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HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.
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Sea, and, in 182 G, he renewed the proposal, but the Court were
nnwilling to act upon the suggestion. On relinquishing the
Government to Sir John Malcohn, this far-seeing statesman
proceeded to Cosseir in the 'Palinurus,' on the 15th of Novem-
ber, 1827, accompanied by a hirge party, including Mr. and
Mrs. C Lushington.* The first lady to undertake the overland
route from England to India was Mrs. Elwood, wife of Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Elwood, of the 3rd Bombay Native Infantry,
who made the journey in 1825, and speaks of herself, in her
highly interesting and graphic work,t as " the first and only
female" who ventured upon that route.
As Mr. Waghorn himself states, it was not until 1826
that his attention was first turned to steam communication, and
then, and for many years subsequently, he was an advocate of
the Cape route; indeed, on the 17th of April, 1880, onl}^ four
weeks after his arrival in Bombay by the Red Sea route, we
find that, at a public meeting of the merchants and inhabitants,
he still advocated the Cape route to Calcutta, in preference
to that by the Red Sea, treating the latter merely as a
pis aller, while his rival, Mr. Taylor, spoke strongly in favour
of the Red Sea route. Proceeding to Calcutta, he was present
at a meeting held on the 24th of June, at which Sir John
Hayes again advocated his cause. On this occasion both Lieu-
tenant Johnston and Mr. Waghorn spoke ; the latter detailed his
proceedings, and declared his intention to proceed to England,
whence he would shortly return. Meanwhile an event had
happened which perfectly demonstrated the advantages to be
derived by the Red Sea route.
On the 20th of March, 1830, the day before Mr. Waghorn
arrived at Bombay in the cruiser ' Thetis,' the Hon. Company's
steamer, ' Hugh Lindsay,' sailed from Bombay on her
great experimental voyage, commanded by Commander John
Wilson. This officer was in command of the sloop-of-war,
' Coote,' a vessel of higher rate than the Hugh Lindsay,' and,
'
though the distaste for the service was general, he volunteered
to take command of the steamer then on the stocks, and fitted
her out for sea. As he says in his pamphlet, " I was the
staunch assertor that the Red Sea route was the one which
must become, through the means of steam, the high road to
India, and I was stimulated by a desire to be the first steam
navigator of the Bed Sea." The gallant officer performed the
trip with signal success, and, when the disadvantages under
which he laboured are taken into consideration, the achievement
* Mrs. Charles Lushington published an account of her journey to England
via Mocha, Cosseir, Luxor and Tliebes.
t See " Narrative of a Journey Overland from England by the Continent of
Europe, Egypt, and the Red Sea, to India, including a Residence there, and
Voyage Home, in the years 1825, 1826, 1827, and 1828." J3y Mrs. Colonel
Elwood. Two vols. London, Colburn and Bentley, 1830.