Asiatic Breezes - Students on The Wing

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Asiatic Breezes, by Oliver Optic This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: Asiatic Breezes Students on The Wing Author: Oliver Optic Release Date: May 27, 2008 [EBook #25620] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ASIATIC BREEZES *** Produced by David Edwards, Josephine Paolucci and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project.) "The stern of the Fatima suddenly went down." Page 127. All-Over-the-World Library—Second Series ASIATIC BREEZES OR STUDENTS ON THE WING BY OLIVER OPTIC AUTHOR OF "THE ARMY AND NAVY SERIES" "YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD FIRST AND SECOND SERIES" "THE BOAT-CLUB STORIES" "THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES" "THE WOODVILLE STORIES" "THE ONWARD AND UPWARD SERIES" "THE LAKE SHORE SERIES" "THE YACHT-CLUB SERIES" "THE RIVERDALE STORIES" "THE BOAT BUILDER SERIES" "THE BLUE AND THE GRAY AFLOAT" "THE BLUE AND THE GRAY ON LAND" "STARRY FLAG SERIES" "ALL-OVER-THE-WORLD LIBRARY FIRST AND SECOND SERIES" "A MISSING MILLION" "A MILLIONAIRE AT SIXTEEN" "A YOUNG KNIGHTERRANT" "STRANGE SIGHTS ABROAD" "AMERICAN BOYS AFLOAT" "THE YOUNG NAVIGATORS" "UP AND DOWN THE NILE" ETC. LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS 10 MILK STREET BOSTON 1895 COPYRIGHT, 1894, BY LEE AND SHEPARD All Rights Reserved ASIATIC BREEZES ELECTROTYPING BY C. J. PETERS & SON, BOSTON U.S.A. PRESSWORK BY S. J. PARKHILL & CO. To MY APPRECIATIVE FRIEND AND BROTHER FOSTER A. WHITNEY Esq. OF SOUTHINGTON CONN. This Volume IS FRATERNALLY AND RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED PREFACE "ASIATIC BREEZES" is the fourth volume of the second series of the "All-Over-the-World Library." Starting out from Alexandria, Egypt, after the adventures and explorations of the Guardian-Mother party in that interesting country, which included an excursion up the Nile to the First Cataract, the steamer sails out upon the Mediterranean, closely followed by her little consort. The enemy who had made a portion of the voyage exceedingly disagreeable to the watchful commander has been thwarted in all his schemes, and the threatened danger kept at a distance, even while those who are most deeply interested are unconscious of its existence. [Pg v] But the old enemy immediately appears on the coast, as was expected, and an attempt is made to carry out a plan to escape from further annoyance. The little steamer sails for the island of Cyprus, as arranged [Pg vi] beforehand, and reaches her destination, though she encounters a smart gale on the voyage, through which the young navigators carry their lively little craft. Plans do not always work as they have been arranged; and by an accident the young people are left to fight their own battle, as has happened several times before in the history of the cruise. A considerable portion of the volume is taken up with the record of some very stirring events in a certain bay of the island of Cyprus, where the little steamer had made a harbor after the gale, and where the GuardianMother had failed to join her, as agreed upon. The story relates the manner in which the young captain, actively seconded by his shipmates, extricates his little craft from a very perilous situation, though it involves a disaster to the piratical enemy and his steamer. The conduct of the boy-commander brings up several questions of interest, upon which everybody has a right to his own opinion. The steamer and her consort pass through the Suez Canal, which is minutely described, both in its construction and operation. Some of those on board of the steamer are interested in Scripture history, [Pg vii] including the commander; and the residence of the Israelites in the "Land of Goshen," as well as their pilgrimage into Asia, pursued by "Pharaoh and his host," are considered at some length. Some of the different views in regard to the passage of the Red Sea are given, though he who presents them clings to the narrative as he read it from the Bible in his childhood. Though the party for reasons given do not go to Mount Sinai, the peninsula to which it now gives its name is not neglected. Mount Serbal, and what is generally regarded as the Holy Mountain, are seen from the deck of the steamer, though some claim that the former is the scene of the delivery of the tablets of the Law to Moses. The captain of the steamer does not regard himself as a mere shipmaster; for in recommending the voyage for the young millionaire, he makes a great deal of its educational features, not alone for its opportunities for sight-seeing, but for study and receiving instruction. As earnest in carrying out his idea in the latter as well as the former, he has made a lecture-room of the deck of the vessel. The physical geography of the regions passed through is considered, as well as the history; and as the ship is in the vicinity of the kingdoms of the ancient world, the professor has something to say to his audience about Assyria, Babylonia, Arabia, the Caliphate, and gives an epitome of the life of Mohammed, and the rise and progress of Islamism. In the last chapters the story, which has been extended through several volumes, appears to be brought to a conclusion in a manner that may astonish the reader. However that may be, the termination points to an enlarged field of operations in the future for the party as they visit the vast empires where blow the Asiatic breezes. WILLIAM T. ADAMS. DORCHESTER, MASS., September 30, 1894. [Pg viii] CONTENTS CHAPTER I. PREPARING TO OUTWIT THE ENEMY CHAPTER II. HARMONY DISTURBED, BUT HAPPILY RESTORED CHAPTER III. A MOMENTOUS SECRET REVEALED CHAPTER IV. THE POSITION OF THE THREE STEAMERS CHAPTER V. LOUIS BELGRAVE HAS SOME MISGIVINGS CHAPTER VI. A STORMY NIGHT RUN TO CAPE ARNAUTI CHAPTER VII. THE BELLIGERENT COMMANDER OF THE MAUD CHAPTER VIII. THE LECTURE ON THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS CHAPTER IX. A MOST IMPUDENT PROPOSITION CHAPTER X. "JUST BEFORE THE BATTLE, MOTHER" CHAPTER XI. AN EXPEDIENT TO ESCAPE THE ENEMY CHAPTER XII. THE BATTLE FOUGHT, THE VICTORY WON CHAPTER XIII. THE CATASTROPHE TO THE FATIMÉ PAGE 1 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 91 [Pg ix] [Pg x] 101 111 121 CHAPTER XIV. THE CONSULTATION IN THE PILOT-HOUSE CHAPTER XV. THE ARRIVAL OF THE GUARDIAN-MOTHER CHAPTER XVI. THE REPORT OF THE BATTLE OF KHRYSOKO CHAPTER XVII. THE INSIDE HISTORY OF THE VOYAGE CHAPTER XVIII. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SUEZ CANAL CHAPTER XIX. THE JOURNEY OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL CHAPTER XX.