Stories 10
- EG
The Quaker City excursionJun 1867
The Sphinx, and the man with the hammer
We climbed the Great Pyramid with an Arab at each arm and one pushing. Then we went down to the Sphinx, and found one of our own party up its face with a hammer.
Hiking2 min read
- IT
The Quaker City excursionJun 1867
The tomb of Adam
In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre I was shown the tomb of Adam, and was overcome. A man ought to be moved at the grave of a relative, even a distant one.
City2 min read
- IL
The Quaker City excursionJun 1867
The price of a boat on Galilee
The pilgrims had dreamed for forty years of sailing on the Sea of Galilee. The boatman wanted eight dollars. They are still thinking about it. And then the one evening I did not make any jokes.
Nature2 min read
- UA
The Quaker City excursionJun 1867
A word with the Emperor of Russia
The Emperor of Russia invited sixty-five Americans to his summer palace. We wrote him an address. I wrote the address. It was the worst thing I have ever written, and he liked it.
Culture & history2 min read
- GR
The Quaker City excursionJun 1867
The Acropolis by night, without permission
The Greek government would not let us land, on account of cholera. Four of us went anyway, after dark, past the vineyards and the guards. I recommend it to anyone who wants to see the Parthenon and also be shot at.
Hiking2 min read
- IT
The Quaker City excursionJun 1867
Is he dead?
Every guide in Italy loved Michelangelo with a love that bordered on the unreasonable. We found a way to cure them. It is cruel, and I recommend it.
City2 min read
- IT
The Quaker City excursionJun 1867
Venice, without the singing
A city that has gone on living with its feet in the water for a thousand years. It is beautiful, and damp, and the gondolier sings, and I will forgive it everything but the gondolier.
City2 min read
- FR
The Quaker City excursionJun 1867
The barber of Paris
All my life I had dreamed of being shaved in a Parisian palace of art, by a gentle artist, among velvet and mirrors. I was shaved by a man named Henri, with a garden tool.
City2 min read