the 35th Regiment was brought up from Ceylon to Calcutta by one of the ships of this line most opportunely. Again, in 1863, thirteen steamers of this fleet were taken up by the Government in connection with the Abyssinian expedition. Some years ago the _Quetta_, of this line, on her voyage from Queensland, struck a rock in Torres Straits and sank in a few minutes with the loss of 133 lives. Among the survivors was a plucky young lady, a Miss Lacy, who, after having spent twelve hours upon a raft, attempted to swim ashore, and kept afloat in the water for twenty-four hours without a life-belt or support of any kind, until she was picked up by a boat from a passing steamer. [Illustration: THE “QUETTA” GOING UNDER, 1890.] The Clan Line, established in 1878, has a fleet of some thirty-five ships, all rejoicing in the prefix of “Clan” to their names. They are comparatively small vessels, the largest of them being the _Clan Grant_, 3,545 tons; _Clan MacArthur_, 3,934; _Clan MacIntosh_, 3,985; _Clan MacPherson_, 3,921, and _Clan Matheson_, 3,917 tons. They run from Glasgow and Liverpool to Bombay; from the same ports to Colombo, Madras and Calcutta; also to Cape Colony and Natal, Delagoa Bay, Beira and Mauritius. The saloon fare by this line from Liverpool to Madras or Calcutta is £45; second class, £30. The Bibby Line has long been famous on the Mediterranean. It is now the direct route to Burmah, and controls a large share of the trade with Ceylon and southern India. It employs five of Harland & Wolff’s first-class steamships—the _Staffordshire_, _Shropshire_ and _Cheshire_, twin screw ships of 6,000 tons; and the _Lancashire_ and _Yorkshire_ of 4,260 tons each. This line is the recognized route for officers returning from India at the expiry of furlough. The sailings are from Liverpool to Egypt, Colombo, southern India and Rangoon. Only first-class passengers are carried. Fare to Rangoon, £50. The Shaw, Savill & Albion Company, formed some thirteen years ago, has been very successful. It has five fast mail steamers—the _Arawa_, 5,026 tons; _Doric_, 4,786; _Ionic_, 4,753; _Tainui_, 5,031, and the _Gothic_, 7,730. Besides these they have a large number of cargo steamers and sailing ships. The _Gothic_ is said to be the largest steamship employed in the Australian trade, and the _Arawa_ the fastest, having made the run from Plymouth to New Zealand in 38 days, 30 minutes; and from New Zealand to Plymouth in 35 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes—the fastest on record. The Union Steamship Company of New Zealand advertises to take passengers from Auckland to England, _via_ San Francisco, in _thirty-one_ days! Saloon fare, £66; steerage, £32 11s. 7d.