, 1890-09-11
A Breezy Letter From Chi
cago's Ex-Mayor.
THE BRITISH lRONCLADS
Mountains, Forests, Glaciers, Gold
Mines, Seal Fisheries, and
Greasy Indians.
IChlcago Tribune. |

Pacific railroad, and expected to
make n big letter on the Alaskan
excursion. But l am discouraged.
If all the pencils seen making CO.
pious notes and extracting from
route and other books on this steam
er were preparing letters, and II a
like proportion on all the other reg
ular steamers do the same, then
the thing will be written into the
ground during this season alone. l
will, however, commence n short
letter.; the humor of my pen may
make II long one.
Our excursion is coming to close.
We have done Alaska and we are
again smiling through British wa
tiers. Vancouver Isle stretches to
our right. We can esily imagine
that turn of the headland may re-
veal the Warspite with her guns,
throwing 3O0-pound shot, ready to
knock us into pi should our Yankee
inclinatlons tempt us to give a
too short twist on the lions
tail. BY the way, tho ironclad
bearer of the admiraps broad PEN
nnnt is a ferocious looking monster.
Having three hours at our COM
mand before dark on our arrival at
Victoria the first Of the month, we
drove about the staid and orderly
town, drinking In air laden with
the breath of honeysuckle einbower-
Ing lattice and cottage; exclaiming
in delight at sight of roses hanging
in mighty clusters and festooning
porches and verandas, or lifting
their faces six inches from out to out
on strong stems In the gardens; and
having our eyes refreshed by par
terres of dahllas, nasturtiums, fever
fews and many delicate flowers In
white of every tint. This town was
evidently settled directly from En-
gland. The love evinced for cot
tage adornment would have been
lost In u passage through the Canuck
settlements of the East. The sweet
embowered cottage Is an English
institution as thoroughly as IL
magma charta. Wherever either
exists we know 1t to be heritage
from the seagirt isle.
THE FAIRY-LIKE HARBoR OF THE
BRITISH FLEET.
Our drive brought us late to
Esquimalt, the fairy-like harbor of
the British fleet of the North Pacl-
fic. What little gem 1t Is! A
rounded patch of sea, II few hundred
yards in diameter, lifted up and
dropped thirty fathoms deep among
well-wooded, sloping hills and con-
nected by short, deep channel, less
than hundred feet wide, with the
mighty ocean. This channel Is in
fact gateway, with smooth granite
buttresses, Of boulder-like surface,
lifting few feet above high tide.
These buttresses were built by no
human hand, but were born OF the
molten mass poured up from the
earth's fiery center. The very globe
shook and reeled In volcanic spasms
ut their birth. Here, in this quiet
little harbor, thoroughly protected
from the outer sea, lay the fearful
man-of-war, a sleeping Titan, sur
rounded 10y several others less for
midabie, but of ugly dime nsions.
Close by the entrance is u great dry
dock, In which American vessels
have been courteously repaired.
Near these Is little hamlet where
one can get fair meal and can take
rowing boat to visit the great ships.
We had no expectation of gong
aboard, but our hackman, desirous
of putting In as much time as possi-
bic, and IA boatman in want of u job
assured us we would be received
aboard the Warspite. A large num-
ber of her 900 complement were
leaning over the bulwarks, and gold
lace and brass buttons shone upon
the eyes of our two young girls.
Their little hearts fiuttered as no
glacier of the Arctic zone could
have made them do. All! what a
wondrous spell the glitter on the
shoulders of soldier or sailor works
upon the female heart! Even the
married women of our party had a
heightened color as we approached
the gangway of the mighty ship.
Fancy the two broken hearts of the
girls and the composed, sad face of
the matron when sailor came
down the gangway TO inform us the
hour for visitors was past. One OF
the men of our party told him the
next time we came we would board
The ship from the deck of
the Chicago. He laughed. There
is no taint of quarrel between the
brave tars of an English or an
American maD-of-war. We rowed
slowly away. The music from the
band poured down upon us us from
the decks and was caught in sweet
echo by the hills around. How !
pitied the girls. They are Just on
the edge of society, aud what tales
they could have told their school.
mates! Chicago's late representa-
tive to the court of the Shah of Per
sia smiled as only one who had
been ut court could smile. But the
girls emitted sighs which smote the
writer's too sympathetic soul.
WHEN WE GoBBLE Up CANADA.
The Warspite lies at Esquimalt
(up here called SquimaD ready to
shake the icebergs of Behring sea.
A word to President Harrison
and Secretary Blaine. Don't tell
England that our blood Is up to
fighting heat until we are ready to
gobble down Canada and the Cana
dian Pacific railway ut a mouthful.
1t can be done and not at the ex-
pense of very wry face. Then let
England roam about the oceans to
her hearts content while we Yam
KEGS will play baseball with conti-
nent for our grounds, with basemen
and shortstops between two oceans,
and outfielders on the Gulf of Mexi-
IN and the Arctic saos