"AROUND THE WORLD ON A BICYCLE."

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 1581, 18 March 1887, Page 3

"AROUND THE WORLD ON A BICYCLE."

Thomas Stevens, the special correspondent of Outing, is nearing the last °tit;e of his remarkable journey, and writes as follows about his Indian journey from Calcutta, under date September 14 :— " I take pleasure in announcing my safe arrival in Calcutta, after a very trying journey through India. My tour res been accomplished in the season when all Europeans who can possibly escape from business are up in the hill stations, and when exposure and much exertion nra considered highly indiscreet. I have, however, escaped with only one slight attack of fever, which laid me up for a couple of days at Benares. This is worthy of mention only as the first occasion on the entire journey that I have had anything approaching a day's illness, or even aday's indisposition. Altogether it is regarded as remarkrble by the English in Calcutta that I have travelled 1400 miles of Indian roads on a bicycle at this season of the year and escaped with one slight attack of fever. The weather has been very trying and fever-inducing; all through Lower Bengal the clouds were hovering near the tree tops; when it was not pouring rain it was drizzling, and the roads were shallow streams. What with the perspiration, the rain, the exc sstvely humid atmosphere, a dry thread of clothing was entirely out of the question. I passed through districts where the natives were dying at a fearful rate with a peculiarly malienant type of fever. But the natives have no stamina ; like a sheep, when they get fairly down they peldom recover. My own immunity from perious illness I credit to the daily exercise ; it must be thip, because from sheer necepsity I have daily drank indifferent water, slept in damp clothes, and committed various other indiscretions, inseparable from a bicycle tour through India in August and September. Notwithstanding theße discomforts and drawbacks, there has been all along a genuine element of pleasure and satisfaction in the splendid metalled roads, smooth for the most part as an asphalt pavement, as well as in the many interesting objects and equally interesting people, po different from any other country. Prom Lahore to Sasseraw, a distance of about 10G0 miles, the road may truthfully be described as the finest in the world. It is perfectly level, metalled with kunkah, which makes a smooth, cementlike surface, and for a good portion of the way it is no exaggeration to call it an avenue. Through the Bengal hills it is leis level, and is metalled with rock; the drenching monsoon rains have washed away the earth, and left the surface rough and trying on a wheel. My stay in Calcutta will be but three or four days, as I am anxious to dush on to China, and avoid the possibility of being overtaken by wintry weather in the interior of that country. I intend, if possible, to get through the China and Japan tours, and return homo by Christmas or NewYear."