In no department of travel has more progress been made than in ocean travel. I crossed the Atlantic in 1861 in the "City of Washington," of the Inman Line, and returned in the Cunard steamer "Niagara," the voyage each way lasting twelve days, and they were twelve days of great discomfort. The sleeping accommodation was below the saloon; the cabins were lit by oil lamps, which were put out at eleven o'clock at night; the air was foul and stifling; and there was an entire absence of ventilation. In the saloon, above the dining-tables, trays filled with wine-glasses swung from side to side with every roll of the ship; the saloon was lit by candles, which spurted grease and smelt abominably. There was no smoking room provided, and we sat in the "fiddlee" upon coils of rope, while the sea washed to and fro, or else we tried to get under the lee of the funnel. What a change has taken place, and how greatly the electric light has contributed to the comfort of travellers by sea! THE FRANCO-GERMAN BATTLEFIELDS. The most interesting journey I ever made was in 1871, when with my father and the late Dr. Grimsdale and Mr. Ryley I visited the Franco-Prussian battlefields. The war was not ended and the German army was still surrounding Paris, which made travelling difficult, but we met with great civility from the Prussian officers, and visited the battlefields of Saarbrück, where the Prince Imperial received his baptism of fire, Wörth, Hagenau, Weissenburg, Gravelotte, where we found men still burying the horses slain in the battle, Mars-le-Tour, Metz, and finally Sedan. We gathered many trophies, but were not allowed to bring them away. Wherever the Prussians made a stand and were slaughtered in their hundreds, as at Gravelotte, we found pieces of small German Bibles, and we were told that every German soldier, from the Emperor William downwards, carried a Bible in his haversack. COSTA RICA. The year after I retired from business, in 1891, I visited Costa Rica with my eldest daughter, to inspect the railway in which we were much interested. The country from Port Limon, which lies on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, bathed in a tropical sun, to San José, the capital, is most picturesque and remarkable for its deep ravines, its rapid rivers, and its wealth of vegetation. On leaving Port Limon we passed through long and deep valleys filled with palms and every species of tropical plants, which made us exclaim that we might be in the Kew conservatories. We gradually worked our way up 5,000 feet to the plateau upon which San José is situated, and the scenery hereabouts reminded us of an undulating English landscape, such as we have in Kent or Surrey. The railway was then in its infancy, and in a very rickety condition; it was said that the man who travelled by it for the first time was a hero, and if he travelled a second time he was a fool. But reconstruction was already in progress.