Page:McCosh, John - Advice to Officers in India (1856).djvu/66

 passengers acquainted with Hindostanni be willing to oblige him with a little assistance, he cannot spend two hours a-day better than in acquiring the language of the country of which he must soon become a resident.

10. OVERLAND ROUTE.—The overland route differs altogether from the voyage round the Cape. Instead of being one of a family, the voyager becomes one of a multitude, composed of all professions, and of all nations, and bound for every port of the Eastern hemisphere. The stupendous vessel screws her course, dropping ten or fifteen here, and twenty or thirty there, and picking up equal numbers, so that on arriving in Calcutta the party, though not diminished in numbers, is completely changed. The overland route is full of interest, and he who has not made it has yet to see the most wonderful epitome of human life in the world.

11. THE PENINSULAR & ORIENTAL COMPANY.—The fleet of steamers of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company,of the P. and O. as it is known by, is,I believe, the largest and the most splendid and the most efficient mercantile marine in the world, officered by men of the highest qualifications, and furnished with the most improved machinery,and affording accommodation to one or two hundred passengers. The saloons are ornamented with everything the fine arts can