     "Still, I must keep this man here until I can get a warrant to arrest him from London." 

     "Ah, that's your look-out. But I cannot -- " 

     The consul did not finish his sentence, for as he spoke a knock was heard at the door, and two strangers entered, one of whom was the servant whom Fix had met on the quay. The other, who was his master, held out his passport with the request that the consul would do him the favour to visa it. The consul took the document and carefully read it, whilst Fix observed, or rather devoured, the stranger with his eyes from a corner of the room. 

     "You are Mr. Phileas Fogg?" said the consul, after reading the passport. 

     "I am." 

     "And this man is your servant?" 

     "He is: a Frenchman, named Passepartout.") 

     "You are from London?" 

     "Yes." 

     "And you are going -- "


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-43-


     "To Bombay." 

     "Very good, sir. You know that a visa is useless, and that no passport is required?" 

     "I know it, sir," replied Phileas Fogg; "but I wish to prove, by your visa, that I came by Suez." 

     "Very well, sir." 

     The consul proceeded to sign and date the passport, after which he added his official seal. Mr. Fogg paid the customary fee, coldly bowed, and went out, followed by his servant. 

     "Well?" queried the detective. 

     "Well, he looks and acts like a perfectly honest man," replied the consul. 

     "Possibly; but that is not the question. Do you think, consul, that this phelgmatic gentleman resembles, feature by feature, the robber whose description I have received?" 

     "I concede that; but then, you know, all descriptions -- " 

     "I'll make certain of it," interrupted Fix. "The servant seems to me less mysterious than the master; besides, he's a Frenchman, and can't help talking. Excuse me for a little while, consul." 

     Fix started off in search of Passepartout. 

     Meanwhile Mr. Fogg, after leaving the consulate, repaired to the quay, gave some orders to Passepartout, went off to the Mongolia in a boat, and descended to his cabin. He 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-44-

took up his note-book, which contained the following memoranda: 

     "Left London, Wednesday, October 2nd, at 8.45 p.m. 

     "Reached Paris, Thursday, October 3rd, at 7.20 a.m. 

     "Left Paris, Thursday, at 8.40 a.m. 

     "Reached Turin by Mont Cenis, Friday, October 4th, at 6.35 a.m. 

     "Left Turin, Friday, at 7.20 a.m. 

     "Arrived at Brindisi, Saturday, October 5th, at 4 p.m. 

     "Sailed on the Mongolia, Saturday, at 5 p.m. 

     "Reached Suez, Wednesday, October 9th, at 11 a.m. 

     "Total of hours spent, 158+; or, in days, six days and a half." 

     These dates were inscribed in an itinerary divided into columns, indicating the month, the day of the month, and the day for the stipulated and actual arrivals at each principal point Paris, Brindisi, Suez, Bombay, Calcutta, Singapore, Hong Kong, Yokohama, San Francisco, New York, and London -- from the 2nd of October to the 21st of December; and giving a space for setting down the gain made or the loss suffered on arrival at each locality. This methodical record thus contained an account of everything needed, and Mr. Fogg always knew whether he was behind-hand or in advance of his time. On this Friday, October 9th, he noted his arrival at Suez, and observed that he had as yet neither gained nor lost. He sat down 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-45-

quietly to breakfast in his cabin, never once thinking of inspecting the town, being one of those Englishmen who are wont to see foreign countries through the eyes of their domestics. 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-46-


IN WHICH PASSEPARTOUT TALKS RATHER MORE, PERHAPS, THAN IS PRUDENT
     Fix soon rejoined Passepartout, who was lounging and looking about on the quay, as if he did not feel that he, at least, was obliged not to see anything. 

     "Well, my friend," said the detective, coming up with him, "is your passport visaed?" 

     "Ah, it's you, is it, monsieur?" responded Passepartout. "Thanks, yes, the passport is all right." 

     "And you are looking about you?" 

     "Yes; but we travel so fast that I seem to be journeying in a dream. So this is Suez?" 

     "Yes." 

     "In Egypt?" 

     "Certainly, in Egypt." 

     "And in Africa?" 

     "In Africa."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-47-


     "In Africa!" repeated Passepartout. "Just think, monsieur, I had no idea that we should go farther than Paris; and all that I saw of Paris was between twenty minutes past seven and twenty minutes before nine in the morning, between the Northern and the Lyons stations, through the windows of a car, and in a driving rain! How I regret not having seen once more P Chaise and the circus in the Champs Elysées!" 

     "You are in a great hurry, then?" 

     "I am not, but my master is. By the way, I must buy some shoes and shirts. We came away without trunks, only with a carpet-bag." 

     "I will show you an excellent shop for getting what you want." 

     "Really, monsieur, you are very kind." 

     And they walked off together, Passepartout chatting volubly as they went along. 

     "Above all," said he; "don't let me lose the steamer." 

     "You have plenty of time; it's only twelve o'clock." 

     Passepartout pulled out his big watch. "Twelve!" he exclaimed; "why, it's only eight minutes before ten." 

     "Your watch is slow." 

     "My watch? A family watch, monsieur, which has come down from my great-grandfather! It doesn't vary five minutes in the year. It's a perfect chronometer, look you." 

     "I see how it is," said Fix. "You have kept London 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-48-

time, which is two hours behind that of Suez. You ought to regulate your watch at noon in each country." 

     "I regulate my watch? Never!" 

     "Well, then, it will not agree with the sun." 

     "So much the worse for the sun, monsieur. The sun will be wrong, then!" 

     And the worthy fellow returned the watch to its fob with a defiant gesture. After a few minutes silence, Fix resumed: "You left London hastily, then?" 

     "I rather think so! Last Friday at eight o'clock in the evening, Monsieur Fogg came home from his club, and three-quarters of an hour afterwards we were off." 

     "But where is your master going?" 

     "Always straight ahead. He is going round the world." 

     "Round the world?" cried Fix. 

     "Yes, and in eighty days! He says it is on a wager; but, between us, I don't believe a word of it. That wouldn't be common sense. There's something else in the wind." 

     "Ah! Mr. Fogg is a character, is he?" 

     "I should say he was." 

     "Is he rich?" 

     "No doubt, for he is carrying an enormous sum in brand new banknotes with him. And he doesn't spare the money on the way, either: he has offered a large reward to the 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-49-

engineer of the Mongolia if he gets us to Bombay well in advance of time." 

     "And you have known your master a long time?" 

     "Why, no; I entered his service the very day we left London." 

     The effect of these replies upon the already suspicious and excited detective may be imagined. The hasty departure from London soon after the robbery; the large sum carried by Mr. Fogg; his eagerness to reach distant countries; the pretext of an eccentric and foolhardy bet -- all confirmed Fix in his theory. He continued to pump poor Passepartout, and learned that he really knew little or nothing of his master, who lived a solitary existence in London, was said to be rich, though no one knew whence came his riches, and was mysterious and impenetrable in his affairs and habits. Fix felt sure that Phileas Fogg would not land at Suez, but was really going on to Bombay. 

     "Is Bombay far from here?" asked Passepartout. 

     "Pretty far. It is a ten days' voyage by sea." 

     "And in what country is Bombay?" 

     "India." 

     "In Asia?" 

     "Certainly." 

     "The deuce! I was going to tell you there's one thing that worries me -- my burner!"


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-50-


     "What burner?" 

     "My gas-burner, which I forgot to turn off, and which is at this moment burning at my expense. I have calculated, monsieur, that I lose two shillings every four and twenty hours, exactly sixpense more than I earn; and you will understand that the longer our journey -- " 

     Did Fix pay any attention to Passepartout's trouble about the gas? It is not probable. He was not listening, but was cogitating a project. Passepartout and he had now reached the shop, where Fix left his companion to make his purchases, after recommending him not to miss the steamer, and hurried back to the consulate. Now that he was fully convinced, Fix had quite recovered his equanimity. 

     "Consul," said he, "I have no longer any doubt. I have spotted my man. He passes himself off as an odd stick who is going round the world in eighty days." 

     "Then he's a sharp fellow," returned the consul, "and counts on returning to London after putting the police of the two countries off his track." 

     "We'll see about that," replied Fix. 

     "But are you not mistaken?" 

     "I am not mistaken." 

     "Why was this robber so anxious to prove, by the visa, that he had passed through Suez?" 

     "Why? I have no idea; but listen to me."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-51-


     He reported in a few words the most important parts of his conversation with Passepartout. 

     "In short," said the consul, "appearances are wholly against this man. And what are you going to do?" 

     "Send a dispatch to London for a warrant of arrest to be dispatched instantly to Bombay, take passage on board the Mongolia, follow my rogue to India, and there, on English ground, arrest him politely, with my warrant in my hand, and my hand on his shoulder." 

     Having uttered these words with a cool, careless air, the detective took leave of the consul, and repaired to the telegraph office, whence he sent the dispatch which we have seen to the London police office. A quarter of an hour later found Fix, with a small bag in his hand, proceeding on board the Mongolia; and, ere many moments longer, the noble steamer rode out at full steam upon the waters of the Red Sea. 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-52-


IN WHICH THE RED SEA AND THE INDIAN OCEAN PROVE PROPITIOUS TO THE DESIGNS OF PHILEAS FOGG
     The distance between Suez and Aden is precisely thirteen hundred and ten miles, and the regulations of the company allow the steamers one hundred and thirty-eight hours in which to traverse it. The Mongolia, thanks to the vigorous exertions of the engineer, seemed likely, so rapid was her speed, to reach her destination considerably within that time. The greater part of the passengers from Brindisi were bound for India some for Bombay, others for Calcutta by way of Bombay, the nearest route thither, now that a railway crosses the Indian peninsula. Among the passengers was a number of officials and military officers of various grades, the latter being either attached to the regular British forces or commanding the Sepoy troops, and receiving high salaries ever since the central government 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-53-

has assumed the powers of the East India Company: for the sub-lieutenants get 280£, brigadiers, 2,400£, and generals of divisions, 4,000£. What with the military men, a number of rich young Englishmen on their travels, and the hospitable efforts of the purser, the time passed quickly on the Mongolia. The best of fare was spread upon the cabin tables at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the eight o'clock supper, and the ladies scrupulously changed their toilets twice a day; and the hours were whirled away, when the sea was tranquil, with music, dancing, and games. 

     But the Red Sea is full of caprice, and often boisterous, like most long and narrow gulfs. When the wind came from the African or Asian coast the Mongolia, with her long hull, rolled fearfully. Then the ladies speedily disappeared below; the pianos were silent; singing and dancing suddenly ceased. Yet the good ship ploughed straight on, unretarded by wind or wave, towards the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb. What was Phileas Fogg doing all this time? It might be thought that, in his anxiety, he would be constantly watching the changes of the wind, the disorderly raging of the billows -- every chance, in short, which might force the Mongolia to slacken her speed, and thus interrupt his journey. But, if he thought of these possibilities, he did not betray the fact by any outward sign. 

     Always the same impassible member of the Reform 

