Museum of Wonders, or Curiosities of the World

A cabinet of curiosities in book form, 1890: monsters of the ancient world, wild animals, queer wanderers in the vasty deep, famous inventions and sublime scenery — assembled to astonish the young and, the preface admits, their elders too.

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Indian Caves and Temples

RAVELLERS in India yet without a haven or an anchorage for expect always to visit the ships, large or small, which carry on Madras and Bombay, and its commerce! It is a strange sight-that see the temples and idols extended range of buildings, stretching near these places. There far along the open strand, and confrontis no natural harbor at ing the apparently boundless sweep of Madras; consequently it ocean, which seems as if it would burst is very difficult to land, especially when resistlessly upon it, and bury it beneath the sea is boisterous. In calm weather its billows. Even when the outer sea is the waves are very high, but in a storm calm, the white-crested breakers sweil and the breakers are sometimes as high as fret near the water-line, and send their echoing thunder along the beach. For fourteen feet. admit of its being used.

Madras, from the sea, is an enchanted though Madras can boast of a solid stately city. The voyager sees before him a pier, stretching into the sea one thousand mass of seething waters, for the Bay of feet beyond high-water mark, it is often Bengal pours continuously on the long, the case that the water is too shallow to low Madras shore; and out of their glittering foam and snowy surge rise spires, and columns, and temples, and flat-roofed houses, and all the other evidences of a the passengers have to be rowed across great city. A great maritime city, and in large boats by the dark-skinned natives, Ships that want to land there have to anchor a long way from the town; then who are always ready to earn an honest experiment to attempt, a flag is mounted penny. You would laugh to see some of on shore to warn the sailors. them start out on the rough sea in their Bombay, another town built by the comical boats-though boats they can English, is in a little island of the same scarcely be called sometimes, for they are name on the west coast. A lovely place nothing but planks of wood. Catamaran it is, with its mountains and groves of is the name such boats are known by. trees and flowers. The way in which it The occupant has probably lived by the first came to belong to the English was sea all his life, and has had many a duck- by its being given as a dowry to the bride ing, so that he is quite prepared to have of King Charles II. He married the In.

CURIOUS HINDOO IDOL-INDIA.
CURIOUS HINDOO IDOL-INDIA.
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